Chapter 2
Elena’s POV
After the celebration ceremony, I have not seen Bryson for days. He didn't bring Glenda over, and I wasn't keen on going to them since my Luna work was piling up.
Right now, I was flipping through countless books and pages to keep track of this year's finances when the landline on my desk suddenly rang.
Sighing, I placed the file down and answered, “Hello?”
“I’m sorry, Luna, but I can’t do this anymore. I won’t be treating Mrs. Courtney any further, and I hope you understand.” Dr. Montgomery decided to announce it, which took me in shock.
“Thank you, Dr.” That was all I could say as I personally left my office and met him in the corridor to formally thank him for all his help.
He took a glance back at Courtney’s room and sighed. “This family is just too selfish! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have lasted long in here.”
Oh… So, that’s what happened. Dr. Montgomery had been our family doctor for years. Aside from terrible remarks he must have gotten from them, Glenda's presence probably agitated him the most.
I could only smile a little, knowing he cared for me.
I was about to leave when I heard laughter echoing from Courtney’s room. Hearing another female’s voice, my blood ran cold.
Without thinking twice, I opened the door and saw Courtney lying on the bed while Bryson and Glenda were hand in hand at the side, laughing at something.
As soon as they saw me come in, their smiles immediately faded away, as if I were a nightmare coming to them.
The familiar short-haired woman was the first to react. She came forward and looked at me with those pair of brown eyes that dimmed with masks of pretense. “I’ve heard you want to meet me, Luna. I’m just about to see you later.”
“Is that so?” I asked with authority.
Watching my husband worriedly walk forward to continue holding another woman’s hand to show support brought a chill to my heart. It’s as though a string in me was being pulled, and blood was dripping onto it.
“Your name rings a bell from every corner of the kingdom. Every other woman praises and looks upon you with your distinguished skills and honor. At such a level, let me ask if you are willing to share a position with me?” I asked.
Pointedly looking at her, I continued, “To share not just my title but also my husband?”
“Elena!” Bryson warningly shouted out, but I merely gave him a glare.
Unexpectedly, Glenda put her hand on Bryson’s chest and calmed him down. “It’s okay,” she whispered.
I swallowed as I watched Bryson’s breathing instantly calm. I haven’t even managed to do that…
Smiling calmly at me, Glenda fired back, “The real question here, Luna, is if you are.”
I squinted my eyes at her straightforwardness. After staring at the two of them and rewinding the moment I witnessed earlier of how lovely the three of them looked, I sighed.
“Of course, I am willing to be civil with you,” I replied. I heard Courtney and Bryson sigh in relief, while Glenda remained and looked at me with doubt.
Of course, I was willing. After all, we won’t be sharing anything; I’ll give her everything while I detach myself from this pack, this place, and my husband.
She snickered. “No need to pretend to me, Luna. Sympathetic acts are only useful to men, but I’m no man.”
I laughed at that and vaguely said, “There’s no play in here, Glenda. If you both want to be each other, then why should I put a block on it?”
Snickering, I added, “And sympathetic acts, you say? I don’t need to act to gain one, Glenda. You made it so easy. The second you stepped into this pack and tried to wreck my marriage, everyone already gave it to me.”
“Don’t overdo it, Elena! I’ve let you talk to her so as not to disgrace her!” Bryson immediately came to her rescue.
“Yes, you have to calm down, Elena. It’s all legal. The king gave his word and permission. You have to willingly accept it,” Courtney added.
So what now? They were both on her side?
“As I said to you, as long as you behave, I’ll give you a child. After that…” he tightened his hold on Glenda. “I won’t enter your bedroom ever again.”
“See, my Bryson here is very generous already. He’s even willing to give you a child. Don’t take things the hard way,” Glenda said boldly.
I couldn’t imagine where she was getting all her audacity. My Bryson? MY? They were not even married yet, and she was acting like she had already claimed him.
“Look, it shows my son still cares for you. Don’t be angry, okay? If he dares to mistreat you, I’ll scold him myself,” Courtney said as she pulled me closer to her bed and patted my hand while sweetly gazing into my eyes.
