Leila looks at Carmela and her eyes are full of remorse but Carmela’s words barely have any effect on her.
She keeps saying she doesn’t want to be Luna but her actions would suggest otherwise but now is not the place to air such grievances.Besides, like her, Carmela is just a victim in all of this too, she was supposed to be married to Tatum, was supposed to be Luna, she has been preparing for it half her life, only to have it snatched away from her.It must be hard for Carmela coming back to see another woman living her life and her best friend for that matter, she has been so selfish she didn’t even consider Carmela’s feelings about seeing her with Tatum.Before she can reply, the security guard grabs the Luna closest to them and holds a knife against her throat.“If I see any eyes glow, I will slit her throat and kill as many of you as I can before your men get here,” he warns them sternly not to mindlink for help.The rest oThe chanting only gets louder and louder by the second and Leila is disturbed by the distortion of what really happened. It was her who risked her life to save the other Luna and Carmela didn’t actually save her but if she hadn’t attacked the rogue, maybe something worse could have happened.The chants and songs of praises of Carmela become deafening and the door to Leila’s hospital room opens. Leila cranes her neck past Amanda’s body to see Tatum rolling Carmela in a wheelchair into her hospital room and the first thing Leila notices is the way Carmela is running her fingers up and down the huge scar left by the rogue from earlier.Leila squints her eyes. There is no way Carmela does not have a scar from the night she was kidnapped if such a big one is left on her arm from today’s attack.Tatum raises his hand and the procession goes silent, the crowd outside the door turning away as his Beta, Theo, shuts the door and stands
Leila looks up at Tatum, silent tears coating her eyes at the way he yells at her in front of everyone because of Carmela when she is telling the truth.How long is he going to keep treating her like this? How much more can she endure?She is only a woman blindly in love with him and she only wants a little bit, just a little bit of his affection to show her that he cares, that if she keeps hope, they may yet be a chance for them.She blinks and as the tears roll down her eyes, she comes to a painful realisation. Tatum will never love her. No matter what, she will never mean anything to him.Just now when she woke up, she was terrified, terrified that she had lost their child, she wished he was the one beside her but he was with Carmela instead.Carmela’s strike was lethal, she could have died today, she and her baby, the bandage around her head and the throbbing pain she feels in it is a testament of that but does he
Fear. He has never felt fear like this before but when he realises what Leila is about to say, it dawns on him heavily….so much so that the hairs on the back of his neck are up. He grew up learning that as an Alpha, fear is the last feeling he should ever have right before he learned that his feelings must always come second to his pack but the thought of Leila divorcing him is dreadful. This is the third time she is bringing it up, he has been avoiding it because he doesn’t know what to do, she has every right to demand a divorce but he just doesn’t want to let her go because he knows the truth. Before the phoenix mark, before the night Carmela was kidnapped, before all of it, he always wished she was the one, the one with the mark, the one that will be his mate but it went to Carmela and his duty to his pack comes first. He must honour the prophecy but when fate presented him with a chance to keep her close to him, he took it. It was to protect her but it wasn’t just to protect
Tatum is taken back. That wasn’t the version of the story he was told but he doesn’t doubt Leila, not even a little bit, he has known her since they were little and she has never lied to him, not once.She is not the type to seek vainglory either, she must feel really bad that Carmela is getting her praise for her to even voice it. He must do right by her, the pack must know the truth of what really happened.“Don’t get used to it. I’ll tell the pack what really happened and make sure you get your accolades,” he replies in a calm tone but it’s like his words only add salt to Leila’s injury and she scowls at him, her eyes filled with rage.“For fuck’s sake Tatum, I don’t care about any stupid accolades! Honestly, at this point, I don’t care about you, Carmela or any of your pack members. Just leave me the fuck alone,” Leila replies coldly.Tatum’s heart squeezes with a nasty pain. He never thought hearing her say she doesn’t care about him will hurt so much but it does, it really hurt
Goddess….Tatum realises his mistake. He has seen her so much as a self sufficient person whose independence and strength he admires so much that he forgot that in her core, she is still…just— a woman.He stands up and sits on the bed beside her, holding her before she can move away, his remorseful eyes looking into her soulless ones.“You have every right to be upset but we can fix this, just don’t bring up the divorce again.”“There’s nothing to fix Tatum. You brought Carmela into our home without asking me how I feel about it. Let me ask you, when you go to bed in her arms every night, do you ever wonder what must be going through the head of the woman next door?” Even though Leila’s tone is steady and cold, it is laden with so much pain that Tatum feels it in his heart.Why does she never mention anything to him? She let him assume she is okay with everything when she says nothing.And she is wrong, he has never gon
Deciding to divorce Tatum was the hardest decision Leila ever made and in the days that have passed since they had that huge fight, leading to her asking for a divorce, a tiny part of her wishes she had shown more restraint but there was only so much she could take.Sometimes she wishes her soul would just travel out of her body and take her to a place where she can’t feel suffering, worry, pain or heartbreak.A place where she can just exist without these sad emotions that constantly fill her, hopefully where the thoughts of Tatum still brought.She loves him, even now that he’s demanded that they end everything, she still feels that yearning for him but he will never love her and she has accepted it.“Leila, our little munchkin is starting to make itself known,” Amanda says excitedly, pointing at Leila’s bump.Leila's eyes widen slightly and she runs her hands down her stomach. “Yes it is,” Leila replies with a half smile.
