“What are you talking about?” I shook my head as I stopped pacing in the middle of Darius’s room. My eyes were narrowed and focused on him. He wasn’t serious. He couldn’t be.“Aeron is a horrible person. You might not see it because he’s putting up a front, but you’ll find out soon enough. Just in case you didn’t know, I won’t be granting him permission to come into my pack again. The next time you see him, he’ll probably be dead from trying to wage war against me.”“No. That’s not… What is this all about? Just because you and your brother have some sort of difference between you that you can’t settle doesn’t mean I have to be in the middle of it,” I protested.“And when my brother is dead,” he continued as if I had said nothing, “you’ll have no other option than to complete the mate bond with me as there’s no other person. I have no intention of forging you.”“This is ridiculous. I’m not going to do anything with you. Not even if Aeron dies,” I said, wanting to mean every word but I
“Help! I’m being attacked!” I yelled as soon as I had the opening to use my voice, causing one of the attackers to hold my mouth closed so hard that I feared my jaw was going to break.I kicked and scratched and punched, trying to find my way out of this situation as the second attacker grabbed my legs and hoisted me off the ground. They both started to head to the border in a hurry.I groaned against the arm that was clamped against my mouth as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.“Can you stop making all that fuss? If you do anything stupid, I’ll make sure to kill you and tell Alpha Aeron that we couldn’t get you. Would that be better?” The one holding my legs threatened.For a moment, I stopped struggling. I could almost feel bruises forming from where he held my legs tightly.One moment, I was trapped in the middle of them both with them carrying me out of the pack and left with nothing to do but to think about my own despair. The next moment, I was falling to the ground with a loud t
“Zara,” Darius called, looking more surprised than I had expected him to be about something like this. “I don’t think you understand what you’re talking about.”I chuckled without mirth. “I do know what I’m talking about, Darius. You know this is going to work. Your brother will figure out that I chose you over him, and he’ll take a step back. Maybe not for a long time, but enough for us to figure out why this is happening in the first place.”“You just got attacked. You’re not in a right place right now. You just want to take it all out on Aeron, and I understand your frustration. It’s just—”“I’m not you, Darius. I’m not here making decisions just because I’m scorned and I hope it’ll upset your brother. I want this to be over. I’m in the middle of everything, just in case you didn’t realize.”He sighed in defeat and nodded.“But just in case you still want to think about it before going any further, we can talk about it tomorrow. How’s that?”“Fine.” I shrugged, knowing that tomorro
I was torn between disappointment and relief when I woke up to an empty bed the next morning. I was disappointed because I didn’t think he would walk away from this so easily and so fast. Then again, that was all the proof I needed to know that I shouldn’t take things too far with him.“Good morning,” Ella, the woman who always came in with my food, greeted as she joined me that morning with a tray of food as usual.“Have you seen Alpha Darius this morning?” I asked.“Not really,” she answered with a shake of her head. “Maybe he’s out hunting. I’m sure he’s close.”I nodded as she set the tray down on the bedside table and walked away, never indulging in whatever curiosities she might have.I sighed as I forced myself to dig through my food. I wanted to convince myself that I didn’t care. I tried not to think about him or why he hadn’t even thought to check up on me, but I failed.When the sun was high up in the sky at noon, I walked out of the room and headed over to his office. I kn
On the first day, I didn’t think it was a big deal. After all, there had been a sighting of him.“Has he come back?” I asked the same guard as I saw him the next day. “If you know where he is, you can just tell me about it. Even if he’s out of the pack and somewhere else—”“I already told you, he went out yesterday.” This time, the guard sounded agitated. It felt like I was being a bother now. I shrank into myself in shame at how desperate I seemed.“This wouldn’t be the first time he’s gone out and hasn’t returned in days. He might even be out for up to a week,” the guard added. “I highly suggest you wait patiently.”I took his words to heart, but it didn’t exactly give me the best assurance. On the third day, I started to feel extremely uneasy. I knew the guard had told me this was normal, but it didn’t mean I could just sit and accept it. Something was wrong. I couldn’t place a finger on it.Ignoring the words of the mysterious woman I had met under the tree to stay indoors, I walk
“What are you doing here?” I asked, the horror obvious in the tone of my voice as I took steps back and almost knocked myself down my tripping on the edge of the bed.His hands were in his pocket as he gave me a cool look, almost like I didn’t need any reason to react that way toward him.“You sent your people here to attack me,” I reminded him, just in case his memory had not refreshed up to that moment to speed things up. “How did you even get in here? Darius said he was never going to give you permission.”“You and Darius must have gotten along very well. I’m jealous.” He placed a hand over his chest and faked a hurt look. “And I didn’t send my people to attack you. I told them to bring you home.”“You told them they could be forceful if I didn’t want to come with them,” I said with a frown.“I told them to be forceful if anything stopped them from bringing you. I was referring to the useless guards at the borders.” He finally stepped into the room, and I could feel my heart going
