Flashback:- When Ray was finally sound asleep and Ashly was done staring at him in his adorable slumber, the omega quietly retreated from their shared bedroom in the small city apartment. Heading out into the tiny living room, Ashly grabbed the wooden box, which was still sitting on the coffee table, and added to it the newspaper articles she had cut out just an hour ago. For a long moment, she just stared at the open box and at the picture in the article, which was still visible. Ashly had made the decision earlier that day to make this the final one she added to the box, and the last one she even dared to look at. No more newspapers; no more following the alpha who broke her heart years ago. It was time to look and move forward. At first, when she just started collecting those articles, she would actually read them. Like the one about Alex following in his famous parents footsteps and going to take care of business and pack. Or the one where she read about Alex completing assignm
The next day, Ashly was confused about whether she should reach out to Alex or not. Now that things have slightly calmed, she not only feels bad for the man but also wants to see him again. She means he is the father of her child and her first love, and he still has an impact on her. As last as it may be, Ashly can't deny it. Especially knowing that Alex is sad and lonely, and now that Ashly knows the whole story, she does feel bad. Of course she's a long way away from being okay with Alex and forgiving him, but she can't help it; she just hurts when people she cares about are hurt. And Ashly hates more than anything being bitter and holding on to grudges against someone. At the end, Alex is the one who contacts her. The alpha texts her, asking about Ray's things and whether he can drop them off later, but Ashly has a suspicious inkling that it's more than just that. Her heart skips a beat of its own accord as soon as she sees the Alex name flashing on the screen, and even more so
After cross-checking their schedules, Ashly and Alex finally settle on setting their date for three days after their conversation on the balcony. Three very long days that seem to go on longer than the usual pace go by. Or at least so it seemed to Ashly, who for the past three days has been all over the place. She hated what a mess she became at the prospect of finally going on a date with Alex. but she also secretly kind of loved it. Sure, she was terrified and worried about all that could go wrong, and her brain wouldn’t stop supplying images of all of it, but she was also excited. After so many years of imagining she had lost the love of her life and that she’d never love again, Ashly finally had a chance to open her heart again. For the past 14 years, since she added the last newspaper clipping in the box, Ashly hasn't shown the slightest interest in love or anything resembling a romantic relationship. Nor did she have time for one. Between two jobs—her night school and raising
When they finally arrive at the lawyer's office, Ashly's nerves intensify and she goes completely insane. She's glad when Ray seems to notice that she isn't at her best, and she doesn't argue when she's asked to wait in the waiting room. And Ashly herself also doesn't argue when Alex insists on coming with her to the meeting with the lawyer. To be honest, besides the fact that the alpha is actually studying law and can probably be very useful, his presence has also been quite calming for Ashly, and she's glad to not have to go through it alone. "Hello, Mrs. Ashly," the lawyer greets them when they walk into his office. Thank you for coming at such short notice; I know it must have been quite an inconvenience." "It's okay; I understand that it must not be under your control." Ashly says, trying to control the urge to not yell at him and just get on with it. Taking a deep breath, which fails to calm her, Ashly forces herself to calmly ask instead, "So what is it you wanted to talk to
"I will take it." Ashly declares, gracefully spinning to face the Alpha once more, who appears to be quite surprised by her entire declaration. "Are you sure?" he asks with a frown. "I mean, it's a great place, but it's far smaller than the other establishments we saw." Ashly smiles broadly, feeling giddy and excited like a child in a candy shop. "I'm sure." She says, then looks around again at the small space. It is certainly much smaller than the rest of the properties they saw all around the city, but there was something so unique and different about it. She also didn't need long to know; she knew as soon as she walked in and saw the multi-colored brick flooring, high ceiling, and purple walls. This is it. It's been a whole month since her father's funds were cleared and transferred into her account. Of course, the first thing she did was add a good portion of it to Ray's college fund, which Alex insisted on adding to as well. It took her another three weeks until she finally
Alex then takes them into downtown, where he parks the car, then leads Ashly towards a small, hidden restaurant. Yet again, it takes Ashly another moment to realize where they are. "I found this place a few years ago." Alex tells her as they approach the Asian restaurant, "I came across it by chance one day, and it reminded me of your mother's cooking, so I kept coming back." Ashly watches him in awe as they approach the entrance, struck by Alex's response, which wasn't at all what she was expecting. "Alex..." She breathes out, the only thing she manages to say, because she has no idea how to respond to that. Then, Ashly pulls the alpha into another soft, quick kiss. "Thank you." She whispers into the small space between them when they pull away. After another short moment, they step inside, and Ashly is struck yet again by the charm of the place and by the nostalgic scents that hit her nostrils. It already reminds her of home. Once seated and presented with menus, they decided to
The following months, Ashly worked hard to set up her shop. Ray and Alex helped her at any chance they had, helping her with getting the furniture in, hanging up shelves, and organizing all of the products. Alex also helped her set up all the legal aspects of setting up her shop, which Ashly is immensely grateful for because she would have gotten lost without him. The alpha also set her up with a great accountant. With all of the preparations, Ashly and Alex had barely had time to themselves. When they weren't in the shop, they were either with Ray or Alex, two boys who had slowly grown very fond of Ashly. The omega also adored them; they were very sweet boys. The little time they did have together was often interrupted, and on a couple of occasions, Ray even almost walked in on them in compromising positions. Knowing smirks on Ray face every time (although he was also quite horrified about walking in on his parents), was evidence of how bad they were at trying to hide what they wer
Alex scatters open-mouth kisses along the planes of Ashly's caramel skin, causing the omega to writhe and mewl, her hands clutching onto Alex's shoulders, likely leaving their mark there—a face that pleases and satisfies the alpha in her possessive core. When Alex reaches the waistband of Ashly, she looks up at him with questioning eyes, and Ashly is quick to nod and lift her hips to help the alpha as she slowly starts to pull the pants down. A low, possessive growl rumbles through Alex and escapes his lips as he eyes the omega's body, naked and spared in front of him. Then he lowers himself once more and starts to nip, suck, and lick at her hip and verginia. When Alex is pleased with the purple marks he left on Ashly's skin, he can't help but gawk at his handwork, which sends shivers through Ashly's veins. A soft whine escapes Ashly's lips, clearly wanting Alex's mouth back on her and frustrated that he stopped. Alex smirks at her and then gives the omega what she wants and latche
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