Lillie
My anger didn’t go away. No matter how many times I tried to tell myself that there were reasons my mother did what she did, I couldn’t shake the feeling of betrayal.She knew how much I hated the royal family. She knew what they had done to our family, and how we only came back so my brother, Logan, can get better healthcare. Crescent Heart pack where we had stayed after being banished had hospitals that were far too expensive for us, and the mark on our necks only made it worse. Coming back to Darkmoon was only to make things easier. Even though we were treated like filth, at least we were home.I had promised to do everything within my power to make sure Logan was taken care off. From working three jobs, and throwing all I made into his healthcare and running the house, I was doing my best. Waitress in the day, bartender at night, and cleaner on weekends. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for my mother and brother.Why didn’t she have faith in me? Why didn’t she wait? I hadn’t been paid in five months because all my employers were total jackasses, but I had promised I would find the money to take care of him somehow. Why didn’t she believe me?The royal family wanted nothing to do with the likes of us. Twenty years ago, my father was exposed as part of a large scale trafficking ring that had sold and killed hundreds of women and children. He, like many others, was executed, and our family was banished.Until we were called back and the opportunity of a second chance was…was given to us.What second chance this was.My thoughts kept me up till 5am the next morning. The luxurious room I had been kept in only suffocated me the more. I felt like a sheep being fed fat while awaiting slaughter.Once the sun rays began to slip through the curtains, I rose from the bed. The stinging headache I got as a result from crying and thinking all night made it difficult to stand, but I was determined to get out of the palace that instant, and not a second longer.My mother would have a lot of explaining to do once I got out, that was something I was very sure about.Still in my nightwear from the night before, I pushed the door of the room open and stormed into the corridor. The palace halls were already busy.Maids came in and out of rooms with cleaning tools, food trays, and trash cans. I avoided the gaze of everyone I walked past, but the tattoo on my neck continuously drew attention. I ignored their shocked and hateful stares and made my way towards the staircase, ran down the hundreds of steps, and made my way out of the exit door.No one cared to know why the crazy banished girl was running down the steps, which was to my own advantage.This building seemed to have been made for guests, because the exit door led to one of the most beautiful parts of the palace; the garden.Dandelions, daffodils, lavender, primroses. Each beautiful flower bloomed in its segment, the wild colors complementing each other. The mix of the fruity scents kissed my nostrils, and I closed my eyes to savor the scent for just a few seconds, and to catch my breath as well.The second mission came to a halt once I felt a tall brooding male figure stand behind me. For some reason, cold rushed down my spine. The air suddenly changed, became tense, and the fruity smell I had once enjoyed began to choke me.He cleared his throat, causing me to do a quick 180 degrees spin in his direction.Tall. That was the first quality of his I noticed.He stood at least one foot and a lot of inches above me. My eyes met his white shirt first, and I immediately knew he wasn’t a guard.I risked looking up at him.My breath hitched in my throat, almost choking me. The cold that had settled in my spine caused goosebumps to appear all over my skin. It took everything in me not to wrap my arms around myself.Cold blue eyes stared down at me, holding me in some sort of trance. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.Beneath those daring eyes were hard lines, which led to a pointed nose, tanned like the rest of his face. The nose was accompanied by a set of dark red lips that held my gaze longer than they should have.I could swear I heard him say something before my gaze rose to meet him again.Sea blue eyes darkened on my neck, I snapped out of the trance immediately. The look in his eyes brought me back to reality; the reality of who I was, and what the tattoo on my neck signified.It was only then I noticed the sapphire ring around his left pinky finger, and every bit of admiration I had felt earlier turned into disgust.He wasn’t a guard alright. He was a fucking prince.“Fuck this.” I muttered to myself.“You’re definitely not a maid, then.” His deep baritone resonated in my ears, and I took a step back.“No. I’m not.”“Of course. Not with that mark on your neck.”Molten rage coursed through my veins. He spoke as though his family was not the reason it was there in the first place.“Many people I know with that mark would never show their faces in public. Yet, here you are. I take it you’re here to participate in the games.”Hell! His voice and accent mixed together to create a dangerous yet sexy delicacy of sin. One I couldn’t ignore no matter how much I wanted to drive his handsome face into a wall and scream out my frustration.I shook my head, as though it would take the numerous thoughts I wasn’t supposed to have out of my mind, and glared at him.