《The Alpha’s Dark Revenge》


 Prologue

    Niki rolled over in the sheets, reaching out to see if Elle stilly next to him. When his strong fingers grazed her soft ones, he pulled her closer, snuggling into her and smelling her hair. Although they had only been together for about three years, Niki could still feel the love he had for her raging in his blood.


    Some members of the pack had grunted in disapproval when they had gotten married as he hadn¡¯t even imprinted his mark on her. At first, Niki had believed it would happen as soon as he was sure she was his soul mate. But when months passed and nothing had happened, the reality that she was not his mate began to seep in.


    Elle had been heartbroken and thought it best to break off their rtionship but Niki would hear no such thing. Yes she wasn¡¯t his mate, but he really didn¡¯t care. He loved her with all he had in him and that was all that mattered.


    Unable to stop himself he leaned in and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, rousing her from sleep. After a while of blinking herself awake, Elle opened her eyes. ¡°Hey,¡± she stage whispered. ¡°Thank you for waking me. I haven¡¯t slept all night, it was refreshing,¡± She smiled, sarcasm dripping from every word.


    Niki smirked, giving a small shrug. ¡°It was the least I could do.¡±


    Elle nudged him in the ribs,ughing.


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you sleep though?¡± He asked, concern quickly taking over his countenance.


    Elle rolled over, downing some water from the bottle she always kept on her besides table. ¡°Remember I told you I¡¯d been feeling sick for a while.¡±


    Niki¡¯s frown deepened. He remembered that Elle had beenining of not feeling well for a while now. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see the doctor today,¡± he decided, grabbing her and unleashing kisses to every part of her face with the intent of making herugh.


    It worked the magic as Elle squealed,ughing and trying to break free from his grip. ¡°I booked an appointment already, baby.¡± She reminded him.


    ¡°Good. Now all we have to do is take a shower and prepare for the day,¡± Niki said, a look of innocence ying in his eyes.


    Elle narrowed her eyes, looking her husband over suspiciously. ¡°Since when do you let me get out of bed this early?¡±


    Niki shrugged.


    ¡°We¡¯re just taking a shower,¡± Elle deadpanned. ¡°Just a shower.¡±


    Niki smirked, deliberately fondling her full hips as he ced her on hisp and whispered into her ears. ¡°If you say so, Mrs de.¡±


    Elle onlyughed, snuggling into him as they began to discuss their ns for the day.


    ***


    Elle watched in amusement as Niki tugged on her shirt for the millionth time today. ¡°I¡¯m really going to be a father?¡± His voice was high pitched than usual and seeing just how excited he was warmed Elle¡¯s heart. Niki usually had on a tough exterior which he put on disy for everyone except her, so seeing him openly show this much emotion even in front of the doctor was surreal.


    Elle nodded in reply, nudging his arm. ¡°Watch the road,¡± She joked. Nikiughed, excitement making his face flush.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be a dad. With twins?!¡± He asked once again, a huge grin creeping into his face. All of a sudden a look of rm was visible on his face. ¡°Baby, shit. This is real. What am I gonna do? We¡¯ll need to get diapers and stuff and a cot.¡± He paused thoughtfully. ¡°I can make a very nice cot with my own hands but I¡¯d need to make two, which means I¡¯d have to start as early as possible and I don¡¯t really-¡±


    ¡°Niki de!¡± Elle nearly choked withughter. ¡°Calm down for one fuc-fudging second.¡±


    They exchanged looks and Niki bellowed withughter. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to swear in front of the kids now,¡± She defended, running a hand over her stomach.


    The car filled withughter for a while as Niki squeezed his wife¡¯s small hand. He knew it wasn¡¯t easy for her. But he would be by her side the entire time.


    As Niki drove through a bend in the road, he suddenly hit the brakes, lurching the car to a stop. As he looked over at Elle who still held a hand to her chest in fright, fury raged through him. Kicking the car door open, he gazed toward the cause of disturbance; an older man whom he recognized as Jonas Verbeck. Jonas was the alpha of the Monhowl pack; the most brutal pack of wolves he¡¯d evere across and a rival pack of his own pack, Selene. Jonas had always sought instances to get into a fight with Niki as he had sworn to take over the title of the most powerful alpha.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    ¡°What the hell,¡± Niki growled, getting to where Jonas stood in a few seconds, and grappling him by the neck. Jonas onlyughed, raising two fingers in some kind of signal. Infuriated, Nikinded a blow to his cheek. He was confused as to why Jonas was chuckling hysterically. Until he saw why.


    From behind the surrounding bushes, Niki saw about eight other werewolves emerge. His heart stopped when he saw three others emerge from behind his car and toward the passenger seat where Elle sat.


    All of this was nned out, he realized with a sinking heart. How hadn¡¯t he been aware of their movements being watched? He¡¯d been so excited for the news that he hadn¡¯t been paying attention to anything else.


    Before he had time to react, five of them had begun tond heavy kicks to his gut, bringing him to his knees. Jonas gripped Niki¡¯s neck and squeezed,nding blows repeatedly until half his face was coated in blood. When he had battered Niki to his satisfaction, six of his men held him down and made him watch as Jonas gingerly made his way to the spot where his men had tied Elle to a tree.


    Niki growled in helplessness as he watched Elle try to defend herself against them. Jonasnded two swift blows to her abdomen and smirked when she cried out in pain. Signalling his men to tighten their hold on Niki, Jonas spat in Elle¡¯s face, taking ahold of her dress and ripping it in one swift motion.


    ¡°NO!¡± Niki screamed, realizing what was about to happen. ¡°Please don¡¯t touch her!¡±


    Jonas gave a loudugh, the panicked tone in Niki¡¯s voice pushing him on. ¡°Toote,¡± Heughed as he ripped Elle¡¯s underwear and prated her amidst her cries and struggles.


    ¡°No!¡± Niki tried to roar but it only came out as a groan of pain, tears filling his eyes as he struggled to break free from the hands that held him fast. But it was no use. Laughing, they gripped his neck, forcing him to watch as the men took turns on her, hooting wildly as they did the gruesome activity.


    After some minutes of yelling and struggling, Elle copsed into the grass, all the energy sapped from her. She appeared broken, her once glowing body bruised and bloodied, her white gown in tatters besides her still form. When Jonas was satisfied, he gave anotherugh at the crying form of Niki slumped on the floor and with a smirk, he bent over Elle, gripped her head in his hands and snapped her neck.


    Niki let out a broken cry, sweat and tears running down his face. ¡°Please, no. D-don¡¯t-¡±


    A hard object connected to the back of his head, letting out a sudden gush of blood. Niki lost count of how many blowsnded to the back of his head. Thest thing he saw was Jonas Verbeck bending over him.


    ¡°Not so powerful now are we?¡± Heughed,nding onest powerful blow to Niki¡¯s head.


    Niki¡¯sst thoughts were of Elle as Jonas and his pack walked away, leaving him in a pool of his own blood.


    ***


    ¡°He¡¯s awake, Beta,¡± the healer, an old woman, told Drew. She stood in front of the sick room, her hand pointed to where a pale Nikiid on the bed.


    Drew nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡± As he went closer to the bed, the healer bent her head as a sign of respect and ushered herself out.


    ¡°Alpha.¡± Drew sat on the chair by the bed, his sorrowful brown eyes locked on Niki. Though unmoving, Niki¡¯s eyes were open, the glittering silver of his eyes bloodshot.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± Drew repeated, agonized to see his Alpha like this. The man was in pain, broken beyond repair and it hurt to face him like this. He sighed, wishing that he had been there to protect his Alpha and Luna.


    The room was silent, apart from the ticking of the clock, until Niki started talking, his voice sad and empty, ¡°I¡¯ve lost everything that I¡¯ve ever loved, Drew. My Elle, my sweet, gentle Elle and the twins are gone.¡±


    He continued, still looking up, nary an emotion depicted on his bloodless face. ¡°I was there, watching as that bastard held her down, beat her, raped her then fucking killed her. I was there, Drew, I was. I didn¡¯t do anything, I let her die. I let her die, Drew! Elle and the twins!¡± Niki¡¯s voice came out as a roar as he sat up fast in his bed, the sheets falling to reveal his naked torso. All his wounds from the ambush the week before were fading, except for the deep cut on his chest.


    Why wasn¡¯t that wound healing? Drew thought even as he was stunned at the news that Elle had been expecting. As the son of powerful alphas, Niki¡¯s bloodline was very strong, therefore he healed fast so why wasn¡¯t that cut fading away? He got his answer soon.


    Niki stared at his hands, lost in his own miserable world. Drew sighed, his Alpha was going into beast mode. In as much as Elle wasn¡¯t his mate, his wolf had be used to her and the thought that she was no more was more than they could take. Niki¡¯s ws were growing, his fangs disyed as he bellowed at no one in particr, ¡°You know, I¡¯m pathetic! I call myself an alpha, her lover and her husband and yet, and fucking yet, I couldn¡¯t save her. I just stayed and let her die when it should have been me. I should have fucking died in her ce!.¡±


    ¡°All my wounds are healed, almost gone but this,¡± Heughed mirthlessly, pointing razor sharp ws at his heaving chest. ¡°I won¡¯t let this one go. I requested that the healer add a reasonable amount of silver powder into it. That way, it won¡¯t heal properly and would serve as a remembrance of how weak I was.¡±


    He threw the remaining sheets off his body and stood, revealing his nude form. Drew averted his eyes in respect, his heart pained by how heartbroken his alpha was. Niki wasn¡¯t the only one feeling guilty, he was too. He and the pack members hadn¡¯t been there to fight those bastards Monhowl. He fisted his knuckles, anger so violent rushing through his veins.


    ¡°I am so sorry, Alpha. The guys and I should have been there to protect you and Luna. I am so very sorry,¡± Drew spoke in remorse.


    ¡°No need to be sorry. I am the reason why. After all, I brought down my guard,¡± Niki uttered, the absence of any emotion is his deep voice chilling. Drew cast a saddened gaze at the broken man. Niki was now d in a pair of shorts, staring outside the window which looked over the property of their pack.


    The man turned to his Beta, fire raging in his eyes, fingers clutched in a fist, muscled arms bulging in fury as he bit out, ¡°Ready the wolves, both young and old, there should be no one left out. Bring them to the square, it¡¯s ready to train. And when I mean training, I mean training so hard that if you fail, you¡¯re out and dead.¡±


    Drew shook his head in regret. ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t you think we should retaliate? Give the Monhowls what they¡¯re looking for?¡±


    A pause, then, ¡°No, we wait. Bide our time and hit them when they least expect it.¡±


    Niki¡¯s lips curled in a frightening snarl, ¡°Revenge is a dish best served cold, Drew. Mark my words.¡± His tone was so empty, cold and as Drew stared at his retreating back, he knew one sure thing, the person in front of him was no longer human or animal, he was a monster.

 Alone

    Liyah


    I dipped therge washcloth in the half empty bucket for the hundredth time this morning. Wiping the beads of sweat that stood on my forehead, I wrung out the excess water, wiping the floorboards as quickly as I could before Barbara could stomp in with her muddy boots. By mistake, she imed.


    Usually, weekends were considered by many to be a period of rest, rxation, the period to spend quality time with your family. I could be taking a stroll to the park; having a quiet time, or a heart to heart conversation with my friends.


    I scoffed at the word, ¡®friends¡¯. If I remember correctly, I¡¯ve never had those. Which was really not surprising seeing as my ¡®family¡¯ didn¡¯t feel like a real family.


    My moving hands on the floorboards stopped.


    I wondered when this clear, simple truth would stop hurting this much. I had been the outcast, the weirdo, ever since I was born. Now, I was twenty two years old, and I still yearned for validation. Even my own father hated me. What more could I expect from unrted folks?


    Surprisingly, I¡¯d managed to get through the entire hall without Barbara stepping in to make my job even harder than it already was. As soon as I was done, I quickly disposed of the waste water and began to dry the floor with another cloth. This way I wouldn¡¯t have to start all over if my stepsister decided to make an entrance.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    When mom had died giving birth to me, Father had wanted to dispose of me, let the other wolves feed on me as I was seen as a curse that snatched his Luna away, but some members of the pack had convinced him that I would he more useful as a servant. He had agreed reluctantly, and after a few years, he had remarried, and had Barbara.


    Barbara was the improved version of me, the daughter he had always wanted. She was his joy and pride. And although I was older than her, she bossed me around, sent me on errands, and sometimes hit me when I attempted to stand up to her. Once, when I had hit her out of anger, Father had locked me in the dark room for two weeks without food and water. And since then I had taken everything with a pinch of salt.


    Patiently, I had waited. Anticipating when I would turn eighteen. When my wolf would awaken. Positive that then, I would be useful in Father¡¯s eyes. Hoping that the members of the pack would recognize my worth.


    And I waited, and waited. And one day I turned neen, and my wolf had still not awakened. I was sad, broken, I¡¯d never felt so worthless. It was at that point that I truly became theughing stock of the pack. I was bestowed with the name given to those whose wolves never awakened; mere men. Everyone sent for me whenever they had an errand they needed to run, I did the cooking, the cleaning. In my own father¡¯s house, I was nothing but a help.


    Barbara had always been Father¡¯s favorite. So when she transformed into her wolf form at eighteen, his joy had known no bounds. She had grown to be an attractive woman and the strongest she-wolf in the pack. She was just like her father; ruthless, killed with no mercy when she was thirsty for blood. Once, when she had nothing else to feed on, she had tried to eat me. But I was saved by one of Father¡¯s oldest guards, Tom. Afterwards, he had warned me to stay miles away from her when she was hungry. To Father, she was perfect; everything that I wasn¡¯t. And I was doomed to live, forever in her shadow.


    I ced a hand on my waist in fatigue, as I finally got through thest of today¡¯s chores and made my way back to my room. As I secured the lock behind me, I extricated the small portrait of my mom from a hole in the floor. Apart from the clothes on my back, it was the only thing I owned. If Father found out, he would take it away from me.


    Gazing at her portrait like I did each morning, I wondered if she would have liked me. Would she had seen me as a blessing? Or as a disappointment like everyone else did. Would she shower me with love? Take care of me? Hug me? Convince me that everything would be okay?


    A stray tear dropped from my eyes and I hurriedly wiped it away feeling foolish. I knew all of this already. So why did it always make me cry? I was in my twenties and yet to experience what love is, or what it feels like to be valuable to someone, to be worth something. Nobody¡¯s ever made me felt important. Well except from my little kitten pixie, Jada. But sometimes I suspected that the only reason why she stayed was because she couldn¡¯t protest.


    My thoughts drifted back to my mother. Many said she had a big heart, and was the strongest Luna in the pack. She was the onlydy brave enough to confront my father, Jonas, whenever he did something irrational. A shiver ran through my spine as I thought about it. Father was the strongest, most ruthless werewolf alive. I found it astonishing that someone could stand up to him.


    Perhaps that was the reason why he got married to her.


    He was very much obsessed with power. For years he has dedicated his time to building a powerful army of werewolves. Many knew him the strongest werewolf that¡¯s ever existed and the undefeated alpha of the Monhowl pack. Rumor had it that years ago, the alpha of a rival pack had carried the title of the most powerful wolfman. To correct that impression, father had hunted him down and executed him and his entire family. Chilling tales like that brewed fear amongst all rival packs, and no one dared to challenge Jonas Verbeck.


    ¡°Liyah!¡± I heard someone yell my name, rousing me from my thoughts. I quickly ducked, cing mom¡¯s portrait back in it¡¯s ce and racing to unlock my door.


    Before I could answer my name, Mira hadnded two quick blows to my cheek. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear Barbara calling for you?¡± She snarled, scrunching her face in disgust as she observed my room.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t,¡± I replied quickly, bowing a little and ignoring my burning cheeks. By now I had learnt that the only way to stay out of further trouble was to do exactly as they asked.


    She gave another long hiss, ordering me to go see what Barbara needed and walking away. I dared to stare behind her. Mira was my father¡¯s mate and my step mom. Frankly, the only thing Father and the members of the pack respected her for was her sex appeal. Once, I had caught her cheating with two other werewolves, Larry and Mario. I shivered at the thought of the things Father would do to them if he ever found out. But it wouldn¡¯t be from me. If I ever decided to run my mouth, my corpse would be hanging over some tree by morning.


    Sighing, I quickly locked my room and raced to Barbara¡¯s to see what she needed.


    ¡°My hair needs to be done. Dad¡¯s throwing a party for me,¡± She stated simply. ¡°And make sure it¡¯s better than thest one. Can¡¯t you even be good at something? Just one thing for crying out loud, Liyah!¡± She sighed, shaking her head in disgust.


    I kept silent, head bowed over awaiting her next order. She only rxed into her chair. As I began to part her full hair down the middle, she swiped my hand away. ¡°Did you wash your hands first?¡± She asked, disgust visible on her face.


    I knew it would he fatal to tell her the truth so I lied, nodding my head in assent. As she rxed again, I styled her hair as best as I could, trying not to think of the hell that was my life.

 You’re so fucking useless

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I gasped out in pain as the hot coffee burned my skin. Sparing a few seconds to push the coffee machine back in ce, I plunged my burned hand into a bowl of cold water, tears stinging my eyes.


    Looking up, I faced a sneering Gavin. My chest swelled as I red at him trying to control the anger that filled me up.


    ¡°Uh oh, my bad,¡± Gavinughed, grimacing with fake concern at my hand.


    It was obvious that he¡¯d pushed the container on purpose. It had happened so quickly that I hadn¡¯t been able to move out of the way on time.


    I ignored him, turning quickly to make another batch of coffee. Father would soon start to roar my name if I didn¡¯t have breakfast ready in time.


    Gavin moved closer to me. Too close. My hands shook as I ced out the dishes still ignoring him.


    ¡°Scared are we?¡± He whispered, leaning closer to me. ¡°I thought you wanted to beat me up a few seconds ago, Liyah. What¡¯s up?¡±


    Why couldn¡¯t he just leave me alone? I wondered, still focusing on my work. It was like a ritual; at least one person in the pack was bound to pick on me. They never missed a chance to remind me that I wasn¡¯t, and would never be one of them.


    Gavin was the first son of Mario, the second inmand and the Beta of the pack. Gavin and Barbara were the youngest pack members, and the ones who never let me get through one day unscathed. They found every reason to make my life harder and remind me that I wasn¡¯t a ¡°real wolf¡±.


    As I turned off the machine at the beep, I was pulled back violently by Gavin yanking my hair. I let out a sharp groan as pain shot through my scalp.


    ¡°Answer me when I¡¯m talking to you, bitch!¡± Hemanded, glowering down at me.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    All the initial anger I felt quickly dissipated, leaving a deep, growing fear at the anger in his eyes. I feared that he would transform and do a lot of damage. And there was no one around. Not that they would care anyway.


    Trying my best to nod despite his tight hold, I did, tears spilling out my eyes.


    ¡°Good,¡± He smiled then let me go. ¡°Now make yourself useful,¡± He gestured to the kitchen counter. ¡°My pancakes should be ready in five minutes, I¡¯m famished.¡±


    Five minutes?


    I wiped the tears away from my face. ¡°But you always have toast for breakfast,¡± I whimpered, hoping not to anger him again.


    The pack members each had their preferred meals for breakfast, and having prepared meals for years, I had learned it all by heart. That exined the array of food and aromas that wafted through the kitchen.


    Gavin always had toast and eggs which I had prepared already. His new request meant that I would had to prepare another batch of pancake mix. And my hands were hurting already from being in the kitchen since morning.


    He red at me. ¡°Are youining right now?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I hurriedly cut in. ¡°N-no, I was just wondering.¡±


    He looked me over, rolling his eyes and snatched up two out of the three waffles I had made for Barbara. Smirking, he stuffed them in his mouth and walked away.


    It took all I had to not melt into a pool of tears at that moment. Barbara had been on my neck about breakfast. Sighing, I stashed the now cold toast I had made for Gavin in a Ziploc bag. Who knows when I would be allowed to have breakfast. I had lots to do.


    Thinking quickly, I rushed to serve breakfast to the older members of the pack first. When I was done, I looked down at the two empty dishes for Barbara and Gavin, confused on which one to make first.


    Shutting my eyes tightly, I picked the lesser evil and began to pour in a fresh batch of pancake mix.


    ¡°The Moon Goddess help me,¡± I muttered, spreading the mix into a pan.


    ¡°What the fuck, Liyah!¡± I heard Barbara storm into the kitchen. I noted that she was dressed to go out in a skimpy outfit that left little to the imagination.


    Fear gripping me, I turned off the stove and faced her, handing her quickest te of waffles I had ever made.


    She ignored my outstretched hand and in two quick strides reached where I stood andnded two hard ps to my cheeks.


    I swallowed back the blood that filled my mouth still holding the te forward.


    ¡°How long does it take to make a te of fucking waffles?¡± She growled, letting out a groan of irritation and wiping her hands on the bright red mini skirt she wore.


    I knew she was wiping my filth off them. She wasn¡¯t the only one who thought I was a piece of trash. And she sure made it clear.


    All of a sudden she grabbed my hand. This time I couldn¡¯t suppress the cry that escaped me. Her firm grasp exerted pressure on the blisters that had formed on my hand from the hot coffee. And for a moment I thought my wrist would snap from how hard she held onto it.


    ¡°You¡¯re so fucking useless. You know I need to eat before doing my makeup!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whimpered, feeling the blisters rupture under her grip. The tears threatened to escape. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I repeated.


    Finally, she let me go, grabbing the te from her hand and sniffing it. I rxed. It was going to be over soon. I kept my head bowed waiting for her to leave.


    Finally, with a hiss she strutted out of the kitchen, her heels clicking behind her. I bent over, hands on my knees as tried to catch my breath.


    The pain prompted me to look down at my hand. It was a mess. Taking a mental note to ask Maria to help treat my hand, I refilled the sink and began to scrub the used dishes.

 Vengeance

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I stared the redhead down as she slowly peeled the flimsy dress off her body, her eyes never leaving my face. She was a petite young woman with full lips and a voluptuous body. I didn¡¯t care to remember her name either. All I knew was that she was an omega in the pack, and all she wanted was to be bent over and fucked senseless. I, of course would oblige.


    My eyes riveted to her chest as her full tits came into view. I could see she was already aroused by how taut her nipples stood. Hunger rushed through me and I could feel my cock push through my khakis in protest.


    Grinning, she approached me, cing one hand on my neck and began to trail kisses all the way down to my chest. I watched in surprise as she continued to do so, up until her lips were an inch away from my crotch.


    I grasped her hand firmly, stopping her. I didn¡¯t have time for this shit. I just wanted to get it over with.


    Still gripping her tightly, I pulled her to the bed and flipped her over, spreading her legs apart and unzipping my shorts. Her panties were already wet at the center when I pulled them off.


    She let out a whimper in pleasure as I opened her up with my fingers before slowly prating her. She held onto the sheets for support as I viciously pushed in, moaning with each hard thrust.


    When I felt my releaseing, I quickly pulled out of her, watching as my seed spilled over the sheets. Satisfied, I let her fall onto the bed and walked to the bathroom to clean up. Once in, I scrubbed myself thoroughly with my soap and shampooed my hair.


    Like always when I fucked any she-wolf, I felt disgusted and intent of scrubbing away their filth off me. Since I lost Elle, I had never had any connection with any she-wolf, nor did I want to. I knew that some members of the pack had been plotting to get into my bed, but no matter how hard they tried, they would never be able to rece Elle. No one could. I just needed a hard fuck to help me release.  Nothing more, nothing less.


    I paused as I bent to retrieve my khaki after showering. I could hear the distant sound of hooves. The sound of wolves running. And from the foul stench, I knew they were rogues.


    My brows furrowed as I wondered what rogues could possibly be doing so close to our territory. Almost immediately, Drew mindlinked me.


    ¡®Alpha, rogues close by. Ready at yourmand.¡¯


    That confirmed my hunch. Dumping my khakis for a wider pair of shorts that wouldn¡¯t rip when I transformed, I strode out of the bathroom.


    ¡°Get out,¡± I said simply to the redhead as I grabbed my phone and checked the time. It waste enough. The moon stood bright outside so transformation would not be a problem.


    ¡°W-what?¡± I heard her stammer.


    I looked up, ring at her in irritation. ¡°Did you not hear me?¡±


    My voice was higher now.


    I saw fear sh briefly in her eyes before it was reced by a flood of disappointment. Cheeks flushed, she gathered the sheets around herself and huffed her way out of the door. I didn¡¯t miss the tear that dropped down her cheeks just before she banged the door behind her.


    It was all meaningless sex. Why did they always expect more afterwards?


    Shaking my head, I bounded toward the door, pausing when I came face to face with Drew and Colton.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± They both nodded as they sighted me.


    I waved off their greeting. ¡°Do we have a location?¡± I asked Drew, shifting and already running out the door.


    ¡°North. It seems like they¡¯re leaving the city.¡±


    We¡¯d been trying to gain on these rogues for weeks now. But every time we came close to catching them, it was like they disappeared. The only exnation for this was that they blended in with packs in other territories, as I had no authority there.


    But why would that be?


    It made me start to wonder if they were actually working for, or with a pack.


    But who?


    The only person powerful enough to harbor rogue wolves was Jonas Verbeck. I still couldn¡¯t understand it. But would he do that? Rogues were no protected under anyw. And most of the time, they killed indiscriminately; innocent wolves, humans.


    My jaw clenched as I remembered the amount of bloodshed from the past week. They had preyed onrge numbers of she-wolves and pups.


    My breath quickened. I could feel the anger surfacing like it always did when I saw things that reminded me of Elle.


    My wolf growled, desperate for vengeance.


    Without a word, I took off. The light of the moon hit me, making me feel even more powerful and increasing my strength twofold. I ran until I could no longer hear Drew and Colton behind me. But I didn¡¯t bother because they knew where we were headed.


    I sniffed the air around me. They were close. If only I could catch them thus time.


    The cool wind that came with the night made it easier for me to sniff them out.


    I frowned. Why on earth were they moving toward the Red Moon pack? I wondered in rm.


    Growling, I quickened my pace, rushing forward as I sighted a sh of brown fur ahead.


    As I gained on it, I saw Drew emerge from behind the trees on one side and I knew they had taken another routine.


    I mindlinked Drew and Colton to go after the other two rogues while I took care of the one present.


    I bared my teeth at the rogue as we circled each other. As it usually was with rogues, his fur was thicker and longer, and his foul scent was thick in the air.


    I watched him shrink back in fear as I wed at him in a split second. Under the moonlight I was stronger, faster, more lethal.


    Sensing that it was a fight he couldn¡¯t win, he took off. I was hot on his heels in a few seconds, my face contorting with rage when Drew mindlinked me.


    ¡®We lost them, Alpha.¡¯Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    I ignored him, following as the rogue disappeared into a cluster of trees.


    I bounded after him but it was as though he¡¯d be faster.


    As I stretched out a limb to grasp him at the fur, he leaped through the air and into the border separating Red Moon from Selene.


    I let out a deafening growl in anger. After a few moments, I mindlinked Drew to meet me back at the pack.


    I needed to find out what these rogues were up to and what connection they had with the Red Moon pack.

 Safe

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡°He has got the sexiest body I have ever seen,¡± I heard Barbara groan as I silently washed the pile of wine sses that were strewn all over the kitchen counter.


    The festival was approaching and we needed to round up with the final preparations. I couldn¡¯t even count how many dishes and sses I had washed today, and I still had not had my breakfast. As if on cue my stomach grumbled. I nearly dropped a ss in fear, praying that no one heard. I would pay for it on two counts-disturbing their peace and being a disgusting pig like they always called me.


    A few seconds passed and no one had said anything. My shoulders rxed.


    Okay. I was safe.


    ¡°Really?!¡± Christy cackled. ¡°Then you have quite a long way to go,¡± She said in a singsong voice, taking a sip of her lemonade.


    Barbara pulled out her bottom lip and folded her arms. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I recognised the look on her face. She hated being the novice, the one who still had a lot to learn.


    I still had no idea what they were even talking about. But I kept my head bowed, focused on my work. I searched through for Maria but couldn¡¯t find her. I hadn¡¯t seen her all morning. Something twisted in my gut as I hoped that she was okay. After all, it wasn¡¯t unusual for her topletely disappear for a whole day. Most times she was either locked up in the basement or being used as the bait in the training for the younger wolves.


    I sighed inaudibly, once again hoping she was safe.


    ¡°I mean,¡± Christy continued, leaning in and bringing her voice down. ¡°None of these wolves could ever match up. When I was your age, there were hordes and hordes of sexy beasts ready to take you to bed and fuck you senseless. And they sure as hell were leagues past your little Jerome.¡±


    A round ofughter filled the table as everyone except Barbara nodded in agreement.


    I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes at Christy¡¯s words. She was just twenty seven. But most times she acted like she was one of the ancient Lunas.


    ¡°Humph,¡± Barbara huffed. ¡°I was born in the wrong era then,¡± She said, throwing her mother a sideways nce.


    Mira only smirked. ¡°Christy¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Remember de?¡± Patience, one of the newly married wolves cut in.


    ¡°Oh. My. God.¡± Christy sighed, rxing deeper into her chair. ¡°A waste of perfectly good d*ck, that¡¯s what that was.¡±N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    Mira¡¯s cackling filled the air for a few moments. ¡°Hottest Alpha that ever existed, hands down.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Barbara perked up. ¡°I think I kinda remember stories of some dude called Nathaniel de or something.¡±


    ¡°Niki,¡± Christy corrected. ¡°And you were just a kid then so you probably won¡¯t remember. Nobody knows what happened to him. Last I heard, his wife died and then he disappeared.¡±


    I vaguely remembered a story I¡¯d heard a few years ago, about an alpha who was so powerful he had surpassed Father as the most powerful alpha. I don¡¯t remember whenst I had heard of him. All I remembered was that Father has reimed his title afterwards.


    ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s one of those boring lover boys that go crazy when they lose their girlfriends,¡± Barbara added. ¡°That¡¯s pathetic.¡±


    They all nodded in agreement. Everyone except Christy.


    She gulped down the rest of her lemonade and began to chew on the lemon. ¡°Well, he might be pathetic but oh my goodness, the things I would let that man do to me.¡±


    Patienceughed. ¡°And he sure as hell would know how to handle him some pussy.¡±


    The rest of them whooped,ughing loudly.


    I bowed my head even lower, my cheeks burning from the things they were saying. I wondered how they could talk about sex so freely. For some reason I started to feel embarrassed and self conscious. As a result, I knocked over a ss by mistake, causing them all to look in my direction.


    Shit.


    ¡°What about you, Liyah?¡± Christy leered, pouring a ss of vodka for herself.


    I looked over at her, my brows puckered in confusion. ¡°W-what?¡±


    Barbara gave a loudugh, causing me to feel even more uneasy.


    ¡°Ever had a man drill through you?¡± Christy asked, smirking at me.


    For a moment, I struggled to understand what she was talking about. When it finally dawned on me, my eyes widened, the shock almost causing the ss to fall out of my hand.


    ¡°N-no ma¡¯am,¡± I whispered, still not knowing how to reply.


    ¡°Oh, you prude,¡± Christyughed, turning away from me and starting up another conversation with thedies.


    I began to arrange the wine sses after rinsing, my ears still burning.


    Christy was the only she-wolf that remained neutral when it came to me. She didn¡¯t hit me or pick on me, but she didn¡¯t help out or say nice things to me either. But it was better off than having to take the constant bullying. She was Mario¡¯s mate and Gavin¡¯s stepmother, and she always hung out with Mira and the rest of the women.


    I hoped not to be around the day Christy would find out that Mario had been cheating on her with Mira, because it would inevitably be the same day Father would find out that his Beta was sleeping with his wife.


    It would be a hellish day in the Monhowl pack and I sure would hate to be in the middle of it.


    When I was done with the dishes, I went round the house, checking on everything else that needed to be prepared. Barbara¡¯s clothes were fresh and ironed, preparations for the food wereing along nicely as well.


    Father had uninterestedly given me permission to attend the festival. As a help, of course. I swallowed back the pain. I knew he¡¯d rather burn in hell than introduce me to anyone as a member of his pack, much less his daughter.


    Shaking the sad thoughts out of my head, I procured the cold toast out of the crumpled Ziploc bag and stuffed it into my mouth, the taste of food warming my insides.

 It’s time

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I frowned as I saw Stephan march into my quarters, bowing a little as he faced me. I hated to be disturbed, especially by this time, but I knew that for him to be here, it had to be urgent.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± Stephan bowed again. ¡°I have news I think you¡¯d find interesting.¡±


    I cocked an eyebrow, my breath suddenly hitching. I knew it could only be one thing. For years, I had waited, each weekend, hoping he would return with positive news, or at least a vital piece of information that would be beneficial to my ns. And with the glint in his eyes this time around, I was sure something had finally clicked. Stephan was the scout of the pack and also the spy I had given the task of keeping a close eye on Jonas Verbeck and his family.


    ¡°Spill it,¡± I ordered, my mind running a thousand miles per minute.


    ¡°Verbeck is making ns to organize a massive festive celebration at the pack by hosting different packs and also popr figures in the country.¡±


    ¡°I bowed my head thoughtfully, calcting every possible downside. ¡°What kind of celebration is this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a masquerade party tomemorate his dominance in the world of wolves. And to celebrate the sess of his second daughter, Barbara. This is the perfect opportunity, Alpha.¡±


    I nodded. He was right.


    ¡°When is this celebration supposed to hold?¡±


    ¡°The next full moon,¡± He answered without missing a beat.


    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re dismissed,¡± I stated, waving him off. I needed to go through the entire n again, to eliminate any moves that could cost me this opportunity.


    My chest heaved. After eight years of waiting, it was finally time to execute the n I already mapped out. It had taken all the self control I had to keep from myself from storming off to the Monhowl residence and unleashing my anger on them. Drew had fought against my will to stop me on several asions. That¡¯s when I had begun to n my revenge.


    When Verbeck found out that I had survived the attack, he would obviously be armed and ready, waiting for me to strike, as why vengeful man would. And that would not give me the satisfaction I craved from sweet, cold revenge.


    When years passed in silence, with no signs of the Selene pack barking up Jonas¡¯ door, they would start to rx, let their guard down. And that¡¯s when I would strike; when every memory of Niki de had been wiped from their minds.


    I had already made my personal investigation on Jonas and his family some years back. Surveying the entire territory, I had also drafted up a map of their residence as well. I couldn¡¯t risk my ns falling out of ce by a flimsy loop we hadn¡¯t overseen, so I ced Stephan in charge of spying and gathering more information about them.


    From my research, I had discovered that Jonas had a favorite daughter whom he loved and cherished so much that he wouldn¡¯t trade for anything in the world. I knew my n had to be something that would have such an impact on him that he would have many sleepless nights. Which was why his daughter was the target.


    Running the n through once more, I took out the crisp and now discolored map from the drawer and began to make some markings with a pen. I could recollect some things like the point where the main entrance stood, and the secret passageway that led to Jonas¡¯ main chambers.


    The defense team situated at three points in the area which used to be so tight some years back when Jonas had expected me to barge in for revenge soon after my recovery. After three years, their defenses had started to loosen up. Eventually, it had be so free that Stephan was able to perpetrate whilst bringing back updates each time he returned.


    As I got up to ready myself for the mission, my eyes fell on the portrait of Elle on the wall. Instinctively, my fingers traced the scar on my chest and for a moment, I couldn¡¯t help the vivid images from that day that suddenly began to swarm my mind.


    I shut my eyes tightly, my hand clutching my chest. ¡°I won¡¯t fail you this time, Elle. I promise,¡± I whispered, quickly wiping the tears that dropped from my eyes before anyone could see.


    The longer I stared at the portrait, the more fury bubbled in my chest. The scar in my chest throbbed, as if to remind me of my inability to protect the one I¡¯d loved the most, reminding me of what I needed to do.


    I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.


    The time of vengeance was finally here.

 Beware the wolf

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    It was four days to the full moon. I sat at my bedside window, wondering what the festival would be like. To be in the midst of so many wolves. Everyone in the pack was up and busy making preparations for the moon festival which would consist of different packs assembling together to celebrate the full moon.


    Though my father had organized it to boast about his sess yet again as the world most powerful and influential werewolf, it was also a medium to advertise the bravery of his beloved daughter, Barbara. His daughter who had more blood on her handspared to her peers. Soon she would find her mate, and once again emphasis would be applied on just how much of a perfect daughter she was.


    I readjusted on my bed, sighing heavily. I¡¯m not a wolf anyways, so what business does a mere man have with the moon festival? I shook my head. None of these things were my concern. I was insignificant in the picture and my pack. So I shouldn¡¯t be thinking about things like this.


    ¡°What are you thinking about now?¡±


    I jumped to my feet in a sh, not giving my brain a chance a analyse who the voice belonged to.


    When I saw the smiling figure of Maria, I exhaled, cing a hand on my chest.


    ¡°Did I scare you?¡± Sheughed, moving forward to whip open the curtains.


    ¡°Argh,¡± Iined, shielding my eyes with my hand. ¡°Maria?¡± I pouted.


    She ced her hands on her hips defiantly. ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t! I¡¯ll be darned if I let you sit here and wallow in your self pity all day, Li. It¡¯s a beautiful morning. You should enjoy it.¡±


    I tried to stop the smile that began spread all over my face and failed woefully. ¡°But there¡¯s nothing to do, Nan,¡± I groaned. ¡°Let me stay here.¡± I sank into my pillow, gazing up at her.


    She hadn¡¯t said a word since she was struck in the face by Barbara¡¯s mom yesterday, and I could still see the purple bruise under her eyes, although she had tried to cover it up by wearing herrge, white hat.


    We both always had each other¡¯s back whenever we were treated like  punching bags by the pack. Yesterday, I had expected her toe over to my room so we could discuss and try to make each other feel better. But she had wanted to be alone. Several times Nanny Maria and I would get hit for not handling nearly impossible tasks the way it was required of us. And no one in the pack batted an eyelid. It hurt most because Maria was older than the ones who bullied her; Mira and Barbara. Most of it stemmed from the fact that Nanny Maria had been unable to transform to her wolf her entire life.


    Nanny Maria was the only person I wasfortable keeping a secret with. Each time I needed a shoulder to cry on, she¡¯d turn up and lend me hers. She raised me since I was a kid and  loved me like her very own.


    ¡°Get up, baby girl,¡± She prodded. ¡°What you wearing for the festival?¡± She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me.


    I was so confused I could¡¯veughed. ¡°I¡¯m not going. Why would I?¡±


    She folded her arms. ¡°Nonsense, child. Of course you¡¯re going.¡±


    I shook my head sharply. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be there. I¡¯m not one of them and so I have no business there.¡±


    ¡°Li, your father is celebrating¡­¡±


    I red at her and watched as she tried to stifle augh.


    ¡°Okay. I know that doesn¡¯t count. But please, I need you to go. Besides, it¡¯s a good chance to leave this hell hole,¡± She added, looking round my room, aka cage, in disgust.


    I shook my head stubbornly.


    ¡°Liyah.¡±


    I refused to look up. Whenever she mentioned my full name I knew she was serious.


    ¡°You are 22, and you¡¯ve lived within these walls your whole life. Only the heavens know how long you¡¯ll remain here. And you never get the chance to leave, go out, have some fresh air and breathe. Attending this¡­ festival would be nice for you. You might make friends, who knows? Remember wolves from other packs will be there too.¡±


    I knew she might be right. I didn¡¯t say a word.


    ¡°Please,¡± She begged again.


    I was silent for sometime, considering everything. I did feel suffocated in here. And the festival might be my one and only opportunity to be let off my leash for a day. They would all be so busy they wouldn¡¯t even realize.


    But¡­ what was the point of freedom for a while if it wasn¡¯t going tost?N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I finally responded to my Nan.


    ¡°Yay! Iffy but positive. I think we¡¯re on the right track.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, giving a loudugh.


    Maybe she was right.


    ****


    NIKOLAI¡¯S POV


    Two nights to the full moon, I summoned Drew to my chamber. I had already given him the task of prepare my costume for the forting festival. Everyone was instructed to wear an armor with mask as a dress code, to look like warriors from Greek mythologies.


    ¡°Alpha, you sent for me,¡± Drew said.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I barked, hating that he wasted time with the pleasantries. ¡°Is my costume ready? We have less than three days to the full moon.¡±


    Drew bowed his head a little. ¡°Well, sir, there¡¯s a slight problem with-¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± I interrupted, feeling the depth of my voice go deeper as irritation filled me.


    He could sense the anger in me increasing, as he backed up a little. ¡°Alpha, the costumes aren¡¯t ready yet. I¡¯ve been overlymitted to training for the festival too as your backup defense as you¡¯ve instructed me to do, so I haven¡¯t had time to check up on the worker. They¡¯ll be ready by-¡±


    Before he could finish, I sumbed to the burst of anger raging within me, the left side of my body shifting into my wolf form as I approached him and strangled him with my left hand. ¡°You can¡¯t even handle such a simple task you fucking moron!¡±


    My grip tightened. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you have to do. Just get everything done,¡± I spat, letting him fall to the floor as he had begun to tap my hand frantically.


    ¡°Y-yes, Alpha,¡± He gasped, still clutching his throat.


    I waved him away, settling down in my chair. Anything that seemed like it was going to stand in my way of revenge, be it friend or foe, I wouldpletely destroy.


    I had my ns all set. And I wouldn¡¯t let a flimsy mistake ruin anything. I would carry everything out as nned, and make them all suffer. How my Elle had suffered.

 Kidnapped

    Niki POV


    The moon festival was just a few hours away. I could feel my heartbeat rapidly in my chest. The long wait for my revenge was finally over. Running the n one more time in my head, my eyes scanned the map once more to enable me to recollect all the exit routes.


    I leanedzily on the Van Drew had arranged for us for the kidnap, awaiting Stephan and the others. The material of the costume and mask I wore was made of a scratchy material and I vowed to tear it off my skin once I was done. When they arrived, we got into the car and soon, we reached the road.


    It was a rowdy environment; different packs all over the world gathered to celebrate one man. It was obvious that they werepelled to be here due to Jonas¡¯ reigning terror amongst werewolves. His title of the most superior alpha was not in vain. No one dared to cross or disobey him.


    The festival was about to kick off in a few minutes. I told Drew to move the car straight to the exit route and wait in the car as my backup defence, ordering everyone to turn on their surveince earpiece and set their stopwatch to 45 mins. In case there was a problem, I¡¯d give an emergency signal.


    Stephan and I got out of the car, pulling the mask down our faces and heading towards the main entrance. As it was a big gathering, there were sure to be hordes of security. Luckily, Stephan had already made arrangements with a neighbouring pack to get our gate pass. I hadmended him on the smart move as it had also crossed my mind.


    When we eventually got in, I tapped Stephan¡¯s shoulders, giving him a signal. He nodded in affirmation and walked down the step path into the building to get a clearer view of where the target was.


    It wasrge multi purpose hall with two floors, decorated and designed like a 5 star restaurant with with lowlights and chandeliers on the ceiling and a medium sized table all over with three chairs around it for the invitees, the VIP section was a little close to the podium and it had two chairs around the table each.


    After a while, he waved his two fingers in the air, a signal that Jonas and his family were yet to be seen. He had already counted five men who stood as standby security guards, monitoring every suspicious movement close to the podium. While moving straight to the seats close to the podium as I wasn¡¯t really aware that it was for the VIP¡¯s, two hefty security guards approached me.


    ¡°May we know who your VIP invites are?¡± One asked, looking at me over suspiciously. ¡°Elites with invites are the only ones allowed to sit here sire.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I had no idea,¡± I replied, and walked straight back.


    They exchanged looks and I saw one give the other signals to keep an eye on me. I took a walk around like everyone else did, waiting patiently for themencement of the program. After what seemed like eternities, Jonas walked into the hall. He wore a stiffened linen shirt coloured red with metal armour tes on his shoulder and a bronze breastte covering his chest down to his stomach with greaves covering his legs. He was fully dressed like a soldier from the Roman army, the only thing missing was his helmet.


    He feigned surprise to see therge numbers of people that turned up. Bastard, I cursed him under my breath, gritting my teeth. Fucking bastard. He knew how feared he was among the people. So why was he acting like they were his friends? My eyes travelled to the woman that hung closely by his side, d in a very revealing red dress. I took a wild guess, presuming her to be his wife.


    From where I stood, I couldn¡¯t see her features clearly to ascertain if she looked younger or older. But I couldn¡¯t move closer now, it would draw attention. My anger grew as I watched Jonas walking majestically whilst waving to the crowd as he stepped onto the podium.


    ¡°Wee,dies and gents,¡± He spoke brashly into the microphone. ¡°It is such an honour to have these numberse around to join me in celebration. As you all might have guessed, it is difficult to earn and maintain my dominance as the world¡¯s number one.¡±


    I longed to drag him off the stage and rip him into two. But I stayed calm.


    ¡°And my utmost joy,¡± He continued, stretching out his hand to usher in a new figure on the stage. ¡°Is that my daughter is walking in my footsteps, taking after me.¡± He grinned so wide I thought his lips would tear open. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of her.¡±


    As he finished, a round of pping burst from the crowd. My eyes were still on his daughter. She had on a typical garment worn by women in ancient Rome kingdom, a long piece of cloth fastened about the waist with a belt. Part of the cloth was folded down over the belt to make it appear like it was two pieces of cloth. The fabric she wore was expertly draped around her body and slightly transparent.


    Noting her build and physique, and the long back hair that hung to her back, I saved them to memory. All I had to do now was wait for the right time. I was less concerned about Jonas¡¯ speech, his voice fading into the air while I had my eyes focused on the target, biding my time as I patiently waited for the perfect moment to strike.


    ¡°Champagne, sir?¡± A waiter walked right in front of me and smiled.


    My wolfside was itching to emerge and strangle the living daylight out of the idiot but I tamped it down. No matter what, I couldn¡¯t afford to lose my temper here.


    ¡°Get lost!¡± I  growled. The waiter, seeing the mood I was in, walked away without another minute to spare. I trained my eyes back to the target and discovered she had left. Cursing the stupid waiter who had distracted me earlier, I quickly brought my mouthpiece closer. ¡°Stephan, do you still have eyes on the targ-


    ¡°Hey handsome,¡± I felt someone run a finger over my shoulder. In a sh, I dropped the mouthpiece. Spinning around, my eyes fell on the youngdy who had stood on the podium with her father. I recognized her because she was the only one wearing the transparent fabric with a mask on her face.


    It was almostical. We were looking for her, and here she was flying right into my arms. I yed along, making sure I kept my voice low. ¡°Handsome? How can you tell when I¡¯m wearing a mask?¡±


    Her eyes raked over me and I could see the hunger in them. Moving closer to me, she pressed herself against me and gave a smallugh. ¡°Your body tells me everything I need to know.¡± I aImost shuddered, feeling disgust run through me.


    She was shamelessly throwing herself at me. It made my motive stronger. I faked augh, extricating myself from her unwanted embrace. ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if we dance a little or how about we go somewhere¡­ quiet,¡± She suggested, winking at me and pouting her lips. ¡°It¡¯ll be much more fun I promise.¡±


    I nodded, all the while thinking, of how I would enjoy making her suffer. Shameless bitch.


    She started off towards the back of the hall. ¡°I¡¯m not wearing any underwear,¡± She whispered in what she thought was a sexy voice, motioning me to follow her.


    ¡°Drew, get ready,¡± I said. This was going to be over soon. As I headed in her direction, a small crowd separated us. I cursed, afraid that I had lost her. I looked around frantically. And then I saw her in the distance, past the security guards.


    I noticed her head for the room close to the exit route. Straining my eyes, I saw a sh of her jet ck hair going over a bend. I knew she was moving towards the direction of our exit route where the car was parked. Without wasting any more time, I gave Stephan a signal to follow suit, making sure we weren¡¯t being followed. The area was semi dark, so I shifted into my wolf, ready to strike. I watched from a short distance as she raked her fingers over her hair and sighed. As silent as I could, I stealthily approached her.


    A twig crumpled under my feet, making her jump up in surprise. Her eyes widened. Even in the dark, I could see the fear in her eyes. As she opened her mouth to let out a scream, I grabbed her roughly, pping a hand tightly over her mouth. Not too long after we got to the car, I shifted into my human form, nude. Then I blind folded her with a small piece of cloth, her struggling body making contact with me down below. Instant arousal surged through me, hardening my cock but I ignored the urge. I wanted toplete the task.


    I motioned to Stephan to throw her into the car, as I watched her scream and cry and struggle to escape his grip.¡±Let¡¯s go,¡± I ordered Drew as I got into the car. The girl still sat, shaking as she struggled to free herself.


    The sound of her sobs irritated me so Inded a heavy blow to her face to shut her up. As she fell unconscious, I exhaled. This had been easier than I expected.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    Feasting my eyes on the girl¡¯s now silent form, I tightened my knuckles, exhrated. Now I could avenge my E to the fullest. For every single way they made her suffer, I would make Jonas suffer. When he saw the pain I would put his daughter through, then he¡¯d feel the pain I had felt. And till then I wouldn¡¯t stop. It had only just begun.

 Where am I?

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I shut my eyes from the searing pain that cut through my head as I slowly awakened, trying to take in the unfamiliar surroundings and remember how I got here.


    My vision was blurry, and my memory was slightly fuzzy but I could tell that I¡¯d been unconscious for quite some time. I slowly stood to my feet, to examine the gloomy room. I felt the color drain from my face as I looked it over; dark, dirt crusted walls, and cobwebs loomed all over. And the cell-like door confirmed my suspicion that it was some kind of basement. My father had one just like this, where he used to throw offenders.


    The headache surfaced again, forcing me back to the ground. All I could remember was getting dragged off and bundled into a car, then knocked out by a strange face when I began to protest.


    My heart pounded as I tried to imagine how and why I got here. I scanned the room for escape routes and then I realized something; there was no window, only unevenly poked holes in the the corner of the wall. The absence of a window scared me to death, and all of a sudden I began to feel ustrophobic.


    As I continued to scan the room, my fingers poking through spaces in the walls for any loose ends, my eyesnded on a metal tray. From where I sat I could see that it contained a small piece of bread and some meat.


    I frowned.


    Why would whoever it was that put me in here want to feed me? I wondered, staring at the tray. My stomach rumbled, but I knew it was out of fear and not hunger. At that moment I didn¡¯t feel like eating. I was too tensed. And for all I knew, it could be poisoned.


    Turning away, I continued my search for an exit. My heart leaped in joy as I discovered a small opening. As heavy the the piece of wood was, I managed to lift it up. Hope surged through me when I saw it was some kind of trap door, a flight of stairs leading down below.


    Without wasting time, I bounded down the stairs, moving faster when I saw a wooden door at the end of the stairs. Getting to the door, I realized it was locked.


    ¡°No, no, no!¡± I yelled, my heart falling. I breathed in deeply, drawing myself back and charging at the door with all the strength I could muster.


    I gasped in pain as a tear fell down my cheeks from the impact. Still, it didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°No! Please, please,¡± I cried, banging on the door with both hands. ¡°Somebody help me! Anybody, please I¡¯m trapped in here!¡± I knocked repeatedly until my fists began to ache.


    My fingers worked through the door, trying to find an opening and I struggled, peeking through the tiny hole to check if I could find anyone. But the opening was too small.


    Exhausted from screaming and crying, I fell to the floor. I hadn¡¯t screamed or cried this much since my father¡¯s punishment when I was younger. I had beaten Barbara up for snatching the only neckpiece my mom left me. Father had taken me to the woods and tied me to a tree in the middle of starving wolves, andfortably watched as I screamed on top of my lungs, apologizing and begging for his forgiveness.


    The wolves circled me, snapping their teeth loudly at intervals when they came close, teasing me. It was just a simple test every teenager had to undergo when they turned fourteen, Father had said. If I had no wolf inside of me, the hungry wolves would eat me up. I was twelve and way too young for the test. I was terrified to death, fear and anxiety gripping my whole body that the wolves would do something crazy each time they came closer to sniff me. After that day, I had lost my voice for several days, and kept under the constant care of my nanny.


    Today was different. I had no idea where I was, why I here, or what awaited me. It was even more terrifying.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry, please. I need to eat. The food is stale,¡± I begged, hoping the change of request and my weak voice would prompt my kidnapper to make an entrance.


    But everywhere was silent.


    A sudden bout of anger surging through me, I stamped my feet on the floor, raining blows on the door.


    ¡°This is unfair!¡± I screamed in anger. ¡°I¡¯m innocent and you know it. Show yourself, you coward!¡±


    Every word I said just reverberated, showing me repeatedly that I was alone. I leaned back against the wall, all the energy sapped from me. I wiped the tears dropping down my eyes to my chest with the hem of my dress, trying to face the reality that I¡¯d been kidnapped and abandoned in unknown premises. Everything bad seemed to be happening to me. Maybe I really was useless, just like Father always said.


    His wicked words started to rey in my head. Perhaps he was the one who set up this kidnap just to put me out of the way. He hated me since my birth, but I didn¡¯t think he would go through all this trouble of having me kidnapped. I mean, I¡¯ve stayed twenty one years under his roof, so why would he want to get rid of me now? Especially when I haven¡¯t done anything wrong to anyone in the house for the past few months.


    Different thoughts and questions started to pop into my head about who nned this, who would want a worthless person like me as a hostage? Why would anyone kidnap me? Were they trying to ckmail my father? Maybe ask for a ransom? The though was almostughable. I prayed that whoever it was realize soon that this whole thing was a waste of time and resources, as Father wouldn¡¯t give a shit about this. I could imagine himughing himself to death if someone were to ask him for a ransom. I felt my face harden. That wasn¡¯t the problem now. I was still trying to figure out who it could be.


    Recollecting what happened a night before the moon festival, I could remember vividly well that I was with nanny that night and we discussed for a while. She had somehow managed to convince me to attend the moon festival even when I had zero interest in the event. Something wasn¡¯t adding up at all with all suspicions pointing straight towards Nanny.


    Nanny wouldn¡¯t order anyone to kidnap me just to have revenge on my father for the treatment she received from him and my step sister, or just so I could be free from my father¡¯s terror on me. I mean why would she do that even if that¡¯s the only solution to the problem? She raised me and loved me like I was her own daughter.


    I smacked my forehead. What was wrong with me? Nanny doesn¡¯t deserve such ill remarks especially not from me. She had always been good to me. ming my absurd thoughts on my fear and confusion, I shook my head as if to throw off the thoughts.


    I pondered heavily on regrets. If only I had stayed back at the house. If only I had disobeyed nanny just this once. Father didn¡¯t care about my presence at the festival, unless I wanted to be a waitress at the event, which I was.


    I pped my forehead again. Why didn¡¯t I just stick with my decision for once? I would¡¯ve been home and none of this would have ever happened.


    I stood up onest time, banging the door. ¡°Let me out, please. I have done nothing wrong, whoever you are, wherever you are please just hear me out, okay?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m nothing but a useless piece of crap. If I can¡¯t even be of use to myself or my father, why would I be of use to you?¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Silence.


    ¡°What do you even want from me for God¡¯s sake? Haven¡¯t I had enough already?¡±


    Still there was no indication that anyone was listening.


    My eyes were weary and swollen and still the tears kept flowing. I wiped my runny nose, feeling my throat be sore. I was slowly losing my voice. I pushed my damp hair out of my face and wiped my forehead. As I was about to hit the door again, I heard someone m a door overhead. I jumped up in surprise, hope stirring in me.


    I soon regained strength to knock at the door again. It was a do or die affair for me now. I knocked again, this time heavier, the sound of footstepsing towards me prompting me further.


    ¡°Help!¡± I screamed with everything that was left in me. ¡°Help me, I¡¯m down here! Let me out plea-¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t shut the fuck up, right now I¡¯ll make you wish you were dead!¡± A brash voice echoed through the silence, cutting me off.


    The only thing I could discern was that it wasing from a man. ¡°I¡¯m innocent, I didn¡¯t do anything please,¡± I tried again.


    ¡°Keep quiet and sit your ass down!¡± He growled. The voice had changed; it was louder, deeper, just like a wolfman. I felt the hairs on my back rise. I was kidnapped by wolves. And if they were anything like my father, I probably wouldn¡¯t live to see another day.


    I shrunk back in fear. And there and then, I knew I was doomed, I was done for and there was nothing I could do about it.

 Make her suffer

    Niki¡¯s POV


    Every time I remembered that I had Jonas¡¯ daughter held captive in my basement, I had a rush of two emotions; satisfaction that I hadpleted the first step of my n, and anger. Anger that she was still there, anger that she was alive. She had no right living. No right to still be alive and healthy down there when she should be in pain instead. She should be writhing in pain every second.


    Furious, I raked my fingers through my hair, heading down to the basement to see what condition she was in.


    ¡°Alpha,¡± I heard someone greet me. I half turned to see a woman I didn¡¯t recognize. I frowned. She bowed immediately.


    ¡°Make it quick,¡± I snapped.


    In reply, she loosened her hold on the loose shirt wrapped around her chest. ¡°Last night¡­ w-was amazing,¡± She stammered. ¡°I had no idea you had your eyes on me all this while. Now I¡¯ve figured it out I was hoping this¡­¡± She motioned to herself then me. ¡°¡­ would lead to something truly beauti-¡±


    ¡°Can you shut up?!¡± I cut her off. Why did these women have to be so dumb?


    ¡°If you thinkst night meant anything more than a good hard fuck to calm my nerves down, then you are clearly delusional. Out of my sight before I do it myself,¡± I growled.


    Disappointment clear on her face, I watched her wobble away. I was seriously running out of patience for these women.


    A few momentster, I was at the dungeon. From behind the door, I couldn¡¯t hear anything. It was quiet. Too quiet.


    The basement was dark so it was s little difficult to see. But I could make out the small form of the womanying on the floor. Shey in a position that gave the illusion that she was asleep. But in no time she had sensed my presence. I watched her scramble up and shrink back into the wall in fear, her wild hair sticking up in all directions.


    My eyes roaming the floor, I saw the tray of food I had ordered brought down here for her still sitting there, cold. The food in the tray from the previous day was beginning to rot as well.


    I clenched my fists. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± I spat.


    I had decided that I would let her starve the whole time she was down here. After all she wasn¡¯t here to be pampered. But Drew had convinced me otherwise.


    ¡°How is she supposed to stay alive if she¡¯s not getting anything to eat?¡± He had asked, giving me a puzzled look.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring her here to keep her alive,¡± I spat, wondering why he would even say that.


    ¡°Alpha, I know that. But how would you feel if she died of malnutrition rather than your own hands?¡± He had asked. I had through it through and decided he was right. Since then I had given the order for a small portion of food to be given to her every two days.


    But here she was, all the three trays untouched. I would have forced Drew down here to see what an ungrateful bitch we were dealing with here, but he had travelled off for one of his business meetings.


    ¡°Please, I don¡¯t want anything from you. Just let me go, I beg you,¡± I heard her plead from were she was huddled on the floor.


