Megan walked slowly, one foot in front of the other. One of the many differences between this day and her wedding day five years ago was that she was walking down by herself. Her dad was in the audience, looking at her with sad eyes, very different from the love-filled eyes he looked at her with five years ago. Another major difference was she was wearing black, not white.She kept her head up high, refusing to look dejected or sad in any way. She was going to be remembered as the queen who did not show any emotion on the day of her divorce. She was going to keep her ‘heartless queen’ role until she dropped the crown officially.Megan got to the foot of the small flight of stairs where, on top was Richardson and the Priest who looked as though he could pass on any moment. That was how old the priest was.
Everyone’s mouth was moving and Megan could barely make out one coherent sentence. She would be lying if she said she did not feel overwhelmed. All her life she had acted and done as she was tole, she was never the recipient of the majority’s displeasure.She found her mother’s eyes in the ruckus and they held eye contact. She knew in that moment that her mother understood and that was all she cared about in that moment, nothing else.Rhode squeezed her hand as though to get attention. She had forgotten that he was right beside her and holding her hand.“Do we leave now?” A disinterested Rhode asked Megan. Noticing how bored he looked she giggled, “I would need to sign the divorce papers. I will be with you shortly.”She turned b
“I’m sorry. I do not know why I am crying,” Megan said. She removed her hand from Rhode’s and tried to catch the tears streaming down her face. She felt embarrassed to be crying in front of him.“It is okay. You are probably crying because you will miss your home, your Kingdom. Anyone would.” Rhode said, trying to console her.Megan looked flush and her face was beet red, with her nose an even deeper shade of red. He had no idea that a person could become so red and here Megan was in front of him.She caught him staring and looked down shyly. Her reaction made Rhode feel a type of way as it felt like she did not want to be seen by him but he quickly understood. She had probably never cried in front of anyone before. It was a vulnerable thing to do for anyone, especially Megan.
Rhode met Megan at the foot of the slope and stood beside her, “I would never get tired of this view.” He said, looking at the stream.“Neither can I.” Megan agreed with him, he turned his head to look at Megan. Her hair strands were moving across her face too.Her hair style was different today. It looked more natural and less regal, made up. Perhaps she had done it herself?Suddenly, the couple heard the sound of horses. The other carriages had arrived and stopped behind the last carriage that was parked.Megan turned her head to look, she was searching for her ladies, Brianna and Rosetta.Both ladies came down from a smaller carriage along with another lady from the West. Rosetta sighted them and wa
Rhode turned his head in the direction of the voice that just called his name. It was already dark out and the lampposts were not all lit. He could not exactly make out the figure of the person standing in the darkness.“Over here.” The lady said again as she stepped out from the shadows. It was a young lady with blonde hair and of a small stature wearing the clothes of the inn workers.Rhode stood, wondering who it was as her face had not yet come into view. When she was a few feet away from him, he finally caught the view of her face, “Melody.”“Hi.” The young lady said, smiling as she looked up at Rhode.“Fancy seeing you here.” She added, “It has been how long now?” She asked, trying to make conversation.“I am not sure.” Rhode responded, he was still surprised to have met her here.“I know it has at least been 3 years. You are King now, or so the rumors say.” Melody said.“So they say.” He said and paused before adding, “How long have you been here, Melody? You disappeared all th
She paused and said, “I couldn’t.”“I insist.” Rhode said and reached for his bag, bringing out a wrapped piece of pastry.Melody took one look at Rhode and Brian who gave a small nod, “thank you.” She said and took the food from Rhode’s hand.“You can sit.” Rhode said to her and she took a quick seat in front of both men. She unwrapped the pastry and the fresh scent of the pastry hit her nostrils, “it’s fresh!” She said excitedly and Brian smiled, “we use a special wrapper that traps the heat. It remains fresh for up to ten days.” He told Melody.“I see.” She said, “Thank you.”She bit down on the pastry an
Megan stood at her opened door visibly taken aback.“Hello.” Megan said awkwardly, who was this girl?Melody stood at the door, looking at Megan as if studying her features. The encounter made Megan greatly uncomfortable.Megan broke the silence and said, “Do you work here? Are you here for something?” She asked Melody, referring to her uniform.“No.” Melody simply said.Megan looked at the girl and was beginning to feel creeped out, Margaret assured her that the inn was safe and secure. There was a strange girl standing outside her door who was just looking at her and she was unsure of how to handle the situation.“Okay. Well, goodb
