“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
Tatum takes the document from Clayton and his heart clenches when he sees the header, a pang of pain slicing through him. He opens his mouth but cannot find the words, he glances at Clayton and stares back at the document, his hands trembling.“Not a word of this to anyone,” he says to Clayton in an icy tone.As he walks out, his legs feel like lead. Leila wants to divorce him? Leila wants to divorce him……why does it feel like his world will be over if that happens?Did he push her to this? Could it be because he has been showing Carmela so much care? He thought Leila understands that he has no choice. The sound of his phone ringing brings him back to earth and he sighs, taking out his phone, staring blankly at the caller ID until the call drops. Carmela calls again and he picks it up, knowing she won’t stop calling.“Not now Carmela, I’m busy,” Tatum says dryly and drops the call before Carmela can get a word in.
Leila’s heartbeat immediately spikes and she lets go of Kelvin’s hands, causing a pained look to cross his eyes.But it quickly disappears when Tatum’s cold grey orbs set on him and Kelvin’s naturally soft blue eyes turn into steel.The tension in the air grows thick, so thick, it is almost visible to the naked eye.“Leave,” Tatum says to Kelvin with enough chill to freeze the entire building.Kelvin smirks coldly at him. “You always seem to show up after I do all the work.”“I’m not going to ask you again,” Tatum’s tone takes a low and dangerous edge, his eyes growing thin and he slowly walks towards Kelvin who stands to his feet, ready to throw hands, if need be.He knows he is no match for the Alpha but he will fight for this woman, even to his death.“That’s enough, both of you,” Leila cuts in. “Please go Kev, I’ll call you.”Kelvin scoffs softly before he smiles at her, taking her hand and kissing it.
Leila stares wide eyed at him, her heart slamming against her ribcage with raw gusto. She is sure she is done with the marriage, that she wants nothing to do with him anymore, that her mind is made up but even now as the words are nibbling at her tongue, she doesn’t dare to utter it. Why can’t she just tell him what’s on her mind? Why is it so hard? She slowly moves her face away from Tatum’s hold, fiddling with her fingers and looks down at her feet. “If you didn’t find the folder, then don’t worry about it.” Her heart feels like it wants to tear out of her chest and she knows Tatum can hear it. She has never been more nervous and scared about something. Tatum scoffs ever so softly, feeling a relief that rents his skin with goosebumps. If she cannot say it with her mouth, then he never saw any folder but how did Clayton get his hands on it when Leila says she left it on his desk? He runs his hand down the back of her hair
He drops the pack of donuts and the beverages on the counter beside the bed before he hoists Leila on his laps, her soft behind pressing against him and he smirks at the slight jolt of pleasure that shoots through him. Leila struggles to free herself, she doesn’t want to be intimate or affectionate with him, it will only worsen the wound he has left on her heart when he leaves her for his chosen. She is better off being treated like she doesn’t exist. Why treat her so coldly in the public only to show his care every time after? Doesn’t he know it’s the slight hope that’s the most tormenting? Tatum wraps his arms around her tight even as she writhes and he softly peppers her neck with kisses, every touch of his lips calming the raging effect in Leila’s heart. “I know you are mad at me and I deserve it. I’m sorry about the recent turmoil, it’s…uneasy times,” Tatum whispers into her ear, his voice soft and soothing and when Leila looks
“Goo- good morning sir.”Clayton glares at the man who just walked into his office, disturbing his morning training.“You know the rules Fred, mornings are for my workout,” Clayton says coldly, dropping from the pull up bar and catching his breath.“But it's the Luna, she insists on seeing you, NOW.”Clayton eyes fly wide open, his already racing heart beating even faster.What could Leila want? Did the Alpha confront her with the divorce papers? But if so, the Alpha would be the one barging into his office because Leila would have told him she did not give the file to him.His brows draw close together in a deep frown, squinting into the distance as he grabs a towel and walks to his desk.“Send her in,” he orders the man who swiftly exits.Is Leila here to blackmail him with what he did yesterday? She said she would not take it up, he was a fool to trust her words, someone who betrayed her own best fr
“First of all, she didn’t make the choice to marry you, you claimed her and made her your Luna. She was a bright beautiful girl with dreams of her own and you made her give it all up to be your bride and it was all for nothing. The moment your phoenix Luna returned, you kicked her to the curb,” Amanda fires at Tatum, glancing from Tatum to Carmela.Tatum sneers at Amanda, realising she is playing Leila’s role in their original plan.He chuckles lightly, wobbling as he walks closer to Amanda to amplify his drunk act. “What did you think? That I would pick her over Carmela, my fated mate? I only married her because I needed a Luna, not because I had any affection towards her. I’m not the first Alpha who chose a mate in the absence of their fated mate and I picked her not because she is special or anything like that, she had a good lineage, and came from a family of strong Betas, that’s all. She is nothing and will never be anything compared to—” he turns and looks at Carmela with that
Tatum spared no expense in hosting the engagement party evident from the lush and expensive decoration, several montages displaying pictures of Antonio and Carmela, the beautiful lighting of the venue and the impeccable colour scheme.Almost every werewolf that has come of age is present at the party and are having fun in one way or the other, some young lovers are making out on the dance floor, some in the corner, some people are dancing and grooving to the music and others are indulging their appetites, eating and drinking.Tatum sits in the midst of the crowd, slowly sipping on his fourth glass of whiskey, intentionally spilling some on his dress so the smell is heavy on him. From where he sits, he stares at Carmela with a fake longing in his eyes, a part of his act and only when Antonio or Carmela herself look at him does he look away, making sure they know he is staring at Carmela.He glances at Leila who is in the company of Amanda and a couple of other women. Their eyes meet an
“Meet me at our cave tonight, make sure no one follows you.”Tatum’s words from his mindlink to Leila earlier keep replaying in her head as she gets closer to the cave, her heart pounding hard in her chest.Why did Tatum ask her to come here of all places?This was where she first confirmed that Tatum had feelings for her when they were still kids and it was where he confessed his love for her years later before the unfortunate incident of her arrest and departure from the pack.What does he want to tell her that he has to bring her here?She sees the lamps hanging along the walls of the cave and she can smell Tatum heavily, her wolf’s excitement as well is going off the roof.Even if technically, she cannot say that Tatum and are as back as fated mates, bearing each other’s mark means there is a bond between them and she is dying to see him, just like a little girl excited to go on a first date with her crush.Even if the bulk of the feelings are her wolf’s because of the mark, there
“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
“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