A few years later “Your abdomen is so much smaller than before,” Leo commented as he caressed Anastasia gently.“Yeah? I'm not absorbing as much water as I did before and I’m not bloating,” he smiled happily as he snuggled deeper into the alpha’s chest.Anastasia was pregnant again with triplets. The pregnancy was a lot easier than her first, as her body had become stronger through the years as well as maturing more. The aches and pains were so minimal and the daily stresses she faced such as his weak bladder before were no longer such a problem. Life was so easy with three eight year old pups around who were eager to help their mother out, she didn't need to lift a finger.The twins had entrusted the pups to take care of their mother when she was inside the house, so now on her sixth month again she didn't have to move much. Her pups had grown up to be the most well- behaved wolves she could have dreamed of, always talking politely and ready to help her stand up or reach something
Dear sylvia,I don’t know what to say or rather write. I find my mind blank suddenly. I saw your ad in the paper . I don’t know what made it stand out but I felt something different while reading it. I am looking for someone, a partner to spend the rest of my life with. I know it sounds rather overwhelming but I assure you that I do not plan on “jumping the gun”, if you allow me the expression. I am a simple man living a simple life in the West. My great-grandparents left Italy to settle here. I inherited a small parcel of land after my parents sadly passed away from sickness that spread in town. I live with my brother who is the chief deputy. I spend my days working on the farm. We have farm animals as you can guess. However, we are trying to branch out and try out luck with apples this year. We hope to make apple cider, although Liam My older brother assures me that it would be too much work for us.I don’t know what more to say. I am looking for a partner, someone to work with me o
Dear X.,Thank you for answering the ad. When I posted it, I thought that no one would write to me. It felt like an absurd attempt to chase loneliness away...“No,” Olivia sighed, peeking over syliva’s shoulder. She balanced her son, Dorian on her left hip as she leant forward to read the letter her sister was writing . “You can’t say that. You sound too desperate and we don’t want that,” Olivia added. Dorian cooed, reaching for his mother’s mouth. Oliva held his little wandering hand. Her eyes turned softer as they lay on her son in her arms . “Behave, sweetheart mummy is scolding Aunty” she scolded, although gently.“What should I write then?” Syliva asked as she scratched the words she had written off roughly. The paper was covered in crossings- out. Her fingers had turned blue from the ink stains Dear X. ,Thank you for answering the ad. When I posted it, I thought that no one would write to me. It felt like an absurd attempt to chase loneliness away...I must admit that I was rat
Julius sat with a groan at the table. Dusk was there and painted the sky a deep shade of pink. The summer Heat was almost unbearable. He reached for his already lukewarm beer. The cold drink felt akin to salvation after a long day of work.“How was your day, chief?” Xavier chuckled as he took a seat as well. His twin brother, Xander sat next to him.“Tiring,” Julius grumbled. He watched as Liam walked towards them with dinner. A meal bought from the town restaurant again. They have grown tired of the saloon bar and restaurants with its constant noise and brawls. They decided to spend the night at the Winslow property.“Don’t complain. That's all that was left,” Liam sighed, putting their plates down. Grilled meat and side vegetables would have to do for dinner tonight.“It is always the same damn meal,” Xander complained. Yet he reached for a plate. He filled it under the watchful eyes of the other alphas. There was not much left at the restaurant when dusk came. The old cook always ma
After getting her mail, Syliva ran to her room. She found Olivia there pacing with Dorian in her arms. The poor baby suffered a terrible fever during the night. The little savings they had was used to pay the doctor and for the medicine.“Is he still sick?” Syliva asked with worry. They all did not get much sleep. Dorian kept crying all night. Olivia was ridden with anxiety, she stayed awake all night. Syliva from worry and the noise couldn’t close her eyes either. The other residents in their run down approached had their displeasure made known as well. They shouted slurs and threats to them all night long.“He is better,” Olivia whispered. She smiled tiredly at her sister. She moved to show the baby to Syliva . Dorian was finally asleep thank goodness. “Thank you for working my shifts this morning,” Olivia said with obvious guilt. Syliva replaced her at work more often than not since Dorian joined their little family. The truth was that Olivia was deemed infertile after a dis
Xander ran towards the woods at the back of their house. He noticed Xavier’s silhouette there. He held the letter tightly in his hand, almost wrinkling it. “Vie!” Xander called, breathless. “We received an answer,” he added quickly. His usual deep voice was slightly high pitched from the excitement. Xavier emerged from between the trees wearing nothing but his work pants. His bare feet sank into the green moss. His hair was still wet from his swim in the lake.“What answer?” Xavier asked, confused. He walked towards his brother. The other alpha almost collided against his frame. Xander looked overexcited. His eyes sparkled with delight.“Syliva answered our letter,” Xander said, brandishing the said letter like a prize. It still carried the sweet fragrance from the omega. “The letter we wrote the other night. Syliva answered!” he repeated with eagerness. “And she accepted our courtship,” he added with unhidden relief.“I thought I dreamt about that,” Xavier breathed, eyes wide open fro
