LOGINRAINA’S POVI heightened my guard, let my fork rest on my plate, and leaned back in my chair to slowly look up. I found three of the most respected, well-liked females in Kain’s pack.I blinked. “If you’re here to—”“Stop. We've been dying to say something,” the first one with long black braids said. She put down her plate on the table and clapped her deep-brown hands in excitement. I believe she was Zerika, the Gamma female here. She sported the kind of grin that made people think twice.As always, I have to hear things I didn't want to hear. Thankfully, I’ve grown used to the thorny vines of hurtful words.“Well, we saw…” the brunette fumbled over her words nervously. She was the shortest, with a halo of tight curls and a scar cutting through her left eyebrow.Here it comes, the mockery. I couldn’t show any weakness, or they would pick me apart like easy prey.“Don't stall, Anlyn. Just handle it my way,” the second blonde, Seokee, was the Beta-female. She was freckled, pale, with a
RAINA’S POV “Luna, did the wolf find his mate?” A little blonde girl with double twisted buns tugged the side of my blue skirt, looking up at me.I was in the children's section of the cyan quarantine tents that were set up at Kain’s pack.I glanced down at her cute, round face as I closed the storybook and patted her head. “Of course, he did.”“Where's that part of the story? You can’t stop it after the war,” a gap-toothed boy with bright, curious eyes blurted, sitting cross-legged on a rumpled blue sleeping bag.They were all sitting up in the same positions. There weren't enough beds, so we improvised. We had to find ways to keep them entertained until they recovered to go home to their parents.“That is because with stories like these, we create our own endings,” I said, appealing to their creative minds as I found his amber eyes.“But how do you know Luna?” A tiny girl with two puffed pigtails leaned forward, her brows pinched in worry.“What would she look like?” Another little
RAINA’S POV“If it comes to it, Raina, yes, I’ll give it up.” Valen raised a hand to my cheek, brushing his thumb across my skin.“You can’t give up your birthright,” I disagreed strongly, shaking my head. “You’re the king that the realm needs. You have done a lot for this pack and the alphas. They’d be foolish to replace you. Coming at you would give Dymian every opening he would need to destroy us. Valen, please.”“Not if it’s asking me to abandon everything that matters to me,” he said, low and unwavering. “You are my world.”I was still shaking my head when his other hand came to my next cheek, tenderly caressing both sides of my face with tingles.Valen chuckled, his eyes twinkling in humor, amused at something. “Right about now, the Elders are going to be breathing down Dad’s neck, and my father’s too busy for council matters. Mom’s not here anyway. They’ll be miserable for a while. ”“What about Connery?” I asked, my chest tightening at the thought of the PAC that was forcing u
RAINA’S POVValen’s voice came like a crack of thunder. “The coyolxauhqui stone at the ritual temple responds to my fated mate. That alone should secure her position.”“You cannot blow off the Alphas now against your bond,” Elder Sybil contended, gesticulating with her hands. “Strength on the throne is what they crave, and so, the position of our future queen is of grave concern.”This was as insulting as it was infuriating. I have been patient. I have been understanding, but now, my blood is just boiling.“Why can’t you understand?” I asked, dropping my hand from Valen’s torso and turning to them. “It's not about the title. It's not about power. It's not about position. It's about love. Valen and I will fight for each other,” I asserted and vowed, “Because we’re carving out our own place in the world, on our own terms. That’s what our bond stands for. We chose each other, and we are standing together. Literally.”“Excuse me?” Elder George’s eyes sharpened in warning when we looked at
This chapter contains a discussion of the whole pregnancy matter. Discretionary reading is advised…..RAINA’S POV“Elders,” I greeted demurely.It was a wide room, the Elders looming above on a raised platform, their seats arranged so they could look down on you like judges. They rolled their eyes over me, looking already set on a verdict.On either side, ten cold chairs lined the space like a jury. All were empty except for Connery, who was seated to the right. The fact that the man was sitting there with a file folder was unsettling, as if the energy in here wasn’t already stifling.“I am aware of why you summoned me. I came to hear you out.” I stood alone in the center with a clear space carved out before me, while the audience chairs behind were split in two, leaving a walkway running straight down the middle.Alpha Connery coughed and gurgled something in his throat in an earnest attempt to announce himself.After yesterday’s event, I refused to acknowledge him.Why was he here,
RAINA’S POVThis time, no one could stop my mate.Valen’s murderous gaze locked on Connery. He moved lethally fast, and his claws slid free with a metallic shikt.“She's the red…” Connery never got to finish, as a stronger force bulldozed through us like a death god.Alpha King Vance was on Connery before anyone took their next breath. His powerful hand clasped around his throat, lifting him clean off his feet.“You disrespected my Luna Queen and me when you disregarded our command and barged in here,” Vance growled, low and final, and slammed the man’s back against the wall. It cracked, spidering out from the impact. “Such audacity!”Patients gasped and thrashed. Breaths turned sharp and ragged as fear rippled from bed to bed under the king's billowing aura.Connery choked, kicking, fingers clawing uselessly at the iron-blooded strength of the king.“There's a limit to your insolence,” Vance roared, his voice like flint striking steel as he dragged Alpha Dick out.I could picture his
-VALEN’S POV- Raj, Dad, and Devin, in wolf form, approached us. Devin’s mustard yellow with grey ear tips was the first to come near us, while Raj’s fully oxblood wolf and Dad’s larger alpha-black wolf observed us. Hera spared them no any attention. Her intention was to get enough of me, as much as
-THIRD PERSON'S POV- Dymian fixed his eyes on Farrah, knowing her points were valid. The guardian cubes on his forehead glowed. He pursed his thin peach lips and uttered, "Then we'll have to get rid of her. No one will stand in the way of our plans." If that bitch was Selene, it made sense that she'
-VALEN'S POV- All of us kept silent. Devin crept into the kitchen to help himself to some pizza. Raj stalked him and procured a glass of bourbon from the liquor cabinet. Avoiding what she had inquired, I stared down at how adorable she was in my arms. Raina got extremely irate and yelled, "I am sick
-VALEN’S POV- "Valen….." "It's Alpha Valen to you," I snarled and straightened my posture. Mercedes stopped at the first table where the exploded tail of the chopper laid. In her right hand was a cardboard drink carrier tray with two white customizable takeaway cups in it. Her black V-neck blouse w







