Veil.

I cross the borders of the Moonbloom pack at the first peek of the sun and draw to a halt, bending to my knees.

Exhaustion pulls through me from hours of running from Ryder's men, and I gulp in a breath.

I made it, thank goddess.

A beat later, I rise back up, flitting my gaze around the pack that was once my home several years ago.

I left thinking I was walking into the promise land Ryder promised me, but it all turned out to be lies.

I was only his bait.

It was during the night of Quin's coronation, the son of Alpha's Moon's first Luna, that I eloped with Ryder. A very crucial night in the pack.

Quin was my biggest bully right from high school. However, his bullying worsened when my mother agreed to marry Alpha Moon as his last wife.

Alpha Moon was impotent; however, his desire to strengthen his lineage of alpha blood made him marry widows with alpha blood, my mother included.

I never liked Quin because he made my life a living hell.

The rest of the alpha's stepsons, Rio and Hunter, completely ignored my existence in the pack house. I guess it was only fair I disappeared rather than watch them treat me like I was nothing.

But now, I'm back here to the polygamous family, full of the stepbrothers I hated. Ryder has proven to me that I don't have a choice.

I take a step, focusing on getting to the pack house where my fate will be decided, when I feel someone cock a gun behind me.

"Halt!"

My heart flips.

That voice. It isn't the first I was expecting to hear.

A thick lump gathers in my throat, and my hands raise above my head as he commanded.

I close my eyes as his footsteps begin to echo behind me, making my pulse race erratically.

He stands before me, and I raise my head and meet his smoky green eyes.

Hunter.

The son of Alpha Moon's third Luna. The strong warrior and biker who handles the pack's security affairs.

His smoky blonde hair and olive skin shimmer under the morning sun. He looks...more handsome and dangerous than I remember.

He wields his gun tightly like he's facing his enemy.

As I expected, his gaze narrows when he realizes it's me, the look scorching my body.

"Veil." He drawls, scanning me with something akin to hatred and shock in his eyes.

"Hun...ter..." I manage, hoping that seeing me here, looking unkempt and homeless, will at least soften him up.

But his next words snap breaths from my lungs.

"The fugitive." He steps away from my space, a sinister smile tipping up his lips. "Bold of you to come here after what you did." He points his gun at me and whistles.

Men dressed in black fall out of the woods. The patrol warriors, and of course, members of his MC.

They have a contemptuous look on their faces as they stare at me, and I wonder what's going on.

"Hunter...look..." I start talking, ready to drop the drama for now, maybe when I've rested and regained strength, we'll continue, but Hunter's orders stop me.

"Arrest her!"

Two hefty warriors walk over to me and nab my arms. My body goes rigid, alert.

They begin to drag me away to goddess knows where. I whimper, looking over my shoulder at my stepbrother, who's glaring at me.

"Hunter. Please just let me go to the pack house...it's urgent."

I need to see my mom and Alpha Moon. They're the ones I'm looking to for mercy, not Hunter, not Rio, and especially not Quin.

Hunter doesn't budge. My pleas fall on deaf ears as the warriors drag me through the border woods until we reach their barracks.

They throw me into one of the cabins, and I land on the wooden floor, grunting at the searing impact.

The door slams behind me, and I tense. I surge to my feet and race to the door, banging on it.

"Hey!! Could you please let me out? I need to see my mother!" I plead, knocking on the door.

They don't respond.

I press my back against the door and sink to the floor in exhaustion.

Why would Hunter do that?

He just called me a fugitive, and I don't understand why.

I think he's nuts. That I eloped with Ryder doesn't make me a fugitive, and I wasn't banished either.

Well, I need to see my stepfather and explain things to him.

I wait for several minutes for Hunter's return, but he doesn't show up.

I feel abandoned.

Lonely.

I decide to look for something I can munch on in the cabin, which makes me ransack the room.

Turns out it's Hunter's cabin. The bed linens bear his sandalwood and leather scent. There are guns and bullets scattered on it, causing a hitch in my breath.

I check the mini fridge, and it only has a bottle of water and a leftover sandwich.

Seeing that, my stomach grumbles. I reach for the leftover and devour it hurriedly, polishing the plate in under a minute.

