☽☽CILLIAN☽☽I’m a fool for caring. Yet I do each time I hurt her. She holds nothing for me but hate, and I do not blame her for it. She’s right to cast her loathing on me. There’s none else to bear it. Yet, she mustn’t twist the truth. For it remains undying that I saved her from Mikael. I saved my woman from the vile thief.The stupid wretch rots in the grave now. It’s the one place he truly belongs. I’ve waited years to throw the last mound of dirt over his casket, and finally, I’ve done it. I’ve done what Magaret couldn’t when she stood before him that fateful day. It’s most unfortunate she became his sheep.Of present, Mikael loses what little semblance of humanity he’s ever had six feet below; still, my blood sister’s loyalty resides with him. I’ve no problem with her refusal to change as long as she’s ready to accept my terms. Death is my end goal for her, after all. It shan’t matter what she chooses then. All she fates over is whether her demise comes now or thereafter.My deed
☽☽CILLIAN☽☽"Though, I suspect that will be useful when the time comes to get him to do my bidding. I keep him only because his ties to Mikael were not genuine. He can still serve his use, particularly as the Luna favours him. Otherwise, I would have sanctioned his disposal."It is fortuitous indeed that Westardum's princess is readily manipulated. At the mention of those she cares for, all rationality flees from her. She becomes more receptive to my demands once I threaten to split bones like matchsticks. Her blinding rage and her aggravating willingness to protect the people of this pack are her greatest weaknesses.Beside me, Absalon smirks at the order of events and how I've set them to ensure no failures or mishaps. "I will ever be in awe of how well you prepare for the future, Alpha Cillian. It is one of the many attributes of yours I admire."I cock my head to the side, interested in the door he's unlocked. I will ne'er tire of hearing my praises sung aloud. Until the mouth of
☾☾SASKIA☽☽The formless body spins and twirls in an endless loop. It pops and glows like a dry log in an open fire. It sputters and shimmers at a rate faster than I can catch it. It's compelling me to chase after it. But once my finger reaches out, there it is no more. Still, I can't stop my pursuit.In a flash, I realize that I am not only having fun hunting it down but being led somewhere. This descent is not simply meaningless. I skid on my feet, jolting to a halt while watching closely as it flutters away. I can't describe what it is. I only know it exists. It has no tangible form words can express. I simply know it has a nature I can discern.I shut my eyes and open them to ensure this is real. When I open them, I'm still in the pack, treading the path that disappears at the large office that belongs to the Alpha of Guttenbrieg.My steps are muffled by snow as I tread slowly. Where are the others? There's not a single soul around. Everyone must be locked up in their homes, hiding
☾☾SASKIA☽☽Something is wrong. This was my plan all along. Yet, I can't believe it worked this well. Cillian must have a trick up his sleeves. I can't let myself be at ease. There's no time for respite. I have to stay attentive because anything can happen.There is less than an hour left till the party, and I'm all wired up, a ball of battered nerves. Cillian promised I wouldn't have to stay long at the event; I simply need to smile and seem happy until he announces our proposal. But who willingly listens to and believes the devil while he speaks?I have no stomach for the pretenses he wants me to take part in, but I also need him to keep to his word. If I have to bare my teeth for a multitude to see and gawk at, then that's a small price to pay for what I will receive from him. No sacrifice is too much for them. Even if it means eventually marrying Cillian. But I don't have to worry about that for now. I plan to kill the Alpha long before our wedding."Brídeach," my spine juts straig
☾☾SASKIA☽☽“Tell your guards to drop their weapons, or I will not be held responsible for whatever may happen next.” Alpha Aniyah spits in an undeniable portrayal of rage.The A-train of my gown flutters as I launch myself down the porch between the erring guards and one of the rulers of Tonnar. I’m surprised to see her here.From what I’ve observed, Cillian has had no resolve in mending whatever relationship Guttenbrieg still had with the smaller pack since they were aided by Mikael months ago. However, as I no longer am privy to the diplomatic affairs of the pack, I have yet to learn where they currently stand.All I can tell is Aniyah is on the verge of ripping into the neck of the guard behind me. I risk a look at the one who’s offended her, hidden in the shield of bodies, and it takes a second for me to move out of the Alpha’s range. She can tear his head off for all I care.My lips are tucked in a thin line as I stumble slightly to the side, leaving Absalon exposed. “Throwing me
☾☾SASKIA☽☽Cillian smirks. I know he can sense my distress. Tasting the tartness of my fears and torment wouldn’t be too difficult. I’m nearly doubled over by its anguish. “Why do you ask, bridéach?”“I want to know!” I snap, irritation rising. He merely raises an eyebrow at me. The warning is there, without a doubt. He doesn’t enjoy my shouting. “I need to know,” I say more gently, clenching my fists by my side.“Return to your positions, all of you!” He barks, and a few guards startle before scurrying off to their posts.Absalon, who’s been weirdly silent for a while, finally expresses himself. “I plan to take my leave now, Alpha Cillian.” To me, he grins as if he recently won a million dollars in cash. “I am sorry I will not be present for the announcement of your engagement this evening, Luna. If it should be any solace, I hope to send someone in my place.”“Thanks,” I say with nothing short of disdain coating my profession of gratitude. In the spirit of being dramatic as always,
TW: Mentions of suicide☾☾SASKIA☽☽He has a stubble now—wiry blond hairs that feel coarse when he pushes his face into the crook of my shoulder. I try not to show displeasure at how they graze my skin. My fingers knot in the silky strands of his hair, trying not to rip them off his scalp. Ironically, he prefers when I tug hard enough while he forces his kiss on me.He thinks I'm his doll now. I walk when he says to. Talk when he says to. Smile when he says to. He thinks he has full control. I am supposed to obey him. My opinions do not matter—he's made that clear. Apparently, he's my one true love; he claims I belong to him. I've never belonged to anyone. I'm no man's property. I don't think he's realised that.He forces me to dress to his taste. But I think he simply wishes to humiliate me. I don't know where he finds the bright eyesores that always have budding patterns scattered on them. Perhaps he is trying to make me seem more cheerful than I am. It's all part of the story he's s
☾☾SASKIA☽☽“I shall pretend I did not hear that, brídeach.” His tone is jovial, nearly trivial, but when he stares at me, the deathly flames of a furnace rage and lick at my skin. I tamp down the shiver rearing its head up. “You must be tired; thus, the gibberish, mo ghrá. Perhaps, you’ve gone insane because you’ve had no sedation yet. As so, I shall forgive you for your sin.”His warning should make me clamp my teeth on my tongue, but I reason that there’s no benefit when I’ve already started digging my grave. The most he can do is kill me. And who cares if he does? It’d be his mercy to me. I’d finally die, and, by the goddess’s grace, maybe I’d be lucky enough to be with Mikael in the afterlife.“I am not insane, Alpha. I’m perfectly in control of my senses when I say that I can’t marry you.”Cillian rises, cloak wiping the floor as he sutures the gap between us. “So, your senses aren’t lost when ye stand against me before officials of my pack, woman?”I summon up my courage to conf