He glanced up and noticed who barged into his office without even knocking, making a ruckus.“What the hell, man? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”Alice sighed, recognizing his only friend. “Edward, I'm really not in the mood for chit-chat. You see that door you just breezed through like you owned the place? How about you use it to leave?”“Since when did you get a say in this? I'm here because Aunt Daisy is worried sick about you. How can you just ignore her? You've never done that,” Edward said, pulling up a chair and ignoring Alice's glares.“Not when she's faking illness to buy time for my soon-to-be wife's escape plan,” he retorted, eyeing his so-called friend.“She's not doing it to spite you, Alice. She just doesn't want you to hurt anyone. That matters, you know, even if you don't want to acknowledge it,” Edward reasoned, his expression serious.“I don't want to acknowledge it. You can leave now, Edward. I don't want to hurt you, but you're pushing it,” Alice said, g
"When will we reach there? We've been walking for one hour," Rish complained, scowling with his face all red and pale from walking."You have less energy than ants, your feet are bigger than all of ours, and yet you still have the guts to say this. Can't even walk properly," Levi commented on her brother, who is behaving all dramatically.Alisha just smiled, remembering all the kids from the orphanage. Though she never had real blood siblings, they were never any less to her.And why would they be, when she literally spent her whole life in the orphanage, never getting to know who her parents are, and not even wanting to find out.But there is some part of her that she wants to find, to know why they abandoned her like this when she was just a baby.What makes them hate her so much? Her heart always feels pain from thinking about this, that's why she always tries not to dwell on these things.She doesn't believe the pain she feels by thinking about it, she wants to lock it away and th
Levi breathed heavily, her heart beating so fast as she looked around, trying to spot any danger.“I told you we should rest,” Rish said, his hand on his chest.“Yeah, and then we'll have dinner with that animal. What do you think about that, Rish?” Levi snapped, glaring at her brother.“Stop, both of you. We're all fine, that's what matters. Don't get on each other's nerves. We need to walk fast and reach there as soon as we can,” Maya sighed, seeing them fighting in the middle of the forest like this.Alisha was still shocked by what just happened. Maybe Maya, Rish, and Levi were used to it, living inside the forest in a cabin, but it was different for her.She had never encountered anything like this, and it was shocking when Maya dragged her and she just ran like a mad person.To be honest, she remembered this exact feeling of running when she escaped from the restroom three days before, trying to fly out and escape from the forced wedding she was so close to being trapped in.“Mo
"Mam, you can't go inside. How did you even come here?" Maya, Levi, and Rish looked at the two guys standing on the pack's territory they needed to enter. Alisha's face was filled with questions. Why had they stopped? Wasn't this Maya's hometown, as she had said? So why weren't they being allowed in? What was going on? She scanned her surroundings.It was as confusing as hell, even more confusing than Alice."I wanted to talk to the security head. Do you think you can stop me? Just call Jackson. He will identify me," Maya growled, losing her patience - her patience running on thin lines.She just hated this interrogation. She knew this would happen. Coming back after so many years, things would have changed. Still, she couldn't deny that she found it disrespectful, no matter what. She couldn't just accept it.She was the sister of the queen. She was a doctor who had treated so many people. She felt proud of her identity. She never wanted to lose it.Staying away from the pack didn
Alisha gazed at Maya, her eyes filled with questions, eager for answers to everything.She doesn't even want to wait for answers. She's here, trembling in fear, and Maya wants her to trust them.She trusted them; that's why she's here. Otherwise, why would she follow someone she's only known for three days?Moreover, why wouldn't she find it scary? It's clearly something incomprehensible. Her mother, Mary, always told her not to trust anyone in life.And now, she feels she was wrong to trust them.Alisha closed her eyes, trying to shake off the fear. Why does she feel like she's in a more dangerous situation than she was before with Alice?"Here," Maya said.Before Maya could say more to Alisha, a man came running with a phone."Sir Jackson is on the call," he informed.Maya immediately took the phone and put it to her ear. "Jackson.""Who?" the person on the call asked."It's been eighteen years. Seems like you've forgotten my voice too, or is it because you're getting old now?" Maya
“Why did you come here? Isn't what you did 18 years ago enough?” Jackson narrowed his eyes as he asked.Maya didn't like the way he was talking to her. They used to be friends, and now he was behaving like an enemy.“I am here because I am part of this pack too,” Maya retorted, sitting on the chair.“Not after what happened. You already left years ago. You think you can just come and claim to be part of this pack whenever you want,” Jackson groaned, his voice dripping with anger.“Drop it, Jackson. We both know you can't be angry with me. I am the only friend you ever had,” Maya chuckled, pointing at him.“That's not how you should behave when you left this friend years ago. It's not how you thought when you left me, did you once think that?” Jackson, all pissed, sat on his chair.“I am not here to fight. We both know I had to leave because I can't just sit around and wait,” Maya squinted her eyes.She knows his anger is somehow justified too.Because he was not happy about when she d
