~ARYA~“It will help you keep up the facade, at least for the next months. If you were still pregnant, you would be showing already. Hunter is an Alpha, and as you said, he might soon find out about the absence of a second heartbeat.”“And what will that in your hand do?”“Make believe. You’ll smell like an expecting mother, and your stomach will grow to a believable size. Simply put, once it is inside your body, it will take on the likeness of a growing fetus,” he explained, and I nodded.“Great. Get on with it. How do you get it inside me?”“I must warn you, though.”I sighed heavily. “What is it again?”“If things go sideways, I do not have a hand in this. I still think it is wrong to deceive the Alpha; what you’re doing is risky, and if he finds out,"I stared at him for a few minutes, shaking my head and I burst out in laughter. “If he finds out, you’re going down with me. There is no backing out of this now, Jace. You are in this with me, and if you don’t want this to blow up in
~REIGN~ The pack doctor stood in the living room waiting for me as I walked in, back from grabbing food in the main kitchen. “I was just on my way out.” With the tray of food in my hand, I walked up to him. “How is she? Is there anything else I need to be mindful of while she’s in recovery?” I asked. “If she doesn’t do anything strenuous for now, she’ll feel more like herself in a few days. I left some herbal medications on the nightstand; it will help her eat better to replenish her strength and boost her system to heal faster.” He explained while I nodded. “Good, how many times does she need to take the herbs in a day? Do I brew it, mash it, or is it something she can chew?” I asked, just to be sure I got everything right. “The herbs have already been crushed into powder form; you can add two spoonfuls to warm water daily. It is better if she takes it in the morning before eating.” He explained as he instructed. “Okay, good. You know better than to breathe a word of this to any
~JADE~ Tears streamed down my face as I accepted every spoonful of porridge he offered me. Try hard as I may, I couldn’t shake off the guilt weighing down on me. Even if my pup wasn’t dead yet, it didn’t negate the fact that he was still out there with a stranger who wouldn’t know how to care for him. The wound on his hip hasn’t closed up yet because it’s still healing, and without proper care, it would take longer than usual for it to heal. Already, I didn’t have the means to care for the wound properly, but I still made sure to clean it every day and wrap it, hoping that his wolf blood would at least help him heal faster, even though he was just as malnourished as his mother. And I was eating when I didn’t even know if he had anything to eat yet. He is only a month old, and he needs breast milk; he needs me; he needs his mother. I broke down in a sob, unable to accept more of the porridge. My heart just couldn’t take it anymore, and I wished I had just died that evening. At least
~REIGN~“What do you mean you lost the trail?” I asked Lamonte, dragging him farther away from the door.Casting his head down, he began apologizing. “I’m sorry, Alpha, but I think they figured we were hot on their trail and someone we lost them.”“I don’t need you to think. I need you to know, to be specific, and don’t stand there telling me you think they did this or did that. What the fuck happened and how the fuck did they know?” I growled at him.“Since the trail of his scent went dead at the motel in the human town, we had to ask around if anyone saw anything or someone who looked suspicious. The trackers also did a general sweep of the area and we were able to pick up the faint trail of his scent, which we followed. They knew we were close and then there was nothing.” He explained with his head lowered and his neck slightly barred in a submissive position.I dismissed his explanation with a shake of my head, as it lacked any logical sense. “There is no way they could’ve known t
~JADE~A whimper caught in my throat, and I quickly covered my mouth with both hands to stifle any noise. I pressed myself against the wall, hoping the length of the refrigerator would hide me from his view if he chose to come in.It hadn't planned to eavesdrop on the conversation or go after him. I knew how to mind my business when necessary. Hunter often had pack-related meetings in the house with his father and I never made it a habit to eavesdrop or interfere unless I was called upon.So, I had no reason to go after him or interfere, even though the way he was acting after accidentally nicking my skin was suspicious. I had the mind to turn over and lay on the bed because what else would I do? But I was uncomfortable seeing the bowl of unfinished porridge on the bed. He was too distracted when he sprinted out of the room to take the bowl with him, and I didn’t have the appetite for more food. I could choose to sit on the bed aimlessly for his return. However, I was never one to abu
~REIGN~My blood simmered to a boil as I listened to Father and Alpha Jete’s discussions like I wasn’t present. The stupid daughter of Alpha Jete sat close to her father, leaning slightly on him with a smile on her face as she listened to their conversation. What the fuck was she smiling about? Did she even know that her father brought her here to be slaughtered?I pushed down the growl, threatening to break free, clenching my fist as I cleared my throat to grab their attention. “I have better things to do; did you call me here to waste my time?” I ground out.Father placed the glass of wine in his hand on the table, turning to me with a frown. “There is nothing more important for you today than this; take a seat and get to know your father-in-law more,” he demanded, pointing at the chair before his desk.“He is not my father-in-law, and I already know enough about Alpha Jete and his cunning ways.” I tried not to snap as I replied.“Will you ever learn manners, boy?” Alpha Jete eyed m
