I sat in Duncan’s car, across from the Alpha and our son. I would’ve preferred to be with Justin, ensure him that things will be okay. Alas, such was not my decision to make.
“Just so we are clear, so long as I follow your orders, you won’t hurt Justin, right?” I questioned.
“He won’t for long, if you keep questioning me,” Duncan retorted.
“Yeah, murderer,” Dylan supported.
I sighed at both their responses, should’ve expected them. I found myself wondering, then, how things became this way. How was it that I married this heartless being.
I was in my late teens when we first met, about eighteen years old. Back then, I was struggling to make funds for my parents. My father was an Omega who could barely make ends meet, and my mother was chronically ill. To support them, I worked multiple part-time jobs growing up, with the best one being the waitress position in our pack’s famous hotel, Light Night. It was at a company event being held there that I met Duncan, who was made newly appointed CEO of the hotel.
It was love at first sight back then. His smooth black hair, piercing light green eyes, sharp handsome features… Like any girl, I was immediately smitten by him. At the same time, I knew it wasn’t meant to be. We lived in two different worlds, after all. A plain jane would never get together with someone like him.
So I had thought, when he came to me one day, and asked me to marry him. At first, I was a little doubtful, but my joy of getting this happy marriage outweighed that. If only I had known earlier that this ‘happy marriage’ was a disguise for the true nightmare behind it.
I looked out the window, not wanting to stare at Duncan’s face any longer, when I took notice of the road the car was going. “I thought you wanted to bring me to your home. Where are we going?” I questioned, looking around to also notice that this is the only car going down this road. All others that were around us before were nowhere to be seen.
I heard Duncan snort as he responded, “You shall see soon enough.”
I didn’t like how he answered that, a terrible feeling crawling down my spine.
At some point during the drive, I was baffled to find the car heading straight into a cemetery. I could feel my face turn pale as the terrible feeling well up more in me.
‘So that’s it,’ I thought, rubbing my arms a bit. ‘These people… They have no intention of letting me live. They want me dead, just because Ashley nearly did.’
The anger I had for them grew once again, as did my disbelief. How could these two be so heartless to not hear me out to the bitter end? How could I let myself believe that they would have no intention of making my life any worse? Mine, or Justin’s. I could not believe how foolish I had been all this time.
A bit more into the drive, and the car stopped at last. The door opened, and the driver grabbed me by the arm, forcing me out of the car and down the grassy hill. I didn’t bother fighting this buff guy, given the clear difference in strengths. Not much later, he tossed me down in front of a gravestone.
I picked myself up, wanting to at least glare at the werewolf for being so rough on me, when my eyes caught sight of the names on the stones. The two names that meant more to me than anything, as my eyes widened in shock, and jaws dropped in sorrow.
‘Ernest Kaleson’ and ‘Sara Kaleson’… The names of my parents.
“What… What is this?” I stuttered out.
“What else does it look like? Your parents’ graves,” I heard Duncan answer.
I didn’t bother turning to him, as I shook my head in disbelief, and blinked my eyes to see if I was misreading the names wrong somehow. There was no change in the names. To make matters worse, as I looked at the date of their deaths, my stomach dropped when I saw when it was they died… For the date was the very day I was imprisoned.
“You may not have killed my Ashley, but you have killed your parents,” Duncan continued, raising my shock. “You were so selfish, thinking about yourself, you don’t think about how it affects others. Dylan was right about you being a murderer. You killed your own family. Broke their hearts so much, they died.”
I shook my head at his claim, refusing to believe a word as I turned to him in rage. “You’re lying! There’s no way they could have died!” I shouted, recalling the last time I saw my parents.
All the times we’ve had together, despite our struggles. We may be on the poor side of the pack, but we still loved each other very much. I often had to send whatever money I get in my allowances from Duncan to my parents so they can have an easier time living. So Mom’s health can improve even if by a little bit, and Dad can take less shifts to be with her. And yet…
“You should know especially how hard life is for them, and yet you pushed them to this?!” I continued to question Duncan. “My parents did NOTHING to you! They never even reached out to you since we married! How could you kill them so easily?!”
