Here's for today. I also want to give another heads-up not to expect any chapters this weekend, as I will have time off to go somewhere with my little fam for my daughter's birthday weekend. I have some chapters written for this book but need editing, and I cannot guarantee I have time to do so (I would if I could). I will be back next week to catch up more. Thank you for all the birthday wishes for my girl. She felt special and happy reading them with me. Have a great weekend, lovelies! Don't forget to drop us gems and reviews. I appreciate them a lot! ✨🦋
KAEL.The moment Brooke entered the shop, I knew she was trouble. I had no idea if she was among the ones sent by Draco to find us, but I wasn’t taking chances. She belonged to his pack and was part of his Delta’s Shield—the top security squad of a pack. Brooke also attended the Alpha Academy as she belonged to an affluent family. I was sure Draco had been ignoring her existence until she hooked up with me, and the next thing I knew, he was fucking her too. So, I cut off all ties with her, and he eventually moved on from her as well. It only went to show that Draco had an obsession with taking females from my arms—whether I was serious with them or not. I knew this was the reason he was after Adessa.I discreetly removed my ring, not wanting Brooke to associate me with my wife in case she was sent to track us. Like I believed it would happen, she showed interest in me, whether ordered by Draco or she was simply flirting.I heard the door to the restroom open, and my heart stopped.
KAEL. Adessa’s screams were drawn by the explosion behind us as we made it to the next exit.I shifted my eyes from the side mirror to the rearview and caught sight of her looking through the back window. I could only see the back of her head, but I could tell she was shaking. I wanted to check on her, but I needed to be far away from here before any of their backup came, or worse, the police officers.I reached the end of the bridge and found myself at a roundabout. I had no idea where the road I chose would lead us, but I kept driving. Anywhere would be fine, as long as we ended far away from the scene. It didn’t take long for the siren’s sound to reverberate through the air, but it quickly faded as my car accelerated away.“Adessa…” I was finally able to utter a word, and it snapped her from looking at the back window. It had already been a long time since the explosion was no longer visible, yet she remained staring. She moved swiftly, crawling back to the front seat just in ti
KAEL. Adessa’s eyes fluttered open. She was looking straight ahead, still lost in her thoughts, and I just let her be. We were already threading a narrow, rough road through the deep part of the forest. The canopies of the trees filtered the sun, casting shadows across the path and making the area darker and gloomy, even if it was already midmorning. The road was barely wide enough for a car, but it only meant I was in the right direction. It had been almost a decade since I’d been here, but it looked and felt the same. “Where are we heading?” she finally asked, breaking the silence between us. “We need a place to stay for at least a day so you can rest, and I can make some adjustments on our way to the north.”“This seems to be too far from civilization already.”“Are you scared of where I would take you?” I teased her. She turned her head to me, and a smile slowly curled on her red lips. “You can tell me we’re on the road to hell, and I will still come with you. Hell with you s
ADESSA.“I’m not complaining. It was a good one year.” I told him, still smiling, and this time I nodded my head to convince him more.He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “The best is yet to come. I promise…”He lowered our hands but kept holding mine as we continued to drive in silence. Despite losing his memory, Kael was still the same Kael I knew. He was always calculated and never seemed fazed by uncertainties or danger, but something about him changed. He became more expressive.Before his accident, he would always kiss me or hug me, which frequently ended up with us having sex. But lately, he would do the same but never push more. He was content to simply hold my hand or give me a hug. And I liked it.If I were being honest, I had no idea if I should be grateful for all the things happening in my life at the moment because Kael was being extra protective and attentive to me like he had never been before.“We’re here.” His voice snapped back to the p
ADESSA.Meeting Erika was a pleasant surprise. She was very motherly and immediately offered a home-cooked meal that I’d been missing. In the last three weeks, my only good meal was when I was with Aunt Aria, so my growling stomach welcomed the warm meal she shared with us.During mealtime, she finally confessed that she had seen the news that the King’s Court was looking for me. But the moment I showed up here with Kael, she knew there was something more to it than just me killing them. And I was grateful for her honesty.Kael then talked about his accident and him losing his memory. She didn’t hide her animosity with Miranda and directly told Kael how disgusting her behavior was toward me. I was glad Kael didn’t defend his stepmother this time. “I’ve heard about the accident, but I never thought it was that bad as I called, and I was told you were resting. I called twice after that, and I was given different excuses. The excuses seemed like you were working and not in a coma.” She s
