I stare at Malachi, stunned, not knowing what to say. I start to open my mouth when he speaks instead. "Luna, why didn't you tell me?" He asks with slight hurt in his eyes. "Malachi, I only found out yesterday before our date, and I didn't want to ruin the night," I explain. "How would that ruin our night?" He asks as if the idea was absurd. "I wasn't sure how you would react," I admit. "Luna, I love you, and this makes me so happy!” He says, smiling. "Huh?... You are okay with this?" I question, with surprise. "Of course, I told you before this is what I've been waiting for since I became Alpha." He states. A smile forms on my lips as I move to touch his face. "I was scared, Malachi. I didn't want to mess things up and end up like my poor niece alone with a baby," I admit shamefully, looking at the floor. He places his hand beneath my chin and gently pulls my head up until I’m meeting his eyes. "Luna, you have nothing to worry about. I will be there every step of the way; ti
I am standing in front of Maci as she stands there accusing me of having something to do with Williams's death. "Maci, yes, he followed me, but I told him to leave me alone, and I went to the lady's room. That is the last I saw of him, whatever happened after that I have no idea," I explain. "Why did he follow you to the club? Maci asks. "I don't know. I didn't give him a chance to explain. He really creeped me out when he showed up," I admit, pushing away the actual events of the night from my thoughts. "Chloe, I'm sorry I came at you like that," she apologizes. "It's fine. Let's go; we are going to be late," I say. We walk to class together. It's after class and I'm driving to the packhouse when my phone rings. I slide to answer. "Hello?" I say. "Hey, sister!” Marley's sweet voice echoes through my phone. "Marley! How are you? I miss you," I tell her. "We are doing well. Kali tells me you are coming to visit," She asks, hope filling her tone. "Yeah, I'm flying out tonight,"
The cab pulls up into the loading zone to let me out. The driver gets out to help me with my bag. "Thank you!" I say, handing him a tip and giving a slight wave. I walk into the airport and head straight for the baggage check-in. "Hello Miss, where are we flying to today?" the guy behind the counter asks. "New York. I already bought a ticket, but I need to fly out as soon as possible," I told him. "Okay, that's no problem. We can switch you to the flight that leaves in 20 minutes, and it's not full. It will be terminal 22. You can have a seat in that section, and they will announce it soon," the clerk directs, handing me the ticket. "Thank you," I tell him and walk to the designated section, taking a seat. Malachi's POV I shoved the front door with so much force it falls off its hinges. All the people that came for the baby's announcement stand there with their eyes wide. I rush my father, slamming him against the wall, picking him up by the collar. "If she leaves and never re
Malachi’s POV I pull up at the airport in record time. I went over the speed limit to get here. I was so ready to fuck her right here in the airport parking lot. I get out super-fast to look for Chloe, but as I’m looking around, I don't see her. I walk around the whole front entrance of the airport and there is still no sign of her. I go inside thinking; ‘Chloe may have gone inside to use the restroom or something.’ but it's pretty much empty. I pull out my phone while walking back towards the car and call Chloe. I can hear it ringing, ‘she must be close, how did I not see her?’ I follow the ringing to find her phone on the ground with no Chloe. Terror struck my heart as I wondered where she could be, I shouted her name, running around in a panic. I pick up Chloe’s phone, finding the screen shattered. I feel my wolf's anger rise with each second that passes, which creates my own anger to be ten times worse. I dial Paul, and I don't give him time to say a word. "Gather the pack, he
Chloe POV Alaric rushes at me after he tosses me on the bed. He sits on top of me, trying to grab my hands, but I won't go down without a fight. I throw a left hook at his jaw, leaving him stunned for a second. It gives me time to run for the door, but before I can reach it, he trips me by kicking my feet out from under me. I flip over to guard myself, but he grabs my hair, almost ripping it from my head. "Let me go, bastard!" I scream. He slaps me. I spun back around with as much force as I could and punched him right in the eye. He stumbles back, holding his eye, and I charge at him to knock him down. I get him to the ground and get on top of him, throwing punches as hard as I can. He gets pissed and shoves me backward, and I hit my head on the floor. The room spins for a second, so he gets the upper hand, grabbing me and picking me up in the air. He throws me across the room, and I hit the wall with such force the wind gets knocked out of me, but I don’t give up, I drag mysel
Malachi's POV The doctor looks at me for a second. "We were able to save her, as well. She has a strong heartbeat." The doctor says. Relief washes over me as I fall to my knees sobbing. Paul and Amelia kneel on each side of me, and Amelia hugs me. "You saved her, Malachi," she says, smiling with happy tears. I look up to the doctor to thank him when I realize what he just said. "It's a Girl?" I question. The doctor smiles "It is very early to tell on the sonogram, but her blood test tells us it's a girl." He says. "Thank you so much, Doctor!" I stand, hugging him a little tight. "Um... Can't breathe!” He whispers, while patting my shoulder. "Oh, sorry, Doc," I declare, letting him go. I notice him looking over my body for a moment. "You must work out a lot to be that strong," He claims. "You might want to run home and find a shirt you're going to have my waiting room flooded by all the ladies drool," He laughs. I turn to look behind me and see all the women are staring at me,
