AURELIA~~“Oh, look! It's the birthday girl.”Tamia exclaimed when I entered the living room of the white wolves’ pack house.My cold mood turned warm when I saw the affection in her eyes as she closed the distance between us with open arms.My face lit up, “How did you know?”I mean, I didn't tell her. Just like I didn’t tell Raiden. “How wouldn’t I? Aside from being your grand aunt, I have been listening to you and Susanna squeal about this day for the past few days.” Tamia laughed, pulling me into her bosom for a warm hug. I sighed in relief, feeling at home in her arms.Softly, she said to me while still holding me, “Happy 27th birthday to you, Aurelia Seer King.” I choked on the sudden surge of emotions within me and closed my eyes, savoring the sweetness of this moment. But all of a sudden, my ears were filled with a uniform chant from the white wolves. Every one of them. I didn’t know how they came to gather so fast but they did.“Happy Birthday Princess Aurelia Seer Kin
ALPHA RAIDEN~~“You don’t want to know how hard it has been to keep a straight face.” After leaving Aurelia in the apartment, I exhaled as soon as I saw Andrew, ignoring the hurt in her stormy blue eyes.“The look on her face when she realizes your surprise will be worth it. Trust me, Raid.” Andrew muttered.“I hope so.” I told my best friend, ignoring the discomfort the nickname ‘Raid’ caused in my heart. I was beginning to hate that version of my name thanks to Larisa whose name I shouldn’t be thinking on my woman’s birthday. I looked at Andrew and asked, “Are you certain you want to celebrate Susanna today? I don’t see why you can’t wait till her birthday. It’s just seven days away.”Andrew shook his head, “I’m certain. I have to do this today if I want it to still be a surprise. I mean if you surprise Aurelia today and I don’t do the same for my mate, she would see it coming on her birthday. I want her to be surprised.”“That makes a lot of sense,” I mumbled, walking to the mid
AURELIA~~Using the word “Breathtaking” to describe myself or more precisely, the reflection of me that I was staring at in the mirror would be an understatement. All my life, I had been basic. Basic Luna. Basic Mate. Basic warrior and perhaps a basic friend. The one thing I did right was being more than basic to my babies– Katie and Kyle.But as soon as I wore this dress, I could feel myself transitioning from mere basic to extraordinary. From this moment onward, the old basic me ceased to exist. I stepped out of the room with Iris and Susanna beside me and for some reason, neither of them mentioned Raiden while they were dressing me up. It was as if he wasn’t supposed to be here… as if they knew he wouldn’t be here. If I wasn’t too afraid to know more, I would have asked Iris but I’d rather hold my tongue.“Mama!” Kyle gasped when he saw me. “You look like a bride! Ouch–” I couldn’t see what happened between the twins but Kyle’s cry caught my attention and I frowned at Katie
ALPHA RAIDEN~~I saw and felt every emotion zapping through my mate as her eyes shifted from one part of the hall to another. Fuck! Hall. I quickly corrected myself even though I knew Aurelia understood me, “Welcome to the grand hall built within our home as you will be–” Perhaps she did it to save me from stuttering as her beauty made it hard for my brain to function. Whatever her reason was, Aurelia tiptoed and captured my lips right there before everyone, including our silly kids whose giggles filled my ears like music while I held on to their breathtaking mother. I could taste the flavor of her lipgloss as I deepened the kiss, thinking about how I would peel this dress off her later, in our new room… In our new home. The kiss lasted until Mia Lu walked up to us and said, “We have to get started before we can end the ceremony and you both can eat each other’s face for as long as you want.” True, kissing the bride should be reserved for the end of the ceremony. But what i
ALPHA RAIDEN~~Thankfully, before I could forget that today was meant for celebration, Mia Lu voiced, her words resonating through the hall, “This water now carries the essence of the soul of every white wolf alive, Aurelia Seer King and to become our Alpha, you have to be capable of holding this essence within you. Do you dare to drink this water?”Aurelia took the bowl from Mia Lu and at that instant, I could see that her eyes had turned white like it did when she transformed weeks ago. Her voice came out with peace and confidence, “I, Aurelia Seer King dare to become your Alpha, White Wolves of the Great White Shade Pack.” As soon as she said those words, she brought the bowl to her lips and right before our eyes, she drank the water. She didn’t stop until she emptied the bowl and returned it to Mia Lu, her eyes still glowing. “It’s time to take the Alpha’s pledge, Aurelia Seer King.” Mia Lu muttered. “Repeat after me.” Aurelia did as told. She repeated these words, “I, Aureli
