KAEL. Landon volunteered to pick up the documents from Adessa’s office. As soon as he left and it was just the two of us, Dexter looked at me with raised brows. “Are you okay?”“No. Adessa left.” I grunted in a low voice. “I heard.”“She took the wedding ring with her.”He shrugged his shoulders and eased back into his chair. “I expected that.”My hand resting on the table coiled into a tight fist. “Send someone to check all pawn and jewelry shops around the territory and the nearby cities. I want it back in my hands. I’ll send you the description, including the code engraved inside it.”“I’ll do that.”“Do you know if she’s seeing someone?” I asked after a while.“What do you mean?”“She said our marriage was already on the rocks before I had an accident, and we were already discussing divorce. I wonder if there was any man between us.” Although Adessa claimed it was because of Desiree and me, I wanted to know more. He shrugged his shoulders again before speaking. “I didn’t see an
KAEL.The day went by so slowly. My personal doctor was here and checked all my vitals. According to him, it appeared that I had recovered well, but he still advised me to take things slow and not strain myself by overworking.If he only knew I was not even thinking about work.After lunch, Desiree asked if we could go around the open market as it officially opened today, marking the start of spring. Since I had no intention of working, I agreed.While we were there, she tried to hold my hand, but it felt wrong as I hadn’t officially announced my divorce from Adessa, so I told her to keep her hands off mine for now. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t complain, but I was sure she would scold me later. We went around, and some of my people approached us, but no one seemed to ask about Adessa, but they were ignoring Desiree as well. Until one female approached me and gave me a bouquet of flowers. I thought it was for me, but she wanted me to give it to Adessa. She said she was her bigg
KAEL. “If you press a fucking alarm, you will surely not like what I’m going to do with you.”“This is harassment, sir.”“No. This is frustration, sir! I want my ring back. My wife is missing. She has that ring, and I want to know who sold it here!” I snapped at him.He swallowed. “Do you have a wife?” I asked him. He nodded. “Do you love her?” He nodded again.“I have a wife, too. I want her back, but I don’t know where to start.” I put my hand in my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I opened it and took out stacks of bills, placing them on the counter in front of him. “Now, I just want to see the CCTV of the person who left this ring. And who bought it. Also the buyer’s information on when he will come to pick it up. I meant no harm. I want to know so I can buy it from him.” I was talking calmly this time. He didn’t talk, but his eyes were on the cash in front of him. “You can buy many things with that money. Buy something for your wife or kids if you have any. I’m not e
ADESSA.My hands were trembling, and I knew I couldn’t drive further. I had been in this car for the last four hours, driving slowly and carefully to make sure I would never hit anyone or anything. Thankfully, no one was following me, or I would easily get caught. I didn’t like driving. But I had no choice. I had to get away before someone found the bodies of the men I killed. I turned off the engine and rested my forehead against the steering wheel. I had no idea where to go.I ended up in Bayson Bay, a human territory. Although humans were very much aware of the existence of shifters like me, we continued to live in harmony. But for their safety, they seldom travel or stay in shifters’ territory, but we were often found in theirs. So, I knew I could thrive well in this place. The problem was, I had to hide my identity, and this place being near Kael and Draco’s pack, I would easily be caught here. I needed to go further. I wasn’t even sure if the men I killed were just ordinary
ADESSA.“Where will you find a couple of thousand to pay it back?” I let out a sigh, and my shoulders slumped. “I’ll think of something.”“We don’t take jewelry here. We have a pawnshop on the other side of the city.”“Do you think you can ask your boss to make an exception? I don’t have enough money to get to the end of the city. Please.”She looked at me, and we stared at each other for a while before she took a deep breath. “I’m the manager here. I can make an exception, but are you sure you’ll return for this? I also have to put an interest on the amount you will loan.”I nodded. “I will come back. I don’t want to lose that either.”“Fine. Let me check this first and label it. Sit there.”I nodded and went to the nearby couch to wait. I had no idea how long I waited. When she came back, she handed me two thousand, two hundred dollars. She informed me that the listed amount was two thousand. Her eyes told me not to question anymore, but I wanted to assume the extra two hundred came
MIRANDA.Even before I found out Dexter was my mate, I was already attracted to him. But he was just a Beta, and I dreamed of bigger things. I wanted to be a Luna.Dexter was smart enough not to tell anyone that I was his mate until we were able to find time to talk. Since Khalid and I were not fated mates, even if in the end he marked me, he was not able to feel my infidelity. The same way Dexter never felt anything whenever I had sex with Khalid. Only fated mates who marked each other could feel their mate’s infidelity. Without the bond sealed by marking, everyone was free to fuck around. So I fucked around behind my husband’s back. Sex with Dexter was explosive. From the get-go, I knew I wanted him, but I also wanted this pack. So there was no way I was leaving Khalid for him. I did my best to make him understand. I swayed him to continue with our pretension that we had nothing while formulating a plan together. Besides, Dexter didn’t want to step down from his position. Like
