《Owned By The Alpha Brothers》


 Chapter 1

    Ciara.


    I tossed and turned, knowing I had to get up early the next morning, but no matter how hard I tried, sleep refused to pay me a visit, which was surprising, considering the long day I had had and the fatigue that was slowly eating me up. I wasn''t sure what kept me awake... perhaps, it was the chirping noise from the crickets that never seemed to end; or it was probably the snores from the seven girls I shared a room with.


    "Or perhaps, it is the excitement of finally turning 18 tomorrow and getting to meet your mate," Elsa, my wolf, chipped in.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    A smile that I couldn''t suppress appeared slowly on my lips, agreeing with Elsa and daydreaming about getting to meet my mate tomorrow. I had imagined how the encounter would be about a million and one times ever since I was a child, and finally, in a matter of minutes or probably hours, I would see my long-awaited dreams finallye into manifestation.


    Amidst my excitement, there was a tiny bit of fear I felt. What if my mate didn''t like me? What if I wasn''t what he was expecting? What if he didn''t find me attractive?


    "Such nonsense! He''ll definitely find you attractive. You have long hair and everyone knows you''re beautiful," Elsa cautioned.


    I wanted to share in the same optimism, but being beautiful wasn''t the only requirement a man needed before either epting or rejecting his fated mate. What if he wanted someone from a good family... someone who wasn''t born as a pce maid and hadn''t been taunted all her life... someone who wasn''t a mere Omega... someone who wasn''t me?


    "You''ve suffered enough. Certainly, the Moon Goddess wouldn''t punish you further by giving you a mate who wouldn''t want you," Elsa stated, maintaining her positive stance.


    I heaved a deep sigh. Perhaps, Elsa was right. Everyone always says our mates are our blessings; the Moon Goddess'' way of bestowing us with her grace... her way of saying she does care about us by giving us the one who would shower us with eternal happiness.


    After being treated like dirt all my life, perhaps, finding my mate would be the key to unlocking a brand new life; one that would be fascinating and different from the world of misery that I had only ever known.


    It was with this thought on my mind that I slowly began to drift off to sleep, when suddenly, I heard the sound of heavy footsteps approach the little servants'' quarters. I assumed I was just hearing things, when the door opened with a loud bang and torches were shed everywhere.


    My eyes opened abruptly to see warriors of our Pack barging into our quarters, their eyes fuming with unhinged fury as they brandished their weapons, and soon, they were pushing everything out of the way; each of them having this determined look on their faces.


    "Keep them well surrounded. Ensure no one leaves the room," a voice that I recognized as the Beta''s, thundered from outside, which made me shudder with fear.


    One by one, the girls woke up to the unexpected sight, and the ones who were still asleep were forcefully awakened by the warriors.


    We were all ordered to rise to our feet, even as some of the warriors started searching the whole ce frantically. They were definitely looking for something, but no one knew what exactly it was.


    The rest, on themand of the Beta, made us assemble on a straight line as they took turns stripping us of our torn and worn-out clothes, rummaging through them before roughly manhandling our bodies and touching us in our private areas as if there was any chance that we could hide something in there.


    It was getting closer to my turn and my heart was beating really fast, dreading the thought of those dangerous men seeing my nakedness and touching me in parts no one had ever touched in the past.


    The other warriors were still searching for what they hade for. Grains of rice and beans spilled over as they tore open the sacks, the little furniture we had was broken as they pushed them aside recklessly, and they trampled all over our belongings like it meant nothing to them.


    We thought the search would nevere to an end and I had just been ordered to step out of my clothes, when one of them tripped over a jug which fell over, revealing some unusual yellow leaves that had been stored in there. "Stop the search!" It was the Pack''s doctor who gave the order this time around.


    I breathed in relief just as he made his way into the room, bent over and picked up the leaves which had been stored in the jug. He perceived them and withdrew immediately, coughing out loud.


    "Yellow wolfsbane," he stated, nodding his head at the Beta who had stepped in right after him.


    "Isn''t that the poison that was discovered in His Royal Highness'' system?" the Beta asked.


    "You are correct, Beta," the Pack''s doctor responded.


    We exchanged nces, each of us unsure of what exactly was going on and just silently hoping that this ended as quickly as it had started.


    "Which one of you does this jug belong to?" the Beta asked, picking up the jug and throwing a cold nce in our direction, thoroughly scrutinizing us with the prating look in his eyes, which none of us could meet. All eyes fell on me, but even then, I didn''t think much of it. Yes, it was my jug. So what?


    "Is this yours?" the Beta asked in a deep tone, as he approached me menacingly.


    My eyes fell to the floor, as I rubbed my toes against each other, unable to look up at the man who scared me to death.


    I nodded my head in the affirmative.


    "I need an answer, young woman! This jug... is it yours?" he roared, making my heart nearly jump out of my chest.


    I swallowed hard, "Yes, it is mine," I heard myself say.


    "How much were you paid?" he asked, lifting my chin with his cold hand, so that I had no choice but to look him in the eye, probably to ascertain how guilty I was.


    I huped, only now understanding the implication of the jug belonging to me, but still, anyone could have put the poisonous leaves in there.


    "I... I..." I stuttered. I was trying to speak up and say something, but it was impossible since I was burdened with fear.


    "If you''re honest, I can lighten your sentence. Tell me, how much did the Alpha''s enemies pay you to bring him to an unfortunate end?" he thundered, even more frighteningly.


    There were murmurs in the room, as it had just been revealed to us that the Alpha King was dead, and since the poison which had been found in his system had been discovered in my jug, then I was a likely suspect.


    The Beta pulled my hair and struck me hard on my cheeks, so that I fell to the ground with a thud and sustained a bruise on my wrist. With his heavy boots, he kicked me over and over again then stepped on me as though I were a doormat. I bit my lip, as tears streamed down my eyes, while I shook my head in denial, knowing he wasn''t going to stop until I gave him an answer. "I didn''t... I didn''t ept anything from anyone..." I managed to say, almost out of breath. "I see. So, you did it out of your own free will?"


    "No, no! I am nothing but a mere Omega. How dare Imit such atrocity against the Alpha and the Moonstone Pack? I have nothing to gain!" I stated firmly, trying the hardest I could to prove my innocence despite the pain that every part in my body felt.


    "More like you have nothing to lose. I remember you. You''re the servant girl that served the Alpha''s dinner. I saw you when you entered and left his chambers," one of the warriors stated.


    The Beta lowered himself and fixated his eyes on me, making me tremble in fear. "I''ll give you onest chance to say the truth. Who ordered you to do this?"


    The tears that had been streaming from my eyes multiplied, all because I felt helpless. My heart was breaking and I was in pure agony, hoping this was a dream, praying it was another one of my dreadful nightmares.


    I wanted to say that I had never even used that jug after I had found it and mended it, I wanted to say that all I did was serve the food the Cook had instructed me to give to the Alpha King and that he hadn''t even tasted it as he had imed that he wasn''t hungry, I wanted to say that I had never even seen a yellow wolfsbane flower in my life; but no one cared to know and no one cared if I was indeed innocent or not.


    It was clear that they were all pointing using fingers at me. Irrespective of what I said or did, their minds were made up. They needed me to name someone, but I couldn''t do that, and even if there was anyone else, the oue would still be the same for me. After all, I was just a worthless Omega with no family, no one to protect me and no one to speak on my behalf.


    I shook my head slowly. "No one ordered me to do anything, and inasmuch as the evidence points to me, I didn''t..."


    The Beta raised his hand,pelling me to keep quiet, not wishing to hear anything more from me.


    "I believe we have all heard what needs to be heard. I, Beta Nelson Coleman, second-inmand of the Moonstone Pack, hereby sentence the Omega, Ciara Sinir, to death for the murder of His Royal Highness, Alpha Alvin Dakota. You shall be executed at dawn," the Beta pronounced his judgment.

 Chapter 2

    Ciara.


    Dawn didn''te fast enough. Not that I could tell, trapped in the pitch-ck prison cell with only mosquitoes and rats forpany. Their bites on my bare arms and legs were unrelenting, their presence a constant torment. Despair had sapped my will to fight back. I couldn''t muster the energy to swat them away, let alone unsheathe my ws to kill them. After all, this was their home, and I was just a temporary guest.


    I never got to know who my mother was. All I knew about her was that she had been a pce maid with no family. She had concealed her pregnancy so well that no one found out that she was pregnant until the day of my delivery, in which she had died shortly after giving me my name. No one knew who had gotten her pregnant either. In fact, they could have sworn that they had never seen her with anyone of the opposite gender.


    From the onset, my life had been nothing but a tragic tale, but I had held onto a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe somehow, like in fairytales, a happy endingy ahead of my misery. How wrong I had been!


    Tears clouded my eyes again, and despite my efforts to hold them back, they flowed freely down my cheeks. People always said we were all created for a reason, but apparently, I didn''t belong on that list.


    Why had I been created? What was the reason behind my existence? To suffer all my life and meet a miserable end? For goodness sake, I should have at least met my mate. I didn''t deserve this. This was so unfair. I didn''t deserve to suffer this much. Maybe I was being punished for a wrong I did in my past life, but still, wasn''t this way too extreme?


    I buried my head in my hands, feeling incredibly weak and tired as I cried my heart out. I only stopped when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching the prison cell. I looked up, wondering if dawn had alreadye or if I had simply imagined the sound.


    There was silence for a while, then suddenly a sh of light and the jiggling of keys. The prison gate was unlocked, and my heart began to beat fast. My end hade.


    I had been expecting this, but I still hadn''t epted it. I knew nothing about the Alpha''s death, so why did I have to be punished for a crime I didn''tmit?


    "Is it time already? Please, I''m innocent. I didn''t kill the Alpha King," I pleaded, my voice cracking with desperation.


    "I know," a deep male voice replied.


    My eyes met cold blue ones, and I recognized him almost immediately. His name was Josiah, a pce guard who had been very close to thete Alpha.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Wh... what are you doing here?" I asked, confused.


    "I''m here to save you. We need to leave now," he urged, eyes darting nervously.


    "Leave to where? I... I don''t understand," I said.


    "I''ll answer all your questions, but not now. If you want to live, don''t make a sound ande with me quietly," he said, stretching out his hand.


    I was uncertain as to whether I could trust him or not, but one thing I knew for sure was that he wouldn''t be here unless he wanted my life to be spared, and with that, I didn''t need any further convincing to take his hand, clinging to the possibility of survival.


    Grabbing his hand firmly, I followed him silently out of the prison cell. Once outside, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I saw the guards lying in a pool of their own blood.


    "Did... did you do this?" I asked, horrified.


    He ignored me, continuing down the hallway and dragging me through a series of corridors I had never known existed in the pce. The path seemed never-ending until we reached an old wooden door, which he opened, leading us out of the pce and straight into the forest.


    We had barely taken a step when the rm went off, apanied by loud voices and the howling of tracker-wolves.


    "Your escape has been discovered. I tried masking our scents, but the army is experienced. If we don''t make haste, they''ll detect us in no time," Josiah said, mming the door behind us as he led me through the forest, dodging and jumping over bushes, trees, and rocks.


    I ran alongside him, but as the howls of the tracker-wolves kept getting louder, the hope I had began to die slowly. Soon, we weren''t alone. Dozens of warriors came running, and I feared they would catch up to us. "Spread out. They couldn''t have gotten far," I heard the Beta yell, and soon the whole army was surrounding us, trapping us.


    We couldn''t go east, west, north, or south. They were everywhere, so we hid in the bushes, hoping they would pass us by.


    I was trembling with fear and anxiety. My body ached with each breath I took, and my heart threatened to explode out of my chest. I heard Josiah wince in pain softly, and when I looked at him, I saw he was bleeding from his shoulder, which I hadn''t noticed before.


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    "What happened to you? Did you get this from fighting the guards?" I asked in a hushed tone.


    He swallowed. "Shh. It''s nothing," he said.


    "Sooner orter, they''ll pick up our scent, and the smell of your blood will make it easier. Let me help you," I said, tearing a piece of my dress and tying it around his wound. "Thanks," he muttered.


    "You''re wee."


    "Listen carefully. If you go west, you''ll find the road that leads to the Silver Crest Pack. They are good people, and you''ll be safe there until I cane for you," he said. "What do you mean? Aren''t youing with me?" I asked.


    "That would be suicide. Here, take this," he said, handing over a blue silk dress befitting of a princess to me.


    I admired it in the dim moonlight, trailing my fingers all over the perfect embroidery. "What is this for?" I asked.


    "Put it on when you know you are safe. If anyone finds out who you truly are, they might not be willing to open their doors. The warriors won''t leave anytime soon, and we''ll be discovered. The only way you can be safe is if I distract them," he said.


    "What about you?"


    "Don''t worry about me, Lady Ciara. Just survive at all costs. It''s what your mother would have wanted," he said, and before I could protest, he stood up and dashed off, making a loud noise to draw the army away.


    I was shocked by what he had said.. He had referred to me as ady, he had known who my mother was; and I began to wonder if perhaps, there was more to my story than I had imagined.


    With no other choice, I said a silent prayer for Josiah''s safety, crawled out of the bushes, and with everyst bit of strength I possessed, began making my way west.


    I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, not stopping to catch my breath even when the pain in my lungs became unbearable.


    Hours seemed to stretch endlessly, and there was still no sign of pursuit. Relief washed over me as the first light of dawn broke through the clouds, making me believe I had finally left the Moonstone Pack and its horrors behind. I immediately took off my servant girl''s clothes and wore the blue dress Josiah had given to me, then slowed down to a walk trying to make my way to the Silver Crest Pack.


    Not long after, my ears pitched and I heard a rustle in the bushes. I didn''t think much of it at first, until a fierce ck wolf with grey, bloodshot eyes appeared out of nowhere, baring its teeth and snarling menacingly at me.


    I stumbled back, scared to death, and bumped into something. Slowly turning around, I saw another wolf, golden with hazel eyes, watching me with an amused expression, licking its lips.


    My heart skipped a beat as another wolf emerged from the bushes, white as snow with green eyes. It appeared calm, unlike the others, but as they all closed in on me, I felt a shiver travel up my spine and Josiah''s words echoed in my head - I had to survive no matter what.


    With that, I took to my heels as quickly as I could, and as expected, the wolves followed, chasing after me ruthlessly and howling loudly.


    I reached a cliff and looked down to find nothing but darkness. It was either the cliff or the wolves, and I believed I had a better chance of surviving if I tried negotiating with the wolves that had circled around me,pared to jumping off the cliff.


    They were different from the wolves in the Moonstone Pack, so it was apparent that they weren''t in league with them.


    "Listen, my name is Ciara, and I haven''t done anything wrong. All I want is to survive. Please, let me go," I pleaded, panting heavily.


    The ck wolf, closest to me, growled and snapped at me aggressively,ing even closer towards me till it was right in front of me.


    Instinctively, I backed away, terrified, until I tripped over the edge of the cliff and fell with a loud scream,nding hard on arge rock at the bottom.


    A sharp pain coursed through my whole body, but it ended swiftly as my eyes shut, leaving only darkness.

 Chapter 3

    Ciara.


    My eyes fluttered open, and I stared nkly at the ceiling, with my body aching all over. Slowly, memories flooded my brain and I remembered everything that had happened... the usation, my escape and the fall.


    However, something was off. In contrast to the cold, hard rock I remembered hitting, I was lying on a soft mattress, and as I took in my surroundings, panic gripped me.


    Where was I? How did I find myself here?


    "You''re awake, I see," a voice startled me.


    That was when I noticed that I wasn''t alone. A tall guy with curly brown hair and warm hazel eyes sat beside me, gazing at me with what I could tell was admiration, and when he shed a wink my way, I felt an instant connection to him. His voice, deep and resonant, echoed in the depths of my heart and when our eyes met again, I knew it for a fact. He was my mate.


    My lips trembled, unsure of how to react as I tried to sit up amidst the pain.


    "Here, let me help you," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist as he helped me sit up.


    My heart began to race even faster and I huped; the scent of him intoxicating me.


    "Who... who are you?" I asked.


    "We should be the ones asking you that question. Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in the Silver Crest Pack?" Another voice,manding and authoritative, fired at me.


    My eyes moved from my mate to the intruder, who stood at over 6 feet tall, with jet-ck hair and an athletic build. He was standing by the corner with his arms crossed, and as I kept staring at him, feeling a mixture of emotions, he approached me.


    With every step he took, his presence enveloped me, igniting a fire set deep within me. He lifted my chin with one hand,pelling me to look deeply into his piercing grey eyes.


    "Who sent you? Are you a spy? What business do you have here?" he thundered, making me shudder.


    "I... I... I don''t remember anything," I heard myself say.


    He smirked, not believing me. His grip on my chin grew firmer and his look, more intense. Notwithstanding his cold demeanor, I felt drawn to him. It was maic and I was unable to resist the pull.


    Wait a minute, was he also my mate or was I mistaken about my feelings since it was the first time I was so close to two men?


    "Liam, calm down. The poor girl hit her head hard. Maybe she''s having trouble remembering anything. Just give her time," the first one said to him.


    His eyes shifted from me to meet the first. "ke, don''t be ridiculous. Are you saying you do believe her story? You, at least, ought to be sensible. Why was she so royally dressed and all alone? Does that make any sense whatsoever to you?" he barked.


    "Perhaps, there''s a battle in her Pack and she had to escape from her evil uncle or stepmother. Either way, word travels fast. We would find out who she is sooner orter," ke responded.


    "I don''t think that will be necessary. I don''t care about who she is. All I know is that she must leave our Pack right this minute," Liam said.


    "But... but I have nowhere to go," I chipped in.


    "And how would you know that if you can''t remember anything?" Liam retorted.


    "She has lost her memory. Of course, she has nowhere to go. It''s not rocket science," a third voice, gentle and soothing said, saving me from having to give an exnation.


    My eyes darted over to the stranger who had just walked in through the door. He was a little bit taller than the other two, with tousled chestnut hair and soulful green eyes. "No one asked for your opinion, Alden. Get lost!" Liam snapped.


    Alden ignored him and walked over to the bed, where he sat by my side. Strangely, I was drawn to him just like how I was drawn to the other two.


    He ced his hand on my neck to see if I was running a fever and examined my eyes, then told me to open my mouth as well which I did really slowly.


    "How are you feeling?" he asked, melting my heart softly.


    "Um... my body aches all over," I said, holding his gaze.


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    "That''s expected. You fell off the edge of a cliff yesterday at dawn, and we had to bring you with us so you could be treated, but don''t worry, you''ll be fine in no time. You just need to rest for now. I''ll have the kitchen staff prepare something for you to eat," he said, with a small breathtaking smile.


    He was the first to smile at me, and so, I smiled back at him, weing the electrifying longing and attraction I had towards him. He was definitely my mate.


    "You would do no such thing! This girl is leaving right this minute. She was supposed to die on that cliff yesterday, but we saved her. We''ve done more than enough for her!" Liam roared, pulling my arm and forcefully dragging me to my feet. ke stopped him, pulling me close to him. "It was our fault that she got herself injured in the first ce. Of course, we had to save her," he retorted.


    I blinked rapidly, going over yesterday''s memories again. Were they the three wolves that had chased me till I fell off the cliff yesterday? They certainly were! Their personalities and especially their eyes matched those of the wolves from yesterday, but I controlled myself from acting like I knew anything.


    "What are you talking about?" I asked, trying to y the girl with amnesia perfectly. I couldn''t tell them who I was. If I did, I would be shipped off without hesitation back to the Moonstone Pack and unfairly executed for a crime I knew nothing about.


    "I am the oldest and I get to decide if she stays or not," Liam yelled.


    ke scoffed. "Last I checked, we were born on the same day, so that doesn''t count. Why don''t we put it to a vote? I vote that she stays. How about you, Alden?"


    "I... uh... I think you guys should stop fighting," Alden stated.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I red at him, furious that he didn''t take my side, but he didn''t even spare me a nce. He was instead focused on his brothers, trying to be the peacemaker.


    "No, Alden. Pick a side. I can give you time to run off to your mum and ask her for advice on whose side to take if you''d prefer that," Liam snorted.


    ke''s face curved into a smile and then he burst outughing hard. "Okay, that was funny," he said.


    Just then, the door opened and two guards walked in. I became instantly afraid as I looked away, trying to ensure they didn''t see my face just in case they had gotten the description of the ve girl who escaped from the Moonstone Pack yesterday.


    "Greetings, princes. Your father, Alpha King Rond, has requested you immediately stop everything you''re doing now and go to the throne room," one of the guards announced, to which I heaved a sigh of relief.


    "Do you know why he wants to see us?" ke retorted.


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    "I''m sorry, he didn''t say," the guard responded, and with that, both guards took a bow and exited the room.


    "It''s probably about what happened yesterday, seeing as we failed to aplish our mission, thanks to someone," Liam stated, shooting daggers at me.


    "We should go," Alden said, and with a nod of acknowledgment in my direction, he walked briskly out of the room.


    ke tucked away a strand of hair that was in my face behind my ear. "I''ll be right back for you, beautiful," he said, and proceeded to also leave the room.


    Now, I was left in just Liam''spany. He grabbed my neck and suddenly began to choke me as he looked right into my eyes, sneering at me.


    "Let... me... go..." I said, coughing loudly as I struggled to take his hand off me.


    "Listen, I don''t know what your game is or what you''re ying at, but I am certain your intentions aren''t good and I''ll find out what you''re hiding sooner orter," he threatened, and with that, he pushed me away and stormed out of the room, mming the door behind him.


    I staggered and fell to the floor the minute Liam was gone, weak and in severe pain. Somehow, in spite of his cruel behavior toward me, I still felt drawn to him, as well as to his brothers.


    I was troubled by the insane rhythm of my heart, wondering why it kept on racing so hard despite the fact that the brothers had left.


    I bit my lip, trying to suppress how I felt.


    "Why are you trying to stop something that can not be stopped?" Elsa asked.


    "What do you mean it can''t be stopped? That would be true if any of them were my mate, but they are princes, Elsa. I don''t see that connection happening in a million years," I stated. "Maybe you''re wrong because not one, but all three are your mates," Elsa said.


    "Three mates? In what world is that possible?"


    Elsa went mute and didn''t say anything again. Perhaps, she was right. It did seem absurd and absolutely unheard of, but it appeared like the only logical exnation since I had met them on my eighteenth birthday and I felt the same undeniable connection to each of them.


    The real question was if they felt the same way about me, or if I had just been thrown into a web of something unattainable.

 Chapter 4

    Alden could hear the sound ofughtering from the throne room. ke rolled his eyes as he walked ahead of him and entered into the throne room, where Alden''s mother, Luna Queen Vienna and their father, Alpha King Rond, were having what seemed like a private romantic moment together.


    Luna Vienna went on about her meeting with the wives of the Pack''s elders as she gently messaged the Alpha''s shoulders to his liking, and only paused when she saw Alden and ke walk into the throne room. "Greetings, father, Luna," ke said, with a light bow. "Greetings, father, mother," Alden said, bowing fully.


    "Greetings, princes of the Silver Crest Pack," Alpha Rond stated, motioning for them to have their seats.


    "ke, I must say it is a surprise to see that you showed up on time today. That''s really impressive. At least, there''s hope for you, unlike that Liam. We''ll be lucky if he even honors your father''s call," Luna Vienna remarked.


    "Keep my name out of your mouth, will you? Oh, never mind! I forgot for a second that you always have to make me look bad in a bid to make your unfit son seem worthy enough to be crowned the next Alpha of our Pack," Liam retorted, as he strolled into the throne room leisurely.


    "That''s no way to speak to your stepmother, Liam!" Alpha Rond barked furiously.


    A smirk yed around Liam''s lips as he eyed the Luna all over. "I don''t think it counts as disrespect if I don''t recognize her as my stepmother or even the Luna of this great kingdom. To me, she has always been and will always be my mother''s maidservant," Liam said.


    Alden clenched his fists tightly, trying his best to suppress his anger. "That''s enough, Liam," he said in a more gentle tone than he had intended.


    "Or what?" Liam snapped, ring at him. "We both know there''s nothing you can do about it. You have a maidservant''s blood running through your veins. You shouldn''t even get to speak to me, loser," he said, and with that, he offered a simple bow to his father and took his seat.


    It was true that Alden, ke and Liam were brothers and had been born on the same day, but they had different mothers and the story behind it all created a perceived enmity and division between the brothers.


    At this point, Luna Vienna had had enough and decided to gracefully exit the throne room, but not without having thest word. Stopping right in from of Liam, she scoffed, looking him directly in the eye.


    "You called my son a loser when you''re the biggest loser. You''re condescending, arrogant and overbearing. It is true that I was once a maidservant, but doesn''t it irk you to know that if the people had a chance to vote, they''d choose a maidservant''s son over you to lead them? Little wonder your mother died the moment you were born. She couldn''t stand seeing the disappointment you''d turn out to be," Luna Vienna said, then walked out of the throne room, feeling really satisfied.


    Liam stood up as though to go after her, but his father stopped him right in his tracks. "If you still have any interest in bing the next Alpha of the Pack, you would sit down right this minute and quit disrespecting my wife!" Alpha Rond thundered.


    "You heard what she said!" Liam fired back at his father, who by this time was shifting ufortably in his seat as beads of sweat formed around his forehead.


    "Well, you started it first, so sit down and stop making the rest of us remain here longer than we want to," ke told him.


    "How do you expect me to not voice out my frustration when the mere presence of her provokes me?" Liam retorted.


    "Just learn to ignore her like I have," ke responded.


    "Easy for you to say. Your mother isn''t dead. She was just chased out for being an adulteress," Liam said.


    Alpha Rond tried to stop the bickering, but he couldn''t voice out anything as everywhere around him became blurry and he started feeling a sudden weakness. "Father, are you okay?" Alden asked calmly, noticing his father''s state as he left his seat and went to check up on him.Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    The other brothers paid no attention as they kept going back and forth with each other.


    "I have always honored and respected yourte mother, so don''t disrespect my mother by calling her names," ke said, standing up and facing Liam squarely.


    "I''m not calling her names. I called her an adulteress. Is that such a bad thing? Didn''t shemit adultery?" Liam asked.


    ke didn''t hesitate to swing his fist at Liam who ducked it with ease. "You''re just insufferable, going around and making a big deal over a mother you never even met," ke retorted.


    "How dare you!" Liam yelled, punching ke in his right eye, which resulted in a scuffle between the two of them.


    Meanwhile, Alden noticed Alpha Rond was running a fever, and as he tried to help him stand to his feet so he could get him to his chamber, Alpha Rond slumped to the floor before he could even take a step. "Father!" Alden screamed, falling to his knees as he checked his pulse.


    His scream sounded throughout the entire pce, and ke and Liam broke off their fight to rush to their father''s aid.


    "Quit screaming like a girl and get the Pack''s doctor," Liam said, as ke helped him ce their father on his back. "Will he be okay?" Alden asked, fearfully.


    "The man is still breathing. Just hurry up and get the Pack''s doctor," ke told him.


    Alden sped out of the throne room as fast as he could and didn''t stop until he got to the infirmary, where he met the Pack''s doctor who was on his way out, and informed him of what had happened. After what seemed like ages but was merely two hourster, Alpha Rond opened his eyes. The Pack''s doctor had treated him and had said his heart was weak, but it wasn''t anything to worry about.


