The Omega's eyes met mine, but she hastily dropped them. I gritted my teeth and urged myself to go even faster. I could bet that this whole lunch thing was Dante's idea. Taking me from my home down to his to make me witness his debauchery, then ordering me to have lunch like I was a little girl. I was used to doing things how I wanted and when I wanted, not having suggestions or orders thrown at me. If Dante and his pack thought that I would change who I was just because they had me with them, then they had another thing coming. I ignored her, hoping she would go away. I could feel the anger I had felt building since yesterday taking over me. Exercising this afternoon had not done much to quell the bloodlust I felt and I was this close to losing it. "Beta Allison," she said in a pleading tone and curtsied. "I- I don't know if you heard me, but I said lunch was ready and I am sure you may want-" "Go away. I don't want to eat. If I did, I would go to the kitchen and request for food
It had been a few hours since I had left the dining room. I still could not believe that Dante had let me go. I was more than relieved that he had though. For a moment there, I thought he would have physically restrained and kept me there. He had looked so mad. It would have been doubly humiliating to have to obey him in the presence of Maddox and Madison. Having to bend to his will was bad enough. Considering Dante's authoritative personality, I guessed it was only a matter of time before he attempted to take control of my life entirely. I had to do something quickly. I had been docile long enough. In my room, an idea had suddenly occurred to me. I searched for my suitcases in the room, finding them tucked away in the wardrobe. The wardrobe was so ridiculously large that it made my belongings seem so small. It was like I had nothing. I scowled. What sensible person would have enough stuff that would occupy the wardrobe anyway? I shook my head in vexation and rummaged through the fi
Dante's POV "What's it going to be, Allison?" I asked, watching her every move. Allison hesitated, her gaze drifting towards the dagger safely put away in my pocket and the door which was her only means of escape. I had made the threat about not returning the dagger because, in the brief moment, I had asked her about how she came in possession of it, something in her face had changed. She was a really tough girl, but I could tell that the dagger had a sentimental value. It annoyed me that I had not had a glimpse of her face. I could not tell what she was thinking or feeling, her face half hidden behind that mask. Her expressive green eyes were all the indications I had of her emotions so far. More than anything else, I wanted to know all there was about Allison. The reasons for her actions, her motivations, and her drive kept me wondering- trying to figure out the enigma that was Allison. Shifting slightly, careful not to make any sudden movements, I stood in front of the door, ef
I stared at the closed door for a full minute after he left. I had been sure that he would maximize this opportunity of attempting to unsettle me. I half expected the door to open again, admitting him. When a few minutes passed and there was still no sign of him, I began to relax gradually. I sat heavily on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath my weight. Dante had seemed preoccupied when he received the mind link. I wondered what had happened. Well, it was none of my business after all. I fell back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I was not in the right frame of mind to continue with the laptop. Hacking into the complex security system required skill and concentration. I most definitely had the skill, but I could not concentrate at this moment. One wrong move and Dante's security detail may be able to detect an alien presence trying to access their cameras. My mind went over and over the scene with Dante- how he had nearly touched me when I took off my mask. I had seen the shoc
"Beta Allison," said a voice quite close to me. It was one of the maids whose sole responsibility it was to remind me it was time to take my meals. To tell the truth, I did not even need the constant reminders. My mind ran like clockwork and I was well aware of the day's events. The maid looked at me warily. It had been a few days since I was brought here by Dante but I had showed no signs of settling in. My dispensation towards the everyone here had not softened and it was evidenced by the way the maid was staring at me. "It is time for breakfast and Alpha Dante-" She sighed. "-wants you to be in the dining room in five minutes." She curtsied, her demeanor apologetic. I sighed deeply. This had been the story of my life for the past few days. Forced meals in the company of people who I disliked, being ordered around. "Tell him I will be there- soon," I told her.She remained standing there for some minutes, afraid of going in there without me. Dante would be angry with her, but wh
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
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