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: The next day, after the lunch hour, Darla announced that it was the day to feed the maddening, starving wolves roaming on the backgrounds of dungeons. Heavy and thick silence prevailed in the kitchen. Even though commanders would be at the forefront of carrying out such a dangerous task they still needed a little bit of the kitchen staff to accompany them with food and everything. Of course, no one was willing to volunteer for such a deadly task. To tackle the situation, Darla decided to send everyone on rotation. She even printed a list and pasted it on the kitchen's notice board. When no one moved, Darla grumbled, "Group 14th was the one to perform the duty last time." There were a total of 15 groups. I didn't need to consult the notice board to know that I was in the 15th group because I was the last to join the kitchen as a staff member. But still, as a confirmation, I glanced at the list and saw my name written among the other members of Group 15. The fact that
Ember’s POV:Loading the meat on the trollies, warriors started pushing them toward the backside of the castle where the dungeon grounds were present. Darius stayed closer to me as I followed them.Before entering the grounds, Darius scanned our surroundings with careful eyes and mumbled under his breath, “Keep your eyes open. I don’t want to lose my sister-in-law right after finding her.”Rolling my eyes, I repeated for the hundredth time, “How many times do I need to tell you not to say that?”He frowned, feigning confusion, “Say what? To keep your eyes open?” and then screeched dramatically, “But I literally said that for the first time ever.”Right after crossing the threshold to the grounds, we all split into teams. Two warriors were accompanied by one Omega.Of course, Darius decided to go with me. Another warrior named Luke, who was dragging the trolley ahead of us, also accompanied us.Exhaling loudly, I asked, “So, how exactly is it done? How do we find the werewolves to feed
Ember’s POV:A shiver ran down my spine and my whole body shook with fear as the wolf dived his head. His canines were just about to dig into my flesh and shred me into pieces when, all of a sudden, something thudded into him so forcefully that his body flew in the opposite direction.Without waiting to process what just happened, my whole body jolted into action and I planted my elbows into the ground and shot up to my feet.A frightful sob escaped my throat and my hand flew to clutch my chest tightly. My heart was thundering in my ribcage maniacally as I panted heavily.I was out of my wits and was trying to process what had just happened when, suddenly, a painful screech pierced the air and my head whipped in its direction.There, a little distance away from me, I saw two wolves colliding with each other in a fierce fight.One of them was the one who had just nearly dragged me to my death while the other had dark gray fur and was slightly bigger than him. They roared and grunted wh
Ember's POV: With a tiny body clad in my arms, I turned around to head back into the castle. The wheels in my mind were already churning as I made a list concerning the kitten. We needed to bathe him, feed him, get him vaccinated, build him a home, keep him warm, and... My footsteps came to a sudden halt as soon as I lifted my gaze and spotted Nicholus. He wasn't coming from the woods actually. Instead, he was standing in the window of his office. Discovering the kitten in the backyard must have made me miss his arrival. With a hand tucked in his pocket, he was standing upright and rigid. My heartbeat turned erratic as I realized his gaze, hard and intense, was fixated on me. I wondered for how long he had been staring down at me. At us, actually. Damon came up behind me and started ruffling the fur of the kitten, "I'll help you build him a home." Nicholus's eyes narrowed into thin slits. My sharp gaze was enough to see the clenching and unclenching of his jaw as his glare
Ember's POV: To be honest, I really wanted to shift and go into the woods to find Nicholus. I needed to talk to him and apologize for my words. But, at the same time, I also knew it wasn't a good idea to go into the woods at night because danger or no danger, it'd infuriate him to no extent. So, I decided to wait for him but I didn't want to go back into the castle as I knew I'd only be mopping around like a ball of anxious energy. Having nothing else to do, I agreed to Damon's suggestion. Turning around, he waved his hand forward, "After you, princess." Forming a small smile that surely didn't reach my eyes, I complied. Damon fell into steps beside me as we made our way to the gazebo. Climbing up, he offered me his palm, "Allow me." Rolling my eyes, I chuckled slightly, "There are stairs and a railing. I think I can do it on my own." Retreating his hand, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry...it's just an instinct to help a woman." Planting my hand on the railing,
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
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