-HER-
As I continued to fall and fall into the pitch-black hole, I yelled at the top of my lungs. The strange thing was that my scream did not resound. I don't remember how long I fell, but it seemed like an eternity. As gravity seized me, I had my eyes tightly clenched and the wind was rushing past my ears. I had given up shouting because it didn't seem to help.
However, at one point I felt someone restraining me and the wind stopped swooshing past my ears. I understood the fall had been broken, but how?I quickly sensed the same presence from last night—a very strong presence. I quickly became aware that I was being held by two arms.I wrenched my eyes open and was met by a pair of brilliant golden-brown eyes. My already pounding heart accelerated as my breath became lodged in my throat. The more I looked into his vivid, dark-hued golden brown eyes, the shinier I became in his arms.
Before they eventually let me down, they gave me a few blinks. As soon as my feet landed, I widened the gap between myself and the person who was looking at me.I paused to examine the rest of him. His long dreadlocks were slung over his shoulder, and he was wearing a long, velvety black robe that made him look quite lifelike. I had already begun to imagine what it might feel like to run my fingers through them. Although as soon as Dal came to mind, I quickly dismissed the thought.Then I commanded him, "Where's my leopard?"He gave me one more moment of thoughtful eye contact before nodding behind me. I became aware of the location for the first time at that point. It appeared to be a tube beneath the ground. The ground was damp, and there were deadly vines growing up the walls. Except for our bright eyes, it was entirely dark here.As I turned around to see what was behind me, my heart was hammering in my chest. I experienced stomach aches. It might have been because it was the first time I had been alone with him, or it might have been because I was going to see Dal after worrying about him all day. Or perhaps it was due to both.
He lighted up the room as I circled on my heels. The first thing I noticed in the light was the bones of what appeared to be an animal that would resemble a snow leopard, which caused me to tremble and freeze in place. I bit down my urge to scream once more and swallowed instead.I finally noticed a recognizable coat of spotted fur that only belonged to Dal after looking beyond the skeleton. He was eventually nearby, lying on the ground. I took a quick breath and sprinted in his direction.
"Dal!" I sobbed as I got on my knees and hugged him, but when my leopard didn't respond, I froze all over again. I stared at his motionless head with wide eyes. My chest was suddenly struck in a piercing anguish, and I immediately started crying. I hugged his dead body and sobbed as grief suddenly overcame me.
How did you treat him, exactly? I whirled around and yelled at Lucian, who was standing behind me, resting against the wall, and silently observing me with a thoughtful expression on his face. He continued to look at me for a brief moment before standing up and approaching me on the prowl.I couldn't help but take in his true height and the air of regalness that emanated from him. His power surged over me like a powerful tide that was threatening to consume anything in its path.He approached me and lowered his gaze to me as if I were one of his subjects.
He said, "That's for insulting me. My hatred for him was fueled by his statements. I grabbed into my cloak and, enraged, pulled out my sword, swinging it at him.
I'm going to murder you! As I cut through his arm, I snarled at him. I moved really quickly, which caught him off guard. He gave me a resounding growl in answer, then drew his sword and regarded me as though he were about to kill me.
"You're very rude!" At me, he gritted. I barked and swung my blade at him once again. He swung it at me after quickly defending himself. Just a few inches separated me and the razor-sharp edge.
The sound of metal biting metal pierced the strange calm in the area as both of our swords collided. I couldn't handle the force of his strikes.He was able to see that I was having trouble keeping up with him. The benefits of being a lycan were that he was stronger and faster than I was. Despite the fact that I was simply a she-wolf and he was the Lycan King, I maintained my position.
My father never taught me to retreat or give up when the going got tough. He simply taught me to stand up to the opposition.
I persisted in my battle while gritting my teeth. Every time our swords came into contact, his blows got harder and harder, sending me somewhat reeling back, but I wasn't about to give up that easy. Because he killed my Dal, I wanted him dead. My blood would not stop flowing with hatred until his blood began to drip off of my blade.He must have used a very strong alchemical alloy to make his weapon, as he broke my blade in half with his last and strongest bow. I was knocked back by the blow, and before I could stand up, he was looming over me. He was holding my hands on either side of me as he pinned me to the tree.
