LOGINI walked in and the whole room fell silent. I could feel various eyes on me, I had the urge to run back to my room but I was not a coward, not after everything I've been through.
I held my head up high, making sure to not meet anybody's gaze. I didn't want to see the looks of disgust and disdain soon. Whispers and mocking laughters reached my ears but I was determined not to let them get to me. “What is such filth doing here? Surely,the rumors of her being alpha’s mate aren't true?” a girl said. I made the mistake of looking at her, her eyes held so much venom, I faltered in my steps. Let me out, let me make an example of her Astrid growled. They aren't saying anything that isn't true I whispered to her. We are worthy of Caelum, Wren she said, her voice firm. He isn't worthy of us, I replied. She fell silent. I saw an empty seat and I walked hurriedly towards it, eager to get out of the spotlight. I placed my hands on the chair, about to draw it out. “This seat is taken." A smug high-pitched voice said. The owner of the voice was a 16 years old with dark hair. I could see the intent to humiliate me in her eyes. “Everyone is seated." I gritted my teeth, annoyance coursing through me. “In case it wasn't clear, I don't want you here. I don't even want you breathing the same air with me.” Her voice was dripped with contempt. I’m going to bitch slap this chick I thought, my palms itching in anticipation. A hand on my arm shook me out of the angry haze that was beginning to cloud my brain. “I leave you for how many minutes and you’re about to cause a scene.” Robin came to my rescue. We had split earlier when a friend of hers caught her attention. She forcefully dragged me away from the girl who smiled at me smugly, I growled softly. “You have to understand, Wren, these people are waiting for you to cause a scene, to prove them right that you don't belong here. You can't give them that satisfaction.” Robin warned once we had found seats. " She started it.” I knew I sounded petulant but I couldn't help it, I knew she was right though. Robin gave me a dry look, her lips curved in amusement. The door opened once more and my mate walked in majestically. His white hair tied up in a small bun that only enhanced his high cheekbones and his angular jaw. His smooth skin was sweaty and he had a towel around his neck. From the looks of it, he just came back from a run. I could feel Astrid drooling and I wasn't far behind. This isn't fair, how am I supposed to resist him when he looks like this? I whined to Astrid. His eyes scanned the hall till they fell on me, and from where I was, I could see the hint of a smile playing on his lips. There was something that bothered me, the last time I saw Caelum, his hair was as black as sin but presently, it was white and it didn't look like a dye job. “Robin, do you know why Caelum's hair turned white?” I asked her, absent-mindedly playing with my food. “Alpha Caelum? His hair has always been white." I could see the look of curiosity she was giving me but I ignored it. That means his hair turned white a really long time ago, probably while he was still a child. I turned my gaze towards the thorn in my flesh again, I saw him picking out extra chocolate muffins. He still had a sweet tooth, I thought, a smile creeping up on my lips. The smile quickly fell away as I remembered our circumstances. This wasn't good, he was already worming his way past my defense, my lips twisted in disgust. I couldn't wait till he falls for me any longer, I had to kill him now. A wave of anger washed over me as I watched him laugh with one of the men that had come in with him. Why does he get to laugh and be happy while I'm still stuck in the past, I asked Astrid. My heart squeezed painfully as I thought of my parents. I had to kill him now, I couldn't wait any longer. A plan formed as I watched him eat more than half of the chocolate muffin in just one bite. Why not go with the usual cyanide? I smirked. “What do you have planned today?" I asked Robin. She chewed thoughtfully. " I was thinking I'd show you around the pack.” She answered after she had swallowed. Perfect,I didn't even have to ask, I thought. A girl stood up abruptly and slammed her hands on the table. I flinched at the loud sound. The hall became quiet. “I can't take this anymore! I can't sit here, in the same space, with her.” She pointed at me, I rubbed my forehead in frustration. I was getting tired of all the drama. “Have you forgotten what her family did to me? To us all?” She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. I was confused and beyond angry at this point. “What my family did? My innocent parents didn't do anything and they were killed by your former Alpha!” I screamed at her. Her mocking laughter rang throughout the hall. “You don't know, do you? What your precious parents did.” She sneered. " That's enough!” Caelum roared. His violet eyes glittered with fury. “Leslie, I want not a single word out of you on this matter. You're not the only one that lost something or someone.” He growled at the girl. Leslie hung her head in shame. He stood up abruptly and left the hall, his body taut with anger. Leslie hurriedly walked out of the hall shortly after. I looked around as people began to leave the hall, murmurs filling my ears. Uncertainty filled me, what just happened? Robin touched my arm. “Are you okay?” She asked, concerned. " My parents were innocent, I know they were.” I didn't know who I was trying to convince between both of us. " Of course.” She murmured, a sad light coming into her eyes. Weren't they? I thought……Wren’s POVThe High King’s Palace was less of a building and more like a declaration of power. White pillars with golden vines reached for the clouds like they were trying to stab heaven itself. The air shimmered faintly with magic, the kind that hummed against your skin and whispered you don't belong here.Gold and white banners lined the grand courtyard, each marked with the High Court’s sigil, a wolf howling at the moon. The gardens were lush with plants of various species, all creating a diversity of colors and scents. It felt like stepping into a different, new dimension, one filled with magic.I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the various scents wash over me and I could feel some of my stress fading. Yeah, i thought, i could get used to this.We hadn’t even crossed the first marble step when people started bowing. At first, I thought someone had dropped something and everyone was helping look for it. Then I realized, nope, they were bowing. To Caelum.Dozens of guards
