CHAPTER 83Rosie's POVI choke on a sound that could be a scream from my dream. That's how I wake up from a long night of torture, for days now.My head hurts. I feel every puncture of the syringe in my body and the wolfsbane eating into my bloodstream.Survival? How am I going to survive this?There isn't even a way I can unbind myself to escape or run away. Movies make it look so easy, especially when the lead is female.I can't really tell how many days it's been now. But no one has come yet. No one has come to my rescue as I had thought.Crazy.If not the Lockwood brothers at all, Xylus should.He has to. Aurora isn't joking about killing me.Who knows what other stunt she will pull up to get her so-called Master's attention?Dearest Moon Goddess, I don't want to be part of this.Pain lances through me, hot, searing and spreading. The effect of the wolfsbane, any more and I will be dead.What did I do with my life in my teen years?Maybe, just maybe, Aurora might give me a chance
AshtonRosie is missing. How much fucked up news is too much? I've barely recovered from mom's announcement, and now there's a new bombshell.My lips meet against the cool glass, warm burning liquid hitting the back of my throat as I gulp vodka. Fingers tighten on the empty glass as I stare into the open space. I shouldn't sit here acting like a gloomy teenager, yet it's the most I can bring myself to. Rosie's disappearance, or kidnap as I prefer to call it, feels too familiar, just like that darn fire. Of course, I'm not the target, yet it feels too Auroraish...I can't just shrug off that feeling. Aurora's determination borders somewhere between desperate and psychotic. Yes, she's small, innocent-looking, and every other thing that could throw her off the hook, but then it doesn't change the fact that anything can happen. I send a message to Danny, a PI, and ask him to run a search on her whereabouts for the past two weeks.I click my tongue, pulling myself up as I saunter towards t
Rosie's POVMy eye’s sore. I try to blink. My head hurts. I can’t turn either. My hands...Wait, my hands are tied down to a chair.“Argh.” I try to free myself as I push up.Where am I?I look around, this is some kind of basement but very unfamiliar.Was this Ashton’s way of asking me to be his sub again? Because being bound to a chair sounds like his type of foreplay.“Hello?” I call out but my voice echoes back at me.Shit! How did I get here? Yesterday? What was I up to?Emma? Yes! I... I... I followed Emma home and... wait... wait... I never got to see her home before I blacked out.Shit again! “Emma!” I call out louder. We were both kidnapped. I won’t forgive myself if anything happens to Emma, because it will be my mess that rubs off on her.“Emma!!”No answer.“Ashton! Dominic! Xylus!” I call the names of the warriors who will come to my rescue no matter what, if only they can hear me.Moon Goddess, help me.The big metal door shifts open. My eyes focus to see my abductors. T
Xylus’s POVThis week is both traumatic and hectic, and it’s not even Friday yet.My desk at the packhouse is buried in work. Patrol schedules, supply lists, and reports about the fire that destroyed our home all demand my attention. As Beta, I can’t neglect my duties, no matter how heavy my personal burdens feel.Still, every page I flip only drags me back to the sight of flames eating through the walls I grew up in. The house is gone, nothing but ash and twisted beams, and I’m still waiting for answers. No suspects. No solid cause. Just smoke and speculation.To keep my sanity, I’ve already thrown myself into reconstruction. The builders broke ground yesterday. I told them I wanted the house back on its feet as soon as possible, stronger, better. I picture her walking into a brighter room, free of memories of betrayal, and it steadies me.Right from the moment Ella set the tension between Rosie and me, our sibling relationship drifts further apart.I love Rosie so much. She's my ba
RosieSilent sobs and placating voices leave me feeling like a spectator. Xylus, who has been quiet the whole while, looks like he's on the verge of crying himself. Deep frown lines are etched into his forehead as he twiddles his first fingers nervously. Just like him, I feel out of place. It's just so sudden, and I wish this was a dream I need to wake up from.My chest feels tight when I gulp, fog clouding my vision as warm tears stream down my cheeks. Luna Sarah has always been a pinnacle of authority, motherhood, strength, and devotion. Seeing her this way makes me want to hug her tight, tell her everything would be okay, that she has me, Ashton, Xylus, and Dominic, but I can't even bring myself to part my lips. My feet feel like jelly, and my palms are sweaty from anxiety.Dinner passes by with a hovering sad cloud lingering overhead. Luna Sarah tries to cheer us up, but we're all in sour moods. Ashton is quiet most of the time, only reassuring her when Dominic tells her there's a
RosieDinner is awkward, and there's no debating that. To my left is Xylus, Ashton, who has been avoiding me, is seated opposite me, and Dominic is at the farther end of the table with Luna Sarah seated at the head. Each of us is "enjoying" our meal, if that's what you call it, in eerie silence.The soft clink of cutlery against ceramic only accentuates the awkwardness shrouding the usual ambience of a place I've considered a second home. It's been ages since we all sat like this, one big happy family, even though I'm not sure happy is how you'd describe us presently. Investigations about the fire, which is beginning to look like arson, are still ongoing, and the house is under renovations, which means I'm stuck here till further notice.Through my peripheral vision, I catch Ashton stealing a glimpse. Our eyes lock, and he looks away immediately, like a deer caught in headlights.Right. It's been this way since Xylus and I moved in. It's as if suddenly both Lockwood brothers have gras