The letter came after a week.Syliva grew restless thinking that Xavier gave up on her. The thought seemed ridiculous even to her. Olivia also told her as much. Syliva couldn’t help but worry. She had grown attached to the man. She would look at the picture at night hidden under the covers. Olivia teased her to no end. Syliva carried it in her wallet, too afraid to lose it. Xavier represented their way out as well. Syliva sighed once more. She couldn’t lose Xavier and what he represented. Despite Olivia’s teasing words, Syliva knew that her sister was worried as well.“A letter arrived!” Olivia barged into the room. She was breathless after running there. She had met the mailman on the way. The old man gave him the letter then under Olivia’s insistence. “The mailman told me that there was a problem this week which delayed the distribution,” she explained to her sister ,voice breathy from running. She sat on the bed extending the letter with a shaking hand.Syliva took it. He put dow
The trip was too long. Syliva wanted to scoff at the thought. Long was an understatement. The trip left her thirsty , exhausted, and starving. She only took a piece of bread and molded cheese for the way. She couldn’t bring herself to take more and leave little to Olivia and Dorian. Thinking about them made her heart ache so much . She packed some of Dorian’s baby socks as a keepsake and anchor. She recalled that Lilly took some of the other ones when she left also.The train finally stopped at the destination she was going to .People got off and some others went in. Syliva held onto her small luggage in her hand as she made her way to the platform. Passengers talked animatedly around her. The train engine was loud. The white smoke blurred the path. Syliva watched people hug each other as a form of welcome while others parted ways with a smile or tears. Her grip tightened over the handle of the luggage. She spotted Xavier easily among the crowd. What a man he was. Syliva blushed
March 26th “These flowerbeds are going to look great this summer.”Eden leaned against Ian by the window of the large living room, above the flowerbeds that Johnson and his men, including young Trubshawe, were preparing, burying the flower bulbs.“Amara is growing, too. It's late March, spring is in the air.”Ian put his arm around his omega’s shoulders and drew her closer. It was still a shock for him to know she was his.“Do you think it's possible to be this happy?" asked Eden.“No, not usually," he replied, smiling. Then he leaned over to tickle Eden’s earlobe with his tongue, watching for her reaction. “But I know lots of ways to enhance the sensation.”“Oh, I know that.”Eden tried to react like a respectable viscountess and show a little reproach towards her rascal of a husband, but she hardly succeeded.“As it happens," Eden whispered to him in an engaging voice, "we have no obligations either this afternoon or this evening. I've kept us a few moments free, since we're packi
Ian made it his own, sensing that this was their real first time. The alpha forced himself to control his desire and keep an eye on Eden’s, which rose and rose, until the final conflagration, the simultaneous deflagration.“My love…”Ian gasped again. “Forever and ever. Forever and ever.” “My omega,” Ian whispered, stroking the back of her neck.Ian looked at his omega with such tenderness, as if he couldn't believe he had it all to himself.“You're mine, aren't you Eden?” The alpha asked, looking tall and majestic above her“All yours” Eden nodded vigorously, her breath catching as she felt Ian’s hands wrap around her ankles, caressing her calves before spreading them apart, making more room for between her thighs“Yes," Eeen murmured, "yes, all yours, mark me.”“Are you sure?”“Yes, I want to be yours, completely”Ian let out a tiger-like growl just before he bounced on his prey, before leaning in, his mouth hot and heavy as he rubbed his lips across Eden’s cheek, up to her chin,
“Sir”It was Philips' voice that brought Ian back to earth; he'd just lost the most important person in his life.“Sir." Philips insisted in the face of his master's silence. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but we await your orders. It's getting dark, the current is preventing us from crossing and continuing our search, so I think it's best to go back inside, get warm, regain your strength and start again tomorrow. Also, you'll have to prepare for the worst, sir, with the low temperatures and the cold.”“Are you mad?” Ian asked, his voice full of fatigue but above all full of bitterness. “Excuse me, sir?”“My wife has just been carried off, I don't know where she is or what state she's in, and all you can tell me is to go home, get warm and prepare for the worst. So I repeat, ARE YOU CRAZY?”“I'm sorry, I…”“Enough... Send Jem to tell my Aunt and Alexis to take care of Amara. Then gather all the men near the clearing with the best hunting dogs you can find. I want everyone to get to work,
