I found him at his front porch, dishing out orders to two guards. The two men were constantly nodding at what he was saying. I thanked the driver before stepping out of the vehicle. Alpha Hance turned in my direction, dismissing the guards with a wave of his hands. The guards bowed and left. I approached him with caution. I never visited the former Alpha’s abode without an invitation, but I wasn’t going to wait for him to send for me before getting this off my chest. “Aria,” he smiled, crossing his hands behind his back “I knew you’d come see me. Come,” he led me into the house. There was no sign of Luna Evelyn, but I assumed she was very much within the premise.“Take a seat,” he pointed at a chair, the same chair I’d sat in the last time I visited “You want a drink?” He asked with a smile on his face. He was being nice, but I didn’t come for formalities, I wasn’t here to be friendly with him.“I think I’ll rather stand,” I say coldly. He turned to me, the smile wiped off his face
Slade walked in, not hiding the surprise on his face. He looked from his father to me, and then back again. He moved closer to me, snaking his hands around my waist. My cheeks flamed up as usual and I pressed into him. “What is going on here?” He demanded. Alpha Hance shrugged, pulling his cup back to his lips again. I could feel the tension between father and son, and I wondered why Slade felt the need to pull me to him protectively. It’s not like his father could hurt me or could he? I’m not close to the former alpha of Dark Wolf but he doesn’t seem like the kind of man that will hurt anyone that didn’t deserve it.“Just having a little chit chat with the mother of my grand child. Last I checked, that isn’t a crime, or is it, son?” he raised one brow.Slade looked at him skeptically. I had a feeling they were communicating through mind link and both of them were trying not to let it show. Or did Slade know about his father’s offer all this while? My heartbeat started to rise.“I ho
SLADEI glared at the man that sired me, and he stared back at me. My father had been my role model for the most part of my life. He’d raised me like a father should raise a son, and I look at him and see a younger version of me. I loved him, and even though I understand he was looking out for me, the thought of what he’d tried to do annoyed me. I take after him in a lot of things. Many people say we have the same ideas on issues and our leadership have been the smoothest since the inception of Dark Wolf even though I’d been the one to accomplish most of what make Dark Wolf what it is today. He is also a man who believes in love and the mate bond. His relationship with my mom is something I’d wanted and envied for a long time in my life, until it appeared as though the moon goddess hated me. My father had been a ruthless alpha, and even till now, his no nonsense attitude hasn’t changed a bit, but to my mother, he is the sweetest man. She has all his buttons and knows how to press th
ARIASlade joined me in the car many minutes later and we started the ride back to the penthouse. He’d come with his own vehicle but decided to go in the one I’d come with, saying that he’ll come back for his much later. His mood was way better than when I’d left him, but I knew better than to ask him what he discussed with his father.I was a fool to think he’d known about it all along. The way he looked at his father after the revelation had me feeling guilty. All along, I hated him for something he knew nothing about. I accused him, instead of telling him. I was mostly glad that it didn’t cause any disagreement between father and Son because his anger had completely deflated when he joined me in the vehicle. In fact, he was almost happy. My mind was still processing what the former alpha told me. He’d put me to test? I would never in my entire life have thought of it as a form of test. Even now that I think of it, it was still so hard to believe. Who would have thought that Alpha
I watched Slade’s car drive out of the parking lot, my eyes following the vehicle until it was out of sight. My arms were wrapped around me, my mind a jumble of thoughts. Many days have passed, and things were going well until he woke up this morning. He didn’t hug me as he used to before leaving, he didn’t kiss me, he barely said a complete sentence since he woke up, and it was obvious he was in a terrible mood. I felt the tension in the air as he dressed up, saw it in his rigid stance and cold eyes. Xaria felt it, and she whimpered continuously. Even the night before, he barely slept. I woke up many times to find him awake, but I didn’t need to ask him what the problem was because I knew. Tomorrow is his birthday.There’s still no news about Sapphire and Lennox. There was no sign of them or any possible attack from them. If Slade was worried about it, he didn’t show it. Was Sapphire waiting for him to die before taking his pack? Maybe she knew that if the alpha was gone, then the p
I heard his growl before I entered his office. Two men scurried out, half running, one of them almost bumping into me in his attempt to escape the Alpha’s anger. “Sorry Luna,” he mouthed without stopping as he scurried away. I pushed the half-open door fully open and stepped in. If he heard me come in, he didn’t act like he did. His hands were clasped tightly to his table and he had his back to me. I closed the door gently behind me, taking slow steps till I was just a few inches from him. He stood then, straightened his shoulders, and turned to me. His eyes were red, but I watched them slowly retract to their original grey color. I stared at him, and he stared back without saying any words. His eyes were those of a troubled man. Unsettled, with so much anger in them. Xaria needs to comfort her mate and to do that, I need physical contact, so I reached out, and took his left hand in my right, pushing closer to him as much as my bulging stomach could allow. “What’s wrong?” I asked w
SLADEShe didn’t say the words back. The words I desperately wanted to hear, words that Asher wanted to hear. I’d been a jerk to her so I deserved it. But could I really live with the thought of her never loving me? I ignored the heart wrenching pain I felt. She was here with me on a day like this and that is all that matters. I needed her, and she was here. Beside me. Throughout the day, she stayed next to me. We worked together, ate together, and her presence was what I needed to hold my beast in. The initial aggression I felt was slowly dying down even though I couldn’t help but glance at the clock occasionally as the time drew closer. My twenty-fifth birthday.I’d had a lot planned for this day in the past. I was to officially bid my pack members farewell and hand over my duties to the next in line, either my Luna or beta, pending when my child is of age. Since I’d not made her my Luna yet, the council wanted to make that decision for me. I had a meeting with them that I resolved
ARIANoise. It was dark already and Slade and I were getting ready to sleep when we heard it. The sounds of footsteps, people singing from a distance. He heard it first and said something about it, but I shrugged it off until I heard it myself. I stood up from the chair I was seated, Slade following behind till we were at the front porch. The sight before me almost had me in tears.The pack members were gathering in front of their Alpha’s house. All of them. They were trooping in, forming a long line. They came in their numbers, thousands of them, little pups and adults, male and female, each with a candle in one hand. They moved in unison, filling the line, their candles illuminating the night and their faces downcast.I pressed into Slade who looked surprised. No. Dazed. His hands found my waist and he held me close to him as the members of the pack continued to shuffle into lines in front of us. There were thousands of them, many I recognized, many I didn’t. The last time there was