Happy Friday! What do you think Emmett will do? Accept or reject? Thanks for the continued support. Your comments are so motivating to keep me writing!
RIEKA I could feel Jacinda emotions washing over me like a tidal wave. She was in pain, not just emotionally, but physically too. For several agonizing seconds he didn’t speak, and it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. I was certain that Jacinda would be the first one to suffocate. Emmett finally spoke, but his voice was rough and gravelly. “Could we please have the room, Alpha?” Aleksandr nodded and took my hand to gently pull be back towards the door. I could feel Jacinda’s fear, and I knew that no matter what happened once I was on the other side, I would still feel it. We passed Emmett, and he stared straight ahead past us, but his eyes still refused to land on his mate. As the door clicked closed, I could still feel Jacinda on the other side, and her panic continued to rise, so I prayed. ----- EMMETT I was unable to sleep all night. I stayed up trying not to think about her, but that was impossible. Her soft white hair that reminded me of the wi
RIEKA When we all exited the room Aleksandr and I waited just outside the door, but Dustin kept moving towards the hallway to ensure privacy and security. The last thing we needed was the spy knowing too much about Emmett and Jacinda’s mate bond and ruining our chances of flushing them out. Meanwhile, Jacinda was in full-blown panic. Even from the other side of the door I could feel her emotions just as strongly as if she was standing next to me. The longer we waited, however, her emotions gradually began to calm. After about 45 minutes I felt the shift from panic to hopeful. Aleksandr and I were pacing the room when suddenly Jacinda was filled with bliss, and I knew that feeling, without a doubt. “Emmett accepted her,” I whispered to Aleksandr as tears pooled in my eyes, blurring my vision. He looked at me with surprise but didn’t question my claim. We waited a while longer, but Emmett did not appear to be leaving the room any time soon. As impatient as I was to solve the
RIEKA We rush over to where Dustin is lying flat on his back in the grass. His eyes are open and vacant, but at least he’s still breathing. Jacinda must have done something to him so they could escape. I just couldn’t figure out why. She knew we trusted her, and she had to assume that we had a plan. Emmett has always been loyal, and he knew the plan. He was the one who questioned us about whether or not she could really be trusted. Didn’t they know that we would figure this out. Aleksandr is shaking Dustin by the shoulders and lightly slapping his face trying to break him out of whatever trance he’s in, but it doesn’t appear to be working. Within minutes, some patrols rush over and begin lifting Dustin’s massive body to carry him back to the pack house while my mate paced back and forth cursing under his breath. “Aleksandr, talk to me.” He stopped pacing but didn’t turn to face me. His knuckles were white from clenching his fists so tightly, and I could see the tension in
RIEKA I could feel the tension rolling off Aleksandr in waves. I’ve never seen him this stressed out or unsure of himself. “Any word on Dustin’s condition?” I asked as I turned my attention back to Lis. “He’s stable but showing no signs of waking up. He’s definitely under some sort of spell.” Aleksandr growled as he began pacing again. Although I had a plan, I knew that he was in no position to fully grasp it at the moment. “I think we should put out an order to the warriors to watch for Emmett and let them know that he betrayed the pack.” My mate stopped pacing and stared at me like he was waiting for the punchline. “I’m serious,” I continued, “he was their leader and they trust him. Since he rejected the pack and left without telling us anything, we have to assume that he can’t be trusted. That means the warriors need to know. What if he shows up before some of them giving orders and they don’t know not to obey him?” Aleksandr was grinding his teeth to suppress a growl
RIEKA I was excited to bring Jericho and Gina into this. I knew without a doubt that they could be trusted, and I knew that Gina, especially, had a skillset that would benefit us in the current situation. The guilt about not telling Aleksandr exactly what I was thinking and what my plan was, niggled at the back of my mind, but I also knew that he had too much on his plate right now. It was finally my turn to protect him, and I would make sure that I did it the best I could. It took about 40 minutes before Jericho and Gina arrived to Aleksandr’s office. “Sorry it took us so long to get here,” Jericho apologized as he ducked his head in submission. Gina was holding his hand, trailing slightly behind him, but she smiled at me as she entered the room with her mate. Our friendship had really grown over the last several months and I was overjoyed to see her again. Even though we were friends, she knew to respect my position in the pack at a time like this. She remained quiet and al