ADESSA.Sasha came, and I felt out of place right away because she made it seem she knew Kael more than I did. Or maybe I was just overthinking things, as they obviously knew each other way before I existed in Kael’s life. But to be fair with Kael, he made it a point to include me in their conversation or at least explain things when Sasha would throw remarks or tell a story like it was their little secret.Maybe I was just being jealous, but I couldn’t help it. It seemed every female I encountered these days was, in one way or another, related to Kael and had a past with him. “More drinks?” Sasha approached and filled Kael’s glass with red wine. Kael was sitting beside me, his arm resting on the back of my chair so his skin was brushing against the back of my neck.“Tell me, you really don’t drink?” Kael asked as Sasha sat back on her chair in front of us. The three of us were seated at the dining table while Erika took four-year-old Gabe, Sasha’s son, for a bath before bed. I shoo
ADESSA.A drunk Kael was heavy to assist, but a pretending to be “too drunk,” Kael was heavier. He was surely having a great time throwing his weight on me as we walked down the corridor to our room while singing the same song he had sung to me the last time he was drunk. “♫🎜And it’s you and me and all of the people. And I don’t know why I can’t keep my eyes off of you. 🎜🎝” He sang, off-tune of course, but I loved it more. I hoped that song was meant specifically for me, as he had started singing it a few weeks prior to his accident. But as much as I wanted to believe that, it was also the time he began to feel a little more distant and the time that Desiree came back to the territory.“Kael, you’re heavy,” I mumbled. “I thought you’d take care of me when I’m drunk.” He replied, pausing from singing and pressing a kiss on my cheek.“I said, take care of you, not carry you!” I feigned a scowl despite feeling giddy with the kiss. I still held his arm around my shoulders while my
ADESSA. “Fuck me, Kael.” I finally said it. A growl reverberated from his chest, and his lips crashed into mine without a warning. My arms wrapped around his neck as we hungrily kissed each other.I couldn’t hear anything but the loud beating of my own heart and the grunts coming from him.In no time, I felt cold air brushing against my skin, waking me up from my trance.Kael had let me go and left me fully naked, splayed out in the middle, while he stood at the foot of the bed without a shirt and unbuckling his pants. He was undressing himself slowly while his eyes were devouring every part of my naked body. I was sure he could smell my arousal as his eyes were dilating, and I could see lust all over his face. His reaction was giving me the confidence I needed to play the seductress that always made him want me more. I anchored my feet on the mattress and spread my legs wider before letting my hand crawl my belly down to my core. The moment my fingers touched my wet pussyfolds,
KAEL.“I need a quick nap. I haven’t had a good sleep these past few days.” Draco said as he slumped his body under a big oak tree. I wouldn’t believe him if I couldn’t see his face clearly. He did look tired, and bags were under his eyes. This game, or just being here, was certainly tiring him.“We’ll stop for only an hour. We need to move further than the rest.” Prince Vaidas told him.“Who the fuck are you to decide all the time?” Draco sneered at him before closing his eyes. “Don’t forget you’re on this team because of me.”“The hell I care about what team I belong to. I’m not anyone’s puppet.”“I didn’t say you were!” The prince growled. “But resting is not an option until we can secure a long distance from them!”“Unless you fucking know the route of the whole forest, there’s no telling if we are far from them or not. Who knows? We may just be going around in circles only and end up in front of them by the time they are ready to look for us.” Draco told him.That was the same
ADESSA.“The first team: Prince Vaidas. Alpha Kael and Alpha Draco… The second team: Alpha Leon, with…” The Game Master’s voice faded because my mind got stuck with Vaidas, Draco, and Kael on the same team. I was worried the first two would gang up with Kael, and that was not right. But before I could voice my concern to anyone who would dare to listen, Esriel leaned closer and whispered. “Relax. It’s better that he’s on the same team as them.”“Do you know the next challenge?” I asked him. He nodded. “It’s the task Esaias was asked to manage, but since that fraud prince was not really thrilled by this game, he asked me to help him.”I bit my bottom lip, suppressing myself from smiling because he called him a fraud prince. But he was right. The youngest of them certainly had no interest in this game, as our father often scolded him because he never listened during discussions. “Each team needs to protect their treasures within 48 hours, which the challenger needs to steal. The ste
KAEL.I was not bothered about nakedness, but I knew Adessa would be, as I would never want her to be naked in front of many other men. However, I had no option but to move forward, wearing only my shoes. “Can I share my clothes with my Alpha?” Landon asked one of the men watching us.One shook his head in reply before speaking. “Whatever he has with him are the things he would take to the next challenge, so no, you can’t share anything.”“What do you mean, next challenge? Is it immediately after this or tomorrow?” I asked as I tied my shoelace.“After this. Wait for more instructions.” He said this before turning his attention away from us, signaling that this conversation was over. I looked at Landon and found him looking at the other Alphas around us, particularly Draco and his Beta, Roman. Roman was handing him his dagger. I hissed lowly. I left mine at the manor. I thought Draco wanted to help me, but it didn’t seem to be the case. If he really wanted to, he should have told
