I couldn’t believe he made me go to my dad’s palace.Evander refused to look me in the eyes as my maids and I went downstairs and they carried my things straight to my father’s convoy. Five black, expensive cars lined up in front of the Blackwood manor and my dad was already in one of them without bothering to wait with my husband in the main hall of the house.There was also guilt on Sheiyan’s pale face as she approached me and embraced me tight.“I-I’m so sorry this happened, Holly.” Shei murmured to me and bit her lower lip to stop herself from sobbing. “Please understand that my brother doesn’t want this. It kills him that you will be away from the manor. But he has to, after what happened today. And Charlie—your dad—we can’t defy his orders.”I was still mad at my mate. But I love Sheiyan and I never wanted her to blame herself for what happened. Just like Evan and Kian, she also had duties to fulfill for the pack and this place was steaming with soldiers, ready to kill in sight
It’s been two days and I haven’t heard anything from my mate.Sheiyan, on the other hand, kept me updated with everything that was happening in the Blackwood Pack. I had been staying in my room since I arrived in the Snakewood Palace and thankfully, dad was too busy to drag me anywhere aside from checking on me every morning before he leave the place. There was pure concern in his eyes.I knew he didn’t want to take me away from my husband. But after I almost killed by those assassins, I was afraid he lost his trust of my husband’s capability to keep me safe and alive.Charlie Wakeham had been looking for me for decades. He would do everything to make sure I would survive this threat from the Ambroses.But my heart. My heart was so broken and lonely without Evander. I had been waiting for him to call me. To ask how I was now that I had to stay with dad. I tried to call but his phone was either busy or out of reach and it was infuriating. I couldn't count how many times I tugged our ma
“I thought—”I rasped. I couldn’t breathe.Evander cupped my face and stared straight into my eyes. Those viridescent orbs looked so bright, full of longing and happiness, as he absorbed every detail of my face and then went down to my parted lips.Without a word, he claimed my lips and kissed me so deeply. His tongue slipped inside, playing, tasting, and feeling the inside of my mouth as I gasped sharply, tilted my head slightly, and kissed him back ferociously. His hands were on my back, fingers laced on my soft brown hair, as he walked us slowly without breaking the kiss.The next thing I felt was the soft bed on my back as he laid me so gently with him on top of me. His eyes were blazing with desire, so hot that I was melting butter underneath his trembling, muscled body."Goddess, help me. I haven’t slept a day since you left the manor,” he murmured to me hoarsely as pain etched on his face. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Holly. I couldn’t—he tried to look away from me as h
Evander spent the whole night with me in my room. Evander was a little upset that I didn’t get enough sleep but he knew how much I wanted to savor each second with him, knowing he had to leave again to deal with the rats inside his pack in the morning.He was a little wary of my dad but I managed to convince him to eat with us. Dad, as I expected, was not surprised to see him walk with me inside the dining hall. He was already sitting at the head of the table, waiting for me—or maybe us.He was the one who asked Evander to come here for me anyway. And for that, I was really grateful.On the other hand, I understood why my mate was a little uncomfortable with Dad’s presence. He still blamed himself for what happened and it must be hard for him to look at my dad in the eye, thinking he failed to protect me from Ambrose’s assassins. It affected his confidence so much and I wish I could kiss those worries that danced in his eyes every time he looked at me. I wish I could fight alongside h
Goddess, help me. My hands were trembling.Evander had been silent as hell while the three of us went straight to the hallways to my father’s study room. I felt sick and I couldn’t tell if it was because of this horrible morning sickness or the fear that Evander and Alec might go into a heated argument again. And because of my pregnancy, the Alpha of the Blackwood Pack was more lethal and dangerous when provoked. I never wanted him to make any reckless moves in front of my dad.I haven’t explored the palace yet. And just seeing how vast the interior was already made me feel tired. Maybe when we finally solve this rising problem against Randalf and the Ivory Pack, then I will make time to walk around this place with Dad.[I hope you are not thinking about killing Alec when you see him.] I brushed a whisper on my mate’s mind through our bond as we followed my dad to his office. [You look like you are going to rip him in half already.]He looked at me but failed to hide the menace darken
“Alec?”I shouldn’t have followed him but there was part of me that I had to and thankfully, I managed to convince my mate that I needed to talk to him. Evander and I were married and we were going to have a pup soon. I told him there was nothing for him to worry about.Evander, being too overprotective, walked me to the garden and waited for me in one of the gazebos there, close enough for him to see me and Alec. I knew it was a little upsetting but he told me it was Alecs, whom he didn't trust and he couldn't just leave me alone with the ex-fiance of the woman who almost killed me.But Evander understood that I couldn’t just leave Alec when he could help all of us track our enemies. We couldn’t afford for him to side with Randalf, knowing how terribly he hated my husband.“You shouldn’t have followed me, Holly. Go inside.” He turned his back on me, with his hands resting on his hips, while looking at the bright sky. He refused to look at me in the face and I understood why.“You hav
