After Elena finally walked away, Shannon let out a sharp breath of her own.
"Definitely worse than her daughter." Shannon huffed, shaking her head. "Their the third largest Kingdom, just so you know.""Great." I sighed. I wondered if I could possibly sleep tonight with all of this new information rolling around in my head."There's something weird about that August guy." Aela commented, feeling just as confused as I."What did you think about August?" I spoke quietly to Shannon as we walked over to one of the service tables.I gulped down some cool water, only wishing it were some strong wine.Shannon hesitated for a minute, her honey eyes clouding over in thought."I saw this cat once. It was living out in the woods and hated anyone that came near it. It wasn't mean or anything, but it was scared and constantly on guard. I brought some food out and it just fell in love with me. It just needed someThree things happened simultaneously.Every window shattered, spewing glass at Shannon, Viktor and I. Masked figures jumped through each shattered window.I jumped in front of Shannon, shielding her from the spray of glass that flung in our direction.Viktor jumped in front of Shannon and I, taking most of the glass to himself.Everything in the ballroom was happening much too fast.People screamed in every direction. Some ran, while others dropped to the ground.In the midst of the chaos, I could make out some of the masked men holding guns. My eyes widened as explosion of bullets flying through the air pierced my ears. Everything was happening so fast, I hardly noticed my necklace hot against my skin."Stay close to Viktor!" I shouted at Shannon, pulling her closer to him be her trembling arm."Arabella!" I could hear my Dad's voice yelling my name."Bella.. I think you should st
ViktorHad I known what would happen to the little Princess's mother, I might have turned around.I had traveled a mere twenty minutes until I ran into a familiar face."Old friends", many would call them. In my case, they weren't friends at all. I had made countless enemies in my lifetime, and I wasn't finished yet.My past was a complex storm of deceit and betrayal. A past I had whole heartedly left behind."You left behind that life for a life of violence." Hades shook his head.I sighed, my wolf and I sometimes disagreed on such matters. "It was for the best, Hades. Killing is what we have always been known for. Now we kill on our terms."Twenty minutes into my retreat from the green eyed Princess and the knowing eyes of her mother, I stumbled into someone from my messy past.Not many people remembered me for who I was. Many of those who remembered the old ways had long been
ViktorAfter I had turned my back on the little princess, I spent the rest of my time desperately trying to forget her.I would not let the little green eye'd beauty cause my downfall.I had built some semblance of a life for myself after finally leaving my old one behind. It was a life filled with murder, but it was a life I excelled at.I was hours away on the outskirts of another kingdom when I had received news of the first three attacks.The Adair Kingdom had suffered an attack, leaving three bodies behind. What was unsettling was the fact that each body was located closer and closer to the Adair mansion."Someone else is hunting our mate." Hades growled in my head."We will find out what we can. Purely for her safety." I replied.I wouldn't have been able to resist if I tried. The moment her green eyes met my own and the sparks seared my nerves, I knew I would no longer be
ViktorBy some stroke of insanity or luck, the Alpha King hired me on as his daughter's body guard.To say I was torn would be an understatement.I had been hired and lured into killing the little Princess due to the large bounty on her head, only to find out the little thing is my mate.Her father, the world renowned Alpha King, knowingly hired his daughter's hired assassin as her body guard.Either the Alpha King was much smarter (or ignorant) than I anticipated, or he truly put that much stock in the power of the mate-bond.My internal turmoil had ended once I locked eyes with the little green eyed Princess.I had met the Alpha King early in the morning, and he escorted me to her bedroom."Do not leave her alone even for a moment." The Alpha King told me sternly.The black mask on my face was rather irritating, but preferable to the alternative. My identity was one
ArabellaI had a total of five seconds to access the chaos around me.Viktor was knelt on the floor, a mere ten feet away. His full lips were turned down in an incredulous frown as he gazed at me with his obsidian eyes.The men that had surrounded him had collapsed to the floor simultaneously, each one laying in an unnerving heap on the floor.Blood splatter stained the porcelain floor in random locations, and I distantly worried there had been innocent lives lost today.The necklace that had once seared my skin, felt ice cold. My vision quickly became spotty and before I could register my legs crumbling from underneath me, my world was engulfed into darkness.I woke to the feel of a cool hand against my head, along with a familiar shrill voice. I kept my eyes shut, listening in on what the people in the room were saying."Is she gonna be alright?" Caroline's shrill voice pierced the air, f
