Ember's POV: My eyes were filled with desperation as I looked at him pleadingly, hoping that, for once, he'd take mercy on me and free me of his captivity. My gut coiled into a tight knot as I waited for his final verdict. I was hopeful but equally scared.For a long minute, he stared into my eyes. And I waited for him to open his mouth, reject me as his mate, and give me my freedom. My heart filled with anticipation to hear those words. After a minute of hard stare, his shoulders slouched. The slightest frown appeared between his brows as he sighed in desperation, "Anything but that."The hope inside me quickly deflated and I rushed out in despair, "But why? Both of us were tied together against our wills. We literally hate each other. We can't even stand each other for more than two minutes, then what's the problem?" Eager to change his mind, I blurted out, "Trust me, both of us want the same thing. Let's just end this and be our own ways." I urged him pleadingly, "Please." He a
Ember's POV:I sucked in a sharp breath and sprang into action. Planting my palm on his chest, I pushed him away, "What are you doing?" I whispered hoarsely.His eyes were hazy and he too seemed to not be in control of his actions.Oh gosh, what were we doing? What the hell just happened between us? How the fuck could I let him come this close to me?He blinked several times to get hold of his senses. His fangs disappeared and his gaze shifted to the marking spot on my neck. His eyebrows dipped into a deep frown as he rasped out, "I...I wasn't going to mark you."I sucked in a sharp breath, "We are both being played by fate. We have recognized each other as our fated mates but still have neither accepted nor rejected each other yet."This weird attraction and sexual tension budding between us was just another drawback of our delaying the claiming ritual.Nicholus wiped his hand on his face and exhaled loudly, "And by doing so, we're disturbing the balance of nature. Fate wants us to c
Ember's POV:The next morning, I woke up to the sound of an alarm clock. I didn't want to be the target of Abi's anger again, that's why I put an alarm on the clock I found in the drawer of the study table.My body felt heavy and sore as I tried to heave myself up. A severe wave of headache split through my skull. My vision blurred and the room spun around me.I blinked several times to focus on my surroundings. My legs felt feeble as I tried to get out of the bed.My throat felt constricted and parched and as I tried to grab myself a glass of water, I started having a fit of dry cough.After days of fighting off the cold, my body was slowly surrendering to it now.Composing myself, I dragged myself into the washroom and freshened up.Returning to the room, I quickly slipped into the tracksuit and joggers before sauntering out of the room.The Omegas Quarter was brimming with people as everyone made their way toward the exit. I felt Abi's watchful eyes on me as I walked out of the Qua
Ember's POV:After the training session, I returned to my room, gulped down a glass of water, and jogged straight into the washroom.Slipping out of the tracksuit, I turned the tap and watched in dread as a cold stream of freezing water flowed out.My body started shivering just at the thought of another cold shower. It was only Darla's scowling face that made me jump under the shower.After taking a quick shower, I donned my uniform and made my way toward the castle kitchen to serve breakfast to the royalties, including my brooding mate with whom I had a really sexy encounter just last night.After yesternight, I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as I remembered how we were just seconds away from jumping over each other. My body heated up as I thought about how much I enjoyed every second of it, how badly I wanted his hands to roam all over my body.And then I remembered my crying session he must have very much enjoyed outside my ro
Ember’s POV:My head whipped to the side and I saw my mate standing in the doorway. His dark eyes were fixated on Abi who stammered, “Alpha, I…”Before she could say another word, Alpha Nicholus growled angrily, “Let go of her hand right now.”Abi released my hand abruptly as if the touch was electrocuting her. I noticed a red mark around my wrist where she was grabbing it a moment ago.“Now tell me why are you creating a fuss here?” he directed his anger toward Abi.She rushed out frighteningly, “She dropped your breakfast tray, Alpha. I was just calling her out for her clumsiness.”“No,” Alpha shot back, “you were insulting her.” I watched his hands coiling into tight fists at his sides.Abi squirmed under his heated glare and spoke in a shivering voice, “Alpha, I…”But he didn’t let her finish her sentence as he gaveled viciously, “I know Luna made you the Head of Omegas but I’m the King and mine are the rules that are followed here.”Abi took a trembling breath, “Yes, yes, Alpha.”
Ember's POV:That day, Alpha Nicholus didn't join others for lunch. I heard from someone in the kitchen that he had gone out for a business meeting and would have lunch there. I took a breath of relief and went out to serve the table with Ava.In the evening, I was working in the kitchen when, all of a sudden, all the chatter around me came to an abrupt halt.The pin-drop silence I'd never witnessed in the kitchen before made me lift my head.All the heads were turned toward the door. Frowning slightly, I followed their lines of vision and found Darius's tall and heavy frame filling up the doorframe.Unbothered by everyone's attention, he stepped inside and walked straight to where Ava was standing. His voice was polite as he said, "Luna is calling you to her chambers with her soup."Ava nodded and turned toward the counter, "Sure, Beta. The soup is ready."It only took her a few minutes to set up the tray and saunter out of the kitchen.Everyone else slowly turned back to their work.
