MILDREDDOUBLE THE PAINI gulped. My feet were wobbly as they were rooted to the spot as he walked towards me. Besides, even if the temptation to whirl around and bolt back downstairs was overwhelming, I had nowhere to hide and I would only make whatever punishment he had in store worse.His heavy footsteps echoed in my ears and made my body shake. When he towered in front of me, my shaking was now visible as I stared up at him with pleading eyes. Enid raised his hand and I flinched, closing my eyes as tight as possible, bracing myself as much as I could for the inevitable pain. Readied for the slap but it didn't come. Instead, his hand lightly and tenderly grazed my cheek. My eyes flickered open as my head slowly and fearfully looked up to see my husband's smirk. "Always lock the door on your way out!"Then he dropped his tender hands from my face, smiling at me. He planted one of his knees on the floor in a manner that suggested he was going to propose to me. Mildred!I mental
MILDREDMIRAGE"Come with me!"Enid announced the second he stepped out of the closet. He was now changed from his dressing shirt to a black crew-neck shirt and a fluffy gray beanie around his head. His muscles, although unclenched, were bulging from his shirt and his stance was soft, void of anger. It was the very last way I had expected him to behave and this mildness freaked me out the most. He headed out of the room holding the door open for me and I slid him a nervous smile and stepped out of the room. His face was expressionless and his eyes were easy on me. Enid surprisingly took my hand and led me away towards the stairs. With our fingers laced and my face surprised, Enid cast me a beautiful smile and led me gently down the stairs. Maybe he had chosen to forgive me. My mind wanted to believe.Andrea was serving Marcella a glass of green juice and when Marcella noticed us descend the stairs, walking hand-in-hand, her eyes narrowed at me. Enid nodded at her and turned towa
MILDREDFREEDOM AT LASTThe silver whip rustled through the air as its tails connected with my back biting painfully into my skin. The stings were unbearable and my body shuddered. I bit down on the gag in my mouth muffling the grunt that was threatening to escape my throat. I made sure not to whimper as the pain overwhelmed me. I did not want to feed Enid the satisfaction of having me cry out. Each stroke was harder than the previous and by the time he set the whip down, my back was burning in great pain, and my hands were shivering in the cuffs. My eyes were blazing with hate as I glared at him, tears were in my eyes but they did not drop and my mouth was filled with the bitter-sweet taste of the pain. "Mildred," he called out, I chose to ignore him. My attention was on what he was going to do to Vanessa. I could handle him. I could handle the pain he caused me but Vanessa the poor girl, he just needed to let her go. I could endure this torture all my life but I couldn't stand t
ENIDLOST CAUSEI had heard severally about wolf-revolt and I never imagined it could happen to me until it did. Mané my wolf for the first time revolted in ways that took my breath away. I had hurt his mate In ways he couldn't forgive me. I was weak as a result of my wolf revolting. As my eyes dropped on the knife on the table, as my mind conceived to leave an indelible mark on Mildred, Mané revolted in the worst ways possible making me lose consciousness. I was mad, beyond mad at her. She was a shame to me. Strength, beauty, and class were what I wanted in my women and this girl was void of those three qualities. How long was it going to take before the elders came together? Today was supposed to have been that day but Remy, one of the Pack elders, thought it was funny to have the future Queen attend the meeting. Chase had acted smartly to annul the meeting. Why did she matter so much to the pack elders?My dazed mind went about just how mad I was at her and that anger soared
MILDREDGRIZZLY BEARI never realized I had passed out until I woke up later that night in the bathtub. I was completely naked in the soothing water, my head hammered and my throat was patched. The bathroom was lit with scented candles in a manner that cast a sensuous glow to the bathroom.Enid leaned over working on my injured leg raised to the edge of the tub. I looked at my leg and it looked much better but it still hurt in a way that suggested it wasn't ready to be used yet. My heavy eyelid fluttered to Enid's face, his heart and mind seemed to be on the ointment he was administering to my ankle. His hair was spiky and dampened and he was in a shirt for the night. He looked comfortable and handsome. He looked like he cared about my wounds.When he looked back at me, I quickly closed my eyes shut. I didn't want him to notice I was still awake. I did not want him to stop because he worked with the gentlest of hands in a manner that felt good in a way I had never felt after being
MILDREDBUT A DEAD GIRLI applied the special ointment to my swollen ankle for the third time that day. I wanted to recover as fast as I could go. I wanted to please my husband because I was curious to see where he would take me. He had a soft side that was charming and worth exploring.But he was equally stubborn. Why wasn't it hard for him to release Vanessa? I already explained it was about me. He'd already punished me. Why then would he go ahead to punish me twice by hurting Vanessa?If he wanted me to impress the elders in a few days he should impress me first by letting Vanessa go. I didn't expect him to return throughout the rest of the day but when he returned that noon right after Andrea served me lunch, I realized he was all about making sure I ate my meals and was in shape before the meeting. I stabbed into my steak acting like he was not in the room. I was pleased now he saw I was making efforts to be in shape. But I couldn't totally relax until Vanessa was free."Did
