“Throw her in the dungeon,” Darius commanded his men. They had reached the palace minutes after leaving Yemanja’s house.
The men dragged Emelda through an underground opening and into an abandoned part of the palace. As the men dragged her in, Emelda could smell the place, it was covered with the stench of wolves. It was an old smell but she could still pick it. The smell carried a mix of blood, sweat, and tears.Emelda scanned the quarters as the men yanked her through the hallway. The quarters had several rooms and most of them, looked scary. the rooms had heavy gates mounted at each entrance. She could see stones, cuffs, and chains. It looked like a torture house and fear gripped her. What was this place? And what was it used for?The two men holding on to her threw her on the floor and her body scrapped the bare floor. She winced in pain but they didn’t seem to notice and even if they did, they didn’t care much. They closed the gate oAlpha Darius strolled from one end of his chambers to the other. He had gotten the witch’s granddaughter, he intended to use her as a pawn to get Yemanja to withdraw her curse. But it had been two days and it hadn’t been reversed. Word had reached him that his uncle, Gedoni, and his men were advancing towards Lakewood.Earlier that morning, a spy had come running to him. Prince Darius had placed spies in the four corners of the kingdom. They were to watch the areas and to report to him immediately if anything was wrong or out of place. The spy at the south end had rushed to him, out of breath. Gedoni had been sighted approaching the kingdom. It was going to take Gedoni a couple of days to reach him but still, Darius was uneasy. He didn’t like the odds.So that morning, after the spy had informed him about Gedoni’s sighting, Darius had sent some men to bring Yemanja to him.The men had brought in the old with and they threw her on the floo
Emelda watched the guard leave. She waited for a few extra minutes before taking off the invincible armor which she had worn. She poured herself some soup from her pot and went on to have her meal.Yes, Emelda had used her powers to carry out a makeover in her cell, a makeover that no one could see, including the chief priest. Because of how powerful she was, she had been able to create an alternate existence right inside her cell. Emelda had a giant bed, a heater, a bathroom with scented soaps, and everything else she would need. She even sprayed some scented oils around the edges of the damp cell wall.She was as comfortable as she could be.A bird came in every morning, fetching her fresh fruits and vegetables. She could live on that for as long as possible, so she wasn’t in any hurry.What she wanted to do, was to perform a three-circle ritual, an act that could bring down the palace within minutes. But her mother’s words kept ringing in her
By morning, two guards had come for Emelda. They led her to a large hall. She could tell that all the banquets were held there. Emelda had sensed that the reason why they had taken her up had to do with the fact that they had figured out that she was a wolf.As she climbed the stairs, she wasn’t scared. There was a sense of calm that went with her. She could feel her ancestors with her, she could feel her mother too.“Bring her forward,” she heard the chief priest say as the men dragged her in.Her eyes ran across the hall and she realized that something was different. Twelve men were standing behind the chief priest, all decked in red, holding black candles.As she drew closer, Emelda started to lose a grip on her powers. she tried to fight it, there was no way she was letting this chief priest take her powers again. How did he even know that she had them?Emelda fought back in her head and when she couldn’t sustain it, she
Emelda sat on the bare ground in her cell, her legs turned up and her head placed on top of them. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she cried. The tears were painful and each tear tore at her like turbulence. A thousand questions plagued her head.Why did her mother give her so many powers if she couldn’t use them to save herself from these men? What was she supposed to do with the powers then?And the audacity? Oh, the audacity tore at her heart. How dare he, Darius challenge her? She thought about the look on his face as he mated with her, she had wanted to smack his face immediately. What arrant nonsense. She couldn’t be his bride even in a thousand years, that was the worst possible thing that Emelda could think of. She hated the young alpha, loathed him. To her, he wasn’t even an Alpha, at least not technically since the pack answered to his father, Cyrus. He was a mini alpha. But he carried such pride and arrogance as if he did the earth a favor
“Hello ma’am,” A maid curtsied, she stood in front of Emelda’s cell. Emelda took a quick sweep of the girl, she was about sixteen years old. her clothes were ragged but clean. Her head was wrapped in a large scarf and from the bulge of the scarf, Emelda could tell that the maid’s head held a mass of hair. “Hello.” Emelda walked towards the gate, she placed her hands on the bars of the cell gate that locked her in. “I have come to fetch you, miss. The prince has ordered you to get a shower and prepare for the evening, I am to help you with that.” The maid curtsied again without raising her head. PREPARE FOR THE EVENING? What exactly did that mean? Was she going to be wedded today? Was Darius expecting guests? What exactly were they preparing her for? Emelda stepped back from the gate. “what’s the occasion?” she asked the maid. She didn’t know the girl’s name so Emelda left that part out. “I have no idea miss. I do not ask any questions, I simpl
