Adam’s hand on my mouth prevents me from uttering a sound but the sound of my heart breaking all over is a thundering sound between my ears.More is said, more words exchanged, ideas on how to ruin my life and I feel faint, my mind shutting down. I vaguely see Adam holding something under the window, but I can’t make out what it is. At some point he drags me away, far enough that I collapse on the ground on all fours, throwing up.“Danielle,” His voice is soft but my head jerks.“No. No, I was such a fool, trying to save them, worried for them and here they are.” My eyes lit towards my mate, tears burning them, tears of desperation and devastation, “Am I that unlovable that they just - Am I not worth anything? Adam-”He drags me to him, “You are. You’re worth everything to me. I swear, Danielle. If they don’t cherish you, I’ll cherish you enough for every single person on this earth. Don’t cry, sweetheart.”“I feel so stupid,” I sob. “Ever since I came here, all I do is cry. What
“These are all lies!” Jason scrambles once he realises that he has been implicated. “Those documents are fake! I would never-”“I got them from your computer and your emails,” I counter. “I saw the purchase of the wolfsbane that was used on me. I saw names of girls who have been living in the red-light district area, frames who have been forced into the position of pack breeders, who are abused almost daily. I saw their names in emails. You bought them from their packs in exchange for money.”My voice grows louder as Adam lets me take the stage, “Everything is there in those papers, the transactions. There are interviews with those girls. They are willing to testify how they were forced to come here under the guise of mating other males and then forced to become your mistresses and then disposed of into the red-light district. The previous Alpha was also doing something similar, but it wasn’t this bad. Jason took it a step further by looking for females in his own pack, females he wa
“What do you want to do then?” Adam asks me.I look at my father’s face and despite the love that is still in my heart, I know that love has been tainted with their betrayal.“Let them go back to their pack,” I say, slowly.I see the relief in the faces of my family and a bitter laugh escapes me, “Did you think I’d sell you into slavery like you did me?”Their faces stiffen and each beat of my heart is filled with a vicious pain, “No. I’m not you. I would never hurt you. But I will cut off all my ties with you. I can’t bear to look at your faces.”I see the flash of anger in my father’s eyes, “We are your parents. You can’t just cut us off!”My smile fades from my lips, “Why? You cut me off when you sold me, didn’t you? I’m just returning the favor.”I crouch next to him where he is kneeling and I grab his face, forcing him to look at me, “Or are you upset because now I am the Alpha’s mate and me cutting ties with you means you losing a powerful connection?”My voice is cold bu
Five years later…“Isiah, you get back here right now!” I call out, sternly.My two-year-old toddler freezes in his spot and looks over his shoulder at me, as if to assess the level of danger in my voice. It takes him a moment to decide that it’s worth the risk and he begins trotting away at full speed. However, before he can get too far, my four-year-old, Leila, swoops him up, gleefully and the two go tumbling down the hill and I sigh in exasperation.“Let them be,” Comes Adam’s voice from behind me, filled with laughter. I look over my shoulder at him, to see him carrying Sheila, Isiah’s twin. Sheila is quieter than her brother but when provoked, she turns into Satan’s personal assistant. She’s also a daddy’s girl as is evident when she refuses to let me hold her, turning away and hiding her face in her father’s neck.My voice is tense, “I don’t mind but considering where we are-”Adam’s hand comes to rub my neck, his voice calm, “This isn’t our first trip to the Silver Stone
Seeing my parents again has made me question my trip back to the Silver Stone Pack. It hurts to see them; despite how much I’ve healed. It’s still a sore subject. I wonder if I’m putting myself in pain more than it’s worth.Then, I look down at my beautiful children and I know they deserve to be here. They should see the place where their mother was raised and grew up. It’s part of my history which makes it part of their history too.My family has already ruined so much for me. I can’t let them ruin this too. Besides, there are lots of good memories I have here. And I want to show that all to them.“Come on,” I say, scooping up Isiah as I continue down the grassy hill to the Silver Stone Pack. “I have a place I want to show you.”The kids are delighted at this mystery and Adam looks at me curiously as well. I smile that devilish smile that swears I won’t tell them anything until we get into town.There’s a certain entrance that Alphas and Lunas usually use, and I know people will
"Danielle," my dad calls. "Come downstairs please. I need to talk to you."Wondering what he wants, I make my way downstairs and into the living room. “Dad, if this is about your sandwich, you shouldn’t have left it out for me to ea-”My words get stuck in my throat as I look at the expression on his face. I stop in my tracks, studying him, “What did I do?”“We need to talk,” My father gestures towards the couch across from him.“About?” I sit down slowly, wondering why he has such a pinched look on his face."I received a message for Robert today.”There is this blankness in his tone as if he’s not altogether here.“The Alpha?” I mutter. “What does he want with me?”My father is silent for a moment and then, "He’s chosen a mate for you.”My eyes widen, “But I just turned eighteen yesterday. Isn’t that a little fast? I’ve not even gone roaming yet.”It is usually the pack alpha appoints mate unless someone has met their true mate. It’s a common practice among wolf shifter p
