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52. Northern Cold I
Last Updated:
2023-09-22 21:53:31
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The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 53. The Northern Cold II
AellaAs I enter our room, the emptiness hits me. I take in the luxurious bed, the gleaming marble bathroom, and the city view framed by floor-to-ceiling windows. But it all feels hollow, like a glamorous shell without a soul. Roman's urgency is all-consuming and it pains me to think of him shutting me out while he dives deeper into the abyss he's staring into.I change into pajamas and crawl into bed. The sheets are soft and inviting, but they offer no comfort. As I lie there in the dark, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts keep drifting back to Roman. I know he’s not intentionally being rude or dismissive; he’s stressed and burdened by the weight of the case. But understanding the reasons doesn’t lessen the hurt. It doesn’t fill the growing space between us, a void filled with unsaid words and missed opportunities for connection.After about 20 minutes of tossing and turning, I return to the hotel room, still wrestling with my own thoughts. When I open the door, I see that Roman h
Last Updated : 2023-09-22The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 54. Make Up Breakfast
AellaThe first thing I sense as I awaken is not the soft morning light filtering through the curtains or the luxurious comfort of the hotel bed. It’s Roman—his energy and scent fills the space around me, enveloping me like a protective shroud. I can feel the warmth radiating from his body as he lies curled around me from behind. Before I can even open my eyes, I feel his lips brush softly against my shoulder, a tender kiss that instantly dispels the lingering tension from last night. A second kiss follows, landing gently on the nape of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. It’s a simple yet intimate gesture, filling the space between us with unspoken emotion.Each kiss sends a little jolt through me, but it’s tinged with confusion.“Good morning, little bird,” Roman whispers in a husky tone, sending a shiver through me.“Morning,” I reply softly, covering his hand with mine.We stay like this for a moment, basking in the comforting silence until the weight of unresolved matters fo
Last Updated : 2023-09-22The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 55. A Chilling Promise
RomanThe car ride to the private jet feels eerily calm—no fucking constant calls, no wild juggling of tasks. Just Aella and me, lost in a bubble of rare normality, talking about whatever bullshit crosses our minds. It almost distracts me from the shitstorm that I know is forming all around us.Almost.The purr of the car engine fills the cabin, and for a moment I let it wash over me, as if it could somehow drown out the cacophony of thoughts jostling inside my head. Aella sits beside me, her presence an echo of peace that feels almost alien against the backdrop of the turmoil we’re facing.“So, any more thoughts on Vasily?” Aella breaks the silence. I can tell she’s concerned, even though she’s given me space to stew in my own theories.Her question jars me. My fingers curl tighter around the leather-wrapped steering wheel, knuckles turning white. How the hell did I not see this coming?“The timing is too fucking perfect,” I mutter, half to myself. “Vasily shows up now, right when Ka
Last Updated : 2023-09-22The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 56. I'm Keeping My Promise
Aella I wake up to a bone-chilling cold, groggy and disoriented. For a moment, my eyes refuse to focus, the surroundings blurry and unfamiliar. My mind is swimming, trying to grasp onto the last threads of memory. I lift my head, instantly regretting it as dizziness washes over me, but I grit my teeth and push through. As my vision clears, reality begins to set in, sinking its teeth into my already shattered composure. I’m in a room, the walls stained with age and disrepair, a single flickering lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The air is damp, thick with the scent of mold and something far worse—malevolence. But what tightens the knot of dread in my stomach isn’t the room or the silver shackles around my wrists, burning into my skin like live coals. It’s him, leering at me from the corner of the room like I’m his last meal. Green eyes, the rebellious way his blonde hair falls over his forehead and that smirk. He’s sitting in a corner of the room, one leg casually crossed over
Last Updated : 2023-09-23The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 57. A Week Of Hell