“Listen, I don’t know whatever twisted games you guys have going on here, but I do not want to be here. As a matter of fact, this is the last place I intend to be. So, if you would just get out of my way, so I can…” I tried to walk past him, but all he took was one step to block me.He clearly wasn’t going to let me leave without a fight.“I don’t think that is true. Every family received an incentive for their daughter’s participation. So you’re definitely here with your family’s permission. Unless…”I knew what he was going to say, but it didn’t do anything to prepare me for the sting of his words.My watery eyes stared into his, eagerly waiting.He chuckled dryly.“Now you know what it feels like to be bought and sold like a…”He was forced to swallow his words when my right palm crashed on his cheek in a resounding slap.I pulled my hand back to myself immediately, breathing heavily. My heart pounded against my chest, and that was the only sound I could hear at that moment.His face had shifted to the right, and he placed his hands on the soft flesh of his face my palm had hit. The next thing I knew, I was being dragged from behind, both my hands were cuffed behind me, and a rough palm pressed against the skin of my neck.It had all happened so fast, I could barely keep track.He raised his head and looked down at me. I swallowed hard when I caught the wry smile that formed on his cheek.He wasn’t fazed by my anger. As a matter of fact, it excited him.He loved to see me infuriated. He loved that his words had gotten to me. I didn’t know which of the triplets was the alpha king, but if he was anything like this man standing in front of me, it was no wonder they had to organize a contest for him to find a woman. Who would want to be with a man as overbearing as him?!“By your orders, your majesty, we would throw her out of the palace this instant and disqualify her from the contest.”I closed my eyes.Goddess, thank you! My wishes were finally going to happen! A ticket out of the palace and out of the stupid game had finally come!“Not at all.”My heart dropped to my stomach, and my eyes flew open.“That is exactly what she wants. She would stay here, and she would participate in the contest.” His gaze dropped to me again.“Or she can opt out by paying three times the incentive given to her family. How much was that again?”He never took his eyes off me. Not even when the question was directed at the guard that held me captive.“Thirty thousand, sir.”That would be ninety thousand. With my current salary, I wouldn’t be able to pay that back in three years, and he knew it.He was fucking toying with me!“Take her back to the guest building and make sure she doesn’t wander around again.”He took one step closer to me, covering whatever bit of distance had existed between us. He lowered himself, so that our faces were on the same level, and stared straight into my eyes.I froze. Something about the clear blue of his eyes made me feel like he was searching the depths of my soul, and seeing how much dislike resided in it for his family, for him.“Pull a stunt like this again, and it’ll be the last time you have hands.”The words rolled out of his tongue with so much ease. I didn’t need a soothsayer to tell me he had caused men to lose hands before.Lillie I was pushed back into the guest quarters like an animal that morning, and severely warned against any form of violence in the palace by the guard who had my hands cuffed behind my back. “You’re lucky. He seemed to be in a good mood this morning. He would have had your head hanging on a stick. He hates your kind for what they did to his mother.” The last sentence escaped his tongue, and the disgust in his heart escaped along with it. It seemed to be in my destiny to suffer for a decision my father made. It was his greed that led him to connive to sell women and children for money. I was ready to bear my cross, but it hurt me everytime. I was determined to continue to test different escape plans. After all, he would never notice my absence. The queen’s hand would be pleased if I didn’t show up at the first class, I could tell by the way she looked at me last night. He would just assume I didn’t make it to the final presentation. However, plans changed on the first day of t
LILLIE I died. Not once, not twice. Over and over again. Whenever I blinked and found myself still looking into those soulless eyes, my spirit fled my body only to return with a force that had me visibly shaken. Did he know? If he knew, was he going to reject me there and then? If he didn’t know, would it be wise of me to bring it to his notice and reject him there and then? Would he punish me for it? “Stop overthinking. There are eyes on you.” I heard Enid’s soft whisper. I swallowed hard, allowing my dread settle in the pit of my stomach. Who cared it there were eyes on me? “You do, Lillie. You know you do, especially the blue ones you can’t seem to look away from.” “Mate! What? No way! It can't be,” I almost blurted out but I had to hold myself from reacting that way. This has to be some joke. What does she mean that the man that I have grown to hate is my mate? My eyes rolled from one end of the room to another and I could not believe what my wolf just said to me. I was sha