“You want me to leave the pack?” I give a shaky laugh, my tone disbelieving. “Dad, are you hearing this?”My father is staring at the ground, his fingers entwined so tight that his knuckles are white.At his lack of response, something cold moves through my body, and this time my voice is more scared, “Dad? Dad, why aren’t you saying anything?”“He agreed to this,” Robert says. “It’s for the good of the pack.”I’m beginning to feel hysterical at this point, “This is a joke, right? I can refuse, can’t I? I refuse. I won’t go. This is my home-”“Enough!” My father’s voice is sharp in a way that I’ve never heard before. I slump onto the couch, shell shocked, mumbling, “This isn’t real. This can’t be real.”“Unfortunately, it is,” Robert tells me. “The sooner you make your peace with this, the easier it will be to adjust.”“But my family is –”“This mating is a political thing, Danielle,” The Alpha says, his voice calm. “You are the only female who fits the requirements.”“But-”
It’s when Robert is leaving, I beg him, “This whole situation seems strange. Don’t leave me here. I want to go home.”“This is your new home, Danielle,” Robert’s voice is harsh. “You are not a child anymore. Try to get to know Cameron and life will be easier for you.”“But-” Tears are in my eyes.“Good God, Danielle!” Robert bursts out, displeased. “You’re acting as if I’ve thrown you to the dogs! The Moores have a whole mansion! They are rich beyond belief! They are respected in the pack! What more do you want? If I had known you were this spoilt, I would never have considered you!”His outburst makes me freeze.He gives me a sharp look, “This is your life and if you were smart about it, you would make do with this rather than acting like an infant. And till you come to terms with your new living situation, you are not to contact your old pack.”I watch him leave, my heart in my throat.My father’s aloof behavior and the Alpha’s cruel dismissive tone has me frightened out of my
Seeing my parents again has made me question my trip back to the Silver Stone Pack. It hurts to see them; despite how much I’ve healed. It’s still a sore subject. I wonder if I’m putting myself in pain more than it’s worth.Then, I look down at my beautiful children and I know they deserve to be here. They should see the place where their mother was raised and grew up. It’s part of my history which makes it part of their history too.My family has already ruined so much for me. I can’t let them ruin this too. Besides, there are lots of good memories I have here. And I want to show that all to them.“Come on,” I say, scooping up Isiah as I continue down the grassy hill to the Silver Stone Pack. “I have a place I want to show you.”The kids are delighted at this mystery and Adam looks at me curiously as well. I smile that devilish smile that swears I won’t tell them anything until we get into town.There’s a certain entrance that Alphas and Lunas usually use, and I know people will
Five years later…“Isiah, you get back here right now!” I call out, sternly.My two-year-old toddler freezes in his spot and looks over his shoulder at me, as if to assess the level of danger in my voice. It takes him a moment to decide that it’s worth the risk and he begins trotting away at full speed. However, before he can get too far, my four-year-old, Leila, swoops him up, gleefully and the two go tumbling down the hill and I sigh in exasperation.“Let them be,” Comes Adam’s voice from behind me, filled with laughter. I look over my shoulder at him, to see him carrying Sheila, Isiah’s twin. Sheila is quieter than her brother but when provoked, she turns into Satan’s personal assistant. She’s also a daddy’s girl as is evident when she refuses to let me hold her, turning away and hiding her face in her father’s neck.My voice is tense, “I don’t mind but considering where we are-”Adam’s hand comes to rub my neck, his voice calm, “This isn’t our first trip to the Silver Stone
“What do you want to do then?” Adam asks me.I look at my father’s face and despite the love that is still in my heart, I know that love has been tainted with their betrayal.“Let them go back to their pack,” I say, slowly.I see the relief in the faces of my family and a bitter laugh escapes me, “Did you think I’d sell you into slavery like you did me?”Their faces stiffen and each beat of my heart is filled with a vicious pain, “No. I’m not you. I would never hurt you. But I will cut off all my ties with you. I can’t bear to look at your faces.”I see the flash of anger in my father’s eyes, “We are your parents. You can’t just cut us off!”My smile fades from my lips, “Why? You cut me off when you sold me, didn’t you? I’m just returning the favor.”I crouch next to him where he is kneeling and I grab his face, forcing him to look at me, “Or are you upset because now I am the Alpha’s mate and me cutting ties with you means you losing a powerful connection?”My voice is cold bu
