ALPHA KING XALEN~~“If you didn’t call for an urgent meeting, then who did?” Uncle Calvin’s shock was evident in his wide eyes and open mouth.“Clearly, Allison did.” I breathed out, a smile creeping across my face. “She is indeed quite smart, which is precisely why we can’t let her have her way, Uncle Calvin.”Using my uncle’s title, which conveyed our close biological ties, only happened once in a blue moon, but after the kind of tense conversation we just had, it felt like a rare blue moon had risen in our midst. “I now know what is truly at risk, thanks to you, but if we do nothing right now, we are allowing Alpha Richard and Allison to assume they are the ones pulling the strings. We have to turn the tables against them.”Uncle Calvin sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I don’t see how that is going to happen, My King.”What? Did I hear him right?“Is he really saying he can’t support our fight against Allison and her family?” Even Theo was stunned by my uncle’s unexpected respo
Princess Allison’s POV ~~“Perfect.”My wolf chimed in my head as soon as Alpha King Xalen stepped forward in the court of elders, where he was still the king but also held accountable.I had to resist the urge to smirk or chuckle out loud as he called me a liar and claimed he could prove it. What a fool he was! A hotheaded king, but his mind was small, and I could see him becoming my puppet in the next forty-nine days. I saw that clearly now. It seemed impossible before, but I had come to realize that he was no match for me.“Are you claiming that this royal guard didn’t assault the princess in the worst ways possible?” Elder Vernon, the second most powerful elder in the court and also the man I knew I had access to whenever I wanted because he and my dad were friends, uttered, asking Alpha King Xalen the question that would push him deeper into my trap.These elders, all twenty-something of them, must really enjoy having Alpha King Xalen in this court because it was the only place
ALPHA KING XALEN~~I have heard that acting was becoming popular among the younger generation, but today, in the court, was the first time I saw what acting really was. It was one thing to pretend and another to act.And I must say, Allison’s acting was a ten out of ten.Was I stunned? Hell, yes.But did I let her see that? Well, I tried to hide it until she played her last stunt, forcing my jaw to drop as it fell.Allison looked me in the eye and whimpered, “I’m begging you to protect my image, Alpha King Xalen. It will be all I have left after I return home to my pack, failing to become the queen they believed I could be.”She was playing the pity card so well. To those who didn’t see the way she was ready to take the guard’s manhood in her lying mouth, she appeared innocent and miserable. She made it look like she had been betrayed by me, even though I had nothing to do with what she did with the guard.Who knows? She might have been sleeping with other guards before I caught he
HAYLEE~~From the rumors flying around, Alpha King Xalen had a long day—long enough to take his mind off punishing the servants for throwing a party. Or so I have heard. However, I believed I had a longer day because I had been juggling through my fuzzy mind, trying to remember what went down last night, especially between the Alpha King and me.Thinking and having to take care of the kids all by myself didn’t go well together, as the kids needed my full attention.I had been with the kids all day, and now Alpha King Xalen was standing in the living room where I had been with the kids and some man Princess Sophia had introduced as her uncle. I also saw the striking resemblance between the Royal Advisor and the unfamiliar man, but I still couldn’t leave the kids alone with him.This is why Alpha King Xalen walked in and found me in the living room.“There’s tension,” Liya muttered into my mind after Alpha King Xalen and Roy entered. “Definitely bad blood between the cousins.”Oh, I s
HAYLEE~~“Haylee, we need to talk. Meet me in the garden at dusk. It’s urgent and important. — Jose”My heart raced as I folded the note neatly, my eyes scanning the handwriting I was familiar with hastily.Surely the note was from Jose. He didn’t have to write his name on the note for me to know. A couple of emotions swirled within me: anxiety, fear, and maybe a bit of hope. I had been trying to get hold of Jose all day, but all my attempts were fruitless as he had been in court with Princess Allison.Why did he want to meet in the garden? Why couldn’t he wait by my bedroom door for me or find me somewhere in the palace? What’s with this secret meeting? I honestly hoped he wasn’t about to tell me about his feelings again.“I suspected something was bothering him this morning when he walked past us without uttering a word,” Liya said in my mind. “Whatever he has to say, it’s our chance to ask him about last night. We have to seize it.”Liya was right, yet my heart kept racing as I
ALPHA KING XALEN~~In spite of how the previous day drained me, I woke up in a better mood this morning. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I slept with my kids around me and in the bedroom where Laura and I created them.I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about those days.This was the first time I would be smiling genuinely at the thought of Laura, and also last night was the first I would spend in my matrimonial bedroom after Laura’s demise.I believed that was my way of trying to connect with her before I began the fight against Allison—a fight that would save my kids and the realm and probably secure a future with Haylee.“So, goodbye to Laura?” Theo asked me, even though he knew the effect those words would have on me.“She will always be a part of my life, Theo.” I wasn’t saying goodbye. I just couldn't.“If you aren’t saying goodbye, how will you take Haylee? What space will she hold in your life? Will she have to compete with the ghost of Laura?” Theo ask
