I watched Aspen’s expression morph into one of guilt the second those words left his lips. He reached for our empty plates and then left my side, denying my body of his warmth, and dropped the dishes in the sink and started washing them immediately. I was left there feeling over his words. He’d thought he was in love with her until he met me. What the hell does that even mean? The silence between us was deafening. I struggled to find the words to respond. Part of me felt a glimmer of hope at his admission, but another part feared what his words could truly mean. Everyone always shipped Luke and Felicia, the woman he left me for, and he told me words that were almost similar to what Aspen had just said. The thought of going through what I did three years ago. I had to stop myself from falling for it. Not again. Finally, I spoke up. "Aspen...you're getting married soon. To Victoria. Whatever you might be feeling, don't act on it, it might just be a false sense of responsibility
Victoria's eyes widened in mock surprise as she took in the scene before her. I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been caught red-handed under that scrutiny of hers. “Oh! I didn’t mean to interrupt a family breakfast,” she said in a sickly sweet tone, her red lips curved in a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her gaze skated dismissively over me before settling on Aspen with unmistakable possession. “I just wanted to run a few things by you for the wedding, darling.” She practically purred as she waltzed her way into the kitchen and Aspen followed behind her, looking almost uncomfortable m My heart sank when I heard her words, despite wanting to ignore them. Another reminder that I shouldn’t want Aspen. I dropped my eyes to my half-eaten plate of food, now utterly unappetizing, struggling against the lump forming in my throat. Reality came crashing down around me once more. No matter what complicated feelings might exist between Aspen and me, he was still another woman’s. An
ASPENIt had been looming over our heads for months, the threats, the posturing, the encroachments on our territory by those mangy crews of rogues and upstarts from the neighboring packs. I had no idea what had started it but I'd gotten sick of their taunts, their attempts to undermine my authority. This was my territory, damn it, and I wasn't about to let some young punks take it from me.They seemed to have forgotten how I rose to this position and how my pack became the strongest in such a short amount of time. I didn’t blame them. I heard rumors being spread around in and outside the pack of Aspen the heartless growing weak, apparently backed with proof which gave those young wolves whose balls haven’t even dropped yet the audacity to try and challenge me. I had asked Ben to be patient and not take any rash decisions until we had gotten to the bottom of the rumors.My not so-level-headed beta wanted war from the start, he’s never sat by and watch our strength be questioned, a
ANDREAI slowly blinked my eyes open, a foggy haze filling my mind. What happened? The last thing I remembered was feeling lightheaded, and the constant growls in my head that caused severe pain. I must have passed out. Panic shot through me as I looked around the dimly lit room. Cole! I spotted his crib across the room and let out a sigh of relief as I saw his tiny chest rising and falling with sleep. I looked around and found that we were alone in the room. Where was Lily? How did she get me upstairs? By herself, I was sure. The woman was stronger than she let on. As my eyes continued to adjust, I noticed a piece of paper on the nightstand next to me. I picked it up with shaky hands, an unfamiliar handwriting scrawled across it: ‘Andrea, Our pack is being ambushed by rogues. I have to leave to help fight them off and I don’t want to risk waking you and Cole. Stay inside, stay safe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’My heart pounded reading her hasty words. The pack under
ASPEN I was in a trance, a dream? No. It was something else. I heard Julian’s laughter, it rang in my ears clear as day. I must be hallucinating… Julian isn’t here. “Open your eyes kid, stop being so afraid of such things…” I heard his voice say those familiar words and I realized, it wasn’t hallucination, it was a memory. Slowly I opened my eyes and the blue eyes of my brother met mine. He stood tall, towering over me. I was almost the same height as he was but that did nothing to lessen how intimidated I felt in his presence. He flashed me his usual killer smile and gestured at the lobsters in the pots being boiled alive. I didn’t want to see them, I knew they’d be in pain and goddess knew I hated inflicting pain to anyone or anything. Yet. My brother was always more his wolf than he was a person, he seemed to derive pleasure from causing pain and sometimes even feeling it. “You’re a grown ass man now, yet still close your eyes when you see a bunch of fish being boiled ali
ANDREA His hands in my grasp were too cold and his skin too pale, this wasn’t the sight of Aspen I was used to and the thought and visual of it scared me. His chest rose and fell dangerously slow and his breathing sounded more like wheezing, shallow, almost like it would stop at any given moment. I was scared. Admitting it to myself made it easier for me to accept. That I have feelings for him. I didn’t let go of his hand, not even when Lily had rushed into the cabin with the pack doctor that had treated Cole. We had to move him upstairs, lay him down on the bed and strip off pieces of his clothes just so we could have easier access. He was out cold and I feared that soon he might be out forever. “The coldness of his skin is unusual, also, with how slow his injuries are healing…something is definitely wrong somewhere, this isn’t injury given by an Alpha is it?” The doctor, Miss. Cordelia asked as her questioning gaze met ours. Lily, Ben and I were all in the room. Cole in Lily’
