AIDANWhen I peeled my eyes open, it didn’t feel like it normally did when I woke up from my sleep. I would usually be wide awake within the first few seconds because my slumbers were usually pretty shitty.This time, it felt like I’d been asleep for so long, but I still felt weak to my bones regardless.I struggled to remember where I was and how I fell asleep there, and the memories hit me like a moving truck.Collin.The challenge.Me winning.And me dying.Shit.But if my eyeballs could dart left and right like they were doing right now and I could remember all of these details, it meant that I had survived Collin’s attack.And that also meant that…“Welcome back to the land of the living, man.”It was Jace who spoke, cutting me off from my thoughts.I turned my head to face him.“You didn’t think I was going to let you escape from your responsibilities that easily now, did you?” He asked, looking too calm for someone whose friend almost just died.And yeah. Leave it to Jace to tr
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
TARAWe took a ride back home, and I could say that I’d never been as hurt, confused, and afraid all at the same time before as I was now. In the thousands of seconds that it took for us to make it back, I fought the urge to cry thousands of times, but I couldn’t. Not in front of Nadia. I couldn’t bear the thought of scaring her like that, but I also couldn’t stop thinking about it.‘Dad’s not home. He’s out with Mom. Kayla Graham.’Aidan was a father. To someone other than Nadia.And Aidan was a husband. To someone else who wasn’t me.Could there have been a misunderstanding somewhere?None of it made any sense, but I still remembered the odd sense of familiarity I felt when the teenager showed up, telling me somewhere deep inside me that this held some real bitter truth. The betrayal hurt like a thousand cuts from a jagged saw to the same spot.I almost hissed in pain, but I swallowed the feeling like a pill, waiting until we got back.The thought of going back to the penthouse wher
TARAI’d be honest upfront. I couldn’t care less about the basket that me and Nadia spent over half an hour filling it with whatever fruits we could find at the market. All I cared about was the way my heart was doing unfamiliar things like gymnastic moves in my chest in anticipation of seeing Aidan.A little more than for me though, I was happy that Nadia did not turn into a shadow of her usual self after we broke the news of her parentage to her. She still missed spending time with Aidan and was just as excited about seeing him as me.“We have oranges, peaches, a watermelon, bananas, and even more fruit, Nadia. I doubt Aidan is going to be able to finish these all by himself, so I think we should stop here, okay?”She seemed to be enjoying the local shopping spree a little too much, but she bobbed her head in response either way.After paying and bagging our stuff, I transferred them to the basket we came along with, and pulled out the possible location list that Aidan dropped off w
TARAThe next days were better than I could have predicted in years to come, and that meant better in the sense of things with Aidan, and even better with my mother. We frequented my old home as often as we could, spent hours upon hours in my mother’s company, and sometimes, even visited twice on the same day for days in a row.My mom was so happy, confessing to it by herself that she hadn’t been happier in years. When she randomly mentioned one afternoon that she was grateful to have seen these days, and would now peacefully go to meet the Moon Goddess, I rebuked her, telling her that I saw her spending many more years with us after this.I truly did.Nadia wasn’t left out in the merriments. Her grandmother showered her with so much love that she was the one who dragged me sometimes to go see her.And then there was my father. Just as I had suspected on the first day when we came, he was only entertaining us because of Mom. Her seeing us must have brought about a time that had been c
TARAI kept on ignoring the voice in my head that had been echoing on repeat, making me question if I had made a rash decision without properly thinking about it. Nadia’s eyes were swollen with tears, her face, still wet and puffy from sobbing after we broke the news to her. She had let me into the room now, but I still gave her a few minutes for her occasional shudders to calm down before I started speaking.“Can I talk to you now?” I asked, watching her sunken frame on the bed and wondering when my baby became this smart. I couldn’t say “shocked” was an appropriate word to describe how I felt when she uttered those words.Nadia nodded, so I steadied myself with a deep breath before I spoke.“Aidan, your daddy, and I, first met each other a very long time ago, and as of then, we weren’t very wise to make the best decisions. Aidan hurt me by pushing me away, but I realized that he only pushed me away because he was scared for us and trying to protect you from a bad man who would have
