Chapter 23
Selena's POVRegardless of the explanation, I still had a hard time understanding why Axel and Blake had expressions of dread on their faces as they talked about the Alpha Crane."Well, is there something wrong for him to be the Alpha of all those rogue wolves?Rogue wolves had no true Alpha but they appointed a werewolf whom they deemed fit enough to lead them.Rogue wolves were the worst. Rejected from their packs and cursed to wander forever without a mate, their lives could be characterized as nothing short of hell. Some were remorseful about their past deeds, most were not."Is he that scary", I broke the tense silence that descended in our small group. No one made a move to answer as each was lost in thought.Suddenly, Axel shrugged. "I can easily take him on", he assured.I had a feeling there was more to the talk that I was still unaware of."So why are you both scareChapter 24Selena's POV Contrary to the happy mood I slept in last night, I was a fuming mess in the morning. A servant had informed me that Asher and I needed to be seen in public at least once after the engagement, hence he sent someone a dress, shoes and jewelry to adorn myself for his greedy eyes. Lily sensed my fury, hence the reason why she only stood at a corner while my fisted hands rested to my sides as I glared intensely at the white boxes. Just how defiant can I be if I refused to wear the stupid dress? The last time I dolled up for him, it ended as a disaster. I wasn't quite ready to live through that again. "I wish I could trash talk him with you", Lily's voice pierced through my cloud of fury. "Don't worry. I'll do it for two""Hey Lily?", I called out"Yes?""Can I wear something else?", I turned to her. "I don't think I can stand wearing this dress"Nodding in und
Chapter 25Selena's POV Axel clasped a hand over my mouth, my back to his front as he held me in place. "Shush", he whispered in my ear. I glanced at the main area. Guests continued their chattering, no one noticed me or Axel. Asher tapped away on his phone, a serious expression on his face. "What the fuck are you doing here?", I whisper yelled, the second he removed the hand covering my mouth. Our position still prevented me from seeing his face. "I missed you", he rasped out, before turning me to face him. "You missed me? Seriously Axel?", I pretended to be upset, but deep down, I was glad that he showed up. "How did you even know where I was?""Asher wouldn't keep it quiet"I sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't reach out to you. The dinner came unexpectedly", I apologised. Axel waved me off. "It's fine. I understand", he winked before finally letting his eyes roam my body. "You look stunnin
Chapter 26Selena's POV Asher let go of my neck right before I fell unconscious. I gasped for breath, my lungs hurting at the sudden assault of air. Everything hurt, my throat burned and I knew it'd probably bruise in a few hours. I clutched my neck, shuffling away from his rage filled eyes. They looked almost maniacal."You don't get to speak to me in such a manner and leave unscathed", he growled. I was stunned, too stunned to speak. While I knew Asher wasn't exactly a gentleman, it came as an unpleasant surprise that he'd harm me in any way. "What's wrong with you?", I rasped out, my throat burning from the exercise. "What?", he questioned. "I don't know what could give you the audacity to speak to me in such manner but trust me, pup, I will crush you"I ignored him, choosing to keep my mouth tightly sealed shut. At this rate, anything could tick him. I wasn't ready to find out. I glanced at th
Chapter 27Unknown POVSelena walked in a daze to her room. It was barely dawn so she had sneaked out from Axel's room to avoid any prying eyes. The incident from the night before played in her head on repeat. Axel wasn't too glad when she revealed that Asher was the culprit behind the red welts on her neck. He looked angry. And helpless. The conversation from the night before obviously put him in a sour mood as he remained awake when she dozed off and was somehow in the same position when she woke up in the wee hours of the morning. Axel's room was in the North wing, so it took quite a while before she began seeing some familiar places. Even after spending weeks here, the huge mansion still confused her a lot. Unsuspecting, Selena walked without caution, because she was certain no one would be awake at this time. But she was wrong. Cecelia had spent the night with Asher, comforting him and pleasuring him after Selena somehow irked him
Chapter 28Selena's POV I sighed in frustration at the lady standing sassily in front of me. It was still too early to deal with Cecelia's stupid whining so why was she here?Choosing to ignore her, I focused on my breathing as I ran the treadmill. If Cecelia could come all the way out here, she must have something very important to say. "What do you want this time, Cecelia?", I questioned, throwing her a bored look. Cecelia remained quiet, assuming the posture of a badass heroine in an action thriller. Arms folded across her chest, a stern expression on her face, hips cocked to one side and left leg out.Annoyed at her scrutiny, I punched the stop button on the treadmill, jogging slowly as it came to a halt. "Talk. I honestly do not have the energy to deal with you right now", I reached for my bottle, bringing it to my lips as I took large gulps of water. "You sly wench", she shook her head in di
