[Xavier’s POV]My eyes opened to a new day, and for a while, I laid on the cold hard ground not moving or doing anything; just quietly observing my environment.I remembered everything that happened yesterday like the back of my hand, and the way my body ached all over served as a reminder for me to get back at Alpha Raven. I tried to sit up, but that task proved difficult as hell.“You’re awake,” I heard Kyle’s familiar voice say as he raced over from the other side of the prison cell to where I was.He helped me sit up, with my back resting against the wall. I became more conscious of the pain emanating from every joint, vein and muscle in my body.“How do you feel, your highness?” Kyle asked, looking truly concerned.“How do you think I feel?” I retorted.He sat beside me, without saying a word, then began to crack his knuckles as a pregnant silence fell upon us.My toes were pink and itchy which made me realise that rats must have gnawed on them while I was asleep. I hadn’t even f
[Layla’s POV]The doors were opened and I stepped into the throne room reluctantly with two guards and Samantha behind me. I had forcefully been dragged there, and I was afraid of what they were going to do to me.Alpha Raven was seated on the throne, and was fanned by a maid while he maintained a scowl on his face. It didn’t take me much thinking to understand that he was still pissed off from what happened last night. I should actually be the one who was angry, not him; after all, he wasn’t the one whose head had crashed into a wardrobe.“Greetings, Alpha Raven,” I said, bowing politely to him as I got rid of all the negative thoughts I had concerning him, and just focused my energy on keeping my forced smile on.“Sit,” he ordered, motioning towards the seat beside him.The maids around giggled and spoke about how lucky I was to be invited to sit beside the Alpha, but I sneered when I was sure no one was looking. The more attention he gave to me, the more angry I became. I just want
[Xavier’s POV]He was bigger, taller and more experienced than I was, but he wasn’t an Alpha, and that alone surpassed every advantage he could possibly have over me.Someone needed to get my people out of here, and that someone was me. I wasn’t going to die now and put all their lives at stake, and prevent them from ever seeing their loved ones again. They had proved their loyalty, it was time I showed them that wasn’t in vain.As he lunged forward at me, I ducked and he swung his axe into thin air.“You’re doing good, Alpha Xavier,” Kyle yelled out, which earned him a blow on his mouth, courtesy of one of the guards.The frown on the giant's face deepened and he swung at me again with the axe, and this time around, the wooden part crashed into my left shoulder, making me let out a painful growl.“Way to go, Tanto,” the crowd yelled as they began to clap and cheer for him.He snickered, as I staggered backwards, then kicked me in the stomach, causing me to fall flat with my face to t
[Layla’s POV]Even though I felt relieved that Xavier was able to survive the fight and was doing pretty good, I was restless. The Alpha had walked out angrily from the throne room, and I hadn’t seen or heard from him since yesterday when the incident had taken place.There was no way he wasn’t mad at me after I had openly supported his enemy in a fight. I didn’t care if he was mad at me or not, I was only concerned because of what the consequences of his “madness" could be.It was morning, and I had barely touched the breakfast I had been served. I just sat in my room biting my fingernails and thinking hard, unable to control my nervousness and anxiety. To make matters worse, Samantha also hadn’t shown up since the previous day.“Screw this!” I said, having had enough of the uneasiness I felt.I stood up, and slipped into one of the most beautiful dresses I had been given, thanks to Alpha Raven. It was an off-shoulder blue chiffon dress, which was flare. While the front part stopped
[Xavier’s POV]I hadn’t been sure at first, but now, I knew for a fact that it had been a blessing in disguise for me to stay close to Layla. The feelings were still there, just that she lacked trust in me which was the most essential ingredient in a relationship, and she hadn’t forgiven me yet.It was a gradual process though, and I wasn’t going to pressure her into forgiving me when she wasn’t ready. I hadn’t even forgiven myself, so it was safe to say that I hadn’t earned any forgiveness yet.As long as I could see her everyday and have little conversations with her like the one we had just had, I was going to be okay. For a moment, I forgot I was in the lion's den and couldn’t stop myself from smiling sheepishly, especially after she had told me that she had nothing to do with Alpha Raven. I just needed to work on not jumping into conclusions as that was only going to get in my way.My stomach rumbled from hunger. I couldn’t even remember when last I had had anything to eat, and I
[Layla’s POV]Dressed in a tank top, black leather trousers and boots, I headed outside to the stable where the Alpha had said he would be waiting for me. It was afternoon and we were going to have a picnic, and for the first time in weeks, I was actually excited about something and couldn’t stop beaming.“You look beautiful,” Samantha said, accompanying me.“This is like the billionth time you’ve said that. Again, thank you. Sure you don’t want to come?” I inquired.She shook her head in the negative. “No, not at all. I can’t go anywhere unless the Alpha orders me to,” she replied.“Okay, then. I’ll save you some snacks,” I said.She gave me a toothy grin. “I’ll be expecting it. Thank you, Layla,” she said.I looked from side to side, and heaved a sigh as I stepped outside and headed towards the stable where I saw the Alpha standing and speaking to one of his servants, with a magnificent white horse standing next to him.“Greetings, Alpha Raven,” I said.He stopped speaking for a whi
