Chapter 29Three days later and Earl had still not returned and from his glory travels. The days slipped by slowly for Laurel and she found herself occupied with women's work to keep her from losing her mind. She would spend the days in the courtyard with the pack women, getting to know them and also giving advice over little quarrels as she was now their Luna. Gregg usually watched her from a distance, not wanting to bore her with his presence or to provoke her like he had done that night at dinner. Even though he knew that Earl's absence was unfair, he also knew there was no way of convincing his friend to come back until he was willing. But just maybe his absence was for the best, as he thought it was, it was to give him ample time to see his new bride's true intentions. Astrid had not said anything more about Lambert killing the silver wolf to Laurel, not even when they spent most of the day together. Even when Laurel asked her, she simply avoided the question and only told her
Chapter 30The Rogues had not rode on anything, neither did they carry any weapons like Laurel had imagined. Even Lambert was not with them, and there were only five of them. The spot they met was over forty minutes' ride away from New Knight gates, and it was a vast land with surrounding bushes and a path wide enough to contain a war ground. And yet there were no more than five Rogues here. She looked to Gregg, and she saw clearly that the confusion on his face was the same as hers, the Rogues did not look ready for a fight even, they simply stopped walking and regarded Laurel and the rest of their men until Gregg stepped forward."What do you want?" Gregg asked cautiously, making sure to keep Laurel securely behind him. The man scoffed,"Only to pass a message." "What message?" "We were instructed to give it to either the Alpha or his Luna." Sensing a possible threat, Gregg rode back and threw his word, "The Alpha is not here. I am his Beta and I speak for the lady. Give me your
Chapter 31The tension between them was chilling, but there was no time for Laurel to tell him her mind, for which Earl was grateful. The last thing he wanted at the moment was a nagging wife. They rode back home in silence, Laurel insisted on riding with Gregg and Earl said nothing to argue the point, he simply rode behind them at a galloping pace.Gregg was motionless and his skin had gone pale white from all that loss of blood. His blood was still dripping, leaving a trail on the road as they rode. Sitting closely behind him, Laurel tried her possible best to keep pressure on the wound. Earl watched them in silence, and he found himself wondering whether she would have tended to him like that if he was the wounded one. When they arrived in the pack, guards and servants fussed over Gregg, as they tried to revive him. It was another thing Earl was grateful for, a blessing in disguise, this way, most of them would not pay too much attention to his return. He hated to think that his f
Chapter 32Gregg woke up with a splitting headache, he only managed to squint his eyes enough to see the light flooding in from the window. The left side of his ribs hurt like hell, almost like someone was pouring a burning coal into a freshly opened wound. He tried to sit up, but he realized to his dismay that he could barely move his hands. His mind was active, but he was weak, too weak. And this brought panic, so much panic that he tried to speak, maybe to yell. The first words that came out of his mouth was Earl's name, even in the subconsciousness of his mind. But the words did not get out, his lips moved but that movement brought him more pain. His throat felt like it was going to crack open, he was thirsty, more so than he had ever been. Gregg grimaced at all the discomfort he was feeling at once, his memory was blurry, very detached. But he tried to piece them together, Lambert, the fall, the fight. And then the painful memory of that sword tearing through his flesh and scra
Chapter 33They rode silenty through the trees, avoiding any contact with each other as much as they could. Earl sat behind while Laurel was huddled in front of him, but he made sure to follow very closely behind her, which was something he knew that she did not like. He had suggested that they do not to take any horses, but she insisted on not taking so he in turn insisted that they would only take one, his horse. Now, riding beside with her felt so warm and charming, and somehow, he liked it. This was like going hunting with her, only that she would never agree. But he tried his best to hide his enthusiasm, he kept his hands to himself and his thoughts focused. The woman riding with him now was so much different from the grieving woman he had met a few months ago. Maybe being his Luna came with it's own changes, because he noticed she was more commanding now, more authoritative. And again, he found himself liking it. Could he read his mind? He was still unsure, while her own thou
Chapter 34"Your sister is here, My Lady." The maid told Laurel as soon as she opened the door."Kristen?" "Yes, My Lady."Laurel hurried back inside and grabbed a shawl before she stepped out again and followed the maid. Earl was not in sight and she was grateful for that, she had not seen him since they returned from bringing the leaves and that was five days ago. Wherever he was, she only hoped he had not run off again like he did the other time. Why she wanted him around, she still could not tell. But she did want him around, perhaps because she felt safer with him there. Laurel passed by Asher's chambers and peaked in to find Gregg, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. He was doing much better now, his wolf reawakening. Asher still gave her the look whenever she came to visit, so she had made it a point to avoid going in there whenever Asher was around. The good thing though was that Gregg would love, she couldn't bear the thought of him dying on her account. They entered
