Keren Wildlings, a twenty-three-year-old she-wolf who hasn't shape-shifted before, is forced to marry the most powerful, cold-hearted royal, The Alpha King, by her stepfather. She has no idea why, nor has she seen the Alpha King before. Events changed for her when she realized she was just a vessel to create a son for the Alpha King and would be disposed of afterwards. The Alpha King, Aarav Gerwulf, on the other hand, has no affection for her, so he stayed away. However, when he stayed with her until her birth, she thought he had realized the bond between them, but it was all a lie. He soon left again, and heartbroken, she ran off with her child. The barbaric, cold-hearted King sees his errors as a matter of course and plans to fix them. He shall bring her and their child back to his shelter, even though now she has been saved by his greatest enemy ever-the hunters. And what happens when his mistake leads to his son getting trained by Hunters such that he becomes his father's enemy and Keren, her powers hidden all this time?
Keren's POV.
"Ouch!" I wince and raise my hand to my head.
The maid my stepfather, sub-Alpha Streams, hired had just pinched a hairpin into my hair, except it prickled my head in the act.
She is about to apologize when my stepfather enters the room. He looks annoyed, as is his voice when he shouts, "What in heaven's name are you still doing? Get ready now!" And then he shuts the door after him.
I am already ready, but it's not like he sees that or cares. I stare at myself in the mirror for a few seconds before I hurry down the hallway to the outside.
Scoffing sadly, I give the home I have known since I was little a soft smile. I have to leave now, to a place where I no doubt would suffer.
My stepfather is already inside the carriage, waiting for me with all his impatience.
I am almost entering when I hear my name called "Keren," and turning my face, I see my best friend, Alsie. She is also Alpha's Stream's daughter, except she is the opposite of the personality her father portrays.
"I am so sorry. I wish I could come along."
As much as I understand her, it would not change a thing. I would still suffer where I am going, as I have been sold out by my stepfather.
I am about to speak when sub-Alpha Streams yells at us, "Alsie, get away from her. Now!"
"Father. You're being..."
"You are a good person, Alsie. Always remember that." I want to stop her from rebelling.
She nods at me and sniffles. Seeing she is about to cry, I shake my head and fake a smile.
The carriage soon began to move. I close my eyes, not wanting to see the look on Alsie's face as she sees me leaving her-by no agreement of mine, of course-and imagine my life being crushed just like the iron wheel crushes the stones on the ground.
We are now hours into the journey, and there has been no discussion between sub-Alpha Streams and me.
I remain stiff in my position, and that is because of the material I am sarcastically gracefully embroidered with. The chemise is punishably tight, pressing against my body such that I feel as though I am being pinched continuously, and the sleeves with contrasting colors make it hard to shift even my arms.
"We have been on this journey for four hours. Do you care to say anything?" Speaks sub-Alpha Streams in his Scottish accent.
I have just been sold out, meant to be used however the most powerful, cold-hearted, barbaric Alpha King wishes, to serve him for the rest of life, my life's goal now useless, and yet I am suffocating in this stupid gown that I would never wish my enemy to wear. All of my hear complain can not even be said so, there was no need.
However, I have to smile and say, "Well, I cannot wait to see the Alpha King with this beautiful dress you have picked for me, sire."
He scoffs and smiles. "I knew it would look nice on you. We need it to reveal your bosom, do we not?" He says it, and I agree with a nod. He continues, "Now, remember. You must be obedient when we get there. You are not to speak unless spoken to and asked to talk. You must do everything you can to claim the Alpha King's attention. I know you have gotten his mother's, Queen Akki, and that's why we have been called; however, I need the King to marry you. You're doing this to save my pack." Yet, I am not included in his pack.
Regardless, it hurts. I am a twenty-three years old She-wolf, who is yet to change into her wolf. I think things wouldn't be different even if I had.
His lectures continue, subjecting his stepdaughter to what and what not to do.
The doorman helps me get out after my stepfather. We have arrived. My nerves haven't spiked up as much as they are now.
