Meredith's POV "No, it is not another dagger. It is something better,” he says, and my curiosity gets the better of me. He nods at the box as a silent way of telling me to open it, and I do. The second I undo the ribbons and take the lid off, my eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. Instead of a golden dagger, he got me something much more deadly. A golden gun. What the hell? My eyes shift to Saul to find him watching me with a smile on his lips. I blink up at him, then at the gun, then back to him again. I just had to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating or that this wasn’t some toy or prank. “You got me a gun?” I ask, and he nods, that smile still on his lips. “A weapon I can use to kill all of you in seconds and burst out of here?” “Well, yes and no. It is a real gun, but there aren’t any bullets in it.” I frown. I don’t know why that is just disappointing to me. He laughs at my facial expression and says, "Oh, come on, you didn’t really think I would give you a me
Meredith’s POVI do not know at what point I had completely zoned out; all I knew was that I could see Gabby’s lips moving, but her words weren’t really being heard. I almost wanted to believe that I had gone deaf due to all her blabbering, but I knew that wasn’t possible.No.My brain just automatically shut her out, and I am glad for that. Because right now, I do not think I am interested in anything she has to say. I have bigger issues right now. Like how to get Saul and the rest of the kings to forgive me.They are all so mad at me, and it hurts. I just wish they could be more understanding and see the reason I did what I did. This strain between us was suffocating. For a moment, I actually wanted things to go back to normal.But then I remember that ever since I stepped foot into the triad’s palace, nothing has ever been normal. From fighting for my life with Gwen and the other ladies in the harem to being nothing but a mere sex toy for the kings, and then to nearly being killed
Meredith’s POV Subconsciously, I take a step back, wanting to put as much distance between this psycho and me as possible. Placing a hand over my pounding heart, I try to calm myself down. Although I had to admit that it was a great deal of work, I didn’t even hear anyone come in. “You need to stop doing that,” I say to Gabby, who just stares at me with a blank expression. There is so much intensity in her eyes that it makes me back away even more. Contrary to her countenance, she says, “I am sorry. It was not my intention to scare you.” Well, I would most certainly beg to differ. She continues, “I am sorry about earlier,” she pauses, “I am just not used to people yelling at me like that.” The way she purses her lips shows that she still isn’t over what I did. But it really wasn’t such a big deal now, was it? She seems to be more upset than the average person would be. I suppose that we really are all different. Once I am certain that my heart rate has stabilized, I say,
Roman’s POVMy subjects cower in fear as they gaze up at me. The growl that rumbles off my chest is enough to shatter the very foundation of this palace. They bowed their heads as their bodies trembled before me.The report they gave me is clenched in my hands. Ever since that incident with Meredith, things just keep getting worse in this kingdom, and I don’t know why. The other day, some of the banks within our pack shut down because of inadequate funding. Most of our farmers are running low on food supplies due to the strange weather we have been having. And now, just when I want to finally sit my fucking ass down, I receive a report saying rogues just attacked our storage house.“What the fuck?!” I roar at the top of my lungs, getting hold of the nearest object and smashing it against the wall. My head of security, along with his subjects, take a step away from me. like that would save them; they need to be on a whole other continent away from me if they ever want to be safe fro
Meredith’s POVI should have thought of this. I should have planned myself better. Roman always shows up unannounced; I just didn’t think he would chosen tonight of all nights. His eyes roam my body hungrily, and I hate how much it turns me on. No, no, no. This is for Caelen, not for Roman.“Roman, I did not expect you to be here,” I stutter, taking a step back as he takes one forward.He shuts the door behind him and stalks up to me like a predator would its prey. My back meets the wall, and he stops barely an inch away from me. his minty breath fans my face and I could not tell if it was turning me on or putting more fear in me.“Clearly,” he rasps, his eyes roaming my body hungrily once again. My breath catches when his hand makes contact with my thigh. Slowly, it creeps up to my inner thigh, sending tingles through my body.He brings his lips to my neck, and a light moan leaves my mouth when he starts to trace kisses all over it. It takes everything in me to try to put some dist
Meredith’s POV“Do you guys really have to go?” I ask with a pout, and Caelen chuckles. Roman simply smirks as he puts on his clothes. Caelen did the same as well; I am the only one still laying in bed without any intention of moving anytime soon.“We are kings; we have a lot to do. We are far from work,” Caelen says, and I frown.“But this means I can come back with you guys, right?” I ask them, and the smile on both their faces completely vanishes. There is a sharp sting in my heart, and I sink into myself. “You all are still angry at me.” I say, and neither of them say a word. A sigh leaves my lips, and I feel frustration growing within me. “I already explained what happened to Saul. I didn’t betray any of you, I promise.”Roman and Caelen share a glance, and it is at that moment that I realize that there is something they are not telling me. There is another reason they are keeping me here.Caelen walks up to me and caresses my hair gently. I look up at him through my lashes, and
