Reginald was standing in front of his father in the throne room. "So, I heard from one of the maids that your mistress is now pregnant?" The King asked Reginald..Reginald nodded his head. "Yes. She said that she's pregnant a few days ago" he agreed. "And you were going to tell me about this then? Don't tell me that you were planning on going behind my back to get married to her? Don't even think about it because I will never let you get married to her. It's not even a possibility! I meant it when I said that I don't want her as the Luna of the pack. I let you treat Savannah the way that you wanted because I thought you knew what you were doing but I don't think I can trust you to take over the pack if this how you are going to act!" The King said. "I never thought about marrying her. I haven't told you that she is pregnant because I wanted to take care of it myself. There's no way I'm going to make her the Luna even if she has a son for me. I'ts not possible. She's never becoming
Zhao, Gareth and the King were having dinner together. "Why did you want to have dinner with us Father? You even got Zhao to come here. Usually, he's on his own most of the time!" Gareth said as he glanced over at his brother. "I called you here because I wanted to talk to you about something important. Especially you Zhao. You are the eldest so I think it's time for you to take over your responsibilities to the pack. I am already old . I don't think I have much longer left to survive. My body is going to give up any moment from now. So you need to step up and become the Alpha of the pack!" His father said. Zhao immediately shook his head when he heard this. He did not want anything to do with being Alpha. He just wanted to live his life quietly. He did not think that was too much for him to handle.."Dad,.I can't do it. I don't want to become the Alpha. I don't have it in me to be the Alpha. I can't even talk to people. I want to avoid them every second. I really don't have what i
"Savannah, can you please open the door for me? I have something I have to talk to you about. I know that you are probably hurt by what you just saw but we can talk about it" Stephanie said. Savannah was crying inside her room. She did not want to see anyone and she did not want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to be left alone. "Please Savannah. I am really worried about you. You don't need to talk to me if you don't want to talk to me. I just want to be near you. I am worried that you are going to do something to yourself!" She said. Stephanie begged for a few more minutes before Savannah opened the door. "What do you want to hear? Is it about how stupid I am? You told me that he's indeed the prince but I didn't believe you. I believed every lie that he told me like an idiot. I really don't think that there's anyone who is as stupid as me in this world!" Savannah said. Stephanie pulled her into a hug. "You don't need to insult yourself. You did not do anything wrong besides f
His eyes were bright…almost too bright to truly make his smile seem real. Zhao was in a rage. His teeth were gritting so hard a muscle popped in his jaw. Then he threw his head back and began laughing. "I should have known… I should have known she was too good to be true. Everyone who had been with me ever stayed. I should have known it was fucking temporary."Hie eyes flashed red and he let out a howl of pain and slammed his fist into the wall behind him, welcoming the rush of pain that sluiced through him. She left him. Just like everyone had…but those other times… he never felt like this…. Like his heart was ripped out of his chest and then being passed through a skewer. It was horrible. Zhao wanted to break something… wanted to hurt himself but the thought of her betrayal reined him in. He had loved her and wanted a future with her. Then she did this to him.With that thought, Zhaeo vowed to never think about Lena…Savannah, whatever her name was ever again. In fact, he swore to hi
Her hand caught on his shirt before he could take any more steps further but he tried to shrug off her touch and failed. “I’m sorry for bothering you, Stephanie. Let go of me.”She ignored him, digging her fingers into his arm to turn him around. When he didn’t let up, she gritted her teeth and hastily moved around to stand in front of him, block his path out of the balcony. Stephanie crossed her arms over her chest and held Gareth’s gaze. “I…This isn’t easy for me either, Prince Gareth. I never said you were a rapist…” Her expression grew pinched at the anger rolling of him in waves and she moved closer till her breasts brushed his chest. “I…I will let you go, but not on a wrong note where you misunderstand my words. Forget about me since you can’t give me what I want.”Her voice cracked on the last word but she let out a shaky breath and leaned in to slightly brush her lips over his cheek. She shivered at the feel of his stubble against her skin, blinking back tears as she realized
Savannah stumbled through the dark forest, driven by a hunger that drowned out her fear. She felt nothing as the dewy branches slapped her face, as the twigs tore at her ragged shirt. She had no room for pain, only for survival. Her world had shrunk to the next step, the next breath. The only sound was the thud of her heart and the echo of her footsteps.She had lost track of time, of days and nights. The forest was a blur of green trees and grey clouds that hung beyond the canopies of branches. Savannah had grown to hate the sun, it was the cruel reminder of another day she might not live to see. She hated the moon, the cold witness of the warmth she had left behind in Sylvia. Of a life she might have led. The warmth of Zhao's arms, of his smile, of his love. A love she had betrayed.She had no home, no refuge. And anytime she thought about returning to Hybern, her father's face haunted her dreams, twisted with anger and contempt. He would never forgive her, never understand. He woul
