RAI I awoke to the sound of Raelynn throwing up in the bathroom. Concerned, I got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom door, just in time for her to step out of it. With her hair pulled up into a messy, she appeared to be totally out of it.Her weary gaze met mine and my heart sank. She looked way too pale. "It's probably just something I ate," she said to me, flashing me a tight smile. Raelynn leaned into me as I pulled her into my embrace. "Come on, let's go back to bed," I said and she nodded. I led her to the bed and she laid down, curling up against me. "Everything is going to be okay, right?" She asked. "Yeah," I whispered. In a short while, I fell asleep and dreamt. When I awoke a couple of hours later, I sat up in bed in panic, remnants of the terrifying dream I'd just had lingered in my mind.Sucking in a sharp breath, I stared down at my hands, an image of Raelynn's bloodied form appearing in my mind's eye. At the sound of the shower in the bathroom, I go
RAELYNN A few minutes ago, I tightened my grip on the envelope in my hand, anxiety sinking into me. Klaus was right. I was pregnant. I didn't know how to feel about it. Bringing a hand to my abdomen, I heaved a sigh. Nadia and Kyan were still missing. They could attack me the moment I let my guard down. It didn't help that my pregnancy was strangely sucking the energy out of me.While I was lost in my thoughts, the envelope was yanked out of my hand. Turning around with a start, my heart sank when I saw a familiar face standing there.She waved the envelope at me and flashed me a sinister grin."What is this? A sonogram?" She asked, cocking her head."Nadia," I hissed, clenching my fists.She looked perfectly fine, especially for someone who had fallen off a building.Why won't she just stay dead?"Hello there. It's been a while. I guess you've been busy making babies with Alpha Rai. What's it going to be? Baby three? Or four?" She said, her voice laced with mocker
RAELYNN Something didn't feel right about the nurse. As she walked towards me with a knowing smile on her face, I instinctively moved backwards until the back of my legs touched the bed."Please sit down," she said, in a voice that sounded robotic. "I'm perfectly fine. I don't need whatever you have in your tray," I said and her smile widened."Of course you do. The incident must've been a traumatic one. You need to take this to recover," she said, holding up the serum when she stopped in front of me. I was convinced at this point. I needed to get out of there. Knocking the serum out of her hand, I drove my elbow into her stomach and she doubled over. Without waiting for her to recover, I sprinted towards the door and out of it. There were two men standing there. Before they could react, I made a beeline down the unfamiliar corridor. This place was no hospital. As I ran, realization dawned on me when I noticed that I was being chased. Eventually, I arrived at a dead end. Ther
RAI "You should get some sleep," I heard Jared say as he walked into my study. I looked up at him with a blank expression and he released an exasperated sigh. "When was the last time you allowed yourself to fall asleep?" He asked, sinking into the chair in front of my desk. I probably looked like a mess. My mind was constantly plagued by reminders of my failures. I was barely holding on to the sanity I had left. "I can't bring myself to. Especially not when Raelynn is still missing. I don't even know if she's eating well or getting any sleep," I said and he nodded."I know you're worried about that. But, trust me, Raelynn is stronger than you think. I have news for you," Jared said and I stiffened, my gaze meeting his candid ones. "What news?" "Rose was seen recently," he said and my eyes widened, hope flickering inside of me. "Where exactly?" I demanded and he grimaced."A convenience store. Again, she parked her car in a parking lot and vanished into thin air right after.
RAELYNN 'Don't you remember what you just said to me?' Rai said to me through our mindlink and I blinked, confused. I was certain that I was only reaching out to him for the first time since I regained consciousness. 'What are you talking about?' I said, my anxiety levels spiking up. 'It has to be the drug. It's making you forget things,' he stated. I could feel his emotions as though they were mine. The panic and the rage were so intense, it triggered my own emotions."What do I do? I still can't see. I don't know where I am. Rai...I... I'm scared," I said.The words had barely left my lips when the door jerked open and two figures walked towards me. Without a word, they untied me and brought me to my feet. Then they led me out of the room. "Smile, Lynn. Don't jinx the ceremony," I heard Rose say as she took hold of one of my hands. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't flee from the unfolding scene. Anger bubbled inside of me as I was led into what seemed like a large
RAI “Why are you doing this? You've been lying to me,” Raelynn said through gritted teeth."I can assure you that he's the liar here," Kyan hissed, and I grabbed Raelynn’s hands, pulling her behind me."Stop hiding her from her husband. She belongs to me!" He screamed. It happened in the blink of an eye. He shot a blast of offensive magic towards me, and Raelynn jumped in front of me in that instant."No!" A scream tore out of me, guttural and filled with raw pain. Raelynn gasped and coughed up blood, her legs giving out. Right before she could hit the ground, I broke her fall. She coughed up more blood, her tear-filled eyes meeting mine. "Why? You shouldn't have done that," I croaked, panic tearing through me. "I don't know. I must be stupid," she croaked. I felt as though my heart was being ripped apart and when I looked up to find Kyan still standing there, I lost it. Kyan couldn't defend himself when I attacked him. I didn't stop until he was no longer moving. The meta
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
