Allison KeelerMy gaze remained fixated on the map in my hand as I waited for Alpha Grimsby and his bimbo to be done with their morning sex so I could get in and clean. My thoughts were heavy on how to escape this place. The tone of it was terrifying and the sooner I planned my exit the quicker I was going to be out of here. But where would I go?This, I had no idea of. I heaved a sigh and looked away from the laminate sheet in my hand which held only the map of the mansion. I didn't expect Mr. Smith to be dumb enough to give me the map that could help me trace my way out of here. I didn't wait any longer by the stairs when the bedroom door clicked open and a fuming lady in a red dress plunged towards me. Her face knotted even more when her eyes settled on me. I instantly got to my feet with my eyes on her, searching her face as she towered in front of me. Her pair of high heels made her appear way taller than I surmised she actually was. "You fucking piece of shit!" She struck m
ALLISON KEELERKarla's head snapped up at me, her blue eyes peered in confusion as they regarded the smoothie in my hand stretched her way. "Your smoothie, my Luna!" I spelled it out just in case she had suffered memory loss. She glanced around the gym, no one seemed to be paying any attention to us but the pecan-haired girl beside her in a gym bra and yoga pants."Lady Maggie says I should bring this to you," I clarified. "Me?""Oh, that should be mine." The pecan-haired girl got to her feet reaching for the smoothie. "No, it's for the Luna. I can make you another cup." I spoke quietly. "How dare you!" The pecan-haired girl growled with a scowl on her beautiful face. "Don't Faye," Karla smiled nervously, "Pardon her, she's new." She leaned in and whispered to Faye. "The hick from the sticks.""Oh!" Realization shone brightly in Faye's eyes as they wandered me from head to toe, "I was expecting much.""Grimsby thought the same," Karla chuckled. Faye furrowed her brows and blink
ALPHA COLTON"You did not show up last night!"Shirley's icy gripes cut through to my sleep bringing me instantly awake. My gaze first fell on the clock on my nightstand, some minutes past nine a.m. I had slept in. Something I never did. Shit!I got up only to be frozen by the splitting ache in my head. The tequila I had last night hit me really hard. As though reading my mind, Shirley's gaze roved from me to the bottle of tequila, the ice bucket, and three cans of soda on the little coffee table Maeve had brought in last night. "You stayed back from the fun and buzz only to drink all by yourself?" She willed the annoyance from her voice. It was the long-awaited drunk night out last night, but for some reason, I needed the comfort of my room to let myself breathe, to not try to impress anyone. To try not to impress her. Yesterday had been even harder dealing with my conscience, reminding myself the Northerners were only going to post more problems if the boundaries to our territ
Chapter Twelve: Four Weeks ALPHA COLTON"Did you hear me?" Shirley ferociously tailed me as I stomped out of the dining area, "I said I'm pregnant and you're just going to walk out on me?""What the hell do you expect me to do?" I whirled around snapping at her. Her jaws sagged dramatically as she stood stunned before me, her bewildered gaze searching my face. I fought to gain control of my emotions, the fury surging inside of me. My ragged breathing seemed to be a lot calmer as I got a glimpse of fear in her eyes. I released an audible sigh and moved back to her. Taking her both shoulders in a manner to soothe and calm us both, I chose to speak without any trace of anger in my tone, in my features. "Your sudden outbursts got me off guard. You will give me a little time to think things through." "No!" She broke from my touch, her face hardened all over again, "You had all the time to think a few months ago. You promised we'll be getting married only after Allison is gone, what c
ALLISON KEELER "Need help with the surfaces?"I whirled around by the island I was wearily cleaning in the kitchen to see Phoebe's smiling face. Before I could respond, she came over, with the height of a supermodel she towered beside me, and started working on the surface. I was so small in height that it made everyone else appear so tall. "I'm Phoebe." She introduced herself with flushed cheeks."I know," I met her puzzled gaze and shrugged, "Mr. Smith, remember?"Realization shone in her eyes and her smiles broadened. She remembered what happened the previous morning. "Avoid him as much as you can. He's trouble. Real ass trouble."We giggled. "I'm Allison." "I know. Everyone seems to be talking about you." She cocked a brow and winked at me. "They are?" But what exactly were they saying about me? I couldn't ask verbally but my arched brow gave away my curiosity. "You're new here, that's why." She moved from the island to stand before me, "You're white. Are you sick?"She p
ALLISON KEELERThere was nothing but a scowl on Faye's bewildered face.My eyes were wide in bewilderment as they drifted from my sodden uniform to Alpha Grimsby's sodden shirt. I dared not meet his gaze. He was planted before me, glowering at me in a manner that would have dropped me lifeless if looks could kill. My breath hitched in my throat, my tongue got cleaved to the roof of my mouth, and my lips quivered as I scanned my frozen brain on what to say. On how to apologize. "Don't you fuckin' have what to say?" Faye snapped and her lips quirked in annoyance. "I am so..."Whatever else I had to say died inside of me as a heavy blow sent me across to the wall. I dropped to the floor with pain seizing my body. If hitting me that hard hurt his knuckles, Alpha Grimsby didn't show. His annoyance took the best of his emotions. My eyes dropped on Phoebe who remained stricken with fear by the doorway. She was on her knees with her head solemnly bowed forward. Alpha Grimsby turned back
