The atmosphere post his rut is awkward. Well, awkward is an understatement. It’s a respite that I have been given a half day. James has been behaving somewhat awkwardly, almost apologetically around me. Azriel’s words still ring across my mind. I signed that half-ass contract, a sort of NDA form, the moment we resumed office. It made me feel weird when I signed above the dotted lines. I wouldn’t say his words had no impact on me when he uttered them after literally fucking me through the mattress, but I expected no less. Azriel has gone back to his aloofness, and I am glad he did. It would be more awkward than it already is. The awkwardness lay with me because, after our time together, I don’t know why I felt the need to follow him everywhere. I withdraw my hand if our hands touch accidentally. Although this can’t be possible, I feel his touch searing into my skin. With his mere touch, all the memories flood back and I am left a shuddering mess.Azriel doesn’t react, but I see the w
My hands tremble as I stare at the hastily scribbled letters. Kai’s handwriting wasn’t so…. Ugly. In fact, it was I who couldn’t write in a legible manner even if I tried to. Was he scared as he wrote this? Did he know that someone was after him when he was jotting this down? I bring the book to my chest, hugging it as tears roll down my cheeks. I don’t know why I am crying, just that… it must have been so painful for him, he must have been so scared… Then why did he come here? Why did he stay despite the dangers? Why did he leave…?Should I show this to Azriel? Would he be of any help? What if he takes this to the alpha king? No… he wouldn’t, would he? Now that I know of the existence of this notebook, I don’t think I can keep it where I found it. I look around frantically, to find a place where I can hide it, but that won’t be easily found if they searched... well, if the time came.I jump when there’s a knock on the door. Hastily, I place the notebook where it was and place the woo
Azriel makes a quizzical hum, and I wrench my bewildering gaze from the man a few feet away from me and look at him. He raises an eyebrow questioningly.“I…” my voice quivers as I manage to utter. He whisks me away from the spot and I let him drag me away. I glance back once and find him nowhere.“Did you not attend a party like this one?” Azriel hisses when we finally find a corner fairly secluded and drenched in semi-darkness.I take a deep breath, but my chest tightens. I feel as if I cannot breathe fully.“What’s the matter?” Azriel asks gravely.“Nothing. Nervous,” I mutter. I suddenly feel irritated at him. Despite being the future alpha king, why does he think that he has the right to jump to conclusions?“We have work to do, don’t we?” I say quietly and move past him. He quickly falls in step beside me and places his left hand on the small of my back. The heat of his palm sears through the fabric and into my skin. However, it feels reassuring.By the looks of it, this party is
The party is held for high society people, strong and wealthy packs to schmooze with the royalties. My eyes narrow at Denzel, Kai, and Aysel’s asshole of a father. I have heard Kai swear when his name would somehow pop up. Kai never told me why he joined the Royal pack when he so obviously hated it.Denzel like was an old shark, and I knew somehow, he was one of my father’s men.“Aysel,” Aiden stands up and comes to stand beside her.“What are you doing here?” he asks, completely ignoring my presence. The show of concern frankly makes me cringe. From my peripheral vision, I can see Denzel watching the conversation closely.“She is my beta, therefore, she has to be present I am surprised by your presence though,” I say with an air of callousness. Aiden’s jaw clenches. I know why he is here and he was definitely not expecting me to be here.“So, alpha Liam, how have you been?” I ask, ignoring how everything has mellowed down and the earlier hubbub has sort of become silent.Alpha Liam,
Despite knowing the fact that I was just his rut partner, the rare bout of jealousy sours my mood as I watch Azriel walk toward that woman. The air of indifference with which he dismissed me makes me feel as if I am not his beta but just another helper, just another person under the future alpha king’s wing. I walk a little further instead of standing and watching him like a dumb, naive wolf first time in love because this couldn’t be love. I shouldn’t be feeling anything. I should only be thinking about what my father has to do here or what my brother meant by my father being involved. And yet…I find myself staring at the man who somehow has made me obey him and awe me by his dark presence. I watch the way Renee slinks closer to him, the way she clung to him as they talked quietly in the corner. I wanted to look away but couldn’t, not until, Renee’s eyes met mine. Her gaze narrows for a moment I stood frozen in the place before I storm off because how much more embarrassing can it
Within one moment and the next, I find myself pinned to the tree where he had earlier cornered me. My hands grab fistfuls of his jacket while his arms tighten around my waist. The kiss turns heady, wild, and downright messy as he slips his tongue into my mouth. A noise comes out of my mouth. It’s embarrassing. I am much more in control during make-out sessions, however, this feels… different. He sweeps his tongue across my lower lip and one of his hands travels down my waist and slips under the dress.His rough, calloused palm leaves goosebumps on my damp skin. This is not his rut doing its job, he isn’t under that spell. This time he is in control and yet. His hand gropes my left cheek. I can feel his interest against my hip. Despite the rough bark and the fear of being caught by someone, I press closer, hooking my ankle around his leg. The wetness between my legs makes its sticky presence known. Amaia whines in my head, whether from pleasure or simply mourning my lack of judgment I
The storm brewing inside me is safely tucked away from Aysel, or she would have been scared. She would have run for her life.Like she did.I force myself to not argue, to not command her to obey my earlier proposal. It will look barbaric and the last thing I want is to be like my father, forcing and manipulating another person until we get our way.‘But you are like me.’ My father’s voice sneers at the back of my mind. I clench my fists, stopping myself from not throwing a fit like the 11-year-old who had just lost his mother to an unknown cause.Why had she become so cold that time all of a sudden? What caused her to come to this decision? Had she been someone else, someone who is power-hungry, they would have grabbed the opportunity. Not her. Just like her brother, Aysel is resilient, and sort of true to herself.My mind drifts to the memories of Amara, the woman who was like this girl, the one who took care of me, stayed beside me but until…“I wanted to show you something…” Aysel
[Earlier]I walk back to my room in a daze. Something really changed in our relationship, huh? The dynamic just… shifted. I contemplate if I made a mistake in handing the notebook over to Azriel. What if he has other motives and my brother died because of him, but… but he doesn’t seem to be someone of that sort. He is crude and rough but not cruel.‘What would you say of his indifference then?’ Amaia counters.I remain silent as I enter the room and close it. My body feels sore. When I returned, I had to hurry and change my clothes. Now that I am relieved of my duty, I shuffle to the washroom and hop in the shower.The scalding warm water cascades down my back, relieving my sore muscles. My thoughts run wild; my chest feels heavy as I recount the evening. Shouldn’t I have been doing the bargaining? Why did Azriel keep me by his side as if I were just an arm candy?‘He doesn’t trust you,’ Amaia states matter-of-factly.He doesn’t. He still doubts my abilities. I know I have a lot to le
[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