Dressed in a simple nightgown, Vera opened a secret door and Emelda went through it. Emelda already guessed what was about to happen, she hadn’t been taken out of her cell because of a wedding. Darius had requested to see her in his bedroom. She realized that after Vera had worn her the simple nightdress. It was a see-through lace dress that was above her knees. It was paired with matching lace panties. Emelda knew.She didn’t want to have sex with Darius and she wasn’t going to allow him to force himself on her as his father had done to her mother. But there was a peace that stayed with her as she wore the nightdress. She wasn’t agitated or scared or angry even. She was at peace.She heard her mother’s voice again, “do not interrupt the universe. Let it take its course. Do not upset nature, a time will come when you will have to use all the powers your ancestors have given you but tonight is not the night
Darius’s wolf had gone into the woods for a run, he had been under so much pressure and he needed it. He had already sent a maid to prepare Emelda for the night but for some reason, his heart had been thumping so hard and so, he decided to take a run, to calm his nerves. But as he ran down his familiar part, something strange happened to him, he got caught up in a gust of wind. It came from nowhere, throwing his wolf against a tree and down a rocky hill. He had tumbled till he got to the bottom but he had come out unhurt. Darius had shifted back to his human self but he had a small headache. He took a little nap and by the time he woke up, he felt better. He felt strong enough to go back to the palace. To meet her. His walk back was more of a stroll, a slow lazy walk. Till he got to the west wing of the palace, where his bedroom was located. That was when he picked up the scent. An odd scent that was familiar to him, yet distant. He had immediately gone on al
Sule ran a mental assessment of what had happened, he had to take charge of the situation just like Alpha Cyrus would have done. The situation didn’t look good from what he could see and knowing Darius’s temper, it was better to act fast. Sule signaled Adolf with his eyes and Adolf got the message. Adolf went to Emelda and helped her out of the bed. With one hand, Adolf pulled her up, and with the other hand, he helped her gather the large blanket which she had wrapped around her body. Adolf took Emelda out of the room through the secret entrance, it was the same place she had come from. He led her to the guest room where the maid, Vera was waiting and then he returned to join the Sule and the twins. By the time Adolf got back to Darius’s room, the three men were still standing, Lucius had pulled up his pants and buttoned his shirt. “Lucius, welcome back home. We weren’t expecting you.” Sule spoke. “Thank you, Sule. I heard about Uncle Gedoni’
After the death of her mother, Yemanja had been the sole guardian for Emelda and the two had bonded in deep ways over the past years. If there was anyone who knew what Yemanja was up to and what she was capable of- that person would be Emelda. But there was one thing that Emelda still struggled to get used to even after all the years she spent with her grandma and that was the ability to have her grandma cutting right to the chase.Yemanja wasn't the person who would beat around the bush or who struggled with words. She always went right to the point and even after all these years, that attitude from Yemanja still surprised Emelda.And it was the same surprise that took over Emelda the minute her grandmother asked her the direct question.But instead of answering the question, Emelda tried to avoid it. And the only way she knew how to avoid the question was to tell a lie.“Yes, grandma. That was why I left the palace. I couldn't stomach what w
Emelda sat on a little stool in her grandma’s kitchen as Yemanja put on a pot of soup on the stove. There was an awkward silence growing between them and soon, Emelda found herself drawing little imaginary circles with her index finger all over her grandmother’s kitchen table.Yemanja had her back turned to Emelda but she could almost tell what was going on. The energy from Emelda was consuming and Yemanja didn't need to be an all-powerful witch to notice it.“What troubles you, my child?” Yemanja asked as she stirred her soup slowly with the wooden spatula in her hands.“Nothing!” Emelda shrugged and sighed at the same time.Slowly, Yemanja placed the spatula aside and turned to Emelda. She stared at her granddaughter keenly as she wiped her hands with the kitchen napkin.“Don't lie to me, child. You know we have been through a lot these past few months. I do not want there to be any secrets between us. Yo
Yemanja was at the back of her house, tending to her garden when she heard a noise that resembled the sound of a carriage. Slowly, Yemanja placed her garden fork on the ground as she closed her eyes and listened closely. At first, she had thought the carriage was passing through her house but she soon realized she was wrong when the noise from the carriage stopped in front of her house.Gently, Yemanja pulled herself from the ground and dusted her dry hands on the front of her apron. She straightened her back and walked to the front of her small house, using the sidewalk.“Grandma.” Yemanja heard the excited voice before seeing who it was but she didn't need to see who the person was to realize that it was her granddaughter, Emelda.“Emelda,” Yemanja called her granddaughter’s name in the same excited tone as Emelda had called hers.Emelda came down from the carriage and ran to her grandmother’s side, throwing her s
