RILEYI replaced the flowers on Axel's grave. Just as I had been doing for the past months."You used to be someone I could always talk to." I began. Staring at his grave, his name had been engraved on the tombstone ‘Beta/Commander/Soldier —Axel Dean of the Nightshade’. "So much has happened since you've been gone. It turns out that Thane has been keeping some things away from me. It doesn't make me mad though. I know whatever he does, he does to protect me, but sometimes I wish he could see that I am a big girl and I can handle stuff." There was complete silence, still I spoke on."The baby is growing well; that's what the healers said, and I'm excited, but at the same time, very… scared I don't want to mess this up. Thinking about the baby had taken my mind off so many things, like who I really am. I discovered a while ago that my 'wings' might be having a little issue; they haven't healed up since the 'incident,' but I'll keep ignoring it; maybe it just takes time."I paused aga
The sorceress, Jade, had warned me, I was to keep it all a secret, but then my priority had been to keep Thane alive; I couldn't care less what anyone thought at that moment, and if time was taken back, I wouldn't have done things any differently, and yet I… worried.I walked into my room and shut the door before I noticed I wasn't alone.A man sat on my cushion; no, he was no stranger; he was my… son. The demon I birthed. His mouth was stained with blood.I stared at his almost surreal face; every inch of him had been designed to allure preys."Mother." He called. "I've missed you.""Who's blood is that?" I questioned."No one from this pack," he said, wiping it off. "I didn't want to kill them. I only wanted to make friends, but they were afraid of me, and so I had to.""You don't have to; you never have to kill people.""Then explain my lust for blood.""You can control it.""I can't; I tried, and I can't."I walked to him, cautiously taking a seat beside him. He stretched out his
ISABELLA'S POV...I had spent my days wondering if I made the wrong choice.Everything had changed the moment I saw him for the first time; his image had been etched into my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about him, and slowly I was falling in love with my very own imaginations of him.I wanted to see him one more time, and yet I knew I couldn't.The sun was high in the sky when I returned to the place I called home. I walked in, and only then did I realize I wasn't alone.The man from the woods had found my little home, and that means I could no longer stay here. I had wanted to keep this place a secret, and now... It wasn't anymore."How did you find me?" I questioned, because despite my anger, I still wanted to hear him speak; there was something alluring about his voice."This is the only building around; it would make sense that you live here," he said."You aren't giving up, are you?""No. No, I am not.""What do you want?""Everything," he says, he was confident. I liked that
THANEI had been in my office when she walked in.The very same person I had done my best to avoid for the past few days. Isabella."May I come in?" "You should have asked that before walking in." She arched her brow. "I'm sorry.""You aren't supposed to be here." “I know.”"No, you don't; this place is off limits for you, got it?"She stood silent for a few seconds before nodding. I was being a jerk; I knew it, but I hated how my mind still vividly remembered her. "I should leave," she said, and I got a glimpse of her tear-filled eyes; that didn't exactly move me, still..."What do you want?" I asked."Nothing, I just... wanted to tell you thank you for all your help; I appreciate it. Who knows what could have happened to me out there."I didn't have a response for that.She turned to leave."You look a lot like someone I used to know." I said to her; she stilled, her back to me. "Her name was Bella, which is indeed strange as you both also have similar names. Do you perhaps have
RILEYMy father was alive, and maybe he did know where exactly I was, but he never visited, not once.Back in the Windborne pack, I had watched the other pack members with both their parents, but I had only my mother to rely on. I wanted a father; I felt like there were so many things I could learn from him, but he was never there.My mother believed Slade had been my father, and it turned out she was wrong, which means she didn't know who my father was. But Daemon did. Maybe he was lying, but for some reason, I believed him. What I couldn't understand was how he knew so much.In the past, I had wanted to find my father; I could give anything to see him and know who he was, but now, knowing that he was alive and never bothered to check on me or my mother, I concluded he wasn't worth it. I didn't think he deserved to be called a father; all he ever was was a sperm donor. He was no family to me.Yet Daemon said only he could help me get rid of ‘my darkness'. Maybe with that gone, I coul
