Alyssa’s POV
The Red Maple Camp was not a kind place. It was created to imprison criminals and dangerous wolves. I certainly didn’t belong there, I was surprised I had lived this long. For the past five years, every breath I took and every word I muttered resulted in pain and punishment.
It was my turn to clean the floors as part of my daily chores and I pulled at the wound on my back from the countless beatings and whippings I’d taken. I let out a hiss of pain, the wound and hunger making me dizzy. I took a deep breath, leaning on my hands to take a small break.
My wolf, Carys, whimpered in warning, but it was too late when my watcher walked in. His eyes moved to the floor as he saw I wasn’t finished before his gaze roamed my body, making me shiver in disgust.
I expected him to beat me for slacking off, but instead, he said, “It’s your lucky day Alyssa. Alpha Henry has come to collect you.”
That couldn’t be right, could it? Had my father truly come to take me away from this place?
Though I was treated as a slave for my supposed crimes, I was the daughter of an alpha before this. Only four packs, excluding the Royal Family, had magic running in their blood. My father ruled the Ice Heart Pack where the Alpha family could manipulate the power of ice or snow. I hadn’t yet inherited that power so was even more of a target to the other wolves. When my mother died, I was his only family and he was mine.
But when I turned thirteen, everything changed completely. My stepmother, Vivian, came into our lives and my father was enamoured by her. He had been without a mate for so long it was starting to take a toll on him, so when Vivian caught his attention and the affection was returned, I didn’t want to stand in the way of it. Even though it hurt that I wasn’t enough for him.
Vivian had been so kind to me in the beginning, insisting that she wasn’t going to replace my mother. She would take time to bond with me, bring me gifts and cook for me and gradually I began to accept her as my mother, I was glad my father had chosen such a kind, loving woman to look after him and me. But when she got pregnant, that all changed.
I was looking forward to a new sibling because the only one I had, my step-sister Freya, and I didn’t get along too well. My father put it down to jealousy, but Freya had always been cruel to me.
My stepmother took me to the attic with her to show me some new things for the baby, and once we were up there she began screaming and shouting. I didn’t know what she was talking about before throwing herself from the attic stairs, causing a miscarriage.
From her shouting, people hurried to her right away and she pointed a weary hand up at me, whispering, “Why?” as she fainted.
My father didn’t even ask me what happened before he sent me to the Red Maple Camp as punishment. Being an Alpha’s daughter did me no favours in that prison. It made things worse for me.
“Don’t keep the alpha waiting, Mutt.”
I hadn’t brought many things with me when I got sent to the Red Maple Camp so I didn’t have anything to take with me save the filthy clothes on my back. I paused when I got to the gates, seeing the two warriors sneering at me with disgust. I had only tried to escape once before, and it led to a sword at my throat and beatings that left scars. I didn’t attempt it again.
As soon as I made my small, frightful steps out of the gate, I spotted my family’s carriage parked, my father, tall, strong and stern, standing outside it, the emotions on his face hard to understand.
I’d wondered how I’d feel, seeing my father there for the first time in five years. He’d not once come to visit me, not once asked me what happened. Just shipped me off to this cruel place with little more than goodbye. He had aged with grey hair littering his temples. I couldn’t imagine what he saw in me, no longer a little girl of thirteen.
“Alyssa,” He said my name sternly as if it hadn’t been five years since he’d last seen me. He gestured for the carriage.
“Alpha,” I returned his greeting and stepped past him into the carriage.
As I walked passed him I felt him tense up. Was it because of the title or because I was now treating him like a stranger? What did he expect after all these years? Did he know what they were doing to me in there?
“It has been a long time, daughter.” He started, awkwardly.
“Yes.” I didn’t know what else to say to him.
“I…” He started, looking out of the window, “I’m sorry I didn’t come to visit you.”
I didn’t answer that. Did he think he would show up after so long had passed and expect things to remain to same? Expect forgiveness? I had been placed in the same prison as murderers and psychos. The overseers were strict and cruel and kept us weak despite the hard labour they made us do. We were only given one meal a day and I learned quickly I had to fight to protect what was mine if I didn’t want to die.