“How was your night?” Rhode asked as he took his seat opposite her.Megan was wearing a red dress that complimented her deep red hair. From what he say, it was a flowy dress with an accentuated neckline. The glimpse of her neckline he saw was exquisite. She was showing a bit more skin than she did when she was still queen of the East and he was not opposed to it.She looked divine in everything.“I slept well.” She said and took a breath, “How did you sleep?” She asked in return. Megan was unsure of how to ask him about Melody. If they were still lovers, she did not want to make it seem as though she was interrogating him on his history with women before her. She was married to a man just a day before after all.“I-”
Richardson could not help but gloat at the sight of the left state counselor's triumphant face. The man believed he had won, believing that with a few well placed strikes he had managed to disarm Richardson, which almost caused the alpha to gloat at his beady face.“We are going to squash the Faes!” Right stare counselor yelled, his eyes alight with a fierce light, and Richardson could not help but grin at the sight before him.He knew why they were so happy, knew that it had nothing to do with submerging the Faes and everything to do with the planned coup they planned on carrying out against him, and he could not help but grin bitterly.“Alpha, this could only mean one thing.” His trusted advisor Roderick murmured in his ear. But Richardson was unmoved, Roderick was not telling him anything he did not already know, so it kind of dampened the whole dramatics.“It will be alright.” Richardson shrugged, his expression carefully blank, trying to give nothing away.He knew that any slight
It felt like Aspen had been travelling on the rocky roads for days. Some days they strayed towards civilization, but her scruffy companion for some reason insisted that they kept closer to the swamp. A fact that never failed to rouse Aspen’s ire. She was with child, and more filthy and disgusting than she had ever been, and what was worse? She was expected to be okay with it! She had once tried to voice her concerns, but her scruffy companion simply stared at her with beady unsympathetic eyes that were void of any true desire to make her life more comfortable.“Wait! Slow down you bumble head!” Aspen yelled out raspily. Her voice was gone from serious dehydration. At this point she was seriously beginning to fear for the health of her poor baby.“Look, you could dawdle here all you want and wait for our captors to catch up with you, but I'm not going to do that with you, so I think we should part ways here.” Rudolph said firmly, his eyes unwavering, and Aspen gulped. She had no idea
Megan watched as Rhode and his army of about five hundred soldiers mount their horses they were intending to ride to the west. A lot of petitions were made for him to increase the number of warriors going with him, especially from Megan herself, but he did not take heed. Megan knew he did not wish to leave her defenseless so he was going without the appropriate amount of protection, and her love for him grew.Be safe out there.She nodded as he turned to find her in the crowd, he heard her, and he showed her by returning her firm nod.I will.It was an exchange of trust, so Megan tried to bite down on her anxiety as she wished she was not pregnant at the moment. It rendered her vulnerable, and Vulnerability was not entertained in the East.“He is really leaving.” Brianna whispered from where she stood behind Megan, and Rosetta nodded, her face lacking its usual cheer and awash with somberity.Megan could not help but wonder what caused such expression to overcome someone like Rosetta
Rhode glanced at Brian sideways, and he was immediately suspicious. There was a grin his friend was now sporting a glow that he did not have on a few hours ago. But he could say the same thing for himself, he thought, as he looked at Megan standing beside him, her back straight and her eyes firmly set on the Council members below. He could not be sure if he was putting her at risk by doing what he was doing, but he knew that it was a risk he had to take. He could not leave her and the rest of his family powerless. He had to protect Brianna as well, Brian was counting on him, so Rhode straightened his back as well.“As you all were previously informed, Lord Rosebud is going to be acting as regent in my absence, but there have been a few changes.” Rhode announced, and the entire council shuffled, not liking what they were hearing, but he couldn't care less. Rosebud was on board and that was all that mattered to Rhode.“What's this change about, alpha?” Lord Aldrien asked, his eyes shi
