"I dare you... C'mon Ethan... Reject me if you can..." His eyes narrowed as a slight shock was reflected. Obviously, he did not expect does remark for me. For Sky, the future is not in her hand. In an instant, it can change and she has no control over it, just like an event that changed her life. In a blink of an eye, the life she was used to disappeared, and in that moment on, she lived in a nightmare. The plot to kill her... The jealousy that she never dreamed of... And the betrayal that she never thought would happen... No one knows that reclaiming control over the future would include so much from Sky.
SKY POV.
My naked feet rhythmically tap on the dusty dashboard in front of me, synchronized with the Seven songs blaring from the stereo. My mother cannot contain her joyous expression as she bobs her head and drums on the steering wheel. I turn around to observe my brother Owen, who is energetically pretending to play the guitar behind me. As the chorus looms, we all take a deep breath together.
Suddenly, the truck slams into us.
In an instant, we were lifted off the ground... Owen's screaming... And my mom's crying..
My eyes are closed with an immense amount of force. I slowly blink my eyes, then rapidly to eliminate the dirt and smoke. I strive to sit up, but it eludes me. My body seems to be undergoing a self-healing process. Blue's whimpering is audible to me, but it's weak within me, an unusual occurrence considering I require her help now more than ever.
'Blue, I need your help. Lora and Phila. Where are they? Are they okay? You need to track them down. Find them.' She growls loudly within me, so loud, in fact, it almost comes out.
She is indeed correct. My body has only partially healed, but it's adequate for me to be able to sit up. I examine the wreckage closely, but there is no indication of anything. I put my nose high in the air and try with all of my ability to pick up their scent, but I can't find it. I strain to hear, and my ears pick up the faint sound of something moving just a few feet away. It's coming from our car that doesn't even look like a car anymore.
"Mom!? Owen!?" I shout out.
"Sky?" I heard Owen's voice respond. "Sky, I can't move."
"It's going to be okay." I yell back. "Where are you?"
"Sky, I can't move my legs. The metallic object feels heavy and unwieldy on top of my body. They struggled, but the weight pinning them down was too much to bear. I can't heal myself!" I can hear the panic in his voice, in addition to smelling his fear.
I hear a rustling sound from within the car, and then I see her long, golden hair cascading down her back.
"Mom!" I cry out. "Mom?"
Her hair doesn't move again. Blue let out a mournful howl before disappearing from sight. A small whimper escaped my lips as I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling a solitary tear trickle down my cheek.
"Sky?" Owen calls out. "Where's mom? Why isn't she answering?"
I struggled to find the words, my mind consumed with uncertainty. The thought is so abhorrent that I cannot bear it. It can't be true. I yell her name again, but nothing.
"Sky?" His fear has only increased.
I fill my lungs with air and unveil my eyes. "Owen, I need you to try to sit up for me."
"I can't. I'm lying face down."
"Okay. I'm going to get to you." I fold my legs underneath of myself and place my hands firmly on the ground. "You're on the other side of the car?"
"Yes." He calls out.
I can feel him easing up, but the metallic scent of blood fills my nostrils, and my anxiety intensifies.
"Sky, where's mom?"
"I'm on my way, Owen. Don't worry." I crawl on all fours, cutting my knees and hands on bits of broken glass, to get to him. I pretend not to hear his question about mom and instead delve into a different subject. I wish I could shake the feeling that my thoughts might be true. It can't be true.
"I'm almost there Owen."
Having circled the car, I catch sight of his flushed face. He is marked with a cut on his cheek and his hair is strewn with pieces of glass from the broken window. The door, which was supposed to provide protection from the elements, was now pressing him down onto the ground.
"Hi Owen."
"Hi Sky." He attempts a grin.
Looking closer, I noticed that his body was completely trapped beneath the door, and to start healing, I needed to lift it off him.
"Okay, it's all going to be okay. I'm going to move the door off of you so you can start healing."
As soon as he nods, I drop to my hands and knees and begin to crawl.
As I approach the place where I think his feet would be, I'm closer to mom's door. It's clear that the impact was severe - the windshield is shattered, and the airbag is deflated, but she's still alive. She still hasn't moved and I've noticed that the smell of blood has gotten stronger. I sit on my legs, feeling the roughness of the ground beneath me, and take a deep breath to clear my mind.
"Sky?"
"Yeah, Owen?"
"Do you want me to count to three?" He asks sincerely. Ever since we were very little, and we had to do something scary, we would hold hands and the other would count to three. Despite my efforts to hold them back, tears streamed down my face, and I wiped them away as quickly as I could.
"Yes, please." I nod, even though he can't see me.
He counts out loud and as he says three; I lift the heavy door off of him and push it so that it lies on the other side of him. I carefully roll him over so that he's laying on his back so that his bones will reset in their proper place.
As he heals himself, I inch a little closer to the front of the car to get a better look at mom's injuries so we can help her. By now, she would have synchronized her mind with the rest of the pack.
Someone, or many someone's, should be on their way to help us right now. But as I get closer, I have to stop myself from looking. The smell of blood is so strong and her lifeless body in the front seat solidifies my worst fear. I look back at Owen with tears in my eyes, and he knows. He must have detected my emotions, as his eyes have begun to well up with tears.
"Mom's okay, right Sky?" He whispers.
"She's okay." I lie.
I don't know how or when, but she had to have gotten through to someone because just as Owen finally sits up, I can hear the pack. A stampede of howling wolves of all colors and sizes comes storming out of the woods, my father in the lead. Some of them shift back and approach the wreck. The women's sobs and the wolves' mournful howls fill my ears, but my eyes remain locked on my father.
