I get into my room and help May to put my things away. She talks to me about the protesters and how what was said and shown was clearly a lie.She defends the old king, clearly blinded by him like Darius and so many others were. Yet I don't argue with her. He made himself look great to the outside world.Which I guess is the issue. No one knew or saw the side of the king where he put a contract out to kill people, including a baby. So how can they just take Darius' nice personae as the truth? After all, his own dad did the same and appeared to hide a lot of evil secrets.Walking down to Lunch, I meet Sage, and we talk. It appears everyone is questioning why their curtains were closed, and they were told not to look outside. I want to help; Darius and Kellan have so much on without answering questions."From what May, my maid said, they are painting the windows at the front." I shrug slightly."Oh, that would make sense. They were looking a little outdated." Lyra smiles. "I actually su
I walk into the room and hear Kellan laughing. My eyes go to the woman sitting next to him as she leans into him and whispers something.His eyes come to me, and he grins."You took your time.""Well, your Beta failed to tell me you were waiting." I walk over and hear Ash laugh."She was busy." My eyes roll."Elara, this is Maze."I nod and give her a small smile before sitting opposite them."From what I've been told about your wolf, it's currently in its wolf form and quite possibly has been for over twenty years.""That's correct.""You haven't had a wolf since it was removed, right?" My head shakes at her. "I'm just checking. Sometimes, when a wolf is removed, a weaker one is used to replace it. Our biggest issue will be getting the wolf back into a magic form rather than physical.""Isn't there just a spell to do it?" I assumed there would be."A wolf is amazing. The wolf essence is strong. It bonds with your body, your mind, soul, and everything. Having no host, it's possible it
Darius and Kellan stand glaring at each other while arguing over their opinion of Maze. I can see both sides.If people knew Maze and saw her here, it would raise questions if the king was involved with the underground. It's also a fact that those who recognise Maze may have seen her come here and now know that the king is looking into the Wolf Game.Kellan is also right. Maze being from inside means she knows things. She is essential. Sure, she doesn't know the main guy, but she was brought up in the underground. It means she knows the rules, how things work and what could pose a threat.I watch as Maze sits, amused by them arguing."Kellan, that's not it!" Darius sighs and looks more annoyed than before."Really? Every suggestion or everything I try to get her wolf back, you destroy it and find a reason for it not to work. It's like you're purposely trying to stop her getting her wolf!""If I wanted to do that, Kellan, I would have stopped this ages ago. She would have been thrown o
Kellan walks back in and hands her a bottle and a glass. I laugh and look at him. Why does she need a full bottle? That's just crazy. "Don't laugh, she outdrinks me." He holds out a glass for me.Rolling my eyes, I take it. I'm not sure why he is giving me alcohol. "Don't. Apparently, Darius has seen you drunk? How is that possible?"Oh, that is why, he wants to see me drunk. "Don't ask. Or if you must, save it for later." He nods and sits next to me."You were saying about control?""She has gotten used to human emotions. A wolf has far stronger ones, which means when she gets her wolf back, everything will be intensified: anger, hurt, happiness, jealousy, all that.""That's not too bad." Kellan laughs."Kellan, it accounts for everything. If she has a mate, all those feelings will overtake everything; there's a good chance that her wolf will take control of her feelings for a while. I have seen people lose days, if not weeks, to the intensity of the feelings, especially if they have
Kellan looks at me in disbelief, but it's a worry. Maze wouldn't have said it if it hadn't been possible."Your wolf won't reject you. That's foolish. If it was going to happen, you wouldn't have had such a strong bond with it when you saw it. Not to mention, a small part is still inside of you. I don't think it will reject you and part of itself."He thinks. With how bad my luck has been, it's possible."Okay, enough moody shit. We got a lot of good from today. Focus on that." His finger runs down my side. "We might know the reason our father ordered your family's deaths tomorrow."I peer at him. I'm not sure if I want to know. "How?""Well, a lot of the things they found didn't amount to much. So, he's sending some people to dig up resources."Laughing, my head falls forward. "He's ordered someone to dig up your father's grave?" That's crazy."No, your parents. He would have more than likely buried it with them to remove evidence. Not kept it until he died." I stare at him, shocked.
I wake alone but in Kellan's bed. Getting ready, I go to breakfast. Everyone is sitting and eating. Darius and Kellan aren't here, though.Sage hugs me, and we sit talking."Ask her." I hear Lyra whisper or try to and fail."You!" I laugh, hearing Callista, and turn to look at them."You're close to Kellan. What is going on as we've had no updates on what's next.""I'm not close enough to be told things in advance." Okay, he's told me things before, but still. I'm now making this target on my head any bigger."Ladies, I can reassure you things will resume soon. As you know, the producer left, and the king has been working towards fixing that issue." William looks towards us. "Please be patient and give the king time to consider things."We go to nod and see the door open. Darius walks in with Kellan, so another event? Are they announcing it?"Right, ladies. I decided to change things up." Oh shit. My head lowers, hearing Darius. This won't be good at all. "Usually, we set you a task.
The pen taps against the table."If I may..." My hand shoots up."You may not, Darius."He chuckles slightly."I was simply-" My hand covers his mouth."No!" I narrow my eyes at him, watching the humour on his face. Dropping my hand, his mouth opens, and I groan."That's a new one for me, been physically silenced." He sits amused, and I try not to get dragged in, but I laugh. My mind goes back to what Maze had explained to expect. Quickly pushing it from my mind, I go back to thinking about the event.That's it!Writing it, I turn the paper to Darius. He looks at me and smiles. "It's been a while since one was held here. It's an amazing idea. The Rites Of Passage, however, you need to decide on an age group for the participants.""Could I not do like thirteen to eighteen? Then split them into smaller groups?" I don't like choosing a smaller group."You can, yes. I am assuming this event will be held outside?"My eyes roll. "Well, from what little I know of werewolf Rites of Passages,
Darius seems to be trying to escape working. Placing down the pen, I look at him. I don't blame him. The amount of crap thrown at him this week is crazy."What happened to your mum? All I know is she died young." I remember Draven and everyone speaking about it, but I was only like ten."Heart attack, apparently." His words are barely a whisper."I'm sorry." He couldn't have been more than eighteen if I was about ten. Kellan would have been maybe fifteen. No, because I'm not twenty. Based on Xenia, I'm twenty-four. So Kellan would have been maybe twelve and Darius fifteen."It's fine. In the years she was alive, she was our mum. She didn't treat us like she was the queen, so we have a lot of memories."All I can do is nod. I can't imagine that being easy for the king. "I can't imagine the pain your father was in losing his mate." Especially with how young she was when she died."They weren't mates, Elara; their marriage was arranged. Mates had no place when it came to him marrying." W
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