ELENA’s POV
I step onto the ring and all around me, everyone quieten down to a hush. A gentle breeze picks up and blows at my hair, sending a few stray strands to dance around my eyes.
Dance…yes. This is only a dance, I tell myself. Except it is a dance of blades.
Baldy makes his way to the ring and takes his stance opposite me. He winks at me and licks his lips in the most obscene of ways. Maybe I should aim for his tongue first.
I tuck the strands of hair behind my ear and stretch out my right hand in front of me with the blade held tight. The tip gleams under the sunlight, and the sun’s reflection momentarily blinds me causing me to stagger back slightly.
This elicits a laugh from Baldy. “Sweetheart, why don’t you just give up? You can’t even stand straight!”
A few of the men start to laugh and for some reason, a drop of uneasiness penetrates me. The memory of my failure in
HUNTER’s POVThe basement is dark and dingy with only a lone lightbulb hanging from the slabs above. It swings like a pendulum, casting moving shadows all around. There is no window air in this stale and murky room. All the better. This is not a resort, this is a dungeon for my VIPs. And today, I have a very important guest who hangs by the shackles of the brick walls.“Let me go!” a young man screams as he tugs desperately against the chains that bind him. Veins pop out on his neck and sweat glistens on his body as he struggles to catch his breath in this suffocating room.“Please, Alpha. I am merely here for the trial. Nothing more. I’m no spy. Please, let me go…”His shifty eyes fall on Liam who stands next to an iron stove, heating an imprinted iron bar on heated coals of braziers. A symbol of a wolf amidst a raging storm is fashioned at the end of the bar and it glows in a variety of w
ELENA’s POVThe blazing sun is starting to dip below the horizon and it is a beautiful sight. It bathes everything it touches in a pale dusky pink glow, melting like molasses beneath the horizon of towering trees. Overhead, a flock of birds soar across the sky, all dashing back to their nests to settle in for the night. But it is far from over for us for we have now entered the final round of this trial.“Alright people, get your asses on the shooting range. Now!” Helios yells, waving for us to move faster. We all stand in a horizontal line but just as I step forward to take my spot, a spasm of pain shoots right up my wounded arm and I wince. Looking down, I see that the makeshift bandage is now soaked with blood. A trickle has somehow escaped the confines of Hunter’s shirt and it drips onto the ground.“Move it, Elena! We don’t have all night!” Helios yells in my ear and I cringe at his deafening
ELENA’s POVBy the time the last shot is fired, the sun has bid its goodbye and the moon is high up in the sky. I squint my eyes, peering at the targets that are a distance away and try to see how I fared. The abstract silhouettes come to a halt and are riddled with bullet holes, but it is hard to see whose shots were the best.Helios raises a hand, signalling for us to lower our guns and we do as we are instructed. Hunter gives him a nod and Helios strides to the very far end of the shooting range. I swallow thickly and look over to Hunter but he does not meet my gaze. He has put on a new shirt, a dark blue one this time and with his arms crossed, his face remains a blank slate; I cannot tell what is going through his mind.I look the other way and see the faces of the other competitors. The way their eyes shift nervously and their hands fidget mirrors exactly how I feel inside. As if sensing how I feel, Connor looks my way giving m
ELENA’s POVIt took us hours to get here but the sky is still dark by the time our cars come to a halt at the edge town just by the mountains. Ezekiel’s pack stays further in land but every once in a while, they come to town to collect money from the villagers and this particular morning, the place looks rather empty.There is an almost serene feeling to the entrance of the town as a shroud of early morning mist envelopes the place. And as I stare out the heavily tinted window, I can see but a few villagers there, all getting their stalls of fruits, poultry and vegetables ready for the coming trade that the day will bring.I wonder how much Ezekiel robs them of their wages of hard work. Back in our village, we had to pay more than half of our earnings to the Blood Stone pack. I exhale, feeling anger coarse trough my veins. I hate it when the strong pry on the weak and bully them. Why can’t they work hard for their own foo
ELENA’s POVI walk behind Hunter with a hand to the pocket of the jacket where my gun rests. My breathing comes out fast and shallow and my eyes dart from left to right, ready to pounce upon a moment’s notice when suddenly, Hunter stops mid-stride.Oof!My nose crashes into his broad back.“Elena.” He is deep and low as he turns to face me and I blink rapidly, feeling my heart pounding like a blacksmith’s hammer on my chest. Hunter easily towers a head above me and I have to lift my head to meet his gaze. I gulp. I do not understand why I have become so nervous around him lately.He presses his lips into a thin white line and placing a hand on my shoulder, he gently applies pressure to it. “Relax.”Oh, was I too tense?“You have nothing to worry about Elena. I’m here with you,” he continues, his eyes hypnotizingly holding my gaze. “If anyone dares
HUNTER’s POVMOMENTS BEFORE THE HOWLEzekiel’ residence looms ahead of me. He lives in a pristine colonial-style mansion with an endless sea of trimmed lawn and fancy cars; a stark contrast to the muddly slums the villagers around him survive in. My lips curl downwards into a snarl and I shake my head in disgust. It is people like Ezekiel who give werewolves a bad name.Liam joins me, having combed parts of the village streets already. He shakes his head when he sees me looking at him.“No sign of Clyde,” he says.I frown and step forward onto his freshly mowed lawn. All around us, men suddenly pour out, all ready to shift. But one look at my face and they cower. They know very well who I am.One of them mouths, “Storm Rider’s Alpha….” and quickly runs back to the mansion, his arms flailing as he shouts to alert his own alpha. It doesn’t matter, I walk on
FREYA’s POVMOMENTS BEFORE THE HOWLI am trapped, Ezekiel’s men have found me.They drag me to Ezekiel’s mansion and roughly bind me to one of the great white pillars in the foyer. Tears blind my vision and my whole body cannot stop trembling. I am having trouble breathing.One of the men steps closer and burps in my face, assaulting my nostrils with the pungent stench of alcohol and cigarettes. He pats my cheek with his dirty hands and a whimper escapes my lips.“Please, please let me go,” I beg but they do not listen.They inch closer, surrounding me in a semicircle and exchange smirks. The sight of them leering sends goosebumps crawling up my skin and I suck in a deep breath.The one who patted my cheek says, ”When the Alpha is done with you, maybe we can have our turns too?” His words send a chill down my bone.My heartbeat roars in my ears and I shak
ELENA’s POV I run to her and wrap my arms around her. We both start to cry. I am holding onto one of the most important persons in my life right now. My sister, my Freya is here. It feels so surreal, so much so I feel like pinching myself just to make sure that this is not merely a beautiful dream. I pull back to take a good look at her, my fingers caressing every inch of her face, taking in the structure of her cheekbones, the bridge of her nose, the fullness of her lips….and I let out a pent up exhalation. She is slightly thinner than the last time I saw her but otherwise, she appears to be fine. With a quivering hand, I brush back the strands of her golden blonde hair and smile through my tears. This is real, this is not a dream so it’s okay to cry. I can cry happy tears, tears of joy are allowed. Then my gaze trails down the rope burns on her wrists and a frown immediately skirts across my face. Is she hurt? As if r