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…
Ember's POV:A little bit of excitement zinged through me as I looked at the perfect solution I'd crafted for myself.Amusement flickered in my eyes as I looked at Sophie, "Do you remember what Deborah said? That my witch-side is getting stronger and it's suppressing Aria who has already gone weak since I denied her her mate?"She groaned in frustration, "I clearly remember what Deborah told us. Now stop beating around the bush and tell me what the hell is this?" She pointed a finger at my secret vault."The solution, Sophie. It's a solution to all my problems." I chuckled excitedly.She stared at me long and hard like I had gone insane before spitting, "This? This is your solution?"Slowly shaking her head, she inserted her hand in the space below the floorboard and grabbed both vials I stole from the castle clinic last night.She looked at me in disbelief, "I can't even believe that you can even think to do such a thing."She paused and then screeched, "Like seriously, Ember?" She w
Ember’s POV:After breakfast, I sauntered out to the castle lawns to interact with nature. The sky was clear, and the sun was shining brightly. It was a pleasant day.My eyes swept around the greenery I was surrounded by and I inhaled a deep breath of fresh air. Slipping out of my shoes, I planted my bare feet on the soft grass and relished the feel of it.Fishing the phone out of my jeans pocket, I opened the chat with Sophie and sent her a quick text: “Hey, if you are free, then find me on the lawn.”She had been ignoring me since our little argument yesterday. She was upset with me and I didn’t like that at all.My eyes were on the screen as the little bubble appeared indicating that she was typing. A moment later, her reply came, “Can’t. I’m busy.”My fingers tapped on the screen, “Doing what?”This time, the typing bubble hovered on the screen for the whole minute which was enough to tell me that whatever she was typing would be long and not to my liking.Her message came and I i
Ember's POV:I flung around and hissed, “What did you just say?”Damon cocked his head to the side with amusement dancing in his eyes. He sure was enjoying it. Slowly nodding his head, he said, “Well, your reaction just confirmed my suspicion.”There was no use lying to him now because doing that would only make me seem more pathetic. He wouldn't even have said such a thing if he wasn't 100% sure of it. But how? How did he even get to know?I wanted to resist the urge to ask him but I just couldn't do that. So yeah, glaring at him, I inquired in a blank tone, “How did you know?”He thought about it momentarily before saying, “Yesterday, when I threatened Anna, I was sure as hell that it wouldn’t work on you. I only did that because I was actually expecting you to fight me. I was even looking forward to seeing your feral side. I kept waiting for your raging, alpha wolf to show up and challenge me,” his eyebrow piqued higher, “but when you just surrendered without any fight, I got suspi
Ember’s POV:“So, are you going to this…dinner?” Sophie asked me while flopping on the mattress.“Do you think I have a choice?” I shot her while munching on the cookie.Sophie turned to her side, “Well, after knowing what a crazy psycho bastard he is, I would suggest you not provoke him any further.”That's the plan. Brushing the crumbs from my mouth I groaned heavily, “Ugh, I hate how he is controlling me, Sophie.”She heaved up on her elbow, “I despise him for it too but still, I don’t want you to risk anything.” She looked at me with concern and enunciated her words, “No one can know about the weakening or disappearance of Aria when you are this close to finally becoming a Queen. People will only see it as a sign of weakness and will never accept you as their Queen and ruler.”Sadness filled me up and I stayed silent. Sophie’s voice turned softer as she tried to make me feel better, “People of the South love you, Ember. There is no doubt in that but when it comes to their safety an
Ember's POV:I stared out of the window at the night lights as the car dashed through the city.After about 20 minutes of driving, the car screeched to a halt in front of Fable & Fork, a renowned five-star restaurant located in the heart of the city. I've been here dozens of times to attend meetings and events.As the driver opened the car door, I grabbed my purse and stepped out of the car. As soon as I was out, a man clad in a black suit accompanied me. Bowing slightly, he introduced himself, "I am Brian Wade, the manager at Fabel & Fork. It's an absolute pleasure to serve you this evening, Your Highness."I pulled a small smile and acknowledged him with a nod. Waving his hand forward, he requested, "Please."Lifting my chin, I started walking toward the entrance. As I stepped inside, two other waiters bowed and accompanied us. As we reached the dining area, I looked around to find a familiar, brooding face of a psychotic bastard.Brian cleared his throat beside me, "Not here, Your
