THE NEXT morning, when I opened my eyes, I saw two pairs of green eyes looking at me. I was now lying on the center of the bed with Iris on my right and Luther on my left. Both of them had such glorious smiles on their faces.The sun was already shining so brightly outside. And when I glanced at the clock, it was almost ten in the morning. Thank God it was Sunday or else, Iris would never make it to school. I never got to wake up this late before. The nightmares loved waking me up crying and gasping for breath at either midnight or dawn. But today, I woke up with this certain calmness in my chest which just meant that I… was truly home.Luther and Iris looked like they just woke up minutes before me. Their hair was still messy, but they were just as beautiful.“Good morning, Mommy!”“Good morning, darling.”And then they showered me with kisses on both of my cheeks.“Good morning,” I replied, still surprised at how my morning had completely changed.The duo both motioned their cheeks.
“WHAT is going on here? Why are you hurting each other?” I asked, still dumbfounded. “Everything was fine before I left.” Iris clenched her hands. “Naddie started it!” “Why? What happened?” “She called you names behind your back,” Iris replied in a now meek voice. In an instant, the twenty students inside the room began talking all at once, eager to report what happened. Their voices were ringing in my head. And in a soft but firm voice, I said, “Enough!” Suddenly, the noises stopped. The kids turned to me, looking astounded, while holding their throats. I turned to Naddie, the little girl with braided amber hair. “And what are those names exactly? Say it in front of me.” The little girl held her head high. If only we were not in this situation, I would have commended her confidence. “I did nothing wrong. I just said you have no wolf and that makes you a useless queen to all of us. But that’s the truth!” I clenched my hands. I was not a fool. I knew about the antagonistic stare
“DARLING, if you wish to win, you have to do it quickly. Do not hesitate. Remember, your enemy is a Vampire. He is as quick as a lightning, as sturdy as a rock. Even a second’s hesitation could lead you to death,” Luther advised while he was beneath me and was lying on the mat. I was sitting on his stomach and was already sweating and yet, he still looked so fresh as if he had just gone out of the shower.We had been training for hours. When I expressed my intention of wanting to relearn how to combat, Luther volunteered to train me personally. We trained for four hours every afternoon and I believe I was getting the hang of it. It was like a recap of things I already knew. My body knew how to respond to every attack, but with an opponent like Luther, I could only defend. I could not attack yet. I knew he was going easy on me but even defending was still hard.He looked so composed, he was not even sweating or panting unlike me. I bet I was the only one who looked untidy. I went to gy
“WHERE the hell is she? Show me that wretched human who had the nerve to do that to my brother!”“Luna Scarlet, you have no right to talk to the Luna Queen that way! Much more, to barge in here uninvited. If you don’t want to lose your noble status, then I suggest you and your pack to quietly go back to the guest house and reflect while waiting for the King and Queen’s punishment for this crass behavior of yours. The manor will not tolerate this. All of you have crossed the line!” I heard Richard say in a ferocious tone. Their voices were too loud which interrupted my dinner with Dad and Iris.I heard that Scarlet was Naddie’s aunt. They went to the manor a month ago to apologize, but an offense was an offense. There were evidences that the couple was among the wolves who were spreading rumors against me to incite conflict between the Alpha King and the rest of the wolves. There was a rule and they failed to comply. I couldn’t stop Luther from enacting the punishment. People like that
I GLANCED at the women Scarlet had brought in this surprise parade of hers. They were lunas, too, all were Luther’s esteemed guests from different corners of the world. Since there was still a major threat lurking around, the guests wished to stay to serve the royal family and Luther had given them the permission to do it. Since then, more and more guests were coming, especially the daughters of the alphas and the elders.It was not that difficult to guess their purpose. This was not just about them protecting the royal family. The true goal was parading the luna candidates in front of the Alpha King. They wanted to toss me out of the empire. Even at my presence, the lunas kept visiting the main house with an excuse to offer their greetings to me bearing gifts not for me but for Luther while wearing their most seductive gowns.And if Luther came out to greet even one of them, I might have lost it, but he didn’t. He had never budged even without me around. His eyes were faithfully look
(Luther) IT WAS back. I saw it. Alexandra’s wolf had opened its eyes. It growled furiously. It was only for a while and the sound was not as loud as it used to be because it was still in pain but it was enough to be heard clearly. It struggled to rise and it fell down but its eyes were now fully open. It was still wounded, but its wounds were no longer as severe as before. It seemed as if it was… slowly healing. Another miracle was happening right before our very eyes. I was discussing things with Giovanni at my office when Isaac gave me a report about my wife’s situation. Giovanni just got back in the country but we had to cut our conversation short when we heard about the commotion. We went to the garden and both of us were taken aback after we saw how Alexandra held Richard’s sword. There were alphas present in the area, too. All were ready to protect the lunas of their packs. The commotion was that big that it could shake the empire. And Alexandra knew it. The Council had alrea
