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Michael's POV
'Pathetic little fool,' my wolf growled as I marched out of Ella's room.
I had managed to calm her and she fell asleep in my arms. Hopefully, when she woke up, she would erase every doubt she had about me and we would go forward with the mating as planned.
I have worked too hard for anyone to mess this up for me at this point.
My hands clenched and unclenched as I marched down the corridor and headed to Selena's room. She had a lot of explaining to do.
I would not sit still and watch her mess up all of my hard work for me. I had to talk some sense into her.
As if her door knew that I was coming, it burst open as soon as I got a couple of feet close to it and Willow stepped out with the sound of their laughter echoing in the air.
As she saw me, she stopped and Selena popped her head out too. Her face twisted into a grin and she joined her hands together like someone warming up against the cold.
"Hello, handsome," she whispered and then winked at me before she resumed walking to her room.
I glared at her, my eyes about ready to strip her naked and squeeze the living daylight out of her.
If I was being clear here, she was definitely the brain behind all of these problems. I had already gotten a perfect opportunity with Ella and she came and ruined everything.
I wished I had more time to pull her back and speak my mind to her face. Where the hell did she even come from?
I remember her from school. She had graduated a couple of years back with a lot of controversies. The moment I saw her step out of Selena's vehicle, I knew that there was going to be trouble.
But the main problem at this point was Selena and not Willow. I would deal with Willow when the time comes. For now, I had Selena to worry about.
So I peeled my eyes off her and turned to Selena's waiting orbs.
"What game are you playing here?" I growled at her.
She raised her brows as if I had just asked the dumbest thing in the entire realm.
My wolf twisted with irritation at her reaction but I controlled my emotions. Dealing with Selena, required a lot of patience and a very firm claw.
"I am asking you a fucking question, Selena! Do not let me touch you before you give me an answer!" I warned, taking a menacing step towards her.
Her stare faltered and a smirk grew on her face —my threat did nothing to whatever madness was going on in her head— she pushed the door open and motioned for me to step in.
"Come on in Michael, quit barking like a tiny little pup," she chuckled and turned away from the door.
I felt another irritating wave crawl over my skin and my claws emerged out of my skin as I glared at the ghost of her shadow at the door.
Swallowing my pride, I pushed my anger to the side and stepped into the room after her.
"What is this news I am hearing about you, mating with Ella? How did you even become responsible for her pregnancy?" Selena asked as she walked to her large circular pink bed.
"We both know you didn't fuck her. She got pregnant from her prostitution long before she got here.... "
I rolled my eyes and grabbed her left arm and pulled her back towards me. Our bodies came in contact and my eyes fixed on hers.
"Selena... You need to have understood me by now. We both have the same ambitions to be great. How am I going to do that if your supposed father has started favoring Ella?"
She stretched her fingers out of my hold and brought them to my face.
"You ignorant bastard... do you really think Andrew would give all the kingdom away to Ella?" She whispered as her fingers traced the contours of my face.
My wolf growled, giving in to her teases but I shook my head and pulled my control as a barrier between us.
I took hold of her fingers and stopped them from distracting me.
"Selena, he is swaying. Have you seen the way he looks at Ella? Heck, he has been looking at her in that same manner since the day I brought her here..."
Selena's eyes stopped moving and a frown sat on her forehead.
"I am his daughter. He will definitely hand over the entire Crystal Kingdom in my waiting hands... What has gotten into you? Huh?"
"You say so, but I think he would still hand over some part of it to Ella. Do you know what he fucking said about the mating ceremony?"
Selena finally began to understand what I was getting at. She took a step away from me and pulled her fingernails to her lips.
"What did he say?" She asked.
"He said he would give her, whatever she demanded. Now, we can milk everything from this man through this girl..."
Her eyes narrowed and she stopped biting her fingers.
"We don't need to milk anything from her, Michael. That girl is a whore. She won't let you go. Why would you even think of mating with her without discussing it with me? Were you trying to play me here?"
I rolled my eyes once again and pulled her closer. "Do I look like I can love someone else besides you?"
My hands tightened around her and my eyes hovered on her lips. They were looking so inviting, that I felt my erection throb.
"Then why did you admit to being responsible for her? Why didn't you let David send her away or something?" She whispered.
"I had to do something to keep her around. Have you heard the saying, keep your friends close and your enemies even closer?"
