Chapter 69Ciara's POV “Grandfather looks so much better. I can't wait for him to be discharged.” I remarked as I eased the car into the driveway. Grandma Grace smiled and nodded. “I have missed having him around the house.” I teased her a bit and she flushed and scolded me to focus on driving. I obeyed and parked beside the other car into the driveway. “Home at last.” I sighed and turned off the engine. “What should we have for dinner?” She shrugged. “Let's just get inside first and we'd know once we see what's available in the house.” “Hold on my dear, let me help you.” She hurried out of the car and ran over to my side. “Alright , gently now.” I rolled my eyes but didn't argue as I gave her my hand. I rubbed my belly as I finally stood on the ground and smiled. In a few months, I'd be holding my baby in my arms and I couldn't wait. “Are you in pain, dear?” She asked and I shook my head. We walked side by side towards the house in silence after that, both of us deep in th
Chapter 70Orion's POV “Orion, what did she say to you? You look sick.” Sophie asked, raising her hand to touch me but I stepped back. “Don't touch me,” I glared at her and she stepped back, her eyes filled with hurt. Grandma Grace quickly ran over to me. “I'm so sorry Alpha, it must be the hormones kicking in. Once she's well rested I'll speak to her.” She assured me but I had just one question. “Who's the child's father?” My voice was calm and low compared to the raging storm brewing inside me. She shook her head, her stance unsettled as she replied. “She's in a much better position to answer that question.” My heart broke into two and I stormed out of the room, guided by my anger. “Orion slow down …wait!” Sophie called from behind me but I didn't pause and just kept going. “Alpha,” the driver shook as he noticed my mood and quickly got into the car after closing the door on my end. “Just drive!!” I ordered when he kept looking out the window. “Wait!” Sophie yelled before
Chapter 71 Bryan's POV “Let me through! I need to see him!” I rubbed my head and tried to block out the noise but it only got louder. I knew who the voices belonged to and I found it strange that my stoic brother was here making a scene at my pack, again. “Alpha, let me check who it is,” my Beta Ryan said, rising to his feet but I shook my head. “Leave it,” I ordered in an even tone and glanced around the room at the men sitting there. “We are having a meeting but it seems the rest of you are not even paying attention.” I leaned back in my seat and glared. “If any of you decide to leave, then get out.” “Bryan, you coward, come out here!” Orion shouted from outside. “Get out here you shameless wife thief!” I sighed and shook my head with an amused smile. So this was about Ciara. “Everyone gets out, the meeting is adjourned.” Then I pointed at Ryan and said softly, “Get that raving dog in here.” He nodded and walked away. I sat there, my mind reeling with different t
Chapter 72 Ciara's POV I stepped out of the car and thanked the can man before walking into the packhouse through the gates. The guards all knew me by now and so they just nodded their heads with a smile and let me walk past them. I walked inside, one hand resting on my belly in a protective manner that had slowly become a habit while the other was dangling by my side. I stopped by Mikey's room but he wasn't there. “He went out with one of the maids. Young master likes to go into the village, walk around the pack and meet new people.” A guard who passed by stopped amd explained when he noticed me looking into Mikey's empty room. I smiled and nodded approvingly. I knew he was such a sweet boy and I was glad that Bryan had actually thought it was a good idea to adopt him. “Alright. Is Alpha Bryan around?” He nodded and pointed me in the direction of Bryan's office even though I already knew my way around. Still I thanked him and made my way there. The door was slightl
Chapter 73 Bryan's POV “Alpha, you sent for me?” Ryan asked as he walked into my office and I nodded. “Come in,” I motioned to the seats in front of me. He looked unsure but didn't saee defy me. I sighed as I saw how one she he was. “Relax Ryan, I just want to talk. I need your advice on something,” I explained further when he still remained stoic. “What do you need, Alpha?” He asked in a more relaxed tone and I smiled, leaning back in my seat. “It's about Ciara, my mate and our future Luna.” I gave him a quick rundown of everything that had happened, from Ciara pining her pregnancy on me to Orion showing to make a scene. “She came here yesterday and apologized for putting me in the middle of things. Or course I don't care about that. I wish above all else that she'll accept me as hers finally.” He nodded and then leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “What advice do you seek now Alpha?” “I want her to know how I can make her mine without any doubt. I want her
Chapter 74 Orion's POV Three months later…. “What does it say dear?!” My mother asked Sophie who had locked herself in the bathroom for almost an hour. “Come out here or you're going to make my blood pressure rise.” I rolled my eyes and stood up to leave the room. I had no interest in whatevers they were doing. My mother was too desperate for a grandchild and wanted one at all costs. She already forced me into marrying Sophie although the final push was Ciara admitting that Bryan was the father of her child. That had broken me more than I cared to admit. I had already told Sophie that our marriage was one only in name and I'd only sleep with her for child bearing purposes and nothing more. “Sophie darling, what does it say?” She was pacing back and forth and making me dizzy. This was about the 10th pregnancy test Sophie was using in three months and my mother was hoping that this one would come out positive. I couldn't blame her since she wanted grandchildren but perha
