William’s POVI looked at the guards, trying to get some answers. Their stoic faces betrayed no emotion, but I couldn’t help feeling a sense of impatience rising within me. I needed clarity—needed to know what had happened, what had gone wrong.I stepped forward, my voice firm but controlled. “Has anyone brought food to Lucia?” I asked, looking at each guard one by one. I was already aware that I had ordered them not to serve her any food while she was locked up, but I just had to ask again to confirm because of the accusations being laid by Lucia, as though the answer might change.The guards glanced at each other briefly before responding in unison, “No, Your Grace. No food has been served to her, as you instructed.”I looked at Lucia, sitting on the bed in front of me, and she was looking in pain, her face contorted with anguish. Her body trembles as she looks up at me, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. My heart tightened a bit. I had never seen her like this before. The st
Author's POVThe throb behind his eyes was relentless, a steady drum of pain that pulsed with every heartbeat blurred the edges of vision, and made the temples seem squeezed in some invisible vice. He had hardly slept the night before, and the stress of managing the estate, the constant political pressures, and the recent troubles with Lucia had worn him down.Yet, none of that stopped him from going toward the chambers of his second wife.The ache could wait.When the messenger had burst into his study with news of her sudden illness, concern had knotted his chest. Now, while he neared her room, he heard the murmur of hushed tones and the distinct scent of herbal tinctures filled the air. With a creak, he pushed open the door.The physician was still bent over the pale, trembling figure of his second wife. She lay propped against a mound of silk cushions, her face almost ghostly. The delicate lines of discomfort had softened now, her breathing steadier.William's gaze searched her fa
Cage's POV After finding an evidence of the Young mistress' promiscuousness, Cage didn't hesitate to have Jake post the evidence on social media. Not only would it tarnish her image, it would also make her father restless.Just as Jake was discussing with Cage, Jake received a call and at the end of the call, his face had turned gloomy. The information he just got was that, the women they had initially decided to capture had succumbed to a strange death.Cage wasn't surprised, but was frustrated. He knew it was William's doing, but there was nothing he could do. Just then, Miliano entered, and informed Cage that he had organised fifty elite warriors.Chapter 113: Cage's POV Miliano also gave a suggestion - If Cage really want to defeat William, he would need to severe his connections one after the other, so that William won't be able to find help.Cage agreed with the plan, and urged Jake to speed up the investigation against the Elder. Also, Miliano made mention of another informat
Cage's POV"That's nice; at least there's some good news,", I said, and Milano looked at me with curiosity."It's just that William seems to have spoilt our plan and decided to end it as quickly as he could. Making sure that all the hard work go to waste and it kinda annoyed me. But it meant that I had to be very careful about the person I was digging about. He's got some good spies working for him in many places," I said to Milano who was initially dying of curiosity.His countenance changed a little because he also knew what it felt like for your plan to fail not even because of natural events but because of an enemy."You know. I've been thinking about this William problem recently and an idea came to my head" Milano said. And I was more than ready to listen to his suggestion."If we truly want to bring William to his knees," Milano began, his voice steady, "We need to know his strength which is obviously his connections and endless bribing schemes. If we get people to join us and
Berrilyl's POV I had managed to survive up until that very moment despite the wounds that ravaged my body. It wasn't because of any extraordinary strength or resolve on my part. No, it was simply the small gestures of kindness from Talia that kept me going. Whenever she could, she would bring me those little buns from the kitchen. They were not much simple food in this cold, desolate place, they were everything to me. They gave me something to hold on to, a small spark of comfort in a world that had forgotten what a kind word felt like.But today… today was different. Talia wasn't able to bring any buns with her when she visited. It wasn't her fault, of course. She had tried, I knew she had. But with Grace now in charge of the kitchen, there was no way she could have sneaked anything past her. Grace had always kept a keen eye on what went in and out, especially with me. The thought of it only deepened the ache in my chest.It was as though I was being torn apart bit by bit. My wounds
Berrilyl's POV However Cage told me to freshen up and eat, telling me that I stank. And for a moment, I didn't quite understand why he would say such a thing. Did he think I smelled this badly? It wasn't as if I had a choice. I had no proper means of washing and grooming, not in that cage. But the very thought of him thinking that way, of him envisioning me in such a state, shook something within me like embarrassment I couldn't get rid of.I dragged my aching body to my room despite my weakness. I had no other choice. I couldn't let him think I was some filthy, uncaring prisoner who didn't even take care of herself. That was one thing I could control, at least personal dignity. Even if everything else was slipping through my fingers, I could still manage to freshen up, even if it took every last ounce of strength I had left.I went into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. The mirror above the sink showed a reflection I barely recognized. My face was pale, hollowed, and streake