[Xavier’s POV]She was shivering terribly, but I didn’t let go of her. The surface of the water was terribly frozen, but since I could feel my legs swinging below the water, it was clear that although the water was cold, if we stayed under, we would be able to swim back to the shore.I swam below as well, still holding her in my arms and as we both held our breaths, I was able to swim back to the shore and I lifted her out of the water and onto the sandy soil. I helped her sit up, and she began to cough out all the water that had gotten into her system as I patted her back.The horses which we had heard stampeding turned out to be ridden by some guards I recognised were from the Dark Moon Pack, and they looked like they had a message for the Alpha as their leader approached him while the rest stood at a notable distance.“You scared me,” I said, when she was done with coughing out the water.Instead of meeting my eyes, she turned away and glared at the Alpha who just stood there watch
[Layla’s POV]“Ouch!” I yelped, as the razor blade I was using to carve my brows slightly brushed against my skin, and very little blood popped out.“Are you okay?” Xavier asked, opening the door immediately.“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch. You don’t have to always barge in at every sound you hear,” I chided.“Maybe you should stop reacting too seriously to every little thing, so you don’t get me worried,” he said.“Why should you be unnecessarily worried? We’re just friends,” I retorted, partly because I knew he hated it when I said that.“Thanks for reminding me, but friends actually do worry about each other. It’s not a big deal,” he said, and with a shake of his head, proceeded to walk out of my bedroom.“Aren’t you going to put on your shirt?” I inquired as he turned his back to leave.“Samantha offered to add it to your laundry, so I have to be shirtless for a while,” he explained.“Just say that you love the attention you get from the maids whenever you’re not wearing a sh
[Author’s POV]After unlocking the door, Alpha Xavier stepped into the chamber. It was his father’s, and since he died, he had not for once entered inside for any reason whatsoever, mostly because he was ashamed to face him after being unable to find out the person who had caused his untimely death.Everything looked the same, except that dust now made it almost impossible to breathe while in there. He reminisced about a whole lot of things as he ran his eyes over all his possessions which still remained in the chamber. He should have moved in there, but he hadn’t had the heart to.Alpha Xavier took a long look at the picture frame hanging on the wall. It was of him and his father the very day he had transformed for the first time. His father looked so proud of him, and he had been extremely happy because he made his father proud.He drew out the seat next to the table, and sat there staring into the mirror and seeing his father’s reflection staring back at him. His bows and arrows hu
“Almost a year ago, I overheard a conversation between my late uncle and the former Beta here. My uncle had found out that he had been stealing and coveting the people’s wealth, precious stones and our natural resources. Before his trip to the Dark Moon Pack, he said that if the Beta doesn’t relinquish all that he had stolen and make a public apology, as well as step down from his position, he was going to expose him in the most disgraceful manner when he came back, unknown to me that the Beta was aware that I had been eavesdropping on their conversation.“He then called me privately and twisted my mind by telling me he would make me the next Alpha King if only I kept quiet. I was stupid and greedy, so I agreed, not knowing that the price for my silence was my uncle’s life. When he died, I confronted him but he manipulated me into keeping quiet and doing all other dirty jobs for him. I stand here today to apologise for all that I did, ranging from not exposing the truth earlier on, bu
[Xavier’s POV]“Your... your highness, it is not what you think,” Veronica said, falling on her knees as she shook her head in negativity.The whole world had seen her shame.“It is exactly what I think it is, you good-for-nothing deceiver. I should have known better than to trust you. You were never pregnant after all,” I roared at her angrily.“I’m sorry. I never meant to do something like this. It was my father that...”“May the goddess strike you down if my name comes out of your miserable mouth again,” her father said, as he stood up and marched to where we were, which brought about more surprised looks from the audience.“Dad!” she exclaimed, as though she had been betrayed.“Veronica!” he yelled back. “All this is your fault, and you know it. If only you had slept with him like I commanded you to, you would have truly gotten pregnant for him since you were in your fertility period, but instead, you chickened out and I had to come up with another solution,” he revealed.“Wait. H
