Luna's Pov
I turned to look at the man who had spoken. I recognized him instantly from his role in passing judgement on us. Just like the first time, he was sitting down which prevented me from seeing just how tall he was. He still seemed pretty intimidating though as his eyes blazed, commanding respect. I remained at the door from where I had been admiring the room but even from here, I could feel his displeasure washing over me in waves. I shuddered subconsciously as I noticed that not only his but all the eyes in the room were focused on me. Us, I had forgotten Jamil was still standing beside me until he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room. We arrived before the Beta at the head seat and following Jamil's lead, I bowed. "You are late." Up close, his voice sounded deeper and more intimidating. "You didn't tell her that we do not condone lateness here?" He asked and I raised my head a little bit only to return to my former position when I saw that Jamil was still bowing. "I am sorry, my lord but the tour ran on for much longer than we thought. A lot of time went past without us realizing it. It will not happen again." "That is no excuse you know?" He boomed and I very nearly raised my head to tell him to buzz off but I managed to keep my cool. The last thing I wanted was to get Jamil in trouble and give that white eyed bitch more reason to chew my head off. "I know my lord and I apologize. I promise to make sure it never happens again." Silence reigned in the room for what seemed like forever before the Beta finally spoke again. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get on your seats. The food is starting to get cold." He grumbled. "Thank you uncle!" Jamil nudged me as he made his way around the table. I was about to follow him when the Beta cleared his throat. I frowned as I stopped in my steps staring back and forth between Jamil and their leader. When none would speak, I started to go after Jamil again when the annoying sound was repeated. I was about to throw away all reservations and walk up to the man to whack him upside of his head when Jamil signaled me to go to the other side of the table. I frowned but his eyes told me that was the only way we were going to have peace. Sure enough, when I turned round to the other side of the table, nothing stuck in the throat of the Beta. I cursed the craziness of this place and its inhabitants under my breath as I made my way past a broad, brown haired figure who looked familiar as he hunched over his empty plate. As large as the room was, (and by that, I mean large enough to swallow The Haven whole and still have room for two more), there was no one else sitting on the left wing except the guy and now, myself. On the other side of the room, the first seat was empty, like it was waiting for someone who was yet to arrive. The second was occupied by Ulo, followed by Luna and finally, Jamil. A very large number by all standards, you would agree. A room that could seat over a hundred people being used by six people. Wasn't that just perfect? I took up a seat opposite Ulo. His hair was combed slickly and he looked dapper in his black robe. He spared me a glance that was fit for a fly before returning his face to the plate like he was receiving a message from the gods in it. Maybe he was. Heavens knew that these people needed a divine message on hospitality. I mean, I had only been here for what? 2 days? And I had already gotten into more trouble than I had ever gotten into in my entire life and that was saying a lot. And to think that I wasn't even all that big a troublemaker. Beside him sat Luna who had her long hair tied into a pony tail. She wore a plain white dress and her makeup appeared shabby, barely hiding her eye bags. She didn't seem to have changed since I had seen her this morning either which was rather unusual for her, at least from what I had gotten to know about her. Unlike Ulo, she spared me more than a glance. Each look she shot my way bore enough venom to burn an army to dust. Someone really ought to tell that girl to get off my case because I really am starting to tire of her tantrums. Finally, there was Jamil who smiled at me. I smiled back. It sure was great to have a friendly person in the midst of people who all seemed to not be able to wait until they could eat me alive. Someone tapped on the table and as if on cue, several feet pounding against the ground became audible. Soon enough, about six people in maid uniform, a simple black and white dress came in bearing trays. They spread these on the table between us, filling the air with mouthwatering aromas. It was at this time that I finally saw the face of the only other person that sat on the same row with me. It suddenly made sense why I had found him familiar. Looking at me with a deep scowl etched on his face was anchor man, Leon. I suddenly recalled what Jamil had told me about him being the son of the Alpha. I also recalled the warning to stay away from him but I wondered how that was possible if we always managed to run into each other. I peeled my eyes from him and almost got drowned in Luna's swirling pools. Nope! Luckily, the maids placed a plate before me at this time and started to dish out the food. I sighed as I stared at it, my instincts telling me that this was going to be a very, very long day.Luna's PovIf there was anything worse than serving people who hated your guts, it was eating with them. Knowing that malicious eyes are following your every move is a sure recipe for a loss of appetite. I managed to force down some food which went to sit at the bottom of my belly like a couple of bricks. After that, I just turned the food in my plate, my cheek propped on the other hand as I stared at it like I was looking for something that was embedded deep within it. "Ahem!" I was pulled out of my revelries by the Beta clearing his throat. I looked up at him, blinking as I tried to come back to the present. "Breakfast is over. You all can leave now." My heart soared with joy as I rose to my feet, the chair skittering noisily. Great! Another reason to make them hate me more. Already, I could see them pinning their gazes on me as if to say, "we get the point. You are dumb. Now, could you stop making it so obvious?" "Not you!" My heart plummeted to the bottom of my belly about as fa
