AQUAThe next day, Kianna and I went to the meeting hall to find Gunnar and tell him about Baylor. We even missed the mandatory pack run because we wanted to avoid any chances of running into Hannah or Baylor, but Gunnar still hadn't shown up. “Are you sure he’s always the first to arrive?” I asked Kianna, my anxiety rising each time a patrolling sentinel passed by and gave us curious looks. Fortunately, they all seemed to relax whenever they saw Kianna, but I feared we might attract unwanted attention.Kianna nodded, her face etched with a frown. “Yes, he’s usually the first one here. I have no idea why he’s late today.”I was also perplexed about his late arrival. From what I knew, the pack run should have ended a few minutes ago, so I wondered what was behind the delay. Did he have some unexpected arrangements, or was he still avoiding me?Sadness flooded my heart when I thought about how things ended for us the previous day. We had an awful argument and no matter how much I tried
AQUABaby?Did he just imply that I was carrying his baby?!My legs felt like lead as I struggled to process the emotions I felt when I heard his words. It felt like my world had suddenly been flipped over, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Gunnar noticed that I was no longer moving, so he turned to face me. His eyes widened with alarm when he saw how pale I looked, causing him to gather me in his strong arms. “Breathe, baby,” he said, his voice filled with panic. “I've got you. You and the baby will be fine, I promise.” I opened my mouth to revoke his claims, but then Kianna's and Hannah's faces appeared in front of me. They also looked very concerned about my condition when they saw me. “Aqua, are you alright?” Kianna asked me. When she tried to take another step towards me, Gunnar's low growl echoed in the air to halt her from moving. She froze and glanced at me. “What's wrong with you?”A wave of dizziness overtook me once again, causing my eyes to roll to the back
AQUAGunnar froze after hearing my words. I could tell he was struggling to process the words that I had spoken, but then he clenched his fists. “You must be joking,” he said, his gaze so intense they nearly burned a hole through my figure. “What does Hannah have to do with this? She's been nothing but nice to you.”I shook my head. “No, she's been bullying and threatening me all this while, so I want her gone.”Gunnar fell silent. He kept staring at me, his eyes holding so much intensity and aura that my knees nearly buckled. I could only hold his gaze for two whole minutes before I redirected my gaze to the floor underneath me. “Tell me everything,” he finally demanded. So I told him everything from the beginning. The time Hannah asked me to be her spy. The time she forced me to stay in my room because she wanted to spend some quality time with him and Fawn. The time she ordered me to lose the match to Gladys. After saying all of these, I thought it would be enough to win him ov
AQUAMy eyes rolled to the back of my head as I screamed in agony. Baylor gave me another slap on the same cheeks, sending me to the floor once again. In the background, I could hear Kianna begging him to stop, but he continued to rain down kicks on my body. Instinctively, I curled my body to withstand his attacks, but I could feel every bone of my body giving under the weight of his boot. Out of desperation, Kianna lunged herself at him with her claws out.But Baylor was a dominant wolf, created with superior strength and speed. He caught her easily midway in the air, his hand wrapped around her throat. She flailed helplessly in his grip, trying to strike him with her claws. “You better not try anything funny, Kianna,” he warned her, his voice edged with cruel amusement. His eyes held a menacing glint, as if he couldn't wait to deal with us the way he wanted. Then he threw her on the floor, leaving her gasping for breath, and turned to me. Instinctively, I recoiled from his grip,
GUNNARAqua... just confessed her feelings to me. I was struck with complex emotions as I watched her lose consciousness in my arms. I immediately pulled her close, trusting my wolf to reach deep in the mate bond that was so muted I could barely sense its low, thrumming presence. In that moment, all I wanted to do was open the mate bond. I knew I could do it. I could heal her and wake her from her unconscious state. The thought of not seeing her beautiful blue eyes or her adorable smile almost drove me to madness. I couldn't bear to lose her. I didn't want to. “Everyone, leave.” I ordered, my wolf climbing to the surface. With the state of my emotions, I knew it was only a matter of time before he overpowered me, pushing me to the backseat of our consciousness. “Guard the area. Make sure that no one comes within the mile radius.”The sentinels instantly chorused. “Yes, Your Majesty!”I barely held on a little longer to watch them live before giving up to my wolf. The transformati
GUNNAR Two hours later, I called for a pack meeting, summoning only the elders and the other high-ranking members of the pack.I stated the time of the meeting clearly, but it seemed that most of them barely managed to arrive in time, while the rest were nowhere to be seen. Nathaniel and his son were absent, along with the elders who were loyal to him. I observed the meeting hall through the eyes of my wolves standing at strategic positions surrounding the building. Leaving Aqua in her state was difficult for me, but since I promised her that I was going to give her an explanation, then that's exactly what I was going to do.After waiting for another thirty minutes, I placed Aqua in my bedroom and left some instructions for my daughter before I left the house. Just as I was about to get into my car, another car suddenly arrived in front of my house. My jaw tightened when I saw Hannah stepping out of the car and walking towards me with fast, hurried steps. Before I could say anythi
