MasukLiora's POV"Hold tight!" My mate voice roars over the wind and my arms clamp tighter around his neck, my face buried into his shoulder. His massive wings propel us over the sun-drenched green hills.Despite my crushing fear of heights, he always finds a way to convince me to fly with him. But I'm grateful he does, it has been three months since the island of luck and our mate bond is stronger than ever. He has been nothing less than a loving mate. Now I feel like I have known him for a lifetime. He performs a breathtaking, dive, before pulling back up and my stomach flip. I let out a half-scream, half-laugh of pure terror."Don't worry," he chuckles, his chest vibrating against my ear. "I would never drop my future Empress."And then goes ahead to do it all over again."You like that, don't you?" he teases, hovering us thousands of feet above the world, which is now reduced to a beautiful, vast green tapestry below."No, I hate it! Take us down!" I wail.I know he wouldn't drop me b
THREE MONTHS LATER Princess Heather's PovI silently eat my food while watching my father sip his wine like he has no interest in eating.He hasn't spoken a word to me since I came back to his pack. It's obvious that he is ashamed of me, every member of our pack is. Except my mother, of course. Her love is just as strong as it was the day I was born."Try the pancakes. Our daughter made them herself. She is practicing her cooking skills," she tells father."Of what use is her cooking skills when she has already been rejected and sent away by her mate?" he questions with a sneer. Mother shakes her head. "We should be thankful that his Majesty accepted her in the first place. He wanted the most precious of women. But our daughter managed to have him even if it were for a while. A love like that can never fully die. I'm sure if our daughter were to ask his Majesty for anything, he would definitely not denie her." she defends me. But my father still frowns. "That love is over. His Maje
Liora's POV"You look truly stunning, my lady," My personal maid, Lisa tells, her smile almost lulling away my anxiety. Today is the day to recreate my mate bond with the Emperor.Apparently being his mate means having one of the largest and magnificent chambers in the palace and having everything handled for you including bathing and dressing. Which feels very strange when you are used to do everything for yourself. But I do like my maid, she is young and overly friendly. It took her hours to perfectly style my hair with over twenty silver pins. Now I am getting tired of standing in one place as she works on my overly beautiful dress.Now that my name is associated with the Emporer's, I have to always look clean and polished every second."You're lucky your waist is so small, my lady. You won't have to wear a corset and die of suffocation," Lisa jokes."I will escort you to the hall. The Emporer is already there," she says. Servants are going about their work as usual as we make o
Liora's POVThe food feels like rocks in my stomach. The two servants are still whispering in the corner. Turns out being by the Emporer's side and being surrounded by gold isn't a guarantee to peaceful life.They are getting louder now, not even bothering to hide their nasty talk.“It’s truly disgusting” the first servant, a woman with gray hair, says, loud enough for me to hear. “Being mated to a human. His Majesty’s mother would have been very disgusted if she were still here. She'd have pushed her handsome son to choose another.”“She would. But I bet he's not going to keep her,” the second servant agrees. “She’s just a temporary girlfriend. He’ll get tired of her and throw her out, just watch. He only brought her back to show off the wishes she won.”I am furious. I drop my fork onto the plate with a loud clink. Ready to stand up and yell at them.Before I could, a cold, hard voice cut through the room.“You believe you are at liberty to disrespect my Mate?”I freeze. The servant
Liora's POVSeveral officials of the palace stands in front of one of the entrances, ready to receive their Emporer.Our carriage slows down and halts in front of the waiting officials. They bow their heads in respect when Lordrin steps out and offers me his hand.If they are surprised that it's not the woman he choose in the lottery he's retuned with they don't show."Your Majesty, we have missed you. Welcome back, " The man at the front says and he step forward to embrace the Emporer. They seem close. He must be quite a good master to them."I missed a good bed." Lordrin replies, causing me to roll my eyes. The beds at the island were the best I slept on, besides his quarters had the largest one."Liora, this is my assistant Rufus. Rufus Please welcome my mate, princess Liora." He introduces me to the officials. "It is an honour to welcome you, my lady. Our people will be delighted to see our Emporer has finally found someone." Rufus gladly welcome me and his coluges laugh at his j
LIORA'S POV“My dear, is there a problem?” The Emporer questions. Placing his warm hand securely on the small of my back. Father, suddenly seems to shrink. He bows so low his spine probably hurts.“Your Imperial Majesty! there is no problem at all, sire!” He stammers. “Merely a family discussion! We were just welcoming my daughter, Liora, back and discussing the proper cultural preparations for ....your upcoming wedding.”“I have already informed my father that such formalities are unnecessary,” I state loudly. “As your matched mate, I believe the decision about our marriage rest solely with us.”The Emperor smiles and gives a nod, acknowledging my decision. Then, he turns his full attention to my father.“Alpha King Roderick,” He says, his tone shifting to commanding. “You heard my mate well. We'll decide what happens with our marriage. She will look for you if she feels the need to."My father looks very dissatisfied by the command. "But your majesty the dowly..."“Let me be abunda