“These are all lies!” Jason scrambles once he realises that he has been implicated. “Those documents are fake! I would never-”“I got them from your computer and your emails,” I counter. “I saw the purchase of the wolfsbane that was used on me. I saw names of girls who have been living in the red-light district area, frames who have been forced into the position of pack breeders, who are abused almost daily. I saw their names in emails. You bought them from their packs in exchange for money.”My voice grows louder as Adam lets me take the stage, “Everything is there in those papers, the transactions. There are interviews with those girls. They are willing to testify how they were forced to come here under the guise of mating other males and then forced to become your mistresses and then disposed of into the red-light district. The previous Alpha was also doing something similar, but it wasn’t this bad. Jason took it a step further by looking for females in his own pack, females he wa
Adam’s hand on my mouth prevents me from uttering a sound but the sound of my heart breaking all over is a thundering sound between my ears.More is said, more words exchanged, ideas on how to ruin my life and I feel faint, my mind shutting down. I vaguely see Adam holding something under the window, but I can’t make out what it is. At some point he drags me away, far enough that I collapse on the ground on all fours, throwing up.“Danielle,” His voice is soft but my head jerks.“No. No, I was such a fool, trying to save them, worried for them and here they are.” My eyes lit towards my mate, tears burning them, tears of desperation and devastation, “Am I that unlovable that they just - Am I not worth anything? Adam-”He drags me to him, “You are. You’re worth everything to me. I swear, Danielle. If they don’t cherish you, I’ll cherish you enough for every single person on this earth. Don’t cry, sweetheart.”“I feel so stupid,” I sob. “Ever since I came here, all I do is cry. What
Returning to the house is a difficult thing for me because I don’t want to go back. But Adam is able to convince me in a few words.“We can stay here and forget about revenge, Danielle, but as long as Jason is the Alpha, think of all the females who are his targets, who will suffer similar fates to yours and Jenny’s. Think all the girls in the red-light district who might have been thrown there as a result of Jason’s greed and lust.”That is the only reason I agree.So, when we return to the house and the butler looks at me, his face tightens in shock.At this point, I have a strong feeling that everyone was aware of this plan to feed me the wolfsbane. I’ve relayed everything to Adam, word to word, and the anger is in his eyes had been satisfying to say the least.Nobody had expected him to bring me back. News of me leaving must have sounded throughout the mansion if the butler’s shocked look was anything to go by.Which is why when we walk into the drawing room, Adam tells me to
“No, you don’t see!” He bursts out, making me flinch.“I refused,” he says, tightly. “I told them that no matter what happened, that even if you really had gone through with something like that, I didn’t want to spend my life with anyone aside from you.”His hands cup my face, his eyes filled with grief, “No one but you, Danielle. I swear on my sister’s life. You are all I have ever wanted in a mate.”I don’t know whether to believe him or not. I don’t know how to believe anything anymore.“I don’t want you to hold yourself into anything, sweetheart,” He swears. “I just want you to be you. You are my Luna.”I remember Jason’s words from the afternoon before, “A true mate bond doesn’t mean you will have feelings for me. Jason has a Luna but he still-”“A true mate,” Adam interrupts me fiercely, “is the most perfect fit for you. Jason is twisted and so is Cara. Yes, love is never guaranteed but I fell for the say I met you, Danielle. When you stood there, covered in skunk door, con
The darkness is a nice reprieve and I find myself floating in it.Is this what death is like?My mind feels blank, my worries having faded.But as I float there, I feel something tugging at me.Discomfort hits me first, followed by the sensation of something winding around me. I begin struggling but when I open my eyes, it looks like a glowing strand of rope. It entwines around me and begins pulling me in a certain direction.I begin to struggle, alarmed but I can’t seem to put up much of a fight.The golden rope is warm and comforting but I don’t want it. I want to stay here.However, it’s a losing battle.I jerk awake, my eyes wide, gasping for breath. My whole body is drenched with sweat.I barely have time to process what has happened before Adam’s face is in front of mine, his expression a mixture of agony and fury.“Oh, thank heavens! You’re awake!”His words make me realise that he revived me and the anger that fills me is so much that it bursts out of me, “What the h
“So, you truly believe I would be capable of something like this?” I look at Adam, my voice dull.His jaw tightens, “I don’t want to, Danielle. But the facts-”“The words of your childhood friend and the pack doctor, you mean?”“I saw you at Jason’s office!” He growls.I can see the way the corner of Maya’s lips twitches, but her tears are still pouring, “We both did, Danielle! Look, I told you this afternoon, that whatever your concern was, you should talk to Adam about it!”I tilt my head, “Was that before or after you led me to that cabin and force-fed me wolfsbane?”“What?” Adam’s eyes narrow.But I don’t expect him to believe me. I don’t expect anything of my true mate anymore.“What are you talking about, Danielle?” Maya sobs. “Why are you constantly trying to create a rift between me and Adam? I just got him back after five years! I don’t mean either of you any harm!”I purse my lips, “Of course you don’t.”Adam takes a step towards me, “What are you talking about?”“