Chapter 0001

SOPHIA

I threw my head back and laughed at all our good memories as I walked down the corridor that led to Asher's room.

Or rather, Alpha King Asher's room.

It was the eve of my boyfriend's coronation, and he had asked me to be his Luna last night. My joy knew no bounds! Finally, we were going to be together. I was hurt and heartbroken when I first found out we weren't mates, but when he told me he didn't care and only wanted to be with me, I knew that I was the luckiest girl in the entire Werewolf kingdom! And Asher? He was the sweetest man, and I loved him with everything I had.

As I approached the door of his room, I started to hear strange noises. The first sounded like a breathless moans from him. I narrowed my eyes on the door as I walked closer, my footsteps grew slower as I clutched the wrapped box I had carefully hidden his coronation gift in.

The closer I got, the louder the sounds became.

"Yes baby! Fucking yes!" I heard him scream.

I paused immediately. Blood drained from my face as I froze in front of his room door. Everything in me was telling me to turn around and run, run as fast as I could, but I couldn't. I wanted to see for myself, I wanted to see that my ears were deceiving me, and the sounds of flesh slapping against flesh was not what I thought it was.

So, I took the first step forward and there was no turning back. I was inside his room, watching him as he thrust himself into my foster sister's body. Her back was arched, and he spanked her ass repeatedly. Hearing her scream Asher's name the way I used to made me sick to my stomach.

"Who's daddy's precious mate?!" Asher growled, pulling her hair backwards, while the pace of his strokes hastened.

Adeline - my foster sister - was red with pleasure. She dug her fingers into the sheets and screamed.

"I'm daddy's precious mate!"

My trembling fingers could no longer hold the box. I watched it slip from my fingers and crash to the ground. The noise was the only thing loud enough to shock the both of them.

Asher pulled out of Adeline immediately, and fell into the bed. I watched as Adeline pulled the duvet up to her chest to cover her naked breasts, but Asher did nothing to cover up himself.

Wasn't he ashamed?

No. He wasn't. There was nothing in his eyes, not even the faintest glimpse of remorse.

It was then tears filled my eyes. Seeing the emptiness in his absolute crushed me.

"Oh no." I muttered, chuckling bitterly.

"Please don't let me stop you. Carry on. I just came to drop this." I pointed at the box on the floor, but his cold eyes didn't leave mine. I caught Adeline flash me a mocking smile, and my heart twisted in my chest.

She had never liked me, not from the second the beta, her father, adopted me. But did she have to go so far to spite me?

"You weren't supposed to find out like this. We weren't going to make an announcement until my coronation." Asher spoke, rising from the bed.

The casual tone of his voice confused me. He spoke as though I had not just caught him cheating on me! And "we"? What did he mean by "we"?

"Can you even listen to yourself? You're saying that you were planning to announce that you were cheating on me with my sister, in front of the entire pack on your coronation tomorrow?!" I screamed at him.

"What? No." He chuckled. He slowly put on his boxer briefs as he smiled at me.

"I was planning to announce my union with my mate, Adeline."

I saw red. The blood that had drained from my face quickly rushed to my eyes. I wanted to cry, wanted to tear my hair away and scream at the top of my lungs.

"Are you kidding me?! You said you loved me! You asked me to be your Luna just last night! And we made love after I said yes! You can't possibly be doing this to me, Asher."

I couldn't believe it. I was begging him, pleading with him to reconsider even after what he had done. Was this how much I loved him? He was the only one who I had ever loved in all my eighteen years.

He stood still, placing both hands on both sides of his hips before he turned to look at Adeline. The lust in his eyes sparkled so bright. He had never looked at me that way before.

"You said...you said you loved me." Was all I could cough out in tears.

"And I do, Sophia. I really do. But when I found Adeline in the garden and my wolf called out to her, I couldn't stop myself. I care about you, but Adeline is my mate. We are meant to be together."

They were meant to be together?

Funny how he had said the same thing to me last night.

"You said you didn't care about the mate bond. That it didn't matter, as long as we were together, we could face anything." I didn't know why I was still talking, but a part of me hoped that reminding him of his words would bring him back to his senses.

"And that was until I met my mate! Come on, Sophia. Don't you want me to be happy? We are not mates, yours is probably somewhere out there too. Find him and be happy. I found mine, and I know we would be happy. I would do anything for the one the goddess has blessed me with." As though I wasn't there, he turned to smile at her, and she smiled back.

I swallowed hard. The lump of tears stuck in my throat wouldn't find their way out, no matter how hard I tried.

"Anything baby?" Adeline asked. Her high pitched voice scraped my ears. I had almost forgotten she was there.

"Yes, my love. Anything."

"Very well then, I have a small request."

"Speak. This kingdom is yours as well as mine."

"Well," She folded her arms underneath her chest and turned to me.

"Now that I will be living in the palace with you, I will need someone who knows me well enough to attend to all my needs without me needing to stress about giving instructions and all that. That is where my dearest sister here, comes to play. I will really appreciate if she can be given a job here in the palace, as my personal slave...I mean, maid."

I felt dizzy. The walls around me were starting to spin, and I was too confused to move, but I sure as hell wasn't going to allow Adeline make mockery of me.

"You heard your queen, Sophia. You must come work for her in the pack house."

Asher's next words had me spinning my head towards him.

"You're joking! clearly you are joking!" Tears streamed down my eyes as I screamed.

"I will never do that! You can't make me do that! You can't choose her over me!"

"And why can't I?"

I gasped in shock. His eyes were no longer empty. This time, they held contempt.

"She is the beta's daughter, my mate, and a strong wolf. But you? You are nothing but an orphaned omega, even lucky to be brought into royalty..." He stopped speaking. I could see hurt flash in his eyes, almost as if it broke him to speak to me in that tone. In that split second, I saw him again - the Asher Morris I had fallen head over heels in love with - but he didn't give me a chance to speak before he dissolved into the monster standing in front of me again.

"Do not test me, Sophia. Or my first task as alpha king would be to banish you from this pack."

He meant it, every word of it.

I lowered my head to the ground as I sniffed in my tears.

"Yes, alpha." I muttered underneath my breath.

---

Chapter 0002

SOPHIA

Call me crazy for agreeing to his sick terms, but I did not have a choice. Dark Moon pack was the only home I had ever known. I lost my father at the age of eight, I had never known my mother's identity, I only knew that she abandoned me at the hospital with a letter addressed to my father, telling him she wasn't ready to be a mother or to be married. Whether she was alive or dead, I didn't have the faintest idea.

After my father died in an accident while running errands for the beta as his personal assistant, the beta and his wife, Beta Maximus and lady Miranda, thought it best to adopt me, and that was how I ended up growing up with Adeline, Hailey and Marilyn Blane - the beta's daughters - who stopped at nothing to make my life miserable.

I agreed to the job, knowing that I would be in the same environment with Asher. He would see me from time to time, and maybe - just maybe - it would change his mind. I hoped to remind him of all the love we had shared, all the dreams and plans we had together. But as the days turned to weeks, he grew colder and more distant, until he eventually started to look through me.

And Adeline? Oh! She saw me alright.

I was the only maid she saw in the entire pack house. She made me do her hair, dress her matrimonial bed, cook her meals, wash her clothes, take care of all her needs. As if that wasn't enough, she often made me do the dirtiest chores, like draining the gutters, clearing the compost pit alone, digging the garden for roots and herbs, all of this while taking care of her.

Her sisters, Hailey and Marilyn showed up very often after she was crowned Luna. They spared no attempt to mock me. At different intervals, they had poured food on my hair, all because it was either "too salty", "too sweet", or "too spicy".

I cried every night, asking the goddess what I had ever done to deserve such cruelty, but I never got answers.

Three weeks into the torture, I fell sick. I would often be fatigued after doing the slightest of chores. I became selective with my meals because a lot of things made me more nauseous. I started feeling bloated, slow, but I made sure to mask it most of the time because Adeline always took advantage of my weaknesses.

However, on this particular evening, it was hard to hide. While washing the dishes and still baking cranberry pies for Adeline and her sisters, the room started to spin around me.

I dropped the plate in the sink and rinsed my hands with the rushing water, and placed my right hand on my forehead, but it didn't seem to help. I closed my eyes to suck in deep breaths, but the longer I tried to stand, the worse I felt.

I opened my eyes and held onto the sink. I wanted to finish the dishes at least, Adeline would kill me if I wasn't done by the time she got back.

Immediately I picked up the plate, it slipped from my hands and shattered into pieces on the floor. I jumped backwards in shock, and the jump seemed to drain all my energy.

"Help!" I tried to scream, but I wasn't sure anyone had heard me. I couldn't hold myself up on my feet anymore, and soon, I felt myself fall to the ground beside the broken pieces of the ceramic plate.

By the time I opened my eyes, the smell of disinfectant kissed my nostrils, causing me to sneeze with pain. I opened my eyes to find Martha, a fellow maid and my friend, smiling down at me as she placed a hand on my forehead.

"It's alright, Sophia. Take it easy."

I struggled to sit up, and she assisted me, before I looked around.

"Where am I?"

The walls were polished with bright blue paint, and I was seated on a stretcher, clad in a white and blue printed hospital dress.

"You're in the pack house hospital. You collapsed in the kitchen, so I had to bring you here." She looked up at the clock on the wall and gasped in shock.

"I'm really sorry, Sophia. I have to leave now. Let me know when you're back, okay?" She let go of my hand as she rose from her stool. I flashed her a small smile and watched as she walked out of the room. Immediately she left, a female doctor walked in with an envelope in her hands.

"You're awake, miss Bailey. That's great." She said, smiling at me.