GUNNARAs I parked my car near the meeting hall, I stopped to check if the people I had been waiting for had arrived. However, their absence could already be sensed by the lack of cars in the parking lot. But I reined in my anger and entered the building, my boots hitting the asphalt with purpose. Once my secretary saw me, she immediately shot to her feet, her posture rigid as she paid her respects. “Y-Your Majesty,” she greeted, her voice trembling. “Y-You are finally here. I have been waiting—”I cut her off, my patience reaching its limits. “Announce me.” My secretary blinked once to process my orders fully, and then she walked towards the door to announce me. “His Majesty is here!”As I walked into the room, a sudden hush fell over the entire place, expelling the previous noise. The people present were mostly elders who had nothing to do with the case and the pack priestess who was here to make sure the chaos happened to a minimal degree. They bowed their heads towards me as
GUNNARNathaniel and his sons knelt down in front of me, their faces scrunched in pain. They must have all forgotten about their beasts' instinct to submit to the most powerful wolf in the pack. I reveled in their unwilling deposition, their human minds warring against the undeniable law of nature.Pathetic creatures.With slow, measured steps, I stood before Nathaniel, observing him. His entire forehead was covered with large beads of sweat, yet he still managed the calm deposition of a head elder. “Now that your third son is out of the way, let's talk about the important matters we need to discuss...” I said, staring down at him. “...the first one being the question about what audacity you had to arrive after me. Did you hit your head somewhere today?”Nathaniel's lips remained shut even though his entire body was trembling from head to toe. I commanded him. “Speak.”“N-No, Your Majesty,” he sputtered. I narrowed my eyes at him, my voice growing darker. “Do I look like your fuckin
AQUA I woke up to the sound of water running somewhere. My vision blurred for a second, and then I was able to recognize my surroundings. This seemed to be River’s bedroom, a place that I had visited so many times. The room was well-lit but extremely messy, like he hadn't visited the place for a long time. There were clothes spilling out of his closet and some books scattered across the floor, the kind of mess that River would have never tolerated in the past. I tried to flex my aching limbs to adjust my position only to discover they were bound. The biting grip of the rough ropes digging into my flesh hurt enough to bring tears into my eyes. Panic instantly gripped my heart before my mind could even catch up to the situation. How the hell did I even get here? Where was River? Instinct immediately took over as I tried to retract my claws, hoping to free myself from the tight ropes. But these things were sturdier than I had anticipated, almost as if they were made from another
GUNNAR The sun was high in the sky when we finally reached the boundary of the Storm Fire pack. My men were exhausted from the heat, their bodies glistening with sweat after fighting off a pack of hyenas lingering near the territory. I could sense their fatigue through the pack link but chose not to acknowledge it. I wasn't trying to be ruthless; I knew their job wasn't unfinished. As soon as I stepped into the forest that marked our pack territory, I sensed something was wrong. The weapons the patrols were carrying were not the standard gear I had approved for pack security, which likely meant my family was in danger.I held up my hand to warn my men, who were trudging right behind me. The noise instantly faded into silence as tension seeped into the air. We watched the patrols head towards our location as we concealed ourselves behind the trees.Even their uniforms were different, I noticed when my eyes landed on a badge on one of the men's shirts. At this point, I was starting to
AQUAWhen we returned to the pack, Wilder took us straight to the Kincaid mansion, where the elders were already waiting. My stomach twisted as I climbed the stairs, flanked by guards, every step heavier than the last.Their eyes followed me like a shadow, and the fact that I sensed it made me even more nauseous. These were the same familiar faces that had stood in my living room just two weeks ago, offering smiles, congratulations on my engagement, and pledging undying loyalty to the Alpha King. Now, they sat cold and silent, the weight of their betrayal hanging in the air like a storm about to break.They’d all chosen Nathaniel.And that meant Gunnar’s throne…was no longer safe."What, are you surprised that we got the elders on our side?" Wilder released a low chuckle after he noticed my glare. "Don't be, darling. You'd be surprised at how dissatisfied they have been with your mate's way of doing things."At that moment, I was barely restraining myself from punching him in the fac
