Ever since the last time I reprimanded Cynthia for carelessly leaving her mask, I felt the need to watch her whenever she came in for her shift. Deep in my guts, I knew she would do something stupid that would put not just her life in jeopardy, but everyone else’s. The only one who knew about my fallout with her the last time was the prince. I kept it away from Jane because she already had a lot on her plate at the parlour. I had also seen her flirt with prince Edward a few times since then. It didn’t bother me—maybe it did a little, but I paid no mind to it. She wasn’t a child, and I had no authority over him because he wasn’t mine, despite our sneaky escapades. The prince always remained formal with her and he either was oblivious to her tactics or didn’t desire her at all. Cynthia struck me as the type that would rather stand on the shoulders of others to get what she wanted instead of working for it. I noticed she would tag around those she suspected were rich with gold and silve
“Stay!” Edward whined for the fiftieth time since I told him I had to leave. After much persistence, I came home with him after work and we had spent the night together wrapped in sheets and each other’s arms.Our meeting points haven’t been to the parlour alone. That would stir up talks and looks from the workers there. So he gave me his address: The royal home. The estate was built in Lurds and meant for the royals in the kingdoms whenever they came visiting. Since Edward frequently visited Lurds, he had made the house his abode. It was massive and elegant and in his words, I could scream my lungs out and no one would hear.This place felt like my third home, my first being my house, the second being his arms, even though I’d deny it if confronted.I’ve stayed wrapped up in his arms for a while and it felt too good, but I didn’t want to get used to it and so I detached myself from him to bathe and get going. Edward, like always, had a problem with that. He stayed in bed quietly unt
I left the estate without answering his question and it haunted me all day and even when we saw each other at the parlour a day after, I couldn’t hold his gaze. A part of me wished I knew what we were because, from what I knew, we were partners who couldn’t maintain a formal relationship. I blamed it on our attraction to each other, which had gotten beyond our control. It first started carnally, but it was turning into more. I wanted more and I could see in his eyes that he did too and so I understand why being placed in the same box as everyone else would hurt him. He had ignored me in the parlour since I came in and there was a time when that would have done nothing to me, but not anymore. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t know what to say and also didn’t know if he’d want to hear it. I stood at the corner and as I saw him enter his office; I followed. I slipped into the room and closed the door. He was reading through the scroll in his hand, but he looked at me when he heard
“Are you Prince Edward’s mate?” Rue asked as she passed me the pepper sauce for the roasted beef I stopped to buy on my way home. I collected the bottle from her hand, but I made no move to add it to the beef before me. “What makes you say that?” She shrugged. “He has visited a few times in the last three months, and I saw him at the parlour when I came to visit.” My eyes dropped to the beef, and I sprayed the pepper on it, avoiding her gaze. “The prince is my partner at the parlour. We work together just like you do with Alex and Liam at the library.” “You don’t stare at them the way you do him.” “How do I stare at him?” My brow raised. Perhaps I was giving out clues I shouldn’t and now she had picked them up. “Like you admire him and want him to kiss you,” she answered, showing no hesitation. Well, that is no longer a secret then. Trust Rue to put it all together. “I admire him. He’s smart and noble despite being the prince of the kingdom, but I do not want him that way.” I l
The smile on Rue’s face was implacable as she stared at her to-be husband, Oliver, who held her hand, smiling right back at her. She was adorned in a golden lacey gown that flowed on the floor behind her and a golden veil to hide her face until she was wedded. Oliver had the same golden lace on, sewn into a long robe that stopped on his knee and a pair of matching trousers. The two look so happy and glorious. It was the best love story I’d witnessed. Being the bride’s family, we sat on the left side of the temple and the groom sat on the right. Prince Edward was the first to catch my attention in his royal purple robe and black trousers well designed and created to meet his royal title. The robe’s long sleeves had gold cufflinks, which served as an attention grabber. A few maiden’s heads also turned at his presence, knowing who he was, and they swooned at his sight, but he paid them no mind. He looked my way a few times, and I felt the heat of his gaze. But as interesting as his gaze
“He asked you what?” Jane asked, her eyes so wide I feared they would pop out of their socket. “He asked me to come with him to the capital,” I repeated what I just told her. Jane had been well aware of my entanglement with the prince. She had walked into the office when he had me bent on my desk while he rode into me from behind. When I finally got to speak to her, she told me she suspected someone was up between us, but thought she was just over imagining things. She added there was an undeniable attraction between us that anyone with eyes could see. I told her it was nothing serious and her eyes told me she didn’t buy it at first, then I told her we didn’t put a tag or exclusivity on what we were doing. We were two people attracted to each other, giving in to their desires and wanting more for as long as they could. She told me she understood and advised me to play it safe. “He’s a prince, he can have anyone he wants,” she advised me not to get my heart involved. I have tried t
