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
CHAPTER 20Allison's POV The blade passed a few inches from his face, he drew his head back and swatted it away with his palm. It fell to the floor with a metallic chink. I let out a breath I was not aware I had been holding, somewhat stunned by the depth of anger I felt. Dante brought out the worst in me. Every second I spent in his pack, I could feel myself losing more control. I had not meant to do what I just did, but I just had to vent somehow. I was not totally crazy though. Having seen Dante fight and observed his quick reflexes, I was a hundred percent certain that he would catch the dagger- and he had. At least my sense of judgment was accurate and I had not inadvertently killed this pack's Alpha- yet. I guessed that situation would probably change at any time judging by the smirk on his face. He lifted a brow in that annoying way he had and I knew he would make one of his usual caustic remarks. The most annoying part of all of this was that the object of my anger did not
Allison's POV I darted into the trees shooting glances over my shoulder to make sure I was not being followed. Coming to a part of the woods covered by dense vegetation, I took off my clothes and slippers. Making a bundle of them, I fastened them to my thigh with a stout piece of twine I always kept handy. I shut my eyes and let my wolf emerge. I shot off like a bullet, reveling in the sights and smells of the forest. This far from Dante, it was easier to deceive myself into thinking that my body's reaction to him was all just a mirage. It was easier to put my initial anger on a leash in my wolf form. As I ran, I kept my ears cocked for any sign of pursuit and for a big game.My snout picked up a foreign scent- a scent that somehow did not belong to the woods. It was the scent of other werewolves in the forest, ahead of me. Briefly, I wondered if Dante's guards had somehow gotten ahead of me and were waiting to cut me off. They would have no reason to do that though. The logical app
The sound of the wind outside my window was soothing. It was pitch black outside so I had left my bedside lamp on. There was something so sinister about nighttime, the inability to see properly, the hushed, stealthy sounds in the darkness, the noticeable creaking and groanings of floorboards and ceilings, and a thousand other sounds that could be interpreted in many different ways. The dark was something I had always hated. It tended to rob me of my carefully honed reflexes. I did not like to be taken unawares, the warrior in me would never want that. It was always better to be prepared for any eventuality. That was my motto. But in the dark, darker things and people lurked. That was one of the reasons why I slept with the lights on all the time, always at the edge of consciousness, always prepared to defend myself and attack if need be. I turned in bed, pulling the covers down a bit. Sleep wouldn't just come yet. I put my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling. The pack ho
"What?" he asked, seeing my glare. He smiled. "Came to see me?" He gripped my knife tightly as if anticipating my decision to snatch it from him. I was pretty sure Dante knew exactly what I wanted but as usual, he wanted to make me voice it out or beg- which I would never do. "In your dreams, Dante." I shifted my gaze to the dagger in his hand. "Give me my dagger right now."I was annoyed at seeing my dagger in Dante's hands. Oddly, I felt very possessive of it. It was the only object I had that I truly valued. People usually thought that there was nothing I truly cared about. They were right- to an extent. The thing I cherished most was an inanimate object. Weird but true. I supposed it was because it brought back so many memories, reminding me of the time when Alpha Scott's father took me in and gave me an identity. I was careful to mask my expression. I did not want Dante to know how much sentimental value the dagger had. Ignoring me, Dante spun the dagger in his hands, so fast
I walked into his study, already knowing what this meeting was all about. I guess he did not want to give me a piece of his mind while Madison was present. I had been about to erupt when he abruptly said he wanted to see me- immediately. His tone had brooked no argument. I had wanted to give Madison a piece of my mind anyway, but there was really no need to waste my breath arguing with her. Besides, she was in one of those moods where anything I said was likely to go through one ear and out the other. She had looked thoroughly excited about the whole thing, oblivious to the barely restrained tension between Dante and I. Even Maddox had noticed it. He had not seemed to enjoy his food as much as usual. He had eaten in silence as his dark eyes studied my face. Now, looking at Dante seated on his desk chair I asked myself what he could possibly say now that could change my mind."What was that all about?" he finally asked me after trying to stare me down and failing. "I should be askin
There was a note of urgency in his voice that surprised me. I had heard Dante angry, irritated, mocking, and commanding but I had not heard anything quite like this before. There was a strain in his voice that had not been there this morning when we had our altercation. Madison had stopped eating. She fiddled with her spoon, looking at me curiously. She had been trying to draw my attention with repeated motions of her hands then she saw she had gotten my attention. "Who is it?" she mouthed. I did not reply. "Dante?" she mouthed again. I gave a curt nod. "Oh," She crinkled her brows. Deep in thought, she stared at the food in front of her. I was sure s
A hush hung over the pack house. It was as if a shadow had fallen over it. In the silence, there was a sort of expectancy- like everyone was waiting for something to happen. I sat in bed, my back ramrod straight. There was a queasy feeling in my stomach I recognized as anxiety. I had tried all night to remain calm. I had done all I could, going through my phone, and trying to sleep but nothing seemed to work. There was an annoying insistent tapping in the silence of the room. Frowning, I looked around and realized my foot was doing the tapping. I forced myself to stop. I was making everything worse by putting myself on edge. I hated to admit it but I was worried, worried about Dante and the outcome of his venture into the woods. A few minutes after leaving Dante's study, I had been in the living
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