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:I woke up to someone shaking my body vigorously. As soon as I peeked open an eye, a severe wave of headache split my skull into two.I winced in pain as I forced my eyes open and blinked several times to focus. Sophie was hovering over me with a deep frown on her face, "Oh, thank God you opened your damn eyes," her hand flew to her chest, "I thought that you went into a comma."I groaned while rubbing my forehead, "What happened?"She widened her eyes, "12 pm happened, Your Highness."All the grogginess vanished from my body as I abruptly sat up on the bed and screeched, "What? 12 pm? And I slept in?""Again," Sophie groaned.And then her eyes roamed all over my face and her frown deepened, "Are you okay, Ember?"She sat on the mattress beside me and said with worry, "You don't seem fine to me. You have gone so week in just a matter of few days. You sleep in every other day, don't have the energy to train, and I've noticed that you've even lost your appetite."I pinched m
Ember's POV:Sophie and I stayed on the lawn for the next few hours and gossiped about all random things until she received a text from her mom, who asked her to run some errands.Sophie wanted me to tag along but I was feeling too tired to do anything productive. So I stayed behind and sprawled on the grass for a little longer.An hour later, I finally forced my legs to stand up and return to the castle.Walking through the corridors, I was about to take a turn toward the stairs when my eyes caught Damon playing chess in the hall. Something about him made me stop in my tracks and I couldn't help staring at him.He was playing alone, all by himself. He seemed so lonely at that moment that I got flashbacks of my own childhood before Sophie came into the picture. I used to be alone just like him.I remember vividly how I used to play all by myself. Being a princess, I was never short of toys but what fun do toys bring when you don't even have a friend to play with? Yup, that's why Sophi
Ember's POV: "When did you come back?" I asked Sophie after seeing her sprawled on my bed. "Just a while ago. Where were you?" she inquired lazily. I made a beeline to the bed and flopped beside her, "Downstairs. I was playing chess with Damon." At that, she turned over and faced me, "Should I ask why?" She seemed confused. "Why do you sound so surprised?" I blurted out. Her eyebrow twitched higher, "Because the last I checked he was still a demonic soul traveled down from the deepest pit of Hell." Remembering our last encounter, I muttered tightly, "He still is." "And yet you seem to spend so much time with him lately," she stated while eyeing me. "First, you are overly exaggerating. Second, what point are you exactly trying to make here?" I jumped straight to the point. She heaved up on her elbow and asked abruptly, "Are you attracted to him? Do you like him?" I screeched out in shock, "What?!?! Like seriously, Sophie? How can you even think such a thing?" She shrugged no
Ember’s POV:After breakfast, I met Sophie on the castle lawn and we took a stroll while talking about random things. And when she started telling me about the wedding preparations, I zoned out.My thoughts were all over the place. I still hadn’t allowed myself to ponder and analyze my decision to get married to Arnold Pierce. As far as I was concerned, he was the perfect candidate. And the fact that Father chose him and I agreed to it kind of gave me an upper hand in the situation.So, whenever a pair of pitch-black eyes full of darkness and demons haunted me in the dreams, I told myself that I was only doing what was necessary to do.I was getting married in about 3 days and the castle was brimming with preparations. Royal invites had already been sent to the invited families and prominent figures of the South.While Sophie was babbling about the bridesmaid dress, Anna sauntered over to us and bowed, “Your Highness, Ms. Tacy is looking for you.”I dipped my eyebrows, “What happened?
