Declan's POVI left the room after watching their little reunion party. Jenny was still the attractive lady I used to know. If she hadn't left, it would have been a matter of time before she gave in to my request because I could tell that she was only holding back because of Vanesa which made me chase after her even more, back then.I found myself staring at her ass which seemed to have popped out a little more, and for the first time, I felt disgusted at myself for ogling at a lady like that. It was something I did every time without caring about how others felt, so I wondered what changed.I went into my office to take care of the papers waiting for me to go through them when I realized that I had left my phone behind. Feeling a bit lazy, I thought of calling one of the maids to bring it for me, but none of them were in sight.Where are those idiots when you need them?I went back into Dame's room angrily, but before I could enter, I overheard Vanessa introducing Dame to Jenny. For
Vanessa's POVI hummed along to one of my favourite songs as it played through the speaker, while I cooked in the kitchen."You seem to be in a pretty good mood," Ayra said as she passed me the bowl of onions she had just chopped."I am. After what seemed like forever, my life is finally getting on the right track, of course, I am grateful." I smiled."I can't wait to see Dame playing around the house once again," Ayra said as if she was picturing how he used to be in her head and I smiled."Yeah. We are making all of his favourite food. I don't know what they have been feeding him, but I'm not sure I can trust them either."Ayra and I continued to cook as I swayed my hips to the music playing."You are having a little party here and you refused to tell me?" Tristan chuckled as he entered the kitchen."Hey, when did you get back?" I asked, with my eyes focused on the flour I was mixing."Just now. Why are you making so much food?" He asked"I'm taking them to Dame later. He looked so
Declan's POVJust when I almost felt sorry for her, she blurted out that I was the only man she had ever loved, which confirmed my suspicion.She is only with Tristan to get back at me, and not because she loves him. I couldn't help but question myself if they were indeed mates like they had claimed, because now that I think about it, all of their lovey-dovey acts might only be a facade… to convince us that they are in love."Do you even feel anything for him? You are only using him, right? To rise to power, to prove a point." I scoffed."Seeing how you are focused on seeing the worst in me, I will allow your imagination to take over.""Shouldn't you be ashamed of yourself?" I scoffed. I know Tristan well enough to know that he was not one to play games. He wouldn't look at her with love and adoration if it was all a facade at his end. He is not a good actor."How can you proudly confess to love for another man when you feel nothing for yourself? You are just an attention seeker who d
Declan's POVI went to the doctor's office with the two samples in my hands, hoping to get a result as soon as I could."Alpha, I wasn't expecting to see. Trust everything is fine. How is the boy doing?" The doctor asked with a concerned look."He is doing quite alright…" I brought out the two samples in my hand and handed them to him. "I came here because of this. Can you run a paternity test with this? I need the result as soon as possible."The doctor took the sample in my hands and examined it. "Running a paternity test is not a problem, but it will take a couple of days for the result to come out if not weeks." The doctor explained."No, that is too far. I need to get the result as soon as I can. If possible, within two to three days. Anything longer than that would be too late." I muttered.The alliance meeting will be held soon, I can't afford to miss the opportunity to prove how indecent Vanessa is because of the time."Alpha, I know that it might be urgent, but I can't guaran
Tristan's POVIt has passed midnight and Vanessa hasn't come back. This is so unlike her. At first I thought she lost track of time because of Dame but I became more worried after calling her line the first time, and she seemed to end the call before turning off her phone.Vanessa would never do that on a normal day unless something was wrong. Could she be in trouble? The guard that drives her around hasn't returned either.I can't help but think that something is wrong.I paced the room, thinking of what to do because it was late already. What if she is in trouble? Should I organize my men to look for her right now?Sleeping over is not part of the deal, so she can't be in Declan's house by this time, unless he had something off his sleeve… and if I am being honest, I don't trust him around her.Uncertain about how to feel, I went out to check if Ayra was still awake. She is the closest person to Vanessa in this house. Perhaps she might have reached out to her already.If she was to
Vanessa's POVI felt a little hand around me and opened my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar room. Where am I? I jerked up before realization hit me. I was still in Dame's room, and he was still fast asleep beside me.I must have been exhausted from all the cries. I went to the curtain, and they were closed. The lights were off too… that is probably why I didn't realize it was morning already.I felt comfortable that I didn't realize that I wasn't at home. I wondered why no one woke me up to go home. Jenny must have been the one who turned off the light and drew the curtain.Tristan! Tristan would be worried sick about me. I searched for my phone and saw it on the nightstand, already off.Geez, Tristan would have lost his cool. I turned on my phone and saw his missed calls. I called him back immediately, and he picked up on the first ring."Vanessa," he said into the phone, and I could hear his breath of relief."I know, I'm sorry… I lost track of time and slept off." I apologised.
