Luna Mira came inside. I heard Apollo’s grunt of disapproval as my heart lurched in my throat. “Mother,” he said in a low voice as Luna Mira entered our house. It was the first time she had come. A fragrance of roses hit my nostrils. Maybe it was her perfume. I went to sit on the edge of the bed with anxiety. Luna Mira had made it very apparent that she disliked me. Alpha Jacob had come to attend our wedding party, but Luna Mira hadn’t come for that either. “How are you doing, Apollo?” she asked in a tender voice. I could feel that she was missing him. “I am well, Mother,” Apollo replied curtly. “Where is Natasha?” “She is in the bedroom.” “Wouldn’t she meet me?” There was a pause in which I was sure Apollo would have been completely surprised. I rose to my feet wondering if I should go and meet her. I walked to the door and then came back, not sure if I should go and meet her. After a long silence which stretched for eternity, I saw Apollo on the door. I searched for a
Seven months later.I was in the labor room giving birth to our pup. I wasn’t worried about Alpha Jacob who was sipping his fifth coffee calmly in the foyer that led to the labor room or about Luna Mira who was sitting next to him and trying to maintain a façade of serenity, but I was worried about my mate. And his brother. Apollo was pacing the foyer from one end to the other constantly. He couldn’t sit, couldn’t stand, couldn’t eat or talk. Every time I screamed with pain he would stand there shivering as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice over him. He would come near the door, peep inside and then walk away, seeing my condition. As for Artemis, my doctor said that he was sitting on the ground, with a large teddy bear grabbed in his arms, which he intended to present to my baby. Little did the doctor know that Artemis was actually tightly hugging the teddy for comfort the moment I shrieked with pain. I had been in labor for the last four hours and the doctor said that the head
The whole family was rejoicing. Lucas had become an instant hit in the Black Moon pack. Alpha Jacob and Luna Mira had practically stopped going to their home and they stayed with us. Lucan had become an apple of their eye. At first, I thought it was Apollo who was so proud of his son, but I was wrong. It was the Alpha and the Luna and my brother-in-law who were prouder. Alpha Jacob gave a huge party to his people on the birth of his grandson. I think my life had more surprises and happiness that I ever thought I would have. The party was held in the packhouse. The packhouse was tightly packed with people. Everybody wanted to catch a glimpse of the heir of the Black Moon pack—the wolf who would carry the legacy forward. Alpha Jacob was standing on the dais along with Apollo and Luna Mira while I was standing on the side along with Nicole, Aunt and Uncle with Lucas in my arms. And I had no idea why Victoria had dressed him up in a baby lion king outfit with a tail and two cute ears.
Apollo POV How could I do this? How come I never saw this catastrophe coming? I had become so complacent in my world that I had lowered my guards. I was always so cautious that I was usually ten steps ahead in my games and plans. How come I didn’t anticipate this? This was the worst mistake an Alpha could make—to live in his own bubble and ignore the vices of the world that surrounded him. But what could I do? I was so blinded in the love for my wife and son that I had slipped into cozy thoughts, tossing out my logic. I just couldn’t control my feelings for my mate or my child. Could you blame me? Natasha had that power over me. She could make me feel so complacent, so comfortable that when I was near her, all my day’s tension vanished taking away my logic too. Today I wanted her to have the best birthday, because today was the day I had met her for the first time. I had never expected the outer world to ruin my plans. And what occurred right now—I wasn’t prepared for it. Ivan V
Natasha POVThey say that for the world to be flipped upside down, it takes only one second. But my life had many of those seconds. When I was taken into foster care.When my aunt and uncle suppressed my memories with the help of a psychiatrist. When I met Apollo for the first time in the basement.When my mother tried to shoot me.When my father was taken by the authorities.However, this minute took away the prize—when I gazed at my father who was supposed to be dead. All I could do when he walked through that door was stare at him. I was so starved that I didn’t even blink. It was possible that the moment I blinked, he would disappear into thin air and then he would never come back. I snuggled my face into his chest and re-familiarized with his strong spicy, citrusy smell. I cried so much that I wetted his shirt, and I was sure that he too was crying because I could feel his tears on the crown of my head. Moments later, I found myself in our room. I think my father brought me i
“I will take ten minutes to get dressed!” I said, not wanting him to leave me and go away. “Please don’t leave…” I added with desperation. I wanted to stay with my father, catch up on all the years I wasn’t with him and then some more. How did authorities leave him? What did he do after that? Was he back in Russia or did he move somewhere around? His features turned soft. “I won't leave without you, printsessa.” Printsessa. Such an endearing word. My lips curled up.“You don’t have to get dressed either,” he said. “All you have to do is take Lucas with you. Everything else is there for you, waiting…” I didn’t understand what he meant but I laughed. “I will be right back Da!” I exclaimed and then rushed into my bedroom with Apollo following me. As soon as we were inside, he closed the door behind us. “Are you fucking mad?” he spat. “That man is the most dangerous criminal of our world and you want to go into his lair? Have you no regard for your safety?”I spun to face him as I gro
