Arden's POVAlthough something doesn't feel right about my decision to punish Serena, I still proceeded to inform Emma about it.Somehow, I felt Sylvia had lied against her, but I had to do what I thought was the right thing to do. It was just to save face before Sylvia.However, instead of putting Serena in the general prison, I ordered them to put her in a private room.If she was gone for a while, by the time she returns everything would have calm down. And I had intended to keep her of everyone's focus for the time being.The prison seemed like the only safe place for her to be. That way, she doesn't get bullied by anyone, and she would not provoke me, and I could keep her off Zone's sight.I had specifically asked that they treat her well and must not join other prisoners to do any hard labor.The whole family was already waiting for me at the dinning room. The aroma of whatever the chef had prepared was splashed in the atmosphere.I could not wait to see what it was. Just when I
Serena's POVEveryone is a saint until their secret is exposed to the world. Just because we haven't seen a flaw with someone does not mean they are with no blame.I have faced continuous humiliation both in Derek's pack and here in the place all because of the false image Derek and Cora painted about me.I have been asking myself that would things be different between Arden and If he had not walked in on me in that state? Would he treat me with respect?It is not so regular for a King to pay attention to a mere maid. So I understood why everyone would think that I seduced Arden. But he brought me here, not just as a maid, but I was his mate.I did not understand why he refused to take responsibility for his actions. If he did the right things, other werewolves in the palace would not misunderstand me, and I won't be falsely accused.It was not a game of blame, I just thought as a responsible adult, one needs to be accountable for certain things.“Here is your room for the time being.
WILL SHE MAKE IT?Arden's POVI have never experienced such panic before. Alf keeps trying to calm me down. Soon Beta came over to the hospital too.I stood aside in shock as I watched everyone rushing into the ICU. I was becoming restless. I rushed towards the door, trying to get in too.“I'm sorry Your Majesty, but you can't go in. A family shouldn't do that” The security guards restricted me.I was aware of that principle. I would be disrespecting myself if I had argued with them. So I composed myself and left the door area.Although the ICU was built with glass, it was impossible to see through it or know what was going on inside. I was restless. It felt as though my world had crumbled.“Your Majesty, you have to calm down. She will be alright” Beta comforted.“I believe you. But what I don't understand is why anyone would want to poison Serena. I specifically asked them to look after her in the prison. How can they be so careless?”“I passed the order for everyone related to the
Arden's POV “Where are you headed to, your Highness?” Beta asked with curiosity splashed all over his face. I was getting tired of all his questions. There was just no time to answer irrelevant questions. “You already know where I am going. Why are you delaying me with questions? Do you have any motives I should be worried about?” Everyone was now a suspect to me, I felt whatever happened was a result of a collaborative effort. It was not only was person that carried out the evil act. I pushed him aside and walked towards the disciplinary centre. I knew it was already late, the time was 11 pm. They would probably be asleep. It was fine by me, I would get to find out how seriously they took their job or they just do whatever they wanted. The driver drove the car after me and I hopped in. Soon, we arrived there and it was quiet like a deadly zone. “Where is the investigation room?” I asked with a cold voice.“On the last floor, Your Majesty!” The chief guard replied quickly. “Goo
Arden's POV“Your Majesty, we have searched everywhere, we are unable to locate the maid” the chief guard shamelessly reported to me, an hour later.“Hahaha! Are you telling me now that a suspect successfully escaped from the palace under your watch? Does that mean your position is just for ceremony and our lives are under threat?”“I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I will do better…from..” Before he could finish his words, I had landed a hard slap on his face.If Serena's case did not happen, we wouldn't have known the danger we lived in. This was the royal palace, even close relatives were actively after the throne and would go to any length, not to of an enemy that was not willing to hide away.This single incident had shown the level of his incompetence, and how porous the security system of the royal palace was.It means that anyone can go in and out of the palace without fear of security restrictions, because no one would check them in. It doesn't even matter if they had good intentions
Arden's POVI left the control room, tired, defeated and exhausted. There was no right word to describe how I was feeling.I head back to the Manor, it was quite like no one has ever stepped foot into it. I went in quietly and had a warm shower and then I laid down on my bed.My mind was blank. So much has happened in one day. I was torn between mixed feelings, and the series of discoveries concerning the faulty security operation in the palace.If my family finds out, they would be thrown into panic and the issue would even become more ambiguous. What was bothering more than anything was the fact that if our enemies found out about the porousness of the palace security system, they would want to take advantage of that.How can I be so sure that they were not even aware? At least a lot of things that had happened during the day had shown me that something was not right somewhere. How do I protect my family?As the Lycan King, it was my responsibility to protect the affairs of the wolf
