Celine Just like Neil said, the trial was indeed two days later. I had no idea two days had passed just like that because I played Neil’s words over and over again, it was almost like he never left.There was something bittersweet about when you are being dragged out to your death when you've spent a greater part of your life wishing to have never been born.Light flooded my senses as they dragged me into the courtroom, and I blinked against its harshness, blinded for a second too long. It had been so long since I had seen anything beyond the darkness of my cell. But as soon as my vision cleared, I soon missed the darkness of my cell. At least no one glared at you with so much hatred and saying all the things you've said to yourself back to you.This time, it was a courtroom filled with Alphas, council members, and nobles and they all glared daggers at me as I was dragged harshly toward the podium where criminals were meant to stand.The air was thick with hostility. It was expected
CelineThe sentence had been given. I would die at dawn.I pressed my forehead against the damp stone, willing myself to disappear. I could disappear. This second, if I willed my wolf, I could run away, but I refused to. So I awaited my death.I was barely able to sleep as waves of nausea hit me over and over, despite not having anything to eat. I suspected my body was rejecting the thought of death when I didn't, but I ignored it. The footsteps came before the light.I barely lifted my head as the heavy door swung wide open and two pairs of boots stopped before me“It’s time,” one of the guards muttered.Hands seized my arms, yanking me forward. I stumbled, my vision swimming, but I kept my head down as they dragged me through the halls.The moment we stepped past the prison gates, the wind shifted.I looked up.The skies had darkened, thick clouds rolling in from the horizon, swallowing the early morning light. A storm was coming.Maybe the Goddess was mocking me.What for? She alre
Kaiden’s POVWatching her at the podium about to be executed was one of the worst moments of my life, but remembering that she was the one responsible for me failing my brother and my niece made watching her about to be executed a little bit easier.But the minute I saw her fall onto the floor, I forgot I was supposed to be hating her and leaped to carry her off the floor.Murmurs echoed around the podium as the crowd stared at me in confusion as I lifted the murderer in my arms.“What are you doing, Your Majesty?” Lord Vaughn asked incredulously, but I ignored him as I faced the podium to address the crowd.“The prisoner has fallen unconscious. We shall return when she is conscious. Do not fear, justice shall be served.”Then I rushed to the clinic urgently.Celine’s body was limp in my arms, her face pale, sweat beading along her temple. She looked so fragile, nothing like the traitor I had convinced myself she was.I clenched my jaw. This should not be happening.I should be relieve
Celine The next few days I spent in the clinic to make sure the baby and I were healthy were both monotonous and boring, but I was finally able to move past the initial shock of being pregnant. I couldn't believe I was carrying a child. The circumstances were unfortunate, yes, but I couldn't believe I almost killed my child because of my guilt. I could never forgive myself for entertaining that suicidal thought for one moment, and I cried wondering how it would have turned out being if I hadn't fainted just before the execution. I would have two dead people on my hands. This baby was my saving grace, my second chance, and yes I do not deserve to have something special in my belly as a murderer, but this was the best thing to happen to me. My wolf refused to communicate with me because of my suicide mission and I understood. But without this child, I have no will to live. I was tempted to run away, but with Kaiden’s child in my belly, I was a target. He would hunt me down to the ends
CelineI woke up to the feeling of being carried in the arms of someone, and immediately, his scent invaded my senses. My eyes flew open to see Kaiden carrying me onto the couch in his office, barking orders to the guard to bring in Healer Magnus.“Call him here this instant!”There was a hint of worry in his tone, which was ironic because, moments ago, he ordered me to respect Sheila, the person who destroyed my whole life. The person he was planning to marry.In anger, I rose from the couch, but a pain shot through my skull, and I winced, gripping my head.“You should sit still,” Kaiden ordered, placing a hand to push me back into the chair, but I swatted his hand away in annoyance.“Leave me the hell alone, Kaiden. I do not need your help,” I scowled at him.My actions did not go unnoticed by my parents and Sheila, and Mother’s shrill voice echoed in the room. “How dare she treat you that way? You should put her in her place since she lacks manners!”I rolled my eyes, frustration ev
CelineThe house was guarded all day round, a treatment befitting the pack's most notorious criminal. It was a hilarious situation, but I could not bring myself to laugh because nothing was funny to me, not when everything kept getting worse every minute I opened my eyes. Ever since that day, I had been alone in the house, my meals and drugs being delivered by different maids or was it the same maid I never really paid attention.Nothing really mattered since I was trapped in solitude, but I could not think of anything else except my stupid family snatching sister and her claws on my mate who hated me.I wished I could understand what the shadow soldier was and how I could summon it. I wished I had understood my wolf and how it worked before that day. Maybe just maybe Anya would still be alive and I would be with Kaiden.Sick of crying myself to sleep, I sat in the room, facing the windowsill like I did every evening. But today was a different evening. It was Sheila and Kaiden’s engage