I watched Aspen like a hawk, checking his breathing and temperature every minute I could, Lily spent every moment with us as well. Assuring me that Ben would make sure none of the routes slipped into the pack and hurt anyone. We all stayed in the bedroom, only making a move when Cole complained about being hungry. He kept asking questions about his father, questions I couldn’t reply to because I didn’t have the answered either. Lily tried her best to keep him occupied and smiling but u could see that it was taking a toll on her. When Cole finally fell asleep, we both breathed out a sigh of relief. She met my eyes and forced a small smile, then her blue eyes shifted back to her cousin. He was still pale and still cold as ice, his breathing seemed to have regulated but his eyes still wouldn’t open. Her eyes were watery, and she seemed to be somewhere else in her mind. “I don’t know what I’ll do, if something happens to him…” Lily spoke out in a shaky voice. “There is so much I r
“No!” I said, my warm tone quickly dissipated as I met Lily’s eyes with a hard stare. I knew she was aware of it, no doubt from her secret conversations with Enzo and their weird delusions about a prophecy. Enzo believed in things like that, he believed in fate, prophecies, the moon goddess, second mates. None of it ever mattered to me and I played along because he was my friend. But this was getting out of hand. “Look, Lily…I’m not sure what you and Enzo have been planning or how long, but telling anyone else my secret will put I and my son at risk, I can not and will not lose him,” I said sharply with an icy glare. Lily let go of my hand, almost like she’d flinched away from my touch. I become a different person when it came to this, Enzo should’ve told her that much. “You can trust Aspen,” Lily remarked but not sounding as confident as she did the first time. “I can not trust anyone,” I retorted. “Don’t you trust me?” Lily asked and her words caught me off guard. Despite eve
ANDREA I woke up with a start. I jerked violently on the bed as I tried to gather my bearings. For a few moments, it reeked of that room, where Luke had kept me, it reeked of him and I could almost see his sinister blue eyes looking down at me, getting excited over the pain he inflicted. In a few seconds though, the haze cleared and I relaxed, realizing I was in my bedroom in the cabin. Safe. Right next to me was Cole. He was on the bed with me, his small fingers holding on to mine as he slept peacefully. I heaved a sigh of relief and my lips curled up as I watched my son sleep. Home. I gently pulled my fingers out if his grasp and caressed his hair gently as I watched his little chest rise and fall. We were safe. We were home. I looked around the room, feeling a it disappointed when I saw we were both alone. Aspen must be busy. I inhaled deeply once more, checking the state of my body. I seemed to be healing at a rather rapid pace but not fast enough, it stil
ASPENI gently brushed the messy strands of hair from Andrea’s face, my insides burning with anger as I took in the fading bruises and marks covering her delicate skin. My beautiful, strong mate, so tough yet almost broken by the horrible cruelty we had barely rescued her from.From my spoiled nephew who my mother had raised to be greedy and raised to hate everything that I am. The memory alone of finding her in that hellish basement cell, battered and almost dead…it made my blood boil with rage. If Enzo hadn’t held me back and reminded me she was more important, I might have torn the twitching remains of Luke limb from limb with my bare hands. Luke. Just thinking his name ignited a fresh wave of hatred and disgust towards the misguided kid who was once family. To think he had also dared lay his twisted hands on my mate…the idea was unforgivable. And he will pay for it. For every scratch, every bruise. Andrea’s breathing became slow and even as my fingertips stroked her brow soo
Countless emotions rushed through me as my eyes took in the sight that was in front of me. The cozy cabin’s living room came into view. The scent of fresh-brewed coffee mingling with the scent of breakfast, it made my stomach churn as I had no appetite for anything. There, in the middle where the coffee table was, sat Enzo and Lily, both watching with indulged grins as Cole enthusiastically showed off his prowess at a children’s board game, sweeping aside the pieces with gleeful abandon. Not a single hair was out of place on my beautiful son’s curls, not a mark or blemish on his beaming little face beyond the rosy flush of his excitement. He was safe. Whole. The relief I felt was so great my knees almost gave way. “My baby,” I breathed out in a shaky whisper. At the sound of my voice, three pairs of eyes swiveled in the direction of the staircase, taking in the sight of Aspen holding my admittedly worse-for-wear form. Enzo was the first to rise, hands held out in a placating mann
