~ Bella ~I ran to Nikolai and jumped into his arms without even thinking about it.I was just so happy, so glad that the case had gone so well.Anyone with eyes and ears could tell that we were definitely going to win!Dumont must be shaking in his boots right now, trying to find a way to patch things up with his lawyer.In all that excitement, I'd turned around and seen Nikolai looking at me with the proudest look I'd ever seen.Next thing I knew, I was in his arms. He caught me easily like I weighed nothing and spun me around.By the time he set me down, my brain was working again. I blushed crimson red, looking around the room to see if anyone had noticed what just happened.But most people had left the room already, and the few that were left weren't paying much attention either.I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew I had a lot of eyes on me here today.A few reporters still followed me around till now. The last thing I needed was a picture of me hugging Nikolai on the front of
~ Bella ~The reporters instantly surrounded the car and cameras started flashing.The last time that happened, I'd immediately flown into a panic.But this time, for some reason, I felt oddly calm and relaxed.Maybe it was because I was already used to have cameras flashing at me at odd times...?Or maybe it was because I was with Alpa Nikolai and just instinctively knew I was completely safe.As if to prove my point, "Clear us a path," he said calmly.At first I wasn't even sure who he was talking to but Ahmad and Boulin instantly stepped out of the car.The reporters closest to Boulin immediately stepped back as soon as they saw him, before he even did anything."Let's go," Nikolai said and ushered me out of the car. Boulin and Ahmad created a wall between us and the reporters.We walked into the courtroom relatively undisturbed except for the flashing cameras."Thank you," I said once we were safely inside.He shrugged. "It's kind of my fault anyway," he said and went off to his
~ Bella ~I brought a glass of water over to our guest and gently set it down in front of her.She immediately grabbed it up and began to gulp it down."Please drink slowly," I said, worried that she would choke herself.Her eyes darted to the corner of the room where Nikolai was standing, arms folded, leaning against the wall.She gulped even faster."You're scaring her," I mouthed to him.He shrugged in answer.Once she finished drinking the water, I took the glass cup from her and took it back out."Are you feeling better now?" I asked when I returned."Enough of this!" Nikolai exclaimed suddenly. He stalked to the table, pulled a chair to himself, turned its backwards and sat. He leaned casually against the back of the chair."We need answers. Why did you come to Mrs Smith? What do you need her services for?" he asked.She turned to me, wide-eyed. "Who is he?" she asked apprehensively, tugging nervously at her sleeve."He is...my assistant," I said in a voice that I hoped was rea
~ Nikolai ~"So where do we begin?" I asked Bella. We needed to discuss the case and come up with a line of action.Bella shrugged. "I don't know," she said.I frowned. She'd been acting quite cold since I came in for reasons I didn't know."You're the lawyer. Where would you usually start in a case like this," I pressed."You're the one who wanted to take the case. You should know where you planned to start," she said frostily."So are you saying you didn't want to take the case?" I asked.She shook her head. "Of course, I wanted to take the case. Her case was so pitiful. I wanted to help.""Then why are you being this way?" I asked, moving closer to her. "Where is this coming from, Bells?" I asked.She turned red at my use of my nickname for her. I couldn't tell if she liked it or hated the nickname from her reaction but it rolled off my tongue so easily and I enjoyed saying it."What's the problem?" I asked again.She folded her arms. "Nothing is the problem!"I knew enough about
~ Bella ~ "I'll tell you who the hell I am!" Nikolai snarled.I gasped. Was he going to reveal his identity? Right now? Here? That could be disastrous!I swallowed nervously and braced myself for the possible aftermath of such a revelation."I said who the hell are you?" Alpha Marcus demanded again, taking a step forward again which brought him practically nose to nose with Nikolai.The tension in the room was palpable. I could feel eyes on us from all over the room but I couldn't peel my eyes off them for a second.I was scared that if I did, a fight would break out before I could look back. It wouldn't even be a fight; it would be war!Ahmad was tense and ready, standing on the tips of his toes, ready to sail to his Alpha's defense.Alpha Marcus' bodyguards were equally tense and ready. What would happen if they clash?I'd heard stories of werewolf clashes and how destructive and violent they could be. No one would get out unscathed.Fear gripped my heart. I knew Nikolai was suppos
"I won't waste your time with a long statement," Marcus' lawyer continued. "Instead, I will let the facts speak for themselves. That will be all for now."He finished and turned around to go to his seat. Whispers filled the room.I stood uneasily. Something felt wrong...very wrong. I couldn't place my hand on it but I just knew something was going to happen and it would shock us.I headed to the front to start my case. As we passed each other, the lawyer caught my eye and smirked ever so lightly. My uneasiness doubled. What exactly did they have planned?I didn't doubt that they would pull an underhanded trick if they had to. I just hoped we were equipped to deal with whatever they pulled.The truth was we didn't have a lot to go on since there was no witness to give a report on Marcus' treatment of Eliza.So first, I called Eliza to the stand first and made her recount her experiences living with Marcus. She burst into tears halfway, pleading for her children to be returned to he
~ Bella ~Mrs Francesca practically flew off the witness stand. She kept her eyes up, completely avoiding meeting her friend's gaze. Well, former friend now. Obviously!"She lied. Can she do that? I thought we weren't supposed to lie on the stand," Eliza said, sobbing.I didn't answer. The sad truth was that she could and just did. Without another witness testimony to counter hers, it was just her words against Eliza's. Who knew who the jury would believe!"Stay calm," I whispered. She had to present a good image for the jury now."We'll be calling on our next witness now," the lawyer said. "Mr Antonio."Mr Antonio stepped up. "Who is he?" I asked."He is Marcus' caretaker at the house," she answered.Marcus gave his testimony, detailing how he often heard 'the Mrs' screaming and yelling profanities around the house.He described her as rude and condescending and stated that the kids sometimes ran out of the house to avoid her.Next was the maid, a wirry little woman called Bekky.
