KNOXToday, we had a quarterly meeting with every department of Ares Enterprises, which means Nova was in attendance and Thalia had no business being at the exclusive meeting but Ryan insisted she tag along in case Alpha Ezra thinks I'm pulling side deals to screw him over.Thalia sat across from me and I swear I saw her yawn a few times and roll her eyes a noticeable amount during our meeting. As we leave the premises, my lawyers are sharing satisfaction and complaints to address with other department lawyers while Nova and Thalia walk ahead of everyone, if anything they were first to leave the premises.“You looked sleepy in there,” Nova tells her, making her sigh.Oh, good it's not just me that noticed it.“I'm so exhausted.” “You didn't sleep enough?”She snorts, moving closer to Nova. “Keir came over yesterday afternoon and overworked me.”“Attorney, Laurel!” Nova gasps.“Hey,” Thalia nudges her. “It was all innocent. You're becoming a bad girl Novie lovie.”“I like to think I'
“Shit.” “Is this the meeting that was so important?” I glare at her, watching as she wipes her mouth clean with the back of her hand. “This does not classify as a meeting.” “I know,” she swallows, making me wonder what else she's swallowed under the pretext of this meeting. “We just-” “When you're here, you work. You can fuck your boyfriend on your own time, damsel.” I warn, her nickname rolling off my tongue with vile ease. “I wasn't fucking him,” she shoots back, her gaze twinkling with irritation. “Not yet.” And there it is, she's acting smart because I interrupted her orgasm, one she wouldn't have gotten from simply fingering herself while this thing did absolutely nothing. “My building is a reputable place of work, not a brothel Thalia.” “Ms Laurel, to be professional of course.” I nod, falling right into her trap. “Because you've exhibited professional conduct?” “I'm sorry, it's my fault.” The knockoff jumps in, his face is so complacent I want to punch him u
AMARAThalia and I are getting our hair done in preparation for tomorrow's meeting, she went first and immediately buried her nose in a gossip magazine. I'm checking my hairstyle when a familiar face pops up behind me in the mirror.“Nova!” I call out, whirling around. My squeal alerts Thalia too.Nova smiles, waving at me while the little girls with her squeal. “Hi, Amara.”“Auntie Thalia Rose!” both girls scream, running to meet her.“hi, darlings,” Thalia matches their excitement. “I love your matching dresses.”“Thank you,” they say in unison, hugging Thalia. I turn my attention to the Thalia lookalike. “Hello.” she grins, looking even more like Thalia.“Amara, this is Mariella, Knox's finance, his kid. My kid.” Nova tells me, gesturing to each individual. My gaze gets stuck on the kids, one looks very much like Thalia.“Say hi to my friend.” Thalia prompts.Nova's daughter stares between us, scratching her head. “Are you a lawyer too?”“Yes.”“Cool.” They both swoon, “I'm Katie R
Mariella’s lip curls up with contempt, “You look lovely, princess.” she feigns a smile. “You did so good, Arabella.” Nova praises. “I'm sorry I made a fuss.” she pouts, looking up at Rose.” “It's okay, I know you were scared but you need to remember that even if it seems like a bad day, you'll be fine, smile and keep your chin up because when the sun comes up tomorrow, it'll be a new day.” Arabella nods vigorously, “Okay, auntie.” “Mommy, can we surprise Daddy with my hair?” Katie Rose asks Nova. “Yep, I'll call him when he's out of surgery.” Nova smiles, petting her head. “Is he okay?” I frown. “Yes, he's the surgeon.” Nova laughs, noting my confusion. “Er, so what are we doing next?” “Thalia and I were going to get our nails done.” I tell her, “We want to look deadly in court.” “That's great, Mariella you could use a new set.” Nova’s head tilts, looking at Mariella's nails. Mariella glares at her, “This is new.” “It's pretty. “ Rose smiles. Nova shrugs, her eyes twin
THALIA I walk into the boardroom with supreme urgency, I shouldn't be here but Alpha Ezra canceled because Luna Serenity got worse. Everyone from Flame Valley is in their seats when we arrive, but none of them expect to see me but Knox seems pissed at my presence and it's not because I'm nowhere dressed for the meeting. “Good afternoon, all.” Amara greets, settling down beside me. “Sorry, I'm late. Shall we start?” “Where's Alpha Ezra?” I don't look at him as I answer, “He had an emergency so I'll be substituting for him.” “An emergency?” he scoffs, “He should have communicated with me before resorting to—” “His wife is sick, you insensitive psycho.” I snap, my tone surprising even myself. He's not here because he didn't want to cancel yet again.” Ryan clears his throat, “I'll get the projector.” “Thank you, Ry.” I smile, my voice much softer and calmer as opposed to when I spoke to Knox. Ryan leaves, and Amara gets to work on connecting with the rest of our team
“Not particularly, I just meant that—” Ryan chuckles, winking at me, “I'm kidding.” “You know, the downside of this efficient work you've accomplished is you won't have anything to do for the next two months. Our schedule was cleared for at least seven months.” Amara reminds me, of a detail I missed when I was plotting to complete the project fast enough to get me away from Knox and my bitter-sweet memories attached to Flame Valley. “I guess I'm finally taking time off work.” I shrug, the idea itself sounds ludicrous. If I'm not in a courtroom or handling legal aspects of our pack negotiations, who am I? Amara laughs, ostensibly unconvinced. “Oh please, attorney T.R Laurel doesn't rest. You'd work in your sleep, let's face it, you're not normal.” “That's not true,” I frown. “I know how to be normal.” “Rose, you work on your off days.” she sighs, leaning back in her seat. “You're the prime definition of a workaholic. Pull up a dictionary and there you are, at the top, and
