“This won’t do.”
Back in my room, I stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were hollow and red and my skin was shockingly pale. My head hurt, my body hurt and my mind hurt. Knowing the past or the future, I suppose, I could not afford to mate with Cassius but I also could not annul the engagement on my own, not without Cassius’ consent. The only other way was for my father to step in and I had vowed to keep him out of all this.
This was the mess I created and the last time he tried to clean up my mess, he had his throat cut. I swallowed through my dry throat.
“No, this won’t do,” I muttered to myself.
“Miss Persephone?” Sylvia knocked on my door. “Emma is here for the final dress fitting.”
“Send her in. Have someone prepare tea and some snacks. She must have set out without breakfast to arrive here this early.” My fingers drummed against my chair handle.
This would not do.
Cassius was one of the most powerful men in the Deimos kingdom now and I made him. I built him with my hands from scratch and now I was trapped with no one but myself to blame.
“Annulled engagement,” I mumbled. “To avoid a path of doom.”
I have no intention of letting you go.
“Ha.”
“Good morning, Miss Persephone.” Emma Rose and two of her attendants greeted as they stepped into the room.
Thinking of my past life, I realized I was more foolish than I first thought. I was not unilaterally clinging to Cassius, no, he was also clinging to me. He knew of my feelings and he used them against me. He kept me by his side for my father’s powers and he did not care a hoot about me, not even as a friend because if he did, he would at least be interested in who I had fallen in love with. To Cassius, I was nothing more than a tool and it didn’t matter if I suffered as long as I was by his side to be used. I did not know when he started to see me this way. Maybe even from the first day we met.
Since I knew Cassius, I always tried to do something for him to maintain my relevance to him because he had others but he was the only one I had. I did not want to be abandoned so I bent over backwards and did everything for him and all he had to do was smile at me and offer words of comfort. All he had to do was be my friend - or pretend to be.
“Miss Persephone?” Emma Rose called my name with a voice filled with displeasure.
This was a woman who made the Luna Queen’s wedding dress, a famous designer in the kingdom who I had hounded my father to bring to me to design my engagement dress because I wanted to look good for Cassius. I wanted him to take one look at me in a beautiful dress and fall in love with me.
A fool.
“Yes, let’s see the final dress,” I responded without a smidge of interest.
I can’t forgive. I can’t forgive you, Cass.
No doubt April deceived Cassius. She deceived us all so when I woke up with resentment in my heart, when I looked at Cassius’ face and imagined stabbing a dagger into his heart, I squashed those thoughts. I wanted to survive, to escape the death flag, but now, a fire burned in my heart.
They killed me. April and Cassius. And now I wanted revenge. I deserved revenge.
“Ha!” I exclaimed. The ladies working to present my dress halted. Emma’s hands shook as she turned to me, trying to mask her irritation.
“Is it not to your liking?” She asked in a mild voice.
For the first time since they presented the dress, I took a proper look at it. My heart sped up at the painful memories this dress evoked. I died in this dress.
How could I let Cassius be after what he did to me? He shackled me to his side and together with his mate, destroyed me and my father. How could I let them be happy?
No, they did not deserve happiness.
This engagement may just be what I needed. If I was just a tool to Cassius, a tool he knew loved him and he chose to exploit that love, then I would be the tool that destroyed him. He would keep me by his side for as long as I was useful and when he reached the pinnacle of success, he would throw me away. And what would happen to my father who would stand in his way?
“This is a mess,” I leaned my head back, my eyes closed to hold back tears.
“Pardon?” Emma’s sharp voice cut through the air.
“Miss, are you not satisfied with the dress?” Sylvia asked.
I dragged my father into this mess and although I was ready to be buried under as long as I took Cassius and April along with me, I had to protect my father. He had protected me my whole life and did not deserve to die because of his silly daughter.
“No,” I muttered, finally opening my eyes.
“Pardon? I made all the adjustments you asked for –“ Emma went off on a long rant that didn’t hide her annoyance.
Cassius was my Alpha which meant he had a tangible amount of control over me and he would not break off our engagement. If he was going to keep me shackled to his side then I would destroy him from his side. The closer I was to him, the better.
“Even if it’s the last thing I do…” I must get my revenge.
April and Cassius. Cassius and April. I’d make them pay.
“Miss Persephone, I have worked hard with my team, day and night, to create such a luxurious dress for you. Even the Luna Queen who is my most –“ The designer’s face had turned bright red, her ears red and her words low snarls.
