DIMITRI VALEQUEZ

I chugged down the remaining whiskey in my glass as I leaned back into the sofa, my gaze not moving from Adriana who was still asleep on the bed. She has been sleeping for many hours now since she fell unconscious last night after drinking from the wine the head witch Agatha had prepared.

I ran my thumb across my bottom lip, pulling up from the sofa, and ambling to the bed. I pulled back the strands of hair that covered her face, trailing my fingers on her smooth pristine skin. She was helplessly beautiful.

My fingers moved down to her arm which the pack doctor had covered with some bandages. Because of the bonding ritual last night, Adriana now bore the mark of the crescent moon on her arm just like every member of my pack. She was human and couldn't heal as wolves did, so in the meantime, it would feel like a deep wound until her body healed up at its human pace.

I knew she would have a lot of questions when she woke up. Last night, after she had fallen unconscious from Agatha's concoction, we had completed the necessary rites to bind her to our pack as my mate.

I had binded Adriana to us without her consent. I had no choice, it was necessary for the survival of my people. And now we were bound together by the moon. I could feel her emotions and whatever I had felt for her had strongly intensified.

I knew this was the effect of the mate bond and with what happened last night, our bond just got stronger.

Oh goddess, I hated feeling this way.

This marriage was supposed to be a win-win. I got what I wanted, and she got what she wanted. Money for her sister's surgery. I shouldn't feel this way but I did.

Even though I hated doing any of these to her, I had no choice. I was responsible for the survival of the entire werewolf kind. We had to break the curse before the next blood moon or we would all die.

Last night was also Adriana's Luna ceremony, and she wasn't even aware. With the bonding ritual, she was now linked to me and my pack. It was necessary for the Blood Moon ritual to break the curse Asula placed on us.

Asula was a dark witch, and once a member of the circle of witches. All Asula wanted was more dark magic, death, and chaos. She had wanted to be the Luna Queen of the werewolf kind, but Alpha King Magnus, my grandfather and head of the Council, had refused her.

It hurt Asula, and suddenly, she vanished, only to be back a few years later with a drive for vengeance. She had killed Alpha King Magnus' mate and placed a curse on my grandfather and the entire wolf kind. A curse that can only be attempted to be broken on the day of the blood moon.

Over the years my father attempted to break the curse with the help of some witches after finding his mate, but there was no witch strong enough to anchor the ritual except the Halo clan of witches. They were direct descendants of the goddess herself, and for many years, everyone thought they were extinct, but my father found one, Esther Blackrose.

Only a Halo witch with the mark of the goddess could break the curse. Esther had agreed to help us, but on the night of the ritual, the vampire king, Nikola Vladimir had waged war on the entire supernatural kind. It was a massacre, he wanted to eradicate every one of us. He had attacked the fae, elven, and the dragon kingdom. Including the witches, and the demon realm.

He attacked every supernatural kind. He also had help from dark witches. That night we weren't prepared for what hit us. I was just fourteen and had lost not only my parents but almost the entire wolf kind.

Every supernatural kind was forced into hiding. I had to live like I didn't exist for fourteen years until I could find wolves that had survived the massacre by Nikola and rebuild our pack again. I also reached out to other supernatural kinds that survived and wanted to join me and my people to take revenge on Nikola.

But through it all, the witches and I couldn't find the last living Halo witch from the Blackrose bloodline. Esther had died during the attack saving me. The witches and I also found out Nikola had attacked the Blackrose coven as well. Esther's husband, who was also a wolf, her sister, and her eldest daughter had died that night as well, but her youngest daughter survived.

We had searched for her for years, not only because I needed her to break the curse before we could battle Nikola but because I promised Esther I would since Nikola was desperately searching for her too. And I had a feeling we'd find her soon.

This morning, the head witch Agatha had left to meet one of her witch friends who had Esther's belongings, and with that, the witches could do a location spell to find the last living Halo witch.

My thoughts were cut off as Adriana stirred on the bed, her perfect long lashes pulled apart and her eyes fell on me.