Ember's POV:Jolting back to the present, my hand shot up and I dabbed at my mouth absent-mindedly. A deep chuckle erupted in the air and I halted. As understanding settled inside me, I narrowed my eyes at him but quickly averted them away as I remembered the way I had been eating him with my eyes just a few moments ago. Feeling embarrassed, I lifted the tray higher, “Darius asked me to bring this to you.” As a ridiculous way to defend myself, I said as an afterthought, “But I didn’t know that you would be in here, in the gym.” A moment later, it hit me. My gaze shot to his and the way he was staring at me made it clear that he too was thinking the same thing. Nodding his head slowly, he hummed, “But Darius knew…” I squinted my eyes, “That you would be here, in the gym, working out, shirtless…” His eyebrow twitched higher as he drawled amusingly, “And that you would be affected by that…” “That’s not true,” I almost screamed. A devilish smirk tugged at his lips, “Well, your eyes
Ember's POV:The next day, I woke up to a fit of cough that rattled me to my bones. It was so severe that I was panting heavily when I reached a glass of water. My chest constricted with pain with every breath I took.And headache too was more intense than yesterday and weakness was already wearing me down.I made a mental note to ask Dr. Alina for a dose of Xanadium as I dragged myself through the morning routine.I didn't have the energy to move a muscle at the training grounds, so I felt grateful that Omegas weren't expected to undergo some harsh training.After training hour, I returned to my room and stood under the coldest stream of shower and shivered all the time frigid cold water made contact with my skin.Immediately drying myself, I donned my uniform and made my way to the kitchen.Yesterday, I was about to ask Abi to change my duty to somewhere else but then I changed my plan as I realized that I could, at least, steal some warmth in the kitchen heat.When it was time to s
Ember's POV:After Nicholus left so abruptly, I didn't have any appetite left to indulge in breakfast so after only a few bites, I grabbed my cup of coffee, stood up, and excused myself."You didn't each much today," Luna noticed.I scrunched up my nose, "I feel full. But don't worry, I'll have a snack later," I added before she got worried.With my fingers around the cup handle, I strode out of the castle and made my way into the lush green lawn to soak up a bit of the sun.Tilting my head toward the sky, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I relished the feel of fresh air rushing into my lungs but it did nothing to ease up the restlessness that was zinging inside me.Ever since yesterday, I have been feeling so restless. There was one thing, one particular moment during the attack yesterday, that was still stuck in my mind. No matter how hard I tried to nudge it to the back it was still there, replaying again and again."You felt it too, right?" even Aria couldn't ignore it any
Ember's POV: When my mind processed everything and I came back to my senses, the first instinct was to comfort him but I resisted the urge to go after him. He was very angry and I didn't want to add fuel to his rage. Deciding to give him some time to cool off, I took off the bathrobe and changed into PJs. With slouched shoulders and a foul mood, I walked into the bedroom and flopped onto the bed. After such a hectic day, sleep kicked in the moment my body touched the mattress. The spot beside me was cold and empty. I missed his presence. I missed how he'd either spoon me or hug me. I missed sleeping to the sound of his heartbeat beside me. I forced my eyes open and decided to wait for him. I kept glancing at the clock. It struck 12, then 1, and then 2 before my already tired body couldn't take it anymore. With the thought of waking up in his arms, I finally drifted off to sleep. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window. As soon as my eyes open
Ember's POV: After showering, I tied the bathrobe around myself and tiptoed toward the closet room. I was going through my PJs when the hair on the back of my neck stood taller. That always happened when he was nearby. Would my body ever get used to his proximity? He was lingering at the doorway, waiting for me to acknowledge his presence and when I didn't, he let out a deep sigh, "For how long are you going to keep ignoring me?" Not making any attempt to answer him, I kept sifting through the clothes in the almirah, pretending to be busy deciding what to wear. All of a sudden, a chill ran down my spine as he came up beside me, too near that I could feel his hot breath on my cold skin as he said tightly, "I am talking to you, Ember." Yanking the random PJ set out, I snapped sharply, "And can't you see I'm not interested in talking to you?" Slamming the almirah door shut, I jerked around. Without bothering to cast him a glance, I just walked around him. But I had just taken a ste
Ember's POV: During the entire ride, I kept my face toward the window, staring at the night lights as the car sped on the road. I could feel his unwavering stare boring holes in my back but I did nothing to acknowledge his presence. Apparently, the silent treatment was just not sitting right with him because he finally ended up opening our mindlink, "Are you okay?" I kept my face fixated on the window, too angry to answer him. How dare he behave like that? Carrying me over his shoulder as if I was some stubborn kid? And that too in front of everyone? Ridiculous! He waited for a few minutes and when I still didn't answer, he tried again, this some more gently, "Will you let me see your wounds? I need to make sure they're healing properly. I don't want them to catch any infection." Again, he was met with only silence. Was he not going to talk about how inappropriately he behaved or how rudely he talked to me? Maybe I was exaggerating but considering I'd never imagined him talking t