My stomach hurts more, and it is as though I might faint.
My stepfather takes my hand, and we walk inside the castle.
Presently, I stand in the middle of a silent room. There are guards around and maids scurrying past as they come and go as silently as they can.
As the door opens again, a strong aura whirls into the room, and instantly, I bow my head, as too, my stepfather. It is Queen Akki, Alpha King Aarav's mother.
Stopping in her tracks, she stutters for a second, asking, "Wh... what is the meaning of this?" Her British accent sounds so clean.
"Queen Akki," my stepfather begins, still bowing, "I have brought my stepdaughter, as requested by the crown. The union can now be blessed."
She scoffs, "I have seen her many times enough. Get her to her room, and you," she directs at my stepfather, "can leave the castle. The crown shall hold to their promises." She finishes and goes to sit in front of the piano.
As she begins playing, the softness of the tune settling into my ears, a guard I didn't see next to me comes to direct me on the path I am to follow.
My eyes shift towards my stepfather, but he isn't even looking my way. He is smiling and concentrating on Queen Akki.
I feel betrayed.
With a swollen heart, I make my way up to a seemingly long hallway that seems as though it doesn't have an end. When I entered, I noticed every other maid stopped by the door except for the guard from earlier. He remains behind me.
"What are you doing?"
"I am an escort. I am to protect you and practically be your shadow."
I want to talk, but I shun my lips. This must be a normal thing here.
I take a step forward, and he looks me in the eye. "Tell me about the Alpha King." I demand.
"He is the Alpha to all sub-Alphas, Betas, sub-Lunas, and all werewolf species." He gives me the most knowable information.
I shake my head. He's probably not entitled to tell me certain things. I hate him already. "What room are you going to take me to?"
He doesn't want to talk again, so I say, "I am about to become the Luna to, well, the Alpha King." It sounds like a pain in my lips to state that devil's title: "And if you don't tell me what I need to know, you'd become my enemy. Do you want that?" I ask and he shakes his head.
It takes him a few seconds. "It is Alpha King Aarav's wing. There, you'd be prepared for the wedding tomorrow."
"Wait, what? The wedding is tomorrow?" I think I might die. I need space to think, so I did one thing that would distract this pest. I tore a part of the bosom. In shock, he turns to the opposite side, and I run.
Fortunately, I am able to get rid of the guard, whose name I haven't even asked for. I am in a library, and it seems silent. I rest against the shelves as my hand comes to calm my hammering chest.
Perhaps I should just kill myself.
"Did you know that high born werewolves can read low born werewolves' minds, sometimes even another high born's, except that I do not need to before I can tell you are about to pass out?" Rhetorically questions a masculine voice that I find exquisite. I love his arrangement of words even though he had just insulted me.
A frown grows on my forehead. "Who are you? I say this to the man in a gray linen shirt, his chest poking out of the shirt and very tight leather pants that hug his strong-looking legs.
His hand rakes through his dark blonde hair, which almost takes on the same shade as mine, as his beige skin warms up from the ray of sunlight.
"My name is Arley Halfclaw." When he tells me, I gasp. This is the Alpha King's stepbrother. My stepfather did teach me a lot about my in-laws before he brought me here.
I smile a pleading smile and say, "I'm sorry."
"For?"
"I..." I did not know what to say.
He chuckles. "You are giving Dustfang quite a bit of trouble right now." He tells me and nods his head to one side, gesturing for me to walk with him.
Walking with him, he lets me know he likes the fact that I was able to give the top-ranked guard some trouble, and to me, he seems like the nicest person I have seen here so far.
"I don't know if I am permitted..."
"Then, why ask?" He hijacks.
"Because I think I deserve to know." I say and stop in the middle of the way. We are back in the hallway I ran away from earlier, and it is dead silent. When he noticed my uneasiness, he told me that no one can enter unless permitted, as it is the Alpha King's wing.
He scoffs and continue walking. I think that's a green light.
"Can you tell me about the Alpha King?"
"What have you heard about him?" He answers me with his own questions.