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    When he awoke in his bedroom, he turned to see Alden sitting by his bedside, saying a prayer to the Moon Goddess.


    "You can stop praying now. Your prayers have been answered," Alpha Rond said weakly.


    "Father, you''re awake!" Alden said, snapping his eyes open as he checked to see if his father was still running a fever.


    "Where are your brothers?" he asked, sitting up with great difficulty.


    "I don''t know. They left as soon as they dropped you off. I''ll ask the guards to send for them, but the Luna is outside. They refused to let her in until you were conscious," Alden exined.


    "I see. You and your mother are the only ones who care about me," the Alpha said.


    "That''s not true, father. Liam and ke just don''t know how to express their feelings," Alden said.


    "You just love seeing the good in people. You know I''d make you the next Alpha of the Pack and give you the whole kingdom if I could, right?"


    "Father, I..."


    "I know you don''t really have an interest in bing the Alpha, but it''s for your own security. Your brothers don''t consider you as their own blood, and I''m afraid of what would happen to you and your mother if I die suddenly. Still, I would be criticized if I failed to make it a fair game, so your brothers also have a chance. My hands are tied," Alpha Rondmented.


    Alden gave him a small smile. "Whatever happens, mother and I will be fine. Just focus on getting better," he said.


    "Of course. Please, tell your mother to return to her quarters. I will visit her soon. Right now, I need to have a conversation with you and your brothers," Alpha Rond stated.


    Minutester, ke and Liam arrived, pleased to see their father in good condition as he drank chamomile tea, but for some reason, their reactions said otherwise. "Greetings, father," they said, with a bow.


    "Greetings, princes. I will go straight to the point. The reason I called you earlier on and now is about the mission you had to carry out before one of you would be selected as the next Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack," Alpha Rond revealed. "You said we should go out to the forest and wait till dawn and the mission woulde to us, but these fools abandoned it and forced me to join them in saving a girl I know is up to no good," Liam was quick to say.


    "You''re the one who caused her to fall off the edge of that cliff in the first ce. Besides, dawn had appeared already and no mission was in sight," ke fired back at him.


    nning your weekend reading? Ensure you''re on 00005s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively avable on our site. Happy reading! Alpha Rond raised his hand, stopping them from saying anything more. "I am delighted to inform you all that the maiden you saved in question is your mission," he stated. "What do you mean by that, father? Was our mission to save her?" ke asked.


    Alpha Rond shook his head in the negative. "It''s not that. Didn''t you all feel a special connection to the maiden you saved?" he inquired.


    There was a deafening silence for a while, as the brothers looked at each other, none willing to admit how they had felt to their father until Alden broke the silence.


    "It was the first time I was ever feeling that way for anyone. There was this attraction I felt to her against my will. Wait a second, does that mean she is my mate?" Alden asked, as his feelings began to slowly make sense to him.


    "If she''s your mate, then what is she to me? I''d admit I''m always fantasising about one girl or the other, but I swear, it''s different with Ciara. It''s just like you said... an insane attraction against my better judgment," ke said. "How about you, Liam? How do you feel about her?" Alpha Rond inquired.


    "I would rather not talk about it. The real question is, so what if we have a special connection to this girl? What makes her our mission?" Liam barked.


    "It would interest you to know that thete priest prophesied that when dawn breaks on the celestial day in your twentieth year, your mate would appear to you at the Knight''s Tale forest," Alpha Rond exined. "It was the celestial day yesterday. Does that mean Ciara is mated to all three of us?" Alden asked.


    "Ciara being our mate makes absolutely no sense and it still doesn''t answer the question," Liam stated.


    "I agree that it doesn''t make sense, because I for one, wouldn''t want to share my girl, especially with you two," ke added.


    "Don''t worry. You won''t have to share. She just needs to ept one of you as her mate, and whoever sessfully captures her heart will be named the next Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack," Alpha Rond dered. "What?" The three brothers all blurted out at once.


    "We could have had any reasonable mission, and what you''re saying is everything boils down to a girl?" Liam asked.


    "Any of you who wishes to not be a part of this can back out. Love, to me, is the greatest quality any leader can possess. Besides, I don''t decide your fate. The universe does. If I were you, I''d go now and start looking for ways to win the heart of my fated mate. Also, apart from myself and the Luna, no one, not even Ciara is to know of this mission," the Alpha King stated, dismissing the brothers, who left the room; a different and more confused version of themselves than they were when they stepped in.

 Chapter 5

    Ciara.


    A knock came and the door opened, jolting me from my thoughts. A young servant girl entered the room, wheeling a suitcase, and bowed politely. "Greetings, Lady Ciara. I will be your personal maid from now on," she said.


    Personal maid? I had a personal maid? An Omega like me?


    I stood up, confused and also bowed at her. "Greetings, does that mean I''m to live here?" I inquired.


    "Yes. The Alpha has given orders for you to remain in the pce until you regain your memory," she exined.


    "Really?" My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "That''s so generous of him, I must see him at once to thank him," I said, unable to believe my luck.


    "He is currently not doing well right now, and he has refused visitors, but perhaps, you shall see him at dinner," she said.


    Dinner? My stomach churned. I hadn''t even had breakfast yet.


    She giggled quietly, hearing the rumbling sound my stomach made. "I have brought you clothes and other things you might need during your stay here. I''ll arrange them while you have your bath. Breakfast would be served in a little while," she told me.


    "Of course," I said, and turned toward the bathroom, then stopped, remembering something.


    "What''s your name?" I asked.


    "Joan."


    "Well, thank you, Joan," I said, then opened the bathroom door.


    It was pure luxury. I had washed every bathroom in the Moonstone Pack over a thousand times, but neither of them could bepared to this. I had never seen anything like it in my life, and I eagerly stepped out of my clothes and went straight into the bathtub for a hot bath. It felt like heaven... it was only now I realized I had never truly had a proper bath as mere servants only had ess to water from dirty streams.


    When I was done, I wrapped myself up with the towel and went back into the bedroom. Joan was gone already, and I happily ran to the wardrobe which was now stacked with beautiful and expensive clothes. The drawers were also filled with various cosmetic products and perfumes. I pinched myself for like the millionth time and once again, I was convinced this was reality and I wasn''t dreaming.


    Gliding around the room, I patted the lotion into my skin, humming a soft tune. I then selected a re emerald green dress that stopped right above my knees and packed my hair into a messy bun, before applying some lip gloss. I smiled, admiring my reflection in the mirror before heading out of the room.


    Josiah was right; the members of the Silver Crest Pack were indeed nice wolves and I had been lucky to cross paths with not just anyone, but the princes themselves. My life had been nothing but a tragic story but it overnight became a fairytale; I could only hope that Josiah was fine.


    "That dress suits you," Joan said, appearing out of nowhere.


    "Thanks."


    "Let me show you to the dining hall," she said, leading the way and I followed her through the magnificent corridors, all of which looked like different sections of a museum,den with rich pieces of their great cultural heritage and majestic artworks.


    "Have a seat," she said once we were there.


    I gasped, marveling at the huge amount of food ced on the table.


    "Isn''t this too much for me?" I asked.


    "Oh. The princes and a few guests would be joining you," she exined.


    "Guests? What guests?"


    "Some messengers from the Moonstone Pack. They journeyed all night just to deliver a vital piece of information to His Majesty."


    My heart began to race with fear and beads of sweat broke around my forehead as I bit my fingers nervously. Messengers from the Moonstone Pack? What could they possibly want? Had they perhaps brought a sketch of thete Alpha''s murderer to be shot on sight if seen within the Silver Crest''s vicinity? Worst still, what if they recognized me and took me back to the Moonstone Pack with them?


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    I shook my head, pushing away the negative thoughts. I had just started to live quite a decent life, I couldn''t let it end like this.


    "I... er... I''m not hungry anymore," I said, standing up and turning to head back to my room.


    Again, my stomach rumbled, saying otherwise. Ordinarily, I would have been embarrassed, but not this time around. My life was on the line, and I couldn''t afford to feel shame.


    "I think you''re just feeling shy, but it''s okay. You won''t be the only female present. I''ll be here as well," Joan said with a smile.


    "Thanks, but I really need-"


    "Oh, they''re here already," Joan said, just as the doors opened, revealing two huge and muscr men, which I recognized instantly. They came from a long line of messengers in my former Pack. "Greetings, my Lords. I hope you''ll find our delicacies to your liking. Do take your seats," I heard Joan say.


    I had already looked away from them, scared to make eye contact lest they recognized me, and before Joan could try stopping me again, I walked as quickly as lightning and was almost out of the dining hall when a loud deep voice stopped me right in my tracks.


    "Stop there!"


    My heart froze and my head began to spin as I clenched my fists tightly and bit my lip which had suddenly be very dry.


    I heard him make his way to me, and with each footstep he took, my heart pounded even more loudly than it did a second ago.


    "Turn around," he said, once he was directly behind me.


    Slowly, I turned around, with my eyes darting around and looking for an escape route. I couldn''t dare to look him in the eye and when he opened his mouth to speak, I thought my chest would explode, but then he said, "You left this behind." I heaved a sigh of relief as I saw he was handing over a bracelet that I had been wearing, but it had probablye off because it wasn''t my right size.


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    "Thank you," I managed to say, but it was more like a whisper as I stretched forth my hand to take it from him.


    "You''re wee."


    I turned around to leave and then bumped into someone. I looked up to see it was ke, and he smiled down at me.


    "You look stunning. Green suits you," heplimented me, taking my hand in his and kissing it.


    A smile appeared on my face, and I thanked him for being so kind with his words.


    "Here," he said, taking out a fancy bow hair clip and cing it firmly on my hair. "That''s better."


    I touched the shiny clip which was on my hair, as my heart skipped a beat. "You''re so kind, thank you."


    "You have a little something here," he said, trailing his finger just a little above my top lip to wipe off some gloss, and like that, our eyes met and neither of us looked away from the other.


    "Go get a room or something," Liam sneered, rolling his eyes as he walked into the dining hall, startling me so much so that I lost my footing and tripped over a tray that Joan had carelessly left on the floor.


    I had shbacks to falling down the cliff as I fell, but just before I hit the floor, someone caught me midway and saved me from crashing into the hard floor.


    I looked up to see the face of my saviour and my heart began to beat rapidly on seeing that it was Liam to my surprise.


    Perhaps, he wasn''t such a bad person after all, I thought to myself, but no sooner had I had that thought that he proved me wrong.


    His face creased into a mischievous smile, and before I knew what was happening, he let go of me, and like that, I fell to the floor with a thud, yelling out loudly and wishing death upon him, but most especially, I med myself for ever trusting a nutcase like Liam who had no conscience whatsoever.

 CHapter 6

    Ciara.


    "Ouch!" I screamed as I crashed into the floor, and immediately scowled at Liam.


    ke grabbed him by the cor. "Do you always have to be like this?" he yelled.


    "We have visitors, we can settle thister," Liam said in a low tone, before shoving ke away.


    Looking at me with a satisfied smirk ying around his lips, he put his hands in his pocket and grabbed a seat at the dining, then started eating like nothing had happened.


    ke extended his hand to me and I epted it, after which he helped me stand to my feet.


    "I''m sorry about him. He is mentally unstable," ke said.


    I chuckled. "That much is obvious," I said, which earned me a re from Liam.


    "At least, I''m not a liar pretending to have amnesia," he retorted.


    "I would rather be a liar than be an arrogant hothead with zero manners or respect for women," I fired back at him, having had enough.


    "I do have respect for women. I just don''t have any for you, and I wonder why. Maybe it''s because you''re unattractive or it''s probably because I don''t see you as a woman," he stated. I was red with anger, and I couldn''t think of a bettereback, so I decided to walk out.


    ke grabbed my hand and tried to stop me from leaving, "Hey, you shouldn''t be listening to someone that''s built like a tadpole," he said.


    That should have made me feel better, but it didn''t because I knew it wasn''t true. Liam was in no way built like a tadpole. He was handsome, insanely so, and he had muscles to die for.


    I politely made ke let go of the grip he had on my hand and stormed out of the dining hall. At least now, I didn''t have to stay back and be seen by the messengers. I didn''t remember how to get to my room anymore and just kept on walking till I came across an open door.


    The fragrance of the room lured me in, and when I stepped in, I fell in love with it. It was decorated with so many paintings and something on the table caught my eye.


    When I got closer, I saw it was a painting, and picking it up, my eyes widened in surprise. It was a painting of a girl lying in bed and the girl looked exactly like me. No, she was me.


    The bathroom door opened at that point and when I looked up, it was none other than the third prince, Alden. He was dripping wet with water with a small towel tied loosely around his waist. He looked like he came out of a romance novel, and my stomach knotted at the sight of his abs.


    "Beautiful," I heard myself say.


    He was numb for a while as his cheeks blushed fiercely pink, and he blinked, opening his mouth with no wording out.


    Seeing as he appeared flustered, I changed what I had in mind. "The painting is beautiful, I mean."


    He swallowed. "As are you," he told me.


    "You think I''m beautiful?"


    "It''s not about what I think. I''m just stating the fact. You are beautiful," he said.


    "Liam doesn''t seem to think so," I said, wetting my lips.


    "And who cares what Liam thinks? He''s an asshole, and you shouldn''t be bothered by him," he said.


    With that, he took a few steps forward and ced his hands on my shoulder. My senses tingled as he touched me, then he led me to stand in front of the mirror.


    "How could anyone say you''re not pretty? You''re the most beautiful girl I have everid my eyes on," he said in a whisper, which brought a smile to my face.


    I turned around to thank him, but I did it so abruptly that I grazed the towel around his waist which came tumbling down. He quickly spun me back around and covered my eyes tightly with his hands. "Don''t look," he said.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    I was too startled to even say anything.


    "Did you hear me?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.


    "Yes, I''m not looking," I said.


    A few minutester, he tapped my shoulders and said I could now open my eyes.


    When I turned around, I saw him fully clothed staring at the floor and I just startedughing, but managed to stop when I saw he wasn''t finding it funny.


    "I didn''t see anything, I swear."


    "I know, I''m just a little bit shy," he said.


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    "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have barged into your room like that."


    "It''s fine. Did you have breakfast?"


    "No, not yet."


    "Is it because of what Liam said?"


    "Um... kinda."


    "You really shouldn''t let him get to you. There''s food in the kitchen, and I''m making father his favorite meal. You could join me in the kitchen and help me out, while also having something to eat," he said. "You cook?"


    "Yeah. Is anything wrong with that?"


    "No, I''m just surprised. I didn''t think someone with royal blood would want to go into the kitchen for anything," I said.


    "That''s because he''s not pure royalty," Liam said, barging into the room.


    "What are you talking about?" I inquired.


    "Oh, Alden didn''t tell you?"


    "Tell me what?"


    "Liam, get out!" Alden stated, raising his voice.


    "Or what?" Liam barked, before looking back at me. "Alden''s mum was a servant who slept with her mistress'' husband," Liam exined.


    I didn''t know how to react or what to say. I looked at Alden and his fists were tightened, with visible anger showing all over his face.


    "You didn''t have breakfast because of me. What do you say we go grab a meal at the fanciest restaurant in the Silver Crest Pack?" Liam asked, looking me directly in the eye, which made my heart melt. "Um..."


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    "I''ll take that as a yes," Liam said, and to my surprise, grabbed my hand and led me out of Alden''s room.


    Outside, everything kept reying in my head, and flinging his hand off mine, I pushed him away.


    "You shouldn''t have said that right in front of him. So what if his mother was once a servant? You don''t even know the full story," I stated.


    "Fine, whatever. Are youing with me or not?"


    "You can''t just appear out of nowhere after speaking to me rudely and expect me to go out with you. Besides, I already made ns with Alden," I said.


    "What ns? Assisting him in the kitchen? Are you sure that''s what you''d rather do?" he asked, walking close to me and I started retreating with my heart caught in my throat.


    "Why do you even want me to go out with you? You detest me, have you forgotten or are you bipr?" I inquired.


    "You''re wrong about me. I do not for any reason detest you," he said, and when I tried to move backward this time around, I couldn''t. I had already met a dead end and my back was against the wall.


    I couldn''t understand him. I had been so sure he hated me, so why was he being this way with me all of a sudden?


    "Let me show you how I truly feel about you," he said, and just like that, he nted a kiss on my lips.


    I was surprised as hell and I had no idea how to respond to his kiss, but instead of pushing him away, I closed my eyes tightly and parted my lips so he could kiss me harder.


    He stopped kissing me and my eyes opened slowly. I searched his eyes, and just when I thought we were on the same page, he burst into a fit ofughter looking in the opposite direction, and when I followed his eyes, I saw ke standing right there, looking really hurt.


    "Didn''t you brag about you guys having a moment? Told you all I needed to do was also act nice to her. Guess where I found her! She was in Alden''s room. She''ll do anything with anyone as long as they''re nice to her, she''s definitely not worth fighting over and I''m going to tell father that right this minute!" he said, then walked away.


    "Sorry for interrupting you guys," ke said, and walked out before I could call him and exin things to him.


    I took a deep breath, feeling like aplete fool, and when I looked up, Alden was staring at me.


    "Alden, I-"


    "I came to give you this," he said, approaching me and then he handed me the painting he had drawn of me.


    I collected it with my head bowed, feeling disgusted with myself. My first kiss had been with the guy who despised me the most in the world and treated me withplete and utter disdain, someone who had nearly choked the life out of me; and that had been after having emotional moments with his brothers who had even been more nicer to me.


    "Come, let''s get you something to eat," Alden said, holding my hand and taking me along with him, seeking zero exnation.


    In that moment, I felt safe and like I had struck gold with Alden, but something about Liam that I couldn''t quite ce my fingers on lingered on in my mind.

 Chapter 7

    Alden.


    "What do you think?" I asked as she threw the piece of cake into her mouth.


    My heart tingled as she munched on it, relishing the taste. She licked her lips and nodded with childlike excitement, throwing the remaining slice of cake into her mouth all at once.


    "It''s so good. You really should consider bing a chef," she said.


    I chuckled. "That''s impossible for someone like me, but thanks for the suggestion. I''m d you enjoyed it," I said.


    "Nothing in this world is impossible, trust me," she replied with a beautiful smile.


    I looked at her for a little while, knowing I should say something, but clueless as to what I was supposed to say.


    We held eye contact for some time, but then, the memory of her kissing Liam appeared in my mind, and that was all I needed to do to shift my gaze and begin to pack up the dishes I had made for my father.


    "Do you think you could give me a tour around the pce?" she asked.


    "ke should be practicing his fencing. You can ask Joan to take you to him," I stated.


    She looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Do you want me to ask ke for the tour instead? Well, I can''t do that. You already saw what transpired between us earlier, he probably doesn''t ever want to see me again," Ciara said. The tray was fully loaded by now and I simply smiled at her. "You can''t avoid him forever. I''m sending you to him so you guys can settle your misunderstanding and believe me, he definitely wants to see you," I told her firmly. She appeared thoughtful for a while and eventually, she heaved a deep sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I suppose it''s worth a shot. Thank you so much, Prince Alden," she said to me. "There''s no need for unnecessary formality."


    "I don''t think it''s unnecessary. I''ll take my leave now," Ciara said, and with that, she turned around and left the kitchen.


    I regretted sending her off to ke as soon as she left, and I kept staring back at the door, hoping that for whatsoever reason, she would show up once again.


    However, she didn''t show up despite me dying things just to get a chance to be with her again. I liked Ciara a whole lot; she was beautiful, unintentionally funny and she made my heart race. "Alden, have you lost it?" my mother, the Luna, suddenly barged into the kitchen, and I could see anger written clearly all over her face.


    "Mother, is everything okay?" I was perplexed.


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    "No, Alden, nothing is okay. You already had the girl in the palm of your hands, so tell me why you pushed her over to ke! Do you know the gravity of what you have just done?!" she screamed, almost at the top of her lungs.


    I smiled and ced my hands on her shoulders. "Come on, mother. I''m sure it''s not that serious. She and ke weren''t on good terms, and I believed the right thing to do was to help them sort things out," I exined.


    "As what? Their peacemaker? I already know that she kissed Liam which got on ke''s nerves, but that was just fate working in your favour. That was your opportunity to step into her life and never let her go. That way, she would lean on you and end up selecting you as her mate," mother exined.


    "So, you sent people to watch me. Typical."


    "Yes, and I don''t regret it. At first, I thought you were doing a good job with the painting and cooking thing because it seemed to be working, but acting all soft and giving her up to your brothers who are much more stronger and more daring than you won''t help you get her. You must hurry up now and tell her you were joking, then take her on a tour around the pce," mothermanded.


    "What if I don''t want to?"


    "Nonsense! You have to. How else would you be the next Alpha King?" she retorted.


    I rolled my eyes. "I''ve told you severally, mother! I have no interest whatsoever in holding that position!"


    She was enraged. "So, what would you do with your life then? Be a Chef or an artist? Does that make sense to you? Listen carefully, Alden. I didn''te this far to be the Luna despite my poor background just for my son to turn around and have no interest in bing an Alpha."


    nning your weekend reading? Ensure you''re on 000005s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively avable on our site. Happy reading! "But-"


    "No buts. I worked so hard to get us here, and I won''t allow you to make a mockery of my hard work," she interrupted.


    I scoffed. "This is what you say all the time. This is how you always deem it fit to ckmail me emotionally. How did you work so hard? Tell me, mother, was sleeping with your mistress'' husband that hard to do?" "How dare you!" she yelled, giving me a resounding p on my cheek. "I did what I had to, and you of all people, my son, cannot shame me for it."


    Tears welled up in my eyes. "That decision you made has haunted me all my life, from when I was a child up till now. I was interested in Ciara, not because of the throne, but because I really do like her. You needed to see the look on her face when Liam told her my mother was a servant whomitted adultery with the Alpha. I know you did what you thought was right at the time, but because of what you did, I do not wish to be the next Alpha. I don''t deserve it, and I do not wish to be known as an Alpha who is only partially royalty. No matter what I do, that''s all I''m ever going to be known as," I stated, looking her deeply in her eyes.


    She swallowed. "In that case, pardon me for being such a pathetic mother," she said, and with that, she stormed out of the kitchen, mming the door behind her.


    My chest felt heavy and I felt a pang of guilt overtake the rest of my emotions the moment my mother left. I was used to being the understanding and kindhearted son, always locking my feelings away just to make others happy. For the first time, I had talked back at my mother and shamed her for giving me the life she never had.


    Why did I say all those things? What could I do to make it up to her? Perhaps, I should go to Ciara this very minute and do as mother had said.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I could hear herughter outside the walls, and when I ran to the window, I saw her linking arms with ke as he showed her around the pce.


    It was toote for me, and I might never have a chance back to im her seeing as I was always the one in the background. Games like this didn''t sit right with me, and I was most likely to lose, especially considering the fact that unlike my brothers, I wasn''t strong and daring just like my mother had pointed out.


    I turned my back on the window, afraid that I might feel even worse than I did now. I shouldn''t have let her go so easily. Yes, the throne wasn''t worth fighting for, especially with a background like mine; but Ciara? Ciara was worth every fight.

 Chapter 8

    Ciara.


    The pce was a beauty to behold. ke had shown me around and I couldn''t stop rethinking the fact that indeed, I now lived there. I had apologised to ke about kissing Liam, and even though he had been earlier disappointed, he forgave me easily and made me pinky swear to not do such again.


    I was worried however. I feltpletely useless, just taking from the royal family of the Silver Crest Pack without giving back. I was so grateful to them for my life and every other thing, but I was penniless, not helpful and I didn''t have the means to express my gratitude by doing something meaningful for them.


    Two knocks sounded lightly on the door and I closed my eyes abruptly, knowing it was Joan and she was probably here to tell me to go down for dinner.


    All day, I had tried desperately to avoid the messengers from the Moonstone Pack, and I couldn''t afford to ruin it all by letting them see me at dinner.


    Joan came in when she didn''t get a response. "Mydy, I came to inform you that dinner has been served," she announced.


    My eyes remained shut and I didn''t move, not until I felt something tickle my feet.


    I jumped up in fright, believing it to be a spider, and when I calmed down, I saw Joan trying unsessfully to hide herughter.


    "That was just my finger, Lady Ciara. I wanted to be sure that you were asleep. I''m sorry I did that, but the Alpha King will be at the dining hall and it wouldn''t speak well of you if you do not show up," she exined.


    I sighed. "You''re right. I can''t dishonour him by not going down to the dining hall, especially when he has bestowed such great kindness upon me," I agreed, but with a downcast look.


    "If it''s the messengers you''re worried about, do not be dismayed, for they just traveled back to the Moonstone Pack," she told me.


    My mood instantly went from a zero to a hundred and I smiled so brightly. "Really? That''s great news then," I said, heading over to the wardrobe, where I picked a blue silk evening dress to put on.


    "I noticed their presence bothered you," she noted.


    I nodded. "They looked scary with their weapons and appearance."


    "Oh, I understand now," she said.


    After stepping into the dress, I wore my hair down and followed Joan out of the room and into the dining hall, where everyone was already seated and waiting for me.


    "Greetings, Alpha King. Greetings, Luna," I bowed my head.


    "Greetings, young maiden. I see now why the Moon Goddess sent you our way. You embody elegance, befitting of a princess. I''m sure youe from a very good home, it''s indeed sad that you do not have any memories whatsoever of your life before," the Alpha stated.


    "You speak so kindly, Alpha. Thank you so much, and I believe my memories shall be recovered in no time,¡± I said.


    "Isn''t it a bit of a wonder that no one has sent word looking for you? If you dide from a good home with an affluent family, word would have traveled around by now of your disappearance," the Luna said, eyeing me with curious grey eyes, as I took my seat beside ke.


    "For once, we agree on something. I''m not surprised though. You of all people would know if someone isn''t from an affluent home. After all, you did spend half of your life stricken with poverty," Liam chipped in. "That''s enough, Liam," Alden said, slightly raising his voice.


    "So, messengers came from the Moonstone Pack today," ke stated, attempting to change the conversation, with his mouth full of food.


    My fingers began to tremble at the mention of those words. "Did they say why they were here?" I blurted out.


    "They brought terrible news. The Alpha of the Moonstone Pack is dead," the Alpha responded.


    It seemed to be news to everyone at the table; except for the Alpha and Luna.


    "I met thete Alpha once, and he was really kind. It''s terrible news indeed," ke said.


    "Did-did they say who killed him?" I asked, and it was only after the words had been uttered that I realized how suspicious I sounded.


    "The cause of his death wasn''t even mentioned yet. How then did you assume that he had been killed? Is there something you''re not telling us?" Liam interrogated.


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    All eyes fell on me and all I could do was pick at my food, twirling my fingers tightly around the fork as I tried toe up with a suitable excuse, all to no avail.


    "She obviously meant to ask about what killed him, not who. We all make mistakes, it shouldn''t be that big of a deal," Alden said firmly,ing to my rescue once again.


    I smiled as a form of appreciation, but he barely nced at me and diverted his gaze to his father.


