Cynthia Dion: I walked out of the room, scanning the area for him. They were waiting for breakfast to be served as I calmly made my way to the courtyard, where they were sitting at the outdoor dining table.Thankfully, Mr. Holt was already seated next to Maleeka and encouraging her to eat some fruit. Maybe he wasn't in such a bad mood after all?"Ehm!" I cleared my throat, and I noticed Atticus put his phone down and give me a once-over."Hey! Good morning." Mr. Holt didn't even glance my way, but Maleeka warmly greeted me first.I'm glad I don't have a wolf because she would have been upset about not being welcomed by her mates. Being mated to them didn't really matter to me; it didn't affect me the same way it would affect my wolf."Hello, how are you today?" I asked Maleeka, grinning at her and stealing a glance at Mr. Holt out of the corner of my eye."She's fine," he replied on her behalf, turning his face towards me and giving me an intensely cold stare."Oh, that's fantastic,"
Cynthia Dion: When I got back to my room, Mr. Holt was using a laptop, lying in bed. I didn't want to stay in the same room with him.He kept his eyes on the laptop and mentioned, "I've told the staff to get the oceanfront farmhouse in Maui ready for our honeymoon."I gulped nervously and fidgeted with my fingers, wondering why the heck we had to go on a honeymoon when it was clear we didn't like each other. I just couldn't grasp his underlying motive for all these chaotic actions.He noticed my unease about being alone with him and gave a sly grin, then asked, "Do you reckon you can get ready in just two days?"I felt a lump in my throat at this news."Why do we have to go? I mean, Maleeka needs you; your child needs you," I said, hesitating to get closer to him.I felt a deep fear at the thought of what he might do, so I kept my distance."So, are you saying you think I'm irresponsible and that I'm making these plans to shirk my responsibilities?" He seemed to be trying to shift th
Cynthia Dion: He was really mad, and I thought he might change into his wolf form any moment. Then, when I looked up at him, I saw something strange happening to his eyes."Atticus!" I didn't realize that his anger wasn't directed at me, but I was so scared of his wolf side.I released his arms and stepped back to keep myself safe."Fu---," he grunted, then started coughing as if there was no tomorrow."Here!" I hurried to give him some water, but he was too focused on his pain to think about anything else."Atticus!" I knelt beside him, gently rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. However, he continued to cough and flinch."We should get you to the hospital," I whispered. As I tried to get up from the ground, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back down again."No!" he adamantly rejected the idea. "That would go against me." He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, wrapping his other arm around his stomach to suppress his cough.I could tell he didn't want Mr. Holt to hear hi
Cynthia Dion: I started to panic, scanning the room to find a hiding spot for Atticus. I was worried that if I stashed him in the bathroom and Mr. Holt decided to shower or use it for anything else before taking Maleeka out, I'd be in trouble."Just grab the bag from the closet. Your clothes are in there. Why do you have to disturb Cynthia's sleep at this hour?" Luckily, Maleeka proposed this idea to Mr. Holt because she knew her brother was in my room."You're pretty demanding when you're pregnant," Mr. Holt sounded tired, but at least he went along with her suggestion.I paced around the bedroom, feeling anxious about Atticus, who appeared drained from his incessant coughing."Just a few more minutes, alright?" I settled beside him on the couch. Suddenly, he slumped down and, before I could grasp his intent, he rested his head in my lap and clung to my legs tightly.I was too stunned to even take a deep breath at that moment. I was on the couch, and he was on the floor. The whole s
Cynthia Dion: I didn't want to disrupt their private conversation and also their peace, so I exited the house and lingered in the garden, but soon his mother forcibly pulled me out.I knew she had initiated the treatment and even summoned some aides to assess Atticus's condition. I was anxious about him, but all I could do was wait outside in the chill.After a few minutes of my departure, I spotted Enzo emerging from the house with his hands tucked into his shorts pockets, appearing disheveled. His hair was tousled, likely because we had disrupted his peaceful slumber."So, care to explain what led to his loss of strength and your decision to bring him here?" He halted right in front of me and posed a question."Ask him yourself when he wakes up," I shot back, rolling my eyes at him, unwilling to give him any information."Don't get sassy with me," he muttered, gritting his teeth and taking an intimidating step closer to me. When I didn't flinch, he lowered his head and smirked sarc
Cynthia Dion: I observed her approaching, and she gazed at me as though I'd taken something of hers. She had an intense look on her face, and she huffed before slamming her bottle onto the ground and standing upright to speak with me."What on earth are you doing in my mate's house?" she yelled, causing me to nod to confirm that I'd heard her correctly."I apologize, but did you just mention your mate?" I asked with a sly smile, "Because the last time I checked, he had a mate bond with me." I didn't want to pick a fight with her over Enzo, but her sassy attitude provoked me into arguing with her."Huh! So now you want to stake your claim on him? Has stealing Maleeka's mate not satisfied your appetite?" Her haughty tone signaled her intense dislike for me. She stood there, talking down to me as if I were a repugnant creature, when in reality, she had been involved with everyone's mates."And you're the one interrogating me? Weren't you involved with both of my mates? So, who's the rea
