get it
CH14
Roman’s P.O.V
That bastard thought he could take what was mine.
+25 Bonus
Driving away from the vamp’s castle, rage seethed beneath my skin, simmering like a storm barely held in check. Snow lay lifeless in the backseat, her face pale and her scent weaker than before. And that leech had the audacity to demand my child in exchange for her life. My fucking child. The mere thought of it sent another fresh wave of fury rolling through my veins. I should have torn Eric apart right there. Should have ripped his smug, bloodsucking head from his shoulders and burned his entire kingdom to the ground.
But that was just calling for a war neither of our kingdoms was prepared for.
I gripped the wheel tighter, my claws nearly breaking through the leather. I felt my pulse hammering in my skull as I manuevered the car through the narrow mountain path leading to the woods. There was only one alternative left, one last gamble to bring her back. A witch–one I had cast out of my kingdom five years ago. If she still lived, she was my only shot.
The moment the road thinned into nothing but thick trees with branches that twined around each other to form a thick canopy, 1 slammed the brakes and got out. Cold night air hit my skin but my blood was boiling too hot for me to f*e it.
I moved to the backseat and roughly yanked the car open. I reached for Snow, but the moment I lifted her into my arms, a scent hit me.
It was fucking foul and disgusting.
With a tightness in my chest, I realized it was rot.
A deep, gut–wrenching horror coiled inside me, squeezing my lungs, but I forced myself to keep breathing. Snow’s body was already fucking emaciating. How much longer did her body have before it was too rotten to have her return?
Refusing to think about that possibility, I shifted. My bones cracked, and my limbs stretched and contorted to accommodate Liga. My hands morphed into paws with thick claws that dug into the moist earth beneath me, and then I was on all fours, my massive black wolf shaking the ground beneath him. Through Liga’s eyes, I could see Snow, and he reached for her, tightly holding her to his back before bolting into the woods.
The night was thick with mist and the damp earth smell mixed with decaying leaves filled my nostrils as Iran. I pumped my legs harder and faster, the trees blurring past me. Twigs snapped beneath my foot and the wind howled, carrying the eerie silence of
the woods.
Gods, if I was too late.
“Let’s not think about that,” Liga responded.
Then through the shifting fog, I finally saw what I came for. A small, broken–down cottage hidden between gnarled trees.
Liga straightened and stood on our hind legs, barely breaking momentum. He carefully moved Snow from his back, into his arms and then kicked the door to the cottage down.
We entered and the first thing that greeted us was cobwebs and dust. It made the place look as if it was untouched and unlived for years, but I knew better.
Liga stomped twice and then raked his claws in a half circle across the wooden floor.
For a moment, nothing happened. Just when he was about to repeat the ritual, green light flared to life, pulsing with unnatural energy and the walls began to expand and twist until the ruined shak became a large cavernous den.
The witch’s lair.
My eyes scanned the cluttered space, taking in the old books scattered everywhere, with hurnan skulls and bones and various vials and bottles until they landed on Ivanka.
1/4
CHIA
+25 Bonus
Reclining in an indoor hammock, dark robes pooling around her legs, lips curled into a dark smirk, Ivanka looked like a weird witch from the 15th century. When our eyes met, she smirked even deeper and tilted her head as if amused.
“Well, well,” she drawled, eyes gleaming with cruel delight. “Look what death dragged in. I think I owe the reaper a gift. Anyway, didn’t you banish me, oh mighty king? Took the roof over my head, cast me out like a common rogue…and now you come crawling back? What brings the mighty Lycan King to my doorstep?”
I didn’t have time for her game of guilt. My entire body was strung tight with worry and fury and if she overstepped, I didn’t know if I’d be able to control my rage. So ignoring her, I only stepped forward, carefully laying Snow on the woven mat in the center of the room.
“You already know why I am,” I said in a voice like gravel stones. “So why don’t we skip the reunion and you get to work.”
