“Elder Raphael, how are things at the pack?” I asked the old man.“How do you plan on making do with your promises to me?” He spoke with a hard face. “Cassius Raven has become the Alpha King’s man. How do you plan on bringing him down? I have staked too much in this so you better have a solid plan.”“Do you trust me?” I asked, and he sneered.“This is not about trust. What good would trusting you do for me if I do not achieve all that has been promised?” He was agitated. He continually bounced his leg and after a while, he tugged at the neckline of his shirt. “With Cassius working for the Alpha King, do you think he will be so easy to drag down? He spends more time in the palace than in his office these days!”“That should be enough to disqualify him as an Alpha, isn’t it?” I asked. “Have you done what I asked you to do? That is the first thing you should have reported to me.”“Cheeky –“ He pursed his lips. From where I sat, I could see him tighten his fist as he looked at me. “Yes, I
The next day, I received a letter from Arya who poured out her grievances against me. The letter was simple and it went like this; I thought we were friends but you have ignored all my letters and I have been too scared to come over to the Crimson Wolf’s fortress. If you still value what is left of our friendship then you should come to my event. It is the first of its kind in my pack and I have invited many influential people.It was amazing but I had forgotten all about Arya. The last time I read her letter, she had been talking about writing a sequel to her novel. I was not interested in any of that. I had connected with two powerful women thanks to her so there was no reason for us to continue to drag on our farce of a friendship.Her letters reminded me that I was the one treating this friendship as a farce. She had taken me to be a genuine friend of hers from the little, almost negligible efforts I had put into maintaining said friendship in the past.Since she had invited me to
“Look what the cat dragged in,” I started trouble with Jennifer before she got the chance to start. “Arya says she never sent you an invite so what are you doing here?” I put on the most obnoxious smile I could muster as I spoke.“You must have forgotten who I am.” Her fiery gaze was directed at Arya. “Do you think you are capable of sidelining me?”“Are you scared of being washed out? Is that why you shamelessly show your face to an event you received no invite to because you are afraid of being cast aside by society as the worthless young miss that you are now?” I was in a good mood so I enjoyed throwing words at her.It was such a despicable thing to find joy in but clearing things up with Arya lightened my mood.“Cast aside?” She scoffed. “As if.” She flipped her hair across her shoulder and mimicked my smile. “You must have forgotten what family I come from. My aunt is the Luna Queen.”“Did your father not get exposed recently for being a thief?” I pretended to think. “Yes, that’
CASSIUS’ POV“No matter what happens, you cannot allow Alpha Randal to go to the Black Wolves pack,” I advised the Luna Queen who was busy being adorned with lavish jewels.“Let me ask you something.” She slapped an omega who had tried but failed thrice to her on her bracelet. The girl held her cheek and exited the room without a sound. “Do you think Randal is any less of an Alpha than that bastard?”Almost every day, I had to make the long trip between Blood Crescent and the Alpha King’s home. I fell asleep in the carriage every night and before my eyes opened the next morning, there would be another invite from the palace.When I decided to hold hands with the monarchy, it was because I expected it to benefit me. There was no benefit to any of this. They had stolen from me and now made me a sort of adviser whose advice was mostly ignored. They made a mockery of my existence. I could not stand it.Yet, I had been ensnared and there was little way out. Politeness did not work. Remindi
It brought me great pleasure to see him looking scruffy. The Cassius who took pride in his appearance, vowing to always appear clean and well-groomed after growing up as nothing more than a filthy beggar was staring at me looking exactly like the man he swore not to become. With unshaven beards, sunken eyes and dark circles that resembled a panda’s, he looked horrid.“I see you are doing very well.” His eyes were dull and his tone flat.There was something in there that I could not quite interpret. It was as though I was staring at a watered-down version of the Cassius I used to know. I could not believe I had fallen in love with such a sight.“And I see you do not look good,” I put on an air of concern as I watched his expression shift.“Persephone.” I turned at the sound of that voice.My wolf perked up and something inside me bloomed. It was a feeling that was hard to get used to. Just from hearing his voice, I felt like I was walking on clouds.“Koa,” I said as I turned, a smile p
April worked in his home. This was something that had not happened in my first life so I had never imagined it. We did not know Koa in the past but now, it seemed she had her eyes on him. It was not surprising. Koa was a man women would fight over. Since he was far superior to Cassius, she must have seen he was a better catch than the Alpha about to be stripped of his title.Would her damsel in distress act work in him? I did not know. As far as I could tell, Koa was irritated by her presence. It would be hard for him to have an interest in someone who he knew was placed at his side by his stepmother. Despite knowing all this, I still caught myself biting my nails and wondering what to do. I could not leave her by his side.None of that mattered as big news that rocked the entire Deimos dropped the next morning. Alpha Koa was responsible for the death of over ten Alphas who had been declared missing. The story had it that he used the Moon’s Sword to kill them and they immediately deco
The Randal I knew and the Randal standing before me were two different men. Two very, very different men.“Alpha Randal, your hand…” I was momentarily stupefied by the cut on his right hand that dripped blood into the rug.“Yes, I was confined but I had to break away.” He applied pressure on the wound. “But tell me, where is my brother? Alpha Adelard, you are here so something must have happened. I heard some maids… They said brother was put in the dungeons.”“The Luna Queen has accused him of murdering innocent wolves. I am on my way to see the Alpha King.” My father was the only one who remained calm in this room. “You may want to get your hand checked out. It is not healing.”“No, no, is that not too far? Can Mother do that? Is there any proof? How can – how can they put brother in the dungeons? Even if – even if he killed people, he must have had valid reasons.” For a moment, his eyes flashed red.“Alpha Randal, we have to see Koa,” I said.“The Luna Queen will not allow it. By no
“Are you sure this is the path you want to take?” Father asked with an expression that showed he was unimpressed with Koa’s words.“What do you think, Persephone?” Koa asked me. “You said you would make me king so does this put a damper on your plan?”I did not know what the Moon’s Sword could do. It would be unwise to insist a guilty man was innocent but if there was a way to clear his name, to hide the evidence and make it seem as if he never had a hand in it, it would be preferable compared to admitting to the crime and trying to paint the victims as villains who deserved to die.Even if they did deserve to die, they were the Luna Queen’s people. This was a chance for her to tighten the nozzle she had put around his neck. If given a chance, she would bite down and not let go until he bled out. Even with proof that these men were indeed awful people, there was still the argument that it was not his place to do what he did and make their innocent families suffer in the dark, hoping f
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