Angel. I rolled the name off my tongue, feeling her eyes settle, rake over my body heavily. The omega was beautiful with long red hair, parted in the middle and flowers are woven on one side. Her skin was pale, with freckles on the nose and full round lips with a beauty spot in the corner. She was also graceful, back straightened and hands clasped on her lap. One look at her, and people would be fooled into thinking as a painting.
"Oh...hello." I smiled politely in her direction, to which she nodded at me, a forceful stretch of her lips irking me. What was with her?
“Nice to meet you, Princess Lana. We have heard a lot about you from my dear Axel.”
My dear Axel. I shot up my brow at that, eyes moving towards the Alpha, who seemed unaffected. Then agai
“Princess Lana.” A feminine, sweet voice interrupted us, my back stiffening. My body remained still as I heard the sound of heels clacking against the ground. From my view, I could see Axel’s lips curving when he spotted Angel.With her face set in a positively giddy smile, the omega bridged the distance between us while all I could do was watch.“Angel.” Axel cleared his throat. “I thought you must be resting.”I turned to her, my back pressing against the railing, hands clasped together. “Yes, I did too. What can I help you with?”“Oh, you know, I was hoping we could have tea together. I want to know all about the futur
/Axel’s POV/At the bright smile curving on her face, something snapped inside me, and I let go of her hand. What was wrong with me? Jade told me to stay away from her. The witch had yet to find a plausible explanation as to why my chest felt like it was on fire every time we were in close proximity.Taking a step back, I awkwardly cleared my throat, trying not to focus on the disappointment look on her face. “Uhh…I need to go. See you later, Princess Lana.”“Alpha Axel.” She murmured lowly, biting the insides of her cheeks, eyes sharp and piercing, while she managed a nod in my direction before turning on her feet. I let out a sigh, watching the omega walk away with her head held high.A few seconds later, I decided to leave
My mind went blank as those words sank in, gaping at him like he grew a second head. Since when did the Alpha involve me in his affairs? Especially when it came to pack business. The last time I tried to pry, he was difficult and gave me half baked answers. Straightening my spine, I crossed my legs, hands resting atop the lap.“Wait…let me get this straight you want me to come along with you? As your Luna?”“I believe that’s the context of what I said.” He replied in a bored tone.“I suggest you be nice, Alpha since you are the one who needs my help here.” I wriggled my brows, feeling a thrill of excitement settling in the pit of my stomach.&nbs
As Annie shifted her eyes between us, a teasing glint in them, her lips quirked in an amused smile. “Do you two need some privacy?”“No!” We both yelled in unison, my cheeks flaming red. What possessed me to jump into his arms like that? I was overjoyed about Axel choosing me over Angel. Something was wrong with me.I shyly stared at the carpeted floor, my legs pressed together.“Lana…”Annie’s voice made my head snap, a fond look on her face. “I am happy to know that you are taking an interest in combat. You have all my support. Your late father-in-law used to encourage the omega's active participation in training. Sadly not many of them took advantage of it.”&
I gaped at her, tongue feeling heavy in my mouth at the lies she spewed. Angel was an instigator. That’s all I could think about while standing in the middle of the room. My arms crossed together, the tip of heels tapping impatiently as I saw her latch onto Axel.The Alpha, however, appeared taken back and uncomfortable. Or so I thought by the grimace on his features and almost freezing on the spot with hands hanging by side awkwardly. At my intense stare, he pushed himself away, clearing his throat.It made my lips twitch.“W-What is going on here?” He asked, resting his back against the wall while eyeing the sweater.
As the chill blasted inside, my toes curled, a shiver running down my spine. Tilting my head, I peeked at the closed window, mouth twisting. What was the sudden change in temperature? Automatically my arms wrapped around the upper body, squeezing them.“Here…” I blinked while staring at the heavy jacket in Axel’s hand, not any jacket but the one he sported seconds ago. His gaze burned into my skin, unabashed and sincere as he held it. “Take it.”“Uh…”“I can see that you are cold.”“No, thank you!” I clenched my jaw, lips quivering from the sudden onslaught of chill.