There were a few changes in our initial arrangement. The prince went ahead to the capital first a few days ago because the king beckoned to him, but he promised to send for me and every day I waited agitated and counting down. After I got home yesterday, I received visitors and before my door were six royal guards to bring me to the capital, just as he had promised. The smile on my face remained impeccable. Edward had kept to his words, and that made me happy. I gathered my luggage containing the dresses the dressmaker had worked on a few days ago, and a guard helped set the bag into the carriage. They looked beautiful. I knew the prince would love them when he sees them on me. I had already set Jane in charge of the parlour in mine and Edward’s absence and though she was sceptical about us; I told her not to be. Edward cared about me more than anything else and he wanted to be with me. It felt like a dream, but it was real. She hugged me and told me to stay safe in the Capital and g
Flashback"Make a wish!" Bruce squealed as he brought the cake in a steel tray having only one candle on it towards me. It was still so early, the cock hadn't crowed yet. I had woken up after I heard my door crack open a moment ago and I saw him coming in with my cake.It was my birthday after all and Bruce had gone out of his way like he usually did to put a smile on my face. He had succeeded every time in the last eleven years.He was the closest thing I had to a father since I never knew mine and I couldn't ask my mother where my father was because she died while giving birth to me."Come on, Lani, make a wish." he prodded.My eyes shut, while I wore a goofy smile on my face, "I wish next year will be better." I mumbled to myself and when my eyes fluttered back up, I blew off the candlelight on the cake. Bruce clapped and cheered. .....My eyes flew open, knowing that this like the many others I've had this week was nothing more than a memory in form of a dream. Bruce was no longe
With the parlour gone, Kailani spent most of her time travelling. Nothing was keeping her anymore, Rue had Oliver and Jane had Glen and all was well and she gave her time to travelling. It was her way of escaping the memories the city brought into her mind. Some of those memories were the ones she made with Prince Edward, her one true love. It was harder spending time here when every corner of her home and city reminded her of him. She knew she wouldn’t survive if she stayed, so she moved to Soule in the north, the place she was born only coming to visit Lurds once in a while. Today was one of those days. Rue and Oliver welcomed their babies a week ago, and as soon as she received words, she set out to visit. Rue had told her she would be their children’s godmother, and she had to be present and celebrate with the family, her family, for this wonderful news. They held a feast to celebrate, and she was just right on time. She hadn’t stayed in Lurds for more than a day for the past co
“He’s miserable without her,” Xavier, the alpha king, said, coming to stand where Robb stood watching Edward from far away deliberating with the counsel of learners at the scholar’s institute. “As anyone would be without their true mate.” Edward had been back in the capital for the past six months, living and obeying every command of the alpha of alphas without questions. It was his oath, and so far he had done his job of keeping it. The trial found lady Shewa guilty of murder and malicious conspiracy and also the death of Kemi and Romeo at the parlour. She was then demoted to an omega in the capital. After losing her rank as a beta and title as a noble, the house Black disowned her and disconnected their ties with her. With Shewa’s rank gone, Robb could no longer force his hand into marrying her. But he was back at the capital, attending to royal duties and going along to all Robb’s outreach to unite the kingdom, as well as the neighbouring ones in the war, which he believed was clos
A week later The king’s guards returned with news of the capture of Cynthia. She was about to cross the border of the north into the kingdom of Jade. It had been three weeks since the attack on the parlour and this was good news for not just Kailani but for every worker at the parlour. When she heard the news of Cynthia’s capture, she wanted to confront her about the truth; but she feared her anger might make her do something drastic, like snapping the backstabber's neck. She deserved that and even more for what she did, but her time was coming. Edward took the lead and after thorough questioning and torture, Cynthia confessed to not working alone like she initially claimed. She called a few names, and Kailani knew them in Lurds. These were men who were kicked out of the parlour because of their recklessness and lack of self-control in the past. Cynthia also called the instigator of the attack on the parlour as Lady Shewa of the house black. Kailani initially thought Robb Ainsworth
