“Good evening Alpha,” The three chorus, smiling from ear to ear when Tatum breaks the hug.“I didn’t hear you greet the Luna.” Tatum’s voice is cold and with a command, his eyes flashing red, a sign his wolf is also agitated.“Good evening Luna.”The three quickly bare their necks to Leila, feeling terrified by their Alpha’s dominating aura.“Evening ladies,” Leila replies passively, grabbing her glass of juice and looking mindlessly away, knowing Tatum’s full attention will be turned to Carmela. She may just as well pretend to be a ghost at the table.“Can we sit with you Alpha?” Tracy eagerly says, smiling down at Tatum.A deep growl from inside Tatum’s throat is the response she gets and Carmela quickly pulls her back, smiling at Tatum.“Forgive her Alpha, we’ll take another table,” she says, leading her group to the table behind Leila and Tatum.“The Alpha was going to allow us to sit with him, you shouldn’t have pulled us away,” Philomena says the moment they sit down, frowning
Tatum didn’t return for the rest of that night.Leila stares outside the car window as she makes her way to Tatum’s father’s house, seeing a bunch of kids engaged in a fierce water gun fight and she smiles as a distant memory comes to her mind of her and Tatum always being a team at this sport when they were younger.Sometimes, she wishes Carmela never got the phoenix mark because that is when everything changed, when Tatum’s attention shifted from her as a friend to Carmela as his future Luna, only for her to discover as puberty hit her that those fun moments as kids had sown a deep seed of affection for him in her little heart.She hardly sees Tatum now, he doesn’t even come home some nights and it hurts because she knows exactly where he is and why and tomorrow, Carmela will move in permanently with them so whatever they get up to will be right under her nose.Carmela’s panic attacks have gotten worse instead of better and the Alpha of the Blood Oak Pack is the only one that can cal
Cheers, jokes, smiles, laughter, everyone seems happy, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, enjoying this lunch but not Leila, she is just stabbing her food, occasionally giving comments when she has to and keeping that placid yet fake smile on her face.She used to be the centre of attention whenever she visited Alpha Darren, his questions and riddles to test people’s wit used to be directed at her but now, it’s like he doesn’t even see her, no one sees her, not him, not his wife, not even her own husband.“Saving Leila’s life came as an instinct to me. I always thought I was going to be Luna since I was ten and I thought of it as my duty to save the life of a subject,” Carmela replies to a question from Alpha Darren and the room goes silent, all eyes falling on Leila.Leila keeps her head down, avoiding the many eyes leering at her, knowing Carmela just put her on the spot.“But of course, Leila wasn’t just any subject, she was also my best friend. I’m glad she’s the one Tatum
Surprised to hear Carmela yelling and seeing the cold look on the old Luna’s face, Leila lets go of Carmela’s arms, still confused about the absence of the scar.“Ouch..” Carmela cries out, gripping her wrist as if to massage it but she twists it out of its socket, causing hot tears to stream down her eyes.“What have you done to my daughter in law, you silly girl?!” Adaline, Alpha Tatum’s mother, yells at Leila, storming forward.Leila freezes at her words, shock evident in her eyes and pain pinching her heart. Adaline has never hidden her displeasure towards her but she never expected her to call Carmela her daughter in law openly. “My wrist, I think it fell off its socket,” Carmela cries, gingerly supporting the damaged wrist with her other hand, her face a mess of tears.“What? How?” Leila turns to her with a confused expression, trying to hold the arm but Carmela backs away.“Don’t touch it, don’t touch me, it hurts, it really hurts.”“Get out of the way,” Adaline shoves Leila,
Leila gasps in shock, clutching her chest at the pain that rips through her. Her head spins, feeling like it is ready to split open. The torture is emotional, mental, as well as physical.He turned his back against her, he didn’t take her side, he doesn’t choose her yet again but she wants to hear him say it, she wants to hear the words from his lips, she wants to hear him say: ‘I believe you are a monster, a vindictive woman who hurt my true mate out of bitter jealousy.’“Alpha,” she sobs silently, her eyes full of pain, every syllable laden with agony. “I know I am not above the law but do you believe I broke it?”Tatum frowns, looking down at the pitiful Carmela gently resting in his arms before he turns his gaze upon Leila but before he can speak, Carmela cries out.“My arm…..I can’t take it anymore, this pain is going to kill me,” she wails, seeing that the cold look in Alpha Tatum’s eyes was morphing into a pitiful one as he looked at Leila.“Stay here till I return, I will see
“I can’t believe Leila would do such a despicable thing,” Edna snorts, gritting her teeth.Surrounded by friends, Carmela is still with her innocent, harmless smile, lying on a hospital bed when they are all condemning Leila.“Oh, I can believe it, that little shit is the devil,” Tracy replies in a stern tone. “She wants to maim Carmi so she won’t look pleasant in the eyes of the Alpha.”“Then she is a fool because what the Alpha and Carmi share transcends looks and abilities, it is a love formed and made permanent by the bond,” Edna retorts.Carmela blushes subtly at Edna’s words before a sullen look creeps up her face. “I don’t know if she did it on purpose but her grip was so strong that when I tried to free my wrist, she broke it.”Edna rushes over to Carmela, cupping Carmela’s face, her gaze flushed with concern. “When you become Luna, you should make her pay dearly for doing this to you.”“But I told you guys, I don’t-”Tracy steps forward and gently presses her index finger aga
