LOGINRandall’s POVFollowing the Beta and four guards into the throne room, I was on high alert. Every nerve ending in my body stood, my eyes scanning the entire area for any sign of trouble. My right hand hovered near the hilt of my concealed blade. People who went to uncharted territory without protection often turned out dead, especially when the territory belonged to an enemy. I knew that so well and wasn't about to take any chances with my life. I steadied myself as much as I could but I remained deeply unsettled. My scouts scoured the entire realm trying to find him for months but they couldn't. And now, he suddenly just reappeared at the heart of his pack, one of the first places they looked, as if he never left in the first place. “Long time, no see, Alpha Randall,” Max grinned, calmly sipping his tea as he sat on his throne. Even after all these years, his voice remained the same, crooked and hoarse. I remained a statue as I stood near the sofa at his right-hand side, refusing
Lyra’s POV“Do all you want, but I'm never accepting you as my husband. I don't love you and I never will. Not with all you've put me through in these last few days.”The dungeon fell into silence as soon as the others departed. The ragged, shallow rasp of my breath and the distant drip of water against the stone, all that could be heard. “Oh, so now it's my fault?”He stood perfectly still. He doesn't move for an agonising minute. Maybe a bit more, staring at me with a blank, hollow expression more terrifying than his rage. Then he took a step forward, slow and deliberate.I recoiled instinctively, the chains beside my legs rattling with a sharp, metallic protest as he reached out to touch my bruised cheek. “You don't know what you do to me,” he mused. His gaze was heated with a toxic mixture of desire and desperation that made my skin crawl.“Each time I look at you, I'm not myself anymore. Something else takes over, something that needs me to possess every inch of you, to show y
Lyra’s POV“No. Don't say that, Lyra. You shouldn't think like that,” Dina said to me, furrowing her brows a little. Her hands hovered over my bruised wrists and I let out a jagged, self-deprecating breath that rattled in my chest. Echoes of hopelessness rested in my heart as I stared blankly at the wall in front of me. Every ounce of strength I had seemed gone, replaced by an emptiness threatening to ravage my entire being. “I ran from one monster, only to be ensnared by another,” I whispered, my eyes now fixed on the rusted chains lying loosely beside me. “Isn't that foolish?” I scoffed, leaning my head on the wall. “I'm probably the most foolish person you've ever met. I'm sure sometimes, you and your sisters have a good laugh about me.”“You shouldn't think about things like that,” she chided me. “We're here to help you. We're on your side. How can we mock you?”“I don't exactly make it that easy not to, do I?”She shook her head, probably frustrated by my refusal to shop thin
Randall’s POVI rode at the head of the convoy, my wolf pacing relentlessly beneath my skin as we crossed into the Northern borders on our way to the White Moon pack. The closer we got, the more frantic my wolf grew. Clearly, it felt like something was wrong but I couldn't say exactly what it was except that it was a strange feeling. We had sent a formal herald days in advance to announce our arrival for the peace talks but no word was sent back to us. There was no acceptance, no denial, no welcome… only an eerie stillness from the forest and seemingly watching eyes which we could not see. Although we were a few metres away from the White Moon pack, I felt like we were being watched. It was as if Max had stationed some of their men amongst the tall trees to watch us and figure out just how many troops we came to the pack with. But when we finally reached the pack, Baron, the Alpha of the Carlin pack, seemed entirely unfazed by the lack of hospitality shown to us. He rode beside
Lyra’s POVChained to the damp wall, my wrists were raw and my body was a map of blooming purple bruises and jagged cuts. The air smelled of iron and mildew, but the most suffocating part was the presence of guards hovering over me like a pack of wolves. I thought I escaped this life as soon as I left the Nightshade pack. I thought I was never going to smell the insides of a dungeon again. But here I was, in a much worse one, having to deal with the lustful eyes of the guards who had no fear that I was to be wed to their alpha. They circled me with hungry eyes, and low, taunting whispers. One of the guards, emboldened by Winston's orders, drew closer to me, his hand reaching out to stroke my matted hair.“You don't have to suffer like this. A beautiful woman like you deserves to be treated with love and care,” he said, with a sick grin on his face. “If you could just listen to us for once and come with us, we could ensure that no one ever hurts you again. We'll treat you like a que
Lyra’s POV“I'm not going to marry you, Winston. I've already made that clear to you and I'm not changing my mind about that,” I defiantly remarked as he shot me a cold stare. His face contorted with rage as he stood behind the bars. He balled his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Then he began to pace around the narrow space, muttering words that only he could hear. “I did everything for you,” he finally said, loud enough for me to hear. “I gave you the safety of my borders. I protected you. Heck, I protected your identity just like you asked me to.”He pointed a finger at my face, blowing hot air from his nostrils. “I did it all for you, no questions asked. I was even willing to raise another man's child as my own heir, regardless of how many children I thought we'd end up having. All I wanted was to make you happy and this is how you repay me?”“Is this…” I ran my eyes down my features, then to my surroundings before looking back at him, “... what being happy look
Lyra’s POV Every day was just another opportunity for Randall to rub it in my face that he chose Susan and not me. Everywhere they went, he did all that he could, going over and beyond to prove to me that I was nothing to him. Not that it surprised me anyway. They'd spend time in the garden,
Randall’s POV“Rand! Is it because of her?” She croaked, her eyes slowly turning red as my grip tightened around her neck. “Why are you hurting me?”I growled at Lyra's name on her tongue, my eyes narrowing as anger brimmed inside me. Susan flattened her hands in fear, offering no resistance whats
Randall’s POVFor over a week, my study had become my main room since I barely stepped foot into my bedroom except to pick up a few things or freshen up. All those nights, sleep had eluded me despite my desperate attempts to find it. Each time I lay on my bed, Lyra's face wouldn't stop flashing in
Randall’s POV“Ah…” Susan gasped as I lightly shoved her away as soon as we got to my room after a brief meeting with the Elders. Since Lyra wasn't present, there was no need for me to keep up with the pretence anymore. She chuckled as I distanced myself from her, shaking her head, her hands akimb







