This chapter is so emotional for me. I really cried from the moment Dominixe cried. It was also the moment that I played the song, The Night We Met by Lord Huron. I felt her pain that she wants to change Valerian's future. It hurts to write this part. It is a rollercoaster emotion. XD
I fell asleep crying and kept muttering that I was sorry for what I had done to Valerian in the past. Even though Valerian did not understand what was happening, he was there for me and consoled me.I only woke up when I felt a presence beside me. I was quick to fish out my pocket knife and hastily pointed to that intruder. However, I was too late to realize that the hyacinth scent lingered in my nose, and I was surprised when Valerian managed to stop me."Whoa there." He smiled sheepishly. "Is that your way to greet your mate a morning, honeydew?"I looked at him, baffled. I questioned how on earth he was on my bed, but then I remembered that we were both naked under the sheets.Our lovemaking suddenly flashed in my mind.I yanked back my arm. "My apologies. I thought you were an intruder." I placed my knife on the bedside table and tried to stand up, but then I collapsed to the bed. Then I hissed, feeling sore down there, and glared at Valerian, who was still smiling."Have I said t
Valerian removed his hand when he noticed that I did not react. "Don't you... like it?" he asked, hesitant. I averted my gaze. "I can't..." He asked me too soon. This was not supposed to happen when he would ask me if I would start living with him. It was supposed to be our next meeting on the crown prince's birthday. We would meet there. He would know that I was a daughter of a rogue marquis. "Why?" He sounded hurt, but he hid it. "There is an important matter that I must do." He didn't look convinced. "Also, this is too surprising that you would ask me to live with you when we did not even know each other." I had to use his words against him. Papa needed to tell me first my next assignment. As much as I wanted to be with him, I couldn't. Not now. This was not the right time. "I see..." He sounded dejected when he saw me nodding. "Then, can you tell me why you are disguising as a man back in Pran?" "Do you think I am a spy?" I slightly tilted my head, wanting to see his reacti
"Lady Dominixe, you are being rough on us for today..." Eric complained when they were still sitting on the grass, panting heavily after I had bestowed them the harsh reality of being near to death experience.I arched my eyebrow and eyed them, seeing that they were covered with bruises and bathing in their own blood after piercing my sword to the ground to make their eyes widen in horror. "You dare to complain? With your skills, how can you even protect me as your mistress?" I sounded like I was belittling them.I had no problem with their fighting skills. I only said I wanted to enhance and protect them at all costs, so I had to be rough on them. I just did not want to see them dying before my eyes again. I cherished them, so the vigorous training would help them protect themselves if Papa dared to hunt them with his henchmen."But, Lady Dominixe...""Oi, Eric. Will you shut up?" Jude hit Eric on his head, who was already frowning. He looked at me and bowed his head, apologizing. "O
Upon arriving there, the banquet hall of the royal palace was filled with a sea of aristocratic people.There was a harmonious melody being played by the musicians to lighten up the mood. Lots of meal dishes were being prepared on a long table. The chandeliers had given a delighted atmosphere with the many servants strolling around to serve everyone invited here.The current monarch, Alpha King Helio, of the Yuanzhong Kingdom was already here, along with Crown Prince Henricus and Princess Eustacia.Ah, yes. His Royal Highness had a sibling—a sister, to be specific. Her name was Eustacia la Chandelier II. She was the first daughter of Alpha King Helio and the deceased Luna Consort, who never became a Luna Queen, Consort Eustacia.The two siblings had different mothers. The crown prince's mother was Eliza Marie, the 1st Luna consort, while Eustacia Tanner, the 2nd Luna consort, was the first princess' mother.Alpha King Helio's mate, who was supposed to be the Luna Queen, had died from
Valerian sounded like he would not let me go if I chose not to dance with him. I could tell based on how he was looking at me."Well?" He wriggled his eyebrows. His sly smile was something.He looked so dashing and beguiling. It was making me want to be fucked by him right now.The tension between us was palpable. Both of us did not break eye contact. This was making me feel the butterflies in my stomach."I am famished, Your Grace. I haven't eaten anything yet. My apologies," I said before directing my attention to the food.But while doing that, I was looking for my siblings who were busy with their peers. I wanted to mindlink one of them since being Valerian was dangerous, knowing he looked so angry under that apathetic expression.I thought Valerian would give up on me, but I thought wrong. No, I already knew, but I chose to ignore the fact."I am famished, too. I remember my food is right here," he said meaningfully. Valerian went behind me again as he leaned and reached for some