‘THE Queen’s lover, I found out who it was. The man was no other than Valerian Willers. It doesn’t ring a bell, does it? That’s because that was not his real name. His birth name was Valerian Theodore Alvarez, he was the hybrid all of us had seen at Magnus’ birthday celebration. He was also Kenneth Alvarez’s half-brother.’Giovanni’s report had never left my mind. I had always wondered who the heck that ‘Val’ was. It was a nickname I had heard my wife whisper in her sleep for weeks now. And every time, she would call him so sweetly.‘Do you think he knows who she really is?’ I remembered asking Giovanni.‘I’m guessing he didn’t. If Valerian knew, I doubt he would take her in. But now, the probability of him knowing the truth is a hundred percent.’Alexandra told me there was nothing to be jealous about. But then every night, she would call another man’s name. Some nights, she would cry. Other nights, she would smile as if she was remembering a fond memory only the two of them knew abo
(Alexandra)Five years ago…IT happened again. I coughed up blood in the middle of the lessons. When my classmates and professor looked at me strangely and began to whisper words to one another, I stood and ran to the nearest comfort room. I locked the door and began throwing up on the floor.I had gone to the hospital many times, but they all said that nothing was wrong with my body. And yet, I kept throwing up blood. And it would happen without warning. I could not even make friends in this state. Each time I would try, my body would make a mess of me in front of everyone. They avoided me for this, saying that I must have been cursed by a witch or I must have contracted a virus.There were rumors wherever I went.I sat on the floor. My legs had gone limp. Thankfully, no one used this comfort room on the third floor. After my schoolmates found out that the ‘virus girl’ was using this room, no one had dared to get in. It was just me here. I glanced at my wristwatch. I just had to stay
LUTHER’S fingers grazed my cheek as he stared at my face. He swallowed when he glanced at my lips. Seconds later and he pulled my head and waist as he claimed my mouth. He nibbled on my lower lip, urging me to open my mouth and when I did, he hungrily pushed his tongue in until our tongues met.When he finally let my mouth go, he took a rough breath and rubbed his erection against my stomach. “You look so lovely again today that I just wanna devour you right here, right now, Mrs. Sinclair.”Although completely aroused, I held it in and just smiled. “You can’t. Dad texted me an hour ago and said he’s preparing a victory party for me. We need to go back to San Antonio. How did you even escape from Iris?”“No worries. I told them that I was promised a date and I would claim that promise today. They seemed to understand. Dad told us to take our time, he’ll look after our princess. She even happily let me leave by myself. She had one thing to say, though. She said it’s her Christmas wish.”
(Valerian)“THE ROYAL family from the wolf empire is here to give their greetings and gifts to Your Majesty,” Matteo, the host of the event, announced. The guards opened the castle doors and from there, Alexandra, Luther, and their daughter appeared and walked towards the center of the hall, towards me.After Alexandra’s wolf reappeared, her hair was back to being crimson and so was her daughter’s. Luther’s hair, however, was still ink-black. It was the only thing he retained from his human genes. But whenever these three were on the edge of their emotions just like what happened in San Antonio before, their hair would all turn crimson along with their eyes.Together, these three could move mountains.Iris was at their middle. I stared at the Luna Queen, she was as stunning as before, but whenever I see her lately, her beauty just transcends everyone around her in another level. I guessed it was the radiance in her eyes. She was happy and it showed. She was shining more than ever.See
‘THE CRAZIEST thing in the world happened, but I cannot tell you about it yet, little sis. Telling you will spoil whatever scheme your moon goddess is cooking up. So, don’t get too disappointed if I will shut up for now. But be assured that Val is okay. He was just shocked and confused. Let him be. This is his first time being in this state. It’s actually fun to watch him rattled,’ Nick assured me. He winked. ‘He will figure it out and he will get over it, trust your big bro.’ ‘When?’ I asked. Nick laughed. ‘In fifteen to twenty years, I guess?’ Nick seemed to be having the best time of his life teasing Valerian. Even now, he was grinning beside Val who just ignored him. He turned to my direction and tenderly smiled. “I’m proud of you,” he mouthed. “I know you will be great.” “Thank you so much,” I replied. Halfway through the red carpet, I glanced at Giovanni who quietly walked with me. Just like my husband, he had come a long way, too. All of us had matured. He had become one
