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
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
Alyssa’s POVThe 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?T
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 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
Kai's POVEverything hurt. My chest felt so heavy and it was such an effort just to try to open my eyes. I didn’t know what was wrong, but I hadn’t felt this rough in a long time, maybe even ever.I felt a cool hand on my face, so cold it had me flinching, so either the person touching me was an ice cube or I had a fever. I tried to jerk my body awake to get away from the person watching me in this vulnerable position, but my body wasn’t listening to me. I hated it when it did that.The hand was soothing and though the cold burned against my flushed skin, I felt myself relax into its touch, a shaky breath leaving my chest.A few more minutes. I could let myself be taken care of for a few more minutes.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My eyes finally creaked open and pain blared from my shoulder where that fucking arrow had hit me. Once I found out who the fucker was he was going to wish he hadn’t missed. But it hadn’t been me he was aiming for…I took a deep breath as I thought back to the night
Alyssa's POVI ran until my lungs burned and my feet could barely carry me anymore. If I’d shifted and let Carys take over I could’ve run or flown as far as I wanted, but if I’d done that I knew I might not have come back. So I ignored the instinct to let my wolf out and kept running on my own.I ended up in the Royal Gardens. I’d been here once, long ago, when I had first come to the Royal Palace with my father and my mother. It was also the first time I’d met Kai and Alexander.Once, Alexander told me he knew I was his mate from the first time he’d met me, that would’ve been here in this very garden when we were young before Kai had gotten the scar over his face. Would things have been different if he had spoken up before then? Maybe we would’ve been married already.But things weren’t different, the ache in my legs and the burning of my chest reminded me of that well enough.I found a tree and sat down, leaning against it as I sucked in deep and desperate breaths. It was getting qu
Alyssa’s POV“What if I wanted you to stay?”I wasn’t sure that I heard what he said properly. Why on earth would he want me to stay? What Kai and I had, it was purely contractual, wasn’t it? I couldn’t think of any reason why he would want me to stay other than our deal.If anything, my staying with him would only damage his reputation more. He'd be far less likely to become Alpha King with me at his side. I had no political power, I was just a disgraced daughter who wasn't even heir to our pack anymore because of my younger brother.“What?” I asked, wondering if there was some kind of joke hidden behind his words.But the first prince had a stoic look as he waited for my reaction or response, “If I asked you to stay? Even after I was cured.”I tripped over as he spoke again, but Kai caught my waist so to the others it looked as if he were going to dip me. I was aware of his grip and the warmth that spread from his hands to my waist.“But, but, Your Highness, I have nothing for me he
Alexander's POVI just wanted to get this party over and done with. Usually, I didn’t mind them, I liked talking with my people and learning new things about the kingdom I hoped to inherit, but this one I just couldn’t enjoy. Caspian was reminding me every five seconds why.You should be here with Alyssa, not Freya.I’d stopped responding to him after a little while because none of the reasons or excuses I reminded us of could convince my wolf to be happy with the situation. Hell, I barely convinced myself of them.I was certain I’d made the right decision by rejecting Alyssa and taking Freya as my bride, especially with my mother's constant praise of the matter. But, the more I saw Alyssa, the more I longed for her and wanted to protect her. When I saw her in that arena… I didn’t know that I could feel fear like I did at that moment. I wanted to jump down and protect her. Granted, she didn't need it, but that wasn't the point.“What’s the matter, dear?” Freya’s voice pulled me out of
Alyssa's POVTrue to his word, Kai knocked on my door at five on the dot. I was dressed and ready so opened the door, seeing the first prince dressed immaculately in the doorway. He took my breath away.He was dressed in a black tunic with golden embroidery tracing over his body in intricate swirls and patterns. Over his breast pocket was a golden wolf, the symbol of the Royal Family. He wore black trousers that hugged him appreciatively and white gloves. On top of his head was a golden circlet to show off his status as it merged with his blonde hair naturally. He didn’t just look like a prince, but also a soldier.I supposed this ball was just another type of battlefield. It certainly felt like it was going to be that. I had to stop myself from staring at him too much. If he thought I was beautiful or anything along those lines he didn’t show anything. I pushed a strand of my hair that was falling behind my ear, trying not to feel too self conscious.Kai presented his arm for me to
Kai's POVI was half tempted to punch the living daylights out of my younger brother for the stunt he tried to pull. Not only had he tried to gift Alyssa a dress, which was a clear invitation to the ball when he already had a fiance, but he also wanted to gift her a golden one! If I didn’t think he had a brain in that head of his this certainly proved it.Did he have any idea the kind of chaos he could’ve caused if Alyssa accepted that damned gown? No, he didn’t, because he’d always been a stupid, spineless punk who got everything handed to him.But this time he didn’t, because Alyssa had rejected his dress and accepted mine. A thrill went through my body as I remembered that and a smile brought itself to my face. Rarely was I the first choice, and even if it was because we’d made a deal or not, she’d chosen me, not the mate who rejected her.Just as I was planning to leave my father’s own to return to my own, I ran into my pathetic excuse for a brother who looked positively pissed.
Alyssa's POVI didn’t get much of a chance to rest after my fight with Taylor. I was taken back to the room that the Alpha King had placed me in and immediately flopped on my bed, burying my face in the soft pillows and blankets.My heart was still racing from the fight even though all the energy in my body faded. I stared up at the canopy of my bed and took in a deep breath. The fight had barely lasted for ten minutes but with how I was feeling it felt like it had been going on forever as all the anger and fury in me took over. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep the rest of the day away, my bones and joints aching and I could feel Carys resting in the recesses of my mind, but only an hour after I returned to my room, there was a knock at the door.I was half tempted to ignore it and sleep, but the door knocked again, more incessantly. With a groan I stood and walked towards it, opening it slightly. Prince Kai was standing at my door with a servant carrying a box behind him, giving