DAVIEN~~“Experiencing the war so close and having two parents actively fighting a war that could have been avoided broke me. My mom returned bloody and in tears. She was wounded, but she didn’t care about herself because my dad was unconscious,” Katie said.Although this was not how the conversation started, we got to this point where she opened her heart and bore her soul to me. I moved to sit beside her on the bed, and I held her hands when I noticed how difficult it was for her to continue.I didn’t want to speak or interrupt her, but I still wanted her to know that I was listening and would always listen to her.“My dad’s condition almost tore us apart. Mom lost herself and could barely look at us. Kyle and I had to manage our feelings. I’m not blaming my mom for not paying attention to us then because I know how difficult it was for her. What I am saying is that although the entire realm felt the scorching wildfire of the war, my family and I were the closest to the flame.”My
Princess Katie Anne~~“Go down memory lane with me, Katie, and if you can, let’s peek at the future while at it.”Dolf’s voice echoed in my mind, instantly resulting in a drop of my jaw, as I didn’t expect this conversation to lead us here. I thought he would be hurt, and Davien too. I knew I would be hurt if he were to tell me that he didn’t trust me, even though I had done nothing to earn his distrust.Hurt and anger were what I expected, but Davien was staring at me with those warm honey-brown eyes, and Dolf's voice was soothing in my mind.Dolf’s offer was tempting, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that.“And why on earth would you not?” Zoe’s voice resonated in my mind, leaving Dolf out of the conversation even though his consciousness was stirring within my mind as well.Before I could respond, Zuri chimed in, “Because if he is offering to do that, then he has nothing to hide, Zoe. We can’t keep hurting them just because of what someone in the past did to us. It’s not fair to
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
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
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,
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~~“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
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~~“I won’t let them treat you like this.”I seethed as the tension around us thickened, even though the crowd was still cheering. Davien’s hold around my waist became tighter, and I knew he didn’t want me to lash out, but I had had enough of this.How could they treat him like he didn’t exist, even in a ceremony? Amber had a seat to herself, and so did Damien, who wouldn’t stop staring at me like the creep he was. His parents also dared to flash those false smiles my way, walking over to clearly show me to my seat.“Thank you for joining us, Princess Katie,” Alpha Jarrett uttered with a light voice, and cheers echoed through the hall as members of the Black Fur Pack jubilated.However, I wasn’t merry like the rest of them, and with every second that passed, it became harder to pretend.“Please sit, Princess.” As expected, Luna Cynthia pointed at the only empty seat on the higher platform in the hall.Zoe barked within me, “The audacity!”My wolf’s anger only fue
DAVIEN~~“That can’t be,” Katie whispered as she staggered into the bedroom, her face pale and hands trembling.I picked up the bag Jade had dropped, followed Katie into our bedroom, and locked the door behind me.“She really is dead?” She asked me, horror etched into her stormy blue eyes.I nodded, shocked that Katie didn’t know that Aunt Jessica had died thirteen years ago. My mate collapsed on the bed, and I knelt before her, holding her hand and telling her to breathe.“To protect Katie and Kyle, Aurelia hid the news of Jessica’s death from them. I also don’t know the full story, but I am at fault because of the part I played. Larisa might have pulled the trigger that killed Jessica, but I put her in the position to get killed for my selfish desires,” Dolf said to me, taking on the blame even though we all knew he had nothing to do with everything that went down thirteen years ago.“You mean it’s all Tristan’s fault. You can’t take the blame, Dolf, and it wasn’t right for Jade
Princess Katie Anne~~Davien and I woke up late in the afternoon. While Davien had more than enough reason to sleep for as long as we did, I didn’t have any because—“You have more than enough reasons, too, Katie. Have you forgotten what Davien did to you before you both slept?” Zoe asked before shoving explicit images of Davien fucking me into my mind as if I didn’t live that memory a few hours ago.I turned red and threw the covers over my face while Davien went to answer the door. Fortunately for whoever was at the door, Davien and I woke up before he or she could disrupt the peace we worked hard to achieve.I wouldn’t have forgiven the person at the door if they had woken Davien, regardless of the reason.“Hey, Jade. Why are you here?” The familiarity and affection in Davien’s voice didn’t go unnoticed.Zuri chimed through the mind link, “I thought he said he didn’t have a friend here? Who is Jade, and why does he smell as happy as he sounds?”Call me jealous, but I was out of
