Hazel’s POVAs I got out of the car. I felt a little self conscious with how people were entering and leaving the restaurant while being dressed impeccably. I could see them staring at me but felt someone hold my waist as he led me into the restaurant.Orion's hands were like a comforter. He made me feel like I belonged here and his steady presence was enough for me.In the restaurant I marveled at how stunning it was here. The soft lighting; the air filled with delicious aroma of food and the hostess who greeted us in a warm manner and led us to a private table in the back where we could talk with no one disturbing us.“This is beautiful,” I said while sitting as he shrugged and leaned back in his seat. “It is the best restaurant in town,” he smiled, rubbing his hands together like an excited man.I was beginning to see multiple shades of this alpha.At first when I had shown up in his pack he had been aggressive to me and he had shown a part of him that was official but now that I
Hazel’s POVI remained seated inside the restaurant, my hands drumming my thigh as I waited for the alpha to return. The low hum from the guests in the restaurant and the tiniest sounds of glasses touched on each other gave me a background buzz, but all my attention was absorbed. All that was in my head was Orion. Where did he go? What must have gone down during that phone call?He had left the table to get the call and that was it.I did not have to wait long but it felt as if hours were spent as I was able to see him walking back. Every time I saw that frown on his face my heart started beating faster. It was not like the alpha I had seen earlier who looked handsome, composed with smirking lips and those dreaming eyes ready to sprinkle the world with lust. This version of him seemed irritable, aloof and shut down entirely.When he came closer to the table I tried to sit erect. “Orion?” I pretended to whisper since I did not want to provoke him. I said gently. “Is something wrong?
Hazel’s POVUnder the moonlight, the palace reared before me in an imposing form, tall and dark. As I approached the doors, I looked up at the guards on either side of the doors standing guard near the entrance as they stared at me curiously but no one spoke. I lowered my head and walked into the place.Maybe they knew. There was no one about as I headed to my room back through the quiet halls. I could hear sounds of argument but I ignored it and walked away.I replayed everything that happened that evening in my mind. From the dinner to the call and Orion’s new behavior — it all just didn’t add up as pieces of a puzzle I couldn’t piece together.I closed my room door and leaned up against it, taking a shaky breath. The room was silent, heavy like someone was pressing down on me. My heart was still racing as I stared out of the window at the dark night sky.Maybe Orion had really found out. What would he do? Would he banish me, too? Or would he punish me as a rogue?The thoughts gav
Hazel’s POV“I didn’t get to properly introduce myself,” she said, turning back to face me. Her lips curved into a cold smile. “My name is Evelyn. I’m Alpha Orion’s arranged mate.”Arranged mate? Her words hit me with force, but I tried not to show it as my chest tightened, my gaze never leaving her face as I tried to make sense of things.“And who are you?” she continued, taking a step closer. “What are you doing here? You have no right to be here.”I tried to speak but choked on my words. She didn’t seem to mind. She was already busy inspecting the room with her judging eyes.“You don’t belong here,” she said sharply, her voice slicing the silence. “You’re nothing but some rogue who made it this far in one piece. But your time’s just about run out.”I tightened my fists at my sides, feeling every beat of my heart. “I’m not looking for any trouble,” I replied.She laughed, a cutting, sharp sound that turned my stomach. “Not here to cause trouble?” she echoed, and I had no answer for
Orion’s POVI had not expected to hear that name from her mouth and to hear it now had me shocked.She stared at me in anger and I could tell that my absence earlier with Evelyn being around must have something to do with this.“Well?” She asked me in anger as I looked around the room.“How do you know about Evelyn? Did she come in here to talk to you?”“I’m guessing she was the reason you decided to push me aside huh.”I sighed. “Hazel. Relax. Don’t ruin the already good night we were having just because that lady decided to show up and ruin everything. You are my mate. You know that and I know that.”“What about her?” She asked as I sighed and sat down on her couch. “She said she was your arranged mate.”I sighed. “Is it true?”I knew whatever I answered now would only lead to more problems so I decided to shut up and walk out.I walked to the door and got out of the room while thinking of what to say to Evelyn.The minute I got to my study, I found her there.I entered with a frow
Orion’s POV“Excuse me?” Kael asked in shock. “Hold up. You can’t be serious. Are you for real?”“I am very real,” I said while leaning back in my seat. “She has my baby.”“That is… that is another story I did not see coming. Now I can see why you want her to stay in this palace.”“Other than the fact that she is my mate, I think we have that figured out.”This was too much for the beta as he leaned in his seat.“Does Evelyn know?”I shook my head. “I don’t want her to know. Just yet. She might be mad about it.”“She’s going to know eventually.”“And when she knows it’s going to be when I tell her and not when she isn’t supposed to know. At least right now; the heat is too much and she doesn’t need to know now.”He nodded.I couldn’t tell Evelyn this just yet. We had been trying for a baby for a while before she left me and telling her this at this time I was also telling her to leave my quarters was too much. It would be too much. Besides, all of this is just an assumption but I had
