Hi lovely readers, I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to drop a comment and a gem for your favorite character. Love you all <3 Author Hami
Ember’s POV:Suffocation was a small word. I was feeling so constricted in my own body that it felt like the whole world was crashing into me.I was grateful that Damon did not follow me this time or I would have exploded with rage. Maybe he too was too shocked at the revelation to show any other reaction.Entering the main door, I sped past the hall and whipped around the corner. Reaching the staircase, I took two at a time. If Ms. Tacy had been there she must have scolded me that such manners didn’t belong to a Princess let alone the future Queen but at that moment, her validation was the least of my concerns.Keeping my pace fast, I ran through the corridors and didn’t slow down until I got to my private wing. It was only when I reached my bedroom did I stop.I was panting heavily as I grabbed the doorknob and kicked it open. Slamming the door behind me, I sauntered to the table and gulped down the glass of water in one sip.Flopping on the couch, I grabbed my head and took deep br
Ember's POV:Damon already had his eyes glued to me, assessing me with careful eyes, maybe wondering what was going on in my mind.Now that I knew who he really was, my gaze couldn't stop roaming all over his face, taking in the familiar features of my mate. Sleek nose, high cheekbones, full lips...why didn't I catch it before?We kept staring at each other for the next few minutes, lost in our thoughts.And for the first time ever, Damon was the one to break the eye contact. Sliding his head to the other side, he stared at the distance.His eyes narrowed and the muscles in his jaw clenched. His face hardened but hurt flashed in his eyes as he stated tightly in a low voice, "You are his mate."There. He said it. And now the words were hanging between us like a thick barrier. His face contorted into disgust as he processed his own words, making them real.It wasn't a question. It was a statement. He was always of a sharp mind so I wasn't surprised that he put two and two together after
Ember’s POV:Damon turned on his heels to face me and leaned his back against the pole. He heaved a heavy breath, “It wasn’t always like this. There was a time, long ago when we used to be close.” His lips pressed in a thin line as he shared what seemed to be a valuable memory, “My brother used to be my best friend.”I gave him the time he needed to process his feelings and waited patiently even though I was curious to know what could possibly go wrong for them to become bloodsworn enemies.Damon tilted his face to the other side and stared at the distance. I could see that recalling the past events was kind of hurtful to him.Swallowing the lump in his throat, he revealed another secret to me reluctantly, “Nicholus and I…we are half brothers.” Turning his head back to me, he sucked in a sharp breath, “We share the same father, the late King of the North, Arnold Dicaprio. But our mothers are different.”He took a small pause before continuing, “Nicholus is the child of King Arnold Dica
Ember’s POV:The air was thick with heavy silence. As Damon relived the pain of his past, I thought about how tormenting it must have been for him to lose his mate right in front of his eyes.I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and inhaled sharply, “I’m so sorry, you didn’t deserve any of that.”The corner of his lips stretched into a sad smile, “It’s okay. I’ve learned to live with it.”No wonder he always seemed lonely. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them, I looked at him with evaluating eyes and a frown appeared between my eyebrows, “But all this rage and hatred…it’s consuming you, Damon.”I understood that the revenge he wanted was valid in his eyes, but he was giving himself away to evil. As he stayed quiet, I got curious about how exactly he was planning to go against the most ruthless alpha alive.Tilting my head to the side, I inquired, “By the way, how exactly are you planning to take him down?”Lifting his head, Damon met my eyes and thought about it
Ember’s POV:Standing on my wobbly legs, I composed myself and sauntered toward my bedroom door. I was expecting Ms. Tacy or some other maid, so I stretched a huge smile on my face and flung the door open.But the smile quickly vanished as I took in Damon standing on the other side. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were dimmed, it was apparent he was barely holding himself together.My eyes traveled to his slouched shoulders and I spotted the strap of a backpack there. I frowned at that, “Where are you going?”His voice was blank and tired as he stated, “I’m leaving.”My frown deepened as I blurted out, “Leaving? Where? And why?”Pressing his lips in a thin line, he said tightly curtly, “You don’t expect me to stand by and witness you being someone else’s bride, do you?”I raised my hand and pointed at his bag, “So, this is what you want to do?”His eyes steeled as he hissed at me, “No, what I actually want is to take you with me, either by force or by kidnapping you.” His gaze darke
