Xander PovIt was as if I was slowly losing my life force. The pain was unbearable, but the zeal to speak to Elise overpowered whatever hurt I was feeling. I wanted to ask him more. I wanted to know more.But his words were cut off as the light from the pendant grew brighter, filling the entire cell with radiance that seemed to come from another world entirely.*Do not fight the change,* the voice instructed. *Let it flow through you. Accept what you are becoming.*I decided to accept it, just as he said. I let my mind be filled with Elise and the overflowing powers from the pendant. I pushed myself harder, eager to get through to her even if I had to go through a thousand times the pain I was already going through.But just when I truly thought I was going to die, I heard the voice I had longed for.The response was immediate and unmistakably hers. *Xander? Xander, is that really you?*Relief flooded through me so completely I nearly collapsed. "It's me, love. It's me."*I can feel
Xander's POVI heard a voice. It was commanding yet faint. I looked around, unsure of who was speaking yet no one was in the dungeon except me. I was about to give up when I heard the voice again.My attention was focused entirely on the pendant around my neck, which had suddenly grown scorching hot against my skin.The mate bond was pulsing, stronger than it had been in days. And it seem as though I could hear the voices through the Pendant. Every fiber of my being was concentrated on the connection I could feel building, stretching across the miles to wherever Elise might be. I sat in the darkness of the dungeon, my mind racing with thoughts of escape and rescue. I was also secretly cursing Lucia while thinking of ways to get back my mate. Elise was out there, somewhere, and I was determined to find her. I had been gathering information and resources for what felt like an eternity, and I finally had a plan."Amma's knowledge of the supernatural world has been invaluable," I mutter
Xander Pov "Still defiant?" Lucia snarled, pouring more power into the spell. "Fine. We'll see how defiant you are after a few hours of this."She gestured to the guards who had appeared at the cell door. "Take him to the torture chamber. Make sure he understands exactly how worthless he is."As they unlocked my chains and dragged me to my feet, I caught sight of Lilith huddled in the corner. Her eyes met mine, and I saw something that gave me hope.Guilt. Not just shame for betraying me, but the specific kind of guilt that came from lying. She knew something she wasn't telling Lucia. Something important. Or maybe I was just forcing myself to believe that even though it was not true. The guards hauled me out of the cell, but I managed to lean close to Lilith as we passed, I wanted to whisper to her but I didn’t get to. "Take him away," Lucia ordered, but there was something in her voice now. Uncertainty. Like my refu
Xander's POVLilith, Elise's sister.My heart didn't stop because I was afraid or hurt, but it stopped when I saw the once peacock looking Lilith looking like a rogue. She looked nothing like the spoiled princess I remembered. Her fangs protruded, bloody and fractured. It was a sign of being beaten several times by warriors. She was badly injured because she wasn't a warrior. She was just an over pampered girl. My eyes swept through her blonde hair which was matted. It was extremely dirty, hanging in greasy tangles around her face. Her clothes were torn and stained, and there were bruises covering every inch of visible skin.And it was her eyes that made my stomach lurch. They were hollow, empty, like someone had sucked the life right out of them. It wasn't just the beatings. I could sense something darker, like the aura used by Lucia. How much has she suffered?"Lilith?" My voice came out hoarse with shock, not pity. Don't blame me, she had always bullied my mate. If not for Elise
Xander Pov Sixteen years and I still feel my heart beating for her. The moment I saw that chubby rice ball, bloodied but still cheerful, something in me knew. Not just that she was my mate, but that she was meant to be more than that. Meant to be my equal, my partner, my other half.Even if I tried to tell myself I was just pretending for the sake of who she was, my heart kept accusing me. I played along with Amma's plan yet my heart was the one playing me.I thought I had it under control, right from the moment Amma told me she was the one. Yet, that control seemed to slip the day I saw her crying over Jason. Even when it was all part of the plan, my heart couldn't stop aching for her. Even if that night at the cave was all an act, I couldn't stop thrusting into her all night long. I wanted to mark her when even Skye couldn't control himself. But I stopped. I wanted to have her heart even if that wasn't part of the plan." Even if you weren't supposed to love her but it won't mat
Xander Pov "Remember what happened sixteen years ago, Xander. Remember why I accepted that little girl as your mate before you even knew what she was." Amma's voice was soft now, almost gentle. "It wasn't because of duty or politics or pack alliances. It was because your soul recognized hers."She was right. My whole being felt heavier as I listened to Amma's words. The words she always told me about Elise came resurfacing. " Amma, don't tell me..."" I made it that way, Xander," Amma said calmly. "That night Vivian brought her to me, I fed her potion to counter her mother's own which made her seem weak and powerless. I had to shut her wolf out too, not just her witch powers."A potion? That was why Vivian always secretly brought Elise to Amma all those years before her sudden disappearance. If Vivian had played along with Amma, does it mean Elise adopted father also knew about the deal?" Amma, why would you shut her wolf out even after feeding her the potion when you know you cou