ELEAI was growing impatient by the second. A day passed by, and I did not see Liam. Actually, I was not allowed to see Liam until the asshole thought he could trust me. And it was no easy feat to regain his trust after all that I had pulled. Looking back, I knew it was risky. But I should have known Landon was no fool. And now he was a man on a mission to make my life miserable. It was bad enough that I had deliberately hidden his son for years and denied him the identity of his heir, I had also rejected him and taken off. But five years ago, things were different. I could still endure his wrath and deal with his brutish behaviour as retribution for denying him, rather than letting him find out my identity. There was no idea I could tell him that I belonged to a pack he loathed his entire life, and that night was meant to be something else. Truth be told, my entire life changed the night I found out that I was pregnant. And deep down, I knew there was no going back. I was done b
ELEAAs much as I enjoyed spending time with Liam, his questions provoked some deep questions within me. Where will this end, I wondered. Now that Landon knew about Liam, will I ever be allowed to leave this place?And even if I manage to do that, maybe in years, Landon Knox would scorch Earth to find me. And his forgiveness would only be so much after all that had happened between us. Every moment in this place made me anxious and paranoid.After my time with Liam, I was delivered back to Landon’s room and was listed with detailed chores in his absence. Not wanting to go into another tussle, I began to clean and arrange the things in his bedroom as part of my duty. The man was fairly simple when it came to his things. He’d left most of the things uncovered, as if a man like him could hold no skeleton in his closet. But something caught my eye as I came near the chest of drawers. There was a decorative keyhole in the first drawer, far different than anything in the room, and out of
LANDONI shut the door and turned to face him. “Maximus. You are back early.”He has not changed in months in his absence from the pack. Almost as tall and muscular as me, my half-brother, Maximus, shared a few genes with our father. But all his charming looks were inherited from his mother, a woman my father met in a chance encounter. It took my mother years to forgive him, but she has always treated Maximus as her own. Bastard children were never welcomed in any pack and often destined to be rogues, but my mother, being the strongest Luna I knew of, made sure that the identity of Maximus remained hidden. It was not to protect my father from scandal but to protect him as a boy. Growing up, I had always known that he was a loyal friend and family. It was not until I found my wolf and shifted that I learnt of his identity. Even then, it did not make a difference to me. He was my brother, and he would always be. “Did I cause a little inconvenience for you?” he smirked, throwing hims
ELEAI knew everything that was to know about the Crimson Pack and Landon Knox from five years ago. My father’s obsession with them, the hungry desire to defeat them and my fascination with getting my father’s validation in order to score made me well-versed in their history. Among the werewolf packs in the nearby territories, they were the largest, strongest pack, led by a powerful Alpha at the helm. The Knox generation was always known to be ruthless and relentless in their pursuit of power, and their ability to keep the rogues at bay and also stand tall amongst the other packs made them singularly formidable in the community. No pack, no alpha, has ever dared to challenge them. Even the High Council of shifters, the groups who regulated the werewolf packs, did not interfere in their affairs, a stark reminder of their unchallenged supremacy. And nowhere did I ever come across the fact that Landon Knox had a brother. In fact, the man looked nothing like Landon either. It only rais
MAXIMUSThe guard at the door of Landon’s bedroom immediately sprang straighter and bowed. I had rarely been ever respected for being my father’s son, bastard son to be specific, but when Landon assumed his role as the Alpha of the pack, the entire pack fell silent when he declared me as his Beta. Honestly, I was not expecting that either. We have always been brothers, despite my father's greatest reluctance. But the tag of being born outside of a legitimate marriage has always lingered. People whispered behind my backs, bullied me in school but it was always Landon who had beaten the shit out of the boy twice his age for such indiscretion. I remembered how the entire pack stunned into silence when he declared me as his Beta, legitimising any fucking ties that I had with Crimson Pack. I pushed the door open and entered. The woman was sitting crossed on the floor by the fireplace. As soon as she saw me entering, her heckles were up. “Landon’s not here,” she said, eyeing me.“I know
ELEALandon kept his word, to my surprise.I was allowed a generous length of time with Liam when it came to his meals and playtime, and despite my utter fear, Liam was happy. Even though my heart broke a little that my baby boy was not missing me, a part of me was relieved that he was getting the exposure he always needed.Liam was no rogue. He was the alpha’s son and heir, much to my predicament, but I could not change the truth. He was supposed to grow in a pack, where he belonged and thrive in his rightful place. No matter how much I fight with Landon, I could never give Liam the life he was living at present. “Mama, do you know I have learnt how to swim?” he said with excitement gleaming in his eyes. “It is so much fun. You must come to the pool next week and watch me swim.” Every pup in a pack was trained how to swim, climb, and jump and was involved in various activities before they’d have their first shift. It made things a lot easier because some pups were faster and strong