Chapter 29Unknown POV Cecelia was stopped by Axel on her way out of the mansion. He folded his buff arms across his chest, pinning her with his stern look. She knew where the conversation was headed but acted oblivious just to spite him. "We need to talk", he finally spoke. "You're in my way, Alpha", Cecelia replied sassily. She could freely talk to him because they grew up together but as much as they were childhood friends, Cecelia knew there were some lines she couldn't cross. "Cecelia, don't test my patience", he grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards a corner. Cecelia dragged her hand back, cradling the spot he had held unto. "I have an appointment. We can talk later""No. Right now"Axel's resilience caused her to sigh in defeat. "Fine. What do you want?""You know very clearly what I want, Cecelia"Feigning ignorance, she frowned. "No, I don't""Stay away from Se
Chapter 30Selena's POV Axel cradled me in his arms as we talked. In the last thirty minutes, I was certain I had laughed uncontrollably for half of the time. It felt peaceful, knowing he was mine alone. "Let's play a drinking game", Axel suggested. "I'm sorry, honey. Do you have an underlying intention in making me drunk and sloppy?", I dramatically announced. Axel grinned wolfishly. "You've caught me", he conceded. "I have plans for this lady in my arms but I first need to get her drunk"We burst into laughter when I playfully smacked his chest. "You can't reveal your hidden intentions to me""Oh right. My bad"After a few more banter, we left the bed, moving to a table in the room. Axel dramatically presented a bottle of whiskey, with two shot glasses. "Are you ready?", he announced. "No. I don't even know what the game is about""Well, what should we play?", he look
Chapter 31Selena's POV Sweat beaded my forehead as my eyes scanned the room. The familiar surroundings brought a renewed sense of comfort to me. My heart was still palpitating in fear at the scene I just witnessed but it was just a dream. A very vivid dream. Straightening myself from my lying position, I tried to calm my racing heart. My lifted my trembling hands to my hair, pushing the troublesome mass of black from my face. Lily pushed open the door, causing me to jump. "Are you okay?"she stopped at the foot of the bed, watching me carefully. "You jumped just now out of fright. Did something happen?"I swallowed, feeling the sting of my dry throat. "I'm fine", I muster a shaky smile. "I don't know why I suddenly got so startled"Lily seemed satisfied with the answer as she shrugged, moving away. "I completely understand that", she replied. "It happens to me on the worst of days"The pack house must be bustling with activities; by this time, as the clock next to my bed glowed , r
Chapter 140 Axel's POV I walked out of the pack house and into the expanse of land now littered with my pack members. They were in little groups, talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. When they noticed my presence, they immediately fell silent, looking up at me with expectant faces. The last time I stood before them, we were on the verge of making the most important decision of the pack. I've never felt so much appreciation for that day than at this point. More and more werewolves gathered and I leapt onto the elevated stage, facing them. "Night Reapers, it has come to my notice that the pack, Blood Red, has fallen." The whispers rose once more and with a lift of my hand, they were silenced. "You've seen the commotion outside the gates. Those are from the survivors of the pack. They've come to us for help", I paused, surprised that no one said a word. "Now, I bring the decision to your table. What do we do?" The question spurred them into action, some yelled that
Chapter 139 Selena's POV It took two months and five days before we heard any news about the packs. Technically, we heard news of progression and the added advantages the alliance offered to those packs, virtually every Alpha was involved except ours. As far as I was concerned, we were officially cut off. The strategy put in place by Axel worked. We had food, water and basically everything we needed within the pack. It made things considerably easier. No one complained and as days passed, more werewolves came forward as volunteers. Soon, we extended our little plan in agriculture to other aspects, like furniture making, fabric design and then, no distant time I was setting we were making waves. Orion and Zephyr were growing up quickly. Werewolves always had a weird aging style. We grow up quickly, then remain almost dormant before we begin aging slowly. Lily's presence was difficult to come by. She was mostly invested in Blake and I'd be honest when I say that their relati
Chapter 138Selena's POV I took three large gulps of air, like it would be my last moment of peace. Today was the day we were expecting the Alphas and to say the atmosphere was more than tense was an understatement. Axel had come clean to the pack, revealing the details of the visit to every member. He also told them about his decision and gave everyone the chance to either counter his decision or agree with him.Most of them agreed, the few that thought it was reckless were soon convinced that Axel was making the right choice. He gave them his reasons. Then, the topic of how we were going to generate incomes for ourselves even after we cut ourselves off from the other packs arose and Axel gave them the stellar idea on agriculture. The farmers came forward, pledging to give their all while some volunteered to help. By the time dawn broke, we were prepared. As prepared as we could be. "You ready?"
