I sprinted into my room, shut the door lock and slid down the floor, placing my hands on my chest as I gasped heavily for breaths. Plopping down on the bed, I ran my fingers through my hair trying as much as possible to stop the sobs threatening to burst out of my lips.No, no Valerie, this wasn’t the right time to break down. I needed to think of something fast. But why didn’t Selene tell me this from the start?Closing my eyes, I took in several breaths trying to calm myself. Just then my phone pinged and I pulled it out to see a text from Wesley. “Tonight’s a ceremony for young shifters, you left in a hurry so I couldn’t tell you. Hope to see you tonight.” I threw the phone back on the bed, pulling my knees up to my chest.As much as I tried to keep them away, memories of all the suspicious things Father did came rushing into my head. But of all the kinds he could hurt, why the hybrids? I was one, and April was as well. But did he not care about that, could he be as heartless as he
It has been over an hour since I had been confined in this cold and damp cell, situated in the basement of the packhouse. My gaze remained fixed on the iron bars as I desperately waited for Wesley to show up and get me out of here.My hands trembled, and my skin parched from the intensity of the cold. I wrapped my arms around myself, attempting to shield my body from the harsh temperatures. The cell was rather small, furnished with a dirty bed, probably filled with bugs, and devoid of any blankets.I let out a groan of frustration, wondering why Wesley had yet to come. I had expected he'd be here almost immediately, especially when it was Tyler who ordered my arrest. Only if he has no idea I was here though. But yet he should have noticed my absence from the ceremony.My teeth clenched in anger, frustrated at my wrongful detainment. However, it all seemed suspicious to me that I had seen Tyler in the woods just a few moments prior to arriving at the scene, and then he had arrived with
My heart thumped vehemently against my chest, racing faster than ever and my fingers trembled as I realized the extent of Tyler's plan. He had not only framed me for murder but had also formed an alliance with his mother. How could I have trusted her to set things right when her son had committed such a heinous act? I was indeed foolish to believe that she would ruin her son's reputation over a mere report.I looked down at my hands, gasping for breath as I felt utterly helpless. With the only person who could support me absent, my chances of getting out of this were slim.Didn't Wesley hear about the trial, or had Tyler found a way to keep him uninformed? But what about Kyle? He should've told him or, perhaps he had lied to me about not being in alliance with Tyler. I let out an exasperated sigh, realizing that I couldn't even trust anyone now."Miss Valerie?" The judge's voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up, startled. I must've zoned out and missed his previous statements.
The noise from the courtroom began to fade as we walked into the corridor. We made our way down a small flight of stairs and passed through a narrow corner, walking out of a small door that led outside the packhouse.We made our way to Wesley's car, which was parked in front of the house and without uttering a word, he opened the car door, gesturing for me to take a seat inside. He appeared to look angry, though I couldn't discern whether it was directed to me or his father. Nevertheless, I knew he must be mad at me since he had repeatedly warned me to stay away from them and I never listened. So I stepped into the car and just as he was about to shut it, a voice called him from behind.I turned around to see Tyler approaching him from the house. Without shutting the door yet, Wesley stormed towards him, unexpectedly landing a hard punch on his face, causing him to stumble. "I warned you to stay away from her!" He yelled, hitting him across his face again. Hurrying out of the car, I r
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you trying to blackmail me?!" I was beyond infuriated, the moment April's name left his lips a surge of rage ran coursed through my veins. "How dare you bring April into this?! Do you know what would happen if Wesley eventually finds out your intention?! He will kill you!""That's why he shouldn't know Valerie. The moment he finds out, I'll be letting the entire pack realize who you are. I wouldn't just let him kill me, if I'm going down you too are, that is why we should cooperate." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, leaning back against his chair with a grin on his face. "You see, we're meant for each other. If we cooperate we'd be the strongest couples ever.""Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" I seethed, fixing a deadly stare at him. "Trying to take advantage of a helpless orphan just to get what you want. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!!!" I slammed my fists on the table again, unable to contain my rage."Calm down, Valerie. You m
Six Months Later"Happy Birthday!" I am awoken by the enthusiastic cheering of voices in my room. I opened my eyes to see April standing on the bed with Violet by the bedside, holding a birthday cake, and Wesley and Atlas at the foot of the bed with ribbons around their necks."Happy birthday!" April exclaimed again, jumping onto the bed."Hey! Get off me!" I laugh, gently pushing her away as I sit up in bed."Happy sweet nineteen!" Violet sat on the bed beside me, planting a peck on my cheeks as she handed the cake over to me."Hey." Wesley playfully tousles my hair and quickly gives me a kiss on the lips.You don't have to, you know?" I said, flashing her a smile, It was obvious she planned this."Well, this is just very little. I actually planned to do more, but then I remembered how boring you can really get and escaped the party I should've planned with lover boy here." She wiggled her brows, looking at Wesley from the corner of her eyes. "Come on, you need to get ready, take you