Luna's PovOutside the tall rooms and passageways of the palace, the world looked large, golden and endless under the touch of glowing sunlight. Or perhaps, it was just my happiness at being free that was tainting my vision. Outside the palace, the courtyard sprawled before me, all a glowing shade of white. Apart from the three main buildings that took main focus in the palace, there were a couple other buildings on the other end of the enormous courtyard. Smaller and less impressive but beautiful nonetheless. Most were honorary buildings, only ever used when some guests visited, Jamil would not tell me who. Others though were used by the part of the army that was not stationed at the borders, a fancy term for palace guards really. "I see you are finally out and would you look at that. You are in one piece!" My eyes widened as I wheeled into Jamil who seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?" I hissed breathlessly, the breath knocked out of my lungs from
Blaire's PovI was sitting in my favorite spot in our hangout spot. A swing that was made with a log of wood with two long ropes running out of both sides of it which were tied to one of the tree's sturdy branches. I sat on it, gently swaying it back and forth, my eyes seeing nothing as I wandered in the world of thoughts and worries. I still could not get the horrible condition Indrik was in out of my head. "There you are!" A voice that sounded like it was coming from somewhere deep within the tree called. I was slow to respond, partly because I was still lost in thought and partly because I did not want to speak to the owner of the voice. "Scoot!" He ordered but I ignored him, treating him like he wasn't present. "Hey!" He called again, snapping his fingers before my face. Seeing that there was no way I could send him off with the silent treatment, I stopped the swing and gave him the coldest look I could muster. "Have you seen Ulo around? I couldn't find him in his room." Jamil
Author's PovBeta Green wandered around the dining room long after the girl had left. First, he stood behind Indrik's chair, then got into his seat, then walked round to the other end of the room, pondering his discussion with the girl. He stroked his cheeks over and over as he wondered what he was missing. Indrik might be impulsive but he was not crazy. There was no way he would just choose to bring a random girl into the pack unless there was a reason. That was what he had to find out.He recalled the time he had asked her the reason why Indrik had brought her. She had told him she didn't know but before that, there had been a slight hesitation which was more than enough to confirm his suspicion."Beta Green?"He turned around as fast as lightning, having been startled out of his wits. The new arrival was lucky to not be within arm's reach or he would have hit her when he spun. "Gamma Victoria!" He sighed when he finally recovered from his shock. "My gosh, you startled me." He exhal
Indrik's Pov"Hey, dirt bag! You think you are better than everyone else that is in here, don't you?" A voice yelled from far up the row of cells. It was soon lost in the crowd of voices that cried in its wake."Don't waste your breath on the fool. Let's see if he is still going to be so cocky when we tell the guards about the romance he has going on when they are not looking." Another voice growled, the voice echoing so much that I could not figure out exactly where it came from. Again, murmurs rose in the corridor."That is the problem with all of these royal dogs. They think they are superior to the rest of us. Damned imperial piece of shit." A voice cursed from somewhere close by."Wait, royal? That can't be true. Whatever would a royal be doing here?" Another voice questioned."You had better believe it. That girl from earlier? I would recognize her anywhere. She is the daughter of the Gamma. And this moron here, I heard her call him Indrik, is the son of the Alpha. Little spoilt
Blaire's Pov"You are still here?" A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts and I raised my head. I feel disoriented as I look around, trying to figure out where I am. I am still sitting in the swing, with it swaying back and forth. Looking up at the sky, I realize that the sun is sinking into the sky in a brilliant mix of colours very quickly. I turn my eyes to the owner of the voice but am unable to see the face very clearly. Still feeling very lost and confused, I peel my eyes off the person and focus them on my laps. "Tell me you left earlier and came back." Jamil exclaimed then whistled as he came closer and picked some leaves out of my hair. "No, you did not. Did you turn into a tree for a while then?" My eyes finally clear as they settle on him. My eyes fill with tears as I recall what I had just seen."Hey! Hey! Are you okay?" Jamil questioned, alarmed at the tear drop that rolled down my face. He covered the distance between the door where he is still standing and the swing
