RIEKA I didn’t hear anything from Aleksandr the next day, and I was a bit relieved. I refused to dwell on the negative things that had been stressing me out, so I spent the day getting some work done and then hanging out with my kids. The kids loved all the treats I brought home from Drea, and they actually requested to come with me next time. Although, I’m not sure if there will be a next time. As much as I love hanging out with Drea, I feel awkward about how I ran away from Aleksandr’s house, and now I feel the need to avoid him and his house. I just need to be careful that I don’t damage our professional relationship. As luck would have it, a few days after the disastrous dinner, I spoke with the farmer who owns the largest section of the land that Aleksandr wants to purchase. He has agreed to sell the land, but before I tell Aleksandr the good news or write up any paperwork for the deal, I want to follow up with the other families. I send off some emails to each owner aski
RIEKA Drea starts bouncing in place as she tries to contain her excitement. I try my best to give her a smile and pretend to be excited, but she must sense my apprehension. Her smile faulters for a second before she recovers and then her smile grows even bigger, showing off those gorgeous perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth of hers. For the first time since I met her, I can almost see how her teeth could look menacing. I know that sounds crazy, she’s not a rabid dog, but there is something about her teeth that suddenly strikes me as a potential threat. Before I have any more time to think about this new revelation about my friend, she takes my hands in both of hers. Her eyes are beaming with excitement and anticipation. I give her my best smile, “What is it?” Then suddenly she squeals “I’m pregnant!” I don’t know what I thought she was going to tell me, but that wasn’t it! My face quickly transforms from nervous, to shocked, and then quickly morphs into excitement! I c
RIEKA My talk with Drea at the furniture store really helped me to feel less embarrassed about dinner, but there isn’t much anyone can do about my insecurities. I’m meeting with Aleksandr for lunch before meeting with one of the property owners, and for some reason I feel especially uncomfortable in my body today. I walk into the restaurant that he asked me to meet him at, and it’s the cutest little Italian place, although pasta isn’t great for my waistline. Running my hands across my stomach to smooth my shirt, and then pulling on the edges of my jacket to cover my stomach as much as I can, I wonder if I can get away with just ordering a salad. I’m actually pretty hungry, but I’m so sick of feeling overweight and gross, and today I’m extra sensitive about it. The hostess walks up and offers to show me to the table. I’ve decided that I’m not going to let myself feel awkward. He doesn’t know what I’m thinking, and while I can’t fully control the way I respond to his presence, I
ALEKSANDR Lunch was going great, but her scent hadn’t changed and was still faint. I had an idea. Up until this point I have been very careful not to be too forward or openly flirtatious because I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but I wanted to know how she would respond to me if I was more obvious with my attraction to her. As we chatted and I flirted more openly, I thought her scent was growing stronger, but it was very gradual and not extremely obvious. When I started asking about her children and showing that I paid attention and remembered details about them I noticed a more significant increase in her scent. Near the end of the meal, I noticed that her scent had definitely grown stronger, but still nowhere near what a mate’s scent should be. Suddenly, out of nowhere, her face started looking somewhat disheartened. What could she possibly be thinking about right now to make her look so downcast? When I question her about it, she gives me a line about work. I know
ALEKSANDR The lunch meeting/date was a HUGE success! I was getting in my car, about to call Dustin and Drea to update them, when I began to feel like something was wrong. My wolf was pacing in my mind and unhappy about the idea of Rieka leaving without us. I tried to reassure him that we would see her again soon, but he would not settle down. The more agitated he became, the more worried I was about Rieka. Call it my wolf’s intuition, but I just knew that I needed to get to her. Rieka had emailed me the address of the property where she was going. She’s smart, she always lets several people know where she is going to be so that if she is late or doesn’t show up somewhere we all know where to look for her. She doesn’t tell me about all of her appointments, but because this one involves me, she included me in her list of safety contacts. I open my email on my phone and pull up the address. I’m about to start driving that direction when my phone rings. I look at the caller ID a
RIEKA The next morning, I get up and go through the motions of our usual routine, but my mind is consumed with thoughts of Aleksandr. He’ll be here at nine o’clock, and even though I cleaned last night before bed I still keep thinking of things I should try to get done before he comes over. After dropping the older kids off at school, Calvin and I head back home. I put on a little mascara and then decide to put on my playlist again while I try to get a few last-minute things done. I have about 30 minutes before Aleksandr is supposed to get here. I’m in the zone and getting a lot of cleaning done. This is probably the most productive I’ve been with cleaning in weeks! I lose track of time and suddenly I hear the doorbell ringing. Looking down at myself I realize I look a little homely in my black leggings and t-shirt with a sheen of sweat on my brow, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. I don’t want to make him wait at the door for 20 minutes while I try to fix myself u
