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Chapter 17 Ciara's POV Coming back to the packhouse to find Bryan gone left a sour taste in my mouth. I had just stalked off to bed and stayed up all night thinking about why he had left so suddenly without saying goodbye. Granted, he owed me nothing and if he didn't want to explain he didn't have to after all I was just his future sister-in-law, a title that was a probability as long as Sophie could be found. If it was up to Orion and his family, I would be the last candidate for the role. After the weird encounter I had with the tarot lady and the readings she gave, I found myself needing a distraction and if possible, someone to tell but when I didn't find him, I resigned to fate and went to bed. Opening my eyes this morning, I realized it's been two weeks since he left not that I was counting or anything. I missed him every day and no matter how much I tried to distract myself with my strolls around the pack or my time in the kitchen and even with training, it just didn't do e
Chapter 18Orion's POV"What's the new update on Sophie?" I asked my Beta as I walked into my office. He stood up and didn't take his seat until I was seated behind my desk. It's been a month since I started searching for her and each time we thought we had found something, it always ended in a dead trail. It almost seemed like Sophie didn't want to be found or something. Like she had disappeared from the face of the earthI had used my influence and connections as Alpha to check other packs but nothing,. Each of them denied knowing anyone by that name and picture. I was losing my mind with each day that passed by. The extra time I had asked for was about to lapse and I wasn't any closer to finding her. It was frustrating and a serious waste of time but this was Sophie, she was the first woman that made my heart beat, the person I responded to. Her gentle soul and kind heart drew me to her and I just couldn't imagine being with anyone else.I don't care about the mate bond because So
Chapter 19 Ciara's POV I blinked back tears as I walked into the room. Grandfather was looking so small on the bed with all those wires all over his body. the machines beeping were the only sounds in the room. Grandmother Grace was sited on one of the chairs looking older than her original age. I had never seen her look so sad and sullen, she was never speechless or without anything to say. It was strange to see my vibrant grandfather lying still and unmoving on the bed and it was weird seeing Mama Grace quiet. She always had something to say to me or anyone around. She always had something to say about my fashion sense, my choice of deodorant, etc Things right now were too weird. I never thought a day would come when I would see my family like this. When Sophie left, I didn't think anything of it terming it as one of life's many things. Grandfather lying in this bed looking lifeless was not one of such things and neither was Mama Grace's silence. I closed my eyes as memories flo
Chapter 20Ciara's POVWe followed the doctor into Grandfather's room and Orion shut the door behind him, being the last one to come in. I took my seat again beside his bed and reached for his hadn needing to be close to him as I heard whatever the doctor had to say which I had a feeling I would not like."Speak," Orion commanded using his Alpha tone and I narrowed my eyes at him. What did he think he was doing?He flushed when he noticed all eyes were on him and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, force of habit."The doctor nodded and opened the file in his hand and my heart started beating wildy in my chest. Whatever he said right now could make or break the situation. I didn't, infact, nothing would happen to Grandather because I simply couldn't bear it."He has a rear case of hereditary heart disease and would require surgery just like before."My heart stopped and I felt blood rush into my head making me feel dizzy and before I knew it, I was sliding down the seat on my way to the f
Chapter 21Bryan's POVI missed her with every fibre of my being. I craved her like she was my next meal. Leaving without saying goodbye had to be hardest thing I have ever done in a long time.I wish I had said goodbye so at least I could have an image of her in my head because now the only image of her that was in my head was the one of her walking out of the dining room looking distraught after my father's announcement and that wasn't how I wanted to remember her.I wanted to remember her and see her smiling in my mind. I wanted to see her smiling face not her face when she was close to tears.I sighed and ran my hands through my hair as I dropped the file on the table. Why was he taking so long? I had asked my Beta to go to the pack and find out what was going on under the guise of some business dealings I had there.I was genting antsy with each second that passed without a word from him. My mind was working on autodrive and I was imagining the worst sceneraios possible which wa
