Kat POV“Amia…” Enzo breathed, his emotions unreadable as if he had slipped a cold mask in place. Without saying anything further, he strode to the small kitchen and filled a glass with water, grabbing a bottle of pills from the counter as he returned to me. I sat in silence, watching him.In just three short weeks, he had changed. He had always been muscular, but he seemed to have gained even more muscle now. The scars on his back and face also seemed more prominent, although I can’t really say why - maybe it was just because I was no longer used to seeing them. “Take these,” he commanded, tipping two round pills into my hand and handing me the water. “You’re an idiot if you thought you could keep up with Jackson’s men on your first day in the field.” “It’s not as if I had a choice,” I snapped at him before taking the tablets without even asking him what they were. Enzo leant over me, hitting the backrest of the sofa with his fist. “You always have a choice! You’re the fucking Pr
Kat POV“I received a complaint from Madame Zametovka that you are not dedicating yourself to your training,” Uncle Mattias told me as I sank into the leather armchair in his office, a stern look on his face.I blinked blankly at him for a few seconds, trying to process what the hell was happening. “Sorry? What?” I almost shouted, completely flabbergasted that the woman would even say something like that. “I have been working my arse off trying to please her!” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, but I could see the doubt in his eyes. He trusted her… “Coming back to Slovenia was a mistake,” I muttered, standing up and walking to the window to look over the gorgeous landscape. “You’re not happy here?” Uncle Mattias actually sounded surprised as he leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his thinning hair. I took a moment, questioning if I should even say the words in my mind. But I had to - I owed it to him to be fully honest with him. “No, I’m not happy here. It’s nothing I
Kat POVHave you ever felt that feeling where nothing seems to be going your way and you just want to run until nothing and no one can find you? Well, that’s how I felt after leaving my uncle’s office. Deciding that I had enough of being trapped behind the castle walls, I threw caution to the wind and slipped out the back gate and into the forest. The scent of the trees immediately put my mind at ease and I felt as if I could actually breathe. I found myself walking to a rocky outcropping which lay just below the palace and looked out over the lake, a perfect lookout spot. Climbing onto the large boulder at the edge of the outcropping, I let out a long sigh and lay back against the cool stone, letting my mind go blank for just a few moments. “You shouldn’t be out here alone.” My eyes flew open as fright gripped at my heart, only to relax when I recognised the smiling face of Damian. “You scared me!” I laughed, clutching my chest. He winked at me and ran his finger across my lowe
Kat POVHe arrived at the palace a week later, and was welcomed with all pomp and ceremony as seemed fitting for my potential betrothed - Prince Dimitri, heir to the royal seat of the Werebears. “King Mattias is really throwing caution out the window, isn’t he?” Cassie muttered as we watched the procession from an empty bedroom. “Just a few years ago the werebears were our sworn enemies, and now look - he’s busy trading you to them like a prize cow.” I huffed and folded my arms, frustrated. “I just need to meet him and play nice, that is all. I have told my uncle that I will not be forced into a political marriage just because both he and my father were.” We could spy Anka (I refuse to call her “mom”) flirting outrageously with a man who seemed completely embarrassed by her attentions, skirting away from her as she tried to press herself against him Yep, there was no way I was going to risk heading into a disastrous marriage like the one my father unwittingly signed up for. “Besid
Kat POVI watched Madame Zametovka’s face light up with a smile the moment Prince Dimitri and his gang of muscle entered the dining hall. She stood, fanning her face as she watched him out of the corner of her eye - like some middle aged cougar. I half expected her to lick her lips or drool with the way she was staring at him. She could have him, for all I cared. As far as I was concerned, I wasn’t interested in being forced into a marriage with the man. Hell, I wasn’t interested in being forced into a relationship with any man. Dimitri and his men mingled in the room, taking glasses of wine from the passing attendees and downing the contents in a single gulp. Even I knew better than that! Maybe they were the savages Cassie thought they were. “Katerina,” I heard a low voice whisper in my ear and I jumped, whirling around to face Damian, his eyes almost begging me not to walk away from him. “I need to talk to you.” I shook my head, refusing to even acknowledge him as I strode towar
Enzo POVI should have torn the head off of that obnoxious bear. Every single cell in my body wanted to see his blood spilled, but I knew that I would be executed if I did - and what would it serve if I killed the man who was meant to marry Kat, only to join him in the afterlife shortly after. This political game made my head hurt, reminding me of why I had left Slovenia in the first place. Sure, I had wanted to serve my King as best as I could, but I kept finding myself stumbling in the politics which doused the Royal Court. When Luca had asked me to take over the business side of the family, I jumped at the opportunity. It had been an escape I hadn’t known I had needed. Returning was the last thing I had wanted to do - and yet if I had to choose between my freedom and being close to Kat, I would choose her every time. “Where the hell are your clothes?” I heard Cassie screech, covering her eyes as if my nakedness offended her. I shrugged, putting my hands on my hips in the taunti
