~Storme~ I gulped. That was a tough agreement to accept. King Marcellus never takes no for an answer whenever he is in need of my body. Accepting Theo’s terms would be agreeing to go head-to-head with the king. As much as I wanted him, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to do that yet. As if reading my thoughts, Theo’s grip tightened on my jaw. “Do you want to fuck me, or him?” It wasn’t a question. We both knew what I wanted. “You.” His low voice vibrated deep in the craniums of my soul. “Good.” His mouth descended on me again, wiping off all traces of doubt from my mind. There was something about the way Theo kissed me. It made me giddy. It made me feel drug-infused, and it certainly made sure that he was the only thing that I’d be thinking about for the longest time. Edging me towards the bed, Theo slowly lowered me down. The moment I was sprawled on the bed, my body was exposed to his lustful eyes. Even though this was nothing that he hadn’t seen since he fingered me
~Storme~ If I thought that what he did before was raw pleasure, then this was excruciating raw, real pleasure. I held onto his hair for dear life, afraid that I might collapse from what he was dishing out to me. When his tongue slid in, probing and searching, and his stubble grazed my opening, I knew that there was no way that I wouldn’t want to do this again after this time. I’d become addicted to him. ‘You taste so good. I might be addicted to eating you right now.' His mind-link skyrocketed me once again to the clouds. But he wouldn’t stop. He replaced his tongue with his fingers, while his tongue found my already sensitive clit once more. They swirled, tugged, licked, pressed. He did all that, letting me ride on the wings of my orgasm as much as I should. Then he stood. I could see his erection straining against his trousers. It occurred to me that I’d been the only naked one all this time, and he had been fully clothed. His shirt came off, followed by his pants.
~Storme~I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling of my room as the morning, hours after Theo had left for an emergency meeting with the elders. My body felt relaxed, and even though my pussy was sore and aching from the events of the past few hours, I still felt calm.My mind, however, was anything but relaxed. It raced with confusion, drowning in an ocean of endless unclarity.And it was all because of Theo.The name alone sent a ripple of heat through me, and my wolf stirred restlessly. She was thrilled about our connection. But I was far from settled.How could he be my mate?I had always assumed my mate would be… someone like me. Someone struggling to keep their footing, not a prince whose confidence and power radiated with every move.Yet I couldn’t deny the truth, not after what happened.I touched my lips, still swollen from his kisses. The memory of his hands on my skin, the way his body pressed against mine, was enough to send my thoughts spiraling.My wolf purred in contentm
~Storme~“No,” I said quickly. “That’s not what I meant.”“Then what did you mean?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.I faltered, my confidence crumbling under his intense gaze. “I don’t know,” I admitted, “I don’t know what any of this means. All I know is that being near you feels so right that I think it must be wrong. And that terrifies me.”Theo’s expression softened, and he closed the distance between us in two quick strides. He cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. “It scares me too,” he said quietly. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re mine, Storme. And I’m yours. This wasn’t us. This was the work of the Moon goddess. Our wolves chose each other.”The sincerity in his voice was my undoing. My defenses crumbled, and I leaned into his touch, my eyes closing as I let myself feel the bond between us. It was powerful, undeniable, and seeing that there was nothing I could do to stop that pull, I stopped fighting it.“I-I don’t know what to do,” I whisp
~Theo~“It’s been two whole days, Fred. And all you can report to me is that you haven’t been able to find the witch who did that to my father!?”Fred wiped off perspiration that had gathered on his forehead and exchanged glances with the Gammas behind him.After carefully appraising the situation, I’d concluded that it was only a witch that could inflict those kinds of wounds on a werewolf. The wounds weren’t just a result of stabs and slices of skin.The stabs and claws might have assisted, but I was wise enough to decipher that it was just an instrument meant to hinder the main purpose and to hide that it was a vile, unwanted creature who perpetrated the act.I was trying my best to hold off on lashing out at them as much as I could because I was aware of how they’d scoured the whole kingdom in search of this intruder.“There’s been no trace of any witch around the kingdom for the past twenty years, Theo. The men and I tried our best to—”My fist thumbed on the table simultaneously
~Storme~Luck wasn’t on my side today. Whatever it was that had pushed me to curse the King that day had disappeared. The darkness wasn’t there. I couldn’t feel it.I’d been there on my knees for hours, praying to whatever it was that might have inhabited me that day, to heal the king and restore him to what he used to be.Whatever this was, it wasn’t anything good. If hurting people was all it could do, I wanted no part in it. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Theo eventually found out that I was somehow connected to what happened to his father.King Marcellus might be a ruthless ruler, but he was still Theo’s father. I doubted that he would kiss a girl who hurt his father in an unearthly way.‘I think you need to calm down, Storme.’ My wolf whined. ‘You’ll wear yourself out at this rate. You know I’m not strong enough to help you.’I ignored her whining and kept on pacing the length and breadth of my room. Theo had ordered a search party to find the supposed cul