Ember’s POV:“Oh, my goodness, what a heavenly beauty I’m witnessing right now,” exclaimed Sophie while stepping into my room.I glared at her through the vanity mirror I was glued in front of with a bunch of beauticians hovering over me, “What took you so long?”Her eyebrows met her hairline as she raised them dramatically to make a point, “I am the only bridesmaid, duh. Of course, I’m busy as hell to make sure everything is going smoothly.”I rolled my eyes, “Stop stressing yourself and take a little rest now.”She stopped over my head and smiled down at me, “I can take all the rest starting tomorrow. But today, I will enjoy your big day to the fullest.”I wished I could feel the tiniest bit of excitement she had been feeling for my wedding but I wasn’t. My thoughts were all over the place. I was worried about Damon and dreaded what was cooking in Nicholus’s mind.Of course, we’ve tightened the security but when it came to the ruthless alpha of the North, nothing had seemed to stop
Ember’s POV: My insides were burning with turmoil as I made my way downstairs. My thoughts were a jumbled mess and I couldn’t stop thinking whether my decision was right or wrong. Once the mating ceremony was over, there would be no way to go back. I wondered how all of it would affect my wolf. I was hoping with everything in me that mating with another wolf would cause my fated mate to finally reject me and free me from this mate bond. That way, I’d also get Aria back and right now, that was the only thought that made me keep going. With Sophie right beside me, we halted outside the closed doors when she turned her attention toward me, “Are you ready?”At that moment, I just wished I had injected drugs into my system to numb my mind until the end of the day. I took in a shivering breath and closed my eyes for a moment. My fingers grazed over the necklace resting over my neck and I stole a bit of warmth from it, imagining my mother right by my side. Taking a deep breath, I snapped
Ember’s POV: I saw my whole world collapsing right in front of my eyes. Dread consumed me as I realized how easily it all crashed down. I was just a few minutes away from getting married, to fulfill the last requirement to become the Queen of the South. The only thing I had looked forward to my whole life, the only purpose of my life…gone, all gone. A shiver ran down my spine as I saw my mate, the most ruthless and cold-hearted alpha of all times, keep his scalding gaze on me. Pure and utter rage shone brightly in his eyes as they traveled down my bridal dress. His lips curled into a dangerous snarl as he glared at my groom viciously. I saw his hand balling up into a tight fist as he started taking quick and steady steps to where we were standing. Taking a shivering breath, I jerked toward Arnold, and pushed him away, “Go,” I uttered in urgency. His eyes were frantic with fear but he frowned at me, “I can’t leave you here alone.” I shook my head firmly and nudged him, “Just 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
Ember's POV:Ethan, however, still seemed reluctant to comply with my plan but instead of outrightly denying it, he turned to his Alpha who was rooted to his spot with his intense eyes fixated on me.Clearing his throat, Ethan said, "Umm, what's your take on this, Nicholus? Do you think this is a good idea to go ahead with?"Without averting his gaze, Nicholus ordered his Beta and Gamma, "Leave me alone with my mate."The way he said that in his deep, rough voice coupled with the way he was staring at me, a chill ran down my spine along with a flame of desire igniting deep within me.Ethan shot up from the chair and nodded once before making his way to the door. Darius, who assessed the look in Nicholus's eyes and assumed God knew what, stood and winked at Nicholus before smirking, "Don't go so rough on her."At that, Nicholus finally shifted his gaze to glare at him before grumbling, "Close the door on your way out, Beta."Snickering under his breath, Darius sauntered out of the offi
Ember's POV:After breakfast, Nicholus and the boys made their way to the office, and having nothing else to do, I resigned to my room to escape reality.But I had just read one chapter when a sudden knock jerked me out of the world of faes I was wandering in.Flipping the book close, I hollered, "Come in."As the door creaked open, I saw a maid slipping inside. Bowing her head, she started speaking politely, "Good Morning Queen. King Nicholas has sent me to give you a message."Even though she didn't ask I could see the question lingering in her eyes. Why did King have to send a message through a maid instead of mindlinking?Well, the answer was that I'd been blocking him out of my mind ever since he played his pillow trick. Petty and childish, I know, but I had no idea how else to make a point that I was really upset with whatever he was doing lately.I nodded slowly, "What's the message?""He is calling you to his office," she was staring at me and I don't know what she saw in my e
