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23: Sacrifice Of Motherhood
Last Updated:
2024-12-19 22:59:57Related chapters
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 24: Pinky Promise
AIDANThe one thing that I knew was that Tara got away from Attica pack and came into Vermont pack to have a clean slate. She had a new life that didn’t include my name, and as far as I could tell, she didn’t want me in that life.‘Yet,’ my wolf put in at the back of my mind.Right now, I was sure that not many people knew that I was Nadia’s father, despite the resemblances, but until Tara spelled it out that she wanted the case to be otherwise, I wasn’t going to blow her cover.There was also the fact that my pack and Vermont pack were still bitter enemies, and that implied that associates of mine could also be considered enemies to Vermont’s packmates.I wasn’t ready to put a tag on Tara’s and Nadia’s backs just so that I could satisfy my desire to be a part of their lives, and that was why I was currently being discreet and secluded from the many eyes of the public.My back was faced to most of the people in the barbecue party setting, and Nadia was talking my ears off, but honestl
Last Updated : 2024-12-20Alpha Aidan's Rejection 25: Come With Me
TARAI can’t say exactly why I blurted out that silly question asking Aidan if he wanted beers, but if I were asked, I guess I would say something along the lines of, “I wanted to redeem myself after chickening out when I saw him earlier.”We had been sitting together for close to thirty minutes now, and as time went on, the aroma of barbecue already filled the air, causing everyone around to salivate. The party was already in full swing.Aidan and I fell into an easy conversation about the multipack moon meet that had come to an end, and I was surprised that it wasn’t awkward in any way.I guess that even after all this time, conversations with Aidan still flowed easily.Nadia was playing a little distance away, casting mischievous little glances at us, and I couldn’t help but ask.“Care to share what it is that you both were gossiping about while I was absent? Because it seems to me that you two have something under your sleeves, or at least, just Nadia,” I said.Aidan put his bottl
Last Updated : 2024-12-21Alpha Aidan's Rejection 26: The Wrong Choices
TARACollin was fuming, but heaven knows that he was just looking for a fight where there was none. Aidan must have realized that because now, he looked like he was for sure not going to engage.So, thankfully, I didn’t have to be the only sensible one among us three.Collin wasn’t having it though.“I said party time’s over. You should leave, seeing as Attica pack is a long way from here,” Collin said with his fists still planted on the table and smoke rising from his nostrils.Aidan spoke calmly. “Attica pack is at most a day's drive from here, Collin, and trust me, I don’t want to fight with you, so I’m asking you to please give me some breathing space. You are making a scene out of nothing.”That seemed to annoy Collin more.“A scene?” Collin fumed. “I tolerated your presence when I had to, and now that it’s time for you and your beta to leave, you expect me to allow you to sit around and worm your way into my pack?”“You twist my words and intentions, Collin,” Aidan warned.Colli
Last Updated : 2024-12-21Alpha Aidan's Rejection 27: The Elephant In The Room
TARAI didn’t know how long had passed since Aidan’s hand was over mine, but something finally snapped, disconnecting the tension between us, and I pulled my hands away, letting him have the bag.“I’ll get Nadia,” I said, ignoring the sudden dryness in my throat.Aidan shook his head, stopping me. “It’s not a hassle, Tara. Just get the doors and I’ll grab her without waking her up.”With my heart on the tip of my tongue, I watched as Aidan adjusted the bag containing our clothes and essentials on one arm, pulled Nadia out of the back seat, and hoisted her up on his shoulder with his free arm.Nadia snuggled herself up in the crook of Aidan’s neck, smiling to herself, and muttering unintelligible words as she did.Aidan chuckled at her movement, and I couldn’t help but stare at them as I thought.Aidan and Nadia looked perfect, and I would be a liar if I said I didn’t want this to be a norm for Nadia. It was hard being a single mother, and although it was something I could do well on
Last Updated : 2024-12-22Alpha Aidan's Rejection 28: An Olive Branch
AIDANThe next day, Jace and I were having an early morning briefing about pack matters before I was to go about my day. We were barely an hour in, but I was already exhausted. Thankfully, we were now rounding up.“The pack isn’t expecting you back till later this week, but he has been calling me nonstop since yesterday.” It was Jace speaking.I lifted my head from the desk that served as my workspace for the time being.“Who has?” I asked.“Your dad. He said he had called you multiple times already, and that was why he reached out to me instead. He said you should call him back.”“Did he now?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.Jace laughed. “It was more like a command,” he said, shrugging.I shook my head, wondering how on earth that man was my father.Having confirmed that Tara was very much alive and well, I knew that it was one of two options. It was either my father knew that Tara was alive but wanted me to think she wasn’t, or he was misinformed by his trusted sources. And knowing
Last Updated : 2024-12-23Alpha Aidan's Rejection 29: A Fair Warning
AIDANWhatever device was placed under my car had a lifeline, and however long that was, it had started counting down already.Beads of sweat formed across my head, but I didn’t dare release my hands from my deathly grip on the steering wheel in an attempt to wipe it off as I sat frozen on the spot.“Think, Aidan, think!” I bit out, racking my brain.The steady beep kept going, and the seconds kept counting down.Taking deep breaths to calm myself, I put two and two together.It was most likely an explosive, and disabling it was out of the question. I couldn’t exactly call for help as I didn’t know how much time I had, and for my safety, I had to assume that the slightest movement would trigger the explosive to go off.I looked around me and exhaled a small breath when I realized that the area where I had parked was farther away from where people walked through.It boiled down to this.“No one else is close by, so nobody else can get hurt. I just have to find a way out of here fast en
