MIKHAILThe thick, sharp scent of blood hit me even before the large doors were opened. My jaw clenched. Something was wrong, I could feel it in my gut, the feeling that something grave had happened. The doors burst open a second later. Derrick stumbled in, covered in mud and blood. One side of his shirt was torn, soaked in red. He was limping, and his hands were shaking like he’d seen a ghost.“King….king Mikhail..” he breathed, falling to one knee. “I—we—we found her.”My heart skipped a beat. “Rosanne?” I asked, taking a step forward.He nodded. “She was with them, a man—Axel—and two women who…looked looked identical.” He coughed out a mouth full of blood, his hands trembling. “They were well trained, we lost…lost our men, all of them.” I stared at him, trying to understand what the hell he was saying.“They didn’t try to run, Lycan king Mikhail,” Derrick added. “They fought hard, like they had nothing to lose. And Rosanne…”He looked up at me.“She changed. She wasn’t the same g
ROSANNE “We're here.” Axel whispered, staring at a small building a few meters away. We'd walked through the woods for a few more hours before we crossed the pack border. Right now, Anita's breathing was getting shallow, she was getting weak, and it'd freak the hell out of us if she didn't make it. Axel inhaled a deep breath, his arm tightly wrapped around Anita. With his hood covering most of his features, he took a step forward. “I'll go in first. Whatever happens, don't come out until I get in.” “Doesn't he recognize you?” “We're not on good terms.” He limped, his arm tightly securing Anita next to him. She'd lost consciousness, but her heart was still beating. She was pale, so pale you'd think she was already dead. Yvonne and I watched as Axel stood outside the small building. He knocked, ever so gently, like he was afraid of confronting whoever was in there. And when there was no response, he knocked heavily, pounding hard due to the urgency of the entire situation. “Do you
MIKHAIL“I don't think putting a bounty on her head is the right idea, Lycan King Mikhail.” My Beta, Hudson, walked after me, his heavy footsteps pounding in my ears. As days passed by in a blur, I'd thought of several ways to get Rosanne back, and that seemed like the perfect way to drag her back here. Alive. “It's the right idea.” I said quietly, taking a turn towards the courtroom for the daily meetings. Last night, I spent a few hours in Rosanne's room—just inhaling her scent. With each day that passed by, it was getting harder to live without her. Sometimes, I'd close my eyes and see her staring at me. Other times, her voice would echo like she was here, but she wasn't. It was more like being haunted by a ghost, a really pretty one. Placing a bounty on her head wasn't really the best idea, but it was all I had. Wherever she was, she'd be dragged here just because of the enormous price. Soon enough. “She'll hate you, King Mikhail.” Hudson's voice dropped to a quiet whisper, li
ROSANNE Last night, after much persuasion, the old man—Leonard—eventually gave us the wolfsbane for Anita's treatment. Axel had stayed with her throughout the night to make sure she was okay, since the wolfsbane could be quite harmful as well. I hadn't seen Leonard today, but I was sure he'd be carefully thinking of other ways to drag me back to the Bloodmoon pack. “Axel, are you there?“ I knocked on a wooden door, patiently waiting outside with a small bowl of warm soup. Yvonne and I woke up quite early to prepare this delicacy for Anita, just so she'd feel a little strengthened. It took a few minutes before Axel opened up the door, looking in a brighter mood. “Hey,” he smiled. My lips curled up, “she's awake?“ His eyes trailed over the small bowl of soup I held. He reached and collected it. “Thanks Rosanne.“ He sighed, holding it carefully. “She's not awake, but her wounds are healed. She should be awake soon.“ “Okay.“ I wrapped my warm hands around myself, taking a step back
ROSANNEI didn’t move, none of us did. The air was thick with the weight of Leonard’s confession.“You are the reason I’m living like this!” he spat again, his voice shaky but loud, almost like he needed us to hear it—needed to hurt Axel with those words.Axel stood still, eyes fixed on Leonard. I saw his jaw clench, his hand curl into a fist. But he said nothing.It was too much.My heart ached for him, but I couldn't say anything either.Yvonne's hand still held the dagger near Leonard’s face, but now her expression had changed. The anger was still there, but something else slipped in—confusion maybe. “You’re blaming him,” she said slowly, lowering the blade just a little, “for something he had no control over?”Leonard looked away.There was silence again. Then a soft voice broke through the tension. It was weak, barely above a whisper. “…Rosanne?”I turned sharply, my breath caught in my throat. Anita.She was standing at the top of the stairs, one hand gripping the wooden rail
ROSANNESince there were two rooms in the abandoned house, Yvonne and I shared a room, while Axel and Anita took the other. Last night, we'd spent the whole time cleaning up the whole place—the underground layer, the basement and the rooms. Strangely, I found out about a small library just a few meters away from the basement. Who placed a library next to a basement? I'd been awake for the last hour, but I just sat there, on the bed, watching the large trees keeping the house a bit hidden. It was still quite early, still dawn, it was why Yvonne slept quietly next to me, but I couldn't bring myself to lay back on that bed. Not when Mikhail appeared in my dreams. Not when he threatened to bring me back no matter what. It felt so real, like he was carefully watching me, waiting for the time I'd slip and expose myself. It was a nightmare, the most terrifying I'd ever had. My mind travelled to the day I had the wedding, our wedding, how perfect he looked with the heart of a demon. M