Blaire's PovJamil did not like the idea of us breaking the rules because despite the fact that he was the most outgoing of all four of us, he also happened to be the most rigid. Weird combination, right? But with the two of us on his case, he had no other choice than to join us in our prison raid. I had returned my mother's bunch of keys before she would notice they were gone but that was only after I had removed the keys to the dungeon. With their help, I had been able to secure more supplies which was more extensive because Jamil insisted I bring a gift or something as an act of goodwill to the other prisoners. According to him, bringing something for one prisoner, especially when it was against the rules, would make the other prisoners mad which might make them pick on the prisoner or worse, report the prisoner just to spite him. The simple cure to that, is to bring something for them as well. They would be pleased with the thoughtfulness and voila, all would have been saved a lo
Indrik's PovI had been hoping that Blaire would take my advice and not return. So, what if my fellow prisoners had made their threat good and informed the guards? They had no proof to show that it really was her who had come. I could easily have convinced the council into buying that it was someone else. At worst, they would have worsened my punishment but at least, she would have been saved. But all of that went flying out the window or in this case, iron door as I looked up at Blaire, her tender face framed by the flickering flames. "You shouldn't have come!" I groaned, knowing that there was no escaping the clutches of the prisoners now. Obviously, I was not the only one who realized this as they all started to speak at the same time. As expected, they had all made illogical requests. Like asking me to help break them out of prison or to help them speak to the council to offer them some leniency. Like I would be here if I had that much power. I told them as much and they had pai
Luna"What have you done? How could you let this happen? The greatest evil has been born! Pain, death, destruction like never before has just been unleashed because of you. The world will never be the same. You shall atone for your sins. Begone! And I shall never see your face again nor you, mine until you have made everything right." I shuddered at the memory. My memories from the...that time were becoming fuzzier the longer time passed but somehow, that memory never faded. I could not remember the face of the person who had spoken. Not even where the person had spoken but I could never forget the words nor the panic, pain and sorrow that had filled me and even now still pulsed in every single vein in my body. Looking down at Indrik as he stabbed at his food, I wondered if all that was happening was indeed my fault. Maybe I really deserved to be here. Even worse, I wondered if I did not deserve to be here, being the recipient of his gratitude like I was some saviour when I was infa
Indrik"You would never be more than a bottom feeder." The words would not stop ringing in my ears, burning into my brain with searing heat. I clasped my hands over my ears and screamed, tears gushing down my face. A group of people walked past me staring at me like I was crazy but I couldn't care any less. What was I thinking? I would never be more than a disappointment, an Alpha's son who was born without a wolf. To think that I had thought that getting a master and having her unlock my wolf would change my fate. I laughed drily. Just how much more stupid could I be? I would never be more than a failure however hard I tried. Another group of people walked past me and though my senses were too clouded for me to see their expressions, I knew instinctively that they were sniggering at the miserable me. I had left the palace behind and was now wandering through the meandering streets of the pack, hardly aware of where I was going. Every so often, I ran into someone who hissed at me to
IndrikBeta Green fixed me with a cold stare that caused my smiles to wilt as I was consumed with a premonition that he was about to deliver a very bad news. "What did you just say?" He asked the question like I had just suggested that we pull down the palace and build a cattle shed in its place. I wasn't going to be so easily discouraged though. It had taken me so much time, effort and sacrifices to get here. I wasn't about to be forced to give up by a tone, however cold it might sound. "I said...""I know what you said!" He snapped in irritation. "I was hoping you wouldn't repeat it so I wouldn't have had to tell you this but it is obvious that you are still so young and naive. Perhaps, I ought to enlighten you."My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach as every muscle in my body strained to run, to avoid the verdict he was about to pass. But at the end, I had to stop and listen to what he had to say even if everything within me warned me that I would not like it. He smiled warm
