Celine For the past week, breathing was easier in the hidden house Mika and I stayed in to hide from Kaiden and his soldiers. The house was hidden in plain sight with an ancient spell, one that Mika said her grandmother who was a witch used to hide her father and his friends from danger. Mika was able to use a cloaking robe to go in and out of the house to a neighboring market in a pack nearby, and she heard the market ladies talking about how the king had gone crazy looking for a pregnant girl. I never knew he cared enough to look for me, but all that fact made the pain in my chest spread wider and I forbade Mika from telling me anything about it.I hated that I had to run, I hated that I had to raise my child alone, but this was my life now. I had to move on and hope that my child and I were going to be safe in hiding.Mika has been nothing but nice to me, but we didn't have a connection. We could, because all I did was sit at the window and talk to my baby. My
SheilaMy whole body protested and I groaned as I struggled to sit upright on the bed, tired of feeling sorry for myself and internally cursed when I didnt see Kaiden by my bed, hating himself for being weak and loving me for sacrificing my beautiful body to save him from the rogue I set up. “Your Highness. You are up! I am glad the herbs worked–” The bloke stopped talking the minute I raised my hand, and gave him a look to tell him I was not interested.He sobered up immediately.“Where’s my husband?” I asked as I pulled away the IV drip attached to my arm. The sharp sting barely registered. I had more important things to focus on.“The King is in the war chambers, your highness,” the healer answered quickly, bowing his head. “He is planning the next line of action concerning his missing mate–” he paused, uncertainty swimming in his eyes. “Maybe I shouldn't have said that,” he murmured beneath his breath.“Of course, you shouldn’t have,” I said cooly, as I swung my legs over the edg
CelineDays have passed since I last saw Neil and worry gnawed at me relentlessly as a day turned into a week. Many thoughts and possibilities ran through my head and I shivered as they turned dark. Has he been captured? Did the truth serum not help him? Did Kaiden find out he was helping me? Is he dead?To make things worse, it has also been four days since I last saw Mika, and there was no way to communicate with either of them.My bump had grown at an alarming rate, a development that only added to my unease. Too fast, I thought, pressing my hand against the firm swell of my abdomen. But Silver, my wolf, remained calm."It is normal," she reassured me. "The pup is both a crown prince and a dark great wolf, one that will be feared by all."Her words sent a shiver through me. Feared by all? I tried to press for more answers, but Silver withdrew, her presence fading into the recesses of my mind. That, more than anything, terrified me. If my wolf was keeping secrets from me, what did t
Kaiden“Do you trust this? Do you trust Sheila to do something in Celine’s interest for once?” Damon asked as we walked to the throne room, where the witch Sheila wanted to reveal to us was waiting. I didn't like witches. They had too much power, but they knew better than to cross us because one bite from us was lethal and could kill them in hours.ButIi needed this. I had no options, my men had scored the whole kingdom and even nneighboringkingdoms ,and Celine was nowhere to be found, almost as she disappeared into thin air. It worried me to the end. I couldn’t eat, I couldn't sleep… All I wanted to know was if my mate and my pup were safe. If itwasn'tt for Sheila, as weird as that soundedI i may have dropped dead from exhaustion. I hated that she attacked Celine but I was beginning to think maybe I should cut her some slack.Celine did kill my niece and I was tearing the kingdom apart just to find her.And besides, she provided me with a solution. There is no harm in taking it.“I
Chapter 51KaidenMirena converted the roof of my room into a shrine of some sort, and for the past few days, consulted the ancestors in preparation for the ritual. While she did that, the nerves ate away at my mind, and I spent my time pursuing leads that were close to what you would call a wild goose chase. I barely recognized myself anymore, and I barely slept, my mind plagued with thoughts I couldn't dismiss.Was Celine still alive? Would I ever see her again?“You are going to make yourself sick, Kaiden.” Sheila’s concerned eyes met mine and blinked twice, realizing that I had been staring into space for the last ten minutes. I straightened in my chair, took the cup of tea I had been drinking, which was already cold, and drowned what remained of it.Sheila sighed as she took the cup, and walked behind me. “You are so tense, let me.”Her hands dug into my shoulder blades and I stiffened. Despite everything, Sheila was still Sheila. I didn't want her getting too close.“Sheila…”S
Sheila“Your Highness! Did anyone see you come in?” Mirena asked in a hushed tone as I walked into her chambers where she was going to be staying for the next few nights. I ignored her servant girls and turned to her as she shut the door.“Do you have to keep these girls standing here? C can't they have their room?”Mirena glanced at her girls, and let out a soft chuckle. “They knew this was what they were getting into. And besides, they do not seem to be complaining.” Rolling my eyes, I sat on the couch, my legs crossing. “Wel,l whatever. I hope they are trustworthy because I would hate to hurt anyone if news of my plan comes out in the open.”My cold tone caused them to shiver as intended, and I hid a smile as I adjusted in my chair.Mirena shook her head. “None of that, Your Highness. They are more trustworthy than you think.”I brushed off the topic, eager to get what I was here for. “What did you see, Mirena?”Mirena’s smirk faded as she moved toward the small wooden table in t
