Intoxicating scents!!!! "I’m not your enemy, Veronica. In fact, I really don’t want to be. But you have to understand—" "I understand perfectly," I cut her off, my voice rising. "You’ve charmed everyone with your little act, pretending to be so kind, so humble, but I see right through you." The cooks stood awkwardly by, unsure of what to do, their eyes darting between us. I could sense their fear of getting caught in the middle of this power struggle, and that only fueled my anger more. They had already chosen to follow her orders over mine. My own authority was slipping, and I could feel it slipping faster with every moment she remained in the mansion. Ashley took a step back, exhaling softly. "I’m not here to argue with you. If you want to eat something else and not the lunch order I made, fine. I’m not going to make this a bigger issue than it needs to be." She glanced at the cooks. "Just make sure to let me know next time if she has given an order for lunch so that we can e
Tools...My mother leaned in slightly, her eyes narrowing as if to emphasize the gravity of the moment."The plan is simple," she began, her voice low yet sharp. "First, you must rebuild your alliances. The elders, as misguided as they may be, still hold considerable influence. If we can sway just a few of them, their opinions of Ashley will falter. But this time, you’ll have to be more strategic. Play their game. They need to regret the decision they made and see you as someone who is indispensable to the Kingdom again."I nodded, absorbing her words, but the bitterness still lingered. "And how am I supposed to do that? Ashley’s already got them wrapped around her little finger. Worst of all, she has provided the heir they desperately needed all this time, and two of them at that. How am I possibly supposed to compete with that? Mom, this will be nearly impossible.""Which is exactly why we need to turn the tables. Left to me, I would have suggested you kill those children." I gasped
She was a what???As the car sped across the empty and silent road, I could feel Lyon's gaze on me, so I looked out the window to avoid him for a while. This was the confirmation I needed: he definitely had an attraction to me. I couldn’t yet fully tell how loyal he would be, so I planned to make him fall deeper for me, ensuring he would be an effective pawn in helping me achieve my desires.Still avoiding his gaze or looking in his direction, I slowly unbuttoned a few buttons on my shirt, revealing a hint of cleavage. It wasn’t much, but just enough to make it visible—subtle, yet glaring enough to create attraction. The idea was to slowly bring him to a point where he’d be desperate to do anything just to have me. I would keep this up until I no longer needed him.I heard him clear his throat, which made me more persistent. I could tell he was struggling to remain composed, so I decided to make things even harder for him. I opened the shirt a bit more with my hand, moving it up and d
May I???Reaching the top of the stairs, I made my way to my chambers. The large double doors stood as a reminder of the power and luxury I held, but it felt precarious now—like everything around me could shatter with one wrong move. I pushed open the doors and entered the room, closing them behind me with a soft click. The air inside was cool, yet I felt a restlessness stirring within me.I crossed the room to stand by the window, looking out over the sprawling gardens of the estate. The sun was sinking below the horizon, casting the sky in shades of orange and purple. Normally, I found the view soothing, but tonight it offered no comfort. My mind was still racing, trying to make sense of Fabian’s revelations. If Ashley was truly still vulnerable amidst all the allies she had started gaining back, then there was an opportunity there. But how much could I trust Fabian’s information? And what would he want in return for giving it to me?I clenched my fists, feeling the pressure of the
What a relief....**Ashley's POV**I woke up the next morning and found myself in bed all alone. I was naked, with only the thick duvet covering me, and I couldn't help but reminisce about what had happened the night before between Lucas, Simon, and me. I groaned as I buried my face in shame. What in the world had come over me that I suddenly craved intimacy so intensely? If I hadn’t managed to lock myself in and stay indoors while trying to calm down, only the goddess knows whom I would have ended up with.“But wait, how did this even happen? Obviously, I wasn’t in my right senses. Something's wrong with this whole thing,” I murmured to myself, trying to make sense of what had happened. Even if I wanted to blame it on the effects of the mating season, which everyone knows is still a few weeks away, it didn’t explain everything. If my urges were due to that, my wolf would have understood, and it would have resulted in a conscious willingness to let her take over. However, this time it
Mind link..."There's nothing to explain, Ashley," he said gently, his voice so calm it threw me off balance. "You were overwhelmed, and your wolf took over. You don’t need to feel ashamed."I bit my lip, unsure how to respond. I had expected… well, not this. Understanding, yes, but this level of calm acceptance was something I hadn’t anticipated. "But I lost control," I said, more to myself than to him. "I never meant for any of this to happen, and now everything feels… weird."He stepped closer, his hand reaching out to cup my face. The touch was gentle, almost reverent. "Ashley," he said softly, "you don’t have to carry this burden alone. You’re not just a queen or a mother. You’re a person, and sometimes even queens lose control. It’s part of being what we are."I closed my eyes, leaning into his hand, trying to let his words sink in. “No! I'm not just anyone, and I can't randomly accept it as part of being what we are. Do you take me for a cheap, loose woman?” He remained silent
