SAMALAH:
‘Now, what shall I do with you? Which option would be beneficial,’ I asked myself internally.
I looked at the unconscious she-wolf on the barren floor, and I controlled my urge to laugh. It was rather funny to think that a few hours ago, she was inseparable with my Tristan, but now she’s here battling life and death.
“I guess the gods really do favor me after all,” I muttered.
Throughout the night, I watched as Dahlia and Tristan flirt heavily at the auction hall. They played the part of a perfectly loving couple, but I knew the truth. It was after all my idea.
Shortly after setting me free, Count Milford had adopted me as his niece and Tristan and I became inseparable. I was the first person who learned the story of his past aside from uncle, and he was the first person whom I shared my mother and father’s predicament with.
We were both wounded children, and we lost the chance to live with our lo
DAHLIA: ‘Wake up! We have to escape! Wake up…’ The voice kept on telling me to wake up… I couldn’t see where it came from. It just knew that it felt warm and affectionate, and now it was becoming more and more distant. ‘Wake up, Dahlly,’ it told me one last time. When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor of a very dark and dingy place… There was a woman crouched down near me. She was rubbing her eyes, making muffled noises as if something had hurt her, or was she in tears? Either way, I don’t know what to make out of this scene… All I know was that I was dizzy. There was a painful area at the back of my neck as if something heavy had descended upon it. I struggled to sit, and when I did, I found that I was naked. There was also a dagger that was suspiciously placed just inches away from me. This woman, whoever she was, did not seem to have any friendly intention towards me… I did what I thought I should do. I cl
DAHLIA:I lie awake in bed next to Samalah, strongly feeling both dread and despair. Somehow, everything she told me was so hard to take in…So… I was already married, and my husband was a cruel jerk who betrayed me. Now, we are on the run because my identity was exposed in an illegal auction.I could barely remember hearing a tale about Shadow wolves from somewhere, but Samalah helped fill me in the details of who the Shadow Runes were.She said we were already orphans when met each other. We were sold as slaves, but we had sworn to stick by each other through thick and thin. I don’t know how much I could really trust Samalah’s words, but so far, she had been nothing but kind and patient towards me, explaining all the details that my memory had failed to recover.There was actually someone else I could ask regarding this matter, but as of the moment, I was having a very hard time reaching out to her...
SAMALAH:My chest was threatening to explode with rage as I looked at the blood-red fertility stone in my hands, but it was Dahlia’s sudden burst into tears that had reminded me the part I needed to play at that moment.“N-No… That can’t be right…”“Yes. Maybe this was defective. Let’s try it again,” I whispered in a dull voice.We waited some time to let the stone settle back into its original white color. After about thirty minutes, I pricked Dahlia’s finger once more and poured a drop of her blood into the stone.Red. It produced the same red color.“I… I am not pregnant… I cannot possibly be pregnant!”That’s right. She cannot be of child, especially not with Tristan’s child!I can’t help it. Even I was sent into fits of tears.When we were both calm enough, she whispered towards me, “Who is he?”
DAHLIA:The sun has already reached its peak when I woke up. Samalah was kind enough to prepare some breakfast for the day’s journey.“You have to eat up a lot, sister. After all, you are eating for two now.”I looked down at my belly and placed my hands over it. Was it really true? Was a child really growing inside me when it wasn’t even apparent?...Before I slept, I was thinking what to do. Samalah said my husband was a monster. If he was, then I could be carrying someone who could turn out to be as devilish and as menacing, right?And yet, the alternative – ending this child’s life – didn’t feel like even an option for me at all. Even though I do not remember anything, I was sure I don’t want to see this child leave.Things would be hard from now on, I guess… I was going to be a mother soon.“By the way, sister, it’s inevitable that we’ll meet people al
DAHLIA:A pair of wolf eyes glowing fiercely was looking straight at me, and I gazed back. I couldn’t take my eyes of it. It was so mesmerizing and at the same time very frightening.“Dahlia,” I heard the wolf say in a low growl. “Dahlly!”I stood there frozen in horror. How did this wolf know me? Was he a spy, a soldier sent to kill me? Was he there to snatch me away? Did I just get discovered right now?My feet moved involuntary away. I wanted to run, but all I could do was back away as the wolf emerged from the bushes and took some steps towards me.“Ahh,” I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could overcome my initial shock, the man, in his half-wolf half-human form, had come closer like lighting. He came over me and cupped his hand against my mouth.He was covered from head to toe with fur as dark as the night. The only thing I could see were his deep violet eyes that shone like gemstones. T
TRISTAN:I didn’t know what else to tell Dahlia, so I began to tell her the most basic of all truths between us...“You and I – we are fated mates… Can’t you tell?”That’s right. I found Dahlly just now, but I couldn’t just snatch her away as I pleased… especially now that she had lost her memories of me…Last night, I ventured by myself further into the forest surrounding Dalrus. I knew Samalah was someone who hated crowds. She often went alone and acted alone. If she had planned to kidnap Dahlia, she would probably run into the woods with her and hide her there until her plan was fulfilled.Samalah was always highly suspicious of people. I thought I was the only one whom she trusted before we planned to extract our revenge against the Talandor royals, but seeing how she had me framed at Payn, it was safe to say she shifted her trust to someone else she could control.Thus, inst
DAHLIA:I can’t believe what he just did. How can Naskan be so bold? Was it because he was sure we were fated mates?The craziest part of it all was that I liked it. I liked his kiss, and before I knew what I was doing, I was already kissing him back…Naskan’s muscular arms travelled around my body, caressing me. Why was I even letting him do this?“Ahh, wait,” I said, pulling back. There was no way I should concede to this. I’m pregnant, and more importantly, I don’t even remember this wolf at all…“Are you beginning to remember now, Dahlly?” He called me in that nickname too… Were we really close?There was indeed a comforting feeling even when Naskan was staying much closer than I would have wanted right now. He does not feel like a threatening person, and yet… This was all wrong…I have a husband somewhere. Maybe I was forced to marry that man, but
TRISTAN: I admit it. I was furious beyond reason. I even imagined strangling Samalah with my own bare hands at this very moment... As always though, she remained calm and emotionless. She must be confident that I wouldn’t or I couldn’t hurt her at all. She had always trusted our intertwined history together. “Calm yourself. I can’t breathe,” she quietly said. I looked into her eyes and tried to decipher the depth of the schemes that were going through her head. Despite growing up together under Uncle’s Milford’s care, I could never really figure out this woman. I channeled the emotions inside my heart. She was right. I didn’t want to hurt her. Not until I hear her words about this ruckus with Dahlia. As soon as I released the hold on the air around us, Samalah gasped. Finally, she was showing some fear when she looked back at me after being unable to breathe properly. “Why are you pretending to be him? Why are you assuming some