HAYLEE~~“Something is happening with us, Hay,” Liya mumbled to me as I prepared to leave my bedroom that morning. I was eager to see the kids and also to talk with Sophia to make sure she wasn’t still holding on to everything that happened yesterday.“Obviously, Liya,” I muttered in response to my wolf. “It’s the only explanation for the healing I performed yesterday. Plain ugly Haylee couldn’t have done that—”“It’s something else, Hay. It’s not just the healing ability. Of course, something snapped within us yesterday, but when we were in bed with Xalen, I felt the urge to bite into his neck and—”I chuckled, heat rushing to my face even though I could hear the seriousness in my wolf’s voice. “I felt that urge too, Liya. I believe it’s called desire. Plus, I also wanted to mark Xalen.”Liya sighed. “Will you let me speak, or will you continue to assume that you know everything? I thought you wanted me to find an explanation from within.”“I’m sorry. Please tell me.” I urged my wo
HAYLEE~~While panic sliced through me, my eyes also cut to Sophia and Asher, the two royal babies that could understand every word that came out of Flavia's mouth. This wasn’t how the kids should find out.Although I had never thought about how I would tell them that I was taking the crown and position that once belonged to their mom, I was certain they shouldn’t find out like this—“Breathe, Haylee. You look like you are about to pass out,” Flavia muttered, her brows furrowed with concern. “I am not telling anyone. Trust me.”In a hushed tone, I voiced, “How did you know? Did he tell you?”Xalen would have informed me if he had told Flavia or anyone about the bond we both agreed should remain hidden until Allison and her family were no longer a problem.Flavia shook her head and whispered, “He did tell me, Haylee. Call it a healer’s instinct, but I must say the affection between the two of you was unmissable. Have you seen the way he looks at you? Or the way you worry about him?
ALPHA KING XALEN~~Hour after hour, we searched but found nothing that could lead us to my traitorous uncle. It felt like a crime to refer to him as my uncle, but that was who he was, regardless of what he did. The sun had long made its way to its resting place, leaving the sky drenched in hues of crimson and deep indigo.While the chills of night began to settle in, each breath I took deepened the ache of betrayal—a bitter reminder that blood didn’t guarantee loyalty.After searching even beyond the pack borders, despite my men’s claims that Elder Calvin didn’t make it past the borders, the hope of finding him and bringing him to justice flickered like a dying flame.“He made it out, Xalen.” Roy’s voice bounced off the walls of my mind before he stepped out of the shadow standing beside me.My eyes fell on him—the last person I could call my blood aside from my kids—and I wondered if he would remain loyal despite the odds.“How do we fish him out? He needs to suffer for everything
HAYLEE~~For the next few days, rumors about me spread, and even though I didn’t know, words went beyond the borders of the royal pack. Meanwhile, within the pack, I had been preoccupied with solving the mystery behind my ability.Flavia had done a lot of explaining.Thanks to her, I now know that someone within my family must have been a healer to pass down the ability. She also made me realize that I wasn’t as ordinary as I thought I was.However, Flavia couldn’t answer all the questions I had. In fact, her explanation made my list of questions longer as I wondered which side of my family had a healer—paternal or maternal?Aside from Kaylee and our dad, I had never met any other family member. Mom had died, and Dad wouldn’t talk about her. The few times he spoke about her, he cracked a few of my ribs.Honestly, I didn’t have much to work with, and at this point, I was considering leaving the mystery as it was and accepting my ability. Groom it. Water it. Become a master and make a
ALPHA KING XALEN~~I was shaking with rage.With every step I took, the anger bubbling within me intensified. As if it wasn’t enough that I had failed to find my traitorous uncle even though it had been a week since he escaped, I had also been disrespected by the council of elders.Earlier today, I was called to their courts and found out that I had just twenty days left to make Allison my queen or give up the power and title that I held.How did sixty days become twenty?It was all thanks to Calvin. His actions brought shame to the LeRoy family, and people began to lose trust in us. With the royal family wielding all the power, the support of our subjects was vital.Without their allegiance, I risked becoming a tyrant, and soon the war my parents had so diligently kept at bay would descend upon the realm.“They can’t make us marry or even mate with her,” Theo hissed maliciously, his rage mixing with mine and creating a perfect blend that had every nerve in my body acting up.But t
HAYLEE~~It didn't end with a kiss.I didn't let it end with a kiss. Heck! I couldn't let it end because I wanted more. My body was in charge, or, to be precise, the raw power flowing through me was in charge, and it was driving me insane.Insanely horny.After a moment of insane anger that had me physically jumping José with the intention of showing him who I had become. Or maybe it was who I could become when triggered.Gosh! I hate this energy.No! I loved this energy. I loved how it heightened my senses and made Xalen’s touches ten times hotter. My entire body became so sensitive—sensitive enough to form a tight knot within my stomach, pulling loud moans from me.“Hey.” Xalen groaned, my name slipping past his lips before I took them with mine, tasting like the hungry she-wolf that I had become. “Haylee, we have to stop.”Xalen managed to put space between our bodies, but it was only for a second.In that second, I also whimpered before locking our lips once more, “We don't hav
