ADESSA.“I just need to figure out who’s messing up our lives,” Kael said, and I tried to make sense of his words. Our lives? Or did he mean my life? Did I understand him correctly? I was sure someone was trying to sabotage mine, but him? I was still conversing with myself when he grabbed my hand and guided me out of the room. Everything after that became a blur.As much as I wanted to talk about what he said, I remained mummed, as I didn’t want any discussion in public. Hopefully, he could rent a car where we could talk privately.“Ready to go home?” Kael asked after he gave me the takeout bag from the drive-through. I nodded my head, and he began maneuvering the car to drive away.This was it. I needed to tell him about Miranda before we exited this city. But just when I was about to open my mouth, his phone rang. We bought a charger before renting a car, and he charged it right away as soon as we sat inside this vehicle. He turned it on just before we got our food. “Landon…” He
ADESSA.“Why Desiree?” Kael asked him right away.He didn’t even greet him.“Finally, you asked! Now, make sure you don’t fucking drop the phone on me while I’m trying to explain.” Rasmus was talking too fast.I understood him because whenever he called and attempted to speak Kael, Kael would hang up without hearing the rest of his speech.“Talk! I’m listening.” Kael said. “I don’t know any Desiree! That woman I fucked was named Savannah. That was the name she gave me, and it was too fucking far from Desiree!”“Why should I believe you?” Kael asked, and I tried to gauge his reaction if hearing Desiree fuck another man would elicit a foul reaction from him like he used to whenever this topic came between us at the early part of our marriage.But he was acting nonchalantly and “For fuck’s sake, Kael, you should know better that I would never take any woman that had gone to bed with. I would never take any leftovers—for my ego and for my sanity! If I knew she was the Desiree you were he
ADESSA.“I believe Miranda was the one who sold me to Alpha Draco,” I said in a soft voice, but enough for Kael to hear. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, and my heart began to thud loudly. I sank deeper into my seat, thinking if this was the part where he would shout at me for trying to smudge his stepmother’s name. “Listen first. I was inside the van, and they forced me to sign something—a paper. I didn’t even get a glimpse of whatever it was. I just signed because they pointed a gun at me.” He didn’t say anything or didn’t even look at me, but I could see his expression darken. “The car drove by to her home, and one of the men inside went out and gave her the paper I signed. I knew it was her. It was her home, and I saw her face. She took the paper from him.” “Your farewell letter...”“What?”“Did you write a farewell letter for me?”“No. The only things I left on your desk were the credit cards and the wedding ring. But then they put the ring into my pocket when we wer
ADESSA.“You were on the phone with me, and you didn’t tell me you were coming here?” Rasmus’ voice rang in the air after he barged into the living room of Aunt Aria’s home. “Maybe because I don’t trust you.” Kael rose from his seat next to me and turned to face him.“And yet you’re in my territory.” Rasmus scoffed.“I’m not here for you, but Aunt Aria.”“Enough, you two. We have a more pressing thing to discuss.” Aunt Aria stood up before walking toward her son, placing her hand on his chest and rubbing it softly. “What’s going on?” He asked his mother. “Have you watched the news lately?”“I don’t watch TV, you know that.” He replied. Aunt Aria moved away from him and picked up the remote control. She scanned the channels until she found one with a breaking news advisory.Kael’s hand grabbed mine and pulled me up from the couch before letting me stand in front of him. He gripped the corners of my shoulders, keeping me close to him.My face flashed on the TV, making me flinch, but
KAEL.“You need to be careful,” Adessa said. Her eyes softened, and even if she was trying to smile, I could see the worry in her expression. I raised my hand and let my knuckles run over her soft cheek. “You’ll be safe here. I will come back as soon as I can. Keep the phone I gave you close, and never call me unless they’re here. I will call you when I can.”She nodded. “I have to go.”“The last time you said goodbye to me, you came back unconscious, badly beaten, and on the brink of death.” Her eyes watered before she continued. “Can you make sure to come back alive?” I smiled and nodded before wrapping my arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. “I will come back alive. I have many things to make up for, and I need to get you out of this mess first.”She didn’t say anything, but I felt her squeeze my body as she hugged me tightly, as if she didn’t want to let go. I turned my head to the side and kissed the side of her cheek, but I let my lips linger there, wanting t
KAEL.I saw Dexter’s hand coiled on his sides. I met his gaze and told him what to do next. “Go to the bank first thing tomorrow morning and freeze all her accounts. I also want records of her transactions in the last two years, three if possible.”“I can do that,” Dexter said, nodding his head in respect. “Where is Luna Adessa?”“I don’t know,” I answered, leaning forward on my desk again. “I’ll be out for a week or two starting tomorrow.”“What?” They asked in unison. “Where are you going?” Dexter asked.“I have some business to attend to. All I need is a guarantee this pack will be handled efficiently.”“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that. I’ve been managing this pack in your absence while you were in a coma, but I need to know your whereabouts and what else to expect.”“But you have Luna Adessa giving the final decisions for everything.” Landon butted him, debunking his words. Dexter’s forehead creased before he responded to that. “She has the last say, but we both kno
