HAYLEE~~“Yes, Alpha King Xalen,” I muttered sadly, but his face lit up, which made me realize that my response wasn’t clear enough. So I added to clear up the misunderstanding, “Yes, I’m saying no to trying.”That was so hard to say, but looking into his eyes as the twinkle they once reflected vanished without a trace was so much harder.However, I couldn’t put myself in danger for a man who wasn’t sure about me.“What are you saying? He is asking you to try, Haylee. He is certain he wants this.” Liya chimed with disbelief, mostly because she knew how badly I wanted this.My wolf knew I had waited all my life to be loved by someone who was meant for me. By my mom. My dad. My sister. I longed to be loved by someone who I could call mine, and the one person who seemed to love me, I couldn’t reciprocate.I have waited all my life for this moment, but just like always, life has a funny way of putting me in a tight spot. Why give me a man I can call mine when he is tied to two other wom
HAYLEE~~“I’m glad you gave me a chance. You gave us a chance, Haylee.” Alpha King Xalen’s rich voice echoed, hitting my eardrums and sending sweet vibrations through my body. His smile was even brighter than the day. "I promise you, Haylee. I won't let you down.”This was happening?I was giving him a chance.Heck! I would give him a chance because I could tell my life was about to take a new turn.Of course, I still couldn’t believe that the cruel Alpha King was mine. Not just my destined mate but a destined mate who had accepted our bond and vowed to never hurt me. At least not again.So why wouldn’t I smile when he took my hands and stared deep into my eyes? Why wouldn’t my heart flutter with joy and the kind of warmth I had never felt before? That has to be love, right?Was this what love felt like?“Yes, Haylee. This is love. This is our love story, and we have begun the sweet journey of love against all odds.”Alpha King Xalen replied, making it known that he was in my head
HAYLEE~~“Please don’t kill me.” I whimpered again before reaching deep within me to find Liya and saying to her, “Wake me up, Liya, please.”Before Liya could respond, I caught Alpha King Xalen stepping closer to me from my peripheral. Instinctively, I crouched, holding my bent knees to my chest and hiding my face like a scared puny.“Why would I do that, Haylee?” Alpha King Xalen asked, his voice soft and kind, which was the opposite of what I heard when he said he should have killed me the minute he met me.I stuttered, my body shaking as if the temperature of the room were at its lowest, but heck, beads of sweat streamed down my body as well. “Because your mate said so. Your Queen and you would do anything she said.”My mind made things worse as it took me back to the past when my dad used to corner me like this and do whatever he deemed appropriate for me. My mind took me back to the days I used to live in the dark basement of my dad’s house.“This is not a dream, Hay. C’mon,
ALPHA KING XALEN~~I didn’t have to be told that whatever she saw in her dream was bad and devastating. She was shaken up so badly, and as much as I understood that she had just woken up from a nightmare that somehow involved Laura and me, I wondered what could have riled her up to this extent.Her experience with Alpha Jett or with me? Could it be because of the betrayal she had suffered many times at the hands of her loved ones?Could that also be why she shook her head and voiced without thinking twice, “No.”My brows furrowed, and my hand frozen between us both. “What do you mean by no?”“I can’t go to bed with you, Alpha King Xalen. I’m not ready for that. I’m not even sure I want to accept the bond, so why should I let you take me to bed?” She ranted, getting all those words out in one breath.At first, I didn’t understand what she was saying, but when the meaning of her words and her reason for rejecting me dawned on me, I laughed. It started as a low rumble in my belly. Then
HAYLEE~~Gosh, he was delicious.I know those thoughts sound sexual, but he wasn't lying when he said he was a tasty man. I sucked his finger hungrily, oblivious to what was happening within my soul.Even Liya didn’t realize what was happening within me, or maybe she did, and assumed it was the link Alpha King Xalen was creating between me and the Pack. Usually, the mate of the Alphas gets a ceremony to open a link between them and the pack, but once again, mine was different.“I can’t believe the first time I’m tasting blood, I do it through you,” Liya whined within me, reminding me of her own struggles, which were mine as well.Liya’s sadness brought me back to my senses, and I took my mouth off Alpha King Xalen, who had a wide smirk plastered on his face. If I wasn’t focused on my wolf, I would have heard him say, “I told you so.”And maybe respond by bickering with him again.However, Liya needed me right now. I said to my wolf, “We can always try shifting again when you are re
