Madison's eyes were suddenly inscrutable, all pretense of good humor gone. Her brow puckered in a frown as she looked at me impatiently. Then, her face suddenly relaxed into a blank mask. It was too late though. I had already seen her irritation. I wondered if it was directed at me, Dante, or if it was as a result of the recent happenings in the pack. Madison was beginning to stir my curiosity. Beneath that seemingly cheerful nature, something was going on. She looked around the room, as if willing Dante to materialize from thin air. I didn't move out of the way in case she harbored the thought of coming further into the room. "You have not answered my question," I reminded her. She shrugged. "I wanted to see Dante. There is something important I want to talk to him about." I was about to ask what she wanted to talk about that couldn't wait until a decent hour in the morning, but I didn't. It wouldn't do for me to seem overly concerned about her dealings with Dante. I put a poker f
Allison's POV I felt a smile spread across my face as I walked to the front door. The guards at the door were not the same ones Madison and I had encountered the other day. They watched me approach warily. The guard said something to his companion who then looked in my direction. Teeth bared, I went closer."I'm sorry to say this, Luna but you have to go back inside," said the first guard. "The Alpha's orders-""To hell with the Alpha's orders," I shrieked. He shrugged. "Well, you can't still go out. I'm sorry."The second guard spoke up. "Please, go back inside. It is late already. Besides, what are you going to do outside at this time of the night?""None of your business," I snarled. I finally came to a stop in front of them. I planted my hands on my hips and stared them right in the face. "Now, let me make this clear to you boys. I am going outside for a walk and you will not stop me.""Actually-" began the first guard. He subsided into silence when I raised a warning finger.
Dante's POV Today was the day I got to watch Allison in her element. News traveled fast around here and there was nothing that happened in my pack that was actually hidden from me. Maddox had informed me the day before that Allison had agreed to train with the guards this morning. Apparently, the guards were all excited about it. It seemed they hadn't gotten enough of her the last time. A smile curved my lips at the recollection of the time I had seen her in the gym with the guards. She had really been pissed off at my interruption. I got up really early even though I did not have much to do today. My clock showed it was a few minutes past 6. Perfect. By the time I showered, shaved, and dressed, Allison and the guards would have been at it for about an hour. After my morning routine, I walked towards the training ground. Maddox had told me that the guards planned on having a gym session. After that, they would proceed to the training grounds. "Good morning Alpha," greeted the gu
Allison's POVI could not stop the shiver that rocked my entire frame. Once again my traitorous body had betrayed me again. Why couldn't I be indifferent to his touch for once? The smirk on his handsome face told me that he knew the effect he was having on me. I tried to remind myself that we were outside, in full view of the house. My cheeks burned in embarrassment again as the events of the last few minutes played in my head. Once again, Dante had tried to seduce me in the presence of Lucius. I had no doubt that some of the guards heading towards the house had been witnesses to this. I groaned in frustration. Dante's expression lightened. "Feel anything yet?" he whispered. His hands wandered across my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. He slid his fingers between my bra for a second. My eyes widened in shock. Smirking, he trailed a finger along my spine. My knees almost buckled at the sensation. For once I was glad that he was firmly holding me in place. My body was trapped in
Allison's POV My food forgotten, I blinked rapidly. I could not believe my ears. Dante had just admitted to killing his parents in such an offhand, cold-blooded manner. He had done it with no change of expression at all. I prided myself on being a brutal fighter, someone who had killed more times than I could count. The people who I killed however were those who were scum and who deserved to die. I could not wrap my head around the concept of someone killing their own parents.I struggled to find reasons why, to fathom what offense they could have committed for their only son and heir to kill them both at the same time. Was he so eager to assume the title of Lycan king that he had murdered his parents? The version of Dante that I had become familiar with would never in my opinion do such a thing. Since I had gotten here, I had come to know that Dante had a sweet and considerate side. I didn't know the answer I was expecting when I asked the question but it definitely wasn't this. I
Allison's POV I glared at the mountain of food right in front of me. I had never felt less like eating in my life. For one, it hurt to swallow. Secondly, eating with Dante at my side was like torture. When a maid had come to call me down to breakfast this morning, I had deliberately used up a lot of time to get ready. I had earnestly hoped that Dante would be done with breakfast by the time I came into the dining room. Contrary to my expectations, he was there already eating with Madison and Maddox.Without a word to either of them, I had taken a seat. To make it worse, Madison had somehow totally gotten over her sour mood of the day before. She was back to her normal vivacious self. Inwardly, I groaned. This day couldn't get any worse. I heartily wished Madison had picked any other day to be friendly. She kept talking to me. I pointedly ignored her and tried to tune her voice out so it could become mere background noise. Dante on the other hand seemed only focused on eating. He wa
Dante's POV I blew out a relieved breath. Finally, the meeting was over and I could think a little. It was a wonder how I had sat through several hours of the just concluded meeting with the Alpha of one of the neighboring packs. I supposed the success of the meeting was largely due to Maddox. He had sort of taken charge and had filled in all the awkward pauses. The Alpha had seemed happy enough when he left so I supposed that my preoccupation had not been noticed. Impatiently, I slammed my fist on the table. The events of last night were still playing in my head. I had really hurt Allison- physically and emotionally as well. Allison always put up that tough exterior but I was pretty sure that she was hurting inside. She had covered it up by acting antagonistic towards me at breakfast this morning. The turtleneck sweater she had worn was a testament to the fact that the prints of my fingers were visible on her throat. Damn! I was such a jerk. It had been an uphill task to get Allis
Allison's POV I sat back with a relaxed sigh. The food here was really good. The waiter brought dessert and it tasted even better. I was literally sloshing with food. I had almost nothing to eat during breakfast today so I supposed Madison had come up with a good idea this time."Had enough or do you want more?" Madison teased. I smiled wryly. "I am literally sloshing with food.""Yeah. Me too. Do you want to go anywhere else?"I appeared to consider her request but I honestly did not want to go somewhere else. Though I had enjoyed this particular outing, hangouts were not my thing and I was already beginning to feel uneasy here. Dante would not approve of us going into the woods considering all that had happened lately but pushing the idea to Madison was worth a try."No. I think we should head back home," I checked my wristwatch. "We have been here for a few hours already."Madison stuck her lip out. "I never thought you were a stickler for time. Here I was thinking that you would
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