Veronica’s POVIt's about time to put an end on this whole fiasco.Things picked up from where they left off. Despite taking a long break due to my incident, I really didn't have much stuff to catch up with. The previous plan was close to fruition last time, anyway.“Who even thought of something this sinister?” Declan exaggeratedly uttered, even mostly monotonous, and his eyes darted to his brother.Sebastian scoffed at him, “Don’t look at me.”Declan squinted his eyes at their youngest, “I didn't say it was you. You’re too impatient and violent for this step by step and thought out plan.”Sebastian mocked him childishly, “Nice insight I didn't ask for,” he bit back before his mood shifted quickly, “But you’re right. All the credits belong to my wife,” Sebastian said with pride in his words that made me blush a little while he smirked at my direction.Declan looked at me. I waved my hand at him and gave a small awkward smile. His sleepy eyes were boring through me with so much intensi
Veronica’s POVDriselle is a less skilled version of Ruby… which is not a good thing because Ruby isn’t that much of a mastermind herself.They are both the sweet girls that everyone loves and adores. I don’t know why I seem to attract such people. The only difference is Ruby can keep the act going better than Driselle. She knows best not to be reckless. I have got to give it to her that she never once slipped and had me fooled myself too. Driselle is mostly overcompensating that if you look closely, you’d sense how ingenuine she actually is.With such parallels, I had a realization. Ruby couldn’t stand on her own which means Driselle is probably not alone in this. I do not mean Nyssael because of how she blindsided her ‘friend’ so there must be someone else in the shadows. Turns out I was right and that is how I traced a loose end in her story.“State your name and introduce yourself to the court,” Sebastian instructs the ginger-haired man who has now replaced Nyssael at the witness
Veronica’s POVMy reputation in Helios has never been better.It has been three days since Driselle’s imprisonment. It became a big shock for the entire pack. She was pretty well-known and they all felt betrayed. From being one of the most loved members, she became the most hated in the kingdom.Word got out about the verdict I have given too. Most of them contradicted my decision, saying I was being too lenient for settling with lifetime imprisonment. Helios is known to be cruel so that makes sense. For them, execution is how they punish the majority of their criminals. They gave me a pass, though, and mostly sympathized with me saying it is probably stressing for me because she harmed my life and that I was just a forgiving person.
Note: The following chapter contains explicit adult content.* * * * *Veronica’s POVI don’t hate the monster in Sebastian because I actually love the idea of keeping it on a leash only I could control.This is something I have just recently come to terms with.The unmatched passion, desire, and hunger he puts in every possessive touch, every domineering grip, and every greedy grasp is a reminder that I am wanted. I am needed. It placates the anxious part of me that always fears unworthiness. “You’re so damn hot, baby,” Sebastian smiled in between our kisses and pulled a bit on my lower lip with his teeth, his hand stroking up and down my spine as I straddle him on the bed, “Fucking love how crazy you get,” he whispered and bent down to lap on the skin of my neck.I whined and looked up at the ceiling, breathless, as my fingers massaged his scalp, pressing him more to myself, the friction sending waves of pleasurable electricity within my nerves. I couldn’t help but grind on his lap
Veronica’s POV “I'll be going now,” Sebastian says as he drops me a kiss on top of my head from where I was sitting on the couch. I hummed in response and stretched my legs, the cloth slipping a little on this cold morning. The weather is slowly showing signs that the heavy winter of the North is just around the corner. “See you at dinner?” He asked and I nodded, giving him a glance and a smile before my attention was back on the envelope I was checking the front and back of. Isolde delivered me this envelope earlier, just in time when we woke up. She said it arrived around dawn. I waved Sebastian goodbye as he headed towards the door. “Try and not give anyone a hard time just because you feel like it, today, alright?” I said, teasing, at the last minute before I looked at him from where I was on the couch. He's back to his daily duties today. Quite busier than usual because of the said upcoming intense winter. He laughed at my remark while he opened the giant doors. He looked
Third Person’s POVKeldor hasn't stayed in one place since he was born.He was an unwanted illegitimate child of an upcoming Alpha from a pack in the West. His mother died giving birth to him. Because of this, he was orphaned at a very young age.Ever since then, he has always been an outcast for his entire life. No one wanted him in their pack. He was shunned and uncared for, loitering at the territory with no house willing to accept him.Despite all this, he survived.It's not like he was particularly trying to live… he just somehow did. He wakes up every morning because his eyes still open. Not like he was looking forward to days to come. He remains breathing and so time passes by.He was born to this world lost and without a place to belong.“Darkness is not your foe,” Luna Veronica says, the first lesson she taught him. It was during the training session when they begin in the evening. “It is your ally,” she adds.“As werewolves, we are servants of the moon,” she surrounded him a