    "Tell me, father, do your shoulders still hurt?" Alden asked.


    "They do, and the pain has extended to my back. I''ll call in the Pack''s doctor early tomorrow morning," he responded.


    Liam scoffed. "It seems the Luna''s magical hands don''t do the massage properly anymore. Perhaps, father, it might be time to take on a new wife, someone younger who can help you get rid of all the pains you''re feeling."


    The Luna was obviously annoyed, and in her haste to reply Liam, something got stuck in her throat and she began to choke, coughing loudly.


    Alden hurriedly rushed to his feet and began smacking her back until she was able to cough up what had gotten stuck. He helped her with arge ss of water; which she tossed aside, spilling it all over him.


    "Get your hands off me. Do not pretend to care about your pathetic mother who has apparently caused you nothing but shame and embarrassment," she snapped.


    "Mother," Alden grabbed her hand.


    She flung his hand away immediately, and stood up, then exited from the dining hall.


    The Alpha called her back, but she didn''t turn back, and he shot daggers at Liam with his eyes.


    "Oops. There''s trouble in paradise," Liam joked.


    The Alpha mmed his fists on the table as his ws shot out, revealing his fury. "I''ve had enough of all this, Liam! One week! You are to spend one week in the dungeon without food or water, and anyone who tries to offer you such would receive a hundredshes of the cane in the town square," he dered.


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    "Father, you can''t be serious" Liam was cut off.


    "Oh, you''ll soon see how serious I am. Guards, seize him and drag him like amon criminal to the dungeon!" the Alpha proimed.


    "Yes, Your Highness," two hefty guards responded and proceeded to grab Liam from his seat.


    "Get your filthy hands off me right this minute! Father, you can''t do this to me. I am your son!" Liam screamed as loud as he could as he was dragged away forcefully.


    "Luckily for me, you''re not the only son I was blessed with. Mind you, your punishment shall continue indefinitely if you fail to apologize to the Luna and change your ways after a week passes," the Alpha stated.


    "Father, don''t you think you''re being too harsh?" Alden asked after the guards had left.


    "He insulted your mother, I should have punished him a long time ago. And what did your mother mean when you gave her water to drink? I hope you didn''t tell her you''re ashamed of her," he said. Alden hung his head low, without saying a word.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "I am highly disappointed in you, Alden. Let it be known that if you or any other person ever hurts my wife again with either their words or in whatever way, I will also hurt that person. Today taught me that I could die at any moment, and trust me when I say I don''t want to die as the man who failed to protect his wife from disrespect and abuse. From now on, I will no longer turn a blind eye or keep quiet!" Alpha King Rond said authoritatively, and with that, he stood up, nodded at me in acknowledgement, before walking out of the dining hall.


    "Are you okay?" I asked, squeezing Alden''s hands softly.


    He flinched, withdrawing from me. "This is all your fault. Stay away from me," he said, and with that, he also left.


    A few minutes passed, as I pondered over what had happened and how I had in any way been the one responsible for the dysfunctional family which they were.


    "Hey, everyone''s just messed up right now, but none of these is your fault," ke said as though he could read my mind, and with a pat on my back, he also exited the room.


    The dinner had been barely touched and as I sat there in the deafening silence, a thought came across my mind. I had been worried about being totally useless and just taking from them without giving back.


    I now knew what I had to do. Despite theirvish lifestyle, wealth and prestige, this family was in shambles. I decided that henceforth, I would be solely responsible for patching things up and making them be one happy family. If truly this was all my fault, then it was the more reason I had to find a solution to their problem.


    I had been given a second chance at life, and before my identity was uncovered, I needed to prove that I truly didn''t deserve to die that night. This, I believed, was my one shot at doing so.

 Chapter 9

    Liam.


    Hitting the gates was useless. Even when I unleashed my fangs and ws, howling loudly and trying to uproot the gates from their foundation, it was futile.


    I sat down, deciding to just give up, then ended up sleeping off in the dark dungeon, and awoke up to the crowing of the cocks in the poultry.


    I stared at the gates solemnly, thinking of how to make it out of the hell I had just been condemned to for a whole week, but not willing to waste my time and energy like I had donest night.


    I was angry. For a long time, I had been angry. Angry at my father, my brothers, the deceitful Luna, but most especially, at myself. And maybe it was the overwhelming hatred I had for myself that I always channeled to Alden''s mother, and just convinced myself that she deserved every insult I threw at her.


    "You killed my daughter, my only daughter. You should never have been born!"


    The words of my maternal grandmother echoed in my head as I recalled how I had decided to spend the holidays one summer with myte mother''s people. I just wanted to know more about my mother, who she was, and have a rtionship with her people. I was eight years old back then, but I could remember how they had rejected me on the grounds that it was my birth that had brought death upon their daughter.


    I med myself from then on. Prior to that, Luna Vienna had been kind to me and I did love her, but after finding out the whole truth from my maternal family, I started to dislike her and that dislike grew till it became nothing but sheer hatred for her.


    To me, I believed that hating the Luna and frustrating her was a form of penance to my mother. She had died because I was born, and by hurting the woman whose affair with her husband had caused her to be miserable during herst few months on earth, I hoped she would forgive me for bringing about her untimely death.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "Hey, Liam," a voice softly called.


    I was jolted from my thoughts and when I looked up, I saw it was Ciara standing outside the gates with a smile stered on her face.


    For whatever reason, butterflies danced in my stomach and the heavy weight in my chest softened upon seeing her face. I had a shback to kissing her, a kiss I had hoped wouldn''t end so soon, but then, I had seen ke and I had to maintain myposure.


    I stood up, discarding my thoughts. I couldn''t possibly be thinking fondly of Ciara. I already could tell she was a liar and a maniptive wench, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. When the time was right, I would get the throne in my own way and not by having to kiss up to a nobody like Ciara.


    "Why are you here? Have youe to gloat?" I fired at her in a deep tone.


    She appeared taken aback. "Of course not, although considering how you treated me yesterday, I wouldn''t be wrong to do that. Luckily for you, I''m not you," she said.


    "Get the fuck out!" I ordered, then turned my back on her.


    "How are you?" she asked, jumpy.


    I turned to face her again. "I don''t know. How do you think I am?" I asked, with a shrug.


    "I can''t answer that question for you, Liam. You''re the only one that can know how you''re feeling. Anyways, I brought this for you," she said, taking a handkerchief she had concealed neatly in her gloves and handing it over to me. I unwrapped it and I saw it contained some food.


    "I''m sorry it''s really little. I couldn''t wrap more because they''ll find out and I won''t be let in, but do not worry. I''ll definitelye again at night with more food," she said.


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    "Why are you being strangely nice to me? You ought to be jumping and dancing happily at my predicament. I know I''d do that if you were in my shoes," I told her.


    She gave me a small smile. "I know, but you''re still one of the people that saved my life and I am indebted to you. Also, I know you must have your reasons for acting the way you do. Your reasons might not justify your actions in any way, but I can try to understand you," she said.


    I just stared at her in disbelief, unable to think of what to say. I didn''t want to thank her, but I also wasn''t in the mood to annoy her like I had be fond of doing.


    "Well, I guess I should take my leave now," she said, and began walking away, when I held her hand.


    "Is anything the matter?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.


    "I need your help," I heard myself say.


    She looked around as if there was any other person present that I could be talking to apart from her. "My help?" she was obviously confused.


    "You''re the only one I can think of to help me. I need you to find a way to get me out of here before midnight. You have all day toe up with something," I exined. "What? No way!"


    "Do this for me and I''ll consider your debt repaid."


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t do what you''re asking. Won''t it be considered treason to defy the Alpha''s orders and help a prisoner escape? I will be imprisoned, and worst still, be thrown out of the pce, and we both know I have nowhere to go. I''ll be at the mercy of strangers, criminals and rogues. I would love to help you out, but not in this manner," Ciara said.


    "I would return to the dungeon, so it would be as if I never left. I have to go attend to a personal business tonight, and you must help me."


    "But-"


    "If you still refuse, then you leave me with no other choice than to expose you for bringing food to me when the Alpha clearly gave orders for nobody to do so," I threatened.


    Her teeth chattered, and she shook her head slowly. "Certainly, you won''t use my good deed against me. You''re not that bad of a person, are you?"


    "We''ll see about that. Guards-"


    She covered my mouth almost immediately by cing her hand firmly over my mouth to stop me from saying anything more.


    Our eyes met and her touch ignited a fire within me. I couldn''t turn my eyes away from her, and there was this sinking feeling her intense gaze brought to my heart. "Fine, I''ll help you," she said, then with a huff, she let go of my mouth and turned away from me.


    Through the gates, I watched her walk down the dungeon hallway with her hips swaying and her hair graciously touching her waist. I was in a daze and couldn''t move away from that spot even after she had long disappeared from my sight. I held onto my beating heart, trying to calm myself down. No way... there was absolutely no way. I was the strong-headed one, the one who detested Ciara with my very being, so much so that not even the mate bond couldpel me to treat her right.


    Had I developed a crush on Ciara, or was this all just a trick on the Moon Goddess'' part? Hopefully, it was just a glitch on my part which would be fixed very soon. It had to be.

 Chapter 10

    Ciara.


    I tossed and turned in bed, as I waited till it was time for the guards guarding the dungeons to have dinner. Already, I had approached Joan for some sleeping pills after lying to her that I had been unable to sleep the previous night and my body needed rest.


    Thankfully, after what happenedst night, there was no family dinner tonight. ording to ke, they rarely had one and the one that they hadst night had just been to officially wee me into the pce.


    I crawled out of the sheets and opened the door slowly, then peeked out, and I only stepped out of my room when I was sure that no one wasing anytime soon.


    So far, my n was going well, not until the lights went off, and in the darkness, I bumped into a sturdy, firm surface. "Ouch."


    The lights came on again, and I discovered the firm surface had been ke''s chest. He winked at me and I huped, as I slowly lifted my head from his chest even though I secretly wished to remain that way for at least, five more minutes. "Where are you off to?" he asked.


    I cleared my throat. "Um... I just wanted to take a stroll," I lied.


    He eyed me suspiciously. "And why are you wearing a servant''s uniform?" he asked.


    Uh-oh. I hadpletely forgotten to cover the uniform I had stolen from the hangar outside with an evening coat. "I... er- I just wanted to walk freely without anyone bothering me with ''Lady Ciara'' and being unnecessarily formal with me," I said, surprised at how effortlessly the lies wereing out of my mouth.


    "I see. Well, can I apany you? You''ve been by yourself all day, and when I came earlier, Joan said you were having a shower," ke said.


    "A lot has just been on my mind..."


    "Then, let me take your burden away," he said, taking two steps forward while staring deeply into my eyes.


    I could feel my heart literally sink and I huped once again. I diverted my gaze away from him, so I wouldn''t give in to temptation. "I do enjoy spending time with you, Prince ke, but I would love to be alone today." He retreated, with a light bow. "Pardon my manners, then. I''ll take my leave. Do enjoy your stroll, but be sure not to wander off and get lost. The pce is quiterge," he said.


    "That is an understatement. However, with the awesome tour you gave me yesterday, I am sure I won''t get lost. Thank you," I said, and after giving him a small bow, I walked away and headed straight for the Royal kitchen. "Good day. I was sent to get the food for the guards," I exined.


    "Oh. I don''t recall seeing you here before," the Chef stated, looking me all over.


    "I was just newly assigned to work in the kitchen," I told her.


    "Okay," she said, then gave me the trays of food for the guards without any hesitation or further questions.


    I had already told the girl who was to get it that I had been made to go in her ce, and after sessfully mixing the sleeping pills that I had ground into the food, I headed over to the dungeon with my head bowed low. "Greetings," I said, then served the guards their dinner.


    I waited outside for some time until I heard the sound of their snores invade the entire atmosphere. A smile found its way to my lips and I hurriedly went back inside and stole a bunch of keys from one of the guards, after which I ran to Liam''s dungeon cell.


    He was already standing at the gates, and his face lit up once he saw me make my way to him.


    "Hurry up," he said, as I fumbled with the keys, unsure of which of them would fit into the lock.


    After numerous attempts to get the right key, I finally seeded and the gates came unlocked. Liam pushed the gates further and stretched out with a huge grin on his face.


    "Ah...! Freedom!" he said, flexing his knuckles, with the grin on his face getting wider with each second that passed.


    "How long are you going to be away? Remember you have to get back before anyone discovers you''re gone," I said, in a hushed voice.


    He scoffed. "Why would I want to willingly be thrown back into captivity when I have just regained the taste of freedom? Do I look that stupid to you?" "But you said "Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "Fuck what I said!" he thundered, shooting a stern nce in my direction.


    I shuddered. "Do you not mind that I''ll be in deep trouble if it is discovered that I helped you escape? What are you going to do when theye and discover the dungeon is empty?"


    He smirked. "Oh, they won''t find the dungeon empty. Someone will be in it. It just won''t be me," he said, and before I could grasp a hold of the situation, he pushed me into the cell and locked the gate, taking the keys and throwing them into his pocket.


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    "You can''t do this to me, I helped you!" I yelled, standing up furiously and grabbing the gates with both of my hands.


    "You brought this upon yourself when you tried to look down on me and bring me food like I ever begged you for it," he barked.


    "You''re being ridiculous! I wasn''t looking down on you. I would never!" I screamed.


    "Well, tell that to my father when he arraigns you formitting treason," he said, and with that, heughed boisterously and took his leave.


    "Liam! Prince Liam!" I yelled, all to no avail.


    "Oh, someone tell that nasty girl to keep her mouth shut," I heard a prisoner in another cell say.


    "Let her keep it up and I''ll soon show her why I ended up here in the first ce," another one replied.


    Fear gripped me and I instantly shut my mouth, then sank to the floor with tears blurring my vision. All I had wanted was to do good and it hadnded me in a ce of misery.


    My heart ached and I didn''t know what to think. What would be of me if I were to be chased out for defying the Alpha''s orders? Why had I been so dumb as to trust a scumbag like Liam in the first ce?


    I ran my fingers through my hair, unable to think of a way out. My life was one hell of a never-ending horror story, and I was the main character who suffered the horrifying moments the most, but somehow believed there was a way out. We all know how a story like that ended; it never ended well.

 Chapter 11

    It was morning, and it was another day for Luna Vienna to smile widely over the fact that her stepson, Liam, was behind bars. At least, that''s what she believed.


    "Luna," her most trusted maid, called with urgency as she entered into her bedroom without bothering to knock.


    Luna Vienna lifted her eyes from her mirror and turned to look at the girl she had taken in ever since she was ten years old, and had ended up loving her like the daughter she had never been able to conceive. "Such impudence! How could you not knock?" the hairstylist uttered, eyeing the maid, Rita, with disdain.


    "It''s okay. You may leave now," Luna Vienna said to the hairstylist, who walked away confused because she couldn''t understand why she was the one who had been asked to leave.


    "Luna, I just returned from the stream. The news is already out everywhere that Prince Liam has been locked up in the dungeon, and people suspect that you might be behind it," she said.


    The Luna shrugged. "That''s okay. They''ve suspected me of much worse in the past."


    "It''s different this time around. They''re extending their hatred to Prince Alden. They believe that he must take after your wicked heart and probably just pretends to be good-natured," Rita disclosed.


    "Oh no. Prince Alden can not lose the support of the public no matter what. I have to speak to the Alpha right this minute," Luna Vienna stated, rising to her feet.


    She left the bedroom, followed closely by Rita, and she didn''t stop until she got to the throne room where she had been told Alpha Rond was.


    "You can''t go in now, Your Highness," the guards at the door said to her.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "I must speak to the Alpha at once," she said, as loudly as she could.


    "I''m sorry, dear Luna, but the Alpha King is in a meeting with the council of elders right now," they exined.


    Her face lit up, and she became even more determined to see the Alpha King right at that minute. After all, the meeting was a perfect opportunity for her to clear her name so that it didn''t affect Alden. Once the elders heard what she had to


    say, they would ry that information to their wives and like that, it would spread like wildfire that she had advocated for the release of her stepson and the people could also go back to finding her son, Alden, worthy of emtion. "I must see the Alpha, and I won''t leave until that happens," she insisted.


    "Let the Luna Queen in," Alpha Rond ordered from inside, and a sly smirk yed on the Luna''s lips upon hismand.


    The doors were opened and Luna Vienna stepped into the throne room, walking faster than she ordinarily would.


    "Greetings, Luna," the elders chorused at once.


    "Greetings, Council of Elders," she responded, as she headed straight to the Alpha''s throne, where she fell to her knees almost immediately, earning the gasps of surprise of all who were present.


    The Alpha stood up, stunned. "My Luna, what seems to be the problem? For what reason have you fallen to your knees? Please, stand up. This is unheard of," the Alpha stated.


    The Luna sobbed, wiping away nonexistent tears. "My Alpha, I know you''ve sworn to keep Prince Liam locked up, but please, for my sake, release him. He has already served two nights and one day of your sentence. I believe that is enough," she said.


    "But... but he disrespected you!" Alpha Rond said.


    The Luna shook her head. "As he rightfully should. Despite his physical features, he''s still growing up and he is bound to make mistakes along the way. I do not wish for him to resent me even more. Please, do let him go. He has suffered more than enough. No one born of royalty deserves to go through that," she said, still bowing her head low.


    "My Queen, you know I love you to the moon and back. However, I do not wish to go back on my word. It would only make him not take me seriously in the future," the Alpha said.


    "So be it, then, but let it be known to you that I shall starve myself and remain in this position until he is set free," Luna Vienna expressed, determined.


    "I forbid you from doing that "


    "You can''t forbid me from doing as I wish, your highness. I take Prince Liam as my son, and how can a mother eat when her son has been deprived of food and water? How can she sleep peacefully when her son is being haunted by darkness and insects in a rotten dungeon, when he is not even a criminal?" she fired, interrupting him.


    Alpha Rond heaved a deep sigh, contemting over her words as the elders nodded in agreement with the Luna''s words, and mumbled their admiration at her bravery and support for her stepson.


    "Fine then! Release Prince Liam, but he must be led to the throne room and made to apologize to the Luna Queen!" Alpha Rond ordered.


    Luna Vienna stood up, satisfied, as she thanked the Alpha profusely for hearing her out.


    Seeing the elders smile at her, she hid her own smile.


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    It had been a perfect n. Nothing could go wrong, and trusting Liam to be disrespectful when he was brought in, she would act all nice to him and make him out to be the bad person. However, what the Luna couldn''t reasonably foresee was that she would be in for a big surprise.


    "Alpha, Luna, something has happened!" One of the guards that had left to bring in Liam stated as he ran back in with urgency.


    "What''s the matter?" the Alpha inquired.


    "Prince Liam has escaped," he revealed, to everyone''s astonishment.


    "What?!"


    "We found her in his cell," another guard said, as he came in with none other than Ciara, dressed in servants'' clothing, panicking like she was about to lose her mind.


    The Alpha approached Ciara with heavy, threatening steps, tightening his fists, already knowing what it was that must have happened, and struggling to keep hisposure.


    Ciara felt like her heart would explode into a million different pieces, and once the Alpha was directly in front of her, looking at her with a burning gaze that would have killed her if possible, she fell to the floor, grabbing his foot.


    "Forgive me, Alpha King Rond. I have sinned against you. I disguised myself and freed Prince Liam because he told me he just needed to be out for a little while to attend to a personal business. However, he turned against me and locked me up in his ce. I am sorry, Your Highness. Please, be merciful on me and do not throw me out. I have nowhere else to go and I apologize for taking your kindness for granted," she said all in one breath.


    The Alpha was deeply rooted in anger and shoved her hand off his foot. "You have indeedmitted a great sin by defying my words. Prince Liam will evade my warriors if I send them to search for him, and so, that will be futile. Therefore, it is your responsibility to find him and bring him back in one piece. Only then will I consider whether or not to be merciful to you," he said.


    Luna Vienna watched this happen, as her face deepened into a frown. The attention had just been stolen from her, and now, instead of talking about how good of a stepmother she was, everyone would be talking about Ciara freeing Prince Liam. Either way, the news will no longer revolve around her and Alden, so somehow, she had still gotten what she wanted, but she wasn''t sure yet if that was sufficient enough for her.

 Chapter 12

    Ciara.


    I was in a daze as I stood outside the gates of the pce, perplexed and regretting ever choosing to visit Liam when he was locked up. I was confused. How exactly was I supposed to find him in a huge Pack like the Silver Crest Pack? "You can try listening to your heart. The mate bond will lead you to him," my wolf said.


    "Have you forgotten my mate bond lies with three different individuals? Finding him that way would be impossible and I would just be led in different directions," I said aloud, and some passers-by shook their heads at me in pity, wondering how someone so young had lost her sanity.


    "I''m not insane, I''mpletely okay!" I screamed at them, which made them hurry away.


    "Screaming like that would make them believe even more that you''ve lost it," ke said,ing into view.


    "Oh, thank the goddess you''re here," I said, a bit relieved.


    "If you were honest about where you were going yesterday, I would have warned you to be careful about Liam. Now, see what helping him has caused you," ke stated.


    I hung my head sadly. "I really shouldn''t have tried to help him after all he''s done to me. I regret it so much," I said.


    "We all have our regrets. Come with me. I know a few ces he might have gone to," ke said.


    "Really? Thank you so much. You''re a lifesaver!" I eximed with joy.


    "And where exactly are you going to check?" Alden asked, also suddenly appearing out of nowhere.


    ke shrugged. "All his favorite ces, of course. The arcade, the warrior school, the..."


    "You won''t find him in any of those ces. Yesterday was his mother''s posthumous birthday. I believe he should be at her graveside," Alden said.


    "How did you know that, and where was his mother buried?" ke asked.


    Alden handed a note over to him. "That''s the address of the cemetery," he said.


    "Thank you so much, Alden. This has helped so much," I said, touching his hands and smiling happily at him.


    He gently took my hands off his. "You''re wee. I think you guys should get going. Father has said you must be back by nightfall," he said.


    "You''re noting along with us?" I asked.


    "I have other things to do. Be safe," he said, then turned around and went back inside the pce.


    "Do you think he''s mad at me?" I asked, as ke and I began to go on our journey.


    "I think he and his mother are having issues, so he''s just directing his anger towards everyone else," ke exined.


    "But why would a mother and son be having issues? Do you think it might be my fault?" I asked, quite worried.


    ke shot me a small smile. "Don''t worry about it. I''m sure it has nothing to do with you," he said.


    I sighed. "I hope you''re right."


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    As we went forward, I forgot my mission many a time, just gushing over the beauty of the Silver Crest Pack. It was my first time being outside the pce walls, and I couldn''t help but be fascinated by the awesomeness of everything, ranging from their street food, to the colorful buildings, overly excited pups and kind people.


    It''s like everywhere we went, they could tell that I was new to their Pack and everyone just seemed to offer me one thing or another. I got carried away at times, but ke was always there to whisper in my ear that we couldn''t afford to waste time, and like that, I was quite able to focus on where we were headed.


    "Remind me why we''re going through the woods again," I said.


    "The cemetery is an old one, they''ve not fixed the roads leading to it yet," he exined.


    "I see. I thought she was a queen though. Shouldn''t she have been buried in the Royal cemetery?" I wondered.


    "I''m not quite sure of the details, but I heard the Alpha had a fight with her family and they fought to have the corpse of their daughter, so he ended up giving her up to them. At least, that''s what my mother told me," he said. "This is the first time you''re mentioning her. Is she still alive?"


    "She''s alive and well, but she doesn''t live in our Pack."


    "Oh, why is that?"


    "It''s a private matter, but I''ll tell you one of these days."


    "That''s okay, I''m sorry if it seems like I''m prying. You know, I initially thought you guys were triplets. It''s crazy that you three have different mothers," I noted.


    He chuckled. "What''s more crazy is that we were born on the same day, so I guess we''re triplets in a kind of fucked up way."


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    "Duck!" he screamed, pushing my head down, and I had an instant panic attack the moment an arrow flew right over my head.


    "What just happened?" I asked, with my heart thumping loudly.


    "Shush," hemanded, making me stay behind him as he walked quietly to survey the area, trying to know where the arrow hade from.


    "What''s going on?" I asked in a whisper.


    "Rogues. That''s their scent. Ciara, we have to get out of here right this minute!" he said firmly, grabbing my hand.


    Fear gripped me as I followed him as fast as I could, silently praying to the Moon Goddess toe to our aid. We had barely taken five steps, when we heard the bushes rustle, and before I had time to think, ke shoved me right behind him.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I was still clueless as to why he had done that, when an arrow flew through the air, shooting right through ke''s chest and blood began to ooze out in torrents as he fell to the floor, groaning loudly in agony.


    Tears fell from my eyes as I knelt before him, trying to see what I could do. "ke, wait here a bit. I''ll go and get someone," I said.


    He shook his head slowly. "No, Ciara. You must run to save your life. This ce is swarming with rogues. You aren''t safe," he managed to say.


    "How could you think of me when you are about to die? Trust me, I''m not worth dying for. I''ll go get help," I said, trying my best to remain calm so I could think rationally.


    "Not so fast, young woman," a rogue stated, appearing out of the bushes, and then, we were surrounded by a dozen of them, all of whom had a strange smirk on their faces and began to approach me with their weapons drawn,ughing maniacally.


    "Dickheads! Why don''t you approach someone your own size?" Liam''s familiar voice echoed throughout the woods, and somewhere in me, fluttered a beacon of hope.

 Chapter 13

    Liam.


    I had just been returning from visiting my mother''s graveside and celebrating her posthumous birthday all alone, with flowers, a small cake and wine. How it was possible that I missed someone I had never met so dearly was something I didn''t quite understand, but the fact that she had given me life was more than enough reason to celebrate her on a day like yesterday.


    The awful smell of rogues prated my nostrils, and I was going to go on my own way when I felt the familiar feeling in my heart that I only felt when Ciara was around. Luckily, I had stepped in right in the nick of time to find her being surrounded by twelve rogues, all of whom apparently didn''t have good intentions.


    "Go on your own way, loser," one of them said to me.


    "Or what?" I retorted, tearing down a branch from a nearby tree.


    "Or you''ll pay a deadly price," he hissed.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I sneered. "I think you might be mistaken," I said, and with that, I lunged forward at him and struck him on the head with the tree branch.


    Two others attacked me from behind, but I dodged them so that they rammed into each other, hurting themselves alone, and before the others could attack, I had already climbed the tree, from whence I shot the arrows I had stolen from their sack. It hit two of them on their shoulders and they fell, howling in pain.


    "Who are you and why won''t you go on your way?" one of them asked.


    "I am Prince Liam of the Silver Crest Pack, and you were just trying to attack my woman," I said, meeting Ciara''s eyes and she swallowed, unable to look away.


    "I thought he was Prince Liam," he said, motioning at ke who was still fighting for his life with everything he had.


    "Well, it''s a good thing you''re here. You''re just the wolf we were looking for," another stated, and with a mighty roar, he shook the roots of the tree with such great strength that it came tumbling down.


    I somersaulted away, then paused, calcting how to attack them and the angle to attack. I already knew it wouldn''t be possible to take them all in this form, so bracing myself, I shed my flesh and shifted into my wolf form, and with a loud howl, I began attacking them in every way possible.