“Dad didn’t kill them,” Dylan interrupted. “Didn’t you hear him? You did it. Plus, Dad knows your parents will worry now that they don’t have their ATM giving them money. It’s only right that those people know what happened to you. It’s not his fault they couldn’t handle the truth.”
I didn’t think I would get any angrier after being revealed my parents’ deaths. To hear that on top of it? I became furious at them. “I don’t care what you think of me, but they are still your family!” I shouted at Dylan, before turning to Duncan. “And you! Those two were innocent! Even if you were in any way concerned about their worries, you couldn’t have any heart to send them even a bit of money to them and set their minds at ease?! You had to show them proof of my imprisonment?! WHY?!”
“Oh, ‘innocent’ you say? And what about Ashley? She’s just as innocent, and yet you decided it was all fine and dandy for you to attempt to kill her?” Duncan retorted, increasing my frustration towards him when he mentioned that mistress of his.
“So it’s always about Ashley, isn’t it? You’re telling me you killed my frail parents for that witch?!” I shouted, glaring at him. Tears started to form in my eyes from all my frustration, as well as the sadness I felt, as my family’s passing started to sink in. I refused to cry, though, even with these tears trailing down my cheeks. “You have robbed me of everything… All for her. What more do you want?”
Duncan scoffed again at me. “And you call me ‘heartless’. You are so quick to forget your bastard son.” I flinched when he mentioned Justin, hands clenched into fists as I dug a bit of grass and soil in my palms. “You want him alive? Do as I say.”
"Change into this,” Duncan coldly ordered, tossing a simple maid uniform to me. “When you’re done, come to the living room.”He gave me no change to answer, as he walked down the steps and left the attic.‘I don’t want to go through with anything he says. But, for Justin’s sake…’ I sighed, reluctantly changing into the uniform.It has not been long since that depressing visit to my parents’ grave, and I was dragged back to this mansion, without even getting the chance of a proper goodbye to them. Even now, I couldn’t believe they were dead, or how heartless both Duncan and Dylan were about their situation. The thought of it made me more worried about Justin, how he was doing right now.‘If I had known he was this petty, I would’ve done something to stay in prison longer,’ I thought then. At least there, the guards and inmates had some heart to not do anything cruel to a child. And yet, this Alpha was so petty that he would threaten a young life just to ruin mine. All for that manipula
Once my ‘new employment’ was finalized, Duncan and ‘his family’ left to spend the rest of the day together. While they were gone, he went as far as to give all the other servants in the mansion the day off, leaving me to do all the chores alone.‘I can’t believe this,’ I thought, vacuuming the living room.I could’ve taken this chance to leave the mansion with Justin, if not for two things. One is that I don’t know where he is, or if he is even in the building. The other is that I may be watched by one of Duncan’s men. He may have dismissed the servants so that I would be doing all the cleaning alone, but would that really mean I was alone? How else would he know if I am actually doing ‘my job’ and not try to pull any funny business? The thought that an innocent boy in danger both worried and infuriated me. The latter because of how narrow-minded and petty Duncan was.I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the vacuum sounding a bit different from before. I looked down at the hose a
Beep... Beep... Beep...I woke to the sound of beeping. My body felt so sore and heavy. I struggled just opening my eyes, and as they adjusted to the lighting, I found myself in what seemed to be a hospital room.“W-What…?” I weakly breathed out.“You’re awake!”My eyes widened when I heard that voice. Familiar, but in a good way. I turned to the source, and saw a face I never thought I would see again, looking down at me in relief in her blue eyes.“Caitlyn? Is that you?” I asked.Caitlyn looked at me in sheer joy and caught me in a hug. “Of course, it’s me, Suzie! I was just passing by when they brought you to the hospital, but what happened?! Where have you been these past four years?!”Feeling her warmth envelope my body, hearing my name called from a tone that is in no way hostile or crude, sensing a concern different from that provided by Justin- from someone who saw me as a friend… Tears formed in my eyes as all those sink in, and I weakly returned the hug. “Trust me. It’s not
