Jaselyn's POV “Sure.”“But first,” I continued. “Gotta get something to eat, I'm starving.” I complained and he grinned.“Actually, I brought some snacks as well. Wanna have some?” He offered and I beamed.“Thank goodness Rion, you're a lifesaver. Chef Illyia has been strict with me lately, he hides all the snacks away and won't let me have anything if it's not a salad or one of those boring meals from my diet plan. He and the doctor are in cahoots I tell you.” I grumbled, genuinely disgruntled while he couldn't hold back his laugh.“Hey, don't laugh at me.” I jabbed him in the side and he cleared his throat and wiped a tear from his eye, trying to assume some formality.“Alright, give me a moment.” He said and went back into his room. A few minutes later, he appeared with bags of various snacks, ranging from chips to cookies, chocolate and even popcorn. He's certainly the man after my own heart, my partner in crime.“Let's go.” I urged and led the way. We ended up stopping by the ki
Jaselyn's POV It's finally the long awaited day of my baby shower, the entire palace is abuzz already. The place is completely decorated even though we're holding the party in the Grand Hall. Hats off to the maids for the extra effort, considering how friggin huge this place is. I should definitely give them a bonus after this, they deserve it.I'm already dressed and in full glam. Talia is styling my hair and adding accessories to it. Zane got an urgent call and had to leave. There was a heavy storm last night and the public library collapsed. Thankfully, no one was hurt but as the Alpha, he had to check on the situation personally. He called and said he'll be back soon. I'll handle everything here in the meantime.Talia added the finishing touches to my hair and stepped back so I could get a good look at her work. She might not talk much but she's actually good at styling stuff. She might even be better than Nae but I'll never say that out loud. I looked really good and I radiated
Jaselyn's POV She wouldn't have rejected him on my request. I just really hoped that he would treat her right but it looks like the apple really doesn't fall too far from the tree.I clear my throat loudly and Hadrian's eyes fall on me. “Oh Jaselyn, you're also here. Almost didn't see you there. Congratulations by the way, I'm sure Zane must be excited to start a family with you after dumping my cousin. It's truly a joyous day indeed.” He spoke sarcastically with an annoying smirk that I just wanted to wipe right off his face. I want nothing more than to get his hands off Nae and kick him to the curb. How someone can be so disgusting I really don't know.“It's nice to see you too, Hadrian. If you don't mind, Nae and I were having a conversation before you arrived so I'd appreciate it if you could give us a few minutes.” I requested as politely as I could manage.Hadrian hugged her tightly from behind instead, practically crushing her in his grasp. “I'm sorry but it's a no can do.
Jaselyn's POV That sure is a hefty demand, especially since Rion just found out she's his biological mother. He's hardly even had time to process everything and she already wants him taking over the responsibility of Alpha and over such a big Pack as well. I definitely think it's too much and too soon.Now I feel a little guilty for advising him to talk to her. Would she still have confronted him anyway?“You can probably guess what my answer was.”Yes, I can and I wouldn't be surprised. That's a lot to ask from someone you just met.“I rejected the idea completely. She must have assumed it had to do with me not wanting to leave my adoptive parents so she said they could come along with me back to the Blue Solstice Pack and live as the Pack's honorary members for the rest of their lives. I still declined the offer.I've already made my decision about the direction I'm going to take with my life. I'm still going to start my company and this revelation, though shocking, was just a mino
Jaselyn's POV But Just then, Zane walked into the room and he had a deep frown on his face. It instantly worried me since today is supposed to be a joyous occasion for the both of us.Did something happen during his inspection? Was the damage worse than we thought? Did someone get hurt? Did someone…..I shook my head to do away with the negative thoughts. There's no point frightening myself by cooking up scenarios in my head, I should just ask him.I walked up to him with a smile but his expression didn't change the slightest bit. “Is something wrong? Why are you…..”I was rudely interrupted by our new Beta who showed up and reminded us that Zane and I were still yet to give an opening speech and welcome the guests.I decided the questions would have to wait. I moved closer to Zane and nearly recoiled instantly due to how sour his scent had grown. He stank of burnt tyres and turpentine as opposed to his natural sweet scent of sandalwood, pine and rose. It made my stomach turn.He's
Jaselyn's POVIn that moment, it felt like the whole world exploded right before my eyes, the shattered pieces raining down, slicing and cutting through my heart like paper.Me and Rion having an….. How? How could he even conceive the thought? Did he really think we could do something so despicable? That we would betray him in that way?I want to believe that this is all a lie, or some bad joke that went a little too far but I'm way too hurt to even try to delude myself. If he announced it to the whole Pack then he must really believe it. But why……???“Have you gone mad? What nonsense are you spouting right now?” Rion fought back, livid.“I'm the one saying nonsense? Have a little dignity and admit it already. Or have you become incapable of that?I can't believe the both of you have been taking me for a fool this whole time. The calls, the texts, how you seem to be the only thing she talks about, I should've realized it sooner but I blindly trusted the both of you and I'm paying for
