They had a few days off, and Ashly spent all of it locked in her room. She didn't care that she was sulking, and she didn't care that spending days in bed was not something she would normally do. It had been days since she'd seen anyone when she heard a room key slide in her door, and it opened. She sat up, still completely wrapped up in her blankets, as Alex walked into her bedroom. Why can't you simply leave me alone? Ashly groaned, falling back onto the bed. "I miss you," Alex mumbled as he crawled into the bed next to Ashly. "Alex, why are you doing this?" Ashly asked in a low whisper. "I don't know," Alex answered in a voice just as quiet. Ashly rolled over, so she was facing Alex. "You know that you're hurting me." Alex nodded. "I see it in your eyes every time." Ashly closed her eyes and shook her head. "When do you keep coming back? What's the point of all this? You want a good fuck with me? You know I'll keep my mouth shut because I'm fucking in love with you, so I'm th
The next day, Alex is calling everyone, but no one answers his call. Ashly is with Rose, and they plan to meet Monika and Adom. Alex already gave her permission to tell everyone about their plan. After talking to Ashl and telling her everything, Alex feels happy, like he has achieved everything in his life. And then he got a call from a weird number. "Hello?" "Is this Alex Branson?" "Uh, yeah, who's this?" "I'm on the hospital staff. You're listed as Miss. Jasmine emergency contact." Alex dropped everything in his hand. "Oh, my God. Is she...what happened?" "You should come to the hospital. This is something you want to hear in person." Alex grabbed his keys and ran, breaking about seven traffic laws to get there. He ran into the door and immediately stormed up to the front desk. "Where is she? Where's Jasmine?! Where the fuck is she?" A doctor cleared his throat. "Mr. Branson, come with me. I'm sure you want this private." "She's fine, right? She's going to be fine? Someone
It's rushed and hot. It's silent and heavy. It's lust and pain. It's what Alex needs and what Ashly craves. It's never enough, though. It will never be enough. Ashly liked to believe that she was strong and resilient. She once was, when her head was full of all her wildest dreams and highest hopes. But watching the rise and fall of the chest of the Alpha sleeping next to her, she doesn't know what to believe anymore. All she's come to know is the ache deep in her bones and heart. Alex cancelled their ceremony and ordered her to come back. She was confused, and when she saw Rose and Seth's faces, she got more confused. Alex fucked her without saying anything, and she enjoyed it, but she felt like something bad was going to happen. The clock next to her blinks at 2:45 a.m. She allows herself a minute before gently running her hands through Alex's hair to wake him. It takes six minutes for Alex to finally open his eyes and stare at the ceiling, letting out a quiet sigh. "I want you to
Flashback:- "So she is going to die within six months." Alex asks with wide eyes. "Yes," the doctor nodded. "And then what? Is there any way to cure her?" Jace asks. "No, she has been taking some harmful substances for four months. I just want you guys to give her all the happiness you can because she doesn't have any chance for survival." "What can we do for her doctor? I can do everything to make her happy." Alex asks with determination. "I don't know, Mr. Branson. Just give her what she desires." "She wants you, Alex; she always wants you to love her to make her your Luna, your mate." Jace said while looking towards Alex. "Because you are enough for her. I know you have a mate, Alex, but maybe you and your mate can adjust sometime. "I already canceled my wedding, Jace, and I don't even tell anyone why. I love Ashly now, and I don't want to hurt her." "Yeah, sure, don't you used to love my cousin too? What happened, Alex? She is dying, and you can't even give her six month
Flashback continue:- "I will announce our relationship in front of everyone. Effective immediately. You're worth more than whatever I have, Jasmine." "Okay. So, say we stay together. Then what? I've got to decide whether we stay closeted or not." "Pros and cons of each?" "I want to be out of the closet. I do. But then I have to deal with your pack members. It's all over. Everything. That means everyone will know that you cheated on your mate, and I am your lover, Alex. We'll both have to deal with it. But I don't want to be back in the closet." "Okay," Alex said, clearing his throat. "So then what if I kick Ashly out of her Luna position?" "Then everything has to change. You can live with me, and people will think Ashly was the one who came between us, not you. I can do that. I will make sure Ashly is treated as an omega, nothing else, and believe me, Jasmine, no one can help her, not even her own pack." "It's easy as it seems, Alex, and Ashly, I don't hate her; it's not her fau
Present Time:- "I'm breaking my bond with you." Ashly stared at Alex and blinked. She was not shocked, but still. ''You're- what?" "I'm breaking my bond with you." Alex shrugged carelessly. "You just aren't worth it anymore." Ashly blinked rapidly as her words caught in her throat. "I'm- not?" Alex laughed harshly. "Did you ever honestly think you were?" He raised an eyebrow when Ashly remained silent. "Oh, how cute! You did. Well, Ashly, babe, I can assure you that you're not. You never have been. I don't know how you ever thought you were worth a single thing, but you're not." "But- I-" Ashly shook her head. "I don't understand; you told me you were doing this only for six months; you told me you loved me, I thought." "You thought." Alex laughed cruelly. "Yes, you thought. You were wrong. You were just a toy in my hands, Ashly." "Oh," Ashly whispered. "Oh." She looked up at the Alpha, who was looking like he was enjoying this. "You never meant a thing to me, Ashly. Sorry, bu
