"Evan! Ken! You're late!"
"Sorry, sorry. We got held up with the business party. But they folded and we're here, we got 'em." Ken winked and threw an arm around Evan's shoulders as they stood in the foyer. "Once the old Alpha man started getting annoyed, they realized they needed to stop trying to schmooze up to him and parted like the Red Sea. And we picked up the presents!"
I sighed as their Delta subordinates came marching in behind them through the open front doors. So cold! Not only were we getting a white Christmas, we were getting blizzarded down. The snowstorm would be on us in full in the next twelve hours according to the forecast. Evan and Ken should have been here two hours ago so they could avoid the icy roads. Who was out there at this time! The warnings had been blaring all day!
"Claudia." Evan kissed me on the forehead and held me close. Really! Damn it. He always did this when I was about to get worked up. "I missed you. Where are the boys?"
“Claudia!” I hear my sweet Evan call my name and I can hear his hurried footsteps as he rushes towards our room.I look at the suitcase in front of me, as I still have an unsettled feeling in my gut. Evan walked towards me and wrapped his arms around me from behind as he rubbed his hand over my stomach. He teases me, “You know, we could be putting another little one in you on this trip.”I roll my eyes from his antics. He’s right though, Peele and Osborn are 4 years old now and if I did get pregnant on this trip that would put the next baby at being almost five years apart from the boys.It's the exact time frame that I have wanted. From all of the parentings and pregnancy books I’ve read it shows that a 4-5 year age difference helps the older kids process the change better and helps me out because they will be able to understand and help out a little more.Evan peers over my shoulder and looks at my unzipped suitcase and looks back at me as he asks, “What’s wrong? You seem hesitant a
ClaudiaEvan and I rush down to the dinner party, and he’s immediately greeted by the Alpha and Luna. The Alpha smiles at him, “Alpha Evan, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Alpha Holden and this is my mate, Luna Delores.”She holds her hand out and says, “It’s an honor to meet you, Alpha Evan. We’ve heard great things about you. In fact, we thought it would only be right to introduce you to our daughter, Christine.”A young girl about my age steps forward. Her outfit is slutty and desperate. It’s obvious she’s trying to catch his attention and all of them have been so quick to speak that they didn’t even give Evan an opportunity to introduce me.I can hear her thoughts as they’re too loud for me to ignore, “Well, well, well, he’s much more handsome than what I imagined! If he wants the Silver Howlers pack on his side, then he’ll drop that sorry half-breed excuse of a mate for a real woman.”So, she did know about me. My wolf, Cassiel, is angry from her thoughts and forces a growl to sli
AbigailI’m grateful that I was the one with the boys when the rogues attacked. Laila and Lauren had just gone inside with the nannies for their nap time, but the boys and I were having fun together searching for bugs in the forest. Plus, their Uncle Ken should have been joining us soon and neither of the boys could rest knowing that Ken would be coming soon.So, we continued our hunt for worms, rollie pollies, caterpillars, and whatever else we could find. We were getting pretty deep in the forest when I noticed some of the pack members that should have been on patrol duty weren’t there.My stomach churned and I said, “Hey Ozzy and P, let’s head back to the pack house.”Peelle whines, “Oh, Aunt Abby, can’t we stay out just a little bit longer?”“No, Peelle, let’s go, now.” I say a little harsher as I feel like we’re being followed.Neither of the boys argue, but they sure took their sweet time as we headed back to the pack house. I stayed alert; I knew danger could be around any cor
EvanAfter hours of looking through footage, Claudia finally passed out. I wanted to take her to our room so that she would have a more peaceful sleep, but I knew that if I touched her, she would wake up and try to overexert herself again.I don’t blame her. I’m worried sick about our sons. I should’ve trusted in her when she didn’t want to come to the Silver Howlers Pack. I thought she was so caught up in being a mom that she didn’t want to leave the kids. I never would’ve imagined that something like this could’ve happened. I breathe out and rub my temples as I feel a powerful headache coming on. I push away from my desk and head out the door and mind link my Beta to meet me downstairs.Matthew Collins walks through the door and bows his head, “Alpha.”I nod back at him and ask, “Have you figured anything out?”He nods, “I went to interview some of the people we had at the pack hospital. Two of them were also injected with something that has made them unable to shift. They were als
ClaudiaIt’s been a week since the attack. We still have no real clues.Although I’m grateful to have Peelle, I’m worried sick about Osborn.I don’t understand why they want him. I thought for sure by now they would reach out requesting us to pay a large sum to get him back, but there’s been nothing.My stomach is riddled with anxiety, and I don’t know how to make it stop. I don’t know how to move forward.Peelle spends lots of time with Laila and Lauren, but I can tell how much he misses his brother even though he tries to hide it. There are times he tries to play with Laila, but she enjoys all the girly thinks like playing dress up and tea parties! And he wants to play with dinosaurs and cars and it’s not the same without his brother by his side.I sit in the playroom watching the three of them together and I could picture Osborn sitting right beside them. It breaks my heart to know that he’s not here.He’s somewhere all by himself alone. Have they hurt him? Has he been fed?I feel
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
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