KIENA
Hold the fuck up! Did he just say MATE? As in bound by magic, flesh, blood and pack? Surely even my imagination cannot be that good.When last did I get my ears cleaned? Oh curse my deformative memory! Dear Whatever powers that be, I promise to be thirty percent more awesome than I've been in my 24 years of existence; just let me hear clearly what this handsome rock is saying."What did you say?" There's a visible vein throbbing at the center of Xhecon's forehead, the tick tock rasp of the beast within him."Kiena Vocci is my mate, and I have come to claim her. I see no reason why you should even expect an explanation when she owes you none, and me even less."That's what he said. That's exactly what he said. But wait! Hold on a second."You have no idea what it is that you're getting yourself into, son." Dad's voice is laced with unsurpressed venom."I believe you would do me the honour of enlightening me.""You've been Alpha for how long exactly? A week? Trust me, you do not want to be starting a war with Whitevalley.""I've been Alpha for 3 years, and my pack has grown considerably in that time, I appreciate your interest. And I do not see how I encroach close to danger with the Whitevalley pack, seeing as my mate no longer belongs there."Xhecon's jaw twitches, and I watch his fists clench at his sides; his eyes blinking a dangerous shade of green - his wolf's."She is my mate, Zedane, not yours. There's a reason she's clad in a wedding dress.""Is there a reason why she was running for the hills when I found her? Is she maybe terrified of what the possibility of an eternity with you would be for her?""That is none of your business, step away from my mate."His hold on my shoulder tightens, and I hear something dangerous lurking in his voice when he speaks again."Do you Kiena Vocci, take Xhecon Luther as your mate?"I steel myself, swallowing past the fear induced by all three Alphas emitting dominance."No. I revoke his offer to mate." My voice is surprisingly steady, and my gaze is firm enough to not miss the anger that flashes in Xhecon's eyes."Do you take me, Zedane Rhage, as your mate?""I do. One flesh, one blood, one pack, one magic and one lifetime."I feel the weight of that promise sink deep into me, weighing me down with the ignored consequences of what I have just done. Holy cow!"Judging by your expression, you're just now realising the full extent of that vow." Dad's tone is mocking, but his jaw is steel hard from the pressure of his clenched teeth.I swallow, because he is right. I did not think at all before I made that decision. I just swore away eternity to someone I do not even know. Sure, he is good looking, extremely good looking; but he also looks like he has permanent romance with a frown."I don't think there is anything that could possibly be worse than an eternity with that undercover grandpa you were willing to hand me over to."Despite the thread of dread tingling along my spine, I force the words out; making sure that they are ringing with conviction.I feel a slight movement behind me, like some particularly giant sized rock just had his breath catch in his lungs. Did he find what I just said amusing? Oh wow."I'm sure you wouldn't feel that way an hour from now when you are trapped in a loveless mating with a toddler alpha and a half formed pack," Dad warns in a deceptively soft voice.I don't think I would be exaggerating if I say I can see the tinges of amusement blinking from his hard eyes. The man acts like he enjoys my suffering, I have to wonder what exactly I ever did to never be good enough."Loveless mating? I was resigned to that fate already, I'd just prefer it be with a man that is worth looking at. And toddler Alpha? I don't think you and Xhecon combined can measure up to the level of dominance this "toddler" possesses; it's all I can sense," I throw back"Being a pack Alpha goes beyond just being a dominant wolf, Kiena. But I doubt you could possibly understand that."I scoff. "Of course you're talking politics. You both should be good at it, excellent even. I'd be surprised if you weren't, considering how malicious and manipulative you are. I would mention deceptive, cunning, reckless, heartless, tyrannical and all the other bad words I cannot think about in this scorching heat, but I'm sure you already get the message.""I would love to stay here and listen to all what you lovely family have to say to each other, but I have somewhere to be and I'm taking my mate with me." Zedane throws in, cutting off whatever response my father's open mouth was going to spew."I would be very careful of my standing in pack hierarchy if I were you, seeing as you have no