Louisa's POV
When I woke up in the morning, Lucas had already gone. I was about to get up, but I couldn't find any clothes around me. Then, Lucian walked into the tent with several soldiers. He was wearing a black velvet suit and a white cape. As always, he looked radiating in a suit. Those soldiers put clothes and shoes in front of my bed and walked out of the tent. Lucian walked towards me and said, "Good morning, she-wolf. I need you to get dressed. Alpha's waiting for you at the dining hall." "Waiting for me?" I was confused, covering my naked body with a blanket. "He wants to have breakfast with you. But before that..." He approached me and grabbed the collar on my neck. I gasped in fear and said, "What are you doing?!" Lucian unlocked the collar and put it on the nightstand. "The ambassadors will be there. You can't show up with a collar. It doesn't look good," he said. "You don't wantLouisa's POV As I walked into the tent all by myself in that pair of very uncomfortable heels, people who were sitting in the tent stopped talking and turned their heads towards me. I was petrified at the entrance of the tent because I had never been put under the spotlight before. Alpha Lucas was sitting at the end of the long dining table. He was surrounded by women. It seemed that he didn't even notice me. I didn't know where to go, so I remained standing at the entrance, feeling completely hopeless. At that time, a graceful man approached me and said, "Young Lady, are you looking for anyone?" I looked up at him. He was in a grey silk suit and a gold cape. I recognized the rockrose emblem on his cape, which was the symbol of royalty. Like all the royalties from the South, he had fair skin and gold hair. His witty sapphire-colored eyes gleamed when he looked at me in a friendly way. I didn't know how to answer him. I
Louisa's POV "Listen to your absurdity, she-wolf! How dare you urge me to apologize to you? Maids! Come forward and peel off her dress! If the slut doesn't want to wear shoes, she won't need her clothes, either." Josephine commanded. Several maids went forward and tried to pull my clothes off. I pushed them away. One of them bumped into the table. The drink spilled a bit out of the glasses. Josephine raised her hands and was about to hit me again. "Who do you think you're?! You little dirty slu..." She didn't finish her sentences, because her hand was grabbed by someone. I looked up and saw Alpha Lucas holding her wrist. Josephine twisted her waist again, "Ah, Lucas, you're hurting me. Let go of me! I just need to teach this little maid some basic rules, so she doesn't dare to talk back at me next time!" Alpha Lucas pushed her off his lap and said to Josephine, "This isn't the place for you to make a scene
Lucas' POV "Fuck, Finn. What happened to me? Why this fucking she-wolf is sitting on my lap? Where's Josephine?" I rubbed my forehead and asked in my mind. The she-wolf was sitting on my lap like a little girl, feeding me grapes. "Isn't she lovely?" Finn asked. "Fuck off, Finn. What the fuck have you done?" I turned my head away in disgust. Fucking grapes. Who the fuck wants to eat that? "You should try some. They're succulent and sweet, just like that little she-wolf." Finn sounded mischievous. "Grapes are supposed to be crushed, fermented, and bottled. I don't mind doing the same to the girl," I said. The little she-wolf seemed to notice the change in my attitude. As soon as her eyes met mine, the light in her eyes was gone. She jumped off my lap swiftly and took her seat next to me. She looked like a fucking little ant. I just wanted to crush her for no reason. "What did you do to me, Finn? Did y
Louisa's POV I stood outside Lucas' tent and I was petrified. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My father was still alive! Lucas and Lucian wanted to bring him back and killed him! Then, they would kill me! I covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream out. I didn't dare to make any sound. Just when I was about to turn back and run away, I bumped into someone. I looked up and saw it was Alpha Zackery and his attaché. He was holding a pair of high heels in his hands. That looked quite usual for a Lycan. He smiled at me and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, young lady. I saw you left them in the dining hall, so I wanted to give them back to you." "Thank you..." I whispered and took those shoes in a panic. Lucian walked out of the tent and saw me with Alpha Zackery. "Lucian, it's been a long time since we met in person," Alpha Zackery smiled. Lucian looked at him and repli
Louisa's POV Lucas' POV Fuck! Did she just call my name?! Who do you think you are, you fucking sl... "I've told you. She's not afraid of you." My wolf's voice sounded gloating. "Now you're talking to me?! Shut the fuck up! Let me fuck with her first and then I'll deal with you." I pushed that fucking little she-wolf on the bed and flipped her over under my crouch. She didn't scream or cry out as I had expected. That was the only thing she was good at. And now she refused to do it. I pulled up her hair and commanded, "Moan for me, you fucking bitch." "Leave me alone, Lucas!" she shouted. "Fucking slut! How dare you call me by my name?! You can't fucking do anything right! Obey me!" The little she-wolf tried to push me away. She protested violently, kicking and scratching. I noticed that the wound on her chest had already healed. Fuck, she did recover faster than she once did. I
