“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say things that are personal,” Ethan finally answered, to Lily’s disappointment and obvious chagrin. She took her hand from his quickly, and pursed her lips.Ethan however didn’t look like he cared that she was currently being left in the dark.“Look, whatever you want to know, you already have your ways of finding out, as you said.” He told her so teasingly and the dark haired beauty looked away.“Does that mean you’re not on my side?” Lily asked him. “You and I are meant to be on the same side. Can’t you see that?”“Why?”His one-word questions topped her short, and she turned to glare at him. However, he met her gaze squarely and his eyes were just as cold, if not colder than hers.Ethan continued with a straight face. “Clearly, you’re fueled by your own agenda. Your idea of being on your side means for me to be your puppet. And I’m sure you know, I am no one’s prey.”He trailed his hand up her waist and to her upper back, leaving tingles on her bod
As the court adjourned for the day, Anna was glad to leave the building. She barely looked at her sister the entire time, and thankfully, most of her examination and cross-examination wasn’t long.Her parents walked behind them as she walked with the lawyer.“That’s over.” The lawyer sighed and checked his watch briefly. “You would likely not need to come again. The rest of the case against your sister has to do with her debt and associations to illegal gambling and lenders.”Anna nodded, feeling relief. “Thanks. Contact me if you need anything.”She turned to wave goodbye at her parents, who looked deep in conversation with each other. They had barely spoken to her before the court hearing, and she wasn’t feeling too bad about it. There was still time for her to heal from what they had supported her sister in putting her through.As she entered the taxi she hailed, her phone rang. The caller ID made her feel cheered up.“Hello?” She answered the call.“Are you free this afternoon? Th
Anna woke up to her phone beeping; it was time to get up. And after a few moments of labored breathing, she did so with a groan and slowly made her way to the bathroom to wash her face. Then she began her morning routine, grumbling under her breath about how little sleep she got.As she finished bathing the children and dressing them up, she began her own task of dressing up, before preparing breakfast.Whilst feeding the twins, her phone began to vibrate.“Hello?” She answered her father’s call, using her shoulder to keep the phone in her ear while she continued feeding Andrea.“Anna, dear,” her father spoke. “How are you? And the twins?”“We’re alright.” She responded immediately.“I just wanted to remind you that… your sister’s court date is today.”Anna pursed her lips.“I know that, dad.” She finally said, just as she dropped the plate in the sink.There was a knock on the door as her father asked, “Will you be coming? The lawyer mentioned you will be on the stand today.”“Yep.”
Anna was speechless, to say the least. It was hard to control the way her body trembled upon hearing those words. Suddenly, she could understand what Ethan meant more by what he did. He was only trying to protect her.She couldn’t imagine that the werewolves would ever have such hatred for humans. Why? She wanted to ask Ethan but her throat felt like it had a lump in it. For sure, she didn’t wish to lose her children to this sort of thing. She never thought it would be a thing for her to worry about until now.When Ethan then said, “I would understand if you don’t want to keep on pretending that the children are mine,” she stopped him with a hand on his arm.“It’s okay, Ethan,” Anna replied. “I… I already knew that it would cause a scandal either way if it ended up coming out that they were William’s. So this is best.”How could she ever repay him really? She didn’t deserve such kindness from him.“You’re a good man, and I really appreciate what you did for me and the kids.” She told
William sighed.“I’m truly not in the mood for that line of questioning. Drop it.” He grunted to his fiancée.Unbeknownst to Lily, the guilt had begun to set in, that he had lost hold of his self control because of Anna.Lily didn’t like William’s response. She walked up to him and leaned into his personal space.Her scent was pleasing to his senses, and yet, the Alpha found it hard to not compare her with Anna.William had gotten too quiet for Lily’s liking.She had to try another tactic.Softly, she said, “William, please. I really don’t like how you’re acting. Why did you get all riled up over your brother bringing in a human girl? She had nothing to do with us.”The curiosity was clear in her voice, and he knew he couldn’t deny that. He had to give her something to shut her up.Finally he replied. “I knew her as an employee before today, but I had no idea about her connection to Ethan.”Lily was astonished. An employee?“So, you mean she works at Hayes’ Corp.”“Before. But not now
Anna was taken aback by the woman’s clear ire, and the wording of her statements. It was clearly an insult which was jarring to the redhead. She didn’t expect such an innocent face to say something this angry. Was it her mistake to assume that Lily was an angel?Still…Just because Lily was insulting Anna didn’t mean she didn’t have a reason. She was upset, and very reasonably so. William had caused all this, and now the redhead had to figure out a way to fix it without butting heads with the other woman.“I… I’m sorry,” Anna apologized, and Lily pursed her lips, feeling nothing but impatience. Why was she apologizing when she should be telling her what fucking happened?“That’s not an answer,” Lily pointed out. “You share a connection with my fiancé, do you not? And it has nothing to do with his brother.”Anna couldn’t deny anything, so she spluttered out the first thing that came to mind.“We… I worked for him before. In the company.” She clarified. Hopefully, that would reduce Lily
