CLAUDIA Volker and I walked into Wagner's pack house together. Alpha Everett made it compulsory that he came with me. I didn't know why, and I didn't care. I had many other things to worry about. As we walked to the main building, I scrutinized the compound and found out that there were no people around. It was awkwardly empty and silent. “This is strange,” I mumbled as I paused in the middle of the compound. “What is going on, Luna Claudia?” Volker asked and stood next to me. I shook my head and looked at him. “It’s nothing,” I replied, and I began to approach the main building again. I was about to get to the front door when I suddenly heard a sound from the back of the house. It was the sound of a trumpet. My heart sunk to the bottom of my belly as I recognized the music it produced. It was a sad one. I lifted my dress with my hands and ran to the back of the house. My feet failed me, and I fell to the ground when I saw my father lying on a wooden table, wrapped in a wool shroud
CLARENCE I walked up to the Alpha’s chamber after he told one of the slaves to call me in. My heart began to race very fast as I wondered why he wanted to see me, in his chamber! *I hope it isn’t what I am thinking.* I knocked on his door calmly and waited for his response. I heard nothing but someone open his door after waiting for some seconds. It was one of his slaves that opened the door. I walked in, and the slave walked out afterward and closed the door behind him. “Alpha Everett, you sent for me.” I bowed as I spoke. “Yes, I did. Sit on the couch,” He responded as he lay on his bed. His tone wasn’t that harsh, so I believed I wasn’t in trouble, at least not yet. I sat on the couch and looked at him nervously. I watched him try to sit up, and I sprang up to my feet and rushed to him to assist him. I held his arms and pulled him up, I placed his pillow behind him, so he could rest his back on it. He sat up and looked at me, “You didn’t have to, I had it under control,” He sa
CLAUDIA My gaze shifted from Nellie and fell on Annette as she walked into my chamber. She had an annoying smile on her face that made me wonder what was so funny. “Excuse us, Nellie,” She looked around the room as she spoke. I prayed very hard that she wouldn’t see Clarence where he was hiding. She would never keep her mouth shut about seeing him in my chamber. “You can’t ask my maid to go out except I do. I choose whether she stays or not,” I responded firmly, and she raised her brows. “Oh wow… I guess I’d have to discuss whatever I want to say to you in front of her then,” She said, and I rolled my eyes. I looked at Nellie and titled my head slowly. “I’ll be outside.” She bounced her head and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her, and I looked at Annette again. “Now talk, what do you want?” My tone turned harsh. “Oh please, don’t transfer your aggression to me, child. I wasn’t the one that made your life so miserable,” She uttered, and I heaved a sigh. “I still
EVERETT “Alpha Everett, Holgar is here.” I heard someone call as I slept. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at my door, which was standing right in front of me. “Who is that?” I asked, yawning silently. “It is Jan, Alpha. Holgar is here to see you, I asked him to wait in the living room,” He answered, and I exhaled. “I’ll be there soon.” I threw the sheets away from my body and made a long and deep stretch before standing up. I stood up and dragged my feet on the floor as I walked to my door. I opened the door, and I met Jan next to the door, his head was bowed. “Let’s go,” I said to him, and we both proceeded to the living room. My body felt stronger than before, and I didn’t need the staff to walk. I felt happy. *I would be able to make babies with Claudia tonight.* I thought to myself. Getting to the living room, I met Holgar sitting on the couch. Immediately he saw me approaching, he stood to his feet with a bright smile on his face. “Alpha Everett,” He lowered his head, and I
CLAUDIA At Night I laid on my bed sadly. I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened between Clarence and I during the day. Since he left, he refused to come back and check up on me. I bet he was still very mad at me. I heaved a sigh and folded my hands on my legs as I was tucked under my Cotton bedsheets. I stared at the ceiling and drifted into more thoughts. *I need to find a way to help Thorsten out of the dungeon, now that my father is dead…* My throat tightened up at the thought of my father, and I closed my eyes tight. I was tired of crying, I didn’t want to cry anymore, but could I help it? I wasn’t so sure. I kept telling myself that if he was still alive and around, he would save me from the hands of my virtual husband when he became king. My hope went down the drain that night I watched him fall to the ground. I pulled the bedspread over my face and a tear found it way out of my closed eyes. I let out a deep breath, trying to hold back my emotions. My mind drifted back
CLAUDIA After I finished eating, Nellie said “goodnight” to me and headed out of my chamber with the tray in her hand. I smiled widely as I stared at my mirror in front of me. Breakfast hit differently, Alpha Everett didn’t come to bother me at night, I had never been in a better mood since I got to his packhouse. I heard noises from outside my window, and I stood up from the chair and shuffled to the window, I peeped out of the window and saw the pack members cleaning and decorating. “Is there an event today?” I asked aloud as I watched them. I heaved a sigh and was about to move away when my gaze fell on Clarence. He was walking to the packhouse and then he took a pause to discuss with some of the members. I kept my gaze fixed on him and admire how a smile crawled up his face as he chatted and laughed with them. I wasn’t sure what they were saying, but I was sure of one thing, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. After watching him for a while, I exhaled loudly and was about to
