~ Amira ~
Amidst the excruciating pain coursing through her body, the sounds of the guards charging towards the bed chambers signified her time was up. Amira glared at the king’s motionless form. He was not dead. There was only enough aconite in his system to render him unconscious for a few days at most.
She could finish him off right then and there, even with the injuries she sustained and the pain of the rejected mate bond her wolf was whining about, but there was no guarantee she would make it out alive. This was mostly for the good of the kingdom, but she wasn’t selfless or a martyr. This was also an act of vengeance.
There would be another time and place. Hopefully.
Amira sprinted towards the king’s walk-in wardrobe and the secret passageway, letting her bones break, and her body shift as she did so.
Overwhelmed by the intense pain, a wave of nausea washed over her, threatening to plunge her into unconsciousness. Her fur sunk back inside her pours as she returned to her usual size.
Scrambling from her hands and feet, Amira pushed against the back of the wardrobe, her bloodied hand leaving a mark. Heart racing, she collapsed through the door as the clinking of armour entered the chambers.
“Alpha!” Amira heard their panicked calls.
“Search the area! Get the trackers!” The Beta commanded on the other side of the wall.
Amira slipped away, controlling her breathing as she rushed through the secret passageway. She couldn’t escape through the library. It was too close to the king’s quarters.
Continuing through the cold, dark and eerie tunnel, Amira ransacked her mind in search of potential escape routes from the intimate confines of the lover's bed chambers, but to no avail. She would have to wing it. The urgency to create some distance between herself and her pursuers grew paramount, knowing that the trackers possessed an uncanny ability to detect even the faintest traces of her scent. It was impossible to outrun trackers once they caught onto a fresh scent.
Running through the secret passages naked didn’t concern her. The trail of blood did. Luckily, Amira could already feel the slither of her healing powers taking root at her neck. She had too much adrenaline rushing through her body to notice the sting of her back, though she’d ripped out a few shards of the glass from her back already.
Amira slowed when she saw the cobwebbed door a few steps away. She waited, listening in case there was anyone else in the room. It didn’t matter if it was vacant, but it was better not to scare anyone with her sudden arrival. Instead, she heard a constant squeaking and knocking sound, then the obvious telltale signs of heavy breathing.
She would sneak in without being seen, depending on whether this love-making session was good or if the woman’s obnoxious cries were faked. Either way, she would escape swiftly. Turning the black ring handle, she snuck inside and was faced instantly with the lovers in question, their backs to her. The constant knocking sound had been the headboard.
He really was slamming into her backside roughly. She might have asked to join them if she wasn’t in a rush. Her wolf snarled at the idea. She was still a little prickly after the mate incident.
Amira crept along the floor, grabbing the man’s white dress shirt that smelled of sex and sweat. He must have been wearing it for a while. Her nose wrinkled as she put it on, but she decided it was better to smell differently. It would aid in her escape.
Now half decently dressed, with the shirt swallowing her body whole until the tops of her knees, Amira glanced at the windows and slowly edged towards them.
“Oh yes!”
“Ugh, shut up,” the man grunted, yanking on the woman’s hair as he focused on her backside.
Amira shook her head at the rough play, darting her tongue along her bottom lip as she pulled gently at the bottom of the window. There was a considerable drop between here and the ground, but there were bushes before the open palace grounds, and further back, it looked like the west side of the forest.
Hearing the first groans of the aged window, Amira realised this room wasn’t used a lot. Dust was sprinkled everywhere, meaning this couple were probably secret lovers. Amira grunted and shoved the window up, letting it groan and squeal until the wind blew in.
The woman screamed, and the man pulled out, spinning around to face the intruder already halfway out of the window.
“Who are you!?”
Amira shushed them with her finger pressed to her lips and winked. “You don’t tell my secret. I won’t tell them yours.”
She heard their intakes of breath. She was right. “Very naughty indeed.”
She lowered herself and then paused. “Oh,” she dropped her gaze to the man’s groin. “Keep up the good work.”
Amira released her hold on the window ledge, smirking at the couple’s hushed and heated conversation before slamming into the bushes that, left cuts on the bottom of her ass. She also bounced off them and landed on her left side. The air was punched out of her lungs, and she heard something else break. Luckily or not so fortunately, it was on the same side as her hand that had been crushed under Rhys’.
Any remaining shards of glass cut deeper into her skin, with the added cuts and now this blinding pain from her broken hand on the cold ground. The chill soothed the swelling injury, but she couldn't stay there.
Amira knew the fucker was strong, but her stomach dropped, and her soul almost left her body, watching him crush her hand like it was as easy as squishing dough.
It would be a struggle to remain in her human form, especially now with the rushing of guards on the third floor she’d jumped from. She still had some time. Running forwards, she allowed her wolf to take over from there.
