Shannon’s POV“It’s getting late now, you need to rest. You had a rather eventful night and I’m certain you would feel better in the morning.”I agreed, sleep would do me a whole lot of good at the moment. “I’ll see you in the morning with a tray of your favorite dishes. I’m certain you skipped out on dinner tonight after what happened.” Isabel said as she pushed herself off the bed, allowing me to lay back with the sheets drawn up. “Thank you,” I whispered, loud enough for her to hear. She smiled at me as she made her way out of the room.Frankly speaking, I didn’t know how I would’ve survived without Isabel at my side. ***I thought I was dreaming but I wasn’t. My eyes fluttered open to the sound of someone entering my room. I bolted up the bed, letting out a low growl.“Simmer down, it’s just me.” Ricky began, shutting the door behind him.“What are you doing here?”Ricky stared at me. “I found myself drawn to you and I couldn’t help myself.”“You speak to me in the most cruel
Ricky’s POV“I can’t sit here and deny the truth anymore, Jules.”I began. “You’re right with everything you’ve said, I can’t keep up this indecisiveness forever, you say you have no idea why I brought her here outside of the bargain we made, isn’t it? Well, I’ve thought long and hard about this and I think I know why I brought her here.”“Let’s hear it.” Jules dropped his cup on the small table between us. “I just can’t shake off the feeling that whatever it is you’ve got to say would blow my head off.”“The only thing I could come up with is that she needs to give us an heir before everything goes south. That’s the only lifeline I’ve got.”Jules nodded, wearing a grim expression on his face. I could tell that he could foresee this blowing up in both our faces and no matter how hard I tried not to fuel that thought, I couldn’t imagine anything different. Shannon and us were like oil and water, we weren’t fit for the other.“The daughter of our father’s wife, is nothing more than a wh
Shannon’s POVI wanted to be anywhere but here. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide the disgust and hate in my heart and if I stayed here any longer, everyone seated on the table would figure it out. I had fought the urge several times to push my chair back and leave the dining room without saying a word but every time it came up, I’ve managed to quell the desire to do so. The triplets had invited me to dinner with a couple of neighboring wolf packs, turning him down wasn’t an option so here I was picking on my food with no appetite and hoping whatever this was would end sooner rather than later so I could escape into the comfort of my room. “You haven’t taken a bite of your food since dinner began,” Ricky remarked as he searched my face, his eyebrows raised a little. “Is there something wrong with the food?”To an outsider, Ricky and his brothers were the epitome of how a mate should behave. They never failed to show care, to figure out what was wrong, and to crown it al
Shannon’s POV The first time I tried to run, I hadn’t gone too far before I was found and then I had to come back because it wasn’t going to work but now, I couldn’t shake off the feeling anymore. It’s been pulling at me for a while now and I was more it less fighting a lost battle right now and there was nothing I could do about it other than give in to the urge to run away. Unlike the previous time, I knew what route to take to avoid whatever evil lurked in the forest and I wasn’t going empty-handed this time around. After being accepted as their mate, I’ve been exposed to more luxury than I could handle and I had enough money to take me through troubled circumstances. I thought about telling my mother about my decision this time around but I wasn’t quite sold on the decision. I trusted my mother but I didn’t trust her to keep a secret as big as this and there was every chance that she wasn’t going to let me leave and Alpha Robin would be notified as well. Given how I stormed ou
Ricky’s POV“Can you wrap your head around what happened during dinner?” Jules turned his attention to Cole who was still sitting next to the pool. The way Shannon had stormed off left them bewildered and lost for words. She had never reacted that way before. What happened between them had sent her overboard and I knew that it was largely on me to find out what had gone wrong. My guests had felt insulted and I did as well but I had to find a way to sweep what had happened under the carpet.“What happened after you followed her when she stormed out of the dining room?” I asked Cole, he didn’t return after he had left and we ended up finding him here when dinner was over. “We got into a small discussion, she got mad over something I said and then she pushed me inside the pool.” Cole narrated as he frowned, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had been thrown off board by a woman but his ego was the least of my problems. I had to find a way to deal with Shannon before she spiraled ou
Shannon’s POVYou haven’t told us about what’s been happening with your love life for the past couple of weeks now,” Melissa began as we huddled together on the sofa, debating on what movie we were going to watch. I wanted a horror movie but Melissa was having none of it, it was in the middle of the day and she wanted to sleep peacefully at night without having to wake up screaming at some point.“C’mon,” I groaned. “You know everything already, what’s left to talk about?” “You’ve been on a roll lately and while I’m happy for you, I want to make sure you know what you’re doing.” Melissa began. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way as well,” Melissa quickly added. “I’m just concerned, that’s all there is to it.” I nodded, there wasn’t any need for me to lose my cool over her obvious show of concern for my well-being, she was fast becoming a good friend and I enjoyed her company.In some ways, I understood her concern. I hadn’t had her life this fast-tracked since I met the Mayer