alliances with powerful forces," Xhecon advises, but you can hear the underlying threat in those words."If you were me. You're not. And not everyone is accustomed to licking ass to seek alliances, I can take care of my family and my pack.""And don't think you know the first thing about healthy alliances either, all you do is take advantage of packs in need. I feel sad for any shewolf who ends up as your mate." My words are curt and direct, my eyes trained on Xhecon's."That's how the world works, honey. It's a jungle where only the fittest survive.""First off, eww! Don't fucking call me that again, I couldn't be more disgusted if I tried. Secondly, you have no idea what being the fittest entails, you're a weak bastard with political connections and a twisted mind."Rage flashes in his gaze, the green of his wolf evident in his usually brown depths. He jerks towards me in response, fueled by anger and no grace whatsoever.Zedane steps around me to block me from view. "I would stop right there before I do something that guarantees my death." His threat is delivered in a low, calm voice, but is brimming with intensity.I don't see when Xhecon halts, but I hear a satisfied "Good" from Zedane before he turns around and ushers me away from my old life, and into a new one.We make it all of five steps before I hear my father's voice call out, "Kiena Vocci, you cease to be my daughter from this day. I break off all ties that connect me and all that is mine to you, and I forbid you from ever stepping anywhere near us. Your failure to adhere would mean a declaration of war from the blackwater pack."An audible gasp leaves my mouth at the briskness with which the delivery was made. Oh. My. God!ZEDANEI don't want to look at her. I don't want to touch her. I don't want to be in the same space as her. Dammit! What the hell have I done? Why would I let my impulse take control of a situation I could've avoided? I'm mated to a freaking Omega wolf. Of all of the she-wolves in existence, it just had to be an Omega wolf that I would swear away my existence to.The mating bond and all the magic that comes with it is settled over me in a chokehold. I can barely breathe against the danger that is cloaking me in flavored scents."Do you speak?" Kiena asks as the van rolls away from her father's territory and back towards my own.I don't respond. Don't even turn around to look at her. That she is perched that closely to me in this small space is already doing enough to me."Zedane, right? I'm talking to you." She tries again.I still do not respond. Just continue to stare out the window beside me."Are you being deliberately rude? You can let me out here if you're going to be so ridicu
ZEDANE The rain is cascading down the roof in strong pellets. A storm that marks the grief that has settled over the pack since the news a week ago.“Alpha,” Tunil, my second in command and best friend, calls my attention from the door.I turn to face him. “What do you want?”He eyes me up and down. “You might want to put that attitude aside for a while. Everyone is grieving and you don't get to be the one who takes his out on everyone else.”I would have his tongue out by now if he wasn't my best friend, and right.“What do you want?” This time my voice is darker and has dropped several degrees.“The funeral rites are about to start. We cannot keep waiting on the rain to let up, so we made a makeshift shelter to hold the fire.”I cock my head, looking at him but somehow unseeing. “We will wait.”“Alpha, we…”“I said we will wait!” I thunder.He squares his shoulders and shifts from pack subordinate to friend. “I already told you that we cannot keep waiting. It's been a whole week. An
KIENA“Excuse you?” I throw back immediately.The hell is wrong with him? He's the one going all unhinged caveman on me and he dares to ask me what is wrong with me? He pins me with a blank stare. The stare is filled with anger and so much darkness.I try to pull my hand away again but he refuses to free me.“Let go of me, Zedane.”“Answer my question.” His voice is low and intimidating.“The hell kind of question is that? How am I even supposed to know what you're talking about? You're the one who pulled me here so angrily and yet you're asking what's wrong with me? Isn't it obvious which one of us has something wrong with them?”“You're cursed.” His voice is so low that I am unsure if I heard him right.“What did you just say?” I ask.He drops my hand like it stung him and walks back a few steps. “You're cursed. You're a curse, Kiena.”I cannot believe my ears. I'm staring at him in shock while he stares at me with so much hatred that I almost shrivel up.“What do you mean by that?
