So, I'm thinking of changing the title of my book to a more generic one. Update: The New title is now under review by my editor.
“Well?” Adrik said, looking from Chad to me. “Share the joke so that we all can be merry.” Chad stepped in front of me and bowed stiffly to Adrik. “I was about to fetch her as you requested, alpha. We were about coming to you” “Indeed. Seeing as I have watched you two from a distance for about ten minutes now, I’d say you were really quick in the discharge of your duties, Chad.” His bloodshot eyes made me shudder. I’ve seen him furious before but this time felt different. This time, he was enraged and it felt to me like it was more than the fact that his Beta wasted time to bring me to him. It was in-depth, and a little personal. I quickly went around Chad knelt and threw myself on the ground before Adrik. Hopefully, his egoistic side will turn a blind eye to whatever it is that is making him rage and focus on the weak little female who is lying on his feet. I grab a foot and place my head on it, making sure to show how vulnerable I felt before him and how much I was at his mercy.
Her gaze was harsh and certainly not friendly. Sincerely, if not for the seriousness of the moment, I probably would have cracked out a wheeze because she looked sourer than a lime. She walked towards me, her eyes taking in my appearance from my head down to my toe. I internally reminded myself not to try this one’s patience. Witches are not my favorite people in the world. I remember when I was around 12 years old before my stepfather sold me out, a witch had cursed a family to never be productive and she died before she could undo the spell. Now that family has a long generational curse in their lineage with no one to break it. And I know what you’re thinking. There’s always a loophole. I agree, but for close to eight years now, that loophole is yet to be found. So, no; I do not want to get into her bad books. You can call me weak or spineless but I do not think there’s a need to be spine-ful or strong if I’m dead. “I see that Adrik has taken a fancy to you. So you’re his new play
The hall bustled as I walked in. The tiny lane that led to the banquet room was filled with strange faces who I assumed were also men of power, smoking and talking loudly. It reminded me of the auction sale that I witnessed two weeks ago when Adrik decided that he was going to sell some of his omegas as they were now too much. I dragged myself through the hall, trying my best to ignore the catcalls coming from the men and their ridiculously boisterous talks. The lewd looks coming from them made me try to cover up my tits that were almost slipping out of my dress. Adrik must have had a good sport while picking out this particular dress for the dinner. I finally managed to maneuver my way through the smoky area and entered the banquet hall. It was a dimly lit room with candle stands at each point of the wall. I mean, who still uses candle stands? And yet again, the interior decor was terrible. I think I might need to meet whoever was doing this terrible job and ask him why he loves
“We will wrap this dinner up for tonight here”. Adrik announced. “I’m sorry I’ve got a rather interesting development to attend to. Hopefully, we’ll be able to gather together once more when everything has calmed down. Thank you all for honoring my invitation”.He yanked me up immediately after he was done with his speech and trotted out of the room, Chad following on his heels. He stopped immediately we got out of the hall and faced Chad.“What the hell did you say happened to my men?”“We were attacked while watching the perimeter. And this letter was found on one of our men who was strung up on a tree”.Adrik snatched the letter, tore open the envelope, and read through the content. Whatever it was that was inside must have been very bad because his eyes turned fiery red and his breathing got shallow.“It’s that stupid Lucian. I know he’s the one behind all of th
~Lucian~“Alpha, your guest has arrived and is currently waiting to see you”.Elsie’s voice brought me out of my reverie. What time was it again? It must be noon already if the lady has gotten here. I’d almost forgotten that I was expecting a visitor today. A new girl who might turn out to be my chosen mate if everything goes well and as planned.I should be excited.Scrap that. Why should I be excited that a girl is coming to share my space? She should be happy that I’m even granting her the privilege to look upon my face. I swung my legs off my bed and strained my arms, running my hands through my hair after doing so.Another knock sounded on my bedroom door, this time more insistent. “Alpha?” Elsie’s voice rang out again from outside.“Thank you, Elsie. I’ll be with her shortly. Please make her comfortable while I prepare to join her soon.”I step
“What is the problem?” I asked, throwing another sword to Marcus. Sparring while talking about whatever was going on in the pack was the best way to get our points through. Ever since we were just pups, Marcus and I have always sparred our way through things. Like when we fell for the same girl before we hit adolescence, or when I got mad at him for taking a decision without consulting me first; even though he tried to make it clear that he had to make an emergent decision to save my mother. I remember giving him a deep cut on his left arm; a scar which he still carries with him till this day. “Alpha Adrik”, he replied and caught the knife mid-air. Just the bastard that I can’t wait to tear his throat off. “What has he done this time?” I asked and brandished my sword at Marcus, lunging at him with the swiftness of a tiger. He countered my attack just in time and swung at me, barely missing my jugular. “I got word from the spies that we sent out that he is planning a full-on attac
