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The crescent moon hangs alone in the dark sky, barely illuminating the night, there are no stars shining up there tonight. The moon seems to be on a solo mission, just like Leila. She wades through the thick bark of the huge and clustered trees that lead deep into the forest at the border, her heart beating fast and for good reason. Nervous would be an understatement to how she feels at the moment. Anything could happen and no one knows where she is. She winces as a thorn slices through her skin and she clasps her hand over the wound, undeterred as she continues to push further into the thick of the forest. She must reach outside the pack territory. It is dangerous, she knows but she needs some answers and right now, only Tatiana can help her and that is if Tatiana is still on their side. The only hope she has with Tatiana is the belief that Tatiana loves Kelvin, Tatiana proved that a number of times, she has to give Tatiana the benefit of the doubt. She has to. [I’m here.]
“They sent seven of us to take down this puny thing? I feel insulted,” one of the rogues say, spitting on the floor, his eyes raking over Leila with disgust. “Who are you? Who sent you?” Leila asks in a cold voice, baring her teeth, extending her claws and turning side to side to keep them all in her vision as they encircle her. Her heart is erratic but she already knows there’s no need to be scared, it won’t help her if she is to survive this. She will somehow have to take them down by herself and if they sense any fear coming from her, they will capitalize. “Look,” Another one smiles sinisterly at her, “you’re a very beautiful woman and I’d hate to cause any damage to that pretty face of yours, so just cooperate and come with us.” “You’re right about her being pretty,” another one chuckles, stepping towards her, “if she’s a good girl, we can have her warm our cocks, we can take turns or even run a train on her,” he chuckles maniacally and his pals join in his laughter. Leila’s
“And who the fuck are you?” The one who is still in his human form asks coldly, turning to face Tatum. The remaining six of them ignore Leila for the moment, lining up beside the one who is speaking, to intimidate Tatum with their numbers, snarling and seething. “I’m not going to ask you again, who the fuck are you and why do you— want to die a needless death?” the guy asks again and he and the pack beside him advance towards Tatum slowly. Leila watches helplessly on the floor in her wolf form, her heart pounding hard with fear for Tatum. She sees how Tatum ignores whatever the man is saying and is not even intimidated by their numbers or threat, his eyes are just fixed on her, looking at her with much concern. He doesn’t see or talk to her for several days and now he shows up to be her hero. She should be mad at him but she’s not, she always seem to get herself in trouble and he’s always there to rescue her. “Hang in there, I’ll handle this,” he says to her, cracking his knuckle
What has he been doing? Is he being tortured? Is that why he hasn’t been talking to her? Worry rises inside her and she cannot hold it down. She needs to know what is going on. He’s definitely keeping secrets from her again and she feels sad about it. She thought they were growing past that stage, but obviously not. Isn’t she jumping into conclusions here? She’s just going to ask him. Her wolf nudges Tatum with her nose as she tries to mindlink him but she cannot reach him, which is strange because he’s right in front of her. Her wolf nudges him even harder, feeling offended he is blocking them off but Tatum lays his hand on her head and rubs it gently, “I know it hurts, I’m almost done.” Leila instantly realises it, he’s not blocking her, he seems unable to mindlink but how? Is something wrong with his wolf? Even when she lost her wolf back then, she was still able to mindlink. She shifts back into her human form, determined to find out what’s going on with him. “Whoa….” Ta
Leila slowly rips the remaining pieces of clothing that still covers Tatum’s body after a while and she sees even more scars littered around his chest and abdomen as well. Her heart aches for him and she slowly runs her hands across the wounds, some of which have still not healed fully. She looks at him and he smiles weakly at her. “It’s nothing,” he says in a calm voice, telling her the story of all that he had suffered at the hands of Trent, all in the name of training. With every detail that he paints, Leila’s fear and worry for him continue to grow, her heart throbs slightly and tears stream down her eyes. How is he still even here when he has to fight so many wolves in a day, all while being poisoned by wolfsbane and tortured by silver? She knows Tatum is strong but hearing the ordeal he has to go through everyday and seeing how he took down eight royal guards a few minutes tells how just how strong he must really be. As much as she wants to feel a sense of pride and admira
Tatum doesn’t stop her from crying, he lets her cry in his arms and he gently rubs her back. “I’m fine, there’s really nothing to worry about,” he says but his words only make Leila worry the most. She moves her head slowly from his chest and looks up into his eyes, Tatum smiles at her but behind it she can see so much hidden. Sadness and worry being the two most prevalent. Why is Tatum staying back here and enduring all needless pain and torture? The thought of what he has endured makes her shudder and she buries her head in his chest again. Her heart feels so heavy and she wishes she can help him bear some of this burden. Even if Tatum doesn’t want to go on the assassination ordered by Antonio, he can leave the pack and go somewhere else instead of allowing that scoundrel, Trent torture and humiliate him like this. And the Tatum she knows is no coward, she knows there’s no way he’s scared of Alpha Leo, so why hasn’t he gone and done it so this whole thing can be over with? Is
“Those damn fucking royal guards,” Leila spews out the words in anger, wincing as she applies the herbal tincture Tatum had given to her to the wound. It’s been three days and she hasn’t yet healed fully but the wound isn’t the thing that bothers her the most. She hasn’t seen Tatum in two days and even if she doesn’t know exactly where he is, she knows exactly what he is going through and her heart aches for him. She heaves a deep sad sigh, her sullen eyes stare at the portrait of her and Amara in her room and it only amplifies sadness. She wonders how her daughter is faring at the North Star pack. She can only hope that she is doing well. She has to keep communication to a minimum to protect her. She grunts in pain of frustration. She cannot wait for all of this to be over. If only there was something she could do to help Tatum. Well…there is something she can actually do but Tatum won’t let her choose that, for some reason. “Leila, you in here?” Her mom pops her head into her
As Leila drives home, all she can think about is her conversation with Tatum’s parents. Becoming Tatum’s wife again. She doesn’t even know how to feel about it.Yes, she knows her old feelings for him have aroused, perhaps with some new ones but if she has learnt any lesson from her past experience, it’s that feelings are never enough.She knows that she and Tatum have missed each other’s company, each other’s bodies, touches and all of that and right now, their nerves may be hot but what happens if she gets married to him and in a few months, everything dies down.As much as she is getting crazy about him with each passing day, that insanity is not enough for her to just jump and make such an important decision.She is scared.There is a large part of her that welcomes this idea of being Tatum’s wife again. The goddess knows that it gladdens her heart and fills it with warmth but there’s no ignoring that tiny yet solid and potent part of that same heart that nibbles persistently at
“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