I narrowed my eyes on her. I could tell she was happy I had not passed on to the land of the dead, but was that enough reason for the grin spread across her cheeks.

"Yes, I'm sure it is." I replied, staring down at the envelope in her hands.

Was that for me?

"You gave your friend quite a scare. When she brought you to the hospital unconscious, I was very worried. But, I found out - as your test results would say - that it is what happens when a weaker wolf is carrying a strong foetus."

I corked my right brow at her, noticeably feeling better.

"And what does that have to do with me? This weaker wolf and foetus thing?"

She looked at me like I was crazy, before breaking out into another smile.

"You don't know?!"

"Know what?"

"hmm." She shook her hand and held out the envelope to me.

"I guess it's a good thing I printed this out after all, even though I thought you would already know because pups with alpha blood normally make themselves noticeable in the first thirteen days, and seeing as you are an omega, it should have been earlier, but..."

What was she saying? I snatched the envelope from her and tore it open.

What did I have to do with an alpha pup and...

My breath ceased and my heart stopped to beat immediately my eyes caught sight of the words written in bold fonts, all in capital letters; PREGNANT.

My eyes moved to the top of the paper to find the name on the result; SOPHIA BAILEY.

I couldn't breathe. I looked up at the doctor with tears in my eyes and saw that she was still speaking. I held the paper in my hands and rose from the stretcher, uninterested in any other word she had to say.

"Wait! Miss Bailey, it's dangerous to leave without the necessary medications!"

The doctor tried to call after me, but I didn't stop to hear anything she had to say. I couldn't.

It was raining when I stepped outside the hospital, but I didn't care. I ran into the rain and let it soak me from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet, allowing it wash my tears away.

What was I supposed to do?

'Why don't you tell him?' I heard my wolf, Dawn, whisper softly in my ears.

As I pushed open the door of the maid quarters, I scoffed.

Tell him? What good would that do? He already made his choice! He picked his mate over me.

'That was before he knew you are carrying his baby. Tell him, Sophia. He knows he is the only man you have ever been with. It might just be the miracle you are searching for. The one that would change his mind.' Dawn said.

I was a tad bit comforted by her words. People said she was weak because she was a small white omega, but she was filled with wisdom and love, and that was what got me through the nightmare of the night.

I decided to write a letter to Asher. I had lost my phone and contact with him after he was crowned alpha king. I slid the test result into the envelope and snuck into his study. He wasn't there, so I slid the envelope underneath his laptop, hoping he would catch a glimpse of it.

I returned to the servant's quarters and waited. If he got the letter, he would know at what time to send me a response.

About three hours later, there was a knock on my door. I jumped down from my bed even with little strength and rushed to the door. Just as I had expected, a guard from the palace stood in front of my door with a white envelope, bound by the royal seal.

My heart hammered against the walls of my chest.

It was a reply from him!

"A letter for miss Sophia Bailey from the house of King Asher Morris."

"That's me. I'm Sophia Bailey." I managed to speak. He handed me the letter and I snatched it from his hand before closing the door and pressing my back against it. I tore the letter open with shaky hands, and quickly skimmed through the content written in black ink.

My heart sunk and my shoulders fell with every paragraph I read.

"I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TRICKS YOU HAVE UP YOUR SLEEVE, SOPHIA. BUT I, ALPHA ASHER MORRIS, DENY YOUR CLAIMS. I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHATEVER IT IS YOU CLAIM YOU CARRY.

AND IF IT IS AT ALL TRUE, THEN IT IS A THREAT TO THE FAMILY I INTEND TO BUILD WITH ADELINE, A THREAT THAT CANNOT REAR ITS HEAD. THEREFORE, IF YOU WANT TO LIVE TO SEE YOUR BABY, YOU WOULD LEAVE DARK MOON TONIGHT.

DISAPPEAR, SOPHIA. MOVE ON. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, AND BELIEVE ME, YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE ME TOO, BECAUSE MINE WOULD BE THE LAST FACE YOU GET TO LOOK AT. THIS IS NOT A THREAT, IT IS A PROMISE."

My knees failed me and I crumbled to the ground with tears in my eyes.

Once again, Asher had succeeded in breaking my heart, but this was the last time it would ever happen.

I decided to run, pack my things and leave the pack house that night, use whatever money I have left on me to escape Dark Moon. Swearing with my life, that I would never return.

Never.

---

Chapter 0003

EIGHT YEARS LATER

SOPHIA

"It was safe to say a lot of things could change in eight years. I mean, when I took the bold step of running for my life - not that I had a choice - I did not think I would be standing here, today, in the midst of beautiful and strong minds, sharing my story." The crowd applauded and cheered. I could hear tiny bits of laughter erupting from different ends of the hall.

They must have thought I was making a joke by saying I had to run for my life. If only they truly knew.

"When I came into Crescent Heart, I came as an orphan, with nothing except from the triplets residing in the womb, and at that point, I had not even know they were three." The audience - mainly consisting of steadfast, young, intelligent and resilient young women like myself, bursted into laughter again.

I chuckled along with them, but the memories of all those dark days threatened to bring tears to me. I couldn't cry, not on this auspicious day.

"I had to get a job as a waitress in a coffee shop. Once more, I was bullied for my size. It seemed to be the worst punishment the moon goddess could have blessed me with. But, you want to know what I didn't do?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Let us know, please!"

I smiled, and stepped away from the pulpit. I stood still and smiled at the crowd. I could feel the anticipation in the room, hear the rapid sounds of their heartbeats as they waited.

"I didn't give up!" I said aloud, and the room erupted into cheers. They rose from their seats and clapped, screamed my name and other adorable words along with it.

"I fought! that's what I did! I fought against all odds. I didn't let my size stop me, no! I didn't let my loneliness stop me, no! I didn't let my financial impediment stop me, no! I didn't make my children an excuse. Having triplets as a young nineteen year old interested in getting into medical school was war. I thought about quitting every single day I got a side glare from the girls in my class, or harsh remarks from the boys about being a whore, but guess who that didn't stop?!"

At this point, I was sweating profusely, despite the air conditioning in the room. It was always so hard for me to share this part of myself. Anyone who knew the name "Phia Bailey" was quick to attribute it to "successful doctor and single mother of stunning triplet boys", but it wasn't always like that.

There was a time I was a rejected omega, abandoned by the only person I had truly loved. There was a time I had to sleep on the street, underneath the tables in the restaurant. There was a time I deprived myself of any kind of food for days, just to be able to take care of my children. But I fought. I studied, I persevered, and instead of using my children as an excuse, I made them my motivation.

It was the same thing I wanted for all the women present around me.

"And that is the reason why when life serves you bitter lemons..."

"Turn it into a fucking lemonade!" The entire audience of over five hundred women and men combined, screamed aloud.

At last, I was done with my session. I thanked my audience for listening, and made some necessary announcements, before exiting the stage and moving backstage.

I made my way to the women's restroom, pushed the door open and locked it behind me, pressing my back against the wall.

Even though I loved sharing my story with people to motivate them, and to give them hope, I had not yet gotten used to the pain in my chest that often came with it.

I could no longer hold back the tears in my eyes. No matter how far I tried to run, Asher thoughts and memories always found a way back into my mind.

It was worse on nights when David, the most inquisitive of all my sons, would ask numerous questions about his father. Then his brothers would want to know and I would be stuck having to lie to them, telling them how much I know their father cares about them, but he has had to be away for a while.

I had to look into their hope filled eyes while I fed them with all sorts of lies, while knowing fully well that their father only wanted them dead. He wanted nothing to do with them, and I was ready to give my life to protect them.

The knock on the door caused me to jerk up from my reverie.

"Someone's in!" I screamed aloud, turning on the faucet and placing my hands under. I looked up at the image in the mirror in front of me and forced a bright smile. My "Phia Bailey" signature smile.

I headed to the door and opened it, and found a pregnant woman smiling up at me.

"Thank you so much for your speech, doctor Phia. You have no idea how much you have empowered me."

I stared down at her belly bump and I could see myself eight years ago, in that same position.

"The father left me a few months ago, for a richer and older woman. He denied the baby and said he wants nothing to do with it. I have been very scared about the future for months, but after listening to you..." She rubbed her belly gently.

"I feel like I'm ready to take the world by storm."

"And I bet you are. It was very nice speaking to you, but I must run now." I flashed her my signature smile, placed two hands on her shoulders and gave her a courtesy kiss on both her cheeks.

As I walked down the corridor, I took a glance at my wristwatch and found that I was ten minutes late from picking up my kids.

I rushed to the parking lot and got into my car. It took me another thirty minutes to navigate through Crescent Heart's traffic, before I arrived at their elementary school.

My boys were already asleep by the time I got there, and a very nice teacher helped me carry Darwin in his arms, while I held David and my last boy.

They were awake before we got home, and very jovial as well. I had always found it strange how quickly they were able to snap out of their sleep state. But what else could I expect from my darling alpha boys?

Alpha boys...

The phrase was another harsh reminder of who their father was. I brushed the thought away and sang along with my kids until we got home, and I drove into the parking lot.

As usual, Darwin pushed the car door open and rushed out, while his brothers stayed back and helped me take my bag and briefcase to the front door. I was behind them, making sure the car was locked and the garage was secured. By the time I arrived at the front door, Daniel held out an envelope to me.

"Mummy, look what we found at the front door."

I narrowed my eyes on the white envelope as I took it from his hands. Once I flipped it and my eyes landed on a very familiar image, my heart skipped a million beats at once.

It was the royal seal of Dark Moon pack! How on Earth could this have gotten here?

With shaky hands, I reached for the key in my bag and opened the door.

