STARLETTE“Pre—pre—pregnant?” My lips trembled with panic as I stared at Bella. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. “You’re pregnant!” She repeated as she pulled away from me, her face glowing with happiness. “Alpha would be so pleased to hear this!”“No.” I said quickly, shaking my head. My throat felt dry, and I swallowed to moisturize. I couldn’t fully grasp my emotions at that moment. I wasn’t happy, but I wasn’t sad either. I was just... there, not knowing how to feel. The smile on her face faded when she noticed my blank expression. “What happened?” She asked. “This is good news. You should be happy.“I should. But the feelings that stirred within me were deeper than I could explain. I wasn’t only feeling like this because I was carrying Maximus’s child. But also because… I was having a baby!“Please, don’t tell anyone yet. When I’m ready, I’ll tell him myself.” I pleaded, holding her hand. “I beg you.” She sighed, then nodded. “I don’t know your reason, but I’ll do wh
STARLETTEI quietly slipped out of the bedroom before Maximus could wake up and met up with Bella in front of the pack house, where she was already waiting for me. The land of the witches was far, and we couldn’t cover the distance even on our fours without burning out in exhaustion, so we opted to run our journey with a stolen car, Maximus’s. We got into his black Mustang and fastened our seatbelts like we owned it. I had managed to steal the key from him while he was sleeping, and thankfully, driving was one of the few useful skills my father had taught me, although it was mostly so I could run errands for him and my sisters. “So, what’s the plan?” Bella asked as I started the engine. “Do we even know where we are going?”I reached into my backpack, pulled out a piece of paper I had taken from Maximus’s office, and handed it to her.“A map that leads to our destination.” I told her. She unfolded it and studied it before glancing back at me. “This is absurd.” She hissed, her disa
STARLETTEBella let out a heavy sigh of relief, and I exhaled sharply, though still in shock. Never in my wildest dream did I imagine that the witch I came seeking for was the daughter of the elder. Emelia turned her gaze to me, a wide smile spreading across her lips as she pulled me into her arms. “It’s been so long. Thank you for accepting my invitation.”I pushed the shock in me to a hideous depth and replaced it with a cheerful demeanor. “It’s good to see you again.”“Come with me,” she said, helping Bella up and wrapping her arms around our shoulders as she led us out of the gloomy room.“Be careful, Amelia. These wolves are not to be trusted.” Her father called after her. “Don’t worry, Dad. I trust this one.” She assured him before we exited the room. We walked through the dark corridor in total silence, none of us addressing what just happened. My head was filled with billions of questions, my mind hoping she would agree to what we came here to ask.Stopping in front of a gi
MAXIMUS I stretched my hand forward, reaching for my mate, but the bed beside me was empty. My eyes snapped open, scanning the room. But she wasn’t there. It was unusual for her to wake up before me and leave without a word. Maybe she went out for a walk, I thought. Yesterday, she seemed distant, lost in thoughts. I wished she would let me help her, allow me to be a shoulder she could lean on. But she still didn’t trust me, and that hurt. She wasn’t to be blamed, though. It was all my fault. And making amends was all I had been trying to do. To fix what I had broken. She hadn’t been treated well in her former pack—something I only realised when her father visited. I should have suspected it earlier when he sold her to me without a second thought. What kind of father does that? The way he belittled her in front of me... it took everything in me not to tear him apart.She deserved better. My goal was to make her feel more loved and cared for than ever before.Someone tried to mind-li
STARLETTE “Iris.” I called on my wolf as soon as I started driving. “Yes?” She replied and sighed in relief. I couldn’t imagine how I would have felt if I had lost my wolf forever. Imagine losing one’s wolf in the process of searching for how to free another person’s wolf. That would have been tragic. “I’m glad you’re still here.” I said. She groaned. “I hated being constrained. It was as if I was locked in a dark hole; I could hear everything but couldn’t do anything.”“I’m sorry I put you through that.” “Okay.” She simply replied before retreating to the back of my mind.My thoughts drifted to Lucius’ wolf, my heart filling up with pity for him. I wondered if that was how he had been feeling all his life. It was a torture no one should have to endure.“Check on your wolf.” I told Bella, and she snapped her head in my direction. “I did that the moment we left that place.” She replied. “Is she okay?” I asked. “Yes.”Suddenly, a couple of military vans appeared in front of us,
MAXIMUSStarlette had been moving really funny. I didn’t want to suspect my mate; I wanted to trust her, but she was making it really difficult. She went from disappearing inside the woods, smelling like my brother, to leaving the pack and lying about her whereabouts. What was she really up to? She made me really anxious. And adding to my growing anxiety was my recent discovery about my brother, Lucius. What did he plan to do now that he had gotten his wolf? Was he conspiring with Starlette to betray me? Was that why I smelt him on her? Damn, my mind was going crazy with infuriating thoughts. I desperately hoped it wasn’t true, because if it was, I didn’t know if I could survive the heartache.The door to the bedroom was pushed open, and Starlette walked in. I had been waiting for her.“Where did you go to?” I asked for the nth time, hoping I would get a different response this time. The truth.She took a deep breath as she approached me, sitting beside me on the bed. I refused to lo
STARLETTEI was feeling down, my spirits low. Maximus had returned to the bedroom late last night and left before I even woke up. It was clear he was avoiding me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he thought of me now. Did he hate me? Did he consider me a traitor?A pain pulled on my chest at that thought. My mind was a crazy mess as I wandered around the pack, hoping to clear my head and ease my mind. But the more I thought about everything, the more my thoughts seemed to spiral out of control. Like hell, I hated this feeling. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to tell him. I had gone to great lengths and risked a lot in trying to help Lucius get his wolf back; I couldn’t back out now, and I certainly couldn’t tell Maximus either. He would ruin every plan. Lucius suddenly appeared before me, pulling me out of my stream of thoughts. Talk about the devil.A smirk played on his lips. “I heard you wanted to see me yesterday.”I sighed heavily. “But you refused.”“But I’m he
STARLETTEToday was the day. The day Lucius would finally be freed from the shackles binding his wolf. After today, I would stop hiding and tell Maximus everything, regardless of the consequences. I only hoped and prayed that he would trust me again. What gave me some comfort was the knowledge that Lucius had no desire for the throne. So, there wouldn’t be any conflict over the crown once his wolf was released.When it was ten minutes before the time we had agreed to meet Amelia in the woods, I grabbed the compass she had given me and asked Bella to mind-link Lucius, reminding him of our arrangement. Fortunately, this time, he didn’t shut her out like he had before.We met at the entrance to the woods and walked together in silence.“Where are you taking me?” Lucius asked, his tone curious. “What is it that you couldn’t say back at the pack house?”“You haven’t told him yet?” Bella asked, clearly surprised.“Shhh.” I put a finger to my lips, silencing her.I turned to Lucius and shrug