Madison looked at Dante inquiringly. "You haven't forgotten, have you?""No, Madison." He rolled his eyes. "We are due in a few hours so there is still time." His eyes took in her clothes. "Thank goodness you are already dressed. No last-minute touches to your makeup, I hope? That means we can leave on time," Dante teased. Maddox chuckled, his frame vibrating. My eyes narrowed. Were Dante and Madison going out on a date? It was annoying that they were talking about going somewhere without taking any notice of me. Dante and I were mates after all. Even though I disliked and would not accept him as my mate, wasn't I somehow entitled to a little information about his activities since he knew all about mine? They were talking about it right in front of me after all and it would be courteous to at least give me a hint. Dante pointed at her plate. "Eat up Maddy. You have been talking so much, you have barely touched your food."Maddy, he had called her. Somehow the sound of that name on
"Right," Madison replied, nodding.She took in my clothes, her eyes lingering on my baggy t-shirt. Though she did her best to show it, it was obvious she did not approve of my clothes. Well, I did not have to put up with her any second longer than I had to. It was a stroke of luck that we all were not going in the same car. She was so meddlesome, I didn't trust myself not to lose it if we were at close quarters. I got in as soon as I heard I was going to ride with Dante. I sat at the very edge of the plush car seat- as far away as possible from him. I felt smug, knowing that Madison was no longer going to be in close quarters with Dante. I wondered if the decision to take Maddox along was a prearranged one, or if it was occasioned by my presence. My sense of elation was short-lived. Here I was, sitting in a car, forcing myself to tag along on a journey whose destination was unknown to me. I was wasting hours I could have spent attempting to hack into Dante's security system. With Dan
Dante's POV I watched her leave, a half smile on my face. I loved watching every nuance of her expression- her surprise, irritation, and anger. Right now, anger took center stage as she stomped into the shopping mall. The doorman gave her a look of surprise as she walked- stiff-legged- past him. If I knew anything about her, the staff of the mall were in for more of such surprises. Hell, she had shocked the hell out of me the very first time I saw her. She slammed the glass door so hard I was worried for a moment that it would shatter into a million pieces. Wincing, I braced myself and heard nothing. Then, I remembered. The type of glass most places like this had was tempered glass- strong and durable. I smiled wryly. Strong and durable were words that aptly described Allison. She was like no other woman I had known. Others would kill to shop in a place like this. With the way she dressed, her personality, and her strong dislike of her room decor, I knew she hated shopping. Madison
I had thought that I could endure at least a few hours of this but I was damned wrong. More than anything, I bitterly regretted coming here. This place was like a circus. The shopping mall was massive with all kinds of clothes and accessories cleverly displayed. I wondered why people would dedicate a whole lot of space to resources to create a comically huge shopping mall like the one I was in. As soon as we came in, we were swamped by attendants who offered to show us around. They probably knew Madison and had definitely seen Dante outside. His influence was felt here as they all but fawned over us. He was their Alpha, after all. I literally put my foot down, refusing to move an inch until Madison got rid of the attendants. It was bad enough that I was here. It would be worse if I was followed and fussed over by a bunch of giggling girls. Madison had wisely told them to leave, much to their disappointment. News had likely spread that I was Dante's kidnapped mate. I looked around. T
For a few hours, I was able to shut all my problems out- all thoughts of Dante, Madison, the shopping spree, and my planned escape. It felt good to be free of the burden of responsibility for a while, even though the freedom was short-lived. My wolf reveled in the feeling. I did not come across any big game in the woods. I made a mental note to myself to try again at a later date when I got the opportunity to run in the woods again. If I got the opportunity. There was no way of knowing how Dante would react to all this. Speaking of Dante, it was probably time for me to get back. I was startled to see that the sun was sitting lower in the sky, casting its setting rays over everything. Reluctantly I stopped running, concentrating on finding the way back to Dante's pack. I picked up the scent of a trail, a shortcut leading there. I followed the trail at a run but I went at a much slower pace. I somehow wished I could remain in the words a little longer. In a shorter time than I thought