"Go inside boys, I'll join you shortly." I said in a grave tone, trying very hard to mask the fear eating at me.

They opened the door and rushed in, but Darwin stayed back and turned to me.

"Is everything alright, mummy?"

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Of course baby, everything is fine."

Another lie.

He nodded and closed the door behind him after entering into the house.

I tore the envelope open immediately and unwrapped the note with the message. I clutched the paper firmly as my keen eyes skimmed through the words in print.

"Dear Doctor Phia Ross Bailey,"

Ross? That was a name I had added to mine to mask my true identity. It was also the reason I had shortened my name from Sophia to Phia. Did they truly not know who I really was?

"This message is from the royalty of Dark Moon pack, and we seek your assistance and medical expertise on a plague that has threatened to wipe our kind out of existence. We would need you to come to Dark Moon pack and offer whatever assistance you can. We have heard a lot about you, and we assure you that as long as you are with us, all your needs would be catered for, and you would be paid handsomely for your services during your time. We look forward to hearing from you soon, thank you."

I frowned and squeezed the letter into a ball before tossing it into the garden.

He needed my help now, didn't he?

Well, one thing was for sure, it wasn't going to come easy. That is - of course - if it was going to come at all.

"Mummy! we're hungry!" I heard my boys call out. My frown dissolved into a smile, and I pushed my door open and walked into the house.

No amount of money was worth the risk of losing my children, so if he was going to get my help, it would have to be on my terms.

---

Chapter 0004

ASHER

"Whatever shall we do, your highness?!"

"He is getting worse as the days go by!"

"We need help, serious help. Call whoever you need to, my king, my family and I would pay, but I cannot sit back and watch my son die in the hands of a thing we do not even know, and I..."

"Silence!" I growled, raising the index finger of my right hand to the crowd of ten men kneeling in front of me. One of them held onto the hem of my robe and I kicked his hand away.

I didn't need any of them touching me. Not after irritating me with their constant whining.

"Listen. I have said this before and I would say it again. The elders and I are working on a solution. We have contacted a famous doctor from Crescent Heart, whom we believe can help, and she would be here soon. There is no cause for alarm."

I did not know where my elders had seen her, or heard about her, but she has achieved great feats in Crescent Heart, and was known for her most famous research paper on small pox, which helped cure it in Crescent Pack. They believed she was the cure we needed here, in Dark Moon. I trusted them enough to believe them, but I was also eager to see this woman for myself.

"But you have been saying the same thing for over a week now, your highness! Crescent Heart is only a few hours from here, at most ten if you're taking a ferry. It shouldn't take her weeks to arrive if she would be coming!" Another man cried out.

Despite the fact that my anger boiled in the pit of my stomach at their inability to comprehend, I couldn't blame the man. He was right. It shouldn't be taking her so long to respond, especially as I had personally handwritten three other letters to her since we sent the first one.

"You seem to be forgetting that my father suffers from the same thing. I would want to help him, as much as I can, and that is what I'm doing."

"But, your highness..."

"Enough!" I clenched my fists and banged the both of them against the arm rest of my throne.

"I've heard enough. Leave my presence now. Once we receive the doctor, she would commence treatment on everyone else immediately. I have nothing else to say."

I watched as they all rose to their feet. They murmured, some even dared to curse underneath their breaths, but I let their insolence slide. We were all frustrated after all.

The plague had started a few months ago, and had already wiped out of forty five men and women in less than a week, before we resounded a dire alarm. Measure had been put in place to avoid the spread, but nothing seemed to be working. My pack, and even the werewolf kingdom in entirety was under attack.

It only added to the list of things that threatened to drive me mad. The pressure of finding a healer for the land, coupled with the one of getting an heir was enough to make any man crazy.

Ever since I caught my mate and Luna, Adeline, and my best friend, cousin and Beta, Reed, in bed, I had been a shadow of myself.

Nothing made sense to me anymore, and I was beyond hurt and betrayed. I had always thought that the one the goddess gave to you would love and adore you forever, but mine was not the case, and my pain grew worse everyday.

Six years had passed since that night, yet I had not been able to look at anyone the same. It became worse when they got married, and Adeline got pregnant a few months later. She had lost the baby, and the baby after that, even before they were born, but it left a question.

How was it possible that she could get pregnant so many times with Reed, but never once for me?

I heaved a sigh and sank deeper into my chair. Now that I was alone, it allowed me space to think.

Perhaps that was when the rumors of my impotence started. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to find the urge to want to prove them wrong, because what if they were right, and I couldn't have an heir of my own because I was sterile?

"Your highness!" A cry from the door of my throne room caused me to sit up. I sucked in a deep breath once my eyes caught the familiar gray ones of my royal advisor.

"What is the matter, Gaston?"

"The doctor has finally replied!" He said aloud, beaming with joy.

My eyes widened immediately. She was just an ordinary woman, but her name - the mention of her - promised salvation from the plague. It was more than enough reason for me to rise from my throne and walk to him.

I snatched the letter from his hands and read through it. However, when I was finally done, the only thing left on my face was a sturdy frown, while my irritation slowly gathered at the pit of my stomach.

"The nerve of this bitch." I hissed underneath my breath, pressing the paper on Gaston's chest. Shocked he held it, but kept his eyes on me. He could not go through it without my permission.

"She says she has had a change of mind. She had no intention of helping us before, but after seeing how bad it's gotten on the news, she wants to offer her help. She wants me to fucking sign a contract, saying I won't harm her or anyone who comes along with her." I turned my back to Gaston and walked back to my throne.

Once I settled into it, I scoffed and shook my head.

"Women. What do they even think they are? Show them a little bit of admiration and respect, and they feel they have the authority to demand the world."

"But, sire, I do not think that should be an issue. I mean, it is nothing compared to what she has to offer us. Perhaps we should just reconsider and..."

I sent him a stony glare, causing him to shut the fuck up and stagger backwards. Good for him. One more word and I would have made sure he lost every wobbling tooth in his mouth. He was too old to have them anyway.

"I would not be reconsidering a thing. She has insulted and defied my authority, and I intend to teach her the consequences of doing that."

When Gaston swallowed hard, a wide grin crept up to my cheeks.

"Find this doctor Ross, and bring her to me at all costs. I would make sure she regrets every word she uttered in that letter."

---

Chapter 0005

SOPHIA

The Saturday did start on a very good note. The boys woke up cheerful that morning, and were quick to the little chores I had assigned to all their little butts.

It wasn't until after breakfast that I understood why they had been so civil that morning. When David walked to me while I was studying, sat by my side and asked me; "Mummy, can we go to the park today?" I knew that there had been a meeting between my boys either late last night, or early tomorrow morning.

However, I couldn't say no to them, especially after they had been such good boys. So, we all got dressed, and I drove us to the park.

We played ball, admired the trees, had so much ice cream, I was starting to get worried about my boys having a brain freeze. Then, we settled on the grass and admired how beautiful the sunny sky looked.

"Mummy." I heard Daniel call out to me. I rolled over my back, and rested on my stomach so I could look into his eyes. David and Darwin were seated beside him, and neither of my boys looked like they were having a good time.

"Do you think daddy's ever gonna come back for us?" He asked, his eyes ladened with sadness as he looked at me. Shocked by his question, I parted my lips to speak, but Darwin was faster.

"You always say he went to work, mummy. But Owen's daddy goes to work everyday, and he comes back home everyday."

The only reply I could give them was a nervous chuckle as my eyes danced between the three of them.

"Who's Owen?"

"Our friend in school. His daddy comes to pick him up from school all the time. Why can't our daddy do the same?" David replied. He was the most quiet among my boys, and sometimes the most passionate about meeting his dad.

"Our daddy has been at work for six years. isn't he ever gonna come back?"

"Doesn't he love us?"

RUN. RUN AND NEVER RETURN, BECAUSE IF YOU ARE SEEN ANYWHERE IN THIS PACK, I WON'T HESITATE TO PUT AN END TO YOUR LIFE AND THAT OF YOUR PRECIOUS BABIES.

Well, maybe those weren't his exact words, but they carried the same message.

No, he didn't love them. In fact, he wanted them dead. But I couldn't tell them that, could I?

I placed my hands on David and Darwin's heads as I managed a smile.

"Come on, babies. Your daddy loves you so much, okay? But the truth is that, daddy is a soldier. He is a very mighty general, and he's been at war for a very long time. Sometimes, I sent letters to him and I get replies back..."

"Really?!" David jumped in excitement.

"Why don't you ever show us, mum?"

"Yeah, why don't you?"

It broke my heart to lie to them, but I didn't have a better option. This was better than the truth, and they would grow to thank me one day. All I had to do was come up with a sob story that their father died in war, and they would never have to bother about him again.

"Well," I forced a smile.

"I just didn't know it mattered so much to you guys. You don't have to worry. Once we return home, I'll bring out some of my favorite letters, and we can read it together, is that okay?"

"Yes mummy!" They chorused, and rose to their feet simultaneously.

I narrowed my eyes on them, before my cheeks spread into a broad smile.

"What are you boys doing?"

"Let's play ball mummy!" Darwin called out, cheerful.

"I'm on mummy's team!" David cried out.

"Daniel is on my team then!"

Together, we continued to toss and pass the ball between our three, until David kicked the ball too high, and it ended up landing quite far away.

"Go get the ball, David!" Daniel snapped, and when I frowned at him, he muttered an apology to David, who didn't seem to mind. He half ran and half jumped away from us, all in search of the ball.

"Let's sit for a while and wait for him, shall we?" I suggested, panting heavily as sweat rushed down my face. Daniel and Darwin both smiled at me.

"What?"

