ALPHA KING XALEN~~I felt everything… I felt how she tried to reject me again and how she couldn’t. More importantly, I felt her pain like it was mine and it took so much of my strength not to groan before my special adviser or if we are being informal, my uncle.Also, I felt the rage that followed the pain and I didn’t have to be told to know that she had realized that I had taken away her right to reject me—the benefits of being the Alpha King. A tiny part of me felt happy as her anger swelled within me. She was a little crazy. Timid but crazy. I have seen her craziness a few times when she gets pushed to the wall. It’s like she says whatever comes to mind at that point and forgets about the consequences that might come after.She was interesting and I most likely would have gotten to know her better under a different circumstance or maybe I wouldn’t have met her at all.“My King?” My uncle’s voice resonated through my office as he called to get my attention.I exhaled audi
HAYLEE~~“Let me reject you or I will make it easier for us both by killing myself…” I meant every word. The pain I would feel when the knife slit my throat can’t compare to all the pain I had endured in my nineteen years of living as the pathetic daughter and the unwanted mate. I was done. Liya was fighting against my will but my mind was made up. Alpha King Xalen either rejects me or watches me kill myself. “You have no right to barge into my office, slave…” He seethed, balling his fists as his face turned red.I could see the way his eyes dated from my face to the knife I was holding to my neck even though he remained unreadable. The only emotions I had seen him wear proudly were anger and pain when he was reminded of his Queen. “You have no right to stop me from rejecting you, Alpha King. It’s my right and you took it from me–”He snarled, “I have every right. I’m your king and I own you. You belong to me!” As tears fell out of my eyes, I pressed the sharp knife I had take
HAYLEE~~Day after day, I served my master. A master who wouldn’t look at me, touch me, or speak to me... Mostly because I had made sure our paths didn't cross in the huge Palace. Day after day, I have worked and cared for children that weren’t mine. I wasn’t complaining because of the natural love I felt toward kids but my natural love had been tested many times these past few days. Aside from the pain their father had caused me, the experience of the past few days had traumatized me and more than usual, I have been quiet. If allowed to diagnose myself, I would say my broken parts have shattered into more pieces. I was depressed. Also, the fact that Princess Sophia hated me wasn’t making my life any easier. I recalled supporting her when her Dad asked her to apologize, but the little Princess had somehow forgotten that or maybe she hated me for doing that.Whatever reason she had, she was hell-bent on making my life even more difficult. Just yesterday, Princess Sophia entered
ALPHA KING XALEN~~I had to go for a run.As soon as I sensed Alpha Richard’s presence in my Pack, I had to go for a run and burn some steam. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going but I assumed they would know.I didn’t waste much time before I returned home where I knew Alpha Richard and my uncle would be waiting for me. I also knew that Alpha Richard would be burning with anger as I didn’t respect him enough to receive him myself but who cares what a greedy man like him thinks? This was my chance to make him understand that even though I had agreed to meet him, I was still in charge. “Can you feel that?” Theo asked me as I pushed the front door of my home open, stepping into the living room and shifting my gaze from Alpha Richard to the other people he came with. “What now, Theo?” I asked my wolf even though I knew what he was calling my attention to. It was the feeling… The feeling that had been constant within me since I tied the salve’s consciousness to mine so I could s
HAYLEE~~“Enough!” I saw that coming from the second the late Queen was mentioned, but surprisingly, Alpha King Xalen didn’t lash out until the visiting Alpha dropped the bomb. The earth shook underneath my feet, or maybe I was the one who shook as the King’s anger spread through the room, hitting us all.“How dare you?” Alpha King Xalen snarled. “How dare you come to my pack... to my home and suggest your daughter replace my Laura?”Even the moon goddess couldn’t replace the late Queen in the Alpha King’s heart. To save myself from the hell I knew the Alpha King was about to invoke on the visiting Alpha, I stepped backward. My eyes lingered on Jodie, who was still in his arms, and I considered saving the baby as well, but before I could act on that thought, the visiting Alpha responded, a little shaky but quite confidently, “She is not replacing the late Queen, Alpha King. She will be the next Queen, joining the two Royal Families together and ending the strive between—” “I sai
ALPHA KING XALEN~~“Damn!” I gritted, growling continuously as I began to pace before the desk in my office. The kind of anger coursing through me was one that consumed me. I was blinded by this rage. Each breath I took was rage. Each one I exhaled was rageful. I was shaking with rage, and knowing that my hands had been tied did nothing to reduce this rage.“My King–” Uncle Calvin tried to speak. But I seethed, barely stopping myself from throwing the desk at him, “Don’t even dare utter a word!” "In this dire situation, you know I can not just keep quiet—" Oh, I knew that, but that didn’t stop me from storming over to him. I shut him up with one glare and hiss in his face. “What is it that you have to say? You should have figured out the details of his proposal. You should have done research before letting me see him. Damn! I should have been prepared.”Alpha Richard and his daughter won this round. They knew that too well when they left my home with the intention of calling fo
