I felt Freya’s grip on my arm the moment we were out of sight.“Come with me,” she says, her voice was raspy and barely audible, almost like she spent so much of her days in silence; she had forgotten how to speak right. I let her lead me into an empty room, and she locked the door.My heart pounded. Should I be afraid of her? There was something about her that was indeed different.“Why are we here?” I questioned“I want to talk to you,” she said, her voice a little bolder now. “There are a few things you need to know about being the Alpha’s mate." She said, and I nodded, ready to do anything to be in her good books. Her mate didn’t seem to like me, maybe things could change if I gave her the right impression.She lifted her veil and let it fall over her hair. I held in a gasp. Her face was scarred; that was why she was in a veil, why she had left no skin exposed; she was hiding the scars. I should have suspected this when I saw her standing behind Alpha Slade, her head down, but of c
I followed after him, a sense of dread settling in the pit of my stomach. He led me back into our room and shut the door. I inhaled. “Things went rough with your mother, right?” He asked, this question I did not expect. “She doesn’t like you very much.” “That’s understandable,” he says. “You know, you did well today—with my father, I mean.” “I did?” “Yes. Though I didn’t miss the fact that you had again disobeyed me, You took off the clothes—was it because of your mother?” “Yes... No. I couldn’t walk around looking like a whore.” He walked closer, and it took everything in me to stand still. His fingers traced the fabric of the brown gown I had chosen—without asking for permission, of course. “You liked being well covered?” He asked “Yes” “Just like my mother, Freya?” I think my heart skipped a bit right there. I remembered the scars all over her body, they had been the reason she left no skin uncovered. "How could you allow that to happen to her?"
"There had been a reason I wanted you in that dress, Riley; let's say I wanted my father 'infuriated'." "That wouldn't be a good thing since I was hoping to leave a good impression" "You don't understand; my father has this strange way of thinking, one I don't share with him; he believes fear is another means of power." "And you don't think so?" I asked, knowing full well that Alpha Thane was feared amongst all regions. Though he had other enviable and equally intimidating achievements capable of giving him same influence, many still ‘feared’ him. "Is different when you enforce such methods on family too. That's what he made my mother understand, he wanted her to fear him, tremble in his presence and now she had lost her own voice, he keeps her wrapped up like some mummy, I don't like that, so letting you wear something so provocative was challenging him in some way" "I thought... I.. I'm sorry" "Yet, Riley, I am glad you fought me for what you wanted." "I thought that wa
"What books did you pick?" Axel asked as we headed back to my room."Just some history books," I lied."You are into those?""There wasn't much to select from," I lied again."True," he agreed. I was glad we moved on from that topic quickly. "A maid would be here soon with some healthy food. When had been the last time you ate?""A few days ago.""Days?""I am used to it." I paused, deciding if I should tell him. "I was born an omega; I am used to staying days without food.""Omegas are to be fed too, just like every other.""Not in the Windborne Pack""It would be different here," Axel promised..A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. It was 'the' maid, and she came in with a tray in her hands.She gave a deep bow, placing the tray on the table before quickly exiting the room."Whatever is in there smells really nice.""It's meat balls and mashed potatoes," he said."That seems a bit much, don't you think?""You've not eaten in days; you need as much as you can tak
The day went by in a flash, and soon it was already evening. "You should get dressed now; do you need help with that?" Axel asked. "No. I know my way around those," I said, picking out a green gown from my wardrobe. Surprisingly, all the clothes here were my size, and that was very... creepy. "The red one" "What?" "The red one would be better," Axel said, and I picked out the red gown. It was a beautiful piece, and I wondered how much it cost. I imagine it cost a lot. "You are right."I didn't do much with my hair; I was too nervous to even try, but I left it down, brushing through it a couple of times. "Thane is here," Axel announced, even before I heard the footsteps. Just then, Thane walked in, and my eyes traveled to him. "Why didn't you tell me?" I sneered at him. "Tell you what?" he asked, his gaze trailing right back to Axel, who shrugged innocently. "You told me I was to attend some party; you never told me it was some joining ritual." "You would have found out in th
Thane rose, and by his signal, I rose too. He took my hands. I knew it was all an act; I should be trying harder; we had the whole pack to convince now, but I couldn't help but think about 'the marking'. The fact that everyone here would watch us. How was this normal? Thane drew me closer to him. "Don't fight me," he whispers, low enough that only I could hear him, and then his lips met mine. The kiss was gentle at first and then demanding; he consumed me, and all I had to do was play along, even if my eyes teared at the knowledge that he would be doing this here, right now. Maybe I could just close my eyes and pretend it was just the both of us. That wouldn't be hard, right? His lips finally left mine, and I was sure my lips were swollen and my cheeks flushed. "My mate would be marked and claimed tonight," he announced, and the whole crowd erupted. I watched the faces of the people waiting to see me naked. "But it would be done in private," he says, and the applause died down. I
