AURORA'S POV.
I'm scared for my life.
I look at my father, who's frowning and then at Crew.
Traitor.
If I ever get out of this alive, I swear I'll kill him!
"Take her to the dungeon and lock her up." My verdict finally comes. I want to protest, but there's no energy left in me. My mate turns on his heels and storms out of the living room.
This is probably the last time I will be here.
I won't be surprised if this is the last day of my life.
The punishment for murder is execution in this pack. All evidence points to me at this moment and my words alone will not set me free.
This is the end for me.
"You are going to be punished for your crimes, murderer!" My father keeps raining insults on me as the guards drag me out of the house. I don’t say anything to him.
Once in the premises, I see Alpha Lucien getting into his hummer and without warning, I break free from the hold of the guards holding me.
"Alpha Lucien!" I call at the top of my voice as I run over to him. I drop to my knees before him, caring less about the gravel pellets that are piercing my knees and making them hurt. This pain is nothing compared to the pain I feel now that I'm being accused of murder.
I can't take it.
"Please Alpha Lucien." I wrap my arms around his right leg, looking up at him with tears spilling down my eyes like a waterfall. "You have to believe me. I didn't do it. I would never kill anyone." His eyes lock with mine and I almost drown in them. He looks at me for a solid ten seconds and lets out a heavy sigh.
I wish I knew what was running through his mind.
"Take her away!" He orders and immediately, the same gurdas who were holding me a while ago, grab both my arms and start dragging me away. I don't protest. I don't even scream because there's no energy left in me to do so.
From my peripheral vision, I see him get into his car and his driver kicks off while the guards shove me into another car and kick off once everyone is settled. I don't dare to look at their faces because they all look scary.
I've cried to the point where I can't feel anything anymore. My entire body is numb and my head is spinning.
My mouth tastes like death.
When we arrive at the castle, the guards once again pull me out of the car and over to the dungeon. That's when I realize I better save my energy because I know I'll go days in here without food or father before the day comes for me to be executed.
"Please, I need to speak with the Alpha." I beg with all my heart as the guard standing in front of me opens the door to the cell I will be occupying. When the door opens, his colleague pushes me into the cell and he locks the door. "Please… please tell the Alpha I need to speak with him. I'm innocent of this crime. I would never kill anyone!" The guard isn't even listening to my pleas.
"Turn around and lean your back against the bars." He instructs and I obey. Relief washes through me when he unlocks the cuffs and my hands spring free. I instantly turn around and hold the iron railings of the prison door.
"Please, you have to listen to me." My voice is a shaky mess.
"You killed the Alpha's son. You are a vicious woman who killed her husband on the day of her wedding. You do not deserve any mercy, so you won't be getting any." The guard bitterly spills out and my heart shatters into pieces.
"No! I didn't not kill anyone. You have to believe me, please!" I know all my tears and pleas are in vain because none of them look like they are going to help me.
They all keep raining insults on me and I can't help, but think about what he just said.
I killed my husband on my wedding day.
Does that mean the man I was supposed to marry was the brother who had been killed? I had no idea he was royalty and most importantly, I did not kill him.
"Ronald!" An authoritative voice calls from the corner. I can't see who the voice belongs to, but it sounds oddly familiar. Like that one that had made me tremble back at my father's house.
It is the voice of my mate, the Alpha.
The one who ordered the guards to have me locked up in the dungeon. He is here and I need to speak to him, but before I can talk to the guard, he goes over to meet who just called.
"Is she in there?" The voice asks quietly.
"Yes, Alpha."
"Have her punished severely. You and your men can torture her till your heart's content and after that, you can kill her and dispose of her body. We do not need people like her in this pack." The voice orders and the next thing I hear is retreating footsteps.
My legs get wobbly and before I know it, I'm sitting on the cold floor of the dungeon. My entire body is numb. I can't feel a single thing.
My mate just ordered for me to be tortured, killed and disposed of.
