I had a quick check-up after that. Valens watched from the side without hiding the anxiety in his eyes while I smiled and tried to act as nonchalant as possible. The check-up didn’t last long and after that, I ate, took my supplements and fell asleep.When I woke next, the room and the world outside were dark and Valens was nowhere to be seen. I turned on the light and stretched. The door opened shortly after and Dahlia poked her head in. I was surprised to see her so I almost gasped.“You’re awake,” she said and then stepped into the room. “Do you need anything?” She asked. Her tone was rough around the edges but I ignored it.“No. What are you doing here?” I asked as I sat up. “Where’s Valens?”“Vee dropped by the office real quick. He didn’t want you to wake up to an empty house so he asked me to hang around for a while,” she said. “You sure you don’t need anything?” She asked again but I shook my head, getting out of bed to grab some water with Dahlia following behind me.She watc
My phone buzzing beside me woke me the next morning. It was a call from Janet and for a minute, I contemplated ignoring it. The call ended the first time and she called back so I picked up.“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Came her frantic voice into my ear early that morning. “He is back! Greg – I can’t thank you enough.” I rubbed my eyes and winced at her loud voice.“What happened?” I asked, clearing my throat.“I had lost all hope but Greg just called me. Although I’ve not seen him, I’m thankful. I can’t thank you enough, Chantelle. As expected, you’re a good person.” She broke into a long rant. “I was an asshole to you but when I called you for help, you still helped me.”Truth be told, I had forgotten all about Janet and her mate. The last time I mentioned him to Valens, he’d gotten mad so I never mentioned him again. Greg hadn’t done anything for me so why should I risk my peace for him?“You’re welcome. Glad you found your mate,” I said. There was a small knock on my door befor
“I thought you’d be happy to see him,” she cried, “It was wrong of me to take him from you and when he came begging – I thought, I thought I’d be doing you a favour by reconnecting the two of you.” I was bewildered.Everyone around the table paused to stare at us. It reminded me of the day with Thelma called herself my mother in the presence of everyone. It was embarrassing to say the least and as I watched her, I got a stuffy feeling in my chest. A flash of anxiety stole over me and I had a feeling of being caged by this woman and her mother. They were, not to exaggerate, the bane of my existence.“Stand up.” It was Valens who spoke when I felt choked up from the stares I was getting. Even Dahlia was looking at me as if I’d betrayed her trust. I looked at my mate and wondered what would be running through his head at this point. Did he think there was more to the story than I had told him?We’d only just met. Compared with my years with Irene, he may believe her. She was my sister,
After a bout of ugly crying that shocked and worried my mate, I became ravenous. It was the first time I’d felt this hungry since I lost my appetite after being poisoned.“I’m hungry,” I blurted to Valens whom I’d been steadily ignoring since I started my crying bout.“I’ll order something,” he responded. “What would you like?”All my favourite meals began to be deleted from my head one after the other at that point. It was frustrating trying to name a dish but suddenly becoming blank so I said;“Anything is fine but no fish. Order a large quantity.”He took out his phone and I watched him type away with artful fingers. A while back I was thinking of losing him but now, it seemed stupid. He was my mate and I was lucky to have such a hot man as my mate.“You’re staring at me weird again,” he said, not taking his eyes off his phone.“It’s because you’re beautiful,” I gave my go-to response. “You have really nice fingers.”As I looked at him, I strengthened my resolve not to lose him. Th
*VALENS* I was silent for too long and it hurt her. The hurt was evident as she seemed to shrink into herself and avert her gaze.“Pretend I never said that,” she murmured, her cheeks reddening.I opened my mouth to tell her that there was no need for her to be embarrassed and that I did love her but the words refused to leave my mouth. I had no time to waste on lies so I couldn’t lie. When she asked that question, I knew the reply she wanted and I hated myself for being unable to give her that reply but I couldn’t help it.To me, Chantelle was my moon, the only brightness in my dark life. She made me want to do better and be better. Since I met her, she filled my mind day and night and I could not string together five thoughts without one of them involving her but I wasn’t sure if that was love.When I thought of love, I thought of my parents but my memories of them were fuzzy in my head. I left home at thirteen so my impression of my family was not strong. I knew my parents loved e
*IRENE* The Cursed Alpha was a more difficult man than I wanted to admit. My heart continued to pound even hours after meeting him. There was something about his gaze that made it clear that he was not a man to bluff. If he said he’d slit my throat, he’d slit my throat.It was exciting.I was scared but excitement mixed in with that fear. Being in the presence of such a powerful man, knowing he hated me through and through was exciting. Thinking about how those cold eyes glared at me and imagining how much more beautiful they’d be when they warmed up to me made me even more excited. It’d be a lot more satisfying when I finally got him.There had never been a time in my life when I encountered such a difficult man. A man who didn’t even show the slightest bit of interest in me no matter how coy I acted. Even when he saw me in my most pitiful state, he didn’t even flinch. The Cursed Alpha would be a worthy challenge and for him, I was willing to crawl on my knees and humiliate myself b