"You always get tired so fast, mummy." Daniel snickered.

I couldn't help but laugh. What did they expect? I was playing with three energetic seven-year-olds, of course I was bound to get tired!

"You can't hold that against me." I replied, and they laughed as they sat next to me.

We waited for David to return, but it was beginning to take far too long. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes built up to half an hour.

I was becoming restless. Even if he had gotten lost, the park wasn't so big that he wouldn't find us at one point, and in less than thirty minutes too! I quickly sprang up, and tapped Darwin and Daniel who had fallen asleep on my thighs.

"We have to go search for your brother. I'm sure he is lost in the park."

"What?!" they chorused, eyes wide opened. I didn't know what to say, I didn't have any other words to speak. All I wanted to do was find my David, I hoped he was okay.

We started our search from our spot, and combed the entire park together. I couldn't ask us to split and search because I couldn't let any of them get lost again.

After two hours of moving about, asking almost every soul in the park if they had seen David, we returned to the same spot we started.

MY SON WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!

Immediately, I carried Darwin and Daniel in my arms and rushed to the park's security house.

Two men were present there, clad in brown colored uniforms. Once they saw me approaching them with so much speed, they rose from their chairs and walked towards me.

Daniel and Darwin both held onto my neck, afraid that if they let me go, they might get lost too.

Tears were in all three of our eyes by the time we were standing in front of the security guards.

"Is everything okay, miss? How may we help you?"

"I...I...I am searching for my son, their brother." I started to speak, but the words seemed to heavy for my mouth to even carry.

"He is a triplet. This exact height tall, and looks just like the two of them. He was in a red baseball hat, matching red shirt and navy blue shorts. He went away about three hours ago to get a ball he kicked too far, but he hasn't returned since then, and I'm so scared. Please...I've searched everywhere..."

"Madam, we're going to need you to calm down."

Oh. I was calm alright.

"Please sir, you don't understand. He's been missing, and..."

"Your name, miss?" The second officer asked, and I turned to look at him.

"Phia Bailey." I replied.

He looked over me and penned something down in his tiny notebook.

"The name of your son?"

"David. David Bailey." Darwin was quick to reply.

I turned to look at him briefly, before returning my gaze to the security officer.

"We would make an announcement on the radio, so he can find you. If he doesn't, we will file a report to the police after twenty-four hours..."

My heart sank into my chest as my eyes widened.

"Twenty-four hours?! I am supposed to wait for twenty-four hours before a police search for my missing child starts?!" I cried out, hoping I would bring one of the men to their senses.

"There's nothing else we can do ma'am. We can't table it to the police until..."

"Attention, attention. David Bailey, your mum, Phia Bailey is here with your two brothers. If you can hear the sound of my voice, meet them at the security house. Attention, attention..." The second officer's call stole my attention for a brief moment.

We waited for an extra fifteen minutes, but David was still nowhere to be found. We were asked to go back home and return tomorrow. Even if I didn't want to leave without my son, the security officers told me there was no use waiting around! It was almost as if they didn't care!

On our way back to the car, Darwin spotted something quite unusual.

"Look, mummy! It's David's baseball cap!" He called out. I rushed to pick the cap from the ground, and I couldn't miss the white paper folded underneath.

My heart pounded against my chest as I picked it up and opened it to read.

"DO AS YOU'RE TOLD IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR SON...ALIVE."

Horror gripped my chest with firm claws. I swallowed hard and looked around me. There was no one who could have sent such a thing.

I contemplated taking the note to the security, but decided against it. They had been of "so much" help already.

No. This was my son, this was my fight, and whoever had dared to take him was going to have to face me.

I flipped the note and found directions to a warehouse outside of the park. I made sure to keep Darwin and Daniel in the car while I got down and started taking steps towards the warehouse, but before I could pull the door open, I heard a scream come from both my boys.

I turned around to find two hooded strangers breaking my car windows open, and taking my children out of it.

I screamed at the top of my lungs and tried to run to them.

"Mummy!"

"Dar...!" Before I could complete my statement, I felt a strong object hit the back of my head, causing me to fall to the ground. Footsteps, quick ones, approached me as I felt myself slip out of consciousness.

The last thing I saw were black leather boots in front of my nose, and when I lifted my eyes, my children were thrown into the trunk of a car.

But I was powerless, too weak to even scream.

---

Chapter 0006

ASHER

The sounds of flesh slapping against each other filled my room and I moaned out in pleasure, willing myself into the intoxicating feeling of the good sex I was enjoying.

I moaned again, this time, in almost the same rhythm as that of the lady under me who was on the mission of burying her claws inside my back, and I increased the pace with which I thrust into her to match her energy.

This was what I had turned to since Adeline toyed with my feelings -a king who pays hookers to see himself as a man.

"Argh!" She screamed with a pleasure filled voice and a smug of satisfaction appeared on my face.

A knock came and the door to the room, almost immediately the door pushed open.

I flashed a quick glance at the door to see Gaston stepping inside, and I chewed my teeth in anger, "whatever do you need now, Gaston?"

"Sorry to disturb you, Alpha Asher but, this is a very crucial matter, you must know now that the doctor has arrived."

I collapsed on top of the girl on hearing Gaston's voice before slowly rolling off her to fall on the bed with my heart threatening to fall out of my chest while glaring at Gaston, who lowered his eyes to avoid my gaze.

Someone disturbing me while I was having my fun was one of the things I hated, and Gaston of all people knew that.

The lady, slipped out of the bed and walked into the bathroom without caring to cover up, and I put on a robe before climbing down the bed.

"But, you must also know Alpha that there is a little bit of a problem."

I paused, waiting to hear more but, Gaston was not giving it.

"In the name of the moon goddess, Gaston, can you just say what the problem is." I snapped and led the way out of the room, leaving Gaston to follow behind.

"The doctor is a mother and her kids were kidnapped alongside her."

I paused in my tracks and turned sharply to Gaston," what do you mean by you brought her kids? What am I supposed to do with them?"

"We had no choice but to take them too and besides, the children were of much help, we used one of them to lure here to us."

"How many kids are we talking about here?"

Gaston gulped, "three," he muttered, and I sighed and headed for the dungeon -where I had informed them to keep her- to meet the lady who had dared to go against me, swearing under my breath to make her regret wasting my time waiting for her.

As we walked towards the dungeon, I felt beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead with some rolling down the sides of my face as Storm, turned and howled restlessly within me.

My breath turned fast and heavy as though I had run throughout the whole pack a thousand times, and I paused in my track to catch my breath.

"Are you okay, Alpha?" Gaston asked, and I nodded as I continued on my path, but, Storm's restless jumping inside of me told me that I was not in any way okay.

I wiped the beads of sweat off my face with the back of my palm before stepping into the dungeons and a strong scent of lavender filled my nose, welcoming me in.

"Did you prepare this place for her?" I asked Gaston with furrowed brows, and he shook his head with even more furrowed brows.

"We didn't prepare a room for her, either."

"Then what's this scent I perceive?" I asked, ignoring his statement. I didn't care about her comfort, I did, though, I cared about her comfort before she decided to toy with my authority.

"A scent?" He asked and sniffled around us, sending down much air into his lungs, "the scent of blood?"

That was what I was supposed to perceive as the dungeon was not a friendly place, but, my nose gave me an even friendlier scent.

"Lavender." I muttered, but, Gaston's ears didn't miss the word.

Storm howled at the mention of 'lavender' and, as if being drawn by a propelling force, I quickened down the dungeon and stopped when I heard tiny fear-filled voices.

'Mate,' Storm, howled as soon as stopped in front of the doctor who was kneeling with her hands bound behind her and a bag over her head but, her bondage didn't stop her as she tried to fight off the two men that were holding her down.

Her three boys were clutching unto her like their lives depending on it, streams of tears rolling down their cheeks.

Mate? I asked rhetorically. What did storm mean by that? And was she the reason he was being so jumpy?

'Mate.' Strom, howled louder. A wave of thick cold air passed through me and I shivered as beads of sweat began to appear on my face and arms.

Such irony, I know, and I was more than surprised by that.

"Take off the cloth, now," I said to one of the warriors with a snap of my finger, and they both let go of her and began untying her.

I wanted to see the woman who had this much effect on me, this much effect on Storm. I slapped away the hand losing the bag over her head and began untying it myself.

This was a matter of life and death, and any little delay could lead to my death.

Literally, I could die from my curiosity and the effect of the storm's over excitement.

I pulled off the bag and dragged the other man with the touch closer, and my jaw dropped to the ground out of shock as the light fell on her face.

She was the doctor? How was she the doctor? Heck! How was she my mate? And those were her children? So many questions ran through my mind and I needed answers to all of them immediately, especially the one that would answer how she was my mate.

"Sophia?" I muttered. I had wanted to ask her all the questions going through my head, but, her name was the only thing I could say. The shock and surprise obviously had me overwhelmed.

"Kidnapping me, huh? Could you go any more lower, dear Alpha?"

She despises me, I know. The hate was very obvious in her voice.

I shifted my gaze to the three boys by her side. Her children? She was married now, and with kids?

My Sophia...

Sophia, my childhood sweetheart whom I had abandoned for the sake of a bloody woman who fucking betrayed me at the end was back. Not just as anybody, but the doctor I needed to save my kingdom, and as my...my mate?

---

Chapter 0173

Hi guys, good morning from my side of the world! It's your favorite author again (permit me to be this bold, lol.)

I was going to just post the next chapter and move on, but I knew it wouldn't be fair to you guys who have waited so long (5 days) for me.

I had such huge plans for this month, and was ready and pumped to update 3 chapters daily, I kid you not. Only to be hit with an illness that cost me 2 impromptu tests and 5 update days.

