Ember’s POV: We were swift and silent while leaving the castle. After hypnotizing the guards at the main entrance, Sohpie led the way deeper into the forest and I silently followed her.We kept strolling into the forest and it was only when we reached far away from the castle that I dared to speak up, “Would you now like to confide me in about what’s going on in your head?” Her footsteps slowed and she asked me, “Remember when you first started having these weird sensations a few years ago?” I huffed out, “Like I can ever forget that time.” She nodded curtly, “Something was wrong with you. I mean, that wasn’t normal, right? Gladly, we discovered your hypnotizing powers on our own and didn’t need any external help but…” She halted and I glanced at her worriedly and urged her to carry on, “But…?” Her eyebrows pinched together, “Did you really think that it would be the end of it?” I shrugged my shoulder, “Umm…I had hoped so.” She looked at me sternly and said curtly, “Well, in th
Ember’s POV:Filling my lungs with the fresh air, I forced myself to release some tension and lightly rapped my knuckles on the ancient wooden door. I held my breath, making myself mentally prepared for whatever was about to be thrown my way.After a long stretch, I finally heard a husky voice from the other side, “Come in.”Blowing out a puff of air, I straightened my shoulders and slid the door. It creaked as it opened and revealed the cozy, ancient interior of the hut.My eyes swept around and I took in the small but spacious area. The floorboards creaked under my feet as I stepped inside. Even the walls were made of wood. They were bare except for the preserved heads of dead animals nailed to them.Other than a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling, the fireplace was the only other source of illumination. An oak table was place on the other end with the herbs, vials, and different bottles of coloured liquid scattered over it. A large wooden bookshelf was placed near the small
Ember's POV: With rage filling me, I exited the hut like a firebolt and didn't exhale until I had covered some distance between us. Suddenly, Sophia appeared in front of me, "Hey, you okay?" she inquired after witnessing me out of my wits. I halted and screeched, "Coming here was a mistake!" Her eyes shifted to the hut, then zeroed in on me again, "What happened? What did Deborah say?" My fists balled up tightly at my sides as I gritted through clenched teeth, "Deborah is fucking insane, Sophie."She was looking at me with confusion. "I...She..." I opened my mouth again to say something else but I was literally short on words about how to explain my inner turmoil to her. I shook my head whether in denial or disappointment...I don't know. As I started walking in the opposite direction, Sophie followed me silently. I knew she must have her own million questions but right now she was actually doing me the biggest favor by holding her tongue.I needed all the time left in the universe
Ember’s POV:She nodded her head, "I don't know how is that even possible since no one knows about it but yes, that seems to be true."She gripped my arm and looked into my eyes, "Listen, Ember, I think we can't tackle this whole situation unless we figure out the second part of the puzzle."I swallowed the lump in my throat, "But how?"She looked me dead in the eye before sharing her idea, "Maybe we should really try to look into your mother and find out who she really was...?"------------After dinner, both I and Sophie resigned to my private chambers to discuss things in private. We made our way to the den and settled on the couch in front of the fireplace.Sophie stared out the window, “It’s getting chilly day by day."I nodded in agreement, “The winters are on their way.”A soft knock on the door interrupted our conversation. Getting up from the couch, Sophie walked over to the door and opened it. A maid was standing on the other side with a tray laden with two mugs of hot choco
Ember's POV:She waited for me to go ahead and open it but I stayed rooted at my spot and sighed, “I am not feeling good about any of it.”Her head jerked in my direction, “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t back off after finally coming all the way here.”When I stayed silent, she groaned in frustration, “Just open the damn door and get done with all the answers, Ember. Once and for all.”My arms jutted out as I yelled in annoyance, “And what if I don’t like the answers? Am I even mentally prepared to face all of that? I don’t even know.”Sophie remained quiet. Rubbing her temple, she finally turned toward me, “Alright. It’s true that I want you to find and acknowledge your identity and reality because I think that only then you’ll be able to find some peace.”She rested her hand on my shoulder and said softly, “But I also don’t want you to do any of that under some pressure.”Pressing her lips, she nodded, “Yes. I think we should head back for now.” Turning away, she started moving the
Ember's POV:Eyes back on the journal, I continued reading, “After years of mourning at the loss of his true mate, King Alexander was lucky enough to meet his second love. Mabel Frostwood, a young and beautiful lady who belonged to the West region. Alpha Alexander met her when he was there to attend the annual conference of alphas. Even though it is the deepest and darkest secret of Alpha Alexander's life but it must be mentioned in this biography that Mabel Frostwood was not one of our kind. She was not a werewolf."I jerked my head toward Sophie who was already gawking at me. My heart was thudding loudly in my ribcage. I thought that she might be of some low rank and that's why I was not a purebred but her being of another kind? I never thought about it.I let out a whooshing breath. It was simply the most brutal thing fate could have done to me. Even more brutal than to choose the King of North as my fated mate. I pinched my eyes and sighed tiredly, "This revelation alone has the
