CLAYTON’S POVDinner was as exquisite as expected from the demands given. King Hayes had gone all out for us and after that meal, and the news I’d received from my mate, I couldn’t wait to get back home.“You were so confident in defying him. I don’t understand your hesitation to return home,” Simiyan teased my mate.“As usual, I didn’t think things through. I’m telling you, he’s waiting for us at the portal,” my baby mama panicked.“Love, staying here overnight isn’t an option. Our dads will kill me for sure,” I pointed out.“Besides, I stood up to my dad for you. I don’t think anyone is going to hurt you without getting through me,” Pixie added.“They wouldn’t hurt me, but that doesn’t mean I’m prepared to get scolded,” Azalea stated.King Hayes walked into the room. “Would it help if I came back with you now?”My mate beamed. “Would you?”He chuckled. “That wouldn’t actually help your case, but yes. I can come back with you now.”“Did you finish setting up your contingencies?” Simi
CLAYTON'S POVThis time she was silent way longer and when I checked, she was fast asleep. I still had some energy and business to attend to, so I headed out to my office. I had just walked in when Brantley walked in behind me.“Oh good! You’re back! We have guests,” he told me.I frowned. “Guests?”He nodded. “Bennett and Titus are back with Cyrus’ parents.”I left and followed him to the main lounge where indeed, Cyrus’ parents stood. I could recognize them from the pictures I’d seen of them back at the castle. Cyrus seemed to be happy to see them, and my gaze followed the body his arm was wrapped around.“Who’s that?” I linked Brantley.“No clue,” he responded.Cyrus beamed when he noticed us. “Guys, this is Clayton. He’s the Alpha here and Azalea’s mate. Clay, these are my parents Liza and Hogan White, and this is my little sister Cleo.”“Little sister? I thought the scanner said you don’t have any siblings?” Brantley spoke up.What scanner?“It couldn’t have known about Cleo beca
CLAYTON'S POV“I can explain,” Pixie spoke up.“It’s just one of your many secrets,” Azalea teased her.“Wait! How long have you known that Pixie’s your mate?” Thane asked Bennett.Pixie jumped in before Bennett could respond. “Again, I can explain. It’s my fault that he had to keep it a secret.”Bentley and Ariel narrowed their eyes at her. “Did you reject him?”“What? No!” Pixie exclaimed.“She hid their marks and scent,” King Hayes spoke up.“Uhm, who are you again?” Cyrus asked.Azalea laughed at the look on King Hayes’ face. “His name is Hayes Hunter, King of Erea, my uncle, and Pixie’s dad.”“King?” was the resounding response.“Wait, if he’s a king, that makes Pixie a princess, right?” Ariel spoke up.“That is correct,” my father was the one to confirm.“Where is Erea, and how is he your uncle?” Bentley asked my mate.“You don’t need to know where Erea is, and he’s my mother’s brother,” Azalea replied.“You’re suggesting that Queen Valencia was born of royalty, and that’s not e
AZALEA’S POVMy dad hadn’t come out of his room, even through the whole thing with Cleo. I tried to fall asleep, but I was bothered by the fact that I’d potentially caused this huge fight between him and Simiyan.The house was mostly quiet since everyone had gone to bed. I walked all the way to his and Simiyan’s room, and I wasn’t surprised to find the light on. I couldn’t hear anything from the other side, so I slowly pushed the door open.I found him staring at a picture of Simiyan which was in a frame. “Daddy?”He looked up, clearly not expecting to see me there. “Shay? What are you doing here?”“I came to check up on you,” I told him, going to sit next to him.He didn’t say anything for a while before sighing. “Being here isn’t the easiest for me, and I just wish you guys understood that much.”“I think none of us expected that because of how tough you are. You don’t exactly present as someone who’s struggling to fit in. You’re greatly respected here,” I pointed out.He sighed. “I
AZALEA'S POVBy the time morning rolled around, she’d managed to rally the girls around. Everyone was in agreement with them taking me away for the day, including my fathers and my mate. The whole lot was just treacherous.“How will I know of any plans if I’m not here?” I asked them.“The whole point is to keep you in the dark,” my uncle stated.He was apparently part of the traitor wagon.“What if you need me?” I tried another approach.“You are of no use to us in your current state Azalea. You’d be putting us in danger because we’d be worried about keeping you safe,” my father scolded.“And sending me off unprotected is going to help?” I shot back.Bentley rolled her eyes. “Oh gee, it’s like we’re ornaments on this trip.”I shot her a sorrowful look. “You know what I mean.”“We trust that Shia will do what’s necessary to keep you safe. Besides, you’ll be in Simiyan’s side of the enchanted forest with two Beta Females, the Princess of Erea, someone of Beta Blood, and a weapons expert
CLAYTON’S POV“Three more packs have been attacked.”“What about the pack meetings?”“We met with them, but we haven’t had the chance to report back to Clayton for the final decision.”“Is it the same as Metropolis?”“Do you mean are they forcing people to choose sides?”“Yes.”“Yeah, it’s exactly that. If the person doesn’t choose their side, they get imprisoned. However, our intel on the inside says that their prison is filling up, and there’s a backlog in torturing their prisoners.”An unexpected laugh left General Montgomery. “A backlog?”Brantley smiled. “Apparently they don’t have enough people to do the torturing since they’ve focused a lot of their manpower on their task force.”“As ridiculous as that sounds, it’s an advantage for us. It means that people’s spirits are still high enough to motivate once we free them,” King Aragon noted.“Free them? Is that something we intend to do?” Thane questioned.“If they haven’t chosen Carlton’s side, it’s safe to assume that they’ve cho