    It was a long and thorough battle as the rogues were brutal and not willing to give up. They seemed hell-bent on taking my life, like they had a personal vendetta against me.


    Every now and then, Ciara would scream, "behind you!", "look out!" After all I had done to her, especially afterst night, one would think she would be rooting for the rogues to seed in their evil mission, but I guess she was really that nice. I was fighting off thest rogue when my ears pitched and I heard another which had regained its strength approach me from behind. It was either the one in front or the one at the back. I was so confused as it seemed like a dead end, not until Ciara suddenly picked up the branch I had discarded off a while ago and smacked it on the rogue approaching me from behind.


    I finished off with thest rogue and he with the rest of his friends ran off with thest bit of strength they possessed.


    I then smiled at Ciara, nodding my head in approval. However, my approval was obviously not what she sought. "ke is in danger. You have to help him," she said.


    I ran towards him and examined his wound. "Why aren''t you healing? What''s going on?" I asked.


    "It''s not the full moon yet. My healing powers only work during the full moon. Please, don''t tell father," he said.


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    "So, why did you get shot if you knew this would happen? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" I barked.


    "This is all your fault. If you hadn''t left, the Alpha wouldn''t have ordered me to get you back to the pce and ke wouldn''t have offered to help. Stop ming others and let''s try toe up with a solution," Ciara said. Ordinarily, I would have told her off, but this time around, she was right. I tore off my shirt and bandaged the wound properly, telling him to endure the pain as I began to figure out how to transport him back to the Silver Crest Pack. "Don''t worry. I can walk," he said.


    "Are you sure?" I asked.


    "Definitely. I''m not an Alpha Prince for no reason," he stated, with a weak smile.


    I helped him up to his feet with the assistance of Ciara, when suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.


    "Wait a minute. How were you two able to find me here?" I inquired.


    "Alden was the one who told us you would be here and gave us the address," Ciara responded.


    "Alden? But how did Alden know of this ce, and how did he know I would be here?"


    nning your weekend reading? Ensure you''re on 000005s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively avable on our site. Happy reading! "He said it''s your mother''s posthumous birthday..."


    "No one even talks about my mother in the pce. There''s no way he would know it was her birthday, unless-" I let go of ke and turned around, as a thought struck my mind. "Unless what?" Ciara and ke asked in unison.


    "Unless his mother told him, which reminds me that rogues nevere here unless in the dead of the night, but somehow, they were out this sunny afternoon and apparently, it is me they had been hunting down," I said. "Are you saying that the Luna might have a hand in this?" Ciara appeared shocked to death.


    "Precisely,¡± I said, then grabbed thest of the rogues who was still on the floor, too exhausted to run off like his peers had done.


    "Who sent you? Answer me, and I''ll consider sparing your life!" Imanded.


    He was silent for a while, and soon, he began tough hysterically. "I would rather die," he said.


    I believed he was just being difficult, but right there and then, his ws sprung out from his overgrown fingernails and he dug them into his own throat,mitting suicide and taking hisst breath.


    It sent chilly shivers down our spines, and it was now ring that things were more serious than we had thought they were.

 Chapter 14

    The pce gates were opened and two guards took over carrying ke straight to his bedroom where he would be treated, without asking any question while another went to inform the Alpha King of the misfortune that had urred. Liam was brewing with anger, and upon seeing Alden who was carrying a tray of cookies, his anger was unleashed.


    "You are back," Alden''s face lit up upon seeing Liam and Ciara walking down the hallway.


    Liam was in no mood for what he presumed to be pretense on Alden''s part and rushed towards him, grabbing him by the cor in such a way that the tray fell to the floor, rendering all the cookies broken. "How did you know?"


    "What are you talking about? Get your hands off me! Do you want to end up back in the dungeon?" Alden inquired, trying to wriggle free from Liam''s grip.


    "Wouldn''t it be better than being sent to the untimely grave you plotted out for me?" Liam retorted.


    Alden was confused. "What?"


    "Liam, let him go," Ciara said, but Liam ignored her.


    "How did you know where to find me? Fine, you might have contemted that I''ll be at my mother''s graveside, but how did you know exactly where the cemetery was?" Liam asked.


    "That? Well, my mother told me. Is there any problem?" Alden asked.


    Finally, Liam let go of his cor, figuring that Alden might truly be innocent of his presumptions and had unfortunately probably being a pawn in his mother''s scheme.


    "Where is she?"


    "Why are you asking? Did anything happen?" Alden asked, but he got no response from Liam, so he looked to Ciara for answers.


    "We were attacked on our way to get Liam by rogues and it seemed like the rogues had intentionally been looking for Liam. Unfortunately, they were able to shoot an arrow at ke," Ciara exined. "What? That''s terrible news. Is he okay?" Luna Vienna came rushing in.


    "Why? Are you disappointed that they got him and not me?" Liam barked furiously, even more angry now that he was standing face-to-face with the Luna.


    "I''m sorry to cut in, but we went looking for the Pack''s doctor. Neither he nor his assistants are at the infirmary. I heard that they went to administer drugs to the refugees at the camp," a guard said, panting heavily as he rushed in. "How deep is the wound? Can I take a look?" Alden asked, and was about to hurry off to ke''s room when Ciara stood in his way.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t trust you with him especially after what just happened," Ciara said.


    She felt apologetic to Alden, but ke had just risked his life to save hers and she couldn''t endanger him by putting him in the hands of someone who might have had a hand in his predicament.


    "Good call, Ciara," Liam apuded her, determined not to let Alden go through.


    "Do you really think I would risk my own brother''s life? Even if I wanted to do so, why would I do that in a pce filled with people? That''s ridiculous!" Alden expressed. "Still_"


    Ciara was cut off by the Luna. "You must learn your ce, youngdy. First, you interrupted me earlier today and made everything about you, and now, you''re stopping the prince from exercising his right to freedom of movement? Are you insane? Don''t you know I could kick you out of the pce and ensure you never step your foot in the Silver Crest Pack ever again? Who even are you? For all we know, you could be a murderer on the run," Luna Vienna rebuked Ciara, staring daggers at her.


    Ciara felt like the woman could see through her and her heart began to pound loudly as she slowly made way for Alden to go through.


    "If it would make you feel better, you could stay throughout the process," Alden said over his shoulder as he walked away, trying to hide the ache that was slowly consuming him whole at the thought of Ciara believing the worst of him. "Get Prince Alden everything he needs," the Luna said to the guard and then informed Liam that the Alpha was waiting to see him in the throne room.


    Minutester, Ciara watched as Alden sessfully treated ke''s wound and cured it of any infection before wrapping a bandage over it.


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    "I''ll dress it up again in the morning. Also, your wolf is still weak from the injury you got while training two winters ago. That''s why you''ve not been healing properly except at full moons. Just take your herbs and medicines. You''ll be in perfect health in no time," Alden said.


    "How did you know I haven''t been able to heal properly?" ke was surprised.


    "I could tell. It''s a natural gift."


    "Is there anything you can''t do?"


    "I''m useless with swords, at hunting, at-"


    "Fine, I get it. Thank you very much. I owe you one," ke said.


    "I''ll hold you to that. Don''t forget to call me if you need help with anything," Alden said, then stood up to leave.


    "Alden, I''m sorry about earlier. I was just worried because of what had happened..."


    "And you suspected me. Of course, everyone suspects the maidservant''s son. Why wouldn''t they?" Alden retorted, then walked away.


    Ciara proceeded to go after him, but ke stopped her.


    "Just let him go. He''ll get over it soon enough. He''s not one to hold grudges," ke said.


    Ciara went over and sat by his side on the bed. "I see. Are you sure you can trust him though?"


    "Yeah. It''s his mother I''m not sure of, but Alden... Alden can''t even hurt a fly," ke reassured Ciara.


    "And you? Can you hurt a fly?"


    ke chuckled. "It depends. I won''t hurt it unprovoked. However, if ites for me or someone I love, I won''t just hurt it. I''ll trample upon it, smash it and kill it," he said.


    Ciaraughed. "I don''t think you need to go through all that hassle. All you need to do is p your hands and it''s gone," she said.


    "Oh, really?"


    "Yes, really."


    For whatever reason, they both began tough at the same time and it continued for a while until theughter dried off and they were stuck, being so close to each other and looking into each other''s eyes. "Why did you save me today?" Ciara heard herself ask him.


    ke shrugged. "I felt like I needed to."


    "Would you have risked your life if it was someone else?"


    ke thought about the answer to give her for a while, then squeezed her hands gently. "I don''t think so."


    "Why then did you risk it for me?"


    "You''re not just anyone, Ciara. You''re the girl I like," he said to her, and for Ciara, it was all she needed to hear to close her eyes.


    ke leaned in to kiss her and they could both feel the tension building up, but just then, the memory of his mother''s disgrace flooded his mind.


    Was he moving too fast? What if just like she had quickly judged Alden presumably because of his background, she ended up judging him after learning of what his mother had done? What if... what if she left him like the secret first love he had never told anyone about?


    "You should go," he said, looking away.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    Ciara''s eyes fluttered open and she was immediately ovee with embarrassment. "I... I should," she stuttered, then stood up hastily and practically ran out of the room.


    As soon as she was gone, ke felt like aplete idiot. Why had he done that? Perhaps, it was the right thing to do, but why then was he restless? And why did it seem like it would remain that way until he got her, until they finished what they had started?

 Chapter 15

    ke.


    I wasn''t sure if Liam was right about the Luna having a hand in what had happened, or if he was just being dramatic. After all, he had never liked the Luna. I didn''t necessarily like her either, but I was at least, respectful towards her. She was the only one who had never made a singlement about my mother''s affair, and even after my mother had been chased out formitting adultery with an ordinary guard, she hadforted me when I would cry and once, she snuck me out of the pce so I could meet up with my mother where she now lived. What I witnessed there was the only thing that created a distance between the Luna and me, and the only reason I could never fully trust her or actually like her.


    My mother had been the Alpha''s Royal Concubine, and ordinarily, she was to take on the position of the Luna. The Luna''s position had been vacant for five years after Liam''s mother had died, and a ceremony had already been fixed to install my mother as the new Luna, when she was caught red-handed having sexual rtions with her guard.


    When Luna Vienna had taken me to see my mother a few weeks after she was disgraced and forced to leave our Pack, my mother had given her a dirty p in the face, using her of setting her up and being the one to report the affair. Luna Vienna didn''t deny the usations, but she had on a sly smile, just as she always did when something bad happened but favored her.


    I didn''t see her as a good person, but using her of plotting murder seemed a little bit too much.


    I was still deep in my thoughts when I heard a knock on my door.


    I sat up. "Come in," I said,zily.


    Ciara opened the door and walked in, then closed it gently behind her.


    I could feel my erection building up and I swallowed hard, trying to block out all the dirty things I could think of doing to her, ming nothing but her short satin nightgown.


    "Hey. I couldn''t sleep, and I decided to check up on you," she said.


    I gave her a small smile. "That''s sweet, thank you. Now that you''ve checked up on me and can see I''m fine, you should leave," I said.


    A frown appeared on her face as she took the seat beside my bed. "Are you chasing me away?" she asked.


    I stared hungrily at her exposed thighs, biting my lips to restrain myself from doing something she would probably end up regretting.


    "Of course not. I was just... er... about to go to bed," I lied, looking away.


    "Oh, I see. I''m sorry to have bothered you. By the way, have you taken your medicine?" she asked.


    "I forgot totally about that, but it''s fine. I''m okay, and I don''t need them," I exined.


    "Nonsense. Where are they?" she asked.


    "Ciara "


    "I won''t leave until you tell me where they are and I see you take them," she insisted.


    "You''re a tough one, aren''t you?" I chuckled. "They''re at the top of the wardrobe," I said.


    "Who puts medicine at the top of a wardrobe? You''re a weird one, aren''t you?" she joked, and Iughed this time around.


    She went to the wardrobe and tip-toed to get the medicine, but it wasn''t working, and the only thing it seemed to be doing was to fuel my attraction to her by raising her gown up even higher, so I could almost see her ass. I stood up, then reached for the medicine behind her so I could take it hurriedly and she could leave because I couldn''t stand being tempted for much longer.


    Our hands slightly grazed each other and she looked at me intensely. Her lips parted slightly and I tried my best to look away, but I couldn''t.


    "You should go," I said in a whisper.


    "Or what?" she asked, also in a whisper.


    "Or I wouldn''t be able to control myself for much longer."


    She bit down on her lower lip, and I could feel her heat embracing me... embracing us. "What if I don''t want you to control yourself?" she asked.


    Something about her tone of voice made me want her more. "Then, you leave me no choice," I said, crushing her lips with mine. She let out a soft groan, and her arms wound around my neck, pulling our bodies closer together.


    The kiss deepened into a long and passionate one, with our tongues entwined together. I could taste the sweetness of her mouth, and it made me hungry for more.


    My hands slid down from her neck to cup her breasts, squeezing them gently as she moaned softly, wriggling beneath my touch.


    I had been with other girls before her, but something about her was different. She was different, and I didn''t know if it was because she was my mate or if it was because I hadn''t done this in a long while, but what I was sure of was that I wanted what I had with her tost and somehow, I knew she wanted it, too.


    I grabbed her ass firmly, massaging them and proceeded to lift her off the ground, so that her legs were wrapped around my waist as I ced her on the bed, ripping the nightgown off.


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    I stood there, breathless, speechless.


    "My goodness. You are beautiful," I said.


    "I don''t know, ke. Make me feel beautiful," she said.


    I didn''t need her to say anything more before lowering my body to her and taking her nipples in mine, sucking on them and twirling my fingers around them.


    "Let this be thest time you show up with panties to see me," I said deeply, yanking off her ckce panties.


    Her face flushed red, but her eyes showed an emotion... anticipation, and I was determined to make every bit worth it as I slowly trailed my mouth along her body, leaving a line of wet kisses from her belly button all the way up to her breastbone. Her moans intensified and her arms pulled me even closer against her.


    My hand slowly worked its way to her wetness, and my finger lightly stroked her clit in a circr motion before finally slipping inside.


    She gasped loudly for air, and looking at the pleased look on her face, I was encouraged to thrust my finger slowly in and out of her while my thumb brushed circles on her clitoris.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I loved every bit of it, and I could tell that she did, too. I was warming up to just take her this night and mark her as mine, putting an end to this silly game once and for all, but then, a noise startled us.


    "What was that?" Ciara asked, momentarily pausing between gasps and moans.


    "We should go on. It''s probably nothing," I said.


    But then, the noise came again, and with that came a rock shooting through the window and shattering it.


    "We are under attack, get out!" Alden yelled, forcing the door open, and upon seeing Ciara naked under me, he froze; his face turning red.

 Chapter 16

    "Who would attack our Pack? We''re literally the most peaceful Pack in the werewolfmunity and everyone knows that," ke said, putting on his shirt as he went outside to meet Alden who had been waiting for him. "It''s the Alpha of the Mystic Pack. His son died after being unconscious for six months, thanks to Liam who shot him with a poisoned arrow. He is challenging Liam to a duel and has threatened to engage in a war with our Pack if the duel doesn''t happen," Alden exined in a low tone.


    "That doesn''t even make sense, or what do you think?" ke asked.


    Alden shrugged, not saying a word.


    "Hey, I''m sorry about earlier," ke said, believing Alden to have a sour countenance..


    "No, I should be apologizing for interrupting you."


    "You don''t even sound like you mean it. Yes, I''ll be the one to mark Ciara eventually and she would ept me as her mate, but it doesn''t mean that I will throw you and the Luna out of the pce like father fears," ke reassured him. Alden chuckled. "I''m not worried about that, trust me. I''ve never been interested in the throne, so you can have her all to yourself. It''s a good thing though that it''s you and not Liam, congrattions," Alden said hurriedly, then increased his pace and was soon out of sight.


    Outside, the Alpha of the Mystic Pack, with his eyes ring red; his ws and fangs all out with the hairs sticking out of his body, roared furiously. "Bring Liam out now!" he yelled.


    Alpha Rond rushed out, seeing the chaos Alpha Seaman had already caused. His security guards were badly injured and Alpha''s Seaman''s army had taken full control over the pce.


    "Dear friend, let''s settle this amicably. There''s no need for war," Alpha Rond said.


    "I''m not here to fight you. I''m here to get my pound of flesh. An eye for an eye! A son for a son!" Alpha Seaman thundered.


    "What wrong did I even do?" Liam barked back, forcing his way out of the throne room and overthrowing the guards that his father had ordered to subdue him.


    "I told you to remain inside. Do you want to get yourself killed?" Alpha Rond screamed at Liam.


    "What''s it to you? You have two other sons," Liam retorted.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "Exactly! At least, you have two other sons, old friend. Mason was my only son, my blessing after three good-for-nothing daughters. I won''t let his death go unpunished! Moreover, Liam has shown no remorse whatsoever and it is only right that we have a duel a fight to the death. It''s only fair that I get to do that at least," Alpha Seaman stated.


    "It''s not fair, friend. Liam is just a child. You are an experienced fighter. He stands no chance against you," Alpha Rond said.


    "My son also didn''t stand a chance when Liam aimed a poisoned arrow at him," Alpha Seaman countered.


    "I had no idea it was poisoned. Besides, it was your own son that brought it along with him to the hunting grounds and along the line, we had a fight. He aimed at me with a sword and I have a scar on my arm due to that. It was only then that I fired the arrow at him in retaliation. It was aimed at his leg and he only had an unfortunate demise because it was poisoned which was all his fault," Liam said in his defence.


    "You will point using fingers at a dead man? The game is on!" Alpha Seaman screamed, unsheathing his sword and lifting it high in the air so it could be heavily descended on Liam. "Please, don''t!" he heard a tiny, but firm voice yell, stopping him halfway.


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    When Alpha Seaman looked up, he saw the prettiest young girl he had evere across, and as a man known for his unending list of concubines, he desired to make her one of them immediately. The girl was Ciara, and looking at how Liam swung his head to look at her and remained fixated on her, a mischievous grin appeared on his face.


    "On second thoughts, what''s the use of killing you when death will just be an easy way out for your miserable self? I will instead take this maiden back with me to my Pack and make her my personal ything. Every night, when you go to bed, you''ll shed tears, knowing you''ve lost the love of your life and she''s busy gracing someone else''s bed," Alpha Seaman stated.


    Liam scoffed. "You can do as you please. Thankfully, she means nothing to me and I will be appreciative of you if you can get her out of my sight," he said.


    His answer sounded convincing, but Alpha Seaman wasn''t convinced. "Very well, then. Guards, seize her! She''ll be apanying us back to the Mystic Pack!"


    "You can''t-" ke started, but Alden cut him off.


    "Do you have a death wish?" Alden asked him in a low tone, and ke abruptly kept his mouth shut, hoping that this ended up as a joke because he couldn''t begin to imagine ever losing Ciara.


    "Let me go!" Ciara screamed as the guards grabbed her by the arms and began to lead her away.


    "You can''t just take the innocent girl away, Seaman," Alpha Rond said.


    "It''s either the girl or your son, Liam."


    Alpha Rond was in a daze. He had known Alpha Seaman ever since they were kids and he couldn''t possibly just go to war with him. He reasoned that he was merely grieving due to his son''s death and woulde around soon enough, and then, he could discuss the release of Ciara.


    "Very well, but do not touch her just yet. Give it a week, at least," Alpha Rond stated.


    "Why? Do you believe I would have changed my mind in a week? Trust me, no amount of time will be sufficient to quench the ache in my heart. However, I shall give it a week, not because of you, but because I am still mourning my son. Guards, lead the way," Alpha Seaman ordered.


    "Let me go, please. I don''t want to go anywhere. Please, Alpha. Prince Liam, help!" Ciara cried for help as she was led out of the pce.


    "Father," ke called, helplessly.


    "Do not fret. I''ll go and visit him in a week''s time and ensure he returns her in one piece," Alpha Rond assured.


    "Can Alpha Seaman be trusted?" Alden asked.


    "Yes, he''s a childhood friend of mine. He can be trusted," Alpha Rond affirmed.


    "I''m sure you never thought a day woulde when he would show up at your pce unannounced and threaten to end your son''s life," Liam said, meeting Ciara''s pitiful gaze as she was carried out of the pce. "What are you trying to say?"


    "I''m trying to say he can''t be trusted. There''s no way I''m leaving Ciara with him. A fight to the death it is," Liam announced, against his better sense of reasoning, because as much as he would like to lie to himself and act like he didn''t care about Ciara, he did care.

 Chapter 17

    Ciara.


    Tears were streaming down my face as I was being led away against my will.


    "Please, let me go," I begged, but my pleas fell on deaf ears.


    My eyes met with Liam''s just as we neared the gate, and he looked away only to look back at me a few secondster.


    "Let her go!" his voice thundered, echoing through the pce.


    "Liam, I''ll sort things out. Don''t do this," Alpha Rond said, but Liam ignored his father and took heavy steps to meet us.


    Alpha Seaman frowned, unsatisfactorily. "What do you want now? If you don''t leave right this minute, I''ll forget you''re my friend''s son and send you to the great beyond," he threatened. "Try doing so," Liam dared him.


    "What?"


    Liam tore off his sleeve and threw it to the ground. "I ept your challenge. Let''s have a duel," he stated.


    "Li... Liam," I stuttered.


    "It''s a fight to the death. I won''t hesitate to kill you. You do know that, right?" Alpha Seaman asked.


    "I also won''t hesitate to end you. As long as you let Ciara be, I don''t mind risking my life," Liam sounded determined.


    "You... you can''t possibly-"


    "I can do whatever the fuck I want to," he cut in, throwing me off bnce.


    "Let the girl go. The game is on," Alpha Seamanmanded his guards and drew out his sword in preparation for battle as Liam''s father staggered backwards, holding onto his chest.


    Alden and ke held him and led him to the verandah, assuring him that everything would go well. I tried to stop Liam, but he wasn''t backing down and my heart began to pound heavily looking at the chaos I had created.


    I should have never kicked so strongly against being taken away. I had wanted to unite Liam and his family, but ended up being the reason Liam might not exist tomorrow. It would be a wound that will eat deep into me and haunt me forever. "Please, goddess, please, help Liam," I whispered silently, offering a prayer.


    The wind came blowing strongly, picking up dirt particles, of which some got into my eyes, and soon, it began to drizzle.


    With their swords drawn, Liam and Alpha Seaman faced each other, ready forbat.


    "This is for Mason!" Alpha Seaman roared, rushing towards Liam and swinging his sword first.


    Liam managed to dodge it, but stumbled and rolled onto the floor, narrowly avoiding getting hit by another swing aimed at him.


    He sprang up with a grunt, and ducked under Alpha Seaman''s next blow, before grabbing his arm with both hands and yanking him hard.


    Alpha Seaman staggered as his sword ttered to the floor, and Liam used that as an opportunity to pick up the sword and send it flying over the fence.


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    Enraged, Alpha Seaman punched his fist against Liam''s cheekbone, which sent him sprawling onto the ground once again, as he began to bleed profusely from his nose.


    Liam tried getting up a few times, but every time, the angry Alpha would kick him in the stomach and send him to the ground, gasping for breath.


    "I am going to make you regret what you did and watch you die slowly!" Alpha Seaman threatened before rushing at Liam with a knife he had brought out of his pocket, with his face contorted with rage.


    The rain had increased to a downpour as Liam managed to roll away just in time to escape the slice of the knife. He was then able to get back on his feet, and as Alpha Seaman tried turning around, he made him trip over his foot, so that he came crashing down to his knees.


    "Stop this madness already, Liam. You can''t win!" his father yelled, trying to make things end before it was toote.


    Alpha Seaman''s eyes angrily met with Liam''s determined gaze, and howling the loudest I had ever heard, his flesh morphed into his wolf form, with his bones cracking as his ws shot out of his nails and his fangs sprang from his mouth. "Uh-oh," I said.


    The wolf was an enormous ck wolf with brown stripes, a giant tail and deadly eyes. I hadn''t seen anything quite like it. Liam was doomed.


    However, Liam wasn''t afraid. His eyes lit up like he had been expecting this, and he raised the de of his sword defensively.


    Alpha Seaman''s wolf leapt forward and pounced on Liam, biting and wing at him relentlessly. Liam groaned with all his might, and with onest effort, he thrust his sword directly into the side of the wolf, forcing Alpha Seaman to shift back to his human form,nding on his back.


    Liam then stood back up and ced his foot on Alpha Seaman''s abdomen.


    "I have failed my son," Alpha Seamanmented, with tears welling up in his eyes.


    "I am truly sorry about your loss, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me," Liam said, throwing down the sword.


    "You... you won''t fulfil the aim of fighting to the death by taking my life?" Alpha Seaman was surprised, as I was as well as the others.


    "Two wrongs don''t make a right. I can''t leave the Mystic Pack without an Alpha," Liam said, and then extended his hand to Alpha Seaman, who looked at it in disbelief for a while before epting it.


    "I''ll repay you someday," Alpha Seaman said with gratitude before looking over at Alpha Rond, who was breathing freely now in relief. "You''ve raised a good son, dear friend. I''ll be on my way now," he said.


    "Thank you. Won''t you like to stay and spend the night in the pce?" Alpha Rond asked.


    Alpha Seaman shook his head in the negative. "Not tonight. I must go and mourn my son. Farewell, old friend," he said, before turning around and leaving.


    "Ciara," I heard ke call and looked up to see him, but before he could get to where I was standing and waiting for him, Liam rushed towards me and pulled me into a warm embrace.


    "I thought I would lose you forever. Don''t you try to leave me again," he said, and with that, he pulled me away from his chest and tilting his head, he ced a kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes, kissing him back until I could feel someone''s eyes


    on me.


    My eyes flew open, and it was only when I saw ke grit his teeth and storm off furiously that I regained my senses and broke off the kiss.


    "You can''t just treat me like I''m nothing, then turn around to kiss me," I yelled at Liam.


    "Ciara_"


    "ke!" I screamed, ignoring Liam and running towards ke just before he disappeared behind the door.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "Stay away from me henceforth," ke sternly warned without even turning to look at me, before finally walking away and mming the door shut behind him.

 Chapter 18

    Ciara.


    I had barely slept a wink all night, as I couldn''t stop tossing and turning. Every now and then, ke''sst words to me would rey in my head and I would start feeling like a really terrible person.


    How was I to approach him now? We had shared such a blissful moment together, and right after, I had kissed another guy. Technically, his brother had kissed me, but I wasn''t entirely innocent. I had allowed him to. As a matter of fact, I had enjoyed it and I hated myself even more for enjoying it.


    There was a light knock on the door, and then, Joan came in.


    "Greetings, Lady Ciara," she said, with a small bow.


    "Good morning, Joan," I said, sitting up as I yawned tiredly.


    "Were you not able to get any sleepst night?" she asked, concerned.


    "Sort of. What brings you here this morning?" I asked, getting out of bed and opening the wardrobe, fishing for something to wear.


    "I came to inform you of the annual Masquerade Ball event that will be held next week Friday," she announced.


    "Isn''t it just for people of high ranking in the society?" I inquired, uninterested.


    "How did you know that? Have you gotten back your memory?" Joan asked.


