GEMMA'S POVMy knees feel weak as I realise he's seen me.There's no telling what he's going to do right now, but I know it can range from anything between humiliating me before every man standing here, to sending me away, to even killing me for finding a way out of the harem.I feel like running.Maybe I should slip away and somehow deny that I am the one he's looking at. I'm still thinking of what to do next when the unexpected happens, and he looks away at something else.Did he not see me?I know that he did. But maybe it's all for the best if he's chosen to look away. Ahead, the men are still counting, and I keep hoping I get chosen to fight the rebellion in the North. Living as a concubine is no life for me, and it will be unbearable in the long run. It may also bring me nowhere close to Alpha Grey."You," the bearded man counting my line points squarely at me, his face stern. "What are you doing here?"He has a big, rough table before him, with small pieces of wood and some
GEMMA'S POV "Get your hands off me," I growl, reaching for the sword hanging by my side."Why?" The voice asks."Because I can kill.""Well... kill me then."I try to move my arms, but the man holding me is so strong that I find it difficult to move. For all I know, it is the bearded man who came to confront me and ask me to go back home, as he must have been watching me while we were on the march, and following when I moved away."What are you waiting for?" He asks again.With a quick jerk, I send a backward kick into his crotch, and his hold on me is instantly released as he crashes down to the ground. At the same time, I pull the sword by my side and hold it up to his neck, barely able to see him with how dark this part of the woods is."Do you still want me to kill you, or are you willing to run off?"The man on the ground starts to laugh before grabbing the tip of my sword in his hand. Slowly, he stands up to his feet while I follow him with my eyes, unwilling to shed friendly b
Alpha Grey's POV Now I know Gemma.I haven't taken note of a woman for so long the same way I have her since the Queen Mother brought her to me. I noticed her difference and how she stood out on the first day she was brought to me- the bold green in her eyes that made me think of a cat, and the gold in her hair that reminded me of my own eyes- and chose to ignore her then. Only, she has found her way to me every day since that moment.It is known that when one werewolf kills another of his kind, the killer loses a bit of his soul. I also know that I have killed enough werewolves to feel the blood on them every time I wring my hands together, and that I may have all the power I want as king, but I have lost my soul bit by bit and taken up nothing in its place but the curses of the dead inside me. I know that the curses are the reason why I become vulnerable and fearful as the Blood Moon approaches, just like now.Yet, seeing her reminds me that I should have a soul.She reminds me o
One Year AgoI finally did it...I shifted...As the weakest omega in Willow Tree Pack, I have always been bullied. I had no parents, my wolf was practically useless and I was just a weakling overall.But then when I found out that Alpha Brook was my mate, everything changed. I became determined- I could not afford to be weak. Since the mating ritual, I vowed to myself to get stronger. Now, I'm standing in the middle of the pack fields, claws drawn.I shifted...Even though it is just a bit. Progress!My heart skips with joy and my mind flutters to my mate at this moment. Brook would be so happy. He was such a supportive partner. Even when the elders outrightly rejected me to be Luna of the pack, he stood by me. He believed in me.Something is tickling me from the inside so I laugh. This is what it felt to be happy?I can feel the weak presence of my wolf for the first time in years. "I have to tell Brook!" I turn on my heels and sprint through the tall grass field. Some pack war
Present DayThe man standing next to me stinks.I have to wiggle my nose every minute to somehow get rid of the stench. It doesn't work though; it's only a reflex.The only reason I have to stand next to this horribly smelling rogue is because we've been summoned by the Akari League Rogue Leaders. A year ago when I ran from the Willow Tree Pack, I had nowhere to go. I slept in caves, crying and mourning my horrible fate. There were days I went without food or water, completely frozen in grief.Until I was discovered by a rogue she-wolf. She had been harsh; laughing at my predicament."You trusted a pack wolf, an alpha at that? All they care about is their bloody hierarchy. Who told you someone like him would truly accept you?"Her words had been like thousands of needles piercing through my skin. I cried then, feeling the brutal force of rejection hit me again.The lady, Lalia, had said nothing. She just watched me cry in that dark cave. She watched me cry until I had no tears left.