I take a drink of water and then resume looking through his things. The bunch of condoms on his nightstand leaves me speechless. Unthinkingly, I grab one. It's half used and smells of his warm skin, the rubber stretching in my hand.

Just like the rest of my stepbrothers, Hunter is promiscuous, always throwing parties and messing around with girls.

Good thing I hardly crossed paths with him back then because his lifestyle irritated me.

The door opens before I can drop the condom. I turn my head to the door, and there he is, looming over it in his 5'9 height.

He's strapped his gun over his chest, a hard grit to his jaw.

He steps in, slamming the door closed, brooding as he walks towards me.

I can feel it, the hammering of my heart as he narrows his gaze on the forbidden item in my hand.

My hand wobbles, fear mixed with something strange I can't put a name to swirling through me, and the condom drops before I know it. I peer up at him, swallowing hard.

"It's...not what you...think." I start, but his angry voice interrupts.

"Traitor." I blink rapidly, ogling him. I don't understand. "You think returning to the pack after six years will make us forget what you did, witch?"

What is he talking about?

My brows furrow. "Hunter, I don't understand..."

"You left the pack in ruins. Turned the goddess against us, and destroyed the lives of everyone. Now you walk in here pretending not to understand what I'm talking about?"

"Look, Hunter, I think there's a misunderstanding somewhere. I'm innocent. I didn't..."

The hollering voices outside the cabin and the banging on the door cut through my words. I look at the door, confused.

Why are they making noise?

"Bring her out!!"

"The thief!"

"Bring out the traitor!"

Nervous, I look between the door and Hunter.

"What's happening?" The terror rising inside me now leaks through my voice. "Hunter, what's going on?"

He doesn't respond; he only smirks.

"It's time for judgment, Veil. You were never going to escape it. Pay the price of your actions. You should've thought twice before you took what was never yours." He says. His smoky green eyes have flecks of gold, and I realize he's mind-linking someone.

My mind rattles. There has to be a misconception somewhere. I didn't take anything that wasn't mine at all.

I work up words to defend myself, but the door slams open and the warriors from before shove inside.

They grab me like I weigh nothing and pull me outside.

Then I see them, the angry mobs that are the pack members, calling me names and spitting curses at me.

"Thief!"

"Traitor!"

"She deserves to die!"

But I didn't steal anything. I'm innocent.

Yet, the fear restricts me from talking as they drag me away, heading to the pack square.

Tbc.

Veil.

Six years away from the pack didn't prepare me for this moment. The pack square is crowded, murmurs rippling from every corner.

They spill curses at me as I'm forced to stand on the stage, facing the whole Moonbloom pack.

That word "traitor" is hurled from every side.

Some of them have placards raised in the air with things like;

"There's no place for thieves in our land."

"She's the reason Alpha Moon died, kill her."

"She stole our peace!"

"She brought the curse upon our land!!"

I gawk at them all, the rage on their faces unmistakable.

My stepfather is dead? What happened to him?

What curse are they talking about exactly?

Despite my efforts, no one provides a clear answer. I don't understand what they're accusing me of, so eager to kill me.

My eyes search for Quin. He was being crowned the pack's alpha the night I eloped with Ryder, so he should be here to explain things.

Yet there's no sign of him, just the elders.

Their mean faces mirror the angry mob as they examine me.

Before I can ask any questions, one of the elders speaks, addressing the crowd.

"Moonbloom, let us all be calm now that the fugitive has been caught." Hush settles over the pack square as the elder speaks. Regardless, I can feel the anger and eagerness pouring out from the people.

"Our prayers have been answered by the goddess; now it is time for us to recover our stolen treasure." The elder looks at me briefly before adding. "If we do not retrieve it as we've hoped, the crowd will decide the fate of the thief."

Murmurs rise again, slithering through charged air and blending with rising dread inside me.

They pull me forward into the town hall, my hands restrained like a prisoner as we walk in tow with the pack elders.

I was expecting a little bit of mockery and anger from my family once I returned, but not the rage of the whole pack, claiming I stole their treasure when I ran.

Can't they see that I'm innocent?

Nothing really makes sense now, and I hope to get clarifications soon.

The double oak doors of the hall groan as the warriors pull them open.

The scent of the mahogany chairs slithers through my nose as we enter the hall.

