Raphaela held his gaze calmly.
"Julien, I'm sorry."
A pained look flashed across his face before he became as calm as usual.
He suddenly laughed.
"My first heartbreak, I'll definitely remember you forever, Raphaela." He smiled gently at her.
It only made her feel more guilty. In fact, she began to consider it. They would make a good couple. She could never have Lorenzo and even if she could, she could never be with someone as selfish as he was. It was time she moved on from her past.
But gazing at him, she couldn't do it. She could never love him the way he deserved, they were far too different, from different worlds, they would never work. And perhaps, what scared her most was the thought that one day, she might lose control of her wolf and end up tearing him to pieces. That lingering threat was ever constant in her mind.
Julien looked up and met her gaze.
"You don't need to pity me. Even if I can't have you, I'll still keep loving you. Don't worry, I won't let my feelings come in between my manager duties."
"That's not what I'm worried about." She said sincerely, "we really can't be together."
"Accepted" He said quickly, as if wanting to avoid the topic, "Can I kiss you then?" He blurted.
She blinked. Her wolf snarled in disgust and anger.
"My first kiss" He requested gently, "I'd like to have it with you."
She nodded.
He laughed softly, beginning to lean closer.
"You've kissed before, haven't you?"
"Just once. I hated it." She watched his face get closer and closer.
"If you hate this kiss, don't tell me." He whispered before pressing his lips against hers.
Perhaps Julien had become a substitute for Lorenzo in her mind because before she could push him away in utter disgust, Julien's brown eyes turned into Lorenzo's dangerous blue ones. She froze, unaware that the hallucinations had begun.
"Kiss me back." He whispered in her head.
She hesitated before he grabbed her head and deepened the kiss, she kissed back ferociously, impatient and hungry.
When they broke apart, he was breathless but she was nowhere near satisfied.
"Wow." Julien breathed out, his forehead against hers, "Wow."
He opened his eyes and gazed into her hungry ones.
She made to join their mouths again but the eyes changed suddenly. She jumped away startled.
"You..." She was in disbelief.
"Sorry, did I scare you? Do you regret it?" His eyes searched her face worriedly.
She shook her head, her heart sinking in her chest.
"I didn't." She answered truthfully. She didn't but only because she had thought he was someone else.
Julien smiled.
"From now on, pretend that this dinner never happened. We're simply just a manger and his artist." He said before getting up and picking up his bag.
"Get a good night rest, don't stay up late." He patted her hair before leaving.
Her wolf howled in disdain. She sat still in a daze.
Was she that obsessed?
********
Three days soon passed, it was time for the duel.
"Alpha, don't you think it's a bit unfair?" Antonio asked worriedly, watching Aloha Lorenzo throw on a black leather jacket.
"They asked for it." Was his simple reply.
"Miss Raphaela is still weak, you shouldn't have let her go."
"It's her choice."
There was silence in the room for only a few seconds before Antonio spoke up again.
"I hope you don't mind my probing, Alpha but don't you think you should let go. She is your sister after all. You can have any lady you want. Why her?"
Lorenzo's eyes darkened, "What I want, I get."
Antonio could only watch helplessly. It was true Alpha Lorenzo always got what he wanted no matter the cost but he was afraid this time, he wouldn't be successful.
What he wanted was incest!
********
The duel ground was packed full to the brim, everyone brimming with fear and excitement. It had been a long time since they had watched a good fight. They were wolves after all, violence was in their nature. Everyone expected the fight would be a piece of cake for Alpha Lorenzo, Cato and Sixtus were beckoning on their deaths. They even said a death duel! To fight until the other died!
The ring was marked out in the middle, a tight rope bordering the rough circle. There was no stage, just the ordinary dust covered ground.
Soon Cato and Sixtus were led, chained to a spot close to the ring. Now, all everyone expected was the arrival of their Alpha whom they feared and loved.
Who else could protect the pack the way he did?
Suddenly there was a commotion, a large pack of wolves sped towards the duel ground; a gigantic golden brown wolf, obviously an Alpha, leading them.
That exact same time, Alpha Lorenzo was notified that their borders had been breached!
Who dared go against the Alpha of death!?
The breach was foreign, their scent foreign but Alpha Lorenzo and Antonio could recognize that scent anywhere.
That was the new pack his previous mate now belonged to!
The mate that publicly rejected him.
The mate that betrayed him for his rival.
Alpha Lorenzo smirked. They had just given him the perfect opportunity to exact revenge.
With speed resembling that of lightening, he travelled to the duelling ground in seconds.
Alpha Aurelius of the Twilight pack was there alright and stood beside him was his mate in all her beautiful sophisticated glory.
