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"I'm sorry, but have you seen Cain?"Raina stares at me like she's seeing me for the first time and she doesn't like what she's seeing.I noticed her giving me this same look when she served me in the dining hall and now she's doing it again.I'm confused but I don't have the time to fully inquire about why she's acting this way. I need to see Cain.Raina keeps on staring at me and I realize that maybe I do have the time to ask why she's acting this way. She's my only female friend here and it's hard to know that she's angry when I don't know why."Is something wrong Raina?"She blinks and looks away but I know she has something she wants to say. Maybe she's scared of what will happen if she says it here."Can we talk outside?"Almost like I read her mind or she reads mine she suggests what I had been about to suggest and I nod.I might have not noticed it before but the threat of that strange wolf still hangs heavy in the air. The security around the building is still tight and there
The guards refuse to let me in and for a moment I wonder if I'm just being paranoid.Lyros wouldn't be that wicked would he?I had to watch as he broke almost every bone in Cain's body and even now I can still imagine the amount of utter cruelty that must have gone into making himself able to do that.The feeling of him breaking my fingers is like a faint memory now, but Cain's pain is recent. Lyros wouldn't hurt him so soon after that, would he?The guard with light brown hair shoots me a sneer and I sneer back at him. They're the reason I can't go in to see for myself what's happening, yet they still manage to make me feel like I'm the problem.I pick myself up from the floor and dust my hands by hitting them together. There are grains of sand on the floor and I know there will be more. I look up and put on my most complacent smile."Please, can I just go in to see Miss Leah?""No one goes in to see the healer. You can wait a day or two."They sound like they haven't even broken a s
"You'll be riding with Rhys today, Cain will catch up with both of you later on the first ship."Lyro doesn't even wait to finish speaking before he walks away, leaving me in front of the enormous jeep with countless bags in front of me.He knows I'll speak to him about Cain. He knows I care about Cain and so he's keeping me in suspense, making me wait and want and try to get something he knows I must have.I have tried to see Leah, despite Safira's warning. When she told me something major was being done to Cain, I asked her if it was part of the plan. I already know Lyros has her in his inner circle or whatever he calls it. She's been summoned to his chambers regularly and I can see she's also getting ready to embark on this trip with us.She seemed to know more than I did yesterday, so despite her warnings not to go near the infirmary and the healer, I still went anyway and now I don't know what to think.I felt magic pulsing out of Leah's room. It was her magic, her healing,
"Adelaide punched Rhys." I turn around to see Raina and Safira both coming into the room. They look troubled, which is none of my concern, the news they've brought though is and i frown as i look at my hands. I passed by Adelaide three times this morning but she still didn't notice I was there. The cane is now gone, Leah has healed my hip. The damage to my eyes though, still remains, my eyes have been unchanged, but the rest of me has. I turn and see the confusion and surprise on their faces. Leah couldn't fix my eyes totally yesterday and for some reason that made Lyros panic. That panic was an unprecedented emotion I didn't take into account. I expected him to get angry again, for him to get a doctor and get some glasses made for me. The panic was an emotion I didn't expect and now we're here, my body changed and Leah, humming with the power of the staff. Lyros let her use it in healing me. The staff mainly deals with coaxing the truth out of anyone or anything. In theory, it
Lyros is a bitch. The stench of fish and fish innards was never something I would have thought of as punishment. It's creatively horrific and I know it is something only he could have thought of.When he said it was time for punishment, I thought he would beat me.I thought he would hit me and hurt me and make me scream out in pain. I already braced myself for it, but I didn't brace myself for this."Hey, wench! Those fishes ain't gonna gut themselves y'know."The fisherman or Captain or whatever's the fuck he's called stands on the stairs to the lower level of the ship and he sneers at me. I can tell just from the looks of him that he's powerless, not a werewolf, and not one of the other races either. The powerless in our world could easily pass for humans, but they're different from humans in a way, not just in a way but in a very noticeable way. They all have uncommon hair colors; they look like they have the blood of beauty gods in their veins.Even the captain is a delicatelypin
"Did you hear what Lyros said while he was adressing us last night?" Safira is oddly persistent for someone who i have specially asked not to make me look suspcious. She's always popping up on me, and popping things up on me. It's slightly annoying, but she's my eyes and ears in this place and unfortunately for me, i'm Dragmir Fenrir now, not Cain. These fuckers don't recognize me so they don't fear me. "Hello, Safira to Cain! I just said something right now." "And i heard you. Yes, i did hear what Lyros said last night. Something about the plan having changed right?" Safira glares at me and i smile as i turn back to look at the sea. After the storm last night the weather has cleared beautifully today and the sun is shining hot and bright, golden light rippling over the water and the salt breeze strong, carrying us through the sea and moving the ship the same way a good engine would move a car. It would either have to be the construct of the ship that allows us sail at this sp
