ALANAI can feel the tight grip of his hands on mine and the pain in his voice when he started talking so I stayed my eyes shut to hear him. โIโm sorry, Alana. I know itโs my fault about what happened. I should not have forced you to shift into your wolf. I should have let you follow the natural course to transform.โI felt Williamโs lips on my head as he kissed me there with his trembling mouth.โI will accept all the lashes, Alana. I will accept them all. I just want you to live a life freely. I want you to experience the things you did not. I want to protect you with all of me. I donโt ever want you to have a glimpse of the hell those people gave you.โI heard how he took a deep sigh and kissed my hands again. I am an inch close to opening my eyes but I kept pretending that I am still asleep because I cannot take it to see the pain in his eyes. I cannot bear to see him keep on blaming himself for what happened to me.I donโt want to confront the fact that I felt the most excrucia
ALANAMy tears immediately welled in my eyes and despite my will to stop them, they still fell like rain drops.โWhy is this happening to me? How can this happen to us?โ I mumbled and sobbed.Why do I always feel like the heavens will never be by my side? Will I be forever oppressed? I just found my mate in the form of William who showered me with so much love. He just announced to the world that I am his mate despite knowing that I came from his familyโs enemy and that I am a lycan.Filled with immense emptiness and sadness, I wilted on the floor like lit candles and wept. Donโt I deserve to be happy too? Is this really the way of living outside the dungeon?Why does it have to be so complex? Why does it have to hurt so much? I thought I would have lasting freedom and happiness once Iโm finally out but it just became way too much now.William will definitely get hurt and that is the single thing in this world that I cannot take. He loves me so much and I love him so much but in our w
ALANAHand in hand, we went back to the main field where the queen luna, Sophia, Georgia, and the rest of the attendants and soldiers were waiting for us.โAlana, are you okay now?โ The queen luna walked up to me and touched my face inspecting something on it. โYou are still pale, Alana.โโIโm okay now, queen luna. Thank you so much for asking. I really appreciate it.โShe stared at me again before sighing and walking back into her position to address all of us.โWhat happened to Alana is unfortunate but now that sheโs back, we will announce the winner of the test.โShe took a bouquet of flowers and handed it down to Sophia. โSophia won the test successfully shifting into her wolf in a matter of seconds and coming in first place during the challenge.โSophia excitedly received the flowers and smiled so happily. โThank you, queen luna. That only means that I am more than capable of giving offspring to the alpha prince. Thank you for appreciating that, queen luna.โEven though I know I
ALANAAs if on cue, Lucas appeared on the door ready to get me.โAlpha prince, I will be the one to escort Alana into her new room.โWilliam sighed before shaking his head, surprising me. I thought he already consented to me leaving for another room. I looked at Lucas and then back to him. Did the betaโs presence change Williamโs mind?Is there a possibility that he knows that Lucas claims to be my mate too? I shuddered at the thought especially when I sensed that the two men seemed to be having a cold war themselves.No, it canโt be.William took my hand and put it in the big pocket of his jeans. โNo, I changed my mind. My mate will stay in my room where she belongs.โโWilliamโฆโ I muttered and looked at his determined face.Francine stepped back with her hands in the air as if surrendering to let the two men settle this.If I let William have his way, then I am afraid that the rift between him and the alpha king would become wider. Thatโs what I am most wary of because I know just ho
WILLIAMโAlpha king, please I am begging you to retract your order. Please let Alana return to me. Please, let my mate come back to my side!โAfter the call, I rushed into the dormitory but my mother was there chastising me to go to my father before I would be let in the building.I knelt before my father hoping that he would listen to me but that did not happen. He just continued staring at me with his hands clasped together in his desk.โAnd why would I do that? If I give in to you, then I am just setting you up in a lifetime of alphas who would rise against you and would try to break you in. They do not like the fact that you are with your mate while the tests are ongoing. Whatever the results may be, they will not accept it.โI clenched my hands upon hearing his answer. โIsnโt that a normal thing, father? No leadership is perfect. Every now and then, an alpha would stand against you and that same thing would happen to me too when I become your replacement and that itโs normal. I a
ALANAWe are back in the forest for the continuation of the competition. The two girls are their attendants but I only have Lucas with me who acted like he is my mate throughout our trip back in the woods.โWe are on the third of the five tests that we have prepared for the three contestants vying to be the alpha princeโs wife. For this test, we will look into the lineage marking. We are on the ancestry hunt. We will look into their family origin to know if their bloodline clashes with that of the alpha princeโs.โI scratched the back of my hand with every word that came out of the mouth of the announcer beside the queen luna. The note Francine gave me from William says it all.He said the queen luna plans on looking into the family structure of each representative.I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook off the cold feeling that seeped through me.Bloodline hunting. Lineage marking.How can I tell them that I am the granddaughter of the former alpha king that the current alpha k
