Carena: I sighed but then mustered some courage to keep going.“Should we take Paco for a walk and then get some toys for him?” I asked after we finished feasting. I was really excited and happy to have Paco in my life. Since I was a child, I wanted a pet. But then I had so many responsibilities on me that the idea of getting a pet and then not being able to pay attention to him seemed wrong and unfair for the pet. But now I had Paco and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t loaded with work.“Toys for Paco?” he squinted his eyes a little, showing confusion.“Yeah, pets must have toys or else they start chewing on household items,” I said in a joking tone.“I have some work in my office, Carena,” he excused himself coldly, just like always. There were only a handful of times when he would show emotions or be romantic.“Oh! Then maybe after you’re done with the work?” I asked, and he shook his head before even trying to squeeze some time for me.“I’m not really into pets or buying
Carena:His stare broke after watching me enter the office.“Carena!” he called out, holding his hand out for me. I left the tray of snacks on the table and accepted his hand. He pulled me swiftly and made me sit on his lap. His body was so warm as if he was having a fever.“I heard your voice and couldn't believe you had come to see me,” he said, sounding a bit uneasy but keeping a smile on his lips for me.“Are you okay?” I inquired with concern. He nodded his head but didn't raise it. I was sure he wasn't drunk, but he seemed off, which was odd.He ran his finger up and down my cheek, just watching my face with so much enthusiasm.“Just stay here with me for a while,” he uttered, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer to rest his face on my chest.It was an odd position, but if he was comfortable, so was I.I thought he would break the hug and snack on the stuff I brought him, but that didn't happen. He dozed off on my chest for a solid two hours. Hearing him breat
Carena: “Wait, you tell me what is going on?” Sawyer gestured at lady Jane to let me speak and gave his full attention to me this time."She hurt my dog," I yelled, and Sawyer took his hand off my shoulder to turn around and glare at Ashley, who suddenly looked so innocent."What?" Ashley glanced at Sawyer and then back at me."She took Paco from my room, and now I can't find him," I cried in front of them for the first time, letting my emotions show instead of fighting them."What?" Ashley used a tone of disbelief."I am sure she had hurt him," I added as I realized there was no way she would take him from me just to return him back. But what could she had done in just a short time?"That's nonsense. Sawyer knows how much I love dogs. I would never harm them," she quickly brought tears to her eyes. I watched her face in disbelief, shocked by how she was acting so innocent."Wait a minute, you saw her take Paco out of your room?" Sawyer asked me, keeping his voice soft."I did. She w
Carena:Something definitely flipped inside my head because usually him defending me like that would make me admire him, but not today. That was not enough. All this mess was brought into the pack mansion by Sawyer himself.“You not believing me is equivalent to hitting me, Sawyer. Do you not see what they are doing to me? Do you not see how constantly I am trying to fight these battles?” I screamed, and once again, he warned me through his gaze."Look at her, how she's arguing with the alpha king," Lady Jane exclaimed dramatically, shaking her head. She ran her hands over her face, as if it was a matter of immense importance for someone to engage with the alpha king in a harsh tone."He's to blame for this. He's the one who turned her into the devil she is today," Lord Rennick shrugged, while Sawyer and I stood there, exchanging glances."Let's head to the room," Sawyer almost sounded like he was requesting me, but I wasn't ready to back down this time. What Ashley did was downright
Carena: "You're trying to manipulate me again, Carena. And you know what happens when somebody asks me to do something. I do the exact opposite," he warned me, but I was ready to take a risk now. I had realized I can't live like this. He was nice enough to help me gain my confidence, but I guess that's all there was for our relationship. I couldn't deal with another alpha king whose ego was way above his mate."Choose," I demanded, not hesitating to give him direct eye contact."I'm warning you!" he said through gritted teeth."Do it, choose," I clenched my jaw just like him. Somewhere deep down, I had a feeling he would let go of his ego this once to assure me he knows I'm not just his responsibility. And I swear I only wanted him to say my name. I wanted him to let his ego loosen before me."Ashley!"Ah! What an unfair life of mine. I lowered my head and closed my eyes, smiling at my own foolery."I've told you, if you challenge me, I will hurt you. If you let me deal with your iss