They push me down to my knees at the center, the elders taking their respective positions with scowls on their weathered faces.

Now that everywhere is quiet, no overlapping voices and curses being hurled at me, I find my voice.

"What did I do?" My voice is hoarse, broken. I've witnessed enough horrors these past few days; I can't stomach another. "You can't just arrest me for nothing. I'm innocent."

Currently, I don't know if being here is worse than being with Ryder.

"You'll be released once you return the treasure you stole from us, Veil." Elder James spits, glowering.

I whoosh out a breath in shock, shaking my head.

"What treasure are you talking about? I didn't steal anything." I bark, my voice ricocheting off the walls.

He sighs, leaning forward in his seat. "Are you trying to deny you didn't steal the Moonstone the night you fled from the pack six years ago?"

My face pales at his accusations. Fighting against the nerves wracking through me, I hiss. "I'm innocent. I don't know anything about the moonstone."

They cackle in contempt at me. Elder Rayna rises up, glaring hot daggers at me.

"Are you aware that your treachery is the reason the pack hasn't progressed in six years? Not to mention Alpha Quin, who has been stuck in his lycan form since the night you stole the moonstone."

I pause and look at them in disbelief.

Did she just say Quin has been stuck in his lycan form for the past six years?

If any wolf or lycan gets stuck in their beast form for long, there are chances they'll go feral, and given the way they whisper about it, the expressions on their faces, it can only mean one thing...

Quin has gone feral.

How come I never knew about any of this?

Great, Ryder cut off the only ties I have to my pack.

A giant knot forms in my belly as panic registers.

This is more dangerous than I thought.

They're already convinced that I stole the moonstone, the only treasure that binds the alpha between our world and the other realm.

The alpha heir is supposed to be in his other form during coronations until the ceremony is done, and that night, Quin was in his lycan form.

This means the moonstone was stolen during the ceremony, and I eloped during the ceremony.

How coincidental!

This is a big mess.

I shouldn't have returned if I knew this was what happened.

Someone stole the moonstone, and they're framing me for it.

Given their anger right now, they'll never believe I'm innocent.

I should run far away, but it's too late to run.

I've been captured, and they're going to kill me; that's one of the rules of the pack: never steal the royal property. If anyone does it, they'll be stoned to death.

My body trembles. "I'm telling you the truth, I didn't steal the moonstone. You've got to believe me." I beg because that's the only thing I can do now.

I can't let them kill me for a crime I didn't commit.

Tears stain my cheeks, my lips wobbling as I gush more words of plea.

"I only eloped with my mate, I swear I didn't take the moonstone."

"We expected you to deny it, Veil. But the truth is clear, you betrayed our pack, and you shall pay the price."

Elder James hits the gavel over the mallet, signaling their final decision.

"For your treachery to the pack, Veil Nightsaw, I, hereby sentence you to..."

"Objection, elder James." A loud voice echoes in the hall, halting elder James' words.

Everyone is tense, and silence descends as the doors of the hall are pushed open.

There, the person I least expected will stand up for me, the person I've never set my eyes on for the past six years, strides into the hall.

His presence ripples with power and commands attention. He walks like God himself as he roams his eyes around the hall until they settle on me and darken.

Rio.

My stepbrother and the son of Alpha Moon's second Luna.

His large frame towers over me, a strange glint in his eyes.

Is he here to help me?

Does he know that I'm innocent?

"A-alpha...we weren't...expecting you here." James stutters, looking at Rio like a scared cat.

"I came as soon as I heard the news." He drawls, walking past me to where James is seated. "I wouldn't like to pass up an opportunity like this."

There's a strange depth to his voice as he looks at me intently. I try to keep my body from cowering under his gaze, but it's difficult.

Rio's gaze sets my body ablaze, tingles shooting through my veins.

"Don't you think sentencing Veil to death saves her from the real punishment of her crimes?"

The breath stalls in my lungs immediately upon hearing his words.

He isn't here to help me. Rio's here to convict me just like the others.

I thought as much. He's always hated me, and there's no way he'll go from being the bane of my existence to my savior.

James looks from him to me, asking. "If I may ask, alpha, what do you think serves as a better punishment for her crime?"

