AGRONA “ They caught our men. The King made them confess to everything. He knows you were behind them, that you made them steal the rations so you could turn the people against him for starving them. ” Nash reveals with a grim look painted across his face. I hum, sitting back in the chair. It doesn’t sound as unsettling as I thought. If Aleister knows, he should know he brought it upon himself by pushing me to the edge. “ You can go now. Take over all the responsibilities once Draven asks you. You will be my last step to victory. ” I wave my hand in the air, dismissing him carelessly. He nods, “ We will get rid of the Lycans. Once and for all. ” A smirk tugs at the corner of my lips. There is a limit to stupidity. The people of this Kingdom, werewolves and witches and wizards alike…they always push that limit and prove that they are extraordinarily stupid. “ Of course. ” I whisper. Nash steals a glance my way before strolling out of the room. My lips press into a line as the d
AVERY “ Well, what do we have here… ” Aleister mumbles, pausing on the bridge that leads to the crystal building in the distance. My breath catches in my throat as I gawk at the black glass. This is the most beautiful castle in all four Kingdoms, glass and crystals weaved together to make it appear like a part of a dark fairytale. This is the second time I am getting the chance to admire it. And no doubt, if I can look at it a little longer, every day, I won’t mind at all. From the corner of my eyes, I see the water in the lake rippling. My heart misses a beat as I direct my gaze towards it. A shiny tale moves under the water rapidly. It crosses the lake under the bridge and appears on the other side. Her head pokes out of the water. She blinks, her eyes creasing as if she is smiling at me before she turns and swims away, her beautiful tail moving underwater mesmerizingly. “ Darskin. ” Draven murmurs from behind me. I cast him a skeptical look over my shoulder, earning a n
AVERYThose who claimed to be brave and wanted to rebel…their screams echo in the throne room. Chaos intensifies, as they run for their lives, and darkness surrounds them. Amidst the wave of dread, the Beast’s predatory glare zeroed in on me. The deep black in his eyes feels like an endless abyss of malice. For a moment, the world pauses. I hold my breath, my eyes caught up in his. I don’t fear him like others do. He shouldn’t come after me. Then, why is he not even sparing anyone else a glance? And only watching me? The Beast steps down the first stair, the thump resonating throughout the hall. The voices become sharp, as if one step fueled their fear. He growls, sending a shiver down my spine. And then, he is just coming towards me. There is no hurry today. It’s like he wants to chase me, but slowly. “ Kill her! ” Agrona shrieks. “ Yes! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her! ”She chants continuously. The Beast picks its speed, rushing towards me faster as if he can’t wait to do what
AVERYAnger bursts out of me as the water freezes, in her mouth. Agrona grabs her throat, her eyes narrowing on me. Not wasting another moment, I reach towards Draven and grab his arm again. To my surprise, it feels light. I yelp, dragging him closer with a slight tug. It seems to be working now.Oh My Goddess. I turn around and drag Draven out to the doors. Out of nowhere, a dark wall forms in the doorway blocking my path.“ You are dying today, Princess. It’s not your fault. But you are his mate. ” Agrona yells. The water climbs the dark wall, slowly causing it to crumble. It doesn’t even feel like I am doing it completely. It feels like some other force at play—someone helping me. My heart misses another beat but I don’t stay to think too much. I rush straight out of the throne room. The doors slam shut after I step out, and the water forms a wall outside them, stopping anyone else from coming out.I cast a glance at the wall before dragging Draven towards the main gates. Peopl
AVERYThe Beast makes a whiny, soft noise. And shows no signs of doing anything except snuggling against me. A warm feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. Slowly, I open my eyes again. Confusion and wonder fuze together, making me hold my breath while I am so close to him.Who knows…his mood might change and he might snap my neck? The Beast halts, his clear black eyes fixed on me. I shudder, clenching my hands by my side. “ Is this what you wanted to do? ” I whisper, unable to wrap my head around this sudden change. What makes me almost lose consciousness is when the Beast nods. He understands me. What the actual hell is this? Maybe, it’s Aleister and he gained control of himself. That can be the only answer. But why would Aleister put me in his lap while a crazy witch is trying to kill me and him and destroy this Kingdom? We are not on a picnic, right? “ Is this why you were chasing me? Because you wanted to…have a nice…cozy moment? ” Flustered, I look around at the horrif
AVERYThe Beast drops my body and steps in front of me. My heartbeat slows down as the green beam gets near him, ready to hit him in the chest. “ Aleister! ” I shout, stumbling on my feet. My voice echoes around the lake, sounding louder and deeper than I intended. My legs wobble. Another loud explosion rings in the air. From behind him, I can barely see anything but the beam that is directed towards him. The Beast stumbles back, his knee bending. I close my fists. The water rises again. I glance at Agrona. Her jaw is gritted in anger, instead of relief or joy. The water hangs in the air as I move my gaze towards Aleister again. The green beam hits an invisible shield in the air, getting repelled with an unbelievable force. Slowly, the Beast’s body starts to shift back. Energy returns to my body as relief fills my pores. “ My King! ”“ My King has returned to his senses. ”People chant, voices of relief rising in the air. With a loud noise, the green beam dissipates in the air