Not in her dictionary....When I got back inside my room, Rita was already there waiting for me. As soon as I opened the door and walked in, she immediately stood up in anticipation of full details of everything that had happened.“Tell me, my queen, how did it go?” she asked excitedly, and I chuckled at how she was behaving as I moved over to the bed to sit down.After a short while, I finally spoke up, my voice measured but full of intent. “They couldn't believe it, but I am sure they are definitely not in denial.”“Oh nice! So now His Highness has finally gotten the chance to see her true self being played out. However, my queen, I really think we need to be more careful of her right now. For someone to even consider carrying out such an evil plan only goes to prove just how detrimental and dangerous it is to have her around. I mean, how could someone have been planning such a thing for a while? Basically, I just think we need to be more careful in general because now that we have
Look back...This wasn’t just an attack on Amira—it was a trap for me. Veronica had suspected something, and now she was using Amira to bait me into revealing myself.I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm. I couldn’t act rashly. If I made the wrong move now, everything we had worked for could be undone. But Amira—she had risked everything for me. I couldn’t just leave her to face this alone.As Veronica presented her so-called “evidence”—a series of forged letters implicating Amira in a conspiracy—my mind raced. I had to think quickly, but I couldn’t act openly in front of the council. I needed to find a way to turn this situation to my advantage.Then, an idea struck me. I stood up slowly, the eyes of the council and Veronica now on me.“Queen Veronica,” I began, my voice steady, “these accusations are indeed serious. But I must question why this alleged plot has only now come to light. Every one of us knows that this lady in question happens to be your most trusted han
The end of the tunnel !!!**Ashley's POV**As I stood by the side, watching my arch-nemesis being taken away, I honestly couldn’t tell what I was feeling at that point. Although this moment had been a highly anticipated one for me, it just didn’t feel right somehow. As soon as the guard announced that her banishment was to begin, I could feel my wolf’s countenance instantly change. I remained motionless where I stood, watching the whole thing unfold. Nobody moved until she was finally out of sight, with the men trailing behind her as she went on her way. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was getting, although a wave of relief washed over me. All this while, I had wanted her downfall—to see her get the punishment she truly deserved. But now that it had happened, I surprisingly didn’t feel as excited as I thought I’d be.“Are you feeling alright?” I heard Simon ask as he placed a hand on my shoulder, and I nodded.“Yeah, I… I just—”“It’s fine, you don’t have to say anything. I can underst
Outplayed....**Veronica’s POV**Right after informing me of the success of the plan, Drago had actually requested that I come over to see things for myself, and as I drove to the arranged meeting point, I couldn’t contain the mix of emotions I felt. It was a strange blend of excitement, adrenaline, and anxiety. Drago had assured me everything had gone according to plan, but amidst the excitement, I couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something didn’t feel right.As I approached the hideout, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a voice message from Drago.“Greetings, your Highness. I just wanted to let you know that these kids have been crying ever since they were brought here. I don't know what happened exactly, but when I went out to find something for them to eat, one of my men apparently shot one of them, and now he's dead. I'm really sorry, your Highness.” The moment the voice note ended, I had to slam on the brakes because the shock hit me harder
Love and war !!!We made our way back to the mansion quietly, sneaking in before anyone noticed our absence. Even as we slipped back into our normal roles, something between us had changed—strengthened. There was a deeper understanding now, a silent promise that we would stand by each other no matter what came next.What came next was the reckoning we had been preparing for.Later that day, Simon and I gathered in his study with the sole aim of finalizing our next steps regarding Veronica. We knew time was running out. With Fabian already in our custody, Veronica was bound to make a move sooner rather than later. Her desperation would push her into action, and we needed to be ready.“She’s going to crack soon,” Simon said, his voice filled with certainty. “Especially now that we’ve got Fabian. There’s no way she can keep up this facade much longer.”I nodded in agreement. “We just need to keep the pressure on her. Fabian already gave us some leads—now it’s only a matter of time before
