Natalia POVMy eyes flutter open as the warm sunbeams shine through the open windows of my bedroom. Two weeks I have been here in the Fae Realm and have been treated with nothing but respect. They have made it clear that I am not a prisoner even though I am unable to return home. Every morning I reach my arms wide out to my sides and wish that Victor was here with me. My heart aches being so far away from my mate but I find it easier to manage the pain without the mark that used to sit upon my neck. I can only hope that Victor is not in too much pain while he waits for me to return from the Fae Realm. That is, if he even knows where I am.Tiny knocks rap on my bedroom door and I know exactly who they belong to. Throwing the blankets over my head, I hide under the covers and wait for the little creatures to find their way into my room. The large pink door creeks as they open it up, immediately giving them away. "Shh," Flora whispers to her brother. I can hear their little fee
Alexander POVA large map is spread across my desk and I am looking at the area that surrounds the spring. "I think it is safe to say Esau will come alone, aside from Margaret and Natalia," I explain to Raphael. "So we should be able to easily overtake him without putting the women in harm's way." "Sir," Raphael says with a look of concern across his face. "Are you sure this is the best course of action? Once we have Natalia we will no longer need the prophecy book." "Of course we will still need the prophecy book," I spit back at him. "It is the key to keeping the Fae under control." "Have you considered that a peace treaty may be the key to keeping them under control," Raphael says boldly. "Are you questioning my plan?" I ask angrily. "Actually," Raphael takes several steps back from me and takes a deep breath. "I am." A loud growl erupts from my chest at his words. "What?" I snarl at him. "I just don't think betraying a promise to the Fae is the best course of a
Victor POVI pace the floor of my cottage until I have worn a whole in the old rug that lies on my floor. I know where Natalia is. I could smell her scent wafting through the cracks in Gerard's floor when I was at his house earlier. I tried to give him the opportunity to come clean but he did not. Margaret was there and I did not want to frighten her anymore than I needed to, so I decided that I would come back to Victor's today and demand my mate. But the only problem is that I don't want to have to kill Gerard because he has been my best friend and my right hand man. There has to be a good reason that he has my mate trapped in his basement of wolfsbane.Finally gaining enough courage to confront my friend I make my way back over to his house. This time I do not bother knocking on his door. Using my foot I kick his door off the hinges and it hits his floor with a loud thud. Gerard is sitting at his table with a look of fear and shock spread across his face. I lift my nose i
Natalia POVNight falls over the Fae Realm and I cannot help but feel a sense of sadness at the thought of leaving this beautiful place behind. I have never felt safer than I have here in this realm. Part of me wishes that I could stay behind but I know that I cannot. I have a prophecy to fulfill. I must rewrite time and save the Werewolf Kingdom. Sitting on the edge of my bed I run my hands over the top of the blankets. Closing my eyes I try to imprint everything about this place in my mind so that I never forget its beauty. A rough knock on my door lets me know that King Lignum is waiting on the other side for me. Taking a deep breath I try to compose the anxiety that is rising in my chest as I open the door. King Lignum, Adelle, and the twins are waiting for me on the other side. Flora has huge tears dripping from her eyes and down the flower petals that cover her cheeks. Her green eyes are filled with sadness as she stares deeply into mine. Holding out her arms she si
Natalia POV"Where is your mark?" Victor's voice booms through the forest. Esau and Margaret try to back away but Victor catches them out of the corner of his eyes. "You two do not move," his voice is cold and calculating. I look from Victor to Esau and Margaret. All three of them are waiting for an answer. Victor's eyes are burning with anger, while Esau and Margaret are watching with a calculated curiosity. I wrap my arms around Victor one more time, trying to soothe the rage that is building within him but he doesn't calm under my touch. In fact, he pulls my arms from around his neck and stares into my eyes with an intensity that makes me feel like hiding. "I made a deal with the Fae King," I say proudly with my head held high. "You did what?" All three of them yell at me at once. "I made a deal with the Fae King," I say slower this time as if I am speaking to children. "I am here to fix the mistake that YOU made," I say, poking Esau in the chest. Esau grits his tee
Alexander POVThey ran. The truth of what is happening to my rule is unfolding before my eyes. My own forces ran from a possible fight, rather than protect their King. The Werewolf Kingdom is falling into ruin. Could it be that it is all my fault? Has my quest for power and the perfect mate led me down this path? Is my Kingdom crumbling because of me?Lucifer growls loudly in my head at my internal monologue. 'Of course not you fool,' he yells so loudly within my mind that it causes me to outwardly cringe. 'You have surrounded yourself with weak wolves.' 'Speaking of weak wolves...' I mumble to Lucifer. 'I need to find a new Beta.'As if on cue there is a knock at my bedroom door. Grabbing a hold of the door I fling it open and see Sergio standing on the other side. He has a wide grin spread across his face. "What are you smiling about?" I snarl at him. There is nothing to be happy about tonight. Half of my forces have run off to the rogue camp. "Have you found the gua
