Leila’s POVHe was fixing up a room for her? By himself?My mind was racing with a million questions, and not the kind that anyone could proffer answers to. Only a deity who oversaw all could help me make sense of Kai’s obsession with Cora, especially after he’d ingested a shit ton of the supposed fate-altering red rose I risked my ass to get.How the hell was he fighting it off? I mean, I knew he was strong but I thought it was just against physical warfare, not the supernatural. The mere fact that he had chosen the worst possible time to show how boundless his strength and determination could be pissed me the hell out.“I just need one more shot at Cora’s life, and this time, I won't miss the target” I looked into my scrying mirror while I waited for it to locate Cora.I barely made use of the scrying mirror to spy on my enemies within the palace because it drew an unimaginable amount of power from me to keep it connected to a magical source. It was usually a last resort when I’d ex
Leila’s POV“Is he okay? Why was he he—” my statement was cut off when I lost my balance on the shelf and fell on my ass.You’re not weak Leila, you can't afford to be.Rene gasped loudly and ran over to my side on seeing my fall, “ God, Miss, are you feeling well?”Her hands went around my back and she pulled me into a sitting position while I struggled to keep myself grounded. I was becoming weaker by the second because I hadn't even taken a minute to rest but I didn't care, I had to protect Kai by any means necessary.“You’re burning up, Miss,” Rene diagnosed after using the back of her palm to feel my forehead and neck.“I did a scrying spell,” I confessed mindlessly as my eyes fluttered weakly where I laid against a shelf.I didn't know if Rene enjoyed gasping, but she gasped loudly again on hearing that.“Alone? Scrying spells are far too demanding to be done alone,” She recited as though I hadn't taught her that in her first year under my wing.“Are you strong enough to do a si
Leila’s POV Kol? I knew I’d seen a familiar figure. The same cowardly asshole that’d made my last trip nothing worth remembering? How did such a lousy excuse for a man get into a cult as powerful as that? How could he have ensured that a closed off tunnel was opened for his secret meeting? How the hell was he sleek enough to do treacherous shit under Kai’s nose? Kol didn't even have the balls to stand in the presence of a mystical being in the body of a little girl so how could he be some brilliant mastermind? He’d really fooled me with that act. “When you're finished, pick your jaw off the floor and leave” He said in a shockingly authoritative voice. At this point, I wasn't even focused on the order he’d given, I was simply trying to recover from my initial shock upon seeing him. It shouldn't surprise me as much as it did since I was a cunning person whose survival depended on covering my tracks, but Kol hadn't just covered his tracks, he’d buried them in his cowardly persona
Kai’s POVNot her, God.“Alpha Kai, are you okay?” Levi’s hand grabbed my shoulders and shook me firmly.When I looked up at him, I realized that I’d unknowingly crouched beside Leila’s dead body and I was absentmindedly checking for a pulse. It was a fucking dumb thing to do especially because I could clearly see the hole in her chest that indicated that her heart had been ripped out.And no, I wasn't okay.Leila was bound to my hip from the first day we shared a morsel of bread together, and although I hated sentimental shit, I hadn't forgotten the promise we’d made to each other that day to live so long that we’d become elders.“H—ho… how?” I dragged in a ragged breath because of how heavy that question had made my chest feel.Recently, I’d been asking questions that I didn't want the answers to, but they were necessary questions so I couldn't exactly avoid them. From the moment I’d identified the dead body to be Leila’s, a feeling of dread caused a hole to plummet in my intestines
Cora’s POVI woke up to a throbbing pain in my arm because of how I’d slept the night before. I’d been scribbling down a poem to calm my nerves the night before and I’d gotten stuck on the fourth line, and then nothing else made sense after that.A while after my creative block struck, I’d started to feel sleepy but I didn’t get up from my desk because I hated to leave the poem unfinished. Well, nature bit me in the ass and I fell asleep with my arm under my head while seated in an incredibly uncomfortable position.Awakening with a throbbing pain was the least of my problems though, and I’d now decided that I very much hated the poem I’d written so I tore off the paper, squeezed it into a ball and threw it in the bin.“Good morning, wildcat,” Kai’s voice seeped through the door to indicate that he’d not left my door all night.It must’ve been how the paper hit the bin that alerted him of my being awake, and now I was contemplating retrieving the poem and using the lines to end him in
