Emilia’s POV—sometime later I can’t feel anything. I feel weightless, almost free. I am shrouded in darkness, and I can’t remember anything. What was I doing before I was here? I remember my name and the name of the pack I was in last. That’s something, right? I don’t know how long I have been here, and I don’t know how to get the hell out of here. For a second, I am terrified as I think about what it means to be here instead of the White River pack. Will anyone miss me? Did I have a family there? I slowly walk in the black abyss, trying to find light in the darkness. I walk for what feels like ages before I see a small light ahead. I rush towards the light, praying this will give me some answers on how to get back to wherever I am or at least provide me with some answers. The closer I get to the light, the stronger I feel. Once I reach the light, there is a door sitting under it and I hesitantly knock on the door, worried about disturbing someone if I just barge in.There is
Alpha Kade’s POV I am forced to come back to this damn hospital room. I don’t know when the hell it became a fucking law here for the Alpha to be present when someone is weaned out of a come and forced awake. According to Dr. Evan’s it has always been a thing, but since we rarely ever have to do something like this, most people don’t know it is a thing. So, here I am. I sent Marcus to his room to take a real shower. This man has been here the last five days waiting for the doctor to give the okay to wean her from the coma. He owes her nothing, but I know where he’s coming from. He feels guilty. If he hadn’t tried to initiate her into the pack, this wouldn’t have happened to her. The door opens and closes as Dr. Evan walks inside. “Are you ready, Alpha?” She asks me quietly. “let’s get this over with so I can move on and get my actual work done,” I grumble. She rolls her eyes and says forcefully, “Get over yourself, Alpha Kade. You brought her here; in case I need to remind
Emilia's POV I stare in shock at the overturn chair in the room, my mind struggling to wrap around what just happened. The Alpha is my mate? How the hell does that work? Who the fuck is in charge of these things? Your mate is supposed to protect you...love you...cherish you. Just like my father did with my mother...And yet, Alpha Kade hates me, and he has made that painfully clear with me every freaking day since I met this man. I take a deep breath and slowly release it, trying to fight the tears that are starting to build. There is a small knock on the door, but I barely acknowledge it. I am trying to hold it together. They can't see you cry. Crying is a form of weakness and I refuse to look fucking weak. Dr. Evan’s pokes her head in the room and raises her eyebrows at me. “Is everything alright, Emilia?” Her voice is gentle as she talks, almost like she is talking to a small child and fears upsetting them even more. “Yes,” I respond softly. I’m scared to speak any louder for
Emilia’s POVIt only took me a few hours, several wrong turns, and directions from one or two people, but I finally found my way to the kitchen. I had to stop and take a few breaks when my back, head, and neck started hurting. After a few minutes, the pain subsided, and I continued my search for the kitchen. Athena has been quiet since our original encounter with Alpha Kade. The thought of him and the anger in his eyes made her whimper, and she slowly disappeared to the back of my mind. My guess? She is licking her wounds. I am sure this isn’t the welcoming she was expecting, especially not from her mate. And who could blame her? I wouldn’t have expected something like this from my mate either. The thought of him rejecting me hurts, but I know it is inevitable. And it is probably for the best. Once I enter the kitchen, I find Ms. Sally hard at work making homemade bread. “Hi, Ms. Sally!” I greet when I enter the room. She looks up at me startled. “Emilia! It is so good to see y
Beta Marcus POVEmilia just left the hospital wing and I’m assuming she went to the kitchen. “Is she really his mate?” I ask Dr. Evan. “She says her wolf confirmed it and from his reaction when he left here, I want to say it’s definitely possible. You should have heard Alpha Kade when he left here. He wasn’t exactly happy. He was cursing and you could tell he was pissed. I’m not even sure he realized his aura was encompassing everywhere he was walking. When he stormed past me, it was suffocating.” She takes a hesitant pause before she continues. “Marcus, Emilia knows he’s going to reject her. She could see it in her eyes. That poor girl has been through enough already and it isn’t fair for her to suffer for things out of her control. I think if the Alpha just pulls his head out of his ass and comes to terms with her death, he would be able to move on.” A small smile touches her lips as she adds, “You know she told me she wishes it had been you instead of the angry Alpha. She says yo
Emilia's POV Alexis has shown me all over the pack house. She even made sure I knew about the little hide outs the Omegas like to use in their down time. The ranked wolves she generally doesn’t go to those areas, which makes them a safe spot for everyone else to hang out, but because of the locations usually the Omegas are the only ones that actually use them. We are making our way to the Alpha's office to do some cleaning and dusting before we move back to the kitchen for dinner prep. I can't shake the feeling I am being watched. I am constantly watching my surroundings to see if there is someone following us that I don't know about. Alexis thinks I am being paranoid when I told her about it. I don't think it's just paranoia though. I've had to spend the last eleven years doing nothing but relying on my instincts, so trust me when I say they are rarely wrong. My stomach rumbles loudly and Alexis glances at me with a small smile. "If you need a break, I am sure Sally isn't going