Natalia POV**Indicates a dream****I am sitting in darkness once again. Looking from my left to my right I can see nothing. Not even Adeline can help me see through the darkness. Trying to get an idea for where I am, I reach out with my other senses. Lifting my nose to the air I sniff the air around me but it is clean of any scent. Wiggling my toes I do not feel any grass or moss under my feet. Only a cold hard ground. Reaching out in front of me I try to take a few steps forward but I am rooted to the spot where I stand. Frustration grows in my chest as I try to figure out where I am. Suddenly a bright light appears as a tiny speck in front of me. Reaching out I try to grab the light but it must be far off in the distance. Slowly the light grows bigger and brighter until it is right in front of me illuminating the world around me. I finally recognize where I am. I have been here before. I am in the void between the world of the living and the afterlife. The light in
Victor POVI have not slept in three days. Each day without Natalia by my side is causing my wolf to become more and more restless in my mind. Jax is constantly egging me on to go to the castle and check on her. But I know there is nothing that I can do to get her back right now. For one she made a deal with a Fae Creature. A deal that will not be so easily completed if I am rushing into the castle with my anger blazing trying to rescue her. Secondly, I do not even know if she wants to see me. I did the unthinkable in our world, I tried to forcibly mark her. A mark that she obviously could not accept and she almost died because of me. Looking in the small mirror that hangs crookedly on my wall I check my neck for the thousandth time. Natalia's mark still remains on my neck. As clear as the day that she put it there. So I know that she is still alive. At least I know that much, I sigh inwardly to myself. Rapping on my front door interrupts my thoughts and I quickly comp
Victor POV Three years later I can hear giggles coming from the kitchen and I just know that the boys are up to no good. "Ezra and Titus," I yell as I make my way into the kitchen. I look around the room and I don't see any sign of the boys. But Crystal and Margaret are unsuccessfully trying to hide the smirks that are on their lips. Standing in the middle of the kitchen with my hands on my hips I glare at my mate's two friends knowing that they are hiding the boys from me. "Where are they?" I ask Crystal and Margaret. "Who are you looking for?" Margaret says with a glint of humor twinkling in her eyes. "You know who," I say as I try to pretend to be angry. "The boys are supposed to be tidying their room." Suddenly a little blonde head pops up from behind the kitchen island and his blue eyes sparkle brightly as he looks at me. "Why do we have to tidy our room," Ezra says with a pout on his lips. Then a little brown head pops up from beside him. Every time I see h
Natalia POVI slowly make my way back to our bedroom after the Blood Moon Ball. It was a glorious event and I was so happy to see how many members of our Kingdom found their mates. I spent most of the evening sitting on my throne with my feet propped up to minimize the swelling. Members of the Kingdom can up to me throughout the night to offer their congratulations and tell me how much happier everyone is in the Kingdom now that Alexander is gone. I have found that many of them are weary of Victor as well simply because he was Alexander's brother. But I assured them all that even though they may look the same they are definitely not the same. Just as Victor and I make it back to our bedroom room a pain shoots through my belly causing me to need to stop and take a breath. Victor is at my side in second. "What's wrong," he asks as he lays his hand on my stomach causing the twins to twist and turn crazily in my stomach.Just as suddenly as the pain came it went away. Standing i
Natalia POVTrying to be as graceful as possible, I waddle my way through the castle to the great throne room. Nicole stays by my side as I walk slowly offering me support whenever I get overly winded from hauling around this large belly. Once we get to the large double doors that lead to the throne room, Nicole gives me a swift kiss on the cheek before she runs off to take her place among the crowd. Even though I have dreamed of this moment ever since the day that I found out about the prophecy, nothing can compare to how I feel right now. The trumpets that surround the room blast loudly, announcing my arrival. Everyone in the crowd turns to look at me. A large lump forms in my throat as I look into all of their anxious eyes. Swallowing down the lump I force my feet to move one foot in front of the other down the aisle. Members of the crowd are reaching through the barriers that are holding them back for my safety. I cannot help but reach out and touch the tips of their fin
