Chapter 38Unknown POV Ethan threw a punch to the mirror, hearing the satisfying crunch of bone and the shattering of glass. He took deep breaths, attempting to calm his heart from racing due to the anger. Elsa had ruined it all. That was supposed to be the perfect time to take Selena away from that rotten place but Elsa just had to spoil his plans. His bursted knuckles had shards of glasses embedded in his skin as blood dripped down and unto the white tiled floor but he could barely register the pain. His image was distorted as he stared into the cracked mirror now decorated with splashes of blood. He needed to think of something fast. Ethan growled, rubbing his face in frustration. There would be another time. He knew that. Another opportunity would present itself and he'd be ready when it did. **Elsa sighed, straightening herself from the large bed. She imagined Selena living in such luxury and that further angered her. Even her room wasn't half the size of this place and h
Chapter 39Selena's POV I made my way to Axel's room. It was almost a week now and Elsa was still in the pack house, strutting everywhere like she owned the place. It grew more upsetting when it was impossible to avoid her as I kept meeting her at every damn turn. Seeing Axel's face would calm my anger by a whooping eighty percent. He always had the most logical thing to say to me, always doing an amazing job in keeping my anger at bay, hence the reason why I was marching to him like the mad hatter.I didn't bother knocking, instead I pushed open the door, barging in. "Hey Axel", I began even before seeing him. He wasn't on the bed but movements on the couch caught my attention. I turned, feeling all the blood drain from my face.Elsa was straddling Axel whose face was away from my line of sight. He was shirtless but I didn't bother checking if he was also naked from his waist down. His hand clutched Elsa's bra strap as a smirk played on her lips. Elsa's eyes caught mine but she di
Chapter 40Selena's POV Lily simply stared. For a long time. "Come on, say something""Your mate is Axel as in Alpha Axel", she muttered out. "Yes. Alpha Axel", I bit my lips watching her expression. Lily let out a deep breath. "Umm. Okay. Not bad..."I knew it would take a while for Lily to come to terms with what I had just revealed, so I sat back and waited patiently. By the time she had calmed herself, she turned to me again. "Okay. So, I am happy for you", she began. "But revealing this to the pack would stir up more trouble than I'd care to admit"I nodded, agreeing. "That's true and that's the exact reason why I couldn't tell anyone, especially you"My tears had dried on my cheeks by this time, and the stab of betrayal was a distant memory I tried to suppress for as long as possible. If discussing this with Lily could distract me even for a second longer, I'd gladly do it. "Well, is that the reason why you were crying? Did something happen?", Lily questioned. I almost gr
Chapter 41Unknown POV Elsa threw her hairbrush across the room, watching in satisfaction as it hit a wall, clattering loudly on the floor. She took deep breaths to prevent herself from screaming aloud in frustration. Another carefully crafted plan was ruined and it was all because of her nuisance of a stepsister, Selena. She was certain that this time, she'd be able to snag the alpha. The plan was simple: force herself on Axel, have sex with him and do everything in her power to have his seed in her. If she declared she was with child for him, they'd have no choice but to make her his wife. Not that she planned on giving birth so soon. She'd get rid of the fetus before it even has a chance to develop. Why did Selena have to walk in at that time? And why did Axel care so much about Selena that he rushed after her to explain himself? Why did Selena have the exact look on her face when she caught her with Ethan? A look of pure betrayal and hurt. There were so many questions but El
Chapter 42Selena's POV "Well, what did he send?"Lily peeked over my shoulder, the excitement prominent in her voice. "I don't know. I won't open it either", I resolved, carefully dropping the small box at the side of my bed. In all honesty, I was dying to see what Axel had sent as a gift but I also needed to feign anger. I completely believed his story, but I wasn't ready to admit that I got upset without first hearing him out. This was the first gift he had ever sent, and I was internally dying of curiosity. "Why?", Lily whined. "I thought you were busy", I nudged her away from me, slowly dragging her to the door. "Wait", she tried negotiating. "You wouldn't drag me out, would you?"Smirking at her dramatics, I pushed her outside, shutting the door with a slam and clicking the lock in place. "You're so cold hearted", she complained from the outside. Smiling, I walked back to the bed. The gift was wrapped but I could tell it was a small box. Unraveling the packaging slowly,
