~Amara~For the next few days that passed, I did all I could to avoid Chad and avoid even running into him. Sometimes I’d be in the Kitchen with Lydia and when she noticed his scent getting closer, she told me that he was close to the kitchen and I’d just find a place to hide. Lydia would tell him that she hadn’t seen me in a long while but I knew that Chad was no fool. He would have smelled my scent around the kitchen. But thankfully, he never argues whenever Lydia tells him that. Thankfully, Alpha Adrik had relieved most of the domestic chores that I had in the pack, maybe because he saw that I was getting heavy. I guess he really wanted the baby to be safe after he was born. The reason is what I was yet to find out but knowing Adrik, whatever he wanted to do with my baby wouldn’t be a nice thing.“You know, you have refused to talk about what happened between you and Chad for some days now. Why are you avoiding the beta?”, Lydia suddenly asked out of the blue.I sighed and busied
~Amara~I looked at Lydia in a questionable manner and she shook her head, letting me know that she had no hand in him knowing that I was here. Without another word, I stood and walked out of the kitchen with Chad following hotly on my heels. I wanted to think rationally and having him here wasn’t helping matters at all. I’d underestimated my attachment to him. I knew that because, despite my rage towards him, I could swear that if I turned at this instant to look into those eyes of his again, there wasn’t any guarantee that I couldn’t throw everything that had happened to the wind and crawl back into his arms.Yep. I know it’s crazy.So I just kept on walking down the hall leading to the outside, grateful that he hadn’t thought to say a word while following me.“Baby, how long will you hold off talking to me? I’m sorry that I hurt you. it wasn’t intentional, trust me. I never wanted to do that. I was manipulated by Katherine’s witchy stuff at my most vulnerable time.”Well, so much
~Amara~We stood before Alpha Adrik, waiting for him to tell us why he had summoned us. We’d been here for close to thirty minutes, and the most thing he had said was a grunt when he saw Chad. Other than that, we’ve just been kept standing without a reason; or so I thought.While there, I shifted from one foot to the other nervously, and my palms got slick with sweat. My mind went to different reasons why he could have called us in, and left us standing without any comment. Chad on the other hand, looked so calm and collected that I wondered how he was able to do that, especially with the fact that the omega almost caught us kissing if she didn’t see it before we even noticed her presence.What if she had told Alpha Adrik about it?I couldn’t hold it in anymore so I decided to go in for it. I took a deep breath and looked at Alpha Adrik. “Alpha, do you need anything from me?”I intentionally omitted Chad because there was no way that I could refer to us as “we” without sounding suspic
~Lucian~“Elsie said that you wanted to see me?”The curly head standing before me nodded, her curls bobbing in tune with the speed of her nod. I dropped the document that I was perusing and faced her, lifting my eyebrows when she kept mute.“Well? If you have nothing to say then get out. I have important matters of the Pack to attend to”Fear was evident in her eyes and I wondered why she was afraid. I know that I have a reputation for being heartless most of the time, but recently, that reputation has left me. I hadn’t even found myself torturing people for fun just the way I used to like. She should be grateful that she met me in my redemptive stage. Maybe if she had met me when I was the ruthless Alpha King, then she would have run away; just like Amara did.Amara. Just the thought of her name sent me spiraling again. At this point, I’d already resigned to the fact that she would always have that effect on me, whether I liked it or not. Shortly after my last conversation with Mar
~Lucian~“You’re really going to the Hollow Ball?”I could understand why Marcus was finding it hard to believe that I wanted to attend the Ball, especially with what happened the last time that I was in Adrik’s pack. He was worried that I would lose my temper again and kill someone because of my infuriation.“Yes, Marcus. For the millionth time, I will go to the Hollow Ball. Do you have any other questions apart from that?”“Yes. Knowing you, I can tell that you do not really have a reason to go to that Ball. You can decide not to go and no one will question your authority. Unless it’s because of her. ”I gave him a side glance, showing indifference to what he said but Marcus was no fool. He had fully interpreted my actions and knew why I wanted to do what I was about to do.“It’s fine, Lucian. I will do even more than that for Lyra if worse comes to worst. I’m glad that you’ve finally accepted that she’s your one true love and also the mother of your pup. But isn’t this going to cau
~Amara~As the day of the Ball drew near, preparations in the pack became more intense. For some days, both Chad, Katherine, and Adrik had not bugged me. I was fine with the others, but I was starting to miss Chad. Sometimes I tell myself that I could have just forgiven him and moved on with our lives since it was crystal clear that he didn’t do what he did willingly. For some time now, the kitchen has been my best friend, because Lydia was always there to talk to me when I needed her. and it also saved me from Katherine’s impromptu visits to my room. Now I sat there again, craving some fresh-from-the-oven pancakes that night and musing over how much I missed Chad.“I told you to forgive him then but your stubbornness didn’t let you. Now he doesn’t want to come back to you and you won’t let me rest. Don’t you know where to find him?” Lydia scolded me after I cried that I wanted Chad back for the millionth time.Honestly, I’ve become worse over the past weeks; always being overly dram
~Amara~I practically saw my death in three seconds. I saw how Adrik was going to execute me by either cutting my head off or tearing my heart out and then possibly burning my body after. Shivers coursed through my body and I rubbed my arm, suddenly feeling cold.Chad looked a little bit unbothered after his initial shock like there was nothing to worry about. Oh, that’s right. He had always wanted to bring our relationship in public and even before Alpha Adrik so I guess this makes it easier for him to do.Moving with my Last resort, I fell on my knees before Adrik and held his leg, mumbling with tears for him to forgive me for being so close to his beta. I couldn’t think about anything so deep that would make me or Chad safe but I just knew that I had to do what I had to do. Chad just stood there, not even making any move to say something or beg his alpha with me. Maybe he really wanted to die already and didn’t care what happened. He probably had more chances at being freed by the