KAEL.I looked at the photos in my hands, and I still couldn’t believe everything that was revealed to me. The man who gave me this information had been gone for some time, and yet the conversation between us kept playing in my head. “I have the information about your girlfriend, Alpha Kael.” He said after I acknowledged his greetings. “Ex-girlfriend.” I corrected him before I pointed to the chair in front of my desk, motioning for him to sit down. “Let’s get to the point, as I don’t have the luxury of time today.”He nodded his head, then placed a brown envelope on the table and pushed it toward me before taking his seat. “That’s what I collected in the forty-eight hours that I followed her. She didn’t go anywhere besides that apartment. They went out three times—to a drive-through and bought groceries .”My forehead creased. “They?”“You will understand more once you see the photos inside.” Without saying anything more, I grabbed my letter opener and proceeded to open the envelope
KAEL.I left the territory after lunch. But before that, I met my staff at the Central Hall. I informed them I would be out of the territory for the next two weeks, and Alpha Rasmus would take charge of the pack in my absence.I could see they had questions about why Rasmus was needed, so before anyone could ask, I told them there was serious going on in the pack that needed a decision from an Alpha. They didn’t argue anymore or question that.But then someone asked about Adessa and what I knew about what happened to her. I was itching to tell them I would stand by their former Luna and support her, but I kept my opinion to myself. I reminded them that I would not entertain any more questions about her as her case was ongoing. It looked like I was turning my back on her. But it didn’t matter to me. It was enough that Adessa knew I was on her side.The last thing I wanted was for news to spread that I was defending her. The person handling her case might assume I was hiding her and inc
ADESSA.“I’m not complaining. It was a good one year.” I told him, still smiling, and this time I nodded my head to convince him more.He took my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing my knuckles. “The best is yet to come. I promise…”He lowered our hands but kept holding mine as we continued to drive in silence. Despite losing his memory, Kael was still the same Kael I knew. He was always calculated and never seemed fazed by uncertainties or danger, but something about him changed. He became more expressive.Before his accident, he would always kiss me or hug me, which frequently ended up with us having sex. But lately, he would do the same but never push more. He was content to simply hold my hand or give me a hug. And I liked it.If I were being honest, I had no idea if I should be grateful for all the things happening in my life at the moment because Kael was being extra protective and attentive to me like he had never been before.“We’re here.” His voice snapped back to the p
KAEL. Adessa’s eyes fluttered open. She was looking straight ahead, still lost in her thoughts, and I just let her be. We were already threading a narrow, rough road through the deep part of the forest. The canopies of the trees filtered the sun, casting shadows across the path and making the area darker and gloomy, even if it was already midmorning. The road was barely wide enough for a car, but it only meant I was in the right direction. It had been almost a decade since I’d been here, but it looked and felt the same. “Where are we heading?” she finally asked, breaking the silence between us. “We need a place to stay for at least a day so you can rest, and I can make some adjustments on our way to the north.”“This seems to be too far from civilization already.”“Are you scared of where I would take you?” I teased her. She turned her head to me, and a smile slowly curled on her red lips. “You can tell me we’re on the road to hell, and I will still come with you. Hell with you s
KAEL. Adessa’s screams were drawn by the explosion behind us as we made it to the next exit.I shifted my eyes from the side mirror to the rearview and caught sight of her looking through the back window. I could only see the back of her head, but I could tell she was shaking. I wanted to check on her, but I needed to be far away from here before any of their backup came, or worse, the police officers.I reached the end of the bridge and found myself at a roundabout. I had no idea where the road I chose would lead us, but I kept driving. Anywhere would be fine, as long as we ended far away from the scene. It didn’t take long for the siren’s sound to reverberate through the air, but it quickly faded as my car accelerated away.“Adessa…” I was finally able to utter a word, and it snapped her from looking at the back window. It had already been a long time since the explosion was no longer visible, yet she remained staring. She moved swiftly, crawling back to the front seat just in ti
KAEL.The moment Brooke entered the shop, I knew she was trouble. I had no idea if she was among the ones sent by Draco to find us, but I wasn’t taking chances. She belonged to his pack and was part of his Delta’s Shield—the top security squad of a pack. Brooke also attended the Alpha Academy as she belonged to an affluent family. I was sure Draco had been ignoring her existence until she hooked up with me, and the next thing I knew, he was fucking her too. So, I cut off all ties with her, and he eventually moved on from her as well. It only went to show that Draco had an obsession with taking females from my arms—whether I was serious with them or not. I knew this was the reason he was after Adessa.I discreetly removed my ring, not wanting Brooke to associate me with my wife in case she was sent to track us. Like I believed it would happen, she showed interest in me, whether ordered by Draco or she was simply flirting.I heard the door to the restroom open, and my heart stopped.
