Landry’s POVCora was dead. Whoever killed her, placed her head in a box and sent it to him.For what reason would they do this? He quickly closed the box and mindlinked his beta. His beta arrived shortly after, poking his head into his office worriedly. Telling from Landry’s tone, it wasn’t going to be good.“Who was in here?” Landry demanded to know.His Beta looked confused as he stared around the room.“Nobody that I know of, sir,” his Beta said, his frown deepening. “Why? What’s wrong?”“Somebody left me a gift,” Landry said darkly.The Beta eyed the box carefully before approaching it. He gasped loudly when he saw what was inside, stumbling backward in shock and horror.“Is that—”“Now I’m going to ask you again,” Landry asked, his voice deepening. “Who the hell was in my office?”His Beta thought about it more carefully.“There was a maid that came in here earlier. She said she was looking for you. I saw her on the way out. I told her you were at the hospital with the Omega….
Landry’s POVThe last thing Landry wanted to do was ask the vampire lord for a favor. But it was something he needed to do if he wanted to save Bernice’s life. This could be the one ticket they needed: the missing puzzle piece.Bernice looked unsure about the plan; she played with her fingers, avoiding his eyes as she pondered what he was saying.“It might be the only way,” Landry says to her again, keeping his voice soft in case there were lurkers outside the bedroom door. “Bernice, we have to try.”“You weren’t there…” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly as the memory of the previous nights surfaced in her mind. He knew she was thinking about the torment she endured. He couldn’t even imagine what she went through. “It was terrible, Landry. He…” her voice trailed off.Landry wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.“I’m sorry that I couldn’t find you soon enough…I’m sorry that it took for him to let you go for you to be safe. I’m sorry I let Cora distract me fro
Bernice’s POVLandry returned later in the evening, and I knew from looking at his worn face that the talk with Alaric didn’t go well.He’s out of his mind,” he mumbled, shaking his head in thought. “He’s requesting that you meet with him alone.”“Alone?” I asked, raising my brows. “For what reason?”“He wouldn’t explain further. He said whether you go to him alone, or no deal.”My heart weighed heavily in my chest at Landry’s words. I wasn’t just thinking about myself anymore; I needed to do what was best for my pup.“Do you think he would keep his word?” I asked, I couldn’t hide the worry in my tone.“It’s hard to say, but I certainly don’t trust him,” Landry said; a crease formed between his brows. “What other options do we have?” I asked. “If he really can cure me then maybe…”“And if he doesn’t? What if he takes you again?” Landry asked. “I don’t think we should take that chance.”“He had a chance to kill me when he held me captive in his layer. If he wanted me dead, I would be
Landry’s POV“More diapers,” Bernice said, opening her hundredth gift of the evening. “Thank you so much.”“This is the last gift,” Landry said, pulling a smaller box out from under him; this gift was from him.She rose her brows as she took the box from his hands; he could see the questions on her face.She gasped when she saw what it was.The ultrasound picture is in a beautiful frame with the words “baby’s first picture” engraved.She stayed quiet for a moment as she stared at the picture; tears welled up in her eyes. She was speechless.“You kept the picture?” She whispered.He nodded his head once.“I figured you’d change your mind,” he said to her. “So, I asked the nurse privately if she could print it for me.”She pulled her gaze away from the picture to meet his eyes; a few droplets of tears escaped her eyes and fell delicately down her fair features.“I don’t know what to say…”“You don’t have to say anything,” he assured her.He reached out to grasp her hand in his. Just tha
Landry’s POVLandry couldn’t believe the words that Bernice had just spoken. She finally admitted to loving him; she confessed her feelings to him. By the time he was about to say it back, she was already asleep.Did she mean it when she said that?Was it only in the heat of the moment?He watched as her chest rose and fell; he couldn’t possibly sleep after that. He wanted to just wrap her in his arms and never let go of her. He never wanted this moment to end. He wanted to be able to satisfy her like this all the time, for the rest of their lives. He needed to get that cure from Alaric so they could have the life they dream of.He adjusted her on the bed and placed a blanket over her naked body. As much as it pained him to cover her body because he could just stare at her forever. She moved slightly, groggily murmuring something he couldn’t understand.Landry leaned down, pressing his lips against the nape of her neck, smelling the light scent of strawberries, and feeling her soft fl
Bernice’s POV“I don’t understand…” I said, staring at Alaric who was only inches from my face. That wasn’t making any sense. Why would he want me to leave Landry’s pack? Wouldn’t he want me to be close by so he can keep an eye on me?“I have my reasons,” Alaric said, pulling away from me. “Reasons that don’t require your knowledge right now. But that is my condition. You need to make yourself disappear. Leave and don’t return here. Understood?”“If I do that, you’ll cure me?” I asked.I could see the darkened smile on his lips.“Exactly.”“You can’t really be considering this…” Julia said from within me. “I don’t trust him, Bernice. We can’t just leave Landry—” “I have to do what’s best for our child,” I reminded her firmly. “Alaric promised to cure me…” “But what about Landry?”He was going to be upset, but that meant he will have more motive to get rid of Alaric once and for all. Once Alaric was taken care of, I would be able to return to him. I looked down at my stomach with a f