Nicholus's POV: I was staring hard at the navy blue liquid in the glass that I was clutching in a tight grip. I was never like this. Never before had I depended on the alcohol to keep my mind away from something but ever since the night of the party, one particular pair of brown eyes was continuously messing with my head. For that, I would like to blame my childish wolf. Right then, Xoro snapped at me, "Yeah yeah, put all the blame on the innocent Xoro." I rolled my eyes, “It’s true. You can’t stop sulking around like your world has ended.” As if tired of arguing on the same topic again and again, Xoro sighed, “Whatever, Nicholus. I’ve tried my best to make you understand the things. So don’t blame me when I won’t be able to take it anymore.” “You up?” came Darius’s voice through the mindlink. I took a long sip, “Yep.” I could imagine his smirk as he said mockingly, “Another night of lover boy not being able to find sleep, huh?” I groaned, “Shut up.” He chuckled before asking
Ember’s POV:“Do you want to wear anything particular to the Royal Ball, Your Highness?” Ms. Stacy asked me with a big, bright smile which annoyed me even more.“I’m sure you have it all planned, Ms. Stacy. So I’d rather go with whatever you have already decided.” I shot back a reply.She bowed her head when the door to my bedroom flung open and in came a storm a.k.a Sophie Wilson, “After what we got to know a few days ago, I can’t believe that you are still going on with the Royal Ball.”I jerked around and glared at her. She clamped her mouth shut and took in the lady standing beside me. I turned toward Ms. Stacy and stretched my lips, “Kindly leave me and Sophie alone for a while.”She stayed rooted to her place and said hesitantly, “But…Your Highness…you have to get ready for the Royal Ball.”Not having the patience to play all polite and kind at the moment, I just stared into her eyes and channeled my hypnotizing power, “Just go.”Her shoulders slouched and her eyes dimmed as she
Nicholus’s POV:Exiting the dungeons, I started walking toward my private chambers. The night was so fucking mind-exhausting that I wanted to spend the rest of it alone before I caused any more destruction.Passing through the Luna’s quarter, I spotted her guards standing outside. Coming to a halt, I inquired, “What are you two doing here? Didn't Luna order you to take Darius to the castle clinic?”One of them nodded before answering, “We were on our way, Alpha. But then Beta asked us to take him to his chamber instead.”Turning on my heels. I started walking in the opposite direction. The castle had various chambers, quarters, and wings. The biggest of them was known as the Great Chamber which had always been reserved for the King. It was located above all the other chambers. It was so huge that I could see half of my empire from its terrace. After that was the Luna’s Quarters. Then, there were smaller chambers for Beta and Gamma.With quick strides, I crossed the hallways until I re
Ember’s POV:Turning her blazing gaze toward his son, Luna said curtly, “Capturing women in the name of war trophies?”Disgust was written all over her face as she scoffed, “Couldn’t resist walking in your father’s footsteps for long, huh?”His death-like grip around my arm loosened instantly before he blurted out, “No, it’s not…”Luna cut him off mid-sentence, “I’ve never seen you do that before.” She shook her head in disappointment, “The son I’ve raised would never do such a hideous thing to any woman," she said in distress.Alpha’s body went rigid behind me at his mother’s words. He released an exasperated breath and said agitatedly, “You challenged my authority when it came to Darius, mom. But as the Luna of this pack, I let that go and gave in to your demand because I respect you.”His voice turned harsher as he bit out, “But she…she is not a member of our pack. So, you do not need to protect her.”He looked straight into Luna's eyes and uttered with finality, “Let me handle thi
Ember’s POV:I watched in astonishment as a tall lady stormed into the dungeon hall with two guards behind her. They were nothing like the dungeon guards. Both had heavy build with intimidating looks permanently etched into their features. They were more like warriors.But all of my attention was focused on the lady who was lethal but equally charismatic. Immense power radiated off her.Her eyes were fearless which quickly turned ferocious as soon as they landed on Darius hanging from the ceiling.“For God’s sake, Nicholus. He is your Beta and you cannot do this to him,” her cold gaze slashed to my mate who was still gripping my cheeks.The lady’s eyes widened as she screeched in disbelief, “And who is she? And why are you clutching her like that?”“Mom…” my mate said tightly and that was enough to draw a complete picture for me.The charismatic lady who had just appeared out of nowhere was no one but the Luna of this pack. Well, that justified the way she dared to interrupt Alpha’s b