The hatch **Lucas's POV**Right after the whole thing with Ashley presenting ample evidence against Veronica, although it was hard for us, Simon and I just had to keep to ourselves. Well, at least until we had finally achieved what we wanted, which was actually pretty close to our reach at that point. I never liked Veronica from the start, but this was something I could never see myself believing she committed. It now makes me wonder if she really was the one who killed Mortica as well.As I sat on my bed thinking about all these things, I could feel a knot forming in my head, and I ruffled my hair as I tried relieving myself of the headache. As it stands now, we currently have all the top perpetrators in our custody back at the torture house, and the one person we needed to find is that slimy Fabian. Just as I had mentioned to Ashley a while back, we needed to keep things on the low so that we would easily be able to use Veronica to get to him. After all, the reports we had been get
Surprise, surprise!!!“Yes, yes, that’s right! She seemed very secretive about the whole thing, like she didn’t want anyone to know we’d left or where we went.”“I see,” I responded, finally removing my claws from his thigh. Lyon gasped in relief, but the moment Simon turned his glare toward him, he silenced himself.Simon and I exchanged a knowing look.“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Simon asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.“Bet,” I replied, a hint of realization dawning on me.Together, we turned our gazes back toward Lyon, who flinched in fear under our combined scrutiny.Simon crossed his arms, his jaw tightening as he addressed Lyon again. “You better hope for your sake that what you’ve said checks out. If we find out you’ve withheld anything, even the smallest detail, you’ll regret ever stepping foot in this mansion.”“I swear, Your Highness, that’s all I know! I told you everything!” Lyon pleaded, desperation evident in his voice.I took a step forward, looming ov
Feel the heat....I stepped forward, towering over him. “You thought you could hide in the shadows, Fabian, but your time is up. We’ve heard everything.”His face paled, and he stammered, “I-I can explain! It wasn’t my idea—Veronica pushed me into this! I was just trying to survive!”“You’ll have plenty of time to explain,” I said coldly. “Take him away.”Fabian’s eyes darted to the exit, but before he could make any sudden moves, our men swiftly blocked the way. He was trapped. The fear in his eyes deepened as he realized there was no escape.Simon crossed his arms. “Let’s make this simple. You come quietly without receiving any beatings, or we drag you out of here with no less than 20 slaps already landed on you.”Fabian hesitated for a moment, but when he saw that resistance was futile, he slumped in defeat. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll go.”As we escorted him out of the building, Simon leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Now that we have him, it’s only a matter of time before Vero
A little bit more....The next morning I woke up feeling extremely refreshed and light. For over 6 years I had been wrongly accused and tagged for committing crimes that I knew absolutely nothing about. Even though I did make it a point to act like I didn't care about it, the accusations definitely followed me around like a serious plague all through. Well at least till last night.As soon as I woke up, the first thing that came to mind was everything that had played out the previous night between myself and both Lucas and Simon, and a smile soon appeared on my face “Finally! I'm free” I exclaimed, as I excitedly got out of bed. I went straight into my bathroom to freshen up, and as I went about doing my usual morning routine, I couldn't help but to hum a song happily whilst carrying out every activity I did. “Oh, good morning my queen, you seem happy this morning,” Yasmine greeted warmly, as she peeked into the bathroom where I was busy brushing my teeth. I spat out the mouthwash
Let the real games begin!!!!I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. “Because Amira has been helping me gather evidence. We have proof of her dealings with corrupt members of the court and her plans to undermine the council. I’ve been working with Rita to piece everything together, and we’re ready to present it to you.”There was a moment of silence as the two of them processed my words. Lucas finally leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful.“If what you’re saying is true, then why didn’t you come to us sooner?” he asked.“As if,” I scoffed. If I had come to them any sooner, they would have dismissed me as quickly as possible. Not to mention the fact that going without concrete evidence could have endangered the little I had managed to gather over that space of time.“If I had come any sooner, would you two have given me a listening ear? That is exactly the question you should be asking right now, not the one you just mentioned. Given that every attempt I made to reve
Look back...This wasn’t just an attack on Amira—it was a trap for me. Veronica had suspected something, and now she was using Amira to bait me into revealing myself.I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm. I couldn’t act rashly. If I made the wrong move now, everything we had worked for could be undone. But Amira—she had risked everything for me. I couldn’t just leave her to face this alone.As Veronica presented her so-called “evidence”—a series of forged letters implicating Amira in a conspiracy—my mind raced. I had to think quickly, but I couldn’t act openly in front of the council. I needed to find a way to turn this situation to my advantage.Then, an idea struck me. I stood up slowly, the eyes of the council and Veronica now on me.“Queen Veronica,” I began, my voice steady, “these accusations are indeed serious. But I must question why this alleged plot has only now come to light. Every one of us knows that this lady in question happens to be your most trusted han