SilasWhen I climbed out of the dungeon, I was sweating profusely. My whole length shivered as I replaced the lid and redressed the floor, giving it it normal look. I had to use my legs as my claws were still out. Blake's blood dropped from my hands and I tried so hard to resist the urge to turn.A rage so raw was tearing me apart. Intense pain gripped my heart as I stared at my reality… All that Blake said was true. He was right, I was plotting to kill my father. At a time I had wanted to kill Joash but now I am rooting for him. I wanted the throne after conquering my father and I wanted to reign without interference. But I had to let Joash live! Knowing fully well that he was the only one who could interfere in my regime. ,Apart from his prominence, he is the son of the rightful man entitled to the throne.I had all I needed to get rid of him, especially in his fallen state but I couldn't. I don't go back on my pledges.Tiredly, I sat on the edge of my bed, shaking slightly as I pu
At Alpha Joash's HideoutAlpha JoashThe day was still young but the sun was an early riser. It intensely kissed our bare backs, burning us up with its fury. Every hole in our bodies dripped with sweat as we continued to train.Just like I had ordered, Derrick had relocated every other member and only fifty of us were remaining.That was a reasonable number of people to cope with in a hideout. Although if I had my way I would send more people away. The smaller the number the better.About thirty of us were able-bodied men. We were out in the sun where I was putting them into all manners of bizarre training. I was raising them into elite soldiers. I needed to build an army if I would win the looming battle."No pain, no gain!" Vera yelled. Cheering others on. She was the only female among us. She refused my orders to stay out of this. She had been training with us and I must say that she was doing great. She surpassed my expectations."My Alpha!" She waved at me as she broke out of the
VeraMy mate stood behind me as I patted my body dry. We had just had a shower after the rigorous training under the scorching heat of the sun.He was standing so close to me, teasing my neck with his breath. "I missed you," he said into my head.Good! This was the opportunity that I had been waiting for. He had been busy for a few days now and he was no fun."I missed you too," I muttered.He pressed his wet skin against my body. His hands travelled down the little space between us and he fumbled with my butt. He kneaded each cheek slowly and intensely. My hands travelled down and I guided His hands away from my butt, but I just made the greatest mistake. Slowly, his hands travelled down my sides. They encircled the water on my skin as they worked their way to my chest. He grabbed my breasts from behind and I couldn't resist it. I moaned, throwing my head back. He knew I loved to be held this way."Good girl," he muttered and kissed my neck. His fingers encircled the water on my bre
VeraBeta Derrick led me through the cell holdings until we were standing in front of a tiny cell. It smelled rusty and stiffening, reminding me of my old self."God, I pray that my mate's speculations are wrong. I just wish for the twins to be innocent," I muttered some words of prayer.Standing in front of the gates, I beheld the twins. They sat pathetically on the floor, staring blankly at each other. Bruises and cuts ran down their bodies but they weren't too bad, they seemed to be bearable."Your Highness," the guard bowed and the girls looked up sharply.Our eyes met but they looked away immediately. Great fear fell on them and they shifted uneasily on their butts."Tehla? Tirah?" I called but they couldn't look at me. Each of them shivered and stared at the floor and back at each other. They couldn't look at me!!! My heart began to race. I got my answers already! Oh my God! I was indeed gullible! Why couldn't I see it? I fell for their trap too easily.I held the gate tightly
Alpha JoashI felt like a piece of shit while I waited for Vera to return, this was one of the reasons why I didn't want to get her involved. But in this case, I had no choice. Since the twins were holding back and I didn't want to break them, Vera could get through to them better than me—given their history. I paced restlessly in my office until I saw Derrick waking in. But he wasn't with Vera "Where is My mate?""Her Highness wanted to get some air… she insisted that she wanted to take a walk alone..* Derrick responded."And your sword?" "She requested it…""You should have followed her from a distance… things are not safe and you know it… You also know how assertive and unpredictable she is," I complained."I will go after her," Derrick supplied, but I held my hand up."Vera, are you there?" I mind-linked her immediately."Yes, My Alpha. I sent Derrick your way…" Vera's moody voice boomed in my head."Yes, he is here… He told me you wanted to take a walk…""Yes…" the response ca
Vera "My mate had been right about the twins all the while." The words echoed in my head as I walked away from the cell holdings.The realization dawned on me like lightning. Fury and fighting skills are not enough to fight an enemy, the insight to see into an enemy's strategies is also crucial. Lesson learnt … in a hard way. "Way to go, Vera," I said to myself as the sun rained down on me. Looking around, I realized that I had gone far.I was just a stone's throw away from the river that led to our castle.Good! The riverside will be colder. It's a nice place for brooding in this scorching heat… I hastened up.It was quiet and eerie. I patted the hilt of the sword perched on my waist frequently as I proceeded. When we had enough manpower, I would have met enough guards and maids on my way. But I met no one.How will I face my mate? The question dangled in my head, drawing me out of the odd silence that rocked the surroundings.Like my mate heard me, his voice broke into my head. It
