~Damian~ I waited impatiently for Lucian to leave for the empire. I couldn’t wait to talk to Cassie about the next step forward. I was convinced that the child was mine, and I knew I had to break my promise to Lucian by telling Cassie about his secret so she could believe. But I wasn’t going to do that. I had always kept Lucian’s secret and that wasn’t going to change. For now, I just wanted her to be mine again, if not totally. I missed her so much, the way she smelled, her touch, her scent, how she moaned my name, the good time we spent together… everything. I just wanted them back, and I wasn’t going to give up. While still waiting in my bedroom, there was a knock on the door, and eagerly, I sprang to my feet and took long strides towards it. Opening the door, the excitement in me dropped as I came in contact with Zoe. Her face was expressionless and her gaze was fixed on my face. “Can I come in?” She asked, and I nodded slowly, moving away from the door. As she walked into
~Lucian~ Throwing a very hard punch to his face, he fell to the ground, and without hesitation, I trapped him with my legs, positioning myself on top of him as I began to throw more punches to his face. Overhearing his conversation with Cassandra brought out a side of me I never knew existed. “Lucian! Please, stop!” Cassandra cried, trying to stop me, but I turned deaf ears to her. His face had burst and blood was all over his mouth and under his eyes. Damian yanked his hands from under my knees and grabbed my hand before I could throw another punch to his face. “Stop!” He yelled, pushing me off him. Losing my balance, I fell to the ground, but sprang up immediately, wanting to attack him again. But then Cassandra stood in front of him, making me stop. “Don’t!” She yelled in tears. Breathing hard in rage, I glared at him behind her. “Move away, Cassandra!” I yelled, but she stood still. “No, I won’t! If you should be punching anyone, it should be me! It’s not his fault, okay?
~Lucian~ “Haaa…” I moaned as we both fell to the bed, breathing hard. After a few seconds, she let out a chuckle and raised her head to look at me. “You loved it, didn’t you?” She asked, and I let out a faint smile, bobbing my head. I recalled what had happened at the palace and I didn’t want to return. At least, not for now. The smile on her face faded off slowly, and she sat up, looking at me. “What happened? Why did you change your mind?” She asked, and I turned my head to look at her. “You’re going to laugh at me, wouldn’t you? You told and hinted at me but I never listened.” I muttered, lifting my body off the bed and resting my back on the headrest. “No, Lucian. I would never do that. Do you know how scared and hurt I was, seeing you cry that way?” She asked, reaching for my hand and holding it. “I had to run away or I was going to do something crazy to my brother, Damian. I found out he’s sleeping with my wife, Cassandra.” I uttered, looking at her face. She heaved a sig
~Cassandra~ “I knew it. I knew he wasn’t going to listen to me. He hates me, Zoe.” I mumbled, hot tears rolled down my cheeks as I turned to look at her. She heaved a sigh and raised her head to look at me too. “I think I have to leave the palace.” She uttered. My eyes widened as I hurried to where she stood, staring coldly at me. “What? Why?” I asked in remorse. “Why? Did you just hear King Lucian?? He is withdrawing my promotion, and you and I know why. He thinks I knew about it, whereas I was in the dark the same way he was. I did nothing wrong, but now, I’m going down with you, and I am a bad person. I came to apologize on your behalf and see what I got.” She retorted, and as she spoke, I kept crying bitterly. “Zoe, please. Please don’t go. You are the only one that still cares for me in this palace. Do you see how everyone looks at me? Even the guards and…” “You brought it upon yourself, Cassie. That isn’t my fault.” She answered abruptly and the words I had to say got stuc
~Damian~ Returning to my mother’s house, I stood at the entrance, staring at the old building as memories rushed into my head. How I had strived so hard to give my mother a good life. Tears heated my eyes as I proceeded into the house. I wasn’t supposed to be back into this house for any reason, but what could I do? Melissa told me that I had to make peace with my brother, but I ended up ruining our relationship. “But then, what can I do mother?? Lucian and I love the same woman. I can boldly say I loved her first.” I muttered, staring at the picture of my mother which sat on the table, next to the wall. I was supposed to return every month to clean the house and picture, but I got too distracted by Cassie, and I could hardly think of myself. I walked into my room and saw a small fabric I could use to clean her portrait. I walked back to give the frame a good clean when I heard footsteps approaching the door. Furrowing my brows, I stood up and walked to the window, lifting the
~Irene~ Becky wrapped her arms around me immediately we got into her chamber. Her excitement knew no bounds, knowing she had returned to her position as one of the trusted members of the pack. “Thank you so much, Irene. I don’t know what I would do without you. Thank you for helping me get justice.” She uttered, and I shook my head. “No, Becky. You don’t have to thank me. What they did to you was pretty horrible. Justice had to be served. I did what I had to do.” “Regardless, I still appreciate you. I don’t know how you got to talk to him, but I’m very glad.” She responded, and I nodded, keeping quiet. Becky was unaware of my relationship with Lucian and I wasn’t ready to say anything either. “I don’t want to be Lucian’s concubine forever, and if I am going to be his wife, I have to be smart about it.” I said to myself. “Will you be staying in my room too? Or would King Lucian provide one for you?” She asked. “He would. I wouldn’t want to disturb your privacy because I love mi
