EVELYNI stood there, stunned, and tried not to let my expression betray my thoughts.Sweat broke out on the back of my neck and I felt a surge of emotion as my mind cruelly repeated Melanie’s words. When I noticed that Melanie was watching me closely, I discreetly dug my nails deep into my palm and the slight pain of it somehow helped me maintain my composure.I couldn’t let myself feel anything at all. Not when Melanie’s eyes were upon me.She continued to gloat and lifted her chin arrogantly. “The King also invited Lady Skyla to spend the night with him in his chamber tonight.”My jaw clenched and my lungs started to ache. I had been holding my breath unknowingly as anxiety and surprise sank in. I hated this feeling. I felt… useless.I didn’t want Cole Elrod.Melanie continued to speak, using harsh words to speak poorly about the other ladies, but I blocked out her voice out and turned to look at Anna and Lucy. They were obviously just as taken aback as I’d been, but not in the sam
EVELYNIt was a few minutes before I could even manage to pull myself together enough to stand.Maybe Skyla Fox was lying. Maybe she was just trying to make me miserable. Maybe she heard it wrong or misunderstood it.Aiden couldn’t be dead.Could he?Breathe, Evelyn. You have to breathe. You need to. You have to.I took a few more deep breaths, banishing the images of Aiden from my mind to help steady myself, and straightened up. I wiped the tears from my face, smoothed my hair down, and straightened my gray uniform before heading back to Leila’s chamber.The last thing I wanted to do was attend to her, but I couldn’t just disappear without a word.“What was going on out there?” Leila asked when I entered, still in bed. She appeared less cranky than earlier, but still annoyed. “Why was everyone shouting?”“The King is taking Lady Skyla to visit the House of Fox,” I explained vaguely. “The servants are preparing her things.”Leila frowned, raising a dark eyebrow in confusion as she sa
This chapters contains sexual content intended for individuals 18 years of age or older. Please read at your own risk. EVELYNOnce the door was closed, Cole approached and stood in front of me, his dark eyes trailing over me as if I was something to eat though the rest of his expression was calm.Another step closer and then his finger rested on my shoulder and played with the strap of my slip dress. His fingertips gently brushed against my skin but despite his touch, his expression remained cold and bored, as if he had little interest in me or my body.A stark contrast to the story his eyes told me.“Why have you come tonight, Evelyn?” the golden-haired King asked me, his voice low. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but hadn’t you cried and begged me to let go of you the other day in my study? Interesting that you’re back here unsummoned.”I didn’t answer because I wasn’t good at lying and I was afraid that I might lose my determination if I stared at Cole any longer. He was the Alpha, the
EVELYNAs the sentence escaped me, I began to doubt my plan. I didn’t want to cry, but tears sprang out against my will.I watched as Cole’s face slowly turned cold and his eyes shifted from disbelief to mockery.“So that’s the reason...” he scoffed. “You want to trade information with your body? Don’t you think you’re thinking too highly of yourself?”His voice was filled with contempt. “Was she telling me the truth?” I asked boldly.He suddenly reached out and cupped my chin, raising it up as he stared down at me.“What will you do if I tell you that it’s true?” he demanded. “Are you going to be buried with him? Do you love him so much that you’ll fall to pieces?”“Aiden is my friend,” I managed to say through my trembling.“That’s what you would do for a friend?” Cole sneered. “I didn’t know you were so loyal to friends, Evelyn. Aren't you a traitor?”Tears rolled down my cheeks, blurring my vision and twisting the image of Cole’s face.How many times would I have to bear this?Wh
COLEStriding silently along the corridor, I tried to calm down but to no avail.Sever the mate bond?Where the fuck had Evelyn learnt about this?The very fact that she wanted to fuck me only because she wanted to learn about Aiden’s condition infuriated me.What was she thinking?I had stupidly thought she had started to soften. For a moment, I even thought she was returning to the sweet girl she had used to be, back before this entire mess had started.But it turned out to be another fucking lie.She fooled me once again. She used me, which made me feel like a total idiot. I couldn’t believe she begged me to fuck because of another man.This thought was driving me crazy, making me want to kill. I wanted to rage, throw things, sink my claws into something, and shred it into ribbons, just as I had that dress of hers.She needed discipline. I should have done it earlier, back when she’d first arrived in the palace. I would lock her in my room and fuck her until she had no other though
COLEAddison took another deep breath as Flynn and I waited for her to tell her story. Her gray eyes were uncertain at first, like she didn’t want to follow my orders. Part of me didn’t want to blame her for her hesitation, given this situation with her twin sister, but the other part was the Alpha King. If my brother or his followers were somehow responsible for Jasmine’s disappearance, I couldn’t allow her to withhold information from me or Flynn for that matter. “I understand you don’t trust us, Your Majesty,” Addison said as she glanced at Flynn with a trace of mockery. “The Madden’s hands are always dirty with blood no matter what we do. But I assure you that House Madden is utterly loyal to you, Your Majesty. Because that’s our only choice.”I lifted a brow. “That seems like a poor choice of words given the context of this situation, Addison. Proceed with caution.”“I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly, holding her hands up as if to settle my rising irritation. “I said that inco
