**Emily**
Northern Sullerdale
10 PM
“Emily! Emily!”
A loud voice called from outside. Startled, I peeled my swollen eyes open, wrapped my robe around me, and darted to the door. As soon as I pried it open, one of our maids whose name I never knew because she was new, hurried inside and shut the door behind her.
Her breath came in short pants and she gripped her knees for support as she bent. Then she straightened.
I noticed her dark brown eyes were wild with fear and they flickered here and there.
“What’s happ—” I began, but she cut me off abruptly.
“Emily, your mother wants to meet you at the secret tunnel right now. There’s no time to explain, just follow me, please.” She rushed out.
My brows scrunched up as I was instantly aware something was wrong.
No maid ever addressed me by my name without my title but she did. Also, the urgency in her voice and the fact that my mother wanted us to meet at the secret tunnel which was never used except for some important purpose.
Ignoring the fear that suddenly gripped me as I thought of the possibility of my mom being in danger, I stared down at my clothes.
“What about what I’m wearing?” I asked, pointing at the lacy nightie underneath the red robe. I was forbidden from wearing such out of my chambers.
The nightie reached just below my knees and it wasn't what could be seen on a proper lady outside even though it was dark. It was a good thing I had a robe on.
The maid eyed my clothes hastily, then answered with a wave of her hands, "You are well covered, let’s go!”
My brows furrowed as I thought of what was going on once more. My head was blank and couldn't come up with anything.
Then, it wandered to my father… No, I shook my head warding off the thought.
The maid opened the door stealthily, looked around and signified that I took the lead.
“Run, my princess. And do not stop no matter what!”
The first thing I became aware of when I started running was the state of chaos in my pack house. Everyone was running in different directions, and wildfires were flaring in different places.
“What’s happening?!” I screamed over the noise coming from different angles. How didn't I notice what was going on until now?
I believe it was because my room was soundproofed and I needed to look out of the windows or step out of the room to know what was happening.
I felt a nudge on my hand and I glanced at my side to see the maid beside me.
“It’s Beta Marcus. He’s trying to dethrone your mother!” She said.
I didn't have enough time to fully decipher what she said when I heard her take a sharp breath.
“Run!” She screamed again, but this time it sounded strange like she was being choked.
Curiosity got the better part of me and I stopped to check, only to find her choking on her blood, with a huge spear jutting out of her chest.
“Oh my—” I gasped, slapping my hands over my mouth.
My eyes widened and I staggered backwards. My eyes moved frantically in search of who had thrown the spear but no one was around.
I believed the thrower must be so good to have caught her from a far distance.
A second later, the shock wore off and I darted towards her.
“Just go, before they get to you,” she sputtered, shoving me away.
“I can’t leave you here, I can take you to safety!” Tears poured down my cheeks and I blinked as my vision blurred but it did no good in clearing it.
The maid smiled. A sad smile and she fell to her knees, “You can't help me."
She let out a grunt and held her side. "Can’t you smell it? It’s laced with silver, I won’t make it.”
She fell on her back and I glimpsed tears pouring from her eyes.
I crouched beside her and let her hold my face with her bloodied hands, “Go, Emily, avenge me and all the dead wolves.”
I tried to reassure her, telling her everything would be alright. But as soon as I opened my mouth to speak, her hands fell from my face.
“N-no!” I screamed, shaking my head, “Hold on, please!”
I shook her open-eyed lifeless form with tears pouring out of my eyes.
A few seconds passed, and the tears were replaced with grief and then anger. It filled up my veins more quickly than I could control it. I pressed the palm of my hands down the length of her face, took in her pretty face that smiled even in death.
Standing to my feet, I ran, ignoring the loud shouts and the gunshots resounding throughout the night sky.
***
“Emily!” My mother cried out as soon as I got to the tunnel.
The tunnel was in chaos. I could hear the frantic voices of mothers screaming out their children’s names and that of children who were looking for their parents.
It wasn't like how I often envisaged, abandoned and serene.
“Mother!” I called back, running to her. As soon as she got at arm's length, I engulfed her in an embrace and sobbed. “She’s dead! The maid you sent to fetch me, she’s dead!”
My mother cupped my face in her hands, smiled sadly and whispered, “I know, I know, darling child. But you need to calm down."
I nodded and let her clean off the tear droplets that had fallen from my eyes with her fingers. “I want you to run from here. They won't stop until I’m dead but they might forget about you.”