I knew well though that she was only saying that to ease me with this situation.
I let out a bitter laugh. “A child to shut me up? Are you all hearing yourselves?”
I couldn’t believe them. They all sounded so ridiculous!
“What more do you want? You’ll keep your title and everything. You’ll just have someone to share it with you and help you. In my eyes, it’s an advantage.” Courtney shrugged.
“And besides, if it’s power you are looking for, Glenda and I will mostly be back to war occasionally. You’ll be the one in charge of everything like the last year. Nothing much will change, and you’ll care for your child and maybe soon…” Bryson stopped midway and looked sweetly at Glenda as he continued, “You’ll be looking after me and Glenda’s child.”
That… finally ended all of my last bits of patience. Now, they even want to turn me into their own personal nanny.
How convenient for all of them! They have my inheritance to use like their personal bank, myself as their servant, and now a nanny?
Just the thought of that brought fire through my veins.
I felt like everything in me was sucked in. My entire body froze, and my heart went cold.
Looking at Bryson, I stared at him with dimmed eyes and firmly said in an Alpha tone, “Let’s just end this. Reject me, and let’s get a divorce.”
Chapter 3Elena’s POVSilence momentarily filled the air after I said that as if they were weighing things out and had come to a realization.Severing our ties completely would be the best solution for all this mess.For the entire year, I had been an exceptional Luna, bringing improvements to our pack in every aspect. I was even using my own money to finance everything because the Swiftridge Pack didn’t have enough finances of their own.Well, they must have realized it.If I leave, the pack would feel my absence so bad, and that would cause a massive stir in the pack as the members would significantly feel the impact of my absence.I watched as Bryson clenched his teeth in frustration as if contemplating what he should do.And by the looks of it, he wasn’t the only one who fell into a dilemma because not even a second later, I observed Glenda’s hold on his arm tighten.She pulled Bryson aside and boldly talked to Elena with a raised chin. “I don’t think you’ll be daring enough to do
Chapter 4Elena’s POV“Let me in!” I shouted from the top of my lungs.The kingdom’s guard trembled with hesitation as he blocked my path. “Luna, you don’t have an invitation or access to the kingdom. You can’t…”“You’re much more powerful than these guards. Just push your way in!” Ava insisted, but this just wasn’t the power one had.We were in the kingdom, and there were rules to follow or great consequences would be faced. As much as possible, I didn’t want to use violence.Standing in front of the massive wooden border gate of the kingdom, I stood with grace while wearing clothes I never thought I’d be wearing again.I wore my booths, brown leggings, and high-class thin armor. Though it was lightweight, it could suppress even a silver sword. Wearing this, I was reminded of my days when I trained to be a warrior, my skills excelling even better than those of other male wolves, even my brothers.“Tell the King that I ask for his time. This is urgent and of great importance,” I insis
Chapter 5Bryson’s POVAfter the party and facing Elena, exhaustion got the best of me. That was partly due to the number of people I needed to entertain but primarily because of Elena's stubbornness.I could understand where she was coming from, though. She was right. I indeed vowed to her that I wouldn’t marry and love another woman aside from her. But that was before I met my fated mate.But what really took me by utter surprise was when she managed to block my hand. I could almost not move my hand when she grabbed it, but I think it was only because I was shocked by her action.“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.” My wolf mocked me.I tried not to mind him and just sighed. Soon enough, when Elena sees her fated mate, she’ll probably understand me.“Really? Will you?” Drake, my wolf, suddenly asked me.On cue, a sudden jolt of unknown pain cursed through my heart. Would I really be fine? But I mean, we were already married, she couldn’t go to him, right?But that thought aside, bein
