ALORAI stayed. A couple more days passed, and just as Lucian said, they warmed up to me. It seemed had taken me as theirs. "Alora, you mind sitting by the fire with us?" Grace came over and asked. We had gotten closer over the last two days."Yeah sure""You like wild berries? I picked a lot of them for you, it's my favorite.""If it's your favorite, then I'm sure I'm going to love them too.”"Okay, come quick. I don't want someone taking over my favorite seat"She held one of my hand and the other instinctively went around my stomach protectively as she pulled me out of the tent hurriedly, towards the camp fire."Because I like you, I'll let you take my seat for today, it's the one with the best view around""Are you sure about that?" I asked."Yes, I need to get some dried banana leaves and stay on the floor, it's warmer there too""You've got dried banana leaves around here?""Yeah why?""You know how to make bracelets from them?""There's a thing like that?""Of course, we used
Lucian’s mother stared at me long and hard. It was like she wanted to ask questions, but in the end, she decided against it. She looked at my thigh. "How's your thigh by the way? I made sure I used the best herbs in treating you.""Oh, it was you?" I was a little surprised.She laughed. "Yeah, I'm a herbal healer.""Oh my, thank you so much. I hardly feel any pain there anymore. I think it’s all healed.""It'll be better in a few days, might leave a scar but I have just the remedy for that too.""Oh, I'd like that thank you.” There was silence after that. I didn’t want her to get up and leave. The simple fact that she had nursed me back to health was proof that she didn’t hate me. I wanted to keep talking to her. “How did you get to learn such a skill?""I've spent way too much time here, in this jungle. I was alone for a while. I had to figure out how to heal myself and things like that. And I guess it just became a part of me. If you don't mind me asking…""Yeah?”"You're pregnant.
Sebastian was here. His voice was unmistakable. I knew I’d heard it. I rushed outside. I screamed at the sight in front of me. Sebastian was outside with at least twenty men. The camp members were all on their knees, their things scattered and all over the place. One of the men grabbed Celia and made her kneel down too.“Let her go! What do you think you’re doing?” I shouted helplessly.Sebastian ran to my side and hugged me. I wiggled free from him. “Alora. Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did they do to you? I’ve been looking all over for you. You’re safe now okay? I’ve got you. You have nothing to worry about.”He was rambling and I could barely understand a word of what he was saying. I was focused on the camp. The twins were crying. Lucian was on the floor and one of the soldiers had his feet firmly planted on his back. “Let them go, Sebastian. What do you think you’re doing?”“They took you. I’ve come to save you.”“What the hell are you saying? Nobody took me. Tell your men t
The journey back home was anything if not awkward. Sebastian and Lucian ignored each other, except for the occasional stink eye they were giving each other. I ignored the both of them and walked beside Emory. We took breaks when I got tired. Morning came and we were still walking. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, we were approaching Crescent pack. I pulled Sebastian to the side. “I think I’ll stay with my parents for now. You and your men can go on. Lucian will walk me the rest of the way.”“I can do that.”“I don’t want you to.”“Alora, you barely know this man!”“I think I can say the same thing about you, Sebastian. Look, I’m not asking for your permission. I need space. I need time to figure out what to do next. You don’t expect things to magically be okay between us because you showed up like a knight in shining armor to save me, do you?” I made air quotes when I said save me.Sebastian wiped a hand down his face. “Why are you doing this, Alora? Just why?”I scoffed.
