I took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly as I stood in the long hallway. I shifted from foot to foot as I watched the maidservants who had led me into the mansion unlock the door to my new room. After two soft clicks, she twisted the doorknob and pushed it open, revealing the room."Thank you," I mumbled to her as I lifted up my bags and walked into the room. The maidservant mumbled something in response but I didn't hear it as I wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying. "... and you will meet the Madam downstairs." I managed to catch the last few bits of her words and turned around just as she was about to leave. "What did you say about what Madam?" I asked, curiosly. The maidservant paused in the doorway as she turned to face me. "Madam Nazar," she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. The caution with which she had said the name said a lot about who she was. "You are to meet her downstair
I had thought at first that working as the personal servant to the Lycan King was something that I would find hard, but it turned out to be something that I actually enjoyed. Taking up the role of his personal servant gave me opportunities and an aura of authority that I never thought I would have. Everyone answered to me and all the work that I had thought I would do myself were being done by servants that had been appointed to me. Even Madam Nazar, the head of the palace, treated with with a level of respect that I deemed impossible. The woman who had once looked down on me when I was but a servant, now came to me, seeking for approval and differing to my decisions whenever changes were being made in the palace. The entire thing made me feel... powerful. Although I adored the new respect that was now being showered upon me, I couldn't help but wonder at times if the reverence was really genuine or was merely being born ou
"He really told you that?" Gadot asked as she held closer to her chest the basket of roses that she had cut off from the rose bush in the garden. "He told you not to call him Alpha?" "Well, yeah," I said with a small smile as I pulled my hair behind my ears. "It's not something's that I expected to happen but... it surprisingly did, so..." "Whoa," Gadot mumbled as she looked at me with wiide eyes. "That's... that's actually a big deal you know. No Alpha, most especially the Lycan King, would ever tell their servants to stop referring them as Alpha." She looked down as her basket as she frowned slightly, as though she was thinking of something. "I even... I even think it's against a code or something." "I know, I know," I replied, still struggling to wrap my head around it myself. "To be honest, I actually do not know why he did so, Gad. But he seems so... serious about it. And the entire thing is really
I stood in front of the Lycan King's room, torn between knocking on the door or just walking in like I usually do back at his study. I still wondered why he had requested that I come to his room when the work that had to be done was back at his study. What work did he want me to do that required me to come to his room? As I stood there by the door, contemplating on what I was to do, I suddenly heard the shuffle of feet behind me. Quickly, I turned to see who it was and found one of the servants, who I had assigned to clean the corridors, pass by me. She had her broom and dustpan in her hands and her eyes were droopy. It was already late so she probably was heading back to the servant quarters. Ignoring her, I turned back to the front door. Finally deciding to knock, I lifted my hands over the intricately carved wooden door, my knuckles hovering just inches away from it, when I suddenly heard a soft click. My breath caught in my throat as the door sudden
The sound of birds tweeting loudly by my open window reached my ears like a loud bang. I groaned softly as I rolled to my side, covering my ears with my pillow. The sound reduced but then I felt my face suddenly get bathed in a warm light. It wasn't harsh but it disturbed me. "Oh," I groaned as I turned to the other side, sighing softly as the light disappeared from my face. Suddenly, I heard a soft ringing, one that sounded muffled and far away due to the pillow covering my ears. It was one that I found very ignore as I subconsciously knew what it meant. And then it dawned on me. My bed wasn't this soft and my pillow didn't have this sweet, blissful feeling of comfort. I slowly became aware of my surroundings, realizing that the soft ringing was actually a sound alarm coming from nearby. It was the noon bell, signalling that it was already mid-day. The realization hit me like a splash of cold water, waking m
I ran my hands over my head, recalling how the Lycan King had drawn lines over my skin as he kissed me. I remembered us sharing a wine and laughing as we drank away. I had felt at ease and connected to Alpha Alaric much deeply last night. But thinking about it more now, I felt nothing but embarrassment. My cheeks flushed as more thoughts-thoughts I couldn't even think of describing- came rushing back at me. "Oh, no," I muttered with a cracked voice as I laid down on my bed. "What did I just do? What did I just freaking do?" I thought back to the expression the Lycan King had last night as we shared our intimate moment. They matched mine and for the first time, I discovered a deeply romantic part of him that I never thought I would ever see. He was so intentional with every single thing he did last night and I felt a deep blush spread across my cheeks. My hands shook slightly and I brought them closer to my chest as I stared up at the