The transformation was less painful if there were no injuries. Each time they shifted, the wound at their neck reopened. Now, her wolf’s paws pounded across the grass, finding comfort in the moon shadowed by the clouds and allowing their escape to go unnoticed. Her wolf’s heightened hearing picked up on the guards and wolves rushing towards the three different gates. The only routes to enter the palace.
But they didn’t know about the makeshift tunnel Amira created with the help of a shadow fae indebted to her. A glamour was placed on the tunnel large enough for her wolf to run under the bottom of the wall. Nobody besides Amira could see it.
The shadow fae could influence minds into seeing visions that were not there. This was nothing more than a simple glamour, though. It would wear off within the month.
Feeling her claws dig into the earth as they ran, the smell of leaves and wet wood filled their senses.
‘We’re not out of this yet. Stay alert.’ Amira told her wolf. Nisha could understand her just like how Amira could understand her wolf, even though she could not speak. Mostly. There was just some uncanny sense that only werewolves understood.
Her wolf raced through the woods and passed the Alpha King's territories. The pack could still chase them, but it would be difficult now they didn't have full authority in these lands.
Nisha was panting hard, not from being physically unfit, of course not, especially after such a run, but because the slight numbing effects of adrenaline were now running out. She’d been mostly limping throughout it, but now that she was slowing down, feeling reassured at the territory they were in, she’d stopped to a walk, and the limp grew worse with each step.
Her wolf slowly slipped out of consciousness, leaving Amira to take the brunt of the injury in wolf form. Her paw throbbed and sent shooting pains to her shoulder. The fur at her neck was sticky with new warm blood trickling across it and her back.
Her back was worse than she realised. It was coated in blood and dirt. Amira felt dizzy from the blood loss. She better not die because of that prick. Not only was the Moon Goddess fricken crazy for giving that tyrant as her mate, but then for said mate to live and her die?! Hell fricken no!
Limping, she made it as far as the light green and blue glimmering river and collapsed onto her front, head on her paws. In her darkening daze, Amira couldn’t help but let her thoughts return to everything that had happened.
Shame stirred in her chest. It wasn’t the thoughts of her failure at killing Rhys.
No, it was the way his touch had ignited such desire from her, the way his hand caressing her body had left her aflame and craving more. He was a foul, despicable, disgusting tyrant. He’d killed many, and at times for his own pleasure. He’d been known one too many times for being coated in the blood of his enemies and lovers.
Yet, the lips at her neck made her back arch and want more. Rhys' hands which were stained with the blood of innocents, had trailed across her skin like she was as fragile as a flower petal.
What he didn’t know was this flower was not fragile. The environment would never allow it to be so. Heck, she wasn’t a flower. She was the irritated little wasp, the fucker that made giants run for the hills from a little prick of her stinger. And though she failed this time, it was not the last she would see of Alpha King Rhys.
~ Rhys ~ Seated on his dining chair by the rounded table of his balcony in the connecting parlour to his bed chamber, Rhys glared at his arm resting on the glass top. He sat in his breeches, legs wide, back resting against the chair with an intimidating air. Only a few hours had slipped away, yet those hours were far too long in such a vulnerable state of unconsciousness. While Amira may have dealt a potentially fatal blow to Rhys, the opportunity was ripe for others to exploit his weakened condition. He had many enemies. Fortunately, Rhys proved more robust than most believed, regaining consciousness after mere hours rather than enduring days of incapacitation. The royal physician attended to his ribs, stitching the last of his injuries. Rhys’ teeth ground together every time he heard the wheezing of his breath. “Punctured lung and neck, not to mention the aconite in your bloodstream. The assassin was close this time,” the physician commented, watching him warily. Even if the ki
~ Rhys ~ “Rhys, that was your chance-” “Don’t,” Rhys warned his friend. The Alpha did not need reminding of what he’d lost from rejecting the she-wolf. But he would rather tolerate that than accept someone so unworthy. A rogue! What was the Goddess thinking? They were enemies. Surely, the deity knew they'd be at each other's throats. Literally. Rhys tenderly grazed his throat, the very spot where Amira had plunged her blade. He pondered how she fared following his retaliation, his claws sinking into her flesh. He hoped her escape was a fucking struggle. His eyes gleamed in fury. Nobody escaped the king's wrath. Yet he allowed her to slip out. It was no skill of hers. He refused to admit to it. Baltir sighed, dragging his hand over his face and leaving it there. “The Moon Goddess will not be pleased-” “Fuck her,” Rhys growled his blasphemy. “What has she done for me and my family?” “You shouldn’t-” “Enough,” Rhys cut off his friend again. “Send in Eden.” His balls were still a