Finally I was back in bed. Viktor thoughtfully retreated to his own bedroom, leaving me alone and confused.I had far too much to think about based on tonight's events alone.One single fact was ever so present in my mind.What happened the night of my birthday wasn't some spur of the moment coup.It was calculated, planned, and well thought out.A message had been sent when the men shattered the windows in the ballroom. The game had begun, and I was now a player.One, people were after my necklace. They knew the power it held and wanted it for themselves. Knowing they could not rip it from my neck was comforting, but I wondered if that would still apply if I died. Could they remove the necklace from my dead body? I was beginning to suspect they could.Two, there was a high chance I had been responsible for the deaths of ten men. Eleven if you counted the man August and I had taken down. For a moment, my mi
ViktorI had made three mistakes within the last few days.One, I had let Arabella slip through my grasp as the masked men infiltrated her birthday Gala.I had never felt true fear in my life. Facing death had only strengthened my resolve. You could not truly bring someone to the precipice of death if you feared the thing itself. Death had never frightened me. I was sure someday I would meet my match, ending in the only way I knew; violently.Down on my knees and staring down the barrel of Kreslers gun, I felt no fear.The moment I locked eyes with Princess Arabella, I had felt something new. Fear, like white hot pin pricks swarmed my skin. I feared dying without ever telling her the truth. I feared what would happen to her after my last breath.Something had changed following her eighteenth birthday. Something I had not anticipated.It was as if there were another consciousness occupying m
ArabellaI woke the next morning feeling a plethora of conflicting emotions. I was blissfully excited at the appearance of my mate, but confused on why he didn't reveal himself. It had to be someone already in the mansion, as I couldn't see how someone would get past the hundreds of guards my Dad had just employed around the perimeter of the city center. My options were quite limited, and yet I wasn't sure where to begin."Miss me?" Aela's familiar voice filtered through my head, and I couldn't contain the happiness I felt."I've missed you so much, Aela." I whined."It seems things have been..eventful in my absence." Aela murmured.I closed my eyes as I lay in bed, relaying everything that happened within the time I had been conscious."Goddess." Aela groaned, "I couldn't have picked a worse time to be gone.""If you recall, it wasn't exactly your fault." I gave her a kind smile.
One Month LaterI stood in front of my floor length mirror, my eyes narrowing suspiciously at the dress that flowed down my body. A nearly endless sea of deep green silk rolled down my body, my hair rippled down my back in dark waves. Dad wanted to call the stylists for today’s events, but I refused. My stomach was a cocoon of nerves and knots. The last thing I wanted was a team of people fluttering around me. I had Shannon do my make-up, her steady hands putting my eyeliner on effortlessly.“The dress looks amazing.” Shannon nodded, giving it a long look as I stood in front of the mirror.“You’re only saying that because you picked it out.” I chuckled, giving her a playful eyeroll.“And I did a damn good job.” Shannon huffed, fixing the straps of her own dress.A wave of calming energy washed over me as Viktor stepped out of the bathroom. His chocolate hair was tousled, begging to have
Two Days LaterNikolai Aslanov had been true to his word. Even though I knew he was responsible for the attack at my Birthday Gala, he found evidence against Elena Halifax. This evidence cleared Viktor’s name, letting him finally come back to me.I was unsure why Nikolai wanted to give Viktor and I a chance, but I didn’t argue with it. It was clear Nikolai expected Viktor and I to fail, hoping I would come to him after the fact. Nikolai Aslanov wanted a chance with me, yet he had a funny way of showing it. Trying to have me killed on my birthday wasn’t the best gesture.Viktor was able to return with August in two days. Viktor had turned around the minute I gave the news. He was naturally suspicious of Nikolai Aslanov’s motives, not that I could blame him. I could feel Viktor’s jealousy for his younger brother as I told him that Nikolai wanted a chance with me. I told Viktor what Nikolai had told me, that they were brothers. I asked
“I never told you about that.” I scoffed, “How did you know?”Caroline’s eyes widened, her lips fumbling over words. She knew she had been caught, with what I was unsure of. Everything ran much deeper than I had anticipated.I felt like a child, trying to play a game clearly designed for adults. Just when I thought I was finally gaining the upper hand, something happened. A new twist was thrown into the mix.Instead of backtracking, Caroline’s face contorted in anger. Any friendliness or companionship had faded from her face. Her light eyes were dull and lacked warmth, her lips turned up in a sneer.“Princess Arabella.” Caroline sneered, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. “Born the luckiest girl alive and doesn’t even know it.”“I don’t see what that has to do with anything, Caroline.” My voice conveyed the confusion and hurt I felt. Caroline looked nothing like
