Karina.I clenched my jaw, fixing my gaze on the window and nothing else. Even though I cradled Levi, an action that brought me happiness, the weight in my heart still hadn't waned. That was how it had been for the past week. I had spent most of my days avoiding Connor at every turn. Every opportunity I had to avoid him, I took with relish. From avoiding his gaze and outright passing by him like he was air, to hiding in his presence. I kept my for locked at every instance, whether I was inside or not. Everytime he dared try knocking on my door I kept silent. Every the tried to speak to me, I would glare at him until he was silent before making my getaway.He did say once that all I did was run. Wasn't he going to be happy to be proven right?I scoffed to myself at the thought. I was being too sarcastic and harsh and I knew it.I knew that I was also harsh that day and my instinctive drive to attack had gotten the best of me. My insults, no matter how true or not they were, hit him h
Karina.The sensation made me tense. Immediately steadying myself I looked down to find who had so suddenly bumped into me only to find a dash of blonde hair below.It wasn't a person, or a fully grown one at least. It was a child.“I'm sorry Ma'am.” She said, looking up to me with wide eyes before her hands flew to her face.I released my breath as relief washed over me. There wasn't any need to worry. The defensive feeling I was about to cool into soon dissipated.I suddenly felt a slight tug on my pants and looked down. I was so busy basking in relief that I had completely forgotten about the little girl's apology.“Miss? Are you hurt, miss?” She asked with wide almost translucent eyes. I could see the worry in them as though she truly thought colliding with me would hurt me more than her. A smile came unbidden onto my face and I couldn't help it. Crouching down I made sure to adjust Levi before I spoke.“I'm completely alright as I hope you are as well.” I said, passing her an a
59KarinaMy walk back home was silent as I processed his words.I had also insulted him, said hurtful words and was being inconsiderate to him.Yet he was being patient with me.I ground my teeth against each other, the familiar bittersweet feeling of guilt flowing in me along with something different.He was still Levi's father.I barely got out of my head to find the white door I was about to bump into. I arrived home earlier than I thought or maybe time simply flew by earlier.Entering the house I found the living room empty but heard noises and instantly knew where it was coming from. Placing Levi on one of the couches I moved towards the kitchens where just as I guessed, Connors mother was.“There's no need to help Dana.” She called out. Her back was towards me meaning that she hadn't seen me. “It's Karina.” I said. She instantly dropped what she was doing to face me. The surprise on her face instantly reverted to a gentle smile.“Hello there.” she greeted “Where’s my grandson?”
Karina.My mouth felt dry as I stared at him. Amidst the still darkness, it felt like we were locked in a standoff against each other.Why was he here? Was my first thought after seeing him. It took a few seconds for it to all click.He was coming to see me.I was completely frozen. No words could come out of my head, much less my lips. He looked at me with the same level of surprise. The silence grew between us.He was the first to break it by clearing his throat.“Hi.” he croaked out.A single word, yet it spurred me on to speak.“Hi,” I replied. Now, both our answers lay hanging in the air.The tension was awkward. Now that I was standing in front of him, I didn't know what to say. What did I start with?“What are you doing here?” he asked, making me blink. That was what I needed, an opening. An opportunity.“You weren't at dinner.” I sputtered out first to my own shock. My breath hitched the moment I said it, but my lips moved faster.“I came to check on you.” I finished, groaning
KarinaOnly the sound of our shared breaths filled the air alongside the slight chirping of insects. “I'm so sorry Connor .” He looked up but I shook my head to stop him before he could respond or misunderstand.“You've given your own apology, it's time for me to do the same.” I said.“I'm sorry about everything from days ago. I should have never said those words especially on things I knew nothing about. Im sorry for the way I've been treating you that I didn't understand everything you be been going through. I misunderstood your feelings. I'm sorry about what I asked you to do back then. I knew it was irrational immediately after I said it. I shouldn't even have said it.” “But most of all,” I sucked in a breath.“I'm sorry for the way I treated you weeks ago even if I thought it was for the best…back then.” I couldn't deny that u still held its notions now but I didn't want to say it.“I never acknowledged how much I hurt you. And keeping Levi away was even worse.”I had constant
KarinaA sense of contentment filled the air right after. We didn't bother staying and walked back to the house again in silence but this time the air felt lighter, just the slightest bit warmer.As we stepped inside the hallway I stopped in my tracks to turn to him.“Do you want to see Levi? Before you go I mean.” I offered. He looked taken aback by the offer but soon gave a sharp nod. With that I led him into my room, showing him the crib. He looked over it beside me. My nerves kicked in only a few seconds after. I just left him in my room like that? How mortifying.The other part of me outweighed the slight embarrassment I felt. It was a small price to pay for the olive branch that was extended today.“He really is a deep sleeper.” He finally murmured, making me look at him. My lights weren't on, meaning only the shadows and outside lights ghosted over his face. He was looking down like He was his whole world.Then his gaze shifted back to me and I swore I saw stars in his eyes.