Also, I walked out of a one year relationship I thought was going to last forever, because apparently, love doesn't fix everything.

Nevertheless, I am slowly getting back on my feet now, and I wanted to thank you guys for your support and the kind comments so far.

Please, this author would really appreciate if you sneak my book into the next discussion you're having with your friends and family, or the next post you want to make. It'll mean a lot to me.

Also, what do we think of the book so far? Honest thoughts please? Remember to be kind too.

XoXo.

---

Chapter 0231

Happy New Year, everyone!

I can't explain how delighted I am to be making this announcement right now!

Sophia and Asher's story ended in November, and you all were more than supportive, and I would forever adore you all for all the support I got on my first ever project as an author.

For that, I have decided that there would be a book 2, a spin off of this story featuring your favorite triplet (David) and his love interest whom I shall reveal in the first chapter once it's released.

I would be continuing it as a part of this book, while also writing it as a stand alone (I would make sure to explain this in the blurb of the new book) so if you're reading it here, there would be no need to read it as a stand alone again, unless you can't get enough of it (which I am promising that you won't) lol.

I really hope you guys are as excited as I am for David's story! You saw him as a daring son, and now he's going to be a strong alpha with an equally juicy love story.

Please leave a comment to let me know how excited you are to see David, his brothers, and his two sisters again!

I'll be reading. ❤️

---

Chapter 0232

Blurb:

Lillie Rome, a banished werewolf, finds herself in the middle of the famous surrogate choosing game for the alpha of Darkmoon pack. She never thought she would compete for the affection of a man whose father banished her family and reduced them to "paid slaves", a man who believed he was too good to tie himself down to any woman, but she does it to save her brother's life.

She steps into the palace with the mark of the banished on her neck and is hated instantly for it, but on the night of the presentation, something odd happens.

"Mate." Her wolf cries out for the first time in 22 years. And when Lillie lifts up her head to see the man her wolf has called out to, she stares into the cold blue eyes of Alpha David Morris.

"You." He calls her.

"Step forward."

CHAPTER ONE:

Lillie

"No! Let go of me!" I screamed as loud as my lungs would allow me. Rough hands grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me away from the door.

"What are you doing?! I said let go of me! I'm a Darkmoon citizen! I know my rights, you bloody…"

"Miss Lillie Rome, we have been ordered by the royal family to escort you to the palace."

Of course, I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me they were from the royal family. The four huge men that stood at my door all wore black uniforms with the wolf emblem of the royal family pinned to their shirts and black berets.

"This has to be a mistake." I spat out, while trying to wriggle free of his hold.

"I haven't done anything. I'm not the one you're looking for!" I cried out once more.

Why would the royal family want to see me? It was more than clear that people in Darkmoon hated us. "The banished", they called us. Did the new alpha king finally decide to exterminate us all?

"Mother! Mother!" I forced myself to turn towards the door while I shouted with tears in my eyes. Neighbors peeped from their doors and windows. I could feel their stares, butno one cared enough to ask what was going on.

No one ever cared for a werewolf with the mark of the banished on their neck, the royal family made sure of that.

"Lillie?" My mother's soft voice came from inside the house. The guard who was holding me finally let go of me, and I ran as fast as I could and threw my arms around her frail body.

My mother and my sick brother in the hospital were the only family I had. I was the only person strong enough to work and sustain our family. I could never allow them to take me away from them.

"Oh, Lillie dear." She spoke again. Her thin arms wrapped around me and I buried my head into her neck, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I don't know what's wrong, mummy. They're taking me away, and…"

"Now, now, dear." She pulled away from me and flashed me a sad smile.

"Everything would be alright."

I saw her look away from me and nod at the men at the door.

My eyes narrowed on her in confusion.

What the hell was happening?

"Hilda Rome," One of the guards said as he walked into our house. My mother nodded and stood still, unwavering, as though she had been expecting his coming.

He took out an envelope from his breast pocket and held it out to her.

"From the royal family, as promised."

Shock shot through my bones the moment I felt my shoulders being seized again.

She received the envelope, tore it open, and took out a piece of paper I couldn't mistake!

A cheque?!

No. No. It couldn't be.

She heaved a sigh and looked up at me. There was sadness in her eyes, but nothing like remorse, nothing like regret.

"You…you did this?"

I whimpered.

For most of my twenty-two years on earth, I had been mistreated, insulted, bullied and hated, and it never really mattered to me because at the end of the day, I had a mother and brother who loved me unconditionally.

Or so I had thought.

"We need the money, Lillie. Your brother needs the money. He's dying, Lillie. Please understand."

I couldn't even bring myself to be mad at her. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest while I was being dragged out of the house. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her, I couldn't stop looking at her despite the fact that she had sold me to the royal family. The people who hated us the most. The people we were supposed to hate the most. The ones who had taken everything away from us. The ones who executed my father and banished us to the outlands. The ones who changed their minds and asked us to return years later, only to treat us worse than shit.

I was their property now, all because of money.

Face to face with a black van, a sack bag was thrown over my head before I was forcefully pushed into the back seat of the van. I heard the door bang shut beside me.

Helpless, hopeless, and now sold.

How much did my mother think I was worth?

"We have to make it to the palace before the gates are closed, so drive as fast as you can." I heard one of the guards say.

---

Chapter 0233

I was now a property of the royal family. What on earth would they use me for?

That was the last question I asked myself before surrendering to the weakness in my bones.

The next time I opened my eyes, the sack bag had been removed from my head and I was staring at a tall figure I recognized from my front door.

He frowned at me and stretched a hand to help me out.

That was more respect than he had shown me at my front door. I ignored his hand and forced myself out of the van. It didn't matter that my knees buckled underneath my weight from the hunger that currently ate at my intestines. I swallowed my spit and leered at him.

"Follow me." Was all he said, before turning away from me.

It would have been foolish of me to do anything else, so I obeyed.

I wasn't nearly aware of the time, but I knew it was almost midnight when I had been forcefully dragged out of my house. The cold breeze caused me to wrap my arms around myself. They should have at least let me put in proper clothing before taking me away.

The palace of Darkmoon was everything my mother had told me it was. Tall, beautiful, glamorous. Rich flowers in the garden, and the fresh scent that filled the air. I looked towards my right and saw the fountain she had always spoken off.

Mother liked to speak of the meetings she used to attend with my father in the alpha's court. She used to enjoy sitting in the garden and speaking with the queen, who had also been sentenced to death at the same time my father had been executed by alpha Asher, the former alpha.

"Here we are." The guard's voice caused me to snap out of my thoughts. I looked ahead and found a small building. He pointed at the door with a straight face.

"You would go in there. Further instructions would be communicated to you later, as well as the rest of the girls."

My left brow flew up on its own accord.

The rest of the girls?! There were more girls sold by their families and forcefully brought to the palace?! Were they all from banished families like me? Was the new alpha planning to take revenge on our parents by selling us off too?

Fear caused me to shiver. I nodded feebly and began to take slow strides towards the door. I turned the door knob slowly and pushed the door open.

Silence fell on the room.

More than ten pairs of eyes turned to look at me, all at the same time.

I hitched a breath as my hand fell to my side.

I was definitely in the wrong place. I had to be! These weren't banished girls. I knew because I took a quick look at all ten of them and saw that none had the mark of a red wolf on their necks.

Unfortunately, they all did the same thing to me. I could see all their eyes narrow at the tattoo of the red wolf on my neck, right underneath my jaw.

Horror filled their beautiful pair of eyes before they quickly turned away from me and resumed their activities as though I was never there.

It hurt, even though I should have gotten used to the feeling.

I had barely taken a step into the room when a female voice growled behind me.

"Would you move away from the door?"

Stunned, I shifted in a hurry, almost tripping on my own feet, which caused the girls to giggle.

I turned in the direction of the door after rescuing myself with the wall to see a tall woman dressed in a simple green dress. She held her head as high as her turtleneck, and allowed her gaze sweep around the room.

Disgust settled in her eyes once she locked gazes with me. I looked away. Ten years of being looked at like that had not made it any easier to bear the pain.

"Good evening ladies." She spoke after clearing her throat.

"My name is Lady Mark, the queen's hand, and on behalf of the royal family, I welcome you to the surrogate contest."

The surrogate what?!

My pain turned to confusion, and confusion became anxiety. It took a strong hold on me, and I fell to the ground. Some girls turned to look at me, but a majority ignored my existence and continued to focus on the tall woman.

"Every one of you…" she stopped and glared at me. "…or most of you are here because you have been carefully selected by the queen herself, after your high born parents submitted your names to the royal family, to compete for the alpha king's heart, a place in the alpha king's bed, and a chance to be the mother of the next heir of Darkmoon."

My stomach revolted against me. Disgust clouded every one of my features as I watched the girls squeal with excitement.

Still, in all of this, one emotion I couldn't fight back was my anger.

It didn't matter what name they called it, my mother had sold me to compete to be the alpha king's whore.

---

Chapter 0234

Lillie

My anger didn't go away. No matter how many times I tried to tell myself that there were reasons my mother did what she did, I couldn't shake the feeling of betrayal.

She knew how much I hated the royal family. She knew what they had done to our family, and how we only came back so my brother, Logan, can get better healthcare. Crescent Heart pack where we had stayed after being banished had hospitals that were far too expensive for us, and the mark on our necks only made it worse. Coming back to Darkmoon was only to make things easier. Even though we were treated like filth, at least we were home.

I had promised to do everything within my power to make sure Logan was taken care off. From working three jobs, and throwing all I made into his healthcare and running the house, I was doing my best. Waitress in the day, bartender at night, and cleaner on weekends. There was nothing I wouldn't have done for my mother and brother.

