When he stepped into view, they saw that it was Asher. His eyes met Beryl’s across the distance. Beryl’s pulse skyrocketed, her heart beating so hard she was afraid it might break through her ribcage.She was no longer aware of anything else around her as her eyes remained glued to the male on the other side of the garden.Her mate.On the other side, Asher stood glued to the spot, his eyes glued to the female on the other side. He had never thought that he would meet his mate this way–right here in the palace! While he was frozen in place, his wolf was restless, wanting to go to her.“Wow,” Lyra said, looking at Beryl. “Is Asher really your mate?”Beryl nodded, feeling her mouth go dry.“I can’t believe you have never met him before,” Lyra said. “He is Julian’s Beta!”“I know,” Beryl muttered breathlessly.Taking in her expression, Lyra couldn’t help but chuckle. “Is any of you going to do or say anything, or will you both be standing here just looking at each other until the sun set
Lyra was not in the least interested in Crystal's apology, because she knew Crystal would never mean it.The only reason she was here was because Julian had ordered her. Lyra could see that doing so was hurting her pride, and even if the apology had no effect on her, it was nice to see Crystal knocked down a peg or two.After thinking for a while, Lyra said, “There's something you can do. If you do, I'll accept your apology.”“What is it?” Crystal asked haughtily. “Do you want money? I can give you enough to live off for a lifetime.”One side of Lyra's lips turned up. She could not even say that she was surprised that Crystal thought her money could fix everything. Not that anything was being fixed…“I want you to serve as my servant for a day,” Lyra told her. “Once you do that, we’ll be even.”Crystal stared at her blankly for a few seconds. Then, her face scowled in disgust. “You must be kidding.”Nope. She just wasn't going to make it easy for her. Crystal, acting as a servant? Sur
The next morning, it turned out that Lyra did not have to suffer Crystal's presence all day. While Lyra was waiting for her to show up, one of Crystal's servants arrived with the message that Crystal was sick and could not serve Lyra for the day. Lyra knew it was absolute bullshit, but she was happy that she did not have to deal with her.Since she was feeling a lot better than she had in a long while, she decided to leave her room and find out what was going on with Anna. Julian had not really given her any updates on how his investigation was going, so she decided to seek him out herself and get the answers she wanted.After finding out that Julian was in his office, she went to see him. When she walked through the door, he rose from his desk and approached, a concerned frown on his face.“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Why are you out of bed? Where's Beryl?”“I'm fine,” Lyra answered him. “I would like to check up on Anna, can I visit her?”“Of course,” he said. “I can take y
Julian and Lyra jumped apart, each of them avoiding Asher's eyes. Asher cleared his throat awkwardly. Maybe he should have knocked first.Julian turned around and went back to his desk. Reaching for a random file, he said, “Take Lyra to see Anna.”“Got it,” Asher said, then beckoned to Lyra. “Let's go.”Lyra, with her face red with embarrassment, walked past him and out of the office. Asher led the way to the southern wing of the building, where Lyra had never been before. The wing was eerily empty and silent, as if nobody lived or worked there.They walked in silence for quite a while before Asher tried to break it. “Feeling good today?”Lyra gave him a sideways glance, amused at his awkwardness. Even after seeing him with Beryl, it was still amusing to see him be anything other than the Lycan King's icy Beta. “Yes.”Asher nodded, then rubbed the back of his neck. “I don't mean to meddle, but Julian cares about you, even if it might not seem like it.”Lyra frowned as she studied him.