    I chuckled nervously. "No. Absolutely not. I overheard some maids whispering about it and saying how they''d love to attend," I lied.


    "Oh, I see. Isn''t that the dream of every maid? To go to a Royal Ball and meet a young man who would change her life and status forever?"


    "I suppose it is."


    "Anyway, the Luna has instructed me to apany you to see the tailor who would make your dress. She wants it to be splendid, majestic and adorned with precious stones," Joan exined.


    "The Luna, really? I thought she didn''t like me."


    Joan shrugged. "Since it was found out that the rogues were sent by Alpha Seaman, she has been in a good mood as all doubts about her have been cleared. Perhaps, she has forgiven you." "That''s great news," I said, wearing a big smile.


    A knock sounded on the door and Joan went to see who it was.


    "Is Ciara in?" I heard what was undeniably Liam''s voice ask.


    "I''m not in," I mouthed and signaled to Joan, but she ended up telling him I was in the bathroom, perhaps afraid that he might see through her lies.


    "Well, tell her I came to check up on her. I''ll return soon enough though, when I am sure she''s out of the bathroom," he said, before walking away.


    With drooping shoulders, I slipped into the bathroom, then brushed my teeth and took a long, long bath.


    Liam had engaged in a battle just for my sake, and although he had kissed me without my permission, I couldn''t avoid him forever, especially when we lived in the same pce.


    Joan was still in the room when I walked back in with a towel tied firmly around my chest. She had tidied up the room and was changing the bedsheets.


    "Can we go to the tailor''s shop as soon as I dress up?" I asked.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "I am sorry, Lady Ciara, but that will not be possible. Today is my day off and I must pay a visit to my family. I''ll be back by tomorrow and we''ll be able to go together then," she said.


    I heaved a sigh. "I just need an excuse to leave the pce," I confided in her.


    She thought about it for a while, then seemed to find a solution. "Why don''t you speak to Murray then? He''s a very helpful servant. You''ll find him in the library and he''ll be able to take you to see the tailor," Joan suggested. "Oh, Joan. You''re so helpful, thank you," I said.


    "You''re wee, mydy. I must take my leave now," she said, and with a bow, she walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.


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    I hastily applied lotion to my skin before Liam could have a chance to return, after which I wore a mini ck skirt, a brown animal print top, which I paired with ck boots. I then wore my hair in a ponytail and applied some lip gloss,pleting the look.


    I opened the door as quietly as a mouse, then peered into the hallway. After making sure no one was close, I stepped out of the bedroom and began to make my way to the library.


    So far, so good, I hadn''t seen the one person I was desperately trying to avoid- Liam, and I was beginning to think he had gotten the message when I suddenly heard his voice.


    Immediately, I crouched next to the firece, trying to control my heavy breathing. I peeked from my hiding ce and saw he was having a conversation with a guard.


    "Fine. Let me know when they get back to you," he said, dismissing the guard after what seemed like ages.


    "I will do as you have said, Prince Liam," the guard stated, before turning around and leaving.


    "Why do I feel like Ciara is avoiding me? She must be out of the bathroom by now. I''ll go see," I heard him say.


    Just then, I felt someone behind me, startling me. I opened my mouth to scream when a strong hand covered my mouth forcefully, and when I looked behind me, I saw to my relief that it was Alden.


    He waited till Liam was out of sight before letting go of my mouth and I could now breathe freely.


    "I''m sorry for startling you. I didn''t realize you were hiding from Liam," Alden said, standing up and helping me to my feet.


    "Trust me, it''s not what you think," I said, dusting my skirt.


    "What is it then?" Alden asked, with a knowing smirk.


    "I messed up. You saw what happened with ke and Liam all in one night. It''s like I don''t know where my loyalty lies and I''m just ying games with them, but that''s actually not the case," I tried to exin, but the smirk didn''t leave his face. "Really?"


    "Come on, I''m serious."


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    He chuckled. "Fine, I believe you."


    "No, you don''t."


    "I actually do. I know it''s not your fault. You can''t control how you feel towards them. It''s the work of the mate bond, and only a fool will be angry at you for something that isn''t your fault," he said. "I guess ke''s a fool then," I told him.


    "Your words, not mine," he said with another chuckle, and I ended upughing.


    "Hey, I''m sorry about treating you like a murderer yesterday. I thought that you had a hand in what happened and it had absolutely nothing to do with your mother''s former status," I apologized.


    He gave me a small smile. "That''s okay. I forgive you, and I pray your forgiveness for ming you for what happened at dinner the other day. I should never have done that," he said.


    I smiled back at him. "I forgive you, too."


    He didn''t respond immediately and his attention seemed to be focused on something else.


    "Alden, is everything okay?" I asked.


    I had barely finished speaking when he pulled me to his chest. I was still wondering what was going on when I heard a loud bang, and then, the chandelier came crumbling down.


    We both fell to the floor, but no injury was inflicted upon me, and when I raised my head, I saw the full picture of what had happened: Alden had used his body as a shield to protect me so that the chandelier crashed onto his back. "Oh no," I screamed frightfully, as I noticed his eyes were closed and I feared the worst might have happened to him.


    "Stop shouting," he said momentster, lifting up his head and managing to open his eyes.


    "I thought I was so scared that something terrible..." I choked on my words as tears began to trickle down my eyes.


    He offered me a weak smile and wiped my tears with his thumb. "Hey, nothing terrible happened so stop crying," he said.


    My eyes met his warm gaze and my heart seemed to explode into a million different pieces. At that moment, I realized he had never looked sexier.

 Chapter 19

    Alden.


    She was beautiful and staring right into her eyes made my heart tingle. I wanted her badly, but all I could do was just stare at her in admiration, hoping she knew how much I fancied her, even if I wasn''t as brave as my brothers, even if I couldn''t tell her in words, even if I couldn''t make the first move.


    She closed her eyes and I panicked. What was she expecting? Did she want me to kiss her?


    My palms became sweaty and beads of sweat formed around my forehead, with my heart''s soft tingle evaporating into a thumping sound. I couldn''t bring myself to do what she wanted, I couldn''t possibly do so. I needed an excuse. "My weight must be pressing against you, I''m sorry," I said, getting off her.


    Her eyes flew open and her cheeks became red which I guessed was from being embarrassed.


    I helped her up and the moment she got on her feet, she stood apart from me, running her fingers through her hair nervously.


    "Are... are you fine? Perhaps, I should get the Pack''s doctor," Ciara said.


    "No, that''s fine," I said, stretching my muscles. "I''m already okay. My jacket''s thick enough. Besides, I heal pretty quickly," I exined.


    "Then, I should probably get a maid to clean up this mess," she said, but before she could take a step, two maids came running.


    "Stop whatever it is you''re doing and clean this mess, "I ordered them.


    "Yes, Prince Alden," they chorused.


    Ciara stood there looking at the floor, unable toe up with another excuse to leave where I was, and that was when I grabbed her by the hand and began walking down the hallway with her. "Where are we going?" she asked, looking dumbfounded.


    I shrugged. "I don''t know. I''m going with you to wherever it is you were going with that outfit," I said.


    "You must have a lot of time on your hands today," she said with a chuckle, easing into beingfortable around me once again.


    "I always have a lot of time on my hands. I''m a prince, remember?"


    "Never knew you were an arrogant jerk," she teased with a sneer, and we bothughed.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "So, where are you headed?" I asked.


    "I wanted to go see the tailor for an outfit for the uing Masquerade Ball. Joan said I could go to the library and get a servant named Murray to take me there," Ciara replied. "Why didn''t she take you herself?" I asked, as we stepped out of the pce.


    "She said it''s her day off and she wanted to go and spend some time with her family."


    "Last I checked, Joan is an orphan and doesn''t leave the pce even on her days off," I informed her.


    Ciara looked surprised, but that washed away pretty quickly. "Maybe she just wanted some time to herself but didn''t want to sound rude," she said.


    "You may be right," I said, just as we made a roundabout turn to the za where the tailor owned a shop.


    "Is that the shop right there?" Ciara inquired, pointing her fingers.


    "Yeah."


    "It''s like a stone''s throw from the pce," she said, with a frown.


    "Isn''t that a good thing? We don''t have to walk a long distance," I said.


    "I know, but "


    "Are you sad that you might have wasted a good outfit? Don''t worry. I''ll take you to the arcade and we could also have lunch at the most popr restaurant in the Pack," I told her. Her eyes lit up immediately, nearly popping out of their sockets. "Really? Finally, some fun!"


    I chuckled, and we soon got to the tailor''s shop where she got her measurements done, but she didn''t let me know the dress she had chosen to be made for her. She wanted me to see it for the first time during the ball and as curious as I was, I respected her wishes.


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    "I''m surprised that with as many skills as you possess, you can''t sew," she said, eating the ice cream an olddy had offered to her on our way to the arcade. "How did you know that?" I asked.


    "If you could, you would have offered to make the dress for me," she said.


    Iughed. "I can actually sew, but not professionally. It doesn''t bring me as much joy as cooking and painting, so I never bothered to learn it professionally," I exined. She nodded her head in understanding. "I see."


    "Greetings, Prince Alden," the guards at the entrance to the arcade said, bowing low.


    "Greetings."


    "Will Prince ke be here as well?" they inquired.


    "I don''t know. Why do you ask?"


    "That''s because Prince Liam arrived here not too long ago," one of them responded.


    "Uh-oh. We have to leave right now, please. Let''se back some other day," Ciara pleaded, grabbing my hand tightly.


    "Sure. Don''t tell Liam I was here, or that a pretty blonde girl was here, okay?"


    "Yes, your highness," they said.


    With that, I hurriedly left with Ciara, so that it was like we were practically running away for our lives. When we got to the restaurant, we stopped to catch our breath and beganughing hard. "You can''t avoid Liam forever, you''d have to face him someday," I told her.


    "Whatever. I just don''t want it to be today. I don''t want it to be any day until when I''ve spoken to ke, cleared things up with him and I know that he has forgiven me," she exined.


    nning your weekend reading? Ensure you''re on 000005s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively avable on our site. Happy reading! "I understand. Wait here," I said.


    "I thought we were going to have a meal together. Why are you making me wait outside?" she asked, squinting her eyes to guilt-trip me.


    "I''m ordering takeout. You shouldn''t be eating with me when ke is probably still mad at you and you also feel bad about it. My brother eats like a starving lion and the one way to stop him from being mad at you is by offering him his favourite meal which I''m going to get now. You can go to his room, present it to him and you guys can talk it out. What do you think?" I asked.


    She was quiet for a while, but was searching my eyes as though she was looking for answers. "Alden, why... why are you so nice?" she asked. "Why? Would you prefer me to be mean and unkind?" I asked, smiling lightly.


    She chuckled. "No, it''s not that. It''s just that someone else would have taken advantage of the situation I have with ke, but it''s different with you. Earlier, you didn''t kiss me and now, instead of eating with me and taking me around the Pack to portray yourself as the better option whenpared to your brothers, you''re trying to make peace between ke and I. Could it be that I''m wrong? Don''t you know we are mates? Can''t you feel the mate bond?" she asked, with a serious look in her eyes.


    "I can feel it obviously. I know we are mates-"


    "So, why aren''t you making any move?"


    "I don''t know, Ciara. Maybe it''s because I''m a coward or it could be because I just want you to be happy, with or without me," I told her.


    "You''re literally the sweetest person ever and I don''t think I''m even right for you. You deserve better," she said. "Ciara "


    "Let''s be friends, shall we?" she asked, extending her hand for a handshake.


    Had I just been friend-zoned? I smiled widely, hiding my pain and shaking hands with her. "Let''s be friends," I said.


    I couldn''t me Ciara. Girls always ended up liking the guys that were manly and made the first move, and by shipping her with my brother and even trying to y a peacemaker, she had probably felt like I had friend-zoned her first and believed that''s what I wanted.


    I was the first of the three brothers to be rejected and there were only two now left in the game, but why did my delusional self believe that our story wasn''t over yet?

 Chapter 20

    Ciara.


    I was really grateful to Alden, and seeing as he was more of a friend to me than a lover, I decided to make the first move and ask that we should officially be friends. I was a little bit disappointed when he agreed, but it wasforting to know that I finally had someone who had my back and just wanted the best for me.


    "Thank you so much for today," I said, upon reaching the pce.


    "You''re wee," he said, handing over the food to me.


    "Do you think you''d be able to walk me down to ke''s room? I''m too nervous to go by myself," I exined.


    "No problem, let''s go," he said, holding my hand as he walked me through the door and up the stairs till we came to the second floor, in which ke''s room was situated.


    Alden gave me a reassuring smile, squeezing my hand softly as he led me to ke''s room.


    I was extremely nervous, but that was soon reced with confusion when I heard the sound of moansing from what I was sure to be ke''s room.


    I looked at Alden and he looked right back at me, as we both instinctively started walking on tiptoes quietly so he didn''t hear any footsteps approaching his room.


    "I think he might be jerking off or something," Alden whispered, suppressing hisughter.


    "That''s a woman''s voice I''m hearing," I said, not finding it funny and hoping that I was wrong in my assumptions.


    We got to the door and Alden pushed it open, and what I saw next consumed all my emotions and sent me into a state of shock.


    The food fell from my hands and my teeth chattered against each other, and it was as though blood was being drained from my veins as I just stood in the doorway, unmoving and trying to control the tears that had formed in my eyes. ke was naked and having sex with none other than my personal maid, Joan.


    "Fuck! Can''t you knock?" he screamed at me as Joan wrapped herself with the bedsheets, looking more annoyed than sorry, while ke hurriedly wore his trousers.


    "You still do this? Have you no shame or self-respect?" Alden blurted out, ring at his brother in a distasteful manner.


    ke rolled his eyes. "You have no right to judge me. Get the fuck out of my room before I do something you''ll live to regret," he threatened, then his eyes settled on me and he went quiet.


    I recovered from my shock and was able to take a few wobbly steps to get to him. "ke... how could you?" I stuttered, dumbfounded.


    He seemed pissed. "Listen, Ciara. I do not owe you any exnation. I can fuck whomever I want to the same way you can kiss whomever you want you to!"


    "He kissed me, and I didn''t see iting!" I yelled back at him.


    "You could have pushed him away, but what did you do instead? You kissed him back!" he retorted.


    "That wasn''t my fault. I can''t control how my body reacts, especially when I''m mated to three brothers at the same time!"


    He scoffed. "Then, do not expect me to know how to control the thing between my legs. After all, don''t they say it is in a man''s nature to cheat?"


    "Only fools and narcissists say that," Alden chipped in.


    "Fine then. I am a fool and a narcissist. Now, I want you two idiots to get the hell out of my room. You met me busy when you barged into my room," ke said, pulling Joan forward and wrapping his arms around her with a smirk, as though to spite me.


    "I guess this is where your family stays, you liar. I heard you were an orphan, but I didn''t think much of that until now," I eyed Joan distastefully.


    She grinned, unapologetically. "You''re just pained because he chose me and not you," she said.


    I grinned back at her, mischievously. "Did he really choose you, or are you just a ything he''d soon discard of? The only reason he fucked your sorry ass is to get back at me. Have you looked in the mirrortely? There''s no way ke would ever choose a pathetic thing like you over me," I told her.


    She was visibly upset and opened her mouth to speak, but Alden stopped her.


    "You should know your ce, you wretch. If you open that hole you call a mouth to talk back at the Alpha''s guest, I''ll ensure you''re fired immediately and you never get a job after this. You''ll live in the streets begging and feeding from hand to mouth, and when you can''t take it anymore, you''ll leave the Pack in shame and be a rogue, unloved by everyone and cast out wherever you go," Alden threatened.


    She looked at ke to defend her, but he didn''t say a word and she stormed off angrily with tears in her eyes, still wrapped in bedsheets.


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    "I hope you''re happy. Now, get out. Don''t make me say it again," ke said.


    "ke, I-"


    He walked to the door and we had to leave and as soon as we stepped out, he mmed the door in our faces.


    "I didn''t know you had the ability to cuss, I''m proud of you," Alden said, but by then, I had stopped fighting back tears and just let them flow freely.


    Alden pulled me into his arms and stroked my hair lovingly. "Shh. It''s okay, I''m here," he said.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "How could he do this to me? Even if he wanted to sleep with someone, why did it have to be Joan? That''s the height of disrespect," I sobbed.


    "He has always been like that, and a lot of servant girls were fired because they wanted more from him when all he wanted was to y around. He had stopped doing so for about two years, but I guess he''s really mad at you and that''s why he went back to his old ways," Alden exined.


    "Do you think he''lle around?"


    "He definitely would, but by then, you wouldn''t even need him anymore," Alden offered in constion.


    I didn''t respond to that, because inasmuch as ke had hurt me, every part of my body still craved and wanted him. Instead of trying to move on with my life, I looked forward to the day I''ll be the one in his bed again and hoped we could finally finish off what we hadn''t been able toplete the other day.


    I clenched my fists in determination. No matter what, I was going to get ke back, and I couldn''t wait to see the sad look on Joan''s face when that finally happened.

 Chapter 21

    Ciara.


    My eyes were red and swollen which was understandable, seeing how I had cried myself to sleepst night. I certainly wouldn''t consider Joan a friend, however; we had been friendly with each other and I still considered what she did as an act of betrayal, and then there was ke who didn''t even want to set his eyes on me.


    A knock sounded twice on my door and I dreaded seeing Joan, even as I answered with a quaky voice. "Come in."


    When the door opened, it wasn''t Joan. It was another maidservant, a maturedy whom I had never seen before now.


    "Greetings, Lady Ciara. My name is Katrina, and Prince Alden has directed me to work as your personal maid," she introduced herself.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I smiled instantly. Oh, Alden. He had probably guessed already that seeing Joan around me would be too triggering and ufortable for me. May the Goddess bless his kind heart.


    "Greetings, Katrina. It is indeed nice to meet you," I said, getting out of bed with excitement.


    My stomach rumbled with hunger and that was expected because I had failed to eat anything the previous day. We exchanged nces and then she began tough.


    "It''s a good thing breakfast will be served in a few minutes," she joked.


    "Thank you very much. You can join me for breakfast," I said.


    She seemed surprised. "That won''t be possible since it would be served in the dining hall. The Alpha has ordered the whole family to have breakfast together," she exined.


    I remembered thest time we had all gathered and how unpleasant it had been. I had even thought I could fix the messed up family, but now, I knew it was best if they just stayed apart from each other, so why exactly was the Alpha King insisting on having a family breakfast?


    "I see. I''ll freshen up and be down soon," I told her.


    "Okay, mydy," Katrina said, bowing low before leaving the room.


    I hurriedly brushed my teeth and had my bath before slipping into a floral pinafore, paired with a white shirt and a pair of fancy white slippers. I left my hair in a messy bun and wore light makeup so that it wasn''t obvious that I had been crying.


    When I opened the door to leave, I was stunned to see Alden outside just about to knock.


    "Good morning, princess," he said.


    "Good morning, prince," I said, imitating his ent which put a smile on his face.


    "You always look so good. Ever thought of going into fashion designing?" he asked.


    I shrugged. "I don''t know. I can''t remember what my life used to be like," I lied.


    "The good thing is you have a new life now and you get to decide what you want out of it. I think designing and making clothes would suit you and you could learn from the Royal Designer... if you want to." "I''ll think about it. Thank you, Alden. Also, I saw Katrina. She seems nice, thanks. Hopefully, she doesn''t stab me in the back like Joan did," I said.


    "You don''t have to worry about that. She''s married with two kids," Alden told me.


    "Wow. Exin to me why I feel relieved," I said, and we bothughed.


    Theughter died when we got to the dining hall to see everyone was waiting for us already.


    "Greetings, father, mother," Alden said, taking a seat beside ke.


    "Greetings, Alpha, Luna," I said, having no choice other than to sit beside Liam.


    "Greetings," they said in unison.


    "Did you sleep well? You kind of disappeared yesterday and when I eventually found you, you were fast asleep in bed," Liam said.


    "Oh, I didn''t realize you came to check up on me while I was sleepingst night. Sorry about that," I said.


    "It''s okay. Yesterday must have been rough for you," he noted.


    "Yeah, I was stressed out after returning from the tailor''s ce."


    "I''m not talking about that. The whole pce has been talking about how you found your maid in bed with ke," Liam said, and I couldn''t tell if he was mocking me or actually pitying me. "ke, you didn''t tell me you''ve gone back to being a Casanova. What maid did you y around with this time around?" Alpha Rond asked, eyeing ke with a disappointed look.


    ke didn''t say a word and just picked at his meal, visibly annoyed.


    "Luna, I''m sure your maids must have told you everything. Do you know who this lowly maid is?" Alpha Rond inquired.


    At that point, Joan walked into the dining hall haughtily with a kettle and I guessed that she had retained her serving duties. "Speak of the devil," the Luna said, rolling her eyes as she bit into her waffles.


    "I''m no devil," Joan mumbled, but clearly enough for everyone to hear as she began to pour tea into our cups from the kettle.


    When she got to me, she hissed under her breath and in a bid to pour the tea into my cup, she ended up emptying the kettle contents on my thighs.


    "Ouch!" I screamed in agony, and Liam immediately came to the rescue. He grabbed some cold water and poured it on my thighs to cool down the sting from the hot tea. The guard who was present handed a balm over to him and he applied it on my thighs.


    "Are you okay?" Alden asked.


    "Yeah, I''m good. Thanks," I said.


    "It''s not even that hot. Why is she being so unnecessarily dramatic?" Joan muttered, going about her business like nothing had happened.


    "Aren''t you going to apologize for what you just did?" Liam yelled at her.


    "Sorry," her voice was barely audible and she didn''t even look at me when she said it.


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    "You must be sick or something! Apologize properly or "


    "She doesn''t have to apologize if she doesn''t want to," Luna Vienna said, cutting him off.


    Everyone looked at her in surprise, except for Joan who was grinning from ear to ear.


    "My Luna, I think it''s right that she does so," the Alpha said.


    "People apologize when they''ve made a mistake, not when they''ve acted foolishly on purpose," she said, throwing a deathly stare at Joan who appeared frozen.


    "I know you poured the tea on Ciara on purpose. I also heard of how you acted rudely to her yesterday. Why? Do you think you''ve been elevated to a high status just because a prince had sex with you? For your information, you''re not the first he''s doing that with and you won''t be thest. You''re just another piece of trash he''ll use and throw out when he gets bored," the Luna stated.


    Tears fell from Joan''s eyes and she clenched her fists in anger. "You also started as a servant, but you''re a Luna now," she retorted, brazenly, much to everyone''s shock.


    "You should rot in the dungeon! How dare you utter such hateful words about the Luna?" the Alpha was upset and it showed, but Joan remained unfazed.


    Surprisingly, the Luna began tough hysterically and didn''t seem to be annoyed by what Joan had said. "No, Alpha. We can''t imprison her for telling the truth. It is true I started as a servant, however, the Alpha made it clear that he wanted me to be his mistress which isn''t a sin. Also, I didn''t disrespect the then Luna nor the Royal Concubine and just stayed in my quarters, minding my own business and tending to my son. Did ke promise you anything? The answer is no, yet you''ve been going about with your shoulders raised high like you are going to be the next Luna of the Silver Crest Pack," the Luna concluded.


    "I''ll fire her this instant, what do you say?" Alpha Rond asked.


    "I don''t agree with that. She should be sent to work as a servant in the refugee camp. I hear they are understaffed," the Luna said, wearing a smirk.


    "It is done then! Guards, take this wench to the refugee camp at once. She shall resume working there immediately and in case she fails to do her duties properly, give instructions to the guards over there to flog her a hundred strokes of the cane," the Alphamanded.


    "Yes, your highness," the guards chorused and grabbed Joan''s arms then began to lead her out.


    "Please, I''m sorry. I will never disrespect anyone in the pce ever again. Prince ke, please, help me," Joan screamed as she was led away, and soon, her voice trailed off.


    "Good riddance," Alden said, heaving a sigh of relief.


    ke opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it and just stood up aggressively, then shooting a nce at each and every one of us, he turned around and left the dining hall, ignoring the call of his father ushering him toe back.

 Chapter 22

    ke.


    I had left the dining hall not because I cared about Joan or how she was treated, but because I didn''t want to be so close to Ciara, not after she had betrayed me and acted like it wasn''t a big deal. Imagine the audacity to act as though she had been wronged when she saw me with Joan yesterday, like she hadn''t kissed my own brother in my presence.


    I was throwing stones into the well near the garden just to be all alone by myself and enjoy some fresh air.


    "There you are," I heard Ciara''s voice say, and when I looked up, I saw her approaching me.


    I grunted, rolling my eyes. "What exactly do you want now? Haven''t you done more than enough?" I fired angrily at her.


    I could tell she was hurt, but I tried to ignore how she felt. After all, she had brought this upon herself.


    "I had no idea Joan meant that much to you. I could talk to the Luna to get her back," Ciara said.


    I scoffed. "Joan? I don''t give two fucks about her. She had iting with the way she kept running her mouth and expecting that I was going to wake her up or something," I said.


    "That''s not a fair thing to say."


    "Oh, please. Stop acting like a saint already. You, my dear, are a pathetic little slut," I had barely finished my statement, when she pped me in the face.


    "How dare you?! You might be a prince, but that doesn''t give you any right to refer to me as a slut. Yes, Liam kissed me and I kissed him back, but the kiss barelysted five seconds. I pushed him away immediately after and ran after you, but you''ve chosen to be a dickhead about it," she thundered.


    It was my first time seeing her in that manner, and for whatever reason, she appeared attractive to me. My body yearned for her and I wanted to take that naughty mouth in mine and teach her a good lesson.


    I shook my head, telling myself that I shouldn''t forget what she did. "Go ahead and y the victim then, I don''t care. Just stay away from me and everything that concerns me," I said, then turned around and began to walk away when she stopped me right in my tracks by hugging me from behind.


    "I''m sorry. Please, forgive me. Can''t we just forget everything that happened? I''m so sorry," she said.


    A part of me wanted to just give in and forgive her, but I had a shback to my mother being chased out of the pce for being an adulteress.


    I heaved a deep sigh and unwrapped Ciara''s arms from my stomach, then turned back around to face her. My stomach tightened into knots and my heart almost broke as I saw the tears that had clouded her eyes. I couldn''t bear to look into her eyes, so I spoke to her while staring at the garden behind her.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Do you remember asking about my mother and why she doesn''t live in the pce with us?"


    "Yeah, why?"


    "Shemitted adultery. It was just a few days before she was crowned as the Luna of the Pack, and so, she was chased out and forbidden from ever returning," I said.


    "I didn''t know, I''m so sorry," Ciara said.


    "It''s not your fault, it''s okay. Many reputable men and women from far and wide hade to celebrate the joyous asion, but had to go back and that only increased my father''s anger. Not only had he been cheated on, the whole werewolfmunity had learned of the shameful act which brought disgrace to him and his authority.


