Elena’s POVI looked at the man before me, completely dumbfounded by his judgment. He didn’t even ask questions about our background or anything, and he dared to reject us just like that.“Excuse me?”“What nonsense are you spouting about?”Saige and Maise respectively spoke. But while Saige merely had her arms crossed over her chest, Maise had her hands slammed over the table, which angered the recruiter, and she stood up with a red face that portrayed a bulldog who was about to go on a rampage.“You three, don’t cause a stir in here! This is a battlefield camp and not some playground for women like you!” he shouted.The three of us looked at each other with hungry jaws for a while before we all looked back at the recruiter with a fierce glare.What’s his reason?“Huh! And yet you have a homewrecker she-wolf as a general! The double standard here is just beyond my understanding!” Maise blown up.“Homewrecker?” The recruiter looked confused before he snickered, “Are you talking about
Elena’s POVPrince Deacon looked at the recruiter for a while before he shifted his gaze and directed it to Tyson, who was behind him. “Tell me, since when did we start recruiting warriors based on gender?”Tyson stood tall and cleared his throat, looking disapprovingly at the recruiter. “Never heard of any memo about that, Prince.”“Exactly, so… What’s happening here?”It’s impressive how Prince Deacon kept a straight face and a calm voice, but his words still weighed so much that I observed the others getting a chill on their spine.“It’s my fault, Prince Deacon.”My brows raised in surprise when the recruiter readily admitted it. He put his arms on his back and stood up properly in an attention matter or warriors.“Oh?” Saige side-commented as she finally stood up from the table and sent the recruiter the same look of disbelief as Maise was doing.The recruiter looked at each of us with a hint of surprise, admiration, and fear. Swallowing, he went on, “I never really thought in my
Bryson’s POVI sat in the middle of the Swiftridge Pack's grand hall today, wearing a midnight blue tuxedo with perfectly styled hair and expensive champagne in my glass while looking with terror at the scene that was unfolding in front of me here at my marriage ceremony with Glenda. Something I should be excited about, but instead, I’m feeling the opposite.Six days… It’s been exactly six days since Elena rejected me and left the pack. It’s been six days without her, and the pain brought by the rejection was still lingering in my heart.They said the pain should’ve only been for a day or two, so why was I still feeling this way?Six days after Elena left, with every penny I accumulated from begging from every pack, friend, and Alphas I knew, I finally managed to bring my wedding ceremony with Glenda into action. With limited funds, we could only do a limited number of things, including the venue, guest numbers, decorations, and food.Though it wasn’t poorly created, it still wasn’t
Bryson’s POV“King Desmond, Glenda, and I are here to receive your orders and ready to lead troops to the Withered Hinterland any second at your words,” I respectfully greeted as I kneeled down on one knee with Glenda doing the same beside me.We placed our right arm’s elbow on top of our bended knee and bowed our heads in respect to the King.“You may raise.”After hearing that, Glenda and I stood upright with arms on either side of us.Once the King gestured for the seats on the side, we sat down and waited for him to speak. Looking at his bothered face, a feeling of anxiety rushed through my veins.Did something happen?He let out a sigh as he grabbed the goblet beside him, gulping down its contents before looking up at me. “I need the two of you to lead troops in the Withered Hinterland as soon as possible.”“May we know what happened?” I asked.“Yes, isn’t Prince Deacon already in there? The last time I heard, everything was under control.”I gave Glenda a discreet hiss and glare
Elena’s POV“What was that?”“Did you hear that?”“Are those swords clashing?”Maisy, Saige, and I had jolted awake from our sleep almost simultaneously, throwing the blanket on top of us and getting up from bed with alertness.At first, Prince Deacan wanted to give them another tent to share, but I said they could stay with me. After all, we had a lot of things to catch up on.But what we didn’t expect was to wake up in the middle of the night from a series of screams, bombs, and sounds of clashing swords.We all looked at each other and nodded in understanding. In less than a minute, we had our combat clothes on.“Let’s give them aid. I’ll go to the front. Maise, you're in the west. Saige, you're on the east side,” I commanded while peaking from the in-between of the fabric door.But before we could step out, one of the soldiers rushed in. “Luna Elena, I’m sorry for barging in. I need to evacuate you as per Prince’s ord–”He didn’t manage to finish his words when he looked up and sa
Deacon’s POVThere it was again, that bright smile that seemingly reached the sky, those sparkling eyes like stars, and that joyful laugh that could liven up even the crying clouds.I was breathing heavily as I walked toward Elena, who had herself carelessly slammed on the ground, back leaning on a post log with one leg stretched out while the other bent with her elbow leaning on it as she drank water from the bottle so carelessly that some water spilled to her face. It seemed intentional, though, as if she was trying to refresh herself from that long, exhausting battle.“How many did you kill?” she asked excitedly and so casually, as if it were not Rogues we were talking about.Pride rose in my heart. It seemed like it was just a piece of cake for her.Caressing her cheek after I’ve wiped her face clean, I praised her for killing hundreds of Rogues, which was probably triple what my average warrior managed to do.And all that without much collateral on her part.My eyes wandered on h
