~Gaston~Clifton will ruin everything if we don't get to him before he acts. I had Killian confirm that Clifton's Aston Martin wasn't packed in his car garage. That explains why he left with the car. And knowing Clifton well enough, his only focus would be to rescue Xyana. So he wouldn't want to mess his opportunity up.That simply means he will wait till nightfall before making a move. That gives me less than six hours to stop him from being the reason this silent war between Zegulf and me will erupt into a physically unstoppable one.Rhenat is seated from across the room with Dion and Declan standing at the entrance. They are staring at me expectantly, wanting to know what I'll do.I tip my head towards the door. "I'll leave you alone for now," I tell Rhenat. "I need to speak to my brothers and find a way to stop Clifton from ruining everything."Rhenat nods. "Yes, Alpha. I will put a call through to you when it's done.""When what is done? Can the both of you be inclusive at least
~Xyana~ 'PIG, FAT, and UGLY' have become names I'm now accustomed to. I used to think myself beautiful until recently. All thanks to our Alpha's rumored mate, Oksana. Ever since she started deriving pleasure in dehumanizing and abusing me because she thinks I'm too fat for her liking, my life got enveloped in an endless stream of never-ending chores. She'll call me 'Pig' over and over again and I'll always answer her with a 'yes ma'am.' She makes sure I don't get to enjoy a moment of rest during the day. I work at the farms, at the pack daycare, the kitchen, I scrub the floors; I literally do everything. Yet she's never satisfied. ** Today, Mrs. Sal, the pack's Matron, assigned my best friend, Jiya, and me to clean the Alpha's living room. She must have taken pity on me and decided to give me an easy task that I'd spend most of my day doing. As Jiya and I focus on our assigned task for the day. I suddenly feel the hairs on my neck prickle. A dull pull follows, drawing
~Xyana~ I stumble behind Gamma Reeder, shame oozing through me with every step. My mind is still reeling from Alpha Kedar’s words, the disgust in his voice, the name-calling, and the humiliation that burns deeper than the wounds Oksana physically inflicted on me. My wolf "Juno," whimpers in my head, confused and heartbroken. 'He's ours,' she repeats weakly, but I can feel her spirit gradually dying down as if she too is beginning to accept the harsh reality. The pack members whisper as I pass, their eyes filled with cruel amusement. I catch glimpses of mocking smirks, and knowing looks exchanged between them. They revel in my humiliation, every single one of them. "Pathetic," someone scoffs. "How can this fat thing try to fight a real wolf?" Another voice says. "She attacked our soon-to-be Luna." I hear someone else accuse me from the crowd. I clench my teeth, swallowing the lump in my throat. I will not cry in front of them. I refuse to give them that satisfaction. We f
~Gaston~The pain I'm feeling is excruciating; my head is spinning uncontrollably as my chauffeur, Killian, keeps driving farther away from the source of my pain."Pull over," I tell Killian.The car hitches to a stop almost immediately and he stares at me through the rearview mirror, his face lined with worry.I groan into my palms painfully as my veins go through bouts of painful constrictions. "What can I do, Alpha?" Killian asks."Turn the car around," I tell him, "and drive until I ask you to stop."He nods and kicks the car into gear, pulling it into reverse. We started heading back to the same route we were coming from. A few minutes into the ride, the maddening pain starts to fade gradually, getting replaced by an unbearable intense pull that is almost pulling me out of the car."Killian, stop the car." I groan. The car halts instantly. I push outside, staggering towards the nearby woods; the exact direction of the unbearable pull. I don't have the time to tell Killian what
~Xyana~ Slowly, consciousness comes to me in painful waves. My body feels heavy like it’s been weighed down by thick rocks, and my mind is foggy, struggling to piece together the last thing I remember. My eyelids feel like they’re glued shut by an external force, causing me to force it open. The first thing I see is a high, vaulted ceiling made of dark wood. I try to sit up, but a sharp pain shoots through my ribs, forcing me back down. A gentle hand presses against my shoulder, and I turn to see a man with kind eyes and a stethoscope around his neck. A doctor, I presume. “You have to take it easy,” he says softly. “Your body is still recovering." He places two fingers on my wrist to get my pulse reading. "What's your name?" "Xyana." I reply. "You're welcome to Gurreo-Valley pack, Xyana." He offers that comforting smile one can easily find amongst health workers in hospitals. "Do you recall how you got here?" He adds. Firstly, this man said that I'm at the Gurreo-Valley pack.