HAYLEE~~The tension in the pack was undeniable, and the source of that tension was within the same palace I was living in. I could feel it during breakfast, and even though breakfast ended many hours ago, I could still feel it as Banita, Maeve, and Orla discussed the execution that would be happening soon.“His parents are old, and he is their first child,” Orla muttered with pity.Maeve rolled her eyes. “You can’t pity him, Orla. He dared to touch the Alpha King’s woman. That’s a big crime.”“But seriously, I have known him for years. He isn’t someone like that. I can’t seem to wrap my head around the whole drama,” Orla countered, talking about how the guard who was to be executed in a few hours was her neighbor growing up.Benita didn’t have much to say since she didn't know the guard. The four of us were in the kitchen as usual because that was the only place big enough for all four of us to be at once, and of course, I was holding Princess Jodie, who kept playing with the stra
ALPHA KING XALEN~~She shouldn’t be here, not with my baby in her arms.And did she leave Sophia and Asher alone at home?I was trying not to be mad as I thought about why Haylee would choose to leave two of my kids at home and bring my newborn to the execution ground. It’s no news to anyone that children under the age of fourteen are not allowed on the execution grounds.“Might be news to her. She isn’t a member of this pack, after all,” Theo defended Haylee, speaking calmly before I could catch up to Haylee and demand she leave immediately.Or maybe it was the fact that I followed Haylee’s gaze and found Allison and Jose standing side by side that made me change my mind.“If you had made her a part of this pack, you would have been able to speak to her through the mind link without causing her pain,” Theo pointed out, reminding me that even though Haylee had been living here for the past forty-two days, she still wasn’t an official member of my pack.“I will see to that as soon as
ALPHA KING XALEN~~Goddess, I was driven by undiluted rage.I mean, how dare he point fingers at my woman? My Haylee!Yes, Evan didn’t know who gave me the information, nor did he know that Haylee had become my mate. My marked mate, in fact. Evan’s explanation was also logical, but who cares about logic?He definitely wouldn’t care when he discovered the whole truth.“This is why we should tell the pack about the bond as soon as possible. I am not sure I can stand any more of these disrespects and accusations that are getting thrown at Haylee,” Theo gritted within me, coming to Haylee’s defense.I agreed with my wolf and made the decision to introduce Haylee to the entire pack the next day. I had to spend the entire day away from her because of my uncle, and when I leave here, I will have to go to the healers’ examination room to get updates.Being away from Haylee was hard—harder than finding my uncle’s dead body in a well.Evan, whose oblivion to my state of mind would soon get h
Alpha Prince Roy’s POV~~He did deserve to die.After everything he had done to me, to Xalen, and to the family, he deserved to die the most painful death.Falling into a well and breaking his neck on impact seemed like an excruciating way to die, and yes, my betrayer of a father deserved it. I fully agree with this perspective, but why the hell was I burning with anger?Why did my eyes sting as I watched warriors pull his decaying body out of the well after hours of discussing the best possible way to do that? Why did I feel the need to punch someone, anyone, just because I found out that my father was dead?I didn’t understand this feeling, but I tried to explain it and convince myself that I was this angry because I didn’t get to torture my dad before he died. The initial plan after he shot Xalen and me and escaped was to find him and make him pay, but how do we make a dead, rotting man pay for his crimes?Jax chimed within me, his anger merging with mine as we both watched my da
ALPHA KING XALEN~~“I get that you are smitten, Xalen, but this isn’t logical,” Roy grumbled as we left the palace, walking side by side.“I am smitten but see no reason why this isn’t logical,” I responded as I opened my mind, finding the connection between my mind and Wyatt’s so I could ask him to meet Roy and me on the northern border.Haylee’s words echoed in my mind even though I had just left her in the palace with my overly excited kids and Flavia and Allison, but I wasn’t worried because I knew Haylee could defend herself.“Be careful out there and don’t involve anyone you can’t trust, Xalen. I need this to be true, not just to prove to the realm that you are a reliable King but also to confirm that I am not going insane.”Those were Haylee’s words. Even though I didn’t understand why she mentioned insanity, I knew better than to trust just anyone with the possible location of my traitorous uncle.Roy scoffed, snapping me out of my thoughts and taking my mind off Haylee. Sad
