LOGINShare
CHAPTER 53: SHADOWS OF DECEPTION
Last Updated:
2025-02-27 13:06:08
Related chapters
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 54: DESTINED BY FATE
LYNAAs I emerged from the darkness and entered the fading light of the street lamps, a subtle yet distinct odour of human blood permeated the air. The small human town had always been a very nice hunting area, but I had long ago sworn off hunting for sport. Since I had spent so many years living in self-control and just taking what I needed to survive, no one would ever know what was hiding in the shadows. But tonight I felt restless, like I had an itch I couldn't get rid of. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something was changing. My keen senses detected a figure travelling in the other direction as I turned a corner. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and exuded a commanding aura. He was a wolf. His scent was distinct, earthy and sharp, mixed with something darker—something that spoke of power and turmoil. Time seemed to stop for a moment, and I cocked my head to one side, curious. "I might ask you that." He said in a low, gravelly voice as if he weren't used to speaking softl
Last Updated : 2025-02-28CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 55: WHISPERS OF THE STORM
HAILEYA flurry of murmur filled the council room as voices were raised in contentious discussion. Around the large round table sat the representatives of the various species, including wolves, vampires, witches, and even fae, their expressions displaying a mixture of bullheadedness and fear. I sat at the top, my status as queen cemented by our tense alliances. "Enough," I yelled, my voice piercing the tense atmosphere like a blade. All eyes turned to me, and suddenly there was silence. "There will never be a solution with this squabbling. We are up against more dangers than we have ever encountered. We shall all fall if we do not stand together. Representative of the Fae leaned forward, his golden eyes gleaming. If I may speak freelý, Your Majesty, given that wolves like Thomas continue to roam free and create division, how can we have faith in these alliances? Unease shook the room as Thomas was brought up. In an attempt to avoid taking the bait and defending my type, I clenched my
Last Updated : 2025-02-28CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 56: WISDOM IN THE SHADOWS
HAILEY With the moonlight pouring in through the big windows and casting a gentle, silvery glow over the room, I sat cross-legged in my own space. My attention was focused inward, yet my reflection was caught in the shimmering elaborate mirror on the distant wall. I sought deep inside for Amenia, my wolf, the presence that has been my guiding light, my constant companion, and also my fiercest critic. "Amenia," I close my eyes. "I need you." The air became warmer and more energetic. The image of a great wolf came into clarity in her mind's eye: its impressive rich silver fur and its piercing gold eyes. I have been so stressed out lately with no time to relax or reflect on anything. The air became warmer, throbbing with vitality. The image of a great wolf flashed into focus in her mind's eye: the eyes of piercing gold, the gorgeous fur of deep silver. I feel both light and relieved as Amenia padded forward and appeared as a shadow before me, immediately enveloping me in her presence
Last Updated : 2025-03-01CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 57: HEALING MOON
LOGANMy mind was anything but calm, even if the moonlight streaming through the treetops overhead was serene. The woodland that loomed at the perimeter of our grounds caught my attention as I stood at the edge of the pack's area. The nocturnal sounds seemed so far as the trees gently swayed and arched in the fresh breeze. Marissa's unpredictable nature, witty remarks, and the fact that she had put everything on the line to save Alexia and the triplets consumed my thoughts. Trying to reconcile the villain I once thought she was with the woman she'd be as my mate. I had been trying to understand her for days. Her gaze was filled with love rather than merely protectiveness towards Alexia. It was full of love. I had never anticipated someone like Marissa to show the kind of affection I had assumed was only for partners or family. She was teaching my young daughter how to weave flowers into crowns when I discovered her in the garden with Alexia that day. Marissa struggled with a particul
Last Updated : 2025-03-01CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 58: THE CHAINS OF FATE
AARONThere was tension in the evening air as I paced the boundary of the estate. The bitter refrain of Lyna's beautiful rejection resonated in my head, each note driving a knife deeper into my chest. To deny someone who was as much a part of me as my soul was something I was not used to. I was ice, and she was fire; an incomprehensible chemistry that was bound to crash. I was drawn by the soft sound of rustling leaves as I turned to gaze at the house. Years of experience and intuition had sharpened my senses, and I detected the faint presence of something that didn't belong. Vampires. They were royal guards, not vampires. I had not anticipated her kind to react so quickly, but she had warned me that they would not appreciate my tenacity. As I walked into the forest and vanished into the darkness, my heart pounded. With cloaks glimmering like midnight spectres in the moonlight, the guards appeared. They walked with an authoritative stride, their eyes scanning the horizon. He called ou