Axel was there almost immediately. "Thane" he called out, but the Alpha was far gone and I was a complete wreck, one thing was sure, I wouldn't have stopped him."Listen to me Thane, you don't want her hurt, remember?"Slowly Thane's eyes returned back to their normal colour, he stared at the mark he gave me, it still stung, but my mind was too clouded."I'm sorry" he says and with that he walks away, leaving the room. It took only a few minutes to gather myself and realise that Axel had seen ‘everything’. I couldn’t look him in the eyes, even as he brought a robe for me helping me into it.“Thank you” I said to him, avoiding eye contact.“You didn’t seem to want him to stop though” Axel said and it was of course very much true, I hadn’t wanted him to stop, damn I would have let him fuck me right in front of Axel. I had no response to that.“Thane’s father seemed rather unpleased at the fact that he was breaking the tradition” I said, trying my best to act like ‘this’ was nothing,
I had spent the whole night reading through the pages of the very lengthy diary belonging to the lady named Barbara.Thane hadn’t returned to our room that night. The morning came too soon.I was happy to see Axel though."How was your night?, you don't seem well rested""I... I had been occupied."He gave me a questioning look. "Are you still worrying about Thane's whereabouts? I told you not to.""I wasn't," I said, but that was partly a lie; I had been worried over where he was right before I pulled out the book ‘Barbara's fantasies’-- that had kept me very much awake."Let's go somewhere.""Where?""Anywhere, or maybe a run in the woods," he suggested.I still felt very self-conscious when being stared at like I was a piece on display, but he was right; I had to leave this place."Okay, I'll go change," I said..I splashed some cold water on my face. I put on some black leggings and a matching tank top, knowing full well that Thane wouldn't approve of this. I felt too lazy to do
3ALEXANDER POVI watched her sleep. I couldn’t say exactly when the insecurities set in, but lately she kept talking about how she’d gotten “fat.” She wasn’t—she was pregnant, strong and healthy for an expectant mother.I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. I’d spend eternity reminding her of her beauty if that’s what it took.It was time for work, but I didn’t want to leave Kaida alone—not with her due date only weeks away. Before heading out, I went to check on Alexa and found she was already awake.“Daddy, take me to Uncle D, pleeeease,” she begged.She was too adorable to refuse, but it was far too early.“It’s still sleeping time; he’s resting,” I said gently.“But Uncle D don’t sleep. He a vampire,” she whispered, as though sharing a top secret. I could have asked where she’d learned that word, but I already knew the answer.Then Kaida’s cry rang out from the next room: “Alexander! It’s coming—the baby…”My heart jolted. I raced back to our room and found her leaning against t
1.***PHIL POVTwo Years Later…I had never felt so nervous.The day had finally come — Selene had turned twenty-one two days ago, and soon everything between us was about to change."Good luck, friend," Austin said to me."You got this," Ruth, Austin’s mate, added, and I nodded.A year ago, Ruth had finally said goodbye to the Winter Pack and joined her mate, Austin. Their reunion had been beautiful, and the pair had been inseparable ever since.I wanted something like that too — though I hadn’t realized how badly until I met Selene.At many points, I had thought about canceling the plan of waiting, but this time, Selene had been the one against it. I refused to think too deeply about the reason behind that.Now I stood by the door to her house and knocked.I waited a few moments; there was no response, so I knocked again.A woman answered — a complete stranger."I’m looking for Selene. Selene Ashford?" I asked."Oh, the Ashfords don’t live here anymore," she said — and my heart drop
“The others are very angry,” Kyiv said to me. “They think I’m on your side, and that’s why I killed Skale. It’s no secret they don’t like me very much, so they’ve requested something from me—to make clear where my loyalty lies.”“And I’m guessing this thing they requested of you somehow involves me.”“That’s right. Let’s look at the pros of this operation. You’d get to leave the cell for a short while—after days of being locked up, that has to mean something. But then the cons: you’d be paraded naked in front of thousands of rogues, bound, and many would want to… touch.”“I have nothing to be ashamed of, but I’m more worried about your little plan with the plane crash. Aren’t you worried the news that I’m alive will leak out?”“I too believe this is a bad idea. Even if I stand to benefit in many ways — I’d finally prove myself a capable leader to the rogues, and the other rogue leaders would have nothing on me. But I still don’t trust their promises to keep the rogues silent, so the n