The day I dreaded the most—our reception ceremony arrived, and I couldn’t be more jittery if possible. It’s probably the nerves; I thought that morning. My food remained untouched in front of me, what felt like rocks sitting heavy in the pit of my belly, preventing me from doing more than nibbling a thing or two. To deviate from the apparent tension in my body, I leaned and started flipping through newspaper lying on the coffee table. It was a halfhearted attempt, my eyes going to the clock over the mantle every few seconds. “Will you be eating the rest of your breakfast, Your Highness?” One of the maids asked, looking over her shoulder as she began folding my clothes. I kept chewing on the bottom lip; I barely managed to give her a grunt.
That last one made my teeth grind, but I paid no mind, head held high, shoulders squared as I confidently walked. Amy did her job anyway, sending all of them nasty looks on my behalf. She was something else.As I reached the bottom, the maids serving around scampered to my side, bowing down. There were few familiar faces, the staff I saw daily but apart from that, I had no idea who the other half was.“Princess Lana.”I turned curiously to see an older Alpha staring at me with a raised brow; his hand folded back. He radiated an aura of arrogance and power, a blank look on his face."Well, it is about time that we can put
My head hurt, and so did my throat, like there were iron bands around, squeezing until it was close to breaking and poking. I had no intention of prolonging the pain, staring at the person in front of me. So quickly, I stepped towards the double french doors leading towards the alley and threw them open. On my way, I could feel the prickle of his stare on my back, but I ignored it. As soon as the gust of fresh air greeted me, I sucked in a deep breath. It nipped at my overheated skin in a gentle caress as if it knew of the pain I was going through.My vision blurred again with tears as I gathered the courage to pull myself together and get away from Axel. I could feel nothing except a terrible hollowness, the emptiness inside left by Axel. As if it’s a void, sucking in everything that made me who I am. For a second, I thought I could quickly fill in the gap by finding someone else, having someone else. I could go to another Alpha and let him press tender kisses to all the worst parts
/Axels POV/“Axel! Axel!”“Hmm?”“Are you even listening to me?”“Yes…I apologise for….”The omega shook her head with a choked-off scoff, a half-aborted toss that made a long strand of hair fall in her face, curling over her wild, doe-shaped eyes. Eyes shone in the dim study room with more than just the soft glow of the candles. Her jaw flexed, knuckles turning whiter with how hard she clenched her fingers.I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and lifted my chin, meeting her gaze and holding it. For a moment that seemed to last forever, we stood there, surrounded by the heavy silence that Lana had created with her words. Why would she say that?I assure you this Lana would kill herself before harming you.No. I curled my toes, trying not to let the perfect composure slip. It’s the gratitude, I thought internally while looking at the omega in front of me. After all, I agreed to mate her and get her out of that Palace. “You don’t believe me?” She sounded wounded, a hurt noise sli
“What do you mean by problems?” Ethan beat me to it, curiosity written all over his face, leaning forward. “It doesn’t end well?” I winced as those words slipped out of my mouth, biting my tongue. “Well…yes. It’s a tragedy buried so deeply that rarely anyone alive knows about it.” The hardcover burned in my hands the longer I stared, tears blurring my vision. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Ethan, hawk-eyed, lips pursed in a single line and brows furrowed. The Alpha had difficulty taking all this, just like me, but he handled it better. At least for now. I thought shakily, averting my stare toward Daniel. He leaned against the stone wall and bought his knees to his chest; chin propped down. “The book…you can take it with you and read when you get back.”On instinct, I tightened the grip on the cover, nails digging around the bounds. “T-Thank you.”“It was the only existing copy after the great war fifty years ago. There are no more copies.”The way he worried his bottom lip whi
/Axels POV/I shook my head, watching as the omega walked away, trying to eliminate the unwanted thoughts as I wandered into my chambers. As if on a whim, I let the thick coat draped over unceremoniously fall on the side table, an audible sigh leaving my lips. Why did she seem in such a hurry anyway? What was Lana hiding? Or perhaps the omega had no interest in taking a walk with me.The last part stung. It didn’t matter if that was the result I wanted from her side; it still hurt. Rubbing my face, I decided to relax in the bathtub with scalding water, a mountain of bubbles piled onto my chest. To soothe the turmoil, I also added some scents but nothing compared to her natural scent. Sweat beaded down the side of my face, and fingers were pruned as I tilted my head back, shifting my legs. The water swirled around. I hadn't realised that I was bone-tired, almost in a zone between falling asleep and becoming awake, in the incoherent moment when one was too tired to close one's eyes. T
