CHAPTER THREE
CATHERINE'S POV
"Cat I'm trying to help you, it's best you go back, don't get me wrong I'm trying to save you from that beast," Jaxon said, shoving the chair to the ground aggressively.
"I am not going back to my past Jaxon", I said in with the breath shaking I knew that was not the end of this discussion, my voice was not steady at this point, my eyes were already betraying me as tears flooded it, blurring my vision, I tried not to let it down . I can't remember the last time I cried because of Burke.
I walked towards the sofa, already tired of the topic with haste, I picked up my suit jacket with my black purse from the sofa.
I looked at the time, and I was already very late for work. I moved hastily, I have a few patients to attend to this morning and I was running late, after promising them I won't waste their time.
"Are you scared you will go back to him when you see him?" Jaxon asked as I was about to open the door.
Hell, it's one insecurity to another. I really can't blame him though, my feelings for him have never been certain.
"Fuck Jaxon, be realistic, I can't go back to my past will bring me nothing but hurt" I yelled this time around, not bothering if the kids would hear me. I was already very angry that Jaxon thought of me as a cheat.
"What if he hurts you, kidnaps you, tortures you, you said he is not one to bluff, I don't want to lose you to him”, Jaxon's voice was low, and I could tell that he was worried.
I walked closer to him leaving the door opened, I was so close that I could feel his breath, he wanted to speak, but my hug stopped him from speaking, without wasting time, he began to pat my hair, and place kisses on my forehead, I could feel his heartbeat, I knew he was scared and needed my assurance.
"You won't lose me I promise, and Burke cannot do any damn thing to hurt me”, I said, finding peace in hearing his heartbeat, for a second, for a second I wished I loved him as much as he loved me.
We stayed in a hug for a few minutes, until my phone beeped. I opened my bag and brought out my phone to check the message.
It was a message from work. It's Natalie, Sam's mother, asking me where I was.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," I said, breaking the hug, Jaxon smiled down at me, an understanding smile.
"But I have to go, don't miss me too much" I said, as Jaxon placed another kiss on my forehead. I hurried out of the house, I blew a kiss to him before finally leaving.
Jaxon has been working from home, and he has been making good money, but I have been the breadwinner for the past five years because he is saving all his money for a big investment he keeps talking about. I know he has potential and dreams. That's the reason I'm supporting him because he would spoil the kids and I silly when his plans finally hatch.
I hopped into my black SUV and Zoomed off. It wasn't until twenty minutes before I got to the Wellness Center, the hospital where I work and built from scratch.
"Good morning mam?" Collin, the gatekeeper, greeted me after I parked my car in my reserved space.
"Collin, how are you?" I replied to his greetings, as I got out of the car and made my way towards the entrance of my hospital.
"I'm good mam, a letter dropped for you easier this morning," Collin said, walking behind me and trying to keep up with my pace, I stood at that spot so he could meet up with me.
Immediately he handed the letter to me, it felt like a heavy weight was placed in my hands, I was too scared to open it as the thought of Burke, Crescent pack clouded my mind, “what do they really want, it's been seven years now, why now”? I said to myself.
I choose not to believe the letter was from Crescent Pack, as there was no reason why Burke would want me back after seven years.
I couldn't bring myself to open the letter, immediately I saw the Crescent pack symbol, A snake on a pole which stands for good health.
I wanted to throw the letter away but my curiosity took the better part of me, I ripped the letter open, my eyes glaring through the content of the paper,
It's read;
“Come to the pack and save yourself from being kidnapped and tortured, if you are not here by noon today willingly, I will take you against your will, and this is not a threat. See you soon. Burke.
Typical Burke, very much predictable, he thinks I'm still the girl I was years ago.
"Hey girl, where have you been?" Natalie asked, walking towards me and holding two cups of coffee.the other cup belonged to Doctor Nicolas, her long-time crush.
"I have been at home," I said absentmindedly, but Natalie did not notice, she walked till she was a few inches away from me, and she started smiling weirdly.
"Is there a problem?" I asked, knowing that was the question she had intended to hear.
"He asked me out and I said yes, so goodbye girl, I'm not single and Sam is going to have a stepdad soon" she giggled as she walked away from me before I could even say a word.
And as for the “He" I knew it was Doctor Nickolas.
I felt happy for Natalie, she deserves better after what she went through with her ex-husband, that asshole stole all her life savings and ran off with another woman, she could not reach him, and neither could the police. It was when she was crying on this particular day with Sam in her arms sick, with no money to treat him, it looked like Sam was going to die, she came running to the hospital, touched by her story I immediately felt pity for her, no woman should be treated the way he ex- husband treated her, we immediately liked each other, I told her my story and we became friends, she studied nursing in her school days then I decided to employ her,and now we're best of friends in the most ridiculous way possible.
