I didn’t have dinner that night, because Ryder didn’t return, and I couldn’t sleep either. It’s midnight already and I haven’t gotten any sleep. I was worried sick, I went overboard this time, I know. I shouldn’t have said I had any feelings for Jordan just to get back at him. Heaven knows I didn’t call him out to have an argument. I wanted us to talk, I wanted to know about his ex-mate and what he had with Susan, hell, I was desperate to know what he wanted to make of me. His father didn’t want me, and he hasn’t said anything to suggest he wanted me for real. Yet, when I saw him, I said all the things I didn’t plan to say.
I told myself it was his fault. If he wasn’t so arrogant, we wouldn’t have had that argument, but I was fooling myself. I did everything Elsie warned me not to. I just hope he is safe. I saw his beast, and without a doubt he can take care of himself. A wolf so large can take down an en
I tried to free myself from his grasp but he held me tighter and continued to sniff me. He lingered on my neck for too long, the spot where my mate’s mark should be and he slowly starts to nibble on it. My reaction as usual was spontaneous. My own breathing had become heavier and I didn’t know when a soft moan escaped my lips. Oh shit. I quickly fling my eyes open and turned in his arms so that I was facing him, which was a wrong move. His face is so close to mine and that look in his eyes…I swallowed as we stared at each other for what seemed like forever, without saying a word. He still looked tired but he was having a hard time sleeping and he looked like he had something he wanted to tell me, but he doesn’t say a word. He is searching my face too.“Who is Adeline?” I blurted out.He froze, a deep frown crossing his hard features and a vein twitching in his neck. He released my waist and moved back, and the air is suddenl
We left the werewolf palace for the first time together. It’s also the first time I would be leaving the gates since I first arrived and I was thrilled. We rode in a Rolls Royce phantom, myself and Ryder at the back with the driver at the front.I looked at the view through the windows, happy for this little time out. It feels like I’m going away from home though, yes, I think it’s safe to call it ‘home’ now. I feel safe here, that is reason enough right?Jordan tried calling again, but I didn’t take his call of course. He sounded desperate on that call, and I know I shouldn’t care but I just hope he is alright. I have no feelings for him, and I should hate him for humiliating me but it must cost a lot for an alpha to beg in that manner. If he was not desperate, he wouldn’t have sounded that way. The first time he called, he had been very authoritative, maybe he was acting all sober now because he knew he was dealing with
*Ryder’s POV* Anger and rage washed through me. What manner of people ostracized a five year old for a murder she didn’t commit and made no attempt to investigate the case? and to think I deployed some warriors to the western regions in other to help them, meanwhile they did that to a poor child. They don’t deserve any help or protection from the royals, if they could do that to my mate then I wasn’t going to turn a blind eye. I’m going to make them pay, starting from that cuckold of an alpha that calls himself Simon. I picked up my phone and dialed Adrian’s number, ignoring the pleading looks that Tiana was sending my way. Why do I still feel like she may have something for that bastard Jordan? She doesn’t want to put all the blame on him and I don’t feel comfortable about that. I brought Tiana here for this purpose, I wanted to get to know her, I wanted to hear all about her past from her own lips rathe
*Tiana’s POV*I didn’t speak to Ryder until we got back to the house and he made no efforts starting a conversation. I don’t know how to feel honestly. Whenever I think we are making progress, we hit a hard rock and end up back to square one. Again. I opened up to Ryder, told him all about my past and he awarded me with silence when I asked about his ex-mate.When I told him about my past life it was not because I wanted him to withdraw the help from the western wolves, far from it. He brought me to this really nice place and I felt we were finally beginning to connect, I thought he was finally making an effort, but boy was I wrong. He’s always going to be a self-centered arrogant prick. He’s never going to let himself loose around me, and he is never going to tell me about Adeline.I wish Elsie would just tell me instead, but she insists it’s something the prince has to tell me himself, which is
I was fuming with anger and pacing the lengths of the room, still very much pissed at Susan and overwhelmed by what I’d just learned. Ryder was still in love with Adeline. That explained why he did not put his mark on me, the son of a bitch was toiling with me. I hate Susan but I know she had a point. Ryder is an alpha prince, I may have witnessed how domineering and possessive he can be but a man like him would have marked me already except he was still in love with his ex-mate. That explained why her topic was always so sensitive and why he would not talk about her even after I told him about myself. I saw how affected he was by what I told him and his immediate actions. Yes, I fear for the western wolves but my intentions were not to make things worse for them. I can imagine how this would affect them knowing the royals were no longer behind them. Ryder says he would rather investigate Jayce’s death but I don’t see how this is going to benefit this case. E
