~Richard"Your Majesty, you can't do that! You are the king of the Lycan kingdom; a whole lot rests on your shoulders, you have a pack to lead," Nuella reasoned. She was so surprised at my suggestion, and she was not the only one; everyone in the room was."I have already made up my mind. Draw out the cold from her and put it in…" Before I could finish, James barked from behind as he approached me, tossing my shirt back at me."Nonsense! You would do no such thing, Richard, not under my watch!" I turned around to look at him. I didn't really get angry at him for lashing out the way he did because I understood he was acting based on his emotions, but that didn't mean I would heed to what he said.I reprimanded him calmly. "You don't tell me what to do, James. Know your place," I turned back to Nuella and just as I was about to speak to her, his words stopped me."I know my place, and I am acting in accordance, Richard," he walked around and stood in front of me in a challenging manner.
~RichardI was so torn as I watched him remove his shirt and sit down at the foot of Athena's bed as instructed by Nuella, waiting for the process to begin.I tried to open my mouth and speak, but could not. I was dying inside with a mix of several emotions: anger, hatred, regret, and pain, the most palpable being pain.It should be me sitting there in his stead, waiting to have the cold in Athena's body transferred into mine, but he had beaten me to it. I had fooled myself by thinking I could do anything I wanted as king. When had he even planned it all? When had he colluded with the doctor to subdue me the way they had done? He was one step ahead of me again! I hated it whenever that happened!My eyes stayed on him, taking in his strong and courageous frame. His face was set and focused as he waited for what was to come."Hold her hands in yours," Nuella instructed, and he instantly obeyed. Moving closer to Athena, he held her tiny frail hands in his large ones firmly."Now close y
~RichardEven though Athena blinked her eyes, she was still motionless. "What is wrong? Why is she not moving?" Rebecca panicked.Nuella lifted her face to Alpha Kendrick and said, her tone serious, "She is out of the danger zone, but she still needs her father's blood if she must become fully conscious again."Alpha Kendrick stepped forward, "Then let's waste no time, give my blood to her," he said hastily, rolling his sleeves in preparation."We will do that right now," Nuella looked over her shoulders at the doctor, "Doctor, it is time for the blood transfusion."The doctor nodded, turned around, and left. I could feel strength gradually coming back to my body.A few minutes later, the doctor returned with a nurse who wheeled in a cart containing some medical equipment needed for the transfusion.Behind them were two male nurses who immediately carried James from the bed where he lay almost lifeless.With all the strength I had in me, I asked anxiously, my eyes fixed on James' bo
~RichardHer bright eyes brimmed with excitement as she exclaimed,"She's awake! The Queen is awake, Your Majesty!"I was a bit taken aback by her words. It took a moment for them to fully register, and I repeated them in a daze, "She's awake.""Yes, Your Majesty, she's finally awake," the nurse's excited voice echoed through the room once again.I placed a hand over my mouth, suppressing the emotions that threatened to tear me apart—emotions that were already beginning to express themselves through silent tears falling freely from my eyes as I glanced at James.Placing both hands on his arm, I cried out, falling to my knees, ignoring the nurses who watched in surprise, the scene unfolding before them. They probably didn't understand why I was acting the way I was. I should be excited that Athena was finally awake, and I was, truly, but here in front of me was my best friend who had sacrificed himself for her, battling for his life. I had conflicting emotions; I was crying tears of p
~RichardThat I had already figured out. It was obvious something was wrong with Athena; she looked like she was suffering from some sort of memory loss."What is the problem, doctor?" Rebecca asked in fright. It wasn't unusual for her to react very emotionally to things, and I didn't blame her; she was a woman, and being very emotional was almost second nature to them. In this case right now, though, even I was a bit scared.The doctor leaned forward from the door his back was against and responded in despair, "I am afraid she is suffering from temporary memory loss." His eyes averted to mine, searching it as he continued, "While treating her yesterday, I did a CT scan on her brain and discovered an issue like this might arise due to the slight brain damage she suffered, but I had hoped it wouldn't, which was why I didn't bring it up." He heaved a sigh of frustration as he nervously massaged the back of his neck."I thought my blood completely healed her?" Alpha Kendrick asked, his
~RichardAs soon as I turned, my eyes widened in shock. Standing at the doorway was James, with a weak smile spread across his face as he stared at Athena.How did it happen? He was very cold when I left him earlier, with a very slim chance of making it out alive, yet here he was, standing before me in the flesh. This was definitely a miracle. I heaved a sigh of relief as I silently thanked the moon goddess."I am glad it wasn't in vain after all," he said, brimming with joy as he stepped forward."What wasn't in vain after all?" Athena asked, confusion slightly evident in her voice."I mean, you are…" Before James could finish his statement, I cut in, "...here looking better after suffering from excruciating pain," I smiled nervously. I knew James was about to say she was alive, and that statement would have raised a lot of unnecessary dust.After my intervention, James looked completely confused, but he was not the only one; Athena was too.She narrowed her eyes, "I suffered from e