~Xyana~Two days later, I wake up feeling better than I did a couple of days ago. The memory of my first day here is still fresh in my mind.'Is any of this really happening or is this just the Moon goddess trying to play tricks on me?'Alpha Kedar denied me almost a week ago and now I have three men fighting over me. The only word to describe any of this is 'surreal.''You think you're special now?' Juno laughs at me, 'keep being stupid.'"Whatever did I do to you, Juno? I'm not the reason Alpha Kedar refused to acknowledge us. He just didn't want to."'He told you why.' Juno insists."He said I'm worthless, and I'm not!" I yell. "It's okay if he chooses Oksana as his real mate. But I'm not worthless, neither am I spineless."'But you're an Elephant, a Pig, fat...' "Don't say those words to me, please." I plead with my wolf.She snorts and starts sinking back inside, 'suit yourself, Pig.'I shut my eyes as the pain of her words hit me. She's waiting, watching, hoping that I'll count
~Xyana~"I can't feel my mates," I say out loud, the distress in my voice, evident as I pace the room I'm assigned to.Breakfast was hectic and I don't even blame any of my mates if they're upset. If the Moon goddess deemed it fit to give me second chance mates, that only means she understands perfectly that right now, I'm so alone with no one in the world to turn to.But I'm failing them; I'm failing my mates; I'm failing the Moon goddess, and it's all because of Juno, my wolf, who has refused to do her job."How long do you plan on shutting out our mates, Juno?" I ask her. She yawns and stretches out a bit, acting unconcerned. "Juno?"'As long as I wish.' she snaps."You're pushing them away. Their wolves are trying to connect with you and you're shutting them out."'So? What should I do with that information?.'"But you're a part of me for crying out loud. We ought to be working together, hand in hand." I try to make her see things from my own perspective.'The Moon goddess forbid
~Xyana~"You're winning," Oona says grumpily. I wasn't so eager to play chess with a pup her age, but her Nanny reassured me that Oona always plays and is good."She's good at the game," Declan says from the door. "She truly is," I reply to him. I may be winning the game, but Oona isn't making it easy for me either. He walks into Oona's game room and takes a seat, all smiles. "I've been meaning to spend quality time with you, Pretty. But the pack is preparing for the annual mating ceremony which happens yearly for us. So, we're working harder on getting more warrior recruits to toughen security." He explains."An annual mating ceremony? When will that be?""You would be surprised, because it's still a few months away. About three months and a couple of days.""And the warriors are already taking their training seriously?" I ask him."Yeah. Can't remember that stuff they say about powerful preparation." He winks at me as Oona packs up the chess board.She walks past me with the boa
~Gaston~Clifton will ruin everything if we don't get to him before he acts. I had Killian confirm that Clifton's Aston Martin wasn't packed in his car garage. That explains why he left with the car. And knowing Clifton well enough, his only focus would be to rescue Xyana. So he wouldn't want to mess his opportunity up.That simply means he will wait till nightfall before making a move. That gives me less than six hours to stop him from being the reason this silent war between Zegulf and me will erupt into a physically unstoppable one.Rhenat is seated from across the room with Dion and Declan standing at the entrance. They are staring at me expectantly, wanting to know what I'll do.I tip my head towards the door. "I'll leave you alone for now," I tell Rhenat. "I need to speak to my brothers and find a way to stop Clifton from ruining everything."Rhenat nods. "Yes, Alpha. I will put a call through to you when it's done.""When what is done? Can the both of you be inclusive at least
~Zegulf~The marking is complete. At least, I think it is. But it doesn't look like she's breathing well. Her breaths are coming slowly, and I'm terrified that she might be dying on me. It's not supposed to be this way. The marking between Werewolves is supposed to be a beautiful euphoric experience. But I'm not certain it would be the same with a Moon-made. I stare at the Cabal and they stare back at me, confusion on their faces. 'Yes, I'm confused as well.' I whine internally.When I spoke to Kadila earlier about marking Xyana tonight, she told me to go ahead and mark her that her presence wouldn't be needed. Now I think I need her because I'm clueless as to what to do since Xyana is barely breathing. Panic is threatening to take hold of me as I mind-link my Beta, Xavier to bring Kadila over.I can feel all the little hairs on my body stand up as if I’m inside some giant electromagnetic field. Pressing my ear to Xyana's fairly warm chest, I listen to the barely audible heartbeat
~Zegulf~I let Xyana spend the rest of her day in my room sulking.She had thought I would finally agree to let her go, but If only she knew that she was asking for the impossible. Letting her go isn't a sentence I want to be associated with. Not when the Moon Goddess gave her to me on a platter. I have a woman any Alpha would die to mark. A woman who can easily bring even the most powerful Alpha to his knees. It's sad that she has no idea who or what she is and how much power she holds.Towards the evening, the Alpha's Cabal, Roldolf, Ezra, and Thaddeus, arrived at my private chamber. I had the guards set up the room with a round table that would bring all of us together because I asked them to bring Xyana over as I wanted to introduce her to them.Xyana stops at the door, confusion shrouding her face as she stares from me to the three other men in the room."Come on in, Firefly," I call her fondly, waving at her.Slowly, she pushes her b