Evelyn’s POVI walked with the elder who took me to a different part of the garden and looked around to make sure no one was following us.“Welcome back to the pack,” he said as I nodded. “Now you’re back, I’m guessing you’re going to start trying to take back what is rightfully yours.”That was a stretch but now I was confused on why he had said that.“Oh come on,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t act dumb. I know you have a plan to take back your place as his mate.”“Look, I’m done fighting with the alpha. You know Orion. Once he makes up his mind, that is that. I can’t push him out of his ideas. Just leave me alone.”“So you’re not going to do anything about that strange woman in the palace that is in your quarters?”I halted in my steps as I slowly turned to him.How did he know that Hazel was in my quarters?But how wouldn’t he know? He was an elder in the palace. There was no way he wouldn’t know.But I already had a plan brewing and I wasn’t going to waste my time with the elder.“
Orion’s povAfter finishing the last bit of work in my study, I leaned back in my chair and stretched. The day had been long and exhausting, filled with reports, patrol updates, and handling minor disputes within the pack. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I sighed, pushing away from my desk. I needed to head to the dining hall before the chefs packed everything up for the night.I wondered if Evelyn had finally eaten and given up on waiting for me as my wolf laughed.‘You already know who Evelyn is. She won’t give up on you. She is going to make sure she milks you for all you have.’I mentally shut my wolf away as I didn’t want to hear anything from him anymore.As soon as I entered the common room of the palace I saw Evelyn waving at me smiling while sitting at the chair.But I felt like something was amiss or better said someone was not present here. I parked this thought for now. Let me handle her first and we would know what to do next.I sat
Evelyn’s povA soft knock on the door made me jump, and my maid stuck her head in with a worried look on her face. “My lady,” she hissed, slipping into the room and closing the door behind her.I pushed myself up, wincing as I did so. “What is it?”She hesitated before speaking. “Everything is going according to plan… but the Alpha seems suspicious.”I sighed and rubbed my temples. “I know. He’s not a fool.”She nodded and stepped closer. “What’s the next step?”I took a moment to think, then a slow smile spread across my face. “Now we play the long game. I’ll make it look like I’m walking away… giving Hazel time to heal. But I’ll be close enough to strike when the time is right.”My maid bowed. “Understood.”I tossed myself back against the pillows, squeezed my eyes so hard that a few tears spilled out. I would be an angel in Orion’s eyes—for now. Hazel had made it through another day, but I wasn’t finished with Hazel yet.Orion might have thought that he could keep me away, but he w
Evelyn’s povThat morning, I felt ready for what was to come that day. I got up and put on something nice but not over the top, it had to be responsible looking and it was what I hoped Orion would think if he saw my outfit. In the dining hall, Hazel was already there eating and already dressed up.“Good morning” I said with a smile before sitting across from her.She looked up, a little surprised. “Good morning, Evelyn.” Her voice was soft, hesitant.I poured myself some tea and picked up a slice of toast. “So, are you excited for our shopping trip today?”Hazel gave a small smile and nodded. “Yeah, I guess. I haven’t really gone shopping like this in a while.”I chuckled lightly. “You should not be bothered about a lot of things. I’ll handle the cost. You should just give on what you need. Clothing, cute shoes and maybe even accessories.”She laughed a little, and I noticed she was starting to slowly let her guard down with me. “I just really need some casual clothes… or a few dresse
Evelyn’s povIt was late, the moonlight barely shining on the path as I headed to find Leif in the dark shadows near the edge of the pack lands. He was leaned against a tree, his arms crossed and his eyes sharp when he looked up at me. He must have sensed my seriousness because he pushed off from the tree to stand tall.“I need you to do something for me,” I told him.He smirked. “What now, Evelyn? Another one of your schemes?”I rolled my eyes. “Don’t act so self-righteous. You’re here, aren’t you? You know what I always call you for so don’t act so scared now. Listen, tomorrow Hazel and I are going shopping, and I want you to set up an attack.”“An attack?” He arched an eyebrow.“Yes, an attack!” I bit out. “Get some of your men—masked, obviously—and do it. Make it look real. I want her scared as hell, but don’t hurt anyone on our side. I’ll take care of the rest.”Leif tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes as he studied me. “And what’s your endgame this time?”I took a st