I shook my head in negation but she ignored me and continued to speak, “Marcus, your father’s Beta wants your father’s throne. I suspect he killed your father and Logan, his gamma. But now isn’t the time for such discussion, just leave here, child.”
“What about you, Mom?” I asked, trembling. I clasped her warm palms and stared into her beautiful sea-green eyes.
She smiled yet again, this time it looked less reassuring than the last, “I’ll stay behind.”
“No!” I whispered so only she could hear, “I can’t let you do that. It’s like knowing you’re about to be killed and leading yourself to slaughter!”
I wanted to drill some senses into her, to try to talk her out of this madness; but instead of listening to me, she simply stared at me for the longest time, shook her head and pushed me into the arms of one of the guards present.
“Alex, lead her to safety, make sure you do not return to this kingdom until I send out a word,” she commanded the bulky bodyguard who pressed me against his chest with a kind of aggressive force.
“And darling child,” she turned to face me with her signature smile plastered across her porcelain face "Never forget how much I love you.”
“But mom, what about the baby?!” I yelled, tears beginning to blur my vision.
“The baby and I would be fine.” She said with that reassuring smile still plastered across her face, “Now tell me you love me, just as I love you.” I was about to tell her how much I loved her too when I noticed a bodyguard stealthily creeping up behind her.
“Mom!” I shrieked, fighting against the hard grip of the bodyguard behind me.
“Not now child, go!” She shouted back.
“Look behind y—” as soon as the words left my mouth, I saw the jagged end of a sword appear suddenly in front of her chest, with blood dripping down it.
“Let go of me! My mom’s dying!” I screech at the top of my lungs at Alex who stood unmoving behind me.
“Let go of me!” I shouted again but he didn't even bulge. And then it came to me as I glimpsed the strange tattoo on his arm. He was one of them!
“You psychotic son of a bitch! I said let go of—” my sentence hadn’t finished when I felt him press a white handkerchief against my nose, and everything went black.
**Emily’s POV** A large bucket of water was thrown over me, which brought me out of my reverie. At first, I wasn’t quite sure why anyone would pour water over me until I opened my eyes and observed my surroundings. My pack members- or whatever was left of them- stood side by side in a semicircle, looking as though their worlds were coming to an end. While my mom was made to kneel in front of Beta Marcus who stood at an alter-like structure addressing the crowd as he had already made himself Alpha. “Mom!” I called through our mind link but no reply came forth; it was like she had shut off everything, including me, her daughter. I wouldn't blame her for doing so after everything she passed through last night. My eyes strayed to her chest and I noticed the bleeding had stopped. It should bring some sort of relief to me, but it made me even more frightened. No treatment was given to her and the wound might get infected which would lead to her death. The thought of my mom dying was
**Emily’s POV** “Mother, please wait, no!” I cried out with my arms stretched out in front of me, “Do not leave me alone!” Just as I was about to touch her, her head fell off her neck with a sizzle of blood following suit. Lurching back, I screeched… I woke up with a jolt to realize that it was a dream. And that I was lying naked on the cold cemented floor with my arms and legs clasped together by cold metallic chains. Thankfully Laurel lay beside me, naked too, and fast asleep. “Laurel, wake up” I called softly, shaking her limp body. I gasped softly when my eyes caught sight of her battered skin as she sat up. “What happened to you?” I asked, resisting the urge to openly stare at the large slices of welts across her back, “Alpha Marcus happened,” she replied, calmly. She looked pale and tired, but from the stubborn set of her chin, I knew she didn’t want to talk about it. “Where are we?” She asked, looking around. Her question made me finally take a good look at our enviro
**Emily’s POV** I was immediately ushered out of the glass box as soon as my transaction had been finalized. The chains around my wrists were replaced by a handcuff and an extremely fancy leash was clasped around my neck as if in a bid to refrain me from running away. “Wait, before you take me away, I want to see my friend! I want to see Laurel.” I pleaded with the men dragging me, but my pleas fell on deaf ears, as they wouldn’t even glance in my direction. I was practically dragged out of the backstage, down a dimly lit corridor and pushed into a dark room. I gulped in fear when I noticed the huge form sitting at the far end of the room, but the fear immediately dissipated when a very pleasurable smell assaulted my nostrils. It was him, my mate… “Hi?” I called softly but was met with silence. Taking a deep breath in, I walked into the room but stopped abruptly when he