~ Rhys ~“You’re out of control, even with Amira,” Rhys hissed to his wolf. “Don’t ever do that again.”Demon huffed in response. The wolf was rattled inside of Rhys’ mind. Rhys could tell Demon wanted to return and take Amira and her wolf out of that cell. He would, but not yet. That little minx was too manipulative, too sexy for her own good, and sharp. His lips twitched into a small smile at that.He would need at least a dozen men to guard her room. That would take time. Everyone was asleep now, and those patrolling had their own orders. He could wake the pack members up, but he was in a pleasant mood and knew Amira would be comfortable either way, whether it was a guestroom or that cell.Demon growled in response to Rhys’ thoughts. He didn’t care about the pack members. Rhys could feel his restlessness and emotions. If their future Luna finally arrived, then they could wake up and be on guard duty.But they weren’t under attack or anything, and his men did train hard.‘Let them h
~ Amira ~The she-wolf was as quiet as a mouse, her senses on high alert, as she scanned her surroundings and approached the double doors exiting the dungeons. There was something almost too easy about this escape. No guards were positioned at the doors or patrolling the dungeons.Amira knew there were other prisoners further inside. The least the royal dungeon would have been guards at the doors. Nope. She swung one of the heavy doors open to a gloomy, windy hallway with a gradual slope; she couldn’t see where it led. The torchlight flickered along the side of the walls that seemed to go on forever.Her step faltered before she moved further into the hallway.Something wasn’t right.What was wrong? Amira couldn’t tell what made her stop at the doors.There was something wrong with this hallway.Amira scanned the hallway. The sconces revealed scorch marks below them and on some of the floors. It wasn’t noticeable unless someone paid special attention to them.Not only that, but those
~ Amira ~A clanking resonance filled the air around Amira, causing her body to tense, her heart to gallop, and perspiration to trickle down at the nape of her neck. Her eyes darted anxiously, uncertainty gripping her, as she remained on edge, wondering if she was truly safe. Yet, nothing transpired aside from that sound, resembling the creak of a drawbridge lowering over a moat.Watching carefully, Amira took another step forward.Nothing happened.Amira released a long breath, her shoulders relaxing as that noise continued to fill the air. She started following the path where the same coloured tiles were, but the more she stepped forward, the walls shook, and the ground vibrated. SHING!Spikes! More spikes filled the walls, pointing at her from both sides, and they did not stay still. The walls vibrated loudly, that clanking sound still in motion as they started to close in on her!‘RUN!’Nisha’s command jolted Amira into action, and she sprinted forward, but the more she ran, the
~ Rhys ~HOW?!Rhys looked down at his body- that wasn’t his body- and was once again in Amira’s form. Deliciously naked. That wasn’t the shocking bit, though. With some of the wounds scattered on her body, including a painful burn on her arm that was starting to heal, Rhys knew Amira escaped the dungeons almost unscathed. But HOW?! They were told it was 99% impossible to escape. Amira was that 1%.Rhys shook his head and scanned his surroundings. He stood beside a tree in the forest. It all looked the same, but he knew Amira didn’t make it far before their body swap. ‘Welcome back,’ Nisha greeted Rhys. He was surprised to have a warm welcome; it was far kinder than Amira probably would be. Hearing his thoughts, Nisha added, “You cannot blame her for that.’‘And did she really hate it?’ Rhys asked, feeling confident without the need to hear Nisha’s response. Still, he was curious.‘That’s beside the point!’ Nisha humphed, but Rhys could tell she wasn’t really angry and only putting
~ Rhys ~Did you mate with her already? Rhys wanted to scoff. Amira messed up in the midst of leaving to hunt him down. She should have known better than to believe he would continue on her little venture into the woods. What advantage would he gain from doing such a thing?Baltir glanced at Amira’s chest and the bare spot where a mate mark would be. Amira ignored the Beta’s questions, though, and glanced behind her and stopped. She frowned at Rhys. Rhys glared back, not sure what was wrong with this she-wolf now.‘Amira walks confidently and proudly. No matter who is around her. You are covering yourself and acting ashamed-’Rhys scoffed, interrupting Nisha’s explanation. Before he could respond, Nisha spoke up. ‘We are werewolves. Walking around naked is our forte. Amira has a beautiful body-’‘Exactly! I don’t want the others drooling over her!’ Rhys snapped back. He expected Nisha to be annoyed. Instead, she chuckled and seemed happy for some reason. Amira sighed after watching
~ Amira ~Amira parted ways with Rhys, her mind somewhat sluggish from the turn of events as she tried to keep up with everything that happened. Now back in Rhys’ body, she walked down the open hallways to the king’s room, one she was used to returning to now but was overly aware of the bedroom beside his. The one where Rhys was currently.Zev and Tolva stood guard outside. The pair managed to find some breeches. Zev looked like he’d just gotten out of bed with that shaggy brown hair like normal compared to Tolvar’s stark difference with his blonde hair neatly pulled back into a small queue. Despite this, both were still shirtless. They appeared comfortable standing guard half naked, and she saw why. Their bodies were what she expected of the king’s personal guard and friends. All muscular and chiselled. Demon growled in her mind, and she had to hide a slight smirk at his jealousy.‘It is only a compliment. I don’t mean anything by it. You’re obviously waaaay hotter,’ Amira flattered
