AMIRA“Are you sure he is going to come without alerting Soren?” Dad asked with the same worry that plagued me.I paused my pacing to stare at him “I trust Koa. He promised not to tell anyone”Dad pointed at the clock “He promised to be here by 1 am, and it’s almost 2:30 am, but he isn’t here yet”I glanced at the time, and it caused me to bite my fingers in worry. I went in search of Koa earlier today because I was at my wit’s end.Dad had tried everything he could, but nothing worked. The venom was still eating Ezra, and the only thing Dad could do was slow down the venom, but we had to get it out if my baby would survive.Every second that passed felt like an eternity. My fingers curled into fists as I waited while glancing at the bedroom where my babies were. Elias had refused to leave his brother’s side, and I was extremely grateful for that.Usually, it was hell before I could get them to stay inside, and since I didn’t want anyone to see them yet, I was relieved that I didn’t h
SOREN“Maybe we should check it out by ourselves?” Ignis suggested.I had not been able to rest ever since I felt the bond surged to life. I know Koa and Rune thought otherwise but I knew it in my bones that she was close. It almost felt like she was in the pack, like she was back.“Check where? I know she isn’t back. Someone would have said something. We would have seen her when she crossed the borders”“But our feelings can never be wrong. Something tells me that there is no way we would feel the bond if she was in a pack close by. She has to be in the pack or along the borders. She is here” Ignis insisted.I wanted to hang onto his words and believe him, but I wasn’t up for another disappointment when they confirmed that what I was feeling was all in my head.I was pacing my office as my mind worked a million mile per minute. I could not get any work done and it was a nuisance.“I wonder why she didn’t just reject us properly. Now, I can’t get her out of my fucking head” I growled
SORENI stumbled back in shock and Amira began to cough after I released her. The weight of her words settled in my chest like a rock and I found it hard to breathe.Our son. He is dying.I wanted to call her out on her lie. She wasn’t pregnant when she left. She could have told me. We only had sex once. Was it possible to get pregnant just like that?I wanted to accuse her of trying to manipulate me but there was something in her eyes. It was raw, frantic and desperate.Noah stepped into the room and the look in his eyes also stole my words of accusation out of me. She didn’t just leave. She lied as well.“What child?” I still asked “You never said anything about being pregnant” Despite my thoughts, the words still managed to come out.Before she could answer, a small figure ran into the room, planting himself in front of Amira.A small boy, barely six years old.He was so tiny with his hands spread out in front of him and his body trembling with rage that would have made me chuckle
AMIRASoren hated me.That fact was indisputable. I could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at me like he was close to tearing me to shreds.It was too much for me to bear. My heart was aching, knowing that I had hurt him so much that he started to hate me, but I also wasn’t willing to bridge the gap when I knew that as soon as I got what I needed, I might have to leave again.“Amira, what if we don’t have to leave? We can explain this to Soren and your father. Soren is now the alpha of the pack, so what Alistair says doesn’t matter anymore,” Astrais spoke up as I stood and watched Soren hold Elias to his chest. There were so many emotions in his eyes.“No, I can’t. Ivannah is his wife now. Valeria would be more dangerous now. She would do anything to keep Ivannah as Luna, and my children would be her target. I would never allow her to use my children against me.”“Soren would be able to protect them. It’s different now. You won’t be alone,” Astrais argued, but I pushed her back b
SORENI watched the portal close after they stepped into it, and I had to fight the strong urge to run after them. I felt uneasy in my chest, and it felt as though Amira was leaving again.“The children are here. She will be back,” Ignis spoke with an understanding tone that I hated. It felt like rubbing salt on an open wound.I hated that I was not the one in that portal with her. Everything was out of my control, and I hated not being in control.“Our priority is here with our sons,” Ignis reminded me, and I slowly turned to Noah and Elias, who was still watching me with wary green eyes that irritated me.I didn’t want my son to look at me like I was a stranger. I hated that. He shouldn’t be afraid of me. It was all because of Amira. If she hadn’t taken them and hidden them from me, then he wouldn’t have been so afraid of me.“Don’t be such a fool, Soren. She said she had her reasons. Don’t act more immature than a child,” Ignis snapped, his snide and mockery snapping those thoughts
AMIRAWe stepped out of the portal that led us back to the human training facility. We had not been here since the test Alistair had forced us to take, and I had not been in the pack long enough to know whether Soren had taken control of managing the lab.Something was off. I felt it immediately when I stepped out of the portal. The familiar but nauseating smell of blood and death hit me and I felt the need to puke at the spot.“Something is wrong,” I told Koa as we stood in front of the lab. It shouldn’t be this quiet. At least, from what I had observed the first and only time I had been here.“You smell it too? Smells like dead bodies.” He scrunched his nose up. The smell was overwhelmingly strong, and I had to resist the urge to turn back and disappear into the portal before it closed to escape the stench.“Let’s hurry. I don’t like this feeling,” I told Koa before I pushed the large doors open.I stilled as soon as I opened the door. We didn’t need to go far to see why the stench