Serena's POV‘You have no reason to give up as long as you have the privilege each day' I this from somewhere I can't recall again. But whenever I think deeply about life, and the happenings around me, this has been what kept me on my feet.The last thing I remembered was crawling to the door area before I passed out.I felt a sharp pain around my abdomen, and my head was banging from a headache. My body was not mine. All that I could feel was pain.My nose was feeling weak and attacked by a strange smell hanging arrogantly in the air, one that was not familiar and could never be perceived somewhere else except where it was meant to be.I opened my tired sleepy eyes slightly and I was sure it was not a familiar room. The room was packed with unfamiliar machines like I was in a factory.I tried to look around, I was in the hospital gown, lying down on the kind of mattress I had never seen before. I was in the hospital. I tried to get up but I failed. I was too weak to do so.How did I
Sylvia was one sly fox. Who would have thought that she was capable of doing such a thing? I had the urge to plug out her eyes, or her heart and place it in her hand.No one has ever dared to challenge me in any capacity until. The truth is, I felt challenged by Sylvia's actions.However, instead of reacting negatively, I decided to direct my focus on strengthening my empire.I had summoned all the security guards in the palace, they were placed under observation and probation. It would be a secret operation.My goal was to fish out every weak individual who might be a liability to us someday and to return the palace to the power centre it used to be.Until I achieve what I intended to do with Sylvia, I will continue to act neutral around her. I can't believe she had already attempted to kill someone when she had not even spent a week in the palace.“I want a mini control room prepared in one of the rooms in the Manor. No one should not know about this” I said to Beta.“Also, I want m
Evelyn PoVThe cold steel glinted in my grip, heavy as never before. My heart sounded in my ears almost mythically, nonetheless my hands were steady. The silence stretched itself unbearably long, choking me as all eyes fixed on me.In one swift motion, I brought the knife down.A gasp went up from the crowd. A sharp wave of blood rushed into the air. I could hear Odessa approach slowly, her breath almost audibly eager against the still of the night.Yet Luca was still on his feet.Breaths ragged, around all that pain in his bones; he was alive. I had not touched him.It was my blood that trickled onto the ground and pooled at my feet, which I had crudely sliced. My fingers were stiff with pain as I raised my chin.Murmurs went through the gathered rogues. They were not expecting this. None of them were."Evelyn," Odessa cried out, calm together with a fright. "What are you trying to do?"I swallowed the burn in my throat and met her gaze head-on. "You wanted a sacrifice," I said with
Evelyn PoV“One, two, three, four…. Fifty, sixty-nine, a hundred…. No, no, no…” I breathed.I had stopped counting how many lives I had taken.At first, I would wave it off with justifications such as "they're all enemies, threats to my survival", or "I'm doing what I had to, to stay alive." But the excuses had become stale.Now, in the stark silence of my cell, their faces haunted me.There was the young warrior who had drawn his blade just as I struck him down. His eyes had been filled with terror, pleading, as though he had something to live for. I hadn't hesitated.There was the woman with that desperate look in her eyes, hands bloody and reaching for my clothes in an appeal for mercy. I had felt a flicker of hesitation that night. But Odessa had been watching, satisfaction shining in her golden eyes. I couldn't allow weakness.So, I had done what was expected of me.With each kill, I felt t
Author PoVThe night air carried with it a choking fear while Ardan led the way through a narrow, brushed-out trail in the thick forest. Their footsteps were softly swallowed by the damp earth. Fixing their gaze a little higher, they made use of the moon light, working through the thick canopy of the giants above only to find the moon sailing low in the night. Earlier that day, they had dispatched some of their own for patrol, but no word yet had come back. That alone would be enough to raise concern.“They haven’t returned yet. What do we do, Alpha?” One of the soldiers reported.“They are soldiers, they can make it on their own. Atlas it’s what we were all trained for.” Another insisted.“That is no way to talk, Elko.” Marcus cautioned.Ardan, being the cautions of the group, was the first to insist that they go after them. Marcus agreed, but his gut twisted at the thought of what they might find. W
