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
She understands Tatum wanting to punish her for Carmela’s sake but would he really let Clayton give her ten whips? When he gave Clayton his seal to arrest her, did he know this was the evil Clayton had in mind?Tatum may be angry at her and he may not love her but he is a just Alpha, he would not let her suffer an undeserving punishment or would he?“Clayton,” She keeps her voice firm. “I will gladly take the punishment but I must hear it being pronounced by the Alpha.”“You are in no position to make demands! The Alpha asked me to see to it that you are punished for your crimes and punished you will be,” Clayton replies coldly.Leila stretches her arm forward. “Then break my wrist according to the law, whipping me is not the right punishment.”“I decide the right punishment Leila! You hurt Carmi and I will make sure you suffer it ten folds!”The iciness of Clayton’s voice cuts fear straight through Leila’s heart as she realises the truth, the menacing look in his eyes causing dread t
“Are you alright?” Kelvin ignores the pain tearing through his back, his arms gently guiding Leila to her feet, his eyes full of compassion and passionate affection.“I’m fine.”“You’re bleeding,” Kelvin replies, surprised to see her open wound not healing.She’s a werewolf and they heal fast and as Luna, she should heal even faster but now is not the time for speculations. He all but tears his shirt right off his body and ties it around her wound.Leila looks down at him as he tends to her, her gaze full of gratitude and relief, wondering how he found her, she’s not sure she said anything through the mindlink.“You’re obstructing justice Kelvin Costner, this is the Alpha’s order,” Clayton says in a firm tone, a deep frown etched on his face.“Alpha’s order? To whip his Luna like this?” Kelvin turns to Clayton with a cold look in his eyes.“She committed a heinous crime and deserves to be punished, now leave before I have you arrested for obstruction of justice. I’m sure you know how
“Alpha,” Kelvin replies in a composed voice. “The Luna is wounded, she can barely walk, I was taking her to-”“Did I stutter?”Tatum’s voice becomes even colder, his alpha aura spreading through the corridor as he takes slow heavy steps towards them, his icy orbs fixed on the frail woman in Kelvin’s arms.Kelvin doesn’t want to drop Leila, he cares deeply about her but he cannot disobey his Alpha and Tatum’s aura weighing down on him forces him to bare his neck in submission.He tries to hold on to Leila but his wolf is reacting the opposite and when he finally gives in and tries to let Leila go, she tightens her grip around his neck, shaking her head slowly at him, her pitiful eyes saying the word she is too weak to say with her lips.“I don’t think she agrees with you, Alpha,” Kelvin says, looking back at Tatum, knowing he must have seen Leila’s reaction.“What did you do to her?” Tatum asks Kelvin coldly, spotting the blood soaked shirt tied around her arms and seeing how weak and
She has given him her heart a long time ago, laid it down at his feet and he picked it up, giving her hope, hope that he would care for it, nurture it and cherish it but the moment his first love returned, he tossed it to the floor and crushed it under his feet.She turns to Kelvin with a wry look in her eyes. “Can I trust you with a secret? A secret you must take to your grave.”“Of course Leila,” Kelvin replies with a serious expression, her words and tone holding every bit of his attention. “You can trust me with anything.”Leila swallows slowly, hoping she does not regret her decision.“I’m carrying his child Kev,” Leila replies. “I’m pregnant.”—Tatum watches with weary eyes as Kelvin carries Leila in his arms, her arms carefully curled over Kelvin’s neck, her head resting peacefully on Kelvin’s chest and he feels an odd pain in his heart.He knows….he understands that their marriage is not really real but why does he feel like this, what is this feeling of something squeezing
“What is this?” Antonio sneers at an envelope that an omega drops on the stool beside him where he is sitting with Carmela on his legs.“The Beta of Alpha Tatum brought it,” the omega bows, speaking cautiously.Carmela stares at the envelope, doing her best to keep her heart from racing but her heart sinks to her gut knowing fully well what the envelope contains.She adjusts herself on Antonio’s leg and picks up the envelope, rips it open and skins through it before tossing it back absentmindedly.“The pack wants to throw us an engagement party. Since the Lycan king found his mate in this pack, they see it as an honour and would love to do this for us,” she says, watching Antonio’s eyes carefully.“Engagement party? A day after Tatum comes here? What did he say to you in the garden? I know of your little tête-à-tête,” Antonio says in a cold and suspicious voice, squinting slightly.“Don’t tell me the Almighty Lycan king is jealous of a common alpha,” Carmela replies sharply with a coy
“Make it quick,” Carmela sneers, sitting on one of the concrete benches in the back garden of the house, away from earshot while Tatum stands in front of her, his back turned to her. Every cell in his body burns with anger and a livid hatred for Carmela and nothing would give him greater satisfaction than snapping her neck or ripping her heart out but she is the literal queen in this game of chess that he is playing and he needs her to make a crucial move. He knows Antonio isn’t done with Leila yet. From his discussions with Tatiana, he knows that her brother doesn’t like to lose or take no for an answer and that must be why he rejected Leila to punish her but ordered her not to accept so he could still have some claim on her. In the long run, Antonio will figure out something is wrong. He can only be deceived for so long but before that happens, he needs to bait Carmela into helping him. “My request is simple,” Tatum turns to face Carmela with a serious look on his face, his eyes
