HarlynI reach for Thorin, but I’m too late. I watch as he attacks Diandra, and she falls down screaming. He took her off guard. He shouldn’t be able to do these things yet, and she didn’t expect him to have such strength or his wolf properly yet.The pups do; they could shift at a young age and pretty soon learn how to partially shift, which most don’t learn or manage to do until they are adults.Thorin’s speed was impressive, however. She didn’t have a chance to block his first attack, and he struck her on the arm, where she got me. Her wound mirrored mine.I watch her stagger to her feet, and I move to protect Thorin. She launches her attack at him, and he moves effortlessly, his hand moving and slashing across her face where she had hurt me.“Thorin, darling, no!” She’s a princess. He can’t do this! I begin to panic, and he turns to look at me. My head shakes, and I see her lurch for him.Thorin turns to attack, and I see Isaac appear in front of her, and his hand scratches along
StefanThe Earl and Samuel’s words have been on repeat constantly since I left Harlyn in that room.I know that I can’t deny it anymore. Harlyn was with me that night, and nothing I do can change that or make things right, especially not when she was exiled for it.Still, she has pups—my pups. I’m not sure how to approach that situation—actually, I’m not sure how to approach any of the situations. This isn’t like I have spoken to her throughout the years or that she trusts me.She doesn’t trust me, not even the smallest amount, so my approach to these things needs to be more planned—not that stupid attempt I made last night.That was wrong, and I realised when I walked away it would have looked like I was making light of her situation. I wasn’t. I should have just said it outright.I had to push every thought away about Harlyn and the pups. However, I couldn’t go into the battle with my mind lost in thoughts of her, them, and my mistakes.Luckily, Ghost seemed willing to agree and did
StefanI stand staring at the pups in disbelief. How is this even possible? Even though I know it was them, Harlyn lying and taking the blame has thrown me and placed doubt in my mind.She never lies, but even I feel like this is a lie. I keep my eyes on them, the similar glow they have in their eyes like mine. Still, how did they do that to Diandra? They are too young to be able to. They are too young to be Lycan’s. Most don’t change until their eighteenth birthday.“Don’t be so foolish and try to mock me!” King Fredric shouts, unable to accept that it is true. “You pups must love your mother to take the blame and be willing to die for her.” He scoffs and glares across at them.He’s not hurting them. I stand silenced, though, because it isn’t possible. That’s why no one believes it. It shouldn’t be possible.“She had already hurt my Mummy. So I hurt her.” One of the boys steps forward, his eyes glowing, and Harlyn reaches for him and misses.I move and kneel in front of him as he mov
StefanI can see that Diandra is worried. Whoever this guard is has just confirmed she was beaten by the pups.“What are you trying to say?” King Fredric screams at the woman.“Princess Diandra, are you afraid of telling your father the truth of how you were, in fact, beaten up?” The woman looks at her.“You’re lying, I didn’t. Who are you anyway?” Diandra glares at her.“I’m Beta Jane, from Moonlore pack,” Jane explains.Diandra laughs. “Oh, you’re Harlyn’s guard; of course, you will say that.” Diandra continues laughing as if she can lie her way out of it.“True, but he’s not.” Jane points towards the door, and I turn to see Simon, a guard of King Fredric’s. Diandra’s mouth closes.Father goes to speak, and my mother shakes her head.“Please don’t interrupt, darling. I’m interested in what Princess Diandra will say now that her guard has witnessed it.” Mother smiles smugly. She’s set to humiliate Diandra, and I should stop this, but I don’t want to.“I didn’t get beat; they are kids
StefanMy mind has been fixed on my mother’s words. I hadn’t noticed a resemblance between the pups and me except for the eyes, but then again, I hadn’t gotten close enough to pay attention.When I was close to Thorin, I was focused more on helping him handle his anger. I didn’t take notice of his features, just his eyes.I stand watching my mother and consider this. She can’t know that I slept with Harlyn, which means she saw me in the pups. How long will it be before others notice?While I want to tell her everything, I can’t. The last thing I want to do is tell her it was me, and it wasn’t. Even though it’s doubtful, there’s the slightest chance someone else was with her that night.Then what? I hurt for her nothing. I’m unsure how to confirm it to the point there is no doubt. I know now that I will need to tell my mother everything. I didn’t want her to know and hurt over what had happened.She stayed behind that night to help my father with the rogues. I know she would have felt
StefanI stay watching them, feeling uneasy about how close they are to him, even though I know it’s wrong. However, I still don’t like it.Ghost doesn’t help with the constant chanting of ‘Mate’ when he sees Harlyn wrapped around a guy, so I push him back, as the last thing I need is Ghost reacting.I waited, but she seemed too in her world to realise I was here and speaking to her. That she just left me and didn’t even say goodbye.Maybe this is a good thing. Harlyn won’t leave now, right? I mean, surely, if he’s here, she will agree to stay a few more days. Then, I can figure out how to fix this and tell her everything.I watch as Harlyn steps back, tears rolling down her cheeks as the pups stay in his arms. This just reminds me of how much I fucked everything up.Sighing, I wait and watch as he places down the pups. My body runs cold. I hear Ghost growl, and I step back. No. My head shakes. She can’t leave, not yet.“Harlyn.” My words are loud and almost a growl. She turns now and