Wren’s POVThe meeting room was a disaster zone disguised as organization. Papers were scattered like battlefield casualties, coffee cups formed a defensive perimeter, bags of chips strewn everywhere, and someone had written Murder Suspect No. 1 with an arrow pointing to my chair. In short, it was a hot mess.“Real mature,” I said flatly. Soren snickered, it would have given him away if I didn't already know he was the one.He grinned. “It’s called crime scene labeling. You’re welcome.”Caelum didn’t even look up from the table. “Soren, if you breathe one more word, I will personally duct-tape your mouth shut.”“Could still hum,” He said cheerfully.“Not for long,” Dane muttered in that dry tone of his. I grinned at him, he didn't grin back but the corner of his lips curled and I counted that as victory.Across the table, he tapped away on his laptop, ignoring us all with the focus of a man who regretted every career decision that led him here. Robin leaned over his shoulder, nursing
Wren's POV I stumbled back with a gasp as my head turned black and my vision blurred. My head swivelled from one man to another, looking for an explanation.“I-I don't understand. That knife….” I trailed off, remembering that they weren't aware of the knife I had stolen.Caelum waved a dismissive hand, “Yes, you stole the knife to kill me, blah blah blah.”I threw him an incredulous look, “you knew about it?!”He snorted but it lacked humor, “every weapon in my armoury is well accounted for, I would be a shitty leader if I wasn't aware of my resources. Besides, there are cameras in the armoury and you're a shitty liar. Soren knew from your first meeting that you had taken something you shouldn't have so we went over the footage and we saw you try to sneak away with the cyanide and the dagger.” His voice was lowered at the ending. Soren stepped forward, “that isn't the important thing, we should be talking about how your dagger ended up in this man's chest.”I blanched, “do you think
Wren's POV The drive to the bakery was short but it felt like an eternity. My heart kept pounding and my hands grew sweaty, this fear was not from caelum, it was utterly my own. I kept thinking of the worst case scenario, the panic I had felt through the bond, was it Dane? Chills and cold sweat ran down my spine.A body…I was almost out of my mind with anxiety, if it was someone I knew, could I handle it? The added grief would push me over the edge, I just knew it. Losing someone else after losing my pup would break me and somehow, I didn't think I would recover from it.A sharp thought ran through my mind, could it be Caelum?If I was feeling chills before, I was downright shivering now. The panic I felt, had that been a call for help? No, i thought, soren would not be so composed if it was Caelum and I would have felt the bond break too. I checked the bond and it was as strong as ever, only a bit taut from the emotional distance between us, but it was there, a wave of relief cras
Wren's POV The next few days passed in a blur, time had lost its meaning to me. I wasn't eating much, I wasn't drinking much, I was just barely living. I was alive but not living, only existing.The hollowness in my chest grew bigger with every passing day but I hid it under fake smiles, smiles that I was sure everyone could see through but no one wanted to call me out on, maybe they were afraid to look closely and see the truth reflected in my eyes, well, until now.Robin slumped on my bed and sighed dramatically, “You have to got to get out of your room. You have been inside ever since you got back.” That was the term everyone had been using ‘got back’, it rubbed me the wrong way, one would think I travelled instead, like I had chosen to leave. Even now, I wanted to scream, I wanted to remind them that what happened wasn'ta prolonged vacation, I was kidnapped but I swallowed my words and gave a fake smile instead, the same one I had been giving everyone.“I'm always happier indoor
Caelum's POV It felt like I had been struck with a blow, something warm unfurled in my chest, “pregnant?” I asked, breathlessly.He nodded, I laughed in disbelief and rubbed my unoccupied hand over my face, i could feel the rough stubble on my chin. I was going to be a father, excited laughter burst out of me, I felt like I was on top of the world. Just then, something he said sunk in.“Wait, was?” I asked, confused. The sadness and grief in the doctor's eyes told me the answer but I didn't want to accept it. No, there was no way my pup was gone, I refused to accept it, I couldn't have gained and lost a child in just one second.“I'm sorry, alpha, she lost the pup.” The doctor said more but I couldn't hear it over the ringing in my ears. The words kept replaying over and over till I was drowning in them.Lost the pup….Lost the pup……I tasted bile at the back of my throat, my world continued spinning. I could hear Xyler howling in pain in the back of my mind. My pup, my first child,
Wren's povMy mind had been busy all day, thoughts of the Luna challenge running through my mind. From what I was told, there would be three challenges, I didn't know what the first and second would be but the third was supposed to be a fight.Caelum had gotten me a trainer and I had spent every mo
Caelum's POV“This is simply preposterous!” One of the elders, Samuel, exclaimed. I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration, I had been in this stupid meeting all day. Word had gotten out that I had marked Wren and the elders decided to come and lay their disapproval before me.Wren, just the t
I stretched and opened my eyes, blinking in confusion when I realized that everywhere was still dark.“I would have thought it would be morning by now." I mumbled."The curtains are drawn.” Caelum said groggily, his voice husky from sleep. I rolled over to look at him, his violet eyes were bleary a
Wren's povI was hit with the delicious aroma of chicken when I entered our room. The sight that greeted me made me melt like ice cream under the hot sun.The room was dim, lighted by only lots of candles. The candles were scented which explained the subtle aphrodisiac scent I could smell. Petal of