Last Updated : 2025-03-03CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 59: CONFRONTING THE SHADOW
ISAIAHThere was a coldness in the air that crept into my bones. I stood in the clearing, the stone altar behind me throb with soft ancient power. It was empty in the forest as if the creatures had sensed the darkness coming and had run away. To keep myself grounded while I waited, my fingers touched the edge of the altar. And then he was there. Azure condensed into some sort of shape out of the shadows, his form ebbing in and out of the shadows that surrounded him. Beyond his heavy presence—a weighing down on the soul—his eyes blazed with supernatural light. "Isaiah," he blew, his voice rumbling low like some sort of quake from the earth itself. "You're quite good for a man who's spent centuries in defeat. I was able to look him in the eye and stood my ground."Azure," I said reasonably. "I should have known you'd slink out of the depths one day." He smiled, the altar light dimmed to emphasize the cut of his face. "Crawl? Don't think so. Isaiah, I climb. You know I'm here. I clenched
Last Updated : 2025-03-03CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 60: THE ROAD TO TRUTH
RYAN City lights twinkled against the windows as the car motor hummed in contentment. Undercurrents of unexpressed tension suffused the space between. Logan sat next to me, his lips pressed tightly together as he looked out at the landscape rushing past. Today's business meeting had been successful, but we were still burdened by the weight of our own lives. I finally spoke. "You knew, didn't you?" Logan hesitated to glance at me. "Knew what?" "Logan, don't play games. You knew that Selene was Isaiah's partner." He let out a sigh through his nose and shut his eyes for a moment. "Yes, I knew." I was enraged after hearing the confession. And you did not think that it was necessary to tell me? Logan, we are a team. Logan looked at me with a face of sadness and determination. "Ryan, it wasn't my secret to share.". I did not believe that I was in a position to share that information because Isaiah had trusted me. My knuckles were white as I gripped the steering wheel. "Logan, this has nothi
Last Updated : 2025-03-03CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 61: BONDING TIES
HAILEY The moon shone brightly overhead, casting a glittering gleam across the pack's grounds. My tense nerves were calmed by the chilly night and the pleasant aroma of dirt and pine. Despite the calm exterior, my heart was pounding with restless intensity. There was an impending storm that I could barely comprehend, yet it was unavoidable. I was staring out over the grounds below from the balcony of the Alpha house. As spies patrolled the outskirts and warriors trained well into the night, the pack was a hive of activity. They kept a close eye out for the unknown threat that appeared to loom just beyond the darkness. A gentle tap on the door interrupted my slumber. "Please come in. The door opened, and Isaiah entered, his face looking down; his past, particularly his relationship with Selene, weighed heavily on him even if he had shown himself to be a valued ally. "Hailey," he said, his voice tentative and low. "We need to talk." I folded my arms across my chest as I turned to face
Last Updated : 2025-03-04
Latest chapter
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 202: RETURN
AUDACUS Eighteen years have passed, and the world no longer mentions my name with the same trembling reverence. But I have not been idle.I watch from the manor's balcony perched on the edge of the Obsidian Cliffs. The air is cool and fresh here, with a hint of distant storms and salt from the ocean far below. My daughter, Akasha, is practicing with her twin blades under her brother Akael's watchful eye. They are seventeen now—sharp-eyed, intelligent, and beautiful in ways that remind me of her. Hailey. She has no idea that she has two kids with me whom I've tailored to fit my preferences and would help me take over the world itself and not even Hailey herself can interrupt my plan, she'd be too busy trying to recover from the emotional blow I'm about to deal her.I am not oblivious to the irony. The Queen I tried to destroy lives on through their blood, in the determination of Akasha's jaw, in the fire that blazes behind Akael's eyes when he defends his sister. They are her very ima
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 201: FLAMES
