~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
~LEVANA~Reign’s fist clenched as he paced the room. I saw the change in his demeanour the minute I said those words to him. I could’ve lied about it and told him something different. If I had told him I was present because I wanted to meet him, that would be true, but it wasn’t the exact reason I was present and Jade wasn’t, even though I had been eager to meet him ever since we opened our eyes and I knew he was our mate. Reign deserved to know the truth, even if he isn’t taking the news in a good light, but I couldn’t lie to him about Jade wanting to leave and I’d hope telling him might make him see that he needs to make us trust him and convince her to stay.No matter what I say to dissuade Jade, even if she stays back now, it is only a matter of time before she starts having doubts about him again. Despite how well I understand her concerns and share most of her worries, I also know that we cannot be alone, we cannot find our pup ourselves, and without a pack, we would be as good a
~REIGN~It was too good to be true and I should’ve known better. I was ahead of myself these past few weeks, acting like a good Alpha, a loving and understanding mate. Even if I didn’t have a grasp on what that entailed, all my life in this pack I’ve watched mated wolves and learned how to behave and as soon as Emerald came into my life, it was easy to follow my instincts. And all my Alpha instinct wanted to do was keep her here with us so I could protect her, provide for her, and make her happy. Even if I didn’t know what I was doing half the time, because I had never been in a relationship nor did I ever tried to earn the love of a woman, I still tried my hardest to be the best I could for her, and that was never something I did for anyone.Although I should’ve known that the moon goddess wouldn’t be so kind to someone like me, the fact that the moon goddess gave me a mate. It was done to mock me, not because the goddess thought I was finally deserving of love; no, she knew quite we
~REIGN~She wiped her teary eyes at my words and I knew she understood what I was driving at. Despite how angry I was, I couldn’t help but feel something else for her right now—those same feelings I felt around Emerald that I couldn’t quite explain because they were foreign to me.“I can convince her; I just need to convince her that she can trust you and that you are good for us.”“Am I?” I also had to ask myself that question. Was I really good for them? She doesn’t even know the real me; just earlier today, I slipped and almost hurt her. The monster lurking inside me slips out when I least expect it and I can’t even guarantee that I can protect them from it when it does slip out.“You’ve been good to us; you’ve treated us with nothing but kindness; you’ve been trying to help us find our pup, and no other Alpha would’ve done that for us. You have to understand that we’ve been hurt badly due to the things that happened to us; she just can’t trust blindly. We did once and it burned us
~LEVANA~I turned on the bed with a sigh, changing position as I faced the doorway, looking, longing, and hoping for my mate to walk in.Two days.It’s been two days since Reign told me he would let us go and then walked out of this apartment without looking back. It’s been two days since he made it clear that he wouldn’t put up a fight to make us stay.I remember wanting to run after his retreating figure but his words had hurt too much for me to move. Even though I knew he made sense in some way, that didn’t negate the pain that blossomed from his lack of need for us to stay.He had given up the fight for us even before it began and made it loud and clear that he wasn’t willing to fight for this.Perhaps it was selfish of me to jump to such conclusions about him, because he had been good to us. He did more for us this past week than anyone else. And even if I appreciate how well he’s treated us, and how hard he’s tried to make Jade comfortable by always regarding her feelings, the s
~LEVANA~I convinced myself that I had made peace with this and that there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening.Reign hadn’t been back and it’s been four days. Four days of him practically staying out of his apartment because of us. I couldn’t say I blamed him. I had told him I’d be able to convince Jade and change her mind yet I haven’t summoned the courage to open up my walls to communicate with her.Truth be told, I was scared and unsure of lifting the mental block and letting Jade into my mind. And I would only be using up more mental energy if I decided to lift the mental block only to pull it back up if Jade didn’t agree to my suggestion.I also haven’t had a wink of sleep for the past four nights because I didn’t want to miss out on the chance of Reign coming back while I was asleep nor was I ready to risk falling into a vulnerable sleep state that could give Jade access to break through my mental block. What if she surfaced, blocked me out, and then took over?I d
~REIGN~I stumbled out the front door, barely able to keep my legs upright, as I tried to get out of my suite faster than I could ever imagine.I thought I had all my emotions under lock before deciding to check in on her today. I could’ve sworn I had already made peace with my decision to let them go because I saw no point in making them stay if Emerald didn’t want to be here.But the minute she touched me,Dear goddess.It has always been easier to control my powers around others when I have no reason to ease their pain. Yet even with my shield up and my emotions blocked, it isn’t the same with her.Her sadness was the first thing that bled through the link when she touched me, and then pain slammed through, hitting me like a hammer.I saw the look of betrayal in her eyes the moment she let go of my arm and stumbled back. Despite having let go, it didn’t deter the onslaught of pain that carved through me. Even though she didn’t complete her sentence, I immediately knew what she want
~LEVANA~I awoke to the chirping sounds of birds and a slight shiver from the early morning cold air. I don’t remember how or when I fell asleep, but the heaviness in my eyelids as I tried to open them was enough to let me know I must’ve cried myself to sleep at some point last night.The encounter with Reign two nights ago had struck me with a harsher reality than I had expected, perhaps more painful than the thought of Hunter replacing us with a chosen mate after banishing us from the pack. The betrayal by him and our family had hurt, but it hurts more to know that Reign had also found himself another woman. And she was an Omega.The fact that the other woman was an Omega only added salt to my injury because I am a beta wolf and I’ll never be able to give him what an Omega wolf can give him. Sex with me wouldn’t be as fun as with Omegas, who naturally produce a copious amount of slick to self-lubricate, and the scent of their slick is meant to seduce Alphas. Not that beta’s like mys
~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