Eden pov
I was taken back to the cell and for safe measure, thrown against the wall. The man laughed and locked the metal bars to ensure I won’t try to escape.
My mind was racing. What was my step-mother telling that man? Was he really an Alpha? Would he believe her words without listening to my side of the story? Would someone, sent by the Goddess, disregard my pain and walk away from me?
Was he already planning to leave me behind so I can rot in here?
I sat in the corner of my so-called room and silently sobbed. My emotions were all over the place and I couldn’t fight off the tears anymore.
Years of abuse, pain and suffering. All that, for what? For her to block the last chance in happiness and freedom I had?
I had no idea how much time had passed, but by the time I heard someone open the door to the cells, I almost dozed off.
Heavy footsteps echoed against the walls as someone walked down the stairs. I didn’t pay much attention, thinking it was another guard on his way to the rogue cells, but when the steps stopped at the bars of my room, I looked up.
A man, I had never seen, stood at the bars, watching me in silence.
“I-I’m not a rogue,” I blurted out and instantly slapped my hands over my mouth. What had I done? I knew better than to talk to anyone.
The chuckle that left his lips was a light-hearted, foreign sound to my ears.
“I know you’re not a rogue. You are the adoptive daughter of the pack’s Luna, right?” He titled his head as the question left his lips.
“Yes, sir,” I muttered, keeping my gaze focused on the ground.
For as long as I didn’t dare to look at him or challenge the stranger in any way, I was safe from any punishment step-mother might want to inflict.
“If that’s so, why are you locked in here like some dirty rogue then? No offense, but you look and stink like a rogue too.”
His words stung. Although he sounded polite, every word was aimed straight at my heart.
“I might stink like a rogue because I am not a part of this pack, sir,” I answered the question.
He hummed as if he was breaking down and analyzing my answer. “Interesting,” he muttered.
The silence that took over didn’t feel heavy or uncomfortable. In fact, it felt refreshing and welcome, like no silence I had ever experienced.
Usually, I feared the moment I was left with my thoughts, but with the stranger’s presence, I enjoyed the moment of clear mind and no fears. As odd as it sounded.
“Well, it was nice to meet you, Eden, but it is better I leave before they notice my absence. I am looking forward to when we meet again.” He stepped away and froze in his step. “And by the way, if he rejects you, accept it. These people showed you no mercy, so don’t hold any in your heart for them. One day, they will pay. Mark my words.”
With that being said, he was gone as suddenly as he appeared. Funny how a complete stranger gave me the time of his day to show support while people I called family never bothered to show me so much kindness.
When I heard the door to the cells close, I let his words sink in. They showed me no mercy, so I shouldn’t hold any in my heart for them… He was right.
All I did was endure and survive, never really fight for my place under the sun. For years, I thought I deserved the treatment for something I had done, but there was no fault of mine.
And then, as the fighting spirit flamed up in me, it went out. ‘If he rejects you.’
Only now, the severity of the situation I was stuck in sunk in. Step-mother pulled my mate aside to ensure the rejection would happen. Although she would rather die than admit it, she needed me.
By getting rid of my mate, she ensured I had no place to go and hide. No person to take me away.
Soon after the stranger left, the door to the cells opened again and I pulled my knees to my chest, pretending to be as small and invisible as I could. I just wanted to be left alone.
“Halfbreed, showtime, get your ass up and get to cooking, the pack is starving!” A guard hissed at me as he unlocked the metal bars and pushed them aside.
I forced myself to my feet and followed him to the kitchen, which surprisingly, was empty. Usually many people hung around here before dinner time so the lack of pack members was truly unusual.
Unlike any other time, a guard entered the kitchen and handed me a piece of paper. “Luna wants specific dishes today, we’re celebrating.”
He didn’t bother to give me more details about this sudden celebration, but the thing I noticed as soon as my eyes zeroed in on the paper was that all of the foods she had written down were my favorites. Did that mean the celebration was about me?