[Layla’s POV]I clipped the diamond earrings to my ears and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked really elegant, dressed in a long white dress which shone with precious stones that had been affixed onto it, with silver heels embracing my feet.I rubbed my wedding band with a smile on my face as I stood up, then began to walk out of the bedroom. Michaela, who had been trying to finish up her fries looked up, and her mouth was instantly agape as soon as she saw me.“You look so beautiful, your highness,” she said, not hiding the admiration she had for me.“Thank you, Michaela. I should look beautiful, don’t you think? Today is the day that all my enemies will be brought to their knees,” I said, then gave a small chuckle.“Yes, your highness. I am so glad this is finally drawing to an end, and you and the Alpha can be happy forever without anyone ruining your joy,” she stated.I gave a small smile. “You’re right. Peace and happiness are the two things I have always desired in
[Layla’s POV]I stepped into the room where Jeffrey was being treated as that was where the guard I had seen positioned at Xavier’s bedroom door said he was.He was sitting on a stool next to Jeffrey’s bed. Jeffrey still hadn’t opened his eyes, and he hadn’t even moved a single finger. Xavier looked deep in thoughts and he hadn’t even noticed my presence yet.“Hey, baby,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, to notify him of my presence.He jolted from his thoughts and looked surprised on seeing me. He yawned tiredly and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.“My love, I didn’t realise you came in,” he said.“I noticed. Tell me, what’s on your mind?” I asked, drawing a seat to sit beside him.“I’m just lost in thoughts. I can’t help but wonder why someone like him would do such a thing,” he said.“Who are you talking about?” I inquired.“It’s not something you should be worried about, my love,” he said, forcing a smile on.“Well, I want to know what it is that has kept you away from me
“What’s that supposed to mean? Answer me, come on, answer me!” I yelled at him.“Easy, dear cousin. Shouting isn’t going to change the fact that what’s done is done. In fact, if you yell at me one more time, I may choose to withhold all the information I have to give,” Roman said, sitting up on the ground which he had just been sprawled on a few minutes ago.“Leave us alone,” I said to the onlookers which consisted of the guards and the other prisoners in Roman’s cell.They all began to leave, including Kyle. “Not you, Kyle,” I said, and he stayed back while the rest left. Apparently, the prison guards were going to keep the inmates in another cell.“Want a little private chitchat with your cousin?” Roman asked, with a wink.I crouched, then taking him by surprise, grabbed him by the neck and began to strangle him while he tried to resist as he almost choked to death.“Listen to me, and listen real good. It will cost me nothing to end your life right here and now. The only one who is
[Xavier’s POV]I placed the box which Layla had given me carefully in the safe which always stayed hidden in my closet and looked like just a mere suitcase. No one would guess that some of my important stuff were actually there, and once I closed the door to my closet, I took out the button which had been in my pocket all day and examined it carefully once again.“Kyle. Kyle is back,” I said to myself, hearing the “welcome” greetings which they were saying to him as he hadn’t been in the Palace for a few weeks due to the special mission I had sent him on.I hurried out of my bedroom immediately and slammed the door behind me. The two guards positioned at the door started to follow me, but I told them to stop immediately.“I have a private matter to attend to. Wait for me here,” I said, and hastily left where they were.I was still walking with long strides when I bumped into Lady Millicent who was coming from the opposite direction.“Greetings, Alpha King Xavier. I’m sorry for bumping
[Layla’s POV]I kissed him back.It was the first time since we had fought, and kissing him now made me realise how much I missed him, how much I loved him... how much I craved his touch.The kiss deepened as his tongue slipped into my mouth, hands gripping me like I was the last piece of oxygen in the world... My body reacted to it before my mind did. His grip tightened on me as I pulled him closer, feeling him grind against me from behind.Our kiss continued until we were both out of breath, panting for more. My hand roamed over his chest, slowly working its way lower. He groaned, leaning down so our foreheads met. He stared into my eyes, his own full of want and need. I moved forward again, my lips brushing against his once, twice, three times before he leaned his head down so our lips met once more, his hand still on my back.This time, it was different. It was soft at first, but quickly turned hard as a moan left his lips when I pressed down further. My lips moved against his, an
[Xavier’s POV]I had been humiliated before everyone, and although I knew I could never feel the pain Layla had felt while losing our child, this was way out of bounds. I was angry, furious and never in my life had I felt so insulted.What exactly had I said that was wrong for her to hit me in the presence of my own people? That had automatically reduced the respect they possibly had for me.“She believes she has you wrapped around her fingers, that’s why she does whatever she likes these days. She knows you love her and you don’t see her wrongs,” Veronica said, while the women and servants present still looked shocked with their eyes and mouths wide open.“Everyone, calm down. Things like this happen. You can all go back to your respective homes and businesses,” I told them, brushing off what Veronica had said.“Yes, your highness,” they chorused.I turned my back around and began to leave hastily to avoid facing further embarrassment, while Veronica hurried after me, trying to pick