“Thank you,” I said to the guards as they all got back up and faced forward. Aeron took my hand and led me into the pack.“Do they bow to every single guest they have at the border?” I asked Aeron, my eyes narrowed. “Maybe you orchestrated that so I would think you’re going to treat me right.”Aeron replied with a chuckle. “You really put yourself on such a high pedestal. Do you seriously see me telling my guards to bow to you and go on one knee when you finally arrive? Perhaps we had a number of rehearsals as well.”I felt heat creeping up my cheeks at the mockery. What was I thinking accusing him of doing something like that? Of course he wouldn’t.“They heard from their alpha that you’re my mate, so they’re giving you the same respect they would give me. That’s all there is to it,” he said.I nodded, refusing to look at him as shame enveloped me. “I’m sorry. I was just… I don’t exactly trust you. You walked into your brother’s pack and took me away without his permission, so you’re
I had asked Aeron about three times what he meant when he said Darius wouldn’t be coming for me at all. He didn’t give me an answer. I was shown to my personal bedroom, which was just as big as the one back in Darius’s house.“I have nothing to wear,” I said to him, finding something to set my eyes on so I wouldn’t look at him. I settled on the white curtains that swayed with the night breeze.“I knew that. I made plans before I left. There are clothes tailored to you in the closet. You don’t have to worry. Take a shower, join me for dinner if you’d like,” he said.I heard his footsteps retreat and the door close before I got the courage to leave. The first place I went was the closet, opening the doors and finding rows and rows of clothing. They all looked so…perfect. Not too big for me, but not too tight as well.I found a pair of white shorts and a matching shirt that I could sleep in, setting them down on the bed.“What’s in it for him?” I asked, wondering what Aeron could possibl
I had asked Aeron about three times what he meant when he said Darius wouldn’t be coming for me at all. He didn’t give me an answer. I was shown to my personal bedroom, which was just as big as the one back in Darius’s house.“I have nothing to wear,” I said to him, finding something to set my eyes on so I wouldn’t look at him. I settled on the white curtains that swayed with the night breeze.“I knew that. I made plans before I left. There are clothes tailored to you in the closet. You don’t have to worry. Take a shower, join me for dinner if you’d like,” he said.I heard his footsteps retreat and the door close before I got the courage to leave. The first place I went was the closet, opening the doors and finding rows and rows of clothing. They all looked so…perfect. Not too big for me, but not too tight as well.I found a pair of white shorts and a matching shirt that I could sleep in, setting them down on the bed.“What’s in it for him?” I asked, wondering what Aeron could possibl
“Thank you,” I said to the guards as they all got back up and faced forward. Aeron took my hand and led me into the pack.“Do they bow to every single guest they have at the border?” I asked Aeron, my eyes narrowed. “Maybe you orchestrated that so I would think you’re going to treat me right.”Aeron replied with a chuckle. “You really put yourself on such a high pedestal. Do you seriously see me telling my guards to bow to you and go on one knee when you finally arrive? Perhaps we had a number of rehearsals as well.”I felt heat creeping up my cheeks at the mockery. What was I thinking accusing him of doing something like that? Of course he wouldn’t.“They heard from their alpha that you’re my mate, so they’re giving you the same respect they would give me. That’s all there is to it,” he said.I nodded, refusing to look at him as shame enveloped me. “I’m sorry. I was just… I don’t exactly trust you. You walked into your brother’s pack and took me away without his permission, so you’re
“What are you doing here?” I asked, the horror obvious in the tone of my voice as I took steps back and almost knocked myself down my tripping on the edge of the bed.His hands were in his pocket as he gave me a cool look, almost like I didn’t need any reason to react that way toward him.“You sent your people here to attack me,” I reminded him, just in case his memory had not refreshed up to that moment to speed things up. “How did you even get in here? Darius said he was never going to give you permission.”“You and Darius must have gotten along very well. I’m jealous.” He placed a hand over his chest and faked a hurt look. “And I didn’t send my people to attack you. I told them to bring you home.”“You told them they could be forceful if I didn’t want to come with them,” I said with a frown.“I told them to be forceful if anything stopped them from bringing you. I was referring to the useless guards at the borders.” He finally stepped into the room, and I could feel my heart going