KaidenMy mind was plagued with a variety of thoughts as I stormed out of Celine’s house. I hated the way she got under my skin so effortlessly. I hated how much control she had over me without even trying. I mean, she was not with me, and I was still thinking about her. It infuriated me to no end.I pushed every thought of her to the back of my mind and walked back to the party, but even the party infuriated me to no end. Sheila’s family were the most obnoxious and selfish people I knew, but I had to marry into their family. Sheila seemed like the exception. A pretty young lady with grace and charm, someone I could have built a relationship with if Celine had not plagued every corner of my heart. Maybe this was what I needed to get her out of my mind. I needed to move on.“Your Majesty! Where have you been? Your bride has been looking everywhere for you!” Sheila’s mother smiled at me, but I could barely tolerate the look of happiness in her eyes as she mentioned the bride. They raised
KaidenSheila looked at me as I stood frozen as I realized what she was asking of me and for the first time, I really looked at her. She was completely made up, her body rubbed with glitter and her scent of exotic flowers. Her face was stained with blush as she avoided my stare and I suddenly reminded myself that she was to be my queen. This isn't unusual. It was a chance to finally move on.“This is undeniably bold of you.” A ghost of a smirk appeared on my lips as I took my place on the chair, as she requested of me.Sheila let out a soft, nervous laugh, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I just thought… since we are to be married, we should at least start getting comfortable with each other.”Her voice was gentle, laced with an innocence that should have soothed me. It didn’t.I leaned back in the chair, watching as she hesitated before stepping closer. Her hands trembled slightly as she reached for the ribbon at the front of her gown, her blush deepening as she worke
CelineAfter the awkward silence between me and Kaiden, I excused myself and left the room. As I walked out and closed the door behind me, he didn’t say anything. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was finding as I walked back to my room. The look of betrayal Kaiden’s face was etched in my mind and no matter how hard I tried to push it away, it wasn’t budging. Immediately I walked into my room, I noticed that it was empty and I couldn’t hear the usual chatter of the other maids nor did Tasha jump on me to question me as I walked in. I let out a relieved sigh because I wasn’t quite ready to talk to anyone. I moved to my bed and to my surprise, a beautiful box wrapped in deep gold and ivory ribbon was sitting on the bed, patiently waiting for me. I was confused but I reached for it and slowly opened it. Inside was a stunning masquerade dress as bright as the sunlight—it was radiant, elegant and it was almost queen-like. And beside it was a matching make, it was delicate and pattern
CelineI couldn’t help but feel uneasy, Kaiden has been acting strangely since the minute I bumped into him in the hallway. He spoke less and the way he questioned me or requested something of me was… weird. He tried to hide it but I could see the way his eyes were following my movements as I rearranged the room. When I had walked back into the room and saw the mess, I was confused as to why a room that was perfectly arranged had been scattered just a few minutes after I went to the kitchen and returned. It was suspicious but I couldn’t place my hand on why he was doing any of it. Why shocked me the most was how cold he had addressed me and the way he asked me to leave. I eyed him suspiciously but he walked away from me. Was he testing me? Was he suspicious about something? Had I somehow given myself out?No, I said to myself. It couldn’t be that, the Kaiden I know would have confronted me if he had figured me out so I was back to square one—wondering what it was with him. I push
KaidenI was restless and I couldn’t get my body to calm down so I could go ahead with the next text. My fingers absentmindedly tapped against the table as my legs shook from nervousness. This last test I was going to put her under was the one that would finalize everything. I was already convinced that she was my Celine but this was going to seal it. I was so close to the truth but I was scared, if truly I was right, why was she hiding from me? Did she hate me that much? Or was there another reason?Memories of Celine flooded my mind—I remembered that she was left-handed and she had a certain way she sliced bread and even placed things. It was something I found decanting and used to tease her about nonstop. If Lina was Celine, her hands would give her out. I decided that this was going to be my last test—I was going to observe her muscle memory instead of anything else since I had gotten my confirmations from the previous tests. I watched silently as she brought the dessert to my
