It would've been better if he had just killed her off, at least he wouldn't have false hope. But now, what was he supposed to do?Well, according to the old hag — nothing. Absolutely nothing. He and the rest of his people would have to wait until whatever supernatural power allegedly bestowed on Astrid would come to life and save them. But until then….Ragnar let out an exasperated exclamation and sent a nearby object hurtling across the room. The crash echoed through the throne room and the shattered remnant laid on the floor. -:-Astrid watched as the maids and servants darted through the hallways, their faces etched with panic. Some scribbled hastily on pieces of parchment, letters to loved ones perhaps, while others huddled together in frantic conversations.As Astrid moved through the scene, wary eyes followed her every step. Their accusatory glances bore into her. Pausing near a window, she gazed out at the red fog that cloaked the skiesShe knew why they gazed at her like
The three elders occupied their seats, watching with wary eyes as Ragnar paced the room furiously, while Ryan stood nearby. Ragnar's jaw tensed, his fists clenched as the surge of anger boiled within him. His face bore a scowl, his gaze laced with fury that laid rooted in the depths of his eyes. Every step he took echoed the storm raging within him.He fought to control himself and tried to suppress the rage, making it hard for anyone in the room to remain unaffected. He wanted to pick up every single thing — and person in that room and shatter them into pieces, but even that won’t be able to calm the anger that roared in him. Amidst the hard-as-rock tension that existed in the throne room, he cleared his throat, "Your Lordship, will you be visiting Lilith in the hospital? The doctor has informed me that she has come to be." "Never." Ragnar hissed, not even pausing his pace to give Ryan a glance. "But your Lordship—" Ryan began, only to be silenced by the violent crash of a vas
The three elders occupied their seats, watching with wary eyes as Ragnar paced the room furiously, while Ryan stood nearby. Ragnar's jaw tensed, his fists clenched as the surge of anger boiled within him. His face bore a scowl, his gaze laced with fury that laid rooted in the depths of his eyes. Every step he took echoed the storm raging within him. He fought to control himself and tried to suppress the rage, making it hard for anyone in the room to remain unaffected. He wanted to pick up every single thing — and person in that room and shatter them into pieces, but even that won’t be able to calm the anger that roared in him. Amidst the hard-as-rock tension that existed in the throne room, he cleared his throat, "Your Lordship, will you be visiting Lilith in the hospital? The doctor has informed me that she has come to be." "Never." Ragnar hissed, not even pausing his pace to give Ryan a glance. "But your Lordship—" Ryan began, only to be silenced by the violent crash of a
-Astrid watched as the maids and servants darted through the hallways, their faces etched with panic. Some scribbled hastily on pieces of parchment, letters to loved ones perhaps, while others huddled together in frantic conversations. As Astrid moved through the scene, wary eyes followed her every step. Their accusatory glances bore into her. Pausing near a window, she gazed out at the red fog that cloaked the skies She knew why they gazed at her like that and if she were in their shoes, she would do the same as well. Wasn't she supposed to be the savior, the one who would bring an end to this calamity? Yet, even the harvested crops within the palace walls rotted away, and the storehouses filled with spoiled food. She was supposed to do something — anything, not necessarily because of the people of this Kingdom, she hated them and they hated her. But, she had a feeling that this extended far beyond the walls of this Kingdom. Others were in danger as well. She sighed, he
CHAPTER THIRTY–NINEAstrid was escorted through the gates by a pair of stern-faced guards. Her arms ached from being tightly gripped for the past two hours, and her legs throbbed with exhaustion as she stumbled over the uneven ground.Finally reaching the border, the guards released their hold on Astrid's arms, allowing her to rub the tender spots where their fingers had dug in. She winced at the pain but tried to hide her discomfort behind a stoic facade.As she caught her breath, one of the guards stepped forward, his voice gruff as he delivered a warning. "You are never to cross this border again. If you do, you'll be killed on sight."She didn't say a word, neither did she move a muscle. She couldn't care less about their threats. In fact, she was absolutely relived she was free from that kingdom. Honestly, whoever had framed her had just given her a blessing in disguise. She was free and could return back to her brother and the settlement. She was honestly ecstatic. “Do you un
CHAPTER THIRTY–NINEAstrid was escorted through the gates by a pair of stern-faced guards. Her arms ached from being tightly gripped for the past two hours, and her legs throbbed with exhaustion as she stumbled over the uneven ground.Finally reaching the border, the guards released their hold on Astrid's arms, allowing her to rub the tender spots where their fingers had dug in. She winced at the pain but tried to hide her discomfort behind a stoic facade.As she caught her breath, one of the guards stepped forward, his voice gruff as he delivered a warning. "You are never to cross this border again. If you do, you'll be killed on sight."She didn't say a word, neither did she move a muscle. She couldn't care less about their threats. In fact, she was absolutely relived she was free from that kingdom. Honestly, whoever had framed her had just given her a blessing in disguise. She was free and could return back to her brother and the settlement. She was honestly ecstatic. “Do you un