Chapter 6Elena’s POVReacting quickly, I shifted to the side and dodged his arm, which was about to touch me. Then, I tightly grabbed hold of it and twisted his arm onto his back.He was momentarily shocked, but he moved by instinct as well and maneuvered his body to face me and free from my hold. As soon as he faced me, I raised my leg and sent a fierce kick that sent him to his back and knocked the tall vases behind him, causing a loud noise to echo everywhere.“What’s happening here?” Courtney, escorted by Glenda, rushed inside the room with a furious expression as she found her son fixing his dusted clothes in the middle of the shards of the broken vase.“Why don’t you ask your son?” I fired back and grabbed my phone from my desk before turning around and leaving, but Courtney suddenly spoke.“Wait! Don’t leave yet. I have something to say to you.” Courtney reached out and held my hand tightly as she called me out, successfully halting my steps.“What is it?” I asked coldly.She
Elena’s POVStanding on the podium of the pack, everyone was cheering for either Bryson’s victory or mine. We were wearing our training gear and mouthpieces as we circled each other calculatingly.“Just give up. Don’t hurt yourself, Elena,” Bryson warned.I smirked. “Put your worry to yourself instead.”With that, I made the first move and sent a hard punch to his stomach, which made him back away and whimper. He looked at me with utter surprise, unaware that I could fight.When many of the members stood up from their seats to cheer, I saw Bryson’s jaw clenched in anger, and the light in his eyes dimmed with seriousness.Okay, now we’re really on.We moved at the speed of light, sending punches and kicks to each other several times, but every time, I’d succeed in hitting him while I managed to block most of his attacks.When the right time came, I taunted, “Don’t take it to heart.”After saying that, I used my leg to put pressure on his until he fell, and then I used my arms to hold h
Elena’s POV“Wait, don’t—" Bryson looked at me in panic as he took a step forward near me. He reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to hold me, but I moved with agility and stepped back.Standing tall, I decisively and firmly uttered the formal separation of our bond. “I, Elena Dooley, Princess of Lycan Kingdom, reject you, Bryson Renner, Alpha of Swiftridge Pack, as my mate.”“Aghhh!”Bryson clutched his chest and bent down as he fell to his knees. His face grimaced, and his breathing became rugged. He couldn’t help but shout while his other fist was punching the ground, as though all of his actions would lessen the burning pain he was in.I froze on the spot and fisted my hands together while my breathing hitched. Though the pain would be felt more by the rejected mate, I still could feel a bit of pain and a slight sense of emptiness in me as the string that attached us was cut off.Courtney pushed me to the side and attentively crouched down to hold Bryson. Gazing up at me, she s
Bryson’s POVI looked at the woman who was taking steps away from me and wondered why I was frozen in my spot. The pain was still cursing through my body, and yet I felt so numb as I stared at her retreating figure.Why was I feeling affected?My eyes flickered when I saw Elena’s footsteps halting midway, but then my heart immediately tingled with unexplainable emotions when she continued walking until she vanished from my sight.My heart cramped in pain again, almost making me crawl if it weren’t for Glenda, who hastily supported me.“Bryson, are you okay?” Glenda asked, but I kept silent.‘No, I’m not,’ I thought as I pushed her away and went back to my study room in hopes of relaxing.“Here, drink this, Alpha. The pain should subside and be more bearable in a few minutes.” One of the pack doctors gave me a potion, which I immediately gulped down.The drink burnt through my throat, but it was incomparable to the burn and pain the mate rejection had brought my body.“What should we d
Elena’s POV“Home sweet home,” I commented as I got out of the car. I stood in front of the massive steel gates covered with vines and dust, a vivid symbol of how long I’ve been gone.I looked up at the sky and closed my eyes, feeling the cold breeze brush against my skin, and the familiar scent of the pine woods from the forest filled my nose.I miss this place.The first place I stopped by was the place where my family was buried. One after another, I placed flowers on their graveyards that surprisingly looked clean.“Whose there?” I shouted in alertness as I stood up and looked around.I couldn’t be wrong. I’m pretty sure someone was staring at me. Squinting my eyes, I observed every blow of wind, every movement of grasses and trees, and every sound in the surroundings.Shifting, I looked at the bushes not so far from me. “Come out! Now!”My eyes widened.“She’s just a child…” Ava uttered in shock.The little girl looked at me cluelessly, but her eyes were filled with fear. She kep
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