Shannon’s POVThe next morning, I hurriedly left my room as I made my way to the triplet’s wing in the mansion. Ricky had decided to pacify his father before he noticed something was amiss and in order to keep me in line, he had appointed me as his personal assistant for a short period. I wasn’t in the mood for one of his tantrums so I had decided to skip breakfast for the first time in a long while now. I didn’t know how they were going to come back from the last ugly fight that we had but I didn’t want to think about it. Not right now, not when I was mildly pissed at all three of them for taking out their frustration on me. I didn’t know how we were going to act cordially, but I was going to try at the very least. “You look like someone broke your heart,” Tracey said as she managed to sneak into the room before the door closed. Tracey was the logistic coordinator in handling their business and she was fast becoming a good friend of mine. She was holding a cup of coffee in one
Shannon’s POVI held her breath as I waited for Ricky to respond. He had been silent since I spoke those words and I was starting to get worried that he might turn down my request which would be the end of everything I thought I was starting to build.I wouldn’t blame him anyway. If he had left me hanging dry like that, I would also be reluctant to do anything else with him. It was merely a normal reaction.“When?” Ricky asked.“Sorry, I didn’t get that?” I forced out, grateful that I wasn’t stuttering.“You said you wanted to talk to me in my office, right?” Ricky asked again.“Yes, I said so. There’s something I need to address in private.” “That’s fine by me. I was asking you when do you want to talk to me about it,”“Can we do it now? If you’ve got nothing on your plate.”“The last time I checked, you’re kind of my new personal assistant, Shannon.” Ricky chuckled as he shook his head. “You should know my schedule better than I do.”I quickly pulled out my tab and checked the detai
Shannon’s POVIt was midnight already. The maids had returned to my room two hours earlier to help me get ready for my wedding to the Mayert triplets alongside my seamstresses and a couple of other servants. They had forbidden me from lifting a finger to help myself so I had resorted to staying put unless I wanted to risk the ire of the women helping me dress up and I wouldn’t even dare to do that. At the stroke of midnight, I was standing at the entrance of the hall already adorned with palatial decorations with cascading floral arrangements hanging from every side of the grand room, sparkling white chandeliers hung high above with delicate draperies completing the settings designed to evoke an atmosphere filled with love and warmth.A group of violinists was positioned at a corner, setting the tone for the exchanging of vows that were about to take place. We were five years late, but this was the perfect time for it to happen. It was better late than never and there was no bette
Shannon’s POVI couldn’t believe that this was how my life was going to end up. A few hours ago, I thought that I would eventually have everything that I had always wanted out of life but Joshua handed me a reality check. I hadn’t seen Eve since I sent her to deliver the letter to the Mayery triplets so I had no way of knowing if she succeeded or if she had been killed before she even got there. I had no idea if my son was dead and Joshua was merely forcing me to do this to keep me by his side. I was completely hopeless and powerless in this. I stood in front of the officiating chief with Joshua standing opposite me, he had a huge satisfying smile on his face and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his smug face. “You need to say your vows, Shannon,” Joshua said, his smile never leaving his face. As I opened my mouth to speak, a familiar scent wafted through my nose and I felt joy wash over me. If they were here, it meant that they had gotten the letter and had rescued our s
Ricky’s POVI couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hands. Had he been lying to me all along? No, no. I couldn’t believe it. There had to be some sort of explanation for what was going on currently and that meant I had to speak with her immediately. There had been a mixup somewhere during the night and I had to get to the root of it all. “She played us all, Ricky,” Jules said. “Jules might be right this time around, Ricky. We thought we had her back and we were ready to show her that the past will never happen again, what did we do wrong?” Cole asked. “I don’t think this is real. I don’t mean the letter — I mean the whole scenario. Just yesterday, she told us about our son and she was willing and eager to get into a relationship with us and this morning, she’s getting married to Joshua. C’mon, boys. I need you both to think critically about this before you conclude.” I said. “You think she’s being blackmailed or worse?” Jules asked. “That’s my best guess but we need to see h