AURELIA~~That wasn’t the birthday I expected. I mean, how do I go from being sad this morning to being this happy? The kind of happiness flowing with my blood could be enough to make a thousand people laugh for days like they inhaled laughing gas, I was on cloud ten, and still ascending.“I can barely contain it. I want to shift, Relia, and run around the house with the loudest howl.” Inara uttered happily, jumping around in my head.“Thank you for telling me. Now I know to keep you locked up. I can’t have you forcing a shift on my wedding night or running around when I could be getting pleasured in bed.” I muttered to my wolf, the smell of my arousal hitting my nostrils way before Raiden let out a deep growl.He etched, looking back at me as his hold on my hand tightened, “I thought I should show you around our new home before taking you to the room but smelling like that? Relia, we won’t make it past the hallway.” Consummating our wedding in the hallway? That sounds eroticall
ALPHA RAIDEN~~The war was here. The same one that would claim my life and make my kids fatherless. The same one that would make the woman I love a widow– mateless. The same one I have been dreading since Aurelia started falling in love with me again. The same one–“Snap out of it, Raiden. Death or not we still have to fight!” My wolf barked at me as I mindlessly stood beside Aurelia in the same hall where we married. “Aurelia is right. You gave up even before the war. It’s like you are willing to die–” “If that will keep them safe, then yes, I’ll die.” I cut my wolf off. “You can’t keep them safe by being a living dead!” Lex seethed. “Look at her taking over and leading alone even though you are still here. Wake up, Raiden or Aurelia will die before the so-called predicted death gets to you!” My wolf’s words hit me hard.I tried to pull myself together just as Aurelia started addressing the people in the hall. When I built the hall and had some of my pack engineers work on it
ALPHA RAIDEN~~Without hesitation, I agreed with Lex because I couldn’t imagine my family without me even though they lived well without me in the past…I couldn’t imagine living in the Great Beyond without them– if there was a Great Beyond. Heck, nothing would be great about a place where my family wouldn’t be–Katie etched, calling me back to reality, “Can I go with you? I can fight too.” Truly, she could fight. She has been training with Seth and Tara, the strongest female warrior if Aurelia isn’t in the group. My daughter was a little warrior but she was one I wouldn’t want on the battlefield.Her innocence was to be protected for as long as possible so I answered, “You will fight right here beside Mia Lu and every others that will be staying behind. They need you to protect them.” Katie didn’t seem convinced but she nodded regardless while Kyle just looked at us. He didn’t utter a word, not until I asked him, “Everything okay, buddy?” My son held my gaze for a second before
DAVIEN~~I have come to love the dark.The darkness that covers a room as soon as the light goes off, or the darkness that envelops my consciousness when I close my eyes and shut the world out.I have come to love the dark, unless I have to go through the pages of a newly acquired book, of course. Thankfully, I didn’t have a newly acquired book to read at the moment. If I had one, it would have been harder to just lie still and shut the rest of the world out.“You can’t lie here forever and ignore the fact that she is expecting you back home. You must be feeling her pain and regret through the bond, Davien.” Dolf’s voice cut through the layers of darkness that I had embraced.Sadly, my wolf was the only living being that I couldn’t completely shut out.Maybe Katie would have been in the same category as Dolf if we had completed the mating ritual. To be honest, in this very moment, I was glad the bond between Katie and me remained new and fragile.It would have been harder to lie st
Princess Katie Anne~~What has happened to us—the Seer King Flockhart family?Yes, we had troubles in the past, but none of those troubles had created this kind of mess because we always found our way back to each other.But right now, as my mom stared back at Kyle, whose privacy she had breached, I could tell that we might never find our way back to each other. Kyle was shaking with anger, and my mom, who had also realized that she had made the wrong move and broken Kyle’s trust, was frozen on the spot.I, on the other hand, didn’t know what emotion to settle on—anger, pain, worry, or the one that was eating me away but that I still couldn’t name.Although I didn’t take my eyes off Kyle, I could feel my dad’s confusion as he stood there, torn between his son and his mate. “Why would you read my memories, Ma?” Kyle hissed, his voice low and disrespectful.My mom put on a bold face and replied, “You left me no choice, Kyle. I had to know what we were dealing with—”“You didn’t have
Alpha Prince Kyle’s POV ~~“Kyle found his mate?”That question was expected, so I wasn’t surprised when my mom blurted it out with shock and curiosity. What I didn’t expect, walking into the living room, was to hear Katie telling our parents what I had told her in confidence.Katie went still and pale as realization flashed through her eyes. She stuttered into my mind, “You haven’t told them?”I failed to contain my rage as I retorted, “Of course, I haven’t! Why would you even think that I told them?”“I suspected you wouldn’t tell them without informing me, but I was cornered. I was under the impression that you told them last night. They made me believe—”Before Katie could finish speaking through our twin bond, my dad voiced, cutting her off, “Is that why you decided to leave the pack and study in the human realm? What went wrong?”“You can talk to us, Kyle. Are you going to the human realm because she is too young and you couldn’t make it work, or do you plan to go with her?”