The first snowflake of the season landed on Zhao’s cheek, a cold kiss on a face already numbed by months of self-inflicted bitterness.Six months.Six months since the forest swallowed Savannah whole, its stupid emerald branches suffocating the embers of the newly found love and hope Zhao had desperately held onto. Six months since Zhao, the shadow of his former self, took down the Valerian Kingdom with the cold efficiency of a winter frost.Alpha Zhao, they called him now, a title that tasted like ashes on his tongue. The memory of that fateful night, the raw fury that had fueled his victory against Reginald’s pack, flickered in his mind like a dying fire. Learning Savannah was a member of the pack, he’d carved through them, a wolf possessed leaving trails of crimson snow and echoing howls in his wake but still, he couldn’t find her. That only made his triumph taste like ashes in his mouth. Victory had come at a price, a price etched deep in the lines around his eyes, in the tremor o
Four Years Later.The screech of brakes on asphalt pierced through the noise of childish shrieks outside the brightly painted school gates. Zhao jolted from his reverie, the warmth of a forgotten memory clinging to his chest. “Why did you stop?” he asked his driver who flushed as their eyes met in the rearview mirror.“Sir… it’s a few meters from here and remember you said you didn’t want them to know you’ve arrived until you showed up with in front of them.” The driver stuttered.Right. Zhao closed his eyes and leaned back against the leather upholstery. He’d truly said that. He’d been lost in the chaos of his thoughts to actually remember that. Sighing, he opened his eyes and peered out through the tinted glass. Little children all screaming and dancing around. Swings soared in rusty arcs, laughter boomed between climbing frames and the air hummed with a carefree energy that Zhao hadn’t felt in years. Why did they make his heart clench this bad?He sighed again and clenched his fis
Stella slaps off the mosquitoes from her body, and groaned in irritation. "You have been here for weeks, you should be used to these insects by now." A male voice muttered. It was Reginald. She met him by a twist of fate, a few weeks ago, after she was chased out of the Pack. "I can never get used to them." She replied. "Well, you have no choice." Reginald said. He walked out with two cups of tea, and gave one to her. "Thanks." She said. Reginald sat beside her. "I never knew someone else would go through the same embarrassment Zhao put me through." He said. "Well, here I am." Stella said and they both laughed. "I never knew all Zhao did to me was because of Savannah. If I never met you, I wouldn't have found out about it." Reginald said. "We can't just let them go, right? We need to revenge." Stella suggested. Reginald took a sip of his tea and nodded. "True. We really need to revenge. We should give them a taste of their own medicine." He said. "Do you also know that S
Savannah slowly opened her eyes and everywhere was blurry.It's been a few days since everything happened. As soon as her sight became clear, she noticed someone staring at her.It was her son!"My baby." She muttered and pulled him into a hug, tears slowly trickling down her face."I am so happy to see you, baby. Are you happy too?" She asked, cupping her son's face with her hands."Yes, mum." He replied and she hugged him again."Why are you crying mum?" Her son asks as soon as they break the hug."I'm not crying." She responded and her son helped her wipe her tears."Has anyone been wicked to you?" She asked him."No, mum." He replied.For some reason, Savannah was shocked."No one hurt you or did bad things to you?" She asked again."No, mum." Her son said again.Savannah pulled her son to her and she thought silently."What is going on? Zhao lets Stella do whatever she wants..how come no one hurt my son or is he lying to me? He can't be lying to me." She thought, she wanted to a
Zhao stared at Stephanie weakly."But why? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep this away from me?" He asked.Stephanie sniffed and looked away."Zhao, please....""Why?" Zhao asked again."Because I didn't want to lose you. I love you, Zhao! I do, and I can't afford to lose you." Stephanie said with teary eyes.Zhao sank into the chair and bent his head, trying to hold back tears. He felt broken.Stephanie turned away and let the tears out, she never wanted him to find out this way.Just then, the door was pushed open and the doctor walked in.Stephanie and Zhao turned to him with looks of expectancy."Doctor?" Zhao said, impatiently."Um, well, ma'am, your condition is quite serious.." The doctor announced."Okay? But she is not in a danger zone, right?" Zhao asked."Relax, Zhao," Stephanie said."I'm afraid you might not survive it." The doctor added."Why? I mean isn't there something you can do about it? You are a doctor, there must be something you can do about it, right?" Z
