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CHAPTER 17: WHISPERS IN THE SHADOWS

Penulis: Lizzy Fash
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-02-20 03:22:29

THOMAS

The woodland was alive, with branches groaning, secrets being spoken by the wind, and the eerie hoot of an owl echoing overhead. With every stride, my boots dug into the wet dirt, drawing me more into the forest. The trees appeared determined to absorb the light and cover everything in gloom, despite the moon's light trying to reach the canopy. The sensation in my chest was more electric and sharper than terror. I felt a tinge of anticipation. It might change tonight. Maybe tonight I'll get back what I lost. I might win something I never would have imagined. She had been anticipating my arrival. Like a figure carved from the night itself, the witch stood in a clearing illuminated by a flickering lantern. The red hood she wore, black curls spilt from its edges, and the scarlet hood looked strikingly vivid against the dark background. The black, smouldering coals in her eyes seared right through me, even though I couldn't see her face well. "You're running late," she said. Despit
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  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 18: QUEEN OF ALL

    HAILEY Shadows clung to the trees like a quiet audience as the edge of the woodland loomed behind me. I held on to Alexia's small, lifeless body, her icy weight a harsh reminder of the atrocities I had just witnessed. The thorns and sharp stones were unrelenting, and my legs burned from scrapes. But in all honesty. The ache scarcely registered. It had no significance. Amenià stirred within me, her presence laden with fury and sorrow. Amenià whispered in my mind, "She's just a child," in a low, unpolished voice. "This wasn't fair to her. Not one bit of it. My voice broke as I muttered back, "She didn't deserve this." But now she's here. Additionally, I won't let her leave. Now that I could see the park entrance, I could hear the pounding footsteps and panicked cries of Logan, Flora, and Ryan behind me. They were after us. Screaming for me. With every heartbeat, Alexia's flame was fading, and she was drifting farther away. “No,” I muttered, holding her closer. "No, she won't leave me."

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-20
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 19: BETRAYAL FROM THE SHADOWS

    LUCYThe news struck me like a bolt of lightning, and the room whirled. Hailey was still alive. Despite all that was done to keep her down, she's still standing. Even worse, she had revived that brat, Alexia. How? Following all the meticulous planning and instructions given, how did things fail so badly? The porcelain fragments scattered over the floor like the fragments of my meticulously crafted plans and the vase I was holding broke against the wall. I screamed furiously in frustration and anger. I was so furious that my chest was heaving and my breathing was laboured. "How?" My voice reverberated through the deserted room as I screamed. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. The prophecy, the whispers of power, the perfect plan with Thomas—it was all unravelling right before my eyes yet I can do nothing to salvage the entire ordeal. Hailey was meant to be gone, out of the picture, leaving the route clean for me to ascend. Instead, she was still here, gleaming with possessing some

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-20
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 20: A REVELATION OF LIFE

    HAILEYThe steady beep of monitors and the antiseptic smell of the pack's hospital were the first to penetrate as I stirred out of the haze of unconsciousness. My head throbbed dully, but it was the sensation of something deep, intimate, and utterly unfamiliar that summoned my consciousness."Hailey?" Ryan's voice penetrated the haze. His hand was warm, mine held in his firm clasp.I blinked, clearing my eyes to discover his face creased with worry. His green eyes were locked on mine, searching. "Ryan," I croaked, my throat dry. "What. what happened?""You lost it," he whispered, his thumb tracing the backs of my knuckles. "In the mess hall. The pack doctor had to sedate you when you wouldn't settle down." "Settle down?"You were suffering," Ryan told me, his jaw tightening. "No one knew why. I didn't know what to do."Memories flooded back—the poisoned food, the shield I'd put up around Alexia, the strange pull in my chest that I hadn't recognized then."I don't feel any pain now,"

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-20
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 21: SHADOWS IN THE DARK