Last Updated : 2024-12-24Alpha Aidan's Rejection 30: Pretty Like Us
TARA“So…?”“So, what, Jenna?” I asked over the phone as I made sure that everything we needed was packed into the bag. Nadia and I were spending the rest of our day at the park.“Tell me what the heck you’ve been up to. You sped off right after the party, and I haven't heard from you since then.”I sighed before I spoke again. “I could ask you the same thing, Jenna. I called your supposed duty stand, and they said you never turned in for your shift. Where did you go, huh?”Even though I couldn’t see Jenna, I could feel her shrugging. “Oh, just somewhere totally uninteresting. But I see what you’re trying to do Tara, and I won’t let you. Talk to me, girl. Have you been engaging with him?”It was my turn to shrug. “It was only drinks, and don’t forget it was in a public space.”“Well,” Jenna said. “It was bound to happen at some point. I do not support him, what he did to you, or how he left you both to get here on your own, but you will have to figure things out soon for yourselves an
Last Updated : 2024-12-25Alpha Aidan's Rejection 31: It's Not Safe
TARANadia looked between the two of us with expectant eyes, and a fearful thought crossed my mind.I still didn’t completely know why Aidan chose to leave me all those years ago, but now that he was here, Nadia was head over heels for him, and it had just been weeks.What if he left us again?What if things became tough and he decided to break our hearts again? What if he didn’t really want us?The what-ifs multiplied in my mind until Aidan’s voice cut through.“I want to,” he said, responding to my last question, but there was this little voice at the back of my head that didn’t believe that it spanned to all the other what-ifs.As if he was reading my mind, Aidan spoke again. “I want everything. If you would let me.”“Mommy?” Nadia called sweetly, asking for my permission.I couldn’t complain about Aidan being dressed formally because his outfit was casual, yet spoke volumes.“Well, you will have to leave your car because we’re strolling to the park. Can’t ruin all the fun,” I argu
Last Updated : 2024-12-26
Latest chapter
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 48: Lurking
TARAThe next two days were hectic for me because even after the back and forth with Aidan about not buying a whole house, right after we finished from the boutique and got changed into warmer clothes, Aidan signed the papers to a new building, and handed the keys over to me.The house was flashy, massive, spacious, and more of a home than was befitting for just me and Nadia.All through the signing process, my mind did a whole marathon of speculating about the many ways that the day would end, but to my surprise, Aidan left almost immediately, after making sure that we had everything we needed.When I asked him where he was off to, he told me he was going back to his hotel suite.And just like that, Nadia and I had Aidan’s new home to ourselves till ours was repaired.Nadia was currently in school, and I had just finished putting up some plants and furniture around to make the place look more cozy when I heard my phone ring.Picking it up, it was Jenna.“Where are you, Tara?” She ask
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 47: Change Of Clothes
TARABuy me a what?I don’t think I heard him right, but did Aidan Graham just say he was going to buy me a house?Heck no.I was about to start arguing, rightfully so, because he was out of his thoughts to just decide out of the blue that he would buy a house for me, but Aidan was gone before I could get a word out. A humorless laugh rumbled from my chest, and I stared at Nadia who was still half asleep on my lap, oblivious to the chaos going on around her.“Can you believe this guy?” I asked out loud, knowing that I wasn’t going to get any response from anyone.Folding my hands across my chest, or rather, Aidan’s shirt, I went mute.The material of the shirt was soft on my skin, giving a stark contrast to the very hard surface that was Aidan’s bare chest.Unconsciously, I inhaled deeply, forcing Aidan’s perfect scent up my nostrils.Christ.I almost messed up by throwing myself over to him when he unexpectedly took his shirt off. Why did he do that?And most importantly, how on ea
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 46: The Seductress’ Temptation
TARAI didn’t realize it when I first took a look at the address that the lady who called sent, but when Jace called me back an hour ago to tell me that the affected block was in fact where Tara lived, I went mental.She must have deleted my number because I could swear that I called her a hundred times within that time, but I couldn’t get to her.Different evil thoughts crossed my mind, and it physically hurt to think that something may have happened to either one of them.Since Jace was closer, I sent him to check up on the houses that were affected and confirm that Tara and Nadia were okay while I made my way to them.I didn’t bother changing out of my sleep clothes as I barged out of the hotel to find my car.When Jace called back telling me that he hadn’t seen them among the people outside, I struggled to keep myself upright. While I was driving, it took the moon goddess’s protection to not run myself into a tree.I arrived at the block to see the number of people standing outsid
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 45: You Are Soaked