"Are you alright?" Thane asked, kissing my lips and then my stomach."Yes, I am now.""I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you.""I know you have work to do. I am fine, and that's all that matters." I say, but I could see the debate in his eyes; he wanted to be there; he wished he was. "What happened?" He asked."I felt some pain, which I guess is some kind of contraction; the healers can't be sure because my system doesn't operate like a werewolf's anymore.""You will be fine," he assured me, kissing me once more....We were back in our room, "I guess you know by now who accompanied me to the healing room." I said to him, I had expected him to bring this up the moment we returned here, but he didn't."Those who saw him all seemed to have something to say about him; it doesn't take a genius to know who this mysterious man they spoke of was. But you know what? I don't think we should talk about this now.""I want to talk about him."He inhaled deeply."Riley, as much as I appreciate t
ISABELLA'S POV...I watched him play the old piano; the piano had been the only thing I had brought here from my pack. I had discovered his name, Thane, and I couldn't deny that the name was very fitting for a man like him. He sat on the stool, shirtless, his full attention on the music he played, I couldn't stop watching those skilled fingers; he didn't strike me as the type who played. I really couldn't believe he was all mine. I had been told before that I was beautiful, petite, and perfect, but never once did I feel as appreciated as I felt when I was with Thane.I walked to him, and he immediately stopped playing, his attention now on me, a smirk on his lips."You were watching me?""I didn't know you played.""I don't, but I watched you and I learned; I am only doing this to get your attention." He confessed.I couldn't help but be amazed, Thane was no ordinary being. I knew that from the first time I met him, and yet, each day, he proved that to me over and again. I could h
RILEY’S POVI didn’t know exactly what had gotten over me; maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but I might have acted like a bitch to Thane; he didn’t deserve that.I watched him get ready for work; I knew he was still mad at me.“Thane, I’m sorry.” I said to him, and I meant it.“It’s fine.”"No, it’s not. I know you are mad at me, and you have every right to be.”“Riley, you’ve made a bad decision once with Nick; he deceived you. I want to protect you from that.”“I won’t make the same mistake.”“I’ll forgive you, Riley, but please let go of this plan you have about ‘getting rid of the darkness in you.” He said to me, watching me, waiting for my response, but he wouldn’t understand; no one would. “I guess I’ve gotten my answer.” With that, he walks past me and away from the room.I wish he could see that I was capable of making my own decisions too.“He is right, you know.” said a voice from behind me, and I slowly turned around. Daemon leaned against the wall.“You heard it all, d
The disappointment in his voice was even harder to bear than the betrayal I had suffered from people I once called friends."I should have told you, but I knew you would’ve kept assuring me you were fine—even when we both knew you were dying inside. She said you were going to die, whether you stopped or continued with the doses. I just… couldn’t lose you.""Who is this ‘she’ you are referring to?” he asked, and I immediately realized my slip."I… it doesn’t matter. You’re alive, and that’s what’s important."Slowly, he let go of me, and I instantly missed his warmth. “How does it feel?”“What?”“To be so close to achieving your dreams?” he asked. I wanted to tell him I didn’t care anymore about the goddamn title; all I wanted was to have him by my side. I wanted him, but before I could tell him just that, he spoke on. “I hope it was worth it.”Those final words had felt like some kind of goodbye.“I, Ethan Alexander Darkwood, reject you, Kaida Dawn, as my fated mate.” He said.Seeing
There was something different about the way he looked at me—the way he regarded me. I saw it in the way his body tensed the moment I stepped inside. He saw me as a threat, and it took a moment to understand why. Cynthia had taken my form when she approached him, making him believe it was me. The moment his guard dropped, she struck.But what he remembered was me stabbing him—my face, my hands, delivering the blow.“Alexander,” I whispered, unable to say anything more. He only stared at me, as if trying to read me. I had wanted to see him so badly, but I hadn’t stopped for even a moment to think about what I would say to him when we met.“The Cursed Weapon—how did you find it?” he asked.“I don’t understand.”“The dagger you used on me.”The cursed weapon, I’ve heard about that too. History says the Elders had been the original keepers of the steel; that had been before they were killed. The weapon had the ability to take away one’s wolf. It made more sense now, what Cynthia was saying
It felt surreal—the blood on the sheets, the body—Alexander. I couldn’t process any of it.“No!” I cried.Foolish, foolish girl.I held him. “You can’t die, please, you can’t die. I’m here, look at me, open your eyes, dammit!”I had never felt this afraid, not even when I received news that my father had passed.Soon, I heard footsteps approaching—the door was still open. They were coming to find the source of the noise. I hadn’t even realized how loudly I had been screaming.“I didn’t mean to… She said she wouldn’t kill him.”More people gathered, and soon, our room was crowded, every face frozen in shock.A hand pressed against my back—Phil. He was saying something, but I couldn’t understand him. Austin was there too, along with some of the other advisors.A woman stepped forward.“I have to take him, Luna.”I let out a snarl. “Don’t touch him… No one touches him!”There must have been something in my voice because she stepped back immediately—so did some of the other pack members.
