Jackson’s POV“what the hell is going on here?” I didn’t intend it but my voice was loud, booming in the vast room, the workers had all paused sharing a stare between I and Clara then between themselves before they scurried away from the living area. I knew that I should mind my tone with Clara but she really couldn’t be reasoned with. I had left Aurora, skipping kilometers to get to Clara, thinking she was hurt or ill, not that I really gave two fucks, but she was my mate and her father’s daughter; if she goes; first, I wasn’t getting away unscathed either. God! The frustration.Clara merely turned, a stupid grin across her lips. Her effort to stand up from the couch was a fail given that the bag of chips she was eating turned over on the expensive chaise lounge.“babe!” she piped up, “you came.” She finally stood up arms wide open and embraced me. My body stiffened in response, she noticed because I felt her head turn to glance at me. Whatever it was that she made me feel at
CLARA'S POVAs I walked up the stairs, anger simmered in my vein.Jackson was a douche bag. A pathetic loser.No wonder he was given an ultimatum to assume a position that was his. Thinking about it made my finger nails curl and dig crescents in my palm.I pushed the double doors to the en suite I shared with my husband, the cold air sweeping through my skin, the vastness of luxury was to my taste but the loneliness I felt whenever I entered this room and slept all by myself, was sickening.I deserved better.Jackson wasn’t the only one who had been in love with someone else, I had someone else too. I loved someone else but he wasn’t my fated mate.Jackson was, and somehow, over a short time of forced proximity pioneered by our families, I found Jackson lovable, I was bonding with him but the fool was obsessing over another woman.The distance in his eyes whenever I spoke to him about my concerns.What! He had a problem rushing over to his wife?But he took the time to be with Auror
CHAPTER 32CLARA'S POV Maybe my wolf was enjoying it too much, and my brain was too foggy to decipher. Jackson's tongue roamed my mouth, stealing any chance of air that I had and, at the same time, removing every question of doubt in my head.He let go of my hands and pressed his hand onto my waistline, squeezing. His mouth drinking in more of me.My hands, erratic at their freedom, roamed his body, my nails scratching against his dress shirt. I squirmed against him and a distressed moan escaped from me. His hands wrapped around me as he unzipped my dress, the zipper bearing the grunt of his innate desires. The sound of my dress ripping halted both of us briefly. I chuckled, and he smiled against my lips.He smiled. He smiled.Jackson fucking smiled at me.What was he on?What was he thinking? Did my threat really do the trick?The thinking was brief, foggy. Sensible thoughts didn’t last a minute. He was kissing me, intoxicating me with his scent.We were back to kissing. Our han
ETHAN'S POVA wide grin appeared on my face, it had been years since I last saw him and he looked the same but a lot sharperThe scar on his eyebrow had not been there and he had grown out his hair like he always said that she would He always said that he would look dangerous if he grew out his beard and hair, and damn, he was right; he did look dangerous.The telltale of a smile forming on his face was there, a corner of his lips lifted in a smirk.He had done some jobs for me in the past but it was either through one of my men passing a message to him or through calls or texts.“My! Have you changed!”Fenrir exclaimed, a cigarette in between the pad of his thumb and a finger.“You say that with so much surprise when we both know that you've been watching me for the past years”I shot back at him“Well, how can I not, you are always on the screen, gets tiring after a while though”Fenrir said as he took a drag from the cigarette he held.“Want some”“Nah, I'm good. I quit ““Oh yes,
AURORA'S POVI had told Jackson to go, I had said that I did not want to have anything to do with him. I had told him never to show his face to me again. Or at least I had thought that I had.But instead, I was so weak and pathetic that I broke. I could not hold back my emotions.Despite everything he had done, once he mentioned loving me, everything that I had tried to hate him for fled from my mind.I was so ready to forget about all his past indiscretions and act like nothing ever happened, act like he had not stomped on my heart and chosen someone else over me, act like he had not thrown away the five years that we had shared without so much as a thought.Once Jackson began to say how much he regretted doing what he did, I could feel my heart melt. I had tried to steel myself against him but it was impossible.My brain told me that I should hate him and I should cut him off from my life, but my heart told me otherwise, and my body went along with it.His touch on my skin sent flam
ETHAN'S POVI needed to focus on getting Heather better for Aurora. Obsessing about Fenrir and my past could wait till Heather and Aurora were okay.Letting myself feel insecure was not something that I could afford. I had too many responsibilities resting on me.One thing I always prided myself on was my ability to carry out my responsibilities no matter the situation.Right now, Heather was my responsibility; not only was she the best friend and only family to my mate.I and Heather had developed a friendship, one that I was beginning to cherish.She was the most fiery and outspoken woman that I had ever met. Usually, the most powerful men cowered at my name, but Heather was not scared to face me down as long as it concerned Aurora.I had never seen a friendship as fierce and loyal as the one that they shared.They loved each other so much, Heather could do everything from Aurora. I never for once doubted her intentions toward my mate. She would never let harm come to her, and for t