How cruel can he be?
The guard appears in front of my cell with a grin on his face. He's excited to get on with the torture.
To my greatest horror, other guards join him. About ten of them.
"I'm sure you heard the Alpha's command. You have met your end, murderer. My colleagues and I will have so much fun ending your miserable life!" He inserts one of the keys in the bundle in his hand and turns the lock to the cell door. I clench my fists by my side, ready to fight them off.
I'm not going to let them finish me off without a fight.
Two guards step in to grab my arms, but I easily push them away from me. My powerful push sends them flying to both ends of the cell.
"You dare to fight back?" One of the men sneers and to my greatest shock, more men swarm in.
I try to fight them, but they are too many and they are using sticks coated in silver to hit me. The more they hit me with the silver, the weaker I become and I finally slumb to the ground weakly.
I have no energy left in me to fight.
They can go ahead and kill me for all I care.
"What is going on here?" A thunderous voice demands, but the guards ignore the voice and keep pounding on me.
As I lay on the ground, I can see a figure approaching and I train my eyes on the image. I'm not surprised to see that it's the Alpha who had ordered for me to be killed.
My own mate.
He ordered for me to be tortured.
Is he here to end my life with his own hands?
I don't get the chance to find out the answer to that question because pain explodes in my forehead and the last thing I see is stars hovering overhead before darkness swallows me whole.
LUCIEN'S POV.She's lying on the floor. Knocked out. Parts of her body are bleeding and the guards swarming around her do not seem to realize that they have to stop whatever it is they are doing. I'm sure this was my father's order. To have her tortured till death.Dad can make very cruel decisions when he is upset regardless of whether he is wrong or right and that's one of the things that make me fear him very much because even the fact that I'm his son and future heir does not spare me from his ruthlessness. The only person father could compromise or bend his morals for was my brother who's now dead.My temper gets the better of me as I watch the guards still pounding on my mate despite the fact that she has gone unconscious. My wolf stirs in anger within me and without thinking twice, I rush over to them with trembling hands and yank away the first guard my hands come in contact with off Aurora's body and shoot him to the other end of the room. The man shouts in agony as his bod
AURORA'S POV.The last person I expected to see when I opened my eyes was this man whose face seems to be hovering all over mine. The same man who had ordered for me to be tortured to bed.When notices that my eyes are open, he quickly backs away, clears his throat and maintains his composure, standing straight with his hands behind his back.The mate bond comes coursing through my body again and I look up at him. There's an awkward silence between us. I have a lot of questions in my mind to ask him and the first being if he's aware of the fact that we are mates. But I'm sure he knows. If I can feel the mate bond, it means he can feel it too.Could that be why his face was almost touching mine a while ago.Did he want to kiss me because he knew we were mates?No!Most definitely not!And even if he knew we were mates. Even if he wanted to kiss me, I still can't forget about the fact that he ordered his guards to have me tortured till death. I won't easily forgive him for that."You are
AURORA'S POV.Right now, I have no idea how to react to what I just heard. Alpha Lucien knows I'm his mate. Should I be happy? Should I be hopeful? Should I be ashamed? or should I be scared?I don't know what to feel right now. He just said he'd punish me accordingly if I say I'm guilty, but he'll stay by my side if I deny the allegations. That's a very logical thing to say in this situation and for a moment, I am really tempted to believe his words, but then I remember that a while ago, he had ordered for his guards to have me tortured to death. He didn't seem to care when he passed that order, but now he does. Why the sudden change of heart?"Why aren't you saying anything?" He breaks the silence. I look at him. He has a blank countenance. I can't read from his face whether he believes me or not and that's very frustrating."Because I don't believe you when you say you will trust my words." He raises a brow and trains his eyes on me."Why's that?" He sounds curious. Not only does
