STARLETTEWondering who it was, I turned around to see a wolf with a striking resemblance to Maximus. Perhaps his brother? But I had never heard of the Alpha King’s brother. “Who—who are you?” I stuttered, too stunned to even speak coherently.“I am Lucius. Maximus’s brother, obviously.” He grinned with a glint in his eyes, confirming my guess. “Older brother.” He added. “Older brother?” I asked, my eyes narrowing in confusion. How come I had never heard of him before now? And how could Maximus be the Alpha King when he was the older brother? The older son’s were usually the heirs to the throne. “Yes.” He nodded, a mischievous smile lingering on his face. My mouth formed an ‘O’ as I stared at him. My mind raced with so many questions—questions I chose to keep to myself. “So...” he folded his arms across his chest, his gaze sweeping from my head to my toe. “You are the breeder and the said mate.”Before I could reply, he continued, an amused smile playing on his lips. “You’re more
STARLETTE"I won't lie." Lucius groaned as he jumped back to his feet. "That kind of hurt."In a split second, Maximus was next to him, slicing through his chest with his claws and yanking him aggressively against the tree. Lucius grunted in pain but quickly replaced his expression with an amused smile. The cut on his chest healed immediately, surprising me. Those without wolves had a very slow healing ability, and I wondered how he healed so fast. "I don't want to ever see you near her again." Maximus warned, his jaw clenching with anger. A smirk played on Lucius’s lips. "Why? Are you perhaps worried that I would fuck her like you fucked my girlfriend?”"No, little brother." He continued. "I am not a monster."He jumped to his feet, dusting dry leaves off his body. "Why do you care anyway? You don't treat her right.""I am worried that you might have helped orchestrate her escape." Maximus growled in response. Lucius chuckled. "That wouldn’t have been bad. I would think about tha
STARLETTEI slowly opened my eyes and turned to look at the other side of the bed, hoping to see Maximus there, but he wasn’t. After our altercation last night, he stormed out of the room, and I had stayed up late, waiting for his return, but he never did. I wondered where he went to. Perhaps he was with Lauren. The thought of that caused anger to rise up in my chest, and I quickly shook my head to get it off. He wasn’t worth my emotions—so I made myself believe.Not long after I woke up, Bella came in, her usual bright smile shining on her face.“Good morning.” She beamed as she approached me.I mirrowed her smile. “Good morning, Bella.”Her smile faded when she sat beside me on the bed.“What?” I asked when I noticed her change in contortion. “I am sorry for telling the Alpha that you were with Lucius when he asked about you.” She said remorsefully.I didn’t even know that she told Maximus that. But I wasn’t mad about it. Not at all. I knew she had no choice but to be truthful when
STARLETTEI quietly walked out of my hiding place like a thief sneaking out of a rat hole. I stood there and stared at them blankly, not knowing what to say. “What are you doing here?” Came the Alpha’s question. “Just…” I darted my gaze at the shelf behind us before looking back at him. “I was bored, so I decided to get a book to read.”Without saying a word in response, he walked past me and headed towards one of the book shelves. “Hey, Starlette.” Kade said, and I snapped my attention at him. “Hi.” I breathed awkwardly. “Uhm,” he said, swiping his palm across the back of his neck. “Don’t mind what he said. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”He didn’t need to try to soothe me with his words. I was used to getting hurt by the Alpha’s words anyway. “Sure.” I nodded, smiling awkwardly. I took another glance at Maximus, whose attention was now fixated on a particular book. Blowing out a sharp breath, I trotted out of the library. My mind was a mess, and I wasn’t looking at where I was
STARLETTEThe following morning, Tom and I met for training again, and I channelled all the rage burning within me into the training. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I kept chanting in my mind with each attack I blocked. “You have gotten better and fierce.” Tom commented, amazement evident in his voice. “All thanks to him.” I blurted before I could even stop myself. “Who? The Alpha?” He guessed. “Can you believe he hasn’t been sleeping in our room? Not that I care, but—“ I trailed off immediately when I realised I was divulging too much information.“Never mind.” I continued, exhaling sharply. “It’s okay.” Tom managed to hit my waist, and I groaned in pain. “It’s a safe space. You can talk to me.”I didn’t know who Tom really was or if I could trust him. But I needed listening ears before I went out of my fucking mind. I needed to rant! So, without giving it much thought, I went ahead. “Not that I care, but why would an Alpha abandon his own room to sleep in a woman’s room?
STARLETTE“How did you know about all these?” Maximus asked, narrowing his eyes. “I read a lot. I read it in a book a long time ago.” I told him. He folded his arms across his chest. “What book? Tell me more.” “I can’t recall the exact book. And I’m afraid that’s all I know.”“I’m also afraid you’ll have to think hard to remember where you read that from. We need more information.” That sounded more like a threat than a request. “I didn’t pay much attention while reading it. It was a very old book. A witch grimore.” I answered truthfully.The frown on his face deepened. “You really can’t remember anything else? How do I get to the witch? Where are the so-called invisibles located?”I shook my head. “It wasn’t stated in the book.” “No hint at all?”“I think we already have the information we need. Hopefully, if the salt trick works, we’d be able to capture and question them directly.” Tom chimed in. The Alpha King sighed. “I wonder if the witches are trying to start a war or if o
STARLETTEWithin seconds, the maid's yard was almost empty. I knew I had to make a run for it, but I couldn’t leave Bella there. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to her.“How do I get this rope off?” I panicked as I tried to look for the knot to loosen.“Starlette. There’s no time; just go. Save yourself.” She said weakly. The fear in her voice was evident, and I wasn’t leaving her alone. “I’m not leaving you here.”I found the knot and quickly untied her. I wrapped her arm around my shoulders to support her, as she was too weak to walk on her own. “Where is your room?” I asked her. She pointed at a particular door, and we headed towards the room, but when we got there, the room was locked. “Linda, Sarah, please open the door.” She called on her roommates, but there was no response. “Please!” I pleaded, banging on the door. I could hear the rouges drawing near, and fear saturated my whole being. If we didn’t find a place to hide, we’d be dead in minute
STARLETTEThe next time I opened my eyes, I was in Maximus’s arms, laying on his laps. Startled, I gasped and tried to jump off him, but he held me in place. “Shhhh.” He said. “You're still weak.”The knife the rogue used to stab me must have been laced with a concentrated amount of wolfsbane, which was what weakened me to the extent of passing out.“Where‘s Bella?” I quickly asked when she crossed my mind.“Bella is fine.”“The rogues didn’t attack her?” I asked.“They didn’t.” He assured me, and I sighed in relief.I was relieved about Bella, but still tensed because I was in his arms. I hated him, but what I hated the most was how my body reacted to him. I hated that this devil had to be my mate.But, thinking about it, he wasn’t that much of a devil. My life had already flashed before my eyes, but he saved me. Not only did he save me, he chose to save me instead of Lauren. I still hated him regardless, but I was grateful. “What are you thinking about?” His words cut through my