Ariella was in disbelief—Denzel was mated to Claudine. "No, this can't be," she exclaimed. "Claudine cannot be Alpha Denzel's mate; it's impossible.""Why?" Denzel asked."Because I'm superior to her.""And if you are?""Then, logically, I should be your mate. She's not worthy of you."“The moon goddess knows best,” Denzel said, his brows furrowing.“Claudine, tell him you refuse him,” Ariella turned to Claudine. “Tell him right now!”“What? I can't do that,” Claudine said, looking bewildered. “I can't refuse my mate.”“Claudine, you selfish... Tell him now that you are unworthy to be his mate.”Choosing not to respond, Claudine shifted her gaze away from Ariella. Ariella lunged at her, but Denzel caught her and slammed her to the ground, his eyes flaring red."Ariella, enough," Denzel commanded firmly. "Mating isn't about dominance; it's a connection that surpasses our werewolf understanding. Respect that.”“Alpha Denzel,” Ariella's father said, approaching cautiously. Ariella's moth
Ariella effortlessly hoisted Claudine's limp body, carelessly maneuvering her into the trunk of the car where her parents impatiently waited. With a loud bang, she shut the trunk and slipped into the back seat. As her dad secured the doors, the engine roared to life, and they sped away.As the car raced down the lonely roads, Ariella stared out the window, the blur of trees melding into a monotonous rhythm. Minutes stretched into an eternity, and Ariella's patience wore thin."Are we there yet?" Ariella's question pierced the silence, laden with frustration.Her mother's eyes twinkled with amusement as she glanced at Ariella. "Look around, dear. Do you see people or buildings?"Ariella bit back a retort, her irritation simmering beneath the surface. "Couldn't we have found a closer place to stash her?"Her father snorted dismissively. "If you have a better suggestion, I'm all ears."Ariella's lips pursed in contemplation before she exhaled heavily. "I just want her gone for good.""Do
Claudine’s PovClaudine opened her eyes and groaned. The sunlight streaming in through the stained windows of the little room hurt her eyes as soon as she opened them. She automatically flipped an arm over her eyes and groaned again."Today's adoption day," giggled Annette.Annette is one of the overly chirpy roommates that Claudine had been saddled with for the past six months in the orphanage home. There were so many mornings that Claudine wished she could hear just her mouth, and today was one of them.Utterly oblivious to Claudine's thoughts, Annette continued eagerly to the other girls."Miz Lucas says I'm going to be picked today." She bounced giddily on her toes as she proclaimed the girls who made suitable happy noises back at her.Claudine climbed down from the bunk bed, plunking her feet firmly on the ground to distract them and keep them quiet even for a minute. She succeeded because they all paused in their conversation to spare her a glance. Annette hissed and sneered at
Claudine’s Pov"An excellent choice!" Exclaimed Miz Lucaz, who would have made the same pronunciation for anyone who happened to be selected."If you all come into my office, we can prepare the paperwork for you guys," she continued.Ariella's mother, Janey, clapped her hands delightedly. "Yes, yes, please." she turned to her daughter and asked, "Aren't you excited, too, love?""Sure, mum. A foster sister at long last", she responded sweetly and with an innocent look on her face for the sake of bystanders.The truth was, she didn't care either way if she had gotten a foster sister or brother or whatever else they put up for adoption in this rundown, shitty orphanage home. It was just that being an only child could be tedious at times—no one to have rows with. Or punish. Or torture. An evil smile started to spread on her lips.Claudine had caught the evil look that had flashed across Ariella's face after she smiled, and it had given her a bit of chill for reasons she could not quite pu
Denzel’s PovDenzel Anderson stirs; he doesn’t open his eyes yet as he’s still groggy from sleep. He’d just woken up from a profound sleep. The previous night, they had marked the time of the month when the full moon was at its highest point. The Wolves of the Blackmoon pack, him their Alpha included, had stayed up till very early the next day running and fleeting through forests of aspens and beech and pines with dense undergrowth, frolicking and hunting, fevered baying and barking wolves scattered all over rolling hills deep in the woods that formed the heart of their territory. The full moon was high in the sky, and they had felt its pull, the substance of the Lunar body tugging at their whole hearts. The sheer energy of its light had seemed to course through their lupine veins.At intervals last night, Denzel had climbed onto ledges and rock outcroppings, lifted his snout at the moon, and howled out of his whole heart his worship and affection for the moon. All over the territo
Denzel PovSee, one of the curses of wolf hyper senses was you could never sleep deep enough. If sounds from a quarter mile away didn’t disturb you enough to cause you to wake, your sixth sense would, the tingling along your spine along with the increasing nudge at the back of your mind. He knew he’d been jarred awake by that feeling that something - or someone as it had turned out to be - was approaching, as well as the crunching sound the gravel on his driveway made whenever a person was driving up the long path leading to his house’s grounds. By now, though, the vehicle had come to a stop at the end of the driveway, and peering out his window, he had seen Reid hop out of his sizable red truck and head for his door. Talk of the devil. Reid definitely would be getting it from him this morning.As he moved away from the windows, he paused and took a quick glance around for his shirt, the one he had pulled off just as he crawled into bed next to Nira’s already sleeping form the previ
As the car doors finally started to get slammed, Claudine jumped with each slamming sound she heard. The truth was that she was scared, quite scared. Janey, who rode shotgun with her husband, with Claudine sitting directly behind her, suddenly raised her eyes to catch Claudine's in the rearview mirror. Their eyes locked for an instant, and it did nothing to lessen Claudine's mounting fear. If anything else, it had increased it because Janey had given her a malicious grin just before she looked away.Ariella had been looking at Claudine's hair, comparing it to hers, and she had been feeling jealous until a plan had formed in her mind.She suddenly piped up. "I do hate Claudine's hair, mom. Look at it; I'm pretty sure it's infested with lice too, don't you think so too?"Janey turned her head backward to get a better view of the back seat. Claudine was glued to her side of the car with her tensed body tightly pressed against the car's right door while Ariella sat behind her father and h
"He's lying," the words echoed in Denzel's mind as he descended the last few stairs. He wondered why Reid would lie about his whereabouts last night, and he was eager to get back to Nira to ask her why she had said so. He never doubted her, though, not even for a split second.Denzel, now standing at the center of the living room, took one look at Nira, who had assumed his position on the overlook, and nodded. She headed to their bedroom, and finally, Denzel turned his attention to Reid again."Hey, Denzel, I'm sorry for being impulsive," Reid said. "You are right; it won't happen again.""Damn right, it won't," Denzel said gruffly and sat on the opposite couch.For a while, silence just hung in the air. Denzel had been dwelling on what Nira had said, and Reid, well, with his head bowed and fingers interlaced, was waiting for Denzel to tell him more of anything he had on his mind."So, the intruder escaped?" Denzel suddenly spoke, causing Reid to lift his head.Reid freed his fingers,