~Damian~ Holding hands, we both walked down a narrow path to wherever she was taking me. “We are not there yet?” I asked, and she turned back to look at me. “I see.” She muttered, and I furrowed my brows in confusion. “What do you mean?” I asked, and she looked away. “I can see you are not the patient type. Tell me about Cassie.” She retorted, and I chuckled. “We have been walking for a while now, I needed to ask. You can’t judge my patience based on that. And Cassie… should we be talking about her now? I think mentioning her name is enough. I don’t want to think so much about it.” I answered, keeping my face on the road. “You said she’s pregnant for you. Why are you not trying to claim your child?” She further asked. It didn’t look like she was ready to give up on the conversation. “Because she has a husband.” I answered, and she took an abrupt stop. Her eyes widened and she turned to look at me. I chuckled and nodded. “Yes. I was expecting that reaction.” I muttered, and s
~Lucian~There was a knock on my door and I stirred up on my bed. I hoped it wasn’t Cassandra because I wasn’t ready to talk to her. “Lucian, it is me.” I heard Irene’s voice, and I hastily got up. “Irene.” I called as I walked to the door. Opening the door, she greeted me with a smile and I smiled back. “What are you doing here?” I asked, and she furrowed her brows. “Why? I shouldn’t be here in your chamber?” She asked, and I shook my head and chuckled. “Come in.” I retorted, moving away from the door. She nodded and walked in. “This place is very nice. More like Royal.” She responded, her eyes scanning through the room. “Thank you. How is your first day in the palace?” I inquired, pointing to the couch so she could sit, but instead, she walked to the bed and sat on it. “It’s going well. I just finished talking to the Queen.” She uttered, and the smile on my face slowly faded off. “Really?” I asked as I settled next to her. She stared into my eyes and nodded. “Yes. She is h
~Cassandra~ ~After A Year~ “Good morning!” I heard Zoe’s loud voice from my slumber, causing me to tighten my eyes in discomfort.“Wake up! I have good news!” She continued talking in a loud voice and even jumped on my bed, forcing my eyes open. “Shhh! You’ll wake Darian up!” I mumbled, hastily throwing a glance at the baby bed that was placed not so far from my bed. He was the first person I was concerned about. “Relax, Cassie. Damian and Lucian are playing with him already. He woke up and began to cry so they took him away before he could wake you up.” Zoe further explained, and I raised my eyebrows. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize he wasn’t here. I was up all through the night because he kept wanting to eat.” I grumbled, lifting my body off the bed and sitting up. “Well, for the tenth time in three months, welcome to motherhood,” Zoe answered, causing me to smile. Three months ago, I conceived and gave birth to Darian. Everyone in the kingdom was happy. We finally have such
~ Lucian ~ When we got closer to the palace, I realized that the people who had left before had arrived again. Bernard must have sent some of his people to summon them. Deep down, I wanted to break free and teach him a lesson, but somehow, I felt extremely weak. I was a Lycan, why wouldn’t I summon the wolf in me? While tied to the church, I tried too hard to reach that locked-up power inside of me, but it was so hard, I couldn’t even brush the surface. It wasn’t really surprising because I never really used that part of me. I never found any reason to, and now it seemed like it was gone. Like my Lycan power was dead completely. I also couldn’t believe I chose to trade my throne for Cassandra’s life. At the point of death, I realized I still loved her and saw her as my wife, regardless of everything that had happened between us. The soldiers that went with us were armed and more in number compared to the guards at the palace. I knew they had no chance right from when I set my ey
~Sara~ “I hired Sara and Agatha to act like my family so that we could execute our plans better. The fact is, I am single, but I won’t mind having your wife as my queen when I inherit the throne.” Bernard uttered with a smirk. “Go f**k yourself.” Lucian spat angrily. I couldn’t look them in the eyes because I knew they were disappointed, and they hated me already. I kept my head lowered as I let my guilt taunt me. “I think I’ve done enough talking. We need to get down to business.” Bernard uttered. “Now to you…” He added, making his way back to the bed where Cassandra lay. “Your life is tied to whatever Lucian wants.” He uttered, raising his hand to touch her hair. “Don’t you dare touch her!” Lucian growled, causing Bernard’s hand to hang in the air. “I hate you,” Cassandra mumbled, staring at him in a disgusted manner. “Well, I never liked you. So here is what we are going to do. We are going to match down to the kingdom right now, call everyone together, and then you’ll anno
