Thank you for reading❤️
Leila sits in one of the high end restaurants in the pack, feeling jitters, gazing around with her feet trembling underneath the table as her heart pounds. It’s the day of the ritual, the ritual that is supposed to look into Amara’s future and destiny but she cannot be with her daughter, there is something that she must do. Taking her grandmother’s advice, against her wish, she must keep Antonio occupied and distracted. If he is really after her and Amara, he probably would be having them monitored but if she has his attention while the ritual is going on, they could have a chance. Which is why she invited him to dinner tonight, to apologise for how things went between them the last time they met and also to play the role of a jealous mate since he claimed another woman right in front of her even if that is the last thing she is. The moment Antonio steps into the room, Leila feels the air shift, that powerful and dangerous aura of his that he kept hidden from her for a while fills
“Lucky indeed,” Antonio replies, lifting his eyes from Leila to look at Tatum with a calm smile on his face, “what brings you here? I’ve heard the Alpha of the Blood Oak pack isn’t one to mingle himself.”Tatum smiles back at Antonio and he walks towards him and Leila, intentionally not paying Leila any look as he steps to their table even if all he wants to do in that moment is stare at her all night long, tell her how beautiful she looks in the red open back sequin dress that she is wearing.He wants to be the one sitting where Antonio is, singing her praises and adulation, expressing his admiration, he wants to tell her sweet words that will make her light up the room with her beautiful and ethereal smile, jokes that will have her laughing so hard till her tummy hurts but he cannot do any of those and seeing another man in the position he desires more than anything hurts more than words can describe.But this is how he must be, he cannot show even the slightest form of affection to
He looks away before he is tempted to rip her from Antonio’s hand and rip Antonio’s throat open. “If she’s mine, she’s special,” Antonio says in a cheeky tone, looking from Leila to Tatum with suspicion in his eyes, noticing the tension between the two and how they can barely look at each other in the eyes. “Tonight, I plan to claim her, maybe I’ll invite Carmela to join us,” Antonio says with a cheeky smirk, “three is a crowd but it’s also a party,” he says, curling his hands around Leila and breathing in her neck. Leila forces a smile, her skin crawling everytime he touches her but what upsets her the most is the carefree look in Tatum’s eyes like he doesn’t care. She knows that right now they are both playing a part, she cannot react anyhow and must allow Antonio do what he wants so as not to piss him off and Tatum on the other hand must act like he doesn’t care about her so as to protect her real identity but if things go how Antonio wants tonight, it may all be useless in the
Leila gasps in fear and her thuds in worry as the midlink drops. She mindlinks her mother again but it does not connect. She tries over and over and over again to no avail and tears start to fall from her eyes as dread quickly dawns on her. Patting her face, she rushes out of the restroom, reaching the restaurant hall and she halts by the door, her eyes darting to where Antonio still are, seemingly involved in a deep conversation as neither notices her. She bites down on her lower lip, every cell in her body shaken with fear and worry, trying her hardest not to give anything away and her eyes quickly shift to the exit. She wants to make a dash for it and find her family wherever they are but if Antonio sees and follows her, she will be leading him straight to them and she will probably be putting them in more danger than they are already in. She may not be able to leave but Tatum can, he can take men with him, they can find them and save them. Still standing with her heart pound
Leila looks away sharply, feeling a slight pang in her heart and she can feel Antonio’s intense gaze on her as she does so but her eyes snap back to Tatiana in shock when she hears Tatiana say, “hello brother.” She looks sharply from Tatiana to Antonio and then at Tatum, her eyes widening in shock as realisation dawns on her that Antonio and Tatiana are siblings, Tatiana never mentioned that and neither did Kelvin, which can only mean one thing, Kelvin never knew. She quickly recovers from her shock, placing a fake smile on her face as Tatiana turns to face her. “Hello Leila,” Tatiana says, tightening her grip around Tatum’s hand. “Hi,” Leila replies wryly, her brain doing the quick maths of what could be going on. If she is right about Tatum that he is putting on an act, then this fake relationship with Tatiana could be a facade that he plans to use against Antonio, maybe use his own sister against him but what if it is the opposite, what if Antonio is using Tatiana as a tool aga
