Chapter 16By evening, half the sick ones were already getting back on their feet, the smell of death was no longer in the air, neither was that of sickness. There was still a lot to do for everyone, even the Omegas and the locals. The kitchen maids had to prepare a large meal to feed the entire populace since most of the locals were not even intent on returning home until every last one of them was confirmed sound and well.That night, Laurel went to bed feeling fulfilled and satisfied, there was a lot to be grateful for. The New Knight healers did not relent though, they kept working even during the night. It was magical how something as disastrous as the flu could be cured by just a leaf and even more surprising how that cure could only be found in one place. Laurel was genuinely happy for the progress so far, but her thoughts were still plagued by what lay ahead. After this all was over, she knew what would follow next, and it was not something she looked forward to. Her thought
Chapter 17By evening of the third day, every single person was hale and hearty and everything went back to normal in Sacred Moon Pack. The New Knight healers insisted on leaving that same evening, but Laurel decided against it, she simply didn't see any reason why they should leave in the night when they could take time to rest in her home. So she ordered for an even bigger feast than anyone they had had since they came to be prepared for them, and the celebration went on and on in the castle. It was nearing full moon, and soon there would be more to celebrate. Early the next morning, the New Knight healers were ready to return to their pack. Laurel sent them back with two of her own guards to convey her appreciation to Earl, even though she knew he did not deserve it. Even after they left, the celebration among her people continued, even outside the walls of the castle. By evening of that same day, the two guards she had sent with the healers returned. According to them, Earl’s re
Chapter 18Earl was right, the marriage was really going to take place the next day. How he had done it, Laurel could not tell, but the celebration began the moment he left Sacred Moon. There was no time for even Kristen and Laurel to have a talk about what was happening, all roads led to Sacred Moon Castle. Even the people from New Knight flocked in in their numbers. Laurel was too shocked to speak, the twelve elders of the pack assembled in the castle that evening to discuss the long awaited union. It looked like they had all already accepted Earl even before she made the official presentation of her chosen partner to the council which was customary. They didn't need her to present him, and if she was being sincere, she didn't even want to present him to anybody as her husband. But what could she say? The council had already decided, and even when she joined them that afternoon in the courtroom, they were discussing the marriage rites. Laurel was perplexed and genuinely disoriente
The Alpha's Pact 19The official day couldn't be slower for Laurel, after spending the previous night in the company of some women who bored her with talks about her new role and responsibilities beside her husband, she had to spend another agonizing day almost being spoon fed and nearly forced to nap. The women from yesterday refused to come prepare her after seeing her in her wolf form, so this time, more women were sent for her. Kristen was told to wait outside the door and Laurel made sure she could always sense her sister's presence. That being done, there was no cause for the nervous glances of the women and their scared thoughts. Laurel would discuss occasionally with Kristen by reading each other's thoughts, other times she would just lie down and try to really sleep. By evening of the bonding ceremony, a fresh set of women came in with the traditional attires for a royal wedding. From the feathers to the beads and the make up and adornment, which Laurel did not find necessa
Chapter 20Laurel found herself standing beside Earl, her newly bonded husband, amidst the jubilant crowd. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and celebration, but beneath her forced smile, questions and uncertainties still plagued her mind. As the night progressed, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of her new role as Luna, the mate of the Alpha.‘Good heavens, I can’t believe that this magnificent mountain of threat before me is now mine.’ She thought carefully, wishing more than anything that she could run into the forest and hide from all this, but she kept that thought to herself and tried to keep her countenance under control throughout the walk back to the castle. She couldn’t do that even if she tried, not when she was walking beside this mighty alpha whose eyes were already looking her over possessively.Earl, sensing her inner turmoil, gently squeezed her hand, offering a silent reassurance. She glanced at him, his mesmerizing golden eyes reflecting both pride and te
Chapter 21 “Say something!” Laurel prompted Earl angrily. He had not said or done anything since the arrival of these men and his silence was no longer sitting well with her, especially since the giant man’s grip on her sister was getting tighter by the minute. She could see his hand pressing tightly against Kristen’s mouth, so much that her eyes were already bulging from their sockets. “Lambert,” Earl began tentatively, his eyes not leaving Laurel’s face. “I have imagined this meeting everyday since the first day I received your note.” Lambert was relieved to hear him say something, for he hated Earl’s silence. He loved to know his enemy’s next move, and he hated silence, especially Earl’s silence. He had fought and conquered many territories, and oftentimes, he did so by knowing his opponent’s next move. But In this case, his enemy was a man of few words, which was one reason he hated physical confrontations with Earl Malory. He preferred to strike from a distance, to leave trai