LANDONIt was not one of the brightest and easiest of days I’d say. I knew the Council could not override my decision to attack the Sherwood Forest in search of the particular band of rogues, but they had caused us enough problems already. I had to deal with limitations beyond my power and overcome those. On top of that, five of my shipments were already intercepted by the rogues and while losing a few million did not pinch as much as the knowledge that they had dared to tamper with my business ventures. So, you see, I was not in a great mood. But Maximus has been more than helpful in protecting the patience I lacked sometimes. Some business dealings demanded more diplomacy than boldness, and keeping peace with the Council would mint us more money than to be at odds with them.So, back home, I needed a break. A distraction, and what else could be the perfect one except for Liam? Every time I watched him lost in his world I was overwhelmed. His innocence and wonder reminded me of lif
ELEAWithin a flash, Landon stepped back. Before I could fully understand his intent, he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulders. He strode through the silent mansion through the grand hallway with his footsteps echoing against the marble floor while I pounded against his back. But my strength was truly nothing against his. He was entirely unaffected by the blows and continued to make his way out of the pack house in great strides.“What are you doing? Where are you taking me?” I panicked. My instinct went to my son, and I could help but thrash against his hold. No matter how much I struggled, his iron-clad grip was unyielding as he carried me outside when the cool night air greeted us with goosebumps. He finally set me down at the end of the cobblestone path, leading to the sparse forest, which was sufficiently illuminated by the radiance of the full moon night despite the lack of lights. “What—why are we…” I mumbled, looking around a bit dazedly. But when my gaze met his,
LANDON“Just listen to her once,” Maximus suggested, even though I had half a mind to storm into her pack house and squeeze the life out of her. I was angry, livid actually, and Ravena had just crossed all bounds this time.“This is a bad idea,” I muttered. “I think your brother is right,” Elea interjected, drawing our collective attention. She looked between us, gingerly advancing. “If she knew, why didn’t she utter a word then? I mean, she swallowed her ego and apologised to me, she let herself get cornered even though she had an advantage. She could have used and gotten herself out of the problem, but she did not do that. Why?” Maximus and I shared a look.She has a point. “She has more leverage than she is revealing,” I muttered, reading between the lines. “All the more reason that you should see her,” Maximus said. I nodded, reluctantly and severely trapped.And now here I was, standing in front of the polished door of the suite of the hotel. I raised a palm, pressing agains
ELEAI did not know what to think, or how to act or even move until someone actually, physically, moved me off the stage. It was Maximus. The only thing I had managed to say was that I wanted to see my son because Liam was the only centre I could focus on and Maximus nodded.In a couple of minutes, I was taken to Liam’s room. And as soon as the door swung open, his little form jumped up in surprise.“Mama! You are here!” He was overjoyed as he jumped up to hug me. “It has been three days since you came to visit me.” “I know, baby,” I said with a long inhale, taking in his scent. “There were some…problems, but now the problems are solved. And I can spend as much time as you want with you.” I pulled back, looking into my son’s eyes. “But first, I want to know how you are feeling.” His face widened with glee. “Me? I am doing great!” Those little grey eyes sparkled like silver against sunlight. “Landon did not tell you? The doctor said that I am fit enough for school, swimming classes
Third Person POVIt was a sight rarely seen in the Crimson Pack when the Alpha chooses to punish someone publicly, an event that has not taken place for years. Usually, the wolf is either banished, exiled or killed. But it seemed like Landon was partial to archaic methods his ancestors preferred to instil some sense of discipline and unity among the pack. Elea stood there putting up the strong face she could muster in the face of adversity and in the hope of seeing her son. Whatever little hope and fondness she had developed for Landon over the months were erased by his brutal demands and his ability to manipulate her so cruelly. Ravena, on the other hand, held her breath. She did not know what was happening, but she sensed some impending dangers long before the scene unfolded before her. It was too late to run away or feign illness, although she could still pull it off if needed. Landon was completely composed and in control. He turned to his pack, awaiting his declarations. “Sinc
