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. “
When one day turned into one week, I felt like I was going crazy. On the surface, things were normal but I could feel it in my bones that everything was different. He didn’t ignore me, we spoke to each other as usual but he never cracked a smile. He never went out of his way to check on me like he used to and the strain around us worsened.Guilt ate at me and the more time passed, the more I hyperventilated in his presence, fearing an explosion and the more I feared we’d gotten to the point of no return. It was as if I’d pushed him away forever and I didn’t know how to fix it but I knew I had to so on that fateful day, I put on my shoes that were getting a bit too tight and then I went to his office.I clutched my cross bag to myself as my heart raced. My skin felt too tight for me and various irrational thoughts sprang up in my mind. I feared he’d never forgive me. Scenes of him giving me a bland smile as he accepted my apology plagued me. The thought of continuing to live together
*VALEN*Cia came to visit. It was unexpected and annoying but I went to pick her up from the airport since I was unable to concentrate on working for the past week. The past week, simply put, had been nothing but hell. My life had become dark and obsolete to the point that clouds followed me everywhere despite the sun being high in the sky.Everyone around me was walking on eggshells since even I didn’t know when I’d blow up at every mistake. It was as if the world was testing me by placing dumb people around to always provoke me. I’d become a nightmare to my employees and pack but the only thing I could think of was Chantelle.My moon. I wished she would apologize but what use was an apology if she didn’t trust me? No matter what I said to her, she looked at me with the same eyes she looked at her ex-mate. It was both infuriating and saddening.How could I convince her that I was not the scum of the earth? She had a pre-conceived notion of me being a mindless murderer and now she saw
*VALENS*Before I could react, my sister had rushed to the sleeping woman, grabbed her hair and was shaking it hard enough to pull a few strands. I was confused but what made me even more confused was the black shirt hanging off the couch. It belonged to a man so it confused me.There was a naked woman in my office and a man’s shirt. It was clear that they’d gotten frisky but in my office? It was one of the thousands of things that I never imagined would ever happen. What kind of bastard dared to bring a woman into my office for sex? No, what kind of man dared to even enter my office without my permission?“W – What –“ The woman who’d been dead asleep woke up slurring her words. She blinked numerous times as Valencia manhandled her. She raised her head and I recognized her immediately.What was Irene doing in my office?My gaze darted around the room as I looked for something – someone but I knew she wasn’t here. I swallowed through a dry throat as Valencia continued to manhandle the
“Where do you think you’re going with my pups?” It was a question that made me freeze and when I turned slowly, ever so slowly, I came face to face with a man boiling with anger.**I woke up earlier with a start. A bird had chirped too enthusiastically on a tree close to me and I opened my eyes with an elevated heartbeat and flaying arms. Looking around, I tried to grasp where I was and for a few seconds, I even wondered who I was. My neck hurt, the ground underneath me was wet with dew and I felt a mess. It took a while for me to regain my composure and when the events of the previous day flooded my mind, I felt nauseous and tears filled my eyes faster than I could blink them away.He’d be looking for me now, I was sure and that thought made my heart pound. I’d run away once and I could not do it a second time no matter how much I wanted to stall, no matter how repulsive the thought of seeing his face was to me. When I imagined seeing him again, I felt my skin crawl and his face ov
“You expect me to believe that?” I asked and the incredulity was clear in my tone.If the twins were going to come up with an excuse, there were better ones than that. I was more inclined to believe that the devil possessed him and drove him to cheat than I was to believe it was a setup.“Why is it so hard to believe?” Valens who had been stewing from beside me finally spoke up. “What is it about me that makes me hard to trust? Why is it so easy for you to believe I am the scum of the earth?” His hard words made me flinch and I entertained doubt for the first time since yesterday.Perhaps I had seen wrong. No, I hadn’t but maybe it was a setup but who the hell could set him up? What would they achieve? Was he saying Irene, who just got to Redville, had managed to set up such a grand plan that involved no one but Valens!?“It’s not - it’s what I saw!” Anxiety tinged my words.I wasn’t just needlessly doubting him like I thought up until yesterday. It wasn’t just my insecurity whisperin
That night, we shared his room for the first time. I slept well since I’d all but slept on the hard ground the previous night and when I woke up the next morning, I saw grey eyes peering into mine. My skin flushed immediately.“Good morning.” His tone was hoarse and made my skin tingle. His fingers stroked my hair in an overtly tender manner. My heart fluttered and then stuttered when his face drew nearer, filling my vision. Reflexively, I reached out and held his face with both my hands and I felt his lips move underneath my thumb.“Are you rejecting my good morning kiss?” He asked, his tone even deeper now.“Uh – no, how could I?” My skin was hot all over. I’d not been kissed in a week and with the way his eyes burned and his body inched closer to mine, I felt a kiss would not cut it. His desire shone in his eyes, red and hot.I let his face go and closed my eyes. His breath tickled my face and I held my breath as his lips descended on mine. A bolt of lust struck me but before I cou
“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