[Valerie]
Alexander pushed me against the wall, dropped his lips from mine, and bestowed kisses all over my neck and jawline. The scent of his swarmed my senses, and all I could think about was ripping his clothes off so I could feel his skin on mine.He lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist, his muscles flexing so much from the effort, that his t-shirt ripped at the sleeves. Feeling as if it was my own might that did that, I ripped the rest of his t-shirt off, exposing his voluptuous abs that sculpted his torso. As a werewolf, it was impossible to get drunk, but I do imagine that what I felt right now was how an inebriated person felt when they reached the bottom of a bottle or two. And I was thriving in that feeling, sinking my teeth into any available honey-golden skin, tasting his sweetness and craving more, craving all of him.He was grinding his hips in slow, circular movements, as if tormenting me slowly with what I desired the most. I was growing im[Alexander]I knew I was dreaming when Valerie shifted but was her old wolf with its brown fur and leaner limbs. I guess it was a hard habit to let go of that burning need to protect someone. It seemed my mind refused to let go of the Valerie before she became the Alpha she was destined to be, even though my heart accepted her as a force to be reckoned with.That force was strong as I made love to her tonight, and here I was thinking that my stamina was durable. I chuckled in my sleep, just as I chuckled in the dream when Valerie cracked a joke about me losing my pants. I chased her up Mount Diablo, and when we reached the top, we made love on the ground until the sun set and the moon came out from hiding. She rested her head on my chest, and bore my markings like crowned jewels that glimmered gold beneath the moonlight. My fingers skittered across her warm skin, and in reality, I sought her warmth. It was not finding it that woke me up.I stretched my arms above my h
[Valerie]Somehow, I’d managed to trace my steps back to Amelia and Adam’s house. It took me a while to figure out which one of the windows belonged to the master bedroom, but by a stroke of luck, a gap in the curtains allowed me to peep through and find who I was looking for.I tapped lightly on the glass, hoping that with her back turned to me, she’d still be able to hear that I was knocking on the window. The sun hadn’t even begun to wake up, and the air was rather chilly during this time of the year, and bit through my skin. The blanket tucked her all the way to her ear, and after the third attempt, I thought she’d never hear me. Throwing a stone would only wake the owners up, so I gave up and was about to turn to leave, when I saw Layla’s head move.I tapped again, breathing a sigh of relief and watching it cast a misty circle on the glass when Layla turned to see where the noise that woke her up came from. When her eyes fell o
[Alexander]“Alexander, wait!” Amelia grabbed my arm as I stood up, but I shrugged her hand away and bolted towards the door. “Don’t do anything stupid, please!”Her words cut through me like the sharp edge of a dagger cutting through my heart. It seemed that everyone had decided that I was too incompetent to make my own decisions. I couldn’t blame them - after all, I’d made my fair share of mistakes that I wasn’t too proud of. But the fact that my own sister looked at me with worry visible on her face, as if she was suspicious of my real motives for wanting to go out there and find my mate, hurt to the core. Did they really think that I’d hurt my own mate? After claiming her the way I did last night - claiming her the right way? It felt as if the whole world was against me, but I wasn’t about to cower and hide the way everyone seemed to expect. Or do nothing.“I’m not angry at her, Am. I’m
[Valerie]** Four Years Ago **I spent most of my eighteenth birthday visiting places that were familiar to me. I had no desire to spend the day with my parents, who, as the days went by, only helped to widen the distance that was already placed between us even before I learned that I was adopted.It was almost a year since Mateo left me, and I had to watch helplessly as he was laid to rest, while the truth about his death was covered up with the excuse that he’d stepped too close to the edge of the mountain, and accidentally slipped off and fell to his death. According to Garrett, who was now the trusted Alpha of the Shadow Hunters pack, none of us were close enough to help him, and by the time any of us got to the bottom of the mountain, he had already stopped breathing. When I protested against the lie they’d fabricated, wanting no part of it, I was threatened with my own life. As Garrett said, he could easily do to a weak Omega what he did to a true bl
[Alexander]** One Year Ago **I vowed to stop allowing the thought of not finding my mate plague my mind, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore that nagging sense of loneliness as I watched the others grow, not just as wolves, but as adults who easily found their mates within the pack. The newest couple - Dwayne and Charlotte - spent more time together than with the rest of us. It was frustrating, watching everyone get caught up in their personal relationships, while I had to bear the responsibilities of an Alpha alone.Even my father had lost hope that my mate was amongst the Mystic Moon pack, and took it upon himself to find me a suitable mate. Lisa was Malcolm Scheufele’s daughter, and he was an old friend of my dad’s. The Swiss Moon pack was our ally, although based in Switzerland, they helped our pack years ago when I was still a child. And dad thought it would only make sense if I took Lisa as a mate and united the two packs across bo
