[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]
I looked at Madison and Cynthia, and they just bowed their heads.
“Let’s get inside,” I said to the kids as I led them gently inside. I felt I had to explain to them about everything and reminded myself to be gentle with it. I never wanted my kids to misunderstand everything, and the last thing I wanted was for them to believe everything they heard from the people around this area,
[SAMANTHA's Point of View]“Mommy!”“Please take us home!”Devon and Diana cried, and I was confused about what had happened. For a matter of minutes, when I wasn't looking at them, when I parked my car in the parking lot, the kids were already in distress and crying.My eyes looked for Madison and Cynthia, wondering where the hell they went when my kids were left in the playground looking scared. I was so furious I glared at the mothers and they threw me the same distasteful look as they led their children away from us.I couldn't believe the amount of hatred I was getting from these people. Convincing the council and the members about my worth in the pack was not enough for the Silver Crescent to completely accept us. While I haven't done anything to make them believe I can be the Luna this pack needed, I wouldn't be anything to them but a deserter.Madison came running towards me, her face as white as paper as she panted with her forehead beaded with cold sweat, “I am so sorry, Mis
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]My steps echoed in the hallways of the Silver Crescent Manor.I reminded myself I would calm down. But as I remembered Diana and Devon’s scared faces, it made me curl my hands tight into fists until my knuckles turned white and my nails dug into the skin. I couldn’t understand why Olivia would go this far just to get the throne she had been wanting. But didn’t she ask herself in the first place? If Dominic desired her to be the Luna, he had already marked her after I left—after I vanished and went to the Moonstone pack. Dominic was always a complicated man who didn’t know what he wanted. But it was clear that whatever he and Olivia had, it wasn’t as strong as I thought. Perhaps Dominic was a little rebellious, that he was arranged for a marriage with me? I couldn’t blame him if he was upset. We didn’t know each other. He had little idea where I came from and was stuck with me just because his mother and my parents were close friends. It was unfair for him
[SAMANTHA's Point of View] “Good morning, beautiful.”I woke up beaming as I saw Dominic holding a tray of breakfast. When I looked at the wall clock, it was only six in the morning.“Isn't this too early?” I complained with a suppressed smile. It was the best sleep of my life, especially because I woke up in the arms of the man I love with all my heart.“Love, I promised Devon and Diana we would go to a picnic today but they are still sleeping so I thought of serving you breakfast first so everything is prepared when they wake up,” he said as he kissed me. “You like pancakes, right? I did my best.” He winked and then poured me a cup of coffee. I squinted my eyes at him, and he looked at me with innocent, large eyes. “What?” He asked as he licked his finger after he put some eggs on my plate.“Nothing,” I chuckled and closed my eyes as I smelled the wonderful aroma of the coffee wafting around the room, “I’m not just used to this.”His hazel turned solemn all of a sudden. He reached
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]It was so dark and cold.I couldn’t open my eyes. I couldn’t move. It felt as if I was underwater, only I wasn’t. I was trapped but I wasn’t sure where exactly. What I was sure of was that I wasn't at home. The smell was musky. The place felt strange—as if something moldy was surrounding me. I was lying on something metallic. It was hard and cold, and I shivered. The feeling was not because of the temperature but because I knew I was in danger. I was tied tightly against something that I imagine was like a hospital bed, restricting me from getting up.Something itchy made me cough, and I retched at the stench somewhere. It smelled more like rotting flesh, a sensation I couldn't quite place. I grimaced as I whimpered in pain. Every inch of me ached, and I wondered how long I had been out unconscious in this place. A soft groan escaped from my lips as I tried to lift my head and open my eyes slowly, carefully.Just as I expected, the room was pitch black, but
[ALPHA DOMINIC's Point of View]“What do you mean she's missing?!”I felt my blood run up to my head, making me dizzy and confused. I just woke up from a wonderful dream with Samantha and the kids finally living in the pack manor with her beside me as the official Luna of the Silver Crest pack. Samantha was already marked, which technically made her Luna. But the elders and the council were still unconvinced that she was fit for the position and the responsibilities after she left the pack, which was my fault. She had to prove herself to the people of the pack, and that, I had no control over. I wish I could make it easier for Samantha. It’s just aggravating that even I, as the Alpha, couldn’t persuade the people, and using the Alpha voice would only raise a rebellion, which Liam and I avoided happening.Liam’s voice was uncertain on the other line. He was flustered as well. “One of the maids in their house called and said Miss Samantha disappeared since last night. At first, they t
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]I gasped violently, followed by the excruciating pain of the wounds around my wrists and ankles and body spasms, as I screamed in agony.My body twitched to the side. I gritted my teeth as the flesh on my wrist hissed and sizzled under the burning effect of the silver chain. I looked at the wound and it was deep and white with the edges blackening like a toasted meat.A tear ran down my face as I pursed my lips and suppressed a sob. My throat was so dry it felt like I was swallowing hot sand while my voice turned raspy and hoarse. There were terrible cracks on my lips and dry skin started to peel off of it. Every inch of me was screaming in pain. There were hours when I couldn’t feel anything but to beg someone to just kill me and end this misery. I could feel myself slowly fading when the pain got intense and there was no one, nothing in this g*dd*mned place to help me. Or even hear my pleas.I woke up again to the sound of the dripping water. My coughing r
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]“The twins are in the Pack Manor now with the Mother Luna, Alpha,” my Beta, Liam, reported as he returned to the house where the incident happened. Ethan stayed with us and wanted to know the next plan after finding out Samantha wasn’t in the Silver Crescent.Ethan suspected that Samantha was brought outs
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]I screamed as I felt my skin burning when water splashed on my face. But my thirst overpowered the pain and my tongue desperately reached for the water that was on my lips.A shifter can heal fast, but with the silver chain around my body, my cells stopped from regenerating. The burns were unsightly, revolting to the eyes like fresh meat slowly getting infected with pus.My heartbeat was rapid and my eyes blinked several times before I was able to open them in complete darkness. I let out shallow, swift breaths as I turned my head side to side, unsure where to look as I heard those heavy footsteps again like thunder, shaking my very soul with fear.I coughed, and I tasted blood in my mouth.“Good. You are finally awake, woman.” The person said in this deep, hoarse tone—a voice that came from the depths of hell. “You’ve been sleeping the whole day. You know that?”“How many days have I been here?” I asked; my tongue was like sandpaper and talking felt like sw
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View] Something was wrong.I could feel it through the bond.
