Edwina's POV...I can't believe I finally pulled it off with my life intact. It was a whole lot of work and stress, but Becca and Ramona came through for me. They were so proactive and efficient in delivering, so I had less to worry about. It was party time, and I had not yet seen Alex. I was getting worried. Had I pushed him away with my reaction?I should understand things aren't easy for him, too, he was betrayed in the worst possible way, and I don't want to downplay his struggles. He became crippled in the cause of their infidelity, and he doesn't even know about it yet.I knew I had to dress extra special today. First, I needed to dress to make an appearance. It will be my first public appearance to the night howlers as the Luna. And as tradition may have it, I am the one supposed to pour the sacred oil on the new Beta after his being crowned by the Luna.And also, I need to dress beautifully to appease my husband. I was tired of the back and forth, and as Becca had suggested, m
Edwina's POV...I took a sip from the glass of water in my hands as I made my way through the stairs and in the direction of the room. Just at the top of the stairs, a particular painting caught my attention, and I paused in my steps to observe it. It was one of those paintings that depicted what looked to be a village, and I smiled the moment I caught sight of the little children that were hurdled in the corner, playing. It occurred to me that this was a staircase I passed through almost every time. It was the only way that I could go up or down this house, so it was pretty obvious that I used the stairs a lot. Yet, this was the first time that I was actually noticing the painting. It wasn't like it had not been there for a long time. It was just the fact that I never paid any attention to it. I went up and down these stairs every day, and it was like I had never even seen the painting. And it made me wonder about what other things I hadn't seen in this large house. There were pl
Edwina's POV...It had only been a few hours since our arrival at the cottage, but I already felt more relaxed than I had been in a long time. I couldn't be sure what it was exactly that made the feelings of stress and pressure to leave, but one thing I was sure of was the atmosphere and how much being in one place together with Alexander felt right. It was also good to be away from the noise and all the rising chaos that started since the sizzlers appeared during the coronation.I had to force Alex to take this trip today. He was so worried as there were rumors of some of the soldiers in the night howlers pack threatening to join the sizzlers. And that wasn't a battle I wanted him to face. At least he should do so with a clear head.There were no people to upset me, no different sorts of noises, or the other things that came with being at the pack house. Instead, the sounds of pans and pots that usually came from the kitchen were replaced with birds chirping, and the sound of the c
Alexander's POV..."Pack our clothes now. We are going back," I yelled at Edwina, who was perplexed by my sudden change in reaction."Why, what happened?" She asked."I said pack our clothes now! We are going back." This time, I commanded her."I need to know why you are cutting our honeymoon and why was I the settlement deal?"Fuck!!! I exclaimed, scratching my hair. I always do that when I am agitated. Why can't this woman just listen to me and understand we don't have time for a long explanation? We were running out of time."Did you demand an explanation when you decided to keep such a crucial piece of information to yourself?" I blurted out and regretted it as soon as the words were out. She didn't utter a word and moved immediately to the room and began throwing the clothes in the bag. We had not gotten much time to unpack when we came in here."I am sorry, I didn't mean it that way," I called after her."Yes, you did, " she replied back briefly and started zipping the bags. She
Ben's POV..."Welcome to the sizzlers community, it is good to finally get you to join us," Alpha Bethel said, extending arms of a warm, gratifying hug. It's been a while since I got such a warm, reserved welcome."Thank you, Alpha Bethel," I replied, with only a smile on my face.I was a free man, I wasn't free at heart, but I was free from those shackles and thorns in my flesh.I have been bottling a whole up for years, and it has made me become an unhappy man. But this time, I wanted to do things differently.I believe a lot of stories have been told about me, and many people get to represent me in the version of events they are comfortable with, but for you to truly say you understand or know me, you need to have been able to work in my shoes.I have never been one who has had any interest in what people had to say about me; truly, I don't care.It has always been filled with lies or some sort of half-truth, and that was their own case scenario.I sometimes get to wonder how fooli
Edwina's POV...I know the only reason Xander wasn't blowing up at me was that he had promised me he wasn't going to get angry at me, but I could see, with every fiber of being in him, that he was mad at me. I could have prevented all this; I could not have let Ben escape if I had only told them the day he had told me. Now we have a fucking walking, living, breathing problem in our hands, and that was the most catastrophic thing I could think of right now.I was gazing through the window of the see-through glass as I saw him talking with Caleb, he was downstairs, and I stood on the balcony surrounded by pink flowers upstairs. He was strong from left to right, and you could tell from all his facial expressions and indication that he was super agitated and perplexed about what to do. I was also.I knew this wasn't the right time to start casting blame on anyone, but apart from Ben, who was foolish enough to escape, again, I blame myself. Maybe I was too naive and indeed a good person. O
Edwina's POV...If there were one thing I could openly say I am happy for, that would be the truce with Alex. Should I call it a truce? I could just say we found a temporary common ground.It's been three days since Ben's escape, and everything has been silenced. We were still trying so much to manage information and limit people's access to the night howlers pack.I stood in front of the old painting of the late Luna, Alex's mum, and then recalled the secret about Alex's birth that had accidentally slipped off from Becca.I was still finding it so hard to believe that such a huge secret had been kept from him in the past, and he still doesn't know,He has indeed been through a lot, and I can't help but wonder what specifically has been deliberately kept from him.If he doesn't know that his mother wasn't a wolf but rather a human, such a big detail that was skipped, what else doesn't he know about?My hands trailed down the rungs, and I took note of every piece of painting on the wal
Author's POV...He stood gazing through the window blinds at her. He stood at a distance that was safe, close enough to get a perfect glimpse at her but also far enough not to get noticed, her dark wavy hair blowing with no synchrony as the standing fan was doing enough justice to her. It was doing its work.She wouldn't notice he was there. He had never been the one who was good enough for her,She was walking from the home office today as the Alpha had called her over to tend to some needs of his.He shouldn't let himself be distracted by her, but her beautiful, curvy body makes it so hard for him to concentrate. Her straight legs fall out perfectly, revealing their glory under her black straight gown, they were crowned with thin heels, and she could just be called a Luna if only she were. No wonder she had always kept high standards for herself. No wonder she had always thrown herself at the Alpha before he disappointed her by choosing another woman as his Luna, but she didn't let