“Big brother?” My jaw dropped. The mask I had precariously placed on my face was shattered, long forgotten. I couldn’t tell if Nikolai was lying or not. There wasn’t an ounce of deceit on his face, nor was there any other emotion.“It seems you know little about your mate.” Nikolai shook his head regretfully, “What a shame. If you were mine, nothing would be kept from you. You would never be left in the dark.”“If Viktor’s your brother, why isn’t he in line for the throne?” My eyes narrowed at Nikolai, ignoring his last comment.“Viktor—as you know him by, hate’s being in charge of others.” Nikolai smiled grimly, “Viktor’s skill is ending lives. He never possessed the tasks necessary to rule.”“There are plenty of Royal’s skilled at ending lives.” I murmured; my eyes locked on Nikolai’s. “They use others to do the
“What a special human you must be.” Nikolai Aslanov gave Shannon a friendly grin, one I could tell was fake. Shannon must have been able to tell too, as her eyes hardened at his words. “Is the Halifax family not attending dinner? I was under the impression they were residing here for the time being, same goes for the other young Royal.”“Erik.” I pointed out, pressing my lips together gently.“Yes, Erik.” Nikolai smiled at me, as though the two of us were old friends.“Geoff and Elena Halifax are in mourning.” Dad grunted; his voice laced with sympathy. “Their son recently passed.”“Is that so?” Nikolai’s eyes widened in false surprise; his voice laced with the emotion. He was an expert alright, yet I could still see the curiosity in his gaze. “And how did that happen in a house with the Alpha King?”“He took his own life.” I pressed my
Arabella’s P.o.vI let Viktor’s voice lull me to sleep, staying connected to him until the darkness had taken me over.‘Goodnight, little Princess.’ Viktor murmured, the last thing I heard before sleep claimed me.I shot up in bed as my Dad’s voice flooded through my mind.‘Bella, are you awake?’ Dad’s voice rang out.‘I am now.’ I grumbled, wiping the sleep from my eyes. Shannon was still curled up on the couch, only her mess of curls visible from underneath the blanket.‘Geoff Halifax has decided to hold a funeral pyre for his son.’ My Dad informed me, ‘This should be easy enough to complete. We will be holding it tomorrow night. The Royal’s will stay leave after its completion.’‘And are we prepared for our dinner tonight.’ I winced at the harsh light streaming through my curtains.‘Everything is prepared.’ Dad n
Viktor’s P.o.vThe mark on my neck stung against the itchy fabric of my shirt. The pain reminded me that what happened wasn’t born from my imagination.I could have never anticipated someone like Princess Arabella, or her decision to accept me. Guilt swirled in my stomach, an emotion I had experienced little. The small Princess was making me feel things I had only heard about, but never experienced.I felt true fear for the first time in her presence. Fear had been a distant memory, present in the mind of child-like Viktor. My name had been different back then, but I had also been a different person. Fear was a constant companion as a child, but it was beaten and torn from my body until nothing remained. I had felt fear in its rawest forms at the Princess’s Birthday Gala. Her life had been hanging by a thread, threatened in her need to save my life.She knew nothing of my past, nothing of the things I’ve done and yet she still acce
I wasn’t surprised that Elena couldn’t smell my change in scent when she walked into my bedroom. My room had smelled like Viktor ever since he left. The smell had begun to fade, its intensity rising as I used Viktor’s body wash in my baths.My Dad had called everyone into the living room, Shannon and I included. Each Royal was present followed by, Uncle Jaspar, Dad, Shannon and me.Bryton Duboi gave me a hard look, one that held just a fraction of sympathy. Geoff Halifax looked haunted, like a Father who had lost his only son. Elena was playing the part of grieving Mother, not daring to show her real face in front of my Dad. Even Annalise Halifax had her own mask of sadness, though not nearly as convincing as her Mother.My heart hammered in my chest. I stood off to the side with Shannon, hoping my scent wouldn’t waft around the room. There were already many scents lingering to begin with, hopefully masking my own for the time being.
The decision I made hit me like a ton of bricks once Viktor and I were finished. I had thrown another kink into our plans, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret anything.Viktor and I were mates, why shouldn’t I complete the process with him? I refused to let Uncle Jaspar, Nikolai Aslanov or anyone else scare me away from being with my mate. Sooner or later the truth would have surfaced.Those who knew my scent would be able to smell I had completed the mating process. Only those familiar with Viktor’s scent would know who my mate was.“Little Princess.” Viktor frowned; his dark eyes were burning into my face.I realized I had gone silent, lost in my own thoughts as I slipped the clothes onto my body.The mate bond between Viktor and I was much stronger now. I couldn’t hear his thoughts or see his memories, but I picked up more emotion from him than I had in the past.Viktor was worried, worried I regrette