“There must be another way to cure him.” I insisted."There is no other way. It’s either this or he dies. We don’t have much time. If you refuse my offer, I won’t be generous enough to grant it a second time. You will have to watch him die—knowing you had the power to save him, but you refused."I held back the sob, threatening to escape my lips. They would not see me cry, especially not the woman who killed my parents.“You want a puppet; someone you can control.”“I only have one request from you, the very same one I had already mentioned. Other than that, I won’t make your decisions for you. You will rule.”“When you take away his wolf. What would he become?”"He won’t change; he will be the very same man," she said, a small smile curving on her lips. "And since I’m so generous, I’ll leave your Beta Aric, and Sarah with you to do as you wish. Punish them as you see fit."“No!” Sarah cried out, falling to her knees before the Empress. “I did as you asked of me. I did everything you
"Let me help you, Kaida," Cynthia said, her voice only a little above a whisper."I told you, I don’t need your help. Alexander will find me, and none of you will get away with this."“You’ve only been here for a few hours; besides, Amanda would hardly be considered a threat, and all the camera captured was the little girl leading you in here. He wouldn’t think you are in any form of danger.”"So, you aren’t here for the missing girl. You’ve revealed all your secret plans to me… I can’t help but wonder—why are you here? If you wanted to make me pay for what I did to you, you would have done it a long time ago."“We are getting to that. But I believe there is something you need to know. Addiction to wolfsbane may be dangerous, but stopping is even more dangerous.”For some reason, I believed her. I had seen what the withdrawal symptoms did to Alexander; it was slowly killing him, but his response remained the same anytime I asked; ‘A little while and it would pass.’ The question was, w
Empress Cynthia had read the question in my eyes before I could even ask it."I know you're curious about what your Beta wanted in exchange for betraying your trust," she said. I refused to meet her gaze—I wouldn’t let her see that I wanted to know. “He loves you; that much is clear. There were times he was willing to turn his back on his own family just to keep you safe. You were the one person he would never hurt. But when it came to choosing between you and his little sister… the choice wasn’t easy. She was the leverage I held over him. I have her locked away, far from his reach, until he completes his assignment. Everything he did—he did to keep her alive.”That was a lie.“Aric never had a sister.”"You say you cared about him, but I don’t believe that. You were always caught up in your own little world, blind to what was happening in others’—even those you called ‘family.’ You know, I wanted to reward him for his service, I believed he deserved more, but he never cared for mater
Aric had been the Beta, second in command—it only made sense for my father to leave him in charge of the pack, but he never did. He had seen something I hadn’t. Instead, he wanted me mated to Alexander, believing it was the best way to keep me safe. I had thought it was just to protect me from Cynthia, but that wasn’t the only reason. He knew there were others who posed a threat.Cynthia waited for me to piece everything together and slowly, I did.My father never informed Aric of his plans to marry me off. I had found that strange but never thought much of it. Now, thinking back to their conversation—when Aric had tried to convince him to end the agreement—my father had firmly refused.“The letter… it was false.” I finally spoke up.“Your father would never have sent you against her. He wanted you far away from her. But it wasn’t entirely false—there was some truth to it,” he said, his eyes never meeting mine.“You advised me against telling Alexander about my plans to face the Empre
I woke up with a pounding headache. It took only seconds to realize this had been a setup—and Amanda, the girl we rescued, was part of it.I wasn’t chained or restrained—just placed in a corner of the hall. Sitting right in front of me was Empress Cynthia, with Amanda by her side and…“Sarah?”It came out as more of a question. My gaze shifted between Amanda and Sarah, and the pieces finally fell into place. Amanda had been ‘adopted’ by Sarah—this had all been a carefully planned setup.“I am doing this for you.” She said, there was no hint of regret on her face.Sarah was one of the few I had allowed close to me. I saw her as a friend—the last person I would ever expect to betray me. But I couldn’t let them see how much it hurt. These were people I cared about.Alexander had wanted me to stay out of the Gray Moon Pack’s business, but I didn’t. I wanted justice for the little girl being sent against her will to marry a barbaric man like Grayson. And now, that very same girl had turned
KAIDA’S POVFor the next week, Alexander went to work as usual and returned home on time. Except for the slight tremor in his hands, he seemed to be getting better—or at least, that’s what he wanted me to believe. But I saw right through the act. He wasn’t getting better.The light footsteps caught my attention—someone was in my apartment.I grabbed a handgun from the drawer and silently followed the sound, only to stop abruptly. It was Amanda—the girl Alex had brought back to our pack from the Gray Pack after her parents attempted forcibly marrying her off to Alpha Grayson.“Hey,” I said, shoving the handgun into the back of my waistband.“Luna, I’m so sorry—I shouldn’t have come,” she said, about to leave.“No… it’s alright, Amanda,” I said to her, and her eyes brightened at the fact that I still remembered her name. She stared at me with a strange kind of adoration.“I’ve heard a lot about you since I got here. Do you know the soldiers are practically terrified of you?”“I don’t th