My chest rose and fell heavily as one of the many weird aftermaths of the kiss I’d just shared with my mate. The kiss with her has completely unraveled me and as a stranger to emotions, I had no idea what was raging within me.But it wasn’t just the emotions.The kiss had also felt overwhelmingly powerful, so powerful that I was confused if I was the one in control or if she was somehow dominating me the entire time. It didn't feel like I was in control despite the fact that I was doing all the kissing and she wasn't even kissing back.Kissing had never felt that way for me in my entire life, the few she-wolves I’d fucked meant nothing to me because they’d just been a means for release and I wasn't even particularly attracted to any of them.Then there was my mate, with her I felt an overwhelming desire to devour her by mapping every inch of her body and leaving marks in my wake to remind everyone that she was mine, and mine alone. I was constantly fighting the need to ravish her whol
For the first time in my life, it felt like the moon goddess had turned her back on me and I was going through a series of hardships without a plausible solution in view. I felt that way because it’d been a couple of days since Ethan barged into our secret meeting to overthrow him and his threats had caused most of the royal court members to back off to avoid losing their lives plotting against him.Since then I hadn't been able to come up with a foolproof plan to get rid of Ethan once and for all, and everything I’d thought of seemed feeble and unrealistic because I was up against someone that was empowered by a curse that made him no werewolf’s match.I also couldn't get out the fact that he also had plans to hold a Coronation ceremony soon because that’d mean that he would be king and I’d lose the throne that I’d worked so hard towards succeeding all my life.And as if that wasn't enough, he also had his eyes set on Layla, a woman who’d been a gift sent to me directly from the moon
Castle’s POVUpon Arnold’s orders, I and Nadia left Layla’s chambers and the moment she was out I noticed that she’d immediately turned in the direction where other maids were standing in groups to good off with them.But then I thought, this was my chance to finally ask all the questions that’ve plagued me so I sucked in a deep breath and called out to her.“Excuse me, Nadia?” She turned around to face me slowly like she was contemplating if it was really her name I’d called.“Please, can you spare me a few minutes with you?” My voice betrayed me by being so low I could bet that she’d had to strain her ears to hear me properly.“Uh.... Okay, sure thing” She answered with a confused look and my confidence started to crack a bit.Shit, was it too soon? Should I have waited longer?Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I asked her to “ Come with me”She nodded and we walked away together in awkward silence to a secluded area where she immediately leaned on the wall that wa
Ethan’s POVI decided to take some time to re-familiarize myself with the palace so I headed out to take an evening stroll around the palace. Deep down, I knew that what I wanted to do the most was to seek out my mate and replicate the blissful experience I’d had with her the last time.Yet, I was fully aware of how I seemed I lose control each time I was around her and I didn't enjoy the feeling of not being in control, and I enjoyed it even less when I was relinquishing control to a woman so I decided that a stroll would calm those raging urges momentarily.I planned to walk around the entire expanse of the palace and with every step I took, it unearthed memories of my past that I was forced to bury while I fought to keep my curse in check in the wilderness.The first thing that’d sparked a bunch of memories from my past to flood in was a statue of the moon goddess where I’d pressed my little palms into while it was wet such that my handprints dried with it and they were still visib
Layla’s POVI watched Alpha Arnold in deep thought for a while before he grabbed my hand and placed a delicate kiss on my fingers.“Well, I've got some business to attend to. Send for me the minute anything goes wrong okay?” He caressed my cheek affectionately.“Yeah, I will.” My lips curved into a small smile and he kissed my fingers again just before he turned and left my chambers.The minute he shut the door behind him, I sunk into my bed face first as I felt terrible waves of guilt overwhelm me for lying to Alpha Arnold about the fact that Ethan kissed me. I hated having to lie to him but I was convinced that telling him the truth would cause more harm than could.Judging from how agitated and vengeful he’d gotten the last time he witnessed Ethan pulling me into his room, I knew that he’d go completely feral and go off to attack him if I had mentioned the kiss.As if that wasn't a tough enough ordeal, I was reminded about how my wolf had been awfully quiet at the moment when I nee
Ethan’s POVAfter taking a few strolls around the palace for the last few days, I noticed that the maids and guards were awfully scared of me from how they went dead silent whenever I was passing close by, it almost seemed like they were holding their breaths to avoid getting on my bad side.Some of them seemed so scared that I thought they’d end up pissing their pants from how they looked whenever my eyes landed on them, and to me it was the most fun I've had securing the shit out of people in a long while. To extend my fun even more, I enjoyed taking longer routes around the palace just to feed on their fear.Over the last few days, I’d also found a quiet spot that people rarely walked past behind the palace and Jenkins and I had been taking some well deserved smoke breaks there while we spoke about the affairs of the palace.However, today Jenkins was absent when I arrived at the spot even though he usually arrived there before me, and whenever he was late for anything I knew that