~ Amira ~While Amira had been internally debating with herself and forcing herself to look past Demon’s whines and the barrier around her heart that crumbled to them, Rhys had been side-eying her in the bath.“You were going to escape. Why? You knew this was a possibility of happening,” Rhys said, oblivious to Amira’s thoughts and the narrowing of her eyes directed at him.Amira rolled her eyes. “If you were ever truly in my shoes, then you would understand why escaping was a better option.” She held her finger up to silence Rhys; surprisingly, he did. Rhys didn’t interrupt and watched her; his movements paused mid-scrub under his armpit. “There were other reasons as well… I wanted to hunt down the elders who were banished... No matter, I will send the word out to target them.” A wicked smile lit up Amira’s face to the malevolent thoughts racing across her mind. So many would volunteer to hunt down and torture corrupt officials, which made their lives harder. Heck, even if she sent
~ Amira ~The doors closed behind them as Amira ventured further into the Alpha King’s chambers, lost in thought about this situation. She never thought about Beta Baltir discovering the body swap. Or hear their conversation. They seriously needed to get thicker walls. Rhys and Amira would need to find somewhere more private if they wished to discuss such things again. Right now, though, Amira needed to focus on the current issue. What could be done about Baltir?“What do you think you know?” Amira decided to ask, turning to face him, now inside the living quarters by the fireplace. It was relatively safe to talk about this here. It was further inside the king’s quarters, with the multiple walls and doors between them and the guards. "You’re not Rhys…” Baltir said, observing her and side-stepping gingerly. Amira glanced at his movements. It looked like he was debating whether to attack her or not. That would be a mistake. Amira ignored his hesitant movements and sat down in the a
Xenos was executed within a week of returning to the palace. Amira was there but didn’t watch the execution after it reminded her of her fathers. The weight Amira had been carrying around lifted even at the expense of Zayyan’s father’s death. Zayyan wasn’t there to witness it due to the new position he held as the only leader of the rogues. Alpha Dashiell’s name was also cleared, and his name and pack reinstated, though there was none to accept it besides the last living pack member, Amira Desai, their Luna and Alpha Queen. The land that had been abandoned and weakened the kingdom since was given to the next Desai heir- Amira- who wanted to give it to Zayyan. Her cousin refused the offer and remained in the Wildlands, not wholly trusting the government or the rogues and remaining neutral within the ongoing politics. After Amira’s coronation and introduction to the kingdom as their new Queen, the rules were established for packs and rogues to coexist peacefully. Zayyan ensured his p
On the other side of everybody fighting and almost finishing their fight because of the lack of numbers or will to continue hurting and killing each other, Amira flung one of her blades at Xenos’ face.Xenos blocked with his metal-cuffed arm and grinned as it bounced off. “Cheap shot, Amira.” He jumped forward and kicked through her blocked arms and square in the chest. Air rushed out of her lungs while her body flew back; instead of falling to the ground, though, Amira pushed off with her hand and flipped back until she was on her feet once more. Amira dusted her shirt down casually. She was in her usual black assassin attire today, minus the mask and cloak, but her black leather corset was thicker, more like a layer of armour. That kick still hurt, though, and she knew there would be a bruise. “I didn’t think you still had any moves, Xenos,” she grinned, pulling two daggers from within her sleeves and prowling forward.“Watch it, kid,” Xenos warned, green eyes so similar to her fat
“Not a chance,” Xenos sneered and signalled for those behind him to attack. Amira’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect him to use them. Their numbers were so much lower than theirs.‘Well, should have expected that,’ Nisha commented.Frowning, Amira took a step in Xenos’ direction, but something flashed out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and blocked an air assault by none other than Nova. At the same time, Caz had attacked Rhys. “Shit,” Amira growled, glancing at her uncle, who began stepping backwards as his men charged forward. “I didn’t want this!”She didn’t want them fighting among themselves. Asking Xenos to fight was the perfect chance for her revenge and to stop what was now happening!“Sorry, Mira!” Nova attacked again, slicing her claws towards Amira’s face. But she was far too slow for Amira. “Is there a reason you are trying to kill me?” Amira asked in a bored tone as she blocked another strike from she-wolf and uppercut her chin. Nova stumbled backwards afte
