RANDALL looked at me as if he was looking at a lamb, his hand was on my chin. He inched his face forward; our noses were brushing against each other. I could smell his fresh breath. His other hand was on my waist, pressing and squeezing me there.I winced and the egocentric king saw that as a sign of weakness but I didn’t look away. Interest flickered his eyes. The moment he opened his mouth, no one from the guests attempted to speak. They were that terrified of him.My wolf, on the other hand, was roaring so loud. It was dying to be freed. It could not wait to bare its teeth and bite while the alpha contenders who saw me in the arms of Randall all grimaced. I could hear their wolves snarling.But as they say, there was a time for everything. A time to roar and a time to suck it up and be quiet. A time to bite and a time to control ourselves and purse our lips tightly together.“Answer my question,” the king said, his fingers were now on my lower lip. I wanted to bite it off but I ste
IN the academy, the professors taught the future rulers one very important lesson that we must follow until the day we die. In battles, subordinates ought to give their lives for the kings and queens. And if a time comes when we need to choose between one person and the kingdom, we should always choose the kingdom and let that person sacrifice and die saying it was for a great cause.But ever since Dad sat on the throne, he thrashed that lesson and led his warriors to battles.Dad didn’t stop at that. He took his sons with him to those battles.And when it was my time to lead, I started my first day with me on the front line against the vampires. The Council appreciated that but they were against me leaving the kingdom for the wolf prisoners. Before I left, they reminded me once again of the lesson they thought I had forgotten: to leave others when the need arises and to put myself over anything else.The vampires surrounded Dante and the alphas were forced to shift to protect each ot
WAS that the reason why I saw images of Blade’s parents trying to kill him when he was a child? That was so cruel. They were the ones who decided that Blade would become a devil just because of a prophecy. They could have changed it. They could have raised him with love and made sure he will grow up differently.They had no right to decide on one’s future. If Blade’s heart had turned dark, that was because the world had been cruel to him. Nobody had given him the chance to prove that he could be a good person. They took away the light in his heart. He had become a devil because of his own family. How could they think he wouldn’t grow up like that if he was raised in a heartless manner?How could they expect a young child to understand why his parents were scheming to kill him?“You know what I think? Your parents are stupid. They chose to believe in some stupid prophecy rather than their own flesh and blood-““The prophecy is real-““That’s what you want to believe!” My eyes narrowed.
Every second waiting for answers was torture. Desperate to search for clues, I glanced around the room and there, I saw Earl. I didn’t notice him earlier because he was lying on the floor near the bathroom; he was bruised and bleeding. His wheelchair was totally smashed in one corner.And he was looking at me with tears in his eyes. It was the first time I saw him cry. I linked my mind with his and asked, “Who did this to our mother, Earl?”Slowly, he raised his hand. His finger was trembling as he pointed… the man standing beside me before he passed out.My tears started to fall. I thought I had gotten stronger but that was just wishful thinking. I turned to Blade. Why did I even ask my brother when the evidence was just right here?Blade cleared his throat. “Katniss, listen to me first-“Before he could continue, I slapped him. I was not sure how many times I did it but the next thing I knew, my claws had extended and I was already using them against him. When I looked up, his face
(Katniss)“MY LITTLE wolf…”I woke up catching my breath. It happened again. I heard that voice again. It had been a month since mom’s funeral. The war with the vampires ended. There was peace in the kingdom now. My life should have gone back to normal but it didn’t.It was like everyone around me was busy moving on except for me. Their lives went on. Mine didn’t.There were times when I could hardly breathe, when I would wake up in the middle of the night as if somebody was calling me. I feel like there was something very important that I’d been forgetting, like there was a place where I should be and it was definitely not this castle.I stared at the window. My forehead creased. I remember closing them before I slept but they were open now. The cold breeze was getting inside.I glanced at the digital clock. It was almost twelve midnight. I put on my robe and went to the balcony. I climbed up the baluster and gazed at the moonless sky. I feel like I’ve done this before.These days, n
MY chest ached and my throat tightened. Maybe the stranger was right. The weight of the crown was heavier than I imagined. Dad used to tell me that there were pros and cons of being the alpha queen but so far, all I’d been experiencing were the cons. The stranger wanted me to let go, but I didn’t release his arm yet. “Where is the devil now? Does he really exist? I want to meet him.” “What for? To make a wish? To avenge?” “No. The story you told me was one-sided. I want to ask him about the woman. I want to meet the woman, too. How are you so sure that the woman didn’t love the devil just because she pushed him away? Do you really believe that the devil is the only one withering away?” I could feel the man’s hard gaze on me. “The woman was loved by the moon goddess so much that it was impossible for her to simply wither away.” I scoffed. “Everyone said that the moon goddess loves me, too, but look at me now. Many women in this kingdom envies me, saying that I have everything. Th
“EARL pointed the wrong man when you arrived at mom’s room. I know it broke his heart to do it. It was wrong but I also know that he did that to protect mom’s memories and to protect our family. I’m sure the vampire king had something against our mother which led her to do that.”My stomach flipped. The moment I heard those words, something flickered in my mind. It was a blurry image of a man. I couldn’t see his face but I could see his eyes clearly. They were gold and they were so beautiful but those eyes were looking back at me with such agony as if he had seen it coming, as if he had been expecting that I would hurt him.“I didn’t know happiness until you smiled and showed me that you are happy. I wanted you to be happy because I felt that seeing you happy would make me happy, too. You see it’s not about you. It’s about me. That’s why you don’t have to thank me, little wolf.”Those words suddenly rang in my ears. It was that same voice I kept hearing night after night. Those words
‘BREATHE, little wolf. You are going to be okay.’I did as I was told but the devil lied. No matter how many times I breathe, I still feel worse. I don’t think I would ever be okay again. I laid onto the ground and gazed at the sky. In my head, I kept hearing the devil’s voice.The past conversations I had with him played in my mind.Everything was slowly coming back to me. Little by little, I’m starting to remember things except for his name.‘How long are you going to stay with me?’ I remembered asking him once.Again, I couldn’t see his face but I could see his eyes. They were shining as they looked at me as if I was the only thing that mattered in the world.‘Until the end if you want me to.’‘I already heard that lie before.’‘I don’t lie. Between the two of us, little wolf, I’m not going to be the first to let go. I will hold on only if you want me to and let you go if you ask me to.’I closed my eyes. In my head, I could hear the ministers and my brothers calling out to me but