Valerie's POV…As I walked towards the kitchen for Breakfast, my mind remained fixated on the note I had found in my room. The words “we are coming for you next” played on a loop in my mind making it hard for me to think of anything else.Adam and Analisse were both seated in the dining room but I paid no attention to them, as I sat down to eat. The food tasted bland in my mouth as I forced myself to chew, until I eventually lost my appetite and started playing with the food on my plate, who would want to hurt me so much that they would resort to kidnapping children and leaving threatening notes. I searched the corners of my brain for an answer, who had I offended in these past years but I couldn't think of anyone. No one came to mind. If anything, I should be the one kidnapping some certain someone?My thoughts were going haywire thinking of every possibility.“Valerie, you are not eating. Is anything the matter?” Someone said, stopping my trail of thoughts, it was Adam. I had been s
Valerie's POV…As I reentered my room the weight of my guilt felt so heavy, I slid down my door as I groaned out remembering all that just happened in the dining room. My thoughts were fighting against each other, on one hand I thought of my children who had no business being thrown into this entire mess and were out there somewhere scared for their lives and definitely looking for their mom wondering when I was coming to save them. They were innocent and vulnerable and I had planned on keeping them that way but I guess it's a bit too late for that now. Then my mind went to the feelings I had for Adam. They were becoming so hard to ignore and I felt like I was drowning in it. I didn't want to feel like I had to pick between the two because I was definitely going to pick my children. I brought them into this world, I watched them grow and it was my duty to protect them.This attraction was beyond wrong; he was basically a forbidden fruit. It dawned on me why I couldn't tell Kenneth I l
Adam's POV..I watched as Valerie rushed out of my office, a blush evident on her neck and face. I clenched my jaw fighting the urge to go after her, distance had done nothing to flicker out the feelings I had for her. She had a lot on her plate and the last thing she needed was me disturbing her and making me feel more uncomfortable than she already was. I knew she might not believe it but she was my first love and the feelings I had for her were still raw. I knew it was wrong to entertain these feelings, I have a Luna and I was married but the circumstances surrounding our separation were beyond my control. My eyes remained fixed on the closed door, every fiber of my being longed for her, I wanted to go after her to tell her everything was going to be okay, to reassure her that I would get our children back but I knew I couldn't do that now when I could barely control the feelings I had for her. The first mistake I made was asking her why she looked so downcast. It wasn't even an
Adam's POV…I took a deep breath before walking around my desk to stand in front of her, that was one thing about Analisse once she had an idea stuck in her head. Getting it out was going to be a problem. I had a lot on my mind, I didn't need to add her paranoia to the list of my worries.“Analisse,” I said her name softly before tilting her head back with my fingers on her chin so she had no choice but to meet my eyes.“I know what you're trying to insinuate and it's not true, I married you because I love you and nobody can come between us. She's nothing more than the mother of my children” I said as I looked intently at her, as the words left my words I knew I was trying to convince myself just as much as I was trying to convince her. Her glare softened at my words, her gaze locked on mine as she closed the space between us, so we were standing toe to toe. “You don't have to be jealous of her, the only thing both of us will ever share are our twins. I don't want you to think that
Valerie's POV…I thought my conversation with Rendall would help me have some understanding of the threat or at least know who sent it but all It did was make me uncomfortable and more edgy than I already was.I returned to the swing, gently swaying with the evening breeze. My mind raced with thoughts of my children, the threat note a constant echo in my mind “We are coming for you next” A constant reminder of the looming danger.. Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes, fear and desperation clawed at my heart. As I sat there lost in thought, the sky grew darker. The clouds gathered dark and heavy. A fat droplet landed on my cheek but I made no move to stand-up. The rain began to pour a few minutes later, I closed my eyes, allowing myself to be drenched by the downpour as my tears rolled freely down my face. I was tired of looking for children, tired of fighting with Kenneth, tired of everything in general. The rain intensified, masking my tears as I stood deciding to go inside befo
Adam's POV….After my conversation with Valerie in the kitchen, I was absolutely sure that something was bothering her. She seemed more withdrawn than usual, always looking over her shoulders like she was expecting someone to pop out from around any corner. It had been almost a week since she last came out of her room. I knew this because, after the first day she didn't come for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I made sure the cook was taking food to her room. At first she didn't want to take it with the excuse that she's not hungry but when she saw how relentless the cook was, she knew it was better to just take the food. I didn't like how withdrawn she was because it wasn't who she was. Growing up, Valerie was always the bubbly one in our group, she got excited easily, and got impressed by the simplest of things. It was always a beautiful sight watching how happy the most mundane of things made her.In a few days I would be turning 30, as a child I always thought that by the age of thir