Jaselyn's POV The sound of a single applause reverberated around the room.“Well done, Jaselyn. What a beautiful performance that was. I didn't know you had such a talent for acting, could have certainly fooled me if I didn't know all the facts.” Zane sneered, his clapping coming to a halt.I stood there, devastated; physically and mentally exhausted. How could things have gone so wrong in such a short amount of time?I didn't know if I had it in me to keep defending myself against these accusations. Why should I need to defend myself in the first place? Zane claims to love me so why doesn't he trust me? Why would he believe what anyone else had to say over me? Is his faith in Rion and I so little that he accepted whatever lies he was fed as the indisputable truth? Or has he had such thoughts this whole time?I know for a fact that Zane has suffered from insecurity for a long time due to his childhood trauma. Could it be that he's been jealous of Rion this whole time and this confron
Jaselyn's POVI couldn't tell if it was the anxiety but an excruciating pain seized my abdomen. In an instant, it felt like my insides were being squeezed and turned inside out.I winced, gripping my stomach. Another wave of the sharp pain tore a scream out of me and suddenly, my legs felt like jelly and they couldn't seem to hold me up anymore so I crouched down but the pain just kept aggravating, hitting me like a torrential downpour“Jas?” I heard Rion's voice but my head was heavy, I felt nauseous and the pain was almost blinding. I couldn't look up at him. And suddenly the room was spinning or rather it left like I was floating in space. My stomach kept twisting and I could feel the bile in my throat.A blood curdling scream escaped my lungs when I saw the blood trickling down my legs. And right then I realized with horror that I could no longer feel my baby moving. My little gremlin was usually active and always moving, he would go full ninja at night with the kicking but now th
Celio's POV The wooden floor creaked under my knees as I scrubbed away at the dirt, pushing the rag back and forth with all the strength my small, 8 year old body could muster. The chill of the mountain wind seeped through the cracks in the old walls, biting at my skin. My hands were raw and red, the rough texture of the rag scraping against my knuckles. I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind the pain, the hunger gnawing at my stomach, or the loneliness that pressed on me like an iron weight. I was used to it.I glanced out the cracked window at the gray sky that mirrored my feelings. The little shack we lived in sat at the base of the mountain, far away from any Pack. Isla had always told me that it was better this way—away from the people who would look at me and know that I wasn’t wanted, that I was abandoned by the very woman who should have loved me most.“Your mother didn’t want you, Celio,” Isla would say, her voice sharp and filled with disdain. “She threw you away like you were nothing
Luka's POV The day started out like any other. Mika, Sawyer, and I were playing in the woods behind the palace, chasing each other through the trees, our laughter echoing in the air. At seven years old, we were pretending to be fierce wolves on a hunt, leaping over fallen logs and dodging branches. It was perfect, like it always was when we were together.But then everything changed in an instant.I heard the thud first—a sound so sharp and heavy that it made my heart skip a beat. I stopped and turned around, the world seeming to move in slow motion as I saw Mika crumple to the ground, his face twisted in pain.“Mika!” I shouted, racing back to him. The sight that met me made my stomach lurch. His leg was twisted at an odd angle, and there was blood—so much blood—pouring out of a long, deep gash along his shin. It covered the grass, bright and red, and kept coming. I couldn’t breathe.Sawyer came running up, her eyes huge and frightened as she saw the blood. “Luka, what happened?” sh
Jaselyn's POV I took his hand, and he pulled me close, holding me from behind as we swayed gently to the music. His lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “You’re beautiful, you know that? Even after everything, you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m the luckiest man alive to have you.”Tears pricked my eyes, but they weren’t tears of sadness this time. They were tears of happiness, of gratitude. “Rion… you don’t know how much that means to me.”He kissed my neck softly. “You mean everything to me, Jas.”Suddenly, the music stopped, and a projector flickered on. I turned to see a slideshow of pictures—our memories together. Photos of us when we first arrived at the Pack, a few of the whole family, some from the day of our mating ceremony, which also doubled with the coronation, pictures of us as Alpha and Luna at a few events, including one of us at the Peace Ball. Pictures of me with the twins when they were born and finally, pictures of us with Luka and Mika. I