HAYLEE~~Euphoria beat through me as I fell into a peaceful slumber. Xalen’s scent and arms wrapped around me, helping me fall deeper and deeper into a realm I didn't know existed. Although I was unconscious and deeply asleep, I was still conscious of the way my heartbeat decreased.The slow thump in my chest propelled me—or better still, propelled my soul—into a dimension where I felt like some floating but lost angel.With Xalen in my bedroom, where he just made me cum… made me a woman. Even the thought of that made this floating angel smile and find her way within an unfamiliar dimension. But that wasn’t the point I was trying to make.The point is that with Xalen, I was sleeping, but I was deeply awake in this dimension, and I knew it. Somehow, I wasn’t confused about the state of my mind. However, I was curious.At first, the dimension was a blank space with nothing but emptiness, but within a twinkle of an eye, it became a very big hall with glass walls that were so far apart
HAYLEE~~“Everything okay?” Xalen asked, pushing himself into a sitting position the second he sensed that I was no longer in his arms.I didn’t know how to answer that question. In my mind, I was certain that what I saw was real, but in that same mind, confusion dwelled, pressing heavily against everything I knew—everything I had believed all my life.I mean, didn’t my dad hate me because I looked like my mom? Goddess, I looked nothing like that woman.She could pass for milk, and her voice could heal a broken soul. How could I even compare to her? Plus, wasn’t she supposed to be dead? Did I just commune with a ghost? A fine-ass one at that?Gosh, I was meant to despise her, yet with her gone, I felt empty. I felt like I shouldn’t exist without her. Like it was a crime to exist without her. I didn’t know who the hell this woman was—“She said she named you. She said she is our mom,” Liya blurted into my mind while I stared into space, unable to form the right words to say to Xalen
HAYLEE~~Saying I was relieved would be an understatement of the century; I was overwhelmed with elation, a surge of joy that went beyond mere relief. The sound of joy and the promise of a better future were enough reasons for me to be happy.And I was.But at the same time, I was worried. Or maybe it was fear because I wasn’t sure I could live up to the pack’s expectations. The same expectations that I had infused into their minds when I said these words to them:“I promise to be a queen who leaves marks—marks that will remain unerasable throughout history.”Even after the small celebration that happened after my coronation was scheduled, I still couldn’t figure out how those words made their way out of my mouth. It was as if a part of me I never knew existed voiced those words… a part of me that was awakened when the pack openly accepted me.“You’ve always wanted to be accepted,” Liya chimed into my mind as I walked back to the bedroom with Xalen, who was grinning from ear to ear
ALPHA KING XALEN~~Mornings and nights have become my favorites. I wake up to Haylee in the morning and share breakfast with the family before facing the rest of the world. And at night, I get to leave the chaos behind, return to my loved ones, and fall asleep with Haylee in my arms.But today, this cherished morning had to end earlier than usual. In that moment, I worried it would be yet another tough day for my mate and me.“It’s Roy. You might want to see this,” my cousin’s voice boomed through the room before I could even open the door.Sophia and Asher had been hanging on me as I stood there, but as soon as they saw Roy, they jumped on him instead, giving me a moment to compose myself after the strenuous dancing and singing.“You call that singing? Haylee calls it a sound. A bad sound,” Theo mocked me through the link.Roy’s cry for help snapped me out of it. “Can you get one of them off me? I’m not a father yet, and this is pure torture.”“More like practice, brother,” I quip
HAYLEE~~I cried my heart out to sleep last night. I was sad after the meeting with Kaylee, and even though Flavai tried to console me, I couldn’t shake off the mood. I thought sleeping early would help me relax, and I yearned to reach out to Aradia so we could talk.Before I went to bed, Jodie was cranky, and she wouldn’t stop crying until I carried her. I didn’t know when I fell asleep with her in my arms, but it was a good sleep. It was as if she was crying to reach me so she could comfort me, even though other people had failed to do so.Jodie just happened to be my little comforter.That was the first thought that came to mind as I slipped out of the sleep realm that morning. Although I didn’t get to connect with Aradia, I woke up feeling less sad, and I didn’t understand why until my eyes fluttered open and instantly connected with Xalen’s happy eyes.“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Xalen’s voice and love rushed into my mind as he spoke through our mate bond.His eyes twinkl