~LEVENA~‘You can’t just up and leave Jade. You need to calm down and think this through.’ I tried to reason with her as she started peeling off the shirt.‘There’s nothing to think through, Lev. I thought I blocked you out already.’ ‘You can block me out when you barely have any control over yourself. Leaving is a bad idea if there’s any chance that our pup is still out there.'‘He is fucking dead. He's gone.’ Jade yelled, cutting me off. I stayed quiet, watching as another sob wracked through her body. ‘Stop trying to make me have hope, Lev; he is gone,’ she whispered in between sobs.‘And what if he isn’t? If there’s a chance that he’s still out there, you’ll cost us our one chance at ever finding him. We won’t survive out there, Jade, not this time. Reign can keep us safe; he can help us find him, and we can’t keep running. We won’t survive another week out there,’ I reasoned with her but she shrugged like it didn’t matter.‘That’s the point, Lev; I know we won’t survive out ther
~REIGN~I noticed the shift in the air as soon as I walked into the suite, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I walked into the bedroom and saw her. For some reason, Emerald had changed from the previous polo shirt she wore, and she was now wearing my shirt. I had hoped I’d find her asleep when I returned because dealing with Father had ruined my mood.There was something different about her, and I stopped at the doorway, scanning her entire frame. Nervousness rolled off her in waves as she toyed with the button of the shirt. The sound of a heartbeat rang loud in my ear, and her scent seemed stronger than usual yet strange. The usual hint of lavender in her scent had faded and her pheromones carried the scent of sandalwood, which was also strange.I remained rooted in the doorway while her eyes ran all over my body. It was confusing because this was unlike her; she’d barely looked at me for more than two minutes in the past hour, and now she couldn’t take her eyes off me. Everyt
~REIGN~A seething rage pulsed through my veins in waves as I listened to Emerald tell me about what had happened to her in her pack and got her banished.At some point, we had moved from standing in the middle of the bedroom and were now sitting on the bed while I held her against my body. I had been curious about who Hunter was ever since she mentioned him. I knew he had to be why my mate was so guarded and untrusting. Obviously, he did something to her, and whatever that was had broken her beyond measure.I wanted to know what he did to her, yet despite my curiosity, I didn’t want to bring up the topic knowing how emotional the day had been for her. But Jade had started talking, and I didn’t stop her as she opened up about her past, the last few minutes, and the ordeal she went through. I realised she was choosing to trust me with her pain and perhaps her heart. So I listened attentively, which was hard because it was a struggle within me having to fight against my control with Tari
~REIGN~“Jade.” A growl rumbled through my chest as I relished the way her name rolled off my tongue. Jade? Her name was Jade. That had been her name all this while and I didn’t even know it, yet I called her Emerald because her eyes reminded me of precious gemstones. I didn’t realise how close I was to her real name—only a smidge close.All this while, she heard me call her Emerald. She probably thought about how close I was to her real name but she held off that information until now. I looked down at her, my heart filling with emotions I couldn’t explain as I realised why she finally chose to tell me her name. She was handing me her trust. She held off that piece of herself all this time. Despite how little it might seem to others. It was a piece of her, an important part of her, that gave her an identity and she held that back because she couldn’t trust me. I was but a stranger to her, claiming to care about her. She didn’t trust me until now. And even if she wasn’t saying those e
~JADE~Is this?Was that a love declaration?Was he?!Did he just declare...But why would he?My mind warred as I tried computing everything I just heard.He wants to be my balm. To be the Alpha who eases my pain and protects me fiercely. He wanted me to stay, but most of all, he wanted me to choose him—to choose to stay, to choose him to be my comfort and home.Wasn’t that what Hunter also wanted? He never said those exact words but he claimed he wanted to be my home and safety, and look where that got me? He became the person who ended up breaking me the most.’We never had a choice with Hunter,’ Lev mumbled and that got me frowning.‘How do you mean?’‘With Hunter, we didn’t expect him to be our mate. Even after that, we were never given a choice. Did you really have the choice to sit and ponder if Hunter was who you wanted? Think about it, Jade. We had just escaped Manila, and it was nice to be back home. You just wanted to finally live and breathe like every normal person. You d
