AMELIAI fixed the strap of my red dress over my shoulder and inspected my reflection in the mirror. Everything was in place. My red gown hugged my upper body and flowed down my legs. My bare pale arms, void of any visible scars, remained on display like my shoulders and a small part of my cleavage.My gaze rose to my face. I had gone with a minimal makeup look but had opted for painting my lips red. But even with all the makeup on, the exhaustion still marked my features. I didn’t even feel like getting out of my bed today. But I had to.My whole family was invited to the Eastcairn Citadel—the palace, where a return party for the Alpha King Tyson was held. He was missing for the past 2 years and had just returned home so the whole kingdom was celebrating it tonight.Like the Kingdom of East, I didn’t feel happy to be attending this event though.The thought of facing the people scared me.And the mere thought of crossing paths with the Lycan Alpha King made my heart stop with drea

AMELIA I tried to think about something else or to find the strength in my legs to run away from him but he had me captivated. He always had. Breaking his spell was not something I was capable of. Not five years ago and not now. He crouched down in front of me. The little energy in my heart had all evaporated into thin air. It was a struggle to breathe when I knew I could raise my hand and touch him. “ What do you want, Tyson? ” I uttered, dropping my gaze to the floor. If I looked at him a moment more, I was not sure I wouldn’t whimper before him like a pathetic creature because I didn’t like the way he stared at me right now. Like he wanted to set me alight and turn me into ashes. “ Don’t you know what I want? ” Tyson’s fleeting voice fell on my ears and stole the rest of my breath. What else could he want more than ripping me apart and then putting me back together so he could do it again? And again? And again? He hated me. I made him hate me. His hand rose in the air. S

AMELIA I couldn’t hear them talking about Tyson like that anymore when I knew he was listening to everything and was probably murdering me in his head. So, I walked away from the hall to find a place to hide like I usually did in events like these. My body shivered due to the intensity of the anger I felt toward myself and my Dad. I stayed outside in the garden, staring at the beautiful white roses and taking some deep breaths until the music in the hall couldn’t be heard anymore. I thought the music had stopped so it must mean that the event was coming to an end. I decided to walk back inside so I could talk to Dad about Daniel. There was no way I would go with him. But what could I possibly do to avoid it? I had to come up with something to convince Dad and I had to do it fast. When I neared the throne room in the way, I saw people gathering outside it. The horrified murmurs caught my attention. “ He killed them all. ” “ Beheaded them. ” “ There is blood. ” “ Blood! ”

AMELIA Fortunately for me, Tyson hadn’t put any guards on the secret entrance of the Eastcairn Citadel. I didn’t think he suspected I would go against his word and defy him. And even if he did, he didn’t believe I would escape from the secret entrance he had once shown me. It was our secret, the entrance I always used to sneak in and out of the palace undetected back when we were friends. Memories of the past threatened to consume me when I was out of the palace, but I couldn’t waste my time with them when Adelia needed me. It was a long walk back to my pack. I could start walking tonight and might end up there a day later. That was not something I wanted, so I shifted into my wolf much to her protest, and then ran at full speed to get home. Even then, it took me the whole night to get there. When I finally reached my pack borders, the patrol guards saw my white wolf and let me in. I went straight to the packhouse. Much to my surprise, Dad was in the field opposite it, addres

AMELIA Dad and I went out of the packhouse, and there he was. Right in the middle of the same field where Dad had asked his warriors to prepare for war and to stop Tyson and his warriors from entering his territory. It turned out that Dad’s warriors couldn’t do what their Alpha had commanded. Tyson was here. And so was a warrior with him. Dad’s people surrounded the King’s black stallion. My breath caught in my throat when I looked at the warriors of our pack. I could tell they didn’t want to do this just by looking at their trembling and stumbling feet but their Alpha’s command had bound them to this fate. The ground was still shaking occasionally, sending shivers down my spine. It was like the surface was pulsating and breathing like a living creature. “ What do you think you are doing? ” Tyson asked, everyone, and no one in general. The warriors didn’t say anything. They held their position while Dad stayed by my side, waiting for Tyson to do something so he could get another