The witch instantly rose from the hammock and approached me. When she was within touching distance, she reached out and began dragging her nails over my chest, sifting through my fur as she circled me. Liga snarled, barely restraining the urge to snap her fingers off.
“Five years ago, you exiled me,” she purred. “Stripped me of my home, and now you seek my help?” her nails grazed my skin, sinking deep enough to draw thin beads of blood.
Snarling, I knocked my hand away. “You were manipulating my council with black magic. I did you a favor. Another king would have killed you, and it wouldn’t have mattered how many times you warmed his bed.”
The amusement drained from her face then. Her eyes darkened, lips pressing into a thin line as she straightened her robe and turned away from me. “I refuse.”
My breath hitched and I could feel my rage turning dark. I had to clench my fingers so I didn’t attack her. “Why?”
“The girl has been dead for five days, Rooman,” Ivanka murmured, glancing back at me over her shoulder. “You should know better than anyone–time is not kind to the dead.” she inhaled deeply and then wrinkled her nose. “Can’t you smell it? In two days, she won’t even be a viable vessel anymore.”
“I’ll give you anything you want,” my voice came out rough, thick with desperation. It felt like there was acid burning in my lungs and my body was a battlefield of emotions I never knew I was capable of.
Ivanka paused then, tilting her head. A slow wicked grin spread across her lips as she turned to look at me. “Anything?”
I stiffened.
She tapped a long, black nail against her lips, pretending to ponder. “You have nothing I want.” then she arched a brow. “Tell me, she’s just a weak omega, isn’t she? A frail little thing you met only days ago. Why do you care so much?”
My chest tightened. For a long, excruciating moment, I couldn’t find my voice. The words felt like shards of glass in my throat, but finally, I forced them out.
“She’s pregnant with my child”
Something in her shifted at my words. The amusement dancing in her gaze dimmed and her green eyes swept over my face, searching, assessing. Silence stretched thick between us until she finally exhaled sharply.
“Fine. I will help you.”
Relief slammed into me, almost knocking the breath from my lungs. Before I could express my gratitude though, she added, “ But I want something in return.”
“Name it.” I would give her anything as long as it’s not the child in Snow’s stomach.
“I want my exilement revoked and I should be reinstated back to Veridia.” wickedness gleamed in her eyes. “And I want a seat on your council.”
My vision pulsed red and Liga bared his teeth. I should rip her apart for even asking. She was fucking blackmailing me, but then
2/4
+25 Bonus
my gaze flickered to Snow.
A muscle in my jaw twitched. “Fine,” the word was like ash on my tongue. “I give you my word.”
Ivanka smirked in satisfaction, and then finally–finally, she approached Snow’s still form. She crouched beside her, fingers ghosting over her pale skin.
“She was bitten by a wendigo.” Ivanka mused, tilting Snow’s head to expose the deep jagged punctures on her neck. “That explains the rot. There’s a poison in their hands that accelerates decay. We have no time to waste.”
I pushed down the lump in my throat. “What do you need me to do?”
Ivanka started to shake her head, but then she paused and lifted her gaze to me. “What is her name?”
My throat tightened again. “Snow.”
“Hmm, that’s a beautiful name.” She nodded and then pressed a finger right in the center of her chest. “Snow, can you hear me?” she whispered and then closed her eyes. When she blinked them back open, they were literally glowing in her face. “She is dead, through and through. But her wolf isn’t.”
I held my breath.
“The only way I can bring her back is by using her wolf’s life source,” she continued. “I can drain its energy and transfer it to her body, which means killing her wolf to bring her back. It’s like an exchange in simple terms.”
The room spun and my breath became sharp and ragged.
“Hell fucking no,” I growled, glaring at her.
Ivanka rolled her eyes. “You said it yourself that the reason you want to save your mate so badly is because she carries your heir. Isn’t your heir more important than an omega wolf she barely has access to-”
The growl that ripped from my lungs rattled the walls. “Find another fucking way, Ivanka.”
