This is going to be thrilling. If you can guess the next move , please put down your comments below
“Fancy seeing you here,” Fidel said, his smooth voice cutting through the gentle hum of waves crashing against the shore. I glanced up from my cup of coffee, feigning surprise. “Fidel,” I said, letting a smile play on my lips. “This is starting to feel like fate.” He chuckled, sliding into the chair across from me without an invitation. “If it is, I’m not complaining.” I tilted my head, studying him as though I hadn’t already analyzed every move he’d made during our last meeting. His posture was relaxed, but his dark eyes betrayed something more—a mix of interest and calculation. It amused me to no end that he thought he was in control. “Is this your favorite spot?” he asked, gesturing to the café’s open terrace overlooking the sea. “It’s peaceful,” I said with a shrug, swirling the coffee in my cup. “Good for thinking.” “Thinking about what?” “Oh, you know,” I said airily, leaning back in my chair. “Life. Choices. The usual existential stuff.” Fidel smirked, leaning f
Lucas POV Where is he? I muttered under my breath, my voice edged with irritation as I glanced at the clock mounted on the lavish wall of the private lounge. “Late, as usual,” my wolf grumbled. “Fidel doesn’t respect your time.” I exhaled sharply, my jaw tightening. Delays grated on me, especially when Fidel was involved. The man could be efficient when it suited him, but his tendency to indulge often led to a lack of punctuality—a trait I had little patience for. “Fidel will show,” I said aloud, more to reassure myself than my wolf. Even as the words left my mouth, doubt lingered in my mind. My goal is for us to capture this intruder and deal with her without mercy.“We should be out there, not wasting time at this circus,” my wolf growled. “This party is beneath us.” “I know,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. The atmosphere of the gathering grated on my nerves. The room buzzed with idle chatter, laughter, and the clinking of glasses, but none of it resonated with m
“You’re really going through with this?” I asked myself aloud, glancing at my reflection in the café’s window. The question carried a mix of amusement and skepticism. “Why not?” I answered myself with a smirk. “It’s just a party. A chance to have a little fun, shake things up, and maybe learn something useful.” “Or make a spectacle of yourself,” I countered in a dry tone. “Hardly,” I said with a flick of my hair, my voice dropping to a confident whisper. “I don’t make mistakes.” My wolf stirred at the edge of my consciousness, her energy sparking like static electricity. She wasn’t speaking, but her restlessness was enough to catch my attention. “Don’t start,” I muttered under my breath. “I don’t need your commentary right now.” Her response was a soft growl, more inquisitive than combative, like she was teasing me for my flippancy. I sighed, straightening my posture and brushing imaginary lint from my jacket. “Fine, fine. I’ll admit it—tonight is… important.” ---Toni
Lucas POV I forgot I had a goal and a mission to catch up with when I saw Lila; even the thought of confronting Fidel faded away.“She’s not like the others,” I murmured to myself, my voice low and gruff, nearly drowned out by the hum of the crowded bar.“What are you talking about?” my wolf replied, its deep voice echoing in my mind.I leaned back in my seat, my sharp gaze fixed on the woman at the far end of the room. “Her,” I said simply. “The one with Fidel.”My wolf growled in response, a sound both possessive and intrigued. “She’s ours.”“Don’t,” I muttered, my jaw tightening. “We don’t know anything about her.”“I know enough.”The claim in my wolf’s voice sent a shiver through me. I shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to acknowledge the truth behind the statement. My instincts were screaming, a primal recognition surging through me the moment I saw her.But I wasn’t ready to accept it.From my vantage point in the dimly lit corner, I could see everything. The way her laughter li
The next day was another day like the previous day, having fun out with Fidel.“Is this really the best use of our time?” Lila muttered to herself, her fingers absently tracing the rim of her coffee cup as she sat across from Fidel at the café.“You’re wasting energy on trivialities,” her wolf growled, its voice distant and strained, as though speaking through layers of static.“What’s your problem?” Lila hissed back under her breath, her frustration mounting.“You’re not listening,” her wolf snapped. “Something’s wrong.”“You’ve been saying that all morning,” Lila replied sharply. “Care to be more specific?”Silence.Lila sighed, gripping her cup tightly. Her wolf’s unusual behavior had thrown her off balance. Normally, the creature was a steady presence in her mind, guiding her with clarity and purpose. But today, it felt erratic, agitated—almost disconnected.“Lila?” Fidel’s voice broke through her thoughts, pulling her back to the present.She looked up to find him watching her wi
Lucas’s piercing gaze burned into her, the weight of his presence suffocating. Lila’s breath hitched, her heart hammering against her ribcage as her wolf howled in elation. “It’s him! Our mate!” her wolf cried, its voice filled with uncontainable joy. Lila froze, the words echoing in her mind. Her mate? Lucas King? Her stomach churned as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. “No,” she whispered to herself, a sharp denial that her wolf ignored. “The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” her wolf said softly. Lila clenched her fists, desperate to quell the storm rising within her. She wasn’t overjoyed—far from it. The man standing before her wasn’t the kind, nurturing mate she’d always dreamed of. He was Lucas King: ruthless, domineering, and the reason for so much pain in her life. ---Lucas took a step closer, his towering frame seeming to consume the space between them. The intensity in his eyes only deepened, and Lila could feel his wolf’s dominance pressing a
