ZARA.Chase asked me on a date!I looked at myself for the millionth time in my room mirror and adjusted the lined layers of my dress. I had decided to go for a long, red silk dress that fit me like a glove, and it shimmered under the soft light of my room. The dress was also backless, which was a little risqué but perfect. My hair was not in its usual bun this time. I'd left it in a curly Afro, and my makeup was light and minimal. Just a hint of mascara and a touch of tinted lip gloss; perfect for an evening dinner date.Butterflies danced wildly in my stomach because this was the first date Chase and I were going for, and the anticipation was overwhelming. Chase returned last night, and just before we retired to our separate rooms for the night, he asked me on a date tonight, and I couldn't wait!I had no idea where he was taking me yet, but that only seemed to add to my excitement. And nervousness at the same time."What do you think?" I asked Pamela and Bella, who had been stand
We had light chatter as the car pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the restaurant. We spoke about safe topics like his time away and the upcoming events, but we never deviated from those topics to discuss the issue lingering in the air. The night at his family home. It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it, and I didn't want to sound like a desperate lady eager for some attention. I mean, he initiated the kiss, and he pulled away on his own accord. Not because I was a terrible kisser, because I know I wasn't. Or was I? Now I'm not sure anymore.So I did the reasonable thing anyone in my situation would. I completely pushed the conversation to the back burner and didn't worry about it anymore. Now, I could notice the tension between us, but I didn't want to spoil our evening by bringing up a topic that could dampen the mood. 'He likes you,' Nia said. 'Isn't it obvious?''He's just being nice,' I countered.I had a history of latching on to men who were just being ni
I watched him move around the kitchen, stirring the pasta until it was covered in the tomato based sauce, and he kept adding bits of pasta water. Chase was making a brownie, my favorite dessert, and from the corner of my eye, I saw a vanilla ice cream tub in the freezer, and my heart melted.Brownies with ice cream may seem childish, but it was my all-time favorite dessert and has gotten me through many dark times. It may seem basic to some, but to me, it was heavenly. Chase did not just take me out on a date, but was cooking for me as well.Tears stung at my eyes, threatening to fall because no one had ever done something like this for me before. It felt nice to be considered and pampered. He meticulously measured ingredients, his brow furrowing in concentration as he sifted flour and cocoa powder. Each movement was precise, and one can easily notice the amount of thought, and care put into it. "You really did your research," I spoke out before I became a bawling mess.He smiled
"... and Betnerd High School is officially open!" Chase announced as we both cut the blue ribbon with the enormous scissors we were holding. Scattered applause and cheers filled the air as the new high school in Betnerd was officially open to the public. It's been four weeks since I arrived at the kingdom and two weeks since our date. The past two weeks have been pretty busy for Chase and I, from attending numerous conferences and events to traveling around different states and performing our royal duties. It was also a way for me to be introduced to the people of Betnerd as their queen.Chase's position as king and me being queen meant that we were always invited to dine at exclusive restaurants and visit different business places. Our presence always meant a stamp of approval and a promise of success. Restaurants, cafes, and businesses all sought patronage, knowing that the influence could lead to a surge in popularity and a lot of sales. After unveiling the new school, the crowd
I let out a soft whimper as I leaned into him. Chase quickly pushed a button, and behind me, I could hear a sound. And I turned to see the car partition going up between us, Shane, and the driver.I barely had time to breathe before his lips crashed down on mine, my legs spread to either side of him, courtesy of the slit on the gown. I could feel his hardness throbbing against me as the dress hiked up and pooled around my waist. Chase pulled away from my lips, leaving them bruised and aching for more, and for a moment, I thought he was about to stop the car and leave just like he did back at his family house. Although we kissed a few times on different occasions after our date that night, but nothing too intense as this.Instead, his gaze dropped, and I saw his eyes drop down to where my dress was bunched up, my cream colored panties exposed.His hands slid over to my butt, and he gripped me, squeezing possessively like I was his property. Which was a side of Chase I loved seeing. T
ZARA.I stirred on the bed, extremely uncomfortable, and blinked as my eyes opened. I instantly recognised that I was in my room. The lights were dim, and Pamela and Bella were not beside me. Instead, Chase was beside me, his head resting on the bed and my hand clasped tightly in his.I felt lighter, the headache fully disappearing as well as the queasiness. It was stress, I knew that much. And I needed a rest before I ended up throwing up on actual important people.My eyes drifted back to Chase, and I watched him for a bit, breathing in and out. I realized that I didn't want this small moment between us to ever end. I felt safe and comfortable with him, and I'd never felt that way toward anyone. 'Just admit what you really feel,' Nia said within me, quickly keeping me in check. I moved slightly on the bed to sit up, and Chase's eyes flew open instantly at my movement. His senses always seemed to be super heightened, and it made him hotter to me.'Oh, my Lumus. What's wrong with me
