Teagan's Point of ViewMy heart was hammering in my chest. Wanted to escape through my throat. Just the look in Harland's eyes would haunt me for the rest of my life.Pained. Conflicted. A mixture of dozens of feelings, all clear in his eyes.I swallowed and cupped my hands together in front of me. "We are. But I don't want to talk about him-"Harland's face contorted. Became a mix between remorseful and angry. He couldn't control it. Had almost zero grip over his own emotions. I understood. Knew that it was difficult."Did you mate with him?" He asked, voice thick. Shaking my head, I took a step forward. Kept my eyes firmly on him. "No. We slept together. But I didn't mate with him. I know that isn't something you want to hear but we need to be transparent with each other if we want to make this work." I said, keeping my voice low and soft. Like a caress.He nodded, thoughtfully, yet I could still see the pain in his eyes. The slash of betrayal that he felt. "Thank you for being ho
Teagan's Point of ViewHarland's arms around me felt like a safety net. Like something I had craved for so long that I nearly forgot what they felt like. How they curved into me in all the right places.I knew well enough that he was still hurting. That it would take more than one conversation to ease his fragile heart. But this was a start. A place we were both comfortable enough to start at.There would be fewer, if any at all, outbursts from him. Or so I hoped and pleaded.I couldn't take another one of them. It would rip me to shreds and leave me exposed. And it might just land him in a watery grave.Although the idea of that happening sent shivers running down my spine, Bellamy had said it out of love. Threatened Harland because he wanted to keep me safe and happy. It was all he had ever wanted, from what he told me."I could just stay like this forever." I mused into his shirt.Strong arms wrapped even tighter around me. I nuzzled my face into his neck. Breathed him in deeply.
Teagan's Point of ViewWe were all huddled around three boxes of pizza. Harland sat beside me, hand on my lap, eyes on Ulrich as he chowed down on two pieces at once. Sauce dripped onto his shirt and the man carried on eating. Scarfing piece after piece down his throat.Hunger was another thing we had to deal with after shifting for the first time. For the next week or so, you ate double what you normally would. Stacked up on as many calories as possible. The first shift drained you physically, leaving only reserves of energy to keep you going. To curb starving to death, your body forced you to eat a lot. But looking at the mauled pizza now, we should have ordered five."My father appointed most of the staff already. Or he has chosen them, at least. I think we need to get into his office to see what he is hiding. He won't tell me just yet and now that Phaedra has made her move, I think it is time that we figure this shit out." Bellamy said and chugged his beer. The action was so nor
Teagan's Point of ViewBellamy burst through the door around twelve. Barely any light leaked into the room, leaving him in a dark shadow against the light walls.Ulrich was up first. already had a gun pointed at Bellamy's chest with deadly precision. All whilst I tried and failed to clean the sleep out of my eyes.The shadow man's hands raised to the sky and I flicked on the light seconds later. "I come in peace. Sorry. Sorry," He mumbled and jabbed his thumb at the door. "Jonah just left the house. Most likely going to some fucked up meeting. If we want to go investigate..." He trailed off, eyes still lingering on the barrel of the gun.Every muscle in Ulrich's body seemed to loosen up. I couldn't remember falling asleep in his room. Couldn't remember what time it had been. But we had talked and talked. Then I was thrust awake.No dreams. No nightmares. Just a loop in time, like my memory of the last hours had been wiped. Honestly, if I hadn't been sleeping beside Ulrich, I might h
Teagan's Point of ViewJonah's office was meticulously curated. Everything had a place. Files were sorted by date, not by name. As if the events were more important than the people who partook in the action. It all ranged from births to populace consensus and everything in between. Quarrels with pack members. Laws that needed to be put in place or that already existed that needed to be abolished."Holy fuck, I never thought he kept a record of everything," Bellamy said in astonishment, pulling out another drawer.All of the drawers blended in seamlessly with the walls. Looked nothing like drawers, to begin with. It had taken us several precious minutes just to figure out where the bastard kept everything. Because the office seemed so utterly empty when we first walked in.Like every other day we were here, to be frank.At first, Bellamy thought Jonah kept his paperwork somewhere else in the house. The office we were frequently in held no hint of him having files somewhere. I insisted
Teagan's Point of ViewBellamy was standing in the door of the bathroom. Smirked at me as I fished the files out of the tub. Some papers had spilled out of the folders. Created a mess we were going to have to sort out later.Hopefully, these folders actually contained something useful. "You covered our asses by pretending to be a hussy," He mused.From the corner of my eye, I could see his lip twitch to the side into a smirk. His arms were crossed over his chest. Just stood there, staring at me."You can at least thank me," I replied, letting a bit of my irritation bleed into my words. Bellamy scoffed. I stood up, arms ladened with the files. My stomach rolled. Flipped. Shoved the food from earlier up my throat. Clamping my mouth shut, I shoved the files into Bellamy's arms. Had my eyes wide open and my mouth tightly shut.A long shudder swarmed my body. Caused goosebumps to break out across my skin. The muscles in my ribs tightened unbearably.I barely made it to the toilet bowl b
