“I don't know why he has not sent her out of here already.” I had just come out of the music room when I heard some whispering. It belonged to the Beta and I wondered who he was talking to. I would have just walked past them and gone in search of Clinton, but a part of me wanted me to stay and listen. “I'm as shocked as you are. Lady Ruby will soon be out of the music room and she'll meet her still here.” Gamma Eric with a hint of irritation in his voice. Seraphina was still here? “It's not going to end up well, that I am sure of.” Beta Asher muttered. Not wanting to hear anymore of their conversation, I walked past them and they instantly fell silent. Clinton wasn't in the room when I walked in. I headed straight for the closet and sighed in relief when I saw my things there. The underwear too was gone and the sheet changed as well. At least he still had some brain. I wanted to mindlink him but I changed my mind. I figured it was best I went to him directly, that way I'd see
CAROLINA. Kael was on call with another Alpha and he locked me out of our room. He had never done that before and I knew he was up to no good. But I can't put my head on what it was. Ever since he learnt the truth, he had been giving me the ice shoulder. I should've returned to my pack but here I was, staying with him and hoping he would return to me. The day he came up with bruises all over his face and body, he refused to tell me who did that to him, but I figured it was either the Alpha King or one of his guards. It was clear that Ruby didn't want him but he didn't want to let her go. He has grown more distant from me with each passing day, breaking my heart. Moments later, Kael came down stairs, his cold aura emitting from him. “Kael, can I have a moment please?” I asked, walking up to him. He stopped and regarded me with a frown. I could see the wheels turning in his head and at last he nodded. “I want to talk to you about us…” I trailed off, hoping not to annoy him. Not
Queen Anne and Seraphina were both laughing and chatting when I walked in. Once they spotted me, they high-fived each other and burst out laughing. “Good morning, Queen Anne.” I slightly bowed, even though aware that Clinton would be angry with me had he been here. The Queen's gaze swept over me, a look of disgust on her face. She ignored me and tapped Seraphina on the shoulder, and she began complimenting her, ignoring me like I wasn't wasn't before her. I inhaled and walked past them, inwardly reminding myself that I needed to steer clear off them. I was unpleasantly surprised when I walked to my room. Unlike the other day, I had found my luggage in front of the door. But this time around, there was a written note pasted on the door. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ You're no longer an occupant of this room. All your things have been moved to where you belong. You'll find them in one of the guest rooms on the other wing of the house. — Queen Anne_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It's been a few days since Seraphina started staying at the pack house. She had been a thorn in my flesh, one I couldn't begin to comprehend. She'd pretend to be cool with me in front of Clinton and others—by others, I don't mean the Queen—but when we were alone, she'd be worse than the devil himself. I'd feel powerful alone, but each time we were alone and she was around me, I'd feel stuck in place, like a zombie without a mindset.I couldn't understand the strangeness of it, and even though I'd always tried avoiding her, one way or another, she'd find me.On several occasions, I had tried telling Clinton what was going on, but I'd always held back. Because, what would I say? I had no evidence, and I'd sooner be dismissed as a lunatic than have him believe my words.Falcon was displeased at our helplessness, but there was nothing we could do—at least, not yet. The following day, I prepared to visit the hospital. It had become my routine for days now, and the patients were more than
I know I should have probably turned around and left the moment I saw them sucking each other's faces, I didn't. Rather, I stood with my hands clenched in tight fists at my sides, watching them as I tried to pinpoint what was going on. Any other day, I might've run back to pack my things and leave but considering what's been happening with me around Seraphina lately, I knew there was something off about her and that was what I was looking for right now… for any sort of clue that Clinton—my mate was involuntarily kissing her. I caught his eyes as he stared straight ahead, like he wasn't even there. Probably, it was how I always looked whenever Seraphina was torturing me. I turned to leave but at the last moment, her gaze held mine and she grinned smugly at me, like she had won the Olympic or something. My jaw twitched but I didn't utter a word as I quietly slid out the door, my heart clenching as pain seized through me. Ugh, maybe I should have marched up to them and snatched her
I realized what I had done as I ran out of the hospital, but I didn’t let it stop me. It was bound to happen. I couldn’t keep Falcon a secret forever, and if this was the way I revealed her to my mate and the others, so be it.Protecting my pack was more important than my secret.The pack’s mind link opened, and I could hear a flood of orders. From what I gathered, it wasn’t something they couldn’t control—rogues had infiltrated the territory, led by an Alpha named Carlos. Only the goddess knew who he was.As much as I wanted to ask questions about this mysterious Alpha, I didn’t. Clinton would be furious for sure, but I’d deal with him later.I reached the pack house, the heart of the fight. The rogues, their fur a bright, sun-like color, were easy to distinguish from the pack warriors. I counted about twenty of them. My eyes found Kai, Clinton’s wolf, locked in battle with two rogues at once.A lone rogue, watching from the edge of the chaos, caught my eye. I sprinted toward him, la
It took a long time for me to get hold of myself, after what transpired between Seraphina and I. I kept wondering what would have happened to me had it been we didn't hear those footsteps. Would she have… I couldn't say the words. Goddammit, my mind was reeling from everything, how close I had to losing everything had it not been for… Shaking my head, I shoved the thought out of my mind, because it was doing nothing other than making me lose my mind. No, no, I couldn't think of it. I couldn't begin to imagine what could have happened. All my life I knew I would die, but I never thought it would so easily… just like that. “Ruby,” He had been trying to get me talk to him ever since he came into the sitting and met me sitting close to Seraphina. He was surprised and asked what was going on, and of course being who she was, she lied to him that we were catching up. “I thought sorting things out between us would lesson the tension here. I was only apologizing to Ruby here for what I d
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
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