LAYLAA laughter that could’ve caused my belly to erupt filled my chambers as Nadia just completed one of her famous expressions or imitations of different people in the palace. I didn't know how she managed to pull it off, but Nadia had a talent for improvisation and she always lifted my spirits with her witty behavior when she executed any of her funny habits.After my laughter had finally subsided, I rolled over to the edge of the bed and leaned forward so that I’d be able to clearly see Nadia who was on a mat beside my bed. I was never comfortable with the fact she’d always chosen to sleep on the mat despite how much room there was on the huge bed I’d been given.“Nads, you know you can just sleep on the bed beside me, right?” I rose my brows at her as I awaited her usual decline whenever it came to this particular offer.“Look here,” She sat up on the mat so that she was now facing me, “You already know that's a No. Why do you always offer despite that?”I watched her brows wrinkl

ARNOLD My father’s words had reignited an unusual anger within me as he compared me to Ethan as though I’d accomplished absolutely nothing as an Alpha since I’d taken his stead. The anger I’d felt toward his utterance was borne from a place I couldn’t quite place a finger on, it was an inexplicable surge of rage that seemed to have emerged from the pits of my belly on hearing Ethan’s name. For some unknown reason, Ethan’s name seemed to be on everyone’s lips these days and it’d begun to irritate me more than I was willing to let on. First, it’d been Layla who’d questioned me about his so-called curse, and now, it was my father who dared to compare me to him like we were nothing but common roadside commodities. What enraged me, even more, was the fact that my father showed no remorse for the insulting statement he’d just made about my inability to serve effectively as an Alpha. The unbelievable part was that I’d been successfully holding down the forte and ensuring that peace and pro

Hera’s POV The moon goddess had granted me another wonderful morning like that beginning of the one where I’d expected Layla to have passed. However, this time my confidence in the fact that she’d died overnight had tripled and I had absolutely no doubts that my spells could possibly fail me. This time around, I woke up humming a melody that’d never failed to lift my spirits instantly as I sat up in bed. As usual, the streams of sunlight from my window that poured into my room were signs of my final victory over Layla’s manipulative ass. A smile covered my face as I stretched contentedly from the amazing sleep I’d enjoyed the night before. Every inch of my body felt amazing and I was certain that at the moment Layla’s body must’ve succumbed to my spell such that she’d be lying lifeless in her bed. I’d made sure that the spell I incanted last night was one with a burning sensation, one that worked by burning her uncontrollably on the inside until all her organs became unresponsive.

Layla’s POV Nadia had taken her sweet time to explain how everything had played out, from how she’d frantically tried to wake me up to how Hera had suddenly appeared and voluntarily checked my vitals a while before I suddenly woke up. She made sure to add dramatics and extreme visuals as she recounted the experience and ultimately I just felt genuinely apologetic that I’d unintentionally caused her to worry so much. “I thought I’d lose my mind trying to wake you up, I was this close,” She held up her index finger and thumb so close that they were almost touching to demonstrate what she meant. “....to wailing and calling on all the sorcerers and spell casters to come and help wake you up” She picked up my hand and rubbed my wrist affectionately. After a while, I noticed that she’d been carefully studying my wrist instead of just harmlessly rubbing it like she was doing earlier, and I knew exactly why she was doing so. “Nads, are you trying to check my pulse right now?” I asked her

ARNOLDA peace that surpassed human comprehension was what I felt whenever I was inches near Layla, and even in the horrific mess I was entangled in figuring out at the moment, being in her presence still managed to bring me an unimaginable amount of peace and quiet.Even my wolf was incredibly at peace with her, and it was the best feeling ever because he was so tough to tame when he was uneasy but her presence did it in the snap of fingers.She might've thought that I was exaggerating by saying that her presence had calmed me, but I sincerely wasn't. Even when I wasn't in turmoil as I was a few moments ago, her company was the most refreshing thing ever, and now that I was in a fix, her presence served as a form of revitalizing therapy.Yet, the one thing that still weighed on me was the fact that the family that’d died by the hands of the monster was that of the child and mother that she’d so beautifully bonded with when we went on the last charity run.I didn't think that I could e