“Everly?” I moan, sitting up and rubbing at the side of my throbbing head. “Slowly, you hit your head pretty hard.”“Is she okay?” “Luna, are you leaving for real?” “Shh. She just woke up. Don’t make her mad.” I blink my eyes a little, confused at what I was seeing in front of me. I was in Killian and I’s old room, laying on top of the made bed with Sebastain and six children I had funded standing around me. Why were the kids here? I don’t want to get too full of myself and say I’m close to them, but I make a special effort to take children like these under my wing.“How are you feeling?” I jump a little at Sebastain’s hand touching me on the lower back as I sit up a little more. I’m not quite ready to get all cozied up to him, so I feel myself scooting away a little. Before I even answer him, a panicked thought shoots through my head. I hope my baby is okay. My hands instinctively reach for my belly, like I’ll be able to somehow tell if it’s okay that way. “Don’t worry. It’s f
Killian's POVI had tried everything to get the smell of Everly out of the room we once shared. But I swear, even though the bedsheets were brand new, they still smelled like lilacs, same as she once did.I lean on the railing of the balcony May had insisted we add to the bedroom, watching the sun setting in the sky as I drink whiskey from a flask I’d taken to carrying around with me. I imagine the nagging Everly would have given me if she saw how much I was drinking these days. But I couldn’t help it. The whiskey was turning into the only way to quell the everpresent irritation that had been lingering in my gut since my wife had left me. I scoff a little when I think about how quickly Everly had given our lives up together. I mean, all those years of making it clear the only thing she cared about was moving up in the world, and she runs the second things get rocky? She gave up everything, her home and pack, all the nice things we’d worked so hard to obtain. For the longest time, s
Killian's POVTwo Years later… “We’re going to have to stop giving lessons to young wolves. We don’t have enough pack members to spare anymore, and we could honestly use their help anyways. There are things they can be doing aside from learning how to do algebra.” I command. “I see.” I shoot my eyes up at Lucas, who is standing on the other side of my desk with a blank expression on his face. Though his face was smooth, I knew Lucas well. What I had just said might have broken the last bit of respect for me he had. “Just do it.” I growl, turning around in my chair to get away from his judgement-filled eyes. He doesn’t say anything else, I just hear him walking away and the door to my office closing behind him. I sigh heavily, and lean forward in my chair to hang my head. To say I had let my pack slip away from me, was an understatement. For the first six months after Everly left me, I was a wreck. I drank a minimum of two bottles of whiskey every day, and that number in
Everly's POV“How long has she been feeling unwell?” “Since the last full moon.” I nod a little, running a hand across the hot forehead of the young wolf in front of me. “Has she met her mate yet?” I flick my eyes up to the mom, who shakes her head viciously. “No, she would tell me about that.” “Right.” My eyes float down to the fourteen year girl old curled up in the doctor's waiting room. She had come in a couple hours ago, but because she was only complaining of mild discomfort and stomach pain, she wasn't made a priority. I was waiting for the doctor to bring Eli and Ella back from getting their shots, so I figured I would see if there was anything I could do for this uncomfortable girl. She’s currently staring at me, a message clear in her eyes. I raise a brow at her, and press my lips together. “She’s fine. You can take her home, but you two need to have a conversation about why you won’t let her be with whoever her mate is.” The mother gasps, and the daughter quickly jump
“Come, sit by me.” I nod a little and sit in the chair next to Sebastain. We were three seats down from the committee leader, who sat in the middle of a long table at the front of Sebastain’s meeting hall. It was the largest in the area, and Sebastain was on the committee, so they often used his space as their own. It meant he had a hand in a lot of things, despite the struggles of constantly having to accommodate powerful guests. “Who are those people?” I whisper to Sebastain, pointing to the couple who was already seated on the opposite side of the committee head. They were very serious looking, both were calculating dark eyes that scanned the room constantly. They were older than us, by at least thirty years, but both still looked strong and probably more able bodied than us. I tense a little when he leans closer to me, bringing his minty scent with him. I can feel the heat coming off his body as he leans one of his arms on my chair's armrest. “They’re Alpha and Luna to the C
“I don’t understand why I have to be the one to do this.” I’m stomping down the path towards my house currently, Sebastian in tow. He’s being quiet, just kind of letting me complain. “I left that pack for a reason, to get away from him.” I turn around then, staring at Sebastian. “Why would anyone think this is a good idea? I mean, he very publicly humiliated me. What if I just teach him all the wrong things to do so he’ll mess up his pack more because I want revenge?” “Won’t it feel good though, getting to see all the ways he’s screwing up? You’ll basically be in charge of him for his time here. With his Alpha status hanging on such a thin sheet of ice, anything you say about him will be taken seriously.” “What does that mean?” I ask, crossing my arms and eyeing Sebastain suspiciously. He shrugs a little. “It doesn’t mean anything. I’m just saying if he’s legitimately a bad Alpha and can’t be saved, you need to say something. Otherwise the remaining members of his pack are doome
