ISABELLA'S POV...."If you had a day left, what would you spend those few hours doing?" I asked Thane.He gave me a calculative look. "Why would you want to know that?" he asked."Nothing; I am just one curious creature.""Well, if I did have a day to live, I wouldn't spend a minute thinking about death; I would live through the day like it was every other." he said, and I couldn't help but smile at that. "Bella, I have a question for you. Have you ever thought about having a family?"The smile on my face disappeared. I had thought about that so many times; anytime I looked at Thane, I knew if I could have a family, he would be the one I would want to have that family with."No." I lied, "I will worry about that when the time comes."I rose from the bed."Where are you going?""I need to use the bathroom." I said to him, but I had been trying to hide the tears; they had once again ruined my makeup. Hiding this was getting harder. I took out my powder; I just needed a few more touches
THANE I stood before the tiny cottage that had once belonged to Bella. I didn't know exactly why I was here, yet here I was. The little cottage, which had been abandoned, was barely holding together; termites had infested the woods, cobwebs filled every corner. I walked into the house. Dust layered over every piece of furniture and dried leaves littered the floor, this place which had once been full of life, was empty and lifeless. Not much furniture survived the years. There was a sound from the inner room, and I headed there. The squirrel ran past me; that must have been the source of the noise. I stared at the couch— rather, what remained of it, that had been the very couch Bella had died on. I remember the pain I had felt waking up to see her lifeless body; at first I had been in denial; it couldn't possibly happen— I'd thought to myself, but then the pain set in, Bella had become a part of me and a part of my life, with her gone I'd felt oddly incomplete. I picked up t
"Say the words, and I will kill him.""He's not that easy to kill," she says, but I knew that she didn't exactly want him dead; for some reason I failed to understand, she sorted for another option rather than killing him because she still ‘cared’ for him despite everything. I had to try and understand that she still wanted to spare the very person who hurt her, simply because she gave birth to it. Riley had a kind heart, and in times like this, I wish she were less innocent."Come here." I said to her, and she does. Riley didn't need an avenger right now, all she needed was someone to comfort her, and if that's all I could do to help, I'd gladly hold her for hours if she wanted that. She finally stopped crying after an hour. I couldn't help but wonder why she shedded tears over Daemon; he wasn't really worth it. I placed her on the bed before taking off my shirt and joining her. She rolled once more into my arms, just as she always did each night. When Riley was close by, she alo
She wouldn't leave; I could hurt her, and she knew that, yet there she stood. "Mark me, Thane, do it, and this will be over." "I... can't." "You can; it doesn't have to mean anything..." In the next second I was right in front of her; she didn't run; she stood still. It was either this or I completed the transformation and killed her. I bit into her neck, marking her. She staggered backwards, her hand holding back the blood now spilling from her neck. I felt the bone in my body break one after the next. "Stop," she says. "I am here." She wasn't talking to me, I realized, but to my wolf, and under her command he obeyed. My breaths came out labored. "You risked your life." I said to her, and she nodded. "I knew it was going to work," she responded, and she was right; it did work. The pain disappearance was almost instant; I was in control again; it was over. "What did you do?" "I stopped it." "How did you know how to stop it?" I asked, but she only tossed a
Something had changed since I marked her, and I knew she was right; I was bound to have feelings for her."I guess that's what you've wanted, and now you have it." I said to Isabella."No, I didn't take advantage of your situation, and if I ever wanted you to love me as you once did, I would prefer it happened the right way.""The right way?""Yes, the right way, but I know by now that with Riley in place, you will never admit what you feel for me. I don't want to hurt her either, Thane.""You don't?" I questioned, I didn't exactly believe that."No. Riley and I are actually on the verge of becoming friends; and I don't want this to come between you both, so I will stay away. That doesn't mean I don't still love you; I'm only doing this for her." She said."Here I was thinking you hated her?""No, I don't think she has done me any wrong has she?; the fact that we love the same man doesn't mean we should hate each other."She was talking about me like I wasn't seated right in front of
RILEY'S POVI felt Thane's absence; that must have been what awoke me. He sat on the edge of the bed."Thane?" I called, and he turned to me. He seemed... different."Riley, hope I didn't disturb your sleep?""Why aren't you sleeping?""Do you want me to join you?" he asked, and I couldn't help but see that as a bizarre question. "Of course."He lay by my side, a bit too stiff."Are you okay, Thane?""Yes, I am."I moved over him, kissing his lips. "Aren't you cold? You are freezing.""I'm not." He rolled over so we were close enough and placed a light kiss on my lips. I kissed him back, and then it got more heated; his hands trailed down my cleavages. It was a little past midnight, but I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. He helped me out of my clothes, and I was surprised he didn't rip them off; he cupped my breast, and I let out a small moan; his cool lips took my nipples into his mouth, gently sucking on them."It tastes like... milk.""Oh shit. I'm sorry." That was meant for the
"You enjoyed your time; I did too; that's all that matters.""No, it had been Thane in your place.""It was a new trick I learnt. It turns out I can switch forms; I didn't think you would buy it, but I might be better at this than I gave myself credit for.""You raped me?""Rape? Should I remind you of how many times you moaned for me, Riley?Tears streamed down my eyes as I climbed off the bed; I could still feel him between my legs. I could still remember how many times I moaned, begged even."I trusted you.""I don't feel guilt or whatsoever. I want you; I've always wanted you, and I still do. When I want something, I have it."But I am your...""Don't, don't say the word.""Or what?""Trust me, you don't want to know," he said."You deceived me.""That was the plan. He walked closer to me, and I backed away till I was against the wall. "You are all I think about, and this was better than my imagination."I slapped him hard in the face, and he pinned my hands against the wall. I co
THANEThe first thing I noticed was the sheets on the floor, slightly stained with blood. Riley sat on the floor, her back against the wall; she held a gun in her shaky hand, and tears streamed down her eyes."Riley." I called, and she pointed the gun at me. "Don't come any closer," she warned."Riley, lower the gun and tell me what the hell is going on." I said to her, and she finally let go of the gun, slowly rising to her feet."It's really you?""Yes, it is.""Where were you?""I'll tell you everything, but first I want to know what happened here.""All these?" she threw her hands in the air. "It wouldn't have happened if you were here; it wouldn't have happened if you could stay away from Isabella."How did she know that? I didn't plan on her figuring this out before I told her the truth."I'm sorry, but I can explain; hear me out." "No, you hear me out. Why you were there doing goddess knows what with Isabella, Daemon was here..." she paused, letting out a sob. "What did he d
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