DamonMy blood dripped onto the floor and a groan left my lips as the dagger shot pain deep into my arm. “The blade is silver.” I groaned, shutting my eyes tight and waiting for Neil to finish so I could be free of the excruciating pain I was feeling. This is for the kingdom, for Kaiden, and for everyone that the witch and Sheilah have killed. “Hold on, I am almost done.” Neil gritted out as he focused on my bleeding arm. His lips moved rapidly as he said what I assumed were spells and I felt a burning sensation in the place that was slit open. “Fuck.”Ii cried out. “That hurts like hell, on the bright side, I am glad it's working.”Neil managed a ghost of a smile. “Better late than never. I just had to lose my only family to get here.”The dagger began to glow, the tip getting hotter and hotter and Neil pulled it out.He cut the chains on our wrists with it, before yelling out to the dagger.“Destroy!”The sound of footsteps rushed towards the cell, but before the guards could take
DamonNeil and i snuck into the castle, weaving through the corners and careful not to allow anyone see us as I was supposed to be dead and he was wanted in the kingdom.We reached the guard’s quarters, where the new head guard, Rowan, was stationed. He was standing near the entrance, scanning the hallways. His hand moved to his sword when he noticed us approaching, but his eyes widened in shock when he recognized me.“Beta Damon?” His voice was barely above a whisper. “You’re—”“Alive,” I cut in. “No time for explanations. You need to act fast.”Rowan hesitated, “I don't understand.... How are you alive?”“Sheila,” I said, stepping forward. “She’s the traitor. She’s the one who orchestrated everything and killed the king’s mate and child.”Rowan’s brows furrowed. “What?”I gripped his hand tight, pinning him with a stern stare. “You have to do as iIsay, Rowan. Take all your men and make sure she doesn't leave your sight.”Neil andIi stormed away to the direction of Kiaden’s room.Rowa
Chapter 93KaidenI did not want to be correct. Damon could not have died without cause. My researches were all pointing to one thing: what Damon said the day before Sheila declared him missing. “Sheila is not who you think she is.”I have never really had feelings for Sheila. I took her in as my wife so I could stop rumours and hurt Celine, and I felt all she wanted was power, but after Celine’s disappearance, she has been helpful with her witch, and after Celine’s death, she had been nice and caring. I could not imagine what I would have been if she hadn't been here helping me during the period of my grief.But could Sheila be working against me? I did not want to believe it.There was no evidence of her evil acts if there was ever any. We needed more servants, although the number was questionable, but there was an act so threaterous to make Sheila evil. I only had the drained children lead, but no guard has seen any strange evidence that she was responsible for that.Was I missing
SheilaKaiden walked into the room, his eyes sharp as he took in my presence. I could hear Damon and Neil screaming and trying to touch him, and i ignored them. As funny as it is to wtach them try their best to leave my web, i could not let it happen. Mirena giving me that powder to make them invinsible was genius, and it came at the right tme because i could see Kaiden was beginning to suspect me.I could kill Kaiden, but iIwas too attached to the dream of him falling for me. When I had iIrulled all three major kingdoms, i would maIe him my man, whether he liked it or not. Tonight, the ritual had to go as planned. I am sick of taking blood.“A guard was just bleeding downstairs.” he said, and i stiffened. He was not supposed to see that. Did the guard say anything? Markus was supposed to finish him off. That bastard felt he could arrest me, but I made Markus put him down before he could tell Kaiden anything. I should have been more careful. Did he say anything?“What happened? Is he
KaidenIt disgusted me how easily she played the role of my devoted wife, how she stroked my hair and whispered reassurances as if she weren’t the very monster I needed to destroy. I had been blind for too long, but now I saw clearly. I have been a fool for so long.I stormed out of the room, my hands clenched into fists, but I forced myself to stay calm while considering mindlinking with one of my trusted guards but I thought against it as I remembered she had infiltrated my kingdom.And judging from the lack of Damon’s presence anywhere and her shaky demeanor, I knew something was wrong. Someone told her I spoke to Rowan. The same person who tried to silence him. I stormed into the soldier floor where they all stayed, and they froze immediately as my cold eyes landed on them.“Your majesty.” They chorused, bowing as if it were once rehearsed. I had to be cautious. If Damon was alive, and the dead one in that pack was a fake, then magic must have been in play.Damon did warn me agai
Sheila“Look, boys,” I called out. “Look who's getting away with it,” I smirked as I walked to the back of the abandoned stables to see Mirena communicating with the forces to begin my ritual.The candles dwindled as the wind whirled directly opposite, and I smirked as I walked to the slab where Damon stood pinned, his whole body tense as he watched the sky. I guess he had given up so easily. Neil, on the other hand, was pinned to the wall. He was my first test subject when this worked out.As for the children and Teens whom I needed to take blood from, they were lined up in the other room. I had to bathe in the blood we collected from that pack, and when it worked, I had to drink from their necks instead for the ritual to work. Why settle for just a queen when I can become a monster that is feared by everything and everyone?Mirena paused her whispering and picked up an ancient-looking knife. She met my gaze. “Are you ready, my lady?”I undid my robe, letting it fall and pool by my
KaidenA loud growl echoed from my jaws as I flung Sheila into a wall, and she let out a cry. My soldiers stormed outside, most likely figuring that they could talk without being cursed to die. Damon instructed them to head into the stables and retrieve the innocent children Sheila had locked up. They were all traitors, and they all deserved to die. But I would get to them later.I shifted back to human form, and a maid hurriedly gave me a cloth to wrap around my waist, but I couldn't care less about that.“You bloody monster,” I growled as I stormed towards Sheila, who was trying to crawl away. I grabbed Sheila by the hair, yanking her up with ease. She let out a strangled cry, her fingers clawing at my wrist. Blood dripped from her temple where she hit the wall, adding to the stain of innocent children’s blood she soaked in out of greed.“How dare you?” I growled into her face, my body vibrating with anger. I couldn't even process it. The loss, the deaths, the deceit. It was all t
KaidenDamon and Neil walked in an hour afterIi I left the cell, and I felt satisfaction knowing they had punished Sheila for the day. I already ordered the arrest of her entire family, but before I could, they ran away. I would make sure to hunt them down.They all had to pay. Damon and Neil’s wounds were all covered up, and they were changed into better clothes, the blood and grime washed out of them. I could not imagine the pain that skank put them through. I could not believe it. She had no idea she did this to them.But now that I saw Neil, cleaned up and fed, I felt the anger I kept buried in me rise.The fact remains that he helped Celine escape. “Neil.”Damon leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, watching me with an amused expression. “I know that look,” he said, his voice dry. “You’re about to lose your damn mind.”Neil, standing beside him, tensed but didn’t back down. He met my gaze head-on, his jaw clenched.I took a slow step toward him. “You helped her escape,” I
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
CelineIt was finally time for the ball. I was standing in front of the mirror, staring at myself while I adjusted the final touches on my dress for the ball. The dress was elegant and it fit me perfectly which only made me wonder who had sent it. Who could have known my perfect size and just what I liked?When I had left Kaiden’s room, I had gone to the kitchen and grabbed something to snack on with water, placed them carefully in a basket and made my way to my room, not bothering to look back as I took quick steps. My mind came back to the present and I turned to look at Sybil who was staring at me with anything but malice for the first time since I had met her. She knew she was at my mercy and I would punish her if she acted out but what she didn’t really know was that I was merely threatening her and I would never bring myself to hurting her.I walked over to her, looking at her as gently as I could, trying to make her calm down but it was futile. I leaned forward and placed my