Hey Lovelies! What do you think happened in Avery's past? I have read some of your theories in the comments before so keep guessing and maybe, you will be right 💕 Besides, how do you like Avery and Aleister's interaction in this chapter? P.S. I know you hate Aleister right now but I would say the same *Trust the Process* ❤️
AVERYAleister bends down, opens the drawer beside my dangling feet, and takes out a small towel from inside. With growing dizziness, I watch his fast movements and stern expression.Draven told me that Princesses are killed at birth but Aleister’s daughter is alive. This means he hid her at birth and must have kept her existence a secret from the Kingdom.Instead of filling me with a sense of satisfaction, this truth brings me discomfort. My heart aches for the little child who must have been locked up in that strange place since her birth because her father can’t afford to show her to anyone. I can relate to that but my situation was not this bad. Back at home, I was forced to stay inside the castle but could sneak out once in a while to enjoy freedom but Celia can’t even do that. On the other hand, here is her father. If killing Princesses is a tradition, I can tell it’s not easy to go against it. It must have taken a lot of painful effort to keep her alive.Some ice melts from m
ALEISTER “ What’s wrong? ” I ask the Healer after he steps away from her. Earlier, when I was done wiping her body clean, she just fainted into my arms. This made me sure she was only pretending to be strong and not in pain when in reality, she is seriously hurt. “ The Princess is weak because of the blood loss. After some rest, she will recover fast. ” The Healer informs nervously, his gaze flickering towards Draven. “ That’s it? ” I cock my brow. “ Yes, My King. Princess will make it. ” He nods hurriedly. I can detect the fear in his eyes. He is wary of me, like all others in this kingdom. But I have never bothered to care about it before like I am doing right now. “ You can leave. ” I try to sound soft but my voice remains stoic and cold. The Healer gathers his stuff and rushes towards the door. Draven steps aside to give him way when he pauses suddenly. He turns to me. “ My King… ” Noticing the reluctance in his posture, I look at him. “ What is it? ” “ I don’t know i
ALEISTER For longer than a painful moment, he stares into my eyes. It reminds me of the times when I had to repeat the same words to him during our childhood when the fear of someone coming to take our lives was more real and kept us restless in our personal hell. It was known to the Kingdom that the spare Princes were born to die. The present King could kill them anytime and the newly crowned King would surely kill them to uphold tradition. The people would rejoice in their blood, and humiliate them until their last burial rites. That truth was proudly told to us to prepare us for our fate like sacrificial lambs. What did we do back then? First, we hated our father for not changing the laws. Then, we hated our mothers for giving birth to us even after knowing our future. Then, we hated ourselves because we couldn’t do anything but remain in our cages like animals and wait for death to approach. But we are free now, no? Why can’t this fear just cease to exist now? If I ha
AVERYI yawn and stretch my arms above my head. My side aches but the pain is not as bad as before. After smacking my lips a few times, I snuggle into my pillow. My hands pat the surface under me. It’s a little hard.I must be sleeping on the floor again. I huff, and shift my legs over the…Wait a moment.What is this hard thing between my legs? And why do I seem to be straddling…Slowly, I pull my head back and open my eyes to look down. Aleister stares back, his eyes narrowed dangerously. And what are those black spots under his eyes? Dark circles?I nod. I am still asleep or the blood loss brought about this hallucination. I put my head back and close my eyes. “ Keep rubbing yourself over me. You are used to it by now. ” The body rumbles under me, the vibrations resonating in every inch of me. The ache between my legs grows. I clench my fingers.Why does a hallucination feel this real?Slowly, I pick up my head again and take him in. His head is propped over his folded arms as h
AVERY “ Where do you think you are going? ” Draven grunts, blocking my way outside my room. “ Aleister said I can go out. ” I reply. “ Shouldn’t you rest after getting stabbed? ” He points to my side. “ I didn’t know you cared about me so much. ” I move past him and straighten my back to look unbothered. “ As if I will ever care about you. ” I hear him mumble but don’t reply. It’s surprising enough to find him standing guard outside my door. It seems he is taking his role too seriously. I hum to myself. Doesn’t sound like a bad thing. “ I remember telling you that you shouldn’t go there. ” He follows behind me closely. “ And you thought I would listen to that? ” I say, rounding the corner and walking down the corridor that leads to where the King’s women seem to mingle during the day. “ What are you planning, Avery? ” He sighs. “ I don’t need to tell you. ” My eyes sparkle when I catch sight of a familiar face. When Lovetta sees me, she squeals and runs inside the open door
AVERY “ Princess. ” Her smile widens when she finds me looking at her. “ Agrona. ” I nod, calming the beats of my heart. “ Was she kissing Draven? ” One of the girls behind Agrona turns to others and says in a hushed voice. My heart almost stops beating. “ Mind your fucking tongue if you don’t want me to rip it out of your mouth! ” Draven growls from behind me before I can say anything. “ Calm down, Draven. Tracy doesn’t know what she is talking about. ” Agrona says politely and glances at the girls from over her shoulder. “ right, Tracy? You will not want to cause any misunderstanding between the Princess and the King, will you? ” “ No, Agrona. I didn’t mean it that way. ” The girl bows her head apologetically. I clench my hands by my side. I don’t have any doubt that Agrona will use this against me later. But why do I care? It’s not like I care about what Aleister thinks of me. “ Agrona. ” I smile enthusiastically and end the distance between us. She tries to maintain a swe
AVERY “ I never said I would tell you anything, Princess. ” She picks up the cup again. I huff, leaning back on the couch. She is a hard nut to crack. “ So it means we can’t work together. ” I nod after pondering over it for a second. “ There are some things that only Leister can tell you, Princess and I won’t take that away from him but when you are done…and you want to leave… ” She trails off and frowns. “ You will help me find a way out? ” I stroke the back of my hand with my fingers as I wait for an answer. “ I will point out the way. ” She agrees at last. “ I won’t help you but I will tell you where you should head. After that, everything will be up to you. ” “ That’s fine by me. ” I clasp my hands together. “ but I won’t leave alone. I will take my helper, Renee with me. ” “ I don’t mind. ” Her soft eyes land on my hands before she looks up. “ but if you get caught at that time, Princess, you should pray that you die before Leister finds out. ” I shudder. Just the way sh
AVERY It doesn’t take me long to realize that I am no longer in the confines of the castle walls, but drowning in the black lake I saw on my way in. Until my head remains above the water, I have belief that Aleister will be able to feel me in time and come to save me. But when my face dunks underwater, I lose that belief quickly. I hold my breath, writhing around to free myself of the ropes. The pathetic lack of strength in my limbs angers me, then horrifies me. I can feel the patch loosening on the wound in my back. I shake worse than before, moving around in the water, trying to see something in the pitch black. In the cold water, the warmth of my blood tricking down my side makes my head spin. Shortly after, I am out of breath. The pressure behind my eyes, and under my jaw increases so much that my mouth almost opens in the water to suck in a desperate breath. In my silent attempts to break free, I sense a slight brush of scales on my ankle. My heart hammers in my chest, due t
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