TURTELA I stare in silence at mother as her regal presence is maintained despite the tubes tied to her due to her state of comatose. How did we even get here? The infirmary had never been so still. Antiseptic and grief filled the air, and the pale gold glow that always comforted us with its presence seemed now too cold, too still.Mother is simply stone cold, a flaxen strand of what used to be her living part, body swaddled tightly in white blankets like she slept. But we knew better. She had defended us with her power—but it cost her something.I leaned against her beside, her fingers limp in mine. I hadn't let it go since they rolled her in."Her pulse is stable," Lyna whispered from behind me, as if tougher words would shatter the fragile line between life and. the other side."But she's not responding from her brain," Marissa continued. Her arms were folded across her chest, but not defiance. It was protection. Fear.Lilith, herself weakened but standing watch by the door. Her f
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 200: AFTERMATH
ALEXIAI woke up with a metallic taste in my mouth and the smell of blood thick in the air. My lungs hurt with each breath, but I didn't dare move. Something pressed on my chest—not physically, but emotionally. A weight I couldn't get rid of.Hailey.My last memory had been of her scream, of the way her power burst forth like a star. It engulfed everything—the Legion's commander, most of his men, even the battlefield itself. I remembered the fear in his eyes when Draco dived. Then nothing. Just darkness."She hasn't woken up."I recognized Turtela's voice. It was rough with worry, but there was determination in it too."We have to do something," Marissa said. "She's the Queen. She can't stay like this."My eyes fluttered open, and the brightness of the infirmary nearly blinded me. White walls. The scent of herbs and steel. I turned my head slowly, my every muscle protesting, to see them all gathered around another bed.Hailey.I sat up, ignoring the tearing pain down my ribs. Lynn was
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 199: NEVER TOUCH ONE OF MINE
AUDACUSThe realm seem disturbed tonight.Even the stars—those arrogant little heaven's candles—were afraid to shine too brightly above me. They knew. Even the universe knew what I was about to do.I stood at the edge of the cliff, my cloak of darkness swirling in the harsh wind. Below, the ravine shuddered, its depths seething with hissing smoke and runes carved by long-forgotten gods. I had set up this summoning circle a hundred years ago—just in case. And now… now the time was here."Come," I whispered, raising my hands as old incantations flamed on my lips. "Come, Legion.The ground creaked. Split. Groaned in agony like a dying beast. From below, out of the darkness, a scream ripped the silence. One. Then a hundred. Then hundreds of thousands—rising as one.The Legion.Three hundred thousand demons, bred for anarchy. Some had been angels once. Some had never been more than formless until my darkness gave them form. And now they surged like bubbling tar rising up from the bowels of
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 198: THE PLAN
AUDACUSFire spat and spat in the fire before me, shadows curling around the walls of stone like hungry snakes. I reclined in the chair of dark, high-backed obsidian in the center of my war room, robes of smoke and midnight folded around me in loops of fate. My hands tapped a slow, calculated beat on the bent armrest, lethal.Lilith sat motionless in the adjacent room.Her breath—if one could even call it that anymore—was shallow. Barely there. Her fall into the coma had been abrupt, unforetold, un-theatrical. Just. silent. A silence so deep that it vibrated through the realm.And I hated it.She alone had ever spat venom right back at me and still made me crave the taste of her defiance. Her anger. Her fury. But now? Glass. Shattered. Cold. And worse—silent.No more filthy words.No more threats that she'd rip out my heart if I ever sinned against her daughter.Now, all I had was time.But Ryan… oh, Ryan didn't have time at all.Ideal.A knock echoed on the door—sharp, brief. My gene
CLAIMING HAILEY CHAPTER 197: STAND DOWN
HAILEY Chaos! Pure unadulterated chaos, the entire pack is a mess and in heavy disarray. I hasten my footstep to get to the pack's clinic where I hear arguments, Jaden’s voice comes off the loudest. Jaden: Calm down Isaiah, Aaron is awake; I understand that he's your son and you want revenge but you can't go after him except mother instructs you to do so. Jackson: You need to calm down Isaiah: Watch over Aaron, I'd be quick Jermaine: You absolutely cannot leave this place Isaiah Alexia: Please we don't want you to get hurt, just calm down. There's a sudden rush of energy current flowing, sipping through the earth, the wind gets unsteady and everything suddenly feels electrifying, tense and heavy so I walk up to the clinic then open up the door while suppressing the atmosphere and everyone with a quarter of my energy leaving everyone on their knees, with poor Aaron writhing in pain. " What do you think you're doing Isaiah"? "The shape shifter hurt my son, I can't let him
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
RAY The 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. D
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
