Xenra"Please, Alpha, I'm so tired; I'm drained, there's no iota of strength left in me, and I'm about to faint." I pressed on, my voice breaking as I stared straight into Asher's eyes.But he stood there with his hands hanging on his waist, his forehead deeply furrowed in frustration, yet he didn't say a word to me.From the expression on his face, I didn't need anyone to tell me how angry he was, but then, I also knew he was doing his best to keep his anger in.But since he seemed unyielding to my pleas, I pressed further, despite the fact that he was seething. "Please, Alpha, can I just go back to the pack?" I asked again, "I don't want to be a burden to you anymore."But as soon as the words left my lips, he flared up, "Indeed! You won't just turn back and go to the pack; you'll turn back and go to the land of the dead, where you'd never return!" He stated, his voice heavy with anger, as his words tumbled out in a rush.His anger was clearly written on his face as he growled.At
AsherWe arrived in Maltos' Castle to find the vampire queen and her entourage waiting for us at the entrance of her mansion. As soon as I stepped down from the chariot, she walked towards me, "Asher!" She exclaimed, her eyes glinting with warmth,"What a pleasant surprise!" Her words were wrapped with warmth as we closed up the distance between us."I just wanted to surprise you, vampire queen." I answered in a matching intensity even though there was no smile on my face."I wasn't really happy you had to go through the stress of coming to my pack when you could have just given the orders, and I'd be there." I added calmly.At my words, the vampire queen's lips spread into a barely noticeable smile, which complimented the image of the Xenra I had in my head."That's so thoughtful of you," she responded calmly.I was still trying to accept the reflection of the old Xenra when the vampire queen took my hand and placed a tender kiss on the back of my palm.Her actions made my brows scr
Asher"Oh, that portrait?" The vampire queen responded with a smile on her face and placed her hand on the portrait as though she was admiring it.But from the glint in her eyes, she looked as if she was thinking about something, which made my brows crease slightly, and I began to wonder what was going on.Xenra would never hesitate to share the story she had always delighted in. It was one of the things she loved talking about, and even though she hardly expressed her emotions, the excited glint in her eyes whenever she shared that story always betrayed her stoic composure. As I sat calmly observing her reaction, my smile remained plastered on my face, even as I attempted to maintain a friendly air around us."Well, there's nothing really special about it, apart from the fact that it has always brought smiles to my face whenever I stare at it." She answered after about seven seconds had passed, her words wrapped in warmth, After which she pulled her head backwards and burst into la
AsherBefore I could get myself to say another word to her, she pressed on,"I know what that portrait is all about; I know it was me in my teens. I was only trying to pull your leg." She explained calmly, although the crease in her forehead spoke otherwise."Oh," I responded calmly, even though deep within me I was satisfied with what she had just said.As if she could read my thoughts, she continued, "Come on, Asher, it's been a while; I only wanted to have fun with you. You don't have to give me that serious look." She said, her words tinged with desperation.At her words, I forced a small smile to my face and said, "Yeah, I understand." Even though deep within me, I understood nothing.A cloud of silence descended upon us, and after about six seconds of not saying a word to each other, her voice came again."Anyways, let's talk about something else," she said. "How about your mate?"My brows twitched at her words, and I began to wonder what she was trying to do. "She's fine," I
Asher.My eyes slowly opened to the brightness of a new day, and my vision gradually adjusted to the smiling face of the vampire queen, who was staring down at me."Are you okay?" I asked, my brows furrowing as I stared at her.At my words, she nodded her head fervently, and the smile on her face broadened."I am," she said. "I was just admiring your handsome face. I love how you were sleeping like a baby, the peace you exuded, the calmness." She chuckled."You were really good last night," she purred. "It has been a long time since I had such great sex." Her voice was filled with warmth as she basked in the afterglow of great sex.For about five seconds, I couldn't get myself to respond to her; the Xenra I knew had never complimented me before, no matter how good the sex was.She had always held onto her pride, demanding I admit to how good she was. This total reversal of hers was really weird.It was that realisation that left me speechless, but after about five seconds, I snapped o
XenraSince it was still early, I made my way into Maltos' palace in an attempt to get as much information as I could.I needed to get into my secret chambers before the guards assumed their various posts. I knew I had to do it discretely and not attract any attention to myself.As I casually walked towards the hallway that led to my secret library, I was deeply engrossed in the thoughts of conveying the secret book to the room given to me when I saw maids and guards running helter skelter in and out of the chamber that used to be mine.My curiosity piqued, and I swiftly walked towards one of the guards."Excuse me," I called his attention, which halted him in his tracks. "What is going on?" I asked the guard, who was already panting really hard."It's the Alpha; he's having his seizure, and nobody can help," his words tumbled out in one breath."The vampire queen can't help as well; he's..." He was still trying to catch his breath when I dashed into the room.I didn't need him to com
