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Chapter 34: "I took care of it."
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 35: "I can hear whatever you have to say later."
Layla’s pov.Alek and Damien are waiting for me by the time I get back to my room and something in me squirms at the sight of them. I did not think they’d be here so I was not ready for them. I still am not, and for some reason, I feel it’s because of what happened just now with Ryan.I frown because what even happened with Ryan?The confusion that question brings to my heart is brief, and yet it plagues me in an odd way. Damien’s voice interrupts my thoughts and I snap my head to him as he asks in his deep baritone again,“Are you okay, Layla?”Ryan’s voice echoes in my mind as he asks me that same question and I shake my head just to get it out. That felt like deja vu just now, and there’s no need for anything like that.I feel Damien’s and Alek’s gazes fixed on me and I decide I have to take some deep breaths, just to get this choking feeling out of my heart.They watch me close my eyes and take those deep breaths.They watch me as I try to stabilize this strange pounding in my hea
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 36: "Trouble in Paradise?"
Alek’s voice is an annoying presence when it enters my head,“Trouble in paradise?”But I ignore him. He sidles up closer to me, and this time he asks verbally, clearly seeing I don’t like how he speaks into my mind,“Trouble in paradise Layla?”Alek’s voice is a husky soft thing and I take it in, letting myself breathe a bit before shaking my head and responding to him calmly,“What paradise?”Alek chuckles and out of instinct, a smile lines my lips. I wipe that smile away immediately because it’s obvious I'm letting their joint effect influence me too much. The task in front of me is what I should focus on right now, and I do, trying to clear my head as I look at the stables.Ryan is gone like I asked.Damien is somewhere behind, and I don't know if he’s behind trying to talk to Ryan, or if he’s behind because he’s trying to figure out where he can get what we’ll need for hunting. Absentmindedly I ask,“Is Damien still…”I catch myself before I can complete the statement but Alek
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 37: "Jennie."
“Is Ryan being rude to you?”I find that I haven't really forgotten how to ride. It just feels like it’s a memory I locked up for a while, and which is now taking some time to come back open. I try to keep my hands to myself, and not in my hair aiming to get out the twigs and leaves that have taken root in it.My horse shot me right into the copse of trees on the Earl mansion grounds.Alek dangles the reins in his hands lightly so I can return my attention to him and I do. He’s helping me lead the horse now, so I have to pay him some attention at least, I respond to his unanswered question,“Why should that be any of your concerns?”I sound like I just got told my favorite cat died.“Because there was tension between you two earlier today?”And in response to that, I look up to meet Alek’s eyes in a gesture that I hope shows I do not appreciate whatever it is he’s doing right now, and he looks away, shrugging and clearing his throat. The air between us grows awkward even before he sp
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 38: "Layla."
38: Alek doesn’t ask me weird questions anymore and I feel thankful for that. There would have been a limit to my answers and once I passed that limit, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have snapped at him.Right now though, there’s something else on my mind, something more pressing.How do I…deal with all this?I know that sounds incredibly vague but it’s still what’s on my mind. Today is the first day of 120 days I need to be around Damien and Alek.Alek just said he and Damien came into the city to track down someone who’s been giving the pack trouble, and even though I have no idea who that might be, I want to assume that it will take up most of their time.This trial we’re having is for them to see if they can get me to come over to them, but for me, it’s a way to fulfill a simple formality. I don’t think Damien and Alek can ever change.Sure. I might have thought that yesterday, but today, I feel differently.The images of Damien I caught while in his wolf form as he hunted still flash p
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. "Let us love you, Layla."
“I can’t love you, Ryan.”Ryan watches as I choke those words out, each of them stinging my heart like a thousand needles into soft flesh. I look away. “You remind me too much of him. Each time we touch and each time we kiss, I can't… I can't help but feel it’ll start all over again. You’re not the one I should be falling in love with. I was married to your father once, Ryan, that has to mean something.”Ryan stalks closer to me, his steps slow and intentional as he asks darkly, “What if it doesn’t?” I scoff because he can’t mean that. Of course it does. I’m… doing this for him as much as it is for me. I whisper resolutely.“Me and you…. We can’t work, Ryan.”He replies in a rasp, “Who says we can’t?” “I say we can’t. I can’t do this, Ryan.”The air grows cold as two other people enter the room and their auras settle firmly in my gut. Two people I once knew and hated but who have also shown me that I might be wrong about how I view life.That I might be wrong, with how I view…. them
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 1: "Ride him harder, Layla."
“Ride him harder, Layla!”. My lips tremble violently as I heave, my eyes blinded by tears and my husband’s voice sinking a deep pike into my heart as he snaps at me again.“I SAID to ride him harder!” My heart throbs and jabs at me as tears stream down my face. The old man below me has his eyes closed as he grunts in pleasure while my husband watches. I look to Clifford and in an act of foolishness I beg, my words barely coming out because the moment I open my mouth a sob overtakes me instead. Hoarse broken words come out and my lips tremble as I plead, “P… please Clifford.” A sob wracks my chest and I look away. The pain I'm feeling makes it hard to speak but the man I’m on grabs me by the neck, his fingers closing around my throat and forcing me to look at him, at his grinning face and his cruel smirk. I beg him too because maybe he might listen to me, maybe he’ll put a stop to this.“Please,” the shame rolling through me makes me want to vanish, to tell myself I'm not here, bu
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 2: "Have you seen what she looks like?"
