Dorian’s POVI was more than confused. Why was he welcoming me? Had he met me before? I tried my best not to make my confusion known, but his keen eye had already seen my discomfort, and he gave me a reassuring part on the back."I can see that you are tense, but I assure you, there is nothing to worry about. Relax, eat and drink. We are more than honoured to have you here."I gave a weak smile and took my seat in an empty chair on the right side of the King. The table was filled with assorted foods, tingling the air and filling my lungs with a delicious and savoury concoction. My mouth began to water, but there were so many options that I had no idea what to start with. I finally decided to go with the lightest option and ate silently while I watched the King eat heartily and make polite talk with his advisors on matters of the Empire.Every now and then, I would steal a glance at him. His green eyes were dazzling, and they seemed to fill the room. The familiarity in them had not
Conrad’s POVI watched as my father left and I was approached by some other officials from the court. I was bombarded with questions concerning the security situation at the Eastern border.I was a little nervous since I hadn't known that we were at war with Black Paw Pack until recently."Will Dorian be able to fight them?""Is it really true that he is stronger than the Royals?""How did you find out?""Where did you find him?"The questions revolved around Dorian and I felt my blood start to boil. I brought him to court to be tried and killed and not become famous."Gentlemen, gentlemen," I said calmly, trying to bring order to the chaos that was around me. "My father will send Dorian to fight the Black Paw pack and you will have all your answers confirmed. Now, if you would excuse me, I have something important to attend to."I watched as the officials walked away one by one with dissatisfaction at the way I answered their questions. But I couldn't create a buzz around Dorian. If
April’s POVI watched with glee as Azura chased the string with the feather tied to the end. I had neglected her so much as home so I was determined to make it up to her.She meowed happily and kicked her paws in the air while I drowned in how cute she looked.Suddenly, I felt the hairs on my neck stand on end, and I stopped moving the feather, much to Azura's annoyance. I could feel someone behind me glaring at me. I was scared to turn around, but I couldn't help it.I turned and saw Conrad standing behind me. His blue eyes seemed to reflect the sun, and I could tell his body was tense. I wanted to look away, to act like I hadn't seen him, and to keep playing with my cat, but I couldn't. I was stuck with my eyes on him.My horror increased when he started to walk towards me.What was I going to do? Should I stand up? Should I remain the way I am?My mind was screaming at me that he was getting closer.Finally, I sprung to my feet and saw him right in front of me. I was slightly start
April's POV"April, what's wrong? I looked at Ivar and I could see the relief on his face as well as concern. I tried to calm down. If something was wrong with Dorian, he would look worried, wouldn't he?"Where is Dorian? You told me that he went out with Conrad. Conrad just came back and Dorian isn't with him. He said that the King asked Dorian to stay behind.""April, you need to calm down," Ivar reassured me. "Dorian is fine. He called me and told me that the king had asked him to stay. He feels it's suspicious but he is going to be on high alert. I don't think that you have anything to worry about."I felt relief wash over me. So Conrad was telling the truth but I still felt that something was amiss. The king asked Dorian to stay back and Conrad didn't even know why.I had noticed the slight discomfort on his face as he told me about Dorian. It was like he didn't want Dorian to stay with the King even though he was the one who took him to see the King in the first place."Maybe w
April’s POVI walked into Conrad's private garden and was mesmerised by how beautiful everything was. The flowers were in full bloom, and their alluring fragrance hung in the air. Butterflies flitted around the flowers, and their wings shone like rare jewels.I looked up and saw Conrad waiting for me at the lunch table. I saw the huge grin on his face and the way his eyes fed on my body with lustful desires. That was probably his reason for giving me this dress. I felt conscious of my body and was uncomfortable. I tried to walk towards him and not make my discomfort obvious. I beamed at him with a nervous smile. And as I approached, he took my hand and kissed it."You look beautiful, April."His eyes lingered on my face, and I felt my cheeks go red, and I turned away. I didn't care for his stares. I just wanted to finish this and return to my room.He showed me my seat, pulled it out for me to sit on, and pushed it closer to the table."Thank you," I said lightly."Anything for a god
April's POV I ran out of the private garden as fast as I could. My hands covered my chest defensively as I weaved through the hedges and flowers to get away from him. Tears welled in my eyes and blurred my vision. I could still hear his voice behind me, but I didn't dare to look back. No. His kind blue eyes no longer exuded his care; now, I linked them to that of an unforgivable monster.I ran and soon found myself behind the villa. I was alone and tired, and I fell to the ground with a heavy heart. My mind unravelled and plagued me with gruesome thoughts of what could have happened if I had let him have me and if I wasn't strong enough to keep him at bay.I saw the lustful passion in his eyes. Nothing could have stopped him from raping me.My heart shattered. So much had been happening, and I hadn't been able to wrap my head around it. Dorian, my pack, Lady Vivian, and Conrad. I felt drowning in waters no one could save me from. Every day felt like I was barely surviving, and ever
April’s POVI looked at Lucy in shock and felt my blood run cold. She walked towards me, but I felt her reach behind my back to my bag that I had left clumsily on my bed while I was trying to find something to accessorise Conrad's slutty dress with.She pulled out a book and held it tenderly like it was a lost relic.Her reaction intrigued me, and I continued to watch her."April, where did you get this?" She turned the book from hand to hand, scanning the covering and gently running her palms over it."I found it in Susan's room. There was one that Dorian tossed at me that looked exactly like it. He said it was Stacie's diary. It was the reason he had been treating me like trash. Stacie wrote terrible things about me in the diary, and Dorian has been holding on to them and using them to justify his actions. The worst part is that I don't even remember doing any of those things to Stacie."I saw Lucy's body shiver, and she immediately opened the book. It was blank; nothing was in its
April's POVI watched as Lucy pulled out her laptop in her room, and she began typing furiously at the keys. She was laser-focused on the screen, and her fingers whizzed over the keys.I sat watching her with a glass of water. I had never seen her like this before. As I watched her, I reflected on everything that she had told me about the diary. It just didn't make sense. If it was hers, then why did Stacie want to use it to frame me? What had I done to her? I had never done anything bad to Stacie. Did she just do all of that because she was threatened that I was taking Dorian's affection? Was that why she did it? Because she was jealous?It didn't seem to add up; the more I thought about it, the more loopholes that formed. My mind was in chaos, and the only tranquillity was in the glass of water that I was holding."April, do you remember his car plate number and the colour?"I closed my eyes as I tried to recall the colour and plate number. It had been a while since I saw the car,