got up from the chair and turned to face me. I gasped, not due to fear or shock, but because the person standi
**Emily’s POV** The drive to his house was quiet and exceptionally uncomfortable; I was seated in the back seat of a sleek Porsche car while the middle-aged woman from earlier sat in the front with a chauffeur who was too relaxed to be an employee. “What’s your name?” He asked. “Emily,” I whispered, ignoring the lopsided grin on his face. “I don’t think he’s a chauffeur, his aura is too strong to be one,” Someone whispered. I looked around but found no one. “Did you say something?” I asked the middle-aged woman who stared at me with a funny expression on her face. “I did.” The same voice replied, “And stop looking around, you look crazy!” It said with a giggle. In frustration, I closed my eyes and pressed my head against the window close to where I sat. After a while, I realized the voice was in my head. “Who are you?” I whispered almost to myself. I pinched the bridge of my nose as her cheerful laugh rang through my head. “I’m Ariel, your wolf." My eyes snapped open and th
**Emily’s POV** I regained composure and heaved a breath. 'Nothing suspicious,' said Ariel. I smiled with a nod. I was still frightened about the past event. Try as I might to forget all that happened, I couldn't. Again, staying in large gatherings frightens the fúck out of me. But I wasn't in a large gathering at the moment. I didn't know why I was uneasy. Perhaps, it was the eyes of the women on me that made me feel that way. I nodded in greeting as I passed by three women, but none responded. Instead, I was rewarded with a shrug, glares, and some mumblings amongst them. Dismissing them, I turned away and walked towards a pretty girl sitting alone in the corner of the room. "Hello." “Hi,” She greeted me with a smile, discarding the book she held earlier. “You must be, Mary?” “I am, Mary.” She responded. She stood to her feet, dusting her hand on the chiffon knee-length, A-shaped dress she donned. "May I ask what for?” “I was asked to come to meet you, I am Emily.” At the
“Which one of you is Emily?” A plump woman asked as she approached Mary and me.She was of average height and her dark brown eyes stayed on mine.“I am,” I answered and I took a step forward. I had just finished taking my bath and was about to change into clean clothes Mary handed to me when she walked in.“Come with me, Emily.” She said, “The Alpha wants to meet you.”“Now?” I asked in bewilderment.It was way past 9 pm and I was barely done with what I was doing. Perhaps, he wants me to walk naked to him.I doubted he'd be fazed.I flushed at the idea of being in front of him with nothing on. It was never going to happen though.He didn't want me in the manner I was thinking and I was certain I didn't want him to.Or maybe I was trying so hard to convince myself because my wolf thought otherwise. The first time we met, she had even urged me to kiss him and do nasty things with him.I kinda did nasty things with him. I believed it would never happen again as I had let my wolf do the
**Emily’s POV**About a year ago, I broke up with my ex-boyfriend, Jake because he had found his mate- who was also a friend of mine at the time. I was heartbroken.I felt like my world had crumbled. It was the worst feeling I ever experienced in my entire life.But now that I think of it, the way I felt then seemed like a joke compared to how I feel right now with Alexander and the blondie making out on the bed, which stood less than five feet away from where I crouched picking his damned papers.“Oh, so goooddd, fúck me already!” Blondie's wanton moan infiltrated my head, breaking my heart even further if that was even possible.I blinked away tears that welled in my eyes as I struggled to focus on the task at hand and not how I was eager to yank her away from him.Earlier, I thought I didn't care about what he did. I do care honestly.He was my mate and he shouldn't be fúcking anyone in front of me. He didn't even accord any freaking respect to me because if he did, he wouldn't do
**Alexander’s POV**I took a few steps away from her, not because I was afraid of her but to distract myself from her intoxicating smell that seemed to be filling my senses in ways I couldn’t quite explain.Ever since I laid my eyes on her at the auction house, it had been one heck of trouble after the other.Initially, I felt she was a spy sent by one of my enemy packs because I could not understand how a Royal would be put up for auction at the same time I was there.Until I felt the need to get to her. The need to yank her off the stage away from the men leering at her flawless skin and seductive body.I felt all that at a distance and I didn't think I was moved as I could get any woman I wanted. But, it was until my wolf confirmed she was my mate.Goodness, she was my fúcking mate. I never imagined having a mate, or worse seeing one being auctioned like a whore.I bought her on impulse. It wasn't my intention because, at the time of confirmation, I never believed she was mine. It