Michael’s POVA few days went by and the tension in the royal house kept increasing. I was loving it.Every direction it took was going to favor me. When David killed Ella, I thought he had ruined the other option I had but he created a new option altogether and he didn’t even know this.With Andrew requesting that I play a double agent and discover what I already knew, it meant he had his doubts, and I was on his good side —leaving David and Selena on the dangerous side, but still with me.In a clearer picture, it simply meant that whoever won this sick family battle, I was going to be on their side.The smile on my face came to a pause as a knock resonated on my door. “It’s opened,” I growled, glaring at the door as it opened.David stepped in and glared back at me with a stern look. “Michael, we need to talk.”A grin appeared on my face as I straightened up on my bed and shrugged my shoulders, signaling for him to speak his mind. “I am listening. What do you want to talk about?”“Y
Ryker’s POV“How is she?” I asked Anna the moment she stepped out of the room, and she nodded at me with a smile on her face.“Oh, she is fine now. She just needs rest, and everything will be back to normal.”As much as I wanted to believe that I knew it couldn’t be true. Ella would only be fine after the people that put her in this condition get to pay with their lives and I was going to make sure of that.“Do you want to talk to her now?” Anna’s voice sliced through my thoughts, and I paused them to stare at her.“Huh?”She placed the tray she was holding on the table and picked a sofa close to me. “My lord, Ella has been awake for a few days now… I understand that she didn’t want to see either of us, but I saw her, and we made up. You should talk to her too.”“No, I don’t think that is important. She is already going through a lot of traumas. It won’t do her a lot of good if I added to the list.” My reply was mostly due to my guilt. I had failed her in every way a mate failed their
Ryker’s POVAfter speaking with Ella, it was time to put the plan into action. I grabbed my keys and for the first time in days, I decided to return home.I had purposefully ignored Willow, her calls, and everything that would take my mind off taking care of Ella. Now that she was stable, I felt it was right to return home and start closing loopholes.The moment I pulled up the car in the parking space, I saw Willow already standing at the door waiting. My heart was hardened. I didn’t even feel a single bit of remorse as I stepped down and went to her. If I was being sincere to myself, she was one of the suspects I had but I’d rather not start pointing fingers until I was sure of my suspicions.“Hey,” I mumbled, walking past her.“What was that Ryker?” she screeched behind me.I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. “Willow, how are you? How was your day?” I asked with sarcasm. “Can I go now?”A frown settled on her perfect face, and I took that moment to slip away from her. But o
Ryker’s POV “Patrick, wait behind,” I said as the council members got on their feet and started filling out of the conference room. Each came to where I stood, bowed, and joined the file to exit the room. When they were all out, the guards closed the doors, giving Patrick and me the privacy we needed. “I thought you were already in Crystal Pack?” I asked him as silence filled the room. “I was leaving when the council leader called me, but I have news that might come very useful to us,” he said. Ever since I sent him to pick up Ella, he had grown such an attachment to her and just like me, he had readily taken the problem upon himself to bring her justice. “The town is preparing for another mating ceremony…” “Another one? Aren’t they supposed to be mourning, Ella?” I growled as a cloud of confusion laid itself above me. I thought if anyone was going to have sympathy then it had to be the Alpha, who happened to also be a victim in this mess. Yet, he was allowing a party when his
Ella’s POVThe moment I heard a vehicle parking, I jumped out of bed and rushed out to the general sitting room. Esther was sprawled on one of the couches and her brows raised as she saw me approaching.“Woah, where are you going in such a hurry?” She teased. “You know you are not meant to go outside. We can’t jeopardize the whole plan if someone sees you out there…”I bit down on my lips and paused at the door. She was right I couldn’t go outside, but I would remain here and wait for him to come in.“Do you miss him so much that you can’t wait for him to get back?” Anna announced as she emerged from the kitchen with a tray in her hands.My cheeks flushed and my wolf rolled in my head further intensifying the blush. “I am not eager to see him… besides, it could be Patrick —I am just worried. I need information,” I said, crossing my arms around my chest.Esther and Anna exchanged looks and their faces burst into unknowing smiles. I wanted to interrogate them, but the door opened at th
Michael’s POV“You look hot, man!” Jason praised me as I appeared from the bathroom with my bow tie perfectly placed on my shirt. “The smartest man in all of Crystal Pack! Today is the day, man. How do you feel?”His words caused a small grin of pride to break on my face, and my blood curdled in satisfaction. My organs were all excited and my cock was not left out. This happened every time I tasted victory. The feel of the air tickled and caressed my skin bringing forth the taste of my trophy.“I feel like the alpha already… a very horny alpha…” “Awesome man!” Jason cackled. Poor thing probably thought I was joking but I was too serious.I grabbed my coat and started heading out of the door. “I am going to Selena’s room. Give the door a hard knock if the proceedings get urgent,” I said. I heard him say something about waiting the night, but a smirk covered my face. What was the point of waiting when I could have it all now?In no time I got to Selena’s room. I knocked once and invit
