[Azriel]The moment they leave, I try to leave the bed, but as soon as I sit up, the room begins to spin and I am forced to lie down once again. I groan and it is then I feel the pain lancing through my body. Everything rushes back again and despite lying down, I feel nauseous.Mom’s eyes flash across my face.The pity and pain in her eyes faded in front of the betrayal that I faced. Growls of anger and pain leave my mouth unbidden. I roll on my side and somehow get off the bed. I crawl to the waste bin near the desk because the washroom is too far away and dry heavy.My stomach clenches and with every muscle contraction, I feel the pain increasing tenfold. I belatedly realize that I am crying. I am sobbing and it is painful. My chest constricts painfully with each breath.Why did Aysel leave again? Why did she not have faith in me?Rowan whimpers in the back of my mind. A sense of despair fills inside and before I know it I fall sideways. My vision blurs and slowly is engulfed by mad
[Aysel]“Where are you going?” Mason asks as I am hurrying towards the bike with Kai. He has somehow found out and is now as always asking after me. His concerned gaze makes me want to hug him. I am not sure how I ended up getting a friend like him.“Work,” I lie, my voice trembling with sadness, anger, and fear. He gives me a pointed look, one that says that he is not convinced. When I avert my gaze and take my seat on the bike, he frowns and looks at Kai.I am glad he hasn’t asked who Kai is, or maybe he has received the information about him as well.“We have more urgent matters to solve. Please excuse us,” Kai answers his quizzical look with a curt nod.“I will call you later,” I say to Mason and then we leave for the palace. My hands are clammy with sweat as Kai picks up speed to reach the destination as fast as possible.He has not divulged much to me because when I heard the news, I almost fainted and felt numb all over.How did he…? I can bet that it was due to that medicine w
[Aysel]Alessia and I race towards the palace. What the hell is wrong with Azriel? First, he asks Kai to practically throw me out of the premises and now he is trying to kill Aiden. I feel too overwhelmed to even think about whether or not the wolfsbane is responsible for this. Damn.We reach Aiden’s office and Alessia cries out as we find Azriel choking him to death. Aiden’s eyes have almost bulged out at this point.“Azriel, leave him!” I say hysterically. Alessia rushes towards the duo before I can stop her.“What’s happening?” Kai somehow reaches just when we need him, and he too, rushes to help Alessia who is trying her best to push Azriel away.I draw courage from my brother and help him in separating the two. We topple backward as Azriel tries to fight us as well. However. Aiden scrambles back and is out of reach, panting for breath. His face slowly gains color, and a guard quickly takes him out of the room. I sigh in relief but my happiness is short-lived because suddenly fing
[Aysel]“Hello? Hello?” Despite the line going dead, I keep the phone pressed to my ears.Kai rounds the table and hands me a glass of water. Rubbing my shoulders, he asks, “Who was it?”I keep the phone down on the table, and stare at it for some time as if waiting for the person to call again but as predicted the screen stays black.“Someone… said ‘he is not the alpha’,” I reply in a quivering tone. I look at Kai for his reaction, and even his gaze has clouded with worry. His eyebrows have furrowed.“You mean—”I push back the chair to stand up. My vision blurs with unshed tears. My brain feels tired yet restless.“I think… that’s not Azriel.” I sniffle.“He cannot be… he cannot behave like that no matter what medicine he took.” I grab Kai’s shoulder.“Can’t you ask Alessia? Like she was on guard right? When you came to bring me back?” I ask hopefully. Kai nods slowly, his gaze on something on the table.“I did not think about that,” he murmurs. Neither did I. The shock of Azriel be
[Aysel]“Where are you going now?” Kai murmurs as he follows me out of the house.“To find James,” I mutter as I wrap the coat around myself.“Where the heck will we find him?” Kai growls in frustration.“I don’t know, but we might find something because if not him then who?” I shout, my tone sounding louder in the otherwise silent area.Kai lets out a slow breath. “Fine… let’s be more sensible then, okay?”“Where will he be? Like where could he go? I don’t even know if he has any other place to go. Like didn’t he look after him, his whole life?” I ask incredulously.Kai is thoughtful with his hands on his hips, eyes searching but distant, and unfocused.“Let’s scour the forest,” he murmurs.I nod. “Good idea.”“What did the voice sound like?” He asks again as we head towards the outskirts.“Hoarse and unfamiliar, but I am sure it is someone we know,” I reply as we take the small trail. The night air is chilly, and the darkness grows as we walk inside.He hums. “Hopefully we will find
[Azriel]I expect to wake up with darkness before me, with the smell of dirt and desolation engulfing my senses, but when I open my eyes, I see a ceiling.I blink a few times, trying to get rid of the blurry vision. Yes, this is a ceiling and as my senses become more aware, I smell a familiar scent. Aysel’s scent.At that moment, I hear a door open. I feel too weak to move but become alert nonetheless. And then… and then I hear a gasp.“Azriel?”I am dreaming, I think. Surely dreaming because there’s not a chance of her being here. Or is there?I find my answers in the next few seconds as the citric scent engulfs my senses completely when she practically wraps herself around my prone form. I grunt, and that makes her pull away, much to my dismay.Aysel doesn’t pull back too far. Taking a strand of hair behind her ear, she says, “I… Sorry, I was too excited to…”Her gaze doesn’t meet mine, but I can tell that she is trying to hold back tears. I compel myself to lift my hand. Rowan has
