How could anyone curse a child, a child so sweet and harmless? Leila questions herself as she gets into her car, her vision blurred in tears, her heart soaked in fear as she drives to Tatum’s office. The first name that comes to her mind is Carmela, she once tried to kill her baby in the womb and she cannot put this beyond her even if she has no proof. Carmela is as vile and as wicked as they come and goddess help her, if she finds out that Carmela has anything to do with this, she will no longer sek revenge the proper way that she plans to, no, she will rip Carmela’s heart out and spit on her fucking dead body. She doesn’t know where Tatum is but she has to find him, he keeps blocking her mindlinks. She pulls up to the packhouse, ignores the people staring at her, breezes past the ones who try to walk up to her to make small talk, skips fucking protocol and procedures to see the Alpha and she goes into Tatum’s office but he isn’t there, it doesn’t even look like he has been here i
Leila wraps her other hand around Carmela’s throat and squeezes in a tight grasp.“Do you feel that, my claws grazing your heart, the air being cut from your lungs?” She asks, her voice blended with her wolf’s, cold as ice, her aura blazing around her, suffocating and powerful.Carmela nods gently, fear in her eyes as tears stream out of them.“Good,” Leila replies, feeling Carmela’s heart pound with fear in her hands. “Remember this feeling, because if I find out you have anything to do with the curse on my child, this is the last feeling you’re going to get before I kill you.”“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Carmela grunts in pain, “I was only asking for her welfare, she’s a sweet girl.”Leila plunges her hand deeper, slicing into Carmela’s heart and Carmela yells in pain, hot tears flowing down her eyes.“And if I ever see you anywhere near my house again…I better not see you,” Leila snarls, retracting her claws and she pulls her hands out of Carmela’s chest, wipes the b
Leila quickly wipes her face with the back of her hands and rolls down her car window. “Hi,” she says sharply, fruitlessly trying to put some cheer on her face, “I never got your name the other day.” “Antonio,” he smile widens, “but you can call me whatever you like kitten.” He winks at her. “Can you not call me that? I don’t even know you,” Leila’s brows furrow as she squints at him, a small frown on her face. “But I do know you little mate,” his smile remains plastered. Leila suddenly feels the involuntary change in her emotions just like last time when she could no longer feel fear. Her sorrow drowning, the anguish bleeding away, the pain in her heart dissipating and she knows it’s not her doing. Why does that happen in his presence? Is he the one taking away these emotions or does it have something to do with this whole second chance mate theory? “I’m not going to ask why you are crying but I’m going to get in your car, we’re going to go for a drink and we are going to che
Leila is about to reply when she gets a mindlink from Tatum and she looks away from Antonio to the cars driving past the window outside as she hears Tatum’s voice. For some reason, she doesn’t want Tatum to see her mysterious second chance mate.‘I was told you came by the office, I’m there now.’‘I’ll be on my way,’ Leila replies and drops the mindlink, turning back to face Antonio but he’s gone and in place of him is a note on the table.[I’ll see you soon, kitten. Antonio.]Leila picks up the note and gazes around but there is absolutely no sign of him and she smiles.There is something about Antonio that scares and excites her at the same time. She puts his note in her purse and heads to Tatum’s office.The moment Tatum hears Leila coming, he pulls open the drawer on his table, frantically putting away the drugs he just took and tosses the syringes into the trash can, simultaneously increasing the blow rate on his air freshener to hide any smell of medicine that may linger in the
“Thank you,” Leila replies. She did not expect him to agree so easily. There is a reason wraith-kons don’t live within a pack, they are rumoured to bring death and destruction with them, wherever they go. Tatum should be aware of this, he’s the first person who told her about wraith-kons even before she found out her grandmother was one but he doesn’t seem to care about that. Does she tell him about the curse on Amara? She doesn’t want him anywhere near her anymore, right? But she is still his child and he is an Alpha, he may have connections to someone who might be able to help as well. “Would that be all?” Tatum’s curt voice snap her attention back to him. “Yes,” Leila replies, noticing the way his eyes are completely stoic and unreadable and his demeanour is cold. Why does that bother her? How long has it been since he found out they were mates? Has it been a while or did he just find out when she returned? He is getting ready to marry Carmela, he should be talking of rejec
“Sister, huh?” Leila whispers to Kelvin as she ushers them inside.Kelvin glances at her and the guilt in his eyes tug something in Leila’s heart.Could this Tatiana be the reason Kelvin has been scarce around her for some days now? Does he like Tatiana? She’s the first lady she has seen Kelvin with in a long time and he even brought Tatiana to her house.“Make yourself comfortable, just want to have a quick chat with Leila,” Kelvin sits Tatiana on the couch and gestures for Leila to come with him.“I know this is going to sound crazy but–”“You’re seeing her?”Leila cannot stop herself from asking, watching Kelvin’s eyes carefully.“What? No, yes, I mean, look–” Kelvin pauses and heaves a deep sigh. “She has witch blood.”He glances at Tatiana from over the counter before he turns back to Leila and Leila does not miss the admiration in his eyes. “She’s one of the new employees in my firm, we’ve had a few drinks, nothing serious but today over lunch, I was quite distracted because
