MAXINEI gave her a cup of tea and sat down in the chair opposite her with my cup. I made a mental note to make the moonflower tea for Elara.We drank from the cup of tea slowly, sipping. I was going to force her to say anything. I was just going to let her be. Whenever she was ready."He's a good man," She began.I was surprised to hear her speak so soon. "Who is?" I asked, putting down my cup.Lindsey gave me a small smile and looked into her cup of tea. "Mark— Marie's father. He was the love of my life. He was kind, he was thoughtful. He was everything I ever wanted." She explained slowly.I watched her quietly. The look in her eyes told me that she was remembering all the good times, the reason why she had fallen in love with Mark. The reason she had started a family with him. She was still in love with him."He was a good husband. I thought that he would be a good father too." There was a look of regret on her face. She sighed. "He just wasn't what I thought he was.""What happen
LIAMI've never seen her look so desperate before. She stayed on her knees, her hands pressed on her knees and her head bowed slightly."Please, master," she begged again.Frustration gnawed at me. Her voice was trembling with fear, sadness, and something I couldn't quite place. She wanted me to have sympathy. But pity was a luxury an Alpha couldn't afford."I thought she was your neighbor. Have you ever lived a month with her? Why are you putting your all to help this woman?" I asked, not understanding.It felt like Maxine was always trusting. The same way she was with Nick. I swear, I could smell the desperation oozing from her second skin. "Please, Alpha Liam," she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper. "Just a word… Lindsey's a good mother, they can't take her daughter away!" The name Lindsey was a foreign sound in this office. I didn't know her before this. Going out of my way to waddle in legal cases was not what I was looking forward to.I wasn't a glorified pack enforcer, o
MAXINEI stopped in front of the cafe and read the sign. It was Howl's Cafe. I had managed to get a hold of Mark and convinced him to see me. It had taken a lot to make him come here today. I hoped he was here.As I pushed the door open and walked in, the scent of cinnamon and roasted beans filled my lungs. The bell at the top of the door rang, signaling my entry.My eyes scanned the small crowd in the interior and landed on Mark who was hunched over a steaming mug of coffee. I walked over to him and slid into the worn leather booth across from him.Mark glanced up, surprise flickering across his face before settling on indifference. He hadn't noticed me until I was seated opposite him. I must have thrown him off."Maxine," he acknowledged, his voice flat."Mark," I replied. "Thank you for coming.""Don't thank me for anything yet. I only agreed to meet you. Nothing more." Mark countered gruffly before taking a large gulp of his coffee."I came here to negotiate," I said, skipping str
MAXINEI held my breath, waiting for the final verdict. Marie looked at me curiously."... Miss Lindsey Davies will have custody of her and Mister Mark Oxborn will continue to pay child support." The judge said, slamming his hammer down twice.I jumped to my feet, cheering. The people who testified for Lindsey began to clap. I carried Marie and pointed towards her mother as she came towards us, tears in her eyes.She took Marie from me and kissed her cheek. "I've got you, baby. I've got you." She said and laughed. She looked at me and grabbed my hand. "Thank you. Thank you so much.""It was my pleasure. I'm glad it all worked out." I said.She suddenly hugged me. I was slow to react but I hugged her back."Yay!" Marie cheered."Yay!" Her mother replied, laughing. Lindsey received congratulations and I stood aside, waiting for her so we could go home.As I stood there, Mark pulled me aside. "You bribed him, didn't you? You did just like you said." He said, angrily.I squared my shoulde
MAXINEI shook my head. "You helped them. Mark had bribed Judge Alistar to rule in his favor. Because you put in a good word, Alistar did the right thing." I said."Without you, we would have probably lost the case," I admitted, looking at him with grateful eyes. "Thank you," I said genuinely.He leaned back on the couch, uncrossing his legs and relaxing. "What are you going to do to prove that you're thankful?" He asked.He wanted me to please him. That was why he was here and that was why he was telling me. I did promise to do anything if he helped me.I didn't know where this boldness was coming from but I wasn't going to do what he expected. I was done with following his rules. He had me for pleasure but I was a person and I deserved to do whatever I wanted.Even if it was for a moment.I threw caution to the wind and put my cup down. I stood to my feet and walked over to him. I stood in front of him, between the space in his legs.When I didn't do anything, he quirked his eyebrow
MAXINE"Good morning," I beamed as I walked into the packed hospital lobby. A few nurses were behind the desk, handing clipboards to doctors and informing them about the progress of some of the patients."Somebody is in a great mood," Nadia commented as she walked over to where I was with a clipboard in her hand. She smiled and gave the clipboard to a nurse by the counter."It's a good day," I said, planning to shrug but I couldn't help the big grin that spread on my face this time.The secret to the lift in my mood lately was very simple: Liam. He came again that night, and the night after that. It felt like we were developing a routine. He wasn't ordering me and telling me what to do. Instead, he let me take the reins.It was exciting. I had control over what we did. I had control over a man, the literal alpha of the pack. It was such a weird feeling. Some sort of switch. It was almost unreal.We were having lots of sex. Lots of good sex, to be honest. I didn't truly know what was g
MAXINEThe day at work ended up with many patients, carrying simple blood test results back and forth, dressing or redressing wounds, and assisting the doctors and nurses.I was exhausted to my bones and I just wanted to get back home, hop on my bed, and have the best sleep of my life. My bed was the one thing that kept me going even as my legs hurt. I would finally be able to rest.On my way back from work, I was stopped by a charming woman. She was very familiar. When she saw me, her eyes lit up and she grabbed my hands."Maxine!" She exclaimed. "I've been searching all over for you!" I realized that she used to buy herbs from me before I had moved."Oh, hi, I'm so sorry. I moved out of that place a while ago and I haven't been able to find a lot of you to tell you how you can be getting herbs." I explained to her. "But, how are you? Are you good?"She nodded and then I saw that glint in her eyes. I knew what was coming before she even said it. "I'm pregnant," she told me, touching
LIAMI didn't have the connection yet but I knew he was the one. He was pissed that I had taken away his position and given it to Harold. He sent his people to try to kill me."Are you sure?" Maxine asked. I could see the doubt written all over her face."Well, no. But new information will be coming in tomorrow. So, hopefully, they found the culprit and can bring him to book." I said.She nodded. "Okay." She replied. She stretched, yawning. "About Nick…" she began."No," I replied, not bothering to hear what she had to say. Knowing Maxine, she was about to ask for a favor. She probably wanted me to release Nick. But I wasn't done with him. I needed to find the rest of his people."You didn't even hear what I had to say," she complained.I quirked my brows at her. She caught herself and straightened. We were not that casual. She was acting too comfortable.I frowned. This was the problem. I forgot about who she was to me. I stood to my feet, surprising her."Lock your doors," I said he
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