Adam's POV..It has officially been a week since Valerie last came out of her room, I was all about respecting her privacy but this was becoming extreme. She hadn't seen the sun in days, she was cooped up there by herself. It wasn't good both physically or mentally. Countless times I had sent staff to call her down but she wasn't replying, I've given her enough time to stew in whatever it is she was going through, I've asked her questions but she would always send those annoying notes saying she was okay. At some point I even thought she was sick. It turns out she wasn't. I've had enough and it all ends today. I'm going to her room, I'm going to ask her to open the door nicely, if she doesn't I'm opening it myself. I walked towards her room, my steps were steady, a plan in my mind ready to be executed. I hoped it didn't come to that, I would feel better if she opened the door without all the unnecessary squabbling. I had no idea why I was scared, I was one of the strongest alphas in
Adam's pov..The sight of Valerie in front of me both worried me and intrigued me. On one hand, she stood in front of me wearing a baggy T-shirt, her olive skin disappearing under the material. She wasn't the most endowed woman I had met but all her features were in perfect sync, nothing was in excess, it was like everything about her was properly measured for her small physique. On the other hand, it was obvious that she had lost a lot of weight and it made me wonder if she had actually been eating the food that was being brought to her. She had dark circles around her eyes, her cheeks were looking somewhat hollow and she actually did look tired upon all the time she had been spending here.I watched as she crossed her arms trying to look bigger than she actually was, it was funny that she felt her protests would deter me from what I came for.“Adam leave” she said, fire brewing in her eyes as she pointed towards the door.“I don't think you heard me properly the first time, I'm not
Valerie's POVI was done today and was ready to call it a night. In conclusion, the next time my mind wasn't feeling so sure about a particular place or location, I wouldn't touch that place with a ten foot pole. I couldn't stand by and watch the guards feed her the poison even though she planned on doing it to me. My mind wouldn't have been at rest if I had let her be poisoned by Adam's guards. After Adam dismissed everyone and cancelled the rest of the dinner, I just stood unmoving. It was still a lot to take in but I was going to get over it. I knew it, though I felt like my life was ending and I was constantly getting betrayed by the people around me, I could tell it was going to get better soon. After everyone had left Adam reached for my hand and pulled me towards the house. I could hear him talking to me and trying to reassure me but it felt like an out of body experience.I could feel him pulling my body but it felt like the contents of my body were temporarily gone. My feet
Valerie's POVI've always disliked abuse whether it was physical, emotional or mental. Whatever form it came in was an instant no for me. So when Adam kicked the maid, I screamed out so loud I was sure I scared away the birds that were on the neighboring trees. I had expected him to shout at her, to maybe humiliate her but the last thing he would do was to kick her. The moment his foot landed against her stomach, I pushed my way to the front of the crowd and made my way towards him.“Adam stop kicking her, she's a person. You don't do such things to people regardless of how you feel about them.” I said pulling him off her but being stronger than I was he wouldn't budge.“She wanted to kill you,” he said, kicking her once more. I knew he was trying to defend me but he was going about it the wrong way. I meant nothing to the pack, he shouldn't be doing this for me.“Exactly she wanted but she didn't, I'm still here and I'm okay you don't have to hurt her.” I said, still urging him and t
Valerie's POV“I almost got killed again.” It was a hard pill to swallow but it was the truth and I had no choice but to accept it.At this point I didn't know if it was just bad luck or I had a death warrant on me that others could see but I couldn't because I was beyond tired of getting ridiculed, of being attacked, of all the near death experiences I was having and tired of basically everything. I was just tired, we had all watched in awe as she cried and begged over and over again to be forgiven. She did it like she had no idea what she was doing when she had put the poison in the food but I just couldn't be moved to say anything. I was still in a state of shock from everything that had happened this evening. Her cries and wails filled the room but no one dared to move, Adam features were filled with disgust and contempt as he watched her putting on a show. I couldn't blame him, she had gone from defiant to sorry in the blink of an eye. Her cries seemed forced and fake.The murm