ALPHA KING XALEN~~This was the first time in a while that I would be joining my men for morning training, and despite that, I seemed to still be in shape.I effortlessly took on not just one but two of my strongest—Wyatt and Evan. I wouldn't say I was friends with my Royal Gamma and Royal Beta. I wouldn't say I have any friends, in fact.My cousin, Roy, would have been the best friend I ever had if he didn't try to steal what was mine. Roy and I would never be friends again after Laura, even though she has left us both in a world where she no longer exists.Before her death, Laura was my best friend, among other things. She used to be the best thing that happened to me until I apologized to Haylee this morning.It was the best feeling ever, and I couldn't stop reeling at that moment even though I had two bulky men throwing punches from both sides.“You have been smiling since you stepped into the training ground hours ago, Alpha King,” Evan pointed out as he dodged my balled fist,
Alpha Prince Roy~~“If it isn't the cousin I was on my way to visit.”I had to hold back the urge to scoff, and somehow he knew I was doing that because we had both sworn to be enemies despite my dad's effort to mend our relationship.“Can we not do this today, Roy?” He said to me, his nose high in the air and his ego almost choking me as I inhaled deeply.Oh, I despised him.One thing to be known about me is that I will never take this clown seriously. He was a clown to me; as far as I know, he was no king. Some might be scared of him, but I honestly wanted to screw with him just like he did with me and eventually did to Laura.He killed her.I don't care if she died at his hands or not, but as far as I was concerned, he killed her.Because of him, Laura, the woman who was meant to be mine, died.“Do what? I came to check on you. It's been so long since I have seen you or been around my family. Being in the human world is fun, but you know, there is nothing like home.” I chimed, fo
HAYLEE~~The day started intense for me, but after Alpha King Xalen left my room this morning, the day went back to normal despite the thoughts flashing through my mind. I took care of the royal babies, and they all had breakfast with me in the kitchen since Alpha King Xalen wasn’t available to have breakfast with them.Also, Princess Sophia and Prince Asher didn’t want to eat with Princess Allison, who had to eat breakfast alone in the dining hall.Despite the fact that she loved tormenting the poor kids, Princess Allison wasn’t okay with eating alone, and as soon as she was done eating, she came in search of the kids. She found us leaving the kitchen, giggling and chatting happily.“What’s funny? Why are you all laughing?” she snapped immediately, starting another unnecessary drama.As soon as Prince Asher heard her voice, he moved closer to me, holding the hem of my gown. Unlike Princess Sophia, he didn’t enjoy being confronted.“You wouldn’t understand the joke even if we shared
HAYLEE~~I had never seen Roy so out of control. Even when he was mad at Xalen, his anger was contained, and he meticulously planned his next move. But the second he saw Allison, who could easily be his dad’s killer, he lost it all.Some of the curse words that slipped past his lips had never been heard before now, and Allison looked frightened because she could sense that the man approaching her wasn’t the same one she had overlooked many times since he returned to the pack.He was angry.He was a ferocious alpha male whose anger had driven him to the point of violence.Fortunately for Allison, Flavia caught up to Roy before he could get to her. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and skillfully twisted around him, standing between him and Allison within a second.“No, Roy,” Flavia uttered, holding his gaze while he shook visibly.“She is one of them, babe! She is Richard’s daughter, and she could have easily carried out his evil work. She could be the killer and I have to—
ALPHA KING XALEN~~“This doesn't make any sense,” Roy blurted before I could, shaking his head, and I assumed he was thinking back to the last time we saw and heard his dad. “He shot me about ten days ago. He spoke to me, so you are mistaken.”Flavia immediately understood Roy's emotional turmoil. She removed her healer’s coat and walked up to her mate, holding him so her scent could calm him down.“I think we should take this to a more private place. Something is off, and now everyone should be a suspect,” Flavia murmured, looking around as a few of my men and healers moved around to do their thing.Gladys muttered, “I will stay here to keep an eye on the body and cross-examine the results, my king. But I have to say that I don’t expect anything to change. This man has been dead almost since the time the queen passed away.”My heart tightened not just because it killed me to hear that but also because I was confused. How could that be?I recall having many deep moments with Uncle
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