RIEKAI know a migraine when I see one. I’ve had plenty in my life, but judging by Aleksandr’s behavior, he’s never experienced this before. Knowing exactly what to do, I head out to gather supplies and make sure that everyone knows not to disturb him unless absolutely necessary.Fear began to creep up in my mind as well. Werewolves rarely get sick and usually don’t suffer from things like migraine headaches. I just wish I knew what was bringing this on for my mate.I found Lucy in the kitchen and asked her to link Lis for me to get her to come to the kitchen. Then I went searching for ice packs and heating pads. I should have known that with the fast healing of werewolves, they wouldn’t have those sorts of supplies just lying around.Lis showed up while I was making coffee.“Luna, I got the message from Lucy that you needed me.”Quickly spinning to face her, she must have seen the concern in my expression. “What’s going on?” she asked more urgently.“It’s Aleksandr,” I grimace
ALEKSANDR The pack doctor didn’t want to wait to run the additional tests. Rieka was panicking and I wanted to comfort her, but my head hurt so badly that I could barely focus. “Let’s do whatever we need to do to make this stop,” I said through grit teeth as I pushed myself up to my feet. Rieka gasps and jumps up beside me. “Please be careful, Aleksandr. You have to keep your heart rate down or you’ll make it worse.” “I’ll link Luna Vasilisa and ask her to pull a car around,” the doctor replied. I wanted to growl at both of them not to baby me, but then I realized that standing alone had increased the pain. I started to wince and stopped myself because I didn’t want to further worry my mate. Instead, I gave a faint smile and took a few cautious steps towards the door. Rieka walked by my side with her arm around my waist as if she was helping to maneuver my body. The idea would have made me chuckle if I wasn’t in so much pain, but by the time we made it to the front of the pa
ALEKSANDR The second the sunlight hit my skin; my eyes squeezed even tighter closed as my pounding headache intensified into a sharp pain. It felt like someone had just slid a long sharp object straight through my head. Rieka’s touch on my arm was the only comfort I had. In a few short seconds we were inside the dark cool car, and without opening my eyes, I leaned back against the seat, reaching my hands up to massage my temples, but Rieka’s delicate touch beat me to it. The moment her fingertips touched my head, I was filled with a rush of warmth, and the pain began to subside slightly. The car remained silent as I felt the movement of us pulling away from the hospital. As my mate began gently massaging my temples the warmth slowly grew until it felt like a raging fire. Most people would say that a burning sensation was not good, and I’d usually be inclined to agree with them, but this was a welcomed change from the migraine I’d been experiencing and somehow was not actually
ALEKSANDRAs eager as I was to see Rieka, my mother had already made it clear that she was stable, and Dustin, my best friend and my Beta, was awake!I turned down the hall towards the room where Drea and little Link had been staying with him.It was a joy to hear his voice as I approached the room.Although I am the alpha and this is my pack house, I didn’t want to walk in and interrupt the moment this family was reunited.I slowed in the hallway as I approached the door, and as I raised my hand to knock, Dustin’s voice broke through my mind.‘You don’t need to knock Alpha!’Laughing, I lowered my hand to grab the handle and open the door.I’m not usually an emotional male, but when I saw Dustin sitting up in bed with Drea beside him and Link in his arms, my vision blurred from the tears welling up in my eyes.“It’s good to see you up!” I smiled“It’s good to be up!” He answered with a twinkle in his eye.“What happened? How did you get out of that?”“Jacinda released me.” Dustin
EMMETT A game? I turned to look at the alpha and, on the surface, he looked bored, but there was something in his eye that felt like a warning. He’s planning something. If I want to figure out what it is, I need to play along. Who knows, maybe I do have some special abilities that this crazy little she-wolf can help me unlock. “Okay,” I smiled cockily, “How do we play?” “Oh, yay! This will be fun!” Devan jumped up and down excitedly. There was something very child-like about her. It seemed odd, but then again, she was working with an interesting pack, so who was I to judge her behavior. “We can’t play here. There isn’t enough space,” she grinned, “Follow me.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and disappeared between the curtains. Slowly, I stepped forward, attempting to appear confident but unbothered to rush. I still couldn’t get a good read on this alpha and I was unsure if he expected me to listen to Devan and do as she said or wait for his instructions. Whe
EMMETTStartled by the sound, I spun around to see a petite female with wild, curly red hair standing next to the curtain that framed the shadows beyond.She was wearing a bright, cherry-red pantsuit with a white blouse and black heels. Her clothes looked much too clean and professional to be in a place like this, however, her wild, unkempt hair and pale, almost translucent, skin fit perfectly with the vibe of this underground labyrinth.She was pretty enough, albeit very small for a wolf. The things that unnerved me though, were her eyes. Framed with dark makeup, they were such a light grey that they almost looked like they had been drained of life itself. There was a vacancy in her gaze that made me feel like she wasn’t fully here.I realized I was staring, and a slow, devious smirk made its way across her red lips.“It’s been a long time since I saw another red wolf,” her voice was higher than I expected, but not childlike.“This is Devan,” the alpha gestured towards the female
