Sadie’s POVThe moment I realized it was Arlo, scenes from our time in bed together flashed through my mind.His lips. His warm, wet mouth. His muscular, naked chest. The heat of his skin on mine. His tongue exploring my….My face turned bright red and I broke our embrace, taking a step back from him.Arlo could see my cheeks had turned red.“What are you thinking about, little wild cat?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. His tone was teasing, as though he could read my mind.“Nothing,” I said quickly.“Is that so?” he replied.I was embarrassed. Then my stomach growled loudly, making me feel even more self-conscious.Arlo chuckled softly. Then he reached out and scooped me in his arms. He started walking down the hall. My feet dangled in the air.“Wait, what are you doing?” I asked, confused. Where was he taking me? He turned left, into a hallway I didn’t recognize.“Shh,” he said. “Just relax.”He was taking me into a bedroom! To finish what we’d started!I panicked. I’d lost myself tha
Sadie’s POVI cowered in the dark pantry.I was so terrified of being caught, I could barely breathe. I heard the door to the kitchen creak open. Then I heard a voice come from the kitchen doorway.“Your Highness,” the voice said, respectfully. It was a female voice and assumed it was a maid. “I apologize. I didn’t know you were here. I heard noises and I just came to make sure no one had snuck into the kitchen.”“You didn’t know I was in here?” Arlo asked, a clear note of skepticism in his voice.“Well,” the maid chuckled softly.I heard her footsteps enter the kitchen. “Truthfully, yes I did. I’ve just been waiting, mustering up enough courage to follow you in here.”More footsteps. She must be really close to him now, I thought. He didn’t respond. She continued.“It’s just that, well, I really admire you, Your Highness.” Her voice carried a hint of flirtation. “I’ve watched you fight outside the training ground. You’re magnificent. And your muscles…they’re mesmerizing. So strong.”
Sadie’s POV“The Lycan Prince will be coming to our pack soon to choose his Luna,” my Alpha father said sternly at the breakfast table. “Reject Karter and focus on getting ready for the Luna selection.”Karter was my mate and I love him. “A liar like that is unworthy of my daughter,” My father added with disapproval. He was an intimidating Alpha, tall and muscular, with piercing, stern eyes. Most importantly, he despised Karter.“He’s not deceitful, Daddy,” I said, averting my eyes from his powerful gaze. My voice was small and quiet. “I don’t understand why you hate him so much.”“You have an obligation to bring glory to our family!” my father snapped. “Don't be obstinate, Sadie. I won’t stand for it!” I glanced up at him. He glared at me. My heart hammered in my chest. I didn’t want to enter the Luna Selection. I didn’t want to become the Lycan Prince’s Luna. I tried to reason with my father but he wouldn’t listen. I crossed my arms over my chest. “No,” I said firmly, glaring
Sadie's POVI felt like I was in a dream. Or more like a nightmare, really. Nothing felt real as Karter walked me to the pack house.“Where is my father?” I asked as soon as we entered. One of the maids pointed towards his private study. I rushed forward. But Karter stayed fixed in place.“Aren’t you coming?” I asked.“You should have some privacy,” he said, his voice warm and gentle. He came to me, kissed me on the forehead, and urged me to go in.I braced myself and took a deep breath. As soon as I entered the study, I saw my father’s body. It felt like a knife in my heart, seeing him lying on the floor like that.I ran to him and flung myself over his corpse, clinging to the collar of his shirt. I let out a long wail, unable to hold in my grief. It reverberated through the room.He was dead. My father was really dead.Guilt hit me like a bullet. I shouldn’t have argued with him. The last words I said to him were in disobedience. I’d been so angry with him.I’d fought with him. I’d
Sadie’s POVAs soon as the words left his mouth, I was hit with a crippling pain. It felt like my heart was split right in half.I let out a heart-wrenching scream and then I crumpled to the floor. I curled myself up into a ball while the pain of the mate-bond breaking ripped through me.Delphine and Karter watching me writhe on the floor, smug smiles plastered on their faces. I became breathless, my heart hammering in my chest. I couldn’t believe it was over.Karter was no longer my mate.“What’s all this noise?” Luna Emma emerged at the door, a frown on her face.I looked up at her, grateful to see her. I pleaded at her with my eyes. I knew she would be sympathetic. She’d always been so kind to me. Even though she was my step-mother, she’d always treated me as an equal daughter. She never slighted me in favor of her biological daughter, Delphine.She would help me. I knew she would. She glanced down at me, her hands on her hips. I struggled to pull myself up to my feet, eager for Lu
Sadie’s POV“NO!” I cried out. Luna Emma clutched the vile of wolfsbane tightly in her hand.“Oh yes,” she said joyfully. “Now come here, you little bitch. Take your medicine like a good girl.”I stumbled backwards. I looked at Karter.“Please,” I begged. “Don’t let them do this to me.”For a brief moment, I thought I saw a flash of sympathy. But then he averted his eyes.“Don’t make this difficult,” he said dryly.Luna Emma and Delphine charged at me.“Open your fucking mouth,” Luna Emma snapped. They forced my mouth open. Then Luna Emma shoved the vile between my lips.The wolfbane burned my throat as it slid down. They released me and laughed. I coughed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.The effect was instant. A weakness spread through my muscles. My body felt heavy, fatigued. The potion pulsed through me.“There now,” Delphine said smugly. “You can’t compete with me in the Luna Selection.”I felt pins and needles in my fingertips. I needed to lie down. I felt like I’d jus
Sadie’s POVThe next day, excited whispers rippled through the maid’s quarters. Immediately after Luna Emma demoted me, I was brought down to the maid’s quarters. It had only been a day, but I was trying to adjust to my new life as a maid. I’d been put to work right away scrubbing toilets. It was hard work, much harder than anything I was used to.We were given the morning off though because the Lycan Prince was due to arrive any moment. The maids gushed to one another, starry-eyed, hopeful that maybe, just maybe, one of them would be selected.I wanted no part of it though. So I sat on my tiny bed and tried to ignore all the excitement. Just then, a maid burst through the doors.“The Lycan Prince has arrived!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly.The room exploded into a wave of giggles. And then they all rushed out of the room like little school girls.I stayed behind.“Come on,” Celeste said, standing at the door. “You have to come.”Celeste was the only maid who h
Sadie’s POVThe crows cawed loudly, a screechy sound that reverberated through the air. Their black bodies continued to circle around in the sky. People nodded, agreeing.Yes. This was a sign.It had to be.All eyes turned back to Delphine. She looked as convinced as everyone else. Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Everyone talked in hushed whispers.“I knew it was her.”“No one’s more worthy.”“Just imagine, she’ll be Prince Griffin’s Luna now!”I looked from the crowd to Delphine. Then I looked up at the crows. I didn’t want it to be her. But even I started to believe the crows were a sign.Just then, though, as quickly as they’d come, the crows began to fly away. Their caws faded into the distance.Delphine watched them go, a puzzled look on her face.“Where are they going?” people whispered. The square fell silent again.Delphine still had her hand placed firmly on the slab. She looked uncertainly at the Beta, a fake smile plastered on her face. A few moments passed.Nothing