LOGINVALEN’S POVZeus roared. My desire to protect and nurture was well in overdrive.I curled my hands into fists against the strong compulsion to run to Jiya’s defense.To keep the impulse down, I quickly bit my fist, drawing blood. I didn’t want to bring their talk to a premature end. Neither would I ever let this damn connection control me."Raj, you will understand one day, I promise," Jiya stated, her tone mellowing.“You don't get to approach me and interrogate me about my family,” Raj snarled. “Not when you're after my daughter. Leave my family alone.”“You shouldn't discriminate,” Jiya responded flatly. “Everyone is treating me like I'm stealing something. I'm not against Raina, but I should be happy too.”Raj snorted. “Then be happy but not at the expense of others. You know what's funny to me? How you were here before and never once did you chase Valen, or declare this cock-and-bull bond.”“I explained that before,” she defended harshly.Raj laughed mockingly. “It didn't exist.
VALEN’S POV Dense, foggy wolfsbane gas thinned into a pale, translucent mist as I stood in the corridor of the dingy dungeon.Next, the glass-clad polycarbonate chamber unlocked. Then the transparent door hissed and automatically slid open.“Get him up,” I commanded, stepping through the threshold.Theo and Thaines moved ahead of me towards a disoriented Benji lying on the cold, grayish-blue floor.“Wake up, sunshine,” Theo said, gripping his arm and yanking him to sit up. “It's time to talk to your Alpha.”Thaines grasped Benji's nape to angle his head in my direction.“Alpha Val-Valen,” Benji wheezed out with a cough, taking long and arduous breaths.I put my hands into my jeans pockets, staring down at him in displeasure.“Tell me your full name,” I ordered sturdily, checking his coherence.He breathed noisily. “Benjamin Morgan-Anders. Alpha, are you going to kill me with this gas? I want to go home.”He tried to get up, but his weak attempt was nothing against the Gamma twins' st
RAINA’S POV“Good grief, Raina!” Elder Jacob exclaimed, his face twisted in anger. “You just can’t bear to lose, can you? You are definitely no match to be queen.”My mouth instantly parched, and I struggled to address the furious man. "W-what…"“May the moon weep on you!” Elder Mitchell cursed me like I was something to spit on while rushing forward to the bleeding woman.They kneeled on the ground on either side of Jiya, gently holding up her trembling upper body as blood seeped through her fingers. Both looked stricken by her pain, like they were losing their most precious person.Elder Mitchell looked at me with a dicing glare, and snapped, “Silver? You resort to such vile means! You had no right!”Commotion broke out with the crowd’s fury swelling into a deafening roar, and my eyes swiftly darted around. A flare of panic rose in me as the upset mass drew nearer.My heart thundered in my chest as the mob’s outrageous accusation hit me from every direction: “Murdering woman!” “Unfi
VALEN’S POVPandia’s angry eyes landed first on Valiant, then on me, and back to him. “Concubinage Mating? It’s not enough that women have to bear the demands of a patriarchal world, but now we’re being forced to share the man that the moon goddess fated to us?”“Now is not the time.” Valiant gritted inaudibly, trying to grab her hands. “The Alpha is in a bad mood.”I folded my arms and darted a cut-throat glare at them, feeling my anger rekindling fast.Pandia jerked her hands out of his reach, escaping his grasp despite his continuous attempt to clutch them. “You support this, don’t you? Hmm? So you can have Sisinae, or is it Niosune?”“You’re not supposed to be here. Do not aggravate him,” Valiant warned, blocking her with his large body and his hands stretched wide out. “Let’s go somewhere and talk about this.”With every second, my patience dwindled into vexation, and I pressed my lips into a thin line.Pandia deftly twisted to the side and stepped past him, turning her focus on m
VALEN’S POV“Denied!” I growled at the thumbnails of Alphas on the plasma screen in the office. “It’s one mate, one bond.”The online Alpha meeting ended in vain hope.Devin pressed the remote, and the screen blackened, just like my mood for the day.My rage amplified.“I will not sanction that harem system!” I jolted up from the chair that toppled over behind me and furiously swept my desk clean of its contents.Crash! The laptop, folders, and everything scattered across the office.Raina's face filled my thoughts, her voice, and her faith in me. Endorsing a concubinage law might satisfy the Alphas, but it would shatter her. The disappointment in her eyes alone would be enough to haunt me.With a roar of frustration, I swirled, kicked the chair out of my way to the left, and punched the wall, sending my fist into it with a hard thud. The impact rattled the structure, leaving a jagged hole in the drywall. Dust drifted to the floor.I stood there with my palms bracing on either side of
RAINA’S POV“Why is she like this?” I questioned the woman. “Doesn't she have a caretaker?“Oh, she lost her mate. Haven't been the same since,” the woman said with a sad smile and introduced herself to me. “I'm Meisha. Her younger sibling. I'm the only one she allows to care for her. You can surely see how problematic that can be."Shayla whimpered in dismay, rocking her body from side to side. “Zeph is my mate. I can't go back. Let them let me go.”“See what I mean? She's confused about everything. Mixing up the brothers,” Meisha explained sympathetically, gesturing to her sister. “She'll be calm when she's back home.”“Just put her in a psychiatric home to stop her madness from flaring,” Jiya sneered, fanning her face. “Go. She's clearly a handful. I get tired just by looking at her.”Glad for Jiya’s outright dismissal, Zephnar and Meisha grabbed Shayla's arms and the group shifted their feet to depart.“Hold on.” I stopped them again after seeing the terror on her face.“Your Lunai
-VALEN'S POV- Two scents fluttered around my senses. Raina's bluebell and cherry mate scent triggered that pull for me to rush to her. Then the metallic rich blood odor was inciting Zeus to force himself through just to go to her aid. Holding a hand across her ribs, the door opened, and she staggere
-RAINA'S POV- In the blink of an eye, the brunette charged at me. She punched me across the face, catching me off guard. I saw stars and gasped as my head swiped to the side, expelling air. A jarring pain cropped up in my neck and cheeks as I staggered backwards. Blood went down my throat. “The winn
-RAINA’S POV- The minute I entered the pack house, I received Jason’s call, “Did you find out who it is?” “Well, the device that the message was sent from belongs to Jiya Kaur.” The name shocked me. “She was a rogue we took in a few weeks ago.” The day I met her came to memory and my blood ran cold.
-RAINA'S POV- “Jason, I want to know who the culprit is before you disclose it to anyone else.” I approached the witches’ off-white farmhouse-style cottage, ambling down the gravel walkway to the sprawling porch with the snow globe in my hand. The phone conversation was meant to be short since I was