Berrilyl's POVI wasn't eavesdropping not this time, anyway and I certainly wasn't trying to spy on them. Curiosity held me firmly in my hiding place, though, when Jake's voice started rising in frustration."Talia," he started, his words tight with frustration, "Why have you been avoiding me? What have I done to treat you like the monster that makes you shun me?Talia hesitated. Not seeing her face, I could sense her uneasiness at the long silence that followed. She always faltered in confrontation."It's not that, Jake," she said finally, barely above a whisper. "I'm not avoiding you because you've done anything wrong. I just don't want to. The others to misunderstand."Jake scoffed. “Misunderstand what, exactly? That we’re friends? That we’ve known each other for some time now? Is that something to be ashamed of now?”His frustration was palpable, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Jake had always been a straightforward kind of man, someone who spoke his mind without worrying about jud
Berrilyl's POVI watched him go, storming off heavily in anger and frustration. I hesitated a moment before stepping from behind the screen of shadows. Talia stood there, her back to me, but I could see her shoulders quivering a bit."You're not even going to ask how long I've been standing there?" I said, stepping closer. My voice was calm, teasing even, but my words didn't weigh quite as much as usual.Talia didn't flinch. She didn't turn around in surprise as I had anticipated.I already knew you were there, she said in a low voice.That threw me off. Talia was never anything but sharp-tongued, always ready with either an acid comment or a glare to dismiss with. Now, however, her voice came soft and unreadable, and her face finally turned toward me. But what was surprising was tears in her eyes, swimming at the edges, threatening to spill, she kept blinking over and over again trying to push them away.For whatever reason, that expression in that pose got through. Sympathy, perhaps
Berrilyl's POVTo my surprise, I heard that my brother's pack was left with no alpha and it had been taken over by some group of greedy wolves. The best part of it was that his Luna wife and the others were taken as concubine under the current leader apart from his wife Lucia who had gone earlier with some people of the pack who believed of in her and some of the slaves in the palace that agreed to help her escape. All the slaves he captured had been set free by Lucia but the ones who stayed due to greedy reason were now all under their new leader.In my opinion, Lucia was very lucky she could escape with some of the people I knew were righteous. The rest of them that I even had as friends were all sleeping with Owens behind my back so I didn't care what happened to them since they didn't bother deceiving me or hurting my feelings. They enjoyed my brother and Owens so they could also enjoy the aftermath. I just felt bad a little since I had many memories there but soon I realized t
Berrilyl's POV"Are you still in love with that idiot after everything he put you through?" William asked but I ignored him. What I needed was a way that I could make Cage forgive me for everything that I did. For every single thing that happened between us that I ruined, the people that died and leaving his face like that. There were just too many when I thought of it, and I didn't know how exactly I was going to make him forgive me. I figured out that I'd continue to try no matter what. He was the only true love I ever had."You are thinking about him. Aren't you?" William said looking at me with anger and frustration."Of course I am. Why not?""Really Sis? He punished you. Killed Owens. Turned you into a public slave, allowed people to mistreat you like you were nothing!""Yes, I know. And Owens's death was caused by Cage, and to me, it's a good thing because you knew that bastard was cheating on me, and you encouraged me to get married to him, and with what I did, I kinda deser
Cage's POVI arrived on the scene to witness something that I had not expected: William, cold and firm, was denying Berrilyl. The words coming out of his mouth were so bitter, as if he had no second thought, no remorse about what he was telling her. His eyes, which were usually so cold, were colder, harder than ever. He gazed at her as a stranger, as a failure, as something that could be discarded. There was no sympathy on his face, only complete disinterest.Berrilyl was before him, her own face twisted and pale with feeling. I could observe the shame and remorse reflected in her eyes.I remained in the entrance, observing them, trying to comprehend what I was seeing. A part of me that continued to resent her. The lies, the hypocrisy, that she had been an accomplice to so much pain. But part of me felt sympathy for her. She was also used, duped by the man she loved more than anyone. I was torn at the time, between my anger at her for what she'd done, and the sense that she was a vict