JASMINEMy head hurt more than it ever had before.It was as if my world was swirling on its axis and I had an impulse to throw up. My stomach was like a nest of snakes, each coiled around the other tightly. The pain made me wonder if I was dead, but when I opened my eyes, I knew I wasn’t.I wasn’t in a grave. I was in a carriage.It was moving fast on a rocky surface below and it shook violently as it traversed every stone.The sharp rocking of the carriage made the imaginary snakes in my belly twist together further and finally, I couldn’t hold it in further. I was about to retch, but before I could empty the contents of my poor stomach, I realized someone was in the carriage with me.They held a dagger in my direction and it glinted in the pale blue moonlight streaming in through the window.“If you dare throw up, I will slit your throat,” she said, and it took me a few moments to recognize it was Elsa.I didn’t realize it was her immediately because she looked completely different
JASMINEThe coachman laughed.“You’re right,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “But I hope you aren’t trying to go against the Master. We both know that would go poorly for all involved.“I won’t,” Elsa swore. “I wouldn’t ever do that.”The coachman nodded and glanced over at me, lowering his voice as if that would keep me from hearing him. I couldn’t be that surprised. He seemed no older than me, perhaps even younger. He likely had no idea about what the members of House Madden went through when they came of age.The training camp was brutal and intensive but it taught me how to be stealthy. My hearing was better than most, so I was able to hear every single word, no matter how low he whispered.He and Elsa might be assassins and kidnappers but I was not prey.I was a predator.“But there will be a delay if we spend too much time on her,” he said quietly. “It would save a lot of time if we just kill her.”When the coachman turned to look at me over his shoulder, I immediately evened
EVELYNThe next page contained two detailed sketches. The first depicted a monstrous figure labeled The First Alpha of the Werewolves, Alpha Elrod—a nightmarish fusion of man and wolf. His expression twisted in eternal agony, his heart pierced by a silver dagger.The second sketch, in stark contrast, portrayed his daughter, Moon. The artist had been far more merciful in painting her. Unlike her father, she was drawn with an ethereal beauty—her features fierce yet strangely soft. Cascading hair framed her delicate face, resting elegantly on her shoulder, and she wore a dress woven of moonflowers. Though faded with time, her features carried an eerie familiarity, strikingly similar to the woman in my dream.My fingers traced the contours of her face, almost as if moving of their own will. For a moment, it felt as though she were gazing back at me, whispering something just beyond my grasp.But truth isn’t always comforting. Sometimes, it is agonizing. Horrible. Sometimes, you wish you h
EVELYNIt was well past noon when I finally had a moment to stretch my overworked body. I devoured a sandwich and drained a full cup of strong tea that the servant had brought me before I finished reading the last three petitioning papers on my desk.One might assume that being a queen promised endless luxury, unchallenged authority, and an insouciant existence. But in reality, this had been my daily routine ever since I was crowned the Queen of Hescor three months ago—gorging down cold sandwiches and fueling myself with cups of strong tea between work breaks. Still, even that was preferable to enduring extravagant banquets filled with pompous lords and prying officials.I pushed the tray aside and reached for the two letters on the cabinet. Both bore an indication of the sender—a seal at the corner of the envelopes—marking them as messages from Tiryn. I pried the first one open and pulled out the folded parchment—it was from Leila.Over the past months, Leila had sent me five letters
EVELYNIf storms were made of reporting sheets, endless queues of petitioners, and nagging lords filled with complaints and unrealistic pleas, then my life after the coronation could only be described as stormy.I rubbed my temples as I put down yet another ridiculous petition—this one requesting justice for a missing kitten. According to the petitioner, the kitten had disappeared while he was visiting the main market of Halian, and he suspected that a human foreigner had used some “nasty” trick to steal it away.Thanks to the Ozora-Eanica Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation—signed by Hescor, Tiryn, and the two other werewolf nations of Eanica half a month ago—the number of foreigners traveling from Eanica to Ozora had been steadily rising. Though other nations remained cautious, Cole and I were expecting to receive their diplomats in the coming weeks. Tiryn’s example had piqued their interest, and they were beginning to see the great potential in establishing trade and dip
