Avalyn's POV Beeping. A slow, steady beeping filled my ears – and yet the throb within my head was trying to dull all of my senses. Slowly, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. I was once again within the hospital, and that was the last place I wanted to be. The steady beeping came from a machine that was dripping fluids into my arm – not a comforting sight. I hated being bedridden and invalid like this and feeling like I wasn‘t capable of taking care of myself. “She‘s resting now, but she is okay=” Natalie's voice made me turn my attention to the partially–closed door. I wasn‘t sure who she was talking to, but I had no doubt it was Logan or Rebecca. They always seemed to be there for me when I was in trouble. “I can‘t believe this happened. I feel so horrible about it all. I should never have let her go alone,” Rebecca whispered. I hated the guilt I heard in her voice. She wasn‘t to blame for this. Logan's angry voice replied, “you know Grey's rules, and yet you
Logan's POVFury filled me with what Madalynn had done. And I couldn‘t believe my sister had been so stupid as to allow Avalyn to go to the bathroom alone.Logan!” Georgia‘s sweet and sultry voice floated around me, and my wolf howled in pleasure, wanting to claim her already. Yes, she was my mate, and I had known for a long time– but that made the situation more complicated. She wasn‘t twenty–one yet, and had no idea. Not to mention, she was Grey's sister. Things had been fine when she was gone, but now constantly being around her was making it increasingly hard for me to focus. Slowly, I turned around and was faced with her incredible beauty. She was a little goddess to me, but I had to maintain my older brother–like image with her. Could life be more difficult? “Yes, Georgia?” “This wasn‘t Becca's fault. That stupid b*tch Madalynn deserves to be punished!” Her fiery nature enamored me even more. I knew how she felt. I wanted Madalynn punished, too, but unfortunately, it was eas
Logan POV.... It didn‘t take long for me to end up at the king‘s office. Grey met me outside the door, and as he looked at me, I knew he wasn‘t in a forgiving mood. “Is she being moved from the infirmary?” His cold tone left no room for small talk. “Yes, Alpha. She will be moved back to her room in a short while.” “Very well,” Grey replied, looking at the office door. “Let‘s get this taken care of, then.” Opening the door, I followed Grey inside the room. The King sat at his desk, wearing a smile upon his face as he spoke to Romero. Romero‘s beta Damian and his daughter Madalynn were also there for the meeting– all eager to hear what Grey would say. “Grey, we heard you wanted to speak to us,” the King started off straightforwardly, without ceremony. Most didn‘t realize that the Alpha King James, and Grey– were cousins. “Yes, I have come to a decision.” I knew without a doubt that Grey didn‘t want to marry anyone, especially not Madalynn. He wanted nothing to do with
Avalyn's POV Natalie had made sure to take care of me, and once I had finished her medical protocols, she allowed me to return to my room– but under the condition that I stay in bed for two days and try to take it easy from now on. The room the king had put us in was rather lovely, and had a separate living area with a sofa, fireplace, and other fine furnishings. It was basically a small one–bedroom apartment that fit every need I could possibly have to some extent. Letting out a sigh, I curled up against the pillows in the bed and felt impossibly alone. I hated how much my life had changed. Yes, it had its moments where things were wonderful— but I felt so conflicted. A knock on the bedroom door drew my eyes toward the entrance. “Yes?” “Miss Avalyn, it‘s Mary, your servant. May I enter?” Servant? “Uh, yes, of course.” Slowly, I slid from my position to sit up and propped a pillow behind my back. I watched the door opened, and a petite blonde–haired girl with large blue ey
Avalyn POVAs Mary took her leave and headed out, I heard a small gasp from the living room. Then footsteps came closer until Grey's face appeared in the bedroom doorway. I hadn‘t expected to see him any time soon, considering that he had so much going on with his soon–to–be bride. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he took steps closer to me. “I see that the girl was able to bring you food.” “Mary,” I stated firmly, watching him. Alpha Grey looked at me for a moment, confused. A smile played across my lips. “Her name is Mary, the maid‘s, that is. She is very nice. Thank you for having her help me. I appreciate it.” He seemed almost stunned at my reply, and simply nodded his head. “Did you eat?” Alpha Grey was behaving completely out of his character, and had me questioning why he suddenly cared. After all, most of our conversations had been him giving his order and me doing as he had struggled. I wondered if he‘d changed because of the baby.“I was about to,” I replied. I watc