Ivanka’s eyes narrowed on me and she stood to her full height. Her lips pursed as she continued to stare at me and then, I could see her face light up when a bulb went off in her head
Laughter bubbled out of her and she covered her mouth, her head shaking in disgust. “For a second there, I thought maybe the Omega melted your shrewd fucking heart. But how is that even possible when you don’t have a heart? You fucking devil. Now it makes sense why you accepted a spineless mutton as a mate and are now so desperate to save her. You don’t care about the baby. You’re only desperate to save her because you need her wolf… to break the blood curse.”
Ice knifed through my chest and it felt like a million warning bells began ringing in my brain. How the fuck did she know about that?
She laughed again, reading my thoughts, and snarled. “Oh, your majesty. I know every dirty secret of yours. Honestly, this is why I could never get over you. You’re exactly the way I like my men, Wicked, selfish, and sexy as sin.”
Her words may be true, but they rubbed off wrong. Before she could hurl another accusation at me, I moved. One second, she was making jest of me. The next, my hand was around her throat. A choked gasp escaped her lips and her green eyes widened with shock. She tried to chant some incantations but I twisted her neck instantly.
Her body crumbled to the floor.
Fucking silence.
The next breaths that escaped my lungs were rung out of my rattling chest. My heart pounded like war drums as I stared down at her body.
Ivanka knew too much and ran her mouth too fucking much. She deserved it.
2/1
+25 Bonus
Without another thought, I turned to Snow and gathered her in my arms,
get it
CH14
Roman’s P.O.V
That bastard thought he could take what was mine.
+25 Bonus
Driving away from the vamp’s castle, rage seethed beneath my skin, simmering like a storm barely held in check. Snow lay lifeless in the backseat, her face pale and her scent weaker than before. And that leech had the audacity to demand my child in exchange for her life. My fucking child. The mere thought of it sent another fresh wave of fury rolling through my veins. I should have torn Eric apart right there. Should have ripped his smug, bloodsucking head from his shoulders and burned his entire kingdom to the ground.
But that was just calling for a war neither of our kingdoms was prepared for.
I gripped the wheel tighter, my claws nearly breaking through the leather. I felt my pulse hammering in my skull as I manuevered the car through the narrow mountain path leading to the woods. There was only one alternative left, one last gamble to bring her back. A witch–one I had cast out of my kingdom five years ago. If she still lived, she was my only shot.
The moment the road thinned into nothing but thick trees with branches that twined around each other to form a thick canopy, 1 slammed the brakes and got out. Cold night air hit my skin but my blood was boiling too hot for me to f*e it.
I moved to the backseat and roughly yanked the car open. I reached for Snow, but the moment I lifted her into my arms, a scent hit me.
It was fucking foul and disgusting.
With a tightness in my chest, I realized it was rot.
A deep, gut–wrenching horror coiled inside me, squeezing my lungs, but I forced myself to keep breathing. Snow’s body was already fucking emaciating. How much longer did her body have before it was too rotten to have her return?
Refusing to think about that possibility, I shifted. My bones cracked, and my limbs stretched and contorted to accommodate Liga. My hands morphed into paws with thick claws that dug into the moist earth beneath me, and then I was on all fours, my massive black wolf shaking the ground beneath him. Through Liga’s eyes, I could see Snow, and he reached for her, tightly holding her to his back before bolting into the woods.
The night was thick with mist and the damp earth smell mixed with decaying leaves filled my nostrils as Iran. I pumped my legs harder and faster, the trees blurring past me. Twigs snapped beneath my foot and the wind howled, carrying the eerie silence of
the woods.
Gods, if I was too late.
“Let’s not think about that,” Liga responded.
Then through the shifting fog, I finally saw what I came for. A small, broken–down cottage hidden between gnarled trees.
Liga straightened and stood on our hind legs, barely breaking momentum. He carefully moved Snow from his back, into his arms and then kicked the door to the cottage down.
We entered and the first thing that greeted us was cobwebs and dust. It made the place look as if it was untouched and unlived for years, but I knew better.
Liga stomped twice and then raked his claws in a half circle across the wooden floor.
