AvelineThe next day, I woke up with hunger from not eating as well as I should have the previous day.Pushing myself to my feet, I slowly made my way to the kitchen I searched for anything I could munch on before going to the supermarket and I thanked the stars for one apple left in the fridge.Munching on the apple with relish, I changed from my pajamas and brushed my teeth before going grocery shopping and, the baby shower photos.I got thinking about what Sabrina said to me the previous day and she was right. I let my bad experiences cloud the beautiful gift I'd been given was one that would hurt me in the future.I felt the baby move and I smiled to myself, it must've heard my thoughts and agreed with my resolve to leave the past behind and move forward starting now.After a few minutes of walking to the grocery store, I got there and went shopping. Picking up a cart, I strolled down each role in search of what would be needed to keep me going for at least a month and by the time
Aveline "You look beautiful." He remarked, taking a seat opposite me."What will you like? The cheeseburger here bangs. I recommend that." He said, looking back at the menu.I was still trying to recover from him pulling out the chair for me before he hit me with a compliment I'd only heard from my friend for the past nine years."So, what are you doing now? Did you get a job elsewhere?" He asked after we placed our orders."Nothing yet, for now, it's hard getting a job around here with this big bump," I said, laughing at myself but he wasn't amused.I could see the sympathetic look on his face."Is there anything you'd like to do?" He asked again, making me lose the smile on my face.Thinking about all the dreams and plans I'd had before finding out that I was still pregnant, it felt like a bad memory but I shrugged it off."I wanted to own my own business, my empire. Satisfying the needs of the public while making enough money in the process." I replied with a distant smile on my f
AvelineMy eyes widened and a gasp escaped my lips. This was not the time I was supposed to give birth, not in this kind of situation…not in this kind of place…not even in the midst of these bastards. I swiftly turned my face sideways; even after they saw the water rolling down my legs, they still had an indifferent look on their faces. "Trust me we don't give a fuck about what is happening to you right now," it came from my left side, and I turned to him. He seemed like their boss if we were to place them by their body size. His eyes were deadly, so was his face, and he had a scar just under his right eye. "Yeah, we don't!" Another one from my right-hand side barked. I was surrounded. 'What…what do you think we should do?' I heard my wolf stutter. She could not hide her fear. Neither could I, but there was nothing I could do; I didn't know what might happen to the baby if I messed up, so I just stood in a particular spot. "Please," I was barely able to find my voice but they
AvelineSlowly, I turned to the woman but her gaze was not even on me. She packed the trays and other items before turning to take her leave. "Thank you, ma'am," I managed to voice out, and she turned to me. "You're welcome," she spoke in a calm tone. With that, she took her leave from the room after she and Lucas exchanged a smile. "How did I get here?" My face was etched with worry. I looked at the child in my hands; she had fallen asleep. Lucas walked further into the room with his hands in his pocket and he sat down on a metal chair close to the bed. "Did you have any idea where you were before I came to save you?" "I do remember that I was surrounded by some thugs," my words were slow but steady. "I passed out…too quick."He nodded slowly. "You were unconscious when I found you." "How did you know where I was?" My curiosity piqued the more I threw questions at him. "Were you tailing me?"A silent chuckle escaped his lips and he brought out his phone before handing it to me
AvelineI held Kade by his wrist and dragged him to a corner in the huge room. "What do you mean by Draven Harrington?"He slowly removed my hand from his wrist and smiled. "You kept on refusing to meet with his company, why?"My hands were across my chest and I sighed, Kade's gaze still fixed on me, he was obviously waiting for an answer. An answer that he might never get. "It's been three years Ms Nova," he smoothed his hair by pushing it backward slowly. "Three years." "Are you sure it's three?" I let out a light chuckle. He heaved a frustrated sigh. "Yes, three. They are not as successful as they used to be about four to five years ago but we can benefit from them also." I sat by the edge of the long table in the meeting room and my eyes were fixed on the floor. "I thought they said I was able to do nothing without the help of those bitches." I felt my finger going into my palm. "What did you say?" Kade pulled me out of my thoughts and I just lifted the corner of my lips. "U
AveAcknowledging the moderator on the stage with a wave of hands, I smiled brightly at the congregation that cheered at the mention of my name, and also at the lady who had suddenly gone pale.Emily. She looked like she'd seen a ghost or was probably in a nightmare. With a confused face, she looked around the hall, trying to comprehend the strange news that was dished.The moderator continued to acknowledge more prominent people in the meeting but Emily didn't move an inch from where she sat. Her gaze pinned on me.After years of seeing her, I knew that she was going to be at the conference and a part of me was anxious about seeing her. Thinking about the possible outcome of our meeting.Thinking about how pretty she would probably be looking especially as someone who hadn't gone through the kind of stress I did these past few years. But seeing her that day, I knew that there was no way I could be compared to her. She looked basic. And I was just not about basics anymore. The event
