It happened so fast that even in a gossip-heavy place like Scarlet University, no one was really certain what had happened that morning. There had been next to no witnesses except the couple dozen confused passersby who had been straining to see what was happening between the cars and over everyone else's shoulders, and Flicka's friends certainly weren't going to tell anyone the truth.
By the end of the day, the general consensus was that there hadn't actually been a fight, but that I had shouted Flicka down and reduced her to pitiful tears. Somehow, she had also ended up naked, caught by one phone camera that had managed to film about two haphazard seconds of the incident. But that too was written off as a wardrobe malfunction. Certainly the tiny hybrid girl couldn't have actually beaten Flicka in a real fight.
In some ways, it was even better than the truth. The sheer humiliation of the rumors must have been the reason Flicka never showed up to the afternoon class
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Evan had to go away on business again. There was so little time for us to spend together between his Alpha duties and my classes, especially with the time for finals creeping ever closer.There was also the added stress of Rafael taking me to see her gynecologist so I could start birth control, another thing she held against Evan for his carelessness in not handling himself, since he was legally my guardian and I would have no reasonable way of knowing how to handle myself.Maybe the compounded stress was the reason for the strange nightmare that plagued me two nights in a row. His absence made me so uneasy in the wake of the new turns in our relationship.I couldn't remember the entire dream, but what little I did recall was dark and terrifying enough to bathe me in sweat when I awoke. Something about Evan, and blood, and screams.It was on the third day when I dozed over my homework at my desk that I remembered it all at once: the nightmare took s
I had never watched a movie from beginning to end except for 'filler movies' in classes back in high school when we had substitute teachers. Being in a real movie theater, with popcorn and drinks and sitting side by side with the man I was in love with? It had to be a dream. I could hardly pay attention to the movie at all when Evan's hand was on my thigh, fingers stroking me gently over my knee.For dinner, Evan let me choose where to go. He had a list of locations at the ready on his phone and described six or seven places to me in the car, when at last I told him the truth. I didn't want to go to another restaurant.I didn't want to be watched and ogled by others while Evan and I tried to eat in peace. Even the place where we ate at for lunch had been stressful despite us having a private room to ourselves. The knowledge that the staff was hovering outside the door at all times had made me anxious and self-conscious."Where do you want to go, then?" he asked,
"Which of the following will react most easily with hydrochloric acid to form an alkyl halide? A, primary alcohol, or B, secondary alcohol, or C, tertiary alcohol, or D, all of the above?"Rafael slammed her forehead on the table. "This is pointless. I'm going to fail and there is nothing I can do about it. Just let me die.""Raf! Sit up, we're going to finish these flashcards if they kill you!""Please! That would be a mercy killing at this point!""You haven't even started your Calc 3 review packet, don't wimp out on me now.""Why are you suddenly snapping the whip like a taskmaster now of all times?" Raf moaned. "Where did the nice, sweet, understanding Claudia go? No compassion at all for the suffering...""You're not suffering anything, Raf. Except for the consequences of procrastinating all semester."She coughed a few times into the desk. "Ah... I'm feeling weak... Did I tell you I used to have asthma when I was younger..."
EVANClaudia would be all right. She was being stubborn about taking the rest she needed, but she slept peacefully now with some timely help. Evan left her bedroom with a smile so he could wash up and prepare for Peelle's visit. Osborn had had to stay behind in Dark Moon to make sure nothing happened while they were away, but it would be good to have even one trusted companion back. It was past time for a real face-to-face meeting.Evan's good mood melted away at the thought, and the stern coldness of his usual demeanor returned to its customary place. He had taken the day off to take care of Claudia since he trusted no one else to do so like he could, but the same went for this business with Dark Moon. Things were too entangled for him to step carelessly. He had entrusted the basics to Peelle and Osborn for now, but he would be giving this his undivided attention tonight."Peelle.""Evan."When no one else was around, they were like this,
My Herbology courses were supposed to be more challenging than my general education courses or my electives, but I was so confident in them that I scheduled my final exams for them the first chance I had, the earliest time on the earliest day possible. My lab course, thankfully, didn't have an exam at all but rather a final experiment that made up thirty percent of my grade. With preparation, I breezed through them all. My last two exams, I saved for Wednesday. That was the day Evan was supposed to leave, and I wanted to occupy myself as much as possible so I wouldn't be so miserable missing him. If I exhausted myself and went straight to bed, I wouldn't feel so desolate until the next day. Too bad Rafael had gone the opposite route and scheduled all her exams for the last possible slots to give herself more time to study. Her courses in particular already had the latest slots overall out of all the classes, so that meant she would be on her exam schedule a full week
If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Evan... was afraid.The ruthless Alpha of the Scarlet pack, conqueror, modern day warlord who razed entire enemy packs to the ground if they stepped a toe out of line, the cruel king of the region with no one to stand in his way -- afraid? It didn't seem possible.And yet from the moment they met to now, as we rode the train in a private compartment to Dark Moon territory, Evan radiated coiling tension and simmering heat like he never had before. This was unlike the night he had come chasing after me when I tried to leave. He had been full of volcanic rage then, ready to tear apart anything that stood in his way.But what I saw now was something strangled, barely bridled, the twitching of a tight spring itching for release. Evan was holding back. His eyes remained glued to the window as the world whipped past us, keen eyes seeing things I couldn't, and his hand gripped tight around my wrist as if he thought I mig
"Speculating, Peelle?""Yeah, when the situation requires it. It's not like me, I know, but things aren't adding up. No ransom demand? That was our first clue. Matter of fact, that should have been the answer right there. Who would risk bringing down Scarlet's wrath on them just to play a game of 'will-I-or-won't-I' with us? If they captured Osborn for money, they're going to tell us right off the bat so they can finish it as soon as possible and get him back off their hands.""But they didn't." Evan leaned back in the sofa and glowered at the map. "No communication for twenty four hours.""Exactly. Maybe they'll play that kind of game of suspense with smaller packs to toy with them, but they won't do that with us. Every hour they delay, that's more of a chance we'll find them before they can ever demand a ransom at all. Then they risk death for no reward, period. No. That's not what's happening here.""How'd you find this map? This is Osborn's, isn't it?
