“You are the killer?” I asked. Why was I surprised? Deep inside, I knew it would come to this. King Elio's heart was already gone from him, and humanity was left from him when his fated mate died. “Y-you killed the servant.”I knew it all along. But I needed proof that he was the killer. And here he was. He was walking in front of us.King Elio raised his eyebrows. “Flora. The Lycan King is not the killer!” the beta scolded.I whipped my head in the beta's direction. Shaking my head in disbelief, I inquired, “Until when will you keep defending him even if it is no longer right? He killed that servant! The evidence is right in front of his clothes. There is blood everywhere, and they are fresh blood, Beta Darius. Fresh blood!”King Elio looked at himself. Realization dawned on him. He smirked. “Ah, right. Still believing that I was the killer. Fool.”Fool? He was the stupid one. "I am not! You are!"Beta Darius glared at me.After this, he would then remind me of our agreement to mak
The wine storage room had been located at the farthest part of the palace, where a few people would only go there. I had to walk and run up the grand staircase going to the third floor, meeting the servant's questioning gaze. And by the time I reached the storage room, I was profusely sweating. I had the urge to remove my top but stopped otherwise. It was inappropriate. Fanning myself, I inspected the door right in front of me. Was this the one?The door was heavily decorated with a wine bottle, and the smell coming from the inside was that of alcohol. This must be it. The only ones allowed here were some trusted people and the Lycan King himself.I snickered. Elio was doing the best of his ability to do the job he excelled at—drinking in broad daylight. I knocked on the door and waited for King Elio to open it.“Darius. How many times will I tell you? I am not drinking here. I will do my task later," he growled.Darius?So the beta knew Elio was always in this room drinking
I was about to correct my statement, but after seeing how King Elio lifted his chin and gave me a satisfied look after hearing my apology, I bit my lower lip and stayed silent. There would be no harm, anyway. It would be in my favor since my goal was to make him fall for me, which I knew would be challenging.“Apology, you say?”I gave a short nod. “I was wrong,” I lied. “I mean, it was your people. You bought them. So why would you kill them in the end, right? So no. Saying you were the murderer was something I should never say, especially if it were towards you, Your Majesty.” I made my voice as soft as possible, trying to gain his favor. King Elio smirked and, to his happiness, poured another glass and offered it to me.It would be better if he offered us our pack’s freedom. I just hoped it would not lead to me whoring myself to him.I pushed the glass back to him, not wanting to get drunk. "I am satisfied you know you are at fault. You can't just throw allegations, especially at
I rubbed absently on my arms while looking at King Elio, eyes widening. “Why is it suddenly my fault, Your Majesty? I never do anything wrong!” Well, if it was wrong to disturb him during his drinking session, perhaps that was my mistake. The rest? It was his. King Elio’s nostrils flared. “I should have never bought you.”“Yeah. You should have never brought me. If you did not, maybe I am now serving the kindest master I could ever have. I never wanted to be your servant in the first place!” Beta Darius slapped his forehead as he listened to the Lycan King and my heated exchanges. “Please calm down, Your Majesty,” he said softly.King Elio bared his teeth. “Calm down? Do you understand what you are saying? This woman is mad.”I sucked my cheeks. “You are mad. That is why your people called you Mad King.”Beta Darius's mouth slackened. “What. Did. You. Say?”Before King Elio could attack me, Beta Darius positioned himself between the Lycan King and me, blocking His Majesty. He look
Beta Darius turned his head sideways to avoid staring at me.I smiled inwardly. I wanted to pinch his cheeks. He was too cute right now. The beta stepped backward while crossing his arms across himself as if he was protecting himself from me. Aw.Unfortunately, the beta was only good at protecting himself from the enemies, but when it came to women, he did not know how to react.Ugh. Can I hug him? Cuteness overload! Liking the beta was more fun than the Lycan King himself. He was more worth it. “W-what are you talking about?” the beta asked, his face bet red. “Your Majesty. She is only kidding. She likes you. Not me. She will…” his words trailed, and his cheeks became even redder. "Flora will only scream your n-name."Aw.Without thinking about it, I closed the distance between me and the beta and tiptoed, messing his hair. "I like you more, Beta Darius," I whispered. Beta Darius gasped. I wished I could capture that moment. "Hey. It's not too bad." To his surprise, he p
Beta Darius gritted his teeth. “Is that what you want? Hurting your king?”“My king? I only acknowledge my alpha. I don’t have a king, Beta Darius. We lost a king when he was unfair to us. Howling Pack never wanted a king who never pities us. So, yes. It is what I want. I want to avenge my pack for the injustice we suffered. I mean, why should we suffer?”The beta heaved a sigh. “I no longer have control over your actions next. I don’t care what you do with him after. Make him fall in love.”My mouth gaped. “You don’t care what I will do to him? He is your king. You are serving him.”“He is our king,” he corrected. “You won’t harm him physically.”“So you think it is okay to harm him emotionally? Don’t you know emotional pain caused more harm than the pain you inflicted physically?”Beta Darius’s jaw clenched. “Don’t you know the Lycan King knows about that first? He had suffered a lot after his fated mate’s death. He tried to kill himself a few times, but I was thankful I was there e
