“You can’t go there!” Mia said, shocked to hear River’s decision. “There are demons and they are horrible. They will not just **you, they will rip you apart and end up eating you.”
River took a shaky breath. “Hunter has gone to them I can’t- she paused, her throat getting choked with pain that she felt of the emotions swirling in her mind. “I can’t let him be alone over there. He is my-” she stopped. How could she say to Mia that he was her mate and that she had just found out about it today? At first Hunter made it sound like it was a routine exercise only so that she didn’t get worried, but now that the reality crashed in, River was nothing but a bundle of anxiety
“He is your what?” Mia asked, her brows furrowing in suspicion.
River turned away. She didn’t want to speak it.
Mia walked to her and clasped her shoulders and made her turn to look at her. “Tell it to me, River I know you are his breeder, but…
River looked into Mia’s eyes. Mia should know about them. She was Hunter’s sister, “Hunter is my mate, River said in a low voice.
Mia was… astounded. Her ****dropped to the floor and her eyes widened. “Oh. My. God.” She rasped.
“You are my brother’s mate!” she squealed.
“Shh…” River hushed her. “Hunter has asked me to keep it under wraps.”
Mia chuckled excitedly. She pulled River in a tight embrace. “Goddess! River, I am so happy that you are his mate!”
River grinned as a pale blush colored her cheeks. “But I know that the laws-
“Laws be ***!” Mia snapped. “The mate bond is a revered bond. I don’t care if you both get married or not but I am so happy for both of you.”
River couldn’t help hugging Mia. They both had a special bond and River cherished it.
“Now you have all the more reason to not go to the edge of the Veil,” Mia said seriously “Hunter is trying to protect you. If you go there, he will be very angry!”
River exhaled roughly. She knew that if she didn’t go there, she would never be able to forgive herself if something happened to Hunter. A shudder passed through her body.
After Mia warned her repeatedly for not going to the forest, she left to go to her room. It was almost midnight when River got out of her bed. It was impossible for her to rest. Very quietly she changed into her jeans and a black shirt and wore her sneakers.
She peeped out of her door. The castle was shrouded in silence and darkness. She padded her way out of the castle and then ran as fast as possible out towards the forest.
‘Let me come out, Layla demanded. ‘I want to protect our mate’
“Wait Layla, River said as she darted. I know you want to take over, but let me assess the whole situation.”
‘Okay, but you have let me take over the moment you feel danger
‘I will.’
It took her almost an hour to reach the edge of the Veil from where she heard loud shrieks and grunts and gurgling sounds. Goose bumps lined her skin. She entered the dense forest. Darkness loomed over her. She sniffed the air to catch hold of Hunter’s scent. His scent was strong but it was mixed with that of blood and sweat and that of other scents. She was panting as nervousness roiled in her stomach. Holding her waist, she veered to the right where the scent was stronger.
River must have run for another fifteen minutes when all of a sudden something bumped into her. She lost her balance and rolled on the ground. When she regained her balance and got up, she saw a demon standing in front of her. He had pointed horns and yellow eyes. His sharp pointed teeth of the jaws protruded out. He looked at her and grunted, “Werewolf!” Then he tilted his head and slowly opened his maw as if grinning. “You have the Lycan smell.” He took a step closer. “It would be fun ***you and eating you up!”
“Shit!” River grated. She knew the risk of entering the Veil but didn’t anticipate that she would be facing the risk so soon. The demon’s muscles bulged as he took more steps closer to her.
In order to understand his strategy, she engaged him in conversation. “Who is your leader?”
The demon let out a choppy laugh. “One of your kind.”
“I know. But what is his name?” River took a step back.
“You won’t be alive to see him, then why bother?” His claws grew. “I will be slicing that neck of yours like butter
“Oh, so you know how butter tastes?” she said, taking another step back.
The demon snarled. Angered by her, he rushed towards her. River took exactly three more steps back towards a thick trunk of a tree. Using the force of her speed, she tilted herself, climbed the tree with her feet and when she was six feet above, she shouted, “Now!” and leapt at the demon, shifting into her wolf midair.
Layla was keen to take over. When she shifted, she attacked the demon with a terrifying snarl.
The demon was shocked to see a female wolf this huge and gorgeous. Her fur was shining like silver and there was a small red spot right in the center of her head. Before he could comprehend more, the wolf had dug her fangs in his neck. and her claws in his chest. The demon tried to hold her torso and disentangle himself from her, but the wolf was too strong. Within seconds his head severed from his body and he dropped on the ground, headless.
Layla watched him falling down and said on her haunches near his body, snarling, her fangs dripping with his blood. A twig snapped behind her and she turned quickly to see a woman with ***hair coming with pure surprise in her eyes. Layla growled at her and she dipped her head in a warning. She didn’t recognize the woman but there was something familiar
about her scent.
The woman came to stand in front of Layla, her face etched with wonder. “I know who you are,” she said. “You are River’s wolf!” She pressed her hand to her chest. “And you are so beautiful!” She took a step closer.
Layla was surprised, but she growled again in a warning.
The woman stopped, but said, “You must meet me in your human form. You are just like your father!” Layla froze.
“Who is this?’ River asked Layla. ‘I want to shift.”
‘I don’t trust her, River.”
‘I don’t trust her either, but she knows my father! I want to ask her about it. And she smells… familiar.” Reluctantly, Layla allowed River to shift.
“Oh goddess!” the woman said with wonder. “You are even more beautiful that I had anticipated.”
“Who are you?” River said.
The woman looked behind River and blinked once. It didn’t go unnoticed by River. Instantly, she charged
towards the woman and grabbed her neck with her arm. When she looked ahead, she saw a demon standing there. “I should have known!” River said through her clenched teeth.
“Yes, you should have. But don’t you want to know about who your father was and your real truth?” the woman said, holding her arm. “After all, you are entitled to know the truth before you ***.”