ALPHA COLTON"What the hell is this?" My eyes left the petition on my office desk to Jace's passive gaze. "It's a crime to sell out a member of the Pack. The council wants you to terminate that deal or they take drastic actions." Jace muttered with the fury in his eyes suggesting the degree of anger he was repressing just so he could speak discreetly. I glanced at the document on my desk only to discover the council had yet to sign it. They dared not sign it. Not without hearing from me."Why the hell are you so fuckin' bitter?" It was all I thought of, "Do you think you can fuckin' run this shit any better than I do?"Jace bit his tongue, but his knotted muscles screamed just what I needed to hear. He was not concerned about Allison, I knew that for a fact. He wasn't about saving Allison from Grimsby but all Jace was all about was toppling me down. "I am going to make sure the council takes the right action this time." He boomed, snatching the document from my desk. "Good luck
ALLISON KEELER "You're the miracle we've prayed all our lives for." Phoebe's broad smile illuminated her face and lit up the hall. She stood beside me with her face flushed and her hair neatly swept into a nice bun. "A miracle?" I asked my eyes on the rest of the girls coming into the hall. I waved back at a few girls who were nice enough to wave my way. After a while, Mr. Smith's staff reverberated to the hall making the babbles ebb. Liv sauntered in beside Mr. Smith with smugness plastered on her face. She found a spot in the array of girls and fixed herself. "Allison Keeler!" Was the first thing Mr. Smith said as he stood before us. I raised my hand but remained right where I stood amongst the girls. "Alpha Grimsby seeks to speak with you." He spoke deeply with a hint of scorn in his tone, "Maybe this will teach you to stop running your mouth!" I didn't wait for his next words, I headed towards the door. "Hold you right there," he barked behind me, "What gave y
ALLISON KEELER"What's going on?"I asked Alan after it took Dane forever to spill whatever he had in his guts. "We just received an email from the Western territories of the kingdom." Dane went ahead with a tone that sounded more husky than businesslike. "There's bound to be a war."A war? My face conveyed my shock. War was never a good thing especially when my territory was starting to thrive and recoup from bad governance."Our territory is safe." Alan must've caught the dismay on my face so he chipped in. "We're sealed by magic, it would be hard for the Outlanders to strike.""So why then is everyone acting this way?""The westerners solicit our amalgamation." Dane dragged out the words as though it was supposed to affect me. It did.The Western territories revolved mainly around Colton's territories. His territories were the majority. If we amalgamated our territories that meant going for those meetings, running into Colton, and risking the big discovery of the child we had to
ALLISON KEELER "There's a notice from the border," Alan dropped the folders in his hands on my desk, "It's a good thing we were on guard last night.""We would have been swept last night if we didn't take security measures?" I asked to be certain I understood him. "Here's your speech for this noon." Luca dropped a file on my desk. Smiling, Luca took a photo of me on my executive desk and smiled broadly into his phone. "Hmm, look how good you you look!""Delete that!" I growled at him stretching out to snatch the phone from his hand."You will need some executive photos," he held the phone out so I could see the photo. A smile curled on my lips. I looked so good. "Delete that," I said regardless. "We will have more patrol teams on the borders and send spies and trackers to see what they can gather." Alan went back to business. "You will address the entire Pack today by noon."I already knew that. Thoughts of standing before the entire Pack kicked in my anxiety. "Your executive a
ALLISON KEELER"Congratulations!"Evelyn gushed as I descended the stairs the night of the full moon. The silver dress I wore was perfect as the glow of the moon shone on it, and my hair and makeup looked extremely perfect. This was one of the things that kept me smiling all through. "So we get to leave this hole?" Darlene snorted. "I love this place." I did. The size didn't matter to me, all that did was have everyone together. Sir Garfield, although placed in a facility to help him recover quickly, was now an integral part of my life. A bigger mansion was no doubt going to fit everyone but it wasn't what I fancied at that time of my life. The ritual that night was a rare lucid moment. Without a trace of doubt in my heart, I picked Alan as my Beta. He knew so much about the pack and I was unsure why I picked Dane as my Gamma. This caused a stir in my circle but none of them seemed to own up to their thoughts. Was it because of the crown on my head now?"I don't know what's goi
