ALAIA This was comical. Watching Isaiah try to distract me while his mother and sister flanked me was hilarious but motivating. I watched as Isabella and her mother attacked me, pinning me to the ground. How wonderful, I thought. The one time they worked together was against me. I should be thanked for this. I couldn’t help but laugh at this situation. Kill them. The voices spoke to me. You can do it. Of course, I could, but an idea popped into my head. I used my power to blast them off as I quickly grabbed the knife from the ground. “You’re right, Luna Bella. I might not be able to bring my daughter back, but at least I can show you how it feels to lose one.” I made the knife bigger in my hand and threw it toward Isabella. In the blink of an eye, a black wolf jumped in the way and instantly fell to the ground. “No!” Elaine screamed inside my head. Hearing her voice caught me off guard, but I didn’t let that stop me. I had a plan and wouldn’t let anyone get in my way. Not
ZIRAI was running through the woods. It was dark and quiet. Only the sounds of my feet crunching in the snow and my erratic breathing could be heard. Every once in a while, I would glance over my shoulders and see the shadows getting closer. I made it to an opening and instantly realized where I was. The cliff. I didn’t want to be here. This is where it happened. I turned to get away, but it was too late. They were here. The dark figure materialized into Isaiah. He strolled towards me, and I mirrored his steps, moving back. A creepy smile spread across his face, and his green eyes bore into mine. Wait, his eyes? My thoughts were interrupted when he started to laugh. “I’m starting to think you enjoy being thrown off this cliff,” Isaiah said, moving me toward the edge. I looked around for an escape but realized I was already near the cliff’s edge. I glanced over into the abyss. I figured staring into it might be able to wake me from this dream. I was wrong.The moment I turned a
ZIRATHREE MONTHS AGO I remember handing my baby to James. I was watching how careful he was being with him. I was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that my baby was alive, happy that I was alive, happy that I had found my mate, but sad that my family wasn’t here. My mom, dad, idiotic brother, rambunctious best friend, and even…even Isaiah. Even if he tried to murder me with his crazy mate. I lay back and closed my eyes. I was so tired and needed just a bit of rest. I heard someone scream my name, and my baby started crying. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t open. I tried to reach out to Nina, but I couldn’t. I started to panic until everything just stopped. I felt no pain, no sadness, no happiness. I felt nothing, not even thoughts passing through my mind. I stayed like this for a while, and it was okay until I felt something in my chest. The pain and panic were back. Then I felt another pain, this time on the side of my neck. Then, everything came rushing at me wit
JAMESI could barely look at her, knowing the following words out of my mouth would be hard for both of us to swallow. “I would love to be your mate, Zira, seriously, but…I…I…already have one.” “What!” I could immediately feel a pull on my heart. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but I couldn’t prolong it to worsen it later. Zira looked at me, shocked, before quickly recovering to a blank expression. We stared at each other for a few more minutes, and I could see she was conversing with her wolf. “Just great, James. Why not just rip her heart from her chest while you’re at it?” Deacon growled. “Deacon-” He quickly shut me out. We’d been arguing for the past week when I brought it to his attention that we would have to reject them. I didn’t want to hurt Zira, but she needed to know the truth. When she returned, she looked at me confused, then walked to the bathroom. I had the urge to follow her, but I stayed put. Following any she-wolf after what I just said wouldn’t be wise. “
JAMES Alpha Fiona pulled me out the door while Trixie confronted Zira. That’s when I started to get irritated. “Of course you are. That should be us consoling our mate, numb nuts,” Deacon growled. “Shut up,” I snapped at him. She just needed a day or two to get over this. Some space might help both of us. “Let’s go for a run,” Alpha Fiona suggested while leaving the pack’s hospital. I nodded and blindly followed her into the woods. Deacon liked the idea of running off his frustration. So we both shifted and took the route that led to a little forest alcove some miles away from the pack. It’s the place I come to when I need to think out loud. The place where Alpha Fiona found me those years ago. I shifted and climbed one of my favorite trees. There was something peaceful about lying in a tree. Alpha Fiona took position near the base of the tree. Probably waiting for me to start. Well, it’s going to be a while. We stood like this for a minute before hearing her sigh down bel
ZIRAI don’t know how long I was out of it. Still, somehow, I was in another room, sitting on a very comfortable bed with the most obnoxious fairy in the world. Trixie talked about the bare walls and adding something to make the room brighter while I stared straight ahead at nothing. Her bubbly attitude was making me feel worse. My brain was trying to catch up with everything that had just happened. But, for some reason, I couldn’t believe it. I just...I couldn’t believe my luck. Death, birth, death again, and then rejection. Tears fell down my face onto Zacharias’s face. I quickly wiped my face and tried to think about the bright side. A bright side? That’s laughable. Though the one I had was pretty worth it, and he was cooing in my arms. Zacharias was the only good thing in my life, but now I’m just waiting for that to change. “So, what do you think, Zira?” Trixie asked, breaking me out of my trance. “Yeah, it sounds great,” I said plainly. Trixie looked as if she was hurt by my
ZIRA“Zacharias! Zachar-” A door opened, and James walked in with Zacharias in his arms. He was smiling down at him, making stupid baby noises. How dare he hold my baby like he was a good person? Immediately, anger overcame my anxiety as I glared at him. I walked over, took Zacharias from him, and placed him back in the bassinet. “Zira, if I could say something,” James started, but I didn’t want to hear it. “No, you need to leave. I don’t want to hear anymore.” “Please, let me explain….” I reached out and grabbed his arm, which was a mistake. We both froze and gasped at the sudden touch. I closed my eyes to take it in, and the moment I opened them, James’s eyes were dark gray. It must have been his werewolf because Nina was pushing to come forth, but I held her back. I was still in a towel and didn’t trust her, let alone James’s werewolf. “James,” I whispered through shallow breaths. I was still touching his arm, and the longer I held on, the quicker my breathing got. Finall
JAMESI stood there facing the door, rubbing my poor ear. Man, Zira has a firm grip. My hands were sweating, and my body tingled from her touch. My feet were rooted to the floor, refusing to leave, or it could have been Deacon. Her little stunt excited him even more. Horny bastard!Though I didn’t blame him. Her scent was overpowering, and it was a struggle to keep it out. I knew this would be hard, but she was driving me crazy. I wanted to be near her and keep touching her, and of course, Deacon made it worse.“At least I was brave enough to go after what I wanted. Can’t say the same for you,” Deacon growled.“Yeah, and look at where it got us.”