Chapter 53KaidenHealer Magnus wrapped me with bandages since the bleeding refused to stop, and I grunted as each movement sent sharp pain radiating through my side. The wound Mirena gave me on my chest ran deep and pulsated angrily. My wolf could barely handle the pain and was doing everything to keep me standing, and I wondered how day four might be if we didn't find Celine soon. “This is crazy,” Damon murmured as he helped me up the stairs to my room, his grip hard on my side, digging into my bandage.“I’ve had worse,” I grunted, though even I didn’t believe my own words. Physically, I haven’t, but the emotional turmoil surpassed this pain by miles.Damon scoffed. "Bullshit. You’re barely standing, Kaiden. You can’t keep doing this."I didn’t respond. There was no point. He wouldn’t understand.Celine was out there. She was alive. That was the only thing that mattered. I would push through every ounce of agony if it meant finding her. If it meant bringing her back.We reached my
CelineI was due any day now. It was crazy how fast my baby grew compared to other wolf pregnancies which usually lasted for longer moons than mine. It was almost miraculous, and I was extremely excited to see my little bundle of joy. And hold him in my hands. “He’s going to have your eyes,” Mika said, but a part of me knew he was going to be a spitting image of his dad, to taunt me. But I would love every bit of him still just as I loved Kaiden.These were the thoughts I had, but my thoughts took a dark turn as one afternoon, days after Neil last came to see us, a black crow perched on the window sill, looking inside. I stiffened, memories of how I associated crows with bad luck when I was younger, and it being more than a coincidence coming back to me.“Go away.” I shooed it, but it returned almost immediately as if trying to prove a point. I picked up a slipper and threw it at the window, but the bird remained there, staring at me.“Ugh, stupid bird.” I cursed as my movements cau
CelineThe cold was gripping and goosebumps had spread all over my body from how wet I was as we burst out of the cave and made it to the opening. My gasps were swallowed by the amount of water that was crashing into the cave around us. Kaiden’s hand was tightly wrapped around my waist as he held both me and my mother above the raging water as we fought to get to the edge of the hidden passage that had led us into the underwater cave. We had only barely made it out. I looked down at my mother—the woman who had gone against all odds to have me and had risked her life just so I could be protected. She was no unconscious in my arms from the exhaustion of running after only just waking up. Her dark hair was soaked and it clung to her face and I couldn’t help but stare at her and acknowledge just how beautiful she was. I had never thought I would meet my mother or a woman who truly loved me but now, having her in my arms was the best thing ever. “Hold her,” I said as my lips trembled,
Celine“I-I am… I…” I started to say but I was at a loss for words, I quickly raised my hand to my face and wiped my tears away. “That doesn’t matter for now. What is more important is getting you out of here.”“Where are you taking me—“ she started but didn’t let her finish.I stood up straight and gestured for Kaiden to move closer to me. We helped her stand and though her limbs were weak from being unused, we could manage with it. She stumbled but Kaiden caught her and I steadied her, Kaiden looked away from us and towards the other coffin. “What about the other coffin?” He asked as he slightly nodded his head towards it. “It belongs to King Charles and he was the first alpha king. No one has dared to touch it for centuries.”My ears perked up at his words and I couldn’t help the curiosity that flickered inside me. “Let’s check it out,” I said as I looked away from him and stared back at my mother who was now standing by herself. “What if there is something important in there th
CelineOut of nowhere two guards walked closer to us, their steps far and their boots silent against the rocky floor of the cave grounds. I was scared and I hid behind Kaiden almost immediately even though my mask was still hiding my face but my body was exposed from the torn parts of my clothes and I couldn’t risk it.The weight of everything that had been happening pressed heavily in my chest and I couldn’t wait to see all that was hidden beneath the surface of the cold and possibly cursed cave. Kaiden walked away from me and the guards stood at attention as he addressed them. I had no idea what they had discussed or the other he had given them but with a single wave of his hand, the guards bowed and turned away without a backward glance.He walked over to me and flashed me a bright smile. “I told them that I had important things to do here and being the one in charge of the key to the cages, they didn’t question it,” he said in a soft tone, slightly gesturing towards the inner are