AVERYDraven pulls me back and steps forth to shield me with his body again. I shudder, shaking his hand away.There is no point in hiding or running.The people, seemingly hypnotized, come closer and closer. My brows furrow when I realize the water won’t stop them. My powers don’t work on those who have their minds under the control of some other entity. The first man steps out of the lake and sprints towards me. Draven kicks him back before he can reach me. More of them jump out of the cold water, their eyes hollow and their hands reaching out for me. I yelp, as Draven moves fast and pushes them back with lightning speed. I should do something too.I raise my palms, and the water moves up, drowning the people moving through the lake. For a moment, their efforts are delayed. But, they are moving again. Towards me. To kill me.No matter how many times the water drowns them or Draven injures them, they keep coming. They disregard their wounds, their blood, and the fear of death as m
AVERYKnowing I am safe, Aleister turns to the people again. The dark fog wraps around his body, hiding him from plain sight. I let out a shaky breath, my eyes finding Nirana. Her hollow, black eyes are already fixed on me instead of the Army she is trying to compel into killing me.Those eyes hold a deep melancholy, a sense of vengeance that runs deep, making it impossible for her to return to her senses. I can’t imagine her as a woman who was once loved by every witch and wizard in the South. The woman who sacrificed everything to get her people a place to stay. As she watches me, the sharp pain starts in my head again. It’s like some force is knocking at the threshold of my mind, trying to penetrate my senses. I place my hand on the side of my head, never taking my eyes off her. I can tell she is trying to get inside my head now.Slowly, Nirana starts lowering to the ground. Her focus has shifted away from the people of the South. And their footsteps had retreated, hinting that
AVERYLife is unpredictable, they say.I caress the cheek of the newborn, my finger trembling softly. I am awed and reduced to a teary-eyed, half-conscious woman with nothing more meaningful in life than the bundle lying on the bed beside me. So, I believe now…Life is unpredictable. If someone had told me that I will give birth to a beautiful girl, with glassy grey eyes and a sharp cry…I would have told them that I didn’t need them to fool me into believing things that would never happen.But it has happened.“ You have the right. ” Aleister lays on the other side, watching the girl lying between us with similar expressions. He looks dazed as if he is in a dream and scared of touching this beautiful creature.“ We decided on that. You will get to name her if it’s a girl. ” I pull my knees to my chest, trying hard to forget the pain I felt during labor yesterday. People say something else too—they say giving birth is no easy feat. It’s like dying and coming back to life after seei
AVERY“ Was this really as necessary as you make it out to be? ” I ask, moving across his room, smoothening down the non-existent creases in the dress.It’s the same gown that I wore to the festival. Back then, Aleister sent me away without even looking at me but he carried this dress with him wherever he went when I left him.Now, he wants me to wear it on my initiation. I told him it’s unnecessary, but he insists that I must wear this.“ I can get you a new dress if you want, my Princess. ” Aleister says, stepping out of the dressing room and pulling me into his arms immediately. I notice the dark suit he is wearing, the material fitting every bulging muscle and making him appear bigger than he already is. Our eyes meet and warmth spreads in my insides—It’s instant and soothing. “ How do I look? ” I whisper, reaching up to press my lips to his mouth gently.“ Like my Princess. ” Aleister tilts his head, connecting our lips again. “ Like the greatest star in the sky or the beautif
AVERYIt was not as bad as I imagined it. Aleister did stick out from the others, but no matter how wary they were, they couldn’t say anything about it or him anymore.We had breakfast together, and then I showed Aleister around. As expected, Dustin gave us a side eye whenever we stumbled across him but he couldn’t do anything about it which left me giddy.For the first time in my life, I have my own team. Aleister and I are together, and I don’t care if the whole world is on the other side. He is enough for me.But I like that my former friends and acquaintances have accepted him as my mate.“ You have been smiling from the morning. ” Aleister mumbles, pressing a kiss to my neck from behind.“ Do you not like it when I smile? ” I inquire playfully.“ Of course, I love it, Princess. ” He trails a path of kisses up my neck as his hand rests on my stomach, caressing it softly. “ I want you to keep smiling like this forever. Will you do that for me? ”“ If you don’t make me mad, I will. ”