“I guess let’s start with the basics. How much actual money do you have each month as of now to provide for your pack?” I was currently in one of the classrooms this pack used for teaching young wolves. Sebastian had gotten me at nine o’clock like he promised and led me here, telling me to let him know if Killian bothered me in any way. I had rolled my eyes, but agreed. Killian bothered me just by being here. I still wasn’t over how completely he had betrayed me. We were sitting at a circle table, across from each, in chairs that were just a little too small. Especially for Killian. If this wasn’t such an awkward conversation to be having with an ex, I might laugh a little at how much he didn’t fit into the child sized chairs. “That’s not important.” He says, shaking his head. I sigh a little. I was worried this is how this would go. “Okay, but making sure your pack is making enough money to support itself, is very important, isn’t it?” He shrugs a little, like an angry little
“I don’t understand.” Killian says as Ella plays with his cheeks in her small hands. She never responded this well to Sebastain, not to anyone but Alice or me. It was like she knew this man was her father. “I thought these were Sebastain’s children.” His eyes meet mine, and I furrow my brow. “Killian, I was pregnant before I even knew Sebastain was still interested in me. I found out I was pregnant on our anniversary, on the same day you brought May home with you.” His face falls a little then, and I wonder if he’s finally ready to take some responsibility for what happened. Because the reality is, if he’d never brought May home, there would never have been a reason for me to leave. I would’ve welcomed him home and told him the news, and we would’ve started our journey together to be parents. “Would you two like to have some tea?” I look to where Alice has come back out of the house. Her eyes are fixed on Killian, and it makes me feel a little prickly. I could practically smell h
The ride back to Killian’s pack was mostly quiet; he’d ask me something every once in a while, about the twins or his pack. But I think we both had a lot on our minds. I know I did. The car had dropped us as close to the pack lands as it could, and we walked the rest of the way. “God, I’m glad to be back in these woods.” Killian said as we walked along. He had his face tilted to look at the tops of the trees, and was smiling a little for the first time in what felt like forever. It was kind of cute, the way he was acting like he was literally being recharged just by being in his woods again. “What are you smiling at?” He asks me, bumping his shoulder against mine a little. I shake my head, and look up at him. “Just… happy we both got to come back here together.” I say. “Did you miss this place at all?” He asks, looking down at me. I nod a little. “Yeah, I guess I did. Or really I missed the good memories I had attached to it.” He nods along. “Like… Do you remember that one nigh
A lot had happened since I had beaten both Sebastain and Felix. Most of which I wasn’t currently letting Killian in on. It’s not that I didn’t trust him or think he wasn’t capable anymore, but I knew he was hurt. And I knew only half of the pain he was feeling right now was physical. First of all, May reared her annoying ass in again. It makes sense, as she had been spotted previously hanging out with Felix, and had been acting suspiciously close with him before. But I was a bit surprised when his body was taken away by his pack members, and she surfaced through the crowd, like she’d been there the entire time. “Look who’s leveled up in the world.” she had sneered at me as she glared down at the unconscious Felix. She looked at me bitterly, like I had taken something from her. She had gone on about how this and this were supposed to happen, but now everything was ruined since I’d stuck my nose into everything. She said I was in the way, like always, and should’ve just learned my
I always thought Everly had such a pretty side profile. I remember when I first started getting to know her, I would stare at her across the courtyard at our college, just watching her read or talk to someone. I liked the curve of her lips, the way her lashes brush the tops of her cheeks when she blinked.That’s what I was thinking about as I watched her talk to the doctor who had been taking care of me for the past couple of days. I was being released. My injuries weren’t all the way healed, but I was good enough. The doctor had actually said that. I wasn’t upset about it or anything, I was ready to get out of here as it was. I was still in Sebastain’s pack. Or I guess, Everly’s pack. We hadn’t actually talked too much about that little fact yet. I’d tried to bring it up a couple times, to find out what exactly happened. I knew the outcome of everything, but I still felt like I was missing a lot of important details. But whenever I did bring it up, suddenly Everly had to pee so
Failure. You lost. Pathetic. You don’t deserve to be Alpha. These words are the only ones that fill my head as someone carried my unconscious body like a sack of potatoes. I didn’t know who it was, if they were taking me to finish me off or help me, but I didn’t care. I can’t believe I lost. My mind can’t quite put everything that happened in order, not yet at least. I remember the beginning of the fight, flashes of Everly’s anxious face watching me get my ass kicked. I remember… getting knocked down. Lots of yelling. But I’m not sure why… I couldn’t pick out what they had been saying. Sounded like a woman, calling someone a monster. But who would be yelling that, and why? And I remember opening my eyes for a moment, and seeing Everly kneeling above me, blood on her chin, and her eyes so, so worried for me. Why was there blood on her chin? “...you gotta open your eyes buddy.” Whoever that is sounds familiar. Lucas? He was the only one who would call me something like “buddy.”
