Shannon’s POV“Okay, Ricky.” I began, taking a deep breath to steady myself before I continued speaking. He just told me that Cole had been acting super strange since he saved me from Melissa two days ago and while I appreciated the gesture, I couldn’t help but be bothered about what Ricky had just said and I figured that it was time for him to reveal his true intentions. “You just said you’re going to tell me the truth about Cole, is that right? I want to confirm those were your actual words.”“Yes, you’re right,” Ricky confirmed. “That’s what I said and that’s what I want to do before we go any further.” “Please, if you don’t mind, lay it out here so I can see things from your perspective, Ricky. Because I have no idea about whatever the hell is going on and I’m very confused here.”“After the incident with Melissa happened in school, I came back here after you guys arrived because I had to keep a close eye on you and Cole as well, you know? I had to make sure you were safe becau
Cole’s POV“I don’t think you understand the gravity of what you’ve just done.” I began as I slipped my hands into my pocket and turned around to face Ricky and Jules who wore a smirk on his face. He was enjoying this moment and I couldn’t blame him. He had gotten his pound of flesh but I couldn’t help but wonder if they knew what had just happened or if they were still reeling from the euphoria of getting one over me. “There isn’t any need to be dramatic, Cole.” Ricky began. “You’re acting like she’s some hot-shot or she’s in charge of your destiny and we’ve wronged her greatly which isn’t the point here.”“She’s indirectly in charge of our destiny, Ricky. How haven’t you figured this out?” I asked, slapping my hand against my head. How short-sighted could they be? It was becoming irritating at this point and I couldn’t help but wonder if they had been cursed or something similar to that.“You’re placing too much importance on Shannon, Cole.” Jules groaned. “You’re hellbent on se
Robin’s POVIt was difficult to manage the pack, my sons, and Shannon at the same time as well. It was a tense situation for me, but I was confident of taking care of the whole situation. But first, I had to appease Myra, she was on the verge of blowing off my head. I just had a duel to get my mind off the terrible atmosphere building under my roof and it hadn’t ended in a rather good way.“You’re letting him get away with what he just did?” “What would you have me do?” I said as I turned towards her. “Are you being serious, Robin?” Myra glared at me with fire in her eyes. “I can have my guards go after him and torture him for a couple of days but it’s not going to change anything.”“It wouldn’t but it would teach him not to attempt what he did ever again,” Myra argued further. She hated when I regarded her worries as something flimsy and unnecessary to dwell on but I had no choice at the moment. “If you hadn’t moved at the last second, his claws would’ve been plunged into your b
Shannon’s POVI couldn’t figure out why Alpha Robin had suggested something like that. I knew that he was desperately seeking for his sons to publicly claim me but it wasn’t going to work this way if he kept on pitting us against each other without any formal warning. Besides, I wasn’t in the best mood right now. I was still feeling hurt from what Ricky revealed about Cole. I knew that it was impossible for him to suddenly have a change of heart towards me but deep down, I had been hoping that a little part of his actions were real. I wanted to feel like I mattered to someone else besides my mother and Alpha Robin for the first time in a long while but in the end, Cole had been using me as a means to an end. I was hoping that the next couple of days would pass by in a blur without the Mayert brothers trying to keep to their father’s instructions. It was the last thing I needed right now and if any of them encroached into my personal space, there was every chance that I was going to
Shannon’s POVI couldn’t figure out why Alpha Robin had suggested something like that. I knew that he was desperately seeking for his sons to publicly claim me but it wasn’t going to work this way if he kept on pitting us against each other without any formal warning. Besides, I wasn’t in the best mood right now. I was still feeling hurt from what Ricky revealed about Cole. I knew that it was impossible for him to suddenly have a change of heart towards me but deep down, I had been hoping that a little part of his actions were real. I wanted to feel like I mattered to someone else besides my mother and Alpha Robin for the first time in a long while but in the end, Cole had been using me as a means to an end. I was hoping that the next couple of days would pass by in a blur without the Mayert brothers trying to keep to their father’s instructions. It was the last thing I needed right now and if any of them encroached into my personal space, there was every chance that I was going to e
Shannon’s POVI slammed the door shut as my mother made her way outside leaving me to nurse my broken heart. If any of the Mayert brothers saw me right now, would they gloat or would he feel pity for me? I weighed my options and I realized that I was a lot more limited than I thought I was.If I stayed here, I would end up being used and dropped when the Mayert brothers had no more use for me and there would be nothing for me to turn to. Besides, they hadn’t claimed me in front of the pack either. They had no long-term plans for me except for when they had no other choice to turn to me then I would become their flavor for the moment and when they got tired of me, they would move on to the next and leave me to wallow in the misery of marriage. I could see the script and I knew that this was going to be my future if I didn’t do anything about it. My only use here would be to produce heirs and nothing else, I wanted more than that for myself. I could feel the anger building up in my ch
Shannon’s POVI slammed the door shut as my mother made her way outside leaving me to nurse my broken heart. If any of the Mayert brothers saw me right now, would they gloat or would he feel pity for me? I weighed my options and I realized that I was a lot more limited than I thought I was.If I stayed here, I would end up being used and dropped when the Mayert brothers had no more use for me and there would be nothing for me to turn to. Besides, they hadn’t claimed me in front of the pack either. They had no long-term plans for me except for when they had no other choice to turn to me then I would become their flavor for the moment and when they got tired of me, they would move on to the next and leave me to wallow in the misery of marriage. I could see the script and I knew that this was going to be my future if I didn’t do anything about it. My only use here would be to produce heirs and nothing else, I wanted more than that for myself. I could feel the anger building up in my ch
Shannon’s POVMy eyes fluttered open and I looked around to become familiar with where I was. I was struggling to remember how I got here but that wasn’t important right now, I had to be awake to know what was truly going on. Within that same moment, a woman immediately rushed over to my side of the bed where I sat wide-eyed, still panting from the deep sleep that I had just woken up from. My palms were clammy and my heart was still jackknifing against my chest as I tried to stop myself from hyperventilating. “Hello, child. My name is Luciana. You can call me that.” She began, giving me a rather warm smile as she tried to get me to loosen up and shake the tension off my shoulders.Luciana clasped her hand over mine forcing me to turn towards her. Her eyes were firm and kind, reassuring me that it had just been a bad dream. “Take a deep breath.” She ordered, her voice soft but firm. “You need to take a deep breath.” I nodded rapidly as I obeyed her command, taking deep measured bre
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