Veronica’s POV “Keldor, I need you to calm down,” I said in a slow pace to get through to him. He looks like he's on the brink of a panic attack from where I was watching him in my crystal, “Breathe,” I coaxed. He seemed to listen and took sharp intakes of air. He gasped for a couple of seconds before I spoke again to keep his mind occupied. “Now, are you okay?” I asked. He was rushing with his words, running, when he made the call to us. I was scared for a moment thinking something bad happened to him then he started rambling. Keldor slowed his breathing and got his composure little by little, “I’m fine,” he said. More to himself than to me. “Did anyone see you? Are you sure no one is looking for you now?” I continued and observed him closely. His eyes were darting around then he seemed to sit down. “Yeah, yeah,” he cleared his throat and wiped a hand over his face. “Okay,” I responded and shifted into my firm voice. I bet he hates to show vulnerability so I would act norm
Veronica’s POVThe scary thing about death is that it continues to take everything from you even as time passes. It is something permanent and irreversible.I know I love my mother dearly. I still mourn for her. Despite this, she has now become nothing but a figment of my memory, a feeling I have known yet cannot fully remember. Her face is long forgotten at the back of my mind. Father burned her photographs years after grieving. I resented him silently for a while because of that. I thought it was him moving on and erasing any trace of my mom. Looking back today, I guess he couldn’t take the pain.I know she has purple eyes because we share the same unique color. I’m not quite sure if she really had long wavy hair just like mine too or I was imagining it. Turning her into a reflection of me, desperately wanting to be connected to her. As years go by, I become less and less certain of what she was like. I just know she loved me. I just know that I will forever yearn for that love. I
Veronica’s POV“Hail, Supreme,” the entire committee of the Holy Parliament greeted in chorus, bowing to the newly arrived man.I watched how even Sebastian and Gareth followed. It took me and Colton a late second to follow.Having been from two powerful packs that always participates in the Culling Tournament and has connections throughout the upper society of the lycan continent, I assume they know the obviously high-ranking person.Sebastian wouldn't have bowed to someone lower than his status. To think that he's not almost on par with the Holy Parliament with how he interacts with them on the same footing, this means that this stranger surpasses, and probably sits on top of the chain.I tried peeking to see him as he trudged inside the courtroom, past the middle circle where Sebastian was positioned and towards the elevated platform in front, where the committee was.He walked with regality and authority. But I can't sense his second gender, which is normal sometimes especially wh
Veronica’s POVToday is the trial for the final verdict about Sebastian's murder and we have to bail time.“Luna Veronica,” the mocking voice of my boorish, brainless, ex-husband Colton disturbed the peaceful silence I have at where I was by the stands, “Majestic as ever with the way you managed to claw your way up towards another reign despite everything.”I turned to him with a cold, emotionless face.“Colton of Eviera,” I began, refusing to call him by his title as an Alpha, because I despised the time that I was beneath him when I know we're not even in the same league and he was never better than me.I looked directly into his eyes, “I see you're still the same too. Always barking up the wrong tree without a bite, thinking so full of himself but just overcompensating for the many things that you lack.”His fake politeness and confidence easily crumbled. Colton snarled at me, taking a step closer with glowing eyes in anger.“Funny you say that and look down on me. Then I guess you
Veronica’s POVWhen lycans lose their sense of self, they become feral werewolves.It happens in instances that the wolf side of a lycan fully overtakes the consciousness of the individual. If left unchecked and not cured in the right time, the werewolf will just become a mindless wolf, entirely animal; with no humanity left in them.So imagine my shock when I see Eamon in this state.“What happened to him?!” I exclaimed and stepped forward to get a closer look at where he was kneeling on the floor, canines bared, elongated and drooling.His eyes don't recognize anyone. They were wild and dilated, when I moved, he tried lunging at me with a bite and a growl but Declan held his chains, rattling as he was pulled while Sebastian was quick to grab my arm and held me back. I looked at him in panic. He had a blank stoic expression.“Don’t come near him, he’s not himself,” he warns and glances at the writhing Eamon, “It’s almost the same state whenever I lose myself to the curse.”It was har
