The Alpha King’s hand was raised, ready to give the command. “Please!” I begged. “Please don’t do this! Take me instead! Please, take me instead!” He didn’t seem to hear me. The executioner lifted his broadsword. Scarlet blood flooded the surrounding earth immediately. I roared and screamed, a horrible sound echoing through the air. Cole, with cruel indifference, stepped down from the throne and smirked. “Did you enjoy what you saw, Eva?” he asked. “Did you enjoy seeing their heads roll? Witnessing what happens to filthy traitors?” “You’re a f**king monster,” I growled, “F**k you! I hate you!!! You’d rot-” He interrupted my curses, cupping my face as he laughed maliciously. “Even though you hate me, you belong to me now,” he murmured, his voice both sensual and cruel. “You bear my Mark, Eva. There’s be no escaping. No matter how far you run, I’ll always find you. I’ll always take you.” He pressed his fingers against the side of my neck, the sensation of the bond mark strong and undeniable. Horror and disgust overwhelmed me. He was right. I was his. I was caged. _____________ As Lord Beta’s daughter, Evelyn had led a happy life—until everything fell apart two years ago. After King Theodore’s sudden death, the princes began competing for the throne, and wars erupted. Her family had backed the wrong prince. Her fiancé – the crown prince – fell and perished in the final battle. Her soon-to-be brother-in-law ascended as the Alpha King. And it turned out that the new King sought not only her repentance and redemption, but her flesh, and her soul.
View MoreEVELYN“What… what is this?” I asked Leila, my brow furrowing as I pointed to the symbol on the page. I strained to pull it out from my memories, but my mind felt clouded – overwhelmed by too many events, too many raw emotions. The sleepless nights had left me dizzy, my thoughts fragmented. It was as if I were reaching for something just beyond my grasp, a fleeting thread of clarity that refused to materialize.Leila studied the symbol for a moment before shaking her head. “I’ve seen the same pattern in other parts of the book, but I’m not sure what it means.” She flipped through the pages, showing me the other instances of the same design. “It could just be a random mark left by the book’s owner, something to remind themselves of something important.”“I don’t think it’s random,” Stephanie interjected. She moved closer to the book, her finger tracing the intricate pattern. “It’s far too detailed to be just a meaningless doodle. Do the pages with this symbol have anything in common?”
EVELYNI placed the kettle on the stove and began rummaging through the kitchen cabinets until I finally found some tea. After grabbing a couple of mugs, I dropped the fragrant tea bags into them, then waited for the water to heat.The kitchen remained quiet, with only the gentle hiss of the boiling kettle breaking the stillness. I was relieved that Stephanie hadn’t followed me. It gave me a rare moment to think.I glanced over at her – sitting absentmindedly by the table, her gaze lost somewhere outside the window. Stephanie’s appearance hadn’t changed much, but the weight of her experiences and suffering was etched in her eyes. Those once bright and confident eyes now looked evasive, as though hiding something deeper.Leila’s words echoed in my mind:She believes her brother was deceived by the wizards and wants to convince him to stop the bloodshed.It wasn’t that I disbelieved Stephanie, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were not so simple. She was intelligent, and by n
EVELYNThe night seemed to slip away unnoticed.When I glanced out the window, the first pale light of dawn crept over the horizon, the sun rising slowly in the east.The house was quiet once again. Leila, Jasmine, and Stephanie had retired to their rooms, while Seb—still unconscious from the overdose of medicine Leila had given him to ensure he wouldn’t cause trouble before sunrise—lay motionless.As the others slept, I sat at the edge of Cole’s bed, absently running my fingers through his thick, golden hair. Sleep eluded me after the conversation with Leila and Jasmine. Though their arrival should have brought me some sense of relief, the burden in my heart only grew heavier as I processed everything they’d shared.I had thought that if I could just find a way to bring Cole back to Halian, things might start to improve. But Leila had warned that Halian was no longer safe. Attacks were imminent, and Jack Elrod’s plan had already begun to unfold.As Leila and Jasmine explained, war se
EVELYN“Think about Sylvia! She wouldn’t want you to do this!” I struggled against the rope binding my wrist, trying to convince him to abandon his plan. But the man paid no heed. He walked toward Cole and stopped by the bed.He reached for something, but his hand froze midair as a rap echoed from the door.Both of us went still.There was a single, sharp sound, and then silence, as though it were nothing more than a shared figment of our overstrained nerves.The man shot me a glance before cautiously stepping toward the door. His movements were slow and deliberate, meant to make no sound. He gripped the handle, cracked the door open just a sliver, and peered outside.From where I was bound, I couldn’t see anything beyond the door, but something must have caught his eye. He opened it further and stepped outside.It was then that a shadow swooped in, knocking him to the ground.The poor night vision of humans gave him a disadvantage. The man scrambled to his feet, only to be grabbed by