The first time I met Elsie and heard her voice, I thought she was going to be a spoiled princess, I didn’t envision that a girl like her would want to be friends with me or that she would be willing to grant me favors, but over the couple of weeks I realize I may not have been able to handle a lot of things around here if it were not for her. I know this is a big risk for her, and her brother would not take it likely with her if he found out that she aided my escape from his house but she was willing to do it for me and although she said she was doing it because of her brother too, I am yet to understand what she meant by that. Ryder would look for me but he wouldn’t be missing anything. I was so sure of it. Elsie took me to her room in the royal palace. Her room was on the fifth floor, and she explained that Louis's was on the floor just above hers. I didn’t get a grand tour of the palace like the others that we came together because the prince chose to keep me lock
“Who would have thought you were capable of gaining any weight!” Layla screamed and enveloped me in a tight hug. It’s been few weeks since I last saw her and it feels like forever. She spins me around to check me out after releasing me from her rather tight hug, her eyes a little misty. It feels just like yesterday when she was comforting me and doing everything to convince me that Jayce’s death was not my fault. I feel less guilty about his death since I have been in the royal palace because there was no constant reminder of what happened and people at the royal palace didn’t look at me and see a killer. “I missed you so much Layla,” I said and she hugged me again, dapping at her eyes. “I miss you too. I can smell your wolf now,” she says excitedly and I nodded my head. The potion I took was supposed to last an hour according to Elsie but it wore off after thirty minutes. “Yes Layla,” I nodded my head. There was a lot to catch up with but we needed t
RYDER’S POV The alpha of the Western wolves is worried sick, and scared to death that he has somehow managed to anger the royals again. My dad called me to his office to discuss why I had a change in mind after deploying some warriors to the western regions but I didn’t give him my main reason. I have been handling this case for the past eighteen months and I was making all the decisions and calling the shots. My dad could care less about the Western wolves. He inherited the hatred towards them from his own father, which I have been trying to curb. No matter how hard they tried to get in our good books, my dad was not someone that could easily be won over. Since the incident with Tiana, I have avoided him as much as I could which hasn’t been all that much, because I still had to attend these really long meetings with him present and his signature was still needed on a lot of things before they could pass. That
We had just given the closing remarks when I finally caught a glimpse of Layla. She waved at me from behind the crowd, a wide smile on her face. I’d have been mad if I wasn’t surprised at how broadly she smiled and waved at me. It was hard pulling away from Ryder to go to her when my hands were trapped between his.When he finally let go, Layla was walking up to me same time as I was walking to her. A closer view revealed her flushed cheeks and bright eyes.“Someone looks overly excited. Where have you been?” I smiled as she pulled me into a tight embrace.“First, I’m sorry I haven’t been beside you,” She says with a little giggle, I doubted if she was really sorry.“And you are supposed to be my best friend,” I pouted childishly which made her laugh more.“I know, but I couldn’t help it,” she giggled “You look absolutely amazing by the way. I’ve never seen a
We recited our oaths before going into the ritual proper, and then the mating process had to come before the crowning ceremony. It was a rigorous exercise with Ryder taking his oath first, and then I followed suit.The king slits his left palm with a royal dagger, and Ryder does the same. Then they shook hands and the crowd bared their necks while the exchange of power was ongoing, with the kinsmen reading out the vows for Ryder to repeat.Once that was done, he had to go on his knees to receive the crown from his father. I knelt with him as his father proceeded to crown me with his mother’s crown once he was done with Ryder. I repeated my vows too and swore my loyalty to my people and to Ryder, to rule alongside him and put the welfare of my subjects first.Then it was time for the mating proper. My wolf was giddy with excitement, she had waited for this a long time. To be joined with her mate forever as one. It was midnight already and the moon was at hi
I smiled at the girl in the mirror and she smiled back. Tears glistened my eyes, but I had to hold it in, or else Elsie would go ballistic on me. ‘Don’t you dare ruin your make up’ she’d warned countless times. I laughed childishly as her eyes pried into mine through the mirror, the warning very evident in them. I can’t believe this is happening. I am just a few minutes away from being crowned the werewolf queen. Clad in the royal attire, and adorned with the most expensive jewelries, I looked nothing short of a Queen. Nora, Sadie, Rose and Layla had just exited the room to join the crowd outside. “You look absolutely stunning,” Elsie wiped her own tear before it dropped. “You know how much this means to Ryder,” she sniffed. “It means everything to him,” I nodded my head. I didn’t doubt Ryder wanted this as much as I did, or even more. “My mother’s crown has been laying around for years since her demise. It was her dying wish