All the guests started to exit as well, starting from the royalties that were seated on the front rows, and soon, the hall which had been filled to the brim was suddenly empty.The crowd marched to the battle filled and Cyrus took a seat on the podium.There were five seats on the podium and Lucius helped Emelda to one of the seats as he and Darius took the next two seats beside her. There was only one seat left on the podium and Sir Sule joined them on the stage, seated close to his King and Alpha, Cyrus.“Bring in the traitors,” Cyrus commanded and the gates of the battlefield opened up.Six hefty men dragged in the traitors- Gedoni, Tobias, and Barroc. Holding each of them by their arms and aggressively they flung them on the floor, right there in front of the podium.Cyrus got up from his seat and took a few steps till he reached the edge of the podium.With utmost disgust, his eyes turned from one man to the other as the men loo
Minutes after Darius, Lucius, and Emelda entered the hall, the ceremony began with a short cleansing session performed by the chief priest.The hall was filled with royalties from all the nearby kingdoms who paid their allegiances to the Lakewood Kingdom. The presence of the kings, queens, princes, and princesses could not go unnoticed. Everyone felt the presence of the distinguished guests as they all took their seats ceremoniously.But more than the royalty, another group that stood out, even more, were the different werewolf packs that had turned up for the event. The hall was equally loaded with different Alphas to Betas and down to Omegas. Anyone who was considered as an important personality, werewolf, human, or witch, was present for the greatest ceremony of all time.It wasn't every time that king and Alpha got to take the throne a second time, it was a historic event. One that had never occurred before and anyone who had the privilege of getting an invite
Darius noticed Emelda and Lucius walking towards the door to the hall even before they saw him. It was a mere thirty seconds of watching them-her to be precise but that was enough time for Darius to take in every inch of Emelda’s beauty. She was beautiful and even more graceful as she walked towards the door to the hall where the ceremony was being held and Darius could very well see that the Palace life suited her perfectly. It seemed like she had been born for royalty and he couldn't help but appreciate her gratefulness.But then, he was reminded of the awkward position he was in with her by how his chest tightened and his breath almost seized. In an instant, Darius had gone from admiring her to feeling like his very essence was being choked out of him. It all happened so quickly and even though Darius hadn’t meant for it to happen, he found his eyes wandering towards her, and the next thing, their eyes were locked!Emelda on the other hand, locked eyes w
“How did he try to fix it?” Emelda asked Lucius. patiently, Lucius explained how Darius had gone to the Silverlake kingdom in an attempt to get the antidote for her. Emelda listened patiently as he explained everything to her but still, the pain in her heart wouldn't go away. She wanted to let it go but was finding it difficult to do so. Her heart was heavy and by the time Lucius was done with an explanation of what occurred between Darius and the weird king, she had to tell him how she still felt. “I hear everything you're saying Lucius but it hasn't helped in easing the pain I feel,” she admitted. Lucius squeezed her hand in his, “time will tell Emelda. Time will heal your wounds. I don't want you to go around with a grudge in your heart, you can see how that affected your grandmother,” he cautioned. Emelda nodded because what Lucius said to her made absolute sense. Nursing a grudge could lead to dangerous emotions that could lead to drastic
The council of chiefs headed by sir Theo had now put together a ceremony that was supposed to reinstate Cyrus as the king and Alpha of the Lakewood kingdom and the Lakewood moon pack and the morning of the ceremony had arrived. Before then, the crew that had been sent to the Silver lake kingdom had successfully recovered the weird king and he was locked up in a cell in the basement alongside Gedoni and Tobias.The royal advisers had agreed to their execution and that was the hallmark of the ceremony.The three traitors were going to be executed by Cyrus after he got crowned as king again. But before the ceremony started, Emelda and Lucius were tucked away in Lucius’s bedroom.“what are you going to do after this?” Emelda asked him with hope in her eyes. A Lot had changed for Lucius ever since he became a wolf, he was a different person of some sort. He seemed more in control of himself and his mood had gotten better a hundred percent. Lucius was already a ha
“What do you intend to do about it?” Adolf continued his conversation with Darius. Adolf could still remember the last time that Darius had admitted to having feelings for Emelda and it had been on their way to Silver lake kingdom while they had been searching for a cure. Adolf could still remember how Darius had been embarrassed by admitting to having feelings for his brother’s feelings and looking at Darius now, Adolf could not see any trace of embarrassment. Darius was serious about his feelings and Adolf could almost tell that Darius was going to do something about it. “I don’t know what I am going to do, Adolf. But the truth is that Emelda hates me. We had a fight the last time we spoke, that was before the battle for the throne. She had come to me with the hopes of convincing me to step away from the battle and I had turned her down.” “Hate is a strong word you know, I doubt if Emelda could hate anyone. Not even you,” Adolf encouraged. Darius sh