“As you may already know, the Wolf Mother is the most powerful werewolf who can exist,” Anna began. “And when she appears, she symbolises a new era for all werewolves. She can unify all werewolves and has power to control them all, whether it's the Lycan King or rogues.”“I've heard stories about her,” Lyra said, “but I did not believe such a powerful shewolf can actually appear.”“She finally has,” Anna said, leaning towards Lyra and giving her a sombre look. “It happens rarely, and it's not easy. The Wolf Mother is quite strong, so there will be some strain on you, especially on your mental state. If a Wolf Mother is not stabilised by a mate, she risks losing her mind and going berserk. In that case, she becomes a bloodthirsty hunter and can kill all werewolves around her.”This was all so much for Lyra to take in. It didn't feel like Anna was talking about her. It was hard to accept that she could be such an important figure. She had been born an Omega, and only recently did she ma
“I'm sorry to hear that,” Lyra told Anna, feeling bad for her. So, even if the witches had not turned her into a mindless tainted wolf, she was still just an object for them to use as they pleased.“A part of me is happy that the Lycan King captured me,” Anna said. “The witches’ camp is like hell for me. Since they brought me there, I've been treated worse than trash. Even though their leader wanted to make use of my magic powers and thought I was useful, nobody treated me like one of them. From the day I stepped foot there, I was considered an outsider, an enemy. The day I was assigned outside the camp, it was like getting a breath of fresh air.”As Anna narrated her story, Lyra realised they had many things in common. The way Anna had been treated by the witches reminded her of the treatment she received in Devon's pack. As long as she was there, she was considered an outsider and never accepted as part of the pack.“At the witches’ camp, I had no freedom or choice. As soon as I was
True to Julian's word, he released Anna and had Thea allocate her a better room in the same building Lyra was staying.During her first days outside confinement, Anna spent most of her time with Lyra and Beryl. Since Lyra was no longer bedridden, she was able to take her on a tour of the palace grounds, helping her familiarise with everything.At first, Anna was very happy. This was the closest she had ever come to a normal life since being captured by the witches. She had friends, she did not have to work everyday until her back ached, and there was nobody controlling her every movement.In such an environment, it was easy to put her horrible past behind her. However, as the days went by and more people became aware of her presence, rumours started spreading about her origin.The truth of her identity and background became common knowledge, subjecting her to vicious rumours and discrimination from those around her.At first, she tried her best to ignore it. She could not control what
As soon as Lyra realised what was going on, she hurried down the corridor. Pushing past a couple of the servants, she placed herself between Anna and them.“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded, glaring at them. She looked down at Anna, who was still on the floor with her face down turned.“It's none of your business,” the leader of the group said, folding her arms across her chest stubbornly. “This is between us and her.”“Is that so?” Lyra asked. “Did she say you could hit her and bully her around?”The servant snickered and rolled her eyes skyward. The others stood behind her like a bunch of soldiers awaiting orders from their commander.“You better apologise to her,” Lyra told the group. “I'm the one responsible for her in this palace, so bullying her is the same as bullying me. So, if you don't want any trouble, I suggest that you apologise to Anna right away.”The servants exchanged glances, looking unsure. A few of them looked worried, fearing the repercussions of what wo
“Why aren’t you back yet?” Julian’s worried voice came across the phone when Lyra received his call.“I’m on my way,” Lyra told him. “I’ll be back soon.”“If you run into any problem, tell me,” he told her. “I know how Alpha Lucian can be. If he is giving you a hard time, I’ll teach him a lesson.”“Don’t worry, I can handle Lucian by myself,” she told him. “I’ve settled everything and I’ll be at the palace soon.”“Okay, I’m waiting for you,” he told her.Lyra hung up with a smile. Earlier, she had left on a trip to the Luminous Pack for the grand opening of a werewolf academy that would welcome students from all over the kingdom.Julian had been worried that Alpha Lucian would give her a hard time and wanted to go with her, but he had other official duties to attend to. Even though no werewolf in the kingdom could stand up to her, his first instinct was to protect her, whether from mortal danger or rude Alphas.“He really has no idea, does he?” Anna asked.Lyra shook her head. “Nope.”
Many days later, Lyra woke up in the palace. Julian was lying next to her, sleeping peacefully. She smiled as she looked at him, a warm feeling blooming in her chest. She fought the urge to touch his face, afraid to wake him.However, when she turned to leave the bed, his arm shot out and hooked around her waist. “Don’t go,” he murmured sleepily.Lyra’s smile widened in amusement as she looked back at him. “You are awake?”He shook his head, his eyes still closed. “No.”She laughed and tapped his hand. “Get up, Your Majesty,” she teased. “We have a kingdom to run.”He tightened his hold around her, pulling her to him. “They can survive a few hours without us. It’s not like an evil witch is going to fly in and blast us all to hell.”“Haha,” Lyra laughed dryly. “I’m glad you can joke about that.”Julian opened his eyes and smiled. “Me too.”They both burst laughing, with Lyra falling back to his side. Julian reached for her face and kissed her. Lyra kissed him back, getting lost in the