Hazel’s povI sat across Evelyn, gazing at my half eaten breakfast, trying to make sense of everything that happened. She was making an effort alright, but I couldn’t help thinking that there’s something more to this.“Hazel?” her voice brought me back from my thoughts.“Yes?” I said with a confused look on my face.“The food park. Would you want to go with me?”I blinked, not knowing how to reply. “A food park?”She beamed at me. “Yeah! It’s a lot of fun and the food there is amazing too. We can try different types of cuisines, maybe do a little bit of exploring while we are at it too. It’ll be good to…bond.”Bond? Right. That word, I wondered if she knew what it meant.To be honest everything within me wanted to tell her to get lost but I knew it would be rude of me to say that to someone who was trying to be close to me. She was trying to be nice and here I was thinking of how to be mean. I wanted to say no, that I couldn’t go, but I knew that I couldn’t do it.There was no excuse
Evelyn’s povThe moment I entered my room, I summoned my maid. She came quickly and made a little bow. “My lady?” she said, as she always addressed me.“Well, I want you to get something nice for Hazel this morning, chicken and peas, or whatever else she likes best.”I could feel the tension rise between us as the maid had not expected that from me.Her eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything. "Yes, my lady," she said eventually. "And do you want me to prepare it with... the poisons or with anything else?"I narrowed my eyes at her. "No," I told her, just as firmly as before. "Not yet. Eventually, yes, but for now I need her to think I'm someone who cares about what happens to her... someone she can trust. I’m trying to lure her in so she can be on my side and not be against me. That way maybe we can be friends and I can show her that I’m not so bad.”The maid hesitated in a bow for a moment before she nodded. “I’ll see to it at once.”“See that you do.” I waved her away and watche
Hazel’s povI woke up that morning feeling intense pain in my stomach. If that was the only problem I was having then I wouldn’t complain, but to top it off, my head felt like it would explode from the thumping going on in it. I suddenly got nausea and felt like throwing up but held it back as I laid in bed.I winced in pain and put a hand over my stomach, willing whatever it was causing this havoc to subside.There I was, just closing my eyes to try and get the pain away as my head throbbed mercilessly when a knock came at the door. I groaned louder. I was not in the mood for visitors. Grunting, I pulled myself up from the bed and trudged over to open it, every step causing my headache to increase tenfold.A frown instantly formed on my face at what stood before me – Evelyn, all perfect smiles and sugary sweet expressions.The rage that filled me up that morning was nothing to write home about. I just wanted her off my sight and I would do anything to have her gone. “What do you wan
Evelyn’s povI couldn’t move after hearing that. I was frozen in my stead. My heart pounded in my chest in a furious manner as I held onto my stead and prayed for the best.She was pregnant? With Orion’s child? My head spun and each gasp became harder than the last as I sucked for air that wasn’t there.Before I knew what happened, I turned around and was tearing down the hall as I ran back to my room. “This can’t be happening,” I whispered to myself, feeling like my heart was about to beat right out of my chest. “No one is taking Orion from me—not her, not her child.” I paced across the room, my mind working at a mile a minute. This wasn’t a threat; this was an invasion. If Hazel thought she could come waltzing into my pack and take Orion was her man, she had another thing coming.My wolf started to bring up ideas.“Maybe we should shove her down a bridge or something. I don’t like to share.”But I growled. “You don’t need to tell me twice. I want her gone and gone for good. I hate
Evelyn’s povOrion was standing near the entrance, deep in conversation with one of the guards when I arrived back at the packhouse. His powerful aura dominated the space, but as soon as he noticed me, his eyes locked onto mine. I didn’t look away. Instead, I held his gaze until he started walking toward me with that same commanding stride that made everyone step aside.I sighed softly, bracing myself. This was going to be tricky.“Thanks for finally showing up,” he said with a frown. “What were you really thinking?”“My alpha, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said with an innocence as he growled and got close to me.“What do you mean by that?” He growled. “You took her to a club. You took hazel to a club without even consulting me. Why would you do such a thing?”I bowed my head, letting a subtle tremble creep into my voice. “Alpha, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I really am. Please forgive me. I don’t know it would be bad. I only wanted to bond with her in some way. Th
Evelyn’s povI swirled the drink in my glass, the golden liquid catching the muted light of the room. The music vibrated through my feet, but my thoughts roamed elsewhere. Where had Hazel wandered off to? Not that I cared—I pushed her from my mind and took another sip. She can handle herself.“Where’s your friend?” The bartender asked me as I shrugged.“How the hell should I know?” I asked as I took a sip of my drink. “She can get lost for all I care. This is a party. Maybe she’s somewhere else failing someone.”I was about to bring the glass back up when a figure slipped onto the stool beside me. My gaze flickered up, and for a split second, I winced before painting on a smile. It was Kael.His muscular shape had me turned on temporarily and if he wasn’t the beta I would have gone for him. But I wanted to have a partner who would be second to none and would be strong enough to make me higher than everyone in the pack.Being with the beta wouldn’t give me the same confidence as being