I sat with Anna in my room later that day. I brought out the potion and showed it to her.She gasped and collected it from my hands. “You found it.”“I did…” I smiled softly. “You don’t look happy about it though. Why is that?”I smiled at how observant Anna was. “I know that it’s what I wanted. But now that I have it, I’m not so sure anymore.”Anna nodded in understanding. “You love him.”“I do…” I said, my voice breaking. I sniffled and wiped a stray tear to stop it from falling. “And anyway, I couldn’t use it even if I wanted to. It would affect the babies. I have to make a choice.”“You’re not going to…”“Of course not.” I replied, knowing exactly what she was hinting at. “I’ll keep it safe. At least until the babies are here. And then I’ll figure out what to do then.”Anna nodded. “Okay.”I stood up from the bed and hid the potion in one of my bottom drawers. It would be safe there. Anna left and I was left alone again with my thoughts. I had never been so unsure all my life. I
"Get me the seedlings for the daisies, I tilled the soil for them yesterday.""Alright ma'am.""And don't take too long Anna, I'd like to be done with this so I can go up and wash myself. I smell like a farmer." I said and Anna chuckled slowly as I walked into the house to go get me the seedlings I needed for my garden.Not long, I heard some rustling behind me and I smiled, she really didn't waste much time."That was fast." I laughed lightly as I turned to tease her but as I saw who it was my smile dropped.The man from hell, Sebastian."Hi." he greeted as he strutted towards me, hands in his pockets."Hi." All the excitement I was sharing with Anna was suddenly gone and had vanished into thin air, my tone was clipped and my reply as curt as possible."You look busy." he said as he approached me."I am busy." I replied him and tried to stand up from the floor, an action my small baby bump was preventing me from doing easily.Sebastian set out his hand for me to take as an anchor in
Sebastian straightened up, trying to maintain his composure. "I’m here to take you home, Alora. It’s been long enough. The babies… they need to be in a stable environment. You haven’t even been to your checkups in a while."“Oh, so now you care about that?” I crossed my arms, glaring at Sebastian. "I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ve told you already. I’m staying here."My father looked between the two of us, his eyes narrowing. "What is this nonsense, Alora? Why are you refusing to go home?""I’m staying here because I want to, Dad. I need space. And if you also don’t want me here, then all you have to do is say the word. Sebastian has been nothing but trouble since he’s come into our lives. And why are you taking his side all of a sudden? Aren’t you supposed to be mad at him?"My father sighed. “I’m only thinking of what’s best for you, Alora. And that means putting our differences aside if that’s what it’ll take.”Sebastian's face tightened. "I came here to check on my wife and
ALORA“Where the hell is he!? This is important. The thought clawed at my mind. A low growl vibrated in my chest, barely audible. That was my wolf. She was clearly unhappy, and she was having no trouble expressing it. My trusted slave maid, Anna, was currently driving me to the hospital for my regular prenatal check ups. Her eyes moved from the google maps back to the road and back again. Yes, I was currently three months pregnant and my husband couldn’t be bothered to show up and be present with me to see if our babies were okay.The car suddenly felt like a cage. I glanced at the seat beside me, where he should have been sitting. My wolf stood on all fours and growled. I tried to calm her down, and took a deep breath as I recalled my mother-in-law’s words from earlier.“He promised to be there with you at the hospital. There is nothing to worry about,” she had said. I trusted my mother-in-law –Catherine– who was the current Luna of the Silverback pack. It was my husband that I
Sebastian straightened up, trying to maintain his composure. "I’m here to take you home, Alora. It’s been long enough. The babies… they need to be in a stable environment. You haven’t even been to your checkups in a while."“Oh, so now you care about that?” I crossed my arms, glaring at Sebastian. "I’m not going anywhere with you. I’ve told you already. I’m staying here."My father looked between the two of us, his eyes narrowing. "What is this nonsense, Alora? Why are you refusing to go home?""I’m staying here because I want to, Dad. I need space. And if you also don’t want me here, then all you have to do is say the word. Sebastian has been nothing but trouble since he’s come into our lives. And why are you taking his side all of a sudden? Aren’t you supposed to be mad at him?"My father sighed. “I’m only thinking of what’s best for you, Alora. And that means putting our differences aside if that’s what it’ll take.”Sebastian's face tightened. "I came here to check on my wife and
"Get me the seedlings for the daisies, I tilled the soil for them yesterday.""Alright ma'am.""And don't take too long Anna, I'd like to be done with this so I can go up and wash myself. I smell like a farmer." I said and Anna chuckled slowly as I walked into the house to go get me the seedlings I needed for my garden.Not long, I heard some rustling behind me and I smiled, she really didn't waste much time."That was fast." I laughed lightly as I turned to tease her but as I saw who it was my smile dropped.The man from hell, Sebastian."Hi." he greeted as he strutted towards me, hands in his pockets."Hi." All the excitement I was sharing with Anna was suddenly gone and had vanished into thin air, my tone was clipped and my reply as curt as possible."You look busy." he said as he approached me."I am busy." I replied him and tried to stand up from the floor, an action my small baby bump was preventing me from doing easily.Sebastian set out his hand for me to take as an anchor in
I sat with Anna in my room later that day. I brought out the potion and showed it to her.She gasped and collected it from my hands. “You found it.”“I did…” I smiled softly. “You don’t look happy about it though. Why is that?”I smiled at how observant Anna was. “I know that it’s what I wanted. But now that I have it, I’m not so sure anymore.”Anna nodded in understanding. “You love him.”“I do…” I said, my voice breaking. I sniffled and wiped a stray tear to stop it from falling. “And anyway, I couldn’t use it even if I wanted to. It would affect the babies. I have to make a choice.”“You’re not going to…”“Of course not.” I replied, knowing exactly what she was hinting at. “I’ll keep it safe. At least until the babies are here. And then I’ll figure out what to do then.”Anna nodded. “Okay.”I stood up from the bed and hid the potion in one of my bottom drawers. It would be safe there. Anna left and I was left alone again with my thoughts. I had never been so unsure all my life. I
The journey back home was anything if not awkward. Sebastian and Lucian ignored each other, except for the occasional stink eye they were giving each other. I ignored the both of them and walked beside Emory. We took breaks when I got tired. Morning came and we were still walking. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, we were approaching Crescent pack. I pulled Sebastian to the side. “I think I’ll stay with my parents for now. You and your men can go on. Lucian will walk me the rest of the way.”“I can do that.”“I don’t want you to.”“Alora, you barely know this man!”“I think I can say the same thing about you, Sebastian. Look, I’m not asking for your permission. I need space. I need time to figure out what to do next. You don’t expect things to magically be okay between us because you showed up like a knight in shining armor to save me, do you?” I made air quotes when I said save me.Sebastian wiped a hand down his face. “Why are you doing this, Alora? Just why?”I scoffed.
