AVERY“ What did you do with Draven? ” I mumble, standing beside Aleister.He is sitting on the wing chair in the living room of the little cottage while we wait for the warriors to bring Nellie, Sara, and Marco, the village head. “ For now… ” Aleister glances at the door. “ Nothing. ”I shoot him a side glance before following his line of sight. Nellie and Sara are being dragged inside by the warriors with Marco following shortly after. They don’t fight to break free. Instead, they have this proud look on their faces, one that is void of any guilt or fear—It’s a symbol of their self-confidence, a belief that whatever they did is right. Most of the rebels always have this look on their faces. People don’t risk their lives for a cause they don’t believe in, not when they are going against a Lycan King, a ruler chosen by the Moon Goddess herself.“ Did you forgive him? ” Nellie turns to me.“ I thought you hated the King, Avery. ” Sara mumbles under her breath. “ you were scared when
AVERY“ Noelle is the one who made sure we didn’t end up without food. But you Lycans claimed all the production too.” Noelle scoffs.Aleister narrows his eyes. “ Why do you think I would claim the production? What do I gain from it?”Noelle frowns, sharing a confused look with Marco and Sara. I purse my lips. I can sense something is not sitting right here.“ Your men...they come and take everything, then they divide ration among villages. The food they send us is not enough. That’s why we have to starve. We work double hard to make things work but in the end, they still take everything. Why are you acting like you are not aware of it? ” Marco asks, his tone changing into a much lighter one.“ Who does that? ” Aleister inquires. The temperature in the room drops, sending a shudder down my back. .“ Your men...do, My King? ” Sara doesn’t sound sure anymore.“ Is that what these men said specifically? ” Aleister rises. Shadows sneak up the wall, slowly darkening the living room again
AVERY“ I will go personally and catch them in the act.” Draven huffs, taking a seat on the couch opposite Aleister. Aleister shoots him a pointed look. Draven gulps before getting to his feet again. I fold my arms across my chest and take a look at all three brothers. Declan is the only one who seems unfazed by whatever is going on while the other are in an awkward state.“ I am going. They used my name to oppress MY people!” Aleister says through his gritted teeth.“ A King going out to take care of some bandits?” Draven’s eyes twitch.“ Some things need to be taken care of by the King himself.” Declan replies instead of Aleister. “ If they are using his name, they can’t be ordinary bandits. There is something big going on here. Stealing food by taking the King’s name can’t be about just stealing food from the villagers.”“ I agree with Declan.” I nod thoughtfully. “ Whoever is doing this knows how sentimental the witch clans get about food and water. Yet, they stole from them and
AVERY “ Why are you staying behind? ” Sara comes to stand beside me. Earlier, Aleister let the three go. As expected, they let their squad know about the misunderstanding and sent word to other rebels about the change in situation. The rebellion is over with an unexpected turn, with no more deaths and a desire for revenge. Aleister took a step back and stopped everything at once. “ Didn’t you two get back together? ” She asks when I don’t reply. I can see Aleister and Draven leaving in the distance, with their warriors and Marco in tow. They will stay close to the warehouse and keep an eye out for those traitors. As I watch him, there are many things that I am forced to think about. I didn’t respond to Aleister’s plea to stay and he didn’t ask me about it again. It’s like we have a silent agreement. I can leave if I want, but not before saying goodbye. “ I…think we are…still in the trial phase. ” I nod, staring at Aleister’s back. As if aware of my eyes on him, he glances o
AVERYAleister caught the men and returned after three days. The men refused to admit that Agrona was behind the whole fiasco but Aleister got inside their heads and made them confess. As expected, it is all that witch. She truly kept pushing Aleister in the ditch so he had to get her help every time he faced trouble with the witches and wizards.This incident is not my main focus though. The rebellion has been managed and Aleister now knows that Agrona must be dealt with. But according to Declan’s intel, the witch won’t go down easily. After Aleister kicked her away from him, she managed to crawl back to the castle.By now, she must have prepared another ditch for Aleister. “ What are you thinking about, Princess? ” His knuckles run down the side of my neck as he asks from behind. I blink, shifting my focus away from the window and glancing at him from over my shoulder. Aleister’s deep eyes are fixed on me, soft and affectionate. I sigh. After everything, did he need another bet
AVERY“ We shouldn’t be out here. Let’s just go back, Princess. If your brother, the King finds out we sneaked out and ended up here, we will be so dead. ” My friend and helper Renee whispers in my ear.I shake my head and shoot her a glare. “ What did I tell you before, Renee? ”Her dull blue eyes move towards the building in front of us before she looks back at me, “ You told me to call you Ava when we are out. ”“ Yes, that’s right! Tonight, I am just Ava. ” I point my forefinger at her. To my surprise, I see two fingers instead of one.Perhaps, all the alcohol is finally kicking in. “ Ava. ” I mumble, and lower my finger to avoid the embarrassing state of my mind. “ let’s—let’s just go inside. ”It’s a big mistake. A small voice in my head keeps whispering but I can not pay attention to that. When your heart is crushed and your spirits are beaten down, maybe, you simply can’t bring yourself to care about anything else. That’s what must be happening to me. I don’t seem to give a
AVERYWhen I near him, the man turns his head slightly. I halt, trying to see his features through the hood covering his head but it is impossible.Shaking the drowsiness from my mind, I approach and slump on the seat opposite him. He picks up his head and casts me a curious look.My breath hitches. A pair of deep grey eyes peer back at me, as his lips morph into a quirky smirk.Unconsciously, I hold my breath and stare at him without moving a single muscle. I have seen my fair share of handsome men in my life, but something about this gruff and muscle-packed man screams a certain kind of sex appeal. I swallow the lump forming in my throat and focus on his grey eyes. I narrow my gaze on him.“ Are you from the South? ” I huff, my voice coming out slurry. Grey eyes are the symbol of people from the South, the enemy Kingdom—the same place where I am supposed to be shipped to, a week later.The people from there reside behind a magical wall that they raised in their defence, and they a
AVERY“ N—No. ” My back arcs.“ Ask my name. ” He demands in an amused tone.I can’t focus on whatever he wants. I can only feel his hand in my hair and on my breast. Calloused fingers kneading my skin, and making me breathless.“ Ask me. ” His lips press onto mine again, just enough to make me yearn for more.If I know his name, will I…seek him again?I…can’t. “ I don’t want to know. ” I shudder helplessly. “ What do you want, Princess? ” His breath hits my cheek before sliding to my exposed neck.He pulls at my hair, making me arc more for him. His lips press into the crook of my neck, sending chills down my spine.“ I just want you to, Ah…make me feel good. ” I blurt hesitantly.He chuckles against my skin. My fingers dig into his muscles, feeling the hardness and imagining his body over mine.The tingling sensation between my thighs is driving me crazy. I open my mouth to demand him to hurry up but his hands behind my back stop me.With a tug, he rips the back of my dress. Butto