Natalia POVEverything hurts. My back. My feet. Everything. Laying on my back on Victor and I's bed I stare up at the ceiling trying to will myself to get out of the bed. I hear the door to our bedroom open but I do not have the energy to look over and see who is standing in the room, but the scent of citrus and pine fills the air and I know that it is my mate. "I cannot believe you are still in this bed," Victor says with a bit of humor in his voice. I try to look at him over my ever growing belly but instead I just flop my head back on my pillow. "You try carrying these pups," I mutter under my breath. I feel the edge of the bed dip down beside me. Victor places his huge hand on my belly causing the tingles from the mate bond to spread over my skin and the pups in my belly to go wild. One of the pups kicks my bladder and I suddenly have to pee. "Ugh," I groan as I try to right myself in the bed. "Now I have to use the bathroom." Victor chuckles to himself as I attem
Natalia POVI look at King Lignum’s outstretched hand and hesitate a moment. “I am not making a deal with you,” I make myself clear. “I will find a way to prove myself to the Werewolf Council without your aid.” “I have already told you,” he says sweetly. “This is not a deal. This is a favor with no strings attached.” “No strings attached,” I repeat after him and lay my hand in his. Without even realizing what is happening I am being pulled through what feels like a vacuum. Images are rushing past me at the speed of light. Closing my eyes tightly, I try not to vomit as we move quickly between the Realms. As suddenly as it started it stops and the sounds of growls fill the air around me.My eyes fly open and I can see that we have landed in the center of the Council’s chambers. Holding onto King Lignum’s hand for support I try to steady myself after the journey that I just had. My eyes dart around the large conference room and I can see that all of the elders are looking
Natalia POVI can hear the sound of someone banging on Esau's door as I step through the portal to the Fae Realm. I look back over my shoulder and see Victor barreling through Esau's front door as the portal closes quickly behind me. Esau is chuckling loudly beside me as he watches Victor try and get to the portal in time and fail. "He's going to be so pissed," Esau laughs hardily. My lips pucker in confusion as I look at Esau, "why would he be pissed?" "Because this is the second time that I have slipped you into the Fae Realm right under his nose," Esau says with a bright smile spread across his mossy face. Rolling my eyes at him and I smack him in the shoulder, but I cannot help but smirk. "He did look pretty angry." "He will find a way to pay me back," Esau sighs a little as he grabs my hand. I let him pull me along as we follow the trail back towards the Castle Flos. We walk together in a comfortable silence as we head towards the castle. I keep the book clutched
Natalia POVThe huge metal double doors that lead to the royal balcony open up with a creak. The sight of the balcony causes panic to rise in my chest. The last time I was out here I killed a man and started a war. My breathing becomes erratic as Victor tries to lead me out onto the balcony. Pulling on my arm Victor tries to guide me outside but my feet don't move. "I can't," I whisper to Victor with fear in my eyes. Pausing for a moment, Victor studies my eyes for a moment and then places a gentle kiss on my forehead. "You can do anything," he whispers to me sweetly. "You are the one true Queen." He looks at me with such confidence that I cannot help but take a deep breath and take a few steps forward. Victor tightens his arm around my waist and slowly guides me out onto the balcony. The night air is chilly as it nips at my bare arms causing me to shiver in Victor's arms. Victor guides me to the railing of the balcony and I hear thunderous cheers from the crowd down bel
Natalia POV"How long have you known?" Victor growls and looks at me with intensity in his eyes. Swinging my legs over the other side of the bed. I walk away from him. Refusing to meet his lingering gaze. Walking over to my wardrobe I finger through the dresses one by one, pretending like I am considering what to wear. Victor walks up behind me, placing his nose in the crook of my neck, he inhales deeply. Before I realize what is happening he has dropped to his knees and is sniffing my stomach, holding me in place by my hips. "Victor," I say as I try to fight him off. "Stop. This is embarrassing." "Is it mine?" He asks as he fearfully looks up into my eyes. Scoffing at his question, I rip his hands from my waist. "How dare you ask me that?" Adeline is pushing forward in anger and I know that my eyes are swirling from green to silver. Grabbing one of the dresses from the wardrobe I storm off into the bathroom that adjoins my room and slam the door. Once I am alone, I b
Natalia POVLocked in my room. LOCKED IN MY ROOM. Victor had me locked in my room for killing his brother. A plan that I thought he and I devised together, but I guess I was wrong. I killed a man that tormented me through not one lifetime but two and I am being punished. He stopped by my room earlier today to tell me it is only until the Council of Elders decides whether or not I am a risk to the Kingdom or not. I did not react so kindly and slapped him across his face. The only peace that I have is knowing that I carry the heir to the throne. Laying on my back in just my opened robe, I look at my stomach in wonder. My once flat stomach now has a tiny bulge just below my belly button. Placing my hand on my lower abdomen I can feel the little flutters of movement coming from within. Even though I am stuck in this room I am not alone, I think to myself. A knock on my door drags me from my thoughts. Closing the robe around my body I don't bother to get up from the position