Three Years ago, RUBY. I never thought I'd see the day my father tore someone's head off, but there I was, watching in horror as he did just that to my mate. My name is Ruby Donalds, the first daughter of the Lycan King. Life had always been good until I lost my mom to a plague, which had taken her life and some of our pack members. Ever since, my once-loving father withdrew to himself, consumed by politics and pack affairs, thus, slipping from my and my sister's lives. I had always dreamed of having a mate like every other wolf. A mate who'd sweep me off my feet and tell me how much he had waited to have me in his arms, a mate who would be everything I had imagined. I always yearned to feel those sparks I was told happen between fated mates and hear hummingbirds sing for us. But it never happened for me; I guess I can't have it all in life. So after my 18th birthday two weeks ago, I had found my mate but it wasn't like I had imagined. My mate was none other than Alpha Rhys
Current Day, RUBY. “You can place it right there,” I instructed the woman in charge of decorating the pack house, nodding approvingly at her efforts. The room was transforming into a festive haven, with streamers and banners adorning the walls, and tables set with elegant centerpieces. “You know what I want, so just make everything beautiful,” I added, giving her a reassuring smile before leaving her to her task. As I approached my father's room, a sudden thought occurred to me, and I turned on my heel, making my way towards the kitchen. The anticipation of the evening's festivities bubbled within me, mingling with the determination to make my father's birthday truly special. Entering the bustling kitchen, I murmured to myself, “I need him to be as happy as a bride.” I recalled a passing mention from a maid about his late mate making his favorite drink each morning. With purposeful strides, I gathered everything needed, my mind set on the task at hand. As I started blending t
RUBY. “Father!”I rushed to his side in an instant but Dawn pushed me aside, causing me to stumble. “What's wrong with you, Dawn? Can't you see the alpha is lying still?” I exclaimed, anger coursing through me. Whispers filled the hall. Dawn shot me a frigid glare, but I had no time for her. I pushed her aside and shook my father, panic gripping me.“You can't leave me like this, father. Please, tell me this is just a joke,” I whispered to myself.Dawn collapsed beside him, tears racking her body. I grabbed his hand, only to find it limp. Pushing Dawn away, I pressed my ear to his chest, searching for a heartbeat.Nothing. A guttural cry escaped my lips, and I clutched my head. “Father, you can't do this to me. You promised... no, you can't!”I sank to the ground like a thud of cement. My chest constricted as pain struck me. I never knew such agony existed.The pack members screamed and scattered, but I remained on the floor, tears streaming down my face.“Father no! You can't do
RUBY. “What's going on here?” I turned to see the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on enter the hall. Dressed in a gray shirt and black pants, his short blond hair was slicked back, accentuating his striking aquamarine eyes.His presence exuded power, and without a word spoken, I knew exactly who he was: Kael, Alpha Frederick's only son. I had seen numerous pictures of him, but his physical presence was far more captivating than I had ever imagined. Kael had been away from home for four years, dedicated to learning and studying how to lead a pack.“Kael, thank goddess that you are back!” Dawn ran, hugging him. “You couldn't have arrived at any better time.”Someone coughed, and I raised an eyebrow at the woman standing beside Kael. Tall, stunning, and commanding, she possessed a presence that could rival that of a model. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders, emitting a mesmerizing blue hue. Dawn instantly separated from him. She glanced at her and it took one haughty look f
CLINTON. “What shall we do with them, your highness?” My beta and best friend, Asher, inquired. I looked at the three rogues who dared to enter my territory, but the fear evident in their eyes meant nothing to me. The law permitted me to take any action against them for trespassing on my pack's land. Though tempted to set them free, the urge to use them as an example to other rogues prevailed. “Take them away.” I ordered, turning my back to them. “Keep them in the dungeon and await further instructions from me.” With that, I shifted into my wolf form, feeling my bones crack as my clothes tore apart. Howling into the night sky, I shook my tail before vanishing into the woods. I ran until I reached a lake, where I shifted back into my human form, gazing at my reflection in the still water. A cold-looking man stared right back at me. Dark circles marred the skin under my eyes, and my eyes were swollen and a bit red—a testament to my sleepless nights. The relentless pursuit of ways
CLINTON. Never had I been so dumbfounded and rooted to the spot as I was now. When I was still very young, growing up with Seraphina, I always thought we'd be fated mates. And I wasn't the only one who thought so as well. Everyone believed us to be mates, and it was easy to fall in love. But now, nothing made sense anymore. I had a mate. And it wasn't Seraphina. I didn't know how I felt about that fact, but I didn't wait to think much about it as I looked at the woman the moon goddess blessed me with. She was an epitome of beauty, with her brown skin drawing me like a moth to a flame. My fingers itched to touch her, to carry her in my arms and make sure she was okay, but my legs refused to move. I couldn't claim her, and I didn't want to break her heart. So, to avoid that, I decided to call Asher and order him to take her somewhere else for now. I looked around for my phone and realized I didn't have it. Shit! How would I go about it now? Glancing at her, something tugged at
