AUTUMN:Hughโs eyes went down and then back to my face. Could the snow bury me alive? How could I face him like this?โA-Autumn?โMy cheeks flamed. โTurn around! Dammit!โHe jerked and finally realized what I was saying and obliged.โWhy are you n-naked?โIt was already normal for werewolves like us to be naked. It was no big deal. We were usually like this after shifting back to our human form but being seen by the alpha was never okay. He didn't even say any part of my body when we were children. How much more when we were already adults?โWhy are you here, Hugh?โโI was looking for you all over the house. Did you sleep here? Out of the cold?โWith his back against me, I put all my clothes as fast as I could while my heart was beating wildly against my ribcage.What kind of bad luck did this day carry? I wished it would be gone.โBlame it on my wolf. She wanted to run. I did some favors, but what did she do? She slept in here without realizing how dangerous it was!โโYeah. A bear mi
AUTUMN:โP-Put me down, Hugh. I am heavy,โ I said, my voice shivering.He stared down at me and said, โDo you remember the past, Autumn?โโWhat past?โ I asked, but I already had an idea what it was. Our childhood memories which turned out he was still keeping inside his heart.I was surprised since I believed Maddox and Hugh had already forgotten me. โRemember when we were children? I always carried you on my back.โ He had a faraway look on his face. I smiled at the memory. โYou always called me heavy,โ I recalled and sighed. โYou and Maddox would always tease me saying I weighed like an elephant.โ I would believe them, then I would cry. That was the only time that they would stop. He smiled.My heart fluttered, seeing his gorgeous smile. He was always handsome no matter what he did. I stilled, realizing I was already gawking at him. What was worse was that I was already complimenting him, and no bad words would come out of my mouth. Damn. Since when did I always compliment him?
AUTUMN:I cared about the alpha's feelings, too, but it did not mean I would drive Eric away because of him. That man did not do anything wrong at all and it would be a shame if I told him to return to his home without him doing anything wrong. "You think I am that kind of woman? That I am heartless?" I asked. Until now, it was still a surprise how little he thought of me. "Let me go, Hugh. Put me down. If you think I am that kind of selfish, put me down."He groaned. "That's not what I am trying to say.""It looks the same to me, anyway. If you don't trust me. If you think this is unfair to you, Hugh, stop pursuing me.""No, never," he growled. With reluctance, he let go of me and put me down. Then, I ran towards Eric, who was watching Hugh with an intense look. Never wasting anything, he asked, "May I know if you two are already in a relationship?" Glancing over my shoulder, Alpha Hugh was now sauntering towards us. "No. Not yet." "Not yet," he whispered. "So you have plans of
AUTUMN:I was not bothered at all or scared at what Hugh would do to me. He will never hurt me. What I was scared of was Eric. I was scared for his safety. The two might kill each other all because of me. Before they would kill each other, I moved away from Eric.โI-I am fine, Eric. Thank you very much for thinking about me.โHis shoulders fell on both sides. He might feel that I was rejecting him and his touch. My stomach churned slightly. I wanted to return to his arms, so as not to hurt him, but if I did that, Hugh would be mad too. The best thing to do was to stay out of his sight as soon as possible.Remembering that they were supposed to go out, I halted and faced the alpha. โPlease allow me to go with Eric. He wants me to come with him to check some property.โ Hughโs eyes narrowed, and he pocketed his hands.โWhy did it have to be you? He has a lot of people under him.โโI don't know, Alpha Hugh. But maybe it's because he wanted me to tour around the area.โ It was only rar
AUTUMN:"Hey? Are you okay, Eric? Did I say something wrong? You suddenly turned quiet," I asked. I wondered if it had something to do with what I replied earlier? Do you not like any surprises?Silence stretched between us, until he finally replied, "It's nothing."That was one of my pet peevesโ saying it was nothing, but it was actually something for that person. "O-Okay. But it looked like it was nothing. Something made you quiet, Eric. It's good to tell me about it."He forced a smile. "It's nothing that you should be worried about, Autumn."I gave him a half-shrug and stared right ahead. I had to let him do whatever he wanted. For now.The image of that beautiful house resurfaced inside my head. I wish I could also have a house in the near future. "So, what are you planning with that house? Will you do some buy and sell? You will buy and then you will sell it again for a reasonable price after some renovations? Or will you make it as yours I don't know. Maybe vacations? Is you
AUTUMN:Eric had found his mate, something which we did not expect at all, especially him. His eyebrows met, and I could see the visible worry on his face. Worry for this woman.My heart sank, and I bit my lower lip. Dang it. Why did I finally become sad? "Let's bring him to the hospital," I said when he just stared at the woman, completely mesmerized. "Just to be sure. She might have unseen injuries which we did not know at all."His eyes never left the woman, and he did not respond to me right away. I shifted my eyes at the woman. Curly red hair. Oval face and breast that perfectly molded her body. Despite her dirty appearance, she was gorgeous.Eric cleared his throat. This must be the first time he saw his mate. "You're right. Let's bring her to the hospital."Just as he was about to scope her in his arms, the woman's eyes snapped open until her eyes landed on Eric. First, it was confusing. Followed by fear when she realized all eyes were on her. My heart sank.I knew what w