Aveline Shifting my attention to the audience who waited for me to speak, I began, reflecting on how far I'd come but not forgetting about the business struggles the city had to face over the years. Working with Draven for years has helped keep me conversant with the business world and all the happenings in it. So even when I was away for three years, I knew the development in the business world. After my speech, as the applause rose in the crowd, I saw Draven walk back into the hall, but this time around, without Emily. I didn't want to think about the many different reasons why she didn't follow him back in. Maybe he sent her back home, or maybe he told her he didn't want her for the rest of the occasion. I didn't know but one thing I knew was that I was glad. I was glad she didn't return with him. I was glad he sent her away for a change.Happy with the turnouts of events. I got to my feet and headed towards the door.Darting my eyes to where Draven sat, I saw him talking to s
Aveline I heaved a sigh when I got to the office. Certain that Draven and some people from his company would be inside already, waiting for me courtesy of the stern condition I gave them the last time.Thinking back to it, it felt like I was a little too harsh, but one reminder about the worse he'd done to me, I shoved the guilty thoughts away.Nodding slightly to the bows of the staff at the door, I walked past them into the hall that led to the meeting room.Mr Kade stood at the entrance of the meeting room. "Good day ma, trust you had a good night rest?" He asked but I could hear the impatience in his voice."I slept alright Kade. Are they in already?" I answered, referring to the reason behind his tension."Yes ma, they've been here for thirty minutes at the very least." He replied, looking worried."Very well then." I replied, wanting to make my way into the meeting room but he step ahead of me, stopping me in my tracks."Is there something wrong?" I inquired, with a firm voice
JULIAN The day Julian and Sabrina were meant to travel finally arrived, and they both made their way into the private jet that was waiting for them at the airport. Immediately after they stepped inside, Julian noticed the change in Sabrina's expression, and it was quite easy for him to tell what the cause for her sudden change in expression was. “Why are the chairs so close to each other?” She questioned, slowly moving to one of them, while he moved to the other. “I am not the one that built this jet, so I have no answer to the question that you just asked me,” Julian replied as he slumped down into one. “It was a rhetorical question; you didn't need to answer it,” she replied with a quite feisty tone. “If it were up to me, I wouldn't have minded the chairs being so far away from each other,” she muttered under her breath. Julian turned to stare at her with the same amused expression that always finds its way to his face whenever his eyes land on the embodiment of beauty sittin
Aveline I started getting worried. Not because of Betty this time around, or Sabrina or even my company, _although those always got me worried daily_This time around, I was worried because of the She-wolf who had been helping me through my recovery. I had not seen her in a while now and it was not normal for someone who always came around every morning to check in on me and keep me company, she hadn't come in for three days. I had every right to be worried. Considering what I went through in the hands of Kade.'What if he locked her up in the cell because she did something offensive?' I thought to myself with a deep sigh. She was a slave after all, and slacks are not cut for slaves in the clan. 'What if they killed her?!' My heart beat accelerated at this thought and I placed a palm on my chest to calm myself. I had to think about the positives that could happen but there were barely any positives that could happen in this shit hole of a clan where the Lycans kill for the fun o
Draven’s office was occupied by three people, with Draven seated behind his desk on his usual office chair, while the other two occupants, Brian, his beta, and Scar, Aveline’s right-hand man, sat on the two chairs opposite where Draven was seated. “Let's not even beat around the bush, and let me get straight to the point. I called both of you here to fill you in on my plan to attack the Lycans and set Aveline free from their grasp.” His gaze moved from Brian to Scar while he spoke, paying rapt attention to the expression plastered on their faces. Just like he had expected, the only person that reacted to this news was his beta, Brian. “You know this is not something that we are supposed to rush into,” Brian said and leaned forward, placing his arm on the table, like Draven wouldn't be able to hear him due to the little distance between them. He continued before Draven could interrupt him, “These people are far stronger than we are; they are well versed in battle individually. It w
