RAELYNN Rai heaved an exasperated sigh and sank into his chair. He stared at me for a moment, his face emotionless. "Fine. We have a deal," he said and I held out a hand for a handshake. His gaze lingered on my outstretched hand before he accepted my handshake. When our gazes met again, my breath hitched in my throat. Rai had the kind of gaze that never ceased to make me uncomfortable. He'd always had such beautiful amber eyes which used to light up whenever he smiled. But, at the moment, those eyes were cold and empty. I had never seen him look so soulless. It seemed to me that he'd changed as much as I had. Refusing to have him notice my discomfort, I pulled away from him and returned to my seat. "How long has it been?" He asked, leaning back on his seat. "I've been a healer for three years," I told him and he merely blinked. "You don't even have a normal wolf," he spat and I narrowed my eyes at him, offended. It was true that I didn't have a wolf of my own. Nonethel
RAELYNN "Alpha Rai wants you back?" my father said, his voice laced with disbelief. "You saw us together at the medical centre, didn't you?" I said and he frowned."You said it was for pack business," he stressed, his frown deepening."Alpha Rai knows about what Stefan tried to do to me. He was there that day," I stated and he went pale."That's not possible. He was not invited--""It doesn't matter now. What matters is the fact that Alpha Rai was the one who protected me from Alpha Stefan," I continued. "You're such a good liar. You almost made me believe your ridiculous story," Maurice said."Please, Rae. Don't turn your back on us. We can't stay in debt like this," my father pleaded."If you're so adamant on repaying your debt, you can still do so. I'm not the only daughter you have. You can marry Caroline off to Alpha Stefan. They will make such a perfect match," I said and Maurice stormed towards me, lifting her hand in a bid to slap me. However, before she could actual
RAI "Forgive me, Alpha Rai. I just thought it was the right thing to do," the Omega who knelt at my feet pleaded, her head bowed. I stared at her in disgust. The emotions surging through me was slowly becoming a massive wave. A part of me had always thought of the possibility that Raelynn was not guilty of the offence I'd accused her of. But when this situation smacked me in the face, it left me feeling like a mess. I looked up at the sound of the knock on the door, my stomach tightening. It must be her, I thought as I moved away from the omega and sank into my seat, trying not to show how stressed I was. "Come in," I said and the door jerked open. Raelynn stormed in, accompanied by the sound of her stilettos hitting the floor. She paused when she saw the woman kneeling by my desk. Then, she narrowed her eyes, her brows creasing up."You told me you found the culprit," she hissed, her tone laced with annoyance. "I did," I confirmed and she approached me, placing her handba
RAELYNN "There have been new cases of the infected in the past twenty-four hours. There's a high chance that one of us is infected right now," Austin, Rai's beta said from his position by the door of my office. "What do you think, Alpha Rai?" I said, folding my arms across my chest.Rai leaned back on his seat, his face stoic. "If anyone is infected, it's most likely Austin," he said and his beta scoffed. "Have you learnt anything new about the infection?" Rai asked, his voice tight with tension. Anyone who saw us seated in my office would sense the edge cutting tension swirling around us. I had expected this, especially after the words we'd exchanged the day before, in his study. It was clear that we both planned to pretend that we were unaffected by each other's presence. But this was my office. My territory. If anyone was going to be uncomfortable, it had to be Rai. Even so, he was pretty good at keeping his features blank. "The illness has different stages. There hasn
RAELYNN "Thank you," I said and the stranger's smile widened as he picked up my pepper spray bottle to hand it over to me."What's your name?" I asked. "Kyan. You?" He said softly. "Raelynn. Nice to meet you, stranger," I responded and his smile widened."Are you having trouble with your car, Raelynn?" He asked and I eyed him with uncertainty. Even if he had saved me from a threat, there was a chance that he was a bigger threat himself. "It's okay not to trust me. I just want to make sure you're alright," he said, moving towards my car. I stared at him, watching him as he shrugged off his red suit jacket. He tossed it at me, startling me. He winked at me when I caught it midair. It was odd to see him working on my car while he was dressed in an expensive looking attire. His clothes appeared to be neatly tailored to fit his leanly muscled physique. This meant he had to be on the same level as Rai. "Enjoying the view?" He suddenly said and I looked away from him, biting m
RAI A few hours before, "How is she, doc?" I said to Alexander, my family's private doctor as he shut his briefcase and turned away from Nadia who was lying on the bed with an unusual pale tint to her face. When she'd called me a few hours ago, I didn't think she was in such a bad condition until I got to her apartment to see her lying on the floor, panting and sweating."She'll be alright. She just needs some rest. Her heat period got to her, that's all," Alex replied and I furrowed my brows, puzzled."You didn't know? She's been in heat for three days. She needs to be properly attended to, she's your chosen mate after all," he continued and I sighed, my gaze resting on Nadia who had her eyes closed. "I understand. Thanks, Alex," I said and he beamed, patting my shoulder. "Just take care of her as you should," he said and left the bedroom. Letting out a sigh, I turned away from her bedside only to pause when I felt Nadia's grip of on my hand."Stay with me," I heard