AQUA After Saint's death, Odin led Fawn and me to the pack boundary, the weight of our grief hanging heavily in the air. We journeyed for an entire day under a dense canopy of trees without taking a single break. Sunlight filtered through the tree, casting a path over me and my stepdaughter.I nearly stumbled over a root but managed to catch myself before I hit the ground. However, the sudden impact jolted Fawn awake, so I mumbled a soft apology before adjusting her to my body. Despite everything, the wolf didn't stop and continued to walk ahead of us. With each step, I could sense the exhaustion radiating from the wolf beside us, his powerful frame still trembling from the ferocity of that intense fight. He must have been devastated about the loss of his brother, yet he continued to push himself to complete the mission given to him. As we moved deeper into the woods, the air grew thick and rich with the scent of damp earth and pine, grounding yet unsettling. The guards had stopped
GUNNARI was several miles away from the Storm Fire pack when I felt it.The pain. The sorrow. The fury.All these feelings struck my heart like a tempest, consuming my senses until I couldn't think anymore. My heart felt so constricted that I couldn't stand anymore, causing me to fall on one knee. When my men saw this, they immediately rushed towards me in concern, but I stopped them with my raised hand. They must have been so shocked they couldn't control their emotions because I felt all their fears crash into my heart.Was it possible they were almost scared to death because of my sudden fall?No, that wasn't it. The general sense of unease spread among the soldiers, making them jittery. I pushed myself to stand, my legs trembling as they bore my weight against the unseen burden pressing down on my heart. Then, a piercing howl sliced through the heavy air, sharp and haunting, reverberating off the trees and sending a chill down my spine. Others might not know where it came from, b
AQUAThe first time I heard about hunter wolves was when I was in the Wind Ridge Pack. They were used to hunt a notorious thief who had broken into Julie's house one summer. The news spread across the pack in less than four hours, mostly because they didn't give us a choice to accept it or not. But if there was one thing I learned back then, it was that those people were ruthless. The kind of people capable of doing anything as long as they captured their prey. Some said they did it because they didn't have any other choice, considering the tight competition in the business. But others said they were psychos, people who enjoyed seeing the pain they inflicted on others. That's why I knew we were in deep shit now. The hunter wolf inhaled, breathing in the cool night air that was faint with our scents. It's the very reason why I had chosen to stay up in the trees, holding that the harsh wind current would mask our scents. But he still catches it nonetheless. “Their scents are still
AQUAOnce I heard the noise from the living room, I pushed Fawn into the kitchen and locked the door. The air was thick with tension, and our ragged breaths broke the eerie silence that enveloped the room. My heart raced as we waited, straining to hear the sounds from the other side of the door. But then, a sharp scream pierced through the air, followed by a series of female cries that sent a fresh wave of panic through me."Shut the fuck up!" Nathaniel barked. When the women's cries were finally reduced to frightened sobs, he muttered some words to the guards before turning to them. "I have no intention to hurt you, but if you don't tell me where Aqua and that little devil spawn are right now, then all of you are going to pay dearly for your silence."Ella remained unfazed by his threat. "But we are telling the truth! No one saw where Her Highness went after she gave us orders to search for her daughter."Nathaniel ignored her and continued to speak to the other ladies, but none of t
AQUAHogan froze midstep when he heard my words. The six-foot, muscular blonde man who had been cooking for Gunnar for over ten years gave me the most sinister look I have ever received. I couldn't help but retreat when I saw him take a menacing step towards me."You're not supposed to be here, Your Highness," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Does anyone know you're here?""I don't need to report to anyone about whereabouts because this is my house," I asserted, my voice sharp and clear. I noticed he had already retracted his claws so I did the same. "What were you doing in the kitchen storage room?"It was the only place we hadn't checked in the house, mostly because Hogan had always been sensitive about letting people in. He would spend the entire day talking about food contamination so I guess all of us were just subconsciously afraid of getting on his bad side.But now, it turned out that he was the traitor we had been looking for."Move aside, Hogan," I ordered. The air in the ro
AQUANow it was 8 pm.The angry mob and the elders were still outside the house, looking for a way to get in. They tried everything they could, but the house's defenses were top-notch, designed with the latest technology, so I knew we were going to be safe.For now."Has anyone heard from Bodhi? Anything?" I asked, my desperate eyes scanning the staff in the house. Due to the chaos happening outside, no one had gone home yet, so they were forced to stay with us.Ella, who had been quiet since she entered the house, finally spoke when she heard me. "I just received a message that he was deployed to fight the rogue wolves trying to evade our borders. He left with most of the sentinels, so there were no reinforcements when our guards were attacked," she explained.My head started pounding as I tried to think of a solution to solve the situation. I knew it was only a matter of time before these people came up with a plan to infiltrate the house that actually worked this time, and then we