"All sorts of bad things." I did not think I could be this blunt with my words.
"You can choose to use them for your answer or, rather, get to know your soon-to-be husband by yourself." He stops in his steps. "It is nice to meet you, Keren Wildlings." With a genuine smile, he starts to leave.
An individual clears their throat from behind me, and I groan inwardly.
"You found me, Dustfang," I say, and his brows raise. He mustn't have expected me to know his name.
"I see," is all he says, opening the door for me to enter a room.
"What is your actual name?
"Perhaps when the time is right, I will talk more, your highness," are his words as he closes the door behind me.
The frown on my face ceases the moment I take in the glance of the room I am in. Oh, goodness. I love it. It's so fancy. It screams wealth. I feel like I am in a fantasy world.
Screaming, I run towards the bed and fly in the air before dumping myself into it. It shoots me right back, and I laugh. For the next few minutes, I was filled with excitement.
In all of this pain, there is something for me to appreciate, and that is beauty, and speaking of beauty, Arley Halfclaw. His image strikes in my head again.
He seems like the opposite of what I've heard about him. Perhaps the Alpha King would be, too.
It is now nighttime, and I lay on that fancy bed. I am imagining how my beauty sleep would be tonight when, all of a sudden, there is the impact of an aggressive push on the entry door.
"There hasn't been an attack from them, Aarav," says Arley. For real, I can recognize his voice, but Aarav?! Oh-mi-gosh, that is the Alpha King.
They are in the next room.
"So, I wait till they attack? We both know the expense of that." His voice sounds deadly powerful, like he is some control freak. Well, with his position and the rumors, he might be.
Arley chuckles. "Something tells me you are doing this not because you actually want to capture these hunters' arms but to stay away from your mate."
"Mate?"
"Did you not confirm that she is your..."
"Stop this instance!" I can tell he is an aggressive type. "Is she here?" He adds.
"Of course. She should be asleep, I guess." Arley answers.
Oh, goodness. They are not about to talk too much about me, am I wrong?
"Whatever. I do not have my plans set just to stay away from her. Fuck, I don't even want her. I still can't tell what Mother sees in that chick who hasn't even turned into her own wolf yet. She's weak to the throne, and trust me, she would be nothing but a vessel to birth me a son and a mockery to the crown." He finishes and laughs. "Do you want a drink?" I hear him further.
A part of me feels like I should not be shocked by what I am hearing, and a part of me wishes to break down. I am a failure. Even the one to whom I am sold to doesn't see me as anything but a vessel he can use.
I clean my face with the bedsheet. I cannot cry.
"I will watch out for the time when you regret what you've said." Arley is basically supporting me, I suppose.
Alpha King Aarav chuckles. "I have lived for over seventy years. Why would I need a partner now?" He asked so proudly.
In my mind, I prepare a plan. I will walk through this pain. I will make an agreement. He doesn't want me, and I don't either. I think I have an escape plan already.
I just have to get through with the wedding tomorrow.
Eva's heart shattered when the man she loved, Brandon, left her for Kate, a model picked by his mother for marriage. She also faced humiliations and scorn from his family members. And just when she thought, she was alone in her crumbling world, a wealthy, handsome billionaire Carlos came into her life with an offer she couldn't refuse. As they struck a deal—a marriage lasting only a year. Eva saw an opportunity for revenge, while Carlos, sought a companion to appease his dying old grandfather who refused to give him the inheritance except he marries and the deadline was his deathbed which happened to be so close. What starts up as a transactional arrangement soon grew into something more passionate. Eva found herself entangled in a web of conflicting emotions. Despite her best efforts to resist, she couldn't deny the growing attraction she felt towards Carlos, nor could she ignore the lingering ache for Brandon again. Their memories together. And when Eva dared to believe in a future with Carlos, her past came crashing back with a vengeance. Brandon, consumed by jealousy and regrets, swore to reclaim what he had lost even while still married to Kate; setting the stage for a showdown of love, lust, and betrayal. Who will win? Life is a game after all.