Tatiana keeps her head down. “I dare not stray from your cause brother, I could never be lost, I remain devout to your purposes.” Antonio scoffs. “Get out,” he orders the woman on the bed and she scampers for her clothes, running out of the room faster than her legs can carry her. Antonio slowly walks towards Tatiana and as he does so, his naked body is slowly covered with clothes that grow out of his skin and by the time he gets to her, he is fully clothed in white silk trousers and long sleeve shirt. He extracts his claw and pinches under Tatiana’s chin, drawing blood as he lifts her face up to look into her eyes. “You say you are not lost? You call me a liar?” Tatiana swallows in trepidation, a chill runs down her spine from the low yet threatening tone of his voice and she shudders, the pain in her chin feeling non-existent, nothing compared to the fear that seizes her heart. Words are to be watched around her brother, his temper is something no leash can hold, only the be
In captivity, she fell in love with the king and they had him and Tatiana but then his mother killed the king in his sleep and then took her life when Antonio was only three years old and Tatiana, six months old.Naturally, the eldest brother took over and became the Lycan king and visiting the sins of the mother upon the children, Antonio and Tatiana were ostracised and exiled from the family by their brother.Their mother, Agatha, before her death was the first daughter of the wraith-kons and they took them in.Tatiana’s magic first manifested when she was two and it became certain that she would inherit her mother’s magic but Antonio had no sign of magic as was expected.However, he studied every mystic and dark art, knew every spell, every charm, every incantation by heart and even though he had no magic himself, he had far more knowledge on sorcery than anyone that had ever existed.It came as a shock to no one when he turned fifteen and shifted into his Lycan that he offered to
“Stop here,” Leila says to the driver bringing her back to the Blood oak pack territory, her voice low and sullen, her eyes pregnant with tears but she holds it in, determined to stay strong for her, Amara and Tatum.They both needed her and she had to make a choice.Something inside her feels torn that she chose Tatum over Amara, that she chose the father who abandoned them over the child who brought joy back into her life.She remembers how sad she always was when she was pregnant with Amara, how the days spent in the cell being nibbled on by rats while she starved haunted her sleep throughout that period.She was not herself then, often lost in her thoughts thinking, swimming around in her anguish until it drowned her.But Amara was the light that the goddess sent to her darkness. Once she was born, it was as if alongside her, Leila also pushed out her sadness.Amara gave her hope, something to look forward to, something to live for.The tears push heavier against the blanket of he
“Again!” Trent yells at the warriors training with Tatum who Tatum had just put to the ground.Tatum is on his knees, one knee on the floor, the other bent with his elbows resting on it as he pants exhaustedly.His shirtless body is dripping with sweat, mixed with his blood oozing out of the whip marks on his back and the side of his torso.“What are you waiting for?!” Trent yells, trashing the whip and landing it on Tatum’s back. “So you think that rebel, Alpha Leo will give you time? Pathetic,” he spits out with venom.As the silver tip of the whip cuts into Tatum’s back and tears his skin on the way out, it sears him with pain but he barely reacts to it, only looking at Trent with a deadly look in his eyes, his teeth clenched.No matter how much pain he has to endure, he will never break before this ceremonial Alpha.He folds his fists together and smiles maniacally at Trent, blood covering his entire dentition. “You need to hit harder, old man. You’re an Alpha now but you seem to
Leila stares at her phone for the umpteenth time, feeling very worried. She has a lot on her mind but chief of them is that Tatum hasn’t replied to her messages in days and she cannot reach him via phone call.They’ve been at the Northstar pack for over a week now and it was only the first two days that she was able to communicate with him.Tatum mentioned that Trent had given her three days to return or she will be banished and she has been here for days more than that. After the incident at the training for the competition, she couldn’t just leave the next day, Amara needed her but now, she’s worried something might have happened to Tatum because of her absence to show up during the stipulated time window.She sighs and decides to go see Jenny to talk about it. Jenny can look after Amara and also keep her out of trouble. She needs to go and help Tatum no matter what.His position is their only true security.She steps out of the room given to them in the pack house to go to Jenny’