I didn't want to go, I wanted to be with him.. "Will... will you come back to visit me again?" I stuttered. "I enjoy having you... having you here with me." He looked at me. He arched an eyebrow, as if he couldn't imagine his company to be pleasing. Please. I feel safer when you‘re around.” My confession came out of nowhere–– and, subconsciously, I had wanted to say it. But when I actually spoke the words, I realized that it wasn‘t my place to even think about it. Alpha Grey didn‘t seem to mind, though. His fingers took my chin and turned my gaze from my hands to his eyes. Slowly, be leaned down and captured my lips with his own. The kiss wasn‘t rough and erotic as our past ones had been instead, it was soft and gentle. If I could have deepened the kiss, I would have, like a greedy child wanting more of a good thing. I wanted more of him, always but at the end of the day, he wasn‘t mine to have more of. As his lips left my own, I saw a dark hungry swirl of emotions lingering i
Avalyn's POV “Avalyn, it isn‘t that bad!” Georgia laughed as I stared at the green goop that had been given for me to eat. “Do I have to eat that?” I replied, wide–eyed, as I let it drop from the spoon back into the bowl. I looked up at Rebecca and Georgia, bewildered at the amusement they found in the situation. “Natalie said it‘s a protein pudding, and filled with nutrients—” “Yeah, so is real food,” I protested in a voice only I could hear. I put the bowl down and picked up the orange juice sitting on the tray. “Am I not allowed to have real food? Bacon, eggs, something.” Georgia burst into laughter again, shaking her head. “You‘d better listen, Becca. Avalyn is the pregnant one, and she knows what her body wants.” It had been a few days since I had been locked down in my room, and I was going absolutely stir–crazy. I wasn‘t confined to my bed anymore, at least, but I was not tolerating the healthy menu that Natalie had me on. “Georgia, don‘t encourage her. You know wh
This time it was Alpha Grey who chuckled softly, causing all three of us to turn and look at him in surprise.Quickly, he cleared his throat. “Well, at least you‘re doing better.” “Nice way to change that topic,” Georgia murmured. He shot a glare at her, and her laughter immediately turned down one level in volume. Suddenly, I realized Grey's eyes were back on me. “Avalyn… come on,” he said, gesturing towards the bedroom. “Oh, of course.” I said, caught off guard..... I quickly followed him into the adjoining room. I shot a small glance over my shoulder and regretted it; Georgia was making obscene remarks with her body language, earning her a smack from Rebecca. As the door closed, I immediately found my back gently pressed against the door, with Alpha Grey's hands upon my hips. It took me by surprise, scaring me for a moment before I had the courage to look up at him. “Did I do something wrong?” I asked neversouly. “No,” he said quickly. The moment his sentence ended, his l
Lilly POV “It‘s all right, honey,” my mother said, smoothing my hair. “We‘ll be alright. Just stay quiet for a bit longer, and then the wolves upstairs will go, and we‘ll be safe.” I looked up at my mother and nodded, but wasn‘t sure I believed her. We had run down here, my older brother, my mother, and I, about an hour ago, when we‘d first gotten word from the village guard that there were unknown wolves spotted in the woods near our homes. Some of the other villages nearby had been attacked recently, so we‘d been on high alert. None of us had slept for the last few nights. We‘d heard that there were more warriors on the way to protect us, but so far, we hadn‘t seen any.Upstairs, the floor creaked, and some glass broke. I held my breath, terrified. I thought about all of my friends from school. Would I even be there tomorrow? We were supposed to have our seventh–grade assessments. It should‘ve been the last thing on my mind. “We should shift, Mom. Me and you need to be in our
Avalyn POVThe following days after the dinner, Soren was in the house more often than before. However, he still seemed to be working in the study or on phone calls most of the time.Meanwhile, I had been busy reading the books Lola dropped off.Or, in other words… I had been busy keeping myself busy.“The Isles of Denali consist of over a hundred small islands, many of which have their own unique culture…”“…Although the islands do not have as abundant natural resources as the East continent, their comfortable climate, variety of sea products, and unique cultures still make them one of the best choices for those who are seeking a peaceful and relaxing lifestyle. They hold special appeal for those who are from the far deserts of the West continent…”I was flipping through the travel magazine on my warm cozy bed under the morning sun when I heard a knock on the door again.“Come in.” I called out softly, expecting to see Lola. She normally dropped off breakfast for me around this hour.