    ¡°The food isn¡¯t good enough for you?!¡±


    She didn¡¯t reply.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    In anger, kicked the untouched trays of food in the air. ¡°You ungrateful bitch. You think you¡¯re some sort of princess?¡± I¡¯m yelled, watching her flinch with every word I spoke. ¡°The food is too measly for you is it? We¡¯ll see. This is the veryst mean you are going to have.¡±


    I had heard herin about the food thest time, saying it was stale. I had thought that a few days without food would humble her. But clearly, she was still on her high horse. Daddy¡¯s girl who got everything handed down to her.


    I was going to make her suffer. Mind liking one of the guards I had ced in charge of her, I ordered them to stop any food delivery to her.


    ¡°What do you want from me? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong to anyone¡­ please just let me go,¡± She whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks.


    She hadn¡¯t even seen anything yet. It was time to see if the rumors of how powerful a she-wolf she was were true. By the time she stayed a few days without food, her wolf would start to weaken. I wanted to watch her suffer. Suffer till she begins to die, slowly, painfully.


    Walking closer to her, I picked her up by the cor of the dress she was wearing. Her attempts to escape my grip were futile and so she gave up, head bowed as she shivered from head to toe.


    I held her fast by her neck. ¡°The only reason you¡¯re not dead yet is because I want to take my precious time. From tomorrow you will start working upstairs as one of the servants. And if you think of doing anything stupid while you¡¯re up there, I¡¯ll tear you to shreds without a second thought.¡±


    As I spoke, I tightened my grip on her neck, squeezing until her face reddened and she began to tap my arm weakly. I watched in satisfaction, tossing the thought of strangling her to death right now in my head. When she was a few seconds away from slipping into unconsciousness, I let her go.


    I watched as shended with a loud thud, clutching her neck and coughing uncontrobly. Her eyes watered as she looked up at me, still shaking.


    Good. This was just the beginning of her pain. I would bring her down so low to a point she had never been before. All that status, ss and entitlement that came with growing up in a rich home would be reduced to nothing by the time I was through with her.


    I would show that she was nothing. And I wouldn¡¯t stop until she started to believe it too.


    Mind linking the guards toe back to their positions, I exited the room to the sound of her sobbing.

 How bad it is

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    My entire body racked with sobs as I huddled against the wall still shaken from my encounter with my captor. I had had a pretty bad fall when he dropped me, and now I was unable to move my right leg. A tear dropped from my eyes as I tried to twist my foot to the left to see how bad it was. I realized that my ankle had taken the brunt of it.


    I still didn¡¯t get a good look at my kidnapper¡¯s face. The dungeon was just too dark. I had hoped to see his face, to enable me find out if I knew him from anywhere. If he was someone I knew then I would try to recollect why he would kidnap me. But I knew I had no enemies, well unless my pack counts. But apart from them, I hadn¡¯t had any encounter with anyone else that would make them want to punish me like this. The only thing I had made out so far was that he was obviously the Alpha of the pack. I could tell from the way they addressed him. But that wasn¡¯t good news either. It was rare to find a kindhearted Alpha. And I had enough experience to know that. For the hundredth time, I wondered what he was nning.


    Fresh tears making their way onto my face, I thought about how worried Nanny Maria would be. She was the only one who would notice my absence, of course. I had never missed anyone this much. Being in this dungeon and in my Father¡¯s house was quite simr as I felt the same way about it; caged. But at least back home I could go outside, and I had my Nanny to talk to. Here I was no better than the cobwebs that loomed over the ceilings. I wasn¡¯t getting light, or enough air either. I felt like I was dying slowly. Which was why I was a little grateful when he had told me I would be working upstairs. I silently prayed to the Goddess that ¡®upstairs¡¯ was actually outside in the sun or wind, and not just another dungeon.


    I leaned against the wall exhausted just as the the two guards appeared back in the dungeon. They had been keeping an eye on me for a few days now. I still wasn¡¯t sure why. It¡¯s not like I was going to bolt and run off in a house filled with werewolves. I wouldn¡¯t even make it to the door.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you been eating?¡± One of the guards asked, staring at me intently. ¡°Do you n to die off sooner thanter?¡±


    I looked away from him, sighing. Over thest few days I had learned a few things about them. I didn¡¯t know their names, but I knew that one of then was cold, quiet and passive. He usually dished out the threats of biting my head clean off whenever I started to sob while feeling sorry for myself.


    The other was more rxed. He seemed smart and goofy, which was a strange but not unpleasant vibe I had gotten in this ce. But he didn¡¯t particrly care either. In that way he managed to remind me of Christy every single time.


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry,¡± I lied. The real reason was because I feared that it was poisoned. That was obviously the fastest way to take care of everything. Sometimes I was tempted to actually have a bite or two. Maybe it would be best to die of poisoning, everything would end quickly and I wouldn¡¯t have to go through all this pain anymore. But I didn¡¯t want to die like that. What about Maria? What about everything else I wanted to achieve? I had only known pain my entire life, o deserved to experience happiness at least for a while. So I left the trays of food until they began to rot. The smell of rotting food made me retch, but my stomach was so empty that nothing came out.


    The friendly guardughed. ¡°You should be grateful, at least you were getting food. Now you¡¯ve gone and ruined it.¡±


    I kept silent, not knowing what to say to that. Was the food really not poisoned?


    ¡°Why would he feed me when he kidnapped me? You don¡¯t think that¡¯s strange?¡±


    He burst outughing. ¡°You¡¯re cute if you think he would use poisoned food to get rid of you.¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, hoping to get more information from him. I needed to know more about who this person was.


    I saw the other guard give his colleague a stern re. I could tell that he was warning him to keep his mouth shut.


    The friendly guard shrugged at me. ¡°All I can tell you is if he ever decides to feed you again, toss your ego aside and eat. You look like you¡¯re gonna break into two if the wind blows too hard.


    For the first time since I had been here, I felt insecure. I knew I was shedding weight, but the fact that he pointed it out made me more aware of it. And it didn¡¯t feel great. My arms had definitely gotten skinnier. I was d there wasn¡¯t a mirror anywhere. I was sure I would look like death. I felt tired and frail, and it pretty much showed physically.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I murmured. But I knew that was unlikely. I couldn¡¯t see what my kidnapper looked like, but I could feel the anger oozing off him when he had seen the rotten trays of food lying untouched. He was only going to put me to work to tire me out until there was nothing left of me.


    ¡°You okay?¡± The friendly guard asked me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask her that, she¡¯s not your responsibility,¡± The other oneined.


    I shrunk more into the wall.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± He waved his colleague off. ¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what to say so I just stared at them.


    ¡°Just try to get some sleep. You¡¯re gonna have a horrible day tomorrow.¡±


    I wondered how he could sound concerned and unfeeling all at once. But I took his advice. Using my folded arms as a pillow, I shut my eyes tightly, trying not to think of what was in store for me.

 Shut the fuck up!!

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I felt like I had only just shut my eyes to sleep when I felt someone shake me awake. I opened my eyes weakly to see one of the guards looming above me.


    ¡°Get up,¡± He ordered, pulling me up at the same time. As I stood to my feet I sucked in a sharp breath. My ankle was swollen and it looked even worse than yesterday. The guard didn¡¯t look like he cared as he pushed me forward, toward the door. I wobbled to the floor, wondering why the much friendlier guard wasn¡¯t here instead.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    As though he could read my thoughts, he walked in, taking in the sight before him and ring at his colleague before gently holding onto my arm and helping me up. I murmured my thanks, grateful that at least one person didn¡¯t want me dead.


    I took shaky breaths in anticipation as they led me out of the dungeon. Getting out the dungeon wasn¡¯t an achievement, but I was thankful that I at least got to leave. As we got through thest wooden door, I instinctively shielded my eyes from the bright light that filled the room we had just entered. My painful reactionsted for a few moments until I began to adjust to the light. Being in the dark for so long certainly had its effects.


    The guard who held onto my arm gave me a concerned look. ¡°You good?¡±


    I nodded. I froze when we walked into the room fully, my jaw dropping. It was the most exquisite ce I had everid eyes on. The intricate patterns of the paint, the walls, the furniture. It matched the luxury back home too. I couldn¡¯t stop my eyes from roaming, surprise coating my features. Whoever owned this ce was obviously very well of. Initially I had included abduction for ransom in the possible reasons why I had been kidnapped. But now, I knew it couldn¡¯t be it. The upants of this ce obviously didn¡¯tck money. So what was it? My fear deepened. If they weren¡¯t nning to ask for ransom then why? A thousand thoughts floated through my head all at once.


    I let them as they led me outside. When the cool breeze hit my face, in inhaled my first real breath since I had been here. My chest began to hurt and I began to dawn on me just how bad it was for me down in that dungeon.


    Grateful, I fell to my knees, filling my lungs with the clean air. The other guard hissed, walking to my side and pulling me up. Roughly, he pulled me towards the corner of the house anding to a stop in front of a wall.


    ¡°Up there,¡± He growled when I gave him a questioning look.


    I looked up to see the chimneys lining the more vintage houses lined up outside.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be cleaning them,¡± The guard announced before I could ask. I had cleaned chimneys back home but never four in one day. And with how exhausted I felt, I feared that I would copse. But I knew it would be asking for trouble if I began to protest, so I rolled the sleeves of my dress up and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the entrance?¡±


    The two of them started at me in surprise but quickly hid it. Apparently, one was supposed to guard me to make sure I didn¡¯t do anything stupid. I almost cried with joy when the friendly guard began to lead me to my work station, handing me a steel bucket and a broom.


    He led me to the roof and I almost gasped at how thick the soot was. Without wasting time I began to brush it all down with the broom, pausing at intervals to catching my breath. I could feel his eyes burning my back as he watched me work.


    ¡°Elyan,¡± I heard him say all of a sudden. I stopped working, turning to him in confusion.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my name,¡± He replied. ¡°Now, back to work.¡±


    I nodded. Atst the friendly guard had a name to his face. I wasn¡¯t sure what his motive of being nice to me were, or if he even had a motive to begin with, but I epted it all without a word.


    After long minutes of furiously brushing, I faced him. ¡°Now I have to sweep up the firece before we proceed to the next one.¡±


    I saw the same glint of surprise sh in his eyes again, but still he said nothing, leading me down the roof instead.


    I caught sight of a group of young children ying a few feet away from where I stood and my heart leaped. Finally, people doing normal activities. I wondered where they came from. If these people were a pack then possibly the children were kids of some of the members or so. A smile creeped onto my face when one of the kids turned in my direction, waving at me excitedly. Without thinking, I waved back confused. A nudge from Elyan prompted me to move forward, which I did.


    I eyed the luxurious living room as I walked in. Every room in this house was better than thest, it was crazy. Suddenly getting an idea, I faced Elyan. ¡°Nice ce,¡± Imented, focusing on my work. I needed to make him think I was only trying to make small talk.


    ¡°Mm hmm,¡± He agreed.


    I nodded, thinking of the best way to phrase my question. ¡°If your boss is so wealthy then what does he want with someone like m-¡±


    ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± Elyan surprised me by yelling. He sounded so much like the man that had tried to strangle me that I shrunk back in fear. ¡°Don¡¯t try to cross your boundaries,¡± He added sternly.


    I nodded quickly turning to my work. Maybe they were all the same? Why did I think I would get anything from Elyan, I wondered pping my forehead for being so stupid.


    I would have to find another way to get information.

 No one cares

    Jonas¡¯ POV


    I stared appreciatively at therge portrait of myself that had been presented to me by a group of alphas on the moon festival. I would have liked it bigger than it was, but I kept it because it was a sign of respect from those packs. A smirk fleeted onto my lips. It¡¯s not like they had had a choice anyway. I would have any pack which didn¡¯t present a gift to myself or my daughter eliminated. The consequences of attempting to cross me were too dire.


    ncing at the portrait onest time, I settled down into my chair. All my years of hard work had definitely paid off. I was basically untouchable. To crown it all, another achievement hade in the form of my daughter. I was sure there wasn¡¯t any father who was prouder of his child. Every time I watched her train, or emerge as the winner inbat, especially with male werewolves, I blessed the Moon Goddess for giving her to me. She was vicious, ruthless and powerful; everything I had ever wanted in a child. There were quite a few things she needed to learn of course, and I would handle them when it was time.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    All of a sudden, I heard someone shriek. I frowned. They knew I hated unnecessary noise in the house unless they were training or brawling. Listening more closely, I could hear Barbara yelling at someone.


    Sighing, I mindlinked her toe see me. Almost immediately she was in the living room, a servant trailing behind her.


    ¡°Daddy,¡± She pouted, clinging to my shirt. ¡°I hate it here.¡±


    My ears pricked. Did anyone do something to her? Making her face me, I asked, ¡°Did someone hurt you? Or say something to you?¡±


    She shook her head.


    ¡°You sure?¡± I would only be too happy to execute anyone who try to harm my baby girl. ¡°What is it then?¡±


    She sighed. ¡°They are stressing me out so fucking much. This morning, that Liyah girl had the guts to keep me waiting. And she knows how important my morning routine is for me. When I see her I¡¯m going to snap her neck.¡±


    I beamed at her words. She¡¯s just like her father.


    I had already begun to feel irritated at the mention of that girl¡¯s name. Quickly my irritation turned to anger. She had one job, just one job. Was it so difficult to carry out?


    ¡°Where is she?¡± I growled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± She replied still pouting.


    ¡°Get another servant to attend to you,¡± I pleaded. Liyah wasn¡¯t worth all this fuss. The punishment I would mete out to her would make her regret ever stressing my daughter out.


    As Barbara exited the living room, a woman dressed in servant¡¯s garb walked in bowing a little. I wondered who would have the guts toe in here and stand before me without my summon.


    ¡°G-good day, s-sir,¡± She stammered, bowing again. I could hear the tremor in her voice. Good. It cooled my anger, that was what I desired; the fear that oozed out of them while they were in my presence.


    ¡°What business do you have here?¡± I barked at her, watching her grip onto her dress. When she finally looked up, I finally recognised her as the Nanny. A frown fleeted to my face. She was a merewoman. Disgusting groups of werewolves that brought shame onto their family by never being able to transform, although they were birthed by purebreeds. I red at her, she was nothing more than a human with werewolf parents, and I would have killed her off by now but she was hired by my mate years ago and I respected my mate by keeping the nanny she had hired.


    ¡°Well, I, it¡¯s just that-¡±


    ¡°Get to the damn point!¡± I was losing my patience already.


    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s about Liyah. She has been missing since the night of the moon festival, and I am worried that something might have happened to her. I had her in sight the night of the festival but then she had gone outside to get some fresh air and I didn¡¯t see her again. Maybe if we could send a search party¡­¡± She looked up at me hopefully.


    I watched her closely to see if she was actually being serious. When I saw hope dawn on her face, I roared withughter. Iughed so much that tears threatened to spill out of my eyes.


    ¡°A search party? This woman, I should hire you as my personal jester.¡±


    The look of mixed surprise and confusion that shed across her face only made meugh harder.


    ¡°Get back to work, Maria, or I swear by the Goddess you won¡¯t live to see the dawn of another day.¡± Imanded. Bowing shortly, she hobbled out of the living room, and I could hear her try to muffle the sobs that had began to escape her. Foolish woman. I decided that if she ever came to me about something as stupid as this, I would through her out for the wolves to feed on her. I wondered what she had been expecting from me.


    I let out another loudugh. A search party. Liyah could be gone for months and I wouldn¡¯t even notice. She was such an insignificant part of this household and the only reason why I hesitated each time I wanted to execute her was to honor the memory of her mother, my mate. Liyah was nothing but a curse, to myself, her mother, and everyone around her. To crown up the shame, she was a merewoman as well. And I would rather die than acknowledge that she was anything other than a mistake.


    Iughed again. I just hoped she was gone for good. If the goddess permitted she would be probably be dead somewhere, or already devoured by wolves. Good riddance. Shaking my head once more, I exited the living room and began my morning skim through the training grounds.

 All the same

    Niki¡¯s POV


    My frown deepened as I observed her from my bedroom window. I didn¡¯t understand any of it. She had been working consistently, no food or water, but she never hesitated, neverined even once. It angered and surprised me at the same time. Why was she so calm about everything? It made me wondered if she had a escape n. I had tried to torture the truth out of her, but every single time she just ended up a sobbing mess, begging at my feet. That didn¡¯t seem like someone who had a n.


    As I watched her turn the cloth she was using to scrub the walls of the old balcony, i had never felt so confused in my entire life. She worked without ceasing, not stopping for once to catch her breath until her work wasplete. I hated the fact that it she seemed toplete each task effortlessly. I wondered if she was only doing it to spite me. And it angered me thinking she wasn¡¯t going through any sort of pain. I needed to find other methods of making her suffer because I saw that she wasn¡¯t going through enough pain. Kicking my desk down in frustration, I exited my room.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    If I hadn¡¯t done just as much work as I was doing right now in my father¡¯s house, I might have slumped and died by now. The work was difficult but familiar, and the fact that I was at least getting fresh air and sunlight was a bonus. By now, Elyan had seen all he needed to so he no longer showed any sign of surprise when he watched me work. On the contrary, I perceived that he was bored now. He would just sit and wait until I was done and then lead me back to the basement.


    So I neverined. Sometimes it felt like my insides were burning from how long I¡¯d been starving. My throat was parched as well but still I neverined. Sometimes I hoped I would just copse and never wake up again, but I knew that was aiming too high. The chances that I would get such an easy, painless death were quite unlikely. So I gave up that wish and kept working everyday.


    I squeezed therge cloth I was using to scrub the balcony and nearly cried out in pain as the weight of the cloth took weighed my arm down.


    That was how tired I was. To avoid further punishment, I swallowed back the pain and continued scrubbing. Am hourter, I was done. I washed the rag with clean water, putting it to dry on a line that hung over my head.


    As I turned to dispose of the waste water, my eyes fell on one of the children; it was the little boy that had waved at me the other day. The smile that had begun to my face faltered as I watched him have a bad fall as one of the kids chased after him. The yell of pain that escaped his lips sent a chill through my spine as he sat up crying from the pain in his knee. The stone he hadnded on had cut deep into his knee, leaving an open gash.


    Without thinking, I raced to the back of the balcony where I had seen some servants growing herbs the day before. Picking out the ones I needed, I rushed back and headed to where to little boy was seated, ignoring the yelling from Elyan as he followed after me.


    I helped the boy up, ced him on myp and squeezed out the juice from the herbs I was rolling. If my guess was right then he was still a pup, so definitely his healing abilities wouldn¡¯t be strong enough yet. I saw Elyane to a stop by my side. He made to yank me up but paused when he saw what I was doing.


    After a while, the boy had stopped crying.


    ¡°Does that feel better?¡± I asked him, wiping his face with two of my fingers. He nodded. I continued to massage to juice into the gash and the area around it until it was better. All I needed to do now was find some bandage to help seal everything in.


    The rage-filled look on Elyan¡¯s face when I looked up to ask him if I could get any bandage chilled me to the bones. And I realized that I had gotten myself into trouble. I had abandoned my work station without permission and now I was going to get punished for it.


    ¡°I-I just¡­¡± I stammered, bowing my head.


    Before he could say anything, a woman had rushed to where we stood. She was tall, intimidating, and the most beautiful woman I had everid eyes on. I was so caught up in moping at her that I nearly forgot about the issue at hand.


    She quickly yanked the little boy away from my arms. ¡°Don¡¯te anywhere near my son!¡± She said, looking the boy over for any further signs of injury.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    My eyes stung. I was only trying to help. I looked up to see Elyan staring me down, anger still visible in his eyes. Was it so wrong to have helped him out?


    ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry¡­¡± I began to say to her. But Elyan had already yanked me up, grabbing me roughly and dragging me back into the house and down the basement.


    ¡°No!¡± I yelled, tears beginning to form in my eyes. ¡°Please don¡¯t put me back down the, I-I¡¯m sorry it won¡¯t happen again,¡± I begged.


    But my please fell on deaf ears. He tied both my hands behind me with some kind of string, and pushed me roughly to the ground.


    ¡°What the hell! You clearly have a death wish, why on earth would you do that?!¡±


    My eyes watered from the pain in my wrists. ¡°I was j-just trying to help, I didn¡¯t mean to cause any troub-¡±


    ¡°You would have put yourself and everyone else in trouble if he had seen youying hands on a pup. Are you fucking crazy?¡±


    I kept silent, tears streaming down my face. I was getting reprimanded for helping a little boy¡¯s wound heal faster. That was my offence. I was practically a ve here. I was working, I was starving, but when I helped a member of their pack out, I suddenly became the viin. They were all the same. All the same.


    Silently, I slid to the floor, ignoring the pain in my wrists and letting the tears fall.

 Rage and scruffles

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I swerved my car into the opening beneath the cluster of trees, parking as quietly as I could. When I was done, I carefully made my way out of the car and moved toward my destination. I had to be quick this time as I had almost gotten caught thest time. The risks associated with my escapades were very high, but I couldn¡¯t just sit back and do nothing.


    My brows furrowed in confusion when I came to face a wide field of nothing but empty space. Had they changed their minds? I was a hundred percent sure that they were supposed to be here. Unconvinced, I roamed round the field trying my best to be as quiet as possible. When I located a small cave-like opening in a nearby wall, I quickly transformed, ready to defend myself against any possible attack. I moved through the passage way quickly. There was no time. When I finally caught sight of arge piece of canvas covering what looked like a vehicle, I rushed to it, quickly pulling it off.


    My face paled at the sight. A group of not less than twenty werewolves sat, shoulders humped in the back of a jail wagon. This time women and children had been included. They shivered in pain at intervals from the silver cuffs that were sped around their hands and feet; which was designed to weaken them.


    Anger burned through me as I swore internally. Jonas just keep adding to the list of reasons why I would not stop until I hunted him down and shred him into pieces. When I first discovered this, I was just two years in mourning of my precious Elle and I really didn¡¯t care. But I knew it was something Elle would have wanted me to do. When I learned that Jonas Verbeck was behind it, it had given me more incentive. Jonas Verbeck had started the business of kidnapping and trafficking werewolves for profit, even more so when they were women and children. He specialized in weaker werewolves and younglings who were yet to transform into their wolf. When he had secured them he would torture them using silver to weaken their wolf and make sure they would never be strong enough. And then he would sell them off as servants and sex ves.


    One night, a year ago after I had gotten all the information about how they operated and where their hideout was, I had begun to n. They usually kidnapped, tortured, ced them in a cell or anything of the sort, and then leave them there for a few hours. When they were ready to do business, they woulde back for themter that night. My n was to find out where they were held, be there a few hours before Jonas¡¯ men, then free them and carry them off to a safehouse.


    Inevitably, Jonas¡¯ men had discovered that someone was interfering with their business ns and they had began to change their locations. But I still discovered it every time.


    With no time to spare I kicked down the door of the jail wagon. The werewolves were to weak go to protest so theyy there, listless. The first thing I did was break the cuffs off their hands and feet. Some of them had already begun to bleed from the pain. My heart beat faster as I walked past, breaking the cuffs from each person. As I neared thest few ones, the sound of someone walking in stopped me dead in my tracks. I had been found.


    Deciding that I¡¯d die first before I let any member of the Monhowl pack get through me, I began to transform into my wolf.


    ¡°Stop!¡± I heard a gruff voice call out. ¡°We don¡¯t have time, they are on their way and we have to be quick. They will soon be able to sniff us out so we need to work fast.¡± The voice which I had now identified with the face of a man around my age.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± I spat still looking him over warily.


    ¡°That is not important at the moment. You want to save these people and so do I. Now if you¡¯d stop asking questions we can get moving.¡±


    Without waiting for my response, he waved his men forward. ¡°Put them in groups, and drive quickly to the safehouse!¡± He barked, walking forward and breaking the silver cuffs off thest few people.


    ¡°How do you know where the safe house is?¡± I asked, still confused. I had been as secretive as possible. I didn¡¯t know if I could trust him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you,¡± He replied simply. ¡°And you can decide not to trust me but right now you have no choice.¡±


    I felt my jaw tic as he turned away. Although it pained me to admit, I couldn¡¯t argue the fact that he was right.


    He waved his men away as they carried the weakened wolves in groups and a few seconds after, I could hear the sound of their vehicles as they drove off, leaving me with the strange man.


    As I made to question him, footsteps began to approach us. Saving my interrogation forter, I quickly transformed into my wolf, ncing at him as he did the same. The light brown fur of his wolf was one I didn¡¯t recognize either.


    Soon, the wolves of the Monhowl pack trickled into the cave. My ears burned with disappointment when I noted that Jonas was nowhere to be found amongst them.


    When the wolf in charge saw the jail wagon bare he quickly charged. I easily threw off the first wolf that flew at me, knocking him out so hard that he fell against the wall with a whimper. I looked over to see the strange guy shing through them, and I marveled at his bored expression. Who the hell was this guy?


    As we finally got through every single one of them, we made for the exit only to be swarmed by arger group.


    We both retreated in shock. My first reaction to the sudden pain in my abdomen was shock as I looked down to see a silver knife buried deep in it. The second blow followed almost immediately as I found myself flying toward the wall. The cracking sound of my arm fracturing made me groan out in pain. Before I could recover, I was surrounded by a group of wolves. I tried to block off their blows with my arms as theynded blow after blow to every part of my body. I could feel my bones cracking as blood oozed out of my mouth. My wolf slowly began to weaken and I felt myself begin to shift into my human form. I didn¡¯t want to end like this. It would mean letting Jonas win. I couldn¡¯t let that happen¡­ But I found myself weakening by the second.


    All of a sudden I felt myself being dragged away. Too weak to fight, I started to struggle. But stopped when I saw that it was the strange man from earlier that was pulling me toward an exit. He had shifted to his human form and half his face was coated in blood and his lip was busted.


    I managed to run as fast as I could until we were safely hidden in a cluster of trees.


    ¡°Can you walk?¡± He whispered. I ignored the pain shooting up my body and nodded.


    He gave a short nod.


    Before I could turn to thank him, he had vanished.


    Weak but determined, I located the spot where I had parked my car. Finding it, I got in and began to drive home. I couldn¡¯t let Jonas win¡­ I wouldn¡¯t. I would die first before that happens.


    My vision was beginning to blur and the burning in my abdomen was increased twofold. But still I drove on.


    Breathing with difficulty, I veered into the familiar road that would lead me home. I could feel my hand weakening on the steering, but I held steady. After a few moments of reckless driving, I made it.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Pushing the gates open with thest bit of strength, I had, I wobbled in. Thest thing I saw was pitch ck before my knees gave way.

 For the hundredth time

    Annalise¡¯s POV


    My eyes darted toward the gates for the hundredth time today as I tried to keep myself busy with organising the training ground. It was still quite early in the morning. It wasn¡¯t the first time he was doing this but that didn¡¯t change how furious I felt. I had awakened this morning to see that Niki was nowhere to be found, and I knew he didn¡¯t have any business meetings because he would have told me. When I didn¡¯t find his car as well I knew he had done it again.


    He would just leave all of a sudden unannounced. Sometimes I wondered if I would keep bothering to try if we weren¡¯t blood rted. Everything had changed when his mate had died. He had gone from loving and engaging to cold and passive, and I understood why. I wanted to be there for him, we all did. But he pushed everyone away. Sometimes I couldn¡¯t recognise the cold-hearted person he had be.


    But the day Elle had died, I had sworn never to give up on Niki, no matter how much I wanted to, or how much he pushed me away. Because no matter how much he changed, I had faith that my cousin and best friend was still in there somewhere. And so I stayed.


    As my eyes strayed to the gates again, I saw a limp figure push through them, sway on the spot for a few moments and then copse. I sped forward when I recognized the figure as Niki. I gasped in shock when I saw his battered face. I quickly mindlinked Colton and the others, turning Niki¡¯s limp body to the side so it would be easier for us to carry him inside. It was then that I saw the silver dagger buried in his abdomen.


    ***


    ¡°Shit. No, no, no,¡± I raked my fingers through my hair, pacing round the room. ¡°What do you mean you can¡¯t heal him?¡± I asked the Healer the for the third time in the past ten minutes.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    She sighed, recing the hot towel she had ced on Niki¡¯s forehead. ¡°His wolf is just too weak, it¡¯s dying slowly. And if his healing abilities aren¡¯t even a little bit active, everything else will be in vain.¡±


    I felt tears about to swarm my eyes. We couldn¡¯t lose our Alpha. I had no idea what to do. I tried to control my shaky hands. ¡°So what do we do, now?¡± I asked, ncing up the rest of the pack members.


    Colton heaved a sigh. ¡°We could search for a different healer toe try¡­¡±


    ¡°Or maybe just wait for him to heal on his own,¡± Scott added.


    I red at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you see the silver is killing him?!¡± I snapped, more sharply than I had intended to.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I just don¡¯t know how¡­¡±


    I raised my head sharply, a memory shing through my mind. That girl. That prisoner girl had healed Jeremy somehow the day he had that bad fall. Maybe¡­


    I shook my head. Niki would be furious. We couldn¡¯t¡­


    ¡°What are you thinking of?¡± Scott asked, eyeing me curiously.


    I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s an extremely terrible idea. The consequences would be dire.¡±


    The Healer turned to me. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it, he¡¯s dying slowly.¡±


    I nodded, quickly recounting to them everything that had happened between the prisoner girl and my son. When I got to my suggestion, their eyes widened in surprise.


    Colton spoke first. ¡°He¡¯s going to have us all executed.¡±


    I rubbed my forehead. ¡°I know, I know. That¡¯s why I said it was a bad idea. If he even finds out she was anywhere near him he would flip.¡±


    I felt like tearing at my hair. This was exactly why I needed Drew around. I couldn¡¯t make these type of decisions on my own, it was extremely difficult. Drew would know how to handle it, what to do. I felt so helpless. Casting one more look at Niki¡¯s helpless form, I made my decision.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to bring her up.¡±


    The rest nodded.


    Just then Elyan walked in and I briefly walked him through everything. He looked like I had just punched him in the gut when I told him about my n. And I was so nervous that I nearlyughed at his horrified expression. When I was done, he nodded. ¡°We need to save the Alpha at all costs. But what about the girl?¡±


    My brows furrowed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You think she¡¯s gonna be willing to help someone who kidnapped and has been torturing her for a while now?¡±


    I froze. I hadn¡¯t thought of that.


    ¡°Then we don¡¯t,¡± Colton said, making both Elyan and I turn to him. He nodded. ¡°She is imprisoned, and in our territory. She wouldn¡¯t dare to question our orders.¡±


    My brows puckered as I thought it through. She was a prisoner, and I¡¯m pretty sure Niki¡¯s intimidating presence would have taught her to fear the members of this household by now. And if she tried to y smart, I knew very well how to handle her.


    ¡°And the dungeon is dark as a moonless night,¡± Elyan offered when he saw my brooding expression. ¡°I doubt she would recognise him.¡±


    Everyone was silent for a few moments. My face set, I turned to Elyan. ¡°I¡¯m going to regret this but, take me to her.¡±


    He nodded, leading me as we hurried down the basement.

 Eat up

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    The binds on my wrists pierced deeper into my skin as I struggled to sit up, pushing my back harder against the wall. I readied myself for what was in store for me, scared for myself but still not regretting helping that little boy.


    In the ce of my captor, I saw a beautiful woman walk in. Trying to look through my blurred vision, I recognized her as the woman from the day before, Elyan trailing behind her.


    ¡°Get up,¡± She ordered as she got to where I stood. I obeyed. Thest thing I wanted was another round of punishment.


    My ears burned as she looked me over. For some reason I felt so small andfortable standing next to her intimidating form. A few momentster she motioned Elyan to release the binds, and I gasped from thebination on pain and relief when they fell off.


    ¡°You have orders from our superior to heal one of the members who is wounded. It should be done quickly and by the hour.¡±


    My brows furrowed as I turned to her confused. I was shocked that he would permit me to eveny my hands on any member of his household, more so to heal them. And why did they think I was a healer? I looked up to ask but the stern expression on her face stopped me.


    So I nodded.


    As Elyan grabbed me and began to lead me out of the basement, I was held back by a firm grip. I turned to see the the woman ring intently at me. ¡°And if you try to harm him or do anything stupid, rest assured you won¡¯t live to see another day.¡±


    I could only nod. Before long, I was whisked out the basement and into a room in a secluded part of the house. I had told them I needed to see how bad the wound was to know what herbs I needed. They led me into the room, upied by a woman who looked to be in her fifties, and a tall figurein across the bed, a hot towel on his face.


    I could only catch a glimpse of his plump lips which were beginning to pale. Quickly, I examined him, noting that most of his bones were fractured. But I knew it wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. The real problem was the silver dagger buried in his abdomen. It looked like it had been stuck in there for so long, the area around it had started to turn ck.


    ¡°W-we need t-to take out the dagger,¡± I whispered, the res I was receiving from all over the room making me ufortable.


    ¡°What was that?¡± One of the men barked at me.


    ¡°The dagger¡­¡±Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°For fuck sakes are you dumb?¡± He roared at me again. My grip on my dress tightened as tears threatened to spill from my eyes.


    ¡°Hey!¡± The elderly woman back. ¡°All of you, out! Can¡¯t you see you¡¯re scaring her?¡±


    They all muttered amongst themselves, and then grudgingly they filed out of the room. I felt like I could finally breathe. Turning to the elderlydy, I thanked her.


    She nodded. ¡°I know you need a clear head to work.¡±


    Nodding, I moved my hand over the wound, pressing the skin and pulling the dagger out with thest bit of strength I had.


    The elderly woman held my waist in support to stop me from falling over.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll need some herbs from the back.¡±


    She assented, quickly leading me to the back of the house. When we came back in, she silently watched as I grinded the different herbs I had procured. I needed to prepare a concoction that would help take the silver out of his blood. If that was done, his wolf would strengthen and help heal his broken bones. I exined all of this to the elderly woman and she only nodded, watching me carefully with what seemed like awe in her eyes.


    Convincing myself that I was misreading her expression, I proceeded to the manid on the bed. Swirling the mixture I had prepared in a small ss, I carefully pulled off the hot towel ced on his face.


    My breath caught in my throat when his face came into view, and for a moment I could feel myself swoon. I couldn¡¯t help but stare. His ck hair, although disheveled and damp with perspiration, clung to the top of his forehead and temple in tiny swirls, framing a defined face, thick eyebrows and a day-old stubble. I swallowed with difficulty, and for a slight moment I longed to see what color his eyes were.


    Struggling to focus on the job at hand, I carefully tipped the cup to his lips letting some of the mixture run into his mouth and spill on his chest. Scared of being reprimanded, I quickly wiped it away. It was then that I saw the long scar running across his chest. I curiously ran my fingers over it but then catching myself, I returned to my work.


    I massaged the rest of the mixture in the area around his wound, pressing against it so that the silver contaminated blood would flow out with ease. My hands shook as I worked on his body until the sallow began to fade and his vibrant bronze skin came into view. I had never seen anyone so gorgeous.


    When I was done, I felt the rag drop from my hand as I nearly copsed onto the floor. The woman was at my side in a second. She gave a wide smile as she looked over at the man who had begun to breathe with ease.


    Turning back to me, she asked, ¡°When was thest time you had something to eat? You look like death.¡±


    I didn¡¯t remember so I said nothing.


    She gently helped me up,ying me on a sofa and exiting the room. I nearly sobbed in pain when I realized she might have gone to summon Elyan to take me back to the dungeon.


    To my surprise she returned bearing arge tray. She ced it in front of me, helping me up and tipping a ss of cold water to my lips. I dly opened up, flinching from the pain when the water filled my mouth. My throat was so parched it hurt to swallow.


    The woman watched with pity-filled eyes as I greedilyunched at the roast chicken and potatoes, downing the bowl of chicken soup in nearly one gulp. It was as though I had forgotten what food tasted like.


    ¡°Why are you crying, dear?¡± The woman asked, cing a hand on my shoulder.


    And true to her words, I was. ¡°I-I guess I¡¯m just really tired¡­¡± I trailed off, trying unsessfully to wipe away the tears that filled my eyes as I ate.


    The woman gave me a curious look, and I thought I saw concern sh in them for a moment. ¡°Eat up,¡± She smiled, rubbing my shoulders gently.


    I listened to her words, gulping down another cup of water and sparing onest nce at the man on the bed.

 Mate

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I quicklyy back down when a sharp pain tore through my head as I tried to stand up. I was aware that my abdomen stung and that I was sweating. I could remember being stabbed with silver. With difficulty I tried to remember the events of the past few hours. I remembered going on that mission to save those people, meeting a strange man, and getting battered by the Monhowl pack.


    My heart thumped as I thought of the freed werewolves. The strange man had imed to know where my safehouse was and then I had had no choice but to trust him. I needed to check and make sure they were really safe there, and not just enved to a different master.


    Turning with difficulty, I faced the other presence in the room. Margaret, the Healer of the pack, sat up straight with a panic stricken expression I could not understand.


    ¡°Alpha, thank the goddess you¡¯re awake,¡± She said, bowing.


    I observed her carefully. She looked relieved to see me awake, but I could sense how disoriented she was feeling. As she made to move toward the door, I stopped her. ¡°Stay.¡±


    She nodded, shuffling back to her position.


    Almost immediately, I felt another presence walk into the room. As the form of a young woman approached my bed, I realized that I had not been dreaming when I noticed a woman looming over me as I drifted in and out of consciousness.


    As my eyes captured her ice blue ones, I froze.


    ¡®Mate.¡¯ My wolf whispered from inside me. I felt my heart begin to beat rapidly in my chest.


    When Elle died, it felt like my wolf did too, in the sense that I had sort of lost my connection with my wolf. We nevermunicated anymore, although I was still conscious of him.


    When my eyes fleeted back to the young woman, I decided that I had never seen a more beautiful creature. Her ck hair cascaded down her back and hung to her waist. When her full though small lips parted in surprise, I felt a fire race through me and all I wanted was to take her right there and then.


    When she raised her right hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, my eyes flew to her bruised wrists. A realization began to dawn on me and still I denial, my eyes raked her in one sweep. The ragged white dress, the paleplexion, the bruises. The fear on Margaret¡¯s face.


    I let out a deafening growl, jumping up from the bed and clutching her by the throat. ¡°Who did this?!¡± I roared, turning to Margaret.


    ¡°A-alpha,¡± She stammered.


    Tearing my gaze away from her for the meantime, I faced the girl. ¡°How dare youy your filthy hands on me?¡±


    I could feel the anger and disgust run through me as I grabbed her, ignoring the shock and fear in her eyes. As I got to the basement, I shoved her to the floor.


    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?!¡±


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡±


    The tear that trickled down her cheeks only infuriated me.


    ¡°It seems like you¡¯re forgetting where you are,¡± I hissed.


    She kept her head bowed, shaking from head to toe. I yanked a fistful of her hair, forcing her to look up at me. ¡°You have just a few days to live, and if you¡¯d like to keep bringing your execution date forward with this stupid behaviour of yours, I will dly oblige.¡±


    I pushed her backward into the wall, mind linking Elyan to return to his his position. I met him scurrying in at the door. I grabbed the front of his shirt in anger, bringing him closer. ¡°If something like this ever happens again, I¡¯ll cut you up in pieces and toss you in the ocean.¡±


    I marched back up to my room, mind linking the rest of them. They were already seated there waiting.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± I asked.


    Annalise spoke first. ¡°Alpha, I knew you wouldn¡¯t like it but it was my idea t-¡±


    ¡°To the fucking point, Anna!¡±


    She apologized, nodding. ¡°You were stabbed. The silver was beginning to seep into your blood. And the Healer couldn¡¯t do much. I had seen the girl heal little Jeremy by the use of herbs so-¡±


    I stared at her, astonished. ¡°Jeremy? You let her touch Jeremy?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that,¡± She defended. ¡°She was just trying to help him. I suggested that we give her a chance, you were dying, Niki.¡±


    I red at her. She knew I hated it when anyone called me Niki. ¡°I would¡¯ve healed on my own. You do know why she¡¯s here in the first ce right?¡± I asked, the anger slowly being reced by pain.


    They all bowed their heads and kept silent.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Anna finally said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about your apologies. This is why I need Drew around. Drew would never do something so stupid or thoughtless.¡±


    I saw her cheeks redden. ¡°It might interest you to know, Niki, that I¡¯m trying my very best. And who knows maybe if you actually started paying attention you would see that.¡±


    I watched Colton nudge her arm sharply. He was warning her to back down. They knew just how quickly my rage could escte. But I knew my cousin better. Annalise would not back down now. I could see the growing anger and defiance in her eyes.


    ¡°Get out!¡± I barked.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Giving short nods, they all shuffled out. Annalise red at me for a few more moments. ¡°I have no idea who you are,¡± She spat, finally exiting and banging the door behind her.


    I tore at my hair when I was finally alone. The memory of my wolf speaking a while ago still scared me. Maybe I had been imagining it all. She couldn¡¯t be my mate. That couldn¡¯t be. I had just been hallucinating.


    The pain in my abdomen finally taking a toll on me, I plopped down on my bed and tried to somehow erase today¡¯s memories out of my mind.

 Heat

    Jonas¡¯ POV


    Inded a swift punch to his jaw before he could finish exining. I had not been this furious for a long while now, and if this wasn¡¯t of utmost importance, I might have enjoyed the rush of anger.


    Hended to the floor as Inded the second blow, knocking a few teeth out of his mouth.


    ¡°A-alpha w-we didn¡¯t expect them to-¡±


    Before he could finish I ced all my weight on his chest, pressing down until he couldn¡¯t breathe. Still furious, I beckoned the guards. ¡°Heat up the furnace!¡±


    Before I was finished talking they had run off to obey mymands. I red at my gamma who stilly crumpled on the floor.


    I pulled him to his feet easily. ¡°You had just one job, you ipetent idiot! One job! What kind of idiots do I have around me? Do I have to do every fucking thing myself?!¡±


    He whimpered in response and I could feel myself losing it. ¡°Do you have any idea how much that deal was worth, you ipetent bastard?¡±


    How was transporting already weakened werewolves from the hideout to their required location a big deal? It wasn¡¯t the first time they had failed me, and I had been patient enough. But I had had it up to here. Yes, I had also had the rumors of some cocksucker people had nicknamed The Silver Ghost.


    Apparently this bastard, whoever they were, had been keeping an eye on us and had monitored the dynamics of my business. For the past few times I had ordered them to change their location, be more careful and watchful. But every single time they arrived to transport the wolves, they were nowhere to be found. Apparently, this Silver Ghost always found them first and released them before my men could arrive. My business was quickly going downhill due to this problem. And although I had equipped the team with more warriors, they had never managed to capture this bastard alive.


    My chest burned as I wondered who would dare to insult me like this? Who dared to cross me, interfere with my ns and my business. I needed to find whoever it was and teach them the lesson of their life. And I needed to do it quickly. Seeing that it was a matter for me to handle on my own as usual, I began to work up a n in my head.


    Another whimper from the man of the floor distracted me. Anger rushing through me, I dragged him by his right arm and proceeded to the furnace. The coals were red hot, just like I wanted. I nodded to them to throw in the silver chains as well. I patiently waited until the chains begin to rattle from the heat as it burned. When I was satisfied, I lifted him up, ignoring his cries of pleas, and tossed him into the furnace.


    His deafening shrieks as he burned in the furnace sent a tingle of pleasure down my spine. Breathing in deeply, I turned to the rest of them.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°If you desire the same fate as him, keep up your ipetence.¡±


    I walked briskly out of the room and proceeded to draft up my n.

 Thank you

    Niki¡¯s POV


    Ignoring the pleas from the Healer and other members of the pack, I drove at full speed to my destination. My open wound still hurt and my bones weren¡¯t fully healed, but I needed to check up on those prisoners. I needed to make sure they were safe. If I had been duped by that man, then I would have to track him down and save them from him too.


    I slowed the car down as I neared the cave. I had built the mansion which was being used as the safehouse in such a location that even though people passed by it every single day they wouldn¡¯t notice. I maneuvered in between therge boulders, passing through and killing the engine of my truck. Getting down, I strolled down through the small farm, stopping when I found what I was looking for.


    I lifted the trap door with ease, carefully making my way down the stairs. I had built the house underground for obvious reasons and so far it was efficient enough.


    I rang the doorbell and it was immediately opened by the the woman I had put in charged. She was the first she-wolf I had saved from Jonas¡¯ hand. I had had to treat and care for her myself until she got better. When she did, she had begun to treat every group of werewolves I brought back here. The ones who didn¡¯t survive were buried quietly on the farm. The ones who did had a hard time when they did, but eventually got better. They were almost like one big family.


    ¡°Wee,¡± She greeted as she opened the door, smiling widely.


    Her warm gesture like always didn¡¯t sit right with me but I only huffed in reply.


    ¡°Some different people brought them in this time,¡± She said, leading me towards the room where they were usually kept to recover. ¡°I assumed it was on your orders.¡±


    I felt my tense muscles rx, and for the first time since I had awakened, I felt like I was breathing better. As I walked into the room, I observed with contentment how much better the prisoners looked than when I had first found them. Most of them were still fragile and hunched over and I knew that their wolf would never be as strong because of the torture.


    ¡°Thank you, Millie.¡± I said, unable to control myself.


    Her eyes widened in surprise but she covered it up quickly.


    As I turned to leave, my eyes fell on a little girl to looked about five years old. She looked so malnourished that I thought she would break if she wasn¡¯t handled with care. As if she could sense me staring at her, she turned to me. My jaw fell open in shock as a reflection of Elle stared back at me, her hazel eyes filled with curiosity. She looked so much like Elle; from her eyes, to her light brown hair, and the way her nose turned up when she was annoyed.


    My heart clenched. My sweet Elle. I wondered if our baby would have looked like her. The little girl turned away after a while and ced her head on her knees again.


    I turned to Millie. ¡°That girl, are her parents here?¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    When she saw who I was talking about, she shook her head. ¡°She did have an uncle. But his burns were so bad, he couldn¡¯t make it. We buried himst night.¡±


    I was silent for a while. Looking over at her small form, I felt the urge to protect her from any sort of tragedy.


    Turning to Millie, I decided. ¡°Get her ready, she¡¯sing with me.¡±

 What a shameless man

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I bit down hard on my bottom lip, my mind reying the events that had ured in the past few hours. How could I have been so stupid? I wondered. I was so angry with myself that tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. I should have known. The urgency in thatdy¡¯s tone when she had ordered me up to heal one of them. I should have known from the worry and anger on their faces when they watched the man whoy in the bed.


    If I had an inkling that he was my captor, only the Goddess knows I would not haveid a finger on him. My chest swelled as I thought about it. Would I really have had the courage to stand them to all those wolves? They would tear me into pieces before the words were out of my mouth.


    But the fact that he would have died would have been reason enough. At least we would both die and stop all this torture. That would have been far better. A tear dropped from my eye. I was tired, disgusted. What a shameless man. He kidnapped me for reasons I still don¡¯t know about, tortured me, starved me, made me a ve in his home, and had already begun to n my execution. But what did he do when he was on his death bed? Shamelessly make his people force me to heal him. Okay, fine. It was all good. But then he awakened, fine, fit and healthy. And still, he was ungrateful. He tosses me back in here to rot and threatens to kill me.


    I wiped my bruised face with the back of my hand, gasping when some of the tears leaked into my wounds. As I readjusted my position on the floor, the wooden door swung open and I saw the older woman from before step in, a satchel in her hand. She made her way through, past the guard and bent to be able to face me. She discreetly pushed the satchel in my direction, toward the wall where it would be hidden in the shadows. My eyes followed it but I didn¡¯t make any move to pick it up.


    ¡°How are you doing?¡± She asked, observing me.


    For some reason her gesture hit a nerve. I just wanted to be okay. I was tired. So tired¡­


    ¡°Please, I beg you. Just leave me alone. I¡¯m sick and tired of getting into trouble. Please¡­ just go.¡±


    She didn¡¯t budge. Instead she ced a warm hand on my arm, much to my surprise, giving me a reassuring squeeze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about what happened earlier. You¡¯re going through a lot and still you¡¯re trying your best. And that isn¡¯t something that should ever be taken for granted.¡± The warmth in her voice was so soothing that I felt my heart begin to melt, coupled with the fact that she reminded me so much of Nanny Maria. It made me realize how much I missed her.


    ¡°I just¡­¡± My voice shook. ¡°I don¡¯t know what wrong Imitted. I-I never hurt anyone. I just want to be okay¡­¡± I brushed my tears away, angry with myself. I was so tired of crying.


    The woman never took down the reassuring grip on my arm. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to get into trouble.¡± I said, remembering how the Alpha had red up when he saw me. To my surprise she only waved it away.


    ¡°No need to worry about that, child.¡±


    As I parted my lips to ask, the door flew open. I jumped up in fear expecting to see the Alpha. But instead the second guard walked in. He paused when he saw the woman crouched beside me. After shooting Elyan a sharp re, he faced us.


    ¡°What the hell is going on here?!¡± He growled, making me shrink back into the wall.


    The woman turned. ¡°I am here to see her. Is there a problem?¡± She asked sharply.


    I saw the guard eye her, his hands beginning to form fists. ¡°No one is allowed to see the prisoner. If you were an actual member of the pack you would know,¡± He spat. ¡°Now move, or I move you.¡±


    ¡°Have some respect!¡± I heard her shout.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Respect for who?¡± He scoffed. ¡°You are just an ordinary healer. Old and good for nothing. Now get out.¡±


    I shook with fear as I watched him begin to roll up his sleeves. He was transforming.


    My fingers gripped the hem of her dress. ¡°Thank you for your kindness, but please leave now. I was trying to avoid this.¡±


    I had seen how brutal werewolves could be. And thest thing I wanted was to watch the only person who genuinely cared about my wellbeing in this ce get hurt.


    But she had already charged at him, transforming and letting her dress fall to the floor. I gasped at the impressive ginger shade of her wolf.


    I almost let out a small scream as the guard pushed her roughly to the floor, iling his hand tounch a scratch which she avoided. In no time she had stood and I couldn¡¯t help but be shocked at her agility. In one swift second she had reached out to w at his chest, sending him falling backwards in pain. I grimaced as I watch the guard let out a piercing howl as she locked her jaws on his left hand. He fell to the floor squirming as he transformed to his human form.


    I watched in awe as she shifted, spotting two human fingers out of her mouth. I couldn¡¯t believe it. She looked to be around fifty years old, but then again I knew werewolves stopped aging at some point. I knew then that she was definitely a higher ranked she-wolf. I riveted my gaze as she stood boldly in her nakedness and soon pulled on her dress.


    ¡°Sorry, I just had to take care of it,¡± She uttered, her voice surprisingly calm, as though she had not just bitten out two fingers of the man whoy writhing in pain.


    ¡°How old are you?¡± I asked still in awe.


    Sheughed, sending an amused smile my way. ¡°About a hundred years?¡± I guessed.


    The smirk on her face told me she was older. I shuddered. ¡°I don¡¯t even want to know.¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°Go on, get some rest. I¡¯ll see youter.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t get into trouble¡­?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± She sent me onest smile, and then she was gone.


    I nced at Elyan who hadn¡¯t made a single move through all that went on. No wonder he hadn¡¯t said a word when she¡¯de in before.


    Tearing my gaze away from him and the naked man on the floor, I reached for the satchel. The sight of fried chicken and arge piece of cake made my mouth water and without thinking twice, I dug in.

 Why’s that

    Niki¡¯s POV


    The pain piercing through my abdomen as I drove back to the house reminded me of everything that had happened with the prisoner girl. It was almost like everything had been a figment of my imagination. And for a moment I struggled to believe it. My wolf couldn¡¯t possibly have spoken. I had been pierced with silver and suffered a concussion so it was only understandable that I¡¯d have hallucinations. So I convinced myself that there was nothing to worry about.


    But another thing that bothered me was the girl. Why hadn¡¯t Jonas made any move? It had been nearly two weeks since I abducted her and still there was no sign of anything. With Jonas having such a huge influence, the news would have spread by now and he was likely to begin wrecking havoc on any one he was suspicious of.


    The more I thought about it, the more it puzzled me. And I knew it could only be two things. It was either be that he didn¡¯t know she was missing, which was impossible because they lived together, and even if he hadn¡¯t, his wife would surely have. Or, he did know she was missing but he didn¡¯t care. That was even more impossible. She was his favorite, and to prove that he had organised the festival in her celebration. I remembered him showing her off and singing her praises at the festival and I knew that it couldn¡¯t be it.


    My grip on the steering tightened. So why was he so calm? I wondered if he was just biding his time. Could he be nning something? My mind was running a mile per minute as I tried to join the pieces of this puzzle. Maybe Jonas had already begun to search for his daughter. But that was unlikely. I would have heard about it by now.


    I reminded myself to give Drew a call when I arrived home. He had been gone for too long. Drew was the only reliable one that could seep out this kind of information, which was why he was my Beta in the first ce. I needed to find out Jonas¡¯ n before he somehow got to me first.


    As I drove on, my eyes riveted to the small form of the girl that sat tucked in the passenger seat. I was surprised too see her staring at me wide-eyed, as though she had been waiting for me to get out of my thoughts.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Evelyn, but you can call me Eve. I don¡¯t know what my surname is or if I even have one. But Eve is just fine by me. What¡¯s your name? You have nice eyes, by the way.¡±


    I cocked an eyebrow in surprise. Her voice was steady and cheery, and she was so forward that I found myself at loss of what to say.


    ¡°Well, uh¡­¡±


    ¡°You must be the Alpha,¡± She decided, running her fingers up and down the seatbelt and studying me curiously. ¡°Everyone back there talks about you all the time. And I assumed you would be old and grey and maybe have a walking stick to support yourself. That would have been exciting. So I am surprised, but d that you look like this.¡±


    The sound of my ownugh reaching my ears felt foreign to me. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had genuinelyughed. But there was something about how observant and bold the little girl spoke.


    ¡°How old are you, Evelyn?¡± I found myself asking.


    ¡°One morning about a week ago, Uncle said I just turned seven. So I guess that¡¯s my age then. But Uncle always said a lot of things, and to be honest with you, none of them ever did make any sense to me.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t stop the small smile that formed on my lips when she sighed and leaned back into the chair as if she¡¯d just aged a thousand years.


    ¡°Well, Uncle was a bit of an alcoholic. So I never know when he¡¯s actually saying things that are true.¡± She turned to face me. ¡°But, oh well. What about you?¡±


    ¡°What about me?¡± I wondered what she was driving at.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice and warm around you, so I feel like you have a great personality. But your eyes, they¡¯re cold. Kind of like winter. So I feel like you¡¯re somewhere in between warm and cold. Just like spring.¡±


    My jaw nearly dropped in shock at the way she was speaking. How could a seven year old be this smart? I wondered staring at her small form as she faced the window. And the fact that she didn¡¯t seem scared of me was surprising.


    ¡°How did you get this?¡± She asked all of a sudden, running her small hand over the tattoo on my forearm. I felt a rush of sadness at her touch but I wasn¡¯t exactly sure why.


    ¡°I used to y basketball when I was younger. We won the trophy four years in a row, that¡¯s how I got the tattoo.¡±


    She nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Why don¡¯t you y anymore? I think you should start ying again. Who knows, maybe we could y. Although now that you¡¯re older and slower I¡¯m sure I could beat you.¡±


    I found myself chuckling again. Everything she said seemed to take me by surprise. As I finally drove through the gates of the mansion, I saw her sit up and observe the environment in awe.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°I have never seen a house this big,¡± She muttered. ¡°It¡¯s like something from a movie.¡±


    For some reason, the appreciation and awe in her eyes and voice made me d that the house belonged to me. I got out of the car and helped her out, smiling a little when she shrugged out of my hold.


    ¡°Thanks Alpha, but I can walk on my own.¡±


    I nced at her, wondering where she got all her courage from.


    I led her upstairs where the rooms were located. ¡°You¡¯ll be staying in the guest room for now until your room is cleaned and refurnished for you.¡±


    The only other avable room was Elle¡¯s old room. I had not let anyone in there for years. Thinking about it hurt. But I wanted Eve to have it. But first it had to be clean and furnished for a child.


    She nodded, following behind me when I stepped into one of the guest rooms. ¡°This is the prettiest room I have ever been in,¡± She smiled, running her fingers over the bed and some of the furniture.


    ¡°So where do I sleep? May I sleep next to that?¡± She pointed to the small ottoman. ¡°And also, my back hurts again today so would you mind if I had one of those pillows? I promise to put it back after tonight.¡± Her voice was low.


    I stared at her in confusion. ¡°Why do you want to sleep on the floor?¡±


    She looked at me in surprise. ¡°Well, to make space for the others, of course.¡±


    ¡°Others? Eve this is your room. Everything in here is yours so you are free to sleep wherever you like, with as many pillows as you want.¡±


    She looked from me to the room again as if in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s mine? T-the whole room?¡±


    I nodded.


    She timidly walked to the bed, reaching out and began to count the pillows. ¡°I can sleep here, on the bed? I don¡¯t have to share with anyone?¡±


    I rushed to her side when I saw tears fill her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m s-sorry¡­ it¡¯s just, I¡¯ve never had a room all to myself,¡± She sobbed, reaching up and wiping away the tears that continued to fall.


    My wolf growled and without thinking, I reached out and enveloped her in a hug, patting down her hair at intervals. And as I stood there, her small form shaking as she cried, I felt the urge to protect her from any sort of danger or difort.

 Hello there

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡°Get up,¡± I heard her say, pulling my arm up as she spoke. I hissed from the pain as I quickly scrambled to my feet to face the same beautiful woman from the other day. For a second I was tempted to ask her how the little boy was doing, but I knew that wouldn¡¯t go down well so I bit my tongue and trained my eyes at my feet as she observed me. I tried to remember if I had done anything I wasn¡¯t supposed to. My heart skipped a beat as I wondered if they had found out the Healer woman had been seeing me. I just hoped she wasn¡¯t in any sort of trouble.


    ¡°Can you cook?¡±


    My eyes shot up in surprise as I dared to look up at her scowling form to see if she was really talking to me. That was such a random and unexpected question.


    ¡°Well, uh¡­ yes I can.¡± I replied still a bit startled.


    She grabbed my arm almost immediately, already leading me to the door. ¡°The person who cooks for the omegas is under the weather at the moment. So you are going to take over until then. Understood?¡±


    Before I could wonder what this was all about, she had tugged on my arm, leading me to the front door. ¡°And before you think of doing anything silly, there will be guards watching your every move, so better kill that idea.¡±


    I didn¡¯t say a word as I was starting to learn that all her instructions were apanied by threats. As we arrived at the very spacious kitchen, she gestured awkwardly to the stocked drawers. ¡°Uhh, your thing. I¡¯ll be watching,¡± She reminded me in a voice that made a shiver run down my spine. This pack had to consist of the most intimidating and terrifying wolves I had evere across, no doubt.


    I timidly looked through the drawers to see what I could whip up. ording to her instructions, I would be making a dinner for about ten people in total. It wouldn¡¯t be a difficult feat as I was used to doing the same back home. As I began to arrange the food items I would need on the counter, I caught the eyes of a woman who looked to be a few years older than I from the other side. The kitchen was divided into two sections and at first I had been confused. But now I realised that the otherdy was preparing the food for the higher ranked werewolves while I was making for the omegas and workers.


