Scarlett’s POV Lyra found her way into the palace with the excuse of returning linens to the rooms in the palace. She found me in the hallway. “I found them,” she whispered, casting a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one saw us talking. She pressed herself into the wall as she spoke. “I found your omegas.” My chest tightened. “Where? Are they okay?” “They’re in the city, they’re working in the city.” She sounded like she was about to say something that she wasn’t sure how I would react. “They’re at seperate ends though.” I placed a hand on her shoulder. “What do you mean by they’re at seperate ends.” She nodded, eyes wide. “Moana works with a spice merchant at the east gates, one of the omegas I know here has a cousin who helps him unload goods there, she said the merchant is kind. He feeds his workers, pays them fairly and he keeps them safe from outsiders.” I exhaled, the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Moana would survive, and she was safe. “What about Miriam?”
Scarlett’s POV Draco rose early these days, always before me and always bare chested, moving slowly around the room like he was putting up a show for me. At first, I tried not to, I stayed still with my eyes half closed in a fake sleep. But I watched him anyway, every morning. There was something about the way his muscles shifted beneath his skin as he stretched, the scars on his back that I wanted to trace with my fingertips. The tattoo ink that curled along his spine like a serpent, the way he usually stood at the window looking at the grounds. “You’re staring at me,” he said one morning. He hadn’t even turned around, I guess my eyes had burned his back. “You’re not that interesting that I’d stare at.” I replied, my voice hoarse from sleep. He turned to me then with a grin on his face, “You know you can’t really lie.”He was right. I was always a terrible liar but before I got here, I’d never needed to lie. The worst part was with him, I wasn’t so sure who I was lying to mor
Hanna’s POV Draco used to look at me like I was everything. I was the golden flower among the other concubines. Now he barely noticed me at all. And now, he devoured the new girl in ways he had never done with me. He gave her his attention, his time and his body, all things he used to give me. I didn’t even know what I had expected Scarlett to be like, our first encounter was the day she stood head to head with my Alpha demanding something. She didn’t back down from him, as if they were equals.I had half expected that after that day, he’d make her scream in pain from defying him, or sob, or even rot in her silken dresses until she’d fade away. But no, she wasn’t made a decoration or left as a pretty shadow, rather he kept her. She was never even assigned a seperate room or quarters, she slept in his bedchamber like it was her own. Like it was her place. She had been here weeks yet he hadn’t grown tired of her, she walked beside him and now he let her speak in meetings. An
Scarlett’s POV We sat down in the east tower, we had just finished a meeting with his strategists. Now we simply sat and enjoyed the sun. “I hate you,” I said flatly, it was more to myself than to him. Draco didn’t even blink, only an eyebrow arched as his robe blew in the wind. “You’ve been saying that since you got here.” “I mean it more now.” He smirked. “If it helps you sleep at night but you know you don’t.” “I definitely do.” He took a lazy sip from his drink. “Then stop acting like you want me all the time…” I blinked. “What?! I don’t.” “You do,” he cut in. “You are always in my bed chamber and you never leave.” My teeth clenched together. “That’s because I don’t have any other place to sleep, I don’t have a bedchamber.” He shrugged. “You don’t need one, since you already sleep in mine.” Arrogant bastard. “Your ego is insufferable. You know that right?” He stepped closer to me, his voice became lower. “And yet you moan when I touch you.” “Shut up.” His grin wi
Scarlett’s POV I knew I should have walked away. After that kiss, after the soft way his mouth moved against mine like I was his perfect mate. I should’ve pulled back, maybe even pushed him off, reminded myself of everything he had taken from me.But I didn’t do that. Instead I foolishly let him kiss me. Out in the open and I took it a step further and kissed him back. *** He stopped hiding it. What we were, whatever he felt, he stopped pretending like it was a secret. The next morning, he moved with me into court. I didn’t stand behind him or trailing with the servants. No, I walked beside him. Like I wasn’t a prisoner of war, like I was his equal. And he didn’t say a word about it. He just placed his hand on the small of my back, and guided me into the Meeting Hall like I belonged there. Like I was something more. The whispers between his Alphas were almost immediate, their guards stiffened and they exchanged glances at the marble table. Hanna and the other concubine
Scarlett’s POV The silence sounded like a trap, like it was trying to tell me something. The palace had been too quiet, I expected more. I expected the concubines to have tried different schemes on me, especially with the show Draco had put up at the last court meeting. The calm in the Coyote Palace had a name. The calm was me. I brought that calm, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it but I guess me being by Draco’s side brought some form of order to the palace. I was the reason things were changing and it wasn’t because I had asked for it. It wasn’t because I had wanted to play Luna but because Draco…. He made me look like their Luna. ***The concubines hadn’t confronted me openly…Not yet at least. They were far too practiced in evil subtlety for a public confrontation. Currently their war was waged with cold glances in whispers and in some strategic accidental run ins. None dared to do anything in particular. I wondered if it was because they feared what Draco would do
Scarlett’s POV He told me at dusk. I had just finished pointing out a minor route change on his map, one that could probably save his eastern patrols nearly three days of food supply. He hadn’t said anything to me at first, just stared at me, there was a strange calm behind his eyes. Then, without hesitation, he said, “I’ll be leaving before sunrise. The Blackmoon Pack has defied my direct orders.” My body stilled, my fingers halted on the paper. ”They defied you? How?” “They have ignored three summons, they hid a rogue I marked for death and refused to send their tax tithe last moon.”His voice was level, I could have said he even sounded bored. Like it was routine. Like it meant nothing. “And what’s your plan?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer to the question. He shrugged. “They’ll be reminded of who they answer to.” “What does that mean exactly?” I pressed.He looked at me like I was not catching the drift. “I’ll take their gates and make an example of them.
