~ A M E L I A ~A chill took over the room. I stepped back, my breathing becoming weighted again, ‘Gabe…’Gabriel’s brow twitched up, ‘So, you came looking for it too…?’Peering at his crossed arms, he held my notebook in one hand. My brows furrowed, ‘You’re the one who took my notebook?’‘I had my reasons,’ he replied, stepping towards me slowly. Then I felt the rune behind me calling to me again to get inside. Tugging that invisible string roughly. Quickly, I turned around and went to grab the door handle, but my speed was nothing against an Alpha-son. I couldn’t wait to have my full wolf abilities to give me a better chance.Gabriel was beside me in a flash, gripping my wrist and preventing me from grabbing the handle. He pushed me towards the wall and pinned me there, still holding my wrist tightly against the wall, ‘I can’t let you do that, Amelia.’Locking eyes with him, I swallowed the lump in my throat, ‘Gabriel, let me go.’Gabriel’s head tilted, ‘What’s wrong? You look li
~ A M E L I A ~As we exited the hallway, Gabriel looked back at me and gave me a sympathetic smile, ‘I’m sorry for being intense back there. My father—’ he paused for a moment and sighed, ‘My father trained my brother and me to be… a little too rough.’Tilting my head to the side, I puffed out a half-laugh. ‘What?’I giggled, ‘I always knew you and Everett were tough guys. I mean, you both look intimidating as hell, but you’ve never scared me until you put on that act in there.’ Gabriel shrugged, ‘Sometimes I play the role of Alpha-son too well,’ he rolled his eyes and offered me his elbow, ‘Shall we?’Looping my arm through his, I smiled, ‘Let’s go.’As he ushered me back towards the ball, I couldn’t help but look back at the door concealing the hallway to the mysterious rune-engraved door. The pull I once felt from it seemed to be withering away. Maybe Gabriel was right in that the magic was tricking me…Arriving back at the ballroom, Gabriel and I loosened our grip on one anothe
~ A M E L I A ~He’s tricking you. My mind echoed. He wants to hurt you. He’s being nice to pull you in.Shaking my head, I scurried away from the dance floor and over to the bar for a drink. My inner thoughts were spiralling and spiralling. I needed to dull them away. The bartender handed me a glass of champagne before I could even ask for one. I thanked them and walked away before hiding myself in a little corner and watching the beauty of the ball as I polished the drink all in one go. Ew! The champagne tasted weird. Almost… vinegary with a weird bitter aftertaste. I stared at the flute, confused. Did they give me an expired champagne? I should tell them.‘It’s not you,’ I turned rapidly, startled, only to be presented by Luna Yurena in front of me, ‘it’s a special brand of champagne. Tastes a bit funky at first, but you get used to it,’ she smiled innocently. Here, have another,’ she handed me another she was conveniently holding. ‘Luna Yurena,’ I bowed my head, ‘My apologies,
~ E V E R E T T ~I didn’t want our dance to end. I never wanted anything of ours to end. The squabbles. The banter. The teasing.Even the odd nice moments we’d shared. All of it. Amelia’s face was still, but her eyes showed me everything; they showed me her disappointment in me cutting our dance short. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to. That desire to hurt her still lingered, weak but hungry for that savage urge. It was only so long that I could hold it back.A drink. I needed a drink, or two or three…The only problem with numbing the desire to hurt her with alcohol was that, in doing so, it loosened up another desire I had for her. Something entirely opposite to the hurt I craved for her. Something I knew she wouldn’t want with me.Drink.Approaching the bar, I got my usual whiskey, triple, and stood at the end of the bar, opposite where Amelia had gone to get her drink. I watched her as she paced over to hide in a corner as she watched the ball and sipped her drink—or maybe
~ A M E L I A ~Remember your training. Reach out. I missed the edge. Shit.Grab something, anything. Too drowsy… too tired.Survive.Tired…The ground wasn’t very far away from the drop, but that didn’t make the collision of my back on the cold and hard ground any less painful, especially in my weakened state.My peripheral vision became fuzzy, clouded with a dark fog. Pain… so much pain.Get up.I couldn’t. Get. Up.Wolfsbane—the Luna weakened me with wolfsbane and then stabbed me with a wolfsbane dagger, even though I had done nothing to hurt or threaten her.Unless… she knew something I didn’t? An attempt to lift myself was excruciating. I slowly rolled over to my side, whimpering at the slightest movement. I ripped my mask from my face and threw it to the side.Trembling, I brought my hand to my stomach, touching the wound and immediately winced, ‘Ah!’ I yelped, arching my back, curling myself inwards as I cried out at the pain. As I lifted my hand to see how much blood the
~ A M E L I A ~Without hesitating, Everett ripped my dress from the hole where the wound was located. I gaped down to see he only made it slightly larger, but I knew the dress was ruined beyond repair. A stupid thing to care about in the grand scheme of things, but I needed to think about anything aside from the burning sensation of the wolfsbane coursing through my veins.Grazing a finger around my wound, Everett breathed in deeply, ‘Don’t move. I need to wash the wolfsbane out of your wound to give you a chance to heal.’Staying silent, tears were still streaming down my face as I watched the serious and worried expression on his face. I could tell he was trying to mask it, to keep a brave face for me, but it was obvious I needed more medical attention than what I was accepting. If I weren’t seriously hurt, Everett would probably be scolding me for acting so stupid. Everett leaned over to the dainty pool, rolling up his sleeve as he rummaged through rocks and shells. Finally, he p
