ASHLEYI fell to my knees and cried my eyes out. I did not know which hurt more. The fact that I was so stupid to have fallen for a dare organised by my step brothers or the fact that it was Derrick, same Derrick I had started to have feelings for.If only I had listened to Anita when she warned me to be careful. Maybe I would have seen through his lies. Now I was in a mess, my videos and pictures were all over the place.I came to the conclusion that I was cursed.I sniffed, cleaned my face and got on my feet. The best place to go would have been Anita's house. But she had traveled. I had no choice but to go back home.I walked into the palace. And the first thing that greeted me was extremely loud music coming from the house. That was then I recalled that the triplets were throwing a party that evening.I sighed in frustration. I knew some students from Empire High would be at the party, so I didn't want to be seen. Instead of going through the front door, I crept to the back exit a
ASHLEYI was awake all night. The music playing in the living room did not go off for a second. While some guests got tired and slept, some were up, partying all night.I felt extremely dizzy. I really hoped that the triplets would be utterly knocked out so I could have some time to myself in the day.I was grateful that the guests left quite early. I quickly cleaned the living room and set everything in order before any of my step brothers came out of their room.I was doing the dishes in the kitchen when Axel shouted my name like his life depended on it. I shook my head in frustration. It was just 8am and I was already being summoned. I fucking stayed awake all night, tending to them in their drunken state.“Ashley!” he called again.I went out to the living room to meet Axel. He was seated with Brody. It was evident that the alcohol from the previous night had really dealt with them. Brody looked like his head was on fire. It was good seeing him too tired to even speak.It served
ASHLEYAs I ran for my life, I knew there was only one place in the world where I could find safety.“Ashley! “ Anita shouted as she opened the door.She grabbed me in a tight embrace as if she had just seen a long lost lover. After the hug, she held my hand and I screamed. Anita jolted and stepped back to see what was wrong. That was when she noticed I was barefoot and I looked a complete mess.“What is going on here?” she asked with a deep frown.She moved around me in a circle, “Ashley, what happened to you?” she asked again, “you know what? Let's go inside, please,” she said and guided me into her house.“A lot has happened to me, Anita. I don't even know where to begin,” I said as we got to her room.“Who did this to you?” she asked, holding my hand.“Axel.”“What? Why would he do such to you? What happened?” she asked, checking me out, “you look a mess, Ashley. You need a warm bath. I'll tell the family doctor to treat your wounds,” she said with so much concern.Anita prepared
AXEL“That bitch!” I shouted angrily and punched the wall.I had never imagined that a day would come when Ashley would hit me.I walked back into the house, and straight to my bedroom, after she escaped. I paid no attention to my brothers. I was too angry to even talk about what Ashley had done.******I woke up feeling hazy. I placed my fingers on my temple, trying to douse the ache I was feeling. Even after sleeping for hours, my head was still not settled.If only I had taken the hangover soup.I sighed.The only thing that made me feel good was the thought of Jasmine coming over. Jasmine had such fierceness that I could not describe. My desire for her was so raw, I could hardly suppress it.She was sexy as fuck.I recalled how we kissed so passionately the previous night. It took every bit of control to not ravish her right there at the party. I had pinned her to the couch and kissed her senseless, regardless of the presence of others. My dick pulsed at the thought of how she ra
ASHLEYI stayed at Anita’s house the entire day and decided to return home late in the evening. I could not thank Anita enough for taking care of me. I ate three square meals, without having to lift a finger. Being in her house made me realize how much I missed my bed. How much I missed eating at the dining. How much I missed the normal life.My wounds were properly treated, although they were taking a while to heal. But I felt a lot better.Despite Anita’s incessant begging, I insisted on returning to the palace in the evening. She thought it was a bad idea considering the reason I ran away. She made me promise that I would not hesitate to return if things became unbearable. And I agreed, even though I knew I was going to take in whatever happened.I walked into the palace knowing it was a lion’s den. But I just had to be home. One thing I knew for sure was that Axel would never let an offence slide. But I was glad that I had shown him there were other sides to me. I wasn’t just a pu
ASHLEYI woke up the next morning feeling a lot better. I yawned and stretched, I sure had a good sleep. And then I realized what was going on. I was in my room, on my bed! I looked around, wondering what was happening.I placed my hand on my forehead to feel my temperature. I was probably hallucinating. There was no way I had slept in my room. I tried to rack my brain to understand what could have occurred. The memory of last night came rushing. I had been in the rain all night. I could not recall going into my room.The only logical explanation was that someone brought me into my room after I must have passed out from the cold.I became worried. What if this was a set up? What if Brody brought me here to annoy Axel so that I could get punished? What if Axel came in to hit me?I rushed off from the bed and adjusted my clothes. Then I tiptoed to the door. If I was going to get punished, I wanted to be aware of it. As I got close to the door, I heard voices arguing. I leaned closer to
