ANNA'S POVI wished so badly that I could turn back the hands of time and change my actions. I would have allowed his head, which was full of sods, to roll to the ground instead of innocent Reed.Slowly, I spat out all the grapes into my hands, my tongue all of a sudden turning bitter.I threw them back into the bowl and walked to the bed where I went and slumped into its soft embrace.I was exhausted. More from anger than from the journey.I needed a plan and I needed it fast. I needed to take my vengeance.Moreover, my imbecile fiancé was a liability to me. With him in my way, he made my task more risky.I needed to move very fast before he destroyed my chances of saving my people.As I devised my plan, my mind drifted off to my father and Kira at home till it finally drifted off to sleep.I was awakened moments later by the voice of a woman talking above me.I opened my eyes fast, my mind waking with so much speed that my body quickly positioned itself in a defensive position read

XAVIER'S POV "I was almost caught. I slipped out of the guard's reach narrowly and it was thanks to Harrison," Abigail said with a sombre look. Harrison. The sound of his name brought sadness and guilt to me. "When he came into the hideout from the tunnel, it took the guards by surprise and so I acted on that and dashed out of the room," Abigail explained further. I felt guilty. Why was I not there? I deserved to be there. I deserved to be killed and not them. I also did not tell them that I was with Harrison. I did not tell them that he had been tortured before his death. I did not tell them that it was he who had saved me from death by warning me not to come out. "It was bloody Xav! So bloody," Abigail said as she broke down into tears. I held her in my arms once again. It was so hard to see her in tears. The last time and first time I had seen her in tears was years ago when she had been narrating to me the story of how she had seen her father's head in a box. "I'm sorry.

ANNA'S POV I soaked in the huge bathtub far longer than I should have. But my plan to delay in the bathroom proved fruitless when they came for me."Ma'am! We have a lot of preparations to do before time and we are running late," A maid said after knocking on the door.The voice sounded strange and unlike that of the maid who had earlier woken me up.I drew in a deep breath and went under the water. My aim was to drown. At least that would save me the shame of attending the feast in rags as I would be in recovery or maybe in hell.In less than a minute, I came up for air gasping hard.I could not do it. My wolf had been thrashing inside of me in fear —She hated water so much.After catching my breath, I sighed.I had no choice but to attend the party after all.But I had a new resolution in mind. I would wear my old, raggedy clothes and walk into the feast with my head held high.I was the princess of the Black River pack and no one should have the power to make me feel less than I w

XAVIER'S POVI had lost track of time and when I arrived at the front of the bar to meet my carriage, it was almost ten p.m and I was so late.My uncle had informed me of the welcome party and engagement announcement he had planned for the green-eyed witch today.And I had promised him I was not going to attend and he had threatened to lock me in the dungeon.Not that his threat scared me, but I knew if I was locked up, I would not have the opportunity to oversee my affairs of taking back my birthright and I currently had no time for delays.Quickly, I jumped into my carriage and I didn't have to say a word, my driver knew what he had to do."Yah! Yah!" The voice of the driver called out on the cold night as he whipped the horses urging them to run faster.I would have preferred to run in my wolf form, the air coursing through my grey fur, my paws slapping and lifting off the bare Earth, easing my mind and connecting with my true form but I had no time to clean up lest I mess myself u

ANNA'S POV "We will see about that," Alpha Lartes finally answered me and I only smiled bowing my head slightly in answer.I turned my face back to the party in a bid to avoid all conversations and to not further add to the mistake.I had made myself vulnerable in the eyes of the Alpha. My interest in the affairs of his pack was uncalled for and had definitely raised suspicion toward him.The more I commented on the matter, the worse the situation became. So, I strained my focus on the party.We spent the rest of the party totally oblivious to one another and it was a relief for me when it finally came to an end.I was escorted back to the chambers I shared with my betrothed by two armed guards.I knocked on the door to the room but I got no response. I knocked a second time and still got no response.I then opened the door and stepped into the room.It was dimly lit with the lights turned off and the only source of light was from the fireplace.My eyes fell immediately on the figure