RHEA I awoke first. Jaden's room was dark and he was still asleep, his bare chest exposed. The blanket we both shared covered his naked lower body. I looked around the room, convinced that I'd felt someone else's presence in the room. "Sheila?" Jaden said, sleepily. I froze, my gaze resting on him, heavily. He went silent for a little while, then he frowned in his sleep. "Sheila" He said it again and it stung like a bitch. I knew he wasn't aware of what he was saying, but it still made me feel uncomfortable. I rose to my feet and slipped on one of his black shirts. Just before I left the room, he called her name again. This time, it actually hurt. Without sparing him a glance, I twisted the door knob, opened the door, and walked out of the room. I carefully shut the door behind me. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the wall, taking a deep breath. With my mood dampened, I quietly descended the stairs and sat down on the couch, in the living room. Moonlight r
JADEN No amount of excuse could have made up for the mistake I made the previous night. I awoke to find Rhea standing by the window, nursing a cup of tea. She turned to look at me, an unreadable look in her eyes. "You're awake. Good morning" she said, giving me a tight smile. She turned away and continued to gaze at the sky, through the window.I felt awful. Hurting Rhea was the last thing on my mind, but I'd been too carried away, the previous night. I got out of bed and walked towards her. "Rhea" I breathed, stopping behind her. She didn't move. Heck, I wasn't sure she was even breathing. She was too still. I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face in the crook of her neck."I'm sorry. I really am" I said to her, closing my eyes. A second passed. Then, two. "I know. You told me last night" she said, her shoulders slowly relaxing. "I didn't know what I was doing. It won't happen again" I told her. She cleared her throat. "You called her name in your sleep" s
JADEN Rage was all I was feeling. I'd tracked Rhea down to the ornamental store and found the bag of supplies she'd told me she was going to get. Her sweet scent was mingled with the scent of three other werewolves. It clicked at once. Zaden had found a way to take my mate from me. But, not for long. I drove back home, placed Rhea's supplies on the couch. Then, I went back out. This time, I shifted. I walked down the alley in invisible mode, following Rhea's scent. I traced her scent all the way to what seemed like an abandoned warehouse. I barged in, and there was chaos. The werewolves there, were definitely from Zaden's pack. It made me tear them apart, mercilessly. I still couldn't find her. By the time I was done, there were bloody corpses all around me. I was past caring. All I wanted was my mate. I couldn't lose her, certainly not today.I began to search the warehouse because I was so sure Rhea was in it. My steps faltered when I came across a body covered with a white clo
RHEA We lay on the bed, wide awake. Jaden held me in his arms with my head resting on his bare chest. I contemplated talking to him about Sheila but decided against it. "Haru told you, didn't she? " Jaden rasped. I raised my head from his chest and looked at him, surprised. His eyes were closed, his long eyelashes brushing the skin underneath his eyes. I laid back down and said, "Did you read my mind?" I asked. He exhaled slowly, his chest rising and falling. "I didn't need to" he responded. I was caught unawares by his statement. "You can read my mind? I didn't know that" I said. "You didn't know about my ability to shift into a Lycan either" he pointed out.I smiled, closing my eyes. "How did you become a demon wolf? Were you born that way? If you were born that way, it doesn't explain why Zaden is not a demon wolf" I said. "When I was a child, I used to have terrible fevers. I used to be quite smaller than Zaden because of my frequent illnesses. One night, I
JADEN She stared at me, her mouth agape, eyes wide with shock. "How? Why would she..." Her voice trailed off as she furrowed her brows, a look of realization crossing her facial features. "Don't tell me... she actually wants to challenge you for it. Does she have a death wish?" Rhea breathed, her nose scrunched up in disgust. "She hasn't challenged me yet. Nonetheless, I know she's preparing to" I said."What you said about her trying to kill me...what is that about?" She asked and I sighed, pushing my hair away from my face. "When I took the orange juice that was supposed to be yours, you thought I did it to tease you. But, I was saving you the trouble of feeling pain" I explained.Her eyebrows lowered, her facial features relaxing. "She actually poisoned it? How could she? I knew there was something off about her sudden apology. I knew it" she said. "That's why you were feeling dizzy during the third tournament" she pointed out and I nodded. She pursed her lips, her jaw c
RHEA I paced back and forth in front of the door to Jaden's office. I'd knocked as many times as I could for the past thirty minutes. But, Jaden wouldn't open up the door. I'd made several threats in order to make him react but it felt like I was talking to a brick wall. A deaf, immobile, brick wall. I ran my fingers through my hair, worried. Jaden had killed Trisha, it was true. But, she'd tried to kill him first. She had angered him. Even so, I knew it wasn't going to be easy for him to get over this betrayal. He had been betrayed by his own twin brother and his Delta. He was bound to get worked up about it. I would get worked up if I were him. But, locking everyone else out wasn't going to solve the problem. The damage had been done already. I knocked on the door, resting the side of my face on it, my whole body pressed to it. "Come on, Jaden. Open up. I don't like the fact that you're holed up in there, blocking us out. We totally understood why you did what you did. I'
RHEA Chills invaded my body, goose bumps appearing on my skin. I was in a large hallway, leading to a courtroom. I knew because this was my palace. I walked along the hallway and entered the court room and saw myself sitting on the room with a cold look on my face. I almost couldn't recognize myself. For a minute, I wanted to think that it was Thalia sitting on the throne. But, no. It was me. I looked around for Jaden. He was supposed to be by my side as Alpha King. Why was I the only one there? I watched with wide eyes as 'I' ordered my guards to bring in the prisoner. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps from behind me and when I turned to see who it was, my stomach churned and nausea swept through me.My Jaden. He looked terrible.Three guards were leading him towards the court room with chains around his neck, legs and hands. His eyes were filled with pain and the injuries on his body looked infected. He had a beard and his hair was longer than usual.Every step he took
RHEA Numb, I knocked on the door to Jaden's bedroom. It creaked open and I strode into his room. Jaden was lying on the bed, his eyes half open. Without saying a word, I laid down on his bed, curling up into his side. I could feel Jaden's gaze on me, the whole time. He placed an arm around me, still watching me with concern in his eyes. 'Rhea, what's wrong? Did you have another vision?' he asked telepathically, placing a hand on my shoulder. The old woman's words wouldn't leave my head. Jaden brought a hand to the side of my face, his brows puckered into a frown. "I... I... I saw another seer. She was really old..." My voice trailed off, my gaze locking with Jaden's. "What did she say?" He asked, the words leaving his lips in a hesitant manner. "She said... I have to make sure our string remains unbroken.... she said..our child...no... our...first son is going to be a bringer of darkness.... she said he's going to be evil...and I would have to..."Jaden placed a finger on m