-THIRD PERSON’S POV-
“What is this hustler’s name?” Seff engaged Jarvaldo with the business card in his hand. He rose from the chair and his foot knocked over the empty communion wine bottle. It clinked and rolled on the floor.
“He goes by the pseudonym of Shekel Moneta,” Jarvaldo divulged. “Give him a call. Tell him that you’re my guy.”
Seff stopped the bottle with his foot and bent over to steady it on the floor. When he straightened, he took out his new Android phone to make the call. He wasn’t in the bullshit today with Jarvaldo. He assessed the business card and whispered the contact details:
1 000 EZE BUCKS
Looking back at his phone, Seff procrastinated at the dialpad section. Doubtfully, he punched the digits. He knew he got the first part right but where was the rest of the numbers to complete the standardized ten-digit contact.
Seff grimaced, pursing his lips. “E. Z. E. ―” His crimson eyes narrowed as he searched the number keypad for the words to press. “Where are you ‘eze’ and ‘bucks’?”
Jarvaldo snickered, holding down his laugh. He knew well that Seff was absolutely clueless about what to do and enjoyed his misery.
“Are you playing with me?” Seff fussed, darting a mad gaze at his comrade, feeling frustrated because he was stuck and Jarvaldo’s behavior meant that he was up to something. “Is this phone defective?”
“No.” Jarvaldo shook his short, shaggy, brush-cut pearly-white head, folding his lips under to conceal his amusement.
Seff resumed his efforts on the phone, grinding his teeth because he could not figure it out. Steaming with impatience, he shouted after a minute of trying to solve how to make that phone call. “Telephone numbers aren’t supposed to have words! That’s what the fucking technician taught me.”
Jarvaldo burst out a deep, snort-filled laugh. He slumped backward in his chair with his upper body jerking from his humor.
The entire time, Seff’s anger was boiling. Irately, he scratched his cotton puffs of white hair. He remembered when Jarvaldo had tricked him into tasting some white powdery stuff that got him as high as a kite. His high ass tripped on the stairs, and as he was going down, he farted loudly and crash-landed onto the mother superior.
Seff practically began humping the petrified, screaming nun. When Jarvaldo got him off her, Seff sat there a minute at the bottom of the stairs, giggling, before shifting into his large blue-black wolf and running off to do some other stupid shit that would make even the devil laugh. His wolf had never been more doped.
“If you don’t shut up and tell me how this works, I’ll wrap this communion tray around your neck.” Seff erupted, threatening to use his metal-bending power in a loathing tone.
Jarvaldo's laughter died down. He blew Seff off with a hand and rose to stand by him to explain how to substitute the letters with numbers. Finally, Seff made the call, cursing under his breath while the phone rang at his ear.
Once the call ended, Seff alerted his boss, “Dymian, I’m off.”
Dymian nodded curtly and Jarvaldo followed him out.
"Rovell, let's go and visit Mrs. Bumpkin. We’ll also put in our order to the pirates of the Vale." Dymian stepped from his desk.
Farrah mutely gazed out the window.
His second-in-command arched his full white brows, wondering why make the requisition from the underworld when the money ought to be present first. Nonetheless, Rovell repelled raising his objections because of the finality in Dymian’s tone. He settled down with a nod.
"Farrah, go and monitor the portals. Do not leave the chapel," Dymian ordered.
She bowed and in two strides his husky voice warned, "I hope that I don't have to tell you to stay away from the alpha prince while I’m gone."
Farrah groused internally that she had no intention of seeing Vaheed. Outwardly she responded politely, "Of course not.”
Priest Ramcrook entered the study, meeting Dymian and Rovell before they got to the doorway.
“Father Dymian, you have a visitor.” Father Ramcrook informed him with hands behind his back. “He claims to be Alpha Rowling.”
Dymian smirked evilly. “By all means, I’ll meet him in the auditorium.”
“I’ll go and receive him,” Rovell went off, immediately.
Dymian exited with the priest, talking.
