Well, Eva is out of the way, for now. Do you think that it would last long? And do you think that Daniel is really Caspian's son?
Valerie:I walked into the estate I once called home, the estate I was banished from five years ago. The appearance of it hadn’t changed, yet the weight of its walls felt heavier, steeped in memories I tried to suppress.“You should have fought back from the divorce. You should have fought back to tell him that you did not want it.” My mother's words played in my head for a moment, but I forced myself to take a deep breath as I ignored the pain that formed in my chest, the pain that I wanted nothing more than to find disappearing.The faint sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts, and the door opened, revealing Elias, my older brother. His face lit up with a soft smile, one I hadn’t seen in years. The one reason why I was here was because of him. And I knew that he was well aware of that. I knew that he understood that I wouldn't be here had he not begged me to come.“Welcome home, sorella,” he said, stepping forward and pulling me into a warm embrace.For a moment I hesitated, w
Caspian:“What do you mean, ‘she’s here’?” I asked, my voice laced with a growl as I glared at my beta, Mateo. One thing that I did not want to be dealing with is the fact that she would be here, that I would be possibly seeing her. Even the idea of her presence was one that annoyed me.“She was seen with her brother earlier. He called her to come. You know how their traditions work. And do you know that she has to be by his side when he is to be announced as alpha?” Mateo said, his eyes darting nervously to the floor. “With Alpha Dominic gone, Elias is taking his place. He wanted her by his side. And despite being an exile, she is still her sister. He might want her back.”I clenched my jaw, the mere mention of her name stirring a storm I didn’t want to face. “Keep her away from Valerie during the ceremony. I don’t care if it’s her brother’s night. The last thing we need is a scene between the two of them.”“With all due respect, Caspian,” Mateo began cautiously, “Valerie knows how to
Valerie:“You’ve been in this room for the past hour.” I said, entering the office where I knew Elias was choosing to hide himself from the responsibilities that I knew he would now carry on his shoulders.“If I can trust anyone in this world to find me when I am hiding somewhere, it is going to be you, sorella.” He said, making me smile as I walked deeper inside the office.“Well, you don’t try to make it creative wherever it is that you’re hiding, do you?” I asked, teasing him. “Are you okay?”He stood tall, the perfect image of an alpha, but I saw through everything that he was holding onto. It was Father that died, and he was closer to him than I was. And I knew that this tore him inside, to be standing here, knowing that he was taking his place when he was dead.Elias forced a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He wouldn’t let me see the pain, he never had. “I should be asking you that. You're the one here, and I know for a fact that you don't want to be.”He stepped closer, cu
Caspian:I adjusted my cufflinks, trying to do my best as to pass time to get ready. The idea of going there was not one that I wanted. The ceremony was minutes away and the weight of expectation settled heavily on my shoulders. However, it was not the event that bothered me. It was the fact that Valerie's presence loomed over like a dark cloud. And I could already feel the tension that I would bring. It was the tension that I was doing my best to avoid.“Caspian?” Eva’s voice broke the silence, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked at her over my shoulder and I frowned before turning to face her.She stood by the doorway, her red dress clinging to her like a second skin. My jaw tightened at the sight. She made her choice and it was delivered and calculated. She wasn't wearing the dress for the ceremony. She knew that it was not fit for it.“Can you help me with the zipper?” She asked, turning slightly to expose her back. A small smile formed on her lips, and I knew that she was doing
Valerie:I forced myself to keep my gaze calm as I looked at Caspian's eyes, which bored into mine. I could tell that you were shocked. I could not blame him. He remained in front of Adrian, my son, our son, and the disbelief that was on his face could be seen a mile away.His eyes met mine, a silent question burning through them. The number of questions that I knew he had in his mind was countless. I could see him fighting back the truth, struggling to connect with the child that stood in front of him; even the idea of me having a child was one that he did not put in mind. And I knew that this was something that he was thinking about, the life that he had abandoned, that he left behind.Maybe he did not know of Adrian. That was true. However, had he chosen to listen to me, he would have known. I just did not know how I would have been able to tell him at the time, especially with the way that he was serious about the divorce. Especially with the way that he did not even want to look a
Caspian:“You knew of the boy? Of my son?” I asked, ignoring the sense that I felt in my chest as I allowed myself to digest the moment that we were in.“Of course, I did. He’s my nephew.” Elias responded casually. “I doubt that you would expect her to hide him from me too.”His words hit me harder than I cared to admit. My ex-wife, the woman I thought I’d left behind, had hidden my child from me. My fists clenched at my sides as the realization settled in. How could she fucking dare do so?“You let her go.” Elias continued as if it was the most normal thing to say. I could tell that he was being bitter, that he hated speaking the way that he was. “You brought in another woman to take her place. What did you expect? For me to show up on your doorstep and tell you that the wife you forced to leave was carrying your child? That is my sister. I'm not going to put her in such a situation.”“How do you even know he’s yours?” Eva’s voice cut through the tension, her words biting and laced wi
