HayleyI got home before Lanie and the kids, and I was happy that I did. I had a little time to put down the groceries that I'd bought and take a cold shower to calm myself down. I had promised myself to not let Melanie get to me, but that wasn't possible anymore. Her last words had gotten my anxiety levels off the charts, and I've not been able to forget about it since she said those words. Telling Alex about me was one thing, telling the whole world was just on a whole different level. I picked up the phone after my bath to call Alex. I needed to meet him so that I could tell him everything. I had made up my mind, and concluded that it was best to tell him before Melanie does. I could calm down to explain everything to him, the situation and all. But Melanie would probably twist the entire truth to make matters worse. Just as I made to dial his number, my screen was blurred by an incoming call, and Damon's caller ID was bold on the screen. I hesitated, unsure if I should answer or
HayleyThe floor felt cold and my eyelids were still heavy. I felt the heavy metal that bound my legs, and soon the memories came flooding back. I had been captured by poachers, and it was the worst thing to ever happen to me on this day.I managed to open my eyes, but my vision was still blurry. After a few minutes of getting adapted to the light, I soon realized that I was bound up and had been thrown in a cage as though I was a wild animal. The chains used were made of silver which was constantly draining my strength making it impossible for me to break free. It was obvious from the look of things that these men were professionals, and one mistake could get me killed. I contemplated changing back to my human form. With my slender build I could easily escape from the bulky chains and spaces of the cage. However, after a second thought I decided not to do so. There were many many disadvantages tied to changing back to human form, and I couldn't take that risk. Not only was I signifi
DamonDue to many unforeseen circumstances, I had been falling behind in my office duties, and it was affecting the company back at the pack. It wasn't as if I couldn't handle being with Hayley and the kids, while handling work at the same time. I had just decided to focus my attention on Hayley solely for a while, and now that our relationship had gotten strong, it was time for me to face my secondary purpose for coming to Texas. I wanted to leave the office, to be with Hayley and spend the day with the twins, but duty had called me today. I intended to finish fast but that wasn't looking possible anymore. I cleared my head of the worrisome thoughts and focused on preparing the necessary documents for the conference later this afternoon. This was one of the major deals I had come to secure in Texas, and right now I couldn't afford to let myself be distracted. I knew I had to finish whatever work I was doing on time, and to accomplish that I couldn't harbor thoughts that might hind
DamonI drove like a mad man to Hayley's place. I was pulled over for over speeding, but that didn't seem to stop me from breaking the rules once again. I met Lanie and the kids still awake, they were having dinner when I arrived, and I immediately had to tone down my burning anger the moment I walked in. Children had their way of sensing negativity, and I didn't want to bring that into the room. If they see me acting off, they were going to get worried. It was bad enough that their mother wasn't around, I couldn't have them worrying about their father too. The kids immediately rushed into my arms the moment they caught sight of me and I planted a kiss on their foreheads."Is mommy not with you?" Adriel asked after he pulled away from my embrace. "Mommy is coming, she's busy outside right now." I replied with a forced smile. I glanced up at Lanie, and she shook her head sideways to inform me that she hadn't heard from Hayley. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach, but I was quick to c
AlexLanie had called me a few minutes ago to inform me that Damon was on his way to my house. She had asked if I shared the house with Melanie, and when I replied "No," she immediately advised that I leave the house immediately. Without asking questions, I obeyed and immediately left the house. She also advised me to change into a cloth I hadn't worn before and to make sure I had nothing like perfume or scent at all on me. After I was done following her orders and getting away from the house, I called Lanie back and demanded an explanation. After five minutes of going back and forth, she finally told me that Hayley was missing, and that Damon was enraged. She feared that he might try to take his anger out on me, and that was why she had told me to do all those things. I thanked her for the help before ending the call. Without thinking twice, I already knew who was responsible for Hayley's disappearance, and I took the closest taxi straight to her apartment.I knocked on the door, an
AlexThe sound of gunshot filled the air as the enemies came after us in hot pursuit. They weren't willing to let Hayley go so easily, and they had made their intentions very clear. They wanted her back, and they didn't mind putting a few bullets in her to achieve their goal. Hayley surged through the thick forest, her agility and speed almost impossible for me to keep up with. I clutched tightly onto her soft fur, one wrong move and I could slip off her back and fall into the hands of the enemies. I had just rescued Hayley, I couldn't afford getting captured myself.The docks were abandoned and a decent distance from the city. Even if the gunshots were heard, it would take some time before the police and authorities arrived. We had to keep running and make sure that we weren't caught until help came, and thanks to Hayley we were doing good for the moment. The beast delved to the right and then left, avoiding bullets every now and then. I was holding on tightly, but soon began to rea