She was a feminine beauty to behold, the perfect Luna material. She was slim and elegant, tough and ferocious like the warrior she was. Their eyes clashed and locked, surprise and admiration flickered through her beige brown eyes but he felt nothing. Not pain, not regret, not love, nothing except a burning thirst for revenge. His gaze shifted to her new mate who stood tall and proud in the middle of the duelling ground. The audacity... He strode leisurely to them, seeming not to notice the bows and trembling that followed as he passed through the gathered people. "Alpha Aurelius, I'm sure you know the price of what you've just done." He said threateningly as a form of greeting once he got to them. Alpha Aurelius smirked, golden curls fluttering behind his head. He was the ladies man. "I won't beat around the bush, Lorenzo. I'm here to take over your pack." Lorenzo's brows went up. "I have my warriors sur
Loud collective gasps followed, Antonio sprang up from his seat, the Silvermoon head warrior froze in shock, Davina had a complicated look on her face while Aurelius stood victorious. "Come on, Lorenzo!" He taunted, "Aren't you the famous Alpha of death!? Come on, get up!" Lorenzo spat out blood, his nails clawing through sand. His vision flickered between various shades of grey and pure white. He clawed his way to his knees, heaving as angry chants filled the air. Just as he got on all fours, Aurelius smashed him back to the ground. "How does it feel to fall at my feet, huh?" He laughed mockingly, squatting down to Lorenzo's bloody face, "How does it feel to lick the dust at my feet?" Aurelius grabbed a handful of dust and threw in Lorenzo's face. Lorenzo choked, coughing heavily, struggling with all his might to get up but he was too weak, his eyes were burning and he felt like his intestines were being twisted and chopped simultaneously. Wo
Lorenzo struggled up, swaying and staggering. He was blind, he was partially deaf but he was driven by a greater pain, a pain for blood, blood of revenge. "Come on, throw your puppy punch." Aurelius laughed, dodging easily as Lorenzo swung a weak punch at him. He stood tall and proud, not a single scratch on his tanned skin. Another weak punch and Aurelius slammed his foot down on his head, sending him crashing down again, his brain buzzing. "Come on, Alpha! Is this how you lead your people!?" ********* Raphaela got closer and closer to the Silvermoon pack and with her shared mindlink with Lorenzo open, she sensed more and more his weakness and pain...and hatred. Was his hatred directed at her? The connection was weakening. Meaning only one thing... She travelled faster. *********** Davina sat cross-legged watching the bloody scene in front of her. She couldn't wait f
"His condition is fatal but it's a bit easier since he is an Alpha. He was poisoned with a very powerful herb, Staphicocci, very probably thirty minutes before the duel began. The herb is rare, very rare and very dangerous, I'm surprised how whoever got their hands on it. If it was a normal wolf, they would be dead by now; infact, they wouldn't have lasted past an hour but he's an Alpha and a very strong one at that, that's why I said it's a bit easier. I've managed to drain out much of the poison but there is still a bit more in his blood. That's very dangerous. If I don't get it out in twenty four hours, he'll die. Alpha or not."Raphaela listened to the pack doctor, Emily; a middle aged woman; in a daze. He'll die..."Dialysis" She spoke up feverishly, "The human world. They do it for their patients with kidney problems. We can do it, right? Drain out his blood and inject him with new blood."Emily seemed like she was considering it before a complex look cros
"Golden lights, golden lives;Warriors today, princes tomorrow;Your legacy lives on in our hearts;We part today, we meet tomorrow;Free of pain and worries to follow;May your joy never end;Beati Bellicosi."Fire touches were lit while the whole assembly of Silvermoon pack stood solemnly with their heads bowed. Antonio stood at the head, Raphaela beside him and Valentina; the girl that had run out to save Kayla, the she wolf who had risked her life for Lorenzo, Kayla's cousin; stood with them with tears in her eyes.The Silvermoon head warrior and other elders of the pack stood behind them. All holding fire touches.But their Alpha was absent, unconscious in the hospital.The bodies of their fallen heroes, the wolves killed during the duel, including Kayla's body, were laid out on separate bamboo beds on the lake surface. They were nineteen in number.The night was bright, stats glittered a
Antonio wrinkled his nose in confusion. What was that sweet scent? He had been smelling it since that morning but he had been too distracted to figure it out. And now, it was stronger...and intoxicating...and exciting...and it filled his heart with... Mate! His wolf shouted in excitement. Mate! Mate! Mate! His heart thudded and his gaze fell upon the she-wolf walking beside him. Mate! His steps faltered and he halted. Valentina stopped also, looking up at him with questioning eyes. Her heart was surprisingly beating faster and she couldn't help but gaze at him in adoration. "Valentina..." He called with tenderness, "How old are you?" She blinked, her throat suddenly dry. "Eighteen" She croaked out, "I turned eighteen today." He chuckled, taking her hand and drawing her closer. She swallowed. What was he doing? "I'm 28, an old man. Do you mind being with an old man?" "What?" She whispered,
Raphaela looked at the time. He still had about nineteen hours. She wondered what that meant. She had him with her all these while and she pushed him away but now she had come to her senses, she probably had just nineteen hours to spend with him, with an unconscious him. Life was truly wicked. Nineteen hours... ************ "So you're saying I just have to lose a few pints of my blood and I'll get myself a powerful clone?" "Exactly, my lord." A slow evil laughter followed. "Well then, get me a vial of his blood, let's run a test." Alpha Lucius leaned back in his couch, a smirk on his evilly good-looking face. His right thumb slowly stroked his jaw. Just a few pints of his blood and he'll have the great Alpha of death under his control, doing his every will... He chuckled. Life was indeed sweet. ********** "The door's not locked." Antonio entered, foll
She continued before anyone could butt in."I found a rare herb with rare healing properties. I've searched for this herb for a long time but I just mysteriously found it in my apothecary. It has the ability to thoroughly purify any infected organ. If I inject it directly into his heart, in at most six hours, his heart will be thoroughly cleansed and will no longer pump infected blood. Then all we have to do is force out the infected blood slowly while his heart pumps fresh blood. I figure in three days, his body will be as fresh and fine as a babe!"Emily was out of breath after speaking and she held unto her knees in an attempt to catch her breath."We can get started now, right? Are you sure the herb is that strong?"Raphaela was on her feet, still holding tightly to Lorenzo's hand.Emily winked, "Have you heard of Chamonix?"Valentine's eyes widened, "The infamous magic herb?"Emily smirked, "Do you trust me now? Come on, I