Anna stepped forward, having had enough of this. She felt so many emotions overwhelming her, but most of all it was regret. She should have just said no to Ethan, she thought. She shouldn’t have gone to lunch with him today. Maybe this wouldn’t be happen.“Please stop.” She begged the two men, but it all fell on deaf ears, as they weren’t even paying attention to her now.Anna felt like everything was going out of control. She never intended for this to happen! Ethan however couldn’t imagine that William would be this uncontrolled. He didn’t expect his brother to react this way. Of course, in the privacy of their own home and Pack, he would probably beat the tar out of him. But here? In public? Where humans could see? It was unfathomable that his strict in lifestyle - save for the vices of women and clubbing - brother would be acting this way.But he couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle as the saying went. It would be cowardly of him to do so and Ethan, manipulative though he
William finally released his brother and shifted into his human form to Anna’s wide eyes.She gaped at him in shock before turning to Ethan, who was slowly shifting back as well. His eyes were colder than she had ever seen.“You should leave, Anna,” William’s voice was rough, like he sorely needed a menthol as he reached for her.She snapped at him, her frustration with him at an all time high. This was all his fault, she just knew it.Goading his brother into a fight when he knew he would beat him… what sort of person did that?!“Don’t touch me! Are you satisfied now?!” She raised her voice to his surprise. “I want nothing to do with you, William. Haven’t you gotten that through your head yet?!”William felt a myriad of emotions, but hurt and regret were the primary ones. He had screwed up once again and he didn’t know how. And he hated how much she clearly thought more of his brother than he deserved.She was his, so why?What sort of cruelty was this?“You’re not safe here, Anna. N
Lily couldn’t contain her smirk as she saw Anna’s wide-eyed stare aimed at her. It had taken the work of a couple of her connections for her to figure out William’s whereabouts.It had just been her luck that she had a standing reservation here.The Alpha growled lowly under his breath as she turned to look at him. “What a surprise,” Lily remarked with sarcasm dripping from her voice. Then she turned to Anna, the redhead whom she glared venomously at. She blamed the formerly human woman for ruining her life, and her future with William. “Don’t tell me you two are on a little date.“What are you doing here, Lily?” The emerald eyed Alpha demanded.“What? You didn’t think you’re the only one that can step out on a nice night like this?” She scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. “You know, I was just wondering how you two could be here having a good time when you both have caused so much chaos. You, especially, Anna.” She spat out the redhead’s name with such venom that Anna coul
It was an hour later when Anna arrived at her parent’s place.She knocked meekly on the door, and was startled when the door was flung open.“Anna?” Her father was the one who answered it and she could have nearly cried at the relief in his eyes. He pulled her close into a hug and she closed her eyes briefly from the warmth.“Where have you been?” He asked her, curiosity in his voice. “And how are the twins?”“I had to travel for a bit. For work,” she clarified, the lie that she had come up with left her lips so easily. “The kids are okay as well.”She stepped into the house that she had lived in all her childhood.…Anna woke up from the bed of her childhood room early the next morning. Sleep hadn’t come easily but she eventually drifted off. After an hour of tossing and turning, she got up for a jog and had breakfast.“Good morning mum, dad,” she greeted her parents as she returned for breakfast.Her mother eyed her in silence, and Anna could sense questions on her mind. Having lied
“Of course,” William said in an imperious voice. “My brother saw fit to take his anger out on human girls and murdered ten of them in one night. There is even news to prove that, and he has confessed it to me.”Gasps left the lips of all who had no idea, and Camille’s face turned pale as she processed that.“T-this cant be true-““It is the truth,” William turned to say to his mother unabashedly. His eyes pierced hers with a look of certainty on his face. “And it will always be the truth. That is why,” he continued, turning to his brother. “From now henceforth, I cut all our ties to him.”There was a wave of confusion in the air and Alpha Drake seethed silently.“You are banishing him from your pack?” The Alpha of the Eclipse pack asked and William nodded in the affirmative.“Now that you have seen the truth of what caused the Hunters to come into the city, you have no right to hold these charges over my mate’s head. And you will release her at once. Council, your decision?”The Elder
