Moana
As I listened to Edrick playing the piano, I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. I wished that I could see him, but if it made him too nervous, then I was happy to just listen. He played beautifully, and I hoped that I could always hear his music from then on. The song that he was playing came to an end, and was followed by silence. I didn’t realize it, but I had shut my eyes as I lost myself listening to the music. I opened them again and turned, expecting him to still be sitting at the piano, but he wasn’t. He was standing right behind me, looking down at me with those glowing silver eyes. Edrick was so close to me that I could smell his cologne coming off of his shirt and could feel his warm breath on my face. Being this close to him made me tremble, but only in a good way. “Edrick…” I whispered, looking up to meet his gaze. He stared down at me silently, with only his glowing silver eyeEdrick“I want to know the real reason behind why you find it so abhorrent to be intimate with me,” Moana said, chasing after me and grabbing my arm as I tried to storm out.What I said next was a mistake. I knew that as soon as the cruel words came out of my mouth, and I wished that I could take them back when I saw the look on Moana’s soft face.“Because!” I said, whirling around to face Moana. “I will never marry you! Not you, and not anyone, and I don’t want to give you the wrong idea! I don’t care that you’re my mate. The mate bond means nothing.”Moana’s eyes widened. She released her grip on my arm and covered her mouth with her hand, taking a step back. We stared at each other in shocked silence for several long moments before she suddenly brushed past me and ran out of the room.“God dammit, Edrick,” I whispered to myself once she was gone. I slapped my hand on the wall and cursed under my breath. I felt like
MoanaThat night, I tried to fight the tears. But no matter how hard I fought and tried to keep my head up, I couldn’t entirely stop myself from crying just a little bit.After all, I had just discovered that Edrick not only knew all along that I was his mate, but that he also still didn’t plan on ever being with me despite this. The thought of it made me feel incredibly sick, and I felt helpless. All I ever wanted was to give my baby the happy home life with two loving parents that I never got to have, and yet I had somehow managed to be the fated mate of someone who simply couldn’t even bear the thought of being with me. Was there something wrong with me? Was that why I had such bad luck in love?My wolf, however, was surprisingly quiet throughout all of this. Even though she supposedly released her scent and that was what made Edrick “lose control” and kiss me passionately, I didn’t feel much from her. In fact, when I reached out and tried t
Edrick“Oh, good. He’s waking up.”The first thing I noticed when I came back to consciousness was a splitting headache pounding in my skull. When I finally cracked open my eyes, squinting against even the dim light of my bedside table, I saw three figures bent over me. And, judging from the hardness under my back and the position I was lying in, I quickly realized that I was laid out on the floor rather than my bed.“Wh…What happened?” I muttered, noticing the distinct feeling of nausea rolling around in my stomach as though I had had too many drinks the night before and was now hungover.“Shh. You’re alright,” a male voice said. My eyes slowly came into focus, and the blurriness in my vision faded enough for me to see that my doctor was standing over me with a concerned look on his face and his stethoscope in his ears. Behind him, I could see Selina standing there with her arms folded across her chest and disappointment in her ey
MoanaThe relief I felt when the doctor said that Edrick would be okay couldn’t even possibly be put into words.“Well, I think you’ll be okay now,” the doctor said as Edrick got up to his feet with no trouble. “Rest today and you’ll be fine by tomorrow.”Edrick nodded. Both of us watched as Selina and the doctor walked out of the room, leaving Edrick and I alone once more. Instantly, I turned toward him with a frown.“Don’t scare me like that,” I said in a scolding, yet quiet voice. Before Edrick could answer, I ushered him over to the bed and forced him to lie down, just as the doctor ordered.“Geez,” Edrick said, lying down. “I get it. You don’t need to worry about me now, though.”I shook my head and frowned even more. There was so much I wanted to say; I wanted to tell him that he was a bloody fool for pushing me away. I wanted to ask him if he realized now that he needed me after all, and that it was
MoanaThe rest of the weekend went by too quickly. I spent all of Sunday with Ella to make up for not seeing her on Saturday, and soon enough Monday morning came around.However, I noticed something over the weekend as well as the first few days of the week: Mina’s sleepiness wasn’t getting any better. In fact, it only seemed to be getting worse, and it was making me nervous. At first, I thought it was just the pregnancy, but now I was beginning to think otherwise.And in fact, there was something especially odd about it.Mina seemed to get better at nighttime. She still had very little energy during that time, but it was an obvious improvement nonetheless. This slightly heightened energy would go on through the night and the early morning, but then she would get extremely sleepy again whenever I drank my morning coffee.By Thursday, I was beginning to get suspicious. I decided then to try an experiment; on Thursday mo
