Chapter 85 Ciara's POV I paced in front of the room waiting for an update on my daughter. Lacey had suddenly developed a fever this morning and I got really scared. As I paced back and forth, my mind kept reeling with different thoughts, different possibilities. Since I had no wolf, could my daughter have been affected? And then there was the issue with Bryan and I being mates, what did that mean? Since Lacey was Orion's daughter, an Alpha's flesh and blood, she should be protected, right? “Ciara,” I heard and turned, freezing on the spot. “What are you doing here?” “Orion,” I whispered, shocked and yet not that surprised to see him after all this was his pack. He pointed at my belly with a frown. “Did you…?” I raised an eyebrow. “Did I what?” Just then the hospital room opened and the doctor walked out carrying my daughter in her hands. I forgot all about Orion and ran to her, lifting Lacey into my arms. “Hey baby, are you okay?” I asked even though I knew
Chapter 86Bryan's POV “We have increased the security at the border. Three of our strongest men are stationed at the border every morning and switched with their replacements every night.” Gamma Luke announced to the entire room of men. I leaned back in my seat, half of my mind on the current situation with the killings, the other half was far away with Ciara, wherever she was. “Alpha, would you like to say anything?” I looked up and found all eyes on me. Schooling my expression, I shook my head. “Go on,” Ryan shot me a curious look and I shook my head before turning to Delta Storm. “I think we need to make training compulsory for both males and females. Let's give everyone a fighting chance against whatever is hunting and killing people in their numbers.” I paused and looked around waiting for any interruptions. When there was none, I continued. “Yes the men are stationed at the border and even in strategic places around the pack but it isn't enough. I think everyone deserves
Chapter 87Ciara's POV I slid the new diaper under Lacey's bum and secured it around her legs before propping her on my lap. “Sleep baby,” She had been restless all day as if she knew that Bryan wasn't here or perhaps she could sense my internal struggles. “I'll be back,”That was what he said to me three days ago and yet I haven't set my eyes on him. He promised he'd come back to me and instructed me to look after Lacey and make sure she didn't miss him too much. It's been three days and there's no sign of him or Ryan. I had no clue if he was even alive or if something had happened to him. If only someone knew something. Presently, I was in his room where I had been sleeping since he left that day. Being around his clothes and objects that smelled like him was helping to calm me down but for how long?Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing that I didn't have a wolf or else she'd be going berserk right now with her mate so far awayAlthough having a wolf, I'd know if Bryan is dead o
Chapter 88Bryan's POV “Sir there's nothing there. We searched everywhere but couldn't find anyone or anything.” The last batch of the search party we sent returned with the same dissatisfying news. I hung my head and closed my eyes. We've been stuck in the woods for days without food and water trying to hunt down the creatures responsible for the recent killings. “I can't believe we've been unable to find anything,” one of the men grumbled as he sank tor he ground. Soon, murmuring began amongst the other men expressing their disapproval and dissatisfaction with the situation. I listened wordlessly unsure of how to comfort them when I was also feeling down and depressed. How could we have found nothing in these last few days? It was disheartening and very shameful. “Alpha, I think you should return back home now. Luna Ciara must be beside herself with worry. Ther has been no news sent back to the pack since we left.” Ryan said respectfully pulling me out of my thoughts. At the
Chapter 89Ciara's POV “What do you want us to put on this Luna?” Lilian asked and I smiled, ignoring the title. I looked around the room. The tables were already packed with food. The bonfire celebration was going to be a grand affair from the looks of it and Bryan wasn't settling in terms of food and provisions. “Need some help?” I heard his voice and I rolled my eyes not bothering to look at him. “You can just leave that there, thank you Lilian.” I waited for her to leave before I turned to him. “Seriously? What are we going to do with all this food?”He looked around and shrugged, smiling at me as he closed the distance between us. “Why are you standing so far away?” He laced his arms around my waist and buried his nose in my neck. “I don't like being ignored.” “I'm not ignoring you. You haven't answered my question. What are we going to do with all this food? It's too much.” “It's a celebration, bonfire or not.” He stretched and picked up a sausage roll. “The more food the
Chapter 90 Bryan's POV “They have to be vampires because how else do you explain this?” One of my men said and murmurs ensued. Some sided with him while others disagreed and some weren't sure what to believe or which side to pick. I sat back in my seat brooding. Last night had been going so well until people suddenly dropped dead. Werewolves were naturally strong so whatever was killing them had to be supernatural or else it wouldn't make sense. There were no signs of struggle on their bodies, just the bite marks and complete blood loss just like the other bodies that were found before. I had failed them. I had failed my people and I let whatever was killing and hunting down wolves enter my pack. So much for being a powerful Alpha if I can't even protect my own people. The door swung open and Ciara walked in. She ignored the men sitting and headed straight for me. I frowned when I saw the serious look on her face and got up from my seat immediately. “I came to check on