Kane's POVHonestly, if I had been approached by Alpha Enzo himself for a business collaboration, I would've declined without hesitation. There had been numerous records of him making some other packs almost go bankrupt with the failed investments he manipulated them to join.However, in the past six months, there have been rumors of the alpha having an aide that had surprisingly helped the pack largely and saved him from failure. At least he found someone more capable than his son, Tyler.It was even more hilarious that rumors had it that it was a very young girl, about nineteen if I remember well. I wonder what could've possibly made her want to help. Which is something I would find out, since there was little or no information about her yet.I stood before the mirror in my room as I put on my jackets, adorning my wrist with a gold watch. Just then, a brief knock came on the door and before I could even respond, it swung open and I heard footsteps walk into the room. Without turning
Valerie's POVI led Alpha Kane out of the woods and back to the packhouse. Once we settled in the living room, I offered to make him coffee and made my way into the kitchen. Maybe it was only to escape the tension and give myself a little space to breathe. I was a nervous wreck since this was my first time meeting alone with these business' partners. It was usually with Alpha Enzo where I would just sit quietly most times watching them talk.As I started making coffee, I took deep breaths to calm myself down while I quietly began rehearsing phrases I thought would be professional enough in case he started a conversation with me."Hey." I must've been so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice him entering the kitchen. He sat on a stool near the counter, in a position where he would be able to watch me clearly, which felt rather uncomfortable.Unlike the other alphas whom I had encountered in the past few months, he was the weirdest of all. He appeared to be over friendly and talked a
Valerie's POVIt's been over a week since I last saw Wesley, which was at Violet's house on the day she died. I tried to reach him severally, through phone calls which he ignored and our mind-link which he had completely blocked me out from. Did he regret mating me?Or had been foolish from the very beginning to think I could find my place in this pack. I don't even want to think anymore cause I've tried so hard to make sense of the situation but nothing is working yet. Sometimes I think maybe I've been doing it wrong all along and what the goddess actually meant by making things right is revealing to them who I am so they can kill and completely wipe out our entire clan. But I'd that was it, there was no purpose of sending me back just to die again. These past weeks had been lonely and very frustrating, due to Wesley's betrayal if that's the right way to call it and April not even giving me a hard time. She told me to my face that I had been the one foolishly trusting them because I
The room is totally messed up, the entire furniture is broken and scattered around the room. There were broken glasses on the floor, and as I walked further into the room, I tried to think of what could've possibly happened here.However, I gasped when my eyes landed on a figure lying motionless on the ground. "Violet!" I screamed, hastily dropping to the floor beside her and shaking her shoulders, but she didn't respond and my heart raced even faster when I saw the blood trickling from her nose and mouth. Paramedics swiftly arrived, but instead of rushing to the hospital just like I expected, they walked out of the house with her on a stretcher and a white shroud around her."What the hell are you doing?" I asked, trying to remain in denial that it wasn't what I was thinking. "I'm sorry, Miss. But she's dead." The world around me stopped immediately, and I dropped to the ground, placing my trembling hands on my chest as my breaths came out in shaky pants, tears stinging the back of
Valerie's POVIt's been a few hours into the party, yet Violet still didn't show up or replied to any of my messages. I told Wesley about it and he assured me not to worry about her since it was quite common for her to do something like this, perhaps she might have never fully agreed to come to the party.Considering her disinterest for the family, it was possible she might have changed her mind at the last second. I tried to push my worries aside, joining them in the celebration. Minutes later, Wesley suggested we go to his room since it was evident that none of us were enjoying the party or were used to things like this. Standing by the window in his room, we gazed at the stars and moon adorning the night sky. "You think this is over now?" I asked, not staring at him but keeping my gaze fixated on the sky. "Well, I can say we have over ninety percent of our problems solved. We're a bit free now, no more bad guys. Everything will get back to normal in a short while. “Wesley replies,
