Leah's POV
OK, great. As I expected, Darren abandoned me for another woman. And now he risked his life for this woman again without even considering my safety.
"Does this woman have a name?" I folded my arms and asked.
"Leah, please..." Darren whispered to me. "This doesn't concern you. It's my own business. I shouldn't have got you involved."
"Darren, you've heard me. What is this woman's name?" I said.
"Her name is Josephine Solis," Diego replied.
I opened my mouth and closed it again.
I was completely shocked.
Josephine?! The Josephine who had abused me in the past five years?! The love of Lucas' life and the apple of his eye?!
Josephine?!
Didn't Lucas banish her?!
Why would she come back and haunt me like a ghost in my life?
And why Darren was trying to save her instead of me?!
I felt so confused and shocked at the same time that I couldn't even say a word.
At that time,
Leah's POVJust as my mind was racing fast, I heard Josephine's quirky voice -"Leah Lewyn, did someone send you here to pry on what we're doing?"I stared into her eyes and said, "I've got no idea what you're talking about. I'm here to ask for your assistance in protecting innocent people's lives. I didn't expect that you guys wanted to create chaos, which would result in thousands of people in Mediland losing their lives."Then, I turned to Darren and asked, "Are you in this as well?"Darren looked shocked and hurt at the same time."Leah, after all this time, I can't believe that you would have such a low opinion of me." He said in a low voice. "I just wanted to come and take Josephine away. She's completely consumed by her anger.""And then, what?" I asked.Darren clenched his fists and lowered his head, "I'm planning to hide her away from the public for a while.""Hiding...?! Are you kidding me, Darren?!
Leah's POVJust as I was about to ask more questions, a man rushed in and said desperately, "Diego! Cole and his soldiers are coming!"Frank Skakel heard this and immediately said to me, "Miss Lewyn, go to the back of this bar. There's a tunnel underneath the end of the corridor, which leads to the port. Hurry up before you miss the last ferry."I stretched out my arms toward Darren and said, "Darren, let's go!"Darren looked at me and then took a glance at Josephine. I could tell that he was hesitant."It's OK, Darren. Go ahead with her. Diego will take good care of me. He's like a brother to me." Josephine said.Despite saying this, her hand was still holding Darren's arm tightly.Darren lowered his head. Josephine stared at me with an evil smirk as if she knew Darren would choose to stay with her instead of running away with me."Come on, Miss Lewyn, this way! When the soldiers see you, they'll hurt you!" Frank said anxiousl
Leah's POV"They called it off for technical reasons?! Do you mean that if they had solved the technical reasons, they would have carried on with that project?"Darren sighed and said, "Miss Lewyn, I really don't think we should start a debate about this...""It's unethical! We can't just play god like this and treat our own people like rats in the lab!" I said."They are not our own people, Miss Lewyn. They're rogues and outlaws...""They have family and friends! They settled down in Mediland and they chose to live a peaceful life. Only human beings are stupid enough to believe that one race is superior to the other I don't know wolves can be this stupid!" I said.Darren remained silent. His indifference over this issue angered me.I kept on going, "Think about Frank. He's a rogue. He's got five children and he used to be a gardener. Can you imagine subjecting him to some mad scientists' crazy thoughts and plans? How about Uma and Da
"Shut up, Josephine!" I urged, grabbing her shoulders."Oh, no! Leah's going to kill me! Help me, Darren! Please..." Josephine didn't finish her sentence, because I bumped her head against the floor and knocked her off."What have you done?!" Darren rushed forward and held Josephine in his arms. "You almost killed her! Her head is bleeding!""She was too noisy and I'd wanted to do that for a really long time." I shrugged.Darren was holding Josephine tightly, wiping the blood off her face with his sle
Leah's POVThe boat was swaying along the ocean waves in a tiny bay area on the far side of the dock.As I approached, I saw bodies of soldiers floating up and down next to the boat."Did you kill all of them?" I stared at Darren.He didn't answer and put Josephine, who was still unconscious, onto the berth inside the cabin.I learned sailing from my Father, who used to be a Navy Admiral when he was young. So I swiftly
Leah's POVAfter hanging up on Leo, I tried to focus on steering the wheel toward the south.If we kept heading south, we would get to Huffner Bridge. After passing that bridge, we would bid goodbye to all the chaos in Mediland and go back to civilization. Darren leaned against the mast. He intentionally kept a distance from me, which made me mad at him.I thought he would want to say something, but he didn't, which made me even madder."Don't you have to go back to the cabin and hold Josephine's hand? If she woke up and you're not there, she might cry her eyes out before killing someone again," I scorned. Darren stared into my eyes with passion and said, "Leah, you don't have to act like this. Jo's my mate. I don't have a choice but to follow the will of the Moon Goddess.""Stop looking at me like that." I turned my head away, avoiding making eye contact with him. I couldn't stay mad at him when he stared at me. "Leah..." Darren approached me and said in a soft voice. I didn't l