~Storme~It was finally time for the celebration meant to honor the king’s miraculous recovery. Marcellus decided to call a feast, which I didn’t really see as a feast because it was just the three of us –The king, Theo, and me – that were in attendance.According to Marcellus, he’d grown wary of people more than he used to be and wouldn’t want to incite harm on himself for the time being. Since it was a last-minute notification, Grace had to find me a suitable dress from one of my less-worn wardrobes.When I stepped into the hall, the king was already seated at his position at the head of the table. Theo sat on the left of the other end, which meant that I had to almost sit beside him. His eyes found mine the moment I walked in, their piercing gaze felt like they were stripping me bare.Walking briskly to my seat, I tried to ignore the appraising scrutiny that Theo gave me, and instead focused on the hall to deviate every unnecessary thought, especially since I’d just committed adu
~Storme~Theo’s fingers were relentless. My pulse roared in my ears, louder than music, louder than any chatter around us. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to suppress a gasp when his finger slid into me. My wolf growled with pleasure and frustration; her instincts tangled with mine.“You look flushed. Is the food not to your liking?” the king asked, noticing my countenance.“No!” I quickly interjected. “It is. I’m just so happy that you’re okay.”Theo’s fingers didn’t stop. They teased and tormented, sliding with agonizing precision, dipping just enough to make me ache for more. His composure infuriated me the most. The way he sipped his wine and exchanged discussions, all while unraveling me beneath the table.The king continued, oblivious. “Tomorrow, the queen will meet with the women of the kingdom. A gathering to discuss the prosperity of our Packs. It’ll be your first meeting with them. You must organize them well.”I tried to nod, tried to respond, but Theo’s fingers slip
~Theo~The world stopped. The air in the room turned suffocating. I heard nothing. Felt nothing. It was as if my body had shut down completely. I couldn't process what I had just heard. My mind rejected the words, my body refused to accept them.My breathing turned ragged as I turned to the doctor, my voice dangerously low. "Check again."The doctor swallowed hard, his face pale. "My Prince.. I've checked multiple times. There is no pulse. She has stopped breathing."Something inside me snapped."NO!" I bellowed, grabbing him by the lapel of his coat and shaking him violently. "She’s not dead! She’s not dead, you hear me? You’re lying! Do something!" My voice cracked as I shook him harder. "Bring her back! Bring her back right now!""Theo!" Fred grabbed my arms, trying to pull me off the doctor. "Theo, stop!""She’s not gone! She can’t be gone!" My vision blurred. My chest ached with unbearable pain. "Storme! Storme, wake up! Wake up!"I fell to my knees beside her bed, clutching her
~Theo~Despite being threatened by my father to stay away from Storme, I still found my way to her bedside that afternoon. There was no obvious improvement even after all the injections that the doctor had administered to her. She still looked pale and deathly.I knelt by the edge of her bed, putting her cold hand in between mine, trying to warm her up at least. But nothing was working.“Please, Moon goddess, please don’t take her away from me,” I prayed, “Take every other thing in my life, but please, return my mate to me. I can’t live without her.”I brought her hand up to my face, my heart breaking over and over again at what she had been reduced to. My once vibrant Storme, reduced to this figure who couldn’t do anything to help herself.She couldn’t scold me for doing things that she had warned me not to do, or for wanting to mark her even when she had made it clear that it was dangerous. I would give anything right now to hear her nagging at me. I would give every single thing.I
~Theo~I burst through the doors of Storme’s room, my heart pounding with unregistered fear. I pushed my body against the door, throwing it open. The moment my boots hit the floor, I froze. Droplets of blood littered the floor like scattered rubies, leading toward the place where she should have been.My wolf howled in rage at the gruesome sight. A cold, unnatural chill crawled up my spine, suffocating me in dread."Theo, calm down—""Storme!" Her name left my lips before I could even think. My voice was rough, desperate. But the room was silent. She wasn’t there.Fred stepped in behind me, gripping my shoulder. "Theo, you need to calm down."Calm down?I turned on him with a glare. "Who did this? Who the hell dared to poison the queen?"He opened his mouth, but before he could answer, "Where is she?" I grabbed the nearest guard by his collar, my grip tight enough to choke the breath from him. "Where the hell is she?""Th-The pack hospital!" The guard stammered, his eyes wide with fea
