ESMERALDA’S POV.
I watched every emotion display across Anthony’s face, every bit of it since I turned around and met his gaze.
Confusion was the first emotion to flick across his features, followed by surprise as his lips parted slightly and his eyes dilated. My best guess is, he has finally figured out that there is a bond between us.
I felt it when he was following me around, I could tell it is him from the scent. I was simply taking a stroll in the forest to clear my head and decide when I would leave the pack when I heard it—the snap of twigs as someone’s presence became known, and as my steps hastened, so did his.
However, at a point, I realized there is no point running away. I am not guilty of anything after all, and the only reason I did so was to avoid talking to him lest he decides to bring up the mistress issue again and heaven help me, I might do something I certainly will not regret.
The look I saw on his face though, somehow lit up what I thought had diminished or should I say, died completely...hope. Hope that perhaps, he has just realized I am his mate, and that he would choose me, and not her.
It sounds foolish to have such thoughts, huh? I know. But, even for the sake of my, our, baby, I had hoped I would be able to give it a proper family after all.
All that hope, every bit of it diminished though when his lips parted, and he uttered the words that broke me completely, to the point of what I believe to be no return.
“I, Alpha Anthony, of Hounds Pack, reject you, Esmeralda Stone, as my fated mate.” He outright rejected me, his tone stern and his resolution of the same feat.
Suddenly, pain struck me like lightening. My heart, it felt as though thousands of arrows are being pierced into it and the pain registered in my body as a whole. I found breathing to be a difficult task, but that was not what made me worry the most.
No, the pain spreads throughout my body but where it intensified the most was my stomach. It started to hurt, way more than I know to be okay. Instinctively, my hand went to my tummy, as if caressing the baby in there which even Anthony is unaware of.
My knees gave out on me, my eyes blurred with unshed tears due to the pain. I tried to speak, reach out to him, not to take back the rejection but to help me and our child. Perhaps, if he offered some sort of aid, I would be able to tackle the issue. Davis’s words played in my mind again, and fear gripped me in a chokehold seemingly impossible to get out of.
“Help me,” I wheezed out, my voice sounded so foreign to my ears, even I could not hear it clearly. “Please.”
Anthony stared at me with emotionless eyes, bare of any sort of compassion nor pity. He must have thought I am overreacting or something, then I heard him say.
“If you know what is good for you, Esmeralda, you better make sure no one hears of this. I do not consider you my mate, nor will I ever…”
I shook my head, the pain intensifying so much that I could feel my breathing begin to cease. “Anthony…” I managed to whisper out, “…please…” My pleas were for him to offer aid, but he took it as me pleading with him to take back the rejection or something.
“Accept the rejection, Esmeralda,” He gritted out, his hands fisted by the side, his tone commanding. “Accept it.”
I tried to vocalize a response, but no words made it past my lips. I could only shake my head as tears began to flow out of my eyes. As black spots began to cover my vision, and I realized Anthony has no plans of helping, I mustered small strength to respond.
“I accept your rejection…”
The moment I said those words, Anthony turned around and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving me alone on the grounds in the middle of the woods, helpless, and on the brink of losing consciousness.
As I laid on my back and gazed at the sky, I noticed something peculiar. The moon…it was not bright like always. No, this time around it looked red, or maybe I was hallucinating? If so then I was hallucinating the whispers that filled the air as well, almost like incantations as smoke like air began to engulf me, taking my breath as a whole.
Before I completely lost consciousness though, the air cleared and I vaguely felt someone pick me up, then I heard an unfamiliar, deep, and commanding voice say,
“You are safe. It will be alright. You are mine, from now on…”
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 106. ESMERALDA STONE (RANIA)’S POV. We have lost a number of people because of the battle, one of which happened to be Anthony. We did not realize it until we were going through the deceased, and that was when we saw him. I admit, my heart did squeeze when I saw him, and I felt bad but as the Alpha he was, he had a deserving and well respected funeral back at his pack for him. Elder Aloha Theron was also lost in the fight,and the entire Kingdom mourned not just for his death, but for the death of every single person and warrior that had sacrificed thier life for the greater good. There were mourning days for the fallen wolves, one that the entire Kingdom did in respect for them. And afterwards, the crowning ceremony took place in which my mate, Alexander Malakai was crowned King at long last, and beside him, I was pledged Queen and Luna. He kept to his words, and after the crowning and all, took me to go and see my parents. But even having the position of the
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 105 ESMERALDA STONE (RANIA)’S POV.They say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and I have never believe that as much as I did today. All I saw was red as I fought against those guards that wanted to take my life, I have no idea what got into me but I had this need to just end it all, to save my child at all costs.Ruby and Valeria managed to escape as well, and they joined in on the fight just as I was about to be overpowered by the wolves there. They helped me fight Elias to death and even brought a little present to me—the Queen that was in the house and they managed to capture. I took her as bait, and then led us to the battle grounds because after all. She is the root cause of all this. And what is more pathetic is that she is weak. She could not and did not attempt to fight me and if she did, I would gladly pull her dead body there. The ground was cold beneath my feet, but I barely felt it. My heart was hammering in my chest, every pulse a reminder of