Jalin's POV"I hate you!" Leah climbed into the helicopter by herself, ignoring my stretching-out helpful hand.I took the blame obediently and unapologetically as always and withdrew my hand. Before I followed her into the helicopter, I looked back and saw that kid named Darren standing on the deck, wrapping a blanket around a trembling blonde girl.That must be the reason why Leah is mad. I thought to myself. She is throwing a tantrum because that sapphire-eye young man finds a new girlfriend."And I want to fire him! I don't ever want to see him again!" Leah put on a set of headsets while shouting out loud at me.I saw sparks in her eyes. She wanted to pretend to be cruel and heartless. But as always, she failed.She was just such a sweet and innocent girl that she could never be able to hurt anyone.That's why people like me exist. You know, people like me are friendly and polite all the time, but that doesn't stop
Leah's POVAs I walked into the Redwood Mansion, the first thing I noticed was the big ox head hanging at the center of the wall.I stared at the ox's head and frowned.That was the ox that took away my great-grandfather's life. I didn't know why an 83-year-old werewolf would want to fight an ox with bare hands. But I didn't know anything about our family history. My Father wouldn't tell me anything, neither did my brother Lucian."Sarcastic, isn't it?" A deep, mellow voice appeared behind me.I turned back and saw a tall, handsome man standing behind me.I hadn't seen Leo for so many years and I couldn't even recognize him.In the dimly lit corridors of the mansion, amidst the vast shelves of ancient tomes and the whispers of the ages, there strode a figure that exuded an aura of both brilliance and skepticism.Draped in a pristine white coat, Leo cut a striking figure. A pair of spectacles perched upon his
Leah's POVLycidas peeled off his gloves slow, deliberate, a smile curling his lips like blood seeping from a wound. "Leah, my sweetest sister, you know me. I'd never hurt anyone. They just keep crawling back, begging to be my dog.”There it was - the Old King's dominance and viciousness, alive in him, a shadow Lucian never cast. "From childhood to adulthood," I said, my voice hard as iron, "I always knew you were more his son than Lucian ever was. Pity the Old King never saw it. Not until he was rotting in the ground. Lucian was all he had in his shriveled heart."Lycidas' smile stiffened, a crack of fury splintering through his mask. "Darren disappointed me," he said, "so I tossed him to Leo for his little experiments. But Leo didn't like this human being. He said he didn't meet his standard and sent him back. You wanna know what happened to your precious old flame? Go sniff out Leo. You two always got on better than you and me. I mean, he'll help you, I
Leah's POVA pang ripped through my chest, sharp and unwelcome. I didn't want to know what Lycidas had done - didn't want to picture the claws, the needles, the hunger in that bastard's gaze. Darren wasn't the man I'd known anymore; he was a husk, cracked open and spilling fear. My fingers found the lock, bending the steel like it was clay, the cage door groaning as it gave way. He lunged at me, wild and blind, and I struck fast - knocked him cold with a blow that felt like betrayal. His body slumped, limp and heavy, and I hauled him into the cart, draping a cloth over him like a shroud.I shoved the cart toward the door, every nerve screaming, when a shadow blocked my path. The hotel manager, all puffed-up indignation, glared down at me. "What the fuck? Who are you?! Why are you here? Don't you know this whole floor is reserved...?"His words choked off as my fist met his jaw. He crumpled, a sack of meat, and I dragged him back inside, stuffing him into the cag
Lycidas' POVA pause, heavy with his worry. "Lycidas, don't let anyone hurt her. Protect her. The ritual has to be done."Finn's pace quickened, his throat tightening around me, and I gripped his hair harder, forcing him to take more. "Don't worry, brother. I miss you. I'll be back soon. Put Jalin on, will you?"The line shifted, and Jalin's cold "What?" slithered through.My voice turned razor-sharp. "If you dare touch my brother again, I'll pump you full of suppressant, make you a fuck toy, and toss you to the slave market. Every hole in your body will be stuffed with cocks for the every minute in the rest of your fucking life. Do you understand?"Silence. Finn gagged, his throat spasming, and the pleasure spiked through me. "I'm talking to you," I snarled into the phone."I understand, Your Highness," Jalin muttered, subdued at last. I hung up, tossing the phone aside, and turned my full attention to Finn. He sucked harder, desperate to p
