Kamari's Point of View My heart was beating out of my throat. Became a lumpy mass just below the crook of my chin. It was the sternness in his voice that did me in. That made my body seize up. Betray me by standing still almost immediately. It reminded me of someone. Someone I would much rather have forgotten. "Zayan, let me go." I pleaded softly and tried to move forward. But the arm he had around my waist wouldn't move an inch. I swallowed hard and tried again. To no avail. "Not until you listen. Until we... talk." He stammered on the last word, making me tilt my head to be able to look up at him. His brows were furrowed into a frown. I tried to move again and his grip tightened. I yelped. Stomped on his toes as hard as I could. It did the trick. Zayan groaned in reply and let go of me. Stumbling forward, I angled my body away from him. But my face toward him. "If you want to fucking talk, then let me go!" I screamed at him as I rounded to face him. He had his palms splayed
Kamari's Point of View We were walking in silence, guards trailing behind us. The blanket around my shoulders was softer than I had thought it would be. By a large margin. And Arik's company... "You were out on a run? You can't just leave without telling anyone, Kamari. Your father was worried again." He explained. His hands were tucked in behind his back as we walked. One of the guards had brought him a pair of trousers at least. This also meant that now my eyes could strain as much as they wanted. Which was a lot. His abs were rock solid. But when he thought I wasn't looking, he would relax them. Still toned. Not as defined but I would have gladly licked down them all the way to his- Fucking wolf. Fucking mating bond. This was the jackass that rejected me in front of the entire pack. The jackass that never even fucking apologized. "I worry him a lot, lately," I admitted and moved around an old rotting stump. Arik seemed to follow my lead. Moved around it in the same directi
Kamari's Point of View I watched as the sun crawled over the mountain. Inch by inch. My body was screaming at me to finally sleep. To succumb to the darkness. Yet when I tried it several hours ago, it refused. Kept throwing scenarios into my head. Made up stories that could possibly one day happen. But was still very unreal and so far into the future that I wasn't sure I would live long enough to see the day. Then came the awful memories of my past. The day I turned... Bitter. Hurtful. Now that I thought back on it, my mother wasn't the one to deliver the final verdict. That had fallen to my grandfather. Back then, he claimed it was on behalf of my mother. The old bastard never had a loving bone in his body. Was cold and callous. Barely regarded me, even before I showed them all my wolf's color. His disdain at my mother and father taking over was always made clear. The reason for handing over power? They now had an heir. And his health was declining. Simple enough solution. Bu
Kamari's Point of View The pack was exactly as I remembered it. Calm. Near silent. There was no one on the streets. No people jogging or even going in and out of shops. If you didn't look close enough, it would have looked more like a ghost town than anything else. But when you squinted just right, you could see them inside the buildings. Working. Busy. But the signs were the same. Not even a crumb of aging to the buildings. No peeling paint or cracked foundations. All of it was neatly trapped in time. Nine years prior. "This is where you grew up?" Nolan asked from the back seat. The packet of chips he had given me was now empty and discarded by my feet. My dad had nearly thrown a hissy fit because of it but left well enough alone. It was a fragile moment for the two of us. We were unsure what to expect. We hadn't called Rachel. Refused to. She would come up with some excuse to get out of the visit and neither of us wanted that. "Yeah," I replied, absentmindedly staring out the
Kamari's Point of View The two men faced off when my mother fell mute. Her mouth opened and shut but no sound came out. Nausea roiled in my stomach. Dripped a steady line of acid down my throat. Nolan's hand clenched on my knee. I looked over. He was still smiling at me. Nodded slowly. He wanted me to breathe. Calm down. But how could I when I felt like an intruder rather than the daughter of the woman standing at the door? Rachel was dumbstruck. I assumed she never thought we would ever show up here, even when she had asked for me to come back. And Gaelan had a solid pair of balls on him right now. Spread his arms on the counter so wide that if someone was to grab his hand, he would hit his chin. His smirk was also extremely telling. "Nolan, care to take your martinis?" My dad asked, ignoring the visibly upset and dumbfounded man in front of him. "Yes, sir." For a split second, he squeezed my knee again and stood. Took the glasses from my dad and walked right past the upset-l
Kamari's Point of View I was biting back tears. Forced myself to stay calm. Collected. But it seemed to be failing the more I looked at my parents. Noticed the subtle tones of their bodies. How remorseful and guilty they looked. Ridden hard and long by life. "I know that you must have had the best intentions for me at heart," I paused. Swallowed down the tears and lump in my throat. Gripped Nolan's leg hard. "But I don't think this is something I can just get over." "We understand, Kamari. We do. Take all the time you need. Go walk one of the trails. We can talk about this over lunch again if you want." Rachel said, smiling back at me. Silver also lined her eyes. The smile was forced beyond what it should have been. But not fake. For the first time in a long time, my mother genuinely smiled at me. I nodded and stood. Gave my father one last lingering look before heading out through the door Rachel had come in through. Nolan followed close. Slid the doors shut once we were outside
Malakai's Point of View "Keanu!" The word echoed out of my mouth. Fluttered in every direction imaginable. Still, the small wolf refused to appear. My mother was going to kill me. All because I indulged the little bastard by taking him on the green trail Rachel had recommended earlier this morning. "Keanu, please! I didn't mean to step on your paw! It was an accident, I swear!" I yelled whilst cupping my hands over my mouth. If he was anywhere close by, and could hear me but refused to show face, he had worse things to worry about than the wrath of our mother. I was going to throttle him. "For the love of fuck, Keanu! This isn't funny anymore." Fear coiled tightly in my stomach. Just above the makeshift belt I had made by ripping the fabric from some pants I found. A cache. Rachel really needed to start stocking up on all different sizes. They were several sizes too large and I wasn't planning on looking for my little brother naked. The pants had to do for now. Until I found him
Kamari's Point of View He was the first person to ever call me out so easily. As if it was nothing to him. He was also the first person that made me talk within moments of knowing me. In other situations, I would have headed for the hills by now. Shirked him off and took off, if you understood what I meant. Sometimes even I didn't fully understand what I meant by things. My mind was a tangled web lately. Nothing escaped it. But this man, this brooding beast of a man with sharp green eyes, he somehow saw through all of my bullshit. In one swoop of his tongue, he cut me where I knew I was weak. "First off, let me introduce myself. I am Malakai Dayholt. Alpha of Four Rivers pack. It is nice to meet you, Kamari." He rolled my name off of his tongue so elegantly. Had a small drawl to it. It took me a moment to process. "Well that isn't fair, all I know about you now is your name and title whilst you know almost everything about me, I am certain." I mused, settling into my skin a bit