Axel pov“Fuck!!” Isla’s scream rang out, piercing my ears as I stood just outside the door.This wasn’t the way to go, but Goddess knew I would do whatever it took to protect my kids.To protect her.My mind brought in more memories of Lana bent at odd positions, and my eyes widened. There was no way I was ever going to get used to that.“Sire...”“Sire?”I heard a distinct voice call out to me, and I snapped back to reality.The purple regalia and the stones that shone on the collar of this guard made me realize who had sent him - the council - and a frown came upon me swiftly.“What is it?” I asked, my voice absorbing the coldness that spread from my heart.Why were they sending their messenger?“Sire, the council extends their greetings,” he said and bowed, the stones shining even more as the sunlight hit them at different angles.I knew all the tricks of the council, and falter was a salty way to start it.“State your business or be gone from my sight,” I spat, and he quickly rai
AXEL'S POV.It had been a week.A week of trying to make things right and trying to make the kids understand that I needed to do what I did without too much explanation.As I stood before the double doors of my previous bed chamber, my mind replayed a particular memory that haunted me greatly.Another reason why I was standing there and why a part of me was skeptical about what Isla would do."Daddy? Why didn't you tell mummy that we were playing a game? Why did she yell at you so much? And is mummy bad?" Tessa asked, and Tristan's big eyes centered on me as I tried to tuck them in.I forced myself to smile at them and kissed them on their foreheads before replying."It's a secret. She was trying to get into character. And no, mummy isn't bad. We were acting.""What's getting into character?" Tristan asked, and I gave a small laugh."That's enough, come on," I said persuadingly.They grumbled, but after a while, I had gotten them to sleep, and I was seated at a study table writing yet
ISLA'S POV.I didn't want to do this anymore than I had to.I didn't want to go out there, blessing the marriages of soon-to-be couples, but my children and my career were at stake, and I had no other option but to do what was asked of me.I looked at myself one last time in the vanity mirror before sighing as I turned around and walked outside, where an escort was waiting to take me to the throne room."The lady, her highness!" The announcer shouted, and the hall went silent.They all watched me walk towards the high table where Axel was seated, and then he, too, stood up to welcome me to his table, after which everyone dismissed my presence and continued to chatter.I sat down and avoided all eye contact with him. He wanted someone to sit in this chair, and here I was. Anything else was beyond me."Ladies and gentlemen! Let the ceremony begin," Axel said, and immediately, people started to dance and whisper.Drinks flowed like a river, and I kept quiet, the event reminding me of the
AXEL'S POV Her body language had changed. I could sense a certain form of sadness and anger, and I knew it was justified.She sat down on one of the chairs our kids had placed for us, and I picked up the other one, took it away from the table, and sat down a bit away from her. Anything to make this moment less tense.To my surprise, she picked hers up and made her way to me after grabbing the bottle of wine.I could have grinned if it wasn't a serious situation, but I knew that action wouldn't be welcomed at that moment.I picked a spot facing the pool, and she sat down in the same spot, mere inches away from me.My breaths had finally evened from the intoxicating dancing and the running we did, and somehow, I missed the adrenaline rush I felt when I was with her. I missed how our bodies touched and how she made my blood flow.Now, there was an emptiness in me.And for the best — my wolf reminded me, and I steeled.She opened the bottle of wine and drank directly from it, then I stre
ISLA’S POV“What!” I cried into the phone as the words of my manager floated into my ears.The words.Crisp.Fire.Destroyed.“Can you hear me?” the manager asked, and I had to shake the glistening tears away from my eyes to get back into reality.“Whatever you do, don’t look at the news,” came his response, and goosebumps engulfed my body.“Everything will be under control, but I thought I would warn you first. Things are not looking rosy in the office right now, and your attention is heavily needed, but I can hold down my own just until you finish your leave. I can do damage control just until you come. Maybe it would have been a bit better if you came down last week? But I’ll handle everything, I promise,” he said.I didn’t give him a chance to speak another word, and I ended the call for fear of the worst.Damage control, he said.What control could he possibly have for such a ghastly calamity?Somehow, I knew this was my fault. If only I had gotten there last week, like he said.
ISLA’S POV“Hi?” I spoke up as Dante answered on the first ring.“I wanted you to know that I would be at the office and may need you to come in. The crisis - just make sure you attend. Please,” I said, trying not to sound too desperate.“Sure. Anything else?” he asked, and my brows furrowed.I mean, I get that he was upset with me and that we had unfinished business, but did he have to be that cold?“The kids send their greetings,” I said, too obvious a lie that Axel turned in his seat from the driver’s side and looked at me for a bit before grunting.Dante scoffed, “Right, see you at the office.” Then he hung up.I stared at my phone in disbelief at what had just happened before turning to Axel, but he only gave me a look from the side but said nothing.I remember when I happily made Dante on my board of directors in the company, how it felt right to have the man I owed my life and my success story to be a part of it. Now, I didn’t know if that decision was going to bite me in the a
ISLA'S POV"Are you ok?" Axel suddenly asked me, tapping my shoulder lightly.I looked at him and nodded my head, trying to pretend as though I wasn't hurting.Last night, after the awkward confrontation, Axel left me to go to a hotel, and Dante finally agreed to let me inside the house.I tried to start a conversation with him, but nothing seemed to be enough, and just when I thought I had gathered enough courage to speak again, he announced that he was going out and didn't return till morning.Axel had picked me up from the steps just as he had dropped me off yesterday. I had texted him and my manager earlier because I needed to know what exactly had been destroyed.I directed Axel towards one of my fashion storage houses, and the white smoke that forced itself into my nose made my stomach churn, but it wasn't from the intensity. It was from sadness.After he had parked, I got down from the car, and my eyes began to water.I walked toward the rubble, and my eyes made out a figure -
TRISTAN'S POVStephanie finished making the call and passed a grin towards the kids."Who's hungry?" She asked the kids, and Tessa immediately raised her hand excitedly at the mention of food, whereas Tristan was as silent as a mouse.Stephanie noticed and immediately came beside the boy, hoping to get an answer from him."What about you, Tristan? Won't you eat?" She asked him, trying to sound as lovely as she could.Tristan was about to shake his head to say no when he looked into Stephanie's eyes and saw them change color, and his own eyes widened in shock as he backed up a little."I take that, as a yes?" She asked Tristan sweetly, squinting her own eyes for effect, and Tristan nodded his head visibly in discomfort."Great! Follow me." She sounded childlike, and Tess was immediately behind Stephanie while Tristan started to wring his fingers.'Mommy would never treat me like that,' he thought to himself.He looked at Tessa all of a sudden, feeling the urge to talk to his twin about