~Amara~Adrik was already getting impatient that I hadn’t been sent up to his chambers. I was huddled up in my room, waiting for Chad who had promised to come back for me in no time. I didn’t know how that was supposed to help with Adrik’s unhealthy fixation with me, but he said something about meeting Katherine for something.Two guards have already been to my room to remind me that Alpha Adrik still awaits my presence. I knew it was only a matter of time before they resorted to dragging me to his chambers.It’s been more than thirty minutes and Chad hasn’t shown up. I was getting impatient as well because I didn’t want Alpha Adrik to think that I was flaunting his orders. I stood up and paced around my room, running to the door at every slight footstep. About ten minutes later, a knock sounded on my door.I dreaded opening it because the probability of it being one of Adrik’s guards was high. They were probably here to drag me to him now. I went to the door and stood, wondering if I
~Amara~The room was a blur of soft, golden light and muted shadows as I opened my eyes. My mind felt like it was wading through fog, heavy and uncertain. I was unable to piece things together in the smallest ways, and it made my brain feel like it had a work sensory overload. The faint crackle of fire reached my ears, its warmth chasing away a cold that must have settled in my bones.But…where was this?Even through my haze, I could tell that this wasn’t a place that I’d been in before. It looked foreign. It smelt foreign.I blinked, my gaze sweeping over the unfamiliar surroundings. Where was I? The walls, painted in warm earth tones, held no answers. A large armchair stood near the bed, and in it sat a man slouched forward, his head resting on the edge of the bed that I lay on.Why does it feel like I had the whole world resting on my hand? Did I perhaps add a whole lot of weight while in this unfamiliar territory?With a bit of effort, I looked down at my hand and realized the
~Lucian~I raised my hands in surrender, wondering what could have gone wrong the few days that she had been asleep.“It’s me, Amara. It’s Lucian.”“You,” she spat, her body quaking with sobs. “It was you. You killed all those people. You want to kill my child. You killed Chad. You killed my friend. You!”There was definitely something wrong somewhere. How could she mistake me for Adrik, of all people?“Baby, please, stop. You need to calm down,” I said, slowly reaching for me.“I’ll only be able to calm down once you’re dead. By my hand. You devil!”I stood, more confused as Amara charged toward me, her fury a whirlwind of raw emotion. Her yells sliced through the air, accusing me of things so heinous I could hardly process them. Chad’s murder? Threatening our unborn pup? It wasn’t me—it could never be me. But how would I convince her when she was like a furious bear?“Amara, stop! It’s not me who did all those things to you. It’s Adrik! I would never intentionally hurt you like tha
~Lucian~My heart thrummed loudly as I held her hand, praying that she would be in perfect health when she wakes up. I still couldn’t forgive myself for all that had happened to her, but I wouldn’t have even survived blaming myself if she had succeeded in killing herself.I couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t decided to follow her after I saw Adrik and his guards moving suspiciously. Whatever could have made her decide to cut her wrist and bleed away?My eyes went to the slash mark on her wrist. It was faint now and was healing just fine. The herb that Georgia had applied to it worked perfectly. But it has been three days now and she was yet to wake up. I was starting to get more anxious as the hours ticked by.“Don’t you think you should get some rest now? You’ve not left her side for three days. We wouldn’t want to have two ailing werewolves on our hands,” Selene, the alpha of the Pack who had helped us, said.I turned to look at the middle-aged, kind-looki
~Amara~I couldn’t run anymore. I was out of breath, and my stomach was cramping badly. I could still hear the chaos behind us even as Chad held my hand tightly while we ran.“C-Chad, I-I don’t think I can do this anymore. I can’t run anymore” I gasped, slipping my hand off Chad’s and crumbling to the ground.He immediately came to me and knelt beside me, his eyes searching mine with urgent intensity. He felt my forehead and cursed softly under his breath. The curse became even louder when his eyes fell on my legs.“You’ve been hit by an arrow. Possibly poisoned, by the look of the surface area. Hold on, I’ll take it off.”He laid me on my back and held up my leg. I watched him, almost unconsciously as he asked if I was ready.No, I wasn’t ready. Not for anything. Not now or ever. I just wanted to have a semblance of peace in my life. Why was that so hard? Why couldn’t the moon goddess grant me that one wish?I screamed as I felt the arrow sliding out from my flesh. Almost immediatel
~Amara~When the third arrow grazed my cheek, Chad quickly stood and grabbed my hand. Taking one long look at Lydia, I mouthed “I’m sorry” and prepared to flee. But our pursuers were already unto us.Immediately we turned, we saw that we had been surrounded on all sides by werewolves. They snarled as they slowly closed in on us, their eyes burning, and their mouth drooling. I didn’t need a seer to tell me that they were Adrik’s men. He had finally caught onto our plans.“You really think you could run away so easily from me?”I swung around and there was Adrik standing in the circle that the werewolves had created. His countenance was furious and there and then, I understood that our chances of getting out of this were slim.Chad pulled me behind him and came in front of me, trying to shield me from Adrik’s fury. But that was a stupid gesture. A brave one, but also stupid. Adrik could only be so angry with me, but for him, he would be double furious with him.Lydia groaned again, and
~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