Teagan's Point of ViewThe doctor's office seemed more like a home than an office. With clutter all around the waiting room. A tender-looking receptionist with glasses on the tip of her nose. "Stop fidgeting," Bellamy said and placed a hand on my thigh.I hated doctors. For no particular reason but that didn't change anything. Although this office seemed different, I could still smell the disinfectant in the air. Still hear the beeping of machines somewhere off. "I can't believe you made me come here in your clothes. I could have just put on what I had on last night. Or stop by the house to get a new set." I grumbled.The receptionist tried to look innocent. Tried to feign that she was ignoring us. But I could see her ears perk up every time one of us spoke.When we first walked in, her eyes had gone wide when she looked at Bellamy. Her jaw dropped when I came in after him.My parents were going to find out about this visit, sooner rather than later, I was sure about that."There wa
Teagan's Point of ViewI was in a daze. Not quite in my body. Not quite out of it. Maybe just a spectator, going through the motions that kept my vessel alive. With eyes that saw the world but didn't fully take it in. My insides were twisted in on themselves. Clenched tightly together. As if to expel the child I now carried.Child.The one thing I never thought I would have. Not with Harland.But here we were. Here I was. With Bellamy.The doting mate that got out of the car at the pharmacy to get my medicine. Drove me to the supermarket and bought me all the food I could dream of eating. Anything to try and keep something down. To feed this thing growing inside of me.He then drove me to the park. Not home. Not yet.When he switched off the engine and turned in his seat, I knew he meant business. Still, I couldn't look anywhere but ahead of me. Outside of the car. To the far distance.No one was around. It was the middle of the week. Kids were at school and parents were at work.Par
7 Months Later Teagan's Point of View "Who has the baby bag!" Ulrich screamed, flitting from room to room as he scrambled to get the one thing he was tasked with. "Already in the car," I mumbled, slipping out of my soaked nightgown. Although I doubted he heard me. No one could hear me above their panic right now. Who thought the baby would come in the middle of the night? Not fucking me. Not when I had finally figured out a way to sleep with such an enormous stomach. "Did you install the car seat like I asked?" Bellamy screamed back. I could hear him in the living room. He had forgotten to set up the spare cot downstairs. Thought now would be a good time to do it. Rolling my eyes, I slipped into a clean dress. Didn't bother with underwear. They were going to come off, anyway. "I can't find the fucking car keys! Who had them last?" Harland screamed. The house was echoing with their voices. Bounced around relentlessly. So it was no help to remind him that they were on the
Bellamy's Point of View"Where is he!" I screamed down the moist hallway. Down here in the earth, everything was damp. Which was strange, given we were in the middle of a desert.But that wasn't the problem right now. The problem was Felix. The bastard wasn't anywhere near the cells. Hell, his scent wasn't even here, which meant he had never made it down here to begin with. "Heir, sir, Alpha," The guard nervously stammered, sweat beading on his forehead. "From the list in the office, he was brought here right after you asked. The last man on duty here even swore he had booked him in."He had lied, no doubt. Or this little maggot was. Either way, Felix had never been here. No doubt thanks to all of his bribery. "Find him! The enemy is on our doorstep and you let our only fucking bargaining chip escape!" I roared and spun on my heels to march back the way I had come in. We had evacuated everyone in the town within an hour. Left only shells for homes and shops. Mariland and Keagan
Teagan's Point of View"Get most of the civilians to the ranch! Don't trust fucking any of the guards! The moment they try something funny, kill without mercy." Bellamy all but screamed as we stopped in front of the house.The two cars that had followed us from the desert were barely full, compared to when they left with us in the first place. So many of Bellamy's men had turned. Or died. "What do you want me to do?" I asked, clinging to his arm. Watched as his face shifted. Took in everything around us all at once.Those caramel eyes turned towards me. Blinked slowly."Why did you call my brother?" Bellamy asked in a whisper that no one else would be able to hear.Not with all of the commotion taking place around us.I stiffened. Twitched my eyes away from him.I knew he was going to be upset. I just hadn't thought it would come so soon. Not when we were still in crisis mode."Because I would rather take his help than see any of you in a grave. We need his man-power and he is more
