"Why will the goddess give us such a mate?" My wolf wailed in my mind.
"I Alpha Kenzo Stewart, reject you princess Rona Campbell as my mate!" He said coldly. I staggered as pain blinded me, it was finally happening, I got betrayed once more. "Now get her for me!" He ordered his men. "In your dreams!" I howled as my wolf took over. My mind went blank immediately, while she took over my consciousness. What I realized next was me back on my horse, escaping in a haste. "Ara, how did you do it? How did we escape?" I asked. A series of memories flashed before me, and I saw her transform and tear the person behind us apart with her claws, before jumping over the blockades, all in a few minutes. She also sprayed something on them that momentarily blinded them, before mounting the horse. "Thank goodness your mom packed the delirious powder for us!" She said, as I increased my pace. Tears dripped down my face at Kenzo's betrayal. Even though I didn't know his identity as my mate, we had gotten close in the past few months, and I regarded him as the brother I never had. His gentle and warm smiles were all fake, I know that now. My heart immediately got filled with worry. What if he informs the emperor that I survived? I continued the next few weeks without destination, just trying to get as far away from Kenzo as possible. I just kept traveling straight in the opposite direction, I wanted to leave this area and go somewhere it would be impossible to recognize me. Somewhere very far. My food ran out twice and I had to go into the towns to buy food. However, my money was also going down. I began to buy spices instead, killing and roasting animals, while only eating a little bread, in order to preserve money. I was definitely exhausted by everything that have been going on. I sat down on the forest floors to sleep a bit after my dinner. The weather was very cold, but there were no blankets. I leaned against the trees, pulling my cloak closer around me, while shivering. I had since hid my money, weapons and jewels in various parts of my body. I was always prepared to run, so I can't afford to relax. Only my bag of food and water remained strapped to the horse. I soon slept off while leaning on the tree. After a while, I tried to wipe my face only to realize I couldn't move my hands. My eyes immediately snapped open in shock and I gasped. I was inside a fucking net. Someone trapped me while I was sleeping! How did this happen? I always wake up at the slightest sounds, or my wolf wakes me up, ever since I started running. Why didn't I hear them attacking me? "The sleeping powder will wear off soon. We need to move her to the camp. She's indeed very beautiful. She will sell for a lot at the brothel" I heard a male voice say. My heart immediately skipped a beat. Slave traders? Did I just fall into the hands of slave traders? Tears formed in my eyes and I quickly sniffed it back. I have to be strong. What kind of bad luck is following me around? No matter how fast or far I run, I always get into a huge mess! From losing my parents and pack, to becoming a fugitive, being betrayed and rejected by my mate, to getting attacked by robbers. I had managed to escape the robbers with a gash on my arm, and have been applying herbs to clear it, but it has not completely healed yet. Now this? Will I get sold into slavery? Oh Goddess! 'calm down. Why do you keep crying? Damn! Your tears were probably what weakened us to the extent that mere sleeping powders could be used to overpower us, damn!' my wolf growled, obviously angry with me. I immediately kept quiet for fear of annoying her further. The men stood before me, and one gave me a creepy smile before tearing the net. But my hands were tied too. They threw me into a cart and I sat down grudgingly. I immediately realized that the little satchel containing my clothes was still on my back. Why didn't they seize it? The cart stopped and they dragged me down. I saw other people tied up. There were cages and carts parked at one corner. I was pushed to the side where young girls stayed, and I staggered trying to regain my balance. "Someone escaped!" I heard one of the men roar, and they quickly gave chase. In a few minutes they came back with a man. "How dare you try to escape?" Their leader roared, and poured flaming coals on the slave that tried to escape, burning him alive. The man's screams reverberated all over showing the immense agony he was enduring. They began to flog him mercilessly with horsewhips, tearing his flesh. I watched them chop off his limbs before finally killing him. "Anyone else that tries to escape will have it worse!" He roared, trying to instill fear in everyone. I swallowed the lump in my throat and kept quiet. Soon it was