[Xavier’s POV]I flipped through the pages of the reports Layla had made on the cases I had assigned to her. She had left the book in her bedroom, and since she went back to prison where she rightfully belonged, nothing had been done to change the room whatsoever.I could sense that Roman was coming in, and I immediately closed the book and tossed it into the drawer, then stood up from the chair immediately. I didn’t want anyone to see the report book and find out that I was deliberately doing the opposite of Layla’s suggestions just to spite her.There was a knock on the door, and I opened it up almost immediately so that it appeared as though I was on my way out before he came in.“Hey, where have you been?” I asked, upon seeing Roman standing in the doorway.“I went to see you-know-who in prison. I was surprised when the guards informed me you were here,” Roman commented.I cleared my throat. “I was searching for something, and I felt that I had probably left it in here,” I said.“
[Layla’s POV]It had been two days since Xavier had made his proclamation, and since then, I hadn’t eaten or had even a drop of water to drink. My eyes were swollen and red from the tears that hadn’t stopped falling, my head ached terribly, my lips were chapped, and my stomach was empty and kept on tightening from hunger.Still, I had to be strong for my child’s sake. I resented Xavier... I greatly resented him. I had acted, pretended and told myself that he wasn’t all that bad, but I had been wrong. Even if I did betray him, taking his anger out on a child just showed how mean and despicable he was.With every moment that passed, I uttered a curse against him. The anger in me hadn’t subsided, rather, it had kept on piling up and increasing. I hated him, I detested him and all I could recall were the times he had been awful to me. Now, nothing he ever did good to me made any sense. He was a vile being, and for the rest of my life, I was never going to forgive him.A drop of tear fell
[Layla’s POV]Two days had gone by, and I hadn’t heard any word from Jeffrey. I was sick to the bones, and my head kept on spinning and turning. I was half-dead, and the only reason I managed to keep my eyes open and stay strong was for my child’s sake.However, I was determined that I would reveal that Jeffrey was guilty once another day passed, since it would be five days since Xavier made his proclamation, and I couldn’t afford to go another day after tomorrow without food, water or medicine.Anyone could say that I was selfish and evil, but I didn’t care. Jeffrey was also being selfish, and I had tried long enough. Not only was I refused from eating or drinking, I also had to work like an elephant when I didn’t get even the tiniest thing that could feed an ant.Just that day, I had been made to wash tablecloths, sweep everyone else’s prison cells, draw water from the well, and presently, I was clearing out horse dung. My waist hurt, and it also felt as though a thousand hyenas wer
[Xavier’s POV]The elders had insisted on having a meeting with me in order to discuss plans for my father’s posthumous birthday which was going to be tomorrow. They had been going on for hours about what to do and all of that, but personally, I wasn’t interested in any of that.When I had decided that I had heard enough, I banged my fists on the table, and they all kept quiet at once.I cleared my throat. “I’ve heard all your discussions and contributions, and although your intentions seem pure, I’d like to hold a private ceremony for my late father’s posthumous birthday,” I stated.“Private? I guess we don’t need to invite people from other Packs, then. It was going to be hard inviting them in the first place with just a day’s notice,” one of the elders commented.“I agree with the Alpha on this. It should just be a small ceremony with the elders and a few other notable personalities present with our families,” Gamma Wallace, who was present, said.“I was thinking of celebrating it
[Layla’s POV]I was burning up and had lost all my strength. It was the fifth day, and I had made the ultimate decision to tell everyone that Jeffrey was guilty of what he was being accused of. Sincerely, I hoped he forgave me as this was the only way my child and I could survive... that’s if I could live past today.“Water,” I muttered numbly.My throat felt itchy and my mouth was dry. I was still tied to the stake and my head ached terribly. I was tired, afraid and weak. I needed water at least. How could they be so mean to me? How?“Layla,” I heard a familiar voice whisper.It was already morning, but the sun wasn’t up in the sky yet. I craned my neck and blinked my eyes rapidly so that I could make out who was standing there as my vision was hazy.“Kyle?” I called.“Layla, are you okay?” he asked, running over to where I had been tied to a stake.My eyes became clouded with tears. “Do I look okay?” I asked in a calm voice.He tried to loose the ropes that had been used to hold me
[Xavier’s POV]There was loud music being played by a renowned band, more than enough food and drinks for merriment, and beautiful decorations in the Palace to make my father’s posthumous birthday a success.Dressed in a blue royal robe with expensive black trousers and shoes, I sat on the throne with a big smile planted on my face as I moved my body slowly to the rhythm.Some of the guests were already drunk while some were almost drunk. My cousin, Roman was busy stuffing his face with cake with his mother checking and rechecking her makeup with a mirror as she kept on demanding for more food, while Veronica remained graceful as she crossed her legs and just fanned herself while sipping a glass of red wine, but only Elsa seemed to not be interested in the celebration as her face was moody and she hadn’t even touched anything and just sat in a corner all by herself as though she had been forced to come here in the first place.I didn’t spare Elsa any attention and was determined to no
[Layla’s POV]His eyes remained glued to mine, and the look on his face made me even more disgusted than I already was with him.I clenched my fists in anger and threw him a distasteful look, anger overtaking every other emotion in my body system. “Pity? Is that pity I see in your eyes?” I asked, tears flowing freely from my eyes.“Layla, we can talk about this elsewhere. You’re interrupting what we are doing here,” he said in a calm voice.“And what exactly are you doing here? Celebrating? You’re hosting a feast when my child is dead?” I yelled at him, then overturned the table where different kinds of food had been placed.He stood up immediately from his throne and looked at me, appalled. “Hey, I know you’re mad, but you can’t just waste food!” he screamed at me.“Waste food? Why shouldn’t I waste it? You freaking had more than enough but you deliberately decided to starve a pregnant woman and order for her to be beaten up because she took just one carrot... just one! I knew you we
[Xavier’s POV]With a heavy heart, I stormed out of the hall with the guards and warriors who were present, as well as Gamma Wallace. The intruders were in front of the Palace and were using several weapons to break the gates open.The city was high up in flames and while many people had already been terribly injured, a few of them had been slaughtered.“I didn’t want to participate in any celebration in case they took us unawares like this,” I lamented.“Don’t worry, your highness. We’ll make sure to put up a good fight. I’d have a guard escort you to a safe place,” Gamma Wallace said.“You’d have me abandon my people? No way!” I said.“You should listen to him, Alpha Xavier. This is for your own good,” Roman said.“I would rather die as a hero than live to see tomorrow and be seen as a coward,” I retorted, and took out my sword from my sheath.“What are you going to do? There are hundreds of men out there, and they are way more than us. The warriors are few as most of them have been