“Thank you, Emma, you did well.” I smiled at the woman snarling at me. It was a cold smile. I felt the chill as my lips moved up a fraction.
“I – You –“ The woman stuttered.
“Do you want to try it on?” Sylvia asked, looking anxiously from me to Emma who was muttering under her breath, so low that even I could not pick up the words.
“‘No, there is no need for that. I trust Emma and her team so it must be a perfect fit.” I appraised the gown.
The dress was made of pristine white silk and the finest white lace the designer could get her hands on; I made sure of that. Glistening gems decorated the skirt of the dress and the beautiful lace and delicate embroidery accentuated the top.
This dress has been in the works for three months with five fittings so far. At every fitting, I found something to complain about, something I needed added or taken off. I critiqued the dress until Emma went red in the face but she always came back with an improved version.
The awe I felt when she brought this dress to me in my past timeline made my heart ache. Excitement bubbled in my chest the first time I saw it. That day, I rushed to get changed into the dress, my heart beating a harsh rhythm of excitement. All I could think of then was how beautiful I would be on the day of the ceremony and how I would steal Cass’ breath and heart in such a magnificent dress.
“It’s truly breathtaking,” I confessed, running my hands against the soft lace decorating the dress. “But I am afraid if I wear such a dress, I might blind the guests.”
“Oh no, only your beauty can dazzle on that day, miss!” One of Emma’s aides gasped, clapping her hands in excitement. “This dress does not hold a candle to your beauty.”
“Oh, you flatter me.” I brushed aside her comment. “But I’m not confident enough to wear it. I feel rather insecure that on that day, only my dress would shine. If my mate becomes more enamoured by my dress than my existence on that day, I may cry.”
“You want another dress,” Emma said with a blank face. Her attendants’ smiles froze.
“I want another dress.”
It was only six days to the engagement but Emma could not refuse. She was making an insane amount of money from this commission and as the most talked about woman in the kingdom, second only to the Luna Queen, I was also a good fit to showcase her masterpiece.
On the day of my engagement to Cassius, I wore a black dress. It was a dress that sparkled under even the smallest lights– but black. I kept my makeup simple because I knew that if there was one thing I had, it was a face that did not need much to capture people’s interest. “Your dress…” Cassius’ mouth fell open and I fought the urge to laugh.“Isn’t it beautiful?” I asked, forcing a smile.The only feeling that came up every time I saw or thought of Cassius was disgust. It was even hard for me to smile while looking at my killer but now that I had decided to take the path of revenge, I had to pretend to avoid suspicion. I had to play the part of a fool.“Of course, it's beautiful,” he said with a smile. “You are always beautiful but the colour…” Again, he trailed off. “Do you want me to change?” I pretended to be nervous.In fact, whether or not he liked the dress didn’t matter to me. I remember dying in my engagement dress in my previous life and now, I decided that if I was to d
Despite how much I wanted to be unbothered, my chest still felt stuffy. Soon, Cassius would introduce another woman and everything would change.Even if I forgot everything that happened in the past, I would never forget how my world shattered on the day I met April. On a day when people came in from all around to celebrate Cassius’ and I’s engagement, he brought in another woman and joyfully announced he had found his mate.How did I love such a wicked man?The way he smiled that day haunted me. A man who never smiled brought in a strange woman and beamed like it was the best day of his life while his new fiancée stood to the side. It was supposed to be a big day for me but it ended up with me being humiliated. Everyone left that day with a sigh on their lips, talking about how we wasted money on an engagement that ended on the spot.“Are you okay?” Ayla asked when I looked at the clock for the tenth time in ten minutes.“I’m fine,” I lied with a smile on my face but she reached out
My mouth opened and spit out words before I had the chance to engage my brain. It wasn’t until after the words left my mouth that I thought of how they may sound to this rumoured crazy guy. The weird expression on his face evaporated and his gaze hardened. I stilled myself, waiting for him to open his mouth and curse at me but he was silent for a long time; long enough for me to become anxious. My wolf paced, her anxiety heightening mine.When he opened his mouth, the voice that flowed out of his mouth was calm.“What do you mean?” He looked me square in the eyes, his gaze unwavering and without giving me a chance to hide.It was unlike me to hide so I straightened my shoulder and held his gaze. A thick brow raised and the corner of his lips pulled up in a derisive smile that seemed to taunt me. It fueled my irritation but it also made me feel hot inside, hot with the urge to wipe that stupid smirk from his face.“You want the throne, don’t you?” I asked.Despite never having any int