ALEKSANDR I’ve enjoyed my time with Rieka, but after our run was over, I had to get back to work. Dustin was spending the day with our trackers and seeing if we can find any more information on the rogue situation, and I’m itching to know what they found. I want to know that Rieka and her kids are safe. Back at the packhouse, I grab a quick lunch and then head to my office. I mindlink Dustin to meet me there for a report update on the rogues. I spend a few minutes reviewing the work my dad has been covering for me. Even though I have extra help right now, I still need to know what’s going on. Dustin wanders into my office about 10 minutes later. He pulls one of the armchairs over in front of my desk and takes a seat waiting for me to give him my full attention. I tuck away the files I’d been reviewing, and fold my hands together, resting them on my desk. “What have we found so far?” Leaning forward, Dustin hands me a map with several markings on it. “We’ve been scouring the
RIEKA There’s always music playing in my car. I have so many playlists and I feel like there is a perfect song for every situation and every feeling a person can experience. During the drive I heard the song “When He Sees Me” by Sara Bareilles. This song describes my anxiety over Aleksandr so well. “What scares me the most is what if when he sees me, what if he doesn’t like it? What if he runs the other way, can’t hide from it. What happens then? If when he knows me, he’s only disappointed. What if I give myself away, to only get it given back? I couldn’t deal with that.” The kids had so many questions during the drive over to Aleksandr’s house. Unfortunately, it couldn’t distract me from my anxiety since all their questions made me think more about tonight, but as we approached the house the car grew quiet. I knew they would all be just as amazed by his house as I was the first time I arrived. Well, all of them except for Calvin. He was too young to understand or care.
Aleksandr smiles as he lifts my hand to place a featherlight kiss on the back side. “Are you ready for your honeymoon Mrs. Volkov?” The corner of his mouth tips up in an adorable half smile, and I almost giggle at being called Mrs. Volkov, but the heat in his eyes stops me dead in my tracks and reminds me of the promise of what’s to come when we get to…. Wherever it is that he’s taking me. “Am I still not allowed to know where we’re going?” I reply with a smile. I know I didn’t answer his question, but I’m suddenly feeling playful. He shakes his head, but I follow up with another question before he can speak. “Can you at least tell me how long it will be before we get there?” Aleksandr pauses in thought and for a moment. Just when I think I might get SOMETHING out of him, he shakes his head again. “No, that might give too much away.” ----- I was in the woods alone at night. I kept hearing something and glancing around, but there was nothing I could see. Just trees and bus
I recently completed my second book “Going Rogue” (Gina’s Story) and will soon be returning to Rieka and Aleksandr’s story to pick up where we left off.If you haven’t already please check out Gina’s story and give it a review. It didn’t get nearly as much attention as this one, and I’d love to see it get enough reviews to show a rating on the info page. I have 2 more books planned for this series, but I’m also starting a new job that might take some extra time to learn and get in the swig of things. I’m going to try and write ahead a little before I begin publishing so that you guys never miss an update because of my crazy schedule.Have a great weekend and stay tuned for the sequel to “Second Chance Luna” - “The Luna’s Family Secret” - in the coming months! I HOPE to start publishing the sequel in March, but I'll post a short preview here soon to give you a sneak peak. ;-) Much Love,Anja
RIEKAI’ve been working out with Aleksandr for the last several months, and I feel great! I feel stronger, and I know my muscles are more toned and I’ve even dropped a couple of inches from my mid-section. The amazing thing, however, is that the more time I spend with Aleksandr, the less stressed I feel about how I look. At this point, I’m just working out because I love it, and I love feeling strong, but I am absolutely convinced that he really does love me no matter what my body looks like.Another bonus has been all the extra energy I have to play with my kids, even after a long day of working. Although my work schedule isn’t nearly as hectic as it used to be, I keep working because I love it, not because I need the income.We moved into the pack house, although I still have a separate room until after the wedding, and the kids started attending the local schools for pack members. I think they’re all doing well and getting along with the other kids. At least they haven’t told