DUSTIN“ What are you thinking now? ” Lenora asks curiously.“ That’s not the right question, Lenora. ” I tell her and place my palm over the edge of the window. The sea appears calm today, or maybe, it’s just me. I am calm, inside out. There is no noise inside my head right now. After seeing Avi genuinely happy, I think I will be better for some time. “ Did you always know that King is her mate? ” She inquires and stands beside me.“ Does it matter? ” I wonder. Why does everyone make a fuss about it? If I know, so what? Does it change anything?The loser thinking makes me want to roll my eyes. If you jump into the ditch after knowing that it’s not deep or you jump without knowing it’s not deep…it’s all the same. In the end, you still have to jump in the ditch. “ How did you know? ” She turns her head and studies me curiously.“ Moon Goddess told me. ” I vowed to not lie to Lenora before, so she gets all the honest answers.She snickers. “ I am serious, Dustin. ”It’s another thi
ALEISTER“ Levian…can tell when someone is lying. If you had stayed back, he would have found out about your child. You don’t realize how brutal he can be when it comes to getting what he wants. And right now, it’s not the time for the war. It’s time to hide that you are pregnant, Avi. ” Dustin explains to her.“ You want to hide my child? ” She huffs. “ that’s not happening. ”“ That’s why I didn’t tell you before. Now that your mate here has told Levian that you are not pregnant and that he is not allied with the other three Kingdoms, Levian is not desperate to snatch your child. He will wait. Because he believes we are weak when we are not united as the four Kingdoms. ” He says and wipes the dried blood from under his nose again. “ He will wait for you to find your mate. ” I conclude neutrally.“ He will wait for me to break and join him. Or he will wait for a mate to come to break me and get me to lose my mind like the rest of you. ” Dustin replies, and smirks. “ but that’s never
ALEISTERI have a hunch that Dustin Landric—the twat let me hit him intentionally. I would have preferred if he fought back. I don’t enjoy hitting those who want to get hit.“ Aleister. ” My Princess nuzzles into my neck, and peer at me with her puppy eyes.My throat feels heavy as I stare into those eyes. I came here to be mad at her. Her friend sent me a letter and informed me that my Princess hadn’t left me and it was all her brother’s plot. He drugged her and kidnapped her.But she could have let me know about it.And she didn’t.I was mad, but what do I feel right now? The heaviness in my throat increases. She loves me, she is carrying my child and she is showing me that she cares about me without giving a fuck about the watching eyes.It’s like I am in a dream. Maybe, I lost my mind back in the South and this is a part of a beautiful imagination.If it’s that…I slide her stray hair behind her ear and watch as she smiles at me brightly. Her blue eyes are moist, and they still l
AVERY“ Once we are done, do you want me to give you a visit to the Wolveshire Citadel? ” I wonder, clinging to Aleister’s arm.He glances at my eyes, slowly looks down at my arm wrapped around his bicep, blinks, then looks away. From where I walk beside him, I can see his neck turning slightly red.“ I don’t think your brother would like that. ” Aleister grumbles under his breath as we step into the sitting area.“ I think the same. ” I nod quickly. “ but I don’t mind. He can be broody about it and go sulk in his room. ” My eyes wander off to my brother who is standing in front of the window, his back to us. “ Ava. ” Nora squeaks, grabbing my attention.I look to my right and find the rest of them standing beside the couches stiffly. Their wary glares filter towards Aleister, making me frown.Subtly, Tyson pushes Amelia behind him and stands in front of her protectively while the girl looks as horrified as a dying fish. Nora and King Striker are beside them, all in their defensive s
AVERYI fake a gasp and roll on the bed. Instantly, Aleister halts and turns to me worriedly.“ What happened? ” He asks, approaching me hurriedly.I clutch my head until he is standing in front of me. When he leans in, I grab his shoulder and sit him on the bed again.My eyes narrow. “ I liked what we did but I don’t want anyone to see this view. ”I point towards his abdomen before rolling out of the bed and grabbing his pants to throw them at him.“ You faked it? ” He rolls his eyes.“ I know what works with you. I just used that information. ” I shrug, searching for my dress. The look of disbelief comes back on his face. He leans back, dropping the pants on the floor again.“ I am not wearing them. You wanted to fuck me in your room. Now you can’t hide me, Princess. ” He chuckles, balancing himself on his palms.“ First of all, we didn’t do what you said we did. We— ”“ Made love? That’s the same as fucking. My cock goes in and out your— ” A knock silences him. Gasping, I drop t
AVERYI am getting worried now. Aleister hasn’t said anything for like an hour after what I told him.I am comfortably lying on top of him now, and I am so tired that I want to sleep. But the hundred different emotions that keep surging back and forth in my mind keep me wide awake.I yawn, snuggling into his neck. “ say something. This silence is irritating me now. ”Silence meets me as a reply again.I huff and draw my face out of his neck just to glare at him. But he looks lost and his eyes see right through me.“ Are you that shocked? Did you not want— ”“ You said…it’s not possible. ” Aleister finally mumbles, his heart beating like a loud drum under my palm.My gaze meets his wide eyes as I sigh. “ Well, my Mom lied about that. I am perfectly fine. I confirmed with a Healer. ”“ What? ” Aleister whispers, his eyes still holding disbelief.“ Yes, Mom lied and made me believe I couldn’t get pregnant. ” I shrug, dropping my head back. “ but who knew…her lie would get me pregnant mor