The silence in the hospital's room was deafening. Celeste had yet to speak a word after leaving the hall earlier. Even with the bandage covering her eyes, Brandon could tell that she was staring blankly. With Leto's betray combined with Shadow's, it took a toll on Celeste's mental health. Clavier's revelation about having the Princess sent the final blow. Now, Celeste was too angry to do or say anything. Her anger might not show on her face, but Brandon could feel it radiating from her presence.
He was as angry as her when he found out Leto tampered with her mating bond and that he had been feeding information to Lucien about everything. That was something that Brandon could never forgive. How dare Leto do this to her? He wanted to protect her, but the method he used was wrong. He endangered Celeste's life by working with Lucien.
It had been two days since they came there. Celeste looked out of the window while sitting on the bed. Brandon had been busy briefing his Alpha about what he knew. Celeste underwent several treatments to remove the spell Shadow used to tamper with the diamonds. She could feel the effect gradually lessened, and her mind became clearer.Nobody mentioned Leto or how he was doing. Celeste still refused to believe that Leto worked for Lucien, the source of their current suffering. What she knew was that Brandon had been overseeing Leto's interrogation from time to time, although Leto didn't say much of anything. Celeste knew it would take a miracle to hear Leto's confession. He was trained to withstand any interrogation or any kind of torture methods. He was good at it. But Celeste doubted Brandon's people subjected Leto to torture to make him talk."Good morning," Brandon said, walking into the room with a tray of breakfast and setting it on the
Shadow watched as Celeste was carried by her mate, running into the woods to flee their pursuers."You shouldn't have come here," Leto said, holding a knife against Shadow's neck.The hunters spun around, pointing their guns at them. At last, Leto did something. He knew what he did these past few days was wrong. All he wanted to do was protect Celeste. She was all he had left, the only person he considered as his family. He couldn't lose her. He wouldn't know what to do in his life if he lost her. She was like his sister.Shadow quickly turned the situation, pinning Leto against the wall with his hands bent on his back. The elite assassin signaled the hunters to continue their task while he handled Leto on his own. Compared to what he was capable of, Leto was just an ant.Leto struggled to get himself freed. He wanted nothing else other than mauling Shadow into pieces for sending those men to kill Ce
The werewolves had to chain Leto before moving him away to put him under tight surveillance. Despite losing his memories, Leto showed an exceptional hostility towards Brandon. Everyone else did what they could at the moment. It had been a tiring day for all of them. Most of the hunters left the territory right after Lucien and Shadow left. They didn't even bother to retrieve the dead bodies of the comrades killed during the fight. Given the size of the hunters that came to hunt the werewolves, the Council managed to hold them off at bay and only sustained a small number of casualties.Celeste turned to Brandon and saw a glass shard underneath his left rib. "Brandon, you're hurt.""I'm alright, baby," he replied, pulling the glass shard out like it was nothing.The wound closed just like that. He didn't even wince when he pulled the shard out. From there, it was evident that he was used to getting hurt to protect the peop
"Take a rest and don't think much about it for now," Mira said to Brandon, urging him to leave the office. "Go back to your mate.""Are you telling me to go away?"She grinned. "Go on. Get some rest. You need it."After sighing a few times, Brandon obeyed his Luna's words and left the office in the main building. They had been discussing what to do next or whether they should get involved in the matter of the third realm. Brandon understood why the Council was still reluctant to help someone's war. Losing someone in a battle wasn't easy to deal with. There were more cons in a war. For now, the Council was trying to find a peaceful solution rather than simply joining the war.Clavier already left long ago to find answers in the third realm since Stefano had banned anyone from going to the third realm. Clavier had valid reasons, and he needed to find out the reason behind Shadow's current action. If Sh
As years passed by, Celeste's memories became hazy. She couldn't remember well her memories before or after she entered the orphanage. Maybe because those memories were most bad memories and her mind made her forget about them. She could remember her memories with Leto, the boy who always had a smile on his face, or the sadistic laughter when one of the kids fell into his trap or his pockets that he stuffed with candies he stole from others. With all the candies and sweet food he stuffed in his mouth, it was amazing that he still ended up with good teeth.Leto never stopped following Celeste everywhere. Whatever she did, he would try to do it better than her. He was always competitive to the point that he couldn't accept losing to her. After running away from the orphanage together, they did their best to survive on the street and stole whatever they could just to get a tiny portion of food that they would end up sharing with each other.Let
Twi big Alpha wolves fought in the middle of the arena with the crowd cheering for them. Celeste stood there, surrounded by people she didn't know, but Amanda walked by her side, giving Celeste a little comfort. Their hands slightly touched, and Amanda used the skin contact to transfer images to Celeste's mind. The latter's eyes widened when she finally saw the images, the same thing that other people were seeing.That was how normal sight should be. It was full of vibrant colors, almost giving everything life. Celeste could feel that she felt left out when she remembered that she couldn't see like other people did. Their world was full of beautiful colors, while hers were just filled with darkness."T-Thank you," Celeste choked on her words."Don't mind it," Amanda replied. "Brandon is here."More images came into Celeste's mind, showing the endless images of Brandon, who had just entered the arena.
