Ash's POVThor and I talk and walk hand in hand till we arrive at the biggest carport that I'd ever seen in my life. And before you say 'I haven't seen that much of life anyway', I'll have you know that I've seen plenty of carports in my pack even if not outside and this is by far the biggest I've seen so far."You have so many cars!" I can't help but exclaim in wonder to Thor and he laughs "Well, they all don't belong to me you know as this mansion also doesn't really belong to me. It was built by my great, great grandfather for all the Quinn Alphas to reside in. I'll take you to visit my estate after today.""Really, that would be great! How about we do that tomorrow, Sunday? You don't have any appointments for tomorrow, do you?" I ask but before he can reply me, my roaming eyes locate a shiny silver car that is parked at the far end of the carport."That looks familiar," I say and let go of his hand, moving closer to the car that just caught my attention."Is that my car?" I brie
Thor's POVContrary to my kind of personality, my mate is a joy to be around. I see from the way she relates with the Gammas and how they respond to her when I stop briefly by the gate that being a Queen comes naturally to her. She didn't need to put effort into the act.While driving with the top down inside my convertible, she was indeed a joy for me to behold when she forgot about her status, raised her hands, and shouted with excitement as the wind blew her hair around her face"This is exhilarating! Wheeeeee..." My men laughed as they drove past us on the highway since I wasn't speeding that much. I also haven't stopped laughing or smiling ever since we left the mansion. I must have looked like a simp to anyone who might be watching us at the zoo which was the first place we went but who cares.After we left the zoo we went to one of the best aquariums in California. The moment we entered one of the aquarium tunnels, she exclaimed in astonishment and immediately left my side
'I found a perfect place. Call me!''I know he will deliver.' I think to myself with a smile when I read the text Eric sent to me.I move closer to where Ash is standing, staring intently at a group of jellyfish in a tank "Babe, I need to step out briefly to make a call. Will you be okay if I leave you by yourself for a few minutes?" I ask her "Of course, go ahead. I'll be waiting right here for you." She replies with a smile, giving me a peck on the lips."Alright. See you in a bit" I say before walking toward the entrance of the tunnel. Another message from Eric comes in before I arrive at the private place where I will be able to call him. I open the message to see it's some photos of the beach house he just got. I look through the photos and immediately fall in love with the place. It's simply breathtaking. Then I check the stats that come with the photos. I'm really impressed. The house is perfect with the kind of privacy a shifter like me loves. I love this place and I'm ge
I smell her essence. But before I can turn in the direction it's coming from, her arms wrap around me from behind."Right here." She says in reply to my call, hugging me tightly."Oh...!" I exhale in relief. My worries, rushing out of every pore and orifice in my body. I turn around to face her and meet with her smiling face "Were you worried about me? I hurried back as soon as I felt your distress." She says so innocently I can't help but smile at her."Yes, I was worried about you! You promised you would stay and wait for me where I left you, babe. What happened? Where were you?" "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. Just that, a girl got lost. She kinda strayed away from her family so I helped her track them. It turned out they'd also been searching everywhere for her. I would have called you if I had my phone, and I never knew our mind link would work without our wolves until I felt your distress so I tracked you."''It's okay..." I say and hold her hand, leading her tow
Ash's POVToday has been wonderful for me. Thanks to my mate, and Eric of course for planning it all. I have never been this happy in my life. From the zoo, to the aquarium– oh my god! The aquarium! That was awesome. Being inside the aquarium felt as if I was experiencing life as it is inside the ocean itself. Seeing up close the aquatic animals. Sharks, whales, octopuses and the tiny beautiful jelly fishes... It's an unforgettable experience.Now we're on our way to see the beach. I can't see the sea yet but being so near to it alone makes me giddy with joy. I'm so excited, even the thought of finally knowing about my family is not enough to put my urge to see the beach on hold. It's just a beach! How can you be more excited to see a beach than finally knowing about your family? You might want to ask me.Well, maybe because something tells me the news about my family won't be a pleasant one and since I love the way I'm feeling right now so much, I don't want to hear anything unpl
Thor's POV"Oh, my goodness!... Oh my god!" I happily watch as Ash exclaims and marvels over the view we can see from our new beach houseWe are on the terrace and I must confess that the view from here is indeed awesome. Eyes open wide in wonder and mouth half-agape. She exclaims again as she takes some steps forward, walking like she's in a trance. "Babe! This is breathtaking! So, so amazing!" I chuckle. I'm happy to see how she loves my surprise. I look at Eric when he pats me on the back."She loves your surprise. Congratulations!..." He says and I nod."Yeah. I'm happy she's happy, man.""Good for you!... Three is a crowd so let me leave you guys to enjoy the rest of your night together. Oh, and dinner is nothing fancy, hope you don't mind. It's Chinese takeout. I left the packages on your kitchen island. Help yourselves.""Yeah. Thanks, man. You've done enough but I can't wait for you to leave already." I say and we both laugh"Okay, so everything is ready for you guys. It's
