[Alphonze's POV]"Just a bit..." I murmur, moving my credit card up and down along the lock of my cell while listening out for the click that indicated that the door was being unlocked. "More.""Are you sure?"Benny's voice is full of annoyance as it reaches my ears, and I have half a mind to knock
[Ayla’s POV]Fear begins to claw at me with each step that I take, despite everything in me screaming no. Whatever this fucking serum Barren injected me with was, it was powerful, and even with tapping into my strongest abilities, I couldn’t seem to stop.‘Do something,’ I hiss at the darkness, whic
[Aera’s POV]I clutch the Oh shit bar above my head as Marah takes a turn on two wheels. Dammit, this woman was going to kill us before we even reached our destination. Who the hell gave her a driver's license because I was going to go and knock some fucking sense into them? She was a maniac and was
[Ayla's POV]'You're stronger than this. Keep fighting!'Aera's desperate voice echoes in my head as images of us begin to cloud my mind. Most are of me, but they aren't the me that I see when I look into a mirror. Instead, it's this beautiful, confident woman who almost glows with power.Her eyes s
[Ayla's POV]All eyes come to rest on me as I work to try to control myself, but something about this scene seems so normal after all the days of stress, fear, and worry that I wouldn't have the chance to witness something like this again."Ayla, are you alright?" Aera asks, giving me a look of conc
After that, he was led into the temple, where the elders waited with impassive looks on their faces. However, instead of their eyes finding Barren, they came to rest on me."Ayla Jameson," elder Ian growls, narrowing his gaze. "Do you know what you have done here today.""I…""She saved all of your
[Ayla’s POV]I sit alone in a bed, staring at the door in front of me, while the soft beeping of machines fills the silence around me. One had multiple little beeps as it was monitoring the baby's heartbeats, while the slow and steady one was my own.After dealing with the elders, I was rushed into
"But I tried to turn everyone against you," Celia pushes, clearly unable to forgive herself for her actions.Was she here to seek my forgiveness or her own? I had already forgave her long ago, but for her to do the same was completely on her."Celia, I told you I don’t blame you, and you shouldn’t b
Nodding, I take a deep breath and rush to Ayla’s side while Gwen begins the operation, and after a few minutes have passed, I hear a shriek fill the air before she is lifting a tiny creature into the air and handing it over to Brian to clean while she cuts the bloody cord attached.Once she is finis
[Aera’s POV]9 months Late"Mmm, Aera, right there."Ayla’s voice echoes around me, spurring my movements even more. Knowing she was enjoying what I was doing to her was all the encouragement I needed."Ah!" she gasps, leaning more into the chair in front of her. "Not so hard."Chuckling, I lean for
When I reach my parents, their faces fill with relief, and I feel my heart squeeze. Even though they hadn’t spoken a word about everything that happened, I was sure that they were now expecting me to snap at any given second. I still had a lot of making up to do in order to gain everyone’s trust an
[Celia’s POV] I stare up into Alphonze’s dark, unreadable eyes while trying to figure out exactly what I was feeling. Was I just caught by surprise because he suddenly appeared, and that was why I suddenly felt jittery and my heart was racing? Right, that had to be it; there couldn’t be anything e
This had been proof to me that we were intended to be together since we didn’t meet just once by chance but twice.After that, I approached her and began to woo her since I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her. It was a love that I never imagined could exist, let alone for me, but she made me so
[Alphonze’s POV]I stand to the side, watching as everyone present for the evening enjoys themselves, laughing, dancing, and being merry. It had been a while since I had attended something like this, so it was taking a bit to get used to it again.The last time I came to a full moon ball was when I
"It seems that your date for this evening has arrived," Alphonze announces, clapping me on the shoulder. "I wouldn’t distract you any longer."Nodding, I give him a look and don’t miss the sorrow that flashes in his eyes as he looks from Ayla to me."Hold on as tight as you can because you never kno
[Aera's POV]Soft music drifts toward me as I stand to the side of the large ballroom, waiting for my date to arrive.Despite all the chaos that had been happening in our world, Silas and Alphonze insisted that we have a small, intimate gathering for the full moon as a way to relax and unwind after
[Ayla's POV]The next day, I sit in the passenger seat of Aera's car, staring at Crimsone Tides Estate while fighting the urge to run away. When I entered that building, I'd be making the toughest decision of my life, and I wasn't exactly sure if I was ready.Beside me, Aera remains silent while hol