Celine “So you have superpowers?” He asked as he couched an eyebrow at me. I shrugged in response. “I mean… it’s not like I can fly or anything but I can tell when something is wrong. I can feel the lies in someone’s words. Turn into a ghost and walk past people without being noticed and many more. It’s not what I expected but I was more than happy to discover them.”“That’s not fair,” he said under his breath, pretending to be angry and offended. “I only just got better at swordplay and being part of a team.”I laughed, really laughed, hard and aloud. Then he grinned like he hadn’t seen me smile in forever and he was happy to see me smile again. And honestly, he hadn’t. Then, the smile slowly faded from his face and his voice became quiet once again. “Anya. What really happened between the both of you…”I nodded as I let out another sigh for the umpteenth time. “Like I told you, I have powers that I didn’t understand then and that time she put my life at risk so the soldier that
CelineThe sun was starting to set and starts were beginning to litter across the night sky. Kaiden hadn’t let go of my hand ever since we sat down on the blanket he had placed on the rooftop. And I didn’t want him to, not yet. Maybe not ever. He kept stealing glances at me like he couldn’t belive that I was real or even alive. Maybe I couldn’t either. After everything that had happened, being here together in the quiet after the raging storm felt like I was waking up from a nightmare and walking into something that felt peaceful and out me at ease. I still couldn’t believe that not only had Kaiden sent the dress to me, he had also planned out a picnic for us to bond and talk. I owed him the truth. All of it without holding any bit of information back. “I hve to tell you everything now,” I finally spoke up, my voice that was barely above a whisper slicing through the quiet and silent night air. “No more lies or hiding.”His hand tightened around mine, squeezing it reassuringly. “I
Kaiden“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear what I was saying?” Lucan barked. I didn’t listen to him, I couldn’t hear him over my raging anger. “Let’s go,” I said as I turned to Celine, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her towards the door. I paid no attention to him, not his bedding, not his cursing nor the malicious words he spat out as we walked out of his room. Nothing mattered to me except the woman whose hands shook in mine. Her breath was coming out in soft shallow gasps and the beautiful mask on her face was out of place with her dress torn. Seeing her so silent and shaky broke my heart into a million pieces. Lina. Celine. She was real. Alive and in my hands. And I had almost lost her again to the stupid man. I barely knew where I was headed nor did I notice the staircase that we stepped on as I led upward—past the chambers set aside for kings and alpha, the meeting halls and through a hidden door that no one else but me knew existed. It was a shortcut I had used to esc
Celine I ran away from the ballroom breathlessly, bumping into anyone who stood my way as I turned the corridors, wanting to get as far away as Kaiden as I could. “I’ve always loved you and had hoped you were still out there…”His words echoed in my head and no matter how much I tried to stop it, it didn’t. My heart was pounding and I was terrified, Kaiden knew. He had known all along even when I had tried my best to hide it. And worse than that was the realization that the time that I thought I had was slipping out of my hands. Stop! Focus Celine, you have to get the key before we’re exposed, the tiny voice at the back of my head echoed. I stopped running, my heart was still racing as I tried to catch my breath. I had run as far away as I could and I needed to remain level headed and calm for the next step in my plan. There was absolutely no reason for me to barge into Lucan’s room out of breath and anxious, he would definitely think something was up and I couldn’t risk it. I
KaidenCeline and I glided across the dance floor, we were in sync like we were born to do this. We fit perfectly and I couldn’t help but admire how beautiful she looked in the dress I had picked just for her. I knew she might have been wondering who had sent her the dress but I could tell realization had dawned on her and she knew who it was when she set her eyes on me. I felt a strange sense of tranquility settle over me. For the first time in months, I felt complete and I felt at peace. The music played on and we kept dancing but I didn’t want the night to end, hell I didn’t want to stop dancing with her. There was something about the way she moved and the way her finger trembled slightly in mine. It made my chest ache, not from pain but from joy and familiarity. I had underestimated just how much I had missed her and now that I had her back in my arms, I didn’t want to let go. Not for anything. Her fingers slightly trembled in my hands and my chest ached with familiarity. I
CelineI walked into the grand halls, my steps were light but filled with purpose. The room was decorated beautifully and as I stepped further into the room, the light radiating from the chandelier caught into the sun themed design of my dress. It was golden, amber and radiant and I couldn’t help but admire the intricate designs of the gown. I felt and looked both elegant and powerful. I was unrecognizable, even to myself and if I couldn’t recognize myself then no one would. Focus on finding Lucan and not admiring yourself, a tiny voice at the back of my mind said, reminding me of what I was truly there for. I couldn’t help but feel nervous as I went over my plan of seducing Lucan, getting every information about the key and cage from him and then going to release my mother so we could escape. But despite my anxiety, I was determined to follow through with my plan. Letting out a deep breath, I walked to the corner of the room and my eyes started scanning the length of the room. It