KIENA I have no idea where it is that I'm going, just that I'm upset enough and I'm going there.Screw Zedane Rhage! Screw my impulsive decision to get mated to a man I don't know! Screw Dimitri Vocci for using me as a pawn in his game of politics! And Screw Xhecon Luther for not being a man worth tolerating!I stomp onward in angry strides. My feet are screaming for a reprieve but I can't stop. I can't bring myself to go back to the unfair reality of my cursed existence so I continue to march forward. Oh, that reminds me. Screw the moon goddess for making me latent! It's all her fault. Everyone I've ever come in contact with thinks of me as a worthless liability and all I can do is fight every second of every day to prove that I am not.Screw every single one of them! I hate them all! Especially Zedane douchebag Rhage.“Ouch!” My foot gets caught on something that viny and I drop to the ground in a painful roll.Something warm trickles along the skin on my calf and I look down to s
ZEDANE"What is your problem? Why are you looking at me with so much disgust on your face? It was you who asked me to show you in the first place, so don't go acting irritated by the sight of it."She glances down at the injury in question and turns to glare at me again. "It's not even that gross. It's just a narrow cut that runs along my skin."I clench my fists tighter, trying to tame the beast that is pulling at me to take charge. Something is seriously wrong with this woman, it's like a she cared about is starting a war."Go, Kiena. Leave now!"Hurt flashes in her eyes for a second before she masks it and folds her arms over her chest in defiance."Why the hell am I the one who's expected to leave? If you're that grossed out, then get out!"I shake my head in a move that's meant to clear it, but instead it jumbles my thoughts even further. I pull at the hair on my head."You need to leave now, Kiena."She scoffs."I already told you, if someone needs to leave here, it's you. Now g
KIENAI didn't think twice about what I was doing after I got the parchment delivered directly to me. I woke up to the knocks on my chamber's door and found that I'd gotten a delivery - much to my surprise.As soon as I open the folded piece of cloth to see the familiar lines of writing that belongs to none other than Estina, I got into overdrive.There was no contemplating involved as I took a hurried bath and got into a car in the Alpha's garage or when I drove up to the huge gates and rolled the windows down to gain passage. They opened the gates for me with such swiftness and tons of head bows that for once I didn’t exactly hate the idea of being the Luna of Blackwater pack. But there seems to be an overabundance of second thoughts as I stand just a few steps away from the hidden gateway of Whitevalley pack that's only used in cases of serious emergency.I let out a heavy sigh and take a step forward, ready to step back into the territory of Alpha Dumitri Vocci, my former Alpha a
ZEDANEI haven't been in the same space as Kiena ever since the incident in the woods two nights ago, but all that changed the moment I got a call from pack security that she had just driven out of the pack.I contemplated letting her be for a while, thinking that she might have decided yo up and leave finally after the last stunt; but knowing how proud Kiena is, she definitely would not have left with anything that belonged to me or my pack - that includes the pack car.Hence my decision to go after the little fireball, and I couldn't be any more grateful that I did. Damn, the woman has a death wish, suicidal tendency and genocidal tendency all wrapped up in that delicately hot body of hers.I force in a harsh breath through my nose and turn to cast a glance at the flesh and blood representation of chaos sitting beside me. She has her face turned to the window and her expression is drawn into something terribly sad. The visual of her hunched shoulders, glossy eyes and sad face strik
KIENA“Luna,” a tentative voice calls from behind me and I turn around.I'm lying in my bed, my head tucked comfortably on my pillow and cushioned by the swaddling of sheets that pool at my neck.“May I help you?” My voice is soft even though I want to snap instead.It's not the fault of the little girl that she belongs to a pack with a jerk as the Alpha. Matter of fact, all Alphas are jerks. From Dimitri Vocci to Xhecon Luther and now, Zedane Rhage; every man is far worse than the last.She shows me her hand. “I brought you a plate of brownies, Luna. I didn't know what you liked so I also picked two cupcakes and two muffins just in case.”My forehead furrows in a mixture of confusion and suspicion.“Who are you?”“I'm Lina. I'm an Omega wolf and all the wolves tell me that I'm weak and…”“They tell you that?” I interrupt her, anger skimming my blood all of a sudden.She looks shocked by my reaction and her nod of affirmation is tentative. I raise myself up into a sitting position and