    MARISSA With its light barely powerful enough to cut through the darkness, the lone candle on the wooden table created lengthy shadows in the deserted cabin. My fingers drummed frantically against the rough wood as I leaned back in my chair. Around me, the outlaws stirred uneasily, shifting in their chairs and flitting their gaze at each other. It was a risk. However, I was prepared to accept one. For me, things aren't looking good. I yelled, "Enough," my voice cutting like a lash through the hum. "To hear your doubts, I didn't bring you oùt here to hear your excuses. You're either in or you're out. Garret, a large outlaw, hissed and flashed his yellowed teeth. "Marissa, it's not fear. It's delicate. Hailey isn't some she-wolf. We don't understand the powers she possesses. Moreover, she is currently expecting the Alpha King's pups. Do you have any clue how hot this might get for us? I yelled back, "She's weak," in a firm, icy tone. "Pregnancy weakens even the most resilient wolves. W

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-21
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 22: SHE'S MINE

    RYANThe sound of my fists pounding out the rhythm on the heavy bag echoed through the gym, with every strike ringing around the space. My arms and chest were slick with sweat, and every movement caused my muscles to ripple. Metal, labour, and the faint vestiges of my wolf's ancient might hung in the air. This was à therapy session for me and not training. Every jab and every uppercut was a comfort. I wasn't satisfied even though the punching bag swung wildly beneath my attack. I grabbed the chain, reshaped my stance, and attacked again. I was incited by every thought of betrayal and every gossiping rumour that Hailey was injured. My nurturing instinct expanded and became more bestial when I knew she was carrying my pups inside her. No one dares to encroach on her like my world does.The repeated battering of my fists was broken by Logan's yell, "Alpha," and I came out of my daze. Standing at the door as calmly as ever, his presence was, however, not to be ignored. "What's it?" I snar

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-21
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 23: BOW DOWN BITCHES

    HAILEYTwo months had passed since the Ryan shoot, but the memory of it lingered in my mind like a catchy earworm song. Every moment of that day was an unspoken vow between us—a raw, shocking connection that both of us could not escape. Now, as I strolled through one of Ryan's chain stores, I was just as much the woman that I had become: fierce, powerful, and unbreakable.Flora accompanied me, my fiery red hair cascading in waves down my back. My combat boots clattered off the marble floor, and my leather jacket fit loosely over her shoulder. She was a hurricane, unrepentant and flashy, and her brashness was catching with her own dark, dark black hair."See," I said, holding the thin black dress against my body, "I could do this. With some thigh-high boots, I'll have to be gorgeous."She laughed, running her fingers over the smooth fabric of a red dress. "They're already drooling over you, Hailey. You don't need the dress."I smiled, bending the dress over my arm. "That's true, but a

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-21
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 24: THE WITCH’S PLOT

    SELENA My lair smelt of magic and incense, with the sweet metallic tang of blood mingled with the scent of burning sage. My brew was churning in emerald and black hues as my kettle bubbled gently. In an attempt to find an explanation for the chaos that was developing within the supernatural community, I looked into the raging depths. Then, as though in reaction to what I was thinking, the soft knock reverberated throughout the cave. I screamed, "Enter," my voice resonating off the stone walls. With tentative feet and angry eyes, Marissa stepped inside. In contrast to her normally calm demeanour, she seemed dishevelled. She had apparent bruises on her perfect skin, and her energy had a raw edge that she was unable to hide. She said, "Selene," in a hoarse voice.I leaned back in my chair with my hands folded in my lap and said, 'Marissa. What do I owe the pleasure of your visit?' She paused, looking around the room as if anticipating a trap. 'You know why I'm here', she finally said sh

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-21
  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 25: A QUEEN'S STRENGTH

    LOGANEverything was going well and fine at the packhouse; Hailey and Ryan had finally mated, making her a full-fledged queen like she was meant to be. I know she's mad, but she'd forgive our King eventually. I smiled as I remembered how he had ordered us all to our mates.It's morning, and suddenly, while making rounds, my wolf becomes unsteady emotionally. I could feel Flora grieving, and as I tried to look into it, I was mindlinked to get to the borders, rogues attacked, and my daughter was dead. I immediately crouch down and run along in my wolf form; getting there I notice Ryan, Flora and some pack members then I see the shield around Hailey, she's holding my lifeless daughter in her arms and there's a light busting from her palm into Alexia, her red hair is all over her face, her eyes electrifying then suddenly my beautiful baby girl sneezes and I collapse instantly, how she did it I don't know but she's brought my baby back to life and at this point I'm close to being hysterica

