We’re almost there people 😬 Thank you for reading and let me know in the comments if you enjoyed the triple chapters.
“I said stay back,” Tatum growls, blocking Leila mid way down the stairs. “I’ve had enough of this, first you kept me grounded here for days like a prisoner and now this?”Leila gives him a cold once over, ducking underneath his arms and continues making her way down the stairs with gusto in her steps.She has to defend herself, the Iron Claw Pack probably already thinks she’s responsible for the attack on Margaux because of Tatum’s action and now the pack members are bringing a matter that has been put to bed to her doorstep?She flings the door open just as Tatum steps up behind her and she is welcomed by an angry mob, welding sticks and torches and holding banners of slandering statements about her.“What is this about?” Leila asks them in a curt tone, unable to hold back her annoyance.“You are a murderer!”“An evil woman!”“An usurper!” The crowd fires at her.Leila is about to reply when the crowd parts and none other than Carmela slowly walks through the centre, a coy smirk f
“We know why,” one of them replies sharply.“You want to remain as Luna and you know the pack witch would stand in your way to see the prophecy fulfilled, that’s why you had her murdered. We have had enough, the phoenix Luna is our Luna, she is the Alpha’s mate. It has been proven, she must become Luna and you must pay for your crimes.”“Alpha, we know she is your wife and currently our Luna and we personally mean you no disrespect but she is a criminal, she must be brought to justice and you deserve better, she has blood on her hands.”“Yes Alpha,” another person adds sharply. “It is only out of respect for you that we have not lynched this murderer!”“I am not a murderer, I didn’t kill the witch, I didn’t kill anyone!” Leila yells in a frantic voice, her tone rising in desperation, her heart pounding in fear and worry, the confidence in her voice waning.It is like the more she tries to make them see her truth, the more blinded they are to it and the more agitated they become.“Tell
“You have been accused of murdering Alina, the pack witch, how do you plead?” Once again, Leila finds herself in the elders’ chamber, in the midst of the same men who were ready to condemn her days ago without proof and now, sitting in the middle of their judgemental circle with twelve sets of eyes leering at her, she knows her fate is sealed. Especially since Carmela has created proof, proof no one will let her see or defend herself against. A gross injustice. “Where is the Alpha?” Leila mutters weakly, counting her words. She is tired, hungry and thirsty. “You are in no position to ask questions, Leila! How do you plead?” Trent barks at her but Leila doesn’t cower. Looking into the green eyes of the man who murdered her father in cold blood and whose daughter is hell bent on taking hers, she finds strength in the rage that boils through her. “Until I am convicted, I am still your Luna and you will address me as such.” Though weak, her aura still powers through her commandin
“Guards….anyone…..anyone there?” Leila mutters weakly, crawling on her knees and holding on the steel bars that keep her imprisoned.Her hair dry and tattered, her clothes torn, her finger and toes wounded from her hungry cell mates, the mice, nibbling on them. She cannot even fight them off anymore, she just lays there and lets them feast on her while she feasts on her thoughts of regret.Is this really how she is going to die? With a child inside her?Her wounds are healing slower now, her pup’s energy must be drained, she can still feel it, barely…..Even if Tatum cannot find the mate bond, this fake one, even if he has been tricked to believe Carmela is the one, what about his child? The heir he so proudly announced to the world.What about his constant promise to her that he will never let her go?She breaks down against the steel bar, her heart clenching in pain, a bitter sorrow filling her deep eyes that have now lost its bright beautiful blue hue, tears simmer down her face a
Tatum’s eyes are full of passion, desire and lust. The exact same way he looks at her whenever he makes his promises. He cups Carmela’s face, smiling sweetly at her as her eyes glow. “I’m sorry for not marrying you as soon as you came back, I just wanted to be sure but now I am and you are the one I choose.”Pain slices through Leila’s heart back and forth, and she rests her head against the steel bar.‘I will never let you go.’She remembers Tatum’s promise to her and her heart shatters even more. Was she foolish to have hope? Did he mean any of it?He did, he meant it, she could feel it, it was real. This is not his fault, he has been tricked and the mate bond is hard to fight. If she somehow survives this, she will fight tooth and claw to pull him away from Carmela’s evil grasp.She is his choice, the one that his heart truly wants, Carmela just took advantage of him but she will not let Carmela win.Tatum belongs to her.Carmela steals Tatum's lips in a sultry kiss, inflicting
Did Carmela also get that witch to bewitch Tatum? She probably did, that is something Carmela can do and that would explain Tatum’s refusal to take her mindlink, to visit her and even agree for her to be killed. It has to be, it is the only rational explanation. She doesn’t want to believe otherwise, she doesn’t want to believe Tatum said those words in his right senses, something else has to be at play. He loves her, he confessed it to her, he has always been in love with her from when they were young, that’s what he said. Just like she has loved him from a young age as well, that love could not have just suddenly evaporated, mate bond or not. Carmela is behind this, she has to be and she doesn’t have anyway to defend herself or fight back. Tatum is her only hope but she seems to have lost him now. Tatum knows she is pregnant. It doesn’t make sense that he would just abandon her like this and worse, condemn her to death with the heir to the pack growing inside her. Even if
