It was the night of the school's Halloween dance. Alexander had been a proper gentleman and bought two tickets for himself and Melody. Melody and her mother's system of giving Melody warning when she was supposed to make dinner had brought peace, and allowed Melody access to the kitchen again.A couple days ago Alexander had helped her get a mini fridge up the steps, a small cupboard, a hot pot, kettle and microwave so she could stock up on easy to prepare foods when needed. To help compensate for the pantry stable based diet she was getting at home, Alexander had offered to bring her a lunch from his uncles for school, and had enlisted the help of the pack kitchen to help him prepare the perfect bento box style lunches he could every day.He was impressed when he finally got to see her bedroom. It was much nicer than he had prepared himself for. He had easily hefted the small mini fridge up the narrow steep stairs, and had already mentally steeled himself to see a spartan room. But t
Melody tried her best to entice Alexander to take her somewhere private, somewhere where they could do what her body was now begging for. Anywhere dark and alone.She was so horny, she had never felt like this before. The dance was almost over, she kept pressing her body against Alexander's while they danced, closer and closer, until she was grinding against him.But no matter how hard she tried to throw herself at him, he remained a constant gentleman. His hands stayed in chaste locations while he held her in his arms as they danced. He knew what she was up to, what she wanted, he could smell her arousal and it was killing him. Not until she knows the truth. It's not fair to her if she doesn' know everything. It was his mantra, repeating it over and over in his head while he tried to ignore how good she felt pressed against him. How her body perfectly curved to meet his as she pressed herself against him. It was torture. He was desperate to know how it would feel to have her underneat
Once Melody had gotten herself safely up the stairs, pulled them up behind her, drawn in the cord and turned the lock, she threw herself on her bed. Everything had been so perfect while she was out with Alexander.But as usual, as soon as she was back with her family, everything turned to shit. She wanted to call Alexander and tell him everything right away, but she knew he probably wasn't back at his uncle's place yet since it was on the opposite side of town. She didn't want him driving while talking to her, that would be dangerous, so she sent a text asking him to call her when he got home.As her phone sent the message, the annoying interference sound buzzed louder then vanished again. A couple minutes later her phone rang, when she answered Alexander sounded almost frantic when he asked if she was ok."No. Yes. Ugh Yes, I am ok, Beverly and Frank were waiting up for me when I got home. I should have crawled up to my window, but I thought things were better so I used the front doo
It was finally Friday, Melody was a little extra sleepy when her alarm went off after her late night at the dance the night before. She got ready in a comfortable jeans and sweater outfit. She packed her bag and a lunch and was out the door, running a little behind schedule. She had used the front door of the house, but didn't run into anyone on her way out. Thankfully.School was fine, another day and another week over. One week closer to finishing highschool. Two months down, eight to go. After school was finished, she headed home to start dinner. She looked through the cupboards and fridge and didn't really see much of anything she could use to make a meal to feed 6 people. She sighed and called Alexander to see if he could give her a lift to the store and back to save her time. He answered right away, and said he was already on the way, he was happy to help her out.It barely took him five minutes to reach her, she ran out and jumped in the jeep and he headed to the small grocery
Alexander watched with held breath as he saw Melody escape out her window and scurry down the trellis before jumping from the overhang. She was getting very good at this, but everytime he saw her come out the window instead of the door his heart was in his throat, scared that she could fall and hurt herself, and scared for what might have happened behind those closed doors to make her want to avoid the front door again.Melody again looked ravishing in her costume, but as she climbed up into the jeep Alexander saw what looked like fresh fingerprint sized bruises along her hip, and even with her face obscured by the lace mask again, he could tell that her face was tight. Something had happened this afternoon."Looking great baby." he complimented her. She smiled at him, but her eyes didn't join the expression. She was faking it."Thank you. Are there going to be a lot of people tonight?" her tone was light, but there was an edge to it. If you listened to hear it."Umm fewer than were a
Melody wasn't sure exactly what she was expecting, but this was not it. The room was a literal ballroom, and it had been decorated like a haunted house from ceiling to floor. Intricate scenes and backdrops paired with what had to be professional light set ups and smoke effects filled the space around the open dance floor. She couldn't help it when she looked around and her lips parted in a sweet o shape. It was over the top, like nothing she had ever seen before, and just for a small community Halloween party."What d'ya think?" Alexander asked her, a hint of teasing in his voice."I think you need to tell me what your uncle does to have a house like this and throw a party like this." She managed to keep her jaw from continuing to fall open as she looked around. "Whatever he does I'll do it to live like this." obvious awe in her voice.Alexander's heart swelled. She had no idea that he was destined to be an alpha just like his uncle, and she was meant to be his Luna. By his side leadi
