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
GUNNARAs the Alpha King, I hardly had a problem dealing with any wolf that dared to disrespect or disobey me because that was the easiest part of my work. I always had to exclude strength and dominance in front of everyone to maintain law and order across the entire continent, and I was used to doing it for ten fucking years.But this was the first time I nearly killed someone so close to the bonds of family.Aqua screamed when she saw my hands wrap around River's throat, lifting him off the ground with one smooth grip, but she didn't take another step further. Neither did she beg me to spare his life.Smart girl.Because that would have just pissed my wolf off, and then I would have my healer's blood on my hands in a matter of seconds. My wolf was naturally impulsive and aggressive, and though he possessed some discipline and wisdom as the Alpha King, he often made unreasonable demands that always hurt my loved ones.Which was why I remained in my human form. I snarled at the man w
GUNNARAfter Aqua left, River and I were the ones remaining in the forest. He had been watching us for a very long time, so I could only imagine what he was thinking now. “What's your relationship with Aqua?“ he questioned me. I was tempted to reveal the truth, that Aqua and I were second-chance mates, but I knew the consequences would be dire. Aqua was fortunate to upgrade to a second-tier submissive wolf, but she was nowhere near as strong as Hannah yet. So I forced myself to lie through clenched teeth. "I told you that she's a maid. Is that so hard for you to understand?”“Yes, it is,” River replied flatly. He didn't look convinced about my explanation after seeing us arguing, and I couldn't blame him. Even I would have had a hard time falling for such excuses. I took a step closer, my voice dropping to a low, threatening growl. “Watch your tone with me, River. I’m warning you, your opinion means nothing. But disrespect me again, and it’ll be the last mistake you ever make. Do
AQUAWhen I abandoned Gunnar and River back in the forest, I had no idea where I was going. All I could think about at that moment was the overwhelming need to run away from the situation I had been facing. Gunnar had no freaking idea how panicked and hurt I was when he told me he wanted to check if River was my mate.The truth was that I was scared that it was true. After all, the irresistible pull I felt towards the pack healer was real, and we seemed to have very good chemistry. But no one in the world could make me feel the way I felt when I was with Gunnar.I knew he kept implying that my feelings were only because of the mate bond, but I knew deep in my heart it wasn't true. I was in love with him, and I needed him to fall for me too. But I didn't know how to compete with someone already dead, someone who I had never met or seen in my entire life.Tia, his true mate.I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I failed to notice an oncoming truck honking desperately in my direction.
AQUA“Me?” I asked, my voice quavering. From the moment I met Tristan during my introduction ceremony, I decided to stay away from all the dominant males in the pack. The guy gave me and my wolf the creeps when he first introduced himself to me. And there was the fact that he was Gladys's mate, so I wished to avoid him as much as possible. Tristan turned his head slightly, as if to check the room, then fixed his sharp gaze on me with a smile that made my stomach churn. “Is there anyone else here named Aqua?”My words caught in my throat when I caught Kianna shaking her head subtly. She was trying to warn me not to offend him, and from my previous interaction with him, I could tell he was someone who was not used to being rejected. “I'll get going now,” Kianna announced, her voice light but deliberate. Once she walked past me, her fingers brushed mine for a second, quietly reassuring me. I released a sigh once she was gone and perfunctorily lowered my gaze onto the floor. I hoped h
GUNNARThey must be fucking crazy. Once some of the pack witnessed what happened in the valley, the elders immediately summoned me for a mediation meeting. That's what they told me, but I knew they were here to demand an explanation from me. So I went to the meeting hall and waited for River to finish healing Tristan's leg. But unfortunately, River appeared a few seconds later with a grim expression. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do,” River explained. “His tibia was crushed to pieces, so even if I do heal him right now, he will be...”“What would happen to him?” one of the elders questioned, his voice filled with anxiety.River grimaced. “Well, he'll be a cripple for the rest of his life. I'm sorry, I really tried my best, but—”“Do you see what you've done, Gunnar?!” The elder slammed the table as she faced me. Her face was livid with rage as she spoke. “Tell us, why the hell did you deform my grandson?! You better have a good reason for this, or else—”“Or else what?” I r
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