[Aysel]“Good news. Azriel has very few traces of poison left in his system and this means his wolf will make a re-entry soon,” Valerie informs me over the phone the next morning. Azriel still rests while I pace around the living room as I speak to Valerie.“Any complication you feel might occur?” I ask.“None as much as I can tell. Just make sure that he doesn’t transform into his wolf even when he resurfaces completely because he might be a little unstable, and we don’t want someone hurt here, and by hurt, I don’t mean Azriel.” Her voice has a tinge of humor. I let out a small sigh.“Thanks. I will keep this in mind.”After ending the call, I go back to the room. Kai and Alessia are yet to emerge from my room. I hope for Kai’s sake that he had the goodwill of keeping the sheets clean.“Ah, I see someone woke up early,” I comment dryly as I enter the room to find Azriel sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard. I lean down to kiss him good morning, but this man simply takes
[Azriel]Rowan did not hesitate to take over and even though it hurt like hell when I transformed, once that part was done, I felt mostly right. We trotted through the forest. The dawn was just about the corner. My mind went back to Aysel who must be sleeping and when she woke, she would find the bed empty.‘We will return soon,’ Rowan murmured. I hummed. Yes, after dealing with the man who had taken everything from me. I would go back. The thought of my impostor even touching Aysel fueled my anger.We sped through until we reached the back forest. I became extra alert as I changed back, biting back the pain as each bone in my body cracked and contorted. Valerie wasn’t joking when she said I need rest.This side of the palace usually remained quiet, but I spotted guards standing at the entrance this time.Fuck.Entering would mean fighting them and wasting my time and energy on them. I didn’t want that. I took a deep breath, I needed to find other ways to go about this.“Finding ways
[Azriel] As I dragged the alpha king by the hair down the corridor, I wondered why I had restrained myself. Why I had waited for my mother, who I knew was dead, but I am not sure who killed her. The impostor who took me by surprise and played with my emotions might have also told me a secret and that is, they were the ones responsible for my mother’s death. I would prove that too eventually, but for now, I looked down at the Alpha king, writhing and flailing, and yet unable to get out of my hold. The courtroom would be full by now because, according to Alessia, the ceremony would take place early in the morning. The auspicious hour as they call it. But I knew better, he was afraid that I would barge, which I had done. No one stopped me, maybe after looking at my eyes, which I knew were pitch black. My irises probably had gold rings around them too, which happened a lot when I first turned into my wolf. Or, maybe they were too shocked to see their esteemed king without a stitch of c
[Azriel]Rowan did not hesitate to take over and even though it hurt like hell when I transformed, once that part was done, I felt mostly right. We trotted through the forest. The dawn was just about the corner. My mind went back to Aysel who must be sleeping and when she woke, she would find the bed empty.‘We will return soon,’ Rowan murmured. I hummed. Yes, after dealing with the man who had taken everything from me. I would go back. The thought of my impostor even touching Aysel fueled my anger.We sped through until we reached the back forest. I became extra alert as I changed back, biting back the pain as each bone in my body cracked and contorted. Valerie wasn’t joking when she said I need rest.This side of the palace usually remained quiet, but I spotted guards standing at the entrance this time.Fuck.Entering would mean fighting them and wasting my time and energy on them. I didn’t want that. I took a deep breath, I needed to find other ways to go about this.“Finding ways
[Aysel]“Good news. Azriel has very few traces of poison left in his system and this means his wolf will make a re-entry soon,” Valerie informs me over the phone the next morning. Azriel still rests while I pace around the living room as I speak to Valerie.“Any complication you feel might occur?” I ask.“None as much as I can tell. Just make sure that he doesn’t transform into his wolf even when he resurfaces completely because he might be a little unstable, and we don’t want someone hurt here, and by hurt, I don’t mean Azriel.” Her voice has a tinge of humor. I let out a small sigh.“Thanks. I will keep this in mind.”After ending the call, I go back to the room. Kai and Alessia are yet to emerge from my room. I hope for Kai’s sake that he had the goodwill of keeping the sheets clean.“Ah, I see someone woke up early,” I comment dryly as I enter the room to find Azriel sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard. I lean down to kiss him good morning, but this man simply takes
