JASMINE’S POV The training field was dark, except for the soft glow of the moon and the lecterns that surrounded the field. Caine stood a few feet away, watching my every move with a sharp gaze. I was dressed in loose joggers and a tank top, my hands wrapped with a cloth to protect them during sparring. “Again!” Caine barked. I threw more punches at the dummy before me, kicking and hitting every part just as he’d shown me. We had gone almost an hour with the same routine. Sweat dripped from my forehead as I stopped to catch my breath, my knees supporting my hands. “Do you think Harper and Spencer will give you time to catch your breath”. “Why do you even care if I win or lose?” I asked, frustration eating me up. I was still trying to understand what made his father just fix a match between the twins and me, not considering the difference in our ranks. Caine walked up to me, his dark eyes piercing through the night. “I made you a promise right? I made my father a promise t
JASMINES POV “Dad,” I blurted, my gaze fixed on him as I followed the guards further into the arena. I didn’t notice they had stopped until I bumped into one. That drifted my gaze away from my dad, back to the ring and the wild guards were now facing me. “You wait here until the trumpet goes again,” one of them said, staring at me through the holes in his helmet. I swallowed the fear that crawled into my throat the moment the gates at the opposite end lifted from the ground. Spencer and Harper walked into the arena, their pride written all over their faces. To them, I was a done deal, and they had every reason to show me no mercy because I hurt their sister. The crowd cheered as they made their way in, bare-chested and armorless. “This won’t take long. We’ll just hang around the lines until they’re done with her,” one of the guards nudged the other, a soft chuckle escaping their shielded faces as they walked away. “Ladies and gentlemen,” a loud voice boomed over the microphone.
JASMINES POV When I stirred, I could feel the cold, hard ground beneath me and a metallic taste in my mouth. My eyes fluttered open, hit by the bright light coming from the sun. All of a sudden, everything became dark again. “Awake, finally,” a voice said, drawing my attention away from the once lighted window. Chills ran down my body, sending my heart into a race. I turned my head to find Adrian standing in the shadows, his eyes as red as blood. “Adrian? What’s going on?” My voice cracked, confusion and fear swirling inside me as I struggled with the chains that bound my hands to the wall above me. “Shhh…we wouldn’t want to let the cops know we are here,” he silenced me, quietly walking out of the darkness, into the light which hung above my head. I listened carefully, and that was when I heard the blaring sirens of the cops. “Where am I?” “You’re safe…for now,” he said, crouching beside me. I was about to ask what happened to his eyes and why they were blood red when they fl
CAINES POV Pain shot through my neck as Adrian’s fang tore into my flesh. It burned an unnatural heat, spreading through my veins and weakening me faster than I could comprehend. My wolf howled in agony, struggling to take control. But something in Adrian’s bite dampened my connection to him. I felt my blood leaving my body with speed, and with the strength I had left, I pushed Adrian, crashing into the window. I staggered to the wall but fell before I could get to Jasmine. “Caine,” I heard her voice, faint and muffled. “It will take a while before you will be able to use your legs,” Adrian said, walking out from the pieces of glass that broke after his crash. He carefully extended his hand into the sun's ray and withdrew it immediately after getting burned a little. “What…are you?” I stuttered, the pain seeping deep into my nerves. I fought to get my feet again, but I again, this time face flat on the floor. “Stop fighting the venom. It will only get worse if you fight it.
LUCY’S POV A FEW HOURS EARLIER… “Adrian, no!” I yelled, racing to where he was. But before I could get there, he knocked the air out of Jasmine and zoomed off. “No!” I yelled, scanning the arena which erupted in chaos. There was no sign of them, only the dust that had risen due to the speed Adrian used. “Find Caine,” I told Imani and quickly ran out of the arena. I went through an alleyway at the back of the bridge, making my way to the alpha's office. There were still a few guards on duty, but they didn’t seem like a problem. My father and mother wanted a book from the Alpha office, and a stone too. She called it a Firestone, the last of its kind. I’ve been her little spy without results to show for it, but after seeing through had taken things further with Adrian, I knew this was my time to step up. I let out a heavy breath, arranged my clothes, and walked out of where I was hiding. “We can’t let anyone in,” one of the guards stopped me from crossing the black gates. “C
LUCY’S POV “Yesterday?” I repeated, searching my mind for a perfect lie. That wasn't going to be possible with the way he stared at me like he could see beneath my calm face. “I was with…Imani,” “Imani?” “Yes, Imani, my friend. You should know her, Caines friend too,” I answered with a shrug. “And what were you both doing between that time frame?” “What?” “Would you like me to repeat the question?” “I heard your question, what I don’t seem to understand is why I’m being asked all these. Is there a problem?” I snapped, squeezing my key in my hand to hold in my impatience. “Thing is…a few bags of blood went missing from the clinic yesterday within that time frame. I’ve asked the rest of your friends, and they have an account of where they were. It’s just you and Imani left,” he said. “And Caine…have you asked him?” I asked, but he looked away to hide the guilt in his face. “I expected as much, he’s your nephew so he can’t be a criminal, right,” I said softly. “This won’t t
