AYRA"Ayra! Where were you? We saw the ashes in your bedroom," Reese said, pulling me into a hug the moment I stepped into the living room."Sorry. I followed Nathaniel somewhere to see if I could get back my memory."Nikki's eyes widened in surprise. "So, the rumors were true. You and the Alpha had a run in the woods.""Seriously, how fast do the rumors travel around here?""Well, did you?""No. I followed him somewhere to see if I can remember anything about my past.""Did you remember anything?"The woman and the man flashed through my mind again. "Not really. I need to take a bath. Can we have this talk later?"They both nodded. "Come downstairs when you're refreshed," said Reese.I climbed up the stairs, coming across Seth along the way."Hey." I waved at him, but he merely walked past me, ignoring me completely. I shrugged. Maybe he was having a bad day. Too tired to mull on it, I walked into my room, all traces of the
NATHANIEL"Interesting thing you've got going on with your mate," Ishmael said. I could hear him snag the glass of whisky from my table.I didn't bother opening my eyes when I answered. "Ayra is not my mate. Demons don't do mates."At least it was rare. I knew that much. Only a few demons I knew in my life had such a connection, and they weren't even referred to as 'mates'. There wasn't a term to describe it, but everyone around just knew their lives were intertwined. If one died, then the other would follow. That made demons dread that type of commitment. Who would want to die for their partner?What was common amongst demons was marking. It was a way to exert dominance or stake a claim over another. It went both ways. The males and the females could do it.The mark lasted for as long as the demon was interested in the other. As long as I was interested in Ayra, the mark wouldn't fade, and as long as the mark didn't fade, the demons would always attack
NATHANIEL "So, Ayra is making the preparations for the Blood Moon Festival. That's surprising," Kai said, his eyes holding questions he feared to voice out."I am just as surprised myself," Logan added.Handing the responsibilities of the ceremony had been a spur-of-the-moment decision in a bid to distract her from the questions she was asking. She'd been hellbent on getting answers, but that quickly changed when I offered the job to her.I couldn't bring myself to take the role away from her after seeing the way her eyes brightened up in anticipation. I'd have to deal with the stares and gossip from the people, not that I cared that much about them in the first place."Ask whatever you two want to ask," I said when they kept staring at me expectantly."What is wrong with you? You're acting unlike your usual self. Is it something we have to be worried about?" Logan asked, always the first to speak his mind even in difficult situations. "How am I ac
AYRA"Sawyer and Shane are trying out to be part of the Pack Enforcers," Reese said as we moved down the produce aisle.It had been two weeks since Ishmael had tried to help me recover my memories, and during that time frame, I'd tried out some other potions. None of them worked, so I finally gave up. It was pointless, anyway. It only put more stress on Ishmael, but the sorcerer didn't seem to mind. He promised to track down the sorcerer who put the lock on my memories even after I'd asked him not to."Good luck to them. Right now, my brain is fried from the excessive work Kimberly and I have to go through.""You wanted the job," Reese pointed out."Yeah. It helps to keep me busy, but at the end of the day, it leaves me feeling like shit from how tired I am. I don't know how Kimberly does it. She never looks like she's tired.""I've heard orgasms are great stress relief. You should try it sometime," she said, wiggling her brows suggestively. "You've
NATHANIEL"What are you talking about?" I asked, keeping my voice calm even though my thoughts flew around in my head in a frenzy.Did she find out the truth about me being a demon?Did Sandra tell her?She was the only one that knew about it, after all. "Don't insult me by saying you don't know what I'm talking about or try to act like I'm insane.""Why would I do that?""Because all you do is lie.""When have I ever lied to you?""Um, every single fucking time I've asked you a question? If you don't lie, you give a very vague answer which doesn't help at all.""And how would you know I wasn't telling the truth all those times?"She crossed her arms, shooting me a glare. "I asked if you were going after the Nighthowler just this morning, and you said no. What changed in the space of a few hours?""There are some things you're better off not knowing.""So you said. Honestly, I'm not even bothered by that anymore. What I'm con
NATHANIELI was strapped to a bed, whimpering as the man drew closer with a syringe in his hand. "I promise this won't hurt," he cooed with a smile."No," I cried, yanking at the bindings that held my hands and legs in place.What the fuck was happening?It took me a while to realize the thoughts weren't mine, but Ayra's. I opened my eyes, expecting her to squirm in bed, but she slept soundly, leaving me wondering if the thoughts were even hers."Go back to sleep," she groaned when I sat up on the bed."You can go back to sleep. I have to get to work," I replied, sliding off the bed.When I looked at her again, she was curled into her side, deep in her sleep. There was a shift inside of me. That was the only way to describe how I felt inside. It was as if I was attuned to her thoughts without even having to try.Normally, I could get into her head or anyone else's for that matter, but it would take effort. My demon was calmer than usual
BRIARWOODDALIA"What the fuck did you do to Ayra?" Cara snarled, pushing away from her bed. "You were supposed to get her on our side.""I know," I replied, squaring my shoulders in preparation for her berating.I never did anything right in her eyes, but that was okay. I wasn't doing this for her, anyway. I was doing it for the helpless young girls that huddled in the corner, shaking with fear. They didn't deserve this fate. "So? Why did you do that to her? She could have died.""No," I said, firmly. They didn't know Ayra as much as I did. She was stronger than that."You know, I've always been skeptical of this plan of yours. Why not just go directly to Nathaniel? He's a demon, and he's your cousin. He'll help us."I shook my head at her. She didn't know how the Black men worked, and how loyal their demons were to only their mate after being mated. Naturally, demons were unfeeling beings, and most of the time, they didn't form attachment
AYRA"It's funny how you keep me locked up during the day, but you practically drag me up to the top of a cliff late at night. We're past the border, aren't we?" I asked, taking in the view below me.With the moon this bright, it illuminated the ocean below. The consistent overlapping waves and the soft wind blowing were like music to my ears, and the serenity of it oddly calming. "I'm not busy at night. I don't have to worry about something attacking you from a mirror.""What? So, you're saying Dalia won't be able to do any damage if she attacked us right now?""She wouldn't dare. She might be a powerful Nighthowler, but she knows how far those powers of hers stretch."There was that confidence again. Granted I'd never seen him in action in his wolf form, but it was rather surprising that even demons were scared of him."And how far does yours stretch?""Wouldn't consider it too far and too little. Somewhere in the middle. There are some creatu