CHAPTER 57
Manuel's POVI seethed quietly as the old man stared deep in my eyes with an insulting smirk on his face.My reign is over?I scoffed lightly as I did my best to match his wicked gaze.“And do you already have a candidate to be the next Alpha King in mind?”I said, rubbing my left thumb against my other fingers while my right hand gripped the arm rest firmly.“That would be me”, a voice came from within the other council members.The person who had spoken stood up gently and faced me, trying his best not to seem intimidated by my eyes that were peering directly into his.“Alpha Stefan “, I snickered, sitting up on my chair.This should be an interesting meeting.His facial muscles tensed as he breathed heavily, refusing to be affected by the amusement that I did not even bother to hide. I could not hide it, even if I tried.“Of course. I'm sureCHAPTER 58Manuel’s POVA soft, chilly breeze snuck its way into my room and caressed my face lightly, straightening out the wrinkles that had formed on my forehead as a result of the dream I had gotten the night before.I felt the memories of what I had sought in my dream slipping away as my eyes snapped open quickly, welcoming the fresh sighting of the morning.Without moving from my position, I moved my eyes to the window of my room.The curtains had been released from their cuffs, allowing them to dance around freely as the cold breeze pushed its way in.The routine movements of the curtains caused the dim light from outside to peek into the room a few times, but since the sun was barely out, there was not much light disturbance to be let into the room.I sighed and reached behind me, hoping to feel Natalie's warm body while she lay quietly asleep beside me on the bed.Instead o
CHAPTER 59Roberta’s POV It was a beautiful day.The sun shone brightly into my room as I lay down on my bed, facing the window.The view outside the window was breathtaking. There were countless flower vases lined up by the window pane. The sun's light helped to accentuate the beauty of the flowers as their sweet scent filled the atmosphere. They looked and smelled just like the ones Vincenzo had planted in the garden at the palace for me.A small smile drew itself across my face as my mind began to bombard me with the fond memories that Vincenzo and I shared in that garden.“They are just like the ones I planted for you, aren't they?”, I heard a familiar voice ask behind me.It cannot be.I rapidly sat up on my bed and turned my head a few inches to the left of my bed where I had heard the sound for.True to my suspicions, it was Vincenzo standing there, lookin
CHAPTER 60Charlotte's POV I walked into the small, dirty room where we kept Lucia contained.Two nurses sat beside her on the bed, one of them stroking her hair gently.She had a blank, almost dead look in her eyes. Her eyelids looked frail, like they had not moved from their position for a couple of days.“Where are we with the treatment?”, I said loudly, walking towards the bed.The nurses immediately sat up, the second one pulling her hand out of Lucia's hair sharply.“Luna, you're here”, the older one of them said, passing a glance at my eyes before looking down immediately.I rolled my eyes and looked down at Lucia.Her eyes were wide open, but it seemed like she could not see or sense anything around her.“That's not what I asked you”, I said sternly.I reached out to her pale face. I had almost touched her skin before my hand stopped in mid-air and snapped backwards.I sighed and removed my focus from her, taking it to the two foolish nurses standing in front of her.I ought
CHAPTER 61I trodded carefully to the further end of the courtroom, where my chair stood pretty at the centre.I dropped my body softly into the comfort of the seat before sighing and looking up at the six men spread out before me.“Gentlemen”, I started softly. They all looked at me with keen interest on their faces.“Tomorrow, you will leave me and be on the road to protect a package that I plan to deliver to an old friend”, I said.They continued to stare at me with blank expressions on their faces.“Also, I need you to know that possessing knowledge of my whereabouts is a very delicate thing, and you can easily give it up by telling people where you have been, since you follow me everywhere “, I said, studying them closely.I watched as a couple of them shifted uncomfortably after my last statement. I bit my lip and sighed wearily. “Okay, let's make this easier. How many of you told
CHAPTER 62Declan’s POV I watched with a small smile on my face as Roberta walked shakily from the balcony and fell beside me on the bed. Her face was divided by a wide grin that sprung from one corner of her face to the other.He heaved a deeply happy sigh as her back bounced in the bed.“I'll be walking all over this place soon!”, she said happily.I raised one side of my lips and smiled.“You're doing very well. I knew you would heal”, I said, turning my face to her. Getting Roberta to heal quicker and walk again was not at the tip of my prioritie, but at some point, it became a mandatory thing.She was sulking so much over Vincenzo’s death, I had to give her something to be excited about, so she wouldn't jump from the balcony.She had been very happy in the past days as she taught herself how to walk afresh and pushed on her own pain to get her desired results. Her resilience was almost adorable.I did not care much for the state of Roberta's mental health. In fact, I did not ca
