~Chad~The dull ache in my heart wasn’t gone yet. It still lingered, reminding me that my mate had somehow rejected me. Her rejection wasn’t one in the common sense, but the fact that she seemed to have forgotten who I was, or what I am to her.It’s been two days in the cell and each minute makes me feel as if there was someone using a straw to suck away all the strength in me. I felt almost powerless. As the second in command of the alpha, it took more than just locking me in a spelled cell or starving me of food and water to get me tired, so I just knew that the only reason that I felt this way was because of Amara.It was a thing with werewolves that when they’re not close to their mates, or if their mates somehow forget about them without breaking their bond, the other person gets affected. In my case as a beta, I kept on becoming weaker every day. If we hadn’t connected and recognized each other as mates, I wouldn’t have been affected this much. But we had linked our souls togeth
~Amara~I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, looking back now and then to see if my pursuer was gaining in on me. With every stomp of my feet on the rough, dirty ground, I felt the beginning of labor contractions but this wasn’t the time to be mindful of little pains when my life was at risk. With every step, I felt the weight of my unborn child. My heart pounded in my chest, not only fueled by the fear that consumed me but also by the physical exertion of my desperate escape. I had to escape from my pursuers somehow.I continued to run, my hands propelling my body to move as fast as it could. They were getting closer and closer. I could still hear their howls and snarls reverberating through the night and the sound of their paws hitting the ground. Because I’d been marked for death by the alpha, my only hope for survival lay in outrunning them through the dense underbrush of the woods.My breath was getting shorter. I was already tired and I didn’t think that I could run anymore.
~Amara~I almost panicked when I saw Alpha Adrik lying beside me.’How had I gotten here? And why am I on his bed?Everything seemed so confusing to me as I tried to rapidly recollect what had happened. We both still had our clothes on so there was a probability that nothing had happened between us. But, I was still confused about a whole lot of things; the first being why I would sleep beside Alpha Adrik. And what sort of weird dream did I just have? Who were the people chasing me and why were they chasing me? What did my mother mean about my child being a destined child?I placed a hand on my belly and rubbed it, the not-so-gentle kick from my pup confirming to me that it was still in there. Alpha Adrik stirred, and then one of his fat, hairy hands reached out and grabbed my breast. I made a disgusted face and tried to wriggle out of his grip but he held on tight, practically even hurting me in the process.My head turned to look at the side of the bed and when I saw that there was
~Amara~I lay there motionlessly, afraid to move even one bit before the two people in the room realized that I wasn’t sleeping anymore and found out that I knew about their plans. My brain was whirling a hundred times in one second as I tried to find solutions to my predicament.So the Hollow Ball is in seven days, and that means that I have just six days to plan my escape from this place. And I had to also find a way to take Chad with me. There’s no way that I can possibly leave him in that dungeon to rot away as his strength had left him ever since Alpha Adrik demoted him from a beta to an omega. I was even surprised that he was able to mind-link me at that stage. Most betas would have given up the ghost.I tried to send my thoughts across to him but I couldn’t feel him anymore. Panic surged inside of me as I thought of the worst-case scenarios that could have happened to him. What if he had slumped inside that dungeon and there was no one to attend to him? What if the guards had
~Amara~“No. I think that it’s too late for everything to be alright, Amara. You can’t even begin to imagine the horrible things that I’ve done. Sometimes I just sit and think about my life and I can’t believe that this person is that little girl who was once filled with laughter. My life used to be so good”Still leaning on my shoulder, I patted her hair and threw the few words that I could, trying my best to help her snap out of this mood that she suddenly went into. She was showing me a side of her that I never thought ever existed.“I don’t think there’s anyone in this world that is irredeemable, Katherine. Whatever it is that you have done is in your past. You have a whole life ahead of you” I said.She scoffed and laughed bitterly. “A whole life? Do you know how it feels to know that you hold someone’s life in your hands? An innocent person at that. and then you look into this person’s eyes while she pleads for you to have mercy on her and her children. But you go ahead to block
~Amara~I made my way to the dungeon, the possibility of seeing Chad again making my heart flutter. I desperately prayed and hoped that he wasn’t seriously hurt.“Katherine said I could come and see him," I said to the guard on duty who glared at me as I tried to round the corner to Chad’s cell.When he nodded his approval, I continued on my way and went to his cell. I could make out his body from the small opening under the cell. He flopped across the floor. The guard was taking a long time to open the cell door so I knelt beside the opening and called out his name softly.There was no answer and I feared that he might have fainted, or that something worse would have happened to him.“Chad? Are you alright in there?”A guttural groan was all I could make out. A sigh of relief escaped my throat. At least he was alive and conscious. That was one thing to be grateful for. Soon enough, one of the guards came and opened the heavy key lock. My heart fell as I took in the sight of the man
~Amara~“I want to escape too. I want us to leave this place and go far away from here. But how? How are we going to do that? Alpha Adrik has eyes everywhere and Katherine has her eyes on me. We would never make it very far before they catch us”I knew that because this wasn’t the first time that I’d tried to escape from the pack. It wasn’t the second time either. And each time, I’d been caught even before I could make significant progress. Running away from King Lucian’s Pack was way easier than here. The security gridlock was something else.During my course of trying to run away multiple times when I first got here, I’d been able to figure out the places where guards frequented and the places that were tight. But even those places that weren’t tight were not easy to pass through.“I already have a plan. But it’s something that you might not like.” Chad said, holding my hand.From the look on his face, I could tell that it was really something that I wouldn’t like. But this plan is
~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
~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
~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