~RichardI stared at the scene for a while and decided to go in because standing at the doorway wouldn't fetch me the answers I so desperately needed.I went in with James right behind me. The doctor and Rebecca were standing by the side, watching the scene. As soon as Rebecca saw me, her tear-filled face was filled with guilt."What exactly is going on?" I wondered."Richard!" Athena cried out, causing me to avert my gaze from Rebecca to her as she finally released Alpha Kendrick from her embrace."I have an uncle; this man here is my father's brother!" she exclaimed.I was taken aback by her words but immediately recovered, realizing I needed to act accordingly. If he was her uncle, then I definitely already knew.With that in mind, I grinned, "You finally found out.""Today just keeps getting better and better!" she threw her hands in the air in excitement. Her bright eyes glittering with joy as she exclaimed, "First, I find out we are having a boy, then I find out I have a paterna
~RichardI shared a look with James, who was seated to my left, signaling him to take charge as I was tired and couldn't answer the questions that required lies anymore.Getting my message, James smiled and responded, raising a brow "Michael, Jessica, and Sabrina?" Thankfully, Athena averted her gaze to him, relieving me from her scrutiny."They all went away on a trip for the same course; they will be back after a few days."I picked up the glass of water before me, steadying my hand as I took a sip. Athena's gaze was back on me."Is that so, Richard?"I choked on my water."Oh, I am so sorry," she apologized, picking up a tablecloth and drying the bit of water that had splashed on my hand and the table. Her question had caught me unaware, causing my reaction."It is fine; it is no fault of yours but mine. I should have been more careful," I replied tiredly.When she was done cleaning, she tossed the tablecloth aside and locked eyes with me to ensure I was okay. That was when I answe
~AthenaA feast was being held at the mansion with the whole pack in attendance. The gardens were filled with people from the resettlement area while the king, his dignitaries, and elders were in the great hall dining. There was plenty of food and drinks for everyone.It has been one month since I gave birth to my three little warriors. On the day i gave birth to them, my life changed completely. I felt a kind of inner peace that I had never felt before as they were laid beside me on the bed. All the pain I experienced while birthing them suddenly disappeared and was replaced with an unspeakable kind of joy.I had thought I was going to have just one kid. Throughout my pregnancy, I never went for an antenatal checkup even though Richard had suggested it a few times. I was very healthy and strong, so I didn't feel the need to go…maybe if I had, the doctor would have found out I was going to have triplets.My father and stepmother arrived a day after hearing the news, and my stepmother
~RichardSitting at the head of the dining table, I looked to my right and left at the two most important people to me in the world... One was heavily pregnant, looking like she was about to pop any minute, and the other was infectiously cheerful tonight because he had made a bold move, disregarding his fears, and it paid off big time.A few months ago, per my advice, James had told Nuella about his strong feelings for her. To his utter shock, she had revealed she fell head over heels for him from the first moment she set eyes on him in that dungeon. Their relationship blossomed quickly. I saw my best friend become the best version of himself. Nuella completely changed him and made him so much happier than I had seen him in years. I was eternally grateful to her. Fast forward months down the line, James told me he was finally ready to make that big move. I was so happy for him, and here we are now.He asked her to marry him, and she accepted his proposal. Two young bloods specially
~AthenaIt was a Monday morning. Richard drove me to the hospital after I complained about being sick. He left me in the care of the doctor as he had an important errand to run with James."I will be back in two hours, love," he said as he kissed my forehead.After he left, the doctor asked me what exactly was wrong with me, and I told him the symptoms I had been having for the past few days. I had kept them to myself as I didn't want to trouble Richard or anyone else. Today was quite different, unfortunately. I felt very lightheaded and weak and was unable to get out of bed until Richard came to my rescue and insisted on taking me to the hospital himself.The doctor took a sample of my blood and left.After a few minutes, he came back, a bubbly smile stretching his lips.I sat upright on the bed where I was resting, wondering why he was looking happy."Queen Athena, I bring you good news," he said cheerfully. I narrowed my eyes at him in surprise, as I thought of what good news he c