KAEL. I played the video I got from the jewelry shop on my TV and watched it repeatedly, trying to make sense of her actions. She received a small amount of money. I could tell by the number of bills she had received. Was she stupid enough to believe the ring had no value?I also noticed she was trembling when she entered the shop. It was not a clear video, but I could tell by the way she hugged herself and shook her hands. Her demeanor was too different from that of confident Adessa, who had signed our divorce papers. She looked lost in that video. As if she was afraid of something or someone. “Fuck!” My hands rose to my head, and I gripped my hair tightly. I shouldn’t worry about her and just focus on getting the ring back.Right. She was moving on. I must do the same. I shut off the TV and threw the remote control on the couch nearby before turning off the bedlamp.I forced myself to sleep, but sleep seemed to be impossible at the moment because of the many thoughts running th
KAEL. I woke up early today, ready to drive to Bayson Bay to meet up with the buyer of Adessa’s ring. I hope he wouldn’t make it hard for me, as I am willing to pay a hefty sum of money to get it back.After that, I also planned to drive around the area to check if she was there. Not for anything but to make sure she was safe and okay. The entire week, I made time to watch all the videos on my phone and read all the notes that I found inside my wallet. They were small pieces of paper that were tucked in between my cards. They all came from her, and I kept them. Nothing much was written there but just her wishing me a good day or telling me that she was excited and looking forward to our date nights.But there was no I love you, or I miss you—a clear indication that what we had was not born out of love. But I could feel her excitement.And we do have date nights. The Adessa I could picture while reading the notes and the Adessa that giggles in every video I took of her was too differ
ADESSA. I had no idea what to feel once the result of my pregnancy came out. Negative. A part of me was grieving because Kael and I wanted to have a child, and another part was relieved that no other person I loved would be pushed into this messy life I had. But aside from that, nothing had changed.I threw all my doubts about Kael. Danielle was right. There are people worth taking risks for, and I would risk it all for Kael.If he turned out to be the bad man in the end, at least I had no one to blame but myself. Rather than turning my back on him and finding out they were all wrong about him.He might not be my husband anymore, but I remembered the vows I made to him in that car—for richer and for poorer, in sickness and health—I promised to honor and cherish him. I planned to keep the end of my vow, even if I didn’t have the ring anymore that we had that day, as I had taken it off and left it in the car when we attended the Moonlight Ball. I’d been longing to see Kael. The days
ADESSA. I whimpered softly before fluttering my lashes. The bright lights blinded me for a millisecond before I was able to open my eyes completely and found everyone staring at me—as if I were a subject on a petri dish. “Am I dead?” I asked. “Adessa!” The king hissed, and I closed my eyes immediately.“I’m sorry, Father. I just…”“Enough. We will talk about that in private. You need to be checked first.”I just nodded my head before opening my eyes. They assisted me into a sitting position before they checked my vitals. After a while, the physician said nothing was wrong, and it could only be pointed to exhaustion. He then asked the King if he wanted him to do sets of tests to check further.Even before he could answer, I had already blurted out my own question. “Can you check if I’m pregnant?”I knew I was being bold, but the earlier I could find out, the earlier I could plead to stop the Royal Games. “Do you think you are?” The King’s jaw tightened as he asked.“I’m already del
DANIELLE. Prince Esriel was approaching. As much as I wanted to walk away and pretend I didn’t see him, I couldn’t. I had my responsibilities as Princess Adessa’s handmaid and as a palace worker. So, I turned my body around and bowed my head in his direction. “What’s happening here?” he asked once he stopped before me and the guard outside the room. I tilted my head up and met his piercing gaze before replying. “The princess fainted your Royal Highness. I already requested for the family physician to come here.” He didn’t say anything and opened the door, stepping inside the princess’s suite, so I had no choice but to follow him.I walked faster than him, leading him to her bedroom. “She still hasn’t woken up.” I immediately checked her pulse and if she was breathing. “Do you mind helping me to position her correctly, sir? I can try carrying her, but I don’t want to hurt…”“Cut with the Sir crap, Dani.” He interrupted me, and then he chuckled. He walked toward the bed, and I cou