Chapter 35They found him in the courtyard where he was training with his men, Laurel was the first to spot him among the various men he was effortlessly throwing to the ground without even trying."He is surely swinging the sword with a vengeance." Kristen noted with admiration. Laurel knit her brows in deep thoughts, "He is skilled. But I fear he has this hidden anger brewing inside him, it is that vengeance that drives him." "Did he tell you anything else about his brother?""We haven't had a chance to get that personal, not when he avoids me like that."Kristen's mouth tightened in disappointment, "You are safe with him, but you will be safer if you get to know him well enough. He has to let you in, Laurel. He has to trust you." Laurel spared her sister a careful glance, "Careful now. He might just be listening.""Nay, he hasn't sensed us yet." "You don't know that. The man is still as confusing as ever, I struggle to understand him, but he pushed me away so hard that…" she tr
Chapter 36Kristen marched down the hall, her mood a foul mix of tempers and her eyes cloudy. She had left Laurel in the hall after their little conversation, and since she had no desire to spend the night here, she had to finish her business and get on her way. She would have been long gone by now though, except Laurel wanted her to see Gregg on his sick bay. The thought of him lying down there, struggling for his life was actually funny, she would have given anything to see him miserable. But if indeed it was really true that Lambert had the monkshood leaf at his disposal, then she needed no telling that they had to be careful. It literally meant their lives were in the barbarian's hands. Kristen stopped in front of the door to Asher's chambers and drew in a deep breath. She wasn't exactly one to do this, but Laurel would kill her if she didn't. And all things considered, Gregg had actually taken the fall for her sister and he had saved her once, so wishing him dead was not exact
Chapter 70 “Going somewhere?” Lambert’s voice cut through the air like a blade as soon as Earl and Gregg stepped outside.He was there— and not alone. Earl’s heart lurched at the sight before him. Lambert stood with a smug grin, holding Laurel tightly by the arm. Her eyes were wide with fear, her beautiful face pale and drawn. A group of Lambert’s rogues surrounded them, forming a protective circle around Lmabert to keep Earl or his men from attacking. .“Laurel!” Earl shouted, taking a step forward, but Lambert tightened his grip on her, making her wince.“Ah, ah, ah,” Lambert said, wagging a finger. “One more step, and she gets hurt.” We don’t want that, do we?” Gregg moved to stand beside Earl, his eyes darkening with anger. “Lambert, what do you want?”Lambert chuckled, his eyes gleaming with malice. “Isn’t it obvious? I want what is rightfully mine, I also want to live. And it turns out that to do that, I have to kill. And your precious Luna here,” he gestured to Laurel, “is
Chapter 69The clash of swords and the roar of wolves filled the air as Kristen and Gregg fought fiercely against Charles and his band of rogues. The forest clearing was littered with bodies, but the fucking rogues won’t stop coming. Some of Kristen’s men had returned in time to join the fight though, which was an added advantage. Kristen’s blade met Charles’s with a resounding clash, their faces inches apart as they strained against each other, “You stupid idiot,” Kristen hissed, “I knew you were up to no good!” “You think you can win this?” Charles sneered, pushing against her sword. “You’re just like your father—weak.”Kristen’s eyes blazed with fury. “Don’t you dare speak of him, you bastard!”Charles grinned maliciously, his eyes glinting with a cruel satisfaction. “You know, it was my father who planted the flu that killed your dear old dad.”Kristen’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You didn’t—“Charles smirked, “It was supposed to make Laurel marry me so I could become Alpha. Bu
Chapter 68 Earl was well away from New Knight by the time his wolf started whining and he became restless. He didn’t know what else to do, so he simply dismissed it, thinking it was merely happening because his mate was unconscious. He tried talking to Gregg through the mindlink but nothing was working, it was either his Beta had disappeared from the face of this earth or he simply didn’t want to be found. Not knowing where else to find Gregg since he had combed through almost every nook and cranny of the pack and even sent a few guards to look for him, he simply dismissed Astrid’s words as mere lies to get him to leave Laurel alone with her. Panic. Simultaneously, a sharp pain tore through his heart and he doubled over on the floor, clutching his chest tightly as the pain increased. It felt like someone was twisting his insides with a trident and something was being torn from him, something very essential. Just then, he felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and a shrill