ASHLEYThe arrival of my mum was an automatic ticket to a good life. I ran into Axel a couple of times in the day and he didn't utter a word to me. It felt so good to be free again. It felt so good to live without panic attacks and abuse.I had almost forgotten what it felt like to have maids attend to my needs. My heart skipped when there was a knock on my door by 6pm. I did a quick check of what the problem could be before I eventually answered.What if it was Axel? Then I recalled my mum and Alpha Hendrix were around and nobody could harm me in their presence.“Who is there?” I asked.“Good evening, ma’am. Dinner is ready,” a maid said from outside my door.“Oh okay. I’ll be there shortly,” I said, trying to sound as calm as possible.I heaved a sigh of relief as I changed into something more presentable. I could not recall the last time I had a maid come to call me for dinner. I was in fact used to calling the triplets to come have dinner.After a few minutes, I joined the family
ASHLEYLife was back to normal at the palace. Everyone went about their daily activities without any clash.The next morning, we gathered at the dining table to have breakfast. It was a culture in the home for everyone to eat meals together. I saw a dimension of the triplets that only existed when their father was around. They were really polite towards me, especially when their father or my mum was present.The table was served and we were having bread, tea and scrambled eggs. Everyone ate in silence. Whatever was said was done through eye movements. Except Alpha Hendrix, of course. He loved engaging in conversations during meals.I happened to sit beside Alpha Hendrix at the table and he seemed to direct most of his talks at me. First he talked about the challenges he faced when he was trying to seal his ‘big deal'. From there he spoke about how challenges were normal in life and one should never give up.“Pass me the milk, Ashley,” he said, pointing to the jug of milk.“Sure,” I sa
ASHLEY I recognized them the minute I saw them. Their faces were covered as were the faces of every guard in the palace. But there was something different when our eyes met. I felt a spark on my inside. My wolf surged within me, causing my heartbeat to triple. “They have come to rescue you. Your true mates!” I tried to wrap my head around it but my mind was blurred. I knew them, I felt it strongly, but I did not know exactly why they came for me. I wanted to stay back and check what it was about, but Killian would not let me. When he insisted that I left the throne room, I had no choice but to leave. As I went to my chamber, I saw another wolf. His eyes ignited the same spark in me. We stood staring at each other and just like the other two, he also was dressed as a guard. “Who are you?” I asked, calmly. “You do not know me? Ashley?” He looked heartbroken and shattered. “I feel a connection with you, but I do not know exactly who you are.” We went into my chamber and he took h
AXEL“All we need now is to reach the palace,” Carson whispered as he crouched beside me in the forest.Things were not the same after Killian defeated us and took Ashley away. Breaking the mate bond was extreme. It made it impossible for us to connect with Ashley, thereby making the search for her longer than normal. But we finally found Killian’s pack.While he was busy shuffling between his pack and the capital,we were busy making our way deeper into his territory. We had killed many of his guards and he had no idea what was going on. We had eaten deep into his territory. We took our time, knowing that this was no small battle.As the days went on, we were able to make our way into the village, hiding behind cabins and caves.“Now that they know we are here, we have to be more careful. I would also suggest that we hurry up and get into the palace,” Brody said as we sat down to strategize.We entered the palace at night, through the back. We injected the guards and put them to sleep
KILLIANAfter the marriage ceremony between Ashley and me, a wave of fulfillment washed over me. I stared at her with pride. My labor of many years finally paid off.I instructed the maids to set up a room specially for Ashley. She was my Luna and I wanted that to be evident in e etu way. I assigned some maids a d to get. They were to ensure that her needs were met.I visited my secret room to do a power check. I was elated when I discovered that some heights which had seemed impossible a while back, I now surpassed.I had a meeting with the elders later in the day. I could see the hidden questions in their eyes as they stared at me. But no one dared to ask me questions.“The time to claim what was rightfully mine is here. It's time to ascend to the throne.”They stared at me, still confused. Then they began exchanging confused comments among themselves. I wonder how I surrounded myself with such dummies.“It's time to declare myself as king of the entire capital. I will now be the
