Nikolai 'Are you sure she is here?' Alexander asked me through the mind-link as we walked down the dimly lit hallway. 'Yes. My men have found her,' I replied. I wouldn't be wasting my time like this if I wasn't sure. Alex was an old friend of mine. He was a part of my pack before he met his mate and joined the Wintercrown Pack. And now he needed to rescue his mate before she got auctioned off. Apparently, there was an attack on his pack. The attackers were unknown but they stole a lot of money and kidnapped quite a few females. Their Alpha was killed and his twenty-year-old son had to take over as the new Alpha. Too many lives were lost and the pack was too unstable without an experienced Alpha to save their females. The new Alpha, Zain, made the right decision to cut his losses and focus on stabilizing the pack instead of potentially risking getting into a war. So, Alex approached me. And there we were, in New York, halfway across the world from the supernatural island Jiv, the l

Nikolai I got up early and made good use of the hotel's fitness center. I was in there for two good hours before I made my way back to the suite. I wondered if Ava was awake. How would she react to finding me gone? I had Andrei stand guard at the door so that no one except me could enter. And so that she wouldn't run away. I was sure she wouldn't do that, especially after last night, but I didn't want to take any chances when we were on foreign soil. "Any movement?" Maybe she had tried to leave but found Andrei and changed her plans. Or maybe his presence made her anxious. Hopefully he assured her that I was coming back. I should have left a note. "Nope. She's probably still sleeping. It must have been a long night for her," he replied. As always, his face was impassive when he was on duty but his eyes reflected a mix of concern and agitation. Concern for Ava and anger at the situation we found her in. She didn't deserve it. I nodded. "Thanks, you can take a break. We leave in an h

Avalyn "Why were you late? I told you I hate waiting, pet!" he snapped at me. I crawled and kneeled next to his feet. "I'm sorry Master, I was cooking for your guests," I whispered, my eyes trained to the floor. "You were cooking, eh? You kept me waiting for two minutes, pet. The first part of your punishment is that you will not have food for two days," he chuckled sadistically. "Yes, Master, thank you, Master." I trembled, willing myself to not cry so he wouldn’t extend my punishment. Not having food for a couple of days was normal. What made me scared was the other half of the punishment. He picked up my leash and started walking. I crawled behind him, trying to keep up with his pace. The other housekeepers looked at me in pity. No one said a thing. No one could say a word to him. He brought me to the living room. I could see a lot of expensive-looking shoes. They must have been his guests’. He never let me wear clothes, saying he couldn't deny himself the pleasure of looking

Nikolai "Natalia says she will be here in one month, once she completes her current assignment," Mikhail said. I nodded at that. She was very thorough with her job. "What about the small neighbourhood heads?" I asked Dimitri. "We are still on it. We have targeted a few neighbourhoods from where I know we will get some intel," he replied, showing me the file with all the information of the heads and their pictures. I looked through all of them. "Don't take this one. It may be a small area, but it is in a good neighbourhood. Covering for a missing person will be difficult. I don't want them pissing their pants." I rolled my eyes. "Topa is too close to Fusco. Find another one," I told him. "They have to be far away, with no connection to each other and in a bad neighbourhood where no one cares who goes missing." "Adding a couple of warriors would be good. They have good connections. Trackers too," Vladimir muttered. I nodded. "No more than five people," I said. We discussed each on

Avalyn "When I was thirteen years old, Emmanuel killed my father to become the Alpha. He was Papa's Beta and my favourite uncle. He had been very close to us, but his desire for more power led him to do it. Initially, I didn't know he killed him. They made it seem like it was a rogue attack. Like his death was an accident. A casualty." Her eyes teared up. "But it was Emmanuel and a few of his loyal men. They were our pack members. They were all sworn to protect me and Papa, but they betrayed us. They killed him." A sob tore from her throat. "They killed Papa." "Emmanuel, who had treated me like his own daughter all my life, told me that they were attacked and that Papa didn't make it. And I believed him," she said and her eyes focused on me again. "I believed him like a fool." "You were young, Avalyn, not a fool. It is natural to trust adults, especially ones that were there for you throughout your life." She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I still should have known.