Valerie:“Are you sure this is a good idea, leaving after everything that’s happened? Caspian just found out about Adrian. He might want to come and ask questions. He might want to come to talk to you.” Elias asked, trying to talk me out of leaving. But I wasn't going to fall for it after what happened. I was not going to stay.“All the more reason to leave, Elias,” I said, looking at him. “And let’s not forget Mom. She doesn’t want me here, and frankly, I’m done with her constant arguments. I know that I'm not welcome here and I would rather I leave on my own terms before being kicked out. The last thing that I want is for Adrian to see us arguing this much. And I don't want to speak to him, Caspian and I have been long done. He made his choice and I am choosing to stand back from him. I don't want him in my life. I don't need that fuss in my life anymore.”“Valerie, this is your brother’s pack, your home. You’re not going to be kicked out of here,” Elias said softly. “As we're not ta
Caspian:“Where are you going, Caspian?” Eva said, entering the room. Even her tone was getting annoying to me, and right now I wanted nothing more than for her to stay quiet and for her to just step away from it and leave.I didn't respond as I watched the maid for my things inside my bag. I did not want Eva to be the one to take care of my things. A maid, at least, would know what to do.The woman looked at me for a moment, wondering whether or not to proceed as she saw that the pack Luna was annoyed. I nodded at her to proceed. I did not want to stay here, nor did I want to respond to Eva in the first place.“Caspian, I’m talking to you. Where the hell are you going?” Eva repeated, noticing that I had ignored her. I looked at her for a moment, debating, wondering whether or not it was going to be worth it to respond.“I heard you the first time,” I said coldly as I looked sideways at her. “And if I chose not to answer, it means I don’t want to. Don’t push me, Eva.”“I’m your wife,”
Caspian:Eva stood at the entrance of the pack house, her suitcases packed and lined up neatly beside her. Daniel clung to her hand, his small face confused, unaware of the weight of the moment.The last thing that I would have wanted was for him to be dealing with something like this. However, I knew this. I could not cope with what his mother had done. If something had happened to him or Adrian, then me forgiving her was not going to be something that I did. I was going to have her head. And I knew that if she started this way, then things were going to go harder, she was going to go deeper into whatever mess she was trying to play.I stood a few feet away, arms crossed over my chest, my expression cold, unyielding.Eva’s eyes were red-rimmed, but I didn’t care.This was a consequence of her actions.This was a consequence to the line that you had crossed more times than one. After I gave her once, twice and a million times, but right now I couldn't forgive her. For this, I couldn't
Valerie:It has been a while since Caspian left the office, leaving me alone with my thoughts, leaving me to think about how things went the way that they did.I paced around the office, not knowing what else that I could do. Men guarded the door and the windows as if I would jump out the window or as if I would have run away from the office. If I want to turn away, then I would not need them to be guarding the door. They could be standing right in front of me and I would slip out without them noticing.Truth be told, the villa burning down was not something that I cared about. The whole pack had burned down and I wouldn't care less as long as no one was harmed. However, it was the fact that the villa was on fire and we could have been inside of it. Adrian could have been inside. That idea alone was one that I did not want to think about. Him getting harmed or something happening to him was something that I did not want to put in my mind.I didn't need to think twice to know who would
Eva:I heard him before he entered the room. I heard him before he approached. It was as if something was waiting for me, something that I was not going to like.I turned to the nurses who were inside the room before nodding at them to leave, leaving us alone. They looked at me, studying my expression for a moment, but I nodded at them. I did not want them being here when I was with my husband. I wanted my privacy with him.However, his footsteps got louder and when they did, I could tell that something was not going the way that I wanted it to. Each step carried a warning, a promise of the storm that was about to hit.“No one is to enter this room until I leave.” I heard him speaking to the nurses outside. My breath hitched, but I did not move.I remained seated beside Daniel’s bed, running my fingers lightly over his soft curls, pretending I hadn’t heard him approaching. But I had.And I knew he was coming for me. I was no fool. I knew when I was getting in more trouble than I could