Cora’s POV“Mhmm” I shifted further into the hard body that was over mine like a blanket.Then I shifted again, and again.“Cora….” Kai’s raspy sleepy voice sent goosebumps crawling over my skin as I pushed my ass even further into his crotch.My entire body was raging with a desire for him that was impossible to explain, I just needed to be in his skin, his milky flawless skin.“Good morning to you too,” I turned over and claimed his lips in a soft, slow kiss before pulling away to smile at him.That got his attention and his eyes flew open in surprise, but my eyes remained fixed on his plump lower lip that I’d made a deeper shade of pink by kissing. Instinctively, I reached out and ran my finger over his lower lip and a low groan left his lips in response, and of course my body responded to that by sending heat right to my core.“It’s a little past midnight,” He remarked in a strained voice “I think we must've somehow slept through the whole day”I didn't care about any of those obs
Cora’s POVThe smoke signal was slowly dissipating already but I tried to trace is origin from where it looked the thickest and I confirmed that it was coming from beyond the palace fences.That was all it took to figure out that it’d been set off by my partner; the shadow.I had absolutely no clue how he/she always managed to find me and send cryptic messages that only I would understand, but the shadow’s ability to be so attentive to details and an an ardent planner were things I truly admired.Those attributes also made it easier to trust my mystery partner because they were essential in plotting the defeat of a powerful man like Kai whose enemies had been clumsy in their attempts to execute him, myself inclusive.Fucking go already, my wolf urged me as though she wasn't as whipped with Kai as I was.In fact, she seemed oddly at peace and filled with contentment whenever I was with him but since I knew that both our loyalties were still tied to our deceased pack, I understood why s
Kai’s POV“Uh, thanks” She mumbled with a small smile covering her perfectly coated red lips.I’d never get over how adorable she looked whenever she turned red from being complimented, it was in those moments that I realized that despite her hard shell Cora was still a feminine woman with sweet little quirks.“I’m starving over here,” She crossed her legs and my eyes feasted on the beautiful skin of her thighs that were now exposed to me.“Just a few minutes, Milady,” I curtseyed playfully and she shot me a mean glare instead of a small like I’d expected.“I didn't know you were a grumpy ass while hungry,” I walked over to the light switch to dim them before I made my way over to the drawers to pull out scented candle sticks.While doing that, Cora didn't respond to me still, she just sat down and followed my movements with her eyes like a she’d pounce on me any second from now. And in many ways, I was scared for my life as her gaze narrowed angrily while I lit the candles on the tab
Cora’s POV“Bitch, if you don’t get back in there!” Nina caught me just before I could sneak out to Kai’s chambers. “Man, you’re such a cockblocker,” I blew a raspberry at her and rolled my eyes in annoyance before stepping back into the room. “It’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride while she’s fully dressed and you know it,” she entered right after me. Maybe If I’d snuck out the second after she left I’d have met up with Kai for a quickie and I’d be back before she could come and spew rubbish myths to keep me away from him. “That’s a myth and whoever came up with it is clearly a hater!” I sunk into my chair, fully dressed in the most stunning wedding dress I’d ever seen all my life. “I’ll let you get away with that only because it’s your wedding day,” Nina chucked a purple flower in her hair to match her chief bridesmaid’s dress. “It’s my wedding day!” I squealed so loudly that Nina had to use both palms to block her eyes while smiling at me. I still couldn’t believe it.
Kai’s POVLevi’s pain strengthened me even more, he had no idea.“In your next life, when you get an opportunity to kill your enemy, don’t be an egoistic bastard by waiting to organize a lousy ceremony first and just fucking do it!” I gave him the last piece of valuable advice he’d ever get.“C-Cora….” tears dropped down his face as he fixed his desperately pleading eyes on my woman.“You brought this on yourself, Levi. I’d never have grown to love or trust a man that could betray someone he’d sworn an oath of eternal loyalty to, it just meant that you could switch up on me someday too,” she surprised me by intertwining her fingers with my bloody ones as she spoke.“I could never ever betray you, Cora. You’re my fated true love, and it’s not too late to leave this deceitful monster and save me,” my blood began to boil all over again as I watched him plead with her.I gave him one fatal blow to the jaw and he dropped to the floor groaning.“Stop fucking talking to her, you dead meat!”