Alpha Colton"Bullshit," I spat with vengeful eyes on Grimsby. All he said to me made no sense at all. "Where the hell is she?""You're not here for war now are you?" Grimsby sounded nervous but he kept a feigned composure. "You give me the girl and we're all good." I tried not to let my fury consume me. "She's not here." Grimsby huffed.My face dissolved into a confused frown. What did he mean she wasn't here?He met my inquisitive eyes and chose to explain things."Allison is safe. Trust me but I'm not the only northern ruler bonded to this deal, we don't want to turn this into some bloodbath." His tone was gravely low, "Let's talk at my office."Vinny released a breath glancing my way. I completely understood the dangers of striking out at the moment. The risk to these innocent pack members' lives was great and even worse, the weaker Western territories were going to feel the heat. The northerners were only going to strike brutally as revenge. This didn't feel right. "It's jus
ALPHA COLTON "I can't sense her," I informed Vinny the second we made it through Hornsgate borders. "You don't expect her scent to waft up your nostrils if she's a million miles away from here." He replied, his gaze on the map on his phone. "Hornsgate isn't that big a place." I inwardly scorned it. I had been to bigger territories, this was absolutely not one of them. "Grimsby will realize we're in his territory in no time." Vinny glanced from his phone. "I want him to as soon as possible. I just can't wait to end this." I hissed and drummed the steering wheel as the car zoomed through the highway. The thoughts of the northerners pooling in on us were now so overwhelming that I gestured to Vinny to get the anti-wolfsbane and anti-silver spray that Haedon had given me. If anything, this barbaric Pac was only going to try to use these two lethal forces on us. I knew just that. From a distance, three trucks zoomed up behind us. There was every possibility they were Gri
ALLISON KEELER"Would you abandon your territory to become Colton's Luna if he wanted you?"Dane typed a few things on his computer making a few edits to the speech Luca had just sent him. My coronation speech."My people are now my priority. So, no." I was unsure why he brought this up. Dane rarely talked to me and lately, he was all bent on asking about Colton. Did he fancy the ruthless ruler as well?He stretched and glanced at his wristwatch before he put his computer away. "I want to grab dinner," he slammed the computer and got to his feet grabbing his keys, "Coming?"Me?I thought he didn't like having me around but what did it hurt? I nodded and got to my feet. I left Sir Garfield's home office to first check on Fihl before I followed Dane out towards his Rover. "I want to see the pack, I want to meet with and get to know my people," I said in the front seat of his car. "You will, in a few more days." He glanced at me and reached out to grab the little fancy gift bag stre
ALLISON KEELER Matt was eerily silent all through the meeting with the pack elders. Alan and Chase did most of the talking. The elders swore their fealty and were more than willing to back me up on my rulership as the Luna of the pack. The day for the official crowning was the next full moon which was in just six days. I was happy. My joy was radiant but Matt's silence caught me even as we were all gathered for dinner he didn't say a word. All he did was cast me weird gazes and toy with his salmon. Something was bothering him and he denied it each time I asked. I offered to help Evelyn clear the table and stack the dishwasher. She was teasing me all over again about Grimsby's felicitations. I rolled my eyes and remained silent. "A diamond ring?" She gasped, "That's an awfully expensive one." She was talking about the ring Grimsby had sent my way amongst other gifts and items which were now in Darlene's possession. I didn't want anything from Grimsby. But what if it was
ALPHA COLTON "This is extremely impulsive," Vinny breathed, "We don't act on impulse." "If Grimsby wants to make this into a war then so be it." "This can cause a lot of damage, this can lead to regret." "I'm already wallowing in both." I hissed, "There's nothing left to lose." "Your territories?" I flail my hand in the air in an attempt to ease the fury inside of me. "I've already made up my mind. Do what needs to be done around here, I'll be back in a few days." "I'd be doomed if I let you off on your own." He met the fury in my eyes and quickly added, "You're a strong Alpha no doubt but the Northerners..." "I want the Pack matters that need my attention to be instantly sorted out, I want you to..." "Fuck it, Colton, I'm coming with you." "You're not leaving my territory unguarded, you're the Gamma of this pack..." "Karl will take care of what needs to be taken care of. We'll find a wolf to track her scent and I..." I hoisted the backpack from the coffee table and hea
ALPHA COLTON "Not that frown again," Shirley clucked her tongue with a broadening smile on her face. "What do you want?" I asked my face, suggesting I was not pleased to have her meddle in my part of the property. I had been unnecessarily liberal when I chose to offer Jace a part of my mansion to live in. Now I had to deal with it. "I miss you." She pursed her lips reaching out to touch my face. I acted instantly to prevent her from touching me. Whatever we had ended a while ago. She was now with my stepbrother. There had to be some boundaries. A lot was going on with me and having to pick a fight over a girl with Jace became a luxury I couldn't afford. "From now on you will speak discreetly. There's nothing between us anymore so I expect a more discreet relationship." The smile on her face faded, and a snort appeared on her face. "There's no gain being with you." She hissed, "Jace had a lot more to offer. I'm happy and content with my small family." "I'm glad to hear t