Chapter 137Selena's POV Lily looked like she'd throw up anytime soon while I was simply too stunned to say a word. "Isn't that poisonous?"Lily asked no one in particular, her eyes still fixed on the frog. "I don't think so", Orion answered, inspecting the frog. It was a miracle it hadn't leaped out of his hand and to an unlucky person's face. "Can you let it go, honey?", I coaxed. Orion stared at me with a sad look. "But why?", he whined. "It can be my pet."Except, werewolves don't keep pets. Our wolves were like pets, but on a way deeper level. It was part of us. "No. It can't."We were in a staring contest for at least thirty seconds before he finally gave in. "Whatever", he tossed the frog aside and it landed right on Lily's lap. Before I could react, Lily let out a loud scream. It echoed throughout the clearing and was just about to tear my sensitive eardrums.
Chapter 136Selena's POV For the next few days, we ignored everything. Axel and I focused on nothing else but ourselves and the kids. We had a family day out, of course Blake and Lily decided to tag along and we held a little picnic just for ourselves. Truth was, it was inevitable that Axel would have to give his reply concerning the alliance bug for now, it felt much better to simply live in our own bubble. Orion and Zephyr were bickering on the color of the sky while I lay on the blanket, my eyes shut as I basked in the warm sun. "I can't believe you", Lily was speaking, throwing a punch at Blake. I could tell when he muttered a low 'ouch'."It's serious though", Blake was trying to say. I had tuned out of most of the conversation and the one I had managed to catch snippets of didn't make any sense. I pried my eyelids open, scanning for Axel as he had been awfully quiet. His back was turned to
Chapter 135 Selena's POV "What?", I echoed, the sound loud enough that it bounced off all the walls. "An alliance?" Axel expected my reaction as he barely even reacted to my shrill. I'm certain I had alerted at least half of the staff members. "I thought so too", Axel stated blandly. I rifled through my head, searching for anything that made sense. An alliance between werewolves is nearly impossible, if not completely. That's the reason why it didn't happen, ever. It was way too risky and if not careful could cause war between packs. If Alpha Boris was proposing an alliance and the rest of the Alphas agreed with him, he was either very stupid or desperate. But, what for? "An alliance is...impossible." "I thought so too", he echoed, and I threw him a glare. "Are you even listening?", I asked. "Yes." But I co
Chapter 134Selena's POV The pack gates creaked open, revealing a number of stern faced and cold gazes of the Alphas. Their eyes scanned the crowd for a few seconds before they resumed their walk, soon standing in front of Axel and I.If Axel felt nervous, he didn't show it. His face was set in a stiff position as he watched them in return."What a pleasant surprise", he stated, his voice anything but pleasant or surprised. One of the Alphas chuckled, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Thank you, Alpha Axel", he bowed, a motion which can barely be considered a bow but sufficient enough to pass as one. "What brings you here?", Axel asked, his brows creased as he stared at them all. "I wasn't aware of your visit.""And yet...", the werewolf gestured around him. "There's an entire group waiting.""Information tends to reach us quickly."The werewolf seemed more amused than offended as
Chapter 133Selena's POV "It's not what you think", I pointed out but Lily's amusement poured from her very pores as she stared innocently at Blake. Blake walked slowly into the room, his eyes darting from Lily to me, eyes narrowed. "Uhun", he answered under his breath.I threw a stern glare as Lily let out a muffled laugh and that seemed enough to cause her to straighten up. "Selena's right. I was just being silly. Before Blake could answer, we heard the shuffling of feet outside the door but the thing is, there was more to it than just the occasional movement. They seemed more than panicked. Lily, Blake and I exchanged confused looks before we hopped up, rushing towards the door. My mind drifted to the kids first, knowing Axel would be able to take care of himself. "What's happening?"Blake asked a maid rushing away but she seemed to be too much in her panicked state to realize who was
Chapter 132Selena's POV "Unfortunately, I'm not you", I glared. "Even though I wish with everything in me that I was."Axel's hand was entwined with mine, his thumb tracing lazy circles on it. "I hate you. So much. And I hope you'll suffer for as long as possible for the penance of your wickedness. I hope the world becomes a living hell for you and I hope you never find peace."The cell door creaked open, and my stepmother stepped out, her lips and brows turned down and her neck bent. "Forg...""Letting you go doesn't mean I think of you in a better light than I used to. But, you staying here will just mean you're a part of my life. I don't like that thought."She didn't make a move to say a word which contrasted to the manner which she had used to cut me off whenever I had something to say I'm the past. The cell holding my stepfather opened next. He looked like he had aged a century from