Rose's POVIn my days here, there was one thing I was sure of.Rael Allston was an arse.The worst of them all.How could a man ever be so arrogant, so out of touch with reality?Of course, I could understand a bit. He was the leader of a pack and one of the most revered and youngest billionaires ever. That was enough of an ego boost to keep one in the sky for a long while.But God, I hated him more than anything. I hated his stupid smug face, I hated his god-like body, I hated how sexy his voice was, even when he said those things that had made me angry.And even worse, I hated his absence.I didn't know why the hell I felt this way. Whether it was because of the stupid mate bond I now knew extensively about, or just my plain loneliness, I craved his presence.And that made me even angrier, because why should I even think about him? He wasn't worth my time.“Ro…”Three months, right? He had already kept me here for weeks, so I was sure that at least one of the months had ended. All t
Rose POVStumbling across the polished floors, I had finally regained control of my body as I made to run.But where could I go? The place looked desolate. It came to me quickly. He had obviously led me away from the eyes of any pack member or any witnesses. I couldn’t have called for help or ran for refuge when I didn’t even know where I was, or how far I was from any pack members. I was completely alone.I cursed at myself. Though he had led me here, I was the one who stupidly followed, not even noticing the trap he led me to.Looking back at him, he seemed to be growling, yet hadn't moved. It was as though he was simply biding his time, playing with his prey.The thought brought in more fear and anger to me. I had to move quickly. I was afraid, but I wouldn't go down without a fight.The memory of my past experience came back. I was in shock back then. When I was attacked back then, I was fearful. The memory of the pain, the slashes, and the victorious growls of the wolves.The
Rose POVRael was here.Rael was here.I was near tears of relief, in seeing his annoyingly perfect figure standing far on the entrance of the hall. All other thoughts I had of him were washed away by the total relief I had.Because he was here. And I was safe when he was here.The deep rumbling sound was like cold water being poured on my frame. Instinctively, I backed further away from the wolf which had growled, no longer toward me but at Rael.Tendrils of worry wrapped around me, no longer focused on myself but at the man who had taken me here in the first place.I looked at Rael in the distance.Was he going to transform? The memory of him transforming into a large black wolf made me shiver slightly, but looking at the hind of the wolf that almost tried killing me, I would choose it over everything. To my surprise, he didn't transform, not made any move to do so. Instead, out of his back, he brought something out.It was a strange thing he held. It looked similar to a gun if not
Rael POVI waited for Adian to finish the call, looking toward the sleeping dankeh. After listening through, he turned toward me.“I've called the collectors. They'll be here soon to collect the wolf to the experimental lab. Hopefully, this time, we get more info to find out what we need.” ‘Good. ’ I thought to myself, taking a final glance at the wolf before turning toward Adian. There was no doubt nor question in me in his words. I trusted his implicitly after all. It was one of the reasons I had made him my Gamma years ago.“Do not alert the Elders of this situation just yet. We need to conduct more research before we give them any reports of the events here,” I said, which he nodded at in return. “Yes, Alpha.” He simply replied.In an instant, my body relaxed and my mind eased a little. There was no need to inform the Elders just yet. Not until I could come up with a concrete explanation for what had just happened.Turning back to the sleeping body of golden brown fur, the gears
Rael POVWhen I opened my eyes, it was dark everywhere.It took me moments to reorient myself, but at the sweet scent wafting around, I quickly remembered all that had happened earlier before.And I had fallen asleep?With a jolt, I inwardly began berating myself. I had a constant strict timing. Even in my tiring days, I always slept light, waking up at every instance. And now I slept so deeply? I almost groaned at the thought.How could I have been so careless to let my guard down? The reason why I had woken up was still in the air. It took me less than a second to understand that I hadn't woken up for no reason.The unease I felt in the air, the sparking of my instincts was more than enough to tell me that something was up in the room. But how could that be?The darkness had slowly adjusted to a dim sight, and I finally saw it.A growl left my lips immediately after I realised. Quickly, I traced my hands to where the lamplight was behind me to confirm it.A dankeh stood over the b
Rael’s POVIn the city night lights, I drove to my destination in silence.Once I reached the garage of my Company headquarters, I wasted no time in entering the elevator toward the basement, where the real dangers were held.I was a multimillionaire known for the scientific bionics, medicine and other aid. But what the public didn't know of, was what went on below the company.That was, the research and experimentation of dankehs, our enemies.As the doors opened, I met the glass walls filled with scientists in lab coats, all focused and moving around.I looked toward the glass, like squares, where most of them were empty aside from a particular one.The dankeh that had attacked Rose, which I had neutralized, lay in one of the 'cages' in his wolf form, growling and scratching at the cage to no avail.He wouldn't be able to get out no matter how hard he tried. The glass was engineered specifically for Dankehs. Not even the greatest steel could cut through it.I turned as familiar foot
