ONE MONTH LATER"Isla, you're reading too much into this. You need to calm down. Nothing is going to be perfect.”"No way, this is going to be perfect. It has to be perfect." I cut Harry off, and he rolls his eyes."Isla, no one here is going to care if the lights are too bright or the snacks are too salty," he reasons, and I gasp."Oh my goodness, you're right! What if the lights are too bright? What if the snacks are too salty? What if they're not salty enough? What am I going to do? It's going to ruin everything?!" I cry out, flailing my hands in midair."I'm calling Oliver right now and telling him to cancel the ball. We're not ready yet, and I'm not ready yet." I start to hyperventilate as a million things that could go wrong start swarming around my head.I don't know when Harry decides to place both his arms on my shoulders, but I feel it, which causes me to flinch a little, but I relax when he uses his hand to caress my shoulder."Take a deep breath, love." He says, and I do i
This is not possible. How come we're being attacked? We've been living peacefully for months now; what went wrong?While I have an internal monologue in my head, Harry has already disentangled from me and grabbed the nearest sword from a guard near by. He makes his way outside of the ballroom, and it takes me a few seconds to regain composure.I rip off the lower part of my beautiful gown so that I'm able to walk freely. I tell those who aren't able to defend themselves to stay put in the ballroom while I assign guards to watch them.Then those who can handle a sword all trail behind me as I make for my husband. When I get outside, I see that we're being attacked by wolves, rogues in particular, but most are in human form.They seem to have come prepared as they launch arrows from their bows at my people, striking them with perfect aim and having them fall to the ground. I take action, grabbing a sword from a soldier and joining the fight.From a distance, I hear, "Isla, what are you
"I know what happened." Harry says in a low voice, and I crease my brows."What ha—" a distant voice causes me to cut my sentence short and turn my attention to the source."Let me go! Let me go, you bastards!" one of the rogues that attacked us argues as my soldiers drag him over to where Harry and I are standing.The other one is more silent. Though he's struggling, he's not yelling all over the place or laying down curses. He seems more put together, and so I focus my attention on him. Perhaps he'll be the one to explain what's going on later.The two men are thrown to mine and Harry's feet as they snarl and make displeased sounds that fall on deaf ears. The soldiers tie their hands behind their backs and strip them of all the nonexistent weapons and shields the rogues possess."Who are you people?" Harry asks the rogues, and the unstable one answers."Your fucking ruination!" He spits out and doesn't forget to actually spit on Harry.Oh oh.I know that Harry is a changed man and a
Everything comes to a standstill after that. Especially Harry. I use the opportunity to jog up to where he's standing, and I fling the sword away from his grip."What is wrong with you?" I sneered at him before pulling him away from the crowd a bit."If you kill them, how are we going to find out who they're working for?" I raise my nose, and Harry grinds his teeth."We'll find that out later, but for now, we have to get rid of them. What if they attack us?" Harry says, and my lips part."Are you thinking straight?" It's a rhetorical question, but he shakes his head, answering it."Of course I'm not. These people—what if they're the ones who have been sending me those letters?""What? What letters? Harry, I thought that stopped." I take a step back from him, and I hear him let out a defeated sigh."I didn't want to worry you." He says in a calm tone, and I frown."Well, I'm worried now!" It comes out harsher than intended but passes the right message as Harry flinches at my pitch."I'
"Lauren..." The man trails off, and everything comes to a standstill as I gasp along with everyone else.But that means the man who planned the attack and hired the rogues must be the councillor. I knew it! I knew that that man was untrustworthy. I've always felt it in my bones, and now...Now he showed his true colours. He tried to overthrow the pack and kill Harry and me. Speaking of Harry, this must come as a great shock to him.I know how much he values the councillor and sees him as his father. I'm about to reach for Harry and check how he's doing, but I see his body stiffen as he hardens up his expression.Oh, no. He's pissed. Heck, he's beyond pissed. He despises traitors and betrayers. Heavens, I don't think that I'll be able to watch all this happen."Guards!" Harry's voice booms all over the courtyard, and I flinch at his tone. What if I was the one?If he finds out that I've been keeping him in the dark about the kids, what would he do to me? I try to erase all negative tho
"We found Lauren." Oliver says in an unethical tone."Oh," is the only thing that I can say."Where is she?" Harry inquires in a buff tone."Soldiers have her rounded and handcuffed in the courtyard," Oliver answers straight-forwardly."Good," Harry says, and without wasting anymore time, he walks out of the office, stomping every which way, leaving only Oliver and I alone.I let out an awkward laugh. "How are you?" I ask him, and he summons a smile. It's a pure sad one, but at least he's still smiling, so that counts for something, right?"Today did not turn out how I thought it would," he tries to joke, and I let out a small chuckle as we both started to walk out of the office and down to the so-called courtyard where Lauren is being held captive."Same," I say, and as we step outside, I realise that the sun has fully risen and that it's now another day.I hear the voices before I see the people. I can distinctly hear Lauren begging for mercy, though I doubt she's really sorry or de