At the Alpha King’s words, the rogues turned to face him. All were shocked to see Rhys there. Even those who didn’t know what he looked like could tell who he was from the power emanating from him. Some wanted to bow their heads in submission to him even though they were rogues.“I am Alpha King Rhys Quintrell,” Rhys announced. Some of his guards remained behind him, looking onward like they weren’t in enemy territory. “And this is not a trap. I do not have an army outside these doors nor wish to destroy you all. Amira is my mate. What she says is true. I want to improve our land, how people live, the system that cruelly acts against rogues…” Rhys walked forward, and the crowd, in their shock, surprisingly parted ways for him. Amira shared a glance with Zayyan when her mate walked past Caz, who pushed Nova from him and stepped towards the Alpha King. But another rogue held him back. Caz growled, trying to get out of his hold. Everyone knew about Caz and Amira’s past relationship. C
Amira hadn’t thought about the Wildlands since she’d been body-swapping with Rhys and stayed in the palace. Of course, she thought of the people, but she didn’t think ahead when she would return to the place she’d once called home. Now, some of her memories felt a little tarnished, a bit icky because of how she came to be with her uncle. Now, after a few days of travelling, they were almost in town. The building where the guild was located stood out the most compared to the other structures. Or perhaps it only stood out to Amira because it was where she grew up. Amira’s little party mainly were on horseback, except for a few who remained in their wolf form. They weren’t a large group. That would mean getting spotted quicker.They weren’t large, but everyone was a skilled fighter. Rhys was beside her as well, wearing his usual expensive outfits. She didn’t want him to dress down, not now when she needed to convince others that they were working together. That was the priority of the
The meeting was tenser than Amira had anticipated. Yet, through the mate bond, Amira could sense Rhys held no hatred towards Zayyan. After spending time in Amira’s body, he saw Zayyan as a close friend already, but her cousin had no idea about their body switching. To him, this had been the first time they’d officially met.Alpha Evander had also been extremely grumpy throughout their meeting. Once they came to a resolution, which didn’t take much, the hybrid was first to leave. Elixora would distribute to everyone, not just the rich, and the rebels who had overthrown Willowbrook would remain in charge under Zayyan’s care. Amira didn’t trust anyone else. Alpha Evander agreed that his pack would back off, but if there was any foul play, then they would step in and take it back. Although Evander was eager to leave and find his mate, he took the meeting seriously. It still involved his pack, and although he looked fierce and icy, the Alpha cared for his pack members. Not just his pack m
“Amira? What’s wrong?” His voice hardened, glancing behind her. “Come inside. We’ll talk there.”Amira nodded once and followed. “Zev, stay outside,” she ordered nonchalantly.“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Luna,” Zev replied, and his words made her freeze. Zayyan stopped walking, and he looked over his shoulder at her wide-eyed.“Luna?”Amira cocked an eyebrow. “Like I said. Much to discuss. Sure thing, Zev. Come in. But everyone else stays outside.” She’d prefer Bash, but this would put Zev’s trustworthiness to the test. Would he tell others what was discussed between Amira and Zayyan before the meeting?The door closed behind them, and Amira went straight to the sofa, eyes flicking across the room as was her usual routine in any room. Zev did the same, but he was her guard. Flopping down on the sofa, Amira waited for Zayyan to join her. She felt impatient, needing to know if he had been deceiving her, yet at the same time, she wanted to keep this comforting illusion up a while longer
Slamming the journal shut, Amira glanced at the door after Beta Baltir announced Zayyan’s arrival at the palace through a mind link. Her mind still spun with the information she just learned from the journal. It had everything, every little detail about what happened. The later entries revealed the King’s regret and his attempts to find Amira to give her the life that was taken away from her. Theon knew this would never make up for his rash decisions, the loss of the lives of his closest friend and a powerful pack that guarded the kingdom well. But he couldn’t let his friend’s daughter die on the streets. Obviously, Amira was never caught. She thought everyone was out to kill her and remained well-hidden until she made it to the rebels. ‘Where is Zayyan?’ Amira mind linked the Beta back, rage swarming her chest and tightening her stomach until it felt sick. ‘Where is my cousin?’ she almost spat. Her claws started growing, and she had to breathe slowly to return them to normal. ‘He
The moment Rhys felt pain shoot through the bond, he left the old goats to their fighting and sprinted in his mate’s direction. Amira was injured?! And inside the palace where she should be safe!The pack mind link was loud, the urgency in his pack member’s voices cutting straight through his mind. They knew Amira had been attacked? He hadn’t crowned her yet; how did they know they had a Luna and Queen? Obviously, they’d met her at the banquet, but he hadn’t officially introduced her as such yet. No, something happened earlier. Rhys remembered this mechanism that seemed to click into place. A tension that nobody had been aware of within the pack faded away, and now he knew it was because Amira had joined them. They knew their Queen had arrived and were rushing to her side.He’d entered the library to discover Amira fought an assassin and was interrogating him, not at all bothered by the state of her right side. Blood was seeping through the side of her torso. For a brief moment, Rhys