AZALEA’S POVIt was heated and more passionate than I thought it would be.I had absolutely no regrets as he panted beside me. I was just as breathless, and when I looked over at him, he was already looking at me. We laughed before he pulled me in for a deep kiss.“You are trouble Azalea Salvatore,” he murmured.I kissed him again. “I could say the same for you Clayton Draxlar.”He got up and headed over to the shower tap. “You made me directly disobey a doctor’s order.”I got up and walked towards him. “And I would gladly do it all over again.”He shook his head, smiling. “Just pure trouble.”We finally showered as intended, before changing into clean workout gear. Pixie had arranged for us to have an endless supply of workout gear. It was then when we truly realized that we were in for a week of serious work.We left our room and headed back downstairs, where our friends were waiting. They shot us a knowing look which we both shrugged to. We were led through to the dining hall where
ARAGON’S POVWe moved in the middle of the night with Ugar flying above us. I’d contacted some allies of mine, and they confirmed that the underground base was ready. It had been completed months after my disappearance, but they never used it.We set up our new operations room, while Genevieve helped with getting everyone settled into their second home. She was feeling better and didn’t want to sit and do nothing to help.Much to Hunter’s dismay.“Aragon, would you like to now tell me what’s going on?” Hugh asked me.I sighed, pulling him aside. “We’ve been compromised Hugh. It’s why I pushed for the kids to go away.”“What do you mean we’ve been compromised?” he asked.“I’ve been getting a strange feeling from someone, but nothing was confirmed until we went to release the prisoners. Carlton and Simoa not being there just didn’t feel right, and Simiyan agreed. When I went to her with my suspicion, she said she’d check it out. Hayes apparently picked up the same thing, and that’s when
AZALEA’S POV“Keep breathing and focus on your breathing.”It’s breathing, something you do effortlessly every day, without even thinking twice about it – and yet it was apparently kicking my ass. Without getting this part right, I couldn’t get any other part right.“We’ve been at this for an hour,” I whined.My uncle chuckled. “If you don’t get your breathing right, your powers will not align with your core. It would be dangerous for you to use them without that balance.”I sighed, before turning to Shaylah. “A little help?”“I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing,” she admitted.“Can we at least get the breathing thing right?” I requested.She was quiet for a while before responding. “Ok fine. Get in the water and let’s see if that helps.”“Where are you going?” my uncle asked as I approached the water.“Shaylah says this might help,” I shouted back.“You’re only supposed to get in there once you’ve balanced your breathing,” he warned.“Yeah, well, that’s not happening,” I rep
AZALEA'S POVWe carried Brantley out and I could feel his energy returning to normal, despite him being knocked out. It was already shocking to find out who Simoa is to him, but with what I’d seen, I couldn’t help but believe it. We lay him down in his and Bentley’s room before heading out.We had just walked into my uncle’s office when Bentley turned to me. “What exactly did you see?”“With you, I saw the shapeshifter, before I heard a voice saying ‘it’s not too long now my love. We’re almost making our move, and then you’ll get your revenge’. I have never heard the voice before, so I don’t know who that was. When I touched Brantley, I saw the shapeshifter again, so I focused my attention away from it, and that’s when I saw Simoa. She was on her knees, crying black tears. She kept chanting the words ‘he lied to me. He broke my heart. He lied to me. I have to make him pay. He lied to me’. I then heard laughter behind me and that’s when I turned to see Carlton there with a woman I’ve n
AZALEA’S POVBentley put her back into training, surprising even the trainers, but we knew that her rage was fuelling her more than anything. Simiyan confirmed that Brantley was fine, and that she’d sedated him to make sure that he stays rested a while longer.At the end of training, Bentley headed to her room to shower, while our friends looked to us expectantly. “What the hell’s going on with Bentley?”“She’s dealing with something. We can’t tell you guys just yet, but we will tell you,” Clayton assured.“Is it something bad?” Ariel asked.I nodded. “It’s going to change a lot going forward.”We left it at that as Clayton and I went to check on our kids. The staff had just brought them to our room, and they both squealed upon seeing us. Sweaty as we were, we headed over to pick them up.“Were they any trouble?” Clayton asked the one lady.She shook her head, smiling. “They were mostly talking to each other. It’s the cutest thing.”“Talking to each other?” I checked.She nodded. “I k
AZALEA'S POVWe called it a night and decided that we’d thoroughly plan everything out the following day. Brantley agreed to explain to my uncle and Simiyan exactly what he’d told us. We let them be as we fetched the twins, before heading to our room. They were already fast asleep, much to our relief.We put them down and sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, with me cuddled into his side. “Clay, talk to me.”I could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. “He deserves none of this.”“I know, but things have turned out this way,” I replied.“That first two years after we left the castle, it was hell Lea. I wasn’t strong enough to carry myself, and yet I had to be strong enough for the both of us. It changed me forever, and I still haven’t fully dealt with that part of my life. To know that it could be happening again…” he trailed off.I took his hand in mine. “Hey, it’s not happening again. We won’t let it happen again.”He growled lowly. “She’s supposed to love him as he
AZALEA'S POVI couldn’t stop the laugh that left me. “You need our help? After everything you’ve done?”She wasn’t particularly fazed though. “Let me rephrase. I am here to help you, because helping you helps me.”“But you’re not going to make things easy for us,” Brantley repeated.When her gaze landed on him, she softened. “My darling boy.”“I’m not here for you,” he was quick to retort.She sighed. “There are many things you don’t understand, and I do not blame you. It is entirely my fault, and I hope that one day you will believe that I never meant for any of this to happen.”“Who is my father?” Brantley asked her.“You’re a Lycan Brantley. Continue to live your life with that lie, and you will remain safe,” she told him.“His father isn’t a Lycan,” I deduced.She turned to me. “Aragon and Valencia’s smarts definitely didn’t go to waste over here.”“You’re clearly not going to give him any answers, so I’ll ask. Why did you try and control him?” I asked.“I did nothing of the sort,
PIXIE’S POVThe tension between Azalea and Clayton was known and felt by everyone within hours since the two of them refused to be in the same space together. They wanted to train separately, and my father and I ended up having to switch things up with the schedule and training, with the boys training together, and us girls training together.With it being the last day for training, we didn’t want it wasted on a lover’s quarrel.I understood where both parties were coming from. It was just both parties refusing to listen to each other. Did Clayton have a valid reason for freaking out the way he did? Probably. Did he handle it in the best way? Not even close. Is what Azalea is doing with Simoa a terrible idea? Maybe. Will everyone be on board with it?Not a chance!Either way, I was siding with her. She had a point about learning from her mistakes, so I believe her when she says that she’s being careful about this. I also believe her because I know for a fact that there’s something she
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