MARIELLA Alpha has been ignoring my calls, and Arabella is restless, awaking every half hour if not an hour at best to ask if her daddy is home yet. This has made it hard for me to fall asleep either because she comes looking for me to ask again and again. Nobody knows where he is, and this isn't the first time this has happened so I sit in the dimly lit kitchen, scrolling through my phone with a cup of coffee in hand to reward myself for putting Bella to sleep for over an hour now. It's nearly four in the morning, maybe I can go back to sleep, but I can't risk being awakened by loud sobbing at my bedside. My lips stretch into a wide grin, my cheeks undoubtedly flushed from the dirty thoughts I get looking at a picture of Alpha Knox, shirtless. The creaking sound of the kitchen door opening wipes my smile away, my hand grips my mug tighter, ready to swing at the intruder but when I see him, my nerves calm immediately. He doesn't notice me, I watch him stagger as he enters the
RyanThis might just be one of my core memories, I initially planned to seek Amara out at the game but sitting next to her? Premium experience.Tearing up my tickets was the best thing Arabella Venus and Katie Rose have ever done for me, it not only provided me with a reasonable excuse to give my buddies, but it put me in the best seat in the house, right next to Amara.This town is the primary Vulture fan club, so that puts Amara in the 0.8 percentile of people who hate the club. Still, that didn't make her shy away from yelling, screaming, and bullying the Vultures each time they scored. Nikolai, the star of today's match was her biggest victim, she nagged, called his tricks sheer luck, and booed at his every score and honestly it was so hot to watch. Much to her dismay, my team beat hers by a whopping six points but it didn't affect her mood, she has been invariably cheerful.“Do you want to go ?” I nudge her, watching the way she peeks at the queue to the locker rooms.“No,” she
THALIA Nova invited me to the pack hunts, I was unsure how Knox would feel having me around but when Ryan asked me to join even though I wasn't shifting so my presence is practically useless, I gave it a second thought. Of course, I made the decision while shopping to get my mind off it but I'm here regardless. I stumble across the kids before I can lock my car, somehow they always notice me before I can. “Auntie Thalia Rose!” Katie Rose screams, jumping up and down. “Hi, Auntie.” Bella grins. “Would you look at that, it's two of my favourite girls in Flame Valley.” “I missed you, are you here for the hunt?” I nod, crouching down to their height. “You two are dressed so pretty.” “Thank you,” they both grin. I open my car and pull out two of the six teddy bears I bought today. “This one is for you, and this for you.” I grin, handing them a teddy bear in their favourite colour. “I love it!” Katie Rose squeals hugging the bear. Arabella is staring at hers intently, “
The delivery guy arrives just in time, he asks the receptionist for Thalia despite my attaching a photo when I ordered it. I longer close by to Thalia and Nova, and the way he laughs with her irritates me. “Miss Laurel, I have a delivery for you.” Thalia and Nova share a look before she turns to him with a warm smile. “I'm Miss Laurel but I didn't order anything.” “Well, it says here for Miss Laurel.” he shows her the tablet, trying to balance my order in his hand. Thalia stares at the drink in his hand and shakes her head, “No.” she stares back at it, she wanted this, I clearly heard her and Amara talking about this earlier and it's the one she's been having nearly every day with Nova. “you have the wrong person.” “Maybe it's Danielle on the upper floor.” Nova suggests. “Yes!” Thalia promptly agrees, somehow they've convinced each other they're both right. I'm left with no choice but to join the conversation, “I ordered it.” “You?” both Thalia and Nova gasp, their face
My answer is quick, “No! I promise I'm fine, it's just that I have so much free time and that's the only thing I could find to occupy my mind.” “Aren't Alpha Ezra's project manager?”l “I am, but Knox asked me not to go to work for a while.” Lana nods, “I see, and is that what you want too?” “No, I like working, just the feel of being around multitudes of work makes me relax.” I smile. “Then you should go, Knox can't dictate your life unless you let him. I hate to see you like this, you're backtracking your progress. You're a strong willed woman, you can't hand your captor the keys to your cage.” See? She's got such a way with words, unorthodox sometimes but still. “I will start going to the office again, I miss my lunch breaks with Nova.” Lana mirrors my smile, “Attagirl, I'm relieved our sessions aren't in vain. Don't let anything slow you down, work if you wish to but don't over exert yourself.” “I won't.” I confidently tell her. Despite what Knox thinks, I'm taking care of
