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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
Leila’s eyes widen and then squint, both times in shock. If she wasn’t sure about Amara’s paternity, she would almost be convinced he’s telling the truth from the conviction in his voice but how is it possible that he ran DNA tests and they came back negative? “What are you talking about, she’s yours?” Leila replies, recovering from her shock, a storm of different emotions coursing through her. Amara needs to be protected at all costs and she cannot do so without Tatum. Without his help, she does not stand a chance. “Oh please Leila, what exactly is it you want from me or is it me you want? Are you so desperate now that you see me moving on that you want to use your child as bait to hook me, have you completely lost every sense of dignity you have, if you had any in the first place,” Tatum says with a nasty eye roll, his words full of spite and scorn. They slash Leila’s heart with pain and her mouth falls open in shock, her head suddenly throbs in pain as her mind wobbles in confus
“No he’s not,” Leila snarls at him, her heart burning with rage, her eyes clothed with vengeance, “whatever you have done to him, undo it, now!”“Done to him? I said Tatum’s dead woman, nothing can be done to a dead man. This one here is just my faithful loyal guard dog,” Leo snaps his fingers twice and the man walks over to his side, silent and submissive.Leila’s heart boils with a fervent anger. She knows deep down in her heart that this is her husband, the man she has loved for years.Is he now completely under Leo’s control? Why is everything about him transformed with the exception of his face and voice and if he really is completely under Leo’s influence, then why did he save her, not once but twice.“Tatum, you’re not his dog,” tears stream out of Leila’s eyes, her heart clenching with unimaginable pain. “You’re the most powerful Alpha in the realm, Alpha of the Blood Oak pack, my Alpha, my husband…do you really not recognize your sweet pea anymore?”The man’s eyes snap to her
When she gets outside the tent, a few eyes are on her and she knows she cannot move freely about without raising suspicions.The other large tent where she thinks Amara might be held is just right beside her but she dares not step in, not with her being in full glare of the warriors.She immediately hatches a plan and walks towards a group of them sitting by a bonfire where a deer is hanging and roasting with most of their attention on her.“I’ve never had roasted deer before, does it taste good?” She asks with a polite smile on her face. The men look at her with a grim expression and one of them pulls out his knife, slices a bit of the deer off and puts in on a plate then he stretches towards her.Leila takes it, the smile still plastered on her face. she needs a way for the men to drop their guards. One of them men offers her his stool.“I don’t know why the Alpha asked us to be kind to you but since you’re taking the initiative, we as well might,” he says.“Thank you,” Leila replie
“Welcome to my humble and temporary abode Angel,” Leo smiles at Leila, opening his arms for a hug. Leila keeps her face grim, her feet rooted to the spot, barely any amusement in her eyes as she stares at Leo blankly. “My bad,” he chuckles and drops his hands, “we’re not friends yet, according to you. I’m glad you took up my offer. Come, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Leila narrows her eyes at him as she walks in behind him. His men do not bow or show any sign of respect or anything like that as Leo walks past them. Everyone is just going about their normal duty and activities as if they cannot even see him. Even Tatum who doesn’t force anyone to respect him will not have his men just lazing about when he walks in with a guest. Is Leo really this jovial with his men or is this all an act for her to drop her guard? Make her feel like he is a warm and homely person? She only has one mission here today and that is to find her daughter. Whatever theatrics and schemes Leo has up hi
“I think you should go Leila,” Jenny says later that evening after Leila tells her of her encounter with Leo and how he both directly and indirectly gave her an invitation to his camp. Leila looks at Jenny with shock, not expecting her to say that, “can you even hear yourself? It’s an obvious trap. He already has Amara, if he kidnaps me too, then what happens?” Jenny frowns, “you’re both invitees of the king and I know where you’re going, he can’t actually kidnap you if you walk in there with your feet. This may be our only chance to confirm if he really has Amara in there or not.” Leila sighs, a sad and conflicted look on her face. Jenny has a point but it is also risky too. The Leo she met is a far cry from what she thought him to be but of course, that too might just be pretense. “I have an idea,” Jenny’s face lights up as Leila raises her head to face her, “to ensure Leo cannot do anything silly when you get to the camp, we just have to make the king aware of your visit to Leo’
