His wolf's voice echoed in his mind, whispering a single word that sparked a maelstorm of emotions."Mate..."He stood on the veranda overlooking the courtyard with his gaze fixed on the stone railing as his thoughts churned and his mind wandered. Hours had passed since they had returned from the forest and the sun was still rising, casting a warm glow over the lndscape, yet he had been pacing this spot, lost in thoughts.His hands were clasped behind his back, his fingers drumming a slow rhythm as he struggled to make sense of his wolf's claim."Mate?" he whispered to himself, a frown etched across his eyebrows, "Of all the impoddible nonsense that could confuse me..." his words trailed off, leaving the question unanswered and hanging in the air.He was mated to Zina, bound by a committment that could not easily be broken. The idea of being mated to another was an unthinkable fantasy, a mythical notion with no basis in reality, and yet his wolf had sensed something different, somethi
"Is it possible for someone to steal another person's scent?"Ivone's question hung in the air, a perculiar look on her face as she asked Triston. The silence between them had been uncomfortable but her sudden question had shattered the tranquility. The query seemed to have come out of nowhere and Triston's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her face, his eyes locking onto hers with an unspoken question.It had been almost an hour since her emotional outburst and hse had been quiet, lost in thoughts. He had been watching her, trying to guage her mood. She sat up in bed, propped against a stack of pillows, the near empty plates on the food tray testement to her having eaten. His gaze lingered on her half eaten meal before returning to her face. His expression was thoughtful, his eyes crankling at the corner and searching her expression for clues, trying to decipher the meaning behind her question and about what had prompted her to ask."What makes you ask that?" he paused, his eyes
Ivone's eyes slowly fluttered open, the warm golden light that spilled into the room like honey through the open windows took her a while to adjust to as they danced around, casting a gentle glow on her features. She lay still, her foggy gaze drifting lazily around the slightly familiar space as she struggled to grasp the fragmented memories that lingered in her mind like wisps of smoke. Her thoughts were foggy, like they were shrouded in a blanket of thick mist, her recollection was disjointed and her memories seemed to hover just out of reach.As she stirred, attempting to sit up, a gentle pressure on her hand drew her attention. She turned her head to the side only to see Triston, slumped beside her. He sat on a low stool with his head restig against the mattress. His hands craddled hers, holding them protectively as if guarding a precious treasure. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed, his breathing slow and peaceful and his features softened in sleep. For a moment, Ivone's hear
Reyes' transfomation into his wolf was lightening fast, the animal's dark fur covered his growing body in the same instant as when lightening flashed above their heads, catching Triston off guard. With barely enough time to react, Triston shifted into his own wolf form, his instincts kicking in to defend against the blow that was coming from Reyes as they both clashed in a fury of teeth and claws. The forest echoed with their snarls and barks and growls, complimenting and blending into the storm that raged around them. Admist the chaos, Triston's throught strayed to Ivone as his mind was torn between focusing on the battle and his concern for her as she laid motionless in the wagon. He had noticed the blood that slipped down the sides of the wagon even as the rain drenched it and he wondered if that was blood from their previous kill or blood from Ivone. A blow to the side of his head brought him back to the fight, but he delibrately held back, choosing to defend himself than lunch
The wagon she had been placed in was devoid of any sheltering canopy, exposing her to the rain that continued to pour down, pattering against her skin like chorus of restless fingers, drumming rhythmically as it sipped through and into her wound, mixing with the blood that pooled out of her from her the stab wounds. As she laid there, weak from the drug effect and dying from the stab injury, her gaze locked on to Reyes who sat astride his horse riding beside her, his piercing gaze fixed on some point ahead as they made their way through the forest heading out. She watched him with a mix of wariness and curiosity, her mind reeling from the irony of his behaviour mere moments ago. With his words, he had condemned her to death and now he was taking her to the Nyxorian castle to have her treated for her wounds. The contradiction churned in her mind like a tempest and she could not help but wonder what ulterior motives drove him and what her fate would be if she were to be taken to the c
Ivone let out a loud scream and both Dathan and Reyes chuckled, she cried heavily now as she could already imagine her death playing before her eyes. She did not want to die, not here and not yet but she refused to beg for her life, knowing that it would only pump up Reyes' pride and he would still do what it was that he wanted to do to her. "You will not beg for your life?" he asked her with a smirk, signalling to Dathan to let her go, "Your sister begged for hers dearly." Ivone was shoved down to the muddy forest floor where she landed with a yelp of pain. Reyes got down and took her by the chin, pressing his thumb and index finger into her chin painfully as he forced her face up so she was looking at him. She chose to remain quiet, the angry look on her face and the rage in her eyes spoke volumes of what she was feeling better than whatever she was going to say. So she remained quiet. Her silence angered Reyes and in a quick move, he had his hand around her neck, lifting the fee
She stumbled through the forest without shoes on, her feet digging into the wet and muddy ground. She could barely see where she was going because it was dark, and with the hark and heavy rain cloud hovering above the forest, the moon was hidden and she could only rely on the little she could see as she tugged on through.The wind seemed to help a bit as it didn't blow in her face, it came from outside the forest and blew inward, but it brought in the cold air and blast against her skin and already drenched clothes. She knew the rain in here was minimal as most of it was being shielded by the forest canopies, but it still fell heavily in here, she wondered just how ferocious it must be blowing outside the forest.Her vision was failing her and her body was growing weaker, with each step she took it yearned out for rest and sleep. Now she was regreting taking that food knowing that it was drugged but she had needed the strength to be able to escape. Her tears were masked by the drops o
She frowned as she remembered something and she turned back to look at her mother. The dress around her chest had been slashed and she was bleeding, she remembered her mother always kept he key hanging around her neck. Telling by the size of the injury, the bleeding seemed to have lessened and Zina guessed the incident must have happened hours ago, but had it been done by Triston here or Ivone? Triston smirked and came even closer, "So why am I able to trace her scent to this very house if you don't have her." Zina scoffed and rolled her eyes, returning her attention back to Triston, "She lived in this house all her life, of course her scent would linger here, how dumb are you really, Triston?" "Yes, that is true, but if she has not been here in a while, or since I took her away..." he said and Zina rolled her eyes away from him, but Triston sped to her and seized her by the neck, holding her tightly and squeezing hard. He took a long sniff of her and his eyes burned in anger as he
It was dark out by the time Reyes left her in the room to go hunting, she remained in bed with her eyes on the window and a smile playing on her face as she recalled his words to her right as he was getting dressed and ready to leave."You should be in here still by the time I am back," then he leaned over the bed to take her chin in his hand with a stern look on his face, "And you welcome me with a kiss, completely naked Zi."She got off the bed and walked towards the window just in time to see Reyes' hunting party ride out of the castle. The moon was at its fullest tonight and the wind was heavy with the smell of rain, a thunder clapped in the distance and lightening raced in the dark heavy clouds hanging above the forest. Zina worried for Reyes and wondered if this weather was alright for him to go hunting.She took in a deep draw of the cold air to fill her lungs and then let it out slowly. She hugged her body as the cold swept past her and into the room, yes Reyes had told her to