KarinaI looked at the doming sight around me with my jaw dropped. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before, nor could it be compared to the buildings in the cities, yet it looked so out of place among the other parts of the pack.“This is what I want to be a school area.” He said leading me inside.“I got the idea from the Red Eclipse pack to build something like this. It's more than halfway done but still needs some finishing touches.”“This is good progress for something that started Half a year ago.” I murmured sincerely. It was truly impressive work.Taking a step inside, I looked around the wide halls and unpainted walls while listening to him. Levi was relatively peaceful, barely squirming in my lap. He wasn't yet old enough to take in the sights.I let my feet wander further inside yet not too far from the entrance, completely mesmerized by the sight. It was one thing to hear about change and another to see it So far he had tried showing me around aside from one place;the pack
Connor. I took in a breath to prepare for what I had to say next. I was going to tell her everything about the past, everything that I had failed in.It had crossed my mind last night before I fell asleep. Despite all my speaking I had barely communicated and I didn't trust. The fear of her leaving after this was still there, but I wasn't going to let it stop me.“When I was younger, there were three of us, the future Alphas Beta and Gamma raised together. Me, Isabella and… Darius.”It took effort to say his name, I and my entire family, the pack as a whole, had done our best to erase him from our existence. Even his own mother. Mentioning him was like conjuring a spirit.At times the memories of the past and our childhood came up, but it was always embittered by everything that happened next, who he became mI could tell her confusion from the way her brows furrowed at the last name. It was easy to predict what question she was thinking about. She was expecting me to mention Ralph c
Connor‘Alpha? Alpha!”I snapped back to reality to face Fallon who looked at me with a mix of worry and confusion. Rightfully so, considering how I'd just acted. Had I spaced out for that long? I wondered. Shaking my head I gave him a terse smile.“I'm sorry Fallon, but I'll have to talk to you later. Tell the others not to worry, I think I have the solution but I can't give much details yet.” I said, patting his shoulder firmly to affirm myself.He didn't look too pleased or assured despite it all, but I fully understood.“Why don't you guys take a break for today? You can get drinks at Aunt Abby’s place, my treat.” I smiled, encouragingly at him.I could tell how the idea circled his mind temptingly by the way his frowning eased slightly. It was a good idea on both ends to relieve stress and boost morale by a little bit. They had been working hard nonstop since I proposed the project and I had to help them now.Finally he conceded, nodding.“Okay then. I trust you Alpha.” He said.
Chapter 227Elizabeth's POV I woke up later that day and realized that I was in a different room. It was all white and had a window that led out to the hospital courtyard. I got up from my bed and stood by the window looking out at the garden and watched as the wind blew the leaves of the plants gently. I had to admit that the garden was beautiful.As I continued to gaze at the scenery, I heard a knock on the door and I turned around to see who it was. It was Winston."You're awake" he said as he came to stand beside me."Hi" I smiled at him and he smiled back. "Hi""I'm so glad to see you looking much better," he said and I nodded."I'm also glad that the surgery was a success. How is Tiana doing?" I asked and he gave me a genuine smile."She's doing so much better. The doctors say she's progressing very well" he replied and I heaved a sigh of relief."That's good to know. When can I go see her?" I asked eagerly. I was eager to see how she was doing for myself."The doctors say that
Karina.“Hi.” I blinked in surprise as it wasn't only my voice but his. Concern was all over his face as he closed the door behind me. And despite everything that I thought could have gone wrong between us all these while, I still couldn't believe that he would be surprised by everything that was going on. But then again, it was not just him that has been surprised by it all. I also have been.“You seemed strange in the dining room. Did something happen?” he asked. I could read two expressions on his face as he asked the question.One was that of curiosity, the other was that of annoyance. And maybe a hint of worry was etched on the sides of his face despite how obvious he tried to make it appear like it wasn't so.But then again...Oh the irony. I had asked him that same question once before. I shook my head in negative.“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked. It made me huff in response. Small talk, that was what we mostly went for now. I was already getting tired and bored of stu
