“Adelaide?”Cain’s voice is like honey in my ears.“Adelaide.”My eyes are heavy and they are sleep-filled. I cannot open them even if I wanted to. They are swollen and bruised now. Raymel punched me. “Adelaide? Can you hear me?”A weak grunt is the voice’s reply. Yeah, I can hear him, but I wish he didn’t have to come at this moment.Raymel is on the other side of the camp they’ve brought me to. The lamp in his tent is illuminating the space inside and the outline of him and what he’s doing is clear.My ears react to the sound immediately and soon my head is filled with it. The sound of thumping, of skin slapping skin. Raymel fucks fast and hard. The female he’s banging has firm tits, they don’t dangle off her body as she kneels in a doggy position, the shadow of her hair even gives it a silky feel, but the main focus of the show is Raymel.He’s perfect.The outline of his body is like a sculpted statue. Everything from the biceps of his arms to the well-built upper section.“Ahhhhh
“Are we there yet?”I receive no answer so I ask again.“Are we there yet?”Raymel’s jaw locks in and he scowls as he turns his eyes to me.He’s annoyed but his annoyance doesn’t answer my question so I ask again.“Are we there yet?”“No, we are not fucking there yet! Are you a kid Adelaide?”I want to tell him I might as well be but I figure it’s something that would get me beaten or shackled. I’m comfortable enough in this cage.Yes, I've been put into a one-person cage.I run my hands over the rough wood and falling tree bark before pulling slightly again. It doesn’t give. Twine has been used to hold the pieces of wood together, and the large sticks make for a fairly efficient cage.What I don't understand though is why I am in this cage and why they’re all looking at me like that.By they, I mean everyone. Raymel has a buttload of anger gleaming in his soft brown eyes and it’s a wonder his eyes remain soft even after I've seen the kind of person he is. People shouldn’t be judged b
“What?” He nods and settles back into the seat in that carefree posture of his again. Even Raymel had a stiffness to his back as he sat... He sat up, back straight, chin forward, infuriating eyes glaring at me even as I bit my nails just to irritate him. This guard though. He sits like he’s the prince. He’s carefree, and my time around my brother’s friends taught me at least one thing. A carefree attitude is usually the cause of a carefree life, and a carefree life is most times offered by filthy rich parents. Or at least well-to-do ones. A wave of nostalgia assaults me and in a split second, I feel myself in the forest again, bones broken and heart pounding, running away from my brother and his friend who sought to take me back to a pack I wanted to escape from. That felt like something that happened years ago, not months ago. I feel so much older now. Which explains why I feel I'm being underestimated by this male currently with me. To him, I'm a naive little wolf girl. A
Safira leads me into the castle where we catch up with Lyros, but Lyros doesn’t say a word to me. I don’t know if I want him to. I don’t know why I expected him to, but the silence doesn’t feel as good as I always imagined it was. I need information right now. I need information, not silence, and I am being starved of it.I need information about Cain.“Is…. Cain okay, Lord Lyros?”My words are almost silent but they’re heard. Lyros turns to look at me and I don't know why I react the way I do, I know I should look away, but I don't and his ice blue eyes bore into mine.I expect a slap. A hit.Some torturous mental pain, but he just gives me that brief look before averting his gaze again.“Cain is on his way, you can see for yourself when he gets here.”Not enough information, but enough for me to know something is up.“I’m sorry for being brought here this way. This wasn’t the plan.”I hear something akin to an irritated growl before I get his response.“I know this wasn’t the pla
“Lord Lyros?” A tentative statement full of careful caution. “What?” Goosebumps run across the length of my arm and pretty much on every other spare inch of skin on me. The word is soft. So soft that it doesn’t sound like something he would say. “What’s…. happening right now? I’m confused.” He raises his head up to peer at me from half open eyes. I can only see the bright blue of his eyes this up close and it threatens to pull me in and never let me go. They’re like blue pools of soft light. “I am Lord Lyros of the north and you are Lady Adelaide, my wife.” My heart stops and a sharp pain cuts through my chest, like someone has just stabbed me with a knife. “Your what?” “I dislike repeating myself Adelaide. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together.” My very being revolts at the idea. I set myself to imagining it. Waking up in the same bed as him and coming back here everyday, to meet him waiting and hoping for something. “Don’t fool yourself little wolf. If I say
“Do they usually sleep together like this?”My blood is roaring in my ears.“No, not usually.”Rafie cocks an eyebrow up and stares at the bed quizzically.“But they look so comfortable together. I almost thought the maid was drunk when she said Lyros was asleep with his bride.”“I think we should let them be King Rafie.”The King turns to look at me but I hold his gaze. Rafie has always been one of the more intelligent Lycan Kings and I'm sure he’s sensed something is wrong here.Safira taps her feet in a tune on my left and I realize what she’s doing a moment too late.Adelaide opens her eyes.For a moment I freeze, and then the anger comes roaring into my veins once more and it’s white-hot now.Why do I always keep meeting her in situations like this?First, it was Rhys, and now Lyros.“Cain?”My next instinct is to shift into Fenrir, but she’s already seen me. King Rafie also knows Fenrir is Cain, so I don't see the use of trying to be someone else. Everyone who I'm supposed to b
