RAINA’S POVVersion 9.0 did not respond.Grimness tightened his mouth, and I struggled in his iron grip, desperate to break free and reach Gustav. His arms, like steel bands, held me bridal-style, unshaken by my twisting form. It was a paradox of pain and pleasure. Terrifying, yet coaxingAs Valen’s hold tightened around me, the sparks that nipped at my skin taunted me by reminding me of what I was fighting to reclaim. My home. My true mate.Knowing that the memories would only feed my fascination with this clone, I bit my lower lip and chased away the ache of despair and loneliness that constricted my chest.“Let me go, you monster!” I screamed, writhing in his arms. My breaths came in short gasps, hair clung to my sweat-slicked face as I clawed at him, heels digging at air.“None of that, Raina. Not now,” Valen growled at me.With my feelings hurt and anxious, Valen left me hanging in a dramatic pause as he steered his focus to the oncoming Worgen. His face turned stiff and stark as
RAINA’S POVLevitating weightlessly above us, the imposing white-haired woman scoffed callously, “Well, I’ll be damned.”“Farrah,” I exhaled in a shocked whisper, staring up at the female Worgen.She hovered ten feet in the air between two red-leafed, spindly trees in a belted cap-sleeved cyan jumpsuit. The vivacious winds swirled her radiant, long hair in fluid arcs around her grim face.The simulated world around me seemed to tilt off its axis, and her appearance sent a cold, gnawing fright through me. Was it really her, or could she be DayDocker? Whenever the trial wasn’t going their way, the timekeepers interfered.I backpedaled slowly.Valen’s chest rumbled, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand high, reminding me of his commanding presence hulking behind me like an evil shadow. Cold and composed as solid ice. His killmonger aura made a shiver climb down my back, and my feet halted.What an inescapable bind.“I see you came to join the land of the living.” She said cu
RAINA’S POVDevin, Thaines, and Zack.The relentless, merry furballs...tall, smug and charged with energy in the bright, dappled sunlight of the forest.Sweaty and shirtless in bur-covered jeans and tracking pants, they stood a few meters away. Their piercing intentions ignited a torrent of wild, defiant thoughts within me, and I steeled myself against the raw fear that shuddered through me.“Stay behind me,” Gustav snapped, jumping upright. His tone was sharp and commanding as he positioned himself in front of me.“We’re taking you in, Rai. I don't want to subdue you, but I will, if you resist,” Devin stated, approaching us menacingly. “We’ll protect you from the timekeepers. If you don't want to see Valen...” He raised his palms and flashed them downward. “I’ll ensure he stays away, but your best choice is to come with us.”“Not if I can help it,” Gustav snarled viciously, eyeing them warily.I felt cornered, that creeping cornered feeling slinked into my bloodstream.“Get him, and c
RAINA’S POV“Hold up!” I shouted at Gustav, panting hard. A bead of sweat rolled down my forehead and splattered on my chin. “Haah…haah…”We pushed through the overgrown bushes into a small clearing with sparse trees. Their massive roots poked out of the leaf-covered earth and curved up into their trunks.Fatigue burned into my human lungs and legs. I groaned, grating my teeth against the pain in my hipbone as we came to a stop in the forest. The shrubs had clawed at my flesh, leaving blistering welts on my arms that hurt.“Okay. Let’s check your wound before we do anything else,” Gustav said, breathing normally, removing my arm from across his shoulder to gently set me down.I hissed and flinched as I pressed my hand on a tree bark to sit down on its large root. Pain struck me, aggressive and hot, as I bent over with one hand on my knee to take a breather.“Is it bleeding?” I inquired through a breathless gasp, drawing air into my lungs to appease my need for oxygen.I raised a brow,
RAINA’S POV“Shhh,” I shushed my hostage, eyes clashing over my shoulders with hers, in an unwavering stare-down in the dusty dimness of the cabin.“Don’t you shush me,” Venus clapped back with a stamp of her foot, raking up more dust in the grim interior.Tempted to sneeze, I wiggled my nose, holding it in.“This isn’t funny anymore, Rai. After all the Worgens did to Vaheed. You haven’t seen him, Rai. You haven’t seen the way Vaheed’s not the same anymore. It’s like he’s an empty shell of himself.” Venus had a suppliant tone to her voice, even when she lowered it to a hiss. “Untie me. I want out of these chains.”Trying and failing and suffering. A never-ending cycle of punishment, and she expected me to feel an ounce of pity for her and her furry friends. Mustering any form of care was just wasteful.“Boo-hoo, shut up!” I mock-cried, “You are preaching to the wrong person, and I'm no Saint. I'll shove one of these explosive marbles down your throat if you don’t be quiet.”For a long
VALEN’S POV"Fuck!" I roared, the sound tearing from my throat as I swung around and slammed a fist into the tree behind me. Bark splintered under the force of the hit, and the pain barely registered.Huffing out angry breaths, I braced my palms on the tree. My head slumped as I tried to shut down the analytical side of my brain. The part that was rattling off statistics of the declining likelihood of finding her before it was too late.The air was thick with anxious energy.Long black fur sprouted from every inch of my skin. My canines and claws extended. I was about to shift and charged through the hundreds of acres of terrain.Devin, Penn, and Thaines sensed the turmoil within me. Detecting that they were cautiously strolling over to me, surrounding me, I rotated to face them.Although they seemed unsure of what to say, they wanted to show their support through close proximity."Don’t do anything irrational, Alpha," Devin said, brows tilting up in an appeal as he clung to the duffl