By the time the next week rolled around, the plans to relocate the project team to Crescent Moon Pack were in their final stages. Everything was moving faster than I had expected. It felt like I had barely gotten my feet under me again after returning from the pack, and now I was heading back into their world. But this time, I wasn’t going to be there to stay. I had a project to manage, and my head was focused on the tasks ahead, not on the triplets or the complicated emotions that came with them. I only had one job to do, which was to do some research and avoid everything else. Ruby was also getting ready to leave. She’d been a great support to me, especially after everything that had happened with the triplets. But now, it was her turn. She had arranged an introduction between me and her mate before they traveled. She was insistent on it, and as much as I tried to avoid the subject, she wouldn’t let up. “I’m not going to leave without you meeting him,” she had said one evening whe
AveryThe phone slipped from my trembling fingers, clattering to the ground with a sharp, unforgiving sound. My eyes remained glued to Nathaniel, still processing what he had just said. It felt as if my heart had stopped beating, my entire body frozen in shock. I could hear the ringing in my ears, louder than anything else, drowning out everything he was saying.“Your dad is in a coma, Avery.”The words echoed in my head, over and over, but none of them seemed real. This couldn’t be happening. My mind was fighting against it. It had to be some mistake, some cruel joke. But Nathaniel’s face… it wasn’t joking. His expression was serious, filled with concern, but that didn’t make it easier to believe.“No,” I whispered, shaking my head in disbelief. “No. That can’t be right. He’s fine. He is always fine.” My voice was small.Nathaniel stepped closer, crouching down to pick up my phone from the floor, but I barely noticed. My eyes were still locked on him, searching for some glimmer of re
NathanielI could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins even before Oliver finished speaking. Mr. Montgomery, the man who had always been the picture of strength, had collapsed. He was the kind of man who never showed weakness, someone who carried himself with an ironclad resolve, unbending in the face of adversity. So, hearing that he was in any sort of trouble felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me.I had to know what happened. Now.“Are you sure of what you are saying?” I asked and Oliver nodded “Yes I am very sure, there is no way I would have come up with fake news, I am telling you the truth.” “Olivia, what happened?” I demanded, my voice sharper than I meant. The words tumbled out faster than my brain could catch up.He was shaking her head, looking more flustered than I’d ever seen him. “I don’t know. I was just there when it happened. he just collapsed. They called the ambulance. I…” his voice trailed off, and I could see the worry on his face. The wo
Mrs. Montgomery’s heels clicked sharply on the polished floors of the hospital’s main corridor. She stepped forward with purpose. Today, her husband would die not by some tragic accident, but by her own hands. The last thread of his life would be severed, and everything he owned and everything he had promised her would finally be hers.She thought about Sasha and the things she had said. How Sasha had begged her to wait, to let nature take its course. But Mrs. Montgomery had never been one to wait. She had no patience for fate. No, she had worked too long, too hard, for too many years to let some accident stand in her way. She would finish what she had started.Her heart was a slow drumbeat in her chest as she reached Room 307, the door clearly marked with the name “Montgomery.” She gripped the handle, her fingers trembling, and turned it. The door creaked open, but what she saw inside stopped her cold.Empty.The bed, once cluttered with tubes, wires, and the frail form of her husban
Avery I paced back and forth in my room, the thick carpet beneath my feet wearing down with each anxious step. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, the weight of the world pressing down on my chest. Every second felt like an eternity. My father… was he okay? Was he still alive? The uncertainty gnawed at my insides, the fear of losing him clouding every thought in my head. I couldn’t stop myself from running through the worst-case scenarios over and over, each one more horrific than the last.“Take a deep breath, Avery,” Clara’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. I hadn’t even noticed she had entered the room, but she stood by the door now, her brow furrowed with concern.“I can’t,” I replied, my voice tight, barely able to hide the tremor. “I don’t know what’s going on, Clara. My father could be in danger. I need to…”“You will know,” Clara said firmly, walking over to me and placing a hand on my shoulder. “Nathaniel’s going to take care of it. I’m sure of it. Your
“What do you mean, you can’t find him?” Mrs. Montgomery had screamed into the phone, the words sharp with panic, but the response had been nothing she wanted. Her voice cracked as she continued. “I’ve asked you three times, where is he? What’s going on?”Another pause, another incomprehensible answer. Mrs. Montgomery could feel the cold sweat breaking out along her temples.“Bunch of fools!” She yelled and ended the call. When the call finally ended, the silence left behind was suffocating. It wasn’t the kind of silence that felt like peace, it was heavy. Her mind raced, her pulse quickened, and still, no answers. Her husband was missing. They couldn’t find him. Again.A low growl escaped her throat, a sound she wasn’t even aware of making. She turned slowly, her body still tense, like a coiled spring ready to snap. Sasha was standing there in the doorway, her eyes wide, her face a mixture of confusion and concern.For a moment, Mrs. Montgomery didn’t speak. She just stared at her da