~REIGN~I don’t know how long we stood in the middle of my bedroom, with me just cradling her to my chest while she sobbed. Despite how difficult it was to listen to the sound of her anguish cries. I held her close, doing my best to assure her that I was okay with it.As long as it was what she needed. Then I had nowhere else to be. And it’s funny because I’ve always hated the sound or sight of someone crying. The sound was something that aggravated me beyond measure, yet listening to her cries didn’t stir that family irritation except it made my heart ache for her.I closed my eyes, inhaling as I ran my wrist along the scent gland on her neck. The action was subtle, but I hoped scenting her would help her calm down and make her feel more safe. Eventually, her sobs evened out. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, pulling back slightly as she sniffed.Shaking my head, I reached forward to gently wipe the tear streaks on her cheeks. “You don’t have to apologize for this. If it helps you feel bett
~REIGN~I tried making sense of what Emerald had just said, and my mind kept drawing a blank. I was confused; my eyes raked over her trembling body, the potent smell of her fear in the air and I couldn’t make sense of anything.This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting from her when she woke up. I knew there would still be jitters from what happened, but I didn’t expect to hear her tell me she was leaving again.I opened my mouth to speak but I had nothing to say. What exactly was I supposed to say to her? ’Too broken to be worth anything to me?’ How the hell do I respond to that without sounding like a complete arsehole that would be dismissing whatever she was feeling?I clenched my fist hand, hating myself at this moment. Feelings and emotions—putting them into actual words wasn’t my forte, but I couldn’t let her walk out of this room believing whatever thoughts were going through her hand.I reached out to touch her as she tried to walk past me and she flinched, jumping back. “I—I
~JADE~I woke up startled from a nightmare that seemed intent on cutting off my ability to breathe. My eyes blew wide in panic, and my heart thumped at an inhumane speed as I tried to take in lungfuls of air.It didn’t help that the light in the bedroom was dim. It took me several minutes of blinking before my eyes adjusted to the slight darkness in the room and for my brain to catch up with the fact that I was awake and safe, away from the horrors of my nightmares.The last time I had nightmares of Hunter, I was running through woods day and night, heavy with my pregnancy, trying to live a day without a rogue wolf attack. Ever since Reign found me, I hadn’t had one of those nightmares; perhaps it was because the majority of the time I had been unconscious, or was it the safety that came with falling asleep surrounded by his pheromones?Despite how heady and overwhelming his scent was, it was also calming in a sense, which promised safety and protection. However, this time, I couldn’t
~REIGN~Father eyed me up and down, a mockery in his eyes as he spoke. “What makes you think you’ll survive out here without the protection of my name?” He growled. “I am the reason you are still alive, boy; without me, you are nothing; without the protection my name provides you, without this pack, you are nothing. You’ll only ever be known as the Alpha with tainted blood.”I cocked my head to the side at his words, my left brow slanted and my lip curled. “You really believe that?” I asked, feeling the need to humor him. To see if he believes the nonsense that’s coming out of his mouth. I might be the Alpha whose blood is tainted but we both know I am not nothing.He glared at me, refusing to answer. I turn fully to face him now. Now I need to remind him of the truth he seemed to have forgotten because I’ve been pliant and quiet for too long. I did his bidding, bowing my head in submission, making him feel like he really had any right to my respect. “Who do you really think all these
~REIGN~I awoke to a loud pounding on the door that had me jostling worriedly for a second before opening my eyes to my dimly lit bedroom.I took a moment to blink the fog out of my brain as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I made to push up on the bed when I became aware of the body plastered against mine, and my brain replayed the incident from before and how I ended up in bed with my mate.She had wanted me to stay, to hold her as she slept, and I had held her like the most precious gem, content with watching her sleep and then I had fallen asleep.Wait . . .When did I fall asleep?Hold on a minute—my mind became alert as I looked down at the sleeping beauty in my arms. Did I sleep?My eyes traveled to the clock on the wall with a puzzled gaze. I fell asleep.Holy shit!I slept for nine fucking hours. No nightmares? No breaking out in cold sweat or waking up in terror without the slightest possible idea why? No shadows were trying to creep into my head and keep me awake while I st
~REIGN~I had taken off my shirt and managed to cover her up while she sobbed against my chest. The torn cloth on her was barely covering her chest and I needed to cover her up.Emerald’s silent sobs didn’t stop even as I picked her up and cradled her against my chest as I stood up. Caleb’s painful cries reached my ears as I straightened up and prepared to exit the room. As much as I’d love to finish what I started and just kill him, my mate was my priority and I knew I had to get her out of here.With one final glance at Caleb, a promise in my gaze to him that I wasn’t yet done with him, I turned and made my way out of the room, only to stop as I came face to face with Father in the doorway.“What the fuck did you do to your brother?” He asked with a snarl on his lips as he blocked the way.I looked him up and down, cradling Emerald closer to my chest. My gaze flickered to the few pack members who must’ve heard Caleb’s screams and gathered in the hallway. My attention returned to Fat