Emma's POVStella was too shattered to argue. I saw her face and could say that she was regretting every single decision that she had made so far.“Stella.” When she stood there unmoving for quite some time, Beta Alvin reminded her that they should really go now.The woman did not even lift her eyes to look at me or my kids, she just walked out of the house. Was that it?Stella was the only reason why Draven told me he could never love or accept me.Was the biggest obstacle which threatened my happy marriage with him, dissolving away just like that? It all seemed like a big joke to me.I heard the car engine start outside and turned back to head upstairs.“Emma?” Draven called out, “Is everything alright?”“Yes.” I replied and dashed my way upstairs.If this was a few years ago, I would have been thrilled that Stella was finally out. I would be here, dreaming about finally having a chance with Draven. But now, I have no such thoughts. The marriage that I shared with Draven was long
Emma's POVEarly in the morning, the very next day, I woke up and packed my stuff. The Alpha did not return to the room last night and kept himself locked in his study room. I did not go to check on him, I did not want to. It's been seven years since I walked out of the marriage, we both were battling for divorce but my silly, stupid heart was still unable to accept that he never wanted me. I was just making a joke of myself at this point.I was munching down on breakfast when the Alpha came downstairs. He asked, “You are going back to work?”“Yes.” I gulped down the toast along with some orange juice and said, “I am running late.”“So you want me to drive you to your workplace?” He asked and I shook my head, “No no. I booked a cab already.”“What about Ashel and Asher?”“Shit. I forgot about them.” In my defense, I have been getting ready on my own for the past few days to the office since the kids were with Draven. It was not entirely my fault that I forgot to wake them up and get
Emma's POV “Job offer?” I asked.Draven nodded and said, “I want to hire you as Ashel and Asher's nanny.”“Nanny?”“Yeah.” He said, “It's a win-win. You stay with them and take care of them and I will pay you for it.”I didn't know how to react to this. I asked, “What about after we divorce and I take away the kids?”“We can think about it later.” He said in a sharp tone, “You can start your work as a nanny now and we will figure it out later.”I smiled and said, “I understand what you are trying to do. I appreciate your good intentions but I enjoy my work and I am not looking for a career change.”“Hmm. Are you sure?”“Yes.” “Okay.” The man replied before saying, “I still want you to think about it. If you are interested, you can always ring me.”“Sure.” My cab was here so I had to leave. I kissed my kids goodbye and boarded the cab which took me straight to the hospital.Before leaving, I did one final check-up on Draven to determine that he was fine. I went to Doctor James's of
Emma's POVI narrated them the whole story and the initial excitement they had about this guy faded away drastically. Sonia was the first one to put down her foot, “This is scary. This man sounds like he has stalked you a lot. There is no other way he would know about you in such great detail. Emma, don’t unblock this man.”I nodded, “My son had the same thoughts, he said this man could be dangerous. That is why he made me block him in the first place.”While all of them agreed to this, Merely had some more perspective to add to this, “But, what if he is simply looking out for you.”Sonia rolled her eyes and dragged, “Merely, are you serious right now?”“No, no. Think about it.” The girl said, “We don't know if he was intentionally stalking her but even if he was, he never harmed her. Instead, he helped her out. Emma could have really lost Asher if not for that guy helping her with the link.”“What are you insinuating? He is looking out for her?”“Yeah, like some guardian angel.”Soni
Emma's POVThe three of us sat there staring at the food and the roses, there was no name again other than the signature of ‘X’. Merely was the first one to speak up, “So, are you going to eat it?”“Are you crazy? She can’t. What if it is poisoned?” Sonia debated.“Poisoned? Seriously?” I looked at her, causing her to shrug, “What? I just can’t trust this guy.”“Gosh, what is with you and your trust issues?” Merely frowned at her raining down criticism. She seemed to have a soft spot for this guy, she was a hopeless romantic so I am not surprised.Sonia said, “It is because I live in the real world and not in some dark romance novel.”“What is wrong with dark romance? Won't you be happy if a guy does cute stuff like this for you?”“I would appreciate the cute stuff like this but I should at least know him. This… this is insane.”Merely pouted and said, “Hmph! No matter what you say, I am not changing my mind. This is cute!”Sonia was about to say something but her pager buzzed, Doctor
Emma's POV“I don't want you to misunderstand anything, Emma.” His tone suddenly turned serious as if he was making a very important point. My expression froze too and cleared my throat, “I am not misunderstanding, sir. I will not speak of what I saw.”“Good.” He finally loosened his composure and said, “How was your day?”“It was good.” He nodded but then his eyes fell on the bouquets that were kept on the floor beside me. His expression turned serious again as he asked, “What is that?”“These?” I took a nonchalant gaze at them and said, “Those were sent to me by some guy. It's nothing serious.”“A guy?” He walked past me and picked up the flowers. He ripped out the message card from one of the bouquets and read it out, “Skipped lunch… pasta… Blocked? What the heck? Emma, what even is this?”I could not understand why he was so upset suddenly but since he asked me, I explained everything to him. The man listened to everything in silence, even though his face was getting progressively
Ducian's POVIt was not a very regular day at work for me. Emma was coming back to the hospital after serving the Alpha for three whole days. I never thought that I would say this about a woman but I missed her. I was not very sure about the Alpha's intentions either.The last I heard the rumors, Draven and Emma were getting a divorce. Things were nasty between them but something seemed to have changed. Judging by the way Emma just wanted to run away from the responsibility despite being the most professional out of us all, she seemed to hate being near the Alpha but he kept insisting.As a man, I could say that his intentions did not seem very stable regarding Emma.I don't know what was going on between them and I did not have any right to comment on it but some part of me was jealous. I was jealous of how the Alpha was able to dictate all this and make her listen to him like a puppet. I did not want to share Emma with anyone! She was not even mine but I was very possessive of her.