ALANAI paused when I felt something big stalking behind me. Flesh trembling, I slowly turned around to see the biggest gray wolf that I had ever seen in my whole life with its uncanny red eyes staring down at me.I gasped, my knees began to shake as its powerful paws started taking a step towards me. I tightened my grip on the deer on my shoulders when it smelled it.I wonโt ever let it take the deer. Itโs my sacrifice towards the moon goddess. William gave it to me and I would never back down without a fight at anyone that would snatch it away from me.โBack down,โ I said with my voice shaking. โI said back down!โThe gray wolf with its saliva dripping from its sides of the mouth just continued walking towards me until I was cornered with a tree behind me.โI said back down!โ I growled as I felt the urge to let out Malaika. โBack down!โ I growled again and again, my fur spurting out from my skin.The fear I once felt with this animal is now gone and I was overwhelmed with the feelin
ALANAWe arrived at the white shrine of the moon goddess in the middle of the forest where two sacrifices in the form of a cow and a goat were already there on the foot of the moon goddessโ statue. Georgia and Sophia were already done and given that their animals were half-devoured, it was a no-brainer that their ancestry is spotless and they are very much capable of being Williamโs wife harmoniously.โAlana, please present your sacrifice to the moon goddess,โ the high priestess of the moon goddess ordered me when I just stood there unmoving, my mouth wide open looking up at the statue in awe.So, this is what she looked like in her version.โS-She looked so immaculate. She looked so beautiful,โ I whispered in the air while in a trance. โThis is my god. This is my goddess. This is our goddess.โAnd she is a fair one.โAnyone who tampers with the result will be punished by the moon goddess so make sure there is no intervention that happens,โ the high priestess warned me before leading
ALANAI am tightly clutching the hem of my white wedding dress in front of the mirror staring at my own reflection.A woman of substance full of happiness and fulfillment stared right back.Lifting a finger, I caressed the reflection and smiled at myself. โYou have come a really long way, Alana. Tonight, your dream will happen. William is really going to make true of his promise.Before his proposal, we had traveled the world together seeing things and places that he wanted to let me witness. Every word that he told me he would, he did for me.โMother, father, I just wish you were here with me to see how happy I am,โ I wished and hugged myself. โI wish you were here with me to walk me down the aisle to be married into the most wonderful man in the state.โAs if on cue, a gust of wind blew and hugged me right then and there.I closed my eyes and savored the sensation. The wind whispered love and sadness but the love overrode the other.โWe are so proud of you, our daughter,โ said the co
WILLIAMThe moon is high above the clouds in the night sky bursting into the clearest lights as if itโs also getting married to the sun illuminating the palace down where a great wedding is happening.I kept on wiping off the sweat on my brow and clearing my mouth because itโs as dry as the desert.I was full of nerves and I canโt think straight anymore. I kept on asking the staff if Alana is still in her room just to make sure that she will be really marrying me. Iโve been here in the venue which is the beautiful garden in front of the great statue of the moon goddess three hours earlier just to make sure.โWilliam, what the hell are you doing here this early?โ My mother asked in confusion, still in her robe.She just got down here to oversee the whole preparation, to make sure everything is perfect.โThe ceremony will start three hours from now. Please go back to your room now, William.โBut I firmly shook my head at her. Being in my room only made me more nervous that is why I came
WILLIAMMy nerves are killing me but I am more determined than ever to pop her the question. Wiping the glistening off my brows, I looked at the mirror practicing what I am going to say.This is the most nerve-wracking moment of my lifetime. Not even those battles and wars I have been to could be compared.โAlpha prince, Ms. Alana is already awake. And the cake is ready too.โSwallowing the lump in my throat, I glanced at myself in the mirror before heading out to the kitchen to take the cake that I baked last night and asked the soldiers to guard all night so no one would be able to compromise its safety.โOkay, William. You can do it. You can do it! No!โI tripped on the cable and stone on the ground and before I knew it, the cake flew to the air and ended up on the ground.Smashed. The dirt eating up the white filling and the words on top of them being buried into non-existence.โNo!โ I growled, my eyes wide in bitterness and sadness.The cake suffered the same fate as the balloons
