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
MAXIMUS I knew Starlette didn’t poison Lauren, but what was even more frustrating was that I didn’t know how to prove her innocence. It hurt me that I had to order her to be taken to the dungeon, but I only did what I had to do. She was being accused of poisoning Lauren, and it didn’t matter if I believed or not; it was just the right thing to do at the moment. It was the pack’s rules, mate or not.Although I was beyond glad that her innocence had been proven, I hated that it had to be Lucius who proved it. She liked him now, and she hated me. She wouldn’t even talk to me; she wouldn’t allow me to explain myself to her, and that was frustrating. I paced back and forth in front of the room, banging on the door at regular intervals, with frustration pulling at my chest, hoping she would finally open the door and allow me to speak to her. She was driving me crazy; thoughts of her were driving me crazy, and I didn’t know what to do with all these feelings. “Nile, do you think she wou
MAXIMUSI woke up early the following morning and got dressed, about to start my day. I had a lot of things on my plate for that day—the escape of the invisible wolf and Lauren’s trial being the most important. I flicked my gaze at Starlette, who was still sleeping, as she had been since I came back to the room last night—or pretending to be.I inched closer to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’m going out now. Take care of yourself.”She kept on with the pretence, not making even the slightest movement.“I know you are awake, Starlette. You held your breath, and your heart rate accelerated when I came close to you. It takes only a conscious person to do that.” I bluntly pointed out. Slowly, she finally opened her eyes and casted her gaze at me as she stretched. “I was meditating.”“Meditating.” I repeated, an amused smile touching my lips.“Yes.” She replied and quickly shut her eyes closed again.I stood there for a few seconds, staring at her as I contemplated whether to ask
MAXIMUSEverything around me stilled; my attention focused on her and her alone as I arose from my throne and slowly walked up to her.“What did you say?” I asked again to confirm. “What did you just say?”Looking up at me, her lips curled into a smile. “I am pregnant, Max. We are having a baby.”“Michael.” I immediately called the pack doctor. “Can you confirm, please?”The doctor stepped forward and bowed a little. "Indeed, she is pregnant. I confirmed that when I examined her when she was brought into the hospital for poisoning.”“Take her to her room and make sure she never leaves.” I immediately ordered the guards. I didn’t even have to think twice. After a very long time of trying for an heir, my wishes were finally coming through. The excitement that filled my chest was immeasurable. An heir, finally!It was just sad that it had to be from Lauren.I let out a full-blown laughter, unable to contain my excitement. Finally!“Congratulations, Alpha. Congratulations. Congratulation
STARLETTE Days passed, and I still struggled to forgive Maximus for what he did, even though he continuously bought gifts to appease me. He was my mate; meant to be my protector, but he shattered me instead. Could I ever find it in myself to forgive him?Amidst everything that was happening, I wouldn’t stop thinking about the invisibles and how the prisoner that was captured was from my father’s pack. This troubling thought was too dangerous to share, for fear of putting my father in jeopardy.I was in the library, searching for something to read when I heard the door creak open. Turning to see who was coming in, my eyes met with Tom's, and he quickly turned to leave. “Tom.” I immediately called. This had been going on for a while now; he avoided me and wouldn’t be in the same space with me. I needed to know why.He sighed heavily before slowly turning to face me. “Starlette.” He flashed a smile at me as if he wasn’t about to walk away. “Can we talk?’“Uhm...” He raised a brow. “No
STARLETTEI wasn’t frightened by his sudden coldness. I was already used to his moods. “I haven’t seen you since that day,” I said, unafraid, as I took a spot beside him and sat down.“Yes.” He muttered, shifting his gaze back to the running stream. “You haven't answered my question, Starlette. What are you doing here?”His voice still held that cold edge.“I came to see you. Obviously.” I replied, rolling my eyes. “You should go back before your mate starts looking for you.” He picked up a stone and tossed it into the stream.“So you’re scared of the big bad Alpha.” I teased.He glanced at me, a smile finally tugging at his lips. “You wish.”“Of course I’m right.” I impulsively stood up and ran into the running stream, splashing my legs in the water. It was so warm and felt good against my skin.He rested both hands on his knees. “That’s not it.”I raised a brow. “Then what is?”“I’m just—“ He trailed off and sighed. “I don’t want you to disobey your mate.”“That’s nothing new.” I
STARLETTE“Sorry about your clothes.” I quickly told Lucius before giving Iris full control, my bones breaking, shredding his clothes into pieces. I ran into the woods and followed Maximus’s voice, who wouldn’t stop yelling my name, a hint of fear lacing his voice. I reached him in no time, and the relief that immediately masked his features when he saw me was palpable. “You scared me!" he exclaimed, placing a hand on his forehead and sighing. "Where have you been?"I was surprised to see that he was the only one searching for me, and a whole search party had not been deployed as I had expected. This was the moment I should have shifted back, but apparently, I had nothing to wear. I howled at him, hoping he would understand and get me something to wear.“Do you want to run with Nile?”What? No!“Yes!” Iris objected in my head.“Have you forgotten our justified anger towards them?” I reminded her. “We are angry at Maximus, not Nile, remember?”“They are the same.”“Nile is better.” S
STARLETTE“Luna?” The surprise in my father’s tone, equalling mine.“Yes, Luna.” Maximus affirmed. My father raised a questioning brow. “And why is that? She’s an Omega, remember?”“She’s my mate.” Maximus retorted, and Father displayed a great deal of shock. His expression shifted from shock to disbelief, finally settling on disdain. “How could you, the Alpha King, be mated to a mere worthless Omega like Starlette?" He repeatedly shook his head in disbelief. “They’ve got to be a mistake somewhere.”“There is no mistake. Starlette is perfect!” Maximus’s tone suggested he was starting to get annoyed. “She would ruin you! She’s no good!” My own father tried to diminish me. “I repeat—“ Maximus took an intimidating step forward, his jaw clenching. “She is perfect.”I still haven’t absorbed his sudden announcement of wanting to make me his Luna, but the way he stood up for me, spoke about me in front of my father, melted all the rage I harboured towards him. My heart warmed, elated tha
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