~RichardThe effects of the war have taken their toll on my kingdom these past few weeks. It will really take a long time to get over all that has happened, all because one silly man thought it was wise to avenge the death of his wicked, soulless brother.All the men who surrendered during the war have been put to good use rebuilding my pack, which they helped destroy. They have been allotted different duties in the pack. Some were sent to farms to become laborers and help the people in rural areas till the lands, plant crops, and harvest them. Others were sent to labor in building infrastructures, some of which were destroyed during their attacks with explosives, and so on.As for Alpha Gerald, after keeping him locked up for a week, I set him free, along with his men. He cried in appreciation, and we signed a peace treaty to seal the fact that we had now become allies.Today was the day of the scheduled meeting with the elders, and I still had no clue what they wanted to discuss, a
~AthenaToday, my father and his Luna will come to Black Knight Pack for my mother's burial, which is tomorrow. When he called and told me he would be coming with his Luna because she wanted to see me, I didn't know how to react to the news.All I said was, "Oh… Great.""She is a good woman, Athena. You will love her," my father had said.She was supposed to be my stepmother, but I was feeling quite nervous about seeing her.It has already been two weeks since the war was fought. Nothing is the same anymore. There is great grief all over the pack, in the resettlement area, and even in the mansion. Scores of people had lost their lives. I heard Richard and James discussing the other day, and they mentioned that the death toll had risen to 600 as bodies were still being found in different places. The only good thing about this fight was the fact that more people from the enemy pack had died. For every one lycan that was killed, four werewolves were killed too. So the ratio was 1:4, wh
~AthenaI was so tired but also excited about the fact that I had finally been saved by the two most important men in my life. If only my mother were alive to witness this moment, then my joy would be complete.It seemed as though the war had come to an end. Everywhere was a bit too serene. I didn't ask any questions on our way home as I was too tired to do so.When we got to the mansion, I was surprised to see a whole lot of people in front of it. They were scattered everywhere, sitting on grass and from the way they were being loomed over by some men wielding guns, I just knew they had to be from our enemy pack. We were about to make our way inside when three men from the crowd spoke one after the other.They were begging Richard to set them free. When the first had spoken, I felt a familiar dread curl up at the pit of my stomach. I brushed it off. No way! It just can't be.The second person spoke, and I still brushed it off. However, when the third person spoke, I felt that famil
~RichardI rose to my feet and ran a hand through my hair in frustration. Where has Athena gone? Why wasn't she in the cave as she was supposed to be?"No! She has to be there! I told her to stay there until I come," Alpha Kendrick bellowed in denial as he got to his knees, peering into the cave."Athena!" he screamed, his voice laced with pain. I could imagine how he felt as a father, and that was because I felt even worse. I didn't want to give in to my fears, though."Athena is safe, wherever she is," I internalized, trying to be positive.I checked the ground for fresh footprints that might belong to her, footprints I could trail to her new location, but I didn't find any."Athena!" Alpha Kendrick called out in shock. I immediately spun around."Come to me, my child," he added, extending his hands.With my heart in my mouth, I rushed towards him and went on my knees, peering into the small cave.There she was!She looked so frail as she staggered. I immediately rushed into the cav
~RichardHearing that Rebecca was dead was a very hard pill to swallow. Her death was especially painful because she had just made peace with her daughter, and they both needed time to create long-lasting, happy bonds. The moon goddess should have allowed her some more time, for Athena's sake! I sighed.I was looking out the window as we drove through the woods when my eyes suddenly latched onto something…someone…No! It can't be!I ordered the driver to stop the car, which he immediately did."Richard, what's the problem?" James asked, and I ignored him, rushing out of the car and towards the body lying on the ground, my heart racing rapidly.It was her! It was Jessica!"Fuck!!!" I screamed into the air, raking my hand through my hair in frustration as I sank to my knees, clamping my hand over my mouth as my body surged with emotion and pain, finding expression through the hot tears streaming down my face.I hardly ever cried, but for some reason, I couldn't help but do so at the go
~KendrickI was almost at the territory of the Black Knight pack when I got a call from Alpha Scott. My heart had been very heavy since receiving the second call from Athena informing me of her mother's death.All through the night, I had relived the years we shared, recalling pleasant memories from our past that I haven't seemed to let go of after several years. She was the first woman I ever truly loved, and I have never loved any woman as much as I loved her. Now she was gone. She didn't deserve to die.I answered the call from Alpha Scott and found out that King Richard was there with him. From his questions, I realized that he didn't know anything about Athena's whereabouts nor what had happened there.I told him I had some bad news, and his first inquiry, as expected, was about his wife. He wanted to know if she was okay.I paused, trying to find the best way possible to break the news about Rebecca's death to him."Alpha Frederick! Are you there?" he called out at my silence.