bedtime, and I carefully chose the edge, close to the forest. Others were huddling around the fire since it was cold, but I had my plans. They're peasants so they value comfort and are easily frightened. However, I am a warrior, I can't give up. I slowly removed my hair pin and began to pick the chain on my legs covertly. After an hour, it opened, and I reached for the dagger I hid in my boots to cut open the binds on my hands. I began to look around once I cut it, while pretending to be asleep and chained. I quickly crawled to the forest and began to run. I heard a furious howl just when I thought I was safe. "That girl escaped! Make sure you find her!" The voice reverberated in the dark night, making me shiver. I clenched my teeth and began to run. It was nearly dawn when I changed into the last pair of clothes in my bag, a white silk. I quickly used my wolf's fire to burn the rest of the clothes and satchel. They will be looking for the girl in dark blue silk carrying a satchel, however they won't find her. I continued my race. Now I have lost my horse, and I have to continue on foot. I ran for two days straight, without food, only eating fruits and drinking water, if I saw any. They didn't stop chasing me, they were confused at first and lost my trail. But like some magic, they found me again. "Check your hair," my wolf said in frustration. I began to ransack my hair and loosened all the pins. A strange green crystal fell off, alarming me. 'Damn it! No wonder. It is indeed as I thought. No wonder they always follow up, no matter which corner we divert to! They affixed a tracking crystal to your hair, probably when they first captured us!" She growled, and I gasped in shock. They were gaining on me, so I kept running, but I soon came to a dead end. I was at the edge of a cliff whose bottom I can't even see. The road suddenly stopped here. If I jump down that distance, I will definitely die. If I let them capture me, the same fate awaits me. I could hear their footsteps and hunting dogs approaching. Godess, what do I do? I said a short prayer and jumped down, I would rather die a free man.RONA'S POV "Princess, princess. Princess wake up already, stop scaring us" I heard someone calling out to me. My head felt woozy as I opened my eyes. "Thank goodness" I saw a young girl, kneeling over me. She was the one who spoke. What the fuck? Where am I? I sat up and looked around. There were men dressed in guards' apparels and armor, in addition to some girls in costly maid apparel. It was obvious that they came from a very rich kingdom or pack. I looked around and saw a body of water stretching as far as the eyes could see. Wait, I fell into water? How did I end up here? Why are they calling me princess? I looked up at them. They all looked pissed off at me and resentful. As if they were being forced to do a chore they hate very much. "Princess, this is becoming too much. The Alpha king is pissed off at you. We had to search for hours before we found you floating on the lake. What if you had gotten washed into the sea before we arrived? You keep throwing silly tan
I found myself walking down a dark stairwell. I came into an abandoned garden and entered a cave. I immediately stopped in my tracks when I saw the source of the attraction. There before me, lay a girl that looks exactly like me, seemingly dead. She was dressed in white silk, almost the same design with the one I wore when I got washed up here. "Wow! You indeed look exactly like me." I heard a voice say. I looked towards the voice and gasped. The girl was standing there with a cute smile. However, her body looked semi transparent. "Who are you?" I asked, looking cautiously at her. "I'm princess Erica Miller, daughter of Alpha king Harvey Miller, of the ice flame territories. Wow, what's your name?" She asked. "Rona," I whispered. "Our names have almost the same meaning. Please help me to resurrect. I have been calling for help to no avail. The only one that could hear me was you, because we share a connection. If you help me, I will give your wolf my ice crystal, to st
CHAPTER SIX EMPEROR RICHARD'S POV I watched the expressions on Erica's face flicker and change into a plethora of different emotions. She had been very happy and excited at first. However, the moment she looked up at me, her expression was replaced with fear and disgust. Despite my effort to reassure her, she was still staring at me in horror. I passed my mask silently to my Beta and reached for her. But she took a step back, avoiding my touch. My eyes narrowed in confusion and I angrily caught her arm. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you look so scared of me? What the hell is the fucking problem?" I yelled at her. "Your mask is scary. Let go of me, you look scary" she wailed, trying to reach for her maid. I looked at the mask in my Beta's hand in confusion. What was so scary about my golden mask? I sighed helplessly. She's a little girl who has always stayed locked up in her father's castle. Things that don't mean a thing to me can probably frighten her