AMIRA“There should be a car around here we can use. Let’s fine a garage” Koa suggested after we walked out of the communication room.“Wait” I called out when I sighted something on the wall “Isn’t that a map of the place?” I walked towards the image on the wall and just as I had suspected, it was a detailed map of the whole place.“That should be the garage. It’s in the basement right under where we are standing” Koa pointed at a spot on the drawing.I pointed at the end of the hallway “There is a stairway there. It should lead us there”We found the garage easily and picked the first car key we found on the rack “It’s this one” I told Koa as I pressed the button to unlock the car.“Perfect” he muttered “let’s hope we can find the address quickly”I slide into the passengers seat and Koa took the driver’s seat. My nerves were through the roof but I wanted to keep hope.“Ezra will be fine” Astrais assured. Her words brought hope to me but it didn’t dispel my worries totally.“He has t
AMIRAI took a step back, eyeing the man like he had gone mad because there was no way he would have uttered such a word if he was sane.“What did you just say? What experiment?” My voice shook with belief. What kind of psycho had Inara made us come to?“You are the child from the lab. The one we thought died in the fire” He repeats with a definite voice, his eyes hard and determined on the stupid words he was spurting.Fire? Died? Now, I was certain this man must be on something because I had never been associated with any fire incidents since I had been born.I shook my head in denial “You must be mistaking me for someone else. I have never been in a lab and I certainly don’t remember anything about a fire” I chuckled nervously and glanced at Koa who was looking at the man as though he had grown two heads.The man glanced at Koa who was already outside the house “You. Wait here”And with that, he slammed the door close, grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the house.“What are
AMIRALeonora’s hung over my head like a dark cloud. She was right. If Soren was insisting I stay, what would happen to Ivannah?Ivannah had been a thorn in my side for years. I hated her and her mother for everything they had ever done to me. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be the one to ruin her marriage to Soren even though I knew she was never supposed to be at his side.That wasn’t the way I lived my life. It was their way and the last thing I wanted to do was do anything they would ever do.All eyes were on me even though Soren had said he would deal with it. They were waiting for me to say I would let Soren deal with it. I couldn’t meet any of their gazes as I spoke “There is no need to deal with anything because I am leaving” No one said anything at first and I was afraid to look at the expressions on their faces. “The hell you are” Soren growled, his voice bellowing in the office. “You hear her?”His anger was overwhelming but I didn’t flinch because I expected it.
SORENThe room was suffocating and I wanted to get out. It was too much. The lies, betrayals and secrets that had all been laid bare for me felt like a fog that was blinding me and pulling me under. I looked at my father who stood unrepentant in the middle of the room and I still couldn’t believe what I had just heard. “You experimented on me” I said, this time my voice was calm but it was a huge contrast to how I felt on the inside. It was as though I was finally digesting everything that had been said. My father knew what I was. He knew I had a mate he tried to kill and just like Ami said, he tried to play God. “Why did you do it? To fight Curtis? Is that why you decided to do this?” I asked “Did you do it? Was that why you stopped being a scientist?” Noah had a weary expression but I couldn’t care less about the guilt on his face. All I wanted was answers and not the regret they didn’t have until they got caught. “Yes” He confessed “I was the head scientist of the operation
AMIRA I had not spoken a word to Dad from when we left the house until we arrived in front of Soren’s office. It was hard to ignore the whispers and fingers pointed at me as I walked to the pack house. It was the first time I had shown my face in public since I had returned, so the members were shocked to see that the rumours were true. Ruelle and Koa didn’t follow us to the office. We separated at the entrance and I pleaded with Ruelle to go back to my house so she would keep an eye on the twins while I thrashed this matter once and for all. “Ami” Dad called with a quiet tone but I was not ready to look at him. He would have to explain everything here. I knocked twice and pushed the door open. The air inside Soren’s office was thick with tension the moment we stepped inside. My eyes found Soren immediately and my chest tightened when I saw the anger and shock on his face. I wondered what happened before we got here. His shoulders were tense as though he was preparing for