AURORA'S POV.The silence drags on for several minutes. My eyes are still glued on Alpha Lucien who's staring blankly at the wall. He hasn't uttered a single word and I'm worried because I think I know the answer is, he doesn't believe me.Even the maid and the Beta seem eager to get his response, but none of us get any.If Alpha Lucien doesn't believe me, then all my hope is lost. I can't prove my innocence on my own. Not when I'm locked up in here.My heart stops when he lets out a sigh. I look at him expectantly. Hoping he would say something to favor me, but he doesn't even look at me. He turns to the maud who still has her head bowed down. I swear to God if I'm given that chance to be in this room with this woman alone, I'll beat her up so good, she'll take back all the lies she just told against me.I hate her!"What's your name?" Alpha Lucien asks the maid.He ignored my question. Nice one Lucien. Nice one. "Emilia Mark." She calmly replies. I roll my eyes hard. To me, everythi
LUCIEN'S POV."Because they demand that you be executed." Her eyes widen in shock.Even I would be shocked if I was told my father had ordered for me to be executed. Her father was the first to point an accusing finger at her and since then, he has been insisting she committed the crime. I can't help but wonder what would make a father hate his own daughter so much."They didn't!" She denies my words. "My… how could he do that? I didn't kill anyone." Her voice breaks in half as she makes that statement. "I… I just wanted to ask Crew why he's accusing me of a crime I didn't commit and my father why he doesn't believe me when I say I didn't kill anyone. Why are they doing this to me?" She asks with a shaky voice. I don't say anything to her, because I don't know what to say.When she notices I'm not going to say anything to her, she lays back on the bed and closes her eyes.I train my eyes on her. I don't know why, but something tells me she is innocent of this crime she is being accused
LUCIEN’S POV.I'm still patiently waiting for the two men standing before me to answer the questions I had thrown at them. They keep looking at each other, not knowing what to say and I am truly amused.From what I've seen so far, I can confidently come to the conclusion that no one in this household loves or cares about Aurora and that makes me even more curious about her.What could she have done to make her father hate her so much? Is she truly a bad person? Or is it her father who’s the bad person? What secret is this family hiding from the public?"I don't have all day here." I tell them. Crew clears his throat and looks at me."Well, Alpha. You see, Aurora and I broke up a long time ago and then I started dating her sister."That even makes things worse. I raise my brows and look at him in total disbelief. I can't even look at Mr. Callan right now because I'm so angry that he let something like this happen. Why would he let some stupid guy disrespect his daughters?"So, you date
AURORA’S POV.All eyes are on me, including Lucien's. His father, the Alpha King has his eyes wide open in total disbelief. The elders are murmuring words like “impossible” under their breaths and Lucien looks amused by my audacity. The tension in the air can suffocate someone in the next room. My heart has flown to the moon without me.What I just said is going to cause a ruckus. Maybe put me in even more trouble, but I couldn't just stay still and do nothing to defend myself. I will not be hanged for a crime I did not commit.“How dare you!” The Alpha King finally breaks the unbearable silence in the room. Red, Hot rage flashes in his eyes as they turn red. “How dare you try to take advantage of my son! How dare you use his name to cover up for your heinous crime!” Thick searing heat distributes itself throughout my body as my gaze flicks between father and son. The Alpha King's murderous gaze lingers along the length of my body, long enough to strike a match to light the fluid flowi
AURORA'S POV.I finally breathe in oxygen when we step out of the office into the hallway. The air in there felt like sulfur steam. All that tension, judgmental looks from the elders, and the spiteful words they threw at me. I wonder how I didn't evaporate into nothingness while I was there.“Aurora.” Lucien's call jabs me out of my thoughts. I halt in my tracks when he turns my way. He looks pissed. His jaws are twitching and his entire body is as rigid as a rock. I have no idea how to behave with him right now.He doesn't believe I'm innocent and he doesn't believe I'm guilty either.How am I supposed to talk to or act towards him when he has mixed feelings towards me?“Yes.” That is all I manage. My heart stops when he starts closing the gap between us. I try to maintain the distance by taking a few steps back, but soon enough, my back hits against a wall, impaling any further moment.I am trapped between his enormous body and the wall. Transfixed by his piercing gaze. He cannot aff