She jerked up from the bed, suddenly wincing from the pain coming from her arm.

“What happened to me last night?” She brought her hand to her arm as I took in a deep breath.

Even though I hated what I was doing to her, I couldn't tell her the truth. Adriana was human and I didn't know how she'd react if she knew about the existence of a world of the supernatural completely different from hers.

Besides, it was best she didn't know anything. That way, it would be a lot easier for her to walk away from all of this when it finally came to an end. Even though my wolf, Ryker, was completely against the idea, I was glad we didn't have to mark her, otherwise there was no way she'd walk out of this mess even after the curse was broken.

Adriana's blue eyes pierced into mine, and I read every emotion on her beautiful face. I could tell from her face she knew something was wrong, but it didn't matter, Agatha used magic to ensure she never remembered what happened last night, and I wanted it to stay that way.

For her sake, and mine as well, because she was starting to make me feel all the things I shouldn't.

ADRIANA CROSS

“You slipped during the party and injured your arm. Don't you remember?” Dimitri's words couldn't stop echoing in my mind all through the day.

Dimitri had told me earlier this morning when I woke up. I had drank too much wine, and slipped during the party, injuring my arm.

I heaved a sigh, bringing a hand to my arm. The wound was still a little fresh and I could tell it would leave a weird scar when it's all healed up. I couldn't clearly remember what happened last night, but for some reason, something about everything seemed strange.

Whenever I try to remember something from last night all I kept seeing was a flash of several faces, including Dimitri's and the woman who looked familiar last night, Agatha. It was as if there was a powerful force ensuring I didn't remember.

Absent-mindedly, my hand touched the ruby bracelet on my wrist. I could try to figure out what happened last night but it was very risky. I hadn't taken off the bracelet since that cruel night fourteen years ago when I watched my entire family die at the hands of Nikola just to save me. I was only ten and all alone in a world I had to escape to survive those who wanted me dead or wanted to exploit my powers for their selfish greed.

The truth was, I was far from being human. I came from a world where the supernatural exists. My mother was a Halo witch from the powerful Blackrose bloodline and my father was a wolf. After the massacre of my family by the vampire king, I was forced into hiding but the bastard was still searching for me.

There were times I wanted to go back for revenge, but I couldn't. I promised my sister before she died that I would survive at all costs, and that was what I had been doing all these years. Surviving. I had binded my wolf and cloaked myself and contained my magic using the ruby bracelet on my wrist.

I kissed Zoey's sleepy figure before I left the VIP ward and found two of Dimitri's bodyguards waiting for me in the black Mercedes outside the hospital.

I got in, and the car drove off. We were already halfway when I got a text from Dimitri asking me to meet him somewhere and it was urgent. The text wasn't from his saved number on my phone.

I showed the text to Rick, one of the bodyguards and the car turned around, heading to the location he had sent.

After some minutes, we were almost at the location but something was strange. The location Dimitri had sent was far ahead in the woods, located near the mountains.

We were still moving when Rick turned to me. “Are you sure, Mr Dimitri wanted you here?”

Something was wrong and I knew it in my bones. I was about to put a call through to Dimitri when, from nowhere, four figures rushed out from the woods, and they ran straight into our car, flipping it over, causing an accident.

The deafening sounds of the car glasses shattering against the ground pierced my ears as I had hit my head against the shattering window and a huge shard of glass had pierced through my stomach. I was upside down in the car, bleeding profusely from my head and stomach.

“Luna, stay with me, are you alright?”

I heard Rick's voice in a blur, as I tried to fight the pain and dizziness that shook my body.

Luna?

I tried to keep my vision steady, but it was of no use; I could feel my body giving up.

Swiftly, Rick ripped off the door to the passenger seat, and he got out of the car, unscathed, along with the driver, who charged against the four figures approaching us.

Before I could blink, three of the figures shifted into wolves.

I felt the blood that rushed to my head turned cold. They were fucking wolves.

My mind raced with so many questions as dear paralyzed me. They all smelled like rogues. Had Nikola sent them? How did he find me?