Chapter 71ROSANNEThe scent of roasted meat and firewood lingered in the air, soft rays of morning light seeping through the lacy curtains we'd washed last night. It wasn’t much, but it felt… peaceful. Too peaceful, almost. The kind of peace that makes your stomach tighten because you know it won’t last long.I sat on one side of the small wooden table with Yvonne beside me. Anita hadn’t joined us yet, probably still curled under a blanket she found comfortable. Axel sat across from me, half-smiling like he always did when things were calm. A loaf of bread sat between us, torn into uneven pieces, and the meat tasted like heaven compared to the crap we’d been eating in the woods.“I can’t believe you actually went to the market,” Yvonne said, chewing thoughtfully. “That’s got to be the fastest trip in history.”Axel smirked, licking a bit of grease from his thumb. “Didn’t go to the market.”We both paused.“What?” I asked, brows furrowed.“It was still dark, the pack market wasn’t
CHAPTER 72 MIKHAILThe silence in the hall was maddening.It wasn’t peaceful, it wasn't calming. It was slowly killing me, slowly driving me insane—more like the walls were closing in on me, the silence creeping into my bones. It felt like I could hear her voice in it, like her laugh was somewhere in the still air and I could almost taste her. But she wasn’t here.Rosanne.“You’re losing yourself,” Hudson muttered from the other end of the room.I turned, slowly. “Have they returned?”“No.”Of course they hadn’t.Only one of the scouts I sent to the borders had returned, but I'd heard nothing from the three spies I sent to the nearby rogue territories. From a source, I figured out that Anita and the girl she escaped with were rouges. It was why I kept checking through rouge territories, and if those scouts didn’t return soon, I’d burn those fucking forests to the ground myself.Rosanne was out there, somewhere, with that damn pack warrior and his mate. “Bring him in,” I said col
ROSANNEWe moved in silence, each man understood the severity of our quietness. The darkness and the trees were perfect covers, hiding us from anything that might have been hovering around.Aiden cooed, his lips moving against my chest looking for my nipple. These were moments that I should be enjoying, smiling as I fed my children, but I couldn’t. We were here in a forest running from an unseen but scary danger. Trying to be alive. We were nomads. Lost souls wandering around without a place to call home.My eyes looked around the group of people that were with us, their faces stricken with pain and determination, all looking for a better life, a new hope.We all wanted the same thing, a place we could call home. A place we could believe in.The ground rumbled, the forest coming to life. Birds moved through the trees out of fright. And from the silence, a growl echoed, deep, primal, hurt.“Lycan king,” Axel muttered, his eyes looking back to where we had come from.My heartbeat spiked
MIKHAIL“Names!” I yelled, my fist clenched as I stared at Knox, he was fighting, barely living. I needed to know the people that I would be hunting down.Knox coughed, blood slipping out of his mouth as he tried to move, “Here,” Blair said, placing a cup by his lips. “It will give you energy for the journey ahead,” she muttered.“Speak, or I will rip your tongue out,” I commanded, my voice heavy with authority.“Rosanne,” he coughed. “She was a monster, her powers…”I lunged, my fist colliding with his cheek, how dare he called Rosanne, my Rosanne a monster. She was peace, beauty and a ray of peace. I was the monster, not her.“Mikhail!” Hudson screamed, pulling me off the man who looked like he was about to die. “Are you going to kill our only lead?” he yelled. I straightened myself, shoving him off of my body, “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again,” I hissed.Hudson bowed, his neck bared as he showed mem the respect that I deserved, “I am sorry Lycan King,” he said, keep a mu
MIKHAILMy heart clenched at the large claw mark on the wall, just where Maverick’s head rested.Not a message, just a deep primal warning.Fear crawled up my spine. But not for myself or my men; but the thought of something, someone harming Rosanne and my child.My Rosanne.“We have to keep on searching,” Hudson muttered behind me, his voice sound far, like he was buried among the bodies littered here. “She has got to be here somewhere, she is a fighter,” he mumbled. His words felt like they were meant to comfort himself and not me.He was still fighting hard to see the positive in all this.The once thriving rogue settlement, No man’s land had been reduced to ashes, bodies thrown around like…The thought made me shudder, I should be happy that Rosanne’s body wasn’t in the rumble, but then where was she? Shouldn’t she have been patiently waiting for me to come and save her? Wasn’t she scared of the new, and real world she was seeing?My ears strained, and the sound of a faint heartbe
