I left home at the crack of dawn but even by then, Cassius had long since left the house. Today, I was meeting Alpha Koa at a coffee shop close to the palace because I knew I had to be more careful being around him.Today, I better disguised myself, going as far as to wear a red wig and plain clothes. The coffee shop was well known and thus had a lot of visitors but they also had private sitting areas which I hoped Alpha Koa had booked for this meeting.As usual, it was a long trip out of Blood Crescent to meet with Koa. The carriage was almost pulling to a stop when one of its wheels took off, nearly hitting the people coming up behind us. I hurriedly left the coachman to deal with it since I did not want to alert people of my presence.I walked the short distance to the coffee shop and searched around for Alpha Koa. I found him in a private sitting area, absentmindedly flipping through one of the books the coffee shop provided to their private sitting customer
I woke with a start. Darkness transformed to light in the blink of an eye and the first thing my mind zeroed on was the cold, then the throbbing in my head and finally, my parched throat. I sat upright and blinked. “Oh, you are awake.” Turning my head caused a lot of pain but I did it. I turned my head to see a man with dark hair and blue eyes staring at me. “Alpha Koa,” I called his name in a hoarse tone. “Where are my clothes?” “I took them off,” he responded with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. “Here, have some water.” He held out a leaky and tattered pouch of water to me. I raised my brows and he shrugged again. “I found this here and cleaned it as best as I could. Do you want it or not?” I grabbed it since my throat was too dry. It was disgusting but I held my breath and drank the remaining water that had not leaked out of the pouch. As soon as my throat felt better, I screamed at him. “You crazy guy! What did you do to me? Where are my clothes!?” I shouted but th
Once again, I drowned in darkness. My heart accelerated while a bitter taste coated my tongue. I struggled to come out of said darkness but my body did not move. I felt trapped in my skin.“Cass – Cassius, please,” I pleaded. “You have to – Cass, no!” I reached out a hand to come out of the darkness and a rough hand grabbed mine.I gasped as my eyes snapped open to see Alpha Koa holding my hand. Sweat poured down my face. I held on to his hand like my life depended on it, gasping for breath, my chest tingling.When I regained my senses, I pulled my hand from his, adjusting myself as I sat. It had been a while since dreams of my death hunted me.“Here.” Alpha Koa handed me the leaky pouch that barely had water.I accepted it with shaky hands and gulped down the last drop of water available, my throat dry and hurting. The place was dark and silent save for the sounds of chirping animals. I avoided Koa’s piercing gaze which seemed to want to see into my soul.Silence reigned around us fo
“You will be my Luna Queen,” he said while I processed his words.My brows jumped to my hairline in amazement. Shall I laugh or smack sense into him? I considered my options but no matter how we were stranded, it was still a crime to hit a member of the royal family so I settled on mocking laughter.“Do you plan on forcing me into the role?” I asked.In this life or the next, I had no desire to be the Luna Queen or a Luna. After my experience with Cassius, I would be the biggest fool to trust a man enough to let him put a mark on me. I learnt my lesson the hard way so I would not allow myself to be used a second time.In this life, as long as I could get my people out of Blood Crescent, I planned on establishing my own pack. It would be made up of the people I forced to join Blood Crescent after I blackmailed my father into subjecting himself to Cassius’ rule.“I am quite confident that there is nothing lacking a
We spent the rest of the night talking, the nightmare forgotten. I knew Alpha Koa was not dense even so, I was excited to hear his plans. Since I knew the future, I could tell him which would fail and which needed more work.I finally fell asleep as the night turned to day and there were no nightmares this time. I woke up a short while later to the smell of food that made my stomach rumble. As I opened my eyes, I sat up to stretch with a loud yawn. My stomach grumbled again.“I caught some fish,” Koa said as a greeting when I went out of the tiny cave. “I cannot guarantee it will taste good but it is better than being hungry.”“As long as I do not starve.”I went to the river a short distance away and washed my face and feet. Then I went to eat. I was hungry so I wolfed down the meal Alpha Koa had prepared. After eating, we cleared out the space, dressed up and went about looking for ways out of this place.&ldqu
CASSIUS’ POVIt had to work this time. It just had to. The resources that went into hiring warriors and trackers that had taken the dark path, were not little. It was like pouring water into a basket. So far, I had gotten no result so I threw in everything. I found twenty assassins and paid them to work together towards one goal. It was expensive to target the royal family so imagine using twenty people to target a royal wolf. So it had to work out. It had to.Alpha Koa somehow managed to evade my traps but this time, even if he did not die, I had instructed them to maim him to the point where him becoming king would forever be out of the question. It cost me the equivalent of the pack’s five-year budget to get this together so it had to work. It just had to.When I ensured the men had set out as I instructed, I went back home, exhausted to my bones. When I got home, the first person I wanted to see was Persephone.&ldqu
APRIL’S POVWhat was it about Persephone Adelard that made her capable of shaking Blood Crescent pack in its entirety? What was it about her that drove Cassius insane and made him act like a dog abandoned by their master? What was it about her and why was she suddenly missing?“This is a good opportunity for you,” Louis said. “With her away, take this opportunity to get the Alpha’s attention on you!” His eyes were shining with determination as he spoke.Louis, for all his medical knowledge, was a fool. I knew he liked me and it was clear as day that he wanted to get me in bed but he pretended to have nothing but friendship in mind. The eyes with which he looked at me were disgusting, not much unlike the eyes of the men I was running from. Yet, he did not even know it. He pretended to convince himself and me that he was my friend and cheering for me to get with Cassius.Either way, he was a stupid guy so
I had thought that when we got to Red Lake Pack, news about us missing would be everywhere. It was surprising that it was not news yet. The Alpha of Red Lake pack was amazed to meet us. Cassius must be hiding my absence from my father. On the other hand, I was surprised that the Alpha Prince could go missing without any fuss.“Why do you keep sneaking glances at me?” He asked, looking out the window.He was the Alpha Prince so how come no one looked for him? Even if his family hated him, they could at least pretend to be worried about him because of the royal authority. If the prince could go missing just like that without the royal family moving, did that not just mean the royals were of no value even amongst themselves?“How come there is no troop out searching for you? I am surprised,” I said. “Even your subordinates did not send out search parties.”“Do you think it would be wise for them to alert others of my
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