AURELIA
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I thought I knew sorrow and understood the feeling of loss. I thought life had knocked me down a couple of times and that had made me better at predicting what would hit me next. I thought I’d find peace here in Dakota’s house but all that was given to me was sorrow which was too bitter a pill to swallow.
“S-stop pl-playing g-games, kid.” I stuttered, grasping for something. Anything to keep me stead… but there was nothing.
Pheobe grabbed a hold of my outstretched hand, stepping out of the house with a facial expression that had my heart sinking further. “Trust me, I wish I was playing games with you. I wish Dakota was still alive to see the young woman I had become.”
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ALPHA RAIDEN~~Frustration had mixed with my blood and became a part of me. I sleep frustrated and wake up to more frustration… that’s even if I get any sleep. These days, she has been haunting me in my sleep. “She isn’t haunting you, Raiden. Your past actions are. You brought this on yourself.” Lex defended Aurelia and called out my bluff.He was right. Each time I close my eyes, I see the wrongs I melted out to Aurelia. I see her cooking for me without receiving appreciation, I see myself seeking pleasure from her body and through our bond while denying her pleasure. I see myself punishing her when all she did wrong was love me and the memories of our past have done more harm than good to me ever since she told me to stay away from her… And it’s only been five days. Five days of torture from my dreams and Larisa who has been on my neck for intimacy– something we haven’t had since I started searching for Aurelia. “You survived not having sex because of the broken bond you still
ALPHA RAIDEN~~I was wowed beyond words when I stepped into my home. The whole place has been decorated for a feast I had no idea about. Larisa smiled at me, pulling me into the living room where her dad, Nolan, stood with his mate, Helen. Andrew was also there and so was Jake, my best male warrior, who was also my gamma. “What’s the occasion?” I asked Larisa through the mind link as she pulled me closer to her parents who I hadn’t seen in years. I stayed away from her parents because I didn’t want them to pressure me into marrying Larisa or remind me of my parents, who had decided to abandon me and the pack since they heard that I divorced Aurelia. I see Andrew and Jake every now and then but seeing them in my living room with Larisa’s parents seemed unusual. “Relax. I just wanted to surprise you with a nice dinner with family and friends. It’s been a rough month if you ask me.” Larisa’s words bounced off the walls of my mind as she responded. Helen’s face popped bright when
AURELIA ~~ I left the room I shared with my kids and Hazel because I was overwhelmed by raw emotions that threatened to tear me open even though my kids were sleeping peacefully in between Hazel and me. I came deep into the forest because I needed to be alone not so I could run into a jackass who had grown nosy with the years. “Stay back!” I repeated those words when Raiden took another step closer to me. I’d have taken a thousand steps away from him if there wasn’t a body of water behind me. He was closing in on me and had me cornered. I wiped my face angrily, refusing to appear weak before someone like him. “Stay the hell back, Raiden. I’m warning you.” I barked at him, tears threatening to spill out of my swollen eyes once again. “How do you expect me to stay back when you have obviously been crying, Aurelia?” Raiden asked like he actually had a heart. “What’s wrong?” I chuckled, unable to believe his audacity. He must think I was still dumb. “The same way you stayed
AURELIA~~I was this close to forgetting how to breathe when I stared into the silver-gray eyes that I used to love… those eyes that used to make me come undone, shattering underneath him while he overpowered my fragile body like–“Focus, Relia.” Inara snapped at me, bringing me back to my senses.“What the hell was that?” I asked my wolf, breaking eye contact with Raiden.There was something. Something seized me and took control of my mind for a moment. There has to be an explanation because I didn’t want to believe I was just admiring the same man who made me understand the real meaning of emotional torture… I didn’t just feel an intense sense of sexual hunger for him. “Please tell me there was something, Ina.” I pleaded with my wolf, staggering away from Raiden.Inara replied, “He carries a bond you broke, Relia, and what you feel now is the effect of getting close to the mate bond. You broke it but your body is designed to want it.”Fuck. I’ve to stay away from him. He had me
ALPHA RAIDEN~~I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel my jaw shift out of place as Aurelia’s unbelievably strong fist connected with it. I could feel the ache but it wasn’t something I had never felt before. The pain wasn’t new to me. What was new to me was getting punched in the face by a woman.And not just any woman. It was Aurelia. The same woman who couldn’t look me in the eyes back then just hit me in the face without flinching and she looked like she was ready to do it again. I was too stunned to speak while Aurelia stared at me with nothing but hate and anger in her orbs. If I had been blind, I’d have been able to smell her scorching anger from miles away. Goddess! How do I go about this? What words would sound right to her? I knew how I felt and In my mind, I knew the right words but each time I opened my mouth to speak to her, I ended up saying the wrong words. Heck! She unraveled me. “Don’t mess this up, Raiden. Please. I need her back.” Lex pleaded with me. Even my wo