“C’mon,” Tatum says, curling his hand around Tatiana’s waist, leading her away from Antonio and Leila and as he does so, he gives Leila a quick yet reassuring look. A look with no words yet it screams the words ‘I got you’ to Leila and her skin is riddled with goosebumps out of nowhere. From the crown of her head to the sole of her feet, a wave of relief washes through her. A small smile of gratitude tugs her lips but she quickly hides it, knowing Antonio is watching her but not before she steals another look at her Alpha. Leila almost blushes, realising what she just called him. Is it excitement that has her heart pounding right now or is it gratitude? Well, whichever it is, one thing is for certain, Tatum will always have her back, he will never leave her to weather any storm by herself, including this one. She may not fully appreciate him always leaving her in the dark but she understands now that he is doing it to protect her. “We should leave,” Antonio’s grumpy voice brings
“I’ll do it for you,” Antonio continues with her throat still wrapped in one hand while he extends the claws on his free hand slices down her dress, licking his lips as her succulent breasts fall out in front of him. “Please…stop,” Leila cries out, covering herself. Shame, fear and disgust all come at her at the same time but Antonio doesn’t relent, he throws her on the bed instead, jumping down on her before she can even balance. He must have a taste of her, fuck her till her body is numb and then he’ll discard her and if she annoys him any further, he’ll fight this strange compassion he has for her and take her life anyway. “So the rumours are true?” Leila replies, with a shaky voice, tears pouring out of her eyes as she wriggles fruitlessly underneath him, “you really are a monster.” Antonio chuckles maniacally in a soft tone. “Monster is a word used to scare little kids, kitten, I am something worse,” he says, groaning in pleasure as he grabs one of her boobs. Leila grits her
Leila doesn’t know how she got home that night, all she can feel is pain. Gruesome and lethal, on every part of her body, in every part of her system. It is not just the way Antonio ridiculed, humiliated and rejected her that hurts but the pain from the one sided rejection is something that she cannot explain. It feels like her heart is under attack from a swarm of bees, constantly being stung, her head hurts, bangs like a sledgehammer is being used to try and force her skull open. When she gets home, her family is still not back, she wants to mindlink her mom but she cannot, she cannot even feel her wolf, the pain is so brutal that it seems to have sent her wolf into hibernation. Her eyes are a deep shade of red, bulging and strained, causing her even more pain like they will fall off any moment. She undresses herself, wincing every time her finger grazes her skin because it burns, every touch feels like a silver needle being used to prick her. She walks like a wraith into the
“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
Leila’s heart races, her breath becoming unstable from Jenny’s revelation as she tries to make sense of it. “If it wasn’t for Amara’s power that caught him off guard, he would have captured us right there and then but she bought us enough time to escape and stay hidden until Tatum and his men arrived and the moment Tatum left with Amara, Leo and his men stopped their onslaught and went after him,” Jenny concludes. Leila sighs sadly and massages her temple. This endless cycle of torment and confusion just seems to never want to stop revolving around her. She knows Amara is alive but she still cannot ascertain her safety from what Jenny is saying. It makes no logical sense for Tatum to bring Amara to the last place that she should be and another thing is how far the North Star pack is from the capital. It’s a very long journey that would take travelling through different packs and despite the measures she put in place and people she had sent to different packs in search of Tatum and A
A terrific sigh of relief escapes Leila, her eyes going wide in shock and she hugs Jenny again, tears falling out of her eyes, a rush of relief filling her heart. For many nights and days she has prayed and hoped that Amara would be safe, that no harm should befall her but why the capital, why did Tatum choose here of all places to bring her, right under Antonio’s nose. What is his plan? She breaks the hug and tugs Jenny by her arms, “do you know where she is, can you take me to her?” She asks, her heart pounding wildly, nothing would bring her more joy right now than seeing her little girl again, seeing those shiny pretty eyes, her bubbly personality. The last time they saw Amara was withdrawing into a shell because of how different she was from kids her age and how they treated her. Will she still be the same or will spending time with her father have that effect removed? “Leila , calm down,” Jenny replies, a bit of a sullen look in her eyes, “I know where she is but it’s not t