Ducian's POVMy brain froze and I did not know what to say. And what was with the weird expression on her face? Is she thinking that I am some womanizer, meeting women at my office?I did not want both of us to stare at each other awkwardly. If I could, I would just go back in time and stop myself from meeting Romona in the hospital. But since I could not because of scientific limitations, I chose to break the ice and asked, “Emma, what are you doing here?”She immediately replied, “Doctor James, I swear to you I did not mean to eavesdrop.”She was not even looking into my eyes.Great, now she doesn't even want to see me, is she that disgusted?I panicked and immediately explained, “No, it's okay. There is nothing going on between me and her. She is just a family friend.”“Oh.” Her reply was bland and uninteresting. It was as if she wasn't even willing to listen to me, let alone believe my words.I panicked more!Was this the end of me and her? It did not even start yet and she was end
Emma's POVThe hum of the airport was a blur in my ears as my focus remained on Desiree’s face.“Desiree?” I involuntarily called out her name, causing her to look up. The usual haughty confidence that had been always there in Desiree’s eyes were replaced by flickers of shock when she us.She came to a halt right in front of us, staring at our faces as if we had caught her red handed or something.I barely had time to process her presence before Draven’s voice sliced through the tension. “What are you doing here?” Draven’s tone was sharp, authority laced in every syllable. Desiree tilted her head, an infuriating smile playing on her lips, “What does it look like? I mean, why do people even come to Hawaii? I am here for a mini vacation.” “I thought I made it very clear—no one leaves the pack.” Draven said, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone.Desiree shrugged nonchalantly, “Oh, I saw your little decree, Alpha. I just chose to ignore it.” I glanced at Draven, his jaw clenched
Emma's POVThe security room was a cramped, dimly lit space filled with monitors and buzzing equipment. The owner fumbled with the controls, his hands shaking as he brought up the footage from the day of the kidnapping. I stood to the side, my arms wrapped tightly around myself as I watched the grainy footage play out on the screens. Her mind raced with a whirlwind of emotions—fear, hope, anger, and an overwhelming gratitude for Draven. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He stood tall and unyielding, his sharp features illuminated by the flickering screens. There was something about him that made me feel safe, even in the face of the chaos surrounding us. “Here.” Draven said, pointing to one of the screens. The footage showed the children playing near the entrance of the restaurant, their laughter faint but audible. The grainy footage played on repeat, the flickering image of Asher and Ashel being dragged away at gunpoint seared into my mind. Three men—faceless, thei
Emma's POVMy mind was unable to process what was going on. Draven asked, “So, you were not intending to return my son if I stepped down from the position?”“Yes. We don't even have your son, Alpha.” The man said.“Where is he? How can I get him back?”“No idea.” He shrugged, “Maybe the group who has your son has a second task for you.”Draven was silent for a while, staring blankly at the screen. We could feel the tension well up in the room as his gaze intensified. Suddenly, he let out a chuckle confusing everyone.He let out a cold laughter before stopping abruptly, “The day I find you, I will wipe out your entire clan.”The man grunted before saying, “We will see about that. As for now, come get your kid.”The line went silent, indicating that the call was hung up.Draven stood up and came out of the room, I rushed to him immediately. Even though I heard everything, I was still in denial that our situation was so messed up. I asked him, “How is everything? You will get the kids b
Emma's POVDraven's phone beeped, notifying him of an incoming message. He checked it and the expression on his face told me that it was from those men. He said, “Okay, I will go now.”The Alpha played smart here and decided to attend the video call from the investigation room. Not only was there a camera to record everything, even we could watch everything unfold through the one way mirror. Before the call, Draven made sure to alter the investigation room to look more like a hotel room. He did not want the kidnappers to get the hint that we were already in talks with the cops.I was shivering involuntarily watching all of this unfold, and Alex was always there to tell me that it was alright and that we would find the kids. I didn't even have the strength in me to respond to him, all I did was nod mindlessly while my eyes were hooked on Draven.He sat down on the chair and opened the laptop in front of him. His fingers flew across the keyboard, creating a symphony out of the clicking
