Ugghhhhh, this slow burn is killing meeeee. But also making me so *squishy* XDXDXD
Ember's POV:The next morning, I blinked my eyes open and was surprised to see a pair of black and white roses on my bedside table. A smile crept over my lips at the sight of fresh roses.I was amazed at how Nicholus put detail into everything. Even now, the combination of black and white roses, each portraying our different personalities.Rubbing the sleep off my eyes, I pressed the button to slide the upper half of my bed upward. Reaching over to the table, I was about to grab the roses when I noticed a small note placed under them.Sliding it out, I unfolded a piece of paper. A smile instantly bloomed on my lips as I read the words scribbled in my mate's wavy handwriting:"Good Morning, beautiful."I never thought such a day would come when I'd be smiling at a little note left by him. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that the King of the North was even capable of writing it. I mean, what were we? Teenagers?Well, the wide grin plastered on my face was the living proof o
Ember’s POV:The next morning, I again woke up to an empty chair and a pair of black and white roses in the vase with a little note of good morning that brought a wide smile to my sleepy face.After breakfast, the nurse and the maid bid their farewell and I groaned heavily. It was the most boring time of the day when I was left alone to rest. How could they expect me to stay still for weeks?My foot was all healed now but due to the broken ribs, I couldn’t get up or walk around or do any activity. After all, I was on a fucking bedrest which only gave me more time to overthink everything and that's exactly what I'd been doing lately.Right then, I heard a knock on the door. I had no idea who it was because no one had ever come at this hour of the day.As I said to come in, the door slid open and I watched in confusion as a servant strolled a cart inside the room. Padding straight in my direction, he set the cart beside my bed.As I looked closely, I frowned. It was actually a book cart
Ember's POV: For the better part of the day, Nicholus stayed on the couch, went through the files, and signed a few. And me? Well, I had nothing better to do than stare at the hotness lingering before my eyes.To save myself from the embarrassment of getting caught red-handed while gawking at him, I fetched a book from the cart and opened it before me. Trust me, I'm not all pervert. I did try to read the book but even after reading the first sentence ten times, my mind couldn't register what the author was saying when every ounce of my attention was fixated on him.It was later in the day that he got up, stretched his body, and informed me, "It's time for me to hit the gym." What? No! I didn't want him to go just yet. But of course, I'd kill myself before saying that aloud. So, to appear nonchalant, I flipped the page and drawled, "Bring those machines here and create a mini gym like you did with the office." His lips tugged into a devilish smirk and I knew a witty remark was on its
Ember’s POV:After Nicholus was gone with Darius, I stayed rooted to my spot for a long time and just stared at the wall while thinking about what had just happened. I was still stuck in that moment. We were literally just a moment away from kissing each other.What the hell was happening to me? I felt like things were moving really quickly between us. Just a week ago, I was yapping to Darius about how I hated his Alpha so much and now I was really looking forward to making love to the same person. Was I even in my right mind? Whenever he comes close to me, all the intelligence jumps out the window, leaving me alone with my foolishness.I wondered what changed. I think my decision to move on from his previous mistakes and give him a chance without any hard feelings was the turning point. But I must admit that he too was making sure not to mess anything up this time. If I think I changed then he had changed tenfold.But I was scared at the way things were escalating between us. I was s
Ember’s POV:It felt like Nicholus had developed some kind of a routine. Every morning, I woke up to either a pair or a whole bouquet of black and white roses.He had started coming to my room early in the morning, freshly showered and looking like an eye candy. Before entering, he’d linger in the doorway for a minute, giving me time to ogle him all I wanted.I always tried my best not to act like a pervert and stare up and down his body shamelessly but was that even possible when such a hot Alpha with a tall, big, and wide frame was standing in front of me?With a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, he’d come straight to me and brush my hair. No matter how many tangles I had, his movement always remained gentle and patient while braiding my hair.Today, after making a braid, he picked a small flower from the vase and tucked it behind my ear. Placing the mirror at an angle, he showed me his handiwork and I marveled at the way he was becoming an expert with every passing da
Ember's POV: After days of overthinking and worrying, I decided to just go with the flow. Overthinking was only deteriorating my mental health It was only making me go crazy.I was continuously worrying myself about the future I had no idea about and hence, was unable to even enjoy the present. So, instead of worrying about the inevitable, I decided to live the present to its fullest. And after making that decision, life became more worth living. Every next day was more pleasant than the previous one. Nicholus had been spending more and more time with me. Being near to him felt so peaceful. In other words, I felt complete. Initially, he had been eating breakfast with me but recently, he had also started having lunch and dinner with me in the room. We were practically inseparable now. And my teenage heart was on cloud nine. Over the last few days, he had shifted his whole office to my room. All day long, the employees would come and go with files in their hands. Nicholus would stay
