C12

She was one of those females who possessed a striking, rare beauty and a timeless body. Her slim figure with soft curves in all the right places was a male's wildest dream. She was my sister's age, just recently turning twenty-six, but the years had only made her more breathtaking. Her resemblance to her mother was her only fault in my eyes. I had hated her mother's guts for most of my life, but now... I was completely done fighting. I couldn't fight this roaring lust for Nia anymore.

I studied the picture of her face. Her almond-shaped eyes and full lips dominated the page. Her eyes, the color of rich whiskey, burned like bright embers against her dark, thick hair. It made her pale skin look like pure fresh snow. Her gaze, staring from the scroll, had the exact same effect I remembered. It shot straight into my soul.

Her eyes always did something crazy to my inner wolf. It was like she could see every single rotten, dark part of me, but instead, she chose to focus on the very few good pieces left. And when she laughed, she just completely shone. I could still hear that beautiful laugh in my head sometimes, mixed with the scent of the wild forest and the sweet rain that always seemed to linger around her skin. I rarely allowed myself to think about her. Each time I did, my pulse raced with a primal, possessive need to claim her.

She was my absolute biggest weakness. Nobody knew it, not even her. The look of betrayal in her eyes as I laid her mother's ancient sins at her feet had been haunting my dreams since that night. It had cost me more peace than anyone would ever know.

Shoving the past out of the way, I glanced through the rest of the records. My favorite photo in all the dedicated pages of the broken-up couple was the one where she caught him cheating. The completely calm expression on her face was the talk of the entire pack territory. Why didn't she shift and claw his eyes out? Apparently, all she did was drop his keys on the table and walk away without a single word while he scrambled to run after her completely bare-ass naked.

But that cold expression on her face—it was the exact same one she gave me at her academy graduation. She only greeted me for Zuri's sake and then dispersed immediately, her face calm and totally closed off. The beautiful eyes that usually sought me out couldn't stand to look at my face anymore.

The world didn't know Nia Whitmore like I did. That expression meant absolute, final unforgiveness. She was completely done with him, and she would never give him another chance in this lifetime. He blew it.

Just like I did. Except I did it on purpose, methodically, giving her a taste of her mother's medicine. Or so my stupid brain thought back then.

The bitterness of that night was still sour on my tongue. I stood up and strode to the small bar in the corner of my den. I grabbed a bottle of strong liquor and poured myself a glass. The deep color of it always reminded me of her gaze. The female was completely bewitching, with an uncanny ability to get under my thick skin without even trying. I gulped it down in one massive swallow. But it still didn't wash away the bitter, haunting memories.

My brother and sister would never know how much I had sacrificed for this great Adeyemi name, constantly cleaning up the giant disasters our parents had left behind. Their past was wrapped up in deadly sins, forbidden secrets, and massive betrayal—by my own mother and father, as well as Nia's mother.

A week later, I was standing right outside the outer borders of Silvermoon Hollow, inside one of our secure pack warehouses. The sun was just rising over the trees, and the stillness surrounding the valley was almost unnatural. It would remain quiet like this for another few hours, and then the loud buzzing and wild life of the pack territory would start its cycle all over again.

Running. Training. Challenges. Mating.

Several rogue wolves had been caught trying to burn down one of my smaller training outposts within the city borders. They were caught red-handed by my guards. And guess what? They were Devereux’s men. Surprise, surprise! My brother really knew how to stir up a blood war. I really wasn't in the mood for this total disaster. Not now that Nia Whitmore was finally in my town, completely within my grasp.

"What do we have here?" I greeted my lead warriors, looking down at the unfortunate souls who already looked half-beaten to death on the concrete.

Kellan sat by the massive loading doors, looking out at the muddy river while casually peeling a wild apple with his hunting blade. It meant he was in the mood to play and torture. I really wasn't. Managing a massive legitimate dominion was enough work. I didn't need an impending territory war among alpha families because of my brother's stupid, rash moment. But the war was coming; I had absolutely no doubt about it.

Kellan claimed it was an eye for an eye. Except he seemed to have forgotten that Malik's eldest son had already paid for the death of our father years ago. Now the remaining Shadowfang wolves would be back, demanding a massive blood settlement from us.

Fucking Kellan!

I loved him, but his bloodthirsty ways were going to get him killed. Or worse—they would put Zuri and Nia in extreme danger.

Zuri had been back from the outer city for a week now. I knew she went to visit Nia, although she never admitted it to me. Sometimes I wondered if she had finally learned about what happened between her best friend and me five years ago, because she never brought Nia's name up around me anymore. Or maybe she just sensed my lethal mood every single time Nia was mentioned.