(Raya’s POV) “Sylvana!” I have finally been released from the hospital after a week and I have just returned home to Kaan and I’s apartment to find Sylvana is sitting on the couch, looking tired but relieved. She gives me a weak smile. “I was told I have you to thank for finally being fished out of that horrid, rat-infested place.” She shudders at the memory. “Oh, dearest, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” I sit beside her, holding her hand. “I am now, thanks. But I never want to go through that again.” She leans back and closes her eyes. Kaan closes the door behind him and places my bag from the hospital on the breakfast table. “Don’t worry, cousin, I promise you, it won’t happen again. The tribunal is set in three days time. I already told them that I intend to make sure they will pay for what they have done to you.” Sylvana grimaces. “I don’t know, little prince. I have been found trespassing and by law they had the right to…but I—” She rubs her face with both hands in frustration
(Raya’s POV)We both turn to look and hope blooms inside me when I see the dark wolf standing several feet away. “Well, sister. I am here because of your request. I can see why you think this human is worthy but…can you let go of him, after an eternity of haunting each other?” Another wolf appears, a few yards away from Lethe. This one is gray and has yellow eyes. It must be Sir Orthros’s other wolf Levi.The black wolf and the gray one stare at each other for a long while. “Lethe…” The gray wolf murmurs, his voice almost pleading. “Levi, you have to let me go now…” “Tell me why I should, when you have not forgiven me yet for what I have done?” The black wolf shakes its massive head. “You are mistaken. I have forgiven you long ago.” “Why did you stay, then?” Lethe makes some kind of sneezing sound. “If you can’t tell, then I can’t help you.” “If it’s what I think it is, why are you leaving me now?” “Because…it could never be and now it’s time to move on.” “You’re choosing t
(Raya’s POV) “Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might Have my wish come true tonight.” I’m standing on the terrace of our new home. The King and Queen have graciously gifted us with a new villa of our own as a wedding gift and it’s so beautiful! I love everything about the place. The villa is straight out of a fairy tale and there’s a garden filled with all my favorite flowers and even exotic ones I don’t recognize but already love. It has a surrounding woodland where we can let our lycan forms run free and its own little farm where we can cultivate our own vegetables or raise whatever animal we want. The air is fresh and it is peaceful, the ambience stress-free. But the best thing I love about it is that because we are quite far away from the city lights, the stars are so much more visible and brighter out here. I close my eyes as I make another wish. Kaan embraces me from behind and I smile as I lean back and he kisses me on the cheek.
(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
(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
(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) 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)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