~ZIRAThere was a small smile on my face as I watched them unlock the door for me. Although small, it was a triumphant smile because I had succeeded in getting though the first phase of seeing Bella. Now all I had to worry about was seeing Bella without Uther finding out about it before I was done.Briner gestured at the way in for me and I followed his lead. Inside, it only looked like a regular cell for holding a few prisoners. I doubted if they were truly prisoners and not undercover guards. "This here is the top cell. I shall now lead you to the pit itself," he announced. I did not say a word. All I did was follow him as he led me to the main door. The guards all stared at me, surprised that a woman was in their midst and doing the king's job. We finally stopped before a door at the back. He pushed it open and all I saw was darkness. "This way, my Lord," he announced and entered the darkness. I hesitated at first, as the darkness felt cold and reminded me of the time I had d
~KAELI felt beyond broken.All I wanted was to shut the journal and ace it back in the safe but I forced myself to keep going. Knowing half the truth was not going to help me. I needed to know it all. So I turned a new page and read the words written on it. "Now that I have two sons, they will help to do my bidding. All they needed to know was that Tyrone was the murdered. Anger and hatred fueled right from.their childhood is the greatest weapon I can ask for. They would use it to destroy the Dragons for me and I would have my Moon crest as well as my rightful place on the throne."This was all we were to him. Tools that he could use to reach his goal. Did he ever care about us?I moved it to more recent pages. "Once Arden takes the stone from the Dragons, I shall push him aside. Perhaps lock both of them up until they cool off so that I can have my place ok the throne. The Dragons can all die for all I care. They are not needed. I could spare the boys since they have my blood runni
~KAELI dismounted from our horse. Zira looked down at me with dreamy eyes and I smiled. She had this way of staring that always messed with my senses. I knew that with what was going on with me, especially the huge truth that I had just discovered, I was not supposed to be paying attention to these things. Yet it was the fact that I was with Zira that was stopping me from breaking down or lashing out at my father. She was the reason why I was still calm. "Let me help you down," I offered. She willingly lifted her hands slightly so that I would have access to her waist. Then I placed her down gently."We should head in before they figure out that we are here," Zira announced. I nodded in agreement but before moving, I took off my jacket and handed it over to her. She bowed slightly as she accepted it. "You know that it should be the other way around, right?" I whispered. She shrugged. "If you're my mate, then it means you'll be Alpha someday. Why not treat you like you already
~KAELIn my entire life, I had never seen a woman as excited as Zira was today.She was beaming like a child as we went through the dresses in the store. I knew this store because I had once followed Arden on a date with one of the many girls he was involved with. Of course, it had been pure torture then and I had never imagined that I would one day visit this same store with a woman yet here I was, blushing like an idiot. I felt Ocean mirror Zira's excitement. It brought me joy to know that I was the reason for all of the smiles that Zira was sending out to the world. I was now sitting on a chair while I waited for Zira to emerge from the dressing room. It was not long after I thought it that she came out in a blue dress that stopped above her knees. It hugged her body and made her look even cuter. I had changed into a pair of loose pants and a shirt. Everything I wore was white, except for the satchel that contained my father's journal. "Beautiful," I whispered. She blushed. "
~KAELZira threw me a suspicious glare and I kept a calm and smiling face. She exhaled sharply. "Apparently, the relationship between Bella and Arden was fake. Uther forced her to work undercover in exchange for her survival," she explained. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Father probably saw Arden as a threat so he thought of other ways to get the Moon crest for him," I muttered slowly.Zira nodded slowly. "So she decided to double cross him and stop him from having it. I'm guessing that she really likes your brother and she was going to give it to him," she added. I nodded as it all began to make sense. "What else did she say?" I asked. Zira shrugged. "I asked for any form of proof and she gave me one. It was after all the only reason why I went to pay her a visit in the first place," she revealed. I felt Ocean spur to life at the mention of proof. Perhaps making him face the law was the best thing I could do for him. I could not trust myself to come before him without unleashing a