There was no response coming from Brandon. Celeste could hear the silence begin to build up in the room. The silence wasn't anywhere near suffocating, but it wasn't comfortable either. Celeste didn't know what Brandon was thinking about her request right at the moment. It almost felt like she did something wrong and tried to make it up to him by offering to take care of his rut. Maybe it wasn't a good idea. Celeste still had no idea what a male werewolf in a rut could do to his mate."Brandon?" Celeste waved her hands, looking for him.When she touched his arms, his skin felt burning, and his scent became stronger than before. Celeste didn't know if someone's scent could grow that strong. But the more she inhaled his scent, the more she felt like her desire for him increased. Could it be his scent affected her just as much as her scent affected him?Brandon's breathing grew deeper, almost like he was growling underneath
"Have you found my daughter?" King Ozigus asked after Shadow had arrived in the King's Court."Forgive me, my lord. We have yet to find Her Highness.""Have you grown incompetent, Shadow? Is the assassin clan is looking towards the end of their lives?"Shadow could only clench his jaw in anger as he listened to the King's mocking words towards his clan. "My lord...I...""Calm down, sire," Lucien said, interrupting the meeting that was supposed only to be attended by Shadow and the King. "Shadow is doing everything he can to locate Her Highness.""It has been four years!" The King roared in anger. "Every time I asked for a result, he gave me nothing! If that bastard had something to do with her disappearance, then kill him!"The Sovereign still thought King Galos from another kingdom had something to do with Princess Henrietta's disappearance. Even though the
A week later,The wind bellowed softly around him as he approached the big golden gates, which a name on the arc that showed the place he was currently heading belonged to the House of Gladwin Xavier Cemetery. Brandon inhaled as he walked past the opened gates. The guards bowed at him before dismissing themselves to give him privacy. It had been ages since he last stepped his foot here. He walked past rows of tombstones belonging to the perished members of the House of Gladwin Xavier.In the middle of the cemetery was a large pink sakura tree that had already bloomed. Located before the tree was the grave of Mirabelle Xavier, the older sister he never had the chance to know. Her grave was covered by the fallen sakura leaves. Brandon crouched down and traced his fingertips on her tombstone. Even though he didn't know her, he could feel the pain of losing his family member. Only a handful of people knew he was the illegitimate son of Gladwin Xavier XIX. But, Brando
Celeste looked ahead of her, not knowing what to do after all of that. Her life had always been rocky—running from the people that wanted her dead. Now, it felt different. Returning to the one kingdom that had caused so many heartaches to her. Ozigus was being treated for the poison that Princess Henrietta gave to him. Celeste wanted him dead. She wanted to kill him, but she would be no different than him. She would be the monster, just like her birth father.She chuckled at that term. Birth father. How weird did that sound? He raped her mother just because she didn't reciprocate his approach. He was no father. He was just a man who was greedy, arrogant, and monstrous."Now, time to settle a pressing matter," Clavier said, dragging the chair behind him.Everyone else just watched him as he sat down next to the bed where Ozigus was lying on."Release him from the binding vow," Clavier said, pointing to Shadow, who was standing next to Stefano.
