Damien's POV “It doesn't seem like it. You've been getting ahead of yourself lately,” one of them said. I sensed that whoever had sent these men this way had given them a reason to kill me. They must have weaved some sort of story as to why I deserved to die. Perhaps if I could get them to tell me the story, I could guess who was behind this or if this was just a huge misunderstanding.“How so? I've just been minding my own business. Dunno why you folks tryna kill me,” I said, getting better at speaking at their level.“You was sleeping with your master's wife and riding his horses. Now that's a fine horse you have there and I know for sure it ain't yours.”My eyes narrowed at the accusations and I realised slowly that this was going to be tricky. How could I know if the accusations levied had been deliberate so that I would fit the profile or if I just happened to fit the profile of someone with these accusations?“I do enjoy riding the horses but I swear I didn't touch his wife, I
Damien's POV Elder Zigmund’s words echoed in my mind as I made my way back to my pack on the back of my horse. I was never scared to travel alone but I could not shake off the feeling that someone was following me. I knew I was only panicked because of the things Elder Zigmind had told me but I hated how easily I had let the fear settle in my head. I tried to think of anything else but my discussion with Elder Zigmund. I tried thinking of Olivia but the thought of her only brought me back to Elder Zigmund. I tried settling my thoughts on Jeremy but immediately I was filled with anxiety about telling him that I was his father. I know I had been pushing for Olivia to allow me to do it but the idea of actually doing it scared me a little bit. What if Jeremy rejected me as his father? I knew that even though Simeon had hurt him, he still considered the man father in many ways. After all, he had been there since his cradlehood. A chill ran through my body as I was reminded of how I had
Damien's POV “No, I won't. Jeremy is safer within these walls, at least for now,” she responded, but her tone told me that she would be on the lookout for safer options. I could not blame her if she did. After all, my pack was on the brink of a war.“You won't ask me where I am going?” I asked, finding it strange that she had remained silent.“No, it's none of my business, really,” she replied with a tight smile. She was about to walk away from me, but I held her back.“It is your business. I am going to see Elder Zigmund about this Alpha removal business. It doesn't sit right with me,” I told her, watching her expression change to one of slight worry. That was good. It showed that she still cared.“It may be Alira's doing,” she said quietly. I almost did not hear her.“I will find out,” I said.“Can I say goodbye to Jeremy?” I asked, nervously.I had to put her in a tough spot with the question, but I was hoping she would say yes.“Sure,” she said with a shrug.I followed her down t
Olivia's POV He was shocked and so were all the men around him including Damien. He looked at me with eyes that said he did not know what to do. He had been hit by a woman and it was both humiliating and confusing. If I had been Damien, there was no doubt that he would have punched back but I was Olivia and he was confused. He was saved however, by someone who came up to him and whispered something in his ear.He eyed us, clearly displeased by what he had just been told. Then grudgingly, he said, “Prince Orion has been found, there is no need to search.”“We will be filing a complaint to the council informing the council of how you brought your men to raid my pack like they are a gang of thugs,” Damien spat angrily.“I don't think so, there are so many complaints against you, you may not be Alpha here for very long,” he said with a smile that was spiteful.My heart dropped. The moment felt surreal, like the beginning of a nightmare I couldn’t wake from. I looked into his eyes and saw
Orion's POV “He's always away,” came my awkward response but it had been the truth. My father was a businessman to the core, it was why our pack was so rich. My father had his faults and I blamed him for mother's death but he was a good Alpha. The well-being of his pack was his utmost concern and he had dedicated his entire life to it just like his father before him and just like I would someday. He was a man who believed in luxury but he had principles too and he cared genuinely about people. He had also taught me to live the same way. Perhaps that was why I had been so terrible at sword practice at seventeen that I had hurt myself with my own blade. My tutors had told my father that I was hopeless in combat.“But he's here in you,” she had said, her eyes fixed on mine.Instinctively, I took a step backward.This was my father's wife and she was once my mother's best friend. I could not do this even if she gave me an invitation to her bosom. It would be the greatest betrayal a son
Orion's POVThe truth was that I was scared. I was not sure what scared me more, my stepmother or death or the two.I had faced many terrifying things in my life but nothing ever unsettled me quite the way she did, and that included the time I had been chased by a wild boar.So when I got home I knew that there was only one thing to do — play dumb. There was no other option, I did not think that any other thing would have been acceptable.There was no time to plan, no time to ask for advice from anyone, and definitely no time to escape.She appeared to be buying my act too which was either good or bad. With my stepmother one could never know.“I would not have minded being in charge. I mean, I am to assume his position one day, you know? With his failing health, that could be sooner than we think,” I said to her in the plainest tone I could muster. She did not look too pleased with what I had just said and she expressed this with a smile, “we must not say such things, dear prince.”I