Cynthia Dion: "You're telling me he's been poisoned?" I had to ask twice because it sounded utterly perplexing. It was so strange that this had happened to him."Not precisely tonight, but it appears that a small amount of poison has been administered to his body over the past year," he explained, which was even more frightening. Then, something else struck me, and I couldn't help but stare at his face in disbelief."Why did you inquire if I had been preparing his meals?" I asked through clenched teeth, "You don't think I--? Of course, that's why you asked if I had been cooking for him. Didn't you just say it had been ongoing for over a year?" I was seething at his insinuations."Yeah! But that doesn’t mean you can’t connive someone to do so," he shrugged, stealing his eyes from me when I narrowed my gaze at his face."You---," I closed my eyes to calm my raced breaths down before I attacked him and grabbed him by his shirt, "You think I have that much power over his mind to make him
Cynthia Dion: "Yeah! He gave it to me when I was feeling cold," I replied, observing him nod and turn his head to the other side. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, but I figured it might be because he was still unwell.I occupied the passenger seat of the car, glancing at Atticus, who gazed beside me. He appeared pale and weary, and I couldn't help but worry about him. They mentioned he had been poisoned, but I'm certain I had nothing to do with it.Could it be... there was only one name that crossed my mind, someone who could be wicked enough to do something like this. However, I've never seen him working in the kitchen."Are you feeling any better?" I inquired, my voice filled with concern, as he hadn't spoken for quite a while."Not really. I just want to get home and lie down," Atticus replied, weakly shaking his head."Right! Rest will make you feel better," I commented awkwardly, wondering when he would start talking again."Is everything alright?" After another few minutes of sil
Cynthia Dion:It’s been two years since that unfortunate event happened.Maleeka couldn’t accept that she could no longer force Zeon to be with her.Atticus finally cleaned Eva’s grave, cleared her name, and even buried Zeon next to her. We also renamed the specific block in school to be Eva.I do think that day when I was cleaning in that block, it was Eva’s disturbed soul still wandering around.Maleeka was in the mental asylum, showing no signs of improvement. Atticus made it very clear that even if Maleeka gets better, she will be severely punished.However, things have changed in our relationship as well.We were not only two, in fact, we have welcomed a cute baby girl into our lives after a few months of that whole sad incident.We named her Flora."Flora! Stop running around," I rolled my eyes at her as she ran into Niles, Rosalie, and Enzo’s son.We have gathered around my father’s pack that I’ve recovered to celebrate my pregnancy news with my people."So, how did it go?" Att
Cynthia’s POV:As he finished telling us why he did all that, our faces changed colors. My eyes were teary, and the counsellors looked guilty, too.Maleeka had been breaking down after her dirty criminal history was displayed to everyone.I didn’t even know what to say anymore. The story of Eva and the horrible life she had because of the mean and selfish people around her was so bad.The fact that my mother didn’t even help her out and let the poor victim take a fall broke my heart.I know she was thinking she was doing it for me and Flora, but to push someone else’s daughter into such a shitty situation just for the sake of your daughters is not an excuse.Not to mention, I wonder if what Flora and I went through our entire lives was our mother’s karma, and maybe Eva’s broken heart cries are shadowing our happiness."Zeon!" Since Atticus couldn’t even say a word, I whispered in tears, "I understand your pain and Eva’s suffering, but hurting others wouldn’t bring her back. You can le
Author’s POV:Years Ago:It’s been a month since Eva passed away on the school grounds, and Zeon killed those rogues. Rowdy was the only one that survived, but he went into a coma after that night.Zeon had no clue what to do because it seemed like everybody was more focused on the ones that got killed than on Eva."She was innocent," he yelled at the counselors, who shook their heads at him."We will call our first witness here, who will explain to us how Eva had been clawing at the other boys and meeting them in the library." The elder of the counselor spoke as he pointed at the door. All eyes turned to the door, waiting for this so-called character witness.Zeon didn’t have a very good feeling about it. It seemed like something bad was about to happen. Why did they even need to have an investigation?A she-wolf got gang raped and killed. Why were they investigating her? It was beyond his mind, and he was just plain hurt and lost. There was nobody on his side. He was suffering and w
