STARLETTEWithin seconds, the maid's yard was almost empty. I knew I had to make a run for it, but I couldn’t leave Bella there. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to her.“How do I get this rope off?” I panicked as I tried to look for the knot to loosen.“Starlette. There’s no time; just go. Save yourself.” She said weakly. The fear in her voice was evident, and I wasn’t leaving her alone. “I’m not leaving you here.”I found the knot and quickly untied her. I wrapped her arm around my shoulders to support her, as she was too weak to walk on her own. “Where is your room?” I asked her. She pointed at a particular door, and we headed towards the room, but when we got there, the room was locked. “Linda, Sarah, please open the door.” She called on her roommates, but there was no response. “Please!” I pleaded, banging on the door. I could hear the rouges drawing near, and fear saturated my whole being. If we didn’t find a place to hide, we’d be dead in minute
STARLETTEThe next time I opened my eyes, I was in Maximus’s arms, laying on his laps. Startled, I gasped and tried to jump off him, but he held me in place. “Shhhh.” He said. “You're still weak.”The knife the rogue used to stab me must have been laced with a concentrated amount of wolfsbane, which was what weakened me to the extent of passing out.“Where‘s Bella?” I quickly asked when she crossed my mind.“Bella is fine.”“The rogues didn’t attack her?” I asked.“They didn’t.” He assured me, and I sighed in relief.I was relieved about Bella, but still tensed because I was in his arms. I hated him, but what I hated the most was how my body reacted to him. I hated that this devil had to be my mate.But, thinking about it, he wasn’t that much of a devil. My life had already flashed before my eyes, but he saved me. Not only did he save me, he chose to save me instead of Lauren. I still hated him regardless, but I was grateful. “What are you thinking about?” His words cut through my
MAXIMUS I didn’t know how much Starlette meant to me until I almost lost her today. I had always known that I cared about her; she was fated for me anyway. I just hated that she had to be an omega. I thought she wasn’t fit to be Luna and wouldn’t add any value to me. Lauren, on the other hand, was smart and strong. But lately, she seemed to irk me, and I was growing into Starlette. And also lately, Starlette was starting to prove to me that she was smarter than I thought.We got to Pack Square, where we entrapped one of the invisibles by pouring a trail of salt around him, as Starlette had told us. I was surprised that it really did work. He stood there in the circle, the fearless look on his face slightly worrisome. I had expected him to be on his knees, begging for mercy; that way, it would be easier to get information from him in exchange for his life. But that wasn’t the case. I knew at once that he would be a tough one. “Take him to the dungeon; I’ll question him there.” I in
STARLETTE I didn’t even know when I held him. I didn’t want him to go. Tingles jolted through my body in his presence—a satisfactory feeling I wasn’t quite ready to let go of. “Starlette.” He mumbled. “I have to go.” Of, course. I was the only one affected by the mate bond. He didn’t feel the same way. My cheeks burned in embarrassment at that realization. Starlette. What were you thinking? I mentally scolded myself. I cleared my throat. “Iris surfaced for a second. She wanted you to stay. Not me.” He raised a brow. “Iris?” “Yes, that’s my wolf’s name.” “Oh..” He nodded. “My wolf’s name is Nile. And…” He suddenly joined me in bed, laying next to me. “Nile also wants to stay with his mate. So I guess I’ll stay. For their sake.” I gulped down a huge chunk of saliva and nodded. “For their sake.” “We should allow them to run in the woods sometime.” He suggested. “You would trust us to run in the woods?” I asked, surprised. “You can't get away from me. I am so much faster and s
STARLETTEI still couldn’t fathom why and how Maximus suddenly changed. He treated me like a rag when I came to the pack, and now he wouldn’t stop trying to please me. I believed he had an ulterior motive, but that motive I didn’t quite know. The cat would be let out of the bag soon enough. But until then, I wouldn’t fall for his pretence.“Soon enough, you'll get better than me.” Tom teased.“Soon.” I laughed.We were on the training ground, practicing. I had advanced, and we were using real swords now.“How are things with you and the Alpha now? I noticed that he had been giving that crazy head cold shoulders. I’m glad he’s finally seeing the light after being with her for years. I don’t know why he ever liked her anyway.” He scoffed.“You speak as if you don’t like her.” I observed.He made a disgusted face. “Why would anyone like that psychopath?”A laugh escaped my throat. “I know, right?”“So, how are things with you and him?” He asked again.“I don’t know. I don’t trust his sud
STARLETTEA crowd formed within seconds, most of them gazing at Lauren with horror and a couple of them pointing fingers at me.I knew immediately that it was a trap. I was set up, and I fell for it.I was still trying to process everything when Maximus showed up.“What happened here?” He asked no one in particular.A girl pointed at me. “She gave her a cup of lemonade to drink, and she suddenly started foaming. She was poisoned.”Maximus glanced at me, and my heart rate accelerated. Returning his gaze to Lauren, who was still foaming on the floor, convulsing, he ordered his warriors. “Take her to the doctor immediately.”“Yes, Alpha.” Two warriors chorused and immediately carried Lauren in their arms.After they left, Maximus took a second before finally returning his gaze to me. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, and that killed me. Was he angry? Disappointed? Hateful? I just hope he won’t believe the allegations. I could be killed if I was not proven innocent. The thought
