Jade Pov
"Are you boys ready?" Father asked, barging into our chambers.
I and my twin brother, Jude were yet to find our mate and it had now become a thing of concern in the pack that's why Father had gone out of his way today to host a selection ceremony for Jude and I to select a mate and die down the rumours in the pack; But, neither of us was in the mood to do so.
"We're ready" Jude replies father in a chirper mood than I am. Well, he was the twin who were out to pleases everybody.
I on the other hand does whatever that pleases me.
"I didn't hear a response from you, Jade" Father directs at me.
"I'll be there. It's not like I have a choice"
"Then I'll leave things in your hands, Jude. See you boys downstairs in 15"
Once father was gone, I moved towards my wardrobe; bringing out my hiking gear--heading for the window--
Jude holds me back. "Where are you going?"
"Hiking. What does it look like?"
"Father kept me in charge here"
"Then you better come along with"
With that said, I was out the window with Jude trudging behind me whining repeatedly how we have to get back home within 15 minutes.
"Shut up" I groaned, unable to take more of his whining as we started our journey towards the mountain. "How are you so cool with all this?"
"I'm not"
I scoffed in disbelief. "You sure don't act that way"
"That's because--whether you want to hear or not-- this issue of being mateless is also affecting us not just the pack or father."
Jude was right. I was greatly disturbed by the fact that I was mateless. Plus there was this belief that we would go rogue if at least one of us doesn't find a mate.
And that's why I needed to hike up in the mountains right now; because I needed to clear my head and deliberate more on my decision.
"Why won't you say anything?" Jude inquires of me.
"Because I just need to hear nature speaking" And not the truth.
"But you can't avoid this conversation forever.."
As Jude rambled on, I started perceiving a sweet fragrance. My wolf, Khair suddenly woke up reacting to the sweet aroma. "What is this sweet fragrance?"
"Jude!" I called out to him, bringing his rants to a halt. "Do you perceive that?"
"Perceive wha-- oh, I do"
As soon as Khair was able to locate where the scent was coming from and what it was, he roared. "MATE!"
Without wasting even a single second, Jude and I dashed out towards that direction of the sweet aroma and there and then, we saw a girl passed out beside a huge rock.
Rushing towards her, I crashed to the ground beside her body before looking up at Jude. "She's.."
I couldn't complete my sentence. My shock wouldn't let me to.
"Hurry. Let's take her to the pack's hospital" Jude chimed with a matter of urgency.
Picking up the girl to my back, I super speed out of the mountain back to Colley valley pack's hospital.
My entrance back to the pack with a girl on my back seemed to have stirred around a rumor as it wasn't a behaviour expected of an alpha who was to choose for himself a mate today.
But screw all those rumours. The one person that really mattered to me right now was right in front of me.
Bursting through the hospital door, I called out for Nurse Wnell, one of the pack's most treasured member as she had a special gift of healing as she was half witch- half wolf. "Wnell! Wnell, where are you?!"
Wnell stepped out of her office. "What is all these ruckus about?"
"I need you to heal her. Like right now"
"There are tons of people that I have to attend too right now, Jade. You can't just skip turns just because you are--"
"She's my mate!" I yelled, cutting Wnell off. My sudden revelation seemed to have left Wnell utterly speechless. "Wnell!?"
Instantly, she snapped out of her trance. "Oh, yes. Bring her in right away"
As Wnell moved my mate to the emergency room, Jude and I waited outside in deep thought.
Neither of us wanted to talk about it but the situation couldn't be easily avoided so I brought up the subject first. "She's our mate"
Not just mine or Jude's but both of ours.
"Yes. How did this come to be?"
"I don't--" I was cut short as Father walked right through the hospital door, approaching me. "Fat--"
He lands a hot smack across my cheeks. "How could you do such a thing!? Today is a very important day--you know that too-- so how could you enter the pack with another lady?!"
I looked away from father. "I have no excuses for my actions but it wasn't my intention to bring another girl home. I found her unconscious in the mountains so I couldn't just leave her there"
"That's even all the more reason why you should have" Father spat. "How dare you bring a random stranger into our pack? Who knows she might be a spy?".
"She's not a spy, father!" I counter-attacked.
"And how do you know that?" Father challenged. "Nevermind, don't answer that" Turning to face Jude, father questioned. "And you. I left you in charge of Jade but you still let this happen?"
"That's because Jade did the right thing bringing that girl home. She's not just anyone"
Father chuckled as this was the first time he was seeing Jude and I agreeing on one thing. "Really? Then who is she?"
"She's my mate" Jude responds. Giving him a look, he adds. "Correction, 'OUR' mate"
Father's eyes widened in shock. "What did you just say?"
