Zane's POV
I shook out my fur, loving the feeling of being in my wolf form without feeling like every fiber in my brain was being ripped apart.
And perhaps…
Perhaps my prayers were being heard? Perhaps I was going to be able to stick around until Cain could take the throne. Until he understood that love was a weakness, that having a mate would only kill him in the end. Perhaps I’d be able to stick around until Eva was mated to someone who could protect her.
Perhaps---
I took one last look around, wondering if there was something about this place that made my wolf this calm. Or if it was its occupant that had somehow managed to tame my wild wolf. Or if there was some magical component involved.
Either way, I wasn’t coming back!
I had to go back and do what the king needed to do. I’d just been Zane for a couple of days, and while it had been frustrating at times, I&rsq
Zane's POVMy gaze slowly went around the table. There were my parents, the previous king and queen. Usually, they’d try and make ideal chatter – chatter that my wolf would usually crush with his overwhelming presence that I couldn’t suppress anymore. My twin sister, Serena, and her mate, Bali, were sitting on my left. And no, I didn’t miss the nervous glances they shared.My brother and Beta, Noah, and my two children sat to my right. The clatter of utensils on glass plates was the only sound filling the room. Everyone ate in tense silence. And never before had I felt more suffocated than I did right at that moment. And it wasn’t just my pacing wolf that felt different. He wasn’t just lashing out at everyone, hell he even growled at our Mom, who only glanced in our direction. Worry and fear filled her beautiful green eyes and the weak part of me wanted to reach out and comfort her. But my wolf wouldn’t let me.
Warning: Any form of stereotyping--- Bla-bla-bla… you know the drill…!Arella’s POV“But you could probably use that elephant trunk as a walking stick,” I teased, unable to help myself. He was so uptight and easy to rattle I just couldn’t help myself. Oh, and let’s not forget that he was cocky, arrogant, full of himself, arrogant and---Did I mention an arrogant SOB?But despite his flaws, he also had the kind of confident charm that seemed to just work for him. Sure, coming from anyone else, they would sound like an entitled, full-of-themselves brat. But when Zane said all those things he said, they somehow sounded innocent-like. As if he was just stating a fact, not boasting about or hotly putting all his amazing glory on display.Humble he was not!Hell, I doubted he knew the word and even if he looked it up, he’d have a hard time understanding it
Warning: Any form of stereotyping--- Bla-bla-bla… you know the drill!Arella's POV“That’s it,” I sighed, finally catching a glimpse of the relay tower. “I’m only reading Barbara Cartland and Danielle Steel from here on out.”And just as I pushed away my concerns about Zane, I realized that my concerns about him were just getting started.“Oh, cruds!” I cursed out loud and huffed, seeing the damage done to the relay. They hadn’t just smashed it to kingdom come, they’d wrecked it! Bits and parts of it were scattered all over the ground and it was going to take me forever to find it all.Great!“Well, at least I know one thing for sure,” I sighed as I sat Tiny on a tree close by. “The poachers are either communicating via radio, or they have satellite phones.”Technically, I did have one of those too, but it broke
Warning: Bla – stereotyping – bla… do I really have to keep doing this?Arella’s POV“Holy fucking---” I cursed out loud, as I – again! – came face to face with a very naked Zane! “What the hell are you doing out of bed?!”The guy had almost given me a fucking heart attack!Not to mention another vivid mental image of the perfection, that was his naked frame.Oh, why, oh why, did he have to show up right in the middle of one of my dry spells? If I’d only had a good boyfriend back home, I wouldn’t be lusting after this guy like a bitch in heat. But if I was going to be honest, not even a stud like my ex, Kyle, would have kept me on the straight and narrow with this guy.Yeah, I had a type!Sue me!Big, hot, and rarely faithful! With Kyle, I thought I’d hit that one-in-a-lifetime unicorn find
Arella's POV“Put on some clothes!” I snapped, distracting myself with something, and ripped the gun back out of his hands, securing it. “Damnit! You could poke someone’s eye out with that thing!”Hurridly, I went back to the door and put it back in its place. Unfortunately, it once again disappeared from my hands and when I turned around--- it was only to realize that Zane still hadn’t put his clothes on! He had, however, moved even closer to me and was scowling down at me as if I was somehow offending him.With MY shotgun, by the way…“I’m serious!” he echoed, gritting his teeth so hard, I could hear the molders cracking in his mouth. “This is dangerous!”Some instinct told me to back off. Not to look into his eyes and anger him. Something inside of me warned me that he was the apex predator here – and I was the bunny!I should
