I hope everyone had a great weekend, and you're ready for some excitement with Aleksandr and Rieka this week! I decided to post tonight instead of tomorrow for anyone who isn't watching the Super Bowl (USA football) tonight. Please continue to share the story and vote for it using your gems! We have dropped a bit in rankings, but we can still bounce back. Much Love, Anja <3
ALEKSANDR Sebastian and Asher look at Jericho with disgust and then their eyes slide over my direction. I’m sure they want to question what I’m waiting for, but they know better than to openly question me in front of a rogue. They wait patiently as I just stare at Jericho, but Jericho keeps his eyes on the ground in front of him. While I appreciate his submissive posture, I want answers. “Jericho,” His name comes out of my mouth sounding more like a growl, “explain yourself.” Asher’s jaw drops open, while Sebastian does a better job of maintaining his composure. Jericho takes a deep breath and I watch his shoulders rise and fall, but he doesn’t speak. I let out a low rumbling growl in warning. Jericho takes another deep breath, “They have Giovanna.” He whispers. I don’t need to ask who Giovanna is. The only way a wolf would go to the lengths that he has, is for a mate. They must be using his mate to get him to do their bidding. “Have you seen Rieka? Do you know where she
RIEKA The group standing before me looked rough. They were coated in layers of dirt and sweat. They either just finished some intense training, or they don’t have access to showers around here. I was certain they were warriors because most of them were covered in scars, but they were all lean and muscular. Not overly bulky like bodybuilders, but not scrawny by any means. As I continued to scan the room, I noticed it was mostly men, but there were a few women mixed in as well. Gina was by far the most glamorous looking of the women, but when I looked closer, under the layers of dirt and sweat, they all had a quality of otherworldly beauty. Even the men, with their scars and messy hair, possessed a level of attractiveness that isn’t common among humans. The more time I spend around werewolves the move obvious it is who they are. Pretty much all of them are tall, muscular, and attractive is some special way. Even the two men I referred to as cave men has excellent bone structur
RIEKA Silas seemed pretty upset about his group of rogues being forced to relocated because of Aleksandr’s expansion plans, but I was sure that Aleksandr wasn’t doing it to intentionally force them to move. I was confident that he didn’t even realize there was a group this large in the area. I still don’t trust Silas either, so I want to proceed with caution. I watched as Silas’ eyes glazed over in what I recognized as a mindlink. I thought rogues couldn’t mindlink without a pack. A minute later I saw Gina walk back into the room followed by the two cavemen who were following us earlier. In this room with brighter light, I realized that they didn’t look as much like cavemen as I initially thought, and they were just as attractive as the other werewolves. It must have just been the poor lighting in the hallway, but I find it ridiculously unfair that all of these people get to be so flawlessly attractive. Gina walks over to the table as Silas stands. He looks down at her and sa
RIEKA As soon as Silas walked out of the room I rush over to the window. The glass is frosted, so I can’t actually see outside, but it lets in a lot of natural sunlight. Of course, my first idea is to attempt to open the window, but as I expected it was sealed shut. I walk back over to the door and try to open it. Locked. I didn’t actually expect it to be that easy to escape, but a girl can hope, right? I continue to wander around the room, looking for any sign of a hidden door, or a way that I might be able to escape, but I can’t find anything helpful. Feeling defeated, I sit down on the bed and fight back the tears threatening to spill over. I’m exhausted, I’m worried about my kids, and I really miss Aleksandr. Why did I have to be so stubborn? Why did I insist on this time away from him? I know that I thought it would help, but now that I don’t feel any better, and I’ve been taken away from my friends and family, I feel foolish for even thinking it was a good idea to beg
RIEKA I turn the handle and gently pull the door. It opens just a crack before it comes to a screeching halt with the sound of a chain pulling tight. It’s chained from the outside, so it won’t open more than 4 inches. The sudden weight of my situation comes crashing back down on me and I feel as though I might suffocate. I’ve never felt so completely helpless in my life. All that work and effort for nothing. I’m just as trapped in this room as I was in the other. I begin to hyperventilate which causes me to feel light-headed. I need to pull it together. I can’t freak out now. I need to get back into my room so they don’t know I was ever gone. If they know I tried to escape they will increase security and it will be that much harder the next time I want to attempt an escape plan. I jump up and run back into the closet. Suddenly realizing that I can’t reach the opening without a stool, I race to the bathroom looking for one. This bathroom doesn’t have one. I swear under m
ALEKSANDR There is no way I will allow Rieka to be out of my sight again. I quickly signal Lucas to update the teams on the situation. They can move in to get Gina as soon as I know Rieka is safe. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. Rieka will be leaving with me, tonight.” I inform him as I step forward and my men all follow suite. The rogues all take a defensive stance and I hear the rustling of leaves behind us. Of course Silas would make sure to surround us up here to ensure he gets what he wants, but I still have more men down the hill. I know that Lucas is already sending out a mindlink to them that we need extra support. I just need to focus on getting to Rieka, and my warriors should have a path cleared for us to leave. Both sides pause for a moment, waiting to see who will make the first move. I prefer to be on the offense, so I’m usually the one to make the first move, but I need to be cautious. I don’t want Rieka to get hurt. I take a minute to examine all the
RIEKA Aleksandr’s eyes rake over my entire body frantically, I’m sure he’s looking for any sign of injury to confirm Silas’ lie about punishing me. When he doesn’t see anything wrong, I recognize the combination of confusion and relief in him, but then he voices his concerns. I nod my head to let him know that I’m fine, but the concern in his eyes grows at my refusal to speak. I desperately want to ask Aleksandr about my kids, but I also want to get out of here as quickly as possible, so I want to avoid any unnecessary drama. If cooperating and not speaking will help speed up negotiations, then I can comply. Then, Silas opens his mouth again. “Maybe I underestimated my position here. It seems that having Rieka as my prisoner gives me more power than I initially anticipated. She’s even more important to you than I expected. Let’s take the rest of the night to think it over and meet again tomorrow. I think I’ll be increasing my demands.” My eyes go wide, and my mouth drops o
ALEKSANDR I know I could have sent Rieka back to her house with a few warriors to guard her so she could be reunited with her kids, but selfishly I didn’t want her out of my sight. I couldn’t even let go of her hand as we walked out of the cave. I just needed to be touching her. The sparks from the mate bond felt ten times stronger because of the separation and the adrenaline from everything that has happened tonight. Once we exited the cave, it dawned on me that the only way to travel quickly and easily from this location to the next would be if Rieka could ride on me in wolf form. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about it, so I quietly pulled her aside to discuss it. “Rieka, I know this might seem strange and I know I keep piling more on top of everything you’ve been through, but in order to move through the forest quickly I am going to need you to ride on my back.” She looked at me and nodded once showing her compliance. I didn’t expect it to be that easy. “… In my wolf fo
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