Chapter 12: Zander's POV

Zander could not sleep; thoughts of the red haired girl dominated his mind. He could not comprehend the strong pull she had on him yet she was not his mate. After she fell unconscious when her magical abilities awakened she had almost killed the emperor, which would have been better had he died but she would have been better been killed for killing the emperor. The thought of her death filled Zander's heart with dread; he could not live with the knowledge of her death even though he had not known her for long.

Every night since she arrived in the kingdom, his wolf Zane would not allow him to have a peaceful night's rest at his quarters that were located on the west side of the palace.

He had kept vigil below her chamber's window where Mizpah her familiar had taken permanent residence. Beast and man kept each other company every night, hoping she would wake soon. Zander wanted her to wake so that he can prepare her for the upcoming challenge that the emperor had accepted despite the fact that Kharisi had no idea in the palace since Luna Samra, the emperor’s kind and loving mate, adopted him. Casper hated him and wanted him left to die but the Luna had insisted that she would bring him up.

Every time he saw Maya, he remembered Luna Samara as she had the same fiery hair and deep blue eyes. She was stubborn too and fierce, her fighting skills were unmatched by even the toughest of men. Stories were told of how she had been brought up in the warrior camp where her mother had been a trainer. She had to fight to stay alive as the warrior camp was not a place for the faint hearted. Many thought she would die at the camp but she had proved them wrong by killing her own mother who no warrior in the seven realms could defeat. Her name was a legend, she had triumphed over a warrior ever body was afraid of facing and only the toughest in the land dared to spar with her.

Luna Samara had taken it upon herself to train Zander in combat since he was five year of age. The scars all over his body were proof of the rigorous training he had to go through.

Sometimes he would be left in the middle of nowhere to find his way home and learn survival. He had to fight rogues and vampires as he strived to find his way home to his mother who would be so proud to see him come home triumphant. Zander felt his adopted mother's live and warmth despite the tough life he had to live. She always used to tell him that she was training, him for the throne because he was her tittle emperor and she wanted him to be a great emperor one day.

One day she was suddenly gone, somebody had given her food infused with a rare and deadly poison only found in the western lands where the trolls lived. They were known to have magical abilities that surpassed those of Grundolf royals. The whole pack had mourned her deeply, her absence felt by those she had spent her life caring for and protecting but the hardest hit of all w -s Zander. He had just come from the warrior camp himself and she had been preparing him a welcome feast to officially_ welcome him back and celebrate his triumph. The warrior academy was like a death camp, from the few that were selected to go, only a handful ever returned. Their duty was to protect and serve the royals. Luna Samara had been so proud of his return that she had insisted that he would be crowned as the crown prince at the welcome celebrations as well but she had died two days before the feast and everything including his coronation as crown prince was put on hold.

He was deep in thought thinking about the death of the only woman who cared for him when he heard Angela groan. He shot upward from his sitting position beneath her room, opened the window, and let himself in. Mizpah, who had been with him, had straightened himself up from hip sitting position. The beast was breaking the windows trying to get to the girl but his size would not allow him access. Zander worried that he might break the walls but he could do nothing to calm the beast down. The agitation he was feeling at seeing her immobile made him understand Mizpah agitation and then as if by miracle her eyes opened.

She was mumbling when she opened her eyes and seemed disappointed to be awake. She looked around the room, scanning for something or someone and when her eyes landed on Zander his heart skipped a beat. She looked so beautiful even when disheveled and is heart yearned to hold her in his arms but in instant, she had changed her demeanor and was o 'rig at Zander in an accusatory way.

What is he doing here?" she asked while pointing her index finger at him.

Greta smiled mischievously obviously enjoying Zander's discomfort but at the last moment, she decided to come to his rescue when he could not come up with a good enough reason as to why he was in her room.

He brought you here," she said to her. Zander saw her cheeks turn a bright red whether she was embarrassed by the fact that he carried her when he smelt her arousal. He was shocked beyond words but Zane his wolf was purring in his head like a lovesick puppy.