Everything hurt despite me being at peace. I’d honestly thought I wouldn’t feel anything once I was dead. Why did I still feel? A feeling of grogginess overshadowed my thoughts and I became painfully aware of my whole body as I stirred and clawed my way out of unconsciousness. My whole body felt heavy and my chest felt constricted yet, I could tell I was somewhere safe. I was laying in a deliciously soft bed, the kind of plush comfort I’d missed dearly. The crisp scent of freshly washed linens intermingled with the woodsy, piney aroma that could only belong to one place, my cozy little cabin back at Aspen’s pack. Confusion flooded my senses. Wait…how did I end up here? My brain felt foggy until the memories came crashing back like a violent wave. Luke’s sadistic torment, the crushing certainty that I would never see my precious Cole or family again, the terrifying descent into blackness. But then, cutting through it all…Aspen’s intoxicating scent had washed over me. That earthy
Luke paused mid-swing, chest heaving with the exertion of his hits as his nostrils flared. "Your bastard? Don't fret, my most capable wolves are out watching him. But once he's been...properly raised under my guidance, you needn't concern yourself with the affairs of children any longer," Like said, sounding proud like he was doing me a favor. The images his words stirred in my mind caused me to cry out, a deep, anguish filled cry at the thought of my precious boy suffering at the hands of such a sadistic bastard. The sight of my tears seemed to invite him even more, his expression turned into one of animalistic excitement as he continued his assault, cursing repeatedly as he made each hit. My throat became clogged up with blood, my eyes almost swollen shut, my lungs burned and I couldn’t see anything I could not thinks or feel, all that remained was pain. Blood, my blood, painted the walls in thick runnels with each strike that landed. Still I remained stubbornly defiant in my
A throbbing pain pounded incessantly behind my eyes as consciousness grudgingly slipped through, my mind clearing and my body becoming aware of its state. My head lolled listlessly to the side, cheek grinding against the rough, unforgiving concrete beneath me, I could barely hold up my head. As my fuzzy vision gradually cleared, a new kind of pain blossomed in my chest, the sickening realization that I was chained and spread in what appeared to be some dank, long-forgotten basement cell. "Awake at last, are we my little alpha?" A deep, sneering voice like poisoned honey reached my ears.Luke's hulking form stepped into my rapidly clearing field of view, his lips twisted into a smug sneer of victory. Revulsion and hatred churned in the pit of my roiling stomach at the sight of the vicious gashes I'd managed to inflict on his cheek now scabbed over. An injury from an alpha would never close up, it gave me even greater satisfaction to see how easily he looked like what he was on the i
The heavy silence hung in the air like a suffocating blanket after Theo's passing. Tears streamed down Maria's face as she clutched her dead mate's limp hand, her body shaking with sobs. Viktor looked shell-shocked, staring blankly ahead, his usual stoic expression cracked by raw grief. I pulled Cole tighter against my chest, his small frame trembling from fear and the effort of his earlier wails. My own tears flowed freely as the devastating loss hit me in waves. Despite barely knowing him, Theo's dying words echoed through my mind, his belief in me, A profound sense of both peace responsibility settled on my shoulders.The doctor and Viktor lifted Theo's now cold body from the ground and lay him down on the bed and then the doctor covered Theo's body with a white sheet, his head bowed in somber silence. Just then, heavy foot steps sounded above us. We all tensed, braced for another attack in our fragile state.The door burst open and a large figure strode in, it was Luke, Theo's
The dining table soon turned rather chaotic as Theo's hacking only worsened by the second, his face turned blue and purple his lips became drained of colors they were as white as snow and everything was a symptom of poisoning. Damien held his father close while he shouted orders put to the maids to go get the pack doctors. I could hear just how fast my heart was beating, how the blood fished in my ears and made them ring. Through it all, Theo’s eyes somehow remained locked onto mine even as they started to glass over with sheer, anguished struggle. An eerie sense of acceptance seemed to emanate from their glassy depths, as if he knew…No. I shook my head. Before that unthinkable notion could fully take shape, a series of thunderous booms shook the foundations beneath our feet. Dishes clattered from the table as the heavy wooden chairs skittered across the stone floor, creating more chaos and confusion.I lost my balance and almost fell face first on the floor. “What the fuc
“Maria,” Theo’s low rumble brooked no argument from the corner where he loomed beside Damien and Viktor the two stony-faced brothers pointedly disincluding themselves from the impromptu family scene.I didn’t blame them, I tried my best to push their chilly attitudes to the back of my mind. If I can handle Aspen, I can definitely handle them. Laughing lightly, Maria rose and dusted off her apron with familiar fondness. “Yes, yes, you’re quite right. We’d best get dinner underway before someone’s stomach starts growling us all into submission,” she teased with an amused glint in her eyes. Beckoning me forward, she looped an arm through the crook of mine as if we were lifelong friend. “Come along, dear, and we’ll get you and the little one settled at the table. I want to hear all about your journey here,” she said, her voice filled with genuine curiosity. I wish I could say I was used to things not happening as I expected them to but quite frankly, I was taken aback by how easi