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t respond. The flicker of anger in his eyes was all the confirmation she needed. “Fidel’s my boyfriend,” she said casually, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms. The reaction was instant. Lucas’s entire body tensed, his fists clenching at his sides. His wolf growled audibly, the sound echoing in the small room. ---“Your boyfriend,” Lucas repeated, his voice low and dangerous. “Funny, considering he works for me.” Lila raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise. “Does he? He must not think much of you if he’s willing to cross that line.” Lucas took another step toward her, his movements slow and deliberate. “Don’t test me, Lila,” he warned, his voice a growl. She held her ground, refusing to let him see her nerves. “What are you going to do, Lucas? Fire him? Threaten him?” His eyes bore into hers, the fury simmering just beneath the surface. “If he lays another hand on you, I’ll do more than that.” ---Lila’s wolf purred at the p
Lila POVThe door clicked shut behind Lucas, leaving an eerie silence in the room. My chest rose and fell as I tried to steady my breathing, my mind racing with conflicting emotions. My wolf was unusually quiet, simmering with a sense of satisfaction that only irritated me further. “He won’t back down,” she finally murmured, her words tinged with amusement. “He’s arrogant,” I snapped aloud, pacing the room. “He thinks he can just walk in, claim me, and expect me to fall at his feet.” “Because he’s your mate.” I stopped in my tracks, glaring at the empty air as though my wolf stood before me. “He’s not my mate. He’s a monster, a tyrant. And you’re supposed to be on my side.” “I am,” she replied calmly. “And so is he, even if you won’t admit it.” ---My fingers curled into fists as I wrestled with the undeniable truth I was trying so desperately to ignore. The bond was there, humming like a taut string between me and Lucas, pulling me toward him no matter how hard I resisted
“You’re insane, Arika. You know that, right?”“Insane?” Arika’s voice oozed with mockery. “Please. That’s such a civilian diagnosis.”Lila’s fists clenched as she took another step forward, her eyes locked on the massive screen overhead—00:09:56. The red numbers blinked with a deadly calmness, each second ticking away a piece of her resolve. Beneath the screen, her servers stood like monuments to everything she’d fought for. Wired with explosives.“You’re going to kill us both,” Lila spat, her voice shaking with fury. “All of this—just to prove a point?”“Oh no, darling.” Arika twirled the sleek detonator in her hand, its silver surface catching the dim light. “Not to prove a point. To make one.”“You planted explosives on the servers!” Lila’s voice rose, ragged. “Are you listening to yourself?”Arika chuckled softly, stepping aside to reveal a clearer view of the blinking red lights wired into each server unit. “I told you this was always bigger than us. You just didn’t want to belie
Lila followed Arika up the ramp, her boots clinking softly against the grated metal, heart thudding louder with each step. Something in Arika’s voice lingered like smoke—too calm, too measured. She didn’t trust it. Not for a second.“You keep the data onboard?” Lila asked, eyes flicking to the wall-mounted surveillance cams. The ship’s interior was sleek but sterile, with black paneling and chrome fixtures. Cold. Like its owner.“No,” Arika said, stopping at a narrow corridor. “I keep my insurance onboard.”She keyed a code into the control pad, and a mechanical hiss broke the silence. A door slid open, revealing a freight elevator platform.“After you,” Arika said with a mock bow.Lila stepped in cautiously, hand still near her weapon. The platform hummed, descending smoothly into the ship’s belly. A few seconds passed in silence. Arika didn’t move. Didn’t smile.Then the metal chamber opened—and Lila’s breath caught.Rows of blinking machines lined the container-sized space. The ser
The Vault’s Truth:Arika’s voice cut through the still air like a blade. “You ever stop and ask yourself what the point of it all is?”Lila didn’t answer immediately. The faint hum of the servers was the only sound between them. Outside, the snow still howled, muffled through thick bunker walls. Her fingers hovered over the tablet screen, pulling fragments of data—locations, funds, faces of corrupt officials—but her mind was already one step ahead.“I used to,” she said finally, gaze still fixed on the display. “I used to think the world was rotten to the core. That maybe if I set a match to everything, it’d feel better.”Arika snorted. “It doesn’t.”“No,” Lila agreed, voice softer now. “It just burns you with it.”That silenced Arika for a beat. Lila glanced over, catching the flicker of doubt that cracked through her sister’s sarcasm.“You sound like one of those therapy podcasts the Alphas play for their anxious mates.”“I sound like someone who’s been burned before.” Lila turned o
Frostbite and Fireworks:"“You sure you’re not walking me into a trap?”Lila’s voice cut through the storm, low and razor-sharp, carried on the wind like a blade tossed by fate."Would I waste this much time just to kill you?” Arika replied without glancing back, her silhouette a blur through the thick curtain of snow. “Don’t flatter yourself.”"You’ve done worse for less."Lila adjusted the grip on her sidearm beneath her coat, every muscle coiled. “And you still haven’t answered how you got the servers out of here without leaving a trail.”"You'll see.”It wasn’t a tease. It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise laced with something darker—familiar, dangerous, and maddeningly vague.The snowstorm howled around them like a feral thing, wind battering exposed skin and biting through layers as they trudged deeper into the derelict port grounds. Long-dead cranes loomed like rusted sentinels, skeletal and forgotten. The place reeked of salt, decay, and memory.Lila kept scanning—trees, rooft
The locket in Arika’s hand glinted one last time in the fading light before she tucked it into the folds of her coat, her fingers twitching as though the cold no longer bothered her—just the past that still clung to her skin.But Lila wasn’t finished.Not yet.She turned slowly, like a predator toying with a rival too confident for her own good. “You know,” she said conversationally, her voice laced with honeyed venom, “for someone who prides herself on good taste, I’m surprised you didn’t notice the warning signs.”Arika’s head tilted. “What signs?”Lila’s smile was all razor-edge charm. “Oh, just that Salicus was riddled with diseases. Biochemical ones. I should know—I left him with a few.”The blow landed with precision. A flicker of something passed through Arika’s expression—a stutter in her breath, a twitch at the corner of her mouth. She masked it quickly, but not quickly enough.“You’re bluffing,” Arika said, voice clipped.“Am I?” Lila stepped closer, letting her words drip.
