Nicholus's POV:After the training session, I resigned to the conference room inside the castle with my Beta and Gamma for a meeting about business matters.Recently, Alpha Maddox Sinclair, the King of the East approached us to attain the rights to the production of Bloodmoon Merlot, the only alcoholic beverage that could intoxicate Supernaturals.Considering it was one of the main sources of income for the North and well, the treasures and wealth wielded by the North would make anyone envious, so it was no surprise that others too wanted to try their hands on it.But as the beverage was crafted by my grandfather, the rights of its productions were only owned by the North. And no matter how much others wanted to make and sell the drink under their name, they wouldn’t dare go against the North.Besides that, they are actually unable to make a beverage exactly like BloodMoon Merlot even after trying for centuries. Yes, there had been copies but none of them could stand a chance in front
Nicholus's POV: Later that night, the three of us met at the backside of the castle. I've called my Beta and Gamma to go on a run with me because I needed to clear my mind and feel the fresh air to calm the restlessness building inside me. No matter how much I told myself that I wasn't affected by the news of the engagement, that was a lie. I couldn't explain the agitation and distress I've been feeling ever since the engagement news arrived. I wanted to rip the whole world apart, light fire to it, and watch it engulfed in flames. My wolf, Xoro, was also in utter turmoil. He was enraged at the idea of his wolf mating with someone else. He wanted us to go back and rescue her. And I found his theory laughable. The fool was still not ready to accept the fact that his mate herself wanted it. It wasn't like someone was forcing her to go ahead with it. She didn't need our rescuing. Stripping, we shifted into our wolves, and as soon as I let Xoro take control, the first thing he did
Nicholus's POV: As soon as we neared the castle, I heard the helicopter wings whirling and saw the warriors waiting for our arrival. Preparations have been made. I commanded Ethan to stay behind in the castle to ensure the pack's safety and alert all the warriors in case we were attacked again.Darius and I, on the other hand, made our way to the helipad ground at the back of the castle. At our arrival, Bill rushed in our direction, "Alpha Nicholus, the helicopters are ready to take off at your command." I looked over my shoulder at a few warriors I was taking along with me and they started moving toward the helicopters. Once they were all settled in, I and Darius jumped into our helicopter and just a few minutes later we were in the air.I knew that it would take us several hours to reach the North-South border but still, I couldn’t help grunting at the pilot every once in a while to speed up.For some reason, I just couldn’t stop thinking about Darius’s words. They kept ringing in
Nicholus’s POV:Raven nudged his hand into his pocket and fished out a cream envelope. He sniffled as he pushed the envelope toward me and walked away.My heart was heavy with sorrow as I grabbed the envelope. My jaw clenched tightly as I noticed a golden stamp with an intricate design and lettering. It belonged to the South.I took in a shuddering inhale as my thumb grazed the stamp. I was dreading to open it. After the loss of my packmates I had witnessed, I wasn’t ready to bear the loss of my mate too.Darius squeezed my shoulder and nudged me to open it. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself against what was to come and scratched the stamp seal open.A cream-colored folded paper came into my view. Darius leaned closer as I pulled it out and unfolded it.In a black scribbling, a one-line message was there for me, “Told you I’ll be back, big brother. Now look out for the havoc I’ve brought for you. Your little brother, Damon.”My jaw clenched as I read the message over and over unt
Ember’s POV:Finally, the day of my engagement arrived for which I have been waiting anxiously. Not because I was excited about it but because I just wanted to get over it. But now that it was here, I couldn’t stop feeling nauseous.Ms. Tacy brought out a beige maxi dress made of the finest silk. It had an intricate work of pearls and glitters on its bodice and sleeves. It was elegant but even that failed to lift my mood.I switched the emotions button off inside me and went numb. Showering, I sat in front of the vanity and stared at my reflection. Pale face, sunken eyes, dark circles, and whatnot.Swallowing the lump in my throat, I leaned back and closed my eyes. I heard a beautician over me, “What look do you want for your engagement, Your Highness?”My lips were pressed tightly as I murmured blankly, “Do whatever seems best to you.”After an hour when she was done, I finally opened my eyes. She had kept the makeup minimum that would go perfectly with the beige dress.Without letti
Ember’s POV:Even on the stage, I couldn’t stop searching for a pair of pitch-black eyes amidst the crowd. I let out a bitter chuckle. So much for the damn warning. It seemed like the King of the North was not used to keeping up with his words because here I was just a few minutes away from wearing another man’s ring and no doors were banging, no grand appearance, and no enraged alpha in sight.“Umm, are you okay?” a voice came beside me.I snapped out of my thoughts and took in Alpha Arnold Pierce standing in front of me, “Yes I am,” I blurted out abruptly.He assessed me with careful eyes, “You look pale,” and then let out an idiotic chuckle, “It must be nervousness. I know, I was…”I couldn’t help rolling my eyes in annoyance. He was still blabbering about nonsense when I left him standing there and made my way to Father.“Any reason for not proceeding with the ceremony?” I bit out in frustration.He opened his mouth but before he could say something, his phone started ringing. As
Ember’s POV:I lifted my head to find Sophie running toward me. She crouched down and grabbed my shoulder, “Hey, what happened? Are you okay?”“I…” my throat clogged. It was all too much.Sophie rubbed my back to soothe me, “It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”Planting her hands on my shoulders, Sophie heaved me up and made me sit on the bed. Walking to the table, she fetched me a glass of water, and I gulped it down at once.It took me a few minutes to compose myself. I wiped my hand through my hair and grabbed a handful of it, “Any update about Deborah?”That's all that mattered to me now; to find my wolf and make sure she was okay. It’s been a few days since I found out that something was wrong with Aria. I needed to visit Deborah to seek some answers but she had been traveling to some other continent at the moment.Sophie patted me on the back, “She’ll be back in two days. We can visit then.”Two days. Two days were too much of a time. So much could go wrong in 2 days.I’ve been
Ember’s POV:I saw amusement flickering in Deborah's eyes as she assessed me.. I held her gaze and acknowledged, “You were right. My mother was not a werewolf. She was a witch, a really powerful one. And I am a half-werewolf and a half-witch.”Silence grew heavier in the room at my confession. I glanced between Sophie and Deborah and found them both staring at me. I let out a nervous chuckle, “Acknowledging it aloud feels both dreadful and elevating at the same time but I’ve decided to accept myself for who I am instead of running away from it.”There. I said it. Loud and clear.Moving closer, Sophie placed her hand over mine and squeezed gently whereas Deborah smiled softly at me, “That’s the spirit, my child.”I twitched my fingers nervously and leaned to the edge of the couch, “But what…what do you know about my mother? How was she?” I asked in a desperate need to know any tiny detail about my mother.Deborah’s smile widened as she thought about my mother. My chest swelled with prid
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