ADESSA.“Anyway, would you like to grab a coffee?” The woman asked him.My eyes rolled, and I was about to head to the counter to pay for my chips when I remembered Kael had the credit card we could use. So I put everything in my arms and walked out of the shop without looking back at them.“So, where are you heading?” It was the last thing I heard before the door closed. “So, where are you heading?” I mimicked how she spoke while rolling my eyes again as I walked toward the car. I wanted to scream. The last time I felt jealous like this was when Desiree was sitting on his lap. And while we were married, it was always Desiree but no one else.In the one year we were together, Kael never made me feel invisible around other women.I was almost near the car when it beeped, startling me, only for me to realize it was Kael who opened the door with his key. He surely saw me going out. I sat inside and tried to steady my heavy breathing.I wanted to think rationally. Maybe since the female
ADESSA.“I think we can stop here, but we need to make it fast,” Kael spoke, and I nodded in agreement.After two hours of driving from the Bellouf Theme Park, we finally stopped so he could tank up, and I could go to the toilet. I was about to unbuckle my seatbelt when he stopped me. I turned my head to look at him, and he immediately grabbed my chin before pulling me toward him. He then leaned forward, capturing my lips and began kissing me passionately. “Kael…” I mumbled against his kisses. I wanted to tell him that we needed to leave, but instead, my arms moved on their own, wrapping around his neck, and my lips started kissing him back.He pushed me back onto my seat, his upper body leaning on me as he kissed me harder and deeper, his grip tightening around my chin.He then pulled away from kissing me, leaving inches between our lips. I gasped for air as he spoke. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for many hours now.”“Then stop talking,” I told him before pulling him closer again
KAEL.“He couldn’t walk, so I carried him out. When I was about to go back, I couldn’t anymore. The fire had already consumed the whole cabin.” I continued speaking. “They said a candle caused it, and she might not have sensed the fire until it was too late. It was almost winter, so all the windows were closed. She was trapped in her room.”“I’m sorry…”“They found my mother in the ensuite bathroom. It was probably the only place she was able to escape to. She was naked. She shifted into her wolf but probably couldn’t get out.” My voice broke. Adessa took my hand and cupped it with both her hands, squeezing it gently.“For many years, I struggled to accept the reality that I could have saved her, but I was not able to do so. While Rasmus spent many years trying to save me from everything, proving that he was worth costing my mother’s life.”Silence befell us before I decided to say more. “I don’t know what I felt when I found him with Desiree, but it must have been painful, not only b
KAEL.We’d been driving for almost two hours, and Adessa had fallen asleep. She was tired from all the running and hiding she’d been doing these past few weeks, so I let her sleep while I did my best to keep myself awake. I could take my sleep once we were on our way to the north. For now, I needed to get us as far away from here as possible. I was almost at the Bellouf Theme Park when my phone rang. It startled Adessa. Adessa’s hands flew out in the air as she gasped for breath. My hand went to her thigh, tapping it twice before rubbing it gently.“I’m here…” I mumbled loudly enough for her to hear while the phone continued to ring.She turned her head in my direction, and when she saw me, it was only then that her shoulders relaxed, and she sank back into her seat.I smiled at her before I spoke. “Rasmus is calling. You can go back to sleep.”She shook her head before she leaned her head to the window, crossing her arms across her chest, her eyes focusing on the dark road in fron
KAEL.“You need to leave. Now!” Rasmus said, and I could hear the urgency in his voice. “Shit! It’s fucking midnight!” I brushed my hand over my hair while the other was on my hips.I turned around to look at Adessa. She was sitting, the blanket covering up to her waist. The color had gone out of her face. “You need to go. In approximately forty minutes, they’ll reach the packhouse,” Rasmus said.“Put your clothes on. We’re leaving,” I told Adessa in a much calmer voice. She nodded, and I stepped out of the room and closed the door. “I’ll prepare something that you can take with you on the road,” Aunt Aria said as she walked away from us. I thanked her, but I was not sure if she heard me because she was walking too fast. “How the fuck they ended up here? And at midnight?” I asked, still in disbelief.“I have no answer for that, but it didn’t matter at this point. Here…” He handed me a pouch, and I opened it. “Good thing they gave me this after dinner. Or tomorrow would be too late.