LillieThere was no winning with this man. I knew it from the second his sea blue eyes settled on mine. The second his eyes roamed over the tattoo on my neck again, and his brows furrowed in the most disdainful frown I had ever seen in my life, I knew what he was going to do. I also knew that no matter how much I had tried to convince myself in the past years that I hated him and his entire family, his actions in the next couple of minutes would tear my heart into pieces- thousands of shreds I would never be able to put back together again. My wolf kicked inside of me again and I warned her sternly to behave herself. This was a life and death situation.“You are the daughter of a banished one,” he said again, circling around me. My skin crawled as he walked around me in circles.I swallowed a lump of saliva down my throat as I stood still.“Yes, my lord,” I answered again.The tension in the air was rising that I could feel it get to my throat. It may strangle me to death if I was not
DavidThe lamp cast a faded ray of light over her amber complexion. She was almost at peace while her hair spread out all over the pillow like she fucking belonged there. The more I stared at her, the more I noticed features I hadn’t been able to see before. Her scent - as much as I wanted to be nauseated by it - seemed to only make me want to draw closer, close enough until I could sniff in the shampoo of her hair. Stupid mate bond! I had rejected her, yet she still had this pull. I just couldn’t take it. I shoved my thoughts down my throat and tried to forget about that. I was still mad at my brothers for what they did.Naked on the bed, and eyes closed in rest, I could only imagine what it would be like to reach for her under the duvet, and… Fuck this. “I still cannot believe you two had me running into the woods just to bring her back. And how on earth did you guys know she was in danger anyways?” No one answered me. They didn’t have to because we had gone over it a thousan
LillieDeep breaths, Lillie. Take a deep breath. I said to myself.His sea blue eyes flickered like a lamp as those mean words fell off his lips. His eyes gave him away as they were filled with so much hatred from me.I noticed as his claws spiked out of his fingers as he stared at me, growling and raging in anger.I was still shocked by my marrows and surprised by what was going on. I was mated to the brothers and suddenly, I was the cause of all of it?I searched within me for the perfect response to him but, I found none yet. The second his deadly eyes locked with mine, fear shot through my body; it made me want to fall to his knees and beg for mercy.Mercy that I could be allowed to leave his presence. I didn't want to be around him even for the next second.His sea blue eyes widened slightly as I stared at him and his chiseled face hardened.“I would have been dead. What happened? I could not remember anything that happened that night,” the thought crossed through my mind and I m
DavidI flung the door to my study open and I saw my brothers, one seated at every corner of the room. I let out a disgruntled sigh as I went in.“Seriously? What is this? Some kind of intervention?” I was more than tired already and I expected that I would have some alone time to rest and clear my head.I needed them to say their pieces and leave. “Seems, you are back. How's the girl?” Daniel asked me and I threw myself into my chair.Of course he would be worried about her. They were all drawn to her like moths to flame and for the love of me, I couldn’t see why. OrI didn’t want to see why. Why did it matter? “I'm disappointed about everything that is happening. There is no way you all can accept the mate bond we all share with Lillie,” “I think you should be disappointed at your behavior towards everything. You acted childish. What are you? A jealous twelve year old who doesn’t want to share his toy?” Jace chipped in, and my brothers stayed silent. “And what do you mean by we
LILLIEIt had been days now and I still had not recovered from what happened to me. The news about the princes shook me more than I thought it had. Lying on the bed, my gaze was fixed to the ceiling as thoughts flew through my mind. I did not remove my gaze from the ceiling because I felt there was something written there that I needed to see.It was just an illusion. There was nothing. Nothing apart from what my mind was trying to create.My body was so weak. I was so weak in my bones that I could barely move a part of my body and worse still, I still felt pains all over.My encounter with those wolves was a terrible one. It weakened my spirits even more and it didn't help matters that I continuously thought about it.Sipping some herbal tea out of the ceramic cup beside me, I breathed heavily and laid still, placing my two hands on my chest.Sometimes, all I just needed was rest. And that rest was what I was going to have either way.The door swung open and I jolted forward.“Your