    Sighing, I started work. Halfway through I could hear my stomach rumbling. I gulped down the cool water from the tap to keep myself from drooling. The aroma of the food was attacking my senses and I wondered how I would withstand being around such delicious food.


    About thirty minutester, I was done cooking. I began to dish the food in tes randomly as I wasn¡¯t really sure how many people the food was for. I noticed the woman across me stealing nces at me asionally but I wasn¡¯t exactly sure why. Finally giving in to my hunger pangs, I stealthily stuffed two cinnamon rolls in my mouth, nearly letting out a moan from how good it tasted.


    As I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, I felt a presence and I looked up to see the woman who had led me here watching me from the kitchen door. My hands shook as I gripped thedle in my hand, trying to form apologies that wouldn¡¯t couldn¡¯te. I knew I should not have attempted to steal the food.


    I shrunk back as she approached the kitchen counter, her face set in a thin frown. But much to my bewilderment, all she did when she approached me was stealthily sweep the bread crumbs underneath the kitchen counter with her feet and walk past me like nothing had happened. I stared at her retreating figure in abination of surprise and gratitude. I wasn¡¯t sure why she had done that but I was thankful that she hadn¡¯t drawn any attention to it.


    I was a little startled when a rush of male voices engaged in discussion began to sound from outside the kitchen.


    ¡°Fuck, do you smell that?¡± I heard a deep voice ask. ¡°Scentspletely different from anything we¡¯ve ever smelt here.¡±


    I heard gruff voices mutter in approval.


    ¡°It¡¯s the prisoner,¡± One of them whispered, and as though they were remote controlled, they all stopped singing the praises of the food. I imagined that they would get into trouble for it. The overbearing and scary presence of the Alpha painfully made me recall home and my Father.


    ¡°I could bet my life that the person teasing our noses is definitely not Melody.¡±


    .


    I looked up from organising the tes to see a cheery, sandy-haired man walk into the kitchen. He gave a triumphant smile as he saw me.


    ¡°I knew it!¡± Heughed, facing the group of guys that stood outside the kitchen. Turning back to me he said, ¡°The aroma dragged me all the way here, believe me,¡± He said, tossing a cinnamon roll into his mouth and grunting in approval.


    ¡°This young woman right here should be cooking for the entire pack, in my opinion.¡± He was the first and only member of this pack I hade across that didn¡¯t seem to be in a permanent bad mood.


    I think one of the others mind linked him because almost immediately, a look of realization dawned on his features. For a few moments he observed me curiously and then to my surprise, he shrugged.


    I watched as he gave me a discreet thumbs up and sneakily moved an empty bowl to me, winking in some sort of conspiracy.


    I couldn¡¯t help the chuckle that escaped me. For once, someone wasn¡¯t treating me like some kind of curse. The friendliness in his dancing hazel eyes made me smile for some reason as I slowly began to fill up his te.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I sighed as my eyesnded on thest room I had to clean before heading downstairs to do the dishes. Just how many rooms did this ce have? I was starting to realize that this mansion was way bigger than Father¡¯s. And it was even more draining to clean.


    The good thing now was that the guards didn¡¯t trail behind me at every point in time anymore. Maybe it was because all I had to do was clean the guest rooms at the secluded part of the house. I let the iron bucket drop to the floor. I was exhausted. Sometimes I would wish I was back in the dungeon instead, but I knew this was better for me. At least I was getting sunlight and fresh air.


    My mouth fell open as I turned the door handle. I had been cleaning all the rooms on this floor at least every three to four days and I could¡¯ve sworn this particr room had always been locked. I stared in surprise at the spacious, pink-themed room. It wasrge but cozy and the neatly arranged collections of toys in a bedside trunk had my mind racing. Could it be possible that the Alpha was married with a child? Or was one of the kids staying in here? Not really caring, I got to work, grateful that the room wouldn¡¯t need vigorous cleaning.


    ¡°Hello, there,¡± A small voice filled my ears, making me almost jump up in surprise. I turned to see a little girl observing me curiously.


    What happened the other time with the little boy shed through my mind and I knew talking to her woulde have consequences if I got caught. But there was something about the way she spoke that caught my attention and made me not care about getting into trouble.


    ¡°Thank you for tidying up the room. I wasn¡¯t sure where to start from, and I¡¯ve been meaning to clean up.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile at her forlorn expression. She looked to be around five or six years old, but the expressions she made was like that of an older person.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem,¡± I replied. I was still torn between engaging her in conversation or just doing my job and going my way.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got such pretty eyes,¡± She smiled. ¡°It¡¯s almost like looking up in the sky on a clear, sunny morning. I like mornings, you know. They¡¯re bright, and open, and I¡¯m not scared of anything in the morning because it¡¯sfortable. Do you like mornings?¡±


    I was astonished at the ease and wisdom with which she spoke. I don¡¯t think I had ever met a smarter child in my life. She was bold, and direct and the cutest little girl I¡¯d ever met. I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that spread over my cheeks.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I feel the same way about mornings. They make me feel happy and safe, especially the fact that I can see the light.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I mean as well.¡±


    I chuckled as I ran a wet rag over the dressing room table. ¡°How old are you?¡± I was really curious because she didn¡¯t look a year above six.


    She helped move the metal bucket with both hands despite my refusal. She smiled up at me. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can do it. I¡¯m Evelyn, but you can call Eve. And I¡¯m seven years old.¡±


    My eyebrows cocked. Oh, seven was still quite young. ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Iughed. ¡°You¡¯re a big girl.¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t think so though. Maybe I am, but it¡¯s so slow. I wish I could grow up sooner so that people would listen to me.¡±


    I only nodded, only now noticing how thin and tired she looked. It was surprising because the pack was obviously living in good condition so money couldn¡¯t be the problem.


    Maybe she was sick. I resolved to ask her about itter. I couldn¡¯t control the chuckles that escaped me as I cleaned through the room, Eve trailing behind me the whole time and talking nonstop. Some would have called her talkative, but she always waited and listened patiently when she wanted you to answer a question or give your opinion on something. She was so mature it was shocking yet beautiful to watch. And for the first time in weeks, I found myself giving genuineughs. And it felt nice.

 It can’t be

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I had been eyeing the pile of samosas the whole time. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had had samosas. As I picked one and tossed it into my mouth almost moaning from how good it tasted, the table went silent.


    I looked up in suspicion, wondering what had happened. I could see the pack members suddenly be intent on observing their food. They had been arguing and cackling a few seconds ago. Deciding I didn¡¯t care, I tossed three more of the snacks into my mouth.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t had this in a long time,¡± Imented. ¡°And they never tasted this good either.¡±


    I could feel their eyes on me. I never struck up conversation anymore because I honestly didn¡¯t feel like it. But I don¡¯t know what came over me today.


    ¡°Yeah it is. I guess the prisoner girl is good at a lot of things,¡± I heard Margaret say.


    My jaw stopped working halfway on my sixth snack. I slowly turned to face Margaret who sat at my right side, hoping I had heard incorrectly.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Melody had something to take care of at her family house, and she¡¯s a bit under the weather. Since the prisoner is a maid, I told her to cook, she cooked for the omegas so I¡¯m not sure why it¡¯s here. Probably a mistake.¡±


    She said it so casually, I was pissed. I saw everyone on the table who had a samosa in their hand let it drop in fake surprise. It was no secret that they had been enjoying it.


    In anger, I shoved my dishes away, getting back from my chair and storming out. I wasn¡¯t sure why I was so angry. Thest thing I wanted was to eat anything prepared by that vermin.


    My fists clenched and unclenched as I tried not to think of the fact that I had eaten and enjoyed it. I couldn¡¯t deny the fact that it tasted good, hell it was the best thing I¡¯d eaten in this house in a long time. And it baffled me. She was a spoiled brat who had people at her beck and call. So how did she know how to cook? And this good? She just continued to surprise me over and over again.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Sighing, I raked my fingers through my hair. The only thing that could distract me now was little Eve. I had ordered for her food to be taken to her room because I wasn¡¯t ready to show her to the rest of the pack just yet. I slowly made my way up to her room to check up on her.


    The door of her room was half open when I got there. In rm, I pulled the door open warily. I felt my heart crash in my chest as I sighted the prisonerfortably seated on the dressing room chair, chuckling while Eve narrated something to her.


    Elle¡¯s chair. Elle¡¯s room.


    ¡°Who gave you the right toe in here?!¡± I yelled, trying to control my shaky hands.


    I saw her jump up in shock, grabbing the bucket and mop by her side and bowing a little. I approached her angrily, making to grab her arm and toss her back into the dungeon, and then I saw Eve looking up at me. Her eyes riveted to the prisoner¡¯s wrists and I saw her eyes widen.


    ¡°What happened to your hand?¡± She asked her, running her small fingers over the bruises. I could see the prisoner mouth apologies to me.


    ¡®Mate.¡¯ I heard my wolf growl. I shut my eyes tightly. What the hell was wrong with me? She was in Elle¡¯s room, our room. And she was part of the reason while Elle wasn¡¯t here anymore. So why did I feel this territorial urge around her. My instincts told me to wrap her in my arms and hug her tight until she stopped shivering with fright. It can¡¯t be¡­ it couldn¡¯t be¡­


    ¡°Is your wrist okay? Did you get into an ident?¡± I heard Eve ask the girl again. I saw the girl catch my eye for a brief second and then lower them back to the ground.


    Of course I couldn¡¯t tell her that she was a prisoner. And that I was the reason why she was hurt. I didn¡¯t care if anyone else thought it unfair or if she bled out in front of me. But I didn¡¯t want Eve to see me differently.


    ¡°Get out!¡± I roared, watching in rage as she scurried out of the room, nearly emptying the bucket of waste water.


    ¡°Howe you-¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± I yelled at her. I didn¡¯t want to talk to anyone right now. ¡°Go to your room!¡±


    She stared at me for a couple of seconds and then she folded her arms. ¡°You¡¯re in my room, actually.¡±


    Even through my anger, the calmness in her tone surprised me, and I suddenly felt bad for yelling.


    I had no idea what to do¡­ I¡¯m just so tired¡­


    ¡°But you can stay. I can show you the drawing I made today,¡± Eve added after a while, smiling and patting the next to her.


    All I could do was nod and copse beside her.

 Lost

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I wasn¡¯t even sure what I was doing or why I was creeping around in my own house, but all I knew was that I was hungry. I shook my head as if to get rid of this ridiculous feeling but I could still hear my stomach rumble in disapproval, so I knew it wasn¡¯t helpful. Since the dining table issue I hadn¡¯t had anything to eat. And after my show of anger earlier, I would chop my own head off before I asked them for food.


    As I neared the kitchen, my stomach growled so loud I thought it would alert the rest of the pack. The mansion was so big that at the moment, no one was on this floor right now. Although I felt ridiculous tiptoeing in my own house, but I really could not help it. And I think what infuriated me the more was the fact that all I craved were those fucking samosas. I raked my fingers through my hair. This was all just so stupid. My stomach growled once more as if to silence me.


    Cursing silently, I made my way into the kitchen and began popping lids off the many dishes that sat on the counter. I cursed under my breath when I went through the counter and still didn¡¯t find it. As I was about to give up my eyesnded on a dish below the counter that I hadn¡¯t noticed before. I quickly popped it open, sighing in relief when I saw more than a dozen samosas arranged neatly in it.


    The scent of the snack filling my nose, I dug in, pushing them into my mouth. I still couldn¡¯t believe how good they tasted. Of course I was pissed that it had been prepared by the prisoner, but I didn¡¯t care. I reached out in the refrigerator to grab a juice carton. As I tilted the juice to my lips, the sound of someone walking into the kitchen startled me, making me nearly drop the juice pack.


    I looked up to see Margaret standing at the doorway, a mischievous smile beginning to form on her face. I tried toe up with a reasonable enough exnation but the half eaten samosas and the juice in my hand told a different story.


    ¡°I was hungry, there was nothing else to eat,¡± I defended.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask,¡± She smirked, walking to the tap to wash her hands. I pushed the dishes and juice away and turned, feeling embarrassed. Of course, I had no excuse. I shook my head. I had not felt this embarrassed in a very long. For a minute, I felt like a child again. Margaret had been a sort of nanny for me and Annalise. The more we grew, the more distant we were. But from the smile on Margaret¡¯s face, I knew it was okay.


    I stood up straighter, clearing my throat. ¡°I was going to send for you very soon,¡± I said.


    So it wasn¡¯t a lie. I was going to send for her regarding a few things concerning the prisoner and Eve.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± She said, raising her ss of water to her lips to hide her smirk.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I eyed her, still embarrassed. ¡°I need you to clean up the prisoner a little. Maybe a shower and a change of clothes as well.¡±


    I watched her almost choke on water. She stared wide-eyed at me for a few seconds. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re serious?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°She will work as the little girl¡¯s nanny from now on.¡±


    Eve had vehemently refused to let anyone that wasn¡¯t the prisoner to touch her. At first I thought she was just being stubborn. And then I had assigned five different omegas to take care of her. Her reaction had been the same. As ast resort, I had put her under Annalise¡¯s care. It was even worse. For the first time I saw Eve cry her eyes out, yelling for the prisoner the whole time.


    I didn¡¯t want her to be ufortable so I decided to fulfill her wishes. But I was aware of how inquisitive and observant Eve was. And I didn¡¯t want her asking questions. I dreaded telling her that she was just a ve. Which was why I needed her cleaned up and presentable. So it would be like she was just one of the maids.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Margaret breathed. ¡°Okay. As you wish.¡± The expression on her face told me quite clear that she wanted to say more, ask more, but she didn¡¯t. I was grateful for that as I didn¡¯t feel like answering any questions.


    Before she could change her mind about asking questions, I walked out of the kitchen. I sighed heavily as I got into my room. It was beginning to dawn on me that I had nothing to do. The only thing I had to prepare for right now was the meeting I had with a business partner in a few days. And it was going to hold here, at my house. He was a human so it would be a bit of a problem. I needed to train the younger wolves again, their appetite, their control. We didn¡¯t need to start brewing trouble at this time.


    After hours of pacing and poring over files from work, I moved to the security room to check up. All the security cameras were disyed in this room. It enabled me check up whatever I wanted to without having to leave my room. The exterior of the house was clear. Carefully I observed each footage.


    I paused when I came across the live footage from Eve¡¯s room. That was the only room that contained a camera, and that was because I wanted to keep an eye on her.


    My wolf let out a low growl when the prisoner came into view. She sat with Eve on herp, reading out of a that looked like a children¡¯s book. I watched as the prisoner crossed her legs, ced a hand beneath her jaw and nodded at intervals as she listened to the little girl talk nonstop about something. I wondered if she was only pretending, but the smile on her face said otherwise. This was someone who was pampered and who felt entitled to everything. I didn¡¯t expect her to have enough patience to deal with a child, especially one as expressive as Eve. So it really baffled me. At this point I was certain there was something off about her, and I needed to find out. Now I was more confused than infuriated.


    I watched Eveugh so much until she let herself fall onto the bed. I guess she was really tired because after a while it seemed like she had dozed off. The girl watched for a few minutes and then I saw her gently move the little girl so she could be morefortable. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how she was so affectionate. The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.


    I spent the next hour pacing round my room. It felt like I was going crazy.


    ¡®We need to see our mate.¡¯


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I yelled at the sound of my wolf speaking although I knew yelling wouldn¡¯t help. I gripped at my hair. She wasn¡¯t my mate. She wasn¡¯t. She. Was. Not.


    I tried to control my breathing but to no avail. Why was I so drawn to her? I didn¡¯t want to see her, I wanted to make her suffer, make her pay for all the pain I¡¯d been going through for eight years. So why?


    After fighting my wolf instincts for a while, I began to make my way to Eve¡¯s bedroom.


    ¡®Mate.¡¯Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I just want to check up on Eve,¡± I snapped at him. ¡°I want to check on the little girl. I don¡¯t trust that prisoner with her.¡±


    My hands froze on the doorknob as I reached out to open the door. I really shouldn¡¯t be here. What the hell was I even doing? After taking a few moments to convince myself that I just wanted to check up on Eve, I turned the knob and walked in.


    The sight of the prisoner who slept next to Eve, cing her hand over her protectively, stopped me in my tracks. It was the most heartwarming thing I had seen in a while.


    My eyes slowly riveted to the prisoner. I sucked in a sharp breath. She looked cleaner, healthier. The top of the dress she was wearing stopped just below the swell of her breasts, and my eyes couldn¡¯t help but follow the trail of her full breasts. I felt desire run through me as I stared at her form on the bed. When her scent filled my nose, I was torn between dragging her off with me and protecting her from any harm, and tearing her legs apart and pleasuring her until she screamed my name.


    I was so lost in staring at her that I didn¡¯t notice she had awakened until I heard her let out a small gasp in rm. She looked from me to the little girl and quickly jumped from the bed, facing me and bowing a little.


    I was still so surprised that I struggled to form my words. As though she had only just realized what had been happening, she looked up at me frowning a little.


    Not giving her time to assume I¡¯d been staring at her, I grabbed her arm. ¡°Your work her is done. Leave!¡±


    When her long hair billowed from the pressure, my wolf growled at I could feel my arms going weak. I didn¡¯t want her having this effect on me.


    Pushing her out the door, I shut it behind me and tried to catch my breath. What the hell was going on?

 Tempted

    Niki¡¯s POV


    As Annalise nodded and turned away to leave, something came to my mind that reminded me of one of the things I had honestly been curious about.


    ¡°You know what, Anna?¡± I called out as she pulled the door open. She stopped in her tracks, whipping around in surprise.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Get her ready. She¡¯sing with us.¡±


    I saw Anna cock an eyebrow. ¡°Really? Uh.. okay if you say so.¡± She gave me a puzzled look and walked out, shutting the door behind me. I had changed my mind for a reason, of course. And I wouldn¡¯t rest till I¡¯d satisfied my curiosity.


    The pack was getting ready for our biweekly hunt. We usually picked a day to go on a hunt for animals when we were thirsty for blood. That usually covered up until the next hunt. We would spend the night in the woods and also use this time as an avenue to train a little. It was customary and fulfilling as it acted like a kind of recharge.


    An hourter we were off. Because we never usually always in the woods, we decided to walk. I stayed behind, observing without a word. From the corner of my eyes I could see the prisoner girl struggling to lug our essentials. What happened the other night shed through my head and I quickly shifted my gaze before she would catch me staring. I still didn¡¯t know why I was so out of sorts. Maybe this hunt was what I needed, something to relieve stress and take my mind off everything.


    I watched as the pack members began to howl as we neared our destination. Some of them broke into a run, transforming as they weaved through the cluster of trees.


    The clothes I wore would rip when I transformed but it didn¡¯t matter as I had a spare. As I began to transform into my wolf, my eyes searched for who I was curious about. I kept my gaze on the prisoner girl when I found her, waiting for her to transform. I had heard the stories about her. Hell, Jonas had clearly emphasized on it on the day of that festival. And before then I had heard stories about how strong and powerful she was. She was supposed to be one of the most powerful she-wolves in the the province. And I wanted to see all of that in action. I wanted to see just how much she could do. Now she was in the open, no restrictions, if she was as powerful as they said she would be able to put up a good fight. Or even if she wouldn¡¯t fight, as we outnumbered her, she would manage to escape.


    But to my greatest surprise, she just stood there, twisting her hands behind her awkwardly and watching everyone else. I saw pack members push past her and race into the woods. But she stood there, doing nothing.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    I looked up to see Annalise cock an eyebrow in her direction. Oh, I could see I wasn¡¯t the only curious one. I was tempted to walk up to her a a razzle her just to get a reaction. I wanted to see the so-called powerful she-wolf. Where was she? Where was Jonas¡¯ pride and joy now?


    A smile fleeted across my face as I thought of something. I knew the stories about Jonas¡¯ daughter couldn¡¯t be false as I had gotten them directly from Drew. And Drew had personally seen her in action. The only reasonable exnation was that she was scared. Was my n working? Had I brought her so low that she was even too scared to transform? I could see how ufortable she really was. There was still a lot I was yet to figure out about her. I couldn¡¯t understand it.


    Turning away from her, I transformed fully, liking the sound of my clothes ripping. Letting out a loud howl, I bounded into the woods. I felt free and alive when I hunted. It was the only thing that kept me sane.


    As I caught the scent of a wild animal, I raced in the direction of the sound. When I located the antelope, I pounced, my fangs prating deep into its neck and chewing off arge chunk. The blood fueled my senses and I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯d felt this good. After standing and letting the cool breeze fill my senses for a while, I bundled up the meat and began to move it to the camping site.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I felt even more refreshed after having a swim. I wished I could have peace like this all the time without having to worry about anything else. It was bliss being out here free and wild. That was one of the reasons why I had picked this area to build my mansion. It was perfect.


    It was gettingte now. The pack had already devoured the meat. We would take the rest of it home. Before I even gave out the order to, they had already mounted the tents. I guessed they were excited about this hunt.


    Turning away, I walked down to a more secluded area and lowered myself onto a nearby rock. All of a sudden I felt a presence. Turning in the direction, I saw a she-wolf hiding out in the bushes and gushing at my presence. I didn¡¯t recognize her but I knew she was a member of the pack, probably an omega.


    When she emerged from behind the trees, I saw that her hand was ced on her chest, kneading her breasts. I felt a rush of desire through me as my eyes raked her body. I hadn¡¯t had a released for a while, that was probably why my body had been acting weird and reacting to every little thing.


    A good fuck right now would not be a bad idea. And this she-wolf was quite desirable. When she grinned at me seductively I recognized her as the redhead from thest time. No wonder she had looked so familiar. Hopefully she had learned her lesson by now. As I followed behind her hungrily as she retreated slowly into the woods, I could feel my arousal pushing hard against my shorts.


    As we got to a secluded part of the area, I pushed her up against a tree, bunching up dress she was wearing. As my hand brushed up between her thighs, I realized she wore no underwear.


    Horny bitch.


    I was tempted to stop for a second and stare at her in disbelief but I didn¡¯t have time for that. She let out a moan as I pushed her against the tree, unzipping my shorts and widening her legs and began to take hard thrusts.


    She vibrated from head to toe, throwing her head backwards and moaning in pleasure as I prated deeper. I pulled out of her as my release came, letting out a small groan.


    I whipped around on hearing a small yelp to see the prisoner girl, a palm pped against her mouth in shock. Before I had the time to react she had ducked, and I could hear the sound of her footsteps as she hurried away.


    My brows furrowed. Had she been watching me? If so, for how long? Why on earth were there so many weird things about this girl?

 In flames

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    It felt like my face was about to explode. As I got to a small stream, I hurriedly sshed the cold water on my face. I couldn¡¯t believe I had seen what I just did. My hands shook in fear, I¡¯m sure he had seen me. Of course, trust me to get into trouble with him. Again. I prayed that I had been mistaken and he really hadn¡¯t seen me. But I knew he had, I had felt the re of those piercing silver eyes on me. His eye color made every stare seem harder, every re more piercing. And yet it was beautiful. It had taken me a while to get used to them, and still I had a hard time looking him in the eyes.


    I groaned, pping my forehead. I couldn¡¯t seem to take the image out of my head. The image of his muscr form, standing tall and nude in all his glory, his arousal huge and erect. My cheeks warmed in embarrassment as the image reyed over and over in my head. I had never seen a nude, good-looking man up close. And he was gorgeous. My cheeks med again at my thoughts.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    I still honestly didn¡¯t know why I was here. I had been surprised when the beautiful woman whom I hade to know as Annalise had informed me that I would being along on the hunt. I had been so confused. Wasn¡¯t the alpha sick and tired of me? It was clear as day that he hated me, so why would he even want me to tag along? I didn¡¯t understand it. And painfully, I had been looking forward to today. Because I would be left alone for once, I had wanted to catch up on sleep, and maybe just rest for a while without anyone throwing death res my way. I had almost cried in frustration when I¡¯d been told.


    I wondered if he was nning something. But I didn¡¯t think so. He just looked and acted curious. I had seen the weird looks they had given me when everyone had begun to transform. Almost like they were expecting me to transform as well. I had felt small and ufortable with their stare, rubbing my hands behind my back.


    I had been so scared at that moment. I dreaded undressing in front of the other wolves because then they would expect me to transform. And that would not happen because I had no wolf. I had not been so ashamed about not having a wolf for a long time time. So, having their attention drawn to me reminded me of my eighteenth birthday. And it did not feel nice.


    My heart began to beat wildly and I could feel my face grow hot. I knew that werewolves werefortable with nudity, but I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine how. And there were so many of them. I riveted my gaze as they surrounded me. I pleaded for the ground to open up and swallow me whole at that moment.


    Today had been pretty eventful. And embarrassing. I facepalmed as I leaned against a tree. I just needed some fresh air.


    So I took a stroll. I didn¡¯t know what time it was but I guessed it was prettyte. I had lost count of how long I had been strolling around the camp. I could no longer hear the voices of the pack members as they talked andughed loudly. As I turned to the direction where the tents had been mounted, I saw that they were all asleep. After spending a few minutes in hiding to make sure no one was awake, I let out a breath in relief.


    I had been itching to take a bath as well. But I would rather have died than appear nude in front of all those people. Carefully, I made my way back to the stream I had found earlier. With the cool breeze hitting my face, I felt free, alive, nothing else mattered at that moment in time.


    I quickly pulled my dress over my head and took off my underwear. I tested the water with my feet first and then I plunged in. Slowly I began to wash up, letting the cool water seep into my hair. And in that moment, I wished for nothing other than times like this. Peace and nothing more.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I stealthily approached the sound of the disturbance I had heard. I had checked, everyone was asleep. So it couldn¡¯t be a member of the pack. My heart skipped as the idea of us being ambushed shed through my head. Could it be? Jonas? What if it was his daughter¡¯s n all along.


    Ready to transform, I swung through the trees,unching myself carefully through the trees which brought me to the edge of the stream.


    My arm dropped to my side as I faced a woman bathing in the stream. My eyes raked every visible part of her exposed upper body and I could feel my breath quicken. Was this why she had refused to undress in front of everyone else? I had never in my entire lifee across a wolf who was embarrassed to go nude.


    But as my eyes raked her body, my wolf growled, and I knew I would not want anyone else staring at her. No one but me. Her long hair was rxed smoothly against her scalp, reaching to rest on the curve of her mouth.


    ¡®Mine.¡¯


    I nodded absentmindedly. No one else.


    My cock struggled to break free as I looked her over. No matter how many times I stared at her, I couldn¡¯t get enough. Her breasts were even fuller than I had thought they were. For someone with a petite form, I hadn¡¯t expected the size. Her round nipples were taut and pointed courtesy of the cold water.


    My cock pushed harder as I thought of all the things I could do to her. As she cupped a handful of water and sshed it on her face, her lips parted in ecstasy and I could feel my knees go weak. How could she be so effortlessly sexy.


    I tried toote to duck when she looked in my direction. Letting out a sharp scream, she attempted to cover her exposed breasts with her arms, and waded deeper into the water to hide the rest of her body. When she looked up at me I could see the horror and embarrassment in her eyes.


    Fuck.

 Oh no

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    If I was given a chance to either die or leave my tent this morning, I would have chosen death. I tried to convince myself that yesterday had just been a terrible nightmare, but in my mind I could clearly see him staring at me, and the scream that followed from me afterwards as I tried in vain to cover up.


    I tugged at my hair in frustration, wishing I could be hit by a moving truck or something. As I sat still clouded in embarrassment, my tent flew open and I saw Elyan stick out his head.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±


    I nodded, scrambling to my feet and holding out my hands so he could rece the binds. But he only took one look at my wrists and shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that today. You¡¯ll be surrounded by arge number of wolves and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not that dumb to try and pull something stupid.¡±


    I swallowed. If I was bound and maybe busy, my mind would be too upied with the work to reyst night¡¯s events. But no, I would be left in the open, in clear view for him. I still really didn¡¯t understand what had went onst night. I had seen him try to duck when I turned in his direction. But it didn¡¯t make any sense to assume he had been spying on me. Why would he? He hated me, clearly. So could it have been a mistake? I wondered. If it was then why would he duck? Why would he try to hide?


    As the thoughts swarmed my head, I let out a groan, earning a strange look from Elyan. I quickly pped my hand over my mouth and shook my head to let him know that it was nothing. My cheeks heated again as I remembered just how much I had been enjoying the feel of the cool water on my skin. And he had seen all that.


    Praying silently for the best, I stood and made my way out of the tent. I waited for Elyan to fold therge tent, and them followed closely behind him.


    I didn¡¯t want to see him but my eyes kept darting in all directions for his tall form. I wasn¡¯t sure if I actually wanted to see him or of it was just my brain trying to avoid him at all costs when I saw where he was standing.


    I had to bite down on my lip to keep from gasping when I saw him emerge from behind the trees.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move,¡± He ordered, and they all proceeded, parting into groups and beginning to share and exchange stories as they let outughs at intervals. I tried my very best to stick close to Elyan with hopes that he would conceal me.


    Without warning, his piercing eyesnded on me and before I had time to react, I saw him redden and look away. He began to walk faster after that, leaving me confused. Was that embarrassment I had just seen on his face? ming myck of sleep for my poor sight, I trudged along beside Elyan with my head bowed.


    It was about thirty minutes since we¡¯d been walking when I saw the Alpha stop abruptly. He waved his hand in the air in some kind of weird signal that made everyone else pause in their tracks, and lowered his head closer to the ground as if he was listening to something. I saw everyone else look just as confused as I felt, and even when they looked up in rm and readied themselves to transform, I still couldn¡¯t tell what the problem was.


    When I saw a pack of about ten menacing werewolves emerge from the other side of the forest, it began to dawn on me. We were getting ambushed. I had never been in a situation like this before so it was all new age I couldn¡¯t control the rate at which my heart began to leap.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    One of the wolves who seemed to be the one in charge walkedzily up to Niki. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re the big shot here?¡±


    Oh no.


    If the Alpha¡¯s anger in situations like this was like anything I had experienced with him then these wolves were done for.


    I saw the alpha re at him without a word.


    ¡°What, you¡¯re dumb?¡± The other wolf asked, and I could feel the goosebumps rise on my skin from the thought of what he would do to them.


    When the alpha still didn¡¯t say a word the other one continued. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not the issue now,¡± Heughed, looking in our direction and eyeing the raw meat that some of the guards lugged behind them. ¡°I would hate to start a killing spree so just hand over the meat and we can all avoid the horrific events that are sure to follow this.¡±


    I saw the Alpha¡¯s fists clench. ¡°We don¡¯t want any trouble. Neither do we wish to pack up your remains, we¡¯ve done a lot of work already.¡±


    I saw the anger sh in the other man¡¯s eyes as he transformed, growling andshing out at the alpha, and missing of course.


    I saw one of the wolves on the other side gape in shock as the alpha transformed. ¡°He¡¯s an alpha!¡± He screamed and attempted to escape. But it was toote.


    And all of a sudden I was at the center of a chaotic fight. All I could hear was growling and the sound of ws digging in and out of flesh. I almost couldn¡¯t believe it when I saw the alpha bite into the neck of the other wolf and spit out arge chunk of flesh. The now headless wolf moved a few steps back and then dropped to the ground.


    I staggered back in horror, unsure of what to do in the middle of all of this. I covered my ears with my hands as the chaos slowly began to die down. Everyone was distracted as bodies dropped to the floor.


    As I dropped to the floor in fright, my eyes caught one of the other wolves pick up one of ours by the neck, squeezing the air out of his lungs. I stood to my feet when I recognized him as the man from the kitchen the other day. I tried to catch the attention of the other wolves to no avail.


    My mind began to race as I thought of what I could possibly do. I could clearly see that he was dying. Summoning up courage, I lugged a piece of wood nearby and rushed to where they stood. With all the strength I could muster, I struck the back of his head. He let out a yelp of pain and dropped the other man. Right after, I heard a woman scream and rush to his side. I looked up to see Annalise crouched at his side, fear visible on her features, and I wondered if he was her mate.


    I looked up to see everyone else staring at me. My hands still shook from the adrenaline flowing through me. As I started to walk back to my position, I heard someone call out, ¡°Watch out!¡±


    Before I could realize what was happening, someone had grabbed me up, pulling me out of the way and into their arms. I let out a small scream when I saw Annalise rip off the head of the other wolf. It was then I realized I was about to be attacked. I looked up at the alpha who held me tight in his arms.


    I could not decipher the emotion in his eyes as he stared at me. I felt my heart quicken. We stood so close to each other that I could hear his heartbeat. We stood like that for so long that I began to feel ufortable. As I saw his gaze move to my lips, I looked down at my feet to distract myself only to realize that he was stark naked. I could feel his arousal poke my stomach.


    As I quickly jumped back with a gasp, I felt him release his grip on me, letting me drop to the floor. I gasped in pain as my head hit the floor.


    Right. Of course.

 Touche

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I would have avoided this meeting if I could, but there was no helping it. It wasn¡¯t like humans would suspect anything because the pack members had been trained consistently and taught to control their appetite when they were around humans. The only remotely suspicious thing was the location of my mansion, away from people. But that was quite exnatory as I worked better in a serene environment.


    But my problem was the other wolves in the vicinity. If they caught the scent of a human they would surelye running. For some reason, the day we had been surrounded by those rogue wolves after the hunt came to mind. I couldn¡¯t imagine something like that happening to my soon-to-be business partner. But this was an important client and I had nothing else to do but make sure of his safety. I needed this deal to go through as nned as it would be a huge achievement for mypany. So nothing was allowed to go wrong.


    I pulled on the button down shirt and pair of dress pants I had alreadyid out and proceeded to the balcony to await my guest. As I looked down to the ground floor, I saw a group of some of the pups ying in thewn. My brows cocked in surprise. I clearly remember informing the pack members that I didn¡¯t need any disturbance. I quickly mindlinked Annalise, telling her to move the kids to their room. It wasn¡¯t even time yet and they were already getting on my nerves.


    When I heard the sound of a car engine in the distance, I made my way down the stairs. It would take a few minutes before they got to the house, but I wanted to be ready.


    Finally, I saw the limousine pull up. Enrique Monteiro stepped out in arge pair ofbat shorts and an oversized sweater. If I hadn¡¯t met him before now, I would have been shocked to see him in such an attire for a business meeting. But everyone knew what Enrique was like, and it definitely wasn¡¯t a suit person; he valued hisfort above everything else and it showed in everything he did. After all it wasn¡¯t like any one would ask him to leave a meeting because of his attire. He practically owned the meetings. Which was why I needed him to work with him.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rather beautiful home you have up here,¡± Hemented, roving his eyes appreciatively round the premises. ¡°I would get one in a ce like this but I like the social life way too much.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°Touch¨¦.¡±


    As we walked through the gates I saw him smile. ¡°Well, well, this is way bigger than I thought. You¡¯ve got good taste, de.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. But I¡¯m sure your home is even more luxurious.¡±


    That did the trick as it made him chuckle. I had known he was one of those men who loved it when you fed their ego. No surprise there. When he was finallyfortable, I opened the brandy I had already kept on standby at his request and began our discussion.


    ***


    It turns out that the two hours I had taken out of my time for this meeting had not been a waste after all. Enrique was quite the friendly partner, all I had to do was praise one of his amazing works at intervals. The only annoying thing was the fact that he couldn¡¯t seem to shut up about all the wealth he had acquired over the years and the struggle that came with it. My patience was beginning to grow thin but I struggled to contain myself. It was almost over.


    I beamed when he handed me the contract he had signed. As I ced the pen to sign mine, I caught sight of someone wiping the windows right outside the door. I struggled to keep my cool when I saw that it was the prisoner. Hadn¡¯t I said I needed no disturbance? Thankfully, Enrique had his back to the wall and couldn¡¯t see her.


    Thinking quickly, I dropped the pen and faced Enrique, standing to my feet. ¡°I beg your pardon, excuse me for a moment.¡±


    As soon as he nodded, I all but raced to the door. I saw her pause in surprise when she saw me.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°I am having an important meeting, you can cleanter.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I, I didn¡¯t know t-that,¡± She stammered, infuriating me the more. I grabbed her forcefully by the wrists, trying not to falter when she looked me in the eyes. My wolf purred at our closeness and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from yelling.


    ¡°Oh so this is what was so important,¡± I heard Enrique¡¯s voice blend in beside me. I dropped her hand, turning around in horror to apologize but then stopped when I saw him smiling.


    ¡°I would too, she¡¯s a very beautiful woman,¡± He faced her. ¡°I take it she¡¯s your fianc¨¦e?¡± He gave a boomingugh. ¡°Because I¡¯m sure I would have been invited to the wedding if she was your wife.¡±


    Fuck.


    I struggled to form words. I couldn¡¯t say no because it would raise questions from him and we were this close to concluding the contract, I couldn¡¯t ruin in now.


    Swallowing back all the anger I felt, I ced a hand on her waist. ¡°Yes you¡¯re right,¡± I replied, forcing a smile.


    I felt her stiffen and try to look up at me but I tightened my hold on her waist. She must¡¯ve gotten the message because she rxed visibly, offering Enrique a small smile.


    ¡°Grand!¡± Enrique smiled. ¡°I would love to hear more about this so I¡¯ll pause our meeting here for now.¡±


    My eyes widened in shock.


    ¡°Now I am even more interested in working with you. Good for you, nowadays no one wants to get married. All they want are one night stands.¡±


    Getting the message, I cast a look of fake admiration to the prisoner. ¡°It¡¯s easy with her.¡±


    I tried not to frown when she started to cough. When I red at her, she finally stopped, looking to me and trying to smile.


    ¡°Good!¡± Enriqueughed, pping his hands together. ¡°I¡¯ll see you two at the party then.¡±


    Oh no. He was throwing a huge dinner party in a few days and I had been invited. I couldn¡¯t show up with her. Most of my business partners would be at the party and I couldn¡¯t have them believing that I was engaged.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    ¡°Thank you but unfortunately I don¡¯t think my fianc¨¦e will be able to make it.¡±


    Enrique waved off myment. ¡°Nonsense, I¡¯m sure you can make out time. We¡¯ll conclude the contract there, alright?¡±


    Facing her, he outstretched his hand so she could ce hers in his. He nted a light kiss to it and grinned. ¡°See you soon, mdy.¡±


    ¡°Bye for now,¡± He said to me, and without waiting for my response, he breezed out of the house, his bodyguards trailing behind him.


    I whipped around to face the girl, pulling my arm off her waist. ¡°Why are you so dumb?! Now look what you¡¯ve done!¡±


    I saw her shoulders begin to shake. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know that-¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± I raked my fingers through my hair, trying to find a solution to this problem although I knew it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Shit!¡±


    I had to drag this bitch all the way to a stupid party just for this contract. As I red at her I longed to snap her neck.


    I faced her once more. ¡°You know what? You put yourself into this mess so you¡¯re gonna have to deal with it,¡± I hissed. ¡°You¡¯reing to the party.¡±


    ¡°B-but I-¡±


    ¡°Annalise wille for you in the evening to¡­¡± I nced at her shabby outfit. ¡°¡­ clean you up.¡±


    ¡°And I don¡¯t need to repeat myself about what will happen if you fail to meet their expectations.¡±


    Without waiting for her reaction, I exited the room, cursing silently.

 Crushing my lips on hers…

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it,¡± I pleaded with Margaret as she sat on the bed, a mischievous smile on her face. She had finally told me her name and it was much better than referring to her as ¡®the Healer¡¯.


    ¡°Well, you surely can¡¯t say that to him,¡± She sighed, patting my back. ¡°You can picture it as a job, you know? One of your chores, then get it over with.¡±


    I buried my head in my hands. ¡°It¡¯s not fair, neither is it my fault. I mean, no one told me to stay away from that area of the house today. Why do I have to take the me for even things that aren¡¯t my fault?¡±


    She only sighed as a response. ¡°I understand, child. But we can¡¯t do anything about it now. He has been chasing this client for as long as I can remember. And now he has him in his grip I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t let anything stop him. He¡¯s going to throw a tantrum if anything ruins this.¡±


    I scoffed, bitterness welling up within me. ¡°Why do I have to do him all these favors? He has been treating me like shit all this time and is never appreciative when I do something good. Why? I¡¯m so tired¡­¡±


    Margaret squeezed my shoulders reassuringly. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    I nodded, feeling even more exhausted than I had previously. It just keeps getting worse.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    ¡°How many more years do I have to wait for her to get ready?!¡± I seethed as I nced at my watch. I saw some of the she-wolves duck and run helter skelter at the sound of my voice. I had been waiting nearly thirty minutes for them to get her ready. What the fuck was taking so long? I wondered, ncing at the time again. If they didn¡¯t hurry up I would bete for the party as well. Not like it would be a problem, but I was always punctual to everything.


    As I cursed under my breath once more, I saw her emerge from the top of the stairs and I had to stand my ground to keep from sprawling. She was a vision. I couldn¡¯t help but rake my eyes over her form. She was d in a sleeveless emerald green mermaid dress. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my jaw from dropping. The greenplemented her ice blue eyes quite well, and her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail. She looked befitting enough to act like my fianc¨¦e.


    I had to force my eyes away from her as she ascended the stairs. When she stood next to me, the scent of her hair was this close to driving me crazy. I had to remind myself of the more important things at hand. Without a word, I exited the living room making my way to the car. It was about an hour ride and we had to be quick. I saw her follow from corner of my eyes and help herself into the passenger seat.


    I started the engine and zoomed off at full speed. The entire ride consisted of me trying my hardest not to gape at her, and her looking out the window the whole time. I finally brought the car to a stop in front of a fancy hotel where the party was supposed to hold. I took a few seconds to prepare myself for the agony ahead and then I exited the car, tossing the keys to the valet and walking round to open the door for her. I stered a smile on my face as I helped her out, nudging her sharply so she could so the same.


    I gripped her waist tightly when she red up at me and brought my lips to her ear. ¡°If you don¡¯t quit being a stupid girl and y along, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re beheaded by dawn.¡±


    I saw her eyes ze over and she stood up straighter, swallowing with difficulty and letting a smile spread over her cheeks.


    Good.


    With her by my side the entire night, I roamed the hall, greeting business partners and familiar faces in the industry. Unsurprisingly, she managed it perfectly, smiling andughing when required. I assumed she was used to being at events like this due to her father¡¯s influence.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    Pissed for no particr reason, I dragged her along until I sighted Enrique. I breathed out deeply. Now was the time, I needed to impress him enough to get the contact signed and sealed. As I made to move forward, I felt the girl stop abruptly, forcing her hand out of my tight grip and ring at me. I looked down to see her ring at me, anger deep in her eyes. Her chest heaved as she stared at me for a few moments, and without a word she whipped around and walked away.


    rmed, I walked after her, trying not to yell, we were already getting weird stares from a few people. I saw her get to one of the tables and grab up a champagne flute, downing it in one gulp.


    ¡°What the fuck do you think you¡¯re doing? Don¡¯t you dare embarrass me,¡± I swore under my breath as I stood beside her.


    She angrily shook off the arm I ced on her waist. ¡°You know what? I¡¯m done,¡± She said, gulping another ss of champagne.


    I felt my palms begin to sweat. Why the fuck was this happening right now, here of all ces.


    ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡±


    She scoffed. ¡°Of course you probably wouldn¡¯t even realize. Being an asshole is obviously your day job. So yeah, lose the stupid contract. The worst you could do is kill me like you¡¯ve been threatening to.¡±


    I cocked an eyebrow, wondering where all this courage wasing from. I swore silently when I realized she was probably tipsy. She had been taking sips of alcohol the whole night. I cursed myself for letting her do that in the first ce.


    I gripped her upper arm. ¡°Now listen here you little bitch. You¡¯ll do as-¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She dragged her hand away.


    I sucked in a sharp breath as more people began to look out way. She was causing a fucking scene.


    I broke into a sweat and tried to move closer to her when I saw Enrique approach us. I turned to her in desperation. ¡°Okay, please, thisst time. I can¡¯t afford to lose this.¡± I hated the fact that I had to stoop this low. I would punish her so severely for this that she would pick death over it.


    She shook her head vigorously before I could even finish.


    ¡°Okay I¡¯m sorry!¡± I said, exasperated. ¡°Please¡­¡±


    She regarded me coldly for a few moments. Enrique was almost at our table, his face starting to contort into a frown.


    She let out a bitterugh. ¡°You are such a-¡±


    In onest attempt to shut her up, I leaned forward, gripped the back of her neck and crushed my lips on hers.

 Guilty as charged

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I froze when I felt the alpha¡¯s lips on mine. A new kind of warmth flowed through me as he worked his lips over mine gently. I let out a gasp when he stopped for a second to run his tongue over my bottom lip, and I couldn¡¯t understand why my heart began to pound so hard it was all I could hear. I wanted to¡­ I had to pull away, but my legs just wouldn¡¯t cooperate.


    Slowly, I melded into the kiss, sighing when his arm moved to snake around my waist. I couldn¡¯t believe that a few seconds ago I was practically drunk-yelling at him. I knew I would get into trouble for thatter but I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Already attempting to eat each other¡¯s faces off, I see,¡± I heard someone chuckle from behind us, making him break the kiss. I saw him stare at me, his face calm as though nothing had happened, and all of a sudden I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little embarrassed. Here I was flushed and breathless whilst he looked like a fly had just flown past him. I tried to catch his gaze but it was as though the kiss had rendered me speechless. So I stood there and forced a smile.


    I saw himugh and move forward to shake the other man¡¯s hand. ¡°We apologize,¡± Heughed. ¡°We just got a bit carried away.¡±


    I tried not to let the hurt show on my face as I gave a tinyugh and rubbed the back of my neck.


    The other man waved it off, moving forward to face me. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s normal. And with a beautiful woman like this, I can imagine it¡¯s hard to keep your hands off her.¡±Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Guilty as charged,¡± I heard the alpha say. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at him in disbelief. It was that easy for him to spill out lies.


    ¡°Nice to meet you again, mdy,¡± The other man smiled, reaching out for my hand and cing a light kiss to it. I momentarily forgot about the present as a smile spread over my cheek from the gesture. There was something so warm about his aura and I kind of liked it. Maybe that was partly because I was used to having such negative energy around me.


    ¡°Nice to meet you too, Mr Monteiro,¡± I smiled. My chest started to rx from the two-second panic attack I just had trying to recall his name.


    ¡°Please just call me Enrique,¡± He chuckled. ¡°And you are?¡±


    I almost staggered backwards. Was I supposed to tell him my real name? What exactly was I supposed to say? He hadn¡¯t briefed me on this question. My hands shook as I struggled to form words. When I looked up to the alpha for help, I saw that he looked just the way I felt.


    ¡°Li-¡±


    ¡°Eloise, babe, you good?¡±


    I heard the alpha say. Although I was exhausted and pissed at the moment, I had tomend him for his sharp thinking. This way Enrique would not suspect anything.


    I nodded feebly. ¡°Just a little lightheaded that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Wow, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman,¡± Enriqueughed. He turned back to the alpha. ¡°Well, you two are the most adorable pair I have evere across. I love it.¡±


    ¡°So what do you do, Eloise?¡±


    It took me a few moments to realize he was talking to me. What do I do? What on earth was I supposed to say? As I began to fidget again, the alpha came to my rescue.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to put my baby through the stress of working when I can provide for the two of us,¡± He answered for me, cing his arm around my waist. For some reason the way he said ¡®baby¡¯ made a delicious shiver run down my spine.


    ¡°That¡¯s the exact way I feel about my wife,¡± Enrique eximed. ¡°Why put her through all that stress, right? I just need her to rest her pretty head while I do all the work.¡±


    As the two men shared augh, all I could think of was how much I disagreed with them. Maybe some women enjoyed being housewives, but I couldn¡¯t picture myself sitting home all day doing nothing and feeling useless. I would be nothing better than just one of the many pieces of furniture in one of those mansions. But my opinion didn¡¯t count, coupled with the fact that I was way too scared to give it.


    Finally Enrique looked down at his watch. ¡°I presume you have the contracts here?¡±


    The alpha nodded, procuring some papers from his side pocket. I watched as Enrique put his signature on all of them and then p his hands together. ¡°Great! I look forward to working with you. And by the way, I would love to see your wife apany you to events like this. She¡¯s nothing less than a vision, and you shouldn¡¯t be shy to show her off.¡±


    Oh no. Hell no. I couldn¡¯t do this again. As I watched Enrique wink at us and walk away, I had this urge to yell out to him, call him back and tell him everything. Maybe he could help me out¡­ he could save me. But I knew it was no use as long as I was up against werewolves. The only thing that would follow was a bloodshed. So I silently watched him walk away, wishing I had done more.


    The ride back to the mansion was silent and ufortable, and I almost began to wish that I was back in the dungeon. I had never been to an event like this, or any event for that matter. I¡¯d had to act calm and rxed and mimic the other women there so I would be able to fit in, whilst having anxiety attacks at intervals. And I did all of this while being threatened the entire time, just to help the person who kidnapped me for reasons I still didn¡¯t know about get a contract. I felt tears well up in my eyes at how pathetic my situation was. And as I stared outside the window, trying to hold back my tears, I wished he had just executed me the day of my abduction.

 Plus one

    Niki¡¯s POV


    ¡°So she¡¯s your plus one to events from now on?¡± Margaret asked from where she was seated on the ottoman. I didn¡¯t like the way she described it, but I grunted in agreement.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± She replied simply, and as usual she gave a knowing smile. ¡°Well in that case, you can¡¯t keep starving and overworking her. Sooner orter people will begin to suspect.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°Well for starters, she¡¯s lean, malnourished, and has about a thousand bruises on her body.¡±


    Something clicked in my head when she said this. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she healed already?¡± I asked Margaret, puzzled. ¡°Her wolf would have healed her by now.¡±


    Margaret threw me a look of disbelief. ¡°With all the torture she has gone through, why would you assume that her wolf would be strong enough to do that?¡±


    Oh. I hadn¡¯t thought of that. ¡°So what now?¡±


    I hated seeking advice from anyone but right now I had no choice.


    ¡°For starters, take her out of that disgusting dungeon. She needs sunlight and fresh air for brighter, clearer skin.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I thundered. Even though I needed her to appear by my side at events I couldn¡¯t forget the fact that she was a prisoner. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I had not put her through enough torture.


    Margaret shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just onest dinner party right?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s no big deal. She just needs to be taken care of for a few days and then you may do with her as you wish.¡±


    I considered it for a moment and then I nodded. ¡°Fine. But she continues with the chores.¡±N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    I didn¡¯t understand why Margaret looked pleased at the development but I didn¡¯t ask. I had already begun to notice that some of the pack members had started being soft on the prisoner. It surprised me because I could clearly see that there was nothing special about the girl. Unless of course they just felt sorry for her. But deep down, I also felt a little betrayed. They knew the reason why she was here, but still they decided to go easy on her. Deciding not to give a fuck about their actions, I turned away and continued with my work as Margaret shut the door behind her.


    ***


    I struggled to associate myself in either attraction or repulsion for the woman who stood by my side, simultaneously sneaking nces at the generous swell of her breasts through the low neckline of the red dress she was wearing. I¡¯d been cursing myself all night for my inability to control myself. Why did I keep staring at her. I was supposed to be making her suffer not sprawling at her feet like a high school boy.


    Since the day I had kissed her to shut her up, I had been feeling irritated for no reason in particr. Of course the kiss had started off as a means of quieting her, but midway I had gotten so lost in it that it carried on for longer than I had wanted. It was a struggle keeping a straight face afterwards but I couldn¡¯t have her thinking I had enjoyed it. The honey scented taste of her lips came to memory and I had to look away from her to stop myself from grabbing her and recreating it.


    I straightened up when I saw Antonio Gareeb and Dan Lyons walk toward us, beaming. I had been partners with them for quite a number of years.


    ¡°de?¡± Dan chuckled as he bounded to us. ¡°Looking good, man!¡± Heughed as he shook my hand, moving aside so that Antonio could do the same.


    After we had exchanged pleasantries, I cleared my throat. ¡°This is my fianc¨¦e, Eloise,¡± I introduced them, ignoring the surprised look she gave me.


    I saw Antonio rake his eyes over her. ¡°Wow. What a beauty,¡± He whispered, lightly pecking the back of her outstretched hand.


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± She smiled.


    ¡°You lucky bastard,¡± Danughed as he reached out to do the same.


    We chatted about business for a while, and once in a while she gave a smallugh when they made jokes, just like I had told her to. At least she was doing her job.


    ¡°May I steal her for one dance?¡± Antonio asked all of a sudden, surprising both the girl and myself. I struggled internally on my answer. It was just a dance, no big deal. Right? So why was it so difficult to say yes.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I faked a smile and turned away, resuming my conversation with Dan.


    From the corner of my eyes I could see her smile and eagerly ce her hand in his. Why the fuck was she so happy about it? I tried to control the unexinable anger I felt as I turned back to Dan. I could see his eyes follow them as they began to waltz in the middle of the hall.


    ¡°She¡¯s hands down the most desirable woman here tonight,¡± He breathed, his eyes still trailing behind her. My wolf growled and I contemting on punching the desire out of his eyes. But I held myself back.


    Why the hell was I being so protective? I wouldn¡¯t care less if she was run over by a truck. I wanted her dead. She was repulsive to me. So why?


    As I conversed with Dan I couldn¡¯t help but sneak nces at them while they danced. The song was over already, so why did they stay for a second dance? The grin on Antonio¡¯s face made me want to forget about our years of friendship and knock out all the teeth from his mouth.


    I turned away, grabbing up a champagne flute and gulping it all down. I needed something stronger than this shit right now.


    I was barely listening when Dan bade me goodbye, but managed to offer a friendly smile. My eyes riveted back to the dancing duo. I did a double take when I saw her smiling. Why did she look like she was enjoying this?


    My fists clenched and unclenched as I downed drink after drink to distract myself. I let out a growl when I saw Antonio let his hand fall lower just above her hips.


    Fuck. This. Shit.

 Possessive much

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I breathed out in relief when he assented to the dance with his friend. Being around him was abination of suffocation, fear, and unwarranted attraction. I med it on the kiss from the other time. If only he had kept his hands to himself I would still be thinking straight. To some extent I was quite disgusted with myself. Why would anyone feel this way about someone who had been treating them like shit?


    But I also couldn¡¯t help but notice the little things that had been happening before now. My work at the mansion had been cut down dramatically. All I had to do now was clean a few rooms asionally and take care of Eve. It was sudden and surprising but I had no one to ask about. I was grateful for the development of course, but I couldn¡¯t help but be suspicious about the whole thing.


    But the most surprising thing of all was when I had been let out of a dungeon and into a small, shabby butfortable room. At first I had assumed I was brought to clean it up. But a few minutester, a few necessities and clothes had been brought in for me. ording to them, I would be staying there from now on. I had been shocked, confused. Why would he do such a thing for me? It was obvious that he still hated me so why? When he had ordered me to get ready for another party that I would be apanying him to, it all started to make sense. If he continued to starve and torture me, it would be obvious. He needed me to keep up appearances. He had to be the most selfish person I had ever crossed paths with. The most annoying thing about all of this was the fact that I still had no idea why I was here in the first ce. I hated being in the dark and being used as a pawn. Maybe I should have been used to it by now but it still hurt. Every single time.


    Trying to wave off the bad thoughts, I faced the man I was waltzing with. He had introduced himself as Antonio and I was eternally grateful to him for taking me away from the tense atmosphere. Also he actually attempted to make conversation with me, like I was a human and not just some puppet. It felt different, but nice. Nice enough that we decided to stay for a second dance. After all, the alpha was still busy with his other friend, and he probably wouldn¡¯t notice nor care if I was gone for longer.


    As the song was about to end, I felt a strong arm drag me backwards and pull me away from Antonio. I looked up to see the alpha looming above me and seething. My heart leaped. I should have asked him before staying away longer. My hands shook as I tried to exin, clutching the material of my dress. But as I looked at him once more, I saw that his death stare was directed not towards me, but to Antonio.


    My brows furrowed in confusion. What the hell was happening?


    He protectively pulled me to his side. ¡°We have to go now, it¡¯s gettingte,¡± He informed his friend, and without waiting for a response, he stalked off, pulling me behind him.


    When we got to the car, he faced me. ¡°Why would you let him touch you like that?!¡± He growled, rage still thick in his voice.


    I looked back at him, confused. ¡°What do you m-mean,¡± I stammered. ¡°We were just danci-¡±


    ¡°Dancing?! With his hands all over you like that?!¡± He breathed heavily. ¡°No one is allowed to touch you like that. No one!¡±


    In fear, I nodded. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again¡­¡± I didn¡¯t understand what he was so angry about. Antonio hadn¡¯t touched me in appropriately.


    He drove in silence for a while and then he cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯s not like I give a fuck, but we can¡¯t have people thinking we aren¡¯t in a serious rtionship.¡±


    I said nothing, but kept wondering why he felt the need to exin. Shrugging it off, I rxed into the car seat and stayed silent the entire trip to the hotel. This event has taken ce in an entirely different state and so we had to board a flight instead. We would leave the next morning and so I had brought a change of clothes along. I couldn¡¯t wait to get out of this dress, I needed to sleep. It was tiring walking around and faking a smile for hours on end.


    As we got out of the car and into the reception, he shoved my small travel bag hard to my chest. ¡°You were going to forget that in there? Fucking klutz,¡± He muttered under his breath. My face heated in anger but I said nothing.


    ¡°Reservation for de Corporation?¡± He said to the receptionist. I saw her do a double take as she stared at his form in shock. I had seen women practically drool at his feet in the times I had gone out with him. He usually had that effect on people.


    The receptionist managed to spare a few seconds of gaping at his face to look at theputer in front of her.


    ¡°Yes,¡± She announced, stretching out and handing him a key card.


    He stared at it and then back to her. ¡°I made a reservation for two rooms,¡± He said, annoyance beginning to creep into his voice.


    The receptionist stared at him in confusion and then scrolled through something on herputer. Finally she looked up. ¡°Yes you did, I can see it here. But unfortunately, the reservation was made a littleter and we could only secure one room due to the number of guests we have in this period.¡±


    The re he gave her would have sliced anyone into two clean halves. I saw her begin to shake and falter under his stare.


    ¡°I apologize for the convenience, sir. The mistake is from the booking section. I¡¯m terribly sorr-¡±


    ¡°Is this how poor the service here is?!¡± He barked, and although it wasn¡¯t directed to me, I couldn¡¯t help but shiver.


    ¡°We apologize for the inconvenience.¡± Her voice hade down to a whisper now.


    ¡°Are there any other hotels around?¡± He asked, raking a finger through his thick hair.Content provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    She shuddered visibly. ¡°Y-yes, but they¡¯re all fully booked as well.¡±


    I held back a gasp as the reality of possibly sharing a room with him hit me.


    No, no, no.


    I can¡¯t. He would surely kill me in the middle of the night. I couldn¡¯t even be around him in the daytime, what would happen at night. The anger on his face made me hope he would leave to try at another hotel.


    But to my utmost dismay, he cast onest re to the receptionist and grabbed the key card off the counter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Of course, when had my wishes evere true?

