AUTHOR’S POVRyker pressed himself down into the chair, trying to keep himself from doing anything too drastic. If he couldn’t keep his emotions in check, then he would reveal everything going on.He’d known that Ophelia’s return was near, but he didn’t know how soon. Since she’d left for school, things hadn’t been easy for him. For starters, there had been no one to help him keep an eye on Orla, he’d been alone and without company, and he simply missed her presence. Despite what he’d led everyone to believe, his true mate was Ophelia, and not Orla like he’d convinced everyone to believe. That was what made being away from her an even more bitter pill to swallow. He simply wanted her to be by his side, so that he wouldn’t have to face all the struggles alone.After her return, Orla had postponed her torture of the men in the basement. He’d found her attitude towards them surprising, especially with the way she’d stabbed that person. As their Alpha, he’d felt every ounce of their pain

AUTHOR’S POVBEFORE ORLA’S ARRIVALAlec took a deep breath as he stepped down from his car. He leaned against it for a few minutes as he watched cars pass by, people hurry to their various destinations, and the electronic billboards advertising one event or the other taking place in the city.He’d missed Saint Terrir a whole lot. The peace of mind he had, as well as the alluring quietness of the town, was something that couldn’t be found anywhere else.When his father had asked him to return, he’d been more than happy to oblige. He knew it was coming anyway—that his father’s two decades of reign as the clan leader was coming to an end, and he’d have to take over as the oldest son. The only hitch to this was that he’d have to have a woman in mind when ascending, because goddess forbid that he becomes an alpha and doesn’t produce any heirs. Till now, he still didn’t understand why such a thing was still necessary. Being married didn’t equate to being wise. It made no sense to him. Besid

AUTHOR’S POVA hasty bump to her head drew Ella’s eyes open. She looked as far as her eyes could allow, but couldn’t see much. She got the weird feeling that she wasn’t upright, but rather, laying on her side. Her limbs were frozen in an uncomfortable position, and she couldn’t move anything apart from her neck.She tried to open her mouth to make a sound, but all too soon it dawned on her when her tongue brushed against damp cloth that she’d been gagged. Cold, icy fear trailed down her back and she instinctively tried to force her body to move within the range of its confinement, but she could tell that things weren’t going to go how she planned it. For some time she continued moving, trying to find a way to free herself, but something caused the whole place to abruptly jitter, and nearly sent her rolling off where she was lying down.From the looks of things, she was in a car, headed to an unknown destination. Outside the windows, trees moved past, and rays of light peeked into the

ORLAThe journey to the place that had been specified on the map didn’t take long, but throughout the process, all I could think about was how Ella was doing.While we’d been waiting to leave, I’d gotten a message from an unknown number that told me to come to a certain location all on my own. When I showed Maverick the message, he simply nodded and told me that everything would go well. I wondered what he’d meant, but I decided to just put my faith in him. He was an intelligent man, and as such, had grown up making decisions that others would have deemed too difficult. If there was one person I could trust in this, it was him.During the car ride, I tried to reach Makila, but I didn’t reach her, or rather, I called and she didn’t pick up my calls. It was an unusual occurrence, and since I was already getting consumed by anxiety, it only served as an addition to my fears. I settled for hoping that she was nearby.Maverick came up with the idea that it would have been better for me to

MAVERICKAll over again, I found myself trapped in a waking nightmare. Right before my eyes, Makila’s face seemed to change, turning from a face that had become almost familiar into one that I knew far too well, for it had tormented me for most of my life.She . . . was the one that had slaughtered my parents. The one that had set everything that I loved ablaze, and left me to be the one to pick up the pieces. I didn’t—couldn’t fathom how I hadn’t observed it sooner, and how I didn’t search deeper with regards to my suspicion of her.“For years, I have taken my time, watching you until the right moment came and I could finally get my revenge. Sparing your life was something that I had to do, although it hurt that I had to.” She bent over Sonia’s corpse and wiped her bloodied hands on her clothes, paying no attention to the fact that the person was once a living, breathing creature. “But isn’t it wonderful that you came right here, to me, after all these years?”Taking her head on woul