~ A M E L I A ~I couldn’t even process it. Everett… kissing me…… ME?And it felt… good.Snapping back to reality, I shoved my palms into his chest, pushing him away from me. His sweet and spiced piney aroma lingered in my nostrils, making me feel half-starved for more. We both were panting. It was the second time I had ever seen Everett breathless. ‘You…’ I couldn’t catch my breath, ‘You kissed me.’Everett stepped closer towards me; his face was serious. That darkness in his eyes had dissipated away. ‘It was better than the alternative option I had in mind.’Holding back a snarl, ‘Kiss or kill? Seriously, those were your two options?’ I rolled my eyes. He snarled, taking another step closer, ‘Roll your eyes at me again,’ he hated it when I did that.This time, I took a step forward, looking up at his irritatingly perfect sculpted face. I couldn’t help but smile smugly at him, taunting him just like he always taunted me, ‘Or what?’ I tilted my head to the side slightly as I purr
~ A M E L I A ~Lower… lower! I begged in my mind. He was already lower as my mind begged, feathering his tongue around my nipple before lowering his whole mouth over it and sucking as he caressed my other breast with his free hand, gently pinching and twisting my nipple to make them harden in an instant. Then he swapped, giving equal attention to the other breast.Releasing a soft cry, my core became even more saturated with every touch from Everett. He moved back up to my neck, kissing it and dragging his tongue from the nape of my neck towards my earlobe as he rubbed my clit through my underwear, ‘Well, aren’t you soaked, darling, is that all for me?’Ignoring his growing ego, I tugged on his underwear. No clothes. I need no—clothes! On my demand, Everett yanked his underwear, followed by mine, tracing my legs purposely with his fingers to set my body on a fiery thrill more than it already was. His head tilted as he drew himself up my legs again, admiring my glistening centre.
~ A M E L I A ~Smiling, I parted ways with my mate and walked towards the group. They all instantly fell silent as they laid eyes on me, uttering different words and bowing to me. ‘Hello,’ I smiled at the girl I desired to speak to, ‘you’re Suki, right?’Wide-eyed, Suki struggled to speak at first until the man next to her nudged her arm gently, ‘Y-Yes!’ She bowed, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Amaris.’ Coming to a stand, and gesturing towards the man and spoke speedily, ‘This is my father, Machiavelli Twyla, Beta wolf of the Moonstone pack.’He bowed his head, ‘A pleasure to meet you, Alpha Amaris.’I tittered, ‘I’m still not used to that.’ Looking down at her drink, I noticed it was empty. ‘Come, let’s get you a refill. I could do with a drink myself.’ I looped my arm with hers and guided her towards the bar. She exhaled and whispered, ‘Thank you, it was almost suffocating being there,’ she picked up another flute of champagne and sipped it. I watched her, almost feeling c
~ A M E L I A ~A large smile grew on his face, ‘I love you too,’ he said before kissing me with even more passion. Everett traced his lips against my cheek, planting a kiss as he moved closer towards my neck once again. My breathing stuttered with every move of his. He planted another kiss on my neck before gently dragging his teeth against my flesh, taunting me and making me crave him more.‘Ev… stop… teasing,’ I said, struggling to breathe as I spoke. He chuckled against my skin, ‘I can’t help it, darling, it’s just too much fun.’ He sighed and lifted himself to meet my gaze again, ‘I promise you, I will mark you, but just not today. Today is your Ascension Ceremony; it’s an important and memorable day for you. Completing our bond should be a separate thing, what do you think?’I smiled, intertwining my fingers behind his neck, ‘I think that is a great idea.’ Ev looked pleased and pecked my lips. ‘Besides,’ I added, ‘you probably should meet my adoptive parents before we complete
~ A M E L I A ~With the curse finally being lifted, the people of the Silver Moon pack celebrated for three days straight, immediately after the Battle for Alpha ended, and I was deemed the new leader, the youngest Alpha leader ever in the entire history of the pack, claiming that title from my birth father. I thought and hoped he would’ve been proud that it was me who took that title. Truthfully, I’d expected more backlash for my rise from being essentially rankless to then becoming Alpha, but it seemed that the people of Silver Moon had the utmost respect for my birth parents, as well as gaining respect for me for saving them from the dreaded 18-year curse. The people of the pack were able to enjoy the freedom of having their powers back. I, however, had no chance to embrace my powers or even try shifting yet. There was too much to do, and I had no time to rest, not yet.Moving arrangements for one—I was now the Alpha, and moving back home with my adoptive parents was no longer a