Rose’s POVI groaned against the sensations that filled me, shutting my eyes even tighter against the slight glimpse of the sun.But a glimpse was enough already, and now I was slowly being drawn upwards into awakening.I opened my eyes again, seeing the lights everywhere as I stood up. There was not a single problem with the bed, yet I wondered.How did I end up here?Rael's musky scent came to mind. Blood rushed to my cheeks as the moment soon became clear to me. I had hugged him and somehow passed out in his arms.I groaned against my duvet. Had my voice not been hoarse, it would have been a scream instead, but I took what I could get.Okay then, after the whole debacle, I had fainted and he had carried me here. Yet as I looked around, the slight scent remained. It was as though he was here for more than a slight time, like he had… slept here.I shut my eyes tightly, instantly berating myself. ‘Stupid. How would you think he'll be here?’I shook my head, looking at the wrinkled
Rose’s POVThe decision was, unsurprisingly, easier to make than I expected.Looking in the mirror and seeing firsthand the severity of my bruises, I knew I couldn't stay.What was the abundance of money useful for when I was unsafe and my life was at stake?I turned away from my reflection in the mirror and moved toward the luxurious shower. I was going to spend a whole lot of time in it, because that was the last time I would ever use it.Fully bathed and dressed up, I removed my bags and began packing my things. I didn't even bother to arrange them in order, just piling whatever I saw into the bags. My actions were slightly frantic, but I didn't care. I had made the same mistake twice over. The first was trusting him initially when he had broken into my apartment, and I had paid for it dearly. Now I had played right into his hand's and accepted his deal only to be resulted with loneliness and apathy from him.Jade was right. I had no obligations toward him, not when he was the one
Rose's POVI sighed, looking up at the night sky. The chill of the night sky made me shiver, but I embraced it.The hospital region looked so different from the places I was used to, but the sky always remained the same.I had stayed in the hospital for four days now. Even though in theory there was no longer any need to. Real had insisted on the hospital staff who allowed me to remain here, even without the needs for medical attention.I was grateful for it, and I was sure he knew why I didn't want to step into the mansion again.And so my nights were spent within the place, no dankehs in sight and Real being a constant presence. Despite staying in the hospital, he brought food from the pack house daily which I accepted.Adian visited another time on one occasion, and Rael stood by, acting more like a watchdog. Amidst their jabs I could see what I had been blind to for so long. The easy camaraderie between them. And Rael seemed lighter than I had ever seen him before.Now, four days
Rael's POVTracing her contact and the texts she sent was the hardest part, everything aside from that was easy.Location in hand, I arrived to find him, said ex boyfriend, sipping tea in the cafe waiting for her. I stepped in, facing him.I could tell that he was one to be easily intimidated, proven by how he palmed immediately after he recognized me. In no time, he scrammed out of the cafe, garnering many looks for a moment. I waited in silence for the main reason for my presence.It took almost twenty minutes, before Jade stepped in, eyes searching through the tables. Despite her almost innocent appearance, she was definitely sharp minded. The moment she spotted me, surprise flitted onto her face before morphing into dislike.She indeed loathed me. I had never been close or bothered with any of her friends aside from listening whenever she talked about them, but whether I caught it or not wouldn't have mattered either way if not for this.I partly expected her to walk away or try t
Rose's POV Rael left shortly after bringing me breakfast, leaving me with a kiss on my forehead and whispered promises.Full and completely awake, there was no way I was going back to bed anytime soon. With nothing left to do, I walked around the large hospital room I had been given, admiring the skyline view in peace. I tried not to think too much about Jade and whatever measures Real was going to take, only hoping that both of them were alright. Instead, I looked down at my belly.A baby was growing in there and I never noticed. Slowly rubbing it, I smiled to myself at Rael's past words. Indeed, this baby was resilient to have gone past the alcohol and malnourishment, only to remain healthy.Strong, but that didn't mean I was going to let anyone harm it. “I don't know what will happen between your father and I, but I promise you I'll protect you the best I can. Even if it costs me.” Shutting my eyes, I repeated it several times, keeping it etched in my bones.I would do my best t
