Kai's POV
"I really don't get why you're so hot headed all the time," Dax growled at me after I snapped at Keira.
"I've made it clear that I don't like her, yet you refuse to respect that," I shot back.
"You need to realize that you're not just one person, and stop being irrational," Riven supported him.
"For someone who's in charge of her bullying, such things shouldn't matter to you," I said, running my hands through my hair. I was in the bathroom at school, staring at my reflection in the mirror. Riven and Dax didn't let my ears rest after I sent Keira going.
I didn't even get what they saw in her.
"What? Are you any better with how you ignore her all the time? Besides, it'll help me become her hero. That's what I'm going for," Riven said back, itching to come to the surface.
Handling t
Riven POVI roll off the body of the dead man and lie on the floor. My chest rises and falls as I take deep, searing my breaths as my body tries to heal itself. The poison prevents that. The pain in my wounds seems magnified. I cough, and my phlegm is thick with blood. I study Hammond's body. Five inches of steel connect the hilt of the blade with the stone floor. He's stopped kicking, his mouth opened in a final soundless scream, made immortal by the fact that he will make no further sounds. His one eye stares at the ceiling blankly. At the site of his ruined eye, blackish green vibes spider across his face, radiating like the spoke of a wheel. His skin begins to turn pale, whitening until it looks more like chalk than human flesh. I suppress a shudder as as I see the effect of the poison that's inside of me, doing its work now. I tear the front part of my shirt, and sure enough, just left to my heart, the wound there puckers like a set of lips, oozing black blood and wicked looking
Riven POVI have only a single memory of my mother. My father was the kind of tyrant that couldn't limit his oppressive presence to the pack alone. His family had to suffer as well. I miss him and I loathe that he is dead, but I'm the age where sons understand that they can love a person without having respected them.In the memory, my mother is as beautiful as the sun as it filters through the branches of a tree, turning greens lighter, polishing wood until it shone bronze. Her blonde hair seemed to sparkle as I walked beside her, feeling proud, if of anything, that she was my mother and that I was her son, and content with the knowledge that this was fixed, that there was nothing I could do in her eyes to change that. It was the day she showed me what a shredder did to a human body. The day she showed me the deeds that ensured the safety of the pack.Now as I tear my way through a room of bodies, I can't help thinking of that sound. That horrible mechanical sound, the buzz of powerf
Riven POV Vayrek taps his knife against the side of his mouth, studying me with a frown creasing his forehead. His pale eye catches the glow of the light, almost shining silver. Then he barks a laugh. It's rich and hearty, like he's just heard the best joke. “You are either the bravest man I have ever met or the most foolish,” he says, giving a smile that flashes teeth. “You are outnumbered perhaps thirty to one.”I mentally count all of his twenty eight men, then cock an eyebrow. “I count as two men,” he answers plainly. Laughter breaks out of his men, and I even find myself amused by his confidence. “Vayrek is entertaining,” Fenrir says in my mind. “I will be cross if we eventually have to kill him.”I cross my arms over my chest and wait. That seems like the right response because Vayrek rises from his seat, his bulk seeming to fill the room like gas in a vacuum. He's even taller than I thought, with arms as big as beams. Scars extend over every stretch of skin, like pinkish whi
Riven POVThe man sitting at my table slowly cranes his head to look at me with his single pale eye. It's the deadest expression I've ever seen on the face of anyone. His milk-coloured pupil roves in the orifice of its orbit, darting like a ball in a hole. He studies me in a quick, bored look then waves a hand. One of his men salutes then walks out into the night. I wait with bated breath, trying to avoid the faces of the people I danced with. I know what I'll see there — hurt, betrayal, fear — so what's the point? I deserve it. I brought this on them. It's only right that they should hate me. I don't care. But then I see the girl. The freckles on her nose stand out in the dim light, like constellations over her skin. Even bloodied and crying silently in front of me, she's still good-looking. A good wash will get that blood out of her straw hair. It's sad that I can't say the same about the psychological wounds she'll get from this event. The man that walked out returns holding a s
Riven POVThe girl returns with the tray of food. The smell of mashed potatoes, eggs, berries, and sausage fills my nostrils and makes my mouth water. I thank her, giving her a wink just because. She blushes, staining crimson, mutters something inaudible before walking away. She returns later with a jug of sweetened milk. I eat in silence for the most part. The food is good, and it's only until I take the first bite that I realise just how hungry I was. It makes me feel a little bit guilty that I might be the reason the entire bar gets burned down tonight. Best not to think about that right now. My generosity doesn't go unnoticed. Everyone in this bar knows I just paid for their drinks, and nothing gets to a man's heart like free drinks. Soon, the reveling happens in full. Several throats join to sing bar songs, some of them raudy. There's the sound of stomping and tapping feet as several people stand up to dance. I watch, clap, and join in some dances myself. The people here seem
Riven POV I clutch my traveling cloak tighter around myself as I make my way through the town. Night gathers like oily blackness, pooling in the crevices of faces, beneath shades, and in the hollows of alleyways. The moon is a pale orb with a chunk missing. The full moon is only days away now. Inside me, my wolf and my human spirit continue to blend. There are days that I wake up in the forest, not knowing how I got there. Sometimes there's a carcass that I seemed to just be in the midst of finishing. Other times, while I slept, I found my way to the highest hills and just laid there. None of these have been full transformations, but as I draw closer and closer to it, what is man is indistinguishable from what is wolf. I draw in a deep breath, letting me the cool night air expand my chest. I'm dressed relatively poorly. My travelling cloak looks like it's seen several years of use. My shirt has a neck near the collar. My boots, I got from a pawn shop on my way here. The “silver” is