~Damian~ Getting to the house where Sara told me to hide in the meantime, I wasn’t at rest. Something felt so wrong, but I found it so hard to figure it out. I couldn’t stop thinking about Cassie and the palace as a whole. What was going on? Was it a good idea to run off in such a heated moment? Shouldn’t I have taken Cassie along with me? That guilty thought and part of me kept resurfacing. And I couldn’t help but feel bad. It was like I ran away from the problem that was looming around those I love. I felt like a coward. Heaving out a deep sigh, I raised my head and stared at the ceiling, thinking about what I was going to do next. ‘If Cassie doesn’t get here in the next forty-eight hours, then I have to return to the palace. Hopefully, Lucian won’t ask for my head on a platter of gold.’ While I was lost in thoughts, trying to cook up my next big plan, a knock came on the door. Surprised and excited, I sprang to my feet and ran to the door. “Cassie?” I called, opening the d
~Cassandra~ I felt disgusted as Bernard exposed his tobacco-damaged teeth when he smiled. I should have always suspected him. I should have always known that something was so fishy about them. How they came into our lives was pretty suspicious. But who could have imagined it would turn out like this? Damian came into our lives the same way, and he’s one of the reasons I’m still fighting to stay alive. “What do you mean by that? What games are you trying to play, Uncle…” “I told you I’m not your uncle! Call me Bernard! And I’m playing no games. This is reality. The earlier you realize that the better for you.” He disrespectfully cut Lucian’s short, letting him choke on his own words. In awe, Lucian turned to look at me, and I shook my head, feeling so bad for us. “Fine. If you’re not my uncle, then can you please tell me who you are?” Lucian retorted, trying to keep on that bold, masculine look, but I could perceive that this layer was pretty thin. He was going to lose it any m
~Bernard~ I headed back to the palace after Cassandra opened her eyes. Before I fetch Lucian, I need to do one more thing. I needed to convince the people that I was the right king for them. After that, I need him to come in front of the people and renounce his throne to the people. Hopefully, he was going to cherish his life and that of his wife so that that would happen. Getting back to the palace, I saw the people were beginning to exit the building. They still murmured things to each other nonstop. When some of them saw me, they diverted their attention to me. “Where were you, Mr. Bernard? We expected you to be in the hall too so that you can support our claims. You were the one that told us everything that has been happening. Why didn’t you show up?” One of the elderly men spoke up. “Yes, that is true. You should have been there to call him a liar to his face. How do you prove to me that you’re the one we want when you were absent?” Another woman added. “Relax, everyone. I
~Sara~ After making sure we were very far from the kingdom, I stopped running. Damian also stopped and turned to look at me. “What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” He asked, our chests rising and falling due to our intense breathing. “I need to go back. No one can know I snuck out with you. But I need you to keep going. Don’t look back.” I warned him, and he nodded. “Remember your promise, Sara. You promised me you’d help Cassie too.” He retorted, and I gulped hard and nodded slowly. “Yes, I will.” I lied. How was I supposed to help her? My father got her already and there was no going back this time. Only the gods could shift the death lurking around her. “Okay. Thank you, Sara. I’ll be in the house you prepared. Bye.” He uttered as he took to his heels again. Watching him leave, a relieved sigh escaped my lips. I was so glad I could save him from my parents. He had been so nice to me and I wasn’t going to take it for granted. I had described the path to our former kingdom to him,
~Lucian~ “We want another king! Give us another king!” The persistent voices of the people pierced the door of the hall where they were, hitting my earbuds mercilessly. Shaking off the fear that began to rise in me, I occupied my mind with the words that I had planned to say to them. I kept repeating the words in my head as I walked into the hall. The voices of the people multiplied greatly when they saw me, and it seemed like if I wasn’t very careful, they were going to pounce on me. Even though guards surrounded me, it didn’t seem like enough protection. I raised my hand, hoping to see if they still had little regard for me, and I wasn’t disappointed. The roaring and murmurings stopped instantly. “Thank you,” I uttered in a loud voice before I proceeded to what exactly I wanted to say. “Good evening, people of this kingdom! Your complaints have reached my ears, and I think it’s only fair that you let me share my own side of the story too, don’t you think?” I asked, and I got a
~Cassandra~ I headed to Lucian’s chamber with so many thoughts running through my head. How were we supposed to handle the situation on ground? I knew Lucian wasn’t his best self, but I still needed to talk to him about Damian too. I hated that Damian was locked up in a cell for no reason. Getting to his chamber, I walked in and met him pacing at the cover of his study. “Lucian,” I called, but he ignored me and kept pacing. I heaved a sigh and moved closer to him. “Can you stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.” I retorted, causing him to abruptly stop. “What do you want?” He asked in a cold manner, keeping his gaze off me. “What are we going to do now? I don’t understand what has come over these people anymore. Are we not going to do something?” I asked worriedly, and he scoffed, finally looking at me. “What do you want me to do, huh? I know you all are happy with how everything is going. You don’t have to pretend like you are worried.” He responded and continued his pacing aga