A hot stench of alcohol hit her nostrils as a dead weight settled over her and pinned her to the bed.Savannah cried out as fear shot down her spine. “What…what are you doing, Prince Reginald?”Goosebumps lifted off her skin as firm, long fingers wrapped around her neck, squeezing tight enough to almost cut off her airflow.“You left me at the dining hall.” He muttered in a sultry whisper, blowing a hot, stinging breath over her cheeks. His voice was oddly calm, the softest look in his eyes was nothing like she’d ever seen. “Why?”Stomach twisting with nausea, Savannah tried to speak. “I’m sorry. You saw when Celia called me to…I uh.. please.” Her tongue was clumsy and her heart beat in a funny rhythm. Being this close to him was terrifying. And she was horrifyingly aware of his hard length pressing against her belly. The feel of him sent flashes of memories of that night behind her lids and tears burned her eyes.He suddenly lifted off her and jumped to his feet. His head thunked bac
Blood mixed with a sticky white substance leaked out from her center as she laid wrecked at the bottom of the bed. The trauma of the abuse she’d just gone through was so intensive that she couldn’t even cry.Her breathing hitched as she caught a glimpse of the small wooden stick that was abandoned in the center of the room. She couldn’t believe that minutes ago, that stick had been shoved up into her private part by Reginald as he tied her down to the bed and raped her with it. It hurt so much.As the door clicked open, a fearful gasp tore through her lips and she forced herself to sit upright, slumping back against the wood of the bed as it turned out to be Bernice.“What did he do to you, oh goddess?!” She exclaimed as she walked into the room. Her eyes widened as large as saucers when she noticed the stick coated with blood on the floor. “Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me he…did that to you…with…that!” Bernice’s short hair flung every which way as she shook her head in disbelief, instea
Darkness. Not the stark inky scary blackness but a soft willowy shadow fell behind her closed lids. It felt safe and thought the pain still radiated in her body, somehow it felt distant, a little out of reach. It felt like the pain that had become part of her had somehow drifted outwards, still present but not with her.“Savannah!” that peaceful lull of darkness and quiet was shattered by a chirpy exclamation of her name and she jerked upright, heart beating furiously against her ribcage like a trapped bird furiously flapping its wings in a bid to escape confinement.The sleep was instantly cleared from her eyes and with a deftness gotten from months of practice, she shot to her feet, rolling up the bedcovers that were on the floor and shoving them under the bed before the door flew open. Reginald hadn’t been subtle in his warning that no one must find out that she didn’t sleep in the same bed as he.“Little sister,” Celia murmured sardonically, lips twisting in a cynical smile. “We d
Her mouth opened on a loud gasped as she snapped awake, taking in her surroundings in a panic. The fear and five-eyed monsters from her dreams still lingered at the edge of her consciousness and it wasn’t until, she sucked in another gulp of fresh air did she come fully awake. It was just a nightmare. She slowly repeated to herself.To her left, a soft wind tussled the curtains, moving them in a slight dance as the sunlight filtered through the drapes.Soon her eyes caught on the couch beneath her and she slowly realized Reginald had dropped her there sometimes in the night. Without warning, tears stung her eyes and she fought them, refusing to start the day on such miserable note. The ache in her bones was barely present this morning and that was something she could be grateful for.Yawning and stretching, Savannah struggled to her feet and just then, the door pushed open and stood by the doorway was Bernice, cup in hand.“Good morning,” She chirped brightly, seeming to catch on Sava
Celia clenched her jaw as Lex complimented Savannah. How dare he praise her sister, who was nothing but a weakling and a slave? Celia wanted to wipe that smug smile off Savannah's face, but she knew she had to play along. She curved her mouth into a sweet smile and pretended to be impressed by Savannah's skill.After a moment, she spoke up."I think this particular sword is too heavy for me to lift." She fluttered her eyelashes at Lex, hoping to catch his eye.He looked at her with a puzzled expression, unaware of her hidden agenda. “But this sword is easily lifted by even our omegas and even by your sister.” He explained in bewilderment, oblivious to the signals Celia was shooting him.“Well, I guess I’m fragile and ladylike.” She giggled, raking her fingers over his barechest.From the side, Savannah watched them, stomach twisted in knots at what was unfolding before her eyes. It was so clear what Celia was trying to do and it terrified the living daylights out of Savannah. Did Cel
“Thank you.” She beamed up at him, wrapping her thighs tightly around his waist as he slowly drifted down the stairs. “I don’t know what I’ll do if not for you.”“You’re welcome,” Prince Lexington replied dryly, a little disconcerted at the princess who seemed to be a little clingy. At her insistence, the physician wrapped her ankle in bandages, after the insistence that there was really nothing wrong with her. Now, she was on his back and he carried her to the dining hall.The fat smile on her face dropped as soon as they neared the dining hall.Ryker who was on the side couldn’t stop his brows from shooting up when he saw his brother carrying Savannah’s sister into the hall. Prince Lexington was a no nonsense strict guy so what in the world could have between them to make him carry her. Hmm.Wordlessly, he watched as the princess winced when sliding down Prince Lexington’s back.“Does it hurt that bad?” he heard his brother ask in a cold, distant tone and he grew even more confused.
Savannah froze in shock, her heart racing at the thought of Reginald finding her with Ryker. She knew that hell was going to break loose if he found them together...in an embrace even if they really had nothing going on between them. Or did they? Savannah was acutely aware of how hard and firm Ryker's muscles felt around her and the heat of his body was doing strange things to her body, regardless of Reginald's presence right outside the door. Oh goddess, this was bad. In a panic, she quickly pushed Ryker away from her and pressed her ears to the door, trying to listen to Reginald's words."Savannah, I--" Ryker started to say, taking a step closer to the frantic Savannah and she cut him a glare and pressed a finger to her lips. "Shh!"Thankfully, he took the hint and pressed his lips into a firm line, crossing his arms over his chest. "Rachel, baby." Reginald's deep voice filtered through the door and unlike most times with her, his voice sounded pleading and way too soft. It sent a
A low growl erupted from Ryker's lips on seeing the movement of Savannah's head. He was pissed, I'd not beyond that. Everyone had always known how heartless his brother was not but he didn't expect him to be this cruel to her– his supposed wife.Shoving down the lump in his throat by a hard swallow, Ryker reached out to hold Savannah's hand, "Why haven't you said anything to anyone?"An eon-long silence dragged between them and when he was almost sure that Savannah wasn't going to respond, she slowly lifted her head to look at him. The room was dim but not enough to make the tears glistening in her eyes as she spoke through clogged throat. "Who exactly would I tell? I have no one to complain to and will definitely be punished if I try to say anything to the king either by the queen, Amelia and worse Reginald himself."The pain on her voice made his blood bubble and it took a few drags of the air to calm him and then Ryker squeezed her fingers in his. "You know what? You're right but
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