Sasha knew she fucked up, her impulse mistake pressing down on her chest like a vise. The second the words had left her mouth, she knew she had made a grave error. She shouldn’t have said anything to Ethan. She shouldn’t have mentioned her father. She should have kept her guard up, but in the heat of the moment, her mouth had betrayed her. How could I be so stupid? Ethan’s face had shifted the moment she blurted out the truth about her father’s disappearance. That smug, calculating smile had played across his lips, and Sasha had known right then and there that she had given him the one thing he’d been waiting for leverage. He didn’t know anything about her father’s whereabouts, not yet, but now he did. And it was all because she had let her guard slip. “Is your father really missing, Sasha?” Ethan had asked, that sharp edge to his voice slicing through her already fragile composure. She had wanted to deny it, to backtrack, to take the words back, but it was too late. There was no g
AveryI threw myself onto the couch with a sigh, Clara stood beside me, her arms crossed, her gaze sharp as she studied me. It was the look she always gave me when she was about to push me into an uncomfortable conversation. And today, it seemed, was no different.“What makes you feel she’s hiding something? I mean your stepmom.” I sat up, dragging my hands through my hair, trying to shake the unease that had settled deep in my chest. The truth was, I couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t something I could put into words. There was just… something about her.“I don’t know, Clara,” I said softly, my voice low and uncertain. “I just… I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like something’s off. I can’t get rid of this nagging feeling that she’s hiding something from the world.” I stared down at my hands, trying to collect my thoughts. “Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I feel like there’s more going on than she’s letting on.”Clara frowned and knelt down beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Ave
It was already a week since the tragic incident at the pack. Everyone had been trying to move on from what happened, including myself. I have made so much progress in trying to make peace with my past some that I could focus on myself and achieve my dreams since I was still young. Jasper had made significant progress in trying to beg me to forgive him. I guess there are some things that you forgive but you cannot forget. The fact that you can't forget it makes it hard for you to actually hold on to the forgiveness.After all was said and done, I finally decided that it was time to go back to my parents. They must have been worried for months now that I had been away from the house. I know they would be mad but I am ready to take all the blame and I hope that they understand that I did it because I thought it was going to help me heal rapidly. As I sat there on the edge of the bed in the room, lost in thoughts. A knock suddenly came on the door, jolting me from my reverie as I looked a
“Thank you for showing me around the pack. You don't know what this actually means to me. I hope we do this type of thing more often.” I said in a low tone as I tilted my head to look at Jake who had been taking me round the pack since. He nodded his head slightly, looking away as if he didn't know how to reply to what I said. He chuckled and then turned back to look at me before he started to talk.“I will be entirely glad to do this with you again. I so much enjoyed the company. I don't know about you, but I really did enjoy the company.” I made a scrunching face immediately. “How could he say that? I did enjoy the company and that was why I asked that we did this more often.” I thought for a moment and then took a deep breath as I tilted my head away. We soon arrived at the front of the pack, and he halted his steps immediately, looking into my eyes for a moment. I knew there was something he wanted to say, but I just could not place my hand around it. I waited anxiously for him to
“Authorities are searching for a twenty eight year old Nicola Spencer, wanted for murder charges and a lot of other criminal offenses. Beware of her…”I switched off the television and threw the remote control far away. I couldn’t watch the television anymore without seeing my face in there, I couldn’t read the papers without my name being there. Ryker had really outdone himself in order to get to me. The news was everywhere. Every station, every headline, every social media feed I could think of, my name was all over the place. I had never imagined my life would come to this. A fugitive. I never thought I would ever be branded a murderer. The walls of the shabby motel seemed like they were closing in on me, suffocating me. The overhead light flickered and buzzed which was the only sound in the room. I removed my heels and threw it at the lights. It flickered again but it didn’t stop buzzing. “For fuck’s sake!” I screamed at the top of my voice. This wasn’t how my life was supposed
