CASSIUS’ POVHow did things go so wrong? No, what was I thinking in the first place? No, no, why the hell did April do that? I wanted to find her right away and squeeze the life out of her eyes but I feared my wolf would die along with that silly woman who was about to cost me everything. The image of Persephone crying and fainting was forever burned into my mind, haunting me at every moment. I did that to her. Persephone was everything to me yet I hurt her. With the way she went after April that evening, I knew she suspected her – suspected my relationship with her – but I do not think she knew our exact relationship. Finding out she was my mate must have been too much for her. The question I had now – what was I going to do with April? I told myself that I could squeeze out even the smallest of roles for her but now, I did not even want to set eyes on her. She betrayed me. What would I gain from such a foolish woman who did not even see the bigger picture? He is mine! T
KOA’S POV Persephone Adelard.People were talking about her.“I heard that she tried to hang herself,” a woman sitting two seats away from me in the coffee shop said.“If I were in her shoes, I would leave his house immediately. No matter how much she has invested in him, such a traitorous man can never be trusted,” one of her companions said.“Yes, I would leave him in the blink of an eye. How can he do such a thing to her? He found his mate and hid her under the same roof!” The third woman exclaimed. “And it was just the other day they got engaged.”“It’s lucky he has not put a mark on her yet. That Cassius man, he may be handsome, but he is nothing more than a leech of the Adelards.”“But isn’t she a foolish woman?” The first woman spoke again. “No matter how heartbroken she is, isn’t it too much for her to remain there and do nothing but cry? I am hearing Alpha Adelard is going to leave Cassius’ pack but it seems his foolish daughter is still clinging to another woman’s mate.”“H
The first emotion I processed was fear. Fear that paralyzed my limbs and made me feel like the world was closing in on me. My heart pounded loudly in my ears and without knowing it, I reached out to the person closest to me and grabbed their hand with a grip tight enough to cut off blood flow. Still, none of these helped with the mind-numbing sensation that spread throughout my body. I swallowed when my throat felt like a dessert but there was no reprieve from this damning situation. “Go out. Miss Persephone is busy so come back later.” Sylvia’s voice reached me from a faraway place. It may have been a dream as I watched the men bow themselves out with how out of it I felt. “Perse, are you okay?” Sylvia turned to me when the men had left and I took in a shaky breath. In truth, I was not okay. Seeing Liam and Lucas like that made me remember my death all over again. I had mourned the woman I was in my past life but seeing them opened a fresh can of worms that stole my breath.
My father’s life was in danger again because of me. Was I such a weak link? People always took advantage of him using me. In the past, it was Cassius and now the Alpha King who was heading down the path to damnation. Why was my father always caught in my mess? In my past life, I never had any interactions with the Alpha King. He was just that; the Alpha King, a man with no influence in my life whatsoever so what changed now? As I asked myself this question, I knew the answer. In the past life, I never left Cassius alone. Even when he brought April on our engagement day, I continued to cling to him like a fool. My father never left this pack or even showed even a small hint of wanting to leave. Now, there must be people gossiping about me leaving Cassius and about my father leaving the pack so the Alpha King wanted to snatch this golden opportunity to recruit us into his failed army. “This crazy bastard, indeed,” I all but snarled. This man and everything that concerned him d
“You look ridiculous.” Those were the first words Alpha Koa said to me the moment we met. Dressed in a cloak that would be suspicious even to the oblivious, I understood the sentiment but it did not mean I appreciated his rude remark. “Thank you, I was trying out your style,” I responded, lowering the hood of my cloak. “You are funny.” His eyes were sharp as his lips curved into a false smile. I took a good look at him. A very good look at him. I had decided to invest in this man because I expected profitable returns. He was in a position where I could gain a lot from him and the only thing I needed to do was use my knowledge of the past to help him. He was my sword and a very sharp one at that. “Why are you looking at me so intently?” He asked. “Have you only now discovered my astounding looks?” I scoffed at such a remark but ignored it. I had come here for much more important things. More important than an irrelevant back-and-forth with this man. “I received a proposal from th
“A – April!” He skidded to a halt. Of course, he did. His mate was on the ground while I stood standing over her. There was no need to ask what was happening because the scene was quite self-explanatory. From the way her eyes were red and the way she looked up at me with eyes filled with fear, her game was obvious. “Perse, A – April, what’s –“ Cassius stared at the two of us, wanting to ask what was happening but already reading meaning to everything. “What is this?” “C – Cassius.” April reached out a hand to him. “P – Please, help me.” He took a step towards her but then looked at me before he stopped and asked. “April, why are you on the ground? What happened?” He moved to her and helped her up but she pretended to fall again so he made her lean on him with his hand supporting her. “Perse, did you push her?” When no one answered him, he voiced his conclusion. It was not far off the mark from what April wanted him to see but it still made my heart boil. In my past life, I
A week later, Cassius’ losses started. The investment which should have fallen apart a few months from now crumbled unexpectedly. As my father and Alpha Koa pulled out at the same time, Koa’s people must have pulled out too and things ended earlier than I foresaw. It was on a cool evening a week after the stint with April. I had been sipping a glass of orange juice and flipping through a magazine when I heard Cassius’ earth-shattering scream. It was a scream so deep and desperate that it left me feeling satisfied even before I knew what had happened. As an actress, I immediately went into acting mode and rushed to his office. I was not the only one who rushed over. April also came running at her mate’s screams. We met at the door and we both paused. Her eyes flashed with anger before she lowered her head. It must have been clear to her by now that no matter what she did, Cassius would continue to hang on to me. “Oh,” she muttered when she saw me just at Cassius’ door. “I will
Alpha Slater, the Luna Queen’s brother and biggest supporter. He was a man who would lose his life and everything he had at the hands of Alpha Koa. He was the greatest support for Alpha Randal and I remember when Alpha Koa decided to take things by force, Slater was the one he cut down first. Alpha Slater had more of an influence on this kingdom than my father because he was the Luna Queen’s brother, the uncle of the man everyone expected to be the next Alpha King, and the head of a pack as large as ours. My father, on the other hand, had wealth and a name he acquired on the battlefield. Because he did not interact much with other alphas, he was a mystery to most and his fame increased with his mysterious air. My greatest asset now was that Alpha Slater was secretly my father’s fan. It was something my father knew but always scoffed at – as he did with everything so using my father’s name, I planned to get close to Slater and connect him with Cassius. The Alpha King wanted a le
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