Emma's POVThe tension in the air was suffocating as I paced the small room, my heart racing in sync with my restless thoughts. The kids…Draven…The pack…Everything was in shambles, all because of me. I looked at Draven, he had been silent since the call was hung up. It was worrying me more and more. I have always seen him as a man who was clear about his next move, it was my first time seeing him so clueless. It was haunting me.Alex stood by my side protectively, even though he was bleeding he refused to leave me alone. I know he was blaming himself deep down as well. Just then I saw Robin walk into the room, his pace as brisk as always.“Alpha!” He greeted Draven who was silently staring at his phone.The man nodded his head in acknowledgment and asked, “Do we have anything?”Robin nodded and said, “They were smart and kept their IP bouncing but we managed to find their location. They are in the forest near the pack.”My eyes widened, a flicker of hope piercing through the dark
Draven's POVI looked him dead in the eye and said in the most impolite tone possible, “Stay out of this, Alex. You have no idea what you are dealing with. This is family business.”The mutt did not say anything but he did not break eye contact either. It was as if he was challenging me.Before I could say anything, Emma spoke up in her meek voice, “Let's not do this here…”I gave Alex a scornful look before asking Emma why she did not heed my order and come back to the pack. The Emma I have known for so long was not this irresponsible and definitely not someone who would put our kids at risk. I was desperate to know what changed.“I did not know it was serious.”Did not think it was serious? I did not know how to react to it. How can a summon given to the entire pack by the Alpha himself not be of importance? Why would anyone think it was not important unless…My eyes widened in shock as I realised. She did not take it seriously because she thought it was a bluff!I said, “You must h
Draven's POVI looked him dead in the eye and said in the most impolite tone possible, “Stay out of this, Alex. You have no idea what you are dealing with. This is family business.”The mutt did not say anything but he did not break eye contact either. It was as if he was challenging me.Before I could say anything, Emma spoke up in her meek voice, “Let's not do this here…”I gave Alex a scornful look before asking Emma why she did not heed my order and come back to the pack. The Emma I have known for so long was not this irresponsible and definitely not someone who would put our kids at risk. I was desperate to know what changed.“I did not know it was serious.”Did not think it was serious? I did not know how to react to it. How can a summon given to the entire pack by the Alpha himself not be of importance? Why would anyone think it was not important unless…My eyes widened in shock as I realised. She did not take it seriously because she thought it was a bluff!I said, “You must h
Draven's POVThe sound of the private jet’s engines faded as I descended the steps onto the Hawaiian tarmac, my strides purposeful and my mind consumed with worry. I didn't even have the time to properly pack or prepare. The moment I got to know that the children were missing, everything else had ceased to matter. Emma. The kids. My entire focus was on finding them and bringing them home. The sun blazed overhead, its warmth doing nothing to thaw the ice in my veins. As I approached the sleek black SUV waiting to take me to Emma’s resort from where the kids had vanished, Robin jogged up beside me. His phone was in his hand and his serious face was grim. "I just got the word." Robin said, falling into step, “Miss Whitemane has been arrested."I froze as his words didn’t register at first, "What did you just say?""Arrested.” Robin repeated, "Apparently, she caused a scene trying to find the kids. Police didn’t take kindly to it."My jaw tightened, the veins in my neck throbbing. A
Draven's POVThe scout barely had time to catch his breath as he came rushing into my cabin, “Alpha, we have an emergency.”The panic on his face was evident and I looked at Robin wordlessly. This matter seemed to require my urgent attention, so I hung up on the call and looked at him, “What happened!”The scout caught his breath and said, “We have new intel about the Rogues.”My eyebrows furrowed themselves and my ears perked up. It was never good news when it was about the Rogues.“They are rallying up into an organized force this time, not the usual scatterbrained attacks. Worse, they have a new benefactor, someone powerful enough to pull their strings.”“What?” Robin was shook. Someone was helping the Rogues? Why would anyone want to help those sinister, good for nothing?I inquired, “Are we positive?”“Yes. We are positive.” The scout, “Whatever they are planning, it is huge.”The implications were clear: danger wasn’t lurking in the shadows anymore; it was at the gates.I didn’