The following days passed in a blur. There seemed to be too much to do under very little time, and I would not have been able to hold it off, if not for Elsie’s help. I didn’t know the first thing about organizing anything, and I wanted this to be perfect. I can’t afford any lapses.Ryder was enveloped in a pile of work himself, and we had little time with each other. Many nights, he didn’t return to bed and had to work through the night. He wouldn’t allow me to assist knowing I was pretty exhausted myself, but I fell asleep very frequently in his office and woke up in his room.The royal suite had been cleared out in the main castle for us while his father moved to the building behind that had been created for the purpose of his retirement. Our things had been cleared out and arranged in the royal suite and it would be our last night here. Louis will be moving in here once we moved out, and I knew I would miss this place so much.T
Right now, I’m super exhausted and I just want to crawl into bed and sleep, even though the evening is still young. I and Elsie have been on a shopping spree all day, trying to put a few things in place in preparation for the mating ceremony. There is a whole lot to be done before that day and I only just realized we have little time. Elsie had too much energy for one person, and if I hadn’t insisted that we continue tomorrow, we would have still been out by now.The regained my strength the minute I stepped into Ryder’s house and noticed he was home. He’d called earlier, but we hadn’t talked much. I climbed up the stair to the room with speed. Our bodies and minds were connected. I knew he could feel my presence the minute I walked into the building, just like I felt his.He was just stepping out of the shower when I walked in, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, and I drooled over his body. Tearing my eyes from his chest and biceps
We returned back to the royal palace that same day and by the following day, things were being put in place to shut down Eclipse pack. I didn’t stay back to see it though, my job there was done, and I was back to the royal palace. Many members of Eclipse pack will not like me, because they wouldn’t understand this was in their best interest, but I was used to them not liking me, I lived with that all my life, only difference now is that I have upper hand. I hurried to meet Elsie who had been waiting for me downstairs for a while. As usual, I had woken up to find Ryder’s side of the bed empty, and the disappointment that followed was totally beyond my control. I had to remind myself that the fact that he had marked me now didn’t mean that he would have lesser responsibilities, and he only just informed me about his father’s decision to retire in less than two weeks, so there is a lot that needed to be done before the handover ceremony. To my surprise, Louis was beside
It’s a long ride from the royal palace to Eclipse pack and I would have dreaded the journey if not for the presence of my mate besides me. The last time I had to travel this long was when I left the royal palace to hide from Ryder, a very foolish decision as I have now noticed. I could never do without him, and I don’t even want to try.We pulled into the pack gates and looking round, a lot has changed from when I was here. The warriors on guard saluted and stood in position as we entered. From behind the tinted side glasses of the vehicle, I can see mothers carrying their young pups and hurriedly running to shelter, for fear of the Alpha Prince.The pack has been under the governance of the royals for the last few days, and a lot of things have changed since I remember. The atmosphere around the pack was unusually gloomy, and even the warriors wore sad faces. The walls of the packhouse look duller than I can remember and the trees and plants that decorated
Dungeons are really scary. We had a small dungeon in Eclipse pack where I spent a couple of nights in the past. I remember Alpha Simeon had me locked there for two weeks straight one time he said I had disrespected his Luna. It was the longest time I stayed in a dungeon at a stretch and it was a horrific experience. I think I was about thirteen then.I swallowed as one of the guards led us to the cell where Jordan was. Ryder’s hands were positioned at the small of my back, and apparently, he didn’t like the idea. I could feel his emotions and I know he can feel how uncomfortable I am here.I have never seen a dungeon so large before. It rested many feet underground with several cells lined up opposite each other. I couldn’t walk the lengths of the cell, because it was separated into several sections. Some cells were smaller than some and the crime committed would determine the cell one gets. I know this all too well from my own experience.I co
TIANA’S POVFor obvious reasons, I felt relieved when I heard about the news of Simeon’s death. I know my mate would have wanted a more severe punishment for him, but I could care less. I was more than happy that the case would finally be closed and that my mate can have a little rest and move on to other things.My father had to go back to get himself ready to move here fully, and he said he would be here in a couple of days. I am glad that he would be around me from now on and that we would finally be able to be part of each other’s life. Meeting Ryder was the best thing that happened to me, and I don’t want to envision a life without him.I want to be more involved in the work going on around here, and most importantly I want to go back to training, although Ryder is not hearing any of it. It is late in the night already and we were laying on the field by the lake side, gazing at the star