Chapter 43Axel's POVBlake and I sat hunched over the table, discussing in low voices. My mate still hadn't reached out to me and I wondered if she was still upset. I didn't blame her though, I'd be upset as well if I found her in such a compromising position with any guy. I checked my phone for the fifth time in the past minute.Blake was already glaring, an annoyed expression on his face. "What?", I questioned, throwing him a confused look."You're not paying attention to what I'm saying", he pointed out. "You've been checking for phone for as long as I walked in here""Sorry. I'm listening, please go on"He threw me a blank stare, shaking his head in refusal. "That's what you said the last time and the time after that"I sighed, leaning back. "If you want to make a call or something, just go do it. I'll wait""Nah. I can't. She isn't picking up and she's ignoring my calls", I blurted out, running a hand through my hair."Who? Your mate?"Nodding, I pushed my chair back, standin
Chapter 44Selena's POV My fingers absentmindedly traced the delicate markings on the necklace now hanging on my neck. I was deep in thoughts, a million whys and what ifs lived rent free in my head and it was driving me insane. Even after sitting here for hours, there was no logical answer to my question. The last time Asher behaved in such a nice manner, it barely lasted for a few minutes before he began his usual snarls and snide comments, but now, it was different. What did he want this time?"Are you still thinking about Prince Asher's visit?"Lily's voice brought me back to reality. "Well, yes. I can't help it. It's so worrisome that he was in here a few hours back", I fiddled with my fingers. "It's almost so creepy that I can barely forget about it""Well, don't worry too much. Maybe he had a change of heart and resolved within himself to be nicer?", she shrugged, making me throw her a blanket look. Asher would never have a moment of sudden 'repentance'. "Just listen to ho
Chapter 45Selena's POV It was crazy just how impressive the human fight or flight response could be. I couldn't run from Ethan's steel grip but I could try to fight even with the fear in my body, I still attempted to resist him. I watched as the tiny buttons on my shirt gave way, revealing my bra clad breasts and bare skin. Ethan leered at my exposed body. I gathered the pieces of the fabric that was still on my body, shielding myself from him."What makes you think you're so special?", he took tentative steps towards me as I crawled away from him. My wrist burned from where he had been gripping and I felt my blood run cold at the possibility of what he could do. Even after years of dating him, I had never experienced this side of Ethan and now, I couldn't tell the miles he'd go to cause me pain."I was the only one on your side when every other person hated you and treated you like trash", he screamed. I only kept silent, refusing to speak. "Now, you're living in some fancy pla
Chapter 140 Axel's POV I walked out of the pack house and into the expanse of land now littered with my pack members. They were in little groups, talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers. When they noticed my presence, they immediately fell silent, looking up at me with expectant faces. The last time I stood before them, we were on the verge of making the most important decision of the pack. I've never felt so much appreciation for that day than at this point. More and more werewolves gathered and I leapt onto the elevated stage, facing them. "Night Reapers, it has come to my notice that the pack, Blood Red, has fallen." The whispers rose once more and with a lift of my hand, they were silenced. "You've seen the commotion outside the gates. Those are from the survivors of the pack. They've come to us for help", I paused, surprised that no one said a word. "Now, I bring the decision to your table. What do we do?" The question spurred them into action, some yelled that
Chapter 139 Selena's POV It took two months and five days before we heard any news about the packs. Technically, we heard news of progression and the added advantages the alliance offered to those packs, virtually every Alpha was involved except ours. As far as I was concerned, we were officially cut off. The strategy put in place by Axel worked. We had food, water and basically everything we needed within the pack. It made things considerably easier. No one complained and as days passed, more werewolves came forward as volunteers. Soon, we extended our little plan in agriculture to other aspects, like furniture making, fabric design and then, no distant time I was setting we were making waves. Orion and Zephyr were growing up quickly. Werewolves always had a weird aging style. We grow up quickly, then remain almost dormant before we begin aging slowly. Lily's presence was difficult to come by. She was mostly invested in Blake and I'd be honest when I say that their relati
Chapter 138Selena's POV I took three large gulps of air, like it would be my last moment of peace. Today was the day we were expecting the Alphas and to say the atmosphere was more than tense was an understatement. Axel had come clean to the pack, revealing the details of the visit to every member. He also told them about his decision and gave everyone the chance to either counter his decision or agree with him.Most of them agreed, the few that thought it was reckless were soon convinced that Axel was making the right choice. He gave them his reasons. Then, the topic of how we were going to generate incomes for ourselves even after we cut ourselves off from the other packs arose and Axel gave them the stellar idea on agriculture. The farmers came forward, pledging to give their all while some volunteered to help. By the time dawn broke, we were prepared. As prepared as we could be. "You ready?"