Farrah watched them leave and sighed. She had been busy using whatever power boost she stole from the red wolf to create portals at the two sinkholes they left in Bolivia and Uganda.
Fucking Selene closed all their past entry points into the realms. Now they had no old connections to count on for the war they would wage. That was why they relied on the pirates of the Vale in the underworld to secure a passageway to a particular realm.
While buried in her thoughts, she made her way to the roof.
Ever since she met Vaheed, something inside her twisted. It tied her gut into knots of conflicting emotions. While Dymian had a past mate whom he killed, Vaheed was her first mate. The irrepressible experience nagged her. The uncontrollable bond pulled at her so hard that she could barely avoid him.
She was miserable.
Lust, desire, and hunger mauled her daily. Something fervid swirled inside of her for the low-down prince. Something not even Dymian could give her. Right now, the thought of continuously being in Dymian’s bed was starting to make her sick to the stomach. She hid it well.
Indeed, it was hard not to go to the basement to see him. Her wolf yearned for his scent. Dymian could certainly sense the change, yet he told her not to reject him. He planned to use the mate bond to an advantage. To what extent? She didn't know. Apparently, he was keeping things from her. It was unusual of him to act in this way.
These erotic feelings were alien.
Farrah knew only purpose. Fighting for a reason. Fucking for an objective. She knew not love.
Nothing in her life had ever been just because. Together with her comrades and Selene, they fought many battles and won. Their last feud was against the moon goddess and the other four Worgens, which they failed back then. Though it was the same fight that landed them in a perennial slumber with their powers sealed.
Farrah ended up on the flat concreted roof of the chapel standing in the center of two domes. The sun was setting. A coolness descended on the land. The faraway street had a busy line of traffic. It was the end of the day and people were trying to get home.
Home.
She had no home.
A hollow sensation tore at her chest with the desire for one.
A whispering breeze flowed around her, whisking up her long, white strands in a slow, swaying dance in the air. She closed her eyes as it caressed her face, driving her distressing thoughts away. She drew a large intake of its freshness, feeling peace.
"Don't walk away from what I’ve given you." A voice softly whispered as the wind whirled around her.
Farrah's eyes flicked open. They scanned the surroundings but she was alone. Both of her hands threaded through her flying wavy strands to keep them away from her face.
"Do not defy your destiny." The breathy female voice graced her ears once more. "You know the right course."
Was it Dymian getting into her head to test her? Or was it a direct message from Selene?
Peace deserted Farrah, leaving an awry sensation in her stomach and muddled mind.
-
RAINA’S POV Thunderstruck.Valen’s cold words stopped my heart and my brain at the same time. We were mere paces apart, but he stared down at me like a piece of gum on the sole of his shoes.I blinked at him. “What…what did you say? Are you accusing me of something?”Valen's throat bobbed. He huffed out a breath before speaking in a voice with forced calm. “Forget it. It doesn't matter, as long as you stay away from him.”“Right. This is not the kind of discussion you have in public.” Devin stepped closer to us, trying to diffuse the situation. “We’re here to strategize, not to let our frustration lead us down a road that we shouldn’t go.”“No-no-no. Repeat your words, Valen,” I demanded, hoping I had misheard every syllable.To think he could accuse me of cheating and then dismiss it without giving me the space to clear things angered me.“Best of luck, buddy,” Devin said, omitting himself from our conversation by going to the sideline.Valen stared at me, working his jaw. “I know,