Councillor Will is here.The men holding him from both ends keep on shoving him over to where Harry and I are standing. The councillor keeps on struggling and yelling out profanities, but no one pays attention.They finally get him to kneel in front of us beside his daughter, and I don't miss the look of fury on his face when his pieces came out, indicating that his daughter must've revealed his location.Lauren, unaware of her father's rage, turns her attention back to Harry and me. Harry especially, to be specific. She puts on a docile and repentant face, probably thinking that she'll be able to thaw Harry's heart.Either she's incredibly stupid or she actually believes that she and Harry still have a chance together. I would've pitied her, but she doesn't deserve it in the slightest way."Harry, let me go now. Please..." She pouts, and for the first time today, Harry really looks at her.Is that pity I see in his eyes? It must be my imagination, so I just let it go. And even though
HARRYI've done a lot of bad things in my life, and I know that karma is real and a raging bitch. I, of all people, know that you reap what you sow, and I sowed a lot of bad seeds, which I'm still reaping to this day.But nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared me for the councillor's betrayal. I told him things that I could never and would never tell my father. Councillor Will has been my role model since the beginning of my life.He's always been there. Always. Even when everybody left and I became a shell of my old self, he was there. He was there through thick and thin, curvy, bent, and everything in between.And Lauren—I've never cared for Lauren that much, so her betrayal didn't come off as shocking as it was supposed to. Instead, I even kind of predicted it.I knew that she was a very clingy and possessive person who didn't like things slipping away from her grasp, and I got away. I was the one who got away from her, and she didn't like it for one bit.I've also known that Isla i
"Isla, you look so pretty.” Sandra says to me, and I look at myself through the mirror.I do look pretty. I look beyond pretty. My cheeks look higher than they've ever looked before, and where my freckles are supposed to be, they seem spotless. I'm glowing; my hair is glowing; my aura is glowing. Every single thing about me is literally glowing.Why wouldn't they? It's my wedding day.Yes, Harry and I are finally getting married. We can’t keep living as co-parents and mates for the rest of our lives. We have to get her married. It took us three years to finally agree to it.Sandra and Denise are here in the room, helping me get ready. I was very much against the idea, but the two paid me no mind as they made up some speech about best friends always being there for each other and whatnot. stuff like that.Now they have to deal with my moodiness and awkwardness. I effing love them so much. "Thank you. I really appreciate this.” I say to the two of them in a very honest tone. They manage
"What do you mean by what? You guys want a day off, but we can't get any time off? That sounds awfully unfair.” Oliver crosses one arm over the other, and I huff."It's not unfair. We're girls, and we need breaks.” I stomped my leg on the ground."Oh wow. What a theory! So boys don't need breaks, right? That's what you're trying to say?” Harry speaks up, and I nod."Exactly!" My girls exclaim at the same time, and I nod my head."Well, I'm the alpha, and I decide what's what.” Harry says, and the boys hoot and holler in his favor. Lilah rolls her eyes, crossing over to where me and the other women are standing."Boys drool, and girls are cool.” She says in a pouty voice. Dylan laughs at her face."Sure. Like you're not the one drooling right now.” He says, and Lilah's palm instantly finds her mouth as she checks for drool. She doesn't find any. What she does find is a squad of men laughing at the obvious prank.Her eyes narrow into slits as she folds her arms together. "You're going t
Everyone is excited. Harry, being the person that he is, never thought to replace the once-councillors that he had slain for some kind of reason.I'm Luna, and even though I love Harry and his weird methods of doing things, I can't let things go like that. So that is why I suggested we form a new council.We can't keep ruling on our own. We need a council. Harry always seems to think the opposite of what I'm thinking. He prefers it this way. Says there is a lesser chance of getting betrayed by another council member if there are no more council members.incredible flawed logic, but I love the man anyway.Everyone is gathered in the courtyard, and they are all aware of what's going to happen today. Harry makes a show to attend at the last minute with a frown on his face to show how much he doesn't appreciate this.Yet he finds his way to me and settles down in the throne-like chair next to me. "Hi," I mutter to him, and he grumbles under his breath.“Hey.”After that, the ceremony comm