AURORA’S POVThe ward door slid open and for a moment I felt sheer anticipation,And I thought finally Heather came. My brief moment of bliss deflated like a ball to a needle.To my disappointment, it was just the doctors who had been treating me.I felt a brief pang of guilt that, at that moment, I felt so little of the doctors who had saved my life; I didn’t mean that anyway. I just hadn't seen Heather and the more hours passed, the more uneasy I felt.Heather and her phone were 5 and 6.She’d even borrowed the charger from the convenience store salesperson once she was on five percent, and now two days had passed with no sign of her.Did she even know about the incident?It’s possible she didn’t.That was the only available answer.The doctors did the regular rites of checking my vitals and then asking questions about how I was feeling, whether or not I was feeling pain, and I gave my answers briefly and curtly. My eyes wandered to the door more frequently than I looked up at the
CHAPTER 37AURORA'S POV Oh, goddess. Aurora! My mind echoed it just as Heather would had she been here.For weeks, she had been trying to get me to see the reason why I should let go of Jackson and embrace Ethan.She was rightShe was always right.Where was Heather?“so there were no other visitors?” I asked.The nurse shook her head and looked down at her feet as if waiting to see if I had any other questions; when none was forthcoming, she slipped out of the ward.Outside the ward, I heard the Nurse’s cheery voice greeting someone. The deep voice had asked, “How is she?” and the nurse had given a breakdown; it was all muffled, so I didn’t even know who it was; besides, she wasn’t like a personal caregiver or anything like that.A few moments later, the door slid open, and once again,n, my anticipation spilled on the floor, or, surprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed. I could feel my eyes light up a fraction, and it felt like a trapped bird was flapping in my chest. As incomprehensib
ETHAN'S POV“What the hell do you mean by you were coerced? What the fuck are you talking about Dahlia?”I asked in confusion , releasing my grip from the glass I was holding unconsciously.“I could not tell you then because I was afraid, I was afraid that you would not believe me, that you would be so angry with me. I was afraid that if I had told you the truth, you would do something rash and get yourself into trouble, that you would lose favour in your dad's eyes if you go trying to defend my honour”“What the fuck are you talking about?”I growled loudly at her, even more confused by her words.“André..”Dahlia started , then burst into tears.I was at a loss of what to do, was I meant to go to her side and try to calm her down? Or stay put?The anger in me was slowly disappearing with the increasing amount of tears that flowed from her eyes.“He threatened me. André threatened me, I did not know what to do, I had to just go along with it. He told me that if I did not go along wi
ETHAN'S POV“D..Dahlia?”It took me approximately two minutes to gather myself and even after those two minutes, I could feel my blood grow cold as I stared at the woman standing in front of meDahlia Monroe, the love of my life who betrayed me and left me shattered and broken, the mate I had chosen for myself who took up and left when things seemed bleak.The woman claimed that the little boy in her hands, who looked like a splitting image of me, was my son.I had not realized that I had tightened the grip I had on Aurora's hand till she gasped.Immediately I dropped her hand like I was burnt.“Sorry, I..”“Who is she?”Aurora asked me in a soft voice, one full of confusion similar to the tone of her voice.“Oh me? I am the mother of his child and I would say the love of his life”“Dahlia”I said in a sharp tone immediately.Aurora's expression changed from that of confusion to disbelief then to hurt and betrayal.It was written as clear as day on her face. I had never mentioned anyt
ETHAN'S POVWhen I got news of the unrest at the pack, I had to drop everything to go settle things back there like I usually did, but this time, it was different.In the past, it had always been so easy for me to drop everything and just go but that was when I did not have Aurora.The mere thought of going to bed without her in my arms, without the feel of her soft skin, which smelled so sweetly of lavender, er, and her hair that smelled like jasmines killed me.The soft sounds she made while she was asleep became my ho, m,e, and her habit of leaving her bunny fuzzy slipper everywhere in the house was comfort.But I had to remember that no matter what, the pack came first; I had to go and nip the unrest in the bud before it became something else.“Can I follow you at least?”Aurora asked me as she folded my clothes into a bag while I got dressed.“No, baby, you have to stay here and watch things for me, we can't both the gone at once, we still have a company under our care”“But..”