He who is said to be from the north, and is one of the most powerful and ruthless of them all. Even Duncan shuddered at the thought of ever meeting this man. I had high doubts Caitlyn was aware of Pularis's infamous reputation- as she rarely had any interest in politics aside from what goes on in our pack. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be introducing the Alpha to me in that friendly manner.“I-I see,” I answered with a slight stutter. “Thank you for helping me.”Pularis waved off my thanks. “Please, there’s no need for that. I only did what any other would have done.”His casual response caught me off guard for a bit, not expecting those words to leave his mouth.“You fucking bitch!” I jumped when I suddenly heard a shout in my head, alerting Caitlyn and Pularis.“Suzie? What’s wrong?” Caitlyn asked.“Did you think me funny?!” Duncan’s voice shouted in my head, preventing me from speaking to my friend. “I know I told you to get that cake ready for Ashley! Why are you not here?!”Sending the
I was left speechless, seeing Pularis at the door. Confused why he was here.“The hell are you supposed to be?! You broke down my damn door!” Duncan demanded instead of answered.Pularis did not stand down, as he entered the mansion and glared down at my husband. “I believe I asked a question. Are you or are you not Alpha Duncan?”“Obviously I am! Who the hell are you to not know me, you lowlife?!”If I wasn’t in so much pain, I would be baffled by how disrespectful Duncan was being to Pularis- a fellow Alpha, if not even more powerful than he. Or was he just that blinded by his petty rage towards me that he completely disregarded the Alpha aura around him? Either way, I knew it wasn’t going to end well for him.Footsteps reached my ears, seemingly from the dining room, as I heard the sound enter the living room.“Dad, what’s wrong?!”“Duncan, did something happen?!”I mustered whatever strength was left in me to turn to the two voices, where Dylan and Ashley stood, as I had thought,
Shock and stupor did not begin to describe how any of us feel, learning a true member of the Council of Wolves is in our presence, glaring at Duncan.“Do you have any idea of the offense you have made just saying that, Alpha Duncan?” Pularis calmly questioned, causing Duncan to flinch as he slowly walked around him. “Just as it is a crime for any werewolf to pose as one of us, so is claiming that one of our members is a fake. Now, back to my previous inquiry, word has it that you have gone and abused your wife. Do you deny that?”I gulped lightly at the question, almost wondering what Duncan would say in response to it. Though more worried about what will happen after, given Pularis’s infamous reputation.“I-I did not abuse the woman I love. Whoever told you that is only lying,” Duncan responded.I looked down at the response, disappointed in the first half of it. As for Pularis, he hummed at the answer given, before grabbing Duncan by the head, and slammed him down, to our bafflement
Knowing Pularis's true identity was stunning enough. What he announced regarding the pack, on the other hand... That caught us all off guard."What do you mean disband...? Disband over what?!" Duncan demanded.I glanced at him with a light glare. 'Have you not paid attention to what he was saying?' I mentally questioned, wanting to say those words out loud.Pularis, on the other hand, simply sighed at the question. "If you are this slow on the uptake, even after I had explained more than enough, then there is no point in continuing this conversation any further," he claimed, before turning to his other men. "One of you send a message back to headquarters. Tell them this pack will be ready to disband.""Yes, sir!" one of them exclaimed, leaving the group.Duncan, on the other hand, was not pleased with what he heard. "Who the hell said this pack is disbanding?!"Rather than give a verbal answer this time, Pularis simply turned to Duncan with a sharp glare. As soon as he did so, the air
My mind was pretty much in a mess as Pularis brought me back to the hospital to get treated. I still couldn’t believe what happened back at Duncan’s place, as my injuries were getting wrapped up in the bandages. Not by a doctor or a nurse, though… But by Pularis.“You don’t need to do this, you know,” I told him, being very careful as to not upset him in any way.“Maybe not. But I feel like doing this,” he returned, not keeping his eyes off his work on my arm.I couldn’t help feeling uneasy, though. He is, after all, a member of the Council of Wolves. Even if he treats me kindly now, because of Duncan my reputation was brought down terribly. Surely he saw me as a criminal just like everyone else. Moreover, with the fate of the pack…“If I can ask something, is it true?” I asked then.“About what?” he asked back, still not glancing up at me.“About the Bluemoon Pack’s disbandment.”That got him to pause that time, as he looked up at me with a cold expression. A look that made me flinch