~ Bella ~Eliza gasped. My heart broke. I didn't even hear the rest of the judge's statement. I couldn't hear it over the roaring in my ears.It was all I could so to put my hand around Eliza who was sobbing with renewed vigour.I looked over her shoulder at Benedict and Clarisse and saw that they were both crying in earnest now too.They looked so small and frail...so broken, so different from the children who took to the stand earlier with brave faces.It was so obvious now that they were devastated even though they'd asked to stay with their dad.It made me wonder just what he'd said to them to make them say that on the stand. Obviously they didn't like him or want to stay with him. He couldn't have threatened them, could he? They were just children for god sake!Marcus got up and started walked towards us. Eliza immediately cowered down again.It broke my heart that she was living in such fear. 'How had she survived these past seven years?' I wondered. To have to live in such c
~ Bella ~"In the case of the Shelbys and Hamilton against the Deca General Hospital, this is the order of this court: that the defendants be liable to pay the sum of $1 million dollars to the plaintiffs for the emotional distress, mental torture and general irresponsibility they displayed in handling this matter! "Thank you, your Honor!" I said, beaming. I turned to my Dylan and gave him a hug. I hugged his wife next."Thank you! Thank you!" she whispered in my ears repeatedly.It'd been a long battle that had spanned over the last three months.The hospital put up a good fight but in the end, we managed to prove that not only were they negligent, but that they also tried to cover it up.The result? Dylan and his wife and the Hamilton's were richer had their rightful babies and were each now half a million dollars richer."Make sure you use that money to take good care of your girl," I said."You can bet we will!" Dylan cried.I waved goodbye to them and packed up my belongings.I m
~ Bella ~At Nikolai's words, Nicholas whirled around, dragging me with him.My eyes widened in shock to see a fox, an actual full grown red fox, flying through the air towards us.This wasn't a normal kind of fox. It was huge! Just as big as me.It's teeth were barred and claws outstretched towards us.I screamed in fear at the frightening sight. I tried to duck down but I couldn't because of Nicholas' ironclad hold on my neck.My life flashed before my eyes for the umpteenth time.But the fox jumped clear over my head, grabbed the back of Nichola's shirt in it's teeth and dragged me away from me.In the next breath, there was a ripping sound and Nicholas transformed into a wolf too. His wolf was even bigger than the one that first attacked.Alone for the first time in hours, I was suddenly a loss as to what to do with myself.For a second, I stupidly stood blinking at the wolves.But teeth were snapping just a few feet in front of me. One snap came too close to taking my arm off.I
~ Bella ~The door crashed open.I whirled towards it. Nikolai! His familiar face filled the doorway.My heart soared with happiness. I jumped up and started to take a step towards him.I stopped immediately and took a step back. No! That wasn't Nikolai.These were the cold, dark eyes from earlier. It was Nicholas.He stormed towards me and grabbed me by the forearm."Shut the fuck up!" he snapped.I winced as the part of my arm where he was holding flushed with pain.That meant he'd heard me singing. Maybe Nikolai would have heard too?"You're coming with me," he snarled and dragged me out.We circled to the back of the barn room he'd put me in. He began to drag me towards the woods.Fear gripped me as we got closer and closer to the dark woods.Oh, gods. I'd just been raising my hopes that Nikolai would find me thanks to the singing.Would he be able to find me in the woods? What did Nicholas plan to do to me in the woods?"You don't have to do this," I said, my voice shaking slight
~ Nikolai ~War!During my father's lifetime, war was a common thing.Clashes between different packs and factions tore at our pack time and time again.Our kind were hot-headed and extremely prideful. Those weren't great combinations when it came to co-existing peacefully.But ever since I took over the pack, the number of wars we fought have drastically reduced.In fact, we hardly interacted with other packs and factions at all.The pack was as self-sufficient as they come and I loved it like that.But even then I'd always known this day would come.This problem had been brewing long before my father even died. When one day, a young man suddenly showed up on our doorstep, claiming to be a Reese, I knew immediately that one day I would have to fight to protect my birthright and my people.Well, that day was today and he had the perfect ace in his hands, my mate.I couldn't afford to get distracted or I would mess things up and she'd end up dead.We had to move with precision. Thank
~ Bella ~"It was you! You're the one who killed Parker," I spat."Right again!" he shot back with a grin.It was like a dam within me broke. I just found my husband brutally murdered barely two hours ago.I'd not even had time to process the horrific situation or mourn his death like he deserved.So his snide retort and self-pleased smile didn't sit well with me at all.I heard a loud sound and was shocked to discover that it'd come from me.The next thing I knew was that I was flying towards him in blind rage, hands raised and poised to hit him.But I didn't even get close enough to hurt him.With a backhanded slap, he sent me flying backwards into the wall.My head snapped against the wall and I crashed to the ground again for the second time.I yelped like a dog in pain. He stood looking down at me and tsked."Stupid girl," he said. "You really thought you could hit me? Don't you know who you're dealing with?I didn't bother answering and he didn't bother waiting for a response."