CHAPTER 63Vincenzo’s POV I walked slowly through the scorching sun and the dry, sandy, lung-biting wind. My entire body was so dry, I believed that my blood had powdered.The days that followed my being ambushed by Charlotte's men were rough for me.I had written to Manuel several times after my life was threatened. He had not sent any ravens back to me, even though I had sent about a dozen his way.Then, I began to hear whispers of my death amongst some of the other outcasts, including the ones who had banded together to form little packs of their own.At first, I thought of attacking them and beating them to a pulp for even daring to insinuate that Charlotte's unweaned soldiers were enough to kill me, but when I really thought about it, I realised that whosoever started the rumor had given me the greatest weapon anybody could have in their revenge plan; The element of surprise. If the news of my death had reached the outcasts, it only meant that everyone in all the packs and all
CHAPTER 64Declan’s POV I kept my eyes tightly shut and stayed still as I felt Roberta’s eyes glide steadily over my face.I could not see her or what she was doing, but from her stillness, the prolonged silence and the occasional sighs that disturbed the peace, I could tell that she believed she was watching me sleep.I needed to get more information and precise directions from her, but I had to remain still for a few more seconds.If she watched me that way for long enough, it would make her feel more comfortable around me, and she would not have cause to retain any information from me.My eye twitched as she reached out and brushed my cheek lightly with the tips of her fingers.Seeing as I had already fluttered my eyelids, my eyes flew open, staring deeply into her face that was positioned directly in front of mine.“Good morning “, I said croakily, smiling at her.
CHAPTER 65Roberta’s POV “No, Berta. We're not going to infiltrate Manuel's palace”, Declan said, rapidly getting off the bed. He had a very annoyed look on his face.I felt like an awful person for asking him to do something like that for me, especially since it was really for Vincenzo, and we were both just trying to explore a new dynamic to our relationship, seeing as he had died.On the other hand, I kept feeling like there was a gigantic, Vincenzo sized hole in my heart, and to fill it, I had to do something that I knew Vincenzo would have wanted me to do.If all the facts Declan had provided me with were true, then Vincenzo would have wanted nothing more than to rip Manuel's head off his neck for the huge betrayal that he went through.I had no reason to doubt a word that Declan had said to me, because he had no reason to lie to me.I could feel that the feelings he had for me were ge
CHAPTER 67Vincenzo’s POV I stared intently at Tyler after his question, studying his countenance with every step he took back towards his seat on the dining table.“That's a bit rude, don't you think?”, I said, still staring closely at him.He sighed and dropped tiredly on his chair, leaning forward and looking right into my eyes.“This is not the time for jokes, Vincenzo. You traveled miles in a desert full of men who would have either told the world you were alive, or killed you themselves, and you ended up here. Obviously, I now owe you something for that”, he said, seeming less than pleased.“I'm just trying to pause and recuperate. I have been dealt the wrong side of life lately. How does everyone forget that so quickly?”, I said, my eyes dropping intentionally. Tyler shifted back a little, a look of guilt flashing in his eyes.“I realise that I haven't told you how sad
CHAPTER 66 Vincenzo’s POV I let out a soft groan as I shifted with uneasiness on my bed. Flashes of the hot, scorching sun I walked through in the wastelands filled my head, alongside images of Roberta's face as her body fell off the cliff a million times over in my head. I gasped and clenched my throat, my body launching upwards as I woke up swiftly. “Dammit”, I cursed, looking around at the vaguely familiar environment. It took me some time to remember that I was at Tyler's pack, and I had traveled quite a distance across an outcast infested desert to get there because I needed his help with something. I got off the bed and walked around the room, taking in the scenery around me. The room was small and cozy, like all the rooms in Tyler's palace. He liked to keep the places he slept in small, easy to scale. Tyle
CHAPTER 65Roberta’s POV “No, Berta. We're not going to infiltrate Manuel's palace”, Declan said, rapidly getting off the bed. He had a very annoyed look on his face.I felt like an awful person for asking him to do something like that for me, especially since it was really for Vincenzo, and we were both just trying to explore a new dynamic to our relationship, seeing as he had died.On the other hand, I kept feeling like there was a gigantic, Vincenzo sized hole in my heart, and to fill it, I had to do something that I knew Vincenzo would have wanted me to do.If all the facts Declan had provided me with were true, then Vincenzo would have wanted nothing more than to rip Manuel's head off his neck for the huge betrayal that he went through.I had no reason to doubt a word that Declan had said to me, because he had no reason to lie to me.I could feel that the feelings he had for me were ge
CHAPTER 64Declan’s POV I kept my eyes tightly shut and stayed still as I felt Roberta’s eyes glide steadily over my face.I could not see her or what she was doing, but from her stillness, the prolonged silence and the occasional sighs that disturbed the peace, I could tell that she believed she was watching me sleep.I needed to get more information and precise directions from her, but I had to remain still for a few more seconds.If she watched me that way for long enough, it would make her feel more comfortable around me, and she would not have cause to retain any information from me.My eye twitched as she reached out and brushed my cheek lightly with the tips of her fingers.Seeing as I had already fluttered my eyelids, my eyes flew open, staring deeply into her face that was positioned directly in front of mine.“Good morning “, I said croakily, smiling at her.
