Thank you for waiting. It's my Alpha's birthday tomorrow, and we have family and friends over dinner, so to those waiting for updates on Beyond The Darkness, it might come super late as I will continue writing once it's calmer tonight. But there's definitely no update tomorrow. I will see you all on Monday for this book! Thank you for all the gems and comments! ❤
LEXI. Watching them shift made me long for my own wolf, something I had not felt in a long time. Meeting Austin again and having a baby with him changed my perspective on life. I thought I was already okay without a wolf, probably because in human territory, no one needed one. But then I wanted to be here, and I didn’t want people to think that I was a liability to Austin. I knew our relationship was not the typical one, and I knew one day, when his mate arrived, I would have to go. I would be preparing myself for that, but until then, I wanted to be deemed worthy to stand beside him. I may not be the official Gamma Female of this pack, but Austin was someone handling the security of this territory, so I had to at least be someone of that caliber, even if just by association and not because we were mated. But without a wolf, I was just as clumsy and unreliable as any human in the middle of a raging storm. “That was a deep sigh you let out.” Austin chuckled. His arms were sti
AUSTIN. We rounded the perimeters we usually run to for newly shifted pups before making our way back to the clearing where we started. We typically have longer routes, but if we were with she-wolves, we had to use the shorter ones as they tend to get tired easily and would shift back involuntarily into their human forms unless they’d been training themselves for stronger stamina. Although we had female warriors in our pack, we never made it compulsory for females to attend warrior training as we would for males when they turned fifteen. As old-school as it may seem, although we knew females were capable of being as strong warriors as males, we still wanted to be the ones to protect them. But of course, we present them with the opportunity to be trained if they want to, once they turn seventeen. But so far, the two pups with us tonight haven’t trained at all, except for the last few weeks when they had to attend training to prepare for their shift tonight. ‘Where are we headin
LEXI.“I can’t promise you a perfect life, but whatever life brings, I will be here. We can grow stronger and learn together. We can be lazy and stupid together.”Austin’s words were drowning me. I couldn’t even categorize if I was dreaming or if this was reality. But either way, I didn’t want this moment to end.“Is this a prank?” I chuckled softly, but I was still crying. He shook his head, and his eyes softened as his thumbs wiped my tears. “I’m done playing games, Lexi. I want to take care of you and David. So please let me…”“I don’t know what to say.”“Say yes that you will take me as your chosen. Say yes, that you will officially be my female, the Gamma Female of this pack. My partner in the family that we will build together. Say yes to you and me.”“You are promising a big thing…”“I know, but this is what I want. Having you here with me, in my arms, in my life is just perfect, Lexi. I’m not sure anymore if I can go a day without you.”My lips quivered, but I bit them to sto
AUSTIN. Two days went by swiftly, and everything between Lexi and me was geared in the right direction. We first confided to my parents that we were officially a couple, and my mother burst out crying. She told us that Aunt Lea and she had always thought it would be wonderful if they became in-laws. She admitted they always wanted to pair Lexi and me together until they gave up because we never got along. So our announcement made her happy and sad at the same time. It was a bittersweet moment. But nonetheless, it was a special one. I was already sure I wanted Lexi even before I asked permission to claim her, but seeing the love we were getting, I knew I made the right decision. Being a couple should just be between us, but the support we were getting was overwhelming. She was not my fated mate, yet my whole family and the friends I grew up with were genuinely happy. Although I knew I wouldn’t change my mind, I was still hoping her wolf would surface, and she was my fated mat
LEXI. Luna Amara, Beta Catherine, and I were sitting on the patio just beside the packhouse. I just came back from training. David was taking a nap, as was Colton, the Alpha and Luna’s son, and they were both being watched by their omegas, so we were just relaxing outside. “Lexi!” A voice rang in the air, and my body shot up from sitting. My head snapped in the direction of Austin’s voice as my heart thundered. So many bad thoughts ran through my head, worrying for Austin, but the moment I saw his smiling face as he ran toward us, my shoulders relaxed. I rushed out of where I was and walked to meet him halfway with a smile curling on my lips. “Slow down, or you might…” I was not even finished with my words when he reached me and scooped me off the ground. My arms flew around him as I hugged him tightly while bursts of giggles erupted from my throat. After the full moon, Austin was not even an inch shy of showing his affection anywhere and at any time of the day. Of course, we
LEXI. Weeks went by swiftly, and before I knew it, I was getting married. Or, in the shifters’ world, I would be officially mated and claimed. Austin and I scheduled our union a month away from the Gamma Camp that would be held in the territory. With him busy gearing the pack for the said training, he left the union preparation to me, with the help of Luna Amara, Beta Catherine, and, of course, Mom. Mama Janna asked me to drop their names and just call her Mom and Dad Aaron, Dad. And I was more than happy to do that. Despite letting me have all the reins for our union, Austin was very supportive of everything I needed from him. He was just perfect, and on days I was overwhelmed and frustrated, he never forgot to remind me that the union was just a symbol, but whether it turned perfect or not, the important thing was that I would never forget or disregard the person I was going through with it. How could I not love him more for that? I still hadn’t heard the L word from him, b
LEXI. This was it. It was happening. Austin would officially claim me as his mate. Grandpa David and Jason would walk me down the aisle until we reached the stage where I needed to walk up alone and meet Austin. In the beginning, Mom told me that if I was okay with it, she and Dad would walk with me toward Austin, and Austin would stand with his grandparents, but I declined. Not that I didn’t want to, but as much as I loved her and Dad, I didn’t want to take that moment from Davina and for them to miss out on standing beside their only son before he took his mate. In the end, I chose David and Jason, as they’d been there for me when my own grandparents couldn’t. I was happy that they didn’t even hesitate. I knew I was missing Grandma Louise tonight, but we didn’t have time to tell her about shifters. We visited her, but we were not able to make our move. But Austin promised me that we would do something about it to make it up to her. “You look so beautiful, Lexi.” Mom hugged me
LEXI. “Lady Lexi, let me take David. He’s already sleeping…” “No!” I snapped at the Omega and turned my body sideways so she couldn’t touch David, who was drinking milk from me, but he had fallen asleep already. I was in a private room in the ballroom where the union was supposed to take place. It had been over an hour, and Austin was still nowhere. My anxiety was already over the roof, and the only reason I was not snapping yet was that I was holding David in my arms. “It’s okay, you can go. I will call on you if we need anything. Just wait in the other room.” Mom told the Omega before she approached and sat beside me. “Lexi, sweetheart…” She spoke warmly as her hand smoothed over my back. “You can give me David. He’s asleep already.” “I need to hold him, Mom, or I would freak out.” “I understand, but he can feel your emotions. He keeps waking up.” I let out a sigh and handed him to her. I wanted to hate on Austin already, but I couldn’t because everyone around here was still