SELENE“Not bad.” The approval in Tristan's eyes was enough to distract me, and when my foot raised up into a sharp kick, he caught my ankle mid air, yanking me forward.I landed hard against his chest, his arm wrapping around my waist.“Careful,” he murmured against my ear. “I might think you want to be in my arms.”He was not taking me seriously, I growled in frustration, and twisted, breaking free.I dropped to the ground again, sweeping Tristan's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a grunt, but he rolled immediately, using the momentum to throw me off balance.I barely had time to react before he was on top of her, pinning my wrists to the ground.“Yield,” he murmured, his face inches from mine.“Not yet.” I growled at him.I slammed her forehead into his, and he loosened his grip just enough for me to twist free, flipping them over so I straddled his waist.It wasn’t the most graceful move, but it worked.The crowd watching roared in shock at seeing their alpha on his
SELENE"Who saw this?" Tristan demanded.The guard hesitated, shifting in his feet, before speaking up. "Some of the pack members claim they've been seeing a dark misty creature roaming around every night for the past few nights. We can't be sure it's what killed those two, but with the timing of it's appearance, were certain it could be a creature hunting for something and it came across those two and attacked them.”“They're calling the creature… The Night Ripper.” He continued, his voice quieter now. “People are scared, Alpha. They don’t know what it is or where it came from, but whatever it is, it’s killing our people.”The name hung in the air like a curse.The Night Ripper… the words alone were enough to send an icy shiver through me, but Tristan reacted even worse than I expected.He froze, his eyes widened in shock. He was angry, furious, even, but there was something else in his eyes, something close to fear.“Alpha…what's wrong?” Someone asked as I narrowed my eyes at Trist
TRISTAN I crouched in front of the bodies, bodies belonging to members of my pack, of the people I swore to protect. My fingers clenched into fists as I struggled to control my anger.Whatever did this would pay with it's life, I would make sure of it.I forced myself to breathe, forced myself to think past the horror in front of me.“Spread out and look around. Anything you see, any sign of something being out of place should be reported to me immediately.” I nodded to the others, and they got to work.They moved out with a quiet efficiency, scouring the ground for any sign of evidence, whole I turned back to the bodies in front of me.I couldn't shake the feeling that we were missing something. That there was more to this monster than met the eye.“This wasn’t a clean kill,” I murmured to myself. “Whoever… whatever did this, it wasn’t just hunting.”“It almost looks like it was searching for something?” Selene's voice sounded beside me, and I turned to stare at her.My mind went ba
SELENE The warmth of Tristan’s body against mine was the first thing I felt when I woke up. His arm was draped lazily over my waist, his breath steady and deep against my neck. The scent of sweat and something unmistakably him lingered in the sheets, wrapping around me like a second skin.“Mmm…” I let out a soft hum, stretching slightly, but the movement only made me more aware of Tristan’s body, of the hard planes of his chest pressed against my back, of the heat radiating from his skin… of the unmistakable evidence of his arousal pressing into me.Well, well. A slow smirk tugged at my lips.Deciding to tease him, I arched back into him, rolling my hips just enough to make him feel it.Tristan’s breath hitched, his grip on my waist tightening. “You’re playing with fire, Selene,” he rumbled, his voice thick with sleep.A shiver ran through me. “Am I?” I whispered, tilting my head slightly to give him better access.His hand slid up from my stomach, fingers grazing my ribs before find
SELENE It wasn't adding up…I had been thinking and it just wasn't adding up.Tristan said I survived the hole, survived seven days of hell facing creatures that no human, no wolf, should have been able to defeat alone. Except I wasn't alone, I had Xercer, but even with him helping me, I still struggled.My mind kept circling back to the fifth day. I remembered it vividly, the exhaustion, the unbearable hunger, the wounds that bled sluggishly as I staggered through the endless forest. But then I had collapsed, I knew I had, that was the lady thing I could remember before waking up back here. There was no way I would have woken up, survived the last two days and defeated the monsters, and passed out again without remembering anything.I frowned as I paced around the room.Xercer had told me that he had no idea how I did it, but that made no sense. Xercer always knew, he was always watching, even when I was asleep…My thoughts screeched to a halt, my breath caught as pieces of the puz
37: UNFINISHED BUSINESS TRISTANI pinched the bridge of my nose as I stared down at the reports on my desk. The words blurred together the longer I stared at them, but the neatly typed lines offered no new answers, no hidden clues. My warriors had combed through every inch of the territory, we had been patrolling almost every night, yet there was no sign of the Night Ripper anywhere.A faceless, misty creature that only came out at night…I would have taken it as nothing more than stories told to scare children if I hadn't seen the victims for myself, if my pack was not currently living in fear because of this thing.It left nothing behind. No tracks. No scent. No signs of struggle beyond the brutal aftermath. The only thing it left us were the bodies of the victims. Torn apart, mutilated, their hearts carved from their chests with precision, like it was searching for something specific.But what? It didn't make sense. What was it looking for? Why was it carving out the hearts? What