HarlynI can’t help but smile at Wayne’s presence. He lightened up all the darkness as soon as I saw him. I’ve missed him too much, and I can see he missed me. I just don’t understand why he showed up when I’m leaving tomorrow.“You haven’t explained your wounds, my love.” Wayne’s words have me nodding.“It is sorted now,” I say, knowing that Wayne will cause a fuss.“How can you say that?” he asks, looking around the room. “Your training didn’t help, did it?”“Wayne, I knew my training wouldn’t help against anyone with a wolf. I can fight and block, but my strength is nothing compared to werewolves.” I honestly thought he had realised that. I would do great if it were someone without a wolf. I hit hard for a wolfless girl, but nothing compared to a wolf.“So, who attacked you?” Wayne asks again.“The Princess,” Thorin states, glaring across to Diandra.“I thought you two were friends?” Wayne looks at me, shocked. He knows Lucy is my friend. I didn’t mention Stefan and him rejecting m
StefanI hate this. Everyone is welcoming Wayne like he’s a fantastic guy and the best thing that happened to Harlyn. Still, he isn’t. Sure, he may have taken her in after she was exiled, but it took years for us to learn that.The Earl said Harlyn chose to leave for years; it was only after I heard Samuel arguing with him that we learned the truth and that he exiled her.I still don’t understand how he could do that to his daughter, and he honestly looked so unaffected by it. The Countess hid away for months after, and it was clear when she finally began to attend events again that she had lost part of her soul.Just like Samuel and Colton, all three of them seemed to be ripped apart by the loss of Harlyn, but not the Earl. Why? There must be something or a reason why he hates her so much. Whatever it is, he won’t speak of it, so I’m not sure if we will ever get the full story behind his hatred for her.I’ve managed to stay hidden within the crowd, close enough to hear the conversati
StefanI look at Samuel, and he seems cheery, so things must have gone well on his trip. I can hope, anyway.“Come on, Earl Samuel, this is taking forever,” I complain, and he laughs.“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. The people are completely cleared of magic, and his sister is none the wiser. Magic was used and she didn’t know a thing, so she isn’t a risk,” he explains.“Their father?” I ask.“His body is there, so he was certainly dead, and it was all Wayne. The pack has a new alpha, one who isn’t connected to Wayne’s family and such. So it’s sorted,” he explains, and I relax more.We had thought we had sorted everything, but only two months someone attacked, and it turned out Wayne had yet another brother we didn’t know of. So now we know everything and are sure no one else is coming for Harlyn. I can relax.“How has Lucy been?” He looks at me.“Fine, she and Harlyn have spent most of their time together. Go see her. We can get a full breakdown in a few days,” I say and watch as he nods a
HarlynStefan currently has everyone’s attention. The pups are behind me, but the place is packed. People have moved closer to him to listen to what he is saying.He’s currently thanking everyone for coming, and the speculation over what this is about surrounds me.Some men think that he’s planned a date to marry Diandra, and others think that he is stepping down as king. Some of the women are speculating as well. Their speculation is around me, because people know that Stefan left to deal with an issue about me.“Maybe he has exiled her entirely, and this is him letting us know?” I hear the woman and ignore her.“The royal family took long enough. She barely had the right to be classed as a werewolf,” another laughs. Thorin glares towards them. Kneeling down, I smile at him.“Forget their words, this is about you,” I say and kiss his cheek. I listen as Stefan announces he recently found out he was a father. I watch as he calls up the pups, Princess Lotta, Prince Thorin and Prince Isa
HarlynMy last few hours were spent with Lucy and Lotta getting ready for this ball, where Stefan will announce the pups. Lotta is in her element. She has on a dress. One that has taken hours for her pick.I blamed Lucy for that. The ideal thing to do was bring a few dresses, no more than six, for Lotta to pick from. Instead, she had almost an entire room, and that meant she wanted to wear them all.In the end, she gave up on the giant princess dresses and went for a more simple one. It didn’t have the big petticoat skirt under it, either.Lucy helped me pick a dress, and it matched Lotta’s in a way; I didn’t see why I needed a dress. As I told her, no one noticed me yesterday; they pushed in front of me to get to Stefan.Apparently, however, once it’s announced the pups are Stefan’s, people might approach them while they are with me. I still think my dress is a bit too much, but I won’t argue with Lucy.I’m glad the boys have Stefan and Samuel to help them. While Thorin would be dres
