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 1FIVE YEARS OLD EARL MALORY “Wait for me too!” He yelled in a small voice, but the other boy was racing through the forest without looking back. “I’ve told you,” he yelled back, “You are the Alpha’s son and you need to behave like one! There’s no room for weakness in our bloodline. Mother says you must emulate our father if you want to become an Alpha someday.” They came to a halt and a five-year-old Earl Malory gave up on catching up with them. He leaned against a tree and watched his older brother, Lambert, play with the Erik’s wolf. Lambert, a robust boy with tousled brown hair and a mischievous grin, chased after the wolf as it performed different chases for him, his laughter echoing through the tranquil woods.But Earl felt anything but tranquil. He stood in the shadows, seething with jealousy as he watched Lambert bask in their parents' attention. It seemed like Lambert was always the center of their world, leaving Earl feeling forgotten and invisible.With a furrowe
Chapter 2 When Kristen Kris returned to the castle the next week, it was to the news of her parent's death. Her elder sister, Laurel Kris had sent word for her to return to the castle the next week, not informing her of their parent's passing. Somehow, on the journey home, Kristen knew that something was amiss, what she did not expect however, was the news of the death of her both parents. She had hoped at least that one of them would be alive for a while longer. Even though her mother's condition had been worse than her father's, she learnt that her father had died first. Sitting beside her sister now, Laurel could only sigh in exasperation. She had no time to mourn because there was a lot to do in the castle in preparation for their parent's burial. The ceremony had been delayed due to her absence, but now that she was back, everything was kick-started. "I am not ready for this." Laurel muttered for the umpteenth time. "Neither am I." Kristen replied curtly."You don't understa
Chapter 3 Now Alpha and at twenty five, Laurel Kris was not new to the ups and downs of ruling over her pack, to the pain of losing in battle, the smell of victory, the stab of losing a trusted warrior to an enemy pack or even the fear of attack. She had trained herself for this, every day over the past six years since her parents' death. Standing at the balcony of her home now, Laurel wondered what it would have felt like if her parents were still here, and even more, she wondered what difference it would have made. She would probably have been married off to a wealthy Beta or even an Alpha somewhere, or perhaps she would have married one of the court lord's sons, who would in turn have taken over the ruling of the pack after her father's demise, which would not have happened sooner. "My Lady" The greeting from the maid brought her back to reality. "Is all well?" "All is well, Alpha. It’s just that you have a visitor, Lord Charles is in the hall, he wishes to speak with you." "
Chapter 4Earl stared at Gregg, eyes widened. "How could you suggest that?""Sometimes I can't help but wonder if you are the same person I know. Why do you look like you have seen a ghost? I mean, what's so wrong with what I just said?" Gregg folded his arms."Since we have the cure at our disposal, enough of it at that, don't you think the best thing we could do is to give it to her first before talking about what we want? I'm sure she would be glad to help." Earl said.Gregg laughed and placed one hand on his friend's shoulders, "You think so?" He asked again."It's what anyone would do, one good turn deserves another." Earl replied, folding his hands across his chest in a more relaxed posture now.Gregg laughed again, "You think she would willingly leave her own pack and bring her army of soldiers to fight Lambert and his Rogues for your little favor? Think again, Earl." Now, Earl was not very convinced he was right, "Well, if she has a good heart…" "By God, Earl! She's a woman,
Chapter 5After waiting anxiously for Earl without any sight of him, Kristen, who had been pacing the length of the large parlor where she and Laurel were ushered in by the maids turned to her sister. Throwing caution to the wind, she had known that coming here was a waste of time and she had not failed to point it out, but according to Laurel, everything was worth trying so here they were, waiting for hours for the Alpha of the New Knight Pack, who they had not seen or met before. The possibility of them getting any help from these people was very slim and she knew it, but she had been trying not to shatter her sister's hope."What if he doesn't come?" Kristen finally voiced her fear.Laurel sighed weakly, "We have to be optimistic, and it has not even been up to three hours since we have been here." She said despite herself, she was equally afraid that they might not get the help they came for, but someone had to be strong."How sure are we that the cure is even here, Laurel? Where
Chapter 6Back in the garden, Kristen paced up and down waiting anxiously for Laurel, she hoped it went well. As much as she hated to admit it, having thought it through, her own way might have led them to destruction. Alpha Earl was not stupid and neither was his Beta, the lives of those men she had proposed they take as hostage might well have meant nothing to the Alpha. What if after going through the trouble, the men ended up showing them the wrong leaves and they went home and realized they had wasted their time? She sighed for the umpteenth time only to hear the annoying voice from behind her,"Are you not going to have your seat?" Gregg asked for the tenth time."Are you deaf? Or maybe you don't hear well in the afternoon? I said to keep quiet. If you have nothing better to say, I will prefer that you stop talking!" Kristen snapped at him."I am just concerned. If it's any consolation, you don't have to worry about your sister. Earl doesn't bite." Gregg offered."I would sugges
Chapter 7Earl was anxiously pacing in the library as he waited for Gregg to come in. It had been a while since Lady Laurel Kris left, and he was not back. He was either calculating, hoping that the lady would change her mind and come back or Gregg would come in to tell him she had realized her mistake, but none of that happened. When Gregg finally came in, it was to shatter Earl's hope with the first question he asked."How did it go?" Gregg asked again, guessing correctly that everything had not gone as planned, especially with the way he had seen Laurel storm out of the place, fuming with anger. Earl eyed his friend angrily, "You know this is all your fault, right? I hate that innocent look on your face." Gregg gave a light chuckle. "I don't understand why you are angry. Relax, man. You did not just expect her to give in, did you?" "This is not a time for games, Gregg. We are under threat from Lambert and his Rogues, life and death to be precise. And the only shot we have at get
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