MoanaAs I held Olivia’s business card in my shaking hand, I wondered if I should call her.I needed to know if she, too, had experienced these sort of strange occurrences. Although I couldn’t imagine why Edrick would ever want to give me something that would make my wolf sick, if someone really was intentionally poisoning me, then I needed to get out and get my baby to safety. However, I still had no way of knowing for sure, and I was afraid to ask Edrick or Selina about my wolf’s symptoms in case either of them were in on it and got suspicious of me.But I still couldn’t be sure. Not only was I unsure of the situation with my wolf, but I was also still unsure of Olivia. I still couldn’t help but wonder if she really was an actress hired by Michael or someone else to get between Edrick and I, and so with a sigh I slipped the business card back into my purse and decided not to call her yet.After all, Edrick had never really
MoanaA little while later, after walking a few blocks through the city, I arrived at the coffee shop where Olivia and I planned to meet. It was a small, nondescript coffee shop that didn’t appear to be well known, which would be helpful in keeping our meeting secret.When I stepped into the little coffee shop, I looked around and didn’t see Olivia yet.“Can I get you anything?” the barista behind the counter, a bored-looking teenage girl, asked.“U-Um, just an iced latte,” I replied, fishing through my purse for my wallet. The barista lazily made my drink and handed it to me, and I gave her the money before sitting down. I made sure to sit away from the window, just in case anyone would see me with Olivia.A few minutes passed, and finally the bell on the door rang as someone came in. It was Olivia. She shot me a stiff smile and ordered her own coffee before sitting down across from me. Although we had planned to act
Moana“That’s not all,” Olivia said, looking at me with a sickening combination of sadness and concern on her face that only filled me with dread.I had already just read that a woman — who was likely Ethan’s mother, judging from the information in the newspaper article — had died under mysterious circumstances around the Morgan family. Not only that, but I had discovered that it was very likely that Edrick had taken my wolf tooth and a lock of my hair to a witch, and he was now putting some sort of potion in my morning coffee. I couldn’t fathom why he would want to do that, but now that I had read the newspaper article about Ethan’s mother, I was beginning to wonder if that poor woman had met a fate that I was bound to meet if I continued being poisoned.And now, before I could even process all of this, Olivia was saying that she had something else to reveal to me, as though there was even possibly anything else that could add another layer to
MoanaI couldn’t help but laugh as I thought back on the beginning of our relationship.To think that, just a year prior, I was just Edrick’s one night stand who also became his nanny… And now, here I was, standing in front of the mirror in my wedding dress.The dress that I picked out was beautiful. We planned to have a late summer wedding to commemorate our meeting,six months after little Daisy was born. My dress was a blush pink color. It was soft and flowy with a beautiful floral embroidered pattern, and sleeves that fluttered in the breeze. It hugged my waist in all of the right places and made me feel more beautiful than ever.Daisy was six months old now, and Ella often mentioned how she no longer looked like a squished little grape. Ella had just turned nine, and thought that she was a grown-up, although she still liked to
MoanaAfter ten hours of intense and grueling labor, little Daisy was born.“She’s so tiny,” I whispered as I held the little crying bundle in my arms. The doctor weighed her at just six pounds and twelve ounces, but she was as healthy as an ox.Edrick, who hadn’t left my side throughout the entire delivery, leaned over my shoulder with a wide grin on his face and held his hand out to touch her cheek. Almost instantly, Daisy’s little hand shot out and gripped his index finger with a relentless force for such a little thing.Her eyes were squeezed shut, and yet she still had an instinct to keep her father’s finger in a vice grip.I couldn’t help but laugh, but I also wanted to cry.When I was on the cliff with Michael, I saw my parents at my birth. I did the same thing to my father, and I also wouldn&
MoanaThe time between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were such a whirlwind of activity that the months practically flew by.Ethan and Kelly wound up being transferred to a mental health facility. I think that was better for them in the long run, as the things that they did were ultimately the result of Michael’s brainwashing. I didn’t hold any grudges against them; in fact, Edrick and I visited them on a monthly basis, and the medication and therapy that they went through seemed to be helping a bit.Of course, Kelly could never get over her obsession with Edrick. Nor could Ethan get over his obsession with me. It was very likely that they would spend years in that place, but at least we could have somewhat normal conversations with them when we went to visit.Michael, however, had no visitors and I didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. Verona ev