I waited but Evander didn’t come to my room, just as he said.I couldn’t remember how many times I peeked between the curtains of the window but the three of them weren’t there anymore, and my heart sank, realizing that I hadn’t even had the chance to kiss my husband goodbye before he left. Was dad’s scolding so bad that he got too furious to go back inside the palace to see me? Or was it because of another urgent matter that he urgently had to attend and he didn’t have enough time to see me before he left?Whatever the reason, I had to endure my husband’s absence and make myself useful in any way I could.But how?There were too many sentinels guarding this palace in every corner. Four were assigned outside my room and I had no idea how many more were appointed all over this massive place.I tried to tether him through our bond and sense his presence but he was gone and out of my reach.“Goddess, I hate it here.” I grumbled and slumped on the edge of the bed, my eyes still looking ou
“You are not serious, right?”I gazed into my husband’s darkened eyes. His face hardened like steel as he gave me that contemplative look. But I could tell he was considering it. There was hesitation flashing in his emerald-green eyes.He knew that whatever memories Randalf asked Melinda to erase, they could be important.But then my heart sank when he said flatly. “No.”We were in my room. I had to wait three lonely days until Evander was able to get some rest from those endless meetings and had time to see me again. Sheiyan, on the other hand, pleaded that I shouldn’t bring that topic to my husband, expecting that Evander would only get furious about it. But I had to try. I had to convince my husband. He was the only person who understood my desperation to know about my lost memories.“You know how dangerous it is, Holly.” He sighed heavily, and I felt bad after I saw that exhausted look on his face. I could tell that the situation in the Blackwood pack worsened after a week of the
[HOLLY’s Point of View]Evander held my hand and squeezed it tight as we watched Alec jump his way down the mountain with Misha, who was still unconscious, on his back.“Are you ready?” Evander asked. There was sadness and fear in his green eyes, but he was smiling at me. He was smiling with a promise that he would do everything to keep me safe and alive no matter what.And that scared me.When it was just me and him and the war that was waiting for us both, that’s when I felt the terror and I knew he saw it in my eyes. But instead of telling me that things were going to be alright, instead of telling me that we would survive this, he kissed my forehead and pulled me to him in a tight embrace. We stayed like that for a minute as we listened to the rustling of the leaves in the forest. The sound of the birds in the sky and the water of the stream as it splashes softly against the small rocks. We felt each other’s warmth and the gentle brush of the cold breeze on our bare skin. His lips
[HOLLY’s Point of View]I stood and gave my dad a determined look. I would never hide again. I would never just watch and wait. “I can fight, and I will fight for my friends and family.”Dad’s exhausted face beamed with pride and love as he patted me on the shoulder and smiled at me. “Let’s go kick someone’s *ss.”I laughed softly at the unusual words Dad used, and then we nodded at each other, preparing to lunge midair to shift into our wolves. My eyes were on Alec and my husband. Evadner was still on top of Randalf’s reaching for the old man’s head, but Randalf, despite his age, was still physically strong for his human form.On Dad’s cue, we jumped high from the ground, so high that all the eyes in the camp got distracted from us. Two glittering silver wolves, so ancient and beautiful, everyone stopped from what they were doing. Even Evander’s eyes widened with both awe and shock as he saw us, and Randalf took advantage of it and immediately ran away from my husband like a terrifie
[HOLLY’s Point of View]There was no way I would let him go again. No way I would let him dive back into Randalf’s camp now that the old man knew he wasn’t on their side.I heard Dad’s scream even when I got out of the main hall and straight to the courtyard, where I shifted back to my wolf form and fought three more rogues before I had to hide behind the tall walls of the garden labyrinth to breathe. My strength was slowly depleting and the wounds on my back hadn’t completely healed yet. I had to go after my husband and make sure he could go out there alive with or without the witch who helped him.Randalf will kill him on sight once they see him.[Evander!] I screamed, trying to reach out to him through our bond. [Evander! Where are you!?]But it seemed he was too far away or something interfered with the mind-link connection, so I decided to stand on my four paws again and used my ability to sneak around without being detected. The mountainside wasn’t too far from the Snakewood Pal