I hadn’t utilized my wolf much since she’d come back to me, a few small conversations here and there, but she didn’t seem all that chatty, to be honest. Though it wasn’t like she was before, either. I had even asked her once if she wanted to be let out so she could go for a run, but she said no, she was fine watching. Which I thought was a little weird, just because of what I’d heard about your wolf’s nature inside when I was a kid, was that it could always be begging to be let out. Wolves loved to run and play, hunt and kill. But my wolf always seemed like she preferred to remain inside, silently watching my life play out. It was a little odd, to be honest. I guess one might assume she’d be weak, from all that time spent locked up. But she wasn’t. She ripped through my skin, making Felix laugh like an evil maniac, and grin with excitement. He tears off his own shirt, and begins turning into his wolf. I hope my wolf knew what she was doing. I hope we dont both die today. I want
There were more than a few problems that quickly became evident to me from the second Adam told us to begin. First of all, I don’t know Felix, like at all. I’d never met him before all this, so I certainly didn’t know anything about his fighting style. I guess I had assumed based on his personality, he would dance around me for a while, taunting me and maybe revealing some evil plan he’d been cooking up. Starting out easy and building up to more serious attacks. I was dead wrong, because the first thing he did was charge me at a lightning fast speed, barely giving me time to put my arms up and try to block my face from the barrage of punches he was throwing at me. His fists pounded into my arms, and I could already imagine the dark bruises I would be covered in if I survived long enough to see tomorrow. I could hear the packs booing him, except for his of course, and throwing suggestions at me. Even they could tell I was in over my head here. I wanted to take their advice, but a l
After a while, Adam and an older woman come back over to me, both with those same, almost mourning expressions on their faces. They were looking at me like they were about to tell me I had cancer or something.“Everly… I don’t know how to say this..” Adam begins, but is cut off by the over eager Felix, who throws his arm over my shoulder and hangs off me like a rag doll. “Oh, do tell us Adam. Tell us how she’s going to have to fight me now, because of your tragic pack rules.” He taunts, an impish grin plastered on his face. I narrow my eyes at him, but when I look back at Adam, I can tell that’s exactly what I’m going to have to do. I’d already had an inkling, but I guess there was still some small part of me that hoped the fates might have mercy on me for once. I mean, it makes sense. Sebastian fights Killian, whoever wins that fight, fights Felix. Except, I just had to butt my big head in, and now I was the one who had won that match, so according to the rules, I was up next again
“Killian?! Wake up!” I’m hovering over Killian now, gently holding either side of his face. There’s blood all over, his nose is definitely broken, and his eyes are swollen shut. Serena still hasn’t shut up about what a monster I am in the background, even though Sebastain had already been dragged off by a couple of his pack members. I wish she would’ve gone with him, because she was only adding to the chaos. A couple committee members were holding her back by the arms as she yelled at me what a manipulative piece of shit I was, and that if her son died, I was the reason. Adam was one of the guys holding her, and I could tell by the look on his face, he had no idea what to do right now.“Please.” I lean down to Killian’s ear, kissing it softly. My heart races in my chest when I hear him groan, and his head rolls to the side a little. That was proof, he was alive, and that’s all I needed right now.“Luna, we must help him.” I look up to the voice talking to me, my eyes wide and franti
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” I blink a little, trying to pull myself out of the whirlwind of thoughts going on inside my mind right now as Serena starts speaking to the gathered packs. “Today, we are witnessing the challenge of two Alphas-”I hear a voice clearing, and look up to Felix, who is standing in between Killian and Sebastain. Serena sighs, and rolls her eyes. “Two Alphas and a… him.” She waves her hand dismissively at Felix, but he just grins that evil smile of his and waves at the crowd. “For the right to rule over all attending packs.” I notice she left out the real reason this challenge was even happening, to see who would have me as their Luna. She was one of the ones I’d heard him talking shit about me to, so I don’t know why she even cared. She already knew how he really felt, right? I look up then at Sebastian, who is already looking at me. His dark gaze stares into mine, and I swallow thickly. He’s mouthing something at me, something I can’t quite make out. I tilt my h