VeraMy eyes flipped open slowly. It was the cool of the evening and my vision was hazy. I shut my eyes as torrents of pain rocked my body. The back of my head felt wet and hurt the most."Hmm," a light moan escaped my lips and I pushed up my hand to feel the pain in my head. Oops! My hand was stuck. I tried to lift the second one, but it was also stuck. Argh… I shut my eyes, relishing my pain.Wait, what the heck is going on? I came to my senses almost immediately. I flipped my eyes open again, scanning my surroundings."Viola, where are we?" I asked my wolf and I tried to lift my head. A series of events replayed in my head and I remembered it all. Alpha Woods!!!I couldn't tell how long I was out, but it was dusk already. The night was still young and with my wolf eyes, I could see perfectly well. After a close examination, I realized that my hands were chained down and there was no possibility of escaping.My mate… he should have come for me. Did he really not know that I had b
VeraI fell to the ground and the rogue wolves continued to hit me. My back was upturned, shielding the other parts of my body. The swords hanging down the rogues' waists shone in the already dark evening making my heart flutter."Run! Vera, run." My wolf continued to cry. "Well… until there is an opening, there is no way to get out of this," I squeaked in pain as I tried to look for loopholes.Suddenly, Alpha Woods Yelled, "Stop!!!" He screeched from the background. The urgency in his voice was surprising.Why did he want them to stop? Isn't this what he wanted?"This is not the bargain we had! I want her to be delivered to Alpha Jason in one piece!" He yelled louder. "Even if Alpha Jason seeks to have my head, my gift to him should not be tainted!" He bickered.A chilling laughter broke out from the rogue wolves. Slowly, a faction of them broke away from me and began to encircle Alpha Woods.I didn't know what was going on but this seemed to be the moment that I had been waiting f
JoashAt first, when I perceived Vera's scent in my subconscious, I was happy. I had been hanging on, wondering why she hadn't shown up since I ended up in thus state. I thought she had left me again. But all my fears melted away when she suddenly showed up, crying her eyes out.Her regrets, confessions and profession of love were sweet. They transcended into my subconscious mind and kept me going. All I wanted was to return to her, hold her in my arms, tell her that I had forgiven her naughtiness, clean up her tears and make her know that all that matters was that she wanted me now.In my unconscious state, I couldn't keep a record of time and my subconscious floated in space.At some point something changed, affecting my subconscious existence. I began to fade away. All that I thought that I was holding onto, thinned out and I was all alone in a dark abyss. At that point, I had given up. I couldn't hold on anymore and I knew death was around the corner. I couldn't see nor feel my
It was a long day and the sun was almost setting. I hadn't gone to check on Alpha Joash since I left his room in the morning.After speaking with Fred, a glimpse of my past flicked through my eyes and I was taken down memory lane. I was just a maid until the mating ceremony between I and His Highness. I guess that was why I was treated like a Queen when I returned. What if the mating ceremony didn't take place? I would have returned to continue my life as a maid.Power and luxury is intoxicating. Despite the aftermath of the ruins, I enjoyed the privileges of a queen. Everyone treated me with respect, my words had effects and they were prioritized.My emotions were high and I just kept a low profile all day. Now that it was evening, I was planning to go see His Highness when I heard a soft knock."Your Highness! Targon seeks to be in your presence," a guard announced."Oh! Targon, let him come in," I responded and signalled to the maids to leave.The door opened and Targon walked in
Vera"Where the heck is this place? Am I a prisoner here?" I charged at the guard who now stood rigidly against Blake's door. The guard remained unfazed and ignored me. Seeing that my ranting wouldn't yield any result, I let him be and retired to my bed. I should conserve my strength."Think, Vera," I muttered to myself. I needed to escape from this hell hole, but how? I didn't even know where we were and how to navigate.I remembered the dangerous steep wall and the tunnel. How do I get to safety? I tried to mind-link my mate but all I felt was blankness. I must be far away from him.Blake then came to my mind again. Hatred surged up within me immediately. But I had to convince myself, I needed him now. If we escaped together, he might know how to navigate…But as sweet as the idea was it was still dangerous! Escaping with Blake with his level of injury was almost impossible. Moreover, who knows where he would lead me after getting him out of here?"Argh! Where are those bastards w