~ Bella ~I blinked in confusion, momentarily too stunned to even feel scared.'Nikolai? Why was he here? Was this some kind of sick joke?'Was it Nikolai who'd abducted me? Why though? And that fight put up by Boulin? Was it just acting?"Hello, Bella," he said, grinning at me as if everything was perfect in the world. As if I wasn't just shoved into a dark room after being yanked around and dragged along by kidnappers.When he spoke again, I realized why his voice had set off alarms in my head.It was because I knew the voice well. "What the hell, Nikolai!" I snapped. "What the hell is going on?"He was walking towards me slowly but he paused now. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Nikolai..." he mused. "Oh, I just realized that I have forgotten to introduce myself."My frown deepened. What the hell was he saying now? He sounded like a lunatic?"Sweet Bella, I am not your darling Nikolai. I am Nicholas Reese," he stated."What?" I spat, still confused."I don't know if I
~ Bella ~My abductors bundled me into a plain white bus exactly like your expect from the movies.I screamed and kicked the entire way, trying to get back to Boulin.I couldn't stand the fact that I didn't know if he was dead or alive.Oh my gosh, if he was dead... if he'd died because of me... I didn't know what I would do.No! He couldn't be dead. He couldn't be! He was as strong as ten men! He was the strongest man I knew! Well, maybe except Nikolai.So he couldn't just die like that, right? I had to believe that he couldn't be dead.Nikolai would come looking for us. I had no doubt.He would save Boulin and then come to save me."You should let me go if you know what's good for you," I piped up.My voice shook embarrassingly. I swallowed the knot in my throat.None of the men even spared me a glance."If you knew who was coming for me, you would let me out right now!"Again, no visible response. "Nikolai Reese!" I exclaimed. "Nikolai Reese will come for me. He won't spare any o
~ Nikolai ~After saying my goodbyes to Nick, I headed out.I headed for my car, which I remembered now that I'd left haphazardly on the road.I got into the car. It was then and only then that I allowed myself to pull the yellow scrap of paper I'd recovered from Parker's body.I unwrapped it and spread it out against the steering wall.Just as I thought, there was a note written on it. Also, the note was for me.Even with no name there, I know it was addressed to me.I know the murder of Parker Smith had everything to do with me.I'd left Parker alive and well and then someone had gone in and killed him, making it look like I did.I knew it was only a matter of time before the police found out about my visit here last night.They would come to me with questions. I fully intended to have answers before then.But apparently I didn't have to look too far, the note was an invitation to me by the perpetrator.It read: Knock KnockWho's there?ShoulderShoulder who?Shoulder kept an eye o
~ Bella ~We were surrounded on every side by menacing, growling werewolves. Boulin was constantly turning, trying to keep everyone in his line of sight at the same time.I turned with him inch by inch, keeping to his back.Without turning around, he reached back and grabbed my hand in his giant palm. He raised my hand and placed it on his shoulder.His message was clear, "Stay close!" 'Sir, yes sir! What was I, stupid?' I didn't plan on going anywhere.I saw the attack before it came. It was like an invisible signal that rung through the group and suddenly one of them jumped at us with a roar.Boulin stepped forward to meet him halfway. He swiped a claw at him, catching him midriff.With one swipe, he took out his entire belly. Blood gushed everywhere.The next second, he whirled around and pushed me behind me. I hadn't realized it but the one behind me had come up behind me.Boulin grabbed him by the neck, shook him and tossed him away like a rag doll.I kept my hand on his shoul