Thank you for reading! Thank you for all the gems and gifts! Please keep them coming! 🧡
AMBER.I felt like I was just floating, waiting for the waves to take me where they wanted me to go. My mind told me to leave this place, but my heart kept betraying me. I had been staring at my packed luggage for many hours, but I couldn’t seem to have the strength to pick up the phone and call Cyrus.Zach had been rude to me from day one, and it had only been a few days, but he was already shaking what was left of my determination. The only thing I was holding on to was that Sidney was still unmarked. I wanted to ask the twins if they had asked why she wasn’t marked yet, but I didn’t want to pressure them as well. I knew it was already hard for them to balance their friendship with me and accept Sidney as their brother’s mate. Making them choose between us was never my goal. So, yes, I should leave. Any decent female would. I am not wanted here.But I promised Cassidy I would do what she suggested that I do before leaving everything behind. But I was still not one hundred percent
ZACH.I listened to Nadine’s litany, and although everything she said made sense, I did not bend.I told her that instead of taking Sidney away, she should talk to Amber instead and convince her to leave my territory. If she could do that, I would send Sidney home and admit to my sisters, as well as Arlo and Drake, about the fake mate bond.I didn’t want Sidney out of here while I could still see Amber.In the end, Nadine had no choice but to agree. She would do her best to convince her to leave and move on. I didn’t ask her to talk about the last part, but she must have felt it was the right thing to do.And yes, it hurt. It fucking hurt. But it was for the best.“Stay for dinner. I’m sure the food is ready.” I told them when we finally came to an agreement. She also said she would not say anything to my mother and I promised I would do it myself.Of course, I will, but only if one of my sisters tells her about it.“We might stay overnight then. Because I need time to talk to Amber,”
ZACH. “I’m not going to kill her!” I snapped at Arlo. “Please…” Amber mumbled, and my head turned in her direction. “Let Beta Arlo stay.”She looked scared, and I didn’t like it. She was terrified of me. I let out a sigh before rolling my chair in front of my desk. I wanted to be able to see both of them.“Talk…” I began. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to know if you were mates or not. I still didn’t want to believe you found your mate.” Her lips quivered, and my heart crushed again at the pain in her face as her body continued to shake from her sobs. “Up to the last minute, I was holding on to the belief that you were lying. That she was not your mate. I still couldn’t accept that you just forgot about me when I still think about you every day.”My hands coiled into tight fists as I struggled for my eyes not to water. “I’m sorry, Zach. I kissed Sidney to see if you felt the pain. I could have kissed you, but I knew if I did, I would cry more because I would miss you afterward. I also
6 months after Amber turned 18Amber - 18 years oldZach - 21 years oldZACH.“Can you believe it? Amara and Jace ended up together? It only feels like yesterday we were picking up Amara in the middle of the forest after Jace threw her out, and now they’re waiting for their pup!” Amber kept blabbering, and her hands were everywhere in the air, like always, whenever she enjoyed the conversation.Amber was like a ray of sunshine. On my bad days, all I needed to do was look at or talk to her, and she would easily calm the chaos within me. She had always been my very own sunshine since we were pups.I chuckled and shook my head, but a smile was still playing on my lips. “Jace was an asshole,” I replied without looking at her, my eyes focusing on the busy motorway of the Neutral City.“He was! But she loves him.”“I think we know that since…” I paused and chuckled again. “...forever? But it doesn’t change anything. He was still an asshole. A very asshole move coming from someone like him.”
10 DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT. AMBER.My head was throbbing, so I remained lying down with my eyes closed. My head pain was getting manageable compared to how I felt when I woke up two days ago. I was told it had been a week since the accident, and before I woke up, I kept drifting in and out of consciousness after I had blood transfusions. I lost too much blood, and without a wolf, my body was as frail as a human.It had been a week, but it felt like it was just a moment ago when I was cramped up in the crashed car and Zach passed out in front of me. I was hysterical while talking to Dad on the phone. He tried to pacify me while getting information until he passed the phone to Cyrus, my twin brother. Cyrus then told me Dad was calling people to locate us. I heard Cyrus, and it made me cry more. I kept begging him to save Zach.I was terrified. There was blood everywhere. I could also smell smoke and gas—the idea of the car blowing up was terrifying, like waiting for death to happen.