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she heard who her parents are"Huh?... Are you kidding me right now!?... Alpha Nate and Luna Raina are my biological parents!?... Like seriously!?..." She continually asks as she smiles in disbelief at the same time. She's smiling but her eyes are devoid of that warmth that comes with being happy."Yes, Ash. Alpha Nate and Luna Raina are your biological parents." She chuckles "Yes, they're my parents!?" She says questioningly and laughs again. This is fucking unbelievable! Oh my– this is so fucking unbelievable, Thor! Nate!?... Alpha Nate and Luna Raina, my parents!?...And I suppose Celine Walker is the maid that exchanged me while Miranda the bitch that tried to take you away from me is the baby she exchanged me with, right?" "Yes, you're right..." I reply "Holy shit! Wonders will never cease!" She exclaims all the while smiling. Anybody seeing her right then would think she's happy and excited about the news of her parents but the rever
My eyes fly open the moment my phone starts vibrating against the hardwood floor where I dropped my pants the previous night."Thoooorr– your phone..." Ash drawls sleepily beside me."I'm up! I'm getting it!" I drowsily say as I feel around the floor for my pants. I bring the annoying thing out from inside my pocket to see it's Eric calling me."Are you awake?" He says the moment I answer the call."No, I'm not!" I sarcastically snap at him "Who am I speaking with then if you're not awake?" He asks and chuckles, ignoring the fact that I just snapped at him. Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood for jokes. I'm not tired, I just want to sleep some more. Last night was wild between my mate and me. I had always thought no female– human, werewolf, or vampire, could satisfy my sexual urge until now. She was a little inexperienced when we started but was eager and quick to learn. My star student.After several rounds of crazy sex without our wolves. We woke up our wolves and then another ma
"The Council Chairman!" I exclaim with surprise when I see a familiar white-haired old man walk out from beside the villa and towards the aisle. "The Council Chairman is the officiant!?"He grins"Surprise!" He says with a flourish "Now walk. And remember, your best man is closely behind."I happily smile and nod at our guests as I walk behind the old man hobbling on his walking stick.I can't believe that the Council Chairman himself is going to officiate our wedding!? He's already so old but still makes the time. Today sure is full of pleasant surprises. He arrives at the front and turns to face the guests."Council Chairman, what an honor this is," I say as I arrive before him, my back to the guests.He smiles "Giving the opportunity to join the Chosen ones of House War-Cloud and House Howell in matrimony is a great honor that I dare not pass to another."I nod and he also nods backEveryone arrive at the front and stand at their respective places as we had rehearsed. The moment
I look at my Patek Philippe Nautilus watch before getting up to start dressing up. Just as I put on my tuxedo jacket, someone knocks on my door."Come in," Eric answers Timothy enters, already dressed for the occasion."The guests have arrived. The ceremony will begin soon." He saysI nod and reply,"We're ready. We'll be out soon." He nods and leavesEric finishes buttoning his tux before turning to me. He looks at me critically as he brushes something off my satin lapel and straightens my bowtie."Hmm..." He says satisfactorily before taking a step back. "Hair– on point. Skin– flawless. Tux– immaculate. Shoes– nice pair, they really compliment your outfit. All in all, you look good, man. Your bride will fall in love with you all over again."I smile at his compliment."What about the ring? Do you have it?" I ask to be sure he hasn't forgotten."I have it right here." He replies with a nod, patting on the area it is resting inside his tux. I exhale and nod"Then shall we?" He
Instead of going back to sleep like I tell him, he groans and slumps back into bed."Ugh!... C'mon, don't be a bitch about this."I scoff, looking at him in disbelief."Who's the bitch here? You're obviously tired and need to rest. I'm allowing you to do that but you can't see my good intentions." I guess he thinks I was being sarcastic when I apologized for disturbing his sleep.He sighs and gets out of bed then go to the wet bar. There, he gets a bottle of water and gulps it down in one go. "Now I'm awake..." He says before asking me, "Water?""Yeah, sure," I replyHe hands me the water before going to sit on the sofa."Alright, tell me about your anxiety attack.""I can't sleep. I thought I mentioned that earlier." ''Why can't you sleep?""How the hell am I supposed to know? I just can't!" I know I sounded defensive right now. That's because I know this conversation would end up with him poking fun at me."I wouldn't have found sleep difficult if I was at Alpha's mansion. My m