RONA'S POV Jasmine led me upstairs, while I kept looking around. It was even more grand than Erica's palace. No, this place was a castle. A mighty one at that. We drove past numerous palaces before we got here. The street walkways were paved with marbles, there were also gardens neatly arranged along the roads and in the palaces. They were filled with exotic flowers, fruit trees and herbs. There were also exotic animals and birds in the gardens. But for some reason, they never leave the garden space to enter the streets. There were also lamps in the gardens and walkways, probably to light up the castle once it's nightfall. The gates were made of gold, brass or bronze. I could see carts filled with goods and products, driven by horses. There were also luxurious carts that had expensive curtains and leather chairs, driving around the castle. I guess they are the powerful nobles in the immortal Heaven Court. However, I'm yet to see anyone with sacred beasts or heavenly beasts or e
RONA'S POV I walked into the room and almost gasped out loud. There was a sweet fragrance in the air. The room was wide with sofas, rugs, and pink silk curtains. The bed was very huge and had pink princess curtains which were drawn back and tied to the bedpost. The bed was well made with white and pink sheets. There was a table close to the bed with a lamp stand which was supporting a pink crystal light orb glowing softly. The table was made with expensive wood, some poetry scrolls, ink, inkpad, writing feathers and paper fan was on the table. There were paintings of natural landscapes on the wall. There was also an expensive urn containing lavender flowers, a golden incense burner, golden lamp stands, the reading chair accompanying the table was cushioned with soft furs and was padded. I touched the pillows and realized they were stuffed with soft feathers. There was a huge mirror on the wall close to the reading desk. There was also a table between the two sofas. "Do you
RONA'S POV I followed Annalise around the dressing room as she admired the array of expensive clothes in the clothes section. I touched some of the fabrics, feeling impressed. "Girl, his majesty didn't spare any expense on your wardrobe. He's determined to treat you right, you're blessed by the moon goddess. Even though you didn't shift, he still found you so beautiful and attractive that he left all others and chose you. Meanwhile, other average wolfless werewolves never get a mate or husband. Even their fated mates reject them sometimes. You're damn lucky!" She said with a smile. I smiled sadly. I'm anything but lucky, same with Erica. I lost all my family to Richard's cruelty while Erica lost everything to me. She should have been lucky, but a monster took it all away. I'm probably another monster like Richard. "Look at these shoes, just see your shoe rack. They are the most expensive shoes In the world. Your boots are made with sacred beast leather. Wow! Come to the jewelry
EMPEROR RICHARD'S POV I heard the room go quiet and frowned. Normally my men and the rest of my ministers turn to chatterboxes at the dinner table, sharing some views on whatever topic interests them. I immediately perceived the sweet fragrance and followed the eyes of the rest to the doorway. My heart immediately skipped a beat and began to beat wildly, frightening me. There in all her glory, looking like a royal queen stood Erica. She was smiling shyly at me. she seemed to barely resist the urge to twist her fingers. Why am I so excited to see her? Don't tell me I'm falling in love with the little bird! Impossible, I have never felt so attracted to a woman before. I could feel my manhood go rock hard for the first time in decades. I swallowed my saliva and she looked at me shyly, as if waiting for some kind of approval. I smiled brightly at her and stood up. Before I realized what I was doing, my feet were already taking me towards her. Her maid bowed before me and offe