Katerina POVI sighed loudly, closing my eyes as I collapsed on my bed, not even bothering to change out of the dress I had worn to dinner. After lingering in the garden for longer than was probably necessary, I felt eyes on me and looked up at the balcony to see Damian smoking in the darkness - at least I thought it was him, no other werewolf smoked as far as I knew. My back instantly straightened and I stormed back into the dining hall before he could think to corner me into an attempt to justify his actions. I wasn’t interested. So instead, I spent a tense evening watching Anka throw herself at the bears. By the time she left the room with three of the meanest looking brutes, I had had enough of playing the perfect princess. Luckily for me, the dinner party seemed to be dying down so I could easily slip back to the solace of my own room. I felt a wet nose nudge my hand and opened my eyes to see Aurora, her big pale blue eyes looking at me. “You would have hated it too, girl,”
Kat POVI clung to Enzo as he guided the bike down the dark, winding road toward the glinting lights in the distance, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as nervous energy built up in my body. I had no idea where we were going, and Enzo refused to tell me. His answer had simply been, “freedom.” So I had to accept that until we arrived, I was going to be kept in the dark. I was grateful for the warmth which radiated from his body, warming me as the cool air nipped at my exposed flesh. Winter was coming, and I was dreading the cold that it brought. I pulled myself closer to Enzo and felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled at my action, and probably loving it way more than he should. Time seemed to slow down as the town’s lights came closer, and it was only when Enzo pulled up outside what looked to be an abandoned building that I actually looked around me. The parking lot was desolated with not a person in sight, and only a few vehicles which looked as if they belonged in a scrap yard
Kat POVThe dining hall was abuzz as Enzo and I followed Elijah into the crowded room. People immediately stepped aside and bowed to us as we passed, something I felt that I would never get used to. As the crowd parted, a sight I could have never even imagined had me stumbling, my feet refusing to cooperate with me. Giulia stood proudly in the middle of the room, her hair pulled back from her face and tied in a high ponytail which made her look rather fierce. She wore a pair of jeans and a halterneck top which revealed the scars on her arms from her months of torture at the hands of Fabio, and yet she wore them proudly, as if they were a sign of resilience which I guess they were. But that wasn’t the sight that had my stomach clenching. No, it was the sight of Sofia Milano - Mother in the flesh - kneeling before Guilia with her hands tied behind her back. The image was a far cry from the woman I had known back in Italy, her face bare of the bold makeup she had preferred and the pe
Kat POVI felt the icy fingers of fear wrap around my heart as Damian let out a deep growl, his eyes glued on me. He was going to kill me, of that I was sure, and my beloved Enzo was going to watch it all. “I guess you get to choose how you die,” Anka giggled, tapping her dagger on her chin. “My blade, or your lover’s hands.” Anka swung her blade out at me, catching me off guard and the sharp steel sank into my forearm. I let out a hiss in pain as I jumped backwards, my hip crashing into the cement balustrade of the balcony. “Kat!” I heard Enzo call out followed by a strange metallic sound. Damian launched himself forward, anger in his eyes as his heavy footsteps thudded on the stone flooring as he began to run at me. I gripped the banister, my body frozen in fear and dread. This was it. This was how I was going to meet my death. It was as if it all happened in slow motion as Damian’s body shifted ever so slightly as he ran, and I saw something flash in his eyes - almost as if he
Otis POV“Was it really necessary to lock ourselves in this room?” Henry grumbled from across the colossal dining table in the palace dining hall. “We could have stayed in our rooms, or left Slovenia entirely.”Gunter let out a deep sigh, “would you have liked Katerina’s rebels to twist the narrative to make it seem as if we were letting her take the throne? No. We stay put until Anka kills the little bitch, and then we announce the victory with pride.”Devon nodded enthusiastically before adding, “besides, it is best that we are together while the killing of Katerina takes place. No one would be able to say that we intervened in any way, even though Damian is there to make sure that the job is done. That was a clever idea, Otis. Well done old man.”A smile tugged on the corner of my mouth but I bit my cheek to stop it from escaping. I would be lying if I were not proud of my plan. Having one of Katerina’s mates be the instrument of her death while the other was forced to watch? That w