What does he want with her? Is he going to— “I thought I told you boys to back off, are you trying to scare the lady?” Leo’s voice breaks into her thoughts and she looks at him with eyes agape in shock, then squinted in suspicion. “Alpha, we’re only doing our duty, it’s not safe for you to roam these streets alone, considering our current standing with the king,”one of his men replies. “The angel here knows a thing or two about standings with the king and she’s roaming, is she not? Unless you boys think a woman can handle what your Alpha can’t.” “Of course not Alpha,” the guy immediately goes on one knee and bows to Leo. Leo rolls his eyes and frowns, “you’re always too serious Dexter, I meant that as a joke but if you thought so, you wouldn’t be wrong, this lady here is a special one.” The discomfort in Leila’s heart grows and a tinge of fear rises in her from the words of Leo. He was somehow able to find out that Amara is Tatum’s daughter, what else does he know? Does he know h
“This mysterious savior of yours seems to be one of a kind,” Jenny says after Leila recounts her ordeal at Leo’s camp to her. “I guess he is,” Leila replies, her eyes holding a conflicted look, her thoughts still unsettled about the probable identity of the man and his proximity when her life is in danger. “Jenny.” “Yeah.” “Is it possible for one’s wolf to change, maybe by magic or a spell?” “Why do you ask?” Jenny squints, her face becoming doused with scrutiny and a hint of sudden realisation, “wait. You don’t think it’s Tatum, do you?” “I don’t know…” Leila replies, her voice sullen and dry, her heart soaked in grief, “if such a spell was possible, I suppose I would think so. I mean, who else would come to my rescue like that but him and his choice to stay mute too. Plus Tatum has a habit of doing things and keeping me in the dark. I’m just so confused.” Jenny heaves a deep sigh, pity covering her eyes. She sits beside Leila on the mattress and drapes her hand around her. “D
Leila immediately takes off in the direction through which she came, the guard at the post takes a swing at her with the silver spear clutched in his arms but she ducks underneath it, her heart pounding hard and fast as more guards join in the chase. She reaches the fence and in one swift move, she leaps over it but the barbed wire tears into her back and the side of her arm as she lands but the pain doesn’t deter or slow her down. Leo already has Amara, no doubt to have an edge over Tatum, if she gets caughts too, it will only make things worse and judging from what she has heard about Leo, he could do much worse than just capture her. The sound of the dogs barking and men yelling gets louder as she takes off into the deep of the woods. She almost shifts so she can gain more ground on the dogs who she can see closing in on her from her peripheral vision when she remembers the dangerous spell cast on the capital, way before Antonio even became king. It is a tale every child growing
“If your mind's made up, give me a few hours, I’ll do a cloaking spell to keep you hidden when you get there, go get our little warrior and bring her back,” Jenny replies, giving Leila a hug. Leila feels a bit of relief hearing that. With a cloaking spell, she can easily move in and out of the camp undetected and hopefully, she can get Amara out. Armed with Jenny’s cloaking spell which Jenny channeled into a bracelet around Leila’s wrist, Leila heads to Leo’s camp. As long as she keeps the bracelet around her wrist and avoids water getting on it, the ordinary eyes of men will not be able to see her. Her eyes scan the camp’s walls—high wooden fences reinforced with barbed wire and guarded by sentries, their sharp eyes scanning the darkness for any movement. She can see their figures in the distance, shifting in and out of view as they pace. She holds her breath, listening for any noise that might betray her presence. Even with the cloaking spell, she still has to be very careful, o
The next day, Leila makes her way to the palace to officially answer Antonio’s summon. She would rather be looking for Amara or Tatum right now but it’s important that she sees Antonio too. The last thing she wants to do is give him an excuse to legally place any kind of punishment on her or pack using her disobedience as an excuse. “State your business,” a rough looking guard, a guy as tall as a mountain, confronts her at the gate. “I’m here to see the king by his summon. I’m Leila Cromwell, Luna of the blood oak pack,” she replies, staring at the gates that stand tall and imposing. The guard grunts and they his eyes change colours, showing he is mindlinking, possibly confirming if she was truly summoned by the king. “Wait here,” the guard frowns, before walking through the gates and into the gate house. Leila’s heart thuds nervously as she waits aside. A lot depends on the outcome of her meeting with Antonio but what would she even say to him when she sees him? The man singl