Chapter 38 Lambert paced wildly in his parlor, his mood foul and his eyes darting dangerously across the room. He was tense and he didn't like it, he hated to be tense, hated to be double crossed, hated to think that someone else had thought ahead of him and made plans before him. Why was it so difficult to catch and kill Earl Malory? He scoffed silently and sat down. Then he stood up again as the memory of Earl's father, the previous Alpha of New Knight, his step father had nearly had him killed when he discovered his true identity. Even to date, the humiliation he had to face with his mother was still ringing in the back of his mind. The thought made his mind boil each time he thought of it. The man had nearly had him killed, and his mother? They had the pack members torture the woman right before his eyes. Alpha Killian Malory had been too heartless in his verdict and for that heartlessness towards his mother and even him? Lambert had promised his late father that he was going
Chapter 39That morning when he woke up, Earl was feeling very refreshed, he felt like he had had enough drinks last night and had simply slept off while still drowning in the euphoria of his intoxication. As he lay wide awake grinning sheepishly, he tried to pinpoint the exact reason for his mood, but all he knew was that he had slept off with Laurel brooding next to him. He chuckled as the now familiar scent of her hair coming from the pillow beside him had his head turning in that direction. That scent, it was the sweet scent that was calming his nerves, and for the first time in weeks, he had slept without a nightmare. Laurel was not in bed, but the pillow and the part of the bed where she had slept in was still warm. Stunned at how much he enjoyed the scent, Earl grabbed the pillow and inhaled deeply, he could go back to sleep like this, he thought. And then it dawned on him, the memories of what happened last night came rushing back to him. Lambert had come here, he knew it,
Chapter 40 Gregg was in the field when Earl saw him, his relief was so overwhelming that he found himself smiling sheepishly. The way the man was swinging his sword, it was difficult to tell that he had just woken up from a deathbed. Not wanting to ruin his moment and knowing how much his friend loved his victory, Earl watched from a distance, not allowing Gregg to sight him. When the last one of the men he was training with threw down his sword in surrender after Gregg's sword went under his arm, Earl came forward and clapped his hand to cheer his friend."I was afraid your bones would have turned to jelly by now seeing how long you lay almost half dead on Asher's bed." He teased me. Seeing Earl, a broad smile contorted Gregg's features and threw down his sword and engulfed his friend in a tight hug. Stunned by the sudden wave of emotions, both men laughed at their own silliness, but they didn't break the hug immediately. "Man, I was as afraid I might never see your ugly face aga
Chapter 41"I kissed him!" Laurel exclaimed the minute she entered Astrid's room.Astrid stood up and looked at her with a puzzled frown, "You kissed who, My Lady?" She asked Laurel cautiously. "The Alpha!" Laurel said with excitement, "I kissed Earl." She repeated slowly, her hand flying to bed lips and hanging there as she smiled into the distance.Astrid smiled, "How was it?" When Laurel gave her a confused look, she cleared her throat and rephrased, "Did he kiss you back?" "He did…" her voice faded as the memory came back to her, "But then a guard came in with the news that the Beta was awake and he had to hurry out." Astrid's eyes widened, "Gregg is awake?" Laurel blushed at her own selfishness. She hasn't even thought about that, all her mind registered was the fact that she had kissed her own husband, something she didn't even know how he would react when next he saw her. "He's awake, and it's all thanks to you." She told Astrid with an appreciative smile. Astrid smiled a
Chapter 42The emissaries went out that afternoon with the letter informing Lambert of the proposed peace between the Werewolves and the Rogues. But up until evening, Earl was still very busy in his office, sorting some paperwork and drawing up plans for a possible attack.Gregg had taken it upon himself to train the wolves and the warriors who were to defend them if they happened to be an attack, so both of them totally forgot about the hunt they had proposed, each working tirelessly in his own office. By the time Laurel prepared to go to bed and Earl had still not shown up, she hadn't seen him. At dinner too, she made up her mind to go after him. It was almost midnight and she still hadn't been able to sleep without seeing him. No, she had put in too much work this evening hoping he would look in her direction, so she adjusted the night gown that Astrid had recommended to her, she picked a lamp from the lamp stand and headed down the hall. There were barely any guards by the door
Chapter 43Earl walked briskly down the hall, his head clouded and his wolf screaming dangerously at him. He couldn't get the sight of her on the floor out of his mind, she looked so sad and heartbroken. And it was all because of her. How would he face her tomorrow? Bloody hell, what are you even doing? His wolf growled angrily. She's in danger, he reminded himself. No, his wolf growled. She's in danger if you don't claim her!But he would be there to protect her, he thought. He just couldn't give her what she wanted. And why was she so hell bent on making him touch her? Did she have a plan of her own? He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. She was so hot, so hot for him. And yet he had let her slide right through his fingers. She might even want to have nothing to do with him again. Maybe that was better, he thought idly. Better than her always walking around like that, making him feel like the devil himself for not consummating their marriage, for not accepting their mate
Chapter 44"I didn't think you would be here on such short notice.""Why?" Kristen asked as she pushed some wild berries into her mouth, "It's as important to you for you to save your Alpha as it is for me to save my sister, the Luna , from her crazy brother in law."She had said too much in one second, Gregg noted with a grin. "You know, Earl doesn't like for Lambert to be referred to as his brother.""That's between you two." Kristen sneered, "let's get this over and done with. I have a pack to run and I'm yet to go for my morning hunt."His eyes widened, "You hunt in the mornings?""It's a ritual I developed several years ago, why?""Because I used to. But I stopped when I became too busy. Perhaps I just found a partner." "Never. I don't go out with lousy men."He frowned, "Lousy?""Sorry, grumpy." They both laughed, but when they realized they were laughing, both of them stopped and stared at each other. With Kristen wondering why she had trusted him enough to come to the forest
Chapter 45 "Where is the Beta?" Earl asked the maid as she dropped the last piece of bread on his plate. "He left very early this morning, and said he had something pressing to see to."His brows puzzled in a frown, "Something very urgent," he thought, but then he recalled that they had not gone for the hunt the night before and he nodded. His wolf was probably too hungry and he had decided to go on a hunt earlier. But that realization did not help his mood, nor did he forget the source of his troubles. She had not come down for breakfast yet, he doubted if she would even come, being that he had not seen her at all since that last night. Silly him, was never able to bring himself to go after her in the bedroom, and he still didn't know how he would face her. Even Astrid was not at the table. Eating alone was very depressing, Earl thought. Especially since he was anticipating Lambert's response from the emissaries he sent. He so badly needed to talk to someone about it, and he nee
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