Ember's POV: The world seemed to slow down around me but at the same time, everything felt to be happening in the fast motion, way too quick to process properly. In my peripheral vision, I saw a guard lunging forward but before he could even reach us, another rebel gripped him by the throat and yanked him away. I choked as the blood gushed out of my throat. With trembling hands, I managed to grip his wrist and tried to wriggle myself out of his death-like grip. But all my efforts were in vain. He was strong. Way too strong for me to take down. I tried to use my hypnotizing power on him but because of my weakening strength and loss of consciousness, I was unable to muster up the magic. Blood rushed to my ears and soon, all I could hear was a loud ringing and nothing else. Tears welled up in my eyes and my vision blurred. My eyes were fixated on the demonic, creepy smile stretched over his face as he relished in my misery. But the very next moment, I frowned slightly as I saw his
Ember's POV:My mind was too shocked to register the sudden turn of events. I and Darius jerked our heads toward each other at the same moment and the next thing I heard was his ear-piercing scream, "Protect the Queen!"All of a sudden, someone gripped my wrist in a death-like grip. My gaze shot down to see fingers clasping around my wrist. I was just about to lift my gaze when my head whirled toward the door as the loud banging erupted in the air before someone yelled from the other side, "Open the damn door, Samuel." Someone else screamed, "How dare you invite the daughter of the enemy into your pack house? Are you declaring a war against us?"Samuel turned to his wife. He was no longer looking like a sweet old man I had a great time chatting with earlier. Instead, he looked every bit of a deadly warrior as he commanded Luna, "Take Queen and the girls to the safety bunkers. You must protect her at every cost, Carolina."The hold around my wrist instantly tightened before suddenly ya
Ember's POV:Darius stayed by my side as we took a quick tour of the packhouse before settling in the living room. After a few minutes of talking about random things, a maid strolled inside with a rolling tray laden with a kettle, cups, and all sorts of desserts.“Aw, Carolina, you didn’t have to do so much. Only tea would have been enough,” I said with awe.She shook her head, “You requested us not to arrange for the lunch. Even though we wanted to but we decided to respect your request. So, please enjoy the tea.”Pouring the tea in the cup, the maid placed it on the table in front of me before picking a plate, “What desserts you want me to serve you, Your Highness?”Sliding forward, I grabbed the plate from her hand and smiled up at her, “It’s okay, dear. I’ll serve myself.”She went still for a moment before finally straightening up, “Sure, Your Highness.”My mouth watered as I greedily eyed all the pastries, donuts, custard pies, and fruit tarts. I was about to pick the chocolate
Ember’s POV:As soon as I stepped out of the castle, I came to a sudden halt while gasping aloud.With wide eyes and a shocking voice, I screeched, “What the hell is happening here?” while pointing at dozens of black SUVs parked outside with almost half of the North army standing guard beside them, ready to hop in at their Alpha’s command.Nicholus raised his eyebrow as if there was nothing ridiculous going on, “I only agreed to this plan of yours because you agreed to go with high security, remember?”I sucked in a sharp breath, “I definitely didn’t think you were talking about this ‘high security,’” I groaned while waving my hand toward the guards.Nicholus took a deep breath and twisted his neck, “You refused to take me along with you. If I’m not going, then they’d all go instead.”I rubbed the back of my neck, already tired of discussing the matter for infinite times, and gritted out through clenched teeth, “In case you forgot, let me remind you again of the purpose of my visit. I
Ember's POV: The next morning, I woke up with Nicholus's arm wrapped around me. As I tried to wriggle out of his hold, he squirmed in his sleep and tightened his hold, "Mmhmm, where are you going?" I glanced over my shoulder at his adorable, groggy eyes he was squinting at me with. "I have to go," I replied. He groaned, unhappy with the answer, "No, don't go anywhere. Just stay here and give me morning cuddles."At that, I burst out laughing loudly, "People would call me crazy if I'd ever tell them that the ruthless alpha of the North just said those cheesy words to me."Moving his hand to my bottom, he spanked my ass playfully, "You naughty, little princess, why would you tell anyone about what happens in our bedroom?"I giggled under my breath, "Good thing that the room is soundproof or otherwise I wouldn't need to 'tell' them about what exactly happens in our bedroom."Snuggling closer, he licked my earlobe and whispered roughly, "Yeah, because your loud screams and hot moans wou