ALANAWarm arms enveloped me from the back as his scent embraced me.โWhat are you thinking? Hmm?โ William asked, nuzzling his nose against my bare shoulder.I was on the balcony, enjoying the fresh breeze on a full moon night, my mind wandering towards Francine.After William came back to life, the alpha king and the queen luna threw a feast which was still ongoing in the entire palace while William chose to pull me into his room to have his own sweet wicked ways on me.Not that I am complaining though. This is what I want. To be with him and to savor each second of our lives together.I intertwined our fingers on my stomach and tilted my head to my side, leaning into his chest on my back to give his mouth a better access to my neck.Love making is not painful anymore and the remnant of the monster inside me is almost gone, especially when I am in Williamโs arms. Controlling anger seems to be easier now. The feeling of seeing red in my eyes is also gone now.Everything seemed to be f
ALANAโAlanaโฆโ he called my name with his raspy low voice as if trying to figure out if I am real or not.I just stood there, in so much awe at the truth that he is finally back to me. William is alive! William has come back to life. He is back to me! William has come back from the dead for me.With trembling hands, I placed a hand on his cheek relishing the warmth in it. I am trying to convince myself to believe that this heat is going to be there for years while trying to forget that for once, I held his cold body in my arms.โYou are back to me, William,โ I said in a trance, my mouth breaking up into a smile of relief. โWilliam, you have really come back for me!โIn a split of a second, I pulled him ever gently in my arms, careful with his limbs, scared that once I blink, I would just wake up from this dream. โAlana?โ he called for my name but I did not respond.Burying my face on his neck, I inhaled his scent. Itโs warm and intoxicating just like all the moments that we have been
ALANAI gazed at Francine and felt shiver run down my spine. Why does she look so happy as if sheโs been anticipating death all her life? Sure, there is pain but the happiness in her face is remarkable.โCome on, Alana,โ she urged me again and put my hand on top of Williamโs. โChild, you are going to do me so much favor if you are just going to listen to me and do what I will be telling you. Call for Williamโs name over and over again. He already heard you. You already took his attention and now itโs time for him to go back to you. Do it, Alana. Please, this old maid is begging you.โMy mouth downturned because of emotions pouring in as I clenched Williamโs hand.โBut if I am going to do that, then I am going to lose you, Francine,โ I said as my voice crackled.She just laughed it off and wiped the tears on my face. โBut you are going to gain back, William. He is going to be alive again, Alana. He is going to fulfill his promise to you. You are going to get married and have lost of ki
ALANAI clenched my hands around Williamโs when I realized what was happening.My tears fell but I did not open my eyes and continued calling for Williamโs name.โMy loveโฆ William, itโs me, Alana. Please, come back to me, my love. Please, fulfill your promise to me.โThe stench of more fresh blood coming from Francine assaulted my senses but I continued shutting my eyes even when all I wanted to do is to stop it all.โAlana, do not stop calling for his name. William needs you now. Please, I can almost sense him. I can see him now. Please, call for his name again.โI let out a sigh and called his name over and over again. The hand for which I am holding ever so tightly started to have life again.My heart leaped, rejoicing because maybe, he is finally going to be alive again but all of that happiness went away when I heard the grunt of pain in Francineโs voice.It took all of strength in me and mental fortitude to let go of Williamโs hand and opened my eyes at her.Truly enough, I coul
ALANAโBut your William is different. Way way different from all of them, Alana. He is the single person I met who can easily surrender his precious life for someone he loves. Back when he was a child, I doubted if he could ever do something for you because he tended to be selfish but I was wrong. He magically changed for the better when he began yearning for his mate.โShe slowly rose up from the floor and offered me her hand with a bright smile on her face. โAlana, thatโs the precise reason why I was here in this world. That is my purpose for living. I could live on and on for hundreds of years looking for someone like you and William and now is the perfect time. Child, you both did not disappoint me.โI accepted her hand while staring at her face, disenchanted by the happiness in her voice.She slowly led me to William and held the white cloth to remove it.โFrancine!โ I stopped her from doing what she intended to do. โWhat are you doing?โBut she just smiled at me and assured me w
ALANAโAhh!โ I let out a growl as my tears and pain drowned me again.โTell me, Francine,โ my voice croaked as I tightly held her hand. โAm I really worth it? Does someone like me, an abandoned person who was hated by everyone I know, deserve someone like the alpha prince whoโs loved by everyone? I should have been the one who died! It should be my body lying cold there because my existence in this world is abominable! It should have been me! Why does he have to save me when I am the monster that should have not been born in the first place!โGentle hands wrapped around my face, wiping my tears slowly. โAlana, you are not a monster. You are asking me if you are worthy enough to be saved by the alpha prince, then itโs a yes, Alana. William did not hesitate to save you because he loved you. Sacrifice is the most noble thing a man can do to his woman.โShe smiled at me and cupped my face again. โItโs a life worth living for him because he has met and loved you and you loved him back. He