~ZIRAMy heart skipped two beats. Kael and I stopped immediately in the middle of the street. Kael held my hand protectively as if to tell me that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Yet I could not control the beating of my heart. My wolf began to dance within me and I struggled to stay calm. I sensed the guard reach us. This was the moment of truth. I knew that I would not let the men apprehend me. I had not come this far to just get caught. I had a mission to complete. For this reason, I could not be captured."If they try to take you, you scream," Nala instructed within me. I exhaled sharply and prepared myself for the worst."Please, turn around for inspection," the man stated. I tilted my head at Kael to see if he approved of this. He nodded once at me and together, we turned to face the guard. "What is it?" Kael demanded first. The man was about to ask his men to search us when he registered my face and that of Kael's."Shit!" He muttered under his breath but I hea
~ZIRAWe came to a stop before the packhouse. Guards were scattered around the place as always and they bowed the moment they saw us. "We're here. Finally, home sweet home," Kael whispered.I furrowed my brows at his words. "I remember vividly well that the day my father suggested that we all stay in the same house, you objected. How come it has become a sweet home?" I demanded as Nala stirred with amusement. He chuckled and the sound floated into my ears from behind me, provoking the rise of strange sensations within me. "No home was ever sweet for me, not even my father's house because it always reminded me of the fact that I had a dead mother," he explained. I sighed shortly. "So why now?" I asked as his sad story had piqued my interest. He leaned closer to my left ear. "Because you're here," he whispered.Then he got down first and as the gentleman that he was, he helped me off the horse. It was not like I could not get off the animal on my own but it was just fun having som
~ZIRAWe became totally shrouded in darkness. Then I also noticed one thing, my night vision was not working perfectly in this place, which was quite strange. Suddenly, light illuminated the place from behind me and I turned around to see Kael with a lighter. Then I chuckled. "What did you think it was? An angel? Or the goddess herself?" He joked. "We should find a stick to light so that you don't have to burn yourself in trying to keep the fire alive," I told him. I began to look around the space for anything flammable enough to stay alive if we lit it. As if sent by the goddess herself, I saw a stick which was perfect enough and I dragged it out. Then I brought it to Kael's flame and it took a while but it came alive. "Awesome!" I shout-whispered with joy. Kael only chuckled and took the torch from me. "I'll lead the way. You stay behind me so that I can protect you from whatever harm might try to come your way," he told me.As much as I wanted to protest about it, I found my
~ZIRAWhen my eyes came open, they were met with darkness.I blinked multiple times in an attempt to force my eyes to adjust as quickly as possible. My body was cold and I doubted if I could move. I was trembling and mist kept escaping my mouth every time I breathed. My heart pounded heavily and my wolf kept stirring uncomfortably within. I felt uneasy as I could not explain what was happening. Was I dead?I forced myself to move and succeeded in getting into a sitting position eventually. I looked around the space and as my eyes adjusted, light began to brighten up the space. Sitting had chased most of the weakness away. I got to my feet and took in the space. The more I stared, the more familiar it became and realization finally dawned on me. I was in the same void where I had met the goddess the first time I died. "Hello?" I called. Like that was all the trigger needed, I felt the presence of someone extraterrestrial, of great honor and glory behind me. I instantly turned and
~KAELMy father's scream echoed through the space as thick blue mist rose in the air.I was still fighting with my supposedly uncuffed hands when I saw Arden's eyes go wide with shock. Then he instantly started running toward me as if to shield me from something. That was when my wolf growled menacingly and I looked toward my father just in time to see him launch a spear at me. As if on cue, my hands came free and I stepped forward but it was already too late. Arden took the hit for me. The force of the spear pushed him backward. He hit me and we both fell back against the pole that I had once been cuffed to. "I'm going to set the world ablaze! I'm going to destroy everything!" Uther screamed like he had lost his mind. The blue mist began to clear and for the first time, he saw that I was still fine and someone else had taken the hit for me. My heart sank as I turned a shaky stare at Arden who now had a long spear buried in the lower center of his body. I did not want to think an
~ZIRAI heard Uther's chuckles continue to echo around the space. I felt too weak to lift myself from the ground. I had cried so much that I could no longer stand. I felt numb and broken. I felt confused and lost. "Come on, Zira. The game is not yet over. We still have one more person to kill if you don't tell me what I want to know," he announced. The thought of losing Kael too made me shoot up to my knees. I stared at the man in disbelief. Was he really ready to kill his own son too just to make a point? Would he kill his flesh and blood?I turned a fearful stare at Kael. His blue eyes were filled with pain. "I'm sorry," he mouthed again. I could not remember how many times he had apologized to me in the last hour. He had been doing it over and over again. "Stop apologizing. . .please. . ." I said in a weak voice. "It's not your fault. . ." I said dryly. I realized that I was losing my voice. It was no surprise, given how much I had screamed and cried.Then I turned to Uther.