The Lycan King's presence immediately made everyone alert and they all increased the intensity of their work. I, on the other hand, did nothing but stand fixated at the spot, staring at him. Anxiety bubbled in my chest, causing my heart to race and my previous thoughts that I had managed to ward off, came rushing back uninvited. Noticing that everyone had now shifted their attention from the Lycan King to me due to my strange reaction to his sudden presence, I quickly comported myself, grunting as I bowed slightly. "Alpha Alaric," I said, trying to sound calm as I lifted my head to meet his eyes. "I... did not expect to see you here." I had thought at first that he would correct me for addressing him with his title but, surprisingly, he said nothing. Maybe, I could only call him by his name in the absence of others. "I just thought I come see how everything was going," Alpha Alaric said, his voice reverberating through the
I knocked slightly on Alpha Alaric's study door before pushing it slightly open. I peeked inside and found the Lycan King sitting on his study chair, scanning through some scrolls and papers on his desk. The door creaked softly and he looked up at me. This was the first time he had not noticed my arrival before I came in and it did surprise me a bit. "Enter, Elora," he said, to me before returning his attention back to his work. I looked around the room for some moments before walking in and closing the door shut behind me. "You requested that I come once I was done with everything that I was doing, Alph--Alaric," I said, correcting myself as I stepped further into the room. "I'm here now." Alpha Alaric looked up again, a faint smile playing at his lips. He seemed to have noticed my nervousness as I addressed him by just his name. "You don't need to feel anxious or nervous when you're with me, Elora," he said, his voice as soft as ever. There was a long moment of silent, on
CAYDENI gave them a puzzled look as the all stares at me. "What?" I asked. "How do you expect me to lure him out? The guy hates my guts. He's basically starting this whole war simply to ruin me.""That's exactly the reason why you are the best person to lure him out," Marcy replied. "He seems to be holding a deep and terrible grudge for you. All you have to do is tug on that grudge.""What?" I asked, confused. "I don't understand.""I'll be straightforward with it then," she said. "We can't win against that guy when his brain and mind are functioning properly. He is incredibly smart, cunning and overly cautious. He might make a mistake in battle but not one that we can exploit. He might also have a vast army by now considering all of the deaths he's caused. He's even had time to turn them into his minions. There's no telling the amount of abominations he can unleash on us.""I still don't understand what any of that has to do with me and how it helps me anger him," I replied, lookin
CAYDENI stared at Marcy, at her beautiful eyes as they stare back at me."You're right," I nodded. "He must going around and talking to anyone he believes would be strong enough to be a threat to him.""He won't be simply convincing them either," Rafael added. "He threated me with death when I refused. I believe the others would be getting the same offer I got, both the good and bad aspects of it. He gave up on killing me for reasons I wouldn't disclose but I don't think the others will get that luxury."We pondered it for a bit and Marcy started to speak."What do yo-""Switch," Raphael suddenly said, looking beside him. It took me a while to figure out that he was talking to one of the women he was sleeping with. "Oh, and pass the gag as well. I'm still having a meeting.""Oh, so you remember you are in a meeting," I hissed. "Couldn't you do this at a more convenient time?""You know me, Cayden," Rafael smiled. "I'm actually showing a bit of decorum here. At least give me some cred
MARCYFor goddess' sake, these two would never stop bickering. I couldn't help but sigh at Cayden's blatant response to her name, obviously angering Beatrice who stared back at him with resolute indignation."And I couldn't be bothered that this bastard is an Alpha," she retorted."Okay, that's it," I said. "Beatrice, you would have to excuse us for this conversation.""The Beta too," he added as Alex silently perused the documents, choosing not to involve himself in their conflict.Ever since Cayden accepted Bella back for the sake of my children, Alex had developed a form of respect for him. He still hates him with a passion but just like me, he has learned to tolerate him as well."I don't think it would be a good idea for Alex to not be present," I replied. "If this is about nobody, that is. He's been doing a lot of research on him and the kind of creature he is. I believe he would have some important information to share."Cayden seemed... displeased?It might just be my imagina
