AUTHOR'S POVKaiden walked to his throne room, a scowl on his face and his hands behind his back. He was just about to prepare for bed when he received the mindlink that his Beta and the Elder wanted to have a word with him. The crier at the door was about to announce his arrival when Kaiden lifts up his hand, stopping the crier from doing so. As he approaches, Miriyam and Elixir look at each other for one more assurance of courage and truthfulness. "I hope what you want to see me for is worth it." "Of course, your Majesty." Miriyam curtsies with a smile and Elixir bows. "I'm listening," Kaiden moves towards his throne and sits on it. "The Beta came to see me tonight, and informed me about the marriage alliance request made by Salem-Zul." Kaiden glares at his Beta before focusing his attention on the Elder, "I rejected the request." "Your Majesty, you can't do that." "Why not?" One of Kaiden's eyebrows raises and he stares at Miriyam daring her to challenge him."Because it'l
AUTHOR’S POVKaiden stopped, the entire courtroom went silent as half the Elders had their eyes on the King and the other half had their eyes on Elder Dane. Both parties switching from the King to Dane. Kaiden slowly turned around to look at the panel. “What did you say?” “I said, you'll have to relinquish the throne and hand it over to your son. It's the only way to avoid this marriage.” Dane repeated, not a single fear of the King in his eyes. Kaiden remained silent, his gaze fixed on Dane for a long time. Everyone was getting worried because they could almost see the electric charges that was sparking in the air between the two men who were holding a staring contest. “It's my throne.” Kaiden said calmly, his word creating a small echo ad he turned to walk away. “And he's your son.” Dane said as he watches the King walk away. Without turning, Kaiden retrieved the small dagger in his belt and threw it over his head. The light weapon made a whistling sound as it pierced through t
AUTHOR’S POVOdessa woke up that morning with a aching heart, it's been days since she last saw the King. And no matter how much she tried to encourage herself with pep talks, to go see the King, she just couldn't do it. She couldn't face him…not yet at least. Evelyn’s words were always haunting her and then there's the issue of her powers. Her last outburst was the confirmation that she couldn't control them yet, not even up to 50%. But these days that she hadn't seen Kaiden, her powers were dormant…almost as if they'd gone to sleep. She tried summoning her fire powers, but it would only come out in small little flames or sometimes like sparks.She stood to her feet and walked to her bathroom, the way she normally does these past few days. Odessa rarely waited for her maid to come to wake her up or help her prepare a bath. She preferred the solitude that came with it but Evelyn never stopped coming to see her princess. Today was no different, Evelyn came in after Odessa was done g
AUTHOR’S POVKing Kaiden looked up with a frown, glaring at the door almost as if he could see the person at the other end of the other end of the door. “What is it?” His voice bellowed as he turned his attention back to the files he was working on. “Your Majesty, there's a report.” The guard at the other end said. Kaiden scowled. When was the last time that he ever received a report? “Why are you giving the report to me? Take it to the Chief of guards.” He said with a dismissal tone. The guard looked confused for a while. He hated this part of his job. But he had no choice than to deliver the message that was given to him. The guard took in a deep breath giving himself a little pep talk before opening his mouth to talk but before he could speak, a hand landed on his shoulder. The guard turned to see the Beta General behind him, a look of relief was visible on his face as soon as Elixir gave him a silent command to leave. The guard bowed in appreciation and scurried away as if h
AUTHOR’S POV“What are you doing here?” Odessa asked calmly as she glared at Eira; the sound of approaching footsteps resounded behind her. “Me? That's a silly question to ask, Princess. I don't need your permission to be here, or have you forgotten that my status has been elevated.” Eira asked with a condescending smile, and Odessa's palm itched to make its mark across Eira’s face. “I suggest you get out of my way before you get hurt. I'm not in the mood for your stupid tantrums today.” Odessa said, trying to walk around Eira, but the latter moved, blocking Odessa’s way. “Did you just threaten me, Princess Odessa?” Eira asked with wide amused eyes, “Oh, that can't be true. I must have heard wrong. You won't be so dumb as to threaten the future Queen and heir to the throne.” Odessa’s head snapped to look at the maid-turned-princess in front of her. “You shouldn't be so arrogant, princess,” Odessa called the title with disdain, her eyes assessing Eira with disgust. “You're not the