ALPHA TRISTAN’S POV~~“You left and rejected me, Aurelia. How could–”Raiden’s words echoed in my mind as I strolled back to the apartment he made available for reasons I didn’t know back then. I’d asked myself why he was acting nice and suspicious but it wasn’t until now that I got my answers. I heard every word, starting with Raiden’s claim… starting with how he called her Aurelia instead of Lia as she told me that day in my special hospital room where she delivered her babies… Raiden’s babies, I supposed. I might not have heard every word because I just happened to stumble into the duo but I heard enough to justify the roaring flame of anger underneath my skin. I heard enough to make me understand that I’d been a fool for almost six years.She lied to me. She deceived me. She played me for a fool. Despite the grace I showed her and her kids? Hell! I provided her with a place to stay, a home, a pack, a family, and a new life because I thought she was from a dead place. That dea
AURELIA~~A yelp escaped my mouth when a cold hand wrapped itself around my leg, yanking me off the bed in one swift movement. I hit the cold floor of the room with a thud. I was genuinely terrified until I perceived and came face to face with Hazel’s amused face. “For goddess’s sake, Hazel. You just killed me.” I yelled not finding her stunt funny. However, Hazel laughed, “If I did, you wouldn’t be yelping, girl.” My best friend shrugged, the sound of her laughter echoing in the bedroom while I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off the floor. Hazel threw herself on the bed and supported her head with her hand so she could look at me as I struggled to get back in bed. “You look like shit, Lia.” She pointed out, her tone neutral but her hazel eyes flickered with the genuine concern that I knew her heart carried. I rolled my eyes again, settling into bed with Hazel. “Tell me something I don’t already know.” I tried to sound unaffected but deep down, I was barely holding back tear
AURELIA~~My daughter wailed out loud, failing to hide her feelings like she would have done on any other day. Seeing Katie like that broke me even more. My heart tightened as I forgot how to breathe and soon enough, Kyle broke into tears as well. “Shush, babies. Shush.” I said amidst tears. I crouched to the level, pulling Kyle and a muddy Katie into my arms. “Enough of the tears, babies.” Kyle spoke up, his voice shaky and muffled, “Yo-you and Katie s-st-tarted it.” Katie countered, pulling away from my hug and wiping her muddy face, “Mom s-started it. I came in and s-saw her c-crying in Auntie Hazel’s a-arms.” My heart tightened even more as I watched them both argue about me instead of telling me what the hell happened to Katie. Her lower lip was busted for crying out loud. I cried bitterly, realizing how bad of a mother I’ve been these past few days. What has gotten into me!Hazel came to my rescue when she asked, sniffing back her own share of tears, “What happened to yo
DAVIEN ~~ Dinner back home was usually quiet, and even if anyone had anything to say, it would be about Damien’s latest stunt and my dad's stressful day. Most times, I skip eating with my family, and they never force me to make an appearance unless we had guests joining us. However, dinner with the royal family was different. The long table in the dining hall was the longest I had ever seen in my entire twenty years of living. I tried to count the number of people in the hall, but I kept losing track and had to start over as the kids moved around.“They are all family?” I whispered to Princess Katie... I mean just Katie as I pull out a chair she led me to and help her get comfortable. “Yes, Davien,” She laughed, saying my name like it was part of her favorite melody. “Everyone in the pack is family, but these are my closest.” “Closest? Seriously?” I asked deadpan. There were almost thirty people in the hall, and they all had a seat at the long table. The royal family got the se
Princess Katie Anne~~ If anyone was looking at me, he or she wouldn’t hesitate to claim that I had been sitting in silence for many hours. I was beside a man who turned his family away just so he could stay with me.However, I was sitting in everything but silence. Inside, I was anything but silent.The thoughts and voices of two distinct yet similar wolves raced through my mind like whirlwinds. The discussion might not be happening between Davien and me, but it was definitely going on between Zuri and Zoe.It all started when Zuri said to Zoe, sarcasm dripping into my mind as her cool voice bounced off the walls of my thoughts, “You still think he is a wimp? Did you see how he stood up to defend us? I’m beginning to question your decision-making ability.”“Um, you mean I’m dumb?” Zoe asked with disbelief. “And you, who didn’t question a bond, are the smart one?”“Not to brag, but I do believe I should be the decision-maker between us both. You are hotheaded and—”“Don’t even fin
Alpha Prince Kyle In that instance, time froze, and my body did too, not just because my mate growled into my mind with conviction, “Mate,” but mostly because the conviction Rio had initially turned into confusion as we both stared at the person whose scent invaded my nostrils like never before.“T-that’s impossible.” I stuttered and staggered backward, unable to believe what was happening. “She can’t be my mate. She can’t be our mate, Rio.”I shook my head, pleading with the moon goddess to rescue me from whatever this was.I thought I was ready to find my mate. Well, until this minute. Until my mate turned out to be her—the least expected person.“She’s the only one in the library, Kyle. It’s her, and you know it.” Rio said to me, sounding just as confused as I was, even though we both knew life was about to get difficult.Did I say things happen easily for me? Well, not anymore.The familiar sweet vanilla scent mixed with the welcoming scent of books filled my nostrils again.
