TRISTAN'S POV I stood watching her back as she disappeared into the packhouse; the last I saw of her was her veil.Why did I keep saying the wrong things? Because I was jealous? Maybe. Jealous she was with Aidan.I dragged my hands down my face; I needed to understand that I pushed her away, and not the other way around, and told her some hurtful things like *stay in your place.* Why was I finding it hard to stay in mine?But away from that, something else was disturbing her—something that wasn't me; she was never comfortable, always distant and snappy.It sent guilt through me. The pack issues alone were disturbing, and I just had to throw more loads on Iris' back like I didn't give a damn."Hey Stan," I heard behind me; I didn't need to turn to know who it was; her aura and that damn pet name l was beginning to hate sold it all out.I said nothing, my hands behind me, knowing I shouldn't get angry with her when I yielded to her last night at once without a fight.She was before me i
IRIS POV The noise of "Life to the Alpha!" woke me up from my slumber, jerking me up from the bed.With this, the pain that shot through my head made it impossible to have a clear view of my surroundings.As the film in my eyes began to clear, I looked at the wall. It was just six and very early, but the noise was so loud."LIFE TO THE ALPHA*" The voices came up again; they were loud cheers and even instrumentals, deafening me, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.Why all of this?Then it hit me; It was Tristan's ceremony. How did I forget so soon?I stood up from bed, rubbing my eyes with my hands, before walking to the window.The number of crowds standing at the gates alarmed me; they were dressed and happy. Ready to see their favorite Alpha reinstalled.Only if they knew he was also a jerk!I exhaled. Moreover, I didn't give a damn. He was better off not being an Alpha than the arrogant, self-centered person he was now.Everything was perfect in Vampire clan, even though we wer
TristanI watched her stop at the stairs immediately; she had caught sight of me. I could see her fingers clench the sides of her red gown, eyes taking me in. Her surprise was evident; the stare was becoming a glare, so cold that I had to push my fist into my suit pockets, still watching her."Hey, hybrid," I voiced out, watching her shudder.But by the goddess, she was beautiful today, and Aidan was a fucking rock to lean on; he had promised to help, but I never expected him to go this far.She was beginning to feel herself, and she resumed walking, descending the stairs towards me, her face dodging mine, her countenance annoyed.She was close to me now, making sure there was enough space between us, and she looked up at me with defiance, "I was expecting Alpha Aidan.""Oh," I mocked, looking around as if searching, then turned to her and shrugged, "seems he's not here right now, soo?"Her teeth were gritted as she swore, words pouring out from her pretty lips and making my ears plea
Iris."Come again?" I told Katherine. She did come, dressed in a white ball gown that suddenly made my red look ordinary. It brought out her hair and blinged. She was the star of the party since most people knew her there.They all passed by nodding at her or greeting her full-heartedly, which she usually shoved aside, but when necessary, she nodded back.She laughed, raising the glass cup to her lips, "You don't think the council will let a hybrid be their Luna and all?"She saw my gaze fall, and she laughed, "Wait, did you think that? I gave you more credit, it seems.""No," I said as a matter of fact, "I never wanted to be Luna." "Enough coincidence being two Alphas, mate; that's just not my thing." "Lie much, Iris?" She shook her head, then in a minute, she was excited, her lips curling into an awful smile, making me curious: "Tristan didn't want me telling you, but..."I waited, holding my breath."He only wanted you by his side to get more of the love of the people."##### "That
How couldn't he have seen that all along? That was the reason she was so interested in all of it, finding her on the cold temple ground with frozen tears on her face.Now he was certain she knew who she was—who would have thought Iris was a goddess?a goddess of destruction.No, he was wrong; that wasn't Iris; Iris was in there somewhere, hidden, pushed aside."Iris," he called out again. "Iris, get a hold of yourself. Don't make them think you're a monster.""I am no monster," she rumbled again, her eyes flaming. "I just had enough of all of you hurting me, millions of years later, and you all are still the same.""What the fuck is she talking about?" Aidan asked beside him, his breath heavy and ready to attack. Tristan held his arm, and Aidan looked at him, "We can't let her kill Katherine.""She won't kill Katherine.""Tristan, I know...""I fucking said she wouldn't kill Katherine, alright!" even though he thought Katherine deserved anything that would come her way right now.He t
Authors POV Iris stared at the book's first page, its handwriting-like designs making it harder for her to decipher.She swallowed the frustration brewing in her throat; no one told her she had also to encounter the difficulty of trying to sort out letters.She held her head in her palms, shutting her eyes tight, and sighed. She was going to try to figure it out and read it out.She stood up and walked to the window, staring at the sky—was that the full moon peeping out of the sky on an evening?She placed the book on the pain, bracing herself, and felt the letters with her fingers tracing.Then it hit her—the more she started, the more it made sense.It was.... she turned the book. The letters were written upside down, inverting the meaning of the words.She hoped she was right in the beginning to read it out. She was; it was beginning to make more sense now.She held it against her and began reading, "Adored, powerful, and holding great responsibility in paradise, she is who you thi
Iris POVMy movements were slow as I weaved my way back to the packhouse, the eeriness of the night having nothing to do with my beating heart and shaky fingers.My head felt like it was exploding from a lot of thoughts. Every escape route I had thought of came to a dead end.So now that I had found Onemaus, I had no idea what to do, for it seemed that whatever my actions were going to be, I was somehow going to be a bad guy.For wasn't I the goddess of darkness, who caused floods and famines and genocides by just stepping into a lake? It hurt me to know the great Artemis was sending her to deliver all of these heartaches, but somehow she would be the only one blamed for them.The one time she had tried to disobey her mother and do the people pleasing, here she was.With Alpha Tristan. Centuries ago... they were cursed together but somehow still found a way to cross paths.I was cursed to destroy his pack, and I would do it unintentionally because it was my destiny. Except I changed th
Tristan's POV. The light seeping through the window disturbed my sleep; it seemed I had forgotten to close the window after she had come in. the first time I had woken up so late in the morning. I smiled in my sleep. She was my drug. It was surprising how I hadn't even blinked during the night—very unlike me. If I had been told in a million years that I would choose one woman over my whole pack, I would have laughed at the person in the face and left, not before clawing the hell out of them anyway. But here she was, and I stretched my hand, feeling the bed for her. My lids flew open. I was alone on the bed. I groaned in frustration. What was she hiding from, especially when I was damn ready to show her off to the world, not giving a damn about their opinions? I sat on the bed, stretching and raking my fingers through my messy hair. I sighed hard, feeling the slight sting on my shoulders and back, where she had clawed at me in ecstasy, eyes rolling at the back of her head yet st