(Alexandra)MY POSITION was the closest to Beatrix. I could have stopped her from killing herself. But when she shook her head and looked at me with weariness in her eyes as if she was begging me not to take another step, I couldn’t move my feet.This was her wish: to be one with the man she loved. As heartbreaking as it was, I had to respect it.“Beatrix!” her parents yelled and sobbed.She confessed it to me while I was still pregnant. Kenji was the second mate given to her by the moon goddess. It was something she didn’t have the courage to tell even to her own parents knowing that they would not be happy about it anyway. It was rare for wolves to be given another mate after the original one dies. In fact, it was so rare that there were no records of it anywhere.Trix could be the first to experience such phenomenon and there could be a reason behind it, reason which Kenji and Trix had an eternity to discover.My knees staggered, but Luther was quick to grab me by the waist. Both o
(Beatrix)I HAD a secret that I could never admit to anyone. A month after the tragedy that killed my best friend, I was able to recover. At that time, I was about to go back to my duty in the pack but on my supposed to be last night at the facility, Kenji paid me a visit.His voice was gentle as he talked to me. He spoke like an old friend of mine. His eyes were affectionate as he called my name. He didn’t talk anything about vampires and wolves. Kenji only talked about the time we dated. And I pretended to be crazy so I could keep seeing him, so I could keep being with him in my own way.And maybe I had really gone crazy. Who would have imagined that I could stay in that facility for seven years all for him? For a chance to hear his voice? But for me, that facility had become our secret place, our hideout.‘I’m the world’s richest man. I have everything that money could buy, Trix, but I would swap them all for a day to be with you again, to feel your kisses one more time, your hugs,
THE WIND grew more violent as each second passed. The birds that were resting on the branches of the trees all squealed and flew away. We were yet to see the hybrids, but we knew they were here. We could feel it as tension sizzled in the air. We could even smell it. Their blood scent was everywhere which meant that we were now surrounded by them.And when Kenji had finally made his appearance, the steel gates flew towards our direction. But we were quick to evade them. There were hundreds of hybrids and they were all wearing red cloaks. I saw the faces of the men who made my mother suffer. And when they sneered at me as if they were remembering the same thing, my blood boiled and my body shook with anger.“The reports are true after all. My best friend and my mentor are indeed in one place and are working together. What a reunion,” Kenji said as he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, he had a dead look in his eyes as if he was uncertain about tonight’s outcome as well. When
I STOOD up and ran my fingers through my scalp. “When you told me to escape with you back then, I wanted to do just that. It was not just you. I wanted so badly to forget, too, Trix! I would do anything to forget even for a day. I want to escape, too! I want to be with you, too! But I can’t forget their cries. It haunts me all the fucking time.”I kneeled before Trix and when I could no longer stop myself, I held her hands and buried my face in them, relishing the familiar warmth that I could not feel in any other place no matter how hard I searched.Only Beatrix could do this to me. If it was not her, it would not work. She was my sanctuary. The voices were still there, I could still hear them. It seemed like I had been cursed to hear them for as long as I lived. Or maybe my mind was just playing with me, maybe I had gone crazy. My mind was a wretched place to be. And so was my heart.But with Beatrix this close to me, the voices were not as loud as before. It gave me the chance to l
(Kenneth)“HAVE MERCY, your majesty! I am still your father-“The old lying son of a bitch didn’t get to finish his sentence when I swung my sword onto his neck. His head rolled onto the floor along with the rest of the Mages who swore their loyalty to me. It sucks how Valerian was right again. The clan who abandoned me before because I was not as strong as them only came to find me after they heard how I rose to the throne. If I didn’t discover what they were secretly planning to do behind my back, they would have overthrown me and would have tossed me on the streets, poor and powerless.Their plan backfired, though. I killed them before they could even do that to me. Using a spell, I stole all of their magic.They were only after my throne, my position, and my army. To hell with them all! I don’t need them! They could rot in hell and after all this, I will see them there. In hell will be where our next family reunion will take place.After I killed the man who claimed to be my biolo
(Alexandra)“GET up, Alexandra. Shift and run with me.”When I heard Dad’s voice, I wiped my tears away and rose. His eyes were full of compassion as if he could relate to what I was feeling. He gave me a soft smile.“Shall we go?”I nodded. When he shifted, I followed him and shifted as well. Together, we ran in the woods as quickly as we could and howled. It was the farewell ritual that I didn’t get to do for Mom before and Dad was allowing me to finally do it for her now.It was seven years late, but I hope Mom could still hear it… including my apology and gratitude. While we were running, I was taken aback by the huge number of wolves who ran behind us including Luther. They howled along with us until we reached the lake once again.When we all transformed, the women took me someplace else and I just let them. They prepared a white silk dress for me to wear. They assisted me as I wore it. When I