 A long night

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    The room was smaller than I had expected. Just great. If it was bigger at least I would be guaranteed a safe distance away from him. I tried to hiss as inaudibly as I could, awkwardly clutching the travel bag to my chest and I waited for him to say something.


    He hissed as he looked the room through. ¡°Disgusting,¡± He muttered under his breath. I prayed to disappear into wall when he looked in my direction. After a few agonizing moments, he finally looked away, raising his arms above his head to pull off his tie and then unbutton his shirt. My eyes widened in shock when his muscr chest came into view and without thinking I turned away to hide the blush that had spread over my face. I could feel his eyes pierce my back and I facepalmed.


    Why did he look so much better to me now that we had shared a kiss? I wondered, cursing myself internally. I needed to calm down and quit this weird behaviour. I only turned around when I heard him go into the bathroom and bang the door behind him.


    I raked a hand through my hair as I lowered myself onto the medium sized bed. I quickly jumped up, realizing i had bigger problems. Where was I supposed to sleep? There was no couch or even a measly chair I could sleep in. And the weather was so cold I was sure to catch a cold if I slept on the floor. The floor of the dungeon had been all wood and hay and although I hadn¡¯t beenfortable, I hadn¡¯t fallen sick. Except from malnutrition. This floor was tiled and I knew how bad that could be. Resolving to beg him to hand me one of the duvets, Iy down and waited for him to finish up.


    My mind wandered as I waited. He was taking longer than I expected him to. I was already beginning to feel sleepy and so I stood to pace around the room for fear of falling asleep on the bed. I didn¡¯t want him dragging me up so hard that he¡¯d separate my soul from my body.


    The only sound that filled the room was the sound of the running shower and the sshing of water. For some reason, I began to picture him wet and naked. I nearly choked on my own saliva as the thought ran through my head. My cheeks burned at my lewd thoughts and I had to shake my head hard to try and get rid of the thoughts.


    Finally he walked out. My breath caught in my throat as I caught sight of his dripping figure, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. My heart quickened as I looked from his wet hair which had fallen to his eyes to his v-line of his torso. I was caught between embarrassment and admiration as my gaze shifted from him to random parts of the wall. Finally cursing myself mentally, I grabbed the travel bag and raced into the bathroom.


    I pped my forehead repeatedly as I leaned against the door of the bathroom. What on earth was wrong with me? I was pretty sure he had caught me staring at him like he was some kind of demigod. At this point I just needed the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I was being so dumb right now. Taking in a deep breath, I tried to calm myself. I just needed to take a shower and get some rest. I¡¯d be fine.


    I took my time to scrub myself from head to toe, sighing in relief when I finally washed the makeup off. I felt better now, lighter than before. When I was done, I reached for the travel bag. I had taken it with me for obvious reasons. I would die before I willingly changed in front of him.


    ¡°What the hell¡­¡± I trailed off as I picked out the nightwear that had been packed up for me. It was acy pink satin nightie that was so revealing it could pass off as lingerie. I dug my hand into the bag in desperation to see if there was anything else inside, but all I grasped was air.


    Tonight just couldn¡¯t get any better.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I drew up the duvet to conceal my hardened cock when she nced awkwardly at me lowered herself to the floor. Every time I thought I had seen it all, she managed to look sexier than thest time.


    I swallowed as i eyed the section of her butt that escaped from the flimsy material of her satin shorts. When she nced shyly at me with those eyes, I felt myself going weak.


    Fuck.


    It would only take a few seconds to rip it off and finally have it in my grasp. My cock was so hard it was starting to ache. I needed a cool shower to take care of it but I¡¯d be damned before I let her see the effect she was having on me. So Iy there.


    She looked up from her position on the floor and faced me like she was about to say something but changed her mind. I was too concentrated on my erection to care so I didn¡¯t ask.


    ¡°Can I have one of the duvets?¡± I heard her finally ask in a small voice.


    ¡°No.¡± I answered abruptly.


    I saw her lower her head to hide the disappointment in her eyes.


    Minutes passed and all my attempts to fall asleep proved futile. I could hear her try to muffle the sounds of her teeth cking against each other from the cold. I shut my eyes tightly for a few seconds.


    ¡°Get on the bed,¡± Imanded. Realizing how it must have sounded, I added, ¡°I¡¯m not carrying you all the way back if you fall sick, soe up.¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    She was silent for a while and then I heard her get up and climb onto the bed. As I watched her breasts bounce as she tried to adjust on the bed, desire clouded my eyes and I could feel the throbbing of my cock.


    I saw her move to the extreme end of the bed and I silently prayed she would fall off so I would stare at anything else other than her full breasts or her backside.


    I pretended not to notice when I saw her try to decide which way she should face. She was either giving a good view of her backside or her breasts. And if I wasn¡¯t fighting my desires at the moment, I would have found it amusing.


    Finally giving up, shey on her back instead and raised the duvet up to her neck. I faced away from her on the bed and shut my eyes.


    This was going to be a long night.

 Ready when you are

    Liyah¡¯s POVOriginal from N?velDrama.Org.


    After hours of feeling exposed and ufortable, I finally rxed when I heard him begin to snore lightly. He had been asleep for about an hour now. I tried to get some sleep as well but it seemed an impossible task so I gave up.


    As I felt him jerk sharply on the bed, I quickly drew up the duvet. I had put it down a little when he had fallen sleepy. I risked a nce at him and grimaced in surprise when I saw that he was still asleep.


    My frown deepened as I took in the sight of his shaky hands, his heaving chest, parted lips and the beads of sweat that stood on his forehead. I sat up in bed, observing him curiously. Was he sick or something?


    I saw his hands shake once more as he twisted his neck from side to side, breathing heavily. ¡°P-please, let her be¡­¡± I heard him pant. ¡°Let her go¡­ please¡­ Elle¡­¡±


    My brows furrowed. Elle. Who was that?


    As he jerked harder and twisted on the bed, I realized he was having a nightmare. I began to panic, unsure of what to do. I reached out to pat him and possibly try to calm him down but I was too scared to touch him. I didn¡¯t want to get into trouble for trying to help. Again. So I forced my eyes away from his spasming form and tried to block out the sounds. But I could feel the vibrations as he shook uncontrobly.


    My heart clenched when he let out a broken cry, and without thinking it through, I reached out to grasp his hand in mine, squeezing it reassuringly. When he continued to shake, I scooted closer to him, saying a word of prayer before cing my left hand to the back of his head and smoothening his hair down.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a nightmare,¡± I whispered, steadily soothing him whilst using my other hand to rock him back and forth. After a while he began to rx. I observed him rather curiously. I would never picture someone as intimidating as him having a nightmare, so it was quite a surprise. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was a one time thing or if it was recurrent.


    But that wasn¡¯t important right now. I felt a warmth in the pit of my stomach as he clutched at the sides of my stomach, still breathing heavily. I couldn¡¯t believe how small and harmless he looked at the moment. And I wasn¡¯t sure why I felt so much sympathy for him at the moment.


    But I resolved not to think about it.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I slowly opened my eyes to the slight rays of the sunlight. I don¡¯t think I had slept better than I didst night in a very long time. As my body began to adjust to the environment, I looked down in shock to see that I was cuddled up close to the girl on the bed, her arms draped snugly around my neck. Cursing, I ignored the purring from my wolf and the urge to keepying on her breasts and flung myself out of her hold, rousing her from sleep in the process.


    ¡°What the hell is going on here?!¡± I thundered, ring at her as her rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The action came off as adorable and for a moment I lost my bearings.


    What the fuck?


    It made me even angrier that she was such a distraction.


    I saw her breathe in deeply and re at me. ¡°You were having a nightmare and you kept on having these spasms, I had to hold onto you to help you calm down. And then I¡­ I slept off,¡± She looked down at this point and I could see her face redden.


    But I wasn¡¯t paying attention to anything else. Nightmare? I hadn¡¯t had a nightmare in a while. And they were usually pretty bad. I was surprised that I did not awaken. I red at her confused feature. She has seen me. How long did it happen for? What had she heard? Rage bubbled through my chest at the thought of looking so vulnerable in front of her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever touch me again!¡± I spat.


    I saw her shake with fear but she kept her mouth shut. Good. I would have made her regret it if she said anything stupid.


    Still fuming, I whipped out my phone and dialed Annalise. She picked up on the first ring.


    ¡°When is the flight supposed to leave again? And when will the tickets be here, no one hase to deliver them.¡±


    She was quiet for a few moments. ¡°The delivery boy will be there soon. But uh, today¡¯s flight has been cancelled due to some technical issues.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I needed to leave this shit hole that was supposed to be a hotel. ¡°How long is that going to take?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± She answered, her voice beginning to break from the other end.


    ¡°Can we book another?¡± I asked in desperation.


    ¡°Yes but they have already been fully booked.¡±


    ¡°Fuck!¡± I hung up, tossing my phone to the bed. ¡°It just keeps getting better and better.¡±


    ***


    It was 2pm. Two hours since I got the news of the cancelled flight. I had showered and had breakfast, and so had the prisoner girl. We sat in silence for hours and asionally I would look through my phone to distract myself. I looked over my phone discreetly to see her huddled up in a corner. Usually she never said anything when she was around me, but this time it was worse. I wondered if she was even breathing. She just sat there, listless and staring into space. I almost started to feel bad about this morning.


    Trying not to dwell on it, I grabbed up the hotel brochure from the drawer. Flipping through it, I found out that they had a tennis table game. Finally, something to do around here.


    I quickly changed into morefortable clothes and made my way out of the room. As I swung the door open, I cast onest nce to the girl who hadn¡¯t even looked up. I rolled my eyes and looked away and then I turned back to her. ¡°I¡¯m leaving to y some tennis.¡±


    When I was halfway out the door I heard her ask, ¡°Can Ie?¡± Her voice was so low that if not for my magnified hearing I would not have caught a word.


    I surprised myself by giving a small nod and waited a few moments so she could change into the casual clothes I had gotten that morning.


    I was literally blown away when it turned out that she was quite good at tennis. I felt mypetitive self surface when she managed to beat me twice. Oh, hell no.


    As I hit the ball with my bat it bounced off the andnded right on my face. I was surprised to hear her let out a soft, heartyugh which for some reason made me smile. I hadn¡¯t heard herugh before.


    ¡°Where did you learn how to y?¡± I asked from across the table. I wasn¡¯t even sure what came over me, but I didn¡¯t try to control it this time.


    She gaped at me in surprise but quickly recovered. ¡°Uh, I, highschool. I have a few trophies,¡± She muttered, and I could tell that she was picking her words carefully.


    I nodded, passing the ball back to her. When I finally won my first round against her, I pumped my fist in the air in victory, earning anotherugh from her. ¡°Let¡¯s see you beat that, shall we?¡± I smirked, parting my arms. I loved the adrenaline rush I was getting. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I yed a sport or game, thest time I talked this much,ughed this much.


    It felt like a dream I would wake up from and so I didn¡¯t try to fight it. She pulled her hair back into a bun and held her bat at the ready. ¡°Bring it on,¡± She smiled, and I couldn¡¯t see a trace of the fear that had seemed to be permanent in her eyes.


    As I nodded, I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out to see a message from Anna:


    ¡®Issues fixed. Flight by 3pm¡¯


    I stared long and hard at the message on the screen. I needed to get home today. I reread the message once more and then making my decision, I turned the screen off and tossed it back in my pocket, looking up to face the woman I was about to have a tennis battle with.


    ¡°Ready when you are.¡±

 Over in minutes

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I couldn¡¯t help but expect the worst as I stood beside the alpha in the elevator. Waking up this morning, yesterday had felt like a dream, but I could see the white t-shirt I had wornying next to the bed on the floor. I was shocked to my bones when he had assented mying with him to the game court, and even more so when he began to converse with him. For a while I wondered if he was in his right senses or if he somehow lost his memory the night before. And so I had been wary, picking my words carefully to avoid provoking him. But after a while, all my reservations fell away and I really began to put my all into the game. I had been scared to death the first time I beat him, I half expected him to rave and hit me across the face or something. But he only stared at me in surprise and then put in more work. And he was quite thepetition.


    For the first time, although it was just talk about tennis, he conversed with me like I was an actual human being. It was weird and I expected it to end any moment but it didn¡¯t. We spent the whole day ying tennis and I didn¡¯t think I had ever felt more refreshed.


    He hadn¡¯t said a word to me this morning though and I felt stupid for feeling hurt. Why was I forgetting all that he put me through? I was technically still his prisoner. And prisoners aren¡¯t friendly with their captors. I was certain that all the time I spent cooped up in that dungeon was definitely messing with my head.


    Finally the ride came to a stop. I walked out of the elevator quicker than I should have, and ended up bumping into someone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I yelped as I looked up at the man I had bumped into. He red at me in disgust like I was some kind of insect and looked down at the front of his coat.


    ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going you freaking klutz!¡± Looking down at his coat once more, he shuddered. ¡°Ugh! Look what you¡¯ve done to my jacket. Do you have any idea how much this costs?!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t see any stain on the jacket and so I wondered what he was talking about. When I realized he probably meant that I was too filthy to touch him, my cheeks heated. Why did everyone think that way about me? Even the ones I didn¡¯t know. For no particr reason, my bottom lip began to quiver. A few people had already begun to gather round the scene, I couldn¡¯t break down in front of all these people.


    ¡°How dare you talk to my wife like that?!¡±


    I stared up at the alpha, astonished. His wife? Was he standing up for me? I watched him grab the man by the front of his jacket. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡±


    The man squirmed in his grip, his face flushed in embarrassment. ¡°Put me down, you savage! You have no idea who I am, I¡¯ll make you pay!¡±


    He began to falter under the alpha¡¯s gaze as he stared him down. I felt chills down my spine. I knew how scary that look was.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m s-sorry,¡± I finally heard the man say. ¡°Just let me go, please.¡±


    I saw the alpha gesture to me and I felt a tingle run through my fingers. The man looked in my direction, putting his hands together in a sign of plea. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    It felt weird being the center of all this. I slowly nodded, prompting the alpha to put the man down. When he did, he resumed his position by my side, cing my hand in his and walking out of the hotel.


    I still couldn¡¯t believe what had just happened. First he ys tennis with me, now he stands up for me in public. I couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. But I didn¡¯t say anything about it to him.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I med everything on my wolf. There was no logical reason for everything that had been happening. I hated the fact that I acted on impulse and the protectiveness I felt when it came to her. This morning at the elevator, I had wanted to rip that man¡¯s head off his shoulders when he had yelled at her. I hadn¡¯t felt so triggered by anything in a long time. But I had to put a leash on it and stop myself. I couldn¡¯t wait to get home, I wasn¡¯t sure why I felt like being home would make everything go back to normal.


    I saw her begin to shake violently when the flight was about to take off. I was surprised when I found out that she was scared of flights. She had had an anxiety attack on the first flight that brought us here. I knew it couldn¡¯t be her first time on a ne as I was sure she had been on several business trips, but I didn¡¯t ask.


    Today it was even worse. She was shaking so much that it distracted me.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be over in minutes,¡± I said gruffly, trying not to sound too concerned.


    She only nodded but I could see her start to hyperventte. She clutched the sides of her seat and shut her eyes when we took off. When I heard her begin to gasp, tears dropping from the corner of her eyes, I reached out, clutching her hand in mine and intertwining our fingers.


    I felt a pool of warmth in my stomach from her touch. My nose began to twitch, my instinctsing into y. I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up beside her and keep her safe from any sort of harm. I wanted to protect her. I needed to.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    But instead, I grabbed up a magazine and began to flip through it, pretending not to notice how she held onto my fingers like her life depended on it.

 Strange but comforting

    Annalise¡¯s POV


    I had a gut feeling that the slight change I was noticing in Niki had something to do with that prisoner girl. I wondered if I was the only one who noticed that he began to talk more, maybe not a lot, but now he said at least two sentences in a day. It was strange butforting. And whatever the reason was, I hoped it would keep being there.


    Sometimes I wondered if I was just overthinking or overanalyzing everything. He was still a big fat meanie to everyone, and he yelled even when it was necessary. But I knew Niki almost more than I knew myself, considering the fact that we grew up together. So I could definitely tell that something was different. The only other person that could see reason with my analysis was Andrew. But he had been gone on that business trip for quite a while.


    Deciding that I would just watch and see how everything yed out, I proceeded to the kitchen to pick up what I needed. Getting there, I packed up the cake, pudding and fruits into a tray and made my way to the prisoner¡¯s room. I had been shocked when Niki had asked for her to be moved from the dungeon. But when I found out it was for reasons involving the business, I understood why. I couldn¡¯t help butugh at how that girl always identally put herself in the middle of everything. It might have been annoying if it wasn¡¯t so funny.


    The door of her room was open so I just took myself in. I saw her get up in a sh when she saw me. She stood back a few steps away from me and bowed, cing her hands behind her back. I instantly felt bad as I knew I was the reason for all the fear she felt around me. I had been so overbearing and mean to her that she could not befortable around me.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s no need to do that. This is your room, sit,¡± I smiled.


    It had the opposite effect as she immediately took a seat onmand. I didn¡¯t know what else to do so I did nothing.


    Gesturing to the tray, I said, ¡°I brought you something to eat. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re hungry?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± I tried again. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can befortable with me.¡±


    I watched her carefully as she forced a nod. I pushed the tray towards her and tried to hide my smile when she hurriedly ced a piece of cake in her mouth. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I nodded. There was something about her¡­ I hadn¡¯t figured it out yet. But I knew she was soft and sweet, and I could swear I had never met anyone so shy and innocent. Sometimes I wondered if she was truly of the Monhowl pack. She was nothing like them.


    ¡°I never thanked you for saving Jeremy,¡± I spoke up after a while.


    She frowned. ¡°Jeremy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my little boy, the one you healed the other day.¡±


    Her eyes widened. ¡°Oh. How is he doing? Is he fine now? I always wanted to ask but¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure how..¡±


    Guilt pinched me hard in the chest once more. ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡±Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯m d,¡± She nodded, lowering her head awkwardly and looking anywhere else but my face. I had never felt like such a terrible person.


    ¡°You know, you¡¯re not half as bad as I thought you would be.¡±


    She looked up but didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°I was actually looking forward to torturing you, to be honest.¡±


    She choked on her pudding and I couldn¡¯t help butugh. I handed her a bottle of water whilst patting her back.


    ¡°But I¡¯ve been watching you. You seem naive, sweet, innocent, or maybe it looks that way because of the situation you¡¯re in. I mean, you¡¯re even quite boring,¡± Iughed at her expression. ¡°But in a good way, of course.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ thanks,¡± She said with a smile.


    I understood that it was still all new to her and would take some getting used to, so I didn¡¯t try to push her.


    ¡°And I can¡¯t thank you enough for saving my mate,¡± I said, suddenly remembering the reason why I had wanted to see her. I had been so scared when I turned to see that Gavin was being strangled by one of those rogues. Before I could get to him, I saw the girl hit the other wolf across the head with a piece of wood. I had been stunned but grateful. I couldn¡¯t imagine what would have happened in anything happened to him.


    ¡°Oh, that was your mate?¡± She asked and I was d that she was beginning to loosen up. ¡°He seems like a nice person, and it¡¯s no problem.¡±


    I gazed at her, trying to figure her out. ¡°Why?¡± I blurted.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Iughed in disbelief. ¡°We kidnapped you, tortured you, starved you, made you even less than a ve. But you healed two of us and saved another despite all of this, when you could have easily let them suffer. Why?¡±


    It puzzled and annoyed me all at once. Of course I was grateful for their lives but I was a big believer in revenge. And I knew that if I was in the same position, I would never do something like that. If I had a chance to help those who had hurt me, I would look away and let it slide. Which was why I couldn¡¯t help but admire her. How do you put all that away, let it slide and still be good to them?


    I watched her give a bitterugh. ¡°I guess¡­ I¡¯m not sure. My nanny says I¡¯m too nice.¡±


    ¡°Well, I agree with her,¡± I deadpanned. ¡°Sometimes we all need to toughen up.¡±


    I expected her to take offence but instead sheughed. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    Suddenly remembering something, I asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    She stared at me in shock for a few moments. I assumed she was contemting on whether to tell me or not.


    ¡°Eloise,¡± She finally said.

 Unsettled

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I hated the fact that everyone stayed out of my way today. They all did their jobs quickly and efficiently, not giving me a chance nor reason toin or yell. All it did was irritate me. I needed some kind of outlet, some kind of release. I just needed a medium to let out all the pain I was feeling. But I couldn¡¯t find any. It was obviously because they weren¡¯t trying to be careful on this particr day.


    It was Elle¡¯s death anniversary. Although I had spent years trying to forget it, and hoping that I would wake up one day and not remember the date, it never went away, it just kept stinging like a fresh wound.


    I couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted today, I needed to secure a very important contract for thepany. I had been preparing for this particr meeting for weeks now, so nothing was allowed to mess it up. Downing the cup of coffee I had asked for, I wiped my lips and settled in to drive to my destination.


    The first face I saw when I walked out of the elevator was the very man I was here to see. Richard Lowe stopped in his tracks when we nearly bumped into each other. His face broke into a smile when he saw me.


    ¡°de, good to see you!¡±


    I stretched my arm out for a handshake. ¡°Same here, man. I¡¯m here to see you. For the meeting?¡± I added, wondering if he had forgotten.


    He nodded. ¡°Yes, of course. I wanted to be the one to usher you in, but you¡¯re here earlier than expected. Please, after you.¡±


    We walked the short distance to his office, exchanging pleasantries and catching up the whole way. I wouldn¡¯t call Richard Lowe my friend. He was just a very influential figure in the business world that I had run into on several asions, like parties and such.


    I cleared my throat when I sat, taking out myptop and sh drive to start the pitch when he raised a hand to stop me. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to start in a few minutes. We have to wait for the representative of the otherpany to arrive.¡±


    I cocked an eyebrow. I had thought I was the only candidate. But nevertheless, I nodded. I was confident that my work would impress him anyway. After a while he excused himself to escort mypetition up here. I nodded stiffly, annoyed that a lot of time was going to waste. To distract myself, I whipped out my phone and began to scroll through it.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    The sound of boomingughter from outside the office brought my attention back to the imminent meeting. I could hear Lowe exchange pleasantries with the other person. As I rolled my eyes, annoyed about the dy, I heard the sound once more. That eerily familiarughter. My heart skipped a beat but I shook my head wildly, scoffing. My mind was just ying with me. This was probably as a result of all the stress from work.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± I rubbed my forehead in circles. I needed to calm down for one second.


    I sat up straighter when I heard the door open. Out of curiosity, I turned to see if mypetition was a familiar face in industry. When my eyes met his, I felt my knees go weak and I stared back at those eyes in shock.


    Jonas Verbeck cocked an eyebrow at the sight of me, and then he let out a lowugh. ¡°Well, well, well, who would¡¯ve guessed. Niki de, long time no see.¡± Giving onestugh, he fell into the chair opposite me and sent me a smirk, rxing back into the chair.


    Rage pumped through my veins as I stared at the man who had caused me misery for eight years. My wolf growled in pain and I had to dig my fingers into the leather to keep from jumping across the room and ripping his throat out.


    There was a human present¡­ I couldn¡¯t do it..


    Tears of frustration threatened to spill from my eyes as I fought past my breaking point.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Lowe¡¯s voice floated into my thoughts. My lips trembled so much that I wasn¡¯t sure I could say a word without giving it away. My temperature had shot up and I could feel tremors up my arm.


    ¡°Yeah, you look a little¡­ unsettled,¡± Jonas added.


    My jaw clenched as I began to count from one to ten inaudibly.


    Lowe looked at me confused for a while and then he cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re both wondering why the other is here. Well, you both own two of the most sessfulpanies in a good number of states right now, and it was extremely difficult for me to just select one of you when you¡¯re both capable of getting the job done. So I decided to have this meeting where you both would pitch your incredible ideas to me, then I¡¯d pick which works best for me. If that¡¯s understood, we may begin.¡± He turned to me. ¡°Niki, you¡¯re up.¡±


    My wolf continued to growl, threatening to break free. I gripped the sh drive so hard that it shattered into tiny pieces. Lowe gave me another concerned look.


    ¡°Is anything the probl-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± I growled without meaning to.


    Grabbing my suitcase, I popped it open and grasped the files I had prepared in case something went wrong with the sh drive. I stood, files in hand and began to flip through them. But I was so blinded by rage that I could not read the words on the paper.


    Jonas was seated here. Right here. I could easily have my revenge right now. I could avenge Elle and the gloomy eight years I had spent in pain. He was right there with a smirk on his face. Because he knew I was powerless¡­ there was absolutely nothing I could do. My hands shook so hard that the papers began to fall. I clenched my fingers and turned around, grabbing my suitcase and making for the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t do this.¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait to hear what Lowe had to say. I knew I had already lost it. Jonas would get the contract¡­ the same one I had spent weeks strategizing on and preparing for. I had lost the contract, I had let Jonas walk away free when I could have torn him into pieces and gotten my revenge. I had no choice but to let him go¡­


    On Elle¡¯s death anniversary.


    I gripped my hair in my fingers, letting out a howl in pain as I punched the side of my car, making the side mirror fall and crumple on the floor.


    I felt the blood flow from my knuckles but it didn¡¯t make me feel any better. It wasn¡¯t real pain. It would heal¡­ I would be okay in a few minutes. But nothing else would change.


    Iunched myself into the driver¡¯s seat, turning on the ignition and zooming off. I needed something strong to take my mind off today.

 The things we do

    WARNING! TRIGGERING MATURE CONTENT!


    Niki¡¯s POV


    My head swirled with thoughts of today¡¯s events as I staggered through my bedroom door. Alcohol did nothing to lighten the load on my chest nor the rage I was feeling. I buried my head in my hands as I sat at the edge of my bed. Why had I let him escape? Why did I do something so stupid?


    ¡°Why did I¡­¡± I swallowed, clutching at my hair with shaky hands. I knew it could not have been helped but I couldn¡¯t help but feel so stupid about everything. My chest began to heave once more when I stared at Elle¡¯s portrait on the wall. I had failed her. I had failed once more. I let her murderer escape when he was right in front of me.


    I raved with anger as my thoughts went to the prisoner. I had the perfect revenge tool against Jonas right in my grasp for weeks now. And instead of taking out my revenge and making her suffer like I was supposed to, I was out here ying nice to her. I even let them convince me to feed her! She didn¡¯t deserve any of it.


    My heart filled up with bitterness every time the memory of my wolf proiming her as my mate came to mind. And each time if felt like I was betraying Elle even more¡­ like I was cheating on her memory. It did nothing to honor her memory. I was doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. But I would reverse that now.


    Clenching my fists, I made my way to the room where the prisoner was staying on shaky legs. I would hurt Jonas the exact way he had hurt me.


    I saw her jump up in surprise when I swung the door open. She looked up at me in confusion at first, and then I saw her expression change to one of fright when I slowly approached her. I grappled her by the neck as I pushed her hard against the wall. She spluttered and began to struggle as she lightly tapped her hand against mine. But I didn¡¯t stop¡­


    I wouldn¡¯t¡­


    I shook with anger as the day of Elle¡¯s death reyed in my head. I drew her closer to me and then pushed her harder against the wall until I saw trails of blood begin to spew from her mouth.


    I growled as I saw Jonas grab Elle out of the car in my mind¡¯s eye. I looked up at the prisoner, grabbing her roughly by the cor of her dress, earning a sharp cry from her.


    ¡°P-please¡­ please, I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She begged, as I pushed her against the bedpost and tied her arms together with a string just like they had done to Elle.


    Elle had begged too. But they didn¡¯t listen. Nobody listened¡­


    I would do to his daughter exactly what they had done to Elle. Let¡¯s see how he would continue to smirk after that.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I was beyond confused when I saw the alpha barge into my room. I hadn¡¯t seen him for a few days now. And from the anger in his eyes, I could tell that I was in trouble. I tried to recall if there was anything I had done earlier that would warrant his anger, but I couldn¡¯te up with anything. I hadn¡¯t done anything to anger him. He hadn¡¯t treated me badly for a while now so I was also kind of confused.


    Before I couldprehend what exactly was happening, he had grabbed me by the neck and squeezed tightly. This time he didn¡¯t stop. I tapped on his hand in desperation as I felt all the air begin to drain from my lungs. In response he pushed me harder against the wall repeatedly until I began to taste blood in my mouth.


    He stopped for a second and red up at me, and I could feel goosebumps spread all over my skin. I was scared of him but for some reason it was different this time. I had never seen such anger in his eyes. Without warning he dragged me off the wall and to the bedpost, grabbing a piece of wire from the ceiling and binding both my hands.


    ¡°P-please¡­ please, I-I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± I cried as the string dug deep into my wrists.


    But he didn¡¯t stop. My eyes widened in shock when I felt something poke my butt. When he eased up behind me, I realized it was his arousal.


    ¡°No!!¡± I yelled, lowering myself to the floor as I realized what was about to happen.


    He pped one huge hand over my mouth and pushed me forward roughly. I gasped out in pain as my chest connected with the bedpost, making more blood spew out from my lips.


    I tapped against his hand in desperation as he ripped my dress open. This couldn¡¯t be happening. Tears poured down my face in torrents as I struggled to escape his grip. In a desperate attempt, I widened by mouth and bit the inside of his palm with all the strength I could muster.


    ¡°Help!¡± I screamed as loudly as I could when I had the chance. ¡°Somebody please-¡±


    I didn¡¯t have the chance to finish as his hand quickly came back to to my mouth. This time he procured a piece of cloth he used to gag me. I shook with fear as he raised the remains of my dress up to my hips and ripped off my underwear.


    ¡°P-please,¡± I begged through the gag, my body racking with sobs. Anything but this¡­ I would do all the chores for the rest of my life if he wanted. Anything but this¡­


    But he wouldn¡¯t stop there. I struggled to free myself from the binds when I heard him unzip his pants but to no avail.


    I shut my eyes from the pain and let out a muffled scream when he forcefully prated me.


    But he didn¡¯t stop there.


    I felt him ease up to adjust his position, and then he began to push into me. Pain shot up my core with each thrust, and after a while I felt warm liquid run down my legs.


    My chest felt so heavy and for a moment I couldn¡¯t breathe. The tears dripped from my chin to my chest as I shut my eyes and prayed for it to be over. I tried to think of anything else to distract me. Anything else to upy my mind apart from his grunting.


    Finally, he let out a loud grunt, pulling out and shoving me forward. My eyelids felt heavy and swollen as I let myself fall onto the floor. My body felt too weak to hold on.N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    I could hear him breathing hard as he zipped up his pants and walked out without a word.


    This time I did try to hold back the tears as they washed over my face.

 It hurts

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I awakened with a sore throat and a blinding headache. I looked down to see that I was still in my work clothes. No wonder I was so ufortable. Groaning in pain from the headache, I pulled off my trousers and undid my tie from around my neck. Sighing, I rxed back onto the bed, cing a hand behind my head. I stretched my hand toward the dresser and popped the drawers open in search of some aspirin.


    My hand froze as I brought the pills to my lips. The events ofst night came rushing back to me and I raked my hand through my hair. Why had I stooped so low that I had taken advantage of her when I knew she was helpless?


    But thinking of that only reminded me of one thing: Elle. She had been treated the exact same way. Brutally taken advance of although she was innocent.


    The only thing that baffled me was the fact that the girl was a virgin. From the rumors that flew around and the reports from Drew when he had spied on the Monhowl pack, the girl was a shameless whore who had slept with nearly every male in their pack, and many others from other packs. So I had been beyond confused at her tightness, but I hadn¡¯t cared then. But I couldn¡¯t forget nor ignore the sight of blood trailing down her legs. I felt my heart clench as guilt poked me in the chest. I had taken her virginity¡­ and forcefully too. No one deserved to go through that. For the first time in a long time, I felt disgusted with myself for something other than my inability to protect Elle.


    ¡°Fuck.¡±


    I rubbed my temple. No, no. I shouldn¡¯t be thinking like this. Why was I? Why should I? No one had felt bad when they took turns on my pregnant wife and snapped her neck afterwards. The prisoner and her father deserved everything that came their way.


    But I still couldn¡¯t leave her there. Making up my mind, I mindlinked the only person I was sure could handle all of this without flinching.


    Margaret arrived at my bedroom five minutester, an unreadable expression on her face. For the first time, she didn¡¯t give her usual mischievous smile. For no particr reason I began to feel uneasy. But I held myself. I was the alpha and I had control. Why should I care what anyone else thought.


    ¡°You called for me?¡± She asked, her tone crisp.


    Her tone surprised me but I didn¡¯t show it. I cleared my throat and went straight to the point. ¡°The prisoner. Go down to her room and clean her up,¡± Imanded, trying not to falter under her cold stare. I wondered if she already knew what had happened. It made me ufortable that her eyes held no anger, she just had this faraway look in her eyes that I didn¡¯t like. Anger, I could handle. But I had never known how to handle disappointment.


    For the first time she didn¡¯t bow when I gave her an order. Instead she stared long and hard at me for a few moments.


    ¡°For the first time in thirty-three years, I ampletely and utterly disgusted by you,¡± She whispered, and then she was out.


    I fell back onto the pillows, not quite understanding the weight that hade to rest heavily on my chest.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I felt light. So light that maybe if I stopped breathing I would float away. The tears had dried on my face and the binds had seeded in tearing into my wrists. At intervals, I would rock back and forth forcefully to enable them tear deeper into my skin. Hopefully they would tear into something vital and then I would finally have peace.


    My legs felt like lead from standing all night long and I almost couldn¡¯t feel them anymore. But everything¡­ my swollen eyes, throat sore from screaming and crying, dried blood on my lips, my nose and between my thighs¡­ none of them were as painful nor draining as the hole in my chest. And it kept widening with time. I had no idea what I was doing here. I had thought I knew what it meant to be broken. But I didn¡¯t. I had no idea what it was.


    But now¡­ the pain that hurt so much that I began to feel numb, the emptiness in my chest¡­


    Now I understood what it meant. I felt beyond broken. I had always felt like I was a nobody. But now, I did not even have the zeal to be anything. I was nothing. All I wanted was to sink into the ground, and I wasn¡¯t even sure if that would end the pain.


    I needed something. Anything. As long as it would end the pain.


    I jerked in fright when I heard the door open. I shut my eyes for the pain in advance. But instead, I felt the binds around my wrists and the gag around my mouth snap and loosen, and I fell into the arms of a concerned looking Margaret.


    ¡°Oh my goodness,¡± I heard her whisper and she caught me in her arms. I saw her face contort into a pained expression as she gently ced me on the bed and walked into the bathroom.


    I only realized how sore I felt when I had to stand on my own. I copsed back onto the bed in pain when I tried and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in between my legs.


    After a while Margaret returned. ¡°Easy now,¡± She cooed as she ced an arm around my waist for support. ¡°Let¡¯s get you cleaned up, okay?¡±


    I made no sign to show that I had heard her. When I lowered myself into the warm bath, I looked up at the ceiling, my shallow breathing filling my ears.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I heard Margaret whisper, cing a hand firmly on mine and squeezing. At first I was confused as to why, but then I realized that tears had begun to leak from my eyes. I raised my hand to my wet cheek wordlessly and stared at her. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure why I began to sob violently.


    I gripped Margaret¡¯s arm, staring her in the eyes. ¡°I-I never hurt anyone! I nev-never hurt anyone!! W-why¡­¡± I choked on my words as a sharp pain pierced my chest.


    I couldn¡¯t breathe.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never, ever, ever hurt anybody,¡± I sobbed, bringing my hand to my chest and clutching at it.


    It hurt.


    It was hurting so badly.


    ¡°W-what did I do?¡± I questioned, looking up at nothing in particr.


    I felt Margaret wrap her hands tightly around me, not letting go despite my attempts to break away. Finally, I sank into my pain, letting my tears drip into the bathtub.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.

 No one else knows

    Drew¡¯s POV


    It felt better than I thought it would to be back home. When my trip was extended, I had been furious, but afterwards I had decided to see it as a well-deserved, long overdue vacation. And everything had gone smoothly from then onwards. Coming home was obviously cutting all of that short, but surprisingly, I was d to be here. I only just realized how much I missed home and my family.


    The first person I wanted to see was Niki, there was a lot to brief him on. Apart from business, there was a rebellion of rogues brewing on the other side of the city. As soon as we could, we would look into it.


    ¡°Andrew?¡±


    I whipped around to see Annalise grinning at me, her hands on her hips.


    ¡°Annie?¡± I replied in the same tone although I knew she disliked the nickname.


    ¡°Asshole,¡± She chuckled, walking closer to me. ¡°Come here.¡±


    Iughed as I stayed in her embrace for a while. Annie, Niki and I had been so inseparable as kids that they nicknamed us The Three Musketeers. Our friendship had stayed strong even up to the point when Niki had taken over his duties as the Alpha of the pack. He had immediately picked me to be his Beta. He had met Elle, Annie had found her mate, and still we managed to make out time to spend with each other.


    But everything had changed when our Luna had died. It hadpletely changed Niki, which was understandable especially because of the nature of her death. For years we had all mourned. Niki had sunk into a deep state of sadness and depression and he withdrew away from the pack and his duties. When he finally recovered, he was a changed man. He wasn¡¯t the Niki we once knew, he was brutal, ruthless, and unkind to everyone and everything. He barely spoke or smiled, and every member of the pack began to live in fear of him. Annie and I had tried our best to be close to him but he pushed us away every single time. And I didn¡¯t know how much more we could handle.


    ¡°At some point I started to think you¡¯d nevere back,¡± She joked, regarding me suspiciously. When I didn¡¯t respond her eyes widened. ¡°You little piece of shit, don¡¯t tell me you thought about it.¡±Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    I let out a loudugh. ¡°Well, I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t enjoy my little vacation. But I could never abandon my family.¡±


    ¡°Aww,¡± Annie smiled, reaching up to ruffle my hair. ¡°I taught you well.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, pping her hand away. ¡°What¡¯s been happening? What¡¯d I miss?¡±


    ¡°A. Whole. Lot.¡± She announced dramatically. ¡°As soon as I¡¯m done with work I¡¯lle see you. Good?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just freshen up and get some rest.¡±


    On my way to my bedroom, I stopped to see if Niki was home. I found his bedroom empty. He was probably out for a hunt or a drive, or anything else he usually did. Deciding, I¡¯d check up on himter, I bounced up the stairs to my room, identally bumping into someone at the top. I looked up to see Margaret who had an angry look in her face. It dissolved as soon as she saw me.


    ¡°Andrew?! When did you get back?¡± She asked excitedly as she pulled me into a hug which I gratefully epted.


    ¡°A few minutes ago,¡± I replied.


    ¡°We all missed you,¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Including the Alpha?¡±


    I meant it as a joke but I was surprised when her expression darkened. I hid my surprise, not wanting to jump into conclusion.


    ¡°How is he?¡± I asked. Before she could reply, I suddenly remembered something important I hadpletely forgotten about: the prisoner, Jonas¡¯ daughter. Of course Niki wasn¡¯t fine. I wondered how he was taking everything. Had he killed her already? Had Jonase for her? I chided myself for forgetting about something this significant.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on regarding the girl from the Monhowl pack?¡±


    I watched Margaret sigh and then she motioned me into her room. As I took a seat, she ran me through everything that had been going on while I was away. I was beyond confused when she mentioned the doings of the prisoner. Helping Jeremy, saving Annalise¡¯s mate and the life of the very man who had abducted her? Quiet, obedient and innocent? That sounded nothing like Barbara Verbeck. But I didn¡¯t interrupt her. The prisoner sounded like a¡­ good woman. How was that even possible? I began to wonder if the shock of abduction had changed her.


    My eyes widened in disbelief when Margaret mentioned that Niki had dragged her along to a dinner party to gain favor for a contract. It sounded so unreal that I almost began to enjoy the story, and I found myself beginning to feel sorry for the girl. But it still didn¡¯t exin why Margaret was so pissed at him.


    She paused, letting out a disgusted scoff. ¡°He raped her,¡± She finally said.


    I slowly stood from the bed. I wasn¡¯t sure what I¡¯d heard. ¡°What?¡± I asked, hoping I had heard wrong.


    ¡°Last night. He summoned me this morning to go clean her up. She was bruised and bloody and I swear to you Andrew, in all my years of living I have never seen anyone so broken.¡±


    I clenched my fists as my chest tightened. It was hard to believe. Niki taking advantage of a woman¡­


    ¡°I am so disappointed,¡± Margaret continued, and I could hear the pain in her voice. ¡°I know the Luna¡¯s death was extremely heavy on him, but this? Brutally destroying that young, defenceless woman, even when he realized that she was a virgin? He broke her¡­ with no mercy whatsoever.¡±


    Now I was even more confused. There was no way she was a virgin. Unless the rumors had all been fake. But I had personally seen the way she was with men. So what was all this now? Had they all been lies? Had I been wrong about her the whole time?


    I shuddered involuntarily as my thoughts moved back to Niki. To say I was disgusted would be ah understatement. The Niki I knew would never do something so low¡­ so disgraceful. I didn¡¯t even know who the hell he was anymore.


    ¡°Who else knows?¡± I turned to Margaret.


    ¡°No one else.¡±


    I rubbed my forehead. It¡¯s not like it mattered either ways. Even if they knew or if they found out, there was nothing they could do about it. He was the alpha after all.


    My face heated as I stood to my feet. I needed to have a talk with him. But first, I needed to see her.

 Stay away!

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡°Stay away from me!!¡±


    The sound of my own voice surprised me but I couldn¡¯t help it. Elyan regarded me with confusion written all over his face.


    ¡°Why are you-¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Just¡­ don¡¯t touch me! Okay? I know the way to the rooms. Just tell me where you want me to clean up.¡±


    The rapid beating of my heart had already started to weaken me. I drew my shirt tighter to me. We were alone in the room. It was dangerous¡­ anything could happen. I felt my chest start to ache as the memories I had been trying to get rid of began to sh through my head.


    Instead of the anger I had expected, Elyan backed away from me, muttering an apology and moving to the door. But I wanted him out. Away from mepletely. If I was alone no one could hurt me. No one¡­


    Desperate to be able to breathe properly again, I limped past him and outside the door. I felt safer out in the open, but I couldn¡¯t see anyone around. If one of the could hurt me then all of them were capable of the same thing.


    When I finally sighted two women walking past, I rxed. He motioned to the balcony where I was supposed to clean. When I nodded and grabbed the washcloth and bucket that were alreadyid out, he quietly took his leave. I exhaled deeply, and as I began to wipe the floor, it felt like all the energy had been drained from me.


    I wiped the floor absentmindedly, embracing the pain I felt each time I twisted my wrist. At least I was feeling something. I bit my lip to keep from gasping in pain when I tried to raise the bucket up. It was too heavy for my wrist to handle.


    As I rounded up on the balcony and slowly began to make my way to the next ce I had to clean, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I kept my eyes on the floor, trying my best to ignore it. But I could feel the stare burn through me. My heart leaped when I saw the man who stood a few feet away from me. He was staring at me so intently that I started to feel so bare and exposed.


    When I stared back at him I saw that he looked at me with so much confusion, as though he was trying to figure something out. Deciding that I didn¡¯t care, I dragged the bucket into the room and resumed my cleaning.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I stood in shock when I saw Drew barge into my room and shut the door behind him.


    ¡°Drew¡­¡± I began but trailed off as I saw the expression on his face.


    ¡°What is wrong with you?¡± He asked. I knew that voice; low, calm and dangerous. He usually snapped right after that. I red at him in response. I really didn¡¯t have time for this.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I barked, my brows furrowing.


    He moved closer to me. ¡°You have never done anything whatsoever and not had my support. Every single time, I stick by your side as your Beta and your best friend. But taking advantage of a woman?¡±


    My chest exploded as he said the words and guilt began to dance around in my chest once more. But I didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°You have no right to question my authority nor my decisions!¡± I roared. ¡°And to think you knew what they did to Elle¡­¡±


    ¡°You know I have always understood your need for revenge, Niki. You know that.¡± His voice was calmer now. ¡°Fuck, what is all this?¡± He sighed, running a hand through his hair. ¡°I just saw the prisoner cleaning one of the rooms and I got a good look at her-¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± I cut him off. I was tired of everyone taking her side and emphasizing on how bad I was treating her.


    There was silence for a while and then he faced me.


    ¡°You took the wrong girl.¡±


    I paused mid-sentence. It felt like I had been kicked hard in the chest. From the seriousness on Drew¡¯s face, I knew I had heard correctly.


    I staggered back in shock and disbelief. ¡°W-what?¡±


    Drew inhaled sharply. ¡°The woman we were supposed to abduct is Barbara Verbeck. The woman outside that door is Liyah Verbeck.¡±


    No.


    No, no, no.


    ¡°Liyah is the first daughter of Jonas, from histe wife. Jonas and every other member of the packpletely despise and maltreat her for reasons I¡¯m not quite sure of. She¡¯s basically the servant of the pack. The only person who is nice to her is a nanny of theirs.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± I raked my hand through my hair, pacing round the room. It couldn¡¯t be. It wasn¡¯t possible¡­


    ¡°Niki,¡± Drew called out. ¡°It was dark at the festival. You must have mistaken them, they both have the same build, the same kind of hair¡­¡±


    No. No.


    ¡°You¡¯ve had the wrong girl all this time. And it hurts to say this¡­ but they probably didn¡¯t even realize she was gone.¡±


    I tore at my hair. It can¡¯t be. I couldn¡¯t have taken the wrong person. I saw her that night. But I began to fix the pieces of the puzzle. I had been surprised as to how she had changed into that simpler dress the night of the festival. Why hadn¡¯t I seen all of this?


    Everything else began to make sense. She waspletely different from everything I had heard about her. She was wimpy and innocent¡­


    She had spent weeks here and I hadn¡¯t heard a thing about Jonas threatening fire and brimstone. The day of the meeting¡­ Jonas had seemed so rxed, like he didn¡¯t have a care in the world. How the fuck had I missed this?


    Anger slowly began to rece my shock. I had been duped. The universe was ying pranks on me. All this time I had thought I was getting my revenge on Jonas, I was only ridding him of the burden on his shoulders: the daughter he didn¡¯t love.


    ¡°I don¡¯t-I don¡¯t care. S-she¡¯s still his blood¡­ I h-have to get my revenge somehow¡­ Elle¡­ I can¡¯t just-¡±


    ¡°She is a victim, just like you. She¡¯s been abused right from childhood, trying to fit it where she wasn¡¯t needed. And then she was kidnapped, tortured and raped for a crime she didn¡¯t evenmit?!¡±


    My heart clenched.


    ¡°I understand your need for revenge. But it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I ampletely disappointed in you.¡±


    I stared at him in surprise.


    ¡°I respect you as the alpha, man. But I¡¯m still your best friend. And if Elle was alive, I¡¯m pretty sure she would be disappointed too.¡±


    I felt rage run through me but before I could say anything he had stormed out, leaving me to my own thoughts.

 At a loss

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I couldn¡¯t exin exactly what was going on, it felt like I was going crazy. I still couldn¡¯t believe that I hadn¡¯t been making any progress in getting my revenge. I was shocked, confused, and for some reason, angry¡­


    It was as though the anger began to manifest as soon as I acknowledged the fact that I was angry. I refused to ept that it was my fault. It wasn¡¯t¡­ it couldn¡¯t be. I had been alert and focused. Why did she have to be there at the festival? Why did she have to get mixed into the crowd, and worse still behind the very woman I had nned on abducting. This was her fault. Not sure where I was going, I made my way to where she was.


    As I swung the door of her room open and walked in, my brows furrowed in confusion. She was nowhere to be found. I moved toward the bathroom to check and that¡¯s when I saw her. Shey crumpled on the bathroom floor, her eyes half-open and her breathing shallow.


    As soon as her eyes met mine, she let out a strangled cry, jerking and pushing herself away from me and further into the bathroom.


    ¡°No, no, please!¡± She screamed, scrambling deeper into the wall. ¡°J-just leave me alone!!¡±


    I watched her eyes moisten and begin to spill over as she struggled to breathe, cing a hand over her chest as though she were in physical pain. But still she continued to yell, sinking harder into the bathroom till there was nowhere else to go.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I stared on in disbelief. I could see the pure horror in her eyes as she shook from head to toe, her face soaked in sweat and tears as she raised her fists to her face, yelling for me to back away.


    And that¡¯s when I felt the sting in my chest.


    She was scared of me. She was terrified, like you would be of a monster. I saw the pain and terror on her face, and the dull pain in my chest resurfaced when all that came to my mind was Elle.


    Elle being manhandled and dragged from the car, Elle being molested and tied to a tree. Elle taken advantage of, over and over again, by a group of monsters.


    A group of monsters. That¡¯s what terrified people. That¡¯s what put such terror in their eyes¡­ what scared them to a point where they felt so helpless that all they could do was scream and cry. For help that never came.


    I could feel myself stagger backwards. I was one of them now. A cold, heartless monster. I tried to recall how all of this had happened, how I had consciously let myself slip into this pool of self destruction. And I couldn¡¯t remember¡­


    I felt something sting the back of my eyes and my hands shook. What had I done? What had I be?


    With every piercing scream that escaped her quivering lips, my heart clenched a little tighter, and I could feel it all the way to the tip of my toes. She didn¡¯t stop. She didn¡¯t care. She just wanted me away from her.


    I watched the mess of emotions and trauma I had unconsciously created begin to unfold before my eyes, and all I felt in that moment was regret and remorse. As I looked into those swollen eyes and tearstained face, I knew in that moment that I would give anything to reverse all of it. The mistake, the damage, every single thing.


    I had never felt so much anguish¡­ so much pain, directed at myself. It was like I didn¡¯t even know myself anymore. The sting in the back of my eyes tore stronger at me, and without knowing exactly what the n was, I moved forward, gently pulling her balled fists away from her face, and pulled her into a firm embrace.


    ¡°NO!! Please, please, stay away!¡± She yelled, repeatedly ramming her fists to my chest and pushing backwards as she struggled to escape my grip.


    But I didn¡¯t let her go. I wouldn¡¯t¡­


    I tightened my hold on her as she audibly sucked in one sharp breath, and thenpletely broke down in my arms.


    I didn¡¯t let her go when shended onest weak blow to my chest, her shoulders wracking with sobs as she convulsed in a pool of tears.


    I didn¡¯t let her go when I heard her let out the most broken cry I had ever heard, her head bobbing as her tears soaked through my shirt.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired! I¡¯m so tired!! I-I have never, ever done anything to deserve this!¡± Her voice was muffled as she pulled away from me with every sentence, the tears falling in torrents.


    But I still wouldn¡¯t let her go.


    I steadily began to rock her back and forth, trying to ignore and holding back the unexinable tears that had begun to form at the back of my eyes. I continued this motion until her sobbing gradually became a whimper.


    Carefully, I pulled her off her feet and into my arms, careful not to bump into anything as I walked out of the room and down the hall. When I finally found the room I was looking for, I slowly eased in and ced her gently on the bed.


    As I looked at her small form sprawled on the bed, I realized that I had never seen anyone so broken.


    And it was all me. It was all my fault. I was at a loss of what to do¡­ where to begin.


    All I could do was stare down at her and let disappointment wash over me as it dawned on me just how much of a failure I had be.


    As I saw her eyelids finally droop from exhaustion, I waited a few moments to make sure that she was alive and breathing.


    With nothing else left to do, I stumbled out of the room, my chest heavier than it had ever been.

 Silence

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I couldn¡¯t count the number of times I had sshed cold water over my face, but it didn¡¯t take away my red rimmed eyes or the weight on my chest. Frustrated with myself for not having control over my emotions at the moment, I grabbed a face towel and wiped my face with it. My nose was runny as well and I could feel that my eyes were swollen. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had felt this way.


    As I gulped down a cup of water, my mind floated back to Liyah.


    Liyah.


    Knowing her name now only made me feel worse about everything. Why had I been so full of hate, blinded so deeply by regret that I had be this¡­ inhumane. I wondered what Elle would think if she was here now. If I was this disappointed in myself, then I could imagine just how disappointed she would be in me. I had hurt an innocent woman for weeks, for a crime she didn¡¯tmit.


    I buried my head in my hands, letting the pain and regret wash all over me. She had already been going through a lot, why did I have to add to that? I hadn¡¯t been paying attention. Fuck, I


    never paid attention. All of this only made me realize how selfish I had be.


    Trying my hardest to push the whole thing out of my mind, I washed my face onest time and dried, mindlinking Margaret as I walked out of my bedroom. I braced myself to look into her face as the memory of thest time surfaced. I couldn¡¯t break and show her that the look of disappointment on her face affected me that much.


    She arrived at my bedroom in a few seconds. She paused to bow a little and then faced me. ¡°You wanted to see me?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, I nodded. ¡°The priso-Liyah,¡± I corrected. ¡°I need you to take her under your care and make sure she gets better.¡±


    She stared at me as though she expected me to exin more but I said nothing. She would eventually hear it from Drew anyways. I didn¡¯t feel the need to go through all of that again. Casting a strange look at me that thankfully did not have a trace of judgement in it, she bowed and exited the room. And I released the breath I hadn¡¯t known I was holding.


    Mindlinking Drew to gather the pack members together, I walked downstairs to where they were already assembled. They quieted down when they saw me approaching. For some reason I felt different this time, like they could all see through me. I wondered how many of them already knew about what had happened, and what they possibly thought about me.


    I clenched my fists. Why the fuck was I thinking about all of this? Feeling this way? It didn¡¯t matter and I didn¡¯t give two fucks about what they thought. I needed to get a fucking hold on myself. I was acting like I¡¯d forgotten the fact that I was the alpha. No one could hurt me, speak up against me nor challenge me. Not a single soul here. I was in charge and would be for a very long time.


    I straightened up and went straight to the point. ¡°The prisoner, who will now be addressed by her true name, Liyah, is from this moment on no longer a prisoner.¡±


    There was a deafening silence.


    I continued. ¡°She is now a free woman and will remain so forever. She is free to live, and to leave if and when she so wishes. And if she decides to remain here, she will hereby be known and weed as a member of the Selene pack.¡±


    I saw Drew cock an eyebrow in surprise and then look away. I swallowed, not quite understanding why I was so hurt by that. Turning back to the pack members, I waved them away. They gave a collective bow and quickly filed out.


    When the room was clear except for Drew and Annalise, I saw Annalise walk up to where I stood, a furious look on her face.


    ¡°Annie,¡± Drew called out in a warning tone, hot on her heels. But she didn¡¯t stop. When she got to where I stood, she stared me down for a few seconds and then she shook her head.


    ¡°You know for a minute I thought you were changing, getting better. I saw you start to talk more, smile more¡­ and this was when you started to go on those business trips and parties with the priso-Liyah. It was a good improvement. And for one second I thought I was getting my cousin and best friend back. But of course,¡± She let out a bitterugh.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯d been wrong. I had no idea that it was just the beginning of the worst part of you to surface.¡±


    ¡°Annie,¡± Drew ced a hand on her arm.


    She whipped around. ¡°No! I need to get this off my chest, okay?¡±


    Drew let out a tired sigh, running his fingers through his hair.


    She faced me once more. ¡°How could you?! How? Why? I don¡¯t understand¡­ I don¡¯t understand any of it. How did you get here? And you think dering her free is somehow going to erase everything you did and show you off as the good guy? That¡¯s the best you can do?¡±


    I felt anger begin to flow through me. ¡°I do not owe any of you an ex-¡±


    ¡°Yeah of course. The only person you ever owe anything to is yourself right? We got it.¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    I stood still in shock at being cut off.


    ¡°You took advantage of that poor girl when you very well knew that there was no way in hell she could fight you off! She was weak and defenceless and you hurt her over and over again, Niki, and you don¡¯t feel even a tiny bit of remorse, you fucking coward?!!¡±


    Drew quickly pulled her towards him and dragged her away as she attempted tounch at my neck, her nails missing the surface of my face by a hair¡¯s breadth. I watched her struggle in Drew¡¯s grip to no avail.


    ¡°I have no idea who you are anymore? Who the fuck are you?!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± I roared, knowingly and unapologetically using the Alphamand on her. I watched her quiet down almost immediately. ¡°Out of my sight!¡±


    Thest thing I saw before turning away was the look of disbelief on Drew¡¯s face.

 Glimpses

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    My lids were extremely heavy as I struggled to open my eyes and I could hear the sound of my breathing, which definitely was not a good thing. The day after he had put me into this room and assigned Margaret to take care of me, I had fallen very sick. I wasn¡¯t sure what the problem was and neither did Margaret but she brought in a new concoction for me to take every single day. Over time I started to feel a little better, but I wasn¡¯t strong enough to move around yet.


    Sometimes my eyes would open up a little and I would catch glimpses of Margaret, Annalise and a strange man looming over my sick bed. But I never stayed awake long enough to engage in conversation or ask questions. But I wasn¡¯t even sure I felt like it. I was just exhausted. Sometimes I¡¯d wished I would fall asleep and not awaken the next day. I would be happier when all the pain finally ended. But my wishes never came true and so here I was.


    Sometimes the memory and pain of the assault would resurface and I would try to ignore it, but a few minutester I would realize that my pillow was soaked with my own tears. I wondered if it would ever get better, but there was no answer to that question.


    I didn¡¯t feel quite as weak today so I sat up on the bed, wincing a little when I felt a sharp pain in my chest.


    ¡°You¡¯re up.¡±


    I looked up to see Margaret walk into the room, a cup in her hand. She looked so d to see me awake that I couldn¡¯t help the smile that appeared on my lips.


    ¡°How are you feeling today?¡± She asked as she tilted the cup to my lips. I grimaced at the taste of the herbs and it took all my self control to keep from spitting it out.


    I was still so busy trying to swallow the concoction with a straight face that I couldn¡¯t speak. So I nodded instead.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Sheughed, moving to the corner of the room to pick up what looked like a food tray.


    I turned away, letting my eyes sweep the room. I let out a small gasp, I hadn¡¯t looked the room over although i had been in it for nearly a week. It was spacious, warm and decorated with a feminine touch. I couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the intricate designs. The walls were painted a pale pink, simr colored furniture ced in parts of the room. And I only just noticed the queen sized bed Iy in. I had never slept in a room so luxurious, it almost felt like a sin. Who even had a chandelier in their bedroom? I wondered, my eyes widening in surprise as I looked up at the ceiling. I also saw that it contained a bathroom, a closet and a study.


    ¡°How are you really feeling?¡± Margaret¡¯s voice broke into my thoughts. I looked up at her, letting out a small sigh. I didn¡¯t know what to say because I honestly wasn¡¯t sure. The only thing I knew was that I was in a great deal of pain, and I didn¡¯t know how to fix it, how to get it to stop hurting. Because it still did¡­ it really did.


    I shrugged.


    ¡°The alpha made an announcement today,¡± She dered after a few moments of feeding me. I paused in the middle of chewing the piece of cake she had ced in my mouth, swallowing with difficulty. One thing I knew was that I wasn¡¯t scared of him and would never be anymore, neither did I care anymore. But it didn¡¯t mean that I liked to hear about him. But I didn¡¯t object.


