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**** Enzi **** She wanted to die. I knew I’d hurt her, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. Frack! I am such an asshole. Once the surgery is underway, I leave her in the capable hands of Doctor Dan and make my way back to the pack house, punctuating each footfall with angry curses, completely aware that it’s me I’m mad at. My actions and my behavior brought her to this point, and now my guilt consumes me. Pushing through the double oak doors, I’m greeted by my mother and Rosemary who were both waiting in the foyer — the latter standing there like she owns the fucking place. Fracking great! “What happened? You just left. Everyone just left,” Rosemary sulks. She looks irritated, and although she may be my guest, she wasn’t invited. What’s more, I did just take off with my men, and as the Alpha’s daughter she is, she should know that an Alpha needs to take care of business as soon as it pops up, regardless of when that is. She should have had enough sense to know that if I, my Bet
**** Alyssa **** The first few days of my solitary confinement were spent in my bed, seeing no one except the young girl assigned to bring me my food and gather my plates when I was done. I tried talking to her on the first day, but she’s a frightened little mouse that won’t speak to me. I vaguely wondered if my darling husband had ordered her not to engage with me. I wouldn’t put it past him to punish me by making this isolation as painful as possible. Then I remembered what a volatile basket case I’ve been since my failed escape. I probably frighten the flip out of her. Well, the not seeing anyone part is not exactly true, although the volatile basket case thing seems to have become my new reality. To be fair, my husband has been to see me several times and tried to talk to me, nicely even. I continue to completely ignore his existence, so I don’t count his visits as seeing people. He’s not a person. He’s a monster. On the first day, the doctor also tried to see me, but I kicked u
**** Enzi **** The morning after she ran… Well, describing this as a fracking disaster would be a colossal understatement. I just keep hurting her, and this time physically. I spent the whole night beside her, listening to her even breathing, hoping my presence was helping instead of hindering her healing, and praying to the Moon Goddess for her help and guidance. My treasure’s breath tripped a few times during the night like she was frightened or having nightmares, probably about me. Each time her breath caught, I just about lost my mind watching her face in the dark, whispering that everything would be ok, and praying that I wasn’t full of shit. “Hey, man, the sun will be up soon. It would help if you rested,” Jayvon calls when he notices I’m awake. “I’ll rest when she wakes up,” I grumble. “Get out of here. Go and shower, at least. Bring me back some coffee,” he jerks his head at the door with a sly half-grin, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s just as tired, just as wo
**** Alyssa **** Last night I finally consented to let the doctor inspect my injured arm. Enzi said he was worried I’d mess up my recovery if I were active too soon. So he would not allow me to go anywhere or do anything until I had let the doctor see my arm. The doc and Enzi were surprised and pleased that I had healed, and even though I didn’t want them to know I had advanced healing, it was clear that I had some level of shifter healing abilities. However, they had no idea exactly when I’d recovered, and I wasn’t answering those questions. The doctor also noted that my mental state seemed vastly improved since the last time he’d seen me. This morning, despite an abundance of jittery anxiety racing through my veins, I’m ecstatic to inhale a deep breath of crisp morning air. It tastes like freedom. Flipping delicious freedom. I arrived a little late for training, which I hadn’t meant to, but I was in such a damn hurry getting dressed that I caught my foot while trying to jam it into
**** Alyssa **** At 8 am, I report to Beta Jayvon, as requested, and his eyes glaze over the second he sees me. I guess he’s letting the dickwad boss-man know I’ve arrived. I’ve elected a knee-length navy pencil skirt and a cream blouse with threads of sparkly gold strips. I feel confident looking the part of a dutiful office assistant, even though I have no idea what they want me to do. “Glad to see you arrived on time. I was a little concerned you might make a break for it when we didn’t have someone escort you.” He smiles at me as if pleased I passed his test, but I sense an undercurrent of nervous tension. Internally I cheered since I knew it wasn’t the right time yet. “There doesn’t seem to be much point in running away, does there?” I reply calmly, not a hint of the bitter disappointment I feel. “There’s not; I will always find you,” from behind me comes the deep sexy voice of the man I hate. I turn and see him smiling sweetly at me. Urgh. It’s so unfair that he is so damn
**** Alyssa **** Apparently, today is my first day as my husband’s assistant. While I am not looking forward to being within close proximity to him the whole day, I sure am looking forward to the chance to locate the information I need to plan a better escape. His confusing behavior yesterday perplexed me further when, after dinner, he brought me chocolates and told me he wanted me to work directly with him today AND that his mother had been impressed with my notes. I’m not sure if I was more confused that he kept saying nice things to me, or that his mother suddenly seemed to know I existed, or if