At least she had found a better Man and father to her child, Doctor Nickolas is a better man, I have known him for three years now.
The excitement for Natalie disappeared as I remembered Burke's threat.
The letter from Burke was no joke; he was going to have me kidnapped by noon.
What am I supposed to do?Run away without the kids?
CHAPTER FOUR CATHERINE'S POV On getting to my office, I dumped my purse on my table and collapsed on the office chair. The smell of drugs and sick patients filled the hospital. It felt awkward with the smell when I was in med school but constant visits to the hospitals then has made me familiar with the smell. The thought of Burke clouded my mind, I was trying to figure out his next action, it was not yet noon, I needed to figure something out but nothing was coming to my head. I wondered if I could outsmart Burke I reached for my purse. I wanted to go home to Jaxon and tell him about it but figured that it was a very bad idea. I didn't want Jaxon to feel scared. I don't want to drag him into this because I don't want him to worry about my well-being. I moved my chair to and fro with my hand on my chin. Why am I clueless on what to do? One thing is certain though, I'm not going back to Crescent Pack, not today, not ever. "What with you?, I have been talkin
CHAPTER FIVECATHERINE’S POV “Untie me now, Burke”, I ordered trying to appear brave but deep down, fear gripped my heart tightly, and I could not feel my breath again. Burke walked to my front, I lifted my head to look at him, he had changed so much, his physical appearance was more appealing than before, and he looked more like a man now. A grin appeared on his face making him even more handsome, with the dimples on the left side of his cheeks, "I will untie you," he said, using his hand to brush his black hair backward, which appeared to be a failed attempt as the hair settled back on his forehead. His deep voice brought me back to reality, and I realized I was still tied. "Ok then, do it," I said, trying not to yell, Burke has an intimidating appearance, that is rubbing off on me and I don't know why. "But you will promise you won't run away like you did before," He said, as he bent to the height of the chair where I was seated. I looked into his hazel brown eyes, the w
CHAPTER SIXCATHERINE'S POV My eyes stayed glued on Burke, and I could not believe my ears. I know Ethan had always been sick but he is a hard man to kill, he had fought both humans and sickness all his life before Burke became Alpha. "I don't understand", I said, after finding my voice. "They said he is sick but no one knows what was wrong, I have called all the doctors from across and within the country but no one seemed to know what the cause of his illness is" Burke explained, and for the first time I have known Burke, I could see fear and Vulnerability in his eyes, he did not want to loose his father because he still doesn't know how to be Alpha. "Trust me, I never wanted to bring you back to the pack, because you are living your best life, but I had to, you are the only doctor I haven't invited, and the best in the country," he said, and I won't lie, I felt butterflies in my tummy upon hearing him rain praises on me. "That patronizing, thank you but what if I can't cur
CHAPTER SEVEN CATHERINE'S POV I was still in shock about my recent discovery of Jaxon selling me out, he must have told them the location of my hospital and how to get me. "I'm so foolish," I said to myself, slamming my hand on my forehead angrily. Suddenly I realized my kids might not be safe with him, if he could sell me out to my enemy then he would do worse things to my kids, that I'm sure of. "I need to see Burke," I said loudly, standing up from the bed and storming out of the room. Within a few minutes, I found Burke getting out of the swimming pool, with nothing but blue shorts that covered only his thighs, some servants were around him and all were females, who stood adoring his physique. As Burke stepped out of the pool with water dripping from his shirtless body, I did not know when my mouth dropped open, and my eyes were glued to his fair but almost pale chest, with multiple tattoos on it. I watched as his muscles flexed when he reached to take his towel
CHAPTER EIGHT CATHERINE'S POV Burke's revelation is still a shock to me, as I walked to his father's room, it was almost midnight, and I hadn't seen the state of Ethan's illness. I left Burke in the garden since he had refused to tell me who Sereca cheated on him with, although I felt pity that he had to train three children that weren't his, when he had three other biological children that he doesn't know of, and would never know of. I got to Ethan's room and one of the guards opened the door quickly, making way for me to enter Ethan's room. "Ethan" I screamed, rushing to give him a tight hug as he lay on the bed, looking very sick. I hugged him tightly and he hugged me back, patting my hair gently, I did not realize I had missed Ethan this much. "Where have you been?" He asked as he coughed on my hair, making tears fill my eyes, I hated the fact that Ethan was at the brick of death. "I went to Chicago to start a new life Ethan" I replied to him withdrawing from the h
