Meanwhile, in the castle of the Brunia Pack, Rune’s presence in the pack had just reached the ears of the current Alpha King - Alpha Maxon. The tall man who was not as powerful as his brother could not hide how worried the news made him. He always knew it was a matter of time before his brother would come back to question the illegality of his banishment, he just did not expect it to be so soon. And he did not expect that he would come back with a pregnant human mate.His right hand on his chin, Maxon debated in his mind, ways to get rid of his brother before he could make any move. Sending assassin wolves to quietly murder him was not an option. Rune would not die easily even if he was in his weakest state and Maxon did not want to be branded as the Alpha that tried to kill his brother.Maxon then further wondered if it was possible to do something about the human mate. She was, after all, a great abomination that should not exist in their pack. At the end of that deliberation, Rune’
“You were bleeding earlier…” Rose decided to revisit her earlier questions which she uttered in a slightly oblivious state. “Why?”Rune, with a small smile, folded the leaves that they used to plate the deer meat he hunted. “I cannot escape your query.”“Are you dying?” Rose looked at him hopefully, more than she wished to. Before he replied, she imagined what would happen if he died the next day. Thinking about it upset her so much. That was her answer. She was bothered by Rune and possibly leaning towards him second after second. “Maybe.” He shrugged as he rinsed his hands in the bowl he found in a corner of the ruins. “I could be. But it doesn't matter.”“It doesn't matter if you die?” With her pupils enlarged, she wished to slap those words out of his mouth. “I mean…” He sighed. “If I am truly dying, I don't care because my final days will be filled with memories of you and the days we have spent together. That is enough.”“I hate you,” she blurted with a visible ache in her voi
When Rose woke up the next day, Rune informed her that he was ready to open the gateway. That was the only statement shared between them. She went on to have a quick bath. Afterwards, she joined Rune, who was facing the forest with a greenish stone in his palms. “Are you sure you are better now?” she eventually asked when the silence between them started to make her feel weird. “We can stay back till you feel-”“No. I am okay.” He grunted confidently to prove his point, then returned to focusing on the stone. Moments later, he tsked and murmured, “Why is it not working?”“Is something wrong?”“The gate should be open by now. I am putting all my focus on it.”“It will never work,” responded the voice of Rune’s mother. Quietly, like a vampire on a hunt, the woman stepped into the sunlight, the ridiculous straw hat on her head making her look like a royal servant. “You can’t leave yet, my son.”“What bullshit are you trying to pull this time?” Rune asked tiredly.The Luna Dowager fixed
During their hushed and impactful conversation, Luna Dowager also offered a place to stay since residing in the castle would rouse unnecessary attention. So, as they walked into the simple house provided, Rose tried to occupy her racing mind with the view of the rooms. But there was nothing much to see. “Rose.” Rune pulled her from behind before she could check the last room. He had been following her quietly, but it seemed he could not endure the silence for long. “I want to understand what you and the Luna Dowager discussed. Why are we doing this?”Rose, with a little brow lift, made sure not to turn. “Let us prepare to-”“Fuck?” he interrupted with distaste. “Is this a joke, Rose? Do you think I see you as some sort of pregnancy vessel?”Rose was not willing to hear the flaws of her decision. She sighed. “When you are ready, let us get it done with.”“Rose.” Exasperatedly, he let go of her hand and walked to her front before she could escape. “Our bond is too sacred for us to use
“I will be fine,” Rose urged Rune, who had just told her that he needed to meet his mother. “I can’t help but feel that something might go wrong,” he continued, his worry multiplying as seconds passed. “Putting the Luna Dowager in her place is necessary. We also need the assurance that she will not back away from our deal,” Rose pointed out. She then got up and walked to the nearest window. “I know it is silly to claim that I would be perfectly alright. But as much as possible, I am going to stay safe.” She faced him. “I will lock the doors and draw the curtains.”Rune sighed. “If only my powers were protective.”“Powers? Oh, never mind.” Rose recalled how he easily zapped them out of places. “Rune, the more you put it off, the worse it gets. Get it done and come back to me.”His eyes lit up, and he got up from the patterned sofa. “I will be quick.”“I will be waiting.” If they were not under exigent circumstances, their conversation could have simply been one between lovers who did
Rune met all the doors and windows tightly closed. He had to force one of the windows open to get in. Thankfully, he wasn't too loud. He met Rose contentedly asleep on the bed. After keeping the letter he made his mother sign in the safest place he could think of, he opened some windows, disrobed, took a quick bath and joined Rose in the bed after finding baggy shorts in the doorless wardrobe seated in the corner of the room. Without distracting her sleep, he joined her under the huge blanket and almost started laughing when he saw how cutely she held on to the knife she had mentioned she would take. Once he placed the knife aside, his hand slid into hers, and like that, he fell asleep, peace and joy dominating every other feeling in his soul. [break]Rose waking up next to Rune reminded her of one of the things she used to desire in her hellish marriage. Many days, she wished to wake up next to Richard. But no matter how much her heart ached for such, it never happened. However,