~Theo~“Tell me the truth, Fred. You can either tell me, or I’ll summon her and ask her myself. You know that she would never lie to the crowned prince of this Tribe.”Fred’s eyes darted everywhere around us, and he tried desperately to avoid my eyes. After our sparring session this morning, I’d tried to make him spill the relationship between him and Grace. But it looked like he would rather chew leather than say anything to me.The moment I mentioned summoning her however, his stance had changed. I guess he didn’t want his beloved lover to be held in my clutches after all.“She’s my mate, Theo.” He looked like a man who had been fighting a war inside his own head and finally lost. His shoulders were tense, his jaw locked as if he expected me to lash out.My jaw almost dropped. “What?”He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I tried, Theo. I tried to fight it, to pretend that it wasn’t real. But it’s too much. I can’t take it anymore. I need her." His voice cracked slightly, and I
~Storme~“What the hell!”I quickly scampered to a sitting position and flung the cover around my body. The girl who had barged into my room had her eyes down, and her hands clasped together in a beseeching manner.“I’m so sorry, Your Highness. I thought you’d be with the alpha king now, so I decided to come and arrange some things for tomorrow.”Hugging the cover tightly to my body, I glared at the girl. She looked unfamiliar, and I was so sure that she wasn’t a member of this Tribe because her scent was a bit different. Almost identical to Karen’s.“Who the hell are you, and who gave you the permission to barge into my room?”She looked up then, and I was able to see her features properly. Her eyes were sharp and eager, a round face that screamed innocence, and an attitude that I couldn’t decipher yet.“My name is Mona. I’m the new maid that has been assigned to you.”That explained the scent. Karen had really gone ahead to make do on her plans, and the king had indulged her. Things
~Storme~“You shouldn’t think so much about this, baby. Grace will be fine.”No, she won't. And I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities of what could happen to her while in Karen’s care. This whole palace was starting to feel even more suffocating than it used to be.Absent-mindedly, I swiveled on the chair in Theo’s personal study. There has to be something that I can at least do about this. There had to be something…“It’s strange that she decided to pull this card immediately after the mourning ritual. Do you think Grace refused to do something that she ordered her to do and now she’s trying to punish her?”“That might be possible,” Theo agreed, stopping the swiveling with a block of his hand. “Can you stop turning? You’re beginning to make me dizzy.”“And now she’s trying so hard to make one of her Pack girls my personal maid. Is she trying to get some kind of information or what?” I leaned back on the chair and grabbed both sides of my head. “This is driving me crazy.”T
~Storme~“Your Highness!”I glanced up to find an omega hesitantly peeking inside as she creaked the door open. I was surprised to see that she had managed to find me when I’d tried to hide myself in this place. I’d felt suffocated for some time, and decided that the best place for me to breathe would be in the library, sheltered from the world, tucked away between shelves lined with books that I loved more than anything. It gave me a sense of escape.“Is there a problem?” I asked, giving a reassuring smile when she lingered at the door without stepping in.She looked nervous, casting quick glances behind her before finally coming in. She bowed low and leaned in. Her voice was shaky as she murmured something in my ear.I froze. My grip on the book tightened.“What?” I mouthed, not understanding anything that she had said.She nodded in confirmation, and I didn’t wait a second longer. Abandoning the novel on the table, I pushed to my feet and stormed out of the library, my pulse racing
~Theo~The discussion between my father and me was dragging longer than necessary. Matters of the Tribe had a way of doing that. It was always endless disputes, trade agreements, and border tensions. My patience was wearing thin, but I kept my composure, responding when necessary, even though my mind was elsewhere.The forces against Storme and I were getting stronger, and it was only a matter of time before we were publicly called out in the Tribe. My refusal to marry Karen wasn’t helping issues at all. She was already threatening Storme’s life, and knowing the kind of personality that Karen had, it wouldn’t take her a blink to eliminate whoever she saw as a foe.The whole matter was driving me insane.A sharp knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. Before my father could answer, the door swung open, and in walked Karen, dressed in her usual arrogance, a sly smile playing on her lips. But what caught my attention wasn’t her.It was the girl trailing behind her. I recognized he
~Karen~“I’m so sorry, My Lady, please forgive me.”I glared down at the shivering mess in front of me, my fists clenched so hard that my nails dug into my palms.The back and forth was becoming tiring. How difficult was it supposed to be to carry out a simple task? My patience was already slice thin, and would snap at any time now.It’s already been two days since my encounter with that slimy, pretentious, unfaithful bitch. She was supposed to be dead by now. At the very least, she should have been on the floor, writhing in agony, gasping for breath as the poison works through her veins. But she was still here, alive. Untouched. Walking around the palace like nothing had happened.And Grace… Grace stood before me with her head bowed, her body trembling like a pathetic leaf caught in the wind. Was she such a loyal dog who can’t bear to bring harm to her owner?“And why should I forgive you?” I asked, slamming my hand on the desk, the thud sound echoing throughout the silence of my ro