Jaselyn’s POVExhausted didn’t even begin to cover how I felt. I was beyond it. No, it was more like EXHAUSTED in capital letters, underlined and bold. It had been a few days since Luka and Mika were born, and though I’d prepared myself for the sleepless nights and constant feeding, nothing could have readied me for the complete overwhelm of being a new mother to two newborns at the same time. Rion helped as much as he could. He was always there, doing everything in his power to make things easier for me. But there was only so much even he could do. There were things I had to handle myself—breastfeeding, comforting them when they both decided to cry at the same time, managing the constant pain in my body that hadn’t fully recovered from the trauma of childbirth.Luka was a good feeder. He latched on almost immediately, eager to nurse, but Mika wasn’t doing as well. He struggled with breastfeeding, and that meant more time spent trying to get him to eat, more time stressing about whet
Jaselyn's POVFive years have passed since the birth of our twin boys.And in those years, Luka and Mika had grown into mischievous, spirited children who constantly kept me on my toes. They were inseparable, their bond unbreakable, and they moved through life with a shared sense of curiosity and adventure.Completely identical, they inherited the dominant Solstice genes with their ebony black hair, deep green eyes, and strikingly beautiful features. They were so similar in appearance that even their grandmother couldn’t tell them apart.Only Rion and I could tell which was Luka and which was Mika, and the boys often used this to their advantage, tricking everyone around them. But when they weren’t up to mischief, they were the sweetest children imaginable—kind, considerate, and always eager to bring a smile to my face.They were the best of friends, always looking out for each other. If one fell ill,
Rion's POV“That’s it, Luna,” the midwife encouraged. “The hardest part is over. Just one more push, and we’ll have him out.”Jaselyn nodded weakly, her face pale and slick with sweat. She gritted her teeth, her whole body trembling as she summoned the last of her strength. With a final, desperate scream, she pushed again, her body arching off the bed as she bore down with everything she had left.The baby slipped free with a gush of fluid and blood, his tiny body wriggling and slick in the midwife’s hands. “It’s a boy!” she announced, holding him up for us to see, his loud, piercing cries filling the room.My heart swelled with emotion as I gazed at our son, his tiny face scrunched up in a wail, his fists clenched and shaking. Tears blurred my vision as I looked at Jaselyn. “He’s beautiful,” I choked out, my voice thick with emotion. “Jas, you did it. You gave us a
Rion's POVI slammed my fist against the desk, sending papers flying. The frustration had been building for months, and now it was boiling over. "Dammit!" I cursed, pacing the room in a futile attempt to calm myself. We had conquered the Rain Forest Pack with ease, but it had been a hollow victory. Hadrian, that fool, had chosen to die rather than betray his cousin, Isla. He'd poisoned himself before we could get any information out of him. Another dead end.The Fishers were a twisted bunch. Part of me relished the thought of wiping them out for good, to rid the world of their poison. Isla had slipped through our fingers, and I was beginning to fear we’d never find her. If I could only get my hands on her, I would make her pay for taking Celio. She would wish she had never been born.Blade had been another disappointment, another dead end in our search for Celio. We had pushed him to his absolute limits, hoping that the pain and pressure would force
Jaselyn's POV“Maybe we could…shower together?” I suggested hesitantly. “It might help me relax.”Rion smiled softly, his eyes filled with understanding. “That sounds like a great idea. Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”We both undressed completely, and I followed him into the bathroom. He turned on the shower, adjusting the water temperature until it was just right, then we stepped under the warm spray together.The water cascaded over us, washing away the tension and the grime from the day. Rion wrapped his arms around me from behind, holding me close as the water streamed down our bodies. I leaned back against him, feeling the steady beat of his heart against my back. His touch was gentle, his hands moving over my skin with care, never lingering too long in one place.He washed my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp in slow, soothing circles. I closed my eyes, letting myself relax under
Jaselyn's POVI agreed to see Nae, but only because I needed to know if she could give me any information about where Isla might have taken Celio. It was my only lead, and I wasn’t about to let it slip through my fingers, no matter how much I despised Nae.Before heading to see her, I turned to Rion. His clothes were torn and stained with dirt and blood from the battle. He looked tired, and I could see the weariness in his eyes despite his usual confident stance. He needed rest, and he needed to be taken care of. After everything he had done for me, it was the least I could do for him.“Come with me,” I said softly, taking his hand. I led him back to our bedroom, feeling a mixture of nerves and determination. “Rion, I want our lives to go back to normal,” I began, my voice wavering slightly. “I want to feel close to you again.”He looked at me with a mix of surprise and concern. “Jas, you don’t h