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
StefanThe room stays silent, and she watches me.“Why are you trying to hide everything?” she asks, and my head shakes.“I’m not hiding anything, Mother.” Nothing at all.“So you’re not in love with her?” she asks, and her words shock me.Laughing, I shake my head. “Don’t be so foolish, mother. Why would you even suggest such a thing? It’s ludicrous.” My heart quickens, and I fight back the fear.“I’ve watched you, Stefan, the way you look at her, the way you always looked at her when you thought no one would see or notice.”Her words made my body run cold.“What?” What does she mean by that?Laughing, she turns to face me more. “Even before she left, when you were young, you may have been harsh to her in person, but from a distance, when you assumed no one would see. Your look towards her spoke volumes,” she explains, and I panicked, my eyes looking around the room.“What look, Mother?” She could be wrong.“The look you only had when you looked at Harlyn and were convinced no one wo
HarlynThe celebration has been going amazing; I watch Wayne standing with the pups and Samuel walking towards my mother. I sit.“Darling.” She moves and hugs me. “He seems like such an amazing man.” Her words make me smile.“He is; I’m grateful to have him.” That I am.“He and the pups have changed you. The girl you were has basically disappeared. You walk with your head up, no longer at your feet,” she says while smiling.“Mother, you know we all love you, right?” I ask, and she nods. “Then don’t do this again; imagine how I would have felt if Father refused to let me return and you had died.” I hate how close that reality came.“Samuel needed you. Lucy needed you.”“So much that you were willing to die?” Is she crazy? I stare at her, fighting back the tears.“He missed you. We all did.” Sighing, she looks around the room. “Maybe it was foolish, but I knew Samuel needed you there for his wedding. I knew you would forever regret not being there. So if I died in my quest, it would hav