ODESSA’S POVAt first, it was the feeling of weightlessness, and then the feeling of fear, then peace…storm. I could feel myself existing in a floating state, drifting into a black hole with nothing to keep me stable. I was going deeper and deeper and my heart kept pounding with fear. No matter how hard I tried, my body didn't obey my command. I was able to find a loophole, though; all I needed to do was tire my awakened subconscious spirit, and the fear would leave and, in its place, would come to sleep. But today…was different. I wasn't floating, I was stable. My body felt heavy and my spirit was calm. My fingers were the first to move. I took in a deep breath to be sure that I was in control and as soon as I confirmed that I was, I willed myself to open my eyes. They were heavy, and my eyelids were not cooperating. I felt tired once again and slowly, they opened up by themselves. Never did I think I'd be so glad to see the ceiling in my bedroom. I sighed with relief and heard
ODESSA’S POVThere were two ways to react to this: I could either be in defense mode or be in offense mode. I didn't plan on my secret getting out until my revenge plan was over. Victor would never marry a wofless princess; it would weaken his lineage, and he would rather choose a maid over me. I just didn't foresee my attack and now it looks like the King has caught me red-handed. “I have no idea what you're talking about,” I said nonchalantly and turned to stroke my fingers against the water. “A wolf's normal reaction is to shift when faced with imminent danger. It's not something that can be controlled, it's pure instinct. But you, Odessa, you stood there awaiting your death without even trying to put up a fight.” The King scowled. “I did.” My eyebrows furrowed in a frown as my palm squeezed as a means to control my anger. He was scolding me like a kid and I hated it. “I fought. Did you not see the two golden pins sticking out of its eyes?” One eyebrow shot up in challenge. Tha
AUTHOR’S POV“I am an asshole.” “Yeah, no kidding.” “She must hate me now.” “Definitely.” Kaiden stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his second-in-command. “I called you here to help me. Not to agree with every single thing I say.” Elixir shrugged, “It's not my fault that everything you're saying is right. Why did you attack her like that?” Kaiden sighed, his shoulders slumped forward as he buried his face in one palm, “I didn't attack her. I.. I just lost my cool.” Elixir nodded, almost as if he was teaching the King the basics of wooing again. “Yeah, same thing. It's still an attack; at least, that's how she'll see it. You said so many wrong things that ended up in her blowing up in your face. The matters of the heart are the most complicated uncomplicated things in the world.” “So?” Kaiden asked, looking perplexed, “You can't help me?” Elixir shook his head, “Nope, but Sarai can. The mind of a woman can only be known by another woman. Don't worry your Majesty, you'
AUTHOR’S POVKaiden stood right outside Odessa’s door. His heart was palpitating. He didn't know how he was going to face her, not after what happened last night. Odessa had avoided him all through today and whenever he tried to make small talk with her, at the dining table, she'd shut him down immediately. Kaiden knew the only thing that would make Odessa not kick him out of her room was pure grace. Mustering up the courage, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Come in!” Odessa’s voice boomed from the other side of the room. Taking in two large breaths, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. His eyes seek her out in her room. His breath hitched when he finally saw her. Seated at the vanity table, facing the mirror, Odessa was dressed in a backless nightgown. Kaiden’s eyes trailed down from her collar bone to the dip that her back made into the white satin dress. Her dainty hands were holding a pink-rhinestone hair brush, gently combing it through her beautiful loc
CHAPTER 22ODESSA’S POV“I look like I got hit by a truck.” I groaned as I stared at my beat-up reflecting on the mirror. My hair was standing all over the place, my eyes were red and heavy with dark circles around them. It was clear as day that I had the worst night of my life. Why? Because of a certain King. After he left, I just couldn't concentrate on anything. I paced my room several times while looking for my hair brush which was in my hand by the way, even though I'd combed my hair for the night already. Out of frustration, I forced myself to sleep but it was a constant battle. My heart was beating so loudly in my ear drums that I hear the sound of my own thoughts. Something about the way I dismissed the King last night, bugged me to no end. Did the King love Eira when she was a princess too? Was she using both the King and the Prince to her advantage? Was she manipulating them? These questions and some more danced in my mind all through the night, but I couldn't find an a
KAIDEN’S POV“So!–” “I swear on my mother’s bosom, Elixir. If you don't shut up, I'll throw you in the dungeon.” I growled at him and he laughed. “I don't think Sarai would like it. Besides, you were the one that came barging in last night. It's not my fault if I want a little payback.” I grinned knowing that my wife was my green card when it came to pestering the King.“Oh, she’ll understand, and shut the fuck up about payback. You must have went at it again after I left.” He laughed and I grumbled, storming my way to the dungeon. I felt like a coward, hell I know I'm one. Running away from the dining room because I couldn't bear to stay in the same room as them and not want to tear Victor to shreds. Elixir intercepted me, stopping me from entering the dungeon. My head tilted to the side as I stared at him. “What are you doing?” “So, it's safe to say that things clearly didn't go well after last night?” He asked, staring at my face as if trying to take note of every expression th