    As she repeated his words, I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. But I didn¡¯t betray any emotion. I wondered what made him decide to release me. I would have thought it was guilt but I hadn¡¯t even seen him since that day. And I was stupid enough to think that he was remorseful. Him releasing me made no difference as it could never reverse all the damage he had done. And the fact that I still had no idea why I had been kidnapped. If he thought he was doing me a favor, then he had no idea just how wrong he was.


    ¡°So are you gonna go home?¡± Margaret asked.


    If my chest didn¡¯t hurt so much, I would haveughed.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Home.


    I had no home. Even if I was going fur years, they wouldn¡¯t notice neither would they care. The only person I really wanted to see was my nanny. I needed to see her¡­ hug her and let her know I was alive. But I couldn¡¯t¡­ I couldn¡¯t go back there. At least here I had my freedom. There I had no right to even my own words. I was still a prisoner. In my own home.


    What I had been most surprised about was the fact that he had suggested and decided to wee me if I decided to remain here as a part of their pack. Sadly, I had nicer memories here than I ever had back home, and that honestly didn¡¯t stay much. I had been through a lot here, but I had also made friends. There was Margaret, Annalise and Eve. If I decided to stay here, at least I had people who I cared about and who cared about me. But I didn¡¯t know if I wanted to be around him anymore. He would continue to remind me of the pain. And how long would I continue to live like that? Bing a part of his pack would make him my alpha. Could I live with that?


    I also felt a tiny bit of shame prick me on the inside as I remembered that I wasn¡¯t even a real wolf. I knew he hadn¡¯t told anyone yet because they would surely have mentioned it. But I was sure that he would. And then they would all begin to look down on me.


    ¡°Liyah?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± I looked up in surprise, startled. Hearing my name out loud made me feel more human.


    ¡°I asked if you¡¯d like toe with me,¡± Margaret repeated.


    My brows furrowed. ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Would you like to be my assistant? An assistant healer? You¡¯de with me to render my services.¡±


    Oh. I was about to ask if the alpha would be okay with it when I remembered that I didn¡¯t have to answer to anyone anymore. I was my own woman now. It would take some getting used to. But I was pretty sure I would get the hang of it.


    Her offer began to put me in a better mood and I wasn¡¯t sure why. But I looked up at her and nodded like my life depended on it.

 Weird

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    It had been two weeks since I was dered free. I was fully recovered now, rarely caught a glimpse of the alpha, and I had been apanying Margaret to wherever she was needed when there was an emergency. Everything was going¡­ good, surprisingly. But I still couldn¡¯t help but feel like it was all too good to be true. I kept expecting something bad to ur like it always did when things were going too well in my life. Maybe it was because I was used to having bad things happen to me so I never expected my happiness tost. But so far nothing had transpired yet.


    Being a free woman felt¡­ weird. I could go out whenever and wherever I wanted to, I didn¡¯t have to do any chores, and I didn¡¯t have to ask permission for anything from anymore. Sometimes I felt like I would get punished for it but when time passed and nothing happened, it began to dawn on me that it was real. I was no longer a prisoner. Everyone treated me like a person now, which was surprising as I had expected them to look down on me. But they were friendly. They were nice. They even begged me to prepare meals for the pack. And it felt good finally belonging somewhere, treated like I was important.


    The sound of someone knocking made me look up. I faced the strange man I had been seeing when I was on my sick bed. It was almost like he had disappeared when I awakened, because I hadn¡¯t seen him anymore.


    ¡°Can Ie in?¡± He asked, offering a small smile. His calm, friendly voice put me at ease and I nodded. I rxed more when I saw that he left the door open.


    I motioned to a chair a few steps away from my bed when I saw him standing awkwardly. He nodded gratefully, extending his arm. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve met. I¡¯m Andrew, but everyone calls me Drew. I am also the Alpha¡¯s beta and Annalise¡¯s best friend.¡±


    I nodded, letting it all sink in. ¡°Liyah,¡± I offered, epting his handshake. I still felt quite ufortable but I tried not to show it. I wondered why he was here.


    ¡°How are you feeling now?¡± He asked, concerncing his tone. I was dumbfounded for a few moments. Why did he sound so concerned? He didn¡¯t even know me.


    ¡°Well, uh¡­ I¡¯m better now, I guess.¡±


    I could see pain and a trace of anger sh in his deep green eyes as he raked a hand through his hair. ¡°Look, Liyah¡­ I know you¡¯ve been through a lot, although I wasn¡¯t here for the most part of it. And I wish I could do more than give an apology, but I know that nothing could possibly erase all the pain you felt and are still feeling.¡±


    I felt my chest tighten.


    ¡°I am so sorry for everything you have been through. And if I could turn back time, I swear to you, I would. And I wouldn¡¯t even think twice about it. If anyone deserves to be treated better, it¡¯s you. You have a pure heart and you¡¯re nice and kind andpassionate. I just wish everyone else could be like you.¡±


    I could feel the tearsing but I bit them back.


    ¡°What the alpha did to you¡­ it was a terrible thing to do. And I know it doesn¡¯t mean much, but I apologize to you on his behalf and I-¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I raised my hand in the air to stop him. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter nor does it count. I don¡¯t need you to apologize on anyone¡¯s behalf. You have expressed sympathy for everything I went through here and I appreciated that. But the apology doesn¡¯t count if it¡¯s noting from the person who put me through all of this pain.¡±


    He regarded me for a few seconds and then he raked his fingers in his hair once more. ¡°Jonas is the cause of all of this, of all our problems¡­¡± It was almost a whisper, almost like he was talking to himself.


    My brows furrowed in confusion. Father? Did all of this have something to do with Father? I wondered, still confused. My mind raced with tons of possibilities and theories, but I recover in time to ask Drew to exin more.


    I watched his face break into a smile. ¡°I understand all you have said, and you are entitled to your own decisions. So take all the time you need. You are definitely the strongest person I have known, and it¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡±


    My face heated and I began to blush furiously for no apparent reason. I began to wondered if he was only trying to make me feel better and get on my good side. But I could see the honesty in his face. ¡°Thanks,¡± I managed, hoping I didn¡¯t look as flustered as I felt.


    He smiled, nudging my shoulders lightly. ¡°Rx and getfortable around me soon. I¡¯m your big brother now.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t control myughter. ¡°I¡¯ve never had a big brother before,¡± I blurted, not sure why I felt sofortable around him. I still felt jumpy around men and people in general, althoughtely I had been getting better. But I felt sofortable around him.


    He pped his hands together. ¡°Perfect! There¡¯s a first time for everything. I think you¡¯ll enjoy it though because it also entails that I am your friend, confidant and bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°Oh a multipurpose family member?¡± I asked. It came out sassier than I had intended it to and for a second I thought I would get into trouble. As I parted my lips to apologize, he let out a loudugh.


    ¡°I have a feeling we¡¯ll be a good team,¡± He said, smiling and standing to his feet. ¡°You get some rest now.¡±


    I nodded, not quite sure why I felt so content.


    As he got to the door, he stopped. ¡°Annalise and a few of us are going on a picter today. I heard you make the best samosas on earth, would you like to make some ande with us?¡±


    I didn¡¯t need to think about my answer.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Sure.¡±

 Double surprise

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I saw Eve get up from her bed as fast as a firecracker when she saw me walk into her bedroom. She ran toward me, her lips parted as though she wanted to say something but them she pped them shut. When she got to where I was standing, she jumped up as far as he tiny legs could carry her and gave me a tight embraced. I squealed in surprise, holding on to her waist to keep her from falling.


    ¡°I was going to call out your name before the hug and then I realized I had no idea what it was,¡± She said, pulling back for a few seconds to regard me strangely. ¡°I am deeply sorry that I forgot to ask all this time,¡± She frowned. ¡°But if you aren¡¯t so mad at me for it then may I know now?¡±


    I decided that no one could deny just how adorable this little girl was.


    ¡°It¡¯s Liyah,¡± I informed her, d that I no longer had to keep it a secret.


    Her eyes widened. ¡°My, what a beautiful name! She it suits you so well. Liyah,¡± She repeated. ¡°In my next life, I want to be called Liyah too,¡± She said as she leaned back into me.


    When she finally had enough of the hug she began to giggle, jumping around me in circles.


    ¡°How are you?¡± I asked, having a hard time controlling my chuckling. I rarely got a chance to see her act her age so it was deeply refreshing to watch her skip around yfully. I only just realized how much I really missed her, I had not seen her for weeks now. And us living under the same roof was not an assurance that we would always see each other. I could probably stay a year in this mansion and never evene face to face with someone. The ce was so gigantic that it was more like a pce than a mansion.


    As soon as I asked the question, Eve stopped her skipping, letting out a sigh that made her suddenly made her seem years older and lowering herself onto the bed with a gloomy look. I watched her bring a hand to her forehead and lower it, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile at how serious she looked.


    ¡°Well, I missed you quite terribly, but no one would tell me where you were so I could go see you instead. My days have been so dark without you, Liyah,¡± She sighed.


    Okay I could definitely see a future in theatre for her. I hid my smile as I outstretched my arm to ce it on her shoulders. ¡°I missed you too.¡±


    She faced me. ¡°I notice that you look better, healthier, and fuller. And I¡¯m d. But your eyes¡­ they¡¯re cold, not in an icy way, but in a sad way. Is something the matter? Uncle used to say that all adults are sad, and I never understood why. But I¡¯m starting to think that maybe he was right. What do you think?¡±


    Like always when Eve began to talk like this, I was at a loss of words. How is it that a seven year old observed things that even adults couldn¡¯t? She was the most extraordinary child I had ever know.


    ¡°Well,¡± I started, thinking of how best to phrase my answer. ¡°Sometim-¡±


    I never got toplete my statement because her bedroom door opened and the alpha walked in. I saw him pause in surprise when his eyesnded on me, but only for a brief second. It was so subtle that if I wasn¡¯t watching him closely, I would never have noticed. Her tore his gaze from me and turned to Eve. She had already jumped from the bed when she saw him. I saw him stiffen when she hugged him. She was practically hugging just his legs thanks to his height.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you wereing today, it¡¯s nice to see you. How are you doing today?¡± She gestured to me. ¡°Liyah also came to see me today. Now it feels nice but nned, in a good way of course. Like a double surprise.¡± She giggled.


    My fists clenched when I saw her drag him to the bed and ce herself in between the both of us. I really didn¡¯t want to be around him.


    ¡°What about you both?¡± Eve asked. ¡°Do you like surprises? I don¡¯t know if I like surprises or not, but there was this one time when Uncle got me cake and some other things. He called it a surprise, she even though the cake was kind of stale it still felt nice. It¡¯s the thought that counts right?¡±


    Without warning, I let out a giggle, surprising even myself. Eve always told the funniest stories I¡¯d ever heard. The smile froze on my face when I saw that he wasughing as well. Annoyed, I looked away. I loved Eve but being around him was the most draining and suffocating thing I had to do because it always brought the memories. And I didn¡¯t need that. Not now, not ever.


    I saw him look away as I turned in his direction facing Eve. I stood from my position on the bed.


    ¡°I have to go now,¡± I told her, lightly fondling her cheeks.


    Her face fell. ¡°Now? Why? Can¡¯t you stay a little longer?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t remain here with him for one second longer.


    ¡°Unfortunately no,¡± I frowned. ¡°But as soon as I¡¯m done with work, I¡¯ll be right back. Okay?¡±


    She nodded, giving me onest hug which I returned. Without a backward nce, I exited the room.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I couldn¡¯t understand the dull pain I was feeling in my chest as I walked back to my bedroom. I hadn¡¯t expected to see her today, or any day for that matter. And I was confused as to why it hurt when she cast one look at me and then looked away like I wasn¡¯t important.


    Maybe it was just my head ying games with me. We didn¡¯t owe anything to each other so I had just ignored her the whole time although it was extremely difficult with her just sitting right there. I hated that I felt so lost and unsure around her. It made me feel weak. And I was anything but that.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Sighing weakly, I walked into my bedroom and poured myself a brandy only to look up and see Drew perched on a chair waiting for me. I frowned, not remembering summoning him.


    He bowed when he saw me walk in. ¡°Alpha.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°There¡¯s something important that I forgot to mention. In the course of my trip, I got some information that some rogues are gathering to form their own packs on the other side of town. There is a high chance that it could be dangerous for the inhabitants of that ce so I suggest that we look in it.¡±


    A pack of rogues? That did sound dangerous. But I knew there was possibly more to it. I had a hunch that Jonas had something to do with it. The first thing my mind flew to was his trafficking business. He had tried and had been stopped each time when he abducted wolves on this side of town. I wondered if he was going to try his luck there. But why hire rogues? And what could he possibly have given them in return? I knew how much rogues despised having a master or someone in charge of them. So what could it be? Money?


    I frowned. It didn¡¯t seem like a high price enough. It had to be something that they couldn¡¯t resist even if they tried.


    My jaw clenched. Humans.


    Now that was an offer they could not resist.


    I knew I couldn¡¯t tell Drew any of this and so I just nodded. We¡¯ll look into it as soon as possible.

 Cue awkward

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw Liyah also sitting in the backseat of the truck. Before I could react, Eve had jumped forward to drag me by the arm and pull me towards the car.


    ¡°Yay!¡± She squealed. ¡°You¡¯re thirty minuteste but I forgive you. We can get going now.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be just the two of us?¡± I asked, but she pretended like she didn¡¯t hear me and dragged mecri the other side of the truck. Sneaky little girl.


    The driver at the wheel greeted, then bowed when he saw me, attracting Liyah¡¯s attention. I saw the surprise on her face when she looked up to see me. I followed awkwardly as Eve unlocked the car door and mbered in, plopping herselffortably between Liyah and I.


    I suddenly began to feel hot and I tried to ignore it but it only got worse. This was my car, my house. Why did I feel so ufortable and out of ce? ¡°Turn on the air conditioning,¡± Imanded. When he did I began to feel a bit better.


    ¡°I thought we were supposed to go together. Just us?¡± I heard Liyah ask. I tried to act uninterested in their conversation but my ears perked up.


    ¡°Well,¡± Eve said, reaching out to put one tiny hand in mine and the other in Liyah¡¯s. ¡°I thought it would be even nicer to have my two favorite people on earth apany me.¡±


    I held back my chuckle but I saw Liyah smile. ¡°Whatever makes you happy,¡± She finally said, and faced her side of the window.


    I said nothing more for the rest of the ride. I whipped out my phone at intervals to scroll through social media or check my unread messages that I still hadn¡¯t replied. I did it so many times just to distract myself that I began to feel frustrated. Giving up, I tossed my phone back into my pocket and decided to enjoy the scenery. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had taken a drive, or a walk, like I used to before. Just for the fun of it¡­ to feel the wind on my skin, drink in the permanently magnificent views and enjoy the peace and quiet. There were a lot of things I quite missed doing.


    From the corner of my eyes I could see Liyah and Eve engaged in animated conversation. It was nice to watch as she paid attention to everything Eve said and then she would reply and even ask questions. It was clear to see that she enjoyed Eve¡¯spany. And I didn¡¯t get to see that a lot. Everyone else I had assigned to take care of Eve only pretended to be interested in her conversation and then after a they snapped. But to be fair, nearly everyone was like that with kids, including myself.


    It was though I began to see how much of a good person she really was as soon as I found out the truth. And every single time I wondered how on earth I missed it. The thought made my chest begin to ache again and so I faced away and focused on my phone once more.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I don¡¯t think I had ever been in a car ride so awkward. I was eternally grateful when the driver turned up the radio, emitting music. It was a good distraction and it relieved some of the tension in the car. I was also grateful for little Eve who kept me busy with her funny stories. I had had been so caught up in my conversation with her that for a moment I forgot the alpha was seated right there.


    I all but jumped out of the car when we finally arrived at the park. Eve had been begging to go to the park for a long time now so she was finally getting her wish granted today. I felt an overwhelming sadness when I learned that she had never been to an amusement park before, even more so probably because I hadn¡¯t either. They had always taken Barbara instead of me, and whenever I went it was just to prepare their pic and wait on her for whatever she might need.


    Iughed as Eve rushed off to the swings, the alpha hot on her heels. I was too tired to join them so I lowered myself onto one of the benches and watched instead. I still did not want to be around him for any reason, but I was doing it for Eve.


    I had thought that after everything that happened he would at least act a little remorseful. But all he did was sit there with a stony expression and scroll through his phone.


    I scoffed. It wasn¡¯t surprising. People like this would never change anyways. Maybe the other day had just been a show. But why? For who? Or maybe I truly had been imagining all of it.


    My gaze fleeted to his huge form gently rocking the swing back and forth while Eve squealed with excitement. asionally I would see him smile when Eve started talking, and I wondered what they could possibly be talking about.


    I nearly choked on air when I saw him let out augh as Eve abandoned the swing and made him put her on his shoulders. I didn¡¯t realize when the smile creeped up my face. He was different around her¡­ calmer, more rxed, he even gave smiles asionally. At least she was happy.


    ¡°Liyah!¡± I heard Eve call out from a distance. I looked up to see her beckoning to me. I sprinted to where they stood.


    ¡°Having fun?¡± I smiled, touching her cheek.


    She smiled. ¡°Well, the park is even more fun than I thought it would be, and I think I might just faint from all the excitement,¡± She breathed.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one problem though,¡± She continued, kicking the sand.


    I saw the alpha cock an eyebrow at the same time I did but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I asked.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    She held both our hands, pulling us so we stood side by side.


    I sucked in a breath.


    ¡°My two favorite people aren¡¯t friends and I¡¯m not sure why. But Uncle says-used to say that nearly everything can be fixed with a conversation. Would you like to talk about it? I would like for all of us to be more friendly. When that happens we¡¯ll be able to have more fun. What do you think?¡±


    I saw his features darken as he backed away a little. ¡°We¡¯re here so you can have fun. Don¡¯t worry your pretty head about anything else, okay?¡±


    She looked at me as if for confirmation and I hurriedly nodded, still feeling my hands shake inside my jacket. I hated all of this. Why didn¡¯t he just stay home?


    As soon as Eve turned away to continue ying on the swing, I moved back to my bench to calm myself.

 The height of it

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    It was hard to keep a straight face when you were with Drew. Add Margaret and Annalise into the puzzle and you¡¯ve got yourself a perfect day. I don¡¯t remember thest time I hadughed this much. I don¡¯t think I had everughed this much in my entire life. And it felt really good. My ribs were literally hurting. I was actually starting to feel like part of something¡­ part of a family. With people who cared me, who supported me. Sometimes I would wake up thinking it was all a dream, and then to reassure myself that it wasn¡¯t, I would race to the nearest person¡¯s room, which happened to be Annalise. When she recognized me and was her usual nice self I would sigh in relief and go about my day like normal.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious though,¡± Drew said stillughing. ¡°Thest time I stayed up sote. My parents had no idea I had hid in a corner. When I saw them start to pile up the presents under the trees and in the stockings, I nearly had a heart attack.¡±


    Margaret spit out the coffee she was drinking, letting out a loudugh. ¡°Andrew, I¡¯ve been trying to drink this coffee for twenty minutes now. Please let me,¡± She begged, wiping tears out of the corner of her eyes.Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Everyone elseughed in response. But Drew continued. ¡°Let me finish the story at least.¡±


    ¡°When I really lost it was when they sat at the table and began to swallow the cookies and milk that had taken me four whole hours to make. I cried my eyes out.¡±


    Annalise pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she wiped her eyes. ¡°He woke us all up in tears. We were so confused,¡± Sheughed.


    ¡°You both grew up together?¡± I asked, surprised. No wonder they were so close. They were so close that I was envious of their friendship. I never had anyone to y with or talk with growing up. They made me grow up so quickly¡­ too quickly. I didn¡¯t even have any fun childhood memories.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Drew answered me. ¡°Me, Annie and Niki. We were best of friends, inseparable I tell you. They even started to call us the Three Musketeers.¡±


    ¡°Those three made a lot of trouble, I can tell you that,¡± Margaret added.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Niki?¡± I asked out of curiosity.


    They exchanged looks.


    ¡°The Alpha,¡± Drew finally answered.


    I was pretty sure my eyes were as wide as saucers. ¡°You guys were best friends with him?¡±


    They nodded.


    Niki.


    Now there was a name to his face. I tried to picture him as a child but I got nothing. I couldn¡¯t picture him even having fun. He looked too serious for that, and as hard as I tried the only image that popped into my head was his stoic, passive expression. For some reason, I wanted to know what he was like as a child. As if to save me the trouble of asking, Drew began tough.


    ¡°Niki was the crazy, stubborn one. He had all these crazy ideas. Once we built this ant farm in our bedroom.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± I asked unable to control myself. ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous?¡±


    Annaliseughed so much that her face reddened. ¡°We all had these swollen, red bites on our butts by the end of the week.¡±


    ¡°Remember when Niki wanted that pet snake?¡±


    My eyes widened. Wow. He sure had a lot of fun as a kid. It also began to seem kind of sad as I wondered where this fun side had disappeared to. Well, I guess adulthood does a lot to you.


    I let out a loudugh as Drew plunged into the story of how the alpha used to chase them with booger fingers when they did something annoying to him. It was so adorable picturing it. I could never imagine him like that in my head. Iughed again as I wondered what Eve would think of all of this. She would surely find it even more fun than me.


    ¡°And he was such a crybaby,¡± Margaret added.


    Okay this was the height of it. A crybaby? I tried to picture him having a tantrum and it was so embarrassing that I couldn¡¯t help theughter that escaped my lips.


    ¡°What was your childhood like?¡± Annalise asked all of a sudden.


    My heart fell. As if she had just realized, she pped a hand over her mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    I managed a smile. ¡°That¡¯s okay. It sure wasn¡¯t as fun as yours,¡± I said, trying to downy the whole thing. ¡°You guys really did have a lot of fun, I¡¯m jealous.¡±


    They bothughed.


    ¡°And it¡¯s so cool how you¡¯re all still very good friends¡­¡± I trailed off as my mind went to the alpha.


    Oh. Right.


    Drew scratched the back of his neck. ¡°Well, we all grow up don¡¯t we?¡± Heughed, but I could tell that they were affected by it. But it was obvious that they didn¡¯t feel like talking about it. So I didn¡¯t push the topic.

 This is stupid

    Niki¡¯s POVThis is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I stood horrified at the entrance of the kitchen, my palm permanently glued to my forehead. I couldn¡¯t understand why I cared so much that I began to feel embarrassed. As if to make my point clearer, my face heated as Drew began to describe in detail how I used to chase him and Anna all over the garden with my booger fingers whenever they provoked me.


    When I heard Liyah gasp in disbelief and then start to giggle, I wanted to rush into the kitchen and p a hand over Drew¡¯s mouth. Why did he have to tell all these embarrassing stories in front of her? Just why?


    ¡°And it¡¯s so cool how you¡¯re all still very good friends,¡± I heard her say.


    Brief seconds of awkward silence took over, and I could imagine them thinking of what to say.


    ¡°Well, we all grow up don¡¯t we?¡± I heard Drewugh awkwardly, then silence ensued.


    My heart clenched as I turned away and started to walk back to my room, lest they walk out to me standing suspiciously at the door. For the first time in years, I let myself reminisce about the good old days. Drew, Anna and I had been very good friends, and it felt strange that now I couldn¡¯t even remember thest good memory we had together. I couldn¡¯t quite understand how that made me feel, but I refused to dwell on it now. He was right, as he always was, we were no longer kids in a fairytale. We were adults, and now we had to deal with real life situations. There was no time for friendship anymore. The sooner they understood that, the better it would be for everyone. I was toxic as hell.


    As I unlocked my door and lowered myself onto the chair, my mind drifted back to Liyah. I thought of how she reacted when Anna had asked about her childhood. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder just how bad it had been.


    And then herughter¡­ it was the purest sound I¡¯d heard in a while. Maybe I only thought that because I had never heard herugh. But it was quite¡­ heartwarming. Charming even¡­


    I caught myself as I realized what I was thinking. Why was I even focusing so much on this? I wondered, shaking my head as if to get rid of the thoughts.


    And now she also knew most of my embarrassing childhood stories. I facepalmed again. What did she think of me now?


    ¡°This is stupid,¡± I chided myself as I ran my fingers through my hair. I had more important things to worry about than what she thought of me. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t care,¡± I repeated, trying to convince myself.


    When it began to sound believable to me, I finally rxed, taking out the tapes of CCTV footage I had secured, and began to watch them one after the other.


    I had a lot of work ahead of me.

 Silver ghost

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    If I wasn¡¯t so scared of being bit by an insect, I would have sat in the grass and enjoyed the scenery. So I decided to walk instead although it was getting a littlete. Margaret and I had made a little trip to the other side of town earlier today to treat some members of another pack who had gotten badly injured. I still wasn¡¯t used to the freedom, and so I told Margaret to go ahead. I wanted to take a little stroll, enjoy the scenery and such, before going back home. Now I was here, I didn¡¯t regret it one bit. I had never seen anything so beautiful, so refreshing. Theke, the small river, the meadow, the birds, the clean space. Everything about it was perfect.


    I started to worry when it began to get really dark. I had gone so deep into the woods that now I couldn¡¯t find my way out. Every path I took only led to a dead end, and I started to suspect that I was only moving around in circles.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± I facepalmed as I came to another dead end. ¡°My first time out alone and I¡¯ve gotten lost already.¡± Why was I so dumb sometimes? I sighed. I had never been to this part of town, but still I hadn¡¯t thought it was a bad idea to stay thiste. And the worst part was that no one knew where I was. If I¡¯d told Margaret she¡¯d know where to look for me if she eventually noticed I was gone.


    After what seemed like hours of searching for an exit, I finally found a path I hadn¡¯t noticed before. I immediately regretted my decision when the path turned out to be longer than I expected. It was then that I began to feel scared. I bit my bottom lip to keep from cursing every time I stubbed my toe trying to find my way.


    A ruffle in the trees ahead of me made me freeze in my tracks. There was someone else here. Additional footsteps told me it was more than one person. I quietly inched back into the trees, pping a hand over my mouth to stop any sounds. I stayed this way for a few moments, and that¡¯s when I heard it; a group of men discussing. I couldn¡¯t hear much of their conversation, but I gathered enough to know they were wolves.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    Fear gripping me, I shuffled backwards, not caring where I was going. I just needed to get away from them. I could find a ce to hide till morning. Using the pale light of the moon to find my way, I found myself in a wide, open space. The first thing my eyes caught was a weird but familiar vehicle I never even knew still existed; a jail wagon.


    Curiosity getting the better of me, I carefully made my way around the the back of the wagon. My heart dropped when I saw what it contained; a group of about sixteen people, whom I could tell were wolves from the silver cuffs which burned into their skin. They looked so weak that it hurt my chest to wonder just how long they had been tortured with the silver.


    I needed to get help. But how? I was already in enough trouble myself, and who would I call anyway? I hadn¡¯t gotten myself a phone yet either.


    As I slowly began to back away from the jail wagon, I felt a heavy hand fall on my shoulder and hold me in a firm grip. I fearfully turned around to see a tall brute, his teeth bared and his nose sniffing me.


    But that wasn¡¯t what scared me.


    What scared me was the fact that I recognised him. He was one of Father¡¯s trusted scouts. I felt myself begin to shake. I was more worried about what he would do if he recognised me. Would he take me back home? At this point in my life, I would rather he killed me.


    But to my utmost surprise, he didn¡¯t recognise me.


    ¡°How did you get out?¡± He growled, roughly pushing me to the wagon and taking out a pair of silver cuffs which he mped around my wrists and my neck. For a moment I wondered why he was watching me curiously, and then I realized.


    Thinking quickly, I faked a cry, struggling to try and get the cuffs off me. Silver was supposed to hurt me, and if he saw that it didn¡¯t, he would either think I was human, or worse still he would recognise me. When heughed and pushed me into the wagon, I began to calm down. I took the time to look around me. It was obvious that they had been kidnapped.


    For years the incidents of kidnapping and trafficking of werewolves and sometimes even humans had been a huge problem. Nobody had ever dared to point fingers because they weren¡¯t sure who it was. But a few had bet their lives that it was Father. Of course I hadn¡¯t believed it. I knew Father could be harsh sometimes, but he wasn¡¯t downright cruel.


    But tonight I had been proved wrong. His scouts and probably a few other from our pack were here. I felt tears sting the back of my eyes as I watched the people around me weaken by the second. How could someone be so cold-hearted? This was in evil.


    I moved my hair away from my face as I thought of a solution. As I began to move my fingers around to probe for an opening in the wagon, I heard the sound of shing, and then a hard thump that sounded like something falling to the ground. I instinctively shrunk back from the door. This was the second time I had been kidnapped. What had I done to deserve a life like this? Just when I thought everything was going perfectly.


    I scoffed. Why was I even surprised?


    As I moved back into the wagon, I heard the nging of silver chains as some of the werewolves moved closer to the door and peeked through the bars.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Silver Ghost!¡± I heard a hoarse but excited voice call out. ¡°He¡¯s here to save us!¡±


    A little uproar began to ensue as the weakened werewolves began to cry out and rejoice in excitement. I couldn¡¯t help but be curious as well.


    The Silver Ghost.


    There had been rumors and stories about a werewolf who had taken the mission of saving the kidnapped werewolves and taking them to a safe ce to recuperate. No one had ever seen him clearly, neither were they sure who he was. But he had be a sort of legend amongst the people.


    I put both palms together in prayer. If the Goddess let us be saved this once, I would be eternally grateful. Not just for myself, but for all these helpless people. It broke my heart to see even children who looked about Eve¡¯s age, caged like animals.


    We all shrunk back in fear as the door of the wagon began to push open. There was a heavy grunt from the other side of the door, and then with onest blow, the door fell open.


    I gasped in shock when I faced the man who stood in front of me. And from the surprise in his eyes I could tell that he recognised me too.


    I could recognise those eyes anywhere. Now I understood why they called him the Silver Ghost.


    It felt like the world had stopped for a second as Niki stared right back at me.

 W-what?

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. Frankly, I was dumbfounded, and no matter how many times I gaped at Niki breaking the silver chains off the werewolves, I couldn¡¯t seem to get over it. When he was done, he made way for the two middle-aged women who were in charge of the hideout to clean and feed them, then make sure they were well rested.


    I saw him look away when our eyes met and I couldn¡¯t help but do the same. As I watched him walk out of the room and down the stairs, I began to think of possible reasons why he could be doing this. If there was anything I knew about him, it was how selfish and cold-hearted he was. So what was his motive? I wasn¡¯t going to argue the fact that it was a good deed. He was saving lives, restoring hope and happiness in these people when they thought they¡¯d never again find it. He built thisrge, well-equipped underground mansion, made sure they were clean, fed and safe. And from what I heard from Millie, the woman in charge, he made weekly visits to check up on them. It was the most selfless, heroic thing I had ever heard. But that¡¯s not the man I hade to know.


    Another thing I was confused about was the fact that he had saved me. With the amount of resentment for me that he had brewing within him, I had expected him to leave me there. After all, it was the perfect way to get rid of me once and for all. But all he did was treat me with indifference. I saw anger sh briefly in his eyes when he recognised me, and then without a word, he bundled me up and ced me in the passenger seat of the truck.


    Making my decision, I whipped around and made my way down the stairs. I needed answers, and he was the only one that could give them to me. My palms began to sweat when I sighted him inside one of the rooms downstairs, his back facing the door. I needed to constantly remind myself that I was no longer his ve, and now I was entitled to my decisions and my opinions. And I had every right to speak my mind. So I tossed all the fear that came with facing him, and I walked in.


    I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d heard mee in. But if he did, he didn¡¯t show it.


    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡±


    He turned around in surprise to face me for a few seconds, and then without a word he plopped down on a chair, and fixed me with a cold stare. I felt myself begin to falter under his gaze but I held myself strong. I had had enough of all of it, being pushed around and oppressed. I needed answers, I needed exnations. And I wouldn¡¯t back down until I got them.


    ¡°So you¡¯re the Silver Ghost? The one who has been saving all these people?¡±


    When he didn¡¯t respond, I scoffed. ¡°What are you even trying to achieve? You¡¯re trying to pacify your soul, feel like some kind of hero? Because you do one thing, one good deed, you think you can wipe everything away and have a clean te? Like¡­ like a serial killer who gives to the poor.¡±


    As I stared him down, I began to realize just how much anger I was feeling. Why did he think it was that easy?


    I saw the rage on his face slowly change to disbelief. But I was past caring to wonder.


    ¡°You¡¯ve saved them, and now they all sing your praises and marvel at how selfless of a man you are. If only they knew what sort of monster was hidden under this fa?ade¡­ what sort of terrible things you¡¯ve done.¡± I clenched my fists. ¡°So go ahead, fool them. But you don¡¯t fool me for even-¡±


    ¡°I brought Eve from here,¡± I heard him announce gently.


    It felt like my chest had been punched in.


    ¡°W-what?¡± I pped a hand over my mouth in horror as an image of Eve chained from head to toe came to mind. Eve tortured and malnourished¡­ and in pain. When I saw those children from earlier, the first person that came to my mind was Eve. And now I find out that she really was one of them? I wasn¡¯t sure what to say as my eyes riveted back to him. Why would he go through all the trouble of rescuing her and then letting her live under his roof. He was so unpredictable I couldn¡¯t decide if he had a heart or not.


    Sighing, I shut my eyes, saying a short prayer to thank the goddess that Eve was alive and well back home. I don¡¯t think I had ever been grateful for anything as I was for that little girl¡¯s health.


    I swallowed bitterly when I remembered where I was and why I was here in the first ce. ¡°I saw one of Father¡¯s men tonight,¡± I whispered, not exactly sure why I was telling him.


    I held back the tears that began to pool in my eyes. ¡°I¡¯d always known he wasn¡¯t exactly the nicest person. But I never in my wildest dreams imagined that he could do something so¡­ evil. Treating people like dirt. W-why?¡±


    As the words fell from my lips, I wondered how I hadn¡¯t known. Father had always treated me with such hatred, I couldn¡¯t imagine why I was so surprised.


    ¡°You have no idea what he¡¯s capable of.¡±


    His voice was so chilling it sent a shiver through me. I looked up in time to see the pain and anger in his eyes. ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I saw him stiffen.


    We stood in silence for a few moments and then he faced me. ¡°Night is falling and we don¡¯t have time. Let¡¯s go.¡±Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    Before I could recover sufficiently to say anything, he had walked out the door.

 Panful

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I wasn¡¯tpletely sure why my head was aching so much. I knew I had been tired and overwhelmed more times than I could count, but it felt different this time. It felt¡­ worse. After everything that had happened in the car, I had begun to see things differently, understand things I didn¡¯t before. It all made sense now. Why Drew was still so protective of him although they had be distant, why Niki was always so bitter. It didn¡¯t change the fact that I was still hurt, but it did make me see things from a different perspective.


    I hated the fact that I understood now. I didn¡¯t want to, I wanted to me someone for everything that happened to me. I wanted to feel that pure hatred when I looked at him, and revel in it. But now¡­ I couldn¡¯t even identify what exactly I was feeling. Sadness, anger, pity, confusion, all jumbled up in my heart. It was so overwhelming I thought I would break down crying. But the most overwhelming of all was the disgust I felt. I never thought I couldpletely despise Father. Yes, I harbored some resentment over how he treated me. But I had always secretly wished he would learn to love me. Now I could feel goosebumps form on my skin from the thought of being close to him.


    I sighed, clutching the apple I held in my left hand and heading down to the balcony to look for him. I hadn¡¯t seen him since we got back, and he didn¡¯t appear at dinner either. Margaret said he wasn¡¯t in his room so I guessed he might be somewhere around. I hesitated as I got to the balcony. Why did I care that he hadn¡¯t had anything to eat? I shouldn¡¯t. If he wanted to starve it was his choice. I turned to walk back inside but my legs refused to cooperate.


    I bit my bottom lip as an image of him beating himself up over and over again came to mind. Deciding I wouldn¡¯t stay longer than I meant to, I walked to the bench I could see him sitting in.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I stared from the apple in her outstretched hand to her expressionless face. Inck of a meaningfulment, I took the apple from her and gave a small nod. I hadn¡¯t felt this¡­ empty in a long time. Even slight thoughts of Elle ruined my mood, and in essence my whole day. Now, talking about her, it broke me. It was like reliving the nightmare over again. But for some strange reason, it was relieving. I never let anyone know that Elle was pregnant. If Drew and Anna had known, I would have been the one stopping them from storming off to the Monhowl territory. But I had kept it a secret. Since my pups never existed, what was the point of bringing it up. But telling Liyah had made me realize just how much I was hurting, how much I had wanted to be a father. And for the life of me I couldn¡¯t understand what was so therapeutic about that. But I let it go.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    My brows furrowed as I turned to Liyah who had taken a seat beside me. I couldn¡¯t hide my surprise when I saw her. Apparently she had been looking for me. It baffled me how after everything that had happened she still cared enough to¡­ check up on me. I was a monster. Why should she worry or care? Being in her presence made me start to feel like a coward. How could she be so calm after everything I had done to her? Why was she even here? But I didn¡¯t object. Having someone around made me feel strangely better.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°There¡¯s no excuse for what you did,¡± She continued, and once again I felt guilt poke me. ¡°But no one deserves to go through this much pain. It couldn¡¯t have been easy to watch your wife and unborn babies killed right before your eyes.¡±


    I felt her hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I know I thought of you as a monster, but now I see that the real monster¡­ is my father.¡±


    I felt the urge to swallow but it felt like my throat was constricted. Every passing moment showed me just how much better of a person she was than I would ever dream of being.


    ¡°And thank you.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± I managed to ask.


    ¡°For trusting me with your secret.¡± When I didn¡¯t respond, she continued. ¡°Well, since everything else is out there, there¡¯s no need to keep it a secret anymore.¡±


    I watched her take a deep breath. ¡°There¡¯s a reason why my father and every other member of my pack despise me.¡±


    Oh. I tried not to look too interested, but I couldn¡¯t deny the fact that I was curious.


    ¡°Long story short, they think I¡¯m a murder,¡± She shrugged, giving a light chuckle.


    ¡°My mother died during childbirth. I had grown up to my father hating me because he med me for her death. I was so young, I had no idea what was going on. And then I turned eighteen, and it turned out that there really was something wrong with me. I wasn¡¯t special like the rest of them.¡±


    My brows furrowed. ¡± How do you mea-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a mere man,¡± she blurted. ¡°I¡¯m basically human, although both my parents are pure breeds. I have no abilities whatsoever. That was thest straw I guess. There was no need to respect me anymore¡­ after all I¡¯m not a real wolf.¡±


    Although she was smiling, I could see her lips quiver as she struggled to hold back her tears.


    She shrugged. ¡°So yeah. I¡¯ve always been a nobody. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t transform during thest hunt, I was too ashamed¡­¡±


    As her shoulders began to shake, I reached out on impulse, cing a hand on hers and squeezing reassuringly.


    ¡°T-that¡¯s why I can¡¯t go home. I don¡¯t-I don¡¯t belong there.¡±


    ¡°You can stay here as long as you need to,¡± I assured her.


    For the second time, I wondered how I had been so blind to everything. There had been so many clues, so many signs that she couldn¡¯t possibly be the girl I was supposed to abduct, but I couldn¡¯t look past my anger enough to see them. And I had punished her for no reason whatsoever. Overwhelmed with so many emotions, I scooted closer to her and tightened my hold on her hand.

 Something was off

    Niki¡¯s POV


    Something was off. I couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that something was definitely up. I knew that there were wolf people who never transformed their entire life, but in most cases it was either the result of a wolfman and a human mating, or vice versa. And Liyah was a purebreed, from purebreed parents, so that wasn¡¯t even remotely possible.


    The only other situation for such an urrence was when a spell was cast on the werewolf in question. But I wouldn¡¯t even be considering that because as far as I knew, witchcraft was forbidden.


    I opened the refrigerator to kill time as I thought of what to do. From what she had told me tonight, she had been put to work at a young age. So my hunch was that her wolf was not yet mature because she hadn¡¯t had the time to develop. That could be helped. But she needed time. Lots of it.


    A soft gasp made me look up and I stared at Liyah¡¯s startled form. ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t expect to run into anyone,¡± She blurted, clearing her throat and moving toward the coffee maker. ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡±


    I didn¡¯t point out the fact that she didn¡¯t need my permission for anything anymore. Instead I nodded, and raised my ss to my lips. I watched her carefully and expertly begin to work the machine. She stood awkwardly as she waited for it to get ready.


    ¡°Do you want some?¡±


    It took me a few moments to realize she had spoken. I still hadn¡¯t gotten used to the sound of her voice.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I nodded, although I wasn¡¯t thirsty anymore. I didn¡¯t let myself reflect too deeply on it. Instead I reached out to ept the mug she handed me.


    As we drank in silence, I snuck nces at her at intervals as she clutched her mug in her hands, her head bowed. The memory of her confession about her wolf shed through my mind, and I suddenly felt a tightening in my chest. She had gone through so much, I just wanted to make everything better for her, but I didn¡¯t know how.


    After a few moments of deliberation, I dropped my half empty cup of coffee on the counter. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about everything you said. And I think your case might be one of underdevelopment. If my hunch is right then it can be fixed.¡±


    Her hand froze halfway to her mouth, and she dropped her mug on her counter and faced me fully. The hope that had begun to glimmer in her eyes made me wish I would be right.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot, right from a young age. And so I¡¯m guessing that your wolf has not had the time, strength, nor breathing space to develop. If that¡¯s true then it¡¯s a probable reason for this. You are a purebreed, and so the chances of this being natural are zero to none.¡±


    ¡°So you think there¡¯s¡­ a chance? That I could have a wolf?¡±


    From what I knew about the situation, it was a pretty slim chance. But I couldn¡¯t bring myself to diminish the hope in those bright blue eyes. So I nodded.


    ¡°But before then, I don¡¯t know what sort of things you¡¯re going to encounter, but I do want you to be able to defend yourself. Well enough that you wouldn¡¯t panic in tight situations. It¡¯s your choice, Liyah,¡± I added when I saw her look away nervously. ¡°I just think it¡¯s a skill worth having.¡±


    She was silent for a while and then she nodded. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure why I felt relieved but I brushed it off. ¡°Okay then. We¡¯ll start tomorrow. I¡¯ll teach you all I know about self-defense. So even if you ever get into any sort of trouble, you would be able to get yourselves out of it.¡±


    I paused when I saw the surprise in her eyes. It was almost utter shock. I realized that hearing me talk calmly and offering to help must still be shocking to her. I realized that maybe I should slow down. ¡°We can wait until you¡¯re ready¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no, tomorrow is fine. I¡¯m just a little bit, um, surprised. If I have a chance then, that¡¯s a good thing. I¡¯d do everything I can to get to that point. That¡¯s¡­ great.¡±


    I saw her try and fail to conceal the small smile that began to form on her face. She muttered a ¡®thank you¡¯ as she rubbed her hands up and down. I dipped my hands into the pocket of my jeans to keep from smacking my face as the corner of my lips started to lift in a smile.


    What on earth¡­Belonging to N?velDrama.Org.


    I hadn¡¯t realized she was at the door until she muttered a ¡°goodnight¡± and walked out. I raked my fingers through my hair absentmindedly. I hadn¡¯t felt so exhausted in a long while. But the only difference was that alongside this fatigue, there was also a calming sense of relief I don¡¯t think I had ever felt.


    And it wasforting.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    It felt like I was breathing for the first one. Now when I inhaled, the air felt cleaner. For the first time in my life I had received positive news. The possibility that I could actually have a wolf filled me with so much happiness. It meant that there was possibilities of redemption for me. I wouldn¡¯t be so useless anymore.


    For the first time, I wiped tears from my ears and they weren¡¯t those of pain, or anger, or helplessness. I actually had hope now, something to look forward to, something to get me through the hard days. Having a wolf would mean having apanion. I would finally have someone to talk to.


    As I got into bed and drew up my duvet to my neck, my hands shook from the excitement. I shut my eyes, mentally reminding myself not to be so excited when I wasn¡¯tpletely sure yet. There was no need to get ahead of myself.


    But still I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that spread on my face as I drifted away.

 See you tomorrow

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I jumped up from my bed as soon as my rm rang. I had been awake for about an hour already and was just waiting patiently for an excuse to get out of bed. The possibility that I might have a wolf was enough to keep me permanently excited.


    As soon as I was done getting ready for the day, I unzipped the suitcase Margaret had gotten me to find something suitable to wear. I paused in the middle of ransacking the suitcase. What was I even supposed to wear for a session on self-defence? I¡¯ve never had any sort of training, so what? I thought of asking Margaret for help but it was too early to go see her, so I decided on a pair of stretchy jeans, a tank top, and sneakers. When I felt ready, I tied my hair to the back and made my way to the training ground. He had told me to be there by 7am and I was already ten minuteste. I couldn¡¯t help but feel very nervous.


    I immediately saw him unpacking some equipment from a bag when I arrived. Watching him made me realize what training with him actually entailed, and yes I had begun to see him more clearly, but that didn¡¯t mean that I was thrilled to be around him. For a second, I stood on the brink of changing my mind. Maybe all of this was a mistake.


    ¡°You¡¯re here,¡± His voice broke me out of my reverie.


    I fought the urge to scurry away from the sound of his voice. I hadn¡¯t been expecting it. Taking a deep breath, I moved forward. ¡°Yes. I had trouble finding what to wear¡­¡± I trailed off.


    He nodded, motioning to the bag he had been ransacking. ¡°Before we dive into self-defence, we¡¯ll have to focus on warm-up, full body training, and your flexibility. When you¡¯re done with all of that, then we can start the training.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I nodded, trying my hardest to shake off my anxiety. Slowly, he walked me through a few warm-up moves, then started to work on my stances and posture. Before long, I had begun to sweat heavily.


    ¡°You need to arch your back¡­ no, not that,¡± Niki said as he watched me try to master a stance. Before I couldprehend what was happening, he had walked toward me, cing one hand on my bare waist and pushing in.


    ¡°NO!¡±


    I jumped back in fear, goosebumps spreading over my skin as it made contact with his. I raised my hand in protest as he tried toe close, rm evident on his face.


    I just need to breathe. I need to breathe¡­


    Just breathe.


    It had happened so suddenly I was taken my surprise. And he had held me in a grip so firm it brought back unpleasant memories. I couldn¡¯t stop my heart from racing as I faced him. Maybe I had underrated my level of tolerance. I thought I could handle this¡­ but it turns out I can¡¯t. It was all too much. I had to quit. I needed to..


    I watched him rake his fingers through his hair as he moved a good distance away from me. ¡°I think it would be best to take a breather.¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Liyah,¡± I heard him call out as I began to back away to find a good spot to rest in. I turned back, curious.


    ¡°I know nothing I say will change what I did, or make you feel better. And every time I see you jump back or shrink away from me, it only makes me realize just how unsafe you feel around me, and the terrible mistake that I made. And I¡¯ll never forgive myself for it.¡±


    For the first time, I saw him do things I had never imagined him doing; his fingers clenching and unclenching as he fidgeted, his voice low and quiet, the shame in his eyes that he didn¡¯t try to conceal.


    ¡°I am so sorry, for everything I put you through. I was selfish and cowardly, and I let my emotions get the better of me. I¡¯m sorry for putting you through hell. I¡¯m sorry for making you feel like you weren¡¯t important, like you were a nobody. I¡¯m sorry I hurt you.¡±


    I could only stare.


    ¡°After what happened with Elle, I should¡¯ve been the one person who understands how it is to be punished for someone else¡¯s crime. But I didn¡¯t. You have every right to hate me, and I deserve much worse than that. I just wish I could take it all back¡­ all of it.¡±


    There was silence for a few moments. As I stared at him, I couldn¡¯t exactly describe how I was feeling. It was almost like a burning in my chest.


    ¡°You know, the fact that you thought that inflicting that much pain on me was going to make you and my father even was such a disgusting idea that it makes you just as bad as him. Even if I was Barbara¡­ you stooped to his level, and you were no better than him. Vengeance should be on the person who hurt you, and it¡¯s a good idea to leave his descendants out of it.¡±


    I saw the surprise in his eyes as he looked up at me, but I didn¡¯t stop. The other day when I¡¯d tried tofort him in the car, I had cast and forgotten all the pain he caused me, and I was so caught up in his pain, that I ignored my feelings.


    ¡°I¡¯ve listened to your side of the story, and the Goddess knows Ipletely understand why you want your revenge, but you did so many despicable things, and still it didn¡¯t even get you halfway where you wanted to be. Things I don¡¯t think your wife would be happy about. You im you were doing all of this for her, but this has to be the most selfish thing I have ever heard. Did you for once sit down and think about how Elle would feel about all of this?¡±


    I saw the familiar expression of anger whenever someone mentioned her name form on his face.


    I raised my hand to stop him when he tried to speak. ¡°Let me finish.¡± I needed to let all of this out.


    ¡°What did you expect?¡± I asked, wincing as the pain in my chest increased tenfold. ¡°That you could just walk up and give an apology and then everything would be okay?¡± I scoffed.


    ¡°Oh hey, Liyah. I¡¯m sorry for abducting you, torturing you, starving you to the brink of death and then snatching your dignity away. Let¡¯s be friends. And then we¡¯d hug and make up and be one big freaking happy family?¡±


    I felt tears sting the back of my eyes but I decided I¡¯d be damned before I let them fall.


    ¡°After everything you did, you think standing there and serving up an apology will change it all in sh? So you don¡¯t think it¡¯s selfish that the reason why you did all of this was because you were in a bad ce? I was in a bad ce too. And when I thought it couldn¡¯t get any worse, you came, and you showed me just how wrong I was.¡± I gave a bitterugh.


    But I watched him stand there shamefully and listen to me without a word. And although I was sad and angry and hurt, I knew that he truly was sorry, and his apology was sincere.


    I took another deep breath and faced him.


    ¡°What you did was heartless and inhuman,¡± I paused. ¡°But I understand.¡±


    His head whipped up in shock at my words and I could see the surprise in his eyes.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t justify anything whatsoever, but I understand. Pain and guilt can drive you to do things you never thought you would. It eats at you, and before you know it, you don¡¯t even realize what you¡¯re bing. How you talk about her¡­ I can see just how much you loved her. And seeing her murdered right in front of you, and not being able to do anything about it¡­ I can¡¯t imagine just how traumatic that must have been for you.¡±


    And I really couldn¡¯t. I knew I would never recover if something like that happened to me. And the fact that he was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t even share his grief with his friends. Bottling it all up inside until he finally exploded. All I saw as I looked at him was a man eating himself up. He let pain and vengeance eat him inside out. And now he wasn¡¯t even sure what he was doing anymore.


    He looked so torn up and broken.


    ¡°It¡¯s not entirely your fault.¡±


    He looked taken aback by my words. I nodded.


    ¡°If my Father was a good man and a better person, things would have turned out differently. His actions pushed you to do all of this. He made this¡­ this monster inside of you. But you¡¯re better than him. You identified that you did something wrong and you took responsibility for it. That shows your sincerity and your willingness to change. And it¡¯s a good start. I won¡¯t forget all of it in a hurry, and I¡¯m not saying we¡¯re going to be best of friends, but I¡¯ll try my best to forgive you. Not because I think you¡¯re a good person, or because I ept your apology. It¡¯s because I think you deserve it. So I guess that¡¯s it¡­¡±


    I trailed off when I felt my throat tighten.


    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to train today. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±


    And before he could see the tears fall, I had escaped to thefort of my room.

 Worth it

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I was at the training ground earlier than thest time. After I had spent about twenty minutes and there was still no sign of Liyah, I began to wonder if she woulde today. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she eventually didn¡¯t, I would understand why. She was still trying to heal, and if being around me was getting in the way of that then it was probably best to stay away.


    As I lowered myself onto arge log of wood, my thoughts drifted to the events of yesterday. It was shocking to see hersh out the way she did. And one thing I waspletely sure of was that, as I watched her chide me and put me in my ce yesterday, I knew that I never wanted her to let anyone push her around the way I had.


    And she left me in shock everytime we spoke. After everything I had done, she still wanted me to realize that it all hadn¡¯t been entirely my fault. What person on earth would do that? Who would apologize to you for your pain after you hurt them over and over again? She was such a good person that it made me feel bad for myself. And although some of her words had hurt, they werepletely true. It was time to start facing the truth, and these were facts.


    And the fact was, I was a terrible person, and I needed to change and be better. Not just for myself, but for the people around me as well.


    I got up, deciding I would try again tomorrow, and keep trying until she felt ready to show up. As I heaved all my equipment on one shoulder ready to leave, I saw someone race in.


    Liyah?


    I was so shocked that some of the stuff I held nearly fell from my hand. As I parted my lips to ask, she beat me to it.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯mte. I was out jogging and I lost track of time.¡±


    The fact that she apologized threw me off bnce. Again. And for a moment I was speechless.


    ¡°So¡­ what are we doing today?¡±


    Her voice reminded me that I still hadn¡¯t said anything. Cursing myself silently for being so distracted, I cleared my throat.


    ¡°We¡¯re doing guns today. Target practice.¡±


    She nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Okay then. That¡¯s great,¡± She said, lowering herself to the ground as she waited for me to arrange the equipments and get out the guns.


    I did so in silence for a while and then I turned to her. ¡°Liyah?¡±


    She looked surprised but said nothing.


    I took a deep breath. I needed to let this out now, unless I wouldn¡¯t concentrate on the task at hand.


    ¡°About yesterday¡­ everything you said waspletely right. And I¡¯m so sorry that I made it sound like everything would be okay if I just apologized. I know you need a lot of time to heal and get back on your feet, and I respect that. I just want you to know that I¡¯ll keep doing everything in my power to show you how sorry I am and to earn your forgiveness.¡±


    She looked surprised but thoughtful. And when I saw done, she only shrugged and nodded. But that was enough for me. It was all I needed.


    ¡°Have you ever held a gun before?¡± I asked, begining the lesson. She looked as though she were trying to remember.


    ¡°Once when I was younger, there was this scout of Father¡¯s that always let me watch when he had target practice. I only held it once, and the memory is sort of blurry.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Maybe when you hold it you might remember.¡±


    She shrugged.


    ¡°The safest way to hold a gun is with both hands. That way, the chances of your aim being on point are higher, and you will be able to withstand the recoil, especially if you¡¯re a beginner.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s crucial to also learn the one handed grip. It¡¯s helpful in situations where you¡¯re only able to use one hand. Maybe when you are in trouble, or surrounded. That one second draw could save your life.¡±


    As I began to walk her through the steps; disassembling and reassembling a gun, parts and functions of a gun, types of grips, bullets, I marveled at how quickly she was grasping the information. When my father had taught me how to do all of this, it had taken me nearly three days to master all of this. But she effortlessly remembered everything like it was the ABCs.


    Impressive.


    I tried not to smile when she tried to imitate all the ways to hold a gun after I had shown her.


    ¡°You need to be rxed, shoulders back¡­¡±


    She tried to rx her shoulders, but her posture was still quite tense. Without thinking, I made to help her straighten her posture, then stopped in my tracks when I remembered I was going to need to touch her.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I heard her whisper. ¡°It¡¯s part of the training, I understand.¡±


    But I moved back, shaking my head. ¡°I can teach you how to be rxed, bnced andfortable enough to handle a gun without touching you. It¡¯s just going to take a little longer to enable you grasp the postures I¡¯ll be mentioning. And we have time. Lots of it.¡±


    The glimmer of approval in her eyes was all I needed to know I was in the right track. And I would keep doing everything, until I earned her forgiveness.


    ¡°Okay. Shoulders back, no pressure. Firm butfortable grip, aim, now pull the trigger.¡±


    Her first shotpletely missed the target and ricocheted, flying clean above our head. We both scurried and flew to the floor to avoid the impact. When themotion had died down, we awkwardly faced each other on the floor.


    I hadpletely forgotten that the bullet couldn¡¯t hurt me because it wasn¡¯t made of silver. I guess I had been too surprised. Liyah must have realized this because she suddenly began tough.


    ¡°I swear I wasn¡¯t trying to get us killed,¡± Sheughed again, getting up and dusting off her clothes.


    Herughter was so contagious I couldn¡¯t help but join in. Before long, we had started practicing again. After a few more instructions and failed targets, she finally hit her aim. She was so busy shooting down all targets that she didn¡¯t realize she had hit a perfect aim. When she finally did, her eyes widened in surprise.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I did it!¡± She was so excited that all the fatigue I had begun to feel suddenly evaporated into thin air. It was worth it.


    It was definitely worth it.

 Shh

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I tried not to feel impatient as I waited for them to arrive. It had been nearly ten minutes since I summoned them but still there was no sign of them. I began to wonder if I was actually impatient or just nervous.


    Over the past few days, I had seen Drew give me questioning nces whenever he saw me training Liyah, but he never asked about it. I always knew that things weren¡¯t perfect with my pack, but I never truly got past my anger enough to see just how bad I had been neglecting them, especially Annalise and Drew. They were more than just my pack members. They were my friends¡­ my family.


    I already knew they had been hurting, but I never cared. I was just too invested on getting my revenge. Now that everything had turned out the way it did, I began to see just how deep the wound was.


    I was distracted by the sound of my bedroom door opening. Drew walked in, Annie right behind him. They bowed shortly before facing me.


    ¡°You wanted to see us?¡± Drew queried, his voice cold.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I began to have cold feet. Maybe this was a mistake. I was the Alpha. I didn¡¯t owe anyone anything. As I parted my lips to dismiss them, my heart clenched. I couldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°If this is about the rogues on the other side of town, we¡¯re already on it,¡± Anna cut in sharply. ¡°So you don¡¯t need to worry about us not doing our job.¡±


    I was tempted to nod and wave them away, but I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t about work or anything else.¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°What is it then?¡±


    I inhaled deeply.


    ¡°Look I know you¡¯re mad at me, and probably even hate me. And you have every right to be.¡±


    Drew was silent.


    Annalise scoffed. ¡°Ya think?¡±


    I saw Drew put his hand atop hers in an attempt to calm her.


    I knew she was even more pissed than Drew. I had expected it. Since she found out what I had done to Liyah, she had avoided me like the gue. Every time she looked at me, I could see the burning disgust in her eyes.


    ¡°I know this is terrible timing, and ame apology. But I don¡¯t know what else to say. I miss you guys. And I¡¯m trying¡­ trying to make things right with myself, with Liyah, with you.¡±


    ¡°I was so wrapped up in guilt¡­ consumed, really. It felt like something was eating me from inside out. I stare at my reflection sometimes and I don¡¯t even know who I am anymore. And you were right, Anna. I¡¯m a coward, and being an Alpha doesn¡¯t change that.¡±


    We all stood in silence for a while. And then Drew approached me, pping a hand on my shoulder and smiling. ¡°I always knew you woulde back. I knew you were still in there somewhere. Wee back, man.¡±


    As he plopped down next to me on the bed, we both faced Anna. I could tell from her cold expression that she didn¡¯t give two shits about my apology.


    ¡°Great. May I leave now?¡±


    As she whipped around and made to leave, I knew that if I let her walk out that door, I would lose her forever. I could feel Drew¡¯s eyes on me as she stormed to the door.