[Azriel]I expect to wake up with darkness before me, with the smell of dirt and desolation engulfing my senses, but when I open my eyes, I see a ceiling.I blink a few times, trying to get rid of the blurry vision. Yes, this is a ceiling and as my senses become more aware, I smell a familiar scent. Aysel’s scent.At that moment, I hear a door open. I feel too weak to move but become alert nonetheless. And then… and then I hear a gasp.“Azriel?”I am dreaming, I think. Surely dreaming because there’s not a chance of her being here. Or is there?I find my answers in the next few seconds as the citric scent engulfs my senses completely when she practically wraps herself around my prone form. I grunt, and that makes her pull away, much to my dismay.Aysel doesn’t pull back too far. Taking a strand of hair behind her ear, she says, “I… Sorry, I was too excited to…”Her gaze doesn’t meet mine, but I can tell that she is trying to hold back tears. I compel myself to lift my hand. Rowan has
[Aysel]“Where are you going now?” Kai murmurs as he follows me out of the house.“To find James,” I mutter as I wrap the coat around myself.“Where the heck will we find him?” Kai growls in frustration.“I don’t know, but we might find something because if not him then who?” I shout, my tone sounding louder in the otherwise silent area.Kai lets out a slow breath. “Fine… let’s be more sensible then, okay?”“Where will he be? Like where could he go? I don’t even know if he has any other place to go. Like didn’t he look after him, his whole life?” I ask incredulously.Kai is thoughtful with his hands on his hips, eyes searching but distant, and unfocused.“Let’s scour the forest,” he murmurs.I nod. “Good idea.”“What did the voice sound like?” He asks again as we head towards the outskirts.“Hoarse and unfamiliar, but I am sure it is someone we know,” I reply as we take the small trail. The night air is chilly, and the darkness grows as we walk inside.He hums. “Hopefully we will find
[Aysel]“Hello? Hello?” Despite the line going dead, I keep the phone pressed to my ears.Kai rounds the table and hands me a glass of water. Rubbing my shoulders, he asks, “Who was it?”I keep the phone down on the table, and stare at it for some time as if waiting for the person to call again but as predicted the screen stays black.“Someone… said ‘he is not the alpha’,” I reply in a quivering tone. I look at Kai for his reaction, and even his gaze has clouded with worry. His eyebrows have furrowed.“You mean—”I push back the chair to stand up. My vision blurs with unshed tears. My brain feels tired yet restless.“I think… that’s not Azriel.” I sniffle.“He cannot be… he cannot behave like that no matter what medicine he took.” I grab Kai’s shoulder.“Can’t you ask Alessia? Like she was on guard right? When you came to bring me back?” I ask hopefully. Kai nods slowly, his gaze on something on the table.“I did not think about that,” he murmurs. Neither did I. The shock of Azriel be
[Aysel]Alessia and I race towards the palace. What the hell is wrong with Azriel? First, he asks Kai to practically throw me out of the premises and now he is trying to kill Aiden. I feel too overwhelmed to even think about whether or not the wolfsbane is responsible for this. Damn.We reach Aiden’s office and Alessia cries out as we find Azriel choking him to death. Aiden’s eyes have almost bulged out at this point.“Azriel, leave him!” I say hysterically. Alessia rushes towards the duo before I can stop her.“What’s happening?” Kai somehow reaches just when we need him, and he too, rushes to help Alessia who is trying her best to push Azriel away.I draw courage from my brother and help him in separating the two. We topple backward as Azriel tries to fight us as well. However. Aiden scrambles back and is out of reach, panting for breath. His face slowly gains color, and a guard quickly takes him out of the room. I sigh in relief but my happiness is short-lived because suddenly fing
[Aysel]“Where are you going?” Mason asks as I am hurrying towards the bike with Kai. He has somehow found out and is now as always asking after me. His concerned gaze makes me want to hug him. I am not sure how I ended up getting a friend like him.“Work,” I lie, my voice trembling with sadness, anger, and fear. He gives me a pointed look, one that says that he is not convinced. When I avert my gaze and take my seat on the bike, he frowns and looks at Kai.I am glad he hasn’t asked who Kai is, or maybe he has received the information about him as well.“We have more urgent matters to solve. Please excuse us,” Kai answers his quizzical look with a curt nod.“I will call you later,” I say to Mason and then we leave for the palace. My hands are clammy with sweat as Kai picks up speed to reach the destination as fast as possible.He has not divulged much to me because when I heard the news, I almost fainted and felt numb all over.How did he…? I can bet that it was due to that medicine w
[Azriel]The moment they leave, I try to leave the bed, but as soon as I sit up, the room begins to spin and I am forced to lie down once again. I groan and it is then I feel the pain lancing through my body. Everything rushes back again and despite lying down, I feel nauseous.Mom’s eyes flash across my face.The pity and pain in her eyes faded in front of the betrayal that I faced. Growls of anger and pain leave my mouth unbidden. I roll on my side and somehow get off the bed. I crawl to the waste bin near the desk because the washroom is too far away and dry heavy.My stomach clenches and with every muscle contraction, I feel the pain increasing tenfold. I belatedly realize that I am crying. I am sobbing and it is painful. My chest constricts painfully with each breath.Why did Aysel leave again? Why did she not have faith in me?Rowan whimpers in the back of my mind. A sense of despair fills inside and before I know it I fall sideways. My vision blurs and slowly is engulfed by mad