Ian first saw the shattered pillars of the bridge, then a wavering figure stepped out to meet him, a small dog barking frantically at his heels. Ian jumped down from his saddle and Toby leapt into his arms. A baby's cries could be clearly heard over the roar of the river.“Where's my omega, Philips?”“Still in the car, milord. With the maid and the baby. The footman's a little hurt, but he'll be alright. I sent him for help. It was the floodwater that caused the bridge pillars to collapse as we drove over...If we make any sudden movements, it'll cause the rest of the bridge to collapse.” Ian put the dog down and ran along the bank, the coachman on his heels. When he reached the carriage, Ian had to fight the urge to jump straight into the water to save his family.“We need ropes, horses and... Ah, thank God, there's Murrow!”The carpenter galloped down the hill, pulling his wagon team along. When he reached the bank, he braked with the reins. The men with him jumped down from th
We'll go down to the hotel, Mary," she announced to the maid, pulling from her bag the London guidebook she had taken from the library. Let's see which one is the most suitable..The horses slowed as they took the path that led to the bridge over the river. Eden glanced out the door at the fog-shrouded landscape, then back to her guide. “The Pulteney looks to be the most comfortable and central," she explained, trying to keep her tone light, "but it's certainly very expensive. Let's see.”The sedan lurched forward and, at the sound of hooves on logs, Jimin realized they had reached the bridge. There was a terrible creak. The coachman screamed and the sedan pitched sideways. Eden tried to grab hold of Amara, but her hands could only clasp Mary's dress as Icy water invaded the darkened cabin. They had fallen into the river.Ian waded to the edge of the torrent, the water almost completely submerging his high boots.“Too late," he announced. The dam's already broken. There's no way
Breakfast the next day was more tiring than Eden had imagined. Ian behaved with impeccable courtesy. He smiled at her, spoke to her politely, and when Eden sent the servants away so she could talk to him about what had happened the day before, Ian simply shook his head.“Let's not talk about it anymore, Eden. We've got to put it behind us. Your nerves were on edge after a few days at the reception.”Eden wanted to apologize, to explain why she had lost control of herself. If Ian pretended that nothing had happened, would she be obliged to leave for London and let this unspoken issue hang over them forever?There was a knock at the door, and Jackson entered. Behind him, several men in working clothes could be seen gathered in the corridor.“Lord and Milady will excuse me," he began, "the rains have caused the river to burst its banks. Turner sends word to the lord that he fears the mill dam may break.”“I'll be off then”Ian put down his napkin, stood up and walked into the corrido
What had happened? What had gone wrong? Ian contemplated in the deserted corridor, as stunned and shocked as if someone had just cut open his chest and ripped out his heart. He'd thought he'd made Eden happy and brought her security. But that had only been an illusion, which had now been shattered. He didn't know how he was going to make things right, or even if it was possible. No doubt Eden was in her room. Toby stood at the door, whimpering miserably. Ian knocked on the door, then turned the handle. To no avail. The bolt was pulled. Swearing muffledly, he tried to open the boudoir door. Locked too, as was the door to the baby's room. He knocked again.“Eden?”SilenceStriding to his own room, Ian tried to open the connecting door. It too was locked. Exasperated, he pounded his fist on the panel.“Eden, my angel, will you please open the door?”Through the wood paneling, he heard the child's startled cries, which put an end to his anger almost immediately. Amara must b
The day after the christening, it began to rain heavily, much to Eden’s dismay. With her brief experience as mistress of the house, she wondered what he was going to do with all her guests, on a rainy Saturday, after matins and lunch. But her worries proved futile. The bishop retired to his room to read his sermons, the older ladies took up their embroidery, telling each other the latest neighborhood gossip, while the younger ones obligingly kept the children occupied and did a thousand favors for Amara, as well as for Leon, Iris and Jasper’s baby. The alphas had disappeared. Some of them had withdrawn from the bishop's sight to play cards or billiards, while others had gone to visit the stables. As for Eden, she sat quietly, sometimes making sure the babies weren't too tired, sometimes simply enjoying the rain drumming on the windows and the crackling fire in the hearth. Jasper entered the room, his hair soaking wet, and leaned over to whisper something in Iris’s ear. She loo
——6th of January——— “Your Grace”Eden gave a deep curtsy like Alexis had taught her to do. Immediately her hands were grabbed, and one of the most handsome young men she had ever seen helped her to her feet.“Please, call me Alastor, " replied the Duke of Avery, kissing her on both cheeks. “Ian,” he exclaimed enthusiastically, “where did you find such a pretty omega?” “Just looking at her to know you don't deserve it.”“You can let go of her now, Alastor,” Ian said quietly, smiling. The look on his face, however, indicated that he was ready to slay any man who got too close to Eden, whether he was a duke or a prince.Eden felt overcome with excitement. She was a little apprehensive about this baptism reception, but, for the moment, everything was going wonderfully. The only downside in recent weeks was that Ian avoided sharing her bed, probably to let her rest a little after giving birth. Since Amara’s birth, however, the alpha seemed more distant than Eden would have liked. W