AQUAAfter we told Fawn the truth about our relationship, Gunnar gave me a small tour inside the house and showed me my room. The interior was indeed nice, giving a warm yet sophisticated and modern vibe that blended well with nature. However, the only thing that displeased me was the location of my room. “Why is it at the end of the hall?” I asked him. It's not like I wanted to sleep with him in his room because I didn't want to desecrate the lovely memory of his true mate, but there were several guest rooms between us, and that didn't sit well with me. Gunnar patiently explained. “Because Fawn's room is directly opposite mine. She's a bit sensitive towards sounds and always has a hard time falling asleep once she wakes up.”I bit my lips, wondering how to say the words that were on my mind. I didn't want to appear too forward since it might put him off, but it was the only reason why I was here in the first place. “But how would we be able to do it?”“Do what?” Gunnar's eyebrows
AQUAAfter waiting for so long, I finally fell asleep while waiting for Gunnar. I had no qualms about his lateness since I had grown accustomed to it when I was seeing Leon. Most dominant males handled important tasks for the pack, like security, hunting, and even killing sometimes. When it was midnight, I woke up again feeling a bit hungry. Although I was reluctant to come out of my room because of Fawn, I remembered that I hadn't eaten anything since that pack healer's house. River was kind enough to feed me some croissants and coffee before healing me, but the food wasn't enough to keep me going for a whole day. After much deliberation, I decided to leave the room and search for some food. Fawn's room was closer to the end of the hallway, heading towards the living room and kitchen, but I figured she would be deep asleep by now. So I opened the door as quietly as I could and tiptoed along the hallway. The moon hanging over me illuminated the place, shining through the glass roof
AQUA After what happened last night, I stayed in my room all day, hiding away from Gunnar and his daughter. I knew avoiding them was next to impossible since they were literally the owners of the house, but I really didn't want to see them after what Gunnar did. I spent all night in the bathroom, retching in horror after I confirmed that he really killed a woman in cold blood. He had every right to be furious about her hurting his child, but snapping her neck without any hesitation or remorse exposed me to the cold reality about him. Gunnar wasn't just a dangerous alpha. Last night had proved that he was also capable of being ruthless and decisive when he put his mind to it. And once he made up his mind, there wasn't anything on the planet that would change it. Not even me.The worst part was that after everything, he still hadn't come to check up on me. I waited all night, hoping that he would talk to me and explain what really happened, but it was all in vain. He just muted the
GUNNARI sat in my seat in the meeting hall, my fingers tapping the oakwood table. The tension in the room was palpable, and the air conditioning did little to dispel the heat from the midday sun outside. All eyes were on me, but I maintained a distant expression as I pondered the judgment for the wolf standing before me.“Wait, you can't be fucking serious,” Baylor grumbled, disbelief etched on his face. “Don't tell me you are really gonna punish me because of a submissive bitch who just entered the pack?”The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees at his words, the air charged with danger. My wolf, who had been pacing in the recesses of my mind, paused, questioning if he had heard correctly.Wilder growled, his voice sharp as a blade. “Would you shut up? Do you even know who that woman is?”Baylor responded with a confused look, his eyes darting from the both of us. But I was already too pissed to care about his ignorance. No one in the pack knew about my daughter,
GUNNARAfter my little talk with Wilder, I decided to stop by the pack healer's place. I received a call from River about a case concerning two women who had a catfight in the grocery store today. It shouldn't have been my business, except they unknowingly injured a little boy who had been walking behind them.That's when the sentries arrested them. Unfortunately, both of them were injured, so River had to heal them, and he called me instead.I parked my car in front of the house and came down, walking to the front porch. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows through the trees as I walked, and the air had that crispness that hinted at the approach of autumn. As I stood in front of the pack healer's door, I could hear the females screaming, but none of them were stupid enough to start fighting physically with each other because they were at the healer's house.And everyone knew the sacred places; the priestess's temple, the pack healer's house, and the cubs' nursery. No vio
GUNNARA few minutes later..."First and foremost, both of you are going to apologize to Kat and cover her son's medical expenses," I announced to the two dominant female wolves after I returned to the living room. "Then, you will compensate River for the damage you caused in his living room. Am I clear?"The two female dominant wolves exchanged glances. The tension in the room thickened as they regarded me with a mix of fear and defiance. The one with highlights cleared her throat to catch my attention and complained, "I can understand paying for the damage in River's living room, but why should we cover that boy's medical fees?""Yeah, it's not our fault the boy got hurt," the other woman chimed in. "If his mother had been watching him, he wouldn't have gotten injured. Honestly, how are these submissives training their children anyway?"I raised an eyebrow at their words. "I'm sorry, does this sound like a suggestion or something?"The two female dominant wolves froze at my words, r
AQUAI was sleeping in my bed when I felt his presence.Fawn had just returned to her room after expressing how much she despised me, and I couldn’t help but feel crushed by her words. Throughout my life, I had endured various injustices and nasty looks for being a submissive wolf, but this was one of those moments when I truly hated myself for being weak.She was right, I told myself, tears spilling onto my pillow as I surrendered to the night’s darkness. I was nothing more than a pitiful, weak wolf, unworthy of love or respect. That night, I cried myself to sleep but suddenly, I felt powerful, warm arms wrapping around me. Alarm gripped my heart, causing me to struggle against his embrace until his familiar scent filled my nostrils. It was a heady mixture of earth and something undeniably comforting. For a fleeting moment, the tension within me eased, and I relaxed into the hold, my body instinctively seeking solace from him. Yet, as reality crashed into me, my fight returned, and
AQUAThe next morning, I woke up to Gunnar's alarm blaring in the background. He had mentioned yesterday that he had a morning pack run to lead, so I reached for his phone to turn it off and wake him up. However, I suddenly noticed that my face felt very itchy. The more I scratched it, the itchier it became, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.I tapped Gunnar three times and watched him stir a bit. My throat also felt scratchy and painful when I tried to call out to him. "Wake up, Gunnar. You have a pack run to lead."Suddenly, a movement in the shadows stole my focus. My heart raced as I strained to see, and fear gripped me when I spotted a wolf with golden eyes curled up in the corner of the room. After calming my racing heart for a few more seconds, I reached for Gunnar again but this time, I was surprised to see that he was already awake.I greeted him with a small smile, "Good morning.""Good morning," he greeted me back, his voice deep and sexy. A warm rush of color spread ac
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
AQUAMy heart dropped when I heard her words. It felt like I was torn between disbelief and the panic that had risen in my chest. But of course, it all made sense now. If that old woman were alive and healthy, she would have never let this angry mob assemble to harm her only great-granddaughter. “She's dead?” I repeated dumbly. The pack priestess was supposed to be my reserve plan to suppress these people, but her unexpected death was something that I also intended to take advantage of. “Why haven't we held a funeral yet? Why hasn't an announcement been made?”At that moment, someone from the crowd suddenly spoke. “Who the hell would mourn that old witch?! She deserves what she got!”A flash of red passed my eyes when I heard his words. I wasn't her biggest fan, but she was still Fawn's family. I couldn't imagine how devastated she would be when she found out she was gone. I closed my eyes to control my emotions before facing the crowd again."According to the laws of the pack, there