Two weeks laterThor's POV 1:10 am! I glare in disbelief at the digital clock on my bedside drawer as if it's its fault that time chooses to be moving at a snail's pace today of all days. It was 12:49 the last time I checked, I can't believe that only nineteen minutes had gone by since then."Ugh!" I growl and slump back in bed as I recall all the advice I got yesterday from all the females around me. (that did not include my mate, mind you. I haven't spoken to her in two days because of some Howell's wedding tradition)"You should go to bed early, Alpha," Lily said as they were about to leave for Night Howlers Pack. (They are Ash's maids and matron of honor.)"Yes, you should." Carla chipped in, nodding, before I could ask Lily why she wanted me to go to bed early. "Poor sleep can lead to breakouts, you know?" "Breakouts?" I asked, looking at both of them with interest."Yes, breakout. Believe me, Alpha, you don't want that..." Clarita replied, looking appalled as she shook her he
I step out of the lobby's revolving door and frantically look around me. I don't see him anywhere but his essence is stronger. He's definitely here."Ma'am..." A voice questioningly calls and I turn around to see Jeremy, one of my security details that comes from my Dad. I wonder where he sprang from? "Have you seen the Alpha– I mean my mate?" I say, handing him my backpack."No, ma'am, I haven't." He replies, looking in the parking lot's direction."Yeah, maybe he's just arriving," I say and hurry towards the place. When the parking lot becomes visible, I smile when I see him leaning on his car reading a book. Immediately, he turned in my direction and grinned as if he knew I was coming. I know it's because he smells my essence.I run, speedily closing the gap between us, and then jump into his arms, tightly wrapping myself around him like a koala bear hugging a tree."Oh, hi, monkey." He says, chuckling.I laugh, slightly pulling away from him "Hello, monkey's husband," I say. "
Twelve weeks later"Prom is more than a dance, Miss Reynolds. It is also used to celebrate and honor students who excel in academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities..." Mrs Jones, my homeroom teacher, lectures me. "Even though you're only spending this term with us, your excellent performance has made you popular among the teachers. You're also loved by not just your peers but also your juniors. Even though you're a new student, they voted for you to be on the prom court, and with what I've been hearing on the grapevine about you, I'm sure they would vote for you to be this year's Prom Queen. Now, won't they be disappointed if they find out you don't want to be part of the event? It would be a shame if..."'Would it? Aren't you over-exaggerating?' I think as I continue to listen to her drone on and on. Contrary to what she's been saying. As far as I know and can see, no one truly cares about anyone amongst my peers in Apex Academy. Most of them are rich, pompous, opportu
"You didn't have your wolf and you weren't aware of my existence. I just recently figured it out myself. That was why I said earlier that a lot of things about our bond recently became clear to me. Even though I was made aware of our mate bond, I didn't know it was such a big deal. Uncle Elias also didn't see it as such; otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten me a girl on my birthday. Only The Seer knew. Knowing he's one of our number one fans, I guessed he also didn't make a big deal out of me being with other women before I met you because he knew the connection between us was not complete. You were too young. You were six years old when I was sixteen..." It suddenly feels as if I've been slapped in the face with the difference in our age. Damnit! Why didn't I think about that before!? Now that he called my attention to it, I feel I've been insensitive. To think I was eight years old when he was eighteen! An eight-year-old child is too young to shift to their wolves and has no busines
"About us..." He replies, and my body stiffens. "About what happened before you left for Hill-backside." "But I thought everything was fine now. We are fine now so why do we still need to discuss that?" I say and want to stand up, but from his lap, he prevents me, holding me in place. "Please..." He says, looking at me soulfully I exhale "I just don't see any reason why we should talk about that. We're fine now, aren't we?... I love you. You love me. Nothing else should matter except that." I say, not knowing if I should confess to him my real reason for not wanting to discuss that matter. Should I tell him I'm afraid to hear what he wants to say? I'm afraid I might not be able to bear it if he tells me how he manipulated his way around our mate bond? Should I let him know I would rather pretend Delilah never happened than risk hearing about her and not be able to forgive him out of jealousy. How would I let him know that I just want to forget the bad memories. I don't want to di
Even though it bothers me, I'm not really surprised when I return from the bathroom to see Thor in his nightwear, sitting on the sofa far away from the bed. At least now I know without doubt that something is indeed bothering him.He stands when he becomes aware of my presence."Can we have a few words?" He asks seriously and my heart thumps again.I nod. Few words about what? What could be bothering him this much? I wonder as I walk towards him. He doesn't need to say another word before I know what he's about to discuss is very serious. It's written all over his face. "I sensed something was bothering you. What do you want to talk about?" Even though I asked, I dread his reply and hurriedly add"Don't tell me! I don't want to know...""You don't!" He exclaims. "But we really need to...""Okay– but please not right now!..." I plead. "I can tell from your expression that what you want to talk about is serious and I... I don't want to talk about anything serious right now, Thor! Tod