Masuk~AltheaSomeone slammed their fist down hard on the round table, and another pointed straight at me, his mouth trembling with unsaid words. I heard chairs scrape the floor and voices piled on top of each other, a dozen old men talking over each other about disrespect, precedent, tradition. I sat through all of it, straighter now and my face completely still, waiting for someone actually to say something worth my attention.But after a while, the noise was starting to get to me. I watched them whine like a group of escort girls before I slammed my hand flat on the table."SILENCE!"The word cracked through the room and shut every mouth instantly. Everyone froze, their eyes wide, and they all just sat there, exchanging glances. Clearly waiting for somebody else to speak up first.I let the silence stretch for a beat longer than it needed to before finally saying something. "Is this meeting for clowns?" I asked. "Why all the noise?"One of the elders cleared his throat, pushing himself
~AltheaI could hear their raised voices even before I got to the door, and the tense atmosphere pouring out of there in folds. Even the two guards outside stood stiff, their backs straight. "Where has he even gone? Abandoned the packhouse and this meeting over a woman!” I heard a voice roar, and I clutched the sides of my dress tightly as I stood behind the door.Over a woman…? Tsk! They're always the same, even in Drakmoon."How can someone this weak rule a pack?" A sharper voice cut above the rest. "We should thank the Moon Goddess we're here today. Otherwise we'd have missed this abomination happening right under our noses. If our Alpha is already this weak, this corrupted because of what lies between her skirts, then we'll be wiped off the earth the second anyone comes for us."A hot, sharp feeling flared through my chest, and I squeezed my dress tighter, breathing through it for one second.Then I shoved it open, letting it slam against the wall, and every head in the room snap
~AltheaThe day went by slowly, and I sat still in my room with a small frown, staring at the doctor as he prepared my medication. It was a new face. Definitely not the one who'd attended to me before.There was a rumor going around on his dismissal and involvement with Sera, but I didn't hear the full gist of it. But come to think of it, Sera… I hadn't even thought about her up until now—His cold fingers snapped me off my thoughts, carefully pressing along the edge of my ribs while he avoided meeting my eyes too directly.Hmmm…"What actually happened to the physician before you?" I asked.He froze mid-press. "I just— I only heard—" He swallowed, eyes darting to the door like it might fly open and swallow him, and that intrigued me more. "I'd rather not say, my Luna."Right. Of course. Everyone is as tight-lipped as their Alpha here. But I'm the Luna, accepted or not. I decided to let it go. The poor man looked seconds away from fainting, and I couldn't exactly blame him for not w
~Althea "I asked you a question." I crossed my arms over my chest, which did basically nothing since my heart was already busy fighting to stay still. "What are you doing in my room?" His eyes moved over my face first, then dropped, trailing slowly down my throat, to my shoulder, and they darkened as they went lower, something hungry taking over his gaze, sending shivers through me. I followed his gaze and saw exactly what he was looking at. Shit! The towel barely stopped mid-thigh. Great. Fantastic! I ground my teeth and yanked it down another half inch. “Eyes up here!” His eyes snapped upwards. "How long are you planning to keep punishing me?" he asked, slowly closing the distance between us so much that I could even feel the heat that was practically rolling off him. It was so intense that my heart decided now was a great time to start acting completely unhinged, despite every single brain cell I had telling it to calm the hell down. The closer he got, I could actually hea
~AltheaA knock rattled my door, sudden and way too early.I blinked at the ceiling, still half asleep, trying to make out why anyone would be bothering me before six in the morning. The knock sounded again, softer this time and almost hesitant.“Who is it?” I groaned, dragging myself up off the bed and throwing a robe on before I opened the door to be faced with a surprising sight that made me freeze.Alaric?And with a tray of food?I stared at him for a second because, no, this wasn't something he normally does. Alaric doesn't show up at people's door at dawn holding food out like it was some peace offering."I brought you breakfast." He held the tray up higher, with a small smile. "You should eat something first before your medication."“I—uh…” I blinked at him, completely short of what to say, and something soft and totally unwelcome moved through my chest for about half a second, before I caught it and shoved it back down to the pits of hell.This was his tactic. Quite obvious,
~Unknown POV"ARGHH!" Nolan roared, slamming his fist down on Halter's throne. "You messed this up!" He jabbed a finger at the man lying on the floor, eyes burning with pure fury.Halter said nothing; he just lay there on the floor away from the throne, breathing in short, pained pulls, his wounds across his chest from Alaric's and Caiden's men, was still healing slowly."He didn't know Alaric would be involved or move this fast," Vespera said, hovering near the throne with her hands twisted together. "My uncle couldn't have predicted—""Shut up!" Nolan barked at her, and she flinched back, her expression shutting down immediately. "Why wouldn't he make a move?" Nolan's voice rose higher, cracking across the room. "He's basically holding my wife hostage over there. Of course he'd fight for what he thinks is his."Vespera's fists clenched at his words. Her chin lifted a fraction, and something defensive sparked in her eyes."You had one job." He turned to her fully now, lip curling. "







