"I would like to thank everyone who chose to take out time from their works to come down here for our packs mating ceremony," Alaric began, adjusting his coat as he cleared his throat. The crowds attention focused on him as he continued, "I, Alpha Alaric, the Lycan King, appreciate you all sincerely for gracing the occasion." The crowd erupted with applause and cheers and I joined in too. Amidst the clapping, I noticed my cousin, Emily, slowly move through the crowd, heading for the platform. I paused, a frown appearing on my face as I watched her disappear into the sea of people. Where was she going? The crowd immediately fell silent, and I turned to Alaric to see him raising his hands. "As you all know, today is a great day, one that will define the future of many of us," he continued as his eyes scanned the crowd. When his gaze landed on me, he paused, giving me a smile before turning back to the gathering. His warm smile eased the tension that Emily had caused, and I felt my che
Echoes of laughter erupted around me and I felt myself sink into the sound. Wide eyes stared at me from the darkness encompassing me while the laughter grew. Hands reached from the shadows to try and pull me into the darkness, but before they could get to me, I ran. I had only made it to a few paces when a hand suddenly shut out from the ground underneath me and grabbed my legs. I fell to the cold earth with a loud thud, wincing as the air in my lungs got knocked out. The hand pulled me under as I screamed out in fright. Everything suddenly came to a stop as the sound of ringing bells reached my ears. My eyelids fluttered open, the light from my open window hitting my eyes causing me to squint. My heart pounded in my chest and beads of sweat rolled down my face, the remnants of the nightmare I just had clinging to me like a fog. I was glad nonetheless that it had just been a dream. I took in a shaky breath, trying to calm myself as I rolled to the side of my bed. I winced loudly a
I laid on my bed, staring at my ceiling as different thoughts ran through my mind. I questioned myself, asking if what I was about to do really was the right thing or if I was taking things too far. But the more I thought about it, the more convinced in became. I had to leave. The day crawled by, slower than I expected and each minute felt like a thousand years. I awaited nightfall, the time my plans were to commence and throughout the wait, I refused to leave my room. The mansion servants knocked on my door, each of them asking of their assigned duty for the day but I paid none of them any heed. The offered me food, which I know was done out of pity for what had happened to me the previous night, but I refused that too. Apart from the fact that I didn't have the appetite for food, I didn't have the strength nor the will to interact with anybody. Chuckles reverberated through the corridors outside my room throughout the day and I didn't need anyone to tell me who they belonged too
Serving as the Lycan King's personal maid all these while had given me the opportunity to know how things worked around the mansion. I knew what the maidservants, the chefs and even the guards were doing and the places that they were every hour of every single day and I planned to use this knowledge to my advantage. The chefs served Alaric his dinner by eight from Monday through Friday and served by seven on Sundays and Saturdays. Today happened to be a Monday so I knew Alaric would already be at the dining room by now. Even though he and Emily were now mated, I knew he wouldn't change schedule. He was a wolf of precision and timing and no one could change that. I looked at the grandfather clock, counting the ticks as the minute hand crept closer to six. The corridors leading downstairs would soon be empty and the guards outside were scheduled to take a two-minute break before returning to their positions. So if my timing was right, I would have a window of about a minute and thirty
I stopped by a large tree and laid down by its large roots. My breaths came in sharp wheezes as I tried to calm my beating heart. Beads of sweat poured down my face, glistening in the moonlight as they fell to the ground. I was exhausted. I had been running for more than an hour now-a feat that I never believed I could achieve-and my legs were begging me to stop. If I continued on, I could break down from exhaustion and lose whatever strength I had left in me. "Ughh," I grunted in pain as I grabbed my grumbling stomach. The hunger that had left me since morning had finally descended upon me with full rage. I should have eaten when Gadot told me to. I lifted my head up, searching the trees for any fruit that I could eat to satisfy my groaning stomach but unfortunately, I could t find any. I sunk into the ground and closed my eyes tight as I took in deep breaths. Suddenly, I heard a snap and a small object hit me on the head. I opened my eyes and stood up from the ground quickly, t
The rogue wolves circled the base of the tree, their eyes never leaving me as they sneered up at me perch. I knew they could get to me if they wanted but it seemed like they wanted to play with their prey first before attacking.Suddenly, one of them leaped from the ground and swiped at my branch with his claws. A large chunk of it immediately broke off and fell to the ground. They laughed as the branch underneath me began to creak. My heart pounded loudly in my chest and whatever though of escape that I had formed immediately fled from me as my body trembled with fear. The branch I was on was about to give way and I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against them if I fell to the ground. Suddenly, one of the wolves ears twitched and they all stopped moving. Their heads immediately snapped in the same direction as a small rustle was heard. From the corner of my eyes, I saw a movement-a flash of fur dashing through the underbrush. I recognized immediately from its coat that it was a sma
I grabbed a handful of mud and threw it at the rogue wolf. He grunted loudly as it hit him on his face, causing him to lose his vision temporarily. He tripped his foot against a stone and fell down hard on the ground right beside me. I let out a loud gasp as he fell by my side. His hands swayed from left to right as he tried getting a hold of me but I scooted away from him before they could get to me. Taking my chance to escape, I hurriedly stood up to my feet and jumped into the river. As I swam to the other side, I took a few glances behind me to see if he had recovered, but to my relief, the rogue wolf was still disoriented, slipping and falling constantly as he struggles to get up on his feet. I reached the opposite bank and scrambled out of the water, a small chill running down my spine as the cold water trickled down my back. My clothes were heavy and my breaths came in short gasps as I knelt down on the floor. I took another glance at the rogue wolf and to my horror, found h
I paused my eating and crouched as my eyes turned to the window. Small murmurs and laughter echoes from outside as large shadows passes by. I turned my gaze to an open window before bringing it to the slowly approaching figures. I muttered a cuss under my breath as I quickly left the table and ran to the window. Carefully, I crawled out the small space, careful to not let any of the broken glass cut me, and landed softly on the grass outside just as the wolves pushed the door open. "Go drop the spoil at the back so we can go on with our feast," I heard one of the wolves say. Whoever he had been speaking to grunted in response, and I heard the heavy footsteps grow louder. My heart raced as I crouched lower, trying my best to stay hidden behind the tall bushes by the house. The scent of the wolves filled the air, sharp and pungent, and I knew at once that they were rogues. Why was I always stumbling into them? Keeping low, I crept along the side of the house, moving silently throu