“It is louder than I imagined,” Rose pointed out as their paces followed the path that led to the main market of the Brunia Pack. “And it appears normal.”“Normal or not,” Rune held her hand more firmly, “these wolves can suddenly decide to spill blood.” His cautious eyes were everywhere. “Stay close to me.”“Okay.” She shifted closer as if their joined hands were not enough for them to survive the crowd. “I need to find a way to make money,” Rune said after seconds of pushing past the people trying to purchase one thing or another. “Otherwise, our time here will be a waste.”“Or we could enter a contest.”“Huh?”She pointed at the banner highly displayed in front of them. “It is a fruit-eating contest. The winner gets two crates of eggs and a half bag of flour and rice.” Rose wondered why her excitement grew as she read out the details. “That is a pretty good deal, isn’t it?”“It is.” He looked hesitant.“Should we leave?” She looked around. “I am sure we can find a quick job to-”He
“I noticed you have not been bleeding,” Rose pointed out when they reached the dark path leading to their secluded house. “Did the Luna Dowager give you a fix?”“Yes. She had no choice. She badly wants an heir.”“That woman is crazy.” “Tell me something I don’t know,” Rune mumbled. “I don’t know how I lived with her.”“You probably didn’t have a choice.”“You know,” he turned very serious, “it never made sense to me that I had to put up with her. Whenever a council member saw that I was fed up with her, they always advised me to endure. I should have cut ties with her instead of listening to them. If I had done that, we would not be struggling to leave the pack right now.”Rose could not fully relate to him, but the pain in his voice reached her. She looked at him and said, “It is never easy to cut ties with certain people.”“I am jealous of those who have done it. My mother tires me. And I bet she’s giving my brother hell right now.”“Your brother? The Alpha?” Rose remembered ponder
“I did it,” Christopher tried to tame his excitement as he walked into the multinational-standard laboratory his government had been secretly equipping. “I actually did it.” He glanced at the three he-wolves strapped to the stretchers. “Professor, how do we keep Rune alive?”The professor, a middle-aged man maddened by science and technology, swirled his chair to face Christopher. “Pres, you are here. Liquid is in prep right now.”Christopher rushed a breath out of his soul. The professor’s lingo was always changing, the only constant was how difficult it was to understand him. “Liquid? What liquid?”“The liquid to keep him alive. The bullets didn’t do a lot of damage to the tough guy, but these belts are slowly sucking out his energy. Since the belts are the only way we can hold him down, we cannot loosen them. We need him to be in the best shape, don’t we? So,” the Prof’s crazy eyes widened, “I am preparing a little something.”“I see. That is good.”“What should we do about the oth
President Christopher was frightened by how much Kate’s plan worked out. The whole thing was too seamless. Based on her instructions, they found their helper, a woman named Natasha, who led them to the place where Rune and Rose were. As discussed, at the right time, Rose was separated from others per the desire of her wicked husband. As for Rune, who was unexpectedly not conscious, Christopher and his secret agents simply followed the men who pushed Rune’s carriage into the gateway. As Christopher’s little group walked through the light, he found the space weird. His heart could not rest easy; his palms itched, and his legs ached to leave. For a second, he thought he would die, but they thankfully reached Bruania before that could happen.“Sir, should we arrest them now?” One of his agents asked with a whisper. After multiple exhales, Christopher stood upright and watched as the men ahead of them glanced behind. They all ducked behind the truck shielding them and waited for the man
Rose did not argue with the new plan. It would ensure that Rune does not suffer anymore because of the curse. Every other concern could wait. She needed him to get better.So, as she carefully wiped his face to keep it clean, she whispered, “Soon, you will feel better. Don’t worry about anything, Rune. You are going to be fine.” Her teary eyes could not handle how gaunt his face was starting to look. She looked away for some seconds, closed her eyes and wished they could disappear from the pack at that very moment. “Rune…” She looked at him again. “We are going back to Bruania. If staying there does not work, we will relocate to another country.” After a heart-crushing sigh, she kissed his forehead to remind him again that she was still with him. Then, she sat on the small stool next to his bed. She reached for his hand, replaced the washcloth in her hand with a new one, dipped it in water and started cleaning his fingers. “You know, travelling to other countries was something I wo
