KRISTINA'S POVMy own voice sounded odd, almost like I was being strangled. I felt tears threatening to escape and blinked them back as quickly as they came. Now wasn't the time to cry. I wouldn't lose this battle so easily. No matter what happened. Alliyah sighed heavily. She stood up and took a step forward but paused before taking another. "Kristina, come on–" I crossed my arms tightly against my chest. "No, I don't think so," I said firmly, shaking my head, "Not right now, anyway." "Look, you can't seriously expect me to believe that you're okay with me telling people the truth," she said calmly. "It's not like this is the first thing I'm supposed to do." "No, it really isn't. I know." I replied quietly. And that was true. It wasn't. It hadn't been since the day we left our loved ones. We were both too young to understand the consequences, yet we had both seen those consequences first hand. And they'd been devastating. But… That didn't mean Alliyah was right. I shouldn't fe
KRISTINA'S POVAfter a few days...As I looked at the void, I was still thinking about the mistake I had made. And my wasted love that cannot be reciprocated. I still wonder to this day why Alpha Laurence turned his attention to Alliyah, instead of me. Why is he so attracted to Alliyah?Maybe because Alliyah led the Black Fangs. And I knew that her father only trained her with the basics, which surprised him as she surpassed his expectations. Alliyah was famous for the way she lures a lot of men to go to her pack and serve her. This was the reason why Black Fangs became the pack with the most number of skilled wolves. She tends to have an innocent looking face but is actually brutal inside. Now I know why Laurence is attracted to her. After Alpha Laurence rejected me, he married his fated mate, Alliyah. "Kristina, are you alright?"I looked up to see her concerned eyes, and immediately felt myself calming down. "Yeah, I'm okay." As if I'm telling anyone else what really happened to
KRISTINA'S POVI think I've had enough fear for a lifetime already. Besides, I'd like nothing more than to escape from this place. I hate how everything here reminds me of him, and every second that we spend together makes it worse. I know it's irrational, especially considering that we were intimate once. But my mind won't leave him, no matter how hard I try to block him out. Carl studies me for a few minutes, his dark eyes piercing into mine. Then he sighs deeply. "Fine then. If you're sure." "Yes. Thank you." "Don't thank me yet," he says as he walks away. "We still have to meet with the pack leaders and discuss your new responsibilities." "O–okay.""And you need to change your clothes. Don't forget that." "Right. The meeting first, after I change," I say, feeling slightly annoyed. "Of course," he agrees as he turns around, giving me one last look before heading out to wherever he goes when he leaves my room. He doesn't bother changing before leaving. He must be really eage
KRISTINA'S POVNow that I think about it, maybe I was wrong. Maybe Nathan did have another motive besides love after all. "Kristina?" "Yes, Nathan?" The sound comes out sounding like I'm choking. I clear my throat nervously. "Did you… want something?" "Umm…""Oh no. It's just that you haven't been here since yesterday afternoon. I was wondering if I'd done something wrong." "What? No, Nathan. Of course not," I assure him, trying to sound normal. He isn't fooled by it, though, judging by his look. He raises an eyebrow expectantly. "You weren't planning anything today were you?" "Actually–" "Nathan…" I cut in sternly. He holds his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Yes, I had planned to surprise you. But when I got here–" His expression grows thoughtful. "Something wasn't right." He shakes his head, still thinking about it. "I'll tell you later, okay? We've already been together for nearly ten months, why does the idea of being with me scare you off so much?" He doesn
KRISTINA'S POV"Oh, I just got excited about something." The movie's paused in front of us and the credits are rolling, but neither of us have noticed them. I've already watched two episodes by this point so it doesn't really matter. I'm not too tired anymore, anyway. "Do you know where our new neighbors came from?" I ask Nathan casually. It feels weird asking about it so suddenly. Like I've been avoiding it since it happened yesterday. Or maybe this is just how it feels when you're with someone after having been away for months. "They live in the apartment directly across from ours now." "No idea," Nathan replies, shrugging. His fingers trace patterns on my bare knee. "We'll have to ask when next we go out there." "Okay, that sounds good," I agree, smiling to myself. I close my eyes again to continue watching the movie, but the words are meaningless to me now. All I can think of is that Nathan and I spent the afternoon together. I had been dreaming about it ever since my dream
KRISTINA'S POV"Nathan…" He lets out a small sigh and I hear rustling sounds on the other side of the line. "Look, Kristina, I just need some time." He pauses, as if to collect himself. When he continues, his voice cracks slightly. "Just give me some time and we'll talk when I feel ready." What does he mean by that? We don't always have a lot of time together, so this isn't unusual for us. But still, I don't like it. I think back to when we first moved in with our respective lives, back when things weren't perfect between us. I was constantly having to rush away or go somewhere else. Now that we're finally together in the same hospital, we're actually seeing each other every day… I miss him. The thought of being apart from him hurts too much to be considered healthy. So many thoughts race through my mind at once. And suddenly I have an idea. A stupid one, yes. I know Nathan likes to joke around and tease people when he feels down, but I can tell how sad he is right now and I hate
KRISTINA'S POV He sounded exhausted and I hated the sound of that; it's like he's forcing himself not to worry and instead trying to hide the fact that he cares about me. Something told me that wasn't exactly true. I didn't like it one bit. It felt like lying, pretending he wasn't worried about something when we both knew deep down he was. I decided that I wanted to talk to him about it. I needed to. Whatever this was, it was eating away at both of us and I didn't know who it was hurting the most. But it had to be someone, right? Because otherwise it would drive one of us crazy. "Nathan, please tell me what's going on!" The desperation I heard in my own voice surprised me. I didn't mean to sound so desperate, though. But it happened all the same. And the way he flinched at my loud outburst brought me some satisfaction. When he remained silent I continued in a quiet tone. "Huh? What do you mean, Kristina?""Please?" I didn't want to use the tone that made everyone avoid me. Even
KRISTINA'S POVMy eyes were stinging from unshed tears, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn't cry in front of Nathan and he had already proven he was capable of breaking my heart so why should I risk anything more than necessary? "I really do," Nathan said softly. "But you might find some other guy that makes you happy." "I'd rather choose you than anyone else." I replied. I looked up at him. His face was completely sincere, and there was an intensity in his eyes that I rarely saw directed towards me. It made me feel warm inside to see how much he wanted me. How much he loved me... but how little he knew about himself. It hurt to realize that maybe I didn't need him like I thought I did after all. Not anymore. "You don't need to choose me. You can make your own decisions, just as you've done all your life. I don't care who you choose to be with because no matter who you date, no matter who loves you, I'll still want you." He cupped my cheek and smiled gently. The words sent