CAYDEN"What was I thinking?" I chastised myself under my breath, mentally facepalming at my impulsiveness. "This is all Jace's fault. That bastard."Jace's words had plagued me after he said them. He wasn't wrong. All I needed to do hear from Marcy was call her. It was as easy as that.But that was incredibly tough for me. I don't think I've spoken to Marcy since we started walking together. In fact, we've never talked on the phone from the day I knew her. Calling her now would not only put of character, but it'll be awkward as well.I couldn't bring myself to do it.I also couldn't deny the fact that I missed her presence in the pack. Hateful as she may be of me, she brightened up my mood when I saw her. This only increased after our imprisonment in the Bloodless Pack. She had grown to tolerate me and at least give me a chance to talk to her without it divulging into an argument about my horribly stupid past mistakes. She even allowed me interact with her children who strangely ca
MARCYHectic.That's the only word that best describes my return to the pack.It turns out having a competent Beta cam only make your work harder when you leave for a long time. Alex handled everything and being the man that he is, decided that there are some decisions that require my exclusive input and they were too sensitive to be discussed while I was in the Blue Heart Pack because of the possibility that we were being watched.That has only served to complicate my life more now that I'm back as I had a plethora of meetings, hours of perusing documents and even more hours of signing such that my wrists hurt.Knowing I would be going back, Alex was making sure I did all that could be done before leaving.I groaned audibly as I read through yet another document. Alex is in the chair opposite me as he silently read and sorted out other documents. We've been at this for five hours now and I am both exhausted and bored.A knock on the door attracts our attention and I hope against all
CAYDEN"Jace!" I yelled as I rummaged through my office in search of a particular document. "Jace!"Jace calmly walked in on my second call with his usual expressionless face. "You know, you could easily call me through the mind link. You didn't have to yell.""I do what I want," I retorted as I continued to rummage through my shelves while Jace stood there calmly, watching me.After a few minutes of fruitless effort, I turned to look at him. "Well?" I said with annoyance in my eyes. "Help me out, will you?!""You still haven't told me what you are searching for, Alpha?" He replied calmly. "I can't find it if I don't know it.""The contract we drew up with the Nightwalker Pack. I want that contract," I replied as I continued to check through numerous files and documents."May I ask why?" I looked up at him again, this time my annoyance turning into anger."No, you may not! Just fucking find it!""That's why I said you could have just asked me through the mind link instead of going
CAYDENJace's words bit deep. All I could do was stare at my Beta as he quite calmly admonished me for my foolish mistakes. I had no words for him as I stared at my table, unable to even look at his face."Well, who am I to chastise you," he shrugged. "I don't know what it's like to be Alpha and I've never ruled a pack. You probably were desperate at the time and I can understand that desperate times call for desperate solutions.""Jace," I sighed after a few seconds of silence between us. "What do I do to get out of this mess?"He didn't reply for a few minutes before taking a deep breath."Solve it."I finally got the courage to look up at him."What?" "First of all, get that weird sorry look off your face," he said. "An Alpha must never falter. You know that better than I do."I continued to stare at him, puzzled."I've never been in your situation before because I've never had to kill a woman I impregnated, so I don't have a set path I could advise you to follow," he continued. "
yCAYDENI tapped my fingers restlessly on my table as I sat at on my office. The atmosphere is quite relaxing with rays of sunlight illuminating the office through the window and a tranquil silence that would easily put anyone to sleep.Yet, I was restless.The door opened and Alex walked in distractedly as he eyes were glued to a few papers in his hand."Good day, Alpha," he greeted, still distracted. "You called for me.""Yeah," I nodded. "Take a seat."He promptly obeyed but still didn't look up from his papers. They seem to have him entranced."Eyes up ahead, Jace," I said as I tapped louder on the table to get his attention.He finally looked up at me with a question in his eyes, obviously displeased for having to look up from whatever he is reading."What do you have there?" I asked out of curiosity."Documents of our expenditure and a few other observations the scouts and administrators reported about the pack. Apparently, we might have neglected quite a bit in the past year."
MARCYThe atmosphere was tense in my office. I was on high alert and I scanned my surroundings carefully for any sign of his invisible minions. He knew they couldn't escape my eye so he brought none. Even still, I wasn't exactly at peace around him.There was something inherently wrong about his entire presence. Except for the obvious scent of death surrounding him, I can feel there was something else but can't quite place my hand on it.I don't want to admit it but he gives me the chills."A warning, huh?" I asked coldly as I tapped my fingers on my desk. "Are you gonna threaten me in my own pack?""I wouldn't be dumb enough to do that, would I?" He chuckled. "I'm hoping not," I replied."So, if I do warn or threaten you," he said as he leaned forward. "It's because I am confident that I can."I stared at him for a few minutes and leaned forward as well."Then you must be the most foolish being on earth, whatever you are."He chuckled for a bit and then leaned back."I like you, Al