My brows furrowed as I looked at the woman advancing toward us. She had a fierce look on her, and there was nothing similar to her and the Lycan King except for their eyes. They could never pass as siblings. The maids bowed at Miss Dacianna while the woman continued walking towards me.Remembering I should also give her respect, I bowed, then smiled at her.The woman only reached my ears, but she had enough power to command attention.Miss Dacianna looked at me from head to foot, then back to my face. “You are new. I did not see you yesterday.”“Yes, I am new. Please forgive me if I happened to make mistakes along the way. She continued her inspection. “The bastard adds another of his collection?” she mumbled to herself, but I was able to catch it.Hmmmm. Interesting.Perhaps I could get her trust.Her eyes tightened. O-okay. She did not like me. Time to change her mind. Stepping forward, I said, “My name is Flora Hernandez, Your Grace. You can also call me Lora.”Dacianna encir
“There will be no touching,” King Elio answered. “I mean it. Not now.” He went back to his bed and sat at the edge. “As I said, we will be using artificial insemination.”Why so serious? I did not like this side of him—the Lycan King's vibes. I pouted and stood in front of him. “What if I want to do it the natural way, Your Majesty?” Playing with my hands, I added, “It’s been a long time since I did not touch any man. At all.” Untangling them, I ran my hands on my chest. I looked like a slut, but I have to do this. "I miss their hands on mine. Back in our pack, I was considered a goddess."Mischief danced in his eyes. “Goddess. Maybe it was only your dream. You are far from becoming a goddess. You are plain. Nothing is exceptional in you.”Ouch.What a bastard. He never knew women were sensitive when it came to physical appearance.Biting back my annoyance, I recalled why I was doing this. For Sabrina. Holding that thought, I leaned towards him, while brushing his cheeks using my fi
One year later…Something was wrong with me.I had been noticing the changes in my behavior and I did not like it all. I was suddenly grumpy and sick at the same time. Something which made me panic. Elio was attending some business and I could not call him and tell him to come to me.“Your Grace. The sun is already out. You need to move your butt.”I glared at the woman in front of my bed. Candice. One year ago, the Lycan King had assigned Candice as my personal attendant. At first, I rejected the idea, but Elio kept on forcing me to have one. He was always saying that he did not want anything to happen to me again.If that would happen, he was afraid he could not control himself from killing anyone. Another bloodbath will take place, something I did not want to happen.“I’m not feeling well, okay?”“You haven’t eaten your breakfasts.”“Oh, please. I will eat anything if I am feeling well, but I am not.”“Did you eat something yesterday?”“That’s the problem, Candice. I haven’t eaten
Howling PackEli and I finally visited my pack. They prepared a lot and were excited to see us. It was Dad who welcomed us and the alpha beside him.They prepared signs welcoming us.I cannot help but feel giddy at their warm welcome.“We are grateful for your presence, Your Majesty,” the alpha exclaimed while his gaze darted in my direction. We shared a look, and his eyes were back to the Lycan King. I would never go back to the path I had chosen a couple of years ago. That was already a closed chapter of my life. I was no longer an assassin and a killer used by someone else.Later, I will ask for a private talk to the alpha. I want to tell him that I will be the one to tell the Lycan King about my past. I wanted it to tell him directly.“The pleasure is all mine.”Eli’s eyes scanned the surroundings and his eyes darted at the remnants of his fury. Burned buildings. Statues. Withered black trees. The alpha could tear down the burned buildings and replace them with something new, bu
One week had passed after that incident. I could say that I was healed already. Iris was making the best of her ability to heal my wounds and broken bones. After a week of bed rest, my body was brand new. “Stay still, Lora,” Eli ordered. He was reading some documents while guarding me. I tried to sneak and go outside, but he caught me and gave me a proper scolding telling me that I nearly died. This was my second life. I should have taken care of this one. No matter how many times I told him that I was already healed from my injuries, he wouldn't believe me. He refused to believe me. Eli filled me out with the details of what happened to Ayla. She was imprisoned behind bars. Rooting in the cold prison. Day and night, she was requesting His Majesty’s presence, asking for his kindness. I felt sorry for Ayla. Sometimes. But when I remembered my sister. Of how she was killed, my hatred changed my pity. Ayla already confessed to all the crimes she had committed and that his accom