MoanaThe months in between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were a whirlwind of emotions and unexpected turns. After the incident with Michael, where he was sentenced to prison for his attempt on my life, my world took another astonishing twist.The news outlets revealed a shocking revelation: Moana, the seemingly ordinary girl who was raised in an orphanage, was, in fact, the legendary Golden Wolf.I never imagined my life could become so entangled in a web of fame and attention.Suddenly, everyone wanted a piece of me. All sorts of brands and non-governmental organizations bombarded me with invitations and tempting monetary offers. It was overwhelming, to say the least. My inbox was flooded with messages from high-profile companies and influential figures, all hoping to capitalize on my newfound fame.It felt like the world had changed overnigh
EdrickWithin an hour, Moana and I were nervously walking up the front steps to my parents’ mansion.We left Ella with Selina just in case we walked in on anything sinister. The house was mostly dark, which was out of the ordinary. As I slowly opened the front door, I felt my heart catch in my throat.“Hello?” I called out, holding Moana’s hand as I stepped into the large foyer. “Mom?”There was no answer. Moana and I exchanged nervous glances and walked in a little further.“Verona?” Moana called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice travel further. “Are you there?!”Still no answer. We decided to head into the sitting room, where my mother often liked to be during her free time, but it was dark and empty. At this point, I was starting to get even more nervous.
MoanaA little while later, Edrick and I were standing in the front doorway of the mansion and looking out at the scene before us.The security guards were leading Michael, who was cuffed, over to the car. His nose was still clotted with blood from Edrick’s punch, but something about it was satisfying to see. I enjoyed seeing Michael finally face some consequences for his actions, and I especially enjoyed watching Selina scold him like a child.What was even more satisfying, though, was seeing him being shoved into the back of the car to be driven down to the police station.Kat was found by the guards, too. Not long after Edrick punched Michael in the face, Kat was found hiding in the woods. As it turned out, Michael paid her a pretty penny to get close to me and lead me off into the forest to get lost so that he could kill me. She looked ashamed as the guards cuffed her, and
EdrickI hated to say it, but Moana looked more beautiful than ever as she practically assaulted my evil father on the back lawn.“He’s no threat,” she said as she released her grip on his shirt and let him fall back to the ground, then turned and walked back to meet me. “The knife is gone. He’s just an angry old man now and nothing more.”Moana was right; the knife was indeed gone. It shattered when Michael tried to stab her with it.During those moments when the knife was plunged into her belly, it felt as though my heart stopped. I watched in horror as the knife disappeared into her belly. When my father pulled it out, it was covered in blood and he had a maniacal grin on his face.But something happened then. She became enveloped in that golden light again, only this time it was even brighter and more blinding than before.
MoanaEveryone froze and stared at each other with wide eyes as the sound of the groaning and shuffling came closer.“Daddy?” Ella whimpered. “Who is there?”Edrick slowly sat Ella down, then walked toward the door. He gestured to the security guards, but before anything could be done, the last person we expected walked into the doorway.“Thought you could kill me, huh?”Michael stood in the doorway with an evil smirk on his face. Selina, the maids and I all let out a collective gasp. Selina suddenly grabbed Ella by the arm and shoved her behind us to keep her protected.“Michael,” I said, taking a step forward, “you were dead.”Michael just laughed. “I was indeed,” he said. “But not for long. I guess you didn’t realize that I was waking
Moana“Can you trust me to take care of him?” I asked.Ella began to sob, but I somehow knew exactly what to do. It all felt so natural now… I didn’t even really need to think about it. I just knew to wrap my arms around Ella and comfort her, although whether it was my abilities or simply my nurturing instincts, I couldn’t be entirely sure.Suddenly, Ella stopped crying.“Okay,” she whimpered after a moment, stepping back and wiping her tears out of her eyes. “I trust you. Please take good care of my daddy.”I managed a weak smile and nodded at Ella, taking her little hands in mine. “I will take good care of him,” I whispered as I looked into her eyes, still using my pacifying ability to keep her calm. “Don’t you worry.”Ella nodded and stepped away, allowin