Whispers follow me everywhere I go now.“Have you seen what she looks like?”, A low harsh rasp that comes from the elderly woman a few paces behind me.“I heard she killed her husband.” A shocked gasp rings out as someone refutes that, “No, no, There’s no way… women aren’t capable of killing, Mar, we know that.”I hear whoever Mar is scoffing in disbelief before the priest begins his sermon. He clears his throat to catch our attention, but my focus is on the coffin. How beautiful and regal it looks.Mr Clifford Earl wasn’t part of any pack. Too wealthy to bow, and too old to obey the whims of any Alpha.The priest’s voice is weathered and raspy as he begins, “On this day, we gather here to celebrate the life of a good man, a hardworking man. Mr. Clifford Earl lived a long healthy life, 74 years of age, and we can all agree that he had things a lot of people don’t in this day and age.”A low murmur of approval ripples across the small crowd and someone bursts into sobs, the feminine k
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 3: "You can't."
Ryan’s face is stormy as he steps into the house. His men, fully suited in black and wearing sunshades spread out into every corner of the place.Some of them take the stairs to the left, the others take the stairs to the right, more flank into the kitchen, and the gymnasium downstairs, They simply fill the whole house and I nod to myself.He’ll have company then.“I’m leaving.”Ryan casts stormy eyes at me as he looks up, his Adam's apple bobbing when he husks a response, “I didn’t hear that right.”His voice is a deep rasp that sets fear churning low in my belly but I ignore that feeling. I extinguish it and clear my throat as I repeat myself.“I said I'm leaving.”My purse is in one hand and the handle of my traveling bag is in the other. “I’m catching the next bus out of town, and then the next flight, and the next flight after that. I’m leaving.”My chest constricts as images flash through my mind but I hold myself steady.For five years I have suffered in the marriage my parents
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Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 38: "Layla."
38: Alek doesn’t ask me weird questions anymore and I feel thankful for that. There would have been a limit to my answers and once I passed that limit, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have snapped at him.Right now though, there’s something else on my mind, something more pressing.How do I…deal with all this?I know that sounds incredibly vague but it’s still what’s on my mind. Today is the first day of 120 days I need to be around Damien and Alek.Alek just said he and Damien came into the city to track down someone who’s been giving the pack trouble, and even though I have no idea who that might be, I want to assume that it will take up most of their time.This trial we’re having is for them to see if they can get me to come over to them, but for me, it’s a way to fulfill a simple formality. I don’t think Damien and Alek can ever change.Sure. I might have thought that yesterday, but today, I feel differently.The images of Damien I caught while in his wolf form as he hunted still flash p
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 37: "Jennie."
“Is Ryan being rude to you?”I find that I haven't really forgotten how to ride. It just feels like it’s a memory I locked up for a while, and which is now taking some time to come back open. I try to keep my hands to myself, and not in my hair aiming to get out the twigs and leaves that have taken root in it.My horse shot me right into the copse of trees on the Earl mansion grounds.Alek dangles the reins in his hands lightly so I can return my attention to him and I do. He’s helping me lead the horse now, so I have to pay him some attention at least, I respond to his unanswered question,“Why should that be any of your concerns?”I sound like I just got told my favorite cat died.“Because there was tension between you two earlier today?”And in response to that, I look up to meet Alek’s eyes in a gesture that I hope shows I do not appreciate whatever it is he’s doing right now, and he looks away, shrugging and clearing his throat. The air between us grows awkward even before he sp
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 36: "Trouble in Paradise?"
Alek’s voice is an annoying presence when it enters my head,“Trouble in paradise?”But I ignore him. He sidles up closer to me, and this time he asks verbally, clearly seeing I don’t like how he speaks into my mind,“Trouble in paradise Layla?”Alek’s voice is a husky soft thing and I take it in, letting myself breathe a bit before shaking my head and responding to him calmly,“What paradise?”Alek chuckles and out of instinct, a smile lines my lips. I wipe that smile away immediately because it’s obvious I'm letting their joint effect influence me too much. The task in front of me is what I should focus on right now, and I do, trying to clear my head as I look at the stables.Ryan is gone like I asked.Damien is somewhere behind, and I don't know if he’s behind trying to talk to Ryan, or if he’s behind because he’s trying to figure out where he can get what we’ll need for hunting. Absentmindedly I ask,“Is Damien still…”I catch myself before I can complete the statement but Alek
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 35: "I can hear whatever you have to say later."