Susan's POVI was only trying to find my way to my room, when I walked down the steps to hear Pularis chat with his guest. With my benefactor who saved me from the Bluemoon wolves earlier. More than that, that very benefactor was his grandmother? I could barely see the resemblance between them.“What are you doing there?” Pularis questioned me.“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you or anything,” I apologized. “I was just about to make my way to my room when I heard you two talking.”“You’re no bother to us at all, dear,” Patricia assured me. “In fact, you came at a good time. Please, come sit with us. I promise this won’t take long.”I know she was practically lying in that ‘reassurance’. In fact, given how Pularis made me leave her cabin earlier, I could only guess that she would want answers. Particularly about what Justin said earlier. I glanced at Pularis, wondering if I should just leave to my room. Hoping he would give me permission to, rather. To my bafflement, though, he inst
I was frozen stiff, unable to move a finger, as Pularis continued to inch closer to me. The thought of pushing him away did cross my mind, as did the thought of consequences that would follow had I done so. The latter that most especially left me at a frightened loss, as the Alpha continued to move closer.“Let’s make another thing clear. For as long as I live, no one- not a single mutt- has made a deal with me, without giving their everything to me. And no dog has ever laid hands on what is mine and gets away with it,” he said, as I could feel his hand brushing up my arm.I jumped and shivered from his touch, wanting to get away from him even more, only to hold back when I thought about the consequences from doing so. With how Pularis was towards people who abuse their authority, proved themselves unworthy of their position, I did not want to know what happens to people who go back on their deals with him. All I could do, as he continued to lean closer, was close my eyes, feeling his
"Be an Alpha candidate for this pack. If it means so much to you that you want to still help everyone here, be their next Alpha. Do that, and you and your son can live a happier life, compared to living in the woods like rogues. That’s not a life for a pup young as he to have, don’t you think?”I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, especially from a councilman. While it was true that the option can both save the Bluemoon Pack and ensure a better life for Justin, I was still hesitant. Particularly considering… “I-I would. Except… that won’t happen. As you may know, I have a criminal record here, now. Even if I were to run for the title, no one would support me. Even if I do have supporters, I doubt they’re any more than Duncan’s, or whoever else may run for the position.”“Only because you were framed, correct? In that case, we clear your name. Find out what truly happened, and reveal the truth to the pack. Simple as that. Of course if you have an alternative idea, let’s hear it.”I a
We finally arrived at the mansion. By the time we got there, Justin was practically depleted of his remaining energy, for he was no longer bouncing around the way he did during the walk.“Looks like someone is ready for bed,” I said, picking Justin up in my arms, as he gave a yawn.“No, I’m not sleepy…” he tried to lie.I chuckled at his attempt to lie, and gently rocked him in my arms. “Sure you aren’t~” I said with a slight tease in my voice, gradually pulling him deeper into slumber.A throat cleared itself, though not from Justin, nor from Pularis. I lifted my head and saw Ayla looking at me with a small pout. One look at her, and I was reminded of what I did to escape from this mansion.“Welcome home, Alpha,” Ayla greeted Pularis with a bow. “My deepest apologies for being unable to keep our guest… ‘entertained’.”“It’s fine. I understand you were put in a difficult spot,” Pularis assured. Though his tone didn’t sound as sympathetic as his words. He slowly approached Ayla, causin