Lucas' POV "OK," I replied, "What shall I do?" My wolf said, "You're going to take up those clothes on the bed and walk very slowly to her. And you'll stop in her vicinity, not too far, not too close, to give her some space. Then, you'll stand there and smile at her and ask if she minds getting dressed and going on a hunting trip with you." "I don't do smile." I scratched my head. "It's not that hard, try to relax. Let the muscles on your face relax a bit," he said. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and tried to pull a smiling face. "How do I look?" I asked my wolf. "You look like a serial killer on the run who has just killed an innocent girl." "How's that a bad thing?" I frowned. "OK, move to her and stop snarling at the mirror. You've already scared the shit out of her now." My wolf sighed and said. I buckled up my pants and grabbed the clothes from the bed. Then, I started to approach the she-wo
Louisa's POV Lucas looked at me for a while without saying anything. I could see the flaming anger in his eyes, but suddenly, it was dimmed and replaced by something much more vicious. "You can ride with Lucian and we'll pick up the warlock before hunting, but you will have to promise that you'll be a good girl today. You have to be obedient and do whatever I ask you to do," he said. I didn't say a word and lowered my head, trying to put on the hunting boots. He bent down and helped me to tie up the boots. Then, his hands moved all the way up to my waist and held me in his arms. "I'm talking to you, little she-wolf. I need you to make a promise now," He lifted me up and forced my legs to wrap around his waist. "OK. I promise," I whispered. "Now put me down. I can walk on my own." "I know you can. But I don't want to put you down," he said with a mischievous smile on his face and walked out of the tent. I turned
Louisa's POV "So what do you want me to do, Lucian? Do you want me to pretend that he isn't a ruthless killer and fall in love with him? To turn a blind eye and pretend that I don't see that he's sleeping with other women? To get used to being assaulted, threatened, chained, raped, tortured, and abused? Is that what you want me to do? Is that the salvation that he needs?" I couldn't hold it anymore and finally let it all out. Lucian looked at me and said, "He needs you to take up the responsibility of being his mate and love him unconditionally. I have given him all my love and devotion, but I can't save him, Lisa. He's weathering in front of me, but I can't help him. Then you showed up and you have brought us hope. But it turned out that there's nothing on your mind except killing him. Please, Lisa. Give him another chance and try harder this time. I'll encourage him to be on his best behavior. Try to look at him without judgment and bias. He does bad things. Yes, h
Lucas' POV "Fucking Kings and Queens! A bunch of mother fuckers and losers!" I shouted. Derek looked intimidated and turned his head towards Lucian. "Don't you fucking look at him! Nobody can fucking save you today!" I kicked him. "I should have killed you long ago! You're a fucking cancer!" He rolled on the ground for a couple of laps and coughed out some sticky muddy fluid from his mouth. "Master... I'm already dead... For a dead man, there's nothing on earth that matters... But my brother... He served you... I forced him to do a lot of bad things, but he was innocent... Please spare his life..." Derek said. "You have no right to negotiate anything with me! I'm going to let you witness I torture your brother to death!" I said angrily and grabbed his neck. "Now, break this fucking ice shield and give my fucking woman back to me. Give her back!" Then, I heard a faint voice. "Leave... my brother... alone..." It's Darren
Louisa's POV "What?!" I couldn't believe what I had heard. Pregnant? I'm pregnant with Lucas' child?! But, I have to tell Darren that I... Then, I heard a wave of hysterical laughter coming from Derek. "The prophet's true! The advent child! The Dark King rises! He who has Lycan, witch, and vampire's blood will marry his mother and be the tyrannic ruler in the Kingdom!" Every single word was like a knife, stabbing my heart. Was it a vicious curse? Or just some disturbing nonsense coming from a madman? Then, before I realized it, my ankle was grabbed fast by Derek. I tried to move back, but I couldn't. Frost started to spread all the way up from my feet at a fast rate. I didn't know what happened before my whole legs were sealed in frigid ice. "No! Stop it!" I saw Vincent and Will trying to pull Derek away from me. But they ended up pulling the remaining of his legs off his body. More sparkling ice w
Louisa's POV Vincent looked at me and didn't say anything. The look on his face was almost lamenting. "Vincent, where is Darren?" I frowned and asked. "He's inside," Vincent said. "But he's in a very bad condition. Miss Louisa, I have to brief you before letting you see him. You have to be prepared. The werewolves at the slave market tortured and humiliated him. His skin was badly burnt. His face was deformed. His head had concussions. He is completely shut down right now. He refuses to communicate with anyone and it seems that he has developed a certain mechanism to protect himself." Vincent took a pause and said, "It seems that he has lost his memory, Louisa. I doubt he will recognize you." "No... No!!!" I felt like I was struck by a bat or something. My vision was black and I fell to the ground. Vincent caught me and held me in his arms. The world was spinning in front of me. Something bitter was stuck in my throat. I curled up a
