Jasper opened the doors for us the moment we got home and the moment he saw me, he had an almost relieved look on his face. He expressed his relief before enthusiastically attempting to announce our arrival. But I urged Jasper to stay silent and I advised Dante not to join us. He was reluctant at first, but I tried to rationalise it to him. I’d seen the way Nicholas had reacted to my bruised knuckles the first time I had arrived. There was no doubt that he’d end Dante within a second, no questions asked. And so, after we had decided not to tell Nicholas anything regarding Wolfsbane or Kiyan and Dante’s involvement in the organisation, he left. It didn’t take long for Nicholas to appear into the foyer. He had his car keys in his hand and a determined look in his eyes. But the moment he saw me, he paused briefly and almost instinctively tried to wear that calm mask again. It vanished almost as soon as he forced its appearance. His eyebrows then furrowed deeply, and he came right towards

“Ariya, are you sure that you’re okay? Your hands are shaking!” With that, Nicholas stood up from his seat and began to walk across the living room where I was seated. He knelt down in front of me and took my shivering hands in his warm ones and gently rubbed at them.I looked down at him nervously and tried to muster up a smile.“I’m okay, just a little shaky. I haven’t eaten in a while, that’s probably why.”Although I was wolfishly hungry, that was only partly the truth. Theodore had overheard the entire conversation with Kiyan just now, and I was afraid that he would tell his brother everything. My fear only increased the moment Theodore’s footsteps were heard through the house and I began to start making up a few lies and excuses in my head.But the moment Theodore entered the room and saw me, his eyes softened, and he winked at me reassuringly. Kiyan’s secret would be safe with him.“Your brother is really something! I’m glad that this never happened,” he said with a sad tone to

As I followed Melissa down the dark, quiet hallway, my mind filled the solemn silence, flooding with so many thoughts that I could barely keep up with them. Yesterday when I’d seen Dante, he was very much alive and well, and so I wondered what had happened between then and now to change that. I’d admit that we hadn’t parted on the best of terms, but Dante was still a good friend of mine. He’d been my first friend here and in him, I saw parts of myself too. Although we sometimes did not see eye-to-eye, I felt as though he truly understood me. And so, the idea of him being gone from my life, and gone from this house was heart shattering. And with every step closer to his room, I could feel my chest tighten and a sore lump begin to form at the back of my throat as the gravity of his loss began to crash down on my shoulders.Dante stayed with the rest of the staff members, in a separate section of Nicholas’ home which surprisingly still matched the grandness of the rest of the place. His

Melissa’s words never left my mind, and Dante’s death consumed my every thought too. If I was correct and Dante’s death was an attempt to sabotage this engagement, it meant that someone close to me was responsible. The only Wolfsbane interaction I’d had was the short introduction yesterday. No one else knew that Dante was my friend except for the people in this house and… Kiyan.I shook my head the moment my brother’s name entered it. There was no way my brother would kill Dante. Then again, I was slowly beginning to realise that I barely knew the man my brother had become. And as I thought of our argument yesterday, I couldn’t deny that the man who’d once been my naïve, sweet and kind brother had become something twisted by hatred. A part of me believed that such a man had the capability to kill Dante in the hopes of ending my engagement and getting me away from the royal lycan siblings. But a bigger part of me believed t

“So, you’ve made your choice to continue with the engagement?” Aura asked the moment I entered into the room. She stood beside Nikita who had busied herself with some of my notebooks. I snatched them from her hands and then placed them in my cupboard so she wouldn’t be tempted to touch my belongings again.She gazed up at me with a guilty look on her face and then smiled shyly, “Your writing is pretty good.”“Don’t touch my stuff!” I hissed, then I took a glance at Aura and nodded.“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses. You do your part and I do mine. Now, go and scrub yourself clean, I can smell my brother all over you. Once you’re done, you can wear that robe.” She pointed to a silky blue robe that she’d draped over one of my bedposts. She then smiled at me and sat on my bed expectantly.“You’re just going to wait here?” I questioned with annoyance.Aura nodded, “I will bring my stylist in as soon as you are ready and then I will oversee the process.”I wanted to argue with her, but