[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]Amelia , Adam and Layla had their dinner, while Valerie and I offered to babysit Ava, whose eyes were becoming heavier the longer she smiled and cooed every time Valerie tickled her chin or spoke to her in hushed tones. The tenderness exuding from my mate struck a chord in my heart - one that longed to see her being as happy as she was now, with a child of her own. Even I yearned to hold a little one in my arms - a feeling I never felt before until I watched how natural it was for Valerie to watch over my niece.There was, however, too much going on for me to entertain the idea of reproducing right now. Our enemy still lurked out there, and the thought of putting another life - an innocent one - in danger, made me glad that producing a child wasn’t the only reason why I needed a mate. Yes, I was an Alpha werewolf, and I’d been pressured by my father to bring a pup into this world, but so was I human - with a beating heart that craved love just as mu
[Valerie]** Two Years Ago **I groaned as I woke up, stretching my limbs and rolling my head from side to side. The insistent alarm was the only reason I woke up as early as I did.Sophia - someone I knew from high school and someone who belonged to the same pack I did - had just moved into the room I used to share with a girl named Riley. Riley wasn’t in our pack, but just like me, she was an Omega, who’d been picked by the Beta of her pack as his mate. Because of this, she moved out and was now sharing a room with him instead.Sophia and I barely spoke before last night. Back when she was my lab partner in high school, if it wasn’t for the occasional nod of acknowledgement or the relinquishing of classroom activities to me, I wouldn’t even know what she sounded like. It wasn’t until she pitched up sometime after midnight with her designer suitcases and pointed heels, when I fancied the idea that perhaps we could be friends.F
[Alexander]** One Year Ago **Ava’s birth was what brought our family closer than ever. I found myself spending more time at Amelia’s place than I did at my own apartment, but I enjoyed our family dinners and the time I got to spend holding my niece in my arms. She was so tiny, I was afraid to hold her when she first came home, but as the weeks passed and she grew into the cutest little baby I had ever seen, I was getting more comfortable with playing with her.Ava enjoyed it when I held her above my head, whisking her through the air and making whooshing sounds. She’d laugh until I imagined her tummy ached from the motion, then cried when it was time to be fed.“I got this.” I assured Amelia, who was there in an instant when she heard her baby cry. I went to the kitchen and got a bottle of stored milk from the fridge, then sat down at the island table to feed Ava.“You’re a natural with her.” Amelia mused, &l
[Valerie]I had often wondered if an intense kind of love really existed. Just like the vague letter from a mother in my pack to her child explained, love could exist just as strongly for our kind the way it did with humans. In fact, humans were complicated - they often questioned if their significant others were really the ones for them. Sometimes they questioned it just in their heads, sometimes out loud, and other times they acted their confusion out. They didn’t have the senses we possessed, which may seem like a curse to some, but to me being a werewolf was a blessing.I didn’t know that until I met Alexander. I had always been the impending scapegoat of my pack, the outcast, the disposable one, and felt as if that in itself was a curse. I often found myself seeking refuge in the quiet darkness of the mountaintop, looking up in the sky at the everbright star that was the only evidence that the Moon Goddess was looking down at me. But that was the problem.
[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