Eden pov
What was the chance that two people who managed to escape hell kept running into more danger? Seriously, fate? Ever since I turned twenty-one, every step I took brought more danger. Like a never ending tale of misery.
And now, I was fearing that the misfortune of my life might stick to Richard. He was a nice old man who didn’t bother anyone, and because of me, he was in danger.
I had no idea how he was treated by the pack members, but if it weren’t for my insistence to run away, Richard would have a roof over his head. Oh, yeah, and he wouldn’t stand near a forest fire, a detail I shouldn’t forget.
“Where?” I asked once I got back to my senses.
Unlike me, although old, Richard was a werewolf and his senses were way better. I bet he could smell the smoke from miles away while I could notice that only if the fire was very close.
“Close,” he muttered and scrunched up his nose. I watched Richard as he closed his eyes and let out a silent ‘shh’ sound.
I held my breath while Richard tried to do whatever he was doing until his eyes shot wide open, startling me. Something shifted in him. Whatever he had heard almost haunted the old man.
“We need to leave this place, Eden. Now,” Richard grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away.
However, while I didn’t know why I felt like this, I had a feeling that I wasn’t supposed to leave. If Richard overheard something awful, he had to share the information with me.
Besides, if it turned out that someone was in danger and we ran like cowards without trying to help, I would be just as bad as the pack of tormentors we escaped. While many of them never did anything to me, never said a word, they still stood aside and watched without a word.
Just standing, watching and never trying to help was just as bad as hurting someone, and I refused to become that same person who never cared.
“What’s going on, Richard? Tell me what you heard,” I raised my voice as I pulled my hand out of his grip.
The reaction caught him off guard, but Richard was quick to shake off the initial confusion.
Slowly, he turned around to face me. “Screams. It is no forest fire, it’s someone burning down buildings and people. We can’t go there, don’t you even think of it, Eden. Whoever is responsible for the fire is there to enjoy the massacre, not to sit in front of the campfire and roast marshmallows.”
His words were an even bigger reason for us to go there and try to help. How Richard didn’t understand that was beyond me. If we could help at least one person it would be a miracle. If he were in a situation like that, he too would wish someone tried to help.
“No, we need to go there and help. You can stay at a safe distance, but I will go and help them.” I insisted.
“Eden, you’re planning to go Goddess knows where to look death straight in the eyes?” Richard choked out the words. He seemed a little too emotional, but I had to ignore it if I didn’t want to forget what was important.
“Children, Richard, there might be children. I would never forgive myself, I just couldn’t. To live a life knowing I could have changed something, get at least one person out of that inferno, yet I didn’t? No, I would rather stay with that forsaken pack and let everyone stomp over me like I mean nothing. You can leave if you want, but I’m going there.”
It looked like my words finally moved Richard and he understood where I was coming from.
As I tossed the backpack on, Richard nodded his head in a direction. Although a part of me still questioned his intentions, for all I knew he might have tried to lead me away while I blindly followed him, I still went with it.
We were strangers, who barely knew each other's names, but I trusted Richard. He wanted to get me away from danger, not act like the villain of the story.
Walking towards the direction Richard chose, I started picking up on the scent of smoke and the forest felt almost dead in this area which was a sure indication that he was leading me towards the disaster.
My legs hurt with every step of the way. Now, I realized that not feeling my muscles was better than feeling them - the pain was intense, way worse than what I knew after the night runs with the pack.
“I would much prefer it if you didn’t want to go there. You are right, I get your point and why you want to help them, but I fear you’re blindly putting your life at risk.” Richard grumbled under his breath.
Since his voice was barely louder than a whisper, I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to hear what he had to say or if he was talking to himself more than he was to me, so I remained quiet.
The closer we got, the warmer the air became. Even being this far from the epicenter of the disaster, I knew it would be bad. There were more than a few buildings on fire.
I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it and didn’t bring it up to Richard. Knowing him, he would take it as a sign to get out of here and seek safe shelter, something I couldn’t do. We were too close to back down now.