ADESSA.“Relax, you looked constipated,” Esriel whispered as he sipped his wine, and I couldn’t stop myself from squinting my eyes at him.I felt betrayed. Aside from the fact that I had no idea what Kael had picked up from underwater, as the cameras were too far, it bothered me that he was the only one who arrived at the riverbank with his full clothes on while the rest were naked. And seeing that after the challenge, the rest of the Alphas were putting their clothes on while my husband remained naked with only his shoes on was pissing me off. “What’s the first clue?” I tilted my head to the right to ask the King politely, even if I was internally furious. “I don’t know.” He replied, and I didn’t want to believe him. Earlier, on our way here, I was able to corner Esriel and ask him where he got the clue. He said Father told him out of nowhere. So I wondered why he didn’t want to admit to me he knew what it was. “Esmond is the one assigned to the clues for this task,” Father added
KAEL.As soon as I received my signal, I dove into the waters. I was fifth to the last, and I could only hope there was still something left for me to take. Aside from the fact that I only had limited time to get to the other side, knowing Draco and Prince Vaidas picked the first and second spots was not helping my confidence.I had already swum almost a hundred meters, but I still couldn’t see any gemstones.I saw a gold coin—something ordinary humans or shifters had no access to—but I doubted Adessa would ever consider money or gold a treasure. But what if it wasn’t her who chose these treasures?But still, I ignored it and swam past it. I also chanced upon a bronze goblet. It took me a while to decide whether it was something related to what we used for breakfast. It certainly looked like the cup we shared earlier, but I was sure this task was prepared even before breakfast, so I swam past it as well. I went to the surface to breathe before diving back in, and after a while, I fin
KAEL.Fuck! Fuck!There were more clues, for sure, not just the one given by Adessa.They were still outside, and I could see them taking off their boxers or briefs. Some already had nothing under their pants. From the expression on their faces, I knew they were celebrating because I was still fucking fully clothed. Only my Beta bore a different expression—he looked defeated, just as I felt. But there was no time to feel sorry. I tried to raise the window beside me, but it was locked. My gaze went to the driver, and I saw his window was open. I hastily grabbed my shoes off my feet and slipped my hand between our seats, throwing my shoes outside.“Hey, you can’t do that!” The driver snarled at me, and I just raised my hands up in surrender as I sat back. He abruptly nodded his head, like he was apologizing, and dropped his gaze. He probably realized I ranked higher than him. I breathed heavily as I waited for someone to throw my shoes back in, but it looked like no one from the outs
DANIELLE.I was helping them dress up Princess Adessa for the first night of the game, but I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t stop thinking about the prince. Prince Esriel left the breakfast hall and only returned when the princess was done eating, just to pick her up. He didn’t even glance at me and was nowhere during dinner. Earlier, before we headed to the breakfast manor, while the guards were helping the princess into the car, he whispered to me that he would not sit with my lady and Alpha Kael and that we could eat together. I didn’t reply as he had moved away before I could say anything, but I didn’t object, so I was baffled when he left the dining hall and didn’t come back.I was glad Beta Landon was there, so I didn’t have to eat alone. Not that eating alone was ever a problem, but I did hope Esriel would join me, so it would have been more devastating if I had expected that and ended up being alone. “Someone’s at the door.” Miss Mariel said, and it snapped me back to the present
KAEL.“Look who’s back?” Alpha Randolf exclaimed the moment we entered the main receiving room of our home manor. We just came back from breakfast, and since I heard movements in this area, I nudged Landon to head this way. I nodded at them and inserted my hands into my pockets. “Why are you all gathered here? Are we being summoned?” I asked, my eyes shifting to everyone. “The first clue was given while you were away.” Prince Vaidas spoke without glancing at me. He was busy carefully running his thumb along the edge of his dagger.“And what is it?” I asked. I didn’t like this. Why was it given while I was away?“Why would I tell you?” Alpha Randolf scoffed, then glanced at the others who were looking at us. “Or I should say, why would we tell you? While you ate breakfast looking at the beautiful princess, we ate looking at each other’s fucking face. Not an appetizing sight. So I guess it’s only fair you go blindly to the first task.”Most of them chuckled at his words, and those wh
ADESSA.“Can you move his chair to my right?” I asked. “My lady, the instruction was to have both of you sit at the ends of the table.” The main server, a soft-spoken older man, replied.“I understand that. But I am also instructing you to move his chair nearer. I cannot, for the life of me, speak loudly. I don’t want to shout just to keep a conversation going.” I smiled bashfully at him. “Yes, of course, my lady.” He then instructed his companion to comply. I was glad he didn’t question my request anymore. Kael smiled broadly as he took his seat on the right side of the table, and soon, they proceeded to serve us. I glanced at Danielle and saw her sitting at a round table with Landon. My brother was nowhere in sight.“Where is Prince Esriel?” I asked the main server. “He stepped out, but he left four guards by the door and instructed them that no one is allowed to go in and out, including you, my lady.”“I see…” I didn’t ask anymore. Once they left us. Kael reached for my hand, a