Sorry for the long wait, I needed a break and been busy with other books.
(Raya’s POV)“Miss Raya, Mr Walton would like to know if you feel well enough to tackle the contract tonight after dinner or if you would like to wait until tomorrow or the next day.”I look at Elijah who is currently holding his phone, reading Kaan’s messages.Really? He could not ask her himself? It feels like he’s more and more distant. “I thought we’re supposed to have dinner together?” I ask, frowning.“I was about to tell you that he apologizes but something unexpected came up and he will be coming in late. He is accompanying his parents to an engagement today and they might not make it back in time for dinner.”“Oh. Okay, I understand.” I sigh, thinking why prolong the inevitable? Might as well get it done and over with. “No, I’m fine. We can do this tonight. Tell him I’ll be waiting.”“Very good, Miss. If you’ll excuse me, I have a few errands to run. Please enjoy your lunch and I will see you before dinner.” I look out of the window, my appetite gone, not that I have much to
(Raya’s POV)I stare at Kaan who looks so serious all of a sudden.Hope blooms in my heart and I bite my lower lip to stop myself from smiling like I won the lottery jackpot.I haven’t burned my bridges so badly, after all!He sighs and opens the folder again. “Next: Public Display of Affection: Both parties agree to maintain an appearance of genuine affection when in public or in the presence of others. This includes, but is not limited to, holding hands, hugging, and light displays of physical intimacy.” He glances at me, raising an inquiring eyebrow. “Well? I shake my head, still feeling too elated to nitpick. “It’s fine.” He gives me a strange look, probably thinking I have a lot to say about that part since I’ve had something to say about every little thing until that one. In truth I have written in my copy to ‘specify light physical intimacy’. However, after what he just said, I don’t really care anymore. He shrugs. “If you say so… okay… ‘Confidentiality:’ Yes, very important
(Kaan's POV) Okay, I was not expecting that. And judging by the look on her face, she appears just as stunned as I am. I’d give up my whole inheritance just to know what’s going on inside her head all the time. Truly, I have imagined many outcomes of this contract reading, some even outlandish and others admittedly salacious ones, but nothing even comes close to what she has actually done. She’s probably going to regret it once she comes to her senses but in that particular moment, she is staring in wonder at the torn contract in her hands as if she’s rather impressed that she actually did it! In an attempt to break the ice, I give her a rueful look. “Couldn’t you have done that a little bit earlier? You could’ve spared us all that legalese crap.” She raises her eyes to look at me with her mouth hanging open and I can’t help but laugh. I sober up right away when she doesn’t join me though. “I was teasing you,” Pretending to cough to clear my throat, I offer her an encouraging
(Raya's POV) After that, everything has been a blur. Kaan’s father is being loaded into an ambulance as we run outside to see it happening. Kaan’s mother Freya is weeping as she climbs up after her husband. With no time to talk, Kaan barks for the car that promptly arrives and we hurry to the hospital soon after. We find his mother in the waiting area and she sobs as soon as she sees her son. “Oh, my son, what are we going to do!? I cannot live in a world without your father, I refuse to—!” Kaan wraps his arms around his mother. “Shh, don’t even think about it, Mom, he’s going to be alright, he’s a tough devil and he’ll not go down so easily.” “You didn’t see him, it was so sudden…I didn’t know what to do—” “Mom, listen to me, listen…I need you to stay strong right now, okay? He'll be alright, but if you wind up on a gurney with him, that won't help him at all, do you understand?” Freya shakes her head. “I can’t…I can’t lose him, I’ll lose my mind…my will to live! You understa
(Kaan’s POV)“...You are, after all, the last in the line of kings.”This cannot be happening! This is worse than being trapped between a rock and a hard place! This is throwing in a venomous snake in the middle!I glance at Raya and I see total bewilderment on her face and who could blame her? Damn it, I’m going to lose her before I can do something to solidify our bond. I was hoping to have more time…to slowly introduce her to my world. But this…This is a disaster. The Hybrid Festival is the most important event for our people. Every lycan of any consequence and even important wolf shifters will be there, as the children of the moon celebrate Mother Moon’s spectacular ‘triumph’ over Father Sun. It is when we are at our strongest.Yes, because the Hybrid Festival celebrates one of the rarest lunar events: The Hybrid Eclipse. Also known as an annular-total eclipse, it is a rare type of solar eclipse where its appearance changes along its path. In simple terms, it starts as an annular
(Kaan’s POV) I frown as I glance at my watch to check the time again. Raya seems content to just look around with wonder but I’m starting to get too antsy to stay in one place. We have been waiting for someone who will be accompanying us to one of the small islands that our scouts have chosen to be the ideal place for the Hybrid Festival. And that someone is running very late. I glance at the window of the pub and grimace. It’s starting to rain. Judging from my previous experience with the place, the Faroe Islanders follow the weather a lot. So all one can do is to wait. “Damn it,” I mutter crossly. I should have set an earlier time for the meet-up. “What’s with the long face?” Raya asks, setting her cup of hot chocolate on the table. “This is such a lovely place.” “Sometimes, I’m not very fond of waiting,” I admit in a glum voice as I sip my now lukewarm coffee, making me grimace, so I raise a finger to signal the waitress to get me another cup. “Well, we don’t really have muc