Chapter 91 Orion's POV “Daddy, can I get a pen? Jeremy doesn't want me to share his,” I sighed without looking away from my associates and stretched a pen out. “The recent killings are a serious cause of concern for Alpha. Reports shows that they could be as a result of vampires,” I scoffed and shook my head as I listened. Vampires? What did they think this was, a fantasy book series? I had heard about the series of attacks and killings. Even my stepbrother's pack wasn't spared as their bonfire/imitation ceremony turned sour two days ago. I clenched my jaw and sighed, clasping my hands in front of me. It could be karma getting back at him for all the things he had stolen from me however the killings had started long before now. I would love to chalk it all up as something simple but it wasn't serious. If we had a serial killer on the loose then we had to do something about it. “Daddy, can you check this out?” James asked, holding up a piece of paper in front of my face. “Dadd
Chapter 92 Bryan's POV It had been a few days since my meeting with my men and some of the elders and councilmen. They were right even though I'd rather gouge my eyes out than admit it out loud — a partnership with Orion would be enormously beneficial to the pack. It was secret that he was a strong Alpha and talks of his capabilities had spread even in the recent months since I last saw him. I guess he was better off without Ciara if he was able to be without her for that long. Speaking of Ciara, my mate hasn't been talking to me since our little disagreement days before. We shared a bed and a house and had a child who depended on both of us and yet, she wasn't speaking to me. I couldn't blame her because I knew it was all my fault, I should just trust her but it wasn't that I didn't trust her, I didn't trust Orion. “Alpha,” I heard as someone knocked on the door. I shook my head, pushing thoughts of my evil step brother to the back of my mind as I sat up in my seat.
Chapter 145Ciara's POV I finally got a hold on my wavering emotions and pushed James away. He never expected the strength or force of my push and it sent him staggering a few feets backwards. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” I asked, anger bubbling inside of me. “Have you lost your mind?!” I raised my hand and slapped him, the anger I was feeling radiating off me in waves.He blinked, clearly in shock and then rubbed his lips with his fingers as if trying to wipe off any traces of the kiss. “You're testing me, woman, and I hate being dared."The eye roll that followed his words was an unconscious response to his silly statement. “Stay away from me and keep your filthy hands to yourself, you disgusting pig!” James sneered. "You don't give the orders. I'm the one in charge here."I spat on the ground close to his feet and leaned up with a raised eyebrow. "You're nothing but a spineless coward who accepted Sophia's orders simply because you're too whipped to see that sh
Chapter 144 Ciara's POV “Where is she?” The commotion from outside my room woke me up. With a frown, I sat up in bed wondering what could have happened. I slid off the bed and made my way towards the door with sleepy eyes. The door swung open violently, hitting my chin. I screamed and stepped back, holding it as pain throbbed from my chin to other parts of my face. “Have you lost your mind?” I shrieked, massaging my sore chin. “What is the meaning of this?!” “Come now cousin, that's no way to talk to me. Remember I control your life now.” A scoff left my mouth before I could stop it at her words. Why was she saying all of this now? My head snapped up and I stared at Sophia in shock. What was she even doing here all of a sudden? “You're shocked, aren't you?” she smirked and walked further into he room, running her fingertips over the bed, the wall, everything. “Why are you here, Sophia?” I asked before I could help myself. She shrugged. “What can I say cousin? I mi
Chapter 143 Bryan's POV “Alpha,” Ryan greeted me as he walked into my room with a tray of food. I sat up and balled my hands into fists when I saw the tray. “I already told you I'm not hungry. You shouldn't have bothered,” He ignored me and placed the tray on the nightstand. He stopped back and stared at me. “Your brother called to see you again,” I clenched my jaw and grunted. “I don't want to see him, I already told you this,” “Well he is very persistent. I am afraid I have run out of lies to explain why you're not here.” My eyes rolled to the back of my head on its own at his words. I knew how persistent Orion could be and it was really annoying that he couldn't just give me some space. “Alpha please speak to him. He's sorry about everything he did. He didn't mean to lie to you and when you look at it, he had been trying to protect you,” A scoff flew out of my mouth and I glared at Ryan. If looks could kill….. He didn't seem concerned by my behaviour and continu