Becky and her lover Cain were such a lovely couple. People envied their relationship and though, they had ups and downs, it didn't stop their love. But things changed after Becky got a new position at her home country, Croatia. And this time, the distance was much and due to work, they lacked a good communication. Cain and Becky's love got tested in a different way and the result would either separate them or build them but, a love triangle will be found. Will they end up together?
Maryanne had just suffered from a heartbreak caused by her ungrateful boyfriend. She gets an opportunity to leave the country with her boss but, his arrogant attitude gave her a second thought. How would she have known that agreeing to go there, would change her life forever? Everything started to change after one night they came back from a meeting, drunk. But the love triangle made it impossible as Maryanne didn't know of her boss's unknown fiancee. Will Maryanne find love this time? Or is the heartbreak going to repeat itself?
Loverina, a lonely girl trained by her poor grandmother, unexpectedly got into a messy shit with the heir of the Oscars family. To pay the price of her deeds, she was taken by the heir and turned into a pleasure slave. What power does a low class commoner have over such higher status. Just another version of Dark Romance with spice of Hatred, Violence, Authority, Love, Slavery and Family Ties
Zack and Sophia are like cat and mouse, they just can't stand each. Eventually, they fell in love but kept pretending. Sophia admirer Zack, turns out to be a famous billionaire, whose got a female bestie Angelina and Simon, his male best friend. Sophia so full of troubles and causes some for herself; goes homeless and to her rescue came Zack. The fact is, Zack always shows up at the right time, could this be destiny or he's stalking on her? Who's gonna fall first and what's the story like? Why is Sophia's life a mess and how did she get to meet the young billionaire Zack?
In her previous life, Kimberly endured the betrayal of her husband, the cruel machinations of an evil woman, and the endless tyranny of her in-laws. It culminated in the bankruptcy of her family, and ultimately, her death. After being reborn, she resolved to seek retribution against those who had wronged her, and ensure her family's prosperity. To her shock, the most unattainable man from her past suddenly set his sights on her. "You may have overlooked me before, but I shall capture your heart this time around."
"Please trust me, I didn't do anything." "I don't believe you. I am rejecting you as my Queen and giving you the punishment of death." Alina was living outside her pack for five years. Her parents didn't try to contact her and always ignored her. Her best friend convinced her to go back to their pack and she agreed. But she had never imagined what was waiting there for her. She never thought she would meet her mate and had to face betrayal from everywhere. She had to pay for the crime which she never committed. Aaron Robertson is the king of Lycans. He is a very dominant and powerful King who not only rules Lycans but also rules other ranks of werewolves. Everyone is afraid of Lycans and he is the king of them. But who knew that he would get a mate who was just a simple Omega with no powers and strengths? He called her weak all the time but little did he know that his weak Omega would give him the biggest betrayal of his life for which he had to give her the sentence of death.
On the day of their wedding anniversary, Joshua's mistress drugged Alicia, and she ended up in a stranger's bed. In one night, Alicia lost her innocence, while Joshua's mistress carried his child in her womb. Heartbroken and humiliated, Alicia demanded a divorce, but Joshua saw it as yet another tantrum. When they finally parted ways, she went on to become a renowned artist, sought out and admired by everyone. Consumed by regret, Joshua darkened her doorstep in hopes of reconciliation, only to find her in the arms of a powerful tycoon. "Say hello to your sister-in-law."
Rosalynn's marriage to Brian wasn't what she envisioned it to be. Her husband, Brian, barely came home. He avoided her like a plague. Worse still, he was always in the news for dating numerous celebrities. Rosalynn persevered until she couldn't take it anymore. She upped and left after filing for a divorce. Everything changed days later. Brian took interest in a designer that worked for his company anonymously. From her profile, he could tell that she was brilliant and dazzling. He pulled the stops to find out her true identity. Little did he know that he was going to receive the greatest shocker of his life. Brian bit his finger with regret when he recalled his past actions and the woman he foolishly let go.
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"