I was at the gym again. The gleam of the sophisticated equipments, and the eagerness of physical exertion had called to me day after day and I had obeyed. I had woken up this morning at the crack of dawn, restless and full of pent-up energy. I had hastily put on my joggers, shirt, and sneakers. I was not sure how Dante would react to me taking a run in the woods after the last time. With the way the guards outside watched me as soon as I got out of the house, I guessed there would be a repeat of what happened last time. It would defeat the purpose of the run and make me a lot more edgy if Dante's guards babysat me during my run. That was how I made my way to the gym. Unlike the last time, I was not alone. There was a guard there, warming up and doing some push-ups. Seeing me come in, he hastily got to his feet. "Good morning, Luna," he greeted, bowing deeply. Taking a deep breath, I mentally shook off that annoying word- Luna. Today was a new day and I was determined not to let Dan
Fight with him? That was not what I was expecting him to say when he called me back. He had to be kidding but as I glanced at him, I realized he actually looked serious. That meant he had been close enough to hear his guards' offer to spar with me. I could have obliged the guard, but definitely not Dante. The last thing I wanted right now was to be physically close to him in any context whatsoever. Also, how could he act so unconcerned? It was as though he did not remember what had happened between us a few days ago. "Fight with you?" I snorted, my eyes traveling over him. "I will do no such thing. Besides, I am already done with my exercise routine for today."I pushed open the door when Dante's warm hand encircled mine. I shivered involuntarily, my face working. Still facing the door, I struggled to school my expression before turning."Let go," I said grimly.His hand tightening on my wrist, he slowly but inexorably pulled me closer. My grip on the doorknob slackened as one, two
CHAPTER 19Dante's POV The sound of Madison's hearty laughter filled the room. I was grinning myself. In my head, I had played through my last encounter with Alison over and over again. It never failed to bring a smile to my face. Allison was feisty all right. If I had doubted it before, I had no reason to do so now. The scene at that gym had proved it. Madison and I were in the dining room and had just finished breakfast. The used dishes had just been taken away. Madison's question brought me back to the present. "She was training with the guards?" she asked incredulously. "Yeah, I saw them. The guards also confirmed it. She seems to have more strength in that small body of hers than I gave her credit for. They said she used the treadmill and barbell with virtually no signs of fatigue."Madison said reflectively. "She is a feisty one, all right."I nodded in agreement. She had just taken the words right out of my mouth. Madison looked as though she was remembering something. I ha
Allison's POV Dante's piercing eyes surveyed everyone in the room. It was as though those eyes were able to unravel every man's secrets. Though he spoke to everyone at the same time, at that moment, it felt like he was talking to each of the men in the conference room individually. The men assembled leaned forward, their bodies tense, looking as wound up as taut strings. They hung onto his every word. The boy in the room who sat beside Dante was transfixed. I could tell that he closely followed all that his father was saying. I smiled a little at the worshipful expression in those green eyes that were so like mine. After a silence of some seconds, Dante continued, "We have been through worse in the past and this poses as no challenge whatsoever. I consider this war we are about to go on... as a form of target practice. Some of you have gotten rusty over the years, so this should be an opportunity to take out your rusty daggers and relearn how to fight." There was a ripple of laug
Allison's POV I spent most of the morning in my room. I kept replaying the scene with Dante this morning over and over in my head. Each time, I gave his words a totally different interpretation and that made me sadder. I knew that I was torturing myself by doing this, but I could not seem to stop. I had ordered for breakfast in my room. Whenever Malkiel had felt hungry, I had fed and soothed him. A short while after breakfast, Aria had come to talk to me. Sensing that something was wrong, she had asked why I did not bother to come down for breakfast and why I was cooped up in my room. Then she had prattled on about a lot of other things which I did not bother to pay attention to. My replies had been so curt that she had eventually left, but not without informing me- without me asking- that Dante had left the pack to attend to some things. It came as a surprise to me when less than an hour later, a knock sounded on the door. I immediately perceived Dante's scent outside the door.