Richard suddenly stopped and spun around to face me. “Eden, are you sure about this? I have a bad feeling.”
Me too, my new friend, me too, but I didn’t voice it. Letting out a breath, I looked up at his concerned face and met his eyes. The smile that spread across my lips was forced, uncomfortable, but I still had to try. “You can hide here, I’ll go alone.”
He tried to protest, but I raised a hand to silence him. “You already did so much. I will always be grateful to you for taking a step and helping others, including me, but putting someone’s life in danger was my idea, not yours. I need you to stay here. You know how to survive here, so I’m sure you will be fine without me around. I won’t force you to leave, you can stay and wait until I return.”
“If you return,” Richard’s shoulders fell as he tore his gaze away from me. I was about to hand him my backpack. Out of us two, he needed food more, but he stopped me. “I’m going. Like it or not, you got me out of the pack and I will follow you wherever you go. You are the only family I have, Eden.”
The sentiment aimed straight at my heart, I had no words to express everything I felt as this man still stood by my side, even when he thought I was making a mistake.
Instead of speaking, I nodded my head and we started walking again. Once we noticed flames, we added an extra step and reached the place faster. We both stood aside, watching the destruction, listening to the screams and pleas.
I didn’t realize I was crying until Richard forced his hand over my eyes and whispered, “shh, little one, you shouldn’t watch.”
My thoughts and emotions were all over the place until everything stopped. Every thought faded, everything I felt was out of grasp, all because of a voice more terrifying than the view before us. “Burn her! Burn them all!”
Lucius povFrom the moment we stepped on this territory, I knew the underground market was worse than my spies reported. Every building we passed was another orphanage or hospital. There was no way that a pack with such wealth and infrastructure as this one claimed to have had nothing but abandoned children and injured warriors. “They lied,” Titus, my second in command, whispered. I nodded my head, letting my eyes roam the surroundings. All suspicions aside, what had my senses alerted was that by now, I had counted thirteen orphanages, but no schools and there wasn’t even one playground for the pups they claimed lived here. Not only did this place look suspicious, but it also had a stench of something I couldn’t put in words. I felt like I stood in the center of everything wicked, cruel and malicious.Worst of all, the feeling sunk deeper and rooted itself when a very pregnant looking woman wobbled her way towards us. She had a wide smile across her lips, but her eyes were empty,
Lucius povThe moment Titus ran away, the so-called Luna slowed down until we walked side by side. She did her best to rub herself against me. When she tried to place her hand in mine, I took a step to the side and glared at her. Maybe she understood me, maybe not, but once she opened her mouth, I realized she was very well aware of everything she was doing. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’m somewhat human and loneliness without my Alpha around has its toll on me. I just want some company.” Sure, to someone else, she might sound like a lonely woman, but in my eyes, she was nothing but a power-hungry mutt. She didn’t have an Alpha, she wasn’t a Luna and there was no saying whose child she was carrying. If she was carrying any. “I will show you the Alpha suite. You will fall in love with the bed, it’s so comfortable, like clouds,” she beamed as she opened the door to the massive building and let me inside first. Just like in the rest of the territory, I didn’t hear any sounds. If there w
Lucius povMy heart started racing while I couldn’t suck in a breath. Titus, the forever observant asshole, noticed the change in my demeanor within seconds. He shoved the man he was holding in a headlock towards one of the warriors and ran to my side. Titus tossed my arm around his shoulders as if he feared I might lose my footing. “Lucius, what is it? Are you getting worse?” He whispered the second question to ensure my men didn’t hear him. I shook my head as I struggled to fight Xabat’s attempts to grasp the control. If the hothead were to succeed, he would surely scare our mate away and I wasn’t willing to risk it. The Goddess had forgiven the family sins, she had granted me a soulmate, I was willing to go down in flames along this place if it meant I could keep her. “Mate,” I choked out, only for Titus to hear. We had once discussed the possibility and the risks that were most likely to follow, especially with the brainless fool that resided within me. “Xabat, calm the fuck