AUTUMN:That woman was definitely Eric's mate. But my question was, would his decision still be the same after claiming that he would still choose me even if he found his mate?"W-what's your next move?" I asked, clenching my fist. If he wanted to save her, I did not have any choice at all.We finally arrived at Hugh's house and pulled into the garage. "What else?" he asked. "I don't know any more about Autumn."He was confused and torn between me and that woman. "Hey. If you....if you're confused, don't choose me, okay?"He glanced at me using the rearview mirror. "What do you mean, Autumn?"I forced a smile. "You know what I mean, Eric. You know what I mean.โBefore he could answer, I stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut. I heard the driver's seat door open until I heard him call me my name.Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Eric wearing a conflicted look on his face. I pitied him."I'm sorry, Autumn.""You don't have to say that. Like I said, you should think about cho
AUTUMN:Hugh loved me. He loved me? He loved me!The confession shocked me to the core and all I could do was watch him with wide eyes. When I did not say anything at all, he continued, "I loved you, Autumn and I am willing to risk everything to have you. I want to spend the rest of my days with you. I'm so sorry for taking this too long to say, but now, I am one hundred percent sure of my feelings for you."A confession coming from him was definitely not what I expected. "What about your mother? What about your family? What about your pack? What about Beta Maddox? What about the people around you?โ I asked. His brows formed a straight line. "Just because I loved her does not mean I'm going to listen to her when it comes to relationships. You're my mate, Autumn and I will do my best to keep you in my life."A lump suddenly formed in my throat, and what happened earlier was temporarily forgotten.Hugh loved me. My mate loved me. Finally. "You're only confused, Hugh," I said after a
AUTUMN:I chuckled softly to lessen the heavy feeling in the surroundings. "Who said Daddy and I are getting married?" Images of Hugh and I walking down the aisle resurfaced in my mind, bringing a smile to my face. Why not?Wasnโt marriage to be the last goal with this man? Maddox folded his arms in front of his chest while eyeing me. It looked like he was mad at me or something like that. Hugh, on the other hand, popped his eyes open and looked around.Good because I definitely wanted someone to help me right now."Uncle Cedric said so, Miss Autumn.โ The child shrugged off his shoulders. "I don't know, Miss Autumn. I will ask him next time. Is it true, Miss Autumn?"Cedric? That man again. What was running on his mind when he said the alpha and I would get married? If my groom would be Hugh, the idea of getting married was no longer scary. โWhy would he say that? You must not believe everything that he was going to say. Do you understand?โโWhy, Miss Autumn?โโPeople lie somet
AUTUMN:"Autumn?" Hugh asked as if he was going to die from happiness. It looked like he was going to jump out of sheer happiness. Real happiness. I chuckled nervously. "Y-yes? What is it, Hugh?"Trisha giggled, loving how the event turned properly. She approved how I finally became true to myself and accepted this man. Perhaps this was the right time. PerhapsโฆI should now accept his love and see if we were meant to be each other or not. I will never know if I will not try. Hughโฆthis man was worth it, right? Was he worth the pain? StillโฆWhy did I say that I loved him, too? I must have been sleepy at that time. Was it too soon to say it?โWhat theโฆyou're out of your mind. The alpha had been waiting for you for almost six months.โWas it six months? No. It was not six months. It was shorter than that. Butโฆlove could not be measured by time. If that was the case, I wondered what would be measured by love? How will we know if we already loved that person? How will we know if he was
AUTUMN:When I shifted my gaze to the woman, I found her leaning toward Eric and was already sleeping at his side.She looked like an innocent doll beside him. She looked so fragile that their protective instinct resurfaced. Maybe that was also the reason why Eric chose this woman over me. The need to protect this woman was the strongest. They deserved each other and it was only time that their paths would cross. I felt sorry for her.Until now, there were bruises all over her body.Whoever did this to her deserved to die over and over again. Men who hurt women were the worst. I wanted them to suffer until the last breath. "That settled it then. We need to inform Cedric about this new arrangement," Maddox stated. โThis will not be permanent. Until we know the person behind this. However, Eric. If you believe you can handle the risk, you can have her as long as she will come with you.โ"Cedric already knows as of the moment," Hugh informed. โI told him over the mind link.โThat fas