ENIDTHE BLOND LOSERIn my entire life, I'd never met anyone as dumb as the girl before me. She was all shades of dumb and right now, I was aching to hit her again.I warned her severally to come down from the rails acting like I didn't care, acting like her boldness to speak about countering my well-laid plans over some lowly runt didn't matter.But Mildred seemed to know better, she was starting to understand me. The glint in her eyes suggested she knew it was game over for her the second she stepped away from the rails. She knew I was never going to take it easy on her this time so she remained glued to her recklessness with trembling hands. I looked away, hoping to give her reasons to step down, her injured leg was on the railing, and what if there was a slip?I lied, she knew. Mildred was now aware she was the gateway to my Kingships. The elders had their noses out to snoop around my marriage. They wanted to know if the suspicions were right that I only got married because I wa
ENIDAS PLAIN AS THE DAYI stepped out of the soothing shower spray and found a towel. With the blood washed off my skin and my body back in shape, I bounced off in perfect shape. I found fresh shirts in the closet of the room I chose to stay in away from Mildred. Last night I had collapsed in bed and hated to think I shared the same room with the wolfless girl. Although I had slept deep, something I hadn't done in months I still wasn't balanced with the idea of sharing the room with her.My eyes fell on the little velvet box and a small smile twitched on my lips. I got dressed, slipped the box into my hip pocket, and headed out the door to my home office. I couldn't focus on my work, Chase's attitude plagued my mind. Chase never cared about whatever I did. He trusted my judgment but now he was acting all weird and talking about our plan in a manner that alarmed me, I needed to act quickly to shut him out. But Chase was a key player in this game. He was the brain behind it all. I s
MILDREDTHE END.I sat on a bench at the burial ground, surrounded by the peaceful silence of nature. In front of me lies the grave of my beloved sister, Ximena. I took a deep breath and began to speak, as if she's still with me."Ximena, it's been a year since you left us. I know you're no longer here, but I need to tell you everything that's happened. I need to make sure you know how much we've accomplished, how much we've healed."Elias and Naveah, they thought they could get away with taking you from us, but they were wrong. Enid and I worked together to bring them to justice. They're now serving life sentences with hard labor. Molly, who was sheepishly helping them, was released and came to me asking for forgiveness. I forgave her, and we've moved on. Marcella, who was also involved, was released but left the pack in shame. Elder Remy, Elias' accomplice, was given a one-year jail term and was banished from the pack as soon as he was released.I paused, looking at her grave."Toda
MILDREDFINALLYI woke up to a knock on the door, my heart was still heavy with grief and I didn’t expect that anyone would be at my door this early. My heart still aches badly. I had only met my twin sister,the Ximena I thought I was impersonating all along, I didn’t know that she was my other half, I had the opportunity to meet her, how could she even be gone already? This doesn’t even make sense!She was taken from me in an instant, by a bullet meant even for me. I felt very guilty even until this moment. I grumbled as I got out of bed and made my way to the door. Vanessa stood outside, her face looking really somber.I looked at Vanessa for a moment, then nodded and walked back to my bed. She suddenly hugged me tightly and burst into tears. I tried to hold back my tears, but I couldn't. We both cried for a while. Then, she held my hands and looked at me with sad eyes. "Someone is here to see you, Mildred," she said softly. "Who is it?" I asked, my voice barely audible. "Just c
MILDRED RIP XIMENA "Oh no, Ximena! Please wake up! We've just found each other, don't leave me now!" I screamed, my voice shaking desperately. Ximena's body lay limp on the ground, her eyes closed, her chest bleeding from the gunshot wound. "Take this madman away!" Enid yelled, and the police dragged Elias away, wresting the gun from his hand. Ximena's eyes flickered open, and she gazed at me with tears streaming down her face. "I'm so glad I found you, sister," she whispered, her voice weak. "Navaeh took me from our mother when we were babies. She used us being twins and that fact that it was a taboo and we will be killed if disclosed to blackmail me, but I'm free now." I held her hand, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. "Don't worry, Ximena, you'll be okay. We'll get you to the hospital, and you'll survive this." But Ximena's smiled, even though I could see how sad she was through her eyes. "It's too late, Mildred. The bullet hit my heart. I'm sorry...there's nothi
