“If we can just take a moment to think about this rationally and calm down..” I said in a placating tone, but it did little good.
“Calm down? While she is locked up in a cell with Goddess knows who, being forced to do Goddess knows what-”
“Can we please stop taking the Lady’s name in vain-” Delores sighed irritably with a pointed look towards the Mercenary leader.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, having the good grace to look a little abashed in front of one of her priestesses, “But now is really not the time to be sitting around on our hands.”
“And going in guns blazing straight through the front door is?” I snorted, “All we’ll be doing is handing them the ammunition they need to make a bold move…one that none of us will ever forgive ourselves for.”
His lips pressed into a thin line and he stared at me furiously until finally, he sank down in his chair with a grunt.
“Then what do you propose?” He mumbled, his fists still clenched tightly in front
Viola’s PoVThe journey to see Peter had been too long for my liking, but my mother reminded me before I left that how we conducted ourselves now would determine our future. I hadn’t realized just how much she had been doing behind the scenes to try and elevate both her future and my own.So as much as I despised the fact that all Peter would talk about was my fucking step sister, I had decided to suck it up and keep the rage inside for now. I would be the one marrying the prince, not her. It would be me with the crown and the authority, not her, and my children? They would be of royal blood. What I did now, was for them, my future children.I already had Luna …no, Queen Kelly on my side, and she supported my marriage to Peter so the hard part was done.The car pulled to a stop in front of the guardhouse and I frowned as the mean-looking guards peered into the back windows, leering as soon as their eyes landed on me.“Well
Viola’s PoVAs much as I wanted to sink into the ground to avoid his gaze, I knew that I couldn’t succumb to that desire. If I was going to stand any chance of holding my head above water with Peter as my mate, he needed to know that I wouldn’t take any abuse, otherwise, it would be no different to my mother's relationship with my father.“Well? I’m fucking waiting for you to answer. Did you come all this way just to waste my time?” He sneered.“Actually no,” I answered, summoning all the strength that I had to keep my voice even, “I came here to release you and take you home.”Peter snorted loudly and tipped his head back and laughed.“Really? You and what fucking army?” He spat, “I was exiled, there is no going back for me and even if there was, you are not the mate that would be able to break me out of here. You’re a fucking weak, pathetic excuse for a she-wolf but then I can’t really expect more from the daughter of Alpha Luke and his second mate.”This time, it was my turn to lau
Viola’s PoVI had done as Peter had demanded and as he entered the back seat, settling back with a knowing smirk on his face I lowered my eyes, feeling the shame wash over me.“There’s a good little whore,” He chuckled as he stared at me without emotion, his eyes running across my body with nothing but cool disinterest, “I don’t want you to think that being my unwanted wife is going to be easy on you. If you get everything you want and I get nothing, then where is the justice in that, hmm?”I stayed quiet, knowing that he wanted to punish me for the unfairness of the situation that he found himself in. I couldn’t blame him really. It was because of my fucking step-sister that he was ever put in this position in the first place, and now, as the thing closest to her that he could get his hands on, I was sure that his anger at her would be taken out on me.“You have no idea what I went through in there.” He hissed suddenly as he leaned in close, the sudden change in proximity startling m
Amber’s PoVThe stench that permeated the air in the cells seemed to fill my senses uncomfortably and no matter what I did I couldn’t seem to get away from it.I had lost count of the hours that I had been held down here and it seemed an eternity since my wedding night.Ryan wasn’t far from me, a few cells down in fact, but the thought didn’t provide me with any comfort. We had called to each other initially but now we had to resort to our wolf's mind link to communicate after Kelly’s guards had stepped in and enacted the punishment that Kelly had dictated for “continuing to conspire while detained”.I snorted to myself softly. This whole situation was ridiculous and I couldn’t believe that the Alpha’s had fallen for her manipulations so easily. I wasn’t the least bit surprised about my father's involvement though.It wasn’t enough that Ryan had bailed him out financially every time that his business floundered because he kept making terrible business decisions, nor did it matter that
Kelly’s PoV“Luna Ke…”The omega froze as she realized her mistake and I hissed through my teeth furiously at her as she cowered before me and quickly corrected herself.“Queen! Queen Kelly! I’m sorry! Please forgive me!” She stammered as she prostrated herself on the floor before me.“What do you want?” I hissed, still furious that she had slipped up in such a big way, “If you’re here to waste my time as well as insult me then don’t think you'll get away with this lightly.”“My apologies my Queen, I did not mean to offend you!” She pleaded again as she audibly swallowed and moved to a kneeling position, “It’s just…your son. He and Viola..hey…they’ve arrived.”My lips curled up at the edges as I looked down at the pitiful wretch before me.“Good. Send them up when they arrive…I’m quite comfortable here as it is.”“Yes, my queen.” She nodded quickly and leaped to her feet, scurrying off to do as she was told.I chuckled softly to myself as I leaned back in the chair traditionally reser
Amber’s PoVI could hear their laughter as they came towards the cell and the sound of Peter’s voice instantly set me on edge. I knew exactly what he was capable of and I was under no illusions of what he would do to me now that he had me entirely at his mercy.“Amber, don't give in to him. Don’t let him touch you!” Ryan demanded furiously through the mind-link.“That’s easier said than done,” I snorted, “How the hell am I going to keep him off me if he decides to take me here and now while his mother watches? I barely made it out when it was just me and him, and I doubt his mother would lift a finger to stop him. If he brings his guards to hold me down as well then I don’t stand a fucking chance.”I could feel the bile rising in my throat the longer I stood here talking about this but there was no escape for me and the pit of dread that coiled in my stomach grew ever bigger as the voices came closer.“I’ll kill him in the most painful way possible Amber, I promise..”I didn’t bother
Tom’s PoVIt had taken a few days but things had finally calmed down enough at the pack for us to be able to mount our reconnaissance. Lilly hadn’t wanted me to go, worrying that I would run into trouble and end up hurt somehow. I tried my best to reassure her though and finally, after much persuasion, I left her to go and meet the mercenary leader.We had agreed to meet with Delores before we left so that she could update us on Alpha King Andrew’s condition but as I expected, when we arrived, there was very little change to his condition.“Would you like to see him before you leave?” She asked softly as we stood outside his room, peering through the glass on the door at the myriad of tubes that linked him to life-saving machines.“Is it really necessary?” I said coldly as the mercenary leader tutted loudly.“The least you could do is pay your respects to the king you know. Once he’s recovered I’m sure he’ll be immensely grateful to all those who helped to remove the usurpers and rein
Lily PoVI paced endlessly while I waited for Tom to return from their mission and the possibility that things might go terribly wrong terrified me.What if he ended up like Ryan and Amber? Locked away in a cell somewhere, waiting for his fate to be decided by a bitter old queen.I groaned loudly and threw myself face down on the bed. There wasn’t even anything that I could do to distract myself from my overactive imagination. Delores had spent a little time with me but she had to dash off to see to something urgent after a little while.Then, the sound of cars pulling up filtered through the window, and I pushed myself off my bed, running over to see if this was Tom returning home safely.My heart pounded in my chest as I watched him step out of the car, my eyes roving over his body to make sure there were no signs of injury and when I saw that he was unharmed, I let out a sigh of relief.He stepped back to the rear passenger door and opened it. I watched as the mercenary leader step