Lillie“Follow me.” I did just that. I needed to know. I needed to see what he wanted to show me since he said that he can help me.“But, why are you interested in helping me?” I asked him as we went on a walk, away from the palace garden.“Don't you want to be helped?” he asked and I shrugged.I rolled my eyes. “I didn't say that I didn't want to be helped. It's obvious that I am going through a lot and…”Jace placed his finger on my lips, causing me to stop talking about whatever I was going through.“Just forget about it. Leave everything to me.”And that was it. I stopped talking and moved in silence with him. He led me to the direction of the palace library and I kept on wondering what he was up to.How did I even trust him to this extent that I followed him all the way from the garden to the library?Those were questions that I could not understand myself. I could not answer them either. Instead, I saw myself following his lead.“How does it feel to be mated to all four prince
This has been an emotional roller coaster for me. This story began in January, and since then, a lot of things have happened. I’ve been sick, I’ve had countless visits to the hospital, gotten an operation, entered final year in medical school, a lot of things actually. And finally, after nine months, I get to say goodbye to the beautiful Morris family, and everyone involved in their story. It wasn’t easy, but you all stood by me. I hope you enjoyed this story as much I almost enjoyed writing it. And I hope to see you again in my next project coming in OCTOBER, and my debut billionaire romance novel. Thank you all. Xoxo, Bella Hemsworth.
SEVEN MONTHS LATER AUTHOR The sound of the door closing had everyone up on their feet. Daniel, Darwin, Lillie who had been fidgeting on her seat, Queen Sophia, even little Emilia. The doctor blinked twice, fairly surprised by how fast they had all stood. All the set of eyes that peered at her caused her to clear her throat. She couldn’t blame them for being anxious. Princess Darla had been in the labor room for over eight hours. “How’s everything? How’s she? How’s…?” Lillie moved to the front, and the doctor smiled at her. “Everything is fine, your highness. Princess Darla has just delivered two beautiful and handsome children.” Silence hung in the air for three brief seconds. Yes. The doctor had counted. “Does this mean…?” Lillie asked with wide eyes. “Yes.” The tall lady replied. “Twins.” “Oh my God!” Lillie screamed, tears in her eyes as she watched everyone else rush into the room. They were supposed to have gone in one by one, but even the doctor knew better than to tr
Lillie’s POV *THREE WEEKS LATER* I stood outside Darla’s room, taking a deep breath before knocking softly. No response, but I knew she was in there. I could hear her crying from where I stood. Even her large twin doors had done nothing to mask the sound of her sorry. I turned mine into a ball in my throat and swallowed hard to push it down to my stomach. It couldn’t come out, not today. I reached for her door knob, opened the door and found her sitting on the edge of her bed, her face pale, her eyes swollen from crying. The black dress Darwin had gotten for her lay untouched in a rumpled mess beside her."Darla, you need to get ready," I said gently, stepping inside. "It’s time."She shook her head, her hands trembling as they gripped the sheets. "I can’t," she whispered. "If I get dressed… if I go downstairs… it means he’s really gone. That Logan is really gone, and I’ll never see him again. The love of my life, Lillie… the father of my child." Her voice cracked, her should
David’s POV Blood. All over the room. Dripping from every wound in my body. I didn’t need to see my reflection in the mirror to know I had been beaten up real good. Yet, when I saw it, a bitter chuckle forced its way out of my throat. I had managed to kill them all even in my state. The fuckers must have known they wouldn’t be able to stand a chance, hence why they had to poison me. In those last minutes of my life, the faces of my brothers flashed in my mind as I sat on my bed. My brothers, my sisters, my darling mother who had seen so much loss in her time. I never thought I’d see them again. I thought that, by the time they reached the hospital, I’d be long gone. When the rogues came, I was sure it was over. They had knives, weapons—I barely had the strength to lift my arms, but something inside me, something primal, wouldn’t let me give up. Not yet. Not before seeing my family one last time. If they could get to me, that is. There was no guarantee they had been able to make it
Darwin’s POV Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but there wasn’t a crown on my head. However, I knew I had stepped into David’s shoes the moment he was hospitalized. It suddenly made sense why he had been so stoic and protective of everyone. For the first time in a long time, I could feel what he felt. The weight of the world resting on my shoulders. My world, and that of Dark Moon at large. Even as I ripped Jace’s head from his neck, the reality of what had just happened sank deeper as I looked at him—the cousin who once laughed with us as children, now reduced to this: A lifeless head in my hands. Who would have thought I would be the one to end his life? Who would have thought that he’ll be the one to turn our lives around? To hurt my brothers, to betray the only family he could call his? His eyes, once filled with arrogance and ambition, were now vacant, staring up at the sky even in his death. But now, he would be unable to see any fucking thing. His life had ended.