Savannah lay on the floor bleeding badly. She had tried to explain that she did not slap Stella and that Stella was the one hit herself just to frame her but no one had believed her. Of course no one was going to believe her. She would not have believed it either. She should have known that it would not be easy to deal with someone like Stella. The most painful part for her was that Zhao add ordered for her to be beaten up by the guards just to get back at her. The admade shot to hit a badly and she was now bleeding all over her body and her entire body hurt. Savannah wanted to cry but she did not even have tears to shed. She could not help but think about her life with Reginald. When she was with him she had suffered beatings like this almost everyday. When she finally was able to get away from his control she thought that she would never have to deal with anyone treating her like a piece of garbage and beating her whenever they felt like it. But it seemed like she was wrong
Stella had a wicked smile on her face as she looked at Savannah. It was clear that she was looking down on Savannah decided to ignore her looks because she wasn't in the mood for any drama. From the way Stella was looking at her she was sure that she knew about what had happened between her and Zhao. She just wanted to be left alone and to be able to see her son whenever she wanted. Those were the only things that she asked for. "It must be nice for you to go back to being a maid after everything right. You must have felt as if you were on top of the world when Zhao took an interest in you. But unfortunately you were too stupid to keep him to yourself. You really had the guts to walk away from him and to live him missing you for so many years. What were you thinking when you decided to leave him? I really want to know what was going on in your head at that time!" Stella said. Savanna rolled her eyes. She did not want to engage Savannah so she just continued doing what she was doin
Savannah was cleaning up the hallway as she thought about what Zhao had told her. He had shown off Stella to her and he had brought about how Stella was going to be a better mother to her Although she knew that she was going to be hurt she didn't really mind that he was going to get married to someone else and make someone else his Luna. Savanna was the one who left Zhao in the first place and she knew that she could not demand for him to keep waiting for her. It was only right that he would move on with his life. But all that she wanted was to be able to see her son from time to time. She did not even mind if she had to work as a maid in the palace forever as long as she got to see her son. But no matter how many times she begged Zhao and told him that she was sorry for how things went down between them, he just refused to let her see her son! She had no idea what Stella really was like and she did not know if Stella was going to treat her son well if she became her stepmother.
Zhao was speechless when he heard this. He had no idea that she thought this way. In fact, he really felt that she had left just because she wanted to hurt him. Hearing her say this changed a lot of way he felt about her inside. He almost forgave her. But then, he was reminded of the plan that he went through because of her. He shook his head immediately. He could not forgive her just because she said something nice. It did not take away all of the pain that she put him through. And he still wanted her revenge. He wanted to get revenge and she was going to make sure of that by all means possible. "Don't think that I will just let you go after what you did Savannah. I am not done with you yet and I am going to make sure that I punish you! Do you know what you put me through all these years? You were alive and well and you never even thought to let me know about it. And as if it was not enough, you took my son away from me and hide him for many years!" Zhao accused her. Savannah wen
"Oh come on Zhao. Just tell me what happened between you both. Why do you seem to hate her so much? I mean.....it's just odd. I don't think that I have ever seen you hate anyone the way that you hate her!" Stella said. She just thought that there was something weird in the way that he treated Savannah. He definitely did hate her, that was for sure. But there was something else that she could not understand. The way he looked at her....it was as if he did hate her, but they were a lot of other feelings in there that he was trying to hide. Zhao did not want to talk about Savannah. She always seemed to be able to mess with his head no matter what. He thought that he was over her for sure and that she would not have any more effects on him but it just turned out that he was wrong. She still had a lot of effects on him and it just felt like she was a drug that he could not quit. He knew that it was bad for him, but he kept going back again and again. He felt pathetic. "I don't want to
The palace corridors echoed with the hurried footsteps of Gareth and Stephanie, their expressions a mixture of concern and bewilderment. The flickering torches cast dancing shadows on the walls as they approached the quarters of the palace maids. The two had come seeking information about an unsettling rumor circulating within the palace walls.Gareth,, pushed open the door to the maids' shared living space. The room was filled with the soft murmur of gossip and laughter, momentarily silenced by the unexpected presence of their King's brother and his wife.."Good evening, ladies," Gareth greeted, attempting to maintain a calm demeanor. "We were wondering if any of you had heard anything unusual lately. Something about Zhao and a woman he brought into the palace."A hushed tension gripped the room as the maids exchanged furtive glances. Finally, a middle-aged maid with a kind face stepped forward, her eyes darting between Gareth and Stephanie. "Oh, you must be talking about Zhao's secr