Rio responds just as quickly. "The full moon is tonight, which means tonight is Alpha Quin's rut. None of the females in the past could serve him during his rut, which has led to the deaths of how many...?" He looks around for answers, and another elder supplies.

"Ten."

"Great. Ten lives." His eyes roam back to me. "It's only fitting that the woman who left Quin in that position suffer a cruel fate at his hands before death claims her."

"Noo...please. Don't do this. I didn't steal the moonstone." I plead, feeling my chest constricting from the cruel fate that awaits me.

"As you've said it, alpha, so shall it be." James echoes with resolve, hitting the gavel one last time. "Take her away." He orders the warriors.

"Rio," I taste his name on my lips for the first time, and I notice the way he flinches and swallows, pinning his hazel eyes on me. "I didn't do anything, you've got to believe."

His expression deadpans, hands crossed over his groin as he watches me being dragged away from the hall.

This time, they're taking me to my greatest enemy, Quin.

Hot tears pour down, and tremors overwhelm me.

They take me to the pack house, where they spend hours preparing me for disaster.

At the first appearance of the moon, the warriors led me to the cellar.

I descend the stairs to the old cellar with my heart in my throat, blood pounding through me in waves. I nearly bolt, but the guards surrounding me make it impossible.

I watch them pry the locks open, metal doors rattling like a curse in the night as they give way. Then they gesture for me to move inside.

I do.

The scent of iron and salt hangs thick in the air, flooding my nostrils. I can hardly breathe past it.

And I see it, the imposing lycan growling with sexual lust in his eyes as he prowls back and forth in the cellar.

He's so large I've to crane my head up to his gaze and the minute his cold, beastly eyes connect with mine, my jaw drops open.

Quin.

He's danger personified.

Slimy saliva dribbles from his maw as he snarls into my face, sending chills down my spine.

My gaze trails past his face to his chest and pectorals down to his V-line, where I glimpse his impossibly large shaft gleaming red at the tip. Heat flares through my body, hitching my heartbeat.

"Oh, goodness!" I scream at the sheer size of it.

No, I can't do this.

I backtrack a step and then bolt for the door, but the beast beats me to it.

His paw-hand encircles my waist, hauling me into his solid chest with possessive force. His silent alpha command floods through me, my knees buckling until they meet the floor.

I succumb to his will. To his power, panting hard as his claws rip my dress away from me.

A primal growl tears from him at the sight of my bare skin. Before I can brace myself, he claims me, surging into my warmth in one brutal thrust that crushes my breath.

"Oh!!" I moan, overwhelmed by the fullness of him, my body shaking uncontrollably.

Tbc.

Rio.

She's back. My little moon.

The rush of excitement that whooshed through me when I heard the news was unlike anything I'd felt before.

Six years without seeing Veil, my little stepsister who turned my world around, was torture.

She doesn't know it. No one does, but Veil is my obsession. The only woman who brings forbidden thoughts to my mind.

From the very moment I set my eyes on her in Halesbridge Academy, all petite with wavy chestnut hair and blue eyes that made my blood stir, I just knew she was mine.

I claimed her long before she ever knew it. She lived in my dreams and fantasies, warping everything I once understood about love.

She's all I dreamt of having. All I dreamt of keeping.

Back then in Halesbridge, I dropped subtle hints for her, clipped roses on her seat every morning and in her locker, I sent her love letters, I called her phone every morning with my burner phone without saying a word just to hear the soft sound of her breath.

She was my future.

Everyone in Halesbridge admired her; after all, her mother was a known commander in the Alpha King's army.

She came from wealth, the spoiled daughter of Lady Nightsaw. Boys wanted to be in her class, to draw her attention, including Quin.

He might've thought no one knew of his attraction to Veil back then, but I did. He bullied her in the worst ways possible because, as of then, his mother was already married to Alpha Moon, which made Quin the pack's heir.

I, on the other hand, watched her from the sidelines. I stalked her to the extent that I know her morning routine, but Veil never knew. She was oblivious.

She'd thought the flowers and letters were from that stupid boy she called mate. Ryder.

I let her believe it. Bask in it. I had hopes that one day I would make it known to her.

Well, the hopes crashed the day Alpha Moon announced that he's marrying a new wife, a new Luna.

That new Luna turned out to be Lady Nightsaw, the mother of my little moon.