When my phone rang fifteen minutes later, I dove for it, thinking it was Evan. It wasn't. Even so, I was pleased to recognize the voice on the other end of the line."Whoa. That was the most enthusiastic hello I've gotten in ages. I don't even get that kind of greeting from my girlfriends."I sighed and lay back in my bed. "Girlfriends plural? You're such a player, Peelle.""Yeah, well, some of us need some extra love. Speaking of which... I guess I missed out on a lot since I've been stationed in Dark Moon, huh? I already knew you and Evan were getting it on, but I thought...""Getting it on! That sounds so lame.""Am I wrong? Come on, I saw the way he looked at you. And he's touching you and holding your hand and babying you...""Shh! It's... none of your business anyway." I grabbed my pillow and flopped a pillow over my face, mortified. I was smiling, though, and Peelle clucked his tongue at me, all too aware of the mushy mess I
ClaudiaLife is hard. It is full of things that none of us deserve.It can be full of wonderful and beautiful things, but it is also full of a lot of things that are unfair.There is nothing fair about what happened to my daughter.She didn’t want to be kidnapped and brainwashed, she didn’t want to become impregnated by a sociopath, and she didn’t want to have a stillbirth.After going into labor and the doctor wasn’t able to get it’s heart rate they took Alita to the pack hospital to have an emergency c-section to try and get the baby out in time.It was a girl, she looked so much like Alita, and she wasn’t breathing when she came out.The wails that Alita cried out haunt all of us.Thankfully, she has Mateo on her side. He helped her through her grief. He helped her to be able to see the good things in life even through all the darkness that clouded her mind.One of the things that had been stressing her out was the thought that they would have to leave soon so he could be Beta agai
AlitaMy eyes snap open and I take in a sharp breath.Everything suddenly flooded into my mind. Being taken from the party for Osborn, Peelle, and Eda, the brain washing ritual, all the time I started figuring things out and Aamon would drug me again.Everything. Every single little detail of my life came back.I grind my teeth together in anger. I’m ready. It’s time for Aamon to die.I slip out of Mateo’s grip and thankfully he’s in such a deep sleep that he doesn’t notice me leave. The house is quiet, no one is awake, but still, I am careful as I sneak out to the cell. I walk into Aamon’s room, and he looks surprised to see me but then he notices my prominent baby bump and says, “Oh my goddess, our baby looks like it’s cooking great! How are you feeling love?”I hiss, “I am not your love!” I huff as I try to regain my composure. I don’t want him to think of me as a small hot-headed child. No, I will be cold and calculated with my actions.I look at him and say in a cold voice, “I g
AlitaI can’t stop staring at Mateo and I notice he hasn’t released his breath since he asked if I believe him. I slowly nod my head; I do believe him. The tingles, the sparks, his scent, and the overwhelming desire to be with him made it obvious. He is my mate.I force myself to stand up. Mateo holds his arm out, helping to steady me. I look down at Aamon who is watching me curiously. I’m overwhelmed by the emotions and tears threaten to fall down my face and in a choppy voice I ask, “What the hell is going on? You clearly aren’t my mate.”His lips are pressed into a line, and he shakes his head and then suddenly a laugh slips from his lips. His eyes flicker back to me, and he says, “You were so innocent and naïve and so easy to brainwash, dear.”Shock rushes through me and I don’t know how to respond. He shakes his head as he continues to chuckle and at this moment I realize that everyone has been telling the truth.This man… I’ve lived with him for a year… I thought that I loved h
ClaudiaEverything comes rushing back to me as I stare at this son of a bitch. He has ruined my life and my family. He has harmed my children in so many ways and I want nothing more than for him to die.But then… he laughs at me and shakes his head. He snaps, “You don’t intimidate me, mutt!”Evan takes a step from behind me, and I can’t help but smirk, everyone is intimidated by my giant hulk of a man. But Aamon shakes his head, “What are you going to do? Hit me? You have questions for me, and I guarantee I won’t answer them just because you are trying to intimidate me.”Mateo asks, “Then what will make you answer?”He lifts his head up and gives a smirk, “They already know what I want.”Osborn steps forward, “You’re not getting the child.”He laughs, “Then I won’t fix her memory.”Osborn lets out a growl that feels like it shakes the whole room and Aamon looks at him and shakes his head, “I will fix her memory if I am guaranteed to leave with my child and no one attacks us.”Osborn r
