LOGINRAINA’S POV“Whoa!” Azara screamed behind me. “Here it comes again!”A crackling dark charge exploded from the medallion. I threw myself to the side to avoid the savage line of blackened energy tearing across the grass in Valen’s backyard.A puff of air left my lungs as I flashed my eyes, watching it race straight towards the girls like a slithering anaconda, scorching the earth in its path.Azara’s eyes bulged, freaking out with, “Stop this thing before it gets me.”Penn dashed in front of it, quickly making hand signals as she chanted, “Scu-tum-ful-minis, firma-mane.”She conjured a vast magical shield and held her ground strong, bracing and pushing its force forward until the dark charge slammed into it with a violent wham. Dirt, grass, leaves, yellow sparks, and black mana burst upward in a storm. Her face scrunched as she strained to force it backwards.“I’m coming!” I yelled, swiftly shooting to my feet. I ran over to the crackling black wave, my chest pumping hard. I raised my
RAINA’S POVEventually, I pulled over at a lakeside promenade and killed the engine. I dropped my hands from the steering wheel into my lap, taking a deep breath in and out to steady myself. The ache in my chest eased just a little, and I actually felt somewhat calmer.Staring beyond my windshield, I noticed a wide wooden boardwalk stretched along the water's edge. Its weathered brown planks traveled toward a distant line of trees and rolling blue-gray mountains. Suddenly, I felt like going for a walk.I raked my hair over and leaned back in my seat and then stared out the window, overlooking the calm, glassy body of water.I've never been here before, but the scenery was quite beautiful.Since I was done screaming...was done crying and wasn’t going to wallow in my own self-pity, I lifted my chin, plastered a faint smile, and I opened my car door.Just when I landed one foot outside on the peach-colored pavement, in a flash, Valen was before me, looking quite frantic. He held out the
RAINA’S POVTears blinded my path as I panted furiously, running through the high black gates to leave the memorial garden. I didn’t look back, not even once.Enlightening. Not in the good sense, because the worst just happened. It was the shock of my life. One that shattered my heart into a million pieces.No matter how I tried blinking the salty water back, the wetness trickled down my cheeks, and I couldn't let Jiya see how much she affected me.I headed straight to my car in the perpendicular parking area.“Raina!” Valen roared, but I couldn't stop.It hurt too much, as if someone had thrust a barbell straight into my chest.I didn't know what to make of the intimate position I found Valen and Jiya in. It was too intimate, and to top it off, their bond couldn’t be broken. What a slap!As soon as I opened the car door, I jumped into the driver's seat, started the engine, and reversed so fast that I knocked over the garbage bin on the other side of the asphalt parking lot. Then I dr
VALEN’S POV“I know seeing me with her hurts, but I was trying to uncover her next move,” I explained, brushing strands of hair off Raina’s neck. “I'd rather endure your anger for a minute than let another threat slip past me to harm you.”Hellbent on interrupting us, Jiya laughed me to scorn. “Tell her how we were just playing it rough. You were showing me what you'd be like in the bedroom. Tell her…hahaha. I was just feeding you what you came here hungry for. Hahaha.”Dropping my hands from Raina, I swung sideways, eyeing Jiya maliciously.Her eyes fell to my crotch, as if she expected to see my cock stir for her.Now who's the naive one?My anger flared at her jeering, and the pure disgust I felt from being connected to something like her brewed with it. I wouldn’t dare to seal this botched-up mate bond, not even with a ten-foot pole."Fucking had enough of this one for the day," Zeus growled at me, finally sorting out his head.In that moment, we decided to do something we should h
VALEN’S POVAlthough I wasn't hiding anything, I didn't want Raina to know I had sought Jiya out.My heart thumped against my chest as it registered. Shit. I knew how bad this looked.“That’s an understatement,” Hera murmured worriedly.Like a live wire, the bond I had with Raina tugged at my heartstrings, her scent intoxicating me.I instantly gave in to it, and with a contemptuous sneer, I pushed Jiya's legs down off me and shoved her to the ground, then backed away from her.“Valen, we should talk about this first; it's better this way," Jiya said, grabbing onto my arm, trying to hold me back. I bet she counted on Raina showing up.Without a second look, I growled a string of vile curses and tore my arm away.My heart thundered as I swung around to look at my precious mate. My real and only mate. The only sun I wanted to rotate around every day, always.Those blue eyes pierced me through her long, burgundy strands that gently fluttered in the breeze. She stole my attention, fixating
VALEN’S POV"Training,” Jiya stated, staring distractedly at the white building.“I'm busy,” I hissed through my teeth.“Not you.” Her eyes flashed at me, peeved. “I need proper sessions."“I won't let Raina train you. If you want to learn Luna duties, I suggest you go read a book,” I denied her."Ugh! Not that. With Raj." She emphasized. “Training with Raj.”That threw me off.For a second, I thought I had misheard. "Raj?""Mmm-hmm. Yes."Narrowing my eyes, my confusion deepened. "You want me to arrange for you to have private training with Raina's father? Wasn’t it clear, just now, how much he hates you?"Jiya's expression softened into a plea, and it made something twist uncomfortably inside of me.She shifted on her feet and folded her right arm across her stomach to grip her left bicep."This is something important." She blinked and averted her gaze at the memorial wall to our right. “He'll be difficult if the Elders approach him. I think he'll be receptive if it came from you.”
RAINA’S POV“You’ve got some nerve eyeing what’s mine.” Valen’s vermilion eyes flared wild at Connery, his jowls curled back over impossibly long, sharp teeth. “Bold, but very foolish.”A low growl rumbled through the conference room. Death incarnate. Violence personified.No, not through the room.
RAINA’S POVThe evening sky burned orange over the wrecking town. The air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and fresh blood, as boots thundered and orders barked.“The operation is on,” I mumbled.Crack-crack-crack. Pistols echoed down the asphalt driveway that split the grassy yard. Rounds pie
THIRD PERSON’S POVVance pushed the large double doors of the conference room open. Of course, he’d be the last to arrive at the Council Building.Inside the brightly lit room, all the Elders sat around the long rectangular table, its white surface glaring under the fluorescent lights.Beyond the l
RAINA’S POVAbove the uproar, Connery barked at Devin. “Put her down!”“She’s been drugged,” Bessa whirled to Alpha Vance, accusing us. “They did something to my baby.”No one paid the Femoris duo any attention. The Elders were busy cursing under their breaths and engrossed in the stunning revelati