TARAIt had been minutes since I put Nadia to bed, and even longer since Aidan drove off my front porch, unsettling me in so many right but yet wrong ways.I came back down to the kitchen to grab some water, and I found myself stuck in one place, while my mind wandered in different directions.After Aidan and Nadia left together in the afternoon, I found out that I was able to get so much work done even after running my errand, and it was all thanks to him.Realizing that almost everything I did today wouldn’t have been possible if Aidan had not walked into the diner, and because he made Nadia so happy that she wouldn’t stop yapping about him for days to come, I decided to show my appreciation.“It’s not such a big deal, so do not make one out of it, Tara,” I said to myself as I thought about what I could do that would show Aidan that I was thankful without doing too much.“Maybe I could call him?” I asked rhetorically.Deciding against that, I considered buying him a cup of coffee.A
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 44: Another Chance
AIDANIn all my thirty-four years on planet Earth, I’ve only considered a handful of people to be perfect, if any. And if one of them had told me that my list of those people would include the eight-year-old that was currently sleeping in my arms, I would have laughed in their faces.She was perfect in every goddamn way, and I still couldn't believe that she was mine. That she was my daughter. My flesh and blood.Hours with her felt like minutes, which was why I was currently struggling to hand her over to her mother. “Thank you so much for keeping an eye on her, Aidan. I hope she didn’t stress you out too much or try to burn down your place?” Tara asked, chuckling nervously, and I only shook my head.“She was good like she promised.”“Okay, good,” Tara breathed, and memories of how I could practically taste her lips from how close to me she was in this same suite just a while back resurfaced. She continued speaking, but I could hardly focus on her words.I did not trust myself to no
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 43: Aidan’s Proposal
TARANadia was the only person who didn’t feel the tension and the awkwardness in the diner with Aidan’s presence. In fact, she was elated to see him, and the way she was currently holding on to his very large palm—the one that was caressing mine only a few days ago—was an indication of that.Riley was behind us, basking in her glory about the fact that she was right with her earlier speculations.Jenna, on the other hand, was the only one without any readable expression, so she was going to be my distraction from talking to Aidan directly.I realized that this was the first time that Jenna and Aidan had really been in the same spot, except for the opening day of the multipack moon meet which was weeks ago, and even then, they didn’t get a chance to speak to each other.I stuck with introductions.“Jenna,” I began. “This is Aidan Graham. Aidan, this is my friend, Nadia’s godmother, Jenna, or Jen,” I said, sputtering unnecessary details.Nadia giggled, saying, “Aunt Jenna.”With a smil
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 42: Cancel My Plans
TARAIt was Saturday already, and I was presently at the diner, but I couldn’t wait for the days to speed up on itself. It had been days since Collin and a number of his loyal allies stormed out of Vermont pack, and not one person that had come into the diner since then hadn’t talked about it.They had something to say, while others had quite a lot to say.Aidan’s name was heard left, right, and center, and that didn’t mean well for me since I was trying to rule a line on things between the two of us.When everyone was either singing praises about him for taking out the cruel alpha of Vermont pack or swooning over how in their words, ‘he did it for me’, it was hard to keep my thoughts in one place.Yeah. They spread the rumors that Aidan accepted the challenge because of me.“I didn’t think it at first when you zoomed off to go and try to put a stop to the challenge, but I see it now. So y’all are a thing.”It was Riley speaking, and we were both by the counter, attending to a few aft
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 41: Take My Chances
AIDANSince going back to sleep was out of the picture after Tara and Jace left the suite, I went into the bathroom to take a shower, hoping that it would take my mind off some of my troubles, or at least give me some clarity on things.I couldn’t help but think that I had made such a terrible mistake by getting Collin out of the picture, seeing as Tara handled things earlier.The truth is that I thought about how both of them would feel safe, but I didn’t really think through how Tara would take it. Or rather, I didn’t expect her to take it that way.As I showered, I wondered what I could do to make it better. To make her hate me less for making her upset.I came up with nothing.So when Jace came back to the hotel suite after making sure that Tara got home safely, I brought up the conversation.“Do you think we made a mistake?”“I don’t think I understand what you are asking me, Alpha,” Jace said, confused.“I mean with Collin. Do you think interfering with Vermont pack’s line of au
Alpha Aidan's Rejection 40: An Official Title
TARAI was going to pretend like I didn’t know that Aidan’s beta was currently following me as I made my way home after I walked out of them earlier.Certain that Aidan must have sent him to be my bodyguard since it was still the early hours of the morning, I walked home in silence, wondering why within the last few hours, Aidan had riled me up more times than I could count.When I got to the front of my house, I turned to Jace, who was still following me, and I watched his failed attempt to act natural like he was just some stranger passing by.“You can go now, Jace. This is me,” I said, pointing to my apartment. “It was nice meeting you, even if it wasn’t under a much better circumstance.”After a few seconds of waiting without getting any response from him, I unlocked the door and went inside. Letting my bag drop to the floor carelessly, I shrugged off my coat and my shoes.I needed to see Nadia, and then I needed coffee or sleep, or both.I was still contemplating on which one to
