HAILEY STEWARTS
Terror gnaws at my gut as memories flood my mind, holding the door frame as support. My legs felt wobbly as tears brimmed my eyes, memories that I didn't let invade my mind came rushing, crashing in waves.
My facial features were a mix of my mom's - her lips, her high cheekbones, her smile, and my red hair. But I had my father's eyes and his blood of a fighter.
My mom was Luna of our pack and my father was Alpha, they ruled side by side, an undisputed pair with my dad's strong, brave, no-nonsense character and my mom's caring, forgiving, and tigress heart. They built the pack to the empire it was, one of the greatest and most courageous packs that no one dared attack our warriors, skilled to the teeth, always prepared, and won every battle they faced.
She'd gone missing before that fateful night, a search party had been organized, instructed by my father and led by his beta. They never returned, and the night my world came crashing down when my father was deemed a traitor, alongside a few other Alphas.
He had accepted his judgment bravely, with his head held high, claiming the truth will reveal itself, as a swear upon the moon goddess.
I was angry at the lycanthrope council for finding him guilty, how easily their loyalty could switch, neglecting all the sacrifices he had made and committed to maintain peace and sovereignty as Alpha.
A man who I admired, who I looked up to, my role model, my father, I loved wholeheartedly, and the moon goddess watched as this cruel judgment made a powerful Alpha beg to his knees for my life to be spared.
Ten years young, only ten years young!
I witnessed my father punished for a crime he did not commit, though all the evidence said otherwise. I didn't believe it; the whole system was corrupt and biased.
My heart breaks into pieces each time I hear his cries. They didn't give him the liberty of saying goodbye as he was dragged, stripped to only shorts, and whipped like an animal in front of everyone, and no one stopped it; no goddamn person showed up when we needed them the most.
Now, there's a new chapter unfolding, a tide deeper than blood, a tide I hate just as much as I detest Jaden.
I take deep breaths, clearing my thoughts, realizing I had gone too deep into the forest, letting my legs go wherever they pleased, where the moonlight hardly seeped through the tall trees.
Following a sweet scent that intoxicated my senses of honey and caramel, I didn't hesitate to follow, not caring where it led, which took me deeper and deeper into the woods.
Following the scent, avoiding scrub, dirt, and boulders, I got to my aim, a wolf – a beautiful one.
I'm awestruck by the gorgeous man standing a few feet away as I tiptoed to stand as close as possible, not wanting to be caught or interrupt his meditation. I had seen him before from a distance, but never up close like this or shirtless.
His forbidden beauty made me gawk at him; he was as big as Jaden, but not quite as bulky. He was wearing only shorts that hung low on his hips, his gorgeous body absorbing the moonlight, chest heaving up and down in ragged breaths like he had run a marathon, but I found drawn to him, his sweat devilishly dripping from his neck down his broad chest, his abs, then down his torso.
“You know I can sense you?” His deep voice asks in amusement.
Startled, I stepped back, hiding behind the trees, wishing it could open up and I could hide inside as my cheeks turned pink like a teenager who was caught spying on her crush.
“Who are you?” his melodic voice asks, stepping closer, I sink deeper into the tree as my heart hammers hard in my chest, so loud I was sure he could hear it.
“Hailey.” I whisper, forcing saliva down my throat. He stepped right in front of me, his dark eyes that I could drown in their depths rake down my body and go darker if that was even possible, a reaction I knew too well, disapproval.
I dart my eyes away from his cold stare, playing with a bark of the tree nervously, waiting for him to dismiss me like all of them do.
“Well Hailey, I'm Dimitri.” He said as his huge arms reach out to touch mine, he slowly glides one finger up my arm, leaving goosebumps where he touched, bringing me to a state of frenzy, I knew my cheeks will have turned bright red, and I'm grateful for the darkness that hides this.
Gently placing his finger under my chin, he raised my face up to look him in the eye, leaning closer, my heart raced as I judder in anticipation, daring to dream what those lips will taste like, as I watch him closely, his eyes trailed from my eyes down to my lips, the seductive moment bringing heat to my sex, and my body melt into compliance, I had never been sensitive in those areas before, and this gorgeous man was making me feel things in spots I never knew existed.
“Let her go!”
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