AMBER.“Take me to him!” I said as my chest heaved.“That’s my plan, but I need to find out how to attach this dextrose to the stand…” She was not able to finish her words, and her eyes grew bigger when I clutched the tube attached to me and peeled it off my skin. I felt a tinge of pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.I couldn’t understand anything. My head refused to think why Zach would not visit me or why I was not allowed to visit him.Was Dad or Mom upset with him? Are they blaming him for the accident? I have to tell them it was an accident and no one wanted it.“Are you sure you’ll be okay? I don’t have shoes for you…”“Just take me there,” I replied as Eva helped me get into the wheelchair.“We need to be careful, as you’re not allowed to leave the room,” Eva said, and I nodded in response. I was grateful she was the exact opposite of me.While I followed all the rules to a T, Eva was more adventurous. She broke curfews and rules but never complained when
A YEAR AFTER THE ACCIDENT.AMBER.That day never came. It had been exactly a year since the accident, and I had rarely encountered Zach. I tried visiting him multiple times, but I was not allowed to pass through their borders. I tried reaching out to his parents, and they let me in one time, only for me to leave feeling more heartbroken than I was.Zach was no longer the man I fell in love with. It was replaced with a monster who had no regard for anyone around him, even for me. I tried to understand him. He lost his capability to walk in that accident, while I was able to come out without any damage except for a small portion of my earlobe that was cut. And we both knew it was my fault. He made sure I remembered that. “If you weren’t a fucking whore and tried to get laid that night, I could have seen what was going on on the road.” He said those words to me many moons ago, but I still hear it as if he just said it earlier.I knew after that we could never have what we used to hav
AMBER.“You’ve been quiet,” Cassidy asked me as she handed me a cocktail drink. I didn’t even check what it was and just sipped the straw. The burn hit my throat at once, and I began coughing. “Hey! Are you trying to get drunk?” She chuckled and patted my back.“Amara said Zach is arriving with his family.”“Oh, I thought Nikka said…”“That’s what I thought, too.” I gave the glass to the server who passed by before taking a glass of water to soothe the burn in my throat. We were celebrating Catherine and Tyler’s union, and I wasn’t expecting him to attend. He had never attended any functions since the accident. He would rather stay in his territory and isolate himself. Most of his Alpha friends kept visiting him at the beginning until they all just gave up. But I knew they would still extend invitations to him, like this one, but no one expected him to show up. So I couldn’t believe he would show up here.“Excuse me, my ladies. But the music had started, and Cassidy promised me a
ZACH. “I’m not going to kill her!” I snapped at Arlo. “Please…” Amber mumbled, and my head turned in her direction. “Let Beta Arlo stay.”She looked scared, and I didn’t like it. She was terrified of me. I let out a sigh before rolling my chair in front of my desk. I wanted to be able to see both of them.“Talk…” I began. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to know if you were mates or not. I still didn’t want to believe you found your mate.” Her lips quivered, and my heart crushed again at the pain in her face as her body continued to shake from her sobs. “Up to the last minute, I was holding on to the belief that you were lying. That she was not your mate. I still couldn’t accept that you just forgot about me when I still think about you every day.”My hands coiled into tight fists as I struggled for my eyes not to water. “I’m sorry, Zach. I kissed Sidney to see if you felt the pain. I could have kissed you, but I knew if I did, I would cry more because I would miss you afterward. I also
ZACH.I listened to Nadine’s litany, and although everything she said made sense, I did not bend.I told her that instead of taking Sidney away, she should talk to Amber instead and convince her to leave my territory. If she could do that, I would send Sidney home and admit to my sisters, as well as Arlo and Drake, about the fake mate bond.I didn’t want Sidney out of here while I could still see Amber.In the end, Nadine had no choice but to agree. She would do her best to convince her to leave and move on. I didn’t ask her to talk about the last part, but she must have felt it was the right thing to do.And yes, it hurt. It fucking hurt. But it was for the best.“Stay for dinner. I’m sure the food is ready.” I told them when we finally came to an agreement. She also said she would not say anything to my mother and I promised I would do it myself.Of course, I will, but only if one of my sisters tells her about it.“We might stay overnight then. Because I need time to talk to Amber,”
AMBER.I felt like I was just floating, waiting for the waves to take me where they wanted me to go. My mind told me to leave this place, but my heart kept betraying me. I had been staring at my packed luggage for many hours, but I couldn’t seem to have the strength to pick up the phone and call Cyrus.Zach had been rude to me from day one, and it had only been a few days, but he was already shaking what was left of my determination. The only thing I was holding on to was that Sidney was still unmarked. I wanted to ask the twins if they had asked why she wasn’t marked yet, but I didn’t want to pressure them as well. I knew it was already hard for them to balance their friendship with me and accept Sidney as their brother’s mate. Making them choose between us was never my goal. So, yes, I should leave. Any decent female would. I am not wanted here.But I promised Cassidy I would do what she suggested that I do before leaving everything behind. But I was still not one hundred percent