(Raya’s POV) I did not miss the panicked look in Kaan’s eyes as I was walking back to the table with the tray of piping hot tea. “What are you doing here, Sylvana!?” I blink as I hear a little bit of his whispered words before reaching the table. Sylvana? I thought she said her name was Tilda. I put the tray down, watching them both curiously. “Um, I forgot to ask if you wanted something with your tea…is there anything in particular you’d like?” I ask politely, judging from Kaan’s expression that he needs some privacy with the lady sitting there with an odd look of unholy amusement on her face.Could this be another ‘need to know’ thing? I turn to him but he’s not looking at me but glaring down at his coffee.“Well, aren’t you a darling? Thank you, dear, I would love some cookies with my tea, please.”I nod, throwing a worried glance at Kaan as I walk back to the bar.What the hell is going on? “A couple of those giant chocolate chip cookies, please,” I tell the girl manning t
(Kaan’s POV) I turn back to my cousin and snarl “Where is she!?” Sylvana raises both hands, wincing as she feels the direct force of my rage as my beast rises to the surface, anxious for our mate. “How should I know!? I was in there with you all this time!” She steps away instinctively, out of self-preservation, away from me—an irate lycan who can actually annihilate her abilities. I almost never use my power, but it doesn’t mean it is dormant or that I won’t. “I’m just a messenger!” “If you had anything to do with this—” “I swear, I don’t—” “Kaan?” The relief upon hearing her voice leaves me reeling and I almost fall to my knees as I turn around and see her at the door coming from inside the bar. “Hiraya!” I gasp as I hurry to embrace her as tightly as I can. “I thought you were—” “I went to the bathroom because I was—what’s going on? Hey, why are you—”“Don’t let go just yet,” I mutter, breathing her in, hugging her even tighter as if I could merge her body with mine this
(Raya’s POV) I stare at the face of my little prince as he sleeps peacefully beside me. “You’re so beautiful, my darling boy,” I whisper as I caress his tiny hand planted possessively on my cheek. He likes sleeping this way. He looks just like Kaan in his baby pictures and I wonder if, as the years pass, will he look more like him or like me? Or something in between? Oh, I can’t wait to see! And yet I can’t bear for this wonderful version of him to be gone either! I’m so torn! I couldn’t help but kiss his cherubic face, the plump cheeks that drive me nuts. He’s so cute! I hear Kaan chuckle as he enters our room. “Are you obsessing over Alarick again?” He whispers. “I can’t help it, Teddy’s so freaking cute!” I whisper back. He rolls his eyes at the nickname Teddy I insist on using for our firstborn, whose name is Alarick Theodulf. He says it’s not very princely. I make a face. “Oh, and Kaan is?” I tease him. He grins. “I’ll have you know that Kaan means King of Kings. You
(Lila's POV) She sighs. “Go ahead…” “As mate of the king’s guard, you will be able to do more for your sister than being here, working yourself to exhaustion every single day. My position as the king’s guard opens doors that not even that Jack-ass she was mated to could ever dream of. You will be an honorary member of the royal family. Your sister’s future is as good as secured. And well, there’s the added bonus of having a good-looking mate who loves you as much as you love him.” He winks at her, making her smile despite herself. “Is that all?” She asks. “What about my shop? I have yet to finish saving up to pay for the capital that Alpha Seth and Luna Marie lent me.” He smiles sheepishly. “You owe them nothing. That was money I sent for you, so you will lack nothing ever.” He covers her lips with a finger when she starts to say something in protest and grins. “I know, I know…I shouldn’t have—but it was my allowance that I put aside from what was promised to my parents by the king
(Orthros POV)“May I ask why?”Lila takes a deep breath and stands up so he follows suit. She walks to the kitchen and offers him something to drink which he declines. “Lila—”She prepares a cup of tea for herself. “You wanted me to build a life with Maeve here. I did.” She frowns and turns to look at him. “I upended my life at the lycan court for you years ago, Orthros, because I believed we were going to be together. But you left me here and moved on. I made a life for myself and my sister now, we have set our roots and worked hard to get the shop going. Maeve is going to be big someday. She’s very talented and I know she’ll go the distance. So, forgive me but…I can’t and I won’t leave everything behind just because it’s convenient for you now.” She tells him tartly.He stares at her, torn between frustration and amazement. He is impressed by how level-headed she is, how firmly she is handling him and sending her message across in a very clear manner.Lila has changed. She is no lo
