MAXINE"How?" I asked, walking closer to them. Zel acknowledge me with a nod of thanks. I gave her a small smile."Do you know a way?" Cinder asked.Zel nodded. "I'm going to let you into my memories. It's not going to be much but it might trigger something and bring back your stolen memories." She said.Cinder thought about it for a while. "I don't know. The memories we have about Gabriel are not the same. I'm not sure it will work." She said."I'm only going to show you the memories where you were involved. So, somehow, it's yours too." Zel explained.I nodded. "That makes more sense. How do you plan to do it?""A spell?" Zel let out a nervous grin. "We just need to find the right ingredients to make it." She looked at Cinder for approval."I did say I was going to do everything it takes." She offered a small smile. Zel smiled back."Great! I'll go study about it!" She said, excitedly before rushing off into the house.Cinder and I watched her go. "Thank you," she said to me."I did
MAXINETogether, we walked back to the house. Zel and Cinder held my hand all through the way and I was grateful. It was time to say goodbye to all the kids I had come to love.There was a dinner waiting for me. The kids had managed to wait, keeping their hands to themselves. When they saw me, they all rushed to hug me."Maxi!" They called. That was what they mostly called me.I felt tears well up in my eyes as I wrapped my hand around all of them. Raine and Oz watched, smiles on their face."Raine said you're leaving, is it true?" Chester, the boy who had scared me by saying he changed into an orange cat on the first day I came, asked. He was holding onto my tunic.I nodded my head. "Yes. The reason I came, I've done it. Now, I'm free. I have to go back."He pouted, then hugged me. "I will miss you, Maxi." He said. "So much.""I'll miss you too," I smiled, my heart aching. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go back to a world where I had responsibilities, where I had to be what
MAXINEThere, on the bed, was another woman and Liam, both of them stark naked and tangled in the sheets. Liam was on top of the woman. She moaned, her hands holding tightly to his back as he pounded into her.He grunted and I froze, watching the scene unfold in front of me. Liam turned his head, wondering who would interrupt him like that. I saw his face shift from anger"Maxine," he called breathlessly. I turned on my heels. "Maxine, wait!" He called after me.I didn't wait. I hurried down the stairs as fast as I could, ignoring everyone and anyone who tried to get my attention. I didn't stop even after I was outside the pack house.I thought, oh my goodness. I'm so stupid. I thought Liam and I had something going on. I thought I could finally find that one person for me. I thought Liam was the one.I was so wrong.I felt wetness on my cheeks. Why was I crying? I swiped at the tears with the back of my hand harshly."Stop crying!" I yelled at myself. He doesn't deserve my tears. I b
MAXINEThe moment I heard Liam's voice at the door, Ella had seen the panic in my face."Go to my room and stay there." She whispered sternly, getting to her feet. She waited until I had entered the room before she walked towards the main door and answered it.I held my breath, waiting patiently to hear her come back into the house. It took a while but I finally heard Liam's car driving away. I exhaled in relief and only came back outside when Ella came to get me."He's gone now." She replied as we walked back to the couch. "What's going on? Why is the Alpha looking for you? And why are you hiding?"I bit my lip, contemplating how to tell her. "I don't know how to put this…" I began.""Start anywhere," she said.So, I started from the beginning. I told her about Liam, about how my father gave me to him, and how our relationship had started. How he only came to me to satisfy his needs.I felt vulnerable coming clean to her about that. I hadn't told anyone about it. It was something I h
LIAMThe sun was setting across the streets as I drove from one place to another, searching for Maxine. Each friend I visited had the same answer: they hadn't seen her. No one had seen her.It was almost like she hadn't truly returned. My frustration grew with each passing second. Everywhere was a dead end. The only lead I had was from Ella, who had seen her briefly.I couldn't shake off the feeling that I needed to find her, to explain myself. The truth was, I missed her more than I cared to admit.Our late-night talks in her apartment, the way she moved around the kitchen while cooking, the sound of her laughter—they had become the highlights of my days. The intimacy we shared, the way she moaned when we were together, it had played on repeat in my mind for weeks.My phone began to ring. I answered it, still driving. "Hello?""Liam," It was Varis, "any luck?"I sighed, "None. It's almost like she's disappeared. There's no trace of her." I replied."Do you want me to send word to the
MAXINEI found a night bus leaving the city and I bought a ticket. I didn't know where I was headed but I needed to leave so Liam wouldn't be able to find me.I found a seat by the window, putting the bus on my lap. It suddenly felt heavy in my lap as the bus rumbled down the highway, carrying me away from the city. I was leaving the heartache behind.I needed to find a place where I could think, and figure out my next steps. I never even got to show Liam my wolf and I was so excited to show him.I decided to go back to Cinder and Zel but first, I had to find the Luna Queen's palace. Not many people knew it. The people who did were mostly werewolves.To get there, I had to take another bus. Its seats were uncomfortable and I could barely get any sleep that morning. I kept my head down, avoiding eye contact, hoping to blend into the background.I didn't know if Liam had anyone looking for me. I need to lay low. As the bus drove, the view outside changed from the urban cities to the rol
