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13. Cherish
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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The Beta's Prize 14. Ivan
I hung back after showering and changing from training today, I needed to ask Vincent for a favour. Considering these past few weeks were the most I’ve ever spoken to him he must think I’m losing my mind. “What is it Ivan?” he barked as the room emptied. “I can tell you’re waiting for me?” Like a silverback gorilla he stood tall and proud, his scars and white hair for all to see. “I’m wanting to ask if I can use the running track later?” “Just you?” “Well, I want to take my prize out there. She’s not used to the lack of fresh air here so I’m thinking…” “You want her perking up before the showcase?” he guffawed, “or you just like doing it outside Ivan?” he asked with a filthy leer. I couldn’t help my face turning scarlet, not because it wasn’t true but because Vincent clearly thought deep down I was as feral as the rest. “Something like that.” “Course you can, I can’t guarantee you’ll be alone, the truck with the new prizes arrives today so it might get busier but you can take y
The Beta's Prize 15. Cherish
I could have cried, being out in the fresh air was amazing after so many weeks of corridors and the tiny window in his room. I didn’t want to let go of his hand though, just because he had finished guiding me didn’t mean I wanted him to break his hold. Instead I squeezed it tighter, whispering “thank you, I really needed this.” He led me towards the oval four-hundred metre race track and we started slowly walking around. There was even the odd bird chirping, I almost felt free if I squinted and looked past all the barbed wire and buildings surrounding us.. “What happened today?” Ivan asked carefully, keeping his face forward. I told him all about Genevieve and Martha, how I had helped carry her to the recovery ward. I stared up at him while I spoke, watching his jaw clench and work as I described the pitiful state she had been left in. “Do you think she will live?” “Yes, but only because Martha has promised to take her to watch his fight so that she might cheer his death.” “Hmm
The Beta's Prize 16. Ivan
Kingsley, of course. Practically bouncing across the track he was that happy with his hunting. The man definitely had some sadistic tendencies, I’d hate to think what kind of conversations he had with his wolf. He never took a woman himself though, or had any kind of relationships that we could see. “Ivan, ready for the draw?” he said, completely ignoring Cherish by my side. “I’m ready either way, can I help you with anything?” “You want to see the new prizes I’ve fetched back. We’re making it more interesting this time, we have a pair of sisters. Stunning blonde things, definitely up your street seeing as you picked this one,” glancing at Cherish. What the fuck am I meant to say to that? Well done for stealing two daughters from a home? It’s sickening but I know I am only able to protect Cherish right now. Her hand squeezing mine tightly is the only thing I can focus on. “Are you coming to watch the draw?” Kingsley asked Cherish, “we’ve got some much sexier dresses and heels we
The Beta's Prize 17. Cherish
Ivan left me a few hours ago. I thought the clarification my fiancee was an arranged match Ivan might, I don’t know, maybe show some interest in me? If he is not interested then why do I catch his eyes on me so often and think of kind things for me, ordering books, clothes and giving me a glimpse of the outside world? What are all these sparks and swirling sensations if not desire? I know I am attracted to him, I hopelessly gaze at his body whenever he walks past. All the extra training he has done, constantly eating steaks and huge servings of food too means his chest, abs and shoulders are all bigger and even firmer than when I first met him. Even his red hair, it makes every other man boring in comparison. The coppery tones and fiery colours compliment his glinting eyes rendering him constantly captivating. Perhaps he is just getting into the zone and I am delusional. I did make him talk an awful lot about his past today. His mate. He already had his true love, a fact that sho
The Beta's Prize 18. Ivan
Of course I was drawn. Ten men selected, Xavier’s grey ball emerged and I just knew. “RED! WE HAVE RED! What a match that will be Xavier versus Ivan everybody!” Kingsley had roared. I shot a quick look at Vincent who was already staring at me to gauge my reaction.I put my head back down to the ground and said nothing.I don’t know how the crowd doesn't see through the act. The balls must have ridges or indents on them for the draw to work this way. Yes, the bag is held aloft to the crowd, there is no obvious interference only the entering and withdrawing of a hand. Vincent and Kingsley know exactly who they are picking.The crowd went ballistic, with Xavier grinning with all his demented grandeur, hi-fiving Denton as though he’d won the lottery. “This is a match-up that will break records!” Kingsley screamed to a crowd that was largely ignoring him now they had the information they needed.What more could the Axelon group want? As the crowd began to filter out the guards with the cat
The Beta's Prize 19. Cherish
I’ve been keeping my head down this whole week. Not ignoring Ivan, just not distracting him either. Martha keeps finding little jobs for me in the bathhouse so my visits there are filling almost the whole day now. It’s better than being lonely in the room, and better than fighting my own body’s desires to jump onto Ivan’s bare torso every time he walks out of the bathroom. Instead of pouncing on him I’m ordering him steaks, large filling meals full of protein, organising his training gear, even cleaning it like it’s going to make a difference when he enters that terracotta pit. Tonight is the Showcase. My guts are inside out with fear, how has Ivan done this eleven times? I’ve promised myself, just wait a little longer. When he makes it through this fight and kills Xavier I am going to tell him I have feelings for him. I’ve got to know if these feelings are purely in my head. The scent of fresh apples teases me all day in that room, teases me to the point where I find myself searc