Chapter 22 Ciara's POV After the issue with Mama Grace, Orion and I got into it or should I say I got into it with Orion. He had been trying to be nice to me but I didn't want it. It was suspicious and obviously, anyone in my position would have done the same thing I did. Because how could he just try to be nice to me now? Why now? He never really liked me before so what had changed? Or had Grandfather's condition triggered something in him towards me? If Bryan had been the one to offer his support then I would have received it with open arms because he had been so supportive even when I didn't need or deserve it from him. Oh, how I missed him! I fought the urge to reach out to him and ask him for his support every day and even now Mama Grace and I didn't seem to agree on this issue. We both wanted Grandfather to feel better but we just couldn't agree on a particular point of view. Her calling me a little girl hurt me deeply but I brushed it off as her pain overwhelming her
Chapter 23 Orion's POV What was I doing here? I had never felt unsure of any of my life choices or decisions before until I walked into that hospital room, I didn’t know what it was perhaps something in the air or the deadly tense silence that was present in the room but something just felt off and I felt out of place. Ciara turned to see me and was shocked, I could tell from her face because she didn’t try to hide it, not that she could have even if she wanted to. I didn’t even know what had pushed me to come in the first place. Mama Grace was a bit too polite and only made me feel welcomed out of respect for my Alpha position and the fact that she had known me since I was in my teens when Sophie and I were closer. Perhaps that was what had driven me to come; my love for her had prompted me to look out for her own. She loved her Grandfather dearly and would be disheartened to find that he wasn’t in perfect health. She would be more disappointed to find that I didn’t do something t
Bryan's POVAs I made my way back to my car, I fought the urge to turn on my heels and run back to Ciara. She hadn't been happy to see me leave but she didn't say anything but I saw it in her eyes. Seeing her like that tore at my heart but I needed to leave. Some things were going down at the pack that I had to take care of. If only I could reveal my identity as her mate and take her with me then all this won't be happening but I just couldn't. Now that her wedding to Orion had been announced publicly, announcing that she was my mate would only make people believe that I was against Orion and his happiness. But why did the moon goddess think it was a good idea to pair me and Orion like this? What happened to give me my mate? Why out of all the werewolves did she pick Orion to share a mate with me? It just didn't make sense.I sighed as I climbed into the back of the car and leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes. Thinking about the situation was frustrating as well as draining and I
Chapter 147Bryan's POV Two weeks later…“I'm glad you're feeling much better,” Orion said as soon as I parked in front of Old Man Heartfield’s house. Leaning back in my seat, I killed the engine and shrugged but I didn't reply. Perhaps all it took was for me to see him in pain for me to come back to my senses. Barely two weeks ago, I had been spiraling out of control and losing my mind but now, my mind was clearer than ever. Ciara's disappearance still kept me up at night but now I knew better that wallowing wasn't the solution, not by a long shot. Orion had lost so much in such a short amount of time and maybe if I had sucked it up and handled my grief better then finding Ciara would be the only thing we had to worry about. Now we had Ciara to find, two missing boys and a serial killer on the loose. “What are you thinking so deeply about?” Orion asked, tapping my arm and I was pulled out of my thoughts. What an idiot I have been….He sighed when I didn't reply and opened th
Chapter 146Orion's POV It's been four weeks since Sophie up and left and my men haven't been able to find any trace that'd lead me to her. If she had left all by herself without taking my sons then I wouldn't have bothered but she took them. James and Jeremy had become an essential part of me and knowing that they aren't mine biological hadn't changed that. The love I felt for them when I thought they weren't mine hadn't diminished just because she said they belonged to someone else. If anyone was to blame in this situation then it was her lying cheating ass for deceiving me all these years. She made me leave Ciara, my tree mate and she did this to me. Such a witch. It's no wonder Bryan has always hated her. He had been able to see through her bullshit while I had loving up on her back then. When she eloped with some other guy before our wedding I should have moved on immediately with someone else preferably Ciara. That should have been the sign I needed to know that she wou
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