It’s the second week of Owen being so far away; he called this morning telling me he wasn’t going to be able to make it again. Lately, he has seemed distant. I know I haven’t been much better. It is just as hard to get a hold of me as it is him.
After helping Leana with the pack duties for the day, I went straight home to go to sleep. It seemed like the only thing I did anymore was work and sleep. Vanessa was going to come for Sunday brunch and told me she would be at the house at 10. Even though Vanessa and I only have known each other for a couple of weeks, we are already very close. She tells me I am the daughter she always has dreamt of having.
I go to bed around 8, hoping that enough sleep will get me back some of my energy.
My alarm went off at 9. I was shocked at how long I slept. I quickly got ready and began to make brunch. There were only two of us, so I made saus
Owen called me while at work. He sounded desperate like he genuinely wanted to talk. A small part of me wanted to cancel the class and talk with him, but I couldn’t give him any more of me. There was now someone else more important. Owen and I may not reconcile, and if that is the case, I need a way to support myself and the baby. We did agree to talk tonight.I hated that throughout the day, I found myself looking forward to his call. The man betrayed me, and I was still ready to take him back. I sighed in frustration at my inability to logically distance myself from him.There is a small part of me that regrets packing up his belongings. I should have waited, gave him a chance to explain. But what could he possibly explain? I went to the hospital, thinking I was having a miscarriage or a heart attack. What if the stress had caused something to happen to the baby? I don’t think I could forgive him if it
It was finally the day I moved into the married-student housing apartment on campus. Since the whole intruder incident near my cabin, I was primarily staying at the packhouse. Vanessa, Dylan, and I loaded up the boxes and furniture as fast as we could. Since it was the first part of the year, all the neighboring alphas in the northwest were meeting. Owen was one of them, since I had no desire to see him; we tried to load up and move before he got there. I was about eleven weeks, and morning sickness was taking a toll on me. “I had the worse morning sickness with Rachel, maybe that means you’re having a girl,” Leana said with delight.“No, it’s a boy, look at her eyes, they sparkle.” Vanessa chimed.
Today was my twelve-week appointment, and I invited Owen to come since they would be doing an ultrasound. They were going to check the baby’s blood flow and do genetic testing by viewing the neck. I was excited to see the baby; I was a little worried about seeing Owen, though. We had talked a few times, he wanted to try and explain himself, but I told him there was nothing that would fix it.I left the University and headed to the clinic. Owen was waiting for me at the door, seeing him caused my chest to hurt. My heart ached for him, but logically I knew he was gone. Owen betrayed me, and for that, I hated him, I hated him for what he did to our family, and most of all, I hated myself. I fell for his trick; he was charming and sweet; somehow, he broke through to me. I believed his fairytale. I felt like a stupid girl for believing him, he swore to me that he couldn’t even think about being with another woman, yet he slept with s
OwenIt had been a month since I blew up at Mel. I hadn’t heard from her and felt too ashamed to contact her. Once I got home, I called Jennifer into my office and told her she would become the official Luna. I also explained that if she wanted to be with me, I had certain conditions. The first was she needed to understand I will never love her the way I do Mel, second if we have sex, I will always only take her from behind, and she isn’t allowed to look at me, and third, if she treats my child poorly in any way, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. My hope is these rules would push her away, but instead, she accepted them without hesitation. It was announced at the next pack meeting, and a ceremony was held later in the week. After the ceremony, she moved upstairs with me, but I didn’t let her in my bedroom. She stayed in one of the spare rooms.Yesterday I finished going over divorce p
For the first time in months, I woke up feeling rested. A delicious smell was coming from the kitchen. I got out of bed and walked outside. It took a moment to register what was happening. Owen was in my apartment, cooking; he looked at me, “Good morning! I made you some French toast. You didn’t have many groceries, so I stocked your fridge. And don’t worry, my mom said you were having an issue with a lot of food smells and gave me a list. Nothing in your fridge should make you sick.” Owen handed me a glass of milk and my prenatal vitamin. “Here, take a seat, and I will bring your plate over.”He seems so happy. I want to ask him why he stayed here, but there’s food, and I am not one to be upset about that. Especially now when I eat for two. But where did he sleep last night? The second bedroom doesn’t have a mattress. He is twice the length of the couch. Did he sleep with me? Is that why I am