THALIA I'm bored out of my mind sitting alone in my apartment, the ghost of all my bad decisions haunt me as I stare at everything that belonged to Keir. I can't help but wonder what would have happened to me and the pup if I stayed in that abusive relationship. Would I have lost another child trying to atone for those sins? The thought makes my stomach churn, Knox would have killed me for sure. Speaking of the baby daddy the moon goddess decided to punish me with, he's been texting me lately but one can tell from his texts that he hates me. I'm grateful he made himself scarce but texting me three times a day when I feel comfortable to have a doctor's appointment is unnerving. I'm scared of the doctor saying something I can't stomach, I'm trying so hard to be positive this time. I pick my phone up and Knox's text stares at me from the notification bar, I open it and close the app, opening my contacts. My finger hovers over my therapist's contact before I work up the courage to c
THALIA Day two of not being at work, and I'm beyond bored. I finally got to make use of my laptop and binged my new favourite show which happens to be Amara's favorite too. We're both fairly engrossed in the movie when a FaceTime call covers the screen, both of us groaning when my step-sister Silver's number flashes on the screen. Both Amara and I groan in irritation, Silver only calls me when she needs something or when she's gotten herself in a legal pickle. I love my stepdad his only flaw is his kids, with Silver taking the trophy. “Ignore it,” Amara says, reaching for my laptop to cancel the call. I catch her hand before she speaks. “I wish I could, but she going to keep calling me.” I sigh, accepting her FaceTime call. “Hi, Florentine.” I wave, feigning enthusiasm. “Thalia Rose!” she squeals. “You won't believe what happened,” she pauses, pointing at the camera on her phone. “Oh, the assistant is there.” Amara kisses her teeth. “I have a name, and the next time you call
KNOX The panic I felt when Thalia wasn't answering my calls was alarming. I left her multiple missed calls, it's also the first time I've called her so she must have not recognized the number. Still, I was about her and my pup, only to find her trying to escape the state. I was going to leave but I heard her stomach growl twice while we argued so I decided to cook her something. I've noticed she won't eat at work unless Nova or Amara drag her to lunch and we can't have that with the baby. She has kept her distance, packing her clothes and kissing her teeth loudly. I have no idea what she'd like to have, nor what foods make me nauseous but I use my knowledge from her first pregnancy. I avoid anything sweet and try to make her a mildly sour dish. My phone rings just as I'm about to make her an omelette. “Ry?” I answer, bringing the phone close to my ear. “Did you find her?” “Yeah, she was on her way to the airport,” I tell him, cutting up my onion rings. “Don't tell me you
“And what about what you did?” There it is, my one mistake in this life, my biggest regret and he just won't ever let it go. He will forever hold it against me and so I act unapologetic to feed his anger, it's justifiable, I hate myself for that too. . “Again with that?” I roll my eyes. I already begged and cried so hard but I still lack the power to go back to the past, you need to move on.” “Move on?” he scoffs, “You're not remorseful at all are you?” “No.” I swallow, blinking to stop the river of tears begging to flow. “I'm not sad she's gone. I occasionally miss her, I would have loved her, I would have adored her eyes, the sound of her laugh but it all reminds me it would come with a fucked up sadistic psychopath attached.” I glare, “You should be glad too, we'd have killed each other long ago.” “I was hoping you'd miraculously changed since finding out you're pregnant but I just can't trust you with my baby can I?” “Say your baby one more time.” I raise an eyebrow, my enti
THALIA Amara stayed the night with me, but I convinced her to go to the office today because someone from my team needs to keep an eye on things. She left me at eight in the morning and I immediately began plotting my escape. I spent the entire night thinking about my history with Knox and it all builds up to my leaving him. Accepting my situation has been hard but I can't deal with Knox again, the way he claimed the pup was his unnerved me. He's going to want to take the pup from me because he hates me and while I might not know what to do? I'll figure it out on the flight back home. I know he will come looking for me when he finds me gone so I'll have to find someplace else to hideaway, somewhere far and deserted. I booked my flight last night and it leaves in the next hour, in case Amara is tracking my phone, I've left it stashed under my pillow. I'm about to walk out the door, dragging my suitcase because I didn't know what to pack in it. “Going someone?” That star
Ugh,” he groans, his hand reaching between us. “You're so pretty when you beg.” I gasp when he pinches my clit between his fingers, my body twitching. “More,” I purr, hardly recognizing the primal sound that slips past my lips. Without warning, he thrusts inside me, pausing when he meets resistance. I haven't seen seen cock but it's huge, I tell from the way my pussy painfully stretches around it despite how wet I am. “Thalia Rose,” his eyes widen. We both know what is, and he felt it as much as I did. I pull on a brave smile, ignoring the sting between my legs. “I didn't say he fucked me.” Knox shakes his head, leaning down to kiss me on the side of my mouth, an inch too far. “You play dirtier than me.” Holding my gaze hostage, he continues to sink his cock in, inch by inch until I can't take anymore. “You're going to split me open.” I gasp. “You tricked me,” he pants, going even deeper. “I'll teach you a lesson about tricking me. Lift your hips,” he commands. I do as