Ella's POVI was woken up by the sharp knock on my door in the middle of the night.I sat up quickly with my heart ramming in my chest and I was still trying to make out what was going on when my door burst open and Willow's silhouette stood there.Her long flowy nightdress swept across the room as she walked in and turned on the lights. The blinding brightness it created hit my eyes like the edge of a knife and I had to protect them with my arm."Hello, Ella, I am thirsty. I need a very cold glass of water, get up and go get it for me." She ordered in a soft innocent voice.My brain was still fuzzy and my heart was still fighting the alarm her presence had caused, but I dragged myself out of the bed and took the jug in her hands."Hurry!" She hissed and I nodded, moving as fast as my tired and aching body could allow.Tears were already forming on my face but I sniffled them away."I have to be strong," I mumbled to myself as I walked in the direction of the kitchen.Everyone was asl
Ella's POVI had two options. I could scream and the entire royal family would descend in the room. But knowing Willow, she was going to change the narrative.The story would become a different one and I couldn't be in the right since I was the one in her room. She might even go ahead and tell them that the baby belonged to Ryker.Things might take a very shaky turn at this point and I couldn't begin to deal with that. Not at this moment.The second option I had, which was the only one that could yield positive results was agreeing to her deeds... At least just for now.As soon as the mating ceremony was completed with Michael, I would request for a small cabin, far away from the royal house. This way, Selena and Willow would have no reason to come torment me.I just had to put up with them for a few more days."What are you waiting for, Ella? Come on, go to sleep... Take a nap!" A deep chuckle escaped her lips and she moved to the bed and sat down to comfortably watch me freeze over
Ryker’s POVElla’s cousin -Selena’s- words continuously echoed in my head and no matter how hard I tried to forget them; I couldn’t bring myself to do it.“The only place we haven’t searched is the land of the dead…” she had said, and it stuck in my head like a terrible circular song that refused to go away.‘Ella can’t be dead,’ my wolf hissed, expressing the same thoughts I was having in the depths of my stomach.She had to be alive somewhere. There had to be a place she could go to. Now that it was clear to me that she had a family in Crystal Pack, I was certain there would be a place she would go to seek refuge and I would find her, even if it became the last thing I did.I wouldn’t let a mere female waltz into my life and violate a contract she had signed with me. She was supposed to be my Luna and not someone’s whore. If at all anyone was supposed to be with her, it should have been me.My wolf shifted in my head at my thoughts, but I ignored it. I knew what he was going to say
Ella’s POVMy lungs tightened as fear soaked into them. There were a thousand ways this could go wrong, and I didn’t even want to begin to imagine what would happen if I dared venture into it. All I wanted at this point was to escape from here with my life and not add more people to the list of my problems.“Esther… what are you talking about?” I forced out a carefree scoff -that was supposed to pass for a chuckle and moved away from the door. “I am fine. I don’t know what you are talking about…”I heard her legs as they kissed the floor behind me. The door closed but I refused to turn even though her aura stood strongly behind me. It was best to ignore problems when they came and right now, pulling Esther into my problems was an issue I didn’t want to start.“I have seen the way Willow looks at you. I have seen the way the princess treats you… if you continue like this, they will kill you. Especially Willow. I know her. She is in a relationship with a very ruthless Alpha. People say
Ella’s POVThe days were finally starting to move fast. Selena and Willow kept making my life hell, but I refused to give them the satisfaction they craved. Through all the torture, I kept a smile on my face.My child was my strength and the very thought that Esther and her friends were working behind the scenes to make sure that my escape was successful, gave me all the courage I needed. I didn’t cry when they slapped me. I didn’t let the discomfort get past my skin because I knew that it would soon be over.“Ella?” Aunt Emily’s voice reached my ears while I was in Selena’s toilet -she had forced me to clean up the mess she made while she and Willow watched recorded dramas and documentaries on their phones.Aunt Emily’s footsteps were getting closer, so, I quickly dropped the toilet brush I was holding and pretended to have been washing my face by the sink.“Are you okay, my dear?” she exclaimed as our eyes met through the mirror, and from the corner of the door, I saw Willow and Sel
Ella's POV"What are you talking about, Aunt?" I blurted forcing a frown onto my face.For an older female, it was normal for her to discern between pregnancies. The signs she had mentioned were strange because I hadn't even noticed them myself.She was quiet, only staring at me as I grabbed the night dress from her and headed for the door. "Let's get going. There is no point staying here anyway," I grumbled.I would have to find a way to communicate with Esther somehow.Thankfully, Aunt Emily didn't comment on the signs of my pregnancy anymore. She quietly joined me at the door and we walked together to her cottage."There is only one room in here, so we would have to share it. I hope you don't mind?" She asked as she unlocked the door and invited me inside.I didn't actually care about spending the night with her. my only concern was how I was going to get Esther to speak to me and change the plans we already had.We thought we had more time to plan on the transportation and how we
Ella's POVI pushed away my thoughts and took the first step towards the horrible dress in Willow’s hands —the sooner I got into it, the earlier she left and the sooner I thought of a way to solve my problem.I took off the clothes I was putting on as fast as I could, and I was left in only my undergarment.Willow parted the dress ready and turned it in my direction. Without checking or inspecting, I placed my left leg into it and then the right leg. The moment the material touched my skin, it felt weirdly uncomfortable, and I could have refused it then and there but somehow, I embraced the idea of having the wedding the next day. It was better off."There… we are almost done." Willow sang with such enthusiasm my brows raised with suspicions. My heart started beating as she raised the dress higher till it covered my breasts.Aside from the discomfort of the material, everything else was fine. The dress already hugged my curves and if not that I hated the color, I would say it was ver
Ella’s POVThe goddess was surely smiling down at me that night. After managing to convince Aunt Emily to stay with me, Willow angrily left the cabin and when the nurse did arrive, she didn’t come alone.She came with Esther.My eyes lit up from my position on the makeshift bed, Aunt Emily had created for me to lie down on so she could begin cleaning the blood that was starting to clot on my back.“What exactly happened?” the nurse said as she came to kneel by the bundle of bedsheets I was lying on. She dropped a very large back beside her and then started pulling out her instruments.“I don’t even know how to explain but… it was an accident with her dress. The bleeding has mostly stopped…” Aunt Emily was saying but I was no longer paying attention to the conversation.I was busy staring at Esther and wishing I could speak to her in my mind. She was also looking in my direction but to prevent any suspicion, she tried her best to appear as if she was focused on the ongoing conversation