Avalyn POV Three days had passed since I had arrived at Avondale..The island had lovely weather. However, I spent most of the time in my room. As Soren insisted, I needed to take it very slow for my recovery just to be safe, for the baby‘s sake. That was the doctor‘s order, as well. The lovely scent from the fresh flowers, the morning sun pouring in through the window to land softly on my blanket– everything was perfect, but it just felt irrelevant to me. I‘d gotten away from Alpha Grey, and I had gotten the freedom that I wanted. So why wasn‘t I happy? I tried not to think about him, because every time I did, it felt like there was a huge weight on my chest and I could barely breathe. I had gotten this far, and I knew I should carry on with my new life– but my heart was telling me that it just needed a little more time.It was painful to be alone right now. I needed to find something to keep myself occupied so that I wouldn‘t think about Alpha Grey. I sat up when I heard a kno
Logan POVI rejoined Alpha Grey outside the meeting room after hearing out from the witness. Neither of us spoke until we got to Alpha Grey's suite.As he closed the door behind us, his look turned even more solemn.“Alpha,” I began, “if it really is him working with the rogues, I‘m worried that our pack…”Grey walked over to the map. “Send Natalie back to Draco and tell Rex to reorganize our defenses back home. Move the residents from the outskirts back to the city center, and increase the patrol back home.”“Are we not going back?”“No. Rogue attacks are problems, but any alphas could deal with them, and they have been dealing with it. But the war against Kal is a military operation. If we lose it, we will lose more than just a few villages. My priority has to be on the west coast.”“I understand,” I said with a sigh. “I‘m still worried about Draco. The rogues are taking advantage of the war. What if…”“His target is me, and only me… I‘ll need to talk to James to move our men to th
Avalyn POV I relaxed a little–but not completely.“Who are you?” I asked him. He was tall, with a muscular build. He had that same strong, chiseled jawline and dark hair, though his wasn‘t black like Alpha Grey. They looked so very much the same. There were clear differences between them, but they were slight– the dip of his nose, the space between his eyes, and his eyes. They reminded me of Alpha Grey, but they were gray. The biggest difference, though, was this man‘s smile.It came so easily, so naturally, like the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening. It just happened without effort.In all of the time I was with Alpha Grey, how often did I see him smile? Hardly ever at all, and when I did, it always seemed forced. The man‘s expression thus made it impossible to mistake him for Alpha Grey. Who was this person? And could I trust him? Just like with the dangers of the forest – a coiled snake behind a fallen log, a beautiful tantalizing mushroom that might be p
Grey POV “Not only are these cities along the west coast being attacked, but we‘ve also gotten requests for reinforcements from both the eastern and northern borders,” Logan said, reporting the latest news to me as we were walking back to my suite. “On what scale?” I asked. “Scattered. Doesn‘t seem to be military actions– more like rogues.” “Any information on which group is behind it?” “No, Alpha, It could be multiple groups. The roques all know most of our men are now at the West coast fighting against Alpha Kal‘s invasion. They’re not going to miss this opportunity.” We stopped at my door. “Ok, give me the map and the report. I‘ll take a look at it later tonight. You can let James know first thing in the morning.”Logan stood there, but he didn‘t move. “What else?” I didn‘t lift my head as I flipped through the pages of the reports from the frontline and pictures of the most recently assaulted villages. “Alpha, it‘s already two in the morning. We have the steering committee
Grey POV I had two hours before I met with Logan later tonight. Walking into the bedroom I sank down on the bed, falling backward and staring up at the ceiling, willing my mind to go blank. During the day, it was easy enough. There was plenty to do, especially with the conflicts heating up along the border. I could focus my rage on the enemy. But now..It had been more than three days. Despite all of my men‘s efforts, we had found no trace of Avalyn's body, not even a scrap of fabric. The river rushed through the rocks there, and the cliffs were jagged and full of crags. There were a thousand places for evidence to hide.The sun was setting and it was getting dark, but I didn‘t bother to turn on the light. All of a sudden, I seemed to hear a sound from the living area.I got up to check it out, but froze as soon as I entered the room.In the dark sat a figure that I thought I would never see again. Someone I could not help but recognize instantly, no matter where, no matter when.
Avalyn POV Luckily, I didn‘t have much time to think about Alpha Grey in the next few days, as they flew by thanks to Seraphine‘s company. She had been to all sorts of different places and had lots of fun stories to tell. “You should have seen his face, dear.” I leaned in. I was so drawn to her story that I put down my fork. “Don‘t stop eating, Ava. The food will do you well.”. She patted my hand, and when she saw me put food in my mouth again, she continued, “The big bad wolf thought of himself as a monster, but at the sight of his pup being born, he passed out upon the floor.” Our laughter fluttered through the air. Seraphine concluded, “So no matter how tough men seem to be, you never know what to expect when they see their baby for the first time.” Suddenly, the joy of the story dissipated, and I felt a pang in my heart.I couldn‘t help but wonder, what would Alpha Grey‘s reaction have been if he were there to witness the arrival of his own child? “Seraphine” – I tried to
Avalyn POV A small jolt woke me from my sleep.When I sat up, I quickly realized the boat was swaying from side to side, leaving the most uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I had known that I would most likely get seasickness, but I had hoped I would be one of the fortunate ones who didn‘t. “Uhh…” | groaned, walking towards the bathroom.Splashing some water on my face, I tried to sweep away the grime of my previous adventures, hoping it would draw the sickness away from me. But even though it disappeared for a moment, as soon as I stepped back out into the room, it was back in full force. I tried with all my might to remember things I had read in one of my many books to help get through this, but no matter what I did, it wouldn‘t ease up.Deciding on getting some fresh air, I tied my hair up into a ponytail and put on casual clothing, including a chunky knit sweater. Before I headed to the deck, I also put on my dark sunglasses to try to hide my appearance more. I knew that I