Berrilyl's POVI wasn't Cage's pack.Five years ago, I had arrived as a lost, wounded wolf with no memory, a stranger to the life they provided. I had woken up in an unfamiliar bed, the scent of herbs thick in the air, my body rattled and shuddering with my injuries.The first thing I remembered seeing was him.Cage.Even then, he had been powerful, his presence overpowering. His golden eyes had looked at me with curiosity, but there had been something more. concern, maybe, or wariness. He had saved me, but he had been wary, as if he knew that my arrival wasn't as innocent as it seemed.I had clung to the emptiness in my mind, pretending that I didn't know myself. That I wasn't the daughter of the Pierce blood. That I wasn't the princess of an unfriendly pack.That I wasn't a spy.But I had been.And Cage had been the target.I had been sent in to get inside his pack, to gain his trust, and to report back to my brother, William. It had been a simple mission. One that I had carried out
Berrilyl's POVI stood there in shock, my eyes fixed on Cage's. My heart was pounding within me, my head spinning from what he'd told me. He'd been so serious, as if he knew so for certain, speaking of something from my past that I didn't remember myself.I didn't believe him, I just didn't want to do that.I couldn't get the words I'd heard him say out of my head.It was William, my brother whom he had raised up, who guarded me, and who had always cared for me. Cage, however, abducted me, he enslaved me, and now he expected me to embrace his reality?I clenched my fists tight, biting the nails of my palms as I spun around and ran towards my room.I needed to get my head together.The moment I closed the door behind me, I inhaled deeply and my chest tightened in rage. My emotions were all tangled up, but one thing was for sure, I just couldn't believe Cage.I jumped at the knock at the door. My body hardened. Had Cage returned?I hesitated and crept toward the door, slowly opening it
Berrilyl's POVWhen I regained my consciousness I looked around and found myself in a very dark place that I could at first hardly see a thing. I tried raising my hands and felt severe pain; I was wounded in different places; it was so painful, and some were deep.Despite that I knew I had to get out of where I was, so I mustered all the courage in me to crawl out of the damn dark room and started shouting for help. My voice wasn't as loud as usual but I did my best to sound loud."Hahaha, oh my! See who's on the floor behaving like a snail. Who's in charge now? You disgusting asshole" I heard a voice say but couldn't clearly identify it."Does your head still hurt? I mean, does your body hurt? I remember throwing you in here, and it made a very loud thud," the man said again, and I realized it was none other than Cain. He had come back to take revenge on me. It became clear to me that all my crawling and shouting was useless and trying to run away from him was hardly going to be im
Cage's POV If someone had helped William escape from the hidden dungeon and find a way out of here, it either meant that he had brought someone with him who we didn't capture and was sneaking around then saw the perfect opportunity to let him go or we had a spy among us.The thought of having a spy in our midst left me dumbfounded. The spy must have known our pack so we'll that the hidden dungeon wasn't only unhidden but could be operated by whoever the spy was.Was I this careless to have never figured it out? When the spies were killed all of a sudden, I should have known there was still more to it, but I blamed Berrilyl since she always had more than one way of communicating with her brother, and I was caught up in so many problems that I forgot to investigate such a dangerous attempt further.Even if he had a someone with him who we didn't capture, there was no way the person would have got through the guards, the security system was tight which meant the only way he could escape
Cage's POVI wasn't that intoxicated. I was just tipsy. I knew where I was and what I was doing, still. But even with the alcohol in my system, I could feel my mind slipping, becoming less clear, less sharp. The edges of my world blurred, and everything felt a little lighter and easier to deal with.With that said, I didn't attack Berrilyl. She had already left, and something made me know it was not yet time to follow her. She was angry and scared. I could see that from her eyes as she turned her back on me. But she needed space, and I knew that if I followed her, things would just get worse. It was not the first time Berrilyl had left me, and I knew it would not be the last. So I simply released her.I did what I always did whenever I had to focus on other things instead. I took a hold of the mask again. It was more about obscuring my mind, and my emotions rather than hiding my face. My feelings. My thoughts. The mask gave me a feeling of control and detachment. Wearing it, I felt so
Berrilyl's POVIt was a day to my engagement already, and I had decided to carry out my plan. I had prepared for days now on how to escape, but the only way out that I could think of was to get rid of Cage. It was the last thing I could think of to save myself from getting married to him, and tonight I was going to carry out my plan.The night was calm as I walked down the halls of the mansion. There was just the soft thud of my steps against the quiet. My heart was racing, and I felt this crazy mix of fear and resolve. Was I going to do it? I stood before Cage's door.My mind was telling me that this was what I needed to do, but my body was tense and unsure. I'd never been more nervous in my life. I'd practiced this moment so many times in my mind, but now that it was here, it wasn't quite the same. Still, I could not go back. I had to move forward.I pushed the door inward slowly, as quietly as possible. The room was black except for the feeble flickering of candle flames at the ed