Waking up, I go to move and feel someone's hand on me, preventing me from moving."Don't move. You might be healed, but your body will still be hurting from the broken bones." I turn and see Darius."Kellan!" I go to move and he stops me."He's next to you, you crazy ass, calm down." I turn and see him asleep. He's fine."You lied to me." I don't know how I know, but Winter had shown me things while I was asleep, like him and his dad fighting."I lied to save you."I move to sit up, his hands helping me."Which you failed at."He looks at me, hurt. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I am sorry.""Had you told me, I could have helped." He chose not to trust me."I didn't want your help, you helping would put you in danger.""You ignoring it and trying to protect me hurt Kellan." I can still see him now, walking in the room after the bond had gone, it's back now though, how?"I know, and I regret it, okay. I'm sorry. My foolishness nearly got both of you killed." His head drops. "K
Waking, I'm in Kellan's bed. I see him sitting while staring at his phone."Hey." Moving, I sit up, and he doesn't even bother looking at me. "How are you feeling." I move closer to him, his head shakes, and I watch him stand and walk out.Okay, so he's in a mood with me? Getting changed I walk out, Yori and Ash are standing by the door. "Where did he go?" He can't run."Not sure, Darius may know." Yori smiles."Guess I will speak to him then." They nod and lead the way, getting into the room where he's sat with William."Have you spoken to Kellan?" I get he's angry at me, but to just walk away without speaking to me is wrong."Everyone out." He looks at them, and they leave, so has he spoken to him? "Sit, please." Walking over, I take a seat."What's happened? He wouldn't even speak to me.""He's still hurt over the fact you rejected him even if you didn't mean to. He's also angry that you went to save him and put yourself at risk." I didn't, I opened my mouth to talk, and he raised
We hear the door, and I turn to see Darius and Kellan; I guess now I need to explain what happened. Sage hugs me and walks out."I'm sorry if I seemed cold." Kellan smiles and hugs me. My body stays against his. It felt like he was rejecting me without even saying."Just don't do it again."He nods and kisses me. "Never." He says never, but he will."Right, let's talk." Sitting, Darius told me everything, and I realised now that he hadn't told me everything when I woke up. There's a lot, and it takes time to process it all."We need to know what happened with you?""I panicked and ran. I didn't want to reject Kellan, then suddenly, it was gone, and all I could do or think of was to run away, so I ran. I shifted back, I don't know where I was, but I got shot with an arrow; I tried to shift to run, but I couldn't feel Winter, and the guy said it was wolfbane."Darius sits shocked."Who was the guy?" Kellan looks at me."I don't know. I didn't recognise him. They dragged me, I tried brea
KellanI watch as Xenia leaves to find Sage and Lyra. My eyes go to Darius. He let her leave, which is great, except we didn't speak about everything."Tomorrow, let's not overrun her mind with things." He shrugs, and I laugh."So you can pretend it isn't real for another day." That is what he is doing, hiding from the facts and the truth. She shouldn't be able to do these things unless she is pregnant, and I think her denial is bad, but he is possibly worse."It's unlikely." His words are quiet as he stands, and I laugh. "I fucked her once, Kellan."Laughing, I nod and walk out. William glances at me, and turning, I walk away. Getting into the office, I grab the files and begin to work. I will need to contact each person, even those who sold their wolves willingly."We need to discuss things." My eyes roll, and I look at Darius."I don't want to, so forget it." I'm not about to consider that William is my dad."Not William, Xenia, the wolves." He sits and looks at me. "We need to fin
I've been with Sage most of the day. She knows. I explained everything to her, and she looked at me like I was a fool."I know, but I don't think they do, so I'm waiting until they have at least calmed a bit before forcing the reality on them that I may be pregnant.""Not just pregnant, but you could be carrying quadruplets.""Don't." My head shakes; one is a mission to get used to, and four is impossible. "How will that even work?" I don't want to know. "Don't answer, forget it."Laughing, she nods. I need to find them and try to help. "I'm going to go find one of them. You enjoy your time with Tony." Smiling, I walk out and go to the offices. Stepping in, Darius is working."You should take a break." He is looking more and more stressed the longer he's doing this."Later." He keeps saying later. Walking over, I take the papers from his hand. "Xenia, I need to get it sorted.""Then ask for fucking help!" He stills at the sound of me shouting. "Sorry, but what is the point in all the
Kellan keeps his arms wrapped around me. Everything is quiet, though. I try to focus on Darius, but I can't feel him. It's weird."He will be fine." Kellan's words are whispered into my ear. I try and relax but I can't."Were they alone?" I can't just wait and hope he's fine."Stop worrying; he has a lot of guards with him." Guards don't help—my thoughts stop as I realise they do. Ethan and Draven weren't like the others, so Darius alone should be fine with them."Good, you're finally seeing sense." I peer up at him. "I can hear your heart. It slowed slightly, so whatever reassured you then, keep saying it." His lips press against mine brieflyI keep reminding myself that Darius is fine. I relax into him more, my hands stroking down his back. My mind is now going to Kellan."Don't." I laugh at his word. "Now isn't an appropriate time for you to try fuck me. Stop considering it.""I literally just thought it for like two seconds.""I know. I'm close, I can sense it, stop wait until it'
