"Mate?" Zeonen whispered in amazement.'Mate?'The moment the surrounding alphas and unmated she-wolves heard that word, their minds went blank.What? Mate? Whose mate?Their sight shifted to the dazed Emperor tenderly holding a kitchen staff in his arms. Their hearts moved and joyful smiles spread across their lips. But then as if remembering something, their smiles turned stiff and a strange look appeared in their eyes. The young alphas and she-wolves exchanged glances, barely discernable scorn and disdain swirling in their eyes.Mate? What mate?Any creature in the world could have a mate, but a lykan?...Hehe...what a joke!The group of males and females who were fawning over the Emperor and flattering him to the heavens just a few moments ago had a complete change in demeanor within a matter of seconds.Gone was the previous servile appearance. In its place, proud and arrogant expressions covered their faces as they looked at the Lykan Emperor like a piece of dirt beneath their fe
At some point during the commotion, the woman in his arms had regained consciousness. When Zeonen picked her up and lowered his head, his gaze collided with her violet orbs."You're awake? How do you feel?"The woman blinked and stared at him.Zeonen felt self-conscious. No woman had ever stared so openly at him before. Something flickered in his eyes, and as if he just recalled he was holding her in his arms, his face flushed and he embarrassedly raised his head."Dion, to the Sitting Room.""Yes, Your Majesty." Dion slightly bowed his head and took the lead. The crowd immediately cleared a path and allowed them to pass without any hindrance.Eradine gritted her teeth. The Emperor's odd behavior evoked a foreboding feeling in her heart. His obsession with cleanliness was wildly known in the supernatural world. He neither shook hands with others without using a sanitizer, nor did he brush shoulders with strangers.Even she, who was known as his lover for four years, had only ever held
The sudden appearance of the elders of the Elder Council tamed the spectators. They became docile and silently moved to one corner of the hall, restraining their auras and lowering their presence to avoid getting in their way.Selena, Max, Damon, and Bridgette had followed the crowd when they passed the Ballroom, and naturally blended themselves amidst them.The atmosphere became tense. Everyone held their breath and waited for the female sitting with the Emperor to cower and cry her eyes out under the grim oppression of the elders' aura.Seconds ticked, people wiped cold sweats from their foreheads and uncomfortably shuffled their feet. But the female remained quiet and composed, not even flinching under the elders' intimidating glares."Heh...I see we have a daring pup here, Elder Fin." One of the elders finally chuckled and diffused the awkward atmosphere."Hmph! More like a disrespectful and ignorant fool!" Elder Fin snorted.The Lykan Emperor's brows creased at the words. The wre
How could he? After all the years they spent together, how could he do this to her?"Meet Yusria Lelius, my one and only mate."Eradine felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Her knees became weak and she stumbled back and numbly clutched the sofa to support her shaky figure. Pain, the likes of which she had never felt before, pierced her guts with stabbing, thorny spikes. As white agony clouded her vision and her breath puffed out in rough, shallow gasps, she wondered if it was possible to die from heartbreak.If it was possible, she hoped the Moon Goddess would relieve her of this anguish before she succumbed to the gaping hole in her chest."Zeonen..." Eradine weakly rasped.The spectators felt pity for the heartbroken she-wolf and sympathetically shook their heads. However, aside from shaking their heads and sighing empathetically, they took no action to approach and check on her.What a joke! The Emperor was standing right next to her and he didn't even bother to turn his
An explosion went off in Max's head. "Fu...future...empress..." The woman he wished to take home and mark as his mate was going to be the future empress of the Lykan Emperor.How was he going to overcome such adversity?"Lelius...Lelius...heh, she changed her surname." No longer would she be known as Yusria Dimitri, the adopted daughter of Beta Dimitri and Beatrice Vario. Adopted sister of Selena Dimitri.The wolf-less trash from the Setting Dawn Pack became Yusria Lelius, the future Empress of the Eastern Empire.At this realization, Selena felt a deep sense of loss. She and her adopted sister couldn't be called close. When Selena found out Maximilion Adonis was her true mate and her adopted sister was married to her man, feelings like dark anger, jealousy, and resentment had stretched their ugly claws into her heart.For a while before her sister's disappearance, Selena had resented Yusria with a vengeful edge. But even then, between the two of them, there was a connection, a bond.
Eradine raised her head and narrowed her eyes. "Are you pitying me? I don't need your pity. Just because Zeonen declared you his future Empress, it doesn't mean you've won! I've only lost a battle, the war has yet to be won." She growled unwaveringly. "I'm not pitying you. I'm sincerely apologizing for what happened tonight because it was wrong. You are hurt and in pain because of the Emperor's action. And for that, I'm sorry." 'What the he** is this situation!?' 'The woman who was chosen as the future Empress is apologizing and criticizing the Emperor for placing the crown on her head the way he did? And to the former Empress candidate in front of the Emperor's face?' 'Has the joy of effortlessly winning the crown sought by all she-wolves gotten to her head?' The spectators' minds swam with a million questions. They had already bowed their heads and witnessed the crowning of the future empress. Their fealty to the Emperor demanded they accept his every decision without question.
Zeonen felt like he was hallucinating, hearing words that made no sense."You...what did you say?"As if oblivious to the rage brewing in the man's eyes, Yusria crossed her arms and sneered. "What? Did I stutter? Never mind. It's fine if you didn't hear me clearly the first time. I'm willing to repeat myself. Zeonen E Aahil, I do not want to be your Empress, because you are not my ideal husband. I'll be returning this to you." She took off the laurel crown and decisively stuffed it in his hands.The moment their hands touched, the star and crescent moon of the crown began to glow, releasing a resplendence of silver light into the room. Yusria was so shocked by the sudden change that she leaped back in fright.Da**! What was that? Did I cause it?The strange incidents happening to her had stopped since she entered the Crescent Empire. But Yusria wasn't naive enough to believe they had disappeared for good. In a small corner of her heart, she had a faint inkling that it was only a matte
There is a thing lurking in the shadows, menacing, stalking, and preying on the creatures.It is not of this world and has been sealed here to obstruct the ascension of the old.Some invisible barrier still separated it from the dimension of magic, but the shields crumbled a little more every eclipse the sun embraced the moon, sundering it from the stars.It has forgotten its name. The horror and despair of months, or years, or eons of solitude in the darkness robbing it of such luxury.There is another world beyond the barrier. It is forced to participate in it by the being that sealed its fate.So it remained bound in chains and captive in a tiny cage of darkness, witnessing the passage of time and the slaughter of the cursed and the wail of the bereaved lover.There is a thing lurking in the shadows, menacing, stalking, and preying on the creatures. When the Lykan's mate appears, it shall meet its end.Elder Fin woke with a jolt, his breath coming out in rough, strangled gasps as h