CHAPTER 63Vincenzo’s POV I walked slowly through the scorching sun and the dry, sandy, lung-biting wind. My entire body was so dry, I believed that my blood had powdered.The days that followed my being ambushed by Charlotte's men were rough for me.I had written to Manuel several times after my life was threatened. He had not sent any ravens back to me, even though I had sent about a dozen his way.Then, I began to hear whispers of my death amongst some of the other outcasts, including the ones who had banded together to form little packs of their own.At first, I thought of attacking them and beating them to a pulp for even daring to insinuate that Charlotte's unweaned soldiers were enough to kill me, but when I really thought about it, I realised that whosoever started the rumor had given me the greatest weapon anybody could have in their revenge plan; The element of surprise. If the news of my death had reached the outcasts, it only meant that everyone in all the packs and all
CHAPTER 62Declan’s POV I watched with a small smile on my face as Roberta walked shakily from the balcony and fell beside me on the bed. Her face was divided by a wide grin that sprung from one corner of her face to the other.He heaved a deeply happy sigh as her back bounced in the bed.“I'll be walking all over this place soon!”, she said happily.I raised one side of my lips and smiled.“You're doing very well. I knew you would heal”, I said, turning my face to her. Getting Roberta to heal quicker and walk again was not at the tip of my prioritie, but at some point, it became a mandatory thing.She was sulking so much over Vincenzo’s death, I had to give her something to be excited about, so she wouldn't jump from the balcony.She had been very happy in the past days as she taught herself how to walk afresh and pushed on her own pain to get her desired results. Her resilience was almost adorable.I did not care much for the state of Roberta's mental health. In fact, I did not ca
CHAPTER 61I trodded carefully to the further end of the courtroom, where my chair stood pretty at the centre.I dropped my body softly into the comfort of the seat before sighing and looking up at the six men spread out before me.“Gentlemen”, I started softly. They all looked at me with keen interest on their faces.“Tomorrow, you will leave me and be on the road to protect a package that I plan to deliver to an old friend”, I said.They continued to stare at me with blank expressions on their faces.“Also, I need you to know that possessing knowledge of my whereabouts is a very delicate thing, and you can easily give it up by telling people where you have been, since you follow me everywhere “, I said, studying them closely.I watched as a couple of them shifted uncomfortably after my last statement. I bit my lip and sighed wearily. “Okay, let's make this easier. How many of you told
CHAPTER 60Charlotte's POV I walked into the small, dirty room where we kept Lucia contained.Two nurses sat beside her on the bed, one of them stroking her hair gently.She had a blank, almost dead look in her eyes. Her eyelids looked frail, like they had not moved from their position for a couple of days.“Where are we with the treatment?”, I said loudly, walking towards the bed.The nurses immediately sat up, the second one pulling her hand out of Lucia's hair sharply.“Luna, you're here”, the older one of them said, passing a glance at my eyes before looking down immediately.I rolled my eyes and looked down at Lucia.Her eyes were wide open, but it seemed like she could not see or sense anything around her.“That's not what I asked you”, I said sternly.I reached out to her pale face. I had almost touched her skin before my hand stopped in mid-air and snapped backwards.I sighed and removed my focus from her, taking it to the two foolish nurses standing in front of her.I ought
CHAPTER 59Roberta’s POV It was a beautiful day.The sun shone brightly into my room as I lay down on my bed, facing the window.The view outside the window was breathtaking. There were countless flower vases lined up by the window pane. The sun's light helped to accentuate the beauty of the flowers as their sweet scent filled the atmosphere. They looked and smelled just like the ones Vincenzo had planted in the garden at the palace for me.A small smile drew itself across my face as my mind began to bombard me with the fond memories that Vincenzo and I shared in that garden.“They are just like the ones I planted for you, aren't they?”, I heard a familiar voice ask behind me.It cannot be.I rapidly sat up on my bed and turned my head a few inches to the left of my bed where I had heard the sound for.True to my suspicions, it was Vincenzo standing there, lookin