[Holly’s Point of View]“Dad!!!”I was about to lunge myself towards them, but strong arms pulled me back. I was baffled when I saw Alec pulling me away from Irina, who was still holding the short sword to my father’s neck.Every part of me ached, but nothing could compare to how my heart felt as I saw the despair in my father’s eyes. He mouthed the word “No.” but I shook my head as tears rolled down my face. There was no way I would leave him in the hands of the man who wanted him dead! There was no way I would let him die!“Tell me what you want, Randalf! Just don’t—” I swallowed hard as a sob emerged from my swelling throat. “Just don’t kill my father!”“We already have what we want, Holly! We don’t need you! Now that we have the Alpha King, the whole palace and the realm will kneel to my father, and nothing can stop us now!” Irina yelled at me with detest in her voice. “Kill both of them!”“Stay behind me, Holly!” Alec yelled as he shifted back to his wolf form and kicked and cla
[HOLLY’s Point of View]“Evander disappeared from the frontline.”My focus on my baby Evlon was distracted by Kian’s murmur as he noticed Evander’s disappearance from Randalf’s side. It suddenly made me nervous. What happened to him? Where did he go?Mel took baby Evlon from me when I pushed myself to sit on the sofa. The room was still filled with the scent of my blood, but my family didn’t mind. They were more concerned with my healing and Evander’s situation, while all our eyes were now focused on the news.“I have to go there,” I said, still wincing from the pain, but I had to do something. For my father and for my husband. “I have to be there for my dad and Evander.”“You just gave birth, Holly! Your body is still healing, and your wounds are still fresh! There is no way I will let you go there in this condition! My brother will kill me!” Sheiyan hysterically uttered, knowing that when I said things, I would do anything to do it.But this time, Shei was right. I assessed my body,
[ALPHA EVANDER’s Point of View]My whole body tensed as I stood slowly with both my hands on the level of my head.Charlie’s eyes told me that I would be dead once I made a wrong move, and I had to be careful. He was already thinking that I sided with Randalf, and without him knowing the truth—about what really happened in the mountains—Holly’s father would never understand why I had to do all of this.“Listen to me, Charlie—”Charlie sighed, and the dark look on his face turned into disappointment. I felt my whole being finally relaxed as he stepped away from me and onto the chair of his desk. He clasped his hands, and I finally saw that exhaustion that deepened his set of honey-brown eyes.“Holly told me everything, Evander. I was really furious that you put your family’s life in danger, but I understand when Holly told me that all of you were after that pearl. And she told me everything about that pearl. About how Randalf stole parts of her memories and stored them in that thing. U
[ALPHA EVANDER’s Point of View]“What is wrong with you, Evander? You look like you had seen a ghost.”I barely heard Randalf’s voice as I kept my breathing in control while having this excruciating pain I felt in every inch of my body. My head felt like being pierced by thousand spears, and it took me a lot of strength not to fall down on my knees and scream from the pain.Misha looked at me as she put her fingers on my pulse and felt my forehead with the back of my hand. My jaw tightened as she gave me a warning look not to make the pain look too obvious. “I think he is having a fever. It must be the infection he got from the pit.”Randalf scowled at Misha. “Go and give him something, Misha! We can’t display any weakness while we are being broadcast all over the continent. Go and do something about that infection or whatever the hell is that!”“Yes, Alpha Randalf.” She bowed her head to the old man. I gave Randalf one piercing look from the corner of my eyes and then averted immedia
[HOLLY’s Point of View]“What is the commotion about, Kian?”Everyone was in the sitting area with all their eyes focused on the sixty-inch-wide television screen. Shei increased the volume, and I saw so many rogues standing on the northern borders of the Snakewood Territory. I didn’t feel good this whole morning, and all I had were eggs. Other than those, I threw them up, and that’s why I had been dizzy the whole day.All the Snakewood soldiers lined up in defense positions outside and inside the gates and the wall; all were armed with razor-sharp metal claws, all strapped around their legs and paws. Some were armed with crossbows with silver arrows for it was forbidden to use guns inside the continent and within the realm.“Randalf isn’t bluffing at all. He really has thousands of Rogues with him,” Alec murmured in horror. His mouth was slightly open and his face was pale as paper when the excruciating memories of their stay in the rogue camp returned to him.Everything was shot liv
[HOLLY’s Point of View]The banging on the door suddenly sounded unreal. Then for once, I thought the noise was just from the thumping of my own heartbeat reverberating through my deafened ears. The violent winds from the mountains threw the windows of my room open. The hinges creaked threateningly as the white sheer curtains whipped against the glass panes.Mel’s small hands were painfully tight against my wrists and she was incredibly strong; it terrified me. Something was happening to her. It was as if the darkness stored inside that pearl necklace had influenced her mind when it should be her who was supposed to command the ‘thing’ to obey her bidding.The power that was stored in the pearl was too much for Melinda to control and I saw it on her face. She was asking me for help.“Mel! Just tell me what’s happening!” I asked through gritted teeth. I tried my hardest not to panic as the black completely covered her eyeball and my neck and shoulders started to feel so heavy it felt