It had been two years since Cyrus and Agnes got married in the enchanted garden. Their love had only grown stronger with each day. The palace was always filled with laughter and joy, all thanks to them. This morning, the sun shone softly, making everything look golden and magical.Agnes, with her big pregnant belly, was relaxing in their bedroom on a comfy chaise lounge. She was gently rubbing her belly, feeling the little kicks and movements from inside. They were both so excited to meet their twins soon.Cyrus walked in and immediately noticed Agnes. Despite her being tired from the pregnancy, she still looked beautiful. He went over to her, knelt down, and kissed her belly tenderly."Good morning, my love," he said softly. "And good morning to our little ones."Agnes smiled, her eyes sparkling with love. "Good morning, Cyrus. They've been really active this morning."Cyrus laughed quietly and put his hand on her belly. "Seems like they're eager to meet us."He gave her belly one la
A look of confusion appeared on his face as he looked at me. With a sigh, and in a strangled voice, Alpha Cyrus said. "I can't accept you as my mate."Three Days Ago"You can have her." My stepfather's voice was a strained whisper. He avoided my eyes and adjusted his position on the stool he sat on. My mother said nothing to object; she never opposed anything he did even when it was going to kill her. I sucked in a sharp breath and continued to stare at her, waiting for her intervention. She looked at me, and then at her feet. "Agnes, please make this sacrifice. For the sake of your siblings."I always thought I knew what betrayal was, until this very day. The porcelain tea jug I was holding clattered to the ground, hot tea spilling on my legs, and the shards flying about. "Mother?" I questioned, still not believing it. My father had been killed when he worked in a coal mine. It was not murder per se, but the working conditions were poor for such little pay. We barely had enough t
“What the hell?” I exclaimed, rushing at him. My stepfather lay limp on the chair, blood gushing out of his neck in a mad frenzy. He held my hands which had been raised to attack him. “Let us be on our way.”He began to drag me away but I resisted, looking behind me at my mother who still sat, her eyes emotionless as she stared at her husband's dead body.“He has children,” I cried as we stepped out into the open. My mind was a chaotic haven for emotions I could not recognize. I did not even know how I felt about the death of someone who betrayed me. Judas had been good to me once upon a time and I was not going to forget it. “He doesn't deserve them,” the man said coldly. “They need their father!” I exclaimed, exasperated. “How do you think they will react to seeing their father's dead body with a dagger to his neck?""I did not leave my dagger in his neck." This man has the guts to flash me a smile. "This is pure silver, too expensive to be left in the body of filth.""You are un
There was only one probable explanation. I was living in a dream, a funny and terrifying one. "N-n-northern wolves?" "Yes," Cyrus said, then acknowledged the man in front. "Theo, has the crisis been averted?""Considerably so. We reached a compromise.""They should know better than to mess with us," snarled Cyrus. "Greedy pests," he hissed."Who is she?" "Ah, my new slave. I paid a fine price for her.""Again? A fine price? For a human? Those lowly backstabbing creatures?" He asked with raised eyebrows."Yes.""You have an obsession." The man named Theo gave a tight smile and let out an exasperated breath. "Let's hope this one survives," he whistled then turned to me. "And you are?""Agnes." I ignored the hand he had out to shake me. "What do you mean by your statement?""What statement?" He asked, his hands still hanging out, waiting for a handshake that was never going to come."Let's hope this one survives?""Oh, it was nothing," he responded airily. "And it is not polite to lea
"Oh please," I scoffed. "The job was done. You had your tea the way you liked it. Why should it matter who made the tea?""I am telling you that in future, I will not tolerate such." It was when he said this, that I noticed he had taken off his tailcoat and his shirt was unbuttoned. I looked away quickly. "Oh, how nice!" I exclaimed, my voice laced with sarcasm. "Maybe in the future, you should get someone to train me to do certain tasks that I am not used to doing.""What have I told you about respect?" He stood up coolly and walked to my front. I took a step back and he moved forward. "I am the Alpha of this pack. Your master," he hissed. With shaky legs, I moved backward until I was against the wall. Previously, I had a comeback for everything he had to say but suddenly, his aura felt too intimidating and I could not respond. He leaned against me, his angry eyes boring deep into my soul, daring me to defy him. I whimpered slightly, trying to shrink into the wall behind me. His
Agnes POVCyrus did not return until hours later. At first, I had been bored to death and roamed around the palace, trying to explore places of my own. I had initially considered escaping from this place but it was not worth it. We had spent two days on the road and I was sure it was not a journey I could make on my own if I intended to return home. From what I had speculated, there was no safer place here than the palace. The neighboring city belonged to the Southern Wolves and that zone was not human friendly. Stepping one foot in there meant I was going to die and never see my siblings again. They were the only family I wanted to return to. Midway into my wandering, I stumbled upon a large building that happened to be the library and I had picked up a book that told the story of how werewolves came to be. I had been so intrigued by reading about their history, culture, and ceremonies that I did not notice how much time had gone by. One thing that intrigued me the most about the w
Agnes POV I was taken aback at first but it did not take me long to recover. Mate. But that was not possible. That much I knew he was right about or at least from the books I’d read in the library, we could not be mates. That only happened between werewolves of which I was not. I looked at him and I could see that his confusion was genuine. He could feel something deeply that I felt only vaguely. “Leave, Agnes, Leave!” He barked but I could not bring myself to. Everything around me felt like a haze. It was as though my body was not mine and it refused to believe that I had just been rejected by an Alpha. “I I want to… I can't…” I struggled to say. He looked at me alarmed, cleared his throat and I saw him try to stand up from the bath but he could not either. It was as though a force stronger than us was pinning us down. Whatever it was, we were powerless against it. “You're a witch. That is the only explanation and I swear…” but he could not talk and in panic, I rushed forwar
Cyrus POV I could not comprehend what had happened to me just last night. There was no explanation for it. I could not even get one because I was the Alpha. I was supposed to know everything. The only people I could confide in were perhaps the priest and Theo but even at that they were still my subordinates and my ego could not suffer injury. However, I had never read in any literature that the moon goddess would gift a werewolf, especially an Alpha, a human as a mate. I was in a fix. The only explanation I could think of was that Agnes was a witch; she had to be. But still admitting that a witch could cloud my senses and pretend to be my mate would be exposing a weakness and I could not let that happen. “Your Majesty? You are very distracted about something, do you mind sharing?” It was Theo at our daily meetings in the morning. I had ruminated about the possibility of Agnes being my mate or a witch all night and I still had no answers. “What? I… I am alright Theo. I think