The next morning, as sunlight streamed in through the windows and bathed the room with a warm glow, William stirred first.Anna slept soundly in his arms, both of them half-naked. The memories of the full moon the previous night made him smile. It had been better than he had expected. Luckily his Beta had fulfilled most of the duties William delegated to him, so the Aloha was free to enjoy the night with his family.“Hey,” Anna woke up with a small whisper leaving her lips. She felt his warmth all around her and she felt safe.It had been a long time coming, she thought, and she didn’t want to leave the bed anytime soon.“Sleep well?” He smirked down at her as she pressed her body against his.“Too well,” her voice was akin to a purr as she spoke. “Anyway, I think it’s nearly last breakfast. I’ll have to get ready to go into the city soon.”Ah yes, that.William’s mood soured and she noticed it quickly.“Will,” she sighed and leaned into him. “Please. You know this is necessary.”“I k
Anna was surprised to find Ethan approaching them.“Ethan?” Camille also sounded stunned to see her younger son there, and coming to Anna’s defense.“Mother, enough of this,” Ethan said in a calm tone, not showing any signs of anger.“B-but-“ Camille’s face reddened, out of anger or embarrassment or both… she didn’t know.“Focus on the festival. Stop with this,” he told her. “Focus on the festival.”“Focus on the festival? What about the Eclipse pack, and our relations with them? What about Alpha Drake?”“Everything is being taken care of,” Was all Ethan said before turning to glance at a stupefied Anna.She looked away, not wanting to show emotion to him of all people.She noticed the twins were staring at them from afar with curiosity in their faces.Camille was shocked at her younger son.“Ethan, I had never expected you of all people to defend her after all she has done,” she vehemently said.“And I am not,” Ethan sighed; his mother was hard to dissuade when she fixated on certain
“This is so cool!” Andrew jumped atop the picnic blanket in an excited manner that Anna couldn’t help but smile.There was a buzz of excitement in the air.As Anna played the snacks and fruits out for the twins to eat, there was the sound of a throat clearing that made her and William turn to see who it was.“Alpha,” it was a guard who bowed deeply. “There are some delegates from the Grey Hills Pack and the Moonlight Pack here. They wish to see you.”William refrained from giving into the urge to pinch his nose and only let oit a small sigh, and nodded.“Very well. I will be there in a bit. Have them wait for me in the study,” he ordered the guard and dismissed him with a wave. The guard bowed and left, before William turned to his mate, meeting her gaze.Before he could say anything, she spoke, “It’s alright, Will. I’ll handle things here for the time being.After William left - but not before giving her and the twins kisses each - she sat and enjoyed the snacks while they watched m
Ethan wasn’t surprised about his brother wanting to spend time with his family, and he kept his opinions on that to himself - being the one who never saw the point in all that, he wouldn’t even touch that topic with a fucking ten foot pole.However, he did have a point to make.“It’s easy to forget your duties if you focus too much on your family, brother,” he crossed his arms as William’s glare increased. “Alpha Drake will come for blood soon enough. I don’t think we’re ready for that in any way.”“Let me worry about that, Ethan. And focus on enjoying the rest of the day. The festival is just starting, you wouldn’t want to miss it. And afterward, Ethan, then we will have much to discuss.”William’s words made Ethan’s brows furrowed in confusion. Why did his brother have that tone, as if he had some plan he had kept under his sleeve? It couldn’t be could it? The Alpha had never shown any indication in the past day of strategizing.However he couldn’t outright question the Alpha now.“
Anna didn’t know what to say after William was done talking. She had not expected to hear that sort of thing coming from him. He used to be so stone cold towards her, at least on the surface… and now things had changed. For the better or for worse, she didn't know just yet, but she was pleased and warmed by it.“Will…” she began to say only for him to continue.“Anna, all you have to do is promise me that, and I won't have a problem with anything else. No matter what, don’t forget you're my mate and you are my top priority. You and our children, and our family. It matters more to me than anything.”The honesty wasn’t one thing he expected either to come from himself, especially with her. He had once prided himself on being unruffled by shows of love and affection that most other 5 men his age seemed to fall under the thrall of. William particularly recalled an occasion in which a VIP client spoke fondly of his wife and daughters and asked William if he had any himself to which the Alp
The sight of her two children writhing in pain on their beds made her heart beat faster and she rushed towards them, frantic.“Andrea? Andrew?” She pressed her hand atop their foreheads to check their temperatures and found, to her dismay, they were feverish.The sight of their pale, withdrawn faces even in their sleep was heart wrenching. Anna felt helpless. What could have been wrong with them? They were fine yesterday!As though some supreme power had read her mind, the door opened and William walked in, his lips moving.“Good morning-” his words were cut off as he took in the look on his mate’s face. She looked incredible, her hair down to the blue dress she wore, but it was the display of terror in her eyes that stopped him in his tracks.“What’s going on?” he asked, and she rushed to him, tugging him to their children’s beds.“They were like this when I found them. Will, what could have happened? Maybe they ate something or… or-”The emerald-eyed Alpha grabbed his mate’s hands a