Eden povLazily, I blinked awake and realized I needed to use the bathroom really badly. The thought of running around the forest to find an area I could use sickened me, but it was what it was until we found a proper living space, I had to suck it up. Only… That wasn’t quite the case. I had no idea where I was, but there was a weight pressing me down into something soft beneath me and it felt like limbs were tossed over my body. On top of that, whatever was obviously lying nearly on top of me was so hot, my clothes were sticking to my skin, I was drenched in sweat. Holding my breath, I tried to wiggle out of the vice-like grip someone or something had on me. It stirred and I froze while my heart was beating against my ribcage at such speed, I feared it might stop any moment. Then, came the sharp intake of breath and deep, husky voice. “Where do you think you are going?” A man asked. My head was spinning - where was I and why did I sleep next to a complete stranger? The surviva
Eden povAs the water hit my skin, a sigh of relief left my lips. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a proper shower, or to be fair, any shower. I spent years using a bucket of semi-dirty water and a rag to wash myself, so this feeling truly was like an out of this world experience. Since Lucius told me I could use the shower, I doubted if I could use any of the products lined along the wall, so I stuck to a bar of soap. When I looked down and noticed how dirty was the water that disappeared down the drain, I understood why he was mumbling about changing the sheets - I was, in fact, filthy. By the time I stepped out of the shower, the bathroom was filled with steam and my skin was bright red. Then, I noticed that there was a neatly folded towel left next to the sink basin. I frowned at it - when did someone enter the bathroom? Did they see me… naked? The very thought of anyone seeing me exposed like this terrified me, so I grabbed the towel and quickly wrapped it around my b
Eden povNo matter how hard I tried to make sense of his words, I still couldn’t understand why this man kept addressing me as his mate. Then, there was the detail that nagged me - Diana addressed me as majesty and Lucius as the King. Did that mean I was in the presence of the King himself? No, it couldn’t be. My guess would be that Lucius was someone crazy rich pretending to be the King, not the man himself. No one really knew much about the King besides the things that were common knowledge. For example: he was a crazed maniac, extremely powerful, literally a one man army no other supernatural could take down. There was a reason why the King ruled over everyone. He wasn’t the King of werewolves or shifters, no, he was the King of supernaturals and everyone feared him more than death for the man was the one who brought it, slowly and painfully. Even the Elders Council didn’t hold half as much power as the King. That man was above everything and everyone, close to a God of a sort.
Lucius pov I needed her close. It was so selfish of me to use the moment and give into my urges, but I needed her more than I needed my next breath. The only way to calm down Xabat was to be as near to her as possible, and that was exactly what I did. After I heard Titus mention that my beautiful, fragile mate had been fated to someone else before I found her made my blood boil. To be honest, as grateful as I was to that fuckface who was incapable of appreciating the gift the Goddess had given him, I was outraged that he had hurt my Eden by rejecting her. But then again, if we were paired, if I was given to her as the second chance, it meant she was strong enough to face him and accept the rejection to break the bond. That thought made me feel such immense pride in her strength and self-control, I nearly lost it. Once I was sure I was calm enough to carry on with our day, I finally looked at Eden and smiled at her. The way her cheeks turned bright red at the simple action made
Eden povThe food Lucius prepared was hands down the best meal I had in years. As if he knew, he didn’t shove eggs and bacon down my throat. Instead, I got some porridge with fruits and a glass of fresh orange juice. “Eat slowly, Eden. You are a divine woman, not a savage.” Lucius laughed at me. All I did was glare at him and raise an eyebrow as if I had the right to challenge the King. But he didn’t take it personally, he just laughed at my attempts to appear intimidating and added some more blueberries to my porridge.On top of already taking care of me, Lucius kept up a small talk about the most random things. He asked what my favorite color was, what foods I enjoyed, what I liked to do for fun and about a million other questions. At one point, he let it slip that he would have to introduce me as his Queen after he marked me, which I won’t lie scared me, but he quickly noticed my reaction and stirred the conversation to another topic. When we were finished with breakfast, Titus