The kids squealed as I chased them around the living room playfully. They were back from school and the first thing they wanted to do was play hide and seek. How could I refuse those adorable faces? Daphne wanted them to have their meal first but they wouldn’t listen to her. I moved the documents I was working on into the file before it got completely ruined. “So where were we?” I asked as I started chasing them around again. They giggled excitedly. Nothing made me happier than seeing them healthy and happy. I had been so afraid for Asher but not he was completely and fully healed. The doctor said there was no need to worry about the leukemia reoccurring ever again. “Alpha king,” a guard called out to me. I paused from running around with the kids. I had told them not to disturb me unless it was absolutely necessary. “The beta wants to have a word with you. He says it’s urgent,” he added. I glanced at the kids. “Can you kids play by yourself for a minute? I will be right back,” I
I slammed the door shut and headed right from the bathroom. I switched on the faucet and pulled out my hands from the gloves I was putting on. The sight of blood made me angrier. I hurriedly placed my hands under and began to wash them. “Why wouldn’t they just come off?” I groaned out of frustration. I kept on scrubbing but it wasn’t coming off. “Nicola? What are you up to?” Kyle inquired appearing at the entrance of the bathroom. “I went to the grocery store but people won’t just back off. They kept on asking questions about me and then I got upset. It wasn’t my fault. I had no other choice but to get upset. They kept on getting into my business…”“Stop scrubbing your hands,” he ordered. I scoffed looking towards his direction but I didn’t stop scrubbing my hands. “You can’t tell me what to do. I’m not one of your servants. I can do whatever I want,” I retorted. “There are no blood stains on your hand anymore. Your hands are clean now,” he insisted. My eyes darted towards my han
A knock resounded on the door for the second time. “Come in,” I replied. The door opened and Elder Thayer stepped into my office, closing the door behind him. “Alpha king,” he greeted. I pointed towards the chair in front of me and he took a seat. “You sent for me?” he asked curiously. I twirled my pen in my hands. “Don’t you think you owe Nick and I an apology? For spreading false rumors about him.” The doubts all began from him and they all turned out to be wrong. “Like I told you before Alpha king and also your father, I serve the eight packs and the ruler who sits on the throne. I believe whatever I do is for the sake of the pack. I found a good enough reason to doubt the beta and I did just that…”“And you turned out to be completely wrong,” I replied cutting him off. He was one of the few people I could trust. He was completely devoted to his duties to the pack house and wouldn’t hesitate to call out anyone who was a threat to the pack. Even if it had to do with his family.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked in confusion as Marilyn led me down a flight of stairs. She had dressed me up and covered my eyes with a blindfold. “You’ve asked that question for about a million times already,” she replied. “And you haven’t given me a satisfactory response yet. Why can’t you just tell me where we are going?” I complained. She grabbed my dress so I wouldn’t trip on the stairs. “You should learn how to exercise patience. If you would just let me do my job, we will be there in no time,” she assured me. I furrowed my brows. “What job? Since when were you assigned a job?” She didn’t respond. We kept on going down the stairs till we stopped. She dropped my gown on the floor. I could feel myself stepping on something soft but I had no idea what it was. There was also a light sweet fragrance in the air. I disliked being in the dark. Whatever it was, I needed to know right away.“Marilyn? Marilyn where are you?” I asked. I couldn’t feel her presence anymore. “This isn
Avery The stale air of the prison cell felt thick like it was closing in on me from every side. It had been more than a week since I was first thrown in here, but time in a place like this moves differently, slower, heavier. Days blended together, a blur of long hours and clinking chains, the incessant noise of other prisoners shouting or laughing or crying. It all became background noise, something I had learned to shut out.The other women in the cell block didn’t make it easy, though. They knew who I was… Avery Montgomery, the one whose name used to open doors. Now, it was just another target for their jeers.“You really thought you could get away with it, huh?” One of the older women, a stocky brunette with tattoos snaking down her arms, snickered from the corner of the room.I didn’t respond, just stared ahead, pretending I didn’t hear her.“You’re nothing now, honey,” she called out again. “A rich little princess all locked up in a cage. Bet your fancy family’s not coming to sa
Mrs. Montgomery sat at her grand mahogany desk, the soft glow of the table lamp casting a warm, golden hue across her perfectly manicured hands. She twirled the pen between her fingers, a look of pure satisfaction on her face. It was the kind of contentment that only came with the realization that everything was falling into place and no one could stop her.It took her years to get to this point now, how she had to pretend that she liked Avery all those years, how she had to act as the perfect mother but now she is finally free! She can do all she wants and she won’t hesitate anymore, they all have to pay for everything they have done to her. Her smile grew wider as she thought about the first trial, she remembered the hope in her eyes, Avery was so happy that things were falling into place for her and she waited for the last minutes to strike with what she had, and she burst into laughter. She hadn’t felt that contented in years, she should have killed her when she was young and sh