(Ariel's POV)I leaned back, startled as I tried to hold his gaze, to look at him firmly without showing any fear, but I couldn't stop the slight shiver that ran through me. My voice felt small as I spoke. "I won't do that again." I swallowed hard.He didn't respond immediately, just studied me closely. He closely observed me slowly. Clearly enjoying the effect he had on me after a few moments that seemed to be like hours he gave a slight nod and went back to his chair.I watched his back as he walked back, as I let out a breath of relief. His expression was calm like nothing had just happened but to me, I felt the pressure was being lifted from my shoulders.Elijah sat down, leaning back in his chair, his eyes never leaving me meanwhile I returned to my meal. I slowly tried to eat again, but it felt different now — my appetite had become sour. Still, I forced the food down, glancing up at him every now and then. I was glad that I still had something to eat.His aura from earlier had
(Ariel's POV)I hurried quickly to the location of the address Alice sent. As soon as I saw the address, I put a forced smile.That was the address of our old home, the place where we grew up. The place where we once shared everything before it all fell apart.Memories flooded my mind as I approached the familiar house, it was almost the same as it was before with only just a few renovations.The house stood there tall and standing, bringing back countless memories."Alice!" I called as I burst through the front door of the house. I stepped in and looked around, nothing much had changed, I found my way down the hallway, looking for Alice."Alice," I called out again as I stood in the hallway.Her voice, small and broken, came from the living room. "I'm here."When I saw her, I was shocked. Alice sat curled up on the couch, her face covered in bruises and dark purple marks across her beautiful pale skin.Her hair was a mess, tangled, as if she hadn't taken care of herself in days. Alic
(Ariel's POV)That night, Alice and I lay side by side, our bodies close so that we could both hear ourselves breathing. We were both wide awake, but the room was quiet, with only the occasional howl of distant wolves.With my back on the bed I let out a little smile as I stared up at the ceiling knowing that Alice was safe now, away from Jack's cruelty.Though Alice betrayed me and I could still sense her scheming, I still wished for her safety. I genuinely wanted her to be safe, not because it was my father's last wish. Yes, it was because of my father's last wish that I bear her actions so much, even if she betrayed me, abandoned me, and hoped for my death.My heart throbbed with pain as I recalled Alice's previous actions. I still blamed her, but I could do nothing about her. She was my only sister, only family left in the world.Suddenly, Alice rolled over and looked at me. I flinched. "Alice, why aren't you asleep," I asked as I turned to look at her. Alice observed me for a mom
(Ariel's POV)Elijah stood there calmly watching me. He didn't flinch at all, befitting of the Alpha King. This was the second time I was pointing the gun at him but just like before, I was afraid, but I didn't show it. Only that this time the fear inside me was far more than the last time.We both stared at each other for a moment, while I considered my options. I might as well kill him now, but I knew I would never be able to escape. I would be killed, if not tortured to death.Not only that, but innocent humans would also die as punishment too. My hand wavered, and finally, I lowered the gun still maintaining eye contact with him.Even if I killed him, the werewolves would have another Alpha King and the chain of oppression on the humans would still go on. It wasn't worth it to kill him.I silently placed the gun on a table, my eyes still locked on Elijah. He wore an amused smile on his face as he watched me closely.Elijah didn't take his eyes off me as he spoke to the guards. "Ev
(Ariel's POV)After I had orgasmed, I took a deep breath and in a few minutes I had managed to finally come back to my senses. But I sat there frozen in disbelief, my mind racing as I tried to process what had just happened.The Alpha King, Elijah, had handled me in ways I hadn't expected. I felt a wave of relief and confusion at the same time. He always pushed me to the edge, then, pretend as if nothing happened. He could have me anytime, and ruthlessly abandon me the next more. What's more, he never touched me. He never had me. This made things more confusing.I looked down at my torn skirt and Elijah followed my gaze. I couldn't walk out of here like this. I instinctively pressed my legs together trying to cover myself from his prying eyes.Although I knew it was futile, if he wanted to he could have sex with me right here. But he just stood there observing me with an amused smile, holding the gun he had just fucked me with.He picked up the fabric of my torn skirt and wiped the ti
(Ariel's POV)I stirred in my sleep as I woke to the sound of frantic footsteps echoing through the corridors, disturbing my sleep.After that wild encounter with Elijah I was exhausted and slept until the next morning, I would rather not be disturbed! But I couldn't even rest for a bit.I rolled and groaned as the noise kept becoming louder. "What's going on?" I mumbled as I squinted my eyes open.My head pounded, and my body felt heavy with fatigue as I tried to pull myself out of bed. "What was all this commotion?" I wondered as I turned the door knob.I stumbled into the hall, two maids rushed past as they discussed something, their arms full of linens."Hello, wait—what's going on?" I called after her, my voice still raspy with sleep.The two maids stopped and turned to look at me. "G… Good morning…""Skip the greetings," I waved my hand as I looked at them curiously. They both quickly bowed their head in respect before answering."Mark—he's gone, Miss Ariel." One of the maids st