I knew better than to let hope blind me, but I still felt a little giddy inside as I put in extra effort in cooking. Every dish came out better than expected and by the time the maids entered the kitchen, I had already set out dishes and even garnished some of them.
Unexpectedly, they praised the work I put into the meal and happily set the table for the pack members and guests.
I didn’t know if I was allowed to join, which was technically a flat chance, so I stayed behind to clean up, but this time I didn’t rush to leave the kitchen. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to stick around and listen to the conversations. Something big was happening.
My suspicions proved to be right when my step-mother barged into the kitchen and rushed me to the dining room with a wide smile across her lips. “Come on, dear, you can’t miss the celebration.”
Internally, I knew she had lost it. No way would this woman ever act kindly to me. But she did, and the moment I stepped into the dining room, I understood why.
At the end of the table sat the man, who was supposedly my mate. Next to him sat my step-sister, all smiles and radiating happiness.
I nearly tripped over my feet when his eyes stopped on me. That might have been an illusion, but I think I saw pain flash in his eyes. Just for a brief moment, though, because the emotion was gone the moment he stood up and raised the glass in his hand.
“I, Asher Williams, the Alpha of the Crescent Moon, reject you, Eden Larue, as my mate.”
Eden povThere were no words in my vocabulary I could use to describe the pain I felt while my so-called mate stood there with a grin across his lips. Didn’t he feel the pain? Why didn't it affect him like it did me?As I stood there, everyone’s eyes on me, I felt like a claw was forced though my ribcage, clutched my heart and set it on fire. I could feel the invisible thread that connected us weaken. The kind stranger’s words echoed in my head. He saw it coming, I kind of did too, but I had nowhere near enough time to prepare myself for the moment of disaster. Although my initial reaction was complete shock, something within me moved and I nearly gave into the instinct to drop to my knees and beg him. Beg him to reconsider and take me away from this awful place. The sad part was that my pleas wouldn’t do anything but make me look weak in their eyes. Weaker than they already taught me to be, definitely not a woman worthy to become one’s Luna. So, I closed my eyes and sucked in a s
Eden povThe day I have been waiting for ever since I had to move in with my step-mother turned out to be a nightmare, not a scenario of a fairytale I was hoping for. When the Alpha left, my step-mother came downstairs to berate me. She did her best to come up with every excuse under the sun to blame me for what happened. Before she left me, she made it a point that Kayla was the best option for the Alpha and I had to stay out of their lives so I don’t ruin the beautiful relationship those two had. According to her, the Moon Goddess had no idea what she was doing when she paired souls and I had to grow up and face reality as it was. I didn’t react to the insults, didn’t answer questions and didn’t acknowledge her words. All I did was stare in the distance and let her have it. There was no point in telling her anything about the Alpha’s words because I knew I was leaving before he returned and dragged me from one hell to another. Besides, she wouldn’t believe me even if I had a r
Eden povAs promised, once midnight rolled around, I snuck out of my cell and went to the old man at the end of the hall. I spent hours pondering ideas how to unlock his cell just to be met with the surprise that his cell had never been locked. I helped him out and led him to my little space to grab the backpack. He was right, the poor man really was old and had difficulty moving, but since I promised to get him out of here, I didn’t let him convince me to leave him behind. The pack was sound asleep when we got to the top of the stairs and opened the door to the main area of the building. Not everyone, though, as we heard some voices in the distance. I glanced at the old man and nodded towards a darker corner. “You stay here, I’ll sneak into the kitchen and grab some food for us. Don’t question me, I know what I’m doing,” I whispered. He didn’t look too pleased, but did as I told him. As I snuck into the kitchen and grabbed some fruits from the pantry along with dry foods we could
