(Orthros POV)“May I ask why?”Lila takes a deep breath and stands up so he follows suit. She walks to the kitchen and offers him something to drink which he declines. “Lila—”She prepares a cup of tea for herself. “You wanted me to build a life with Maeve here. I did.” She frowns and turns to look at him. “I upended my life at the lycan court for you years ago, Orthros, because I believed we were going to be together. But you left me here and moved on. I made a life for myself and my sister now, we have set our roots and worked hard to get the shop going. Maeve is going to be big someday. She’s very talented and I know she’ll go the distance. So, forgive me but…I can’t and I won’t leave everything behind just because it’s convenient for you now.” She tells him tartly.He stares at her, torn between frustration and amazement. He is impressed by how level-headed she is, how firmly she is handling him and sending her message across in a very clear manner.Lila has changed. She is no lo
(Lila's POV) She sighs. “Go ahead…” “As mate of the king’s guard, you will be able to do more for your sister than being here, working yourself to exhaustion every single day. My position as the king’s guard opens doors that not even that Jack-ass she was mated to could ever dream of. You will be an honorary member of the royal family. Your sister’s future is as good as secured. And well, there’s the added bonus of having a good-looking mate who loves you as much as you love him.” He winks at her, making her smile despite herself. “Is that all?” She asks. “What about my shop? I have yet to finish saving up to pay for the capital that Alpha Seth and Luna Marie lent me.” He smiles sheepishly. “You owe them nothing. That was money I sent for you, so you will lack nothing ever.” He covers her lips with a finger when she starts to say something in protest and grins. “I know, I know…I shouldn’t have—but it was my allowance that I put aside from what was promised to my parents by the king
(Raya’s POV) I stare at the face of my little prince as he sleeps peacefully beside me. “You’re so beautiful, my darling boy,” I whisper as I caress his tiny hand planted possessively on my cheek. He likes sleeping this way. He looks just like Kaan in his baby pictures and I wonder if, as the years pass, will he look more like him or like me? Or something in between? Oh, I can’t wait to see! And yet I can’t bear for this wonderful version of him to be gone either! I’m so torn! I couldn’t help but kiss his cherubic face, the plump cheeks that drive me nuts. He’s so cute! I hear Kaan chuckle as he enters our room. “Are you obsessing over Alarick again?” He whispers. “I can’t help it, Teddy’s so freaking cute!” I whisper back. He rolls his eyes at the nickname Teddy I insist on using for our firstborn, whose name is Alarick Theodulf. He says it’s not very princely. I make a face. “Oh, and Kaan is?” I tease him. He grins. “I’ll have you know that Kaan means King of Kings. You
(Hiraya POV)“You’re fired,” the manager says.I stare at him in dismay. I had only been working at the grocery shop for a week, and now I am suddenly unemployed once again. The weight of the situation hits me hard as I process the fact that I just lost another job - the third one in under a month. It isn't just the loss of future earnings that devastates me, but the knowledge that I won't receive any payment for the last five days of work that I had done is a really bitter pill to swallow. Unfortunately, due to the terms of my trial period agreement, I won't be compensated for my time at all. To make matters worse, I had already spent precious money on gas to travel to and from work as I live in a very remote and rural side of town, making this even harder to bear.My mind races as I replay the events that led to my termination. I remember feeling overwhelmed during my shift that morning, trying to keep up with all the tasks that had to be done. With the rush and everything else that
(Kaan POV) A few hours prior… I'm sitting in my office, trying to focus on the report I'm working on. Suddenly, my mother walks in, interrupting my work with her usual barrage of questions and comments. "Kaan, when are you going to give us a grandson? You're not getting any younger, you know. We need to keep the bloodline alive," my mother says, her tone serious and insistent. I try to brush it off with a joke. "Seriously, Mom, my mind hasn't changed in the last six hours, so please stop haranguing me or I'm going to have to ask security to escort you out of the building," I tell her with a teasing smile. My mother chuckles, thinking it's all in good fun, but as she presses on, I begin to seriously consider following through on my threat, mayhap only temporarily. I love my mother deeply and respect her greatly. But the constant pressure to have children is wearing me down and wearing me down fast. I know she means well, but the daily dose of "You need to have children to continue
(Still Kaan's POV)“Sir?” With an impatient sigh, I motion for her to come in and then I hand her the pack of documents I was supposed to be working on before my mother completely derailed my focus. “Cancel my 4:30 meeting, please. I'll work on these when I get back. I'm not in the mood right now,” I mutter darkly.Melissa's eyes widen in shock. “But, sir, this meeting is—”“...is where I'll be firing people left and right or ruining this company if I don't get a breather from everyone right now. So, be a good girl and call Elijah. Tell him to prepare everything I need because I'm going up in the sky tonight. And don’t you tell my mother about it. If she comes back here again looking for me, just tell her something important came up,” I say, considering paragliding instead of skydiving but dismissing the idea quickly. The wind conditions may not be alright these days. It would be too risky today and while I’m brave, I’m not an idiot.“Yes, sir, of course. Right away, sir.”I rub my f
(Hiraya’s POV)"Ow! Geez, what the heck—!? Get off me!" I screech as I find myself on the ground, toppled over by a deeply ambitious, and possibly slightly unhinged man who probably imagines himself as a bird. He just suddenly dropped from the sky, not exactly out of thin air, but I hadn't seen him coming, and he smashed into me like a wrecking ball."Sorry, sorry! Ouch, damn it, stop struggling, I can't get off, I'm all tied up—ow!" he cries when I somehow manage to smack him on the nose."I said, 'get off!'" I shout, starting to freak out because someone is on top of me and we are now entangled together and trapped under something that is triggering my anxiety about closed up spaces and being unable to escape."Please, could you just stop moving for a bit while I figure out how to untangle myself—""So you can take advantage of me!? Not bloody likely! Get off! Help!" I cry. Although, who can hear my screams in this godforsaken place, I have no idea."Miss, I understand you're scare
(Hiraya’s POV) "What took you so long?" he asks his secretary impatiently. "Please check Ms Raya first. She is hurt as well. I can wait." The man, who Kaan introduced to me as his secretary Elijah, ordered the medical team to check them both. "We were parked not so far from here but for some inexplicable reason, the car wouldn't start when you've landed. We couldn't contact you, and I figured your transmitter broke so I immediately called in more medics to help, just in case. An ambulance should be here soon--" "I'm fine, I'm sure Raya needs it more than I do--" I panic as all eyes turn to me and blurt out. "That's not true, he can't even stand up, so please take care of him first--" It feels like I just threw him under the bus but it just feels so awkward being fussed about like this. He shakes his head dismissively. "I'll be alright in just a few--" The ambulance arrives at that moment, and Elijah shrugs. "Either way, you're both going to be thoroughly checked so we can make su