I woke up and realized I was sleeping close to King Derek. “How did I get here?” I asked myself, getting out of the bed. As I walked past the door, I noticed a small pen knife on the table. It looked sharp and skinny, and a thought crept into my mind. *Make him pay for what he did to you. Kill him and end it once and for all! He killed your family; he doesn't deserve to live. Kill him.* The voice in my head kept repeating. I tiptoed over to the knife, purposefully cutting my pinky finger with it to test how sharp it was. I walked toward the bed, closer to King Derek. *Kill him, it all ends here,* the voice urged. I watched him sleep peacefully, oblivious to what I was about to do. I thought about my happy family, my pack members. He was the reason I was separated from them, the reason I would never see them again. It was all his fault. My life was a complete mess because of him, “He doesn't deserve to live. I should send him to the hell he came from!” I muttered silently
Alaric's POVI didn’t realize how much I’d grown used to Nicolas, my mate, being around until I couldn’t find him after our meeting. At first, I thought he’d simply slipped away for some air—he was good at disappearing when the pack became too suffocating. But as time went on, no one seemed to have seen him, and a knot began to form in my chest. Something was wrong. Something was so wrong. I ought to have caught his scent by now, even if he were twelve miles away. But the fact that I haven't caught his scent shows that something was definitely wrong. He wasn’t in the pack, he wasn’t nearby—what could have happened? It's 2 a.m., and nothing seemed to be favoring me in his search. “Nicolas!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the silent corridors of the palace. My wolf growled in the back of my mind, feeling restless and agitated. He was feeling uneasy, and so was I. I needed to find him. I needed to find my mate. I ignored the clawing unease and continued down the hallwa
Nicole I should’ve known something was wrong the moment I walked in. The air had an odd, unsettling smell I couldn’t quite place. My fingers tightened around my chest, grounding me as I stepped further into the house. Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t this. It felt like I’d stepped onto the set of a horror movie. The place was trashed—bodies everywhere, blood splattered on the walls, and body parts scattered across the floor. I felt sick. What the hell happened while I was playing? Taking deep breaths, I forced myself to move forward. As much as I wanted to run, I had to find my family. As I stepped over dead bodies, I wanted to break down. These were the same people I’d spoken to earlier today. Why did this happen? After a few more steps, I found my parents lying next to each other, their throats torn out. My heart shattered. I knelt beside them, holding my mother close as tears welled up in my eyes. No! This can't be! Who dared to do something so cruel? A creak from up
Derek's POV This couldn’t be happening. Not to me. Of all the men in the kingdom, I, the King of Drogomor palace, had to be the first to be mated to the same gender. My jaw clenched as I watched Abigail beam beside her newest chosen omega—Nicolas, that was what I heard her call him. Just a slender boy with wide eyes and pretty features. The irony was enough to choke on. The one person who my wolf had chosen, my destined mate, was the same person my ever bold sister paraded in front of the court as her newest conquest. And no one even blinked an eye. Why would they? No one could feel the force pulling at me, screaming for me to claim what was mine. Only I felt the undeniable pull. My wolf snarled at the thought, pushing against me, urging me to go to him, but I forced it down. I couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow myself to accept this. No. I would reject him. But even as the thought crossed my mind, I couldn’t move my gaze away from him. The boy stood frozen in surprise and somet
Alaric's pov I arrived at Drogomor Palace because of the invitation; the princess of this kingdom was looking for her mate. I couldn’t have cared less, as I despised this kingdom, but I really needed my mate, and I’d been searching for her for the past five years. Upon discovering that the princess wasn't the one after all, I dismissed myself. I decided to take a stroll around the palace—it had been ages since I last stepped into this palace. As I walked around, I had to admit, there were some pretty girls here, but none that actually interested me. I briefly spoke with some of the other Alphas in attendance, at least the ones I was on good terms with. They were older and wiser and gave lots of great advice. They brought their unmated sons and daughters with them, hoping they would find their mates. I knew they were hoping I would be mated to one of their girls, but that was not happening—not if the Moon Goddess had anything to say about it. I walked around some more and w
Derek's POV I watched, my chest tightening as the scene before me unfolded. Him. That boy. The one I’d rejected, convinced that a mate like him could never be part of my plans. But now, seeing someone else—this Alpha—holding him so protectively, something twisted deep inside me. Anger? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was the hollow ache that settled in my gut the moment I walked into the courtyard and heard that word again: mate. Alpha Alaric's gaze met mine with unyielding defiance. “Your men assaulted my mate,” he said, as if he had already accepted the bond I had so easily tossed aside. My mate? The words repeated painfully in my mind. I’d told myself he was too weak, too delicate. How could he stand by my side as the king? I would be seen as weak. But now, seeing him in someone else’s arms, everything I had convinced myself of began to crumble. My wolf stirred restlessly in the back of my mind. I had let him go, hadn’t I? Why did it feel like I was the one being torn apart?
Derek's POV I stood behind the window, with a bottle of wine in my hand, staring at the luminous moon hanging in the sky when my memories began to flow. Five years ago, I was just eighteen, and I had yet to find my wolf, which made me a disappointment to my parents. They were kings, powerful in their own right, and their relentless demands felt overwhelming. “You’re too weak. You’re reckless. Your brother is the one fit to lead,” they had said. “You’ll never be worthy of this palace,” my father’s voice cut through, cold and laced with disappointment. “Not until you find your wolf and prove you can control it.” Control. That’s all they ever talked about—power and dominance. Control your power, control your emotions, control everything. But no one spoke of the pain of not belonging, of feeling like a ghost in my skin. I begged desperately to the Moon Goddess for strength, for a glimpse of my wolf, for any way to escape the suffocating expectations, but there was nothing. Th
Nicole's Pov The next day arrived swiftly, and I found myself sitting upright in the hospital bed, feeling slightly more better. The pain was still there, but it was manageable. As the morning light streamed through the curtains, I hear a nurse came around the room. She glanced at me and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Nicolas. You're being discharged today." I nodded, though the word “discharged” felt surreal. "Your Alpha left earlier to handle some pack business, but he said he'll be back to take you home," the nurse said as she adjusted the IV drip carefully. Home? I didn’t even know where that was anymore. my pack members has all been killed and there i was working in the very kingdom that wiped off my pack trying to take revenge on king Derek for all the chaos that he has caused in my life. And now, it seemed the chaos had followed me. I pulled the covers off and slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed. My body protested, but I ignored the pain. I needed to get ou