Carmela chuckles, switching on the torchlight she’s holding and pointing it at Leila. Leila doesn’t move an inch, nor does she say a word.She stares straight into the blinding light defiantly, her heart pumping with rage, her stomach boiling with anger.Carmela has taken the most precious thing in her life away from her, her child, the one source of joy she had in the midst of all the other sorrows Carmela has put her in.The guard accompanying Carmela places a chair for her to sit and he gives Carmela the keys to the cell before he departs.“You look pathetic,” Carmela says, scrunching her nose from the bad odour hanging in the air. “But then, it is what suits you.”She snickers, taking her seat and leaning forward.“What did you think you were going to do Leila? What did you think was going to happen? That you were somehow going to stay married to Tatum with me on the side?” Carmela asks with a sneer on her face.Leila stands up like a lifeless woman and walks to the corner of the
The shock fills Leila’s eyes and her thuds but the next thing she feels is an immense pain that almost makes her run mad when Carmela punches her bump, making her yelp even more pain, tears spilling out of her eyes, agony striking her heart and strength leaving her body as her eyes flutter open and close.Carmela takes out a vial and holds Leila’s mouth open, emptying the content inside it before she drops Leila to the floor and stands up, dusting her hands and wiping them on her skirt, a sinister smile on her lips.“Now you can die in peace or despair, I don’t really care,” Carmela shrugs and chuckles. “I should have been his mate, not you but it doesn’t matter now, he’s mine and I’m keeping him.”The disbelief remains staunch in Leila’s eyes that she can barely keep open as she stares at Carmela. Different emotions coursing through her heart.Tatum is her fated mate? But how would Carmela know that when neither her nor Tatum knows it?“You know I’ve always liked Tatum Leila, why di
“Everything will be alright father,” Leila gently wipes Darren’s forehead with a warm cloth while the rest of his body is covered in a blanket.He is freezing up, despite the averagely warm weather outside. No one truly understands the nature of this cancer that he has, he gets better a little on his own and then he seems to get worse. Darren nods weakly, his pale eyes full of gratitude.“I have to leave now, I’ll come and see you first thing in the morning tomorrow,” Leila says, she had spent the whole day tending to him after Trent left.“You’re leaving?” Adaline comes in carrying a tray of food, “I made dinner, I was just bringing you yours.”“That’s very nice of you but I’m fine,” Leila stands up and adjusts the blanket over Darren properly, “please take care of him.”“Leila please don’t go,” Adaline drops the tray hurriedly and rushes towards Leila. “I already had the maids prepare your room for you. You’re our only insurance against those men outside. As long as you are here,
Hearing that, Leila frowns. Of course Adaline did not come to apologize to her out of the remorse of her heart, it is only because she knows she’s the only one that can stand up to Trent in Tatum’s absence.While she may be bitter towards Adaline, Darren has remained like a father figure to her, she must go and find out what’s going on.She stands up immediately and leaves Adaline in her office with not even a word in response, wasting no time to rally some of the trusted men Tatum had left behind and makes her way to Darren’s house.Trent must have learnt of her move to take back the seized properties and now he is making another move to undermine her but why Tatum’s parents?What is his goal here? Whatever it is, she is going to find out.“You’re not allowed to go in, no one is.” One of Trent’s men blocks Leila’s path at the entrance to the house with several of them standing outside.They far outnumber the men Leila had brought with her but she doesn’t even need her guards to handl
“Please have your seat,” Leila offers Adaline, keeping her face calm and polite.“Thank you my daughter,” Adaline replies, hurriedly sitting down. Leila doesn’t know how to react to being addressed as ‘my daughter’ from the same woman who would bring hell down on her if she dared to address her as mother in the past.It feels strange and beyond strange, it’s quite discomforting. She tried several times to be a daughter to Adaline and she always got served a bad hand in return.The only reason she’s not rebuking her right now is because the sooner she can handle whatever brought Adaline here, the sooner she can get back to the important work of getting a legal team ready for the battle in court that may happen.“How can I help you?” She replies, keeping her voice curt.“Leila….” Adaline stretches her hand over the table to hold Leila’s hand but she withdraws it before Adaline can touch her and keeps it by her side, a mix of a puzzled and irritated look on her face.‘What is she trying