For a moment, nothing happened. Just when he was about to repeat the ritual, green light flared to life, pulsing with unnatural energy and the walls began to expand and twist until the ruined shak became a large cavernous den.
The witch’s lair.
My eyes scanned the cluttered space, taking in the old books scattered everywhere, with hurnan skulls and bones and various vials and bottles until they landed on Ivanka.
1/4
CHIA
+25 Bonus
Reclining in an indoor hammock, dark robes pooling around her legs, lips curled into a dark smirk, Ivanka looked like a weird witch from the 15th century. When our eyes met, she smirked even deeper and tilted her head as if amused.
“Well, well,” she drawled, eyes gleaming with cruel delight. “Look what death dragged in. I think I owe the reaper a gift. Anyway, didn’t you banish me, oh mighty king? Took the roof over my head, cast me out like a common rogue…and now you come crawling back? What brings the mighty Lycan King to my doorstep?”
I didn’t have time for her game of guilt. My entire body was strung tight with worry and fury and if she overstepped, I didn’t know if I’d be able to control my rage. So ignoring her, I only stepped forward, carefully laying Snow on the woven mat in the center of the room.
“You already know why I am,” I said in a voice like gravel stones. “So why don’t we skip the reunion and you get to work.”
The witch instantly rose from the hammock and approached me. When she was within touching distance, she reached out and began dragging her nails over my chest, sifting through my fur as she circled me. Liga snarled, barely restraining the urge to snap her fingers off.
“Five years ago, you exiled me,” she purred. “Stripped me of my home, and now you seek my help?” her nails grazed my skin, sinking deep enough to draw thin beads of blood.
Snarling, I knocked my hand away. “You were manipulating my council with black magic. I did you a favor. Another king would have killed you, and it wouldn’t have mattered how many times you warmed his bed.”
The amusement drained from her face then. Her eyes darkened, lips pressing into a thin line as she straightened her robe and turned away from me. “I refuse.”
My breath hitched and I could feel my rage turning dark. I had to clench my fingers so I didn’t attack her. “Why?”
“The girl has been dead for five days, Rooman,” Ivanka murmured, glancing back at me over her shoulder. “You should know better than anyone–time is not kind to the dead.” she inhaled deeply and then wrinkled her nose. “Can’t you smell it? In two days, she won’t even be a viable vessel anymore.”
“I’ll give you anything you want,” my voice came out rough, thick with desperation. It felt like there was acid burning in my lungs and my body was a battlefield of emotions I never knew I was capable of.
Ivanka paused then, tilting her head. A slow wicked grin spread across her lips as she turned to look at me. “Anything?”
I stiffened.
She tapped a long, black nail against her lips, pretending to ponder. “You have nothing I want.” then she arched a brow. “Tell me, she’s just a weak omega, isn’t she? A frail little thing you met only days ago. Why do you care so much?”
My chest tightened. For a long, excruciating moment, I couldn’t find my voice. The words felt like shards of glass in my throat, but finally, I forced them out.
“She’s pregnant with my child”
Something in her shifted at my words. The amusement dancing in her gaze dimmed and her green eyes swept over my face, searching, assessing. Silence stretched thick between us until she finally exhaled sharply.
“Fine. I will help you.”
Relief slammed into me, almost knocking the breath from my lungs. Before I could express my gratitude though, she added, “ But I want something in return.”
“Name it.” I would give her anything as long as it’s not the child in Snow’s stomach.
“I want my exilement revoked and I should be reinstated back to Veridia.” wickedness gleamed in her eyes. “And I want a seat on your council.”
My vision pulsed red and Liga bared his teeth. I should rip her apart for even asking. She was fucking blackmailing me, but then
2/4
+25 Bonus
my gaze flickered to Snow.
A muscle in my jaw twitched. “Fine,” the word was like ash on my tongue. “I give you my word.”
Ivanka smirked in satisfaction, and then finally–finally, she approached Snow’s still form. She crouched beside her, fingers ghosting over her pale skin.