Ember’s POV:Turning toward Darius, Nicholus assessed him with a vengeful gaze, “Really, Beta? Were my orders about her not clear enough to you?”Darius’s shoulders slouched as he exhaled, “They were, Alpha.”“And you still decided to go against me and defy my orders?” growled my mate angrily.Darius stared at the ground, “I thought…”Alpha cut him off mid-sentence, “I wonder why you have a soft corner for her, Darius. She is the one who betrayed your Alpha and still your loyalty lies with her.”At that, Darius lifted his head and looked at his Alpha, “That’s not true, Nicholus. I…”Once again, my mate didn’t let him finish as he spat bitterly, “I feel betrayed, Darius.” He shook his head slowly and grumbled in a low voice, “And you were never supposed to betray me.”Before poor Darius could explain his point, Alpha Nicholus turned his attention to the guards standing on either side of Darius and ordered them, “Hang him to the chains.”My eyes widened at his words, “What?”I saw in ho
Ember’s POV:I dug my nails into his hand wrapping around my wrist while rasping, “Where the hell are you taking me?”Initially, I had expected him to put me back in the cell but soon, I realized that the devil had some other plans for his prey.Fear crept under my skin as he dashed deeper into the dungeons, leaving all the cells behind. As we walked through the dark corridor, I felt the air becoming thick and stagnant.I winced at the foul smell of rotting flesh whirling in the air. I tried desperately to wriggle myself out of his tight hold and croaked through the clogged throat, “Just leave me. Let me go.”At the end of the corridor, he took a sharp turn to the right and started bolting down the staircase. My free hand flew out in a failed attempt to hold anything, to fight him but all was in vain as he sped down.A shiver ran down my spine as the temperature here felt even colder than it was in the cells. Only a few dim lights were illuminating the otherwise dark hallway.There wer
Ember’s POV:Once again, silence prevailed all around us as we both stared at each other with intensity. None of us averted our gazes as millions of thoughts whirled around in our minds.I waited for him to thrash out in anger, mock me for not being a purebred, alpha-born, and insult me for having mixed blood in my veins.More than anything, I desperately waited for him to reject me right then and there. A new hope fluttered inside me. I was a hybrid, everything opposite to what he was expecting in his fated mate.The wisest thing for him to do as a King was to reject me and find a Chosen Mate with strong connections and pure, alpha blood coursing through her veins.But a long time passed and he kept standing there, gawking at me, thinking God knew what.His blank stare had started to affect me more than I liked to admit. I wondered what was going on in his mind.I squirmed under his hard stare and finally sputtered, “Say something.”I regretted that instantly. Why did I sound so vulne
Ember's POV:I was thrashing on his shoulder, screaming maniacally, punching him anywhere my fists could reach but he remained unscathed and seemed unbothered as he effortlessly carried me back to the dungeons.As soon as he stepped inside, guards rushed to close the gates, and only then did he unhauled me from his fucking shoulder.As my feet landed on the ground, I coiled my hands into tight fists and started yelling, "You caveman, freaking Neanderthal, how dare you..."Ignoring me like I was invisible, he turned around to face the guards, "Explain to me how she managed to leave even after such tight security?"Blood left their faces as they gawked at me with wide eyes and stammered in fear, "Alpha, we've been on high alert just as you've ordered us. We don't know how she..."Before the poor, frightened guard even finished his sentence, my very uncivilized and cruel mate lunged forward and wrapped his hands around the necks of both guards.Moving with the speed of light, he took the
Ember's POV: Death played in front of my eyes in slow motion. I saw bulky wolves prancing in the air with their mouths gaped open, ready to bite their meal and tear me apart. I was still as a rock, not daring to move a muscle in my body, welcoming death with open arms when, all of a sudden, the world seemed to stop around me. My eyebrows deepened in utter confusion as I saw wolves suddenly falling to the ground mid-jump. Their bodies thudded down and they all touched their heads to the ground in complete surrender. A million questions whirled in my mind and I jolted around in a full circle to make sense of the things happening in front of my eyes. Who were they surrendering to? There was no one around us for as far as my eyes could behold. I would have loved to get answers to satisfy my curiosity but what I would have loved even more was to survive. As I took in all the wolves bowed down in surrender, it suddenly felt like fate had given me a second chance at life, at freedom.
Ember’s POV:It had been ages since I’d trained or practiced with my packmates due to the weakness I felt after Aria’s disappearance but I didn't let that excuse bring me down when I was this close to freedom now.Closing my eyes, I called forward the athlete inside me and took a deep breath to release the tension in my body.I walked closer to the wall that was now separating me from my freedom and took a moment to assess it with evaluating eyes.My gaze roamed over the stony wall and I touched the protruding stones where I could hook my hands and feet while climbing. There was no doubt that the wall was strong enough to hold my weight but the only problem was the silver that was now streaking down the wall at multiple places.I couldn’t do anything about that other than tolerating the burns because no matter how careful I could be, the touch with silver was inevitable.I rolled my shoulders several times as a warm-up. With a heavy breath, I lifted my arms and grabbed the highest pro