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-02-21

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  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 196: INFILTRATION

    AUDACUS The moment I stepped through the massive glass doors of Kings Enterprises, the atmosphere shifted. Clean, polished, professional—exactly how humans liked to present their tiny empires. It was nearly funny. The whole building reeked of ambition, desperation, and carefully hidden fear. It smelled like opportunity.I adjusted the mortal guise I was wearing: well-pressed suit, comfortable leather loafers, and a pair of glasses perched low on the bridge of my nose. The perfect image of a struggling investor who'd at last been able to scrounge up sufficient capital to swim with the sharks. Beneath, I smiled. They had no idea.The receptionist greeted me with that rehearsed corporate warmth. "Welcome to Kings Enterprises, Mr.?""Addison," I supplied the alias with ease. "Jon Addison. I'm here to see your investment representative. I'm interested in purchasing direct stock."Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and within a second she nodded. "Right this way, Mr. Addison."It all pr

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 196: INFILTRATION

    AUDACUS The moment I stepped through the massive glass doors of Kings Enterprises, the atmosphere shifted. Clean, polished, professional—exactly how humans liked to present their tiny empires. It was nearly funny. The whole building reeked of ambition, desperation, and carefully hidden fear. It smelled like opportunity.I adjusted the mortal guise I was wearing: well-pressed suit, comfortable leather loafers, and a pair of glasses perched low on the bridge of my nose. The perfect image of a struggling investor who'd at last been able to scrounge up sufficient capital to swim with the sharks. Beneath, I smiled. They had no idea.The receptionist greeted me with that rehearsed corporate warmth. "Welcome to Kings Enterprises, Mr.?""Addison," I supplied the alias with ease. "Jon Addison. I'm here to see your investment representative. I'm interested in purchasing direct stock."Her fingers flew across the keyboard, and within a second she nodded. "Right this way, Mr. Addison."It all pr

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 195: LOOMING WAR

    RAYThe night was mine. The odor of war clung heavy to the atmosphere, and the promise of approaching chaos made my skin crawl, bones moving just below as I stretched through all my shapes. Tonight the game was set, and I, Ray, his most trusted one, had the honor of delivering the king's new scheme.Audacus loomed over us, demonically serene, every inch of him a vision of lethal refinement. That voice, so smooth but colder than winter's cold, was a force no sane man would want to challenge. "Keep them busy," he instructed us, fingers lazily spinning a glass of dark wine as if this plan wasn't going to break the world. "Isolate Hailey and Ryan at all costs. The two of them together are trouble. Alone, they fall apart."A vicious grin crept gradually across my lips. Simple in appearance. Deadly in purpose."What about the others?" I asked, masking my enthusiasm with polite calmness.Audacus's golden eyes flashed to mine, as cutting as a knife. "The triplets are strong, but unripe. Diver

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 194: CHAOS

    AUDACUS The council chamber stank of old magic and old pride. It clung to the stones, bleeding into the mortar like the blood of all fools who'd ever sat upon high thrones and imagined that they were invulnerable.I was in the center, hands clasped behind my back, the gravity of a century measured in the loose bend of my shoulders. Ten wizard elders stood around me, faces etched with lines made of centuries, eyes filmed over by complacency. The robes flowed over the marble floor as they shifted to stand nearer, as if attitude itself might distort fate in their direction."Audacus," the oldest, Master Callum, said, his voice husky with a challenge never breached in all his years. "Your arrogance does not belong here. You are not welcome."A smile flared at the edge of my lips. "Arrogance is the right of the already triumphant. You just haven't quite caught up with reality."Whispers circulated around the circle, soft, trembling shivers from tired old gods in mortal flesh. I could near

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 193: AUDACUS

    AUDACUSBeen out again in the mortal world feels so surreal but good, it's been so long, too long really but the night tasted sweet. Sweeter than a vow. More bitter than deceit.I stood beneath the crooked arm of a dying oak, one hand leather-gloved, the other bare, tracing my finger along the cold curve of my ring. The dark stone pulsed softly beneath my fingers, full of the quiet, slow hunger I always kept just beneath my skin.The world was still tonight. Even the wind had enough sense to whisper not when I heard it. I could sense the earth beneath my feet, the shift of shadow as it crawled towards me, drawn like a moth battering itself around its own funeral place.The shifter was late.It was always so with beasts bound by fear and not by love. Still, I was impressed by its cunning. Its guile. The art of slinking in and out of hides like leaves from a book.Finally, the beast emerged out of the woods.A distorted shape, wrapped in the stolen form of a man — the fifth, I think, si