Elena’s POVI sat in there, in front of Deacon, utterly dumbfounded and stoned on my seat while looking at him blankly, trying to process what I heard from him as I couldn’t believe my own ears.Did he say what I think he said?He never ceased to surprise me, making me feel all kinds of emotions I never felt before, but this was the first time I actually felt like I was at a complete loss for words.“I… ahh…” I stuttered, not knowing how to reply.In the end, I could only blink a couple of times in disbelief and uttered in pure shock, “What?”With my heart still pounding in my chest and oxygen seemingly being pulled from my lungs, I let out an awkward laugh filled with disbelief.Shaking my head and crossing my arms in a subconscious move to keep my emotions safe from these butterflies he’s giving my stomach, I commented, “You can’t be serious, Deacon. You and I…”Pointing at him and me back and forth, I continued, “We… we barely knew each other before this war.”I admit he brought me
Deacon’s POVShe froze for a second as she was caught off guard by my calm but serious reply, making me hold my breath as I awaited her reaction.After a short pause, she blinked her eyes, unfreezing from her daze and leaned back in her seat. She tilted her head and stared at me, studying me. “That’s… far from many reasons I expected for your visit.”My hands clasped tighter, building up my courage, and I tried to sustain my calmness.Hundreds of battles. Liters of blood. Countless dead bodies had come my way, but I had never felt as nervous as I was now, sitting opposite the woman I’ve always looked forward to marrying while she studied my every movement.Taking deep breaths, I pulled myself together and tried to speak in a calm and gentle tone, not wanting to scare her off.“The Lycan King, my brother, has given you three months to choose a husband.” I stared cautiously, watching her every reaction.When she didn’t say anything and her face remained blank of emotions, I continued, “
Deacon’s POVNo one could possibly imagine how hard I tried to hide my fast beating heart from the excitement I felt the moment I locked eyes with Elena and found her looking at me with so much admiration.I woke up early and did my best to look like the version of me she hadn’t seen yet, the prince. And to say that I was satisfied with how she reacted was beyond words. Needless to say, I could proudly state that the time I spent making sure I look my best was all worth it.She tried to play it cool, and believe me when I say that she wasn’t the only one because it’s taking every bit of my control not to stride toward her and pull her into my arms.Especially when she’s out of her military attire and back to being the princess that she was, she’s wearing a strapless, deep blue, flowy dress that fell about an inch or two below her knee paired with a white long sleeve blazer where the body part only lands until her breast line. Was it called a crop top or something?Whatever it was call
Elena’s POV“You’ve been pacing all morning, Princess Elena.”Zara’s words brought me out from my own thoughts while I paced around. Halting by the window, I crossed my arms after opening it to let the morning breeze and sunlight calm my nerves.Glancing at Zara, who was arranging the flowers on the vase on the living room table, she smirked at me and teasingly noted, “It’s rare for me to see you this anxious. Is it because Prince Deacon is coming?”Trying hard to hide my inner feelings and the turmoil I’m having in my mind, I scoffed and turned away to face outside, pretending to admire the lawn. “Anxious? Hardly.” I let out a fake laugh, which sounded more like a terrible scoff. Clearing my throat to save myself from self-humiliation, I added, “I’m just… curious.”Last night, at a late time, one of his personal messengers came in the pack and informed that he’d be visiting the pack first thing in the morning and asked for my presence. The thing was, he didn’t specify why he was com
Deacon’s POV“What do you mean? What did you get?” I asked with full attention. I even motioned for him to sit down as I thought this would be a long talk.Abiding by my command, he sat down and rested his one arm on the table, looking worried and completely at ease.This time, he wasn’t merely talking as my Beta, but as my best friend. “I think the King’s true intention behind this marriage with Princess Elena isn’t as easy as it seems. I think he wants to use her as leverage against you.”My brows furrowed, and my body stiffened. Gazing at him sharply, I coldly said, “Explain.”He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, everyone close to you with an eye could see that you got a thing for Pricness Elena. Though no one could probably tell how deep it was, I think the King knows as well. And as you may know, Princess Elena is no ordinary woman.”I leaned back in my seat as I considered his words. What he said actually made sense, especially thinking back on the King’s actions and double-meani