RomanI’ve stared at these damned walls for seven days, every second ticking away like a hammer against my skull. Seven days since she was taken, and the room still smells like her—like wildflowers and morning dew. It’s a scent that once gave me peace, but now it’s a cruel mockery, a bitter reminder of what I’ve lost, what I’ve failed to protect.My hands clench into fists, and I hear the crackling of paper under my grip. I’ve lost count of how many reports I’ve crumpled or shredded in my frustration.I can’t escape the tormenting thoughts that coil inside my head like venomous snakes, hissing accusations, and insidious doubts. What if she’s being tortured right now? What if she’s screaming for me and I’m not there to save her? How can I call myself an Alpha, a protector, when I can’t even keep her safe?I’m drowning in an ocean of self-loathing. I’m supposed to be the Alpha, the protector, the stronghold. But now? Every ticking second on the clock is a sharp blade of guilt, slicing a
Last Updated : 2023-09-23The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 58. Helpless To Do Anything
RomanThe room is tense with unspoken emotions, so thick you could cut it with a knife. Silvia, our pack healer, moves around Aella with clinical precision, collecting whatever evidence she can. While Aella sits on the edge of the bed with a hollow look in her eyes; a shell of the woman I know and love. She’s physically here, but mentally? Emotionally? I have no idea where she is.[“I’m right here, Aella,”] I try to communicate through the mind link, that intimate pathway that has always been open between us. But it’s as if she’s locked all the doors and windows to her soul, and I’m standing outside in the cold, helplessly knocking.She’s quiet, unsettlingly so. Her eyes are vacant, like she’s mentally far away from this room, far away from me. I reach out through our mind link constantly, trying to make a connection, but there’s nothing—no response, no echo of my thoughts in her mind. It’s as if a thick wall has been erected between us, and I’m helpless to tear it down.I can’t sit
Last Updated : 2023-09-24The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 59. Guess I'm Not As Strong As I Thought
AellaLying in Roman’s arms, I should feel safe, cherished—wrapped in the kind of love that chases away the monsters of the night. But all I feel is trapped. His arms around me are like steel bands, and though I know they’re meant to be comforting, they feel suffocating. I want to tell him, I need to tell him—about Vasily, about what happened, about the dread pooling like lead in the pit of my stomach. But my voice has abandoned me, leaving me mute in the face of his questioning eyes.And then there’s Roman—his eyes filled with questions I can’t answer, etched with a pain I can’t soothe. How can I tell him that his touch, once my sanctuary, now feels like a cage? That his love, which should make me feel treasured, now lays bare my utter vulnerability?He watches me with concern, the sharp intensity of his gaze softened by the love he clearly still holds for me. But what will happen when he finds out? What will he think when he learns what Vasily did to me, what he made me do? I wan
Last Updated : 2023-09-24The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 60. Nightmare
RomanThe night air is filled with an almost tangible sense of tension and regret, making it almost suffocating to breathe. I am lying down next to Aella, her body seems to be barely there, a mere wisp, and her breathing is shallow and uneven. Days have passed in agonizing silence, days during which she’s hardly uttered a word, days where her eyes speak volumes of her inner torment. I can do nothing but hold her, whisper sweet nothings of assurance that I am here.The disconnect between us is driving me fucking crazy, that space widening with each passing second. I want to scream, kill something, throttle the life out of Vasily for what he’s done to her.But what good will that do? Vasily will be dead, but Aella’s memories won’t be.I’m awake, hyper-aware of every twitch, every small movement that Aella makes beside me. It’s as if my senses are dialed to eleven, each one screaming at me to be prepared, to be ready for anything. I hold her as she fights her demons in her sleep, all w
Last Updated : 2023-09-25
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The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna The Beta's Burden
