DANE
I am in pain. And utterly helpless.To me, this girl standing before my eyes is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my entire life. I see her every fucking day, but I always get knocked over every time I lay my eyes on her.Another tear drops from one of her eyes. My eyes follow the transparent liquid as it trails down to the dotted birthmark right at the top of her upper lip.My eyes linger on her mouth, and the desperate urge to kiss away the anguish she is going through begins to twist deep inside me."Dane… " I watch her enticing lips whisper my name quietly, like a plea for me to fucking say or do something.Not able to deny the urge any longer, I lean down, pressing my mouth to hers in a passionate kiss that instantly erupts pleasurable sparks inside me.Goddess…. the taste and softness of her lips against mine is fucking more than exquisite. Always more than exquisite.The instant she fully parts her lips and begins to kiss me back, I lose all control.This is everything I have ever wanted, but everything I know I should not fucking want.But I do not want to give a fuck about what I should want and should not want right now. At least, not in this moment that I so desperately need to last forever.A soft moan escapes her as I continue to tug and taste and savor every inch of her mouth, one of my hands wrapping around her waist and drawing her so close to my body.This…. this feels so good. So fucking good. Why does the forbidden always have to taste the sweetest and so irresistible?Her teeth nip at my bottom lip, the tip of her tongue slipping out next and seeking entrance into my mouth. She wants this. She wants me.My heart soars. And I let her in….I allow her to search and taste the whiskey in my mouth. On my tongue. It is a certain kind of madness to crave someone you know you can never have. Someone you know you should not have.But I do not want to let go. Not in a million years. Or in a billion. Never.I know that whenever we are together, it is like tempting fate. Like treading precariously around a wicked flame that I know will definitely burn us both beyond repair at the end if we do not stop.But what if I do not want to stop? She said she has feelings for me, and—'Dane,' Storm warns. 'If she finds her mate, and it happens not to be you, it is going to be either game over, or a dangerous heartbreak both of you might never recover from, or a fucking painful, vicious love triangle. I want Sky too, but I will be broken if I ever share her with anyone else.'Storm's pain seeps through the fluid in my veins, and I feel every bit of it as it mixes intricately with mine.Every cell in my body is fighting the truth in his words. The truth all three of us already know.I have to end this. For both our sakes.Especially for hers.Not doing the right thing to be done killed my dad in the first place.Maybe I do not deserve to be protected or loved by anyone, especially not by Cara. I just spread pain and death like a fucking disease everywhere I go.I gently push Cara away from me, ending our kiss in a heartbeat and taking a few steps back.Now is the moment I am supposed to look her straight in the eyes and lie to her that I do not feel anything for her, but I can't bring myself to do that.I can never, ever bring myself to do that.She is the only air I fucking need to breathe to stay alive. To really, really, stay alive.However, I can't confess my feelings for her either. I can't agree to what she is asking for, no matter how desperately I want to.She moves a step towards me. I jerk back, raising my hand."Stay away from me Cara. What you feel for me is fleeting. It is just a phase that will not last. Alex is my best friend and future alpha, and you know that we may never be together. You deserve—""You don't know that," her voice cracks as she takes another single step towards me. "Nobody knows that."I gasp silently in shock. Why do I feel like she just used something I said before against me?I back further away from her. "Cara, this is for your own good. Damn I should have never let you kiss me that night."I bite down on my tongue immediately those words leave my mouth, regret instantly burning all over me like acid rain.Cara stumbles backwards away from me, as if stung by a horde of vicious bees, her lips trembling slightly as more tears wet down her face.That first night she kissed me, that first time, I fucking felt alive. Resurrected. Like something dead in me sprung back to life.Now, I can't help but feel that I have just ruined that happy memory.I keep ruining everything.Coward. You are a fucking coward Dane.Our pack is at least a twenty-minute run from White Moon, our neighboring pack. I know I will regret the next decision I am about to make for the rest of my miserable, fucking life.'Storm, let's go.'He does not say anything, but I begin to feel the slight burning of my irises as the forest green color of my eyes start to change into a bright gold.'It is going to be a long run Dane.''I fucking know that.'I turn my back on Cara, allowing myself to shift as Storm takes over."Fuck you Dane!"I clench my teeth hard, my bones crackling as I shift. This is the first time Cara has ever cursed me.I finally shift into my wolf form fully—a golden eyed dark chocolate brown wolf on the verge of leaving everything and everyone he loves behind.I move a step forward. Then, pause. And turn around.I absorb a long, last look at my Caramel. At the girl who has stolen every bit of my wretched heart. Her sobbing face will forever haunt me in my dreams.But that is a price I am willing to pay to save us both.I turn back around.With a loud howl of indescribable pain tearing out from me and straight into the night sky, I break into a run….PRESENT DAYCARAInduction Day is always worth the stress. Worth the sacrifice of brain cells. Worth the sleepless nights filled with rigorous training drills and marathon exam preparations.For two solid years, I and my brother Al, together with our friends, Rhia and Killian, stood by one another through the thick and thin of the Greenwood Defense Academy.And today, all our efforts and hardwork will be worth it.The large auditorium is opulently decorated. The vast space is bathed in a soft, golden glow emanating from the ornate chandeliers suspended from the high vaulted ceiling.The rays of the morning sun radiates into the auditorium through the tall glass windows, adding to the glow of the chandeliers. Rich tapestries line the high interior walls. Rows and rows of polished oak pews stretch the entire space all the way to the exit, each one cushioned with plush burgundy velvet.Delicate floral arrangements, bursting with vibrant hues of crimson, gold, and emerald, adorn the seve
