Maxine PovI was lying there in my room, feeling weak and tired, just lost in my thoughts. Life seemed to be weighing me down, and I couldn't nod off this feeling of heaviness and loneliness. It's like every breath was a struggle, every thought a burden.Everyone has seemed to find their joy even Clara who was just an omega as I was, according to rumors is now dating someone in the pack. Liam had permitted her but had refused to let me go. I was just stuck in my world of emptiness and sadness. A world without love, parents, and a mate.Then, out of nowhere, I felt a gentle pat on my shoulder. My heart skipped a beat as I jolted up from my bed, my mind dashing with thoughts of who could be intruding on my privacy. Was it someone who had come to harm me? The fear gripped me for a moment until I relaxed, realizing it was just someone I knew.Turning around, I saw Tobias and Ella standing there, surprise written all over their faces. They must have been wondering what was going on with me
MAXINEIt felt like I had finally found another purpose in life. I was happy seeing the smiles on the other women's faces and the hope in them. Soon, many of them started to come to me. Younger, same age and older than me.At first, I only made them pay for the herbs but after a while, when some of them started to notice changes, they started to pay me for my work.They would even bring gifts and food for me. Soon, after a couple of weeks, I started to get good news. It was incredible. Women promised to bring their babies to see me or to name their babies after me.One even wanted me to name their baby!Despite working at the pack hospital and being sold to the Alpha, I had another job. My house was almost always with a guest.Women who wanted to talk, who needed someone to encourage them. I rearranged my house to accommodate these people. Elena was coming far along and I wanted to make sure there was a clean and safe space always for her baby when she wanted me to babysit.My house w
MAXINE"Take some of the servants with you then. You'll be able to find it faster with their help." He told me.I nodded. "The more the faster." I agreed.He immediately instructed the nearest one to fetch two more servants. The three of them followed me, holding flashlights.I had studied a lot of herbs and the best places to find them. Luckily, it wasn't too far from their house but it took us twenty minutes of speedwalking to get there.I described the herb carefully to them and told them to spread out so we could cover more ground.I kept checking the time. I didn't know how long we would have. I didn't know how long she had been in labor and how long the baby could last. I had to find the herb fast."I found it!" One of the servants yelled running towards me. I walked quickly towards him."Really?" I asked, excitedly. He held it up to the light. At first glance, it looked like it but when I inspected it further, it wasn't it. It was a similar plant. I sighed deeply."It's not it,
MAXINELiam sat on my couch, his legs crossed. He was pinning me with that stare and it caused my heart to drop."M-master, I didn't know you were coming." I stuttered going to put my back down so that I didn't have to keep looking at him.I didn't know if fear was going to take over me or if I was going to let the anticipation of what his arrival meant get to me. It had been weeks since he touched me or made me warm his bed. Being here was unexpected."You rearranged the place," he said instead of looking around. I didn't know where he was headed with this conversation but I was going to play along. If it meant he wasn't going to be angry with me."Yes, master. I have a new side job where I sell herbs to women. It helps them." I explained. I was sure he knew but still, I had to tell him. It only felt right.He chuckled, the sound dry and forced. "They're calling you a miracle worker." He said, with mockery in his voice. "You know, the woman you helped get pregnant."I stood in front
MAXINETwo days later, I went to Tobias and Ella's house. He wasn't around so I told Ella all about the delivery and everything that happened that night. I told her how small Sya was and her cries when she was born.I didn't tell her about Liam's visit though. I don't think I've told anyone about that and I wasn't ready for the questions they would ask or the answers I would have to give.She looked at me with wide eyes. "Tell me about the mother. Was she in too much pain?" She asked. I saw her place her hand on her stomach.I told her about her screams and moans. I told her about how she screamed when she was trying to push. But then I told her how she had smiled between her birth pains and afterward. It was almost like nothing else mattered when she saw her baby girl.Ella sighed dreamily. "I can't wait to hold my baby." She said.I grabbed her spoon and shoved some rice porridge into her mouth. "Eat your food. I'm sure you can wait. We're not in a hurry." I told her playfully smili
MAXINEEven though I was still helping all these women, I was still very much lonely. I didn't have a television and not a lot of people had one in their houses.A lot of people said hi on my way to work at the pack hospital. I signed in for my shift and got to assist the doctors and nurses with their patients."Maxine, I heard you helped deliver a baby." A nurse Nadia whispered to me. I gasped and looked around before pulling her close."How did you hear that?" I asked.They had promised not to tell anyone about my involvement in the delivery. How did Nadia find out?"Relax," she laughed, "I'm best friends with Lily. She's the midwife.""Oh," I replied, not knowing what to say."She told me because she wanted me to convince you. She thinks you'll be good as a midwife." She said.I started to shake my head, packing up the things she had used to work. "No, I can't. It's not—""Just listen to me, Maxine. Listen to what I have to say before you make a decision. You can even decide to jus
LIAMMy assistant put a couple of files on my desk along with the rest of them. This week had begun rather busy. Especially with the case of the werewolf hunters that were going around killing innocent wolves.They had yet to harm anybody in my pack but I had heard the complaints from the other packs. They had sent the information to the other packs to be on the lookout.I had notified the sentries and the guards to look out for any rogue wolves or newcomers. We had to be on high alert until the killings ended or the werewolf hunters were caught.Maxine was making this a thing. And I was not going to sit down and let this happen. Still, I told them to let her into my office. This time, I didn't act like I was busy or focused on some work, I stared at her.I knew she wouldn't be able to hold out for so long.She was wearing a yellow blouse and a white flowing skirt that stopped at the ankles. I approved of her modest outfit but it was the least of my worries."What do you want?" I aske
MAXINENick told me all about his life growing up. His parents had owned a large farm and after they had been murdered on a trip, his grandparents had stepped in to take care of him.They had been both kind and strict, making him the man that he is today. It was why he couldn't turn away when he saw someone in need. It was why he felt obligated to help me."One time, just one time, I had brought in four stray cats into the barn. They were as tiny as my fist." Nick said, making a fist for me."I thought that since the farm was big enough, I could raise them and my grandparents wouldn't have to find out. I was so wrong," he continued."My grandmother brought the box into the house, scolding me about picking up stray animals." The memory brought a smile to his face."Did she throw them out?" I asked."Of course. But not immediately. We raised them for a couple of months until they were big enough and then we let them out. They kept coming back though. So, Grandfather drove them to anothe
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