Lycidas' POVThe lazy afternoon sunlight in Miami pressed against me like a lover's claw, the moon long gone but its bloody echo still staining the sky. I stepped out of the limousine, and the red carpet unfurled before me like a tongue, wet with the flash of cameras and the screams of the crowd. The hotel loomed, a glittering beast of glass and steel, its jaws wide with fans clawing at the barriers, their voices a feral hymn to my name. I was Lycidas, the Lycan Prince, a Hollywood god carved from hunger and shadow, and they worshipped me with every ragged breath.I strode forward, my boots sinking into the plush scarlet, and the air thickened with their adoration. The paparazzi swarmed, lenses glinting like predatory eyes, but I owned them all. My lips curled into a smile, sharp and deliberate, as I waved - a king acknowledging his court. The noise swelled, a tidal wave of sound, and then a voice cut through it, high and desperate."Lycidas! Lycidas!" A female
Leah's POVThe clock on my wrist ticked like a smug little bastard, each second a jab at my nerves as I stood there, plotting culinary carnage. Six hours until the Miami Mayor's Annual Seafood Charity Dinner, and I was about to turn a fancy gala into a symphony of gurgles and groans. The TV blared in the background, some chipper anchor rattling on about celebrity cars rolling up to the hotel—shiny Bentleys and Teslas, all ferrying the rich and famous to their doom. I smirked, imagining them clutching their pearls and their stomachs by night's end.I glanced over at Seth, who was practically hypnotized by Sharbo's lazy laps in the shark tank. The kid's mop of hair flopped over his eyes, and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here, plotting with me. I gave his shoulder a solid pat, jolting him back to reality. "It's time, Seth."He blinked at me, all wide-eyed and twitchy, then fumbled for his laptop like it was his security blanket. His fingers danc
Leah's POVThe moonlight was pouring down from the sky like cascade.I stood there, rooted, facing Darren, his eyes blazing with a storm of rage and grief that pinned me where I stood. The air hung heavy, thick with unspoken venom, prickling my scarred skin—the brands of the slave market I'd never outrun."Why are you asking this question?" Darren's voice cut through the stillness, sharp as a blade, edged with accusation.I didn't answer. Couldn't. My throat clenched tight, strangling the words beneath the weight of all we'd left unsaid.He stepped closer, his emotions bursting free like blood from a fresh wound. "Are you asking this to hurt me, Leah? Haven't I done enough for you all these years to earn your trust?"Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and relentless, carving trails through the grime on my face. I felt nothing - no sting, no release - just the hollow rush of them falling, a betrayal of the numbness gnawing my bones.
Leah's POVI remained silent. Father killed his son. Justice was almost done.Al Cosa continued, "And my son Tommy... He was burned alive in an elevator. Forensic team said his charred, deformed body burned so badly that... they needed tweezers to collect him."Two fat tears carved paths through his ashen stubble. I mirrored his grief - shoulders curling inward, breath catching - as the incinerator roared to life behind him. Its hunger vibrated in my molars."They found nail marks," he whispered. "Inside the elevator door. My boy...my Tommy clawed iron hot metal until his fingers..." A wet choke. "You know what fire does to lungs before death comes?"I let my own eyes glisten. "Mr. Cosa, I...""You're about to find out."I pretended to be horrified. "Mr. Cosa, I'm...""Sorry?" The wheelchair lurched forward. "You shoved my Tony off a balcony! Trapped Tommy in that metal coffin!" Spittle hit my cheek. "And now you're standing he
Leah's POVThe neon sign above the night club buzzed like a dying wasp, its crimson glow pooling on the asphalt as I shoved through the club's sticky doors. Smoke clung to the air—cheap cigars and cheaper desperation - and there he was, slumped at the bar like a discarded marionette. Liam's fingers curled around a whiskey glass, his knuckles whitening with each swallow as if he could drown the words we'd never said.I slid onto the stool beside him, the leather sighing under my weight. "You look like someone pissed in your bourbon," I said, nodding at the bartender for my usual gin.Liam didn't turn. "Would've improved the taste." His voice was sandpaper rough, but the corner of his mouth twitched. Classic Liam - even half-drunk and brooding, he couldn't resist the bait.We drank in silence for three songs, the bass thumping like a defective heartbeat. When he finally spoke, it was to the smudged mirror behind the bar. "You shouldn't be here. You do
Leah's POVI turned my head, meeting Darren's gaze, those eyes still hungry, still pleading. "I know," I said, quiet, a sad twist to my lips.But knowing wasn't enough. Love wasn't enough - not when the howls kept calling, not when my scars ran deeper than my skin. I rolled onto my side, facing the window, the moon's bloody glow spilling over us both.The full moon hung there, swollen and silver, its light bleeding through the broken window and washing over the bed. I stared at it, unblinking, the pale glow clawing at something inside me - something feral, something I couldn't bury no matter how hard I tried. The air thickened, heavy with the salt of the sea and the weight of the night, and then I heard it - a low, guttural sound drifting through the dark. A howl. Distant, but unmistakable. Then another, and another, until the night was alive with their calls, a chorus of primal hunger that sent a shiver down my spine.My heart kicked against my ribs, the