HAYLEE~~That was unexpected.Allison choosing to walk away instead of picking to create a scene like she always does was unexpected, but I didn’t think much about it because I assumed she was still in shock.“She would never have thought you and Xalen would show up marked. Did you see her face?” Liya let out a wolfish chuckle in my mind, making fun of Allison as she walked away.I did see her face, and it was so damn funny.I was prepared to stand up against her and drag her through the mud if needed, but she had to ruin that for me by choosing to walk away. However, knowing her, I would most likely get more chances to pay her back with the same coin of humiliation that I got from her.After Allison left, Xalen settled at the head of the table, and he was served breakfast by one of the servants. They were all looking at me or at least sneaking peeks. I could perceive Maeve, Orla, and Benita in the hall even though I wasn’t looking at them.I was certain Benita would find me after
Princess Allison’s POV~~“You dare not, Allison! You dare not accept defeat,” Nala growled within me, seizing the wheel as soon as she sensed me giving up.It was safe to say that Nala had to become the authoritative wolf she used to be before we agreed to work on this together… before I asserted my dominance over her.As my body trembled, I queried, “What am I supposed to do now, Nala? If he could mark her even after I showed him the damn results, what could I do that would stop this craziness?”He would make her his queen.It was crystal clear that nothing I did would change Xalen’s mind. How the hell did she even come to terms with the fact that I was carrying her mate’s child? If I were in Haylee’s shoes, I wouldn’t let Xalen touch me or even breathe the same air as me.But somehow, Haylee forgave him, and they completed the bond.Dammit!I could see tears trickling down my cheeks in a minute because my eyes stung painfully as I watched Xalen pull out the chair opposite mine an
Princess Allison’s POV (16)~~When I found out from Benita that Haylee wasn’t in her bedroom, I immediately knew she would be with King Xalen. At first, I was furious because I slept peacefully, believing that my pregnancy result would stomp on any conflict resolution those two were working on when I walked in on them last night.However, I saw an opportunity, and I seized it.Of course, I didn’t know what had happened between those two while they spent the night together, but I didn’t think much about it because I assumed that their so-called bond wouldn’t survive the night.How I wished I knew just how wrong I was.But I didn’t know. However, I did consider the possibility of the duo finding their way back to each other, which was why I ruffled Sophia’s feathers the second she and Asher walked into the dining hall with Flavia, who I found out was Roy’s mate.As far as Flavia and Roy were concerned, good riddance to bad rubbish.I didn’t care about them, and even though they caught
ALPHA KING XALEN~~What a night!I thought to myself, holding Haylee even closer while she snored softly. She was still asleep, but I was awake but couldn’t get myself to move out of bed or take my hands off her.It was a miracle that I hadn’t woken her up, in fact.When I went to find her yesterday, I didn’t know the day would end this way. I didn’t know we would be lying in bed, naked as the day we were born and completely tied together like the soulmates that we were.As I closed my eyes for the millionth time since I woke up, I thought to myself, “This is worth fighting for, and I will fight for us for the rest of my life.”I knew Haylee wanted to fight for the throne and for everyone in the pack, but I wouldn’t hesitate to stop that fight if it posed a threat to what we had here. This beautiful thing we had going on for us.This was peaceful and—A loud bang on my bedroom door smashed the peace I thought I could enjoy for another hour or two. Fuck! I jinxed it, didn’t I?I was
HAYLEE~~If I thought what Xalen and I did at first was lovemaking, I was wrong because with the mate bond completed, every feeling intensified tenfold. Every touch had me whimpering for more, and I lost count of the number of orgasms that I reached in that single night.Each sensation coursed through me like a live wire, electrifying every nerve within me.The world around us faded quickly, leaving just the two of us tangled together, our breathing heavy and synchronized.Xalen’s hands roamed my body like a map, exploring every curve and dip that I never knew I had, as if he were discovering uncharted territory. With every kiss, every whisper of his name, and every slow, precise thrust of his waist, I felt the barrier I’d built around my heart melting away, leaving me vulnerable yet incredibly alive.The completed bond was palpable, igniting a fire within Xalen and me—a fire I never knew existed. It felt as though we were merging into one, our souls intertwining in a dance that wa
ALPHA KING XALEN~~In whatever form it comes, rejection kicks harder than a million warriors.I would know because it seemed like I had been rejected by Haylee even though we just shared a very passionate and intimate moment. I tried to pour my emotions through the bond while I made love to her gently because I believed that was the only way I could share what I was feeling with her.I believed she would heal fully and finally admit or confess that she loved me, but that didn’t happen.Instead, she couldn’t say it back to me when I muttered, “I love you,” to her.And just when I thought time was all she needed, the mark I bit into her neck practically faded into thin air. Not even a small scar was left behind. Yes, she asked me to mark her, but even though I was against it at first, I gave it my all.The idea of her standing before the elders, wearing my mark, felt so damn good.But I guess that wouldn’t happen, not when her body wouldn’t keep my mark.“Seriously? This is what you