“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
I used the opportunity of the distraction my father’s presence created to run away and find somewhere to hide.These men had come as prepared as could be. It was no coincidence that they came for me, that I had figured out a long time ago but now, I realized afresh that the person behind them was powerful. Too powerful. Most definitely the Luna Queen. How else would illegal slave traders who should be moving on the low have so many warrior wolves travelling with them?My father had all but walked into an ambush. He had come with wolves, men who had fought with him in several battles and were loyal to him but even they were outnumbered. As the forest came alive with the sound of battle, the snarls of wolves and the cracking of bones as many shifted, I began to wonder if I had been nothing but bait; if my father had been the one they were looking for in the first place or if it was a scheme to kill two birds with one stone.As soon as my father got here, chaos erupted. It became a war z
The day had come. The day I had been looking forward to since I admitted my feelings for Koa. The day of my Mating Ceremony. My friends were gathered around me and we talked and laughed, gossiping amongst ourselves before the start of the ceremony.“Here.” Luna Evenly handed me a box. “I was going to give this to my daughter but I ended up with a useless son. Since I am on the verge of death, I would like to see it on display once before I die.”“Are you giving this to me?” I asked as I looked at the sparkling diamond necklace that had been finely polished and screamed of opulence.Its design was old, the intricate patterns on it something that the jewellers in our time would find difficult to recreate.“Why are you giving this to me? Your son has a mate.” I felt uncomfortable receiving something so precious.“His mate is not much better than he is,” she answered with a derisive scoff. “It is customary to receive things like this on the day of your mating. You have no mother to hand ov
You cannot run away from what is coming to you. Especially if Koa Deimos is the person delivering your retribution.I felt a shiver run down my spine as I watched his cruel smile while the enforcers in the hall sprung into action. The Luna Queen had her hands behind her in a matter of seconds while her mate swayed on his feet trying to stop the enforcers from dragging her away.“Leave her be!” He was shouting but the only bit of respect he could command had been stripped away from him now that he was no longer the Alpha King. He was merely a middle-aged man standing in the way of justice and it must have been the last bit of respect the enforcers had for him that stopped them from shoving him out of the way when he tried to obstruct their work.“Koa Deimos, how could you?” The past Alpha King was shouting.Everyone in the hall witnessed the fall of the haughty Luna Queen who made life hell for many.**After the official ceremony, there was a procession. Dazzling white horses pulled an
Rumours were a wonderful thing. They could create a monster that did not exist. I learnt this and used it to my advantage. Thanks to Hannah, Sylvia, Sonia and Hannah’s boy – friend who is a boy – who I never met, I was able to create monsters when I needed them. I was also able to stir the direction of the public as I liked. Thanks to the amazing people around me, I achieved everything I wanted. If there was one thing I learnt in the past, it was the power of people. Having people in my corner helped me.“As always, you are gorgeous.” Emma Rose took a step back as she admired the fitting of her latest masterpiece. “You make my designs shine, Miss Adelard. I am more than grateful that you made your father bully me into working on your engagement – eh –“ Sylvia gave her a pointed look that made her trail off.“You can mention my last engagement,” I said. “We broke up and he died. There is nothing to keep hushed up. I’m unlikely to feel anything if you suddenly bring it up so there is no
Even though I knew what the outcome would be, I was still pleasantly surprised to hear that Koa was officially the Alpha Prince of Deimos. He finally received the title his father had delayed giving him and I was one step closer to my ultimate goal.From the beginning, I promised to make him king and I promised myself that the people who served him would not die as they did in the past and make him lose all semblance of sanity. Now that he was the crown prince, there was little stopping him from finally ascending the throne as soon as the Alpha King stepped aside or lost his life. The throne could only ever go to him now.Satisfied, I got dressed and set out to see him. During the long journey to the palace, I went over the next steps. Would it be ideal to announce our relationship at his coronation as Alpha Prince? Would it be okay to hold a mating ceremony after? Now that the Luna Queen could not do much to discredit Koa and stop him from getting to the throne, she was much less of