Ember's POV:Rubbing the sleep off my eyes, I rolled over to the edge of the queen-sized bed and heaved myself up into a sitting position. Spotting a large blue box on the bedside table, I stared at it cluelessly.Grabbing it with careful hands, I placed it on my lap and squinted at a dark blue ribbon tied around in a cute bow.In the center of the bow, I saw a note tucked in. Grabbing the corner of the note, I slid it out of the box and lifted the cream-colored folded paper in front of my eyes.Unfolding it, I read a note neatly written in my mate's handwriting:"Good Morning, my beautiful mate,Congratulations on your recovery. I'm truly proud of you. On this auspicious occasion, I'd love to take you somewhere. A place where you once wished to be.Along with this note, I'm sending you a small gift. Wear it only if you like it.I'll be waiting for you outside the castle at 8 pm."My lips split into a bright smile as I read the note again before placing it aside.Turning my attention
Ember's POV:The door we exited from was actually at the left side of the castle whereas Nicholus was waiting at the front.Stepping out of the door, I and Darius rounded the castle to go to the front. Trusting Darius to navigate the way, I kept my eyes on the ground and held my gown as I took careful steps ahead.As we reached the corner, Darius halted suddenly and pulled me backward."Ouch," I yelped, "what are you doing?"His finger shot up to his lips as he urged me to stay quiet, "Ssshhhh."He moved his finger and pointed somewhere in the distance, "Look," he said while letting out a low, playful chuckle.Frowning slightly, I slid closer to the corner and turned my gaze to where he was pointing at the front of the castle.My heart did a quick flipflop as I saw Nicholus beside a black BMW. I took a moment to run my gaze down his body. He was wearing a three-piece suit in the same midnight blue shade as mine. His hair was neatly combed backward. He was looking so charismatic and ha
Ember's POV:After Nicholus left my room, I stayed rooted to my spot for a long minute. I was too stunned to process what he just said. He sounded so detached, so unbothered like killing his brother wasn't a big deal for him.After a few minutes, the door creaked open and Darius rushed inside. He came to a sudden halt as soon as he saw me pacing the floor."I've come to tell you about it but by the looks of your pale face, it seems like you already know," he stated.My hands flew in the air, "Tell me it's nothing but bullshit. I mean, there is no way he could be serious about killing Damon, right? He is his BROTHER. No matter how much hate, enmity, or misunderstandings they have between them, they are still brothers," I rushed out in one breath.He let out a tiring sigh, "You know how they are, Ember."I let out a loud groan, "How could either of them even think such a horrible thing is beyond my understanding."He remained silent for a few minutes to let my anger cool off before spea
Ember's POV:After Nicholus was gone, I slid down to the floor as the walls I had built around my heart cracked and the dam just broke apart. Uncontrollable tears rolled down my cheeks. My shoulders shook as my body rattled with ugly sobs.How could a mother be so cruel to her only child? What did I do so wrong to deserve that? All my life I craved for my parents' affection but what did I get in return? Their betrayal...?Father failed me miserably but I had my Mother's thoughts to keep me going. Even though I had no memories of her but I still thought that she must have loved me. I used to find comfort in the fact that the only reason she wasn't with me was because she just couldn't. It was better when I thought her to be dead. Because the thought that she had abandoned me was killing me bit by bit.Was I really that bad of a person? I've heard...heck, I've seen parents always loving their children no matter how bad of a monster their kids are. Was I even worse to be depraved of both
Nicholus’s POV:Watching her looking at me with nothing but hatred shattered my heart into so many pieces that I didn’t know how to pick them all and make it whole again.I don’t know how the hell Damon got his hands on the confidential inside information about military and state matters and I absolutely had no idea that he’d be twisting that information to sow a seed of doubt in Ember’s heart.But I couldn't really blame him. I should have been cautious. I should've foreseen it. I shouldn't have taken his long silence so lightly. I let my guard down and was witnessing the results now.But as far as the matter of the South was concerned, I had it under control. I had no bad intentions and I'd keep telling her even thousands of times if that would make her believe me.But the irreversible damage occurred when that fucker told Ember about her mother. He shouldn't have gone there. He had created a big mess which I had no idea how to come out of.I knew I’d lost all fight when Ember yelle