Levi’s POVIt was today.The day I’d watch Kai meet an embarrassing end just before all of his power was transferred to my deserving arms. The gods knew that I would’ve been better suited to be blessed with his boundless abilities and fate had finally turned things in my favor.“Are you prepared for the ritual?” I practically whispered as I bent towards the elderly men that were meant to perform the soul swapping ritual.They dropped their hoods at the same time and nodded in a slow synchronized movement, “As prepared as the gods permits their servants to be.”Creepily, that was also said in unison before the covered their hoods again in one swift motion and walked off towards the lifted stage where Kai’s body would be placed for the public execution. As weird and disturbing as their identical movements were, it didn’t deplete my excitement about the execution ceremony.“Welcome all,” I stood to my feet as I began to address the hundreds of people in attendance.“You have come from lan
Levi’s POVI knocked on Cora’s door again when I didn’t get a response.“It’s me Levi, are you in?” I called out.A few seconds passed and then I heard a door open that signified that she must’ve been in the bathroom when I knocked earlier.“I’ll be right there, give me a minute,” her sweet voice called out and I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.I tapped my feet on the floor as I waited for her, and then finally she pulled the door open.“You wanna come in?” she moved aside as she pulled the door open.Her hair looked a bit wet, her cheeks were glistening like they’d been oiled and she was wearing the most adorable little pink dress paired with white cute flats. Even before now, I was always eager to see what she’d wear every single day, but it was more fulfilling now because she was all mine to ogle.“Nah, there’s something I have to show you,” I grabbed her wrist and began leading her away from the room.“You mind telling me where we’re headed?” she finally asked after we’d ta
Levi’s POV“Has she gotten the bouquets?” I asked the maid that I’d sent on an errand earlier.“Yes, sir. I delivered them first thing in the morning,” she answered with a bow and I waved her off.The morning of the day we’d overpowered Kai, I remembered watching him gather flowers after he’d thought I left on a tax collecting trip. I watched him make them into a huge bouquet and I was pretty irritated that he thought flimsy flowers would fix all the damage he’d done to Cora when he regarded her as an enemy.However, it had given me a brilliant Idea.I decided that I’d send a bouquet or more to Cora’s room every morning with a heart warming note just to remind her of how precious she was to me. She never failed to thank me for it at breakfast and it made my heart swell. I loved that I’d finally gotten the chance to woo her and I knew I’d do a far better job than Kai could ever have.Speaking of that monster, Kai, I was skipping breakfast to go and see him in the dungeon, to see how muc
Cora’s POVI woke up in a pool of my own sweat.My eyes searched the room to see if the beast in my dreams had crossed into reality by some chance for an opportunity to continue torturing me, but I was lucky that that hadn't happened. The only other person in the room was Nina, not a grizzly monster.She was curled up into a ball on her mattress and she was buried so far into the duvet that I could only see her eyes and a bit of her forehead. And yes, she was crashing here because of the nightmares.The same horrid nightmares that had been recurring for a while now.After the first two nights, I’d told Nina about it because she noticed the heavy eye bags underneath my eyes and then she’d scolded me for not speaking up earlier before gathering most of her things and moving into my room.Oh, trust me, I protested. I assured her that it wouldn't happen again, but she gave me the ‘this isn't up for debate’ look and did as she pleased.Carefully, I moved off the bed and walked over to sit a
Kai’s POVI could smell her, so I knew she was near.Her scent was refreshing and intoxicating and I wished I could drown myself in it one last time, just once. I knew I looked like absolute crap but I was still eager to see her, to look at her and search her eyes for any feelings of remorse, to find out if the memories we shared meant anything to her.As much as my determination to kill Levi for betraying me was one of my driving forces for staying alive, the primary reason that I hadn't let my spirit break was because I was desperate to see Cora again.Delusions aside, I was ready to break my chains and make things right with her.I tuned my ears to the sounds of her footsteps as she neared, heels clacking on the cemented hallway she was walking down to reach the torture dungeon.One might tag me as a helpless fool, but I felt a tad excited to gaze upon her stunning face again.“You look like shit,” was the first thing that left her lipstick clad lips as she pulled the door of the d
As I walked behind her toward the dining hall, I couldn't help but admire every single detail that was in my view.Her body was clad tightly in a lovely purple dress—a color that signified royalty which was what she’d finally become now that Kai was put away— that made my insides ache as her full hips swayed in it, her legs were being carried in black heels that made her look elegant, and her hands were accessorized with pure golden bangles that matched the necklace she was wearing.The only thing that was out of place was the crystal bracelet that rested in between the golden bangles, but that didn't matter.All that mattered was that she’d dressed up for me.I remember how incredibly jealous I usually felt whenever she dressed up for Kai, especially because she was always so gorgeous and she still treated her like bird poop. I’d never make her feel that way, how could I even dare?“Have I mentioned how stunning you look tonight, Cora?” I asked as we finally stepped into the dining h
Levi’s POVKai’s face? Priceless.The mere fact that he’d been cocky enough to assume that I’d be blindly loyal to him despite how much of a monster he was made it glaringly obvious that he was nothing but a muscled idiot. So, seeing the shock on his face when he realized that I’d betrayed him was far more rewarding than I’d thought it’d be.Nothing could've prepared me for how powerful and satisfied I’d been when I saw him looking raggedy and helpless in chains.He’d brought his miserable fate upon himself and I was beyond pleased that the moon goddess had chosen me to put him in his place. I strongly believed that everything was set in stone on the very day that Kai had unintentionally exposed his weakness to me.I still recall that day like it was an hour ago.Kai had been drunk to stupor after our first major win, we’d conquered an army of almost a hundred and fifty thousand werewolves with an army of only two hundred werewolves. Kai had intentionally subdued the beast within him i