Why didn't she have faith in me? Why didn't she wait? I hadn't been paid in five months because all my employers were total jackasses, but I had promised I would find the money to take care of him somehow. Why didn't she believe me?

The royal family wanted nothing to do with the likes of us. Twenty years ago, my father was exposed as part of a large scale trafficking ring that had sold and killed hundreds of women and children. He, like many others, was executed, and our family was banished.

Until we were called back and the opportunity of a second chance was…was given to us.

What second chance this was.

My thoughts kept me up till 5am the next morning. The luxurious room I had been kept in only suffocated me the more. I felt like a sheep being fed fat while awaiting slaughter.

Once the sun rays began to slip through the curtains, I rose from the bed. The stinging headache I got as a result from crying and thinking all night made it difficult to stand, but I was determined to get out of the palace that instant, and not a second longer.

My mother would have a lot of explaining to do once I got out, that was something I was very sure about.

Still in my nightwear from the night before, I pushed the door of the room open and stormed into the corridor. The palace halls were already busy.

Maids came in and out of rooms with cleaning tools, food trays, and trash cans. I avoided the gaze of everyone I walked past, but the tattoo on my neck continuously drew attention. I ignored their shocked and hateful stares and made my way towards the staircase, ran down the hundreds of steps, and made my way out of the exit door.

No one cared to know why the crazy banished girl was running down the steps, which was to my own advantage.

This building seemed to have been made for guests, because the exit door led to one of the most beautiful parts of the palace; the garden.

Dandelions, daffodils, lavender, primroses. Each beautiful flower bloomed in its segment, the wild colors complementing each other. The mix of the fruity scents kissed my nostrils, and I closed my eyes to savor the scent for just a few seconds, and to catch my breath as well.

The second mission came to a halt once I felt a tall brooding male figure stand behind me. For some reason, cold rushed down my spine. The air suddenly changed, became tense, and the fruity smell I had once enjoyed began to choke me.

He cleared his throat, causing me to do a quick 180 degrees spin in his direction.

Tall. That was the first quality of his I noticed.

He stood at least one foot and a lot of inches above me. My eyes met his white shirt first, and I immediately knew he wasn't a guard.

I risked looking up at him.

My breath hitched in my throat, almost choking me. The cold that had settled in my spine caused goosebumps to appear all over my skin. It took everything in me not to wrap my arms around myself.

Cold blue eyes stared down at me, holding me in some sort of trance. I couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

Beneath those daring eyes were hard lines, which led to a pointed nose, tanned like the rest of his face. The nose was accompanied by a set of dark red lips that held my gaze longer than they should have.

I could swear I heard him say something before my gaze rose to meet him again.

Sea blue eyes darkened on my neck, I snapped out of the trance immediately. The look in his eyes brought me back to reality; the reality of who I was, and what the tattoo on my neck signified.

It was only then I noticed the sapphire ring around his left pinky finger, and every bit of admiration I had felt earlier turned into disgust.

---

Chapter 0235

He wasn't a guard alright. He was a fucking prince.

"Fuck this." I muttered to myself.

"You're definitely not a maid, then." His deep baritone resonated in my ears, and I took a step back.

"No. I'm not."

"Of course. Not with that mark on your neck."

Molten rage coursed through my veins. He spoke as though his family was not the reason it was there in the first place.

"Many people I know with that mark would never show their faces in public. Yet, here you are. I take it you're here to participate in the games."

Hell! His voice and accent mixed together to create a dangerous yet sexy delicacy of sin. One I couldn't ignore no matter how much I wanted to drive his handsome face into a wall and scream out my frustration.

I shook my head, as though it would take the numerous thoughts I wasn't supposed to have out of my mind, and glared at him.

"Listen, I don't know whatever twisted games you guys have going on here, but I do not want to be here. As a matter of fact, this is the last place I intend to be. So, if you would just get out of my way, so I can…" I tried to walk past him, but all he took was one step to block me.

He clearly wasn't going to let me leave without a fight.

"I don't think that is true. Every family received an incentive for their daughter's participation. So you're definitely here with your family's permission. Unless…"

I knew what he was going to say, but it didn't do anything to prepare me for the sting of his words.

My watery eyes stared into his, eagerly waiting.

He chuckled dryly.

"Now you know what it feels like to be bought and sold like a…"

He was forced to swallow his words when my right palm crashed on his cheek in a resounding slap.

I pulled my hand back to myself immediately, breathing heavily. My heart pounded against my chest, and that was the only sound I could hear at that moment.

His face had shifted to the right, and he placed his hands on the soft flesh of his face my palm had hit. The next thing I knew, I was being dragged from behind, both my hands were cuffed behind me, and a rough palm pressed against the skin of my neck.

It had all happened so fast, I could barely keep track.

He raised his head and looked down at me. I swallowed hard when I caught the wry smile that formed on his cheek.

He wasn't fazed by my anger. As a matter of fact, it excited him.

He loved to see me infuriated. He loved that his words had gotten to me. I didn't know which of the triplets was the alpha king, but if he was anything like this man standing in front of me, it was no wonder they had to organize a contest for him to find a woman. Who would want to be with a man as overbearing as him?!

"By your orders, your majesty, we would throw her out of the palace this instant and disqualify her from the contest."

I closed my eyes.

Goddess, thank you! My wishes were finally going to happen! A ticket out of the palace and out of the stupid game had finally come!

"Not at all."

My heart dropped to my stomach, and my eyes flew open.

"That is exactly what she wants. She would stay here, and she would participate in the contest." His gaze dropped to me again.

"Or she can opt out by paying three times the incentive given to her family. How much was that again?"

He never took his eyes off me. Not even when the question was directed at the guard that held me captive.

"Thirty thousand, sir."

That would be ninety thousand. With my current salary, I wouldn't be able to pay that back in three years, and he knew it.

He was fucking toying with me!

"Take her back to the guest building and make sure she doesn't wander around again."

He took one step closer to me, covering whatever bit of distance had existed between us. He lowered himself, so that our faces were on the same level, and stared straight into my eyes.

I froze. Something about the clear blue of his eyes made me feel like he was searching the depths of my soul, and seeing how much dislike resided in it for his family, for him.

"Pull a stunt like this again, and it'll be the last time you have hands."

The words rolled out of his tongue with so much ease. I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me he had caused men to lose hands before.

---

Chapter 0236

Lillie

I was pushed back into the guest quarters like an animal that morning, and severely warned against any form of violence in the palace by the guard who had my hands cuffed behind my back.

"You're lucky. He seemed to be in a good mood this morning. He would have had your head hanging on a stick. He hates your kind for what they did to his mother." The last sentence escaped his tongue, and the disgust in his heart escaped along with it.

It seemed to be in my destiny to suffer for a decision my father made. It was his greed that led him to connive to sell women and children for money. I was ready to bear my cross, but it hurt me everytime.

I was determined to continue to test different escape plans. After all, he would never notice my absence. The queen's hand would be pleased if I didn't show up at the first class, I could tell by the way she looked at me last night. He would just assume I didn't make it to the final presentation.

However, plans changed on the first day of the test. We were to have a class on dining etiquettes when I heard one of the contestants, a blonde girl, saying the last five contestants who made it to the final presentation would each be awarded ten million.

My eyes widened that morning. That was more money than I had ever had in my entire life! It would go a long way to take care of Logan's bills, and we would leave Darkmoon and never return. We could start life in another pack, where I would make sure to wear turtlenecks for the rest of my life, because I was tired of being stared at like I was the most disgusting thing that existed.

The ten million I stood to win was more than enough motivation for me to want to make it to the top five. For that reason, I put my all into all tests that occurred over the next five days.

We had etiquette classes, literature classes - we were told the alpha king enjoyed reading classic literature whenever he had free time - dance classes, and even classes on how to play the harp.

None of the girls could help the shock on their faces whenever I successfully passed a test, and moved on to the next class. At the end of every test, one contestant was always eliminated, but I always passed successfully. What they didn't know was that despite being a "banished one", my mother was still high born and enjoyed teaching Logan and I etiquettes, dance, and instruments in her free time. She was the one who had thought me to play the harp perfectly. We would always sing and dance together in whatever fancy clothes she still owned around our very small living room.

It was a wonder to everyone how I made it to the final five contestants, but the queen was more than fair in her judgement after every class and test. For the first time in my life, I wasn't treated based on the tattoo on my neck. It was almost like Queen Sophia was blind to the screaming wolf on my neck.

We had been told no one was allowed any form of meeting or engagement with any of the princes, so I made sure to keep my encounter with the prince at the garden to myself, and I had a feeling he had done the same too.

Alas, the night of the presentation arrived! The night we were to be presented to the alpha king so he could make his choice.

I was led into a large room along with my other four finalists. The dressing room held hundreds of dresses, shoes, and five vanity mirrors with stylists and makeup artists stationed at each of the tables.

Lady Mary was present to welcome us into the dressing room and give us the much needed instructions. All the while, I couldn't wait to receive my check of ten million, so I could leave this place and NEVER return!

"The queen has been generous enough to produce you girls with a variety of clothes, shoes, and jewelry. You are free to make your pick and head over to any of the chairs were the five best makeup artists and hair stylists in the pack are waiting to make princesses out of you." Her eyes landed on me again and she scoffed.

"Or as many of you as can be made. Some people are just not destined to have greatness in them, wouldn't you agree?" She was staring at me.

I nodded, silent.

I wasn't going to make any trouble. This was my last night here, and ten million was on the line.

"What is your name again?" She asked.