"Your Royal Highness..."Papa and Valerian bowed before him while I curtsied. I sighed in relief when His Royal Highness arrived. He was smiling gently while he had this gentle facade. But his expression quickly changed into a meaningful one when our eyes met.He turned at Valerian. "I am afraid Father needs your presence, Duke Leveaux. The meeting is going to start."Valerian flinched, realizing that he almost forgot about that. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Ah, yes. I did not notice the time. I shall go there at once." He bowed before him and turned at us. "We shall meet again, Lady Dominixe." He took my hand and did not hesitate to plant a kiss on the back of my hand while he was looking at my father. "And to you as well, Marquis Cantavalle," he said meaningfully.Papa almost smiled bitterly, seeing that Valerian was trying to provoke him."Papa—""Lady Cantavalle, may I have a dance with you?"I looked at the crown prince, surprised that he had asked me for a dance. I glanced
"What took you so long in the lavatory, Dominixe?"That was Papa's question as soon as I was in the carriage and felt it move. Arthur, Britanny, and Lambert were already expecting that I would be scolded for letting Papa wait."Pardon my tardiness, Papa."He eyed me up and down before squinting his eyes at me after sniffing the air. His face contorted after that. "You fooled around," he concluded, not asked. "With who?"I almost stiffened. Why did I feel that I had hickeys on my neck or shoulders? I stared intently at Papa."I had an interesting encounter with my target, Papa," I said, not feeling threatened under his gaze.I already anticipated that he would know that I had fooled around. I deliberately did not take my bangle to hide my scent since this was what I wanted. Though the part of seeing Valerian and fooling around with him was not part of my plan, this was enough that I would make a convincing answer to him."You foo
Britanny looked annoyed and hissed before she inhaled and exhaled to remain composed. When she was calmed, she began attacking me by oscillating her dagger in my dagger while I stepped backward to defend myself.One of the dangerous traits of the Cantavalle children was when they remained calm. When Britanny was like that, it was an earnest battle. So, I must take this seriously."Britanny, that is enough." Arthur looked bored while Lambert was laughing to his heart's content. They did not look faltered that Britanny was attacking me."Do not be such a spoilsport, Art. I am having fun watching them," Lambert said, stroking his chin like a critic. "It has been a while since Domi and Brit dueled against each other. This is such an interesting duel!"I did a cartwheel when Britanny's attacks became rough. "Britanny, my dearest 2nd sister, are you certainly annoyed at me?" I asked softly when she ran in my direction. I decided to meet her halfway and ducked to punch her in the stomach.Sh
"Hudson Roly... Alpha of the Dusk Moon pack..." I stated the name of the next Alpha I was about to kill. I returned my gaze to my father, who looked at me with that frigid stare. "This should consider as done, Papa." I smiled, an empty one before I curtsied before him.No emotions.We, the Cantavalle children, were not supposed to have that.Having emotions would make someone weak."I am expecting good news after 90 days, Dominixe. Now, scoot.""Failure is never in my vocabulary, Papa. You have taught me well." I curtsied before him. I raised my head, seeing that he was pleased with my words.After a few days, I was dispatched now to go to where the Dusk Moon pack was. But before my departure, I had come to meet Aurora, Britanny and Maria's mother. She was one of Papa's four wives."Why can't you just die already?" she asked in a bitter tone. She had this ridiculous stare that lingered all over her face."I shall try to do that, Mother Aurora." I bowed my head before her."Mother? You
"Behold to the newlyweds, Duke Valerian Leveaux and Duchess Dominixe Lilith Cantavalle-Leaveux!"The words from High Priest Redgrave kept echoing in my head like a broken record.I was smiling from ear to ear, looking at the purple sapphire wedding ring Valerian bestowed to me on the day we married each other eight years ago. Now I had three rings on my ring finger on my left hand in my care.The promise metal ring, amethyst engagement ring, and purple sapphire wedding ring...They fit perfectly on my ring finger.Valerian really made sure that the engagement ring and wedding ring gemstones' color was purple. He was really considerate of my favorite color.I chuckled before looking up and gasped. "Demetrius, darling, fix your posture when you are holding your sword." I immediately approached Valerian and I's seven-year-old son, Demetrius."Like this, Mother?" Demetrius asked as he fixed his posture by relaxing his shoulders."Yes, that's right, darling." I nodded in approval.Demetriu
"Goddess Elixane?" I parroted, bewildered.Rachelle and the woman in her mid-40s nodded at the same time. "She is our sister. Well, the sixth daughter of Mother." My eyes widened. "And she is from another timeline where the other Dominixe, other Valerian, and Demetrius are.""Huh?" I was getting confused by what she said. "Is this the business you are talking about? And how did you go to another timeline just to... see her." I glanced at Elixane, who was looking at me with longing. Her gaze made me uncomfortable, but she smiled and stepped forward."I have come to the celestial realm as Mother's orders, or I shall say, part of Ragriel's plans," she explained before she looked behind me, where the three of them were still reuniting and discoursing. "And I have come to take Dominixe and Valerian's souls to this timeline so they can reunite with my nephew. I apologize for taking your souls from your bodies, Dameta, Valerian." She bowed her head with her hands clasping together. "This is
