"Diane! Diane!" I threw the door open, scanning the bedroom hastily. My frantic voice permeated the entire house as I called out for my sister. She wasn't in her room. Neither was she in the living room, nor the library. My chest heaved as my heart palpitated wildly. Diane could be anywhere. I had to find her before she hurt herself or worse. Like last week, my mind supplied and goosebumps littered my arms. Crap no, last week could not repeat itself. I had almost had a damned heart attack seeing my sister's golden hair all wet and mussed up in the mud, her eyes closed and her body limp. We had found her next to an abandoned shack a few meters away from the house. I had no idea how she had wandered that far. Our house was right atop a small hill in Claw Village. It was hard to miss. We lived on the outskirt of the village anyways, away from the werewolves who detested our stench. The stench of humans. Diane was all I had left, the only other human I could relate with and the only
I was beyond appalled. What were the princes of the entire clan doing at my door at midnight?! Oh this was bad. This was very bad. Had they found out about my intentions? Hell, I had only told Gisele that and that was barely a few hours ago. There was no way word could have reached the palace-Oh wait, who was I kidding? I was dealing with werewolves. I slapped a hand down my face, dragging it down, trying to breathe through the haze of confusion and fear that surrounded me. Just play it cool, Ava. There's no need to fear. "Miss Lopez?" The deep silvery voice that had spoken earlier, called again. "Quite a number of people would think it rude and offensive to keep a prince waiting outside in the blistering cold." My eyes widened. He was right. And besides, I thought staring at my door, considering the reputation of the twin Alpha Princes, I doubted the frail thing had a chance of protecting me from them. Taking a deep breath, I reached for the doorknob and turned it. The doo
This was crazy. I shouldn't be here. I stood before a wooden door. Its handles looked worn with age and use, and it had a few holes that made it look rather unstable. Hell, a puny human like me could kick it down in a flash, not to mention overpowered werewolves. They had to know I was there. Though I couldn't hear a thing, no movement, not a sound, I was certain that they knew I was there. They most likely could smell it all. My fear, my apprehension and though I hated to admit it, my excitement. Balling my hand into a fist, I knocked on the fragile thing, listened to it rattle and let out a shaky breath when I heard Antonio speak. "Come in Ava," This was it. I was sacrificing it all for Diane and as long as she was fine, as long as she could live, I would sell myself in captivity if I had to. "Now come on," Adam's nonchalant voice reached my ears when I walked in. "There's no need to look so glum. If anyone saw you, they'd think we threatened to devour you."The twin Alpha Pri
“You're back,” Gisele muttered as I pushed the door open. Diane was sprawled on her bed, her skin looking as pale as ever. Fear pulsed through me and I rushed to her side quickly. “How is she?” I asked, brushing her golden hair away from her sweaty forehead. “Gisele?”I glanced away from Diane to Gisele, to see the older woman staring at me with her jaw open. Her eyes were glued to the flower in my hands. The blue morning rose. Hell, I could understand why she was appalled. I would be appalled too if I saw someone walk in randomly with a flower as rare. “Where,” she whispered, her eyes shining in awe and disbelief. “Where did you get that?” I thrust the stem at her. “Will it do?”“Ava,” She called, looking at me this time. “Where on earth did you get that?” “It doesn't matter,” I replied curtly. There was no need for anyone to know what deal I had to make to get this flower. I trusted Gisele
“Okay, let's not get worked up Father," Adam stepped in, holding his hands up in the air before him, smiling funny. “The king's Lycan gaze shifted to him, threatening to burn his shirt off him. At least that's what, I thought, would happen eventually if the king kept glaring at him. “I'm not worked up,” he gritted. “You are,” Antonio hummed, a small smile gracing his lips. “Look at all that steam coming out of your ears.” “They are not!” The king roared, and my head dropped to the ground as a jolt of fear spread through me. What The hell was going on? I felt foolish, stuck in an argument that was about me, but I didn't have a clue why exactly. “I believe they are,” Adam taunted, obviously enjoying his father's discomfort. “Look, our mate is all terrified. What kind of father-in-law are you?” I peeked up at the king to see him falter in his steps, his eyes flickering from gold to blue as if he were uncertain o