Eden pov“Leave me and run. You have a bigger chance to get out of here alone. Head to North, that’s where you will find a safe shelter. Run and don’t look back.” Although his words were barely louder than a whisper, they held so much power, bravery and selflessness I knew I couldn’t leave him behind. A person, who was willing to put his own safety in jeopardy deserved salvation as much as I did. I knew we couldn’t outrun the patrol or fight them off, but what we could do was use anything we could to our advantage. I looked around and tried to figure out which route would be the best. So far nothing worked like I had planned, but somehow, the very thing I feared the most turned out to be the distraction I needed. The growl I expected was so powerful, it might have shaken the ground around the pack house. The sound alerted the patrol and they instantly took off towards the building, leaving us behind. I glanced at the old man and grinned. “Think you could run until we get over the
Eden povWhat was the chance that two people who managed to escape hell kept running into more danger? Seriously, fate? Ever since I turned twenty-one, every step I took brought more danger. Like a never ending tale of misery.And now, I was fearing that the misfortune of my life might stick to Richard. He was a nice old man who didn’t bother anyone, and because of me, he was in danger. I had no idea how he was treated by the pack members, but if it weren’t for my insistence to run away, Richard would have a roof over his head. Oh, yeah, and he wouldn’t stand near a forest fire, a detail I shouldn’t forget. “Where?” I asked once I got back to my senses. Unlike me, although old, Richard was a werewolf and his senses were way better. I bet he could smell the smoke from miles away while I could notice that only if the fire was very close. “Close,” he muttered and scrunched up his nose. I watched Richard as he closed his eyes and let out a silent ‘shh’ sound. I held my breath while R
Lucius povFrom the moment we stepped on this territory, I knew the underground market was worse than my spies reported. Every building we passed was another orphanage or hospital. There was no way that a pack with such wealth and infrastructure as this one claimed to have had nothing but abandoned children and injured warriors. “They lied,” Titus, my second in command, whispered. I nodded my head, letting my eyes roam the surroundings. All suspicions aside, what had my senses alerted was that by now, I had counted thirteen orphanages, but no schools and there wasn’t even one playground for the pups they claimed lived here. Not only did this place look suspicious, but it also had a stench of something I couldn’t put in words. I felt like I stood in the center of everything wicked, cruel and malicious.Worst of all, the feeling sunk deeper and rooted itself when a very pregnant looking woman wobbled her way towards us. She had a wide smile across her lips, but her eyes were empty,
Lucius povThe moment Titus ran away, the so-called Luna slowed down until we walked side by side. She did her best to rub herself against me. When she tried to place her hand in mine, I took a step to the side and glared at her. Maybe she understood me, maybe not, but once she opened her mouth, I realized she was very well aware of everything she was doing. “Oh, don’t be like that. I’m somewhat human and loneliness without my Alpha around has its toll on me. I just want some company.” Sure, to someone else, she might sound like a lonely woman, but in my eyes, she was nothing but a power-hungry mutt. She didn’t have an Alpha, she wasn’t a Luna and there was no saying whose child she was carrying. If she was carrying any. “I will show you the Alpha suite. You will fall in love with the bed, it’s so comfortable, like clouds,” she beamed as she opened the door to the massive building and let me inside first. Just like in the rest of the territory, I didn’t hear any sounds. If there w
Lucius povMy heart started racing while I couldn’t suck in a breath. Titus, the forever observant asshole, noticed the change in my demeanor within seconds. He shoved the man he was holding in a headlock towards one of the warriors and ran to my side. Titus tossed my arm around his shoulders as if he feared I might lose my footing. “Lucius, what is it? Are you getting worse?” He whispered the second question to ensure my men didn’t hear him. I shook my head as I struggled to fight Xabat’s attempts to grasp the control. If the hothead were to succeed, he would surely scare our mate away and I wasn’t willing to risk it. The Goddess had forgiven the family sins, she had granted me a soulmate, I was willing to go down in flames along this place if it meant I could keep her. “Mate,” I choked out, only for Titus to hear. We had once discussed the possibility and the risks that were most likely to follow, especially with the brainless fool that resided within me. “Xabat, calm the fuck