Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 21 - Chapitre 28

Zane didn't leave. He stood exactly where he was, his arms still crossed. His eyes remained on Milan, who had already turned back to his desk and picked up one of the papers as though the conversation had ended.But to Zane, the conversation wasn't over.Milan looked up after a short while, and realized Zane was still standing there. "What are you still standing there for?" He asked him."I'm waiting for an answer, Milan." Zane replied, intertwining his hands behind his back."I gave you one." Milan shrugged, his hands in the air, and Zane crossed his arms against his chest once again."You told me to figure it out." Zane uncrossed his arms and took a step toward the desk. "I'm telling you I've run out of options. I've tried everything I can think of. Vera has tried, but the boy just wouldn't budge." He shook his head. "That's why I'm asking you again. What's the plan? What do we actually do about him?"Milan set the paper back on the desk. He leaned back in his chair and stared at Z

~ELENA~The forest pressed in around me from every direction, dense and unfamiliar. The trees were too tall and the air was too thick with the scent of wet bark and rotting leaves.Honestly, I didn't know how I got here. I just knew I was standing in the middle of nowhere.I turned slowly, my heart hammering against my ribs inside of me. My eyes scanned the whole place as I searched the shadows between the trees, waiting for something to move, but nothing did."Hello?" My voice came out barely above a whisper, but silence answered me.“Hello.” I tried again, a bit louder this time, but my voice echoed back to me.And so I kept walking, my steps careful on the uneven ground, and my senses stretched as far as they could reach. I knew something was wrong, I could feel it deep inside me, but I couldn't even point out what was wrong in this place I couldn't name. I couldn't even remember arriving here. I couldn't remember where I was before or what I was doing or how I arrived where I was

The walk to the Alpha's quarters felt endless. It felt like we were heading to the end of the world. The guards kept a firm grip on each of my arms, half dragging me along the stone path, my bare feet stumbling over uneven ground I couldn't fully see in the dark. Tears blurred everything around me, but even through them, I noticed something strange the moment the towering structure of the quarters came into view.It was quiet, but I didn’t understand the silence. I had tried to live in silence for a long time, and it was that heavy and suffocating type of silence that came after loss, but this one was different. This silence had something else attached to it. It was like a pressure that pressed against my skin the closer we got, like the air itself was holding its breath.My stomach turned over slowly inside me, and then I heard something I hadn't heard in longer than I could remember.“Something is different here.” I froze for half a step, startled as I recognized the voice of my wo

Beta Tristan led the way through one corridor after another, his pace brisk and unyielding, and I hurried along behind him, careful to keep close enough that I wouldn't fall behind and far enough that I wasn't stepping on his heels.We finally stopped in a long, narrow hallway lined with closed doors on either side. He turned to face me, his arms folding across his chest."This is where you will spend most of your time from now on," he said. "Before we go any further, I need you to understand something.""Yes, sir." I paid close attention to every word."I will not condone slackness." His voice was laced with firmness, and finality. "Not one ounce of slackness from you or anyone serving in this household will be condoned. Do you understand?""Yes, Beta." I answered, and nodded quickly."The Alpha," He continued, his tone dropping slightly, "is a very sensitive man. He is more sensitive than you can imagine, especially given everything that has happened in recent times which I'm sure y