Ricky’s POV“You don’t look so well, Father.” I began as we stopped in front of the table. Our discussion could wait, his health was more paramount. “It’s nothing to concern yourselves with, boys.” My father began, coughing slightly. “You have more important things to worry about. Besides, I’m in good hands. My wife and doctors take care of me already.”“The doctor said you were getting better,” Jules began this time. “But you look far from it. You should be self-healing by now but it doesn’t seem to be happening.” “I got tired of lying in bed all day, so I threatened the doctor to discharge me else I would have his family hanged first thing tomorrow morning.” My father replied in a serious tone and I couldn’t figure out if he was calling bluff or telling the truth. But knowing the kind of man he was, I wasn’t going to leave it to chance. “These men aren’t from our pack and from the way they’re suited up, it’s almost as if you’re expecting to head into war anytime soon.” I looked
Robin’s POV“Father, you should listen to us first before you give your verdict. We have no intention of soiling your good name or that of our pack but marriage is a lifelong affair, we don’t want to end up in a loveless marriage, we deserve better than that.” My eyebrows quirked as a smile made its way to my lips. I couldn’t help but wonder what my sons were up to, it seemed like they were up to a plan to get me to reverse my verdict. Cole seemed to be the only one satisfied with Shannon being their mate and it was rather surprising seeing as he was the most impulsive of my sons. Attempting to bring a new mate at their convenient time was something they knew I wouldn’t approve of. They wanted to put me in a chokehold and I was rather impressed with their plan, I could see all shades of myself in each of them. “I should listen to you?” I began, sitting upright as I held their unwavering gazes.“Yes, Father.” My eldest son, Ricky began, clearing his throat as he stepped forward. “W
Robin’s POV“I also understood the fact that my duty came first before pleasure,” I answered. “A fact that has been lost between you and your brothers.”“The reason we failed to do this earlier is because we were patient. I’m sure that you must have gotten wind of our promiscuity but none of those women could spark the fire within any of us. We wanted to pick the best of the bunch and present her to you but we know you as a man of tradition, we don’t want to taint our legacy by birthing an unworthy heir to take after us when our time is over.”“Your actions have put me in a tight spot and I’m not pleased with any of these,” I replied grimly.Ricky resisted the urge to smirk, he was halfway into convincing his father to overturn his threat and decision of making Beta his heir. He just had to push him a little bit further and let him take the bait. “Nevertheless, we have to put our family first. We would understand if you reject the idea of the woman we have in mind but you ought to al
Ricky’s POVI stared warily at my father as the words left his mouth. He wore a stoic expression on his face but I knew that didn’t tell the whole story. I sensed a premonition of imminent disaster and I knew I wasn’t the only one. A glance at Jules’ crestfallen face revealed all I wanted to know, he could sense it too. “What do you mean by this, father?” Jules managed to blurt out.It was rather obvious that he had lost every trace of his composure but he was trying to maintain a calm demeanor. I had to give him props for his perseverance, I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes right now and I was sure that no one would want to be either not even Cole who had gone behind our backs to betray us. Unlike our father and myself, Jules’ facial expression was rapidly changing. It seemed like he was undecided on how to feel about the tense situation. He wanted nothing to do with this and he was incensed by our father’s decision but deep down, I doubted if there was anything we could do about
Ricky’s POV“Everything I own belongs to you until my heir is named officially. Use everything at your disposal to ensure that she becomes yours and then, you can be sure of being named as the next Alphas.”I couldn’t believe the words flowing out of my father’s mouth with ease, it made me feel irritated at myself. This wasn’t the standard he was supposed to lower himself to but after barely surviving being disowned, there was little I could do at this moment. I shared a look with my brothers, unspoken words passed between us but we understood the message. We had no other choice, we had a plan and a vision to get what we wanted but somehow, we ended up losing the only trick we had up our sleeve and we were now at the mercy of our ruthless father who wouldn’t take anything other than positive confirmation for the task he has set out for us.Cole hadn’t said a word ever since Father approved of his plan. I couldn’t understand the silence as he had gotten what he wanted. For Jules, it
Shannon’s POV The alarm chimed for the fourth time this morning and I snoozed it while tying my shoelace. I didn’t know how to turn it off because it was spoiled and I couldn’t afford to replace it. I found it one time when I was coming home from school. It was not of good quality but it was the best I could find so I decided to take it back home.I had thought about asking my mom for a new one but I haven’t been in the mood to talk to anyone recently, not after everything I heard from my supposed mates, the Mayert triplets a week ago. Dinner had been awkward but Alpha Robin and my mother had been oblivious to the tension in the room or they feigned ignorance. Whatever it was, it didn’t help matters as Ricky and Jules constantly glared daggers at me while Cole offered me a comforting smile now and then. Now, it chimed repeatedly every morning until it decided that it was ready to stop. I slept heavily last night and it was already past the time when I usually went to school. A heav
Shannon’s POV“What the hell is going on?” Cole yelled, his voice was filled with authority.Everyone was quiet in fear of him. Unlike Melissa, Cole was feared by everyone in the pack mainly out of respect for him and his aura. He was two years ahead of me and I have known him since his father got married to my mother, but never have I ever seen him smile. He was stoic and stiff like a robot. But that wasn’t what made him scary, he was violent and he had a mean temper. His brothers, Ricky and Jules were much calmer but they were equally feared by everyone as well. They were the next Alphas of the Dark Moon Pack and no one dared to mess with them. Cole wore the same shades of clothes every day, and he smelt like he had been dipped into a pool of wealth.“I said, what is going on here?” He asked this time, his tone higher and more stern.“She was bullying the poor Omega.” One of the boys in the crowd shouted.Cole shook his head, his face tainted with disgust before he turned to look
Cole’s POVI hated my life.Being one of the successors of the pack alongside my brothers, Ricky and Jules, came with a lot of privileges, but the pain and sacrifice were not worth it. I have been trained all my life to be the alpha of the pack, to throw away every single thing I liked to do because of the expectations that my father had of me. It was exhausting and draining, but there was nothing I could do about it.If this was what I had to do to be sure of getting my birthright, I was willing to go the extra mile. My brothers didn’t know this yet or frankly, they didn’t care but I did. I had spent my whole life waiting for this moment and nothing was going to ruin it for me. Not while I could have a say in the order of things. My coronation was coming soon, it all depended on my brothers and their willingness to be committed to the cause my father has been on my neck, trying to make sure that I was perfect in my duties and urging me to get them to accept his decision as I did.
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