I had no friends. No one to guide me. My first shift was painful and I had no one to help me through it. I was mocked by the prisoners and guards alike.
Throughout those five years, I wanted him to come and save me from that place. And now he had, but it was too late and I had gone through too much.
“You have a little brother now. I expect you to behave yourself this time,” He tried to carry on the conversation, but the memory of Vivian’s last pregnancy sent a chill down my spine.
Vivian had sacrificed my first sibling to get me out of the way. Now I had a new brother for her to manipulate my father with.
“Father, do you still not know?” I asked. Why would he get me out of prison if he still thought I was capable of such a thing?
“Not this again,” He grumbled, rubbing at his temples
“But father, she’s the one-”
“I will not have this slander against my wife! You will treat her with respect or I will send you right back!” He shouted with his alpha voice.
He’d given me no choice but to mumble, “Yes, Alpha,” as I locked the rest of my words away.
My father sighed, holding me with his harsh stare, “Your time away was meant for you to respect and to learn some discipline. But if you harm a hair on your brother’s head I will forget you are my daughter. So be good and don’t make me regret this. It was Vivian who encouraged me to make amends.”
I didn’t know what the woman had up her sleeve, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good.
I’d rather jump out of this carriage than have to face her in more underhanded schemes and the bullying of my step-sister, but maybe this was my chance to redeem myself and prove my innocence. I would let her and my father think the Red Maple Camp had broken me until I had enough evidence to take her down.
“The reason I’ve collected you is that you’re now eighteen years old and we can find your fated mate to strengthen our pack."
Alyssa’s POVThe first face I saw when I returned home was Vivian, smiling innocently at me as she opened her arms, pulling me into a hug, “Welcome home, Alyssa.”I didn’t return her hug, just gave her a sharp nod and stepped back, I didn’t want to address her at all, let alone have her touching me. It was then I noticed the amount of wolves gathered, watching this reunion. I spotted faces I hadn’t seen since I was little, so many alphas and lunas that it was hard to keep track.“I wasn’t aware we were to have an audience, love,” My father spoke to Vivian.Vivian looked around in mock shock as she placed a hand on her heart, “Honey, don’t you think today is a special day? It’s not every day an alpha’s daughter turns eighteen! And I’m sure it’s tradition for the birthday girl to have a shifting ceremony.”My father opened his mouth to speak, quickly looking between Vivian and me. It was only my thirteenth birthday that Vivian had sacrificed her child and my father lost his true heir.
Alyssa’s POVMy father rarely mentioned my mother anymore, so hearing him say that, here in front of everyone made my heart ache.“Did mother have wings?” I asked softly through our pack’s mind speak. I had been so young I hardly remembered her.“She did, she was the only one in her family to have them. They were small, but they were a symbol of power, especially since the Feather Wing Pack had almost lost that magic entirely. Your mother was a very special woman and would be so proud to see this.”I wish she could see me too, I thought to myself. If she were here I wouldn’t have endured those years in Red Maple Camp.Whilst I was lost in my thoughts a my father’s praise, neither I nor Carys saw the stone flying towards us. The stone cracked against Carys’ face and she couldn’t help but let out a sharp growl.Caleb was glaring at us with more anger than a four-year-old should know, “Go away! Go away! You’re going to ruin my family!” He cried.He reached down, picking up another stone
Alexander’s POVI knew it was her from the second I saw her. Five years had grown and matured her with her silky chocolate hair cascading down the small of her back. Her blue eyes shined with defiance and will and it almost made me smile, proud to see the woman she had grown into. Our Mate, Caspian whispered to me in pride. Quickly, I shut him out as I reminded myself of why I was here.I hid around a corner after my glimpse of her. My mother had instructed me to wait until after Alyssa’s shift to make my appearance. It didn’t matter what her wolf was like, whether it was small and weak or strong and powerful, I was here to reject my mate, not accept her.“Alex, my dear boy, Frey is who I have chosen for you,” My mother, the Luna Queen Lina, reminded me before I set off for the ceremony, “This marriage will give you the support of both the Fire Bone pack as Vivian’s daughter and the Ice Heart pack as the future Alpha’s sister. You need every advantage if you want your father to pass
