CHAPTER ARABELLA POVI watched Mia carefully after my question, waiting for the one thing that would set her off. She laughed, flicking her hair back and looking at me straight in the face. I was swamped with so many emotions at the same time, so overwhelming that I couldn’t even pinpoint what it was that I felt exactly. Has Mia done this? The way she looked at me was like she was way more included than I could even imagine. And the statement that she made earlier even…I suddenly have a headache. Dealing with Mia was truly exhausting; too many hidden messages and backfiring. It honestly gets tiring at some point.“What do you know about this?” I inquired of her. “Why are you sitting out here, waiting for me so you could blow me questions?”She smirked and cocked her head to the side. “Would you rather I invite the reporters over there so they can do some coverage on you?”“No, thanks.”I tried to move around her but she blocked my way. Mia brought down her folded arms and allowed
ARABELLA POVMy gaze was fixed on Mia the whole time. Surely, she’s joking. I did not go low and beg her only for her to give me excuses, right? She looked back at the body and started to turn to the door. I blocked her way instantly, just like she blocked me from entering my car only moments ago.“Mia, you can’t say that. I did all this just so you would promise not to say a word.”She shrugged nonchalantly. “But I didn’t make any promises to you, Emma, so I’m not inclined to keep any.”I frowned deeply. “Mia, please. Please, I'm begging you, please.”She stopped, then raised her hand to her face as she ticked off her fingers. “Fine, I’ll help you on only one condition.”“What is it? What do you want?”“I want you to leave, Emma. After all this is said and done, I want you to leave this pack and never come back.”Our eyes met. Hers were fierce and blank at the same time like she was challenging me to defy her. Why would Mia ask me to leave? Did she find out about Rhys and me? The tho
Jack POVWhen the call ended, I turned around and looked at my stuff, already deciding what I needed to take with me and what wasn’t important. I needed to pack according to how long I’d stay there, and for now, I was completely clueless about how long I’d stay in Alpha Rhys’ pack. Maybe I should stay as long as she wanted me to, right? That alone seemed like the right choice to make.“What are you doing?” Jenny asked.I looked back at her. We were both in my bed, naked. We were just about to get right into it before Arabella called and Jenny, as usual, couldn’t avoid the calls. Not that I had any problem with Arabella calling, but her calling me in this kind of situation just made me feel unnecessarily guilty, and I didn’t like it one bit. Jenny sat up from the bed. The sheet rolled down from her breast but she didn’t care; she was looking straight at me with a weird expression on her face.“You didn’t mean that, James,” she said.“I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”“Yo
JACK POV Jenny wasn’t in the palace, so I had to go all the way to her house. I’m sure she’s still upset, so the loads of craps I want to spill may very well mean nothing to her. Jenny was sweet, kind, lovely. It was hard to get rid of her, and it was also hard to control her. Not that I wanted to control her, but I would love, love so much for her to control herself. At the rate we were both going, she may lose control of the very thing I needed her to be in control of. Reaching her apartment, I knocked once, and then twice. She didn’t answer, but I knew she was in there. She ran all the way from the palace to her house, so her scent was still everywhere. I could perceive her so vividly; just the same way I could smell the anger simmering within her. I knocked on the door again. “Jenny, please can you open up?” And because I knew she wouldn’t answer, I had to send a message through our wolf link. Open the door, Jenny. I know you’re in there. Her wolf rolled her eyes. Please. W
JACK POVWe rolled over the bed, Jenny first climbing over me before I overpowered her. Her bed was small; it wasn’t enough for the kind of play we were into whilst in my own bed. This was different; this was like a goodbye that held more weight than anything else. This felt like the last time I would ever touch her.I cupped her small face in my big, large hands and kissed her passionately. Jenny moaned, tearing my clothes off my body. We were like tigers. With Jenny I didn’t have to worry about my strength like I did with the others. She could take it all, and she returned it like the tigress that she was.“Fuck me,” Jenny whispered in my ear.Her voice and her words undid me. I forgot everything that was to be, that would happen tomorrow, and focused only on that moment. I tore off the flimsy gown that she wore, and she reached under to grab me in her hands. I moaned, the sound coming out more guttural than others. I didn’t care if anyone could hear me; they already thought Jenny w
RHYS POVMy head was full with so many thoughts, yet it felt like I couldn’t get enough of them. I knew quite well what was going on, but I didn’t understand why she wouldn’t tell me. She should have at least confided in me, right? She wouldn’t leave me in the dark like everyone else, wondering what the hell went on with the pills.Something had gone wrong with it. I could remember the look of pure shock on her face when the lady had fallen and convulsed into a wolf. Hadn’t she tested them? What did she even test them on? Was her test correct? Why wouldn’t you tell me what the hell was wrong, at least? I’d appreciate any knowledge, any common knowledge at this point.I vaguely heard the door open but I could barely focus on it. My thoughts were on Emma.Emma, Emma, Emma.Why wouldn’t she tell me? Was it true? Is that why she’s studiously avoiding me instead of rubbing headlong towards me in the face of danger, just like she’d always done? I heard my name being called, but I didn’t re