Chapter 75 Ciara's POV “Orion, what is the meaning of this? Give me back my phone!” I yelled and stood on my tiptoe to reach for it but he only snickered and repeated my action, towering over me. “You're such a jerk,” “And you're a slut, guess we are even.” He shot back at me and I blanched at the harshness in his tone. He was refering to Mikey's parentage and that of this baby in my womb. It was a shame I couldn't tell him the truth and he had to believe whatever he saw. “Just give me my phone, you can't do this!” I hollered, completely frustrated with his behavior. He snickered when he saw my facial expression and walked over to me. He stared at me for a while without saying anything before he suddenly started laughing. Startled, I took a step back but this only made him laugh even harder. A shiver ran down my spine and I clenched my hands into fists at my side. I closed my eyes and tried to regain control of my breathing. “Did you ever love me?” At the question, my
Chapter 76 Bryan's POV I made sure Ciara's footsteps had faded before I turned to Orion with a smirk on my face. “You know you always make things easy for me. I can't believe my luck when it comes to you.” He frowned. “What are you blabbering about?” “You Orion, you're such a fool. How could you be so stupid to make things so easy for me?” “Get out of my way, I need to check on my wife.” My eyebrows raised at the words my wife and I scoffed. “It seems your brain isn't processing things any longer so I'll help you.” I stepped closer and glared at him. “Ciara doesn't want anything to do with you Orion. You got married to Sophie and I know that you're just sticking around to see if Ciara would take you back but you need to wake up and smell the coffee; she's never going back to you again!” His face turned ugly and he shoved me. “That's not your call to make. She's the only one that gets to decide that.” I snickered. “She's carrying my child so don't you think I can ask her
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
Chapter 136 Orion's POV “Hey babe,” Sophia whispered as she walked into the dining room. I grunted and turned my face away when she tried to kiss me. “What's wrong? Did someone upset you?” She asked and I scoffed. Was she really that oblivious to the disgust I felt for her? I motioned for one of the servants to set the table and pushed Sophia away lightly. She huffed and went to sit down but she kept touching me and leaning over to put her hands on me. “Don't you take a hint? I wish to be left alone,” I yelled, unable to tolerate her behaviour anymore. “Why are you reacting like this? I always do this,” I shook my head and stood up. “Have breakfast by yourself.” I stormed off, fuming and shaking in anger. I made my way to the room and slammed the door hard behind me. She ran after me and walked into the room after a few seconds. “What is going on? What did I do wrong Orion?” I shook my head and pointed to the door. “I just want to be on my own. Is that too m
Chapter 135 Bryan's POV “How long have you known?” The old man made a sound in the back of his throat but didn't respond. I shifted in my seat feeling very uncomfortable. After a while of silence, I cleared my throat. “I didn't mean to keep the truth from you. I was just hoping I'd have found Ciara by now.” He grunted but still kept quiet. I cleared my throat. “Please say something,” I begged, almost about to fall on my knees before him. “I know I should have told you. I was wrong to keep something as important away from you but I thought I was protecting you and her family from the pain.” He nodded and finally spoke, his words shocking me. “How have you been holding up?” I blinked, wondering if I had heard him right. “You…” He sighed. “Look Bryan,.I get why you did what you did. Am I angry you hid the truth from me concerning my granddaughter's situation? Yes I am. But at the end of the day, you did what you thought was best and I can't fault you for that.” My eyes
Chapter 134 Bryan's POV Turning on my side in bed, I opened my eyes and yawned. A smile slowly made its way to my lips as I recalled the events planned for today. Ciara would be coming home today after several months of being held hostage by her crazy relative Orion had been so sure that Lucas and his men would come up with better results than the other men we had assigned to the job a while back. I had my doubts but with no other options available, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Lucas didn't disappoint and gave us the first major clue. He had managed to do what we couldn't do in the months since we had been conducting the investigation. The best part was the place had been infiltrated with our own people who knew that Ciara's life was the top priority. I had repeated it constantly to Lucas that I'd rather have Ciara held hostage but alive than dead and gone. Despite having all this set aside, I couldn't brush off the nagging feeling in my mind tha