Alpha Kade’s POVAnger courses through me as I think about the Omega touching her. “Kade, relax. She didn’t know any better. How was she supposed to know that it wasn’t a regular vase?” Garrett says his voice is soft and quiet as he tries to calm the raging beast inside me. I can feel Ghost’s anger too. One thing we agree on is no one is allowed to touch Leila’s ashes. People have tried to convince me to lay her to rest, but I can’t seem to do it. I need her close to me, so after she was cremated. I kept her ashes in my office. On days where I feel like I can’t handle anything else, I allow myself to hold Leila and think about her. I remember the good times and the bad. Most importantly, I think about the last day I saw her alive and healthy. ************************** *Two years ago** “Marcus, are you sure you got everything handled if I dip early?” I ask my Beta. Marcus laughs and raises his eyebrow at me. “I’m not incompetent, man. I would only worry if you left Garrett by h
Emilia’s POV The rest of the day passed by quickly. Alpha Kade still didn’t want me leaving my room, so he ordered Beta Marcus to bring me my dinner. And then one of the Omegas came and took the plate back to the kitchen for me. Beta Marcus told me he will convince the Alpha to let me out of the room since I didn’t know the value of the urn I had picked up. He can’t punish me for something I didn’t know. But I guess it is still a sore topic for him and I understand that. I think he overreacted about me touching the urn. If I had known, I would have never touched it. I would have cleaned somewhere else. I wish I knew what really happened to her and how long she was in Kade’s life. Beta Marcus refused to give me any more information about the Alpha’s first mate. I feel like there is a lot more to her death than what they are willing to talk about. I wonder if I can get Alexis to tell me what’s going on with her and how she died. I roll off the bed and head to the shower, dea
Kade’s POVI watch as she leaves my office. She didn’t look back at me and didn’t say a word. I know my words hurt her and she’s grieving the family she lost. She had these hopes her brother and sister would still be alive.Never in a million years did she expect for her sister to be dead, leaving behind two babies in the process. A weird pang hits my chest as I think about the pain, I knowingly caused her. I see the anger brewing in Marcus’ eyes as he stews about what I did to her. I can hear Ghost pacing anxiously in the back of my mind. His concern and thoughts going straight to the tiny little Omega. A small sigh escapes me as I let my mind wonder back to last night. My anger at seeing her with Armani. My anger was irrational—fuck, I know that. And as much as I want to blame it all on Ghost, I know that isn’t fully truly either. Ghost was pissed that she would dance with someone else knowing who her mate is, but I know I was angry too and even a tad bit jealous. I bet she never
Emilia’s POV“Emilia?” Julio whispers, a slight crack to his voice. I just nod my head, not quite trusting my voice right now. Julio reaches for me, grabbing my hand, and yanking me into his hard chest. His arms automatically wrap around me, holding me tightly, and burying his face in my hair. “I never thought I would see you again. Ramira and I looked for you forever, neither of us were willing to give up hope. As the years went on, we were told the chances of your survival were slim to none, but we were ready to let go quite yet. I prayed with every fiber of my being to Selene that you would return one day, and fuck I am so glad Alpha Kade found you.” He pulls away from, holding me at arm’s length. “You look so much like mom, with just a sprinkling of dad in you.” Tears well in my eyes and I nearly break as I stare in his eyes. “So as much as I love standing here watching you two, I think I’m gonna go inside to see my babies,” Armani states, stepping around me, breaking my eye con
Emilia’s POVMy heart pounds in my chest at his offer. I have thought about this day for years. For eleven years I have wanted nothing more than to reunite with my family, and now that the offer is staring me in the face, I am terrified. What if he wants nothing to do with me? I mean I have nothing to offer my family, at least what remains of it, unless they want someone filled with enough trauma and pain to last a damn lifetime. Armani is staring at me, waiting for me to give him an answer. Instead of doing what I desperately want and running to hide in my room, away from my fears, I nod. “I think I will like that a lot,” I tell him quietly.“Do you think he will want to see me? He won’t mind if you bring a practical stranger with you? It’s been eleven years; I’m not the same person I used to be. And I know he isn’t the same as he used to be.” A deep chuckle escapes him. “Emilia, I think you are overthinking this. You brother nor your sister never stopped thinking about you. For ye
Dear readers, I am so sorry for my long absence. I had been having a crap ton of health issues that made it nearly impossible for me to update. While I'm still having a plethora of problems, I'm finally back and ready to continue Kade and Emilia's story. I plan to update at least every other day as I slowly get back into the habit of writing again. (And reviewing all of my notes to remember everything there is to know about Emilia, Kade, and the rest of the family!) If you stuck around waiting for an update, thank you!
