ALASKA, PETERSBURG FOREST ~BREE~ I looked at the table satin one more time to make sure it was in the shade Alpha Zander wanted. I didn't want to give him a reason to lock me up in that rat hole again; my stomach was still hurting from the starvation, and do I even remember why he locked me up there? The truth is, he did it for every reason. Even asking him if he wanted orange juice or apple was a crime, as he would lock me in the dungeon for days without giving me food, claiming I was being disrespectful. I don't even know how I was still alive—well, alive and dead at the same time as the pain in my stomach and the wounds on my body were eating me. I just had to carry myself through today because today is a special day. Today is my birthday; I am finally twenty-one, and I will find my mate. There was no party or anything, but today seemed to be my lucky day as Alpha Zander was hosting a ceremony to announce his engagement to his chosen mate, Luna Ruby. Ruby is from a
~BREE~ I was excited that Rain was back, but I knew if Alpha Zander or any of the pack members heard of it, I would be tortured, and he would summon the witch to bind my powers and Rain because I knew whenever Rain was here, my powers were also back. I quickly moved back. I knew Beta Kaden just wanted to get rid of me; he didn't need me to check the champagne as it was always enough—Luna Rosa, Alpha Zander's mother, can never go a day without a glass, so when my back hit the wall, I got to my senses and dashed out of the kitchen and went straight to my small room. Yes, I had a room, or, let's say, a shoe closet, as there was a little bed; it used to be a shoe closet, but the time they started torturing me, they moved me here as it was inside the mansion since they didn't want me far away in case one of them wanted to release stress. Reaching the little room, I closed the door and rested my back on the door as I caught my breath. My head moved up and down, and I placed my hand
~BREE~My legs were shaking; I could barely hold my weight, but knowing better, I took the pain and forced myself to stand on my feet because that's all I could do. Alpha Zander didn't give a shit about me, so crying or falling to the floor would just give him a reason to punish me.“Alpha Zander,” someone pushed me off the way and rushed to Alpha Zander; I guess he mind linked him and asked him to come here.“Kaden,” Alpha Zander sounded like he was in a little pain, but he did well to mask it as next he stood to his feet, and I don't know why, but I was now watching his every move. He whispered something in Kaden's ear, which he didn't need as he usually said, and did anything in front of me.“You piece of shit! You…” I wasn't expecting Kaden to kick me in the stomach, as when the pain hit me, I fell on my knees and held my stomach, which felt like it busted from the inside—a man's kick is painful. “You killed them for yourself; I bet you're a witch or something because how did she
~BREE~“I won't come back here.” Kaden's voice brought me back to reality as I struggled and stood on my feet before I made my way to my bed, where my bag was.“Ouch!” A whimper escaped my lips as I tried to clean my cheeks, but they were sore from the slaps.‘I'm so sorry, Bree. I'm sorry I'm weak.’ Rain apologized, but it wasn't her fault. I didn't want her to take account of Zanders' behavior, but unfortunately, I couldn't say the words as I was in so much pain, and with Kaden's warning, I quickly got to my bed and opened my bag; nothing was in it since I didn't have anything. The only thing I had was my old jeans and a tee; those were the only belongings I had, including the clothes on my body, track pants, and a white tee, which Kaden gave me earlier as I would be serving his guest and I couldn't look dirty.I walked to the little mirror and looked at my reflection. I know I always looked messed up and bruised, but looking at myself like this on my birthday was heartbreaking, and
~BREE~I don’t know for how long I’ve been locked in this dark room, but it must have been for hours as it was getting darker and darker. I used to be afraid of the dark, but not anymore; now it was just something that gave me peace. Yes, my once-fear became my peace, as at least in the darkness I would forget about my misery and try to live another person's life.If you ask me, I won’t even know when things started to go wrong—was it when my real parents died? When I met Jocelyn? When I got into that fight? Or when I mistakenly served Amber the wolfsbane? I honestly didn’t know, and I didn’t want to give it much thought.I turned to the old woman whom I’d been calling since I got here, but there was still no response. Maybe she had died because the smell in here didn’t just feel like rats; she was dead as if she had been asleep, I could have heard her snores.The thought of her death caused tears to roll down my cheeks freely; she was my only hope, and I once promised to get her out
~BREE~I was too tired to think of that, and even if I wanted to, I knew I couldn't go anywhere as my legs were sore, so I crawled toward a tree, when I reached it, I closed my eyes as the words came naturally on my tongue.“I Aubree Swan an Omega cut ties with the Moon Valley pack; from this day forward I should no longer have anything to do with anyone that comes from that pack.” I instantly fell back as soon as I was done saying that, as I felt my body being ripped apart and I didn't know if I was seeing things, but a shadow-like creature came out of me and disappeared in thin air.“Ouch!” I whimpered in pain as I felt the same stinging pain from when Zander rejected me. I knew this was a pain of cutting ties with the pack; the Moon Valley hasn't taken me in as their own, but I've been there for years, and it naturally became my home.I needed to rest, even if it was just for a few minutes. I didn't know where I would be going from here but wasn't losing hope. I was sure after a na