I cleared my throat, fighting hard to keep the scowl that tried to form on my face away.

"My name is Lillie Rome, ma'am."

She looked sternly at me, from my head to my toe.

"If I were you, I would wear something suitable. You know, to cover up…" she didn't say it, but I could see her eyes drop on my neck.

On instinct, my right hand rubbed my tattoo, and I heard the girls beside me chuckle.

"You would need to cover THAT up if you even want to stand a chance. It's just a friendly advice. You're free to take it or leave it."

---

Chapter 0237

She looked away from me and continued to speak to other girls. For the rest of her stay in the room, lady Mary pretended as though I wasn't part of the contestants. Which gave me ample time to do exactly what I needed to do.

I searched the room for over twenty minutes, patiently looking for a dress that screamed "fuck you."

My eyes finally caught a black dress laying at the top of pile of dresses. It wasn't displayed on rails like the rest of the dresses, and that intrigued me. I walked towards it and picked it up, then held it up for my eyes to see.

The corset stole my heart first, before the rest of the dress. I looked around and watched as the girls busied themselves with selecting fancy red, green, purple, and even pink dresses, but I knew there and then what I wanted to wear.

With the black dress in my hand, I made my way to the shoe section and picked out a black boot with high heels. In the jewelry section, I found a pair of onyx stone earrings, and made sure to pair them with my dress.

The look of confusion on the face of my makeup artists and hair stylists, and the gasp of horror that came from the girls caused a small smile to form on my face.

All it took was an hour for me to look like the statement I intended to pass across. "Fuck your contest. All I need is my money."

Like I expected, lady Mary was absolutely horrified when she saw me. Her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes widened. She looked at me as though I had gone mad, and I relished in her disapproval.

The amount of cars parked in the palace told me we were going to have a full house tonight. We were led through a corridor in the palace to the door of the throne room.

I was asked to stand behind as the fifth contestant to step into the room. It was finally time.

I didn't know why, but I was nervous. I had thought it would be an easy journey in and out of the throne room, but I was visibly shaking. Every time the door opened to reveal a new contestant, cheers and applauds could be heard. It caused my heart to twist in my chest, knowing they would never applaud me in that way, knowing that once I stepped into the room, I would glared at, hated.

"And the fifth contestant, daughter of Cain Rome, and Hilda Rome, Lillie Rome!" There were no applauds.

How could there be? When the mere name of my father caused a frown to form on everyone's faces.

As I walked into the throne room, I tried my best to keep myself calm. I was already in the finals, and I was going to walk out of the contest with ten million. I just had to see it through, I just had to keep walking. To catwalk as elegantly as I could, and give them my best smile. It didn't matter that I was stared at like an alien. I was going home with ten million, and once I got my money, all of it would be worth it.

The murmurs, the hisses, the hateful eyes. Everything would be worth it.

"Now that the contestants are all here, we shall now bow for the arrival of the alpha king, Alpha David Morris!"

At the mention of his name, all heads bowed, as well as mine. All I could think about was the money I was about to walk out with.

The side doors of the throne room opened to welcome the royal family. I kept my gaze glued to the ground as they walked in.

I couldn't tell if it was the breeze from the door, or the presence of the royal family, but a strange cold feeling swept over me. My hate for the royal family wasn't enough to cause me to shiver at the sight of them, or was it?

The side of my neck began to tingle in the most ticklish, yet uncomfortable way. The corset I had on didn't help matters at all. I clutched the hem of my dress and dug my teeth into my lower lip to stop my teeth from rattling.

"Mate."

What?

The low whisper in my ear caused my ears to stand erect.

My grip on my dress got firmer. What the hell was happening?! My wolf had not spoken to me since I first shifted when I turned eighteen. Four years later and she whispered "mate"?! Recognized and claimed her mate?!

Who could be my mate in a room filled with dignitaries of Darkmoon?!

"Look up. He's staring at us." Enid, my wolf, whispered to me again.

I could barely breathe, not with the anxiety that tugged at my chest. Yet, I listened. I looked up, eager to find the man my wolf had found, the man that caused her to speak for the first time in four years.

I looked in the direction of the tingling sensation, and that was when the world around me crumbled. Right that very instant.

A very familiar set of blue eyes caught mine and didn't look away.

"He is our mate." Enid repeated, and I swear I died.

---

Chapter 0238

LILLIE

I died. Not once, not twice. Over and over again. Whenever I blinked and found myself still looking into those soulless eyes, my spirit fled my body only to return with a force that had me visibly shaken.

Did he know? If he knew, was he going to reject me there and then? If he didn't know, would it be wise of me to bring it to his notice and reject him there and then? Would he punish me for it?

"Stop overthinking. There are eyes on you." I heard Enid's soft whisper. I swallowed hard, allowing my dread settle in the pit of my stomach. Who cared it there were eyes on me?

"You do, Lillie. You know you do, especially the blue ones you can't seem to look away from."

No! What was happening to me? I had already settled with the fact that I wasn't ever going to have a mate. I was content with taking care of my mother and brother till my last day on earth.

I had accepted my lack of a mate as a punishment for being the offspring of my father. Having the alpha king as a mate was a worse punishment than having none at all.

The man hated me for being born. He hated the man who gave birth to me!

"You." He called out, his right index finger pointing at me. My knees buckled just a little bit, unable to hold the weight of his gaze on me.

"Step forward."

I didn't think it would be possible to do so, but my legs moved. Slowly, but steadily, until I was at a reasonable distance from his throne.

"What is your name?" He asked. Just like his eyes, his voice was devoid of emotion. No interest, no curiosity, no irritation, no hate. He wasn't giving me anything to work with.

"Lillie Rome, your majesty." I replied with a bow. I had intended to answer that question as dryly and nonchalant as possible, but he made it impossible to do.

Nothing about the excruciatingly handsome features of his face could he ignored.

"She is the daughter of Hilda Rome. One of the few banished that returned to Darkmoon." One of the elders spoke from his stand.

"She has also worked tirelessly as a waitress, bartender, and cleaner in three local bars in town. She works hard to take care of her aging mother and her sick brother, Logan Rome, her twin who is bedridden in the hospital as we speak." It was the announcer who chipped my biography in.

The middle aged man looked straight at me as he spoke. Why was I surprised? They were definitely going to do a background check before letting anyone into their palace.

Alpha David's eyes narrowed on me. At that very moment, my heart pounded voraciously against the muscular walls of my chest.

What did he think of me? Did the compere's introduction make me any more likeable? And why the hell did I care?! This was supposed to be about the money! He had probably only called me forward to dismiss me first.

Yes. That was definitely what this was.

"Mother, my brothers, my sisters, elders of the royal court, and distinguished ladies and gentlemen seated her today…"

Dismiss me. Dismiss me.

My heart beat grew faster and the sound became more deafening as I squeezed the sides of my dress. I had never been more anxious in my entire life.

I wasn't supposed to care this much. I wasn't supposed to give a fuck.

"Lillie Rome. You have found favour in my sight, and in my heart."

My jaw dropped. My heart jumped out of my chest through my mouth, while my eyes widened as though I intended to see the entire room at once.

What the fuck did he just say?!

I could have heard wrong. I had definitely heard wrong!

However, the murmurs in the room, and the two maids walking towards me with broad smiles on their faces told me I was right.

I turned to look at the girls beside me. The disappointment and envy on their faces would have amused me if this wasn't a nightmare to me.

"Congratulations, Lillie Rome. Welcome to the royal family." Queen Sophia announced as she rose up from her throne which sat beside her son's. Everyone in the room rose to their feet as well, including the other three princes, and the two princesses.

I couldn't breathe.

"Smile, dear." One of the maids whispered into my right ear. I forced one out almost immediately, a really broad one that caused the sides of my head to ache.

I watched as words were spoken, even though I couldn't hear a word of what was being said while I fought with the voices in my head. The crowd dispersed slowly, and I was led out of the throne room by six maids. Three walked ahead of me, and the other three walked behind me.

---

Chapter 0239

A cow being led to slaughter.

I was ushered into a beautiful room, more luxurious than anything I had ever had the opportunity to see. Purple colored circular walls, and furniture to match. The double king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, right on top of a white fur rug I imagined would be incredibly soft.

A magnificent vanity mirror rested at the distal end of the room, at another further end was a door I assumed led to the bathroom, but discovered it led to walk in closet almost the size of the room.

Everything about that moment felt like a dream, one I had been trapped it with no means of escape.

Beautiful, dreamy, and definitely too good to be true. The world was dancing around me, like I was a character in a video game, and a force I couldn't see was pressing all the wrong buttons just to mess with me.

"No." I finally blurted out for the first time in what felt like hours.

The uniformed maid in front of me arched her right brow in confusion.

"Madam?"

"Don't call me that." I snapped, clearly out of breathe. I was overwhelmed by everything around me. It felt like I was being sucked in, and I realized I had made no attempt to escape the sickening hole.

"I need to see the king." I breathed out, looking around for the door.

"I need to see him immediately!"

"I'm afraid you can't do that, lady Lillie…"

I glared at the maid once again.

"I told you… I told you not to call me that! No madam, no lady, no titles! Just Lillie. My name is Lillie."

Brown eyes narrowed on me. She stared at me like I was crazy, and she wasn't wrong for that. I was losing my mind!

"I must apologize, but I cannot do that. You are now the alpha king's mistress, and it is a must that…"

Mistress. The word caused my stomach to recoil.

I was nobody's mistress. I could never be anybody's mistress, and if was to ever stoop that low in my life, it won't be because of a man I simply couldn't stand!

Mate bond or not, I was going to find him, reject our bond, and reject the title he had forcefully given me!