Are we still here?ššI'm back, exactly as I said I would, and I'm ready to churn out more chapters for you for the next two months. Then this book will come to a close and we'll see if a sequel can be arranged.Quick Recap.Adelaide is the rejected daughter of Alpha parents. She is sold to Lyros as a tribute for him leaving her parent's pack and not destroying it. She meets Cain and is saved by him, right before she's humiliated and brutally injured by Lyros.There is a sexual connection between Adelaide and Lyros, but there's something between her and Rhys too, and something special between her and Cain.Everyone is still holding secrets that are dear to their heart, and she is navigating her way as the Lycan king's weapon against werewolves like herself.But will she make the right choices? choose the right allies? and discover who she truly is?Adelaide has just met Fenrir Dragmir, a person we all know is Cain but who she doesn't.Let's see how the story unfolds from here on.Ple
Well, he's new.I turn to look at the brown-haired and golden-eyed fellow I just spoke to right now and I don't know why, but something about him makes me feel nostalgic.Is it nostalgic or comfortable? I'm not so sure.... but he does make me feel something"Hey, Wench!"My shoulders sag and a look of disgust settles on my face. Again?I turn to answer."Yes, Captain?""Look at me when I'm talking to you or you'll be thrown off me ship!"Okay, does this guy know how ridiculous he sounds right now?I turn to face him and he's standing there, as real as day. I was super sick last night, retching all over the place because I couldn't get the smell of fish guts out of my nose. The storm didn't help either, but the fish guts were the worst part.I almost believed I saw a mermaid, or a merman, whatever it is. I was that sick, and it's all because of him.The pink-haired captain flashes me a grin and a wolf whistle. "You're looking mighty fine, little werewolf."I move before I can stop mys
Cain grabs onto my waist and kisses me, hauling me up and plastering me against him. His voice is a rough husk in my ear as he whispers āYou did it, Adelaide.ā Tears run down my eyes and he hugs me, holding my body to his as I sob into his chest. I donāt think I'd believe what just happened if someone told me it would a few months ago. All I wanted was to be free and run off to hell knows where, but I'm glad for what I did. Now I know I have parents, parents who loved me and a mother who would have done anything for me. Iām not just the pack omega destined to be maltreated and beaten for all of her life. The suffering I went through changed me. It gave me tougher skin and with the power of my heritageā¦ I've just won back my kingdom. Freedom is mine if I want it. Freedom, and power, and love, if I want any of it, and all of it, and I do. I really do. I kiss Cain again, just to cement the fact that we are a thing now. Weāre more than a thing. Iām wearing his ring. Heās as much
Lyros is no longer the all-powerful Lycan lording his majesty over the weak populace. We are powerful in our own right now.And in the face of real power, the Lycan king can only do one thing, cower, like a coward.Lyros attempts to run but almost like he knows itās futile thereās no spirit in it. Lycan speed might have given him a chance, but running was just one final way of making a dash for his life.I flash and slam Lyros with my sword, the blade slapping the side of his face and drawing blood as he tumbles to the ground. I lean down and whisper close to his ear,āI donāt intend to kill you Lord Lyros.āI feel his heartbeat intensify as my words graze his ears but I continue confidently, āI intend to make you pay for all youāve done. For the young girls you plucked from weak werewolf packs, only to kill them after torturing them, their dreams ended and hopes cut short because of your wickedness. I intend to make you pay for the cities youāve attacked, the people you have killed,
I rip through the fabric of space as I burn.I feel the Lycanās flame coursing through my being and it sets me on fire with the force of a supernova. I feel the strength of a thousand stars in me. The flames lick at my dress, burning it short and tattered, turning me into a version these men see, but which they donāt see at all.I wonder how many times Lyros has looked at me and seen nothing but skin. Nothing but clothes in pieces, flesh for the taking, a body to be claimed, and a mind to have fun with.I wonder how many times heās seen skin and ignored the fire that rages in my heart. Ignored the love I have for the simple things. Ignored the fact that I am more than just skin and flesh, that I am heart and brains and emotion. That I am not his plaything.I am a Queen, and this Kingdom is mine.I kill the King beyond the border first. The battle with him takes less than an hour.In my hand is a sword hot as flame and solid as diamond. Rafie attacks me next so I slay him too.Raymel
