Levi“Are you not coming with us?” Theo asks me absently as we both enter the arena for fighting practice. “I mean, it’s going to be really fun.”“Well, if you refuse to tell me what you’re up to, I’m afraid I would have to decline,” I say in an emotionless tone.That has been my tone for days now. Emotionless, bland. Lifeless and weird too, according to my dad.Unfortunately, that is also the only tone I can use for whatever “party” Theo and Daniel are planning to throw for me. They say it’s supposed to make me feel better and maybe amp up my performance as an Alpha too, which is something that my dad wants me to improve immensely.Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m not trying my best to be everything they expected me to be: a dynamic and active Alpha who would be able to finish his tasks seamlessly and without losing a single notch of energy. The kind of Alpha who would be perfect in all his endeavors and yet still manage to find the time for personal stuff, like love and marriag
Levi"Daniel?" I ask in confusion, backing away from the women until I almost stumble on my own feet. "Daniel, what is the meaning of this?""It means fun, my brother," he says, coming up behind me and patting me on the back before pushing me towards the ladies. "They are all yours, Alpha."I hate the teasing tone in his voice and it's so foreign to me, so new that I suddenly feel the urge to slap it out of his mouth. But as soon as he gets close, I manage to take a whiff of something that smells sour and deep from him, the smell of alcohol. It's basically swirling around his body like a second skin.Why is Daniel drunk? Do his parents know? So this is their idea of a party? This was their plan all along? To invite a bunch of strangers over to our pack and have them all come at me?Anger is starting to rise in my chest but I try hard not to explode right then and there.I also know that they have my best interests at heart. I know that as braindead as this is, this is actually their
Levi"What?" the girl on my lap asks after a full beat. "What did you say?"And that is when the whole situation comes crashing down on me. Here I am, sitting on a couch in some kind of basement behind the arena, with my closest friends. Theo is passed out drunk. Daniel is making out with five women at once. And I'm here with a woman on my lap grinding on me. I don't even know her name.I'm pretty sure she told me, but I forgot. The reason why I forgot? Because I was too drunk and too emotional that her facial features got blurred, either by alcohol or my imagination, and I thought of her as Arya.Then I redirected all my desire for Arya onto this girl, whose name I decidedly forgot.To top it all off, I also called her the wrong name to her face, after telling her that we should get out of here so I can have my way with her.That's how much of a douchebag I have become.I shake my head, trying to regain more of myself and my wits. Meanwhile, the girl is still on my lap and she's
LeviSuddenly my whole body snaps to attention. For some reason the sound just feels . . . ominous, and I can’t shake off the feeling that someone is watching me.That someone has been watching me this whole time I was in the forest.My first hopeful thought is that it’s Arya, who’s lingering in the woods watching over me. But as delusional and as hopeless as I am, I knew that that would be stupid and impossible. I would have tracked her scent by now since we are mates, and I have been looking for her all this time.My second thought is that maybe Naomi followed me, but I don’t think she wants me enough to do that. I am perfectly confident that she just targeted me because I’m an Alpha but she doesn’t really care for me at all.My third thought is my friends, who are both probably passed out drunk by now. They would not be coming here sneaking up on me and watching me.That leaves me with a possible stranger and a spy that I probably haven’t noticed until now.I look directly at the d
LeviFor a whole second, my whole world goes dark. The Rogue man's words seem to echo in my head, making everything tilt on its axis and shaking things off balance.I stare at him to detect some kind of lie but I don't find it. I just see a strong hint of integrity, which I admit is a trait that is rarely found in Rogues.This family seems so different though. They're all looking at me now like I should just take their word and I don't know what's happening to me but I believe them.After all, I have not shared any kind of detail. They're the ones who provided such a clue."Do you. . . ." I trail off to clear my throat and remove all kinds of emotions and attachments from my voice. "Do you remember when you saw that?" I ask. "Are there any details that you might recall?""Nothing much, except that that night was a full moon and the forest was alight like your pack had some kind of celebration going on," the Rogue man says. "And she just appeared out of nowhere as we were looking for a
AryaEven though the past few days have been incessantly stressful for me, I’m surviving. And I’m actually doing pretty well.With Arthur’s help and assurance, I’ve been having less and less thoughts about Levi and what he can do to ruin my day. Chances are, he might not even go. For all I know he is mated with someone else now and is living a good life as an Alpha. Why would he care about some Lycan debutante that he doesn’t know about?Also, the day is all about me. Just me and how I’m going to be integrate into the Lycan royals. Why would I make it about someone else? Why would I make it about someone who doesn’t care about me?With all of this in mind and reinforced by Arthur and my friends when I told them about my dilemma, I manage to do great until the day before my coronation.The kingdom announced the whole week as a holiday, a whole week of pure celebration and happiness. It’s a very sweet gesture that I would never let anyone ruin.Today is a Saturday. Next Saturday will be
AryaKing Samuel and Queen Helena come over to hug me, and I hold them back. But then the three of us all scream when the crown nearly fell from my head.He takes it from me and puts it back on its pedestal hastily. “That was a close one. Let’s just leave that there. . . .”With that, he trots over to us like a kid, and mom and I both laugh, then we hug each other tightly again. How long we’ve been in there hugging like that, I don’t know. All I know is that we all get shocked to attention by a knock on the door.“Come in!” Queen Helena calls out, and then the door opens.Walking in with a big smile on his face is no other than Arthur.He bows as soon as he gets in, which I admit is kind of funny but also really sweet and adorable. “Good morning, your Highnesses.”“Is that even a thing?” I joke.Arthur straightens up and shrugs. “We will make it a thing.”We all laugh, and King Samuel beckons him to come forward. “Come here, Arthur. Don’t just stand by the door like that. You know you
ArthurI’m nervous. My whole body is shaking and my mind is spouting all kinds of thoughts that are making me less and less confident about what I’m about to do.I stand behind Arya and take off the blindfold, revealing the candlelit dinner setup that I have been working on for the past few days.I hear her gasp under her breath and I breathe a small sigh of relief. I know her and that little gasp means that she likes it, and this only gets confirmed when she turns around and holds my face in her hands.“You’re wonderful.” She smiles and plants a kiss on my lips. “This is beautiful.”Because I’m too nervous to speak, I just smile and lead her to the table, keeping my hand on the small of her back.She beams at me as I lay out a chair for her, and even though there are great desserts in front of us, she’s only looking at me.“Do you not want the cakes?” I ask, then I internally beat myself for sounding so dumb.Arya just laughs softly, and my heart starts to beat with yearning even tho