“She was bitten by a wendigo.” Ivanka mused, tilting Snow’s head to expose the deep jagged punctures on her neck. “That explains the rot. There’s a poison in their hands that accelerates decay. We have no time to waste.”
I pushed down the lump in my throat. “What do you need me to do?”
Ivanka started to shake her head, but then she paused and lifted her gaze to me. “What is her name?”
My throat tightened again. “Snow.”
“Hmm, that’s a beautiful name.” She nodded and then pressed a finger right in the center of her chest. “Snow, can you hear me?” she whispered and then closed her eyes. When she blinked them back open, they were literally glowing in her face. “She is dead, through and through. But her wolf isn’t.”
I held my breath.
“The only way I can bring her back is by using her wolf’s life source,” she continued. “I can drain its energy and transfer it to her body, which means killing her wolf to bring her back. It’s like an exchange in simple terms.”
The room spun and my breath became sharp and ragged.
“Hell fucking no,” I growled, glaring at her.
Ivanka rolled her eyes. “You said it yourself that the reason you want to save your mate so badly is because she carries your heir. Isn’t your heir more important than an omega wolf she barely has access to-”
The growl that ripped from my lungs rattled the walls. “Find another fucking way, Ivanka.”
Ivanka’s eyes narrowed on me and she stood to her full height. Her lips pursed as she continued to stare at me and then, I could see her face light up when a bulb went off in her head
Laughter bubbled out of her and she covered her mouth, her head shaking in disgust. “For a second there, I thought maybe the Omega melted your shrewd fucking heart. But how is that even possible when you don’t have a heart? You fucking devil. Now it makes sense why you accepted a spineless mutton as a mate and are now so desperate to save her. You don’t care about the baby. You’re only desperate to save her because you need her wolf… to break the blood curse.”
Ice knifed through my chest and it felt like a million warning bells began ringing in my brain. How the fuck did she know about that?
She laughed again, reading my thoughts, and snarled. “Oh, your majesty. I know every dirty secret of yours. Honestly, this is why I could never get over you. You’re exactly the way I like my men, Wicked, selfish, and sexy as sin.”
Her words may be true, but they rubbed off wrong. Before she could hurl another accusation at me, I moved. One second, she was making jest of me. The next, my hand was around her throat. A choked gasp escaped her lips and her green eyes widened with shock. She tried to chant some incantations but I twisted her neck instantly.
Her body crumbled to the floor.
Fucking silence.
The next breaths that escaped my lungs were rung out of my rattling chest. My heart pounded like war drums as I stared down at her body.
Ivanka knew too much and ran her mouth too fucking much. She deserved it.
2/1
+25 Bonus
Without another thought, I turned to Snow and gathered her in my arms, stepping over the witch’s corpse. My muscles coiled as I stomped my foot, dragging my claw across the wall-
And in a blink, I was back in the woods.
The moment my feet hit the damp earth, I began running.
By the time I reached the car, my lungs felt like they were burning, but I threw open the door, placed Snow in the backseat, and then slid behind the wheel.
I drove back to Taldain.
Eric was already waiting by the gates when I arrived. The smug bastard smirked, fangs glinting. “I knew you’d be back,” he
mused.
I kissed my teeth to hold back my rage.
“The child is yours.” My fist clenched. “Just bring my mate back.”
“Great, come with me, and let’s sign a blood oath.”
stepping over the witch’s corpse. My muscles coiled as I stomped my foot, dragging my claw across the wall-
And in a blink, I was back in the woods.
The moment my feet hit the damp earth, I began running.
By the time I reached the car, my lungs felt like they were burning, but I threw open the door, placed Snow in the backseat, and then slid behind the wheel.
I drove back to Taldain.
Eric was already waiting by the gates when I arrived. The smug bastard smirked, fangs glinting. “I knew you’d be back,” he
mused.
I kissed my teeth to hold back my rage.
“The child is yours.” My fist clenched. “Just bring my mate back.”
“Great, come with me, and let’s sign a blood oath.”
