: 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
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