Shannon’s POVI nodded. “So this culprit behind what I’ve been experiencing, is the same person who forged this letter and brought Melissa here?” “Yes, it’s the same person,” Ricky said. “Tell me who this person is and I’m going to have them dealt with,” I said, already getting furious. “Joshua,” Ricky said. “He’s being the flashbacks you’ve been having and after following him for the past couple of days, we’ve also figured out that he wrote the letter and he has spies in your household, in my pack, and Melissa’s camp as well. That was how he was able to set up all of these with ease.” I paused. Joshua and I hadn’t been seeing eye to eye on several things for the past few weeks after I turned down his proposal but would he ever go to this length to punish me for rejecting him?“Are you sure about what you’ve just said, Ricky?” I asked. “I swear on my life, Shannon. Joshua is behind all of these. He doesn’t want to see you with anyone other than himself and he’s willing to do anyt
Shannon’s POVI couldn’t categorically tell what was happening but I knew that a lot of things were changing. I had been plagued by things from the past, things that served as a reminder of how hurtful my past had been, and no matter how I tried to stop them from happening, I couldn’t do anything about it.Before the past couple of days, things with the Mayert triplets had been smoother than they had ever been for the past five years but the flashbacks and reminders that I had been getting were forcing me to remember how they used to treat me all those years ago. I didn’t know what to do or how to stop it so I decided to stay away from them to regain my sanity. Maybe then, I would have an idea about what the fuck was going on because as it stands, I didn’t know what to make of the entire situation. “Are you sure about doing this, Ms. Shannon?” My maid asked as she brushed my hair. I had instructed her that I didn’t want to take any calls from the Mayert triplets and I didn’t want t
Shannon’s POV“What do you think you’re doing?” Joshua asked as he walked into my tent. He was visibly pissed and I could understand his anger. I had pulled him out of whatever he was doing and brought him here under the guise that we were going to war and now, I was pulling out before we even had a chance to fight. “I don’t think I have the stomach for this conversation anymore, Joshua. I understand that you’re pissed but this isn’t what I need right now.” I said. “If you’re thinking of shutting me out like you always do, it’s not going to work today, Shannon. I need answers and I need you to give them to me.” Joshua said defiantly. He wasn’t going to budge and we might just as well get over with this as soon as we possibly can. “So tell me what you want to know and I’ll answer your questions,” I said, gesturing to the empty couch in front of me. “Everything, Shannon. I want to know everything.” Joshua said as he sat down. “Everything? I don’t know where to start and—“ “You l
Shannon’s POV“And you think it’s going to happen in a day or two days?” I asked them.“No, we don’t. We don’t want you to make a decision about forgiving us here and now because we don’t want you to be under any pressure of any form, so we’re going to let you take your son and go home.” Ricky said. “And what happens next?” I asked. “We’re going to call you once again, for the last time, to know what your decision on the matter is. It’s not going to be an easy decision to make and if we were in your shoes, we would feel exactly how you’re feeling at this point.” Ricky answered. I paused for a bit, their words swirling around in my head. Had Melissa done all of these because she wanted to ruin both of us or what was her end goal? Truth be told, it was pointless now. The ruse had been discovered and there wasn’t any need to go to war over a lie. Maybe by the next time we met, we would have a lot more to talk about and indeed, there was a lot to talk about. “A couple of days for m
Shannon's POV"We have nothing to talk about, Ricky." I sighed. "Just tell me what you want and I'll give you in exchange for my son's safety." "Don't you still get it, Shannon?" Ricky said."What are you talking about? There's nothing to be understood here, this is a simple negotiation that you've been dragging on for minutes now. Are you keeping me here on purpose? Is there something you have planned?" "If this were to be five years ago, your son would've been killed, and not just that, you'd have been tricked to come here under the guise of us wanting to return your son and when you come, you'll be beaten, and battered, then forced to surrender if you want to see your son alive and when you do, I'd have killed him in front of you before killing you as well. I hate to paint this vivid imagery of what we would have done but you know this is the truth.” Ricky said.I shivered slightly as his words registered with me.He wasn't telling a lie, five years ago, this is what they would h
Shannon's POVI knew how to get into the pack without anyone seeing me as I had done it a thousand times five years ago whenever I tried to escape being bullied by the Mayert triplets. It was pointless to have told Joshua about where I was going, it would've led to a lot of arguments that I didn't have the stomach for, not when I had no idea what was happening to my son at this point. I didn't want to imagine the worst but Ricky's letter had been very convincing and I had to force myself to believe everything he had said in it because the truth was that, I had no other choice. If this was a trap, Joshua would come for me and he would bring the pack down with fire and brimstone if that was what it would take for him to avenge me. Aside from the fact that I was scared for my son, I was also scared that the Mayert triplets would eventually figure out the secret I had kept from them for the past five years. As I had predicted, it had been easy to bypass their security and it would've