CHAPTER FOURTY-THREEAstrid's heart raced as U.T. delivered the news of Tran's disappearance. Confusion clouded her mind as she struggled to comprehend how he could simply have vanished without a trace. "How is that possible?" She exclaimed. "He was with you and the others. How could he just disappear?"U.T. shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted, "We were foraging together, and when I turned around, he was gone. There was no sign of a struggle, no indication that anyone else was there. It's like he vanished into thin air."Astrid's stomach churned with unease as she tried to piece together what could have happened. "Did anyone hear or see anything unusual?" He shook his head again, "No," his tone was voice heavy with disappointment. "It was quiet. Too quiet."Astrid's mind raced with possibilities, each one more terrifying than the last. She couldn't shake the feeling of dread that settled over her like a suffocating blanket. "We need to find him," She declared. "We'll searc
As the thief turned back to look at the individual standing there. He ran out of the scene for his dear life and this surprised Asmeria. Was this a higher ranked thief? She thought. Was he going to beat her up now and kill her? She couldn't die like this. Not in their condition. “Are… are you going to kill me?” She asked and he looked at her with a stunned expression. “I don't have anything. He took it already.” “So because my aura made a thief flee, you see me as one too? I didn't expect you to be so judgemental when I first met you.” He said with a small smile. He was lavishly dressed in an expensive robe and she could tell he was wealthy, but what does he want from her? “The first time you met me?” Asmeria asked him with a raised brow. She didn't know if it was her weakness but she tried to search her memory for wherever she had met this stranger but nothing came up and all she felt was more headache and she forced herself to keep her eyes open. “I'm sorry, I can't remember you.
Huncho absolutely hated the smell of cigarettes. But as the second–in–command to Astrid, the leader of the Viper Rogues, he was around her most of the time and had to endure through it. The woman loved a good smoke. His tattoo gun paused mid action as he met Astrid's gaze with a faint smirk on his lips, "You're stoned as fuck—you would most likely not feel anything even if your chest was split open." he quipped. "You might even laugh." She flashed a brief, amused grin. The irony in Kai's statement wasn't lost to her— especially considering the fact that she had only just slit a woman's chest open yesterday. And indeed, she did laugh. How could she not? Her sworn enemy's wife was bleeding to death in front of her. It had filled her with delight. Next, she was going to go for Ragnar himself. But her father kept telling her she wasn't ready to take on Ragnar, and then he would go on to tell her how immeasurably powerful he was and how she needed more training to defeat him. She w
CHAPTER SEVENA few weeks after the captured blood rogues were killed, a heavy fog filled the land. This got the people talking, but the fog cleared away in a few days. Astrid tried to warn Ragnar to return the Moon Stone to her people. She didn't care if he planned on killing her, but he should return what belonged to her people. Ragnar tells her the stone doesn't belong to her people, but with his. He tells her it was stolen from them many years ago, just then they are interrupted by Ragnar's Beta, Ryan Holster—who was the only one that treated Astrid like a human in the pack. When Ryan arrives, Ragnar accused himself and walked away, leaving the two. Here, Ryan offers Astrid food and they talk. Astrid finds herself smiling again due to Ryan's conversation even with everything going on, she begins to see him in another light. When Ragnar returned back to the room, he notices the chemistry between Astrid and Ryan and he gets jealous. He orders that Astrid be sent back to the dung
Ragnar looked ahead, seeing that Astrid was closing up on him fast. He couldn't do anything—she was already too close for him to evade, the only option left was to fight back.And he just couldn't.Despite how revolting it was that she was his mate, he couldn't hurt her—hurting her would mean hurting himself, the pain of a hurt mate would leave the other with an immeasurable pain. With a growl, Astrid’s claw landed a powerful swipe on Ragnar's face. The force of the blow left a searing mark, and blood dripped from the fresh wound."I'm going to kill you for what you've done, Ragnar." Astrid seethed. However, as Astrid readied herself for the next strike, a sudden and unexpected change seized her.Astrid froze mid-motion, her eyes widening in astonishment.It was the scent of a mate.The realization hit Astrid like a thunderbolt, and she hesitated, her predatory instincts immediately subdued. Her gaze locked with Ragnar's again, and in that charged moment, they both felt the undeni