Meredith’s POVA gasp leaves my lips as I shoot up into a sitting position. My breaths are labored as I try to fill my lungs with oxygen, but it feels as though I'm not. My chest was just heaving up and down, yet there was no air.What the hell?I take in my surroundings to see that I am still in my room. Roman is lying beside me on the bed, and Caelen is... on the floor?My memory is a bit foggy, but the last thing I remember was losing a great deal of strength. Then I heard a loud thud, and Roman fell beside me. What in the world happened?“Roman?” I tried to touch him, but the weirdest and creepiest thing happened. My hand went through him. The scream that leaves my lips cannot be helped.Several times I tried to touch him. I tried to touch anything, but I just went right through it, almost as though it were air. Or, like, there was nothing there in the first place. The only tangible things were the floor and bed. Am I a ghost?“Roman? Roman, can you hear me?” I ask, but he makes
Meredith’s POV“You could have at least shown a bit of restraint. You could have just rendered him powerless or tied him up. You didn’t have to kill him,” I hear Caelen say. A groan leaves my lips as my eyelids slowly flutter apart.The first thing I see is the ceiling hoisted up above my bed. Then I proceed to stretch my limbs; I can actually feel the bed I am laying on. As I sit up, the next thing I see is the attacker’s corpse lying on the floor, his head facing an unnatural anger.The sight left an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, so I threw my eyes away. The next thing I see is Roman and Caelen standing in the far corner of the room. I could tell that their conversation is heated, despite the fact that they were trying to speak in hushed tones. Roman rolls his eyes and says, "Oh, please forgive me for not thinking about that; I was too busy trying to avoid you two getting killed in your sleep to think that ahead.”Caelen sighs and rubs the crease between his eyebrows. "
“Our kingdom has gone through trialing times this past year. We have lost so many of our people, family members, friends, and loved ones. This year will go down in history, and it shall be the last of its kind. A time like this will never step foot into the borders of Nuvia. Enemies tried to rule us; they tried to tear us down, but they couldn’t. Because we are strong. We are not like any other pack; we each have a fighting spirit so unique that has been placed within us. As Queen and Luna of the Nuvia kingdom, I swear to never turn my back on my kingdom ever again, even if it is for just a second. We, not just I, will learn from the mistakes made this year so they never happen again. We will rise from the ashes; we will become stronger, and if anyone tries to destroy this kingdom ever again, even after my reign, we will destroy them from the inside out instead.”Cheers, whistles, and praise filled the air as I concluded my speech. I stared at each and every Nuvian present; it was al
MEREDITH’S POVA gasp leaves my lips as I fill my lungs with oxygen. My eyelids come flying open, and my eyes lock with a pair of familiar sea blue eyes and honey brown eyes.“Welcome back to the living princess,” Saul says, and tears of joy well up in my eyes.“That’s queen to you,” I correct, and the both of them share a glance before chuckling at me. I jump to my feet to wrap both of them in a hug, but my feet wobble, and I lose my footing. Luckily, I land in Caelen’s arms, and he helps to steady me. “Easy now, queen. You just had quite an accident there. You might suffer from a concussion soon,” he says, pointing to my damaged car that is now lying in a ditch. What the hell? How did I even survive that?My eyes travel downwards to inspect my body for injuries. And surprisingly, there was none. But why did I have this burning pain all over? Like I was being beaten over and over again?When the realization dawns on me, my heart plummets to the pit of my stomach.My grip on Caelen’s
ROMAN’S POVI really am an asshole.This isn’t turning out the way I wanted. I thought that now that Meredith’s memories have been wiped out, I can finally have a brand-new chance to make things right. I thought I could fill her with stories that would benefit me.What a fool I was.The girl didn’t even trust me. She knew when I was lying and when I was telling the truth. She was my mate; she knew when I was telling the truth and when I was lying. It didn’t matter if she had lost her memories or not.That damn bond between us was always going to give me away. And my God, was she persistent. Since she didn’t believe me, she was doing everything within her power to uncover the truth. And at this rate, she was going to find out sooner than I would like. A sigh leaves my lips as I run my hand through my hair. Why did she have to be so damn persistent and go wondering around? But then again, I should have known better than to keep Lucia’s body in the same building as Meredith.I should h