Alyssa’s POVI didn’t know if it was the sudden change of weather or the stress from the rejection, but I suddenly fell ill. I couldn’t eat and would barely sleep. My father insisted the servants brought me medicine and food, but I could barely stomach it. The iron bracelet on my wrist felt cold against my feverish skin. I stared at it with empty eyes, twisting my wrist to see it dance around my skin. After I shifted and Carys almost attacked Caleb, my father locked the bracelet around my wrist, restricting Carys and her abilities just in case. I could barely communicate with Carys, I couldn’t grow my wings and I couldn’t shift. Only he or someone more powerful could take it off. But it seemed the bracelet was also restricting my wolf’s healing abilities. I shouldn’t have been this sick. “You look like shit.”I didn’t even notice that Freya had entered my room until she spoke those cruel words. She barely had a foot in my room, like she was disgusted just seeing me.“Go away,” I mu
Alyssa's POV “Try this one.” My fiance, Taylor, ordered as his eyes trailed over me. As my father promised, he arrived at our pack in the early morning and I was pushed to meet him. My father thought a shopping trip for our future wedding would be a good bonding experience so we were in a store with me trying on dress after dress until Taylor was satisfied. It made me uncomfortable that there seemed to be no one else around at the moment. Maybe he wanted a chance to get to know me alone, but I didn’t like the thought of being with this man. Not with the way he looked at me. I left the dressing room in a blue off-the-shoulder dress that clung to my curves dramatically with a low cut on the chest. I tried to convince him I didn’t like it but he insisted. It felt like I was naked. Suddenly, Taylor pulled me against him so that we were face to face and my body was against his. I tried to push away but he held me tighter, admiring my exposed skin and curves with an evil grin. I
Alyssa's POV I recognised him immediately, those piercing blue eyes were difficult to forget. The illegitimate first prince of the kingdom, Kai. He couldn’t have looked more different to his brother if he tried, golden hair, blue eyes, tall and broad shoulders, the only imperfection was the deep, jagged scar running down the side of his face, almost clipping his eye. “Move,” Caspian growled, trying to stand tall to show his authority. Kai’s wolf just growled back, taking a threatening step forward and snapping his jaws in a challenge. “What’s wrong Cas?” Prince Kai asked mockingly as he looked at me with interest, “I’m just being friendly.” “I know what your version of ‘friendly’ means,” Caspian took a step backwards as if he’d run away with me on his back. “Relax pup, I need a favour from the beautiful lady on your back.” I tried to ignore that comment as I slid off of Caspian’s back and fumbled into a clumsy curtsey, knowing I didn’t look the part of an alpha’s daughter
Alexander’s POVI thought I would be able to get over Alyssa easily, it wasn’t like I knew her anymore and I already committed myself to Freya. But my chest ached with a dullness that was hard to ignore. Maybe it was just the broken mating bond.I was in my palace, trying to regulate my emotions with servants scattered around tidying and making noise.“Everyone get out!” I grumbled, throwing my handout, not wanting to be around anyone at the moment.I heard ‘sorry’s and ‘excuse me’s but it wasn’t as if I was going to hurt any of my servants. Caspian was the hot-tempered ill-mannered one between the two of us.For once I was grateful he was not here. He’d tear down the walls of my room as punishment for what I did. And if any servants got in his way… I wouldn’t want to be them. I wondered where he had gone too but tried not to think of him too much.Quickly, I went to the cabinet where I kept my wine and took out a fresh bottle thinking that maybe the alcohol could calm the thudding in
Alyssa’s POVAlexander was looking at me with hurt and betrayal in his eyes and my stomach wracked with guilt. But what right did he have to look at me like that? He’d rejected me first. He was engaged to the step-sister who helped make my life a living hell.Besides, it’s not like I had much of a choice but to let Prince Kai pretend we were engaged. The punishment for escaping the Red Maple camp was death, even if I had returned in the end.I didn’t know when or how the first prince found out, but there was nothing I could do except play along with his game. A favour for a favour. He wouldn’t spill my secret if I managed to heal him. How I was going to do that was a completely different story.I looked between Prince Kai and Alexander as I shuffled closer to Prince Kai and nodded.“It’s true, Prince Kai has just proposed to me… I accepted.” I lied, feeling the tension growing between the two brothers. Alexander looked like he wanted to murder his brother, but Kai simply looked at hi