AUTHOR’S POV“Did you say something, Princess Odessa?” Princess Sunitra asked as she took in the stormy look of anger on Odessa’s face. Odessa blinked, quickly realizing that she'd imagined her outburst. “No, not at all. But here is a piece of advice from me for you, Princess Sunitra. You've just arrived; I think it's best if you mind your business.” Sunitra watched as the Princess walked out of the bedroom, her hair pinned to her head in what Sunitra liked to call the Queen’s braid. She sighed, seeing how the Princess looked more like a Queen than a Princess. Sunitra took one glance at the King’s chambers and walked out of his bedroom, shutting the door behind her. “Your Highness!” Fiona yelled and scurried towards Sunitra. “Oh, thank God. I sincerely thought you would be punished for trespassing. You have no idea how scared I was when Princess Odessa barged into the bedroom. She looked like she was about to murder someone.” Sunitra frowned, “She was that mad?” “Of course. I've
AUTHOR’S POVElixir walked up to Kaiden with a worried expression, “You didn't do anything bad, right?” The guards around stared at the Beta with wide eyes, not believing how he could face the King when he looked like he was about to murder someone. “If you consider stabbing the Chief Elder in the stomach, then yes, I did.” Kaiden replied, not bothering to stop in his tracks. “Oh man.” Elixir sighed, matching Kaiden’s pace as they both moved hurriedly through the hallway. “Has she heard?” Kaiden mindlinked Elixir. “The whole Kingdom has, Your Majesty. There's no way that she hasn't.” Elixir responded and Kaiden cursed underneath his breath. Those stupid Elders are going to ruin everything…Kaiden thought within himself as he made his way through the hallway. Evelyn was just walking out of Odessa’s bedroom, with a bowl in her hands when she saw the King walking towards her. Out of fear, she took multiple steps backwards, moving away from him. King Kaiden noticed and stopped appr
ODESSA’S POVMy hands instinctively wrapped around him, going around his back but not being able to meet. I pushed myself closer to him, and he held me tighter, burying his face deeper into my hair. A sigh escaped my lips as I melted in his embrace, my heart finally at peace as every bad thought that had plagued me all through the day suddenly went quiet. “I’m sorry for being a pain in the ass. I couldn't comprehend the thought of you being with someone else. I feared that I pushed you away with my constant behavior towards you. Nothing scared me more than you telling me you gave up on us, and then I heard that you're getting married. I…I lost it, Kaiden. I literally saw my life. What I could have had with you flashed before my eyes; this time, you were having it with someone else.” Kaiden's hands moved up and down my back, soothing me as I spoke. My fears and insecurities finally caught up with me today, and I was on the verge of making the same mistake again. I buried my nose in
AUTHOR’S POVOdessa couldn't control the gloomy cloud floating over her head and the racing of her heart. She couldn't help but still feel anxious and scared even though she was safely hidden in the cocoon of her kingdom. She had opened up to her father about her vision, and King Odesseus had increased his security, putting four guards on the princess and a shadow that followed her about in secret.“I don't think you'll feel safe until your mate is by your side.” King Odesseus said as he stared at his daughter. She was extra fidgety and always looking around. “Well, he's on the other side of the world, probably fighting a war right now.” Odessa sighed as she nibbled on a soft cookie absentmindedly. Thoughts of her mate’s well-being always managed to keep her preoccupied.“If he can help it, I'm sure he’ll be back before you know it. Just focus on yourself and your baby right now. You don't have to be worried about your security; I've deployed all my able men to every corner of the p
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?