[Valerie]
** Three Months Ago **I had all the tools I needed to execute the revenge I was hoping to wreak on the one who had robbed me of so much in my life. It plagued me for days on end - if it was the right thing to do.I sat at my desk in the library, paging through Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep” but the words printed on the pages seemed to fuze and look like black lines and blotches across the pages. I had lost interest the moment I opened the first page, so how I was already on page fifty three was a mystery to me, because I couldn’t recall any of the words I had read.My assistant - who was coincidentally Isabella - knocked on my desk, spurring me out from my train of thought.“There’s someone here, looking for Hemingway.”“Check the H section in fiction. It should be there.”“And the author?”I held back the urge to roll my eyes. “Hemingway is the author. Ernest He[Alexander]Truthfully, I was wary about stepping into the car. I mean, I trusted Valerie with my life and soul, and I knew that the way she was now, with her true self unleashed, she would save my life in the blink of an eye. But I hadn’t seen her drive before, and despite how sexy she looked behind the wheel, one hand turning the steering, the other gripping the gear knob, I had to admit that I felt a frisson of fear course down my spine -if we had to die, Dear Lord, please let it not be in a car crash.Valerie soon proved that she was as skilled as a driver as she was with just about anything she did. If anyone saw her - how tiny she was, how fragile she appeared - they would never believe that she was an Alpha. As her tiny fingers wrapped around the steering wheel and she kicked a gear up on the open road, I realized how wrong I had been about her from the get go.A truck ahead of us made her slow down, but after a string of cuss-words left her heart-shaped
[Valerie]I didn’t want to think about the trauma, but I did anyway. And it hurt to the core, thinking about all the things I had been through at the rough hands of the tyrant Alpha who was dead now, because of me. I always thought that when he was finally gone, I’d have some peace. But that didn’t seem to be the case. I had bottled up all my feelings and sealed it with a lid, never opening up even to myself. Those restless nights only became easy because the Moon Goddess blessed me with the dream of my mate - the dream that overwhelmed the nightmares I used to have and made it easier to fall asleep. In fact, it had come to a point where I actually wanted to fall asleep so I could see the wolf of my dreams., where we could run freely and feel like we were on top of the world.Only now, it wasn’t just a dream anymore. Alexander had finally turned his face to me, showing off all his features for my appreciation. And I realized that I was now finally f
[Alexander]I could the way Valerie trembled behind me, and as much as I wanted to turn around and hold her to stop her from shaking, and to let her know that I wouldn’t let harm come to her, I stayed in position. That was until Valerie tapped a finger on my wrist.“I know that tune.” she whispered.“Is it Elena?”“No -” Valerie would have continued, had it not been for the sound of metal screeching from the back of the house. The whistling, along with the footsteps, grew louder, and I held my breath - ready to call my wolf to action.From the left corner of my eye, a light went on in one of the other rooms and filtered through to the kitchen. The whistling stopped, and we heard the sound of something heavy hitting the wooden table in the kitchen. Elena must have not picked up on our scents - thanks to the special ointment on our scent glands. Still, we remained alert, and when the footsteps continued towards the liv
[Valerie]Seeing Alexander unable to move anything except his eyes worried me, and allowed fear to course through my bones. Without him, I was as good as dead, because we were only stronger together - I knew that much. These witches were clearly more powerful than we imagined, and as I had to watch with horror as her filthy hands were all over my mate, I kept my calm and decided to be smart in this situation. There was something Camilla knew, and perhaps I didn’t need Elena after all. I could find my answers if I played my cards right, and Camilla offered to release him if I only gave her my hand. What could possibly go wrong? I thought, and placed my hand onto her palm.She turned my hand over, and pressed her thumbs into the soft part of my palm, instantly changing my vision. It was only a spell, not reality, I reminded myself. Just as she said before - she could make us see what she wanted us to see, so none of this could be real, could it?I was hauled into
[Alexander]Life spread through my nerves and bones as if I had been dead all this time. It ached as feeling reached my fingertips and toes, and I had to get used to being able to move my limbs again. Whatever the witch had done to me made me feel dazed and confused, and it took me a while before I could properly move my legs. As soon as I felt like I’d be able to walk without tripping over myself, I skated to Valerie’s side, and gathered her into my arms so she knew I was there. Her body was tense, her breath seemingly caught in her throat, and I smoothed a hand over her back, trying to console her.I had not seen what she had - what Camilla wanted to see, but I knew that whatever she did see was at least partially true. The Alpha was her father, and her real name was Nina. The name her real parents had given to her. I wondered what else she had seen, and if any of what else the witch had shown her was true. But all I did know was that Valerie needed me now mo
[Valerie]I was filled with rage and disappointment, and the words left my lips without giving it much thought. Alexander was begging me not to say them, as if he knew exactly where I was headed. I barely knew myself, until it was too late, and fury spoke for me.“I, Valerie Torres -”“Don’t -”No. I wasn’t really Valerie anymore, was I? “Or Nina whoever-the-fuck I am, rejects you, Alexander Young, as my mate!”I saw Alexander’s face twist with shock, his eyes drawing back as if they were sinking. In fact, his entirely being seemed to be crumbling, but in my anger I felt little to no remorse.“Come,” she held her hand out for me, “I will show you all there is for you to see.”“Valerie -”“Leave, Alexander. Please.” I was begging him to go, only because this was already difficult for me. I was afraid of caving and running back into his arms, when he deserved to know what it felt like to be rejected - I, emotionally, his in words.Because that’s all it really was - words uttered in ange
** Two Months Later **[Alexander]Eight weeks, three days and five hours. I had been counting the milliseconds as they ticked by from the moment I last saw her face. It only took two days for me to completely lose my sanity, and regardless of how many times I woke up and decided that that day was the day I wouldn’t think about her, I always found myself dwindling around lunchtime. The burst of energy from the morning would quickly drain from my very being, until all I could do was sit behind my desk, fiddling with a pen or rolling corners of the cover pages of an odd file that I had no interest in looking at. The worst were those mid-afternoon meetings, when businessmen from far and wide would come to Young Mining Industries with heavy bank accounts, and leave with heavy disappointment.Even my dad was concerned about the company - so much so, that he was here himself today. A few meetings I had missed with Mr. Gasser meant there was a looming thr
[Valerie]The metal bench was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to sit on, and I shuffled as I tried to find a better position. It wasn’t that I was too big - it was just that I had been waiting for almost an hour for my turn to see the doctor.All of the other women in the waiting area outside the obstetrician’s room had someone with them. Some had their partners with them, while others sat with their mothers. I was the only one visiting alone, and I had to keep my head down when their curious stares became too much to bear. I might have been accustomed to being alone, but other people obviously didn’t understand why a pregnant she-wolf was here all by herself.If I was being honest with myself, it did feel strange to visit the doctor by myself. When our kind conceived, it was usually to keep the bloodline alive, so it only made sense to have someone - especially your mate - here with you while you both made sure the child you were carrying was he
[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