[Valerie]In some ways, I felt pity for the witch leader, who was convinced she would win tonight. But the Moon Goddess had other plans, and shined her brilliant light upon our imminent victory. I had faith in my Lord to bring us to triumph over these godforsaken witches who I was growing tired of.Elena was strong-willed, and didn’t seem to accept that Death was coming for her. Even as she laid on the ground, her expression was that of perseverance, and it seemed she wouldn’t quit until she got what she wanted.“Give it up, witch!” Alexander roared beside me.Elena sat up, dragging herself to the nearest tree where she propped herself on one arm. “My witches won’t listen to you.” she scoffed, then shouted at the top of her lungs to her witchwolves, “Kill them all! Avenge Marcella and don’t spare them! We do not need their heads!”I turned wide eyes on my mate. If they no longer found use for their scalps, it meant that they would kill them in an instant, instead of only injuring them

[Valerie]I searched the witches’ home high and low for the book of spells Layla told me about, even getting Alexander to help me look for it. I barely knew what I was looking for, except that it was a powerful book with Latin between the pages. Nothing we found came close to what Layla described, and I realized that Elena must have come back here to retrieve it.“She must have taken it with her.”“Why is it so important?”“It’s apparently very powerful. It’s how they learned of the wolf’s powers.”“We’ll find her, Val. I think we’ve done enough for now.”Alexander was right. My bones ached from exhaustion, and all I needed was a place to rest my head. He suggested going back to his home, but I was slightly sceptical. After all, it was because of me that his pack had to face the witchwolvesBut I didn’t know where I truly belonged. It seemed that even now, I w

[Valerie]Alexander pushed me against the wall, dropped his lips from mine, and bestowed kisses all over my neck and jawline. The scent of his swarmed my senses, and all I could think about was ripping his clothes off so I could feel his skin on mine.He lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist, his muscles flexing so much from the effort, that his t-shirt ripped at the sleeves. Feeling as if it was my own might that did that, I ripped the rest of his t-shirt off, exposing his voluptuous abs that sculpted his torso. As a werewolf, it was impossible to get drunk, but I do imagine that what I felt right now was how an inebriated person felt when they reached the bottom of a bottle or two. And I was thriving in that feeling, sinking my teeth into any available honey-golden skin, tasting his sweetness and craving more, craving all of him.He was grinding his hips in slow, circular movements, as if tormenting me slowly with what I desired the most. I was growing im

[Valerie]Somehow, I’d managed to trace my steps back to Amelia and Adam’s house. It took me a while to figure out which one of the windows belonged to the master bedroom, but by a stroke of luck, a gap in the curtains allowed me to peep through and find who I was looking for.I tapped lightly on the glass, hoping that with her back turned to me, she’d still be able to hear that I was knocking on the window. The sun hadn’t even begun to wake up, and the air was rather chilly during this time of the year, and bit through my skin. The blanket tucked her all the way to her ear, and after the third attempt, I thought she’d never hear me. Throwing a stone would only wake the owners up, so I gave up and was about to turn to leave, when I saw Layla’s head move.I tapped again, breathing a sigh of relief and watching it cast a misty circle on the glass when Layla turned to see where the noise that woke her up came from. When her eyes fell o

[Valerie]** Four Years Ago **I spent most of my eighteenth birthday visiting places that were familiar to me. I had no desire to spend the day with my parents, who, as the days went by, only helped to widen the distance that was already placed between us even before I learned that I was adopted.It was almost a year since Mateo left me, and I had to watch helplessly as he was laid to rest, while the truth about his death was covered up with the excuse that he’d stepped too close to the edge of the mountain, and accidentally slipped off and fell to his death. According to Garrett, who was now the trusted Alpha of the Shadow Hunters pack, none of us were close enough to help him, and by the time any of us got to the bottom of the mountain, he had already stopped breathing. When I protested against the lie they’d fabricated, wanting no part of it, I was threatened with my own life. As Garrett said, he could easily do to a weak Omega what he did to a true bl