85FLORA “LORA” HERNANDEZ Ayla? The fucking bitch was the culprit. Was she the one who also killed the others? Especially my beloved sister?She perfectly blended herself with the other servants. And the innocent she-wolves had no idea that a snake was with them.She smirked when I realized it was none other than her.Ayla clapped her hands like a kid. “Yes. You finally recognized me. I thought we would kill you without you recognizing your killer. Something I don’t want to happen, darling.”Damn.My hair hurts so much. She was pulling it forcefully.“Why are you doing this?” My voice sounded weak. My body felt like it was burning so much.“Simple. I don’t want His Majesty to be happy. He doesn’t deserve to be the king. I realized he valued his servants so much. But I did not understand why. Especially that Sabrina. Oh. I forgot. She was your sister.”I spat in her face.Her angelic smile was replaced with something demonic. “Shit!” She slapped my cheeks continuously until I could
Damn.That statement made sense. I had not made sure that Eli wanted to go there. What if he was indeed forcing himself? To my excitement, I never considered that thing. I was focused on bringing him to the pack without even thinking if he was okay with his decision or not.Still.I should gave Eli the benefit of the doubt. “I-I’m sure…it’s not the case. Eli had already forgiven the pack, wholeheartedly and wanted to give us a chance to show him how much we were sorry for what happened to Eva. He no longer hated us.”Because who in their right mind would visit a place in which he did not want to step foot?‘You better ask Eli about that. To make it clear, Lora.’‘You think I did not think about that? Will you stop bossing me around? It’s irritating, okay?’Besides, it was not only him who was hurting. We also had our own fair share of wounds. But the most important thing of all, we were starting to heal from the past. Noticing the hesitance on my face, Miss Dacianna smiled and decl
“You two are leaving?” I jumped, surprised to see Prince Albert suddenly popping out of nowhere. I was about to see Miss Dacianna to do an errand courtesy of His Majesty. Eli wanted me to talk to Dacianna about our plans of going back to Howling Pack so that the woman will be the one to inform the King.I just hoped he would give us his blessings. If not, I did not know anymore. I like that king and it would be better if he gave us his approval.Without thinking about the damage he did to my heart, Prince Albert continued, “Your Grace. I came here right away when I found out about it.”Indeed? But why did Beta Darius tell us that the one who informed him of us stepping down was the Council and this man? Who among them was telling the truth?‘Does it matter?’ Iris asked in my mind. ‘The mere fact that you and His Majesty will be returning to our pack mattered the most.’She was busy licking her paws while watching me.‘Do you think he still remembers?’‘Lora. When will you use your
Eli and I spent the next few hours preparing our things for our departure.Sighing, I gave our chamber a final look. This place had so many memories and I could not help but feel lonely at the thought of me and him leaving.“Wife. Are you done?”I blinked a couple of times and faced him.Grumbling, I muttered, “I don’t understand why we have to pack ourselves. We have servants, Eli.”It was not like I was lazy. It was only because I had no strength to do anything after the thought that we would be leaving the palace had finally sunk into my mind.“They will know I am leaving. It should be a surprise. Finally, I would be leaving them. They will rejoice, you will see.”Pouting I answered, “You sounded sure about it.”“I am certain. They are waiting for another king.” I taste the bitterness in his words. “Why? That bad? Perhaps you are wrong, Eli. Not all of them wanted to leave you. Take Candice for example. That woman is loyal to you.”“Except for her. I am talking about the others.”
My heart forgot how to breathe.This was what I was scared about. That Prince Albert will finally realize that we two had met before. What to do?I’m afraid I will be the reason why Eli would be ousted from his position as the king.Be calm. You can find a way to get out of the situation, okay?This fool had not realized anything. I must continue pretending that I did not know him.I chuckled. “Why would I be familiar to you? As far as I remember, we never had the chance to have a proper conversation before. Perhaps you are already mistaken, Prince Albert. We did not meet before.”His brows formed a straight line.“Indeed? But I cannot shake off the feeling that you are truly familiar.”I paled. Dammit. His eyes continued to question my statement. "I don't think—"“Nonsense. My wolf had an excellent memory. She will tell me if we meet or not. But right now, all she was saying is that we never encountered each other before.”“Oh, I see.” He bowed at me. “My apologies, Your Grace. I
It finally dawned on me that Inez died in my arms. However, I could no longer grieve about it since nothing could be done. My mind was already tired. Going back to our chamber, with the warriors on my back, my mind wandered to what had happened. I failed her. A couple of times. I closed my eyes as memories of her eyes continued to haunt me. No matter where I look, I always see the expression in her eyes. Her fear. Her shock. "Lora."I froze on the spot and sniffed the Lycan King's scent as it hit me hard. The warriors disperse upon seeing him. Maybe he ordered them to leave me. After one year, he finally showed up. After someone had already died? What a great timing. If he was not the king, I would think that he was the killer. I'm too tired to get angry at him. It was not worth it. I went past Elio and stepped inside our chamber, with him hot on my tail. "What happened?" he asked. I smelt no alcohol. He did not drink. Was true to his promise. But the mere fact that he did