The Beta's Prize 20. Ivan
I’m a dead man. How am I meant to fight Xavier now when all I want to do is sprint back to that room and grab her back to me. Her lightly stepping towards me, those blue eyes of hers somehow steamily hot as she rendered me powerless, I was already fighting every instinct. Her kiss was electrifying, Kohl was whipping around in a frenzy of pleasure at the sensation of her lips against me. Even then I tried to resist, I didn’t want to scare her with how desperately I wanted her but that breathy little pant of hers snapped my last shred of honour. I don’t know what would have stopped me ripping every item of clothing from her had Kingsley not walked in. Fuck, I don’t even notice, or care how loud the crowd is. The fact I’m standing under blazing spotlights with thousands of men scrambling for the best view means nothing now I’ve held her body against mine. This is just the introduction, thank the Goddess. I’ve got five fights to get my head back together. To forget the way her hot mou
The Beta's Prize 21. Cherish
This must be the most bizarre girl’s night out in history. Martha and I were disguised in huge black hoods, matching many other guests, apparently a White Forest Pack style Martha assured me. Together we guided a limping Genevieve, walking with a stick, sporting a large black hat with her masses of curly hair tucked inside. She had borrowed some of my clothes seeing as she only had the rancid silk slip she was first presented in. She could have been missing a leg and she would have dragged herself out to this pit of barbarity tonight, so determined to see Franklin meet his end. Even so the mood was almost fun, the crowd was exhilaratingly wild. Martha warned me there was no way to escape, every exit out of the complex being severely monitored by the guards. How could I tell her, for the first time ideas of escape were not on my mind, not until I knew Ivan was safe. Amidst the flowing beer, crude jokes and jostling for position we found ourselves in the thick of it. We couldn’t se
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The Beta's Prize Epilogue 6: White Forest Ball (Cillian)
Without thinking I shouted “Stop!” causing the cloaked person to sprint. “GUARDS!” I screeched, unable to mind-link members outside of my pack. Why was the entire fucking castle asleep! Sprinting after the cloaked figure I saw nobody else, no guards, not even a servant to help me catch the stranger. Arriving at the huge foyer of the castle, surrounded by flickering torches, hanging tapestries and miserable grey stone walls I had nothing to follow. They had vanished into thin air. All I knew from the build around the cloak was that they were a man, a man wearing long black trousers. Giving up the chase, I headed back to my room, flights of stairs, leading me to nothing but duplicating corridors of arched doorways, presumably student accommodation. The door to my parents’ suite remained open. “Papa?” I knocked softly to no answer. /Cillian, I am so sorry/ Vez said, realising before I did that my world had been knocked from its axis, shattered like porcelain. On the double bed, wrappe
The Beta's Prize Epilogue 5: White Forest Ball (Cillian)
I understood immediately why Papa never took us to many of these charades. Standing there in a pompous white shirt, on display like a prize pig at a fair I was happy to escape with Genevieve into the masses. I wasn’t so happy about Nikolai. We had only met briefly during a few childhood meetings but as a man he oozed anger and resentment. What for, I have no idea, but my sister and her wide eyes clearly thought it was the hottest thing she had ever seen. Silently, from my chosen distance, I watched his charisma overwhelm her, my own heckles rising. /She asked you to let her be an adult, to make her own choices/ Vez urged. Ever since first shifting and Vez came into my world it has been like having two fathers, both eager for me to prosper as Alpha. Our wolf fur was as red and fiery as my hair. I cringed, remembering how Jackson had laughingly called me the Infant Inferno, leaving me furious. Vez however, despite our fiery colour was sage, calming and fair. My papa tried to downpl
The Beta's Prize Epilogue 4: White Forest Ball (Genevieve)
Having to walk in behind my parents I felt like a child amongst women. Despite the stunning dress, the styled hair and jewels I’d been given, the ballroom had a strange feel about it. I felt watched ,studied, but not in the usual way, like at home in Cragstone when crowds gathered. One person’s gaze had me flustered. The smell of burning spice made my eyes widen in fear, urgently seeking out the owner. As though we were in danger of attack, then I saw Nikolai Romanov. He headed up towards our little royal enclosure furtively, as though he was breaking in. He was just as entitled to be there as the rest of us and yet his fearsomely dark eyes were stuck on me. He offered no greetings to anyone else, not even his parents. My heart flipped, what do you do when someone looks so blatantly at you? He wasn’t undressing me with his eyes or anything crude like the silly Kharkov boys. Instead, he was seriously, steadily looking at me as a person. Almost the same age as me, already nineteen and
The Beta's Prize Epilogue 3: White Forest Ball (Ivan)