Kaden I’m sitting in my study, surrounded by the leather scent of old books and the muted light filtering through the heavy drapes. The room, once a sanctuary where I buried myself in work and pack matters, now feels like a cage. A trap. I flip through some documents on my desk but don’t really register what they say. My mind is a mess, a whirlwind of thoughts I can’t, and won’t, share with anyone. Especially not Roman. God, Roman. My brother, my closest friend. He seems so happy these days, so settled with Aella and their son. His life has taken a turn for the absolute best, and it stings. Not out of jealousy, I’m thrilled for him, but out of the sharp contrast it creates with my own concealed turmoil. I think about Elena, my wife. She’s beautiful, loving, and loyal to our pack. But she doesn’t know. She can’t know. The secret I’m holding is too damaging, too explosive. It would tear us apart, tear the pack apart. And so, I’ve distanced myself. Retreated into a shell to protect e
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 80. Epilogue - One Year Later
Aella As I stand by the intricately carved crib, my heart swells with a love so fierce it feels like it could consume me whole. I look down at Aaron, our son, sleeping so peacefully in a cocoon of soft, moonlit blankets. His little fists are curled beside his cheek, and he has his father’s rebellious blonde hair and the beginning of my mismatched eyes. The room is filled with the comforting scent of lavender and freshly laundered baby clothes. The light from the nursery’s lamp washes over his tiny form, casting gentle shadows on his crib. I can’t help but think how profoundly my life has shifted in just two years. Nearly two years ago, I was a ball of defiance and fear, literally running through woods and brambles to escape an engagement my Alpha father had orchestrated with Roman. The irony is palpable. Roman was everything I thought I didn’t want, but ended up being everything I didn’t know I needed. I went from clawing at the idea of a life by his side to craving his touch, hi
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 79. Claim For Claim
RomanFour words shouldn’t make me feel like an absolute king, but they do.She shimmies out of her bottoms and walks naked towards the shower to regulate the water. Gods, my cock is aching just watching her. Slipping out of my board shorts, I join her under the spray of hot water and pull her closer to me.There’s no hesitation when I lean down to kiss her. She molds into me, her body perfectly flush against mine as she moans into my mouth. It’s taking every bit of my self control to not snap and just claim her body, but Aella doesn’t need my beast right now. I walk her up against the cold wall and trail my kisses down the length of her neck. “I love your sweet scent, baby,” I murmur against her skin. “God, I could drown in you forever.”She makes a small noise when I draw a pebbled nipple into my mouth, and pushes out her chest as her hands get tangled in my hair. I cup her perfect tits in my hands, laving them with my tongue and loving the noises she makes when I nibble on them.
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 78. Restless Alpha
RomanThe goddamn sound of waves lightly bitch-slapping the shore should be soothing. It’s what people fantasize about—a secluded beach, the woman you’re batshit in love with beside you, the freedom to do nothing at all. Aella looks like she’s in fucking heaven, the sun on her skin, a gentle smile on her lips, a book lying forgotten on her lap. But me? I’m crawling out of my damn skin.And yet, I’m restless. Why the fuck can’t I just relax?Aella senses it before I even realize it myself. She opens her eyes and looks at me, her gaze soft but probing. “You’re thinking about something. Spill it.”I chuckle. “It’s nothing, really. Just getting a bit antsy, I suppose.”“Roman, we’re on vacation. You’re allowed to relax, you know?”I nod, knowing she’s right, but not feeling any less restless. “I know. It’s just not something I’m accustomed to, that’s all.”The ingrained habits of an Alpha, the constant state of alertness and readiness, they don’t just disappear overnight. They’re a part
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 77. Isle Nikolaev
AellaThe hum of the private jet’s engines seems to blend into the background, like white noise in a sea of my restless thoughts. Roman sits across from me, in a seat made of the finest leather money can buy, absorbed in some files on his tablet. The rich interior of the jet, with its ambient mood lighting and plush furnishings, contrasts sharply with the tension I feel in my bones.“Would you like another glass of wine, Luna?” the flight attendant offers, her voice polished as the silver tray she’s holding.I shake my head. “No, thank you.”As she retreats, Roman finally looks up, his stormy eyes meeting mine. “You’re not usually this quiet,” he observes.“Well,” I say, biting the inside of my cheek, “you’re not usually this secretive. Where are we going?”He grins, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “It’s a surprise.”“I’m not particularly fond of surprises,” I retort, although a part of me thrills at the mystery.“You’ll like this one,” he promises. His eyes darken a shade, and I
