When Raven woke up again, she was now in the passenger seat of a moving car strapped to the seat with the belt. The man beside her immediately looked toward her when he heard her stir.
"You're awake," he said as he returned his gaze forward and continued to drive.Raven was currently confused as she looked at the man. He was unfamiliar, but she remembered him saving her a moment earlier.She still wasn't fully conscious, and her head felt as though it was detached from her head and sinking into water. She also had a headache and a hard time wrapping her head around the situation."You..." She wanted to speak, but due to her parched throat, it hurt whenever she tried to speak."Don't talk," he warned as he looked at her. "I'll get you a room at a hotel. You should sleep there for tonight."And without another word, he continued driving but not without taking another glance at the open cut of her dress where the top of her breasts could be seen even clearer now that she was so close to him. He had noticed it earlier when he carried her, but he managed to keep a straight head then.He gave her a side glance as she stared into the blanks in a daze. Wasn't she aware of how beautiful she was? Thankfully, she wasn't dressed skimpily. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to save her from the numerous men who would try to have a go at her.Indeed, Raven knew how beautiful she was but chose to hide it instead. Ever since she was fifteen, when a boy had tried to harass her in the pack, she had always tried to minimize her presence in the pack. Moreover, she was always busy getting bullied. How could she have the time to get dressed and look good?But she had become impulsive that night after the encounter with Alpha Lucas. He had probably felt angry when she rejected his advances that he made sure to embarrass her. He claimed she would never be able to get another man better than him, and it was her good luck that she turned out to be his mate.Raven had felt embarrassed and ashamed but even more so, she wanted to prove him wrong so she escaped the pack, dressed beautifully for the first time but didn't have the guts to strut around the werewolf territory.She suddenly turned to look at the man, regarding his features under the street lights illuminating his face every minute. She couldn't help but salivate.He was very good-looking. He had a chiselled face that seemed to have been carefully sculpted out, a pair of metallic green eyes, and thin lips that were pursed as his eyes met hers. He was even more handsome than she initially thought. Raven found herself staring at him every single minute of the journey."We're here," the man suddenly spoke up again after being quiet for so long jolting Raven out of her drunken trance.She hadn't come to her senses yet, and everything around her seemed wobbly. All she knew was that he had supported her to the counter and gotten a room before leading her to the suite.When she came back to her senses again, he was tucking her into bed and was about to leave. Her eyes widened, and before she could get a grip on herself, she grabbed him tightly by the sleeve."What's wrong?" He asked as he looked at her.Raven was quiet as she had a hard time processing why she stopped him from leaving. All she knew was that she felt attracted to him, and for some reason, she was having impulsive thoughts she would never harbour on a day she was sane."Don't go." She said to him.His eyes narrowed as he retorted, "Why?"Raven was now sure what she wanted. She had never let herself go before, and now she didn't want to return to the pack without fully enjoying it. She was having irrational ideas, and all she knew was that she wanted to go all the way."I want you to sleep with me." She found herself telling him.He seemed shocked for a moment, but by now, Raven's resolve was already tightened. Since Alpha Lucas was so sure she would never get a better man, she was going to sleep with someone even better-looking than him and make him regret losing her."How does a werewolf get so drunk?" He muttered under his breath and shook his head as he moved to remove her hand from his sleeve, but she tightened them even harder and persuaded, "Don't go."He was quiet, and Raven thought he was going to reject her, but to her surprise, he settled down on the edge of the bed and grabbed her by the wrist."Are you sure? You're still quite drunk, you know..."Raven quickly shook her head negatively. "I'm not."He laughed as he pointed to himself. "Who am I?"She was silent as she looked at him in confusion, but she replied anyway, "You... You're the one that saved me earlier and... you brought me here.""What's my name?" He asked, his eyes glowering slightly.Raven was quite drunk, and she couldn't keep focus for some time, but she managed to say sheepishly, "You didn't tell me."He went completely quiet after that, but when he finally spoke, he said, "Not bad. You're still quite conscious."The next moment, she found her breath hitch as he suddenly reached out to wrap his arm under her head gently and helped her sit up. He was staring at her so intensely that she found herself curling her toes.His eyes were very dark, and it was as though he had changed into another person as he sat down across her. He reached out to rub her lips gently, and as he did so, she felt his hot breath fall on her face. He seemed to have drank, too. As she looked at him, she realized he seemed to be wavering and contemplating, but eventually, the passionate side won as he inched closer.He looked directly into her eyes and whispered, his hot breath brushing right over her lips. "My name is Tristan. Make sure to remember it."Then, he kissed her directly on the lips.Tristan's POV:I felt the sun rays hitting my face, stirring me awake. It was morning, and the sun was already high in the sky. I hadn't slept this long since four years ago.I had never felt so free; it was as though all my burdens had been lifted from my shoulders, all thanks to her.I sat up in bed instantly, and when I looked at her side of the bed, it was empty. She had left. Her clothes were gone, and even the side of the bed where she slept last night was straightened out. It was as if I had slept alone.Just then, my cell phone, which was on the bedside table, rang. It was my beta and best friend, Ethan.As I picked it up, his panicky voice resounded in my ears. "Hey, are you okay? Where are you?"I scrambled out of bed with the phone in one hand as I stepped closer to the window. There was a swimming pool across the way, and from where I stood, I could see countless people swimming."What's wrong?" I asked. "Did something happen?""You suddenly disappeared. Didn't you find a
