: Ella's POVAs I ran through the door, my eyes immediately went to the pile of clothes being burned on the bed.I blinked in confusion wondering what was going on. Was she burning her own clothes in her room?"Selena?" I called, searching around the room with my eyes.The fire on the bed was rapidly spreading and the smoke was starting to get into my lungs but I was determined to find Selena."Ella, you need to get out of here now!" My wolf growled but I ignored her. I was driven by the need to save the sister I could never find in Anna.Selena could still be in here. Maybe something happened to her. She might be in danger and I could help her."Selena, where are you? Are you okay?" I asked as I took a step to the door opposite me.It was the bathroom as I had guessed but it was empty. There was no sign of Selena. I checked the closet as well and there was no one there either."She is not in here, save yourself!" My wolf howled.At my wolf's insistence, I realized that she was right
Ella's POV"Selena, this was obviously an accident," David said as he held me protectively by his side."I know exactly what I am talking about Uncle! This wasn't an accident. Your imbecile daughter burned my room!" She yelled and I felt my hands fold into fists as anger also started brewing within me.She had no right to speak to me in that manner. Besides, I knew nothing of what she spoke about.I took a deep breath and prepared to start my defense but Alpha Andrew beat me to it."Selena, she is your cousin. Do not call her an imbecile," he said in his usual gentle tone that sounded nothing like he was giving her a scolding."Besides, if she made a mistake, it is not something that can't be fixed," David quickly added and I raised my eyes to him at once."I didn't do it. I didn't burn her room," I said firmly as my eyes turned between David and Alpha Andrew.Selena's eyes became dark little slits as she glared at me."Are you calling me a liar?" She flared. Her arms started tremblin
Ella's POV "Why is her heart beating faster? Is something wrong with her?" David asked the doctor and I felt blood drain out of my system."No, Beta David, nothing is wrong with her. It is just the trauma of what happened."I felt a huge relief wash over me like I had been poured cold water."I am going to leave a few pills. She should be fine once she takes it," the doctor finally added.David nodded his head and then turned to me; "Okay, Ella make sure you take your medicine and get some rest."He placed a kiss on my forehead and led the doctor out of the room.As they left, my wolf and I were finally able to breathe. I relaxed into the bed and let my eyes close for a few seconds to think about how far I had come.From my evil stepmother, to Ryker and Willow and now, I had to face Selena and at the same time hide my pregnancy from everyone.It wasn't going to be easy at all but I had to do it if I wanted to survive.I would just have to stay away from Selena to avoid more drama. I
Ella's POV The driver closed his door as he joined us in the vehicle, and the noise he made was enough to break through the thick wall of awkwardness that had filled the space around us.Soon, we were driving out of the royal house and into the town. And for the first time, I got a better view of the entire kingdom. It was larger than my pack back home and more developed. I could even say that it was larger than Ryker's pack as well and as the thought crossed my mind, I prayed that he never came to find me here."I didn't even ask you, what option would you like to do in college?" Aunt Emily asked, pulling me out of my reverie."Oh, hmm— I want to major in Medicine," I blurted out.There was so much about my body that I needed to know and understand without having to ask a doctor. And the best way I could think of was to learn the profession myself."That's a very good choice dear—""For someone so old, I wouldn't advise for such a time-consuming course," Selena hissed from her corn
Ella's POV "You school here too?" I asked him in shock.He flashed me his brightest smile and made a dramatic bow; "I am a final-year student here. If I knew your registration was today I would have brought you here myself then Ms. Emily wouldn't have gone through the trouble.""Oh, Michael, it wasn't trouble at all," Aunt Emily laughed, waving her hand in the air. "It is a good thing for me to leave the castle once in a while. Being held up there all the time can be frustrating at times," she added and Michael nodded in understanding.I didn't entirely agree with them because so far, the castle seemed to be cozy and sweet —except when Selena walked into the room."So shall we?" Michael announced, pointing to the big entrance ahead of us."Sure," Aunt Emily chirped. She held my hand and together we let Michael lead us into the huge administrative building.Michael turned out to be a true prince. He took us to the Rector's office and assisted us with all the registration processes. An
Ella's POV Throughout the ride back home, I tried to understand what sort of trouble we could be in just because I decided to point out to Selena that she was wrong for speaking to Aunt Emily in that manner.—But no matter how hard I tried, I didn't get an answer.Aunt Emily wasn't helpful either. She had gone cold and barely said a word to me.I noticed that we didn't stop at the mall anymore like we had planned. I wanted to ask her but the cold distant look on her face made me seal my lips.When the driver pulled into the royal house, I started to seriously regret my actions. I should have controlled myself."Ella, I will order some dresses for you, and by tomorrow you can have them when you return from classes," Aunt Emily finally mumbled as we both got out of the car.My heart squeezed at her tone and I felt like crying. She started to walk away but I quickly stopped her."Aunt, I am very sorry," I whispered, staring into her eyes. "I didn't mean to cause you trouble..."She let
Ella’s POVEveryone else seemed to freeze at Selena’s accusations while my uneasiness only grew. Selena had promised to deal with me for trying to correct her. I knew she was going to come through on her promise, I just didn’t think she would go as low as framing Aunt Emily like this.“Emily, how could you do this to her?” David roared at his sister, his voice snapping everyone out of their frozen state.Their heads turned toward Aunt Emily who stood with her head lowered to the ground in shame.My wolf twisted along with the irritation that was growing within me. This made absolutely no sense. She did nothing wrong, yet she was feeling ashamed of herself.“It is very simple, Uncle. Aunt Emily has never liked me,” Selena cried out. “She has been plotting to hurt me all along… father,” she continued, snapping her attention to Alpha Andrew, “we can’t let her keep staying here… she needs to leave… or she is going to kill me one of these days…”A soft gasp escaped my lips at Selena’s lie
Ella’s POVDespite the shock of hearing Selena openly declare war and admitting to purposely framing Aunt Emily, I still found the strength to walk out of that bathroom as fast as I could.I half ran and half walked across the general living room. All I wanted to do was to get as far away from her as possible. I had nothing to my name. I had no house and no money. I couldn’t survive out there without these things for too long. I was pregnant and that meant I couldn’t be homeless. If Selena could make her aunt stay in the dungeon, what more could she do for me, a mere addition to their family?I had just gotten past the door and I was about to take the bend to my room when strong arms wrapped around me. I almost let out a scream until my eyes raised and I saw who was holding me.Michael.“Where are you going so fast?” he asked as his eyes moved over mine.The shock I had just escaped from returned and I was suddenly filled with fear as I looked around us before I decided to speak to