Anna was frightened by the men lying on the floor outside the building. She was forced to think twice about what she had contemplated doing. Though she wasn't sure if they were dead, they seemed lifeless as they didn't move a single muscle as she tiptoed through them all the way to the back door which Elsa had followed.On the inside was smoke, and Anna was glad that she hadn't thought Elsa's covering of her nostrils to be a mere facade or an act of disguise. The smoke was almost blinding, and she thought that not even Lucian could survive that if he had been in there. Good thing she had tied a piece of clothing around her mouth and nostrils, though she held her breath almost throughout the whole incident, and that made her unable to perceive what the odor of the smoke was like.She could hear some fighting in the distance. She soon realized that it wasn't happening in some distant place but right above her. The voices of the people struggling and straining to gain the upper hand beca
"Were you trying to get yourself killed on purpose?" Lucian's timing was impeccable, just like it had been the day he had saved her when she was under the heavy downpour. He looked a bit scary with the black piece of clothing tied around his mouth and nostrils.She hated herself for enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. It had felt so safe, so firm but comforting at the same time. That was surely every woman's dream, to be always held in arms as safe as that. But then, she snapped out of it, as she wasn't supposed to be thinking of such things in a situation as that."How did you even get in here?" Lucian asked as he quickly set her on her feet. In an instant, he was looking at the man that had been chasing her, as though he was sizing him up."I followed Elsa all the way here. She's got to be around here somewhere. I'm not really sure about—""I'll be needing this," he interrupted as he took her sword by the hilt. The sword she had been hesitant to unsheathe had finally been set
"What can we possibly explain this to be?" Carlyle wondered out loud at the round table where Lucian and his seven top subordinates met.Lucian and all his men were dumbfounded, leading to a deafening silence, as no one had the slightest idea what had really happened that day. Their so-called impeccable security had been infiltrated rather too easily, clearly showing how vulnerable they really were.Having his convictions rattled from the core, Lucian just didn't know what else to believe at that point. He had been completely sure about the fact that it had been his former pack coming after him. But then, having seen the face of the man who had almost killed Elsa, he was at a loss for what to say. His seemingly perfect convictions had suddenly crumbled."We have perpetrators from our side." Lucian declared suddenly, as he couldn't hold in his thoughts for one more moment. "That has got to be how they managed to get in." He spoke regardless of the appalled facial expressions of all who
Anna froze in Lucian's arms, except that her hands clung to his shoulders for anchorage. Her mind just couldn't make up any interpretations of what was happening at that moment. Why were her lips stuck on his? And why was she too lost in ecstasy to question what he was doing? Why did it feel so good to have him breathing on her? How was he comfortable holding her in his arms with her perspiration?His touch on her body gave her the feelings that she had read about in the romance novels she had devoured when she was back home. No one had ever awakened the woman in her, and that moment made her feel a bit uncomfortable just as much as it pleased her.After a few moments of passionate kisses which she had unintentionally engaged in, she tried to pull away from it, but then his grip on her was gentle but firm— a kind she didn't want to break out from. But she had to before he would take it a step further. His hands were already going down below her waist, and making dangerously for her so
“You seem more worried than usual today.” Carlyle quickly took note of Lucian's unusual disposition. “What's the matter?”That was the only thing Lucian disliked about his beta and aide— he knew his alpha too well. He could predict almost all of Lucian's thoughts and intents, and couldn't let any of the details of his observation pass by.“Nothing really. I'm just still a bit shaken up from yesterday.” Lucian said, looking away, through his window as usual. He hoped that explanation would keep Carlyle at bay, at least for the time being. There was no way he would tell him that he was being haunted by the memories of his late-night foolishness. “I'm just wondering how someone at the table would be able to betray us into the hands of our enemies.”“I'm still doubtful that the mole is among your council members. It's simply inconceivable. But then, you seemed so sure of it, and that's a good sign.”“Right.” He thought Carlyle's reply itself as a good sign, as he had successfully diverted
At the sight of the small fires outside small tents, Carlyle couldn't be pleased any more than he was at the moment. He had feared that he wouldn't find them there anymore, but there they were, like a beacon of hope, in the middle of nowhere.He reached for his doublet with his right hand to make sure he had brought the arrow with him. It was soon a panic session as he couldn't find the arrow that he was to use as his exhibit."No way..." he searched more vigorously and was about to bring in his left hand to join in the search. But then, he realized that his left hand had been a bit numb as it had been clinging to something so desperately. He looked to see the arrow in his left hand and realized that he had hidden his left hand in the long cloak the moment he had taken up the arrow. "Goodness..." he breathed a sigh of relief.With that sorted out, he confidently made his way towards the tent. He had been readying his words since he had set out on the nightly voyage to an unknown land
The anticipation levels were something else for Anna as she was awaiting Roth by the streamside. Their conversation the last time had ended with him promising to teach her a thing or two about handling a sword perfectly.But then, she wondered if he had intended to get someone to do the demonstrations as he looked nothing like a swordsman. He seemed so calm that he looked like he couldn't hurt a fly. He looked very much like one of the children of the elite who couldn't afford to get dirty, as they would have their parents to deal with afterward. There just wasn't any trace of a warrior trait in him.His charm was an undeniable fact. She had yet to see anyone that had it like he did. Lucian came close, but he always seemed to be too serious to let his charm express itself fully.The wait was becoming uncomfortable as she soon found herself comparing Lucian to Roth. Why did he have to pop up in every single one of her thoughts? She soon heard some footsteps approaching hurriedly to whe
"What's happening here?" Lucian asked angrily with his brows furrowed at the both of them."What do you mean?" Anna asked back, wondering why he had shown up there and then, and why he was so curious to know what they were doing there.She had to had to admit that Roth had stepped a bit unusually closer to her, to help her perfect her posture, but then why was he getting so worked up about?"I meant..." Lucian's voice softened a bit, as he seemed to realized that it was awkward for him to get worked up in that scenario. "What are you both working on?"Anna looked on in slight embarrassment, as she felt some shame for him. He had probably come all the way down there to talk to her, most certainly, about their last uncannily romantic encounter, only to be met with the sight of her with another. With that scenario, it was becoming just a little clearer, what his intentions were for her."Sorry, I was just trying to help her fix her fighting postures and all that." Roth replied Lucian as