LANDONThe guard opened the door for me and I stepped into the room slowly. And immediately, the nauseous whiff of flowers hit my nose. Every corner I looked at was packed with bouquets and gifts as if it was a birthday party instead of a hospital room. “Landon, you came,” chirped the cheerful voice. “I knew you would be coming to see me.” “How are you, Ravena?” I asked, arranging for myself to sit on the couch across her bed. I had always preferred a healthy distance between us, given how clingy she was all the time. “The doctors said that it was a nasty fall, but I was lucky,” she fibbed, fluttering her lashes. I noticed that she was wearing mild makeup as well. “I guess the Moon Goddess truly blessed me to be beside you that I get to live another day by your side. If it was not the case…I would have been…” her voice trailed off. She tried to sniffle, fighting to squeeze out a drop of tear to help her cause but I quickly steered away from the topic. I was in no mood to indulge m
LANDONElea was sleeping, curled into herself on the cold, unforgiving concrete that had not seen sunlight for years. Beside her, the empty plate of food was abandoned. The cleaner has not yet arrived to collect. Maximus told me that he had issued directions to unbind her hands because Elea was too proud to eat off the plate. And I did not object, knowing she would at least eat something. Humiliating her or making her suffer was not my intention, but a show I had to put up with so that the pack would at least consider that I had been hard on her. I could not be seen or taken as a leader who was too weak, too smitten by a female even though I was affected by her in more ways than one, but it was a war within myself. Ravena and her asshole brother had already conjured a storm I‘d have to deal with, and if I did not act judiciously, it would cost me. There was so much at stake for me that I had barely slept for an even hour for the past few days, not to mention that little boy who was
MAXIMUSLandon and I were in his office, torn to bits about the latest incident of Ravena being pushed off down the staircase and hurting herself. But it was not just us, but her equally annoying brother who graced us with his presence, pacing across the Italian marble we paid for.“How could you let this happen to my sister, Alpha Landon?” He asked, theatrical and useless, and I failed to fathom why we were entertaining him in the first place. “No need to be dramatic, Ryker,” Landon said, leaning against his chair while his fingers mindlessly tapped on the rim of the glass filled with whiskey. I was on my fourth drink, while he still lingered with his first, and it showed how distraught my brother was from inside. And Ryker’s presence did not pacify it at all. “Your sister is well and recovered. The doctors said that though it was a great fall, she remained miraculously unhurt and they would discharge her in a day,” I answered, finishing the fourth drink. “That is not my point!”
ELEA“Our Alpha should have had her executed long ago,” I heard one of the maids sneer. “What a jealous cunt!” commented one of the guards. “How could she do that to that poor woman?” sighed a man, feeling pity over Ravena’s fall.I had not realised how frozen and rigid I had gone until someone yanked me by the arm and pulled me away from the edge of the top stairs. And the next thing I knew was that a certain someone was pinning me down on the floor as if I’d escaped. My instincts fought over the restraints but it was a little too late before the man got a solid hold over me. And no matter how many times I had screamed and struggled to get free, I was being dragged down to the same cellar I had kept months ago when they’d caught me in the forest. “You will stay here until the Alpha comes!” sneered the guard and locked the door. And whatever little hope I had held onto until the heavy footsteps of Landon graced the concrete outside the cell, died the second he looked at me through
ELEAOn the fourth day, Liam woke up again. This time, he canted his head to the side and opened his bow lips to say something. So I leaned in, lovingly caressing his forehead. “Baby, are you right? Is there something you need?” I asked and he nodded weakly. “Mama…water,” the voice was barely coherent but I quickly fetched a glass filled with cool liquid and gently poured it into my mouth. He swallowed with great effort and then blinked up to me.“What…happened?” The words were scratchy and broken like he was still parched. “You collapsed in school, Liam, after Landon and I dropped you off in the morning.” I pressed a kiss over his forehead, wiping away the short hair crowding his forehead. “Were you in any kind of pain at that time? Can you recall anything, baby?” He shook his head. “No. I felt…dizzy.” Liam blinked, recalling the events for a long moment before looking at me. “I could not see for some time and then…” The rest of his words were devoured at the sight when the door
ELEAIt had been two days since Liam was hospitalised, and even though he did wake up after a day, it was barely for a couple of minutes. His feeble vision recognised me and Landon only to have been forced back into his slumber.It broke my heart every time he’d wake up for a brief moment, barely able to speak words before falling back asleep. I could tell that my little boy was in great pain, and yet I could do anything about it. The helplessness crawled into my gut, wreaking havoc. “Try and be patient, Elea. The doctors are trying everything,” Landon would say every time I demanded an explanation.The chemical that caused him this was yet to be traced. And it made me more miserable.My desire to eat, sleep or even a bath died until I’d been assured that Liam was out of danger, but Landon was devious enough to force the morsels down my throat, as threatened, and after a while exhaustion claimed my body. I had fallen asleep when Landon sent me back home with a driver and a guard, and