~Zegulf~The next morning, I have the maids bring Xyana downstairs to the dining room to join me for breakfast. She looks well rested, and even far better than yesterday. The wound on her arm looks better, too, and I have no doubt it will take just a few more days or a week to heal perfectly.She is wearing a very pretty dress I believe to be part of the ones delivered yesterday by the personal shopper.When she sees me across the dining room, she smiles and greets me. Then I quickly pull out a seat for her. I can feel her cheerfulness surge through me."You seem well rested.""Yes, I am. My wounds are healing pretty well too. Thank you so much for your hospitality and kindness.""Oh, it's nothing really," I reply.Then I snap my fingers. The maids quickly started serving us breakfasts of boiled eggs, coffee, and wheat bread. Since Xyana came into my life, I made it known to the butler that our meals should always be healthy.Watching her ea
••PRESENT DAY••~Gaston~I'm seated in my private chamber with Rhen seated across the table from me. "Is it done yet?" I ask her checking my wristwatch for the time.She told me that Kadila was trying to unbound Clifton's and Xyana's souls as she could feel the gradual neutralization of the magic she used.So we agreed that it was best to let the soul-unbounding ritual go on, and at the peak of it, I will be able to connect to Xyana, just to see if I can pass a message to her in her dreams."Not yet," Rhenat replies. "But any moment now."I scowl as the image of a happy Zegulf appears in my head. He must be super elated and proud of himself. Does he even think that I won't know what he's trying to do and what he's really up to? Only a fool would assume that I'm clueless and Zegulf is no fool.So I have no doubt he's suspicious of my silence. Why wouldn't he be? If I were him, I would be suspicious too."Xyana is going to survive this, r
••A WEEK AGO••~Gaston~There are lots of things I need answers to. And I've tried getting these answers from elsewhere. But there are still lots of empty spaces that need to be filled.The answers aren't as explanatory as I wanted, I need more. I needed to hear them as they were. If there was a prophecy about this new Moon-made, Xyana, I needed to hear it word for word, not as hearsay, but as the absolute truth.The only person with the answer to my question is Rhenat the Witch. And even though I've tried to avoid going to her for help by exploring every other option available to me, I still have to say that she holds the complete information I'm after.So I had no other option than to get Callum to set up a private meeting with Rhenat without anyone's knowledge. I left the pack after midnight with Killian, my most trusted man, with me, we shifted to our wolves and ran all the way to Callum's pack. He was already waiting for us with a clean change
~Zegulf~Xyana and I had a beautiful day touring my pack. She did feel on edge for a while, but eventually, I was able to get her to relax and enjoy the tour.We had lunch under a cabana at the private pool behind the pack house. The view was beautiful and I had no doubt she loved it but would rather not say.After lunch, we visited a few more places within the pack before retiring for the evening. I took her back to my room and left her with a few of the maids who had already been briefed on serving her a spiked drink to put her to sleep in preparation for Kadila's visit.**Barely two hours later, I brought Kadila into my room after making sure she was properly covered.Kadila was dressed in one of those colorful outfits of hers that tells me she is in such a great mood. As usual, she attended to Xyana's wounds before taking a seat on a side stool at the center of the room."Will you mark her tonight, Alpha?" Kadila asks, rubbing a dark-c
~Zegulf~I didn't expect Xyana to smile at me when I told her that I had a hand in the death of Gaston's parents. I expected to see the fear in her eyes, not her running away from me. If this would make her run, then what exactly would she do when she realizes how deep the feud between my pack and Gurreo-Valley has gone?How would she react if I told her some or all the things Gaston Howling and I have had to do against each other behind closed doors because of our hatred towards each other?Maybe she will hate me. But then she will get to understand that Gaston Howling is anything but an Angel. And he's no better than me. The only difference between us is that I wear my evil name comfortably like a crown while he disguises a lot until you step on his toe or step close enough to draw out a reaction from him.That makes me wonder why he hasn't come for Xyana yet. Kadila will be here in the evening to complete the soul-unbounding ritual, and I'm expected to m
~Xyana~Days rolled by. I had access to the television where I kept checking all the news channels. Nothing about my disappearance was being mentioned and none of my mates came for me.Maybe I should wonder why they would come for me when it's obvious they don't know where I'm being held currently.But I'm out here without my phone, and I'm unable to reach out to any of them. All I have access to is the television, where I keep skimming through channels every day in the hope that I'll see something that could convince me that my mates are out there, looking for me.But there's nothing. By the third day, I'd already given up. Maybe they've all moved on without me. Maybe I think too highly of myself.Is it possible that they don't want me as their mate? Even if others don't, what about my Dion? Surely he will want me as much as I want him.I'm still in deep thought when a hand touches my arm so gently."Hi," I greeted Zegulf with a sad smile. "Bea