EVELYN“You don’t believe us, do you?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them, sharper than I had intended. “You don’t believe in our determination.”Oakley studied me for a long moment before a grin flickered across his face, his usual cavalier attitude returning. “Let’s just say I’m afraid. Or maybe I’m tired of fighting for myself. Time to seek something else in life, isn’t it? Perhaps an exotic beauty in a foreign land. I hear some human girls have a particular taste for fluffy animals—”“Don’t change the subject,” I cut him off, glowering. “You’re not someone who scares easily.”“I wasn’t,” he admitted, inhaling deeply. “But I am now.” His smirk faded, replaced by a hardened expression. “Her husband has erased her past to give her a new life, a paradise of his own making. And I won’t be the one to destroy it.”It took me a moment to understand who he meant. Maria.“I saw her three days ago,” Oakley continued. “I imagined she’d be suffering under the hand of some lord, a
EVELYNI had never known there was a secret room attached to the Alpha’s Study, hidden behind the towering bookshelves that lined the wall opposite the long marble desk. A concealed passageway linked the two, its entrance masked by books that Cole now pushed aside. He twisted a small, inconspicuous knob, and the hidden door clicked open.I followed him inside, ducking low as we maneuvered through the narrow, dark passage. When he opened another door at the end, we stepped into a small chamber. It was even tinier than the room I had once lived in as a maid, furnished only with a round desk, a few chairs, and a cabinet against the wall.Despite its minimalism, the chamber exuded opulence. The desk was inlaid with jade, and each chair gleamed with embedded gemstones that caught even the faintest light.Clearly, this space had been intended for secret meetings—perhaps even assignations. Against one wall sat a low love seat, large enough for one person to rest comfortably. Or two, if they
EVELYNSkyla blinked.For the first time since I had stepped into her cell, she looked truly caught off guard. Her lips parted slightly as if to form words, but no sound came out.I could understand why she was so shocked. According to the traditional Hescorian law of crime and punishment, as the heir of a rebellious Great Lord, she would be sentenced to death. If not death, it would be a life-long sentence of heavy labor and exile – just like the punishment my family had received.Personally, I wanted her to suffer that fate. I had no intention of showing her mercy – mercy she neither deserved nor ever would. But as the future queen of Hescor, I couldn’t. I couldn’t let my personal hatred dictate justice. I was determined to change Hescor’s wretched, severe penal system, and I wouldn’t allow myself to become a hypocrite in the process.Collective punishment had a long history in Hescor. It’d be difficult to abolish, as many lords firmly supported it, or so I had been told.I recalled
EVELYN“So he punished him—made him kneel on the cold stone floor of the Great Hall, day and night, with the servants as witnesses. He kept him there until he was exhausted, starving, and on the verge of collapse,” Stephanie said. “And still, Jack never gave him an answer. He only said it was a girl from a dream. That was all. In the end, Father had no choice but to give up. But before he did, he tore the painting to shreds and warned Jack—if he ever dreamed of that girl again… he would find her, dig her out, and destroy her.”A shiver ran down my spine.I could almost see King Theodore’s looming figure, feel his hands closing around me, tearing me apart as he had done to that painting.I felt paralyzed by Stephanie’s words. And angry. Why was she telling me this? What did she expect from me? This had nothing to do with me, did it? It wasn’t my fault Jack had drawn a picture of me.And yet, beyond the anger, there was something else. A deep, inevitable sorrow.I didn’t know why.I tri
EVELYNI searched Stephanie’s chestnut-brown eyes with scrutiny, trying to make sense of her words. I was relieved she wasn’t lying, but I couldn’t understand why she had bothered making such a request after everything that had happened.Her expression remained composed, as if she saw no issue with her decision. But even at my most optimistic—even if Cole ever found an excuse to forgive his brother—Stephanie’s request to move Jack’s body to the Royal Crypt was absurd.Crypts held deep significance for every noble family in Hescor, and the Royal Crypt was the most sacred of them all, reserved for the royal bloodline. The people of Hescor believed it was a resting place only for revered monarchs who had contributed to the kingdom, rulers whose legacies were honored by both history and the people. Only the purest souls were meant to be laid to rest there. Of course, that was an exaggeration—one could hardly call King Theodore a saint, considering his debauched ways in his later years.As
EVELYN“Sometimes, I can’t tell if you’re supporting me or siding with those who oppose my ascension,” I muttered, lifting my head from the stack of documents to glower at Flynn. Across the room, he met my gaze steadily, unfazed.“Why don’t you go bother your King instead?” I snapped. “If anyone’s to blame for my ignorance of these documents, it’s him! If he hadn’t—” I bit off the words, heat crawling up my face as memory surged forward, unbidden and all too vivid.Cole had been unbearably possessive last night after I returned from my conversation with Aiden by the river. He had exhausted me until dawn – until the first golden rays of sunlight spilled over the horizon, peering into the room to find our bodies tangled in the damp sheets.Flynn arched a brow but returned his attention to the report in his hands. “I’ll remind him to exercise restraint,” he said coolly. “He shouldn’t wear you out when your schedule is this full.” Then, without a hint of emotion, he added, “Tell your maid