Evelyn PoVI ought to have guessed that Odessa always had a hidden agenda.When she first took me in with her pack, she wore a smile very much like one of triumph, but I chose to believe that it stemmed from the weight of my own power that I bore. I told myself I could keep her at bay. I could stay sharp, keep control somehow, and leave at the right time.I was mistaken.The summons came at the dawn of another day. A simple message written with agonising care trailed under my door. A “Come to my chambers. Immediately.“For some reason, a heavier thump was felt in each step I took there. Odessa had a gift for making even her allies tread a fine line—the bottomless pit lying just a step away—but with me now fidgeting and uneasy, something felt amiss.Odessa sat on her desk chair with a glacial calmness about her as I entered. Last time I checked, she didn’t invite me to sit, suggesting a loss for my side in what might be an interesting debate."Evelyn," she said, softening her tone but
Serena’s PoVDraven and I had been looking for ways to communicate to Evelyn. But Odessa made sure Evelyn was gone for good. She blocked everything. My mid-link connection with my daughter didn’t seem to work. Worse of all, it began to seem as if the person I had been trying to reach was no longer in existence. It was as if she was dead.“Odessa has finally gotten all she wanted. Evelyn is probably not the Evelyn I know.” I stated sadly.“Evelyn probably doesn’t even know that she’s carrying a part of Gilly’s spirit in her.” Draven added.I sighed. “I wanna give up Draven. I’m tired. Maybe this is how it was meant to be.”“She’s your daughter. You’re not giving up. There’ll always be another way. Trust.” Draven assured me while smiling.“Do you ever need someone? I mean, since your arrival, you just helped all of us in the many ways you can. Have you ever needed someone at least to return the favour?” I asked solemnly, genuinely curious about Draven’s personal life.“I have a lot goin
Author PoVThere had been a shift in Odessa’s camp. It wasn't anything she said out loud; it was more in the atmosphere, a slight crack between the walls Odessa was building around her peoples. Evelyn sensed it the moment she stepped out of the tent, burdened with seeming countless eyes on her.Whispers had started circulating since her bungled escape, and she knew Odessa would not be oblivious to them. The woman had become closely acquainted with her, testing her in ways she did not quite yet understand.Finian.He had been her only consolation in this place, the one person who made her captivity feel a little less stifling. But she was starting to notice how Odessa looked at him whenever the two were together, how she would call him at the most random of moments just to keep him away from her. Although, she didn’t like that Finian was Odessa’s son, Finian was proving to her that he was still an ally.Odessa was getting suspicious.She confirmed the fears in Evelyn's heart during the
Author PoVWhen Marcus first saw Evelyn with Finian, something in him twisted. He felt relieved—she was alive, breathing, moving—only to be swallowed by something infinitely darker. Fury. Guilt. Confusion. He had fought every waking moment for her, searched for her, and there she was, too close to a man that was supposed to be her enemy. The conversations between them, the way she looked at him, made Marcus' stomach churn.He gripped his fists by his sides, forcing himself to turn away before emotions got the best of him. It was not the time; she had been captured against her will; she had to adapt, survive. That's what Marcus told himself. But in that split second, that minute glance shared between Evelyn and Finian had shocked a seed of relentless self-doubt that he was just not prepared to confront.Once back at the camp Ardan had set up before their departure at dawn, his anger smouldered over, but now low. Beneath a flickering flame, he spotted Luca sharpening his blade with ever
Author’s PoVArdan and the rest had decided to stand down for the moment. Ardan had begun to doubt. He didn’t want to put anybody in danger, going against what his pack wanted. Marcus of course protested but Ardan told him that they were going to be doing anything.“We will all camp here for the night and once dawn comes, we leave. Got it?” Ardan asked and all but Marcus nodded.“So what happens to us?” Ryan asked.“The deals off.” Ardan said. “Where’s Luca?” Ardan asked and everyone searched themselves but couldn’t find him.“Dammit!” Ardan cursedMeanwhile on the outskirts of Odessa’s pack, the atmosphere was charged with palpable tension.Evelyn was walking through the woods, away from Odessa’s camp, her mind still spinning from her last conversation with Finian. Odessa had granted her free will to take a walk but be back soon. The betrayal of Finian stung, but it wasn't only his dishonesty that weighed heavy on her mind. So did the trust she placed in him and the possibility that
Authors PoVThe night was nothing short of restless. Marcus sat at the edge of the camp, gazing into the fire. His heart was filled with uncertainty about what he and the some members of the pack would discover when they reached Odessa's territory. Evelyn haunted his mind, bringing back the fading echo of her last words spoken to him, when she made him promise not to follow her.Ardan had gone through the plan with him earlier, but the weight of it pressed heavily against his chest. They would meet Ryan and the Red Blood Moon Pack at dawn, piece together whatever information they had to track Evelyn. It was a big risk to trust rogues, but they were left with no choice.Luca, sitting across from him, was sharpening a blade against a stone. Marcus knew he did not approve of this mission; still, here he was. Whether it was loyalty to the pack or a personal vendetta, Marcus did not know."You should get some sleep," Luca said without looking up.Marcus offered a dry chuckle. "Do you think