My heart didn't stop pounding the entire time I walked away from Axel, hands sweaty and throat wilted with guilt. It was for the best; I kept telling myself. Just one little lie so I could sneak out with Alpha Ethan to see his friend. As the commander asked, I stood patiently by the fire, wearing boots tied on tightly and my cape clipped. My arms came to wrap around the torso as a gust of cold wind blew by. I squinted my eyes while noticing a dark figure approaching me, body stiffening. When I got hold of his scent, my body automatically relaxed, staring at the Alpha. He was dressed in a black sweater over top of his white button-up, a thick black cape pulled on with the hood over his head as he approached me. Ethan was also carrying a satchel thrown over his chest; his shoes switched to thick black boots. "Should we leave?" "Yes." The Alpha guided us to the room on the other side of the wing, the table in a far corner standing out. I watched as he pushed away, pulling the car
/Axel's POV/My beating heart fell to my stomach like a dead rose petal, watching the omega speak with Ethan, eyes crinkling and mouth curving at something he had said. I could feel my stomach boil, an irrational surge of feelings taking over, and the utter negligence from inside had my feet moving towards them before my mind comprehended it. This was not the same Lana I chose to mate; overflowing with sweet, earnest innocence made her intentions towards me clear as the night. She was yielding in all ways, except in her stubborn decision. This was not the same one who had laughed at my silly attempt of humour, who stared at me as if I hung the moon and stars for her.I was lucky if she spared me a glance in my direction now. How did it come to this? I fought down a strangled, choking sound, whirling around, marching purposefully through the nearest open door in a drastic attempt to get away. I needed the cold wind whip on my face – a firm, strict reminder that this was my choice.I
My mouth gaped at his crude statement, and I recoiled on the spot. Rage filled my insides, my back stiffening as I narrowed my eyes into slits. I took a deep breath, resisting the urge to scream at him.How dare he accuse me of such a thing? Especially since he was the one to set the boundaries from the beginning. Axel reminded me time and time again that I meant nothing to him. “Why do you care?!” The words slipped out before I could stop myself, biting my tongue. A chuckle burst out of him, hollow and empty. “Why do you I care? You are still my omega, for moon's sake!”My toes curled at that, and I didn’t know what to think of the strange stirring in the bottom of my belly, and the permanent lingering of his scent did little to help me.“Oh, am I? Cause last time we slept together, you made sure to remind me I meant nothing.”He flinched as if he had been slapped by my words, teeth grinding. The Alpha's harsh breath fell on my face as he merely leaned closer, the vein in his foreh
It's been a few days since the last time I saw Axel, so I had a lot of time to think with a clear mind. There was no point in denying that his absence affected me; the marks left on my skin wholly faded. It gave my omega enough nightmares, waking up to look for his arms only to find myself all alone in the bed. I didn't know when things switched from vehemently hating being anywhere near him to wanting to get as close as I possibly could without being too obvious.But his words stung. The wound was still raw, and I had no intention of making the same mistake again. For all I know, the Alpha rejected me without actually saying those words. Despite his long stares in my direction and wanting to talk, I had completely shut down the attempts. I had no interest in hearing the exact words again. Pinning after a mate who doesn't even care about relationships is the possibly highest act of stupidity. Shaking my head, I stood up, noticing the cape Amy had placed on the bed for me. Ethan was
/Axel's POV/Liam stayed behind as I slipped inside Jade's place, feeling on edge. The beta kept quiet the entire way as if he understood my inner conflict. It’s been a lot; ever since I woke up to Lana sleeping next to me, looking very angelic and sculpted by the moon goddess, guilt swarmed my belly. During my rut, all I saw was how she would look up, lush, her long curls a mess and matted on her forehead and tear tracks streaming down her reddened cheeks as she whispered back softly, urgent and unsteady to knot her. I felt my breath catch sharply at the memory, the jolt pulling me straight back to the present. Still, despite everything, I coerced her into sleeping with me, a sick feeling taking over my body. If not for my rut and the Alpha taking over, I would have never let her near me. Why did she give in? Maybe…No! I completely shut the thought before it started forming, fully aware of its danger. Our relationship was a facade, a mere convenience for both of us, and I made t