One month later DAHLIA'S POV“It is a beautiful place André, but I would have preferred somewhere closer”I said as I walked into the house that André had purchased for me. As usual, it met up to all my requirements and my taste.“Are you sure you want to go through with this? Is there even any point to it, I thought that you had moved past all of it ?”André asked me as I picked up a white vase and admired it quietly.“Say something”“What do you want me to say? There is nothing that you can say to me that would change my mind now. My mind had been made up; the plans had been set. It is happening André, whether you like it or not.*****************************************I had worn this dress only once; I had bought it to receive one of the most important awards of my career, and today that was exactly what I was going to wear.It was a sequined green dress that exposed my cleavage and my long legs, it made me look extremely sexy and exoticI stared at my mirror, I looked like perf
Weeks laterAURORA'S POVThe hostility I had expected was found lacking. I had thought that many of the workers would hate me but it seemed that little by little they were getting used to the idea of me in the office.Having Jackson just opposite my office was honestly really crazy. Most times, I caught him staring at me, with anger and longing in his eyes.He had made it clear that he hated the fact that I had a higher position than him in the office.Knowing Jackson, I was not surprised that his male ego was bruised. After all, he had always been like that, everything was always about me.Not only was he prejudiced about that, but he had also made it his life mission for some reason to get me back.I came to the for a few days to see flowers, chocolates, plates, and little gifts on my table, and I knew immediately that they were from Jackson.One thing I did not want to find out about was that. I could not let that happen, I had to stop Jackson one way or the other.Dropping my bag
CLARA'S POVOver the years, I had perfected restraining myself and burying my emotions.Mummy had always told me that a lady should not show emotions. Honestly, I think that because she was incapable of showing it having emotions, she thought it was normal.Jackson's words never left me; I could have dismissed them as drunken words, but deep down, I knew that he meant every word he said to me last night.There was no way that I was going to let it go; he had said those things to me, his mate, because of that dreadful bitch.“Did you complete the job?”I said into the receiver.“I did exactly what you asked me to but someone got in the way and saved her”The hitman that I had hired to kill Aurora replied “What?! Are you trying to tell me that she is alive?”“I am sorry ma'am”“You are so fucking stupid, I gave you one simple task, one little task and you could not carry it out. You are so damn useless”I shouted into the phone and threw the phone to the ground.Jackson and Aurora were
JACKSON'S POVThe ride to the office was filled with me regretting my life choices after that little stunt of Clara's this morning.I had had it with her already, but I was in a cell, and I just had to butter up my prison guard to survive.Handing my key to the valet, I walked into the office, heading straight to my new but not-so-new office.After I had gotten married to Clara, Ethan had done well on his promise and promoted me to manager which had very nice perks.I had my own office, it was luxurious, not as much as I would have loved it to be, but it was quiet and private. What I loved most about it was the name tag on my door.As soon as I sat down, a knock resounded in my office.“Come in”I said as Pearl, my secretary brought my daily cup of coffee whilst balancing some files on her other hand.“Good morning, Mr Jackson. I hope you had a very nice and relaxing weekend?”She asked in that shy little voice of hers.Pearl had not always been my secretary, initially when I had been
AURORA'S POVSaying I felt jitters was an understatement. I had stalled resuming my position in the company with the excuse of after the marriage and I knew that there was no excuse I could give again.I was married to the CEO of Thompson Incorporations, and I was meant to be the COO. To say that I felt very unworthy was an understatement. Knowing how people were, I was aware that I would be gossiped about and called names, like being a gold digger, a slut, and the like.I took deep breaths as I stared into the fog-covered mirror, running my hands through my wet hair; I sighed.No matter what, I was worthy of this position. Over the years, I had worked my ass off to attain my qualifications, and even today, a fortune only smiled at me because I was married to Ethan. At the end of it all, he was my mate, and he felt I was worthy, and that was all that mattered.I picked up the blow dryer and started drying my hair, still unable to shake off the nerves that were growing and increasing
JACKSON'S POV“Argh! Close the damn blinds”I mumbled as the light entered into my eyes and worsened the banging in my head“You are late for work. There's aspirin beside the table and a glass of water; take it, get dressed, and come downstairs. We need to talk”Clara said in a stiff voice and walked away.I had only heard that voice once, and that was when Clara was planning to annihilate a shop attendant who spilled wine on her limited-edition white gown.“Fuck! Why did I drink so much”I mumbled as I grabbed my head between my handsPopping the pills, I swallowed it down with some water, immediately feeling a little bit of relief.I hopped into the shower and as I washed my face I remembered all my words to Clara last night“Fuck!”I groaned.The soap I had applied to my face entered into my eye.“Ow, ow, fuck!!!”I grimaced, trying to wash it off, the sudden movement had me spiraling to the floor and I hit my face on the tub “Argh”I groaned.Why was this morning so bad? Was this