AQUAThe night sky was filled with countless stars surrounding the bright moon. A cold breeze swept through the air, brushing against my skin, but its chill did little to soothe the growing anxiety knotting in my stomach. River also remained silent when he drove me back home, but I could tell from the car's speed that he was also worried about why Gunnar had summoned me back home.When we finally reached the forest entrance, River finally parked the car and turned off the engine. He turned to me, his deep, concerned eyes locking onto mine, and reached out to take my hand in his warm hands. “Are you sure you don’t want me to accompany you?” he asked once again, his voice heavy with concern.Oh, dear moon goddess. The truth was I wanted him to come with me because I was terrified of facing Gunnar alone. But I wasn't sure I could forgive myself if River got hurt because of me.I shook my head and summoned a weak smile. "Nah, I got this covered. Thank you for the date, it was wonderful."
AQUA“It's time I taught you the importance of the mate bond!”His words echoed in my ears, amplifying the fear in my heart. Gunnar's expression was cold and unyielding, but I couldn't find a way to overpower him. His hand disappeared under my skirt, and I could feel the roughness of his hand gliding against my ass. “Please, don't do this, Gunnar.” I pleaded, tears burning down my cheeks.He grabbed my breasts and squeezed, ignoring my pleas. A pained gasp tore out of my throat, my back arching out. I twisted my body, trying to escape from his grip. “Don't move,” he warned. I froze when I felt his extended claws pressing against my skin. I was so scared that he would hurt me, but my wolf urged me to trust him. Because he was my mate, and he would never do anything bad to us. I wanted to trust him. I desperately wanted to, so I forced my trembling body to relax against his, my muscles loosening against his. One of Gunnar's hands moved down my body and felt my bare pussy. My lips p
AQUAOur walk back home was quiet, mainly because each of us was engrossed in our thoughts. I kept rehearsing different apology speeches in my head, but I didn't dare to voice them out loud. Although Gunnar held me close, as if I were a delicate glass figurine, his unreadable expression still intimidated me. His smoky scent filled the air, making me lean in closer even as guilt twisted in my gut.I silently watched him from the moment we entered the house until he started climbing the stairs. The muscles in his jaw were tight, and tension radiated from him in waves. Several times, I parted my lips and closed them, wondering when it was the right time to speak.Did I even have the right to say anything at all? When we finally reached the dark hallway, Gunnar went to the wall and flipped the switch. The entire space was instantly illuminated by the overhead bulbs, but instead of looking at him, I scanned my surroundings, searching for something until I spotted a Mexican wolf standing i
GUNNARShe was driving me crazy.When I returned to the pack from my bloody confrontation with the Thunder Paw alpha, my wolf was already skirting toward the edge of madness. The scent of blood was like a heady rush to him, amplifying his dark cravings for more violence until it almost clouded my senses. Instead of going to the pack priestess's abode to suppress him as usual, I went home, hoping to meet my mate and seek her comfort, but then I discovered that she wasn't home.She went on that date with River.It took every ounce of my self-control not to hunt the pack healer and tear him into pieces. He had taken what was mine, so my wolf wanted nothing more than to gut him in the throat, but my human consciousness, which retained some form of twisted sanity, knew that hurting an important member of the pack was a line that I wasn't willing to cross.So I made a quick call and demanded that he return her as soon as possible before rushing to the lake behind my house. There, I met Tarz
AQUAI opened my eyes in the morning to find myself lying on my bed with my mate's arms around me, my naked body barely covered by the sheets. Memories of the previous night came rushing into me, causing warmth to spread through my cheeks. After Gunnar and I had resolved our misunderstandings about each other, we had sex all through the night with unrelenting, raw passion. My alpha king was insatiable and I loved it. I could sense his affection for me through every caress, every touch, and every kiss.Although it wasn't the kind of love I wanted, I knew I had to be content with it for now. After all, he was still in love with his true mate and that was a feeling that I wasn't sure I could contend with.But I had to try. Because I had fallen too deep to let him go, and as his second-chance mate, I deserved the chance to win his heart. If I could.I gently turned to my side to stare at Gunnar. I was instantly treated to a stunning view of his handsome face. Sleep softened his sharp feat
AQUAOnce I had refreshed myself, I made my way downstairs to join Hannah and Fawn. As I entered the kitchen, the sweet, buttery aroma of freshly baked cookies enveloped me, making my mouth water. The entire room was filled with the sounds of their laughter, and the sight of their faces covered with flour added to the lightness of the atmosphere.But when Hannah saw me, the smile on her lips immediately vanished like it had never been there. She whispered something to Fawn before approaching me with a smile on her lips."Aqua, it's so nice that you can join us," she said. "Fawn was just telling me that you have never cooked for her, so I thought we should bake the cookies together."My heart sank at her words as I peeped at Fawn, who stood behind the kitchen with thinned lips. The only reason why I'd never cooked since I arrived was because I figured it would be a waste with all the food stacked up in the fridge. But the way Hannah said it made me look very inconsiderate and lazy."Wh