“Mom, you need to come outside. Alisha fainted,” without knocking on the door, Rish entered the office.Maya, who was already shocked with the news that someone else was now ruling the pack, jumped in her chair with the sudden news.“Mom, did you hear me? Alisha lost consciousness.”Maya snapped back from her thoughts and stood up. “How?” She tried to make sense of it.“I don't know. She was just scared and overthinking. Levi and I tried hard to calm her, but she just fainted. Levi is holding her. We need to take her to the hospital now,” Rish explained, panic filling his voice.He didn't even know how to react himself.All he knew was that something wasn't right.“Carry her to the car. Follow me,” Jackson immediately stood up and started walking, with Maya following him and Rish leading the way.Levi, who was holding Alisha in her arms, was shaking, not knowing what to do. Due to how sudden it happened, it really scared her out of her wits.“Mom,” Levi shakily called as she saw Maya
“What curse?”“The one that's holding back her wolf, Lima. It's quite a thing, which is not explainable,” Jackson sighed as he looked toward Alisha's pale figure.“He is right, I don't know about the curse, but she has a wolf, which I can sense through her blood but unable to detect. She lost consciousness suddenly,” Maya explained some more, as she tried to hold herself from all the panic she felt in her veins.“She is the royal blood you told me about? The daughter of the late King and Queen?” Lima asked, with glowing eyes as she scanned Alisha's whole body, through her witch powers.“Yes, she is. I only met her today. Maya just found her three days before,” Jackson stated the whole thing in one breath.“She is cursed. No one can cure her. She lost consciousness because that curse's side effects take a toll on her body when her wolf tries to dominate her. She is overflowing with negative energy,” Lima said, as she can feel everything through her powers.“What you are saying Lima, ar
“What?” Rish gasped. “She’s getting her wolf back? How come she’s getting it before me? I’m older, and we’re both in the pack now. Why is she getting hers first?”More than shocked about Levi getting her wolf, he was shocked that she was getting it before him. When he was clearly older.“Keep your voice down, Rish, she’s sleeping,” Maya hushed him. “The timing of getting your wolf back doesn’t depend on age, dumbass. It happens when it’s supposed to. Because you both didn’t get your wolves on time, it’s more difficult and painful when the process finally happens.”Alisha looked at Maya with concern. “Am I going to go through the same thing?” She was scared.Seeing Levi suffer for the last two days had been tough. Though Alisha had endured a lot before, getting a wolf seemed far more painful.“Who knows, Alisha,” Maya said honestly. “Levi and Rish were not cursed; it’s just because they weren’t in the pack that they’re only getting their wolves now. But you’re different. Your wolf is o
"Levi, how are you feeling now?" Alisha asked, as she saw Levi pale and burning with fever.For the past two days, she had suddenly suffered from the fever, and damn, it wasn't getting any better. Her fever was only getting worse, making Levi look like she was going to die. While that may sound like an exaggeration of the situation, it was true that every hour she was fainting, and it was becoming more severe each time it happened."I'm feeling a little okay," Levi replied with difficulty, trying to smile, but failing miserably without a doubt."If you're feeling better, then why does your face look way worse than before?" Rish chimed in, his face looking stressed, showing the deep concern he had for his sister."Because...I have a fever. I'm not going to miss the World Cup because of it, so stop with these hypertensive reactions, Rish."He groaned. "Now it seems like your situation is getting better since you start having the energy to fight, which seems like a positive thing." He c
"You're thinking too much. Even if whatever happened in the past is trying to affect your present, don't let it, because that doesn't help at all," Maya advised.Jackson snapped back from his trance and nodded his head. "That's not changing anything. She doesn't want me too, and I don't feel any love or affection towards her.""Nobody is forcing you or her to feel anything, but maybe you both should try to get along. You're both old now; it's quite useless to behave like this," Maya said, her expression conveying how she found the situation absurd yet sensible at the same time.She could totally understand Jackson, and maybe somehow Lima too, as it's hard to accept mates when you're not on the same page.But it was dumb to be like this, especially after wasting 18 years.She regretted her own actions, and now, seeing others doing worse, she couldn't hold herself back.It was like the things one wants, others easily relinquish. She was here, dying to be with her mate, and yet these two
