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6 months after Amber turned 18Amber - 18 years oldZach - 21 years oldZACH.Amber and I. It has always been us. I couldn’t remember exactly when I fell in love with her. She had been around me since I was a pup, and I just woke up one day, and my whole world was already revolving around her. Amber was my 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. “Jace was an asshole, yet she still loves him,” I told her. We were talking about one of our friends who did something terrible in the past. “She believes in him.” She mumbled. I just shrugged my shoulders.“You can be my asshole, Zach. I will still love you just the same.” Her eyes softened, and her words warmed my entire being.“I can be an asshole to everyone but not to you, Amber. Never to you.” I meant it. I could be cold and blunt to anyone, but never to her. Even when we were younger, she was always the exception. I had appointed myself as her bes
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. He eventually passed the phone to my twin brother, Cyrus, so he could call people to help us out of here. I was terrified. I kept begging them to save Zach.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. Eventually, I was able to push my car do
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.“Zach is arriving with his family,” I told her. I was at a friend’s union, and I didn’t expect 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.“Really?” She asked.I nodded and gave the glass to the server who passed by before taking a glass of water to soothe the burn in my throat. Cassidy was still talking but my attention was already elsewhere. My eyes swept around the ballroom, looking at everyone. I smi
AMBER.“I didn’t say you were not capable of going to that room on your own, but this is not your party to ruin! So stop snapping at anyone, and let’s get you out of here!” I didn’t even give him time to object, and my eyes avoided everyone as I was not sure if I could get away with snapping at an Alpha in a crowded room. I moved toward his back, and Beta Arlo stepped aside immediately. As soon as I grabbed the handles of his chair, I rolled him away from the ballroom, and I was glad no one had stopped me. Zach didn’t say a thing. I was not sure if he was surprised or if he felt ashamed of his actions. Everyone tiptoed around him like they were not allowed to reprimand him for being an ass, but I was so done with all this crap. There’s a place for coddling him, but definitely not here, not when we’re supposed to be celebrating Catherine and Tyler’s union. He remained quiet while we were inside the elevator, but I could see him looking at me through our reflections on the elevator
AMBER.“Everything is about you! I tried for so long, but this is where it all led me to! I regret that night! And I hate you!” Zach was growling, his hand continuously pounding on his thigh as blood soaked his pants. “Stop! Please…” I slowly sank to my knees. “Please, Zach…”“Get out! Or I won’t stop doing this!” His eyes dilated, and I knew he meant what he was saying. I scampered to my feet, tears rolling down my cheeks as I stepped outside his room, closing the door before I ran to the nearest balcony. I stood there, hands holding onto the railing as I looked up at the moon. She was the only witness to my misery tonight. I didn’t stop myself from crying to her. “How much more pain will you give me?” I couldn’t breathe. The pain in my heart was unbearable. I thought I had felt all the pain possible that Zach could give me, but nothing compared to how I felt tonight. I was hurting for myself, but I was hurting more for him. I just wanted the nightmare to end.When my tears fina
AMBER.‘Amber?’ A voice dug into my head, waking me up from my sleep. ‘Hmmm…’ I mumbled, trying to wake my senses up. ‘Where are you?’ Eva asked before she continued talking in one breath. ‘They’re waiting for us at the packhouse for breakfast. I told them you were showering, and we were on the way there. I’ve been trying to wake you up for the last ten minutes.’ My eyes snapped open, and I stared at the ceiling when I remembered Zach and where I was. ‘I told Mom you were here with me. So hurry up!’ ‘Okay,’ I mumbled my reply, and the mindlink disconnected. My hands moved and crawled to my sides. The bed was empty, and the sheets were cold. It meant I was alone for a long time. I sat up and let my eyes roam around the room. There was no more wheelchair or any signs of another presence beside me. He left. He saw me beside him, and he left. My eyes watered again as I pushed myself to stand until I realized my shoes were nicely placed just beside the bed and that I had a bla
AMBER. ‘Are you fated mates?’ I asked Zach in our heads.‘No.’ He replied. I looked at her extended hand and shook my head as I stepped back. I knew I would stumble soon. It was taking too much of me to hold myself up, and then I felt hands grabbing my arms, supporting me. Arlo came, and he was standing behind me. He let go of me once I was able to gather myself.‘Don’t believe her. I never said I would claim her,’ Zach reached my head. It was all I needed to hear to bring my confidence back. I tilted my head up and scoffed at her. “This pack only has one Luna. And you’re standing in front of her.”“Really now? From what I can see, Zach is still not able to stand.” She spoke confidently. Too far from the meek female who needed me to help her with everything. Did she know who I was from the beginning? Was she lying the whole time? Was the friendship she showed me part of their show?“I’m only claiming Amber,” Zach said, and I smirked at her before I mirrored her stance, crossing m
AMBER.I showered in the locker room of the training building after my session. I could have easily showered at the packhouse, but I knew that if Zach saw me, he would never let me out of his sight. He had been asking, or should I say demanding, for my attention since lunch. Not that I didn’t want to spend time with him, but I had things to do that needed to be out of his earshot, or I would have to answer questions I didn’t have answers to yet.I was already in a hurry to meet him, but I was held up twice by some people who wanted to speak with me. Since I really wanted this pack, especially the females, to be comfortable around me, I entertained them.When I was finally able to get away, I rushed toward the packhouse, hoping Zach was still working, as I hated keeping him waiting.The streets were empty, but it was nothing extraordinary, as it was just a regular day. Usually, more vehicles would be on the road on Fridays, as people would get off work and go out to chill afterward.The
*FREE CHAPTER*ZACH.‘It’s already almost eight in the morning, Alpha. John called and said he couldn’t make it today because of an emergency.’ Arlo said. My eyes snapped fully open as my forehead creased. ‘Did he say if he could come to the next session?’‘Nothing about that. And he sounded in a hurry, so I let him go right away.’This was not good. It meant I had to wait a few more days before I got an answer from him. But what if he had no plans to return? What if he discovered that we had already caught him?‘Thanks. Is everything okay?’‘Yes, Alpha. You were supposed to call Alpha Jace at seven today, but I called him earlier and told him you were not to be disturbed.’ I could sense teasing in his voice.‘I didn’t say that.’‘I decided on that,’ he chuckled. ‘Is everything okay between you and the Luna?’I smiled at the title he used for Amber. ‘Yes, we’re good.’‘Do you want me to send someone with breakfast?’‘No. We’ll make do with what we have here.’ I replied. ‘How is Mindy?