    ¡°She was pregnant.¡±


    The sound of my own voice saying those words brought back painful memories like it always did. The only difference was that this time, I was learning to not let those emotions overwhelm me.


    Annalise turned back.


    ¡°Who?¡± I heard Drew ask.


    I swallowed again. I had kept it to myself all these years because I was in so much pain, I didn¡¯t feel like talking about it. And I didn¡¯t want you guys to worry as well. One person grieving was enough already¡­


    ¡°Elle had been feeling sick for a couple of weeks. We decided to go see the doctor that morning, and that¡¯s when we found out she was pregnant. With twins.¡±


    I had never seen Drew look so angry like he did in that moment. He bolted from the bed as though he had been electrocuted. ¡°What did you say?!¡±


    I bowed my head, pain cutting through my chest once more. ¡°That¡¯s when we were ambushed by Verbeck and his men. They defiled my Elle, Drew. They vited her, took turns on her¡­ a-and they made me watch.¡±


    I saw Anna stagger backwards, her eyes trained on me in disbelief.


    The burning sensation in my chest pressed on harder when I felt tears sting my eyes.


    ¡°He snapped her neck afterwards. I didn¡¯t know what to do. We were going to surprise you two with news of the pregnancy. I was so heartbroken¡­ so tired. I didn¡¯t think there was any point telling¡­¡±


    Drew stopped me by enveloping me in a tight hug. My surprise eventually melted into despair and a feeling of warmth. Having someone hug me made me realize how lonely I had been all these years.


    ¡°You should told us¡­ you should¡¯ve told us¡­¡± Drew whispered continuously, his voice breaking as he tightened the hug.


    Without warning, Annalise approached us. The first thing she did was tear us apart. When I faced her, she grabbed me by the cor, tightening her grip.


    ¡°Elle was pregnant?¡± She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.


    ¡°She was pregnant? With twins? You were going to be a father, Niki? You? A dad?¡±


    With each sentence she tightened her hold on my shirt. All of a sudden she let go. ¡°He¡¯s going to fucking pay.¡±


    And before we could process what was happening, she was out the door. Realizing that she was talking about Jonas, Drew and I bounded after her, grabbing her by the shirt in the nick of time.


    ¡°NO! Let me go, right now!! I said let me go!¡±


    Tears had already begun to stream down her face in torrents. But she didn¡¯t stop pushing.


    ¡°LET ME GO!!¡±


    When we had sessfully pulled her into the room and secured the lock, I tried to calm her down.


    ¡°Anna, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s alri-


    ¡°You know how badly she wanted kids, Niki! You know this. I need to go!¡±


    As she brutally fought me off, I wrapped my arms around her, not letting go even when she dug her fingernails into my chest. When her strength began to fail, she held onto the front of my shirt, letting out a broken cry as she sobbed quietly, slowly slumping to the floor.


    ¡°Shh,¡± I cooed, squatting next to her and pulling her into a bear hug as I smoothened out her hair, careful not to let myself break down as well.

 For eve

    Niki¡¯s POV


    As soon as the conference meeting ended, I quickly turned off theputer and tugged on thebat boots that were alreadyid out in front of my bed. As soon as I was done throwing my clothes on, I walked down to the training ground as quickly as I could. I sighted her as soon as I approached, seatedfortably astride a log of wood.


    I felt the duffel bag I hade with slip from my fingers as I tried my hardest not to gape at her. When she stood to face me, my lungs emptied of all the air intact. She hadined about the jeans and T-shirt she wore slowing her down, so I had asked her to see Annalise for a change of outfits. She needed to be asfortable as possible in order to get to her full potential.


    But I definitely hadn¡¯t been expecting this. She was d in a stretchy, ck leather bodysuit;pleting the attire with a pair of ck boots, and her hair tied up in a ponytail. Dressed like this she looked¡­ tough, and absolutely breathtaking. Reminding myself why I was here in the first ce, I tore my eyes away and picked up the duffel bag.


    ¡°Howe you¡¯rete today? Scared I¡¯ll beat you, again?¡± I heard her joke as she approached me.


    For a moment I was speechless. It was strange but nice getting to see this humorous, carefree side of her. Of course she was still timid and reserved as was her nature, but I noticed that when she started to get morefortable, her sense of humor was pretty difficult to hide, and she would make subtle jokes once in a while. And for some weird reason, I found it quite adorable.


    When I saw her expression begin to falter, I knew she must¡¯ve thought that I¡¯d taken offence. So I tried to save the situation.


    ¡°It¡¯s been just three weeks, I wouldn¡¯t be so confident,¡± I smirked. ¡°And besides the only reason you won was because I let you.¡±


    I saw her cock an eyebrow at my words and then chuckle. ¡°Right. Of course.¡± Still chuckling, she bent down and began to help me unload the duffel bag. We did that in silence for a while whilst I struggled to keep my eyes on the equipment and not her face every time she looked away.


    ¡°Okay. So far, you¡¯ve learned how to shoot a gun, and how to defend. Today I¡¯ll be teaching you how to attack.¡±


    I saw her eyes widen. ¡°Attack? Won¡¯t that be¡­ dangerous?¡±


    ¡°How do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well I don¡¯t have a wolf. Yet. So isn¡¯t it more important to learn defense? Something tells me I¡¯d get killed if I tried to attack.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold back my chuckle. ¡°Well, you¡¯re notpletely wrong. But it¡¯s beneficial either way. And don¡¯t forget, if your wolf eventually develops, you¡¯re gonna need those skills.¡±


    She nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Okay then.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin,¡± I announced as we began to circle each other. ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to unlearn everything I taught you about defense, for now. That wille into y after you¡¯ve made the first move to weaken your opponent, gotten the upper hand. Then while you attack, you fend off any moves your opponent might make. But the trick is to keep attacking, don¡¯t give them a chance to recover. Because once you do, it might be difficult to regain the upper hand.¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Her eyebrows puckered in concentration as she nodded to everything I said. When she had gotten it all, I began to teach her some moves. Like always since I began our lessons, she surprised me with how quickly she learned. The other day, I had been so thrown off bnce that I didn¡¯t realise when she beat me.


    ¡°Now,e,¡± I snarled, widening my arms as I beckoned to her. Straightening from her stance, she charged, her right leging up swiftly tond a kick to my jaw which I easily stopped.


    ¡°Impressive. You¡¯re flexible enough, but you¡¯re legs are weak. We¡¯ll need to work on that first.¡±


    I hid a smile as I watched try to mask her disappointment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the exciting part will start soon enough.¡±


    In reply she groaned and began to back away when all of a sudden she cried out in pain and clutched her thigh. ¡°I think I might¡¯ve overdone it.¡±


    In a second I was by her side. ¡°Where? Let me see.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure why I was panicking. The thought that she might be hurt sent me into some weird kind of panic mode. Catching myself, I quickly let go of her thigh, embarrassed. But I didn¡¯t move away quickly enough to prevent our lips nearly meeting when she looked up at me. Our lips were just a hair¡¯s breadth apart.


    For a second, I could not breathe. It was like everything had gone into slow motion as I studied every little detail of her face, her eyes, her lips¡­


    No.


    I cleared my throat loudly and moved away from her. ¡°You should rest up for the rest of the day. When you feel betterter today, we¡¯ll have some shooting practice.¡±


    She looked down at her boots and then back to me. ¡°Yeah sure. Okay then.¡±


    After standing awkwardly for a while, she grabbed her stuff. ¡°I should leave now.¡±


    I didn¡¯t trust myself not to stutter so I nodded.


    ¡°Oh, there was something I wanted to ask,¡± She said as she got to the door. ¡°I don¡¯t know if she told you but Eve¡¯s birthday ising up. And I thought it¡¯d be nice to maybe throw a little party for her. I think she¡¯d like it.¡±


    Eve had not let me hear thest of it. ¡°She did tell me. So what¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°Well, um, we didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be okay with the¡­ distraction. The noise, partying, you know how kids are. So I wanted to get your permission first.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s a birthday party, and it¡¯s for Eve. She deserves it.¡±


    The wide smile that emerged on her face made me confident that I had made the right decision. And as she turned away, I couldn¡¯t help the one that formed on mine.

 I really did

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    The smile dropped from my face as soon as I was safe inside my room. My hands slowly came up to clutch my shoulders as the memory of thest ten minutes started to rey in my head.


    What the hell just happened?N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I wondered if I had only be dreaming or if I actually caught Niki studying my face¡­ staring at me, actually. If I didn¡¯t know better I would¡¯ve said he was checking me out.


    And I was so clumsy and awkward as as usual that I hadn¡¯t realized we stood that close when I looked up. I felt myself reeling when I realized that it would take just one small motion to have our lips touching. For some reason, the memory of the time when we had kissed at one of his business events came to mind, and my heart began to thump louder in my chest.


    I couldn¡¯t understand the way I had felt. It was both annoying and confusing. When I saw his gaze move to my lips, I couldn¡¯t understand the goosebumps that quickly formed on my skin. Instead of the usual fear and anxiety I had always felt around him, it was almost¡­ warmth.


    Maybe it was because his aura was warmer. Or maybe it was the almost permanent wide smile that hade to be on his face a lot these days. Maybe it was the concern in his eyes when he rushed to my side to see if I was okay. Or maybe it was the fear that I might have gotten hurt.


    Maybe it was all of the above.


    Just maybe.


    But for a brief second, I had felt a shiver of anticipation at the thought of our lips touching. It was surprising and strange, but not unwee¡­


    My eyes widened as I caught myself. Why on earth was I even thinking about this? I facepalmed, pping my forehead repeatedly. This had just shown that I needed a brain reset. And quick.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid, Liyah,¡± I chided myself, pping my cheeks to awaken myself and then peeling my clothes off my body. When I was done I hopped into the shower.


    A st of cold water might do me some good, I decided, shuffling to the bathroom and trying to upy my mind with something else. Anything at all.


    ***


    I turned on my back for the hundredth time to try to make myselffortable but to no avail. It annoyed me because I really wanted to get some sleep. But no matter what position Iy in, or how long I shut my eyes, I couldn¡¯t convince sleep toe to me.


    Great.


    After a few more failed attempts, I grudgingly threw off my duvet and mbered out of bed. The only thing that could cheer me up right now was a steaming cup of coffee. And I was going to get it. It took me about twenty minutes to prepare my coffee just the way I liked it. When I was done I headed to the balcony. Over the past few weeks it had be my spot, as it was usually the most quiet part of the house. And quiet was what I needed.


    I nearly cried in frustration when I saw that some people were seated on therge swing located a short distance from the balcony. Maybe I was just being grumpy but I really liked my solitude. And I didn¡¯t think I would enjoy my coffee or my quiet time if I had to watch people having a conversation a few feet away.


    When the pair who sat on the swing finally stood after a while, my eyes widened as I felt myself slowly drop into the bench.


    The balcony was just fine.


    I absentmindedly took sips of my coffee, looking up at intervals to drink in the sight of a shirtless Niki I knew I shouldn¡¯t be so interested in but was anyway.


    Technically, I couldn¡¯t be med. I was just sitting on my own trying to enjoy the scenery. Who asked him to sit around shirtless anyway? I med my coffee for the heat that creeped on my face, and refused to listen to any other exnation there was for it.


    Trying to keep my eyes off his sweaty abs, I focused instead on the interaction he was having with little Eve. From where I sat I could pick up a few words of their conversation, but nothing more. From what I saw and what I could hear, they were about to share an apple.


    I couldn¡¯t keep myself fromughing as I watched Niki awkwardly hold the knife to slice the apple. How did a man who taught me about guns and how to use a dagger not know how to use an ordinary kitchen knife?


    It was surprising yet adorable to say the least. He looked like he had never held a knife in his life.


    When he finally sliced the apple into two, I saw Eve pick up the bigger piece and speed away. Surprisingly, Niki chased after her, picking her up like she was a feather and cing her on his neck amidst her squealing andughing.


    Watching him with Eve was quiteforting. He really would make a good father, I decided, taking another sip of my coffee.


    I chuckled, watching as he went on one knee when she asked for a piggyback ride. As he picked her up, I could see her lips move continuously as they plunged into conversation.


    If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would say they looked like father and daughter. It was shocking yet amazing to see him having so much fun that he grinned from ear to ear. Sometimes I couldn¡¯t believe he was the same person I had known.


    The darkness had gone out of his eyes, those frown lines were nowhere to be found, and his bright smile was enough to put anyone in a good mood. For me, it was like getting to see a new version of him, a better version. But for the everyone else it was just the old hime back to life.


    And I liked this version.


    I really did.

 So close

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    Although Eve had requested to have more adults at her party for the adorable reason that they were ¡°much better conversation¡± than kids her age, Niki had made sure that a good number of kids had turned up. He did this tactfully by inviting the kids of his business partners and friends, so there were equal numbers of both adults and kids. He exined to her that the adults would not befortable leaving their kids home alone. Eve had felt bad enough that she began to engage them in conversation. And before long, she was enjoying thepany. It was adorable to watch, as I always wanted her to interact more with kids her age.


    ¡°Enjoying the party?¡±


    I looked up to see a smiling Drew. He was d in a navy blue suit and held a ss of champagne in his hand. I had seen the eyes ofdies all over the room follow him. It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise as he was simply gorgeous, next to none at the party. Well except the host¡­


    My cheeks warmed at the thought of Niki. In a bid to distract myself from the thoughts, I secured a full champagne flute from a waiter that passed.


    ¡°Yes, of course. Eve is having so much fun,¡± I responded, smiling. ¡°Meanwhile, you don¡¯t look like you¡¯re having that much fun,¡± I chuckled. I had seen him worm his way out of conversations each time ady approached him to talk. It was weird but funny.


    ¡°Ha, very funny,¡± He downed his ss.  ¡°You look very nice, by the way.¡±


    I nced down at the cream colored dress I had on. I had picked it because it was light, simple, and the slit in front on the dress made it look even better. I had paired this with a pair of pumps and a single strand of pearls.


    I still wasn¡¯t used topliments. ¡°Thanks,¡± I managed to mutter.


    As Drew began to feed me with stories of thedies he had encountered tonight, I couldn¡¯t stop my eyes from roaming round the room. I tried topose myself as my eyesnded on him. He stood in the same spot he had been in for the past thirty minutes, in conversation with the infuriatingly gorgeous woman who was the fianc¨¦e of one of his business partners, from what Annalise had told me.


    I was so confused as to why I was so bothered. Whatever he decided to do was none of my concern. It wasn¡¯t. It shouldn¡¯t be. Why was I so frustrated? I didn¡¯t understand my emotions at the moment. And of course it didn¡¯t help that she looked like a model.


    She had one hand on his chest as sheughed about something he had said. I cocked an eyebrow when she let her fingers linger on his chest. She was shamelessly flirting with him!


    ¡°So what do you think?¡± Drew¡¯s voice broke into my thoughts. I tore my eyes away from the woman with difficulty and faced Drew.


    ¡°Um, sorry, what were you saying?¡± Instead of looking offended like I had feared, he regarded me curiously.


    ¡°Are you good? You seem¡­ distracted.¡±


    I bit my inner cheek as I racked my brain for something believable. ¡°Well, I-I was just¡­ searching for Eve that¡¯s all.¡±


    As soon as I said it, I knew I¡¯d messed up. All the kids were in the next room ying games and eating cake. Only the adults were here at the moment.


    But it was toote to take it back.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Drew said, a hint of amusement in his eyes. He looked over to the point where I had been staring, and as he sighted Niki, he began to chuckle.


    ¡°Ahh, I see. Sure.¡±


    I red at him. ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh, nothing,¡± He smiled. ¡°I have to go see someone now. Have fun. Or don¡¯t¡­¡± He winked, and then he was gone.


    That little¡­


    I huffed, downing another ss of wine. Who cares if every woman in this room had their hands all over Niki, anyways? Yes we had been spending a lot of time together due to the training for the past month. And yes he was nice and funny and aodating, and I had started to look forward to the training sessions more eagerly than I should but¡­


    None of that mattered. Why the hell was I even thinking about that? It wasn¡¯t important.


    I tried to distract myself by looking around the room and nodding to the people who acknowledged me, but my eyes kept roaming back to him and the woman who now had her hand around his neck as they began to dance.


    Were people who are engaged allowed to flirt this much?


    I scoffed, dropping my ss on the closest table. And without thinking, I began to make my way to where they stood.


    Niki¡¯s POV


    I couldn¡¯t hide the surprise I felt when I saw Liyah approach me. I had been stealing nces at her all night long. She was simply breathtaking, and by far the most beautiful woman here tonight. But the forced smile on her face bothered me.


    The first thing she did was tear me away from Katharina and pull me to her instead, linking her hand in mine.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Katharina frowned, ring at Liyah in confusion.


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say so I kept my mouth shut. Still I couldn¡¯t keep from staring at Liyah. And I had never seen her put on a fake smile either. What was going on?


    She ignored Katharina, facing me instead. ¡°Now¡¯s a good time to discuss that thing you said you wanted to?¡±


    I hid my frown. We hadn¡¯t discussed anything of that nature. But I knew I couldn¡¯t say that out loud. Besides I was d for an excuse to finally escape. Katharina was being quite touchy today and it was pretty unsettling. Especially considering the fact that her soon-to-be husband was a good friend of mine. That was the only reason why I hadn¡¯t thrown her out of the party yet. But she disgusted me nheless.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, it slipped my mind,¡± I responded, turning briefly to offer my apologies to Katharina.


    When I was done, Liyah practically dragged me out of the party, only stopping when we werepletely out of the room.


    She quickly dropped her hands when we stopped, leaning against the wall.


    ¡°What was that about?¡± I asked, watching her curiously.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    She turned defensive. ¡°Really? That¡¯s what I get for saving you?¡±


    ¡°Saving me?¡±


    ¡°You were obviously bored out of your mind with that beautiful woman. I was only helping. So yeah, you¡¯re wee.¡±


    Beautiful woman?


    I let out a chuckle as I put two and two together.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± She demanded, folding her arms.


    I smirked, moving closer to her. ¡°Were you perhaps, jealous?¡±


    When her face reddened, I knew I was right. ¡°W-what?¡± She breathed out, backing away. ¡°How ridiculous.¡±


    As she began to back away, I pulled her back gently, bringing her toward me until we stood just inches apart. As I tilted her face upwards to face me, my breath caught in my throat. If I stared too hard I could get lost in those bright blue eyes.


    ¡°You look amazing,¡± I whispered, tucking a flyaway strand of hair into the high bun she had put her hair in. My gaze fell to her lips, and as hers fell to mine I cupped the back of her neck and leaned in.


    My senses picked up the tempo of her heartbeat, and I wasn¡¯t sure if it thumped in fear or anticipation.


    Our lips were close. So close.


    But I knew I couldn¡¯t do it.


    I painfully pulled away, raking my fingers through my hair. I couldn¡¯t do it. I couldn¡¯t hurt her again. She needed time to heal and this¡­ This wasn¡¯t what she needed.


    Neither of us did.


    ¡°We should get back to the party,¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°My guests will wonder where I ran off too.¡± Forcing augh and avoiding meeting her eyes, I turned away. ¡°I¡¯ll see you then.¡±

 Carry on

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    Niki was avoiding me. He wasn¡¯t exactly the most discreet person, so it was quite easy to tell. I had been surprised when I arrived at the training ground this morning only to see Annalise instead of him. Later on I learned that he had asked her to take on today¡¯s session as he had some things to finish up. Training with Annalise was unexpected but quite fun and I would love to do it again, but my mind continued to drift to Niki. If he had other things to do, why didn¡¯t he just tell me? That¡¯s when I began to wonder if he was avoiding me. But I waved it off.


    When it became clear that he was avoiding me was during the kitchen incident. I hade into the kitchen to prepare a concoction for one of the omegas who had gotten injured. He quickly left through the backdoor when I stepped in, acting like he had not seen me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little hurt after that.


    As I strolled through the house, my mind wandered to the other night. The kiss. I felt a shiver run down my spine at the memory. It was weird but, I had wanted him to. The disappointment I felt when he pulled away washed over me once more. But the funny thing was, the fact that he had pulled away warmed my insides. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at the thought. I knew he didn¡¯t want to start anything of that sort. He was considering my feelings and trying not to do anything to remind me of the past. And that spoke volumes.


    ¡°Hey.¡± A voice brought me out of my thoughts.


    ¡°Elyan?¡± I smiled as I looked up at his grinning face. ¡°Hey.¡± I didn¡¯t remember thest time I saw him.


    ¡°You look¡­ nice,¡± Heplimented, looking me over. ¡°I never apologized for¡­¡±


    Iughed, shaking my head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You were acting on orders. I hold nothing against you.¡±


    He smiled brightly, and soon enough we were deep in conversation. He smiled when I told him I was taking self-defence sses.


    ¡°That¡¯s cool. If you want, I could help out once in a while, teach you a few things.¡±


    As I began to reject his offer, I saw Niki¡¯s figure standing at the rail of the staircase from the corner of my eyes. It was obvious that he was watching us. All of a sudden, I felt a little vindictive. I would give him something to watch.


    Facing Elyan again, I ced a hand on his shoulder, making sure it lingered for a while. ¡°Yes that would be nice,¡± I replied, loud enough for Niki to hear. I knew I didn¡¯t need to try too hard. His senses were powerful enough to catch them even if I whispered.


    Elyan looked surprised. ¡°Oh, wow. Okay then, that would be nice. Would you like to, um, maybe have dinner sometime?¡± He asked, scratching the back of his head.


    Oh no.


    I didn¡¯t mean to give him the green light. What was I supposed to do now?  My eyes caught Niki approaching us and I straightened up. ¡°I¡¯ll think abou-¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I heard Niki¡¯s cold voice directed to Elyan. I hid my smile. Right on time.


    Elyan looked up in shock, moving away and bowing quickly. ¡°Alpha.¡±


    ¡°Get back to work,¡± He hissed, making Elyan bow and practically scurry away.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I faced him. ¡°Hey, I was having a conversation.¡±


    In response, he grabbed my hand dragging me towards themon room and shutting the door when we got in.


    I turned to him. ¡°What was that?¡± I demanded. ¡°First you avoid me all day, you don¡¯t even inform me that you won¡¯t be able to make it to our session today. You just hand it over to Annalise. Then you avoid me in the kitchen as well. Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see that as well. Now I¡¯m trying to have a conversation and you¡­¡±


    My eyes narrowed. ¡°Are you perhaps, jealous?¡± I asked, repeating his words from the other night. When he didn¡¯t respond, I shook my head, turning away. ¡°I have to-¡±


    Before I could get the words out, he grabbed my arm, pulling me to him just like the other night. As I braced myself for another disappointment, he ced a warm hand on my neck, tilting my head, and crushing his lips hungrily on mine.


    My surprise slowly melted into desire and I let out a soft moan when his lips trailed down my neck, then back to my lips. I felt my body heat up as our lips moved in rhythm.


    My heart was thumping so hard I thought it would explode. But I didn¡¯t want him to stop.


    Suddenly, he pulled away, surprise filling his eyes as though he had just remembered what he was doing. ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to-¡±


    He never got toplete the rest of the sentence because I pulled him forward by the cor and pressed my lips to his.


    I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle another rejection.


    He quickly recovered from the shock because soon he had turned me over, pushing me so my back was against the wall.


    A different kind of sensation filled me when he flicked his fingers over my hardened nipples, nearly causing me to scream out in pleasure. Heat filling me, I raked my fingers through his hair. And it was even softer than I imagined it would be.


    As he started to trail little kisses down my neck and to my chest, the door suddenly swung open.


    We quickly jumped apart, trying and failing to smoothen ourselves out as we faced Margaret. My face was so hot that I imagined I might as well die from the embarrassment. It was obvious that she had seen us.


    She smirked in our direction. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯m just here to drop these off.¡± When she dropped the tiny medicine bottles she held in a drawer, she turned back to the door. ¡°Carry on,¡± She said,ughing to herself as she exited, shutting the door quietly behind her.


    ¡°Uh, I have something I need to¡­¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± He coughed, rubbing the back of his neck.


    I bumped into a chair on my way out.


    Of course. Why did I think I could walk out with my dignity intact?


    My face still burning, I fled.

 Owe you a song

    Niki¡¯s POV


    ¡°Go, Liyah!¡±


    I threw Drew a dirty look as he cheered her on, but he was too busy watching her shoot down the eight empty beer cans ced on the fence. She did it so quickly it had my jaw falling open in shock. I couldn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t impressed. It was simply amazing to watch.


    She smiled widely as she jogged over to where the three of us stood. Drew and Anna must have sworn to pick on me today, because as soon as she came, they continued to cheer, pouring praises on her head.


    ¡°That was amazing!¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! She did it faster than Niki! Come see,¡± Annalise announced, raising the stopwatch for all of us to see.


    My head whipped up. ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡±


    Liyah snickered. ¡°Whatever helps you sleep.¡±


    Still in disbelief, I grabbed the stopwatch from Anna. ¡°By 0. 2 seconds?¡±


    ¡°Still, she beat you,¡± Drew responded.


    I narrowed my eyes at my supposed best friends. ¡°If I didn¡¯t know better, I would think the both of you were trying to pick on me today. No one cheered me this much when I did mine.¡±


    ¡°Niki, darling, you¡¯re old meat. Liyah is learning so fast, doing so well. There¡¯s no need to be jealous now,¡± Anna smirked at me.


    ¡°Thanks the for the moral support. You¡¯re both assholes, by the way.¡±


    I tried to keep my eyes off Liyah as we all burst intoughter. How did she manage to look so effortlessly beautiful even when she was sweaty? I quickly turned away before they could catch me staring at her.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Drew started to say, looking from me to Liyah. ¡°Annie and I were thinking about something. Liyah has been working so hardtely, her progress is amazing. And you¡¯ve been working hard as well. So, Annie and I thought it¡¯d be a nice idea to get away for the weekend. Just the four of us. We could go up to the old cabin outside town. What do you think?¡±


    Liyah looked to me as if wanting my opinion on the suggestion. It was clear to see that she would appreciate the weekend off. And I couldn¡¯t deny her that, especially with those eyes seeing into my soul.


    So I nodded.


    But I couldn¡¯t help but look over suspiciously at Drew and Anna. I wasn¡¯t sure why I had a feeling that those two were up to something. A weekend getaway? It didn¡¯t sound like something they woulde up with out of the blue. I¡¯d know those two my whole life and if there was one thing they weren¡¯t, it was impulsive. They liked to take time to think things through, and whenever they made ns they took their time.


    The suspicious smirk on their faces wasn¡¯t helping either, but I didn¡¯t say anything. After all, they were right. Liyah did deserve a break. She had earned it.


    ***


    ¡°Wait while I get my luggage. Drew and I wille in his car. Just give me a few seconds,¡± Anna pleaded, racing back into the house.


    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I nodded. Motioning for Drew toe closer, I said, ¡°We¡¯ll start ahead, there¡¯s a long way to go. You guys hurry up.¡±


    He looked way too excited by this development but he tried toote to mask it. ¡°Sure. We¡¯re right behind you.¡± Staring suspiciously at his retreating figure, I started the ignition and drove out of the gates. I settled in when I saw Drew¡¯s car right behind us.


    ¡°What¡¯s the cabin like?¡± Liyah asked after I had driven for a while.


    We hadn¡¯t been alone together like this since the kiss.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice. We have some cleaning up to do though,¡± Iughed. ¡°We used to go there all the time when we needed a break.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯d you stop?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    The sound of my ringtone cut me off. The first thing I did when I saw the caller ID was look into the rearview mirror. And of course, Drew¡¯s car was nowhere to be seen. I picked up.


    ¡°Hey, you!¡± Anna¡¯s voice filled the car. My phone was connected to the car speaker so Liyah could hear as well. Liyah also looked back in surprise, frowning when she didn¡¯t see the car.


    Of course.


    ¡°Uhh, we had to go get something we forgot at home. But don¡¯t worry about us. You guys go on. Maybe next time we¡¯ll make it. You guys have fun!¡± And without waiting for a response, she hung up.


    I physically cringed at the terrible lie. Seriously? I thought they could do better. I knew those two were up to something. And it definitely made things awkward now it was obvious they had wanted Liyah and I to have the cabin all to ourselves.


    I looked sideways to Liyah, who now sat facing the window, her ears reddening. So I did the most logical thing. I ignored the elephant in the room.


    ¡°Like I was saying, going up to the cabin didn¡¯t feel the same without¡­ you know.¡±


    Liyah looked grateful for the change in subject. ¡°Oh, I see. That changed a lot of things for you, didn¡¯t it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I admitted. ¡°It changed everything.¡±


    She nodded in understanding. ¡°What else did you quit?¡± She asked all of a sudden.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I tried to remember. ¡°So you might not believe this, but I used to y the piano. And quite well, I must add.¡± Her eyes widened as she suddenly began to giggle.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± I confirmed. ¡°There¡¯s one at the cabin, even,¡± Iughed, the memories of ying songs and loving the way my fingers moved over the keys came to mind and I suddenly felt a rush of nostalgia.


    ¡°I think you should start ying again.¡± She nodded when I frowned. ¡°I know there are painful memories associated with all the things you loved. But it doesn¡¯t have to be that way.¡±


    She reached out to squeeze my thigh when my grip on the steering wheel tightened. How had she even noticed?


    ¡°Maybe¡­ if you start doing all those things again, you¡¯ll learn to see those things as good memories, and stop trying so hard to push them away or erase them. It¡¯s okay to have them. But one day they¡¯lle to mind and you wouldn¡¯t feel so sad. I know you¡¯re struggling to heal, and I see all that you do. But you don¡¯t have to lose yourself in the middle of all of that as well.¡±


    I marveled at how she always knew the right things to say. And somehow it managed to make me feel better. So I smiled back at her.


    ¡°I owe you a song then.¡±

 Mated

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I couldn¡¯t control myughter as I watched Niki blink in pain as the spaghetti sauce got into his eye. He had been slurping each strand of pasta all through the meal. He should have known that it would eventually get into his eyes.


    ¡°Help me,¡± He pleaded, groaning in pain as he rushed to the tap and began to ssh cold water into his eyes.


    After I had had enough fun watching him struggle, I stood. Walking to the kitchen cab, I took out the salt container, putting some in my hand and walking over to him. ¡°Water won¡¯t help. Lick this.¡±


    He eyed me with his good eye looking down at the salt in my hand suspiciously. ¡°How¡¯s that supposed to help?¡±


    Rolling my eyes, I went on my tiptoes and tilted my palm to let the salt fill his mouth. His grimaced from the taste and I chuckled. He was like a different person, weird and goofy. I found it extremely adorable and I began to suspect that behind his tough exterior he might really just be a teddy bear.


    ¡°Wow, it really works,¡± He said, blinking his eye open. ¡°Where did you learn that?¡± I couldn¡¯t remember so I shrugged. I think I might¡¯ve read it somewhere in a book. But I wasn¡¯t sure.


    As I dumped the tes we had just used in the sink, I whipped around suddenly remembering something. ¡°You owe me a song. I¡¯d like it now, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡± He asked, scratching the back of his neck.


    I red at him. ¡°You¡¯re not about to back away now.¡±


    Laughing, he sighed. ¡°Fine.¡± I watched in anticipation as he walked to the other end of the room and took therge piece of cloth off the piano. When we arrived here earlier the cabin had already been cleaned. A blush crepeed up my face as I remembered that Annalise and Drew had really nned all of this through. The cabin was literally spotless. It was one of those ces that was medium sized andfy, yet luxurious all the same.


    ¡°You do know I haven¡¯t yed in years right? So excuse me if I¡¯m a little rusty.¡±


    I nodded absentmindedly, too busy noticing how cute he looked sitting in the bench that was too small for him. My mouth fell open when he began to y. My lips widened into a smile as I watched his fingers flow through the keys as he yed a piece I wasn¡¯t familiar with.


    ¡°Wow,¡± I breathed. ¡°You¡¯re really good.¡±


    ¡°Would you like to try?¡±


    ¡°M-me?¡± I blushed. I wasn¡¯t really familiar with the piano. ¡°I used to y a little when I was younger. I think I can only y one song.¡±


    ¡°Come on¡­¡± He prodded, beckoning me to the bench. I stared down at the keys trying to remember how I was supposed to y. Still unsure, I tried and surprisingly I was right. As I continued to y, he joined in.


    We both began tough when we finished and no matter how hard I tried I could seem to wipe the smile off my face. I didn¡¯t remember thest time I was this happy.


    He was staring at me when I looked back in his direction for some reason my heartbeat quickened. I didn¡¯t know how to act whenever he ced those piercing silver eyes on me.


    He was the most gorgeous man I had everid my eyes on. And the effect he had on me was evident in the way my knees suddenly weakened each time he looked at me like that. After the kiss the other time, I hadn¡¯t been able to get it off my mind. Sometimes when he came very close during training, I wouldpletely forget to concentrate on what was at hand and begin to stare at his lips.


    And now I couldn¡¯t stop staring. Theughter in his eyes from earlier was now clouded by desire and as he reached out to take my hand in his, I felt goosebumps of anticipation spread all over me.


    ¡°Liyah¡­¡± He breathed.


    The way he said my name had me reeling. He ced a hand on the small of my back, pulling me closer to him until our lips were inches apart.


    ¡°Yes..¡± I whimpered, just before he covered my lips with his in a slow kiss, tenderly as first but as the kiss intensified, he pressed harder, making me moan in the back of my throat. The taste of his hot kisses trailing from my bottom lip to my neck and down to my chest ran me wild with pleasure.


    Slowly, he rubbed my shoulders in circles, kissing each of them gently as he lowered the spaghetti strap of my blouse.


    Something thumped in my stomach as the blouse fell to my waist leaving me exposed in my bra. I saw the admiration and desire in his eyes as he fixed his eyes on my chest. I suddenly began to feel ufortable.


    But I didn¡¯t want to pull my blouse back up.


    I wanted him to¡­ touch me.


    He expertly unhooked my bra, sucking in a sharp breath when my breasts fell free. ¡°Fuck¡­ you¡¯re so beautiful.¡±


    I looked away shyly shaking as he stared at my breasts as though he had never seen anything like it. I wasn¡¯t sure how to tell him they were aching.


    They were aching so much. As my nipples hardened under his stare, he moaned, pulling me forward. Lowering his head, he cupped one of my breasts and began to suck gently.


    I felt my core tighten as I gasped in pleasure. I had never felt like this before.


    His wet mouth, warm breath, sucking tenderly on my nipples. I reached out to the back of his neck and lowered his head, intertwining my fingers in his hair, urging him to suck harder¡­ faster. When he reached out to y with my other nipple, a delicious shiver ran through me as my core moistened.


    Without warning he slid his hand down to my waist, lifting up easily and carrying me into the bedroom.


    As he ced me gently on the bed and imed my mouth once more, his other hand slowly but expertly peeled my clothes off until I waspletely naked in front of him.


    I shivered, not sure if it was from the cold or the fact that I was nude in front of him. It was after I saw how rigid he was under his briefs that I realized it was fear.


    I was scared.


    He had taken off his shirt already and as he noticed my hesitation, he paused.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have to if you¡¯re not ready,¡± He whispered, taking my hands in his and gently kissing my fingertips. ¡°I¡¯ll never hurt you again. Never. So take your time, it¡¯s fine. Okay?¡± He ced a soft kiss to my lips as he finished.


    I tried to calm my beating heart. He wasn¡¯t the same person. He wouldn¡¯t hurt me. I knew he wouldn¡¯t.


    As he began to pull away, I stopped him. ¡°I¡­ I want you. Not tomorrow or next time. I want you here and now¡­¡±


    He observed me with a worried expression for a while. And though his eyes were ssy with desire, he asked, ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    I was sure. I wanted him.


    In response, I shyly reached out to ce my palm on the fly of his crotch. When I had him in my grasp, I squeezed, making him moan in surprise.


    He slowly eased down on me, nting light kisses from my lips down to my chest. When he got to my breasts, he kissed the flesh around it, dutifully avoiding my nipples. Every time he got close to them he would lightly graze them, then proceed to kiss every other part of my body except my nipples.


    They stood so erect that they almost began to hurt. ¡°P-please¡­¡± I begged, unable to take it anymore.


    But he wouldn¡¯t budge. Instead he trailed his lips down my neck, pausing to nibble on my earlobe which was effective enough to drive me crazy.


    I squirmed when his fingers neared my core. For a brief second, a familiar surge of fear filled me, but as soon as he inserted two fingers into me it was gone. I gasped in pleasure, pushing my hips up as he began to stroke, slowly at first but then increasing the tempo.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I screamed in pleasure, whimpering when he reced his fingers with his hard, throbbing cock. My eyes widened at how huge he was.


    But I didn¡¯t care.


    I wanted him.


    I needed him.


    Spreading my legs wider apart, he gently eased into me, pausing at intervals to check if I was okay.


    Frustrated, I bucked my hips only stopping when he was fully inside me. As he began to pump, my legs shook.


    His thrusts went from slow and careful to fast and wanting, gripping my butt as he pounded. I went crazy when his fingers reached down to tug on my nipples. Soon both our moans melded into each other as we climaxed at the same time.


    As he released, I heard him let out a loud growl, almost like he was shifting, but before I could react he had brought his mouth to my neck, biting down on it for a few seconds.


    I gasped from the slight pain feeling blood trickle down my neck as a strange sensation pumped through me.


    ¡®Mate.¡¯


    I turned around in surprise. Niki smiled back at me.


    I shut my eyes. I thought I had heard someone speak.


    I faced Niki when he ced a light kiss to the spot where he had bitten. I couldn¡¯t help but feel shy as he admired my nude form.


    He had marked me as his mate. I was his now. I lowered my eyes when he kissed my forehead, cing my head on his chest as he ran his fingertips down my back.


    And as he cradled me in his arms, I decided there and then that this had to be the best feeling in the world.

 Me?

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I whipped out my phone from the top drawer and dialed Drew¡¯s number. He picked up on the first ring. ¡°Wow, look who finally remembered his family exists.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s only been three days. Besides this was all your doing, remember?¡±


    He gasped in mock shock. ¡°Me? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. That¡¯s outrageous.¡± As we both burst intoughter, he asked, ¡°How are you really?¡±


    I smiled although I knew he couldn¡¯t see me. I turned around to look at Liyah who was sleeping soundly at the moment. ¡°It¡¯s one of the best weekends I¡¯ve had in a really long time,¡± I answered honestly. And it really was. I didn¡¯t want it to end.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± Drewughed and I could already imagine him smirking in satisfaction. ¡°So why did you call, what do you want? And before you deny wanting to ask something, don¡¯t. I know you love me, but I¡¯m pretty sure you didn¡¯t call to check up on me when I¡¯m sure there are other¡­¡± He coughed, ¡°¡­ exciting things that you could be doing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot,¡± I chuckled, suddenly feeling like a schoolboy as my face heated from the memory. ¡°But yes you¡¯re right, I did call for a reason. So¡­¡± I trailed off, looking at Liyah. She had insisted that she wanted to stay until her wolf fully awakened and we had been training back to back ever since. It was Tuesday already. And I wasn¡¯t sure how long it would take.


    I knew she wouldn¡¯t want anyone else knowing about the troubles she had with her wolf. I had seen how ashamed she felt about it the first time she had told me. And thest thing I wanted was for her to feel inferior or any less than the rest of us. I wasn¡¯t sure how she would feel about me telling Drew, so I didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Liyah fell a little sick,¡± I finally said.


    ¡°What?¡± The teasing in his voice suddenly changed to concern. ¡°How? Is she okay? Do you need us toe down there? We could bring whatever she might need as well.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°No, no,¡± She¡¯s getting better. ¡°But I didn¡¯t want to risk driving down the long distance. She needs bed rest for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Oh okay then. If you¡¯re sure. Just make sure you¡¯re both okay.¡±


    ¡°We are. I¡¯ll also need you to cancel all my meetings for this week, move all the appointments, and if there¡¯s an emergency I¡¯ll need you to go into the office and sort it out. Let Anna and Margaret give you all the help you¡¯ll need until I¡¯m back.¡±


    ¡°Okay. That won¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. We¡¯ll be back as soon as we can.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, take your time. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re both working so¡­ hard. No need to rush.¡±


    I hung up to him cackling, my own smile never leaving my face. As I turned to check on Liyah I saw that she was already awake. I was worried from how exhausted she look. We had been training nonstop for the past two days, trying every possible technique to enable her wolf emerge. But no matter how hard we tried, nothing worked.


    She had be so frustrated with it all but still she didn¡¯t give up. Now shey weak and tired, stretching out her hand for me to hold. I did, lightly kissing her fingers. ¡°You okay?¡±


    She stretched herself out, nodding. ¡°I feel better now after sleeping.¡±


    I wish I knew how to help her. I couldn¡¯t imagine just how frustrated she felt, knowing fully well that something was inside her, but powerless to summon it. I kissed her palms again, letting my tongue linger on each spot before I moved to the next.


    She smiled, drawing me closer to her and trapping my bottom lip in her mouth. She sucked on it for a while, earning a groan from me as my hand moved to her waist and then down to her butt. I squeezed, grasping a wad of her skirt in my grip as my fingers dug into the smooth, round flesh.


    Her moan drove me crazy and before long, I had ripped the dress off her, letting it fall to the floor and staring appreciatively at her naked body.


    Suddenly she pulled away. ¡°Let¡¯s take a shower,¡± She whispered, her breath fanning my ear as she moved from the bed and into the bathroom, her hips swaying in a sensual walk.


    I groaned, letting my hardened cock spring free as I quickly pulled my shorts down. This woman would be the death of me. And I would dly let her.


    I raised her up with her back against the wall as the warm water ran down our faces and to our back. Lowering my head, I nipped lightly on breasts, taking each nipple into my mouth in turn as she squirmed in my hold. When I had aroused her to the point that she had me begging to fuck her, I turned her over, intertwining my fingers in hers and holding steady as I began to take hard, fast thrusts, grunting from the pleasure as her butt bounced against my cock.


    As she neared her climax, she reached out behind her to grab my hands, dragging them and cing them to her boobs. I increased my tempo, squeezing hard on her taut nipples as immense pleasure ran through me.


    I slowly pumped into her onest time as I released, enjoying those tiny moans of pleasure that escaped her lips every time I thrust deeper.


    Although the warm water still ran over us, we were bathed in each other¡¯s sweat when I finished. Smiling, I moved my lips over hers in a soft kiss, rubbing her skin lightly as I enveloped her in a hug.


    We stayed this way for a while, letting the water wash over us. I listened to the steady beating of her heart, and I wasn¡¯t sure I ever wanted to let her go.

 It’s okay

    Niki¡¯s POV


    My chest tightened as I watched Liyah rake her fingers through her hair. From the helpless look on her face, I knew she was close to tears. We had been at it again today since early this morning. We had tried basically everything I could think of.


    I had taken her into the woods to go hunting, hoping her wolf would sense the presence of game ande alive. When that didn¡¯t work, I had cut the deer I had caught into pieces. If she felt a thirst for the blood then we were on the right track. But the only effect it had on her was the projection of vomit. It disgusted her to the core.


    After that we had tried to put her in a position where she was in danger. A connection with one¡¯s wolf was built in such a way that it was designed to protect her. I had been reluctant to try out this method because I was scared of her getting hurt. But after much pleading I gave in. The distance I had to push her from was not a very far one but I was scared nheless.


    When shended badly in the bed of flowers below, I jumped down after her in fear that she had gone out. Luckily she was unhurt. Sad but uninjured. But she wouldn¡¯t stop.


    Now she stood helpless and close to tears and I had no idea what to do or how to help her. My hands clenched into fists as she began to sob.


    Wiping her face, she stood. ¡°Nothing is working. Nothing ever works. W-we should just stop, there¡¯s no point, okay? I was stupid to think I actually had a wolf in a first ce because of some stupid mark..¡±


    ¡°Liyah¡­¡±


    But she shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for all your help. But you can¡¯t summon something that¡¯s not there.¡± She wiped her tear-stained face once more before she turned away. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±


    I watched her walk away, her handsing up to her face at intervals to wipe away the tears that would not stop falling. I swallowed. Maybe it was time to use thest strategy¡­ the one I hadn¡¯t even wanted to think of, but could only be used as ast resort.


    What if she hated me after? I wondered, my heart beating hard in her chest. But I couldn¡¯t let her give up on this. She had been bullied, ridiculed, and hated for this particr reason. Now that there was a chance to prove all of those people wrong, a chance that she could have a wolf and be recognized as one of her kind. I couldn¡¯t let it pass her by. I wouldn¡¯t. So I hardened my heart and quickly walked forward to meet her.


    ¡°Liyah!¡± I boomed. When she turned around to face me, I inhaled deeply. I couldn¡¯t back down now. I had to go through with this. ¡°So you¡¯re just going to give up?!¡± I spat, making sure the venom in my voice was obvious.


    My heart broke at the confused expression on her face as she began to sob afresh. ¡°W-what¡­ what do you expect me to do? Nothing is-¡±


    ¡°Just stop, okay? That¡¯s just what you tell yourself to feel better about your failures.¡±N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Her eyes widened in shock. ¡°Why are you-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even! We¡¯ve been practicing for so many days now. And now because of a minor setback you wanna throw it all away? Are you really that selfish? That weak? You¡¯re just going to sit there like a fucking crybaby and let your father win? You¡¯re just going to prove him right?¡±


    Her face hardened at the mention of her father. I prayed to the Goddess that this would work out.


    When she didn¡¯t say anything, I scoffed, moving closer to her. I deliberately pushed her, making her stagger backwards in surprise. ¡°This right here, is why you¡¯ll never reach your full potential.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re weak¡­ scared¡­ soft,¡± I coated my words with disgust, making sure to punctuate each word with a hard shove. ¡°What? You can¡¯t even fight me can you? It¡¯s not even surprising. You¡¯re weak, no matter what anyone does to you, how much they push you around, you never get angry. You let them control you¡­ like a puppet.¡±


    As her face reddened, I shoved harder. Harder. Until she began to block my punches, albeit slowly and with tears streaming down her face. I wanted to hug her and wipe them away. But I had to finish this.


    ¡°Your father? He¡¯s right about you, they all are. You¡¯re nothing but a scared little girl and you continue to be for the rest of your life.¡± She staggered backwards as I continued to shove her.


    I spat at her feet. ¡°You¡¯re not worthy of anything, and you¡¯ll never be! You¡¯re just a big, fat, pushover!¡±


    As I threw the final punch, a loud growl escaped her, her clothes ripping as she transformed. As I came to a standstill staring in shock at the exquisite, shiny ck fur of her wolf and the icy blue re, she shed through my chest, her ws digging deep into my skin and making me drop to the ground in pain.


    As blood oozed out of the wound in my chest, she shifted back to her human form, staring at herself in surprise as ifprehending what had just happened.


    When she did, she let out a high pitched scream, jumping up and down in joy as she continued to ogle at her now nude form. ¡°Did you see that?!¡± She yelled, rushing forward andunching herself at me in joy.


    I couldn¡¯t butugh as she continued to gush, apologizing for the wound she had inflicted and reaching down to kiss my lips.


    After she was done kissing my entire face, I finally managed to steady her. Pulling her into a hug, I whispered, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I had to say all of that to you. It was the only way I could think of to provoke you enough and-¡±


    She stopped me with a kiss. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand.¡±


    Smiling, she kissed my face again making meugh. ¡°Do you want to go in and get something to eat?¡± She asked, smiling so widely I hoped her lips wouldn¡¯t break. I had never felt so happy about something. Finally, she feltplete. She was happy. In every way. And that was all I needed. If she was whole, I was whole.


    Gripping her butt in my hands, I kissed her. ¡°With youying naked and looking like a whole meal, I can think of a few things we could do instead.¡±

 Are you sure?

    Niki¡¯s POV


    As soon as I blinked the sleep out of my eyes, I instinctively reached out for Liyah, jumping up when my hand touched empty sheets. On sitting up, I saw that she had rolled to the edge of the king-sized bed, her head nearly touching her knees as she folded into herself.


    I let myself breathe. At some point I had began to wonder ifst night had just been a dream. Because it actually felt like it. But there she was, lying right beside me in nothing but a flimsy piece of lingerie. She was mine. I couldn¡¯t help the smile that spread on my face. Liyah was mine; my mate, my own.


    Reaching out, I gently pulled her into the bed, pulling the nket over her and getting up gently to avoid waking her as I made my way into the kitchen.


    I chuckled as I opened the cab. Drew and Anna had really outdone themselves. The cabin we had expected to be thick in dirt and dust was sparkling clean when we arrived, the cabs were stocked with so much food items I wondered if they had nned for us to live here.


    Assholes, Iughed quietly to myself. But I couldn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t grateful. It brought Liyah and I closer than we had ever been. Andst night¡­ well, I¡¯ve never had better, hotter sex. I swallowed at the thought. It was amazing. I pushed the image of her shy smile and full boobs away from my mind as I began to make breakfast for her. I wanted to surprise her.


    When I finished making only breakfast food I knew how to: bacon, eggs, toast and coffee, I carried it down to the bedroom. She was already awake when I stepped in.


    Her face lit up when she saw me. I gently ced the tray onto the bed. ¡°Hey beautiful,¡± I whispered, leaning in to kiss her.


    ¡°Hey,¡± She responded, trying her best to smoothen out her messy hair. God, she was adorable.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± She grinned looking up at me.


    I folded my arms. ¡°Breakfast in bed, of course.¡±


    Sheughed. ¡°Wow. I didn¡¯t know you could cook.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±


    Eyeing me warily, she ced a piece of bacon in her mouth, nodding a little as she chewed. Before I could ask how it was, she had stabbed a piece and brought it close to my mouth. My eyes widened in surprise at the taste.


    ¡°Wow. This is chef level right there.¡±


    She nearly choked on her coffee as she began to giggle. ¡°You wish.¡± From then I watched her eat in silence, not sure exactly why I was gushing so much. I just wanted to pull her into my arms and protect her. Take care of her¡­ kiss her forehead. She was such a blessing.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me.¡± Her voice made me look up.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Last night¡­ you marked me. We¡¯re mates. How long have you known?¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Oh. I reached out to grasp her hand. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve known for a while. But I was too angry and full of pain that I t out refused to acknowledge it. But now¡­ there¡¯s no one in the world that I¡¯d rather be with.¡±


    When she started to blush, I knew the exnation was good enough for her.


    ¡°Why are you letting me eat alone?¡± She suddenly asked. ¡°When do you n on eating?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. But I don¡¯t feel like bacon and eggs.¡±


    ¡°Oh. What would you like to eat then?¡±


    ¡°You,¡± I replied simply, smirking as she began to blush, reaching out to smack my arm as she put a hand over her face shyly.


    I roared withughter, leaning forward to kiss her once more as I continued to watch her eat.


    ***


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked, after we had gone through some practice moves and I was sure she remembered all I taught her about defence. She had insisted on a training session today because she¡¯d said she felt useless sitting around all day. I wanted her to get some rest but she insisted. After she pleaded, I had reluctantly agreed on the condition that it would only go on for an hour.


    ¡°Ready,¡± She nodded, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she faced me. As I took a moment to make sure she was doing the right posture, I froze when my eyesnded on her neck. I did a double take.


    What on earth¡­


    ¡°Niki?¡± I heard her call out as she noticed me staring. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°Liyah, your¡­ your neck.¡±


    Her hand flew to her neck. ¡°My neck¡­? Speaking of, there¡¯s something I forgot to tell you. When you marked mest night, I had this strange feeling. It wasn¡¯t pain, it was something else. Almost like¡­ like a burning sensation. It was so weird.¡±


    I moved closer to her, rubbing my thumb gently on the spot where the mark should have been. I didn¡¯t want to stir up any false hope within her with my theories. But she had to know. ¡°Liyah¡­ I think it¡¯s healed.¡±


    As I expected she staggered back in shock. ¡°W-what?¡± She stammered, touching the spot on her neck. ¡°But.. that¡¯s not possible.¡±


    I studied her neck. There wasn¡¯t a trace of the mark. She-wolves usually heal after the mating process, but never this immactely where the markpletely disappeared without leaving a scar, and certainly never this quickly. And Liyah didn¡¯t have a wolf yet.


    Unless¡­


    ¡°This can only mean one thing,¡± I finally said, trying and failing to cover up my smile.


    I could see the nervousness in her eyes as she rubbed her sweaty palm over her sweats. ¡°What are you saying, Niki. What does this mean¡­?¡±


    I took my time, wanting to build the suspense within her whilst trying not to burst intoughter at the expression on her face.


    ¡°I think the mating process might have awakened your wolf.¡±


    Her hand pped over her mouth in shock. I let her be as she stood motionless for a while, staring into space and rubbing her neck.


    After a while, she looked up again. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    I nodded. That was the only reasonable exnation for this. All I had to do now was teach her how to summon her wolf at will, transform, and get to her full potential as her wolf unleashed. I was sure.


    I heard her let out a soft cry as she ced a hand over her eyes. ¡°I have a wolf¡­ I have a wolf¡­¡± She kept on repeating as tears leaked from her reddened eyes to the front of her shirt.


    I wrapped her in a tight hug, my heart clenching when she began to sob bitterly. ¡°Shh, it¡¯s okay¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­¡± I cooed, kissing the top of her head.


    As I began to rock her back and forth, smiling when I saw that she had begun tough, I knew everything would be okay.

 Jonas

    Jonas¡¯ POV


    As I got into my car, I exhaled deeply, starting the car and driving off. If I had my way I would rip the throats of those ridiculous, disgusting humans who worked at mypany. Being around them irritated me to the core, although I had done it for years. But today I couldn¡¯t stand it. Especially the idiotic new business partner. He was a talkative, overweight moron who I was sure would make a good meal. When he made his presentation today, I envisioned snapping his neck just for the satisfaction. He had kept on making stupid jokes that no one could object to, because of course he was bringing in cash.


    But I knew better. If I had been alone with that blundering fool for one second, he would not have walked out alive. It would have been the highlight of my day. But I was powerless. I hated feeling like that. Which was why I supported the motion that humans should be eliminated and werewolves to rule. Their presence only limited us. Their only good use was as a nice meal.


    Unable to stand his presence before I did something I would regret, I excused myself. Hissing, I started to drive back home, stopping at a jewelry shop to get something for Mira. Barbara had reminded me that it was our anniversary. I didn¡¯t care about that of course, but I couldn¡¯t show up empty handed. I would surprise her. And then as usual when I got her gifts, she would offer a good fuck.


    I was sure Barbara would have informed her about my knowing, so she would probably prepare for it. Good. I hated half done events and surprises.


    I tugged on my tie as I got home, parking outside the gates as I would go out for drinks in a while. I needed it. My eyes roved thewn. I needed to fire that fucking gardener, always doing messy jobs. A week in the dungeon would do him some good.


    My ears twitched as I walked up the stairs. Erotic sounds emanated from one of the rooms upstairs. I wondered if it was one of the new mates at it. If it was I would make sure they never had another chance to fuck. How dare they disturb the peace in my house? And so indiscreetly at that? I would teach them a lesson. After all I had not tortured anyone in a long while. It would be a good chance to get that thrill.


    My steps slowed when I got upstairs and realized it wasing from my bedroom. For a second I wondered if Mira was watching porn to set her mood for the anniversary. But the grunts I heard were clearlying from a male who was definitely inside that room.


    I kicked down the door of the bedroom, my chest heaving as I stepped in. Miray on the bed stark naked, her eyes wild with fear. She shook from head to toe, grabbing up a duvet that didn¡¯t do much in hiding her nakedness.


    ¡°What the fuck is going on here!!¡± I yelled, walking toward her and gripping her by the neck and squeezing until she began to gasp for air.


    Letting her drop back to the bed, I scoured the room. The bastard who had the guts to fuck my wife had apparently disappeared. ¡°Where the fuck is he?!!¡±


    Instead of responding, she broke down into tears, her voice cracking as she sobbed. ¡°I-I can exin¡­ baby..¡±


    Inded a heavy p to her face. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± I contemted on strangling her at the spot. How dare she cheat on me? I was Jonas Verbeck. No one dared make a fool of me. And this bitch had the effrontery to¡­Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Tearing my eyes away from her before I would change my mind about strangling her, I continued to turn the room upside down in search of the man. ¡°You have the guts to fuck my wife, why don¡¯t youe out and face me you bloody coward!¡±


    My eyes moved to the corner of the room close to the window. It was slightly open. Finally. I took two quick strides to get to the window. When I did, I outstretched my arm. When my hand grasped what I was looking for, I pulled the stark naked man who had been hanging on for dear life at the window into the room, dumping him hard on the floor.


    I caught a glimpse of his face as he tried to escape and my eyes widened in shock.


    ¡°Mario?!¡±


    Rage boiling up within me, I easily made it to him, grabbing him right by the neck and smashing his head repeatedly into the mirror until blood oozed out from his forehead.


    ¡°A-alpha,¡± His voice shook.¡±I¡¯m so-¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± I yelled, aiming a kick at a spot in his chest and repeatedlynding heavy kicks to it. When it didn¡¯t seem like it was doing enough harm, I shifted up to my arms, digging my ws hard into the same spot. But the scream that escaped his lips still did not satisfy me. ¡°How dare you! My own Beta, fucking my wife? And apparently on a regr basis? You fucking traitor!¡±


    Mira screamed as I shed halfway through his neck. Halfway, because I surely could not let him have such an easy, quick death. I would make him suffer¡­ slowly, painfully. And when he could not take it anymore, life would slowly leave him.


    ¡°Silence!¡± Mira¡¯s sobs were beginning to irritate me. Anger pumped through me as I red at her. I had never been so disrespected! When I heard Mira begin to sob afresh, I flung Mario¡¯s dangling body to the bed, making sure hended heavily on her.


    ¡°Fucking bitch!¡±


    The anger in me was not pacified yet. I walked to the other side of the room and opened the bottom drawer. When I found it, I pulled the hammer out.


    Perfect.

 Never been happier

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡°Okay, that should be enough for today. Well done, Liyah, I really didn¡¯t expect you to grasp all of this so quickly,¡± Niki grinned as we rounded up today¡¯s lesson, pulling me forward to nt a kiss to my forehead. As expected, I melted into a puddle.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I muttered, looking down at my feet. Sometimes I suddenly became an idiot around him and I forgot how to form words. He had that effect on me. Every single time.


    ¡°You¡¯re doing great,¡± He grinned, pulling me forward for a kiss which ended way too soon. He had a meeting he had to run off to. But I didn¡¯t mind. The fact that he was this impressed with my progress was enough to take me through the day.


    I could hear and smell basically everything within a thirty metre radius from where I was standing. At first it was frustrating as I could smell so many different things at a time it was distracting, but Niki had taught me how to channel it to a particr source at a time and now I had totally mastered my senses.


    He had also trained me on how to use my speed and strength to my advantage, and he was very pleased with the progress I was making. I was still in awe of everything that I hadn¡¯t had time to be impressed with myself. Walking felt like running now. It was so strange how I could easily glide from one ce to the other. It was amazing. I felt healthier, happier, stronger, faster and more confident. I felt like I could do anything¡­ achieve anything. And that I no longer had to be scared of anything. I had never felt that way before. And honestly, I was loving it.