TRISTANSelene stared at me, her eyes filled with hurt and another emotion I couldn't place. My stomach twisted at the sight.How much had she heard? I had no idea, but the look on her face told me it was enough, and I needed to do damage control now.My gaze flickered between her and Nancy, and I opened my mouth, scrambling for the right words, but for the first time in my life, I found none."Selene," I started, stepping toward her, desperate to close the distance.“Don’t.” She held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks.My wolf whined, hating the distance between us that was growing even farther even as we stood in the same room, hating the rejection in her tone.Nancy turned to her with a smug smirk, crossing her arms as she leaned against my desk. "Oh, so the mate finally shows up.”I growled low in my chest, a warning for Nancy to tread carefully, but Selene ignored her completely, her eyes were locked on me.“How long?” Selene asked."What?” I frowned, my chest tightening. I did
SELENEMy feet carried me down the hallway and away from Tristan's office, my heart was pounding so hard that I was half expecting the whole pack to be able to hear it.My chest twisted painfully, I had no right to be angry because I was hiding something far worse from him. But no matter how much I told myself that, the betrayal still burned.By the time I got to our…no Tristan's room, I was already on the verge of tears, and I slammed the door behind me and collapsed on the bed, my body curling into itself just as a choked sob ripped from my throat.How could Tristan do this to me? After everything we'd shared, after I had told him about what I went through? It felt like Lucas all over again, and I had no idea how to handle it.The fact that he had done the same thing to me…he had kept his relationship with Nancy a secret, just like Lucas had kept his affair a secret.I felt like I was reliving the same nightmare all over again.Nancy’s voice still echoed in my ears."Do you really t
SELENE The blood drained from my face at Tristan's words. "I…" The words tangled on my tongue and my mouth opened and closed multiple times as I tried to figure out what to say, but nothing was coming. What happened last night? I could not remember anything…but Tristan must have seen something…something that told him I was behind the night ripper he had been after all these while. But what…? I could not say too much and risk giving out information that he did not know and digging an even deeper grave for myself. I felt like I was drowning, struggling to breathe through the sudden weight pressing down on my chest. "Where do I even start?" Tristan muttered after a few seconds of watching me flounder around for what to say, dragging a hand through his hair, making it even messier. "Start what?" I whispered as I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. Goddess…why did my voice sound so small? Tristan exhaled sharply, then pushed himself up from the chair as he started t
SELENE "Ugh…my eyes…" I groaned, squinting as the sunlight stabbed at me like tiny, white-hot needles. I turned my head, burying my face into the pillow, but the damage was already done and now I was wide awake. I cracked one eye open, then the other, slowly adjusting to the golden light flooding the room. Wait…that was strange. I was pretty sure we had drawn the curtains shut last night. Tristan had been so insistent, muttering something about the cold draft sneaking in through the windows. I had watched him pull the heavy drapes closed, the muscles in his back shifting under his skin, and then he had turned back to me, those wickedly playful eyes filled with intent… Heat flooded my cheeks, and I yanked the blanket over my head, mortified at where my mind immediately went. Goddess…I could still feel the phantom traces of his hands on my skin, the way his mouth had worshipped every inch of my body. I pressed my palms against my burning cheeks, groaning again but this time from
TRISTAN My hands were trembling as I pulled Selene gently into my arms, trying to shield her body with mine. “Selene,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers, “Selene, what the hell just happened? What was that?” My brain was racing. None of this made sense. I had left her sleeping in our room not long ago. I had kissed her forehead, brushed her hair back and promised her that I would be back before she even noticed I was gone. So how the hell was she here now? Naked, unconscious, inside the remains of the night ripper? Was she…was she the one controlling it? Had it been her all along? No…that couldn’t be…right? Or had it tried to kill her but we got it before it could? But how had it gone up to my room, the pack was guarded and warded too…. Thoughts swirled around in my head, faster than I could keep up with, and I had no idea what to do. But how else could this make sense? The white smoke had formed her. I clutched her tighter, trying to shield her as the footsteps of my