*****“Hello mate,”I frowned at the boys stepping aside as they stepped into the room.Adam went straight to the bed, where he sat down, before bringing his eyes to me.“What brings you two here? Is everything alright?”Adam's voice brimmed with mock cheerfulness as he replied, “Everything's just fine, Ava. We missed you.”I rolled my eyes and followed Aiden to the bed to sir beside Adam. “Where is Diane? I would love to see her please before I go to bed" “Don't worry about Diane, Ava. She's perfectly safe.” Aiden said,Adam chimed in, “Fast asleep in her room.”Confusion wrinkled my brow. “Asleep? But it's not that late, is it? And she didn't even ask of me? Did she eat something? Is she okay by herself?” “Stop worrying Ava. Diane is a big girl and she knows that. Yes, she ate, and I'm afraid you might just be bothering her if you go to her room now. It's pretty late, you know?”I sighed, sinking back against the pillows, deciding to let it slide for the moment. “Alright, then. I
Adam and Aiden exchanged uneasy glances, and Adam stepped forward, his voice cautious but resolute. “Mother, we didn't bring Ava here with any ulterior motives. It's just that… well, you see, she's our mate.”The queen's eyes narrowed, “Oh yes, I heard that. How could you go out there and mate with a human? Both of you!!”Aiden nodded. “We can't exactly control who we mate with, mother. It's not how it works, and you know that. Our world chose her”“Well, your wolf better reject her instantly because I will not accept this rubbish!”I reared back as if I were just slapped. Rejection? How is it so easy for her to say that?Adam took a step closer to their mother, his face hard, “That's out of the question, mother. We are not going to do that!” “You wouldn't dare to disobey your mother, boy.”“Just watch me…"Aiden placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and stepped between them, “Alright. Calm down Adam. Mother, we are adults, and we are capable of making decisions for ourselves. So
After the chat and everything, the boys took me back to my room where I spent most of the day just reading, and also went to visit my sister after lunch.It is wonderful how simple yet complicated life in the palace is. Just a day here, and I wonder how the hell these people spend years in these walls of coldness.There was no noise, No music, you didn't see people gathered, chatting and stuff. How on earth do they go by, and what do they spend their days doing?I wonder.There is luxury. Oh, you cannot deny that. The lavish banquets and fancy decors in the house was a far cry from the humble setting in the village…but I couldn't help but feel disconnected.I've not seen the twins all day, leaving me with nothing to do besides chatting with Diane and strolling through the gardens, then taking a nap.After my long nap, I went down again to Diane's room to speak to her and met her playing with a carved horse.“Hey Diane…” I whispered, walking to her bed and sitting on the edge.“Hey Ava
I wasn't surprised when Aiden winced instead of responding but I was annoyed all the same."Listen," I said and took a deep breath to calm my nerves, "Listen to me you two. I don't know what y'all are planning and honestly if you don't want me involved that's fine. I never had a problem with that. You know what I have a problem with? I'll tell you. As long as whatever you are hatching up has to do with any shit about me, I have a right to know. You have no business keeping me in the dark like an idiot."When I stopped, I took another deep breath, closing my eyes. I was angry, very angry and I had no idea where it was coming from.But what exactly is it that they are hiding from me?"Listen Ava...you don't understand -""Of course I don't," with my hands up I cut Aiden shut, "Of course I don't because you don't tell me anything. There's more going on here than you let on and I demand to know the answer now!"I snatched my hands out of Adam's hold and got out of the bed, suddenly unabl
"Do I really have to go to this ball?" I grumbled for like, the ten millionth time in the past five minutes and just as the first time I did, the twins gave me the same response."You know we have to do this Ava. People are watching and we have to....""Seize every opportunity we can to prove to the council that we are in love and truly mated. Yes, I know I know." I said cutting Adam off and he grinned, then leaned down and kissed me shortly.And as always, his kiss sent flutters down my stomach.There was no one present but I couldn't protest the stolen kisses and touches between us."You are adorable." He said, "And I think all the dresses are so beautiful. But red looks the best on you."I bit my lip and looked at the dresses which were brought in earlier by the maids.It's crazy how barely a few weeks ago, I could never dream of owning a single ball dress, but here I was having to choose between dozens of them.Crazy how my life has changed in the past few weeks."Oh, just looking
"Ava!!" "Ava! Help us, please rise and do something.""Damn it Ava! Do something!!"I opened my eyes slowly, head aching from the noise around me, and the sight that caught my vision made me gasp.The palace, the village... Everything was on fire. Every single thing.What on earth is happening? What happened?"Ava!" I turned to my left and saw my sister Diana running towards me, the hem of her gown in her hand.Her dress was torn and there was blood on her.Her face looked like she had taken a very serious beating."Diana!" I ran to meet her mid way but before I could get to her she fell down and stopped moving, her eyes lifeless and just gazing at the sky.She wasn't moving."Diana! Diana!" Thus cannot be happening. I crouched before her and started shaking her body vigorously but she didn't respond. Didn't even twitch her eyesShe's gone."No!!!"I could not stop the scream that escaped my lungs as I cradled her against my chest.This cannot be."You have to rise, Ava..." A strange