Caspian:“Where is Adrian?” I asked, looking at Mateo who looked away from me.“He is safe. He's asking about his mother, but otherwise he's okay. The way that we brought her over is not one that he could just easily let go of or ignore.” Mateo said calmly. I knew that this was not something that he liked. “Are you sure that you would be doing this, Caspian of all people? Are you sure that Valerie is the person that would be doing this?”“The Valerie that I once knew in the past is not this one. The woman standing in front of me, the woman that is living in this villa, is not the woman that I knew.” I said, looking him in the eye, noticing that his expression had hardened. He did not say a word and the two of us just kept walking, heading towards the villa.The remnants of the fire still smoldered in the back of my mind as I walked through the charred remains of the villa. The air was thick with the acrid scent of burnt wood and ash, a grim reminder of how close this had come to being
Eva:The soft hum of the machines filled the quiet hospital room, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of the monitors beside Daniel’s bed. The sterile scent of antiseptic clung to the air, but none of it mattered to me.All I could see was my son, lying there, fragile and helpless.My hands trembled slightly as I reached out, brushing his soft, dark curls from his forehead. His skin was still slightly warm, a reminder of how close he had been to the flames.How close he had been to dying.And all because of her.She was the one who was supposed to be in that villa. She was the one who was supposed to burn inside. If she did, I would have been done with her, I would have finished off with her. It would have been a sleek death that no one would have suspected.The rage simmered beneath my skin, tightly controlled but still present. I clenched my fists against the armrest of the chair, forcing myself to breathe evenly. Caspian could investigate all he wanted. He could hesitate, doubt all
Valerie:“Mama, are we going back to the pack?” Adrian asked, making my eyes soften as the two of us got up from our table.It was precious moments like this that I found myself wondering why I chose to agree to go to the pack. Yes, I knew that I had no other option, but I wished that I did. I wouldn’t have been too busy arguing and fighting. Everything that I kept him and myself from was just colliding over and hitting me like a brick wall.“Yes, baby. We need to go back to the pack. You know that we can’t be late. Alpha Caspian would be wondering where you are too.” I said, making him smile.“Are all Alphas like Alpha Caspian?” He asked, looking up at me.His innocent eyes told me that he was unaware of the conflicts going on around him. He was happy to know that he had a place, a pack, and a family like Elias’s to play with and enjoy. He was going to grow older, and I knew that this, despite me not liking it now, was going to come in his benefit. It was going to be something that he
Caspian:The sun was beginning its descent, casting long shadows over the estate as I walked through the pack grounds. I had just finished a meeting with Mateo and a few other pack members about security measures when a sharp scent invaded my senses, smoke.Fire…The word alone was one that was enough to trigger me, to make me stand, to make me try and understand where that thing came from, where those flames were coming from. And even as I tried to think straight, I couldn't bring myself to do so.My wolf snapped to attention, a growl rumbling in my chest. I turned toward the direction of the scent, my instincts pulling me toward the villa where Valerie and Adrian stayed. Panic clamped down on my heart like a vice.No.A rush of footsteps came from behind me, and Mateo appeared, his eyes wide with alarm. “Alpha, there is fire and it is in the villa.”I closed my eyes for a moment today. I tried to think straight, calming myself down as I did my best not to think of the worst of outcom
Valerie:I wrapped my arm around myself as I stared into space in the kitchen, not knowing how I was going to be dealing with things.A small part of me wanted to agree to her deal. A small part of me wanted to say yes and to leave, but I knew better than to do so.This was Eva that I was talking about.The woman was not going to want to do anything that was good for me. If anything, she was going to put me through harm's way. Me and my son. That was not something that I was going to allow.“Mama, is everything alright?” Adrian asked, noticing that I was quiet.The maids who had entered the kitchen with him were frozen at the sight of me, and I noticed then that I was gripping the sink far too hard for it to be normal. My knuckles had already turned white. I unclenched my fist and turned to look at him as a small smile formed on my lips before getting down on my knees in front of him.My heart raced against my rib cage and I shook my head as I tried to calm myself down, taking a deep
Eva:Never in my life did I feel as blind as I felt today.Never was I as angry as I was today. I was not just angry, I was furious. And right now I wanted nothing more than to break the man who broke me so badly. But I knew this. It was not his fault. He was merely seduced. It was her fault for coming to the park. It was her fault for appearing in front of him.And I was going to make sure that she paid the price of it.“Luna, is everything alright?” One of the pack members asked as she looked at me. I looked at her for a moment before rolling my eyes as I took a step forward.They started this war and I was going to end it. Her coming here was a mistake. If she wanted to leave, then I was going to help her with that. If not, then I was going to make sure that she regretted that decision. I was going to make sure that she cried herself to sleep every single night, knowing that she could have left. That is, of course, if she survived.I knocked on the door, waiting for her to open it