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
RAI The pain in my head raged on and I felt sick to my stomach. It didn't help that I was burning up. I'd never felt like this before and for a moment, I wondered if I was infected. When Raelynn brought a hand to my forehead, I almost let out a moan. Her hand had an odd cooling effect. This was the first time I was truly witnessing the reason she was a healer. When she pulled away, my vision blurred and the raging heat flared up. I could feel my sweat dripping down my spine. "Can you walk?" She asked me, reaching out to touch me again. Instinctively, my body leaned towards her. It was not my intention to get too close but I could barely hold my body up anymore. So I fell forward, my head resting on her shoulder. A tremor racked my body in that instant and the excessive warmth in my body started to fade. I could vaguely hear her calling my name while the the sound of my own erratic heartbeat filled my head. Raelynn brought a hand to the back of my neck, and I shivered. She sa
RAELYNN I stared at the palm of my hand, my eyes narrowed as I recalled the sudden burst of blue light that had emerged from my palm right when Rai had leaned into me. It had never happened before. The more I thought about it, the more I became puzzled. There was a knock on the door of my office. So, I looked up, my frown deepening. "It's me," I heard Nadia say. The corner of my mouth tilted upwards and I leaned back on my seat, the frown on my face fading away. "Come in," I stated and she walked in with a small gift basket containing some fruits. I folded my arms across my chest, eyeing her with a blank look on my face. "What brings you here?" I asked and she placed the small basket on the desk, right in front of me. Although she wasn't smiling or frowning, the malice in her eyes was unmistakable. "I apologize for putting you through so much trouble the last time we met," she began. I raised a brow, amused. "You didn't have to apologize," I said and she scoffed, plan
RAI She stared up at me, her chin raised in defiance. The flames in her eyes did not vanish as we engaged in a heated stare-down. All of a sudden, she slammed her forehead against mine, startling me."What the hell, Raelynn?!" I growled, and she blinked at me like a child caught with jelly all over her mouth. In that instant, my frustration died off. So I pulled away and straightened."Fine. Put on your seatbelt," I said, and she glared at me before grabbing her seatbelt. I slammed the door shut and settled down in the driver's seat."Since when did you get so petty?" I asked, and she scoffed at me."I've always been petty," she mumbled. I blinked at her, surprised by the sudden flutter in my chest when she made that statement."What happened to Raelynn, who was always calm and cool headed?" I said, and she turned to look at me, a smirk curling her lips."She died a long time ago," she replied, and I looked away from her, tightening my grip on the steering wheel.Perhaps I'd push
RAELYNN I stiffened when Kyan's lips touched my cheek. He slowly pulled away and gave me a smile, his gaze filled with warmth."We should hang out sometime," he said, and I flashed him a smile."Maybe."When he took my hand and lowered his head to press a kiss to the back of my palm, I couldn't help but smile. He was such a charmer."Are you usually like this with every beautiful woman you encounter?" I teased, and he cracked a smile."No. Only to an exceptionally gorgeous woman who goes by the name Raelynn," he replied, and I chuckled."I should get going now. I had a great time tonight," I told him, and he nodded."Let me walk you to your car." The words had barely left his lips when I felt a familiar presence behind me. Turning around with a start, I came face-to-face with Rai. His face was devoid of expression, but his eyes told a different story. He was mad."Hello, Raelynn," he droned, and I heaved a sigh. I should've known that one way or another, I would encounter him at
RAELYNN "Is everything alright?" I looked up at the sound of Judy's voice. She was sitting up on the bed, her messy blonde hair framing her face. "Maurice just called me. Apparently, my dad is in a critical condition," I told her and she frowned at me."Something smells fishy about this," she stated."You think so?" She nodded."I have a feeling it's a trap of sorts," she stated and I nodded in agreement. Either way, I needed to find out what was really going on."You still have to be careful. Who knows what they're planning?" Judy said, her tone clipped. She seemed truly annoyed. I couldn't help but smile. "It's not like they can plot something grand in a place like the medical centre," I said and she sighed. "Fine," she mumbled.After getting dressed, I promptly left for the medical centre and made inquiries to locate my father. Sure enough, he'd been admitted in one of the wards. When I walked in, I found Maurice sitting by the bedside with a solemn look on her face. M
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