Leila is distraught upon hearing the news, the pain she feels is cataclysmic. She knows Tatum is not dead, if he was her wolf would feel the bond snap and she’ll be in even more terrible pain.Yet, he is nowhere to be found, presumed dead and she has no idea if he got to save Amara or not.What is she supposed to do now? The wedding may have fallen through but it is secondary to the claiming ritual, she is the Luna in the eyes of the pack members whether they said I do or not.“What do you think you’re doing?” Her mother steps into her room, giving her a stern look, where Leila’s sitting on the floor, a mess of tears.“Mother, I—”“He’s not dead!” Liana snaps at her, “you said so yourself. And if I know anything about that young man from recent events, he’ll claw his way out from hell itself to get back to you and he certainly won’t let any harm come to his daughter but when he returns, who does he return to meet, the woman he trusted to be Luna and left his pack to or a pitiful wife
“We have to go right now! I can’t wait another second,” Leila cries, her eyes red and puffy, an unbearable pain lodged in her heart for fear of her precious angel.Anything could be happening to her daughter at this moment. She does not want to even think of it. How is it possible that the one place Leo chooses to attack is just where Amara is?This hardly looks like a coincidence, her heart throbs with pain, pounding in fear. Is it possible that Leo learnt the truth about Amara being Tatum’s daughter and is trying to hurt Tatum by harming her, but how would he have learnt that? Amara’s identity is a well kept secret.She looks back at Tatum from her trembling feet just as he slams his phone down, grunts and runs his hands down his face in frustration, his eyes weary and sad but his rage is clear in them.“I can’t reach anyone over there, it’s like their communications system has been cut off or something,” his voice is laden with worry “That’s why we should be on our way there alrea
It’s her wedding day, it really is her wedding day and it’s not the rushed secret night wedding she had the first time, everything is as she wants.Even if her dream wedding was something small, intimate between just her and her family, she could not deny the pack members who had been abuzz with its attendance so she decided to host it outdoors to accommodate everyone.Several Alphas and Lunas from other packs are also present. It’s a happy day for Leila and the members of the blood oak pack.The wedding was the needed boom of joy to topple the gloom that had overshadowed the pack in recent weeks.Not a single soul wanted to miss it. If they had opted to use a hall as Leila initially wanted, it would be full to the brim and not enough people would get seats.“The crowd outside is wild,” Amanda says, stepping into the room where Leila is getting the finishing touches to her makeup. “This has to be the biggest Alpha wedding I have ever witnessed.”Leila makes a face at Amanda, half roll
“We’re going to the temple?” Leila asks Tatum, seeing the path they are walking down, his hand intertwined in hers.“Yes we are,” Tatum replies with a smile, taking her hand up and planting a soft kiss on it that makes her blush and sets her heart racing even more.She wonders what this surprise may be that it has to happen in the temple. This is the most sacred place in the blood oak pack. Pack members can only visit it on invitation from the priestess of the temple. She has only ever been here once with her dad and even then, she had to wait a distance outside while he went in. The temple is located right in the heart of the pack and yet it is the most secluded place.When they get to the gate of the temple, they are welcomed by attendants who give them water to wash their hands, feet and faces before they are allowed to enter inside.Leila stares in awe at the gigantic statue of the goddess riding a three headed wolf with a sceptre in her hand, the walls of the temple adorned with
“Leila! You have guests!”She hears the sound of her mother’s voice calling her from downstairs and she drops her phone on the bed, which she had been browsing the internet with searching for pictures of a wedding gown and trying to also find a designer even though Amanda swore she had that part covered.Who could those guests be? She doesn’t remember expecting anyone, she’s not exactly the most popular figure in the pack, even though she’s going to be their Luna for the second time.A part of her is honestly quite troubled about how the pack is receiving the news of her wedding to Tatum.It still feels surreal but she knows it is happening. She is going to get married to the love of her life twice in her lifetime. The first time they got married, it was Tatum saving her, now it is her who is more or less saving him by agreeing to be his bride, such an irony.Coming down the stairs, Leila freezes and she takes some steps back, seeing the crowd gathered in her living room, members of t
“I already told you I summoned her, she doesn’t have to answer—” “It’s okay,” Leila gently holds Tatum’s hand to calm him, feeling the change in his aura. She smiles gently at him, letting her palm trace down his blood ridden forearm, her body tingling with a subtle pleasure as she interlocks her palms with his. Tatum unconsciously or perhaps consciously clasps his hands against hers, while looking at her with confusion in his eyes and feeling as one with him in this moment, the power of Trent’s Alpha’s command dissolves into thin air. That pressure that wolves always felt to speak the truth once under the alpha command is not felt by her wolf, what she feels is different. It is a feeling of bliss, a calmness and a knowing that this is meant to be. Her union with Tatum. Whatever happens next, whatever hurdle they have to face, whatever storms they have to brace, whatever challenges may come, they’ll face it together and so out of her own free will and not under the influence of Tre