Monday came, and I was not ready to go back to work. Spring break had just ended, and it was back to real life. Rolling out of bed, I quickly showered and dressed. As I walked out the door, I got a text message from Dylan. “Hey, so just to be clear, nothing is ever going to happen between us?”I rolled my eyes. The day after Owen left, he came over to “hang out,” he asked if I was ready to move on yet. I explained to him that I wasn’t, and I wasn’t sure when it would be, but defiantly not while I am married. He understood but wanted more. When he finally got that I couldn’t give him more, he asked for a clean break and if we would still be friends. It was all I wanted, so I agreed without hesitation.I answered with a quick, “no, sorry.” Then headed for school. Walking around campus was starting to become harder.Getting to the office, I
It was finally Friday, and after I finished my day at work, I headed to Derrick’s former pack. It was a long drive, but I enjoyed the scenery. When I pulled up to the WoodMoon packhouse, I was surprised at how many people were there.Walking inside, I found balloons, and a group of pack members yelled, “surprise!”. I never had a surprise party before. Leana gave Sam and I a couple of birthday parties but nothing like this.“Thank you, everyone! This is amazing.” There was a nice dinner that Cindy and James helped prepare. Even Rachel and Rodger came. They seemed to be in love.The biggest surprise by far was when Derrick handed me keys to a new car. We went outside, and I found the latest Hyundai Palisade model. It had to be one of the premium models because it had a moon roof. It was a sleek charcoal grey, and the interior was black leather. What surprised me m
OwenEveryone came outside. I watched Mel put her hand over her mouth and hug everyone. She tried to say it was too much, but none let her finish. I smiled, knowing Mel was going to keep it. I watched as she explored the car, how her eyes lit up when she says the moon roof and the way Mel smiled when she saw the car seat.When people started going in, Mel stayed behind for a moment. Then she looked at me, panicked, I turn and ran. If she saw me, she may know I was behind getting her the car. On the other side of the territory, I hid a pair of shorts. Grabbing them, I ran to the forest near my club. Then I shifted back, putting on the shorts, and pretended to be out jogging.The next morning, I woke up to a few pictures from my mother. She finished the nursery, and it looked amazing. I told her to thank you and began finishing up some things before heading back to the pack. Getting i
EpilogueFour Years Later“Wyatt and Maverick, Nana is here.” I heard little feet running down the hall while I finished fastening Amelia into her car seat. “I think I packed her enough milk for the weekend.”“She will be fine, Mel; I am excited to have my granddaughter for the first time. It’s your fifth anniversary, go out, and have fun. They will be fine; if anything happens, I will call.”Little voice screamed, “Nana!” and wrapped their arms around Vanessa's legs. Wyatt looked up at me. He is now four, and I don’t know where the time has gone. “Is Millie coming with us this time?” He was protective of his little sister. Amelia just turned ten months and had both of her brothers, as well as her father, wrapped around her little finger. All she needed was to make a noise, and one of th
Wyatt is now eight weeks old. Owen has come by every day to see him. He loves being a father. I am not ready to be without Wyatt for long, but having Owen around is a big help. Yesterday he took Wyatt out for a walk in his stroller, so I could get some work done. Owen has also brought food when he comes over, which is often. I am not sure if he cooks it or Vanessa does, but it’s always delicious. He will plate our food then wait for me to finish with Wyatt and eat with him. Owen has also spent the night a few times so I could get a full night’s sleep. He sleeps on the couch or the floor in Wyatt’s room, so he doesn’t disturb me. That is until last night:FlashbackI quietly left Wyatt’s room. He was defiantly a little man, fell right to sleep after eating. Owen was cooking something in the kitchen that filled the air with a mouth-watering scent. “What are you making?&
OwenIn the last few weeks, I have watched Mel at the university. I worry about her, the campus is quiet, and with her being pregnant, I have concerns. Every day she goes to lunch with a man. He’s tall, over six foot with dark hair and tan skin. He laughs at Mel’s jokes, and she laughs at his. The day I decided to go and talk to her was the first day I saw her eating lunch with him. After that day, they seemed to be together a lot.With the way they interact, I am afraid they are more than friends. I should be happy she isn’t alone. I typically bring my laptop to do work, and at night my mother and I take a course to become doulas. It was something I didn’t want to do at first, but when mom told me about how it would impress Mel, I caved. It is Mel’s last day of giving finals. The finals should end around f
