[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
The rain pours in torrential sheets, making it impossible for a person to see what’s in front. The forest looms in the inky shadow as the night grows colder and darker. The royal beta staggers still, his steps unsteady and vision blurry. The merciless clouds have eclipsed the moon, but would the moonlight be able to invade the thick foliage of the forest? Perhaps not. The beta leans against a thick bark for a moment before resuming his trek to find an exit, to escape the inevitable. He will not be defeated so easily. The beta wolf blinks through the haze, the action slow and languorous. His hand is soaked with blood oozing out from his lower right abdomen. Each step he takes is a herculean effort that only aggravates the gaping wound, but he has to reach his destination. Or Aysel…Her thoughts give him some strength, but his body protests, and so does his wolf.His wolf whimpers, a feeble presence now at the back of his mind. He ignores him and ignores the protests of his muscles.
This day should have been the best day of my life. I am finally declared as the doctor worthy of serving the Royal family. I will finally be able to begin living with my brother, Kaizen, the royal beta. After seven years of toiling and enduring insults and working overtime, I am finally leaving this hellish place where werewolves are trained to become Pack doctors and the best ones get picked up to be working under the Royal doctors before becoming one. Without a proper family background or rather with a tainted family background it was hard for Kaizen and me to fend for ourselves. Our father had betrayed our pack by stealing money. He was the treasurer of our old Pack. As per the rules of our pack, he was tried and found guilty after which he was taken to the dungeon. I don’t know what has become of him because a mere day later, mother, Kaizen, and I were driven out of the Pack and labeled as traitors as well. The stigma of being called thieves, and our mother’s deteriorating hea
“Alpha… the King requests your presence in the funeral,” James, the elderly beta turned father’s butler, stands at the doorway with his head bowed. I don’t bother to turn around to face him. Instead, I lean against the brown high-back chair, closing my eyes. The reminder of Kaizen’s absence makes me angry. Kaizen is dead. “Idiot,” I mutter under my breath. “Alpha?” James calls again. “Nothing. Just… let me be. I’ll be there soon,” I reply. James closes the door quietly without giving any verbal acknowledgment. “That idiot,” I mutter again before standing up. The funeral — an insincere show of gratitude. I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I left the office, locking it behind me. On my way, I meet my step-sister, Alessia, the daughter of the former Luna of the Timber Pack. She was leaning against the wall, clutching a locket in her palm, the golden chain dangling. “Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway?” She startles at my voice and hastily shoves the chain inside her
It’s a relief when I finally return to my room, a space where I can truly be myself, a place where I can unleash my misery without being wary. The tears that I was holding back during Kai’s funeral roll down my cheeks, gushing out all at once now that they are free. I wish I could be the same. I wish I could leave this place and just go away like Kai. I sit down at the edge of the bed and bury my face in my open arms as I sob relentlessly. I sob until I feel like throwing up and I dry heave at the thought. I lie down on the bed when sitting feels too exhausting. I fish out the chain from my pocket and close my fingers around it, balling my fist until my nails dig into the meat of my palm. The pain makes me hiss, and more tears well up. I let my mind wander, let my thoughts lead to the person who had become my happy place for the past few months.~~~~~[5 months ago….]Another new day, another boring and exhausting new day at this ostentatious palace filled with morons and conniving