Through heavy eyes and a vision blurred with tears, Leila stuffs yet another dress into her box. Once she gives Tatum the divorce papers and he breaks her wrist, she will return to the house, get her stuff and leave the pack forever.Her life here is over and if she stays, the mockery, humiliation and ridicule that will follow her everywhere will only sink her into depression.She shuts the second full box and sighs deeply, her eyelids falling in exhaustion but she cannot stop. When did her closet become so full? She has no idea. She has never bought a dress for herself since she married Tatum, he does everything for her and he does it to an extreme.How can a man show a woman so much care and yet have no iota of feeling for her in his heart? Another wretched sob escapes Leila and she sniffs, reaching inside the closet, her fingers clamping around the fabric of a shiny red dress but she finds it hard to take it out, she stares at it, tears freely flowing down her eyes, her heart poun
“I’ll come with you, just give me a few minutes,” She replies calmly. Clayton’s eyes scan the room, seeing the packed boxes. ‘She knows her jig is up and is trying to escape, I’ll fucking deal with her.’ “You have five minutes and I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he replies in a curt tone. Leila rushes to stuff the rest of her box and then she goes to her dresser and pulls out a paper folder containing the divorce papers from the bottom shelf. Tiny teardrops soil the folder and Leila sniffs back her tears, clamping her fingers hard around the folder before she takes another very deep breath. She takes one last look around her room, knowing this is the last time she will ever be here. “Take her to the van,” Clayton says to his men as she walks towards them. Leila shakes her head. “Not yet,” she replies, walking like a soulless wraith past Clayton and heads to Tatum’s study but Clayton follows her like her shadow, not letting her out of his sight. Clayton’s eyes catch Tatum
Tatum pulls the car to a halt at the foot of a mountain and on the other side is the Augustine river, the location where Leila had asked them to check.“We’ll have to continue by foot from here ladies,” he says, glancing at Leila in the front seat beside him, temporarily stunned with the way the sun rays coming in from the car window enhances the beauty of her face.Everything about this woman is just perfect. From her ocean blue eyes, her resting smiling face, her small pout lips and even her slightly big nose, she is a compendium of everything beautiful and it gladdens his heart that he may yet have one more chance to worship this beauty and he’ll do it right and religiously this time.“Are you going to keep staring at her or are we actually going to get down from the car? I too have a sweetheart I’m dying to see,” Tatiana says, making a face at Tatum.Tatum parts his lips but doesn’t find a reply for Tatiana and Leila chuckles, opening the door and she steps out.“We have to hide t
“Are you sure you want to come along? Tatiana and I can handle this, we’ll be more discreet that way,” Tatum says to Leila on the day they are to leave for the mission to find Kelvin. They are standing outside Tatum’s house, waiting for Tatiana to arrive so they can leave. Officially, the Alpha is going on a short vacation with his girlfriend, Tatiana, the king’s sister and Leila, his personal assistant, is accompanying them on the trip. Leila frowns, “we’ve talked about this before, I’m coming along and besides, you don’t know what we might face there and since we’re not taking any warriors, we need all the help we can get in case things go south.” Tatum chuckles, lightly grabbing her by her triceps, “and what can you do if things go south,” he asks in a sarcastic manner, “it’s not like you’re the best fighter around.” Leila sneers at him, pulls her hand away and punches his side. “Underestimate me at your own peril, you forget I am the real phoenix Luna.” “I never took you fo
Getting into his office the following morning, Tatum begins to go through a couple of business proposals from investors and other Alphas looking to collaborate with the blood oak pack. After a while, he reaches for his cup of coffee and he immediately gets an idea. He takes the cup of coffee and places it in the trash bin carefully. He knows the office staff will always have his coffee ready before he gets to the office but it is a perfect excuse for him to see his sweet pea this morning. ‘Bring a cup of coffee to my office please,’ he mindlinks her, using a straight business tone. ‘Alright,’ Leila replies in the same way. A few minutes later, Leila steps into his office with a try and mug on it but it’s the knee length leather skirt that she’s wearing which hugs her curves deliciously that first steal Tatum’s attention, making his heart thud. She knows how much he loves her in a leather skirt, did she wear this to the office on purpose? His eyes slowly rake over her as she walk
