Leila turns to look at the big wall clock hanging at the entrance of the courtroom with her heart racing. It’s the day of the trial and the opening statements have already been made by both parties. They are supposed to call Tatum on the stands now to give his testimony but he hasn’t returned yet from wherever he went to search for Kelvin. They spoke last night on the phone and he promised to be here early but she cannot even reach him now, not even through the mindlink. “Your honour, if the prosecution does not have a witness to present as they claim, you should save us all the trouble. Their accusation was baseless from the start, a waste of time. I implore the court to kick this case out,” Donald stands up and says with a confident smirk on his face. “If your witness is not here in the next ten minutes, you will leave me no choice, Barrister Bass,” Judge Ruth says calmly but her words create a storm of horror in Leila. She shakes her leg in trepidation, fiddling with her finger
Leila patiently waits at home for hours, hoping to hear something from Tatum concerning Kelvin’s whereabouts or to just hear anything from him at all. She did not know that he was also close to Tatiana, they certainly seemed close from the way he had his hands over her shoulders, their bodies close together from the time they left the courtroom to Tatum’s car outside, he even held the car door open for her. She scoffs internally. She’s not jealous, it’s just that Kelvin loves Tatiana deeply and it would crush his heart if Tatiana is somehow playing games with him and why did it never even occur to her to ask Tatiana of Kelvin’s whereabouts? She just assumed they would be together but apparently they are not, Tatiana is with another man. She should pay Tatiana a visit and find out what she knows about Kelvin’s whereabouts if that is the case. Tatum’s smell hangs heavy in the air as Leila walks through the corridor of doors to find Tatiana’s apartment from the address Bass gave to
Why the sudden change in attitude? It’s like Tatum doesn’t even care about her anymore. The last time she saw him this cold and nonchalant towards her was that day on the cliff? Is the monster back? Since she returned, all he has spoken about is earning her forgiveness, getting a second chance and for them to get back together but he openly flirts with another woman in front of her and acts this cold? She can’t deny it feels weird to be treated this way by him again. She thought she was completely over him or is she not? She can no longer find the raging and bitter anger she has been holding onto against him. Why? Could it be because she believes that he never truly meant to hurt her and that he was only protecting her? Before this very moment, his words have been consistent with his actions so far, perhaps that is why she finds this interaction too off putting and upsetting. He did not interfere with her mother’s case as he promised, he did not intervene to save Carmela’s f
Leila’s heart pounds slowly with nervous jitters with Antonio’s hands around her waist as he leads her into the private room of a high end restaurant within the Blood moon pack. She had no reason to say no to his request to take her on a date, he is her second chance mate. Another chance that the goddess has given her to enjoy what was denied her. Tatum has clearly moved on, she should as well and Antonio, though not having that rugged handsomeness of Tatum that she admires very much, is a looker, the waitresses at the restaurant are practically eating him up with their looks. Antonio pulls back a chair for her to sit before taking a seat opposite her. “I have seen pretty women in my day Leila, quite a lot of them too but it would be heresy to compare any of them to you, blasphemy I should say, because you, love, are a goddess and all I want to do is worship you,” Antonio says in a coquettish voice, his grin splitting from ear to ear. Leila's cheeks turn red and she smiles shyly.
Antonio can feel Leila’s apprehension and fear whenever she is around him and he normally wants people to fear him, it is why he has built the reputation that he has, because his magic feeds off the fear of people, allowing him to take control of their minds and bend their thoughts to his will but for this kitten, it is different, for some reason, he doesn’t want her to fear him. He tries to take that fear away when they are together and he reins in his true dark aura to the minimum so she can be more comfortable in his presence. Strange it is to him and intriguing still. It is not the matebond, he knows because he did not feel this way about his original mate. He sees her hesitation when he asks to have tea with her to wrap up the night they have and he eagerly waits for her to answer, maybe he can get a taste of the kitten just before he disposes of her. “Sorry but uh…I’m not used to this, it’s new to me, maybe some other time,” Leila replies calmly with her ethereal smile. Is
“Call me when you get home and take care of you,” Leila says to Amanda, squeezing her in a tight hug. Despite everything going on, she is grateful to still have Amanda by her side but Amanda has to return to work and since Liana is free, she will be babysitting Amara whenever she needs to be out. “Don’t miss me too much,” Amanda replies with a slight chuckle before pulling away from Leila and she picks Amara up. “My sweet munchkin, make sure you remain a good girl, okay?” “I’m always a good girl,” Amara replies sharply with a pout on her lips. “That’s my girl,” Amanda hugs her and then hugs Liana before getting into the car and it drives off. Leila stares at the car Amanda is in as it drives into the distance, praying silently in her heart that Amanda remains safe. She already lost Kelvin and the circumstances of his absence makes her scared. It is not out of his character to just disappear from everyone and handle his feelings on his own but with the court hearing so close, j
“Kitten, what are you doing here? These are dangerous parts, I saw your car leaving your house and decided to follow you,” Antonio says, walking over and circling her, taking a protective stance in front of the cabin. Leila squints at him, wondering if she can trust him with the truth. If he saw her leave the house, he should have caught up with her on his power bike and she would have noticed a bike following her, especially on the tiny bush path. “I was told about this property, wanted to come see if I could buy it, to get some quiet away from the bustling city sometimes,” Leila replies, forcing a smile, a strong unease grating at her heart. “Well, since I’m the king and technically everything is mine, you can have the Cabin,” Antonio replies with a small smile, “come back some other time with a construction team to decide how you want a new cabin built, this old contraption is falling apart.” “Thank you,” Leila replies, “but if I can just see what it looks like inside right now.
Leila’s heart thuds nervously as her car pulls up to the entrance of the Long Canine restaurant, one of the busiest places in the heart of the pack. It is the sort of place she least expected Tatum to set up a meeting with her but that is the least of her concerns right now. She cannot get rid of the fear and worry that has her heart in a frenzy, she feels like she is being watched and there’s this sense of foreboding that has refused to leave her mind, like a sixth sense telling her something really bad is about to happen. She cannot put a finger on when or to whom but Amara is her greatest priority and she must keep her safe at all costs. She heaves a deep sigh as she steps out the car, wondering how Tatum would react when she breaks the news to him. Will he be mad at her? Happy about it or really upset? And now that he has moved on from trying to get back with her, will he still want to be a part of Amara’s life? A part of her life? Or does she just abandon this whole thing and