Ember’s POV:Despite the turmoil raging inside me, I waited patiently as Nicholus wiped his hands through his hair before starting, “First of all, I want you to know that the army has nothing to do with marrying you, okay?”My eyes widened horrifically, “So it means you ARE planning to take over the South…?”He shook his head, “What? No.” He walked closer to me but I lifted my palm, making him stay wherever he was. I need a little distance between us to think rationally.“Tell me about the army first,” I said in a sharp tone.Nodding slowly, he started speaking, “Do you remember when you were on bed rest, you heard Damon, Ethan, and I talking about the war looming over us?”I nodded curtly, thinking back to that night when they were all worried about Nicholus’s wolf weakening while the war was close.A slight frown appeared between my brows along with a relief. But I told myself not to grow any more hopes before going to the bottom of it.“So, the army is for that war?” I couldn’t kee
Ember’s POV:Grabbing my hand, Damon had just taken a step toward the door when an ear-piercing roar boomed in the air. “Enough!” Nicholus growled.My feet came to a sudden halt as I felt the sudden shift in the air. Damon pulled me forward, more urgently now. But before he could another step, the doors to my room flung open and dozens of warriors spilled into the room, blocking the exit.My head whipped around as I heard warriors jumping in through the balcony.In a few seconds, my room was brimming with warriors closing in on us, surrounding me and Damon. My gaze shifted from one to another as I blurted out in shock, “What’s happening?”Damon bared his teeth and pointed behind me, “It’s him, of course. He must have mindlinked his minions. That's why he was silent and still.”Damon shook his head and said amusingly, “Really, Nicholus? Are we really doing it?”Nicholus shrugged nonchalantly, unbothered by everything happening around us, “Warned you time and time again to shut that fuc
Ember’s POV:I stole a glance at his fingers brushing over my necklace and heard his shocking whisper, "The Celestial Stone."My head whipped up to him and saw his pupils dilating as he looked at me, “You are…what the…”I felt Nicholus going rigid behind me. His voice sounded menacing as he warned his brother, “Damon, no, not this…not now.”A deep frown appeared between my brows. Closing my fingers around the necklace, I stepped aside and watched the brothers exchanging heated glares.An eerie feeling of unrest settled in the pit of my stomach. My throat felt constricted as I sobbed, “What…what is it about my mother?”Nicholus was slowly shaking his head in a threatening manner. At that, a wicked gleam twinkled in Damon's eyes as if he had stepped closer to his victory.My heart lurched to my throat as a devilish smirk tugged over Damon's lips before he chuckled coldly, “Dark, dark secrets between the mates are crazy.”It felt like my heart just dropped all the way to the floor. Fear
Ember's POV:With my pulse a ticking bomb waiting to explode, I stood there, waiting for him to deny all accusations, assuring me that whatever Damon was spewing out of his mouth was nothing but bullshit.But all hopes trembled to death as Nicholus stepped backward. All of a sudden, he seemed so tired as he rubbed the nape of his neck and sighed, “Ember, I…listen…”More tears streamed out of my eyes. Angrily wiping them away, I screamed at his face, “Is that true or not, Nicholus?”I already knew it was. But still, I waited pathetically for him to deny it all so that we can go back to our fairytale wedding we'd been so excited about.His gaze flickered to Damon standing behind me before shifting back to me. Slouching his shoulders, he breathed out, “Just a half truth.”A gut-wrenching sob escaped me as I took another step away from him only to walk closer to Damon.Nicholus took a quick step forward and grabbed me by the shoulders. His voice sounded urgent as he spoke, “And you need
Ember’s POV:I could feel the anger oozing out of Nicholus but on the outside, he appeared calm and composed as if he were almost expecting his arrival. Twitching his eyebrow higher, he asked in a blank voice, “What are you doing here?”Straightening his shoulders, Damon tightened his hold on my hand before uttering, “I’m here to take Ember with me.”Hearing that, I again tried to twist my hand out of his, wincing as a sharp shot through my arm as his grip tightened defiantly.That’s when Nicholus’s eyes flickered down to our joined hands. His gaze narrowed viciously and his fists coiled tightly at his sides. Baring his teeth, he snarled menacingly, “Leave her hand right now, Damon.”Damon paid no heed to the warning ringing in Nicholus’s voice and took a step toward the door.Before he could take another, Nicholus lunged forward. His voice was a loud roar as he growled, “Touch her again and I’ll fucking rip you to pieces.”His body thudded into Damon’s and they both stumbled backward
“Damon…?” I whispered into the darkness, gawking at him with wide eyes.As soon as he heard me saying his name, his shoulders slouched and he took a breath of relief. He seemed like a traveler who had finally reached his destination after an eternity of traveling nowhere.Suddenly, he lunged forward. Sliding one of his hands around my waist and the other around the back of my head, he pulled me into a tight hug.Sticking his nose to my neck, he inhaled deeply and I could feel his body relaxing against mine. His hot breath washed over my ear as he whispered with a raw emotion I couldn't decipher, “God, I missed you. I missed you so much, Ember.”My mind was a jumbled mess of chaos and confusion as I tried to process what exactly was happening. Breaking the hug, I stared at him with frantic eyes, “Damon, what are you doing here?”Placing his hands on my shoulders, he squeezed lightly and said with a hint of excitement, “I am here to take you with me. Away from here.”My heart was thuddi