JASMINES POVThe car came to a halt a few meters away from the pack house. Harper switched off the headlamps and turned to us. “Sheriff Sherwood has men mounted all over the pack house,” he said, his eyes darting between Caine and me. “Caine and Jasmine, take the back gate, head straight to the pack house…take no turn or bends, you’ll be able to avoid the policemen,” he said.The door lock clicked, and Caine and I came down. “Spencer and I will draw their attention away. Jojo and Imani…” “We know,” Imani said, coming down with Jojo. They exchanged handshakes before Harper continued his journey without the headlamps on. Caine was limping, his arms crossed over my shoulder for support. “Almost there,” I muttered, pulling through the long vines in the bushes behind the park house. We ducked and waited for the officers who were heading towards the bush to pass, then we proceeded. We headed for Caines room but stopped and dodged the moment we saw Sheriff Sherwood and a few other offic
JASMINE'S POVWhat others would call fame, I called unnecessary attention. There was no single aisle I was led down that had people around without having the riveted weighing my shoulders down. At some point, I thought of returning to my room, but Caine wasn’t done with his interview. He’d stayed up in one of the offices opposite the pack building, answering questions from the sheriff. He asked me to wait around, so I took some time to explore the perimeters. “Excuse me,” a feminine voice called from behind. Little blondie with large framed glasses. There was a shy smile on her face, and then she inched closer to me, raising a familiar brown paper to my face. “Is this you?” She asked, her British accent betraying her looks. “Urm…” I muttered, staring at the shabby drawing of me for a while. I drifted my eyes, scanning the environment, and noticed that the people around were staring too. “Is it?” She asked again, her smile fading away. “Yeah…yeah…that’s me,” I stuttered. Her smi
JASMINES POVMy head throbbed with dull pain as my eyes stirred open. My body felt weak and my wolf was silent in my head, like she was never even there to begin with. I blinked away the fog clouding my vision and finally got a chance to see my environment.A fully white oak tad room, with a white ceiling hanging above me. The lights were white as well, at the center hung a thin silver rod. I tried to reach for it, but my hands didn’t move. They were strapped to the bed—I just realized. My legs too, and there was a leather strap wrapped around my waist. “Where am I?” I blurted, panic setting in as I scanned the other sides of the room. “Luce?” I called my voice suddenly getting shaky. My head was empty despite how hard I tried to reach for my wolf. “Lucy!” I called again, louder this time. Footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the door. Slow, deliberate, with each step sending a chill down my spine. The door creaked open, and two elderly figures walked in. The man had a strik
JASMINES POVMy head throbbed with dull pain as my eyes stirred open. My body felt weak and my wolf was silent in my head, like she was never even there to begin with. I blinked away the fog clouding my vision and finally got a chance to see my environment.A fully white oak tad room, with a white ceiling hanging above me. The lights were white as well, at the center hung a thin silver rod. I tried to reach for it, but my hands didn’t move. They were strapped to the bed—I just realized. My legs too, and there was a leather strap wrapped around my waist. “Where am I?” I blurted, panic setting in as I scanned the other sides of the room. “Luce?” I called my voice suddenly getting shaky. My head was empty despite how hard I tried to reach for my wolf. “Lucy!” I called again, louder this time. Footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the door. Slow, deliberate, with each step sending a chill down my spine. The door creaked open, and two elderly figures walked in. The man had a strik
JASMINES POV “Urm…I was in the…in the…” “Are you okay?” Lucy interrupted, running her fingers down my cheeks. “You’re crying, what’s wrong ?” She pulled me into a hug without waiting to hear what I had to say. I’m sure if I told her, she wouldn’t be holding me this close. “I’m…I’m fine,” I stuttered, cleaning the rest of the tears from my face. We pulled away from each other, and I saw the request boldly written on her face. It was the morning after the surf party, and as promised, I was supposed to follow her. “Are you sure you can still do this?” She asked, taking my hand with deep concern etched on her face. I nodded with a forced smile. “Of course. Why not? I’ll just quickly grab a bag,” I went to my wardrobe to select something better to wear. My door swung open, and Caine strode in hurriedly with my name in his mouth. He froze upon seeing Lucy. “Lucy…you’re…here,” he drawled questionably, stealing a glance at me right before they hugged and kissed each other. “Yeah
