LOGINValentine slammed the door shut and walked past me once more, not glancing my way once. He took an extra chair that was to the side of his desk and sat down. Before he slouched over once more, he began to take off his jacket and shirt. I gasped as the blistered burns came fully into view. They lined his back and shoulders, leaving hardly an inch of skin untouched. Once he took off his shirt, he threw it across the room and slammed the first aid kit down with his other hand.He didn't need to yell at me twice, so I quickly hobbled over to the first aid kit and began opening it, taking out supplies I needed to fix a burn-looking wound. I was in no way an expert, but I healed the wound on my arm alright, so I figured I would treat Valentine's the same way.As I was working, I settled into a range of motions that felt robotic. I didn't want to be here helping him, and I most certainly didn't want to be touching or fixing his wounds. To ignore these feelings, I simply let my emotions beco
Cheska’s POVAbby was about to say something else, but Five entered the room holding two crutches and cut her off."We better get going. If we wait much longer, he won't be happy." Her face was dark and she held out the crutches for me.I took them willingly and stood up, pain emanating from my leg. Abby held my waist for support and the three of us made our way to the stairs.I looked up at the towering marble steps, dreading the climb I would have to make, but fearing more what would happen once I was up there. Once the three of us reached the top of the marble staircase, we were out of breath and bent over from exhaustion. Through panted breaths, Abby told me the way to Valentine’s bedroom."Just walk straight down this hall." She paused and took another breath. "We have to leave you here, we're not allowed to go further." Abby smiled at me reassuringly then took Five arms and started to descend the stairs. I watched them for a few moments before I looked down the hallway that led
Cheska’s POVNow I’m back again. I was so close, so close to escape. The freedom was almost there. Almost.The other two prisoners walked into the room and interrupted my crying fest. I heard them entering so I quickly wiped my tears away and let my hands fall to my sides. Erica and Abby approached me with pity in their eyes with a first aid kit in tow. I refused to make eye contact with them, refusing to believe I was really back here.The younger one spoke to me first, quietly and sweetly. "Hi, Cheska. My name is Abby and this is Five. We're going to help you, ok?"“Isn’t her name Erica?” I asked Abby what made Erica jolt in fear. Abby looked at her then to me. “Uhm yes but Erica has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Erica has five personalities. The current one in her body was Five. She’s hostile and extremely quiet.”I looked at Erica. She was not the same woman as I remember. She wasn’t polished anymore. She was like a homeless woman with dirty clothing and unkept hair. “H-hi,”
Vlad’s POVSomething in me slowly lightened up. Valentine has been cool since Cheska was abducted. And now that everything seemed to be slowly revealing, my mind became clear of how he would whisper in my ears that Cheska wasn’t good enough and why would I want to be back with her.And then I remember the Alpha Title. The one position promised to him when we were little…No…no. He told me he was cool with it and that he wasn’t a first born so it was fine. Did he? No. No. For the first time since everything went wrong, I finally had doubt at my own brother. Now, I wasn’t just thinking about the rogues or my own territory.I was thinking about my brother, possibly betraying me, my own blood.And something didn’t feel right.Marzouq’s voice cut through my thoughts.“We need to leave now.”My head snapped back toward him.“Yes.”There was no hesitation or doubt in my voice. If I wanted to find Cheska, it would be me. Everything came back to her. I straightened, grabbing my jacket.“Ro
Vlad’s POVWest.Alpha Marzouq was so certain that his eyes seemed so bored. I knew desert wolf was built to be different and what I wasn’t expecting was that he could tell it almost immediately. The word still echoing in my head long after the meeting ended.“I can smell the trails in the West.”Every instinct inside me clawed in that direction now relentlessly now that something had finally aligned.We were moving. FinallyMy warriors prepared outside and Rowan was coordinating patrols when Marzouq stepped up. “Your beta will not lead the trail,” he said. I looked at him, questioning. “My men will lead. I don’t want them to be distracted,” he added. I looked at Rowan, his jaw tightening. “Alright. I trust this one to you, Alpha,” I said. “You should be because I have never done this before.”Marzouq sat down on the chair before me as Vivian was on the other side. I was thankful for her but I was still weighing if Marzouq's help won’t cost me anything. “What do you want?” I a
Cheska's POVMy world was filled with the sound of my tears as I drowned out the horrific chaos around me. I was entirely in my own world, so I screamed when I felt a rough hand on my shoulder. I whirled my head around to see that Valentine was standing behind me with a slightly less crazed look in his eyes.“Your damn nosy friend hired a desert to track you down. And he planted a doubt in your mate about me so I need your damn baby out or both of you will die.”I shivered at what he said. Vlad is doubting him now? But this made Valentine angry and desperate and didn't help the rest of his appearance though. His black suit was even more torn up and had blood stains covering it from head to toe. His mouth was a sickly red color with Derik's blood dripping from the corners. He was breathing heavily but he tried to hide it from me. As I looked at him I couldn't help the tears flow from my face.I was back with him. I was his capture again. I had to go back to the barn, back to the loneli
Erica's POVValentine arrived without knocking. Doors were suggestions to him and rules were just a joke only so he could enjoy breaking them. When I looked up, he was already inside my room, standing among the mess I hadn’t bothered to clean. He didn’t waste any second. He went straight to me.My
Erica’s POVLove was always accompanied by pain. Fuck that. Love without a mate bond is useless specially for me, a damn werewolf.Pain is what’s left when that warmth is taken away, when the same heart that learned how to beat for someone has to keep beating without them. Love teaches you how deep
Vlad’s POVI used to think that rich people should marry rich too even if they were not your mate. I used to think Erica was the one for me. But I was wrong. And the worst betrayal of my life was choosing wrong.Erics was wrong. I thought everything was over but it was not. The truth didn’t come a
Vlad didn’t stop courting me after that night. He didn’t slow down. He didn’t fade into polite distance. He showed up, in ways that were impossible to ignore but never overwhelming. Sometimes it was simple, sometimes extravagant. He always had my flowers delivered to the shop. He was always though