AQUAI curled up on my bed, the soft fabric of my sheets tangling around me as I let out a series of deep, shuddering sobs. I wasn't crying because Hannah bullied me earlier, but rather because I hated how fragile I was. In the Wind Ridge Pack, I never suffered any hardships because I was the youngest submissive wolf and had been dating Leon, who took very good care of me. But things had completely changed in the Storm Fire Pack, and I hated it.I was so weak that no one wanted to have anything to do with me.My own mate couldn't even acknowledge me, and as if that wasn't enough, his love interest was now bullying me.When I finally stopped crying, my eyes felt heavy and swollen, and my wolf was becoming increasingly restless. I tried to take several deep breaths to calm her down, but the discomfort lingered, making me bury myself under the blankets. One moment, I felt extremely cold, and the next, I was unbearably hot. I considered contacting Gunnar for help, but I decided against it
AQUA“C'mon, Aqua. Stop being ridiculous!” I ignored his words and stayed perched on top of the tree like my life depended on it. Indeed, I knew I was being ridiculous, but this was the result of his wolf's misdoings, so there was no way I was going to come down just yet. After Gunnar turned into a wolf, the first thing he tried to do was mate with me. Wolf to wolf. At first, my wolf was so shocked that she struggled against his strong grip in a careless manner, but when she found herself losing the battle, she immediately yielded control to me. Then I ran to the nearest tree and climbed it. “Look, I didn't know my wolf was going to do that,” Gunnar tried to explain. He also seemed embarrassed when he changed back, but now, he was more concerned with getting me down from the tree. Color spread across my cheeks when I thought about how brazen his beast was. Immediately, it set its eyes on me, it pounced without hesitation, and pinned me to the floor. The fact that I was almost t
AQUAWhen I opened my eyes again, I found myself in my room. The curtains were already closed, and the lights above my head were dim. I leaned against the headboard, trying to gather the scattered fragments of my memory. My lessons...the orange juice...me falling unconscious. My heart hammered in my chest when I remembered that I was poisoned. Now it all made sense why my throat felt dry and itchy; also, it must be the reason why my body ached all over. Just when I was about to reach for my phone to call someone in, the door suddenly swung open with a loud thud. Ella stood at the door, holding a tray in her hand. “Your Highness!” She gasped, clearly surprised to see me awake. “I'm so glad that you have finally regained consciousness. You have no idea how worried we all were about you.”I watched her place the tray on the bedside drawer, revealing a bowl of soup. “Have the guards caught Hannah like I instructed?” I asked. Ella nodded. “Yes, they did. They managed to apprehend her
AQUAWhen I vowed to myself that Hannah was going to pay for what she did, I truly meant it. That was why she was currently repeating a section of the rules, explaining it for the fourth time. I could tell she was about to lose her temper, but that was exactly what I wanted.I needed an excuse to make her pay for her actions. "That's enough," I interrupted her before she could repeat it for the seventh time. My ears were already aching, and the person I was waiting for had yet to arrive. "Why don't you go and fetch me some juice?"Hannah’s eyes blazed with indignation. "But you have maids waiting on you! Why the hell are you sending me?" She protested, her voice sharp and rising."Because serving the Luna Queen is an honor," I replied coolly. On a normal day, I took pleasure in reminding her that soon, I would become the most prestigious woman in the Wysteria continent. Today felt especially fitting for this reminder, as she appeared ready to explode.When she stubbornly refused to m
AQUAWhat the hell was going on?My eyes shifted from my daughter to Odin, who was perched in one corner, looking unfazed by the chaos surrounding him. His presence made me cautious in reacting since I knew he would never have appeared if the situation hadn't been dire. However, there was also a problem with Fawn's naughty behavior that I had to deal with.So, I decided to ask the third person in the room. "What did you do to my daughter, Mrs. Lambert?" I bent down to pick up a torn book near me before stepping inside the room. The maids behind me immediately spread out and started arranging the place while I approached the tutor lying on the floor. “I-I didn't do anything wrong, Your Highness,” she replied. Before she could utter another word, Odin released a warning growl that reverberated throughout the room, making both of us flinch. Many possibilities raced through my mind when I heard her words. My first instinct was to believe her because Fawn had already been displeased by