Even saying those words made my chest ache, but I knew I needed to go through with this. Whatever Chase and I were doing, we needed to double down on it because Asher and Lina would definitely be looking for a crack between this union. We'd gotten married hurriedly, and I knew they were here to spy, to find anything to use to break me more than they already have. Which was why Chase's idea was great. We do need to present a strong front and give them nothing to be suspicious of. "Agreed," Chase said, his eyes never leaving mine. "We'll need to play the part of a couple deeply in love."Just thinking about it made my insides tighten. Not out of fear, but because of the unspoken feeling that I had been feeling for the past week. And not to mention how incredibly horny I got when Chase was near, and we weren't always in the same proximity. But it could get worse now, and I was scared of how I would behave.Our marriage was an alliance that we had both gotten into. But the line between
I wore a light blue dress that seemed to hug my curves, a rose sewed in just above my right breast. I liked it. I left my hair in a fro, leaving two stands dangling on either side of my face. I also did my make up. Chase wore light blue slacks and a silk shirt, his hair in a man bun, which seemed to make my entire body heat up with another image. An image of him pressing down on me. Doing sinful acts. It was the one thing taking the edge off of me. The nervousness of seeing Asher and Lina. I am afraid they'd see through this game of ours. See through my shits and call me out."I have the last documents you need to sign in your office, Your majesty," Shane was saying as Chase and I walked to the dining hall. "I'll work on them in the morning. Any news from Geolfield yet?""No, your majesty. Both parties are refusing to settle so I think you'll have to go there."Chase made a sound in his throat, his hold on my hand tightening as we reached the door. "Let's talk tomorrow, Shane. Time
I gripped the leather of the car seat so tightly I was certain my nails would leave marks. The pain I felt was one I’d never felt before in all my life and I was trying… and failing terribly… to keep it together. I couldn’t catch my breath. My vision blurred with tears, and all I could do was gasp, clutching my belly as if I could somehow contain the ache that tore through me. Okay, I’d heard tales about childbirth and even Margaret had scared me with one a couple of days ago, but I didn’t think that it would be this painful. Beside me, Chase was handling the whole situation even worse than me. He was practically yelling at the frightened driver and I was just hoping that we don’t end up driving up a tree with how much tension filled this car. “Can’t you go any faster?” Chase said to the driver, his hand reaching for mine. I could feel his worry, but I couldn’t comfort him right now, not when I was clinging to what little composure I had left. He rubbed my hand. “It’s okay,
ZARA. My heart was pounding when Chase and I got into the car, making our way back to the airport. This entire day has come as a shock. I mean, I had no idea that Chase was planning this. I sat in the car, watching the gorgeous trees in the kingdom I'd call home all my life blur past. Tears were stinging my eyes, but they were not falling. I simply held my husband's hand and from time to time, felt him give me a reassuring squeeze. Still, in the midst of everything, I was still in disbelief and couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Asher and Lina had gone to those lengths to get rid of me. They had been having an affair since the beginning of our relationship and I had no idea because Asher had gone extra lengths to make sure I wouldn't know he was cheating. And I almost married him. Almost merged my life with his. And to rape me? Really? Had I never meant a thing to them? Had I always been a thorn in their sides? Was that it? Had they hated me that much? To be able to g
I took a step away so that everyone could focus on the bouncer as I walked behind Zara’s chair to keep her company for a while. My hands found her shoulders and began gently massaging. She seemed so stiff and in shock and I wanted to do anything to make her feel better. Maybe a kiss. Or a hug. Anything to take off the tortured look on her face. I leaned down to her ear as I whispered. “I’m sorry.” She squeezed my hand on her shoulders and blinked, the words she said shocking me a bit. “I love you, Chase. More than you’ll ever know.” “You’re not upset? I did this without you knowing?” She looked up to smile at me. “I love that you’re protecting me and that’s all that matters.” I squeezed her shoulders again and lifted my head to face everyone once more. “You can speak now!” I ordered the bouncer. “I was hired to make Zara…” I cut him off quickly. “That’s queen Zara of Betnerd to you.” He cleared his throat. “I was hired to make queen Zara look compromised,” he said, look
