[Diana’s POV] Archer became invisible the moment we teleported to the Wenos pack. He was probably around us. I walked onto the Juliet balcony attached to the room. The rock garden’s still the same. Devon liked collecting rocks and crystals. So the plants in his garden were also the ones that grew only on rocky terrains. This garden had rocks and crystals found all over the world. We often strolled in this garden in the evening. He often showed me how the rocks and crystals changed their colors in various phases of the day. He used to say that when something as solid as rock changes in various phases of a day, how could we remain the same in the various phases of our lives? He found his inspiration to live from rocks which were most probably the most lifeless things. I often wondered in the past if that was the reason Devon had a stony face all the time. I smiled faintly at the nostalgia liberating in my chest. But even the most lifeless rocks could come alive when they were put
[Diana’s POV]“Did you kiss Alpha Zephyr on the night of the private party?” Janus asked Darya.Janus had called Darya to his office, putting an invisibility spell on me. Hiding my overall presence, I watched them. He had asked me to listen to their conversation silently.Darya made a face.“Why are you asking that? I thought you called me here for something important. And why am I standing in this magic circle? What is its purpose?”Darya looked at the magic circle beneath her feet.“This is important because of all the rumors going around the Alpha. As his beta, it’s my duty to keep my alpha’s image clean and I can’t let anyone tarnish it, no one. Not even his close comrades. Especially when having an affair with a colleague is frowned upon in this society. Answer my question, Darya. Did you kiss Alpha Zephyr?”Darya rolled her eyes, folding her hand under her breasts.“Yes, I did. So what — AHH!”Darya cried as visible electric currents passed through her body from the magic circle
[Diana’s POV](Trigger warning: Reader’s discretion advised. Mention of rape, abuse and torture.)*****My eyes brimmed with tears as I peered at the blank stone walls of the cells and the empty chains attached to it.A sharp throb ran across my chest.I could hear the clanking of the chains and the muffled groans. I could see Zephyr trapped and entangled among those chains. The chains pierced his skin all over his body.The darkness eclipsed his face, but the entire picture was so clear, as if it was happening right in that moment before my eyes.I stepped away from the walls, breathing heavily through my mouth.One year.They tortured him in such inhumane conditions for one year.“Physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually. They tortured him right here in all the worst ways possible. All of them. Especially Vidar, Kyros, Verena and Kalyn.” Janus’ voice tangled with rage as he glared at the empty chains. “The tortures and sexual abuse came from his own father, his own siblings.
[Zephyr’s POV]Diana peered at the mint chocolate cake before her on the dining table.She took the first bite and then the second. But stopped at the third. I sat across the dining table. We had dinner together in silence, like every day. I had instructed Julius to not cook anything that wasn’t to her taste, but everything on the dining table today was of my taste.Diana lowered her head, shadow eclipsing her eyes as she took the third and the fourth bite. I could tell just by looking that she was forcing herself to eat it.‘Julius, why did you prepare this menu today?’ I finally mindlinked him.‘Pardon me, alpha, but today’s menu was personalized by luna herself,’ Julius said and it took me a few seconds to realize my heart had skipped a beat.Why would she prepare my favorite food and then force herself to eat things that she doesn’t like?What is this? A new way of showing her rebel?It would have been a sweet revenge, but for whatever reasons I didn’t want her to be uncomfortabl
[Zephyr’s POV]She placed her hand on my cheek. Her bleary gaze trailed all over me, as if I was covered in wounds.“If I am that cruel to you, we shouldn’t be together. We can’t be together,” I mumbled, spellbound by her gaze.She smiled and crawled beside me on the edge of the bed.“We can’t be together?” she licked her lips and then looked into my eyes again. Biting her lips, she said, “you say to a soul that already belongs to you? To the person who knew not your face, but your heart and fell in love with your mask. Two lives, two souls, two fates so deeply intertwined. Where do I belong if not with you? Where do I live if not beside you? Tell me, Zeph, who do I see in this blind world, if not you?”Her voice quavered, and I felt like my heart was trembling. Her tears faltered down her eyes and my breaths seized.I reached out and wiped her tears. She shut her eyes, knitting her brows as my fingers brushed against her cheeks. That pained expression of her face imprinted in my eyes
[Diana’s POV]Janus said that his wounds were none of my concerns. Yet why did he wear my wounds like adornment on himself? If healing him is not my business, then why did he help me heal?Why did he love me, never even expecting to be loved back?Why was all my pain his all this time, but his pain masked behind his smiles?Why was I so blind in my darkness that I never saw behind his radiating light, he was actually… burning violently?I could only wish to heal his unhealed wounds. But I knew better than anyone else that he’d never show them to me. Those wounds were on his soul and no matter how sincerely I applied ointments on his skin, I knew I would never reach him as deeply as he had ingrained himself in me.All I wanted to do was hug him and tell him that everything would be ok. But then again, I didn’t know if anything would ever be ok.How strong should a person be to have gone through so much yet smile and live like there’s no tomorrow?I wanted to be the most important to
[Diana’s POV] “Archer hasn’t returned since I last visited?” I asked Kazeal. “No, and it’s difficult for my disciples to trace him because he is a copy wizard. He can easily copy someone else’s mana, which is making it more difficult for us to find him,” Kazeal said. “I didn’t hear from you either, so I thought maybe he was in the Pretis palace with you.” “We need to find him before the war begins. We need his help and guidance,” I said. “We don’t even have time. Kazeal, what can we do? Even if we have the names of the places being highly affected, where do we evacuate these people? No pack will accept refugees from the Wenos pack. The Merax pack is silent, but they are strictly regulating their borders, especially the ones that they share with the Wenos pack. Once the war starts, no place will be safe.” Kazeal looked at the list. Rubbing his forehead with his fingers, he placed the list on the glass table. “It’s useless,” he mumbled. “What do you mean?” “It’s difficult to figu
[Zephyr’s POV] The war had begun with the annexation of all the vital spots in the Wenos pack. My men had either killed or captivated most of their high rank government officials. The war had been going on for a month now. As long as the public cooperated with us, I had ordered my men to not hurt them or deprive them of basic living needs. That was until they cooperated and did as we said, which most didn’t, so hundreds of civilians died every day. Meanwhile, soldiers were giving their lives on the fronts where the two militaries clashed. The count was never accurate in real time. My gammas, the Uriko twins, had handled our army efficiently on the battlefield and executed our war strategy with exceptional deftness. There had been several attempts of outsiders trying to enter the Pretis palace, but Vera and Janus took care of all of them. “Their preparations for the war aren’t as strong as they made it look before it started. Given how confident they were, the results don’t show,