Arnold’s POVAt lunch, I was finally enjoying a semblance of peace after the hectic day I’d had that included me drafting and binning different plots to reclaim my throne. However, I was momentarily free of those worries as I sat beside Layla and we enjoyed our meal in the grand dining room.My favorite part of my meals wasn’t even the food but the fact that Layla was present during all of those meals and her company made all my worries seem small and meaningless. I watched how she took small bites of her food and flashed me an adorable smile each time our eyes met when she looked up and those little things had a way of filling my heart to the brim and bringing me an unusual peace despite the chaos.All of a sudden, I noticed that everywhere had become eerily quiet, and the maids and guards that had been moving around freely while chattering were frozen in place and the stench of fear clouded the entire place like a plague.I was fucking confused and I couldn't imagine what the cause
Layla’s POVI hated it so much.I hated that I even had to endure such a humiliating experience where the man that was responsible for all I could dare to be grateful for was treated with disrespect and disdain in front of the maids and guards.Still, I couldn't help but feel more wary and scared of Ethan than I’d been before I witnessed the manner in which he treated Alpha Arnold. I couldn't even believe that I’d even been slightly intrigued by a man that was so cruel to a blood relation of his, what was I thinking? Well, it’d definitely all gone to dust now.I dragged in a deep breath as I made a vow that I should've made the minute I came in contact with Ethan, a vow to do whatever it would take to ensure that Alpha Arnold retained his position as the rightful heir of the thrown no matter what vile things Ethan would haul at us in the process.I mean, Alpha Arnold had been unbelievably kind to me since the minute we first met, he’d nursed me to recovery after the loss of my foster
Layla’s POV“If you stare at that dress any longer, you’ll burn it to the ground with your gaze” Nadia nagged me as I took one last glance at my wedding dress while I stood at the bathroom door, I was obsessed with it.Beyond obsessed, It’s beauty had become an extra body part of mine.“At least we’d die watching its beautiful flames ascend to the heavens,” I smiled dreamily while still staring at it with lost eyes.“Be fucking for real?” She laughed before she grabbed a button off the dresser and threw it me, luckily I was able to dodge it and if I hadn't it’d have hit my eyes.“You’d explain to Ethan in detail why his bride is walking down the aisle with just one eye” I picked the button up and threw it at her, and it landed on her feet.“If you're not ready in the next hour, there’ll be no bride to scrutinize while she walks down the aisle, I promise you” She shot me a glare just before she took a seat on my bed, pulling her own dress in her lap to admire it.“What? An hour? Why hav
He moved away from me I’d just pushed a dagger through his heart again, there was disbelief, confusion, and pain in his eyes but he only had those emotions because he didn't understand why I’d declined his proposal.After almost spending my life with the wrong man because of guilt, I couldn't say Yes to Ethan while guilt kept eating me up for the great of our lives. I’d be as much of a monster as Arnold was if I take advantage of his feelings for me and jump into marriage when guilt had been plaguing me like it was my second shadow since the day I watched him fall to his death.He stared at me again, long and hard before he walked toward the bed and covered himself in the duvet, an air of uncertainty hovering over him as he delved into thoughts of his own. However, it was as he covered up tag I realized that I was still naked and I slowly walked toward the floor where he’d dropped my dress and picked up. I quietly pulled it over my head and held my arms around my body tightly as thou
Layla’s POVI’d known Joy several times in my life, but the joy I felt as I confirmed that Ethan was real and he’d returned to me was boundless, it felt like an unreal wave of happiness had been injected into my bloodstream and life finally felt worth living again.Like the war was over, and the battle line had been erased, it was surreal.“Are you going to keep staring at me like I'm a ghost?” Ethan laughed as he continued to massage my sore joints.“You might as well be” I reached out and cupped his cheek, yearning to remain in contact with him so he wouldn't disappear into thin air.“Well, I'm real and I'm here, forever this time around” He suddenly pulled me off the bed and onto his laps and I laughed as a yelp left my lips in surprise.“So you can stop staring at me with those alluring orbs of yours” He pulled my face toward him and kissed my forehead, not the quick kind that would pass as a peck, this one lingered like he was trying to touch my soul through physical touch.God,