"Jackson, we need to talk. Why didn't you say anything about this whole situation? Not when you called her for help at the hospital, nor when we discussed going to her," Maya spoke sternly as she entered the room with him after dealing with everything.Jackson's face crunched in disgust upon hearing Maya's words, as if he had seen something weird. "Is that even important? She's a witch; helping people is her job. Why should I care? You're making it sound like a big deal, but it's not."Seeing how nonchalantly Jackson was reacting, Maya was dumbfounded. "That's not what I mean, Jackson. You know exactly what I'm trying to say here.""I don't know exactly, and you can stop talking in puzzles. It's totally fine if you talk normally.""Okay then," Maya groaned. "She's your second chance mate. Why are you so casual about it? And at the same time, you don't seem normal.""Did you skip the part where she mentioned how she rejected me, and on my part, I accepted it? Besides, it's been 18 year
"Then what about you? Always behaving so high and mighty, you're just a witch, don't forget," Jackson growled, having had enough of this woman. Though he didn't like her from the start when she came to the pack, why was a witch even needed? But then again, she helped with healing and other things, so he let it be.But he hated her whenever their paths crossed."You're angry because you were rejected, and your whole life went to hell after your wife died, and me, just a fucking witch, rejected you as a second chance mate," Lima spat her words venomously.Maya and Alice's eyes widened in shock. Mostly Maya was stunned. Of course, she knew how Jackson lost his wife in the attack, but she never knew that Lima was his second chance mate and had rejected him too.It made sense why she didn't know, because she was away for 18 years, but this whole situation was quite strange. He showed no sign of discomfort while they talked and decided to come here."I don't want a mate like you. I had on
"What brought you here? Let me have some peace. Didn't I tell you last time that I am now too old to help? Even when I helped before, my powers are still recovering, so find someone else," Lima softly sighed, seeing three familiar faces.It's not like she doesn't want to help, but her old bones can't assist at all. Even though Alisha is a royal heir, that doesn't mean she will put her life at stake. She is here due to a treaty, or else why would a witch live among werewolves?When the attack happened on this pack, she got sent here because Alisha's mother had some witch powers, so she was considered part of the witch side too. She helped them when they needed it, so as Lima came here to help the warriors and to heal others, she had to stay due to the circumstances, and how the pack needed her powers for healing and recovery.Now, she did help by telling about the curse and curing Alisha a bit. That doesn't mean she will keep doing it; she hates sticking her nose into business that isn
"Come here, sit down. Now tell us what you all found," Levi immediately came with water as soon as Alice, Maya, and Jackson entered.She, Rish, and Alisha were all so eager to know what happened about the whole building scenario.And all three of them were dissatisfied too because they were left behind. Usually, they all went there to train and were very familiar with the area, but today Maya allowed no one other than Alice, who obviously saw the building, so it was necessary for him to go.Elk had some work, so he couldn't go with them or stay at home either."Let us breathe. Why are you so eager?" Maya sighed as they all settled in their seats and took the water."How can we not be eager?" Rish stated. "You all went there without us, of course we are curious, and it's so hard to keep our calm after seeing you all.""That's because it wasn't necessary for so many of us to go there, and we can't just leave one person alone here, even though this house is safe. That doesn't mean I'm no
"Is this the place where you found the key?" Jackson asked, unsure of what to do next."Yes, this is exactly where I saw the building and got this key," Alice replied. How could he forget? Even in his dreams the previous night, he had seen that damned building and felt the exact same feeling as the moment he stood in that place. Now that they were here, the building was nowhere to be found, just as he had been unable to see it after exiting yesterday. Again, he wanted to dismiss yesterday as a dream, but this key wouldn't let that happen – nor would the vivid, detailed memory ingrained in his head.So it was useless to even try. But what now? There was no building here, and he didn't know what he was meant to do with this key.He brushed his hair back, stress clearly visible on his face. He didn't look panicked, but he was far from comfortable or at peace.This was mostly because of his involvement with the mafia; he rarely felt panic unless his mother or Alisha were somehow harmed
"I know you've suffered a lot, but that doesn't mean it'll set things straight," Maya said, her wrinkled face showing the weight of her exhaustion and stress. "It doesn't matter, Alisha. When you're in a place where you have to fight, death is unavoidable. Did you think you'd get the Alpha position peacefully?"How could she not be tired? Everything was taking its toll on her mind; she didn't even want to count it all. Finding Alisha had been her first priority, but back then, she hadn't thought deeply about what she'd do next or how things would work out.Now, when she did think about it, it seemed like a far-fetched dream. It was as if she'd only dreamed about the starting point—finding Alisha—and then never dreamed beyond that. And now she was suffering in her success: the attack, Alisha's curse, the pack's new Alpha, and this building mystery. Everything was crushing her.She didn't even know how to mend her relationship with Elk. He'd said he forgave her, but since that day, she