Aspen frowned as she was led outside to do her routine for the thousandth time since her kidnapping. It was the baby pressing on her bladder, and she tried to make that fact known, but they were not only not listening but were also rapidly losing patience with her.“May I request a female guard?” She murmured for the hundredth time since she got into their capture. She knew they had female guards, but for some reason she was constantly surrounded by males.“No. Move.” Was the eloquent reply she got as she was roughly prodded forward from behind, and Aspen frowned. She could not believe she was being forced to endure such indignities during her pregnancy with an Alpha.“I can take it from here.” Aspen muttered stiffly as they neared the approaching bush. She had to swallow down the approaching bile down her throat.“She said she'll take it from here.” The pack leader grunted, and Aspen turned her nose forward as she marched towards the bush with all the dignity she could muster.As soo
Brian hurried through the palace in his futile search for Brianna, but no matter how much he tried, he just could not find her. She was not with Megan in the sun drawing room, nor was she with Rosetta as he watched the bubbly woman interact with some maids, not even caring that they were below her station. The sight almost made him smile before he cleared his throat abruptly, and the room full of women turned towards him. Immediately he could see them straighten out their hair and clothes, and a few even did a quick swipe of lipstick across their lips at the sight of him, and Brian frowned as he wondered if they found his presence that imposing and unpleasant, so he hurried towards Rosetta.“I need to talk to you.” He told her urgently, before spurning on his heels to stride out, but as he left, he heard what sounded like protests behind and frowned. Women, he just could not understand them.“Sir Brian?” Rosetta gasped as she finally caught up to his uneasy figure pacing underneath
“Why did you take this decision without informing me about it?” Brian asked angrily as he bursted into Rhode's office, his wolf almost rising to the surface as he snarled, but Rhode simply smiled. He was expecting Brian after all, he knew that after his announcement in the council meeting about his decision to personally oversee the mission to the west, Brian would barge in on him, demanding an explanation.Everyone had been shocked when he dropped the bomb and announced his decision to follow the soldiers to the rescue of his rival, the western alpha, but he was determined.He knew the council were trying to domesticate him, he could sense it in the way they tried their best to put a stop to every and any activity that warranted leaving the four walls of his kingdom. They were trying to drive him insane with longing and rage, then introduce Lord Fuhler to him as a savior. He could see right through them that it was almost hilarious. Almost.But he would not be Rhode If he allowed t
“My lady! My lady!” Rosetta yelled as she burst through the drawing room to where Megan was seating with a book in her hands, the bold words Theories Of The Master Tactician written on the front.Startled, Megan glanced up, her hands resting as usual on her stomach, and her eyes sparkling with joy at the sight of the impromptu visitor.“Rosetta. Why have you come?” Megan asked with a smile, knowing well that Rosetta was supposed to be secluded with the other ladies in waiting as they went through the monthly attendance report, it was a compulsory thing in the palace, something she wished she had thought to implement in her former Kingdom. It would definitely have made things run more smoothly, but oh well. Anyways, her eyes narrowed at the breathless Rosetta. She could afford to let her slack off. If her attendance was not up to par, and she might even be taken away from her, the thought sent an unpleasant shiver through Megan's spine.“I needed to see you urgently!” Rosetta gasped o
Aspen could not even breathe at that point. Hell, she had not been breathing for several days already, and it was beginning to get real old, but what was she to do? If she actively breathed in the corrupt air filled with fine dust, then who knew the horrible effect it would have on her skin!So she tried to take in as little air as possible through her mouth, which resulted in an incredibly grating sound, and judging by the looks on Rudolph's face, he was beginning to find her just as irritating as the dust she was trying to avoid.But as usual, Aspen could not even be bothered to give a fig about another person's feelings, in fact, she was positively glowering at him as she tried to stay as silent as possible in the holding shed the leader and his group of malnourished hunting crew had led them to.In fact, she was not at peace with the way she was leered at by some of the villagers that had stopped by to peer into the shed. They had looked at her like a tasty morsel of food they cou