ERICA'S POV I sat down on my bed feeling excited. If he's gay, I will finally have a trump card to destroy him. Although I was taken aback when he prepared the ceremonial wine, I took it anyway. If he wanted me to remain empress after killing him, he can be my guest then. I'm not interested in any other guy either, so why not? I didn't mind that brat's insult on the dining table nor the disapproving murmurs when he sat me on the luna's throne. Why will I? I have a more important mission tonight. I sat down on my bed still waiting patiently. It's been thirty minutes, yet he's not yet here. I was already feeling smug. Once I confirm he's a gay, goddess help him. This was the first step towards my grand plans, and I was sure it would go well. By tomorrow, I will start wandering around the palace and making new friends, to enable me discover any important secret. Also, I need to explore and find a secret route out of the castle. It will come in handy at some point. Besides, i
OLIVIA'S POVI walk into my room, livid with anger. I can't believe Richard rejected my requests before everyone, exalting that mutt at the risk of my happiness. “Your highness,”“Leave, all of you.” I shouted, interrupting her. “Susanna, wait here.”She waited, turning to me in fear. “Stop shaking, I'm not gonna eat you. The ones I pointed at, bring them in. I hope they have been properly trained.”“Yes, your highness.” She whispered, quickly moving out to do my bidding. In a few minutes, she returns with two handsome and well built guards, and locks the door behind her. I relaxed on my couch and motioned to them. “Come here, and pay your respects to your princess.” They knelt, and the older of the two reached for my foot, delivering a kiss full of worship to them. He slowly moved up my legs, dropping kisses. He looked at me with a sexually charged gaze which sent heat down to my core and I felt myself clench. “That's it.” I whispered, closing my eyes as he removed my shoes an
RONA'S POVOlivia got angry, but quickly masked it with a pitiful expression. “Uncle, please. Just give it to me.”“I already said no. Don't make me lose my appetite.” Richard replied, not hiding his anger. Olivia hits her hands against the table, making me jump. I was not the only one startled, many others were. “Uncle!” Olivia whined, dragging her word out like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum. “But you already commissioned the moon stone to be fashioned into jewelry. It's just giving it to me earlier. After all, who else in this world deserves something so precious except me?” She whispered and batted her lashes at him. Richard gasped in exasperation on hearing her words, his face glowering. “I must have spoiled you too much to make you so narcissistic. How dare you make stupid demands of me? If I say no, it means no. Pouting and throwing a tantrum won't help your case on this issue. Give up already. You truly deserve everything good in the world, but not this.”“Uncle, stop
OLIVIA'S POVAnger, pure hot anger. How dare she tell me that the slut is Richard's wife, and therefore deserves everything? “Listen here, nothing in this empire belongs to her. She's a weak runt, forever destined to be my slave. If you dare step out of line or buzz unpleasantly in my ear, your fate would be worse. Go throw her away, and wipe that blood off the floor.” I barked, my eyes red with fury. “Please calm down, your highness.” Susanna whispered, crawling to me. I stomp hard on her hand, watching her bite her lips to hold back the pain. “Cry out!” I growl, listening to her scream. Music, sweet music, the sweetest one. That beautiful cry of pain as I squash these miserable ants beneath me was the best sound ever. “Remember this, breathing the same air I do is a privilege. So you must worship me wholeheartedly, with all you have, you must be thankful I let you live beneath me.” I muttered, not hiding the hate in my eyes. “Your highness, the palanquin is ready to carry you
EMPEROR RICHARD'S POVI sighed heavily. “The items are truly rare and extraordinary. But my wife is the subject in question. Nothing is too expensive for her. I already have some of them somewhere. As for the rest, I can procure them given some time. However, the herbs are too potent. Too much drugs accumulating in her body might cause her harm instead of healing her. We won't use all these things you listed. They're too much for an able bodied alpha king, talk more of a little girl with a fragile body. Select the most important ones. Also, if at any point I realize you inflated the amount of required herbs for some selfish reason, or added something that is not necessary, you will have to submit your life to me. I hate being lied to or tricked.” I reply with a cold smile, watching the mischievous smile on his face disappear. That's right, he should be afraid of me, I have been cutting him a lot of slacks lately, making him more audacious. “Before you tell me about the final list o
