HAYLEE~~I was burning from within, and my screams did nothing to ease the hot pain I felt each time Richard pushed a button, sending chemicals or perhaps poisons into my system.However, with every wave of pain, my sight became clearer. Shocking, yeah?I was equally surprised, and so was Alpha Richard, who I had realized was standing in a different room. He was close to me, but we were separated by walls of glass. I could see him, and he could see me, too.He had access to the machines pumping pain into my veins, but despite his countless efforts, he couldn’t achieve his goal. With every groan I got from him after my body adjusted to every toxin he pumped into me, it dawned on me that what he wanted was to know who or what I was.Causing me pain wasn’t the end goal.“Seems like I’m enjoying this game, Richard.” The fear I once felt before all of this started was long gone, replaced by confidence because I believed I was unbreakable. “You will never get what you want.”Rather than
HAYLEE~~“I’m sorry, Haylee.” Kaylee stuttered after Evan and Alpha Richard left the plain, empty room, locking us in and promising to come back for me after they set up what I would soon call a torture room. She continued, “I swear I didn’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to betray you. I wanted to help you this time—” “Shut up!” I yelled at her, anger coursing through me like boiling lava as tears trickled down my face rapidly. “Just shut the hell up.”This place, whatever or wherever it was, wasn’t where I should be. I should be walking down the aisle. I should be getting married, or maybe I would have been married and waiting to be crowned. But unfortunately for me, I was waiting to be tortured by two sickos. Today was meant to be my happy day—“I swear he did something to me, Haylee. I couldn’t control myself when I stabbed you with the syringe. I tried but—” Once again, I snapped at Kaylee even though my voice broke, sadness raging through me, “I told you to shut t
HAYLEE~~I’ve been moved, carried, and tossed more times than I can count. Even in my state, I could feel each shift every time I was jostled like a rag doll. The sensation of being swept along without choice. Though I couldn’t feel the pain, I knew when I was discarded, tossed aside like trash.Who would have guessed I’d come to be grateful for the drug injected into me? Fortunately, it dulled the pain that should have come with every toss. But, unfortunately, it also robbed me of my awareness and my ability to keep my eyes open.I couldn’t keep my mind alert long enough to understand what was happening around me. Time became meaningless, like a blank, unending void.I felt lost and trapped in my own body. My body and mind chose to play a trick on me in that moment as I heard the only voice I longed to hear. Xalen’s voice echoed, bouncing off the walls of my dark mind.“Hold on for me, Nerina. I’m coming for you,” His voice echoed faintly in my mind, just as I felt my body hitting
ALPHA KING XALEN~~It couldn’t be.How could it be Evan, of all people? I found it hard to believe that one of the few people I could call my friend has been stabbing me in the back for the past decade. I mean, if Evan was truly the supposed chameleon who has been changing appearances and killing people, he has to be the one who killed Laura.He has to be the one who has been feeding Richard information.Heck, he has to be Richard’s inside man.“It’s impossible. There’s no way we missed that. You can sense lies, Xalen. You can tell when someone is lying to you.” Theo chimed within me, silence seizing the room as Atlas’s words echoed in all our ears.Without thinking twice, I blurted to Atlas, “How sure are you that the person you saw is the real Evan? What if Evan has been killed by the Red Wolf and we failed to find his body? For goddess's sake, how many bodies are we yet to find? Evan could be another victim.”“Or he could be the villain, Xalen.” Of course, Roy had something to s
Alpha Prince Roy’s POV~~Xalen was headed for a mistake.I knew it, and I was sure he knew it too, even though he was desperately pushing that awareness aside, driven by emotions clouding his judgment. As someone who had lost a mate before—and who deeply cared for Flavia and wouldn’t want to be in Xalen’s shoes—I understood his turmoil.In fact, I even stood by his decision, sympathizing with his pain.But as his cousin and someone who could see things from a different angle, I couldn’t support this course of action. I couldn’t stand by while he made what I knew would be the biggest mistake of his life. I had to intervene.I have to stop him from marrying Allison.“But what do we do to help him, Roy?” my wolf sharply pressed as my gaze lingered on Flavia. She was moving the kids to safety, followed by warriors I couldn’t fully trust in this moment.Right now, trust was fragile. Although everyone seemed to be grieving Haylee, I knew better than to let that fog my judgment. That’s wh
ALPHA KING XALEN~~“Hurt me and Haylee dies, King Xalen. If you want her to live on, you have to marry me and crown me today. The choice is yours… or not.”I knew I had always underestimated Allison; this time was no different. Although she had been caught and revealed her true self to everyone in the pack, she still wouldn’t give up.And sadly, I also couldn’t give Haylee up.After searching deep within me, I could tell my mate was still alive, but I couldn’t feel her anywhere near me. She was definitely out of the pack, and I was far behind. Fuck, I was so far behind, and Allison’s words cut straight into my soul, leaving me perplexed and dazed for more than a few minutes.Everyone in the hall had grown quiet. If I couldn’t perceive their fears, I would say they were quiet because my emotions were spiraling, which wasn’t good for a man of my status.“A man of your status? You just cried before the entire pack, Xalen. Status is of no importance,” Theo lashed out at me. “We’ve got