Melody and Alexander returned to the party. She became a new person. She floated around the room, dancing, and spending time with new friends. She was happy, and light, she looked radiant. Alexander was kicking himself for not getting this started the day her mom hit her. The moment he knew what Randy had done in gym class. He could have saved her from so much if he had been braver and told his uncle sooner.This was what she was like when she felt safe. He had so rarely had the chance to see it. He wanted to spend the rest of his life dedicated to making her feel safe, and loved, and cherished the way she deserved. So that he could return some of the joy she had brought him just by being nearby.It had become late, Alexander and Melody had danced the night away in each other's arms. Melody had ignored several calls from her mother before turning her phone off and tucking it away and never looking at it again that night. Alexander was stalling, but he knew it was time. It was time to
Melody went to the attached bathroom to clean up and change into cozier clothes. While she was getting ready for bed, Alexander literally ran down the hall to his room, stripping out of his suit from the MIB costume he had worn and slipping soft sweatpants on instead. He had been so quick that she was still in the bathroom when he returned, panting slightly from his efforts.He had settled himself into a comfy chair set next to the window, he had hoped it would be a nice reading nook for her when she settled in. He didn't get on the bed, he didn't want to be too forward. Melody could have changed her mind about him staying with her and he didn't want to make things awkward.Alexander heard as the bathroom door unlocked and his head swiveled to watch as she reentered the room. She had washed off the heavy costume makeup she had worn, stripped off the layers of her red riding hood costume and was now fresh faced wearing loose sweat pants low on her hips and a tight tank top. She still h
Josephine and the elite teams did exactly what they had set out to do. They had moved so efficiently that they had knocked out most of the command structure entirely before the hyenas had a chance to even sound an alarm to warn the others that their doom was coming.Any who did not actively fight, were given the choice to end their days there and now or move semi willingly to an enclave Josephine had been working on for far longer than Alexander had realized. To Josephine, Melody was just another target, one of far too many in a larger pattern. One that Josephine had been working to end on her own long before Melody had even been born.Alexander was in awe as Guillermo filled him in on the progress during a rather social seeming jog several weeks after the incident; which was all Alexander could bring himself to say about it all. Still working on it with his therapist. But things were going better. He was focusing on being a dad, and decided to take up carpentry. If he was going to li
Melody drove up to the familiar house, the smell of burnt clutch heavy in the cabin of the vehicle. Melody didn't know how to drive a manual, let alone an old truck with a heavy gear shift and broken power steering. Thankfully it didn't matter. The truck just had to get her here. Looking all normal, and human and alone. If the truck had to stay behind because Melody had wrecked the transmission on the relatively short easy drive over, no harm done. Flint would carry her to Alec's pack lands and virtual sanctuary until they could arrange to get back to their own home.The home looked significantly worse than she was prepared for. The picket fence she had admired that first day hadn't been painted in a while when she had left, and hadn't been touched since. Many boards were missing or broken. Beverly must have hated it, she had been a realtor and she was good at it. At making homes look good enough that people wanted to live in the warm homey environments she created. Looks were often d
"You don't have to do this yourself, Guillermo and I can take care of it.." Alexander pleaded with Melody. That evening as she insisted on preparing everything to travel across the country to execute Frank. Throwing random clothes into a suitcase while she stomped around the room on feet far too heavy for someone of her size."Yes I do!" she was nearing hissing at him as she insisted strongly. She paused, packing the suitcases, "I need to do this, he hurt my whole family Alexander. He needs to pay for it. I need him to pay for it. To know he brought his end on himself, I want him to know." Her words were so heavy with with such a finality to them, that Alexander, never able to really say no to her finally gave in. She could come on the mission, only if the shrink and doctor cleared her first. After this afternoon's panic attack, and early pregnancy he was sure she wouldn't get the clearance from the doctor. She's pregnant, no doctor would let her go out to murder their step father.He