JACK POVArabella tensed beside me. She stiffened, a hand reaching out to grab something but seeing nothing to grab. I wanted to hold her so badly, but when my hand went out; hers was gone, folded behind her back as she held the other pair. Rhys was staring at her, expecting an answer. He was putting her in a difficult position, from what I could see. I stepped forward just a little bit, just enough for Rhys’ attention to shit to me.“Why are you asking her about our children?” I asked him. “What’s the matter, do you think they’re yours?”He arched his brows at me, surprised that I had spoken. We would have gone into the whole Alpha-to-Alpha battle if the door had not burst open with the children’s arrival. They rushed in, and they stopped, their eyes roaming to see the people in their living room. The minute they saw me, they all rushed over, screaming with delight.“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!”My heart burst open with joy. Never have I felt so happy, so fulfilled to have them call me that
ARABELLA POVI woke up feeling better than most nights. This was the second day, and there was barely enough time to treat the woman who turned into a wolf from taking my drugs. What was her name again? I couldn’t even remember her fucking name. I stretched, then suddenly thought of James. We’d had a late-night discussion and talked about loads of crap, especially the part where he wanted to help me out with the treatment. That part wasn’t crap. That was hope. That was salvation. Jack was the best doctor to ever grace this earth. Even if people don’t remember him for his good deeds, I will. I’ll always remember that he was the one who coached me in this field, the one who literally gave me a helping hand when I was nothing. He was the closest thing I can call family right now.I washed my hair and showered as quickly as possible. He had promised to follow me to the hospital and examine the woman. This very part was crucial to my salvation, especially since I lied to everyone that I c
ARABELLA POV“I can’t believe you’re getting married,” Lily said.I turned away from the mirror to face her. “Do you think I could be potentially making a mistake?”Lily laughed and playfully slapped my arm. “Don’t be silly, Arabella. You thought about this for months. You even went through the painful process of telling everyone your identity.”I smiled at the memory of that. “Yeah, it went surprisingly well. People took it in pretty well.”“You know the one they took in the most? The arrest and public death of Mia.”My mood dampened just a bit. My half sister was killed two weeks ago and here I was, getting married to the man she was previously married to. Rhys asked me not to overthink it as he wasn’t even hers to begin with, and I was working towards that step. I turned to Lily again.“Do you think James and Jenny would make it? They promised that they would show up today and they’re not here yet.”Lily slapped her forehead in embarrassment. She’s been slapping a lot of things lat
RHYS POVI stood outside the boys’ quarters, thinking of how best to go over this. If Jack wanted us to talk about whatever he wanted to talk about, then this was a big secret opener. I was dying to see just how much secret he was willing to uncover, and that included Mia.She was dancing when I stepped into her room. As always, it was open and inviting, as if she was waiting for the day when I would finally accept her. Was she expecting that day to be today? Had she done all this just because she wanted me?Yes, dumb ass. Yes.I ignored my wolf voice and cleared my throat. She stopped dancing and smiled brightly at me, as if I was the sunshine at the end of her tunnel.“You’re here,” she said, wiping her brows with a face towel.“And you’re dancing,” I commented. “What’s the occasion?”“You’ve confined me to this mean, smelly place and I have to get used to it, Rhys.” She gulped down a glass of water. “The fact still remains that I’m your wife and I will be until I sign the divorce p
ARABELLA POVI’ve never had so many things happen to me in the space or hours or minutes but it was definitely happening now. First my children gets kidnapped, then after 24 long, excruciating hours, I go to get them and discover they had somehow managed to free themselves. Then I stupidly went into to the cabin instead of running away with them only to get kidnapped again and have a gun pointed at me.“Your children was a handful,” the first man said. “That is not surprising. I see now where they got it from. You do know we can’t leave you alive after this?”I immediately clasped my hands together in prayer. “Please, I’m begging you with the almighty name of the moon goddess, please let us go. I swear I’ve packed all my things! I’m ready to leave now.”He shook his head. “You’ve seen our face, lady. I wish there was some other way to not kill you—”The door burst open, forcing a startled scream out of me. The kidnapper in front of me trembled. I angled my body to the side and shifted