Royce My fists clenched beside me as I watched the Alpha gradually regain his breath pace. Deep within me, I was seething; my teeth were gritted as I stared furiously at him. I wanted to kick and hit hard against the wall at his narrow escape from death's grip, but since I wasn't alone, I knew I had to keep my anger in. "The Alpha needs to get some rest." It was the annoying fat Omega's voice that pierced through the fog of anger that had settled in my heart. If it were before, she would have been the one to excuse us, while I stayed watch over the Alpha, but at that moment, I saw it as an opportunity to slip out of his presence and let my anger out. 'After all, who cares if anything happens to him while I'm away? It'd be an opportunity to get rid of two birds with one lucky opportunity.' I pondered within myself. With a small bow of my head towards the feeble Alpha whose face was beginning to bubble up with life again, I made my way out of his sight, my steps heavy with de
RoyceI snapped out of the thoughts that had kept me busy to find Sylvester's eyes sparkling in excitement.Since I wasn't interested in taking part in that conversation, I totally ignored him."Somehow, I just feel the fat maid is kind of unique since she was the only one who was able to help him even though she's new in our pack." He added, his words laced with certainty.Somehow he had managed to link it up to that annoying fat maid again, but his praises and admiration for her had only fuelled my resentment towards her.No matter how much he tried to portray her in a good light, all I felt towards her was hatred and anger. Right then, I realised she could stand in my way since she was able to resuscitate the dying Alpha."She's in no way unique," I finally voiced out the thoughts that had kept me busy, causing Sylvester's head to whip towards me, as though he had been pondering something.But before he could say a word, I added, "In fact, she's a threat to me. I see her as someone
LenaAs I brooded over my wrath, an unexpected voice broke out from behind me, "I'm sorry for what just happened, my lady." The voice calmly apologised.My head whipped towards the person who had just spoken, and my gaze fell on Asher's beta, Royce, who was standing behind me, and my brows furrowed."What are you doing here?" I asked, glaring at him, "What are you sorry for?"But the words had barely left my lips when Royce began to speak, "I saw what happened at the dining hall, and I'm really sorry that the Alpha and his sister had to disrespect you all because of an ordinary maid." Royce boldly responded.His audacity irked me, and I wondered what gave him the nerve to think he had the right to interfere in my business.As I stared at him, I felt my anger boiling within me, and I was determined to put him in his place so that next time, he wouldn't dare speak when he wasn't supposed to."Before I came to this pack, I did some background checks, and I heard about you, Royce," I bega
LenaI was filled with disgust as I watched that fat maid stand close to Asher, and a great sense of anger surged within me as she served the meal she had prepared for dinner.My fists clenched beneath the table as I stared at her. If only I could sniff her breath off her nostrils, I would have done that already.The fact that I had to see her at every meal made me so angry.Akira and Asher were busy chatting about some random topic, but I was so immersed in my surging wrath and hatred for her to pay attention to what they were discussing."This meal smells good," Akira's compliment finally caught my attention, and I turned towards her to find a wide grin on her face as she spoke to Asher.Asher nodded his head in response, a flicker of excitement in his eyes, which alone was like fuel to the rage swirling inside of me.As if that wasn't enough, he continued, "You need to taste the soup pudding she made the other day." His voice was calm and approving.Asher's words dropped into my he
LenaMy steps were heavy with determination as they carried me out of Asher's room. Deep within me, I was seething.The fact that Asher wasn't even certain about when he would take me as his mate greatly infuriated me."He's so nonchalant about it and isn't even ready to take me as his mate." I said to myself, my voice heavy with anger.I didn't need anyone to tell me about it; I could see how unprepared he was to do the right thing, and I knew I had to do something."If he continues like this, it'd greatly affect my plans of revenge and that of my brother's as well. I really need to do something about this." I muttered beneath my breath.My fists were clenched tightly beside me in a matching determination as my steps carried me out of the palace.I wanted to seek out a quiet corner where I could pour out my frustration and anger, and so I headed straight to the hall that led out of the palace.As my anger propelled me forward, I recalled how I had caught Asher staring at that fat mai
