CLAYTON'S POVKing Aragon looked like he was fighting his own beast. “General Masterson, I understand that you have your problems with your son in mating, but I should warn you that the disrespect should end there. My beast doesn’t take kindly to you disrespecting my daughter and my son.”“I strongly agree with Aragon here. I may not be a supernatural being, but your disrespect will not be tolerated because you see me as less than. And for your information, he’s probably achieved more than you have in trying to get his mother back. He may have not known it to be that way when he started out, but his operations have allowed him to build something in that world – something that could very well serve to defeat Carlton and get your daughter back,” General Montgomery added.“He’s an alpha of a strong pack that he started with the sole purpose of getting Carlton off the throne. Besides that, he’s the Dragon Prince, despite how you feel about the mating that brought him into this world. Arag
BRANTLEY’S POV“What’s the status update?” I asked.“Still the same. Metropolis has gone quiet, and anyone who wasn’t taken, has gone into hiding. We’ve retrieved a hundred and forty-six survivors. Of that lot, one hundred and twenty-seven check out. They’re waiting to be sworn into the pack by Clay. They’ve already begun training with Cy and Claude. The other nineteen are being held at the safehouse until we get their records,” Thane responded.“Any word on when they’re coming back?” Titus asked me.I shook my head. “Clay said he’d let me know just before they do.”“And do we know if it would be the same group returning?” Thane asked.I shrugged. “Man, I know nothing. All he told me was that I was in charge until he reported their return.”“And I’m guessing that means you didn’t get to ask him about that rogue massacre we encountered?” Titus questioned.“Nope!” I confirmed.While Clayton had told me the reason why he was pissed, and that he was leaving with his fathers in mating, Zae
AZALEA’S POV“Clay,” I moaned.“What is it my love? Talk to me,” he said lowly in my ear.“I’m close,” I panted.“Then let’s get you there,” he said before unexpectedly ramming into me,I let go, and he joined me soon after. I was thoroughly exhausted, and he’d kept to his word and shown me just how much I’d affected him earlier. I was riding high, and I could tell that he was a little less stressed than he was earlier.We’d had dinner with his grandparents, and for the first time since we’d arrived, I could see how happy both he and his dad were. It’s not ideal that our moms are missing, but I could tell they appreciated the family that was around them.We’d called it a night, with both sets of grandparents staying over. Apparently, Clayton’s uncles and aunt would be arriving on the same day, except we’d be gone by then. We agreed that they wouldn’t be coming to the Lycan Kingdom just as yet.We needed to see how the plan we’d already set would play out before making any new addition
AZALEA'S POVI hadn’t expected to find out that my own relative was responsible for such a place, and I was even more horrified at why he ended up doing it to begin with. It had me even more curious than when I asked the question.“How did our family manage to keep the throne as long as we have with someone like that at the helm?” I asked.“Your grandfather stood up against him. It’s funny because he didn’t turn out to be all that great a King either,” he replied, laughing a little.I knew the sadness he was trying to cover up. “Was he at least a good father to you?”He didn’t say anything for the longest time. “I was a disappointment to him.”That astounded me. “You’re recorded as the greatest King the Lycan Kingdom has ever had. How could you possibly disappoint him?”He smiled sadly. “I only got that title because I disappointed him. He wanted to mould me into his carbon copy, but I always felt that he was stuck in the past. I had a vision for the kingdom, and he punished me in man
CLAYTON’S POVWe didn’t get to enjoy our morning in since we were woken up by a distress signal from Simiyan. We were all still pretty tired as we walked into the dining room, wondering what we’d been called out for.“Simiyan, what is it?” my father asked her.“Your Highness, I was checking on the portal to get us back to the Lycan Kingdom, and I found hundreds of lycans waiting there. They didn’t see me, so I checked the other two portals, and I found the same thing,” Simiyan explained.“Carlton and Simoa are waiting to attack us at the portals?” King Aragon asked.Simiyan nodded. “It would seem so.”“And there’s no way you can work around it?” my mate asked her.“There are too many of them at each portal. I have an idea, but it may be just as risky,” Simiyan stated.“Riskier than us fighting off hundreds of lycans?” I questioned.She nodded once more. “There was something about them. I am confident that you lot would be able to take them on if they were normal lycans.”“Is it possib
AZALEA’S POVIt was eerie, and that’s putting it lightly. The sun was out, but something in the air kept the light from shining the whole way through. The silence was unnerving, with only a few rustles here and there. The air was surprisingly breathable, despite how it looked.Or at least for me.I looked at the people I came with, and they all looked affected in one way or the other, except Clayton’s dad. “Dadio, are you ok?”We agreed I’d call him that since dad and daddy were taken.He looked around him and then back at me. “I feel nothing, but it looks like everyone else is affected.”We were linking and I realized I couldn’t link my mate or my father. “I can’t reach them via link.”“Same, but why are we the only two not affected?” he questioned.Simiyan clutched her head, falling down to her knees, before we heard her. “Ellora.”“Ellora?” we asked.“Only the two of you can stay here. The rest of us have to go,” she panted before the link cut off.We looked to each other and nodde
CLAYTON’S POVIt had been hours, and Beast and I were getting equally agitated. Simiyan had warned us that none of us would make it out alive if we tried to go after my mate and my father – a piece of information that wasn’t sitting well with any of us.When we arrived at the border, Brantley, Titus, Thane, Cyrus, Bennett, and Claude were waiting for us. They looked geared for war, and I couldn’t have been prouder to know that they are my team.The girls were back at the pack house with Bentley and Dove in charge of running things, and I trusted that they’d do just fine. We weren’t expecting to encounter any problems in any case.We were just impatiently waiting.“There’s some activity!” Thane suddenly shouted.We all rushed over to him as he tapped the tablet screen in his hands. “What are you talking about?”“A few days ago, I sent a drone out into the lands, but it died out after some hours. It’s currently calibrating as we speak,” he explained.“What does that mean?” General Maste
CLAYTON’S POVWhatever Simoa was working on didn’t look right.The Lycans looked somewhat disabled, and yet one could tell that it was what made them terrifying to begin with – that, and their deformed faces. They were also a lot bulkier, but I know for a fact that big doesn’t always mean anything.Especially in a fight.“Are they supposed to look that ugly?” Bennett asked.“They don’t exactly look like demons, and considering we don’t know what she’s mixing them with, we don’t know what they’re supposed to look like,” Simiyan noted.“Given how deformed they look, it could be that Simoa doesn’t have any expectations either,” my grandfather added.“You think she’s just making them up as she goes?” General Montgomery questioned.My father pointed at the screen. “I mean look at them. None of them look alike. It’s almost like she’s still experimenting with them.”“And we’d have to face them to find out if they’re a real threat,” Titus added.King Aragon looked to Simiyan. “Have you confir
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