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 104 CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER MALAKAI LUIS’S POV.I have been anticipating the battle for the longest time, and I thought I had fully prepared myself for the bloodshed and was more than willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary but I underestimated how I would feel to have some of my people gone as a result of it.The reeking stench of blood filled my lungs. It clung to the cold, biting and arctic air, mixing with the sharp tang of iron and the wet, sickly smell of death. A scent I have gotten accosted to unfortunately.I stood in the middle of it all—bodies of fallen wolves littering the snow-covered ground, once proud warriors now reduced to motionless husks. Blood seeped into the white beneath them, staining the battlefield like a macabre canvas. Their eyes, wide open, stared into nothingness. My fallen soldiers, their lives gone like the wisp of wind for the sake of the throne and the Kingdom. As much as my heart ached at the sight, I knew I could not let it ge
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 103 ESMERALDA STONE (RANIA)’S POV. As I tried to wake up, my whole body ached, and my head was pounding almost as if something was being used to hammer it. I tried to move my body, but my limbs were sore and aching while it felt weak as well. I released a breath, then tried to part my eyes open. At first, my gaze was blurry but after a couple of blinking, I managed to clear away the blurriness. That was when I got the chance to fully look around my surrounding and take it in, my mind registering the seeming cell I am held this time around.The cell was suffocating to say the least . Cold, damp stone surrounded me on all sides, the air thick with the stench of mild dew and something more metallic—blood, probably old. It reminded me of the old cell I was held in just a few days ago, and I felt nauseated to be honest. Way too much if I am being direct but I tried to hold it back.There were no windows, just a small, rusted grate near the ceiling that allowed in t
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 102. ESMERALDA STONE (RANIA)’S POV. The time it took to reach the safe house this time was much quicker than the last when I came with Kai and left with Elias. True to Kai’s words, as we approached the place, even I could not tell that the cottage was there because he had made it invincible. The moment we got through the barrier though, the cottage was in sight and Elias explained how only we can get in, an outsider would not be able to get past the barrier. Once in the confines of the homey cottage, despite the recluse it offered from everything going out there, the tension in the room was evident stemming from each and every one of us being worried for what the outcome might be. I feel bad rmtowards them all honestly. I know if it was up to them, they would be out there fighting as well but they had to stay back and stay with me. I would have preferred to be out there as well not stow away out here, hiding like a coward. If not for the child I am carrying, a
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 101. ESMERALDA STONE (RANIA)’S POV.At this rate, the amount of times things just change within a couple of hours is scary. I have been anticipating the moment of change, and so has Kai but I was still caught aback, and my heart hammered behind my rib cage when Elias’s mindlink came to Kai, that the other side have started moving, and have officially declared war on our side.That was how Kai and I found ourselves getting ready—while he prepared to go out for the war, I was preparing to head to the safe house with Ruby and Valeria. Once fully dressed and all charged, Kai and I made our way out to where the others were waiting, hand in hand. We found out them outside by the tunnel that leads to the safe house, the same Kai and went through the last time we found ourselves there.By the entrance of the tunnel, Elias, Valeria, Ruby, Aloha Kael and Zayde were waiting—the ones I noticed Kai seems to have the most trust in. The moment we reached where they were, thier
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 100. ESMERALDA STONE (RANIA)’S POV. “News has it that the other side plans on striking tonight.” Kai said to me, the minute we stepped foot back in our room, after the meeting had ended earlier with plans on attack and defenses, as well as the situation of posts. It was not announced directly, but we all knew that the battle is only a few hours away. Even as we walked back to our room, the tension thick in the air of the castle was palpable. It could be spotted even from a mile away, and it was impossible to miss. There was this cold, looming dark clouds that hung above the place, a testament and holding a promise of the blood that will be shed in a couple of hours. Both sides have drawn up their swords, and it was no longer a matter of familial bonds or that of brothers. It was a battle for a position, a win or lose situation where there is no in between. A slight sigh escaped my lips as I made my way towards the bed, then settled down on it. Kai came to sett
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 99 CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER MALAKAI LUIS’S POV.Truthfully, I have since been looking for a way to avenge Esmeralda for all that she has been through, from those that made her end up in the exact position that led her to my arms. Even without it given how fate is we would have ended up together one way or another, it did not have to be as bloody and costly as it was.So, did you think I would miss the chance to make the people pay? Anthony I let off the hook for that short moment, because he is one of my people and I cannot dispense him without making such of him especially at such a critical moment. His little chosen mate though that he has sent home, upon realizing who she was, I caught while she is on the run—another reason for me to query him later on piling up. That cold air of the dungeon pricked and nibbled at my skin as I went down into the deepest parts of the palace, my boots echoing against the old and wet stones of the pathway. This was where I kept tho
KING’S LUNA CHAPTER 98CROWN PRINCE ALEXANDER MALAKAI LUIS’S POV.You see, I have always been a firm believer of keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer. Sometimes, your greatest enemy could be right beside you all along. Just as your greatest ally could be right beside you as well without you knowing, or with you knowing. Whichever way it works really.In my case, that ally and foe has been my brothers, the ones that could compete with me should the throne become vacant as it is right now as of this moment. You see, my dearest step mother, Queen Zara has always fancied her eldest child over her second—she had higher hopes and higher plans for her first son and the perfect one, while the second son got ignored and never commended for whatever it is he had ever done.It did not matter if he ever does something good, he would not be commended for it but rather, ignored. So he became the bad one, befitting if the lack of comments and rightfully taking the brunt of her anger