Scarlett’s POV Without Draco here, the palace felt different. It’s not that it was quieter or even emptier. No. It was wilder. Like something had been removed from the palace and now there was this big empty space, free for the wrong people to fill. Draco ruled with fear, control, sharp orders and cold looks but at least he kept the wolves in check. The concubines whispered, yes but they whispered carefully. And now? They were wantonly destructive. With Draco gone, the Coyote Palace became their playground again. The omegas shook like leaves in the wind, with their heads bowed so low one would think they had all developed hunches on their backs. There were no rules now, only hierarchy and the omegas were at the bottom. I was at the top of that hierarchy but all the concubines wanted me knocked off. *** I heard her before I saw her. I heard Lirah’s sharp voice laced with venom slicing through the hallway. “No! I said don’t touch that, you stupid little bitch! Is your hear
Draco’s POV The lantern flickered in the corner of the chamber, the palace was quiet at nighttime, soldiers were stationed at their posts and Scarlett was now sleeping only a few feet away in her chamber. My chamber. Her chamber. The walls could never keep us away from each other. I stood by the window, bare chested with my eyes fixed on the moon outside, it hung low and heavy like as though it carried a burden. Same way I did. For days now, I had been thinking about it, the possibility that Scarlett might be pregnant for me. A part of me hoped she was. No woman had been filled with my seed, and I could think of no other woman who could bear me a child. I tried not to hope though, hope was soft and soft things caused you problems but I couldn’t help it. The thought of a child, my child, born out of desire and want had found its way deep into my subconscious. But there was another feeling that couldn’t go away… fear. I wasn’t scared of being a father or scared of failing to
Hanna’s POV In every kingdom, no matter how powerful, there are some common traits like deep secrets and over inflated egos. We had gotten our scribe to forge the letters, we had a guard on the ready who could plant evidence but there were still some openings in our plans. We needed someone from Draco’s inner circle, one of those self important men who believed they had the ear of the king and decided to whisper half truths and full lies to him. We needed one of them to make the accusation sink and our sights were set on one in particular, one with the biggest pride and the weakest resolve. “So are we really going with Cedric?” Nika said, as she crossed off a list of names. “I think he’ll be the easiest to convince, it’s not like we have all the time in the world.” Lirah added, “and I’ve seen the way he looks at me, like he’d like to proposition me or something.” “We can use that to our advantage.” I said, with a smile that would make the devil himself proud.Cedric was a roya
Scarlett’s POV There was something about visiting physicians that always put me off even when I was still with my pack. It was a necessity but I never liked it. The air always smelled like sage and boiled roots, I wanted to vomit. My heart couldn’t stop racing though, today we’d probably find out if I was carrying Draco’s pup or something else was stopping my moon blood. Draco’s hand brushed mine as if to calm me down, like he could hear the storm inside me. “Why does it feel like we’re heading to war?” I whispered under my breath. Draco glanced at me, “it’s because you’re dramatic.” I gave him a side eye, but saw his smirk, the new gentleness that Draco exhibited towards me was crazy, he was sweet and dominating at the same time.We reached the door and Draco pushed it open without knocking. Typical Draco. The Physician, Master Vehlan, looked up from his desk, squinting at us. “Oh, My King, it is my pleasure to have you here today and my lady,” he muttered. “I’d ask what b
Hanna’s POV The next piece of our plan had to be placed carefully and with no hiccups. Yes, we knew the forged letters were already damning but we also knew not to put all our eggs in one basket. No. If we were going to destroy Scarlett and tear her from Draco’s heart, then we needed more than just letters. We needed hard evidence, something they could hold, smell and taste. Something very ugly and real and for that, we needed Marcus. The guard towers were near the western side of the palace, it was quiet at this hour as most of the guards had gone off to swap out shifts leaving Marcus alone… just as we had planned. He stood tall and strong as he took off his helmet and removed his sword from his hip. His eyes moved towards us suspiciously as we approached him. Lirah was at the front, Nika was right behind her while I was the last in the line, smiling thinly. I was about to offer him a bargain too dangerous for him to refuse. Marcus wasn’t a fool, neither was he poor. He