Author’s POV:Years Ago:After that day, Zeon and Jacque were escorted out and even got detention. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Nothing happened to Maleeka; the guards were even assigned to her to stop Zeon from coming after her.She would go to school every day and watch Zeon and Eva together. She was not at all satisfied with what she had done; in fact, if Eva were still alive, she would consider herself a failure.Although she was surprised to hear Eva get pregnant again, And this time, she couldn’t even get near her because all the eyes would be on her."This is the girl," she had asked for some rogue criminals to meet her after school."She is beautiful," there were five rogue young boys, probably 19, the same age as them."She will be alone in the school today, doing some assignments in the library. You can enter the school and get your hands on her. Listen, her mate will be there, but you can take him out with wolfbane. Remember, you are not supposed to hurt h
Author’s POV:Years Ago:"What do you mean by she stole your mate? Zeon is her mate. That’s what everybody knows." Mrs. Dion, who thought of Maleeka as this innocent and sweet little girl, was ready to accept any lie she was going to tell her."She was the second chance, mate. Zeon accepted me two years ago. We used to be together; we were never separated, and then i--- then I got pregnant with him, but during that time, she joined school. She caused my abortion. I know it is not an excuse to do the same to someone else, but think of it as your own daughter. You have a little daughter that you gave birth to with so much difficulty. Can you imagine anyone hurting her? Just imagine what I have been through." She sniffled as she shed crocodile tears. She was sneaking glances at Mrs. Dion, too.She wanted to get out of this mess by any means."I am so sorry that happened to you, but I still have to tell the counsel about the video. You can rest your case before them. If you are innocent,
Author’s POV:Years Ago:"How the hell did it happen?" Ever since Zeon got informed about Eva’s accident at school, he has been wandering in the school’s hallway and crying.Jacque and Bonnie had been sticking with him and feeling worried about him.He was in disbelief that such a horrible thing happened to Eva on the school’s grounds."There is no way she just fell off the stairs," he shook his head, not ready to believe what the school staff has been telling him."I understand your concern, but getting all stressed out won’t do anybody any favors," Jacque stepped forward to comfort Zeon, who was going crazy worrying about Eva.Bonnie and Jacque were worried for their friend and Zeon; they had never seen him so stressed out. On the other hand, Maleeka had returned home but was a little panicky. She has hurt Eva before, but this time she was directly involved.It just made her feel a little stressed. What if somebody saw her? It happened in a school, so there was a huge possibility so
Author’s POV:Years Ago:Eva was hanging out with Maleeka a lot after that day. She told Zeon that Maleeka apologized and promised to act well around her. Although he didn’t believe Maleeka, he couldn’t force Eva into deciding who to hang out with and who to ignore.He was just too concerned because Eva was too pure in her heart. One day, when Zeon was sent to the councillors for some pack-related stuff since he was supposed to be the royal beta of the pack in the future, Maleeka visited Eva.She knew Eva would be alone at home, so she didn’t want to miss this opportunity to mess things up for her. She has heard from Eva’s friend that Eva was pregnant, and it has enraged Maleeka.She was glad she heard her friends talking because she was ready to do any dirty job in order to stop Eva from giving Zeon an heir."I am so happy," Eva was pleased, clapping hands every two minutes and imaging having a child with Zeon."You two got married, too. I am surprised you hid it from me," Maleeka wa
Author's POVYears Ago:Zeon’s confession of love to Eva has left everyone in shock. Prior to this day, everybody assumed Zeon was going to accept Maleeka, but it all changed. Zeon didn’t hesitate to send back everything Maleeka had bought him in order to keep him to herself. He had cut ties with Maleeka entirely and had Eva move in. He was back in his old home, but because Eva was happy there, he didn’t feel any difference. In fact, he liked it more that way.One day, when Eva had fallen asleep, Maleeka kept blowing up his number. It had been months since Zeon and Eva had moved in together. He had been taking care of her in school to make sure nobody bullied her. He knew the instant he left her alone, Maleeka would approach her to say something."Talk to her; give her closure," Eva finally raised her face and told Zeon to speak to Maleeka."I have many times. She is not ready to understand anything," Zeon got up from behind Eva as he unwrapped his arms from around her and picked up t
Author's POV:Years Ago:"What did you say?" Zeon expressed, shocked when hearing her concern.Did she really think he was capable of killing her? Did she really think of him as an animal enough to kill someone?It surprised and unsettled him at the same time."Are you going to do something bad to me?" she proceeded to ask him while tears ran down her cheeks.That moment was the moment of realization for him.He never intended to hurt her. He was just making sure she didn’t leave until he told her what he felt."No! No! EVA NO!" He yelled in desperation, "Before even laying a finger on you, I’d end my life," he rested his hands on the tree and brought his face closer to hers."I didn’t bring you here to hurt you. I brought you here to let you know how much I’m hurting," As his tone softened and his eyes were filled with mist, she realized he was suffering and had used the wrong way to express his emotions."I’m sorry that I did that. I shouldn’t have stolen the chance of making a deci