MIKHAILTrusting Blair to be the compass to No man’s land was one of the most terrible mistakes I had ever made, “Would you stop grinning or I will make sure Hudson pulls out all your teeth,” I hissed, my patience growing thin.It has been more than a day since we had set out to bring Rosanne and my child back. Blair had forbidden us from using the cars, her excuse; cars make her sick, and when she is sick, her powers seem to disappear.I wonder why I still keep her around. She has been nothing but a pain in the ass all through this journey, blabbering and sharing jokes that sounded like torture to the ears.“Sorry,” she muttered, completely unaffected by my threat.I rolled my eyes at her, “Are we anywhere close to Maverick’s land?” I asked, looking at the dense forest that we had been trapped in.I had taken a few men, the journey wasn’t meant to be this long. The plan was simple, find Ross, and bring her and my baby back. And for the traitors, make sure that they find their end at
ROSANNE“Whatever it is that you have to say, you can say it here,” I replied in a clipped tone. I wasn’t going to be separated from my children again.Ryan smiled, “No one is planning to take you away,” he said in a soft tone.“What do you want?” Axel interrupted, his eyes looking around the men who had been loyal to Maverick. “As you can see we are on a time crunch and we need to leave,” he hissed.I gently squeezed his shoulders, signalling that there was no harm in hearing them out. “What he is trying to say is that we are most grateful for your kindness and letting us dwell with you. But we must leave now. And we are sorry for any harm that might have come to you. All of you,” I said, sounding more diplomatic than Axel.Ryan smiled, his eyes sparkling with delight as he heard my little speech, “We know what you have suffered in the hands of Maverick and we would like to apologise for that,” he muttered.I kept a straight face, hiding my true emotion from showing at the mention o
ANITAThe war was over, but its scars lingered. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew that something had happened in that room; the Rosanne I was seeing wasn’t the same lady I had left a few hours ago.“Hey,” Axel sighed, his hand touching my shoulders gently as he walked into the room.I smiled softly at him, my body melting softly into his touch, he looked fresh; no signs of blood and the stench of war, “I can’t leave them alone,” I mumbled, pointing to Rosanne and her children, sleeping peacefully on the bed.“What happened?” I asked, trying to get a little information about the ordeal. Rumours of Maverick’s betrayal had echoed through the walls, spits spat out in disgust as his name was mentioned.“Maverick had tried to be slick, thinking he could betray us,” he muttered, frowning at the memory that popped up in his mind. “She was great and handled it well. A true leader,” he added, smiling softly at Rosanne.I knew she was, Rosanne was the embodiment of strength and resilie
ROSANNEMaverick coughed, the sound drawing my attention from Knox, who lay at my feet, blood pooled around him. His heartbeat was faint, in just a matter of seconds he was going to die a slow painful death.Maverick was afraid, his eyes flickering between Axel and me, trying to put as much needed distance between us.I moved away from Knox, my eyes glaring at the man, who had betrayed his people, “What was that promise you made again about my children?” I asked, my blood-stained hand tapping my chin just like he had done a few minutes ago.Maverick winced, his hand holding his rib tightly, hoping to dull the pain that was forming, “Rosanne…” he tried to plead.“Remind me, or should I say it?” I hissed, cutting him off.Maverick stared at the floor, fear etched on his face. I loved this power, the control that I had over him was next to nothing. “Oh! I remember you were going to cut them piece by piece, right?” I mused.I dropped to my knees, keeping my gaze even with his, as I looke
ROSANNEThe warriors barely had time to grasp what was happening, with their swords drawn it did nothing to protect them from the wild beast that had been set free.Axel tore thrown the men, his eyes burning with molten fury as he made sure that they all felt the vengeance of his claws.It was carnage, a scene out of a grotesque book, and I dwelled in it, enjoying it.“Rosanne! Look out!” Ryan yelled, pushing me out of the way as an arrow whizzed past my ear, its tip missing my head in an inch.“Thank you,” I breathed, my heart slamming through my chest.“Just be careful,” he mumbled, picking up a sword as he blocked the next arrow that was shot at us.Axel was surrounded, his eyes fixed on the lost souls that dared to fight him. The only difference about the scene was that, while they were fighting to defend their lives, Axel was hunting to kill.Axel let out a roar, the primal sound of it vibrating through the walls of the room.“Save the rest of your elders,” I commanded Ryan, pick
ROSANNEThe air in the room felt thick with tension, coupled with the tangy smell of blood. Derek was dead, the game had changed right before Maverick’s eyes. Gone was the smug-looking man who thought he had everything under control, now, he was reduced to nothing; kneeling before Knox with his head hung low in shame.Knox stood beside me, the aura around him felt smug, and the large grin on his face showed the obvious truth, he had won and no one could contend with him.“You have the girl and her blood mage, please leave,” Maverick moaned, clutching his hand that Knox had stepped on.Knox chuckled, the dry laugh sounded like a bunch of hyenas roaring in the night, “But I want something more,” he mused, smiling broadly at him.“There is nothing here,” Maverick coughed.“You don’t see it? The land you have accumulated all through these years, the vastness, the fertile grounds, I want it all. And I am sure you have enough ladies to keep my men warm at night, huh?” he mocked.Maverick st