[Alexander]
Confusion waltzed across Valerie’s face, and I could tell by the way her hand trembled on her lap that she was deliberating my words. I was shocked by the knowledge that it was my pack who had wiped out her history, robbed her of her parents, yet I couldn’t bring myself to think that I’d lose her because of it. I knew the kind of Alpha my father was - but I was nothing like him. Yes, I had always aimed to be as powerful and feared as he was, until I met her. Things changed, and I only prayed she could see that.If tonight proved anything, it was that Valerie was never out for revenge. Not from me. She was too kind at heart and loving towards those who loved her to harm them. But it was fear that crossed her face and quivered her lips. I knew she wanted to believe that if we stayed together, we’d be safe. But she was living proof of the dangers of uniting two unlike kinds. She must have felt her lips tremble, because she chewed her bottom[Valerie]With Alexander’s promise putting me at ease, I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. His hand stayed on my belly protectively, and for the first time in weeks’ I felt safe.“I promise.”Those words were what allowed me to fall asleep peacefully. Those words were what put a smile on my face as I woke up.I turned onto my back, stretching my arms above my head, even going as far as stretching my toes. For the first time in weeks, my entire being felt rested, and as much as I was put off the idea of getting out of bed, I wanted to feel his touch again. To me, he’d become my safety net, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this is what my mother felt when she met my father. Did the horrors of the world seem like they could never touch them while they had each other? I sure felt like I was invincible - as long as I had him by my side.Feeling as if I was on top of the world, I dressed back into my pajamas
[Alexander]“Wh-who are you?” I blinked my eyes, the light filtering in from the doorway too bright that it hurt my eyes. I recognized that I was standing inside Valerie’s room, while she was fast asleep and I was awake. It was the door exploding apart that woke me, but what was strange was that it never woke her up.A loud roar billowed into the room, and the angelic silhouette cast in white appeared to walk through the door, its shape becoming more regular, but with a flowing white robe covering its frame. The face was human - but not quite like anything I had seen before. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better view, but the bright white light hurt my vision.“Alexander Young,” The voice was bold and influential - a male voice. I trained my eyes to see its face, but whoever it was, wasn’t familiar. Their eyes were as white as ice, their hair like straight icicles, with the tips pointed to their shoulders. The pointed nose and
[Valerie]My parents were elated by my decision to go back. I must admit, I didn’t have enough pleasant memories linked to this place to give me real joy about coming back. But the hand holding mine firmly gave me the courage I needed to walk through the dean’s office with my registration forms.Layla had reason to accompany through those doors. She had asked for a transfer to Hillside College, on the basis that she wouldn’t want a pregnant woman left alone. I was glad she was here with me, and her having a dorm room meant that I had a place to crash on the odd weekend when I needed some fresh air.I had told Layla what had happened. It had been three days since I last saw Alexander, and since then I hadn’t heard a word from him. But I had my best friend - who was quickly becoming more like a sister to me - to keep an eye on me while I completed the last semester and got my degree, hoping that greener pastures awaited me on the other side.
[Alexander]To say the least, I was bewitched by what I was reading, strung along by every single word between the pages of the leather-bound journal. I had truly lost myself in it. I had barely slept a wink in almost three days, unable to shut my eyes while Alice’s words were stuck in my head.Was it her words alone that prevented me from putting the journal down? Or was it the promise of what those words could bring. Hope. I was clinging on to a promise of hope. I was already halfway through. The page I turned was the one that held the pages to the spine, and by then, Alice had found out she was pregnant with Elijah’s child.“My pregnancy is different, much different from anything anyone has ever seen. I’ve been with child for two months, but my rotund belly has stretched so far in front of me that I can no longer see my own toes. I am tired - tired of walking, tired of tipping a glass to my lips. Elijah has been great, and ensures I don&rsqu
[Valerie]The beige cashmere dress Layla borrowed me hugged my belly like a second skin. I hated showing off my growing pregnancy, not because I was ashamed of my child, but because I didn’t have the answers to the questions about who or where its father was. In the few days I resumed college, I noticed the stares every time I took my coat off, and didn’t appreciate the whispers that drifted to my ears. Even those who were rather friendlier with me now grew suspicious when I didn’t have the answers to their questions, so I was hesitant to go to this party they were throwing in my honor.“You are beautiful, Valerie,” Layla peeped out from the bathroom, steam from the shower she just had seeping out from behind her.“Hm, I’m not sure,” I mumbled as I turned before the full-length mirror, “I mean, don’t you think it’s a bit too tight?”“Nonsense!” she shot, padding into the room with
[Alexander]We hit a breakthrough, at last. It was just as Mother Selene had said - the witch, Camilla, would lead me towards a way I could protect Valerie and our child.My phone was buzzing on my lap, and for the umpteenth time that week, I ignored the call. It was my father. I wasn’t sure if I could trust him with the information that my mate had once been his target - a hybrid child. For all he knew, she was lost in the fire, just as he had planned. And until I was sure that the spell in the journal - a spell that had not been tested yet - could work, and most importantly, if Valerie would be willing to try it out, I had little desire to speak to dad.I had clearly seen the fear in Valerie’s eyes - fear not for me, but for my father, who was responsible for the death of her parents. In all honesty, it ate me up with guilt, knowing I’d have been old enough to understand if only I had known. Perhaps there was a way I could have stopped my father. B
[Valerie]I woke up to the sound of bleep-bleeping, my ears and mind waking up before my eyes did. I blinked frantically, adjusting my eyes to the unfamiliar brightness of some room I was in.A sharp pain seized my temples, and when I shut my eyes again only to regain some semblance of stability, I opened them again to find that I was laying down on what seemed to be a hospital bed. I confirmed it when I tried to shuffle into a seated position, and the restraints of a thin tube that disappeared into the top of my hand made it difficult. I followed the pipe with my eyes to where it was hooked up to a drip stand and realized I was in a hospital.The clothes on my back were not my own. All around the shirt were little blue circles bearing the hospital name, and I lifted a piece up to my eyes to read what that name was. San Ramon Medical Cen. I was in Danville.Groaning, I sat up on my elbows, feeling the way my throat was dry. On the bedside table was a sealed bottl
[Alexander]“Well, congratulations, Alexander. Your mate is expecting twins.”Dr. Singh’s revelation played in my mind over and over again as I paced the hall. I wondered what was taking Amelia so long in there, and if everything was fine. By the look of pure joy on Dr. Singh’s face, I knew that Val was okay, but still, I worried.Layla had left the waiting room to take a call. On any given day, I would have wondered who was calling her this time of the night and would even have grown suspicious. But I had learned that the witches weren’t really our enemies and warmed up to the idea that she and I could be friends. After all, we both had Valerie’s best interests at heart.Adam must have been able to leave Pleasant Hill to go home. He’d given the journal to Amelia, who had passed it on to me before she went in to check up on Valerie. I had to admit, I felt as if I needed some checking up on myself from the way my cheek tin
[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