"Darling, can we please leave this conversation for later?" I beg, probably sounding as tired as I feel. Tate looks at me and grabs my face in his little hands."You smell so sad, mom, I think you should just marry my dad. He would make you happy," he says before kissing my nose the way I do to him. The fact that he's so extremely wrong makes me cry for real, but I hug him before he can say anything else and lift him up to walk through the parking lot to my car.Klein is leaning against it, smoking a cigarette andlooking extremely angry."It's about time," he mutters with a tone I hadn't heard from him before, tossing the cigarette to the ground before walking to the driver seat.{ Jae }I don't know how much time has passed but at some point the door opens again and Austin comes in, finding me sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, hating my life."Uhm, you okay there?”"Sure, super okay," I reply, looking straight ahead because I don't have the strength to move."You've be
I spend the rest of the night talking to my parents, something I had never done before, then I end up sleeping in my old room… actually, I just lay in bed looking at the ceiling and fighting the nausea.I can't stop thinking: are they having sex right now? Is Anya asking Klein to mark her? Is Klein's wolf coming out to claim my woman as his forever?"Fuck, damn it," I mutter and sit on the bed, leaning my elbows on my knees. I stay in that position until the sun starts to rise, unable to disconnect my brain for even a second. I keep thinking about that day when Anya told me she loved me and I pretended to be asleep. Or the conversation when I told her the only thing I loved about her was her pussy. How much of an asshole can someone be?Why am I like this?Honestly, I never believed for a second that she could love me back then, and, I hate to admit this, but I still don't. Maybe she felt the same attraction I did and she let her tender heart think that was love, but it wasn't. Or
"It's her," I say out loud, looking at my parents in complete shock. "Should I answer now or play hard to get?""Answer the damn phone!” my mother growls, so I clear my throat and answer the call."Hello, Anya," I answer, trying to sound normal. "Is everything okay?""No, not really," she says with a small, shaky voice that sets off all the alarms inside me. I immediately ask what's going on, "Jae... I'm so sorry. I promise this wasn't my intention..."I feel weak, so I have to lean on the table to stop myself from falling to the floor. Is she going to tell me that he marked her? Is she going to tell me that it's too late and I don't even have a chance to make this right because there's no bond anymore?Panic grips my throat and I don't know what the hell to do, but then she keeps talking."Tate is very angry, like in a trance," she continues, her voice breaking at the end. That stops the panic that was choking me, but it makes me furrow my brow in confusion. Anya keeps explaining fr
{ Anya }I sit on my bed once I'm wrapped in my robe and just focus on calming my breathing and stopping the tears, but I can't. I've had the worst... twelve hours of my life. Well, maybe not the worst, I think it was worse when my father died, but this is seriously up there.After finding out that the man who has hurt me the most is my fated mate I had the worst night of my life, tense and incredibly uncomfortable next to my boyfriend, who was only making everything worse with his shitty mood. Then everything exploded this morning while I was making breakfast, Klein came in yelling at me, calling me stupid in a lot of different ways and getting closer to me with square shoulders and clenched fists in a way that made me step back in fear.Then I heard my son screaming and having a breakdown while the image he had of his father crumbled. And while I was holding him and trying to calm him down, I looked at Klein and saw the satisfied smile on his stupid face.He was glad my son was hur
"I broke up with him," I blurt out all of a sudden, without thinking too much about it. Jae raises his eyebrows with surprise. "I think you’re right, Klein is not trustworthy, at least not trustworthy enough to have him in the same house with my son."Jae nods at that, closing his eyes for a second with relief. Then he smiles."This means nothing for us, okay?" I warn, narrowing my eyes at him and trying not to feel anything when he keeps smiling devilishly. God, now I remember why I refused to look at his face for so many years, I knew I would melt way too fast. Jae is still dangerously handsome… like, it’s almost diabolical how handsome he is. And not only that, but now I feel like his eyes are alive and mine. I feel like my mate is in there, calling me like a damn siren.My Alpha. God, I fucking miss him. "But you're not going to let anyone else mark you, right?" Jae asks with a pointed look, snapping me off my thoughts. I roll my eyes and shake my head. "Perfect. In that case,
"I think I should wake him up soon, he never even ate breakfast," I mumble with a sigh and start caressing Tate’s forehead softly, "We have to be a united front.""Of course. But... what happened in there wasn't normal, Anya. He was rage fueled and then he cried so hard he stopped breathing for a couple of seconds until I put him back under the water. Has that ever happened before?"I sigh."Only once, but it was for such a dumb reason. He had this old as hell bunny that was basically disintegrating and one day I decided to throw it away. When he realized, he got like that, he cried so hard he stopped breathing and that's when I discovered the shower trick," I admit, Jae grimaces as if he’s worried. I know it's the bare minimum, but seeing he cares so much about Tate is making me feel stuff I shouldn't, "His doctor said it's not a huge issue, but he should start therapy soon. He might have anger issues and we need to know why. I mean, I know we're divorced and that's hard for a kid, b