Alex made the climb to his room, not wanting to face an empty bed. However, when he reached the top of the steps, he caught a certain woman leaning down to place a note on the ground in front of his door. Alex stopped in his tracks, holding his breath. Ashly knocked on the door of the room and hurried to make her departure before Alex could open the door. Of course, the moment she turned around, she noticed Alex standing on the steps. Ashly visibly tensed at the sight of him, which made him cringe. "What are you doing here, Ashly?" Alex asked, giving no hint to all the hopes buzzing around in her head. "After you... left, I knew that this would be it, you know, that we'd be... um. Done, I guess, but I talked to Mom and Monika, and they told me that if I really think that there's any chance that we could fix this, I should keep fighting for you, and I figured that there's nothing left to lose here, but I still wasn't sure I could face you, so I wrote a note just in case, and I thought
Adom was calm on the outside, but inside he was furious, and the flames of rage only grew into an inferno the next day. Ashly woke to find herself at the Shadow Pack and not in her bead in the Moonlight Pack, and she remembered all that had happened. But she didn't cry; this time she was angry. She pulled her shoes on in a hurry and stormed outside, even as Monika begged her not to go. "You can't go out right now; you're too distracted. You need to calm down first. Ashly, Adom could use you right now; you should stay with him." Ashly pulled herself from her sister's stand and swung the small bag over her shoulder before strapping on her thigh holster. Her voice was hard, as if she were nothing but stone, and nothing could hurt her. "I need to do my job, Moni. "Alex left me to be an omega, so I need to be prepared for what might happen." Despite her stone face, her voice wavered on the Alpha name, and Monika watched her with concern. Adom walked in just as Ashly started tapping at a
By the time Ray arrived at the Downtown, the tavern owned by his 22-year-old childhood friend, Alvin, it was only a quarter to seven. It was still so early; there were only two patrons there, sitting at the bar. Henna was their bartender. RK, another friend of theirs who also worked with RK, was setting up the stage. It was jazz night. Alvin was at the bar, cleaning some of the glassware. Ray went to the bar and sat in front of Alvin. The older man took one look at him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Well, you look like shit." "I feel like shit too." "What happened?" "Milly pregnant." "Ah," Alvin said, now understanding Ray's troubles. "You knew she was pregnant, didn't you?" There was no accusation in his voice, just resignation. Alvin nodded. "Of course I did. I think everyone who knew Milly knew. This town is not really a big town. People gossip." He took a bottle of beer from the shelf behind him and pushed it in front of Magnus. "Here, have some. It's on the house." "Thanks
In his room, Ray changed and sat on his bed. His phone lay in front of him, and he stared at it. He didn't want to admit it earlier, but he knew Jane was right. But it had only been a few months, and everything was still raw. He loved Milly, and he still does. He had been in a few relationships before Milly, but he never loved someone like he loves the omega. It wasn't just some Alpha lust. And he knew Milly hadn't moved on either. After Milly broke up with him, Ray spent weeks stalking Milly through F******k and I*******m since the latter wouldn't answer his calls, not that Milly updated much. In fact, Milly's F******k relationship status was still "in a relationship". That gave Ray hope, and he continued to stalk Milly's social media updates until Jane, Jack, and Tommy held an intervention. He wasn't allowed to obsessively refresh Milly's I*******m account or F******k page in the hopes that Milly would post something regarding the two of them. Once he stopped stalking Milly on soci
Both of them got up on their feet, and Milly threw away the pregnancy test and cup in the rubbish bin under the sink before washing her hands. She followed Mai to the kitchen, and Mai told her to help herself with any drinks she wanted. She took a soda for the Mai and was about to look for something for herself when the smell of cheese hit her nose. She was hit by a bout of nausea and quickly excused herself and made her way to the bathroom in the hallway between the dining room/family living room and the second living room, where they entertain guests. By the time Milly returned, Mai had set everything up in the family room. On the coffee table, there was a bowl of popcorn, a plate of crackers, and a pot of tea. The cheesy nachos Mai made earlier were nowhere in sight. "How do you feel about the Marvel movie marathon?" Mai asked as she held out three DVDs. "I just bought a collection of Marvel movies." "Sure." Milly wasn't that interested in Marvel, but she knew quite a bit because