The doctor is standing and looking at me like I've forgotten something."I'm sure you are aware, as is everyone else, so would you like me to check."Aware of what? "Check what?""The babies." Oh God, my eyes roll, and she smiles. I want to say no, everything is fine, but then I'm sure I'm just playing into Kellan and Darius' denial."Fine, but not here." There are too many people. She nods and leads me towards a door."I have to stay with her." Yori appears next to us."Well, that would be highly inappropriate, Beta Yori, considering she is having an internal examination.""Then I suggest you wait for the prince or king to be able to be with her." My eyes roll."Yori, I am fine.""I was given orders. I've not to leave you.""How is this any different to you standing outside the bedroom at night while I sleep?" It's the exact same."Fine, but let me check the room first." He walks in and looks around; after seemingly pleased there are no hidden people, he walks back out and nods.I wa
I wake up hearing arguing; opening my eyes, Darius and Kellan are glaring at each other."Can you two not kill each other?""Finally!" Darius hugs me."Finally?" I laugh. "All I did was have a nap.""A nap? I walked in, and you passed out standing up! That was yesterday!" Kellan's words are screamed."I was just tired" He woke me at like four when Ethan and Draven got in."No, tired is where you walk to bed, not pass out. Kellan said you know, so we're getting you checked to confirm if you're pregnant and that everything is fine." Darius looks at me.Moving, I reach into my pocket and pull out the pictures. "A scan was already done when you were taking a nap." I pass them to him, and he freezes."You're actually pregnant?"Kellan laughs. "You were the only one in denial, Darius." Kellan reaches over and takes the pictures. "Looks like flubber.""Like that?" I laugh slightly."Flubber, the little green blob, four little flubbers." I laugh at his words."You're on bed rest." Darius look
Asher POVI look down at Katla. She's only a few days old. After speaking with Zyra, she decided that the space in the mountains would be a retreat—a place for us to escape to, somewhere Katla could get used to what it is like to live in the Dragon Kingdom.We have spent a few days there, but not many. Apparently, she wants to be in the palace close to the others. Part of me feels like that's because they were her support while I was hiding away.It's shown her what having a family around can do. We're close, minus Aurelia. She seems to be thriving with the Bears and keeping her distance. Other than returning that day when I was going crazy and needed help, she rarely came back. We've adjusted and got used to that, however.She wants her life away from here; she wants her own life, not one that is connected to us. She should have that if she wants it."Hey."Turning, I see Elijah walk to me.He laughs slightly and takes Katla from my arms. "You look exhausted; fun night?"It's only 4
Asher POVI walk out of the room and go to where I know they will be. As I step into the office, they turn to face me.Darius shakes his head. "You should be with Zyra.""I was, but considering this is brought on by the Dragons, I should be helping." I walk further in and look at the papers."Nothing to help with," my dad shrugs. "His son is clean, Seraphine can tell. Things were explained to him. He had no idea about the arranged marriage and, to be honest, was shocked, as he apparently had a mate."So the son won't be an issue. Is that what he's saying?"Look, both Eliphas and Durnalin are in the cells, away from each other. The son has gone. Apparently, he has a whole life with his mate. His dad told him the dragons had requested their presence at events." Darius explains.It makes no sense, though. "Why? Why would the dragons want the warlocks there?" How didn't his son question it?"Apparently, because Eliphas and his son are the strongest warlocks, they invited them to make a un
Asher POVI wait and watch."Prince Asher, soon to be King, tell me something." He walks to the bars and leans against them. "Where do Warlocks belong?"My head tilts; they belong wherever they want to. I don't understand his question."See, there is no answer as we don't belong anywhere. There is the werewolf kingdom, fae, dragons and everything else. Witches and warlocks are forced to live in one of those kingdoms, with no real power."So this was all about getting power? My body is pushed back, and my eyes widen as I see King Drakon reach through the bars—his hand clamps around Eliphas' neck.I guess he's fixed, and his curse is gone. My dad and Darius drag him away, and I watch Eliphas drop to the floor, clutching his neck. The blood runs down from where King Drakon's nails dug in."We need answers; killing him won't get them." My dad turns and faces Eliphas."Apparently, this was all for power." Which still makes no sense."It wasn't just for power. We wanted our own kingdom, our