I took a shaky breath in when my father repeated, “I had lost all hope to see my heir ever again, but now my hopes are renewed.” “Father…” I said, my voice breathy. “I am married… and I belong to Apollo and his pack.” I gazed in his eyes to see some kind of reaction, but all I saw was coldness on his face. I pursed my lips and looked away. I had to make him understand that I could never come back to him. He sipped his vodka as tense silence settled between us. When he didn’t speak, I continued, “I can't come back with you to Russia. This is the place I belong to.” From the corner of my eyes, I saw a dark figure moving behind the glass very quickly, as if hiding for being caught. I drifted my gaze back to my father avoiding it. My father swirled vodka in his tumbler as he became silent as if contemplating his next move. At this point of time, I realized that I had to be very careful. There was a darkness that spilled out of him and darkened his expression. He leaned back on the sofa
“Natasha!” I heard my father’s astonishment in his voice. “You have shifted!” When I looked down at myself, all I saw was brown fur that covered my hands. My gums were aching for they had protruded painfully long. And I heard a dangerous snarl, which belonged to me. For the first time I had shifted into my wolf and I couldn’t believe that she chose to come out now. ‘I am Ember,’ she growled. I was so much in awe of her that I let her take full control. The transformation was liberating and it felt so good. So, this was how every werewolf felt when their wolf came out. Now that I had my wolf, I understood the hollow, the void I suffered for so long. My wolf completed me. And right now, she was snarling because people had attacked our mate. ‘I will kill all of them,’ Ember hissed. I padded with my chin dipped and a low snarl. The four men in the room stopped beating Apollo. He was almost unconscious. “Natasha, you have to stop!” Ivan’s voice fell on my ears. “This is not what you w
It had been a month since Apollo had become the Alpha of the pack. He was extremely busy with the pack activities. Taking over was a massive task. With Artemis as his Beta, they had so many things to look into that a day seemed to stretch for twenty-eight hours. And in that time, I saw Apollo only during nights when he would come back home, exhausted and grumpy. He would not let me and Lucas go out of sight until he slept. I could understand the pressure he was having. The positions of The Head Tracker, Head Enforcer of arms were still vacant and he had to fill them soon. Kirill had informed me that Ivan died that night when the attack took place. It was said that he was in his room while the whole carnage took place on the outside, watching his mate, Dahlia. When they forced open his room, he shot himself in the head, his last words being, “I love you, Dahlia.” I mourned my father’s death even though he had been a monster to me. As the days passed, I realized that he was missing m
When we reached the Black Moon pack, it was past midnight. Luna Mira had come to the airport. I could sense that she wasn’t alone. The whole pack was with her. I could hear wolves howling in the background. The news that Alpha Jacob had died came faster than us. I clutched Lucas in my arms as Apollo curled his arm around my shoulders and took us out. I came to stand in front of Luna Mira and even though I had coined the words of apology a hundred times in the airplane, I simply couldn’t utter a word in front of her. My throat was choked with emotions, as guilt weighed me down. Because of me, she had lost a lot. She was on the verge of losing her son, but Alpha Jacob went and got him back. And now Alpha Jacob went to recover me. His sacrifice was greatest. He was an alpha wolf who protected his family till he breathed his last. I guess the day I came into the Vries family, the day I was wedded to Apollo, he had accepted me as a part of the Black Moon pack in his own way. Luna Mira s
“Olga?” My whole body jolted in shock and I sat upright. “What the hell? Are you sure? How can that be? God, I had so many questions!” “Shocking,” he replied and to my frustration, Apollo just smiled. He crossed his arms beneath his head and settled on the pillow cozily. “You always have questions.” Shooting him a glare he was used to, I said, “How did Kirill take it?” “Obviously, he took it badly. But I was ready. Nash gave me video evidence of how Olga came to him to give Ivan’s names to the authorities. At that time, he was already with my father and going against Ivan. Olga became furious but she never asked Nash to not go against Ivan. In fact, she gave him some of his secrets and what would be the best way to take him down.” If the revelation that Olga betrayed my father had shocked me, all this information punched the air out of me. “Olga was always my nanny. She loved my parents and she was very protective about me. I never saw her leaving me, except when she went for he
