*Yolanda's POV* “Yes,my birthday is in a week.”I said with a smile as I busied myself running my fingers on the new silverwares I got for the occasion. “I don't think now is the right time to return to IronClaw.”the voice at the end of the line replied. “I heard your step daughter has returned.” “Oh please.”I scoffed. “Do you really think I'm going to stop my own birthday party just because she exists?.” “Yolanda…I still don't think coming there is a good idea.” My fingers found a tiny rust on one of the tea spoons and picked it up to examine it further.I had asked for the best of the best in everything. And here I was seeing rustic cutlery sitting on the table. If it were Silvia who asked,the servants would have made everything glistening for her. What importance does she even have? We are both mothers of the leaders of the pack and she gets treated far better than I ever did. I inhaled a sharp breath and returned my attention to my phone call. Important matters first. “Do
Selene's POV I stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, the last rays of daylight casting long shadows across the villa. The men lined up in front of me seemed relaxed, as if life had become a series of easy luxuries. “You guys are really enjoying yourselves here,Is that what you do in your free time?” I mused with a small laugh. “I’m almost envious.” They exchanged grins, looking very pleased with themselves. “We make the most of what we can with the boss’s money,” one of them quipped. I smirked in quiet satisfaction. Their loyalty to the boss still held, despite working for me now. I had never asked how much they were paid, nor did I want to. Some things were better left unanswered—like why the boss had assigned his best men to a woman he’d only met once. It didn’t add up. But that wasn't my problem to ponder over,if my charms got me an army,then so be it. The single encounter I had with him played back in my mind. He sat across the room,watching me from the tiny hole
*Ares POV*A burgundy 1955 Lincoln Capri pulled into the yard, and I let out a soft sigh. I hadn’t actually expected her to come—I’d hoped she would. But when dealing with a woman like Selene, the best you could do for yourself was to temper your expectations.I watched as she stepped out, her silhouette cutting through the moonlight with the same quiet grace she always carried. She wore a silk, form-fitting dress, her loose hair bouncing as she walked.She took a long look at the house before frowning and walking toward my car."What do you think you’re doing?" she asked, standing before me. "Why did you bring me here?"I grabbed the gift box from the passenger seat and stepped out."You look beautiful." I smiled, shutting the door behind me.She rolled her eyes and stared back at the abandoned palace."You’ve got a lot of nerve bringing me here," she spat. "I applaud that."I glanced at the palace dismissively, as though it wasn’t the same place I once rejected her. But that wasn’t
(*Dominic's POV*"She arrived at one a.m. last night," Greta whispered at the other end of the line.My heart sank. Whatever I was feeling wasn’t good. Why did she stay out that late?"One a.m.?" I echoed, tension creeping into my voice. "Do you know where they had this date?""No.""What they talked about?""No."Ares must have heard about the journalists last night, right? He has connections—he’s not the kind of man who does things legally. They had to have a solid alibi to counter the time frame of the murders, and if their alibis were each other, it would be a great scandal. They should’ve rushed home... right?My mind spiraled. What if they were having sex? Oh, fuck—what if they were rekindling their old flame? If they were fucking, I swear to God, I will destroy them both."And she left by eight," Greta continued, either not noticing my silence or choosing to ignore it. She wasn’t exactly the most concerned partner, nor did she seem inclined to be loyal."Those are just times,"
*Yolanda's POV* Noelle is using own look again. If we want to sell this pitiful story,We must,by all means, secure the press’ attention and pity. Noelle's discovery of the bodies was not a coincidence,if the gods have blessed us,It's within our duty to ensure that we make the most out of it. “This is your chance,”I began gingerly,creasing a shade of baby pink lipstick over Noelle's lips.“Remember as I told you?” “Yeah,yeah.”she said softly,her eyes staring at herself in the mirror. “Throw him under the bus,gain the public's sympathy, if he was with her last night, he will have no choice but to run to me for an alibi.” “Exactly.”I smirked. She drew in a heavy breath and lowered her eyes. I lift her chin to face up. “And chin up.”I ordered. She pushes my hand from under her chin. “Then what?” My eyebrow raises at her. “What do you mean then what?” “What will be my request for the alibi?” Money,my brain says,but I know that I won't hear the end of it if I say it out lou
*Noelle's POV* I stretched my body and looked at the curtain In a fierce battle with the sun to protect me from light. The curtains were thick and black and pulled to conceal any sunlight,the only indication that it was morning was that the floors were small. I don't know why Ares would want to have a dark room when he could have the view from the garden instead but it's not in my place to complain. Besides,I have better things to think about,like the fact that I was in Ares’ bed,basking in his sheets,his pillow and oh,his loud scent all around me. The only thing that could have stopped this is if we actually slept together,but like the workaholic he is,he insisted on doing work in his office and coming to bed later. And although I tried to stay up and wait,I ended up falling asleep. But that won't happen again. I yawned and rolled over to greet him good morning only to find the other end of the bed empty. My shoulders dropped and my mother's horrid face filled up in m