We all stand in wait for her.Me, Rafie, Alizadeh, and Galan, all four Lycan kings, we wait for a weak omega female and something hollow rings in my chest. It was stupid to think I could find love.Even before the truth of Elaraās betrayal was revealed to me, I already knew. I already knew something was wrong with my heart and that I couldn't love properly anymore.I should have left it out of the cards, left love to those foolish enough to crave it but instead, I had to go ahead and try to keep her. Adelaide made me imagine something hot and exciting between us, something fiery and passionate, but at the end of the day, sheās expendable.Sheās always been. Only I matter.A kingdom rests on my shoulders.āIs she on her way?āRafieās voice grates against my nerves but I nod. Iām not angry at him anymore. Heās doing what I didn't have the strength to do.Galan chortles where he stands and I feel my hands clench. I should kill him for using his trickster magic on me, but he saved my life
āHow sweet.āCainās hand stops immediately and my foggy brain canāt even make sense of whatās happening. Has Cain taken me to the point of release this morning? Yes.Iām worried I might be a horndog.I turn to see Safira leaning on the doorframe. Her dress is so pretty, it drapes over her body like liquid and damn, I almost forgot how pretty she was.She smirks as her eyes meet mine, āShould I leave?ā Cain answers sweetly before I can and his reply makes me chuckle. He goes āYes please.āSafiraās hand twitches and a pillow launches itself at the back of Cainās head. I let it hit and burst into subdued chuckles when he lets out a slight āoof.āSafirs sighs and shakes her head āYou have a meeting in like six minutes. Will you be down?āCain smirks lazily and shrugs. Safiraās gaze darts to me and she fixes me with an inquisitive stare, āWill he be down?āI nod because despite how much I want him to stay with me and kiss me silly, heās already explained to me how things are here.He has
Diane visits me one last time in my dreams. She smiles at me and though my heart breaks, I smile back at her.I know this is the end. This is the last time I will see her, and as we stand on the sandy beach, our eyes locked on each other and the resemblance undeniable, I let her embrace me as a mother would her child, and I cry so bad my heart feels like itās going to break.Diane kisses my forehead and wipes my tears, āYouāre stronger than your pain my love. You know that right?āI want to nod. I desperately want to nod. The moment I saw Cain, the reality of what had happened to me seemed to come crashing down on me. The moment I saw Lyros instead of him, saw flashes of me and him behind my closed eyes each time I blinkedā¦.. How do I live with that?How do I live with the knowledge of all the things I did with the man I hate? A man who used me?I wish I could forget.āThis is fire Adelaide,ā I clutch Diane closer as she pats my hair down, tears still streaming down my cheeks āLike g
Anger makes my teeth crack as Adelaide asks me a question. She looks up at me, uncertainty in her eyes, her expression scared and bleak.āWould you still love me, if I showed you what Lyros and I have been doing these past few months?āSomething threatens to snap in me but I know what this is.Iāve seen this before. Iāve done this once.I nod and Adelaideās shoulders shudder. I can see how fervently sheās trying to control herself. How ferociously sheās attacking the emotions that are surging forth.Somethingās happened, and when I ask her, she tells me everything.Trapped in a memory chain of the Lycan Kingās making for three months, her magic being the thing he used to fuel that spell, Lyros turned her magic into her trap, and then she tells me what the memories were about. Entire years' worth of memories of her waiting for him patiently in the fortress.Memories of how he saved her from her pack and brought her to a better life in his care, Memories of how she became his personal p
Cain and Safira comfort me and tell me itās okay. I can feel Cainās concern for me like eyes at the back of my head.Heās always staring at me. He looks at me with such intensity that I feel all the things in my stomach churn and my thoughts go filthy. Memories flash past my eyes each time I close them.Memories of me and him in this world.Memories of me and him in a cave, happy sated smiles on our faces and our bodies totally unclad. Weāre nude, and weāre comfortable.I see memories of deep and easy loving. Love that took me to the peak of pleasure, and threw me off the edge of my climax, again, and again, and again.My body begins to warm and Safira hits me on the arm, āFor skiesā sake, Focus Adelaide. Are you sure youāre okay?āI turn to her and at the sight of familiar deeply tan skin and obsidian black eyes, a smile lights up my face. āI havenāt spent a day here and Iām already being mothered.āSafira grins and chuckles at that, and I feel light in my heart.She and Cain give
My heart melts with each passing moment i listen to Cainās words and I almost canāt believe this is happening.My mind tells me if I blink heāll go away, so I keep my eyes wide open, and I stare at him. I know itās real when he stares at me in that same way.The lines of Cainās face look new to me now. His warmth feels so familiar yet so alien. Thereās an air around him that I canāt place, but I love every bit of it.I love it the way I love him, and when he leans in to kiss me again, I can feel the desperation in his touch. Heās as scared of me leaving as I am of him not being real in this moment. Finding him shouldnāt be this easy.It shouldnāt have been this easy, yet it was and I canāt seem to believe that.A sudden scream makes me cling to him like a frightened puppy until my brain realizes i know that voice.I know the texture of that squeall. Iāve heard that feminine tilt before.Safiraās scent invades my senses immediately and a warm body plasters itself to mine. Sheās sobbing