Avalyn POVThe days seemed to pass in a blur after I found out about Grey’s secret plan. And as much as I wanted to lay here day after day and cry my eyes out-I couldn't. Rebecca and I had talked things over since I told her what I knew. She told me she wouldn't say anything to Logan, but I had a feeling she did, because Logan stoppedcoming to check on me, and when I did pass him, he wouldnt look me in the eye anymore."Avalyn ?" Georgia's voice intoned softly as she walked into my apartment. Forcing a smile on my face, I turned to her. "Hey. What's going on?""I was coming to see if you wanted to go downfor lunch. I'm meeting Becca." I knew very well that Gray didn't want me to leave my room, and as much as I didn't want to disobey him... I didn't care at that moment."That sounds wonderful." I replied, faking cheerfulness and following her out of the apartment, shutting the door behind me. If I was going to die, then I was going to do it onmy own terms, and live the rest of
Avalyn POV“I want you, Rosalie." Grey's soft whisper wrapped around me as we lay tangled in the sheets, our bodies molding together in heated passion."Don't leave me.” I begged him.He forced me to look at him. My fingers ran though his jet-black hair, and my gaze met with his clear blue eyes.He was my gorgeous Alpha. He was my world.Over and over again, he made me come undone around him. The feeling of him sliding in and out of me made my mind spiral.I wanted him-all of him, always. His hands brushing over my bare skin sent shivers through my body."You are mine forever, Ava- and I am forever yours.”His declaration made the love I had for him grow. I knew there was no way that I would ever get over how he made me feel. Yet, as the passion grew between us, he suddenly felt so far away.His body was sliding away from me, leaving mewith an empty feeling inside."Grey?"My panic-filled voice drifted in an endless sea ofdarkness, and the sound of whispers drew meout of that pla
Avalyn POVShock and disbelief still filled me when I wokeup the next morning.The room was dark thanks to the light-blocking drapes. I stared at the ceiling in vain. My eyes were tear stained and swollen from the amount of emotions I had let escape me.What Gray had said the night before played over and over again in my mind.No. There must have been some misunderstanding.It couldn't have been what I thought it would be..Slowly, I slid from the bed and stood to my feet. I cringed as the groggy feeling washed over me.For a moment, I wished that everything I hadheard last night had just been a nightmare that never happened."'Avalyn -"I jumped at Gray’s voice from the living room.I quickly made my way back to the bed, buried most of my face in the pillow, and pretended to be sleeping.The bedroom door opened, and I heard his footsteps approaching. Thank goodness the room was dark enough that he wouldn't be able to see my puffy face.Then I felt him gently pull up the blan
Logan POVAfter I put away the last pile of files I needed to handle today, I sat down by my desk, watching the pouring rain outside. My thoughts driftedThe conversation with Alpha Gray hadn't gone as Ihad expected the other night.I tried several times to make him reconsider, but he was now more adamant than ever that we were going to go through with the plan.No matter how much he tried to deny that he cared for Avalyn , I knew he did. And I just needed a way to make him realize that.I had to do something."Logan!" My sister's voice echoed from the other side of my door along with a knock, pulling me from my thoughts. Quickly, I opened the door. Clearly she was upset. Before I could ask whatthe matter was, she pushed her way into my room."What's wrong?" I was immediately on high alert."Did something happen?"Her expression was sad and angry. I knew she had gone to check on Avalyn …I had a bad feeling about it."Is Avalyn okay?!" | urged."Like you care.” she replied coldly,
Avalyn POVThe days seemed to pass in a blur after I got theconfirmation from Rebecca about Grey’s secret plan.And as much as I wanted to lay here day after day and cry my eyes out - I couldn't.Rebecca and I had talked things over. Even though she didn't tell me as much, I knew she hadconfronted Logan, because Logan stopped coming to check on me, and if we happened tobe in the same room, he wouldn't look me in the eye anymore."Ava?" Georgia's voice intoned softly as she walked into my room. "I was coming to see if you wanted to go down for lunch. I'm meeting Becca."Forcing a smile on my face, I turned to her.I knew very well that Alpha Gray didn't want me toleave my room. And ever since I had arrived at the Draco pack, I had made sure to comply with everything he asked me to. But, at this moment I didn’t care."That sounds wonderful." I replied, faking cheerfulness and following her out of the suite.If I was going to die, then I was going to do it on my own terms, and liv
Avalyn POVLunch with Georgia and Becca was lovely being able to do the things I wanted to and not having to worry about following anyone's orders was lovely.However, the joy vanished as soon as I was bymyself. My mind could not escape from thethoughts about Alpha Grey.How could he be so cold-hearted?I didn't know whether I would feel better or worse had he never shown me his gentleness.He gave me hope, but that made it worse.Never had anyone caused me so many emotions that I didn't believe could co-exist fear and pleasure, pain and……. love.The gentle ways he touched me showed me hecared, but he also acted as if the affection we had was nothing more than a business transaction.Since the first day I met him, I was attracted him. He saved me, he protected me, and he owned me. No matter what his decision was, I was foolishly and hopelessly in love with him.even if he wanted to take my life.I pondered over everything that had happened in my twenty years of life up until that m
Avalyn POVMy first ever fight with Alpha Grey ended on good terms. I was no longer grounded in my room but in return, I had a total of four guards with me at all times.Georgia stuck her head around my door smilingat me. "You ready?"I slid on my shoes and grabbed my bag. "Let's go.":The guards didn't hesitate when I informedthem Georgia was merely taking me on an afternoon walk on the ground floor like usual.Natalie made it known that exercise was important during pregnancy, and if I wanted easy labor, I would need to walk more."Georgia, where are we going? This isn't theway.."Shhh! Do you not want to go to the market?" “Excuse me?”"It's an outdoor space within the enclosure of the capital walls. The castle estate completely surrounds the market. Once a month, local people come to sell whatever they have to those of high society.Georgia wasn't known for being patient, and she clearly wouldn't wait for me to decide."Coming or not? I'll go by myself if you quit."I thou
Avalyn POVBeing around Alpha Grey for the rest of the afternoon wasn't easy. I couldn't lie to myself, after all.Luckily, I had the default excuse of being pregnant, so I ended up laying in bed while Alpha Grey focused on his work in the living area. As soon as he left, around dinner hour, I decided a nice warm shower to wash his scent off would be a great idea if I wanted to have some peace of mind for the rest of the night.My life was never going to be normal, and the sooner I accepted that fate, the better.Regardless of how Alpha Grey acted around me- regardless of how I put on a happy face-I had to live with the fact that I was only useful for a long as I was a breeder.Once my task ended, so would my life.'Don't cry, Ava. Tears are the most useless thing in the world!' I told myself.A knock on my door caused me to turn from the sofa to see who it was."Come in," I called out, wiping away the evidence of my pain. I had pushed off my dinner plans with Georgia and Rebec
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