It’s been a month since the incident with Andrea and Jennifer. Owen texts me at least once a week asking me how I’m feeling and if I need anything. I haven’t gotten to see him in person since, but he is at least staying in touch.Since the beginning of the summer semester a couple of weeks ago, I have gotten close to a work colleague named Evan. Dr. Harris asked me if I wanted to make extra money over the summer by teaching a course, and I jumped at the chance. The class would end two weeks before my due date, so I felt confident that nothing would interfere with teaching.Evan also recently completed his Ph.D. in humanities. Since the university staff as few people as possible during the summer he and I met in the café during lunch. I was getting food, specifically, chocolate pudding, when one of the fitness instructors asked me, “Are you going to feed your baby that?” shocked a
I brought Owen to the back entrance of the club, he got out and grabbed a spare key from inside a fake rock. Unlocking the door, he ushered me inside. We walked into his office, “Sit on the couch, and I will go grab the first aid kit.” I turned and left before he could argue. Going up to his apartment, I grabbed the first aid kit from inside the master bathroom. Opening it quickly, I checked the kit for gauze, tape, and disinfectant spray. Finding everything in place, I shut the kit and went back downstairs. “Okay, can you either lean forward or lay on your stomach?”“What would be easiest for you?” Owen’s eyes traveled to my stomach. “Are you okay?” His eyes went back up to meet mine.“I just need you in a position so I can get at the cut. I need to clean it and find out how deep it is.” The look in his eyes told me that his worry is far greater than
OwenI spent today training the younger kids self-defense. When I finally got back to the packhouse, it was well after nine. I should have let the kids go home earlier, as I am sure for some, it was past their bedtime. I walked into my office, Jennifer came by as soon as I sat down, and I asked if I needed anything. She wanted to go out with some friends; I didn’t care what she did, so I told her to go.My mother called a few minutes later. I left my cell in my office while training. “Hey, mom.”“Owen, darling. What time are you meeting, Mel?”“What? Meeting Mel? We didn’t have plans to meet.” I said in a confused voice.“Mel thinks she is meeting you. She figured out you were behind everything and wanted to talk with you.” My mother stated.
I moved into my new place a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t take much from my apartment on campus, I sold or gave away all the furniture. The only things I took were kitchen items, books, and clothes. Everything else was already in my new place, waiting for me.Today Vanessa, Leana, and Rachel were throwing me a baby shower. It seems I am moving at a snail pace these days, and I know it will only get worse. My current due date is the beginning of August, so I have a little over two month to go.Rachel told me to where baby blue today, and lucky for me, I found a maxi dress in the perfect shade. Wearing a long dress also meant I could wear flip flops and no pants. I got into my car and headed for the address Vanessa gave me. When I pulled up, I was surprised to see they rented a hall. To my knowledge, I didn’t have that many friends, but this place looked huge.I parked in a spot th
OwenEveryone came outside. I watched Mel put her hand over her mouth and hug everyone. She tried to say it was too much, but none let her finish. I smiled, knowing Mel was going to keep it. I watched as she explored the car, how her eyes lit up when she says the moon roof and the way Mel smiled when she saw the car seat.When people started going in, Mel stayed behind for a moment. Then she looked at me, panicked, I turn and ran. If she saw me, she may know I was behind getting her the car. On the other side of the territory, I hid a pair of shorts. Grabbing them, I ran to the forest near my club. Then I shifted back, putting on the shorts, and pretended to be out jogging.The next morning, I woke up to a few pictures from my mother. She finished the nursery, and it looked amazing. I told her to thank you and began finishing up some things before heading back to the pack. Getting i
It was finally Friday, and after I finished my day at work, I headed to Derrick’s former pack. It was a long drive, but I enjoyed the scenery. When I pulled up to the WoodMoon packhouse, I was surprised at how many people were there.Walking inside, I found balloons, and a group of pack members yelled, “surprise!”. I never had a surprise party before. Leana gave Sam and I a couple of birthday parties but nothing like this.“Thank you, everyone! This is amazing.” There was a nice dinner that Cindy and James helped prepare. Even Rachel and Rodger came. They seemed to be in love.The biggest surprise by far was when Derrick handed me keys to a new car. We went outside, and I found the latest Hyundai Palisade model. It had to be one of the premium models because it had a moon roof. It was a sleek charcoal grey, and the interior was black leather. What surprised me m