JoashSwords clanked, arrows danced and gunshots rocked the air as the combat peaked. The few soldiers who escaped the explosion battled hard with my men, but they couldn't beat us.Either way, they were going to die. They either die at my hands or die at my father's hands for losing me. Their fate was decided since they were assigned to this battle.Derrick and I pounced out of our hiding places alongside our subordinates. We charged along the open space making us visible to the enemies.Seeing me, they went mad! Yes, I was their target and it was their chance. Their strength doubled and they attacked without mercy.While they battled with my men to get through to me, I dodged every shot, dart, dagger, and arrow that came my way. Simultaneously, I fired my muskets, taking some of them down while Derrick and the two men who were with us covered me on every side. Speed was an essential tool, our enemies were well-trained but we outshone them with our incredible speed.In a brief moment
SilasMy heart bled as I peeked at the ex-lovers. Having them together was more intense and heated than I had thought. I felt sorry for them, they were caught in a web of conspiracies and were victims of circumstances.What if the adults did their job? What if they weren't greedy? Those two might have been together and their love would have blossomed.When Vera accepted Blake's rejection, I saw him quake and my heart bled. The tiny bit of humanity that bound them together was shed off. In that instance, the anger in Vera's eyes turned murderous. Blake became nothing but one of the bastards that she wanted to kill to avenge her parents' death. But with a brave restraint, she stopped herself and walked out on him."Vera!!!" He yelled her name but she was done.Love has always been complicated. As for me, I had seared my emotions and love was out of the picture. No love, no fated mate, just the throne!Heaving a sigh, I lifted the lid to the dungeon to return to my bedroom. I wanted to d
JoashMy assertion was right. My father's men hadn't shown up and it was almost sunset.It was our gain and his loss this time. It afforded my men and me enough time to bond. Apart from the bond, Derrick and I discovered each man's expertise.We paired them into groups. We also formed our rules and different combat strategies and hacks that we needed to win the battle.Normally, I would have expected that my father would send just a few of his men since he knew that I was a small fry and had lost everything. But I didn't want to take chances. Since it was about me, Father wouldn't hesitate to empty his entire army to come after me.One of our strategies was to maintain different positions. We also had potent leaves stuck to our bodies as camouflage and also to conceal our scents. By Twilight, we were already set. We had assumed strategic locations. Each man with the weapons he knew how to use best.I and Derrick were stationed at the entrance, but he wasn't with me. We were stationed
SilasI knew when Vera and my men arrived. I was well informed about the journey from the beginning till they entered my underground chambers through the tunnel. The path through the tunnel was an alternative route known to me and a few of my men.After I left the palace in the morning, I tried the link up with Joash all through the day but he wasn't responsive. The bastard was ignoring me whilst I wanted to know what the hell was going on in his head.I was up till past midnight and I heard Vera when she entered the room where Blake was locked up. I had not seen him since I visited him and broke his nose.I was sentimental at first and I wanted to stop my plan of making the ex-lovers meet but I changed my mind. Their meeting could be pivotal to my backup plan.I wanted to watch what was about to go down to pick my cues. So softly and gently, without alarming anyone I climbed down through the stairs and stood at the vantage position from where I watched.As I looked at Vera, all I saw
SilasI sat on the ground in father's yard with Kepler all night until the rising of the sun. It was about time that my father resumed his office. I thought Kepler would go in to fix his duty but he didn't leave. He stayed with me until I heard my father walking out and fully ready to resume the day's assignment."Long live, oh King! Long live,Your Highness!" The palace workers greeted and I turned around. Father was fully dressed in his kingly regalia and was strolling out of his chambers. The first set of assignment everyday was his morning patrol."Your Highness," I greeted with my forehead kissing the floor."Take him to the courtroom," he ordered without looking my way.Kepler left with my father while two other guards carried out my father's instructions. They dragged me down to the court room like I were a criminal.They threw me in but I landed on my feet. Father's seat was empty as he hadn't returned from his patrol. Why is father doing this to me? What has he found out abou
VeraI was led into a clean room where an array of maids were waiting for me. My guards had disappeared and there were a new set of guards waiting for me.I threw myself towards the bed, but before I hit the bed two maids rushed towards me. Skillfully, they dragged me away from the bed and began to unclad me.My clothes were full of filth and grime, they were stinking. I wondered why I didn't notice this earlier, but now that I noticed, I was too tired to clean up. "Get your hands off me!" I yelled at them and threw one of them on the floor."Enough!" One of the guards commanded as the other maids rushed at me. He walked towards me, lifted me up and helped me back to the bed. "She is tired. Let her get a first round of sleep before working on her," the guard commanded.Some of the maids were dispersed and I flung my tired body on the bed.I shut my eyes and sleep carried me into the dream land.When I woke up I felt a little disappointed, the sleep didn't last as long as I had expe