Princess Katie Anne~~My mate was struggling. I could sense that fact all through the night, but I had to pretend like I didn’t because I didn’t know how to help him. The second I opened my eyes this morning and saw his face, I knew he didn’t get enough sleep or maybe didn’t get to sleep at all.It was at that point that I knew I had to find a way to help him escape the demons that haunted him in his sleep. It’s only been a night in Black Fur, and he already looked like shit. I couldn’t let his family think for a minute that they were getting to him.“What if I take the memories away?” I blurted before I could stop myself.Damien, who had just rolled out of bed, stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me with his brows raised. “Huh?”“I don’t really know how, but I know Grandma Iris performed a trick that erased Kyle’s memories after he was rescued from Larisa. I can call her, ask her how to do it, and do the same for you so you can have peace, Davien.”I tried to explain to my ma
DAVIEN~~Of course, the right-hand side of the father. Of our father.Since we were young but old enough to understand power and the amount that came with being the pack's next Alpha, Damien had made himself our dad’s right hand, and our dad made it easier for him to do that since he was the favorite child.Usually, I would have chosen to sit at the foot of the table or eat alone, but since my dad was invited to dinner and asked to sit right here by my dad, I should have known Damien would have a problem with that.“He is so full of himself,” Dolf grumbled within me, almost showing himself and just how powerful he was, even though we had both agreed to keep him a secret for as long as possible.My family still didn’t know I had a wolf, and when they found out, I knew it would change everything. My brother would most likely see me as a threat for the first time since we were born.“Wait till they find out I am your wolf,” Dolf chuckled as Katie’s response to Damien echoed through th
Princess Katie Anne~~Speaking to my family over the phone was new. I had never had to communicate with them through any form of technology, but since I was far from them and wouldn’t be able to use the mindlink, I had to settle for my cellphone, which I hardly used before now.“I have to go now, Dad. It’s dinnertime here, and it would be rude to keep the leaders of this pack waiting for me,” I said to my dad, who had refused to end the call.He wasn’t the only one who took ages before passing the phone to someone else. Every one of my siblings, except Kyle, who wasn’t with the family currently, wouldn’t let the phone go, and they also wouldn’t put it on speaker so I could talk to everyone simultaneously.My mom, being her sacrificial and understanding self, let the phone go after she made sure I was fine, but of course, my dad had to say, “I am sure they can wait. You are the princess, and you are talking to your dad. You know? The King?”“That’s just being cocky, Dad.” I laughed
DAVIEN~~My Ferocious CatGoddess! I was so right when I referred to my mate as that. She was everything a ferocious cat should be—meek, calculative, elegant, beautiful, and deadly. She could be a domesticated cat, but one should never mistake that for weakness, because she was naturally a wild one, even in bed.Yeah, seeing and hearing her insult Damien had my balls tightening. I could see the bear in me surfacing, ready to rip Katie’s clothes to shreds as soon as we got to our room—“This is your room, Princess Katie,” my mom announced, and I knew better than to ignore the fact that she called it Katie’s room and not OUR room. My mom confirmed that her choice of words wasn’t a mistake when she added, “You can stay in your old room after you help the princess settle in, Dave.”Katie was quick to say, “We will be staying in the same room, Luna Cynthia.”My mom smiled sheepishly and muttered, “There are many rooms in the mansion, Princess. You can have all the privacy you need, and D
Princess Katie Anne~~“Next Luna?” A high-pitched, contentious voice struck my eardrums despite the cheers of the pack members, and just like that, my first opposition, who couldn’t hide her hate, stepped forward, standing confidently with her head high in the air.She stated, her amber eyes piercing my skull before they shifted between Alpha Jarrett and Luna Cynthia, “I believe that title is mine. It’s my birthright and—”“Now is not the time, Amber,” Alpha Jarrett scolded her, but that didn’t kill the flame in Amber’s eyes.Clearly, she didn’t respect him, and while I kept staring at her to see if I would recognize her from when I was younger, Zoe chimed into my mind, “Amber eyes, and she was named Amber. Her parents didn’t even try.”I didn’t get the joke, but somehow Zuri did, and she chuckled with Zoe, both of them effortlessly mocking Amber.“When will the time be, Alpha? The pack is gathered, and you just announced that a brat who left the pack many years ago, only to return
Princess Katie Anne~~I could feel my heart racing even though I tried to hide it and control the rush of emotions that attacked my nervous system the second we drove into Black Fur pack.Somewhere at the back of my mind, I could see my younger self giggling as we drove out of Black Fur. I could see the big smile on my face because I was excited to leave the pack for the first time in my life.I recalled holding my mom and Kyle while my little mind rapidly took in the possibility of adventure that awaited us, even though I didn’t know half of the thoughts that were racing through my mom’s mind that day.I bet she was terrified that day, but she kept a strong face for Kyle and me. Now, it was my turn to be strong for Davien and my family.As Garrick drove the car towards the Alpha’s mansion, following Davien’s direction, I tried to look around, searching for some sort of familiarity, even though I knew recognizing anything or anyone from my childhood here would stir up my emotions.