Ragnar looked ahead, seeing that Astrid was closing up on him fast. He couldn't do anything—she was already too close for him to evade, the only option left was to fight back.And he just couldn't.Despite how revolting it was that she was his mate, he couldn't hurt her—hurting her would mean hurting himself, the pain of a hurt mate would leave the other with an immeasurable pain. With a growl, Astrid’s claw landed a powerful swipe on Ragnar's face. The force of the blow left a searing mark, and blood dripped from the fresh wound."I'm going to kill you for what you've done, Ragnar." Astrid seethed. However, as Astrid readied herself for the next strike, a sudden and unexpected change seized her.Astrid froze mid-motion, her eyes widening in astonishment.It was the scent of a mate.The realization hit Astrid like a thunderbolt, and she hesitated, her predatory instincts immediately subdued. Her gaze locked with Ragnar's again, and in that charged moment, they both felt the undeni
CHAPTER TWENTY–FOURREID'S POINT OF VIEW My heart raced as I watched Kiara emerge from Nyla's bedroom, stomping out angrily. Dread washed over me as I wondered what Kiara had said to her. Without a second thought, I hurried to Nyla's room, my pulse pounding in my ears.I honestly don't understand what was going through her head, why was she being insecure? And projecting her insecurity on Nyla? As I reached the doorway, my eyes widened in shock at the sight before me—Nyla stood amidst her bags, her movements hurried and frantic. Panic surged through me as I realized what she was doing.She was packing out. Again, what on earth had she told Nyla? "Nyla, what's going on?" I blurted out, my voice coming out more urgent than I intended as I stepped into the room.She paused, dropping the clothes in her hands and turning to face me. "Nyla, please," I pleaded as I took a step closer to her. "You can't let Kiara's words dictate your actions. You have to ignore her. Don't let her get to y
CHAPTER SEVENA few weeks after the captured blood rogues were killed, a heavy fog filled the land. This got the people talking, but the fog cleared away in a few days. Astrid tried to warn Ragnar to return the Moon Stone to her people. She didn't care if he planned on killing her, but he should return what belonged to her people. Ragnar tells her the stone doesn't belong to her people, but with his. He tells her it was stolen from them many years ago, just then they are interrupted by Ragnar's Beta, Ryan Holster—who was the only one that treated Astrid like a human in the pack. When Ryan arrives, Ragnar accused himself and walked away, leaving the two. Here, Ryan offers Astrid food and they talk. Astrid finds herself smiling again due to Ryan's conversation even with everything going on, she begins to see him in another light. When Ragnar returned back to the room, he notices the chemistry between Astrid and Ryan and he gets jealous. He orders that Astrid be sent back to the dung
NYLA'S POINT OF VIEW Sometime during the drive, I stirred from my sleep, my eyes fluttering open to find Reid beside me, his features softened in slumber. I took a moment to study him, my gaze tracing the contours of his face as he leaned against the window glass. He looked so peaceful, his usually stern expression relaxed in sleep. A lock of dark hair fell across his forehead, adding to his rugged charm. Despite the circumstances that had brought us together, I couldn't deny the undeniable allure of his presence.I found myself wondering, almost idly, what it would have been like if things had been different between us. What if we had been under different circumstances? What if we had been married, sharing our lives together?The thought was both tantalizing and terrifying. On one hand, I couldn't deny the undeniable attraction I felt towards him, the pull of his magnetic presence drawing me to him.But on the other hand, it was sour to harbor such thoughts. In fact, it felt as th
CHAPTER SEVENA few weeks after the captured blood rogues were killed, a heavy fog filled the land. This got the people talking, but the fog cleared away in a few days. Astrid tried to warn Ragnar to return the Moon Stone to her people. She didn't care if he planned on killing her, but he should return what belonged to her people. Ragnar tells her the stone doesn't belong to her people, but with his. He tells her it was stolen from them many years ago, just then they are interrupted by Ragnar's Beta, Ryan Holster—who was the only one that treated Astrid like a human in the pack. When Ryan arrives, Ragnar accused himself and walked away, leaving the two. Here, Ryan offers Astrid food and they talk. Astrid finds herself smiling again due to Ryan's conversation even with everything going on, she begins to see him in another light. When Ragnar returned back to the room, he notices the chemistry between Astrid and Ryan and he gets jealous. He orders that Astrid be sent back to the dung
Ragnar looked ahead, seeing that Astrid was closing up on him fast. He couldn't do anything—she was already too close for him to evade, the only option left was to fight back.And he just couldn't.Despite how revolting it was that she was his mate, he couldn't hurt her—hurting her would mean hurting himself, the pain of a hurt mate would leave the other with an immeasurable pain. With a growl, Astrid’s claw landed a powerful swipe on Ragnar's face. The force of the blow left a searing mark, and blood dripped from the fresh wound."I'm going to kill you for what you've done, Ragnar." Astrid seethed. However, as Astrid readied herself for the next strike, a sudden and unexpected change seized her.Astrid froze mid-motion, her eyes widening in astonishment.It was the scent of a mate.The realization hit Astrid like a thunderbolt, and she hesitated, her predatory instincts immediately subdued. Her gaze locked with Ragnar's again, and in that charged moment, they both felt the undeni