Sebastian was here. His voice was unmistakable. I knew I’d heard it. I rushed outside. I screamed at the sight in front of me. Sebastian was outside with at least twenty men. The camp members were all on their knees, their things scattered and all over the place. One of the men grabbed Celia and made her kneel down too.“Let her go! What do you think you’re doing?” I shouted helplessly.Sebastian ran to my side and hugged me. I wiggled free from him. “Alora. Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did they do to you? I’ve been looking all over for you. You’re safe now okay? I’ve got you. You have nothing to worry about.”He was rambling and I could barely understand a word of what he was saying. I was focused on the camp. The twins were crying. Lucian was on the floor and one of the soldiers had his feet firmly planted on his back. “Let them go, Sebastian. What do you think you’re doing?”“They took you. I’ve come to save you.”“What the hell are you saying? Nobody took me. Tell your men t
Lucian’s mother stared at me long and hard. It was like she wanted to ask questions, but in the end, she decided against it. She looked at my thigh. "How's your thigh by the way? I made sure I used the best herbs in treating you.""Oh, it was you?" I was a little surprised.She laughed. "Yeah, I'm a herbal healer.""Oh my, thank you so much. I hardly feel any pain there anymore. I think it’s all healed.""It'll be better in a few days, might leave a scar but I have just the remedy for that too.""Oh, I'd like that thank you.” There was silence after that. I didn’t want her to get up and leave. The simple fact that she had nursed me back to health was proof that she didn’t hate me. I wanted to keep talking to her. “How did you get to learn such a skill?""I've spent way too much time here, in this jungle. I was alone for a while. I had to figure out how to heal myself and things like that. And I guess it just became a part of me. If you don't mind me asking…""Yeah?”"You're pregnant.
ALORAI stayed. A couple more days passed, and just as Lucian said, they warmed up to me. It seemed had taken me as theirs. "Alora, you mind sitting by the fire with us?" Grace came over and asked. We had gotten closer over the last two days."Yeah sure""You like wild berries? I picked a lot of them for you, it's my favorite.""If it's your favorite, then I'm sure I'm going to love them too.”"Okay, come quick. I don't want someone taking over my favorite seat"She held one of my hand and the other instinctively went around my stomach protectively as she pulled me out of the tent hurriedly, towards the camp fire."Because I like you, I'll let you take my seat for today, it's the one with the best view around""Are you sure about that?" I asked."Yes, I need to get some dried banana leaves and stay on the floor, it's warmer there too""You've got dried banana leaves around here?""Yeah why?""You know how to make bracelets from them?""There's a thing like that?""Of course, we used
I moved like a zombie with no direction. I was starting to question myself and my authority. A small part of me had really hoped that Alora would be hiding at her parent’s place. I’d hoped that I would be able to talk her into coming home with me. I’d hoped that it would be easier. I had no idea where we were going, we just kept moving further and further into the forest until night fell. We switched occasionally, using our wolf senses to cover more ground. By the time it got far, we were halfway into the forest and there was still no sign of Alora. “We’ll make camp here and continue our search in the morning,” I addressed the soldiers. I couldn’t even put some effort into my voice if I tried. They immediately got to work making fires. I drank from my water bottle, and sat on the bare cold hard floor, feeling defeated.“You good?” Emory asked, sitting next to me.I nodded.“We’ll find her, you know?”“Will we?” I asked. I was feeling more and more dreadful as the seconds passed. I w
SEBASTIAN I woke up with the worst headache known to mankind. I let out a groan as I lazily raised myself to a sitting position. I cradled my head and shut my eyes tight. I was having trouble gathering my thoughts. I looked around the room. My backpack was still on the bed, half open with clothes lying around it. “What the hell…” I stayed staring at the bag like it was going to answer all the questions running around in my head. I was going to look for Alora. I was packing my bag. How did I end up falling asleep? And why was my body so sore? I looked at my phone in panic. The date read 21st. “What the fuck?” With my hands on my head, I paced back and forth in the bedroom. It was the 19th when I’d started packing. That meant… that meant that I’d slept for two days. How was that even possible? Was I that tired? I knew I hadn’t been sleeping recently, but was it so bad that I completely passed out for two days? Alora was still out there somewhere, and here I was sleepi