MILDREDHE PULLED THE TRIGGER!"This is it, Marcella! You're going to pay for all the suffering you've caused me!" I snarled, my hand cracking against her cheek in a resounding slap. "And that's for Ximena! I turned my icy gaze on Navaeh, my eyes blazing with pain and fury. "Navaeh," I spat, my voice dripping with venom. She cowered, her body trembling like a leaf, as she beheld the wrath in my eyes. This was the moment I had been waiting for, the moment of reckoning."You treated me like dirt, Navaeh! You made me feel worthless, always favoring your own daughter, Molly, over me. You never cared about my well-being, only your own selfish interests."“Errmm, I…I…” Navaeh tried to speak, but I wouldn't let her. "No, you don't get to talk! You sent me out into the night, alone and vulnerable. If not for destiny, I would have never met Enid. You would have gotten me killed by gunmen or kidnappers because you obviously wouldn’t have paid a dime to get me out of there"My voice cracked w
ENIDMILDRED AND XIMENA ARE TWINSElder Remy's face turned beet red with rage. "You've betrayed the pack, Enid! You lied about Ximena! You're a disgrace to the throne!"Mildred dropped to her knees, pleading with the elders. "Please, have mercy! Enid had no part in this. I deceived everyone, I pretended to be Ximena. I'll accept my punishment, but spare him!"I watched, frustrated, as Mildred took the blame. Didn't she realize she was making things worse? I thought she had learned to think before acting, but apparently not. I felt a surge of annoyance, wanting to tell her to stop, to let me handle it. But I kept my cool, knowing that would only make things worse.Remy's harsh words towards Mildred ignited my anger. "Shut up!" he barked, and my blood boiled. How dare he disrespect my mate?Mildred's attempts to take the blame only made Remy more furious. "You're not fooling anyone, this was a plan between you and Enid. You'll face a harsher punishment," he snarled, ordering the guards
MILDRED OFFCOURSE SHE IS NOT XIMENA I paced back and forth in the room, my mind racing with questions. Why did Enid look so worried? What could be so important that he had to cut our night short? We had plans, plans that didn't involve returning to the pack's headquarters until whenever. I felt a knot in my stomach, my wolf senses tingling with unease. As I paced, my feet carried me to the window, where I gazed out into the night. The stars twinkled, but my eyes saw only darkness. My thoughts were a jumbled mess, my emotions raw. I couldn't believe what Enid had just revealed - that my stepmother, Navaeh, had locked my wolf away all these years. The pain and anger I felt were overwhelming. Eventually, my back ached from pacing, and I collapsed onto the bed, covering myself with the duvet. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I let them fall, my body shaking with silent sobs. I didn't know how long I cried, but exhaustion finally claimed me, and I drifted off into a f
ENIDMILDRED HAS A WOLFI couldn't contain my excitement. Today was going to be very beautiful and I just couldn't wait. I don't want to spill the tea to Mildred so I just asked her to get dressed but has been trying to ruin the surprise with too many questions."Where are we going?" she asked for the upteenth time, her eyes sparkling with curiosity."Somewhere special," I replied, my smile growing wider. "Just trust me."She laughed and chatted as she got ready, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of joy being around her. I helped her into the car and asked her to stay quiet.I signaled Courtney and she injected her with a sedative. I thanked Courtney and we drove to the forest, where Danda, a powerful shaman, was waiting for us.*"Mildred's wolf has been locked away," Danda revealed, his eyes looking serious. "Her stepmother's doing, no doubt." I was so shocked, how can someone penetrate such cruelty? What could she have done for him to have done that? She deserves to be punishe
ELIASTHE CAT’S OUTTA THE BAG!I swirled the wine in my glass, the rich aroma filling my senses as I sat in Elder Remy's cozy sitting room. The warm glow of the fireplace lighting the room and it made it exude an aura of wealth, but my mind was far from at ease.I summoned the Elder himself, elder Remy had so much power and influence in the pack and I knew he would be the best person to help me with this. My thoughts raced with the weight of the secret I carried - the truth about Ximena. Or rather, the imposter who had been masquerading as her.I took a sip of the wine, the flavors dancing on my tongue as I gathered my thoughts. How could I break the news to Elder Remy, to the entire pack, that the woman they believed was their beloved Ximena was a fraud? That Enid, of all people, had been deceiving them all?I began to have double thoughts. What if that scares them and they deny me the throne too since we are related and have same bloodline? Not possible! They will trust me and see
MARCELLAPLAN BI sobbed like a child who had been denied chocolate, feeling helpless and defeated. Elias's betrayal cut me really deep, and I couldn't bear the thought of him ruining my reputation with whatever video he took of me, but Alexis's warm embrace and gentle words of encouragement comforted me. "Marcella, it's not the end of the world," she said, trying to make me feel better. "We'll find a way to make it through this without Elias soiling your name."I looked up at her, tears streaming down my face. "But how? He's going to ruin me, Alexis. I've come too far to let him win." My voice cracked, and I felt fresh hot tears tingling at the corners of my eyes.Alexis' facial gesture changed, I could tell an idea had clicked. "We'll set him up, Marcella. I'll act like I want to get down with him, and then I'll raise an alarm, saying he tried to molest me. We'll turn the tables on him, and he'll be the one who's left looking bad."I sniffled, considering her plan. It was risky, bu