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
AVERYThe forest darkens until I can’t see anything.Fearfully, Renee holds onto my arm as we walk forward with slow strides.I have a hunch that I wasted too much time in thinking. It feels like Aleister has already turned into the Beast.This only makes me think one thing…How stupid is he to let this happen? Agrona drugged him and he let her. He didn’t even punish her for it. Now, he has fallen for the trap the villagers set for him. Did he not detect the hint of potion in whatever he ate or drank? I scoff inwardly. What a bad luck! I am doomed to have such a stupid mate who goes around getting drugged right and left. “ Princess— ”“ Let’s find Draven first. ” I murmur.“ What are you planning to do with him? ” She whispers.“ He told me that Aleister is drawn to fear. Draven fears him…to some extent and he is also a powerful… ” Lycan, it almost escapes my mouth but I shut it before I can slip up.“ He is what? ” Renee steps closer.“ A powerful man. He won’t get caught easily.
AVERY “ I don’t know why I am listening to you. ” Draven whines before he goes to take his position beside a tree. I sigh, standing beside the lake. The Beast aka Aleister Anasazi is nowhere in sight. But I can still sense eyes on me as if someone is watching me from the shadows. I won’t be surprised if it’s Declan, the mysterious brother keeping an eye on us to ensure nothing serious happens. After sending Renee back to the cave, Draven and I stay there, waiting and watching silently. Every second brings a new wave of anticipation. Where did he go? What is he doing? When will he be here? And what if…Draven and I miss our chance? I can just hope that the villagers haven’t figured out that I know the truth. The same goes for Nellie and Sara, the two women I didn’t expect to be partaking in something like this. I thought…they were void of any hate. That they didn’t want revenge. That those women didn’t seek to cause harm to anyone. Turns out…I am still a bad judge of char
AVERYI recall learning to swim.The North was the House of Sea. The salty waters. The depths.I had to be excellent at navigating my way through those depths, to be better than all others who resided North. That was the duty of a Princess.But...I was always scared of it. Water—the sight of it made my heart clench. The fear of the unknown, the noose that tightened around my throat every time I held my breath to take a dive, the memories that swarmed my head—of blood and pain...It all scared me.But I had to get over that fear.I watched the sea everyday, dived in even if all I wanted was to run away, and kept doing it until the fear was pushed somewhere at the back of my head.It was not easy to do it. It took endless days of torture, of pounding heart and trembling hands to finally find the ability to hide the fear behind a neutral smile.The dam that I built on that fear seems to have broken.As I sink to the depths, my survival response kicks in. I try to swim up, strug