HAYLEE~~The beginning of my second month in the palace as the Alpha King’s slave and nanny to his kids also marked the beginning of change. The change began the very day Princess Allison was moved into the palace, much to the Alpha King’s dismay. I had never seen him so defeated, angry, and full of hate.Do I pity him? Hell no!He had used his powers against me in the past and is still using them to keep me captive in a bond we both clearly didn’t want, and seeing him defeated kind of made me feel happy. I mean, the playing field has been leveled. “Be careful with that. I don’t want a scratch on it.” Princess Allison ordered the warriors that were moving her valuables into the palace. From the look of things and the number of properties that she came with, it seemed as if she was here to stay. Now that didn’t make me happy. That made my chest constrict.“He took her in as a prospective mate? They are practically engaged to marry in three months.” Liya snarled within me. Everyo
HAYLEE~~“What do you think you are doing?” Princess Allison’s icy voice stopped me dead in my tracks as I took Princess Sophia’s hand, hoping to take her away from the toxic scene. I summoned the courage needed to look into the mean Princess’s eyes and answered with a steady voice despite the lies I was about to tell, “Taking the Princess to her room, My Lady. It’s time for her nap–” Though I had grown accustomed to physical abuse, the sharp pain that sliced through me as Princess Allison’s soft palm struck my cheek was still jarring. Her hand may have been delicate, but the slap was anything but gentle.“I’m your Queen, not your Lady. I’m royalty, and you will treat and refer to me as you do the King. Do I make myself clear?” She shouted in my face. Princess Sophia whimpered and hid herself behind me, acting like a terrified child for the first time since I met her.I didn’t hesitate to nod. In cases like this, I have learned to just give Caesar whatever he—or, in this case, s
ALPHA KING XALEN~~If anger were a body of water, then it would be safe to say that I had been completely submerged beneath its surface, unable to break through the surface until she cried out in pain.“Aah!” Her cry hit the surface of my flooring rage, and I was plunged out of its depth.Allison was still yelling in my face like she had some kind of death wish, which I initially planned to grant, but my mind forgot about her as my focus shifted to Haylee, whose cry still bounced off the walls of my mind.“What is she doing here?” Theo gasped within me, his anger shifting into worry as my eyes found Haylee. I felt conflicted. I felt torn.Should I show Allison that I was the Alpha King even though I had been lenient with her, or should I give in to the urge to run over to Haylee, whose pain was still evident as she groaned, struggling to regain balance?“You threw the damn box at her! Go to her dammit!” Theo gritted his canines in anger, despite the fact that the anger I was expre
HAYLEE~~I swear the earth shook underneath my feet, and I felt the kitchen threatening to crumble as Alpha King Xalen’s anger boomed through the atmosphere. His voice hit my eardrums hard enough to threaten to tear them. “Are you insane!” Those three words sounded nothing like a question, and I saw how Prince Asher’s face fell when he was also hit by the wave of his dad’s anger. Even Princess Jodie's body jerked in my arms, but I quickly began to rock the little princess and also assure the Prince that everything was fine. Thankfully, Benita came into the kitchen at that moment, and being closer to Asher than I was, she took over his care and whispered to me, “The palace will only get hotter.” “What do you mean?” I asked, brows furrowed. “I heard that Princess Allison spent the whole night moving Quuen Laura’s belongings to one of the guest rooms and she moved hers into the room the Alpha King and Queen Laura used to share. “ Benita said to me, whispering so Prince Asher woul
ALPHA KING XALEN~~I slept peacefully with my kids snuggled around me that night. Despite being cramped in Asher’s bed, it was the best night since I came home and found out that my mate had gone to the land of no return.It was the first night that I actually slept through the night and enjoyed every bit of it. Although I had to wake up a few times to feed Jodie, it remained a great night. Asher and Sophia slept on my sides, and Jodie spent the night on my chest, enjoying her dad’s proximity for the first time since she was born. Perhaps I would still be in bed if Asher didn’t wake up three hours before noon with a grumbling stomach.“My stomach is hungry, Daddy,” Asher said as soon as he saw my eyelids parting. That was his way of announcing his hunger, and it never ceased to make me laugh. My daughter woke Sophia up, and I felt a great bundle of joy sinking into me as I recalled how my daughter apologized to me last night. I didn’t see the apology coming because I didn’t dese