Carena:Everything had gone dark suddenly. Now that he had walked out on me, I started to recall our good days together. My body felt weak now that realization was hitting me.I sat on the edge of the bed to calm down before deciding what needed to be done. My tears had dried on my cheeks, and my eyes seemed to stare at the wall ahead with no dreams left in them.One might say I made that decision out of anger, but it made me see how little Sawyer cared about me. If I didn't put in any effort, he wouldn't either. He was nice to me as long as I was just a doll that he took care of.That's not the kind of life I wanted for myself. I was tired of living for others and relying on others."You saw what happened when you finally stood up for yourself before him?" I raised my head to see Ashley standing in the doorway. She had dried tears on her cheeks, but her eyelashes were still wet. However, the satisfaction on her face indicated that she had won this war of love."He chose me, I heard i
Carena:My bedroom had a window that opened directly to the view of the mansion. Once I was in my bedroom, the first thing I did was strip off the clothes that Lady Jane had picked out for me and put on something more comfortable: a gray oversized sweater and gray baggy pants. My body felt so relieved, but my heart was still trapped.It wasn't like I could do anything about it. Even I knew Sawyer would move on since that's what he does. He warned me that if I left him, he would be gone."Ah!" I sighed, holding my phone in my hand. I remembered how many times I used to check Jack's profile and groups to see or hear bad news about him. Yes, I had been waiting for karma to catch up with him.But now, my fingers wanted to type Sawyer’s name. Not because I wanted karma to strike him. Even the thought of him in pain gave me chills. I just wanted to see a picture of him. Sadly, we never took pictures on my phone. Or should I say, I never took pictures with him, though he did fake pictures of
Carena:"Don't ever joke about that again," my dad warned me, his eyes filled with anger."Dad! It's okay. She was just saying it out of anger," Maanya stretched her arm out, reaching for the back of Dad's hand.Dad took a deep breath to calm down. But I was ready to say more."I'm not saying it out of anger. I've left that home and Sawyer for good. I'm not here to spend a day or two; I'm back home," I said loudly, tears in my eyes.Dad and Maanya shared a glance before Maanya noticed I was done talking. I grabbed the spoon to continue eating, trying to keep my mind off the thought of Sawyer and Ashley finally getting back together.Just as I brought the spoon closer to my mouth, a hard slap on my hand spilled its contents all over my face and clothes. Maanya then snatched the bowl from in front of me as if forbidding me from eating anything she had prepared."How can you say that so casually?" she yelled, already tearing up from anger.Dad just glared at me."They were humiliating me
Carena: “I have put them to bed; we’re all set,” Sawyer announced, his shirt disheveled before he quickly straightened it, though he didn’t roll down his sleeves.I gave him a smile and got up from my seat to welcome him. He took the main chair, and I sat down beside him, wearing a beautiful red dress.“You are the best father and husband,” I whispered, leaning over to kiss his cheek while the maid served us food.“You two need to get a room,” Ronan joked, making us smile and turn to him. He looked so happy with Yamin. The two had welcomed twins--a baby girl and a baby boy--last year.“And my brother is truly proving himself to be a good role model too,” Payton added proudly.Lady Jane smiled at her sons, delighted with their perfect lives.“And Payton is taking good care of business,” Louis grinned at her, giving her a wink. I knew something was brewing between the two, and they had recently opened up about it. They were set to get married in two months.I didn’t think there could b
Carena:“What do you mean?” My heart revived even more, my grip tightening around my child.“Kelly, don’t fucking make up stories,” Jack yelled, his fists clenched.“I am not. You fool. You really bought my lie about Carena being so powerful to get pregnant already and then giving birth in seven months. Carena didn’t have a proper sense of date and time because there were days she would sleep without waking up for two days. But you, you knew everything. Yet you didn’t question anything?” Kelly smirked at Jack, who was finally hit with the realization.That’s when my baby let out a little cry and opened his eyes. He had the same eyes as Sawyer.“He is my baby?” Sawyer rushed toward me, taking him from my hands and then smiling, “No wonder I felt such a strong connection.”“No! You did not betray me like that,” Jack yelled, rushing to wrap his hands around Kelly’s neck, but Martin raised his legs and kicked him, making Jack drop back like a pathetic weakling.“How dare you--,” it was as
Carena: After I beat him up, Sawyer handed me my baby while he tied the couple to a tree. I was curious about what he was planning to do.“I am so sorry I got you into this mess,” Kelly cried to Martin, the two tied side by side.“No! If I have to do that again, I will do it. All for you,” the guy was hopelessly in love with her but also an idiot for partaking in her crazy schemes.She was a doctor; if she had remained committed to her job, the two would be living a very good life by now.While the two cried and talked, I held my son and smiled with teary eyes. My baby was perfect. There was no way he was Jack’s child. How could such a beautiful baby belong to that monster?“My perfect child,” I cried happily, rocking my baby in my arms. All these months, not once did I hate my child. I had grown so much in love with my baby that I didn’t understand why and how."Why would you want us dead? You already have your baby and your mate by your side now. Don't you have everything already?"