    "At the time, I didn''t understand what was going on and just hated my father for being mean and wicked. However, I met Samantha when I was 14 and fell in love with her and even thought she was my mate. She ended up cheating on me with my best friend and for weeks, I cried and it was worse that she chose him over me. I couldn''t forget it and I promised to never ever be vulnerable to the point that any woman could hurt me again. That''s why I yed around for some time, but then,


    I decided to give love another chance. After all, my father has had a healthy marriage with Luna Vienna and it''s obvious they are obsessed with each other. I thought that if my father could find love again, then so could I. You then came along and I was so sure you were the one, but... well, we know how the story ends," I concluded, blinking back tears.


    By the time I was done, tears were streaming down Ciara''s face. "I... I''m so sorry. I didn''t know... I am so sorry. Just give me another chance. It will never happen again. You risked your life for me, you made me feel like a woman and I can''t stop thinking about you. I will never betray your trust again," she said, holding my hand.


    I shoved her hand off mine. "That''s what you''re saying now, but it''s not guaranteed. You''ve kissed Liam in my presence twice. I was willing to let it go the first time, but not this time around. Now, it''s a kiss. The next time, it might be you two having sex, and your excuse would be that you couldn''t fight the mate bond. It''s best I take my leave while I still can. I saw Liam looking at you all over at breakfast. Just go and be with him and leave me the fuck alone," I stated. "ke, please "


    "I''m sorry, Ciara, but no. I do wish you the best though," I said with a forced smile, then turned around and began walking away.


    Deep down, I wanted her to hold me once again and stop me from leaving. I even slowed down so she could have the opportunity to do that, but all I got was the sound of her sobbing behind me.


    Unable to bear the ache in my heart from the sound of her tears. I turned around tofort her, but by then, she was already in Liam''s arms and he was patting her back,forting her and whispering what I presumed to be sweet nothings in her ear.


    I felt a heaviness in my chest and I clenched my fists tightly in extreme anger. She had just promised to be faithful to me, yet only minutester, she was busy crying in the arms of another man instead of running after me to show how truly desperate she was for my affection.


    I didn''t bother to confront her and just continued walking away. At least, I had ended things before they got even more serious. I had made the right call since it was obvious that there was no way she would have ever even been loyal to me.

 Chapter 23

    Liam.


    After breakfast was over, I went looking for Ciara, and I had almost thought she had once again disappeared because she didn''t want to be found, when I spotted her at the well having a conversation with ke. I had remained and heard everything, silently hoping that they didn''t reconcile and as fate would have it, ke wasn''t even willing to listen to her apology.


    She had started going after him when I held her hand and pulled her into an embrace, patting her back and just letting her wet my shirt with her tears.


    Ciara tried to get a hold of herself and tried pulling out of the hug so she could continue to go after ke, but I only hugged her tighter because I could see that ke had now turned to see both of us.


    It was only when he stormed off angrily and was no longer within the vicinity that I let her out of my embrace.


    She turned around almost immediately and searched with her eyes, but there was no trace of ke. "Did... did you see where he went?" she inquired, looking confused.


    "No, and I really think you should just let him be," I said.


    "Why? So that you can act like the better option? I''m not stupid, Prince Liam. You were the only one who was unnecessarily mean to me and all of a sudden, you''re acting like a sort of Prince Charming who will be there for me when the guy I truly want to be with is angry at me," she said, nearly at the top of her voice.


    "I admit that I was really mean to you at first and I''m sorry about that, but I''m different now. The moment I saw you being dragged away by Alpha Seaman''s men, I became aware of how I felt for you and I now regret ever hurting your feelings in the first ce," I apologized.


    She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms like she didn''t believe me. "I see. So, why are you preventing me from going after your brother?" she asked.


    From her countenance, I knew she was ready to leave. I needed to say something, anything, as long as it would make her stay.


    "That''s because he gets violent when he''s being bothered. Just let him be, he''lle to see you when he''s ready," I lied.


    She heaved a sigh. "Are you sure? He doesn''t seem like the type to get violent."


    "He also doesn''t seem like the type to have sex with a maid just to spite his mate," I told her.


    Tears began to roll down her cheeks again. "I suppose he''s all shades of a red g then," she said.


    I lowered my frame so that we stood at the same height, and with a half-sincere smile, I began to wipe her tears. "You shouldn''t cry over a jerk like him. You deserve way better," I told her.


    Surprisingly, she chuckled. "Let me guess. You are way better?"


    I shrugged with a wink. "Not to sound cocky, but I actually am."


    "You''re the biggest jerk I''ve ever met in my entire life," she blurted out, suppressing herughter.


    I gave her a smirk. "And how would you know how many jerks you''ve met when you supposedly have amnesia?"


    That seemed to strike a nerve, and a frown appeared on her face. "There you go again, doubting me."


    "Hey, I''m not. I''m just saying you can''t tell because you don''t know if someone was worse than I am to you, probably the one that made you leave your Pack running in the dead of the night, but that''s not even what I''m driving at. Listen, why don''t I redeem myself to you?" I asked.


    She seemed interested, but eyed me suspiciously. "And how exactly are you going to do that?"


    "Come with me," I said, grabbing her hand and whisking her away.


    "Where are we going? Let me go!" she screamed, but still didn''t let go of my hand and followed me all the way to the Royal Stable.


    "Wow. These horses are so pretty," she said, with a big smile, walking around to admire each of the lovely horses in the stable. "I''m d you love horses,"I told her.


    "Don''t tell me this is your way of proving that you''re not that bad of a person. I mean, the horses are really adorable, but this whole ce smells like dung. I think I''d pass out if I were to remain here any longer," she said, stopping in front of a particrly beautiful ck stallion with a golden mane.


    "Hey there," she said, stroking its mane as the horse looked up at her and after examining her for a few seconds, he nuzzled her palm affectionately.


    "He likes you," I said proudly, walking over to her.


    "He does?" her eyes were filled with happiness.


    "Apparently. He''s been mine for over a decade and he doesn''t like strangers, so I''m surprised," I said.


    "Wow. I must be the chosen one then," she joked.


    "The chosen one for his master," I said seriously, but sheughed, probably believing it to be a joke.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "Would you like to go on a ride with me and Garfield?" I asked.


    "Garfield?"


    "That''s his name."


    "Wow. He has such a pretty name. Of course, I''d love to, thanks for offering," she seemed excited as she grinned from ear to ear.


    "Great!" I said, leading the way out of the stable with an instruction to the stable boy to prepare Garfield for a ride.


    I took Ciara to a stall where she got changed into something more befitting for a horse ride- a pair of trousers and a brown shirt with boots.


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    "How is it that you look good in anything you wear?" Iplimented her, admiring her outfit.


    "Funny how Prince Alden also said something simr this morning. Hey, Garfield is all ready," she said, pointing towards the stable as he was being led out by the stable boy, now properly saddled and bridled.


    I helped Ciara mount the horse, before heaving myself up behind her. My chest pressed tightly against her back and I could hear her heart beating loudly as our bodies collided.


    She nervously took hold of the reins and I gripped them tighter, steadying us both with one arm as she turned to look at me, her breath warm on my skin.


    "Look ahead," I whispered in her ears and she huped nervously, doing as I had said.


    "Hiya!" I called to Garfield, as we started off at a fast trot down the pce grounds.


    The pce gates were opened and we rode out through the cobblestone street, after which I made a turn through the woods.


    "Wow," Ciara said, admiring the scenery.


    The sun shone brightly in the sky, creating a perfect blue sky, even as the wind blew softly and a cool breeze flowed through the air, caressing our faces and blowing particrly loose strands of her hair in my face. I didn''t mind. Her hair smelled nice. She smelled nice as well, and I wanted to drown in her scent all day long.


    Coming across theke which I had intended to take her to, a smile spread across my face.


    Theke was my hideout, the ce where I regained my sanity after enduring all the madness in the pce. It was my favorite ce, and I knew already that it was the perfect spot to mark her; to im her as mine. I would be killing two birds with one stone- being with the girl I had fallen in love with in just a few days and securing the position as the next Alpha of the Silver Crest Pack.

 Chapter 24

    ke.


    I had called in the two maids that were assigned to clean my room and made them take off their clothes, hoping to forget about Ciara.


    They were stunning, with perky breasts, full hips and long legs. They could have easily been models, with perfect figures, but my mind kept shing back to seeing Ciara naked and pure.


    I brushed away my thoughts, pulling one of the maids closer as I ced my lips on hers. It didn''t feel the same, but it was better than nothing. Caressing the ass of the other, I moved my hand up to her breast, and a gasp escaped from her throat as I twirled my finger around her nipple.


    We continued for a few more seconds before she broke off the kiss and began to undo the buttons of my shirt while the other one undid my belt, pulling down my trousers as she proceeded to give me a blow job.


    My cock hardened the moment she took it in her mouth, diving deep and sucking it fully as the other maid gently yed around with my nipples, sucking them and doing unimaginable things to me.


    "Fuck, Ciara," I groaned out loud, before realizing the mistake I had made.


    Shit! This wasn''t working, I reckoned, and suddenly, nothing the maids did to satisfy me worked, and like that, my erection went limp, leaving me disappointed and frustrated.


    I pushed them both away, grabbing a vase which I threw out the window frustratedly.


    Sex was supposed to be fun, a mere act of escape for me; but Ciara just had to ruin everything. Had I been too hard on her? Was that why my conscience was pricking me? Was that why I felt so guilty that I couldn''t concentrate on anything? "Prince ke, we''re so sorry," the maids chorused at once, appearing scared and terrified, afraid that it was their fault that they had failed to please me.


    "It''s not your fault. You may leave," I said, dismissively, putting on my clothes.


    "You want us to leave?" they asked.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    "Get out!" Imanded in a harsh tone.


    "The Alpha King is here," a loud voice came from outside, startling me.


    Father was here? What could he possibly want?


    The maids quickly put on their clothes and hurriedly left the room with their heads bowed, muttering their greetings to the Alpha before scurrying off.


    Alpha King Rond walked into my bedroom only then, shaking his head at me disappointedly.


    "Greetings, father," I said, avoiding his stern gaze.


    "Do you really have to behave this way? I raised you better than this!" he snapped angrily.


    "You didn''t raise me. The nannies you employed did," I retorted.


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    He scoffed. "Well, sorry for not abandoning my kingdom to attend to trivial matters like a child crying or being unnecessarily rebellious," he said sarcastically.


    "You were there for Alden though... every single fucking time!" I bashed him.


    "I tried to be there for you, but you didn''t let me. You hated me and openly said that every time I tried to show you affection, and that''s why I withdrew. You kept ming me for something that was totally not my fault. You and I know that she - your mother, deserved to be beheaded but I spared her life for your sake, and what did I get in return? Sheer ungratefulness and misdirected anger!" he thundered.


    He was right, but I was too deep in my feelings to acknowledge that. "Fine. So, what now? What do you want in the room of someone who has been nothing but ungrateful to you and whose mothermitted adultery?" I fired at him.


    "I wanted to let you know that henceforth, you shall not sleep around with servants in this pce. I refuse to permit it! I understand that you might be upset at Ciara, but doing stuff like this to hurt her will only hurt you..." I cut in. "I''m not trying to hurt her, I simply want to forget her!"


    "Either way, it will end badly for you in the long run," he said.


    "Why do you care? The worst thing that will happen is that she rejects me and wouldn''t that be good for you? At least then, your favorite son, Alden, would have a bigger shot of iming her and the throne," I used. He didn''t say anything for a while, and after what seemed like ages, he walked closer to me and stopped just right in front of me.


    "Listen, I do not know what you think of me and I do not care, but I do love all my sons and I wish them the best. It is true that I am quite biased when ites to Alden, but that''s only because he''s the one who showers me with more affection and care. It doesn''t mean I love you any less. You''re my son, ke, and I saw what you had going on with Ciara. I''m an advocate for true love, so I do not want you to lose what you already had in your rtionship with Ciara," my father advised.


    I softened up. "I think you''re wrong. Everything that happened, happened because of the mate bond," I said.


    Heughed. "Oh, dear ke, no mate bond is strong enough to make you take an arrow for a girl. I may not have been too present in your life, but I do know that much about you."


    I heaved a sigh. "So, what should I do? Talk to her? Would she even want to speak to me when I made her cry?" I asked, feeling helpless.


    "You wouldn''t know until you try speaking to her first," he said. "I''ll take my leave now," he added and turned around to leave.


    "Thanks, father," I said, after much contemtion.


    He didn''t turn back around, but he nodded his head and walked out of the room in his usual majestic manner.


    I was seriously considering what he was saying to me and wondering if I should go and make the first move. Opening up to her once again was going to be hard, but I presumed it was worth a shot since no one did it for me like her. Just then, a whiff of her scent wafted through the air and I heard the sound of her giggling. I ran to the window and what I saw made my heart sink. She was riding a horse and giggling excitedly with Liam by her side.


    He was so close to her and that made my heart boil with rage. I had said I never wanted to have anything to do with her again, but now, I regretted it, and seeing her with Liam made me wonder if I was toote and had lost her forever.

 Chapter 25

    Ciara.


    Liam helped me get off the horse after we arrived at a beautifulke. It was surrounded by trees and the scenery was perfect in every sense of the word. I loved the cool air and the sound of birds singing. "Wow," I said, drawing near to theke which had the sun''s image reflected on it.


    "Do you like it here?" Liam asked.


    "Are you kidding me? I love it here. It''s so... peaceful," I said, trying to find the right word to describe it as I sat down, taking off my boots and putting my legs in the water. "Exactly why Ie here every now and then to escape the pce''s troubles," he said.


    "To be fair, you''re the one who causes most of the trouble," I said.


    Heughed. "I can''t argue with that," he agreed with a shrug.


    "I wish I knew how to swim, I would have been out here all day," I said, wiggling my toes in the water.


    "You probably don''t remember it, but I''m sure you were a great swimmer. All you need do is get into the water and your mind will direct you into doing so," he said.


    I was serious about being unable to swim, but he believed I didn''t know what I was saying. Who could me him though? I was the one pretending to have lost my memory.


    "Maybe another day," I declined politely.


    "Nope, it has to be today. Watch me," he said, then proceeded to take off his clothes so that only his boxers were left, and he then dived into the water.


    The waves washed against him, creating something so beautiful; so magical. He soon came back up for fresh air, dripping with water with a big smile stered on his face. I hadn''t seen him smile so brightly like he did now, and I smiled back at him.


    "What are you waiting for? Come on in," he urged.


    "I want to, but I''m terrified."


    "I''ll help you stay on the surface, Ciara. Nothing can go wrong as long as I''m with you," he promised, and looking into his eyes, I could see he meant every word he said.


    I didn''t need further convincing and took off my clothes, leaving only my purple bra and panties before wading into the water.


    If he had asked me a few days ago toe in for a swim, I would have tantly refused, thinking it was a trap to kill me. It was amazing how things had changed so fast.


    At first, I was a bit afraid, but I soon became thrilled to be in the water for the first time for my own leisure, and not just because I wanted to go and get water from the stream. "Good, just open your legs wide and spread your arms like this," Liam instructed, demonstrating a good example.


    I did as he instructed and followed his demonstrations, and I was soon getting the hang of it, feeling the water rush around my body.


    After several minutes, I felt rxed enough to allow myself to sink lower, but that soon backfired when the cold water engulfed me and in my panic, I forgot all of Liam''s instructions and started to drown. My heart was pounding in my chest as I sunk in lower and lower. I thought I would die, but fortunately, Liam''s strong arms held onto me tightly, pulling me back to the surface and leading me to the shore. Once I got out of theke, I coughed up the water I had swallowed earlier and was shaking like a leaf, breathing heavily.


    Liam got his jacket and put it around me, brushing the damp strands of hair from my face and drying me up with his shirt.


    "What would you wear now that your shirt is soaked?" I managed to ask, my teeth chattering.


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    He didn''t answer the question and instead pulled me in for an embrace which warmed me up.


    "I''m sorry for making you go in," he said.


    "It''s okay. You saved me and that''s what is most important," I said, as he pulled away from me.


    It was only then I really looked closely at him.


    He was hot, and I didn''t just mean that in a matter of temperature, and no, he didn''t just have a handsome face; he was hot through and through.


    His muscles were rippled under his tanned wet skin, with his dark hair damp and messy in such an attractive manner. His nipples, lips, abs- every part of him called to me and I just couldn''t stop staring into those beautiful grey eyes of his. He also couldn''t stop staring at me and it got me wondering if he was thinking the same thing as I was. Did he find me attractive also? Did he think I was beautiful?


    And just like that, as though he had read my mind, he said, "You are fucking beautiful, Ciara."


    I was too stunned to speak, but I didn''t even need to because right there and then, his lips came crashing down on mine.


    It wasn''t slow or passionate; it was aggressive, like he wanted me and damn! I wanted him, too.


    I wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer, and his hands roamed over my body. The jacket fell to the ground and he undid the hook of my bra until his warm hands covered my bare breasts, squeezing them with reckless abandon. He winged me around to sit on hisp, and his lips pressed against mine with his tongue plunged into my mouth.


    I moaned, wrapping my legs tighter around his waist.


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    His hands trailed down to cup my ass firmly and he lowered his head to suck on my nipples affectionately; one after the other. I felt my back arching as his lips moved from my nipples and traveled further down my thigh to the ce where I wanted it so desperately.


    I groaned in anticipation of what was toe as he flipped us over so that Iid beneath him on the cool sandy soil, but when his fingers made their way to my panties, somehow; my mind shed back to making out with ke. Sure, ke had said he didn''t want me anymore, but I still felt like I owed him a little bit of loyalty, or maybe I wanted to prove to him that I could control myself instead of putting the me on the mate bond.


    Either way, as Liam''s fingers glided through my panties, I held his hand, stopping him and gently pushing him away.


    "What''s wrong? Did I make a mistake?" his voice was a hoarse whisper.


    "No, Liam. I did."


    "What? What do you mean?"N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "I''m sorry, I can''t do this," I told him, standing up and finding my bra and clothes.


    "You can''t do this? I was almost-fuck! What''s the problem? ke? Did you suddenly remember him?"


    I didn''t try to deny it and just put on my clothes, wondering why I had started anything with Liam in the first ce against my better judgment.


    "Fuck!" he cursed, looking so angry but desperately trying to control himself.


    "I''m sorry," I offered, avoiding his gaze as I made my way back to the pce on foot. He didn''t even bother to take me back on the horse, and I was grateful that I hadn''t given myself up to someone like him.

 Chapter 26

    Ciara.


    I went back to the pce all by myself. Thankfully, my wolf, Elsa, could remember the road leading back to the pce.


    "Can you believe he just abandoned me to go all by myself?" I fumed, not minding the fact that there were people around.


    "To be fair, you did get his hopes up and then brought it down within seconds without even denying that you had indeed been thinking of another guy," Elsa replied.


    "That isn''t enough reason for him to act that way. Wasn''t he the one that sympathized with me earlier, acting like he could understand being mated to three hot brothers all at once?"


    "You''re right. He is a jerk," she agreed.


    "Thank you!"


    The security guards looked confused when they saw me all by myself, but didn''t say anything and just exchanged weird nces. I honestly felt like a fool as I hurriedly walked away, feeling like all the pce maids and guards in sight had their eyes on me. They all seemed to know something was up and threw a pitiful look in my direction. At least, that''s what I assumed.


    I was about to head to my room with my head bowed in shame when all of a sudden, an authoritative, yet feminine voice, stopped me. "Ciara."


    I spun around quickly to see Alden''s mother, Luna Vienna, sitting in the gazebo making an embroidery design on a silk glove.


    I forgot about feeling ashamed immediately and ran to her, bowing even lower. "Greetings, Luna Queen Vienna,"N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I said.


    "Greetings. Do have a seat," she motioned with her hand.


    Nodding nervously, I sat down opposite her, feeling her study me with her eyes. A pregnant silence thatsted more than five minutes fell upon us, and the tension was slowly eating me up.


    "Leave us alone," she broke the silence, instructing the maids and guards present.


    "Luna" a maid started.


    "You heard me," she said, and bowing to her, they all left in no time.


    "Is... is something wrong?" I inquired, slightly worried.


    "Of course not. I heard you went horse riding with Liam. I smell theke. He must have taken you to his hideout," she noted.


    My eyes widened in surprise. "You know about his hideout? I thought it was more of a secret spot for him," I said.


    The Luna chuckled. "Oh, sweetie. Nothing gets past me. You do embroidery?"


    "I''m not sure," I said, even though I was a master at it.


    "Perhaps, you were good at it before the unfortunate incident that happened to you. Here, try it out. You should have a muscle memory if you actually know how to do it," she said, handing over the second glove to me. "This should be fun," I said, picking up a needle as I proceeded to do as she had said.


    "So, did you have fun?"


    "Kind of."


    "Theke is beautiful, isn''t it?"


    "It truly is. It''s like it''s in a different universe and it''s just so perfect. I would love to go there again soon, but-" my words hung there.


    "Are you scared that you might run into Liam? Why? Didn''t your make-out session go well?" she inquired.


    "What? Were you spying on us?" I asked, feeling really embarrassed.


    "Of course not. I''ve been alive for way too long. So, tell me. What happened? I thought you too were getting close," she said.


    "Yeah, but I''m just confused," I said, surprised that I was actually opening up to her. "It''s difficult, you know. I was going to choose ke and then, Liam kissed me out of the blue and then, ke got mad. I was going to choose Liam, but it felt like I was betraying ke and now, I feel like I made the right decision since Liam let me walk to the pce all by myself but I also feel like I might have done something stupid because I''m not even sure if ke wants me anymore," I said, all in one breath.


    She gave a light chuckle. "Wow. That''s a lot to process. How about Alden? I didn''t hear you mention him. Why? Is he not your type?" she inquired.


    "It''s not that. Alden is really thoughtful, kind and sweet. He''s also really handsome and he treats me well. We have agreed to just be friends," I exined.


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    A frown appeared on her face. "Just friends? That sounds wrong. I''m not saying this because he''s my son, but sometimes, we get too distracted by irrelevant things around us and fail to actually see the gem that''s right in front of us until it is toote," she told me.


    I heaved a sigh. "I get what you mean, Luna Vienna, but making things go beyond friendship would ruin our rtionship entirely. I want us to stay as friends because I don''t want to ever lose him," I said.


    She was silent for a moment, then took my hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "That''s okay. Can I give you a piece of advice though?"


    "Yes, Your Highness," my ears itched to hear what she had to say.


    "Don''t make yourself too avable for my sons, ke and Liam. You''ve done nothing wrong so far. Let them look for you and not find you easy to get; the one who is persistent despite rejecting all their advances is the one you should ept. If possible, use theirpetition to make them jealous and work harder," she said, staring intensely into my eyes.


    I swallowed. "You are right, my Luna. Thanks for your advice. I''ll be sure to do as you''ve said," I told her.


    A smile reced the frown on her face as she stood up, preparing to leave. "Your embroidery is neat and beautiful. I guess you were indeed good at it. It gets really lonely in the pce. Let''s have tea sometime, and just know that you can alwayse to me if you need someone to talk to," she said.


    "Thank you, your highness," I said to her.


    "You can keep the gloves. I''ll see you at the masquerade ball," she said, then turned around to leave.


    "Thanks for your kindness," I called out in a loud voice, bowing low until she was out of sight.


    I didn''t take her words lightly and pondered over them even after she was gone.


    Luna Vienna was right. I needed to step up my game as I couldn''t keep letting ke and Liam toss me around like I was something to be toyed with. I decided to do as she had said and make them jealous by making use of theirpetition- Alden. Only then would they work harder to get my affection and it would be easier to choose one of them then.


    Thankfully, the Luna was on my side and it felt good to finally have someone to talk to. At least, that''s what I believed, not knowing she had other ns in mind.

 Chapter 27

    Ciara.


    A few days had passed since the incident with Liam. On the bright side, I had been preupied with doing embroidery because the Luna was really impressed with what I had done the other day. She had been really kind to me, and I couldn''t see how anyone could dislike her.


    ke had remained distant, but I had been checking up on him secretly. Surprisingly, I didn''t notice him having any sort of affair with any of the maids and he remained in his room most of the time. Liam wasn''t scarce and I saw him every now and then, but we had been ignoring each other. Alden... Alden hadn''t been seen much, and ording to the Luna, he was really busy with preparations for the masquerade ball.


    For whatever reason, I had been feeling so unhappy and restless. Perhaps, it was the fact that neither of the brothers were speaking to me, but I wasn''t sure. I knew I needed something to ease my stress, but I just didn''t know what it was. I heard a knock on my door. When it came again, I stood up from the bed and went to open it and I was surprised to see it was ke. "Can Ie in?" he asked.


    I was too stunned to respond in words and simply nodded my head, after which he came in and shut the door gently behind him. "It''s been a while," he said.


    I didn''t know how to react as I felt a wide range of emotions overpower me. Was I to get angry at him? Should I hug him? Should I yell at him for the pain and emotional distress he had caused me? I was confused and once again, I just simply nodded my head.


    "Ciara, I have been wanting to speak to you, but I saw you ride out with Liam the other day and I thought you had decided to just choose him. However, since I haven''t been seeing you guys together, I decided to show up before things reignited between you two," he said.


    I scoffed, now knowing how to react. "So, if it weren''t for the fact that I wasn''t in good terms with Liam, you wouldn''t havee to speak to me?"


    He sighed, avoiding the question. "Listen, Ciara. I sincerely apologise for everything. However, you can''t fault me for how I acted. Any other person would have done the same," he said.


    "No, ke. Not every other person would have gone about sleeping with maids because their mate made a mistake. I cried and apologised to you, but you just walked away that day and now, you''re saying you''re sorry but still justifying your actions," I blurted out.


    I didn''t know why I was so angry at him, despite the fact that I had been ming myself for everything that had happened. Maybe it''s because he had actually overreacted or maybe it was what the Luna had been feeding my head with. "Can we just forget about this whole thing and start all over again?" he asked, drawing closer to me.


    My heart skipped a beat and I bit my lower lip, trying to control myself. He was so close to me that I could literally hear his heart racing, but I knew that if I gave in so easily to him, he''d take advantage of it eventually. Like the Luna had rightly stated, I shouldn''t make this easy for them.


    "I can''t just forget about this whole thing without a proper apology-"


    "What are you saying? You''re the one who got me upset in the first ce," he yelled, causing me to shudder in fear and I stepped away from him.


    "Leave my room!" Imanded in a shaky voice, only now remembering how Liam had warned me that he could get violent.


    "Ciara "


    "Leave immediately!" I screamed as loudly as I could.


    "You heard her, doofus. Get the fuck out!" Liam''s undeniable deep voice said in a low, but authoritative tone.


    "Fuck!" ke cursed under his breath and stormed out of the room.


    Liam shook his head, entering into the room. "Lucky for you, I was within the area. Who knows what he would have done? He would have totally hurt you physically. Once again, you have me to thank," he said, holding my hand as he tried to pull me in for a hug.


    I flinched, pushing him away and he staggered backwards unprepared and surprised at my reaction. "You do realise I''m not ke, right?" he joked,ing forward again.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "Stay away from me," I said.


    "What? Why?"


    "You''ve been ignoring me. Keep that same energy," I said, and tried to walk away, but he held my hand and stopped me from leaving.


    "Where are you going to? To run after ke? He doesn''t deserve you, get that into your head," he stated.