The door to the room opened, and they pulled apart to see Jane and a few other workers from the parlour standing there. A big smile spread over her face on seeing them present at the temple, alive and well. They moved and gathered around her bedside, all having looks of relief on their faces as they beheld her. It warmed her heart up and made her grateful to be alive. “Thank you all for coming to see me,” she said, her eyes looking through the crowd around her bed.“It’s the least we can do for everything you did,” Jane smiled cheerfully at her. “And thank you for not abandoning us in the blazing house,” Kyra said with a grateful smile on her face.“I would never do that. You’re all my family and I’m happy we made it. I believe whatever comes our way, we will overcome.” The workers stayed around for a few more hours before most took their leave, leaving only a few behind. As the crowd in the room reduced, her eyes searched for the few notable faces she longed to see, but didn’t see
Edward stepped through the portal and into the city of Lurds at the location where the parlour was. Just like he feared something terrible had happened, the parlour was on fire and those around were fleeing from it. The choking smoke of the flames that oozed out of the parlour travelled through the nose and burnt the lungs. The amount of wolfsbane present in the smoke was enough to kill even the strongest werewolf, if trapped in it for too long. This was an attack on the parlour and whoever was behind it had their plans thought through and executed. Knowing that someone would do this angered Edward, and knowing Kailani was still inside terrified him. He couldn’t lose her too, he wouldn’t make it. The few that came out of the parlour were running as far as they could to safety, but she wasn’t one of them. He caught a maiden running by the arm and made her stop. “Prince Edward!” Kyra acknowledged him and bowed her head despite her fear. “Where’s lady Kailani?” he demanded and fear re
“The earlier I start my journey, the faster I will get back to Lurds,” Edward told Xavier whom he had woken up in the early hours of the morning. “If anyone had told me, we will have this conversation about you ever finding a maiden and getting married. I wouldn’t have believed them,” Xavier spoke with a grin on his face as they walked towards the study. They would spend the next hours to come deliberating on the proceeding of the wedding at Lurds before Edward would leave. Edward had put in motion the plan for the wedding. The last task he had to do was meet the dressmaker for the robes the king and queen would wear at their wedding. He had done all he needed to do and was ready to return to Lurds, where his mate and lover waited for him. He missed her. He missed her laughter, her smile, her naughtiness, her wildness. He missed the feel of her skin when pressed against his. He missed the touch of her hands on all parts of him. Her soft kisses fondled and caresses. He missed her sur
The way all parts of her body burnt as if set on fire and how she couldn’t turn it out felt like a strange dream but also so much like reality. The longer her eyes stayed shut, trying to figure out what was happening, the more the pain in her skin grew and became unbearable. Her breathing also became restricted, as if the air was cut out and every intake became a battle and she choked. Her eyes snapped open to see thick, blinding smoke covering up her chambers. The smoke had cut out her vision, so she didn’t see anything a few feet away even if she tried. It wasn’t a dream, she soon realised, and she felt trapped. Confusion and question filled her head as she wondered what could have started this great choking smoke. It wasn’t an ordinary smoke. She wouldn’t feel so weak and tired if it was. The smell and the pain it caused when breathing told her this was wolfsbane. This wasn’t just a random happening, this was an attack on the parlour. She got up and race to the bathroom and threw
Edward travelled to the capital a week ago to relate the plans he had made to his brother, the king. The wedding, according to plans, should hold next week and this was Edward’s last visit to the capital before his union with his love. When Kailani asked if he wanted her to come along, he smiled and told her to stay back and make sure all their plans for the day were perfect. This was the only task she had and she had to do justice to it. She could do that. It felt like a dream, but the day she would unite with Edward as one drew closer with every hour that passed. He had proposed them moving to the capital after marriage and though she’d gone along with every single thing he’d said happily, that made her a little sad. Yes, she wanted to step aside from the parlour, but moving to the capital would mean farewell completely. Saying good bye to everything and everyone she had grown to love. She knew moving to the capital was inevitable because the capital was called La Ville De Roy
Kailani got down from her carriage and approached the parlour when she noticed Jane standing at the entrance with a scroll in her hand and a worried look on her face. Her eyes narrowed at her as she approached, but Jane didn’t notice her presence yet and kept looking around instead. She got to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump on her stand. She twirled around and found Kailani, and the fear faded away. Ever since Kailani took a step back from the parlour, she had stopped coming as early as she used to. She took a step back because Edward had asked for her hand and when she said yes; he moved to propose a wedding ceremony and that had taken her time and focus. They were sceptical about the venue because they wanted to avoid the alpha of alphas whom Edward refused to invite, but also wanted the king's presence. Kailani voiced her insecurities about the capital and so they decided to have a small wedding in Lurds. She was happy with the turnout of things, but stil