Layla’s POVNo, no fucking way.It was him all along? Arnold killed my foster parents? He’d watched me mourn them knowing that he’d orchestrated everything because they rejected his advances toward me?“They were all I had, and you knew that! How dare you speak of their deaths so lightly, you monster!” I screamed my lungs out in anger not caring what he’d do to me.Much to my surprise, a smile covered his face showing that he was pleased that I was in so much pain because of what he’d done, my heart was being torn into countless shreds as I recalled that there was a time when I loved him and I considered marrying him not knowing what a sick and twisted bastard he was deep down.“You watched me grieve them, you watched me turn into a shell of myself, you watched me be bitter that I’d lost the last links to learning of my heritage,” My chest heaved like bomb was ticking within it as I spoke.“You watched me almost lose myself and you promised me that you’d find the beast that killed the
Arnold’s POVThe day had come.The night hour had just struck, and I was about to recover all I’d lost and much more.“Are you ready?” I asked Hera who’d been seated in front of her crystal spell casting bowl and brr spell book for the past hour.“Never been more ready” She smiled at me so brightly it could’ve illuminated the underground hideout if we switched off all the other lights, her motivation was endearing to say the least.“Go ahead and cast the spell then” I flashed her a smile as well but mine was subtle and filled with anticipation.She nodded eagerly before she crossed her legs before her and held her hands out over the bowl, from where I was I could see that a visual of crescent valley had appeared in the water that filled the bowl like a reflection and I watched her mouth move as she muttered words in an unknown ancient language.I wasn't very close to her and yet I could feel the enormous amount of power radiating from her as she rolled her head from side to side and t
Arnold’s POVHera looked like she was about to offload the heaviest weight that had ever been on her shoulders and I just stared at her wishing that I could look through her and draw it out of her myself, still Hera was the only person of worth I had on my side so I decided to be patient with her as opposed to the thought in my mind where I was half considering yelling at her and shaking it out of her forcefully.“How long before you actually use your words?” I finally asked impatiently after about six minutes of deafening and irritating silence had passed by.She looked as though my words had just jolted her out of her train of thoughts and she replaced the lost look on her face with her usual demeanor that oozed confidence, raw and undiluted confidence.“You’re a beast, Arnold” She said while her eyed bored into mine searching for a befitting reaction to her revelation.Unknown to her, her words would've hurt and surprised me a few months ago, but as I heard them it only felt like a
Hera’s POVWeeks had gone by and each day I felt crazier than the last being holed up in a disgusting dungeon that wasn't fit for royalty such as myself.Layla had replaced all the guards that were loyal to me during her reign with guards from Ethan’s rogue army and they all hated me so my seductive tricks didn't work on them. I was hoping that I’d be able to seduce one of them into setting me free but they looked at me with disdain each time they came to fling plates of food at me every morning and evening so I eventually gave up on that plan.Life seemed hopeless and it felt like the moon goddess had finally abandoned me and shut her ears to my prayers, nothing was working out and it seemed like I’d suffered so much to reach the peak of my dreams just to have it shattered by a teenage whore.Still, I tried to pull through.It was night now and I was trying to fall asleep by replaying my happiest memories in my mind, the beautiful and wholesome moments that I’d spent as Queen before
Layla’s POVThe entire palace was still buzzing with life in the early hours of the morning as preparations from my impromptu coronation were in full swing. I could hear the clustering and swooshing all around as I woke up in the master bedroom that I’d taken over seeing as I was about to be made the official queen of Crescent Valley.As I stretched out my arms, I heard a soft rap on the door.“Who’s there?” I called out in a sleepy voice.“It's me, Nadia” Her soothing voice responded from behind the door.“Come on in” I yawned in between the words and drew my silk pink robe tightly around my waist as she opened the doors.“Hello your highness! How does it feel to be mere hours away from a coronation at eighteen?” Nadia swayed from side to side with some dresses held tightly to her chest and I guessed that there were the selections for the event.“Uh, nervous?” I told her truthfully as I made my way toward the bathroom to freshen up.“You’ll do amazing while making waves in the ancien
Layla’s POVHera’s eyes were blazing with a deadly anger, a type of anger that the old me would've been terrified of if she saw how it radiated off of her, but it was a good thing that I’d buried the timid me in the wilderness before I returned for the throne.“You can either leave peacefully or meet a disgraceful end that whores like you should be accorded” Hera’s eyes held a venomous look that didn't scare me one bit as she threw her empty and ridiculous threats at me.“That crown, that throne, this kingdom…” I punched toward her as I spoke and I could see a hint of surprise flash through her eyes on seeing how much nerves I’d gathered.“All of it belongs to me and I’d love to watch you come at me so we’d see whose blood would end up tainting these floors” My orbs changed from golden brown to the piercing red shade I took when I transformed into a witch.“How dare you!? You! A worthless rat that should’ve been left in the gutters where you belonged! How fucking dare you address me t