Scarlett’s POV Everything had been going well at the Coyote palace… too well. That didn’t bother me though, with most of the concubines now free by choice. The palace had a lighter air, when I passed some of them in the corridors, they bowed their heads in a sort of respect and I reciprocated. There was only one thing I had neglected so far and it was checking up on my omegas. I had to make sure Miriam and Moana were doing just fine. So I ventured to the staff quarters, hoping I’d be able to find Lyra and ask her if she’d heard anything about the girls. On my way there, I noticed the omegas were of better spirit, they took their time to curtsy and whispered greetings. They smiled genuinely and went about their jobs. I found myself at the staff quarters but I hadn’t seen Lyra, I found another young omega girl who I’d once seen tidying rooms. “Hello, I’m looking for Lyra.” I said. “Good afternoon Mistress, Lyra is in the concubine quarters, she’s helping them with whatever t
Hanna’s POV The other ladies and I had planned the perfectly orchestrated downfall of Scarlett. And tonight, we would set out the plan in motion. We needed someone who was dangerously intelligent, morally grey and also an expert in making things look real on paper. Fortunately, Nika had already told us that there was someone already working within the palace who fit that description perfectly. His name was Elias. “He was once a respected scribe in the eastern courts, but now he’s just here forgotten in the palace, but he’s still sharp and still very useful but he’s quite bitter about being overlooked and just does things for money so he can enjoy the finer things in life.” Nika said before we left to meet him. “A man that likes luxury? He’s going to be perfect.” I said smiling. She led the way. “It’s better if I’m the one that speaks to him first about all of this, just follow my lead.” I didn’t ask why. There was something in the way she walked, the slight hesitation in h
Hanna’s POV “We need to get rid of Scarlett but we need to make it look like she took herself down, clean without any manipulation written on it.” I said, I could hear the venom in my own voice. Lirah and Nika both nodded slowly, their faces were covered with makeup. The curtains were open and the daylight simmered into Nika’s room, the windows were sealed shut, making the room very stuffy. This was our little war room, away from Scarlett’s eyes and Draco’s annoying obsession. “He’s already too far gone,” I continued, folding my arms. “He eats with her, sleeps with her and takes her everywhere. If we go after her straight, he’s going to brush it off as just petty jealousy.”“But it is,” Lirah muttered under her breath, but her grin told me she had no problem with it. I ignored her comment. “We can’t make it look like we don’t like her,” I went on. “We need to make the situation bigger and something damning.” “Treason maybe…?” Nika said. My lips curled into a smile. “Exactly.”
Hanna’s POV I saw them kissing. Right there in the middle of the throne room. Just minutes after telling all of us that we weren’t wanted and after humiliating us. After setting us free like we were nothing but broken toys he had used and left aside. They kissed. It didn’t look like a farewell kiss. It was intimate and personal. Like she belonged there, like she’d been destined to be beside him. My fingers curled into fists so tight my nails could have drawn my own blood. “She’s winning,” I muttered. “She already won,” Lirah said beside me, voice flat.We had been devising a plan already but with the new development, I was surprised she even stayed back. “She’s only winning now because you keep putting up a fight,” the other concubine, Nika, added softly. “Maybe if you had just let it go…” “No,” I snapped. They both looked at me, startled by my sharp response. I swallowed my anger, there was no need to worry my only allies. I lifted my chin. “No. This isn’t over. Not unt
Draco’s POV I had never been more livid at a group of women before in my life. In fact I had never paid much attention to what the concubines did with their time. I stood in the center of my bedchamber completely naked, I reached for a robe. The steam from our sex was still thick in the air, and all I could think about was replaying what Scarlett had just said about the other concubines. What they did, what they had said to her. Those petty little women I once amused myself with, now had the audacity to torment the only person in this palace who actually meant something to me. Scarlett was a different species of woman, she had shared my bed, matched my rage and also brought her ideas to the table. She wasn’t just exciting, she was valuable to me. And while I was gone waging a battle between a pack that was committing treason, they were mocking her family’s death by my hands. They knew exactly what they were doing. As much as I didn’t regret my decision to wage war again