Ryker’s POV“Baby, you look so handsome tonight,” Willow mumbled for the umpteenth time as the car took us to the royal hall where the ceremony was to take place.Her fingers curled over my chest, and I had to peel her fingers off so she wouldn’t take my buttons out of my shirt.“Babe, it’s your friend’s ceremony, you don’t want me looking like a clown without front buttons, do you?” I asked with furrowed brows. I was actually getting irritated, but I controlled my emotions.“Oh, we could just stay back in her room and forget about the after party… the ceremony wouldn’t take so much time. They won’t even notice our presence or absence. We don’t need to stick around…” she whined.My brows raised higher, almost touching my hairline as I looked at her.“Are you ovulating?” I asked as even my wolf waited for this answer because she had been acting clingy since she came back from visiting her friend when we arrived.Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she raised herself from my che
Ryker’s POVWhen we got to our room, I was irritated. Willow tried all she could to cheer me up and bring me to the mood, but my wolf turned its back on her. My mind was still trying to figure out a way to meet with Alpha Andrew. The ceremony was supposed to be the perfect place, but Willow had ruined my chances, now I had no idea how to meet the man since we could be required to leave at any moment.Willow's wet kisses continued moving over my face creating a pattern that only she enjoyed. I could only stare, but my mind was far from getting moved by what she was doing.“Babe,” she sighed, moving her legs so that she was now sitting on top of me. “Baby, what is wrong?”“You should have let me speak to Alpha Andrew when I had the chance,” I growled softly, turning my eyes to the side table where my phone sat.I started developing a plan. Maybe if I called Patrick, he would be able to form a sort of proposition. This way, I could get an audience and it would appear like I was only go
Ella’s POVThe long wait was finally over. Esther was out of danger.“Words cannot express how grateful I am that you fought so hard for me,” she whispered with my hands held tightly in hers.Her sister, Freya, was sitting by her side while Anna and Selena stood behind us. We were all excited about the outcome of her treatment and more than anything, it assured me that my father’s treatment was also going to be successful. After all, it all followed the same pattern, all that was left was for me to convince Selena so that I could hand everything to her. Then they could use my blood.“I couldn’t have been alive today,” she added, pulling me out of my thoughts.“You are welcome, Esther. You know I love you and I will do anything to keep you safe,” I whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead. Then I started walking away, I aimed to reach Selena and pull her away for a quick conversation on the matter. The earlier she accepted to take the crown, the better it was going to be.But Esther’
Ella’s POVDavid didn’t make it.His death wasn’t something that directly affected me but the pain in Selena’s eyes made me sad. She had truly been reformed. She saw the world in a different light, and her biggest wish, had been for her father to see this light too but now it was too late for him.After the burial ceremony was completed, I sat by her side, hoping to comfort her as much as possible. Aside from my father, who was still on the sick bed, she was the only family I had left. I couldn’t leave her.We stayed this way, letting Ryker and Anna take care of the rest of the affairs.I didn’t even want to begin thinking about Esther. Aunt Emily had refused to give out the antidote till her death, but Esther was still fighting. I told Myles to find any of her family members, maybe if we could drain her blood too, she might stand a chance.And as for my father, I was planning something, but it wasn’t the right time to speak of it yet.“You should go save him,” Selena mumbled, and my
Ryker’s POV“I will come back for you! You think this is the end, you are wrong!” Emily yelled as they dragged her out of the throne room to the chamber where she would be killed.Her voice continued to resonate, even while they exited the room, but my attention had returned to Ella. I was so proud of her and how much she had grown.When she called for this meeting, I thought she was going to let her emotions mess with her again, but she didn’t. She acted like a true leader and made the right choices.My eyes remained on her as she held on to a crying Selena while Michael was escorted out of the palace. The plan was to go after the men who must have been done prepping Emily for her final sentencing. Dealing with a criminal like her, one could never be so sure that she could find a way to survive.But as we all made our way to the door, David started coughing painfully loud. Selena broke away from Ella’s hold and ran to his side in panic.“Someone, get the healers and doctors,” Ella al