Ember's POV:Two days before the wedding, Father invited Alpha Arnold Pierce for dinner. It was a formal meeting between Father, me, and Arnold where we disclosed to him how things would be after this marriage.Father relayed to him the plans for my coronation right after the wedding. Furthermore, he informed Arnold that his pack would be resolved and join with our pack. Arnold himself would lose the title and rank of Alpha.As he didn't belong to the Royal Family, he wouldn't be given the title and rank of King even after our marriage. He would only be bestowed with the title of Baron, the least one in the monarchy. It was necessary to make sure that he wouldn't have any significant power to cause any ruckus in my reign.Father made it clear to him that he wouldn't have any direct connection to the throne and wouldn't have any direct say in the political as well as social matters of the Empire. After Father, I would be the sole authority to make the decisions I deemed fit.To say in
Ember’s POV:Rooting his feet on the ground, Damon leaned forward until he reached my eye level. Refusing to look him in the eyes, I jerked my head in the other direction because I still remembered how he insulted me and somehow forgot to apologize.Of course, the man didn't care about any of that.Tilting his head to the side, Damon said in a mocking tone, “Had a nice chitchat with your Prince Charming?”Tilting my head, I took in the gray clouds covering the sky, and huffed a loud sigh, “As usual, none of your business but of course, you never get that, right?”Damon clicked his tongue, “As your POTENTIAL friend, lemme tell you just for the record. He can promise you his sheer respect, loyalty, and affection but when it comes to ardent love and passionate devotion, he isn’t capable of that.”At that, my head flung toward him and I glared into his eyes, “You were eavesdropping,” I squinted my eyes, "You really have no concept of boundaries, right?"Straightening up, he simply shrugge
Ember's POV: The next morning, I woke up with Nicholus's arm wrapped around me. As I tried to wriggle out of his hold, he squirmed in his sleep and tightened his hold, "Mmhmm, where are you going?" I glanced over my shoulder at his adorable, groggy eyes he was squinting at me with. "I have to go," I replied. He groaned, unhappy with the answer, "No, don't go anywhere. Just stay here and give me morning cuddles."At that, I burst out laughing loudly, "People would call me crazy if I'd ever tell them that the ruthless alpha of the North just said those cheesy words to me."Moving his hand to my bottom, he spanked my ass playfully, "You naughty, little princess, why would you tell anyone about what happens in our bedroom?"I giggled under my breath, "Good thing that the room is soundproof or otherwise I wouldn't need to 'tell' them about what exactly happens in our bedroom."Snuggling closer, he licked my earlobe and whispered roughly, "Yeah, because your loud screams and hot moans wou
Ember's POV:Knowing that I had a long day ahead, I hit the bed earlier than usual. I just wanted to restore my energy to appear fresh and energetic while making my first public appearance.But despite everything from lighting the candles with soothing aromas to drinking the herbal tea, I was unable to find sleep. Hours passed and I still found myself tossing and turning on the bed as restlessness zinged inside me.There was a ball of nervousness inflating inside my belly as I thought about tomorrow. Even though after careful consideration, we've shortlisted the smallest and most welcoming pack for our first visit I just couldn't help thinking about the worst outcome.I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the door creaking open. I glanced over my shoulder to find Nicholus closing the door behind him.As he turned around, a slight frown appeared between his brows, "Why are you still up? Is everything okay?" I caught a hint of worry in his voice as his eyes roamed over all over
Ember's POV:The next day after breakfast, we all gathered in the conference room to discuss the plan and schedule of coming days.I was sitting on a chair next to Nicholus's head chair with a file of pack names and descriptions opened in front of me.Darius, who was sitting accross from me, inquired curiously, "So, what pack are we going to visit first?"My eyes scanned the contents of the file while my mind was busy making a strategy.Just when I opened my mouth to answer him, a breath got stuck in my lungs. I felt electricity rushing through my veins as Nicholus sprawled his hand over my thigh.Slowly, I clamped my mouth shut and swallowed hard as his thumb stroked my thigh. Why a mere movement felt so damn sensual was beyond my understanding.Darius who was still waiting for an answer raised his eyebrow, "Well?"I swallowed again and huffed out a huge breath, "First, we'll..."Once again, my mouth clamped shut as Nicholus's hand started moving up my thigh, letting tingles break al
Ember's POV:Tears were already brimming my eyes when I reached the door. My insides were swelling with so much rage that I had no idea how to keep them inside anymore. Without sparing a glance over my shoulder at my sobbing mother, I threw the door open and stormed outside only to come to a sudden halt when I spotted Nicholus leaning against the wall.As soon as he saw me, he straightened abruptly. His eyes roamed all over my red, angry face before settling on my eyes crested with tears.I was on the verge of crying but I didn't want to do that in front of him. I didn't want him to perceive his mate as weak and vulnerable who didn't know how to handle a situation or navigate her feelings.His jaw clenched tightly at seeing me in that state. I jerked my face to the other side, unsure of when these traitors of tears would decide to betray me.Nicholus took a quick step toward me but before he could take another, I raised my palm in the air and choked through the lump in my throat, "Don