"I want to do it again.” Harry says in an awfully serious voice, and my jaw drops."Wh-what?" That was not what I was expecting him to say. Not what I was expecting him to say at all.He wants to kiss me again. I thought he would say something like, ‘It was a mistake, and we shouldn't try it again.’"Isla, let's make this easier for ourselves. Let me kiss you, please.” He says in a desperate tone as he cocks his head to one side and leans down."But you're mad at me," I whisper against his lips. He's literally the one always glaring at me through the hallway with piercing eyes, as though he wants to kill me or get rid of me entirely.I'm still not sure what provoked the bathroom incident, but I'm sure as hell that he can't be serious about kissing me again. Right? He can't be. "Can't I be mad at you and still want to fuck you senseless?" My breath hitches as words refuse to come out of my mouth in that second. Even if any word were to escape from my mouth, it would probably sound lik
Everyone turns to face the loud interruption. We see Sir Smith with an amused expression on his face, contrasting with the assertive tone that he used seconds ago."What is it, dad? Harry asks his father in a harsh tone. I notice how detached he's been from Sir Smith all throughout dinner. Like he's repulsed.I don't think it was the embarrassing tales or condescending remarks that Harry got from his father tonight that caused him to act so hostile towards him. I think it's because of the thing with Jeremy.One thing I know about Harry is that it's incredibly hard for him to go past things, especially lies and betrayal. I know that firsthand since I'm not really sure he's forgiven me. He loves me; of course, I know that.But the matter is trust; will you be able to trust me again? And has he forgiven me for breaking his trust? Probably not, or maybe. I'm not sure.And Sir Smith lied to Harry for years, looking at him face-to-face and still continuing to lie to him. Harry thought his b
By the time Harry and I finish our illicit deeds and head back to the dining table, I can tell that everyone knows what happened inside the bathroom. More like what didn't happen.We only kissed before we broke apart, and I helped him wipe dry his pants, and we both left the bathroom. I wished that something more would happen, but then again, I'm also afraid that I won't be able to handle it.Does that make sense? I bet it doesn't, but that's actually the reality.We settle down once again, and I dish out the desert for everyone, mostly for Harry because he didn't get to finish his meal because of the water incident. Remember that?"So..." Sir Smith continues in an awkward tone, and I thin my lips into a firm line. This man is as much a rascal as Dylan is. "Lilah here was telling me about how you almost beat up a six-year-old kid." He refers to Harry, and I stiffle with laughter.Harry grimaces. "The little fucker had the guts to kiss my girl." Harry defends himself in a gruff tone, a
This. This is what I've been afraid of for so damn long. This anger of his. He can be calm and laughing and all jokes one second, but the next, he turns into a beast. His wolf pull is so strong since he's an alpha.Even more so than Sir Smith. He's never been able to control it, and half the time, his wolf makes his decisions for him. That's why I'm so scared of how he'll be with the kids.He could lose control of one of them one day and... I don't even want to think that far, but I know that it's inevitable. These kids can make someone pull their hair out of their head.A person has to have real patience when dealing with them, or else things could really go to shreds. I don't want my kids to get mauled by their father. I don't think any sane person would ever want that.Time stills as Harry's amber eyes glow. I'm not sure the kids understand what's happening. They think that the show of eyes is cool because the three of them are fawning over it.Only we, the adults, know what's trul
Harry is here. At my family dinner. Why is Harry here? And why is he all dressed up? Like his father, he's also dressed in a suit, but it's a bit more subtle and doesn't give off show-off vibes. A suit is still a suit.Dylan leaves me and runs to his father, just like Lilah and Daniel. Harry crouches down to their level to speak with them."Daddy! You're here!" Lilah says in excitement, and I roll my eyes. When did he become their dad? And why am I so jealous of the relationship that he's formed with them in such a short time?"Of course, your mom invited me." Harry answers, and Dylan whispers something inside his ears. Harry laughs a bit, then goes to fetch something from inside his pocket.A wallet? He carries out his wallet and hands them cash. My jaw dropped wide at the scene before. Dylan! He's behind this."Hey! Return the money back, you naughty kids!" I yell at them, and guilty expressions form on their faces. I snap my fingers, "Now!" I bark.The three kids turn to Harry with
I make my way to see Sir Smith. Over the last few weeks, I've been visiting him constantly, and he's gotten better. Way better, but lately, whenever I see him, I'm reminded of what he did to Jeremy.I admit that he made a mistake—a misjudgement of character. If only he had listened to his son and acted on his fears, then maybe some things would have turned out differently. But instead, the second he found out his son was having fears and opinions, he boxed him up and sent him to the first rehabilitation centre that came calling.Because of that, there's a certain grudge I hold against the man, though the one I hold against myself is bigger. Now, with the threats eliminated, I didn't think there was any reason to have Sir Smith's door guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Now, the man is as free as a bird, and sometimes he takes walks around the hallway with no one to force him back to his room for rest. I step into the room, and I see that he's just making his way out of the toil