Megan frowned as she stared at Rhode's face, and that was the moment something was not quite right with the Alpha. Why, sweats were dotting his forehead and he looked positively flushed, she wondered if he had too much wine.But it was more than that, wasn't it? Right from when Lord Fuhler and Aldrien seemed to want Rhode to stay back, but the friendly man she had met before had battled for the opposite.“I wonder if he is alright.” She murmured to herself, but the woman sitting beside her seemed to have no qualms for manners as she blatantly listened in, and turned to Megan.“Perhaps you should verify.” She said so softly and quickly that Megan was left to wonder if she had imagined the soft whisper.“You know something.” Megan turned to her with an accusing look, but she simply busied herself with cutleries as she ignored Megan and casted graceful smiles to everyone in the room instead, the picture perfect queen, but Megan was too in her head to put her properly in her place.Someth
Aspen, although severely ungrateful with her lot in life, had never truly suffered in any way, at least not to the people around her, although that opinion would soon change when the western kingdom got wind of her less than pure movement.Richardson had been quick to dispel the rumors and dismissed everyone, but even his kingly presence, note the sarcasm, was not enough to rid the accusations from the people's minds and seal their lips.As a result, she had been extra careful not to go outside, partly because everybody seemed to look at her like a murderer, e.g the servants and ladies maids, but also because of the appearance of Duke Elric.She had seen the way Richardson went pale at the sight of him, and had begun to question if making a deal with such a man was wise at all. But it was too late now, she was already indebted to him, and he held the secrets that could bring her to ruin at the tip of his untrustworthy tongue.“Aspen!” Richardson barked as he slammed the door to her ch
Rhode could not contain his anger when he woke up the next morning. He had stirred up to find himself in Brian's bed, and that was not the only unflattering thing that happened.He could still feel the bitter residue of whatever drug he had unknowingly consumed the night before, and knew, without anyone telling him, that the drug must have been potent.And what's worse? He could still feel the weakness in his bones that came from denying his body what it had been forced to desire last night. Doing that had only been through sheer force of will, as was everything he did, but oh was he pissed off.He knew the gist of what had happened by now, his own court members, or one of them at least had dared to poison him, and he knew without the doubt that if he had stayed in his room last night, he would have been violated, but the court would not have seen it that way, and would have demanded that he took responsibility for the cursed woman.He knew everything, and that was precisely why he co
Admittedly, due to his friendship with Rhode, and knowing him so well, it had been hard for Brian to transition from best friend to subordinate. In fact, he had been ready for the friendship itself to end as Rhode would undoubtedly have more influential people to mix with, but to his surprise, he was held tightly by his friend. Metaphorically speaking of course.So due to those factors as well as some important ones, he had forgotten what his friend was truly capable of, but in moments like this, he tended to remember.He had only seen Rhode use what they had come to know as the imperial sway once, and even then was nothing compared to what Brian was witnessing.The council members were now on their knees as they writhed and pleaded for mercy, but he could see from his friend's eyes that he had none to give them. To his relief however, Rhode had exempted him from the turmoil discreetly, so Brian raised a hand to his bleeding nose, as he wiped it, and gave a reassuring nod to his frie
Megan smiled at the knitting thread in her hands that had begun to form something that was a cross between a sock and a skirt? Oh well, she had not expected to be perfect anyways.She was never the knitting or crocheting type, preferring to wage wars with a pen and usurp kingdoms. Plan coups and displace rulers. But for the first time in her life, she was seated in a rocking chair with two needles in her hands as she tried to spurn the perfect dress or scarf for her precious baby.“This is quite the sight.” Rosetta laughed as she strolled in with a basket under her arm and sunflowers in her hair. And Megan lightened up instantly.“Rose, come and take a look at this!” She ordered in excitement, and Rosetta dropped the basket of laundry she was holding and hurried over.“Well?! What do you think?” She demanded, and Rose made an expression that was a cross between a wince and a grimace.“Err, it's a very nice head warmer?” Rosetta asked cautiously as she stared at the strange item and Me
Megan felt her world tilt as she heard the forbidden words coming from the lovely lips of Mirabel Fuhler, a lady she still absolutely distrusted, and for good reason as well.“What did you say?” Megan whispered as Rosetta mouthed the word Traitor in disbelief and fell to her knees. Mirabel only looked at her with a sigh as she twiddled her lace covered thumb in distress, but Megan was not having it.“Listen, I know, I know it's difficult to take in, but going in there will only hasten the fate of your maid.” Mirabel tried to explain, but Megan was not having it, heck, she was no longer listening. The only thing she could hear were the distant clanging of bells, the kind used to signify an approaching enemy.“Like hell I won't go in.” Megan hissed, before abruptly shaking off the quivering hold of Mirabel and turning to Rosetta.“Pull yourself together!” She yelled under her breath with a glare, causing the crying girl to flinch.“If you are dissolving In tears, then what is poor Brian
Rhode had completely forgotten about Megan and her temper in the chaos Lord Fuhler had successfully caused in the inner court. But when she had barged in with hell fire in her eyes, he knew that it was time to take action into his own hands. But judging from the look his advisor, Lord Rosebud, was currently shooting at him, he definitely had not made the right choice, but it was alright. He just had to free Brianna first and deal with the consequences later.“Your highness!” Lord Fuhler began with indignation written in his every feature, and at moment the entire court stared at him with pensive eyes.Brian was still poised for attack as he placed him between Brianna and any perceived threats, Lord Rosebud was currently shooting him disapproving glares, while Lord Aldrien was sporting a smirk as he stood tall in his neutrality, and that made Rhode slightly uneasy because in court there was nothing like neutrality.“You just banished Lord Geoffrey!” Lord Fuhler yelled again as he look