ADESSA.I made it back to my chamber and found Danielle there. She ushered me in and locked the main bedroom before guiding me to sit on the bed. “Are you okay, my lady?” She asked, and I could tell she was worrying about me, even if she knew she was in a greater mess than I was. “No,” I replied, letting out a big sigh. “I’m sorry that you don’t feel good, but I have to say this first because they can take me away from you any moment now.”“I won’t let that happen.”“Don’t worry about me, but listen, Princess Adessa. Under this mattress is my phone. It is safer here than in mine if they ever search my room for anything.”I nodded before I threw my arms to hug her. “I’m sorry I put you in trouble.”She rubbed my back and pulled away from my hug. “It’s okay. I want to help as much as I can.”“Did he message already?”“Not yet, when I placed it there a few minutes ago.” She replied. “He must not have the chance to do it yet.”“Do you think he loves me and not just because I’m a princes
ADESSA.“Did the accident really happen? Did he lose his memory, or was that an act to force divorce on you because he no longer wanted you?” Father asked all this in one breath. “But he changed his mind when he found out you could be of Royal blood.”“He had an accident! If you researched him, then it should be here!” My voice was higher, and my hand slammed on the folder as I fought my tears—everything he said kept piercing my heart. I could take anything. I could take the divorce talk. I could take looking at photos of him and Desiree embracing and laughing. But my heart couldn’t accept that he didn’t love me as he said. “It is here.” The King took out documents and pushed them in front of me. My eyes watered as I looked at the papers—some of them I was familiar with as they were handed to me while he was in a coma.All these documents were signed by Dr. Carlitos, the one who attended to him because Dr. Gideon was not around. “The doctor who saw and attended to him was not a leg
ADESSA.“Your brothers will be the ones screening all the applicants for the Royal Games. They should know who your ex-husband is.” Father’s words kept resonating in my head, and I was losing my focus. Father talked about not wanting to meddle with whoever would be joining the games, as he was the one to determine who would take the crown after him. So he needed not to give any favor to any of my possible husbands. I still couldn’t understand anything. So, instead, I looked at all the men around the table. Esmaeel, Eston, and Esriel, the three oldest, listened intently while Esaias, the youngest, looked bored and kept yawning, although he was trying to be discreet about it. Esegar was playing with a Rubik’s cube and seemed to be in his own world. But he did ask a few questions while Father was reminding all of them when the screening would start, so I knew he was listening. I did wonder, though, who among them wanted the crown. Maybe I could plead to him or them to let Kael part
ADESSA.“There she is.” I heard a voice, and my head snapped to look where the sound came from. I found myself face-to-face with four men around a conference table. Even though they were sitting, they all looked tall. They must be taller than Esriel, who was already six feet and two inches in height. “One would have thought she was tall. Did we have a midget for a sister?”My eyes widened. Midget? I was around five feet and four inches. I wasn’t short. They were just giants. I thought they were seriously judging me when I realized they were all smiling. “I would rather have a midget than a giant for a sister,” Esriel said as he stood beside me. They all chuckled, and if these four men, who must be aging from their late twenties to late thirties, were the princes, they didn’t look like one except for the formal vests they were wearing. The way they were snickering reminded me of the boys of the little rascals. “Hi…” That was all I could say as my eyes shifted between them.They imme
ADESSA. “Do you think I will just get my details from another’s mouth without any proof? Don’t you think I’m not capable of getting credible information?” The King asked, and his voice was back to being cold again. “I’m not challenging your resources, Father, but I know my husband. I know what we went through and why we ended up here.”“Do you really know your ex-husband, Adessa?”I was confident when I started talking about Kael, but the way he was delivering his words made me question whether I really knew Kael. Was one year enough to know him? But even if there was doubt in me, I did my best not to let it show. “Nothing anyone can say can make me see him in a different light.”“You are blinded by what you feel about him.”I swallowed hard, but I kept my gaze on him. I was torn between challenging him more and allowing him to speak his mind. “Let’s move to my office. Your other brothers are waiting for us there.” He stood up from his chair, and I immediately moved to block his w
ADESSA.Danielle helped take my clothes off, but I told her I wanted to shower alone. I wished I didn’t. I wished I had let her help me with my bath because she was gone the moment I stepped out of my bathroom. Another handmaid was waiting for me. Aileen informed me that she would be assisting me moving forward. I knew right then and there that Danielle was in trouble. I might get away from the King’s anger, but not her, and it was all my fault. I maintained my composure while Aileen assisted me in putting on a new gown, even if I was worried. She offered to braid my hair, but I refused and let it down. And even if she wasn’t in agreement, I left the room in a hurry. I wanted to find Danielle to make sure she was okay. My feet led me to one of the Palace Salons, where I was told the King was. Either he left the banquet early, or the breakfast had been concluded. But it didn’t matter anymore, as Kael was no longer there, and I had to make sure Danielle would not be punished.Aile