HarlynWe spoke for a while and discussed the way forward. I don’t want to wait months before we move forward. Stefan agreed. Our first task is announcing that the pups are his.No one other than those close to us knows about it, but everyone in the kingdom will be made aware of the pups and who they are. Then, we can focus on moving forward. I’ll be moving into his room, but Lotta will have a room close to us for the days Lucy stays at the manor.I don’t want her on a wing all on her own. The boys have each other, but Lotta wouldn’t have anyone once I move into Stefan’s room if Lucy isn’t there.We arrived back at the palace in time for Lunch. The pups are laughing and talking, and even Thorin is relaxed and having fun—something I rarely see. I wonder if it was the magic that suppressed everything.“Okay, pups, lets go!” Lucy skips over, and I turn, confused.“Court, and they shouldn’t be there,” Stefan explains, and I watch as they walk off with Lucy. “Are you sure you want to be th
HarlynI wake up in bed, yet I can’t remember coming to bed last night. I was with Stefan outside, and that is my last memory, so I must have fallen asleep there.I’m still fully dressed. As I get up, I get cleaned and dressed. The knock has me opening the door, and I smile, seeing Lucy.“The pups are with my mother. Stefan and Samuel are ensuring everything is safe again at the walls, so I’m spending the morning with you,” she says as she walks in with a tray and food.“Did Wayne die then?” I ask, unsure of what actually happened.“From what Samuel said, all the brothers were there and are dead. Forget about that. Tell me about you and Stefan.” She smiles at me, but I don’t know what to say.I’m not sure there is a me and Stefan. “There’s not really much that I can say,” I explain.“I know, he’s stubborn,” she says while laughing, and I look at her confused. “Sorry, he’s got his weird little plan,” she laughs more.“Weird little plan?” What the hell does that even me? She laughs more
HarlynThe celebration has gone well. I spoke to Lucy for a bit, Colton, Samuel, and the queen.Now, the pups have gone to their rooms, much to Thorin’s disappointment, who wanted to stay with me and watch over me.The queen reassured him that the guards would be with me and keep me safe, so he and Isaac were given a room within the prince’s chamber—the same place Stefan used to stay.Lotta has been given a room in the princess’ chamber, so she is sharing the entire wing with Lucy. I have a room on the same wing as Lotta.I’ve not seen Stefan for a while. Grabbing a jacket, I walk outside and spot the maids, soldiers, and guards at their usual spot. Walking past them, I find Stefan sitting in the same spot we used to.Moving, I sit beside him, and he glances at me briefly before looking back down at his hands. We don’t speak for a while and just sit in silence. He is off, and I feel like he needs a break from everything.“I’m sorry,” he whispers.“You don’t need to apologise, Stefan;
HarlynI walk into the room and sit next to Stefan. I know I panicked too much with Thorin; it’s hard to remember that he is strong and a lycan. To me, I see him as the baby from when he was born, and he’s still a child.“How are you feeling?” Stefan glances at me. He seems off—not like before, but like he’s avoiding me.“I’m fine, honestly. Shouldn’t we go out there and celebrate, Your Majesty?” I ask.“I’d rather sit here with you and the pups,” he says while smiling.I know he would rather that, but he’s the king. Him avoiding a celebration after a battle isn’t right. “We will join you,” I say.“Your father will be there, Harlyn,” his words are barely a whisper. I know I didn’t want to see or speak to him, but it’s going to be impossible. I know they would have used my father to help with the battle, and it would be wrong to remove him from the celebration.I also don’t like that me insisting I avoid him will make it harder for everyone.“I’m fine with it, Your Majesty. At some poi
StefanI’m not sure how long we have been fighting, but the longer it lasts, the more strength he gains, and I realise his wolf wasn’t fully bound.Some of his men have run off in the direction of the distraction, so I know that they will have their wolves back soon. Not that it helps me now, I don’t have the strength against Wayne and his wolf.I fall to my knees and he laughs, but right now, my body hurts.“Hold him down,” Wayne speaks and I feel my arms get gripped and them holding me down to keep me kneeling. “You see, all I wanted to do was show everyone how it felt without a wolf.” His face leans into mine.“After all, Harlyn had no wolf, and many of the people here mocked her for it. They will now realise just how she felt.” His fist swings and hits me, and I groan. “Don’t worry. I will claim her again and use magic, so she stays.” He leans into my ear. “And well, your pups, I guess they become like the Cinderellas of the fairytale, just without the happy ending.”I see the kni
StefanMy eyes open, and I see my mother peering down at me. What happened? I feel someone next to me and turn to see Harlyn lying next to me. I’m in my room.“How did I get here?” I was on the ship.“You were drugged and didn’t wake, don’t worry. Focus on regaining your energy,” my mother smiles at me.“I’m fine. Just explain what happened,” I say, still unsure of what happened.“We believe Wayne injected you with Dragufic during your altercation,” she explains, and I look at Harlyn.“He did the same to Harlyn?” Why would he do that?“No, Harlyn used her wolf and the bond to connect with you and make you realise. What was your torment?” she asks, looking at me and waiting.“Me rejecting Harlyn. Now, thinking back, I can remember it was on replay. At the time, though, it felt so real, and I couldn’t remember it happening again and again.” I doubt I would have realised if Harlyn wasn’t there; I know for sure I wouldn’t have realised.“How long has she been asleep?” I ask.“We’ve been h