DravenThe day was a busy one for him, it was either that or he had been so buried in Aveline's absence that he snubbed work for weeks. And it was telling on him from the pole of files on his table and the trouping in and out of his secretary into his office with more complaints and questions. Must have lost track of time with the so much work he had to handle and he only realized that when he picked up a call from a client who wanted a detailed statement of his transaction with Draven's company. Draven ran out of his office when he saw the time. He had forgotten to pick Betty from school.He drove over to her school like a man whose wife was in the hospital.When he got there he was told that Betty already left and Kade picked her up.Kade was no stranger to the school. He always picked his niece from school before he decided to show his true colors and Betty always tagged along so the teachers didn't read any meaning into his meeting with the girls."You could have called me and i
KadeAfter his conversion with Julian, Kade decided it was better to act on his _with the last card he had to pull; getting Aveline's daughter, Betty._He had not shown his face since he got to Julian's clan and had his friend handle his business while he was away but everything was not going as planned so he had to take desperate measures."Hey, sis!" Kade greeted over the phone as he got in his car."Am I talking to a ghost? You have been gone for so long that I began to think that my dear cousin is now a ghost!" The woman exclaimed from the other end of the call."I had to handle some serious business and it took more time than anticipated," Kade replied with a calm voice."You got me worried. And your niece had been asking after you all week!" She replied. "I'm sorry I got you worried. You know what? I'm coming into town today, can I stop by the house for a good lunch? You know I've missed your nice dishes." Kade asked and just like he expected, the woman had no issue with hostin
AvelineI have not set my eyes on Kade since the last time he came to my room. It was hard finding out what happened between Kade and Julian because I was still healing and had been falling in and out of sleep.The she-wolf who has been helping me had suddenly been distant. She doesn't spend as much time with me anymore, claiming that I need my rest. So I had only the books she gave me for consolation. However, on this faithful morning, I woke up and I didn't feel sleepy after some seconds of being awake so I got down from the bed.My wounds were almost healed since I'd been resting well and taking my meds. I still felt weak but it wasn't as much as the first week and the pains had reduced to a faint feel.I staggered to the door and was surprised that it wasn't locked from the other side.Perhaps, this has anything to do with what the guards said about King Julian's order to let me be.Two guards were manning my door and they shifted their gaze to me when I walked out but they did n
Sabrina The days moved by so fast and the closer the date of her meeting with Julian drew near, the more anxious she became.How could she be in a meeting with a man who provoked her every being? The fact that Aveline was being held hostage in his clan was not doing anything to reduce the anger she felt towards the man."Hello, Aunty." Betty's light voice cut through the angry woman's thoughts and she stared towards the door."Hey, sweetheart. How long have you been there?" Betty was glued to the side of the half-opened door, staring at her mother's friend with so much adoration. It would be no surprise if Betty said she was looking up to Sabrina as a role model. The woman was fierce and still so sweet. She had a large heart but never hesitated to call out anyone who was in the wrong."Not long. I just came by when I heard you were going out soon." Betty replied with a shrug.Sabrina smiled as she gestured to the girl with open arms."Come here, child." Betty ran into her embrace.
JulianJulian found himself looking forward to seeing Sabrina again and it got him excited as he reminisced about the last time he got on her nerves. They were supposed to have a meeting concerning their collaboration."Kade is asking to see you, my king." One of the guards announced with a bow by the door just as Julian was about to leave the room."He's here for what?" Julian asked as nonchalant as he could be."He said he had been trying to speak to you since the evening of your return from your first meeting at Aveline's office. He's been going mad about it and threatening to break in if we do not let him in." The guard replied. Making Julian stifle a laugh."Typical of him. Let's hear what he wants to say." Julian stepped out, to meet Kade pacing like a hungry lion waiting for its food to be served."You want to see me?" He asked Kade who wore a frown."You didn't let me in your chambers? Why is that?" Kade asked, fuming.He was pissed enough that he was no longer regarded as t
KadeKade walked past the lady by the door of Aveline's room and stopped before Aveline who wore a blank expression. It was as though she was not scared of him but at the same time, he could feel something, it was not fear, no. It was disgust."What are you doing here?" Aveline asked him, cutting through his thoughts. The look on her face confirmed his guess. She was disgusted by the sight of him."Surely, you do not think that because I let you out of the torture house, I'm not going to get rid of you," Kade answered with a smirk.If she looked at him with such disgust when they weren't in the clan and he hadn't shown her his real colors yet then he might have been a little bit disturbed by it but now, he had gone too far to let a little frown from her hold her back.The humiliation he had received from Julian was enough reminder that he needed to awaken the banished vampire army before everything he had worked for would go to ruin. "Just take this as a uh... break. You will raise