The journey to the capital made me want to vomit.As the days flew by, the girls started getting familiar. The all couldn't stop talking about how wonderful this was. Who wouldn't want the protection from the most powerful man in Suro Kingdom?Being in his harem was everything omega girls like them could wish for.It's horrible listening to all this. Why did they feel like they couldn't be anything without some stupid Alpha's protection?I wanted to slap them in their faces. Look at me, I had an alpha for a mate. Where did that lead me?I ended up becoming a killer to stay alive. I pity them all; they're just too innocent to understand. The most part of the journey is sickening because of all the chatter. I zone out many times to save myself from the horror of listening to them.It takes five days to reach the capital. The capital of Suro is the most beautiful place I have ever seen.Unlike the forests where I grew up in Willo Tree, this was just magnificent.Strangely shaped buildi
The very word I detest most. Mate.Why is the goddess playing silly games? As if my first mate wasn't shitty enough...I'm standing outside the king's chambers now, in the middle of the night, clenching my hands in distaste. Mate.This entire thing just became a lot more complicated than it should have. Could my wolf bear the brunt of his death- or worse, my betrayal?Did it matter? Of course not.I think back to the day I was presented to the king. A week ago. Not long after our eyes locked, he recovered from the momentary shock. I didn't know what I expected him to do but it had made me feel bitter.He had crouched to the ground where I was knelt and leaned close to my ear. Close enough that I felt his abnormally cool breath on my skin."You shall not speak a word of this."He didn't say more. He didn't say less.That was all he had told me and then retreated to his throne. I had been baffled; stung a little.This was not rejection but it definitely felt like one.It brought back
Before I get the chance to understand his words, Alpha Grey violently draws me off the bed."Get out," he says coldly. I'm looking at him in disbelief. My skin still feels tingly from his touch. I stand there in confusion and he moves closer to me."You are an omega right?" I know where this is going and I don't like it. Memories of my best friend's laughter and Alpha Brook's betrayal taunt me.Grey doesn't wait for an answer. He laughs; letting his pearly whites gleam in the soft light."Of course you are. Your movements are too loud, heartbeats too obvious and your scent...your scent..." He leans into me and inhales.I just stand there, unsure whether to be afraid or not."Someone as weak as you can never stand by my side as queen. Sure, your place as concubine seems-""Stop it..." my voice has gone sour. All my courage, all the motivation I had coming here- everything was gone.At this moment, my eyes burn from forming tears. My voice is shaking as I step back away from him."D-d
Alpha Grey's POV Now I know Gemma.I haven't taken note of a woman for so long the same way I have her since the Queen Mother brought her to me. I noticed her difference and how she stood out on the first day she was brought to me- the bold green in her eyes that made me think of a cat, and the gold in her hair that reminded me of my own eyes- and chose to ignore her then. Only, she has found her way to me every day since that moment.It is known that when one werewolf kills another of his kind, the killer loses a bit of his soul. I also know that I have killed enough werewolves to feel the blood on them every time I wring my hands together, and that I may have all the power I want as king, but I have lost my soul bit by bit and taken up nothing in its place but the curses of the dead inside me. I know that the curses are the reason why I become vulnerable and fearful as the Blood Moon approaches, just like now.Yet, seeing her reminds me that I should have a soul.She reminds me o
GEMMA'S POV "Get your hands off me," I growl, reaching for the sword hanging by my side."Why?" The voice asks."Because I can kill.""Well... kill me then."I try to move my arms, but the man holding me is so strong that I find it difficult to move. For all I know, it is the bearded man who came to confront me and ask me to go back home, as he must have been watching me while we were on the march, and following when I moved away."What are you waiting for?" He asks again.With a quick jerk, I send a backward kick into his crotch, and his hold on me is instantly released as he crashes down to the ground. At the same time, I pull the sword by my side and hold it up to his neck, barely able to see him with how dark this part of the woods is."Do you still want me to kill you, or are you willing to run off?"The man on the ground starts to laugh before grabbing the tip of my sword in his hand. Slowly, he stands up to his feet while I follow him with my eyes, unwilling to shed friendly b
GEMMA'S POVMy knees feel weak as I realise he's seen me.There's no telling what he's going to do right now, but I know it can range from anything between humiliating me before every man standing here, to sending me away, to even killing me for finding a way out of the harem.I feel like running.Maybe I should slip away and somehow deny that I am the one he's looking at. I'm still thinking of what to do next when the unexpected happens, and he looks away at something else.Did he not see me?I know that he did. But maybe it's all for the best if he's chosen to look away. Ahead, the men are still counting, and I keep hoping I get chosen to fight the rebellion in the North. Living as a concubine is no life for me, and it will be unbearable in the long run. It may also bring me nowhere close to Alpha Grey."You," the bearded man counting my line points squarely at me, his face stern. "What are you doing here?"He has a big, rough table before him, with small pieces of wood and some