CHAPTER NINECATHERINE'S POV I haven't seen Burke for two days now. On a normal day, that wouldn't have bothered me but the threat Ava, his wife-to-be made a few days ago, made me want to talk to him. "Bring the bowl closer," I said to one of the maids called Susan, who assisted me in plucking herbs to cure Ethan's Affliction. The Affliction does not have a cure, so I decided to use native herbs to try and cure him. Crescent Pack had a lot of herbs and plants, so searching for a cure would probably not be a problem, I just wanted to hurry up so I could go back to my kids. "Lady Ava, says you should be careful when rooting out that plant," Susan said when I started uprooting an herb called oregano. Hearing her name again reminded me of how she presented herself as Burke’s wife-to-be like I was going to snatch her man. Ava kept giving me angry eyes, although she sounded friendly when she spoke, she also sounded like she would cut my throat if I mess with Burke. Her reactio
CHAPTER TENCATHERINE'S POV I have been rolling on my king-sized bed since, thinking of what happened back there in the garden, making me feel embarrassed all over again. "Gosh" I yelled against the pillow, that I had initially buried my face in, I hated the fact that he could do that to me and make me feel like a fool all over again. I faced the ceiling, wondering if I still had feelings for Burke. "No, I hate him," I said aloud, trying to convince myself, even if it was not convincing enough. "Would I have kissed him and cheated on Jaxon?" I asked myself, guilt filled my eyes, and I felt like a bad person for attempting to cheat on Jaxon. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door, distracting me from my thoughts, I stood up from my bed to get the door. I opened the door only to see Burke and Harley, standing and holding hands passionately. "I thought he said he didn't like her," I said to myself in a low tone, which could be audible to only me, or so I thought. They kept
CHAPTER ELEVEN CATHERINE'S POV Burke's mansion had already gone peaceful, as I could hardly hear the cries of people and the sounds of swords hitting against each other. I barely knew what transpired outside because I was locked in my room and Burke would not allow me out of his sight, because of how worried he would get. Ava was in my bathroom, trying to calm herself down, she hated the sight of blood and Burke was bleeding all over. I had to treat Burke's injury, although he had refused to say anything about the attack from Hoang, our neighboring pack. Burke was sitting on a chair and I stood opposite him, cleaning and nurturing his injury. Hoang and the crescent pack had always been like a pack with two rulers. The possibility they would turn against each other someday was very slim. "What is wrong Burke? If you don't tell me, I will be forced to stop treating your injury, you understand?" I threatened him as I sewed his injury and he continuously flinched in pain.
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVENBURKE’S POV I stood at the bedside for over ten minutes and Catherine refused to notice me or even acknowledge me. I fear for a fact that she might be angry with me over the discussion we had about Hayley.“Cat, cat please can we talk", I said after getting tired of her not noticing me.“Burke I'm all worked up and tired I'm not in the mood for a conversation", she shoved the conversation off before it began.“Why does it feel like you're angry for something that is not even important Catherine, it makes no sense getting angry over the fact that I don't support you killing your sister". I said. " Burke please let me be”, leave me alone I do not want to argue about you and your mistress's affairs with you”, she groaned at me." Mistress? Mistress? Like when did we get her for real?”, I asked surprised." When you got her pregnant, when you refused to be by my side every step of the way since this befell on me when you let her win and let me lose ev
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIXHARLEY’S POV After being caught by Burke, I knew I wouldn't be able to go anywhere without raising any suspicion, all eyes were on me, I knew that was a sneaky and wrong move I made there, on the other hand, I needed to talk to Jaxon as fast as possible because I am so scared and I don't want Jaxon going and spilling our little secret, especially with the fact that I haven't been able to raise the money he asked for.“Send me a reputable Person who is not Diago and is in no way close to him", I said to my maid who was washing my feet.“Okay, my lady," she replied.Immediately she was out of the room. I picked up my ink and paper and wrote down a little bit of information that I needed to pass to Jaxon.In a matter of time, a guard and my handmaiden were standing in front of me.“Leave us", I said to my maid.I watched her leave and reached out for the paperwork I had just sealed with the royal seal.“I want you to help me give this letter to Jaxon.