TRISTAN The monster stared right at me, and I felt a shiver run down my spine, but I straightened and held its stare, refusing to flinch, a tight smirk curling my lips. “You are in my trap now,” I said under my breath, just loud enough for myself. “Your little reign of terror ends tonight.” It started moving again, slow and almost sluggish, like the runes were doing their job. Each step it took flickered more of the silver light around it, and I could smell the acrid burn of smoke where its misty form brushed the poison laced lines. Good…that meant our plan was working. Without a single hesitation, I ran towards it, my poison coated dagger already in my hand, cool and steady, coated in that rare venom we had spent a ridiculous amount of money to acquire. But now, as I closed the distance, I could feel its effect on the creature, and seeing how it flinched when I got close to it, its body coiling tighter in defense - made it all worth it. “You messed with the wrong pac
TRISTAN “You all know the plan,” I said, my voice steady, there was no room for doubt. “We may not have the full team, but the strategy holds. Do all you can to get it to the trap, and I will be at the end waiting.” Dorian exhaled hard through his nose, then lifted his chin. “We’ve got this.” “We do.” I met the gaze of every man there. “We finish this... tonight.” They nodded, one by one, every last one of them. There was no single hint of fear on their faces despite the fact that we were not prepared for this, they were all determined to see this through. That was why I knew that I could trust them with my life. “Do not let it double back,” I added. “Keep it moving. If you need to slow it down, do it, but do not get cocky. It’s faster than it looks.” “Yes, Alpha,” they echoed as one. I watched them melt into the trees, quiet as shadows, spreading out just like we’d trained. All our planning came down to this moment. I stood alone for a second longer, drawing in a slow brea
TRISTAN I walked ahead of my men, scanning the trees like I had a hundred times already, and there was nothing there, no footprints…no scent…no movement…just the same quiet tension pressing down on us. The Ripper was still out here, I was sure of it. But the bastard had gone quiet…too quiet. There had been no attacks in weeks, just silence, and while I should have been happy about that because it meant I did not lose any more pack members, something told me that whatever was coming was big….It did not sit right with me. It was almost like it had vanished into thin air, but I knew better, I knew that it was still in my pack and it would fall into my trap soon. All we could do now was wait and hope he was arrogant enough to fall into it. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. It was hard to focus today. My head kept drifting back to the pack house…back to Selene. She had still been asleep when I left, curled up under the blankets, one leg sticking out like she was fighting the
SELENE I got serious this time, with Tristan and I silently exchanging blows and none of us refusing to give in to each other. You’re not the only one who can play foul, I thought to myself as my heart pounded loudly. The moment I saw an opening, I moved quickly, stepping into his space and closing the distance between us until our noses were almost touching. I could feel the heat rolling off his body, the rise and fall of his chest. And then, in a tone I knew would undo him, I whispered in the most seductive voice I could, “I’ve missed you in bed.” Tristan's eyes went wide in shock as he stumbled a little and lost his footing, just like I hoped. That single second of hesitation was all I needed, I used the opportunity to grab his shoulder, twisting my weight, and taking him down hard onto the mat. He grunted as his back hit the floor, and before he could recover, I straddled him, my knees braced tightly on either side of his thighs and my hands pressed to his chest. “Got you,”
SELENE Tristan stepped into the ring without taking his eyes off me. “You may not see it…” he said, his voice smooth and calm as he began bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, loosening his shoulders, “...but that boy looks at you like you hung the stars.” What!?? I didn't even know what I was expecting from Tristan, but that was the last thing I expected him to say. “I need him to not get any ideas about my mate,” he added, flashing that grin again…the one that showed a hint of fang, just enough to make my heart start beating faster. “Now, are we doing this or not?” “So…” I began as I raised my fists, “you’re really here just to spar? Or are you here to mark your territory?” “Maybe both,” he said, meeting my eyes with a glint that made my stomach flip. “What can I say? I don’t like sharing.” “Who says you have anything to worry about?” “I know I don’t,” he said as calm as ever. “But that does not mean I will not remind the entire pack that you are mine.” I raised a brow
SELENE “You seem pretty distracted. Is there something on your mind?” Eli grunted just before his fist came flying toward my face. I barely dodged his blow in time as I twisting to the side, but the movement threw off my balance. My foot slipped, and before I could recover or find my footing, I landed flat on my ass with a hard thud with the impact sending a jolt up my spine. I needed to focus or I would get hit. “Ugh…” I groaned, glaring up at him from the mat. “Remind me again why I agreed to spar first thing in the morning?” Eli laughed, already extending a hand toward me. “Because you said you would get rusty if you did not move. Your words, not mine.” I grabbed his fingers and let him haul me up, brushing dust off my training clothes as I caught my breath. The morning air was cool against my skin which was still sticky with sweat. My muscles ached in the best way…but my mind was all over the place and I could not get myself to focus. “I’m fine,” I muttered, turning away f