Ember’s POV:The food was brought and served by the Head Chef himself. Seeing the mouth-watering food made my stomach growl, which fetched a chuckle out of Damon.I squinted my eyes at him, “Let the girl devour the finger-licking food, you demonic soul.”A burst of laughter escaped him as he filled me a glass of wine.Rolling the pasta around my fork, I slid it into my mouth. Closing my eyes, I relished the feel of my taste buds exploding with a rich creamy taste.I opened my eyes to find Damon staring at me with a small smile and amusement in his eyes. I raised my eyebrow at him to which he slightly shook his head and grinned widely, “Who could have thought that the Princess of the South has a severe food fetish.”I winked at him playfully, "At least, better than a foot fetish." Taking another bite, I pointed at the untouched plate of food in front of him.Sliding the plate of sizzling hot steak closer to him, he picked up a fork and knife and took his time to slash the piece of meat
Nicholus’s POV: “So yeah, I have tightened the security around the borders and made all the arrangements in case we’re attacked again,” Ethan informed me of the military situation. I nodded my head curtly and said tightly, "Very well. I want us to be fully prepared for any future attack." Ethan assured me that he had taken matters into his own hands and I needed not to worry. Nodding at him, I reached over the piled-up files on my desk and plucked out the blue one. It was a full-fledged plan and proposal by Alpha Maddox, King of the East, about to convince me to hand over the rights to manufacture BloodMoon Merlot to them. As I read the contents of the file, Ethan leaned back in his chair and assessed me with careful eyes. I was fully aware of his stare at me and even knew what was going on in his head. I waited for a few more minutes before grunting, "Say it, Ethan." He straightened up, "Nothing to say, Alpha. I just have a question I'm really curious about." "Ask away," I mum
Ember's POV:After Nicholus left my room, I stayed rooted to my spot for a long minute. I was too stunned to process what he just said. He sounded so detached, so unbothered like killing his brother wasn't a big deal for him.After a few minutes, the door creaked open and Darius rushed inside. He came to a sudden halt as soon as he saw me pacing the floor."I've come to tell you about it but by the looks of your pale face, it seems like you already know," he stated.My hands flew in the air, "Tell me it's nothing but bullshit. I mean, there is no way he could be serious about killing Damon, right? He is his BROTHER. No matter how much hate, enmity, or misunderstandings they have between them, they are still brothers," I rushed out in one breath.He let out a tiring sigh, "You know how they are, Ember."I let out a loud groan, "How could either of them even think such a horrible thing is beyond my understanding."He remained silent for a few minutes to let my anger cool off before spea
Ember's POV:After Nicholus was gone, I slid down to the floor as the walls I had built around my heart cracked and the dam just broke apart. Uncontrollable tears rolled down my cheeks. My shoulders shook as my body rattled with ugly sobs.How could a mother be so cruel to her only child? What did I do so wrong to deserve that? All my life I craved for my parents' affection but what did I get in return? Their betrayal...?Father failed me miserably but I had my Mother's thoughts to keep me going. Even though I had no memories of her but I still thought that she must have loved me. I used to find comfort in the fact that the only reason she wasn't with me was because she just couldn't. It was better when I thought her to be dead. Because the thought that she had abandoned me was killing me bit by bit.Was I really that bad of a person? I've heard...heck, I've seen parents always loving their children no matter how bad of a monster their kids are. Was I even worse to be depraved of both
Nicholus’s POV:Watching her looking at me with nothing but hatred shattered my heart into so many pieces that I didn’t know how to pick them all and make it whole again.I don’t know how the hell Damon got his hands on the confidential inside information about military and state matters and I absolutely had no idea that he’d be twisting that information to sow a seed of doubt in Ember’s heart.But I couldn't really blame him. I should have been cautious. I should've foreseen it. I shouldn't have taken his long silence so lightly. I let my guard down and was witnessing the results now.But as far as the matter of the South was concerned, I had it under control. I had no bad intentions and I'd keep telling her even thousands of times if that would make her believe me.But the irreversible damage occurred when that fucker told Ember about her mother. He shouldn't have gone there. He had created a big mess which I had no idea how to come out of.I knew I’d lost all fight when Ember yelle
Ember’s POV:Despite the turmoil raging inside me, I waited patiently as Nicholus wiped his hands through his hair before starting, “First of all, I want you to know that the army has nothing to do with marrying you, okay?”My eyes widened horrifically, “So it means you ARE planning to take over the South…?”He shook his head, “What? No.” He walked closer to me but I lifted my palm, making him stay wherever he was. I need a little distance between us to think rationally.“Tell me about the army first,” I said in a sharp tone.Nodding slowly, he started speaking, “Do you remember when you were on bed rest, you heard Damon, Ethan, and I talking about the war looming over us?”I nodded curtly, thinking back to that night when they were all worried about Nicholus’s wolf weakening while the war was close.A slight frown appeared between my brows along with a relief. But I told myself not to grow any more hopes before going to the bottom of it.“So, the army is for that war?” I couldn’t kee
