CASSIUS’ POV
It 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.
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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
“Perse.” He embraced me.The look in his eyes was abhorrent. The way he approached me as if I was his child who had gone missing repelled me. I found everything about this man to be irritating. The days I spent away from him were not enough. I needed more days away from him.“Alpha Raven,” Koa said from beside me. ”I must have become invisible in your eyes.”“Alpha Koa,” Cassius spoke the name through gritted teeth. “It is my life’s honour to greet you. My mate has been missing so excuse me for my shabby manners.”“Your manners are indeed shabby.” Goose bumps rose on my skin at the chill in his tone. “Shabby and insolent. I am feeling generous today so I will let it slide. Goodbye for now.”He turned as I spoke.“Thank you for your help, Alpha Koa,” I said, but he left without acknowledging me.It would have been a shorter journey for
It was hard to smile at a woman who I knew would not hesitate to harm me if she thought she could get away with it. In the first place, I disliked pretence but these days, all I did was pretend. Thus, I could not be bothered to return her smile.“My dear,” the Luna Queen said, her lips smiling but her eyes hard. “I have been quite curious about you.” “It is a pleasure to know that the mother of Deimos has any interest in me.” I hoped my flat tone was not considered disrespectful.“The entire Deimos is curious about you.” She laughed. “Much like your father, you are a difficult person to run into. An industrious woman like you is a treasure many are interested in.”“I suppose so.” I forced a grin. “I am, after all, my father’s daughter.”Jennifer Slater could not grind her teeth harder if she tried.Two days ago, I received an invitation to a &lsq
“Miss, you are here.” Beta Faris came running towards me.When I got to Koa’s place, I did not meet him. Instead, his Beta rushed towards me with a fake smile on his face.“We did not know to expect you.”He regarded me with a guarded smile that felt off. I had nothing to do with Faris so there was no reason for him to treat me like a rogue about to charge.Then I remembered my reputation and sighed to myself. Some people treated me like a crazy person about to go off at any time. It was a reputation I earned before going back in time so Faris’ behaviour should not be all that surprising.It was also not a reputation I cared about correcting.“Am I not welcomed here?” I asked with quirked brows.“Ah, I never meant –“ He cringed. “You are here to see Alpha Koa, right?”“Where is he?” I looked around the space I had been asked to wait.It was my first time coming to see him without letting him know beforehand. I had never been made to wait for him. Thinking back, I realized it may be be
“Yes, and my father. She will strike at him too.” The weapon she could not have should be destroyed.I did not expect an attack on my father’s life now but I could never be too safe. It was bound to happen in the future, especially now that I was going to be a lot more open with my connection with Koa.“The Crimson Wolf has vanquished a score of rogues in the past few weeks. It is absurd that you think a man like him will need protection,” Koa said but he had not seen my father get his head chopped off so I ignored him.“Also, never forget you are to inform me when his name comes from your parents’ mouth.”With Alpha Koa protecting my father, I could be assured he was in good hands. Since he planted a spy on the Alpha King, if he were to send out people to hurt my father, he would be aware and would act accordingly.“He is going to be my father-in-law so I will protect him well,” he said w
“Perse.”I hid my disgust with a tight smile. Smiling at Cassius became a lot more difficult with each day that passed. The way he looked at me these days with eyes full of sorrow and devastation had me wondering if he had eaten something wrong. Did he feel so guilty about me being stranded with Koa? Where did the Cassius who killed me go? That man was not capable of guilt so his sudden morose expression made me itchy. It was an expression I was unused to and right now, so close to my goal of pulling Cassius down, I could not tolerate any new variable.Cassius must lose everything and at his lowest, I would end it all for him. Just as he did to me.“What is it, Cassius?” I asked in a soft tone, standing up to greet him.“No, there’s no need to stand.” He came into my room and sat beside me on my bed. “Perse, what is your relationship with Alpha Koa?” He asked. “I want you to be honest with me. I have my doubts but I want to believe in you. Please, let me believe in you.” The wretched
KOA’S POV‘Too many problems and too few benefits.’That was what being with me meant to Persephone. To entice her, even if by a little, I had to show her that there would be benefits to being with me, but how? It was no secret that being with me would pose a threat to her life. She did not think of me as a man and she never would if a place by my side meant she would be pursued to death by my stepmother.Then, should I not just remove every threat she may face?It was easier thought of than done. I would need to do a big cleanup to make sure Persephone would be safe by my side. As the heir my father wanted to get rid of, if I did not move with stealth, he would not hesitate to hold me accountable for any crime I may or may not commit.“You are staring at that sword again,” Faris walked into my study to see me studying the Moon’s Sword.“It is a precious gift from one who will soon become my beloved.” I touched the sword.I liked this sword. I had no use for swords but this one hummed
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