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
Ember’s POV:The walk back to the castle was eerily quiet. Neither Sophie nor I discussed the matter any further but our minds were still stuck on all that happened in the hut.Reaching the castle gates, I hypnotized the guards into oblivion who quickly opened the gates for us. With quick footsteps, I rushed into the castle with Sophie on my heels.Keeping my gaze on the floor, I pondered over the mess I was in. Taking a swift turn in the hall, I started climbing the stairs leading to my private wing. I was so immersed in my thoughts that I didn’t realize when my head hit something hard.“Ouch,” I yelped at the contact. It all happened so fast. I lost my balance on the stairs and my eyes widened in panic as I stumbled backward. I clamped my eyes shut and waited for the painful fall down the staircase. I was sure that it would leave a bump or two on my head.But instead of that, I felt a big, warm palm sliding around my waist. My eyes snapped open and I took in a pair of gray, stormy
Ember’s POV:“Meet Damon. He is our…business partner.” He then looked at the man who was still assessing with his dark stare, “Damon, meet my daughter, Ember Valdez.”My eyes widened and my head jerked toward the stairs. Damon. I remembered the name. Father had a very secretive phone call with him during my engagement party. He was the one who assured Father that the welcome gift had been delivered to the North.Now, all of a sudden, I seemed very much interested in this mysterious man who was somehow linked to the North. I didn’t miss my Father intentionally not mentioning his last name and I very much noticed the pause he took before lying about being his business partner.Taking long and steady steps, Damon reached the top of the staircase and stopped behind me. I turned around to face him and said slowly, “Damon.”I frowned as he bent slightly and grabbed my hand in his. Lifting our intertwined hands in the air, he stared deep into my eyes and whispered roughly, “I swear the name h