Malachi picks me up and carries me to the car, telling Paul to drive. Once we are in the car, I feel cramping again. "Did your water break?" Malachi asks. I give him a look that could kill. "NO! Don't you think your lap would be wet?" I snap, then I feel bad and grab his hand. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to be mean," I say, apologizing. "Luna, don't be sorry. I know you didn't mean for it to sound that way." He tells me. I give him a slight smile as a contraction comes through again. "HOLY HELL!!" I scream. Malachi looks to Paul in the rearview. "Come on, Paul, go faster," He demands. Paul speeds up. We pull in, and Malachi carries me in." "My wife is having a baby; please help!" He says frantically. I look up at him and smile. "Did you just call me your wife?" I ask. He looks at me and grins. The nurse brings a wheelchair and tells me to sit. I feel foolish in a freaking wheelchair. "Um... I can walk or have my big scary man back there carry me," I say, laughing. The nurse laug
I can’t help but look at this woman dumbfounded. How many more family members are going to randomly pop up? "Come in. Malachi's this way," I inform her, and she follows me to the living area. Malachi looks up to see who is behind me, and his smile fades. "Why are you here?" He snarls, sending his mother a threatening glare. “I've come to see for myself that my son is having a baby,” she says in a monotonous tone. "Well, you have seen, so you can leave now," Malachi retorts, standing and walking toward us. “What? You don't want your mother ruining the party?" She laughs. "LEAVE NOW!" Malachi shouts in his Alpha tone and his mother steps back. When I look at her I can see the fear in her eyes. She walks back slowly to the door and as she opens it to leave, she turns around with an evil glint in her eyes. "Oh, I know about Alaric by the way. This won't be that last you see of me," She promises, sending a glare my way as she walks out. I walk past Malachi and head for the stairs, need
As the sun sank below the horizon, casting an orange and pink glow across the sky, it was time for me to meet Lux for our border patrol. The crisp evening air filled my lungs as I walked towards our rendezvous point, determination coursing through my veins. This was my chance to prove myself, to show Lux what I was truly capable of. The moon hung low in the sky, like a giant silver coin, casting its ethereal light over the land. As I approached Lux, standing tall and confident in his black jeans and black sleeveless shirt, I felt a surge of adrenaline. This was it - my moment to shine on this important mission."Someone’s eager," I joked, stopping next to Lux, who was leaning against a tree and shaking his head before gazing out into the forest.Suddenly, a bone-chilling howl pierced the air, followed by the sound of snapping branches and thundering footsteps. Lux's eyes widened, his body tensing as he pushed off the tree. "Rogues," he growled, his voice low and dangerous.Without hes
It had been a couple of months since I was appointed as the first female alpha of Aberdeen. And, to put it lightly, my beta was causing me major headaches. He constantly ridiculed me and made it difficult for me to get him to do anything I needed. It didn’t help that his entire family supported him and resented the fact that I was now in charge.As I paced in my office, the weight of leadership pressed down on me like a physical force. Every decision I made felt scrutinized, every order questioned. I caught glimpses of whispered conversations that fell silent as I approached, saw the barely concealed sneers on faces that should have shown respect.My beta, Lux, was the worst of them all. Just yesterday, he'd openly challenged me during a pack meeting, his voice dripping with disdain as he questioned my strategy for expanding our territory. The memory of it made my blood boil, my inner wolf snarling for dominance.But beneath the anger, a seed of doubt took root. Was I truly fit to lea
My heart raced as the plane landed at Aberdeen airport, knowing that my mother's family would be waiting for us with disapproving glares the second we stepped onto Aberdeen territory. They resented her for leaving to become queen of the Lycans. Uncle Hunter, in particular, held a deep grudge against my dad for taking his sister away and leaving him to deal with pack responsibilities alongside our grandfather. He used to adore my father as a child, but as he grew older, his hate only intensified.After retrieving our baggage from the carousel, we walked towards the limousine waiting curbside at the airport. My parents were the first to enter, followed by my siblings Marcus and Ashton. I paused outside the car, taking in the gloomy sky above, thick with humidity - an uncommon sight in Aberdeen. Wolves were connected to the earth, so it was no surprise that even the elements seemed to mourn my grandparents' passing.“Zadie?” Dad poked his head out. “Come on.”I forcefully looked away from