“I don’t want to go back to my house, that place is no longer my home. Can I— live with you for a while?”Leila’s voice burns a hole in Tatum’s chest as he’s about to turn the door knob. It’s not just the way she refers to their house as no longer a home that vexes him.It’s the coldness in her voice, the sadness that they carry and he acknowledges that it is his fault but she just won’t let him fix it.He has avoided coming to see her because she said she needed space but he never expected that the competent and hardworking Luna would neglect her duties.He knows she is wounded but the woman he married would delegate duties and keep things running smoothly even if she was on her deathbed.Why is she being so stubborn and hell bent on leaving their marriage, to the point of neglecting her duties.“If it’s not your home, then whose home is it?” he says as he opens the door and steps in.He hears the way Leila’s heartbeat
Today is a big day for Leila, the day she finally moves into her own apartment. She has been living with Amanda and it has been nothing short of liberating.Seriously, when was the last time she woke up for consecutive days without any turmoil in her chest, without feeling like she was being choked up or trampled upon?Without treading carefully around her own house like it was loaded with booby traps ready to sink her into an emotional wreckage.There’s no Tatum and Carmela here to avoid seeing all cozy and loved up, causing her unbearable anguish, there’s no Adaline to walk eggshells around so she doesn’t get scolded or abused.She closes her eyes, standing in front of the mirror and sucks in a deep, long breath before she exhales slowly and opens her eyes.It would have been a truly exhilarating feeling, only that deep in her heart, she misses Tatum, she misses his smell around the house, his touch, hearing his voice, being in his pres
“That bastard!”Tatum yells, punching a hole through the wall of his office, his heart beating fast, his entire aura swirling in visible rage.“Calm down,” Leila says, not feeling any sort of calmness herself and Tatum can sense it, which only pisses him off more.It’s like they can’t get a fucking break, things just keep going from one crisis to the next and it’s all because of one man who wields too much power, it’s beginning to get to his head.It is completely unheard of for an Alpha to name another person as an acting Alpha when he is still alive and more so, even if that was to happen, Theo, his beta would have been in a better position to receive that honor, not fucking Trent.He hisses, tapping frantically on his table, staring at the warning message they had received concerning Amara. This whole thing has Carmela written all over it and Antonio in his vileness would be more than willing to oblige her.Whoever sent them this warning must have found out something. He needs to
“Leila! I can’t find the vegetables, are you sure we got everything down from the car?” Liana says from inside the pantry as she puts stuff they bought from the market away.“I’ll check,” Leila replies, ruffling Amara’s hair. “Nice Drawing baby,” she smiles at the drawing of a face that is half completed which makes it hard for her to know exactly who the child is drawing.With Antonio no longer in the pack, Selina has returned back to her coven with the promise to come back periodically for Amara’s training and with the uncertainty of unforeseen events, they also decided it was best to suspend the active training for now.It’s almost been a full month since Tatiana went missing and no one has heard a word from her. Tatum even risked a bold step, sending word to Antonio of her disappearance before he found out and has an excuse to do something sinister but he never got any response, as if Antonio is completely done with them and the pack for good.Sometimes it feels like a relief to L
“Brother please,” Tatiana pleads with Antonio after the party as he heads to his car with Carmela beside him. They are getting ready to leave. Antonio looks at his sister, tears streaming down her eyes, he can see how broken and torn she is but all he does is give her his signature wicked smirk before he opens the car door and then he pauses. “This is for your own good, Tatiana, you need a capable man beside you,” Antonio replies in a calm and patronizing tone. “But he’s not even a warrior, why do you even need a personal bodyguard, you’re untouchable, you’re the freaking Lycan king,” Tatiana replies in despair, sobbing hard. Antonio doesn’t reply, he holds the door wide open for Carmela to enter the car but she stands in front of the door, looking at Tatiana with a sort of disdain in her eyes. “You should have chosen your brother’s side, he is your only family but you chose others over him.” “Shut up you bitch,” Tatiana snaps at her, “what do you know about family? Your father
“Good morning my angel,” Kelvin plants a kiss on Tatiana’s cheek and he drops a tray of breakfast beside her on the bed. Tatiana makes a face, giving him puppy eyes before staring at the plate, her heart thudding slowly with joy and she wraps her hand around Kelvin’s neck, stealing his lips in a deep sensual kiss. “I’ve missed this,” Tatiana says, breaking the kiss and glancing at the plate of eggs, sausages, peas, bread, a glass of orange juice and milk. “And I’ve missed cooking for you,” Kelvin replies with a smile, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Don’t worry hubby, I’ve been learning how to cook, so I’ll be cooking for you too,” Tatiana says in a shy manner, setting the tray in front of her. “Hubby?” Kelvin says, the words rolling off his tongue with a huge smile on his face, his heart beating with excitement. “You’re going to marry me, aren’t you?” “Of course my angel,” Kelvin replies but then the smile on his face falters, his tone dropping lower, “I fear your brother w