Nicholus's POV: As Ember retreated to our room, I jerked around and slammed my palms on the stone railing while staring at the vast empire sprawled in front of me. Things weren't going the way I'd imagined. Ember and I...we were the most unexceptional thing to ever happen in this universe. But still, even after all the generational enmity and hatred, we found our way to each other. In our earnest attempts to hate each other, we somehow fell in love. But is loving her enough? Since the last few days, I'd been constantly feeling miserable. I couldn't fathom what she felt at being the target of so much hate. And the fact that I couldn't hide her from all that only enraged me even more. My shoulders slouched as I turned around and walked back to the bedroom. It was dimly lit and eerily quiet in there. Ember was lying on the bed. I took in the wall of pillows in the center of the bed she had set up to show how upset she was with me. But for some reason, everything this 5'8" woman did
Ember's POV: It was past midnight and I lay wide awake on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as hundreds of thoughts swirled in my mind. Nicholus was soundly asleep on his stomach beside me with his arm over my belly. My body was tired and my mind was fully exhausted. I needed sleep but it was nowhere to be found. Feeling suffocated and restless, I wrapped my fingers around Nicholus's wrist and gently nudged it away from my abdomen. Quietly getting out of bed, I grabbed the silk nighty off the couch and slipped it over my shoulders. Knotting the ribbon at the front, I padded toward the balcony. Stepping out, I inhaled a rush of fresh air and let it do its work to calm my jittery nerves. Reaching to the back of my mind, I called tiredly, "Aria?" Her voice was soft as she responded, "I'm right here. And I know what you're feeling." Exhaling loudly, I sighed, "At least now I have someone who can understand me on a deeper level." She paused for a minute before saying in a low voice
Ember’s POV:As Nicholus and I entered the dining hall, everyone was already seated around the table for breakfast. Luna, who used to sit right next to Alpha’s head chair, was now sitting on the chair next to that.I had always disliked the change in ranks and positions just because of a change brought by one person. I was now the King’s wife. Rightfully, that place was mine now, but how could I feel good about lowering the rank of Luna who had been sitting there for decades? Soon, she'd have to pass down the title of Luna to me. Was that even fair?Stepping forward, Nicholus pulled out the chair for me to sit. Mumbling good morning to everyone, I settled down. Nicholus followed the suit and sat down on his chair.Moving his head toward the maid beside him, Nicholus nodded lightly. All the maids started moving quickly around the table, carrying the trays, and serving us breakfast.There was an awkward silence in the hall, just like it had been for the last two days since the reception
Ember's POV: With wide smiles and twinkling eyes, everyone was staring at the door, waiting for the bride and groom to make their first appearance. But as soon as the doors opened, all the chitter chat turned into loud gasps followed by a pin drop silence. Tightening my fingers around Nicholus's arm, I stepped inside and noticed how every pair of eyes widened with shock as they spotted the Princess of the South beside the King of the North...a very unexpected match indeed. No one in their wildest dreams would have thought that they would ever witness such a day. A heavy lump formed in my throat as I scanned the crowd. So many faces were familiar. The people who had always known me as the daughter of Alexander Valdez and the future queen of the South were now witnessing me as the bride of Nicholus Dicaprio and the shock was clearly evident on their faces. But among the shocked faces, there were some red with anger and betrayal. Those were the unfamiliar ones. The daggers they were t
Ember's POV: Once we climbed down the ladder of ecstasy after cumming so hard, both of us stared at each other and burst out laughing like two maniacs. Rushing to the washroom, we did a quick job to clean ourselves and returned to the room. I giggled at the cute naked ass of Nicholus as he sprinted to the balcony to fetch our clothes. Our movements were quick as we slid into our wedding outfits. While zipping my back, Nicholus informed me, "We need to hurry. I'm continuously receiving mindlinks from Mom and Darius." Grabbing the skirt of my dress, I rushed toward the vanity and redo a bit of the makeup before brushing my hair straight. Nicholus was leaning against the doorframe, staring at me in amusement as I tied the straps of heels around my ankle. Raising my eyebrow, I inquired curiously, "Why are you smiling?" His smile only widened as he blurted out, "I think I'm feeling butterflies." A chuckle spewed out of me at his choice of words, "And why is that?" He took