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 Austin took a sip from the can of beer I'd offered him. Then he heaved a sigh, his gaze finding Rai's. "You're still not going to say anything? It's been nearly ten minutes, you know?" Rai said, his gaze unwavering.Austin cleared his throat, leaning back on his seat."My bad," he mumbled and I raised a brow at him. "Alright, try not to freak out--" he started to say, and Rai's expression darkened."Are you kidding me, Austin? Spit it out already," Rai hissed, his impatience written all over his face. "The witch council wishes to have a meeting with Raelynn," Austin stated and my frown deepened."And how's that supposed to be bad news?" I asked and he winced."They must have gotten wind of your involvement with the red tulip cult. They also learnt of the fact that you got rid of the plague," he added. Rai heaved a sigh, running his fingers through his hair."That's not good," he mumbled."I still don't understand. Am I too dull for this?" I said and Rai reached acr
RAELYNN Rose must've thought that she was doing a good job at blurring the line between the truth and the lie. Nonetheless, I'd figured it out. The spell was linked to the fact that I was mated to Rai. "Raelynn..." Rai rasped, his breathing strained. My heart ached for him. It was obvious at this point. Our destinies were ill-fated. We were bound to hurt each other as long as we were bound by our bonds. I'd forgiven him for hurting me and I didn't want him to suffer because of me anymore. With this thought, I came to a conclusion that the only way to save him was to lose him. "It's alright. I'll set you free," I whispered and he smiled weakly. The lights in his eyes grew dim as he gasped for air. I swallowed hard, fresh tears filling my eyes."I, Raelynn Norman, reject you, Rai Vidal..."His eyes bulged in their sockets, terror written all over his face."No...." His voice was laced with desperation when he spoke again.I knew he would refuse to reject me. Even s
RAI At first, I felt as though I was trapped in an empty space. I couldn't feel my body and I didn't know where I was. By the time I snapped back to reality, I felt as though I was watching myself from afar. And, when I saw the mortifying scene unfolding before my eyes, I went ballistic. "So this is it. This is what it feels like to be in Alpha Rai's body," I heard myself say. It took me a moment to realize what was really good on. Kyan was inside my body. But how?How did things escalate to this aggravating point?It didn't help that I couldn't recall much. When Kyan attempted to kiss my woman, a dam of fury was unlocked inside of me. Therefore, my will to recover my body waxed stronger. Raelynn attempted to push my body away from her and when it didn't work, she jammed her elbow into my guts and I doubled over. I was relieved to know that she'd managed to free herself from Kyan. "Why are you running? Play with me a little longer, will you?" Kyan screamed as he chased afte
RAELYNN "What are you talking about? Raelynn, you're engaged," Hunter said, his face contorted in incredulity. "I need your help," I said and his frown deepened."You have to be clear about what you need my help with," he stated slowly. "I asked my dad to help Rai and he did. But, in exchange, he wants me to marry you," I told him. "What? That's insane," Hunter said. "The thing is... he already held up his own part of the deal," I stated and he whistled under his breath."That's fast. How is Rai doing? Shouldn't you be with him right now?" "I've been anxious. I just thought I needed to get this situation off my chest," I muttered, gulping down more water. "I'm guessing that Rai doesn't know about any of this," Hunter pointed out and I nodded."He's going to be so mad if he finds out.""So, what do you want me to do?" He asked and I clenched my fists, tension gripping me." I'm thinking you can just pretend to be my fiance for a little while and after a month we can offici
RAELYNN "He wants to know the truth, Rae. You're planning to marry Hunter, aren't you?" Caroline had a smug expression on her face when she spoke. My gaze met Rai's bewildered ones and I knew right away that I couldn't get away with telling a lie. I'd hoped that I could keep it away from him, long enough to get him the help he desperately needed. "Tell me it's not true," Rai croaked and I lowered my gaze, my eyes brimming with tears."I'm sorry," I croaked. This scenario was the last thing I'd expected. I should've known that Caroline was up to no good, the last time I'd encountered her. **Flashback**I was stepping out of my father's office when I nearly bumped into a familiar figure along the corridor. It was Caroline. I hadn't seen her in a very long time. She appeared gaunt and miserable. "What are you doing here?" I asked and she grinned at me."You're getting married to Hunter? Who's Hunter? Another hotshot?" She asked and my eyes widened."Where did you--""I over
RAI The cheerful sounds of my daughters’ voices awakened me from my slumber. Slowly, I sat up in bed and found that I was all alone in the room. When I took a deep breath, the mouthwatering smell of fried chicken saturated my senses.'Raelynn must be up to something tasty,’ I thought as I got out of bed, ignoring the aches that assaulted my body each time I moved.Making my way into the bathroom, I halted in front of the mirror and stared at my reflection for a while. I was such a mess. I pushed my fingers through my messy bed hair and attempted to bring a smile to my face. I managed to smile, although it was somewhat broken.After going through my morning routine, I stepped out into the dining room, where the twins sat with their mother. They all beamed at me, urging me to join them.After breakfast, we all settled down in the sitting room. The twins were engaged with their toys while Raelynn and I watched over them.All of a sudden, my nose began to bleed. In a flurry of movem
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