TARA“You know how Aidan has been here for a very long time making sure that we’re okay, we’re happy, and we have everything we need?” Nadia’s eyes brightened as she stared between me and Aidan, nodding. “Good. And how a dad always does these things because that’s what they’re supposed to do?”Nadia’s smile faltered, mirroring her confusion now. I quickly went on. “It happens that Aidan is your dad, just like you’ve always wished. He always has been, and he’s here for you now.” My forehead had gone clammy with the tension of the moment, and I felt my heartbeat thrashing in my ears. “How do you feel about that, baby?” I asked when Nadia hadn’t said a word for too long.“He…Aidan is my daddy?” Nadia’s voice was unrecognizable. Small, and unsure.Aidan answered this time, cautiously. “Yes, Nadia, I’m your daddy.”I’d thought about how this was going to play out in my head, and thought about the many scenarios in all directions that this could take. Only one truly stuck, hence my surprise
TARAMy mom had insisted we spend the night with them after already staying over four hours there, which honestly felt like minutes with how much laughter and crying we did, but I politely refused, mostly because Dad’s attitude didn’t yield the whole night.Mom offered to clean my old room and set it up for me and Nadia, claiming that they had barely touched anything since after that night, and even if Nadia was excited about the idea, I didn’t want to be back in the space just yet.I promised that we would show up again tomorrow to take off where we left, even going as far as making plans to spend the day in the kitchen, all three of us—me, Mom, and Nadia— before Mom finally agreed to let us leave.My gratefulness to the goddess knew no bounds. It hadn’t even been a complete day, and my heart was already lighter as everything was beginning to fall into place.And more than anything else, I found myself wanting to share the good news first with Aidan, and I was surprised that it didn’
TARAI couldn’t say if I considered it funny now, or something else. For the last couple of days, I’d been worried sick about the outcome of us coming back here, but as soon as I laid eyes on my mother, all my worries melted into nothingness.It was like she didn’t believe it was me at first, but immediately I said the word, a shocked sound slipped past her lips, and she threw her arms forward, going in for an embrace. On instinct, I did the same, laughing as the heaviest weight of the moment was lifted off my chest.Wrapping my arms around her neck and burying my face into her clothes, I felt hot tears falling from my eyes, and I didn’t bother stopping them. She was alive. She was well, and I got to see her again. To smell that familiar scent of home, of my mother.“My baby girl,” she cried, her smaller body racking with aggressive sobs against mine. “I never thought the goddess would bless me with a day to see you again. This has to be an illusion. Please tell me it’s not a dream,”
TARAI didn’t expect to be hit with so many memories as soon as Aidan drove us past Attica Pack’s borders, those from the events surrounding my departure, and more from way before then, but I was.Attica pack had changed—in a really good way—, but with the anxiousness and the bad memories this place brought up, I would have turned around and headed back where I came from if Aidan wasn’t with me.He must have noticed my dampened mood, seeing as he rushed in and out of the large penthouse after showing Nadia to her room. Not even the jaw-dropping gorgeousness of Aidan’s condo could get me to relax.As soon as he got back, Aidan took my hands in his, automatically calming me down, and he led me to a sofa. His eyes held the most understanding and patience, something I was so grateful for. Aidan didn’t know that this was more than just facing my parents after the tragic event years ago, but also some dark traumatic experiences of mine that I barely thought of anymore because it was way eas
AIDANShouldn’t I have been ecstatic that Nadia and Tara were finally coming to Attica pack, where I most wanted them to be, even if this journey was only temporary?No arguments…I was. I was happy for this development, but dread coiled itself around my neck more than joy, making me question if this was the right time, or if once again, Jace was right, and I had dug a grave for myself that I couldn’t get out of.I hadn’t entirely been honest with myself, and neither have I been one hundred percent honest with Tara. My briefcase stared at me, and so did all the evidence from my attempt to change the hands of fate.Documents for a new diner in Attica pack with keys I had intended to give Tara, documents with Nadia’s name, admitting her as a pupil in Attica’s most prestigious institution, a new home for them, and subsequently, for us, and even more incriminating information that I couldn’t dare name.These should have been a thing of joy and pride to share with Tara, but I’d gone and don