ARABELLA POV“What are you going to do now?” Lily asked me. “Do you have any plans on how to tackle this?”I paused my restless pacing and turned to her. “I’m burnt out, Lily. I don’t know what to do! I’ve tried to think of every possible thing but nothing. Rhys isn’t even helping matters. He thinks Mia is innocent simply because she hasn’t left the house in days!”“And the kidnappers want you to leave?”“Yes! They clearly said no money, that I should just leave. Who else would not want money and ask me to leave?”She cocked her head at me as both of our mind went to Mia. She was the only sworn enemy that I had that would dare though my children and go Scot free. Thinking about it made by blood boil. I wanted to grab her hair and force her head into a hot oven…“Okay, you’re making that face again, “ Lily said. “We just need to think about what to do next, Arabella. I know this must come as a shock…”“It’s quite the shock, Lily.”“But we have better things to do like waiting for the k
Arabella PovI realized I was vibrating with fear and doom. I needed to calm down, but the thought of my children going through the most traumatic experience of their life was chilling to the bone. Why was it only them that was kidnapped out of all the children coming to school? The kidnappers had technically been aiming for me and my children. I glanced at Mia. It was her. It had to be her. There were no other logic asides the fact that Mia has a vindictive aura towards me and she was not afraid to use them.I turned my back to them and spoke into the phone. “What do you want, please? Can you just let my children go, please? I’ll do anything.”‘Of course you’ll do as you’re told, Dr. Emma, or you’ll never see your children again.”I shivered once more, bracing myself as I asked the most important question. “What do you want then? Is it money? How much would you need to let my kids go?”“You insult us, Dr. Emma. We don’t need your money. We only need you to do one thing and we’ll retu
ARABELLA POVI was very upset, and rightfully so too. I thought about Rhys every day for five days, mostly wondering if he didn’t want to let Mia go. Did he trust her enough to be sure that she hadn’t killed his father? If only I had enough time then to pressure the guy more so he would tell me the truth about Mia. She certainly had more wicked things up her sleeve and I was very desperate to reveal them to the world.“Dr. Emma, you’ve wiped that post four times in a row now,” a nurse said.I jerked back into consciousness and realized that I was in the hospital, wiping a patient’s wrist over and over so I coke inject their antibiotic for them. Murmuring my apologies, I quickly gave them their dose and stood up.“You look tired,” the nurse who had called my attention said. “You can go home; I’ll cover your shift for you. I’m not sure I want to see you dozing off the rest of your days here.”“I’m fine,” I saidSpacing out. I was constantly spacing out because I was concerned for Rhys an
ARABELLA POVI was really bumped and hyped with energy when I took Bruno back to the car. He asked load of questions about why he wasn’t allowed to see the prisoner and I said something in the lines of how his ears were too little to hear all the important details. It would really sick if he had to hear from a strange prisoner that his mother was involved in a crime.Once I left him in the car and locked it, I ran back to the cell. My heart was drumming with excitement. I imagined that prisoner holding Mia’s picture and announcing that she was the one who had made the order. Oh, that would make so much sense! However, when I joined Rhys minutes later, I noticed that he was silent and now holding the picture, having collected it back from the Rogul. The Rogul was snacking heavily on the food I brought, which I now every much regret since the mood wasn’t what I expected it to be.“What did he say?” I asked Rhys, a note of desperation in my voice. “He was holding Mia’s picture, right?”
ARABELLA POVI had a plan. A grand, beautiful plan. Rhys was going to be here anytime soon and he would be solely against it, which means I have to be wise towards it. I knocked once on the children’s door before opening it. They were laughing and walking about, looking for the perfect fit.“Mom!” Delinda cried when she saw me. “Do you think I should wear a dress to the park? I can’t seem to find the perfect fit.”I smiled reassuringly as I remained at the door. “You don’t need to stress to much, my darling. You guys should all wear shorts and shirt—you can wear a skirt, Delinda—and carry a backpack too.”Damon frowned. “A back pack?”“Yeah. It’ll make you looo smart, like a professor.”I knew they would accept readily to what I said, yet I waited on high tension. When they finally agreed to dress like professors and carry their backpack, I grinned. Earlier today in the morning, I came across Bruno’s backpack and I slipped in Mia’s picture in it. At first when I saw her picture lying
MIA POVI paced around my room, completely restless. He hasn’t been sleeping at home lately and now Bruno was gone. When he was brought back from rhe hospital, Rhys took him away and said he wanted to take him to a recovery center. How long do recovery centers usually take? Did Arabella put this idea into his head?Oh, Arabella, that wench!I laughed wildly as I continued to pace around. She thought she won this time, didn’t see? She was the lowly, stupid omega in the past, and now she’s come back a bit chic doctor who’s trying to steal my man? How are people not violent towards this act?! Do I need to start an uproar? She’s not going to win against me. The deadly wench is not going to win me.“You do not get to have the last laugh!” I roared loudly, and then fell to my bedroom floor in a beep.My hair was a mess. With everything going awry, I haven’t give my much thought to how untidy I’d been. That was fine; it didn’t matter what I looked like. I would have every single thing I’d ev