Ember's POV: Unable to look at her being hurt by my words, I averted my gaze, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." I took a deep breath and willed myself to calm down and think rationally. Pulling her hand away from my face, she fumbled her fingers together, "Never apologize for speaking your mind." That coming from her made so much sense. That actually made me realize that my mother wasn't some weak woman, indeed. For years, she faced Father's oppression and finally, did find a way out of his clutches. Father had often reprimanded me for having too many opinions or always speaking my mind. He perceived my fierce personality as a sign of arrogance. But hearing these words from my mother made me wonder whether I got this fierceness from her. Moving my gaze to the couch, I waved at it, "Let's have a seat." I waited for her to start moving and then followed her to the couch. As she sat down, I followed the suit and sat on the couch adjacent to hers. She was still fumbling with
Ember's POV:With my heart stuck in my throat and gaze on the floor, I stepped inside the Guest Hall where she awaited me.She? Who? Even in my mind, I couldn’t bring myself to give her any title. And that got me wondering what was I actually supposed to call her. Mom? Mummy? That would sound so weird. It wasn't like we had some deep bond of love between us. Alas, it would have been if she hadn't left me.Mother, maybe? Like Father. I never called him dad or daddy because I never felt like that. Pain shot through me as I suddenly realized this lady standing in front of me was even more of a stranger than I considered my Father to be.At least, he stayed with me despite everything. Even though deep in his heart, there was hatred for me but still, he never left me. I don’t care whether that was because I was his only heir or what, he did remain with me, and brought me up. Even though he couldn’t give me his love, he did give me all the facilities one could ask for. And still, despite al
Ember’s POV:Today was the D-Day. And that fact was hanging over my head since the moment my body recovered from the hard-core orgasms my mate had bestowed me with all morning.Nicholus had offered to stay with me but I didn't want him to stop everything and babysit me while I fretted over meeting my mother for the very first time.To calm my jittery nerves, I decided to go for a long and hot shower. The maid even lit up some candles with soothing aroma but unfortunately, even after half an hour of leisuring in the bathtub, my mind was still stuck on my mother.With a ball of anxiety rotating in my stomach, I let out a loud sigh and hopped out of the bathtub. Wrapping the bathrobe around me, I strode out of the bathroom.While making my way toward the closet, I heard a knock on the door. Halting, I turned toward it and hollered at whoever was on the other side to come in.I watched as the door slid open and a maid stepped inside. Bowing at her waist, she started speaking politely, "Go
Ember's POV: The next morning, I woke up to find myself spooned in Nicholus's embrace. One of his arms was under my head while the other one was wrapped around my belly. I fucking loved mornings like these. Waking up to the warmth of my mate was worth every difficulty I'd survived till now. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have his body tightly pressed against mine every morning. I shifted slightly and froze as something poked in my ass. His morning wood. Did I fail to mention that while counting the morning blessings? Something hot exploded in my lower belly as heat pooled between my legs. My heart started racing excitingly as I shifted slightly to have the perfect angle to rub my ass on his hard dick. As I slid my ass up and down his hard-on, I felt slick wetness leaking out of my pussy. Fuck, it felt so amazing that I could do that all day without a pause. And suddenly, my heartbeat turned erratic as I heard a deep, morning voice, "You again?" It was so sensual that a new wave of
Ember's POV: The next day while we were all gathered around the dining table during lunch, Nicholus's phone started ringing. One glance at the screen and my breath got stuck in my lungs as the name 'Mabel' flashed as the caller ID. Mother. Quickly grabbing the phone off the table, Nicholus excused himself and hurried outside. For a long minute, I stayed stuck in that moment. A ball of nervousness inflated inside me. Yesterday, I asked Nicholus to contact her and tell her I wanna meet her. As much as I was curious, I was also dreading the moment he would walk back inside and explode the bomb on me. I couldn't believe I was actually sitting there, with a stomach tightly coiled in a knot of fear, wondering whether my own mother would agree to meet her only daughter after abandoning her all those years ago. For the first time ever, I was questioning my worth. Would she see me worthy enough to meet me? Or was I going to be shunned once again? My stomach churned. The taste of my mouth