“There’s someone here to see you my lady,” An omega bows and says to Carmela in her room in Antonio’s place. Carmela turns her head away from the mirror where she is working on her makeup and looks at the omega before looking back at herself in the mirror and a wide smile splays her lips. She’s not even been officially announced as the Lycan Queen yet and people are already coming to seek her favour. “Who is it?” She replies in a stoic voice, hiding her excitement from the omega. “It’s— It’s Alpha Tatum, he says it’s urgent,” the omega bows again. A mix of anger, bitterness and fear immediately clouds Carmela’s mind and her heart races. What the hell does Tatum want? Why is that loser here to see her? What could be so important that he would come into Antonio’s lair knowing fully well the history between the two of them and how Antonio may feel about his woman being visited in his house by a mate she rejected. Is Tatum trying to ruin things for her? Her brows furrow and she c
Leila wakes up the next morning feeling lighter and better than she has felt in months. She eagerly jumps out of bed, saunters towards the drapes over the windows and she opens it. She jerks her head backwards, makes a surprised face as the flowers in the garden outside have all bloomed, even those that are out of season. She shrugs and turns and that is when she sees the mark on her neck in the mirror and her heart skips and memories of yesterday barrage into her mind. She gasps, rushing over to the vanity to check the mark up close, touching her neck and she looks at her bed, remembering that she fainted during the marking process yesterday and that is all she can remember. It turns out the mark of the phoenix was only hers to carry because it was Tatum’s to give, a mark of their bond. Tatum. Where is he? Did he leave last night? She rushes out of her room then halts halfway. Tatum was about to say something yesterday before he marked her but she did not want to hear it. She
Tatum looks down at her, his eyes skimming past her pale yet pretty face to her lush boobs half hidden in the water and he gulps, his heart racing hard. It is hard enough to control himself from out here, sitting with her in the tub will be too much for him and yet it is exactly as much as he needs, he is more than deprived of her touch, the contact of her skin, the warmth of her body. He misses her, every little thing about her. Not a day has gone by that he has not craved for her, for a moment where they can just put everything behind them and enjoy the comfort of each other’s company. He can feel the urge of his wolf to be with her, even if there is no bond between them which is even more strange yet he is happy about it, that his wolf wants the woman that he wants, mate bond or not. Leila lets him go, sensing his reluctance and she dips her hand in the water, closes her eyes and throws her head back, feeling the water or whatever is inside it, slowly sucking away her pain. Sh
The moment Tatum sweeps Leila off the floor into his arms, Leila feels a yearning deep inside her, rising above the terrible pain that she is currently in, she snuggles closer to Tatum as if the warmth emanating from her is not enough and she needs more of his. She looks into his eyes as he takes her upstairs to her room and there is nothing but worry and concern in his eyes. More tears spill out of her eyes, her heart wobbling in pain, reminded of the fact that their story ended when Antonio put her in his bondage. If only she did not harbour such hatred in her heart towards him, if only her anger didn’t burn through her like a fiery furnace when she first returned but how was she to know? How was she to know that behind Tatum’s cold and seemingly ruthless behaviour towards her, he always cared and never stopped caring, how on earth was it possible for her to know that beneath her pain, her hatred and anger lingered a desire for him. She fought hard not to give in to it when s
“Come on, it’s late, you shouldn’t be up by now, let’s put you to bed,” Leila says to Amara in the living room of their house, frowning at the little girl. After the ritual, Amara seems to have gained more control of her powers and she can now keep her Lycan aura down whenever she is around people. It was that inability that first sparked Antonio’s interest in her when he saw her, he could feel the strong aura emanating from such a young child. “It’s the last episode mama, please,” Amara pleads with puppy eyes, clasping her hands together and she looks to Amanda for support. Amanda came a day after the ritual to be with them incase medical help was needed. “Nope, you’re— ah!” Leila suddenly screams, clutching her chest and her wolf wails in her head, pain dragging through her already weakened body from the one sided rejection. “Mama!” Amara yells as Leila falls face first to the floor and Amanda also rushes to her, her eyes wide in fear. “Leila, are you okay? What is wrong?” Le
Frantic and scared inside, Carmela retains her poise outside, docile as a lamb before Antonio but she schemes like a fox in her head, thinking about her next best possible line of action to avoid certain death. She remembers what Lithoha told her about bearing Antonio’s mark and him bearing hers. It would mean that she would share a portion of his powers and he will be bound for her to life, unable to feel attraction for or comfort with anyone but her. She knows what she has to do. She will mark Antonio before he marks her. That way, even if she is exposed, he will think twice and hard before killing her because if he does, he will be killing a part of himself too. “I see you took my advice to be naughty literally,” Antonio says as Carmela massages his cock from his trousers while simultaneously sucking on his thumb. “Your wish is my command,” Carmela replies, batting her eyelashes at him, her voice coquettish to the max. “Good girl,” Antonio rubs her head, unbuckling his belt to
Carmela sits on the large bed in Antonio’s room, dressed in red lingerie with a small night dress draped over it, playing with a necklace around her neck, shaking her legs gently but her heart is racing fast and hard. Tonight is a big night. The biggest night of her life and she could not be more excited. When she stole the phoenix– no, when her father stole the phownix luna title from Leila and put the tattoo on her, her biggest dream was becoming Tatum’s woman, the Luna of the bloodoak pack and enjoying the benefits that came with it. Being the Luna of the bloodoak pack is great, even just as Tatum’s fiancee, she felt like the world was at her feet but becoming the Lycan Queen? Now that is on another whole different level and tonight, after Antonio marks her, that will be her fate. As the lycan queen, she will be the most famous woman in the realm, respected, admired, adored and the envy of every other woman in the kingdom. She will even get her own palace with access to the wealt