MEREDITH’S POVRoman was still sound asleep. He looked so peaceful while he slept, I could stare at him sleep all day. He was even more beautiful while asleep, his features were a lot more relaxed and prominent. And who would have thought he had such incredibly long eyelashes. Lucky.Focus Meredith!It takes a lot of strength, but I manage to tear my eyes away from him. careful not to wake him; I get out of bed as quietly as possible. I do a mini-victory dance once I am out of bed, then tip toe out of the room. My teeth clamp down on my bottom lip as I open the door slowly.My heart nearly flies out of my mouth when the door makes a creak. I shoot Roman a glimpse over my shoulder and say a silent prayer when I see that he is still sound asleep. Finally, I get the door open wide enough to slip out.I make sure to shut the door gently before pumping my fist in the air. Ah, yes, freedom at last. I do another victory dance once again but freeze when I see some maids down the hall starin
MEREDITH’S POVA chill runs up my spine, and I let out a breath through my lips. A mist forms and quickly disappears before my eyes. Every breath I let out, I would see it in the form of a mist. There wasn’t a form of light in this cold, dark room. The only light came from the moon’s gaze slipping through the cracks of a barely opened window. I could tell that I was still in the palace; I do not know how, but I just did. I dared to peek out the window, and my thoughts were confirmed once my eyes locked with the palace gates.But this room... Roman had taken me on a tour around the palace, but this room... I never saw this room. I spun around in a circle, noting the dust, cobwebs, and spiders that filled the room. But what caught my attention was the coffin placed at the center of the room. Surprisingly, it was the only thing in the room that wasn’t covered in dust. It was still clean and shiny, like it had just been recently placed there.I knew I should run; I wanted to. Because wh
MEREDITH’S POV“It is a pleasure to have you back with us, Luna.”Remember your lines! Remember your lines!Presently, I am in a meeting with the newly elected council member of my pack. Roman was seated by my right hand while I was seated at the head of the table. Where I ought to be. The council consisted of seven members, each seated according to their ranks and roles. After waking up yesterday and having Roman fill me in on the things he felt were important for me to remember, I instantly passed out again. I suppose I was having a storage overload and needed time to actually process everything. When I woke up, an entire night had already passed, and I was already getting ready to attend a meeting I knew nothing about. I stared at myself in the mirror for the longest time, trying to recognize the woman that stood before me in this fancy gown and heavy jewelry. Roman came in shortly after dressed in an all-black suit with a gold cross around his neck and a gold watch on his wris
MEREDITH’S POVMy goodness, I felt quite sore all over.My lips part to release a tired yawn. Goodness, I was so tired. And I was quite hungry too. It feels like I haven’t eaten in days, but I know I ate just yesterday. But what did I eat?” I do not remember. Come to think of it, where did I eat, and what is my favorite food? What was yesterday? There was nothing but questions that filled my head. Questions that didn’t have an answer. How strange.Slowly my eyelids peel open, and I am met with a pretty chandelier. I stare at it for some time before finally sitting up. A groan leaves my lips as I stretch my legs. This bed was quite comfy, was it mine? I do not even know. My eyes dart in every direction, and I am filled with more questions. Like, where am I? And whose room is this? Was it mine or was it someone else’s?So many questions...Throwing my legs off the edge of the bed, I rise to my feet but stumble a bit. “Woah,” I mutter as I try to find my balance. Once I do, I twirl ar
ROMAN’S POVI stare at Meredith’s unconscious body with a blank face. That is one thing I was blessed with. I could be dying of pain, and my face would still be this way. Hard as stone and cold as ice. Tears still spilled out of her shut eyes, and the sight of them did something to me.I can’t believe that this was actually happening. I just hope that she will find it in her heart to forgive me someday. But this... all of this was just for her. I hope she will get to see it.A loud cackle snaps me out of my thoughts, and my head tilts to Lucia, who had her head tilted back as she laughed wholly. “Oh, what a glorious day! This has to be one of the best days of my life. I remember meeting you for the first time, and you swore to defeat me. You had so much hatred and determination set in your heart, but where has that gotten you now? Absolutely nowhere!” She laughs in Meredith’s sleeping face, and my eyelid twitches. She was way too close to Meredith for comfort. Her lips were barely a
MEREDITH’S POVFight! Get up! Move! Do something!These were the words that constantly sang repeatedly in my mind. But my body wouldn’t respond. I can’t believe that the moment Lucia told me to sleep, my body just did so without wasting a second. How was that even possible?I was awake, but my eyes wouldn't open. I was well aware of what was happening around me, but from a distance. Once again, my soul had left my body and watched the entire scene play out before me with a broken heart.I can’t believe that Roman has been helping Lucia all along. I thought that he had been with her the other night just to spite me. But going as far as stabbing his own brothers and helping her take over my kingdom was something I never would have imagined, not even in my wildest dreams. This... this was absolutely unforgiveable. Roman clothed my naked body before any of the vultures could come in before doing the same for himself. Once he was fully dressed, he asked Lucia, “What do you mean she will