MAXIMUS I knew Starlette didn’t poison Lauren, but what was even more frustrating was that I didn’t know how to prove her innocence. It hurt me that I had to order her to be taken to the dungeon, but I only did what I had to do. She was being accused of poisoning Lauren, and it didn’t matter if I believed or not; it was just the right thing to do at the moment. It was the pack’s rules, mate or not.Although I was beyond glad that her innocence had been proven, I hated that it had to be Lucius who proved it. She liked him now, and she hated me. She wouldn’t even talk to me; she wouldn’t allow me to explain myself to her, and that was frustrating. I paced back and forth in front of the room, banging on the door at regular intervals, with frustration pulling at my chest, hoping she would finally open the door and allow me to speak to her. She was driving me crazy; thoughts of her were driving me crazy, and I didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. “Nile, do you think she wou
MAXIMUSI woke up early the following morning and got dressed, about to start my day. I had a lot of things on my plate for that day—the escape of the invisible wolf and Lauren’s trial being the most important. I flicked my gaze at Starlette, who was still sleeping, as she had been since I came back to the room last night—or pretending to be.I inched closer to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’m going out now. Take care of yourself.”She kept on with the pretence, not making even the slightest movement.“I know you are awake, Starlette. You held your breath, and your heart rate accelerated when I came close to you. It takes only a conscious person to do that.” I bluntly pointed out. Slowly, she finally opened her eyes and casted her gaze at me as she stretched. “I was meditating.”“Meditating.” I repeated, an amused smile touching my lips.“Yes.” She replied and quickly shut her eyes closed again.I stood there for a few seconds, staring at her as I contemplated whether to ask
MAXIMUSEverything around me stilled; my attention focused on her and her alone as I arose from my throne and slowly walked up to her.“What did you say?” I asked again to confirm. “What did you just say?”Looking up at me, her lips curled into a smile. “I am pregnant, Max. We are having a baby.”“Michael.” I immediately called the pack doctor. “Can you confirm, please?”The doctor stepped forward and bowed a little. "Indeed, she is pregnant. I confirmed that when I examined her when she was brought into the hospital for poisoning.”“Take her to her room and make sure she never leaves.” I immediately ordered the guards. I didn’t even have to think twice. After a very long time of trying for an heir, my wishes were finally coming through. The excitement that filled my chest was immeasurable. An heir, finally!It was just sad that it had to be from Lauren.I let out a full-blown laughter, unable to contain my excitement. Finally!“Congratulations, Alpha. Congratulations. Congratulation
STARLETTE Days passed, and I still struggled to forgive Maximus for what he did, even though he continuously bought gifts to appease me. He was my mate; meant to be my protector, but he shattered me instead. Could I ever find it in myself to forgive him?Amidst everything that was happening, I wouldn’t stop thinking about the invisibles and how the prisoner that was captured was from my father’s pack. This troubling thought was too dangerous to share, for fear of putting my father in jeopardy.I was in the library, searching for something to read when I heard the door creak open. Turning to see who was coming in, my eyes met with Tom's, and he quickly turned to leave. “Tom.” I immediately called. This had been going on for a while now; he avoided me and wouldn’t be in the same space with me. I needed to know why.He sighed heavily before slowly turning to face me. “Starlette.” He flashed a smile at me as if he wasn’t about to walk away. “Can we talk?’“Uhm...” He raised a brow. “No
STARLETTEI wasn’t frightened by his sudden coldness. I was already used to his moods. “I haven’t seen you since that day,” I said, unafraid, as I took a spot beside him and sat down.“Yes.” He muttered, shifting his gaze back to the running stream. “You haven't answered my question, Starlette. What are you doing here?”His voice still held that cold edge.“I came to see you. Obviously.” I replied, rolling my eyes. “You should go back before your mate starts looking for you.” He picked up a stone and tossed it into the stream.“So you’re scared of the big bad Alpha.” I teased.He glanced at me, a smile finally tugging at his lips. “You wish.”“Of course I’m right.” I impulsively stood up and ran into the running stream, splashing my legs in the water. It was so warm and felt good against my skin.He rested both hands on his knees. “That’s not it.”I raised a brow. “Then what is?”“I’m just—“ He trailed off and sighed. “I don’t want you to disobey your mate.”“That’s nothing new.” I
STARLETTE“Sorry about your clothes.” I quickly told Lucius before giving Iris full control, my bones breaking, shredding his clothes into pieces. I ran into the woods and followed Maximus’s voice, who wouldn’t stop yelling my name, a hint of fear lacing his voice. I reached him in no time, and the relief that immediately masked his features when he saw me was palpable. “You scared me!" he exclaimed, placing a hand on his forehead and sighing. "Where have you been?"I was surprised to see that he was the only one searching for me, and a whole search party had not been deployed as I had expected. This was the moment I should have shifted back, but apparently, I had nothing to wear. I howled at him, hoping he would understand and get me something to wear.“Do you want to run with Nile?”What? No!“Yes!” Iris objected in my head.“Have you forgotten our justified anger towards them?” I reminded her. “We are angry at Maximus, not Nile, remember?”“They are the same.”“Nile is better.” S
STARLETTE“Luna?” The surprise in my father’s tone, equalling mine.“Yes, Luna.” Maximus affirmed. My father raised a questioning brow. “And why is that? She’s an Omega, remember?”“She’s my mate.” Maximus retorted, and Father displayed a great deal of shock. His expression shifted from shock to disbelief, finally settling on disdain. “How could you, the Alpha King, be mated to a mere worthless Omega like Starlette?" He repeatedly shook his head in disbelief. “They’ve got to be a mistake somewhere.”“There is no mistake. Starlette is perfect!” Maximus’s tone suggested he was starting to get annoyed. “She would ruin you! She’s no good!” My own father tried to diminish me. “I repeat—“ Maximus took an intimidating step forward, his jaw clenching. “She is perfect.”I still haven’t absorbed his sudden announcement of wanting to make me his Luna, but the way he stood up for me, spoke about me in front of my father, melted all the rage I harboured towards him. My heart warmed, elated tha
STARLETTEThe following morning, I woke up to see Maximus seated on the black leather couch in the room, his gaze fixed on me. “Good morning, Starlette.” He greeted, immediately standing up and walking towards me. “How did you sleep?”“Fine.” I rubbed the back of my hand against my eyes to clear the remaining sleep in them. “How long have you been watching me?”“Since I finished preparing breakfast.” He reached for the tray of food on the nightstand and placed it on the bed. The plates were all covered, so I couldn’t tell what was in them yet. “Ohhh….”“I prepared everything by myself.” He boasted, grinning from ear to ear. “That’s nice.” I said, pretending to be unimpressed as I sat up and dragged myself to the edge of the bed. “I need to pee.” I told him as I got to my feet. After taking a few steps, I suddenly felt nauseous and halted. “What is wrong?” Maximus was beside me in a second. “I feel nauseated." I told him, and what followed was a gut-wrenching retch.I ran, and I