MAXINEMy heart raced and I tried to free my hand. "You know, your father has been looking for you. He'll be very interested to know where you've been hiding.""Let go of me," I said.He chuckled. "We'll see about that.""Sister!" Someone yelled, coming to me. They shoved the man away. It was Oz. "Annalise, are you okay? Do you know this man?"I rubbed my wrist and looked at him, shaking my head. "No," I said.Oz looked at the man. "Why are you bothering my sister? Poor Annalise has struggled with bad health for many years and now that she can go out, you decide to trouble her?" He asked.The man realized that he had a mistake. "I'm so sorry," he glanced at me. "I thought you were someone else. I'm so sorry."He apologized and left. We watched him go. "Are you okay?" Oz asked."Yeah," I said, "Smart thinking calling me Annalise."He grinned. "I've always wanted a sister named Annalise." He said.I chuckled. "I guess from now on when we're outside, I'm Annalise," I replied.We drove
MAXINE"Okay," I said. "Let's do it. Let's run away together."Zel's eyes shone with excitement. "We'll make it work. We'll find a place where we can both be happy doing whatever we want. We could go anywhere."The night was filled with so many possibilities. I could be anyone I wanted. Nothing was holding me back. I was going to take this opportunity to create the life I wanted.No one told me to be a midwife. No one to tell me who I should be. No one to lean on, who would give up on me because I wasn't what they wanted. I would do it all for me.The next few days, Zel and I spent countless hours talking and fleshing out our ideas for a new life. We each had some savings tucked away, enough to get us started but not enough to last longer than a few months. We knew we had to find work and a place to settle soon.At the kitchen counter one morning, Zel spread out a map in front of us. "Where do you think we should go?" she asked, her finger tracing various routes across the country.I
MAXINEI got a job working at the pack hospital again. This time, I signed up to be a real medical practitioner. I was going to become a midwife. There were a few familiar faces at the hospital and lots of new ones.Still, I was grateful to Ronan for giving them this opportunity again.That evening, I walked back into my apartment. The dead herbs were still in a box on the floor in the kitchen. I wondered if I would go back. I used to pick herbs and sell them to women who wanted to get pregnant.It felt like eons ago. Times were simpler. Back then, I saved lives not help take them. That was a time when I didn’t have blood on my hands.I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. I wanted my simple life again. It was simple but everything made sense. I didn't have to try to untangle myself from this mess that was my reality.A knock on the door brought me back. Zel was back from work. She worked as a bartender a little while from our apartment. Zel had gotten the job. After the manag
MAXINEI nodded, not trusting myself to speak without crying. Ella was right. I needed to let myself grieve. The love I once had for Ronan still occupied my heart.Lindsey reached out and held my hand. "We’re here for you, Maxine."I squeezed her hand, grateful for their support. They were right. I didn’t have to go through this alone. I had them.Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.***Going back to my old life felt like stepping into a strange place. There was the feeling of losing something. My apartment felt like a place from a faraway memory. Zel was gone and I was feeling so sad.I was back from saying goodbye. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. The space was just as I’d left it. There was still dust over everything. At least, I had something to do with my time.I took a deep breath. I hadn't lost everything. I was still okay.I began to clean up slowly. Lindsey stopped by to help me out and together, we covered a lot. As I was cleaning, I heard a knock on the door.“Are you
MAXINEI wanted to believe her that everything would be okay but deep down, I felt guilt and grief. This was my fault. I pulled back from her and wiped my eyes. I gave her a shaky smile. “It doesn’t feel like it.”She cupped my cheek. “Everything isn't always as it seems, my dear. But, I can tell you one thing I know for sure.” She said.“What's that?”“It's not your fault. I'm sure you don't know where to go from here, what to do, or where you belong. You want to come with me, you want to continue your life back at the place where you and Zel liked and you want to go back to how things were in this pack.” Cinder explained.“But, I see you staying here. This is where your strength lies, where hope lives, where you have friends and support.” She lowered her eyes and winked. “It's where you have a future.”“And, we'll always be here for you to fall back on, regardless of what happens. We're your home away from home.” The Luna Queen said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “I'm very proud.