RONA'S POV“Princess, what are you talking about? Don't give up hope. We will definitely find a way to remove the seal on your wolf so that you can fully shift without pain. You just need to be patient till we find a solution. You have worked too hard to give up now. The one that sealed your wolf will get exactly what they want if you fail now.” The imperial physician shouted. “That's right, princess don't act rashly.” Annalise chipped in. As for Richard, he was too stunned to speak. “Erica.” I heard him whisper and look up at him with my tear filled eyes. And in that moment, I could swear I saw pain in his eyes, deep seated pain. “I can't hold on anymore. Help me destroy my wolf. I swear I will not pull you down. There are humans that are more powerful than wolves from cultivating internal energy. I can start cultivating internal energy and the way of the sword. If you think that totally becoming a human will cause a problem for the empire, you're welcome to kill me anytime I bec
I was stunned at first, but smiled the next second. My pretty baby girl. She can't stand violence, bloodshed and bullying people while taking advantage of power. She was too kind and innocent for her own good. No wonder the commoners over there in the Alpha King's pack loved her a lot. She's humane, and compassionate, trying to bring sunshine into the lives of everyone. “Answer me, did you kill people and loot them just…”“Of course not. I will never do that. I stopped by some of my factories and depots on the way. Some of my goods arrived at the wharf, I just brought some for you from the original stock meant for sale. After all, my woman deserves to have the best of everything, before others can have access to them.” I whispered and pinched her cheeks. She smiled brightly at me and hugged me, finally revealing her joy at receiving gifts from me. I brought out the rest and immediately heard gasps from the household staff watching. “See if there's anything you don't like.”“I like
EMPEROR RICHARD'S POVThe cheers of my citizens and pack members welcoming me home always filled my heart with joy, motivating me to work harder and ensure they will always live in a safe and happy environment, with enough food to eat, space to sleep and play, and clothes to not just keep warm but also look good. That's why I ensured to distribute food and clothes to the lowest income earners at the end of every year, that they might have enough to celebrate the feast of the goddess like the rest. Although it seemed like blowing my own horn, my territories, especially the imperial city, is the most prosperous and peaceful place to live in the entire world. It was never easy of course, but I will never forget my duty to my people. My horse stopped before my palace and the lower ranking soldiers stepped back, leaving me with the seven highest ranking generals, deputy generals and prefectors. They executed a military salute and turned to leave. I looked at the entrance with a smile, but
RONA'S POVI had just taken my bath in readiness for lunch when I heard a large commotion outside the castle. Memories of how my pack was razed to the ground flashed before my eyes and I immediately sat up. The noise seemed to be coming from outside the city walls, and they were entering the city gates and crossing into the first castle which contains houses allocated to soldiers and outer court officials. The imperial city was built in a tiered design, with the higher ranking people living in the inner parts of the city. As for the emperor, he had three huge castles to himself, a stupid show of grandeur because he only lives in one. The others were meant for the emperor's children, his harem, and a palace for hosting guests. Olivia lives in the emerald palace meant for the emperor's children. But Richard didn't allow me to live in the harem, insisting I stay in his palace. The imperial city castles are so big that it was easy to get lost in the maze of palaces. One needed a map to na
RONA'S POV I opened my eyes to see Annalise nodding off while watching me. My heart felt warm, and I couldn't help but smile. This kind of dedication, love and friendship is one that I have truly missed. It felt good to have someone that genuinely loves you in this dangerous castle filled with snakes and scorpions, someone totally loyal to you. I heard her fighting Liam when I was unconscious in her bid to ensure that he won't take the ice jade pendant. Even though she didn't know she was inadvertently saving my life, her actions were one born out of loyalty and love. “That loyalty and love is not meant for you. She thinks you're Erica. That's why she's willing to give her life for your sake. What do you think will happen when she realizes that you're a liar and impostor, alongside everyone else? What do you think will happen to you?” The tiny voice in my mind immediately made the smile on my face to disappear. That's right, that bright smile and loyalty were all meant for Erica, n