Rose's POVWhen I woke up, the sun was up and it was far warmer than before. Yawning, I looked around as it eased upon me.The chair Rael was on was completely empty. I properly looked around at the surroundings.The place was large, filled with couches and chairs with a dining setting right beside them. Save hospital beds, it looked more like a hotel.This definitely wasn't cheap.I let out a sigh, shaking my head. There was nothing I could do about it now.Even with his absence, I could still hear his words.He loved me.There were still plenty of things to deal with, especially with my pregnancy on the way. But instead, I laid back on the mattress, closing my eyes. At this moment, I was content.I spent my time taking deep breaths, lost in the blank zen state when a sudden vibration pulled me out.Blinking, I looked around for the source, only to see my phone in surprise.‘He'd taken it too, I reasoned. I looked at the screen in surprise. Jade was calling.I gasped, recalling how I
Rose's POVI squinted in the face of the blinding lights, taking time to adjust as I slowly returned to reality.Beeping filled my ears, closer than ever. The sting of disinfectant woke me up even further.‘Where was I?’ I faintly wondered as I drifted out of dreamland. I tried sitting up when suddenly a pair of warm hands circled me.“Wait." All vestiges of sleep erased at his voice.His words and our unfinished discussion before my fainting still rang clearly in my mind.‘Of course,’ I thought. He was the one who no doubt brought me here.I remained silent while he helped me sit up, avoiding eye contact. Tingles grew from his penetrating stare, but I ignored it.“Where am I?" I asked, breaking the tense silence.“You're in the hospital." He said, confirming my thoughts.A slight twinge of relief filled me that I wasn't back in the mansion, no matter how much my heart lurched for it. This was more neutral ground.Those thoughts went away once I remembered why I was in the hospital.
Rael's POVPanic grew in my throat the moment I caught her in my arms. She was out cold, her breaths shallow.Damn it all. I hadn't thought about her condition. The fact that she hadn't been eating for the past few days.None of that will do. I had to take her to the hospital.Hefting her body up, I moved against the fallen bodies in the hallway. That would be taken care of later.I had rushed in, feeling the warning instincts. She wouldn't forgive me if I left her friend there.‘She may not forgive you at all.’ Ny hands tightened on her at the thought.Rose's friend was knocked out cold on the floor, but otherwise, she was safe. No doubt she would wake up in a matter of hours.Laying Rose on the couch, I picked Jade up, tucking her into her bedroom before leaving just as quickly.Picking her up again, my gaze was fixated on her face, how peaceful she looked even now.Without another word, I sped back to my car.Driving into the hospital gave the feeling of deja vu, but I ignored it i
Rose's POVI almost couldn't believe it, but it was undeniable.The man I was hurt by, whom I thought wouldn't rescue me, was there. His eyes treaded across them.“Let her go.” He growled, body poised in a way that made him seem larger than life.The man that held me and his henchman were both stuck in place. I was too stricken to try struggling against them, which wouldn't have amounted to anything considering the still painful grip they had on me.In a flash, everything changed.The whiplash was painful as I was pulled away, the man holding me running as fast as he could out of the hallway. The movement sent a wave of dizziness through me.A loud growl, and everything holding me disappeared. I was light, flying freely in the air for a moment before I collided harshly with the ground. I whimpered as my injured arm burned before I slumped back to the floor.A choked noise and the sound of flesh colliding were all I heard before everything fell silent.Harsh breaths came up behind me,
Rose's POV I followed Jade through the door, shutting it behind me.I had sneaked out of the mansion, thankfully taking advantage of the lack of presence. Even with fear creeping from me, I walked until my legs hurt, moving until I reached the asphalt streets I had told Jade to wait for me in. Jade had taken a taxi all the way to the far end of the place where I met her. I looked away from her gaze, knowing the poor sight I looked like at the moment. It all went away after I entered the taxi, watching the mansion move farther and farther away. It was past midnight when we finally arrived in the city and even further when we got to her place.The timing was unexpected, but it all made sense when the destination wasn't the same one I knew.This apartment was new and different. From the minimal tones and the slightly more expensive look, it was a complete change from her former space throughout college.I looked around in awe. “I didn't know you had a new place,” I said, looking around
Rael's POV.I took in the cool air, letting the heat simmer down.Finally, the anticipated meeting with the Alpha Council had taken place and it was anticlimactic.I had welcomed them, pushing away all my worries easier than expected. After giving them the information and discoveries gathered, thanks to Mira, they were equally ecstatic.That was my chance to state my sole condition to continue this project.Let Rose go.“There is no need for us to use an innocent human as bait for the Dankehs anymore.” I had tried reasoning with them.The backlash was expected, but I physically had to hold myself back from losing control in the face of their disparaging comments.‘A mere human?’Rose was far more than that. She was more than anything else I had seen. I, who had taken advantage of her naivety and kindness, had tried seeing her in the same way in the beginning and failed miserably. None of them would understand though. They just saw her as a tool to gain victory over the threat plaguin