~Amara~ A few days after the sudden end of the Friday dinner, it felt like everything was back to normal again. Not the usual ‘good’ normal because there would never be anything good about this Pack, but at least no one was scared of any werewolf getting murdered anymore. Adrik hasn’t made any stupid advances towards me too and I’ve been on my lane, just doing the daily chores that were meted out to me while trying to find a way to escape. I was sure that Elsie would have gotten contact from her cousin and by now would know that I’d been missing for weeks. I suddenly grazed the floor so hard that the skin on my knuckle came off. In frustration, I dumped the washcloth that I’d been using to scrub the floor and stood, inspecting my now bloodied knuckle. I tried to wipe the blood with a finger but immediately regretted that move. Pain shot tingles into my brain and left me frozen for some seconds. I never realized that the abrasion was so deep. “Oh, fudge. Why would they even give me
~Amara~“Oh, goddess! You scared me”. I gasped, holding my chest.Katherine uncurled herself from my rickety bed and walked up to me, a look of disgust flashing in her eyes.Surprisingly, I was not as much faltered by her presence as I used to be. If it was before, I would have been internally vibrating from all the energy that she pulled off but now, I just stared at her like a troublesome child who likes to disrupt their mother’s nap time.“Why are you here? Last time I remember, you’re supposed to be in Adrik’s chambers attending to his primal needs while also being his dog. Don’t tell me that he has relieved you of that duty?”I couldn’t stop the words flowing from my mouth. It’s like when you’ve had enough of something and it starts to turn your belly so bad that you need to get rid of it in the toilet.Katherine has been under my sleeves for a long time and I had been condoning her because of her witchy powers; I mean, I don’t want to be turned into a cat- not that I hate cats-
~Amara~It was the signal, the one I’d been waiting for. The Hollow Ball that Adrik held wavered and then vanished, along with the shimmering lights and strange haze of power that had filled the room. He rose to his feet, his gaze dark as he turned to me.“Omega, stay here. Guards!” he barked, calling them to his side. “I’ll deal with whatever this is.”I nodded, forcing myself to look as calm as possible even though my pulse was racing. As soon as Adrik left the room, my instincts took over, and I darted for the door, every nerve on fire with anticipation. Chad would be waiting for me. I could hardly believe that soon we’d be free of this place, but I knew every second counted.Apart from that fact, I didn’t want Lucian blocking me or even trying to talk about what happened in the past. I wasn’t up for that at all. All I wanted was to get to where Chad was in one piece.I was halfway down the hall when a figure appeared, blocking my path. I gasped, thinking that it was one of Adrik’s
~Chad~“Fire! Fire!!”The second I heard the alarm, I knew it was time for me to act fast. I couldn’t waste any more time because I can’t tell how long it would be before Adrik finds out that this was a fake alarm. My body reacted faster than my mind could, every nerve alive despite the gnawing pain that felt like fire under my skin. It didn't matter. Pain had become the background music of my life in this place, and I’d learned to ignore it. What mattered now was getting out.With a shaky breath, I forced myself to my feet and patted around the corner of the floor for the small key Lydia had smuggled in. She’d risked everything to get it to me, and I wasn’t about to waste her efforts. My hands trembled as I slotted it into the lock, the heavy, rusted door clicking open with a sound that was somehow both too loud and too soft. I slowly pushed the heavy iron door open, waiting a moment to see if anyone would notice by any chance that a prisoner’s door has been opened.The corridor o
~Amara~As I stepped into the grand ballroom, my heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest. The room was filled with elegantly dressed guests, laughter, and music that floated through the air. Every flicker of a candle seemed too bright, every footstep around me too loud. I kept reminding myself to breathe, to appear composed, but with the weight of what I was supposed to do, it was a bit hard to pretend.Adrik had told me that he wouldn’t have any need for me until the dinner starts, so that mean that I have enough time to plan my movements carefully. I just hoped that I wouldn’t need to make it to that dinner before I get my cue to escape with Chad. My freedom was so close and I could smell it. Soon enough, I would be able to know how it felt to have my freedom. And it wouldn’t be just about me. It would also be about my child.I smiled, my hand going to my belly instinctively. This baby wouldn’t live the kind of life that I’ve led. He won’t have a mother who will sell hi