CLAUDIA After Thorsten was gone, I looked at Alpha Everett and saw he still had that annoying, evil smirk on his face. “I did my part. I don’t want to chase you tonight. You have to do what is right,” He said and turned to look at Clarence. I expected him to say something to him, but he didn’t. “I’ll leave now. I have a presentation to prepare for the people,” He added and walked out of our faces afterward. I exhaled and turned to look at Clarence. His head was bowed, making me shake my head. “Please don’t do that…” I muttered, and he raised his head and looked at me. “Do what, Luna?” He asked. “Stop being so official already, please. Tell me what is going on in your mind, Clarence.” I took a few steps forward, closing the gap that was between us. “I don’t have anything going on, Luna,” He responded and was about to bow his head again, when I placed my hand under his jaw, keeping his gaze fixed on my face. “I’ll be carrying Alpha Everett’s baby soon. What are you going to say about
EVERETT The question and answer question session went wonderfully well, all thanks to Claudia. I never knew she was that nice. She answered most of the questions calmly and wisely. She saved me from the people’s crucification but, I refuse to show this to her. “I don’t want her to start feeling pompous.” I had just finished a very long meeting with the elders, and I shuffled down the passage tiredly. I needed to rest badly. As I moved to my chamber, I saw Annette standing next to my door. Her head was bowed, so she didn’t see me approaching. I got very close to her and then she raised her head, and when she saw me, a smile crept up her face. “Great King Everett.” She teased, bowing her head. I heaved a sigh and folded my arms as I stared at her. “Are you here to mock me? If that is it, I’m in no mood for that.” I moved to my door and opened it. I walked into my chamber, and she followed behind me. “Why are you in a bad mood? You did very well out there this morning. You should be ha
~After eighteen years~Maximillian I gazed at the archery targets carefully, my left hand slowly lifted up, holding the heavy recurved bow firmly. My right hand reached for my quiver, and I pulled out one arrow. I positioned it in the bow and pointed it at the targets. I closed my left eye so that I could get the appropriate angle and degree to release my arrow. After being satisfied with my positioning, I dragged the bowstring and arrow real quick and let go of the arrow. The arrow travelled from where I stood to the archery target, and I nervously watched it move. The King, my father, was at the other end, and as soon as the arrow pierced the target, he ran to it to check. “Yes! You did it!” He yelled, and I jumped up and punched the air in excitement. “I told you I’d be able to do it!” I yelled back boastfully. *Since I turned ten, I grew a great passion for shooting arrows. No one in Jamba Kingdom was an arrow shooter, and I wanted to break that record. My mother, Que
CLAUDIA Everett and I sat in the living room with an awkward silence in the air. My head was full of many things. After witnessing Annette’s death, I wished I was never pushed to request her death. ‘What will my don think of me now?’ “Claudia, can you please tell me what is going on in your mind?” Everett asked, and I adjusted my eyes to look at him. “What will our son think of me now, Everett? I’m a murderer.” He shook his head and reached for my hand. He lifted my hand to his lips and planted a soft kiss on it. “You are no murderer, okay? I was the one that killed her, not you. She deserved to die, okay? Don’t feel so bad. You are a good person, Claudia, but sometimes, the good people are always pushed to the wall.” “About our son…” “Our son will be fine, Claudia. This would be written down, but you should know he would understand that she needed to be killed. She messed with the king, and the king killed her. You won’t be painted as evil because you aren’t. So be calm, okay
CLAUDIAI got to the front of the palace and threw Annette forward, making her fall to the ground. I could feel how fragile she had become because of the torture she went through in the dungeon, but she wasn’t ready to change, and I was done giving her chances to be a better person. “You are still alive till now, thanks to me!” I poked my chest and moved closer to her slowly. “It was so easy to tell Everett to get rid of you when you were in that dungeon, but I felt it would be so wicked of me, and I didn’t want anyone’s blood on my hands. But now, I don’t care if your filthy blood stains my hand.” “You think you can do whatever pleases you now, hun? You can order others around, but I’ll never let you order me around! I rather die than accept you as my queen!” She yelled back, and I scoffed. I wasn’t surprised she could still talk back at me like that. Everett had always said she is a fierce woman and won’t give up easily. “You rather die? Well, I’ll help you die.” I got to her