Kai's POVMy army and I had been travelling for a few days, no one was tired or complaining, they’d been trained better than that and I made sure we had enough supplies to keep us happy and content. No one liked leading a starving and exhausted army. We’d travelled farther and in much worse conditions, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.We settled down for the night and I waited my turn for a watch-shift. I liked knowing what was going on when I was travelling.It seemed slightly suspicious to me that the South was beginning to become unstable again so soon. After the last incident, it seemed stupid for them to attempt it again. Then there was also the assassin situation where not only had an assassin somehow found access to the palace, but had actually managed to hurt me.I could think of plenty of people a hundred times over who might've been involved, but I couldn’t make any accusations until I knew what was going on.Every night on the road I thought of Alyss
Alyssa's POVOne of the things I learned from Kai during my time at the palace was that if I wanted to get something done, I had to be sneaky about it. It was even harder to do that with Vivian and Freya breathing down my neck every five minutes and tormenting me.I don't know how my father didn't notice, maybe he chose not to notice, but Vivian and Freya planned their moments for when my father was gone or distracted to plan their sick ploys.I’d found silver nails in my shoes, caught the faint scent of wolfsbane in my tea and who knows what else I’d missed, but one thing was for certain and it was that they were going to try to make my life a living hell.But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I wasn't the same person from before and I wasn't going to take things lying down.As Luna, Vivian had responsibilities and expectations that she shared with my father and on one occasion of inspecting the quality of our warriors and Freya out with her friends, I took the opportunity to final
Alexander's POV“How foolish can you be? Do you know what you have just cost us?” My mother’s shrill voice drifted through one of my ears and then out of the other. I was acting as if I wasn't even in the room with her.I stood still, looking past her so I wouldn’t have to focus on her, hands clasped in front of me as I pretended to listen to my mother’s repetitive words. She sat on a chair in one of the palace’s many meeting rooms, tapping the arm of the chair rhythmically.“Do you understand how much effort I put in to secure that match for you?”Another rhetorical question she repeated about five seconds ago. Ever since I’d rejected Freya’s offer of a date, I’d realised that I didn’t want her at all, not even to secure the crown because what I wanted now was far more important than any jewel or kingdom.It was my mate, and I was going to fight tooth and nail to be given a second chance, even if she truly was in love with my brother.The moment that solidified my resolve was seeing
Alyssa’s POVIt didn’t take me too long to get back home to the Ice Heart Pack and when I did, my father was waiting for me with open arms which surprised me.“I’m so glad you’re alright, my dear,” He announced as he walked me inside of our home. I cringed as I saw the pictures of my father and Vivian as a happy couple and Freya as their loving daughter. As we walked to the family room there was a family portrait of the four of them: My father, Vivian, Freya, and the newest addition, Caleb. They really looked like the perfect family.I didn’t mention it to my father as we finally entered the dining room where the other members of my family were waiting. Vivian sat on my mother’s old chair, and Freya and Caleb sat patiently on the sofa. When Caleb saw me he whimpered and cuddled closer to Freya. It pained me to know that I might never get the chance to bond with my other brother.I chose to stay standing up, eyeing up Vivian wearily. I didn’t know anything about them from after the pa