AsherAs I stood beside my window that day, peering into the distance, I couldn't take my mind off the soup pudding prepared by Xenra.The taste of it made me nostalgic, and a reminiscence of my past with Xenra, the vampire queen, began to flood my mind.No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't shake the fact that it tasted exactly the same as the ones I'd eaten years ago, so unique and different from that of the chefs in my palace."The only person that had made a soup pudding that way was Xenra." I admitted it.Although Xenra, the vampire queen, never liked cooking, she made soup pudding for me every time I visited her and anytime she came to my pack.As I pondered it, something about the unique flavour and their similar taste got me curious, and my attention shifted to my maid Xenra."Why are they so similar?" I couldn't help but ponder aloud.As my thoughts lingered, I began to compare their personalities, and despite the fact that one was a queen in her palace and the other a
RoyceSince it was the beginning of a new season; that time of the year again when the maids would be reshuffled to different departments, I got to the open patio where the Alpha was, to prepare a new roster for them.As I went about my business, allocating them to different departments according to their names on the register, the Alpha swiftly interrupted me as soon as I mentioned the name of that fat maid."Put her in charge of my meal," he ordered calmly.My head jerked up as soon as I heard his words, and my brows furrowed in confusion. No matter how I thought about it, I just couldn't understand why Xenra should be in charge of Asher's meal when she wasn't even a chef."Why, sir?" My question tumbled out of my lips even before my brain could follow. I was too confused to pay attention to the difference between us.The words had already left my lips before I realised I was being too blunt with the Alpha again."I mean..." I swiftly continued, "There are many qualified chefs in th
LenaA wave of disgust hit me as soon as I saw that fat maid standing so close to Asher, and a mix of anger and hatred surged within me.As soon as Asher saw me, he stepped away from her, while I stared at Asher, whose face betrayed no emotions."You can serve the soup," Asher instructed her, who quickly turned towards the dining table and began to serve what was inside the dish.As I stood, I caught a final glimpse of Xenra; my anger burnt within me. If only I could just sniff the life out of her nostrils.I pulled my gaze from her and forced a small smile to my face as I stepped into Asher's royal private dining hall."Hope everything is alright?" I asked as calmly as I could, even though deep within me, I was seething."Yes," Asher firmly responded, "why did you ask?" He enquired, staring at me now.But I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head in nonchalance. "Nothing," I replied, "I'm just surprised to see you standing so close to the maid.""Hope there's nothing wrong?" I asked
XenraMy steps were heavy as they carried me to the royal kitchen, to the private space where Asher and Akira's meal was made.My face was tight with anger as I reached for the door. No matter how I thought about it, I just couldn't comprehend why Asher would ask me to make soup pudding for him, even though I didn't work in the kitchen.The fact that I had to make it for him greatly annoyed me, but since I didn't want to get into any trouble with him, I knew I had to do it."Where is the damn pot?" I asked frustratedly, even though there was no other person in the royal kitchen.It seemed Asher had given them orders to vacate the kitchen as well; that was the only reason I could find for why the royal kitchen was empty when the chefs were supposed to be getting ready for dinner.After angrily scanning through the shelves, I saw the stack of pots and swiftly carried one of them.As I placed it in the sink and filled it with water, I began to ponder that absurd task again."But wait, wh
XenraI swiftly shut my door behind me and rushed towards my bed, where I had hidden the book beneath it.Deep within me, I could feel a surge of energy twirling within me, and I wanted to be certain of what I was feeling inside.What happened in the field had only opened my eyes, and I needed no one to tell me it wasn't a mistake.I had to find answers to what was happening; I wanted to be sure it was my powers coming back to me.I opened the book and started flipping through the pages when the rattle in the door snapped me off from what I was doing.In that instant, I quickly closed it and slid it back under the bed, wondering who it could be at that hour of the day.I knew it couldn't be Zara since we had separated earlier for her to go do her duties.As soon as I opened the door, I was shocked to find Akira standing before me. After about three seconds, I quickly regained my senses and rushed out of the room."My lady," I called with a small bow, "Greetings, my lady!""Greetings,
AsherI stood beside my window that day, my gaze fixed on the garden beside my room. Although my gaze was fixed on the peach blossoms, my mind had pierced through them and had drifted far away, back to that night.Gradually, my mood was affected again, and a great sense of sadness settled in my heart, as I began to ponder Xenra's attitude towards me ever since then.I didn't need anyone to tell me she had deliberately been avoiding me. The fact that she didn't turn up for her duty all through the previous day only confirmed my initial suspicion, and the fact that I hadn't seen her for days made my veins itch.As my thoughts lingered, I found myself muttering beneath my breath, "But what did I do to her? Why's she really avoiding me?"The realization that I didn't have answers to those questions almost sent me into a well of depression.I was so lost in my thoughts and I didn't notice that Akira had snuck up on me again. "Is someone lost in thoughts?" Her voice sliced through the thi