JASMINES POV The first rays of sunlight pierced through the shades of the branches surrounding us, waking me with a soft warmth that did little to ease the pain between my thighs. I shifted, wincing slightly at the pain—a sharp reminder of the night before. The memories flooded my head—his toughness, his whispers, the intensity of our connection, and the taste of his lips. But alongside the warmth and memories, came a heavy weight in my chest. Guilt. I stirred on the floor, glancing at Caine who was still asleep. He looked at peace, unburdened by the storm that ravaged my heart. I couldn’t stay—not with the kind of guilt that riled up in my chest. I slipped out of his hand, got dressed, and started making my way out. “Leaving already?” Caine’s voice halted me in my tracks. With a heavy exhalation, I turned to face him. His eyes were still heavy with sleep and locked into mine. “I…I,” I stuttered, still adjusting my bra hook which I think I may have mismatched. “I just neede
JASMINES POV “I…” I tried to say something else, but my knees went jelly, trembling as I fell. Caine caught me before I could make contact with the ground, gently placing me on the floor. He sat by my side, letting me use his shoulder as a resting board. But my wolf stirred in my head, restlessly wanting answers. I pulled away from Caine and stared into his eyes. “How is that even possible?” I asked, fear crawling into my body. He looked as shocked as I was, and then he shook his head with doubt. “I have no idea, Jasmine, but…urm…” “You didn’t know?” I cut him short. He gave no response, just staring into the wild. The cold air seeped into my skin, sending goosebumps around my body. I squeezed myself in and leaned closer to him. “But…” “You did well,” Caine interrupted. The sound of his voice was different this time—like he was excited. I smiled, fighting the thoughts of us being mates to the back of my head. It felt impossible to keep it aside, especially when he was sitti
JASMINES POV Caine’s eyes held mine, steady and serious, a stark contrast to the carefree attitude he’d carried earlier. I tried to gauge whether he was serious or if the alcohol had gotten the better of him. The weight of his gaze pressed pinned me in place, and the soft rustling of the leaves around us only added to the strange intensity of the moment. “Caine…are you being serious?” I asked, pulling away from his face after we’d unintentionally gotten so close to each other. He leaned back slightly, his head tilted to the side as if contemplating how much he should reveal. “Pardon me, I should never have brought that up,” he pulled away and tried to stand. I grabbed his hand, pulling him back to the ground. “You were assigned to me to teach me how to take control of my wolf. If you know a way I could do that then why keep it a secret from me?” “Because it’s never been practiced after the last incident, and my father banned it,” he said, avoiding my eyes. He lifted the bottle
JASMINES POV The sun had stayed its descent, painting the sky with streaks of orange and red as the surfing party came together. I was helping set up the drinks, carefully arranging the bottles on the makeshift bar under the swaying palm trees. The sound of waves crashed against the shore, filling it with fresh air that mingled with the laughter of the pack as they worked around me. Yet, my focus kept slipping. My gaze drifted towards the shoreline, where Caine was surfing. His body swayed effortlessly against the waves, every movement controlled and graceful. The way the water gleamed against the tan of his skin made my heart race against my better judgment. “You’re staring,” Isha nudged me, tossing me with bottles of beer. I scoffed, burying my head in shame before turning away from the ocean. “I’m not,” “I saw you, Jasmine,” she said softly, returning to my spot with both hands resting on her waist. “If I were you I’d stare too,” she added, her face drifting back to the o
JASMINE’S POV The silence that followed my question was deafening. Caine’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he stared straight ahead. My heart pounded so loudly that I was sure he could hear it from where he was sitting. The words had tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, and now there was no taking them back. “Jas…” “No,” I cut him sharply. “Don’t start giving me excuses now. I know that’s what’s about to happen”. There was a delay in his speech. His mouth was shaking like he was searching for the right words. I sighed, leaning a little closer to him. “Just a yes or no answer, Caine. Do you have feelings for me?” “Why will you ask me that?” He returned, finally staring back into my eyes. I could feel the hurt in my chest, even before he said whatever was going to make my heart feel like it was being squashed by the walls in my body. “What do you mean by why will I ask you…” “You know I am dating Lucy, yeah. She’s your best
JASMINES POV Caine pulled me away from the scene after we heard the footage steps approaching. We squeezed ourselves into a tight corner, our bodies pressing hard against each other while we struggled to filter the air we took in. “Someone was here before us,” Harper said. He and Imani were standing right above the bodies, staring at them in deep confusion and fear, just like we did. “This is bad,” “What do we do?” Imani asked. She maintained a close distance between her and Harper, clinging onto his shirt as he started examining the bodies. “Vampire bites,” he blurted, turning towards our direction. I inhaled sharply, looking away from the hole I was spying on them through. Caine’s palm covered my mouth instantly. “They can’t see us,” I heard his voice in my head. I nodded, and he slowly took his hand off. “Could this be Lucy’s brother?” Imani asked with a quivering tone. “If it is then I don’t think we can hold this little secret any longer. We must report this to the right