I tried to get the door open but it was stuck, and I could barely move from the glass inside me. Rick hurried to my side, ripping off the door, about to pull me out, when from behind, one of the wolves lunged at Rick, and the next thing I heard was a loud growl from Rick, and just like the others, he shifted into a brown wolf.

Shock numbed my bones and I couldn't believe it. They were all wolves.

I was still frozen in shock when one of the figures grabbed a handful of my hair, forcing me out of the car. My hand instinctively fell on the ruby bracelet on my wrist. I could easily tear it off and access my magic, ripping every one of these bastards in shreds. Or, worst-case scenario, my wolf, Naya, could take over finishing them off. Suddenly, both ideas seemed so dangerous.

I hesitated as indecision shot through me, but then I thought of Zoey; she still needed me, well and alive, and by the looks of things, these bastards wanted me dead.

I was about to rip off the bracelet when a terrifying, angry growl rippled through the air, and a jet-black wolf dipped from the sky in his full elaborate beauty, looking as pissed as hell. He didn't waste any time as his teeth grabbed the man that had flung me and with a hard pull, he detached the man's head from his body.

I froze as blood splattered around us, tainting the trees and ground. I watched in horror as he moved swiftly and ripped the remaining two wolves in pieces, leaving just the driver's unconscious wolf and Rick's wounded wolf.

The black wolf stood in the middle of the bloodbath for a second, his eyes watching me and right before my eyes, he shifted into a man.

Not just any man.

But my husband, Dimitri. He was covered in blood, and very much naked before me.

Oh, goddess!

ADRIANA CROSS

A groan slipped past my lips as I shifted against something soft. But I could still feel the slight discomfort in my bones. What the hell happened to me?

As the thought grazed my mind, everything came flooding my mind in a flash. I remembered it all. Visiting Zoey in the hospital. Dimitri's text. The brutal attack. And… Oh hell, Dimitri Castello was a fucking wolf.

My eyes snapped open at once and I shot up to a sitting position, ignoring the pounding ache in my head. I glanced around my unfamiliar surroundings. I was in a room and this definitely didn't look like any room in the mansion.

I couldn't stop my heart from banging so hard in my chest. Had Dimitri kidnapped me after I found out who he was? Who they all were?

This was so bad. And all I could think about was Zoey. She was in grave danger. I just hope Dimitri hasn't done anything to her yet. I had to get to her and we had to leave. I had no single doubt Dimitri knew exactly who I truly was. That could only explain why he approached me. He knew I was a witch, and he was just like everyone who came after me.

Surprisingly, the thought caused a strange ache in my chest and I had to blink back the tears in my eyes.

I got out of bed, and to my surprise, I wasn't wearing my clothes from the attack. I was in a white dress shirt which smelled like Dimitri, unfortunately, with no underwear.

I tried not to think of the possibility of what my lack of clothing might mean and instead hurried for the door. I lifted a hand to the ruby bracelet around my wrist, removing the bracelet, something I should have done a long time ago. My bracelet has always been spelled. Each bead held special properties that binded my magic, and wolf. As long as I wore it, I couldn't be tracked by any means, including magic, and my magic couldn't send some kind of beacon to those after me. But I had no choice now, desperate times definitely called for desperate measures.

I left the room, trying my hardest to remain unseen while I snuck down the hallway. I was about to take the stairs when I heard a familiar, angry growl from the office at the other end of the hallway. It was Dimitri's and strangely, against every muscle in my bones, I froze. Something was going on in there, almost like an argument.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I moved closer to the door until I could hear every word being said.

“Relax, Alpha. Killing Sabrina won't fix anything,” A woman muttered in a calm, controlled familiar voice. I met her last night at that weird party and Dimitri introduced her to me as Agatha.

“Someone has to pay!” Dimitri growled again and I could almost feel the heat of his fury. “Adriana almost died today. If I didn't get there at that precise moment, she would have been…” Another growl, and then I heard a bang against the wall.

“I am sorry, Dimitri—” Sabrina's voice filtered into my ears, her voice trembling in fear.

“It's Alpha to you!”