*Ares POV* It was almost nine pm. I had missed dinner,and I didn't even care. Noelle wasn't exactly the most jovial person these days and everything about her was beginning to annoy me again. I was going to the old Italian restaurant at the end of town to meet somebody and though my eyes were on the road,my mind was far away. Mostly on the results of my meeting tonight. While my mother was taking care of the situation with the Council,I had to keep things running smoothly with the pack,to settle them and their very valid fears by the way. There is a murderer in town and despite how crooked the victims were,they were a part of my clan and I couldn't protect them. It almost seemed like I couldn't do anything recently,if you wanted to really keep track of the dates I would say when Selene showed up,but I don't want to focus on that so I try to blame it on something else instead–like Dominic. But even if I did that,I didn't have evidence to back me up. I sigh loudly The onl
*Selene's POV* I was fuming. He was not picking my calls. And I feel like I'm about to choke my own neck out. I saw him and Noelle on tv this morning again,I think he is way too dedicated to this damn lie. When I told him to pretend,I didn't actually expect him to go on an interview and actually say that I was just a story used against his marriage and he literally doesn't understand why these rumours were being spread. It almost felt like he was disassociating,I do this often but never been at the receiving end of the treatment. Dominic came up to me with a small glass of water. “Are you okay?”he asked,handing me the glass. “You seem shaken.” Then,suddenly it hit me. The thing that has been clouding my mind all day,messing up my lines,screwing with My senses,might be…no way. Was I—jealous? Obviously not,that would be stupid,I asked him to get back with her,I couldn't be jealous if it was my own plan right?But yet and still,a sharp sting hit my chest like small
*Yolanda's POV* My eyes couldn't leave the two empty chairs opposite me,I had sent out those invitations exclusively to high status residents of the pack,this was a prestigious event and being late to my birthday dinner–especially when your seats were on my table was very very insulting. I know for sure that I wasn't going to invite them to anything ever again,in fact, just to teach them a lesson,I will ensure they never get invited to anything important again. I took a small sip to calm my fuming nerves. It was my birthday,and I was celebrating it in grand style. There was room for negativity or worries. “Ladies and Gentlemen,”Silvia began,raising her glass in the air as she stood to her feet. “Today is a very special day for the Royal family,one of our very own”She turns to me ,her eyes glistening with unshed tears I know she didn't mean. “Today is our one and only Yolanda's fifty-second birthday,”she beamed,bringing her hands to a clap,and as expected,the guests at th
*Selene's POV*Detachment. It has always been my strong suit, or at least I thought it was before I began loosing my prorities. Either way,what matters now are the important things, like the reason I fought so hard for that house in the first place. I carefully installed a pair of hoop earrings and adjusted my hair off my face. Staring at myself in the mirror, I decided to give my lips another coat of lipstick.Greta came into the room with freshly washed towels, humming a carefree song as she waddled into the closet.“Has anything arrived in the mail?” I asked absently.“No,” she yelled from the closet. “Nothing yet.”I was expecting the invitations by now—Yolanda's birthday was tonight, and I couldn’t miss it. I began to consider getting the tickets myself.“Are you expecting anything?” Greta asked, attempting to make conversation. But I wasn’t really in the mood to talk; it had been hard to get in the mood for anything since the ‘incident.’I adorned my fingers with golden snake r
*Ares’s POV* I've been measuring how strong I am or in better words how deep this obsession was rooted…and I have come to a pretty confusing conclusion. I can bring myself to resist the urge to see her and confront her and yet at the same time,I can't get her damn face,voice,smell out of my brain. I have spent most of my time in my office since my little delightful “discovery”,What was I expecting anyway? I was chasing after a woman who glady branded herself as a man killer and I had somehow expected not to be killed. Maybe–just maybe she is too far gone. Besides,all the time I had spent with her had done nothing but weigh upon the thread that she might be my Luna. If she was,she would say it by now and her hair seemed completely jet black…it makes absolutely no sense to have someone so hell bent on destroying me so close to me. Anyway,I have come to realise that whenever I'm under stress,I become a workaholic…which by the way is just perfect for the situation. So far,I