Teagan's Point of ViewWe headed out into the eastern part of the desert with several guards in tow. The ones who stayed behind with Felix were informed of the situation and instructed to keep him shackled at all times.Killing him wasn't an option. Not until we could safely get Jonah back. The moment we had him or deemed him-I swallowed down the lump in my throat, shoving the thought that he might already be gone to the back of my mind.Bellamy was never going to forgive himself if he didn't say goodbye to his father. Especially after the note Jonah had left in his last file.As if he knew he was walking into his death."There... On the dune just past that large outcropping." Ulrich said from the passanger side.He was looking west now. Scanned the horizon fervently with the stars shining down on us.Out here in the middle of the night was the best time. With no light pollution, the air was clear. The Milkyway a shiny symbol above us.But in the direction Ulrich was looking, someone
Teagan's Point of ViewThe end note left my mind reeling. Shot a wave of dizziness through my body. Jonah knew. Knew about Harland being here and about Ulrich. Knew that we had taken some of his files. And he had done nothing about it. Actually counted on the fact that we might come snooping again.Now he was somewhere in the desert, likely dead, from what the note implied."We have to tell Bellamy." I breathed, feeling my lungs quiver with each word.Ulrich's eyes shot towards mine. Eyebrows nearly touched his hairline. "There is no fucking way I'm letting you go down there by yourself. We might not be able to hear what is happening but I can assure you, it isn't going to be pretty." "His father can be somewhere out there fighting for his fucking life and you just want to keep that from him when we can try and help?" I screeched, balling my hands into tight fists.A sheepish look passed over his face then. One of pain as well. "It's not like the guy is winning the Father of the Yea
Teagan's Point of ViewHarland moved closer to me on instinct. Shifted his weight to his dominant leg. Geared himself up for a confrontation if the need arose."What do you mean he can handle himself? Why would he have to?" I pushed more, feeling a shift of energy all around me.Felix gave me another long and cruel smile. Took one step forward before I noticed several men behind him. All tall and menacing. Brooding hulks that engulfed the space we stood in.None of them looked familiar. Or even scented to me that I knew them."Let's just say that Jonah isn't the only one fighting for his life right now." My heart slammed into my throat. Bellamy. He was talking about Bellamy. Harland sensed my urgency. Spun around and pushed me lightly to the staff door on the other side of the kitchen. "Go. I can handle this." He urged, fear lacing his voice.He was my mate and I loved him dearly. But he wasn't the best fighter around. Ulrich, on the other hand, was.I nodded and broke for the door
Teagan's Point of View Even with everything aired out, Harland barely looked my way. His shoulders were still sagging. Hair fell into his eyes. And whenever I tried to make eye contact with him he would look away the moment he noticed. The air wasn't clear yet. "He is going to be away for two days. I say we haul up in the pack house and start digging for whatever we can find on him. I told him I'm your new assistant, so he won't question my scent. Harland can lead the run tonight so that no one questions your absence too much. Get the shit and-" Bellamy shook his head in the driver's seat. Locked eyes with me in the back of the car. At least Harland had agreed to drive with us instead of walking. "No. I'll go lead the run. They won't expect Teagan to be there, seeing as the news of her pregnancy has spread like wildfire. Jonah can smell Harland in the house when he gets back because by then we will have everything we need to dethrone him. Just make sure that Felix doesn't j
Ulrich's Point of View Their family was fucked up. Beyond fucked up. Made me thankful that I had grown up in the foster system. Drama on drama on drama. Like there was no end to it. But it shaped Harland and Teagan into who they were. Gave me the greatest blessing I could ever have. Teagan. Our baby. A future where I didn't have to kill or maim. A stable home. Well, it was going to be a stable home the minute all of this madness passed. Died down. Which wasn't going to happen anytime soon, I was sure of that. "Harland. Wait up!" I screamed and followed him down the driveway. If he heard me, he gave no sign of it. Continued marching toward the gate and away from all the shit this place gave him. "Harland!" I tried again and upped my pace. Broke into a sprint. When I touched his shoulder, he whirled on me. Those were tears in his eyes. Snot peeking out from his nose. He was crying. And I could feel his pain as if it were my own. "Something wrong?" He asked, wiping his face
Teagan's Point of View Jessebelle brought out tea and coffee for everyone. Stood at the door and watched as the drama unfolded. Her little smirk of satsifaction upon seeing Mariland's distraught face was enough to make me smile as well. "Now then, we have something to drink. The mood in the room seems to be less intense. Care to explain what happened?" Bellamy asked, placing his coffee on the small table in the middle of the room. We were sitting around the living room like we were friends. Discussing the weather and upcoming plans. Like we weren't hoping the other would just fall over and die. Keagan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Placed on leg over the other. His eyes slid my way. Took me in with a remorseful look that had my bones aching. Was he ever as bad as Mariland? Not really. But he permitted it and that was all the confirmation I needed to not pity him. "When we mated, we tried for years to have a child. Jonah was freshly made the Alpha of Desert Sun and h