Hey readers, I hope you are enjoying the story. If yes, kindly leave a comment as it'll help to promote my book. Love you all <3 Author Hami
Ember's POV: I was stunned out of my wits to see my mate, the King of the North, standing in front of me. Despite the panic gripping me, my eyes still didn't fail to devour him in all his mighty glory.He was looking deliciously handsome in the black suit that was hugging his bulky body, accentuating the muscles beneath. And that tie…wait…why did that match the shade of my dress?My eyes roamed up to his eyes and I looked into the darkest pools of pitch-black.I was jerked out of the trance when he whispered, “Hello, Little Princess.” My eyes moved to his perfect lips as he mouthed, “Or should I say MATE?”I sucked in a sharp breath and frantically looked around me to make sure no one heard him.I stared back at him and gritted out through the clenched teeth, “What are you doing here?”Was he insane? The ballroom was literally filled with the male alphas who were desperate to get his blood on their hands. What type of maniac was he to step into the hall full of enemies?“I’m not afrai
Ember's POV: As soon as I was done with the dances, I excused myself, and after a little while discreetly slipped away from the crowd. My pace was fast and steady as I took a turn leading to the hallway. My footsteps halted as I took in a large figure standing at the end of it. His broad frame was leaning against the wall.With arms folded at his chest, his eyes took me in from top to bottom and his lips contorted into a snarl. After all those dances, I must be covered in other males' scents from head to toe. But...his problem, not mine. As soon as I approached him, he opened his mouth but before he could utter a word, I blurted out, "Not here." His mouth clamped shut. But not on my command. It was more because of a shock which was kinda understandable. Being a King and all, he must not be used to being interrupted let alone cut off mid-sentence.Well, there's always a first time for everything. And if he had expected me to bow down in front of him and that too when he was in MY te
Ember’s POV:His hand lunged upward and clutched around my upper arm. His eyes were wide with madness and crazy rage. It was evident that rage had consumed him whole.His grip around my arm tightened. Searing pain rippled through my arm but he kept exerting force. The more pain I felt, the more content he seemed to be.I glanced down and saw his knuckles turning white whereas my arm was reddening.I looked back up into his scalding eyes. Jaw set tight, when he opened his mouth, his voice was dripping with hot venom, “I, Nicholus Dicaprio, the King of the North, refuse to accept your rejection, Ember Valdez.”I didn’t want to appear weak in front of him but I couldn’t take it anymore. At last, a whimper escaped my lips as the pain became unbearable.All of a sudden, the black of his eyes was replaced by a golden glow. Soon, they started to glow brightly. His wolf had surfaced as a result of my whimper. No matter the situation, the wolves can’t see their mate suffering.Slowly, his hold
Ember's POV: My heart was pounding erratically in my ribcage as I waited for his answer. His gaze was fixated on me and he was breathing through his nose. He opened his mouth twice to say something but he couldn't utter any word. After another little pause, he opened his mouth again and blurted out, "I want us to claim each other and complete the mate bond between us." Suddenly, a chuckle escaped my throat as soon as his words hit my ear. Laughing, I shook my head, "Are you even hearing yourself? Just how absurd your words are." I then stopped laughing and crossed my arms over my chest, "By the way, if I remember right, just a moment ago you made it pretty clear that making me your queen and Luna of your precious pack was nothing more than a disgrace for you. And now you are asking me to accept our mate bond? Are you out of your wits or is it me who's going crazy and hearing all sorts of things?" He answered in frustration, "Yes, it's true that I hate you, your father, and everyt
Ember’s POV:I mulled over his words again. Another thing besides ruthlessness, Alpha Nicholus was well-known for one other trait; that he was the man of his word. If he was promising me all those things then he’d never go against his words.And when I imagined it, it all felt like a beautiful dream. My heartbeat became irregular as it dawned on me that it could be a perfect escape from my chaotic life.I could just accept his proposal and leave with him to the cold lands covered with snow. I pictured us together, in front of a cozy fireplace, wrapped around each other’s arms, sharing a hot cup of coffee and mumbling about all the nonsense things.My heart started pounding in my chest and Aria pleaded with me, “Please, just say yes. We can just go to the North and build a beautiful life with our mate.”It all seemed too good to be true. Wasn’t that what girls craved for? The sense of security and peace? A man who could protect them from anything evil?But then, it was the moment of tr
Ember's POV: The next morning, I woke up sharp at 5 am to the blaring of alarm. And as soon as my eyes opened, my mind went back to the events of the last night and the conversation I had with my mate.A shudder ran down my spine as I recalled his words, 'I'll be back, Little Princess.' It was a promise. The one he was going to fulfill at any cost. I was still engrossed in the flashbacks of the last night when I heard a light knock on the door. I groaned inwardly as the door slid open and Ms. Tacy stepped inside with her little minions just like every morning. Making her way over to me, Ms. Tacy chirped, "Good Morning. How are you feeling today?" I mumbled under my breath, "As low as someone can feel." She leaned closer, "What? Did you say something?" Plastering a huge smile on my face, I croaked, "I said that I'm feeling as fresh as a daisy." Straightening up, she smiled brightly, "Perfect. Let's get ready for the day then." She tiptoed toward the bathroom to get a bath ready f
Ember's POV:Slowly, I turned around and faced my father, "Who is he?" That's all I asked because that was all I needed to know.He assessed me with evaluating eyes. I knew he was looking for my reaction to how I was going to perceive this new piece of information."Arnold Pierce," he uttered with a hint of finality.Keeping my face void of any reaction, I nodded, "The alpha of the DarkFur Pack.""He is perfect in every aspect," he informed me.I knew the meaning behind those words. By 'perfect', he meant that Alpha Arnold had a reputation good enough to be a part of our royal family but also foolish enough to serve as a puppet for my father."The engagement is next week. It'll be just a short ceremony for the sake of formality with..." he started blabbering.Not being able to take any more of his bullshit, I cut him off, "I'll be there."Before he could say anything in return, I was already making my way toward the exit.-----------That night when Sophie and I resigned to my private
Ember's POV:The next morning when I woke up, I found myself drenched in sweat. I tried to heave myself up but all of a sudden, I felt like my skull was splitting in half with the severe headache.I closed my eyes and stayed on the bed for a bit longer. Reaching to the back of my mind, I called my wolf, "Aria? What's happening to us? Are you okay?"All I knew was that something was wrong with me but I had no fucking clue whether it was related to me being a witch or was my wolf under threat? But it was bad. I could sense that.When a long minute passed and I got no response from Aria, I tried again, "Aria, where are..."I was interrupted as my bedroom doors flew open and Ms. Tacy tiptoed inside. As soon as her eyes landed on me, she gasped and rushed in my direction, "What happened? You don't seem okay to me."Assessing me with worried eyes, she pressed the back of her hand against my forehead and screeched, "You have a fever. Wait here, I'll alert the medical...""I'm fine," I blurted
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