Emma Kincaid smiled after she revealed the darkest secret of all. Brandon glanced at Vincent and saw the former second-in-command didn't show the slightest sign of surprise. Of course, Vincent knew. He knew Brandon was a dominant Alpha. That trait only came from a certain bloodline. Only the royal bloodline could give birth to dominant werewolves. That was why they were the royal family of the werewolves.As one of the two last survivors and the only werewolf coming from the royal bloodline, Brandon carried a heavy burden on his shoulders. But he never cared about bloodline or whether his children would be born dominant.Emma Kincaid raised her hand, and something materialized in her grip.A crystal dagger.She pressed the pointy tip on Brandon's nec
Brandon snuck behind the enemy line—carefully making his way deeper. He saw Lucien standing with his royal guards, looking at the battle. He looked pleased as the luck was on his side. With his large army size, he could easily defeat the entire Resistance, but Brandon couldn't let that happen."Yo," Clavier appeared behind Brandon, looking too calm for anyone's sake."When did you come here?" Brandon looked flustered."A minute ago. Where's Shadow?""Here..." Shadow said weakly, leaning against a boulder."I need to get you to Stefano to strengthen the spell," Clavier said. Concern was written all over his face."There's no time for that."
Celeste checked the heavily guarded border of Galos' Kingdom. His army was already stationed around his border, ready to receive their command to proceed with the marching. Celeste didn't want him to march his army out of his Kingdom because she spotted Emma Kincaid's army stationed in the mountains before his border, waiting for the right time to ambush.Ozigus had enough army to take down Galos, but the Sovereign King didn't dare to do it. Now, Emma Kincaid was about to do it. She only stationed a small fraction of the army to attack the Resistance. She lowered her flying, scouting the rest of Emma Kincaid's army to ensure their entry point. Galos' army would have to march through the valley between the two mountains occupied by Emma Kincaid's army.The King's Knights were on the front line. Celeste landed at a branch of the tree, watching closely what Emma Kincaid's army planned to do. They didn't set any camp nearby. Their shoe prints were covered by th
Brandon jolted and coughed heavily as he wiped the dust from his face. His left leg was in pain. There was a large wound right under his knee that began to heal. He got up from the floor, looking around for his mate."Celeste?" Brandon called. "Celeste baby, where are you?"He used the large boulder next to him to support his weight while waiting for his wound to heal. He focused on his mating bond and felt his mate was still alive. He just couldn't see her anywhere around him. The cave entrance collapsed into two halves, separating him from the main entrance of the encampment.The south wall of the cave collapsed. Brandon looked away, protecting his face from the dust. Celeste came through the hole and rushed to him."Brandon!" she said, supporting his we
Celeste froze on the spot. Bane had transformed into the Master. He looked at her with the same intense eyes that could hold fire for eternity. Her childhood was filled with torments and sadness because her life was held in the hands of the Master. Although she ran away from the orphanage with Leto, she couldn't stop the nightmares from invading her mind every time she slept.She walked backward until her back crashed against Brandon's chest. His arms wrapped around her protectively as if he knew what went on inside her mind. She knew Bane's aura was familiar. She didn't expect him to be the Master all along. By the aura emitted from the Oracle, it seemed she knew the Master and Bane were the same people."It had to be done," the Oracle said to Celeste."By torturing me when I was a little girl?""Celeste.""We're leaving." Celeste turned to the door."You need the army if you want to stop Emma Kincaid," The Master said. Or was it Bane talki
"Are you going to return?" Mira asked as they settled down near a tree after receiving news from Stefano.Clavier looked at the Alpha and his beta, ready to follow Emma Kincaid's army marching towards Galos' Kingdom. If all of them returned now, they would get to nowhere in stopping the war. Clavier doubted Shadow would return after hearing the news. Brandon and Celeste were equally determined to stop the war, so why would they return to Stefano's castle when the High Lord himself could handle the case?"No," Clavier answered. "We'd just continue with what we're doing and get over it. Stefano can handle it. He didn't ask us to return."It wasn't like Brandon's plan entirely. He did manage to get Lucien's attention by gambling with his own life and others. Everyone knew Lucien would have anticipated the t
Celeste blinked in confusion. She shook her head, denying what the man had said to everyone. There was no way she could Ozigus' daughter out of a sudden. Ozigus only had one child, and that child was Princess Henrietta. There couldn't be another child. His other wives couldn't conceive despite their long marriage with him.But as much as Celeste wanted to deny every bit of the man's words, deep inside of her, she could feel the truth in his words. Shadow seemed to trust the man as much as he trusted himself. There was no way the man would lie in front of Shadow, who was clearly had contributed something significant to the Resistance's survival. The Resistance didn't seem the type to dishonor those who sacrificed themselves for their cause. Shadow took a great risk by keeping their survival secret. That secret could have triggered the binding vow.Maybe this was just a dream. Celeste would wake up from it soon. She laughed nervously as she pinched her thigh because it a