ARIEL’S POVI was mostly grumpy on the days leading to the day of the meeting in the capital with the court of the Alpha King.They were also annoyingly slow too. I couldn’t wait for the day to arrive sooner. I wanted to know what the so-called meeting was going to be about.The day finally arrived and I set out with my squad. Ikea also tagged along with us. Mostly at her insistence for the need to be present to be able to protect me, although I strongly believed I would fare just fine on my own.But I couldn’t turn her down when she also mentioned that she had a good friend on the council. Apparently, this friend of hers just got his appointment to the court less than a year ago.I couldn’t care less about the time of his appointment though but I now understood the importance and necessity for alliances more than I did four years ago and so Ikea having a friend on the council worked out well in my favor. It would do me good to have a trusted and loyal ally in that court.The journey
Ariel's POV David led us through the halls and onto the first batch of staircases. Ikea stayed glued to his side ahead of us. I wanted to make sure David was on our side so I started a little small talk to know more about him.“How did you know when we would arrive, David?” I asked him out of the blue.“Huh?” He called back to me with a hint of surprise in his voice.“You were already waiting for us outside, how did you know what time we would get here?” I rephrase my question hoping he paid more attention this time.“Oh, that,” David chuckled. “Actually, Ikea mentioned in her letter that you would leave Silver Moon at the crack of dawn and given the distance, I was able to predict that you would arrive around dusk.”“Hmm,” I said, scrutinizing his answer in my head, “so I take it you must have been to Silver Moon before for you to know the distance between here and there.”“But of course! I have been to Silver Moon before,” David nodded once in his reply.It didn’t bother me that m
MELVIN’S POVFather and I arrived at the court early in the morning for the meeting of the Alphas in the capital city.Father might be known for being a tyrant but he also had a reputation for never being late. He was never tardy. If Father said he was going to be there, he would be there, painfully early.We were there about thirty minutes before the specified time for the meeting and so we waited. The court was empty when we arrived safe for a few maids trying to do last-minute touches.We waited for a few more minutes before some of the Alphas of the different packs started to arrive with their escorts. I recognized all of them.Alpha Aleksander of the Dark Moon Pack arrived first; Alpha Lucian of Ember Moon Pack arrived soon after. Luna Georgina of Rouge Moon Pack came into the hall a few minutes after Lucian and Alpha Marven of Sapphire Moon arrived just a minute before the specified time.Not all the Alphas were present at this gathering. There were thirteen packs in total. O
ARIEL’S POVElder Ferdinand’s words interrupted my focus on Melvin and drew my attention back to the court and the council.I shifted in my seat as I decided to focus more on the politics of this meeting and not allow any other thing to distract me —including the hunk of a man I was in love with that was seated just a few feet away from me.“We called for this convergence of the Alphas because we have decided on how we will go about choosing the next successor to the Alpha King’s throne,” Elder Ferdinand started.Elder Ferdinand paused and turned his attention directly to me, “Princess, we know you have a blood claim to the throne but there have also been whispers and complaints about not wanting a woman to be the leader of all the packs. Complaints even from the Alphas.”I shot up from my seat immediately like I had been burned by lava. “Who dares challenge my claim to the throne?!”“Surely you know that I have a thing or two to say about that," Joharres chuckled from his seat.I sho
ARIEL’S POVIkea and I arrived at the guest house soon after we left the council. I was beyond pissed. I was livid.How dare they do this? How could they create a competition just so I could lose and Joharres could take the throne?Joharres. All of these were because of him. He just had the council members in his butt. They would do anything to cover for him.This quest must have been his idea —his idea to make him king legally when he won.But he was wrong.I would turn their plan around. I was determined to make the council look like fools when I won this quest. I would bring the damned moon crest to them.Ikea could feel the anger and general dark aura coming off of me but she didn't say anything. I also had questions but I waited until we were in our room.“What do you know about where we can find the moon crest?” I asked Ikea almost as soon as we walked through the door to our guest room.“Not much,” Ikea sighed, loosening the scarf she had around her neck and tossing it to the
ARIEL’S POVWhat he said reignited the hope in my heart. If the crest wasn't lost. We still had hope of finding it. Unlike Ikea's story, this one was going to give me a better ending.I hoped...I turned immediately to face him, “What do you mean by the moon crest wasn’t exactly lost in the war? Do you have any clues as to where it might be now or where it wound up back then?” I asked with excitement dancing in my eyes.David squinted his eyes and pressed his lips together, "Maybe."My eyes twitched at his reply. I hated being fed half information. He either knew where the moon crest was or he didn't!“Maybe no or maybe yes?” I squinted right back at him.“Hmm..." David hummed as he debated his response in his head, pushing my patience to the wall.“David!” Ikea exclaimed from her seat, “Come on!"I snapped my head at her and saw that just like me she was also losing her patience with the way David was taking his time before giving us the information we desperately needed.“Okay, okay
MELVIN’S POVThe council meeting concluded immediately after Ariel departed from the court. I and Father left the court and headed straight back to Blood Moon.It felt like another moment spent there was torture not just for me but for Father as well. I could see the way he kept straining his muscles. The urge to hunt Ariel out in the capital city and slaughter her was too strong for him to bear.As for me, I was overwhelmed with the need to find her and squeeze her windpipes hard till she told me why she did what she did to me all those years ago. All I ever did was love her and she paid me back with a slap on my face.She made me feel stupid. I was used like a fool and it didn't end there. I fell in love with her.My hands were kept into fists as I moved out of the room ahead of Father to call for our guards.I called our escorts and in the minutes that followed, we were heading home in the SUVs.It was a silent drive back home and for the most of it, I was lost in thought. Seeing A
MELVIN’S POVI hurried to finish my business in the bathroom and prepared myself for dinner.About an hour later, I joined Mother and Father for dinner. I was already seated at the table before they made their way into the dining hall."Rarely do you ever join us at this table and even more rare is you getting here on time," Mother said to me as she settled into her seat. "So tell me, what’s the occasion?"I waited for the maids to complete their tasks of filling out glasses with wine before I continued.I smiled at her, "Should there be a grand occasion before I decide to join my mother for dinner?""You are asking me that?" Mother shrugged at my question. "You tell me. You are the one who always makes it seem like that.""I have to beg my son before he decides to come down and have dinner with his mother. You tell me what goes on in that head of yours Melvin..." she said and I felt her pain from across the table.I loved my mother but Ariel had broken me. It was difficult to just si