Chapter 1 The Bad NewsYears had flown by since Ashton’s birth. Soon, he would come of age and take his rightful place as the Lycan king once our father stepped down from the throne. However, that seemed like a distant future; my brother was still young, and it was common for rulers to reign for centuries among Lycans. According to tradition, I was supposed to marry my father’s right-hand man, Theo, which worked well since we were already in a relationship. But deep inside, I knew I possessed powers meant for something greater than just being a wife and mother. Unfortunately, as a woman, I couldn’t rule the Lycans even though I was the oldest child; that honor would be bestowed upon Ashton with Marcus as his second-in-command.“Zadie?” Theo’s voice resonated from the hallway, and the door creaked open. He poked his head inside, trying to catch a glimpse of me.“Yes?” I glanced back at him in the doorway. “Your father called. He would like you to be at the palace. He stated it was urg
~Paisley~ My water broke, and the contractions were coming in fast. Zade carried me out of the packhouse, rushing toward the car, but I knew there was no time. The baby was coming now. “Zade, it can’t wait,” I urged. "The contractions are coming on strong,” I added, my features filled with fear for my unborn child. “Zade?” My mother called behind us. He turned. His grip was tight on me as he looked at my mother, with an expression that begged for help. He was terrified. “Bring her upstairs. I’ll prepare everything,” she said, gesturing for him to take me toward the main bedroom. There was no hesitation on his part; he rushed past all the guests into the house at the speed of light. He kicked the door open and laid me on the king-size bed and kneeled next to me, gripping my hand in his. “It will be okay, Pais,” He reassured me. My fingers felt along his jaw, and I smiled, but I knew it wouldn’t be okay. I could feel it deep down, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him, nor did I w
~Paisley~ Soft tears tread on the edge of falling down my cheeks as Asher's face appeared on the screen. In the background are the pictures of us displayed on the walls of his office. "Paisley, if you're watching this, I'm gone, but I couldn't let you think I stopped loving you. We had our problems but not once has my love for you faded. Sure, Zade was a tough competitor, but I knew you better than anyone. I guess that gave me the upper hand in at least the friend department," Asher paused while he glanced down before continuing. "I've done some things I'm not proud of, and I deeply regret them. I trusted someone over you, and that was a big mistake. I'm sorry," Asher looked back at the camera. "Maybe in a different life, we would have been able to live happily, but it just wasn't meant
Seven years ago ~ Zade ~ In the woods, I sat watching, waiting for a sign she was okay. Was she happy? It had been months since I last saw Pais. I woke up alone in a stranger's home with no recollection of what happened or who I was until one day, my memories of her came flooding back out of the blue. The urge to be with her was tough. I knew most likely she had moved on with her other mate, but a piece of me couldn't just let go. As I watch outside the Aberdeen packhouse, it's full of visitors. What was going on? I thought. Then like a slap in the face, I saw her in a white gown fit for a princess, and as she turned my way, as if she could sense me, her protruding belly came into view, and I knew right then I couldn't disrupt her life. I spent the next year like a creeper, stalking the woods outside Paisley's house in Cody. I watched Paisley turn from a young girl t
~Paisley~At an appointment for the baby, I sat waiting for the doctor while Zade looked at me in awe. It was a bit awkward. "What weirdo?" I said, laughing.His smirk that could make any girl swoon appeared, making my lady parts ache. "Nothing, baby mama," Zade lifted a brow.Lately, I have been a total horn dog. I mean, Zade and I haven't slept together since that night, but these hormones made me want to jump him right in the doctor's office.I swallowed, biting my lower lip while my eyes racked over his well-structured frame. He looked so good in his black jeans and grey t-shirt. His tatted arms were visible for my eyes to drool over. I mean, what's the use of having a Lycan mate if you couldn't have wet dreams about him?"Pais, you alright?" Zade used his thumb to motion to wipe the corner of my mouth. "You got some drool hanging," He laughed, and I sent him an icy glare.It always pissed me off when he caught me
MONTHS BEFORE...~Asher~It's late. I'm still at the office after a council meeting with the elders when my phone rings. "Yes?" I answered."I'm not a patient man, Asher," Nico's voice echoed in my ear. "Why don't I have my bride?"Aggravated, I sighed heavily. "I made the deal because you told me Zade was still alive and that Paisley was sneaking around on me with him. You lied.""I see you have resources," Nico laughed. "But that does not break the deal. We shook on it, and I take that very seriously," he claimed, a bit of frustration in his tone.My fist clenched, if Nico was present I’d sucker punch him square in the jaw. "Screw you! Deals off!" I growled, ending the call, then tossed the phone on my desk.I knew that was a stupid thing to do, but I was tired of Nico controlling our lives and manipulating everyone I love.I grabbed my things and headed