I was absolutely vulnerable as I lay beneath him and was therefore at his mercy. When he stared down at me, his eyes grew darker, and the edge of his mouth slightly curled up. He made the condescending remark, "Weak,"Before I could say anything to him, his lips struck mine like a meteor on the ground, shattering a piece of me and igniting everything it touched. My chest vibrated with a groan. The powerful sparks that only his touch could give me were prickling my flesh. They caused my inner wolf to stir in a way she had never done before.
I made an effort not to kiss him back, but suddenly I felt my heart being pulled by the mate bond and the sparks. I found myself kissing him back with the same passion and want that raged inside him, feeling as though my body no longer belonged to me and my reason had entirely left me.
My lips began to scream, but it was immediately engulfed by him, exactly as my lips. I was gasping for air when he finally let go of me, and the endless fire of want was consuming every fiber of my being. Completely flushed, I glanced at him and saw that he was staring down at me with his deep-black eyes.
I had never witnessed the gurgling expression on his face before. Before he stood up and assisted me in getting up, he gave me one more moment of his hungry gaze, focusing in particular on my lips. He stepped in front of my dead leopard as I was still feeling the effects of the kiss.He knelt down and quickly stroked his hand over Dal's fur. Dal raised his head to scan the area. He stood up and jumped towards me as soon as he saw me. I bent down on my knees and gave him a tear-filled hug. He eagerly licked my face as I kissed him all over.
"You're still here. I was very concerned for you "While sniffling, I informed him. I was so relieved to see him alive that I momentarily lost awareness of Lucian's presence. I did, however, quickly straighten up when I sensed his concentrated gaze on me.
As he stalked toward me, I tightly gripped my leopard and scowled at him.
He said to me, "Nobody should know about us. He cautioned, "Otherwise, your leopard will be extinct forever."I said, "You're rejecting me." He moved even closer to me as a result. He gave me such a rude look when he glanced down at me that I wanted to kick him. I did not enjoy it. Even though I had to stand on my toes, I got up to meet his level of glance.
For a brief time, I thought I saw him smirk, but it quickly disappeared from his lips. Still, he was taller than I was.
"In my court, women have no place, let alone a queen. There would never be a queen during my rule since I don't want one "He informed me before shoving me away. Before I could respond, a gateway behind me cracked open, and I slipped into it. Dal came right after me. Once more, the gateway opened with a crack and was in my wing.
For the second time today, I stumbled. Before the portal closed behind him and made a crackling sound, Dal jumped out of it.
-HER- For the second time today, I stumbled. Before the portal closed behind him and made a crackling sound, Dal jumped out of it. I sat there for a while, my mind trying to make sense of everything that had transpired up to this point as my heart raced in my chest. Dal was happily rubbing himself all over me while licking me clean. He seemed relieved to be back with me. I threw my hands around Dal and gave him a strong hug as I sobbed once everything finally hit my brain and I regained consciousness. I had truly missed him. I had been so anxious for him. Although I was relieved that my leopard was unharmed, I didn't enjoy how Lucian and I ended up getting along.I had no interest in him at all. Even my wolf felt something off about him. First of all, he was distinct from me. My type was inferior to his, and they ruled with far more ruthlessness. I was aware of his administration's treatment of women. They were in an unsafe environment there. I suppose that now that I've personally m
"What do you say?" I asked Lawrence as I looked around the crowd from the royal balcony. I was looking for a certain dark she-wolf with unusual features. There was always something about her that interested me.I didn't think it was the mate bond. It was somethi1ng different—a curiosity, an interest, a strong desire to know everything there was to know about her.When I didn't see her in the crowd, especially among all the Princes here tonight, I started to frown. I thought about where she was."My General doesn't like it very much," Lawrence said. I looked at him because of this. He gave me a grim look before saying, "He doesn't want his wolves to fight proxy wars."His words made me look at Lawrence for a second longer. I couldn't help but look at his partner, who was standing next to him and looking down at the crowd. She changed Lawrence so much that I never liked her.Lawrence was someone I'd known for a long time. He wasn't always like this. He wasn't the type to take things eas
Athena's POVAs I looked down at the women in front of me, I leaned back in my throne. As I looked at all of their faces, the thought of getting a headache danced on my forehead. With each face, I felt more and more upset.As Amoux brought more women into the room, a small crease began to form between my eyebrows."What is it?" I asked with a mix of anger and irritation in my voice. Seeing all these faces I didn't know made me mad. I hated being in a crowd.Amoux frowned when I asked him my question, and then he looked at the women, confused, and then back at me."Why? Didn't you tell me to bring them?" He asked in a hurry. I could also tell that he was upset by the lines on his face. We were having more trouble than I thought because of this.All because of that stupid bond between mates.I took a deep breath to get myself back together. I was about to lose my cool. I didn't realize how hard it would be."I told you how I wanted them, the women," I said, glaring angrily at the women.