“Alpha,” She corrected. “I swear to the goddess, that wasn't my doing. I'd never jeopardize every one of our lives. I… I… just wanted to scare her because she insulted me yesterday. Believe me, I have no idea why those rogues showed up,”

“And now, because of your stupidity, you exposed us all. She knows what we are,”

“That entirely isn't a bad thing,” Agatha spoke again.

“No. Her knowing complicates everything,” Dimitri said.

“Maybe Agatha can use her magic and wipe her memories. Adriana wouldn't remember anything just like she can't remember what truly happened at the party last night,” Someone spoke up, and my hand pulled up to my lips in surprise. Agatha was a witch too.

My heart was racing fast. I was surrounded by witches and wolves. This was really bad.

And I knew I wasn't crazy. I could definitely feel something had happened to me last night. They did something to me and I couldn't remember. All the more reasons I had to leave this place, and fast.

“Alpha, maybe—”

“Silence,” Dimitri's instant word made the room go completely quiet, almost as if they could sense someone was eavesdropping.

Without thinking twice, I darted towards the stairs, going through the large kitchen which had a few people. They could all be wolves for all I care. Thankfully, they didn't try to stop me, and I managed to get out through the back door, racing out into the night.

I had no idea where I was going as the mansion was almost in the middle of the woods and my only source of light in the darkness was the bright moon hanging up in the sky. I just had to take my chances, darting into the woods barefoot.

I kept running, ignoring the pain from my wounded feet until I recognized I was completely lost, and approaching a dead end. It was then I felt the presence in the woods. Oh fuck, they had found me.

I took a careful step back just in time as a large black wolf stepped out of the woods. I remembered it to be Dimitri's. And it was even larger than what I remembered. Before I could take a step back, the wolf shifted to his human form, Dimitri, standing completely naked before me, and what was worse, he didn't even seem to be bothered by his nudity.

But I was, and unfortunately, the darkness did nothing to hide anything from my view. He was a masterpiece of the gods, sculpted in their very image. Every small detail of his body was beautiful, so beautiful I couldn't seem to peel my eyes away from him. My gaze trailed from his perfect abs all down to the v-line leading to his…

The sudden clearing of throat pulled me out of whatever insanity had plagued me for a second. I couldn't believe I was ogling at Dimitri Velaquez of all people.

I snapped my gaze back to him only to see an irresistible smirk playing on his lips, almost as if he knew exactly what indecent thoughts I was having just a second ago about him. Could he read my mind? That would make him even more dangerous than I thought he was.

I took a step backward again, and my action caused his smile to vanish, and for a second, I thought I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes. Then he pinned me with a stare I couldn't fathom.

“I'm not going to hurt you, Adriana, Never,” He stated quietly.

“Is that why I was attacked today, or you tricked me into this marriage?”

“I apologize for what happened today, but those were rogues. One of my own would never hurt you, let alone me,” Call me crazy, but for some strange reasons, I believed him. “And for our marriage, we had a deal. I help you out with Zoey, and in exchange—”

“We stayed married for six months,” I couldn't stop the rage that was slowly mixing with my blood. “Only that you forgot to mention you are a fucking wolf. You deceived me into this marriage. Why did you really approach me when you could have found any other woman, even your mistress could have happily agreed to this marriage, so why me? Did you know who I was? Is that it, how did you find me?”

Dimitri's brows furrowed in confusion as he regarded me. “Who you are? What are you talking about Adriana? The only reason I approached you was because it's you. I promise I will explain everything to you, but first, we need to get back to the mansion. It's late and—”

I scoffed, taking a step back. “No way in hell will I be going back with you. If you really mean no harm, just let me go now,”

“I’m sorry, I can't,” He took a couple of steps forward, and I kept going back. “Adriana you have to stop moving backwards,”

“Well, I'm sorry too. But you leave me no other choice,” I muttered under my breath ready to use my magic on him.

“Adriana, I said stop!” Dimitri growled. “It's dangerous—” Before he could finish his words, I took another step backward, and my legs slipped, causing me to fall down the cliff.