"F-Father...?" Demetrius coughed again with blood before slowly turning his head and meeting Valerian's cold expression."Let go," Valerian said, with his tone as cold as the first break of spring. "Val..." I halted him while I was panting heavily. I clung more to Demetrius, feeling like my vision was gradually blurry. "Stop..."But Valerian did not listen to me. Instead, Demetrius shouted in pain when Valerian must have probably gripped his heart. "I am not going to hesitate to kill you, Demetrius. Do not make me say it twice."I slowly heaved out a sigh. The way Demetrius clung to my organs was enough to make me feel the pain. I could handle it somehow. But if he dared to remove his hand, I must do something to stop the bleeding in my stomach by stopping the time of it. Or I could just let it since I would get to heal anyway.But, I felt a burning sensation inside me, and I believed that Demetrius risked his fist to bathe his hand with wolfsbane. It was a high-concentration one,
I knew that She was disappointed, but seeing Her, as the Moon Goddess, slapping a mortal, who happened to be Her mate, was so surprising that I found myself speechless. Even Papa had the same reaction.|I told you to love our Dameta, yet what did you do, Harchier Cantavalle?|I felt this immense chill crawling behind me upon mentioning Papa's full name. It suddenly made me remember when Papa used to call our names whenever he was emphasizing that he was furious while having that frigid tone."Lunaria..." Papa gulped and was about to touch her hand, but Mother jerked it away.I flinched when Mother raised Her head. |Go and finish your business in the mundane realm, Dameta. I am going to handle everything here with your father.| In an instant, Mother was already in front of me before She raised her hand to wipe something off my cheek. |I shall take it from here, my beloved daughter.| She nodded, urging me to go now.I glanced at Papa behind Her and saw his gaze was on the ground. What s
I remained silent at his words, wanting to let him know that silence meant yes. I met his cognac eyes that I inherited from him. In my previous life, I couldn't even dare look into his eyes because of how frightened I was.But at this moment, I failed to see that meeting his eyes was supposed to be the best thing ever. Meeting that filthy gaze of his was enough to bloom the flower of detestation. "I knew you would come, Papa." I wiped the blood that besmirched my hand on my skirt before cocking my head from side to side. Then I curtsied before him.Papa clenched his hand. "Since when did you learn..." He did not continue his words, looking like he was trying to find the proper term for it."You mean if I met Mother already." He flinched upon the mere mention of Mother.Rachelle was right... It seemed like Papa was desperate to see Mother again. However, would he have the same reason as Rachelle's father, who wanted to kill our mother, not wanting to reunite with Her?"You met Her...?
To begin our plans, we would first begin by separating the strongest heir candidates, Arthur and Britanny.Papa dispatched them, as Ismael reported a few days before I imposed that I would attack the mansion. However, Arthur and Britanny would return soon, so I had to handle everything in the Cantavalle mansion before they arrived and Caroline, who was also dispatched for her mission.Also, the rest of my siblings, who opposed the idea of being the object of this household, had raised their swords and started wreaking havoc on this stunning night."What is the meaning of this, Dominixe?! How dare you raise your sword on us?!"It was Zoe, and my blade almost pressed into her delicate skin. Aurora, Natalie, and Josephine were becoming wary since I gathered them in one of the drawing rooms after ruining their night tea party."Do you think that Harchier can even let you go for doing this to us?" Aurora snarled, clenching her hands, wanting to fight back, but as soon as she saw my eyes gl
"Remind me again why you are also tagging along, honeydew."Eyeing myself wearing an all black clothing while looking in the whole body mirror had kept my chest tightly like the laundress squeezed the washed clothing. I could almost convince Valerian I could do this alone, but he wouldn't back down and kept arguing."It is because this is not your battle alone. I am with you, you hardheaded woman," Valerian said, glancing over his shoulder while he had just finished polishing my dagger since he volunteered.I approached him and smiled sheepishly, seeing him frowning. I tiptoed about to kiss his cheek, but Valerian, as mischievous as he was, turned his head in my direction. My lips, which were supposed to land on his cheek, planted on his luscious, crimson lips."Val!" I stepped back, shielding my lips immediately, feeling my cheeks promptly ripening. My wolf squirmed at his action while I had to calm my heart from hammering inside my chest.This time, it was Valerian's turn to smile s
"Huh? What?" Rachelle was the first one who spoke out of nowhere. "It contains the events of the near future?" she parroted."Yes." Valerian nodded. "She listed all the events that were about to happen as long as we followed the course of events." "It means what happened as of this moment is predetermined under Dameta's will," Henry added."Because you have to follow it...?" I concluded, even though Valerian already said it earlier. The two of them nodded at the same time. "Can I see them?" Henry stiffened before he looked at Valerian, who was not saying anything. "Am I not allowed to see it?"The dejected tone caused Valerian to panic when he saw my expression. "Um... Dameta strictly included in her letter that you are not allowed to see it, Lilith...""Why?" I did not know why, but I felt betrayed now that they were the only ones who only knew the course of events I was unaware of."The two of you should coexist by you not being aware and would experience the events and her as she