Nicholus’s POV:Darius had downed over two bottles of BloodMoon Merlot and was completely drunk now whereas I stopped drinking after three shots because I didn’t want to get drunk and lose control.He popped open yet another bottle of sparkling liquid when I couldn't resist asking him, “Will you tell me?”He looked at me with hooded eyes, “Tell you what?”Pressing my lips into a thin line, I mumbled under my breath, “About what you two have been discussing in the cell?”A foolish grin split on his stupid face which made me roll my eyes. I reprimanded myself for inquiring about such a thing even after telling myself repeatedly that I didn’t care about anything related to her.He wiggled his eyebrows and drawled, “Someone is desperate to know about his mate, huh?”I huffed out, “Not at all. I’m just a little bit curious, that’s all.”He dismissed me with a wave of his hand, “Yeah, yeah, no need to tell me that you’re dying to talk about her.”“Darius,” I exerted warning in my voice.It w
Ember’s POV:A soft, feather-like touch on my face pulled me out of a deep slumber. It was warm and gentle and I wanted to lean further into it and relish it when, all of a sudden, recent events flashed in my mind and I remembered the doctor giving me a strange drug instead of Xanadium before I blacked out.My eyes snapped open, and the first thing I saw was a pair of pitch-black eyes hovering over me. My heart lurched up my throat at the nearness, and a loud gasp escaped my lips as I felt his hand brushing against my ear.With a frenzy, I jerked up in the bed and pushed him away, “What the hell are you doing?”My sudden outburst took him by surprise and he stumbled a step back.My eyes widened as I glanced at the IV drip attached to my arm. Clutching it tightly, I jerked it out of my vein and blurted out, “What did the doctor give me? That was not fucking Xanadium.”Lifting my head, I looked at my mate for answers. But my gut coiled as I saw him staring hard at me with that intense g
Ember's POV:For the next two days, I was kept in the clinic ward. The guards were stationed outside, keeping me under strict watch as if I'd try to run away again now that I had neither my wolf nor my magical necklace to wield my witch powers.Dr. Alina visited me every day to inject Velene into me to suppress my witch side but she had reduced the dose now.There were only two things in the ward that didn't make it suffocating for me. First, it had a heating system that kept the place warm because the sick werewolves couldn't cope with the harsh temperature of the North. Second, my mate's absence, who didn't return after his first and last visit.On the third day, Luna Nina arrived to visit me. She inquired about my health and made a small talk with me. True to Damon's description, she was such a down-to-earth lady. So generous and kind-hearted. So opposite of his son. The best thing about her was the radiating and warm smile that was always present on her face.For a long time, I co
Ember's POV:That night, Dr. Alina entered the ward with a Velene injection in her hand. By now, I knew very well that fighting it was all in vain. So, with a heavy heart, I simply pulled up my sleeve and turned my head to the side as she plunged the needle into my vein.With every drop entering my veins, my hatred for my mate increased tenfold.All my life, I had craved my Father's affection and love even though I knew what a cruel man he was. I despised him for being such a wicked and brutal leader, but still never stopped loving him as a father figure.But the moment my feelings for him flipped was when I discovered the truth about my mother. The hatred for my Father flared in my heart the moment I read in those journals about what he did to my mother and what suffering he inflicted on her.He stole my mother's true identity from her and forced her to live as a creature she never was. He had kept her under Velene for years and that's what drove my hatred for him beyond limits.And
Ember's POV:Exhaling a heavy breath, I hesitantly stepped inside the room as Abi chirped, "It'll be your room."I turned around in a full circle and scanned my surroundings with careful eyes.It was a spacious room. A single bed was pushed against one wall. Clean linen sheets were draped over it along with a pillow. A small LED was mounted on the wall in front of the bed. An almirah was perched against the other wall. Other than that, a chair and a small study table were also placed in the corner.A window was also there for ventilation. While scanning the room, I saw another door leading to an attached washroom.My eyes were literally about to pop out of their sockets as I asked in disbelief, "Do all Omegas get to have their separate rooms? Like, for real?"Abi stared at me boringly before deciding to answer, "Yes. According to Alpha Nicholus, all the Omegas deserve to have their own private space where they can take rest in peace after doing all the hectic work."I was screaming in
Ember's POV:To be honest, the room was beyond my expectations. As I opened the almirah, I was surprised to find a new tracksuit, a bunch of T-shirts, trousers, shoes, slippers, and a long white frock with black sleeves. I've seen the workers wearing that dress around the castle which indicated that it must be an Omega uniform.When I entered the washroom to freshen up, my eyes widened as they traveled from a towel hanging from the hook to a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and even a face wash.I wondered how much of a lavish lifestyle royalties must have in the North when their lowest rank was treated this nicely.The only thing that was lacking in the room was a warm comforter. Even though many of the omegas were late to shift or had weak wolves they still had their wolf with them to withstand the extreme cold of the North.But in my case, my wolf was on the edge of dying. My body wasn't capable of enduring the bone-chilling cold.Even though the window was close
