AlishaI fell silent. Everything that Simon had just told me rang through my head but I still felt uneasy. It was as if my emotions were on overdrive and I had to struggle to keep myself in check.Derek had done this to me. If I had never seen him again, I would have felt better. It had been a numb existence without him but at least the memories of pain and hurt I had been through because of him had become relegated to only my nightmares, instead of them plaguing my waking hours as well.I let out a sigh and felt Simon pay my head gently in the manner that he liked to.“Why don’t you take a long break?” He asked. “Clinic day’s over, so you can go on and rest until the twins get back, hmm?”I silently glanced at the wall clock on the corner and saw it was only 5.30pm. The twins were supposed to be back by 6pm, as Derek had promised.It might be a little early but…“I’ll go pick the twins up now,” I stood, making up my mind. I felt like I would overthink if I ended up staying on my own
AlishaThe way to the dining room was filled with the twins’ running commentary on how their day went; how they ate lunch and spent some time in the garden, how they ended up taking a nap in the BIGGEST BEDROOM EVER(!) and everything else in between from the color of their bedroom walls to the tasty cake they had for dessert that afternoon.I kept silent through it all, holding Ares in my arms and letting their words wash over me.As we entered the dining room, I placed Ares in a seat across from his sister, and I saw Derek reach to pull out my chair and my jaw was tense from how much I gritted my teeth.Walking away from him I sat on the other side of the table.He looked stoic yet concealed hurt was behind his eyes as he sat down on the chair he intended to be for me.Dinner was tense as the maids served the food, but I couldn’t help my mouth watering when the aroma of steak and the side dishes hit my nostrils. As one of the maids passed by him I noticed Derek say something impercep
Derek“I can’t do that,” my words made my mate stop once more.If hell was a feeling I was certainly there now. To hear her say those words, that even if she forgave me she couldn’t forget… it was far too painful for me to withstand. How could I, when she had even implied that I should move on and marry another? That I should forget about having her back in my life, save for the twins? It was like she was a judge of my sins, damning me to a life sentence filled with eternal regret and pain.“That’s not for you to decide,” she responded to me.My wolf roiled in me, straining to reach out to our mate through the bond. That mate bond with was warm in my chest now bhrnwd with the power do a thousand suns.“I’m not going to do as you wish this time, Alisha,” i said to her, my tone certain and leaving no room for doubt. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t for you to decide either. I can’t move on, and leave you behind. Not when I know it would be a lie. I can’t be a husband to anyone else, and no on
Derek“What are you still doing up?”I stared at my mother through the gap in the door of my study and felt like she was chastising me just like when I did something bad as a child. Her eyes were weary and she looked exhausted but she still came to check up on me.I let out a sigh; it was her knocking on the door of the study that was what drew me out of my work flow.“I’ll be going to bed soon, mother,” i responded to her, before turning briefly to eye the clock on the wall. It said the time was just last midnight and my face must have shown surprise at how quickly time flowed because I heard my mother huff.“Sure sure,” she said knowingly. “Just don’t overwork yourself, Derek. It wouldn’t do for you to break down simply because you wanted to work.”“Yes mother,” i droned in a monotone that made her roll her eyes at me.Then, in a softer voice she asked, “I saw Alisha come into the clinic earlier this evening. Did she come by? Simon said she might have,” hope was clear in her eyes as
DerekShe shook her head as did Benjamin.“You’re not going alone, Derek,” Alisha was the one who said that, and Mischa and Benjamin looked to be in agreement.“If it’s something like this then the less everyone else knows about this the better,” my best friend seemed to agree with my mate. “Let’s hit at them tonight. We can destroy their borders while we’re at it.”“I’m coming too,” Mischa said, and Benjamin was about to protest, but she gave him a glare, and spoke again, “Don’t tell me you forget how I’m also a warrior, Ben. I can handle myself and this mission will be a breeze, trust me. I’m not staying back.”My best friend looked like he had tasted a lemon, but didn’t say anything to refute what his mate had said and she looked mighty satisfied at that.“I’ll get Hilda and Mark to watch the twins,” Alisha added, and I nodded. “I can trust them to handle anything that comes up.”A part of me truly wanted to also stop her from doing so - putting herself in danger wasn’t something I
AlishaOf all the things I wanted to do, being by Derek’s side for this mission want something I wanted. But I had no choice and before I could form a word in protest, we had already agreed on a given signal and Benjamin had gone off with my friend.I lay in wait with Derek, trying not to feel stiff by his side. This was nothing but business, i reminded myself. That was it and that I had to remind myself of anyway.I stayed as calm as possible and focused on taking in deep breaths and exhaling softly. I enveloped myself in the sounds of the forest and the swelling of nocturnal life around me. I could hear amidst the silence, the chirping of crickets, the boots of owls and the rustling of the breeze.It was a peaceful night, and the autumn chill of the night made me grateful for picking out this knitted medium thick sweater to wear instead of just a t-shirt.“So,” Derek spoke and I became extremely tense and stiff again.How the hell was he so damn close?!My heart began to race and I
DerekMission accomplished, I thought with triumph.“At least the chief guard didn’t pose us much trouble once we caught him,” Benjamin remarked.Alisha was silent; I didn’t know why but it didn’t please me one bit.“Don’t you think that was too easy?” Mischa asked, and I assumed my mate agreed for she nodded.“Too easy,” she repeated her friend’s words. “The chief guard practically begged us to kill him.”“It’s possible there are more dissenting opinions on Sebastian than we thought,” in said, stating my thoughts. “He didn’t look happy to see us but he didn’t look willing to die for his sock either. At least he spoke highly of the Beta.”“The same Beta who was supposed to be Sebastian’s replacement by their pack Elders? Definitely isn’t on the Alpha’s side then.”I rubbed my eyes as we made our way back through the small gate at our borders. Too much thoughts and too little sleep too make sense of it all.At least it seemed likely that the Res Wolf Pack could win this battle quicker
DerekSimon returned the affectionate look with ease, and I tried not to think about my mother and romance in the same damn sentence as I opened my mouth to speak again.However it was Alisha who managed to take over.“What happened, then, if it wasn’t a crisis, mother?” Alisha asked, her voice filled with concern. She looked upset and rightly so, and her hand gripped my mother’s aged one with fear in her eyes. “I don’t want to lose you, you know that? You have to take care of yourself.”“She collapsed earlier this evening and one of the guards managed to help me bring her back to the mansion,” Simon said, and I frowned and turned to level an accusing gaze at my mother who rolled her eyes.“By the goddess,” she sounded disgruntled. “You all are going to be the death of me, with how you worry. I’m fine. I just overworked myself a little.”“Well, whether she’s fine or not,” Simon addressed me now. “I’ll need her to stay in bed for a few days. Perhaps the entire week at least, to make su