Alpha Prince Kyle’~~I was no spiritual guru, and when I say that, I also mean that I wasn't really into the spiritual stuff that most of my family members enjoy. In fact, all but Katie and my Dad and perhaps Ronald. Also, I wasn’t so into the physical stuff like Katie and my Dad, and again, maybe Ronald—the little man is still juggling between both worlds and trying to find his footing. It was safe to say that I was the weirdest one in my family, but I didn’t feel weird or odd. I fit in. But to me, Davien didn’t fit into his own family. Not a spiritual expert or an energy expert, but I could sense the bad energy and vibe among the four members of that family. “For one, his brother is an idiot. Ma should have let us rip his head off.” Rio hissed.Although I was more of a diplomatic person who loves peace, my wolf can get a whole lot crazy when he is pissed, and Goddess knew he was pissed earlier when the dumbass brother of Katie’s mate tried to say shit about her."Plus, his mo
DAVIEN~~“Do you want to become wolfless because I can make that happen with a flip of my fingers?” Damien turned white at the five-year-old prince’s threat, and I had to hold back my laughter while Prince Kyle growled at my twin brother. The only reason my parents shunned Damien was because they were still trying to hide the fact that I was wolfless from the royal family. Imagine that. Hiding something from this kind of family? Impossible! However, my parents didn’t know that yet, and I also didn’t want them to discover that I was no longer wolfless. My Dad fell on his knee before the royal family and cried out, “I apologize for my son's shortcomings. Please forgive them, your majesties.” “Your sons? I see just one with a lot of shortcomings, Jarrett, and I can’t forgive anyone who speaks down on me, even if the person is about to be family.” Alpha King Raiden seethed, controlling his rage like a pro. It was then that I realized that I was about to become part of the royal
DAVIEN~~I still couldn’t believe that I was sitting beside her.Not just because she was the princess, but because she was my mate. The Princess of the realm was my mate, and I was talking to her even though she seemed to be lost in thought at the moment. Should she even be thinking right now? I mean, she just fainted a few hours ago and her health was fragile–“Is that worry I hear in your thought?” Dolf asked rhetorically, causing me to sigh. “What are we going to do, Dolf?” I asked my wolf. The whole idea of having a wolf still seems unreal. “I can tell you, but you have to figure this out yourself,” Dolf responded, proving that he was indeed a wise wolf spirit. “I’m flattered, Davien but I must ask you—do you want this? Do you want Katie as your mate, me as your wolf, and this new life that has been shoved down your throat?”I scoffed audibly, and Princess Katie’s gaze shifted to me. Although she didn’t say anything, I could tell that she had a whole lot to say. Maybe not
Princess Katie Anne~~I was used to having men in my life fighting for me, but seeing the boy from Black Fur do the same against his brother brought about a different feeling that I wasn’t familiar with. His words echoed in my head: “You do not talk to my mate like that.”I could have sworn I had heard my dad say the exact words, but the effects were different because this time I was the mate and the man speaking those words was mine.“So you want him now.” Zuri chimed with amusement. I would have smiled if I didn’t see Davien’s twin brother rushing to land a hit on him. Energy surged within me, and I pushed myself off the bed, running to stand between Dvaien and his twin brother. Goddess was I fast. My speed had always been incredible despite not having a wolf, but the level I tapped into now was more than the word incredible could describe.I caught Damien’s fist in the air even though my mate had bent over to dodge the impact of his brother’s punch. Damien’s eyes widened, bu
DAVIEN~~“What the hell have you done now, Davien?”My dad bellowed, and as always, my body began to shake because I knew this was the beginning of another episode of insults and perhaps abuse. No, if he was going to hit me, he would have done that as soon as he stepped into this room. Plus, the fact that Princess Katie was sitting on the bed beside me wouldn’t let my dad act rashly. Also, my mom was unusually quiet; I wanted to believe she was like that because the royal family was standing outside. My brother would have said something if we weren’t in the palace of the famous rulers of our realm. He would have thrown it in my face that he was the perfect son and should have been born first, just like our parents had always said. Damien would have done that if we weren’t in Dark Moon Pack. I knew all of this, yet my body trembled out of habit, fear coursing through my body. “Answer the question, Davien.” My mom pushed for answers, her eyes falling on Princess Katie, who just h
Princess Katie Anne~~Davien held my gaze, staring at me with disbelief and perhaps confusion. That makes both of us, if I’m being honest. I couldn’t believe he was my mate and still didn’t understand how he could help me or why–Wait a minute. I think I do. I understand.If Davien was my mate, he would be able to share my pain with me, making it bearable, and with Dolf being his wolf, I would have a friend I could depend on. I wasn’t feeling any pain right now, so whatever Davien’s energy was doing to mine was good for me. “I have to see my family,” Davien uttered after staring at me in silence for the longest time.Before anyone could react to his statement, he rose from the lake and stepped out of it, wobbling as he put some space between us. Within a twinkle of an eye, I felt a pull between our bodies, one that was compelling me to go with him. Heck, it was as if it were commanding my body to stick to his body like some leech that couldn’t exist without him.“Of course, you ca