LUCIUS Starlette didn’t poison the crazy head, that I know for sure. Why would anyone even believe that? That girl had a pure and innocent heart. I liked her the very first time I interacted with her. And I barely like people. I couldn’t stand watching her get accused for what she didn’t do. Seeing her desperate eyes as she pleaded not guilty, hoping she’d be believed, broke my heart. Her mate, my brother, who was supposed to stand by her and defend her, forsook her. Instead, he ordered for her to be taken back to the dungeon. I wasn’t surprised anyway; it was who he was—a heartless and self-centred beast. After the interrogation had ended, I marched to the hospital, with rage, to interrogate Lauren, since no one seemed to be smart enough to do so. I had to find a way to reveal her scheme. I wouldn’t let Starlette die, no matter what it took. “Lucius.” Lauren flashed the most fake smile I had ever seen at me as I walked towards her bedside. “So kind of you to come check up
STARLETTEMy whole life was crumbling, with no one coming to save me. What did I do to deserve such a fate? First, I was hated by my own father and maltreated before he sold me to the Alpha King as though I were an item.I had hoped life would be better for me here when I realised the alpha king was my mate, only to have that hope crushed to pieces when he threatened to reject me after giving birth to his pups. I thought that was the worst fate; little did I know that I had something worse coming for me—An accusation I couldn’t save myself from despite being innocent. “I am sorry. I am truly, truly sorry.” I apologized to Iris for the umpteenth time. “I’ve told you several times to stop apologising.” She was as broken and scared as I was. “I have to. I brought this upon us. I should have been smarter.” “It is not your fault. It’s all Lauren’s fault. She’s the reason we are going through this, not you.”“I know. But—but—“ Reality overwhelmed me again, and I couldn’t hold back the h
AXELIt took everything in me to release Violet and follow Aunt Amelia back to the witches’ kingdom after that sweet intoxicating kiss. I wanted her in my arms at all times, I wanted to devour her. Hell, I couldn’t wait to put my mark on her, to officially make her mine.My father was notified of the recent development and he promised to be at the witches’ land shortly.The witches’ clan leader was in the throne room, waiting for us when we arrived.He quickly leaned forward and raised a brow as he asked Aunt Amelia. “Did you get it?”She nodded, and pulled the black headband out. “Here it is.”“Then let’s get to it.” He said as he stood up and started walking towards the giant doors.Aunt Amelia followed and so did I.“Where are we going?” I asked her as we walked out of the throne room and down the corridor.“To the spell room.” She told me.“And he is not going in with us.” Kaelin called out from ahead. I scowled. “Why?”“Because it is sacred for the witches and I can’t allow wol
VIOLETTThe first thing I did after waking up was check if the headband was still in my pocket—and I was relieved to find that it was. I immediately called Axel to inform him, only to find out that he was already at the Witches’ clan leader’s place, asking him to free me. My chest spread with warmth at that information, knowing that my mate truly cared about me. I couldn’t believe that I had ever doubted his love for me.They would be here any moment to take the headband and undo the hex. I couldn’t be more excited. Living with this sickness was hell and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy—except Lila though. I had hated her before, but the hate doubled over after my interaction with her. She had no atom of remorse in her.I stared at the black headband in my hands, a satisfactory smile touching my lips. She’d soon be done for.A knock suddenly sounded on the door and I quickly sat up, a smile spreading on my lips as I expected Axel and Daisy’s mom to walk in. But that smile quickly
AXELIf the man before me wasn’t Aunt Amelia’s father and Daisy’ grandfather, I would’ve charged at him and gouged his eyes out. How could he be so heartless, causing an innocent girl so much pain? I understood we were all desperate to root out Lila and put an end to her menace once and for all, but hexing Violet? That was too far.And the cure to the hex was bullshit. How could he insult the mate bond like that? Mating and marking of one’s mate was sacred to the werewolves. It was supposed to be done when both parties were fully ready. But the Witches’ clan leader here had turned it to a cure to a fucking hex. “You have to find another way!” I barked at him. I had full desire to mate and mark Violet, but not this way. We have to do it out of our own free will, not when we are being forced. “Why?” He raised his brow, totally unbothered by what he had done. “Why do you care about that? Tell me the truth, are you her mate?”“What if I was?” I snapped. “Would you consider finding anot
