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
I opened my eyes slowly to find Slade watching me and a small blush crept up my cheeks. “Why are you awake?” I asked him with a sleepy voice.“Just wondering what I did to get so lucky,” He smiled at me. “And you can go back to sleep, your mom is attending to Zion already,”I have gotten used to waking up at this time to feed my baby, but I had the night off today. It’s been three days after the mating ceremony and I have had to deal with a lot after that. We were also moving into a bigger house. Slade thought the penthouse wasn’t big enough to start a family which is just off considering how large it is. He wants Zion to have the best.Now that we share a mate bond, communication was easier between us. When I was overwhelmed, he’d feel it too, and did everything he could to make me feel better. He was a great dad to his son, and many packs were sending in gifts every day since the birth of Zion, wanting a form of friendship with Dark Wolf.Sapphire was sentenced to death, but only a
ARIA“You look so adorable,” my mom wiped her eyes with the back of her hands as she stared at me “Reminds me of when I married your dad. We didn’t have an elaborate wedding, but it was the best day of my life. Everyone thought I was crazy for marrying him, but it’s the one thing I know I did right and I’d walk down the aisle with him again if I had to,” she finished.“Mom,” I fought back the tears that threatened to fall to my cheeks. Luna Evelyn specifically warned me not to ruin my makeup, and I didn’t want to have to listen to her complain if I did the exact thing she warned me not to do.Today is the mating ceremony. The day I become Luna of Dark Wolf pack, and the day I have dreamed of since I set eye on my mate. It’s funny how much things have changed, almost unbelievable.I didn’t have any expectations coming to dark wolf, but I started to have expectations as the days passed. Expectations that I didn’t expect to come through. I’d hoped my mate will come to love me, but I’d al
SLADE“What happens to Sapphire?” My beta asked me. Since she was pregnant, I knew the council will not put her to death until the baby comes, but she’d lost her right eye completely and could not clearly see with her left. I don’t deny that I want her dead though, and by my hands. After all she did to my mate and my pack, she does not deserve to live. We’d lost several warriors and it saddened me. In all my years as Alpha, I’d not witnessed so much loss in my pack, even during the days of my invasion. My heart was heavy, but the thought of my son brought me joy. People were beginning to ask questions since many of them expected me to die. I did not just survive a curse, but also a silver bullet. I sighed, my right hands reaching up to clutch my chest while I drove with my other free hand. I needed to make a stop at the dungeon where Sapphire was being held and then to Allegra’s hut. I also know I need to address the members of Dark Wolf tonight. I had meetings with the council as w
ARIAI tore my eyes from my baby and turned to my mate. He was smiling down at me while our child slept peacefully. I’d gone into labour at thirty-two weeks, earlier than the doctor had predicted but my baby was surprisingly healthy. A full-breed werewolf would carry a child for six months, but as an hybrid, I was expected to carry my pregnancy for nine months, but my little boy had come out at thirty-two weeks. It’s been almost twenty four hours since I put to bed and I was not to be discharged until tomorrow. Slade has been beside me, only leaving my side to take his own medications. He was healing, the doctor had said, but he still had a bandage around his chest. It wasn’t hard to see that he was obsessed with this child. In the last twenty-four hours, Slade barely allowed anyone near him, not even those who’d come bearing gifts.There was still a lot going on in the pack after the fight. Dark Wolf had won but with many casualties. Audrey helped in taking care of the sick as I was
MARCEL“The hunters have fled the pack,” Alpha Hance informed me through mind link “They are outnumbered, but they still pose a threat,” he says.“We need the prisoners back in the dungeons. Every one of them that survived,” I tell him back.“Many of them have gone into hiding. Where the fuck are you and where the fuck is Slade. Alive I hope?” He asked with a concerned voice. I didn’t respond but cut off the mind link instead. How can I explain the situation to him? Someone needs to keep things going out there. Daryl was dead and Sapphire had been apprehended. From the way Aria disfigured her eyes, it’s unlikely that she will be able to see again. She’d still face judgment by the council, but her recruits were not backing off. It seems like some of the packs that agreed to work with her had ideas of their own. While many have surrendered and others fled, some of the packs were still going on with the war even though they were clearly outnumbered. Our warriors were not backing down,
ARIA“Slade!! No!” I screamed, wrenching my arms away from the man that still had his gun trained on me.“I swear I’ll shoot-“ I didn’t hear the rest of what he was saying as I rushed towards Slade, but Sapphire threw herself in my way, blocking me from reaching him. I heard gunshots behind me, then Marcel’s voice. When I turned, the man who had his gun trained at me was laying lifeless on the floor, and Marcel had Daryl by the neck, the two of them battling each other. Sapphire gripped my hair, pulling it hard, but I didn’t feel the pain from her hold. The only pain I felt was seeing Slade lay lifeless on the floor. I hit her jaw with my elbow and dodged a blow she aimed at me. I haven’t done a lot of training but I have watched the warriors train countless times. I’d watched Sapphire train and I was able to predict her next move. I saw her lunge for the gun on the floor, and I moved fast, kicking it out of the way. She rolled on top of me, punching me hard on the face before going
SLADEI clawed at the wolf in front of me while trying to shake off the one on my back. He fell to the floor and using my hind legs, I pinned him to the ground, making sure to finish off the first wolf before returning to him. Four others approached me with speed. My wolf was covered in blood, but I wasn’t tired. I took them down, one after the other but sustained an injury on my right side. I knew I had a lot of enemies, but Sapphire had gone overboard to bring them together. Even the warriors of Cross Shadow were involved, the pack I’d refused to join Dark Wolf. I wasn’t surprised, because I knew Sapphire was preparing herself and taking her time. What surprised me was that she’d sold us to the werewolf hunters.I felt a mind link coming through and I connected to Marcel while fighting off the last wolf.“We have another problem, Slade,” My beta tells me through mind link. I could hear him panting, his hard breath indicating he was fighting off an enemy.“What is it?” I asked him,
Of all the things Sapphire said, I knew she was right about one. Slade will not kill her if what she says is true, but then she isn’t going to walk out of Dark Wolf a free woman either. That much is certain. I stared at the phone in my hands many minutes after the call ended, pacing the living room and trying to calm my seething beast. There’s no way Slade expects me to sit here and not know what is going on out there, especially after the call I just received. The penthouse was full of members of the pack, young and old, and several warriors stationed inside and outside, and I know these guards will not let me out since Slade instructed it. I was getting frustrated as the sounds of gunshots continued outside. I was scared. I cursed when I felt a vibration again only to realize it was Slade’s phone this time. I picked up without hesitation, listening to hear the voice on the other end before speaking.“Alpha Slade, are you there?” A deep husky voice asked.“This is his mate. What’s
The crowd dispersed in chaos, everyone running to shelter. Silver bullets, the type that’ll kill a werewolf in seconds. My wolf recognized the scent as it filled the air. The screams of women and children, men trying to protect their wives filled everywhere. “Sapphire,” I muttered under my breath. It could only be her. She chose the right time. “Take them inside and keep them safe, Marcel,” Slade turned to his beta, handing me and Audrey over to him. “No,” I and Audrey chorused at the same time. Many guards had surrounded us, protecting their alpha and his heir. “Aria, Listen to me. I don’t have time to argue with you. You are carrying my baby. You have to be safe,” “So you expect me to just sit inside and do nothing?” I asked. “I’m not pregnant, I can fight,” Audrey said stubbornly. Slade groaned. He glanced at the men around us, and next thing I know, I’m being lifted off my feet. Myself and Audrey were taken into the house, along with many orders. Slade was gone in seconds as