He got me gifts. A horde of presents that seemed like an apology for his lack of love for me. I may have accepted them graciously but when I looked at them, I felt my stomach twist and my heart hardened.There were several pieces of jewellery, a car key and a tablet with a score of pretty pink accessories. They were good gifts, great gifts if I pretended they were not to apologize for him not loving me, but when I looked at the stack of first edition comic books, the dozens of white roses and the little card on them that read ‘You are my Sunshine,’ I wanted to smash something.One would ask what was wrong with receiving such sentimental gifts but they were things that had Jackson written all over them. When I first saw the pile of comics, I thought for a minute that Jackson had found another way of reaching me and terrorizing me but these gifts were from Valens and were delivered by his Beta.‘Roses and Wolves was a fairly popular comic about an Alpha who chose a mate against his pare
“What’s wrong?” He had the face to ask me such a question.‘Calm down, he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know.’ My wolf urged me but her words were buried deep down under the many voices speaking all at once in my head.“What do you mean what’s wrong!?” I shouted back.“Hey, guys, please –“ My gaze turned to Dahlia and it was sharp enough to have her take a step back. “I’ll see myself out.” She ducked her head and made a beeline for the door. No one made a move to stop her.“So tell me. What’s the meaning of the things you sent me?” Valens’ face crumpled.“You didn’t like them?” He asked and there was genuine confusion in his tone. My pounding heart calmed a bit but the voices whispering negativity into my ears did not stop.‘Don’t be ungrateful,’ Asia piped in. ‘And don’t be rude without reason!’“Did you think I’d like them?” I retorted and his brows wrinkled. I put my hands on my waist and locked my knees as they began to wobble.“I - wasn’t sure?” The statement was more of a question. “
“Uggh,” I sighed as I collapsed onto the sofa. “I’m tired of being pregnant,” I muttered as I sank deeper into the new sofa. I was a few weeks away from delivery and I felt huge, as in HUGE. There were times when I saw doors and I was scared I wouldn’t be able to fit through. Of course, it always ended up being my imagination but my back was killing me and my feet were now atrociously large. Most of all, I was more than eager to meet my babies. “We’re done, Luna,” the pack members who’d come to help Valens and me move into our new home announced. I’d been looking forward to this day for a long time and it was finally here. The house was fully decorated and we’d set up the babies’ room a while back. Everything was perfect. Life was awesome. We hadn’t moved all those months ago because aside from having to decorate the house, I didn’t think it was right to leave the pack house when the pack was still grieving. Redville had not experienced a battle in decades and although there were a
The sun hitting my face forced me to open my eyes. The sterile smell of antiseptic assailed my nostrils and made me wrinkle my nose. The hospital remained one of the worst places for me. It reminded me of the many long hours I used to spend in fertility clinics trying to conceive. I touched my stomach or I tried to. One of my hands felt numb and the other was gripped in someone else’s hand.I took a deep breath to calm myself as a flood of memories passed through me. It was as if I was being held at knifepoint again and my heart trembled. My lips pursed and tears rapidly filled my eyes. I’d been so scared, goddess, I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d been as scared as I was then. My life had flashed before my eyes and I saw everything I was about to lose.I tried to breathe but my chest felt like it was caving in on me and I could still feel a hand around my neck choking the breath out of me. The nightmare was over but the scars it left were permanent. As I lay there in bed
As the howls faded into the night, I continued to pace. Beth tried to comfort me but I couldn’t listen to her. Lucian had dispatched more wolves to the battleground and I knew my mate was badly hurt from the pulsing pain I felt at my side. All I could do now was pray to a goddess that had never answered me. Although I’d trained a lot in the past to augment my lack of strength as an omega, I’d neglected training since I entered Redville. Even if I was not pregnant, there was nothing I could do to help my mate at this point and it made me feel like a failure.My mate was out there risking his life to protect me, to protect us, and all I could do was hide. As his Luna, I should be by his side always and if I should die, I was to die by his side but I was hidden here, biting into my nails and holding back tears. Nestled in the pack’s sanctuary, I could not keep still. I and many other women were wide awake like an owl, the air heavy with tension and fear.Even after the moon waned and nig