Arella's POVToo bad that behind the whole façade was a cheating bastard who couldn’t tell the truth even if his life depended on it!“Here you go,” I said, forcing a smile, as I handed Zane a change of clothes. Despite Kyle being the big and jock-type of guy, Zane was just in a class of his own. The guy was massive and even the stuff that was over-sized for my ex seemed to cling to the big mobster like it was glued on.I wasn’t complaining…!“Why is so much of his stuff here?” Zane growled behind me since I’d turned my back to give him some privacy to get dressed. “His scent isn’t anywhere in the cabin, so he left quite a while ago.”Say--- what?!“His scent?” I echoed bewildered--- wondering where in the Amish culture he came from?I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder and looked at Zane. For a split s
Arella's POVI showered quickly and dressed in a loose T-shirt and baggy sweatpants. Rinsing out my uniform, I hung it up to dry before I ventured out again. At first glance, I couldn’t see Zane anywhere but my eyes found him next to the fireplace. He’d been nice enough to put in more firewood, but that apparently was the extent of his manners. Because, of course, the guy was going through MY weapon’s chest!“What the hell are you doing?” I gaped, marching right up to him, and--- yeah, a little bit of fear trickled down my spine. The man was dangerous and something about him screamed: “I’ve killed before and didn’t lose any sleep over it”.No way did I trust the fucker with a gun!But other than my shotgun, my weapon’s chest had a huge lock on it.One that apparently seemed to have gone missing!And no, I didn’t notice it among the flames in the firep
Zane’s POV“You mean what kind of father pretends that you don’t exist and leaves you to fend for yourself?”Her words slammed into me like a sledgehammer. My heart shuddered in my chest and my gut clenched painfully. My wolf howled and whimpered, snarled, and cried out at the hurt that coursed through me. As if he could feel this pain as clearly as I could…“A selfish bastard!”No!I thought over and over again.No, we weren’t the same!Her father had abandoned her. He didn’t care about her. It wasn’t the same thing. I CARED about my pups! I loved them and that’s why I wanted them stronger than me. I didn’t want them riddled with weakness and delusions of mates. I wanted them to live the best life that they could. Besides, I wasn’t any good for them. I was weak! I couldn’t even keep their mother safe. I couldn&rsquo
Zane’s POV“She’s a menace!”I slammed the door to my study shut with a force that made the hinges rattle. My blood was boiling, my fists clenched so tight I could feel my nails digging into my palms. Arella had gotten her way, and now, I was supposed to accept it. Because even if I didn’t want to, there was no way in hell I’d let myself be the butt of a joke where she fucking played me like a fiddle!Damned, stupid, Alpha pride!I couldn’t go back on my word! If I did, I’d look weak--- no, worse. I’d lose my respect. My pride was everything to me, but Arella was making me question every fucking thing I thought I knew.FUCK!Growling, I stomped over to my desk, turning it over and making my paperwork fly everywhere. Frustrating, inaugurating female! She had no idea what she was playing with—what this could mean for her, for my pups, for the entire
Zane's POVFury, the likes I’d never felt before, colored my vision red. My wolf let out a howl of pure unadulterated wrath, his dominance like a whip cracking down on anyone close to him.I had to get out of there!I had to stop this!“Zane, Please!” I heard Selena beg, but she suddenly seemed so far away I could barely make out her words. “It’s for the pups! It’s---”“Where?” I asked although the sound that came out sounded like some kind of animal. “Where is Arella?”I wanted to believe that I could protect her, protect them, and keep everything inside these walls safe. But now I was confronted with the reality of it—an open invitation to the very monsters who had torn my life apart.I couldn’t!“The banquette hall,” Selena once again gave it up, unable to resist my alpha aura. I stormed off, ignoring the calls and plea
Zane’s POV“… they’re so excited about it…”“...I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes when King Zane finds out…”“...all the planning goes through, Miss Garcia…”I’d been walking to my office when I picked up bits and pieces of conversation whispered in the corners by the omegas. It wasn’t until they mentioned Arella’s name that I stopped and listened. But the second the omegas saw me, they went pale and scurried away like I’d been the devil himself.Sighing, I couldn’t really blame them…Despite feeling better than I had in a year, my wolf was still unpredictable at best. And it wasn’t getting any better considering that I was trying to distance myself from my little angel. I hated that my body literally felt like shit when I wasn’t around her. What I hated even more, was letting her believe that o
