-Isaac- There was something wrong. I couldn’t feel Joanne anymore, and it made me restless. I tried to follow William’s tracks, but it was as if he vanished into thin air. Stopped before the entrance of a cave. There was nothing inside, not a mark or any evidence they went in. So, now I was returning to the horrific scene I had left behind, hoping to find some clues as to where they went. Maybe I should try to follow Laila’s tracks? Perhaps they had split up as well. That couldn’t be the case, William would never leave his pregnant mate behind, or maybe they were forced to split up. Logan urged me to shift, but he had been too out of control to let out. I didn’t want him to kill anyone unnecessarily; it would take too much time. Time, we didn’t have. Ignoring the dried blood and the scent of decaying bodies, I found Laila’s trail. They never split up, but there was something different. As if she purposely left some breadcrumbs
-Joanne-Did they know Celine was his mother? Did anyone know? They couldn’t, and if they did, they would bow down before him. So why weren’t they? Why was he made into the bad guy, or why did he lost it all those years ago?“He was my second born son, my sweet boy.” Tears brimmed in her eyes as she sat down on some high rocks.“Second?”She huffed and shook her head. “William was my first and your first mate.”Blinking away the rising confusion, I sat across from her. There wasn’t anywhere to go, but back, we reached the end of the passage, and it didn’t seem she was living here. “What happened and why do we keep coming back?”“I don’t know exactly why you don’t remember, but your father knew everything. He figured it all out on his own, and then he was killed.” The sadness in her eyes, the loneliness that vibrated from her felt like my own, but her words didn’t make sense.“No, my parents were killed by Liam because I am human, or he thought I was.”Her lips remained sealed, and I r
-Isaac-Taking a shaky breath as Joanne stepped into the light with the same man who guided me here. She looked defeated, sad even. This fire inside her eyes had dimmed, and my body itched with this need to run toward her. To show myself, but I had one last thing to do first.“Finlay, what are you waiting for?” Joanne asked as she stomped past him. So, Finlay was his name. He glared my way, but when Joanne huffed again, he turned to follow her.She didn’t sense my presence, but the pull between us seemed dimmed. It pained me that I remained rooted on the spot.“Isaac,” the same voice that spoke to Joanne flowed toward me, and my eyes snapped up.Celine. Joanne was talking to Celine.“What did you mean by that? Will I kill her?” Slowly, I revealed myself and stood before her. Now without her tricks, the ones she played in my mind when I was dead. Now we faced each other in our true forms, and I was waiting for that hue or that power gushing from her, but it didn’t come.“I am only tryi
-Joanne-My body trembled, my nerves spiking. I didn’t see a way out, not without Isaac. I wanted him here, and the thought of never having him with me again stole my breath.“Did it work?” Finlay asked for the tenth time.“Shut it, Finlay. I have shit to figure out!”My throat constricted, panic erupted inside me, and I was losing it. Hard.I didn’t want to go back, knowing what awaited me, I didn’t have a way to defeat William, nor did I have a way to convince Derek of William’s betrayal. His filthy tricks, his lies, and the pain he had inflicted on us all.I had to…Everything stopped; time seemed to slow down as I heard the crunches of leaves behind me. The sound of cautioned strides closed in, and I recognized them.Tears fell when I closed my eyes, and I didn’t dare to turn, fearing it was all a figment of my imagination.“Little bird,” he taunted, and I fought the smile that wanted to curl. Of course, he would tease me now. Choose this heart wrecking moment to make a joke.“Are
-Isaac- This was a dream. It had to be. We were finally one. Our souls bonded. Nothing could keep us apart anymore. Every small bit of doubt I had inside me had faded away. The fear that snaked around my heart, was gone. The loss of control over Logan had simmered. Only one thing remained—love. With every steady heartbeat, I could sense it expand, but not only that. Something else. As she lay here in my arms, on the soft ground covered in leaves in my arms, I could sense how she was healing, how every scar inside her, and even the ones painted on her inner thighs, was healing. Her wolf was scratching to the surface, coiling inside her. Strengthening Joanne in every way possible. Her scent was changing. A new one joined the sweetness. A scent only a wolf carried. Joanne would finally have what she wanted and be whole again. She stirred slightly in my arms, and I waited for her eyes to flutter open, eager to see her wolf. Logan edged to the surface, and I smiled. He was nervous.
-Isaac-Logan was eager to play, almost ignoring the task at hand as Joanne led the way. Just like we thought, the guards were too busy to notice us while we sneaked around. Heading toward the throne room.The place looked the same as the memories that were shown, with the doors that shielded us from the throne room were into sight, I pulled Joanne behind me.Not a word was spoken between us as I took over the lead. We were unsure what to expect, but the two guards at the doors had to be taken out first.Lifting my hand, I let icy smoke spill from my fingers, crawling toward the two guards. It circled them and carefully moved up their legs over their clothes, ensuring they wouldn’t feel what was about to happen.Simultaneously, the ice layered around their throats, and they struggled against it, allowing me to creep closer and make their kill swiftly and quietly.Holding on to their bodies, laying them silently on the ground, I signaled for Joanne to come.I knew she wanted to be the
I didn’t dare to close my eyes, to focused on the tiny human lying between Isaac and me. This little creature was alive and thriving. Her birth was something I wanted to scrub from memories, the same as I tried to erase the memory of how I held William’s skull in my hand. However, the second I saw this little girl in Isaac’s arms, I knew in the core of my being she was ours. We would love her as our own, cherish her and give her all she deserved and more. She would have a full life. A father that would protect her against the world. A mother who would hold her hand when needed, and listen to everything she wanted to share. She would never be alone. An uncle that would probably spoil her too much. I smiled, blinking away the tears, thinking about Derek. He was broken after William. His soul was ripped apart, and guilt consumed him. And I feared I would lose him again. He couldn’t even look at me the first weeks, too ashamed of his actions. He stepped down from the throne. The bone
“Are you ready?” Yasmin asked from a distance while I kept scrolling on my phone, trying to distract myself from what was coming tonight. “Always.” I gave her a wave and got a narrowed gaze in return. Usually, I don’t work these kinds of … ehm… events. However, they were down a dancer, and it was good money. I actually didn’t have a choice. I have been working at the same club as a dancer—aka stripper—for two years now. I never thought this would be my life. I had a loving family and finished my studies at Harvard, but everything came crashing down years ago. I lost everything that wretched night, and I couldn’t pull myself together after it. I kept having these anxiety attacks, or that was what my Doctor calls them. However, these attacks made it impossible to keep working at a law firm, and the drugs I had to take to numb the pain turned me into a zombie. It took me a while to get back on my feet, and this job gave me back my sanity. So yes, I needed this job, but I also loved