Amber’s POV I couldn’t get what Yeti had said out of my head; worst of all, I couldn’t stop thinking about Alpha Dale and the way things had gone south with us yesterday. The fact that he was yet to say anything to me today made my feelings even more complicated. Sweat dripped down my temples, and my knuckles burned beneath the boxing gloves I was wearing. It was just the second half of my training for the day, but I knew I was working myself up too much. I was beginning to feel a bit of pain around my injuries, and I had a feeling that if I checked, I would see blood. Alpha Dale may have noticed also—all werewolves could smell even the tiniest changes—but he said nothing. Maybe he was past the point of caring. Maybe this was his answer to my proposal. As if him storming out on me was not enough answer. I had no idea how far I was going or that I had begun crying until I felt his body press into mine from behind. His arms circled my waist, pulling me against his hard fra
Amber’s POV He knew I was lying when I said no. He knew I knew that he knows I was lying, yet he said nothing about it. He simply led me back to our room—I wasn’t sure it was still his room since he didn’t sleep here anymore. My heart would not stop thudding in my chest on the way there. Was he going to punish me as soon as we were alone? The moment the door clicked shut behind me, I was sure I was already dead. My hands trembled. My whole body trembled, and my feet began backing away. My eyes scoured the room for an escape route, refusing to believe that I was trapped here. “Calm down, Amber.” Alpha Dale, said finally, turning to face me. “I’m not going to punish you or whatever it is you are thinking. I can hear your heartbeat from here. ”This reminded me of Alpha Derrick and the days he would come to my house to punish me for nothing at all. He always started with two words: calm down, and it never ended well. A voice inside me was trying to tell me Alpha Dale was dif
Amber’s POV I didn’t sleep well at all. All through the night, I tossed and turned on the bed—the same one I was supposed to be sharing with Alpha Dale—unable to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in. Or maybe it wasn’t the bed. Maybe it was the raging thoughts in my mind. There was what happened with Mallory only a few hours ago. The way she had barged in here and slipped away with Alpha Dale as though she owned him was quite unsettling. Although I told myself that I shouldn’t be affected by it, I couldn’t keep my kind of it, and I couldn’t stop getting upset over it. The fact that Alpha Dale had not even tried to fight or tell her off. Then there was Yeti being held prisoner in the basement. Every fiber of my being longed to set her free, although we had not been friends before and she still wants a friend now; I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. And there was also the man claiming to be related to me. His bruised face and eyes haunted me night and day. Wh
Amber’s POV We were attacked. The words hung in the air above me, along with all the others I couldn’t force down my lungs. I couldn’t breathe; neither could I move. Although I could hardly recall the attack at Moonstone pack, the thought of being attacked again shook something inside me. For a brief minute, I understood why Alpha Dale was drilling me so hard with training and exercises, but when I thought of him and Mallory, my understanding disappeared. “Alpha Dale asked me to assign guards to you, Amber.” Beta Trent continued. Of course, I was the weakest among them. I had no wolf and no strength. My training was going well but not fast enough. I was still making mistakes and getting killed so many times. “You can’t leave the pack house without the guards. And in whatever situation, either Alpha Dale or I will be with you at all times. We have no idea where the attack came from, but we have an idea who it was for. The prisoner was just a casualty. ”I rushed forward befo
Dale’s POV She was gone before I had any chance to explain. I had no idea what she was thinking but I could feel her anxiety even from miles away. I closed my eyes shut, combing my fingers through my hair which had grown at least an inch since the last time I had a haircut. I needed a haircut, I needed a shave and I needed a fucking good sleep. “Well, wasn’t that dramatic?” Mallory said, leaning against the edge of my desk with a sly and annoying smirk playing across her face. I gritted my teeth, clenching my hands into fists on the desk. Did she not have the decency and common knowledge to read the room? I was not someone who liked to blame people for things that happened, but all of this was her fault. I heard her draw a sharp intake of breath before she stumbled backward, her hands gripping her chest. I was barely using it, but I knew what my dominance did to lesser werewolves like herself. A low grumble escaped my throat, and a whine escaped hers. Satisfied with her r
Amber’s POV By the time I returned to the bedroom, I was exhausted. Mentally and emotionally. My emotions crashed over me like a tidal wave. I was feeling everything in ways I hadn’t felt before, and why was I feeling so bad about Alpha Dale with another woman? I blamed it on the mate bond. “Stupid!” I exclaimed, smacking myself in the face as if that was going to help me come to my senses. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”He did not want me; it was obvious, yet why did I still feel so betrayed? I shouldn’t be expecting anything from him, yet I still did. He was the fucking Lycan King, and I was what? A wolf-less werewolf? A burden. Someone whom he pitied. I should leave, but this place was likely the only place to give me the answers I was searching for. Who the hell was I? A knock on the door silenced my thoughts, pulling me back to reality. “Dinner is served, Miss Amber. Janine wanted me to inform you.” A voice said from outside the door. I breathed a sigh. More like heartbreak
