LAUREL’s POVTime waits for no man and in a blink of an eye, another day has come and gone. I sit by a small campfire next to my house and wait for my chicken wing to roast on a makeshift skewer stand. As the wing cooks, I pull up my hair into a tight no-nonsense ponytail.I had spent the night back in the comforts of my own home, marinating chicken wings and baking a cake instead of staying in Helios’ chamber. And for the first time in many days, Helios did not call for me either. I try not to think about him or what the future may bring and instead, just focus on my meal. The chicken wing is cooking just nicely, I can smell the charred smell of the marinade and my stomach starts to growl. Gingerly, I pick up the skewer and blow at my breakfast. The steam swirls in the air before it evaporates into the early morning sky. Hmm…this is going to taste so good. I close my eyes and open my mouth, ready to -“BETA LAUREL!”My skewer drops to the ground. Damn. What now?Rhode suddenly comes

LAUREL’s POV I walk through the woods, holding onto my injured arm. It hurts more than I would like to admit. I really need to be more careful from now on. But as I walk along the narrow path that will take me back to my home, my mind keeps going back to Ariel. That smile of hers was so chilling, and her eyes so dark and cold, as if she was a murd – Damnit Laurel, I scold myself. I must no speculate. I can’t simply suspect the redhead of murdering her mate just because she has a weird smile. I shake my head and walk around a huge rock that lays in the middle of the path. I don’t trust my instincts, especially not without my wolf, Daphne. I’m not thinking staright, hunger does that to me. Maybe I should eat something first bite first. Perhaps I’ll be able to think better when I have something in my stomach. And speaking of which, my tummy starts to growl and I realize that I haven’t yet take a bite since this morning. Boy, am I hungry. I lick my lips, remembering the cake I had ba

LAUREL’s POVThe land of the Stormbreaker pack is not exactly what one would call a fruitful one. It sits right at the borders of a desert with only the Holy River as its source of water.The river, burning with the reflected rays of the evening sun greets us with silence. There is no welcoming committee to receive us, as is customary whenever an Alpha of another pack visits. Only their Gamma and a dozen or so warriors stand at the entrance of their land.“Alpha Helios,” the Gamma bows his head. “This way.”His face is grim and as we enter the gates to Stormbreaker, we are met with faces of their pack members. A throng of them; young and old, weak and strong, big and small, watch us from the sidelines of the rocky path with wary eyes. Then, from the crowd, a little girl steps out of the sidelines and holds out a tiny flower for me.She is a sweet child and she musters a smile. I smile back but before I can even stretch out my hand to take the flower from her, an older woman pulls her b

LAUREL’s POV The gift of a child is supposed to be a beautiful and sacred one from the Moon Goddess. It is supposed to bring nothing but joy to the mother and yet, as I look at Ariel standing at the borders of her pack, her shoulders hunched and tears streaming down her face, I see no happiness in her eyes. There is only resignation. Ares hugs her tightly, whispering soothing words into her ears but Ariel keeps shaking her head. “I’m sorry,” she says, her voice quivering. “No, no, no, don’t you ever say that,” Ares says, cupping her face and forcing a smile. “I never regretted meeting you.” “I used you…” Ares gently takes Ariel’s hand to give it a squeeze. “It doesn’t matter. I’m staying with you.” Ariel’s body quivers. She lowers her head and shuts her eyes, lifetimes of pain etched on her face. “You’ve done enough for me. It’s time for you to leave.” “No, I’m staying with you to the end!” Ares explains. The offer is a genuine one and it touches Ariel but I can tell that she

*This chapter was written with Halloween in mind. I hope you’ll enjoy it :) LAUREL’s POV It is with a heavy heart that I walk into Ares’ room. But I put on a smile for my grieving friend's sake. His heart has been broken, the very least I can do is to cheer him up.