Declan's POVEvery time I try to do something nice, I always end up regretting it, just like right now. All I did was allow her to sleep peacefully and instead of gratitude which I wasn't even expecting from her, I ended up with an accusation.Me? Try to sabotage her to get the alliance's favour. Why would I need to do that when she has ruined all of her chances by herself? I just need the result to come out and all of her pride would be gone before she knows it.I wondered if it was joblessness that made me go into the room that early in the first place, only to close the curtain to avoid the sun from disturbing their sleep."She wouldn't be this angry if you hadn't done worse in the past. You should do better." My wolf said, and I am starting to hate how he only reacts when it concerns Vanessa."Why do you look so angry?" Jude broke the silence."Vanessa slept over," I muttered, and his lips formed an 'O' in an instance as if that explained it all."Wasn't she supposed to leave afte
Vanessa's POVI left Declan's house angrily, and thankfully, my driver didn't leave me behind or I would just have to be looking for another means to get home now."Luna, I was so worried that something might have happened." He heaved out a sigh as soon as he saw me."If you notice that I am running late another time, please, come and find me. I can't spend another night here." I said, and he nodded.The drive back home was filled with silence, and the only sound that could be heard was that of the engine and my beating heart.I hate how much Declan was capable of bringing out the worst in me, and if anything, I hate that I might have ruined Tristan's chances of winning if Declan decided to inform the alliance that I broke the rules.Speaking of alliance, I still need to find evidence as soon as possible…"Luna, we are home."I looked out the window to find the car already parked in the garage. I didn't even notice that we had been in the car for that long. My mind was occupied with d
Vanessa's POV"Vanessa! Come and play with us!""Yes please, we are tired of playing alone," the kids whined as I sat down on the swing and watched them play by themselves."No, we want to play hide and seek," one of the kids whined, and I smiled at them."We have been playing hide and seek all morning," I said, still panting, from running for a long time. "You should play another game or I will have everyone go back inside," I threatened them, but it didn't even look like they were listening to me."Let's play a video game. Whoever wins gets to decide what we do next," one of the kids suggested, and I couldn't help but smile about how they reminded me of Dame in every way. That trick was the same Tristan and Dame always used to get whatever they want, and watching the kids say the same thing made me smile.It was as if the kids knew about my past life. They always find a way to remind me of the past in every way.It's been three years since I left the southern pack. Three years of le
Vanessa's POVI have concluded that I would be leaving once I regained my strength, but I do not want what happened when I tried to leave the last time to repeat itself. I know Declan would probably be looking all over the place for me, and he might have stopped me from leaving again, so I thought of writing a letter to him instead.I knew going to see him and telling him whatever I had to say was the proper way to end everything, but I was afraid that I might change my mind if I saw his pained expression, or even melt at his words if he surprised me by begging me to stay or do something worse like lock me up in his house to prevent me from leaving. With Declan, one can never be too sure.I opened the drawer and saw everything the way I left it. It was as if Tristan was hoping that one day I would return back to him. I expected him to throw out all of my belongings and wipe out every single trace or reminder of me in his pack, but he didn't.I imagined the good life I could have had w
Declan's POVTwo days have passed, and I have no clue where Vanessa might be. Even after watching the CCTV footage, I refused to believe that Vanessa would leave me. I spoke to the doctor and he said the side effects of the drug and injection he gave her were drowsiness and hallucination. Judging from how she left the hospital, I want to believe that she was sleepwalking and she is properly in some kind of danger right now.I had my men look everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. We searched everywhere… every single road that led to the hospital. The streets nearby, we even went as far as searching through the people's houses, but there was no sign of Vanessa.I sat in my room, tapping on my table as I thought of where she might have gone. What if she had an accident? Then, the police would have said something. She doesn't have anywhere to go. She doesn't even have anything on her, where could she possibly go?Jenny…I rushed over to the kitchen where Jenny was busy cutt
Vanessa's POVCrying for so long made me feel numb and it felt like there was no water left in my eyes to shed. The injection given to me made me drowsy and my head felt heavy. I know the smartest thing to do right now was to sleep or at least lay on the bed and get some rest, but I can't afford to be anywhere around Declan anymore and I just wanted to leave.Staying in the hospital reminds me of how I watched Dame's lifeless body on the bed without being able to do anything to revive him and I think it's best to just leave.My vision was blurry, and I felt so weak. I knew I had to leave, but I couldn't even think straight. With trembling hands, I reached for the tube in my arm, wincing as I pulled it out. The pain shot through me, but I gritted my teeth and kept going. Finally, I was able to pull it out, and I staggered out of the ward, barefoot and disoriented.Every step felt like a hassle as I made my way down the corridor. I have to get out of here. Those were the only thoughts i
