Thanks for your continued patience with me and my schedule of only updating 3 times a week. I'm hoping to have my next book planned out a little better so I'm able to write faster and update more frequently, but for now, we're stuck with the M, W, F schedule. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the current dilemma Rieka and Aleksandr are facing. What do you think will happen next? Much Love, Anja <3
ALEKSANDR Watching Rieka all morning, it was obvious that she was warring with her emotions. Everyone could see it and we all gave her space, but I couldn’t focus much. My eyes kept seeking her out, but each time I looked at her my heart cracked open a little more. For the first time in my life all I wanted to do was neglect all my responsibilities as Alpha and whisk her away to try and fix everything. Why does everything have to be so complicated for us? Will we ever catch a break and just have time to be happy together? The morning drug on for what felt like an eternity, but finally the house cleared out and we had a moment to breath and take a real break for lunch. Lucy knew that we would be too busy talking to eat most of the hors d’oeuvres she had prepared, so for lunch she made some amazing comfort foods including gourmet burgers, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, waffle fries, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. The kids joined us for lunch and Rieka seemed to brighten
ALEKSANDR Leaving Rieka alone was the last thing I wanted to do right now, but I could tell from the expressions on their faces that this was going to be intense. Rieka has been through enough drama today. As if on cue, my mother walks into the living room with a soft smile. “I can stay with Rieka while you go.” I pull Rieka in for a deep kiss. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but if you’re tired, you don’t have to wait up for me.” Rieka nods and I thank my mom for keeping her company while I’m busy with Alpha duties. Then, I follow Ian, Brock, and Adrianna out of the pack house. We shift and run into the forest to one of our many holding cell blocks for prisoners. When we arrive, I’m greeted by Emmitt and his team who were in charge of interrogating the prisoners. We’ve never had this many wolves in our custody all at once, and our cells are at max capacity. We even had to utilize older cells that haven’t been used in years. Some of the prisoners were shipped off to be hel
RIEKA When I woke up the next morning, I felt so warm, and I swear it was the best sleep I have had in about a year! As my mind slowly became cognizant, I realized that I was not in bed with my kids. Then I felt heavy arms around me, and a realization hit me. I slowly opened my eyes to confirm that I was laying on Aleksandr’s chest. We fell asleep on the sofa last night. Without moving my head, I glanced at the window and saw the sun just peeking up over the horizon as warm sunlight began to stream in through the open windows of the living room. Aleksandr startled me when he moved his hand to push the hair back from my face. “Good morning beautiful.” His rough voice proved that he had just recently woken up as well. “Looks like we both fell asleep here.” I giggled nervously. “I hope you don’t have a sore back or anything from laying like this all night.” Aleksandr hummed to himself as his fingers grazed up and down my arm. “On the contrary, this was the best sleep I’ve had
ALEKSANDR I’m not sure what I expected to learn from this meeting with Jericho and Gina, but I got WAY more than I bargained for. Although Gina didn’t know much about Alastor and his connection to Silas, she gave us some ideas about which prisoners would be most likely to have the information we need. I thought about asking Gina why she didn’t come forward with any of this information sooner, but then I stopped myself. She has been through a lot, and she’s still obviously struggling. We had just finished up the meeting and Jericho and Gina were getting ready to leave. “Thank you for your time and all the information you provided.” I clapped Jericho on the back and then sent him a mindlink asking him to hang back for just a minute. Jericho wrapped his arm around Gina kissing her on the cheek, “I’ll join you in the living room in just a minute darling.” Gina looked a bit surprised and confused, but she gave another small smile and nodded before turning and walking out the door.
ALEKSANDR Rieka has made it very clear what her expectations are for us moving forward and I know that I keep pushing the limit, but I don’t do it on purpose. When I’m with her I just seem to lose control to an extent. I trust that if I take it too far, she will stop me, but it’s not fair for me to put that on her. It’s my responsibility to exercise more self-control when she’s already made her boundaries clear. I can’t screw this up and lose her because I didn’t respect her wishes. As frustrating as it was to be interrupted by Dustin and Emmitt, I know it was probably for the best. Thankfully they didn’t just walk in but waited for me to open the door. Rieka quickly ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed her shirt as I strode across the room to the door. The moment the door was open the guys walked past me into the room. “Good morning, Alpha.” They spoke in unison as they grinned with a mischievous look. “Did we interrupt?” Dustin speaks through the mind-link. He
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
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 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