*Selene's POV* “Are sure he is going to come?”Cassie asked for the third time in an hour. I glanced at the clock and the wall and nodded. “Of course he would.”I say,trying to keep my mind positive,but even my own voice sounded doubtful. “Why wouldn't he?” Cassie did a wide eyed blink and I knew right then and there that I was going to regret asking that question for at least two days. “Well,lets start with the basics.”she began,proudly laying the foundation to crush my heart and ego. “He is ignoring your calls,spending more time with his supposed wife on live TV and he might already know that you are the spy that–” I tapped my fingers on the chair anxiously and Cassie stopped talking when she noticed she was the cause of the tapping. “He's only two hours late and I am definitely sure he will have no problem coming to the most controversial brothel in town even though it might ruin him.”she added,her sarcasm hitting me like a slap in the face. “I think that's enough external p
*Yolanda's POV* I was at my last wine tasting for my party before he informed me that Victor had gone to the main castle,and not only that,he stood before the ex luna and told her he was my friend and was looking for me. Suddenly the fruity taste that lingered on my tongue turned citrus sour. “What?”I asked the maid standing before me. “A friend of yours,Victor, is sitting in the living room with Lady Silvia.” I felt air vanish from my lungs and the maid,seeing my reaction,offered the little comfort she could manage to provide. More information. “We wanted to send him away,but he was adamant and the ex luna wanted to talk to him…oh and Noelle came too.” That was way too much for me to bear,what if that rascal says something about my past,or about Noelle or straight up magically gained a conscience and wanted to confess. I rushed into the parlour,trying my best to reach there soon enough and also somehow not appear like a crazy woman in front of the maids on duty. I barged
*Selene's POV* I was fuming. He was not picking my calls. And I feel like I'm about to choke my own neck out. I saw him and Noelle on tv this morning again,I think he is way too dedicated to this damn lie. When I told him to pretend,I didn't actually expect him to go on an interview and actually say that I was just a story used against his marriage and he literally doesn't understand why these rumours were being spread. It almost felt like he was disassociating,I do this often but never been at the receiving end of the treatment. Dominic came up to me with a small glass of water. “Are you okay?”he asked,handing me the glass. “You seem shaken.” Then,suddenly it hit me. The thing that has been clouding my mind all day,messing up my lines,screwing with My senses,might be…no way. Was I—jealous? Obviously not,that would be stupid,I asked him to get back with her,I couldn't be jealous if it was my own plan right?But yet and still,a sharp sting hit my chest like small
*Ares POV* It was almost nine pm. I had missed dinner,and I didn't even care. Noelle wasn't exactly the most jovial person these days and everything about her was beginning to annoy me again. I was going to the old Italian restaurant at the end of town to meet somebody and though my eyes were on the road,my mind was far away. Mostly on the results of my meeting tonight. While my mother was taking care of the situation with the Council,I had to keep things running smoothly with the pack,to settle them and their very valid fears by the way. There is a murderer in town and despite how crooked the victims were,they were a part of my clan and I couldn't protect them. It almost seemed like I couldn't do anything recently,if you wanted to really keep track of the dates I would say when Selene showed up,but I don't want to focus on that so I try to blame it on something else instead–like Dominic. But even if I did that,I didn't have evidence to back me up. I sigh loudly The onl
*Noelle's POV* I stretched my body and looked at the curtain In a fierce battle with the sun to protect me from light. The curtains were thick and black and pulled to conceal any sunlight,the only indication that it was morning was that the floors were small. I don't know why Ares would want to have a dark room when he could have the view from the garden instead but it's not in my place to complain. Besides,I have better things to think about,like the fact that I was in Ares’ bed,basking in his sheets,his pillow and oh,his loud scent all around me. The only thing that could have stopped this is if we actually slept together,but like the workaholic he is,he insisted on doing work in his office and coming to bed later. And although I tried to stay up and wait,I ended up falling asleep. But that won't happen again. I yawned and rolled over to greet him good morning only to find the other end of the bed empty. My shoulders dropped and my mother's horrid face filled up in m
*Yolanda's POV* Noelle is using own look again. If we want to sell this pitiful story,We must,by all means, secure the press’ attention and pity. Noelle's discovery of the bodies was not a coincidence,if the gods have blessed us,It's within our duty to ensure that we make the most out of it. “This is your chance,”I began gingerly,creasing a shade of baby pink lipstick over Noelle's lips.“Remember as I told you?” “Yeah,yeah.”she said softly,her eyes staring at herself in the mirror. “Throw him under the bus,gain the public's sympathy, if he was with her last night, he will have no choice but to run to me for an alibi.” “Exactly.”I smirked. She drew in a heavy breath and lowered her eyes. I lift her chin to face up. “And chin up.”I ordered. She pushes my hand from under her chin. “Then what?” My eyebrow raises at her. “What do you mean then what?” “What will be my request for the alibi?” Money,my brain says,but I know that I won't hear the end of it if I say it out lou