HAYLEE~~I was still shaken up when Princess Sophia and I returned to the palace. The young Princess didn’t leave my hand, dragging me along with her as she looked around the living room nervously.“Phew! I don’t want to run into her.” Princess Sophia whispered, obviously talking about her latest rival. The little girl told me to tiptoe around the passageway so no one would hear us, and I didn’t utter a word even after she walked past her dad’s office, where he usually spends most of the hours of the day.“What are we going to do about this?” Liya asked me. I didn’t have to be told that she was talking about Leo’s case—I mean, Jose’s case. Would I ever get used to not calling him Leo? “Honestly, I don’t know, Liya.” Liya asked, “Would you go with him? If he tells you it’s time to go, would you?”Now that was a question I didn't have an answer to. “Again, I don’t know, Liya. I can’t even think right now, and even if I want to leave, I don’t think I can with what Alpha King Xale
HAYLEE~~Tears welled up in my eyes as I exclaimed, "Leo.” Without hesitation, I threw myself into his arms, not minding the small fact that this corner was way too small to maneuver freely, but it was perfect for a long hug. I could hold him forever. Leo inhaled deeply as his hands wrapped around me, holding me tightly as he muttered, “Haylee…” His voice did the trick of assuring me that truly, this man was Leo and that he wasn’t mad at me. Also, I could hear how much he missed me just by listening to him say my name, and that broke the dam.I sobbed into his shirt, rubbing my face in his chest like I always do, and just like always, he allowed me and hushed me gently. “Hey, it’s okay, Haylee,” Leo murmured, patting my back as he carefully placed his chin over my head. I spluttered, “No, it’s not okay. I thought you were dead, Leo. I thought I would never see you again.” I pulled back a bit just to look at his face. Leo smiled at me, wiping my tears, but his effort was fruitl
HAYLEE~~Princess Sophia and I just sat there in the kids' garden within the palace’s compound, where they have swings, a trampoline, and other fun items. But rather than have fun, we simply sat there on one of the benches, staring at space for the longest time until Princess Sophia let out, her eyes glued to the floor, “She hit you because of me. Why did you try to get me away from here when you are just a slave?” Her curiosity was louder than her voice, and I had to search deep within me for the right words so I wouldn’t hurt her any more than Princess Allison had. I sighed, “I saw you struggling and I knew what that feeling–”“I wasn’t struggling!” She snapped, her eyes flying to my face, as she tried to act strong. I smiled slowly, looking at the young Princess’s eyes, which told more than she was expressing. “You know it’s okay to struggle every now and then, Princess Sophia. Even adults struggle, and we shouldn’t bottle up our feelings.” She responded defensively but with
ALPHA KING XALEN~~“I hate you, and I’ll never forgive you for replacing Mom!”Sophia was everything but stupid, and I knew she could sense the changes in our home even though I had made sure no one informed her about the kind of relationship Allison and I were supposed to have.I made sure everyone in the pack kept their mouths shut to keep my children, especially Sophia, safe. Asher and Jodie were still too young to understand the change, but even though Sophia was very young as well, she was as smart as her mother and brave as her father.I didn’t miss the way Haylee ran after Sophia. “She has a good heart, and she cares about our kids despite how badly you have treated her,” Theo called me out, feeling just as weary as I had been feeling. I knew this day would come—the day Allison moved into my home, and despite how hard I tried to act indifferent, the current situation was affecting me–“Just tell them we already have a mate. This will save us from Alpha Richard's trap! We
HAYLEE~~“What do you think you are doing?” Princess Allison’s icy voice stopped me dead in my tracks as I took Princess Sophia’s hand, hoping to take her away from the toxic scene. I summoned the courage needed to look into the mean Princess’s eyes and answered with a steady voice despite the lies I was about to tell, “Taking the Princess to her room, My Lady. It’s time for her nap–” Though I had grown accustomed to physical abuse, the sharp pain that sliced through me as Princess Allison’s soft palm struck my cheek was still jarring. Her hand may have been delicate, but the slap was anything but gentle.“I’m your Queen, not your Lady. I’m royalty, and you will treat and refer to me as you do the King. Do I make myself clear?” She shouted in my face. Princess Sophia whimpered and hid herself behind me, acting like a terrified child for the first time since I met her.I didn’t hesitate to nod. In cases like this, I have learned to just give Caesar whatever he—or, in this case, s
HAYLEE~~The beginning of my second month in the palace as the Alpha King’s slave and nanny to his kids also marked the beginning of change. The change began the very day Princess Allison was moved into the palace, much to the Alpha King’s dismay. I had never seen him so defeated, angry, and full of hate.Do I pity him? Hell no!He had used his powers against me in the past and is still using them to keep me captive in a bond we both clearly didn’t want, and seeing him defeated kind of made me feel happy. I mean, the playing field has been leveled. “Be careful with that. I don’t want a scratch on it.” Princess Allison ordered the warriors that were moving her valuables into the palace. From the look of things and the number of properties that she came with, it seemed as if she was here to stay. Now that didn’t make me happy. That made my chest constrict.“He took her in as a prospective mate? They are practically engaged to marry in three months.” Liya snarled within me. Everyo