The walk back to Pularis's mansion felt like forever, as I followed behind the Alpha to his abode. As we walked, I noticed the patrols that were once around the pack seemed to have dispersed, and any citizens walking around would often stop and glance at us. Some seemingly in fright, and distanced themselves from us. Whether it was due to my poor reputation, or news that a member of the Council of Wolves was amongst their midst, I wasn't sure. Though I could not say the distance was not appreciated.Justin, on the other hand, seemed fairly comfortable being around him, to my slight confusion. Not for his actions- considering Pularis did find and save him as he promised- but more about the Alpha in question. He who did not seem bothered by my adopted son's antics. Getting led by the hand, having a small chat with him... He's even letting him ride on his shoulders. Looking at them like this, the pair looked almost like father and son. If it weren't for what happened last night, I would
I stood in sheer bafflement, when I saw Pularis standing right out the door, paling in his presence. I had planned to return to the mansion as soon as I could after finding Justin, but now..."Mommy!" I was snapped out of my fright when I heard a familiar voice call out to me, followed by a small figure bumping into me at full force.I looked down hesitantly, wondering if I was just hearing and imagining things. If stress and worries got piled up in me to the point that it was making me hallucinate. My eyes widened when I laid them on the one figure I never thought I would see."Justin?" I breathed out, prompting the boy to look up at me. His eyes filled with tears, relief, and joy."I missed you, Mommy!" he exclaimed.Relief washed over me as I knelt down, taking in his appearance and scent. The young puppy smell mixed with cinnamon that I knew well. There was no mistaking it, as I took him in my arms in a hug."You're okay. Thank goodness, I was so worried!" I exclaimed softly, bury
"Thank you again, for back there," I thanked the elder, sitting on the couch as I wrapped up my legs in bandages."It's nothing you need to thank me for, child. If anything, it is those dogs who should be ashamed of themselves, ganging up on a single werewolf. In broad daylight," the woman said, prepping some tea for us. “Are you sure you don’t need help with those injuries?”“No, ma’am. It’s just a bunch of scratches I got while running, is all.”After what happened with the Bluemoon wolves, the elderly woman took me by the hand and led me straight to her house. That being a fairly nice cabin right outside the pack. There were some werewolves who tried to stop us, but one glare from her was enough to stop them. Literally, with the added pressure keeping them down. Once it finally dawned to them how formidable this werewolf may be, they gave in at last. Although...'I have doubts it will stop Duncan from trying anything to me. Finding me, and potentially hurt me…' I thought, worried a
Susan's POVI had been searching around town the whole night, and I couldn’t find any clue or hint as to where Justin had gone. Not that it should be surprising, considering how he has never gone outside the prison walls before. And yet, for the first thing to have happened to him to be a kidnapping, followed by an escape with a target on his back…‘He must be frightened,’ I thought in worry, hiding behind a barrel, away from patrols. ‘Everything out here is too new for him. He could be anywhere. If he was in a place any child would more likely end up in, they would’ve found him by now.’Worried as I was about Justin’s safety, for there to still be so many werewolves searching for him, I can at least be at ease that he was safe, away from Duncan and his men. I was relieved but, with the sun rising, I feared it was only a matter of time until Justin gets found. Whether it was by one of the patrols, or a citizen loyal to Duncan. Likewise, however, it also meant I wasn’t going to be able
I ran as fast as I could down the streets, pushing my legs as fast as I could to the limit. As much as I wanted to transform into my wolf form and make this search fast, sadly, I never got the time to practice my shifts, much less feel my wolf. Not since the incident. Even now, when I most especially want to find Justin, I can’t feel my wolf.‘No…’ I thought, shaking my head. ‘Now is not the time for that. I can worry about my wolf after I save Justin.’My mind made up, I picked up the pace and ran faster down the streets. Soon enough, I made it back to town, where I took notice of the patrols walking about in the area. I grew confused at the sight, for there usually was never any need for this many people patrolling within the pack. Unless if...'It can't be because of me, can it?' I wondered. 'Even if Duncan has so much hate towards me, and possibly felt humiliated after what happened with Alpha Pularis, he couldn't be petty enough to think that it was some act, could it?'I didn't