Alexander and Melody spent their time with their kids and Diana. Letting Alexander's mother take care of everything while Melody and Alexander played on the floor with their kids, ate snacks, and just enjoyed the peace of their family. Raven was stomping around in her room out back, apparently a nap was not coming easily. "I guess it's not all she hoped it would be?" Alexander ventured softly while James was cuddling in his lap, almost asleep with a picture book in his hands."She has wanted this all her life, maybe dropping a vampire sighting on her this early wasn't the best idea." Diana said, softly, her voice like a lullaby as James drifted off to sleep. Melody was just returning from putting Ansley down for a nap, and smiled at seeing James limp in his fathers arms. She came over, gently and carefully picking the little boy up who snuggled into his mother's body as she picked him up, and took him to have a nap as well. Giving Alexander some time alone with his mom."Alpha doesn'
The next morning it was confirmed by Guillermo that Frank and Robert had almost certainly had something to do with Beverly's murder. Randy was only innocent of this particular crime because he was already in prison for a statutory rape charge. A combination of wire transfers from offshore accounts, messages on burner phones, and finally a time line established when Guillermo searched recent security and surveillance cameras around the small town where Melody and Alexander had met. Trying to figure out what had happened and when.Beverly was a woman who liked routine he learned, and even though she couldn't find a job after she had been laid off, had tried to keep busy. She volunteered, working at the animal shelter some days, food bank on others. Spent an hour or so in the town library applying for jobs before hitting the grocery store before heading home to cook for her family. She didn't seem to interact much with anyone in the town. She hadn't carried a cell phone in over a year be
The first couple photographs showed three women, roughly Melody's age, nothing else in common between them. They were all of different heritage, but all were very dead, by the similar ragged horizontal slash across their throats. No metal blade had opened their throats, that was the mark of a clawed hand. Then there had been two men, Melody didn't know them, but her heart filled with sadness as she realized these were all probably the dead mates to alphas. Who in turn according to Alexander research, never knew their mates were taken and murdered, instead thought they had been rejected. That each of these people had been stolen and their lives ended, causing echos of heartbreak for so many people, filled Melody with guilt that twice she had been taken, and twice she escaped mostly unharmed. She didn't know why she was ok in her home now, and these people weren't.Alexander was just finishing up with Guillermo, his own worry at a new level with the news from his head of security. He dr
This was how his life should have been. Raven would be unbearable if she ever learned that she really had been right all along. She was born for this, Alexander wasn't. He didn't feel any guilt at all now. As he laid Melody in a rocking chair so he could run a bath for her, he checked on his mother as she did the same for Ansley.James was staying with Robin and her family tonight. James adored his older cousins, and seeing how other people lived their everyday lives. He was a nosey kid, Alexander hoped he didn't drive his very controlled sister insane overnight. James was more in tune with his grandmother or Lark. Almost like Robin could feel his worry, Alexander's phone buzzed with a notification, he checked and saw a video of a wide grinning James holding a Mario Kart Steering wheel in his small hands, his face aglow with joy as he tried to play with his older cousins, who were laughing at his eager attempts to widely steer around the course. The sound of generations, and blended f
Melody awoke with the most unwelcome deja vu. The particular heavy and slow feeling of waking up after having been knocked unconscious. Judging by the rhythmic pounding and pain radiating from the back of her head, it had been physical this time instead of chemical. She didn't know if that was better or worse, she still felt sick and nauseated, and the headache was worse, but her body didn't feel as clumsy.The overwhelming wrong feeling had diminished, but things were certainly not right. But at least she was able to think now. She looked around, lovely another cement room from floor to ceiling, a single caged in bulb in the ceiling for light, and a clean, if uncomfortable pallet underneath her. Things smelled clean, which at least wasn't offensive and an improvement on the first kidnapping. Melody wasn't scared this time, she was boiling under the surface like a secret lake of lava.Yup, she had been kidnapped again. Ansley! Where was her daughter? Who had taken her. Melody knew she
The next week was perfect, better than ever before. Alexander was scheduled to see his counsellor at least twice a week, he was getting Raven up to speed on current pack issues and general local politics. He felt lighter. Like himself in a way he had missed without even realising he had been missing something at all.Melody's days were a little more boring. Delia had texted her on schedule all through the weekend through until Sunday night. Then she had called to let Melody know she was taking a week off school and going on vacation with the man she had gone home with on Friday night; and was still with. Melody had worried about her friend, but after talking on the phone, Delia was safe, and happy, and excited. So Melody wished her friend well. Maybe the dark tall brooding man Delia was with was a shifter too, and Delia was his mate. Melody gnawed on her lower lip wondering how she would even try to ask her friend if that was the case, without letting too much slip if Delia wasn't in