RUBY.Storm.A very heavy one.That’s how I would describe the pain coming in waves inside my head.Opening my eyes, my right hand moved to my forehead, only to be hit with the strong smell of drugs mixed with the sharp odor of disinfectant.Scrunching up my nose, I tried to sit up just as my sight registered the unfamiliar room. Confusion clouded my mind as I tried to remember how I had arrived. The room was stark, with plain white walls and a quiet atmosphere, medical instruments and monitors adding to the clinical feel.This was clearly a hospital… but how had I ended up here?Thank the goddess, I didn't have to wait long for answers. Someone cleared their throat.My head jerked in the direction of the sound to see a woman, who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, watching me with a warm smile. Her auburn hair bounced as she approached me, the smile never leaving her face.“Do you feel pain anywhere?” Her tone was gentle.I narrowed my eyes at her. “Who are you? What
CLINTON.I wasn't happy that I left my mate alone back in the hospital. I needed to stay with her and be there when she woke up. But I knew that would not be possible.I knew I could always count on Asher to handle the rogues, but this time around, I needed to be there.Not that I didn't trust he could torture them enough, but because I needed to be the one doing the torturing myself.I needed something to vent my anger on—or someone—and that was the only thing I could think of.So I did what I thought was best.I mind-linked Kiara, the woman who manages my penthouse, to keep my mate company and keep me updated if she woke up or anything happened.And like always, she agreed without any questions.When I got to the pack house, I met Asher already waiting for me at the gate. His face was pooled with sweat, hands stationed on his waist with his head tipped in a frown.I narrowed my eyes on him and wondered if the situation was that bad. Asher and I sort of grew up together, and we soon
Ruby's P.O.VFLASHBACK CONTINUED. “What are you going to do with her?” someone asked, though I couldn’t place the voice. I wanted to open my eyes so badly, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right move. Maybe pretending to stay unconscious would buy me time to come up with a plan to escape.“I don’t know. I could have her killed for everything she did to me, but I won’t,” Seraphina’s unmistakable voice rang out, and I barely held back a snort. Everything I did to her? Ridiculous. “You mean you're just going to let her go? Just like that?” The first voice, filled with surprise, questioned.I was just as curious. After all her threats, why was she planning to let me go? Maybe she feared what Clinton would do to her if she killed me.“Yes, I won’t kill her.”“What if she tells the King what you did to her? Do you really think he’ll spare you?”“You’re too scared, Mom. Relax,” Seraphina laughed. “I have a plan. Don’t worry, it’ll work out perfectly.”My stomach knotted at her words. What
Ruby's P.O.VTRIGGER WARNING: Some scenes are abusive, but there's no rage. If you don't like physical torture, please skip this chapter._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _FLASHBACK TO TWO DAYS AGO.I regained consciousness to someone pouring cold water on me. I gasped and shivered, cowering away as though that would make whoever it was pouring the water stop.And I was wrong.A half-naked man emptied another bucket of water on me before dropping it to the ground like he did with the last one.Seeing as I was now awake, he approached me and sent a kick to my stomach, making me yelp in pain.Raising my arm, I rubbed my face on it, wanting to clear the water out of my eyes because it was starting to make them tear up. It was the only way I could wipe my face because my hands were tied.“I thought you weren't going to wake up,” a familiar voice taunted, making me wince.It sounded like Seraphina, and I started to panic because I knew I wasn't going to leave here unscathed. And maybe... she wouldn'
Later that day, the doctor announced that I was free to go home and I followed my Dad and Pearl back to our palace. Not many things had changed. My room was still like I left it except that it was neat. When I mentioned this to Pearl, she told me that she always asked the maids to clean it up, with the hope that I would return soon. She said that she didn't want me to return and find my room in despair. I was touched. Who wouldn't? Pearl forced me to eat even though I didn't have an appetite to. I couldn't believe that everything I had known had been a lie. Learning that I'm special and what I could do, and that my mom was something else entirely, it was too much. And the most painful part of the information I learnt was the one that Alpha Rhys wasn't my mate. I rejected my pack and left my family for a man who wasn't even mine and wanted me killed. All I wanted to do since I returned from the hospital was stay cooped in my room, with bottles of beer lined in front of me. But Dad a