Antonio’s eyes bulge in shock as Leila utters the words of rejection. “I, Leila Rogers, under the all seeing eye of Selene, reject you, Lycan king Antonio Darkside as my second chance mate.” ‘How?’ He ponders in his head, blinking to remove the shock from his eyes before anyone notices and he keeps a cheerful smile on his face like a parent proud of their child for making the right decision. When Leila utters the last word, she gasps and her knees buckle making her stagger backwards but Tatum’s hands are safely behind her to stop her from falling. She shrugs Tatum’s hands off her roughly, glaring at him and at the same time mindlinking him. ‘Thank you my knight in shining armor.’ Tatum also steps back, keeping a cold face as he replies. ‘You did it.’ Antonio’s rage continues to fester inside him, making him restless as he stares at Leila regaining her composure. She should not have been able to do that. Not even Alpha’s can break free from his Alpha command with their own wil
Antonio scoffs, looking at the woman in front of him with utter disgust and contempt in his eyes. What does she think she’s doing? She finally got a glimpse of what it’s like to be the king’s woman? She’s seen the power at Carmela’s disposal since belonging to him and she suddenly remembers that they are mates? There was a time when he wanted her, wanted to taste and ravish her but now he almost finds her repulsive, he sees her for what she really is, nothing but Tatum’s second hand cargo. He smirks at her in a cold manner, a soft yet deadly scoff escaping him and he takes his hand from Carmela and points to Leila. “What in the world makes you think you’re anything compared to this goddess?” His eyes shift with admiration to Carmela who is beaming with a smile, enjoying every bit of his adulation. “Tell me Leila, why would I give up a gift from the goddess herself and pick the trash that nobody wants?” His harsh words cut through the air and murmurs fill the open space from the
“What?” Tatum asks, his voice fleeting from shock to what sounds like joy. “That’s right,” Carmela steps out from behind Theo and locks arms beside Antonio with a coy smile on her face, “my king and I are leaving your miserable pack,” her voice is haughty and snobbish. Antonio removes his hands from hers and curls it around her waist, pulling her close to him and he pecks her on the lip with a smile on his face. “How can you call this pack miserable when it gave you to me, my queen?” “You’re right but I’m the only thing not miserable in this pack.” Carmela rolls her eyes at Tatum and the rest of the group who have just stepped out of the car, wondering what the public display of affection is for before she looks back at Antonio. “I can’t argue with that one,” says Antonio, his eyes looking directly at Leila and without breaking eye contact, he rubs his palm across Carmela’s stomach. “You and our child are definitely not miserable.” Leila’s eyes widen in visible shock, unwilli
On the ride back home, Kelvin begins to tell them his findings and the group listens with rapt interest. “Contrary to what we’ve been made to believe, the first Lycan was never created by the goddess, he was an ordinary werewolf, a tyrannical Alpha who seeked more power than one man should have and he ended up getting it but it came at a huge price, a curse. Tatum glances back at him from the steering wheel, “I think I’ve heard this tale before, I just never believed it to be true.” “Wait, what curse? Are you saying Amara is cursed? According to the prophecy, she’s the next Lycan queen,” Leila asks, her voice full of worry. “No. I don’t think so. Every Lycan has been from the bloodline of the first Lycan and she’s not from that bloodline, plus she was born like that. The first Lycan on the other hand was born a werewolf but he stumbled upon an ancient curse, one that would take away his ability to love in exchange for more speed, strength, size and power and he accepted the curse.
Leila and Tatum make their way up the tunnel and then down the basement of the castle as described by Tatiana. The air in the basement is musty, like no one has been there in ages. Sounds of creeping things skittering across the floor irritates Leila and she yelps when she steps on a bug. “Who’s there?” Kelvin’s voice comes faintly from ahead of them. Leila’s heart leaps with joy and she hugs Tatum arms. “Kelvin?!” “Leila?! Leila is that you?” Leila pulls Tatum ahead as they run towards the sound of the voice. “Kev, where are you?” Leila asks, confusion taking over her happy expression. Kelvin's voice sounded like it was just ahead but it’s nothing but walks around them. “I’m right here,” Kelvin replies. This time his voice sounds even closer but they still can’t see him, it’s like his voice coming from the walls. “Damn that Antonio, it’s probably some sorcery again,” Tatum says with a deep frown on his face. “Oh, oh, it’s not sorcery, it’s science, there’s a lever somewhere