~ZIRAWas the world always this ugly or all the beauty had been taken out of mine? My mother gasped as her eyes went wide open. Father gasped, Uther laughed before he pulled the sword out of her body. She let out a pained sound that further broke my heart.The world seemed to slow down and all sounds around me began to echo. I did not know what to feel or how to react. I forgot how to breathe. I forgot how to speak. All I did was gasp breathlessly. Nala stopped dancing and I felt tears begin to form in my eyes. My father let out the loudest roar as the pain of losing his mate must have hit him hard. My mother still with her hands handcuffed behind the pole slowly began to slump to the floor. She was staring at me as if she wanted to say something. Blood spurted out of her mouth and she smiled at me. Then her body went still.My wolf sank to the darkest part of my mind and I had gone into shock. I just stood there and watched helplessly as my world had come to an end. "Zira. . ." I
~ZIRAMy heart skipped triple beats as I saw men spring out of the park and pounce on us. Kael let out a menacing growl as he prepared himself for battle. The first man that tried to grab me got struck by Kael's claws. This sent the man flying across the park. He let out another growl to warn them from coming. But the men were determined to apprehend us. Two more came at a time and he grabbed one by his neck as he struck the other man. Yet three more attacked him from behind. "Kael!" I screamed as they hit his head hard.This rendered him weak immediately and he went down on his knees. They used his moment of weakness to apprehend him and I did not try to fight back as they grabbed me. It was all futile and I wondered why Kael even tried fighting in the first place. They dragged us to the stream side of the park. From the distance, I spotted a set of poles arranged in a quite large circle. It was once used to play a dancing game in the old days. The center was where the dance batt
~ZIRAMy heart sank when I saw the note. My wolf continued its dangerous dance a plea to be unleashed. My world was slowly crumbling down before my eyes and I did not know what to do about it. My already trembling body only got more violent as I looked at the note."Do you want me to read the content for you?" Kael offered when he noticed that I was slowly losing it. I nodded and he took the letter from me. "If you want to save your parents, come to me unguarded with the Moon crest as my present. Meet me at the old park closest to Black City by sundown," he concluded. I could feel tears threatening to weaken me but I refused to cry. I needed to be strong. I could still fix things. The goddess would not let any harm come to my parents. Kael suddenly wrapped me in a protective hug. "We'll make it work," he assured me. "What will the goddess think if I give him the Moon crest? The whole point of my mission was to protect it not for selfish interests but for the safety of the world,"
~ZIRAI never expected what Kael did yesterday. But it turned out to be the best way to solve everything. I always knew that I would have to expose the truth to my parents but I never knew how I was going to make it work. I even had the fear that they would still not believe me after showing them the truth. But as fate would have it, the goddess just allowed me to sit down and watch the outcome of things unfold before me. I must have done a great job of planting doubting seeds in Kael to make him take up the job himself. I smiled as I looked up at him. We were now seated together in the packhouse mini lounge. My parents were seated opposite us and dressed in their usual royal attires. While I was clad in a short dress as always Kael wore his usual loose clothes. It was a set of blue this time that complimented his eyes. We had taken the liberty of explaining the entire truth from the top to the current state. Which was from the day I died to how I tried to convince Kael to find o
~KAELArden stared back at me in disbelief. Zira turned to face me and gazed at me with concern. "This was what was bothering you this entire time, wasn't it?" She asked. I only nodded. "I'm not done yet. I know that Arden still thinks that I have been brainwashed. Which is why I took the liberty of bringing proof!" I spat and turned to my father. Uther narrowed his eyes at me as he waited to see what I had on him. I revealed my satchel and took out his journal. "This here is my father's journal and it contains all the evil he has done. It even dates back to where his anger began," I revealed and placed the book on the table. Father widened his eyes and threw calculative gazes at the people closest to him. Then in a swift action, he launched at the journal on the table. But Tyrone was faster than him. He swiftly grabbed his foot and pulled him backward with one hand so that he landed back in his chair."I think that you have done enough! Sit still or I will be forced to take dras
~KAELFather looked as if he was sitting on fire. Eating had become a very hard task for him as he began to stir his potato aimlessly around with his fork. "Come on Father, what are you waiting for to tell us the intriguing tale of how my mother died? The world is listening," I teased him.Father began to grit his teeth but remained silent. He refused to speak. It was almost as if he was ready to sit there for eternity."You're always so eager to tell it. Why are you so quiet now? I wonder what might be wrong? Do you need help telling it? Should I begin so you can finish it?" I pointed out as my voice began to lose the amusement within and it started to turn into anger. Ocean began to dance wildly as my stare turned into hate. The more I looked at him, the more I asked myself if this man was truly my father. How unfortunate Arden and I were to be brought into this world by him. "Say something, Uther!" I roared. Everyone at the table flinched and that was when they realized that i