MAXINEI didn't feel anything. No pain from a stab whatsoever. I looked between us and that's when Ronan smiled. His lips were close to my ear and he whispered, “I would never hurt you on purpose, love.”I didn't know when I screamed.Ronan collapsed into my arms, taking the both of us down to the ground with him. I tried my best to hold his head up on my lap. My eyes traveled down to the blood pouring down the stab wound in his belly.“Ronan,” I called, tears filling my eyes and rolling down my cheeks. He had stabbed himself.My hand shook as it hovered over the wound. I didn't know what to do. The dagger was in his chest.Ronan had chosen death. Death over a life without me.“Maxine…” he called, his voice unnaturally calm for someone who was dying. He reached up to touch me and I guided his hand to my cheek.“I'm here, I'm here,” I cried. “I'm sorry,” I whispered the last part. My hands shook as I held him. I never wanted this. I didn’t want him to die.Ronan gasped. He looked up
MAXINEI held my breath as Ronan kept his eyes on mine. When he was close enough, he stopped. Neither of us said a word. The battle continued around us but I couldn't get myself to make the first move.He didn't either. I wondered if it was hard for him to see me. I wondered if he thought he could fight me. I also wondered if he thought that he could kill me.I spoke up first. “Ronan,” I called. My voice was sounding more longing than I wanted.I missed him, to be honest. I missed sitting down in the quiet and reading books. Strangely, I missed making his cinnamon coffee.Ronan didn't say anything. Instead, he took a step closer. “You don’t have to do this,” he said.There was no hurt, no anger in his voice, just nothing but kindness. I wished he would yell. I wished he would curse me and call me evil for everything I've done.“Come with me.” He said, softly. I heard it regardless of the noise. “We can fix this, Maxine. We'll leave everything behind together.”It sounded so good. But,
MAXINEHe caught me off guard. It meant that he still cared about me. I didn't focus on that though. “I won’t, I promise,” I replied.We stood there in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to say. I could feel it though. I could feel it. The unspoken feelings and questions we didn't have the time to ask.Or we didn't dare to ask, I guess.After everything that had happened, I still wasn’t sure where we stood. I said I was okay with him hating me but, I didn't know anymore. The lines between us were confusing now. I didn't know how to fix that.But now wasn’t the time to focus on that. We had a mission and that was a priority. Every other thing could come after. We would cross that bridge later.For some reason, Liam stepped closer and I held my breath. “Regardless of what has happened between us, out there?” He said, “No matter what happens, we’ll get through this together. Do you understand?”I nodded. “Together,” I repeated.Before I could say anything else, Zel appeared
MAXINECinder gave me and Zel a brief of the plans that night when she showed us a bedroom. She and the Luna Queen were sharing the one right next to us. They told us to come to them if we faced any issues.Sleep didn't come easy because my mind was entirely on Ronan. I didn't know how I was going to face him again after betraying his trust. But, I knew I couldn't sit out of this fight.The sun had not even risen when I was woken up by the sound of Liam's voice. He was given instructions and I heard more footsteps around the house than the number of people I had seen the previous day.It meant that Liam was already up and gathering the troops. I could hear him giving commands like it hadn't been two months since he was last in power. He was a natural-born leader. He carried this air of authority around him.He was giving orders, explaining ranks and positions for this fight. Every single detail was important to winning.Zel was still asleep, of course. She wasn't a wolf so she wouldn'
MAXINEI chuckled bitterly. “What about now?” I asked. “Will you take me back now that I have a wolf? Isn't that what you've always wanted?”His eyes widened slightly but he kept himself composed. “That would be unfair to you. It would be wrong. If you want to come back to me, I will take you but the choice is yours now. You have a choice and I see now that I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Maxine. I hope you can forgive me.”Tears welled up in my eyes. I hadn't thought about this but I let the anger roll away from me. He was still family. He was my father. “I forgive you. You're my father, whether you abandon me or not.” I said.“Thank you, Maxine.” He said. He reached for me hesitantly. I would have settled for a handshake but he wrapped his hands around me. For the first time in what I knew was forever, my father hugged me.I didn't know what to feel about that.LIAMAfter Maxine spoke to her father, they returned to the living room. However, she moved toward the far end of the room, away
LIAMDespite everything that was unfolding in front of me, my thoughts were stuck on one thing.Maxine had a wolf.I couldn't wrap my head around it. After everything that had happened to her, it didn’t make sense. I glanced at her. The strange white-haired girl was sitting between us.Maxine was staring out of the window. The white-haired girl squeezed her hand. Maxine turned to look at her and offered her a small smile. That was when she caught me staring. She looked away, taking her eyes back to the window.It left me confused. Was she pissed at me? I was the one who had the right to be mad at her. She had chosen him over me. Well, the distance between us was necessary.I didn't know what I would say or do if I were sitting next to her. Kris took a sharp turn, causing Maxine to grab the handle of the car door. I opened my mouth to say something but I stopped myself. There would be time for questions later.“You alright back there?” Varis asked.“We’re fine,” I said. I didn't know i