[Valerie]It felt stupid of me to be walking through town following a map of the area. I noticed a few bewildered stares from the housewives of Overlook, and decided to put the map away, instead using my phone to navigate me through the quiet suburb. The houses here were exquisite, with their high roofs and stunning balconies facing each other. You’d expect that they would have had them built in the direction of the Diablo Valley, with its serene views and gorgeous green landscape, but I could tell that the neighbours enjoyed poking their noses where it shouldn’t be.It was as if they knew I was an outcast the way they watched me from their balconies and lawns the moment I passed by until I was too far down the street for them to see me with the naked eye. I didn’t care then, I was too mystified by the wolf from my dream, and wondered if it had anything to do with who I was or what I had become.I was sure that back in Danville, Alexander had woken u
[Alexander]The last thing I needed was the insistent ringing of my cell phone. I picked a tree large enough to hide behind, far enough from any pairs of eyes that might witness the magic of shapeshifting, and began to undress. I didn’t have the liberty of tearing my clothes to shreds to allow the wolf to take over, and I barely knew what Acalanes Ridge was home to - except for witches of course. In my haste to leave, I didn’t think a change of clothes would be necessary until I heard the sound of my mate.I lifted my hoodie off my head, grunting in frustration when the ringing persisted. The screen showed my sister’s caller identity, and I had no choice but to answer the call.“Mel just arrived with the book. The Grimoire?”“Yes. Can you translate it?”“I told you I’ll try. Hold on -”I heard Layla in the background calling for Amelia. I waited as I heard Amelia’s footsteps take the tile
[Valerie]Everything was black for so long, it took me a while to adjust my eyes to the light that suddenly filled my vision. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out for, but when I woke up again, I felt as if I had the best rest of my life.I looked down at myself laying on the bed, noticing that the reason why my right hand felt as if the blood flow was slightly staggered was from the bandage wrapped around it., I didn’t feel any pain when I lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the sun’s rays penetrating through the window, or when I turned my hand to inspect it. I decided to do more inspection by uncovering my hand, and found that there was no evidence of me being injured at all. I couldn’t quite recall where or when I’d been hurt, or how I ended up here.I knew where I was the moment I sat up. The ivory drapes and matching duvet I laid on screamed Amelia. So did the fact that my hand was as good as new, despite having been wrapped
[Alexander]** Epilogue **** One Year Later **I didn’t mind that we had had to postpone our wedding. The twins were growing beautifully, and rather normal for babies who had both wolf and witch blood coursing through them. It was Camilla who had explained their rapid growth before birth - Elizabeth, who was afraid of the dark, had closed her little eyes inside her mother’s womb, and had somehow managed to speed up the process of her mother’s pregnancy. Leo, on the other hand, seemed to fear nothing. I could tell by the way he climbed to the very top of the apple tree in the garden to pick some fruit for his sister and him.All those around us, our friends, family, acquaintances, all fell in love with the twins the moment they interacted with them. Leo, with his gift of insight, and Beth with her gift of healing. The girl had a tremendous power to win over hearts, while Leo awed them with his strength and ability to show them what he wanted wit
[Valerie]If I thought I was full of nerves before, I really had no idea what I was in for the afternoon before my wedding.Everything around me was moving fast, and the women who’d seemingly taken up residence in our small, two-bedroom house were moving faster.“Where are the dresses?!”“Where are Valerie’s shoes?!”“Did anyone call the makeup artist?!”Questions like these were flying around, the air thick with the agitation I was sure everyone was feeling. But all the preparations seemed to overshadow me, and in some ways, I was thankful for that. I didn’t quite like being the center of attention, and with only a few hours left before that became inevitable, I sneaked into my room, quietly locked my door, and laid down on my bed.My belly was huge by now, and if I looked up while laying down, it was as if I was staring at a mountain. Watching my babies grow day by day made me miss my mate eve
[Alexander]I had promised Adam one last hunt before the wedding. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but after all, it was only a few more days until I’d get to wake up next to Valerie every morning for the rest of my life.Over the past couple of days, I’d been packing away some of the clothes I had in my closet, making space for Valerie’s things. The small, abandoned town in Walnut Creek wasn’t exactly ready to be lived in, and I had contracted some builders to redo the dilapidated walls and tile the floors. I’d told them to leave the walls unpainted because it sounded like a good idea to do it myself.I’d been spending most of the day organizing some work files that I was planning to give to Adam while he stood in my place at Young Industries. It was only temporary, while Valerie and I would spend our honeymoon in Greece.Valerie didn’t know about our trip. I’d managed to keep it a secret, and thought