CHASE. Lina’s voice cut through the council again, shrill and annoying and I was seriously getting tired of her screaming. “So that’s it, isn’t it?” she spat. “You’ve always been the whore. You and Chase, together that night, carrying on like you had some claim to him.” The whore word again? When was she going to learn? Maybe never, because that was why she opened her mouth to Edward and told him about Zara cheating on the bond when they visited. It was why he had the guts to insult her moments before I killed him. And now, even after being caught in a lie with her vile husband, Lina was still going to war for him. I was very impressed by how loyal she was no matter what was thrown their way, but she’d called my wife a whore and I wasn’t going to let that slide, not even one bit. Before she could spit out another vile word, I was already moving. I held out my hand as I grabbed Asher by the collar, and before anyone could blink, my fist crashed on his jaw again. He gasped in pain,
Chase held the pendant, looking around as his eyes met mine. “This necklace held a spell that stopped Zara from feeling any pain when Asher was cheating on her. It was why she never knew.” I swallowed, the hurt and betrayal becoming more painful by the second. “All of these are lies,” Asher spat out, but Chase was not yet done. “Shut your mouth before I order the kingdom priest to step in,” Chase said. “You can do that then,” Asher mumbled, even though I could tell he was scared. “I will. But I also spoke to the priest's daughter who said that he’d made this spell for you, Asher. And how this spell was shattered on the night of Zara’s bachelorette party.” I sucked in breath without moving as the priest was ushered into the room. He’s old and had been the priest of the kingdom for as long as I could remember. The priest greeted the king by bowing his head as he sat on the table with us. Asher and Lina looked petrified. “So, what do you have to tell us about this?” Chase as
ZARA. Excuse me? It took me a moment to process what I had just heard. A whole moment to figure out the rate of my heartbeat. This whole thing looked like a badly written movie script and I had no idea how much I could take in before I began to scream. It started like a play, with Chase revealing Lina’s branded mark, and how everything was slowly making sense. I replayed the night of the bachelorette party in my head, pieces of the puzzle slowly clicking together. I hadn’t been black out drunk that night… at least, not in the way I made myself believe. The truth was, I wanted to fall into someone else’s arms, to escape, even if just for a moment. It was a farewell to my freedom, a desperate attempt to hold on to something I could control before I got into a marriage that felt like a trap. Even if at that moment, I hadn't thought of it that way. Months before that, maybe even a year, Asher became a completely different person. I slowly started noticing that he was not the man I’
Gasps filled the room as everyone took in the mark on her wrist, the shock most evident on Asher and Lina’s faces. But they didn’t gasp or flinched because they’d both known this all the while and had kept it a secret. I let go of her wrist as she tried to regain her composure. I looked at her and then Asher with satisfaction on my face. “Would you like to explain why you’re wearing a mark that only appears when someone’s slept with another wolf that isn’t their mate?” Lina’s eyes flashed with anger. She tried to hide her hand deeper into her coat, but everyone else had already seen it. The damage had already been done. “What are you playing at, Chase?” My brother yelled, clearly pissed. “What sick game is this?” “You!” Lina screamed at me, her index finger pointed shakily at my face. “You did something to me. You… you’re trying to set me up. That mark you just showed up now. It isn’t real.” “Then why are you desperately trying to make them believe you? Take out your hand and
CHASE. The meeting hadn’t begun officially, but I was already livid. I couldn’t wait to put Asher and Lina in their place and make them pay dearly for everything they’d put Zara through. In a way, I was grateful for them because they were the main reason I was able to find my mate, the love of my life. My queen and the mother of my child. Hopefully, children. But still, it doesn’t dismiss what they’ve done and how much they’ve made her a laughing stock in her own kingdom. ‘Make sure to put them in their damn places,’ Drew growled. I tightened my palms together until it turned into a fist and clenched my jaw. ‘I fucking intend to.’ I knew that organising this meeting meant digging up past trauma for Zara, but it had to be done. Especially given the fact that she had no idea what I was doing. Seeing their ashen faces was the highlight of my mood right now. Gripping the table more, I asked again. “I asked you both a damn question!” I snapped. “Would you like to do the honors or
I blinked at nothingness as the words kept repeating in my head. I was struggling so hard to come to terms with what I had just heard. It has been months since I've been back here, after I was thrown out like scum of the earth and then Chase had stood up for me. But now, I had no idea why I was here. I decided to leave Zakori behind and never look back, but for some reason, that didn't happen. For the longest time, this place had felt like home to me and I didn't know anywhere else. I barely traveled out of the kingdom and state because I didn't need to. I was content with the life I had here. Until the day of the wedding. The day my entire world came crashing down and I couldn't stop it. The place I'd grown up in, the place that used to feel like safety. Now felt like judgment. Like I was stepping into a trial. I wasn't ready for that again. I turned to Chase now, my eyes filled with questions. "Why are we here? I thought we were going to a tropical state or something?" My voi