Ember’s POV:Grabbing my hand, Damon had just taken a step toward the door when an ear-piercing roar boomed in the air. “Enough!” Nicholus growled.My feet came to a sudden halt as I felt the sudden shift in the air. Damon pulled me forward, more urgently now. But before he could another step, the doors to my room flung open and dozens of warriors spilled into the room, blocking the exit.My head whipped around as I heard warriors jumping in through the balcony.In a few seconds, my room was brimming with warriors closing in on us, surrounding me and Damon. My gaze shifted from one to another as I blurted out in shock, “What’s happening?”Damon bared his teeth and pointed behind me, “It’s him, of course. He must have mindlinked his minions. That's why he was silent and still.”Damon shook his head and said amusingly, “Really, Nicholus? Are we really doing it?”Nicholus shrugged nonchalantly, unbothered by everything happening around us, “Warned you time and time again to shut that fuc
Ember’s POV:I stole a glance at his fingers brushing over my necklace and heard his shocking whisper, "The Celestial Stone."My head whipped up to him and saw his pupils dilating as he looked at me, “You are…what the…”I felt Nicholus going rigid behind me. His voice sounded menacing as he warned his brother, “Damon, no, not this…not now.”A deep frown appeared between my brows. Closing my fingers around the necklace, I stepped aside and watched the brothers exchanging heated glares.An eerie feeling of unrest settled in the pit of my stomach. My throat felt constricted as I sobbed, “What…what is it about my mother?”Nicholus was slowly shaking his head in a threatening manner. At that, a wicked gleam twinkled in Damon's eyes as if he had stepped closer to his victory.My heart lurched to my throat as a devilish smirk tugged over Damon's lips before he chuckled coldly, “Dark, dark secrets between the mates are crazy.”It felt like my heart just dropped all the way to the floor. Fear
Ember's POV:With my pulse a ticking bomb waiting to explode, I stood there, waiting for him to deny all accusations, assuring me that whatever Damon was spewing out of his mouth was nothing but bullshit.But all hopes trembled to death as Nicholus stepped backward. All of a sudden, he seemed so tired as he rubbed the nape of his neck and sighed, “Ember, I…listen…”More tears streamed out of my eyes. Angrily wiping them away, I screamed at his face, “Is that true or not, Nicholus?”I already knew it was. But still, I waited pathetically for him to deny it all so that we can go back to our fairytale wedding we'd been so excited about.His gaze flickered to Damon standing behind me before shifting back to me. Slouching his shoulders, he breathed out, “Just a half truth.”A gut-wrenching sob escaped me as I took another step away from him only to walk closer to Damon.Nicholus took a quick step forward and grabbed me by the shoulders. His voice sounded urgent as he spoke, “And you need
Ember’s POV:I could feel the anger oozing out of Nicholus but on the outside, he appeared calm and composed as if he were almost expecting his arrival. Twitching his eyebrow higher, he asked in a blank voice, “What are you doing here?”Straightening his shoulders, Damon tightened his hold on my hand before uttering, “I’m here to take Ember with me.”Hearing that, I again tried to twist my hand out of his, wincing as a sharp shot through my arm as his grip tightened defiantly.That’s when Nicholus’s eyes flickered down to our joined hands. His gaze narrowed viciously and his fists coiled tightly at his sides. Baring his teeth, he snarled menacingly, “Leave her hand right now, Damon.”Damon paid no heed to the warning ringing in Nicholus’s voice and took a step toward the door.Before he could take another, Nicholus lunged forward. His voice was a loud roar as he growled, “Touch her again and I’ll fucking rip you to pieces.”His body thudded into Damon’s and they both stumbled backward
“Damon…?” I whispered into the darkness, gawking at him with wide eyes.As soon as he heard me saying his name, his shoulders slouched and he took a breath of relief. He seemed like a traveler who had finally reached his destination after an eternity of traveling nowhere.Suddenly, he lunged forward. Sliding one of his hands around my waist and the other around the back of my head, he pulled me into a tight hug.Sticking his nose to my neck, he inhaled deeply and I could feel his body relaxing against mine. His hot breath washed over my ear as he whispered with a raw emotion I couldn't decipher, “God, I missed you. I missed you so much, Ember.”My mind was a jumbled mess of chaos and confusion as I tried to process what exactly was happening. Breaking the hug, I stared at him with frantic eyes, “Damon, what are you doing here?”Placing his hands on my shoulders, he squeezed lightly and said with a hint of excitement, “I am here to take you with me. Away from here.”My heart was thuddi