Lucien entered the room quietly, the soft sound of Aurora’s muffled sobs piercing his heart. She sat curled up in the corner of the bed, her hands clutching a pillow tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks. The sight of her like this made his chest tighten. He approached slowly, kneeling down beside her.“Aurora,” he said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Why are you still crying?”She looked up at him, her red-rimmed eyes filled with guilt. “I just... I feel awful,” she admitted, her voice trembling. “I banished my sister, Lucien. My own flesh and blood. I didn’t want to do it, but I had no choice. I feel like I failed her.”Lucien sat down beside her, pulling her gently into his arms. “You didn’t fail anyone,” he said firmly, his tone soothing but resolute. “What you did wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. Sometimes, the right choice feels like the hardest one to make.”Aurora leaned into his chest, letting his warmth and strength comfort her. “I just wish things wer
Aurora walked out of the dungeon, the cold, damp air clinging to her like a second skin. Her steps were heavy, her emotions even heavier. As she stepped into the hallway, she was startled to see Lucien waiting for her. The moment their eyes met, his expression softened.“You didn’t need to come here,” Aurora said, her voice trembling as she quickly wiped at her damp cheeks. “I could handle it on my own.”Lucien straightened, his amber eyes filled with a quiet intensity. “I know,” he replied, his voice low and steady. “You’re the strongest person I know, Aurora. But even the strongest people need support at times.”The words pierced through the emotional wall she had tried to build around herself. Without a second thought, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. His arms enveloped her, firm and reassuring.“I don’t know what to do,” Aurora whispered, her voice muffled against his chest.Lucien rested his chin on her head, his voice a
Author’s POVThe cold air of the dungeon wrapped around Aurora as she descended the stone steps, her heels clicking against the hard surface. A guard followed close behind her, silent but watchful. When they reached her father’s cell, she turned to him and waved her hand dismissively.“You can leave now. I’ll handle this,” she said.The guard hesitated, his eyes scanning her for a moment. “Are you sure, Luna?”“I said I’ll handle it,” she replied firmly, not sparing him another glance.With a curt nod, the guard retreated up the stairs, his footsteps echoing faintly until the heavy door at the top creaked shut.She turned back to face the man sitting on the cold stone floor behind the iron bars. Mr. Luke, her foster father, looked up as she approached. His once-commanding demeanor was now replaced with weariness. He managed a faint smile.“You look well,” he said, his voice hoarse.Aurora remained silent, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She stood there, unmoving, her expressi
Aurora’s POVI pushed open the heavy door to Lucien’s office, stepping inside with a teasing smile. He was seated at his desk, scribbling something onto a parchment. The sight of him so focused, his brow furrowed slightly, sent a warm feeling through me. I cleared my throat dramatically.“I heard I’ve been summoned by the almighty Alpha,” I said with a playful tone.Lucien looked up, a grin spreading across his face. “Indeed, Luna. You’ve been called for a matter of utmost importance.” He chuckled. “Please do sit.”I rolled my eyes and leaned against the doorframe. “Oh? And what could be so important that you needed to summon me?”I was genuinely curious to know why he sent for me at the house, he could have waited till he returned home tonight, or was he missing me a lot?Silly me! I have been emotional a lot these days and I have no idea why.He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “The dungeon guard informed me that your father—Luke—has requested to see you. Apparently, he
