Thank you for waiting. I know you're also waiting for Mindy and Arlo's story. I promise I will give you chapters just for them before the book ends, picking up from the time Maddox died, but for now, I don't want to take the focus from our main leads. ❤
XANDER.I moved into the small house attached to the main house of the Trevino Farm. This was where Maximus’ driver used to reside. The space was enough for me. I didn’t need the big house. I didn’t need a reminder that I was alone again. I moved in four days ago, but I’d been visiting this place for a week before that to meet the workers and assess the situation. To be fair, the humans working here seemed happy and thriving. It appeared Maximus was a better person with humans than when he was with shifters, or maybe his age had calmed him down from his old ways. The farm had been producing milk, cow products, and several vegetables, but the net income wasn’t great lately. It kept the farm going with enough money to cover bills and the salaries of the workers. In short, it was still surviving. But for how long? That was the question. I had no idea how to manage this place, but I was used to skilled labor, so I didn’t mind working alongside the people. The workers here were kind e
XANDER. “Hello, sleepy head.” She spoke softly, and only then did I realize she was truly here. “Did I disturb your sleep?”She wore a floral long dress, which is typical of females around here when they are not working. With her hair down, she looked so young and beautiful.Nadine rarely wore a dress at the Dark Forest, as I requested her not to, so Maddox wouldn’t have any chance to see her tattoo. Although I had seen her in a gold dress during Catherine’s Claiming, I had already forgotten how beautiful she looked in feminine clothes. “Earth to Farmer Xander...” She waved her hand in front of me, and I moved to sit straight, inching a bit away from her. I thought she would be upset with that, but the smile remained on her face.“What are you doing here?” I asked.“Visiting you…”“In a dress. On a farm?”“What’s wrong with my dress? The place is so beautiful, and I have to match the energy.” She held the hem of her dress and flapped it like a little girl showing off her dress.Nadin
NADINE. I was nervous to meet Xander, but I prepared myself never to snap at him or return the animosity regardless of how he treated me. Xander might have been indifferent whenever we talked or saw each other, but his actions showed he cared for me. Why would he give me all the properties he had acquired if he wasn’t thinking about me? He might still feel guilty about what Maximus and Maddox did, but I knew it was more because of me.Despite everything, I knew Xander wanted me. He was just fighting whatever he felt because he didn’t want to live a pack life. Or was it because I was the Alpha, and he would be deemed weaker than me? But Xander had always been confident of his own strength. Didn’t he play the role of the weak brother for many months, unaffected by the opinions of others?Besides, I knew in my heart that I might be the Alpha, but only Xander knew how to make me weak and surrender to him. Lower my pride. Do not shout at the first sign of rejection.Do not walk away
NADINE.“Xander,” A female’s voice snapped his attention from me, and he immediately straightened up, wiping his hands on his jeans.I was seated, my hand latched on a cow’s breasts, pumping milk from her. Xander was teaching me how to do it. Earlier, I asked him what work he would give me. He told me he didn’t really have any vacancies, but he knew I needed money for my vacation. Since he was kindhearted, he decided to give me work. I laughed at the way our conversation went, and I was not going to deny that I was enjoying my moments with him. Being around Xander had always been a joy, as he knew the right jokes to make me laugh, but everything changed when I found myself in a cell. But I was glad that I was seeing the old Xander I met.He guided me to a cattle house where some dairy cows were kept. He told me they milk cows here manually, as the ones produced in this area were for his and the workers’ personal use.That was why I ended up milking one. “What’s wrong, Sidney?” Xande
XANDER. The moment I kissed Nadine, I couldn’t stop. There was no denying that she could make me bend my will in an instant, and no matter how much I distanced myself from her, one smile and I surrendered. I was lost in the sensation of kissing and devouring her lips while my hand slowly slipped inside her jeans. I waited for her to object, but all she did was moan and whimper under my hold and press her front onto my throbbing erection. My hand squeezed her ass before it moved downward, cupping her core, which was already soaking her panties, and with her arousal swirling in the air, I knew things would escalate from here.I didn’t want to stop. I wanted more. But fate surely knew how to mock me.“Sir?” A man’s voice rang in the air, and there was urgency in his tone.My eyes snapped open as I withdrew from her swollen lips and pulled my hand off her pants, resting my arm on the wall just above her face. Our gazes locked. My chest was heaving, my eyes dilating, and I opened my mo
XANDER.The whole day was too slow, and there were too many things to do.My new worker, a beautiful female named Nadine, whom I couldn’t stop staring at, ended up doing nothing but watching and following me wherever I went.For once, I felt secure and at peace just doing my routine, knowing she was just around me. But more than that, I took pleasure in all the little gestures she showed me that let me know how much she always wanted my presence around her.Nadine was a natural when it came to interacting with people. She knew how to make them comfortable, and she knew the right words to make them feel good about themselves.I always knew Nadine to be smart and tough, but seeing her soft side was mesmerizing. It took her only hours to gain their trust, a feat that took me days to accomplish.By nighttime, most of the workers in this place were already calling her Miss Nadine, and some had asked if she was a close friend or more than that. I always tell them to ask her instead. And she
XANDER.“I only have one heart, which belongs to the wildheart standing before me.”Her eyes watered, and I didn’t miss the quivering of her lips. Was she struggling not to cry?“It’s beautiful.” She mumbled.“Not as beautiful as you.” My finger brushed against her soft cheek. She cupped my hand and tilted her head, pressing it more to her face as she closed her eyes, stopping her tears from falling. “I didn’t know you’d notice the tattoo,” I told her. “I did, but I want to make sure I’m not hallucinating.” She replied.Because her head was tilted, my gaze landed on her marked skin, and a surge of hunger ignited within me. Her heat scent was driving me wild, and it was getting harder to control. My cock was already too painful.I couldn’t wait anymore. My head dipped, and my mouth landed on her soft spot where my mark stood, and I began sucking on her skin. Soft moans escaped her lips, and after a while, she grabbed the waistband of my jeans, tugging it lower. She bent further unt
NADINE.Xander gave me more than what I was hoping for, and I just found myself digging my fangs into his skin. I’d been dreaming of carrying his mark and marking him even before I was imprisoned—despite not knowing what lay ahead of us—but I couldn’t because of Mindy.Now that I had him in my arms, with Mindy in a good place and Maddox gone for good, there was no reason not to claim him. “Hmmm…” I moaned as his blood traveled down my throat, and a deeper connection bound us, enveloping my whole sense with warmth and security.Xander was finally mine. All mine.My eyes shut open, and I abruptly pulled away from his neck, scrambling on my ass as I moved away from him. My head tilted to look at him, and his expression was dark. I was right. He was upset. “I’m sorry… I got carried away.” I mumbled.It was a crime to mark a female without her consent, and I was sure it was the same for males. “Sorry for what? For marking me?” He asked.I nodded my head. “I should have…”“You should hav