RAELYNN "I'll scream," I deadpanned, my gaze locked with his. His frustration was evident all over his face and I enjoyed every second of it. Seeing how riled up he was becoming made me feel a sense of accomplishment. "Don't test me," he spat and I smirked. He was always like that. Underestimating me and ignoring me. He'd never looked my way while we were married. He'd always made sure I was subdued under his authority. "Try me," I said. The look of disbelief on his face pleased me more than anything at that point.To him, I was meagre.To him, I was merely an empty shell, a weakling, a pathetic damsel in desperate need of salvation and attention.But he was wrong. I would make sure he knew that. "What are you going to do? Leave or I'll scream. I can be petty too, you know?" I said, cocking my head. He cursed under his breath, a mask of annoyance shadowing his features.He walked towards me and halted in front of me, searching my eyes momentarily."Why are you doing th
RAELYNN "Nadia?" Glaring at me, she stormed towards me, her eyes blazing with fury. She raised a hand to hit me and I grabbed her hand to stop her. "Stay away from Rai, you hear me?!" She screamed at me, her eyes bloodshot.She looked like she'd been crying. Knowing her, she’d probably just thrown some childish tantrums."What were you thinking bumping into my car like that?" I demanded and she sneered at me."This is merely a warning. The next time you try to seduce Rai, it will be more than a mini accident," she hissed and I pushed her away from me. She stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, her limbs askew. She smirked at me and suddenly began to sob. Amused, I folded my arms across my chest. "What is this? How are you so good at pretending to be innocent?" I said and she sobbed harder, tears rolling down her cheeks. "What the hell happened here?" I looked up at the sound of Rai's voice but before I could say anything, Nadia stumbled to her feet and limped toward
RAELYNN I stared at Rai's immobile form, clenching my jaw. His right and left arm were wrapped in bandage and his face was as pale as sheets. Jared heaved a sigh, his gaze resting on Rai. "Do you really think he did that to himself?" He asked and I clenched my jaw, willing the tears to go away. My eyes were sore from all the crying I'd done earlier. "What do you think? Clearly, he did it to himself," I replied and he muttered a string of curses."I should have stopped him. I knew he was struggling. I just didn't think it was this bad," Jared stated and I shook my head."I didn't see this coming either. I thought I'd convinced him not to hurt himself. I was stupid," I said, running my fingers through my hair."What do we do now? It's been nearly six hours. He's yet to regain consciousness," Jared's brows were knitted into a frown as he spoke. The words had barely left his lips when Rai let out a groan, a frown settling in between his brows. I rushed to his side, bringing a hand
RAELYNN "Go ahead and reject me," he droned and I halted, my heart racing in my chest. A lump formed in my throat as I struggled to maintain my composure. Slowly, I turned around and dragged in a sharp breath. "Is that really what you want?" I asked and he clenched his jaw, his eyes going blank. "Do it."We stared at each other, our gazes unwavering. The tension in the air had tripled. Despite my attempts to appear cold and unforgiving, I was hurting inside. For the life of me, I knew I couldn't bring myself to reject him. No matter how hard he pushed me, I knew I couldn't give up on him. "You can't do it?" He said and I clenched my fists, annoyed. The mockery in his tone was unmissable. "I'll get you the help you need," I said and turned away from him. "Why?" He asked, following after me as I left the room. My feet came to a halt, angry tears filling my eyes. I could still smell the fresh blood leaving his body. I hated the fact that he was letting himself bleed like th
RAELYNN I was returning from the grocery store when I noticed the car parked right in front of my house. Frowning, I fished for the pepper spray in my coat. The moment my fingers curled around the container, the door of the car was pushed open and Hunter stepped out. He held up his hands and flashed me a smile."How do you know where I live?" I asked and he beamed at me."I did a little research," he replied and I scoffed at him."What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that I'm not interested in you" I said and he winced."Although I'm hurt about that, I perfectly understand why. I'm just here to check up on you," he said and I rolled my eyes in annoyance."Now's not a good time, Hunter. Besides, I don't see why you should be concerned about me," I said, attempting to walk past him. "You look tired, Dr. Lynn. Your dark circles are massive and you've lost weight. You haven't been sleeping much, have you?" He pointed out and my feet came to a halt.I hated that he