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 76. The Gathering Storm
AellaWe step out of the hospital and as I spot the black SUV, it takes me back to my time spent here. More specifically, when Roman finally confessed his feelings to me. It was sort of a simpler time back then.Before Vasily, before…everything else.“What’s on your mind, little bird,” he asks as he takes my hand and draws it to his lips. “You’ve been quiet, even as I went off at the nurses.”I chuckle. “That was just me letting you have your own way after everything that happened,” I say, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. “Kaden’s message over the mind link just had me reeling.”Roman sighs, because I know he’s already so pissed off and now he has to face Diego. Alpha Javier is at the pack house with Kaden and Elena and has demanded his son answer to Roman.“Yeah, well I suppose he has to face the music sometime,” he says, sitting back and shaking his head. “As much as I just want to fucking sleep, it needs to be done.”We remain quiet for the rest of the ride, but as soon as th
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 75. The Aftermath
RomanSitting in the hospital room, I still feel the residual ache from the fight, both physical and emotional. My mind plays back the confrontation with Vasily, a twisted dance that was always leading to this dark aftermath. What he said in Russian through clenched teeth left me shaken. Now that Aella is gone, I feel it’s time to share it with Kaden.“I never thought it would come to this, Kade,” I say, the words coming out heavier than I intend.Kaden leans back in the visitor chair, his eyes locked onto mine, searching for something—perhaps reassurance that what’s been done was necessary. “You did what you had to, Ro. If you hadn’t, more lives would have been at stake.”“Yeah, but Vasily said something,” I start, hesitating a little. “He said things about father that I think you should know.”Kaden raises an eyebrow, intrigued but also wary. “What did he say?”I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the weight of the words I’m about to unleash. “Do you remember the night Father
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 74. To Protect My Pack
AellaThe sterile smell of antiseptics fills the air, mingling with the earthy scent that is uniquely Roman. Even unconscious, he smells like the forest, like the wilderness we both call home. My hand finds his, dwarfed by the size of his palm, but perfectly molded to fit. I’m holding onto him as if he’s my anchor, the one constant in a world that has spiraled so far from what I knew.I replay the night over and over again in my head. The tension in the room, the way Roman’s eyes narrowed as he exchanged words with Vasily in rapid Russian. I couldn’t understand the words, but the intent was palpable—two titans locked in a battle of wills and strength. And I’d stood there, unable to do anything but watch and hope that Roman would come out unscathed. My heart aches at the thought. What was so personal that it had to be shrouded in their mother tongue? Was it just a string of profanities or something deeper? A sharing of old wounds and familial grievances that led them to this terribl
The Alpha's Bounty: His Runaway Luna 73. True Alpha
RomanThe second Vasily had his hands on Aella, my world went red. The ground beneath my feet might as well have been ripped away, because for a brief second, I’m free-falling into a chasm of self-doubt and gut-wrenching fear.I had to keep my wits about me. I had to be smart. Because this wasn’t just about me—this was about Aella, my pack, and a future that Vasily was hell-bent on destroying.“Is this what an Alpha looks like?” I can almost hear Vasily’s voice sneering in my head. “Can’t even protect his own mate?” And for a devastating moment, I almost agree with him.I’ve spent years trying to prove that I was worthy of the Alpha title, not just to my pack, but to myself. Yet here I am, watching the woman I love being tormented by my own flesh and blood. It’s a cruel mirror, reflecting my deepest insecurities, mocking my so-called ‘strength.’Aella’s face is pale, eyes widened in terror, but even from this distance, I can see a flicker of defiance in them. It fuels me, but it also