Layla’s pov.Alek and Damien are waiting for me by the time I get back to my room and something in me squirms at the sight of them. I did not think they’d be here so I was not ready for them. I still am not, and for some reason, I feel it’s because of what happened just now with Ryan.I frown because what even happened with Ryan?The confusion that question brings to my heart is brief, and yet it plagues me in an odd way. Damien’s voice interrupts my thoughts and I snap my head to him as he asks in his deep baritone again,“Are you okay, Layla?”Ryan’s voice echoes in my mind as he asks me that same question and I shake my head just to get it out. That felt like deja vu just now, and there’s no need for anything like that.I feel Damien’s and Alek’s gazes fixed on me and I decide I have to take some deep breaths, just to get this choking feeling out of my heart.They watch me close my eyes and take those deep breaths.They watch me as I try to stabilize this strange pounding in my hea
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 34: "I took care of it."
Ryan’s pov. Layla is standing outside my door when I open it and I can see it in her eyes. She’s caught me.She caught me red-handed, And while I don't want to let her know if that affects me, I know it does.There’s a stilted kind of hurt in her green eyes, and then it seems she gathers herself rapidly, pulling on a brave face and giving me the kind of look that tells me she understands this game, she’s brought herself to understand it for a while now and she’s done all that for a reason. Her eyes tell me if I want to screw half the population of the help in the mansion, then I can. If I want to have more girlfriends that she can count on the fingers of her hand, then I can too. She’s not going to stop me. It’s not like we had an agreement that I wouldn't take my fun where I could find it.Somehow that makes the reality of all this even more depressing, because as much as I can, I’d like her to know it’s not like that. This was just a one-time thing, but before I can even formulate
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 33: "You remember."
Damien is the first to show up at my door the next day.I feel surprise run through me when I open the door to meet his face, and he also looks surprised when he sees me, all dressed up, all ready for whatever the day might bring. He swallows awkwardly, and then he drops a statement,“You forgot this outside yesterday.”I frown, lost at first as to what he might mean, then I look at what’s in his hands and I see it’s a bracelet. My bracelet.How…I snatch it back almost selfishly, because this is one of those things I do not joke with. How did it even get outside?Damien huffs, a sound that I think is laced with amusement, and I recollect myself immediately because this isn’t what I'm meant to be doing. I’m not meant to be grabbing things so greedily. I should show them I am as in control of myself as I need to be.“Thank you.” The words, thankfully come out sincere, and also aloof at the same time. I clear my throat and go on, “I didn’t know I'd taken it out yesterday.I must have fo
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 32.
Layla’s pov.I am left alone and the moment I get to my room, I close the door and crumple right behind it - my heart pounding in my chest and my breath coming in decidedly short bursts.I don’t know why I feel like this. Or why this even affects me, yet I can't get the image of their faces out of my head, and I wonder if I'm not in over my head.Ryan and Damien seem to have made up, and if they have then I'm guessing he’s going to be helping them in… wooing me, or getting me to trust them. I suspect he’s doing that already, and I know Ryan.Ryan does not do anything that does not benefit him first, and this is a game we’re all playing - a sly game, and to succeed, I have to be as smart as they are. If not smarter.I go through all Breanne said to me earlier again and I recount the points in my head.Men do not like an easy woman, or sometimes they do, depending on the type of man, but to be on the safer side, be the difficult type.I tuck that away in my mind and move on to the next
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 31: The line has been drawn.
Ryan’s pov.Layla leaves and we are plunged into silence again.Damien sits to my far right, by the window and nursing an astrology book, Alek sits to my far left, nursing a book on music and musical chords.I am also with a book, because I couldn't bear to sit here without anything to do when they came in, yet when I look at the book in my hands, I see that it isn’t one I like.I never really liked books.My father never really liked them either. My mother did, and she almost taught me to, but when she died, my father killed it.Alek and Damien seem like people who like to read, genuinely like to read, and I guess with reading comes silence, and so they have been silent.They have been silent ever since we came here, but right now I can feel the tension in the air. Layla is gone now, probably back to her room.She’s announced that she has agreed to stay for four months, the way I had asked her to agree to it, yet something feels bitter in me at the fact that she is actually giving th
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 30: "Ryan gets the truth."
I go back into the manor to look for them.The strangeness of this action feels like ice on my skin, because two days ago, if anyone had asked me what I would be doing at this moment, I'd have said I'd still be in my room, not doing anything and waiting to die from hunger or lack of sunlight.Yet here I am, looking for the same three people I consider the current punishment the world is dealing to me.Their scent fills the whole place….It’s almost like everywhere I step foot, there’s a slight fragrance that tells me Damien has been here, Alek has been there,Ryan has been… literally everywhere in this house.I find them in one of the relaxation rooms, and the moment I come in, all three of them snap their heads to me. It’s an eerie sight, but it becomes less eerie when I feel the mate bond pulsing. Damien and Alek must have sensed me, and Ryan… must have heard my footsteps.They’re reading books.They each have a book in hand, and the sight of it makes me feel something squirm in me