I know exactly why she is nervous. It’s not ideal and we’ve put it off for so long that it’s brought the formal gold bordered letter from Alexander to force our attendance. They are so young, the twins are barely even adults. If they find their mates tonight there it is more complicated than they realise. For Kharkov’s girls, or Lyon’s boys, when they make their match it will be a simple case of falling in love and finding a place to live and be happy together. Our children, should it be from a rival pack, will see alliances drawn up, decisions taken out of their hands as their parents become a tangle of wants and wishes. Should my beautiful, delicate little Genevieve be drawn in with that dark-haired lout Nikolai, what then? He is the future Alpha of White Forest, as Freya is to live in Rising Star. I would lose my darling girl. I know it is just the mindset of a scared father. I am a proud, happy man, terrified of nothing the world can throw at me. Except for damaging my family'
The Beta's Prize Epilogue 2: White Forest Ball (Cherish)
I gasped at the sight of our intruder. Cillian, my beautiful boy, had somehow transformed into a powerful, charismatic man, his white shirt open at the top showing the sculpted chest he inherited from his father. His coppery red hair had an even fierier tone than Ivan’s, almost sheer red, whilst his eyes had eventually turned blue like my own, despite starting green. He had a strong, masculine jaw and his figure had developed over the past year. He had trained like a beast with Kharkov and Jackson, as if preparing for his mate by getting into perfect shape. “Are we ready to do this parade then?” he grumbled, fiddling with his cufflink, the rasping depth of his manly voice still making me wistful even after years of it breaking. “How has a white shirt made you look this grown up,” I said softly, adjusting the collar of his shirt whilst he towered over me and his father. The squidgy faced little boy who hid behind my skirts clutching stacks of buns he had stolen from Martha was no m
The Beta's Prize Epilogue 1: White Forest Ball (Cherish)
** TWENTY YEARS LATER ** “I cannot believe it has truly been so long since we were last at White Forest,” I murmured, standing in the same suite we had used so many years ago. Back when I shouted at Helena and suggested she had failed Ivan. The four-poster bed and stained glass windows were unchanged. As if we had simply stepped back in time. The sight of the balcony, where I had once stood in only a black cloak for Ivan to devour under the pale blue moonlight made me smile and Halo purr in remembrance. “You are as amazing now as you were then,” Ivan murmured, approaching me with a grin. In his late forties he was getting somehow even more handsome with age. His hair remained the stunning copper beacon I looked for first in every room whilst his frame remained strong, tall and muscular. Although my heart had two other beacons to contend with in Genevieve and Cillian, Ivan’s strength was the tree which my roots had grown around. They had turned eighteen last winter, Ivan insiste
The Beta's Prize 106. Cherish
Although Ivan’s silly trick with the balcony made me laugh, we were soon back in the same glum mood we had left the dinner party with last night. The stone walls around us swirled with confusion, the footsteps of unknown servants constantly pattering by made me feel watched, edgy. At home, in Cragstone we knew exactly who roamed our smaller world. “We should just ask Helena outright,” I snapped in frustration, “they’re discussing us and our babies so why shouldn’t we know.” Ultimately we had the matter taken out of our hands. A small, elderly male servant summoned us for breakfast with Alpha Brandon and Luna Hollie down in the dining hall. Kissing the babies and leaving them with Kharkov and Penelope we made our way for attempt Day Two of the so-called Conference. As expected the four of them were already there. Brandon raised his hand as soon as he saw us enter and saw Ivan assessing the situation. Alpha Alexander for once looked distressed. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes wer
The Beta's Prize 105. Ivan
My worst fears were confirmed. This wasn’t a proper conference, there was no respect for our attendance as the leaders of the Shadowlands pack, it was some ridiculous notion by Helena to try and fix her own ego. Kissing Cherish softly as she tended to the babies with Penelope I informed Kharkov I was heading for a stroll, he could stay with the women and enjoy some breakfast. His face lit up at the prospect, whether it was breakfast or the company of the women I could not tell which thrilled him more. I loved the fact he had such a bond with Cherish. Having someone in your corner like that, it’s how I used to see myself and Helena. Different but the same. /If everything had stayed the same, we would have been dead in a ditch long ago. Some things have to change/ Kohl murmured sagely. I agreed with him, but I still regretted my lost friendship. Heading out of the huge double doored stone archway I found myself looking down upon a splendid view of the surrounding forest. It was so
The Beta's Prize 104. Cherish
When the servant brought us into the dining hall it was just as grand as I expected. Huge golden candelabras and chandeliers lit up a picture perfect room. The usual tapestries and war scenes I had grown used to seeing at White Forest were not present here. Rising Star was a gallery of landscapes. The valleys, lakes and forests depicted everywhere gave the castle a softer feeling than I had expected this pile of stones to provide. Even the soft rugs were welcomely eyed by Halo, my feet still not fully healed made me want to jump to the nearest chair. I preferred this castle to White Forest, though as Halo warned me, that may just be because I had lingering reservations about Luna Helena and her knowledge of Fate. Ivan, bless him, knew my feet were not fully healed yet and made sure to have me seated comfortably before anything else. Alpha Brandon and Luna Hollie were kind and gracious hosts. They clearly adored Helena and Alexander, a cosy coupling that we were on the outside of.