(Orthros POV) She stares at him as if she’d seen a ghost and inwardly he winces. He can’t really blame her for this reaction, it has been several years since they last saw each other and even though he kept tabs on them through Alpha Seth, he dared not establish direct communications with her or Maeve. It was difficult enough to stay away when he knew she would not be waiting for him. To find that she was still hoping for him to return, or even just to hear anything from her hinting that she needed him…it would have broken his concentration—and he would have come back running, to hell with the consequences that could ruin their lives. However, Alpha Seth assured him that Lila and Maeve were doing great, that they have been integrated well in the small town and were busy rebuilding their lives and setting up a home and a shop as dressmakers. I sent him money to ‘lend’ the two sisters so they will be able to have anything they need without being a burden to the pack, and asked Alpha
(Lila POV)It still hurts to remember that day, even though she’d put on a brave face, for the sake of her sister Maeve. She had cried herself to sleep many nights after that separation until there were no more tears to shed.But then, as always…life goes on and time waits for no one. She learned to wipe away her tears in the morning as if they were never there in the first place. And then, before she knew it, she stopped crying all together.As she became busier and busier building a new life with Maeve, she realized one important thing that made everything…a little better. The beautiful and poignant truth:He loved her too. For just as she was willing to break the fated bond—if they were indeed destined for each other—and let him find a better mate, Orthros chose the hard path to make sure she and Maeve will be safe… that they will live a better life.It only saddens her to think that Orthros might have been thinking that he was not worthy of being loved anymore, just because he ha
(Orthros POV) She stood there with a basket of berries, so beautiful she made his heart ache for he longed to touch her and kiss her strawberry red lips. It was his dream, to finally claim her as his, fated or not, for lycans have the gift of free will to choose their own mates. But how could he do that to her? How could he condemn her to a life of misery, of being shunned by everyone and laughed at for having a cursed mate? How could he risk giving her pups that might have the same affliction, punished with the same fate for daring to reach for the stars? “Orthros?” She whispered before rushing to embrace him. The moment their skins came in contact with each other, her thoughts came flooding in and his fears were confirmed. She loved him so much that she cared not about his terrible fate and was only too happy that he was meeting her eyes again. He closed his eyes as he hugged her back tightly, breathing in her lovely scent, and allowing himself to dream for a second longer, befo
(Lila POV)Lila watches her younger sister go, her heart aching for the pain she knows Maeve is currently going through. If only she has done more to make sure her sister had not given that jerk more than he deserved, perhaps Maeve wouldn’t be so…broken.Luna Marie sighs. “Poor girl…I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes right now—such pain she must be going through…so much that she cannot speak because words have failed her—but perhaps it’s for the best. I never liked that boy Jack. He would have only held her back from her potential and hidden away her brilliance under his barrel of self-worth.” She hooks her arms in Lila’s, gently pulling her away. “Your sister has something great in her future. Do not worry so much, Lila…she’ll heal, like many of us who went through something similar.”Lila glances at the luna of the pack that has accepted her and Maeve when they needed a home. Luna Marie has always been so kind and supportive, and loves the alpha so much that it’s hard to imagine any
(Orthros POV) “Don’t say no yet. The offer stands until the day before we leave.” Former King Wayan tells him jovially, slapping him amicably on the back. Since abdicating the throne in favor of his son Lakàn, the old king seems to have regained a little bit of his youth. His excitement over his incoming world tour and ‘second honeymoon’ with his mate has obviously done him wonders. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Former Queen Freya smiles at him. “You have only two weeks to convince the girl. Best be on your way now, child. It'd be a shame to choose someone else less trusted to travel with us.” He bows. “I will try my best, Your Majesty.” As he walks away, he winces at the assault of thoughts that he can hear from the people around him. Ever since his extra wolf Lethe has left him, his wolf Levi is finally able to breathe and use his powers to its full extent. He has no idea how much the parasitic and incompatible bond between Levi and Lethe has been holding him back. He sighs as
(Kaan's POV)“I’m stepping down.”We are at my parents' mansion, currently enjoying a bountiful Christmas dinner when my father invited me to his office for a glass of whiskey.He said those three words right when I'm drinking and I almost choked. As it is, I started coughing and my eyes watered from the effort to clear my throat.“What the—what do you mean you’re stepping down!?”My father only chuckles and raises his glass, watching me turn pale as I realize he’s not joking.“Dad—”He turns his back on me and faces the window. “I want to travel the world without the weight of my people on my back. To really feel the sand under my feet when we go south or the cold breeze on my face as we head north… To dance with your mother while I still can.” He turns to look at me with raised brows. “I do believe you are ready now. And dear Raya will be there to help you.”“Dad, I…”“Kaan, I want to live before my time in this world is over.”What do I even say to that? How do I refuse when I know