I quickly sent a message to Owen. “Bad uncle made Mom mad again today! I don’t want a daddy who makes Mommy mad!” He messaged me back right away. “He’s moody today. It’s Sophia’s fault. She’s the bad mom,” Owen said. I could tell he was upset, too. But then he said something that made me stop. “
Alexander It was hard to focus on Sophia with the low hum of tension filling the air from the two little bodies next to me. My eyes slithered to them, like two puffed up puppies as soon as Sphia appeared. I almost smirked. They had the same furrowed face. “What bring you here, love,” I said, try
Abigail’s voice broke through my thoughts, as she chatted with Owen. “No, seriously, this is the best birthday I’ve ever had!” She grinning, her excitement genuine, her eyes sparkling with something I hadn’t expected. I raised an eyebrow, “It’s your birthday today?” She blinked, clearly taken ab
Lauren I had just gotten Abigail into the car when the weight of what she’d said hit me. The moment I saw Alexander’s face, something inside me snapped. I knew I’d have to answer questions, navigate the tension, and shield my daughter from the chaos unraveling around us. I mumbled a lame excuse
Owen’s small, trembling voice broke the silence. “I’m sorry. Don’t blame Abigail.” His words left like the small hand on my sleeve. This tiny boy, already trying to shoulder blame he didn’t deserve, carried a weight no child should bear. My heart ached for him. Taking a steadying breath, I leane
Lauren The lights flickered, then went out, plunging the elevator into darkness. The sudden silence felt suffocating, broken only by the groan of the stalled elevator. I gasped, my hands instinctively reaching for balance as the space seemed to shrink around me. “Are you okay?” Alexander’s voice
His steady gaze sent irritation—and something else—creeping up my neck. “I’m just Owen’s doctor,” I reminded him coldly. “You don’t need to waste your time on me.” Instead, he leaned back, infuriatingly casual, one arm draped over the chair. His lips curved—not quite a smile, but something sharper
Lauren I was back on my feet soon after being discharged, the hospital buzzing as always with hurried footsteps and beeping machines. But today, the air felt heavier, thick with tension I couldn’t shake. Every glance, every whisper seemed aimed at me, and the weight of their judgment pressed hard
His expression faltered for just a second, but he quickly masked it, folding his arms across his chest. I could see the struggle in his eyes—he wanted to help me. He did.“You think this is easy for me?” he muttered, his tone a little more clipped now. “Of course I want to help you find him, but I a
LaurenThe argument had been raging for what felt like hours. The air in the clearing was thick, heavy with tension as I glared across the crowd at the Betas and the elders. Their words were all the same: “He’s dangerous. He’s a liability. He’s an outsider. Why risk more manpower looking for someone
He hesitated, giving me that unreadable stare for a beat, but eventually, he nodded. I smirked, feeling victorious as I led him to the porch. I pulled a pair of scissors from a drawer inside the cabin, because, you know, a girl has her tools.Gesturing for him to sit on the steps, I strutted behind
SophiaThe sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden hue over the clearing as I stood before the sorry excuse for a garden that had become my latest torment. The once-neat rows were now a tangled mess of overgrown weeds and wilting plants, mocking my every attempt at cultivation. I huffed, wiping a
He didn’t respond, which was starting to piss me off. The nerve. The audacity.I narrowed my eyes, slapping the mud from my eyes. “I don’t care why you’re running! You do not just appear out of nowhere and make me fall into the mud! Do you understand me?”Nothing. Not a damn word.I clenched my fist
SophiaThe cabin was far too quiet. The silence gnawed at my nerves, making the flickering candlelight cast shadows that seemed to mock me.I wrapped my hands tighter around my teacup, the porcelain delicate against my fingers, but even the warmth of it couldn't soothe the simmering rage boiling in
He had that smirk, that look of superiority that made my blood boil, much taller then us, looming with the other smirking teens. His eyes locked on Owen.“I don’t care if you're the Alpha’s kids,” he sneered. “You’re not one of us.”I stood up straight, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles cracked
AbigailThe air smelled different tonight—sharper, like the kind of cold that only comes with a storm, or maybe just my terrible sense of smell. I don’t know, maybe I was just nervous.Okay, definitely nervous.Everything felt way too big tonight, like the forest clearing and the pack were all audit
I stopped, knowing Mark had it so much worse with a sigh.Mark just shrugged, his shoulders rising and falling, a simple gesture that said everything and nothing at once. He didn’t understand it either. He’d never get it. I’d never get it. No one did.I leaned back a little, staring up at the moon a