AQUAThey say to keep your friends close and keep your enemies even closer.At least, that was my belief until the moment Hannah arrived at my doorstep, her warm smile illuminating the dim hallway. As soon as Fawn learned that her beloved Aunt Hannah was back, she bolted down the stairs with excitement , rushing to greet her with open arms. A sharp pang of jealousy pierced my chest as I watched their affectionate reunion, the way Fawn’s face lit up with delight in Hannah’s presence. I felt a protective instinct surge within me, compelling me to step in."Fawn, it’s time for your lessons," I asserted, striving to maintain a steady and calm demeanor. My voice echoed through the foyer, firm yet measured. "You shouldn't keep your tutor waiting as you did last time."Fawn, her wide eyes filled with longing, turned to me, a protest bubbling on her lips. "But I want to speak to Aunt Hannah—""Fawn, don’t be stubborn now," I said, my tone sharpening as I placed my hands on my hips, unwavering
AQUAShit. I stared at the glowing tattoo on my wrist, my breath hitching as Bodhi’s revelation sank in. The energy seared into my skin like molten fire. A sharp hiss slipped past my clenched teeth, my entire body taut with the overwhelming sensation flooding my veins.“B-But this...” I struggled for the right words for some time before settling for one disbelieving question. “How?”Bodhi shrugged cluelessly as he got up from his seat. At first, my body grew tense as he closed the distance between us, but then he simply unlocked the door and raised the curtains. “Maybe your wolf got upgraded because of its sincere desire to protect its mate,” Bodhi cocked his head to the side as he spoke. “Isn't that what dominant wolves do?”Yeah, he was right. Most of my frustration had stemmed from my wolf's restlessness and fear. It was she who was sure that something bad would happen, so she needed to see her mate before she went crazy. I was so caught up in the storm raging within me that I b
AQUAI had only heard the news when I awoke from my sleep in the early hours of the morning. Gunnar was gone. I stared at my maids blankly, trying to digest the information I had just received on the bed. I was at the point where I didn't know if I should cry or just tear the entire place down in anger. So that was it? He just left without saying anything to me or his daughter? Not even a goodbye or a kiss?What the hell?Instead, I suppressed all my tumultuous feelings and asked. “Did he say when he was going to return?”The first maid shook her head before staring at the rest of her colleagues, silently asking if they knew anything other than the details she had just provided. When no one said anything, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other when she turned to me. “Well, he did say that you should meet Bodhi if you had any more questions,” she disclosed. “But he's not around right now. I heard he is in a meeting with the elders, and things are not looking good right n
GUNNARWhen I finally returned to the party, some people were already saying their goodbyes and leaving. My pack members were doing a good job directing them to the pack guesthouse, where they could stay for the night. I stopped by one or two people to say a few parting words before I headed straight towards the stairs to search for my mate.As soon as I got to the top floor, I discovered that her scent was all over the place. My heart thrummed loudly against my ribcage as I scoured through each room down the hallway. I found her on the third attempt, next to my daughter on the king-sized bed, her delicate features softened by sleep. She held Fawn so close to her bosom like she was trying to protect her from something or someone.The sight tugged at my heart, squeezing it in a mixture of overwhelming love and longing. This was the family I had yearned for over the years, a family I thought I might never have after the loss of Tia eight years ago. As I stood there, watching them, I fel
GUNNARI hurled Diane over my shoulder and bolted from the party, my boots pounding against the damp earth as I made my way toward the cemetery. At first, she kept struggling for her dear life, trying to escape, but my patience snapped when she drove her knees against my knees, so I knocked her out the next second.When we reached our destination, I dropped her on the cold earth with a dull thud. The rough impact jolted her awake. I folded my arms as I watched her struggle to regain clarity of the situation. "Rise and shine, Diane," I said.Diane looked left and right around her surroundings before she turned to me. "Where the hell am I?" she asked, trembling. "Why did you bring me to this place?"I folded my arms and replied. "Well, I thought since it's been a long time since you have been to the pack, you would want to meet your dear friend," I paused, letting my words sink in. "You guys must have a lot to talk about, right?"Diane screamed when she turned around and saw my wife's g
AQUAAs I continued to face the crowd, I could feel Fawn trying to yank her hand back, but I didn't let her go. Letting her go wasn’t an option after everything that had just happened. Truthfully, she had caused enough trouble right now, and the last thing I wanted was for someone to find out her true identity. Fortunately, the kid was smart and didn't even try to refute my claim over her. “So you had a child out of wedlock?” The Luna questioned. The curiosity in her voice was quite obvious, but there was something about her tone that rubbed me the same way.I lifted my chin defiantly. “Yes, I did. Is there something wrong with it?”The crowd started murmuring amongst themselves when they heard my words. I was a bit confused about why they were giving me strange looks, but I pretended not to care. “You must not have been informed properly, Aqua, but the requirements for a female wolf to ascend the throne as the Luna Queen are quite clear,” she said. “A female wolf must be a virgin