VALENS"She is moving towards the dungeons," Jabari's voice called through the phone. The people at the meeting tried not to stare at me as I took my call. "She wants to release the douche.""He's allowed to leave. Take him to his family and make sure Celeste sees him. After that, I want him to disappear within the next twenty-four hours." My fingers drummed on the table as I awaited confirmation that he understood what I meant."Where do you want him?" Jabari asked."Dead if I find him within ten feet of my mate in his lifetime." I clicked the end button and went back to my meeting.The men and women around me wanted me to consolidate the packs under me into one. It wasn't something I had not considered before but I put off a lot of things for when I found my mate. Now, I'd found her.It would take a lot of work to combine all packs, considering the fact that they were spread out in different parts of the world and none of them was close to another. I put in my men to rule in my stea
I waited for Valens but he was taking longer than usual to arrive.After I surprisingly succeeded in freeing Beta Strauss, I ran into Lucien. He was frankly the last person I wanted to run into in this lifetime or the next. I tried to pretend he wasn't there but he rushed at me and engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug that made my back crack. Thankfully, training with Valens taught me how to get out of his hold. I wriggled free of his hold just as Jabari showed up. Jabari glared at him so hard that he scampered off.I tightened my robe around myself as I waited for Valens. I wanted to get into my pyjamas and just go to sleep but I felt I had to appease him for releasing Beta Strauss against his orders. I had to soften him up for when I broke the news to him and if I knew Valens, the thing he liked most in the world, more than his duty and his pride, was sex.At around midnight, when my eyes were dropping from exhaustion, I heard our suite door open. I sat upright, my skin heating in the
*LUCIEN*"Celeste, can we talk for a minute?" My sister paused on her way out. She looked concerned when she turned to me.I didn't need her to say it because I already knew that I looked like hell. I hadn't shaved in close to a week. I needed to trim my hair and maybe sleep a little but it seemed impossible to sleep when my mate was in someone else's arms."You look like hell," she blurted out, shutting the door. "What happened to you?""Where have you been? It's been a long time since I saw you." I diverted the question from myself as we walked towards the dining to have our talk."I've been home. You're the one who hasn't been here in weeks." I pushed my overgrown hair out of my face.Since the pack repossessed the Beta's house after Valen's takeover, we had to move into the pack house for a while before we cleared the house our mother inherited from her mother. It was smaller than the luxurious home we lived in as the Beta's family but it was better than staying in the pack house
The next day, I couldn't make it to the training grounds because I couldn't walk. My legs had been bent in every direction throughout the night. Even my trainer slept in, his head on my chest and legs tangled with mine.We didn't have an alarm because we didn't need one. We were both early risers but since we'd been active till the day was semi-bright, we slept almost till noon. I woke up first with my bladder bursting and a small ache in my lower back. Valens was half atop me and I didn't want to wake him so I held myself stiffly until the urge to pee reduced."Valens?" I called his name softly when the urge returned. He didn't stir. "Valens?" I called again, trying to wiggle free this time. His hands clamped around me like iron cages while his face moved from my chest to my neck. He muttered something and it tickled me."Valens, you have to work and I have to pee." He muttered something else and I had to hold my legs together not to wet myself."Valens!" I yelled. His body stiffened
*ON MY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY*"Happy birthday, Aysel!" Celeste brought me a cupcake with a candle on it, her face stretched wide from smiling. It was early, barely five, so my mind wasn't the sharpest."Thank you." I kissed her cheek after blowing out the candle."Did you make a wish?" She asked, her eyes wide in my dark room."I did," I lied through my teeth. I hadn't. All the wishes I'd made in the past ten years were unnecessary. I never got anything from wishing so I stopped wishing."Great. I knew you'd be in the kitchen soon before heading off to school. I wanted to make sure you got your gift." She brandished a pink gift bag, waving it in my face excitedly. "Open it!" She shoved it into my hands. It was light and inside lay a beautiful butterfly necklace.Wolves traditionally received wood carvings from their Alpha when they came of age but I didn't expect Alpha Zavier to waste his time carving me something symbolic or even wasting wood on me.I didn't think I would receive anyth
"I am sorry." I waved off Celeste's apologies.She cried and cried and I felt there was more to her tears than she let me see but someone came to prepare my bath soon.A small omega with kind eyes knocked on the door and when I opened up, she jumped back. Relief crossed her face when she didn't see Valens anywhere in the room."The alpha is scary. Oh lord." She fanned herself. "When he came with Astrid to my room, I thought I was about to be banished." The girl talked a lot and her voice was calming, helping me get my mind off the bad memories I had to revisit for Celeste."Umm, I think I'll go." Celeste picked up her purse with her red eyes and tear-stained face."It's okay. I'm fine now." I hugged her. "Thank you for visiting. Maybe we can get something to eat tomorrow?""Thank you. That'll be nice." She squeezed me before she left with a watery smile."You smell fresh," the omega who prepared my bath said. She leaned into me, making a hand gesture as if blowing my scent into her no
Somehow, I'd forgotten my own birthday which wasn't all that surprising because I always did. Celeste was the only person who always remembered but this year, she had too much burdening her."Oh – I didn't know you knew," I laughed, touching the chain around my neck. "Thank you." Turning to him, I rose to my tiptoes. Supported by my hands on his shoulders, I placed a kiss on his chin."We have a dinner reservation for seven." He offered me his open palm and I stared at it in confusion."So – uh why am I here so early then? You said to come with an appetite." He dropped his hand, sticking them into his pockets."Let's go." He grabbed his key and proceeded to walk out the door."Oh okay." It was only when we got to the elevator that it occurred to me that he may have wanted me to take his hand when he stretched it out to me.Ah.We rode the elevator down in silence. When we walked out, people automatically stepped out of our way. I wanted to take his hand then but I didn't know how to b
I was awestruck."How long have you planned this?" I asked, in awe of my surroundings. He'd put a lot of effort into this, I could tell.The restaurant was empty. The inside was lit up and it displayed a happy birthday message to me with lights. My eyes stung a bit with tears that I held back."Quite a while." His thumb stroked the back of my palm. "Are you happy?" I nodded.Yes, I was happy. I didn't think I ever needed a grand gesture but it turned out I did. I felt special and cared for. Important. He'd taken his time to plan something this big just to surprise me and make me happy for my birthday.My birthdays were never special after my parents died. Days were blurred into one and every day could have been yesterday because they were all the same, birthday or not. I didn't pay much attention to it because other things called for my attention but I realized then how I'd missed surprises. Wonderful surprises. The only surprises I ever received from the pack were bad ones."Thank yo