Allison's POV For the next few hours, Malkiel's temperature kept fluctuating. Sometimes he was as hot as a live coal. Sometimes his temperature returned to normal. At other times, he felt cool to the touch, so cool that I felt goosebumps form on my skin when I touched him. It was still scary to see my baby going through these kinds of changes within the space of a few minutes. Even though I knew what had caused Malkiel's illness, it still did not make it easy to deal with. I did not know what to think- how to feel about all of this. It was too much to take in all at once. After Dante had told me about what the red mark was, I had sat watching my son for hours, thinking about all he had said. As I stared out of the window, my fingers trailed along Malkiel's chest. It was easier for me to believe what Dante had said because apart from the high temperature and the fact that he was sleeping too much, Malkiel did not show any other signs of illness. A part of me- the part which alway
Dante's POV I glared at the woman who was on her knees before me. She was crying and mumbling incoherently and had been doing that for the last few minutes. Stiffly, I walked back to my desk and sat down behind it. At least the desk provided a sort of barricade that might prevent me from hurting her. I closed my eyes, shutting out the image of her face. Slowly, I massaged my temples as I felt the headache I associated with one of my fits of rage coming on. My wolf was getting restless, wanting to come out. If it did, it would be bad for the woman- very bad indeed. Calm, be calm, I muttered to myself over and again. When I felt I was somewhat in control of myself, I raised my head and pinned her with my stare. "So, what are you trying to say, Tessa?" I said. "Apart from the Luna and I, you are the only one who spends so much time with my son as you are his nanny. Explain to me how the hell this happened under your watch." "It didn't-" I motioned her to be silent. "The Luna
Allison's POV My eyes lighted on the most adorable baby sleepsuit I had ever seen. I caught my breath in delight. A woman was in front of the rack where the sleep suits were displayed. She was looking at the one that had caught my eye consideringly as though she was thinking of buying it. Abandoning the shopping cart for Aria, I dashed forward and took it off the hanger, startling the woman a bit. I walked back to Aria who was trying to see what I was holding. "What have you got there, Luna?" she asked. "Only the most adorable little sleep suit for Malkiel." I held it up for her inspection. She shook her head emphatically. "Nope, definitely not. This isn't... Malkiel's style at all." I grinned. "How do you or anyone know what Malkiel's style is? He's just a baby." "And he won't like that, trust me. There are some clothes I dress him up in and he then tries to take them off by all means. That way, I know that he doesn't like them." "You don't like it, you mean. What is wrong
Dante's POV With a flourish, Maddox handed me a document that had every inch filled with letters and figures. "Here, take a look at this," he said smugly. I settled down to read what he had given me. Without taking my eyes off the document, my hand wandered across the desk. Anticipating my wants, Maddox pushed the calculator towards me. I snatched it up and for the next few minutes, the only sound in the room was the faint beep of the calculator keys as I put together the figures before me. When I was done, I leaned back and whistled in surprise. "How accurate is this?" I inquired. Maddox flashed a smile. "I knew you would ask that. It is very accurate. I went through it thoroughly. I knew that you would want to see the documents sooner or later, so I prepared in advance. Surprising, isn't it?" "Not entirely," I replied after a few seconds' hesitation. "I was sort of expecting something like this. But the figures- the figures are quite astronomical. Wow." Maddox had given me
Allison's POV A pleasurable thrill went through me. Dante had that look in his eyes that told me he wanted us alone, together. My insides warmed at the intensity of his gaze. I nodded. He grinned and pressed me even closer to his body. "That's my girl. You said what I have been wanting to hear all evening," he murmured. He stepped away, looked around, and slid an arm around my waist. He walked quickly and I was almost forced to run to keep up with his stride. He weaved his way expertly among the guests we ran into. He seemed to have an instinctive knowledge of who wanted to engage us in some sort of conversation. We got inside and I was about to push the door of his room open when he kneaded my bottom. "Dante!" I exclaimed, laughing. "Let's get inside first. There are too many people tonight." As soon as we got in, he planted a burning kiss on my lips. I moaned softly, responding eagerly to the feel of his lips against mine. I had thought that with the birth of our child, the p
Allison's POV Aria stood at the entrance of my room. She walked further into the room, her flowing, black velvet dress rippling as she moved. She stopped beside my bed and regarded me closely. "Well, I don't believe it!" she exclaimed. "Luna, I can't believe that you are not dressed yet." I yawned and stretched. "I will get dressed... eventually." Aria gaped and shook her head. "The time is 6 pm. 6 pm!" she repeated when I said nothing. "The ball is due to start anytime from now. Your hair and makeup aren't even done yet. Luna, you should have been ready hours ago." I grimaced at the word make-up. "Who needs make-up anyway?" I grumbled. "It even wastes time. I have an idea, Aria. How about I go downstairs with no make-up on? I will just er- try to fix my hair up a little." Tria looked scandalized at the very idea. "Definitely not, Luna. What would people say? You are one of the reasons why this ball is holding. You have to be perfect for tonight. A lot of people from other
Allison's POV The first person I saw when I opened my eyes was Dante, sitting on the bed beside me. I gaped at him. My first thought was that I had died and gone to whatever paradise the Moon goddess provided for my kind. While I had been semi-conscious after giving birth, I had thought I heard his voice in my room. But I had dismissed the evidence of my ears, tagging it to be a product of my overactive imagination. Now here he was, right before me. When I blinked, his form did not waver or turn to smoke like it had in my dream. I did not want to get my hopes up, but I gradually started to believe that it was Dante I saw. He saw me looking and gave me his familiar lopsided grin. "Dante," I croaked. "Is- it really you?" He looked at me with such love and longing that I felt my insides melt. I put out a hand and touched his warm flesh. "Yes, it is me, my love. I am here with you." I took a deep, shuddering breath. The sound of his voice drove home the fact that I was not dream