(Ariel's POV)The crowd exploded into murmur the moment Elijah pulled his claws from Mark's chest. The ground was soaked with blood, Mark's blood.Whispers and murmurs sounded through the punishment execution ground, bouncing off the stone walls of the square.The murmurs increased, but the surrounding werewolves were not so surprised, it was probably a normal scene to see their Alpha so ruthless.Elijah wiped the blood off his hands before turning around and walking off, leaving Mark's lifeless body behind as it bled on the floor, dead!He looked through the crowd, his gaze, and aura sweeping past everyone. My heart raced, as my body felt cold, frozen in place as I looked at his bloodstained smile, the satisfaction in his eyes.As Elijah stepped forward, the crowd stepped backwards whether due to what he had just done or the fearsome aura he radiated, but somehow I remained rooted, unsure if it was out of fear that my leg was frozen.The crowd around me was in chaos filled with murmu
(Elijah's POV)I watched as a naked woman entered, wading through the steam of the hot bath, her body smelling of Ariel. But she immediately sank into the water and grabbed my dick.Her hands wrapped around my member as she slowly whispered."Let me serve you well," She said as she rubbed my dick. But the moment her skin touched mine, something felt wrong.Ariel?I looked up at her.She smelled like Ariel—but the scent was faint, too faint. It didn't stir the same primal recognition that I always felt when my mate touched me.My body tensed, and every instinct screamed that this wasn't her. As she moved to mount me, I felt a snarl rise in my throat, anger burning through me like wildfire. This wasn't Ariel. Ariel would never willingly do this by herself.I clenched my jaws. My hand moved, shooting out and grabbing her by her throat.Her eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected this. Fool. Did she really think she could deceive me? What kind of Alpha King would I be if I couldn't eve
(Ariel's POV)I hummed a tune as I got dressed for the day. I was excited to show my marksmanship, especially to the people who had not seen me in action ever but underestimated me. The look of shock and awe on their faces would make my day.I whistled and moved my hips to the tune I was humming while I brushed looking at myself in the mirror. I felt giddy.I spat out the spittle in my mouth and gazed at myself in the mirror. “You are amazing,” I hailed myself.“You are beautiful. You are smart. You are the brightest. See the adoration in their eyes because of your awesome talent. You are powerful.” I continued to hail myself looking directly at myself through the mirror.My cheeks high, my head straight, my face stoic, and my words firm.Truly, I felt powerful. Today was my day, it felt good to do something you excelled effortlessly at. I was looking forward to the shooting round. I may not know a lot of things but I understood weapons.I knew each gun just by looking at them, I iden
(Ariel's POV)I woke up to Elijah cleaning me up tenderly, my hands were no longer bound. He was drawing soothing lines over the rope mark, washing it with soap, and willing the marks to disappear.I sighed contentedly and leaned into him as he washed me. His hands massaged my shoulders gently, I was really sore and I let out a moan.“If you keep moaning like that, I would be tempted to take you here and now,” Elijah's husky voice whispered in my ear.I stiffened, I had enjoyed the sex, allowing myself to indulge in the passion and enjoy it but I was not ready for another one. I was too sore. So I tried to contain the moan that threatened to break out of my lips. Elijah was too gentle in washing me and it was making me feel so good.I relaxed and enjoyed his care. I felt helpless against Elijah’s childish attitude towards anger. The moment he was jealous or angry he showed it by trying to mark me and dominate me with sex. I was helpless against his behavior.But I wouldn't deny that t
(Elijah's POV)It's been a few weeks since I saw Ariel. I missed her so much. Dealing with the whole assassination thing was taking up my time. Each day I had lots of work on my desk and I hadn't been able to go see her.I missed her smile, I missed her body, I missed sex with her. I was craving her touch. Tomorrow was the day of her match but I needed to see her today.So I cleared up my desk early, pushing aside the rest of the work. The Moonstone file glared at me, calling for me to attend to it but I closed it right back and left to go see her.Thoughts of her riddled me as I walked down the hallway, my wolf was excited to see her, he whistled a happy tune in my head, and my body was excited to finally see her and have a proper conversation with her. Well, I hoped I would have a proper conversation with her.Every time we attempted to have a decent conversation, we always ended up with one of us angry. I knew it was bound to happen but I hoped it would be different. A man can hope