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]Twenty hours since I stepped inside the Black Forest and eight hours after I fought and killed those bear-like beasts and the wounds made by that f*cking bear trap made of silver haven’t healed yet. To lessen the pressure on the wound, I decided to morph back into my human form. I noticed that the wound was bone-deep, and I had to take an hour of rest to at least let some tissue regenerate around the femur. I had been walking half-naked around the forest after I tore my shirt and used it to cover the wound.Blood squelched and spurted as I step my injured leg and I couldn’t stop grimacing from it. The excruciating pain shot up to my thigh, causing me to drag my feet while I searched for the herb. I already went to places that were near water sources, but no plants ever looked like how they were described in the drawing Samantha had provided me as a rough reference.Samantha and Mom must have gone to that meeting, and I felt bad that I couldn’t go back y
[DEVON’s Point of View]I would never let them do this to mommy!This strange feeling of anger made my body feel unusually warm. No. Hot. I felt as though I was suffering from a fever. It scared me at first. I was scared at what I felt and I was scared of the anger I saw on those people’s faces towards us and my mom. But there was no way I would let them get near her. I promised Dominic I would protect Diana and Mom with the best I could. And even though my hands were trembling, I just curled them into fists. I couldn’t let them intimidate us. I couldn’t let them bully Mom!It confused me because I had never seen faces with such hatred before.Diana was on alert as well. Despite our fear, we chose to follow our instinct and watched all of them with cold, deadly stares. We sat on each side of Mom. Both her hands were on our left shoulders as the meeting continued with more hateful words from those old, mean people.I looked up at Mom’s face and realized how strong she was and that she
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]After telling Dominic about everything I found out about my mother, it was my turn to talk to Lena and ask questions about it.I needed her to explain why she chose to keep it hidden from me.Lena and my mate’s Beta, Liam, went to the house the day after the incident. Dominic hadn’t come back from the Black Forest. With worry, I explained to them everything about why Dominic chose to go alone on that perilous search for the herb. The herb that held the key to unlocking my true potential as a direct descendant of the Primordial Clan.The Mother Luna of the Silver Crescent stayed silent as she sat on one of the sofas in our home, and Liam was looking at her, worried and anxious. I suddenly hesitated if it was a mistake that I told her too soon about this, but despite Lena hiding it from me, she was the only person I trusted aside from my mate. She had been a mother figure to me since I became an orphan and a wonderful mother-in-law to me.“Have you tried calli
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]“I can go with you.”“No. You stay here…” I caressed her face and then pushed her hair behind her ear. Samantha closed her eyes for a second as she savored the feeling of my skin rubbing against her cheek. With an anxious expression, she reached out and grasped my hand while tilting her head to the side. Her eyes sparkled with tears when she lifted her beautiful face to stare deep into my eyes as if begging me not to go.“You know it’s dangerous out there. Liam barely controlled the situation that happened in the pack manor yesterday. You even had to call Alpha Vance to send more soldiers to stop the Black Claws from escaping the dungeon, Dominic.” Her voice was full of perturbation as she rested her hands on my chest. “There’s no way I would let you go into that forest alone.”“It will be a lot faster if I go alone, love,” I whispered to her and planted a soft kiss on her pinkish, supple lips. I wanted to kiss her more. I wanted to pin her back into b
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from my mate.Diana and Devon stood in front of me; both faces were filled with guilt as they fiddled with their fingers and pouted their lips, too embarrassed and ashamed of what they did.
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]“You don’t understand the situation here, Alpha Dominic! I am helping you!”I snarl ripped in my throat as I pushed him away, dropping his body on the dusty, marble floor of the old library. I started walking in circles around him like a predator ready for the kill and was aiming to slit his throat if he ever made a wrong move.
[DEVON’s Point of View]“Devon, we have to go!”“Shhh!”“Madison must be already in the room!” Diana grabbed me by the arm and forced me to return to the playroom. ‘I
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]I had to know what was really going on.Why was my mother involved with those people? What was her part in what was going on at Silver Crescent? All I knew was that Lena was my mother's best friend. They’ve always been together, discussing the issues in the pack, and Lena trusted Mom—her judgment and Mom’s advice were always appreciated by Mothe