Lila’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out. That sentence—so personal, so venomous—stuck in her like a blade wedged between ribs.Arika didn’t wait for her to recover. She turned and walked slowly toward the edge of the clearing, her fingers brushing the frost-covered rail of a long-abandoned cargo lift. The silence between them thickened.“I had a guest once,” Arika called over her shoulder, too casual. “You might know him. Salicus Grante.”Lila’s body snapped to attention.The name landed like a hammer.“You’re lying.”Arika looked back, one eyebrow raised. “Am I?”“Salicus is dead.”Arika gave a mocking little shrug. “Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night? Or just what you hope is true?”Lila took a shaky step forward. Her pulse thundered in her ears. “Where. Did. You. See. Him.”“Here. There. Doesn’t matter,” Arika said. “He’s a wanderer. A very persistent one. Had a few... interesting stories about you, too. I see where you get your taste in men.”Lila’s hands
Chapter Title: Blood Tides and Buried Truths"You look older than I imagined. The cold's not kind to you, huh?"Lila’s voice cut through the air, sharp as shattered ice.Arika smirked, slow and poisonous. “And you still greet people like you’re handing out ultimatums.”“I only greet the ones who fake their deaths and sell lies for a living.”Arika’s eyes flicked down her nose, unfazed. “Still bitter, I see. At least that hasn’t aged.”The wind between them twisted, biting through cloth and bone alike. They stood ten paces apart in the heart of the abandoned clearing, surrounded by cracked concrete and frost-covered crates. The silence of the ruin only emphasized how violently the past clawed its way into the present.“You died,” Lila said, voice low now. Controlled. “That’s what they told me. What you let them tell me.”“They weren’t wrong,” Arika replied smoothly. “Not entirely.”Lila scoffed. “You faked your death and vanished. What else was I supposed to believe?”“That I had a rea
The cold gnawed at Lila’s exposed cheeks as she emerged from the warehouse’s side exit and stepped into the clearing.A vast, open yard stretched before her.Flat, white, endless.The area must have once been the central cargo bay—a wide slab of cracked concrete now buried beneath ice and powdery snow. Massive tracks were etched faintly beneath the layers, ghost-lines of long-dead machinery. Here, where shipments had once been loaded, goods transferred, and orders barked, now only wind howled and silence ruled.She stepped forward slowly.Her boots sank with every crunching step, leaving deep impressions behind her. The expanse was so open, it felt vulnerable. Naked. No cover. No shadows to slip into. Just the broad chest of the clearing exposed to the grey sky overhead.Lila exhaled through her nose, eyes scanning left to right, then back again.No movement.No signs.And yet her pulse wouldn’t slow.Something didn’t add up.If this was Arika’s meeting point, where the hell was the e
The snow swallowed their steps as they began to move again.None of them spoke.The world had gone eerily still, as if holding its breath. Lila led the way, eyes narrowed against the wind, with Jake close behind her left shoulder and Lucas covering their right flank. Their boots crunched against the crusted snow, the only sound in an otherwise dead landscape.With every step forward, the forest behind them shrank, consumed by the encroaching white.“This is madness,” Jake muttered under his breath, his voice muffled beneath his scarf. “Visibility’s garbage. We’re tracking straight into open ground. Arika wants us blind.”“She wants a meeting,” Lila shot back, not looking over her shoulder. “And I’m not turning back.”Lucas scanned the tree line one last time before sighing. “Yeah, well, if we die out here in the snow, at least it’ll be poetic.”The wind howled in answer.Their pace slowed as the ground sloped downward, snow now knee-deep. Every few steps, one of them stumbled. Lila’s