Ella’s POVAs the words left my mouth, I turned around and began heading out. I finally understood everything and there was no time to waste anymore.“Stupid girl! I will still get you!” Aunt Emily screamed in her cell, but I didn’t bother sparing her even a single glance as I walked out.It was clear that she had been the mastermind all along and for the first time, I saw what Ryker was trying to say. They weren’t all killers. Some of them were accomplices at some point, but mostly they were all being manipulated all along. Now I understood why she had truly tolerated Selena’s bad attitude those times, it was because she wanted everyone to hate Selena, so that when the time came for her to be exposed, no one would stand by her, and Aunt Emily would ultimately get the throne. But I came and she had to come up with another plan.But all of that was over now. I was going to put everyone in their respective places.My hands fisted as I continued to march in the direction of the throne r
Michael’s POV“Mother, why did you try such a silly move? and much more in front of everyone! What were you thinking?” I growled in my cell.We were all bundled into the dungeon like common criminals. My cell was joined to the right side with my mother’s while Selena and David were in a single cell at my left. But I wasn’t interested in them but my mother. She sat calmly in her cell, hugging herself while I was losing my mind.She had just ruined every chance we had.“I mean, even if there was any chance that we could get back that throne, you just destroyed it by showing everyone that you are a murderer! Why would you attempt to kill her in front of everyone?”“Shut up!” she yelled, turning her reddened eyes to me for the first time since we had been thrown in here. “I have heard enough of your rants! If you weren’t so useless, we would be in this situation in the first place. You fool!”My heart thinned as if life was being sucked out of me. “Mother!” Her tone was not something I th
Ella’s POVMy eyes moved to my hands and then back to the healer. “I have more than enough blood. What is the problem now?”The man turned pale and dropped his head to the ground. My eyes narrowed, as confusion and irritation merged into me creating an emotion I couldn’t even define.Seconds passed and the man still couldn’t give me an explanation as the silence went on I started losing my mind. My father was dying in there and he was here unable to even make up his mind.Suddenly, I moved past him and went into the room. The healers and doctors still working, paused as they saw me walking up to them. When I reached them, I pulled the sleeves of my dress and stretched my arm to them.“Here, take the blood and heal him,” I hissed.The men exchanged confused looks before Ryker and the healer rushed in after me. “Ella, they can’t use your blood to change the whole of his blood. The process could kill you and—”“Then I’d prefer it kills me, rather than staying alive without both of my par
Ella’s POVRyker’s words were heavy on my chest as I moved out of the office with Myles following behind me. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was becoming like the monsters I wanted to rid the world of, maybe I was becoming something worse, I couldn’t tell.But what I could tell, was the fact that they had brought it upon me and themselves.Rather than return to my seat, I walked to the front of the table and spread my arms, gaining the attention of the audience and the soldiers holding them in place.“The defense was nulled. We shall proceed with the punishment for their crimes.” The room fell silent as everyone held their breaths, waiting for me to relay what was to befall the royal family —my supposed family.My eyes moved to them. Emily fiercely glared at me like it was going to change anything. Then there was Michael, who looked more lost than before. David was lifeless as usual, and Selena was crying. Her face was red as she held onto her father’s wheelchair. My heart cracked when it
Ryker’s POV“Willow is right. There is something wrong with her…” Anna whispered beside me. “This isn’t our Ella…”My heart tightened. Anna was right. The pain had consumed Ella. This wasn’t her.“What are we going to do now? She will kill an innocent man who has done nothing but love his daughter.”My thoughts moved around in my head for a few seconds before it came crashing back. I never liked women. I didn’t even think they could be sensible ones out there aside from Willow who I thought was above mistakes. But Ella and her friends had shown me that there was more to being a woman and there were smart ones out there. I realized that the one I thought was perfect, wasn’t at all. Willow was a pretender.But in all of that, I learned one thing.“No one is beyond redemption,” I said with conviction. “We will get our Ella back. She is in there somewhere. We will find her.” “But how?” Anna asked her hands pointing in the direction had gone to. “How do you convince someone who is already
Ryker’s POV“Why would she want to stay back? Why? Has she lost her mind?” Anna screeched when I told them the news. “Michael is crazy. Don’t even get me started on David. That man is sick, and he would do anything. Even with the Alpha’s ability activated in her wolf, they can still hurt her!”I sat on the edge of my seat with my hands joined together. I also didn’t feel good about leaving her behind, but I didn’t want it to seem like I was being clingy. Ella wanted to take care of her people, and she had every right. All I could do was support her as much as I could.“Calm yourself, Anna. I am sure that she will call if she needs anything,” I assured her.Anna’s eyes flared wide and she shook her head, coming closer to me. “You don’t know Ella. She has become very stubborn. She will never call for help because she doesn’t want anyone else to die. She would rather do it all on her own.”I shrugged. The solution to that was very simple. “Well, Esther can tell us. She will call. I am ce