KILLIANI took Ashley to a dimly lit chamber. It was bare and cold, save for a funny-looking bed. I had to be sure that she was ready to do my bidding. She had to prove herself worthy of my palace.I stood over her, my gaze unwavering.“You will be my Luna,” I declared, enjoying the way my voice echoed in the room, “we will be married, and you will serve your purpose.”“Never!” she barked, her eyes spitting fire.I chuckled, a low sound that ended almost immediately, “we'll see about that.”I began pacing the room, speaking of our future, of our children, of a life together. The more I spoke, the angrier Ashley became. She was not willing to do my bidding. Her eyes pierced my heart as she shot daggers with them. But I didn't care.I had come a long way on this plan. I had put in so much to ensure that I got Ashley as my Luna. Having her tight here in my territory was proof that the universe was granting my long-term desire.I tried to resist the urge to hit her. She kept swearing at m
ASHLEYThe moon was full and heavy, sending shadows all over the forest. I looked around trying to understand where we were at the time. I looked around trying to trace the road from where Killian parked his car.“My men will take care of you for the night. Enjoy the space given you in the cabin. Tomorrow, we will continue the journey to my park.”I did not respond to him, neither did I look in his direction.“You heard me right?”I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that this evil creature was the same Long Leg Ahjussi that I had known for so long. I felt miserable. I had been played. I let myself be used! To think I had sold some information to an enemy. “I want some time alone!”He looked down at me for a few seconds, “you can have your time alone but don’t try anything funny,” he said dangling his index finger in front of me.“I don't care what you would do to me!” I said, angrily.“Ashley!” he shouted, his voice laced with a wickedness, “I would advise you to corporate
ASHLEY“I am Ashley's online lover!”I stared at Killian with my jaw dropping in shock.Axel and Brody turned to look at me with confusion. I couldn't believe I was in such a terrible situation. It was too overwhelming to find out so many things at once.I thought we had escaped.Brody told me that waiting in the underground room was too risky.“That Killian guy is too sensitive and smart. We cannot let him get us so easily,” he paused and looked around, thoughtfully.Then he pointed to the wall at the other end of the room. I looked at the wall, wondering how we would go through it. He held my hand and rushed towards the wall. He stretched and tapped the wall and a pad of buttons appeared from the side. I had no idea that the wall was computerized. It opened up, creating a space for us to go through.I followed behind Brody and waited for him to close the wall again.“Carson is waiting for us outside the school walls. Just follow my lead and we will be fine. I'm sure Axel is facing h
AXELWas Killian monitoring us?I couldn't get my mind off what Ashley had shared with us. Killian was definitely monitoring us. We all agreed to be more watchful of him and to report any suspicious movement to the rest of us.I sat beside Killian during basketball training. Our team had just scored a superb goal and we were leading. Killian jumped on his feet and cheered for the goal. I remained in my seat while shouting at the top of my voice.Just then, Killian's phone chimed, and a message popped on the screen.If you let the info slip, then I think we need to act fast.I gasped and looked up. I was relieved to see that he was still occupied with cheering our teammates.His phone chimed again.She might have sensed something was off already and might have told the others. Was this about Ashley?I looked up to find Killian staring down at me. He quirked his brow questioningly at me. I ignored him and looked ahead.He sat quietly and picked up his phone. I expected him to check hi
ASHLEYHanging out with Killian was quite comforting. Being with him gave me a break from all the hurdles and pressure back in the palace. His presence always brought a sense of calm, a kind of balance in the weight of my life.There was so much to plan. I attended a series of meetings with my mates and the elders. Aside from the stress, I was getting used to the real life of royalty. But I found myself looking forward to the relief that came with spending time with Killian.I told Anita about him and I also told Long Leg Ahjussi. He said he was happy for me but he wouldn’t want someone else to take his place in my life. I laughed at him for being jealous.I reassured him that no one could take his place. While I relaxed with Killian in school, I did not discuss my life issues with him. I was careful to avoid telling him personal things and other occurrences in the palace. I felt more comfortable telling them to Long Leg Ahjussi. He was very understanding and we had come a long way.J
AXELI could not avoid the smell of sweat that filled the air in the basketball room. I sat in the front row, watching the others play, while waiting for my turn. The repeated thud of the ball against the floor echoed in my ears, while my eyes got busy with something else.I watched Killian, the new guy, with a mix of admiration and unease. His movements were effortless and his shots were calculated. There was an uncommon grace to his play that resonated with something deep within me. I concluded it had to be born from years of practice since he did not mention anything about being from a special breed or having any powers at all.But that grace, it was something. The fierceness with which he played could not be possessed by just any wolf. He seemed to have a perfect blend of expertise and that feral touch I couldn't place.At first, I'd been wary of him. His arrival had disrupted the school in a very haughty way. It felt like a sudden intrusion into our territory. But as the days pas