Carena:He was watching me with so many emotions in his eyes. In that moment, Jack and the others decided to flee because they knew they couldn't fight Sawyer.Jack was so frightened that he didn't even wait to grab me. Instead, he just started running after seizing Kelly.“My son--!” I yelled, but before I could get up, I saw Sawyer gesture for me not to go after them.“They cannot escape the woods.”His confidence made me sit back. But what about my son? What if they hurt him?"Sawyer!" I uttered his name as he deepened his stare into my eyes, filled with nothing but love for me."My love!" He knelt down and instantly pulled me into a warm and comforting embrace."No! Don't touch me before you know my truth." It broke my heart that even after our reunion, I had to keep my distance from him.He needed to understand that I had given birth to Jack's child so he could decide whether he still wanted to be with me. It would shatter my heart if he didn't want to stay with me, but I could n
Sawyer:“Ronan, keep your eyes peeled at the border. Make sure your men remain hidden in dugouts around the portal,” I advised him as we marched away from the entrance. Tonight was the Wolf Moon, and after midnight, I knew Jack would arrive with Carena. Certainly, Jack would use Carena to try to lure us away so that he could cross the portal, but I would jump right in with them. That was the plan.“I have informed my guards not to stop them from enticing the bridge, but do let us know when they arrive,” Ronan confirmed. I didn't want to provoke Jack into attacking Carena out of anger. Of course, he would threaten us with her life when he was surrounded by the warriors.“Yamin is taking care of the roads--” Suddenly, Ronan's voice began to fade. My mind started to wander off, and I knew it wasn’t the first time this had happened. I had felt this before, only when someone stepped into my woods--the woods of which I was king.“They are here.”I closed my eyes, focusing on the whispers of
Carena:“AHHHHH!” My screams had deafened me at this point. The pain was unbearable, and being out in the wild was not helping at all. I was worried for my baby and how giving birth in the wilderness would negatively impact everything. Dr. Kelly had asked Jack and Martin to grab some supplies while she assisted me with the delivery.“Just keep going. I know you can do it,” she said, rubbing a damp cloth over my forehead in an attempt to comfort me, but I was far from comfortable. The open air and sky, combined with the fact that my mate was not with me, broke my heart.“Why can’t we go to a hospital?” I asked, letting out heavy breaths, but the pain kept intensifying.“Because Sawyer must have informed all the hospitals and packs about you and Jack,” she replied. “Besides, we are passing through Sawyer’s pack, so--” The minute she said that, goosebumps covered my body. I looked around and noticed the woods. What the hell!We were in the terrifying part of the woods? The crazy and poss
Carena: Jack was shocked to see the old man confronting him. It seemed like Jack had run out of words.“I don’t know what you are--talking about,” Jack tried to sound normal, but none of the words he uttered came out in a confident tone.His hesitation alone gave him a guilty appearance.I had stepped way back from them while Dr. Kelly ensured she stayed with me."I heard it all. You played me only so you could use my kin to escape the werewolf world--the world where you have messed up so much that you can’t even remain in it anymore,” Vincent finally seemed to have caught on to Jack’s scheme.It took him months and many wasted attempts to open his eyes. But what struck me as odd was that Jack steadily fixed his posture and approached him.For someone who had been caught in a lie by his only support, he was remarkably calm.“I think you’re taking this way too seriously. It’s not that grave of a matter,” he placed his hand on Vincent’s shoulder, but Vincent shrugged it off aggressivel
Carena:"What did you just say?" he asked, a harshness in his voice warning me not to say the wrong thing."Jack lied to you. He told me that if he told you the truth, you would kill me and my baby." I gulped, realizing it could be true. I was taking a risk here. If I wasn’t pregnant, I would have found a way to escape the chains and transition. But that was no longer an option."Huh!" He looked rightfully confused. "You are the reason my poor daughter is dead. Sawyer killed her because of you." Now that we were talking, he started revealing what he truly thought of me.The fact that he claimed Sawyer had killed Tabitha proved that Jack had lied to him about many things."That’s not true. Listen--" I took a deep breath, knowing I was about to admit who was really responsible for Tabitha’s death and the deaths of his other children.His expression grew even harsher as he continued to watch me, waiting for an explanation as to why I believed Jack had been lying."Tabitha did cheat on Ja
Carena:I was heavily pregnant and miserable, but I kept going for the sake of my baby and the hope of seeing Sawyer again one day. I just didn’t know how he would react to the fact that my child belonged to someone else.“You shouldn’t starve yourself,” the maid they had hired for me said, causing me to roll my eyes.I didn’t get along with any of these people.They were all enemies of both me and Sawyer, working for that despicable man.“I’m full,” I sighed. “Before you start lecturing me, I had breakfast less than two hours ago,” I scoffed, irritated.She rolled her eyes and left the hut. We had been on the run—or rather, they had kept me on the run—for months.Every time Sawyer got close, they would pack up and flee again. They’d managed to evade him many times by threatening my life, and of course, Sawyer always relented.“Hey,” Jack entered, having taken care of the food and other necessities for the night. He smiled at me.The mattress I sat on was uncomfortable, lacking the fa