Hence, Veil became my stepsister, the forbidden fruit.

One would think that'd dim my desires for her, unfortunately, it only flared it.

I had her closer then, watched her discreetly even when she's asleep.

I yearned for her.

Quin's bullying didn't end; it worsened. He made her life hell, but I knew it was his way of showing his obsession with her.

Hunter, on the other hand, was like me...distant. Totally.

I'm certain he isn't among those pining for Veil's attention.

I planned to confess my truest desire for her when she turned twenty. I already prepared the surprise until I heard her telling our late stepfather her willingness to seal her mate bond with Ryder, that useless boy from the Ghostriver pack.

I was thrilled when Alpha Moon and her mother, Lady Nightsaw, disapproved of it.

There was no way a Moonbloom would mate with a Ghostriver.

I thought she'd end it. Well, publicly she did. But we didn't know Veil had other plans.

She eloped the night of Quinn's coronation as the pack's alpha. That was the same night everything changed.

Our rank in the werewolf league dropped.

Our companies crumbled.

People barely shifted.

Our lands became barren.

Those who could shift did so with difficulty, and our healing abilities were lost, including Keon's, my son.

Worst of all, Quin has been stuck in his lycan form.

The pack tagged her a fugitive, believing she ran with the moonstone.

I was forced to believe it too, given the circumstances.

And I began to hunt her, my little moon. But for six years, I never found her until today.

I drop everything I'm doing and run to the town hall, and there she is, looking...broken, gaunt. But she's still the prettiest woman on earth.

My heart somersaults when her feminine scent hits my nose, her light blue eyes holding me captive.

The elders want to kill her, but far be it from me to sit and let that happen; hence, my intervention.

She's to become Quin's slave. I know that's a cruel torture on its own because she hates Quin and, at the moment, he's feral, but I won't let him kill her. I won't let him take her from me.

Now that she's here, I'll never let her leave my sight again.

She's mine to claim, my stepsister.

My status doesn't matter, nor does my position in the pack.

"The pack members are angry, alpha." Pudim, our beta, says as he trails into my office after me, looking exhausted like I am.

I pull at my tie, cracking my neck.

"I expected that. Some pills are bitter to swallow, and this is one of them. If we kill Veil, we won't be able to retrieve the moonstone."

I remove the tie and throw it across to him. Pudim catches it like an expert, scoffing.

"I never expected she's going to show her face here again." He sits across from me, eyes fixated on the picture frame of his sister and me during our wedding, propped up on my desk.

"Well, our prayers have been answered, haven't they?" I arch a brow. "Now, we have to work towards bringing up our pack rank in the werewolf league again."

"You're right, alpha." He looks at his watch and sighs. "I need to go and check on the patrol team..."

"Actually, Pudim, there's something else I want you to do for me," I say curtly, wringing the writing pen between my fingers.

I'm disturbed about Veil's appearance. She looked skinny, with dark circles under her eyes, her hair matted. She looked like a shadow of herself, and I want to know what happened to her.

Wasn't she with Ryder all these years?

"Alpha?"

I snap from my thoughts, instructing. "Find out all you can about Veil. I mean everything about her over the past six years."

"Hmm, curious much?" Pudim teases, but I glare at him. He throws his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. Don't murder me with that glare."

He backs away from the desk to the door. Eyes still pinned on me like he knows what I'm thinking, he reaches a hand behind him to the doorknob and swings it open.

I exhale the instant his shadows disappear, and just as quickly, thoughts about Veil race through my mind.

There's the excitement in my veins, but also the desire to save her tonight from Quin's deadly claws.

The moment the full moon appears, I sneak away from the pack house, heading to the cellar.

I don't know the last time I came here to see Quin.

Even from the woods, I can already smell his rut. It stirs my lycan, making him growl.

He feels challenged by Quin's rut because he's also an alpha. Alphas hate challenges.

I taper him down and block him out completely from surfacing again. Then I descend the stairs to the cellar to save my girl from Quin's wrath.

I step around the corners, my body charged as I face Quin's cell.

But I freeze instantly the moment my eyes fall on them, alarm bells ringing in my mind. My mouth drops open in shock.

This can't be happening!

He can't...!

"No!!" I growl underneath my breath at what's unfolding in front of me.

Quin...

No!

Tbc.