RYDER’s POV
HOURS BEFORE ALISA’S NIGHTMARE
We are at my office on the top floor of RED MOON. I sit behind my desk, drumming my fingers on its cool sandstone surface as I look at Zion, my Beta pacing back and forth. Zion as usual is agitated, he growls and shakes his head even as he wears out my carpet with his pacing.
“Where did the rogues come from?” Lines mar his forehead. “We’ve set up perimeters all around and yet they still managed to break in. Had my son not been on patrol last night –“
“Yes, yes, we’re all safe thanks to Liam. All hail Liam,” Hayden chuckles, settling onto the leather lounge chair with hands crossed behind his head. My second in command is way more relaxed than Zion, even though he is half his age.
“Are you mocking me, Hayden?” Zion arches his brow, he does not appreciate being made fun of. The man has no sense of humour
ALISA’s POVI feel his eyes of midnight bore into mine and I frown. Mark me? I’ve heard of the term before. The sisters at the convent used to talk about werewolves who would turn into human form and claim their mates by marking them.Alpha. Mark. Rogues. My heartbeat quickens as realization sinks into me. These words finally make sense.“You’re a werewolf,” a whisper escapes my lips. My eyes roam his face, merely inches away from mine and my chest heaves up and down as I try to catch my breath. Ryder does not look like a werewolf, at least not like the kind I used to imagine as a child after listening to the nuns’ stories. Ryder is kind, protective and…and very sensual.“Yes,” he answers, “Are you scared?” He leans forward, urging me back until I lean right back onto the sofa and instinctively, my hands splay across his chest in an attempt to stop him from coming closer. I can feel the be
ALISA’s POVI awake to find that it’s still dark. How long did I sleep? I do not know. I stretch out beneath a thick warm quilt, feeling the feathery soft fabric underneath and I blink, rubbing my eyes. This isn’t the sofa.A gaze around the room tells me that I am in Ryder’s bedroom and lying on his huge king-sized bed. His room is massive and airy with shades of grey and white though I cannot quite make out the colours right now. I had taken a peek into his room earlier this morning when he was out and was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this room. But looking at it and sleeping in it are two totally different experiences.I touch my lips, they are swollen from his kisses and I feel my cheeks flush. He must have carried me to his room while I slept. He is nowhere to be seen though.My body feels sore too, very sore but at the same time, there is a feeling of exhilaration that I’ve never felt before. I feel like a bud that
RYDER’s POV The breaking dawn is such a friend; it always has been. When I was younger, I would run wild and free in the forest during the wee hours of the morning with my father in our wolf forms. The snapping of tree branches, the brush of leaves and little animals scattering at our presence…those were the days of innocence. Then came the hunting. I remember my first kill and how frightened I was, crying as my prey breathed its last. But these days, the sight of blood no longer bothers me. Not even the memory of my parents’ blood-stained wolves when they fought to protect our pack from rogues years ago. It doesn’t make the memory any less painful though. I tighten my hold on a sleeping Alisa, the touch of her skin against mine somehow helps soothe the invisible pain I feel inside. She is asleep and I as spoon her from behind, I listen to her soft rhythmic breathing. I had been rough with her. ‘She can take more of us,’ Bane coos. Bane wants
ALISA’s POV The packhouse is not what I imagined it to be at all. It’s more like……a grand hotel. I stand in front of the great white building in awe, taking in the sight of countless rooms that open up to individual baronial balconies. I lose count, there must be hundreds of rooms here! Ryder places a hand at the small of my back and ushers me into the colossal building. Two massive glass doors slide open to welcome our arrival and I am instantly transported into a world of fairy tales with polished marble floors, a grand dame staircase and sparkling chandeliers. This place is beyond beautiful. “All this belongs to your pack?” I am literally stupefied. Ryder whispers cheekily into my ear, “We’re crazy rich werewolves.” I have to smile, indeed they are. We walk up to a counter of sandstone where a young woman is busily typing into a keyboard but upon the sight of Ryder, she immediately stops her work and straightens her posture.
ALISA’s POV Everything happens in a blur next. One minute I am with Julianne at the balcony and the next thing I know, people come rushing out to their rooms yelling, “ROGUES! Then the strangest thing happens. One by one, men and women jump from their balconies, free-falling to the ground. My blood turns to ice. What are they doing? They’ll kill themselves! “NOOOO!” I scream. But as they fall, something even more uncanny takes place; their bodies change. The fabrics that wrap around their bodies rip and tear and all around, I hear the snapping of bones. The sound echoes throughout the night sky as tens if not hundreds of bodies catapult to the ground. Only, what reaches the ground are no longer the people who had jumped off the balconies, rather, what lands on the ground are a pack of fearsome black and brown wolves. They snap and snarl, all ready to attack at a moment’s notice. I lean over the balcony's railing and look down. A lone w
MOMENTS BEFORE THE ROGUES ATTACKRYDER’s POVSome say that in times of danger, you can actually sense it before it comes. Some call it the gift of clairvoyance, others, premonition. But whatever the fuck it’s called, I can feel it now.There is a shift in the atmosphere. The air feels heavier and the wind has died down. I narrow my eyes and place a hand on Hayden’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.He immediately turns to face me. “What is it Alpha?”“Shhh.”My hearing is sensitive, more so than any other wolf in my pack. I close my eyes, then I hear it. The thunderous sound of an army of wolves charging through the forest, the branches breaking off as they plough through the woods at breakneck speed.Shit.“ROGUES!” I shout and immediately establish a mind link with every warrior in our pack. I instantly shift, as does every other man and wom
ALISA’s POV“She brought the rogues here. She is the mastermind.”What?I blink and lift my head to see everyone staring at me. Did I hear wrongly?“What are you talking about?” I ask Beta Zion as confusion swims in my head. Ryder pushes Zion’s hand away and steps in front of me, shielding me with his body from the Beta’s deadly gaze.“Watch your mouth Zion,” Ryder hisses and Zion takes one more menacing step forward, ignoring Hayden who tries to hold him back.“I speak the truth!” Zion cocks his head to one side and I see his eyes, they flash with fury.“The rogues started breaching our defence the moment she appeared, and tonight when you brought her to the packhouse, the rogues attacked!”“Beta, it’s just a coincidence,” Hayden tries to reason with him.Zion snarls in response. “I’d say it’s
RYDER’s POV She is truly a temptress. One kiss from her and my body burn with desire. I open my eyes to look at Alisa’s face, struck speechless as she stares right back at me with nervousness dancing in her eyes. I need to claim her, mind, body and soul one more time before I go. “Unbutton your blouse.” She blinks and bites her lips, making them go from rosy pink to deep red and my cock hardens. Damn. “It will be days before we see each other again. I want to kiss every inch of your body before I leave for the council,” I tell her and she swallows hard, thinking a while before she nods. One by one, she unfastens her blouse and I stop her before she goes for the last button. The blouse hangs loosely on her shoulders, half-covering and half exposing her and I like that. Very much. She has nothing underneath, nothing at all except for that annoying little underwear. “I want nothing more than to throw you ove