CLAYTON’S POVI probably ran around our territory a couple of times before I finally headed to the lake. It was late afternoon and I’d kept my link open. There clearly hadn’t been any news yet about my family since no one had linked me.“We can’t sit back anymore Clay,” Beast said after a while.I sighed. “I know, but we can’t act irrationally either. We have a lot to lose.”“We’ve let too many people take control of the situation,” he argued.“It’s not like those people are amateurs. They’ve seen way more from life than we have. Our mate’s father was a key figure in the previous war,” I reminded.He was quiet for a while. “All I’m saying is that this is our pack.”“It’s also their kingdom and they have every right to want to contribute to fighting for it. You’re not normally this closed off, so I know it has to do with our mate and kids, but you have to stay positive. They’re going to make it, and I need you to tone down your anger because we’re going to have to deal with theirs,” I
CLAYTON'S POVWe all looked over at her, and she was groggily getting up. I rushed over to her just as she hissed from the pain of trying to sit up. Seeing her like that had Beast losing his shit once more and I had to keep everyone from seeing that.Though I can’t be too sure that I was all that successful.Nonetheless, I focused on my dazed mate. “Where am I?”“You’re safe,” King Aragon told her.She looked around the room, before panic settled on her face. “No really, where am I?”“You’re safe, and our babies are safe,” I was the one to tell her.At my words, she reached for her belly, her eyes widening. “I can’t feel them anymore.”“That’s because they’re over there,” my father said, pointing at the cots.She looked in that direction and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh my goddess! What have I done? I got our babies killed!”I gently grabbed her face, making her look at me. “Hey, listen to me. You’re ok, and our babies are ok. They were born early, but they’re both ok. I promise.”
AZALEA’S POV“I can’t believe two years into your marriage and you’re still pulling these stunts!”“How else am I supposed to keep the romance alive?”“He’s going to kill you, you know that much, right?”“He wouldn’t kill me while my dad still lives.”“At this point, Hugh would welcome your death. You truly are a menace.”My mouth dropped as she giggled. “You don’t mean that!”“Oh, I believe it too. When they told me you’re a menace, I didn’t know just how right they are,” my aunt teased.“You all just hate me,” I argued.“No one hates you because you won’t even allow us to do that much,” my mother commented.I gasped, and the evil women just laughed at me. “I can’t believe you’re in on this too!”“You and I are connected, and while the reason why is still a myth to all of us, at no point in my life did I swear to stand by your foolishness, especially when it involves tormenting that poor sweet boy,” Simoa stated.“There’s nothing sweet about him. You guys just don’t get to see how he
CLAYTON'S POV“I underestimated Eligor’s memory spell. I was desperate to explain myself and my actions, and to ask for forgiveness. I wasn’t sure if going to Aragon would help, so I went to the only other two people who knew me better than he did. Avril and Val were my best friends, so I thought if I could get them to understand, then they’d help me make sense of everything and help me deal with my new reality. I was lost, and in pain, and I just needed someone to understand me, except it was in that moment that I realized it would never happen. If the people closest to me couldn’t remember me, then I had no one. I was officially all alone,” Alyx explained.“What happened? Where have you been all this time?” her brother asked her.“After what happened with Avril, I knew I had to find a way to control what I’d become. I got some of Eligor’s powers through our mating, and they helped me to an extent. I found out he was abusing the Xeglan, and they asked for my help in keeping them from
CLAYTON’S POVOnce King Brennus lifted the spell from them, it was decided that we should head back while their memories started to trickle in. With everything over, the packs had been instructed to stack the dead hybrids and burn them.We suffered a couple of casualties and injuries on our side, and it was decided that the bodies of the dead would be put aside and we’d have a funeral for them the following day. We needed to let everything settle down first.With Eligor out of the picture, King Brennus ordered the Xeglan to return to Advalur, and they happily complied, while the Xeglan hybrids were imprisoned. At the end of the day, they were traitors, and it would be decided later what we’d be doing with them.Azalea led her aunt to our room, refusing to leave her side, while Pixie was quickly at mine. “You’re coming with us.”I followed after her, and she led me to a room with our friends in it, including Brantley and Bentley. “When did you guys get here?”“That’s not important! Wha
