RUBY. The burial site was somber, set at the back of the pack house, where a grave had already been dug. A simple wooden coffin lay at the center, surrounded by mourning pack members. Alpha Kael, Dawn, Carolina, and Beta Alvin stood at the forefront, each holding a pristine white bouquet that contrasted starkly with the dark earth. Clinton and I were right behind them, his right arm gently wrapped around my shoulders, offering me a surprising sense of comfort.The only sounds breaking the stillness were Dawn’s quiet sniffles and the soft weeping of pack members, particularly the mothers who had been touched by the late Alpha’s kindness. Alpha Kael stepped forward, his face etched with grief, and dressed in all black like everyone else. He carefully placed a framed photo of the late Alpha on top of the coffin. After a moment, Kael stepped back, giving everyone one last chance to see the Alpha. My eyes instantly watered as I looked at him. My dad. He had been an awesome dad and ruler
“I have proof that the person who killed the late Alpha, your father, is among us,” I said, the words heavy as they left my mouth.I could feel everyone's hot gazes on my skin, including Clinton's, but I didn't take my eyes off Alpha Kael—my mate and the late Alpha's son.His expression morphed into one of anger, and I watched as he curled his hands into tight fists. I could feel his rage as he let out his aura, but it didn't affect me since I wasn't his pack member. However, shifting my gaze to the crowd, I saw everyone with their heads bowed, except for the Alpha Kings and other Alphas.But I didn't care if his anger was directed at me. Nobody cared about me when I was falsely accused. Worse, they even wanted me dead for something as horrible as killing the Alpha.I smiled ruefully and looked at him. His girlfriend was rubbing her right palm on his left shoulder, with her other hand placed gently on his chest while mouthing words I couldn't hear.“What did you just say?” Kael growle
FLASHBACK TO A DAY AGO“Goddess! It's been ages, Princess Ruby! Please come in. To what do I owe this visit?” he asked, his voice full of surprise.I looked back warily, and once I confirmed again that we were alone, I turned back to him and motioned to the door. “Let's go inside first.”He nodded his head and entered his house first, moving to give me room to walk in. His parlor was small but cozy and felt like home. My nose picked up on the scents of lavender, roses, and a distinct hint of baby powder. How old was the little boy now?On the wall to the left were frames of him and his mate. She was slightly bent, and from the twitch of her cheeks, I could tell she had been smiling while he had his arms wrapped around her waist. Next to the frame was one of them and their boy. He had the same blonde hair as the mother, and that was all I could see from where I stood. Below them was another frame of a much older boy, more likely a toddler. From his stance, it looked like he was still l
“Get back here immediately!” he growled so loudly that the ground shook.They turned around, and I could see them trying to fight his Alpha Command, but boy, did I enjoy watching as blood trickled down their noses. That was the consequence of fighting an Alpha Command. I saw them freeze, gritting their teeth, but eventually, they started back towards us.“Then kneel before everyone and admit your crimes!” He rolled another Alpha Command, and Dawn and Beta Alvin fell to their knees with their heads bowed.I didn't know if he was doing this because he knew I was the one they went against or if he was just doing it to help me bring them to justice since I was the one who exposed them. Whatever his reason might be, I was still glad he was able to do this for me.Someone grabbed me, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I raised a brow to find Alpha Kael staring at me. His eyes searched my eyes or my face; I couldn't tell which one he was doing.I wasn't comfortable with him holding me like t
CLINTON.Man, talk about a freaking show.That was what it felt like when my mate, Ruby, dropped a bomb. I didn’t know what she was talking about, and even though she promised to explain things to me, I acted on instinct.When she said that she knew who was responsible for the Alpha’s death—the very Alpha we had just buried—and that the murderer was in our midst, I ran to her and asked what the hell she was talking about. I was tempted to call her by her real name, not the fake one—Natasha—that she was pretending to be, but for some reason, I couldn’t. Then she asked me to trust her, promising to tell me everything later. I only nodded because I knew that whatever happened, I was there to protect her. And I was glad she knew that as well.Everything happened fast after that.I felt like someone had stabbed me in the chest when I heard the traitor address her as the adopted daughter, right after she removed her mask.My breath hitched as I stared at her—my mate. I suddenly felt like a
CLINTON“Let go of my mate!” A growl sounded, and I reluctantly let go of my mate.With a mighty growl of my own, I turned around, a glare on my face, to find Alpha Kael watching Ruby and me. He no longer cared about torturing his niece, the one who murdered his father, and I wondered what sort of shitty Alpha he was.I lifted a dark brow at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”I felt my mate snake her right arm around my waist, and I welcomed her into me with a soft sigh. Without looking at her, I gently brought her head to lean on my shoulder.“Ruby is my mate,” he growled louder this time as he approached us.Does he have a death wish by dragging my mate with me? How dare he? I tried making sense of what he said when I suddenly remembered. On the first night we arrived here, that murderer had mentioned that Ruby was his mate, and the shitty Alpha confirmed it. But if Ruby was now my mate, then the only possible situation is that he rejected her.I felt a soft hand on my chee
RUBY. “Are you ready to meet your subjects?” Clinton asked me with a smile, and my heart melted.Goddess, he was my mate. I couldn't believe it. Everything felt like a dream.“Yes, our mate is gorgeous!” Falcon said in a sing-song voice, dancing and twirling around in my head.Oh Goddess, I missed her.“I missed you as well. But I did what I had to do,” she uttered with a sigh, causing my brows to lift in question.“What do you mean?”“I'll tell you later, but right now, we need to go with our mate.”I nodded eagerly at Clinton as I accepted his hand. “Yes, I am more than ready to meet everyone.”His smile widened, and I watched him lift my hand to his lips, placing a wet kiss on it as sparks danced around my body. “Then let's go ahead.”While he led us inside the compound, I couldn't help but wonder how I had been so blind all this time. Clinton had been so obvious, yet I did not see it. The way he always cared about me—something he didn't even know—and accepted me into his pack wit
“My name is Asher, Beta to the Alpha. Your mate sent me to bring you food.” He smiled at me while gesturing at the tray.I returned his smile and found myself staring at him. He had short brown hair cropped to his head like a crown. His gray eyes shimmered as he traced every curve on my body, but it wasn't creepy like most men do. It didn't feel like he was undressing me with his eyes but more like he was appreciating what he was seeing.I thanked him for the food and collected the tray from him. He was still standing there as though he had something more to say, and I waited for him to get it out.“Gamma Eric will bring yours and the Alpha’s bags,” he said, the smile not leaving his face.“Thank you so much… for everything.”“No need to thank me, Luna.” He blushed, scratching his stubble, which looked like something that was growing recently and not what he was used to keeping.I nodded my head, and he told me he needed to leave but that if I ever needed something, I should call him.
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