Again? What does Amara mean by she is sad again? Is she often sad? Is it because of him? Is she finding it hard to let go? Tatum looks at Leila who seems to be fully focused on the show on the television but now that he is looking at her well, he sees that she is just looking blankly at it. Her mind is clearly not in the room. “You alright?” He asks, but she doesn’t reply, rather, she sighs sadly, completely oblivious of his presence or question, lost in her own world. What could be wrong with her? She didn’t show any of these signs while they were dining. A sense of worry slowly grows inside of Tatum. He doesn’t want anything to stress this woman. She should be happy at all times, she deserves it. “Mama, why are you sad?” Amara asks, placing her little hands on Leila’s thighs and shaking her. “What?!” Leila asks, jolted back into the reality surrounding her. “What’s going on? Amara’s worried you’re sad and you didn’t even hear me call you, are you okay?” Tatum asks, his heart
“Amara, why don’t you sit close to your— sit close to the Alpha, you’ve missed him, haven’t you?” Leila says to Amara with a smile, holding back the seat beside her where Amara was going to sit as she glances at Tatum who is sitting opposite her. Amara looks at her mother with a shy smile. “Okay, Mama.” Amanda and Liana share a look, a rather nosy one, trying to hold back the smile on their lips and Leila sees it and makes a face at them and Amanda in particular flicks her brows at Leila. Tatum smiles, stands up and pulls the seat beside him backwards, “there, you go little princess.” “Thank you my good sir,” Amara curtsies, before taking the seat, making everyone at the table laugh. A few minutes into the meal, Tatum grabs the bowl of beef stew and scoops some more into his plate after originally taking quite some the first time. “You seem to be enjoying the meal, Alpha,” Celina says, not raising her head from her own meal. “Oh, it’s splendid. I honestly cannot remember the las
Tatum decides to accept Leila’s invitation even when he doesn’t think it’s the safe thing to do but if she’s inviting him over, it’s more than a step in the right direction and he doesn’t want to fumble it and he also misses Amara so much. Dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a white shorts sleeve shirt, with a bouquet of flowers and a bag of toys in his hands, he knocks when he gets to the door but there’s no response the first time. He knocks again and the door slowly opens. “Good evening sir,” Amara greets him with no smile on her face and no enthusiasm in her voice. Tatum looks down at her, shocked by the cold and blank expression on her face. Amara is always happy to see him. What could be wrong? “Hey sweetheart, how are you doing?” He crouches to her height, showing her the bag of toys, “I got these for you.” “I don’t want them,” Amara replies, folding her hands against her chest and turning away from him just as Leila steps up to the door. Tatum looks up at her, mom
“Has anyone seen the Alpha?” Theo asks no one in particular, walking into the pack house cafeteria.He’s been to the office and he can’t find Tatum, neither is Tatum taking his mindlink which is very strange considering it’s the morning and Tatum is usually the first one around.“I think I saw him at the training complex,” one of the guys replies and Theo squints his brows, a confused look on his face.Tatum hasn’t been to the training complex in years even if training people is one of his favorite things to do. Well the only person he gave special attention to training then was Leila but after the incident between them and she left, he hasn’t stepped a foot in the complex.Theo scoffs, a thought crossing his mind as he waltzes through the corridor of the pack house that leads to the back where the training complex he located.“Harder! Is that all you got woman?” Tatum’s excited and taunting voice is the first thing he hears as he gets closer to the complex.Woman? Tatum is training
Carmela stands up slowly, looking at Tatum and Leila with shame and anger in her eyes, tears pouring out of them. She grabs her purse off the table, sniffing and sobbing before she practically runs out of the restaurant.“I’m really sorry about that,” Tatum says, pulling a seat back for Leila, “she just showed up out of nowhere.”Leila gives him an unsettling look before her gaze turns cold which sinks his heart. “Whatever,” she rolls her eyes in the direction Carmela just went, “like I said, she’s irrelevant,” Leila pauses and gives Tatum a look he can’t quite read. “What is it she needed help with?”“A fake pregnancy test,” Tatum replies, “but it doesn’t matter. I was only going to help her so Antonio doesn’t figure out the truth. Believe me Leila, she was only trying to stir up trouble between us,” Tatum’s voice comes out nervous.“I heard you the first time, Tatum,” Leila replies in a curt voice, sliding her purse off her shoulder and she drops it on the table with a bit of forc
Tatum turns his head in the direction and the moment he sees Leila, the look in her eyes as she sees the two of them that close makes his heart jump and he pulls away quickly from Carmela.He cannot afford to have her thinking otherwise or anything wrong. He wants her and her alone and he doesn’t care that Carmela is here, he’ll let her know that he has eyes only for her.Leila stays rooted to the spot, clearly confused about what is going on.Tatum dashes towards her as she spins on her heels to leave. He holds her hand and turns her to face him, looking at her with passionate eyes.“It’s not what you think. I didn’t invite her here, she came on her own asking for help and when I refused, she was willing to confess a secret. She was just about to whisper it to me, I swear, that was nothing,” Tatum says in a panic voice, hating the judgemental eyes Leila is looking at him with.“Okay, carry on then,” Leila replies, pulling her hand away from him and it breaks his heart that she doesn’