HayleyI raced back home the moment I was sure Alex was being taken care of. I knew Lanie and the children would be worried about me, and I was equally worried about them as well. I wanted to be back with my children, to hold them in my arms and kiss them all night long. I was back in my wolf form, running around naked would only get me arrested, and I honestly did not want to deal with being held in captivity a second time. Plus, I was definitely faster than the average car, and would get home faster on foot than being in a taxi and having to deal with traffic. I immediately turned back into my human form the moment I got home. Hurriedly, I pushed through the locked door and met Lanie seated in the living room, her face etched with worry and shock. "Hayley!" She cried out before throwing herself into my arms. "I was so worried." She cried and I consoled her. She didn't seem to notice that I was naked, not until she pulled away from the embrace and wiped the tears off her eyes. "Wha
HayleyThe car pulled into the mansion and I immediately recognised Damon's black corvette parked outside. I knew he was already here with Alex, and tension immediately sank into the depths of my stomach. I thought that coming back here would bring me a little bit of comfort, but that was far from the case. Tensed, I helped the children out and and made for the front door. I needed to find Damon, to talk and understand what the condition was at the moment. I had barely taken a step when a voice called out from behind, stopping me in my tracks. "Hayley?" A familiar voice called out. Her voice was filled with a sense of warmth, and I immediately turned to see who it was. Expectedly it was Candice. It's been five years since we last saw each other but she hadn't changed a bit. She was just as beautiful as the last time I had seen her, and seeing her so healthy made me ease up a little. "Candice.." I returned as she rushed towards towards me with open arms. Before I could react, sh
Epilogue It had been a week since Hayley passed out, the exact time the war came to an end. In a rage, Damon had strangled Gazel, going as much as killing by snapping off his head. From the onset, it was not part of his plan to kill Gazel even as he had agreed to a duel. He was hoping that Gazel could be imprisoned at least, and given some time to amend his ways. But after seeing what Hayley had to go through, he could not bear it. The wolf that had shot at Hayley was also caught by Alex, and he and all of Gazel’s other warriors were imprisoned. “Is she up yet, Daddy?” Adriel who had just met Damon coming out of Hayley’s room asked, and disappointed, he shook his head. “Not yet.”Adriella who was walking some distance away from Adriel heard their conversation, and sad, she ran to her room. She had been trying her best to be calm about everything for the past week. But it was killing to know that her mother was still unconscious from the attack. The best doctors had attended to
HayleyAfter further investigation, we discovered that the message hadn't been about Gazel and Damon, but between Alpha Mathews and Gazel. Since I had reported about the coup d'état and not the war, the council had responded to the coup. I felt bad for what Alpha Mathews was going through, but all I could do was sympathize with him. There was nothing we could do from now onwards, and only a duel between Alpha Mathews and Gazel could settle the conflict. The winner would become the alpha, and the loser would be tossed in the dungeon. The council would have punished Gazel for the coup d'état, but because Alpha Mathews had made a public announcement denouncing his claim to the leadership of the pack, the council could no longer do anything about the coup. It might have been forced at the beginning, but Alpha Mathews' speech and handover had covered up for Gazel's crime. Gazel was a trickster, and that much was known. He was a man who thought ahead, and that was exactly what made him ve
Damon I steadied my footing, and with a powerful swipe of my claw decapitated three opponents at once. These men were weak, a lot more weaker than I had anticipated, but they were definitely larger in numbers. I was yet to spot Gazel, and not seeing in front of the army made my fears return once more. I knew Gazel was a cunning man, but I hadn't expected him to be a hypocrite as well. Leaping to the side, I let out a loud howl before chowing down on a smaller Wolf's head. It let out a stifled cry before I tossed it into the body of its comrades. I had been taking things easy at first because I wanted to believe that they were under mind control. But that mistake had cost me during the earlier stages of the war. Now, I was going on full throttle, and I was willing to take down any opponent that crossed my path with full force. If pitied, these men were going to destroy the entirety of my kingdom, and that was not a sacrifice I was willing to make. I tackled a young wolf and slammed