Chapter 22He let her go only when they were safely inside the castle, the elders were there, clearly unscathed and sound. The first thing Earl did the moment he saw them was to check if they were completely, and much to his relief, they were. A good number of the pack had returned already, having sensed trouble. But a few were still wounded, and a few taken, from both packs. Lambert was not stupid, he had taken his hostages before confronting his adversary. And as unsuspecting as they were, they had been easy targets. Only two wolves were recorded dead, but a good number of Lambert’s rogues had met their death at the hands of the wolves. The celebration halted, but now, every single pack member of both New Knight and Sacred Moon had a common interest, to protect the Alpha and his Luna. Laurel found it annoying that she was not allowed to leave Earl’s side even for a second. And yet, his men still wouldn’t let her be, and even her own people looked at her with concern and fear regis
Chapter 23An endless sea of blackness was all that met her eyes. That darkness, broken only by the soft glow of the moon, only that the moon was split in two halves. She watched as the two equal halves, both with jagged edges facing each other, hung in the sky, both maintaining a great distance apart. The two halves drifted slowly towards each other, occasionally even moving together, Laurel imagined their intention was to come together and become whole. She nearly laughed at the irony of that in her own life, come together and become whole? She had come together with a man, yes. But had they become whole? Hell no. Instead she saw clearly now that they were going to be plagued by several things, several people and her new husband’s Earl’s psychic brother was now out to haunt her. And in Earl’s words, he would not rest until he had her. Long after he left, Laurel stood staring into space, she sat nervously on the edge of the bed, fidgeting with the hem of her dress. Her sister stood
Chapter 70 “Going somewhere?” Lambert’s voice cut through the air like a blade as soon as Earl and Gregg stepped outside.He was there— and not alone. Earl’s heart lurched at the sight before him. Lambert stood with a smug grin, holding Laurel tightly by the arm. Her eyes were wide with fear, her beautiful face pale and drawn. A group of Lambert’s rogues surrounded them, forming a protective circle around Lmabert to keep Earl or his men from attacking. .“Laurel!” Earl shouted, taking a step forward, but Lambert tightened his grip on her, making her wince.“Ah, ah, ah,” Lambert said, wagging a finger. “One more step, and she gets hurt.” We don’t want that, do we?” Gregg moved to stand beside Earl, his eyes darkening with anger. “Lambert, what do you want?”Lambert chuckled, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Isn’t it obvious? I want what is rightfully mine, I also want to live. And it turns out that to do that, I have to kill. And your precious Luna here,” he gestured to Laurel, “is
Chapter 69The clash of swords and the roar of wolves filled the air as Kristen and Gregg fought fiercely against Charles and his band of rogues. The forest clearing was littered with bodies, but the fucking rogues won’t stop coming. Some of Kristen’s men had returned in time to join the fight though, which was an added advantage. Kristen’s blade met Charles’s with a resounding clash, their faces inches apart as they strained against each other, “You stupid idiot,” Kristen hissed, “I knew you were up to no good!” “You think you can win this?” Charles sneered, pushing against her sword. “You’re just like your father—weak.”Kristen’s eyes blazed with fury. “Don’t you dare speak of him, you bastard!”Charles grinned maliciously, his eyes glinting with a cruel satisfaction. “You know, it was my father who planted the flu that killed your dear old dad.”Kristen’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You didn’t—“Charles smirked, “It was supposed to make Laurel marry me so I could become Alpha. Bu
Chapter 68 Earl was well away from New Knight by the time his wolf started whining and he became restless. He didn’t know what else to do, so he simply dismissed it, thinking it was merely happening because his mate was unconscious. He tried talking to Gregg through the mindlink but nothing was working, it was either his Beta had disappeared from the face of this earth or he simply didn’t want to be found. Not knowing where else to find Gregg since he had combed through almost every nook and cranny of the pack and even sent a few guards to look for him, he simply dismissed Astrid’s words as mere lies to get him to leave Laurel alone with her. Panic. Simultaneously, a sharp pain tore through his heart and he doubled over on the floor, clutching his chest tightly as the pain increased. It felt like someone was twisting his insides with a trident and something was being torn from him, something very essential. Just then, he felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and a shrill