Days passed by and nothing got better.The twins weren't willing to reveal their true intentions to me. Not that I should be bothered because that was never part of the arrangement.The arrangement was simply to pretend to be their bride.However the more they evaded the questions, the more suspicious I grew.There had to be at least a hundred females in Silvermoon.Numerous Werewolf females.Why did they choose me?Went through the trouble of having to convince the council that a human is their mate?And the more suspicious I got, the more uneasy I felt.Something is missing in the puzzle and I have no idea what it is.Diana was not getting much better, although I could notice some slight changes in her speech, her expression. Just yesterday, she chose to wear a black dress. Which might sound normal to anyone else who doesn't know that black was her favourite colour because according to her "It represents her soul" but since she got sick she's been wearing yellow and pink.A good cha
We have been so lost in celebration I almost forgot to go see my sister.By the time I remembered, Gisele insisted that it was too late, and she needed to rest properly after bathing in her herbs.So once I woke up the next morning, the first thing on my mind was to go see her.I made my way to her room, eager to see how she was dark faring.However, as I gently pushed the door open, I was met with an unexpected sight. Diana was still asleep, her breathing steady, but Giselle was sitting beside Diana's bedside, a look of deep concentration on her face.I approached Giselle with a smile, hoping to strike up a conversation without disturbing my sister's much-needed rest. “Good morning, Giselle,” I greeted her in a hushed tone.Giselle turned to me with a warm but slightly weary smile. “Good morning, Ava. How are you today?”I sighed, my gaze returning to Diana's peaceful expression. “I'm as well as can be expected, given the circumstances. How about my sister? Has there been any improve
The room felt charged with a mixture of excitement and relief, despite the frown on the Luna's face.I smiled as I looked into Aiden's radiant eyes. It felt like a weight had been pressing on our shoulders, and it had finally lifted.Adam pulled me into another tight embrace, wrapping his strong arms around meAiden joined in, completing our little group hug. It was an embrace filled with warmth, relief, and happiness.It was Adam that spoke first, his gruff voice full of gratitude, "Ava, you have no idea how much this means to us. You've done something incredible for our pack.”Aiden chimed in, “Yes, we can't thank you enough. Your intelligence is what made this happen. Thank you so much.”I blushed at their words, feeling a warmth spread through my chest. “I only did what I had to do,” I replied. “It's just my end of the bargain. I'm just glad I was able to play a part in this to get them off our backs, too.”“Well that's correct.”“I still cannot believe it was that easy to have th
*****And voilà!The council meeting!Rose and another kind lady led me to the hall which was meant for the meeting.The Alpha and Luna were already seated with the twins, and I was led to sit on a chair beside Adam.In the hall, was a round table with chairs around it_ about ten chairs and each of these chairs were occupied by elderly men and women…all clothes in white and black robes.The Council. They looked scary with their cold, calculative looks.Adam and Aiden didn't look half as anxious as I felt, and I was relieved that at least some of us are confident.The meeting started. The council spoke about the matters of the pack, the progress and what needs to be done while a young girl takes note behind them. After what seemed like hours of listening to accounts and stuff, the eldest woman stood up and turned to face the royal family.Her gaze swept over me, sending shills down my spine, before she looked away._ The council raises the matter of the fact that the King will be stepp
"You two are just scaring me honestly."They both chuckled."Now I don't know why you guys chose me of all people to become your fake mate, and you don't want to tell me either. Now you are telling me I have some sort of role or shit? To play in whatever…. Oh My."Adam scooted over and linked his arm with mine, "Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine and we will tell you everything soon. Now we only have to convince the Council that you are our mate. If we cannot, then the deal is completely off." "Hmmmm…."I guess I can go with that. But how exactly do we convince the council or whatever it is?As if he read my mind, Adam responded, "No matter how we try, it will be the same thing. They won't agree. These old people are very tough nuts to crack. This is to say that it's almost impossible.""Then how are you going to do it?""I said 'almost' impossible. Huge emphasis on the A word. We are going to try another approach. A..let's say blackmail approach."I gasped, "you want to b
“Now tell me, what have you gotten yourself into?” My eyes widened at the depth of seriousness in Giselle's eyes, and also the painful grip of her fingers on my hand. “I don't understand what you mean, Giselle…” I said, releasing my arm from her tight hold and keeping a straight face as she peered into my eyes. “You suddenly got the rose, then you disappeared, only for me to find out that you now live in the palace? What happened? What did you do? Did you trade your soul to the devil for a rose?” I laughed, “Don't be a drama queen, Giselle. Uhm, well… I'm mated to the twins. It happened so quick, and they insisted I move into the palace immediately,” I said and bit my lip, hoping she won't see through my lies. “You suddenly got mated to the princes? Just suddenly?” “Giselle, come on. You know that's how mating works. It only takes a second.” I yelped when she smacked me arm hard, “Ouch! Your hands are as strong as a carpenter's own”. “Don't talk to me like I'm a child, kiddo.