Hayley"The walls have been breached!" A guard yelled out and my heart immediately sank to the stomach. It was just as Damon had predicted, Gazel had sent some of his men to attack the pack. "Archers fire!" Another order was yelled and soon flaming arrows were being rained on the invading enemies. "You shouldn't be out here, my lady. It's best to remain underground where it's safe. Damon would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you." Liam urged while doing his best to make me follow him into the underground chambers that had been prepared in case of this situation. "No, I'm the Luna, and I will not cower in fear in the face of my enemies. If they think Damon is the only person they should be afraid of, then they are heavily mistaken. I am a mother and a leader, and I'll do anything to make sure that no harm comes to my children and subjects." I made it clear to Liam. He watched me in awe, and I was sure the idea of me being a weakling disappeared from his thoughts. "What
Damon "I won't stay back Damon! I'm marching to the war front with you!" Liam opposed. I had just ordered that he remained at the pack to take care of things while we were at war. I had barely finished when he began to yell out his own opinion. It was the first time Liam was speaking to me without any sense of formality in his voice and character. It was obvious he wasn't going to let me go, not while he wasn't part of my troops. "You have to be here, you're the only one I can trust with Hayley and the children's lives. Alex will be with you, please do this for me." I pleaded rather than order. At this point it was obvious Liam wasn't speaking to me as my beta, but as a friend who wanted to support their friend at all cost. He wouldn't obey orders even if I gave him one, the only way I could possibly get to him was by exploiting his kind heart. "You need me by your side, in stronger than all of them—" "And that's exactly why I want you here. If Gazel has men ambushing the pack, I
Damon"We've managed to camp a few kilometers from Wolfsbane field. The soldiers can begin their march now." Liam informed me. I stared at him for a while before giving him a reassuring smile. I could see the fear and concern in his eyes, and even though he fought hard to hide it, it was as bright as day. "There's no need to hide your fear, Liam. I feel the same way, and I'm sure everybody else does. It would be foolish to be happy and unbothered during the times of war." I said before giving him a pat on the back. "You've done well with preparing everybody, you should take some time to rest. I'll handle everything from here onwards." Liam shook his head fervently in disagreement. "I can't rest, not when there's much to do. Gazel is marching here with an army by his side. We need all the help we can get. I'm not exhausted yet, I'll continue to help in any way I can." He argued. "If you exhaust all your energy now, then you'd be useless when the need comes. I know you want to do mor
Gazel"What do we do about those two? Isn't this bad? Those two could spill all our plans to the enemy." Frederick said in a frantic tone. He was fidgeting in both fear and rage, and his reaction was completely understandable. Lisa had just escaped, and alongside her was a spy I never noticed early enough to dispose. I had to give Tim props, he had been extra careful, and was without a doubt the most dangerous man to me at the moment. I had no idea how much he knew, and there was no telling how much he had stolen. If he exposed much about my plans to Damon, I was sure to fail, but regardless I didn't halt the preparations for war. "Aren't you going to do something? They might have valuable information." Frederick asked with an inquisitive look in his eyes. "There's nothing we can do at the moment. Those two would have probably reached Damon's pack by now. Chasing after them is meaningless at the moment. Focus on getting more men into our troops and forget about those two." I instru
DamonThere was no denying the fear that crept into my heart each time I remembered that I was going to war. I was confident that we would win, but there was no predicting or preventing casualties in war. If I could do anything to prevent it, I definitely would have done it, but that was impossible when Gazel was involved. He was determined to bring me down at all cost, and he had made that fact abundantly clear. He was out for blood, and I too wanted to match his energy. There was no way I was going to let him have his way and do anything he wanted, especially not when it had something to do with Hayley. "Have the walls been fortified? Any reports of ambushes?" I questioned one of the guards that walked with me as I inspected the preparations being made for the incoming war. We had received reports from one of our scouts that Gazel would be marching north with an army of twenty thousand in two days. If we began our match on the same day, our armies would meet on the fields of Wolfs
DamonIt was tough to get everything out of my mind, but with Hayley and the children's help, I've been able to keep my mind off the things that threatened my mental stability. We were yet to hear from Tim, but I didn't let it bother me anymore. Thanks to Hayley's help, I was convinced that he was doing alright, and I wanted to trust in her words more than my fears. "Dad, when will you take us horse riding?" Adriella asked as she brushed the hair of her doll. She had been watching a lot of horse riding shows with her mother and now she wanted to try out the sport for herself. "Once you're old enough to ride a horse." I answered softly before rubbing her head gently. The little girl pouted her mouth in disappointment, but I gave her a smile to comfort her a little. There was too much going on, the last thing I wanted on the long list of troubles was a crying child. "How are their lessons going?" I asked Hayley who was helping Adriel with his assignment. "It's been going smoothly, t