Brianna could not stop her legs from shaking as Brian and Megan rushed to help her up. She knew that she had only survived because of her lady's dedication and loyalty, and she was resolved to serve her even more.When the brutish Lord Geoffrey had ordered that she be stripped of her clothing and dignity, Brianna had almost died of fear and shame.The thought of the men, including Brian seeing her nakedness was a sure motive to commit suicide, and kneeling there, she had come to realize how powerless she was, how truly disposable, because she knew she was only taking the fall for something she had no hand in, and that made bile rise in her throat. That was of course until Megan marched in and demanded her freedom. From then, Brianna swore to make sure she did everything in her power to help her queen become stronger.~*~**~*~“Oh my God, are you alright Brianna? Are you really alright?” Rosetta had asked with tears in her eyes as she embraced the shaken Brianna in her arms.“I am alri
Rhode had never been so glad to see the borders of the West before. He had never thought he would feel the pang of relief he was feeling now as he stared at the border sign half a mile away in clear distance. He was happy to know that he had delivered on his words. He was happy to know that he was finally claiming exclusive rights to the West's territorial seas. It was a piece of the West that was closely coveted by other packs, and now, by a stroke of luck and Richardson's gullibility, the seas were in the palm of his hands.It was something his grandfather had tried to attain even when the West was not at its peak and failed, his father the same thing, even down to his brother, he was just relieved that he could fulfill their dreams at last.He had also done it for Megan back home, the sea would be a gift to her as he finally takes her to the altar after his return. Ge briefly thought about what his council men would say, before swiftly shaking off the thought. He cared nothing for
“What in the moon above do you think you are doing, Lord Fuhler?!” Megan yelled in righteous fury as she rose up from her seat to descend upon Lord Fuhler in all her rage.He was such an imbecile, to strike a woman barely out of labor, and Megan was filled with a strange kind of disgust for him.“She called me a teller of tales!” Lord Fuhler yelled back, causing Megan to scoff as she turned her head to look at Marcel standing solidly behind her.“Restrain him!” Megan yelled again, her eyes burning with power. She was not usually this explosive generally, but striking a woman fresh out of the labor room was crossing the line.Marcel was quick to do as she commanded because In the next instant, he was next to Fuhler, and gripped his upper arm tightly, causing Fuhler's face to turn a furious purple.“Slow down, your majesty.” The cautious voice of Lord Rosebud roused Megan from her angry haze, and she turned around to glance in his direction, before giving him a subtle nod.“This lady is
“What is going on here?!” Megan yelled as she burst through the heavy doors that shielded the council room and was met with a horde of people as they pushed around and demanded justice.“Nice to finally have your attention, my queen.” Lord Fuhler grinned with a mocking bow, and Megan frowned. Everything about the statement and situation was wrong. He had never acknowledged her as queen before, and the entire court was in chaos when he finally did.When the crowd heard the word “queen” they turned their anger on her and demanded justice in garbled tones jumbled together. It was a disaster.Megan looked around her quickly for Lord Rosebud. He was the only council man she trusted after all, and the crowd were looking more than hostile as they threatened to lynch and destroy.With her head tucked forward with determination, Megan tried to use her eyes to locate Lord Rosebud quickly before Lord Fuhler found the time to launch his newest schemes that were undoubtedly designed to hurt her.“
The carcass of the dead beast was dragged in by a dozen wolves as they tried to reel it back to camp. The smell of blood was still heavy on the air, and Rhode was already back in his human form as he stood silently and watched the efforts made to thrust up their newest kill.Rhode could not help but smile. The kill was big enough to feed his men for the night, so it was a win. As he sat under the silver sky, he could not help but wonder how Megan was faring. His last decision to put her in power was born out of impulse, which shocked him, he was never a man of impulse after all, or maybe he was and just did not know it, but one thing was for sure, there would be consequences.William rushed over to stand beside him silently, but Rhode sighed in exhaustion, a sudden weariness creeping into his bones because he knew for a fact that if he continuously failed to get his affairs in order, then he would end up like his brother, leaving Megan widowed and abandoned in a foreign land. She ha
Rhode stared at the happy faces of his men under the moonlight. They were all at home right then, even if they were miles away from their families and loved ones. Being civilized was the price they all had to pay for the life they had, but at times they were all overcome by a deep and dark sense of nostalgia that urged them to throw everything away and become one with the moon and the untamed creature within.It was something every wolf experienced as they were often forced to suppress their primal nature in order to live as civilized men. But it was more prevalent in men, so he knew every man under the sound of his voice could feel what he felt.He turned to look at Brian and noticed the light finally coming back to his features after days and weeks of endless court intrigues.He could only hope that Megan was alright back in the palace. He felt selfish for enjoying such a feeling of freedom without her but knew that he shouldn't. It was not what she would want, he could tell.He had
Rhode was already exhausted as he could feel his thighs chapping with every move of the horse he was on. He was not a novice rider by any chance, in fact he had learned how to handle a saddle before he could even shift into the creature that resided inside of him, but even the most seasoned horse rider would have gotten sick of being on top of the beast by now.He knew that if he was feeling this tired, and yet shockingly restless, then his men must be having it worse. They had been on the saddle for three days and three nights with no breaks in between after all.“How are you holding up?” Rhode turned to ask the surprisingly young man that rode by his left hand side. The young man was responsible for holding on to his armor, and by rights should not be able to keep up with his men, but Rhode was shocked by the dogged determination the boy had been exhibiting.“I am alright, alpha.” The boy answered, his voice tight with strain, and Rhode had to smile at this. They could converse now
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