Bernice’s POVIt wasn’t like last time; maybe it was because of the cure, and I was becoming stronger. Or maybe the dosage they gave me to knock me out wasn’t strong enough. I couldn’t move on my own, and it almost felt like I was asleep, however, I could still feel what was going on around me.The guard had wrapped me into his arms and lifted me off the ground once he was sure I was out cold. I remained limp in his arms, mainly because I couldn’t move. It worried me that I had no control of my body or what happened to me, but I had to trust that he was bringing me out of the layer.He was walking down what seemed to be a long hallway and then he paused like was waiting for something. I could hear the electric doors sliding open and then he stepped inside once again.We were going up. It was at that moment that I realized we were down below. We must have been under the ground. That must have been how they were hiding the entire layer. We went through another series of doors and more
Bernice’s POVI was hesitant about letting this strange woman into my home. She had a kind face though and a pleasant smile. She seemed to be around my age too.I reluctantly stepped aside for her to enter my home. She frowned as she looked around.“I wasn’t expecting any visitors,” I tell her, feeling my face warming. “I’m sorry for the mess.”“It’s quite okay,” she said with a chuckle. “Oh my…” she said, staring down at my stomach. “When they said you were pregnant, I wasn’t aware of how pregnant you were. How many months are you due?”“Two,” I answer, placing my hand on my stomach. I could feel my pup quacking under my palm and it made me smile. I had to admit, I was excited to meet my little pup.“Do you know the gender?”“A boy,” I answer.She looked pleased by that response.“How exciting,” she breathed. “I also heard you will be raising this pup on your own. I must admit, I admire your strength.”“I have to do what I can,” I tell her.“When Alpha Adam told me you were choosing
Bernice’s POV6 months later“Oh, my goddess, Bernice!! You look gorgeous!!” Jessie squealed as she ran into my room.I stood in front of my mirror wearing the most beautiful wedding gown I had ever seen. It was designed by the best designers around the kingdom. Jessie wouldn’t let me get my dress from anyone different.I couldn’t believe that today was the day that I was marrying Landry. I never thought this day would come. I kept my long hair up and away from my neck; I wanted my mark to be seen by all eyes as I walked down the aisle to my love. My wedding dress was strapless and hugged my curves perfectly, expanding around my waists and flowing in smooth and delicate fabrics around my feet, expanding outward. There were white flowers decaling the fabrics and a couple of white flowers entwined in the curly locks of my hair.I felt like a princess; this must be how Jessie feels all of the time.Jessie, of course, looked gorgeous in her light pink dress.“I’m honored you chose me to b
Bernice’s POVI couldn’t get back to the palace fast enough. As soon as I got through the front doors, I could smell the scent of my pup. He was in the living room with Caleb.Caleb sat on the couch with my pup in his arms; he was laughing and speaking in the baby which made me smile. Caleb looked up and gave me a wide grin.“We were just bonding,” Caleb said fondly.I chuckled as I made my way over to them; Landry stepped beside me to get a better look at our son and I could feel his breathing out in relief. I knew Landry would be pleased that he looked exactly like him. I could feel his heart growing in size as he stared down at the small pup.“He’s incredible…” Landry breathed; he reached out to touch the pup’s cheek, running his hand down the side of his face. “He’s beautiful.”Tears were welling in Landry’s eyes; my heart was feeling so full at that moment. I was so happy to be with my family once again.“He needs a name still,” I tell him. “I wanted to wait for you.”Landry thou
Bernice’s POVI could already hear the music from the ceremony booming through the city. This wasn’t a place to take a baby. I turned to Caleb and handed him my pup.“Can you take him to the palace?” I asked. “I need to find Landry and congratulate Jessie, and then we will come home.”“Of course,” Caleb said with a fond smile as he gladly took my pup from me. “See you soon,” he said, turning away and heading in the direction of the palace.I smiled fondly as I watched him walk away. After a moment, I turned back in the direction of the ceremony and went toward the music.I had to admit that it was incredibly overwhelming. There was no way I would ever get used to this many people in one place; there had to be hundreds of people at the ceremony. Not many noticed me as I shoved my way through them. A couple of them gasped as they got a glimpse of my face, and I heard some murmurs that I was Landry’s Omega.I certainly didn’t like being called Landry’s anything. I wasn’t his property. Bu