KarinaI sat up straighter at the mention of ‘connor and scrutiny.Was Connor going through anything?I recalled how stressed he previously looked when he was usually at dinner fresh from working. What were the Elders saying about him? Was he going through any problems?Was it something to do with me?She seemed to recognize my worry as she stood up straighter, frantically shaking my head.“Oh no, please don't think too much about it. It really isn't serious, at least from what I heard.” she quickly corrected.“What did you hear then?” I asked She shrugged looking down at her cup.“This talk was here far before you came, and I would hear people talking about it all the time from the moment he became Alpha.”“Apparently the Elders were complaining about how he hadn't found his mate.”‘Oh.’ I relaxed in my seat, now fully understanding.An alpha usually rises with a Luna. “Is that so?” I raised my eyebrows before taking a sip of the cider drink.“It was strange that he hadn't found hi
KarinaI spent another hour with her before leaving.Emma was kind and compassionate. She was willing to meet me with a smile and a cup of whatever new concoction she had whipped up. She also cared for Alya more than anything. There was nothing wrong with her in any way which made me even more incensed that others had simply decided to ignore her.Shed spoken about it on that same day.“I don't think that theyre doing it fully on ourpose anymore. It feels more like, that's how it is now. My parents are old, but they never reached out even though we aren't so far apart. But aside from that, other treat me relatively normal.”“I think I've also come to embrace the solitude in a way.”‘Thats what happens when your pushed into it.’ I thought to myself. I didn't want to think beyond what was necessary, but at the sane time, it felt like I had no other option other than that to do.By the end of the day after I left with a promise to come back my decision was already firm. In the evening I
Karina The air might as well have been sucked out of the room because the silence was too heavy.The more I waited the more antsy I got and the more uneasy I felt. Her fidgety attitude did nothing to ease my worries.Was this some kind of joke? What motives did she have.“Well,” she cleared her throat blinking frantically fro a moment.“I can't hide it. In all honesty I'm..nervous. and afrair.” she said, lowering herr head slightly.‘Of me.’ the unspoken word hung true.“Bevause I'm a rogue.” I deadpanned, waiting for her reaction, she stiffened before shaking her head, but I stood up already. I was thankful I didn't bring Levi here. Leaving would be easy.Standing up, I headed for the door only for a hand to stop me in place.“Wait, please don't leave just yet.” she cried out.I spun around whipping my hand harshly away from her. The hurt look on her face made guilt bubble up.“You really didn't need to invite me out if obligation. I would have done just fine without.” I said icily.
KarinaI laid there in silence. Perhaps it was that exhaustion or the overwhelming events of the day but I didn't know when I fell asleep. I was woken up by Levi's cries in what felt like hours later. The place gleamed a bright orange spelling the evening.I moved to action quickly, patting him and feeding him whilst pacing. It took time to grow fully conscious but after, it was easier to process everything that happened, especially the woman. She had invited me for tea. It was like a fever dream of sorts.After I silently agreed she had given me her directions and told me her name. I listened to it all listlessly, nodding.‘Her name was Emma.’ I noted, nodding to myself.The real question I needed to ask was if I was going. A part of me wanted to reject it, but I didn't want to be rude.Thinking back to the look in her eyes, a part of me resisted. She wouldn't want me to come in the first place.‘Then why would she ask?’ Minutes passed as I patted Levi while he fed from me. There w
My breath hitched as I recognized her. She was hanging on a tree on her own, yet didn't look bothered. About the height.It's dangerous height. How on earth did she even get there?I was moving before I could think, pulling Levi closer while my heart hammered in my chest. Nobody else was in sight. If she hadn't seen her…By the time I reached , she fell and I wanted to scream before Harriet's frame came into view. She'd caught her.Relief instantly flooded me as I came closer. Harriet put her to the ground.“That was dangerous! Where is your mother? Goddess, what if you'd gotten hurt? Goddess.” Harriet was speaking, her voice raised a full octave higher, her hands were threading through her red locks and I could practically feel the panic bleeding from her.The closer I came I could see the young girl clearly. She was staring blankly at Harriet before she caught my gaze. “Miss Karina!” She squealed, quickly recognizing me. Before I could think she ran past Harriet and towards me.As
KarinaAfter that, all the tension from earlier seems to seep away. She didn't speak a word for a moment, but peeked at the bundle in my arms several times.A minute or so passed before her voice came.“Is that Alpha Connor's baby?” she asked.I stiffly nodded, “Yeah.”Another pause came, this time lasting for half a minute before she spoke “Can I ask what his name is?”“Levi.” I quickly replied, nodding slightly. She hummed and looked away. My insides clenched. Maybe I wasn't being too forthcoming.“How old are you?” I finally asked, turning to her.Her head turned towards me and she blinked in surprise.“Twenty years old. I just turned two months ago.” She said tentatively though her gaze glittered slightly. She seemed excited that I was asking her questions.I couldn't fully read her. She was wary at first but turned a complete 180 at knowing my identity. She was young and seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve. I couldn't find a hint of ingenuity in her actions.The change I cou