~Amara~I stood in front of the mirror in my room, the dress that Adrik had picked out for me clutched in my hands.Tonight is the night.This is the night that will either make or mar me.This is the night that I get my freedom, and together with the man that I love.This is the night of the Hollow Ball.I was excited at the thought of finally leaving this hellhole and going somewhere far away from this kingdom. Chad and I have sometimes talked about the possibility of settling in the human world, and it had sounded like a good plan. All we needed to do was make sure that no one suspects our identity. We’ll just blend in and make sure to avoid staying outside on full moons.But then again, I still couldn’t shake off the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. It felt as if I was about to embark on a suicide mission. As if this was the most foolish thing to do. A part of me screamed at me to abandon this plan and live as peacefully as possible with alpha Adrik instead of putting my
~Amara~“You want to break the Beta out of the dungeon? Are you crazy? That stunt can cost you your life!” Lydia whispered harshly, looking towards the door as if there was someone listening to her.“I have to, Lydia. They’re gonna kill him if I don’t”She paused for a moment as if digesting what she just heard. “What do you mean they’re going to kill him? Who are ‘they’?”“Alpha Adrik and Katherine. They want to kill him because he supposedly raped me”I could tell by the confusion on her face that she still wasn’t getting what I was trying to say. She knew that Chad and I were an item so saying that he raped me would be a little confusing for her. but if she was going to help me get Chad out of the dungeon by distracting the guards there and laying false alarms over a fire or something else worthy of attention, then I needed to explain everything to her in detail.“Did he really do that to you? He’s always come across to me as a fine gentleman. How did he suddenly change into a perv
~Amara~“Why would you do something like that? The alpha is so mad. And is in pain. Even though he healed really quickly. What were you thinking?”I plopped myself on the chair in the kitchen while Lydia peeled some potatoes for dinner. I’d come to her because I needed to talk to someone and she was the only other person that I could talk to, apart from Chad.Yes, I knew that I was supposed to still act like I do not have my memories back, but I just wanted to talk to someone familiar and friendly. A person whom I trusted. And Lydia was the only other person who filled in that role.After the incident with Alpha Adrik, he had quickly growled at me to leave his presence at once and I didn’t need any other prompting to scramble away from his room. The fact that nobody came to arrest me or put me in the dungeon for attempting to hurt the alpha is one thing that I’m still puzzled about, stemming from the fact that Alpha Adrik almost never forgives.What if he had something deadly planned
~Lucian~“No. get that out of my face”The servant bowed and backed away, while another came up again with yet some other kind of ridiculous-looking cloth. I glared at him, holding in the urge to grip his neck and snap it so that I could save him the stress of living in this world forever. Because sooner or later, I was going to snap his neck if he wasn’t careful.“Are you this dumb usually? How would you bring me this as an option to wear to the Hollow Ball? You think this is enough to woo my mate back?” I snapped at him.“But my king; these clothes are nice. They’re one of the best clothes that you have” Elsie said from her perched position.If I wouldn’t be damned.She should just thank the moon goddess that she’s like a mother to me. If not, it would have been a different story. And the fact that she knew this was what gave her the effrontery to challenge my words.I whipped my gaze to her and smiled. “Why, Elsie? Would you like to wear them instead? Maybe you’d help wear it in my
~Amara~He crashed his lips against mine unexpectedly, warranting a grunt of disgust from me. Of all the things that I thought he would do, this wasn’t one of them. or so I thought when he expressed displeasure at my bulging stomach.I tried to wiggle out of his grasp but his grip at the back of my neck was too tight and I couldn’t really move.This wasn’t part of the plan. Please, all I want is for him to stop.As if my prayers worked, he stopped at that instant and stepped back. The thought of puking settled in my mind but if I even tried to do that, I would only aggravate his anger. I took a step back, forcing myself to swallow the spittle that was mostly his.“Strip”My eyes jerked to him immediately. What was that? I put my hands into my ear to clean it because I didn’t think I heard him correctly.“I’m sorry? I didn’t hear you the first time, alpha” I said, trying to hold my fingers steady from shaking.“You said you wanted to be close to me, right? How else do you think you can
~Amara~I quickly swung into action after I visited Chad. And surprisingly, I found out that the guard at the dungeon did have a thing for me. Weird; and I just hoped he wasn’t a creep who loves to be with pregnant werewolves specifically. A copy of the keys of the gate to the dungeon and Chad’s cells were made by someone whom he had directed to me for help and someone whom we could trust. After that, I quickly went back and stylishly returned the key to the guard. I was able to breathe well after going over the first plan.For the second plan, I didn’t need to be so gummed to the waist to Katherine because I knew that somehow, something in her had shifted. And that shift was for good. But that didn’t mean that I wouldn’t try to sweet-talk her once in a while.Which leaves me with Alpha Adrik. Trying to make me believe that I was a hundred percent with him wasn’t my problem. My problem was the thing that might come after it. Alpha Adrik could be compared to a horny dog and just wants