EVELYNI looked up.Through the mist swirling around me, I saw Cole. His hand was outstretched, his eager gaze fixed on me. His chest was broken and bleeding, and he looked lonely and desperate, his dark eyes vast and pleading as they met mine.“Eva...”His voice reached me, pulling me back to the memory of two years ago. The day he’d pleaded, and I had retreated, shaking my head.I’d looked at him with fear and hatred.I’d said no.Every time I thought back to that moment, I believed I would handle it better if it happened again—that I’d calmly fix the confusion and the misunderstandings between my family and Cole.But I had been wrong.I felt glued to the ground, paralyzed. I opened my mouth, but only a harsh cry came out. Sadness and despair gripped me as guilt weighed on my heart like iron.“I… I can’t...” I whispered as I stared down at Conner’s lifeless body, the blood on my hands. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, nothing was fixable. My family, my mate—none of
EVELYNI narrowed my eyes and focus on the paragraph. It was written in a completely different style from the rest of the announcement, looking more like a hasty draft—almost as if a careless scribe had used scrap paper to jot it down.And the paragraph, baffling in its oddness, turned out to be a poem, which the girl read aloud.The once pretty orange has begun its decay, yet the sapphire still gleams. The rotting orange could be saved for a worthy trade: The stone with the deep blue beam. If you still hold the fruit you cherish so dearlyCome and make the trade: Choose not to accept what’s written so clearly -The sapphire with shatter, and the fruit will fade.As the girl finished reading, the people around her erupted in laughter. The sound of their mirth filled the air, an overwhelming chorus that tightened my throat.A man jeered. “Even my teenage son could write a better poem than this. What a laughable mess.”A woman beside him giggled. “The scribe should be fired for sur
EVELYNWhen I woke, it was already morning. The sky outside the window was overcast, but its dull brightness made it clear that it was well past sunrise. I sprang to my feet and placed my hand on Cole’s forehead, checking his temperature. His skin was no longer feverish.I inspected his wound and replaced the damp towel. The bleeding had stopped, and though the swollen flesh was healing, it was slow progress.But that barely gave me any relief.I brushed away the damp strands of hair from his forehead, wiped his face with clean towels, then placed my palm against his cheek, whispering his name. But he didn’t answer. His eyes remained closed, unmoving. He was still unconscious.The wildness had faded from him, but his sanity had yet to return. I didn’t know if it was the lingering effect of the aphrodisiac or if it’s because his mind was being controlled, suppressed.If nothing changed, he would eventually become nothing more than a walking corpse.I shook my head, pushing back the t
EVELYNThe man’s face darkened as I explained what had happened. I told him how Sylvia had pushed me away in the gardens and confronted the guards alone. His jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed in frustration.“She’s insane,” he muttered, retrieving the piece of sapphire he had used in the crypt. Turning to me, his expression grew sharp.“Where’s the other half?” he asked.I blinked in confusion.What the other piece…As I was about to ask, a sudden heat flared against my abdomen. I reached into my pocket and froze as my fingers brushed against something warm and solid. When I pulled it out, I nearly dropped it – a chunk of sapphire. The stone cooled the moment my fingers wrapped around it. its smooth surface delivering a strange sense of calm and tranquility.I had no idea how it had gotten there.The man’s lips pressed into a grim line as he took the sapphire from me and pressed it together against the piece in his hand. My eyes widened with the two halves fusing seamlessly into a
EVELYNAs the blue aura flashed, all the guards leaped up. Their expressions were filled with terror, their eyes wide, their limbs failing aimlessly in the air. Then they fell to the ground with a heavy crash. The sound of crushing bonds was harsh and chilling, followed by a series of groans echoing through the room. “What…what’s that?” They exchanged panicked glances before their eyes fixed on the dark entrance of the vault, where the blue aura had appeared and still lingered.Jack stiffened as he stared intently at the blueness.Slowly, a man walked out. His figure was tall and strong. He held a piece of sapphire in his hand, which seemed to be the source of the blue aura.It took a moment for me to recognize him. He was the man who had been with Sylvia back at that little house.A wave of relief washed over me. At least the intruder was not an enemy.But why was he here? Was he here to save us?The man gave us no acknowledgement. His gaze fixed on Jack as he picked up a silver da
EVELYNI would never forget that day—the day of my trial, when my life fell apart. The man I loved sat on the throne, declaring my doom. Pain shot through me like lightning as I was forced to kneel, bowing my head before him. His familiar dark eyes stared into my soul with contempt and hatred.Tears welled up in my eyes.“Evelyn Caddel, as the Alpha King of Hescor, I hereby pronounce you and your family guilty of treason. Your noble titles shall be revoked, your lands confiscated, and your honor erased. You shall endure the harshest punishments under the law of Hescor.”Then, he reached out, cupping my chin, and lowered his voice into a chilling whisper. “I told you—you’d regret choosing the wrong man, Evelyn.”***"It's a lovely day," Elsa said, spreading her arms out and facing the sun streaming in through the window. "A shame we have to spend in the palace."I laughed at that, pulling the cart down the hallway."There are worse things.""Like what?"Humiliation. Hopelessness. Tortur...
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