Alpha Prince Roy~~“If it isn't the cousin I was on my way to visit.”I had to hold back the urge to scoff, and somehow he knew I was doing that because we had both sworn to be enemies despite my dad's effort to mend our relationship.“Can we not do this today, Roy?” He said to me, his nose high in the air and his ego almost choking me as I inhaled deeply.Oh, I despised him.One thing to be known about me is that I will never take this clown seriously. He was a clown to me; as far as I know, he was no king. Some might be scared of him, but I honestly wanted to screw with him just like he did with me and eventually did to Laura.He killed her.I don't care if she died at his hands or not, but as far as I was concerned, he killed her.Because of him, Laura, the woman who was meant to be mine, died.“Do what? I came to check on you. It's been so long since I have seen you or been around my family. Being in the human world is fun, but you know, there is nothing like home.” I chimed, fo
HAYLEE~~The day started intense for me, but after Alpha King Xalen left my room this morning, the day went back to normal despite the thoughts flashing through my mind. I took care of the royal babies, and they all had breakfast with me in the kitchen since Alpha King Xalen wasn’t available to have breakfast with them.Also, Princess Sophia and Prince Asher didn’t want to eat with Princess Allison, who had to eat breakfast alone in the dining hall.Despite the fact that she loved tormenting the poor kids, Princess Allison wasn’t okay with eating alone, and as soon as she was done eating, she came in search of the kids. She found us leaving the kitchen, giggling and chatting happily.“What’s funny? Why are you all laughing?” she snapped immediately, starting another unnecessary drama.As soon as Prince Asher heard her voice, he moved closer to me, holding the hem of my gown. Unlike Princess Sophia, he didn’t enjoy being confronted.“You wouldn’t understand the joke even if we shared
ALPHA KING XALEN~~Nobody has the right to touch even a strand of my kids' hair, not to talk of hitting them because of whatever.That was common knowledge, but of course, Allison lacked that too.Yes, Sophia can be very rude, but that is simply her defense mechanism. She would never disrespect someone who doesn't deserve it unless she is hurt.And if I knew anything about Allison, she deserved whatever Sophia said to her.This was why I already had the perfect response for Allison when she said, “You will send me back to my pack if I hit them?”Before she could add Haylee to the list, I confirmed without blinking, "Yes, and that's not the worst I can do to you. Touch my kids again or try to harm them, and you will see just how crazy I can be.”She was bold. I mean, everyone knew better than to hit my kids. What if Haylee wasn't there to intervene? Would she have hit Sophia?“If she had done that, she would be dead by now. The only reason I'm not tearing her apart is because of the
Princess Allison’s POV~~How could he?Those three words kept echoing in my head. I could feel my body shaking from the fear Alpha King Xalen had infused into my soul.For the first time, I was actually scared of him because I knew he wasn't bluffing. I should have known better than to try to hit Sophia. What was I thinking?But despite that mistake, Sophia has no right to speak down on me. That little brat said she would make me understand why she was the Royal Alpha Princess and not me. Fuck! I felt humiliated.Not just because of her words but because her aura changed in that moment, and I felt my body almost falling to the ground as if to worship her. I would have scratched my face out if her aura had made me do that. Thankfully, Alpha King Xalen came in before his kid could humiliate me.“Only to humiliate you before the so-called Royal Help? Damn him!” Nala growled within me.Fuck them all!I couldn't put Sophia in her place, and neither could I take Jodie and mold her into wh
HAYLEE~~“Roy is on his way to you. Don't let him fool you. He is a liar and a betrayer.”Even before Alpha King Xalen sent those words into my mind through the link, I could already sense that he and his cousin weren't on good terms.More appropriately, Liya could sense it, and she had informed me.“I wonder what happened between those two,” Liya etched into my mind, her curiosity bubbling within me.I shook my head before she could put any ideas in my head. “We already have so much to worry about and wonder about. We can't even sleep peacefully as it is. Alpha Prince Roy is the last thing I want to add to the long list that keeps us awake at night.”Plus, I couldn't bear to have another powerful wolf on my case. Princess Allison had been more than enough trouble. I didn't need more.With that in mind, I ushered the kids to Princess Sophia's room, which I believed would be a good place to hide from Alpha Prince Roy. I intended to stay out of his way for as long as possible.“I'm s
HAYLEE~~Since I didn’t want to cook, I decided to go to the royal kitchen to get lunch because I knew the kitchen staff would have prepared something for the royal family regardless of whether they wanted to eat or not.I guess that was my first mistake because as soon as I pulled the palace front door open and stepped out, I came face to face with Alpha Prince Roy. I almost jumped out of my skin when I walked straight into him before I could push the brakes of my legs. “Gotcha.” He smiled, his eyes glinting with mischief as he stared down at my frame. What the hell is wrong with everyone connected to this family? “Oh, did I scare you?” Alpha Prince Roy asked with a smirk. I stepped away from him, glared at him subtly, or I hoped I did, and responded, “Yes, My Prince. I wasn’t expecting to see you—” “You don’t have to lie. I know you have been hiding because Xalen told you to do so.” He chuckled, folding his arm under his chest. “W-what are y-you—” I thought it was best to d
