Xenia POVI stand staring at Darius. He's going to shift."He stays away from them," his words are growled."Darius, it's not as simple as that. Stop being a prick!" I shout, and his eyes widen. "They are mates, and it's not our choice," I say."Is that a joke?" He glares at me."No, it's the truth! Go ahead, Darius. Tell her she can't go near him, so keep them apart. Tell her she isn't allowed to be his mate and watch her walk out."I won't have her leave because he's stubborn."She wouldn't leave," he growls."Out of all four, Storm is the one who would leave for her mate! She's stubborn, just like you, but wild and easily bored like Kellan. So yes, she would!" I glare at him."He shouldn't be her mate," he argues."Because in your eyes, he's not good enough, right? He's not worthy because he's not an alpha or anything like that, really?" I shout."What?" He stares at me. "No, I don't care about that, but his dad is Grant!""Clearly not, Bailey lied. You lied, sixteen years, Darius,
Kellan POVI leave with Yori and some others. I still feel blindsighted by both Bailey and Darius. He made it sound like he had the results and knew."What is the plan for if she doesn't know?" Yori asks.I laugh slightly. "That would mean she was sleeping around Yori," my reply makes him snigger. Yeah, okay. Apparently, she was sleeping with Grant around the same time she was dating me and Darius.So, who knows? I want to fight her corner and say she wouldn't do that, but it's a fool's move."You know, you guys were always close. You grew up together, but that doesn't mean everything was the truth," Yori explains, and I nod.Turning, I look at William. "Has he calmed down yet?" I ask. He laughs slightly."I heard Xenia, and believe me, he realised he overstepped the mark and reacted badly. He will be apologising," William states, then looks at us."When we get there, we aren't just finding Bailey," William says."Why do I feel like Darius gave you orders?" Rather than speaking to me,
Kellan POVI find myself sitting down with Michelle and Maxwell. It's clear Bailey lied to us again. Which I am struggling to get my head around as she wasn't this person all those years ago."What does Quinn know?" I ask."Nothing. I noticed whenever Quinn returned Bailey and Grant acted like friends. They didn't get close. He has no idea they were dating.""Because Grant dated other women as well," Maxwell argues. "My daughter may have done things wrong, but I don't hold her responsible, I hold him responsible. She was a child when he began to seduce her." Maxwell argues."Which we will find out and uncover everything. Then he will be punished," William argues. "Right now though, we need to find her ask why she lied about Grant been his dad. Why she also lied about Grant's death and everything else," William states."Check her room, Grant had his own room it was next to hers. They had a secret door between the two rooms." Michelle says and I nod.Maybe searching the rooms is the fir
KellanMaxwell and Michelle aren't happy that I'm refusing to let them see Quinn. Right now, it's for the best. I've promised to keep them up to date and that when we know it's safe, they can visit.I've checked everywhere, along with Yori and William, and there's nothing here that can help figure out where Bailey went or where Grant is working from.There's nothing of significance, and I am beginning to think the two files we had were just flukes. Grant forgot about them, and we got lucky as he had nothing else there.Sitting in the car, I consider it."Once you tell Darius and Xenia, you need to speak with Quinn," Yori explains.I know he's right. Quinn might know where he was. He made out like he had never left Bailey's side; that was clearly a lie. "He lied to us. He knew about them testing and trying to recreate magic. He lied about staying with Bailey," I state, and he nods."Look back, Kellan. The underground, those children dragged into it and brainwashed. Not to mention, who
DariusKellan should be returning today. William barely told me anything and said it would be easier to explain in person. One thing he did say, however, was that Bailey was gone.She packed up and ran. Okay, he didn't say she ran, but even I know that she has. Why suddenly leave after dropping Quinn off here? I see the cars and ignore them. Instead, I focus on Asher and Elijah as they train."So he's said nothing?" I ask, still feel confused by why Quinn hasn't really spoken to them."Dad, he stays in his room. He's a hermit, I swear. Anyone would think he liked to be alone," Elijah laughs as they continue to spar."I tried multiple things, but nothing got him interested. He barely even opens his bedroom door. It's like he's unwilling to let anyone in," Asher explains.Which worries me. What the hell is he hiding? He wasn't invited down to eat with us, not until I knew everything. Still, I expected him to talk to Asher and Elijah even a bit.Apparently, though, he's a quiet person. W
StormWe finish our usual training and lessons with Isadora, and then, for some reason, she is summoned. I know she's already worked with Mum today, so I'm not sure why they want her."Hey Babes," I turn, hearing the voice, and watch as Julian walks over, his arms wrapping around me."What are you doing here?" I ask, feeling confused, as it isn't the usual time he comes."Seeing you, why else?" he laughs, and my eyes roll. "Fine, I may have lost my job," he shrugs, and I laugh."Well, you need to leave," I reply, kissing his cheek. Something is going on."Are you okay? You have that look that says you sense something and are about to go on a hunt to get answers," he says while smirking, and he's right."I do sense something. Isadora went to see my parents, which makes no sense as they were meant to be open to people coming in today. Which, based on one look outside, was suddenly cancelled," I explain.My mum doesn't cancel these events without a really good cause. So something is goin
Storm POVMy mum looks at me, and I wait."Quinn is the son of a friend of your dad's," she explains."Then why haven't we seen him before?" If he's the son of a friend, surely we should have seen him before now?"His mother was that friend. She tried causing trouble before you were born, saying Quinn was one of theirs. She was forced to leave for lying."Wow, I'm shocked. "Bailey?" I ask, remembering now. I saw the videos of the wedding and celebrations, and I know a lot about what happened around that time.One person who appeared on a lot of cameras in the days up to the wedding was Bailey. Whilever she was there, my mum wasn't. Then she was gone, she wasn't at the wedding or anything."Yes. The fact is, he's having issues controlling his magic. It's not safe for anyone right now to be around him alone." Her words have me nodding."You all think it's a plan to cause trouble?" I ask, sensing that is the bigger issue. His magic isn't, it's who is mother is that's causing them to be c
Storm POVI've done what my mum suggested, spent time with Julian, and not rushed into things. I feel like I'm delaying the inevitable, which makes me feel worse.Julian's arms are wrapped around me. "You've been unusually quiet. Something is going on. All night, you were different. Then today as well," his eyes focus on mine.He's not wrong. He stays one night a week. Usually, I talk about everything that's happening all week, but there's not much to tell him."Your wolf was back, Storm. Now it's gone again. Why?" He peers at me, and I'm scared of hurting him. He's going to find out, though. I know that Dad is back today, which means Quinn will likely be forced to interact with us."I love you," I smile at him, and his head tilts."You say that in a way that makes me feel like there's a 'but' coming?" He sits up, and I hear the knock. I walk to the door, and William smiles at me."Your Highness, you're late for food. The family are waiting," he explains."I need another five minutes,
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