Following the fight with Karen, the harem becomes unbearable to be in.It is difficult to say which irritates me more: Karen's constant catcalling and mockery, the disdain of the other women who believe the White Crow is attached to me and envy me for it, or those who simply do not like me because many other people don't. Dara is my only friend, and I can tell she is withdrawing from me because the other women are starting to look down on her.For the most part, those are the least of my worries.I am not here because I want to be a concubine.I am here to kill Alpha Grey.With a whole year to do it, I am still gathering information on him and his weakness. Staying in the harem with all of the women accomplishes nothing given how much they already despise me, so I sneak out of the toilet window when no one is looking. I crawl out the window and carefully slip into the branches of the tree that has grown over it, moving slowly enough to keep myself balanced.I have to be stealthy as a
Alpha Grey's POV The only good thing about it is that it's only a minor breakdown.It passes almost as quickly as it comes, but only after all my men have looked upon me in my vulnerability and weakness, asking each other questions. A number of them rush towards me, their frames standing over me as they try to help me back on my feet. However I refuse them, raising myself up on the tip of my sword pushed into the ground. Even my powers feel weaker now, and far less potent."I'm fine," I wave my hand to all who have their eyes on me, standing up on my feet for all of them to see. However, they continue to watch me with worried looks on their faces, which only serves to enrage me.They pity me.They are all watching me in my weak moment."I SAY I AM FINE!" I bark at them, wanting to see any other reaction than the worrisome creases on their foreheads. "GO AWAY. ALL OF YOU. GO BACK TO YOUR DUTIES."The soldiers start to disperse, and I turn away from them, walking up to my bedchamber t
Alpha Grey's POVI can say I have everything I want. When you started out as a worthless Omega and somehow have everything change so much that you rule over one of the biggest kingdoms of the world, and everyone elsewhere thinks you are a god, there is little else to want.But there is only one thing...My power has a limit.I dread the advent of the Blood Moon, and how it makes me weak at the very moment other werewolves become stronger. My attempts to fight the weakness have only met dead ends so far, and word of it has somehow gotten out, though it remains a rumour. What I know is that cowards exist, and one of them is going to be lucky enough to test this rumour.As the Night of the Blood Moon approaches, I feel the effects. My body does not feel the way it should-it even makes me feel sick-and I would gladly exchange it with another werewolf just to not be weak. It makes me vulnerable-brings me down to my knees, and makes me an ordinary Omega again. Wine seems to be my only anti
He was still asleep when I left early the next morning.What gave me the nerve to go was the realisation that he didn't even know that the woman in the room with him was not Karen. How would he know that he was even in the room with somebody before going to bed?I return to the harem-to the condemnation of solitude that Alpha Grey has imposed on women for his pleasure- and the moment I walk in, all eyes turn in my direction. It does not help that many of them follow me so much that I feel them watching my back as I walk through the spaces in the room.My bed- unattended for two nights and left alone- is the only thing waiting to welcome me and I sit on it, pulling the cover over myself. No one says a word to me, and I say nothing to no one until Dara comes to talk to me."Gemma... where have you been?" She asks, sitting on the edge of my bed.I sit up to talk to her, grateful to have someone who I can speak with, at least to take my mind off Alpha Grey's theatrics. So I sit up and tal
His sister comes to see me as she promised.And she encourages me to rest, and follow her brother's orders.He doesn't return for the whole of the day, and leaving his room without saying goodbye and thanking him for his care feels disrespectful, so I remain inside, waiting for him to arrive. When at last, the heavy footfalls that signify his advent reach my ears, I sit up on the edge of the bed, alert. He throws open the door, and I stand up to greet him when the sight that meets my eyes instantly keeps me quiet.There is a woman with him, familiar, and one I've seen somewhere.She has half her clothes off, and the love bites on her neck and right above her breasts are red and fresh. I immediately turn around at the sight, feeling second-hand embarrassment and to my chagrin, a bit of envy."Are you still here?" He asks, his words slurring.It instantly occurs to me.He's drunk.For the first time since I first saw him, he doesn't give off the aura of a king-powerful and intriguing. R
His voice rings in my ears, and while everything is fading into oblivion, I can still see him, although as though I'm looking through a blurry lens. He has two of his fingers pointed towards his face, and I can see that he's in a panic.A voice, one I can vaguely recognise as mine, is speaking:"I can't breathe."I truly can't breathe...My chest feels heavy, and this feeling makes breathing a chore for me.All of a sudden, his hands grab my head, and he puts his lips to mine and breathes down my mouth, only stopping to inhale and then do it again. This helps me start to breathe again, and when everything becomes steady again, he picks me up and moves me to his bed."Gemma? Are you listening?"I nod weakly, still struggling to breathe even though it feels easier than before. "You're going to be fine. I think you have bled all of his venom out. Your wound has stopped bleeding..."I watch as he holds up my bandage-now soaked in blood, and his bloodied sword-which I find strange. "Go t