I saw two wolves—a giant black one and a massive gray one, heading in our direction. They were both heading in our direction with ferocious snarls. Snow had started drifting around us and I knew that we had to find a cover before the cold affected my son. Kirill yanked me in the shadows of the naked pines as those wolves slowly came towards us, snarling menacingly. They stopped about thirty feet away and I picked up the familiar scent. “Apollo? Artemis?” “That’s them! Come on.” Stunned, I couldn’t even breathe as Kirill tried to drag me to them. As soon as Apollo saw us, he dashed through the snow to us, yapping and nipping and swishing his tail. I sank on my knees, not able to bear the shock of seeing my mate after such a long time. Apollo licked me and then his son who giggled. My eyes flooded with tears and my mouth was like a cotton ball on a cactus. I had been riddled with so many dreams of this meeting that it looked surreal to me. I threaded my fingers in his fur and brou
Natasha POV A rough calloused hand over my mouth woke me up in the middle of the night. Panicked, a scream surged through me which was smothered into the palm. A face leaned over me with wide eyes. He placed his finger over his lips. “Shhh!” Throat dry as a desert, I blinked my gummy eyes to see who was it through the darkness. Kirill was hovering over me. “If you promise to stay quiet, I will pull my hand away.” I nodded as I stared into his hazel eyes. “Kirill?” I gulped my panic down with some saliva to wet my dry throat. “What is going on? What are you doing here?” “We are under attack from rival rogues.” There was commotion on the outside. Red and blue lights flashed through the gaps of the curtains. My heart leapt out as I jerked to a sitting position. I whipped my head to Lucas who was still sleeping soundly in his cradle. Kirill raked his fingers through his hair looking perturbed. “We thought it was a plain police attack, but these are hardcore rogues. They are t
Apollo POVTwo months. It had been two months since Natasha had left with Lucas. I had become like a shell. I had stopped eating and looked so gaunt that my mother winced when she glanced at me. I knew that she would cry in silence seeing my condition. No mate should be treated like this. We had had numerous arguments over how much she had warned me against Natasha and that I should have rejected her. Every fucking time I would stomp out of the house and find myself in the bar where I had met Natasha for the first time. I would drink until I could no longer think and then had to be brought home. Each time it would be Artemis who would bring me home. He would mumble curses under his breath and I would chuckle and tell him never to leave his mate. I had stopped going to the office, stopped meeting people and had withdrawn into a cocoon. My father had not moved an inch when Natasha called for help because he had to protect his people. And Natasha? My little mate? She sacrificed herself
October November December was the most cruel in Russia. Ever since father had brought us back to Vyaska, our hometown in the north of Russia, he had been extra vigilant. All his energy was usually spent in taking measures that I was highly protected. He had started giving orders from home and barely stepped out even for grand political functions that he was invited to in the human world. My cell phone was snatched and smashed. The two months without Apollo seemed like eternity. I wondered if he was finding me. I didn’t feel like eating, having lost all my appetite. The only thing that kept me going was Lucas. I ate because I had to feed Lucas. I breathed because I didn’t want to leave Lucas in the hands of Olga. I stayed alert because I wanted to escape. I needed only one chance and I would leave, even if that meant running across the wilderness of snow-clad Russia. Ember wanted an out and she was aching to come out after my first shift. She was getting antsy inside me. Once I h
“Natasha!” I heard my father’s astonishment in his voice. “You have shifted!” When I looked down at myself, all I saw was brown fur that covered my hands. My gums were aching for they had protruded painfully long. And I heard a dangerous snarl, which belonged to me. For the first time I had shifted into my wolf and I couldn’t believe that she chose to come out now. ‘I am Ember,’ she growled. I was so much in awe of her that I let her take full control. The transformation was liberating and it felt so good. So, this was how every werewolf felt when their wolf came out. Now that I had my wolf, I understood the hollow, the void I suffered for so long. My wolf completed me. And right now, she was snarling because people had attacked our mate. ‘I will kill all of them,’ Ember hissed. I padded with my chin dipped and a low snarl. The four men in the room stopped beating Apollo. He was almost unconscious. “Natasha, you have to stop!” Ivan’s voice fell on my ears. “This is not what you w
I took a shaky breath in when my father repeated, “I had lost all hope to see my heir ever again, but now my hopes are renewed.” “Father…” I said, my voice breathy. “I am married… and I belong to Apollo and his pack.” I gazed in his eyes to see some kind of reaction, but all I saw was coldness on his face. I pursed my lips and looked away. I had to make him understand that I could never come back to him. He sipped his vodka as tense silence settled between us. When he didn’t speak, I continued, “I can't come back with you to Russia. This is the place I belong to.” From the corner of my eyes, I saw a dark figure moving behind the glass very quickly, as if hiding for being caught. I drifted my gaze back to my father avoiding it. My father swirled vodka in his tumbler as he became silent as if contemplating his next move. At this point of time, I realized that I had to be very careful. There was a darkness that spilled out of him and darkened his expression. He leaned back on the sofa