When Rose saw what had come out of Rune, she hurriedly grabbed him because she was afraid that he would succumb and stop existing the next second. With her firm hold and tight frown, she supported Rune, who was murmuring about how he was fine while wiping blood off his lips. “Natasha! Healer Natasha!” Keith was as worried as every other person who was trying to hold on to Rune. Rose did not allow anybody else to touch her mate. With her feeble strength, she walked Rune out of that room. She did not let go of him until Natasha appeared and hurried them into a nearby room so that he could lie down. As she desperately watched Rune, Rose was inwardly beating up herself. How could she have been so negligent of the curse he was battling with? Coming back to the pack was already a huge gamble- one that could cost Rune his life. Yet, without saying a word, he had been walking with her, protecting her, listening to her, enduring her nonsense talks. But… She did not… She did not even ask if
“Luna Takashi,” the Luna Dowager sighed. “You are here.” The sword dropped to the ground. With a graceful smile that highlighted her heart-shaped face, Luna Takashi took three steps closer and said, “You must be tired and frustrated, Luna Dowager. You need to rest.”The woman’s gentle voice got on Catherine’s nerves. However, her mind was clearer now. She realised that she was very close to death, if not for Luna Takashi, she would no longer exist. “This brat, can you imagine the nonsense she just said?” the Dowager complained. It seemed she still wanted to sniff life out of Catherine. “I understand. The former Luna has always been reckless.” Catherine frowned at Takashi. What the fuck was the bitch saying?“You are right,” the Dowager continued. “I don’t know why I bother with a she-wolf who only thinks about a man like a fool.” She glared at Catherine. “This is your last warning. Stay away from Maxon and stick to the plan. Next time, even if the entire universe tries to stop me
When Rose and Rune entered the last room of that building, their fascination with the intricate details of the architecture grew. Most of the buildings were made of stone, but there were areas where art came to life in the form of carefully crafted cemented pillars, finely sculpted arches, and interesting intertwines with nature. Within these details, they found two pools, a hot spring, a rarely stocked library, an inner garden and other rooms similar to the one assigned to them.“Do you think we can find someone to build something similar to this?” Rose asked after recovering from the overwhelming intrigue.“Maybe.” Rune walked out of the room and closed the door. “Why?”Her smile became babyish. “I can picture living here, and I love it.”“Really? That is interesting.”“You don’t like it?” she asked as they hooked arms and proceeded to the room for the meeting.“I don’t like that it is underground.”“Oh, come on. Of course, we cannot live here forever.” Rose laughed. “I meant, out t
“Rune…” Rose whispered while the distant noise of those trying to break into the underground structure continued.“The deaths of my older brothers weakened my father, and I got a chance to take his life.”“Why?” Rose frowned. “If your father was weakened, why did you kill him?”“That was the only way for me to be Alpha King. Had I hesitated, I would have lost to other wolves who were searching for a means to grab the Alpha seat.”Rose could not fathom that sort of desperation. Or should it be called need? So, she asked, “Was that what you wanted?”He smiled. “Yes. And, no.”“I feel I shouldn’t ask more.” As he spoke, his eyes carried an excitement that was more inhumane than normal. “I don’t…” She gave up on what she wanted to say.“What is it?”“I don’t… I don’t know how to explain it. It seems like you didn’t hate killing your father.”“I did not hate it. However,” he adjusted his position, “I did not wish for my brothers to die. That is why I have mixed feelings about everything.”
“They are wasting their time,” Beta Runabis assured their little gathering. “This hideout is not penetrable by strangers.”Rune folded his arms after he ensured that Rose was indeed eating. “Expatiate,” he said.“Even if they burn the shack above us, they cannot find the entrance. There is no visible entrance.”“That is interesting,” Rune said. “How do we leave if we want to?”“There are three exits. The shack is one, the other two link to the main market and the back of the castle.”“The back of the castle?” Rune frowned. That must be where they pass to execute their murders.“Those are the options.”Rune sighed. “Basically, we should not be bothered by what is going on up there?” The guards were quite loud, it was hard to ignore them.Runabis nodded. “We are safe.”That was enough assurance for Rune. He released his crossed arms and said, “Let us have our meeting in two hours. Since the enemies are not relenting, I want to respond with a bang.” A part of his soul twitched with excit
“You are still here,” Rose whispered, and Rune opened his eyes. After their long embrace, they went to sit; Rose sat on Rune’s lap. And, with her head leaning on his shoulder. Rune’s heart ached so much as they remained in that position for a while. He mourned for the younger Rose, who could not find escape from the hell of her parents’ home. And his soul cried for the older Rose, who was still struggling to escape from that previous inferno and the new form of hell chasing after her. It was now that he realised Rose’s agonies were deeper than he had imagined. And his desire to heal them became weak because no matter how he pondered, he could not figure out a way to possibly erase the terrible moments of her life. Moments of that magnitude would want to leech off her strength for as long as possible. “Rune?”He had almost forgotten that she said something to him. “My love,” he hurriedly came back to reality. With his hand playing over her arm, he said, “Of course, I am still her