ASHLEYMy eyes flew open hours later. I quickly sat up in bed and looked around the room. It looked quite familiar but my brain took a while to adjust. Then Anita walked in holding a wet towel.“Why am I here?” I asked Anita while looking at myself. Her face lit up as she saw me. She rushed over and sat beside me. She touched my forehead, my neck, and my hands. Then she raised my eyelids, one after the other. I pulled away from her touch, with a frown. “What is this about?” I asked, giving her a side glance. “I’m so glad you are back, Ashley. You went off for almost twenty-four hours.”“Off, how?” “You passed out!” she said with a creased forehead, “after everything Axel did to you.”It all made sense then. I passed out right after my breath became labored. Anita must have picked me up. Right then my head began to bang. I held my forehead and lay down. Anita leaned towards me, “Ashley, I am really worried. That guy hates you. This has gone beyond just bullying. In my opinion, he
ASHLEY“Axel…” I mouthed as I stared up at him, wide-eyed. Axel stared back at me. His eyes mirrored the contempt he felt for me. I retreated from him, while I still sat on the floor. His chest rose and fell, as he let out a gush of air from his lungs.I watched as his eyes traveled all over my body. He looked at my wounds closely. His eyes flooded with satisfaction when he saw how much my body was bruised. “You could have gotten me killed,” I said, trying to cover my wounds from him. “Why do you think I pursued you? Huh? Why!”His thunderous voice echoed through the forest, causing me to shudder. I swallowed, my eyes still on him. I thought of everything Anita told me earlier. Axel wanted to kill me. But why did he want me dead? I suffered so much maltreatment from him, yet I did not report him to his father. I did not even mention anything to my mother. What exactly was the problem?I needed to know what this was all about. I let out a gasp, gathered my courage, and asked him.
ASHLEYI turned again in my sleep. It was the third time I had woken abruptly from a nightmare. I bolted up and grabbed my duvet close to my chest. I grabbed my phone to see what time it was 3:34 am and I could not boast of a good sleep. I sighed and rubbed my hand on my face. I didn't think my birthday would begin with mind-numbing nightmares. Again, Axel was chasing me furiously through the forest. This time it was scarier because he caught me and dug his claws into my spine. I had swirled in the dream to get away from him but it was too late. There was blood everywhere. My blood!I was not the same after the attack in the forest. I had been having nightmares. I knew it would take a while to recover from Axel's attack. It would probably never happen. *****I stretched on my bed with a loud yawn. It was dawn and I didn't have to be in my room, having scary thoughts of Axel snuffing out my life. I stepped out of my room and headed for the kitchen. I wanted to finish my chores as so
ASHLEYIt was past seven when I sprang up from my bed and rushed out. I could not just let the whole day end without a single fight. I was going to hit the door until someone came and opened it. I went straight to the front door and began banging it hard. I held onto the knob to twist continuously alongside banging. I almost lost my balance as the front door flew open. Bastards! They finally decided to open it. I ran out and looked around. Whoever opened the door was probably still hanging around. I needed to ask for my phone, but there was no one. I dashed into the kitchen to see if the back door had been unlocked too. I held the knob firmly and twisted. Immediately the door flew open. Those fools had succeeded in ruining my plans for my birthday. My hate for the triplets tripled. To think they had made my birthday a nightmare. I stepped out into the backyard and looked around. Just then, I saw my phone by the window. I rushed and grabbed it. I tried to check for missed calls fro
ASHLEYMate? It was my turn to stare wide-eyed at the triplets. I swallowed as I looked intently at the guys in front of me. Were they still my step-brothers? The same ones that had made life miserable for me in every way possible. What exactly was going on? Was this some sort of prank? A confused frown crept into my face as I tried to make sense of everything. They looked completely different in their seemingly hypnotized state. Where was all their bitterness? The same Axel that always had a bitter frown when he looked at me, was looking at me blandly. They looked at me like I was a different person. It made me wonder if some of my features had changed.They could not possibly be looking at me with such intensity. The look in their eyes was that of longing and a burning desire to grab me. Axel’s eyes roamed my body. He seemed unable to tear his eyes away. I noticed his hands were curled at his sides. He looked like he was going to pounce on me. I could not tell what exactly was go
ASHLEYAnita's words came as a shock to me. I didn't expect her to challenge Axel's command. But apparently, she wasn't as scared of him as I was. We all turned as she moved closer to us. Her steps were bold and purposeful. She stopped in front of Axel, with her hands on her waist. “Why would you take her away? What do you think you are doing?” she asked. I watched Anita's eyes change from their usual cool green to a blazing yellow. Her eyes flashed as she stood up to Axel, not batting an eyelid. She ran her eyes over the three of them with utmost disgust. “After everything you put her through! You all stand here like you are under some spell and you want to take her away? Listen, not on my watch!” she said pointing at them. My eyes enlarged in shock. I blinked repeatedly to signal Anita to calm down but she paid me no attention. She moved over to where I was and pulled my hand from their grip. Then she held me firmly and dragged me to her side. But Brody held on tightly. “You ca
AXELWhat the fuck was going on? I tried to keep my cool as we drove home. But eventually, I could not hide my devastation. We were mated to Ashley? How was that even possible? I had been with my brothers, having a restful evening. Then suddenly, the environment was filled with an intoxicating scent. We could not hold back, we just had to follow some strong connection. We were led by our wolves and we began tracing the scent. Our bodies were on autopilot. I tried to understand it but I could not. As we got closer, I had expected to see anything but Ashley!Why Ashley? It just didn’t make any sense. How did I go from planning to kill Ashley to becoming her fated mate? The worst part of it was that my brothers had accepted it all without question. Were they that dumb? I was unable to hold my frustration any longer, so I attacked Ashley. “What have you done!” I barked.I grabbed Ashley by the neck and hit her violently against the wall. I could not contain the anger I felt as I stran
ASHLEYI could not believe what I had just heard. Axel believed I manipulated the mate bond. Why would I do such evil to myself? Why would I want to be mated to my wicked step-brothers? Did Axel think I wanted to be with him? I held my neck and swallowed with a wince. Maybe I should have listened to Anita. This was not the life I wanted for myself. How was I even mated to this beast in the first place? Was the moon goddess trying to punish me? I watched as Carson and Brody tried to convince Axel that I could not have manipulated the mate bond. But he was bent on accusing me. I was going to reject them as my mate. Axel’s attitude was even a very good reason to cut them off. I had nothing to lose. I was already eighteen, I would just move out of the palace as planned. I heaved a sigh of relief as soon as Axel stormed out of the house. There was no way I could have peace with Axel in the same house. Immediately, Carson and Brody rushed over to me. My eyes widened as they came closer
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