AZALEA'S POVThe turned Lycan looked my way. “I’m the source of a lot of your problems. With me out of the way, you stand a better chance of taking over this kingdom, but you’re going to have to catch me first.”I closed my link to my family and friends as I turned and made a run for it. I could hear him following after me, as well as my family following after him. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, or what the plan was, but this distraction was giving me some time to think.And before I knew it, I was running past the border and into the Forgotten Lands.Being here, I knew that only Eligor, Clayton, King Brennus, Greier, and my aunt could follow after me. My father and Clayton’s father didn’t have the bracelets on them, so they’d be affected if they came through.I finally let my mate through our link as he ran in after me, shifted back and changed into shorts. “Now what?”“I have no idea, but I know this is where everything has to end,” I told him just as Eligor’s beast grow
AZALEA’S POVShe looked more badass than she had in the vision. Confusion surrounded us as we watched everyone wondering why the Xeglan hybrids weren’t fighting, and who the woman was. Much like in the vision, she was preceded by smoke, and when it cleared, I could see recognition from our inner circle.“It’s her. It’s the woman from the painting,” Pixie was the one to state.“It’s Alyx, isn’t it?” Cleo asked, but no one responded.Instead, we watched as Eligor took in his mate, surprised to see her in her true form. “You can control the faces?”“I can do a lot more than that, but I’m not here to tell you all about that,” she told him.“Well, it’s about time we joined hands and finally took over the kingdom as planned,” he smiled, walking over to her.She put her hand out. “You either didn’t hear me, or you’re choosing to ignore what I said. I’m here to stop you.”It was a slight opening in his emotions as the vulnerability showed on his face. “Tell me that these people aren’t right.
CLAYTON’S POV“Avril and Valencia were my closest friends. Lost as I was, I thought if I went to explain myself to them, they’d understand, but I underestimated Eligor’s spell. They really had no idea who I was, and the changing faces and my changed form weren’t helpful. That’s when I realized that I needed to learn how to control the faces and my body.”Azalea was crying beside me, and I put my arm around her. “Where was Eligor during all this?”“I didn’t want anything to do with him, and he agreed to give me my space. However, in that time apart, I realized that my love for him was turning to hatred. Every time he checked in on me, he would let me know about his efforts to undo what he’d done, but I’d already lost too much. Being with him didn’t feel like something I wanted to do anymore, so I kept to myself. One thing I got through our mating is some of his powers, and I used them to travel the dimensions, learning as much as I could about what they knew about shapeshifters. I also
AZALEA’S POVThere she was.She was dressed in a dark emerald dress, and there was smoke around her, but I knew it was her. The same eyes I’d seen in the painting were looking straight at me. She was unmoving, showing no emotion on her face.“It’s her.”I didn’t know if I could even bring him with me, but I was relieved to look to my side and find Clayton there. “Do we go to her?”He shook his head. “We wait for her.”I agreed, and we waited. Before getting pulled in, we moved off the battlefield, hiding, and I could only hope that we’d stay hidden given the fact that we had no idea what was going on outside this vision.After a while, she finally moved towards us. I unintentionally squeezed Clayton’s hand a little harder, and he put his other hand on top of mine. I looked up at him, and I knew what he was telling me through his eyes.He was with me, and he had my back.She walked until she stood before us. Much like I’d felt back in the castle, it felt like I was looking at an older
CLAYTON’S POV“Report?” my father asked.“They’re coming from the direction of the castle, so we can confirm that it’s Eligor and his army. There hasn’t been any movement from the Forgotten Lands,” his man reported.My father nodded. “Take to the skies and stay there waiting for my command.”“And Isaiah?” the man asked.“Tell him to stay where he is,” my father replied.The man nodded before leaving. “What’s going on Hunter?”“Like Theo just said, Eligor is headed this way with his army. There’s no word from Alyx’s side,” my father replied.I was about to ask a question when my mind link was prodded. “CLAYTON!”“Simoa?” I asked.“Yes, it’s me. Where is your mate?” she asked.“She’s here with me. Why?” I countered.“Eligor is on his way. I have been trying to let her know, but I haven’t been able to reach her,” she huffed.I turned to my mate. “Love, is there anything going on with your link to Simoa?”I heard the murmuring, but I didn’t care for it as my mate scowled. “I can’t feel he
AZALEA'S POV“Are you sorted?” I asked him.He nodded. “Ariel and Cleo are directing everyone here. Greier and the Lyca will join us shortly. Your uncle linked to say there’s a bit of a delay with the archives, but that he’ll be here as soon as he has the information with him.”“Should we maybe not talk to our people before they get here?” Clayton suggested.“He’s got a point Aragon. While we may be understanding of how you reached the decisions that you did, your people may not be,” Clayton’s dad joined us.“I’ll address them once they’ve all assembled,” my father agreed.As expected, our pack members were the first to assemble, and I could see the pride on my mate’s face at seeing his people still as efficient as ever. The pack members of The Rebelution were officially the pack members of the royal pack.I had read up on the royal pack, with my father answering any more questions that I had. Apparently, the royal pack that he was Alpha of was either taken over by Eligor, or those wh