    But the best part was transformation. We started lessonsst week and we just wrapped up right now. At first it was all so foreign; shifting back and  forth. The most frustrating part was the clothes ripping. Although that was Niki¡¯s favorite part of training. And mine too, admittedly.


    I blushed as I remembered all the lessons turned lovemaking that had gone on in the past week. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to ruining my clothes myself but it was all part of the process.


    After training, I decided to freshen up before joining Niki for lunch. He would take a while because he still had to round up his meeting first. A cold bath would do me a world of good right now. I quickly stripped and got into the shower.


    ¡®I think it¡¯s about time we met.¡¯ I suddenly heard a female voice say. Surprised, I stopped the running water and listened.


    Nothing.


    Niki was in his study and apart from him I was sure there was no one else in the room. Waiting for a few more seconds and not hearing anything, I reached out to turn the tap back on when I remembered something.


    Was it my inner wolf? Niki had mentioned an inner wolf.


    ¡®That¡¯s about right,¡¯ Came the same voice.


    I grimaced. Niki had said something about my wolf speaking to me but he never said it would sound so real. It sounded like someone was standing right next to me. It felt strange talking to a voice in my head.


    ¡°Umm¡­ This is a bit new to me, I¡¯m Liyah. What¡¯s your name?¡± I finally managed to blurt out.


    ¡®I don¡¯t have one. I¡¯m supposed to be a voice only you can hear remember? You were supposed to name me when we turned eighteen, but I was muted for so long you went on without me. So here we are,¡¯ She or It blurted.


    All this was still very new to me. I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. What she said about being muted for so long¡­ if anyone could rte to that, it was me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you were silent for so long,¡± I apologized, not knowing what else to say.


    ¡®It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve been silent for so long, it feels weird talking again. I¡¯ve always been here though, watching. Everything.¡¯ She said with what sounded like mischief.


    I smiled, having a feeling that we would get along quite well.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s not creepy,¡± Iughed. ¡°So what should I name you now?¡±


    ¡®Your choice, just nothing too clich¨¦, if you know what I mean.¡¯


    I began to wrack my brain for all the nice names that I knew. But none of them seemed suitable enough. ¡°How about Natasha?¡±


    ¡®What? No!¡¯ She groaned. I grimaced. She was actuallyughing. This wasn¡¯t as bad as I thought. It felt like talking to a real person. The only difference was that they were in your head.


    ¡®Just call a list of maybe four or five, I¡¯ll pick the least embarrassing.¡¯


    I was actuallyughing, alone in the bathroom, chatting with my wolf. I did not see thising. But I wasn¡¯tining.


    ¡°Ok then, Emma, Charlotte, Sophia, Olivia, Sharon, Mia..¡±N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    When she didn¡¯t reply, I continued. She must really hate those names. ¡°Eva, Cora, Nova, Lucy, Gia¡­¡±


    ¡®Nova. Nova would do just fine. It¡¯s nice and short. I like it.¡¯


    ¡°Alright Mia, can I please have a shower now?¡± I begged as my stomach rumbled in hunger. I was excited to talk more with Nova and have her exin more about how this whole thing worked. But I needed to eat.


    ¡®Don¡¯t we all? Food is life after all.¡¯


    As I parted my lips in surprise, sheughed again. ¡®Yes I can hear your thoughts too, Liyah. Well, have a nice shower. I¡¯ll pop once in a while so you should expect me.¡¯


    Once I nodded, the voice disappeared. I bit my lip to keep from screaming. I had a wolf named Nova, and so far she seemed pretty cool. I was a she-wolf¡­ a real one. The wolf inside of me had proved that today. Overwhelmed, I quietly sobbed in the shower, letting my tears get lost in the water as I scrubbed myself.


    I had never been happier.

 Get out

    Jonas¡¯ POV


    ¡°This¡­¡± I started to announce, making sure my voice carried round the hall. ¡°This is what you get when you dare to disrespect me¡­¡± I tightened the silver chain that was wound around Mario¡¯s neck, dragging it lower and lower, until it severed the part of his neck that was still stuck to his shoulders. After I had severed all his fingers and the wretched dick he had fucked my wife with, a semnce of satisfaction had begun to flow through me. His tortured screams gave me life.


    A collective gasp rang through the room as his head rolled down to my feet, the blood spurting and staining my boots. I frowned down at it. I would have to change it now. How exhausting.


    Next to Mario, Mira knelt shaking from head to toe as she sobbed. I looked away to avoid hanging her up next to her lover boy. I was patient now, waiting for Barbara to make an entrance. Since our dear Luna was shameless enough to have an affair right under my nose, then she should have the courage to face her daughter and every other member of the pack.


    After a few minutes of waiting, Barbara finally walked through the doors, pausing in shock as she looked from Mario dangling from the ceiling, and her mother kneeling next to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Mother!¡± In a sh she hade to her mother¡¯s side. She faced me. ¡°Daddy¡­ what¡¯s happening.¡±


    ¡°Apparently your mother has been fucking my Beta. For a long, long time. They were quite cozy when I walked in on them today.¡±


    I smiled as Barbara¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Looking from Mario¡¯s body to her mother¡¯s face once more, she let her hand on her mother¡¯s shoulder drop to her side as if something had burned her hand. ¡°Mother¡­ is true?¡± She asked, her voice shaky.


    Mira could only sob harder. ¡°Barb¡­ please, I made a m-mistake.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! How could you betray Dad, me, all of us. How could you bring so much shame upon us?!¡± She cast onest look at her mother and then she spat at her feet. ¡°I am so disgusted by you.¡± And then she walked out.


    I grinned with pride. That¡¯s my daughter!


    I stared down at Mira, trying to decide what to do with her. As I was about to stand, I paused. I had forgotten that Mario¡¯s mate wasn¡¯t here yet. Christy was one of the most ruthless she-wolves in the pack. So I grinned, lowering myself back into my chair. I¡¯d rather watch the confrontation between the two women. After all it would be much more entertaining.


    ¡°Get me a drink, now!¡± I yelled, leaning into my chair and grabbing a grape from the fruit tray as we awaited Christy¡¯s arrival. No one was allowed to leave the room until I said so. They better watch carefully, because I won¡¯t be so merciful with the next person that decided to fuck up.


    I didn¡¯t have to wait for long, as a few secondster Christy barged into the room. I pped my hands in the air, roaring withughter as she bounded past the crowd and to the front. Apparently, she had received the news ahead of time. Good!


    She first broke down in tears at the sight of her husband¡¯s corpse. I groaned, bored. Of course, she was a woman. Fucking emotional wrecks. But I could wait. It was worth it. When she was done crying and screaming at the dead man, she wiped her face. And then, almost like a switch had turned on in her head, her eyes roamed through the room. When they fell on Mira, she charged.


    Finally.


    I moved my leg out of the way as she transformed halfway, reaching out to grab Mira roughly by the neck and smashing her face in. Making Mira face her, she shed into her cheek making blood spurt out in torrents. But she wasn¡¯t done.


    ¡°You fucking bitch!! I thought we were friends!¡± Christy screamed, wing at Mira¡¯s face once more and kicking her full in the chest.


    ¡°Apparently not,¡± I thundered withughter, watching the scene unfold. I watched Christy beat down my wife with interest, and she was quite good. I began to consider if I should assign Christy as one of my warriors. She was skilled, after all.


    Mira however was pathetic. Her efforts to avoid the blows that kepting at her were so weak she might as well have been a toddler. But of course I wasn¡¯tining.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead because of you!¡± Christynded a hard kick to Mira¡¯s neck which made even me shudder. Biting into an apple, I signaled the guards to separate the women from each other. I couldn¡¯t let Mira die that easily. She still had a lot of time to spend in the dungeon. But the sight of her bloody face was satisfying. Not as satisfying as it would have been if I had taken care of her myself, but satisfying nheless. I knew the fun had not ended yet. Christy would obviously attempt to kill her after this. So it was enough for now.


    ¡°Take them away!¡± Imanded, watching as the other she-wolves dragged a fuming Christy away while the guards took Mira to the dungeon.


    Refreshed, I inhaled deeply. Inflicting pain or watching others do it always made me feel better. For a second I wondered if I had be too softtely. Maybe that was why Mario had had the guts to disrespect me this way. But not to worry, I knew what to do. I couldn¡¯t let them forget exactly what I could do when anyone crossed me. Today was a good start. Let¡¯s see if anyone would dare do anything stupid.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I had been merciful when I killed Mario. But that wouldn¡¯t happen again. The next person that dared to cross me would receive the consequences in full.


    ¡°What are you all still doing here? Get out!¡± I roared. As they scurried out of the room, I rxed back into my chair and bit into another apple.

 Race after her

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I paused at the kitchen door when I heard someoneughing. Curious, I looked in to see Liyah; her hands were busy as she expertly sliced the vegetables thaty on the kitchen counter. But what caught my attention was the fact that she was talking to herself.


    I perused the kitchen to see if there was someone in there with her. When I didn¡¯t, I stared at her smiling and talking in confusion, and then it clicked. She must have met her inner wolf. Smiling, I walked in.


    ¡°Hey!¡± She said, grinning when she saw me. The way her eyes lit whenever we talked made me feel so special, it was almost strange, but left a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach.


    I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head as I whispered in her ear. ¡°I see you¡¯ve met your wolf.¡± She nodded excitedly, and then as if she suddenly remembered something, smacked my arm and turned to face me, her eyes narrowed.


    ¡°Ow!¡± Iined, staring at her in surprise. ¡°What?¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    She ced a hand on her hips, gripping adle in her right hand and pointing it in my face. ¡°You¡­¡± She started. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about my wolf speaking to me?¡± I frowned, vividly remembering telling her about her wolf speaking to her thest time we trained, to which she smacked me lightly again with thedle.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t warn me that her voice would sound so real. It¡¯s basically a human voice, for a second I believed I was going crazy. I nearly thought someone was in the shower with me today.¡±


    ¡°The only person that can be in the shower with you is me,¡± I reminded her,ughing when she red at me. ¡°Fine, fine,¡± I pleaded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t warn you. Are we good now?¡±


    She made a face which earned augh from me. ¡°What¡¯s she like?¡± I asked, knowing she would only be too willing to talk about it, and I was also genuinely curious.


    She stirred the sauce in the pot before facing me. ¡°She¡¯s really nice. And her sense of humor is everything,¡± Liyahughed.


    ¡°Really?¡± I asked, surprised. ¡°Inner wolves are usually very timid when they emergete,¡± I exined when Liyah fixed me with a questioning nce. ¡°But that¡¯s great. Have you named her yet?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She really liked the name Nova. So there.¡±


    ¡°Nova,¡± I repeated. ¡°That¡¯s a beautiful name.¡± When Liyah nodded in agreement, giving me one of her killer smiles, my legs suddenly weakened. I let my eyes roam through the pretty sundress she was wearing, looking effortlessly beautiful like always.


    I snaked an arm around her waist,ing up behind her as she stirred the sauce again. ¡°I¡¯m making lunch,¡± She giggled as I began to ce light pecks down her neck.


    ¡°Mmm hm,¡± I kissed her neck again, bringing my hands to her waist as I began to sway her hips from side to side. I kissed the crook of her neck, sucking on that particr spot until it formed a hickey. When she moaned lightly, I took that as my signal.


    Turning her around to face me, I sucked on her lips pulling her hair behind her ears and cing a hand behind her head. She broke away from the kiss long enough to catch her breath. ¡°But lunch¡­¡± She whimpered.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one thing I want to eat, and it¡¯s definitely not pasta.¡± That said, I turned off the gas and gripped her butt higher to ce her on the counter. Her breath came out as soft moans as I pulled her skirt up, moving my fingers deeper until I found entrance of her core. I moaned as I pushed my fingers into her dripping center. My cock was already struggling to break free from the enclosure of my jeans but I held back. I wanted to satisfy her first.


    Pulling her skirt all the way up, I extracted my wet fingers, and just when I was almostpletely out, I pushed back in. She screamed, gripping at my hair as she pumped her waist, begging me to continue.


    I entrapped her lips in another kiss, biting from her bottom lip to her neck and running my tongue over her hickey. As I sucked on her neck, I pumped my fingers faster¡­ harder until she cried out in pleasure, releasing her juices on my fingers.


    Unable to take it anymore, I popped the button of my jeans, quickly pulling it out and pumping on it. Pleasure made my cock stand even more erect as Liyah widened her legs invitingly, biting down seductively on her bottom lip.


    I pulled her closer, easing into her. When she shut her eyes, her lips slightly parted, I took my first thrust. Before long, I was pounding, the sound of flesh pping against flesh blending with her loud moans.


    When I finally pulled out of her, we both leaned against the counter, gasping for breath. This time she leaned in for a kiss, whispering into my ear, ¡°That was amazing.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°I know right?¡± I teased, pulling my jeans back on. She let out a loudugh, shaking her head as she faced away.


    To my surprise, she reached out to the side of her dress, unzipping the sundress and letting it fall to the floor. I swallowed at the sight of her in all her glory. It wasn¡¯t the first time I had seen her naked, but it had the same effect each time. I was certain she would drive me crazy. Who am I kidding? I already am crazy about her.


    I realized I was aroused under my jeans when I throbbed in pleasure.


    ¡°Who says we¡¯re done yet?¡± She drawled seductively, reaching to loosen her hair out of the ponytail it was in and walking toward the bathroom, her long hair swaying behind her.


    Fuck.


    She knew I loved it when she let her hair fall free.


    Ripping off my jeans now fully aroused now, I raced after her.

 But how…

    Drew¡¯s POV


    I took another sip of my coffee as we all stared out the kitchen window, watching Niki who was currently ying with the kids, little Evefortably seated in hisp. By ¡®we¡¯ I meant myself, Annie, Margaret and Liyah. I only just realized how weird we all were as we werefortable enough watching him like stalkers. I was going to point it out but I held back myment. After all, it was a sight worth gaping at. It still felt darn good to have the old Niki back, the Niki I knew and remembered. But the change had been so sudden and so tremendous, none of us saw iting.


    But it was truly beautiful. The kids used to be so scared of him before, but now he was a kind of father figure. I couldn¡¯t even imagine what they could possibly be talking about. But it was beautiful nheless.


    Everytime I looked at Niki, I had this urge to break down in tears. I had always hoped that my best friend was still in there somewhere, but I had also considered the fact that he would nevere back to normal. He waspletely ruined by what happened to Elle. He had changed¡­ but to my surprise, everything dide back to normal.


    ¡°Well some of us are enjoying the view a whole lot more than others,¡± I heard Annie say. Looking in her direction, I saw that she was smirking at Liyah. I chuckled when I saw Liyah blush. Well, Niki was shirtless at the moment so..


    ¡°The Alpha has really changed a lot. It¡¯s refreshing to watch him,¡± Margaret smiled. ¡°But yes you¡¯re right, we have Liyah to thank for that.¡±


    When Liyah blushed even more furiously, I couldn¡¯t hold back myughter. ¡°Ohe on, Liyah. It¡¯s obvious that something is going on between the both of you. When were you nning on telling us?¡± I asked, hiding a smile. The weekend getaway Annie and I had nned had gone exactly as nned.


    They were so adorable together.


    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t think we haven¡¯t noticed you two sneaking up and down the house like a pair of thieves,¡± Annie said again, smiling a little.


    ¡°Oh stop that,¡± Margaret snapped. ¡°Its obvious that they¡¯re doing some hardcore¡­ training.¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Ourughter boomed in the kitchen for a few moments. Margaret was honestly the best. Meanwhile Liyah looked like she was torn between embarrassment and amusement. It was simply cute.


    ¡°Well, it just happened I guess,¡± She replied, still flushing. ¡°I wasn¡¯t impressed at first but when I got to see what kind of person he really was, I guess I¡­ started to like him. Underneath all of that anger and bitterness he has some really good qualities.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, and what were these qualities you saw that changed your mind about him?¡± Annalise asked, obviously keen to get some answers out of Liyah. I hid another smile, but faced Liyah. I was curious as well.


    ¡°Well for one, he has a good heart, he¡¯s funny, kind, he respects people¡¯s opinions, he¡¯s strong as well and can protect the ones he loves if the need ever arises-¡±


    ¡°Yeah, ¡¯cause none of us are strong in anyway and we¡¯ll perish after a knife cut,¡± Annie cut in, the sarcasm in her voice clear as ever. I snickered, reaching out to swat her arm.


    ¡°Annalise, let her be,¡± Margaret warned. But she didn¡¯t need to, as Liyah wasughing along with us.


    Liyah chuckled and continued. ¡°But when I found out about his heroism, that¡¯s when I knew he was a much better person than he was showing,¡± Liyah continued dreamily. ¡°I couldn¡¯t believe it at first¡­ but then I got to that safehouse, and I saw all those werewolves in so much pain, and the fact that he was risking his life to make sure they were okay. It was amazing.¡±


    My brows furrowed. Werewolves, safehouse? What was she talking about?


    ¡°How do you mean Liyah?¡± I asked, curious about what she meant.


    It was her turn to frown. ¡°I mean, all those werewolves he rescued from the traffickers. It was really brave of him. To be honest, I never believed that silly tale about the Silver Ghost. It just seemed like a myth¡­ till I was kidnapped some time ago and he showed up just in time to save me and the rest of the victims. I was stunned¡­ they all kept chanting his name when he arrived.¡±


    Wait. What?


    The Silver Ghost?


    I looked around to see that Margaret and Annie had the same shocked look on their faces. I turned back to Liyah.


    ¡°Niki, the Silver Ghost? And you were kidnapped? How? Where? What are you talking about?¡± Annie asked, her lips upturned in a frown.


    ¡°She¡¯s telling the truth. Her heartbeat was steady all through her story,¡± Margaret finally spoke. ¡°But¡­ how? I¡¯m pretty sure this is news to all of us.¡± I nodded when she looked my way.


    We had all heard stories about a man who saved werewolves who were kidnapped and readied for trafficking. I had been so appalled when I first heard of the practice, and I couldn¡¯t fathom who could possibly be that heartless. Werewolves being kidnapped and trafficked by werewolves. It was simply disgusting.


    A few yearster, stories about a man who had taken it upon himself to save these people. ording to the stories we had heard, he worked alone, taking these people and driving them down to a safe ce and nurturing them until they were healthy again.


    The victims who had escaped had named him the Silver Ghost. And from then, the name just stuck. I had thought about it for a while, but all in all I was grateful that someone was keeping these people from harm and ruining the ns of the traffickers.


    And now Liyah was saying that the Silver Ghost hade to her rescue, and he happened to be Niki?


    What the hell was going on?

 Those eyes

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I watched in disbelief as Drew and Anna exchanged horrid looks. They really had no idea? For a second I felt like I had just betrayed Niki. I honestly thought they knew.


    ¡°I thought you all knew about this,¡± I said, still shocked myself that Niki¡¯s family didn¡¯t know about his second identity. Why would he keep it a secret from them anyway? I wondered. I didn¡¯t think it was something he needed to hide. It was such a good deed, they would be proud of him.


    ¡°Tell us exactly what happened that day, Liyah, and don¡¯t leave anything out,¡± Drew said, facing me. He didn¡¯t look angry, he just looked confused.


    ¡°If he keeps it secret from you, I¡¯m not sure I should be the one to¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell us everything, Liyah,¡± Anna persuaded. ¡°We¡¯re his family, we deserve to know.¡±


    After a few moments of deliberating on it, I nodded. Then I began to narrate exactly what had happened that day as well as I could remember. Margaret gasped in shock when I mentioned it was the day we had gone to the other side of town. And for a moment I felt bad when she began to me herself for my abduction.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Margaret,¡± I assured her. ¡°At least nothing happened to me. I should have known better than to stay out there for so long. So it¡¯s my fault actually, not yours.¡±


    When she had sighed in defeat, I continued my story. Sometimes their faces turned to an expression of pride, then after a while it would change to one of disbelief, then annoyance.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Drew breathed when I finished. I had nothing else to say so I kept my mouth shut. When Niki suddenly faced the kitchen window then stood and began to walk into the house, my brows furrowed.


    ¡°Why is he suddenlying here?¡± I asked, confused.


    ¡°I just mindlinked him,¡± Annalise replied. Oh. I swallowed wondering if he would be pissed at me for telling them. But I needed answers from him as well. Why he kept it all a secret.


    When Niki stepped into the kitchen, my face warmed at the sight of him, and I had the urge to p my forehead. A confrontation was about to happen and all I could do was turn to jelly when my eyes met those silver ones.


    Focus, Liyah.


    As soon as he rested next to me against the counter, Annalise shut the kitchen door. Oh no.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Niki asked, clearly confused.


    Drew spoke first. ¡°Nothing much, just that you have a lot of exining to do. How could you keep such a secret for four whole years?¡±


    ¡°What are you-¡±


    ¡°The Silver Ghost?¡± Annalise cut in. ¡°Really? Why would you keep that a secret, it¡¯s huge. You¡¯ve been risking your life for years and you didn¡¯t even think you should tell us?¡±


    Niki froze, his eyes immediatelynding on me. ¡°I thought they knew,¡± I defended, throwing my hands in the air. Why didn¡¯t you tell them anyway? They¡¯re your family, I¡¯m sure they would be more than okay knowing that you were a superhero.¡±


    When he red at me I resisted the urge tough. ¡°But seriously, it¡¯s unfair. You really should have told them.¡±


    ¡°Liyah gets it. So please exin, we¡¯re all ears,¡± Margaret finally spoke up for the first time since he came into the kitchen. She was the calmest about the situation. Almost like it wasn¡¯t even a big deal. She looked proud of him even. That was the thing about Margaret. She took everything so calmly, almost like she had expected it.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯m sorry. I should have told you guys.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just realizing that now? How smart of you.¡±


    I tried my best not to snicker. Annalise was always so fierce she almost didn¡¯t let Niki breathe when he did something wrong. They were the perfect match.


    Niki sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay? I didn¡¯t want to put you guys in danger. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t tell you.¡±


    ¡°Danger? Niki we¡¯re all used to being in danger. And we would have helped out as well. You¡¯re the Alpha, you shouldn¡¯t be risking your life like that,¡± Drew said.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I know.. but it really is dangerous. Thest time I got stabbed, it was while I was trying to save those people. I would hate for that to have been either of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh that was from it? You should¡¯ve told us then. Even if it was to let us know that you weren¡¯t aplete monster. You were doing such a good deed. Drew and I were so scared that you didn¡¯t have a heart anymore.¡±


    He raked a hand through his hair. ¡°To be honest, I started it just to frustrate Jonas¡¯ business. It was a tiny way of getting back at him.¡±


    I stiffened at the mention of my father at the same time the rest of them stared at Niki, shocked. ¡°Jonas? Of course, who else could be so heartless.¡±


    ¡°But after the first few times, I saw how much these people suffered, how much pain they were going through, and I couldn¡¯t just let them suffer anymore. That¡¯s when I built the safehouse. I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Margaret said, grinning. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you. Why do they call you the Silver Ghost though?¡±


    When he smirked, sheughed. ¡°Right. Those eyes.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t keep any more secrets from us,¡± Drew said, eyeing him. ¡°And I¡¯ming with you next time.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I can¡¯t believe how much action I¡¯ve been missing,¡± Annalise added.


    Niki nodded,ughing. ¡°So we¡¯re good now?¡±


    Shaking their heads, theyunched on him to tell them everything about it; the people he had saved, his strategies, where the safehouse was located. And he obliged, answering all the questions they threw at him andughing when Drew disapproved of some of his strategies.


    The smile that creeped up my face stayed as I watched them argue,ugh and bicker. And for the hundredth time since I¡¯d gotten to know these people, I thanked the goddess for them.

 Perfect

    Drew¡¯s POV


    I stood at the entrance of the kitchen shocked as I stared at Niki attempting to cook something. It was hrious I regretted leaving my phone in my room beforeing outside. Since when did Niki make breakfast himself? It was 9am in the morning. Maybe it was his hobby now¡­ or something. Niki came with so many surprises now, I wouldn¡¯t particrlye as a shock if cooking was one of his hobbies now.


    After watching him with interest for a while, I stepped in. ¡°Since when did you start making breakfast yourself? No let me rephrase that, since when did you start cooking?¡±


    As I spoke, I stretched out my fingers to grab a piece of bacon but he pped my hand away before looking up to re at me. ¡°It¡¯s for Liyah. She¡¯s not feeling well today,¡± He answered before turning back to the pan and stirring the scrambled eggs. The look on his face was so serious I nearly burst out in a fit ofughter.


    ¡°Wow, your whipped!¡± Iughed, watching as he turned to face me. I mean, I knew he and Liyah liked each other. But I must have underestimated just how much he did. Making breakfast for her¡­. wow. It was adorable, but unexpected. ¡°You really like her don¡¯t you?¡± I tried again.


    But he didn¡¯t respond. Instead he began to make two cups of coffee; a sign that he didn¡¯t feel like talking about it. I shrugged, raising my hands in surrender and turning to walk out of the kitchen but not before trying to steal a slice of bacon again. But as expected he swatted my hand away. I red at him before walking out, but of course he still didn¡¯t let me have it.


    ¡°I¡¯m in love with her.¡±


    I stopped dead in my tracks at the sound of his voice. For a moment I thought I was hearing things but the seriousness on Niki¡¯s face as I turned to face him said otherwise. I was speechless for a while. I had been watching him and Liyah ever since they got back from their little vacation at the cabin. I marvelled at how they had both finally let go of the past. And I couldn¡¯t imagine that it must have been easy. Again, Liyah proved to be the kindest person I had evere across. Who would be so understanding¡­ so caring. Who would still consider the other person¡¯s feelings after they hurt them so much, almost to the point of no repair. It was the most selfless gesture. And for the first time in my life, I prayed to meet someone like Liyah. She was a fucking role model.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I finally asked. I knew this was a big step. I had never seen Niki as broken as when he lost Elle. He had been so hurt¡­ he loved her so much that it felt like a part of him was broken forever. And in that moment I never thought he would love again. I needed to know he was sure. For himself, and for Liyah.


    He nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. ¡°She¡­ she makes me feel like a person again. I feel like I can be myself around her. It¡¯s because of her that I see things differently. With her, everything makes perfect sense. Everything is worth it¡­¡±


    The emotion in his voice was so strong I had no idea what to say. So I let him finish.


    ¡°I want to protect her, keep her away from any sort of difort. I want to baby her and cuddle her, and give her all the love she deserves. She¡¯s s-so¡­ so special. She¡¯s everything, Drew. Everything.¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°And there¡¯s something I haven¡¯t told you yet. Liyah is my mate.¡±


    I grimaced. ¡°What?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I found out so long ago, when I first abducted her. But I refused to believe it. But now..¡±


    Wow. Well that exined a lot.


    I gave a small smile. Reaching out, I ced a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m d to hear it. Liyah is an amazing person. You can¡¯t help but like her, everyone does. She smart and beautiful andpassionate. And I think that the two of you are perfect for each other.¡±


    He sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he rested against the kitchen counter. ¡°Sometimes¡­ sometimes I have this feeling of so much guilt. It feels like the more I fall for Liyah, the more I¡¯m betraying Elle. I feel like I¡¯m taunting her memory. And I have no idea what to do about it. I have no regrets falling in love with Liyah. But sometimes I feel like a terrible person-¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey,¡± I stopped him, walking over to stand next to him. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly normal to feel that way. You were deeply in love with Elle. And the nature of her death inevitablyes with this feeling of guilt. But it¡¯s not your fault. You don¡¯t have to feel guilty about falling in love with someone else. And I¡¯m pretty sure that wherever Elle is, she would want you to find love again. She would want you to be happy. You¡¯ve been in pain for so long.. too long. You deserve this ray of sunshine. This happiness, so don¡¯t keep yourself from enjoying it.¡±


    He nodded, smiling a little as he began to ce the food on a tray. ¡°Thanks, man.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m so happy for you.¡± And I really was. He deserved all the happiness in the world. He just needed to rx, enjoy his life with his amazing girl, and toss anything that would stress him out or make him feel bad.


    As he neared the door, I called out. ¡°Oh and Niki? Please stop sneaking all over the house with Liyah. The entire pack knows you two are together. And also, if you could tone down the cuteness just a little bit, the chances of the rest of us dying from jealousy would be considerably lower.¡±


    The sound of his roaringughter filled the room as he walked out.

 Crying

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I took onest nce in the mirror as I checked the time. I still had about ten minutes left before I had to leave. I sucked in a sharp breath, clutching the mini box in my pocket as I tried to steady my breathing. Uncontrobly nervous, I smoothed down the front of my ck suit. That done, I checked my hair onest time in the mirror before moving away and heading upstairs to the rooftop.


    I had solicited Anna¡¯s help to organise a small butvish romantic dinner for Liyah on the rooftop. It was spacious and airy, and there were no chances of us being interrupted or disturbed. Grabbing the bouquet of roses I had gotten for her, I made my way up the stairs and to the roof.


    She was already seated awaiting my presence when I walked through the doors. She grinned widely when she saw me, getting up to return my hug when I came closer. The sight of her when she stood nearly had me sprawling. The emerald green, sequenced dress she wore matched her eyes to perfection. But what got me was how it was knotted behind-right above her waist-and then fell gracefully behind her. Her ebony hair was pulled into a half bun, and then the rest cascaded down her back like a pool of ck waves.


    Her beauty was simply effortless. She was perfect, in every way.


    ¡°You look amazing,¡± I kissed her hand, leaning forward to nt a kiss on her right cheek. She immediately blushed under my touch making me smile in pleasure. I loved having that effect on her.


    ¡°So do you,¡± She smiled. ¡°Are you sure I¡¯m not overdressed?¡± She asked, looking down at her dress unsure.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    I silenced her with a kiss. ¡°You¡¯re perfect.¡±


    As I helped her into her chair, the two waiters Anna had selected to serve us today quickly appeared, pouring out our drinks and then serving up the appetizers. They disappeared as soon as they were done.


    The soft music ying in the background was perfect. Anna had really outdone herself, I thought, looking around at the space. It hadpletely transformed;mps hanging over the ceilings, flowers decorating the corners, and the candlelight theme of the whole ce was truly perfect. Not to mention the view of the stars overhead.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful right? I can¡¯t stop staring either,¡± Liyah¡¯s voice broke into my thoughts. I turned to see her looking up at the stars, a satisfied look on her face. ¡°Thank you. This dinner was a good idea. And there¡¯s no one else I¡¯d rather share this memory with,¡± She whispered, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand.


    My heart transformed into jelly at her words. Did she have any idea how those words affected me? I kissed her hand as she finished up her appetizer. My heart was pounding furiously now as I held her hand up, pulling her up gently from the chair and cing my hand around her waist.


    I dipped my free hand cautiously into my pocket, the sound of my heartbeat filling my ears when I touched the box that was still intact.


    I swallowed, rubbing my sweaty palm up and down my pants.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I giggled as I stared at Niki, letting myself get lost in his eyes. Those eyes were still my favorite thing about him. I was still giddy with excitement from the romantic dinner he had nned for us. He was so full of surprises, this man. He was sweet and spontaneous and I loved it.


    I smiled again watching him curiously when he swallowed. I noted he had begun to act weird all of a sudden. But I didn¡¯t want to ruin the mood by mentioning it when it might just be nothing.


    My cheeks warmed when he brought my fingers to his lips, kissing it a little. ¡°Liyah¡­¡± He breathed, making me look up at him.


    ¡°You¡¯re the best thing that¡¯s ever happened to me. Sometimes I try to imagine what my life would be like without you, and I can¡¯t. You came and you brightened up every corner of my life that I thought was dampened forever. You make me feel¡­ like a person. You make me feel like I matter, and I wake up each day ready to face a new day, fight back any obstacles, as long as you¡¯re right here by my side. I love you, Liyah¡­¡±


    My breath caught in my throat as my hand flew to my mouth in shock. As I continue to stare at him, my heart squeezed in my chest.


    He loves me.


    Niki loves me.


    Someone loves me¡­


    I stood at the point of breaking down in tears, gasping when he started to get down on one knee, taking out a small jewelry box and taking out the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever set my eyes on.


    This was happening. This was really happening.


    ¡°Marry me, Liyah. Let me carry you in my heart, my soul, and my arms, forever. Let me wipe away your tears, face your fears with you, wipe all your scars clean. Let me live with you,ugh with you, make memories with you. Let me love you, Liyah. Be my girl¡­ my Luna¡­¡±


    My hands shook as I nodded fervently, unable to see clearly through the tears that stood in my eyes.


    ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± I sobbed, not bothering to wipe away the tears that spilled down my cheeks as he pushed the ring gently down my finger. It fit perfectly.


    ¡°I love you too,¡± I whimpered as he stood, pulling me to him and kissing my lips softly. I realized I had fallen in love with him during the time we spent at the cabin together. But I was too scared to admit it to myself because I was scared. Scared of rejection. No one had ever loved me. So what right did I have to think someone would ever love me back because I had fallen for him.


    ¡°I love you too,¡± I repeated, my tears blinding me as I returned his hug. I smiled through the tears when he nibbled on my ear, and I wondered if now was the right time to tell him. He had just proposed¡­ we were getting married! What other sign was I waiting for?


    Pulling away from him, I held both his hands in mine. ¡°There¡¯s something I have to tell you,¡± I announced, wondering how he would take it.


    ¡°Anything, my love.¡±


    I blushed at the nickname, unable to stop myself from smiling like an idiot.


    Taking a deep breath I looked up. ¡°I¡¯m pregnant.¡±


    ¡°W-what?¡± He staggered back in shock, looking from my face to my stomach.


    I nodded. ¡°I found out some weeks ago. I¡¯d been feeling sick for a while but I didn¡¯t want to rm you so I went for a checkup. And¡­ Nova felt another presence within us.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t believed it at first, but when it began to sink in, I felt like the happiest person in world. I would have a child of my own¡­ my own person. Someone to take care of, someone to nurture¡­ to love. And with an amazing father like Niki what more could a child and mother ask for?


    The back of my eyes began to sting again at the sight of tears in Niki¡¯s eyes. Shakily, he approached me, getting down on both knees and cing both hands on my stomach. ¡°M-my baby is in h-here?¡±


    I sniffed back my tears, nodding. ¡°Mm hm.¡±


    As Niki ced both hands around my stomach in a hug and began to sob bitterly, I ced mine around his neck, stroking his hair and whispering in his ear as I struggled to be strong for the both of us.

 Require

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. You guys are actually getting married? Wow, congrattions again!¡± Annalise said yet again, beaming from ear to ear. I was starting to think she was the most excited about it. Well, everyone was.


    We had announced our engagement to the pack this morning and everybody was ecstatic. Some of the shewolves had already started giving me gifts. For goodluck, they said.


    Drew was all smiles. He was always smiling, but today¡¯s was wider, brighter, happier. He had already announced his position as the best man, making me blush. The wedding wasn¡¯t till a few weeks. But I was already used to my new family by now.


    Anna was already listing all the things we would need for the party, even though Niki had protested. ¡°You will both have an engagement party Nik, and nobody¡¯s going to stop me. Even if it means doing everything myself.¡± She had teased. Anna could be very persuasive. So dear Niki had no choice.


    ¡°Alright, alright but nothing too big, and it should be in the mansion. And not too many guests either, Anna. I want something quiet.¡± He sumbed.


    I smiled, listening from the kitchen and arranging the flowers I got into vases. I was still quite giddy with excitement. It felt unreal that anyone would be happy for me¡­ excited for my happiness. The fact that they were all willing to share in my happiness still brought a tear to my eyes each time. I had never felt so loved before¡­ it was the best feeling in the world.


    ¡°Where do I put these?¡±


    I turned when I heard Eve¡¯s voice. She clutched a box of decorations in both hands, smiling and putting the box down to wave when she saw me.


    Annalise had literally put everybody to work. She was extra hyper today.


    My fingers paused in the middle of arranging the flowers. Elyan had forgotten to get two of the remaining jars from the garden. I looked through the kitchen windows, they were still there.


    ¡°Where are you off to, baby?¡± Niki pulled me softly from behind, nibbling at my ear. I hadn¡¯t even heard hime in.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Let me just get those vases from the garden, Elyan has probably forgotten about them as Anna is pushing everyone to do one thing or the other. I won¡¯t be long,¡± I said, escaping from his grasp smoothly and blowing him a kiss which he caught dramatically.


    I chuckled.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be long, okay?¡±


    ¡°You better not,¡± He winked.


    I headed for the garden. It was a bit deserted as all the work was going on in the house. Sighting the vase, I picked them up and wiped the dirt off the bottom.


    As I stood, the vase clutched in my hand as I tried to wipe off the crust from it, I felt a sudden eerie feeling, chills running through me. I whipped around swiftly, my senses tingling. This wasn¡¯t the first time this had happened. For several days now I¡¯d been having this weird feeling, almost like I was being watched. But everytime I turned to survey the area, whatever was hiding out there quickly disappeared.


    I looked with my wolf eyes, searching for any sign of life at all around.


    Nothing.


    I swept through the area again with my wolf eyes, checking again to see if there was something I missed. But again, I found nothing. Sighing, I decided that maybe it was just in my head.


    Was paranoia a symptom of early pregnancy in werewolves? I wasn¡¯t sure. I had to ask Annalise when I got back in. But it was starting to get really annoying. There was clearly no one there. Why was my mind ying tricks with me?


    ¡°Is there a problem, Liyah?¡± Came Niki¡¯s voice from behind me. He sounded worried. ¡°You¡¯ve been away for a while. I thought maybe you didn¡¯t find them,¡± He said pointing at the vases in my hands.


    There was no point worrying my fianc¨¦ over a stupid paranoid feeling. He already had enough to worry about.


    ¡°Oh, no¡± I smiled. ¡°I was just checking the hedges, they might need a bit of trimming don¡¯t you think?¡±


    He rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you should be worried about things other than bushes, Li? Like me for example.¡± He said, feigning a sad look. He looked adorable.


    Li. Absolutely beautiful, I blushed.


    I ruffled his hair a little. I couldn¡¯t help it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside shall we? It¡¯s getting cold,¡± I suggested, intertwining my arm in his.


    ¡°After you, Mrs. de,¡± He smiled, leading me back into the house.


    Mrs. de. I decided I quite liked the sound of that.


    Jonas¡¯ POV


    I red at the worker that stepped into my quarters, wondering if I should strangle him for a little while. Maybe that would teach him not to interrupt me when I was busy.


    ¡°What?!¡± I barked, smirking when I saw him jump up in fear, beads of sweat already beginning to form on his forehead.


    ¡°A-alpha¡­ Ie with news f-from the Selene pack.¡±


    I sat up, my brows cocking with interest. Right. I had almost forgotten that I sent a spy to infiltrate and survey de¡¯s territory. After I had seen him at that business meeting after so long, I was simply curious to know how badly he was doing. I almostughed out loud as the image of how angry he had been at the meeting floated into my memory.


    It was pathetic. That was the difference between de and I, he let flimsy things hold him back.


    ¡°Well?¡± I turned back to the spy.


    ¡°My first attempts to infiltrate were foiled, so when I finally managed to get in, he was gone for a vacation already. He came back a few days ago. B-but I have some upsetting news.¡±


    I frowned. Upsetting? ¡°Get to the point.¡±


    ¡°W-well, I heard some of them talking a few days ago. And from the information I gathered, Niki de is the Silver Ghost.¡±


    My eyes widened in shock. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! I will have you hanged in you don¡¯t give only urate information,¡± I warned.


    ¡°I have proof!¡± He said, taking out a cellphone and tapping on a button which started to y a recording. When I heard the voice of a woman begin to narrate how she was saved from kidnapping by The Silver Ghost, and some other people keep mentioning ¡®Niki¡¯ and silver eyes, it felt like I just had the wind knocked out of me.


    ¡°That bastard!¡± My chest heaved in anger. I should have known. Who else would have the audacity to get in the way of my business. Oh, I would make him pay. He would pay dearly for this.


    Anger surged through me as I faced the spy once more. ¡°What?! Get out, now!¡±


    He bowed his head. ¡°Alpha, there¡¯s more.¡±


    More? What more could possibly happen? ¡°Well, speak! I don¡¯t have all day.¡±


    ¡°de is getting married. When I escaped this evening they were making preparations for an engagement party.¡±


    ¡°Married¡­¡± I repeated. What the hell was going on? So lover boy had finally gotten over his sad, broken heart. That only meant one thing; I hadn¡¯t done enough damage when I killed his wife. I knew he wouldn¡¯t die when I shot him. I wanted him to live¡­ live to revel in his pain for the rest of his life. And now he was getting married? No, we can¡¯t have that. Of course not.


    I looked up to see the guard still standing there. ¡°There¡¯s more? Right, of course.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s getting married to Liyah, Alpha.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°Who?¡± The name wasn¡¯t remotely familiar. I didn¡¯t care who he was getting married to anyway.


    ¡°Liyah Verbeck. Y-your first daughter, Alpha.¡±


    I was still in shock when he started to narrate the story he had heard from some members of the Selene pack. When he narrated how de had kidnapped Liyah instead of my Barbara, I burst outughing. That idiot. Did he really think he could kidnap my Barbara that easily?


    When he finished, I plunged deep into thought. So, de and that useless merewoman who was responsible for my mate¡¯s death thought they could live happily ever after? Like they were in some kind of fairytale?


    The thought wasughable. I turned to the spy. ¡°Go back there, stay low. I need to find out more, their every move then report back to me and await my orders.¡±


    He quickly bowed and exited the room.


    My initial amusement was turning back to anger. Niki de had the effrontery to ruin my business ns then think he could get married to my mate¡¯s daughter and live happily. And that fool, Liyah. Did she really think I would let her be happy? What she deserved was to live in pain her whole life. Just like she had let my mate live in pain.


    I would destroy them both, so swiftly that they wouldn¡¯t even realize what was happening until they were broken into tiny little pieces.

 Taken

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I moaned as the taste of the cherry dipped in ice-cream hit my taste buds. It was so good that I grabbed up the ice-cream bowl all to myself, dipping the cherries into it and dropping them in my mouth. I pretended not to see Niki, staring at me with his ice-cream spoon in his hand. I purposely popped a cherry in and out of my mouth, sucking on it and moaning when I finally bit on it.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t stop moaning like that, I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t stop moaning for at least an hour,¡± He finally said, swallowing as his eyes fell on my lips.


    I burst intoughter. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± I muttered, batting myshes innocently. ¡°I¡¯m just eating cherries.¡±


    When he slipped a hand underneath my dress, running his hands high up my thigh, I let out a soft moan for real this time, my eyes widening.


    ¡°You were saying?¡± It was his turn to ask innocently.


    Iughed, pushing his hand away. ¡°You¡¯re not ying fair,¡± I huffed.


    ¡°I know right?¡± He shot back earning augh from me.


    I stood from the sofa. ¡°I¡¯m out of cherries, I need to get more. Do you want some?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He murmured, getting up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. His fingers moved feverishly over my butt as he pulled me even closer to him, and I gasped when my butt pushed up against his arousal. ¡°I want to eat something¡­ but it¡¯s definitely not cherries..¡± He whispered, nibbling on my ear and down my neck.


    I was already beginning to weaken from his touch, but I gently pushed him away. ¡°Uh uh. We¡¯ll have actual food for now,¡± I shook my head,ughing at his sulking face as I left the room.


    I quickly picked out enough cherries from the garden, desperate to return to him. I was in need of cuddling today. I grinned foolishly at the thought,ughing as I headed back to the kitchen to wash the fruits.


    A crackling sound from behind the hedges stopped me in my tracks. Cautiously, I looked around. This feeling again. But this time it had sounded so real¡­


    As I turned to head back to the kitchen, I felt strong pairs of arms drag me, putting a cloth tightly over my nose before I could make any sounds. The cherries dropped from my hands as I struggled in their grip, trying desperately to mindlink Niki. Anyone¡­ But I was weakening by the second.


    Thest thing I saw was the ck truck I was being bundled into. And then everything went ck.


    ***


    The feeling of being strangled woke me up. I clutched my neck coughing uncontrobly as I tried to catch my breath. It felt like there was a lot of dust in my throat, and my bones ached. When the cough eventually subsided, I let my eyes sweep the room I was in.


    I let out a horrified scream when I saw I was in a semi-dark dungeon. ¡°No. No, no, no!¡± My heart pounded in my chest as an overwhelming sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu chilled my bones. Being kidnapped¡­ waking up in a dungeon.


    Fear clutched on my insides as my hand flew to my stomach. This couldn¡¯t be happening. It¡¯s not possible¡­ And now? Every time I thought things were finally working out for me something always had to ruin it. My hands clenched into fists as I rubbed my stomach.


    I needed to rx¡­


    Think.


    I couldn¡¯t let any harme to my baby. I wouldn¡¯t. Although my hands were shaking furiously, I tried to calm myself. I needed to figure out how and why I was here. I needed something. I tried to mindlink Niki again the exact way he had taught me, but it wasn¡¯t working. Maybe I wasn¡¯t doing it right. Maybe I was too far.


    As I leaned up against the wall, I heard a heavy door swing open, and then footsteps. I stood still, ready to transform. The bulky figure of a man came into view as he stood gazing at me from behind the cell door.


    When the light fell on his face, I nearly staggered back in shock. I knew that face. Thest time I had seen him was still fresh in my mind; it was the day I had almost been abducted but then saved by Niki. I had been so relieved when he didn¡¯t recognize me. Because I was scared he would bring me back to Father¡­ bring me back here.


    I was home. The very ce I never wanted to step foot in ever again. The ce I wanted to forget.


    But why? Why was I here? Did Father give the order, but he hated me so much so why would he want me back here?


    I looked at the man again to make sure it was him. And it was, I could remember that face anywhere. And from his scent, I could tell he was also one of the men who had kidnapped me.


    ¡°Wee back, princess,¡± He grinned at me,ughing when he saw the expression on my face. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t look so horrified. You should be happy, you¡¯re home again. We sure missed you, our very own merewoman. By the way, no one else makes samosas as good as you. Did you miss us? ¡±


    When I didn¡¯t reply, he roared withughter. I stared bitterly at him. I had never felt the urge to harm anyone, but in that moment I wanted nothing more than to rip his heart out.


    But I turned away until he left, stillughing. As I lowered myself to the floor, my mind racing, my eyes flew to the bars of the cell door. They weren¡¯t too strong and would be easy to break. But I knew I wouldn¡¯t get too far. I was outnumbered, they would rip me into pieces in seconds.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    So I ced my hands over my chest, rocking back and forth and trying not to break down in tears.

 Pain

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I woke up with a start from a sharp pain in my chest and a searing headache. My fingers rubbing my temple, I looked around. I was still seated in my living room. I groaned, noting that I must¡¯ve dozed off. Checking the time to see, I realized that I had dozed off for about thirty minutes. I smiled when I remembered I had been waiting for Liyah. Why did she take so long though?


    I stood from the sofa and walked into my bedroom. If she had also fallen asleep then there was where she would be. I turned the doorknob, freezing in my steps when I saw that the bed was still smooth without creases, I swept through the rest of the bedroom, the kitchen and the garden. There was still no sign of her. I wondered if she was with any of the rest, so I mindlinked Drew and the rest, asking if Liyah was with them. As soon as I did, Drew and Annalise came running down the stairs.


    ¡°Why are you asking for Liyah? Isn¡¯t she with you? She¡¯s not with any of us.¡±


    My heart skipped a beat as I clutched onto the sides of my jeans. Where could she possibly be? Still confused, I faced them. ¡°Check Eve¡¯s room, anywhere she might be.¡±


    I checked themon room, the kitchen, and every other room on the ground floor but she was nowhere to be found. Trying to calm myself, I awaited their arrival. When I saw the worried look on their faces as they descended the stairs, I started to panic.


    I took short breaths, trying hard to calm my heart which had already begun to beat wildly.


    She was in this house¡­ she was just here. She had to be.


    ¡°Where is she?!¡± I yelled, although I didn¡¯t mean to. ¡°When¡¯s thest time you saw her. Check¡­ scour through the mansion, find her.¡±


    I gripped the rails of the staircase, trying to breathe, trying to assure myself that Liyah was somewhere in this house. Nothing was wrong with her. Nothing. Maybe she was asleep somewhere else, I was just with her minutes ago, and the mansion is safe.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t find her,¡± I heard Drew say. ¡°Last we saw her she was with you having ice-cream. Where could she have gone? We¡¯ve searched everywhere. She¡¯s not in this mansion.¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­ maybe she just went for a stroll,¡± I said. But it sounded more like I was trying to convince myself.


    ¡°It¡¯s three in the morning, Niki. It¡¯s prettyte¡­¡± Annalise whispered. ¡°Whenst did you see her?¡±


    I swallowed. ¡°We were talking and she ran out of cherries. She said she was going to get some from the garden. And then I dozed off waiting for her¡­¡± Saying it out loud, I realized how stupid I had been. Why hadn¡¯t I gone with her? And I had fallen asleep as well.


    ¡°We should check the garden again, then.¡±


    I nodded shakily, following behind them as we made our way to the back of the house. Why was I feeling so jumpy? I wondered. Everything was fine.


    ¡°Niki?¡± Annalise called out. I shut my eyes tightly, the fear in her voice shook me to the core. I turned to see what she was pointing to and I nearly lost my bnce when I saw the bunch of plucked cherries scattered all over the floor.


    No.


    No, no.


    ¡°It seems like there was a struggle¡­ I-I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Anna trailed off, her handing up to rest on her chest. ¡°And I can¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t feel her presence in this house.¡±


    ¡°I think I found something,¡± We heard Drew say. I looked up to see him clutching something in his hand. It looked like some kind of jewelry. ¡°Niki¡­ I¡¯m so sorry. It has the Monhowl seal..¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Anna yelled, grabbing the ne to get a better view.


    I staggered backwards in shock as a horrifying image of events reyed in my head. The one person dearest to me, kidnapped. While she was pregnant. By the same person. History was repeating itself.


    My chest exploded as rage pumped through me. ¡°I¡¯LL FUCKING KILL HIM!¡±


    My hands shook as I transformed, my clothes ripping off my body. I would not let him take my happiness away from me. Not again. Not ever.


    ¡°Niki, stop!¡± Drew yelled, holding me back and I rushed to the gates. But I wasn¡¯t listening.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t get the fuck out of my way I¡¯ll do something I might regret.¡±


    ¡°Nik.. Niki he¡¯s right. We have to wait-¡±


    ¡°Out of my way!!¡± I pushed them both out of the way, my head spinning as by pushed the gates open.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Before I could get far they had pulled me back. ¡°Listen! I know you¡¯repletely furious at the moment but you need to listen.¡±


    I roared with anger, shing at them both as they overpowered me, pushing me back into the house and into my study and locking the door behind them.


    ¡°Let me go¡­ let me go¡­¡±


    I slumped to the floor, feeling my heart tighten in my chest. It was all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have let her go. I should have stayed with her. Why did I let my guard down?


    Why?


    Drew squatted next to me, cing a firm hand on my shoulder. ¡°You need to calm down-¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s pregnant. Okay? You don¡¯t understand¡­ she¡¯s pregnant!¡±


    They both exchanged looks.


    ¡°It was supposed to be a surprise. Can¡¯t you see history is about to repeat itself? I can¡¯t let that happen,¡± I clutched at my hair.


    Why did I let her out of my sight¡­ why?


    ¡°Niki.. look, if Jonas is behind this, then he¡¯s probably expecting this exact reaction. He¡¯s waiting for the moment you storm up to his territory, and he¡¯ll be right there waiting for you. He already knows how this is going to y out. And that¡¯s the exact reason why we can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± I heard Anna whisper as she wrapped her arms around my shoulder, grabbing a cloth from the sofa and covering me up. ¡°Trust me I want to storm down there and rip his heart out just like you do, especially now I know she¡¯s pregnant. But that would be a terrible move. You would put both yourself and Liyah in danger. Please..¡±


    I knew they were right. But she was there all alone. Anything could happen to her¡­


    ¡°So what am I supposed to do, just sit down and do nothing?¡±


    ¡°No. We have to analyse the situation first. Figure out why and how this happened. I think at this point it¡¯s obvious that Jonas must have had some inside help. We need to figure out who it is, then use that to our advantage.¡±


    An insider.


    I hadn¡¯t thought of that. But it made a lot of sense now. Someone must have been watching us this whole time. How else would they have known the exact time when she would be alone.


    My anger quickly resurfaced. When I found out whoever it was, I would rip them into pieces and make sure they suffered.


    ¡°And that way we¡¯ll make sure no harmes to Liyah. We¡¯ll bring her back¡­ and safe too.


    Slowly, I nodded, burying my head in my hands as I listened to Drew go through the n he hade up with.

 The reason

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    My head still spun wildly as I tried to sit up. I had been drifting in and out of consciousness since the first time I had awakened. Whatever they had drugged me with, it was very effective, and terribly so. I felt like my head would explode at this rate.


    The dungeon was not as dark as it was earlier. The light of the moon shone so brightly it was almost like a torchlight. Luckily the dungeon was not as dark as before and I didn¡¯t have to squint to see my own hands in front of me. I let my eyes rove through the room. It was huge, which only made it more lonely. I had only been in here once. And that was when I had dared pick a fight with Barbara. Father had punished me by keeping me in here for days without food. Not wanting to remember that experience, I pushed it out of my mind. I wasn¡¯t sure how long I had been in here, but I could tell it was a couple of hours.


    I silently prayed that the others were okay. If I was abducted then who knows what they might have done with the others? I calmed my beating heart, reassuring myself with the fact that they were capable of taking care of themselves.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    I heard the same heavy door push open a few secondster and I stood. I just hoped it wasn¡¯t the same ridiculous guard. My patience had already worn thin from ourst encounter. But to my surprise, I heard Father¡¯s voice boom through the passage as he approached my door. I moved away from the door. Why was I still scared of him? I had no reason to be. But I could feel the strings of fear tugging on my heart.


    The first thing he did when he walked in was burst intoughter when he sighted me. And for a second I felt like the insecure, insignificant little girl again. And it didn¡¯t help that Barbara stood right beside him, a scowl on her face.


    Father was stillughing when he approached me, looking me over from head to toe. ¡°So this is Liyah? Who brushed you up? Look, Barbara, your sister looks like she has even added a little bit of flesh,¡± He chuckled, pping both hands together as he struggled to control hisughter. ¡°Your face should be rated asedy.¡±


    For some reason, I felt tears sting the back of my eyes. I thought the longing for approval from him was long gone. But I could feel it, hear it in his voice. He despised me.. I was nothing but a big joke to him. Why wasn¡¯t I ever enough for him?


    I didn¡¯t realize when he hade face to face with me. I tried not to falter from his stare. ¡°You finally got what you wanted, didn¡¯t you? You found a rich man to seduce, and now you¡¯re living the life, eh? You even got him to propose to you, you slut!¡±


    He struck me full in the face before I could understand what he was talking about. My face stung from the pain as I swallowed back the blood that filled my mouth.


    ¡°And of all the idiots you could seduce, you picked Niki fucking de?!!¡± Hended another heavy blow to my cheek. As I reeled backwards, holding myself up with one hand on the wall, he dragged me back by my hair, making me cry out in pain.


    I lost count of the number of times he had struck me. So I shut my eyes, blood spilling out of my mouth as I took it all wordlessly.


    ¡°You dare attempt to spite me by fucking my greatest rival? You are the most pathetic person I have evere across,¡± Heughed. ¡°Was it your version of payback? If it was then sit back and enjoy the ride, because you have no idea what I have in store for you.¡±


    I felt anger beginning to pump through me at his words. I could feel Nova trying to take over, but I held her back. Even if I transformed now, I didn¡¯t stand a chance against Father and Barbara. They would overpower me, and then treat me as a real prisoner. And I couldn¡¯t let any harme to my baby. And that would happen if they ganged up on me. Right now I wasn¡¯t tied up with silver chains or gagged because they thought I was still a merewoman. I needed to keep it that way so when it was time to escape it would be much easier.


    So I kept silent, lowering my head as he spat at my feet. ¡°Daddy, let me take care of her. I promise to do a good job.¡± It was the first time Barbara was speaking since they came in.


    ¡°No, no. Not right now, darling. You¡¯ll have your time. Very soon.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how much I would enjoy strangling you to death right now,¡± He said to me. ¡°But not yet. I want your lover boy to watch as I tear you into tiny little pieces, knowing there¡¯s nothing he can do about it.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± He ordered. Barbara nodded, walking out behind him but not before giving me a hard kick in the chest.


    I winced in pain as I ced a hand to my chest, listening to the sound of their footsteps as they walked away. I rubbed my chest and then my stomach. At least they had not made any contact with my abdomen. My baby was safe. I was okay.


    As soon as their footsteps faded away, the sound of someone chuckling filled the small passage. rmed, I sprang to my feet ready to attack. Looking around, I saw that it wasing from the cell opposite mine. Puzzled, I tried to peek through to see who the voice belonged to. I hadn¡¯t heard any sounds from any other cells in the few hours that I¡¯d been here.


    My hand flew to my mouth when I saw Mira move into the moonlight, putting her battered face in full disy. For a second all my troubles were forgotten as I stared at her in shock. Her face was busted in many ces and her hair looked like half of it had been torn away. I flinched, imagining how painful that must have been.


    What on earth was she doing here, and why?


    ¡°Someone finally decided to grace us with her presence,¡± She sneered, eyeing me through the bars. ¡°And Jonas is right, you don¡¯t look so terrible. I¡¯m still wondering who taught you the act of seduction though. Care to share?¡±


    ¡°Why are you in here?¡± I asked, refusing to dwell on her sillyments. And then it clicked. ¡°You finally got caught didn¡¯t you? You and Mario.¡±


    Of course. That was the only reason why she could possibly be down here. When her face reddened in fury, I knew I was right.


    ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡± She snapped. ¡°I see you¡¯ve grown wings wherever it is you¡¯ve gone to. All your manners are gone. Oh well, I shouldn¡¯t be so surprised. Seeing as you¡¯re capable of catching men in your trap now,¡± She chuckled. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m d it worked. Because I can¡¯t see anyone wanting to marry you of their own free will. Especially since you¡¯re not even a real wolf. Now that would be embarrassing.¡±


    I felt my jaw tic as my hands clenched into fists. But I knew she was just trying to piss me off. And I wouldn¡¯t give in.


    ¡°Although sometimes I feel bad about what I did. And with your father hating you so much already it was pretty easy. But then I look at my Barbara and I¡¯m wowed. It was totally worth it.¡±


    I frowned. What was she even talking about?


    ¡°Ohe on, Liyah. Your innocence is adorable sometimes,¡± Sheughed. ¡°You know that part in movies where the vin starts to narrate the story of every bad thing they¡¯ve ever done at the ending of the movie? Yes, I¡¯m in that mood right now. After all, it can¡¯t get any worse than this,¡± She smiled, gesturing to herself. ¡°I¡¯m practically dead already. Everything I worked for is gone, so what¡¯s the point in keeping it a secret? I might as well go out with a bang, at least I¡¯ll be in your memory forever,¡± She winked.


    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡± I asked. She was just talking in circles.