Darwin: The battle was far more brutal than expected. Dead bodies lay across the ground, a mix of our own people, rogues and rebel soldiers. Daniel and I were yet to turn as we were preserving our energy to fight our common enemy. A wolf lunged at me and I caught it by its collar and snapped its next in one move. It dropped to the ground, slowly shifting back to its human form as it took its last breath. Another one came and I sank my claws into it, twisting and tearing its guts out so it lay on the floor in a disgusting pile. I only one had one intention as I made my way towards the Palace. And that was to make sure Lillie and my family members were safe. After I'd confirmed that they were, I would return here and find Jace. The hall was empty. Void of anyone, so I knew they had all been carted away to safety to the Palace's secret basement. I heard a familar sob and hurried towards the corner leading to the underground building. Lillie was crouched beside Logan w
Lillie's POV: Tonight was a wedding and the whole Palace was bright with the hustle and bustle of activities. A decorating team had been employed to decorate the area and it had gone on for about two days. Tonight, they were finishing up the rest of the decorations as guests began to arrive. I heard the Queen's voice from where I stood in Darla's room. She was yelling at the decorating team for their slow pace and we all laughed when she asked one of the ladies to get out of her sight. "It's not mother's wedding and yet, she yells like it's hers." Emilia said from where she stood, our beautiful flower girl, getting dressed by some of the maids. Darla chuckled from where she sat in front of her vanity table. "Mother can be a control freak at times. Don't tell her I said this, or she's going to serve my body to the guests." Emilia grinned in mischief and I instantly knew she was going to use emotional blackmail now that she had power over Darla. "Wh
Lillie's POV: Things were going smoothly. More than I expected. I banished the thoughts of something ruining the good time everyone was having and decided to, for once in my life, be happy that things were going the way I wanted. Queen Sofia was forced to interceed on Logan's behalf and the embargo of being a slave was taken off him. Darla made it a point of duty to remind her every waking moment of the day until the Queen decided to have rites held on Logan's behalf. And now, they were seen always having little cute moments around the palace. Logan and Darla were always found in each other's arm and I always saw the look on the Queen's face. Even after taking the banishment off Logan's head, she still wasn't in approval of their relationship. But as time went on, she became busy with other things and paid them no heed until I found her one day, smiling at Darla and Logan as they sat at the porch. Darla had her head on Logan's lap as he read her a book. It was such a
Lillie's POV: I paced from one end of the room to the other, trying to come up with words to say to my brother. Logan stood, head bowed low, at the other end of the room. I could tell he was feeling extremely bad, but not guilty. He finally stood tall, steeling his expression as he stared right at me. "What are you going to do? Judge me for following my heart? Call that a mistake also?" I honestly had nothing to say to him if I was being honest. I was just surprised that Logan and Darla were ever a thing. I wasn't angry or judgemental. I just didn't like how it had been hidden from me. Did Logan not trust me? Or hadn't I been a good enough elder sister for him to talk to? These were the thoughts that plagued my mind. I turned to him and sighed. "When did you start Dating Darla?" "We're not... dating," He replied. "Though we really like each other a lot." "So when did all these start?" He scoffed. "Do I have to tell you all the details?" "Yes. I have to know." I