*VALENS*My moon stared at me and I stared at her. We both knew what was coming. My wolf was already bristling with anticipation. Chantelle’s face was pale and I needed to reassure her.“It’ll be alright,” I said and I was sure of it. In seventeen years, I’d conquered twenty-four packs. There was nothing to fear from Dahlia and Jackson. I told her just that and it almost felt like bragging.“Then, you couldn’t be killed,” she responded, her voice disturbingly quiet. “But not anymore. Anything could happen and I’d lose you.” Tears filled her eyes and my chest tightened.“I’ll be by your side forever. That’s a promise. You’re mine in every lifetime so I’ll always be by your side, moon.”“Don’t say that.” She shook her head. “It sounds like you’re planning to die and leave my side. Don’t make it sound like you’re saying farewell.”“Farewell? We’ve not even moved into our new home. I’m not leaving you to raise our pups alone.” I hugged her to me. The sensation of having her pressed tight
*JACKSON*“Alpha Jackson, you are a genius!” Alpha Shawn praised me.Shawn was one of the many Alphas I met through my mysterious benefactor and the most powerful of all the Alphas I’d been introduced to. I found him obnoxious and too talkative but he had a large number of resources to throw away as long as he could watch the Cursed Alpha get trampled on. His stocky build was more like a Beta’s and he constantly stank of garlic so he wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around.He was a man that I would have dismissed if I didn’t know the power he wielded. Sometimes while we conversed, I felt resentful that a man like this had so many resources to spare while I was now battling bankruptcy thanks to Alpha Park.As if that bastard had known what lay ahead, he’d started to sell his properties in Blood Moon. I heard he’d made investments in Redville. Thelma had somehow found out that he’d willed everything, including his clothes, to his daughter. Everything he had left would go to her. I
By evening that day, the entire pack was silent. It was weird to me because usually, I’d ask Dahlia to tell me what was going on in the pack and now she wasn’t here anymore. It’s like she’d disappeared into thin air. Knowing her better now, I knew she had planned that too. She was smart so there was no way he didn’t know she’d be caught one day so she must have put in thorough plans into escaping when her crimes were exposed.As for her brother, he was not in jail because he was Valens’ Beta. I’d had to step in when it looked like my mate would unsheathe his claws and take a swipe at his chest and I knew the Beta would not try to defend himself. He’d take it without a word. For now, we put Lucian on probation.I was stressed, feeling feverish and stewing over Dahlia’s lies and how well she played me. It was as if the puzzle of life suddenly clicked. Everything made sense now, from how protective she seemed of Valens to the things happening around me. A girl like Dahlia who could sell
It was chaos after that. Chaos and pandemonium and everything in between.The first thing I did when I got out of my office was to go find my mate and tell him everything Lucian had confessed. His expression, much like mine when I first heard from Lucian, transformed from surprise to anger in the blink of an eye.“That stupid bitch.” I caught him by the hand when he almost stormed out. I’d felt a sharp pain at the side of my rib so I held his hand and doubled over as I gasped for breath.“What – where does it hurt?” Valens doubled back, his anger morphing to concern in the blink of an eye.“It’s - it’s okay. Just a normal random pain.” I didn’t mention it hurt as much as getting stabbed. “I asked Lucian to put her in the dungeons.”“You trust him to not give her a heads up to run?” He asked.It was not an irrational concern and I was ashamed to say I’d never thought of that. Despite it all, I continued to see Lucian as Valens’ Beta. He was loyal to Valens and although he tried to pro
I was taking a break from work by scrolling through an online baby store when someone knocked on my door.“Who is it?” I asked, adding a cute set of baby sock-shoes to my cart.“It’s Lucian. May I come in?” It was rare for the Beta to visit me like this so I asked him to come in with a curious frown on my face. “Good afternoon, Luna,” he said, his expression as blank as usual.“Yeah, good afternoon,” I said as I locked my phone and sat upright. “Is there a problem?”“No,” he responded but after a bit, he spoke again. “Yes. Well, it depends on how you look at it.” Another pause during which he drew a deep breath and then released it. “What am I saying? It’s a problem.” He shook his head with a stiff posture. His beefy muscles were corded and he looked like he was on the verge of an explosion.“Have a seat first.” I offered him a seat, partly due to the tension I read on him and the fact that he was fucking huge and towering over me in an enclosed space.Lucian was supposed to be my Bet
I was going through an appeal from pack members to increase the budget for the kitchen when my phone rang. I picked it up with glee, not even bothering to check who was calling because I needed an excuse to escape the tedious work.“Hello?” I said into the phone.“You sound tired,” came a familiar voice. My eyes lit up and I could not stop myself from exclaiming.“Dami!” Even my wolf was excited to hear her voice. “How have you been?” As I asked that question, I felt a bit of guilt because I’d let myself get carried away to the point I forgot to even contact her.“Oh, I’m alright,” she responded with a laugh. She sounded a lot happier than the last time we spoke. “How have you been?” She asked.“I’m alright! How are things going for you? With the moving and all.” I brought the conversation back to her.In all honesty, nothing was going on with me except for the fact that it felt like Valens was hiding something, something that made him incredibly pissed. Every time I asked if somethin