VIOLETShe turned around just before my fist could connect with the back of her head, gripping my fist and hurling me backwards. I gasped as I landed on my back, pain shooting through my body.“Oops.” She pulled an exaggeratedly apologetic expression. “Didn’t mean for that to happen.”I quickly stood up and tried to punch her again, but before I could reach her, she disappeared into thin air, only to reappear behind me.“Nice try.” She chuckled.I flipped around, feeling intense rage and hatred consuming me. She was the menace we had been looking for all these while, and I couldn’t let her go. I had to find a way to trap her. But there was so little I could do when I was alone and she was more powerful than I was. “Where are the girls?!” I growled. “Damn!” Her face twisted into a frown. “Why does everyone keep accusing me?”“Don’t even attempt to lie to me.” I retorted. “All evidence points to you.”“Really?” She folded her arms across her chest, pinning her gaze on me. “What evid
VIOLETI opened my eyes, feeling how weak my muscles were. This was so frustrating. I woke up every time, not knowing the next time my temperature would rise and make me faint again. I couldn’t continue living this way. I was on the verge of losing my sanity. My father wouldn’t tell me why the witches’ clan leader hexed me, and he wouldn’t succumb to his demands either. That showed how little he cared about me and my heart ached at that.Groaning in pain, I reached for my phone on the nightstand to call Daisy. He was her grandfather so she might have some idea.“Violet!” She beamed from the other end of the call when she picked up. “I had tried your line several times but it wasn’t going through.”The pain was so much that I forgot I had a phone. It was not until this evening that I asked my mom for it and she gave it to me. “There’s been a lot going on.” I told her with a tired sigh.“How are you? You don’t sound well. I thought you would have recovered.” She asked, sounding worr
AXELMy eyes sparked with amazement, mesmerized by the beauty of the town as we strode through it. Every pathway was adorned with flowers of beautiful colours. I even sighted a group of children practicing their magic by trying to revive a withering flower. Finally, one of them did it and they all jumped up in excitement with echoes of their giggles spreading around the area. It was beautiful and heart-warming.This place was so different from all the werewolf kingdoms I had been to.At the centre of the town, was a giant castle which I believed the clan elder resided in. “Is that where the clan elder live?” I decided to ask Aunt Amelia.“Yes, that’s where I live too.” She glanced at me and winked. “You know, since I am the princess.”“Can I see inside?” I asked.“Let’s show you the surrounding first before—““I am really curious to see what it looks like. Please?” I interrupted.The witches’ land was indeed magical. But that was not why I was here.She sighed. “Okay.”As we walked t
AXELAfter I left Violet, I went in search of my Dad, knowing they’d be looking for me since the meeting was over. I found him and the others—uncle Lucius, Kade and Tom, in the hallway leading to the hall where the meeting was held. Their voices were hushed while discussing something I presumed they didn’t want anyone else to hear, but when my Dad saw me, he paused, casting a disapproving look my way. “Where have you been?” He groaned. “I brought you here for a reason.”“I am sorry, I had to go and ease myself and I got lost.” I let the lie slip off my tongue. The look on his face showed that he didn’t believe me, but he decided to let it go anyway. “The meeting is done. We are heading back now.” I nodded. “Okay.”On our way to the car, I moved closer to Uncle Lucius, lowering my voice as I asked curiously. “What’s the conclusion on Lila?” “If you wanted to know, you should’ve stayed for the meeting, but...” He leaned closer and reduced his voice to a level only I could hear.
VIOLETI didn’t know how, but I sensed his presence the moment he got to this pack and I had been waiting for him ever since. I was so happy and relieved that Axel was here, even though I still held a bit of resentment due to his betrayal.“You don’t look good.” Axel said, worries flooding his face as he sat on my bed and held my hand in his. “What is wrong?”“My Dad said a witch had hexed me.” I told him.“What? Why?” He asked, confusion saturating his features. That, I didn’t know either as my dad had refused to give me the full details. He always hid things from me, even though it concerned my health.I shook my head. “I don’t know either. But he mentioned that it was the Witches’ clan leader’s doing.”“Kaelin?” He said, confusion evident in his face. “Why would he hex you?”“I don’t know either.” I sighed. “I guess my dad got on his wrong side.”“And he wouldn’t say what it is that is between them. Or what condition Kaelin was giving to ensure your release.” Axel said, more of a
AXELI hadn’t been able to get Violet off my mind since she lost consciousness. Orion even wouldn’t stop howling in pain, desperate to see his mate. When her parents were informed, they arrived within a few hours and didn’t hesitate to transfer her to the hospital in the south. Now, I was in the dark about her health status and nothing could be more frustrating than that. I couldn’t be more glad that my dad had invited me to tag along for the Alpha King’s summit that was to take place in the south. That was my opportunity to check up on my mate.As planned, I was picked up from school and joined them as we travelled to the south. Uncle Lucius, kade and Tom were also with us. We arrived at the south and we were led to a grand hall where other Alpha Kings with their Betas and Gammas also joined us. “I welcome you all and thank you for honouring this invitation.” Silas said, darting his gaze between everyone in the room. “What I have called you here for is really important.” “It