~ A M E L I A ~I looked at the guards, ‘Please ensure Draven doesn’t try anything stupid.’With that, I sped through the forest, not realising how tame my wolf speed was before gaining access to my full power. It was a level I could not even fathom to explain. Magical? Fantastic? Out of this world? Yes, all of the above. My nose locked in on her scent swiftly, it was as if I could physically see her just through her scent. She was running back towards the pack, but she wasn’t going to make it. All of my senses were locked on her. I could smell the fear in her sweat and hear the panic in her panting breath. I slowed my pace and moved around enough to make her struggle to decipher where exactly I was coming from, only making her panic more as I moved in closer, finally being able to see her with my eyes. She came to a halt suddenly, frantically searching around, and when she went to move off again, I was there, standing right in front of her. ‘Going somewhere, Yurena?’ I stepped fo
~ A M E L I A ~ His voice was as clear as day in my mind, yet part of me felt like it was all a dream. Yet it wasn’t a dream. It was real, but it was about to turn into a nightmare when my attention was brought to Draven and the dagger in his hand as he pulled back, ready to plunge it into his son’s heart. With more speed than I had ever been able to harness before, I flashed towards them, leaping onto Draven’s back and swinging myself to the side to throw him off and send him skidding away. ‘Everett, Everett!’ I said in a panic, dragging my hands across his chest to check for any wounds. He groaned as he sat up, ‘I’m okay, I’m okay… just weak from the wolfsbane.’ He placed his hand over the stab wound in his stomach to stop it from bleeding, and with his free hand, he placed it on my cheek, looking deep into my eyes, ‘Amelia.’ With tear-stained eyes, I smiled and placed my hand on top of his, ‘Everett.’‘How dare you!’ Draven hissed as he came to a stand and walked slowly back t
~ A M E L I A ~‘No!’ I groaned and shoved my heels in the dirt before I hauled myself down towards the ground, using his weight to bring him down too. As he was above me, I used my legs to throw him to my side before bolting away from the cliff. By this point, I had used too much of my wolf speed and was struggling to lock into it fully. I needed full access to my wolf side. Draven sped after me, though he was also worn out; he still had full access to his power, which gave him that advantage. He hurtled himself at me, tackling me to stumble and fall into the bushes. A twist and crack of my ankle made me wail out in pain. I couldn’t see my friends, but I knew they were on edge watching the scene before them. Hudson and Everett both were likely fighting every urge within them not to get involved. They knew if they did, the challenge would become void, and I would lose instantly. They believed in me enough to fight this on my own. I’ve got this. I can do this!Pinning me down, Drav
~ A M E L I A ~Within those first few seconds, I knew that his fighting tactics differed from Everett’s—where he would wait for his opponent to come for him to then take them down, Draven was a head-on type of fighter. That only made him more unpredictable for me and lowered any advantage I could have even more. Focus. My mind hissed. Locking in on the situation before me, I stood still and waited for the right moment. Draven clenched his hands into fists. Watching closely, I spotted his right hand draw back ever so slightly. That was my mark. I waited for him to get closer and closer, to make a move. As he pushed with his left foot and lunged closer as he drew his right fist back, it was time for me to dodge and counter. I leant back as his fist moved for my face, grabbing his wrist and arm, pushing his punch away from me to miss my head. Using that momentum, I twirled around and skidded back, dropping to my hands and knees. Not having time to think things further, I pushed fo
~ A M E L I A ~All my friends tried to keep me busy and distracted during the day. We played board games, watched movies, and even had a picnic in the forest. However, I was struggling to eat and ended up watching the sun move in the sky, teasing me with what was to come. There was no more avoiding the inevitable.‘I’ll be right back,’ I said quietly, pushing myself to my feet and making my way back into my cottage. I’d become so comfortable with this home, and the chances were, win or lose, I’d not be returning to this home.I poured myself a cold glass of water and took a couple of sips before tipping the rest down the sink. Resting my hands on the kitchen counter, I tried to hash out a strategy to help me with the upcoming battle, but everything I thought of always resulted in the same thing: me losing.Draven was an Alpha werewolf, and before then, he was a powerful Beta. He had always been strong, and though I had strength, they were too limited. There was no hope.‘Hey,’ Sammy
~ A M E L I A ~To nobody’s surprise, I couldn’t sleep at all.It got to the point where I had to start pretending that I was sleeping just to stop everyone from shouting at me to rest in preparation for the battle, so I could gather my strength. We had all stuck together in the living room, moving the coffee table and the sofas to allow more space for us all to sleep on the floor. The guys brought the mattress from my bedroom and the guest bedroom to lie on the ground so they all had something comfortable to sleep on. Gabriel and Kaylee were on one mattress, while Sammy and Theo were on the other—they all had fallen asleep not long after I pretended to. I was lying on one of the sofas. Peeling my eyes open slowly, I noticed the other sofa was still vacant, and two people were not in my line of sight. I searched the room carefully to see where they had gone off, too, trying not to get caught for being awake. Both Everett and Hudson were standing by the back door, looking out to the