"I can't… I can't do this." I said, before turning away from her, and towards the door.

"Lady Lillie!" She screamed, calling after me. I could hear the panic in her voice, but I ignored it and dashed out of the room as quickly as I could.

I banged the door behind me once I was out, and looked ahead. There were only a few doors in the corridor, and a group of people stood in front of the one closest to the wall.

I stood there, curious about the small crowd, until I heard someone speak.

"I do not know what your plan is, your majesty, but…"

"Are you questioning my choices, lord Hale?"

The second voice, even though I couldn't see the speaker, caused every bit of hair on my skin to stand at attention.

There was only one man who had the influence on me.

"Alpha David!" I yelled, matching in the direction of the room.

All heads turned to look at me. Some eyes stared in astonishment, some in disgust, but they were the least of my worries.

"I need to see the alpha, and I need to see him now!"

"You would be more polite when speaking of…"

"Let her be, lord Hale."

The voice came again, causing me to come to an abrupt halt.

He stepped out of the room, no longer in his royal regalia. The only piece of clothing on him that remained from the presentation was the white inner shirt. Now with the first three buttons undone, and his hair rough, he was… breathtaking.

"Leave us." He spoke in his ever daunting voice, and I watched as the men, all five of them, most of which were over twice his age, hurried away.

What sort of a man was he?

"Dearest," he called out to me, and my intestines twisted in my stomach.

Was I lucid dreaming?

"What is the matter?"

Tongue tied, I continued to gawk at him.

Once the elders disappeared from the corridor, and their footsteps couldn't be heard from a distance, those bright blue eyes of his turned dark.

"Are you suddenly deaf? Or has something caught that sharp tongue of yours?"

There he was again.

My shock gave way for my temper to rise to its boiling point, which seemed to happen every time I set eyes on him.

---

Chapter 0240

Lillie

There was no winning with this man. I knew it from the second his sea blue eyes settled on mine. The second his eyes roamed over the tattoo on my neck again, and his brows furrowed in the most disdainful frown I had ever seen in my life, I knew what he was going to do. I also knew that no matter how much I had tried to convince myself in the past years that I hated him and his entire family, his actions in the next couple of minutes would tear my heart into pieces- thousands of shreds I would never be able to put back together again.

My wolf kicked inside of me again and I warned her sternly to behave herself. This was a life and death situation.

"You are the daughter of a banished one," he said again, circling around me. My skin crawled as he walked around me in circles.

I swallowed a lump of saliva down my throat as I stood still.

"Yes, my lord," I answered again.

The tension in the air was rising that I could feel it get to my throat. It may strangle me to death if I was not careful. Scratch that, I was already losing my mind.

"When did you return? I would love to know," he asked.

His voice. I could not really decipher the tone. He didn't sound stern nor calm. It was just different. I had no idea what awaited me.

"A few years ago."

"Why? Why did you return?" he asked me and I just looked on.

I had no idea on how to answer the question and I just blurted out anything that came out of my mouth.

"I have no idea. Maybe, because there is no place like home," I answered in a sarcastic tone and everyone laughed out loud.

The King came to a halt in front of me. Took some steps back and ran his eyes through me.

Hatred. I had seen it that morning ag the garden, and I was seeing it again.

I could not help but wonder what I did to deserve this. I was just two years old when my father did what he did.

Was I meant to suffer for his crime? My brother and I had lived in hell. Suffered and tortured because of my father's crime.

Up till now, he still suffers from everything. His heart disease still persisted.

And, the royal family still had the guts to hate us. They still had the guts to look at us as though our lives didn't matter.

The royal family was to be blamed for everything that has happened.

"I'm quite surprised that you had the guts to stand in front of me, knowing fully well that the blood of innocent ones are on you," he finally spoke to me.

This time, I could feel the anger and hatred in his voice.

"My father made a mistake…"

He scoffed at the mention of the word "'mistake", but I ignored him.

"I do not know why I need to be punished for that twenty years later."

He just stood and stared at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You do not see why? You are his seed, his blood runs through your veins."

I almost hissed at him.

"So does your grandmother's, but I do not see a tattoo on your neck for that."

The hall fell into murmurs, and his eyes darkened. I saw him clench his fists into balls, forcing me to swallow hard.

"Most of us were not aware of what our fathers were doing. How would I? I was only two years old." I tried to reason with him, for myself and for hundreds of banished ones on the street of DarkMoon.

"You liar!" he yelled in a thunderous tone and fear gripped everyone in there.

"Your father," he started with his finger pointed at me. "Your father is responsible for the death, abuse and rape of thousands of women across the kingdom and you open your mouth to say this nonsense," he raged.

"I-," I tried to defend myself but I was cut off sharply by his swift words.

"What even amazes me is how you gathered the guts to stand in front of me to fight for my affection."

His affection? His affection?! Oh no. He was definitely not given my CV! I didn't need his affection! I was here to help Logan, I was here to get money for my brother's treatment. Nothing he did or didn't do mattered to me!

My eyes were fixed on me as he poured out the anger inside of him.

My blood was boiling inside of me as I stood in front of him. This man knew nothing about me or my family but, yet he still judges me.

---

Chapter 0241

He knew nothing about my pain or struggles, yet he could call me names.

The silence in the hall was heart wrenching. What even scared me the most was the cold stare he gave to me. Was he going to kill me? Was he going to send his guards to throw me out or lock me up?

Before I could get the answers to my questions, what I heard next threw me off balance.

"I can't accept someone who is not better than a Rogue," he said, breaking the silence and my breath became irregular.

"I, David Morris, the Alpha King of the Dark Moon pack, reject you as my mate!" he declared and everyone in the hall gasped in surprise.

There it was. The damn bombshell.

"What!"

"Mate?!"

"Really?"

Murmurs filled the air and the entire room became so noisy.

"Your family are murderers! Your life line doesn't deserve to exist. You'll return to the streets and suffer as you should." Alpha David asked, calling my family names.

"David!" Queen Sophia cried from where she stood. From cloudy eyes, I saw her walk briskly towards him.

"Now, now. Think properly about this. If you reject her and she walks away, you might never be able to…"

He shrugged his shoulders, easing himself off her hold.

"I'm willing to pay whatever price mother. But I would not have the daughter of a man that put you through so much pain underneath the same roof as me as anything besides a servant."

A servant?

I was filled with so much shock and embarrassment. I could not help but break down into tears.

I tried to hold the hot tears back but to no avail. I was angry at him, angry at myself. Angry at the world. I wouldn't have been here if it didn't have anything to do with my brother.

I lost my stance and began to shake vehemently.

"Why are you standing there looking like that? I command you to accept my rejection now!" he fiercely orders.

"I, Lillie Rome, accept the rejection of Alpha David, the Alpha King of darkmoon pack."

Immediately the last word fell off my lips. I pushed him and ran out of the palace with all my might.

I ran so hard into the dark woods. I prayed silently that the ground should open and swallow me.

I didn't stop running, no matter how my feet hurt. I tossed my shoes into the dust and continued on my bare feet. The bruises were nothing compared to the burning in my heart.

Until I heard it.

I paused, panting heavily, as I turned around. The sounds became louder, more violent. Enid sniffed the air before her senses heightened.

"Danger." She growled. "We're in danger."

I kicked my right foot against a tree bark. Just great!

"Be on alert." I instructed her, and wiped my tears from my eyes. It was time to fight for my fucking life.

I heard growling from the dark ends of the woods. Before I knew it, six hefty black wolves appeared in front of me, rolling their tongues as they saw me.

In a flash, I shifted into my wolf and faced them. I growled loudly although my wolf was small compared to them.

They moved closer to me, pouncing me from different angles and I fought them off.

Five minutes into the fight, my body was filled with so many injuries.

I became tired and weak to fight back. I slumped straight to the floor with my eyes half closed.

I couldn't move. I guess they may just devour me and kill me since they can.

Watching dimly, I saw the six wolves moving towards where I was. They flashed their teeth as they came closer wanting to tear me apart.

They looked hungry and I was going to be their meal for the day.

I saw one of the wolves jump towards me but suddenly, four different wolves appeared from nowhere and dug their teeth into the skin of the six wolves, wanting to tear them apart.

I was losing it already. My head was banging seriously and the pain was becoming worse.

The fight became tough and I could hear the sounds of them fighting.

Suddenly, the six wolves jumped into the woods and disappeared after being overpowered.

"I, I…. Hel-," I tried to speak as I shook on the floor where I was.

My eyes which were half closed suddenly went shut as I saw the four wolves approaching me.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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Rain slashes across my face as I sprint through the alley behind the hospital, the stolen test results clutched in my trembling hand. My breath comes in ragged gasps, every step threatening to collapse my weakened legs. Behind me, shadows move—guards sent by him. I don’t dare look back. I know what awaits if they catch me: exile… or worse.

I burst into the servant’s quarters, slam the door shut, and slide the envelope under my mattress. Inside is proof. Proof that I’m carrying Asher’s child. That his blood runs in this unborn pup. Maybe… maybe this will make him see me again. Maybe this will remind him of the nights we whispered dreams beneath the moon.

Three hours later, a knock echoes. A guard delivers a letter sealed with the royal crest. My heart hammers as I tear it open.

"I DENY YOUR CLAIMS. LEAVE DARK MOON TONIGHT. IF YOU WANT TO LIVE TO SEE YOUR BABY, DISAPPEAR. THIS IS NOT A THREAT. IT IS A PROMISE."

The paper slips from my fingers. Tears blur the ink. Once again, he’s chosen her over me. But this time… this time I carry more than my heartbreak.

This time, I carry his legacy.

And I won’t let him destroy it.