Chapter 67"I was really hoping we could hunt together tonight." Gregg told Kristen as she fastened the button on her pants and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "And I just told you I'm not hunting today." She replied with a livid tone. "Then can I stay here with you?" He asked again with an hopeful glint in his voice."No."She said it vehemently, shattering the heart he didn't know he had to tiny pieces. His wolf whined inside him and for some reason, he felt like he had just been rejected by the very person who was supposed to accept and cherish him. "But Kris–" She turned cold eyes on him and he frowned, "Get up and leave, Gregg. I have a lot to do and I can't do that with you here." "But it’s full moon today, we can just leave the world behind and let our wolves have fun. Besides," he nodded towards the spot where he had just taken a considerable amount of her blood from her neck, "You'll need to replenish that." Subconsciously, her hand flew to the spot on her
Chapter 66All through the run back home, Earl was mentally beating himself for his own foolishness. How could he have lost himself like that? He looked down at Laurel only to find her eyes still shut and her lips quivering slightly. He thanked his stars at least that she was moving now, few minutes ago she had been totally unresponsive. This was the first time she was fainting after a bout of sex, and he knew then that he must have been too rough. What was he saying? His wolf was too greedy with her blood. Even right now, he had to try really hard to avoid looking at her neck. The spot where he had marked her was not healing, and the mark, which was still trailing with blood looked like it was almost calling out to him. When he reached the house that night, almost everywhere was silent. He ran inside, looking frantically about for any sign of life, just anyone to take care of her in her condition. But it seemed like everyone had gone hunting for the full moon. "Fuck!" He muttered
Chapter 65 The pack run was all that it should be, thousands of wolves gathered in packs, howling and growling their praises to the Moon Goddess. Earl was expected to address the pack regardless of his anger, and he did. Laurel was there to encourage him even though they were both mad at each other. After the short speech to the pack members warning them to avoid any contact with rogues or hunting near rogue territory, he led Laurel to his secret spot. She followed him silently, without asking any questions, perhaps it was due to the itching in her gum or the heat she was feeling at his nearness.The ache in his heart was still there, only subsiding a bit because of the full moon and the fact that his wolf was slowly taking over his human side.As Alphas, they could control when and how they shifted into their wolf form, except of course when the male was in too much heat and the female was around or when the mate bond was too strong like right now. "Where are you?" Earl mindlinked
Chapter 64"What the hell do you mean by that nonsense you just said?" Astrid did not flinch, she merely watched Earl with cloudy eyes,as if daring him to strangle her. Channeling his wolf, Earl let his eyes watch her fiercely, more like he was searching for something, some sort of recognition or rejection perhaps. But instead of the ferocious urge to tear her apart, limb by limb, he felt a strange warmth in his heart, a need to comfort and be comforted. The desire was so strong that he threw Astrid down with a force that startled even him. Laurel ran to his side and he grabbed her and shoved her forcefully to himself, eliciting a loud gasp from Laurel. "What is wrong with you?" She asked with genuine concern. But even before she could complete the sentence, Earl crashed his lips forcefully on hers and kissed her. Even as she whimpered and her wolf whined in his hand, he didn't stop. Whatever it was that touching Astrid had stirred in his wolf, he hoped to hell that kissing his mat
Chapter 63Two weeks slipped by pretty fast, they were the most peaceful days for Laurel since her marriage with Earl. She and Earl spent most of the evenings in their room, because well, for some reasons, they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other. Astrid told her once that she was in heat, which usually happens when a wolf finds his mate and accepts the mate bond, their desire for each other during this period is usually almost insatiable.Laurel particularly could not seem to get enough of Earl, and he in turn could smell her heat from as far as he possible. Those two weeks were blissful, almost like it was their honeymoon but there was also this nagging feeling that something terrible would happen soon enough. Which was why Earl and Gregg were working on reinforcing the pack gates and the soldiers in preparation for any possible surprise attacks from Lambert. Hayley was sleeping that evening when Astrid came running into the room. Earl had left a while earlier, so it
Chapter 62She couldn't lose him, Asher thought idly as she ran the rest of the way through the familiar paths. He was the only ticket she had to get out of her misery, the only guaranteed way she could get her brother back. How could he do this to her? She had waited this long to have him, waited this long only to be rejected and treated in a sick manner! He would have killed her if she hadn't come when she did. And the way his eyes softened when he saw her, the way his wolf calmed. Fuck! The sexually provocative way she had talked to him and the way he carried her back to the room. How could he? She clutched her chest as she reached the gate and tried to wipe the tears she didn't know had started dropping with the back of her hand. "Let me in." She told the first guard she met there. "He didn't tell us you were coming." The guard said stubbornly."That is because he didn't know I was coming.""Then why are you here?" "Because I have news, urgent news that cannot wait for the us