Lucian's POVI couldn't wait for the next day to get here. I had never been so restless and angry all night, especially for such a small and useless goddess. I was so angry that to say I was mad would be an understatement.I was really, really mad at her. My cynical mind was already planning something to do to her or to help me get out of the mate bond. On the other hand, whatever was going on in my head didn't make my lycan very happy.He had always wanted a mate, and when we found her, he tried to claim her like other lycans would have, but I'm not like other lycans. I'm the leader of the werewolves.Having a partner would make me weaker, not stronger. My enemies would try to hurt her, and they weren't like most enemies.They had a lot of power and would do anything to hurt me and my kingdom. It had taken me many years of hard work and many sacrifices to get my kingdom to where it was today. I wasn't going to let a she-wolf and a goddess turn into a weakness for me.Either that she-
Lucian's POV"You could have just turned her down instead of bringing me here for this small matter," she said as if she weren't talking to the King of Lycans. I was already mad at her, and it seemed like she was doing everything she could to make me angry.My patience broke, and I ended up growling at her and shaking the ground where she was standing. This seemed to finally make her remember who I really was and how important what we were talking about was. I saw her take a small step back and heard her heart beat fast for a moment.She finally realized how much trouble she was in. She had very faint signs of fear on her face, and it made me and my lycan very happy to have hit the right note with her. I sat back a little on my throne, but I never took my eyes off of her. I never stopped looking at you.This time I said, "I don't like to repeat myself, Fowol. Do what I said," with more authority. My heavy, deep voice was filled with dominance and power that you could feel in your bone
Athena's POV"I don't understand why women can't go there. Is there something special there?" I asked him. He had already been to the Midwinter Festival. Except for me, the other three had already been there."Actually, no. In that way, it's very normal, but it's also very grand. Everything about it is very grand: the decorations, the people, the events, and everything else. Lucian seems very serious about it, "While Embry and Jacob caught up to us, Locros told me. They had been out for some runs in the snow."What is very important to Lucian?" When Embry joined us, he asked. Jacob was just a few meters away, putting on his training gear to get ready for battle.I said, "The Mid Winter Festival.""Oh, yes, that's a big deal for them," said Embry. "I wish that you could join us,"I told him with a smirk, "Well, I'm going." His eyes grew very big at once. He opened his mouth to talk, but Jacob said, "Hell, yeah!""But they don't let women in there!" Embry had said."Who says I'm going t
Athena's POVDuring the trip, my heart was always pounding in my chest, and my wolf was pacing inside of me. Everyone else around me seemed excited to go there, but I stayed quiet and moved around in my seat a lot."Why are you acting like that?" "Are there ants in Jacob's pants?" asked Locros. He asked, and Jacob gave him a look right away, while the others laughed.Jacob grumbled, "I gave her the newest set of clothes.""Still, she looks like she doesn't feel good," Locros said, narrowing his eyes at me. He was the one of us who paid the most attention. I didn't know if it was because of his skills or not, but he was very good at figuring out what people were thinking.He was always smart enough to figure out what was going on, so it was hard to keep things from him. I was curious about whether he knew anything about Lucian and me. I'd be damned if he knew, but the way he was acting told me he didn't know.He would have talked to me about this if I hadn't told him.I told him, "Er..
Athena's POVWe were looking around when loud drums and horns that could shake the ground let us know that the Lycan King had arrived. People moved out of the way for the King's chariot as it wound its way through the town and the crowd, stopping suddenly just a few yards from the stage.The moment I saw his chariot, my wolf started to growl. Even though we were a long way from the stage, I could still see everything clearly as he got out of the chariot and stood taller than everyone else.He bent down for a moment before getting up on the stage and looking around at the crowd. I had to bend a little bit to fit in with the crowd. It was done by accident. Even though I was at the very back of the crowd and wouldn't have been easy for him to spot, I didn't want to take any chances.After all, he was a lycan, and his senses were better than mine. If I hadn't been careful, he could have found me easily even in the crowd. It was better for me to be careful than to get caught and cause trou