OCTAVIUS POV   I exhale loudly as I stand on the edge of my mother's realm. I am not sure if the barrier will give way and allow me in, but I have to try. I have to tell them that my job is done. I didn't need backup or years of planning. I finished off our enemy easily, and I want some recognition. I want a mate.  I move forward, and unlike many times before, my foot steps right into my mother's realm. I breathe a sigh of relief before marching across the almost empty field. I keep my back straight and my eyes forward. I have come here for a purpose. I don't want to think about my emotional breakdown last night, and I don't want to seem like it is still affecting me. I want them both to see me as a King.  I knock on my mother's door and wait. They don't get any visitors besides me, so I know they are aware it's me knocking. It takes a few minutes but finally, the door

AMBER POV  "Breath, mouse. There is nothing else you can do," Lucian says as he comes up from behind and hugs me.   I shake my head back and forth as I fight back the tears.   Every night is the same. I make a few new werewolves, I pair some mates, and then I rewatch how Octavius's day went on my new portal bowl that Anniki made me. And every night, I cry as I watch my son grow more and more bitter towards the world.  "I don't think he will find this one either, Lucian. I don't know what to do. His wolf should be feeling the pull. I paired them when she turned eighteen. I fear he is ignoring it just like he did last time. I even put this one right outside their territory. All he has to do is leave his office," I say before spinning around and burying my face in my mate's chest.  "Maybe it would be easier for hi

 Sara POV    Have you ever had a jaw-dropping moment in public? Like a full-on mouth falls open, and you stare at the thing that has made you lose all control for an undisclosed amount of time. Well,  I have.   "...So we must ask that everyone be on their best behavior," Professor Taylor finishes acting like he didn't just shock the entire class with his announcement.    My brain reloads as he sits down at his desk, and my hand shoots into the air.   "Yes," he asks, and I clear my throat nervously.    "So King Octavius will be coming here...to this college...today," I ask, and a few girls snicker at me.   The professor literally just said the King, along with a few of the other higher-ups, would

 OCTAVIUS POV      My heartbeat races as my mate finally stops screaming. For the longest time, Jannah being attacked by a bear was the scariest moment of my life, but now there is a new scariest moment. My mate screaming out in pain because of something I did will haunt me for the rest of my unnaturally long life. Feeling as if she might die from that pain will star in every one of my nightmares.    As I study her appearance, I feel worse. Her once slick blackish-brown hair is now frizzy and messy. Her beautiful olive skin has a thin layer of sweat, and her beautiful almond brown eyes look petrified. It makes me sick to my stomach to know I did all that with one little sentence. "Sara, are you okay," Jannah asks as she offers Sara her hand.    Sara takes one look at the friendly g

 OCTAVIUS POV    "Human females are sensitive. Anything you say can make one of them cry," Garretts says in a duh-like voice, and I growl.     He knows I have no idea about females in general. Human or werewolf, I know nothing. But he doesn't have to act like I am dumb.   "Easy. I'm only trying to help remember," Garrett says, and I nod before landing a soft elbow to the side of his head.   He grunts from the impact and moves around me to try and find an opening.   "I'm pointing out that she is sensitive, and that's why she cried. She probably feels your bond even though she doesn't have a wolf. My mate felt ours, and your mom made your bond much stronger than ours," Garrett says as he fakes a kick to my hip area.