ANNETTE I stood in front of my full mirror and stared at myself. I looked so ugly and sick, and I hated everyone for that. No one cared when I was in that dungeon, and this made me see no reason why I should care for anyone too. If someone told me Everett would change drastically to the extent of throwing me into the dungeon, I’d argue with that person. This time, it was worse. He locked me in there for about nine months, and he didn’t bother to check up on me for once. He was busy with his wife. I rolled my eyes and tears dropped from them. I lowered my head and began to play with my finger. “Annette, you are not a woman they accept defeats. You can’t let this pass as if nothing happened. You are more powerful than that, baby girl.” I said to myself and looked in the mirror again. “Annette.” I heard Volker’s voice in front of my door. I looked at the door and saw him open it. He walked in with a tray in his hands. “There you are. I brought you some food.” He walked to the tab
~The next day~ CLAUDIA I woke up feeling much better, I slept all through the night, so I didn’t expect less. I dragged my body up and sat on the bed. My eyes ran through the chamber real quick and fell on my baby’s cradle. Beside the cradle was Nellie. She had her hand in the cradle, and she was smiling widely. “Nellie,” I called calmly, and she raised her head and looked at me. “My Queen, you are up.” Sue stood up and walked up to me. “Yes, I am,” I responded with a bright face. “I’m happy you look better, my queen. How are you feeling? Do you have aches?” She asked, and I shook my head. “I’m not feeling anyone. Am I supposed to feel any pain?” I asked, and she chuckled. “I have no idea. I haven’t given birth before,” She responded, and I giggled. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that kind of question,” I said, and she shook her head. “It is fine, my queen. Your baby is still sleeping soundly. Have you found a name for him?” I shook my head and looked at the cradle again. “I
CLARENCE I sat amidst the pack members as they chatted and cheered. The other day, I wasn’t feeling so good. I couldn’t stop overthinking. Now that Claudia has given birth to the heir, what would happen to us? What if she is now in love with him too and wouldn’t want to leave? This has always been my fear, but what can I do when it happens that way? I would have to accept my fate and move on. She is a wife and a queen, I can’t ruin their marriage because of what I feel for her. I grabbed the jar of wine that was on the table and poured myself another cup. Jan looked at me and knitted his brows. “Hey, are you good? That is the seventh cup you are drinking. Do you want to talk?” He asked worriedly, and I shook my head and smiled. “I’m fine, Jan. The wine is just so good to put down,” I responded, making him chuckle. “It’s the best wine in the Jamba Kingdom, what do you expect? The king is in a very good mood and that makes us happy. You can drink up all you want. But if you want t
~After seven months~ EVERETT I covered my mouth with my hands and began to pace in front of Claudia’s chamber. It was her delivery day. I was with her when she started feeling weird, so I had to call the best midwife in the kingdom to take care of her. “Push!!!” I heard the midwife scream, and after her voice, a roar followed. It was Claudia’s. My pack members, the elders were all waiting in the living room, but I was too anxious to wait there with them. I wished I was in the chamber with her. “Push!!!” I heard the midwife scream again, and I heaved a loud sigh. I hit the door and yelled, “Can you please take it easy with her?” “I’m sorry, my king but I just need one more push from her and the baby will be out. One more hard push,” She responded In a loud tone, and I lowered my head. “Claudia baby, you can do it, okay? Just one push. I hate the way she keeps yelling at you,” I said and moved slightly away from the door. “Arrrrggghhhh!!” An extreme roar filled the air and my eyes
CLAUDIA “Are you going to do whatever I ask of you?” Alpha Joachim asked Everett, who sat next to me on the couch and never let go of my hand. “You are leaving me no choice. What do you want?” Everett kept his eyes on my hand as he spoke. “I want you to invite Thorsten back to the Jamba Kingdom.” Alpha Joachim smiled after talking, and Everett raised his head to look at him. “Why would I want to do that?” Everett asked, making Alpha Joachim shrug. “Because Thorsten is my friend, and I care about him. If you want to get your wife back, without me telling everyone the evil you have done, then you’ll do this little favor.” Everett gulped and heaved a loud sigh. He lifted his eyes and looked at Thorsten who stood behind Alpha Joachim. “I’ll let him into my kingdom on one condition. I must not see hun anywhere close to the palace. The day I see him anywhere around the gates, I’ll kill him.” I watched Thorsten’s face as Everett spoke, and I could see anger register on his face. He clen
EVERETTAfter Two Weeks I walked into a familiar building. I tried to remember where I had seen the building, but nothing was coming. My head was blank at the moment. I boldly opened the main door and walked into the living room. I had one thing in mind. I needed to find my wife. I looked around the living room and my eyes fell on someone. He sat on a chair but I couldn’t see his face because his back was turned to me. I started approaching hun and wanted to speak when all of a sudden, I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up, and I saw Claudia walking down the corridor. She heard where we were standing. “Claudia! My wife!” I called and began to approach her. She opened her arms with a large smile, but before I could get to her, a man stood in front of her, making me stop abruptly. I looked at this man, and I saw someone I wasn’t expecting. “Alpha Horst?” I called in surprise. I looked at the chair, and I saw that the man that was seated on it was gone. He could guess the man