My poor attempt at seduction leads me to drive through the pack naked, but it doesn't matter because once I arrive to my house, I let my wolf out so he can run free and kill the negative energy he feels.I have no idea how much time passed, but by the time I get back home after that run, the sun is starting to set. And no, I don't feel better.I mean, I do have one less weight on my shoulders after spending a nice moment with Anya and making sure she won't do anything stupid like letting Klein mark her, but... nothing has changed, she still doesn't want me.And now my son hates me.This feels horrible, it’s a new kind of pain I never expected to feel. My son should always see me as a hero, not as the villain of the story... even if I am.I enter my house reluctantly and throw myself on the couch to look up at the ceiling and contemplate how fucked I am. And how I probably deserve everything that's happening to me. Karma is definitely real, and I'm definitely living it.At least Klei
"I know there's still a long way to go before you forgive me, but I'm willing to go through it," I let him know, daring to hold his little hand in mine. He gives me a cold look, "I love you, Tate. And... I love your mom, too. A lot. I'll do everything possible to get her to forgive me too, and then… maybe… I can make us all be together."That’s a BIG maybe. Tate furrows his brow and looks at me as if he's considering that, but he doesn't say anything for a long time."Would you like that?" I push, squeezing his hand, "Us, being a family?""I don't know yet. I wouldn't want to put my mom in danger," he murmurs, looking away from me again. I take a deep breath to try to hide how much that hurt, to know he thinks Anya is in danger with me… just like everyone did when we were together, "Drive me home, Jae. I need to think about my answer.""Okay," I murmur with a sigh and start the car to take him to Anya's house. As soon as my car stops, the door opens and Anya comes out of the house as
{ Epílogue }Six Years Later The day I hate the most is finally over. The third Alpha Challenge is done and, unsurprisingly, my man won. He fought for almost two hours against five very brave but very dumb competitors. He's once again, the Alpha of Ellington. And now we're back home, all safe and sound, so I can finally breathe. I guess you could say I am a little traumatized about what happened at the Challenge when Jae almost dies and lost his memory. Things are so, so different now."My daddy is the strongest," Iseul says, looking up at Jae with sparkling eyes because she loves her dad. She looks at him like he's the fucking sun."And you're the sweetest daughter alive," he says, finally picking her up even though I know he must be tired as hell. He kisses her chubby cheeks over and over, making her laugh in pure joy. Jae walks a few steps until he can sit his ass on the couch and he groans, "Where's your brother, huh?”"Still outside," Iseul says. And that's true, Tate never
I remember being told Anya sent me a 'good luck' little pastry and I thought, ‘damn she knows I don't like sweet treats, but I'll eat it anyway because I don't want her to get mad at me for not doing it’.Next thing I know, I can't even move my body correctly and my mind is all slow and slurry. I couldn't even move my mouth enough to fucking talk. "What happened after I went down?" I ask my father when I'm back in their house after being discharged. My memories are back into place, so now we're allowed to talk normally. My dad growls in anger."Anya ran to you," he starts, making me lift my eyebrows in complete shock, "She ran and shifted to attack Klein in wolf form, she got him real good actually. His arm got the worst of it, but she managed to bite his head, too. The council was going to let the Challenge continue, but Anya and Rogan figured out you ate that pastry thing, which you never fucking do. Also, Anya never sent anything. The fact that they figured it out so early was the
I shake my head. I don't know much about myself, but I do know I wouldn't do something like that."No," I say, the girl frowns and looks at me, then nods, "Nu-uh.""Yes.""No," I repeat, "There is no way.""Jae, I'm the only one in this room that remembers anything," she spits out at me, "I remember what happened, you don't.""But I'm me," I say and I point a finger to my head, "And I don't think I would do that.""You did," she says, clasping her hands into fists, "And I want you to say you’re sorry again.""Why? I don't even remember. I think you're lying to get my attention and get me horny for you again," I joke, making her eyes get red, so I relent. I take a deep breath, "I'm just joking.""I know you are fucking joking because I know you and your stupid jokes," she yells, "I know you! I remember everything. And you don't."She starts full blown crying then, so I force myself to take this seriously. And consider the fact that I... hurt her on purpose? For what reason? The only wa