Ember’s POV:After an hour of training and exercising, all the Omegas returned to the Omega Quarters.Finding me in the crowd, Abi ordered me sternly, “Go back to your room, take a shower, change into your uniform, and meet me down here in half an hour.”Nodding my head abruptly, I whirled around and sauntered to my room. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, I still felt weird every time Abi ordered me around or talked to me rudely.I have lived my life as a Princess. Every word leaving my word was always considered an order. But now the tables have flipped. Fate had indeed played a very brutal game with me. I was now taking orders and scurrying away to fulfill them because I didn’t want to anger Abi or upset Luna who agreed to my demand to live as an Omega.Back in my room, I made a beeline to the washroom, stepped out of the tracksuit, and turned the tap open. I stared at the stream of water and hesitantly put my hand under it.Jerking it back, I yelped at how freaking cold the
Ember’s POV:The moment our eyes met, my heart stopped beating. My legs felt jelly as I stayed rooted to my spot.Ava glanced over her shoulder and mouthed me to go on but it wasn’t in me to move even an inch under that hard glare targeted right at me.Growling ferociously, my mate slammed his fist on the table. Utensils cluttered on it and Ava started trembling in fear, “My King, did I…”Before she could finish, Darius shot up from his chair and walked to her, “Ava, darling, why don’t you give that tray to me and go back to work?”Leaning forward, he took the tray from her shivering hands. Ava quickly turned around and scurried back to the kitchen, leaving me alone to deal with my enraged, vicious mate.Baring his teeth at me, he graveled loudly, “What the hell are you doing here?”I tried my best to stay composed and appear brave but the tray trembling in my hands gave away my fear.Ever the gentleman, Darius came up to me and politely took the tray from my hands.All of a sudden, a
Ember's POV:My mind was too shocked to register the sudden turn of events. I and Darius jerked our heads toward each other at the same moment and the next thing I heard was his ear-piercing scream, "Protect the Queen!"All of a sudden, someone gripped my wrist in a death-like grip. My gaze shot down to see fingers clasping around my wrist. I was just about to lift my gaze when my head whirled toward the door as the loud banging erupted in the air before someone yelled from the other side, "Open the damn door, Samuel." Someone else screamed, "How dare you invite the daughter of the enemy into your pack house? Are you declaring a war against us?"Samuel turned to his wife. He was no longer looking like a sweet old man I had a great time chatting with earlier. Instead, he looked every bit of a deadly warrior as he commanded Luna, "Take Queen and the girls to the safety bunkers. You must protect her at every cost, Carolina."The hold around my wrist instantly tightened before suddenly ya
Ember's POV:Darius stayed by my side as we took a quick tour of the packhouse before settling in the living room. After a few minutes of talking about random things, a maid strolled inside with a rolling tray laden with a kettle, cups, and all sorts of desserts.“Aw, Carolina, you didn’t have to do so much. Only tea would have been enough,” I said with awe.She shook her head, “You requested us not to arrange for the lunch. Even though we wanted to but we decided to respect your request. So, please enjoy the tea.”Pouring the tea in the cup, the maid placed it on the table in front of me before picking a plate, “What desserts you want me to serve you, Your Highness?”Sliding forward, I grabbed the plate from her hand and smiled up at her, “It’s okay, dear. I’ll serve myself.”She went still for a moment before finally straightening up, “Sure, Your Highness.”My mouth watered as I greedily eyed all the pastries, donuts, custard pies, and fruit tarts. I was about to pick the chocolate
Ember’s POV:As soon as I stepped out of the castle, I came to a sudden halt while gasping aloud.With wide eyes and a shocking voice, I screeched, “What the hell is happening here?” while pointing at dozens of black SUVs parked outside with almost half of the North army standing guard beside them, ready to hop in at their Alpha’s command.Nicholus raised his eyebrow as if there was nothing ridiculous going on, “I only agreed to this plan of yours because you agreed to go with high security, remember?”I sucked in a sharp breath, “I definitely didn’t think you were talking about this ‘high security,’” I groaned while waving my hand toward the guards.Nicholus took a deep breath and twisted his neck, “You refused to take me along with you. If I’m not going, then they’d all go instead.”I rubbed the back of my neck, already tired of discussing the matter for infinite times, and gritted out through clenched teeth, “In case you forgot, let me remind you again of the purpose of my visit. I
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