I told him where to find the sword and it was up to him whether or not to believe me. If he did, he would find it and it would make him trust me. His finding that sword was also necessary for the next step of the plan forming in my head.“Miss, where have you been?” Sylvia and Hannah rushed to me when I returned to my room that night.I took off the heels I had been wearing all day long. There was already a blister forming on my feet as I fell backwards into bed, my arms splayed out and anticipation buzzing inside me. I could almost taste the sweetness of revenge but the dangers ahead were not lost to me.Holding hands with Alpha Koa meant going against the Alpha King and his family. Even though I knew he came out victorious in the end thanks to the memories of my past life, I knew I had my work cut out for me but with Alpha Koa’s protection; I felt a bit untouchable.“Alpha Cassius came by earlier,” Hannah said as she massaged my feet. “There was a strange woman with him too.” My ear
CASSIUS’ POVI loved Persephone Adelard as much as I hated her. She was everything to me. Without her, I was nothing. She was a constant reminder of the past I wanted to leave behind, a reminder that I was nothing, nobody, yet, I loved her. Sometimes, I felt I would place the world at her feet if she demanded it but most times, I wished she did not exist.“You – Are you really going to take another woman as your mate?” As I stared at the pitiful expression on my true mate’s face, I felt annoyed yet sorry. It was a worse duality than I felt when I stared at Persephone. “I – I prayed hard to the goddess to find you and now – why me? How could this happen to me?” My mate cried.How did she know? How did Persephone know I would find this wretch on the day of our engagement? She was a smart woman but she was also naïve and it was not like she could see the future.Then how did she know?April’s tears moved my wolf, making me uncomfortable. This woman with a wretched green dress was who the
KOA’S POVPersephone Adelard.‘She is either very stupid or very smart. I am curious as to which it is,’ my wolf, Anakin, said.She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.‘Please, don’t have any funny ideas about another man’s fiancée,’ Anakin warned.Persephone Adelard was well-known. Despite no one knowing what she looked like because of how well hidden her father kept her, it was impossible for her not to be well known. Her father led the kingdom to victory during the rogue battle over twenty years ago. He was known as the Crimson Wolf, a cold-blooded killer that would cut down everything that stood in his path to victory.After his mate died, he shut himself off from the world. When he emerged again, we all knew he had a daughter but no one knew what she looked like so since her birth, people have been curious about Persephone.When she started to make waves for herself, it was because of Cassius. There was no one who did not know that Persephone Adelard picked up the runt
“Sylvia, my engagement ring has gone missing,” I said as Sylvia helped me out of my dress. The hand working the buttons on my back froze and Sylvia rushed to stand in front of me, her mouth wide open. “Mi- Miss! This is a serious issue. Why are you so calm about it?” She screamed in my face. Once again, I was reminded of my past. In my past life, I had been so angry at Cassius for humiliating me on our engagement day that I took the ring he gave me and threw it into a river. Then I panicked and accused April of stealing it. It was the very beginning of my bullying the so-called poor girl. This time around, I was not angry at Cassius, I was rather curious. I kept the ring amongst my jewellery and had seen it while I prepared to go out earlier in the day but now the ring was missing. Right after April came in to clean. I wanted to laugh but it was not funny. “That aside, Sylvia,” I pulled up my hair. “What do you think of my fiancé?” The way her eyes widened and she stiffened made
“I swear, I swear I did not take it!” It was no coincidence that the girl with whom April was rooming ended up possessing my ring. I knew April well enough to know that she would not have done something as stupid as stealing my jewellery and keeping it amongst her things. In the first place, she would not have been interested in the ring but in what it meant.“If you did not take it, then how did it get into your bag!?” Cassius thundered. “C – Cassius, calm down.” I touched his bicep which was bulging from how hard he gripped the girl’s throat. Her eyes were already popping out of her socket. “No, Perse, how can I calm down? How dare this wench steal from you and she still has the nerve to lie to my face!” “I – I swear on – on the goddess’ name –“ The girl still insisted on her innocence. She was a girl I did not know well so she must be new here. There was no one here to vouch for her so she was undoubtedly going to take the fall for this. I looked at the brown-haired girl behin