ODESSA’S POV“Cut the crap, Victor. Why are you suddenly nice to me?” I said as soon as the King was out of earshot. Victor looked at me as if I'd said the most bizarre thing in the entire world. “What?” “What? Are you surprised?” I asked, pinning him with my stare. “Did you seriously not know how you've been treating me?” I was playing the part of a sad and unhappy lover and he was stupid enough to fall for it. If the maids saw how disconnected we were, there would be whispers. Which I don't mind, but I don't want my name involved in any gossip between Victor and his hoe. “Calm down, Odessa. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about.” He replied looking extremely clueless. I scoffed, “You come to my kingdom, talk about wooing me and falling in love with me. Now that I'm here, you suddenly forget I exist?” “That's not true. That's not what happened.” He countered angrily. “How many times did you come to see me after I woke up? Did you even know I wasn't in my room duri
ODESSA’S POVI frowned and raised my hand to my cheek, touching the exact spot he was pointing. I flinched as I felt the pain run through my body. I watched as he flinched as well, a fleeting emotion crossing his face before his expression went stoic. “I'm fine.” I said timelessly and he nodded, turning around to face the others in the room. I stood on my tiptoes to peep from behind his shoulders, my gaze meeting that of the other man’s. He smirked, I blushed, and his back behind the King; that was when I noticed he was yelling at Eira. “I was only trying to–” The King cut her off and I was almost feeling pity for her. Everyone knows that it's bad if the King focuses his attention on you for bad reasons. “The Princess already expressed her dislike for you. How did you think she'd react if she found you in her bedroom?” He yelled. Tears were starting to leak out of Eira's eyes. Her gaze drifted around the room, asking for help from the rest of us but no one was willing to incur th
AUTHOR’S POVKaiden walked into the palace the next day, at midnight. He’d spent so much time today at the pack, erecting more buildings, visiting the new site for the second pack house construction, and checking the conditions of the industries and factories. It had taken most of his time, but it was worth it. When he went back into his office, his guard had delivered a message from Dokrado. On reading it, King Xarson told him about the rogue spotting close to the border. Just last night, the rogues attacked, but thankfully, they managed to hold out fine. Although Xarson expressed his concern about the rogues and his suspicion that they'd decided to stay at the border, he implored Kaiden to ride down to Dokrado and check out the situation. King Kaiden was a bit skeptical about the whole incident. Why would the rogues go as far as attacking the Dragon realm? Kaiden was sure that the letter wasn't a fake; it had Dokrado’s seal and Xarson’s blood print. The King sighed and placed his
AUTHOR’S POVMe?... Odessa thought to herself. “That doesn't make any sense. Why would the king stop you from telling me?” Odessa asked; her confusion was very evident in her voice, and Hansel was quick to clear it up. “He didn't mention your name, per se. There's no way he would have known about you then, or that the prince would go to your realm some years later. He just told everyone not to mention the Queen in front of any stranger coming into the realm, or the future Queen of the realm, which implies you.” “Oh, okay…” Odessa nodded. Now the questions she wanted answers to would never be answered. Her mate would continue burying his emotions until they spiral out of control again. She sighed, realizing that there was truly no way to help the King. She couldn't ask the Beta General for help because he’s also in on it. “Does any of you have any idea why he would not allow the future queen of the realm to know about Queen Kyra?” She asked. “N-No one knows. But there are some spe
ODESSA’S POVI frowned slightly when I felt the feeling of something cold dripping over my legs. I tried to pull it away, but something or someone held it down. The coldness disappeared and I sighed, settling to go back to sleep when I suddenly felt the chillness again along with a sharp pain. I sat up immediately, my blurry eyes pinned at the foot of the bed to see my mate crouched down cradling my foot in his hands. My toes curled and wiggled as he blew cool breath against my foot. “What are you doing?” I asked, as I stared at him with confused sleepy eyes that were quickly coming to focus. He didn't answer me and just continued blowing my feet with his cold breath. Minutes later, he gently set my feet back on the bed and walked away with a bowl and towel in his hands. I watched as he walked into the bathroom. I pulled my foot closer and stared at it, only to notice the bruises and reddened skin. “Did you walk here barefoot from the palace?” I looked up at the sound of Kaiden
ODESSA’S POVMy legs slowly unwrapped from his waist, one foot touching the floor before the other. My hands fell to my side as my head fell forward, burying my face in disappointment. I turned around and walked to the door, my hand on the doorknob, before my arm was suddenly grabbed from behind and I was spun around to face my mate. “What happened to you all of a sudden? Did I hurt you?” Even though I didn't look up at him, I could still hear the worry in his voice. “How could you…” “How could I what?” He asked confusedly, and I finally looked at him, my eyes getting blurry with tears. “How could you still be so worried about me when you're bottling so much inside? When you're battling with such guilt and self-hatred?...” My voice broke at the end as the lump in my throat grew bigger as more tears dripped down my cheeks. “Odessa—”“I caused that, didn't I? I made you feel like this; it was because of what I said, wasn't it?” I asked, even though I didn't need any confirmation.
