KAIDA’S POVA batch of seven soldiers stepped into the room—likely the first to respond since they’d been nearby. The noise must have drawn them in.We could easily take them on, but it wouldn’t be long before more came—we didn’t have time to waste.“Walk away while you still can.” I warned.I hadn’t come here for them. They didn’t kill my parents. They were just soldiers—men with families, lives outside this castle. Following orders. Doing their jobs. But of course, my warning didn’t shake them. Why would it? They were soldiers—trained to stand their ground, trained to die if necessary.One glance at Alexander told me he was thinking exactly what I was. He might’ve earned his name as a ruthless alpha, but he never took a life without cause.“Who are you?” one of the soldiers, who seemed to be in the lead, demanded, his hand gripping his sword.Alexander stepped forward, positioning himself right in front of me. I didn't like that he thought I needed protection—I could take care of m
The moment he let go of the wheel, the gate began to drop—fast. He didn’t hesitate. I barely had time to react before he bolted toward it. He dived through just as the gate slammed shut behind him.“Alexander!” I screamed, panic rising in my throat. He was out—he’d made it. But my heart was still pounding like he hadn’t.He had a smile on his face; he saw that as ‘fun’.“You do this after giving me the little talk on ‘trust’?” “I got through, didn’t I?”“If you’d hesitated for even a quarter of a second, that thing would’ve split you in two.”“But it didn’t now, did it?”“I hate you.”“And I love you.”“I love you too,” I said, still shaken, “but you almost gave me a heart attack.”“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I knew I’d make it.”We’d been too caught up in each other to even look around. We hadn’t given our new location a single glance. There was a reason this passage was restricted, but as I scanned the area, I couldn’t figure out why. Tall grasses covered the land, stretching on in
Daemon appeared out of nowhere, his gaze sweeping over the approaching swarm of flesh-eaters.“Perhaps I just saved the day.” He gripped both of us, and in the blink of an eye, we were gone.He stopped at the pack’s borders.He hadn’t been able to travel this far the last time, and the only explanation for that was that he had fed on someone.“Where is Cynthia?” I asked, my voice barely recognizable. “I warned you—I told you the only one who gets to kill her is me.”“Of course, and that’s why she’s waiting in the dungeons. You’re welcome by the way.”“You didn’t stick to the plan,” Alexander said, his voice calm but sharp.“But I came back.”“Yeah, that’s what’s surprising,” Alexander replied, his gaze narrowing. “Why? You must’ve figured out the girl was never in the castle. You didn’t have to save us, yet you did.”“We made a deal, and I’m a man of my word—well, I try to be.” Daemon said with a small smirk, but I could still see the disappointment in his eyes. We hadn’t brought back
ALIYAH’S POVAsh was covered in sweat, his body trembling. The infection had spread throughout his arm, dark green veins crawling beneath his skin.Another cry of pain tore from his lips.“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I wiped his forehead with a wet towel.The warlock, Sebastian, had tried everything—every spell, every remedy he could think of—but nothing had worked. The injury was unlike anything we’d seen before, and we’ve had no luck finding demons.Bruce had gone back to the place where Daemon and I had lived, only to return with the grim news that the location had been reduced to ashes. For a moment, fear gripped me, the thought that those hunting Daemon had finally caught up with him. But the warlock, Sebastian, remained convinced that Daemon was still out there somewhere. The question was: where?For now, there was nothing we could do for Ash other than prepare for the worst. Amputating the arm had become the only viable option. Sebastian had to perform the pro
“Who are you, and state your business,” the soldiers demanded.Sebastian had brought me to the Nightshade Pack, but he’d refused to go any farther. I suspected it had something to do with the Alpha King.“I need to see the Alpha.”“What is your name?”I couldn’t tell them my real name. If I did, word of where I was could spread, and the Empresses would come after me. I had to think of something—fast.“I’m a friend of the Alpha.”“You don’t look very familiar,” said the soldier with chestnut-brown hair, eyeing me from head to toe.“I advise you to go inform the Alpha that a visitor is here to see him,” I said, sounding more confident than I felt. “I don’t think he would take it lightly if I’m kept waiting.”The soldier nodded to the dark-skinned man beside him, and the man turned to go find the Alpha.I didn’t think the Alpha knew what I looked like; the only time I’d visited this pack, I’d been inside a carriage, and I doubted the curtain had revealed much. But the Luna—she must know
I couldn’t believe I’d never taken a moment to consider what might happen to Daemon if the venom had side effects—even on demons.“I’ll do anything for you, you know that.”“This is risky… and Sebastian isn’t even sure you won’t get hurt.”“Sebastian.” Daemon repeated the name. It struck me that he might know the man. “What do I have to do?” he asked.“I have a friend who was bitten by a flesh-eater. The venom from the bite is slowly killing him. He’s running out of time—he needs help.”“Do I know this person?”This had been one of my worries, that Daemon won’t help when he discovers who Ash was.“Yes,” I answered. Ash and Daemon did meet—Daemon had spared his life, but that was when Ash had been in his wolf form. “No,” I corrected myself. They hadn’t met in person. “He’s in this because of me. He was trying to protect me. Please, you have to help him.”Daemon only nodded before wrapping his arms around me, and in the next moment, we were right in front of Sebastian’s house.“How di
DAEMON“You really want to know who Ash is? He’s my soulmate,” she said.A memory flashed back into my mind. Right before I killed the human girl Tasha, she had mentioned a man. I hadn’t thought much of it, not until now.“How long?” I asked. “How long have you known him?”A moment of silence passed.“My whole life.”My chest tightened with an unfamiliar emotion I hadn’t felt in a long time—betrayal.When I tasted his blood, I felt it; it reminded me of hers. It was strange, but I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that there was something more between the two of them, and now I understood why.I deserved this. I deserved to lose her. In fact, I should be thankful to Ash for saving her life when I couldn’t. But I wasn’t a good man, and I wanted her for myself. I wanted her so badly that the thought of letting her go wasn’t even an option.She believed I had abandoned her. If only she knew that she was all I could think about. Right before she walked in, Kaida and I had been picking ou
ALIYAH’S POVThe light blue gown I wore clung to my skin, completely soaked. I was cold. I should change into something dry, something comfortable—but I couldn’t bring myself to move. My mind reeled with everything Daemon had said.Would he really have given up his title for me?Who was I kidding? He only said that to manipulate me. The title meant everything to him—at least, that’s what the more cynical voice in my head argued.But what if he hadn’t been lying? What if he really had tried to get into the castle, but the spell kept him out? What if everything he said was actually true?That was always my problem. With him, I could never tell the lie from the truth.A part of me wondered if he was still standing out there in the rain or if he had finally given up. Still in my soaking wet clothes, I stepped into the room where Ash had been kept, surprised by how quickly he was recovering. His once pale skin had started to regain its color, and his breathing was no longer labored. He l
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