EdaOsborn paces around the living room and holds Faith. His constant movement helps soothe her while I feed Hope.We can’t believe that they were able to find Alita so fast. We know that Alita is different than she was before, but it doesn’t matter. She will finally be home.When the door opens Evan, Claudia, and Peelle come in and behind them is a pregnant Alita and a man we don’t know. My heart breaks for her knowing that the child inside her belongs to my disgusting biological father.Her eyes zero in on Osborn and then she looks at Peelle and she murmurs, “Huh.”Peelle says, “That’s our brother, Osborn, he’s the current Alpha of the Scarlet Pack.”Osborn walks over to her and repositions Faith in his arms and says, “Alita, I can’t believe your home.”She looks him up and down and Peelle takes Faith from his arms and walks over to me to give me a kiss. I notice the confused look on Alita’s face and she asks, “So, you’re both with her?”We all nod our heads and she asks, “And who a
PeelleI feel bad for Mateo whenever Alita wakes up. They knocked her out and we went on our way back onto our private plane to head home. She’ll wake up at some point during this flight and when she does, I guarantee it’s not going to be pretty.Mom sits near her and plays with her hair and will randomly make remarks about how happy she is that we finally found her.I ask Mateo, “Do you know how far along she is?”He shakes his head, “She didn’t talk to me much. We were more like acquaintances. If I had to guess I would say four months… maybe five.”Mom says, “Her baby is going to be so close to the girl’s age.”I nod in acknowledgement and Mateo says, “You have kids?”“Twins, my brother and I have the same mate and we had our girls, Hope and Faith, five months ago.”“That’s amazing. I wonder if Alita is pregnant with one or two.”“How do you feel about her pregnancy?” I ask as I try to feel him out. He knows she’s pregnant, will he be there for her even though she is carrying some o
MateoI lie Alita’s body down on the bed in the guest room we gave her. I breathe out as I watch her chest move up and down with her steady breathing. I need to make sure that whatever Sofia gave her was safe, I want no harm coming to her or the baby. Even though I understand that she’s struggling, I’m having a hard time with Alita.Her whole life has been turned upside down, but she won’t even consider what we’re trying to tell her.I get it, I do, I’m sure we sound like a bunch of crazy people to her. But there must be some way to get her to remember her old life. But… is that what’s best for her? Knowing that she’s been playing house with the man who kidnapped her?I groan as I leave her room. I need to go downstairs and talk with her family and explain everything that happened on our end and maybe they could explain some things that don’t make sense to us.As I come into the living room her parents, Evan and Claudia, and her brother, Peelle all look at me. I breathe out and say, “
MateoI had dinner with Alita, and it was wonderful. It doesn’t matter if she has accepted me or not, just being in her presence is more than enough.I need to talk to Lorenzo and Sofia and see what we should do with her though.Should I tell her about the missing person notice? Or should we wait until her family gets here?I leave her so that she can rest, and my wolf is antsy inside my mind. He wants to come out and mark her, he’s ready to know that she is 100% ours now and forever.When I walk into the room both Lorenzo and Sofia look at me. Sofia asks, “How is she doing?”“She’s… antsy. She’s ready to get home to her ‘mate’.” I scoff, it’s hard to even think of another man being her mate. Having a relationship with her the way only I should be able to have.Sofia looks at me sympathetically and says, “I think she’s been brainwashed, Mateo. I think she truly believes that man is her mate. If she is this missing girl… it’s the only thing that makes sense. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she
PeelleFinally, we’re going to find Alita. I know things have changed, I know she’s different now, but my heart leaps for joy knowing that soon she will be home and safe.I’m glad I packed last night and enjoyed my time with Eda. While my mom and I were busy packing, my dad and brother were searching for packs near Venice.Dad found the Verona Pack and has some connections with them because of business. He sent in the request to stay there and although we haven’t heard back from them yet, but we decided to head out anyway. Worse comes to worst then we’ll stay in a hotel, it’s not like we can’t afford it.We say our goodbyes to Osborn, Eda, and the girls and we get on the plane to go find Alita. I hope that the bond we have built over these years will help guide me in finding her.MateoI think that Sofia was right and that Aurora, if that’s her real name, is actually a missing person. It makes a lot of sense and so I have been looking through the missing person reports that we have re