ALPHA KING XALEN~~In that moment, my pack members got their priorities right. I could feel it in my bones, yet I added, “Protesting to have Haylee punished for being a good person caught in the middle of bad ones or evil would mean you are ready to have Alpha Richard as your Alpha and King.”To clarify, I added, “Yes, I will stop being your Alpha and give the pack to him. He and his family will lead you, and just like now, when they commit a crime or treat you unjustly, you won’t be able to prove it. Even if you can, the court will be against you, and your fellow pack members will wage war against you until you die in silence or get killed despite your innocence.”For a few minutes, I didn’t utter another word. I needed everything I had said to sink into the hundreds of minds listening to me.After a while, I continued, “I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about leaving after I found out that Laura was used against me. I wanted to give up because I was tired of losing ever
ALPHA KING XALEN~~After many hours of secret meetings with the ten elders who had come forward to take an oath of loyalty, I thought to check on my mate before moving on to speak to every member of the pack.She has been on my mind all day, and I worry about her.However, I knew I had to get this done before going to Haylee so I could give her my full attention. With that thought in mind, I shoved my desire to see her to the depth of my stomach, looking around my empty office as I opened my mind to every member of the Royal Pack, creating a general link so everyone could hear me.Everyone but the little kids under the age of thirteen.My pack members' curiosity could be felt through the link I created, but since I was their Alpha, that feeling wasn’t overwhelming. I could control it.I breathed into their minds, “Good evening, members of the Royal Pack. As you can tell, it’s your Alpha and King, and this is a general message for all of you.”I managed to calm my nerves, sealing my
HAYLEE~~“He would never have loved me if I didn't force him to. Hell, he is tolerating me because of what I know. Even now, he doesn't love me.” Kaylee smiled sadly.Her eyes were on me, and her sadness burned through the protective layer of my skin.I wished I could tell her that wasn't the truth, but at this moment, I knew nothing.“He would have loved you more than he loved me because he loved your mom more than he loved mine,” Kaylee stated, her voice blunt with no emotion. “Maybe if I didn't make him hit you, he would have felt love for you instead of the guilt I know he carries in his heart.”It was hard to believe Kaylee was the reason I got beaten. I mean, yes, I have always known she lied to our dad just to watch me suffer, but it was hard to believe she asked him to, and he did.Leverage or not, it doesn't feel right.Kaylee continued on that path, though, saying, “I couldn't let that happen, so I ruined his chances with you, threatening him every day so he couldn't hurt
HAYLEE~~Would I have turned evil and mean if I’d found out that my dad cheated on my mom when I was five years old?I asked myself that before I heard the rest of Kaylee’s story, and my answer was no.But if I had waited until she finished, I believe my answer would have been different.“Like all lying assholes, Dad didn't tell my mom that he cheated on her. And even though she felt the pain when he did the deed with your mom, he denied it and blamed her pregnancy for everything, saying it was just an early sign,” Kaylee breathed, adjusting her position on the floor where she’d sat since she entered the room.I let her continue without interrupting. I noticed tears trickling down her face, her inner child weeping as her heart was broken all over again. I could only imagine the pain Kaylee felt when our drunken father confessed all this to her.And for her to remember it so vividly—that must have hurt so much that she buried it deep in her mind.“My mom believed his lies, but the t
HAYLEE~~“All your life, Dad made you believe that the reason he hated you was because you looked like our late mom, or did he tell you she abandoned us?” Kaylee began. “I can't keep track of the story because it keeps changing.”Rather than tell my twin sister that I felt the same way but knew our mom was still alive somewhere, I let her continue. She added, “Well, I believed that too because he started hating you until I found out he lied about our mom leaving and then dying.”What did she mean before he started hating me? Was there a time Alfred loved me? That man hated me from the second I was born, but Kaylee wouldn’t know that because she is a self-centered brat. Or so I told myself.Still, I didn’t try to correct her. I simply listened.“When we were younger, about five years old, I found a picture of a woman who looked like an older version of me. I have Dad’s eyes and hair, but my face was all from this woman,” Kaylee breathed, holding my gaze. “I don't know if you remembe
HAYLEE~~“Feels like it’s going to be a good day, after all.” Liya chirped happily within me.In that moment, I believed the same because I assumed nothing could ruin my mood, not even meeting with Kaylee and Alfred.I assumed I was ready for anything they had for me. After all, what could be more shocking than the fact that I could communicate with a woman I had never met before and even bond with her?Nothing. I thought to myself, wearing a big smile and holding onto the memories that Xalen burned into my mind and skin earlier today.Since I needed a private place to discuss with Kaylee and Alfred— a place where Allison wouldn’t be lurking around with her minions—I decided to meet with them in Flavia's former room in the Healers’ building.“I am going with you and staying there with you, Haylee. Do you agree?” Flavia asked as soon as she saw me heading for the door.“Do I have a choice?” I laughed freely, oblivious to the shocking revelations that awaited me.“No, you don’t,” Fla