~BREE~Despite everything I went through, I've never for once thought I would wish this upon myself, but here I was wishing the floor would open up and suck me in. I couldn't go with Alpha Asher; he was a monster, and I didn't want to lose my body parts. Death was way better than this.Everything happened so fast that next I found myself seated in his limo. He was internally staring at me; his stare was burning my skin and I felt it tingle. I was so nervous that I wished Rain was with me; she was smart and could keep me company; she could tell me that everything was going to be okay even when I knew it would not. My life didn't turn upside down, as it already did years ago; now it flipped to the negative side because this was far worse than being in the Moonvalley pack.Even deep in my thoughts, I didn't miss his voice when he said we had arrived. I looked up at him as he was sitting on the seat across from me, but I quickly looked down as our eyes met—he hadn't stopped staring at me
~ASHER~My left hand trailed the corners of the glass as I used my right hand to hold the phone against my ear.“I’m sorry, Alpha; he was gone when we got here.”“How is that possible? Tyler, I thought you were smarter than that.” I was so upset that someone had gotten away from them.“I promise I won’t rest until we find him.”“I don’t expect you to; I’m only giving you twenty-four hours to find him Tyler if you don’t...” I didn’t need to finish that statement, as he knew what would happen to him if he didn’t bring me that asshole.“Got it.”“And don’t fucking call me until you get him.”“Got it, Alpha,” he said, and I let out a disappointing sound before I ended the call and took a swig of the whisky in my glass then placed the glass down and opened my computer and checked how much damage that asshole had done.I swear when I catch him, he will regret ever crossing paths with me. I will make sure to give him a painful death.‘We should have his head up as decoration,’ my wolf Tylan
~ZANDER~‘It's normal to feel that way; she's our mate.’ Ray said while I shook my head, still sniffing the seat where she earlier sat.‘I don't get it; I rejected her. Why do I still feel this way?’‘Because our bond will take more than a simple rejection to break it, now we are getting late; we need to figure out what Kaden and Jocelyn are up to.’ Ray insisted, and he was right. I don't know what Jocelyn was planning, but I knew it was not good, so I had to stop it before it affected my mate, I mean before it affected Aubree.I sat back in my seat and started the car since I stopped in the middle of nowhere just to sniff Aubree's scent.It didn't take long to get back at my pack; Stephen had already locked Kaden up, and they were just waiting for me, so after parking the car, I walked in and went straight to the torture room, where I once locked Aubree.Inside I was met with Stephen, who was sitting on a wooden chair with five guards surrounding them. Stephen stood up as soon as he
~BREE~I was in shock; I mean, how did that even make sense, beta betraying alpha? I've never heard of that, so it might be a mistake, or maybe my magic was failing me.“Alright, now we know for sure why Kaden has been weird.” I heard Zander say, which was still sounding so wrong to me, “Have one of the staff spy on them, and when Kaden leaves, you lock him up, and we'll take it from there.” Zander instructed before ending the call and turning to me.“Kaden betrayed you?” I wanted him to confirm it as this was too weird.“Looks like it, but we are not sure yet. For what we know, Jocelyn might threaten him or something,” he said, and I nodded my head. “Alright, do you want me to drop you off? I have some things to take care of.”“Yes, sure, and thank you,” I said as I didn't want to bother Jerry, and Antonio was the last person on my mind. Zander started the car, and before I knew it, we were on the road driving out of town.I was lost in my thoughts, still trying to wrap my head aroun
~BREE~I didn't want to overthink it, so I asked.“I honestly don't know, but trust me, I will figure it out. I will set you free like you want,” he said, and I nodded and cleared my throat before I asked about Isabella.“I know something is going on between you two.”“Yes… it was… Honestly, I don't know how to say it.” God, it's like he was shy of me; I mean, I was just a slave, a useless omega a few months ago, so this still felt unreal.“So you admit?”“It happened twice, but I promise that was it; I've avoided her since.”“Okay, so what was your plan?”“No plan. I mean, all I can tell you is to be careful with her; don't trust her.”“Why?”“It's a long story, but…” He stopped and apologized before he picked up his ringing phone. “Are you sure?” He knitted his brows, which made me wonder what was happening. “Alright, stay there.” And with that, he ended the call and looked at me.“Is everything okay?” I asked.“Yes, umm, Stephan just saw Jocelyn enter one of the nearby hotels.”“W-