    "You don''t deserve me either. In fact, you don''t deserve me the most," I retorted, trying to break free from him, but the grip he had on my hand only worsened.


    "I don''t think so. We are good for each other, your silly feelings for ke won''t just let you see it and that''s why you acted the way you did at theke," he said, referencing something I was trying to forget.


    "And is that why you also acted the way you did?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "You left me to leave all by myself. It was a long walk back to the pce, but you didn''t care. I could have gotten hurt, lost or even attacked, but you let me leave all by myself. That showed your true nature that day. ke might have a tendency to be violent, but you, you are the definition of evil," I stated, eyeing him angrily.


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    "Say that again," hemanded, staring down at me with a piercing gaze.


    I stared at my toes, avoiding his gaze as my mind raced, thinking of what to do. I needed to escape from him. He sounded different. He was always a terrible person, but he was even worse now.


    "Greetings, Alpha King," I blurted out, and Liam quickly let go of my hand.


    Of course, the Alpha wasn''t present in my room and I had just used that as a means to get away from Liam before he did something dangerous. As soon as he let me go, I took to my heels and ran as fast as I could.


    The corridors seemed endless and it was taking more than it normally would to pass through them and make my way outside where people were present.


    My heart pounded loudly and nearly exploded out of my chest, feeling him closing in on me. I hade to a dead end, losing my way in my haste and wasn''t sure how to avoid him now.


    Panic set in, but just then, a hand reached out to me from a door I had never known existed in the pce and pulled me in.


    I was terrified and was about screaming, but when I looked up, I saw to my greatest joy that it was Alden.


    "Oh, Alden," I heaved a sigh of relief and ran into his arms.


    He embraced me warmly and stroked my hair, and for many minutes, we remained that way. His hug was so soothing and I didn''t want it to end. In his arms, I felt the safest I had ever been and I knew now that all I had needed to ease the burden and stress I felt was him.


    He was home. My home.

 Chapter 28

    Liam.


    It was the day of the masquerade ball. I had been trying everything possible to talk to Ciara alone, but she ensured she was always surrounded by people. Even at night, her door was locked and I couldn''t go in, but today, everyone in the pce was busy with one thing or the other and I could already tell she would be all alone in her room.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I was dressed in a royal blue knight''s robe, paired with a mask that only hid half of my face so that it was still easy for anyone to tell it was me. The pce was bubbling with activity and color, and guests from far and near had already started to arrive, dressed in the most elegant attires; some in thepany of their partners but most were alone, with the hopes of finding a partner.


    The Silver Crest''s annual masquerade ball was said to be a haven of love and a lot of the members of the Pack ended up finding their significant others and mates during the ball.


    I knocked on Ciara''s door and the door was opened immediately.


    "Oh, Alden, it''s good you''re here. I wanted to-" she stopped speaking when she looked up and saw it was me and her face turned pale as though she had seen a ghost.


    I shed her a mischievous smirk, eyeing the ball gown she had on,posed of gold taffeta, emerald green trim and long sleeves. Her hair was still in a bo and she hadn''t done her makeup yet. "Your dress is lovely," I said.


    "Thanks," she muttered, looking away.


    "I see you''re not done yet. I''ll wait for you," I told her.


    "Wait for me? Why?"


    "We''re going to the ball together, not so?" I inquired.


    She appeared annoyed, but swallowed it up and spoke in a gentle tone. "I''m sorry if I ever gave you the impression that we would be attending the ball together as partners. That will never happen," she stated firmly. "Why? Would you prefer to go alone?" I retorted.


    "Alden and I have already agreed to go together," she responded, with a proud smile on her face.


    If I didn''t know any better, I might have been jealous. Instead, Iughed mockingly, throwing her a scornful nce. I mean, it was Alden of all people. I might have felt threatened if it was someone else, but definitely not that loser. "You would really embarrass yourself by going to the ball with Alden?"


    "I don''t mind being embarrassed, thank you for your concern," she said and tried to close the door, but I held it and didn''t let her do so.


    "You do know my brother is an awful dancer, don''t you? He can''t dance to save his life. What are you going to do all night? Listen to him say the most cringe stuff orugh at his dry jokes?" I inquired.


    She rolled her eyes. "When the timees, I''ll figure it out," she said and attempted closing the door again, but I held on to it.


    "Fine, I''m sorry for being a dick. Would you stop acting like a child now ande with me?" I asked, raising my voice a little bit, enough to not scare her.


    She was silent for a moment and then, she nodded her head like she had finally decided toe around. "I''ll do that once you let go of the door," she said.


    "Oh, I forgot about that," I said, letting go of it, but it was only secondster that I realized that she had seeded in fooling me again when she mmed the door against me and locked it hurriedly so I wouldn''t get in.


    I banged on the door multiple times, but of course, she didn''t respond. I kicked it angrily, leaving a dent and then, leaned against it, waiting till she was done and finally came out.


    I couldn''t understand why she wouldn''t just let it go. Yes, I had left her all alone, but she left my dick hanging, too. Plus, it was frustrating to see how she had just thwarted my hopes of bing the next Alpha after believing that I had her under my full control and could now mark her and be the next Alpha.


    To add to my anger, Alden appeared out of nowhere dressed in a ck tuxedo, holding a cat mask in his hands and he looked surprised to see me.


    "Liam, what are you doing here?" he asked.


    "I am waiting for Ciara to finish dressing up so we can go to the ball together," I replied harshly, throwing him an angry look.


    "I don''t think that''s right. Ciara and I already agreed to be partners," he said, looking confused.


    "So what? Why are you even hovering around her anyway? You know she is never going to choose you. You''re pathetic!" I said.


    "It''s okay if she doesn''t choose me. We already agreed to be friends. She was the one who wanted to go the masquerade ball with me and I don''t see a reason why I should have said no to her," he told me.


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    I began tough hysterically, and the more the frown on his face deepened, the more Iughed. "You guys are just friends? That must hurt. I just hope you''re not staying by her side believing you two could be something more. Ciara might not always make the right choices, but she sure as hell isn''t stupid," I mocked.


    He clenched his fists, controlling his anger. "You must have enough free time to stand by someone''s door spilling gibberish. At least, she considers me a friend. She doesn''t even give a hoot about you or what you have to offer. Oh, I forgot. You have nothing to offer."


    He had barelypleted his statement when I lunged forward at him and grabbed him by his cor, then rammed his head twice into the wall. "Are you insane? How dare you speak in such a manner to me? You have overnight grown wings and I''ll be sure to cut them off right now," I said, dragging him by his ear.


    He pushed me away and smoothened his shirt. "For once, act grown. You can''t keep acting like we''re still kids," he said.


    I was taken aback. It was the first time he had ever pushed me away and talked back at me. What the hell was happening? How did I lose my dominance over everyone and everything? I needed to take it back and I needed to do that at once. From what I could hear going on in Ciara''s room, I knew it was only a matter of time before she was done with getting ready. Whatever happened, I needed to ensure she didn''t attend the ball in thepany of Alden.


    And so, I pretended to walk away, but just as he had turned around to head back to Ciara''s room, I took out my sword and aimed at him with the hilt, knocking him out and rendering him unconscious.


    Thankfully, no one was around as I dragged him all the way to his room, abandoning him under his bed and locking the door so that even if he woke up,ing out would be difficult for him.


    I didn''t feel slightly even sorry for him. He didn''t want the throne anyway and he didn''t even stand a chance in the first ce. I, on the other hand, had gotten so close to iming it and I would stop at nothing to ensure I made Ciara mine and that I took the throne which rightfully belonged to me.

 Chapter 29

    ke.


    I wasn''t interested in attending the Masquerade ball considering everything that had been going on with Ciara. However, as one of the princes of the Silver Crest Pack, I was mandated to attend the event.


    Perhaps, I didn''t want to attend it because I didn''t want to face Ciara yet. I had yelled at her and scared her, little wonder she had been avoiding me and I didn''t even have the heart to approach her. I needed her back, but going about that was the main problem.


    Dressed in a purple royal robe and a ck mask that covered the whole of my face, I was already preparing to leave my room when I heard a knock.


    I opened the door to see the Luna''s favorite maid, Rita, standing at my door.


    "What do you want?" I asked, wondering if she was lost or something.


    "Greetings, Prince ke. Luna Queen Vienna has requested your presence at the Verity Garden," she stated.


    "Tell her you didn''t see me," I snapped.


    She bowed low. "Forgive me, your highness, but I am not permitted to tell a lie to my mistress. Also, forgive your humble servant for what she is about to say. My Prince, it will interest you to know that the Luna has invited a special guest and you would be thrilled to see who it is," she exined.


    That actually caught my attention. A special guest? Who might it be? Had she somehow managed to sneak in my mother after all these years? What was the Luna plotting this time around?


    "Fine, I''ll go to her," I said; curiosity getting the best of me.


    I shut the door behind me and headed toward the Verity Garden which was on the other side of the pce, wondering what it was that the Luna had in store for me.


    Upon reaching the garden, I searched for her with my eyes and spotted her sitting opposite someone whose face I couldn''t see because she was backed against me.


    "Greetings, Luna," I said with a small polite bow after making it to where she was.


    "Greetings, Prince ke," she said; a suspicious smile ying around her lips.


    "You sent for me. May I know the reason behind that?" I asked.


    "key," a familiar tiny voice called, sending me traveling down memoryne.


    It was as though my mind was ying tricks on me. Of all the people the Luna could have chosen to surprise me with, she had chosen the one that I hated the most. Certainly, it couldn''t be her. The voice I heard had been nothing but a mere hallucination and I probably hadn''t heard it right.


    However, when I turned around to see who it was that had called out my name so fondly, I saw that my mind hadn''t been ying around. The voice belonged to whom I had initially thought it was my first love, Samantha. "Oh, ke, how I have missed you!" she said, standing up and throwing her arms around me, engulfing me in her sweet-smelling perfume.


    For a minute, I forgot how to blink. I forgot how to think. I was unable to process my thoughts.


    She finally let me go and touched my cheek, so fondly, so affectionately, like she hadn''t been the same girl who had chosen my best friend over me six years ago and ended up leaving the Pack and eloping with him. "Why are you looking at me that way? Say something," she said, smiling so brightly.


    I stared down at her for a moment before finally shoving her away and turning around to speak to the Luna who was sipping alcohol with that same silly smile stered on her face.


    "What''s this for? Why did you bring her here? What are you ying at?" I screamed angrily at her.


    She raised her hand, as if to shut me up. "Your scream is loud enough to tear down a house, no wonder Ciara got so terrified of you and stopped speaking to you," she said, infuriating me.


    "If your n is to get me mad right before the event, then you''ve seeded. You have won today, but keep in mind that I will soon make you regret calling this evil wench over and bringing up my failed love life in front of her," I threatened.


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    The Luna guffawed, apparently unshaken by my empty threats. "Oh, please. You''re talking about a failed love life when you never even had a love life in the first ce. Listen carefully, I didn''t call you over here to make you angry. On the contrary, I thought you''d be happy to see Samantha here," she said.


    "And why would you ever think that I''d love to see someone who broke my heart and made me miserable for years?" I retorted.


    "Come on, key. It''s been ages. Can''t you just let sleeping dogs lie?" Samantha asked in a whiny tone.


    "The dogs were fast asleep, but you are the one that decided to wake them up, and don''t you ever in your life refer to me as key again!" I thundered.


    She heaved a sigh then boldly stepped closer to me and took my hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "I''m sorry for how I hurt you all those years ago and I''m not trying to justify what happened, but I was still young and stupid. I eloped with Keith and he turned out to be physically and emotionally abusive. I couldn''t leave without him finding me and threatening to kill me if I should try to escape again, but a few months back, the Luna sent some men to rescue me and she helped me reconcile with my parents. I''m back now and I''m not leaving anytime soon," she said, with tears in her eyes.


    I almost felt sorry for her. "I guess your story should be touching, but sadly for you, I''m not touched. As a matter of fact, I feel everything you suffered was karma for the hell you put me through. I have already moved on and I couldn''t care less if you''re back or not," I said, then forcefully took her hands off mine.


    "ke"


    I ignored her and faced the Luna again. "If this is all a ploy to get me back with Samantha so that Alden can have a chance with Ciara, then you''ve failed. Try a different method," I said to her.


    The Luna stood up; the annoying smile ever constant on her face. "I love my son, Alden, more than anything in the world, but even I can tell there''s no future for him and Ciara. As his mother, I have to secure his future and the only way I can do that is to ensure that Liam doesn''t have Ciara. Even if Alden is unsessful in securing her as his match, I want you to at least have her instead. Liam would make life unbearable for us all, especially Alden, if Ciara epts him, and that is why I have chosen to help you," she said.


    I scoffed. "You''re helping me by forcing another woman down my throat? Is that your definition of help?" I retorted.


    "No one is forcing anyone down your throat, ke. The Luna just thinks it will be wise if we pretend to be a couple," Samantha said.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I frowned. "And how would that help me win over Ciara?"


    "The key to a woman''s heart is to make her jealous, of course, not with worthless maids. Make her jealous by being around someone who is a worthy opponent. I already know you''ve tried over thest few days to get Ciara back and you''ve failed; this is how to actually win her back. Make her feel like you have a better option. Trust me, she''ll be the one running back to you," the Luna said.


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    I thought about what she had said for a moment, and to be fair, it made sense. However, knowing who Luna Vienna was, I couldn''t trust her. She was even more cunning than a fox and I knew better.


    "Well, thank you for your kind gesture, but I''ll get Ciara back my own way," I said, dismissively.


    "key" Samantha called, holding my hand.


    I shoved her off so swiftly that she lost her bnce and fell to the floor, but luckily enough, I was able to swing around immediately and catch her in my arms.


    Our eyes met and we remained that way for minutes, which felt endless.


    Samantha had always been a beauty to behold, but after maturing and gaining weight in all the right ces, she was even more beautiful. With long ebony hair like silk, doe-like hazel eyes, heart-shaped lips and heavenly-white dentition, standing over 5''8 tall, she was perfection itself.


    Truly, someone like her will drive Ciara crazy, so crazy enough to want me back, realizing she wouldn''t want to see any other person with me other than her. Still, was this the right decision to make?


    I snapped out of my thoughts and got a hold of myself, then helped her up and began to walk off again.


    "All these years, I haven''t been able to forgive myself for what I did to you. Please, give me a chance to make things right. I promise it won''t be more than a pretend affair," she said.


    For whatever reason, I couldn''t keep on walking and just stopped in my tracks. "Be my partner at the Masquerade ball. If we seed in making Ciara jealous, then we can call it a game that will onlye to an end once I am able to make Ciara mine again," I said.


    "Deal," Samantha agreed, scurrying over to me and cing her arm in mine.


    We walked away and I didn''t bother looking back at the Luna, although I was confident she had a satisfied smile on her lips. I already knew she had ulterior motives. However, using Samantha would get me the result I desired and I didn''t mind ying the Luna''s game to achieve that.

 Chapter 30

    Ciara.


    Alden was nowhere in sight. I had waited in my room for over an hour, and when he still hadn''t shown up, I decided to go to his own room to check, but the door was locked and it was apparent that he wasn''t inside. I searched everywhere I could think of; the kitchen, the library, the garden, but there was no sign of him anywhere.


    I held up my long ball gown with both hands and was about to leave the pce to check if Alden was at the arcade or at the fancy restaurant he had taken me to the other day.


    "Lady Ciara," Katrina, my new maid, called.


    "Katrina, have you seen Alden?" I asked.


    "No one has seen him, mydy. The ball started over an hour ago. All the guests have arrived already, and it will be a p on His Majesty''s face if you arriveter than you already are," Katrina said. "But, Alden-"


    I was cut off by Liam who happened to just walk towards where we are at that point. "He probably developed cold feet and left. That''s how selfish he is. He couldn''t even suspend his cowardice to apany you to the ball," Liam stated. I red at him. "Do not speak about Alden in that manner. I''m sure he has a good reason as to why he isn''t here yet."


    "Keep telling yourself that," he said then stretched his hand out to me. "I''ll be your partner. It will be weird if you go into the hall thiste alone," Liam said.


    I looked at Katrina and she nodded, urging me to ept his gesture.


    "Fine, but don''t let this fool you into thinking that I have forgiven you," I said through clenched teeth, cing my hand in his.


    "I am sure you will havepletely forgiven me by the end of today," he said, wearing a sly smirk as we walked to the hall together hand-in-hand.


    The doors opened and when we stepped in, all eyes turned to stare at us. There were people whispering but I wasn''t sure about what they were saying. I held onto Liam''s hand even tighter, staring at the floor because I couldn''t look up at anyone.


    "Look up," Liam said to me, and I did as he instructed, raising my shoulders and walking confidently even though I was dying inside.


    Thankfully, it was a masquerade ball and my face was partly covered. Most of their faces were covered as well and I couldn''t tell who and who were staring at me, so I felt a little better.


    "Greetings, Alpha, Luna," I said, bowing low as soon as we got to the throne.


    "Greetings," the Alpha said, nodding his head in approval.


    "Where where is Alden?" the Luna asked, searching around for Alden with her eyes.


    "He stood her up," Liam responded.


    "Alden stood her up? Who does he think he is? And why would someone as elegant as you want to go out with that mama''s boy anyway?" a robust woman dressed in a re cotton knee-length dress, asked.


    The Luna clenched her fists in annoyance, seething with rage. "Caution your good-for-nothing sister," she said in a low tone to the Alpha, before standing up and disappearing behind the curtains.


    "Alice, now, that''s no way to speak about your nephew," the Alpha said.


    "Greetings, Lady Alice," I said to her.


    "Greetings, my dear. Oh, my favorite nephew," she said, wrapping her arms around Liam, so much so that she almost strangled him.


    He was visibly suffocating. "Aunt Alice... let me go," he said, as I suppressed myughter.


    "I''m pleased to see you after a long, long time. I hope your journey was peaceful," he said to her, once she had freed him from her embrace.


    "It really was," she said, then took off her badly knitted cow-shaped mask. A frown appeared on her face as she shook her head in disapproval. "Herees the adulteress'' son. At least, his mother wasn''t a miserable servant," she said under her breath.


    I looked forward and saw ke. I already knew it was he due to the mate bond despite the heavy mask he had on that covered every part of his face. What bothered me was the fact that he was in thepany of a girl who was dressed so beautifully in one of the most luxurious gowns at the ball, designed with precious stones and befitting of a princess.


    They both said their greetings and I could feel my heart beating angrily with jealousy. The girl''s voice was so soft and soothing, and the attention I had gotten from the crowd had now been stolen by her. I didn''t enjoy being in the spotlight, but it shocked that she was now in my spot.


    "You... you seem oddly familiar," Alice noted. "Are you that Savannah girl ke used to run around the Pack with back then?" she asked.


    The girl took off her mask, revealing herself to be the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in the Silver Crest Pack, with the most delicate and most perfect features that were ever created.


    I wasn''t just jealous of her at this point. I disliked her. No, I hated her.


    "Yes, it is I. My name is Samantha by the way, not Savannah," she corrected.


    My mouth flew wide open. Samantha? As in ke''s first love? The girl that broke his heart? What were they doing together? Why was he looking at her so fondly? Why?


    "It''s time for the dance," the MC announced and almost everyone stretched out a hand to their partner or anyone they liked and began dancing to the melodious tune being yed by the musical band.


    The frown on my face deepened, watching ke and Samantha together in slow dancing, his arms wrapped around her waist and hers resting upon his shoulders.


    "Shall we?" Liam asked, and adamantly, I took his hand and let him lead me to the dance floor.


    The more he twirled me around, the more I stared longingly at ke, wondering how he could move on so fast and hating that he looked so happy with someone who wasn''t me.


    I couldn''t concentrate on my dance with Liam and kept on stepping on his toes and missing all the turns, despite having practiced with Alden who still wasn''t around. Liam was right. He had actually stood me up.


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    "Sorry," I apologized for the umpteenth time after stepping on Liam''s foot again.


    He red at me and I could see he was desperately trying to conceal his anger, but he kept on dancing regardless.


    The band began to y a different tune, something a little bit faster and I reasoned that Liam might probably not be able to walk again by the time we were done, so I politely stepped back.


    "Please, I need some fresh air, but I''ll be right back," I excused myself.


    "Be quick," he said, and I saw him half-limping to have a seat beside his father.


    I gave a small smile and walked out of the hall, where I used my eyes to search for Alden hoping to see if he was in the area and hoping he had a good reason for standing me up. I wanted to forgive him, but he needed to give me a reason to. Just then, someone grabbed my hand from behind and a smile appeared on my face.


    "Alden!" I eximed, beaming happily as I turned around, but the smile faded away as soon as the person took off his mask.


    "Lady Ciara," his thick voice resounded in my ears.


    My eyes widened in shock and I could hardly find the right words to say. How could I, when I was seeing someone I believed might have been dead?N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    It was Josiah the guard who had helped me escape from my former Pack and had risked his life to save mine.


    "What... what are you doing here?" I stuttered.


    "I am here to take you back to the Moonstone Pack," he replied.

 Chapter 31

    Alden.


    My eyes fluttered open slowly to the darkness which enveloped me. My entire body felt stiff and sore as I tried to sit up, but ended up hitting the bottom of something. It took me a minute to figure out where I was... under a bed, and by the time I eventually slid out, I discovered the bed was mine. I had been tossed under my bed.


    I sat on the bed, feeling weak with a throbbing headache, and soon, my memories came rushing back.


    "Oh no!" I eximed, standing up and rushing to the door only to discover that it was locked from outside.


    I struggled with the lock for a while, trying to force it open, and eventually, the handle came off which worsened the situation.


    "Open the door!" I yelled, banging my fist against the door as hard as I could.


    "Hello, is anyone there?" I screamed out loud, but there was total silence everywhere.


    Feeling frustrated, I sat back on the bed, running my fingers through my hair. Shit! Liam had done this. Liam had done something so despicable. How could he? I had stood Ciara up. What would she think of me? Will she ever be able to forgive me?


    I needed to leave this ce immediately, and I needed toe up with a n.


    I could already hear the sound of musicing from the hall where the Masquerade Ball was taking ce, and I suspected that they must already be having the partner dance.


    I had promised Ciara that I would be there. I had given her my word. What was she going to do if I didn''t show up? It was her first-ever masquerade ball at the Silver Crest Pack and I needed to make it a memorable one for her. Gearing myself up, I stood up and after positioning myself correctly, I rammed into the door. It shook and cracked a bit, but it still remained firmly shut. I did that a few more times, but all to no avail.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    What if Ciara got tired of waiting for me? What if she was dancing currently with ke, worst still; Liam?


    That thought gave me more strength and closing my eyes tightly, I groaned out loud, summoning my ws and fangs, and I was in the process ofpletely shifting into my wolf form when I rammed into the door one final time.


    At first, the door showed no signs of bending or breaking, but then, there was a loud rumble and the door came tumbling down, sending shards of wood flying all over the room. A piece grazed my arm, but I didn''t try to treat it and instead, just brushed off the pain, shifting back to my human form.


    On my way out of my bedroom, I bumped into my mother who appeared to be in a hurry. We both were very surprised upon seeing each other.


    "Oh, Alden. What in the Goddess'' name happened to you? Are you okay?" my mother asked, examining me all over.


    "I''m fine, mother. What about Ciara? Where is she?" I inquired.


    "She''s in the hall. What happened? Why did you stand her up?" she asked.


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    "Oh no. Does she actually think that I did that? Of course not. Listen, mother, it''s a long story but I''ll exin everything to youter," I said and tried to skip away, but she grabbed my hand and stopped me from going. "Exin it to me now. What happened, and why do you look like you just returned from the wilderness?"


    "Mother-"


    "Speak up. I mean, why are you even going to see her now when the dance is ongoing and the event is almost over? She went to the ball in thepany of Liam and ke is also there with a partner, so you''d look stupid amongst your brothers. It''s best if you don''t bother going. You can exin to Ciarater why you didn''t show up, but in the meantime, I would love to know your reason myself," she said, her eyes unwavering with determination to get to the root of the matter.


    "I couldn''te. Liam knocked me out and locked me up," I said, avoiding eye contact with her knowing she must be disappointed in me.


    She cursed angrily under her breath. "Oh, that sneaky piece of shit! I knew something was up when he said you stood her up with that evil smile on his face. Had I known, I would havee earlier to get you out," she said.


    "I am old enough, mother. You don''t have to keep trying to help me out with everything. When I woke up, I got myself out, so I wouldn''t have even needed your help in doing that," I said, motioning at the broken door.


    She cleared her throat, not even in the slightest bit impressed. "You were able to break down a door to escape, but for some reason, you couldn''t fight your brother when he was knocking you out? You two were born on the same day, which means you are practically the same age, so why? Why do you keep letting him treat you the way he does?" she inquired, visibly frustrated.


    "I''m sorry, mother. It happened too quickly. We''ll talkter. Let me go to Ciara now," I said.


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    "No, today is already over. Your aunt, Alice, is around and she''ll be ready to say a lot of mean things to you, plus Ciara won''t be willing to speak to you right now and you''ll end up making a fool of yourself. I already nned on getting you two closer during this ball and even went the extra mile of getting ke to be with his first love, but Liam just had to ruin everything. I will never forgive that brat. As for you, make sure you don''t tell Ciara how you were locked up by your own brother. No woman wants a weak man," my mother concluded.


    "And who says I''m weak? I''m not, mother. I just don''t believe that everything has to be aggressive, and also, why shouldn''t I tell Ciara the truth? Are you suggesting that I lie to her? I don''t think that will be necessary considering that we''ve chosen to remain friends and what you term as weakness doesn''t actually matter anymore," I exined.


    "Oh, spare me that gibberish. You two can''t be just friends, I''ll do everything in my power to ensure she chooses you, okay? Don''t think I''m doing too much. Every mother in my shoes would act the exact same way. You and I know that I won''t be alive to protect you forever. I am simply trying to secure your future here by making sure you are the next Alpha, so please, stop frustrating my efforts and make yourself a more worthy choice for her," my mother said, and in a way, it sounded more like amand.


    I was going to respond to her, but my heart began to beat differently, like its other half was missing and it was pulling me in a certain direction; one I wasn''t sure of yet, but I was curious to know where that road led. "Mother, I''ll be right back," I said, then ran as fast as I could in the direction my restless heart pointed at, and I only stopped to catch my breath when I was close to the fountain.


    I looked around and there was no one in sight. I was beginning to question if I had wasted my time and energy in going there, when all of a sudden, a familiar scent hit my nostrils and just then, I saw a muscr man dressed in warrior clothing drag Ciara by her hand and she was able to free herself from his grasp as soon as they got to the fountain.


    "Quit being stubborn. You muste with me to the Moonstone Pack now!" he yelled at her.


    I had never seen that man before, but Ciara seemed like she knew who he was. What was going on? Was he someone from Ciara''s past? I was about to turn around and leave in order to give them some privacy, when the man said something that shook me to my bone, and for a moment, I lost the ability to walk away.

 Chapter 32

    Ciara.


    Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the clouds which were heavy and grey with raindrops. The wind picked up, causing the trees to sway and scattering particles all around, some of which got into my eyes.