On the first day, I didn’t think it was a big deal. After all, there had been a sighting of him.“Has he come back?” I asked the same guard as I saw him the next day. “If you know where he is, you can just tell me about it. Even if he’s out of the pack and somewhere else—”“I already told you, he went out yesterday.” This time, the guard sounded agitated. It felt like I was being a bother now. I shrank into myself in shame at how desperate I seemed.“This wouldn’t be the first time he’s gone out and hasn’t returned in days. He might even be out for up to a week,” the guard added. “I highly suggest you wait patiently.”I took his words to heart, but it didn’t exactly give me the best assurance. On the third day, I started to feel extremely uneasy. I knew the guard had told me this was normal, but it didn’t mean I could just sit and accept it. Something was wrong. I couldn’t place a finger on it.Ignoring the words of the mysterious woman I had met under the tree to stay indoors, I walk
I was torn between disappointment and relief when I woke up to an empty bed the next morning. I was disappointed because I didn’t think he would walk away from this so easily and so fast. Then again, that was all the proof I needed to know that I shouldn’t take things too far with him.“Good morning,” Ella, the woman who always came in with my food, greeted as she joined me that morning with a tray of food as usual.“Have you seen Alpha Darius this morning?” I asked.“Not really,” she answered with a shake of her head. “Maybe he’s out hunting. I’m sure he’s close.”I nodded as she set the tray down on the bedside table and walked away, never indulging in whatever curiosities she might have.I sighed as I forced myself to dig through my food. I wanted to convince myself that I didn’t care. I tried not to think about him or why he hadn’t even thought to check up on me, but I failed.When the sun was high up in the sky at noon, I walked out of the room and headed over to his office. I kn
“Zara,” Darius called, looking more surprised than I had expected him to be about something like this. “I don’t think you understand what you’re talking about.”I chuckled without mirth. “I do know what I’m talking about, Darius. You know this is going to work. Your brother will figure out that I chose you over him, and he’ll take a step back. Maybe not for a long time, but enough for us to figure out why this is happening in the first place.”“You just got attacked. You’re not in a right place right now. You just want to take it all out on Aeron, and I understand your frustration. It’s just—”“I’m not you, Darius. I’m not here making decisions just because I’m scorned and I hope it’ll upset your brother. I want this to be over. I’m in the middle of everything, just in case you didn’t realize.”He sighed in defeat and nodded.“But just in case you still want to think about it before going any further, we can talk about it tomorrow. How’s that?”“Fine.” I shrugged, knowing that tomorro
“Help! I’m being attacked!” I yelled as soon as I had the opening to use my voice, causing one of the attackers to hold my mouth closed so hard that I feared my jaw was going to break.I kicked and scratched and punched, trying to find my way out of this situation as the second attacker grabbed my legs and hoisted me off the ground. They both started to head to the border in a hurry.I groaned against the arm that was clamped against my mouth as hot tears rolled down my cheeks.“Can you stop making all that fuss? If you do anything stupid, I’ll make sure to kill you and tell Alpha Aeron that we couldn’t get you. Would that be better?” The one holding my legs threatened.For a moment, I stopped struggling. I could almost feel bruises forming from where he held my legs tightly.One moment, I was trapped in the middle of them both with them carrying me out of the pack and left with nothing to do but to think about my own despair. The next moment, I was falling to the ground with a loud t
“What are you talking about?” I shook my head as I stopped pacing in the middle of Darius’s room. My eyes were narrowed and focused on him. He wasn’t serious. He couldn’t be.“Aeron is a horrible person. You might not see it because he’s putting up a front, but you’ll find out soon enough. Just in case you didn’t know, I won’t be granting him permission to come into my pack again. The next time you see him, he’ll probably be dead from trying to wage war against me.”“No. That’s not… What is this all about? Just because you and your brother have some sort of difference between you that you can’t settle doesn’t mean I have to be in the middle of it,” I protested.“And when my brother is dead,” he continued as if I had said nothing, “you’ll have no other option than to complete the mate bond with me as there’s no other person. I have no intention of forging you.”“This is ridiculous. I’m not going to do anything with you. Not even if Aeron dies,” I said, wanting to mean every word but I
“You can carry on with the festival,” Darius said to his pack members, more in a tone that told them that if they didn’t, there would be consequences.“How do you think you’re going to keep me locked up in your pack until he returns and possibly wages war against you?” I asked him with my arms crossed after everyone turned around and pretended like they weren’t worried.“It seems my guards weren’t as competent as I gave them credit for. You will be under my watch for the next few days. I want to see what my brother intends to do. You make an attempt to escape one more time, I won’t care what my brother threatens me with and you’ll find yourself in a less than honorable grave.”From the way he was looking at me, I could tell that he wasn’t bluffing. It didn’t take away the curiosity that I held on to.“Why didn’t you just give me up? You could have made me his problem instead of having me stay here. You don’t need me,” I said.“You have no right to know what I’m thinking. You’re coming