/Rose POV/
A succession of heavy blurred sounds and unfamiliar faces haunt me in my sleep that remain imprinted onto my mind even when I open my eyes again. They did not make sense, but they seemed so real that I could not forget about any of them, fisting the sheets. It took me a surprising amount of strength to manage to roll on the other side, search for Aiden.
“Bad dream?”
I hiccuped, “I….”
“It’s okay….” The Alpha murmured, bending down slightly and reaching around my shoulder, pressing me tightly to his chest. “I am here, baby.”
A thumb brushed across my cheek for a blissful moment; it made me feel weightless, mattress giving in slightly underneath our combined weight mo
imp a/n at the end***The Alpha exhaled sharply, leaning up to suck a slick kiss from my raw, barely bitten lips. “I don’t want to let you go, baby.” But his hands left my lower body and reached up to touch the edges of my jaw. From up close, I could see that his eyes were darker, pupils dilated as they found mine.No words escaped my mouth at that, throat going dry. All I knew right then was that my lips throbbed with a dull ache, wet and raw from my mate's mouth and teeth. My entire body felt as though in a state of incompetence, muscles soft, and bones unreliable under me. For all I knew, my knees would give out within a minute.Aiden narrowed his eyes, a noticeable quirk to his lips like he enjoyed the slight change in my brea
/Aiden's POV/I ran a damp hand through my ruffled hair while staring at the thick layer of dust around the bench, subconsciously hoping that it’ll come crashing down and bury me with the rest of the weight I carried. Panic curled in my chest, something I hadn’t felt in years, not since that one fateful day my mother walked out on me. My mother promised to be back, and that has haunted me my entire life, clinging to every inch while I grew up.Making up every inch of me.I refused to break down on the way to the training ground while my mind seemed dangerously close to the edge. It’s not the time to be melodramatic about things I cannot change anyway. There has to be a reason why she came back after all these years, some hidden agenda. De
Those words kept ringing in my ears as I swiftly turned around. An omega was abducted. A chill ran down my spine as I realised the graveness of the situation. If they were ready to break in and take our pack members, the war was not far away.What now? The question kept echoing, my hand protectively wrapping Arnold in my tummy. How in the world was I going to protect our pup during this? No doubt the news of a new pup, especially an Alphas child, will bring joy to the people, but I still had to tell Aiden about it.Shaking my head, I focused on my erratic breathing, sweat droplets dripping down the forehead. I found skidding to a halt in front of the wooden door, a gush of dirt flying into the air as I almost drifted. A few candles lit in the windows dressed the walls on both sides, illuminating stretched silho
The Luna stared back at me, a furrow in between her brows. How could she not remember? I took a step further, noticing Reece stand next to her. Refraining from rolling my eyes at his behaviour, I turned to face Aiden's mother."It was a while ago; I was just a pup when you saved me from the Alpha attackers and handed me safely to my father."Realisation dawned on her face, lips slowly quirking in an upward position. A low-level gasp escaped her mouth, eyes gleaming under the chandelier lights. The Luna strode a few steps in my direction, her hands flying to settle on my shoulder. She looked up through darkened eyelashes, her vision slightly blurred from the shock of the news. “O-Oh, Moons! It’s you! I cannot believe this. Look at you!”
The Alphas low growl reverberated off the walls as my eardrums trembled, but I was jerked around by a heavy hand on my wrist and pressed to the wall. My lashes felt damp as I snivelled and bit on my lip against a whimper at the distinct scent, dark and Alpha. In all these months, I had never seen Aiden act so agitated and angry, a deadly combination."I-I...""Do you even realise what you have done?" The wrinkle between his furrowed brows had deepened, but his eyes were set to my left like he was preparing for an attack. No one followed us anyway, but the Alpha was being paranoid about it.I cleared my throat, breaking the silence that settled over us, my voice came out still a bit grainy. “Aiden, I only wanted to talk the
It’s Ellen. The voice belonged to one of my friends, piercing right through my eardrums. Relief sank in my bones as soon as I realised it was my friend and not anyone else from the pack. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Caden sitting up in his seat, his lips twitching at my friend.What was that about? I thought for a second before squashing it and staring at the person rushing towards us. Colour drained her face as Ellen made her way to the bench, rudely shoving at the Alpha next to me. He made a disgruntled sound but scooted far away to let her sit in between us.“Is it true?!” My friend rapidly blinked, placing a hand on mine, her tone still high pitched. For a second, her eyes flickered towards my tummy, mouth twisting. “I don’
I could see his chest rise and fall even through his jumper and coat, the Alpha appearing pitiful puppy, with strands that's escaped his hairdo sticking to his cheeks and forehead. His eyes were as red as his face from the biting cold.“Will you at least hear me out?” He said eventually, still standing in front of me, voice as rough as sandpaper and looking the part as well.My heart raced, eyes trained on the closed door. What was I going to do now? Ellen must be waiting for me to take me to the clinic. There’s no way Aiden was letting me walk out of there without listening to his explanation.“What could you possibly say now?”“I am sorry.&rdq
“Aiden”, I called out his name, sitting on my knees in front, taking a step close. Hot tears brimmed in my eyes, a hand squeezing my lungs tightly, making it impossible to breathe. Why was he not saying anything? The silence was grating against my skin, the hair on the back of my neck standing up.“P-Please say something. Talk to me.”A menacing growl tore through the entire room, enough to silence me in an instant. Cringing, I didn’t try to stop the fat tears from spilling down my cheeks, head bent down. His eyes narrowed into slits, dangerously boring into me.“You knew?!”“Yes…I'm s-s-sorry.” I choked on