Valerie's POVThe next morning I woke up to the good news that Renée arrived at the pack early, bringing Kyle along to face the authorities since he was from our pack.I dropped April off at school, telling her to be careful before rushing off to the packhouse. I heard Kyle had been locked in the cells in the basement of the house, so I hurried there, seeing Renée leaving on the way. After exchanging pleasantries, I walked into the basement to see Wesley standing before the cell. Kyle's gaze shifted towards me, and a smug smile appeared on his face. "Hey there, traitor." He said, and I tucked my hands into my pockets, not saying a word to him."It's good to see you behind bars," I said, smiling."I bet your mate here doesn't really know who you are and what you're capable of.""Why did you do it?" Wesley asked with a demeaning gaze fixated on him."I wanted power, Wesley. In fact, I was greedy for it and the rest of y'all seemed to settle for less. Accepting the losers you all are, ev
Valerie's POVThe rhythmical beeping of a machine filled my ears even before my eyes fluttered open. The dim light of the white room washed over me—the antiseptic scent hitting my nose, giving me a hint of where I was. Maybe a hospital.I shifted my gaze to the side and found Wesley by the bedside, his eyes immediately glinting as soon as he noticed my movements. "Hey," he whispered, his voice a gentle caress. "You're awake." His eyes were filled with a mixture of relief and worry. "Where am I?" It was difficult to speak, as my throat felt dry and scratchy. "We're back at the packhouse. You're safe now." He took my palm into his, giving it a soft squeeze—his touch warm and reassuring.Confusion washed over me for a moment before my memory started to piece together the fragments. Then I remembered my encounter with Kyle and trying to escape him and his men."Where's April?!" That was the next question I asked, sitting up with a speed that had Wesley staring at me in surprise and confu
Wesley's POVAs soon as I heard gunshots reverberate through the air, I dashed through the forest, not needing to think twice to know that it was Valerie. It has been over four hours we've been searching for her since she mysteriously disappeared. We searched the entire pack and yet there was no trace of her. My wolf was paranoid, demanding we find our mate. And when we saw traces of blood in the back of the house that I was sure belonged to her, we knew something had gone wrong. It was quite difficult trying to put Wade under control, but I gave that up as soon as we heard distant gunshots, letting him shift into his full form completely, without waiting for the warriors or any of the other search party members.I could feel her fear, almost tasting it. She must've been trying to escape from whoever captured her, and if by chance, it was the rogues, today would be the last day they would use their fucking lungs to breathe.I spotted them through the bushes, firing in a particular di
Valerie's POVA piercing pain in my head is the first thing that greets me the moment I slipped back into consciousness. I groaned in pain, noticing my vision was blocked with dark clothing wrapped around my eyes. I tried to move, feeling my muscles numb, but instead, I felt my skin scrape against a rough surface. If I could guess right, my hands were tied to a tree while I sat on the ground with both legs tied together.I heard the loud chattering of male voices around me and footsteps moving all about. Trying hard not to panic, I struggled against the restraints, which was just a wasted effort.A rustling sound caught my attention and through the black fabric around my eyes, I could make out a shadow looming above me. The blindfold is swiftly removed from my face, and I move my gaze around slowly, sighting some men gathering around a fire with drinks in their hands, laughing loudly at their own jokes. There were several young men moving around, none of them even sparing me a glance.
Valerie's POVI recognized him immediately as Alpha Kane. "Miss Valerie!" He called out, stretching out his hands for a handshake. I stared at his palm reluctantly before accepting it. "I didn't expect to see you." He states briefly glancing at Wesley who maintained a cold stare directed towards him."Nice to see you again, Kane," Wesley spoke, shifting his attention back to Renée. "Where's your father?"Renée's eyes clouded with a mix of worry and sadness before she blinked off quickly, replacing it with a stoic expression. "My father was injured during the attack and he doesn't seem to be recovering yet, even though he was just shot with an arrow.""Can we see him?" I asked, feeling a sense of empathy wash over me.She seemed to be contemplating for a moment before she nodded. "Of course, come with me." We followed her into the packhouse which was quite crowded, filled with women and children around all corners. Some of them, moving around while trying to clean and put the packhous
April's POVI shut the door to my new room, bolting it locked before plopping down on the bed, and letting out an angry groan. I could hear the sounds of Valerie's cries from her room, causing a knot to form in my stomach, twisting with exasperation. I loved Valerie, and she had always seemed to make the right choices until she decided to associate friendly with the alpha family. How could she forget the nightmares, the tears, and the anguish that haunted us both? At first, I thought she was only being nice to Wesley since he wasn't in support of what they had done to us, but then Tyler? Why was she even pleased that he changed his attitude towards her? I pressed my palm against my ears, trying to block out her cries. My gaze shifted to the pink diary sticking out of my bag—the diary that made me realize Valerie had given up on finding justice for our parents. Did she even realize how all of this changed me? I wouldn't be surprised if she never knew, since she has chosen to direct h