    Josiah grabbed me forcefully from outside the hall, determined to lead me out of the pce there and then. It was easy for him, considering the fact that no one was in sight as they were all busy with the Masquerade ball event. I was able to free myself from his grasp once we got to the fountain, and I tried to leave, but he pulled me back.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "Quit being stubborn! You muste with me to the Moonstone Pack now!" he thundered, coinciding with a loud crash of thunder echoing through the sky.


    "I don''t want to go anywhere near that wretched Pack. You already saved my life, so why are you trying to endanger it now?" I barked at him.


    "I''m not trying to put you in harm''s way. Like you said, I''ve saved your life once, so you have to trust that I''ll do so again," he said.


    I shook my head. "I''m sorry, but I can''t do that. No, I won''t do that, so leave this ce right this minute and tell whoever sent you that you didn''t see me," I instructed.


    The rain began to pour down harder, soaking uspletely and we had to start shouting so we could hear each other over the noisy downpour.


    "I also can''t do that. Do you know what it took for me to be able to find you here? I can''t leave empty-handed. Come with me. I''ll exin everything on the way," he said.


    "I do not need any exnation from you. Please, just let me go. Is your life on the line? Did they promise to free you if you brought me back? Is that it? Well, you have


    left and you now have the opportunity to never return to that evil Pack. You can stay here in the Silver Crest Pack and start all over again, not as a guard but as your own person, doing whatever you want to do at any time you want to. The members of the Pack here are kind, and I''m sure you''ll blend in in no time," I said, looking at him with pleading eyes.


    Josiah rubbed his wet face with both palms and turned around to pace for a bit. I wondered if he was considering what I had said, and I hoped he would just let me go.


    He turned back around to face me. "Listen to me carefully, you are needed at the Moonstone Pack. I get that you''re afraid, but I promise you this. As long as I''m alive, no one will hurt you."


    I sighed, defeated. "And how can I trust your words when you''re the one who is trying to hurt me?"


    "I have my reasons, Lady Ciara. I told you before that I knew your mother. There are things you need to know, but I can''t tell you all that now. We have to hurry or we won''t make it there in time," Josiah stated.


    I wanted to believe him, I really did, but I had just gotten the freedom I had dreamt about for so long and there was no way I was letting go of it without putting up a fight.


    "The answer is no, Josiah. Pretend I''m dead or like I never existed. Just let me go," I said, and turned around to leave, but the ground was so slippery from the rain and I lost my bnce. I was falling when he grabbed me tightly by my arm and helped me regain my bnce.


    "I''m sorry, but I''ll have to take you by force," he said, then raised his fist to the air in an attempt to knock me out.


    Just then, someone rushed out of nowhere and punched Josiah right in the face. He staggered backward and growled in annoyance.


    I looked up to see who my savior was, and a smile appeared on my face upon seeing it was Alden.


    "How dare you!" Josiah screamed, lunging forward at Alden, but Alden blocked the attack and kicked him in the stomach instead which sent Josiah flying a couple of feet back andnding on the ground with a thud.


    Josiah groaned in pain as he cracked his bones and managed to stand up, ring at Alden with clenched fists.


    Alden got me behind him and stood firmly trying to protect me.


    "Listen carefully, you scoundrel! I am Prince Alden, son of the great Alpha King Rond and Luna Queen Vienna. Any further aggression towards me would count as an attempt on my life and you will be executed. If you still value what''s left of your pathetic miserable life, you''ll leave this pce right this minute and the Silver Crest Pack entirely.


    "I already know how you look, so painting a portrait of you to hand over to the security team won''t be difficult. If you ever step foot in the Silver Crest Pack again, you''ll be beheaded on sight. Now, go!" Aldenmanded. "You don''t understand. I¡ª"


    "Don''t waste my time. Go!" Alden yelled again.


    Josiah heaved a defeated sigh, threw one final nce my way, then turned around and walked off into the darkness.


    "Are you okay?" Alden asked, pulling me close to him to ensure I wasn''t hurt in any way.


    "I am. How... how much of it did you hear?" I asked, searching his eyes.


    When he didn''t respond, I swallowed, knowing he had heard everything. "I can exin," I said, with tears welling up in my eyes. "You don''t need to."


    "I''m sorry that I lied about having amnesia and not knowing who I was, but if you hear my story-"


    "I don''t want to hear anything, Ciara. I know you had your reasons, and whatever happened, all that is in the past," he said.


    I was surprised by how kind he remained even in this moment. "But, it''s not just you I lied to. I understand if you have to tell your family about what you witnessed today. Just give me the time to leave first. Please, do that for me," I pleaded. "No, Ciara. I won''t tell anyone anything. Your secret''s safe with me, so don''t go," Alden assured me, holding my hands in hisrge ones.


    I felt a weight being lifted off my chest, a sense of relief taking over my whole body.


    No one had ever treated me the way he did. A drop of tear fell from my eyes and I squeezed his hands gently.


    "Thank you, Alden. You have no idea how much this means to me," I said.


    We stayed that way for a little while, just standing under the rain in silence until eventually, the thunder died down and the rain started to subside.


    "We should get going. I wouldn''t want you to catch a cold," he said, breaking the silence as he let go of my hand and started walking away.


    However, I wasn''t ready for this moment to be over yet. I knew I wasn''t the only one who was feeling the way I did while we stood, looking into each other''s eyes. I also knew Alden would never ever make the first move.


    Ignoring my sense of reasoning, I held his hand and stopped him from leaving. He opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him by standing on tiptoes and wrapping my arms around his neck.


    Closing my eyes, I leaned forward until my forehead rested against his and that was when I kissed him.


    Alden stood motionless for a moment and didn''t kiss me back, eventually pushing me away and looking shocked.


    "I''m... I''m sorry," I blurted out, feeling embarrassed.


    "No, I''m sorry that I didn''t do it first," he said, and then, he cupped my face and his lips came crashing down on mine.


    He kissed me desperately as if he was drowning and I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. I closed my eyes and let the passion wash over me. When we finally separated, he pulled me closer to him, burying my face in his chest. "What do you say we ditch this ball and go somewhere private... my room, maybe?" he asked in the deepest tone I had ever heard him use.


    "I''d love to."

 Chapter 33

    Alden.


    We were heading towards my bedroom when I remembered how I had broken down the door earlier, and so, I ended up leading Ciara to her own bedroom where I shut the door behind us.


    I pinned her to the wall, kissing her hard and fast, with an intensity that she seemed more than ready for me to have.


    She tasted sweet-like cookies and strawberries, and like everything else that tasted good in the world. And I loved it all.


    I wanted to eat up every inch of her softness so I could devour her in her entirety, but thinking of her entanglement with Liam and ke, I wasn''t so sure.


    Still, I ignored those thoughts and slid my tongue into her hot mouth, exploring her depths thoroughly, but I still couldn''t get enough of her.


    When I finally broke off the kiss, she stared at me curiously. "What''s wrong? Why did you stop?" she inquired.


    "You do know I''m not like my brothers, right? I''m not this strong Prince Charming you''ve probably read about in books. As a matter of fact, I didn''t show up today because Liam knocked me out and locked me away in my room. That''s how weak and useless I am. I''m saying this because I don''t want you to make a mistake. You can still back out now," I said.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    "You''re not weak, Alden. Don''t say that about yourself. Look at what you did to Josiah earlier. You also saved me the other day from the falling chandelier and healed almost immediately. That was very impressive. On top of that, you''re a good Cook, a great artist and a perfect friend. No, you''re more than a friend now, and I know if there''s one thing I''m never going to regret in my life, it''s being with you right here in this moment, so let''s make the most of it," Ciara said, then gave me a beautiful sincere smile.


    She was the first person to ever make me feel so good about myself and my wolf melted inwardly as my brain reyed her words over and over again.


    "Oh, Ciara," I said, taking her lips once again in mine, with a new kind of hunger and desire. I wanted her. No, I needed her.


    Ciara moaned into my mouth as I kissed her neck roughly, unzipping her dress so that when she stepped out of it, she was left in her bra and panties.


    "You''re perfect," I breathed, gently undoing her bra.


    "As are you," she whispered sexily, taking off my suit and unbuttoning my shirt while biting down on her lip in a manner that made my body yearn for her even more.


    She pushed me against the bed, her lips on mine again before I could respond, and I was soonpletely under her control and her touch.


    She ran her fingers over my chest before moving her head to my neck, which she nuzzled fondly and licked softly, making my heart race.


    Then, she moved lower, licking and sucking on my nipples, triggering all of my emotions.


    I undid my belt, unable to take it any longer and discarded her bra, then tossed her over so that I now had unlimited ess to her body... her perfect body.


    I kissed her again, even more roughly this time around, and my fingers twirled around her nipples, encouraging a pleasurable groan from her.


    My hand then slipped beneath her panties to rub her wetness and she moaned even louder in response. I thrust one finger deep inside her while rubbing my thumb over her clitoris.


    She gasped. "Fuck!" she eximed, through the kiss, and I kissed her harder, making it impossible for her to speak.


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    Her hands were tangled in my hair now, holding onto me firmly for support. Her body was pressed against mine and her eyes were filled with pure desire as she shook uncontrobly from delight.


    I kept rubbing her clit, thrusting my finger in again and again until she was able to break away from the kiss and scream, "Fuck me, please," she pleaded.


    I raised my head, meeting her eyes with a lustful gaze. "Are you sure?" I asked.


    "Yes, Alden. Do whatever you want to me," she said, looking at me with desperate, pleading eyes.


    With that, I lifted her slightly and took off her panties, then guided myself to the entrance of her vagina which was closed for the most part.


    I pressed inside slowly, watching with amazement and fascination as the muscles in her stomach clenched tightly.


    I didn''t want to hurt her. I was scared, but she wanted this. We both wanted it.


    I pressed inside further, feeling her cervix tighten around my cock.


    Ciara moaned impatiently and pushed herself closer to me, wrapping her legs around my waist and pulling me tighter to her body to urge me on.


    Damning it all, I thrust into her a little harder, causing her to cry out in pain and grab my shoulders.


    nning your weekend reading? Ensure you''re on 000005s.org for uninterrupted enjoyment. The next chapter is just a click away, exclusively avable on our site. Happy reading! "Don''t stop," she begged. "Fuck me, Alden. Please."


    And so, I continued pumping into her, thrusting and caressing her sweet, wet pussy as I mercilessly made love to her.


    She was still gripping my shoulders, sending shockwaves of pleasure throughout my body with her breasts bouncing and her hips bucking.


    Ciara''s nails dug into my skin as her grip became tighter, and then, she screamed out in ecstasy right before I pulled out of her and emptied my release on her freshly shaved pussy, then allowed myself to copse on her. I rolled over and we stared at each other for a while, panting heavily. I drew closer to her and pulled her into my arms, not wanting to ever let her go.


    "Thank you, Alden. I''m d you were my first," I heard her say in a low tone.


    I had so many things to say to her as well, but I wasn''t sure of what to start with, and eventually, when I opened my mouth to speak, she had drifted off to sleep and was now snoring softly.


    I let out a deep sigh, kissing her on her forehead.


    "You were also my first, Ciara," I mumbled, also drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter 34

    Alden.


    When I opened my eyes the next morning, she was still fast asleep, lying right next to me with her head on my chest; beautiful blonde hair all over her ce, with a satisfied smile ying at the corners of her mouth. I pressed my lips to her forehead, stroking her hair and soon after, her eyes fluttered open.


    "Hey princess," I murmured.


    She smiled sweetly, snuggling closer to me. "I''m no princess. I used to be a servant... a mere lowly Omega for that matter," she revealed in a low whisper.


    "You don''t look like you''ve ever done anybor in your life. To me, you are and always were a princess," I said.


    We heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room and a knock was soon heard on the door.


    I wanted to leave the sheets to open the door, but Ciara stopped me, pressing tighter against me. "Don''t go anywhere. I just want us to stay this way forever," she said.N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    "Greetings, Prince Alden. The Alpha King has requested your presence in his chamber immediately," a guard''s voice announced from outside after we failed to open the door.


    "I''m sorry, but I have to go. I can''t ignore my father," I exined.


    She whined a bit, but she eventually released her hold on me. "Fine then, but make sure you return as soon as you''re done," she said with pouty lips.


    "Of course, I would do just that. Just freshen up and wait here for me," I said, then ced a kiss on her lips which she returned eagerly. The kiss deepened as we closed our eyes and delved our tongues into each other''s mouths, exploring our own unique tastes.


    "Prince Alden, the Alpha King awaits your presence," the guard announced once again.


    It was then that I broke off the kiss and we stared at each other with great desire and longing. "I''ll be right back," I said, caressing her cheeks then stood up to leave at once, knowing that if I stayed with her any longer, it would be way harder for me to leave.


    I hurriedly slipped into my clothes and left her bedroom, closing the door gently behind her.


    The guard was outside waiting for me and after bowing politely to acknowledge me, he followed behind as I walked hastily to my father''s chamber.


    "How did you know I was in Lady Ciara''s room?" I inquired.


    "The Luna said you would be there. She seemed really sure, too," he exined.


    "My mother sure knows everything that goes on here," I muttered under my breath.


    A few minutester, I arrived at my father''s chamber where he was looking over some reports with my mother sipping wine beside him.


    "Oh, there you are. Tell me, how did it go? Were you able to mark her?" my mother asked excitedly, jumping up from her chair.


    "Greetings, father, mother," I said with a small bow, not answering her questions.


    Theypletely ignored my greetings like they hadn''t heard me. My father went on with reading the reports while my mother kept pressing me for details on what had happenedst night between Ciara and I. "I''m sure you already know what happened, since you already knew I was in Ciara''s room," I said.


    "I wasn''t spying on you, I promise. Rita was the one who reported that she had seen you two kiss and leave for Ciara''s room. So, tell me, did it go well? Were you able to mark her? You''ll be the next Alpha, won''t you?" she pressed. "Mother!" I eximed. "That''s my personal business, please," I said in a lower tone.


    "Whatever," she huffed with a sneer.


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    "Father, you sent for me," I said, approaching his desk.


    It took a little while, but he eventually closed the report book and looked up at me. "You failed to show up at the Masquerade ball yesterday," he said.


    "I know father, I''m sorry about that," I said.


    "Saying sorry isn''t going to change the fact that your presence was highly important yesterday at the ball, but you failed to show up," he reprimanded me.


    "I already told you it wasn''t his fault. Liam was the one who-"


    "Let the boy speak for himself, and if you insist on speaking on matters that are none of your business, you may as well leave my chamber," my father angrily thundered.


    I was shaken by his words. It was the first time I had ever heard him speak in that manner to my mother, and my mother''s cheerful glow disappeared.


    He continued, facing me directly. "Your actions yesterday showed the level of disregard you have for me. I looked stupid to my guests because I kept assuring them that you''d show up, but you failed to do so. How then can I trust you with my Pack?" he fired.


    I saw no corrtion between missing the ball and him entrusting the Pack to me, but I simply just bowed, showing remorse.


    "I''m sorry, father. Liam locked me up, but that isn''t a good enough excuse considering that I was able to free myself and still ended up not going to the Masquerade ball. I deeply apologize, father," I said.


    "About Ciara, did you mark her already?" he asked.


    I shook my head in the negative. "No, father. It was my first time and I just wanted to live in the moment, but I will do so the next time I¡ª"


    He cut in. "Don''t!"


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    My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets in utter confusion. "I don''t understand, father."


    "I forbid you from marking Ciara as your mate. You''ve been given an unfair advantage by your mother who has sabotaged the other princes," my father stated.


    I looked from him to her, and back from her to him. "Father, what are you talking about?"


    "Ask your mother. She knows exactly what I''m talking about," he said.


    My mother stared down at her toes, rubbing them against each other as she fiddled anxiously with her fingers.


    "Mother, what did you do?"


    When she didn''t respond minutester, my father broke the silence. "She invited ke''s first love over and she has been feeding Ciara with talks about not giving Liam a second chance. She hasn''t been letting Ciara think for herself so you would appear to be the best choice. I love you, Alden, but it wouldn''t be fair to your brothers if they lost in a game they had no chance at winning," he exined.


    My heart sank. "So, basically what you''re saying is that you don''t think Ciara would have chosen me had it not been that mother got involved?"


    "It''s not what I''m saying, Alden. All I''m saying is do not mark her yet. Wait for one more month and let your brothers also be given the chance to woo her. If she still chooses you at the end of it all, then she''s yours to mark and be with forever," he concluded.


    I clenched my fists tightly, but nodded my head. "I understand," I said, then turned away.


    "Alden," my mother called, but I didn''t stop to listen to what she had to say. Rather, I walked out of my father''s chamber and didn''t bother to look back.


    My heart was heavy because everything kept reying in my mind. One minute, Ciara had said she wanted to be friends and the next, we were making love. Was my father right? If given a fair chance, would Ciara still want me, or would she choose either of my brothers over me?


    I stood for a while and then punched a hole in the wall angrily because I knew... I knew the truth. She definitely wouldn''t choose to be with a loser like me.

 Chapter 35

    The Luna, afraid that she might lose the Alpha''s heart as well as everything she had worked hard for all these years, had no other choice but to stop the game she was ying.


    For the first time in over a decade, her husband, the Alpha, had yelled at her and ordered her out of his presence. She had ended up apologizing and offering to give him a body massage, but he had rejected it and had also refused to speak to her or eveny his eyes on her.


    To make matters worse, her son, Alden, had also shunned her and didn''t even care to hear her side of the story. She never cared about other people''s opinions, but she did care a lot about what Alden thought of her, and so, she was even more convinced to do what she believed to be the right thing.


    "Greetings, Luna. You sent for me," Samantha, ke''s first love whom she had invited over, stepped in looking even more radiant in a yellow floral summer dress and white sandals. Her dark hair was packed in a messy bun and her blissful smile revealed the gorgeous dimples the Moon Goddess herself had blessed her with.


    "Greetings, Samantha. I don''t have much to say. Pack up your things and leave the pce immediately," the Luna ordered.


    Samantha was taken aback and the smile dried off from her lips. "I don''t understand, did I do something wrong?" she asked innocently.


    "No, you didn''t. However, the Masquerade ball has been long over and you have overstayed your wee," the Luna retorted.


    "You said I was to stay for at least one month, long enough to win ke''s heart once again and make Ciara stop desiring him," Samantha protested.


    "Well, I''ve changed my mind. Your services are no longer needed," Luna Vienna stated.


    Samantha looked downcast and instead of turning around and leaving in tears like the Luna had expected, she instead began to pace slowly around the Luna''s bedroom, stopping in front of the window where she wiped a non-existent speck of dust.


    The Luna assumed that she was probably trying to process things first, when to her sudden surprise, Samantha began tough hysterically and even after several minutes had passed, she continuedughing so hard. "What''s wrong with you?" the Luna screamed.


    "What''s wrong with me? No, Luna. I should be asking you that question. Do you think that I''m prepared to leave the pce anytime soon? Huh? Do you really think that? Oh, please. You of all people can''t be that na?ve," she said, as theughter died down and she faced the Luna squarely.


    Shockingly, the Luna was quite terrified. It surprised her that someone so young, someone not close to her in any way, would make her feel so terrified.


    "What do you mean?" the Luna asked, trying to put on a brave face.


    "I was living miserably, filled with great regrets because I chose a lowlife over a prince. My life was hell and I spent years in torment and torture. However, I persevered, knowing fully well that one day, the Moon Goddess would smile on me, and guess what: You showed up at my door suddenly one day, giving me the opportunity of a lifetime," she said, then paused for a while to stare nkly at the door before directing all her attention to Luna Vienna once again. Samantha lowered her head and looked the Luna right in her eye; unflinching, confident. "Do you really think that I would miss out of the opportunity you yourself gave to me? Of course not! Now that I have been rescued and now have my whole life in front of me, I won''t make the same mistake again. I won''t leave ke alone and I would stay right by his side until he opens his heart up to me once again," she concluded, her voiceced with determination. She then turned around to walk out, when the Luna stood up and made her an incredible offer.


    "Twenty gold bars. Take that, leave the pce and never return," the Luna offered.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org.


    Samantha stopped right in her tracks and scoffed, then proceeded to keep walking away.


    "Fifty! Hundred gold bars! One hundred and fifty gold bars! Three hundred gold bars! Samantha, name your price!" the Luna pleaded, desperate.


    Samantha swiftly turned back around. "I don''t need your money," she retorted.


    "Fine then! I''ll help you get ke, but not within the pce. The Alpha found out about my ns and I need to show him I have changed my ways and I can only do that if you, whom I have nted to ruin things for ke and Ciara, are sent away!" Luna Vienna exined.


    "Sorry, but not sorry. Do you really think ke is my endgame in all of this? ke is just a means to an end. What I want is what you have," she said.


    "And what exactly might that be?" a confused Luna inquired.


    "The position of the Luna."


    "But that''s impossible. You already know Ciara is destined to be the future Luna. All she has to do is choose one of the brothers who would end up as the Alpha."


    "What if she chooses Alden and he forfeits the throne to ke?" Samantha asked; an evil grin stered on her face.


    "Are you trying to say "


    "Yes, I''m saying exactly what you think that I am saying. You wanted Ciara to choose to be with your son. I''ll make that possible, but make sure he gives up the throne to ke when that happens," Samantha said, but in a verymanding


    tone.


    The Luna couldn''t believe her ears. Perhaps, she had been too lenient with the girl and that was why she was speaking to her in that manner. It was time to remind her who the boss was and exert her authority.


    "I can''t do that! You can''t make me do that! I have heard enough of this bullshit! Take your things and leave this pce right this minute, or "


    "Or what?" Samantha asked, eyeing her from head to toe, distastefully.


    "Or I would have the guards evacuate you out of the pce forcefully," the Luna threatened.


    Samantha smirked. "Go ahead. Do that and see what bes of you after I''ve revealed your secret," she said, and with a scornful chuckle, she turned around and left the Luna''s bedroom.


    Luna Vienna clenched her fists in anger, feeling nothing but hatred for the girl she had thought was her ally. Screaming with extreme rage, she turned the whole room upside down; breaking flower vases, overturning the bed, emptying the contents of her drawers and so on, but that didn''t make her feel any better.


    She needed to get rid of Samantha as quickly as possible before she went around running her mouth to everyone who cared to listen. ke''s mother had tried to also keep her on her toes with this same secret, and look where she had ended up- exiled with no hope of returning back to the Silver Crest Pack.


    In the same way, she would ruin Samantha''s life, but for now, it was best to go with the flow and let her think she had won so that when she finally struck, it would be a nightmare Samantha would never ever wake up from.

 Chapter 36

    Ciara.


    I was bored out of my mind doing embroidery while my mind was busy roaming about and thinking about just one person- Alden.


    He had left this morning, promising toe right back as soon as he was done with meeting his father, but for some odd reason, it was getting closer to midnight and he had still not shown up.


    I had taken the pains of going around the pce in search of him, but everywhere I looked, I couldn''t find him. Not even the servants had an idea of where he could be. It was as though he had just vanished into thin air with no trace. "Shit!" I swore, after pricking myself with the needle. Of course, it was the darn needle''s fault and even though I had been absent-minded the whole time, I took no part in the me.


    "I never knew you could curse," I heard what was undeniably Alden''s voice ring in my head.


    "Alden?" I called, looking around, then tapping my head believing I had simply been imagining and hearing things that weren''t there.


    "Are you tapping your head right now? That''s insane," the voice came again, with a hint ofughter.


    "Alden, are you ying games with me right now?" I asked, opening the curtains and peering out the windows, but I saw no trace of him. I then ran to the door with high expectations, but he wasn''t outside either.


    "Hey, remember what happenedst night?" the voice came again.


    I blushed, fiercely, but on second thoughts, I quickly regained myposure. "What? Are you going to tell me now that I''m so bad at it and that''s why you haven''te to see me all day?" I asked, looking up at the ceiling unsure of where his voice wasing from.


    I could hear him stifle a chuckle, but somehow, I could feel the excitement coursing through his veins. I knew he wasughing but I couldn''t hear it. Still, I was sure that he was indeedughing. "Come outside," he said.


    "Okay..." my voice trailed as I quietly opened my door and made sure that no one was around, I began walking down the hallway and the voice was quiet until I tried making a turn to where Alden''s room was.


    "Don''t go to my room. Listen to my heartbeat ande to where I am," he stated.


    I chuckled. "What? Do you think I have some kind of superpowers? How exactly am I supposed to somehow just listen to your heartbeat and know where you are?"N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content.


    I asked, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration.


    The voice wentpletely silent, and this time around, nothing prompted it to speak further. I was getting convinced that the voice had all along just been in my head and that I had probably been missing Alden to the point where I had begun to hallucinate.


    I decided to turn around and go back to my room, when all of a sudden, I heard the sound of the rhythmical thudding of his heart. How I knew it was his heartbeat was a mystery, but I was certain and I followed the sound like he had earlier instructed.


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    With each step I took, my wolf got a little more excited and my heart longed for him even more; even though we were getting closer and closer to him.


    Outside, the sky was cloudy and the ground was wet and slippery from the rain that had fallen earlier in the afternoon. It was a cold dark night which soon lit up with scented candles which were surprisingly aligned vertically on the wet ground which lighted up the way.


    I smiled in appreciation for whoever had been so thoughtful in considering lighting up my path. I followed the candles and soon reached a beautiful garden, filled with luscious, beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers of different kinds and different colours.


    The atmosphere was great and airy, with fireflies and butterflies making the experience even more enjoyable and magical.


    "Ciara," I heard Alden''s angelic voice call over my shoulders.


    "Alden, it is you," I said, running to hug him tightly.


    We stood like that for a while before I finally released him from the hug and stared at him, smiling brightly to show him how truly thrilled I was to see him.


    "Yes, it is I. I guess you did listen to the sound of my heart beating again," he said.


    "But how is that possible? Technology or sorcery?" I was truly interested in knowing.


    "Don''t tell me you have never heard of a mate link before. Listen, we mated yesterday, so we''ve developed a strong bond; strong enough to feel each other''s emotions andmunicate with each other even if we are miles apart. Of course, you can build a wall around your mind so I can''t read you, but I just wanted you to know that it is very possible," he exined.


    "I''m indeed surprised. What a special bond we share, wow," I said, amazed.


    He smiled at me and going down on one knee, he brought out a jewellery box from his pocket. When he opened it, it revealed a beautiful silver ne,ced with authentic diamonds, with the highlight of the ne being its ruby pendant.


    "Wow!" I eximed, having never seen something so beautiful in all my eighteen years of being alive.


    "I know it''s beautiful," he said, shooting me a smile.


    "Did you just read my mind? Anyway, this is so beautiful. I love it so much," I said, giggling excitedly like a little child.


    "I was out all day trying to get the jeweller to make the perfect ne for the perfect girl. Ciara, will you be my girl?"


    The words hit me like a lightning bolt. I hadn''t been expecting such a proposal from him. As a matter of fact, I had thought he would definitely stop trying since we already mated, but no, he was still being the best guy I had evere across. At that moment, I knew. I knew exactly what I wanted from this... from him... from us.


    "No, Alden, I don''t want to just be your girl. I want to be more than that. I hereby ept you, Alden Adams, as my mate for all times," I dered.


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