Alyssa's POVKai was gone by the time I woke up but one of his servants told me that he wanted to meet with me in the Royal Gardens. I found it odd that he wanted to meet me in the place we were attacked but it was daylight and there were guards everywhere. It was probably to discuss steps going forward but I already had a plan of my own. As far as I was aware from doing test after test, it looked like both poisons were gone.I didn't know how I’d managed it, but I’d done it.I followed the trail back to the Royal Gardens, enjoying the sun on my face since I’d spent the last few days in a cave or cooped up in a room, it was nice feeling the breeze brush against my skin.Then I saw him looking better than he had in days.Kai’s skin looked healthier, he was no longer sweating or grimacing in pain and his blonde hair had a healthy shine to it rather than being dull and sheer like it had been.Sensing my presence, he turned and smiled, nodding his head for me to come closer. I stood by hi
Alexander's POVI couldn’t let it happen.Kai didn’t love anyone. He barely cared about someone unless they were useful to him and as soon as they stopped he’d discard them like trash. I couldn’t let that happen to Alyssa. I wouldn’t.I could picture my mother’s disapproving stare if I told her about my regrets about rejecting Alyssa.“It’s for the good of the crown, Alexander,” She would tell me, “What do you think Kai will do if he becomes king? You need the support of the packs.”She’d always wanted me to be better than Kai. She was very bitter about the fact he was older than me and even more so that he had so many accomplishments under his belt. Since the moment I could walk I was held to a higher standard so that one day I could surpass my brother for all the packs to see.But I was slowly finding that I didn’t care about that as much anymore. Let Kai have the throne, let him try to kill me if he became king. I’d realised it wasn’t worth it to lose Alyssa. I only wished I’d real
Kai's POVI didn’t know how long I’d been asleep for, but it must’ve been one of the best nights of sleep of my life. I woke up, with no aching or soreness in my body even though I knew I should’ve still been in a lot of pain, even my scar didn't throb like it always did. I sat up and rolled my shoulder, surprised that there was no stiffness in it.Then I noticed my hands. Because of the poison, I’d gotten paler as my body tried to fight it off, but now my hands looked warmer like whatever was draining them had gone.I looked to my side, and there she was. Alyssa had her head placed on the bed, eyes closed tightly. She looked so calm and peaceful as she slept. How long had she been working on me?Not wanting to disturb her, I shifted to the other side of my bed and placed the blanket over her so that she would stay warm.As much as I wanted to stay in bed and recover some more, I had a lot of work to do, firstly with finding the bastard who attacked Alyssa in the first place. Quickly
Alyssa's POVThe assassination attempt, though it freaked me out badly, might have actually been a blessing in disguise. Once Kai and I had gotten back to his palace I began working on his wound. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I saw that what I had done in the cave had worked. Kai’s wounds had stopped bleeding and though he was still being poisoned at least that was one less thing to worry about. He was still too pale for my liking though.“Can we get food delivered to your room?” I asked since food was always good to keep the energy up.“No,” Kai stated as he grabbed my hand like he thought I would head straight to the door anyway, “We can’t give anyone any reason to be suspicious.”Though I disagreed, I nodded along.I knew that I didn’t have too long to mess around as the wolfsbane concoction was still running rampant through Kai’s body. The first prince was strong but I didn’t know how long he’d be able to endure the pain.Already he was panting and sweating as we got him to
Alexander's POVIt had been a day since I’d last seen Alyssa. A whole goddamn day and not even a glimpse! No one else had seen her either since she ran from Kai after rejecting his proposal. I knew I would regret not going after her when I had the chance, but I didn’t think it would be like this with so much uncertainty and fear.Had Kai done something to her? I knew my brother wasn’t the most gentlemanly and had a horrid temper, but he wouldn’t have killed her… would he?Panic coursed through my chest and I tried to concentrate on our broken mate bond, I would’ve been able to feel it if she were dead.What worried me the most was that no one seemed to care about it, especially after Freya had suggested that ‘they probably couldn’t wait until their wedding night’. I wanted to snap at her because I knew Alyssa wasn’t like that, but under my mother’s watchful eye, I said nothing.I always seemed to be doing nothing!Suddenly there was a knock at my door and hope flooded through me. Quic