RAI The weight of the spell threatened to crush my sanity, bringing along with it, a maddening depression. Three days had passed since Raelynn discovered the cuts on my arm, she was constantly on edge. Every few minutes, she would check up on me to make sure I wasn't harming myself. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I ran my fingers through my hair. It was in dire need of a haircut but I couldn't bring myself to go out in public. "Rai? Are you alright? You've been in there for almost an hour," I heard Raelynn say as she knocked on the door of the bathroom. "I'll be out soon," I replied as I eyed the sharp edge of the mirror. Raelynn had hidden all of the blades and at this point, I was tempted to break the mirror. The memory of the pain I'd inflicted on myself was rather vivid in my mind. I deserved this pain. All along, I'd prided myself to be untouchable. But, there was a glaring truth I'd refused to see all along. I was weak. I was stupid. It had taken years for Nadi
RAELYNN "Judy? Is everything okay?" I said, and she sniffled. I exchanged bewildered glances with Rai, who looked visibly worried, a crease forming in between his brows."Did something happen?" I asked, my insides twisting into a painful knot. I could feel my pounding heart in my chest. It made me hyperaware of the situation."Judy, please talk to me," I said, and she broke down into a sob. My eyes widened, and my breathing quickened. Fear sank into me, and I shot to my feet."What is it?" I asked cautiously."Everything is okay now. It scared the life out of me. I thought...Rae... I thought...""Breathe, Judy. You're rambling. Please tell me what's going on," I pleaded, my voice quivering.Rai had risen to his feet. He was standing by my side with one hand on my shoulder, silently assuring me that he was right there by my side."I had a bad dream. In the dream, someone kidnapped the twins," she said, and I stiffened, nausea sweeping through me.I didn't like where she was goi
RAELYNN My phone buzzed from its position on the nightstand and I reached out to pick it up. I'd just received from Hunter whom I'd coincidentally run into, a couple of hours before. The text said:'Have you resolved your issues with Rai?'I groaned in annoyance, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn't have to tell him about my fall out with Rai, he'd been able to tell at a glance. And, I hated that. Although I'd refused to tell him what had really happened, he'd concluded that I'd had a big fight with Rai. I stared at the text for a while, contemplating my next line of action. Right before I could actually get down to typing a reply, I heard Rai call out for me. I closed my eyes, releasing a sigh. I couldn't tell if it was merely the effect of our bond, I itched to go to him. I was still upset. I still couldn't wrap my head around the actual reason behind the divorce. Rai had hurt me deeply. Even so, he was a changed person now. He was clearly tormented by his own guilt. Decidin
RAI A few Years Ago, "Marry me," I said to Nadia and she blinked at me, her face devoid of emotions. Then she burst into laughter."Really?" She asked, tracing irregular shapes across my chest. I watched her carefully, wondering what she thought of my proposal. It was clear at this point, I couldn't live without her. I needed to make her my Luna."We both love each other. Besides, my father wants me to take over his position. I need a Luna," I told her and she arched a brow."Are you certain that you really want me to be your wife?" She asked. I brought a hand to the side of her face and she leaned into my touch. "Don't you know how I feel?" I asked and she heaved a sigh, pulling away from me."I don't feel complete yet," she stated and I frowned, confused."What do you mean?""There's someone who stole something from me. I want you to mess with her for me. It's the only way I can live with you happily," she replied, her gaze meeting mine."Nadia...""I know it soun
RAELYNN ".... Rae? Wake up."With a gasp, I jolted awake at the sound of Rai's gentle voice. He blinked at me, fixing a questioning stare at me. Disoriented, I looked around. I was back in bed with him and there was no sign of Nadia anywhere. "Were you having a nightmare?" Rai asking, cocking a brow. "A nightmare? When did I get back here? I went downstairs and...""Do you not remember what happened? We went to bed and fell asleep. I think you woke up in the middle of the night to attend to my fever. Then you slept off again," he told me. My eyes widened."I did? I was so sure it was real..."He brushed my hair away from my face, and brought the back of his hand to my forehead. "You don't have a fever. What did you see?" He asked."Nadia. She was standing by the window. She kept laughing at me. She stank so bad...""It was just a nightmare. Don't let it get to you," he said, getting out of bed."Where are you going?" I asked and he paused to glance at me."Did you forget?
RAELYNN "What the hell?" Rai breathed, his eyes widening. I forced out a smile, desperately trying not to flip out. Today was supposed to be one of the happiest day of my life. "Calm down. Let's relax and figure out what's really going on..."My voice trailed off when he suddenly winced, squeezing his eyes shut as he brought a hand to his forehead. Worried, I placed a hand on his shoulder to assure him that I was right by his side. When he opened his eyes again, his eyes had returned to their usual colour. A sigh of relief escaped my lips and I embraced him, resting my head on his chest. I could feel the wild racing of his chest. It made me feel nervous. "Did you...hear that?" He suddenly said, and I stiffened, looking up at him with wide eyes. "No, I didn't hear anything. What did you hear?" I asked and he frowned."Someone called my name," he stated and I shook my head."Ignore it. You should get some rest. You really look pale," I told him. He didn't resist me when I to