ZACH.I was about to roll my chair when I heard running steps from the outside, and I smelled my sister.Shit!“Let’s go!” I cocked my head in the direction of my office, hoping they would fucking move faster. “Nadine!” Nikka shrieked, and I grimaced. She acted as if they hadn’t seen each other in a year when they had just come from her territory a few days back.“Hello there, sweet pea!” Nadine swiftly moved to approach and hug her. “Enough of that. We have a business to deal with. Let’s go.”“Business, ew.” Nikka scrunched her nose and let her go. I thought I was off the hook until her eyes landed on Sidney. “Oh, so you met Zach’s mate.”“Excuse me?” Nadine stopped in her tracks a few feet away from Xander. “Zach’s mate?”Nikka wriggled her eyebrows before pointing her finger at Sidney. She had a wide smile on her lips, so I had no idea if the smile was because she liked Sidney or if she knew something else. “Yes, Sidney.” Nadine’s head turned to look at Sidney while Xander looke
ZACH.What the fuck is Nadine doing here?My heart thundered as I rolled my chair, heading for the main hallway while I mindlinked Arlo. ‘Where is Sidney?’I was aware Sidney had met Nadine, and if they recognized each other, there would be more questions. ‘I don’t know, Alpha. She’s probably at home.’ Arlo answered. ‘Where are you?’‘Training building. Is there something wrong?’ ‘And Mindy? Where is she? Can you mindlink her to find Sidney? She needs to tell her not to go out of her room.’ ‘Mindy is here with me.’ Arlo replied. Fuck! I internally growled and mind-linked with an Omega, ordering her to find Sidney while I ignored Arlo when he asked more questions as to what was wrong. I met the Omega I mindlinked along the corridor. She bobbed her head in respect before hurrying up the stairs while I continued to the front door. I was right—Nadine was there, and with him was a man I could only assume was Xander. They were talking to one of our Omegas, who Nadine had been close w
ZACH.The hours moved slowly. I hadn’t seen Amber and Sidney for the rest of the day. I had no idea where Amber was, but Sidney was here in the packhouse because, aside from the first day, I didn’t allow her to go out.Drake told me the warriors were asking about her. It was nothing unusual because she was someone they hadn’t seen before. But I didn’t want to tell anyone she was my mate, so I told Drake he could tell them she was a family friend visiting us. I was sure the rest of the Omegas in the house, as well as Arlo and Mindy, would never try to defy me. My only problems were my sisters and Amber. These females could not be told, especially if they were upset, and with me not knowing what they were up to, I knew sooner or later I would have to face more inquiries about Sidney. I had to devise a plan if my mother heard of it. I was sure I could ignore Dad but not Mom. Maybe I should tell the border patrol not to allow entrance to my parents. Honestly, I had no idea what the n
ZACH.“Give me the phone!” My voice was louder this time, and I was about to growl again when Amber’s scent hit me, and I heard small footsteps approaching.My chest heaved as I tried to breathe in more, wanting to smell if I could scent Edmond. Because if I did, heaven forbid, I had no idea what would happen next.“What’s going on?” Amber asked as she stopped in the entryway before her eyes turned to me while Mindy continued walking and sat back in her seat. “Why are you shouting so early in the morning?” Amber asked me.“Where have you been?” Ara asked her before a soft chuckle escaped her throat. I tore my eyes off her. She looked so fucking beautiful in her jeans shorts and off-shoulder blouse. She looked like she just got out of the shower. “In my room.” She then smiled apologetically before she sat on the chair beside Drake. “I’m sorry I’m late. I enjoyed my bubble bath. I forgot the time.”Nikka sat back in her chair as well, and I didn’t even hear what happened to her conve
ZACH.“Then fuck them! Keep pushing her away. You’ll wake up one day, and she’ll be married to Drake, and you’ll get to see that every day of your life.” Sidney said, and it made me swallow hard. She was right. But it only meant I needed Amber away from here before Drake could make his move, and she fell for it. “I’m right. You want her.” She added.I remained in silence. She entered the room, her hand holding onto the wall. “But hey, you promised I’d get my money no matter the outcome, right? My mother needs that for her operation…” She let out a sigh before she continued. “I promise, no matter what I say to you in private, I will never divulge anything or sabotage you. I’ll do exactly what you want.”“Even if you sabotage me, I will still pay for her operation,” I told her, taking my gaze off her and continuing to massage my leg. I asked her why she needed the money, and she told me her mother was sick and needed a bypass operation. She’d been working part-time on Xander’s farm
AMBER.I should move on. I should call Cyrus to pick me up.I had no idea how long I was seated on the floor until I finally decided to call my brother. I crawled to where my handbag was and pulled out my phone. But just when I was about to press his number, I remembered Cassidy’s words.“If Sidney appears with a mark on her neck tomorrow, you’ll go home. But if she’s not marked—call Mom.”I closed my eyes and contemplated what I should do next. My rational mind told me to call my brother. But, like always, I let my heart rule over me. The phone rang on the other side, and it didn’t take long before someone answered the phone. “Moon Stone Pack, this is Alpha Darvin.”“Uncle, good evening,” I answered timidly.“Who’s this?” He asked, and I couldn’t blame him. I rarely called his office, as I would usually contact Cassidy directly, and he might not be familiar with my number. “This is Amber, Uncle. Can I speak with Aunt Celeste?”“Yes, of course. She’s here. Is everything alright, swe