More Chapters are coming today~
AVERYShortly after Aleister left, Draven came again. I had fallen out of Aleister’s list of favorite women. I was just a girl in the Harem now and that’s where I was supposed to be, to stay, to live.He took me straight to the Hall and sent me to a room in the corner. It was just a simple room—a single bed, a chair in the corner, a cupboard beside the bed and that’s it.I didn’t fight back. I sat down on the hard mattress and stared at the floor in a trance.It was safe to say that my mind was completely numb. I couldn’t make sense of what Aleister just did to me in the room.“ You don’t need to concern yourself with anything now. ” Draven says, standing beside the door. I don’t need to reply. I can’t even think of anything.“ Relax, Avery. If you stay away from him, your life will be easy from now on. ” He sighs. “ And don’t worry. He won’t do anything to Renee. ”“ Why are you saying all this to me now? Are not you happy after seeing me like this? ” I wonder, looking up at him.“
AVERYWhen Aleister and Agrona leave the next day, the witches gather to swoon over the couple.I stand in the corner and watch them both. Aleister doesn’t show any emotion but Agrona greets everyone with a smile.They are off to war and the Kingdom’s people seem to be wishing them all the luck. If Aleister hadn’t betrayed me, perhaps, I would have been among those people praying for his safe return from the war.Now, it doesn’t matter.I won’t be here for him.That’s why, the moment he meets my gaze, I turn around and leave from there. His gaze follows me until I turn the corner but I can’t care anymore.In the book of my life, the chapter of Aleister Anasazi has ended. As I came alone, I will leave alone. *******Like Agrona promised, Sinara came to meet me in the room the next day. I was already dressed in a casual blue dress that made it easier for me to move because of its light weight.She led me to a silent corner of the castle and that’s where I met Renee as promised.“ Pri
AVERY~One Month Later…I often heard people say before.Times fixes everything.With time, you forget your pain.With time, you forgive the people who hurt you.With time, you feel as good as new.That’s a lie. It’s not the time that fixes everything. It’s the people you meet and the way your life changes and something more—something that I still don’t get until now. I am lucky that I got both. I got to meet people and my life changed.But that something…a small element is still missing from my life. As a new day comes, and the darkness clouds the South, I find myself in search of that final piece of the puzzle but fail every time.“ Avery! Nellie is calling you over! ” The small child shouts from the distance.I snap out of my thoughts and glance at the girl from over my shoulder. Her round face reminds me of Celia. The sweet girl who smiled at me and told me she liked me, missed me, wanted to stay with me. Now, I can’t see her anymore. “ I am coming, Belle! ” I shout back with
AVERY“ Noelle wants the Village head to send you back to her for the time being or to hide you in a safe house so the King can’t find you, Avery. ” Sara reveals and rubs her temples.“ Does it mean he is close? ” My heart misses a beat.No. I don’t want to see him. I can’t bring myself to even imagine that.“ Calm down, Avery. ” Nellie squeezes my hand gently. “ We are all here to protect you. The King will never find you and we won’t let him take you back. ”“ No. He—He will. ” My voice breaks.Does he already know that I am here? Is that why he is coming?Will he continue to humiliate me if he finds me? Will he embarrass me in front of the whole village? Will he make me kneel and—“ Princess! ” Renee’s voice brings me back to the present. “ Calm down, Avery. We are here for you. ” Sara whispers, rubbing my back.I look around. All three of them are beside me. I blink.When did they get here? I couldn’t even notice it.What am I doing? What am I thinking?How can I be like this in
ALEISTER “ Found anything about her? ” I ask my brother after sensing his presence behind me. “ Nothing yet. ” The reply is the same as ever. It’s been twenty-eight days since I got to know that she ran away from me. She left me behind to spend her life somewhere else. To say that I searched the whole South’s territory for her is an understatement. I looked for her in the North, in the East, in the West…everywhere she could go. But there is no sign of those golden locks and electric blue eyes. The beauty seems to have disappeared from my life, never to be found again. No. Not a never. Forever is too long. I can’t spend it without her. “ Leister. How long are you going to keep at it? The rebellion is over. You don’t need to personally search for those hidden fuckers. I can do that. You need to return home and take your throne again. ” Draven sighs. “ Don’t give me advice. Go back and look after the Kingdom until I return. ” I reply blankly and glance at the open box beside me.
AVERY“ So you mean to say he is not coming here? ” I wonder, my body stiffening.“ The word was delivered early in the morning. ” He replies. “ My King trusts our loyalty towards the Kingdom. There will be no visits because they need to move on to the next village. ” The village head, Marco is a soft-spoken man who seems to be in his thirties but is much older. His kind eyes gaze at me as he waits for me to digest the truth.I couldn’t sleep last night either. I was too busy thinking of different scenarios where Aleister managed to get to me. I have not realized it until now. But more than fear, I feel a simmering rage towards him. That’s why those scenarios always ended with me hurting him in some way. “ Princess, are you alright? ” Marco asks.I blink, my eyes dropping to the glass of water on the table. The water is beginning to freeze, from the bottom to the top—slowly and dangerously.As the rage grows, the powers grow too. It’s like misery and hatred fuels it.I swallow, tak
AVERYI glance at the dark sky. A haze is spreading across the space. It hints at the arrival of someone I don’t want to see again.Quickly, I get to my feet and rush back to Nellie’s place. Not so surprisingly, the village’s people are already running in the direction of the village head’s office.Marco said Aleister wouldn’t come. I don’t think he was sure. “ Avery. ” Sara pants as she runs in my direction.I look at her face which is turning red with the lack of oxygen. My heart sinks.“ He came? ” I whisper under my breath.“ I—I…We don’t know what happened. ” She leans back. “ The King was not supposed to come here. ”Did he find out about me?“ Hurry, we need to hide you! ” She grabs my hand without warning and starts pulling me towards the deep forest.When I first came here, it took a long time to get out of numbness. Now, my mind is hazy again. I can’t make sense of anything.Why did Aleister have to come here?“ Speed up, Avery! ” Sara hisses, breaking out into a sprint. “
AVERY“ Why didn’t you tell me? ” I whisper.Now, I can make sense of Draven’s odd behavior around Renee. And the change in Renee whenever her ‘mate’ was present…it’s all so unbelievable.“ There is no point. I won’t accept him. I am loyal to the North and until my last breath, I will remain so. ” She shrugs.I can’t believe this.“ How does accepting him change your loyalty? ” I know the answer. But I still ask.“ You were sent here by your brother, Princess. In a way, you are here to fulfill your duty as a Princess of the North. ” Renee wipes her cheeks and closes her eyes. “ on the other hand, my duty entails that I stay by your side and try to protect you from any harm. I might not be as capable as other warriors from the North, but His Highness knew I would do my best. ”I don’t believe that. Dustin sent Renee here to spy on the South and deliver information to his spies. But, I don’t need to say it out loud.“ Accepting Draven as a mate means…standing by his side in life and de
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