Asher POVI'm anxious. It's been two days since the curse was lifted, and I'm glad to be back to normal. All that is at risk, though. Tonight, I have to be close to whoever is pretending to be King Drakon. That then risks it happening again, and if it does, will it start slow again or begin where it was removed?I've noticed Elijah, Storm, and Aurelia are quiet. Whatever was done has worn them out, which I didn't want."Are you ready?" Zyra hugs me, and I nod. I'm not. We need answers and to figure out who it is."Be careful, okay?" I don't like that I'm not going to be there."It's you who needs to be careful. You will be in a confined space with him. If anything goes wrong." She looks at me worriedly.Wrapping my arms around her, I smile. "I'll be fine; once he's in the cell, he can't do anything." I kissed her and gave her a final hug before walking away.Getting to the cells, I sit in one and wait. I'm hoping the plan works. If we can get him in the cell, then his magic and power
Asher POVI can see Zyra is struggling, and I don’t blame her either. She just found out her brother is missing.“Look, when Seraphine checked trying to find out the issue with him, she saw King Drakon, but it wasn’t him. Whoever it was is who we believe Cursed Asher.” My mum grasps her hands and smiles. “We’ve got people tracking down where your brother really is. There’s a reason for this, and it’s you, Zyra. Seraphine could sense the curses were put on Asher and Elijah to try and push you to return home.”Zyra looks around the room and seems increasingly worried. “What about Ryker? Is he okay? Does he know?” She waits, and I don’t know the answer to that.“I’m sorry, we don’t know. You need to stay here, Zyra. We have a plan, and we’re hoping Seraphine can uncover more when the person comes here.”She nods and sits, looking lost.“We are expecting Seraphine to return late tonight or early tomorrow. If they can’t fix the issue, then we will keep working to.” My mum smiles and hugs h
Asher POVAfter about an hour of sitting in the cell with Zyra, I ordered her to leave. I wanted to spend time with her, but she shouldn't have been sitting in the cells with me.So, I've been alone for hours, waiting to find out their plan. They hadn't thought this through. I need to leave the cell to go to the room. As soon as I step out of this cell, it will come back. Then what?I'm willing to agree to anything right now if it gets me out of this cell and back with Zyra. The footsteps have me standing, and I watch my dad and Darius walk towards me."What's your plan? How am I to do this?" They haven't thought it through."You need to shift." Darius looks at me.I laugh at him. Is that some kind of joke? "You want me to shift, so that what? I can kill people easier?"My dad sighs and steps forward. "Please do as you're told. You won't understand why we're saying you can shift, but shift. Into your wolf, not dragon."Of course, I won't understand; they haven't explained it to me. If
Elijah POVI sit in the office; Seraphine has left. She's meeting her family halfway in the hopes they have something that can help. Merfolk are powerful creatures with extraordinary abilities.Curses and such are something they specialise in."We're going to request that King Drakon attend a celebration for Zyra's pregnancy. It means we can get what we need and figure out who it is and what their aim is." My dad looks at me, and he makes it sound so simple. This isn't simple."He's going to ask why Asher isn't present, then what?" We can't lie and hide him. "It will look suspicious.""Not if Zyra invites him, she won't know, remember. She can invite him, and whoever is portraying King Drakon won't suspect anything. We're going to be honest and explain something is wrong with Asher, and he's not well."So we're not hiding the issue."He could be in the cell for weeks, so we've had things moved down there for him. The plan is later to test how he is with someone in the cell with him. T
Asher POVI watch as Elijah glares at everyone and backs up more."Elijah, we need to know." My mum steps towards him."I saw him once, just once! You all need to focus on Asher, not me! He's the one that is cursed, not me!" He shouts and steps back. He backs into my dad, and he grabs Elijah as Seraphine steps forward and grips his head.His screams echo around the cells, and it's all over just as quickly as it starts. His body falls to the floor, and he cradles his head."Well?" Darius looks at Seraphine."You're going to need a warlock, or I'll need to contact my family and see if they have something to clear the curses." Her words make me look towards Elijah. So, he is also cursed."Asher's curse is to make him push everyone out and make him think he has a mad wolf so that Zyra leaves. Elijah's was to hate Asher, likely to intensify it." Seraphine smiles slightly. "There's no mate, Elijah. The curse is what's stopping us from having a baby. There's no third mate." Her words have hi
Asher POVNo one speaks, likely because they know what I said is the truth. I need to die; there is nothing they can do to change that."Explain the process, what happened, how it started, when it happens." Darius pulls a chair over and sits outside the cell.I laugh. "Why do I need to talk? Why do I need to explain? You're proving you believe me by keeping me locked in here and being too afraid to come near your own son."Nothing I say can change that."Asher, I'm not opening the cell because I don't trust you to try and run. So explain it to me, tell me how it's progressed, and let's be sure that is what is happening." He waits, and I watch my mum, Elijah, and dad sit with him."It began with whispers. The words were barely audible, but I heard whispers in my ear. They got louder and began to sound like words. Whispers were one thing, but then I began to see people dead and my wolf above them." It was a warning to me to hide, to push them away, and not let them close to me."When do