First chapter of a double chapter update - enjoy! Ellie xo
Elizabeth POV “We do the obvious, trade her for me,” I say calmly. The last thing I feel is calm. It terrifies me but I know I have the best chance at fighting for my freedom. Kinsley does not. I cannot let her die trying to protect me. I cannot let any of them die trying to protect me. “Absolutely not,” Carter replies angrily. Stan looks at me with surprise, “Elizabeth. She will lead him to us, and we can destroy him when he arrives,” Stan promises me. “I cannot have anyone die trying to save me,” I say to them softly. “Nobody is going to die,” Carter says putting his hands on my face and kissing my forehead. “Promise?” I ask him. “I promise,” he replies. I can sense a bit of trepidation. He cannot make such a promise. We do not know what the future holds. We can only live for today, for this moment. We stood in the lounge area of the Palace talking about strategy when a familiar scent caught my nose. I look up in surprise
Alpha Carter POV “Stan, wait!” I yell as he tries to run out of the room ahead of us. “I need to go to her!” he yells back. “We need to be smart about this. You running out there before we are ready could get her killed,” I remind him as he pauses and looks at me. “What are we going to do?” he asks ready to listen. We quickly strategize how we can approach the wolf, without jeopardizing Kinsley. I look to Elizabeth, “I am ready,” she says as she moves towards the door. Her parents intercept her, “We are going with you,” they say. “You just got out of the hospital,” she reminds them. “We are both healed and will not let you fight on your own,” her father says. She nods as she looks to me, “You stay near me at all times,” I remind her. She looks away from me, as if indicating she may not listen. “I mean it Elizabeth. We do this together or you stay here,” I tell her. We both know I have no command that will leave her here, but I hope and tr
Elizabeth POV I watch as Kinsley runs away from us leaving me with the wolf standing in front of me. I feel pity for this man. This individual who believed we were meant to be together. “Come closer,” he says softly. “You know I cannot do that,” I reply cautiously. I do not want to cause him further distress or encouragement. “We can be together. I will fight your mate for you,” he says to me. “I do not want a fight. I want you to leave peacefully,” I say calmly to him. He looks at me with those red eyes and I feel them burning into my soul. I feel his pain and the anguish he has struggled with all these years waiting and hoping for me to return. “You are meant to be mine,” he says aggressively as he takes another step closer to me. “The Moon Goddess believes otherwise,” I remind him. “She gave me my mate. And she will give you your mate as well,” I say to him trying to assure him there is a fated mate out there for him. “You are the on
Elizabeth POV I watch as the unhinged wolf leaps towards me with his claws extended. I prepare for the impact of his hit. I take a deep breath and I wait for him. Anticipating his blow, I move slightly to force his body back. Only he never hits me. I watch in what feels like slow motion as I see Max, Carter’s wolf, leap in front of me tackling the wolf to the ground. Max is already bleeding from the wounds he received fighting off the two rogues. I watch the pair tumble to the ground, fierce growls and whimpers as their wolves are attacking and being wounded. Both wolves stand apart from one another panting deciding on their next move. Blood is dripping from Max’s leg and his side from a shallow cut. It is taking Max longer to heal. I look around at the wolves fighting and realize they are all avoiding me. The wolf has told them not to touch me. Knowing I could be a distraction for the wolves, I move across the field and start
Alpha Carter POV I can feel the poison take over my body and realize this will be the last time I see my beautiful mate. I cannot move and I cannot communicate with them. They played dirty and it looks like they will win. Before my eyes, I see Ashley leap across the air and take the black wolf off me rolling in a ball of fur. My eyes try to follow their movements, but I am quickly losing consciousness. Or perhaps I am dying. Everything feels like it is shutting down. The paralysis drug is stopping me from moving. Will it also stop my organs from working? I can do nothing but watch as things unfold. The last I see is Ashley and the black wolf fighting when I feel myself lose consciousness. I try to fight it, but I cannot. I want to know my mate survived. That Elizabeth will have a long and happy life. It is too late. I can feel nothing, and suddenly I can no longer hear anything. My eyes are opening and closing. I can see Stan standing
Queen Erin POV I stand there staring at my baby girl. My mate has his arms wrapped around me as I hold her hand. I could barely stand there looking at her. Knowing she had been out of our lives for so many years, to have her return only to watch her suffer unknowing if she will survive or not. I would give anything to trade spaces with her. To give her a chance at the happiness she had only just started to enjoy.The wolfsbane had been cleared from our bodies. We had received treatment quickly and there were no lasting implications for any of us. The only one’s affected right now was Elizabeth and her mate. Carter was in worse shape as he had gone longer without any intervention. We were waiting impatiently for the antidotes to arrive. They should be here any minute but until we received them it meant the pair would suffer longer. Not being able to breathe on their own, given the paralysis of their bodies. The shutting down of organs. Although they had wolves,
Elizabeth POV I do not know how long I had been laying with Carter. My arms wrapped around him likely looked funny given our size comparisons, but I could not help wanting to be as close to him as possible. He also still had the breathing apparatus in him to keep him alive. I was small enough to fit around everything that was there. I was still feeling some effects of the paralysis, but my organs were healing faster now that the antidote had been delivered. I had heard from Ashley briefly letting me know she was okay. She could not reach Max and it was depressing her, so she retired to the back of my mind. I could still feel a connection with Carter. The doctor had tried to prepare me for the worst, but I refused to hear it. The doctor was trying to be reasonable, but I lost it on him. My parents ushered him out of the room and Stan and Kinsley quickly helped me to Carter’s bed before leaving me with my mate. The sound of the mach
Alpha Carter POV Frustration is all I feel. I cannot move. I can hear everything around me. I can feel the pain of the paralysis in my body. I can feel Elizabeth’s pain through our mate bond. I am terrified she will give up on me. That she will not realize I am still here. I know I am close. I cannot feel Max yet, but I know he would be fighting as hard as I am to come together so we can get back to our mate. I feel Elizabeth leave me. I miss her comfort but am happy her mother is visiting her. I can barely make out their discussion, but I am relieved Elizabeth is opening up to accepting her mother. She deserves that happiness. That sense of belonging and safety of a parent’s love. I feel groggy but come alert when her mother talks to her about her destiny. She is intended to be the Queen of this Kingdom. Of course. Why had it not occurred to me before this? They will want Elizabeth to stay and assume her role as Queen. But what wou