KaidenI wrapped my hand around Lina’s—or should I say Celine as I led her down the hallway and back to my room for the meal I proposed we had together. I wasn’t entirely sure if she was truly Celine but my suspicion was growing with each passing minute. No two people could be so similar or even talk the same way plus the scar behind her ear was too similar for it to be just a coincidence. It was the same shape and in exactly the same spot. The familiarity in the way she moved, the way she avoided my eyes whenever she realized I was suspecting her or the way they clouded up like she was avoiding something—hiding a secret tugged at me and I wanted to get to the root of it all. If it was truly Celine, why was she putting up an act? And if my suspicions are wrong, why does everything about her scream at me that she was the one?I was utterly confused and frustrated, I hated not knowing things, I hated not having control but this was a chance for me to finally figure out why she was pr
Celine “Or what Lina?” He asked as he moved closer to me, his voice mirroring the darkness in his eyes. “What would you do to me, hmn?”His voice was dripping with amusement, it was dangerous and I couldn’t help but swallow. I was not only nervous but I knew that the man standing in front of me could ruin my life if he wanted. He stalked closer to me and I kept stepping away from him until my back eventually hit the wall and I realized I had nowhere else to run to. He raised his hand, his smirk still etched on his face as he trapped my head against the with both of his hands. “Cats got your tongue?” He asked, his voice dropping with mockery. “I wonder where your voice has suddenly gone when you were running your mouth just seconds ago saying I better stay away from you.”I remained silent but my resolve didn’t falter. I might be scared of him but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing it. “You’re lucky that I actually like you,” he continued, his voice even lower t
CelineAlpha Lucan lazily leaned back into the couch as a slow grin crawled onto his face. His eyes were intense as she stared at me, it looked like he was trying to see through me or even figure out what was running through my mind. “Disrespect?” He repeated, his voice was low and mocking as if the thought of a mere maid saying such to him was something he had never believed would happen. Slowly, his eyes roamed over me from my head down to my toes making my skin crawl from disgust. “You wear a mask—probably ashamed of how you look and yet you're acting like you command the room or like you’re higher than me. Isn’t that intriguing?” He asked as he cocked an eyebrow at me. His words hit me like a punch to the stomach but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my reaction. I kept my face neutral as I stared at him, waiting to hear him say why he had called for me. After a few moments of silence and him realizing that I wasn’t going to say anything, he raised his hand and wav
Celine That was weird. I thought as I cleaned the floor of the ballroom for the end of competition Celebration. Kaiden must have figured out that I was hiding something because of his confrontation but totally freezing up like that after touching my hair? That was weird. Maybe he figured out you were Celine? Silver the ever ghostly ghost wolf whispered, but I shut her to the back of my mind, not interested in that particular sentence. Kaiden did not figure out my identity, I’ve been extra careful. A big part of me felt it was something else, maybe a mindlink message. A push hit me from behind and I stumbeled forward, almost falling flat on my face in the hall. I whipped backwards to see the culprit and it was none other than the boss, Sybil. “You.” She eyed me in disgust, and I stood upright, surprised at her sudden evidence irritation. “Yes, Boss? Is something wrong?” I asked, keeping my voice civil. “Did I do something wrong?”She gave me a once over, then snorted. “Maybe the
Kaiden “What are you looking for, Lina?” I asked the minute she stepped into the room. She froze, her eyes wide, almost as if she was a deer caught in the headlights, which in this case she was.The minute I stepped into the room I noticed the chest I placed in a strategic position had been moved, confirming my theory. Lina was looking for something, and I had to know what it was.“W- what?” She stammered, before clearing her throat, “I’m not looking for anything your highness.” She lied through her teeth.My jaw clenched as I looked out the window. I was beginning to finally see the good in someone and then it had to be a spy. Another liar. And after what I’ve been through, I hate lies. Pushing down my frustration, I turned to her. She was in her usual maid uniform, the floral skirt and the damn mask, but I was done with all the anonymity of her whole existence. She was apparently not to be underestimated. “What if I find out you are looking for something?” I met her gaze. “Wha
Celine“Kaiden wait.” An alpha called out and my heart jumped out in shock as i felt their presence just feet away from me.I knew Kaiden was headed to breakfast with the alphas. And the minute i heard, i snuck bak into his roo to search the whole place carefully. But i realized it was a waste o time, and i was going to have a better shot finidng whereever the key ma be from the meeting they were having, so i hid behind some flowers in the garden close to the dining room to listen.But all i could see were egotistic alphas that only craved power. But as Kiaden tood up abruptly and left before i could run away, i just had to hold my breath aand hope he doesnt find me.Last night was strange… After Kaiden slept off, his hand in mine, all i could think off was or conversation. Kaiden thought i was dead. Yes i knew the possibility of them thinking i was dead was high since i disappeared out of nowhere was high, but i thought since Sheila was in power, he wouldnt care if i was dead or not.