-RAINA’S POV- “Shit! This is a real problem.” Venus hissed after opening the trunk of her car to find that her weapons bag wasn’t there. It surely would have been helpful. Had it not been for Pennelope’s witch powers, we would be dead. With its girthy dive-bomb howls, the whirling clouds kept cannonading rogues like a sulfur-gray spit-straw on the town. My mind began to spiral, even as fear paralyzed my limbs. The sanguinary rogue dropped the decapitated head from his jaws. He jumped to the top of a dark blue truck and just stared at me with an ugly sneer plaguing his face. "Raina!" Zack shouted my name, pulling me from my deteriorating thoughts. He held the base of my chin, looking down into my eyes. "Stay with me." Nodding, I blinked away the numbness. I struggled to conquer my trepidation, but I knew I had to snap out of it. I was their weakest link and I couldn’t let them die because of my incapabilities. “This will keep us safe, but we cannot stay here.” Pennelope had disc
-RAINA'S POV- Rough hands from the murky shadow clamped on my tender shoulders. “Eeek!” I shrieked, freaking out and wrestling against the unidentified man who tugged me into a wall of compact muscles. Shock ran through me when my mouth was smothered. My body went rigid with terror. My heart flipped and screamed. Fear squeezed the air from my lungs until…...suddenly…….sparks? Robbing me of a moment to breathe, Valen's lips moved on mine. His strong arms wrapped around my waist. Everything went quiet and I slumped against him. His kiss was so desperate and wanting. Fast and passionate. It made me melt. Waves of current shot into me. One of his hands moved from my waist to the back of my neck to hold me close. My lips tingle with a slight pull in my abdomen. He hooked onto my soul. He became my world and the war was forgotten until he tore his lips away. Our eyes locked, and his thumb brushed under my lash. Two of my fingers touched my lips as they sizzled. My mind was a bit hazy
-RAINA’S POV- In a blink, whatever I thought I had seen had disappeared. Was I mistaken? Was my paranoia making me see things? A sudden jab in my rib from Venus’ elbow snapped me out of my haunting thoughts. Drawing her brows together, she asked, “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Yeah.” My voice cracked slightly. I forced a half smile. I was good for now. Venus rested a hand on my shoulder, and we turned our attention back to the rogue that Valen had brought in. “Cut the shit out, rogue.” Both of Valen’s hands grasped the rabid rogue’s face, turning it directly to apply an Alpha’s eye-lock. The rogue thrashed and growled in resistance until human legs formed and a trembling orange-haired woman took shape. Judging by her looks, she couldn’t be older than twenty years old. The black swirl left her sclera and shaky, amber irises emerged. She was disoriented and panicking. I hoped that she would soon come to her rightful mind. I glanced over at a black-haired war
-RAINA’S POV- Jakub’s chestnut wolf appeared out of nowhere. Valiantly, he attacked one of the rogues and I was impressed by his skills. However, the two of them crashed into Benji’s side, toppling us over with a bludgeoning thud. The air quickly knocked out of me. “Augh!” The side of my head hit the ground hard on something sharp. It burned and ached wickedly. Dancing purple spots overwhelmed my vision for a blurry moment. Pain riddled me faster than a lightning bolt. Benji’s toffee wolf's large body had collapsed on my left leg. I could feel my bones breaking too. I screamed more loudly than I had ever screamed in my life. I winced repeatedly, gritting my teeth and slapping his back to get off me. Burdened by his unbearable weight, I reeled against the ramped-up agony of his body shifting on my broken leg. It was hard for Benji to get up when two aggressive rogues were nipping canines at his ears and neck, but thank goddess for Jakub, who charged at them with full force. Benji q
-RAINA'S POV- The malevolent presence stood still. My trembling, weak hands covered the wound. Blood geysered through the cracks of my overlapping fingers, intertwining with them as they pressed on the severe gash on my right leg. The thick, warm, sticky, dark crimson liquid coated them, crawling under my nails. It would not stop bleeding. Consciousness was dwindling. Reality blurred. The agony was extremely excruciating. The pain and sorrow of the pack amplified in my chest and I clenched my teeth grunting, drowning under a tidal slaughter that felt like it would burst out of me. “Are you going to watch me bleed to death?” I hyperventilated, focusing on the need to control the leaking flow. Yet, the hellish man made no move. Whenever I blinked, my heavy eyelids wanted to stay shut. My heartbeat decelerated to a thready pulse. My lifeforce will end in a matter of time. Terror and despair put a pit in my stomach. Several low voices projected into my head: “Raina, where are you?
-RAINA'S POV- The vile Worgen teleported me, again! As the wind whooshed by the mouth of a cave, I could hear the opera of susurration produced by the bonny waves below the precipice. He strode inside the dim den and I surveyed the surroundings. The mossy-gray walls were lighted with luminous lichen. The air was humid, moldy, and a bit cold. Ew! I cringed from the scent of bat droppings. My stomach convulsed as vomit threatened to burst out of my lips. I pursed them. Once he put me down from his bulging shoulders onto the rough, basalt ground, my fists punched him in several hard spots. Quickly, he snatched my hands, jerking me to stop. Panting laborious, I demanded. “Where am I?” I have had my share of caves. Ahead of me was darkness that went deeper into the hollows. Behind me was the white, bright light of escape. He stared at me silently. His red predator’s gaze was unwavering and the heat of them emitted radio waves of a murderous intent. I saw only blood and death in them
-RAINA’S POV- The Worgen sighed and put his hands into his white pockets. “It’s a long story.” “Well, isn't it obvious that I won't leave my mate for you?” I retorted, putting too much force behind it. I had to bend over and put my hands on my knees to reinforce my body. “Nonsense. Why would I be here with you and not him? Where was he to take care of your wound? He was not there when you kept having nightmares in your sleep and I took them away. Neither was he there when you were dying,” he replied sardonically with a flat gaze. “I deserve you more than he does. So, tell me I have permission to court you and I shall.” “People are dying and you want to flirt!” My blood boiled and I straightened my posture to send him the heat of my eyes. “I feel their pain in my heart.” I clutched my chest. “Everyone deserves to live.” I didn’t miss what he said about my nightmares, but I wasn’t going to get into that. Not now. “My obligation is to you. No one else,” he commented, hard and rigid.
-RAINA'S POV- “You’ve been avoiding me,” an angry voice came from behind after I descended the glass-bifurcated stairs of the exquisite Saturn Striders Hotel. “Alpha Kain,” I acknowledged when I swung around to the six-foot man with hands crossed that made his biceps appear larger and ready to crush me for neglecting his messages. I said coolly, “I didn’t know that you were coming.” “You would if you had replied to my recent messages.” He dropped his hands to his side and his vexation toned down. The seventeen-year-old Alpha of an external pack licked his lips as his steps approached me with a cocky swagger. His nomad eyes lit up as he roamed them over my body and I took a deep breath. I was not afraid of him, but he has been one of those guys who constantly expressed an interest. “May I have the pleasure of enjoying your company or am I too late?” He stood too close to me with a taunting smirk as he gazed at my rose-mauve-coated lips. “I’ve been looking for you all evening.” He