Aurora pushed open the door to the packhouse and stepped inside. The scent of freshly cooked food wafted through the air, but it did little to calm her nerves. She didn’t make it more than a few steps before Lucien appeared from the hallway, his expression dark.“Where have you been?” Lucian demanded, his voice low but sharp. “I’ve been searching for you everywhere.” he sounded pissed and that made her wonder if something happened.Aurora stopped in her tracks, knowing she had to tread carefully. “I was following a lead on the recent threats we have received,” she admitted. “Something I thought might help us.”Lucien crossed the space between them quickly, his towering presence both comforting and intimidating. “A lead? And you didn’t think to tell me? Do you know how dangerous it is out there right now?”“I can handle myself, Lucien,” she said firmly, meeting his gaze. “I’m not some helpless damsel. I’m a Lycan.”He huffed, running a hand through his dark hair. “You’re also my mate,
The weight of leadership was beginning to settle heavily on both Lucien and Aurora. Their days were filled with council meetings, decisions about the kingdom's future, and ensuring the pack's stability. Yet, an undercurrent of tension had started to ripple through the land.Lucien stood on the balcony of the castle, his sharp gaze fixed on the distant horizon. The murmurs of unrest in a neighboring pack had reached him earlier that morning, carried by a trusted scout.“Rogue wolves,” he muttered under his breath. The thought of enemies circling when his kingdom was still finding its footing made his jaw tighten. His wolf, Kol, stirred within him, growling softly in agreement.“You look like you’re preparing for battle,” Aurora’s voice came from behind him, soft but laced with determination.He turned to face her. She looked regal yet approachable in her simple gown, her Lycan features making her seem otherworldly under the golden light. “I might be,” he admitted. “There’s unrest brewi
The air buzzed with anticipation as the pack gathered in the grand courtyard of the palace. Wolves from allied packs had also traveled far and wide to witness this historic moment—the crowning of Alpha Lucien and his Luna, Aurora.Lucien stood tall at the center of the platform, dressed in ceremonial black and gold robes that accentuated his commanding presence. His piercing eyes scanned the crowd, landing briefly on Aurora, who was approaching the platform with a grace that made his heart swell. She wore a flowing gown of deep emerald green, her head held high as the elders escorted her to his side.Elder Doran raised his staff, signaling for silence. The murmur of the crowd ceased instantly, and all eyes turned toward the Alpha and his mate."Today," Elder Doran began, his voice strong and reverberating through the air, "we witness the dawn of a new era. The leadership of this pack passes to a new Alpha King, a leader who has proven his strength, wisdom, and unwavering dedication to
The great hall of the council chamber buzzed with tension as the elders assembled. The air was heavy with the weight of their decision, one that would shape the future of the pack. The King’s failing health had left them no choice but to convene, and the murmur of voices echoed off the stone walls as they deliberated.Elder Doran, the oldest and most respected among them, struck his staff against the ground to call for order. “Brothers and sisters, we gather today at a critical juncture. The King’s health has declined beyond recovery, and our pack cannot endure this uncertainty any longer.”The room fell silent. Each elder exchanged solemn glances, understanding the gravity of the moment.“We must act,” Elder Nalia said firmly. “The Alpha King has served us well, but his time has passed. The pack requires stability, strength, and leadership.”Elder Doran nodded. “It is clear that Lucien, as the rightful heir, must ascend to the throne. His leadership has been tested, and he has proven
Author’s POVThe royal chambers were cloaked in an uneasy silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of fabric as maids moved quietly about their tasks. The once-mighty Alpha King lay on his grand, ornately carved bed, his once-proud features now gaunt and pale. The trial and the truth it had unearthed had taken a toll far beyond what anyone had anticipated. The air in the room was heavy with the mingling scents of herbal remedies and despair.The royal physicians gathered near the door, speaking in hushed tones. Their faces bore the same somber expression—a silent acknowledgment of the inevitable. One of them, an elderly man with graying hair and deep-set eyes, stepped forward to address the council members waiting outside the chamber.“The King’s condition is grave,” he began, his voice steady but laced with sadness. “His heart and spirit have been deeply wounded. The mental and emotional strain has weakened him beyond recovery. I’m afraid… there is little we can do.”The words