VALEN’S POVUnobstructed resentment rose inside me.My eyes flicked open, and I released Raina's hands to cross mine over my chest.Our eyes pinned each other in silence.“Nothing, right?” Her brows raised in question. She didn’t blink; she just studied me closely, searching my gaze for a response.I kept my face an impassive mask so that my mate couldn't tell that I had actually picked up on the location.Raina’s brows drooped, and she sighed sadly, turning away from me to pace back and forth. The bond started to feel strained even though we were mere inches apart, only adding to my concern.“Don't keep it away from her,” Zeus warned. “You’re going to make her upset with us.”“I know how this plays out,” I practically snapped at him. "You know who's involved.”A worrying knot wrung in my chest as I watched Raina pace back towards me, looking more stressed. I couldn’t stand seeing her carry all this weight again. Maybe I should go to the temple by myself. I would bring Penn and the st
VALEN’S POVThe air-conditioned air hit me and Devin as we barged into the IT Hub, naked, sweaty, and blood-coated.The faint smell of new wires and burned coffee wafted through the coolness, but Raina’s scent dominantly drifted up my nostrils. Zeus perked up in my head, his tail wagging anxiously because he’d get to see her.As I slowly entered the space and scanned it, I couldn’t miss the tension in the room. Everyone was preoccupied, hard at work over something.On the far side of the room, Penn and Azara stood hunched over a long metal table. The five broken Ugandan stone tablets, which they pieced together, were splayed before them. Tomes. Notebooks. Scattered scrolls. Sketches. The plagioclase stone was positioned among them, and I was utterly displeased.I was certain the uneasiness stemmed from the cryptic stones. So that’s what this was about. I didn’t want Raina near them. She knew that. They all knew that, yet my mate couldn’t have stayed with her Mom for one day. Penn was
VALEN’S POVOver at Greenberry forest, the thuds on the ground slowed as the battle came to an end, and the sound of bones cracking filled the air.Snarls, barks, and roars died down, and the air rang with victorious shouts and howls.Zeus pushed back to let me take control and I shifted into my naked human form. I peered out between the needle-pointed branches, locking sight on my Beta.“Stop playing with your prey, Beta,” I growled, knowing he was wasting time.“Squish, pissy fleabag!” Devin let out a guttural snarl as he ripped the last rogue open, tearing muscle and bone apart with his bare claws. His sturdy chest heaved as blood splashed over him, trickling down his bare skin.Bodies piled. Blood pooled. Rivals pulverized.Nude warriors began hauling dead rogues to a heap for on-the-spot cremation. The gruesome sight evoked mixed feelings: pride, but also dread.A light gust of wind carried the metallic scent, whipping it around me, strong and pungent, repulsing me. A sickening t
RAINA’S POVMoonlight streamed through the open curtains, like the touch of its soft light had nudged me awake.Actually, what woke me was that dream again. The gut-wrenching scream of seeing deadly, razor-edge claws stabbed into Selene, and the raw tang of blood that raked my nostrils. It felt more vivid and real than anything else, feeling like a wound was left in my chest.I blinked my swollen eyes and brushed sleep from them. Why did the plagioclase stone still haunt me? Why won’t it give me more than these nightmares and tormenting whispers?Moon goddess, what does your death have to do with me? Why make your pain my own?I shifted away from Valen, wanting to get out of bed."Stay, Bluebella," Valen grumbled beneath me as he wrapped his arms tighter around my waist. His eyes were shut, and he was half asleep, latching onto me like his favorite teddy bear. “It's too early to be thinking that hard.”"How can you possibly know that I'm thinking too hard?" I whined, pushing his chest
VALEN’S POVExhilaration snapped through me despite knowing she was flipping things over, trying to make me lose my damn mind, trying to show me how much she had me wrapped around her finger, but now I wanted her wrapped around something else.“So mouthy today.” My mouth sank, crashing onto hers like a punishment, hard and fierce.All the fear, frustration, and fury I’ve been choking down exploded like a popped balloon of water, snuffed out by desire. I slid my tongue inside her mouth, swallowing her moans with rough kisses.“Stubborn…” I pulled back and grazed my teeth over her lower lip, whispering, “...reckless…” I growled into her mouth as my hardness throbbed between my legs. “... smart-mouthed…” I planted another kiss, slow and savoring, letting my breath brush her lips with, “…but mine.”I claimed her mouth again, kissing her longer and more passionately.Breaking for a minute, I slipped her down to stand as we tore each other’s clothes off, dropping them in the puddle at our f