Dale’s POV When Amber said she felt better now compared to when she first came here, she was not lying. She looked better—healthier, stronger, more alive. Her cheeks were filled out, and her color was much brighter compared to the pale and haunted girl I had brought here months ago. Seeing her now, wide-eyed, glancing at Janine from across the seat, I could hardly reconcile her with the scared, jumpy girl with low self-esteem who was starved to the point where all that was left was skin and bones. Amber was no longer that girl, and my desire to keep her safe and out of harm’s way had caused me to ignore that. Ignore her growth. When I glanced at Amber again, her eyes were on me, and in them I saw all the questions she wanted to ask me. ‘Why did I release Yeti?’‘Was I thinking about giving her proposal a chance?’My wolf shot up at that thought. She wasn’t the only one eager to know what the response to that question was going to be. “Amber, my office when you are done wit
Amber’s POV I pushed the lobby door open, glancing back to see if Yeti was still following behind me. She was, her eyes darted around as if she was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows and attack her. I did not blame her, though; after what happened at Moonstone pack, that fear was a valid one. The lobby was empty at this time of the day. There were no omegas prancing around in corners going about their duties. There was no one coming in or leaving the mansion, save for the guards that were positioned stiffly at the entrances. There was no one. I glanced at Lyon, one of the men who were to be our new guards, and nodded. He nodded back and looked away, gesturing to the other two men to follow. Once they were out of the room, I turned to Yeti. “Alright. Do you want to tell me why you’re being nice to me? Ever since Moonstone, you saved my life, and now… what? ”Yeti glanced around the room. “I… I guess I was trying to make up for how I treated you back at Moonstone. ”
Amber’s POV Alpha Dale was looking at me expectantly. After the whole interrogation, he had dismissed Yeti, demanding she return to her room—she now had a room in the mansion—and brought me to ours, maybe to be sure I heard the things he wanted me to hear. Did he know how awful I felt knowing that I had let my guard down? I had been foolish enough to believe the words of a stranger, and what I hated to think about the most was that even he was a stranger. All of them were strangers. What if they were all lying to me? Feeding me, caring for me, and helping me was all an elaborate lie I was being made to believe before they showed their true colors. Fattening up the cows before slaughter. I was the cow. I just didn’t know it. “What are you thinking about?” Alpha Dale, asked, startling me out of my thoughts. “You look like you’re about to bleed out of your face. I guess you heard the prisoner then? I’m sorry. ”He wasn’t sorry. Not in the least. If he could run it in, he wou
Amber’s POV I have no family? What did she mean by that? She couldn’t be taunting me. The finality and confidence in her voice said enough. So, how did Yeti know I had no family? And why was she so confident about it? How could she be so sure the man in that gallows was not my uncle or relative? I glanced at her, ready to throw all my questions at her when a guard stepped in front of us. “Alpha Dale has been expecting you.” He said stiffly. “If you will come with me.”Yeti followed first. I scowled but followed a few steps behind, keeping a little distance between us. I had come in here before, maybe more than once. But it was the first time I noticed the damp smell of moist earth and rust. The chilly air settles over my body like a second skin, chilling me to the bones. The guard stopped suddenly, putting out his hand to stop me.“I’m sorry, but you can’t go further; Alpha Dale only wants to see Yeti. ”I opened my mouth to protest, but both the guard and Yeti were gone bef
Amber’s POV I pushed the lobby door open, glancing back to see if Yeti was still following behind me. She was, her eyes darted around as if she was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows and attack her. I did not blame her, though; after what happened at Moonstone pack, that fear was a valid one. The lobby was empty at this time of the day. There were no omegas prancing around in corners going about their duties. There was no one coming in or leaving the mansion, save for the guards that were positioned stiffly at the entrances. There was no one. I glanced at Lyon, one of the men who were to be our new guards, and nodded. He nodded back and looked away, gesturing to the other two men to follow. Once they were out of the room, I turned to Yeti. “Alright. Do you want to tell me why you’re being nice to me? Ever since Moonstone, you saved my life, and now… what? ”Yeti glanced around the room. “I… I guess I was trying to make up for how I treated you back at Moonstone. ”