I stared at the water in the wooden bowl. I was so thirsty.Could anything be worse than this?At least I would have one less thing to worry about—thirst.I reached for it. It was far enough to cause some strain on my already bruised wrist as I stretched for it, and then I took hold of it.Just before I could lift it up, the bowl slipped from my bloody grasp and fell to the floor, the contents splashing across the ground.Fuck.Well,I guess I really have no option now.Something captured my attention — a blackish smoke swirling in the air, growing thicker with every second.Then, through the smoke, Daemon stepped out.“There you are, about damn time. I was starting to wonder if I was at the wrong place,” he muttered.“How did you find me?”“I made a very wild guess.” “Kaida — how is she?”He tapped on the transparent glass, as if testing its strength.“She’s perfectly fine, and she knows you’re not dead. But she might not be too happy about the fact that I didn’t let her come with m
“There’s a slight chance we aren’t dealing with a pack,” Daemon said. “Thank you for this information.”“Wait, you’re leaving me here? I just proved how important I could be.”“Yes, indeed. If you get any other information, just reach out,” he said, then turned around. He was really leaving.“Fuck you.” I muttered beneath my breath.“I heard that,” he called out. “I intended for you to hear that!” I said, but of course he was already gone.My gaze fell on Sebastian, still standing on the other side of the wall. He raised both hands in surrender before backing away. Frustrated, I stomped off..Kate arrived at the pack a few hours later. This time, she brought along her luggage.“You won’t really need all those for a few days.”“No, I won’t. But I’m not planning to stay for just a few days,” she said, walking into her room. I followed with two more of her luggage. “I’m moving into this pack,” she said finally, and I couldn’t deny how surprised I was at that.“Really?”“Yes,” she said,
I walked past the patrolling soldier and Phil, who followed after me.“I thought you said you were leaving? I was worried you’d do something rash, so I came after you.”Good thing he and the other patrollers hadn’t witnessed what happened earlier.“Plans changed. Guess I was about to make a rash decision — but I changed my mind.”“Are you okay?” Phil asked, inspecting me.I knew I didn’t exactly look my best — I’d spent god-knows-how-long in the healing room, then ran straight to pack my bags, dressed in nothing but the white gown the healing wardens had supplied. My eyes must have been red from crying. But every other person in the pack looked the same, if not worse.They were all mourning Alexander—I realized.Many cast pitiful glances at me.“Why did he have to go?”, “He was too young to die,” “He ‘was’ the best Alpha the pack had ever had.”Everyone had something to say about Alexander.I could hardly believe I’d run past all these people without noticing a single thing. On the wa
KADIA’S POVI woke up in the healing room.A pair of blue eyes watched me — Daemon. He looked… different, and it wasn’t just the new haircut. There was something about him that made him seem more human."Daemon," I called; my throat felt so dry.He seemed to have already prepared for that. He passed me a glass of water, which I quickly emptied.Everything came flooding back — the news about the plane crash. It became harder to breathe.“Kaida. Calm down.”"He's gone — he was in the plane when it crashed."I yanked out the tubes attached to my arm and rose to my feet. The movement had been too abrupt; the room seemed to spin.I felt hands guiding me back to the bed. I couldn’t hold in the tears.“He shouldn’t have been there. I made him go, and now…”“Stop.” Daemon said, cutting me off. “He is not dead. I visited the site; I didn’t find anything that indicated he was among the ones that died.”“You were at the site?” I asked, my heart speeding up with renewed hope.“Yes. The moment I h
ALEXANDER’S POVMy blurred vision slowly cleared, and I realized I was in what looked like a small, empty room.The wall facing me was made of thick, transparent glass.I couldn’t tell how they managed to get me in here—there was no window or door, only a narrow slot likely meant for passing food and letting in just enough air to keep the ‘prisoner’ alive.I could only assume there was some kind of hidden entrance.My hands and ankles were bound with thick silver chains.The chains felt excessive—I could barely move a muscle.More wolfsbane than I’d ever consumed in my entire life had been pumped into my system, completely immobilizing me and filling me with this nauseating, sickly feeling. I hadn’t realized I was shivering until I noticed the tremble in my fingers.The room was chillingly cold, and with the wolfsbane suppressing my werewolf abilities, I was no exception to the cold. I tried to summon flames. Nothing.Maybe I was just too weak to summon the flames. The crushing feeli
1KADIA’S POVWhen I discovered the news of my pregnancy, I had been so happy. But I knew a lot would have to change.I had to be more cautious—for the baby. That meant I wouldn’t be able to keep training the pack soldiers for much longer. Of course, I’d have to give up that duty eventually and it had become a part of my life. I would have to watch my diet, too. And then there were other things. Like the fact that I would grow big, and I might not look the same. My toned stomach which I had spent years working on would be no more.This had been the type of life I once abhorred, but everything was different now—I wanted this. I could see a future with Alexander, filled with laughter and little kids running around, and the thought made me smile.Lara was the first person to find out I was pregnant.After I discovered the pregnancy test was unmistakably positive, I was as scared as I was excited.Lara happened to be visiting the pack, and we kind of bumped into each other. She was all s