Princess Katie Anne~~Walking around the pack didn’t help me clear my head; neither did it help me stop thinking about Davien. I desperately yearned to be with him, to apologize to him not just because I was in his mind but because of the hell he had to grow up in.“I feel so sad,” Zuri eventually broke the silent bubble she had popped around herself.Zoe, who had been pointing out how she was wrong since Davien ran out of the purifying hut, added, “Me too. I have been mean to him, and all of this happened because of me. I was pushy and unreasonable.”“You sure were, Zoe, but you had to. I believe this happened for a reason,” Zuri said to Zoe, comforting her even though that was the last thing I expected from her.Clearly, what happened with Davien had bridged the gap between my wolves and me, and I could only hope that this bridge wouldn’t collapse anytime soon. I mean, both Zuri and Zoe can be very unpredictable.“Still, I'm sorry,” Zoe apologized to Zuri and me.Her sincerity bro
Princess Katie Anne~~“Davien!” I called out as he ran out of the purifying hut with undiluted terror in his eyes. “Please wait, Davien.”I pushed myself out of the lake, ready to run after the man whose mind I had seen and now knew like the back of my own hands. I didn’t just have a small peek. I was in Davien’s mind long enough to have a glimpse of every memory he had stored.I still didn’t know how I did it, but I knew I saw him laugh a few times, and when I went deeper, I saw the real him. The young boy whose family failed him in all ways. I saw the real him, and my heart ached for him.My heart nearly ripped itself out of my chest when he screamed in the memory realm. Seeing him shake even in that space made me realize the kind of damage that had been done to his mind and soul.Fuck!Why was I in his mind?Before I could make it out of the lake, fatigue hit me like an enemy who was hell-bent on stopping me from going after my mate. Auntie Susanna caught me before I could lose
DAVIEN~~At first, I thought nothing was happening because, despite how much the white wolves Gamma, Susanna, and a famous mind reader tried to instruct Katie, I felt nothing.Katie felt nothing as well.Until it happened.An electrifying sensation crackled between Katie and me, and before I knew it, my mind transitioned into a space that was completely out of the ordinary.It felt strange. I was both confused and curious, looking around for answers that seemed to be slipping out of my grasp. In fact, nothing felt familiar until my voice sliced through the thick, foggy air, invading my ears.“Mom, please,” I cried.I cried, but at the same time, the cry wasn't mine. I mean, I don't sound like that anymore. Over the years, my voice had thickened, but the voice that I heard at that point was soft.Soft yet recognizable because it was the younger version of me.“Please let me attend the party with you and Damien. I won't try to make friends. I won't disgrace you and Dad,” my younger se
Princess Katie Anne~~"Open your damn eyes, Katie Anne." Zoe’s vicious voice snapped through my mind in a way that made me groan even though I was trying to pretend to be asleep.Even though I have been awake for the past ten minutes.I just didn't want to open my eyes—“That's because you can feel our mate waiting for you, Katie. He even went downstairs to get breakfast for you,” Zuri muttered so softly.She was such a lover girl, the opposite of Zoe, of course.“Whatever. Just get your ass up and get it to the purifying, but where we have to be to channel enough to go into Dolf’s memory,” Zoe chimed emotionlessly.Although she didn't say it, I knew she believed that Davien went to get breakfast for me because he was hoping I would change my mind about taking the trip down memory lane with him. She didn't have to say it. I have come to know that she would read meaning into every action, including the meaningless and harmless.“You should get up, Katie. I agree with Zoe on this one,
ALPHA PRINCE KYLE~~As soon as dinner ended that day, my Ma and Pa chose to walk me to my bedroom even though they had a nighttime ritual they performed with Elora, Ronald, and Kennedy. My younger siblings weren't pleased they wouldn't have the attention tonight, but I wasn't delighted to be getting it either. I wanted to be left alone, but in this house, it seemed like I was asking for too much. “You can leave now, Ma, and you too, Pa,” I said to my parents as soon as I got to the front of my bedroom door. The walk from the dining hall was silent, and I knew they had many questions to ask me, but I wasn't in the mood to entertain them tonight. “You know I am not leaving, young man.” My Ma chimed, countering and walking past me to enter my bedroom.I looked towards my Pa for help, but he raised his hand and shrugged, saying, “I can't leave now, can I?” With that said, he also stepped into my room. I began to panic because I knew my Ma would make me break down before her in a
DAVIEN~~After Katie decided to read Dolf’s memory the next day because she was tired and also had to join the family for dinner, I also decided to tell her about my father’s text tomorrow. It would be if she could read my memories too and find out that I wasn’t involved in whatever conspiracy my family was cooking.I would do that tomorrow. I promised myself, walking side by side with Katie into the dining hall, where I was welcomed with warmth and smiles.Elora asked me to sit by her side, and to my surprise, Ronald and Kennedy began to talk about having a date with me, individually and also together.It was a wholesome time until Luna Queen Aurelia exhaled, her eyes on Katie, who seemed to be focusing on her meal. “Your brother isn’t here again tonight, Katie. What is it you aren't telling us?”Katie tensed for a minute before she looked back at her mom and stated, “You worry too much, Mom. Kyle is fine, and I already told you I have nothing to share with you. You can ask Kyle y