~ Amira ~ A cold shiver stirred Amira awake, though, through her grogginess and injuries, she merely peeked through her lashes, noting the change in scenery. She was no longer in the forest, and the rumbling noise of gravel beneath wheels and the motion rocking her body alerted her to the carriage she was in. She relaxed, feeling safe from the blanket wrapped around her body and the smell of spices. “Rest, Amira. Gather your strength before meeting Xenos.” The mention of his name should have startled her to alertness, but she did not want to wake from her dreams. Even if they were nightmares. It was better than her reality. She’d failed to kill the Alpha King and returned alive to face Xenos' wrath. Amira’s eyes drooped shut again, too tired to care. Her sleep was restless, her eyes occasionally slipping open to see the passing of streets under the silver hues of the moon that escaped the clouds. At one point, Amira sensed her body being lifted and moved, but exhaustion and the s
~ Rhys ~ Sighing, Rhys rolled onto his side. His breathing came easily, devoid of pain in his lungs, and his throat felt a little uncomfortable, but the sharp stinging sensation had vanished. He felt… refreshed. Was the aconite out of his system so quickly? It had been some time since he was last poisoned, but he never recovered this fast. Unless he slept for longer? Rhys was about to drift off to sleep once more, satisfied his recovery was quicker than he anticipated, until he noticed the consciousness of another being. It did not feel like his feral, ferocious wolf, Demon. His eyes snapped open, concerned with this strange feeling. He blinked as the musty, dark room came into focus. A frown formed on his face as a sense of disorientation washed over him. The bed beneath him lacked any trace of luxury or comfort, and the presence of two meagre pillows and a thin blanket startled him, revealing that this was most certainly not his familiar opulent abode. Rhys remained prone, care
~ Amira ~Putting her utensils down, Amira stared at the Beta. No more-like was gawking at the Beta. He was scolding her, well, Rhys, for letting Eden, the woman the king slept with the night before, stay in his bed chambers.“You know she will think there is more between you now. She is not your mate, and…” Beta Baltir continued his scolding whilst Amira remained quiet, assessing him. The Beta appeared mostly composed, yet being early in the morning, he had forgone a cravat, leaving three buttons of his shirt undone, revealing glimpses of ink on his skin. Amira swallowed hard as she gazed at the well-defined chest muscles adorned with tattoos, transforming this scolding Beta from a ‘good boy’ to someone she might very well get along with. It was too early to come to that conclusion, though. Besides, this was all in her head. The Beta probably was a goody two shoes in real life.It didn't matter. Right now, Amira would enjoy this mighty fine view.“Are you well, Rhys?”Amira’s gaze
~ Rhys ~ Xenos? Rhys recognised the name, but he didn’t seem quite up to figuring it out yet, what with being a fricken woman! He growled his annoyance, the sound coming out not as ferocious as he meant. “I know he’s a dick, but we just have to get through it,” Zayyan said before turning away. Rhys nodded and started to follow. “Woah, woah. What do you think you’re doing?” Zayyan looked at him like he was crazy. “Your charms aren’t going to get you out of this one. Put some bloody clothes on.” He gestured at Rhys' attire. “I’ll wait outside.” Rhys glanced at his clothing, still feeling overly surreal that he had breasts and pussy. Zayyan was right, though. This was no way for a lady to leave a room. He scoffed, scanning the room for a wardrobe of some sort. Muttering to himself, Rhys remarked, "Amira's not really a refined lady..." Though he hadn’t seen her since she was four, he was pretty certain her etiquette lessons were far from satisfactory. “Where are her clothes!?” He
~ Rhys ~ It made sense that Xenos Desai was one of the leaders of the rebels. It was unclear if he became a rogue before or after the fall of the Shadow Moon pack. The events were close together long ago, before Rhys’ reign. Xenos strolled towards Rhys, his expression cold, his large body most likely meant to be intimidating as he approached his niece. Leaning forwards, he held Rhys' hardened gaze, then burst into laughter, smacking Rhys on the shoulder so much his body shook, and his bones seemed to rattle. Yet the humour on Amira’s uncle’s face did not reach his eyes, nor did his laughter seem genuine; it was cold and forced. Rhys could see straight through his little façade. He hadn’t been there long, but he got the impression that Uncle Xenos did not particularly like Amira. Or he was a cold bastard who seemed power-hungry. “Of course I am! I am just afraid your reputation is tarnished. You are the best and could not defeat the Alpha King.” Xenos sighed, turning away and look
~ Amira ~Waltzing through the palace without anxiously looking over her shoulder, Amira enjoyed the bows and curtsies towards her, well, Alpha King Rhys. She was used to nods of acknowledgement from guild members but nothing as extravagant as this!There were only a few servants around and guards posted throughout the palace. If there were courtiers, then they were all still asleep in their chambers. As they should be at this time. Amira was an early riser, especially since her view from her normal room at the guild had a view of the valley; it always made her want to get up before others when everything was peaceful and eerily quiet before the hustle and struggle of daily life.Whilst Amira’s mind spun with life back in the Wilds, she admired the grandeur of the place, trying to ignore Beta Baltir’s stares.“You act like you’ve never been here before. We need to go down this corridor..” He trailed off, looking at her strangely whilst pointing in the opposite direction. The polished