~BREE~Zander didn't say anything for a moment as if rethinking.“This is not funny. Who's after me?” I asked.“Okay, calm down.” He said, “I was just wondering, but there's nothing to worry about; I won't let anything happen to you.” He said, confusing me because the Zander I knew never cared about me.“What do you mean?”“You will not understand.”“Yes, if you don't tell me. What’s going on, Zander?”“Okay, I... I just thought Jocelyn might try and attack you, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He scratched his head.“I can protect myself, and besides, my mate is very powerful,” I said before clearing my voice and asking him to start as he wanted to go first.“I want to start by apologizing. For what I did, I am genuinely sorry. If there was something you wanted me to do, even cutting my fingers, I would do it. I was a fool and deserve any punishment you deem worthy.” I don't know why I allowed him to finish, but there's something about speaking from the heart. Yes, his
~BREE~I knew it would happen; I had just forgotten, as the past few days I've been slowly practicing the magic, how it worked, and all the tricks. That's how I learned how to lift and safely lend objects with magic, so I knew how to stop it, so I did, which even stunned Glinda more.“Oh my god!” She hit her head as if trying to concentrate; she was in so much shock.I didn’t have words to defend myself; instead, I ran my hands through my hair.“You... you're powerful?” It sounded like a question, “And I think you know what you are? Are you… a witch? Yes…” She came in front of me and eyed me as if trying to read me. “You are?” she said, but luckily a knock was heard on the door, which made me turn to it and ask the person to come in.“Mrs. Clark, Mr. Conners is here.” It was my PA.“Oh yes, send him in.”“We... we are not done?”“Sorry, my meeting with Zander is very important.”“Are you kidding me? This is what's most important now: with such power usually comes enemies, your life…”
~BREE~The times I've encountered Glinda, there was no day she looked this nervous, so it got me wondering if something serious had happened.“Please sit,” I said as my PA closed the door, giving us privacy.“I prefer to stand. It’s serious.” She answered, and I nodded, then asked her to speak.“You said it’s about the last time. Did you discover something else? I mean, I thought you gave up working for Asher after I asked you to leave last time, but for you to come here must mean it’s serious.”“It is, but before that, I made something for you,” she said and then reached into her backpack. I watched closely as she brought out a bracelet; it looked like the one Asher had on, except this one had a purple crystal. “It’s customized for you.” She said, handing it to me.“Oh, thank… thank you.”“With it, you can be close to your mate, even mate with no pain; it holds the waves.” She added, and I smiled as I worked it on my wrist. “There’s something I wanted to ask you… it’s regarding your
~BREE~ I waited for Isabella to come in, and when I heard the door open, I slowly turned and looked at her. “Aubree, you called for me? How are you? Did anything happen?” “You do realize this is the CEO’s office, right?” “Yes, I—” “And you didn't knock before coming in; I didn't ask you to come in.” “Yes, I’m… I–” “You're, nothing.” I cut her off: “Let this be the last time something like this ever happens.” “O-okay.” She looked confused. Of course she was, for the past days I've allowed her to come in even without knocking; I've seen her as a friend. That's another reason I kept her around, but after what Antonio told me, I guess it was time to treat her just as she deserved. “Yes, I want you to check all employee information; I want to know where they live, their children, and everything.” “What?…” She chuckled in disbelief, “I mean, we don't even need to know their first names, let
~BREE~I still couldn't believe what had happened earlier; I don't think I would ever be able to get over it. Like, what came over me? And Asher, he said we would continue this in the evening, but the truth was I was not ready to mate with him. I know Rain wanted to; I've starved her for years, but no, I couldn't.I jumped out of the bed and walked to the closet. I needed to distract my mind right now before I lost it because I couldn't take Asher off my mind; it was silly, but it was like I was now obsessed with him.I wore my office clothes, and when I was done, I picked up my handbag and left.As usual, I met Raven in the living room; she seemed to be arranging everything. Well, Tyler mentioned he called one of the pack maids to clean, so there was no need for her to do this.“It's already clean; stop wasting your time,” I said, which made her jump, as she didn't sense I was there.“How are you, Luna?” she asked after clearing her voice. I only nodded and headed for the door while
~BREE~Asher wasn't kissing me back; he seemed to be shocked. But, that didn't stop me as I sucked his lip even more because it was only that that made it to be less painful.“Aah!” I moaned against his lips at the pressure building deep within my core; it was now beginning to burn as I held tighter onto Asher's back, my nails slightly digging into his flesh.I kept kissing him, now slightly biting his lips, which got a reaction as he started kissing me back, not rough but gentle. It's like he was stopping himself. I opened my eyes and saw that his eyes were closed; his hands were running through my back but shaky.I was suddenly feeling better, so I pulled away my eyes, watching his closed ones. I thought he would stop, but he didn't; instead, he searched for my lips, and when he got them, he started kissing me, this time roughly.I kissed him back as I started to feel funny again, and before I knew it, I was off the ground but on the counter table, my legs slightly spread while he w