He's shifted back and he just stands in front of our demolished car wearing nothing but the small mark my mother had given him when they were teenagers. But the mark is different now. It's fading right before my eyes. My father's face is the same. Hard and cold, like it's been my entire life. But there was a distinct feeling that something was amiss. His eyes dart around frantically, searching for something.
He's like a statue, not moving a muscle.
He refrains from speaking.
He doesn't take the time to look for Owen or myself.
He remains motionless, fixating his gaze upon her.
My Uncle Morison coughed out a sob before spotting Owen and I. Right after he sees us, my father's eyes dart over to us and his pained expression is gone and he's back to his normal stoic self. He retreats back to the pack without looking back at mother, without looking back at us.
I see Uncle Morison nod before he runs towards us, avoiding all the debris.
"Hey kiddo." He smiles as he ruffles Owen's hair, knocking some of the glass out. "How is everything? Is anything broken?"
"Everything's fine." I blurt out, annoyed, before Pete has the chance to answer. My facial expression is unchanging, causing Uncle Morison's empathy to shift to anxiety.
As the daughter of the Alpha King, Cielo can do anything... that includes killing her rogue mate and living according to her wishes—but that's what she thought. The Wolves council forces her to attend the claiming ceremony and the order doesn't end there... They gave an order that if she can't find her mate, the wolf council will appoint someone for her. With her strong personality, will Cielo be able to obey the order? or she will defy it and do what she wants...
Elleina's mother is dying and the only one who can help them is her grandfather who doesn't recognize them as family. Even against her will, Elleina pleaded to her grandfather and to her amazement he agreed. "I will help you save your mother's life... I'm also willing to give you all my wealth, but on one condition... Marry Alexander Kenneth Grandson." Fix marriage... This is the reason why my mother ran away from my grandfather and I am tempted to do the same, but I clenched my fix. "Fine! For my mother's life, I will marry whoever you want!"
I am a sex slave, someone who is owned by someone else and forced to perform sexual acts for them. To use a more precise term, “whore” probably best describes what I am. You see, in exchange for financial support, I have made myself completely available to a man. This includes, but is not limited to, complete devotion, confidentiality, and the satisfaction of his every physical desire in any way he sees fit. The irony is that I didn’t have to live this way, but I did so voluntarily. Well, I didn’t really have a choice because a better chance hadn’t come up yet, but I still went with it. I wasn't forced by anyone… No one seek me out. There was no abduction or brutal beating to force me into submission. I chose to go willingly. And I did it all, fueled by the desperate need to safeguard a precious life. My name is Lalaine Brown, and this is my story.
The rogues were hunted and killed for a long time, which is why Allison and her mother lived in hiding and moving from place to place. However, there is a place where people like Allison can live peacefully and safe from the wolves that hunt them... The Highland Valley. That's why this place became Allison's dream. She works hard to save enough money and she did. She succeeded in entering Highlan. Allison thought her life would be peaceful, but she was wrong... It turns out, that the new alpha hates rogues like her and he will do everything to eradicate them completely.
Lost her mother at a young age, her relationship with her father is distant, Chelsey's only hope is her boyfriend Josh. Although the latter is a little bit of a jerk, Chelsey's decision is final... She will give herself to him on the day of her awakening. However, this is not the case because before her wolf awakening, Josh found his real mate which caused him to leave without explanation. Although brokenhearted, this is not her priority... Her main concern is the night of her wolf-awakening, where she is vulnerable and easily targeted by the distraught wolves in town. Scared and hopeless, she met Cain... The guy overflowing with authority and handsomeness. Is he a guardian angel who will save Chelsey? or he is also one of the men waiting to take advantage of her...
Rachel used to think that her devotion would win Brian over one day, but she was proven wrong when his true love returned. Rachel had endured it all—from standing alone at the altar to dragging herself to the hospital for an emergency treatment. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up so much of herself for someone who didn’t return her feelings. But when Brian received news of Rachel’s terminal illness and realized she didn’t have long to live, he completely broke down. "I forbid you to die!" Rachel just smiled. She no longer needed him. "I will finally be free."
Kaelyn devoted three years tending to her husband after a terrible accident. But once he was fully recovered, he cast her aside and brought his first love back from abroad. Devastated, Kaelyn decided on a divorce as people mocked her for being discarded. She went on to reinvent herself, becoming a highly sought-after doctor, a champion racer, and an internationally renowned architectural designer. Even then, the traitors sneered in disdain, believing Kaelyn would never find someone. But then the ex-husband’s uncle, a powerful warlord, returned with his army to ask for Kaelyn’s hand in marriage.
Life was perfect until she met her boyfriend's big brother. There was a forbidden law in the Night Shade Pack that if the head Alpha rejected his mate, he would be stripped of his position. Sophia's life would get connected with the law. She was an Omega who was dating the head Alpha's younger brother. Bryan Morrison, the head Alpha, was not only a cold-blooded man but also a charming business tycoon. His name was enough to cause other packs to tremble. He was known as a ruthless man. What if, by some twist of destiny, Sophia's path were to intertwine with his?
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
On her wedding day, Khloe’s sister connived with her groom, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. She was sentenced to three years in prison, where she endured much suffering. When Khloe was finally released, her evil sister used their mother to coerce Khloe into an indecent liaison with an elderly man. As fate would have it, Khloe crossed paths with Henrik, the dashing yet ruthless mobster who sought to alter the course of her life. Despite Henrik’s cold exterior, he cherished Khloe like no other. He helped her take retribution from her tormentors and kept her from being bullied again.
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.