Ray laughed before removing his robe and boxers. Then, he continued his meditation on Milly's jaw while his hands started playing with Milly's boobs. He trailed kisses down to Milly's neck, nibbling on it, biting it, and marking Milly while pinching and twisting the reddened verginia with his fingers until she became a complete mess. When he trailed kisses down to Milly's chest, he replaced his fingers with his tongue on one of Milly's boobs. His free hand, on the other hand, moved down to Milly Verginia. It was already wet once more. Milly whimpered when Ray gave his attention to her other boob, circling the hardened nub with his tongue. She whimpered, "Please, Ray. Enough foreplay. I want to feel you inside me." Ray straightened up and shook his head. "No, you deserve the best, love. And because it's your first time, I am going to make sure you feel thoroughly loved." He dove down again and trailed kisses down Milly's torso. His tongue dipped into Milly's belly button before he rea
On any other day, Milly would have been amused by the deer-in-the-headlights look on her boyfriend's face. However, today was not like any other day, so she walked into Ray's bedroom without a laugh, with a frown on her face instead of a smile. "Milly, hey," Ray greeted his girlfriend. He quickly sat up on his bed, his legs crossed. "Why are you here?" Milly had her hands crossed over her chest. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question, Ray? You said you had practice today. The funny thing is, Shine told me practice was cancelled." Shit, Ray thought. He forgot that Milly was friends with Shine too, and she always talked to him and Cecily on the phone. The excuse he gave Milly when the final class ended was the first thing that came into his mind before he all but ran out of the classroom. "Sorry?" he said, although it came out more like a question. Milly sighed and climbed onto the bed. "Why are you avoiding me?" Ray forced out a smile. "Who said I was?" "We've been together for
"There's no threat here. I'm just trying to show you that my brother and I are more useful to you alive than dead." Eliott seemed to take in his words for a moment before talking again. The more he considered Ray's proposal, the less focus he put on keeping hold of his brother. If he lost control and became totally distracted, maybe he wouldn't be able to keep Shine under control. Maybe he could free his brother and get Shine to fight alongside him. Apart, they were nothing more than trained wolves with no real fighting experience or skill, but at the bare edge of their full potential. Together, though, they might be enough. They might even be unstoppable. It was a long shot and probably a stupid idea. It was also the only idea he had, so Ray would make it work. "Even if I believed you, how can I know they won't kill me as soon as they find us?" "You must know a defense technique that is strong enough to prevent that." Ray shrugs, trying to appear casual. "Also, my parents value o
The first time Ray ever met Shine, he came back when he heard about his Omega brother. When Ray entered their home, he saw Shine, who was just a mess of pale skin and fancy pajamas on his dad's lap. At the time, of course, he didn't think about being an Omega big brother. Ray was just scared and confused about how he was going to take care of his omega brother. Everyone around him was talking and smiling, and he didn't understand. Nothing made much sense at all. Ray knows the meaning of Omega in this world, but society still doesn't accept it. His own mother is a big example. When Cecily was born, Ray was relieved; she was born as an Alpha, but now... His dad snapped him out of his daydreaming and smiled at him as he came to offer his hug, then offered him a look at the boy in his arms. Even though Shine was already 3 months old back then, he still loves Ray and Cecily's scent. Maybe it'll make him safe, and Ray will make sure to protect him all his life. Seven Years Later: Ray f
Alex and Ashly didn’t write their own vows this time. This time, they just repeated whatever the fake prince told them to, and they swapped the same rings they already had on. Alex even pressed the button on his bouquet to make it sing the wedding march. It was very tacky and nothing fancy. But their friends were there—their family. It was perfect. Monika was tearing up in the front row, with Rose soothing her from the side and smiling at Ashly like she was proud of her. Adom and Seth gave them a thumbs up, throwing confetti over them when they walked down the aisle afterwards. It was a spur-of-the-moment, I-dare-you-to-do-it decision on their part, but Ashly thinks that it doesn’t matter. Because if Alex is really happy with them, he wouldn’t say no to anything. “I thought it was lovely. Priest even sang a few lines from ‘Can’t help falling in love with you’.” Monika comments when they sit on a bridge, looking over the Vegas lights. Her legs dangle over the edge, and she’s hol
They sit in the huge living room, complete with a flat-screen TV that takes up a whole wall and a fountain in the middle of the room. Ashly just knows that Shine would've loved that fountain. "So, we need—Monika, where'd you get that?" Alex eyes Ashly's sister, who's sipping a new cocktail, this time a mai tai. "There was a bar downstairs, duh." She waves the yellow drink at them, lounging on the armchair. She looked stunning as ever in her black glittering dress and black stilettos. "Are you sure you don't want to slow down? What even is that?" Seth asks and comes closer to sniff at the cocktail. "Mai tai. I never mix alcohols, and today is a rum kind of day." Monika responds, ignoring the first part and giving Seth a sip. "That's actually good." "I thought men only drank brown liquids." Adom teases, and Seth flips him off. "People," Alex gets their attention effortlessly, his ringed fingers catching the light from the great chandelier on the ceiling, his voice commanding. "Th