Damien's POVFor a moment, I sat stunned by the audacity of my council. How could they presume to tell me what to do?How dare they tell me to change Kiara? That was a decision that I would make on my own at her discretion and not theirs."Who do you think you are to make that demand?" I growled and the entire table fell silent. I knew that Kiara would never agree and this would end up being another sore point between us. I recalled the last few days of bliss before that assassin had come to ruin everything. I would fix that in due time but the past few days had to have been the best in my life. It had just been Kiara and me before the world intruded. I didn't want to lose the peace and stability we had attained in that time and if the council wanted to stand against me then I would show them why I was the King and they were the council. Garrett spoke up and I was surprised because he had always been so level headed in the last. I wondered what had changed since then. "The counc
Dorian's POVI couldn't believe that Ashly just threw herself in the line of fire for me. I had been so sure that she had found her way out if the room, the moment that things had done south. And now she was going to die for it if Damien had any say in the matter. I watched Ashly sway almost lifelessly in Damien's arms as her struggles finally ceased. I had told Kiara that I would never forgive Keturah he'll, I had told her as well but as I watched Damien strangle her for attempting to save me, I knew that I would never live with myself if I allowed this to happen. Damien dropped her to the ground and I noticed her chest lift and come down again. She was still alive. I just had to keep her that way. Damien moved and I knew that he was going for the kill. I stepped in front of him. "Stop!"Damien stopped but not because of my words, I think I had shocked him by choosing to save Keturah's life after what she had done to me. I was a little shocked myself. "Why do you want to spare
Ashly's POVWhen I opened my eyes, I was in the pack infirmary and Shaun was in the chair next to me, his face, a picture of worry and my traitorous heart skipped a beat. His brown eyes met mine and I saw relief bloom in them. "Hey." My voice was a croak, my throat still hurting from where Damien held me and my back and side hurt. He must have hit me there and or dropped me from such a height that it still hurt even now. "Hey." Shaun replied with a small smile on his face that had no right to make him look so handsome. As I tried to sit up somewhat, his arms wrapped around me and after he assisted me in sitting up, his arms lingered as he pulled me into a watkrm embrace, his head nestled in my neck. "Shaun." I breathed and his arms around me tightened but he seemed to know where my injuries were so he did it in such a way that he didn't aggravate my injuries.I took in his scent feeling unusually safe in his hold and basking in it. When he pulled away, he didn't move away full
Damien"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked Kiara who was now looking away sheepishly refusing to meet my gaze. How could Keturah have tried poisoning her and I was only just getting to know about it?I thought back to when I had thanked her for looking after Kiara in my abscence. I noticed that the atmosphere between her and Kiara had been tense but this was the last thing I had been expecting. Poison?I gripped Kiara's arm forcibly keeping her attention on me. "Kiara, I am asking you a question.""You want to know why? Fine I'll tell you."Kiara's face tightened and shr pulled herself out of my hold. "Because I didn't want you to blow this out of proportion like you usually do every single issue!"What was she even saying? She had kept the truth to herself about something as important as this simply because she wanted to stop me from over reacting? Was finding out about my mate being poisoned not a reason to get angry? To react? I wasn't over reacting. I was reacting plain and simpl
Ashly's POVHaving someone who cared about you was more addictivep than I would have imagined. Shaun was next to me at all times and when I declared that I was done staying at the hospital, he was not pleased. "You should still stay in the pack hospital until you are given a clean bill of health."Goddess, I wasn't so breakable was I? I was a werewolf who had fought many fights, something that he was forgetting. I could take a few beatings without dying. Even now as we went to my room, his arm was firm around my waist steadying my every step. "Shaun, he only tossed me around a little, I promise, I am good."He looked skeptical as he pushed my room door open so that we could enter. It felt weird staying here. This was the room of the Luna of the Black Wolves Pack. I was no longer that person even though it wasn't common knowledge so was it really fine for me to occupy this room?But on the flip side, we couldn't go back to Shaun's room. It would make it too obvious for anyone with
Ashly's POVPreparations for the duel were already underway in the Black Wolves Pack and the atmosphere was tense with anticipation. For me it was only a bu king sense of dread and impending doom because I knew what was coming. Shan and I couldn't leave again after he found out about the He no longer seemed upset about keeping things from his friend. Intact he wanted to be around for it.He met my gaze honestly immediately after he found out about it."I can't leave yet."I already knew that but I had begun to hope against all hopes that something would change and I would be able to leave with Shaun before this time by we couldn't abandon "I would never ask that of you."Shaun seemed relieved at my words, pulling me into a comforting hug."Thank you."Today was the day if the duel and Amy time how, King Damien would be around, he would come to take care part in this duel and kill Dorian. I knew what my part was and I thought about it a lot. After much thought, my decision was ma
Ashly's POVIt was time for the duel and while Damien was in his spot, Dorian was missing. We stood for close to thirty minutes waiting for Dorusn to appear while I knew fully well that he would not show. The moment that Damien realized that he had been had, he turned to me immediately, his teeth bared in rage. "Where is he hiding?!"I didn't shake. Not when the entire pack was watching. Besides I felt that the moment I showed an iota of weakness, Damien would rip me apart."I have no idea."A more vicious growl left him and he was even closer to me now, his face a mask of fury."I said where is he hiding?!"I stepped up to him, my voice climbing almost as high as his was. "I don't know! Yelling at me will not make him appear."This seemed to cow him or maybe he just realized how much of an asshole while looked like shouting at a woman whose mate was missing. Then he snarled almost derisively. "I should have known, wolves like you have no sense of pride. Of course he would disap
Dorian's POVShe betrayed me once more and maybe it was foolish of me to have expected her to turn over a new leaf in the first place when I knew the extent of her depravityThe moment that Shaun entered the dungeon's and the realization dawned on his face I saw something I could only call regret on Ashly's face. I think what stared me was the fact that I could gave swirn that emotion was the most genuine that I had ever seen on her because it only existed in that fragmented moment between him calling out her name and her taking to her heels. I had not realized thst they were close to the extent where Shaun's beliefs about her mattered so much that she would feel even slightly bothered about what he would think after he found out that she was behind my abduction. Immediately she bolted, Shaun hesitated them he went after her. From the moment she bolted to the moment that I heard his approaching footsteps, thought about that moment of hesitation, that hint of regret…Was there somet