Sebastian's POVI remember my very first kill vividly.Back then, the entire Northern continent was facing a rise of beasts and monsters.There was a breach at Helios, the entire pack was in chaos as a swarm of giant golems entered the territory.I was seven and told to stay in the palace. I haven't been into real hunts yet, especially unsupervised because they caught me back when I lied about going to a hunt to keep the rabbit I got.Then again, even as a kid, I was stubborn. I do what I like. I hated that all my siblings get to participate but me.That's how I found myself in the middle of Helios, with what seems to be the leader of the golems headed to me, pouncing.It happened way too fast.“Sebastian!” I heard Rowan yell from afar. It was loud even amongst the commotion of everyone fighting and the warriors trying to control the situation. My instincts took over. I fully shifted for the first time.I remember just dashing towards the danger of the giant golem, the feeling of ad
Veronica's POV“So Eamon is the traitor,” Nolan slumped down on the couch after he got back from the courtroom, “I don't believe it,” he mumbled to himself.“Me neither,” I uttered as I glanced at him from where I was standing in the middle of the room, “I don't know Eamon as much as you two do but I never considered him as a man who can do that.”“He seemed responsible and dutiful, a man of principles,” I said.Nolan sighed and looked at me, “It's because he is.”I have noticed that because he is Sebastian's closest aid, Eamon has a tight relationship with the Rozeiros siblings too. Being the pack Beta, this also has tremendous repercussions to the Helios hierarchy.We fell silent for a while, probably sharing the same worried thoughts. Until Sebastian spoke.“It can mean something different,” his serious voice echoed within the chambers.He had his back on us, hands clasped together behind him, standing in front of the ceiling to floor windows, staring at the dark outside.Nolan per
Veronica's POV“We all know the tales about the demon wolf. The kind of stories told to children at bedtime to warn them about the big bad wolf, a nightmare even amongst our kind.”I felt Sebastian’s hand flinch from Colton's words but he remained stoic. It's the most reaction I got from him since earlier. Nolan himself fell silent too.I glared at the bastard Colton but all three of us cannot contradict his words despite wanting to cut his tongue right then and there. It's vexing that he's aware of this fact and exploiting it to provoke us.“The brutal descriptions of the death brings the rumors to life. Always the torn limbs, the body in pieces, and the head is ripped away,” Colton’s eyes glinted with satisfaction as he looked at us, “Same pattern means same killer, yeah?”I bit the insides of my cheek.After witnessing that dark side of Sebastian, I started to see the same pattern Colton was pertaining to. Sebastian has this habit in killing, quite instinctive, that I don't think h
Veronica's POV The mystery pieces of how the murder of the Culling Tournament started coming together after seeing Colton and Gareth. They are definitely behind this. “Why are we joined with pests here tonight?” Sebastian gritted out the moment we stepped inside and saw them, “I wasn't informed that we are having bad company.” “I don't think we're the bad guys here, Sebastian,” Gareth answered with a smirk as he stared at him goadingly, “We came here to help.” “Help me and go fuck yourself then,” Sebastian took a step to lunge, almost instinctively but I pulled him to a halt. This is bad. Horrible, even. We can't have Sebastian lose his temper and trigger the curse in the middle of this trial. If that happens, we'd never recover for it. As much as Helios is powerful, the pack is still bounded by lycan oaths and principles. This could turn as an ammunition and an excuse for every enemy that the kingdom has to aid in taking down Helios. With everyone possibly working together t
Veronica's POVThere are three things we need to sort out.First, the trial for the murder of the Culling Tournament: it's impossible to disprove something Sebastian did commit. However, we cannot let this be used against Helios and let them corner us. Either we sway the direction into a more favorable judgment or manage to finalize a settlement.Second: find our Beta. Eamon is still missing out there. It could mean a lot of things but mostly two worst possibilities— a sign of betrayal or a hint of danger. Declan has set out to chase after his tracks and hopefully, come back positive results. Third: get points one and two done within a short amount of remaining time before the upcoming eclipse.Because unfortunately, this isn't the strongest storm that is about to hit us. That, I am sure of.“You know, when we talked about coming back to Metropolis, I didn't think it would be this soon,” I broke the silence in the carriage as we started to cross the familiar large arc at the end of t
Veronica's POV“I'm not dying Veronica.”I’m not sure when my anger turned from being betrayed through a broken trust into the stubborn vulnerability I want to avoid that comes with the possibility of losing him.His words echoed in my head.Sebastian was so sure that the curse will not kill him. He doesn't even seem to take it seriously. Perhaps it's only natural. He's never been weak in his entire life. Being in the brink of death is an unfamiliar territory for him.But not for me.“You don't know that,” I held his baffled gaze.I toed with near-death for a couple more times than I can count my entire life.I was never a gifted hunter by birth— it was all hardwork. The desperation to be acknowledged that fueled me to excel. I had no choice but to make myself excel, indespensible. Yet never a prodigy like him.So I have brushed with death a lot of times. Then, my life turned into worst. There was a time when it almost ended. Twice. One during my first imprisonment and second was duri