Chapter 137Selena's POV Lily looked like she'd throw up anytime soon while I was simply too stunned to say a word. "Isn't that poisonous?"Lily asked no one in particular, her eyes still fixed on the frog. "I don't think so", Orion answered, inspecting the frog. It was a miracle it hadn't leaped out of his hand and to an unlucky person's face. "Can you let it go, honey?", I coaxed. Orion stared at me with a sad look. "But why?", he whined. "It can be my pet."Except, werewolves don't keep pets. Our wolves were like pets, but on a way deeper level. It was part of us. "No. It can't."We were in a staring contest for at least thirty seconds before he finally gave in. "Whatever", he tossed the frog aside and it landed right on Lily's lap. Before I could react, Lily let out a loud scream. It echoed throughout the clearing and was just about to tear my sensitive eardrums.
Chapter 136Selena's POV For the next few days, we ignored everything. Axel and I focused on nothing else but ourselves and the kids. We had a family day out, of course Blake and Lily decided to tag along and we held a little picnic just for ourselves. Truth was, it was inevitable that Axel would have to give his reply concerning the alliance bug for now, it felt much better to simply live in our own bubble. Orion and Zephyr were bickering on the color of the sky while I lay on the blanket, my eyes shut as I basked in the warm sun. "I can't believe you", Lily was speaking, throwing a punch at Blake. I could tell when he muttered a low 'ouch'."It's serious though", Blake was trying to say. I had tuned out of most of the conversation and the one I had managed to catch snippets of didn't make any sense. I pried my eyelids open, scanning for Axel as he had been awfully quiet. His back was turned to
Chapter 135 Selena's POV "What?", I echoed, the sound loud enough that it bounced off all the walls. "An alliance?" Axel expected my reaction as he barely even reacted to my shrill. I'm certain I had alerted at least half of the staff members. "I thought so too", Axel stated blandly. I rifled through my head, searching for anything that made sense. An alliance between werewolves is nearly impossible, if not completely. That's the reason why it didn't happen, ever. It was way too risky and if not careful could cause war between packs. If Alpha Boris was proposing an alliance and the rest of the Alphas agreed with him, he was either very stupid or desperate. But, what for? "An alliance is...impossible." "I thought so too", he echoed, and I threw him a glare. "Are you even listening?", I asked. "Yes." But I co
Chapter 134Selena's POV The pack gates creaked open, revealing a number of stern faced and cold gazes of the Alphas. Their eyes scanned the crowd for a few seconds before they resumed their walk, soon standing in front of Axel and I.If Axel felt nervous, he didn't show it. His face was set in a stiff position as he watched them in return."What a pleasant surprise", he stated, his voice anything but pleasant or surprised. One of the Alphas chuckled, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Thank you, Alpha Axel", he bowed, a motion which can barely be considered a bow but sufficient enough to pass as one. "What brings you here?", Axel asked, his brows creased as he stared at them all. "I wasn't aware of your visit.""And yet...", the werewolf gestured around him. "There's an entire group waiting.""Information tends to reach us quickly."The werewolf seemed more amused than offended as
Chapter 133Selena's POV "It's not what you think", I pointed out but Lily's amusement poured from her very pores as she stared innocently at Blake. Blake walked slowly into the room, his eyes darting from Lily to me, eyes narrowed. "Uhun", he answered under his breath.I threw a stern glare as Lily let out a muffled laugh and that seemed enough to cause her to straighten up. "Selena's right. I was just being silly. Before Blake could answer, we heard the shuffling of feet outside the door but the thing is, there was more to it than just the occasional movement. They seemed more than panicked. Lily, Blake and I exchanged confused looks before we hopped up, rushing towards the door. My mind drifted to the kids first, knowing Axel would be able to take care of himself. "What's happening?"Blake asked a maid rushing away but she seemed to be too much in her panicked state to realize who was
Chapter 132Selena's POV "Unfortunately, I'm not you", I glared. "Even though I wish with everything in me that I was."Axel's hand was entwined with mine, his thumb tracing lazy circles on it. "I hate you. So much. And I hope you'll suffer for as long as possible for the penance of your wickedness. I hope the world becomes a living hell for you and I hope you never find peace."The cell door creaked open, and my stepmother stepped out, her lips and brows turned down and her neck bent. "Forg...""Letting you go doesn't mean I think of you in a better light than I used to. But, you staying here will just mean you're a part of my life. I don't like that thought."She didn't make a move to say a word which contrasted to the manner which she had used to cut me off whenever I had something to say I'm the past. The cell holding my stepfather opened next. He looked like he had aged a century from