Declan's POVI stormed back home, feeling enraged, as my insides boiled with anger like a pot left unattended on a raging fire. Guilt weighed down on me at the reminder of Vanessa's accusations, and shame chewed me up inside. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Dame died because of me, I killed him.Even if that was true, it's not like I neglected them intentionally. She has equal blame in all of this. She ran away with my child and only showed up years later. If she hadn't left, or if she had ignored her pride and informed me about the pregnancy, none of this would have happened.Dame's death hasn't been easy on me too, heck, it hasn't been easy on anyone. Even the maids are grieving his death so what made her think she could get mad at me on this? I understand that she was mourning her child, but he was my son too.I could feel all sorts of emotions surge inside me; anger, irritation, hurt, and pain.The last time I felt this way was when I lost Ellena, and now, once agai
Chapter 140Vanessa's POVI woke up in the hospital bed, surrounded by the sterile scent of antiseptic and the low hum of medical equipment. My body felt heavy like I was being dragged in the mud, and all of my pain came rushing back in double folds.When I lost Dame in the rogue attack, I thought that would be the end of me. I cried every day and became a mess because he was all I lived for. But then Tristan came back to tell me he was alive, all of my pains vanished into the air. It felt like I was given a reason to live again. To work harder, to become a better mother.Just when I thought I had all the time in the world to be with my boy, I lost him to the cold hands of death. I wanted to scream, to yell out my frustration. I wanted to blame somebody so badly, and hate them for the rest of my life, but where do I begin?I haven't shed a single tear since we got back home from the hospital. This one was different— I had two weeks to prepare for his death. His death wasn't exactly ne
Chapter 139Declan's POVIt's been a week since Dame died. Seven miserable days of wishing and hoping even though no amount of breakdown would bring him back. The last time I felt this vulnerable was when Ellena died. I wasn't even this sad when I lost my parents.Everything felt vain and I had lost the will to continue with my role as the Alpha or do anything to gain more wealth or power. What was the use of all my power and influence when it couldn't save my son from dying?What is the point of being the most powerful Alpha when I can't even keep the one thing I wanted most in my life?What hurt the most was the fact that I was beside Dame when he took his last breath, but I wasn't there for him. I slept peacefully that night, thinking I still had another day to grant his wishes. I went to bed feeling on top of the world because I finally got to hear him call me father, not knowing those would be his last words.If only I had known that those were the last time I'd hear him speak, m
Vanessa's POVI traced my hands on the bed, expecting to feel a small hand or at least a tiny body, but there was none. I opened my eyes lazily and found myself in a room different from the one I thought I would be in.I was at Dame's ward until last night, how did I end up here? Judging from the smell, I could tell that I was still at the hospital. Did I pass out? I searched my body checking for any visible injury but other than the throbbing pain in my heart and the headache that has become a constant thing since I found out about Dame's health, I am all good.Maybe Declan brought me here so that I can sleep peacefully. I stood up from the bed and made my way to Dame's ward, where Dame and Declan were sleeping peacefully.This is the first time Declan has looked peaceful since we have been visiting the hospital. He was trying so hard to stay strong, to hide his feelings, but he couldn't always keep them in check. His expressions sometimes sell him off.Dame clung onto Declan's cloth
Declan's POVVanessa paced the room anxiously, waiting for Tristan to return with Dame as I watched from the minibar. We haven't said a word to each other since our last encounter in the morning and I do not want to say another word knowing she would end up misunderstanding it.Right on cue, Tristan came in with Dame sleeping peacefully in his arms. Vanessa's worried expression was soon replaced with excitement as she rushed over to his side."Thank you so much for today," Vanessa gave Tristan a warm smile which made my stomach twitch. The way Dame and Vanessa act so comfortable around Tristan was enough to rile me up, and once again, Tristan does that thing he always does.He acts like the perfect gentleman that Vanessa could always lean on. Too fake if you ask me. They seemed to be carried away with their little conversation to notice my presence.I made my way to them, and Tristan handed a basket of fruit to Vanessa simultaneously."What is that?" I pointed at the little puppy roam