Elena’s POVAfter Prince Deacon said he wanted to tell me something, I immediately gulped down the entire bottle of water and stood up to follow him back to his barracks.A jolt of excitement surged through me, making my stomach flutter as Prince Deacon's intoxicating scent filled the air. He slowed his pace to match mine after noticing I was walking behind him to show respect for his rank.I pierced my lips, and my breathing hitched as we walked in synced back to his tent; though we were filled with silence, my excited heartbeat seemingly became our background music.I didn’t know as well why he had this effect on me; probably because he treated me well or because it was just his dominating, aloof, and unpredictable behavior.When we arrived, he placed a cup of refreshing drink in front of me before he sat down opposite my seat.See, he’s a prince, and he’s doing all these. Whose woman wouldn’t have her heart fast-beating?“I’ve investigated how Glenda and Bryson’s winning on the Dea
Elena’s POVAs soon as the word came out of my mouth, I instantly regretted it.“Is there a problem?” Prince Deacon asked, completely confused, which wasn’t surprising as he wasn’t aware of my divorce from Bryson.It’s only natural for him to think that I’d be happy to see my so-called ‘husband’. Unbeknownst to him, I feel nothing but discomfort and anger at the possibility of seeing my ex-husband with his general, whom he replaced me with as his wife and Luna of his pack.Shaking my head, I stood up and gave him a forced smile while secretly feeling the scorching pain surging through my veins and into my heart. “No, I was just surprised, is all.”“If there’s nothing more, then I’ll…” I pointed outside. “I’ll have my rest first.”Bryson’s coming here, for sure Glenda would be with him…Those were my thoughts before I splashed my face with cold water from a basin to clean the dried blood around my face that Prince Deacon didn’t completely wipe off.Through the small mirror, I observed
Deacon’s POVI couldn’t believe that my mom would be moving so fast that she had already summoned Elena. Now, I couldn’t be more thankful to myself that I had warned her early about my mom, but I’m pretty sure that she was still surprised by it, especially with how early she had to face her.Shaking my head, I stood up.“Where are you going, Prince Deacon?” Tyson asked, looking clueless as he stepped aside from the door and followed me with questions in his eyes.“You… You’re not planning to go to the Duchess and stop her, aren’t you? Because I think that will only make her even more irritated and have her hate Princess Elena even more,” he cautiously said as he tried to give me some advice.Halting, I looked at him and gave him a smirk. “She’s my mother. I know her much more than you do.”Tapping his shoulder, I added, “Don’t worry, it’s not her I’m going to.”Furrowing his brows, he followed me, asking, “Who then? The king, I don’t think he’d help, though.”Smirking wider, I answere
Elena’s POVI was relaxing in the comfort of my bed after having a long conversation with Jayden and Zara, feeling completely exhausted.They were very worried about me, which was why I had to make them understand that this decision of mine was for the best.Hence, after everything was settled, including the manners concerning the marriage, I couldn’t help but feel relieved.But all that relief vanished when Jayden knocked on my door a few hours later to say that a messenger from the palace came and handed over a letter“What is it about?” I asked, following him downstairs to receive the letter.The messenger said he didn’t know what it was about either and simply handed the letter to me.Sitting down, I unsealed the envelope to get the letter and unfolded it, but the content of it brought me to utter shock.Countless questions ran through my mind.“What is it?” Jayden asked in worry upon seeing my reaction, but I felt so speechless that I only handed the letter over to him instead of
Deacon’s POVI stared at my mom, waiting for what more she had to say because her laugh was the last thing I expected from her.But when that laugh turned into sarcasm and into mockery, that’s when I shook my head.What else did I expect from her?She continued, “That’s what it is, isn’t it? You admire her swordsmanship, her rough ways? But can’t you see? A woman like that is exactly the opposite of what should fit as your wife! How can you bring disgrace to our name?”By now, she was beyond hysterical. She waved her hand and called for a servant, who served her another cup. Just that this time, instead of tea, she was served with a glass of wine in which she finished in one gulp, making the servant turn back around to refill her glass before she could even go further.Heaving a sigh, I tried to reason with her. “Mom, if you think I care about such things you and so many people label as disgraceful, then you’ve truly forgotten who I am.”With my legs open, I leaned my elbows on my kne