(Ariel's POV)The postponement of the contest also gave me ample time to recuperate. I had been worried about how I would perform in casts or with limps. It did not help that I had overheard some people talking and they said the next round would be shooting practice.I hoped my leg would be properly healed before the next contest. Shooting was my forte, my knowledge of weapons gave me an advantage and so I was looking forward to this section. I did not want anything to jeopardize my winning chances.25 days later, my leg was fully healed. I could stretch it, walk without limping, run, and put the whole pressure on that foot without wincing or hissing in pain. My leg was completely healed.“I am damn excited that my leg is completely healed now,” I told Raven, flexing my ankle, my cheeks turned up very high in a smile.“I am happy for you, mi lady.” She handed me a branch of the rose flower she had plucked and curtsied while at it, we laughed together.The echoes of our laughter resoun
(Vincent's POV)“I am here to escort Ariel back to her room,” I announced the moment I entered the office. Although my gaze was intent on Ron, I could feel Ariel roll her eyes. Her antics amused me.“Your eyes would soon fall off with the amount of time you roll them,” I told her. She muttered incoherent words under her breath and I chuckled.I did not mind riling her up every once in a while, I did not get the opportunity often.I had rushed here the moment my investigation had clicked that Ron was part of the resistance. He was connected in more ways than one with the resistance.It did not surprise me, I was wary and hesitant when Elijah suggested that he bring him in as Ariel's personal physician. I did not dissuade him but I did share my reluctance with him.But Elijah wanted someone he knew and someone that Ariel could be safe with after the near-assassination experience. I believed that nobody was worth trusting or was even safe to be with at the moment. Everybody was a damn su
“What did you say you are doing here?” I asked Ron again when the initial shock wore off.He sighed. “Elijah arranged for me to be here,” he dropped another bombshell.“Elijah arranged for you to be here?” I asked in confusion, almost shrieking. That thought felt absurd, what was Elijah thinking?“Yes, due to your injury. He said he wanted you to recuperate in a quiet and comfortable environment.” He replied.The wheels of my mind began to turn, so that was why Elijah did not let me stay back in my room or go to the infirmary for this treatment. No wonder he had insisted that I get a new primary care physician.It still did not make sense to me that he chose Ron to be my primary physician. Wasn't he always jealous of Ron? What happened? What changed?Something felt suspicious and not knowing what it was kept me agitated.“Come and sit down, so I can examine the wound.” Ron patted the small bed in his office.I hesitantly climbed the bed with difficulty refusing his help, my movement a
(Ariel's POV)Ten minutes after I'd woken up, I still lay in bed with my eyes open, I was still tired. I allowed my mind wander to the conversation I had with Vincent the night before. My eyes followed every object I could see in the room but I did not sit up.Another ten minutes later and I stretched my body finally ready to step out of the bed. I sat up and looked around, adjusting my body to the new day. I was a little disoriented.My ankle throbbed and I hissed in pain, rubbing soothing circles around it. Gently, I dragged myself off the bed and into the bathroom. I took my bath, making sure water did not touch my wound and then I gently re-dressed my wound. I popped a few pain killers to get rid of the pain I woke up with.When I was done, I headed towards Raven's room to check on her. I had been in severe pain yesterday plus Vincent and Elijah did not leave my room so I was not able to check on her.I felt bad that I had not checked on her and her wound until now so I hastened m
(Ariel's POV)As soon as Vincent walked out with a heavy face, Elijah entered his face wary, glancing between me and Vincent's back curiously.“Am I missing something?” Elijah asked, looking curious.I shook my head, “Nothing.”“Why did he leave with that expression then?”“I don't know. It's nothing.”Elijah stared at me warily and then shrugged, “It did not look like nothing to me.” He muttered very lowly, I almost did not catch on.“We found your assassin's,” Elijah informed me.I perked up, “Really, did you find out who sent them?” I asked genuinely interested in knowing who must have wanted me out of the way. I was certain the killers came for me and Raven was just unfortunate to be with me at that time.Elijah frowned, “No. I was still in the process when they killed themselves,” My face scrunched up in confusion.Elijah stared into space, his face bristled with unleashed anger, “I was interrogating them when they just began to bleed to death. Turns out, they had a pill in their
(Ariel's POV)I sat frozen and unmoving, my hand trembled lightly as I pondered on Vincent's question.“I want to know about your father.”The statement kept running in my mind even in my immobile state. I refused to acknowledge the question, what did he want with my father?I was not expecting the question, what had my near death had to do with my father? I had barely survived from the ruckus earlier and here he was questioning me about a man who had since died.It kept me on edge. Why did he ask about him all of a sudden? I thought about what we had been discussing.‘Yes, we were just discussing his reasons for appearing in the palace today.’ I thought. So how did the conversation include my father?I paid him no attention, my mouth shut, as I looked around the room instead, my eyes falling everywhere but in Vincent. I felt his gaze sharply piercing, waiting for an answer.And when I could not stand it anymore, I bent under his gaze.“What do you want with him?” I managed to ask.“I