ALEKSANDRI’ve been planning this moment since I rescued her from Silas and brought her back home with me. Initially, I wanted to deal with all the funerals, memorials, and the local authorities first, but things kept coming up and stretching it out and I couldn’t wait any longer.I knew this location would give us enough privacy that I didn’t have to worry about someone recognizing her and calling the authorities, but I still took extra precautions to ensure that our evening could proceed uninterrupted.When I made assumptions about us having a pup, I worried that I’d screwed everything up and lost her. Thankfully we started working through it and I felt confident enough in our relationship to move forward with our plans.She’s everything to me, and I wanted the entire day to be relaxing, enjoyable, and memorable for her. I had Drea take her out for girl time in the morning to help her get ready before we started all the things that I had planned for us.Rieka looked stunning when
RIEKA Even though I just received a massage this morning with Drea and Alheri, I’m really enjoying getting one from Aleksandr. We’ve already had such a full day and the tension was starting to build up again, but he makes quick work of my neck and shoulders coaxing them back into a relaxed state. He better watch out. If he spoils me too much, I’ll start expecting this treatment every day. The thought makes me chuckle softly to myself which gets Aleksandr’s attention. “Care to share the joke?” I quickly stifle my laughter and clear my throat. “I was just thinking that you better not spoil me too much or I might start expecting over the top gestures and being treated like a queen every day.” “You should expect it,” He replies in a serious tone. “You are my queen, and as such, you will be treated accordingly.” If I hadn’t heard the serious tone in his voice, I would have though he was making a joke. I’ve learned that Aleksandr does joke around sometimes, but he’s never sarcast
RIEKA I peeked out the door, and although I didn’t see anyone, I quickly darted across the hallway to the bathroom before I could be spotted. As the door to the bathroom was closing behind me, I could hear Aleksandr standing in the hallway chuckling. Although my eyes were a little red, he was right, my makeup still looked flawless. What kind of witchcraft was this? What makeup had they used on me that it stayed on so perfectly, even when I cried like a baby? Feeling reassured that I didn’t look like a raccoon or a dying cat, I stepped back into the hallway where Aleksandr was waiting for me with a grin. “Ready?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, where are we going now?” He just laughs and shakes his head again without answering. We made our way back to the elevator and I thought we might be headed back across the sky bridge to his hotel, but instead he pulled a card from his pocket and scanned it before he hit the button for the top floor. I wonder what all the floors a
RIEKA When we arrived back at the pack house, the kids were nowhere to be seen. I was a little disappointed, but I was also excited about my evening with Aleksandr. I had no idea what he had planned, but I’m sure that Drea knew something, and if my outfit was not appropriate, she would have guided me towards something else. “Do you know where the kids are?” I ask Drea.Her eyes shifted as she mind-linked someone. “They aren’t here. Apparently, Vasilisa, Oliver, and Sebastian took them to a park in town and to get ice cream.” She smiled apologetically. Just then, Aleksandr walked into the room looking incredibly handsome in blue jeans, a white collared shirt, black tie, and a vintage style black leather jacket with a few gold stripes. He also wore classic white Adidas shoes with black stripes, and black shoelaces. Glancing down at my own shoes and I’m glad I chose a pair of dark grey booties with 4-inch heels. Our outfits will look great together, and I always appreciate tal
RIEKA Sometimes you wake up slowly, and sometimes you wake up quickly. This morning I was startled awake, sitting up quickly only to realize that it was still dark outside. It feels like I woke up because of a dream, but I don’t remember the dream at all. That tends to happen when I wake up quickly, but I always remember my dreams when I wake up slowly. Alex and Aria are both in the habit of sleeping in the other beds in the room now, and sometimes Eden sleeps with Aria, and sometimes she sleeps with me. Last night, Eden slept with Aria, so I only had Calvin in the bed with me this morning. Turning to look at the clock, I quickly confirm that it’s only 5:07 AM. I lie back down hoping to fall back to sleep, but my mind and body are both wide awake. After tossing and turning for about 30 minutes I give up and head to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. It’s probably just in my head, but I always feel colder first thing in the morning. After my shower I dress in m
RIEKA Gina already had a list of rogues that she knew would be open to joining the pack, and after coming up with a plan she and Jericho left to meet with a few more rogues to see where they were at and if they would be a good fit for integration into one of the packs. Aleksandr spent much of the morning interrogating the rogues who Gina said might know more about Silas’ connection to Alastor, so I didn’t see much of him. He didn’t even return for lunch, and by the afternoon I was feeling his absence strongly. Realizing that I’ve spent most of my time with him since I was rescued, I understood why it was so hard to be away from him. Being with him was like a drug, and the more I was with him, the more I needed to be with him. I’m not sure if this is normal, or if it’s affecting me differently because I’m a human but seeing Jericho and Gina together after having completed the mate bond made me miss Aleksandr even more. I could tell that Gina wasn’t holding anything back from him