Mag-log inOlivia woke slowly, her head groggy and her back sore. She had slept in a chair by Maribelle's bed. She looked at her sister, sleeping peacefully in her bed, and sighed in relief. She was ok. Olivia looked closely at Maribelle's head and noticed there was a sheen of sweat at her hairline. She leaned forward and put her hand on Maribelle's forehead. Her sister was burning up.
She sat up quickly and pain shot through her abdomen and groin. She winced as the memories of last night floode
"We'll get married tomorrow," Simon said as he rolled to Olivia's side and pulled the blanket over the both of them.Olivia watched him warily. He never stayed after he had finished and she had hoped he would leave her alone once he was done, the same way he had done since he had started hurting her. She felt her stomach recoil as she felt him pull her against his side."Tomorrow?" She asked him, her voice low and resigned."Yes," he agreed. "The sooner the better.""Why does it matter?" She asked. "It won't change anything."There was a glimmer of triumph in Simon's eyes as he laughed quietly but said nothing. She shifted to her side, trying to leave his side but Simon held her close and let out a low chuckle."Trying to escape me?" He asked. She knew better than to reply so she shifted on the bed."You don't like having me close," he added with a vicious laugh. "But you will have to get used to it. My appetite has become insatiable."He reached over and grasped her breast, squeezin
Ben could feel the metal on his wrists rubbing his skin raw, he wasn't healing which meant the metal was silver, poison to a wolf but incredibly effective at keeping them confined. His eyes were sore as he opened them slowly and tried to look around the room despite the pain in his chest and the pounding in his head. He looked down at his chest and saw a gaping wound, a wound that had been put there by the Alpha. The Alpha had wanted him dead, and now he was in jail. There was no safe place in this godforsaken city, the humans would skin him alive and sleep on his pellet fur while the Alpha would dance around his burning corpse. Both options were dire. He couldn't leave Olivia to fend for herself. She would be killed by the humans if they knew how much she had helped him. And, in hindsight, it had done no good, as the city was in ruins despite their best attempts at peace. The last thing Ben had seen was an explosion and the smell of fire and smoke filling the air as the tallest bu
Olivia felt the morning sun shining on her face. She distinctly remembered closing the curtains the night before, needing the feel of safety that came with being in a small enclosed space without the vast darkness of night seeping into her room. So this early morning presence of bright sunlight on her face was disconcerting.Her eyes blinked open as she tried to block the sun from her face with her arm. "Good morning, Olivia," a deep voice called out to her. She looked at the table that was situated in front of the fireplace. There were two plates sitting on top of the table, both filled with a variety of food, and a pot of coffee perched on the table to the side of the plates, cups empty and ready for the steaming liquid. Under normal circumstances, the sight would be welcome but the dark eyes that studied her from one of the chairs made her stomach drop in dread. As if he could sense her trepidation, Simon spoke."Oh, come now, my dear," his eyes sparkled with lascivious delight a
Olivia's eyes were wide as she watched the Alpha, his presence towering over the rest of the wolves. The werewolves on his side of the wall descended into chaos around him. The men that had been fighting alongside Ben were overrun by other werewolves. They were being held down and arrested, anyone that put up resistance. It was obvious there was unrest among the ranks as snarls rent the air from both sides of the conflict. Ben was being dragged back through the forest by a duo of wolves, a trail of his blood being left in his wake. Olivia couldn't pull her eyes away from the conflict, it felt as if her heart had stopped beating and her lungs were trying to catch up. Her chest constricted from the pain of seeing Ben shot through the chest. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't focus on anything other than the pair of legs disappearing between the trees and she felt the small part of her heart tied to him being dragged after him leaving a gaping hole in her chest. "Olivia, get down!" Ku
Ben was in charge of thirty men. It wasn't nearly enough to meet the hundred men lined up at the wall, guarding the human side of the city. 'It's like they know we're coming,' 'They probably do,' Ben replied as realization filled him. 'The Alpha could have told them.' 'Why would the Alpha want to kill us?' 'Because he knows that we don't approve of his plan to attack innocent kids and women.' 'He knows that we know he's losing his damn mind?' 'Anyone could tell that. He's insane. When did it get so bad?' 'I don't know, but be careful what you say. It could get you killed.' The chatter through the link was close to treason, if not enough to get them all hanged. Ben could see the humans lining up on the other side of the city wall. He wouldn't be the first to attack. He couldn't kill innocent humans, not after meeting his mate, not after seeing her face in his dreams and feeling the pull of the bond between them. There was a poetic justice in being killed by her people. It woul
Olivia stood gingerly, assessing her injuries as she watched Simon walk out of the room. She only had a few moments reprieve before he would come back and take her to her sister. They were here to find Susan, but Susan was nowhere to be found. She had disappeared.Olivia thought darkly that she wished she could disappear, too. If only for a few hours. She just wanted the world to stop turning to give her a reprieve from the inevitable pain that would come as soon as her sister succumbed to her injury.If only she had seen her sister slip away.If only the wolves hadn't blown up the wall.Her heart felt the beginning of bitterness and she blinked away the tears. For once, the tears were for her sister's situation and not her present dilemma. The world could send her as many Simons as it wanted as long as Maribelle was spared. Her sweet, beautiful sister. She would be dead soon.Maribelle might even be dead now. Enduring Simon's brutality was n