Deciding to attack together, Julian and Lyra ran towards the altar. While they were midway, Valeria waved her hand, sending a wave of energy their way.They braced themselves, but it turned out to be nothing like the attacks they had faced from the other witches. The energy was so forceful that it knocked them off their feet and sent them flying backwards before they crashed into the floor.As they collected themselves from the floor, Valeria’s laugh filled the room. “Did you think you could come here and do whatever you wanted? Prepare for your death!”Just when they had gotten back on their feet, she hit them with another blast of energy. This time, they both crashed into the wall before falling to the ground.“How is she so strong?” Lyra asked Julian through their mindlink. It was impressive that she could knock both of them around like that at the same time.“She is too powerful,” Julian replied. “We can’t let her wear us out. I’ll go all in, and when she is distracted with me, yo
Following Julian’s scent, Lyra found the basement a few minutes later. It was a dank round room solely illuminated by candles.As soon as Lyra walked into the room, she was welcomed by the sound of clapping. Looking up, she saw Valeria standing on a raised altar in the middle of the room. She was the one clapping, a huge smirk on her lips.“We are all here,” Valeria said. “Perfect.”After having her plans thwarted so many times, Valeria had been scrambling to find a way to get rid of the Lycan King and the Luna Queen.She had not expected that the Rogue King would be such a useless ally. Even after she had helped him steal the Lycan King’s identity and made him powerful talismans, he had failed.As if that wasn’t bad enough, all her latest experiments failed. After finding out that the Lycan Kingdom had made significant steps in finding a weapon that could easily eliminate corrupted wolves, she had tried to make them stronger.She had succeeded in making stronger, faster, and more res
Using the tip of her dagger, Lyra pricked her fingertip. When blood pooled at the tip, she pressed it to the barrier. During her research while making the serums, Beryl had read somewhere that the Wolf Mother’s blood could be used to break magical barriers.It turned out to be true as the barrier between them and the beasts dissipated the moment Lyra touched it with her blood. As soon as the barrier was down, the beasts rushed towards them.There were all sorts of beasts, from winged creatures that were as big as horses and serpents with multiple heads. Among the beasts were also corrupted wolves.The division of the troop that had been assigned archery roles released a multitude of arrows, raining them down on the beasts. The arrows were created with special magical metal tips doused in poison, allowing them to deal critical damage to magical creatures with a single hit.The second division of the troop shifted into their wolf forms and met the beasts head on. When it was no longer p
The southern jungle covered hundreds of thousands of hectares, providing a good hiding place for rogues. However, even rogues did not venture into the deepest parts of the forest, since they were considered too dangerous.The forest was rumoured to not only be the witches’ hideout, but to also contain all sorts of magical beasts. While some of the southern packs had led expeditions into the jungle while dealing with rogues, they did not have enough information that could be used to accurately map out the witch’s lair.After hours of walking in the jungle, Lyra finally sensed magical power. Leading the way, she guided the troops deeper into the forest. The farther they got, the more ominous it became. The magical power also got stronger, and everybody could feel it.After close to an hour, they spied a castle through the trees. It was big and old, its walls almost entirely covered by vines.“This is it,” Lyra informed everybody through mindlink. “I’ve felt Valeria’s energy before, and
As soon as Julian and Lyra got back to the palace, Beryl and Spencer took the flower and started making the antidote.They had been gone less than an hour, but Zero’s condition had worsened. Even with Beryl and Spencer’s help, he would not have been able to hold on much longer without the antidote.As for Anna, she was still unconscious, but there were no signs that she was in danger. There also hadn’t been any other incidents in the palace.When Beryl administered the antidote to Zero, his condition started improving right away. As soon as he woke up, he looked around for Anna. When he did not see her, fear washed over him. Before losing consciousness, he had heard people calling for her execution.“Where is Anna?” he asked Beryl, getting down from the hospital bed. “Is she okay? It was not her fault. She is not working for the witches.”“We know,” Beryl told him. “The witch possessed her and made her do it. She is fine now, but she passed out and is in recovery. Don’t worry, she is
The snake had appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Lyra so fast that Julian did not get a chance to warn her. It was long and thick, and its body was coiled around Lyra’s upper body and neck, its head poised to strike.Julian’s heart froze in fear as the gravity of the situation registered. Both of them could not use their magic or werewolf abilities. From the size and appearance of the snake, he could tell it was not a normal one. It must be a magical beast.Magical beasts normally had their own territories and attacked anyone who trespassed. However, Julian had never heard that the Deadly Swamp was territory to any magical beast.The snake had only appeared after Lyra plucked out the flower, so it was more likely that the beast was guarding the flower, not the swamp.“Throw away the flower,” he yelled at Lyra. “It’s guarding the flower. As long as you have it, it won’t let you go.”Lyra did not want to let go of the flower, but she was aware that she could not afford to
After leaving the infirmary, Julian and Lyra instructed staff around the palace to ensure all the guests were catered to, leaving Asher in supervision.They also ensured that security was beefed up around the palace and the capital city in case the witches attempted another attack.Lyra was worried that it might be too late by the time they got to the swamp, found the flower, and brought it back to Beryl and Spencer to make the antidote. The two healers could keep Zero alive with their healing powers, but the poison was powerful and would kill him if not stopped soon.“We are taking the jet, right?” Lyra asked Julian as they got ready in the weapon room, grabbing basic items that would come in handy in the swamp.“No,” Julian said.“If we drive, we’ll never get back in time,” she said.“We are not driving,” he told her. “Come, I’ll show you something.”Moving to one end of the room, he pressed his palm to a panel on the wall next to a door labelled ‘Restricted Access’. The door opened