Valerie's POVThe heated back and forth between Adam and the maid had been going on for quite a while and I was sure as hell that aside from myself every other person seated on this table was getting irritated by it. Adam had been insisting she take a bite of the steak but she kept on refusing everytime he asked. The smile that spread across Adam's features everytime she told him the word ‘No’ was calm but had a menacing look to it. The smile not getting to his eyes was a telltale sign of how fake it was.“I know that the helpers are not allowed to eat the food of Royals but as your Alpha, I'm ordering you to eat from it. Plus it's not like you're finishing the entire plate, you're only taking a bite from it.” He said still adamant that she eat from the plate.Adam's gaze snapped to the maid, his eyes glinting with a cold intensity. "Eat a piece of the mutton," he commanded, his voice low and menacing when he noticed she wasn't moving when he asked.The maid's eyes widened in terror,
Valerie's POVSo much for not wanting to be the center of attention, the whole room was still in shock from how loud the timbre of Adam's voice was, the once lively table which was filled with laughs and chatters of guests had now become as silent as a graveyard. The table was now filled with surprised gazes, wide eyes and hushed tones but no one dared to move or question his order. Most of the eyes on the table had thrown their attention my way trying to deduce his reason for raising an alarm and scaring everyone. The weight of their gazes felt uncomfortable against my skin, I could feel myself turning a bright shade of crimson with how embarrassed I was.The entire room had instantly turned quiet, if you dropped a pin on the floor you would probably hear it echo inside the house. My mind was currently in turmoil, why had Adam reacted like that, he knew I didn't want people's eyes on me and he literally threw me to the wolves.“Why don't you want me to eat it, is something wrong?”
Valerie's POV“I thought I was done with these stupid panic attacks.” I thought to myself as I fought to keep my tears at bay.I had to take a minute to calm down, and reduce the pace of my breathing. I was scared out of my mind, the only thing that kept echoing in my head was how I got beat-up and kidnapped a while ago. I tried to convince myself that it was a thing of the past and I was safe but my body wasn't accepting the fact. I thought I was over the attack but I guess it took being put in a similar position to show that my healing journey was far from over.I could still feel my pulse pounding in my temples, and my hands were shaking slightly. I closed my eyes, focusing on the sound of my own breathing. I tried to slow down my heart rate, to calm my frazzled nerves. But my mind kept replaying the sensation of the hand over my mouth, the feeling of being trapped and helpless. I ran my hands along the length of my arms trying to warm myself up but my efforts were futile as I k
Valerie's POVI could finally confirm it now, Analisse didn't have a heart, matter of fact where her heart was supposed to be, there was a fist sized boulder there and instead of blood, it pumped poison through her veins. I had stood at the same spot for about five minutes watching her facial expressions to see if her stoic mask would crack and she would feel some empathy for her brother before gathering him in her arms and taking him inside but it was the exact opposite and in some crooked way I knew that was going to be her reaction. All she did was stare at him with contempt and irritation in her eyes.I didn't know how possible it was that every time I saw Rendall he managed to look worse than the previous time I had seen him. This evening had taken the crown, his clothes were torn, the sole of his shoe had finally burst open, he looked like he was covered with several layers of sweat and grime. His hair was matted together by lumps of dirt. He had several cuts and bruises l
Valerie’s POV“This was a bad idea” I thought, as I placed my palm on my temple, groaning to myself. I should have done something else for Adam, instead of coming to this party. I could have pretended I was sick, he would have believed me regardless of what I came up with after all we had spent most of our day in a body of water, it wouldn't sound weird if I came down with a fever or a cold. I felt so out of place and uncomfortable, the cocktail event for the dinner had started a few minutes before I stepped onto the terrace and so far I've hated each and every moment of it. The invited wolves around me were moving from place to place with a drink in hand, talking, laughing and socializing with each other but here I was tucked in a dark corner of the room regretting my decision of even coming outside. It wasn't like the party was bad, actually it was the exact opposite, the drinks were good, the appetizers were delicious but it was the company of people in the party that made me f
Valerie's POVI walked gingerly across the garden path towards the staff door, making sure to survey the vicinity with each and every step I took to avoid bumping into anyone who would ask pressing questions. I couldn't afford for anyone to find me outside and inquire on where I had been. The staff door led straight to the kitchen. I didn't want to meet so many people but I knew that was inevitable whether or not I used that door or the main garden entrance,aside from that it was the entrance that came with the least prying eyes and suspicious glances. The memory of what happened the last time I was in the kitchen played itself in my head and it was the warning I needed, to come up with a good plan before entering the kitchen, as a precaution this time around in case I bumped into anyone and especially to prevent a repeat of what happened the last time with Analisse or one of her cohorts. I pushed the door as gently as I could to prevent it from squeaking before quietly stepping insi