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
AryaI stare at Arthur kneeling in front of me with a hopeful light in his eyes and I nearly cry.This has been my dream for the longest time, to be loved like this. To be appreciated like this. Who would have thought that the one who will make all my dreams come true is the goofy, flirtatious, and weird guy that I met in a kingdom I didn’t even know I belong to?I feel like a true princess staring at the diamond ring in the box. He got that just for me. To ask my hand in marriage. This feels like a perfect ending to a fairytale, but I know that this will only be the beginning for us.“Yes,” I whisper, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Yes, I will marry you.”I don’t wait for him to put the ring on my finger. I take it from the box and put it on myself, which makes him laugh. Then he throws aside the box to hug me, lift me off my feet, and kiss me firmly on the lips.And just like that, I feel the swirl of desire all over again.I wrap my legs around his waist, making sure that my core
AryaThat night, I can't sleep, but it's not for bad reasons anymore. I lie in bed wide awake, staring at the gorgeous diamond ring on my finger and remembering everything that happened today.I will be the princess next week, and it would be official. And there's the possibility of me getting married the very same day.It's going to be everything I ever wanted, all in the same day.I don't want to close my eyes. Everything feels so good that I'm scared that it could all just be a dream. I keep staring at the ring on my finger, just reveling at the memory of Arthur proposing.But my body is conjuring another memory.I close my eyes and lie back on my pillow, taking a deep breath. I can still smell Arthur on my skin, and I can perfectly recall his hands on me, his mouth on mine, and his hardness grinding against my core.Instantly, I get wet.Before I knew it, my hand is already creeping under my covers, slipping into my shorts and under my panties.And I let myself get immersed with t
AryaThe Rogues bare their teeth and start to lunge at me. I manage to kick the first one who charged but then the others come in much too quickly.They don’t bother shifting into their beast forms. They remain human, trying to scratch any part of me that they can reach. Pain erupts in my body and I try to push them, but the others just sneak behind me and sink their teeth into my skin.A scream escapes my mouth and I try to run, but more Rogues run towards me and attack me.I look up at Levi and he’s watching me with his eyes blank and expressionless, with a smirk on his lips.And I just feel his enjoyment emanating from him.He clearly likes watching me in pain. He wants this to happen. He wants me to suffer. He wants me to die. . . .Then I snap awake, my heart racing so fast in my chest that I’m gasping for breath. I put my hand on my heart to try to steady it, but it’s not working.All I can think about is the dream. I can still feel the bites and the scratches all over me, the p