Wake up you worthless girl!".Layla jerked awake at the sudden command. Her eyes snapped open and looked around frantically, trying to get her bearings."I said wake up!". The voice commanded her sharply again and was preceded by a bucket of cold water that was splashed on her.Layla jumped up from the sack she had slept on through out the night. Her bones protested with her sudden movement, aching terribly from laying on the hard ground every night. She wiped the droplets of water from her face and stood still, shivering slightly from her drenched dress coupled with the morning chill. She looked up at the woman who stood at the entrance of the basement and curtsied a little.Madame Parker glared at the mute girl with so much venom in her eyes. "What are you waiting for? Get to work right this instant!",she snapped at Layla.Layla quickly ran past her and climbed out of the basement. She made her way to the kitchen and stopped, staring unbelievably at the mountain of dirty dishes and

Layla tore through the busy road, moving swiftly through the moving vehicles. Drivers honked as she dashed past the front of their cars and a few cursed at her.She didn't stop though. She kept running through the downpour, the rain obscuring her view. Pedestrians stared at her as she ran past them, taking in her drenched dress that was plastered to her body, her hair that was matted to her face with the rain. And a few wondered why she was in such a hurry. No one stopped her though. They all went about their businesses, trying to get to their various homes before it turned completely dark.Layla kept running without glancing behind her. She was terrified that if she so much as slowed down to look back, she would see Madame Parker coming after her like a furious maddened woman. So she kept running. Even when she left the busy roads and entered a deserted street, she kept running. Even when she got tired and out of breath, she kept running. She didn't know where she was going. She hadn

Riven's mansion was a chaos of movement. All shifters, both young and ancient, werewolf and lycan, all moved around the pack house, running different errands. Everyone got orders from the Alpha that hadn't left his room since the previous night.Ever since Caleb ran through the entire rooms of the mansion like a mad beast, informing everyone of the arrival of the Alpha's mate, the entire household had gone into a state of restlessness. No one slept a wink through out the night. They all gathered at the entrance of Riven's chamber, wanting to have a look at the long awaited Alpha's mate.But Riven was having none of that. The only person allowed into his room was Henrietta, the ancient witch. Not even Cade, his beta was allowed. He was in a state of protectiveness and he didn't want his mate to be disturbed. After Henrietta checked on Layla and recited a spell to know what Layla's ailment was, she reported her findings to Riven and told him of the herbs she would need in healing Layla

"So this is Riven's mate? What a shame!",Cara said scornfully and folded her arms before her, staring icily at Layla.When the news reached her father's pack about Riven finding his mate, jealousy had begun to eat deep into her. A part of her had been happy that Riven didn't find his mate. As a matter of fact, her father, the Alpha of Silver Moon Pack had been trying to establish a relationship between her and Riven. Being connected to the great Qinn dynasty was an opportunity of a life time and she had been trying to do her part by getting closer to Riven. There had been a series of hot passion in between the bedsheets between them but apart from that, Riven never made any attempt to go further with their relationship. Even when she knew he only wanted her to release his sexual desires, she still clung to him with the blind hope that he would mark her one day and make her his Luna.Now that hope was dashed brutally as she stared at the scrawny girl before her, dressed in a gray sac a

"Cade!",Riven barked out the minute he emerged from his room.Cade had been standing close by, waiting for him to come out."Yes Alpha", he responded instantly and moved his body away from the wall he had been leaning on."Get me Alex. And let the rest of the shifters gather at the meeting room. Immediately!"."On it Alpha",Cade said and his eyes turned blurry as he mind linked the entire shifters. Caleb joined him and they both followed Riven to the meeting room, a large open room where Riven always held impromptu meetings concerning the pack.Caleb moved further and opened the door quickly, holding his breath as Riven walked through. The aura surrounding Riven was so dangerous and scary and this only proved how furious he was.Riven settled on one of the chairs in the room. It was a large golden throne seat with a similar one beside it. The other was for his mate and she would sit beside him someday as the Luna of his pack.Cade and Caleb stood on either side of him and watched as t