“Surprise!” Koa exclaimed, his lips pulled up in a grin. “You must be too stunned to speak.”Words failed me as I stared at him. I was both surprised and excited. I had made peace with the fact that I may not be able to see him for a while. After leaving my home and coming to this remote place far from my pack and family, I did not expect to see a familiar face. When the familiar face turned out to be Koa, the person I missed the most, I got dumbstruck. Did the goddess see my deepest desires and grant me a wish? I wanted to see him and had been thinking of him, wondering what he was up to and how the crackdown was coming along but now he was in front of me.“I-“ As I opened my mouth to confess how much I missed him and how glad I was that he was here, a woman I had not expected to see poked her head out from behind him.My joy soured and my racing heart calmed.“April Arlington.” The bulge in her belly was gone. Even while she had carried Cassius’ alleged bastard, she had remained sl
“It is not – none of us have tried to bury her memories and pretend she never existed.” Gemma cried out. “She was my best friend and she meant the world to me. We were practically sisters. When she left – before she left, I begged her and she said it was something she must do. She was my friend and family and I never wanted anything bad to happen to her but I could not hold her back. She was the type who never changed her mind once it was set.” Tears had filled her eyes and were threatening to drop.“From the day she set out, I mourned her but what could I do? She knew what she wanted and I am not the goddess. I do not have the power to change her destiny. She chose her path and she was happy with it. She was a sweet girl and I – everyone in this pack missed her dearly but what could we do?” It was a long rant that I found difficult to follow. None of the things she said to me made any sense but she kept going on and on and the tears in her eyes spilt. Her mate looked like the world
Aryana Adelard. A quirky woman who had known of her death but did nothing to prevent it. Despite knowing she would die during childbirth, she still went to meet my father, she still got pregnant with me and died without trying to stop her death.Why?‘You must be very surprised.’ I was dreaming but even in that dream, the ethereal voice that had awoken me after my death could not be mistaken. ‘It has been a long time, Anastacia.’The goddess’ voice was like a soft breeze whispering secrets. It was smooth and melodic with a distinct echo. When she called my name, I felt goosebumps on my skin and a sense of awe wrapped around me.‘You must be the goddess.’There was nothing but darkness. Pitch-black darkness. No, it was much more than darkness. It was like I could not see. There was nothing to see, not even darkness. It was then panic gripped me. It was a dream but it was a cold dream filled with nothing but a voice that whispered against my skin as close as a lover’s yet as distant as
They were going to hold a ceremony to welcome me to Moon Lake pack. It was not a great idea since I had come here to lay low but I had given the approval without even knowing, my head stuck in the clouds.“You need to try on this dress. It may not be up to par with what you are used to but it is by a great designer and it is well-made. Look, it even has jewels on it. I heard that you favour this kind of style so…”“Please, let me finish writing this letter.”Gemma, to atone for the guilt she felt for abandoning her best friend’s child, brought out all the wonderful and extravagant things they had in her pack and tried to dress me up. She heard I was a person who loved fashion and who wore the most expensive things so she tried to bribe me.“The party is tomorrow. We have to get you ready before then!” She exclaimed. “Can the letter not wait?”“It cannot.”With so much at stake, I could not leave my business unattended. Although the Deimos Flower had been successfully planted, it had to
“And…” The man stuttered. “And you are?”“Koa Deimos,” I introduced him. “The Alpha Prince. You should say your greetings.”The hush in the hall worsened. It seemed people were even holding their breaths to not breathe the wrong way and further anger the man whose eyes were a chilling blue one second and a fiery red the next.“Oh.” The man’s mate took a step back. “Oh.” Another step backIt was the tone that could only be used by one who had found out that they messed up and they messed up badly. These people thought they could bully me but what they did not know was that unlike the rumours surrounding me, I was a vengeful person. I was fully prepared to rain down hell on them and I would have a valid excuse to do so if he hit me but now Koa had stepped in and I think things were going to be a lot worse for him.“Pay your respects,” I reiterated in the silent room with the man whose hand was turning blue from Koa’s crushing grip.“It – it is an honour – I am honoured to meet you.”What
APRIL’S POVThere was not much I could do for him except serve him so I tried my best to serve him with clear sincerity but the more I tried to do that, the more he pushed me away. Of course, I expected a prince like Alpha Koa to be much more different from all the other men I lured in but I never expected it to be so difficult. No matter what I tried to do for him, he always rejected me.“Why are you bringing my meal?” He snarled at me as I knocked on his door. “Have I not instructed you to send the other girl?”“It – she – she was feeling unwell so I – I thought it would be – I thought it would be no problem and you have not eaten all day.”I did not need to pretend to be frightened. The way he stared at me as if he wanted to tear me apart was enough to scare me.“Take it back and stop showing yourself carelessly in front of me!” He slammed the door in my face and I gritted my teeth.What the hell did that vicious woman tell him? Why did he treat me like I had done something unthink
KOA’S POVPersephone disappeared. Vanished into thin air and I did not notice this until the Alpha of Moon Lakes pack came to see me with his mate, both their eyes red and his entire body rigid.“You – what do you mean Persephone disappeared?” They called her Anastacia and at first, I did not understand what they were talking about but then I remembered her wolf’s name.She had been missing since the previous night and I only now heard of her absence. I spent the entire night chasing after that criminal and taking him and his entire household into custody. In fact, I was only just returning and had not washed the blood and grime off of me when this couple came in.“If she has been missing since last night then why can you not find her!?” I barked at them.“We came here several times but you were not inside. When we returned, the girl at the door said you did not want to see anyone. That is why we had to make a ruckus to get in like this.”“I am going to find her.” I left the people be
The burning sensation of silver around my wrists was not something I had missed.I had no idea how long we had travelled. Days, weeks, maybe, but everything had blurred into one. I was hungry, tired and angry. If you are a kidnapper then you should have a proper way of feeding your victim, right? I should not expect so much from scoundrels but my stomach was constantly growling. The long, unending trip was tiring. Being locked up in a carriage that only stopped to change horses made every inch of my body ache.Slave traders. The few times we stopped to change horses, I had heard them discussing. These men were about to sell me off. If I thought too much about it, I may run mad with anxiety so I decided to focus on the things I felt at that moment; the hunger and the fatigue.Finally, we stopped. This time, it was not for a horse change. My heart leapt to my mouth but I focused on the good side. I was not being rattled in a tiny box. They may have stopped to hand me over to whoever was