EvanClaudia is brilliant. It took us just over 1 day to get the perfect consistency for the fake blood vial. Now all we can do is wait to rendezvous and get our son home.I walk to our bedroom so I can show her the final product of the vial and as I enter our room I can hear her in the bathroom as she throws up.My eyebrows furrow in confusion and concern. How long has she been sick for? Have I been too busy to notice her when she’s struggling?I’m doing the best I can to get our son back, but to also give Claudia and Peelle the time that they need and deserve from me.She walks out of the bathroom as she wipes her mouth and she looks at me with wide eyes as she says, “Darling, I didn’t hear you come in.”I walk towards her as I ask, “How long have you been sick?”She tilts her head to the side and shakes her head, “I’m fine, Evan, no need for you to worry.”I grab her arm and move her to face me as I say, “Claudia, you are my mate, my wife, and the mother of my children. I will alwa
ClaudiaI can’t help but walk and clean around our pack house. It’s what I do when I’m nervous.It’s the middle of the night and we’re waiting for our son to be released and come back home to us.There’s a feast in the dining room waiting for him since we don’t know how much he has eaten. The pack doctor is on call and ready to come whenever we ask him to. I need to hug my boy and know that he is okay.Evan looks over at me and says, “Claudia, you don’t need to worry about cleaning.”I can’t help but glare at him and he put his hands up like he was surrendering so we wouldn’t have an argument. I can’t help but roll my eyes at him as I continue to scrub the counters. I have to do something useful otherwise I’ll be eaten up by my anxiety.The door opens and we see two guards walk in with Ozzy standing in between them. I fall to my knees as tears stream down my face and I wrap my son in the tightest hug possible. He hugs me back but after a moment he pats my back and squeaks out, “Mom, t
EvanThe pregnancy was hard on Claudia. She had every symptom you could think of, and she was eager to have our next baby. It was even worse because Claudia didn’t want the boys to feel neglected so every time, she got sick or felt too tired to play she felt like she was being a bad mother.Her labor was even worse than the boys. I got kicked out of the room because she started hemorrhaging. I’ve never been so scared that I would lose her, there was so much blood, and she was so pale.The nurse brought out our baby and told me they were doing what they could for Claudia, but they weren’t sure if she’d make it. I held our child in my arms, and I knew in that moment that I was happy with the kids that we have. We don’t need any more for our family, it’s not worth the risk of Claudia’s life.I have never felt such relief as I did when they said Claudia was stabilized and I could see her. We learned our baby was a girl and Claudia asked if we could name her Alita, after her biological mot
OsbornFinally, I’m 18. I should be able to shift into my wolf tonight under the full moon. I will be at my strongest and be able to properly lead this pack.My dad wants me to wait until I meet my mate. That’s why this weekend, we are having the biggest birthday party possible to guarantee that I will meet her. Once I find her, we’ll mate, and she’ll be my Luna and I can take my position.As much as it pains me, I know that I can’t have a relationship with anyone the way that my parents have with one another. They got lucky that everything turned out okay. But the truth of the matter is that when you are the Alpha of a pack that’s as large as the Scarlet Pack, you get a target on your back.I won’t risk my mate’s life. I won’t risk my family’s life. I will have a child strictly to be able to pass the pack onto them. I will make sure they know what they need to, but I need all enemies to believe that I have no one close to me. If they think I have someone close to me then… I’ll lose t
AlitaMy brothers are receiving their wolves tonight. Or… well… I know Osborn will. But I wonder if Peelle will. My mom still had a wolf even though she had elf tendencies so hopefully he’ll end up like her.Osborn paces as the full moon continues to rise. Every one of us are sitting outside waiting for the shift to happen.Mom, dad, Uncle Ken, Aunt Abigail, Uncle Leon, Aunt Raf, and my cousins Laila and Lauren. Aunt Alena and my uncles Breda and Solomon wanted to be here, but for some reason they couldn’t make it.Uncle Ken and Aunt Abby’s baby is already fast asleep upstairs. I glance over at Abby as she rubs her baby bump and breathes out. She only has about two months left before the baby is born.Laila is only a couple of months younger than Peelle and Osborn and I can see her nervousness. Her thoughts are loud, she’s fearful of how the boys will respond to the pain of the shift. This is the first time she’s watched someone shift for the first time and it scares her knowing that
OsbornThe party is loud, and I can’t help the tension I feel in my shoulders from how loud the sound is. I wanted something classy, and this sounds like it will be a rager.I shouldn’t be surprised, Peelle was a part of planning and he’s the easy going party boy. The only thing I hope is that the party is big with plenty of girls. I need to find my mate. My dad wants me to have her before he will give me the Alpha title.There’s a soft knock on my door and I mumble, “Come in.”Mom walks in with a smile on her face and says, “My, you look handsome, Ozzy.”I smile at her, “Thanks mom.”She walks over to me and puts her hands on my shoulders as she looks me up and down and asks, “Are you ready for this, bud? She could be out there tonight.”I smirk, “That’s what I’m hoping for. I’m ready, mom.”She nods and says, “Okay, well come by the balcony when you’re ready to be presented to your pack. Your father will wait until both you and Peelle get there.”I follow behind her as I say, “I’m a
Three Years Later.OsbornI still haven’t met my mate. How can the moon goddess be so cruel?It’s been three years! I should’ve met her, marked her, and maybe have a kid on the way by now.Instead, I’m alone.My sister’s 16th birthday party is tonight, and my parents are throwing her a party, I hope that maybe somehow my mate will be there, but I’m starting to wonder if I even have a mate. It’s possible I don’t, but regardless, I think I’ve been patient long enough. It’s time for my dad to hand over the Alpha title.I walk to my dad’s office and take a deep breath as I straighten my tie before knocking on the door. My dad calls out, “Come in!”I open the door and my dad smiles at me, but his smile quickly fades, he realizes I’m here for business. I tell him, “Alpha, I believe I’ve waited long enough. I know I don’t have my mate yet, but there’s a chance I don’t have one or that she died or chose someone else! I can’t keep waiting. Please… it’s time.”My dad looks at me as he presses h
OsbornI walk around Alita’s party as I search for my mate. It very quickly becomes obvious that she isn’t here.Girl’s flood toward me like always. Each one batting their eyes and asking if I’d want to dance and sometimes letting out this annoying, fake, high-pitched giggle.My mate isn’t here and goddess, I hope when I finally meet her that she doesn’t act like that!It’s been three fucking years that I’ve been searching for her. It feels like finding her is impossible.Anger floods through me, where the hell is she?I walk upstairs and go to the office. I pull out a map of our pack and start looking up information on how my dad currently has the patrols running. My dad has been too lenient when it comes to rogues.I won’t be.Starting tomorrow, the pack will be undergoing some changes.I grab out another map to see which packs I’ve visited recently and which ones we have good relationships with. I need to travel and find my mate, but any pack we don’t have good relationships with,
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