I wake up in another bed.The feeling of it is different against my skin but the first thing I notice is the absence of the body that is meant to be near me.My foggy memories come rushing back like a tide and a cold feeling courses through my body.What the fuck have I done?I’m out of the bed in a minute and I'm walking down the hallway as fast as my legs can take me. Cain’s scent hits me like a wave.My nose picks him out from the multitude of scents wafting through the hallway. Again, I am taken aback by the beauty of this place, but my feet move with determination and I weave my way around people who look at me strangely.Cain’s scent stops in front of a room and I don't hesitate before I go in.I wish I did.Lyros’s stare threatens to pin me to the floor. The other man is there too and he smiles when he sees me.“I guess you’re in a better frame of mind now?”I nod and let my eyes search for Cain covertly but I can't find him. His scent stops here but he’s not here.“What do you
Adelaide is kissing Lyros. I hate the way my heart hurts at the sight of it but it does. They are at the window to Rafie’s study and they kiss for half the kingdom to see. Safira stops near me and her eyes track the direction of mine. When her gaze lands on them, she sighs and I hate the fact that she does. “I was wondering who he was kissing.” A chuckle escapes my lips and I look away, my eyes now decidedly staying on my sword as thoughts run through my head.“Am I a fool Safira?” If she hears me she doesn’t reply at all, just keeps her eyes glued to the window and the two people in it. For some time I let myself believe that this will all come to an end soon. We will find the chalice, we will couple the Lycan’s flame together, and then we will get out of here. Adelaide will make her choice, and I will make mine. This current US sucks. “You know Lyros is just playing you guys against each other right?”Safira hacks away at some dirt on a stone and keeps her eyes away from me
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 “You did it, Adelaide.” Tears run down my eyes and he hugs me, holding my body to his as I sob into his chest. I don’t 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. I’m 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 heritage… 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. We’re more than a thing. I’m wearing his ring. He’s 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 it’s futile there’s 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,“I don’t intend to kill you Lord Lyros.”I feel his heartbeat intensify as my words graze his ears but I continue confidently, “I intend to make you pay for all you’ve 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 you’ve attacked, the people you have killed,
I rip through the fabric of space as I burn.I feel the Lycan’s 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 don’t 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 he’s 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 Elara’s 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, she’s expendable.She’s always been. Only I matter.A kingdom rests on my shoulders.“Is she on her way?”Rafie’s voice grates against my nerves but I nod. I’m not angry at him anymore. He’s 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
“How sweet.”Cain’s hand stops immediately and my foggy brain can’t even make sense of what’s happening. Has Cain taken me to the point of release this morning? Yes.I’m 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, “Should I leave?” Cain answers sweetly before I can and his reply makes me chuckle. He goes “Yes please.”Safira’s hand twitches and a pillow launches itself at the back of Cain’s head. I let it hit and burst into subdued chuckles when he lets out a slight “oof.”Safirs sighs and shakes her head “You have a meeting in like six minutes. Will you be down?”Cain smirks lazily and shrugs. Safira’s gaze darts to me and she fixes me with an inquisitive stare, “Will he be down?”I nod because despite how much I want him to stay with me and kiss me silly, he’s 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 it’s going to break.Diane kisses my forehead and wipes my tears, “You’re stronger than your pain my love. You know that right?”I 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 blinked….. 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.“This is fire Adelaide,” I clutch Diane closer as she pats my hair down, tears still streaming down my cheeks “Like 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.“Would you still love me, if I showed you what Lyros and I have been doing these past few months?”Something threatens to snap in me but I know what this is.I’ve seen this before. I’ve done this once.I nod and Adelaide’s shoulders shudder. I can see how fervently she’s trying to control herself. How ferociously she’s attacking the emotions that are surging forth.Something’s happened, and when I ask her, she tells me everything.Trapped in a memory chain of the Lycan King’s 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 it’s okay. I can feel Cain’s concern for me like eyes at the back of my head.He’s 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. We’re nude, and we’re 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, “For skies’ sake, Focus Adelaide. Are you sure you’re okay?”I turn to her and at the sight of familiar deeply tan skin and obsidian black eyes, a smile lights up my face. “I haven’t spent a day here and I’m already being mothered.”Safira 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 Cain’s words and I almost can’t believe this is happening.My mind tells me if I blink he’ll go away, so I keep my eyes wide open, and I stare at him. I know it’s real when he stares at me in that same way.The lines of Cain’s face look new to me now. His warmth feels so familiar yet so alien. There’s an air around him that I can’t 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. He’s as scared of me leaving as I am of him not being real in this moment. Finding him shouldn’t be this easy.It shouldn’t have been this easy, yet it was and I can’t 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. I’ve heard that feminine tilt before.Safira’s scent invades my senses immediately and a warm body plasters itself to mine. She’s sobbing