RAVEN'S POVThe glass in my hands slipped, crashed onto the marble floors, and broke into bits. I could feel countless eyes settling on us, boring into my back as though they wanted to see through me. However, at the sight of the face in front of me, I froze, and I didn't even realize I had just disrupted the meeting.'Why... why is he here?' I thought.It was as if seeing his face tapped into my memories, and all the memories of last night came flashing through my mind in torrents. I shivered unconsciously as blurry memories of him leaving his marks on my body, as I came undone in his arms, took away my senses. It felt as if I had returned to last night, and I was sensitive all over.I couldn't help but wonder why I still remembered every moment even though I was completely drunk last night.But his warm fingers on my wrist brought me back to reality as I realized I wasn't meant to be standing there dumbfounded and disrupting the meeting. It had been a chaotic week, and I really didn
TRISTAN'S POVSeeing how her lips clamped shut, I could tell that was what she was truly about to say, and it only served to make me feel worse than I already felt. Was it the way she was being treated by those people inside the most irritating, or how she had hoped last night would be a one-night stand? I couldn't decide. But both options were getting on my nerves.The shock that I felt, confirming it was really her earlier, knew no bounds, as I was not even expecting to find her so soon. I had thought it would still take a while for Ethan to retrieve the CCTV from the hotel and find her, not expecting she would be in this pack.Thankfully, I didn't decide at the last minute to pull out of the meeting today. Otherwise, I would have missed her altogether.She was still cornered against the wall by me, but she was still trying hard to prove she was not intimidated. Her brows were tightly drawn as she tried to look serious, but whatever image she was hoping to convey in my eyes was fail
TRISTAN’S POV:As I stepped into the room, a hushed silence fell over the crowd. I could sense the covert conversations and plotting, but I chose to keep it to myself. I returned to my seat, my hands clasped, offering an apology for the interruption. Judgemental glares met my words, their grievances unsaid but palpable. In any case, I wasn't in the mood to get angry today.Out of nowhere, Lucas, seated across from me, grunted disapproval. "Leaving a meeting without a proper reason isn't fitting, Alpha King," he admonished. I met his challenging gaze, but I had no intention of engaging in a power struggle. Instead, I apologized, maintaining eye contact. It was clear he was disgruntled, not expecting me to yield, yet he chose silence."Shall we continue?" I inquired, directing my attention to Alpha Odette, the acting female alpha of the Peak Ocean Pack. "Alpha Odette, please proceed with your pack's report.""Yes, Alpha King," she responded swiftly, opening her file, and the meeting res
TRISTAN’S POV:I found myself lurking by the curtains, peeping at the Moon Peak Pack army out on the field through the window blinds that were conveniently up. The spectacle was the pack's army training, and I couldn't resist evaluating their skills.Now, don't get me wrong, they were decent, and Lucas seemed to think they were the bee's knees. He wanted to flaunt his army's prowess to the rest of the pack. But let's just say, they were like amateur hour compared to my pack's Iron Army. Those guys were specially trained to tackle formidable opponents, and I can confidently say no other pack in the country even comes close to them.Only someone like Lucas would think he was so important.After a few more minutes of observing their formations and tactics, I sighed and plopped down on my bed, fishing my phone out of my pocket.My messenger was flooded with messages, and my email had an inbox brimming with reports, business proposals, messages from friends, group chat mentions from the fa
AUTHOR'S POVAlpha Odette, one of the guests of the treaty negotiation, was in the lounge assigned to her, standing by the window. She held a binocular in her hand as she watched the figures in the building across from her. There were two men there, discussing. It was Tristan and his beta, Ethan. She watched them for a while, unable to hear what they were talking about, but it seemed rather serious, as his face soon turned solemn.But even so, she didn't seem discouraged and continued to stare at him, clearly intrigued. It wasn't hard to tell she was interested in him. But just then, her assistant entered. He bowed, clutching an arm to his chest in greeting, "Alpha."She looked up from the binoculars and glanced at him over her shoulder. "How is it?""I found out some things, Alpha," he announced, approaching her.She paused in what she was doing upin hearing that and moved away from the window. She settled on the couch and crossed her legs, clearly interested. "What did you find?
RAVEN'S POV:As Nadia strolled into the room, the girls who had me in their clutches loosened their grip, and an eerie silence took over. She sauntered over, wearing a snobby expression."What on earth do you think you're doing? Do you realize you're making a mess in the kitchen, and we have guests to serve?" she reprimanded sharply, her furrowed brows showing her irritation. "Don't ever pull this stunt in the pack's kitchen again. If you do, there will be consequences."But it was obvious she wasn't chastising them for tormenting me; she was more concerned about the location of their antics.Despite her seemingly stern tone, I could see a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. I couldn't help but wonder if she had something to do with Camille learning about my encounter with Tristan.Camille, trying to appease her, quickly apologized and signalled her minions to leave. Just as they were about to depart, she turned back and issued a warning, "Consider yourself fortunate this time, Raven.
RAVEN'S POV:"Can you get up?" he asked, his strong hands firmly holding my shoulders. He leaned in so close that I could see every detail of his face, and strangely, it only made him more handsome. Most people don't look good up close, but he was different. His features were striking, and I couldn't help but be inwardly impressed by his good looks."Raven..." I heard him call, snapping me out of my daze. I quickly attempted to rise, but my throbbing ankle betrayed me, and I stumbled. His hands steadied me, and he chuckled softly, his voice a deep, melodic rumble. Leaning in, his breath brushed my cheek as he teased, "Are you trying to fall into my arms on purpose?"My heart raced at his question. Everything about him affected me in a way I couldn't handle; it was driving me wild. I realized he was only teasing, but I couldn't help but clarify, "No, I didn't..."His hand still gripped my shoulders for support as he guided me, half-limping, towards the door. Despite my response, he see