[Valerie]With less than two weeks to go before the big day, I didn’t have much time left. I’d been putting off going to see Camilla in Oakridge for far too long, and decided that if I didn’t do it today, it would never get done.I wasn’t planning on visiting her alone. I was expecting Layla to accompany me, but she was taking longer than expected to come out of her dorm room. It was only when she finally emerged that I realized what was holding her up.Selena’s cheeks reddened the moment she saw me standing outside. I hadn’t seen her in a while, since I wasn’t allowed to hunt, and was too busy with wedding preparations to meet with her. I was guessing that Layla finally found the courage to speak to her, and it didn’t bother me at all. However, Selena looked like a bear caught in a trap.“Hi, Selena.” I waved from the corridor. “How’s everyone doing?”Selena seemed taken aback by
[Alexander]I couldn’t wait to get back from work and visit Valerie that evening. It was as if the moment we were given the green light to go ahead and get married; it had become increasingly difficult to stay away from each other.I was just about to pack my things away and leave the office when I saw Adam making his way towards the door. Putting my phone in my pocket, I stood up and picked up my suit jacket from behind my chair.“Hey man!” Adam grinned as he entered the office.The rest of the building had cleared out, with Melissa giving me a curt nod before she left. News about my marriage had spread through the town, and once Melissa heard about it, she’d given in her resignation. For the most part, I was glad. That one very awkward and meaningless kiss we shared on impulse wasn’t exactly a fond memory, and even while I suspected she was leaving because any hope she ever had before had been stripped by the news that I was gettin
[Valerie]** Two Weeks Later **The day we planned on saying our vows to each other and sealing our souls together into forever was near. I highly doubted that it was nerves for the big day that had me throwing up that morning, or the fact that we were going out shopping for dresses.We’d picked the date - fourth November, the birth of a new moon, as well as the birth of our unification. With just a little less than three weeks to go, planning for the big day was well underway. Everyone seemed to accept that we wanted to do this as quickly as possible, but the only trouble seemed to come from Alexander’s mom, who refused to settle on some private affair. I supposed she had big dreams for her son’s big day - after all, he was the eldest of her children.All the planning didn’t matter much to me. The color of the drapes, the length of the aisle, the style of the dress - seemed insignificant when I was doing the most important thing of all; I
[Alexander]I didn’t want to leave Valerie alone with my father, but she seemed much braver than I was. In fact, I didn’t know why I felt as afraid as I did when I knew that there was no way he could harm her. Besides, he didn’t know the truth yet, and even if he did, he wouldn’t hurt her here, anyway.I couldn’t hear them speaking behind the thick oak door sealing my father’s office, as much as I strained my ears and tried to listen. I wondered why dad needed to speak to her alone, and I could only hope that they weren’t fighting, or dad wasn’t saying anything to upset her.From the kitchen, mom called out to me and reluctantly, I stopped pacing the hall and went to the kitchen. Amelia was helping mom, while Layla played with my niece in her arms. If you asked me, it was possible for our kind to live in harmony with witches. But as the days passed, Layla was becoming less like a witch, and more like a human. But her tho
[Valerie]I couldn’t control myself. I ran towards my father and fell at his feet with tears rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably. I had never realized, until this very moment, how much he truly cared for and loved me.I felt like I had failed as a child. I had often looked at them with anger, hurt, thinking that I wasn’t loved the way others were loved by their parents, and when I found out that I wasn’t actually theirs, I was consumed with a disappointment that now held no weight at all.I had been stupid all along. Suddenly, I was being surrounded by the type of love I had always dreamed of, and even then I had shoved those dreams far into the back of my mind, believing that I was never destined for a grand love. But now things were seemingly coming in full-circle, but one problem still remained.Arthur Young.My nemesis - the man who was responsible for stealing my parents away too soon. And the cherry on top? He was my fated mate&rsqu
[Alexander]I hadn’t slept a wink last night. I have been doing well over this past week in terms of sleep, work and life in general. But tonight, I was just a nervous wreck.Valerie and I had agreed that I would do things the way any normal couple wanting to get married would; by asking permission from her parents. But that wasn’t exactly something I was looking forward to. And it wasn’t because I wasn’t determined to make her mine forever, with our loved ones as witnesses, but because if I closed my eyes, I was still able to feel my cheek stinging from the punch I’d received from her father.I had to admit, it warmed my heart knowing they cared so much for her. But it worried me that they cared enough that they wouldn’t see me as a fit husband for her. It was as if the fact that I was the father of her kids didn’t matter to them. They knew who I was, who my father was and what he had done to her family, and that made