Dale’s POV When Amber said she felt better now compared to when she first came here, she was not lying. She looked better—healthier, stronger, more alive. Her cheeks were filled out, and her color was much brighter compared to the pale and haunted girl I had brought here months ago. Seeing her now, wide-eyed, glancing at Janine from across the seat, I could hardly reconcile her with the scared, jumpy girl with low self-esteem who was starved to the point where all that was left was skin and bones. Amber was no longer that girl, and my desire to keep her safe and out of harm’s way had caused me to ignore that. Ignore her growth. When I glanced at Amber again, her eyes were on me, and in them I saw all the questions she wanted to ask me. ‘Why did I release Yeti?’‘Was I thinking about giving her proposal a chance?’My wolf shot up at that thought. She wasn’t the only one eager to know what the response to that question was going to be. “Amber, my office when you are done wit
Amber’s POV By the time I returned to the bedroom, I was exhausted. Mentally and emotionally. My emotions crashed over me like a tidal wave. I was feeling everything in ways I hadn’t felt before, and why was I feeling so bad about Alpha Dale with another woman? I blamed it on the mate bond. “Stupid!” I exclaimed, smacking myself in the face as if that was going to help me come to my senses. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”He did not want me; it was obvious, yet why did I still feel so betrayed? I shouldn’t be expecting anything from him, yet I still did. He was the fucking Lycan King, and I was what? A wolf-less werewolf? A burden. Someone whom he pitied. I should leave, but this place was likely the only place to give me the answers I was searching for. Who the hell was I? A knock on the door silenced my thoughts, pulling me back to reality. “Dinner is served, Miss Amber. Janine wanted me to inform you.” A voice said from outside the door. I breathed a sigh. More like heartbreak
Dale’s POV She was gone before I had any chance to explain. I had no idea what she was thinking but I could feel her anxiety even from miles away. I closed my eyes shut, combing my fingers through my hair which had grown at least an inch since the last time I had a haircut. I needed a haircut, I needed a shave and I needed a fucking good sleep. “Well, wasn’t that dramatic?” Mallory said, leaning against the edge of my desk with a sly and annoying smirk playing across her face. I gritted my teeth, clenching my hands into fists on the desk. Did she not have the decency and common knowledge to read the room? I was not someone who liked to blame people for things that happened, but all of this was her fault. I heard her draw a sharp intake of breath before she stumbled backward, her hands gripping her chest. I was barely using it, but I knew what my dominance did to lesser werewolves like herself. A low grumble escaped my throat, and a whine escaped hers. Satisfied with her r
Amber’s POV We were attacked. The words hung in the air above me, along with all the others I couldn’t force down my lungs. I couldn’t breathe; neither could I move. Although I could hardly recall the attack at Moonstone pack, the thought of being attacked again shook something inside me. For a brief minute, I understood why Alpha Dale was drilling me so hard with training and exercises, but when I thought of him and Mallory, my understanding disappeared. “Alpha Dale asked me to assign guards to you, Amber.” Beta Trent continued. Of course, I was the weakest among them. I had no wolf and no strength. My training was going well but not fast enough. I was still making mistakes and getting killed so many times. “You can’t leave the pack house without the guards. And in whatever situation, either Alpha Dale or I will be with you at all times. We have no idea where the attack came from, but we have an idea who it was for. The prisoner was just a casualty. ”I rushed forward befo
Amber’s POV I didn’t sleep well at all. All through the night, I tossed and turned on the bed—the same one I was supposed to be sharing with Alpha Dale—unable to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in. Or maybe it wasn’t the bed. Maybe it was the raging thoughts in my mind. There was what happened with Mallory only a few hours ago. The way she had barged in here and slipped away with Alpha Dale as though she owned him was quite unsettling. Although I told myself that I shouldn’t be affected by it, I couldn’t keep my kind of it, and I couldn’t stop getting upset over it. The fact that Alpha Dale had not even tried to fight or tell her off. Then there was Yeti being held prisoner in the basement. Every fiber of my being longed to set her free, although we had not been friends before and she still wants a friend now; I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. And there was also the man claiming to be related to me. His bruised face and eyes haunted me night and day. Wh
Amber’s POV He knew I was lying when I said no. He knew I knew that he knows I was lying, yet he said nothing about it. He simply led me back to our room—I wasn’t sure it was still his room since he didn’t sleep here anymore. My heart would not stop thudding in my chest on the way there. Was he going to punish me as soon as we were alone? The moment the door clicked shut behind me, I was sure I was already dead. My hands trembled. My whole body trembled, and my feet began backing away. My eyes scoured the room for an escape route, refusing to believe that I was trapped here. “Calm down, Amber.” Alpha Dale, said finally, turning to face me. “I’m not going to punish you or whatever it is you are thinking. I can hear your heartbeat from here. ”This reminded me of Alpha Derrick and the days he would come to my house to punish me for nothing at all. He always started with two words: calm down, and it never ended well. A voice inside me was trying to tell me Alpha Dale was dif