"Smell that human? She wants us, let's have her, we could even claim her," Zane his wolf kept ranting in his head until he shut him out. Greta could smelt her arousal too and she looked at Zander in a way that threatened him if he tried anything. He mind linked her and told her to relax; he was not planning to touch any woman until he ma his true mate. That made Greta relax, trusting Zander around the girl with a crush on Zander but unaware that they could smell her arousal. Greta felt embarrassed as well but could do nothing to change the situation except divert Angela's thoughts from Zander.

Zander beat her to it by bowing down and asking for forgiveness from her, she grabbed candlestick and threw it at him while not to call her a princess had a cute pout and he could not help but feel a stirring in his heart and somewhere below. He immediately focused on something else before Greta could smell his arousal as well and kick him out of the chambers. he had smiled when he thought she was smiling at him too but she had been spooked by his friendliness and grabbed the candlestick.

The door opened suddenly and in came Jared strolling through as if he owned the chambers. He had come in to deliver his master's message about the challenge and despite the fact that there had been unrest in some northern parts of the-kingdom; Zander felt, that the emperor could have stopped the challenge. He tried to reason with Jared but he would hear none of it. He had insinuated at the end of their conversation that he doubted Angela's heritage when he said that if she was an Adolfo, then she had nothing to worry.

Angela did not understand anything or was either pretending not to remember but what had transpired between her and the emperor a few days ago at the breakfast. Anger against his emperor threatened to break forth but because of the training he had received at the warrior camp, he was able to rein it. He felt like punching Jared because of his attitude towards Angela and felt that he most likely inspired the challenge, as he did not want any competition. To him Angela was a competitor for the emperor's throne, his affections, and his attention, which meant that Jared would soon find himself without a place and he may-lose the throne to the fiery haired girl.

He had used his magic to immobilize him. l but after some time had passed by he released him.

Greta was asking her questions about what just seen a cute kitty and was about to adopt it. She went to Mizpah and started to caress him, Zander's thoughts trailed from the situation at hand to one with steamy images. Zane was not as discreet as zander as he told him in his mind, " You want her as much as want her. Why do you keep fighting it? Just look at yourself, you are-sporting a boner that is a mile long yet you will not accept the truth. Let’s claim her as our mate," he said as he kept prancing in his head.

Zander ignored his wolf again and blocked him from his indecent behavior that was driving him crazy. He was trying very hard to act normal but his wolf was making it harder to concentrate on anything except Angela. He watched as she walked to Mizpah who purred like a kitten at seeing Angela. They spent time together and the bond they shared seemed to bind by the minute.

After some time Angela asked if she could walk Mizpah.

Zander wanted to laugh aloud at Angela's suggestion but Greta shook her head and gave her consent so tong as she stayed within the palace's perimeters. Mizpah put them on his back and started walking along the path on the ea-stern part of the palace where there were less inhabitants and more nature. As they were about to turn a corner and use another route they saw two figun s ahead of them waiting for them. It was the emperor and Jared standing in the way so she could complain but Angela proved to be a brave girl, more than he had anticipated. She started to attack the emperor but before she could go any further, Mizpah released an earth-shattering growl. He was growling at the emperor who stood shocked because he had not anticipated the turn of events.

Angela slumped forward unconscious and even though the beast was much stronger, it started to: Logger causing Zander to panic. Both were still on the beasts back and if he did nothing to break their fall, they could end up with broken bones. The only way the emperor we face in front of the multitude of spectators that had come out to see the beast. Lamer was to use black magic (and render the beast and mistress unconscious. He was buying himself time, his reign of terror was ending.

Zander was prepared to go against his emperor; he would fight him to the death and take the throne from him. He was not interested in the throne but he wanted to honor his adoptive mother by becoming the emperor and ending Casper's reign of terror but Casper’s reign of terror but Casper knew very well that the only person or wolf that was immune to his command as emperor and alpha was zander aside from the girl. However, she could be unaffected because she has grown in a very well that the only person or wolf who was immune to his command as emperor and alpha was zander aside from the girl. However, she could be unaffected because she has grown in a human world and her wolf and magic suppressed for many years.

For Zander, he was not willing to go against him. Anyone who had been successful to go -through Luna samara's training was not to be challenged and so he only demeaned him verbally knowing that he could not talk back to him but the day was coming when he would challenge him for the throne of Grundolf.