LOGINELIAN.
I dug my shovel into the well again, grabbed a huge chunk of dirt and scooped it out onto the ground. The sun was starting to set, but I could still feel the sweltering heat of it burning into my skin. Sweat dripped from my eyebrow and I wiped it off as I heaved the final load of soil from the pit.I was shirtless and just in my breeches, which clung to my hips and the cornrows on my head were pulled back with a hair tie. My neck and left arm tattoo are on full display. Tattoos I have rightfully earned, through thick, trails, and errors.Errors and trails that have made me the Alpha I was today. The loved Alpha, despite being wolfless.Every muscle in my body groaned from exhaustion considering the amount of work I had handled today, but I gritted my teeth and kept going, the shovel digging into the earth again and again. I wanted this well dug before sunset, before the villagers turned in for the night. I wanted them to have fresh waThe breath was knocked clean out of my lungs. It was a closed mouthed kiss, but it may as well have been open mouthed, because I felt the kiss, or what appeared to be like one, deep within every crevice of my body. My arms wound tightly around his neck, desperate for more contact. That kiss-like was magical. And then it's over, and I was gasping. Panting. Shaking as my lungs felt as though they were being pressed for air, squeezed in a vise grip. Then he was pressing his forehead against mine, his breath warm and shaky. “Thank you,” he murmured, his voice thick with unsaid emotions. “Thank you so much for grounding me,” he added, his lips brushing mine. I dropped one hand and rubbed his lips. “You’re welcome. Also, has anyone ever told you that you have very soft lips?” Elian grinned, his eyes lighting up. “Only you. And now I’m going to make sure you’re the only one who ever does.” I smiled b
ANISA.My heart pounded in my chest as though I had been running for weeks the moment Elian pulled me into a hug.Not just any hug, but it felt like something he needed grounding for. As if I was the oxygen he needed to breathe. He wrapped himself around me like I might disappear in a blink if he didn't hold on tight.I could also feel him sniffing me, taking frantic inhales, almost as though he was trying to ingrain every note of my scent into his memory. “Oh, you’re okay. You’re safe. I have you now,” he murmured into my shoulder. But his grip was iron-tight. His arms trembled against my back, and the way he held me didn't quite feel right and I felt a bit uncomfortable. I squirmed out of his hold a bit. “Elian,” I whispered. “Can you let go now?”It took a second. Then, almost reluctantly, his arms loosened, releasing me. I stepped away to get a closer look at him and cupped his face. His skin was slick with sweat
The sun outside had drained me, my muscles ached, and all I wanted was to check on her. Inhale her scent, maybe even touch her. The thought sent some kind of quiet inside me for the first time all day since I left her.But when I opened the room, it was empty. The bed was still rumpled and it wasn’t warm to touch, meaning she’d not been here recently. The dead giveaway was from her scent which lingered faintly in the air. “Where is Anisa?” I said to no one in particular. Then I shouted out the physician's name. “Milena! Milena!”She came running over to me, confused.“Where is Anisa?” I asked, this time directing the question to her. “Isn’t she in the room?”I stormed toward her, my eyes blazing and my chest heaving. “What do you mean by that? I left her in your care. How don’t you know where she is?”Milena blinked, already paling. “I…I…left her here hours ago. I…had…other patients to… attend to so…I…left.”“
ELIAN.I dug my shovel into the well again, grabbed a huge chunk of dirt and scooped it out onto the ground. The sun was starting to set, but I could still feel the sweltering heat of it burning into my skin. Sweat dripped from my eyebrow and I wiped it off as I heaved the final load of soil from the pit.I was shirtless and just in my breeches, which clung to my hips and the cornrows on my head were pulled back with a hair tie. My neck and left arm tattoo are on full display. Tattoos I have rightfully earned, through thick, trails, and errors.Errors and trails that have made me the Alpha I was today. The loved Alpha, despite being wolfless.Every muscle in my body groaned from exhaustion considering the amount of work I had handled today, but I gritted my teeth and kept going, the shovel digging into the earth again and again. I wanted this well dug before sunset, before the villagers turned in for the night. I wanted them to have fresh wa
“I hope you like it,” Umma murmured softly as she set a small bowl of steaming soup before me. It was late afternoon, the soon starting to dip below the horizon, its orange glow filtering through the wooden windows. The interior of the cottage was beautiful. I have been admiring it since we arrived a few hours ago. The cottage was small, nestled near a stream and surrounded by nature. Inside it was pretty simple and cozy, exactly what I needed. Right now, I was sitting around a low table, with the steaming bowl before me. In it were potatoes and pheasant meat steamed and roasted over an open flame before tossed into the boiling pot of carrots, chopped celery and parsley. Umma told stories as we ate. Stories about Elian and Imani’s childhood. How Elian used to sit outside in the rain, convinced his wolf would come if he waited long enough. “Once, I cried. It was the first time I had actually let Elian know how much him not
And I was all alone, something I hadn’t been awarded since I arrived at the kingdom. But I quickly realised that I didn’t want the silence. I didn’t need the loneliness that accompanied the silence, especially when I am in a place where almost everyone doesn’t like me. A place where I am struggling to fit in. And then I wondered, what would things be like back home? If I was still back home and Elian hadn't found me, would things have been better for him? For me? Would he still want to marry Lacie? Or was it Lace? Would I have already gone home to visit Maami and Mubarak? An ache suddenly settled in my chest at the thought of my family back home. How were they doing? Does Maami have enough meds to last her some time? Who was I kidding, of course she doesn’t. I was going to send her some money to get more before I returned for her surgery. God, I missed them so much. Every time my body hurt or the ache of b