ALEKSANDR As I rushed towards the house that I’d been told was where the mother of the pup lived, my natural instinct was to scent the air. I knew that Jacinda didn’t have a detectable scent, but that didn’t stop my wolf from searching for her with every sense he possessed. Glancing through a window as I approached the house, I thought I saw two women standing inside. I rushed to the door and thought about shifting, but Jacinda had already had me in compromising situations too many times before, so I remined in my wolf form to avoid being naked in front of her. My weight slammed the door open with such a force that it hit the wall and I heard a loud crack. I would apologize later and make sure the door was properly repaired. Turning in the room, eyes searching, I saw a she-wolf standing there in shock with her mouth open, but there was no one else with her. I opened my mind through the pack link to the she-wolf before me. ‘Where is she?’ I demanded. ‘I know I saw her through
ALEKSANDRPanic, anger, and fear flowed through my body like I’d never felt it before. Why does the moon goddess taunt me. All the strength and power I possess as an alpha, and it’s all worthless. I hated that my mate was once again in danger, and there was literally NOTHING I could do to save her.Here I am, one of the most powerful alphas in the world, and I’m powerless to save and protect my own mate.Leaving my mother with Rieka, I had to move. I had to do something, to take action.Flinging the door to the pack house open, and smelling the forest outside, I immediately shift into my wolf and took off towards the homes of the pack members. I only had one idea left for who could help, and as much as I didn’t want to go there, I was desperate.The challenge was how to find her. Jacinda has a skill for staying hidden when she doesn’t want to be bothered, but she had to know what was going on.With only one idea of how to find her, I went to the only place I thought she would be
ALEKSANDR After several minutes of trying to rouse Rieka without success, I began to panic. My natural instinct was to shake her harder to wake her, but I knew that wouldn’t help. I would be extremely frustrated with myself if I ever hurt her, but even more so at a time like this when she was unconscious. ‘Mom, something is wrong with Rieka!’ I linked, ‘Please come to our room immediately!’ ‘I’ll be there in three minutes,’ she responded promptly. ----- I was pacing the room growling to myself when the door opened, and my mother flicked the lights on before rushing over to the bed. Lightly placing the back of her hand over Rieka’s forehead she asks, “How long has she been like this?” “I just came in and found her like this about 10 minutes ago. What is going on?” My mother remained silent as she examined my mate. Then she clasped both of Rieka’s hands together, closed her eyes, and bowed her head until her forehead touched Rieka’s. I watched in awe as my mother began to ra
I'm so sorry that I didn't post this sooner to keep you all updated, but my mental load is streched beyond capactity right now and I am forced to take a short break for both my mental and physical health. I will do my best to keep writing over the holidays and will continue publishing in January as we come to an end for this novel. You all have been so patient, understanding, and supportive of me over the last year as my family has faced some MAJOR changes and challenges, I promise you will not be disapointed with the ending to this story. I'm just sorry that it's being delayed. Check back by Wednesday January 3rd for more updates! Much Love,Anja
JACINDA I couldn’t believe how much Maeve was opening up to me and sharing with me. The more I learned about this alpha, the more I wanted to end him, but I didn’t dare interrupt her story. “I was doing everything I could to be cooperative, to make him and the guards trust me. My pregnancy was easy and even though I knew the alpha didn’t care about me, he was very interested in the pup I carried, and he visited me regularly. He had the pack doctor monitor my pregnancy very closely to see how strong the pup was.” “Before I gave birth, I started having recurring dreams of me and a baby girl. I would be holding her, and she would smile and giggle, but then the alpha would show up, and she would begin crying. The alpha always wanted to hold her, but she would just cry louder, so he would get frustrated and hand her back to me.” “A few weeks later, the alpha left the territory. I didn’t know where he was going but I knew he’d be gone for at least a week. He left the doctor with s
RIEKA The moment I stepped into the space between the curtains, I was enveloped in cold darkness. I couldn’t see a thing, and besides the cold I could only feel the ground beneath my feet. Slowly shuffling my feet forward, feeling for a drop or a wall, I pushed myself to keep going. After moving straight ahead a few feet, my toes felt something warm and I knew I must have found the other side. I reached my hands forward and my fingers felt the warmth as well. One bold step and I found myself in a small warm room that looked vaguely similar to my mate’s office. There was a desk where the alpha was sitting comfortably; his chair reclined, and his feet propped up on the desk. There were two chairs in front of the desk, but Emmett was standing beside them rather than sitting. This space was darker than the large room we’d just come from, so I stayed close to curtain hoping I would not be noticed by Emmett. “Tell me, red wolf, what is it that you’re hoping to gain by coming here?