CARADear Selene….I think I am hearing auditory illusions all of a sudden. My ears must be playing games with me.Dane!?…. Dane can't possibly be here. He can't possibly be back. There is no way he is even an inductee in this ceremony!Silence settles all over the atmosphere once again, and steady footsteps begin to echo down one of the aisles leading to the podium.The central aisle….Rhia turns around, and before I can stop myself from joining her, I am already staring wide-eyed…. at Dane.He is here.He is really here.And he is walking down majestically towards the podium to receive his warrior mark.All the air in my lungs evaporates. I struggle to breathe properly, and my heart thunders for all the wrong reasons.All the pent up emotions rush back up my throat like bitter bile, and I fight with everything I have not to puke out the delicious cereal I had for breakfast this morning.Every cell in my body ignites to life as I continue watching Dane wordlessly and breathlessly as
CARAOf course I am not alright.I feel like I am about to experience a full blown panic attack.How can I be alright when there are plenty chances of me stumbling into Dane in here of all fucking people and of all fucking places!?But I do not want to trouble Rhia with my anxiety. So, she does not need to know the truth.“I am fine. I just need to use the restroom.” I smile, being careful not to make my fake expression look exaggerated. Rhia has this invisible dexterity of sniffing out exaggerations.“Alright. Take your time. Meanwhile….” she suddenly appears to my front, winking mischievously at me. “Don’t fuck around in there.”I laugh. Rhia's brazen mouth never lacks the nastiest statements. I am still surprised that her V card still exists after all these years.“I am coming.” I turn around, heading straight for the exit. The restroom is the least place I want to be in right now….I need to go somewhere far away from here. Somewhere I do not want to see him.Why the hell is he ba
DANEHell.Hell is staying away from her. Hell is not being able to touch her again. Hell is not being able to finally hold her in my arms after all these years that I have lived like an exiled, untamed animal without her.She stood before me. I felt her breaths on my face. I felt the heat of her supple skin merely inches apart from mine.And yet, I could not bring myself to risk even a slight graze. Not even a touch.The stunning sunset bathes the garden in sultry, soft colourful hues around me.But my eyes only linger at the long, wavy golden blonde locks of Cara's hair shimmering in the sunset as she walks away from me.Every step she takes as she drifts farther away steals that divine sight of her hair from me. Bit by bit…Until there is nothing left but an empty garden pathway staring back at me.Unable to bear the pain and pretense any longer, I drop down to my knees on the ground, and succumb to the agony that has shrouded my soul in its complete darkness for two whole years.A
DANENow back home, I ignore the tension hanging in the air of my mother's study office, which is almost suffocating.The warrior stands with her back to the bookshelf, arms folded. Her pixie hair cut is dyed green black, a colour I think suits her gloomy, heartless demeanor very well.She even has a large eagle wing tat on her right arm now, adding to the collection of the rest of her tats existing on almost half of her back and stomach.Carmden Morgan never loved tats. But after dad's death, she began swimming in tons of them.I relax comfortably into the plush soft sofa facing her desk, playing with the plain silver ring around my index finger and not caring that fire embers are shooting from her eyes directed at me.Why is she still silent!? Can we get on with this conversation already?“Julian told me you want to be allocated to the packhouse.” She finally spits out the words like they are bitter medicine she needs to get rid off her tongue.“You are acting like I didn't tell you
CARAThe Martial Base is bigger than any establishment I have ever seen in Greenwood.I have been here with my dad. Countless times since I was a kid. But every new time I step my feet onto these grounds, I feel like I am being sucked up into its harsh but mesmerizing beauty.I slowly drive my car forward towards the giant gates guarding the entrance of the base. Their onyx colour is a darker sync to the deep ash color of the high, barbed wired four walls guarding the base perimeter.As I approach the gates, I lower my car window and poke out my head just in time to hear a familiar baritone voice ringing out from the left watchtower stationed on the left high side of the gates.That's fucking Jasper. I can recognize his aquaman voice anywhere.“Cara!” He looks down at me with a smile.I give him a bright one in return. “Open the damn gates Jasper.”“Easy princess.” He drawls out with a smirk, and disappears back into the watchtower.Seconds later, the gates open wide, and I drive thro
CARAI take a huge bite.Dear goddess…. It feels like all my taste buds just got electricifed to life.Kian has really mastered this baking stuff superpower.“Hmmm,” I moan, taking another bite. “Maybe this cake is also one of the reasons why that girl followed you here, Kian. It tastes so damn good.”“Thanks.” He says with a corky smile.Rhia swiftly steals a cake chunk from Kian and tucks it inside her jacket, eyeing him. “If you end up not teaching me how you made these—”“Calm down tigress,” he shoves his floppy onyx hair off his forehead with a chuckle. “You know I don't go back on my word.”“You better not. You are too handsome for me to chop and mash you into dog food for Silver.”Silver is Rhia's German Shepherd. Huge with fluffy silver fur with sparses of faint black strands. That pet of hers can smell a fading scent as far as six hundred paces away from a single spot.“Silver loves me.” Kian defends. “She would never eat me even if I am processed into dog food.”These two….
CARAI was wrong back there in the briefing room. Everything about this job looks like it will be so damn hard.Thanks to Dane, it took me a full whole minute before I could finally breathe properly again after I climbed down that podium and left the briefing room.But now, once again, I am finding it hard to breathe, thanks to the mountain piles of paperwork I am currently staring at right here in my new office.They look like tall skyscrapers, and they seem to be waiting comfortably and patiently for their new mistress right there on the floor beside the corners of my desk.“Garrick really left a shit ton of work before he got sacked.” Sienna, my subordinate in charge of weapon maintenance, hisses as she joins me too in staring at the piles. “I am here if you need any help, and to be honest, you will be needing tons of it.”I sigh. She is right, and I am instantly in love with her trait of not mincing words with me. I love working with people who are honest, open, and straightforwar