Flashes of memories flooded my mind, each so vivid they played on an endless loop, over and over again.Dad gave Alpha Rhys—my mate—two choices: reject me or choose me. He rejected me without hesitation.Yet, Dad killed him.He cut off his head.No!!I shook my head, desperate to erase the memory. Sobs wracked my body, trembling violently as the images refused to fade.Pearl embraced me, and I let her. I cried into her chest, and when the sobs finally subsided, I looked up to see Dad standing before me. Tears shimmered in his eyes, and it only fueled my anger. Moving out of Pearl's arms, I lunged. “You killed him! Stop playing like the victim here because you are not!” I panted in between kicking him and raining blows on his chest. “Don't you dare cry as if you regret what you did!” I sent another kick to his knee, propelling myself to stop before I went animalistic. “I hate you!” I held his gaze for a while, letting him see the hate in my eyes before I eventually looked away and
Ruby's p. o. vI woke up with a start.The incessant beeping of a machine and the constant drumming nearby made my head spin. I wish they could move it away. I wish they could—Oh, shit.Where was I? I gazed around the unfamiliar room. I wasn't home. This wasn’t mine and Clinton's room. This was somewhere else. Did we sleep somewhere else…?Something clicked—a memory, sharp and raw. The library. I was abducted and warned never to return to my mate, or I'd be killed.I tried sitting up, but pain lanced through my body, pulling a cry from my throat as I collapsed back down. My mind raced as I took in my surroundings, trying to piece together how I got here. The last thing I remembered was running like my life depended on it—because it did.A drip hung on the wall, and panic surged through me as I noticed it was attached to my left hand, the IV's beeping in sync with my racing heart.Thud. Thud. Thud. My heart pounded faster. I needed to leave before someone came in and started hurting m
Clinton's p.o.vIt has been a few hours since we started searching for her. Our search came up empty. She was nowhere to be found. I was getting tired but I knew I could not go in without her. I needed to see her before I went crazy. Kai had been going berserk in my head, he needed to see his mate before he could calm down but there was nothing I could do. I was yet to hear from the warriors if they had seen her and I knew because of my threat, none of them would dare return without her. In as much as I wanted to beat my Gamma up for his foolishness, I knew it wouldn't bring her back. There was something strange going on. When I went back to her work place to look for her, she wasn't there and Kai and I couldn't sniff her. It was as if her scent had been wiped off completely, and it was making me more worried. I was pacing around when I heard footsteps behind me. I didn't turn around before I knew who it was. I could recognize my Beta's scent anywhere. Musk and coffee. “Any news
Clinton's p.o.v I had a really hectic day. I noticed something wrong with my company report, so I spent the day at the office, searching for the problem. Eventually, I found it—a mistake with one of our products had caused a huge shortage. We lost a lot of money, but I didn’t fire the man responsible, even though that would have been the easy, fair choice. After interrogating him thoroughly, I knew it was an honest mistake. And mistakes are meant to be forgiven. Afterwards, I got in my car and drove to a flower shop and bought a bouquet for Ruby. A lot had happened between us, and I wanted to make sure she was happy. I already fucked up twice, and this was time for me to make things right. Seraphina nearly tore us apart, and I was thankful we managed to deal with her before more damage could be done. The Elders had been surprisingly understanding, accepting my mate without hesitation. It didn’t matter if Ruby held the Queen title or not—she was known and treated as my mate. An
ONE MONTH LATER. Everything had been going well between my mate and me. He had taken me on several dates, where we had a lot of fun because we were in our pack, and I was with him as my mate. We hadn't heard from Seraphina since, and I was grateful for that.The Queen hasn’t paid much attention to us either, though in my encounters with her, she would mostly glare at me, making sure I knew she didn’t like me. Even though I had proven that I wasn’t the prim and proper type of Luna—by taking care of the sick and helping with the house chores—she still doesn’t like me. And right now? I’ve given up. I’m lucky to have Clinton; he’s been a very good mate. I’ve also gotten along with both the Beta and the Gamma.Although I hadn’t had a Luna ceremony yet, the pack treated me as one. I held meetings with the women, and most came to me for counseling. I never knew I could give them the advice they sought, but after seeing the smiles on their faces, I knew I had helped in the small ways I could
The ride to the meeting hall was silent. Clinton had told me about meeting with the Elders because he thought it was finally time. He also wanted to plead our case and discuss what Seraphina had been up to. We kept what she could do to us a secret, except from the Beta and Gamma.Not only that, he also shared his fears about losing his position as King, since it wasn't his birthright. Any misstep from him could cost him the throne.Even the man I encountered yesterday, Carlos was it? Clinton told me everything I needed to know about him. He was his greatest rival and he wouldn't hesitate taking him down from the throne if the opportunity arose. That wasn't all. I learnt that he couldn't just kill the man if he wanted to, even though Carlos was nothing but a thorn in his flesh. He was only tolerating him because it was against the wolf law in killing an Alpha. It came as a shock to me because back in the Lycan Kingdom, Alpha could do as they liked. Because that was because my father—A