{ Jae }It's been almost twenty four hours since I woke up after my fight and fortunately, some things are starting to make more sense, but I'm still struggling to remember 80% of things. I don't even remember my best friend, but it helps that he's here, forcing me to remember."Rogan," I close my eyes with stress, "I believe you, dude. I just don't remember.""Well, shut up and let me continue," he spits with a furrowed brow and opens his mouth as if he really wants to keep telling me our entire friendship story, from the very very beginning, when we were ten years old. This bastard really has a good memory, "We've only had one fight, back when we were in sophomore year, it was over a girl. I didn't actually like her that much but I..."The door opens slowly and I sigh in relief because someone is finally saving me from this storyteller. A head peeks in and I recognize her as the crying girl from yesterday, the one with long red hair."Anya," Rogan says, and he suddenly tenses up, lo
{ Anya }I leave Jae's room even though Vivian is telling me it's not necessary. I close the door behind me and cover my mouth to control my sobs, but I can't.No. No. No.I refuse to believe this is really happening to me. Jae has been in intensive care for two days while the swelling in his brain goes down from the fracture that idiot Klein gave him. I've been here with him, holding his hand and wishing with all my might that he'll be okay.I know he's going to be okay now. And I also know, logically, that it's completely normal to have trouble stringing thoughts together after such trauma. I know Jae could be back to normal in a few hours or a few days, once he gets better.But logic doesn't fix how I feel right this second. Jae looked at me and ignored me like I was nobody, then implied he didn't remember me. And then he talked to me that way... like he used to when I first met him.I can't do it again, I can't deal with Jae treating me like crap again. I won't, I refuse. I've l
"What's going on?!" I grumble once we're backstage, completely disoriented. When I see Jae being brought in on a damn portable stretcher, I run towards him."Luna Anya, please stay away," a paramedic tells me, holding me back. I'm about to tell him I'm a doctor and I have a right to see what the hell is happening with my mate, but Rogan grabs me from behind and pulls me away."This isn't normal. Jae didn't do anything to fight, that’s not him!" I say, but Rogan keeps restraining me and trying to quiet me down, "You can't let this happen, Ro. Something was wrong with him.”"Anya, Anya, please," Ro continues, "I know it's not normal, but you need to calm down first. I can't take care of you and find answers at the same time."That makes me calm down because he's right. I can't be another problem right now, I have to help."Okay, okay... what do you know?""Nothing. I was here with him when he arrived, while he was getting ready and before the fight began. Everything was perfectly normal
Before I realize it, the day finally arrives. The day of the Alpha Challenge.Jae has been more focused than ever on his training, so we haven’t had any more time to explore our relationship, but I’m not worried because I know it’s necessary and important… maybe not as much as our bond, but close. Because this is not just about his position and his future. It’s the future of our family, a future where the pack will bear our name.When I arrive with Tate and my aunt and uncle at the arena, Jae’s family is already in the family booth, so I greet everyone and then I have to go through the worst anxiety ever again, just like five years ago, except this time it’s even worse because Klein is not just another True Alpha who came to Ellington to try to fight Jae. Now it’s personal.Klein is my ex-boyfriend and he wants revenge for being ‘humiliated’ at the last Alpha Challenge. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about this. Or maybe it’s just worry because this time what I feel for J
"And because you're mine to use whenever I feel like it,” I continue, sucking on his bottom lip and making him let out a low growl from his chest. "We can't do this here," he whines, trying to take a step back, but I don't care. I follow him, "Baby, I mean it. I can't fuck you here with my parents and my son downstairs.""Why not?" I ask, running a hand down his chest until I reach his hard dick. I grab it through his pants tightly and pull, making him moan, "I know you want it.""Of course I fucking want it," he grunts, thrusting his hips against my hand for just a second before ripping my grip off his erection and flipping me over until my back is to him. Jae takes my hands and in just a second crosses them across my chest until he has me completely unable to move...at least my upper body, "Damn it, Anya. You don’t change. Don't you ever think with something other than your clit? We can't do this here. You can wait until we get home.""I can't," I moan, wiggling my ass against him,
When we all arrive at Vivian and Riku Kyung’s house together, I can see the surprise on both of their faces. I don’t think Jae told them I would be joining them for Sunday brunch.“Anya, darling, hi!” Vivian exclaims, coming over to give me a tight hug, which I return. I haven’t seen them since the news about our bond started circulating in the pack, so I’m not surprised when she holds onto me for longer than would seem normal, “I heard the news. About your bond… whatever decision you make regarding that, I want you to know that I am SO grateful to the Moon Goddess for choosing you as my son’s mate. You are such a wonderful girl, and I will never stop considering you part of my family.”I blink several times when my eyes start to sting, returning her hug with equal intensity.“Thank you for your words. I consider you part of my family too,” I let her know. When I let her go, Riku takes me into his arms.“There is no woman more perfect for my son. I hope he knows how to treat you as yo