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 192: HE'S COMING

    LOGANThe air reeked of blood, pungent enough to slice through bone-deep exhaustion. I arrived too late for the battle, but just in time for the cleanup.Marissa stood with her arm raised over the shape-shifter's deformed body, which collapsed at her feet like a crumpled flower. Its body shook as if even death would not claim it cleanly. Her sword dripped with black, noxious ichor.I'd wanted to feel proud — darn it, I was proud — but my wolf howled inside my chest walls, screaming for vengeance."Are you alright?" I pressed forward, ready to catch her if her legs gave out under her.Marissa cleaned the knife on her hand, jutting chin as if the fighter I knew her to be was finally free of that cage she'd been holding herself in."It won't be the last."That solitary stark truth weighed between us like a boulder."Not if I have any say in it," I growled. And I meant every damn word.ISAIAH The scent of smoke still hung in the air, seeping into the stone walls like an unwelcome memory.

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 191: MOTHER'S CHOICES

    TURTELA The castle had never been this still, not really. Even at midnight, its old bones vibrated with the thrum of wards and remembrances. But tonight, after the fight, after blood and smoke, the stillness was oppressive as ever. It lay on my chest like a heavy hand, smothering the wolf inside me who trotted in ceaseless circles, anxious and watchful.I should have stayed in my own chambers. Should have soothed myself with a hot bath or the echoing sound of dad's voice up and down the halls. Instead, my own feet led me out, past the marble pillars, to the garden where everything was bathed in moonlight.And she was there.Serenia.Sitting on the stone bench like it was her own, as if she had burst forth from the earth itself, dark hair falling like silk down her back. She was so still that I almost mistook her for another statue, some forgotten relic the old kings had left. I did not sneak up on her. I wanted her to hear me coming. I wanted her to know that I was not afraid."You'

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 190: A DAUGHTER'S VERDICT

    ISAIAH The moment Hailey's call brushed my thoughts, I felt it — the shift in the air. There was no desperation in her tone, no panic, but resolve. And that scared me more than any battlefield ever managed.I arrived in the courtyard as the moon carved silver wounds in the stone. My steps faltered as my gaze met hers.Serenia.The last time I'd ever seen her was under other skies — when I'd lost all hope of having a mate. When fate woke me up, I'd never expected that she would be bound to me again, or in this manner.She was now by Hailey's side. Not as an enemy. Not even as a stranger.Her eyes settled on me, hard and unflickering."You came," she said.I cleared my throat, finding my balance. "Your mother summoned me."Her lips curled into a semblance of laughter, but there was no warmth behind it. "Oh, naturally she would. Always the Queen, always the commander."I started to open my mouth in defense of Hailey — habit — but Serenia raised a hand, stopping me. Her voice softened, a

  • CLAIMING HAILEY    CHAPTER 189: CREDIBLE ALLIANCE?

    HAILEYThe moon hung low in the heavens, casting a silver glow across the courtyard. The air was thick with anticipation, a silence that reeked of danger waiting to happen. I stood alone, senses heightened, muscles bunched and prepared to move.I was startled by a sudden stir within the shadows. A figure emerged, veiled in the shadows, moving with lethal grace. I recognized her immediately—Serenia, daughter of Lilith. She was a storm, her eyes burning with a mix of rage and grief.She attacked silently, her sword flashing towards me. I parried, the sound of steel on steel ringing out like a thunderclap. Our battle was a dance of fire and ice, each strike a question, each parry an answer."Why?" I shouted, our blades intertwined. "Why attack me?"Her eyes twitched, agony clouding her features. "Because he wants you," she snarled. "The Serpent King wants you, and I need to know why."Comprehension dawned. This wasn't a straight-up attack—it was a test, a desperate search for information

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