“My daughter!” The sound of the head warrior’s yell as he rushes towards the scene jolts Leila to the harsh reality of what Amara just did. It’s not just that she used her powers in public, breaking a rule that had been given to her but she also used it to hurt someone. Athena flew yards into the air, if anything happens to her, Amara could be in real trouble because of it. “She’s not breathing! Help, somebody do something!” The head warrior yells, clutching Athena to his chest, blood oozing from the corner of the limp girl’s head. Leila rushes towards them as fear of the worst grips her. She ignores Amara who stands there with a blank expression, her face staring at Athena and her father and she tries to hold Athena but the head warrior shoves her away. “Don’t touch my daughter, your child did this, she is evil,” the man spits out with venom, casting a cold look at Amara. “Why?” Leila immediately turns to Amara, holding back the bitter words she wanted to reply to the man with
Leila looks at Amara who is fast asleep beside her in the middle of the night unable to sleep herself. Aside from the fact that she naturally finds it hard to sleep in a new environment for a few days, her heart is heavy. Tatum didn’t argue with her concerning returning to the pack in a few days but her daughter and her have never been separated for more than a day and she will have to leave her, perhaps for weeks or even months, depending on how long it takes for them to get Tatum back his position of Alpha. She runs her hand slowly through Amara’s hair, her eyes welling in tears as she kisses her daughter’s hair, taking a good whiff, a strong sense of anguish filling her for the decision she has to make, even though deep down in her heart she doesn’t want to leave Amara but it’s the only way to keep her safe. Aside from the anonymous letter that they got asking them to protect Amara, she also cannot shake a feeling deep in her heart that Antonio is doing all of this because he wan
“Welcome to the North Star Pack Leila, I am Alpha Caden,” Alpha Caden says to Leila before opening his arms and squeezing her in a hug. “And you must be Amara,” he smiles, breaking the hug and bends to pick Amara up in his arms, tugging her chin as he chuckles. “Thank you for having us,” Leila replies to Caden, hiding her surprise in her tone. Caden is not like anything she imagined or like most Alphas she knew who were either lean with muscle or bulky with the same. He looked very different, tall and robust with a stomach that could pass for a pregnant woman’s bulge but he has a warm aura to him and his sandy blonde hair has been twisted into short locks. “Thank you?” Caden suddenly frowns at Leila, making her wonder if she said something wrong. “Family does not thank one another. I find that offensive, Leila, you must apologize,” his tone softens and his frown morphs into a smirk. Leila smiles back to him, amused by his character. “I’m sorry Alpha Caden.” “Apology not accepted b
“I, Alpha Tatum Cromwell, under the all seeing eye of Selene, witnessed by the elders of the Council, renounce my position as the Alpha of the Blood Oak Pack.” He feels the rage of his wolf blending with his as he locks eyes with Trent who has a smug look on his face. Trent steps forward, joining Tatum in the middle of the circle. “Representing the elders, we witness your renouncement. Who do you name as your successor,” Trent’s face is flushed with a look of mockery that makes Zane boil even further. He should have had Trent sentenced to death instead but then he thought it would be quick mercy, he wanted him to suffer imprisonment for the rest of his life as a lesson for all his evil deeds but it seems that decision has come back to bite him in the ass. Zane frowns. “Not as my successor but as an interim ruler, I name—” he extends the claws of his left hand and slashes the wrist of his right hand. He looks slowly from the thick red liquid dripping from his wrist, making patter
“Alpha Tatum,” a tall bulky man dressed in a grey suit bows slightly to Tatum with two much smaller men dressed in similar styled suits walking behind him. They are at the annual werewolf trade fair. An event organized amongst allied packs to foster unity and commerce. Attending the event is the perfect cover for Leila to get away with Amara just in case Antonio still has any men watching them. Tatum gives his hand a firm handshake. “It’s been ages, Curtis. The years have been kind to you.” “As they have been with you. Our Alpha sends his greetings. The North Star pack will forever be grateful to you for saving our Alpha’s life.” “He would have done the same for me,” Tatum pats the side of Curtis’ arm with a small grin that barely lasts a second before he pulls the big man to the side. Curtis is the Beta of Alpha Caden Miles, the Alpha of the North Star pack. Many years ago, during his Alpha training, that was when he met Caden and saved him from being lynched by a pack of rogues
“That bastard!” Tatum yells, punching a hole through the wall of his office, his heart beating fast, his entire aura swirling in visible rage. “Calm down,” Leila says, not feeling any sort of calmness herself and Tatum can sense it, which only pisses him off more. It’s like they can’t get a fucking break, things just keep going from one crisis to the next and it’s all because of one man who wields too much power, it’s beginning to get to his head. It is completely unheard of for an Alpha to name another person as an acting Alpha when he is still alive and more so, even if that was to happen, Theo, his beta would have been in a better position to receive that honor, not fucking Trent. He hisses, tapping frantically on his table, staring at the warning message they had received concerning Amara. This whole thing has Carmela written all over it and Antonio in his vileness would be more than willing to oblige her. Whoever sent them this warning must have found out something. He nee