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
“Wow, you look awful.” I looked at April but felt no shred of remorse or even excitement at the state in which she was. All I felt was numbness. To think that this bitch was created just to mess with me.“Are you here to gloat?” She asked from her busted and buried lips. “You won and I lost so you must be happy.”“April Arlington.” I felt a sense of Déjà vu as I looked at her in a cell. “Were we ever in a competition?”“You wanted Cassius and you had him. You had him right where you wanted him but in the end, you still left him! You left him but even if you were not there, he could not concentrate on me! Tell me, what is it that you do to these men? Is there a special seduction skill that you have learnt? What is it that you do to these men that makes them chase after you like flies!?”“Heh,” I laughed at her angry outburst. “Maybe it is my uncanny beauty?” I snorted. “Were you in the corner all the time feeling insecure and hating on me for no reason? I am disappointed.”I had April
Before my return home, I had one final thing to do. Sonia followed behind me with a glass of wine while I held on to the poison. Inside the cramped cell in the Moon Lakes pack was April, curled up in a fetal position with bruises on her arm showing that she had tried to end herself.“You are nothing but a witch.” She did not raise her head even when I entered. “Are you here to finish me off?”On the seventh day after I woke up after escaping the slave traders, I decided it was time for her execution. As promised, I came with the same poison that I had been accused of putting in her drink.“As I am preparing to return home, I forgot to tell them to prepare you for your death but it does not matter, does it?”“This is all your fault. You are –““I have something I must say to you before you leave this world.” I threw her words right back at her.“What do you want to say!?” She snarled. “Have you not done enough? Do you still want to continue to torture me?”There was no remorse despite
Things were going well for me if it was not the small problem that I missed Koa terribly. He had promised he would be back soon but two months had passed with us only exchanging letters sparingly. Every time, he told me he was closer and closer to the end of his goal but still, he did not return.“Miss, wow,” Hannah gawked at me. “How can one person be so beautiful?”“Is it too much?” I asked, touching the jewellery hanging heavy on my neck. “I have to make a statement today so I went all out.”The time had come for me to launch my fashion brand in conjunction with Emma. I had put in a lot of effort into this and while I believed it would be a success, I could not help the anxiety I felt.“It is perfect. Miss, I do not know what the goddess looked like but I am sure you are her spitting image,” Hannah continued to flatter me like she had sugar in her mouth.I could not help but laugh. There were many reasons to laugh these days. My life was going good. No one got on my nerves and the
“When did you return?” I asked.“Last night.” He took my hand as he spoke, linking our fingers. “You are truly amazing, Persephone. I am proud of you.”“It – I worked with very talented people,” I responded. “You should have told me you were coming.” I narrowed my gaze at him almost accusingly.The back room cleared one person at a time as soon as he got in so it was just the two of us. It was just the two of us in the room but it felt like it was just the two of us in the world. He had lost weight, grown out his hair and his hands were rougher, more calloused. The dark circles around his eyes spoke of his exhaustion so no matter how much he smiled, there was no hiding how tired he was.“Did you miss me?” His words were teasing.“Yes, but if you only returned last night, you should have rested.” I pursed my lips. “Why did you have to come out today? You should be sleeping.”“It’s because I missed you.” His thumb stroked the back of my hand. “And how could I sleep when you are doing so
Cassius had done something. Even without knowing what, I knew he had done something. Suddenly, the only heir to Alpha Slater’s seat got into a fight with some men at the bar and ended up dead. It was not unusual for Slater’s son to get into bar fights since he was a nitwit just like his sister who had no achievements but liked to ride off of her father’s name. I did not know him in person but there were often stories about him getting into fights here and there, harassing women and assaulting omegas. He was the scum of the earth but no one dared to offend him considering his family name. This same man had suddenly died in a bar fight.“Cassius Raven, what are you up to?” I bit my lips as I stared at the writing materials in front of me.Even if it was a coincidence, it was one that benefitted him. Without an heir, the title of Alpha could easily be passed to him as Jennifer’s mate, Jennifer being a beta.“He has a hand in this.” Even if there was no evidence, I knew he had a hand in t
“I said I would support you through everything but what am I supposed to do about this?” I was having a very bad week and my father was not helping matters. “You assaulted her in public and her father is asking for more than I can give!”“She should not have touched him,” I responded, defiant till the end.“You should not have broken her hand!” My father countered. “Now, what do you want to do about this?” He asked. “He has asked for a whopping amount of money and a business deal that I would rather die than give to him.”“Koa will take care of it,” I answered. “Ignore everything he has to say. I will be off then.”My father shouted my name but I did not answer. When I got back to my room, I wrote to Koa. They would let the matter slide if he threatened them with assaulting a royal. That should scare them but it would not help the image I tried so hard to build for him.Then I went back to brainstorming what to do about the textile that the Luna Queen was buying up. I contacted my peo
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