KOA’S POV “We cannot give the Luna Queen time to act,” Persephone was saying.As usual, once I returned, she was back to scheming mode. I missed this woman so much, I was just happy to be in her presence. Since I touched her, I had been cursed to crave her and the months we spent apart, I had almost gone insane from the way I missed her. There was very little to hold onto as I thought of her constantly and wondered if something had happened to her or if she had found someone else. Now that we were together, even if all she was talking about was something else, I was content.She looked less burdened now. Even with the fatigue on her face, she moved with a carelessness that I had never known her to move with. Was it because Cassius Raven was out of the picture? Did he have such a great influence in her life? He must have. He had, after all, killed her in their previous life so she must have lived every day cautious of him. I could not explain how awful I felt coming to this realizati
“Fancy seeing you here, Alpha Cassius.”He was as wretched as I imagined. When I thought of my final retribution against Cassius, he was always like this, chained to the ground with dirty clothes and eyes that begged for mercy. There was not much life in his eyes when he raised his head. It was not the apologetic eyes I had imagined but this one was better. The look of resignation filled me with joy. “Perse,” he called my name with a choked emotion. “I am sorry you have to see me like this.”“Why? I am excited to see you like this. I love seeing you like this.”He was nothing but bones hanging inside clothes that were dirty and smelly. That beautiful face that had all the women falling at his face was gaunt and sickly. It had been months since he was captured, months where he tried to escape multiple times but failed; enough time for him to have suffered mental torture and repented of his sins. When I thought of how I spent seven days locked up by this man, I felt that this punishme
In the banquet hall which the Alpha King had prepared to welcome the warriors, Randal dropped a bombshell that ricocheted throughout the hall. He would not be the first prince to give up his title especially when there were other princes and he wanted to avoid a battle of succession but no one expected him to do this, especially not his mother.“Haha, the prince is tired,” the Luna Queen shouted over him. “Where are the servants? Come and help him settle in.”“Your Majesty, we are still in the middle of the welcoming ceremony,” Randal spoke to his mother with steel in his tone. Really, where did the Randal I knew go to? This one was too cold, too detached to be the same man that left just a couple of months ago. “Please, maintain decorum.”“Boy, you better get your wits about you.” The Luna Queen lost all semblance of falsities. “You were born a prince and you must take your duties seriously. How can you even think of throwing them away?”“I have an obligation to Deimos that is why I
“What do you mean I never wrote to you!?” Things got heated between us in no time. “I wrote to you every week. There were nights when I could not sleep, not because I was physically injured but because of the silence from your end. Even when you were not responding and my wolf was too embarrassed to keep sending letters into a void, I still wrote to you. You are the one who never responded!”“You never wrote to me. Even when you did not write to me, I wrote to you but you never responded. I had to stop when it became clear that you abandoned me!” I shouted at him. “I thought you had found a belle in Black Wolves and could no longer be bothered with me!”There were even days when I feared he had found his mate in the Black Wolves pack and he did not know how to break the news to me. There were also days I thought he had been using me and that he had found no more uses for me. I thought all kinds of things, mourned his death when there was no news of him for a while and celebrated when
“You are all set.” Sylvia took a step back to admire the work she had done on me.I looked into the mirror and the woman in front of me was objectively beautiful but I could not bring myself to care much. I could not bring myself to care about a lot of things. My mind was reeling and although the kingdom was jubilating, I felt hollow inside. The rebel leader of the Black Wolves pack had met his end, the rest were being rounded up as fast as possible. Everyone was celebrating the victories and anticipating when the Alpha King’s troops would return.“You are going to dazzle today as always!” The girls surrounding me who helped put me in this fancy dress beamed at me.The atmosphere everywhere in the kingdom was bright. The mood was refreshing. Everyone laughed at things that did not even deserve to be smiled about like they were compensating for the days we were too scared to laugh.“Right. I think this will sell out soon, also.” Dead inside but alive outside, I was still the biggest mo