Emilia’s POVI reach out and grab Armani’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “Were you close to her?” I ask softly, trying to remain comforting. I think about the pain in his voice as he talks about Ramira. You don’t have that kinda pain if you were somewhat close to each other—more than just casual acquaintances. He shrugs, not quite meeting my eyes as he responds. “You can say that.” A small smile lights up his face as he continues talking. “Ramira and I…we were more than just friends. She was my lover before she died. She was one of the kindest and sweetest souls I had ever met, and we dated in high school. Right before graduation, we decided we would give it six months and if neither of us had found our mates, then we would take the plunge and let whatever happens, happens.” His voice trails off and his eyes turn glassy as he stares off into space, his mind taking him to another world. “When she learned she was pregnant, we were both ecstatic—it seemed like nothing could ever go
Emilia’s POV I stand in the office listening to Alpha Kade tell me about the fate of my family and I’m numb. I can’t feel anything. I don’t want to feel anything. Feeling…well that will be worst than just blocking everything out. And that’s what I want to do. I want to block it out and forget that I pushed the Alpha to tell me. I want to forget he told me about my brother and sister’s fate. My sister had a baby…not just one, but two. Two beings who were part of her. Who is the baby daddy? Why doesn’t he want his kids? Why are they in my brother’s care? Does this mean Ramira had found her mate early on? My head spins as all the questions race through me. Questions I don't have the answer to. I can't do this. I can't do it right now. Without saying a word, I spin on my heels and walk out of the room, not bothering to talk to either man in the room. If they tried to stop me, I wouldn't know. My mind keeps wandering to the last time I saw my brother and sister. They day my pare
Alpha Kade’s POV For the first time since meeting her, anger courses through me. Not at the lack of respect, because there is no respect, but at everything this girl has been through. She is barely a legal adult. And she has seen some of the true horrors of the world we live in. I want to take revenge on those that hurt her, harm her. No matter how i feel about her or the lack of the bond flowing through is now, no one in their right mind deserves to be raped or even starved. I can feel Marcus’s disappointment behind me. He hates how i continuously push her when none of us truly know what she’s been through. And I get it now. I really do… I shouldn’t have pushed her. I reach my hand out with the intention of touching her arm, wanting to offer some type of comfort. The tears are killing me. I hate crying. Even more so when it’s a woman and I know I caused the pain. I may not have been the one to rape or beat her, but I caused her to relive the pain by pushing her to the point of
Emilia's POV Marcus raises his voice again. I'm not even in the same room as him and Alpha Kade, but I can feel his anger from here. All of this over me... I don't want to come between friends, not in the slightest. I just want to be treated fairly and equally by everyone, including the hard headed Alpha. Yet, I know he will never treat me as a person. Simply because I am his second chance mate. He views me as the enemy. "—lying to yourself, Kade. You admitted it yourself. She intrigued you. There was something about her that kept your attention. You were curious about the girl. And now you suddenly learn about her past and want nothing to do with her? You know who her parents are! At the very least, you can fucking tell her everything instead of keeping her in the dark! Especially everything that happened to her brother and sister! At the very least, you can tell her where her parents are buried!" Marcus yells at him. My brother and sister are alive? Alpha Kade knows who they
Alpha Kade's POV I wake up with an intense migraine. I slowly sit up from my position on the ground and look around me. I must have fallen asleep at the cemetery talking to Leila. I look around me and my eyes catch on the guy leaning against the truck on the path through the cemetery. "Nice of you to finally join the land of the living," Garrett growls at me. "I was waiting to see if I needed to give you a nice shower with some ice cold water to wake your sorry ass." I scrub my hands down my face, silently begging for this headache to freaking go away. "What the hell are you doing here?" I ask him. "Looking for you," he responds. "You didn't come back to the pack house. When you didn't come to training this morning, Marcus and I were concerned about your sorry ass. I volunteered to come and look for you." "Oh, so Marcus is considering talking to me again?" Garrett rolls his eyes before he responds. "He's contemplating it. And you know regardless of how stupid and downri