ZACH.“Oh, Goddess! This is so good…” Amber whimpered seductively as she gripped my thighs tightly while bouncing on top of me. She was riding me in a reverse cowgirl style, her body bent slightly forward so that I had the arousing view of her round ass, as well as the full sight of my cock as it plunged in and out of her tight pussy. She was so wet that I could see her juices leaking out of her at every stroke. My upper body was half elevated, resting on the reclined bed of the cabin. Yes, we finally made it to the bed of this house. Although we didn’t have any plans to have sex, we couldn’t get our hands off each other. Especially me. Once I got my first taste of her, I couldn’t control my cravings for her anymore. Amber was an addiction that I didn’t want to stop. I removed my hand from her hips and smacked her already red ass, eliciting a gasp from her. She bent more forward and held my legs before grinding her hips against mine and clenching her pussy around my cock. Sweat form
AMBER.“I don’t know how to distinguish beautiful from not since I laid eyes on you. You are the most beautiful, Amber, and everyone else pales in comparison.” Zach said, and I was left speechless.I pouted my lips as my eyes welled up. I could totally understand what he was telling me, as that was exactly how I felt. Ever since I admitted to myself that I was in love with him, no one has come in comparison with him. “If you also want to ask if I am or was attracted to her, I’m not, and I wasn’t. But I will admit that when we were still both in a bad place, and I knew I was running out of time, I did entertain the idea of claiming her.”My jaw tightened as my heart clenched in pain, but I remained quiet, listening to him. “That was the reason Sidney came into the picture. I thought that if I hurt you back then, and if Sidney could push you away from me, by the time Estelle entered my life, you would have long forgotten about me.” He then cupped my jaw again, his thumb brushing my che
AMBER.“I should get going. Zach is still in the car, and I told him I was only here to convince you he didn’t want to claim Estelle.” Dad pressed a kiss on the top of my head as we walked toward the front door, our arms still around each other. “Don’t give him a hard time. I could tell he never wanted to.”“I know, Dad. That’s why I ran here instead of elsewhere. I want to speak with him first.”“This cabin is beautiful.”“He built this house for me,” I said proudly as we stood at the front door. I met his eyes while a broad smile was plastered on my face.“Did he?”I nodded, still smiling. “He said this was supposed to be his gift for me for our union, but the accident happened. But he kept it well maintained. I love it.”“He’s full of surprise, isn’t he?”I nodded, my eyes beaming with happiness.“I’m glad even with everything happening around you, Zach can still make you smile beautifully.”“He’s the only thing that keeps me going,” I told him until I realized my words. “I mean, of
AMBER.“What’s another way out?”“You, with your wolf out,” Dad said, and the color drained from my face as I stared at him with my mouth open.“We checked the copy of Zach’s blood contract, and this part was not included in his but was on Grant’s or the Council’s copy. Zach also signed it, but maybe he didn’t notice this extra page. We assumed Grant also forgot this page.”“I don’t understand how Alpha Grant forgot this page.”“We could only assume he wanted to do this blood contract to power trip, and you were the first condition. Zach could not claim anyone except you, only if your wolf surfaced. Grant had always looked down upon females with no wolf. Same reason he never helped his own sister, Lexi’s mother, because she was wolfless. I was sure he thought of you as the way out to mock you and Zach. But eventually he remembered that he had a daughter whom he could put in a better place. So he scrapped you and changed it to her. But he forgot to change his contract to delete you. He
AMBER. I had no idea where to go. The cabin was the only place I could think of, but going there would take too much time, as I didn’t have a wolf, and I was already worn out from training. And with the pain in my chest, I didn’t think I could run any further. So I asked someone to drive me to the brook.I entered the cabin and stayed in the living room, sitting on the couch and watching as the fireplace began warming up the whole house. I had no idea how long I’d been there when I heard a car approaching, and I could only guess the warrior told Zach where I went, which was what I really wanted. I wanted to speak with him.I still had no idea what his plans were, but I wanted to believe he loved me and was choosing me. That was the reason he was giving up, the reason he wanted to step down as an Alpha and not push for it anymore. I didn’t know if I could live with him choosing me over his title. I never wanted to be the reason he stepped down as an Alpha, the same way I hated mysel
ZACH. After my conversation with Dad, Arlo told me Amber had asked someone to drive her to the brook where my cabin was. And it calmed my heart.I was worried she had run off somewhere or tried to leave the territory, but going to the cabin meant she wanted refuge in our own world. I had no idea what she heard, but I hoped this was a sign she was giving me a chance to explain.They were still eating dinner when I told them I would see Amber first, and Uncle Caspian volunteered to drive me there. He said he wanted a word with his daughter. And I knew I could not refuse it. While driving, he asked me if it would be okay if he asked Amber what she heard. He promised he would try to explain the best way he could, so she wouldn’t be upset with me once she faced me. I was grateful for that, as I didn’t want to argue with Amber, either. I knew I was wrong to hide it from her, but I did it because I didn’t want her to think about it. Although it was revealed now, at least I had her father