Chapter 67"I was really hoping we could hunt together tonight." Gregg told Kristen as she fastened the button on her pants and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "And I just told you I'm not hunting today." She replied with a livid tone. "Then can I stay here with you?" He asked again with an hopeful glint in his voice."No."She said it vehemently, shattering the heart he didn't know he had to tiny pieces. His wolf whined inside him and for some reason, he felt like he had just been rejected by the very person who was supposed to accept and cherish him. "But Kris–" She turned cold eyes on him and he frowned, "Get up and leave, Gregg. I have a lot to do and I can't do that with you here." "But it’s full moon today, we can just leave the world behind and let our wolves have fun. Besides," he nodded towards the spot where he had just taken a considerable amount of her blood from her neck, "You'll need to replenish that." Subconsciously, her hand flew to the spot on her
Chapter 66All through the run back home, Earl was mentally beating himself for his own foolishness. How could he have lost himself like that? He looked down at Laurel only to find her eyes still shut and her lips quivering slightly. He thanked his stars at least that she was moving now, few minutes ago she had been totally unresponsive. This was the first time she was fainting after a bout of sex, and he knew then that he must have been too rough. What was he saying? His wolf was too greedy with her blood. Even right now, he had to try really hard to avoid looking at her neck. The spot where he had marked her was not healing, and the mark, which was still trailing with blood looked like it was almost calling out to him. When he reached the house that night, almost everywhere was silent. He ran inside, looking frantically about for any sign of life, just anyone to take care of her in her condition. But it seemed like everyone had gone hunting for the full moon. "Fuck!" He muttered
Chapter 65 The pack run was all that it should be, thousands of wolves gathered in packs, howling and growling their praises to the Moon Goddess. Earl was expected to address the pack regardless of his anger, and he did. Laurel was there to encourage him even though they were both mad at each other. After the short speech to the pack members warning them to avoid any contact with rogues or hunting near rogue territory, he led Laurel to his secret spot. She followed him silently, without asking any questions, perhaps it was due to the itching in her gum or the heat she was feeling at his nearness.The ache in his heart was still there, only subsiding a bit because of the full moon and the fact that his wolf was slowly taking over his human side.As Alphas, they could control when and how they shifted into their wolf form, except of course when the male was in too much heat and the female was around or when the mate bond was too strong like right now. "Where are you?" Earl mindlinked
Chapter 64"What the hell do you mean by that nonsense you just said?" Astrid did not flinch, she merely watched Earl with cloudy eyes,as if daring him to strangle her. Channeling his wolf, Earl let his eyes watch her fiercely, more like he was searching for something, some sort of recognition or rejection perhaps. But instead of the ferocious urge to tear her apart, limb by limb, he felt a strange warmth in his heart, a need to comfort and be comforted. The desire was so strong that he threw Astrid down with a force that startled even him. Laurel ran to his side and he grabbed her and shoved her forcefully to himself, eliciting a loud gasp from Laurel. "What is wrong with you?" She asked with genuine concern. But even before she could complete the sentence, Earl crashed his lips forcefully on hers and kissed her. Even as she whimpered and her wolf whined in his hand, he didn't stop. Whatever it was that touching Astrid had stirred in his wolf, he hoped to hell that kissing his mat
Chapter 63Two weeks slipped by pretty fast, they were the most peaceful days for Laurel since her marriage with Earl. She and Earl spent most of the evenings in their room, because well, for some reasons, they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other. Astrid told her once that she was in heat, which usually happens when a wolf finds his mate and accepts the mate bond, their desire for each other during this period is usually almost insatiable.Laurel particularly could not seem to get enough of Earl, and he in turn could smell her heat from as far as he possible. Those two weeks were blissful, almost like it was their honeymoon but there was also this nagging feeling that something terrible would happen soon enough. Which was why Earl and Gregg were working on reinforcing the pack gates and the soldiers in preparation for any possible surprise attacks from Lambert. Hayley was sleeping that evening when Astrid came running into the room. Earl had left a while earlier, so it
Chapter 62She couldn't lose him, Asher thought idly as she ran the rest of the way through the familiar paths. He was the only ticket she had to get out of her misery, the only guaranteed way she could get her brother back. How could he do this to her? She had waited this long to have him, waited this long only to be rejected and treated in a sick manner! He would have killed her if she hadn't come when she did. And the way his eyes softened when he saw her, the way his wolf calmed. Fuck! The sexually provocative way she had talked to him and the way he carried her back to the room. How could he? She clutched her chest as she reached the gate and tried to wipe the tears she didn't know had started dropping with the back of her hand. "Let me in." She told the first guard she met there. "He didn't tell us you were coming." The guard said stubbornly."That is because he didn't know I was coming.""Then why are you here?" "Because I have news, urgent news that cannot wait for the us