IndrikMessage or not, I decided that my thoughts were going to drive me crazy if I didn't snap out of them so I did just that. I pushed away from the window and got out of bed. Looking around the slowly lightening room, I was rather disappointed to find that Luna was not in the room. I had been hoping to be able to have a word or two with her. I decided I couldn't wait and made my way to her room only to get the same result. The unmade state of her bed hinted that she had left the room in a hurry, (what else was new?) which meant I couldn't expect to see her for a while.I paced around for a while, the memories still haunting me until I finally got the ingenious idea to go to an old friend of mine. Now, when I mention friend, you might think I am referring to a childhood friend that I had forgotten about but no, I can count the number of friends I have on a single hand. By friend, I meant the library, one of the many places I used to visit in a bid to both lose and discover myself in
IndrikDo powers cause nightmares? I highly doubt that or Blaire would have spent every other day screaming from her sleep. Or perhaps, they were just signs of my body getting used to its new heightened senses. Again, I doubted that. Those dreams had looked and felt very real. Like something that had happened, or worse, something that was about to happen. I placed an arm under my jaw as I tried to recall my dream. The mere thought of relieving that nightmare scared the marrows out of me but I decided that I had to face it to know what the problem really was. In my dream, I had seemed to be watching the pack from the hill that was just behind the royal training grounds. Once upon a time, that had been my favorite spot for hanging out. In my dream, or was it a nightmare? The scenery had rolled out before me in the same way it had the last time I had been there. There had been the palace to the one side closed off with high enough walls as to prevent me from seeing past them. Then ther
VeronicaPain did not seem like the right term for what I was feeling right now. Every single bone in my upper body seemed to have been pummelled to powder leaving me paralyzed. Yet, hearing Indrik's voice energized me as I tried my best to open my eyes. My body protested against the effort as my head started to pound. I shut my eyes again before I could focus on the person standing above me. Everywhere seemed to have gone pitch dark. I could have sworn that there was still some light when that bitch had shoved me to my back. "Oh, Indrik! Look at what she has done to me. You have to make her pay." I whimpered as I tried to open my eyes again without success. My eyes seemed to have filled up with my own blood which was not a very fun experience. "The nerve of this bitch. Let me go. I am not done with her." That was Blaire's voice. I wondered if Indrik was the one holding her back. No, that was wrong. He should be helping me, not her. For the umpteenth time, I tried to open my eyes ag
Veronica"A maid?" I exclaimed as I made my way out of the room, trying my best to staunch the tears that would not stop pouring. Indrik was really going to replace me with a maid? I, the heiress of the Light Crest Claws Pack was really going to be replaced by a maid. I chuckled. Of course not. There had to be a mistake of sorts. He was probably just teasing me. Trying to make me want him more by showing that he had other options. That had to be it. I straightened my shoulders already starting to feel better. Outside, I ran into Blaire who turned up her nose making me want to smash it in. "I'm guessing you've seen him? How was your meeting?" She asked, a mocking sneer on her face. The temptation to hit her hard enough to send her sinking straight down to Hades grew stronger. "It went very well, thank you." I muttered, forcing a smile to my hurting cheeks. I hoped that my eyes had cleared enough as to not let her see any evidence that I had been crying. That, would be very humiliati
IndrikFor someone who had had to give up on a lot of things, among which were my respect as the first son of the Alpha, my place as a wolf, my place as an elder brother to mention just a little, I wasn't exactly enamoured by someone who did not know the right time to give up. I know all about the difference between love and obsession and I was willing to bet my least favorite robe that this woman was becoming obsessed. I hated obsession. And besides, there was that other matter. I had barely stepped into our quarters when her unmistakable fragrance wafted over the air to me. You could never miss the mix of flagrant spices which I loved when they were used in appropriate proportions. Rosewater, Lavender, among other scents that I couldn't place. Seriously? Now, I didn't know all that much about female rituals but I was pretty certain there were some rules about mixing these scents. This was clearly a total violation of all of those rules. I tried not to think of my room continuing to
IndrikI just had the best day of my life! That was something I knew without a doubt. Sure, I was super hungry, and every single muscle in my body ached but within my sternum, my heart raced with the enough euphoria to equal that of a man who had just finished a whole barrel of good beer. No, don't ask me if I drink. I don't. I gave up after drinking one glass once and waking up at the edge of the river and my pants might have been wet as well. Some of us are just too pure to be found drinking such unseemly things, I guess. No! I'm not trying to make my weakness seem like a virtue. What am I saying? It isn't a weakness. You know what? Forget I mentioned it. I was finally fulfilling my lifelong dream and nothing could stop me. It could be my imagination but I could already feel myself growing stronger by the day. Despite all of these, I still needed to eat though if I did not want to pass out with exhaustion which was why I was glad when Luna made a beeline for the kitchen as soon as w