HAYLEE~~It's been a whole week since Alpha King Xalen freed me from the limiting ban he placed on me. It's been a week of freedom, but with Alpha Prince Roy and Princess Allison’s eyes on every move, I haven't enjoyed my freedom.Also, the fact that I had a lot on my mind didn't make the week easy. Of course, Alpha King Xalen was still waiting for me to give him a second chance, and I wanted to despite my fears. However, I haven't seen much of Alpha King Xalen since he warned Princess Allison against hurting me. Neither have I seen my supposed best friend, Jose, who I have been dying to see. “At this point, I am beginning to believe that he is avoiding us,” Liya told me as I closed the door to the nursery. I had just put Jodie to bed for her afternoon nap, and Asher was enjoying the afternoon with Sophia. I didn’t have to be with the kids, so I asked Liya, “What if we go to his room?”“Do you know where that is?” Liya asked me.I chuckled, “How hard can it be to find his room? I
HAYLEE~~“Haylee?” The woman with Jose called out with disbelief, or should I say confusion? Because she looked like she was trying to understand why I was there, and as much as I wanted to tell her that I was asking myself the same question, I was numb because a big part of me already knew why she was there. Hell! They both exuded the undeniable scent of sex.I breathed, “I'm sorry to have interrupted you. I better go—”“No, wait a second!” I have come to know that voice and maybe loved it. But right now, I couldn't even look her in the eyes because she reeked of my best friend's scent and of the man who confessed his feelings to me less than a month ago. They both reeked of sex.If it was someone else, I wouldn't have cared, even though it proved that Jose could be just as bad as Sylas was trying to tell me. But this was someone who had vowed to be my friend even when I wasn't ready to be hers. This was Benita for goddess’ sake! I couldn't stand seeing her half-naked and dis
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
ALPHA KING XALEN~~I knew I should resist her because I had meetings scheduled but I could hear my wolf saying, “Fuck the meeting and the elders,” in my mind. I knew I should fight the urge to slam into her this minute and at least get her to the bedroom, but I couldn't.She was irritable.And even though she acted innocent, she knew I couldn't resist her. The best part of having a bond with Haylee was that I felt the same. Every feeling was mutual—Gosh, I shouldn't call her Haylee anymore. That name seemed to bring nothing but pain, trauma, and disappointment. Hearing her father and sister refer to her as Haylee and Hay made me realize that each time I called her by that name, I was reminding her of everything she should forget.I didn't want that for her. And since everyone seemed to call her Hay—even though she was the Hay to my Xay—I knew I had to come up with a better pet name for her—one that would be special to us.“Time is ticking, King Xalen,” Haylee moaned, trembling wi
HAYLEE~~For the next two days, I didn't see Kaylee and Alfred. I believed Flavia had something to do with that, as she won't stop grumbling about how I was too kind, even though I explained why I had to let them stay.I have also stopped hiding out in different rooms just to avoid Allison, the servant of the pack members. I have come to realize that I wasn't doing myself any good by hiding.Within these two days, I have been training physically with Xalen, training spiritually with Gladys, and sometimes with Flavia when she takes a break from making Kaylee's life hell. I have also informed Gladys and Flavia about the paragraph that stood out to me, and they both promised to reach out to healers in other packs and find out what they knew about the prophecy.It's been two days of improvement, and even Xalen confirmed it when I delivered another solid punch to his jaw. His groan resonated through the private training room where we had been for hours.“Someone is getting better and fe
HAYLEE~~Have you ever been hurt by the same people who should love you? Betrayed by a family member or abused? If you have, then you will understand all that came with my dad tendering a heartfelt apology to me after almost twenty years of torture and trauma.It was a bittersweet moment.My world flipped, and the harsh foundation shifted, leaving me confused for a moment. After all, this wasn’t normal. The man who had broken my bones more than I could count on both hands was standing right in front of me, staring at me with eyes that pierced through my mask, going straight for my wounded soul.“I really am sorry, Haylee. This won’t change what I have done, but I want you to know that I was wrong and you didn’t deserve a scumbag like me,” he uttered, adding more salt to the open wound his apology had placed right in the center of my soul.Now, how do I respond to this? I couldn’t accept the apology because I wasn’t ready to forgive him, but I also couldn’t reject it because my dama