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
ALEISTER Her scent envelopes my senses just when I stop beside the lake Marco pointed out. He gave my men the information that rebels were hiding beside it. But my gut feeling says otherwise. Declan had long warned me about what these people were planning. Nellie, Noelle’s cousin was on the side of the rebels despite putting on a loyal act all those years. It began when her daughter’s husband, who was one of the leaders among the rebels ended up dying in the civil war long ago. I was not involved in his death. But a Lycan King, my father was. Now, all these people hated me for this. This was not the only reason. They knew that in this generation, I carried the curse the witch put on us. I could shift into a wolf even before the other curse upon the Lycans was lifted. But it was not a wolf everyone had. Instead, I remained stuck somewhere between a man and an animal, a beast that walked on two legs and pounced on everyone who feared him. They thought it meant that I was not