AMIRA I stood by the edge of the bed and watched as Meridia worked quickly. Her old but experienced hands moved with ease and care as she tilted Ezra's head slightly and brought the vial to his lips while chanting softly. I held my breath as I watched every drop of liquid from the vial disappear into my baby’s mouth while I prayed silently that it worked. Dad placed a reassuring grip on my shoulder but I couldn’t take my eyes off Meridia. I was biting my tongue so I wouldn’t start to question Meridia and the effectiveness of the vial for the nth time. She said I needed to trust her and that was what I was trying to do. “It’s done” Meridia announced after placing Elias back on the bed and adjusting the covers over his little body. She stood up and faced Dad and I “The potion should kill off all the venom and the body will purge it out” My throat tightened “So he’s...” “He is going to be fine now, child. You have nothing to fear anymore” She assured me “His body will expel the
SOREN I stormed into my office, ready to slam the door and let out a growl that measured the intensity of my rage, but paused when I saw my parents waiting for me in the office. I was ready to kick them out, especially my father because I was not in the mood to deal with any of his bullshit today. “Look, whatever you have to say, keep it till later. I am not in the mood…” “Is it true?” Mum interrupted before I could finish my demand for them to leave. “Is what true?” I could see through the cracks of her false composure that she was worried. With the way she kept glancing at my father, I knew this would turn out like our other discussions, where he had never been able to control himself. “That Amira is back and with children?” I sighed tiredly. I had not bothered to tell them Amira was back or with my kids because I had been busy with Elias. “Yes” My dad shot to his feet, appearing in front of me in the blink of an eye. “And those children? Are they yours?” I clenched
AMIRA “Talk?” Dad asked with a confused expression “About what?” I felt a tiny tug at the helm of my shirt before I could answer and I looked down to see Elias with wide teary eyes staring up at me. “Eli?” I bent down so I was at eye level and wiped his cheeks “Why are you crying, baby?” “Why did Daddy leave? Is he angry with me?” His trembling voice broke my heart and I pulled him into a tight hug. “No, baby” I peppered multiple on both sides of his face “Daddy isn’t mad at you” “Then why did he leave? I want to go with him” Fresh waves of tears appeared again. My heart clenched painfully in my chest. There was no doubt that Ezra had gotten attached to Soren. I wanted to be happy that Elias found it so easy to bond with Soren just barely two days after they met but at the same time, it hurt me that he would not be able to spend much time with his father since I planned to leave the pack when Ezra had recovered. “Did you spend all the time when I was gone with your fa
AMIRAI stepped out of the portal into the house. Thankfully, the portal brought us back to where we had left off.“The house is quiet. Are they at the pack house?” Koa asked as he stepped out after me.“No, they are still here. I smell them. They should be at the back” Koa followed me to the garden.As soon as I stepped through the back door, familiar delighted gasps reached my ears.“Mummy” Elias squealed with wide eyes when he saw me. His small feet pattered across the floor as he raced towards me with his small arms outstretched.I bent down and picked him up as soon as he reached me. I missed him so much. I had never stayed away from them for this long. I peppered kisses all over his face and was rewarded with excited giggles as he tried to push me away playfully.“I missed you, Eli. So so much” I leaned back to study his face.“Me too, but I had so much fun playing with Daddy and Grandpa. Did you bring the medicine for Ezra? Will he be fine now?”Amira softened, brushing his curl
IVANNAHI stared at the door with a new kind of numbness and hurt. I could feel everything I had ever worked for slip away from my fingers like water; it was terrifying. I lifted my hand to pound the door down. How dare Soren do this to me?I suffered years of humiliation and insults to remain by his side, as the Luna of the pack and he runs to Amira as soon as she returns. What happened to the years of hatred he harboured for that bitch?My hand fell back lifelessly against my sides. There was no use knocking. The result would only be as cold-hearted as the one I had just received, if not more.“Mum will know what to do” I whispered to myself before I turned away from the door.I ignored the sneers and looks of curiosity as my legs hurried me towards my mother. My breaths were uneven and ragged as I picked up the pace, almost in a sprint as my desperation rose.Mom had moved into the pack house after she had a nasty fight with Dad after Amira left. Dad was hell-bent on finding her ba
SORENI held Elias to my chest as I walked around the room. He had fallen asleep in my arms, and I was reluctant to put him down. I pressed a kiss to his curls as his heartbeat matched mine. It was peaceful and calm.I felt warm holding him to my chest and I would stay like this forever if I could. His tiny hand clutched my shirt tightly and I told myself he held me like that because he trusted me and didn’t want me to leave.Noah had something to do in town, so he left me to watch over the kids. Meridia had come over earlier to check on Ezra and make sure that the venom was not spreading fast and left me with a vial to always give him a drop every hour.A knock at the door interrupted my moment with Elias. I took a whiff of the air and my eyes narrowed when I smelt Ivannah. What was she doing here?I took Elias back inside and lay him down beside his brother. I kissed both of them on their foreheads before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind me.When I approached the