"Let me spell it out for you, father and I'm going to keep this brief" I declared, pointing to the ER. "That girl in there whom you claim to be a spy, whom you keep constantly insisting that we should have left in the mountains to die is the future Luna of this pack"
Epilogue Katherine Pov “You’re going to die with the child in your womb.”I stood stunned as Castro revealed the shocking news – I had a baby growing inside me, amidst the fierce fight raging between us. This discovery hit me like a thunderbolt, as it began to make sense of the mysterious waves of sickness I had been experiencing lately.I had never even thought about the possibility of being pregnant. My reduced sense of smell and sight had gone unnoticed, and not even I or anyone else had picked up on the signs. The realization that I carried a new life within me was both thrilling and worrying, a bittersweet discovery in the middle of our clash.I grappled with the conflicting emotions rushing through me. On one hand, the news of my pregnancy filled me with a sense of wonder and the promise of a new life. Yet, the timing could not have been worse, as I found myself locked in a high-stakes duel with my sworn enemy, Castro.How Castro had uncovered this information remained a myste
Katherine Pov “A holmgang?” Castro raised his brows, laughing out loud for a moment. “Is something amusing to you?” I glared daggers his way. “I refuse,” he shrugged. “You can’t, even the council knows that you cannot do that. If you do, the entire kingdom will by law be forced to turn against you and pick a new ruler by themselves. Your head will be cut off and as will mine but unlike you, both our deaths are a price I’m willing to pay,” I explained, knowing that the consequences were too brutal for him to reject. His gaze changed from a playful smile to a death glare at me. I had fearlessly challenged my sworn enemy to a fight to the death, leaving him with no option to refuse. The stakes were incredibly high, and the outcome would determine both our fates.In my heart, I firmly believed that only two possibilities awaited us: either I would lose my life, or Casto would suffer his ultimate defeat. If I were to fail in the fight, I acknowledged that I had no rightful claim to r
Katherine povSusie.My heart skipped a beat, and I swiftly turned around to locate the source of the sound. However, my joy quickly turned to concern as I noticed Susie's mother hastily covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes pleading with me to stay away. She shook her head and I could have sworn I saw tears cloud her eyes. So I stepped back, I stopped. Seeing Susie brought me a sense of relief, knowing that she was safe, but I couldn't ignore the fear that clouded the expressions of both mother and daughter. It sent shivers down my spine.In that moment, my disdain for Casto intensified. They had stripped these people of their freedom, confining them in a state of constant fear and oppression. The sight reinforced my determination to fight against the oppressive forces that had taken hold of our once vibrant and free community.I lived these few months in joy while my people suffered and even now that I had returned, I was helpless and they remained hopeless. I felt a mix of
JADE PovMy blood boiled with anger as I watched the council's woeful display of decision-making. I couldn't fathom how they could be so blind to the consequences of their actions. Standing there with my brother and Jasmine, I had to endure the painful ordeal of hearing the council members' proposition.They callously suggested that we should return Jasmine, tearing her away from our side, and take back Katherine in a misguided attempt to avoid war and mitigate further loss. The very idea left a bitter taste in my mouth. How could they believe that sacrificing one person for the sake of appeasement would bring any true resolution?I clenched my fists, feeling an overwhelming surge of indignation. The council's incompetence enraged me. They failed to see the bigger picture, the human cost of their decisions. They were willing to play with lives, treating them like pawns on a chessboard.Jasmine stood beside me, her eyes filled with apprehension and vulnerability. I couldn't bear the th
Brenda Pov“Stop! Guys! Hold on!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, running after Jude, Jade, and Grey who seemed to be engrossed in a conversation and did not hear my cry from a distance or most likely chose to ignore me.“What the hell guys?!”My eyes shot wider when I heard him scream. “She has something to say,” Nathan added, his voice probably louder than mine. I felt a blossom inside me and wondered if this was what people referred to as butterflies in their bellies. However, I had no time to think about how Ethan made me feel. “Oh, apologies. We were too engrossed—”“They have her!” I remembered how much I was gasping for air from the shock and fear I got from panicking. “Katherine!”My words were broken down, but I believed they understood the message I was trying to give because right one cue, Jade and Jude dashed right past me, towards the direction of her room. Grey stayed behind though, his eyes widened in horror. “Who has?” He was the only one logical enough to get mo
Katherine povAfter what felt like hours, I finally reached the door. Stretching my hands out, I reached for the handle but instead of drawing closer, it drew farther away from me. It was being opened on the outside. “Well look who we have here!”I froze on my steps, chills running up and down my body knowing I was caught even before I could attempt to escape. The door to the barn had swung open and I just stood there in shock and fear of what might happen next. “I actually believed it was just a rumour that you were alive,” James said. James. He was one of the palace guards when my father ruled, he was always so quiet but there were times I heard him make funny jokes. “Is she awake?!” I heard someone yell from outside. “Yeah!” James yelled in return. I was caught already, I was done for. “Do as I say and play along if you want to live Katherine.”My eyes shot open in hope when I heard him whisper in a lower tone to me. Meeting him, I believed he had join forces with Casto a