IRIS "Alpha Tristan!" I shared my attention between him and the soldiers closing in on us. All around us, looking through the windows, were curious eyes watching what was going on. "We mean no harm!" I tried screaming, but either they didn't hear me, which wasn't possible, or they had their mind set on what they were about to do with us. I stood, looking around. "Goddess Artemis, come on," I whispered in my breath. It had been years, and she was still mad at her daughter for eloping even though the Alpha had died centuries ago. I was wasting effort praying she would not watch her assumed Akasha get destroyed again and do nothing. "Commander, order your soldiers to back away." A feminine voice echoed Just before me, behind the soldiers, a beautiful slender figure came through, wearing a blue lacy gown that hugged her figure and looked more like ice than a cloth. I couldn't see her feet because the gown covered them, and she walked like she flowed, daintily, with red orbs that
IRIS.I stared blankly at the woman who stood before me, hugging me tight as she breathed into my shoulders, but somehow I couldn't bring my hands to hold her back."She's your mother," Caci whispered, earning a frown."Do you always come when you are not needed?" I sneered, and she shrugged back in. "Oh, Iris," the queen l pulled me close, tears soaking my shoulders, "I never knew you'd come to me; I never knew I'd hold you this way."What to do was the problem; my hands decided not to obey within two seconds, my eyes staring at the room's far end."She pulled away from me, her hands cupping my face."Say something, Iris. Caci pushed, "Say something, and quit mopping around like a scarecrow."And I said the only thing that came into my head, "You left us; you left Father."She shook her head, sobbing, "I did it to protect you both. My father swore to kill you once you were born; I couldn't let that happen."Another reason to have a row with the goddess at night."But I didn't stop; I
IrisThey pushed open the door to a room where, on the bed, Alpha Tristan lay. Eyes cloudy and lips blue, he seemed to have been fed something herbal and short-torn, showing a dark torso."The poison can't be managed anymore; it's spreading to his heart and killing him."They were behind me as I moved closer to Tristan, who was shivering on his bed. When he opened his eyes and saw me, he forced a smile."Hey, Iris, We're still alive, Huhn."I had to smile. Even in his state, he just had to crack a stupid joke.He was trying to sit up, and I rushed to him, supporting him, but he immediately jerked down again, his head reaching my shoulders."I — I feel frozen," he breathed, shivering against my body, "are we back in the ice age or what?"I looked up at the nurse, who looked confused, wondering what to do."There's nothing you can do for him? "Nada at all?"They shook their heads and said, "We did our best with the antidote and everything, but his body keeps rejecting it all.""More like
"Mine," he groaned into the room; he suddenly didn't look like Alpha Tristan anymore. His eyes shone, and he grew taller, hovering over me.The room was no longer cold; it was heated with the pheromones filling the air."Mine!" He whispered this time, pulling me to himself, head bent down to my lips, brushing then going lower till it fell on my tits. My skin felt tingly, and moans kept escaping from my parted lips as he tasted the blood on his lips."Alpha Tristan" But I, too, knew he wasn't here anymore; he was being taken by something fiercer. I couldn't tell if we were moving until he dropped me on the bed.He kneeled before me, hands around my thighs, holding me in a position I couldn't move away from."Let me worship you." He muttered, "Worship all of you."He pulled me towards him, then, to my surprise, he lowered his head and covered my warmth with his mouth. Tongue digging into my depths and tracing down my slit.I dug my fingers into his hair, "Al—" his wet mouth covering my
The following day, he was already by the window staring out of it feeling weird out each time he turned to look at the sleeping figure curled up on the bed.He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hands, his elbows leaning against the pane of the high window.Out of desperation, nothing to it. He had kept on repeating to himself, knowing he was maybe kidding.Last night, it was intense; he had... loved her? Was this how the bonding was supposed to be? to help you see a different view of your mate?Because how couldn't they see how perfect she was? Her thoughts? Her feelings? Why was she so ethereal?He crossed his hands on his chest; he shouldn't be like this; they were going their separate ways once they figured everything out.It wouldn't do to drag her into his darkness. This wasn't him; his primary self was waiting at the gate of Blood Canine packhouse, ready to escort him into the dark, cold room. That gloom was him.The bond was going to cause a lot of distractions since they bo
Iris."I can't believe this," I retorted, staring at Alpha Tristan, beside me to my mother in front of me.I just noticed that she rarely sat on the throne. She is always on her feet, pacing or staring at the wall."It can't be your Beta; I knew what Zelda told me!" After my mother had explained what went on when they had left the blacksmiths, with Alpha Tristan matching the description of the workers to his beta, I still couldn't sit with the fact that it hadn't pointed at Alpha Atlas."Iris, what if she was mistaken?" "What if she was mad that Atlas didn't accept the pregnancy?""That's not Zelda," I said, and my fist was clenched without my knowing it. "I know it's Alpha Atlas, and no one can tell me otherwise."He shook his head—a little smile crossing his beautiful lips.I knew what he was thinking. I was wrong, and he was right. I'd better be prepared to get it all rubbed on my face."Iris, the Alpha knows his pack better than you, and that's all you should know."I frowned. Fr
Iris POVThe following day, we were already up at three so we could be escorted out of the gates by the vampires and dropped at the borders before sunrise.Waking up grumpy and feeling like something was eating at you was the worst.At one time, I caught myself wishing I could stay here."We could," Caci corrected, and immediately I turned to see Tristan looking out the window, hands on his chin. He raised his chin to scratch his neck, his adam's apple gleaming at me and making me swallow hard.I turned to my side of the window. I should stop staring and getting attached, but that was hard to remember, especially when he was this close.The car went downhill, the snow diminishing as we went farther away from the vampire clan.I hadn't gone too far, and I was already missing the vampire clan.I remembered Tyra hugging me as we said our final goodbyes. "Listen," she said, "it's not all over; we still have some hope.""It doesn't seem like it," I whispered.She caressed my hair and said,
TRISTAN'S POV Was this the plan? I thought to myself as I sat on the cold ground, listening to the horrendous laughter of the soldiers outside my cell.Nope, it wasn't, I decided, wincing at the pain that pulled on my joints and muscles. The cell was dark and stinking. I wondered how Iris survived here each time we threw her in.Guilt rose to my chest. I had tried reading her thoughts, but they always came back blank.Either she was unconscious, which I couldn't put past Atlas, or she had gone numb with fear, which was very unlikely.The chains that bound my hands and legs were hooked on the wall, obstructing my movements.My shoulders ached, and the blood in my legs felt stuffed.The soldiers' noise stopped, and in its place were silent footsteps towards my cell door.I heard the critical turn in the lock; the door was pushed open, and a bright torch appeared in my eyes.I turned my head against it, the iron on my neck restricting me from going further."Brother," was Aidan's voice.