it was that the chocolates were the same type as the ones that mysteriously appeared in my room once a week since my arrival. What does that even mean? Either way, I’m more determined than ever to get out of here before my brain melts. Luckily, he also gave me my laptop back, and I spent half the night on the internet watching lock-picking videos. It took me a couple of hours of fiddling
**** Enzi **** A few days earlier… “You need to do something about that girl,” my mother said as she entered my office without an invitation — not that I cared since my mother has always been my biggest supporter, well, her and my brother. What bothered me was that I didn’t even hear my mother opening my office door. I was losing my touch as I let my emotions cloud my senses. “I’m working on it,” I replied, rubbing my temples. Goddess, this… girl… would be the death of me. I love her so much. She is fucking infuriating and perfect at the same time! I wish I could spoil her. Urgh! “I’m going crazy,” I admitted. There are only a few people in the world that I could safely be vulnerable in front of, and one of them is my mom. For the pack, I always had to be the strong Alpha since no one wanted to see me pining over a girl. I was being fucking pathetic, and I knew it. “Maybe you should just tell her,” my mother said. “I can’t do that,” I shot back. “Then maybe you should let her g
**** Alyssa **** Tomorrow is the night. I briefly reconsidered my plan to leave. Something in my guts told me I should stay for this birthday dinner and hear what he, along with everybody else, has to say. Enzi's been a jerk, but I know there's more to it; after all, he's implied there's a reason. Not that anything should excuse mistreating me to the extent he has, but I'm curious nonetheless. What could he possibly claim as an excuse? More than that, he's been weirdly nice lately. And he's been staring at me, almost lovingly, definitely lustfully. What's up with that? Frankly, it freaks me out to find myself drawn to him. The man is a mystery wrapped in a conundrum buried in an enigma with a steaming pile of crazy poop on top, and I just can't figure him out. I know there's something more going on, and I really want to trust that things might be starting to look up for me. Maybe, perhaps, there is a chance that my situation here will get better, that I'll be able to make a life here
**** Alyssa **** 3 Months Later.… I was hesitant when Enzi first suggested a real wedding. We'd been through so much that I was happy to just move on without it. He had to build a case, explaining how guilty he felt that I hadn't been given the dream wedding he thought I deserved the first time around. He said that he'd always planned for us to have a proper ceremony where he could shout his love for me for all the world to hear. I could hardly believe this was the same man I'd met all those years ago. In the end, we agreed to a wedding that included the traditional Luna oath as part of the ceremony, effectively killing two birds with one stone. Now the day is finally here, I am thankful and thrilled he's put as much effort into this for me. He's gone above and beyond to make me feel special. The pack house and grounds have been completely transformed. I'd decided on a fall wedding with a fall color palette. I wasn't much of a party planner, but apparently, Jada, Enzi's mother
**** Alyssa **** As Dara stares at Uncle Simon, the room falls deathly silent. Simon, however, is staring out the side window, clearly lost in thought, oblivious to the significance of this moment. Then, I see his nose twitch and eyebrows crease. When his eyes scroll the room and finally land on Dara, his mouth drops open in shock. Oh, Goddess. No, this can't be happening. I want them both to be happy, but this is too much for him, given everything he's gone through in the last couple of days. Jamie said Simon had been understandably isolating himself, clearly depressed. On the other hand, Dara has wanted a mate for so long. She's the fairytale type. The type that always believed her prince charming would find her one day and sweep her off her feet. Instead, Uncle Simon has just been betrayed by the woman he loved for a decade and is facing running a pack and raising a baby and a toddler while grieving. His present circumstances are way more stressful than when he took over from my
**** Alyssa **** "Hey, Alyssa, sorry to disappoint you. It's just me: Jayvon." "What's wrong? Can I talk to Enzi? Why are you calling Adrian from Enzi's phone? What happened?" I don't know why, but I am suddenly sure that something must be going on. "He's fine. Well, not exactly fine. He was injured, but he's healing, and he will be 100% soon," Jayvon explains, very poorly, I might add. "Let me talk to him… I need to hear his voice," damn, did I just actually say that? "Well, the thing is, it's his voice that's injured. He is currently unable to speak. Which is refreshing," Jayvon grunts, and I laugh in spite of my worries. It sounds like an irritated Alpha might have just whacked him. And if that is the case, he can't be too sick. "I'm switching to facetime. He wants to see you," Jayvon says. A minute later, the screen shows Enzi lying in a hospital bed, much like mine. I have accepted his video but have yet to turn mine on. Reason being that he'll demand to know why I'm in a ho
**** Enzi **** The last thing I remembered was Simon and the hospital floor. Now I am in a fracking wildflower meadow. What the hell? How is Simon? My mate! Oh, holy Goddess, my mate! "She's fine. Or she will be." I turn toward the calming, musical voice and see a gorgeous woman with silvery blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. I recognize her immediately. Three and a half years ago, I dreamed of this woman, and she told me to go to the ball where I met Alyssa. When I recounted that dream to my mother, she was convinced I'd met the Moon Goddess, and at the time, I wasn't, but now I am. Of course, it's rare, but in every generation, a few people claim to have met her. It's why our belief remains so strong. "You're the Moon Goddess!" I feel an unusual sense of panic. That's definitely not a familiar feeling for me, except when my mate is concerned. But here I am in the presence of a literal God; that, or Doctor Dan has given me some good drugs today. "Yes, my child. Though, I go by m
**** Enzi **** In total, the labor was about two hours. I tried to ignore it, but with shifter hearing, it was hard not to hear the doctor's orders to push. I heard that humans often experience a whole day of labor, and I'm glad our Moon Goddess was kinder to shifter women. I've visited plenty of the packs' new moms here in this very hospital to know that the shifter labor can be anything between 1 and 5 hours. "She's had the baby." Simon's voice interrupts my thoughts, and I promptly leap to my feet. Usually, I would say congratulations, but that doesn't seem to fit this situation. "Girl? Boy?" They had wanted to be surprised this time around. "A girl. She wanted a girl," Simon says with obvious sadness. "Healthy, I assume?" "Yes. She's perfect." "And Carin?" I ask.. "She'll be healed by morning," he shrugs. Good. We still have questions. I pat Simon on the shoulder. I don't know if there are any words to heal his broken heart right now, and I've never really been good at
**** Alyssa **** "What about my friends?" I question, trying to sound calm, but I know I've just snapped, and I am well aware that my voice sounds higher-pitched than usual. "Oh, they are fine; everything is fine. Don't worry. I was going to tell you what we learned," he hastily says, obviously sensing my rising panic. "You could have started with that," I flop into the armchair and dangle my legs over the side, feeling slightly annoyed but definitely relieved. "Carin was right about my father taking Marc and Dara's pack and killing their father," he says. I had a feeling she wasn't lying about that. I suck in a breath, "How are they?" My voice is tight and whispery. I wish I could be there for them both. What a crappy way to learn about the father you never knew. "Well, I was just a baby when it happened, so I don't know much other than the basic facts as reported to me. We have a few old warriors in the pack we've been able to talk to. We've confirmed; theirs was one of the
**** Alyssa **** As the plane makes to land on the small private runway in the jungle, I feel my nervousness spike. I don't know a lot about this grandfather of mine, and I've never been to South America before. I'd known, growing up, that my mother was Brazilian, and even though she shared some of her culture with me, this still all seem so foreign, yet at the same time, it feels oddly like home. "You're quiet," Adrian commented with a small, amused smile. We are driving down a road flanked by thick rainforests that I can't keep my eyes off; it is like the trees are calling to me. "I'm just… I want to explore." That's true, but not the full extent of my current feelings. "He's going to love you. He already loves you," Adrian answered my biggest fear without my having to express it. A surge of gratitude caused my smile to twitch. "Thanks," I said, not quite sure what else to say and definitely not willing to admit how much those words affected me. I know my parents loved me an
**** Alyssa **** Three dead. It hurts my heart to see three wolves dead because of me. One looks young, probably my age, and the other two look older. I recognize the older two from the files I examined years ago, but I only remember a little about them as individuals. And that just makes me feel worse. All three must have families who love them; I wonder if the young man had met his mate yet? Just then, a familiar and unexpected voice breaks my revelry. That is a voice I haven't heard in person in many years, and it takes a moment for me to fully register who it is. "Well, I never should have trusted a rogue to do a Luna's job." My brain was still grappling with her words, and I couldn't quite process what she meant. What the heck is she doing here? A heavily pregnant Carin steps out of the plane with a smug grin, and a gun pointed right at me. "Aunt Carin?" This does not make sense. If she's here, does that mean she had something to do with my parents' deaths? And how did
**** Enzi **** I thought my heart would explode when she suggested staying in my room last night. It took her a while to fall asleep, I could sense her nerves, but I could also sense that she was starting to need me, want me. She finally rolled her back to me and tucked herself in as my baby spoon. Fracking perfect! "Is this alright?" she'd asked. "Yep," my answer was short because having her heavenly self this close to me set my soul on fire. I was desperately trying to think unsexy thoughts so that she wouldn't feel the rapidly hardening buddy poking her from behind. When I did fall asleep, it was the first time in a long time that I felt this at ease. Now, the golden glow of the sun is just tinting my room. I'm sure I didn't get much sleep, but having my gorgeous mate beside me, feeling safe and comfortable with me, made me feel fully refreshed regardless of how much sleep I had. "I love you, Alyssa. Even if you don't love me yet, I will always love you," I whisper while she