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
Ember’s POV:The next morning, I made my way into the dining room to have breakfast. As I sat on the chair, Anna appeared at my side, “What should I serve you for the breakfast, Your Highness?”My gaze traveled to the Head chair as I asked her, “Is Father not joining me today?”Placing a plate in front of me, she informed me, “King had his breakfast earlier this morning before he went out for a meeting.”Meeting? I wasn’t informed about any such meeting. Well, I wasn’t surprised, after all, there was so much going on behind my back in this castle.“Are you really getting married?” came a booming voice behind me.I jerked around to find a tall, bulky man standing in the doorway. Damon.My eyebrows pinched together, “What are you doing here in the castle this early in the morning?”Without averting his eyes away, he started taking slow steps in my direction, “I asked the question first.”My nostrils flared slightly as I bit out, “Not that it’s any of your business but yep, I am getting
Ember’s POV:“No! He did not!” Sophie exclaimed when I told her about the not-so-pleasant event that occurred at the breakfast.“I can’t fucking believe that he could’ve even thought of doing such a thing…and that too in the castle,” I felt my blood boiling all over again as I recalled those moments.Sophie jerked her hand and groaned in frustration, “Why even is he in the castle?”I planted my palms on my hips and spat in annoyance, “Apparently he is a very special guest of Father who is going to stay in the castle for God knows how long.”Sophie was furious at Damon’s actions and attitude. Crossing her arms over her chest, she flared her nostrils, and gritted out in one breath, “And tell me why the hell you didn’t hypnotize him and compelled him to cut his own jugular with the same fucking knife?”Fuck. I was hoping that she wouldn’t go there but who was I kidding? She was Sophie, the always curious-and-pays-attention-to-every-tiny-detail entity.I swallowed and averted my gaze, “I…