Kat POV“Damian.”I breathed his name, my voice failing me as I watched him confidently stand beside Anka, her personal bodyguard.“What the hell did they do to you?” Enzo shouted his way, but Damian didn’t even respond in the slightest… not even a twitch of a muscle or a blink.Vasilios gripped the bars beside my head even tighter, his fists turning white as his voice dropped to a mere whisper. “That is Damian, right? It isn’t Darius?”Jurgen nodded… well, I think he nodded because the next words out of Vasilios’s mouth were, “what the fuck did they do to him? He doesn’t even look like he recognises us!”I had honestly wondered why I hadn’t seen Damian on the battlefield, and a part of me had hoped that he had escaped – oh, how wrong I had been.“Ah, I see you haven’t forgotten my darling pet over here,” Anka purred, stroking Damian’s cheek lovingly. “When the council asked me to choose who I wanted to serve me, I could think of no one better than the King of the Rogues. Ha! King!”S
Enzo POV“It has to be a trap,” I grumbled as I stomped up the hill toward the castle with Kat by my side, her hand in mine. “Are you certain that you need to do this? None of us will blame you if you cancel and tell Anka that the fight should be on neutral ground.” She sighed and leaned against me as we walked, lifting our joined hands to kiss mine. “If I try to back out now, she will twist the situation and make it seem as if I have bowed down to her. Anka is a master manipulator, and I can’t take that chance.” I didn’t like it, not one bit. But Kat was determined to end this fight for the crown today, and nothing I could say or do would change her mind. She didn’t even let the rest of her guards follow us up to the castle - only Vasilios and myself had been allowed to accompany her, with Jurgen trailing behind like a beaten puppy. He was just mopey because his mate still hadn’t been returned to his side after being taken for medical treatment. She and the rest of the council’s
Kat POVAnka stood just on the edge of the parking lot, two of her bear bodyguards beside her with guns and a mean glint in their eyes. Okay, I might have been too far away to see their eyes, but I’m pretty sure that they looked as mean up close as they did from my distance away. “Oh, Katerina,” Anka laughed bitterly, “I wouldn’t have thought you would be so stupid to have come back to Slovenia, but I guess you couldn’t tell that you aren’t welcome. If you had a death wish, you should have just said so. I’m sure my men would be happy to oblige you.” Anka laughed at her own joke and the bears chimed in, causing the hair at the back of my neck to stand up. Aurora growled lowly and the men kneeling before me slowly stood up, creating a shield with their bodies against any attack. “Why should I be afraid of her?” I asked myself, shaking my head. I nudged Vasilios aside and stepped in front of him as Enzo tried to pull me back, but I shrugged off his hand and he came to stand beside m
Kat POVI had heard so much about the way adrenaline pumped through the body when you’re in battle that it’s like someone else takes over - and I guess they were right - but no one had ever told me the effects of coming down off of that adrenaline high. One look at the dead bodies strewn across the parking lot had my stomach churning, and I realised that I had actually killed someone. The nausea clawed its way up my throat, and I couldn’t hold back any longer, emptying whatever was in my stomach in a manner which certainly didn’t suit a princess. “Are you alright, Kat?” I heard my brother-in-law ask, concern evident in his voice. I nodded to Luca as I wiped my mouth on my sleeve, fighting the dry heaves which I knew were far from gone. “Of course she is alright, Castello,” Jurgen replied, his chest puffed out as if he had something to do with my composure. “She is Princess Katerina, the only royal woman to ever have joined in a battle.” I blinked hard as my voice found its own fr
Jurgen POVI had expected a tough battle - I think we all had - but some part of me had envisioned it happening on the hills of the Slovenian countryside and not in the parking lot of Enzo’s nightclub. The rogues rushed at us in waves, hoping to overpower us by their sheer numbers, but they were untrained and their fighting was sloppy. Perhaps that was why the Council decided to send in their brainwashed drones.The first soldier who attacked me took me by surprise, his strength and technique so vastly different to that of the rogues. I barely managed to drop him when another launched at me, and then another. I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears as I was confronted by three of the Council’s soldiers, and for a brief moment I doubted my abilities. “You are a blessed wolf, Jurgen,” I gave myself my go-to pep talk. “You were touched by the light of the moon, and you can get through this.” I guess it helped as my hands were soon coated with the blood of one of my attackers, the ot
Enzo POVIt happened so quickly that it was almost as if it had been practiced, like some choreographed scene in one of those cheesy action movies Luca loved. The whole room seemed to shake as the back wall of my club crumbled, and rogues covered in dust and building debris stormed in. I barely saw Jurgen and Vasilios exchange a glance, their unspoken commands to each other once again reminding me of why they were such a great team in battle. If it hadn’t been for the pair of them and their cohesive strength, I would probably have died back when I was being held prisoner by that band of sadistic humans. The sound of Vasilios’s battle cry yanked me from my memories, and I watched as he charged toward the sea of rogues, my brother close behind. “We have to get Kat to safety,” Jurgen shouted above the chaos, grabbing her around the shoulders and steering her back to the front door of the club. “If we can get her into the parking lot, we can hide her away in one of the cars.”Kat opene