As the winter bled into spring, the sky grew more explicit and the clouds turned bright, unlike the gloomy days we had so far. I was nostalgic seeing the snow gone, but spring was a time of rebirth, a new beginning that I eagerly welcomed.Striding down the aisle, I twisted my head, staring at the faces that gazed at me and smiled. There were Alphas, betas, and omegas everywhere, and every single one of them sported an expression of joy and pride. Never in my life did I expect that this day would come, but it's happening.In the very front row, I spotted my father, my chest tightening painfully. My stepmother passed away a year ago, finally succumbing to her illness. Cara, along with her husband, had visited her in the last few days, but she humiliated both of them, not wanting to see their faces. I received the same treatment in the past, but still, it sadde
/Aiden's POV/Everything hurts. That's the first thought that dawned on me as I slowly drifted into consciousness. My hands twitched helplessly, and even though I could flutter my eyelids, they felt too heavy to open my eyes.My chest felt strange, uncomfortable sensations filling it up and throbbing in my ears, alongside horrid sounds that made it impossible to concentrate.I tried to open my eyes, just a little, and it's bright, blindingly so. It had been peaceful and dark seconds away, then an intense pressure in my chest made me hit the ground.I realised I was on a bed, covered by a thick duvet, sunlight spilling through the open windows at the opposite side of the room, so bright that it
/Rose POV/As soon as the dull thud echoed around the woods, it sent a searing pain through my skull. I was unable to move, taking a few more seconds to process that Aiden was on the floor, unconscious.With my sight going fuzzy around the edges and limbs twitching and shaking uncontrollably, I tried to work my muscles. Once that was under control, I put my body weight onto the palms, which burned and felt numb at the same time.Standing up, my chest lurched, and soon after, my stomach jumped violently. A fit of loud coughs escaped my lips, throat constricting, instinctively curling in."A-Aiden..." The sting was sitting deep inside as I finally scrambled forward, heart hammering
/Aiden's POV/My world stopped at that moment, mouth dropping open in shock, breath knocked out of my throat. I could feel the heat of my skin, feet automatically staggering back in the process. The people in front, the trees surrounding us, everything went blurry, a rush of memories surging through me, and suddenly I remembered.That strange encounter in the forest, his mark on my body and a promise to find me soon, those dreams with blurred faces and deep voices. It all made sense now."I-Its you..." My throat was burning, words jagged and breathy, tears were in my eyes. "Ronald," I uttered the name with so much venom that it made him chuckle. At the familiar sound, my hackles rose, goosebumps pricking.
/Aiden's POV/I had no idea what was it that woke me up. Suddenly, I was sitting up in bed, the sheets sliding off my chest along with my mate's arm and every last bit of fatigue that had been clinging to my body. It's still dark, no light shining in from outside and no ray of sun pouring inside.Instead, the window was still wide open, puddles of water covering the ground right in front of it.I slipped from beneath the duvet and got to my feet, mind-wiped blank and steps steady but languid as I made my way towards the window. When I looked ahead, far away in the distance, a hint of light on the horizon stared back at me, a line in the darkened sky.For a moment, I soaked the silence around me, the chilly a
/Aiden POV/I didn't know where I went wrong in my life. No. I was aware but did not want to acknowledge it for the sake of my mind. However, the problem is that I cannot change anything now. Staring into Slyvies desperate eyes only made me realise how much of a fool I have been.Rose was right all along. I sent her away in hopes that my guilt towards Sylvie would ease. When in reality, she's a pawn from Reece side, thrust into my life for my failure. Even though she had no choice but to surrender to fate, I couldn't help the resentment gnawing in my chest.I would never be able to trust her on anything again. As harsh as it may sound, I did not want to be fooled by her again.
A frown settled on her face, the hold of her hand loosening around my wrist. "Why? Do you not like chicken curry?"I let out a chuckle at her child-like pout, running my thumb across the plump of her cheek. "No, it's not that, baby. I love anything you make except for that pasta.”A squeal escaped her lips and she slapped lightly at my arm as if recalling the incident. Even though I almost died, it’s fun to tease her that the first dish she made gave me an allergy. The omega gets truly flustered every single time.“Don’t remind me of that ever again.”“Alright.” I fondly rolled my eyes.“Tell me why don’t you want
/Aiden's POV/Damon insisted on calling his mate to inform her that we were leaving for the clinic. I asked him to tell Rose about my location, not wanting to worry her. Along with my beta, we both stepped inside the room, finding Slyvie on the bed.The doctor bowed as soon as he saw, greeting politely. I waved at him, my eyes flickering towards the frail body of the omega. My heart clenched at sight, guilt swarming in my belly as I recalled the way I behaved with her in our past meetings. I should have given her another chance to explain instead of letting it go."H-How is she now?" I croaked, turning to the doctor, my hands falling by my side.
/Aiden's POV/To distract myself after the near depressing talk with my father, I decided to visit the training ground. I silently leaned against a tall pole while observing the guards shoot with a bow. Their targets were dead birds carcasses strapped up in a low hanging stand, and the goal was to hit either three or four within a few minutes.Crossing my arms together, I watched as one of the guards shot an arrow—with the wrong technique, of course, it missed and flew feet away from striking any bird. I could sense the tension in the air that vibrated in waves from the guard from being observed. With the war looming over us, we had no choice but train.I felt sick to my stomach as I watched him completely mess up the whole process.&nb