Bernice’s POVI can’t remember the last time I slept that well; it’s been ages. As I opened my eyes, the sun shining through the window nearly blinded me. I winced, feeling a small headache brewing in my temple. I sat up in bed, staring around the fairly plane room. This was another smaller pack so the packhouse was also on the smaller side.I could smell coffee brewing from downstairs, causing my mouth to water. I hadn’t had coffee since before I was pregnant.Wait.Oh, my goddess!I look down at my bed and saw that it was empty.My pup was gone.With a racing heart, I slid out of bed quickly and ran out of the room. I couldn’t get downstairs fast enough. Someone had taken my pup and they were going to pay for this.I didn’t give anybody permission to…“Caleb?” I gasped as I entered the kitchen.Caleb sat at the kitchen with a plate of breakfast, coffee, and my pup in his arms. I stared at him with such disbelief that he broke out into a grin.“I didn’t want to wake you,” he said. “I
Landry’s POVIt’s been 24 hours since Alaric has been killed. It took a few hours for his men to clean the mess of the vampires and go through all of Alaric’s stuff in the layer. There wasn’t much to find other than Alaric’s plans to take over the werewolf territory and eventually work his way to the bear territory.He knew that not all his vampire issues were solved, there will still be vampires that want to defeat the wolves, and there will also be bears that would want to defeat the wolves as well. But at least his biggest problem was done for right now.He could finally breathe; except for the fact that Bernice still couldn’t be found. His Beta had reported moments ago that they have checked 4 packs so far and Bernice wasn’t in any of them. She still had him blocked from their mindlink, so he couldn’t reach out to her.A nasty feeling formed in the pit of Landry’s stomach. What if she doesn’t want to return home?“Don’t be stupid,” his wolf hissed. “Of course, she wants to return
Landry’s POVCaleb stood trembling with blood splattered across his body, standing over Alaric’s dead body. Landry was amazed that Caleb had that much courage and managed to kill Alaric.Caleb looked utterly defeated, and yet he also looked relieved.Landry knew this was a lot for a 15-year-old to take in.He placed his hand on Caleb’s shoulder, reassuring him that he was there and that he was going to be okay.“We still don’t know where Bernice is,” Caleb cried. “She has all of us blocked. She won’t know that Alaric is dead.”He was right and Landry would be lying if he said he wasn’t also worried about that. But for right now, they needed to clean this mess. There will be other vampires after them once they realize their lord was taken from them.“Alpha King!” His Beta shouted in a mindlink. Caleb also looked up, indicating that he could also hear the Beta speaking. “You need to come out here… something is happening!”Caleb and Landry exchanged wary looks before departing from the l
Third Person POVAt a young age, Caleb had learned from his father how to break into safes. He wasn’t sure why that was a skill his father had taught him, or how his father even knew how to do such a thing. He never thought that type of skill would ever come in handy; until now.It didn’t take him long to get into Alaric’s safe; once he had it opened, there was only one thing inside. It was wrapped in this maroon, silk cloth. As soon as Caleb touched it, he knew whatever was inside was incredibly sharp. He could also feel the dark magic consuming it. It gave him an uneasy feeling.He didn’t think this was something he should be holding; but somehow, he knew that this was the key to defeating Alaric.He unwrapped the object to uncover a dagger. It was an interesting dagger made entirely of silver. The handle was maroon with golden swirls, just like everything else in this room.Caleb was sensing a theme.This was what was going to kill Alaric once and for all.“You thought you were cle
Third Person POVThe layer was dark; Caleb had to squint his eyes in order to see properly. Even with his wolf’s eyes, it was difficult to navigate through the dark halls that to what felt like nowhere. There were no sounds that indicated any life within the layer, and he wasn’t sure where the halls ended, but he found what seemed to be an elevator in one of the darkest corners.His heart was pounding violently against his chest as he stepped into the elevator. He knew already it was going to lead him down to the layer where Alaric has kept his sister for torture. He doesn’t think he was going to find Bernice down there, but he feared for what he was about to find.As the elevator doors opened, he stepped into a dimly lit room. The walls were lit with candlelight; everything seemed to be made of concrete and smelled of mildew and rotting flesh. He nearly gagged at the stench.Still, there were no sounds indicating that there was anybody down there. Could Alaric really have left his la
Bernice’s POV“Talia…?” I said again, forcing myself to sit up and ignore the dizzy feeling that washed over me. “What… what are…” I couldn’t even get the words out of my voice.She continued to cradle my crying pup in her arms while staring at me with a grin spreading across her face.“You didn’t honestly think that Alaric would let you go that easily… did you?” She asked with a fake pout. “You are pathetic to think otherwise. I’m just glad I don’t have to pretend to be your friend anymore.”“It was you the entire time?” I asked, my word quivering. I could hardly believe what was seen before me.How had I not known that it was Talia this entire time? I have lived in her house for almost a month; she showed me kindness and helped take care of me. But it was only so she can get my baby.“Sorry to disappoint you,” she said. “But I must be leaving now.”She turned away as I started to feel my wolf growing furious from within me. She was no longer going to be quiet; she was about to lose