Deacon’s POVMy mother was a diva. She’s used to living in the elite society, and her being the second wife of my father probably brought the worst in her, making her even more spoiled in the process of my father trying to compensate for the fact that the one he really loved was Queen Liz.Everyone knew about my mother and how she was. It’s not a secret, which was why even my brother was aware of what a headache my mother would be.She’d definitely discriminate and try to push Elena away. Because despite her now being titled as a princess, it wouldn't mask the fact that she wasn’t a royal blood in the first place and that she’s a divorced woman.I expected that I’d be receiving her wrath as soon as I got Desmond's approval for marriage, which was probably way easier than facing my mother. But what I didn’t expect was for it to be a lot harder than I thought it would be.“You must be out of your mind!” My mom’s loud voice, filled with disbelief and wrath, was what greeted me when I cam
Deacon’s POVI was tapping my fingers on a placed down leather partition in the backseat of the car with my eyes looking outside, watching the drifting shadows of the trees and roads we passed by.“That's a nice smile in there,” Tyson pointed out, looking through me with the rear view mirror.My smile got even bigger, but I sent him a glare in between, making him clear his throat and continue focusing on his driving instead.Who wouldn’t be wearing a huge smile as I do when the woman I had always dreamt of marrying just said yes to me? Yes, it might not be in a conventional way or out of love, but knowing she had that part of her ready to be with me made me happy.What brought me more happiness was how she was the one who opened the idea of not having a divorce.But the joy I felt slowly vanished as I got closer back to the palace, closer to where the hard part really lies. The part where I had to ensure I paved the way to this marriage as smoothly as I could.“We’re here,” Tyson said
Elena’s POVI laughed it off, thinking he was joking. I simply set my utensils down and finished my water. Leaning back in my seat, I looked at him seriously. “You’re really the one criticising them first?”“You’re being too kind. I’m being serious. They’ll be living with us. For how long, I don’t know. But what I’m sure of is that they could be challenging to handle,” he explained.The gears in my head started moving as I tried to process his words. Seeing the seriousness in his face, I knew he was really worried.But how bad could they really be? I managed to handle Courtney, and I don’t think anyone could suppress her rudeness and greediness.Besides, Deacon’s mother was the Duchess, and his cousin was technically a princess. They were of royalty. With those titles, it’s no surprise if they had some attitude, considering they literally had a crown on their heads.Seeing how down-to-earth and kind Deacon was a real surprising fact.Feeling his worried gaze lingering on my face, I de
Elena’s POVShit! What in the world did I just say?I closed my eyes in embarrassment, hands discreetly pinching the side of my legs at how my reply to him ended up sounding more excited and desperate than what I was intending to show – which was annoyed and frustrated. Without a doubt, his proposal was the best solution so far for this matter regarding marriage. Besides, every time I found a reason to reject him, he always managed to refute it and turn the tables in such a way that everything became favorable to us getting married.If it wasn’t obvious how much devoted he was to that one girl he loved, I would be feeling all over the moon right now. I don’t love him. I’m sure I didn’t.At least, not right now. But the attraction was there. And hopefully, I won’t be biting my own head off for agreeing to this marriage without room for divorce despite knowing I had no room in his heart.The good thing was that we had talked about this marriage like a business matter, making everything
Elena’s POVI thought Deacon would feel dejected from my straight answer, but to my surprise, he leaned back with ease, a smirk forming on his lips. “And that is exactly why you should marry me.”My brows furrowed. Am I too stupid for Deacon’s mind?Seeing my confusion, he chuckled a little. “Do you think Desmond would rather see you marry someone like Bryson if you decided not to marry him?”I stared at him, and disgust immediately rushed through me upon hearing Bryson’s name and remembering my messed up marriage with him.Scoffing, I shook my head with great disdain, exclaiming, “Now, that’s an unearthly terrifying thought!”Deacon shamelessly laughed at my reaction. I watched him in admiration as he freely laughed, unlike the emotionally restricted person he was during the battle.After a few minutes, he finally calmed down. Pointing at me, he smirked as if I had just proven his point, which I might indeed have. “That’s exactly why. No matter what his real intention was, I think De
Elena’s POV“How long do you plan to make him stay there?”Jayden’s voice echoed, pulling me out of my deep thoughts. Sitting on the patio of the graden of the backyard, I put my hands behind me on the pavement and leaned back to look up at Jayden, who had worry pasted all over his face.Sighing, I told him, “I just need to sort my thoughts is all.”He nodded his head in understanding before crouching down to my level and handing me a glass of wine. Winking knowingly, he commented, “I guessed you might need some boost.”Laughing a little, I asked, “Boast of confidence to make rejection?”Standing up, he bobbed his head in laughter and seriously said, “More like confidence, to be honest.”With that, he turned around and left me with my jaws dropped on the ground.I think I’ve given them too much freedom to speak their mind, and they have become too bold. Nonetheless, I always appreciate his and Zara’s honest comments and advice.Staying seated on the step of the porch of the backyard g