RIFTAN POV “Because he’s Riftan’s brother. Family, no matter how rotten it is, is still family. And as Riftan’s mate, I have got to uphold the peace in this family. Khalil isn’t going anywhere; because he is my mate’s brother.” The words seeped through the cracks of the door and into my soul like a white fog, clouding my senses with a foreign sensation. I had just arrived from Moon Logistics when I couldn’t find Eden anywhere, and the rage climbed to the peak when her rosy scent led me to the guest room she first lodged in when she arrived here. I mean, we were way past that, and it didn't make sense why she had to choose the guest room when she could have used my chambers, her chambers. But hearing those words as I stood before the door made me realize one thing; Eden was more than I bargained for. She was a holy grail in my blemished world and nothing I could ever do would ever make me worthy of her. She was everything perfect; from the color of her unusually black eyes to th
EDEN POV Serena took my words literally and took it upon herself to disappear into thin air somewhere inside the house; making it an impossible mission to find the perfect dress for dinner. Riftan only managed to kiss me till my toes curled and stopped himself from jumping onto me and shifting my insides with his undoubtedly thick and monstrous third leg, leaving me dripping wet, very dissatisfied, and on edge. It was right after seven when we stepped into the common room where everybody else was gathered. My body was tingling from the memory of my naked body against his very clothed self and I was so wet I bet everyone present could catch a whiff of my arousal. For some apparent reason, the mere act felt sinful, and I don’t know what was in my mind when I stood in front of him without so much of a cloth onto my body. But what I could remember was the determination to watch him uncoil, and unravel. And uncoil he did. “I could smell you, you know.” He leaned down just a bit to w
RIFTAN POV I never thought i would see the shape of fear in all my life. After all I was Riftan Kai Hawk; the greatest Alpha and ruler of the south, and the king of every soil I stepped my foot on. Thousands bowed at my shadows, and I delivered death with a grin on my face. I was afraid on nothing; not even life itself. But in that very moment, watching Eden convulse and wrench as a foreign substance impaled her entire body, kicking blood and having it pour from every hole on her face- crammed my chest with the greatest trepidation i have ever known. It was suffocating. It felt like I was trapped in a bubble where I was the only one to taste my own fear, to hear my own screams, and I fucking wanted to get out. “Eden..” I groan led weakly as I leaped towards her, my voice a cross between a controlling growl and a defeated sob. I watched on a broken loop as her body went limp and her head rolled on her shoulders. Coldness settled inside of me with a haunting weight at the sight a
EDEN POV The first taste of life came with bitterness that haunted my subconscious. I found my mind breaking over the happenstances of the life I never knew I was a part of; a life where the sun rose with chaos and descended with bedlam. I found myself stuck between a rock and a hard wall; not knowing what to do, or who to save. I found myself in a world where the heavens and the earth depended on me, a life where I was a deity meant to save the very ratchet, bitter world. And in all of that bitterness, I was alone, with no one by my side to carry the burden with me. And the heaviness of it trampled over me and stacked me to the solid ground. But what killed me worst was the voice that came after: ‘This is what small comes if you do not fulfill your destiny!’ And I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to run away from this place nightmare; this hell. With that, a silver cord yanked me forcefully before dumping me inside my body which was lying facing upward in Ashford, Blood Moon
RIFTAN POV My smile refused to die as I watched Eden breeze into the bathroom and slam the door behind her. I cracked my numb knuckles before rolling my heavy head on my stiff neck and shoulders, then stood frozen in one spot as I mind-linked her second in command and her maid. ‘Eden is awake. Send dinner through to our chambers.’ A tiny current crackled through my mind when Venice half-squealed in my brain, undoubtedly ready to fall into a break dance. ‘Right away, Alpha. Can I come see her?’ ‘No, Venice. She needs her rest. You have all the time in the world with her. Just have our dinner delivered, and the room cleaned up.’ I hated cutting her off, especially because she had the best intentions at heart. But tonight belonged to Eden and I, and nobody else! After five days; five gruesome days of sitting next to her motionless body and wondering when she will open her eyes and dazzle me with that smile of hers. Five days of wondering how my life would be if she never woke up.
Chapter 21 EDEN POV The touch came innocently. His large hands locked my torso against the vanity table where I was dawning myself with the world’s finest lotions for the night, loving the softness and the slippery cream against my skin. The warmth that came with his presence made me feel like I was basking in the meadow where the sun wouldn’t be blocked by anything, and heat curled in my core. “Have you eaten?” His voice came low and deep, the baritone doing strange things to my stream. “Not yet. I was kinda waiting on you.” I responded in a breathy tone, refusing the urge to bite down on my lip and give him the satisfaction he sure as hell needed. The man was like an inferno, scorching me with his heat though he had barely touched me. As though my thoughts had conjured his actions, his hands came and landed on my shoulders, casually at first, but then started moving up and down my arms slowly, so carefully like he was afraid he would flake the skin! “That’s good. Starting
CHAPTER 22 EDEN POV I didn't want to overthink his words more than I actually had to. There was already so much going on in my head and I would hate to add more to the mix of confusion and befuddlement, but the more I said there listening to the sound of his breathing, the more my mind drifted to everything he had said. Nobody in my pack has ever had to go through the misery of a failed shifting process, so I had little to no idea of what it felt like. And that was one of the things that made me feel like a freak and had me struggling to fit in within the borders of my home pack! Being the only daughter of the alpha, yet being so flawed, was a haunting shadow that never left my side my whole life. And now that I thought about it, it really didn't hurt that night. There had been this tiny zap of engagement between my wolf as it wanted out, and that was it. But the embarrassment when people started murmuring behind their palms, casting me questioning and judging gases… now that ha
EDEN POV “Don’t you think it’s a little too early to be doing this? I mean you only woke up last night” The words came from behind me, and a small smile formed on my lips as I turned and looked over my shoulder. “If I don’t do this now, I might go crazy.” Which wasn’t entirely false. In the morning, I had woken up to an empty bed, an aching body and a burn in my veins. With Riftan gone to the training grounds, I had time to glance at my hickey-covered body, reminisce about last while blushing all shades of red, then come to make up my mind that I wasn't going to sit in here all day and not meet my wolf whom I could feel chaffing hot and constantly beneath the surface of my being. With that in mind, I had dolled myself up before taking a full cup of coffee, then walked to the edge of the trees where I was inclined to take my first shift. I may have been a little too excited after learning that Riftan was able to break all the seals when he marked me, and that meant I could finall