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND fOURTY-FIVEHARLEY’S POV After that confrontation with Catherine, I knew I had to watch my back, how could she ever think I killed Grandma El, it's is quite unbelievable, because I am here trying to figure out what to do to get Jaxon to shut his mouth and Catherine would think I killed grandma El, I know I am capable of a lot of things but I sure didn't kill grandma El. “Damn, it's Ava, the death of Grandma has Ava written all over it”, I said to myself." No no no Ava you can't be doing this”, I rushed out to take my bath and I quickly dressed up I knew I had to be in Ava's dungeon as soon as possible, Ava has always been a smart and intelligent mobster, till today I wonder how she can pull off her dirty jobs even when held custody. In no distant time, I was in her cell, there she was facing the wall, it was like she had something written on it, I could hear her murmuring to herself.“Ava", I called, in sudden realization.“Well well well, another special
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOURCATHERINE’S POVI woke up feeling really weak and tired, my body still aches from the tears of yesterday but I couldn't care less, my attention was focused on making Hayley pay for what she has done to my family ,my mind was so glued to what Nikky said yesterday that I couldn't care less if I felt pain all over my body.I quietly got up from the bed and wore my slippers. I opened the door quietly so as not to wake Burke.I wanted to discuss getting the poison with Nikky and I was sure in a hurry to put an end to Harley's nuisance in my home .As I walked through the corridors of the room my eyes met with that of Hayley's , immediately she tried moving away to avoid any conversation with me but I definitely wasn't having it, I knew I had to put the monster in her place .“Hayley”, I called.“Catherine I do not have you time, please you can as well go to where you're going and let me mind the business that concerns me". She replied fiercely.“You shou
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREEBURKE’S POV I felt really tired on this particular day so I decided to remain in bed after a series of meetings and events from the previous day. I had asked Diago to stay with me after Catherine had gone downstairs .“Diago I really do need to get Hayley out of my life. She is constituting a nuisance to my family and I and I can't just throw her out because she is carrying my blood and such a bad image is not good for an Alpha", I lamented .“Alpha Burke, this kind of thing takes patience. I know she has cost you a lot, however what we need is calculative planning". He replied, disgusted by the idea of Harley carrying my child." Well, if you have any idea I think this is the time you spill because I am tired”. I lamented further, remembering the death of my unborn child that she caused."I am thinking of something, Alpha Burke , we will definitely strike when she least expects”.Before I could utter another word, Nikky walked in “I'm sorry dadd
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY TWOCATHERINE POV I felt it in my guts that something was not right with Hayley is definitely up to no good and I need to find out what she is up to especially after what she has done to the baby, my instincts are always right. I searched through my thoughts as to what to do, but I couldn't find any, “damn it Hayley I am not going to let you win", I cursed.I stood up from the couch and went over to the fridge to get a glass of water and then a thought flashed through me, and I know just the right person for this job.“ Please reach out to Hazel, I need to see her urgently I said that stood beside me ",“Yes ma'am ", he replied.Hazel had worked with me at the hospital in Chicago and she had always been of immense help. I knew she was the right person for the job because since she relocated back to the pack with me, she has been doing nothing but touring around the crescent pack.It didn't take long for the guard to fetch Hazel and in no distant time
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONEHARLEY’S POV My heart raced immediately after I got Jaxon’s message. “How could he threaten me that he was going to tell Burke about my pregnancy and the fact that Burke isn't the father of my baby, that's impossible a secret I've tried so long to keep, this child is going to secure a place in Burke's life not that good for nothing Jaxon”, I said to myself as I quickly wore my very comfortable maternity gown and left the house,In no distant time, I was at Jaxon’s apartment, and we were sitting on his couch drunk, I knew he had been wasted, but I didn't care I walked up to him, “Jaxon, Jaxon, what the hell is the meaning of that message you sent to me, why would you threaten me that way I have come to warn you not to ever do that in your life again”, I yelled.Jaxon slowly got up from his couch, he moved towards my direction in his drunken state, I could smell the stench that came from his breath, it was worse than that of a dead rat, before I co
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTYCATHERINE’S POV I ran out of the dining room and went to my room quickly, I rushed into the toilet to wash my face and I started vomiting blood. I checked in between my legs and I noticed I was bleeding, profusely.“My baby,” I murmured, rushing out of the toilet in tears. I grabbed my car keys and rushed myself to the hospital. “Fuck, I can't feel myself,” I groaned as I increased the speed of the car, within minutes, I was at the hospital. I rushed out of the car, still bleeding from my nose and pussy.“Call in an emergency,” I heard a girl say before I slumped to the ground and lost consciousness. “How is she?” I heard Burke’s voice in my subconsciousness. I tried opening my eyes, and my head pounded heavily, I saw Burke standing by my bed looking worried.“She is fine but the baby…”“My baby,” I yelled, interrupting the doctor. I held my stomach in terror as tears clouded my vision.“You need to calm down, Catherine, please, do that for m
CHAPTER ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINECATHERINE’S POV Burke and I decided to keep our relationship private, not because we didn't trust our family, we didn't trust Harley and if she finds out, she might do something drastic.“I still think we should tell Nikky though, it has been a month and Nikmy is clueless she has a baby sister, coming soon, you know how she wishes to have a sister,” Burke said, still trying to persuade me that it was time to let the family know.“Burke, I told you, Harley will do something bad if she Finds out that I am carrying your child, alongside her, and I don't want to go through pains with this child,” I glared at him, and he nodded his head in response.“So, allow me to get off this bed, get into the shower, take a bath, and cook something for you,” I suggested, kissing him on the lips tenderly. There is not much thing for me to do as Luna and Burke, on the other hand, always cancel their meetings just to spend time with me.“That would be nice but cookin