Arella's POVI was glad I wasn’t sipping on my wine right then because that didn’t sound like the Zane I knew. Sure, I’d seen some of the core things that she mentioned. He was kind, and being a good King was very important to him. He wanted what was best for the kingdom and he wanted to protect his kids – although he’d been going about that the wrong way entirely. He was now ruled by anger and because he constantly had to fight his wolf, he was unpredictable at best...Hearing Selena talk about this side of him—this past version of him—was something strangely heartwarming. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. Which strangely didn’t bother me. I’d gotten used to this version of Zane and to be honest, I think the old version of him would have bored me. While infuriating, a small sad
Arella's POV“That sounds like a lovely idea.”I snapped my head around, and there, stepping gracefully into the kitchen was Selena. She looked like those photo-shopped models that just stepped out of a magazine or something—gorgeous, poised, and effortlessly elegant. She didn’t belong in the kitchen, covered in flour and sugar. Yet there she was, eyes gleaming with curiosity.“You think so?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and wiping my hands on my apron. “I was just telling the kids about a little party we’re going to throw for them. Cain’s birthday is overdue, and Eva’s is right around the corner.”Selena’s lips quirked into a smile, though her eyes betrayed a hint of caution.“Yes, a party sounds wonderful,” she agre
Arella’s POVThe kitchen was filled with the warm smell of sugar and cinnamon as I stood at the kitchen counter, flour dusting the surface in a messy pile. Cain and Eva were laughing, both covered in a thin layer of flour, their small hands grabbing at cookie cutters and dough with wild abandon. I grinned, finally feeling like there was some kind of normalcy back in my life. After all the chaos I’d been through – being shot, almost killed, and being turned into a werewolf – I wanted to hold onto this as tightly as I could.I love to cook!My mom had been the real chef in the family, but she’d always let me cook with her. Be it a huge feast for carnival or baking cookies for Christmas, she was always moving around in the kitchen. Hell, even now, I swear I could hear her laughter as Cain helped his sister with the butterfly cutter.This felt like home…“Are we making chocolate ones too?” Cain asked eagerly, his face covered in flour
Arella's POVOK, he got points for... you know, being the actual KING! But while every instinct in my body told me to submit to his authority, my stupidly stubborn self refused. I’d been subjected to the authority of domineering, selfish bastards my whole fucking life and I’d made myself a promise to never fall victim to that ever again. I had a fucking will of my own, I had autonomy and I was nobody’s bitch!“Let me get this straight,” I snapped back, raising an eyebrow and gaping at the fucking audacity of this man. “You want me to do everything you say, no questions asked?”“YES!” His voice was a low, forceful command. Hell, it was almost cute the way he looked all angry and flustered. I stared at him, utterly floored by the ballsiness of his words.“Have you had a doctor look at that problem of yours?” I asked, my brows furring in concern for his health. “It can&r
Arella’s POVThe road home felt like hours.Each minute dragged on, the silence between us thick and suffocating. I barely even noticed as the forest moved by, as I sulkily kept my eyes trained straight ahead, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Why the hell was he so pissed that I’d left? Was it some kind of werewolf law? Surely, he couldn’t punish me for being ignorant!Right?My wolf kept working on her will…Ignoring my newly formed companion, I glanced up at Zane, wondering what was going through his head. The anger was like a storm that I couldn’t weather. The fury in his eyes when he found me outside his territory—like I’d committed bloody murder!—had left my head spinning. Hell, I’d only gone to my cabin to grab some clothes, for Pete’s sake! To feel something normal for a change. I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong! Unless it was illegal f
Arella’s POVHe won’t notice, ha? My wolf sarcastically snorted, as the huge brown beast glared down at us. I gulped, my legs feeling weak as he stood before us. His aura felt like tar, pressing and overwhelming. His eyes were pitch black, looking nothing like Zane at all. Hell, there was even foam frothing at his mouth as he stood there, panting...In my mind, my wolf was suddenly scribbling something down on… paper?! And how the hell was she holding a pen with no potable thumbs? It was a weird image, but sure enough, it was happening. She even had on a pair of Dumbledore half-moon glasses and she looked cute!What are you doing? I mentally asked, wondering what kind of freakish acid trip I was on.Writing my will, she replied, not missing a beat. With this lifestyle of yours, I’ll need one soon enough!Jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence!Wi