Chapter 142 Orion's POV “He's still not picking up?” I asked and James shook his head. “No Alpha. It keeps going to voicemail,” I sighed and banged my fists on the table repeatedly. What was going on with my brother? Surely he wasn't still mad at me because I called Sophia's bluff? We were both mature adults and we could harsh it out like men. James had informed me that he had been here to see me a couple of days ago but I never received him in office. I had been confused when James told me about it. Why had my brother come to see me but then changed his mind last minute? My heartbeat picked up as I remembered that the same day, Lucas and I had been discussing something sensitive in my office. A gasp left my mouth before I could stop it and I nearly tumbled out of my chair. Could he have heard our conversation? “Alpha?” If he had, surely he'd have barged in and challenged me for lying right? He wouldn't just storm off like that. At least that's what I wanted to
Chapter 140 Ciara's POV It's been two weeks since I found out I was pregnant and so far I have been doing a horrible job at hiding it from James and Brianna. The maids have stopped serving me since Brianna took over making it easier to hide since Brianna is as oblivious as they come. In a couple of months from now it would be rather difficult to hide it because then I'd have a noticeable bump. If I was home and had access to my wardrobe then I'd have selected a couple of maternity gowns. Here I'm stuck with shirts and my single pair of jeans that I had on when they kidnapped me. Now there's a slight bump that isn't noticeable except I take my shirt off which I would never do in the presence of these people anyway. I had to think of a way to ask for more clothes or find a way to get myself out of here before my child would be at risk of being used for Sophia's dirty games. It was getting close to noon and since Brianna had already fed me once for breakfast, my next mea
Chapter 141 Ciara's POV “Hey,” I raised my head and rubbed my sleepy eyes to see James standing at the door, one foot in and the other outside. With a frown I sat up as my mind began to race. “Did something happen? What's going on?” What time was it? He shook his head and walked in fully, closing the door behind him. “Good morning to you too,” he teased with a smirk and I raised a brow. “Okay okay, I know this might be weird for you,” “Weird? Try strange, uncomfortable amongst other things,” I sighed and slipped on a smile. “What can I do for you?” His smile grew bigger. “Oh it's nothing I just came to keep you company that's all. If you don't mind of course. I could leave if you don't want me…” He turned his back to me and started to move towards the door. I flew off the bed and grabbed his arm. “No, sorry,” I let my hands fall to my side again and took a step back, my cheeks flushed pink. “What I mean is I'd love to have another human being besides myself in this room
Chapter 139 Bryan's POV “How could you do something like that?” “You weren't thinking clearly,” The heavy words I had spoken to my brother yesterday without thinking came back to haunt me as soon as I laid down to rest for the day. Guilt and a sense of loss filled me. When he had walked out after bowing and calling me ‘Aloha’ I should have realized how much I had screwed except I chose to turn a blind eye and kept fumming. But as I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, images from that moment started to replay like a film in my mind ripping my peace away. In truth I had been the one who told him to stand up to that dreadful woman and when he took my advice, I had turned my back on him. How could I have been so stupid and judgy why all he had done all these while is trying to protect our mate? He had been forced to sleep with the enemy literally and wine and dine with her while I got to live my life free just without Ciara in it. If I was being completely honest, h
Chapter 138 Orion's POV “Alpha,” James greeted me as I walked past him but I didn't respond. My head was clouded with different thoughts all centered around Bryan and his reaction when I told him how I stood up to Sophia. For someone who didn't want to entertain Sophia from the beginning, his reaction had been less than satisfactory. I had gone there with my head held high feeling extremely proud of myself for sticking it to Sophia and I had expected he'd be proud and pat me on the back. Instead he lashed out at me as if I were a little kid. I hadn't been expecting the completely different 360 reaction he dealt me today and it was still a bitter pill to swallow. My office door slammed behind me but I didn't flinch as I made my way to the chair. Setting down on it, I shook my head as if to expel every negative and hurtful thing he had said to me. Even if he was angry, he shouldn't have spoken to me in that manner and tone. Not even my mother would speak to me the way
Chapter 137 Bryan's POV “Since the killings have stopped, our people have grown more secure and more confident in your leadership Alpha Bryan,” one of the elders said and I almost scoffed at his attempt to flatter me. We were having a council meeting that had started since 7am but my mind was divided. After Old Man Heartfield's visit yesterday, I found myself thinking a lot about Ciara and her wellbeing. I wondered how she was doing and if Sophia was treating her right just like she promised Orion she would when they made their deal. I was going to keep being strong and not give Ciara any reason to worry about me. The less she worried about us, the better for her. All she had to do at this point was focus solely on staying alive and eventually getting out of there in one piece. Once she was safe in my arms again, she could go back to being the worrywart she always was. “Have we found the cause of the killings?” Another elder asked and I looked at Ryan. He flushed an