ODESSA’S POVSo I ended up parading the entire palace barefoot, and by the entire palace I meant going to Kiaden's bedroom and home office. Of course, he wasn't there. I got to the palace entrance and looked down at my bare feet. I could have gone back to get my shoe but I was too lazy to go back to my bedroom even though I should have done that before making this entire trip. Was I expecting my maid to pop out like a devil and hand me my shoes? Yes. Did she pop out like the devil she was to hand me my shoes? A big fat Yes! But I refused because I loved the feeling of the tiled marble floor against my feet, and now, my legs were sore and I was starting to regret my decision. Evelyn already left the palace to see Hugo, such an incompetent and love-sick maid, so I couldn't ask her to help me either. “Is everything alright, Your Highness?” One of the guards stationed at the door asked as they both looked at me looking at my feet for the past twenty minutes. I contemplated sending th
ODESSA’S POV“He’s so stubborn!” I yelled. “Well, he's right in a way.” My maid sighed as she brushed my hair. I turned to glare at her, her hand holding the brush suspended in the air as she looked at me, “So am I.”“Actually, you are wrong. You hit him with a low blow.” Evelyn pointed the brush at me, giving me a very judgy look. I scoffed, “You're only defending him because he's the King. You know I'm right.” “Maybe, but your way of handling it was very wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right. He might have gone on a mass murder after his first Queen died, but our facts about that event are only based on here-says and nothing concrete.” “What are you talking about? Both He and Victor did the same thing. They got lost in their grief and did something horrendous, the only difference was that Victor was stopped before he could do anything.” “You're talking as if you wanted Victor to have killed you and your baby.” Evenlyn frowned. “Of course not. I'm just saying–” “That the King
AUTHOR’S POVA thunderous roar shook the grounds of the realm, the floor vibrated beneath their feet. With a motion as fast and swift as lightning, a huge figure slammed the Prince against the wall, cracks spread out like branches around his pinned body. Everyone watched in horror as the King stood in his half beast form, three times his normal height, towering over the Prince that struggled for breath in his hold. “Kaiden!” “Your Majesty!” “Victor!” Everyone echoed at once as soon as the first initial wave of shock wore off. “He treated what's MINE!” Another might roar echoed in the air. “Your Majesty, please let him go! You’ll kill him! He's your only heir!” Eira yelled as she watched the King and her husband with caution. “HE’S NOT MY HEIR!” Kieran yelled with all his might, tightening his grip on Victor’s neck. Odessa could clearly see the Prince's face turning blue. He’s going to kill him! He's going to kill him. Odessa moved without thinking, causing an uproar from the
AUTHOR'S POVA gut-wrenching scream resonated from the Prince’s bedroom. Lycans, with their very sensitive hearing, heard it from far and near; those outside the palace could only hear snippets of it. Odessa and Kaiden were just having their breakfast when the gut-wrenching scream echoed in the dining hall. They looked at each other before standing to their feet immediately and heading towards the third floor. They met Elixir and Miriyam on the way, and the confused looks on their faces showed that no one knew what was going on. As soon as they arrived, they saw some of the midwives bustling in and out. Now because they had to respect the Prince’s wishes, four of them stood outside the bedroom, watching the panic and chaos happen. Odessa could hear someone sobbing inside, the person came out and it turned out to be the midwife who had delivered Astraea and carried her in her arms for the first time. Miriyam quickly went to Gia and grabbed her arm, “What is it? Is the princess okay?
AUTHOR’S POVMiriyam and the midwives hastily made their way into the Prince’s bedroom. Eira was all alone on the bed, writhing and grunting in pain, her hands gripping the bed sheets, her body sheen with sweat and the bed sheets soaked in them. “She's going into labour.” One of the midwives yelled and the others surrounded her, they began to prep her body, putting it in the right position for labour. “Princess, listen to me. You're going into labour, but we have to wait for the right time to ask you to push.” “ITS TOO PAINFUL!!!!” Eira screamed at the top of her voice. It felt like her body was splitting into two, she could feel every bone, every muscle in her body tightening and ready to push. “We know, we know, but you have to endure. The contraptions should come and go, we have to wait until you're early the right diameter.” “My husband… where…where is HE????” The pain increased as her question turned into a full on scream. “Someone get the Prince!” One midwife yelled, runni