AUTUMN:"Yes. May I know who she is?" I asked, seconding Maddox. No one wanted to answer. Hugh was glaring at me. Probably because he was mad that I only arrived now and Eric. He could not really meet my gaze. Maybe because he was guilty that once in his life, he was sure that he was going to take me as his mate, but now? He suddenly changed his tone. Was I hurting for his change of heart?No.It was more like the feeling of betrayal. Like how could he claim he was sure of me and then changed the next time?"Eric? Why? Are you guilty that you suddenly lose your tongue?โโAutumn โฆโ he started but there were no words in his mouth to add. He looked so guilty. He should be. โI do not believe that the woman is not important; I don't think you will come here at this hour, wait for us until we get home and let us think that this is an ordinary scene."What I was curious about was why they did not let the woman retire for the night? Or let her go? Or whatever was needed to make her have
AUTUMN:My eyes widened. What the heck?This was the reason why he was mad? Sabrina was calling off the wedding? And Maddox allowed her? Why? I grabbed the coffee and forgot that it was hot. My tongue burned. But it was not enough to recover me from shock. "Oh, shit," I muttered out loud. "That's totally unexpected. Why would your beloved Sabrina let you go? You're a big fish under the sea, Maddox." โI may be a big fish, but there are other bigger fishes than me,โ he responded, trying to act cool. Was he in pain right now? Or was it his ego that was in pain? โYou meanโฆ Does she like someone else? There are far better looking men than you on her standard? I thought you're the only one in her heart?โBut nevertheless, a certain part of me was happy that they will not pursue the marriage. Not because I want to be the bride-to-be but because Maddox did not deserve that woman.Maddox laughed, and it was weird. I flinched. He rarely laughed. He was always serious unlike Hugh who was
AUTUMN:It took me a couple of minutes before I got over Maddox's statement. He was already near the entrance of the restaurant as if he was the owner himself. He strode with so much confidence. Until now, his words kept ringing in my head.Me flirting with him? How could I talk to him? Opening a conversation? Forgetting the past and moving on could be flirting?Since when did I do that? That was such a serious statement that I could not let it pass.I stepped out of the car, and ran after him as fast as I couldโchasing him. The need to correct him persisted and I will not stand still without talking to him. The security guard opened the door right away when the beta entered. The atmosphere inside the restaurant suddenly shifted when he entered.A beta had entered. Maybe that was what was running in their mind right now. All werewolves would identify him right away. The hostess bowed and smiled at him. From the scent they gave off, most of them werewolves from the neighboring
AUTUMN:I was occasionally glancing at Beta Maddox from the rearview mirror. The tense atmosphere inside the car told me that he was not in the mood for any kind of conversation.The beta was not in the mood. The car was filled with nothing but silence.After he reached out using our mind link, he told me that he was going back to the mansion even if we will get there late at night. I was about to say that I will eat first, but sensing that he was not in the mood to hear anything, I kept my mouth shut.So here I was, in the rear passenger seat, occasionally watching him from the mirror.His hands held the steering wheel as if he was choking someone else. I badly wanted to know the unlucky person who got on his bad side. It was not me, right? I never accepted Alpha Dimitriโs invitation saying we could do it next time. When we have a lot of time.The alpha wanted to ask for my number, but told him I was not using any phone. I did not have one.To my surprise, he gave me his spare phone
BETA MADDOX:My gaze darted at Sabrinaโs bare neck, not marred by any marks.Lifting my gaze, Sabrina and I had a staring contest. โDid you hear what I said, Maddox? I will not call off the wedding if you will give me the mark that I deserve. We both promised each other. We promised that we will choose each other regardless of what will happen. Give me my mark.โA mark that would ward off any males. A mark that was a silent sign that this woman was mine and no one would take her away from me. When we both chose each other, she demanded right away that I should make her. However, I kept on delaying it everytime.So it reached this point.A mark in exchange for marrying me.Extend your fangs and mark her, the other part of my mind said. Except that it was not that easy. My wolf refused to do it. It was set on choosing Autumn as its mate. No one else. Not even this beautiful woman in front of me. No matter how much I begged my wolf to mark Sabrina, it will never cooperate. According
BETA MADDOX:I was seated on the chair, while eyeing my fiancee on the table, scanning the photo album in front of herโ our prenup photos. It was already a week since it arrived, but because I was sick that time, we were not able to look at it together. After the rehearsal, Sabrina informed me she would come inside my room and we would watch the photo album together. โAwโฆyou were so handsome with all these pictures, Maddox.โ She grabbed her phone and took a picture of it. โDone. I will be sending this to my family's group chat and they will be envious of me.โA group chat with all her family. Where she openly bullied Autumn. The woman could not even defend herself against them.โYou don't have to do that.โShe clicked her tongue together and said, โNonsense. We do a lot of this prenup and we will only make use of this if they will get jealous of me.โโYou don't have to do that.โโNo way! This is my wedding and I wanted them to be jealous. I will be the talk of the town, Maddox that