Lucas' POV "Lucian, I really should have told you about this... I really should have told you about it long ago. But I get this kind of feeling... you know, if I don't talk about it, then it means this whole thing has never happened... And Derek has never betrayed me." I said in a low voice. Lucian was silent. "Anyway," I said. "it wasn't very long until the Red Queen found out that Derek was just lying to get back to the Underground City. So the Red Queen was furious and wanted to kill him. You remember the time that I was summoned to King's Land. I was actually forced to go there to cast an imprint on Derek. I did it and I tortured him. But it was just for the Red Queen to know that I was her loyal subject. Then, I faked his death by sending a corpse back to his uncle. I was planning to hide him somewhere, but those fucking traveling druids took him away. I was enraged, so I took his brother Darren away from the brothel to replace him. I thought one da
Lucas' POV "How many secrets have you been hiding from me these years?" Lucian stared at me and asked. "I'm sorry, brother. But my woman is missing. And she might be pregnant with my child. Can we just focus on looking for her?!" I said. Lucian didn't say anything, he took the tuna head and got on horseback. Then, he rode off without saying anything. Oh, fuck. Now Lucian's not talking to me. Like I haven't got enough on my plate. "I have a good suggestion for you." I heard Finn's voice in my head. "What now?! Don't tell me shit like rubbing the back of his neck. It fucking didn't work," I said. Torrent snorted his nose, urging me to catch up with Lucian. "Fuck, Torrent. Sometimes I get the feeling that you're fucking riding me! You can get as fast as you can, I don't give a shit as long as my ass is still on the saddle. I'm busy having a conversation with my fucking wolf," I patted Torrent's neck and said.
Lucas' POV "What's on her fucking mind?" I said. I was really fed up with women in my life. They were so fucking unpredictable. Lucian said, "She's gone this morning after Louisa told her off in front of everyone. And we've lost contact with Kylo. He took away our best people and our soldiers in the camp were either killed or wounded. Louisa tried to treat some of the soldiers this morning, but it will still take a few days before they're fully recovered." "Kylo's fucking with me! He sent his fucking sister to mess up with my soldiers. His father was with me and he still dares to fuck with me! Why does he do this to me?! Why did he betray me?!" I kicked the grass on the ground and said. "I don't know. If you left that traveling druid alive, we could have asked him," Lucian said. "Stop blaming me! That fucking asshole was blabbing about my fucking identity in front of Louisa!" I said. "Why don't you just tell her who you really are?
Louisa's POV Derek put his hand into his pocket. Colt thought he was about to take out a weapon or something, so he stepped forward, trying to stop him. "This..." Derek took out an amber-colored stone from his pocket and said. "This is Amber of Star. I want to give this... to your friend. I got it from... Underground City. With this stone, people can communicate with the soul... of their beloved deceased ones... I'm sorry that..." "I don't want anything from you." Mata cried out. "You took away my brother's life and there's nothing you can do to make up for it! He's dead! You killed him! You took him away from me! I have been staying with my brother ever since I first opened my eyes, and now his eyes will never open again. He can never hold my hands when I'm scared! It's a big scary world out there and I'm always scared!" "But you can talk to your brother... As if he's still alive..." Derek tried to explain. "You just don't understand, do
Louisa's POV The fire spreading all over my body dimmed. I stared at Derek and walked closer to him. He looked panicked and desperate at the same time. "What's the matter with you?! Where's the fire?! I have just killed your friend! Why don't you kill me with that fire of yours?!" He barked at me like a mad dog. I didn't say anything but kept stepping closer to him. "Come on! Hit me with a fireball or something! Hit here!" Derek pointed at the empty void in his left chest and said. "Don't you want revenge on behalf of your friend?" I stood right in front of him. Still, I didn't say anything. In despair, he grabbed my arm and said, "Come on! Hit me!" "Where is Darren," I said. "Take me to see him." "You'll never see my brother again..." He said with a sadistic grin. Before he could finish his sentence, I strangled his neck. He didn't protest or struggle. Instead, he kept smirking at me. I did
Louisa's POV The smirk on Derek's face was gone and replaced by ferocious malice. "Let me correct you, Miss Louisa Reeds. Nobody is supposed to be dead. We were born into this world to live our lives and hug our beloved ones, not to destroy and manipulate other people's lives." He looked exasperated for a brief moment, but then he regained his cool. "I used to serve Lucas when I was young and vulnerable. He's such a hypocrite and he used my innocence and love for him to take control of me. He came into my life without notice. When he was gone, he took everything away from me, including my life... and he told me it was for my own good! He locked me up in a cave and let those monsters torture me to death! And is this for my own good?!" Derek pulled off his shirt and let me see his naked chest. I could see there was a hole in his left chest. The place where his heart used to be. I was horrified and stepped backward. At that time, I rea