Asher's POVI looked around some more, trying to convince myself that it was not from my head. The voice was so distinct and clear, as if it appeared right next to my ears. I couldn't shake off the feeling that came with that voice, nor could I even shake off the fingers that suddenly gripped my wrist and pulled me away from the crowd.I was walking, being dragged away by a certain figure as if I weighed nothing. It could be the alcohol getting to me, but I was suddenly drowsy; I couldn't fight that person off. I couldn't do anything.My limbs felt like marshmallow, my senses obviously evaded me, and it felt like I was stripped naked.Surely this wasn't just alcohol. The least alcohol could've done was make me tipsy or, at most, drowsy, but this was too profound. This was too much of an effect.I didn't know when, but I suddenly lost all power in me, and my body felt like it weighed nothing. In other words, it was almost as if I was flying until my back collided with something very ha
Asher's PovThe sun shining on my skin, wrapping me in warmth that I haven't felt for a while, mixed with the rare peace that enveloped me.There was something just very different about this particular sleep. I felt utterly relieved, I felt like all my troubles had been extinguished, and what was left was just peace. Was just happiness.The warmth of the sun added to the bliss I was feeling. However, it was making me too aware of my surroundings. It was making me drift from the state of unconsciousness to one that I wasn't really excited to be a part of.And as I started to feel myself come to, I began to recall memories.I jerked up from the bed.Heaving."Are you okay?"Steven was sitting right in front of me; he looked worried and scared at the same time, as if something utterly terrible had happened. His eyes kept moving around my body as if searching for some sort of discomfort or any injuries.I looked around, and I was laying down on my bed, in my room. The bed was situated rig
Philip's POVLately, it has been very quiet since Hana came in. After what she told us regarding Emily, everything had become somewhat at a standstill. The only issues we were having were the monthly distribution of food for the citizens from the farm owned by the ruler. There was also deciding on the color to paint the babies' new rooms and then the argument on what to name them.Lyra had her eyes set on naming them subtly after Asher; she thought that if ever she were to leave this world, they could easily trace their origin to him through their names.I thought her reasons were garbage.First of all, she made it crystal clear that she wasn't going to lie to them by telling them that I was their real father, and honestly, I wasn't against that. I wanted them to come to love me as me and not as their father.However, I was sure that her real reason she wanted to name them after Asher was undoubtedly that his name was somewhat very pleasing to the ears. Even I cannot deny that.Nevert
Philip's POV.Instantly, I was overtaken by a fear that coursed through my consciousness and interrupted my line of thought. My hands shook, and my legs lost the power in them. I quickly craned my neck to look over my shoulder and be sure that Lyra had in no way heard what Asher had just said.But as I looked back and met nobody there, I recalled that Lyra had walked out of the room to search for sticks so we could draw lots. Somehow, the fear of having to explain or even lie to her about what was going on totally evaporated from me.I didn't have to lie to her. I couldn't even lie to her if I wanted to. We had made a deal, we had set an understanding that there were never going to be secrets between the two of us, and so far, so good; that had been the order of the day.And now this?Was I supposed to tell her that the man that she killed, the man that was her greatest fear come to life, was still alive and well?The man that trapped her in a room and raped her day after day was aliv
Lyra's POV:Everything was not perfect, but it was close to it. Our main problems were the other packs and the initial issue with Hana and Emily, but for a while, everything seemed to have calmed down.Though I had not in any way received any direct heat from what was going on in the pack, I was mostly in the room, feeding the babies or taking general care of myself, both physically and psychologically. I only got the gist of what was happening from Philip. Ever since we made the rule not to keep things from each other, he had become very verbose. He tells me about everything that happens and even about how he thinks Tessa and Michelle may be interested in each other. He was a big fan of their love story that he cooked up in his head.However, I haven't been totally honest with him. Although he would assume that nothing was happening with me because that was what I made him believe, ever since I went into labor, there were dreams I have been getting. Although it wasn't really consiste
Asher's POVI sat across from Emily on the table. We both sat under the umbrella of the small cafeteria, and the displeasure was written boldly on her face; she would rather be anywhere else.She drank from her treatment, the place filled with people who were in touch with their feral nature, or they were just normal people. But being the novel, the leader, I had to say something.I could see that she was trying to act as if she was in a very happy mood when she wasn't, and she couldn't fake it.I was tired. It was the respect they had for me as their ruler, which gave them the ability, the idea that they could just show up where I was, and everything would be fine. That they would just scare the shit out of the others.I turned to Emily, who just kept sipping from her coffee as she looked around, obviously intrigued but annoyed that my nonsense was causing such a huge problem."I should've picked a quieter place," I said.She didn't look at me when she brought the cup to take a sip f
Philip's POVI walked out of the mansion; the path by the side of the mansion was the only way to get to the other side. When the mansion was built, it had become so iconic that the two main wings had, in no way, any connection whatsoever. There were no secret doors, no doors whatsoever that could lead you to the other main wing.It was like the two sides of a coin. I lived on the side of the heads with my family, and then my betas all lived on the tails side. With no interior connection.It meant that if there was anything going on, maybe one from my side would move to check on something from theirs; they had no choice but to first step outside, take the small pathway that was decorated with roses and daffodils by Michelle, and then arrive at the side belonging to the betas.And that was where I was headed.The walls were of the same marble, but the paint was different. They had painted theirs specifically after drawing lots, and luckily for her and unfortunately for the rest of them
Asher's POVWithout thinking, I pulled my hand away from hers and then leaned back in my chair. She took her own hand back and copied what I did; she leaned back and gave me a quizzical look."What's so surprising?" She asked.The kids that had called her name earlier had disappeared, the people around also seemed to have left the place, leaving just the two of us in an awkward silence.Or maybe it was just the thumping in my head, the racing of my heart, and the sheer hope that she just sparked within me that compelled me to drown out the voices of everyone around, having only her in my focus, listening to only her voice.Did I want Lyra back?Hell yeah.I would do anything if it meant that I would have her back. However, we had different lives now, and she is now married to Philip; they even have children now. It was not my place to involve myself in their lives.I had my chance, the one opportunity to be happy, to love her endlessly, but I had thrown all that away because I had bee