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°You won¡¯t even let me have my dramatic finish? Fine. So your dad got married to me, there you are, nothing but an annoying reminder of your mother. Your dad hated you and that was great, but I needed my daughter to be the favorite, the next in line. And after weeks of plotting, I finally came up with the smartest idea; if you were a disgrace, not just to your father but the rest of the pack, then it would be easy. So I found myself a witch.¡±


    She paused to smirk at me and my chest tightened as I began to suspect where she was going with this. Witches were forbidden in the werewolf world. If anyone was caught mingling with one, they would be killed.


    ¡°So this nicedy cooked up this concoction, it was meant to weaken your wolf. Slowly, slowly, until it was suppressed forever. So I secretly fed it to you. Small things like your drink, you water, your food¡­ And voil¨¤, you¡¯re a merewoman. What more could your father need topletely despise you? You¡¯re basically useless.¡±


    ¡°It w-was you?¡±


    ¡°Smart right? I know.¡±


    A tear slid down my face as I pressed a hand over my mouth. My chest was burning.


    ¡°All this time, I felt useless¡­ like a nobody. I felt like there was something wrong with me. And it was you the whole time?¡±


    As the memories came flooding back, I felt a sharp pain attack my chest as my knees gave way. What wrong had I done to these people to deserve all of this? Why did they hate me so much even when I had never given them a reason to? I never hurt anyone, ever¡­


    But they had made me suffer so much¡­ let Nova suffer. For years.. why?


    As I continuously wiped the tears from my face, I heard Miraugh. ¡°Aww, don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t have to feel like a nobody anymore because in a few hours, you¡¯ll be dead.¡±


    As the sound of herughter filled my ears, I held myself back from shifting for the third time today and let myself slump to the floor.

 Batards

    Drew¡¯s POV


    Fear gripped my insides as I walked out of the study. I couldn¡¯t help but continuously me myself. Why did we leave them both alone? We should have been around, at least we would have been able to stop them before they went too far. But we didn¡¯t. And now Niki would not stop ming himself for everything. We were all at fault¡­ we should have been more watchful. If a spy had slipped into our territory unnoticed, it was because we had all let our guard down whilst making preparations for the wedding and the engagement party.


    I tried to hold myself steady, looking in Niki¡¯s direction every now and then to make sure he was okay. I couldn¡¯t imagine how he must be feeling. As we halted at the entrance of the hall where he had ordered every single pack member to assemble, Niki stepped forward. He had already masked his expression as that of anger, and I marveled at how well he was keeping it together.


    ¡°A couple of minutes ago, I found out that my would-be Luna has been kidnapped, right under our noses. A piece of jewelry bearing the Monhowl seal was found at the suspected point of abduction¡­¡±


    As Niki spoke, my eyes roved through the hall cautiously. I needed to somehow fish the odd person out. The omegas were generally not noticed, so it must have been easy for the spy to slip in unnoticed. I kept watchful eyes all over the room, trying to be as discreet as possible. If the spy realized we were on the lookout, our n would be ruined.


    ¡°And we need to make sure we bring her back, unharmed. We all know it¡¯s me Verbeck wants and not her. So we need to be prepared. We need to be ready for war, fully trained, to enable us put an end to this once and for all. On that note, every warrior shall assemble at the training ground at the break of dawn. We need to train, fish out our best men, and then when night falls, we strike! When they least expect it. And we¡¯ll bring her back.¡±


    I knew Niki could put on a show, but I didn¡¯t expect him to do it so well. He was lying through his teeth without batting an eyelid. For someone going through an emotional turmoil at the moment, it was pretty impressive.


    ¡°Get some rest, we all have a long day tomorrow. Dismissed!¡±


    As they all filed out, I slipped into themon room, watching carefully through the windows which gave a good view of the area. For a few moments, nothing happened. I creeped round to the other windows to check for any movements. When I found the perfect spot, I stood and I waited. A few minutes after Niki disappeared back into his room and the mansion quieted down, a figure covered in a cloak slipped out from the shadows. After surveying the area, the figure transformed, and fled.


    ¡®I¡¯m following behind him now. Ready the men to march in ten minutes,¡¯ I mindlinked Niki and Annie.


    ¡®Okay. Be careful.¡¯N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Quickly, I raced after the spy at a good distance. And just as I had suspected, he was taking the route to the Monhowl territory. I stayed behind, stealthily taking steps when he had gone a good distance away. He was doing exactly as I had predicted, reporting the fake orders Niki had given to Jonas. Which was why I told him to make the announcement.


    Finally, I made it. I hid myself in-between the trees and watched as the spy walked toward the front of the mansion. I nearly fell back in shock when I saw the hordes of guards that were assembled all around the mansion. They were awaiting us. I knew it. After a few moments of waiting, I saw Jonas emerge.


    ¡°He just made an announcement. He wants to be ready for war because he knows it¡¯s dangerous, so he¡¯s training his men first thing at dawn,¡± I heard the spy say. He had taken off his cloak now and I took note of his face.


    Jonas burst outughing. ¡°Meaning they attack at duskter today?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Right. He feels that it¡¯s better when night falls. When we¡¯re least expecting it.¡±


    Jonas roared withughter. ¡°That fool! How did he react when he saw our seal?¡±


    I frowned. Had they left the ne there on purpose?


    ¡°He was furious beyond reason, and he looked pretty torn upter on.¡±


    ¡°I knew leaving the seal was a perfect idea. The fear and shock when he realizes I took the woman he loved. Again,¡± Heughed.


    Jonas was even more despicable than I thought. I couldn¡¯t wait to take him down. He had been a menace for way too long. It was time to put an end to all this.


    ¡°Good, good. The first step had been achieved. Now, while he¡¯s busy preparing his best men, we¡¯ll do the same. And when he thinks he can strike with an ambush, we¡¯ll be waiting for them,¡± Jonas rubbed both hands together, pping the spy at the back.


    I felt anger surge through me. Bastard.


    Turning, Jonas waved all the guards away. ¡°Inside! Take all the rest you want while you can, because we have a bloodbath to n. Any man who weakens from a so-calledck of sleep will be cut up, courtesy of your Alpha.¡±


    As I watched all the guards scramble back into the mansion at his words, I shut my eyes in relief. The second part of our n had worked. Good.


    ¡°Thest mission you have before you return back here is to stay. Get up at the same time they do, watch them train, bring information about their strategy, their n¡­ and then just before they¡¯re ready to attack, report back here.¡±


    The spy nodded, putting his cloak over his head and bowing as he headed back. I hid in the shadows long enough to let him go a long way. And when the coast was clear, I followed behind.

 Fuck. This.

    Niki¡¯s POV


    Anna held my hand in a light squeeze as we waited for Drew to arrive. He had already mindlinked us saying that he was close by. I nodded at her, understanding all she was trying tomunicate to me. But I knew I would not be able to rx until Liyah was standing unharmed by my side. I signaled the pack to hide in the shadows as we heard footsteps approaching.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Anna and I did the same. A few secondster, a figure d in a cloak slipped into the courtyard. My wolf growled but I held back. We needed to be calctive. As soon as he was in the middle of the hall, I stepped out. The spy staggered back in shock. As he made to escape, Drew pushed at him from behind, dealing him with a deathly blow before he could recover from the shock. As I walked toward the man whoy on the floor squirming and begging, I shifted to my elbow. He yed a huge part in Liyah¡¯s abduction. He was part of the reason why she was not here with me.


    Kicking him up in the air, I held him forward by the cor. Without a second thought I dug my ws into his throat, shing a line in his neck as I let him fall to the floor. Quickly, I looked up at Drew questioningly.


    He nodded. ¡°Just like we suspected, they were awaiting us. But after the spy gave him our fake news he ordered his men back in. He expects us at dusk today because he thinks we are busy training. It¡¯s four-thirty in the morning now. If we start moving, we¡¯ll take them off guard in an ambush.¡±


    For the first time in the past few hours I was grateful that Drew and Anna had stopped me from the irrational decision that would have put us all in the line of danger, especially Liyah.


    I turned back to the rest of the pack. ¡°Let¡¯s march!¡±


    Quickly, they poured out of the mansion. Margaret and a few others had stayed back to protect the kids, I couldn¡¯t trust Jonas not to try anything stupid. But I was rest assured that if anything came up Margaret was capable of handling it. Moving past the pack until I got to the front, we marched through the night, the light of the moon leading us through. Finally we got to the Monhowl territory.


    Different emotions pumped through me; anger, sadness, anxiety. And fear, for my Liyah. For a second I wondered if she was okay. I shut my eyes, trying to mindlink her. My heart dropped, she was too far. But as I shut my eyes to try again, a warm feeling filled up my chest. I could feel her. I could feel her presence.


    ¡®She¡¯s alive,¡¯ I mindlinked Drew and Anna who stood in the opposite side of the trees nking the Verbeck mansion.


    ¡®Thank the goddess.¡¯


    A surge of hope filled me. Liyah was alive. There was still time to save her. My determination twice as strong, I motioned the rest, moving in the sequence we had nned. There were guards at the entrance of the mansion, but they were sound asleep. Stealthily, we surrounded the mansion, taking out every single guard on the outside.


    Drew and Anna approached me. ¡°I¡¯ll go find Liyah. I¡¯ll mindlink her, and as soon as I find her I¡¯ll let you know,¡± Anna said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll move with the rest of the pack, take out any other guards and take control of the other section of the mansion. If anythinges up, I¡¯ll let you guys know,¡± Drew offered.


    That left me with Jonas. I had no issues with that. ¡°Goodluck.¡± With onest nod to each other, we all went our separate ways.


    It was time to bring Jonas Verbeck down.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    ¡®Liyah.¡¯


    I gasped, sitting up when I heard my name. My eyes surveyed the room in one sweep. There was no one around. I slumped back against the wall in disappointment, pulling my hair away from my face as I tried to catch my breath. The wounds I had from Father¡¯s blows were just beginning to heal and so my face still hurt badly.


    ¡®Liyah?¡¯ I heard it again as my eyes began to droop. Alert now, I recognised it as Annalise¡¯s voice. Why would I hear her voice in my head? I wondered.


    Unless¡­


    I jumped to my feet, facepalming. I hadpletely forgotten about mindlinking. ¡®Annalise,¡¯ I tried.


    ¡®Liyah? Thank goodness. Where are you? We¡¯re currently in the Verbeck mansion. Stay put wherever you are and I¡¯lle get you.¡¯


    I nearly jumped out of my skin with joy. They were here to save me. They were here for me. ¡®I¡¯m in the dungeons. There¡¯s only one guard outside. I can take care of him and I¡¯ll meet you outside.¡¯


    ¡®Okay. Be careful.¡¯


    I nodded, although I knew she couldn¡¯t see me.


    ¡®Finally, some action!¡¯ I heard Nova say, making meugh out loud. I couldn¡¯t feel any happier, my family was here to save me. Because they loved me and they wanted to keep me. I wasn¡¯t a nobody. I mattered. To myself, and to them.


    And now, I needed to return to my family.


    The first smile forming on my face since my abduction, I walked to the exit of my cell. Gripping onto one part, I easily broke through the bars, kicking it down and moving out the dungeon. I could see Mira gape at me from her own cell.


    ¡°T-that-that¡¯s not possible!¡± She cried, staring at the cell door that had just fallen. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible. You¡­¡±


    I only smiled at her and kept going.


    ¡®We¡¯re just going to let this bitch go? After everything she did to us?¡¯ I could hear the anger in Nova¡¯s voice as she asked. I could also feel my anger radiating. Since I discovered Nova I had begun to get easily and increasingly angered or irritated. But there were more important things to do right now.


    ¡°I know, I feel the same. But she¡¯s not worth it. We just need to end all of this and get back home. Okay?¡±


    She grumbled. ¡®Not even a little¡­¡¯


    ¡°No,¡± I said. And I meant it.


    ¡°Wow, look who finally broke her little voodoo curse,¡± I heard Mira cackle, making me pause in my steps. I turned around. She had also broken through her cell. ¡°I knew that witch was a fake, I mean she did say it was unbreakable.¡± Stillughing, she looked me over, shaking her head. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing? Your wolf is obviously not mature yet. So what¡¯s your n exactly? Take your father out?¡± She apparently found her words so funny that she began tough.


    ¡®I need to teach this bitch a lesson.¡¯ I held Nova back. I couldn¡¯t give Mira the satisfaction of knowing that her words got to me. She wasn¡¯t worth it, I reminded myself. So I ignored her and kept going.


    ¡°Oh well. I guess it makes sense that you die young. You know what they say, like mother like daughter.¡±


    I froze. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to take control of myself. But my hands shook in anger. Like mother like daughter?


    Fuck. This.


    I turned. In less than a second I had gotten to her. Rage bubbling through me, I grabbed her up easily by the cor, pushing her hard against the cell repeatedly. She struggled in my grip, reaching out to w at my arm. But I didn¡¯t stop. Releasing her from my grip, I kicked her back up before she could reach the ground.


    She groaned in pain as blood oozed from her lips. ¡°Fuck you!¡± She yelled, crawling into her cell and kicking the bars down. I pulled her backwards by the legs, making her face me. All her words from earlier started to rey in my head. And for each hurtful thing, I rammed my fist into her face. As blood spurted from gashes in her face, my fingers shifted into ws which I nted deep into her chest.


    As she screamed in pain, I brought my ws to her throat. I needed to end this. After all she had hurt me. So much. But my hand only hovered over her neck. Finally, I pushed her away. I wouldn¡¯t do it. I¡¯d rather leave her here and let her drown in her own misery. She was half dead after all.


    With onest look at her, I rushed out of the dungeon. There was someone I needed to find.

 Damn

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    As I sprinted out of the dungeons, I checked for any sign of life in the cells I passed, but there was no one present. I knew that most times Nanny Maria was either in the cells or in the servant quarters depending on which mood Mira was in. I needed to find her. She was the only member of this pack that I cared about. As I made my way up the passages where I knew she usually was, I prayed that she was still alive and well. I could feel the blood pump in my ears as I kicked the door down and stepped in.


    My heart fell. The room was empty.


    No, no. Where else could she be? ¡°Maria!¡± I yelled into the deserted room. But there was no one around. My head spinning with different thoughts, I held onto the door to steady myself. Maria was alive. She is alive. And I was going to find her. I repeated the mantra in my head until I began to feel better.


    As I walked out the door, I heard someone sniff. I froze in my steps. It was short and ever so light. But I was sure I heard something. My eyes roaming round the room, I realized it wasing from the bathroom. Slowly, my fingers curled over the doorknob, and with my ws at the ready, I swung the door open.


    Maria sat huddled on the bathroom floor, her hands ced over her head as she shook all over, tears dripping down her chin to the front of her dress. ¡°P-please¡­¡± She whimpered.


    I felt tears prick the back of my eyes. She was so scared. Quickly I ced my arms around her. ¡°Nanny, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Her sobs finally subsiding, she turned to me, her eyes widening in recognition. ¡°Liyah?¡±


    I nodded,ughing as I tried to wipe my eyes. I enveloped her in another hug which she slowly melted into. At intervals she would pull away to look at me and then she wouldugh. ¡°Liyah¡­ you look amazing. I-I thought you were dead. I tried to look for you, but I didn¡¯t know w-where or how. I¡¯ve never felt so helpless,¡± A tear slid down her cheek as she shook her head. ¡°I thought I¡¯d lost you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Nana¡­¡± I pulled her into another hug, pulling her up as she wiped her tears. ¡°There¡¯s a lot I have to tell you, but not right now. We need to get you to safety first.¡±


    She nodded shakily. ¡°But where, Liyah? It¡¯s practically a war zone out there.¡±


    ¡°My family is out there,¡± I smiled. ¡°They¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you too. With their help we¡¯ll surely get you to safety, okay? I already lost you once. I¡¯m not losing you again.¡±


    When she nodded and intertwined her fingers in mine, I smiled at her, holding on tighter as we raced out of the room. I mindlinked Annalise telling her where I was and hoping she could find me in the middle of this uproar.


    I saw Nanny Maria¡¯s jaw drop when I kicked down an iron door that separated us from the west wing of the mansion. I shook my head before she could say anything. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll tell you everything. Let¡¯s get you somewhere safe first.¡± She nodded, dumbfounded, but I could see her nce at me at intervals.


    I was back to where I first began, close to the dungeons. I stood, trying to remember where the exit was. There was an emergency exit around here somewhere. I remember from when I was younger, I discovered it and since then anytime I wanted to escape Father¡¯s wrath I would slip out.


    ¡°Ah, look who decided to show up.¡±


    I instinctively pushed Maria behind me, looking up to see a smirking Barbara. She was d in a leather bodysuit, brandishing what looked like a whip in her hand. ¡°I mean, I knew you were stupid, but I didn¡¯t think you were that dumb,¡± Barbaraughed, cing a hand over her mouth.


    I chose not to respond to her taunts, an escape n formting in my head.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you got a chance to escape and you stupidly decided toe back?¡± Her eyes flew to Maria. ¡°For her? You both won¡¯t evenst a second on the battlefield. How stupid can you get?¡± Sheughed again. ¡°Well, I¡¯m notining. I wanted to be the one to kill you, and I¡¯m gonna enjoy every second of it.¡±


    As she approached us, I pushed Maria who had already begun to shake behind me. I knew she was Barbara¡¯s first target, because she knew hurting Maria would hurt me more. I¡¯d die before I let here near Maria. As I readied myself to transform, the sound of someone yelling grabbed my attention.


    Before I could process what was happening, Mira had appeared, stretching out her arm to w at me as she screamed curses at me. Before I had the chance to jump out of the way, a hand had already gripped her by the neck, kicking her back in and then dismembering her head from her shoulders in one snap.


    ¡°Mom!¡± I heard Barbara¡¯s piercing scream as she rushed over to where Annalise had kicked Mira¡¯s beheaded body. Annalise turned to me.


    ¡°Thank goodness I came when I did,¡± She said, frowning and turning to face me whilst wiping her bloody hand on her shirt.


    ¡°Annalise,¡± I yelled. I had never felt so happy to see anyone. Annalise was by my side in a second. Shepletely ignored Barbara¡¯s presence, leaning in to give me a tight hug.


    ¡°God, Liyah! I¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay. We were all so worried about you. Are you good?¡±


    I nodded, then turned to Maria. ¡°This is my friend Annalise. She¡¯ll take you to a safe ce. Okay? I trust her.¡±


    Annalise offered her a friendly smile and I couldn¡¯t help but feel something warm in my chest despite the raging war outside.


    ¡°You fucking bitch!¡± I turned to see Barbara fuming. ¡°I¡¯ll fucking kill you! All of you!¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Annalise regarded Barbarazily, looking at her for the first time. ¡°Want me to take care of this bitch?¡± She asked, looking Barbara over. It was weird watching someone else re at Barbara like that. It was usually Barbara doing the ring. But it felt strangely good.


    I shook my head. For years I had let Barbara walk all over me, disrespect me and treat me like shit. But I wasn¡¯t running, not anymore. So I turned to Maria, cing her hand in Annalise¡¯s.


    ¡°Go,¡± I whispered to her. ¡°Go!¡±


    Annalise held my hand. ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    I swallowed, turning to nce at Barbara who was still bent over her mother¡¯s body. ¡°Yes. This is something I have to do on my own.¡±


    Pulling me in for a hug, Annalise squeezed my arm. ¡°Come back in one piece,¡± She smiled. Turning back, she gripped Maria¡¯s hand in hers and I watched them race out.


    ¡°What the fuck do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Barbaraughed, finally getting up and facing me. ¡°Is this you attempting to put up a fight?¡± She chuckled. ¡°I know you have some childhood trauma that includes me, but if you think you¡¯re the star of some cheesy television show then I¡¯m sorry for you. But nevertheless, I¡¯m gonna enjoy this.¡±


    Smirking, she pulled her hair away from her face and cracked her knuckles.

 End this

    Niki¡¯s POV


    ¡®Niki?¡¯


    My heart skipped a beat when Anna¡¯s voice filled my head in a mindlink. I stopped in my tracks, my breath caught in my throat, praying silently that she was about to deliver good news.


    ¡®I can hear you Anna, what¡¯s up? Did you¡­¡¯ I paused, not knowing what exactly to ask. My insides churned as I waited for her response.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡®We¡¯ve found Liyah, she¡¯s alright.¡¯


    I felt my heart muscles loosen at the sound of those words, my clenched fists rxed and I heaved a sigh of relief. Thank the goddess. Liyah was alive. She was safe. Everything would be alright now.


    ¡®Okay. That¡¯s very good.¡¯ I breathed


    ¡®Drew says our soldiers have already rounded more than half of the Monhowl pack, a lot are dead and the few who are wounded are surrendering.¡¯ She sounded in my ears.


    I scoffed. So these were the best fighters of Monhowl. Pathetic.


    ¡®Okay. I¡¯ll need you to help him gather all the prisoners, maybe into their dungeon or something then wait for mymand.¡¯ I said and broke the mindlink. It was time to settle old scores, once and for all.


    I was tempted to think that Jonas had gone into hiding but I killed the thought immediately. He was much too egotistical to run away. If there was one thing I knew about Jonas, it was that he would rather die than give you the satisfaction of thinking you had won. And that was exactly why he was going to die today.


    I had searched the entire mansion stealthily and there was still no sign of him. There was only one ce left; the garden.


    Cautiously, I took long strides, moving past the halls and toward the garden as I watched for any traps. This was beginning to get too easy, and it was a bit unsettling. I still couldn¡¯t believe we had taken over nearly half of the mansion. I knew the ambush gave us an advantage. But still, something seemed off.


    And then I saw him.


    Jonas Verbeck, sitting on the garden bench and drinking tea so peacefully, like his entire pack wasn¡¯t under siege, like all his betas hadn¡¯t just been killed, like he had no idea what was going on.


    What the hell was happening?


    But when he turned to look at me with an amused expression, I knew something was definitely up. I extracted my ws, anger brewing inside me at the sight of him.


    ¡°Ah, we meet again. For a moment there I thought you had ditched me. Care for some tea?¡± He asked, motioning to the jug. ¡°It¡¯s cold now and the leaves are extremely difficult to pick but very refreshing. What do you say?¡± He asked, smirking while lifting the teacup by his side.


    ¡°VERBECK!¡± I growled, shaking with fury. He had the balls to joke? I would make sure his death was slow and painful.


    He faked a frown.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no then. Oh well, I tried didn¡¯t I?¡± He smiled and adjusted on the garden chair. ¡°You look good by the way, de. After ourst meeting at the office, I thought your big head would have blown off your shoulders by now. So well done. Although I still think registering for anger management ss would do you some good, don¡¯t you?¡± He said brushing a piece of leaf from his hair.


    I gave a thin smile. ¡°Staying alone out here was a big mistake, Jonas. You¡¯re going to regret it.¡±


    Heughed loudly.


    ¡°Oh Nikky. Niki de, still ying hero, even after all these years. How history repeats itself.¡± He smirked again.


    My head boiled hot and my heart clenched in agony. ¡°Nothing is repeating itself you fucking bastard!¡± I growled furiously.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± He asked, dropping the tea cup. The pretentious smile had disappeared. ¡°So you think that just because you brought a group of midgets here with you, that you¡¯ll walk out of this ce alive?¡± He gave a cold high pitchedugh. ¡°Then you must be more stupid than I give you credit for, de.¡± He spat, getting to his feet.


    ¡°y time¡¯s over, Verbeck.¡± I breathed through gritted teeth. My eyes flew to his feet as I watched for any sudden movements. By now I already knew what a cunning bastard he was.


    His eyes shed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, de, I won¡¯t kill you just yet. I¡¯ll make you beg for the mercy of death. I will make you watch while I take your lover¡¯s life. You¡¯ll see her suffer just like the woman before her. You¡¯ll watch her take herst breath and who knows? I might even get some of the boys to recreate Elle¡¯s death, if you know what I mean,¡± He winked at me, his lips curling into a smile.


    That was the height of it all. The sound of my wolf growling filled my ears. I felt my clothes rip as I transformed but it was different this time, my arms were much bigger, my fangs and ws were longer and sharper than normal and I felt much more stronger than I usually would feel after shifting. Even though I couldn¡¯t see myself I could tell that I was now about two times the size of Jonas. And he was a giant. I had never transformed into this beast before but I was too furious to think.


    As I dived in his direction, I figured I was even faster now. I closed my jaw over the side of this stomach, my fangs digging into flesh and blood, spitting out the flesh from my mouth which was dripping with his blood.


    He staggered back with one hand applying pressure on the wound now gushing with blood. It was was not healing. With a look of shock and pain in his face, he roared as his eyes changed into that of his wolf- bright red. His ears stretched out and his fangs appeared, he let out a loud angry growl, extended his ws and charged at me.


    He made the first move. Using his now smaller size to his advantage, hended a powerful scratch on my back.


    I let out a groan and staggered back but quickly regained my bnce. I couldn¡¯t lose focus. No.


    He charged again but this time I was ready. We were locked in a wrestle, both of us breathing hard refusing to break eye contact, then I scratched him on the stomach, in the same spot.


    He groaned and retaliated, scratching the side of my face. I lost bnce and fell and Jonas pounced. Jumping on me and looking tond another blow.


    But as he raised his ws to scratch, he let out a loud groan and fell over and a hand pulled me to my feet. I wiped the blood from my eyes to look at my helper. But instead of Drew¡¯s short, ck hair, I saw the long light-brown hair of a man that seemed so familiar. I searched his eyes for any sign of recognition and when he smiled at me, it clicked.


    It was him. The same man who had saved my life when I was stabbed by Jonas¡¯ traffickers with silver. The same man who had disappeared when I tried to thank him. I had almost forgotten about him. But what on earth was he doing here?


    ¡°You..?¡± I breathed still staring at him in surprise.


    ¡°You¡¯re wee,¡± He replied. ¡°Let¡¯s end this.¡± He said as we both faced Jonas who was struggling to get to his feet. He staggered back in shock when his eyes fell on the man by my side.


    ¡°Gabriel?¡± Jonas asked, his voice hoarse. ¡°What the fuck are you doing here?! I thought I told those bastards to kill you.¡± His chest heaved as he and the man stared each other down while I stood confused.


    ¡°Do I really have to do everything myself?¡± Jonas said coldly. ¡°Oh you¡¯ll just have to die again then!¡± He growled.


    Gabriel scoffed but said nothing.


    ¡°What are you waiting for you fuckers?! Come on!¡± Jonas yelled.


    Gabriel growled as he transformed and extended his ws as we both charged. I was a big ck beast and Gabriel was smaller, about the size of Jonas but his mane was light brown and huge.


    We both pounced,nding blows at the same time, both of us catching each side of Jonas¡¯ face. The impact sent him reeling as he roared painfully,nding heavily on the grass. I could see the blood oozing from the gash in his head as I approached him.


    It was time to end this.


    It all happened too quickly for me to grasp. One second I was bending over Jonas ready to strike, the next he had somehow picked up the garden bench and dived towards me. I was caught off guard as he struck a defeaning blow to my back before I could block it. My whole body numbed from the pain as the bench was crushed into pieces on my back.


    I fell to the floor, blood oozing from my mouth as I tried to crawl to my feet. Thest thing I felt was my body shifting back to my human form, and then everything went ck.

 nothing

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I counted my steps as Barbara and I circled each other, everything I had learned during training resurfacing in my head. I knew she was waiting for the perfect chance to strike, but for now she wanted to stall, make me wait before she came at me. I knew she was confident¡­ the glint in her eyes and the way she was walking calmly as though she were strolling told me she was. And I knew it was because she didn¡¯t think I stood a chance against her. She didn¡¯t know I had a wolf now.


    That, was my advantage. She was confident enough that she thought I would be dead in a heartbeat. But she wanted to take her time, taunt me and toss me around before she could really enjoy tearing me into pieces. Which was why I yed along. Since she didn¡¯t know I was a full werewolf now, why tell her? I would only wait. Wait for her to make a mistake.


    Then I would y my hand.


    ¡°Oh, step sister, this will have to be the most interesting thing that has happened in this pack for a long time,¡± Sheughed, her eyes quickly moving to my feet to ascertain the pattern I was moving in. But I already knew what she was up to.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m d you find my presence entertaining,¡± I spat, unable to control myself. I had been quiet for way too long.


    Barbara looked genuinely surprised. ¡°Wow, look who grew some balls. Good for you, sister..¡±


    As thest word rolled out her tongue, her arm extended to my face, swinging in what would have been a deathly blow if I hadn¡¯t seen iting. I quickly swerved to the right, her fist missing my jaw by a hair¡¯s breadth. But I didn¡¯t try to attack. Instead I moved out of her way and faced her once more, my fists at the ready.


    I saw her cock an eyebrow as she faced me once more. Quickly regaining her position, sheughed again walking toward me. ¡°Okay, keep running like the rat you are. It¡¯ll do you no good.¡±


    She jumped at me again, swinging at my stomach this time, but I jumped out of the way before it could do any harm. Then I moved away again. Now, I saw that she was beginning to get irritated. She would soon lose it, then I would strike.


    Barbara faced me, her fists clenching as she red at me. ¡°Okay Liyah, ytime¡¯s over.¡± This time I didn¡¯t move away. And when she swung her fist at me, I caught it midway in the air. I held it in a tight grip, watching in satisfaction as shock etched on her face. Her eyes wide in shock and fury she tried to pull her hand out of my grip to no avail.


    She tried to counter with a kick to my stomach but I had already foreseen this and so I was ready. Inded a sharp kick to her knee, and then her stomach, watching in satisfaction as she flew to the end of the hall, crying out and clutching at her knee from the impact.


    She quickly scrambled to her feet still clutching her knee as she stared at me, her eyes wide. ¡°W-what was that? What the fuck was that?¡± She yelled ring at me in disbelief. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s not possible.¡±


    I knowingly stared at her with my wolf eyes, and in that moment of realization she staggered back, shaking her head. ¡°No¡­ y-you have a wolf? That¡¯s not fucking possible. How?!¡±


    For the first time, I stood before Barbara and I did not try to crouch in fear. I didn¡¯t care if my words pierced her or if she got furious. I was brave and strong. And most importantly¡­ I was myself.


    ¡°I would¡¯ve told you to ask your mother, but we both know that¡¯s not possible.¡±


    She yelled in anger, rushing towards me and tackling me to the floor. ¡°Fucking bitch!¡± I regained myposure, kicking her full in the face and pushing her backwards. The sound of her nose crunching beneath my feet melded with her screams. And as I jumped to my feet, I watched her try to stop the blood which spilled heavily from her nose.


    ¡°You know, Barbara¡­ your mother was a monster, but she was smart. She knew I was going to outshine you,¡± I spat. ¡°She knew I¡¯d be stronger, faster¡­ I¡¯m the first daughter of the Alpha after all. From his real mate. She saw me as a threat,¡± Iughed, my eyes stinging as I realized something. ¡°That¡¯s why she made me feel like a nobody, because she knew I would be great¡­ she knew I was somebody.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck are you going on about?!¡± Barbara snapped, struggling to get to her feet as her hand still clutched her nose.


    ¡°Mira paid off a witch to prepare a concoction. She secretly slipped this into my food, my drink, to suppress my wolf. That¡¯s why my wolf never emerged.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying! You¡¯re fucking lying. You¡¯re just saying all of this to make yourself feel better.¡±


    I smiled bitterly at the expression on her face. ¡°It¡¯s true, you can choose to believe it or not. So all these years you thought you were just destined to be powerful, or special, you¡¯re really not.¡±


    ¡°Shut up,¡± She said, her voice shaky.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t, neither was there anything ever special about you, Barbara. You are nothing but a big, fat, conceited bully. And that¡¯s all you¡¯ll ever be.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°SHUT UP!!¡±


    ¡°No. Those days of you shouting over me and disrespecting me, those days are over.¡± I stood, my fists raised when I saw her stealthily approach me. She furiously wiped her nose and walked toward me, her eyes wild.


    ¡°You know what, Liyah?¡± Sheughed. ¡°None of this shit matters. You¡¯re a nobody and you¡¯ve always been. I have never, ever felt threatened by you. And I never will. And I¡¯ll tell you one thing, sister¡­¡± She spat out thest word. ¡°I do not need to transform to beat you. You are beneath me! You always have been. I¡¯ll tear you into tiny little pieces while in my human form. That¡¯s how insignificant you are.¡±


    Her words didn¡¯t sting, they just portrayed just how proud she was. Even after realizing I was a full werewolf, she would rather die than prove that she had to transform to beat me. Well, it was in my own benefit. It would make everything a whole lot easier.


    ¡°So you discovered your wolf a few weeks ago and you¡¯ve probably learned one or two tricks and you feel like some kind of warrior. You¡¯re a fucking idiot!¡± She pounced on me in seconds, raising an arm to gut me in the stomach but I blocked it off, raising my palm to her face in a hard p. She fell backwards, rubbing the side of her face in pain.


    She yelled in frustration and dived at me again. I raised my arm to block off her hit but I was taken by surprise when I was shoved so hard that I fell to the floor. My eyes widened in surprise.


    She had transformed.


    Before I could react, she had shed her ws at my chest. I staggered backwards from the pain, trying to block off her next blow, but she was too fast. In a split second she hadnded two sharp blows to my jaw. I shut my eyes from the pain, spitting out the blood that filled my mouth and wiping my lips as I stood.


    Laughter bubbled in my stomach as I stared at her pathetic figure. ¡°I knew you were a coward. All of you are cowards. Your dad, your mom. I thought you didn¡¯t need to transform huh? You can¡¯t even handle me, a nobody?¡±


    My arms shifted as my ws protruded. It was time to end this.


    I carefully approached her. ¡°All of you¡­ you¡¯re deceitful, cowardly, low-life pieces of shit!¡± My ws swung to her neck, shing a long thin line across her throat.


    I watched her stagger backwards, choking as she raised a hand to her neck, trying to apply pressure to the wound. As she coughed violently, blood from her throat dribbled down her lip.


    Watching her struggle, anger pumped through my chest. I remembered how scared I had been of her and Mira. How they used to beat and torture me¡­ throw me into the dungeon for days without food because I forgot to iron Barbara¡¯s dress. How they pped me around, taunted me, made jokes about my mom. I was theughing stock of the entire pack¡­ everybody looked down on me and treated me like shit.


    A tear spilled from my eyes as I dragged Barbara by the hair, bringing her face violently to my knee repeatedly until my pants were coated in her blood. Her knees gave way as she fell to the floor. I could hear her shallow breathing as she tried to crawl away from me. I pulled her back by her hair, and with onest nce at her, I held onto her neck, the sound filling my ears as I snapped her neck. Finally her body fell to the floor.


    And as I wiped my hand on my shirt, staring at the bloody mess that was once my stepsister, I wasn¡¯t sure how I was going to feel. I thought I would feel sorry for what I had done¡­ maybe I would feel guilt or remorse..


    But as I stared at Barbara¡¯s corpse, I felt nothing.


    Absolutely nothing.

 trigger

    Niki¡¯s POV


    I could feel the heavy swelling in my right eye as I slowly regained consciousness. I knew I had only been knocked out for a few minutes but I could feel my head spinning. I clutched at the grass, trying to pull myself to my feet but my hands were too shaky. I fell back heavily onto the grass, expelling sharp breaths as my chest started to burn.


    A piercing scream made me look in the direction of the sound and I looked up to see Jonas digging his fangs into the other man¡¯s side. I gasped in shock, trying once more to stand to my feet. I had almost forgotten that the man called Gabriel hade to my rescue. As I tried to crawl over there, I saw Jonas ram his fists into Gabriel¡¯s face¡­ over and over again until he finally stilled, his damaged face buried into grass as he fell from Jonas¡¯ grip.


    No, no, no.


    ¡°No!¡± I yelled, grabbing Jonas¡¯ attention to me. As long as he was yet to snap his neck off his shoulders, there was still hope. Maybe he could be saved. Jonas swung around to face me, smiling as he kicked Gabriel¡¯s body further away from him. And then he approached me. I tried to get to my feet but Jonas was faster.


    He pulled his hair away from his face as he scoffed. ¡°I have waited for this very moment for years. When you would finallyy at my feet and beg for mercy.¡± Heughed again, and then rammed his foot into my neck. I gasped from the shock and pain, my hands weakly tapping on his foot. But he only pressed harder¡­ until I felt blood begin to drip from my neck.


    ¡°You know, I had my doubts at first when they informed me that you were The almighty Silver Ghost,¡± Heughed. ¡°But now I¡¯m sure. There was proof. And you know what I thought? So Niki fucking de was the one behind all of this? You flipped my business on its back for years. And you had the guts toe in here and expect to leave alive and well? How dare you?!¡± He kicked me in the gut, making me roll over from the pain.


    ¡°I wanted to make you watch while I hack your beloved into pieces. Then leave you to live and feel the pain for the rest of your life. But no, I¡¯m gonna enjoy killing you with my own hands. You¡¯ve had it a long timeing, anyway. And then when I¡¯m done with you, you know whates next?¡± He asked, roaring withughter. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill her too, that is of course if she isn¡¯t already dead.¡±


    He apparently found it so amusing that he began to cackle loudly. ¡°You are so fucking pathetic, de.¡±


    I felt my heart clench with agony. So this was how it was going to end¡­ For years I had been in pain, I had tortured myself, harboured all of this pain¡­ and now the cause of all my problems was right in front of me, I still couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    I shut my eyes in defeat, feeling the pain shoot through my body. Maybe this was how it was meant to end. Maybe I wasn¡¯t destined to win this battle against Jonas. He had taken everything away from me once¡­ made me lose everything I ever cared about, including myself. And now¡­ he was doing it again.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    As I watched Jonas extract his ws, I shut my eyes tightly. I wished I had done more, I wish I had said more. I wish I didn¡¯t have to feel so¡­ helpless.


    But I shut my eyes and clenched my fists as I waited for the final blow.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    As soon as I turned away from Barbara¡¯s body, I felt a sudden feeling stab me in the chest. It was overpowering but not painful. I leaned against the wall, my hands ced over my chest as I tried to understand this feeling.


    And then it hit me.


    Niki was in danger. I could feel it, almost like it called out to me. I had never had this feeling before but I was sure about it. I could feel that he was in despair. And it was so powerful that I began to feel the same. My palms were sweaty as I turned back to the top of the stairs. I needed a weapon. And I knew where Father kept his weapons. Trying to keep steady, I ran up the stairs and into the study, my eyes roaming the room for the familiarpartment.


    As I pulled the curtain away from one corner of the wall, I saw it. A see-throughpartment, a collection of guns enclosed in it. I rammed my elbow into it, shattering the ss into pieces and then I began to search. But a particr gun caught my eyes. I carefully picked it up, popping it open to reveal a single silver bullet.


    My hands burned as I held the bullet in my hand and I quickly put it back in its ce. It would do. As I backed away from thepartment I wobbled out of the office, my chest still aching. The feeling was getting worse by the second. I needed to get out of here. As I ran out, I fell back in surprise, backing away when I saw two guards emerge from the other end of the hall. From the seal around their necks I knew they were Monhowl pack members.


    I quickly ducked back into the office but it was toote. They had already seen me. Sighing, I tossed the gun behind the door, rushing to the weapon cab to grab anything I could use. The first thing my fingers touched was a mace and immediately I transformed, picking it up. The guards had alreadye into the office.


    Making the first move, I jumped at them, swinging the mace which caught one of them in the forehead. I immediately shoved him sending him flying across the room as he fell to the floor. The other one was more difficult. He grabbed the wooden desk, flinging it at me. I gasped from the pain. I hadn¡¯t moved out of the way on time. Thinking quickly I ducked to the floor, pulling his leg toward me and burying my fangs in his foot. He screamed in agony clutching at his feet.


    As soon as he fell to the floor, I picked up the gun and raced out to the garden where I knew Niki would be. My eyes widened when I saw Father bending over him, his ws ready to dig into him.


    I growled trying desperately to move his attention away from Niki. It worked, as he immediately turned to me, a confused expression forming on his face. Of course, he didn¡¯t know who I was. Slowly, I shifted back to my human form.


    I watched him stagger backwards in shock as he stared at me. And then I saw it. That look in his eyes. The shock¡­ the disbelief in those eyes when he saw that I was a full werewolf just like anyone else, when he realized that I was worth something¡­ that I was much better, greater than he thought I would ever be. And it was enough. It was all I needed to see.


    Pulling out the silver gun before he couldprehend what was happening, I cocked the gun and aimed at his head.


    And then I pulled the trigger.

 over

    Niki¡¯s POV


    As I waited with my eyes shut for a final blow that never came, it all happened at once. One second Jonas was staring at something on the other side of the garden, the next he had slumped to the floor, blood gushing from the hole in his forehead. Still in shock, I stared at Jonas¡¯ unmoving body on the floor through my heavy lids, and then I looked to the other end of the garden. That¡¯s when I saw her. Liyah dropped the gun from her hand, racing towards me in a split second.


    ¡°Niki¡­¡± She breathed, cing a hand behind my head for support. ¡°Drew and Annalise will be here soon, okay? I mindlinked them already. Just hold on¡­¡±


    I smiled, feeling my busted lip ache, but I didn¡¯t care. Liyah was here¡­ leaning over me and smoothening out my hair. She was here¡­ she was alive.


    And Jonas was dead.


    It felt like a dream. Everything had happened so fast, I wasn¡¯t even sure it had happened. My chest was burning, and everything was beginning to get blurry. But that was okay.


    Liyah was here. She was alive.


    ¡°Hold on for a while, okay? You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Liyah whispered in my ear, kissing the only part of my face that wasn¡¯t bloody. As she continued to rub my arm, Drew and Anna emerged. They were at my side immediately.


    ¡°God, Niki. What happened?¡± They took one look and Jonas¡¯ corpse and the gun on the floor and I saw them exchange looks.


    ¡°Shit, you¡¯re losing a lot of blood. Let¡¯s get you home,¡± Anna said, moving to my side as she and Drew prepared to lift me.


    My eyes flew to Gabriel whoy covered in blood as he dangled off a whole. I raised my arm as much as my broken bones would permit, pointing toward his body. ¡°Bring¡­ bring him too,¡± I managed to say.


    ¡°Who is he?¡± Drew asked, moving to the body. ¡°Fuck, he looks pretty bad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure either. But he saved my life. Twice.¡±


    At that Anna nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask the guards to bring him along.¡± I could only nod weakly. ¡°I mindlinked some of the others back at the mansion. The car will be here in a few minutes, okay? Just hang on. It¡¯s over.¡±


    I held tighter onto Liyah¡¯s hand as my felt myself get weaker and weaker. But Anna was right.


    It¡¯s over.


    Liyah¡¯s POV


    It was only after I walked through the doors of my home that I realized how good it felt to be home, with people who cared. I smiled so hard that I forgot about all the bruises on my face. They had already started healing.


    ¡®Feels good doesn¡¯t it?¡¯ I heard Nova ask.


    I chuckled. ¡°It does. It really does.¡± It was good to home. I would no longer be tortured by thoughts of Father¡­


    No. I would no longer by tortured by thoughts of Jonas and Barbara Verbeck. I could live peacefully now, I no longer felt like I wasn¡¯t enough.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    I am enough.


    No longer did I have to toss and turn at night at those painful memories. No longer did I feel that pain in my chest, or the need to be validated by either of them. I was¡­ happy. Only now did I understand what true happiness felt like. And it was the best feeling in the world.


    I felt a weight lift off my chest as tears stung the back of my eyes. I felt¡­plete. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this,¡± I gasped, bringing a hand to my mouth. This was really happening.


    ¡®Better believe it, baby.¡¯


    I chuckled at Nova¡¯s words, wishing there was a way to hug her. ¡°I¡¯m d I¡¯ve got you, Nova. I mean it.¡± She made me feel better about myself, she made everything looked lighter and easier than it really was. I blessed the day I discovered her. She really was my guardian angel.


    ¡°Liyah?¡±


    I looked up to see Margaret standing at the top of the stairs. When I turned to face her she literally raced down the stairs and pulled me into a hug the moment she got to me. ¡°Liyah! You¡¯re okay¡­¡± She pulled away, fixing me with a questioning nce, and I knew she was asking how it had gone.


    Tears spilling out of my eyes, I nodded. ¡°It¡¯s over, Margaret. It¡¯s over¡­¡±


    Saying it out loud to someone else made it sound only more real. ¡°I-It¡¯s over¡­ it¡¯s over..¡± I trailed off, breaking down in tears as I lowered myself to the floor.


    My chest tightened painfully as I sobbed. For everything I had gone through. All those days, nights¡­ the bad days where I wanted nothing but to disappear or die in my sleep, those days when I never wanted to get out of bed again. Those times where I felt helpless¡­ those times where it felt like I would never know real happiness. The pain, the shame, the tears. The bad events that always ured when it seemed like everything was going fine.


    It was over.


    As Margaret lowered herself next to me and let me cry on her shoulder, I knew everything would be okay.

 content

    Liyah¡¯s POV


    I tightened my arm over Niki¡¯s torso, leaning into him and not wanting to let go. I still felt eternally grateful to have him standing by my side alive and well. His wounds had been so bad that he had fallen unconscious for days. Margaret and I had to work day and night to treat him, mixing concoctions and applying them on him and the other man he had asked us to bring back with him. He still hadn¡¯t told us anything about the strange man. His wounds were nearly fatal, ten times worse than the ones Niki had sustained. I didn¡¯t know who he was but I was praying he would be okay.


    Niki chuckled and it sounded like music to my ears. It felt good to hear hisughter again. ¡°Li, I know you love me and that you¡¯re happy to have me back, but now you¡¯ve got me thinking you¡¯re nning to send me back into aa.¡±


    Iughed, loosening my hold on him. ¡°Do you have any idea how long it¡¯s been since I touched you or even smelled your hair? Let me have my moment,¡± I joked, pulling a face.


    He huffed. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all you missed? Any chance you missed that other thing¡­? Big, hard and stro-¡±


    I stopped him by throwing a pillow in his face as he began tough. ¡°Your foul mind belongs in the gutters,¡± I giggled.


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    I wrapped my arms around him once more. Everything was going great. It was back to normal. He had recovered a few days ago, and once he was okay to move around, he apanied me to the Monhowl territory to gather some things I needed to get. I didn¡¯t feel good one bit going back there, but I know I needed to.


    Since the Selene pack had overthrown  the alpha of the Monhowl pack, Niki had automatically be the new alpha of both packs. But he decided that he wanted to do things differently. The first thing he did when we got there was gather all the pack members left. There weren¡¯t a lot of them as most of them had died in battle. And Niki had made sure that I picked out all of those who had hurt me in anyway. When I did that he was satisfied. He ordered them to assemble, first introducing himself and me as his Luna. I still remember the blush that creeped up my cheeks at those words.


    He had exined the whole thing, and asked anyone who didn¡¯t want to be a part of the pack to leave now. He promised that no consequences would be involved if they decided to leave. But to my greatest surprise, no one moved an inch. It wasn¡¯t news that Jonas had terrorised nearly all the packs in the werewolf world just so he could be on top. And his pack was not excluded. Maybe they needed a change of governance¡­ better, healthier leadership. Niki had ordered that they move over to our mansion to adjust as they would live there from now on. And everyone seemed okay with that.


    When we were done with the pack meeting, I made my way to my old room. Once there I gasped in surprise as I moved to the other end of the room. Right there in a small cage was my little pixie kitten, Jada. Jada was a full-grown cat now. And it seemed like she recognized me because as soon as I broke the cage open she jumped at me and into myp. After I had scoured through the house, I picked out the portrait of my mother and a ne I found in her old room which apparently belonged to her.


    We drove home the same day, our new pack members in tow. And after a meeting with Margaret, Drew and Annalise, Niki decided on a use for the Monhowl mansion. He would use it as a home for the werewolves he had saved from trafficking. The underground mansion was safe, but now they no longer had anything to fear Niki decided it would be best for them to be in the open, interact with others of their kind, breathe clean air, and make friends.


    And that was fine by me.


    I snuggled deeper into his chest as we bothy on the sofa infortable silence.


    ¡°Guys?¡±


    We both looked up to see Drew standing at the door. Gesturing to Niki, he said, ¡°Your friend is finally awake,¡± He said simply, curiosity clear on his face. I guess I wasn¡¯t the only one curious about this friend of Niki¡¯s.


    We exchanged looked and Niki stood. ¡°Do you want toe as well?¡± He asked me. I didn¡¯t want to seem too interested so I pretended to think about it. I saw Drew smirk at me knowingly, making meugh. Finally I shrugged and then we walked to the room.


    It took all I had in me not to gasp when I saw the man¡¯s face. He looked¡­ terrible. My face ached as I stared at him and I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine how much pain he was in. He slowly opened his eyes, first facing Niki. He gave a crooked smile. ¡°Hello, friend.¡±


    To my surprise, Nikiughed. ¡°How are you feeling? It¡¯s Gabriel right? I¡¯m Niki.¡±


    Gabriel nodded, carefullyying back on the pillow. ¡°You¡¯re pretty banged up. It¡¯ll take a while to heal so you¡¯d have to take bed rest for at least three weeks,¡± Margaret said.


    He nodded. ¡°Thank you so much for everything. I didn¡¯t expect to be alive right now. Thank you all. Really.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, you don¡¯t need to thank us. You can see it as me repaying the favor. You saved my life twice, after all.¡±


    After he had smiled at Niki, his eyes surprisingly turned to me. Suddenly ufortable, I muttered a hi to him. But he continued to stare until pretty much everyone in the room noticed.


    ¡°You have your mother¡¯s eyes,¡± He finally said.


    I stared at him in disbelief. For a moment I wondered if the damage to his body was having an effect on him, but I could tell he was serious from his expression.


    ¡°You knew my mother?¡± I asked, holding onto Niki¡¯s arm for support. But I wasn¡¯t sure. I stared at Gabriel in wonderment. He didn¡¯t look a day above thirty. When he caught me staring at him, heughed.


    ¡°I know that look. I get it all the time. I¡¯m forty-three years old this year, to be exact.¡±


    I was pretty sure I wasn¡¯t the only person in the room who gasped. Niki and I exchanged looks and I could see Drew and Annalise do the same from across the room.


    When I had recovered from that surprising piece of information, I asked. ¡°Did you really know my mother?¡±Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    He nodded. ¡°And not just her, your father too. As a matter of fact, Jonas was my half-brother.¡± At the surprise on my face, heughed bitterly. ¡°We used to be inseparable. But that was a long time ago. Way back.¡±


    What? So technically it meant that he was my uncle¡­?


    ¡°What happened between you two then?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, long story short, we fell in love with the same woman. But Jonas had the upper hand. After all he was older, stronger, better. And although Esther and I loved each other, I didn¡¯t want to end up hurting my brother. Neither of us was her mate after all.¡±


    Niki intertwined a warm hand in mine, squeezing reassuringly as I waited for Gabriel to continue.


    ¡°Some weekster, my wolf proimed Esther my mate. I was the happiest man alive. Finally I was sure. She was my mate. I had no excuse not to be with her.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help the smiled that spread over my cheeks.


    ¡°But that same night, I was abducted by some of Jonas¡¯ men, beaten to a pulp and left for dead in the middle of nowhere. In an attempt to escape, I had jumped into thegoon. They must have thought me dead because they left soon after¡­¡± He trailed off. ¡°I was going to propose, you know?¡± He smiled bitterly, and I felt my heart clench.


    ¡°So there you have it. My own brother was ready to murder me because the woman whom he also loved was my mate. I had never felt so betrayed¡­ I swore revenge on him. But I knew it would be fatal to go anywhere near that mansion. Some yearster I learned he was the alpha of the pack and that he was married to Esther.¡±


    ¡°I was so sad when I found out Esther died during childbirth. I mourned her for months, but there was nothing I could do. So I lived as a lone wolf, made a few friends, and together we formed a pack. When I discovered Jonas¡¯ trafficking business, it seemed like a good way to get back at him at first. But then¡­ the things he did to those people, they were disgusting to watch.¡±


    I instinctively faced Niki. He had said the exact same words.


    ¡°So I decided I would help them. But apparently, someone had beaten me to it,¡± He grinned at Niki who smiled. ¡°So I decided to watch, follow¡­ observe in the shadows until I was needed. And that¡¯s how we met. I was so interested in you, Niki that I had you looked into. And then I found you¡­¡± He trailed off.


    ¡°Liyah,¡± I offered.


    ¡°Liyah,¡± He repeated, a smile curling the lips upward. ¡°I found out you were Esther¡¯s daughter, and I decided I would watch over you. That¡¯s how I knew when Jonas kidnapped you. And so¡­ here we are.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°You have an uncle, Li,¡± Drew said, making everyoneugh and lightening the atmosphere in the room.


    ¡°What was she like?¡± I asked the question that had been on my mind the whole time.


    Gabriel smiled sadly. ¡°Well for starters, you¡¯re a carbon copy of her. There¡¯s isn¡¯t a doubt in the world about that.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡±


    ¡°And she had this warm aura¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to exin. She was calm,passionate and quick to forgive. But when she got angry, oh my goodness trust me you wouldn¡¯t want to be close to her. That woman was fierce!¡±


    Iughed, tearsing to my eyes. ¡°She sounds like a great person.¡±


    ¡°Oh, she was. She really was.¡±


    The tears that I had been struggling to hold back, poured down my cheeks in torrents. I sniffed, wiping my face as Niki ced a firm arm on my shoulder rubbing it in circles.


    ¡°And Liyah?¡± Gabriel called out. I turned to face him. ¡°I know I just met you and I don¡¯t really know you yet, but I feel honored to be given this chance to know you. You¡¯re brave, strong and beautiful, just like your mother. And I¡¯m sure that wherever Esther is right now, she would be so proud of you.¡±


    I nodded, reaching out to squeeze his hand gently. ¡°Thank you..¡±


    As we all exited the room to allow his rest, there was only one word to exin how I felt at the moment.


    Contentment.

 epilogue

    EPILOGUE


    The ck-haired man who sat on arge ottoman fidgeting quickly sprang to his feet when he saw a middle-aged woman appear from the room directly opposite him. He had been wiping his mmy palms from time to time throughout his stay outside the room. At intervals he would shut his eyes in a silent prayer to the Goddess. His heart leaped in fear when she solemnly began to take off her gloves, and with his heart in his mouth, he waited for her to speak.


    But instead, her lips parted in a wide grin. ¡°It¡¯s done. You can see them now.¡±


    He raked a hand through his hair, smiling and then leaning in to ept the hug she was offering. ¡°Jeez, Margaret. I was scared for a moment there.¡±


    She only gave another chuckle. ¡°Go on, they¡¯re waiting for you.¡±


    He nodded shakily, walking into the room. His eyes first flew to the frail-looking womanid out on the bed. She opened her eyes weakly when he walked in, smiling as she saw him.


    ¡°Baby¡­¡± He whispered, quickly moving to her side. He took her hand in his, cing two kisses on it and leaning forward to kiss her forehead. ¡°Are you okay?¡± She smiled again, giving a slight nod.


    As the sound of a baby crying filled the room, she motioned to the cot by her bedside. ¡°Why don¡¯t you look in?¡± Sheughed at the expression on her husband¡¯s face as he carefully peeked into the cot. Bringing his hand to his mouth in surprise, he gave a smallugh, then slowly put his hands in the cot to carry the baby up.


    He felt his eyes sting as he rubbed a finger over the baby¡¯s cheek. ¡°He¡¯s so handsome,¡± He turned to his wife. ¡°Liyah, he has your nose you know?¡±


    Liyahughed, nodding in agreement. ¡°And your eyes,¡± She added. From then she watched her husband smile so widely as he cooed at the baby, holding him carefully as though he didn¡¯t want him to break.


    ¡°And what about your baby daughter? Doesn¡¯t she deserve some love as well? Not fair, Niki.¡±


    Niki whipped around in shock at the sound of his cousin¡¯s voice. He felt his knees go weak when he saw the baby cradled in her arms.


    ¡°W-what does this mean? You birthed twins?¡± He turned to his wife.


    She nodded. ¡°We wanted to surprise you.¡±


    He couldn¡¯t hold it anymore. He couldn¡¯t hold back the sob that filled his throat as tears rolled down his face. He couldn¡¯t believe he had twin babies. And Niki could feel it in his bones that the twins he was supposed to have once hade back to him. He stretched out his other hand to cradle his baby girl. Holding his twins in his hand, he began to rock them back and forth. But when his tears began to blur his vision, he carefully ced them both back into the cot.


    When he was sure they wereid safely, he lowered himself, looking down at the floor as he sobbed into his hands. His sobs slowly changed toughter when his wife pulled him forward, using her fingers to wipe his tears away.


    ¡°So¡­ what do we name them?¡± Liyah whispered, carefully drying off the tears in her husband¡¯s silver eyes. His eyes were still her favorite thing about him. ¡°I already know what I want to name her,¡± She smiled.


    Nikiughed. ¡°Really? That was fast. What is it?¡±


    ¡°Gabrielle¡­¡± She whispered.


    ¡°Babe,¡± Niki looked up in surprise. ¡°But that¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± She stopped him. ¡°I think it¡¯s time we turned our painful memories to beautiful ones. So it¡¯s Gabrielle. Elle for short.¡±


    Niki felt a lump in his throat but he nodded. ¡°I think that¡¯s perfect.¡±


    His wife grinned widely. ¡°Great. And what about our baby boy?¡±


    He ced a finger on his temple. ¡°What about Ross?¡± To his greatest surprise she burst outughing.


    ¡°I love you babe but, we are definitely not naming our baby boy Ross.¡± Niki chuckled, raking a hand in his hair.


    ¡°You¡¯re right it does sound kind of weird. Okay¡­ I¡¯ve always liked Nathaniel.¡± His wife narrowed her eyes at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, does he look like a Nathan though?¡± They both burst intoughter, and then Niki turned to his cousin. ¡°What do you think, Annie?¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Well he should have a nice name. All the others are boring. So what about Jaxon?¡±


    Niki and his wife exchanged looks, wide smiles on their faces as they nodded. ¡°Jaxon it is then.¡±


    A knock sounded at the door and they saw a young man around Niki¡¯s age walk in, apanied by an older man, a woman around the same age, and a little girl. The girl raced to where the cots were kept, getting to her knees and gently rubbing her fingers over the babies¡¯ cheeks. ¡°They¡¯re so pretty,¡± She gushed. ¡°Does this mean I¡¯m an auntie now?¡± She asked, facing Liyah.


    Everyone in the roomughed, the happiness on their face showing utmost joy and satisfaction.


    ¡°Yes, Eve. You¡¯re an auntie now.¡± Liyah confirmed,ughing when she was suddenly engulfed in a hug by the little girl. Smiling, she rubbed her hair and kissed her lightly on the cheek. As Liyah rxed into the bed to rest, she watched them all gush over her babies.


    She watched the husband who adored her, friends who cared about her, a nanny and friend who loved her, a new-found uncle who was proud of her, the little girl who had been nothing but a bundle of joy, and her twins-Gabrielle and Jaxon-who were the best gifts she had ever received, and Liyah couldn¡¯t help but feel like she had finally gotten her happy ending.


    Author¡¯s note: So finally, we are done with the book. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I began wrote it. It was marvelous writing fot you guys. Thank you for your support!


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!