I hurried away from Kalen as fast as I could, without it looking like I was running from him. Once I was calmer and had a better control over my emotions, I would talk to him. Right now, I needed space and something to do. I knew the perfect place to go to help me think and do something — the kitchen.
The chef was an older, lithe man who lit up as soon as I offered to help. “Ah, wonderful! Alyssa, you are a lifesaver. Can you take that on?” he said, gesturing toward the mountain of dishes accumulated after breakfast.
“Of course, Marcel,” I tell him, and walk over to the large sink.
“Thank you,” he said, then glanced at me. “Few people volunteer for the grunt work of cooking.”
“It helps me think,” I admit,
Kalen“Father, what are you doing here?” I asked as I walked into my office. Jack had told me he came, but I hoped my beta was wrong. The idea of my father being here made me nervous, especially after nearly losing it. If Alyssa hadn’t been there…I didn’t even want to think what might have happened.“Can’t a father check up on his son?” The king said, leaning back in my chair, sitting at my desk as if he owned the place.“We’re in the middle of a war, right after a failed attempt at peace. I’d assume you’d have other things to do besides pay me a visit,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.My father sighed and sat up. “Look, Kalen, I’ve been hearing some things and I’m not sure what to make of them.”A jolt of panic rushed through me, but I fought it down. Clenching my jaw, I took a moment to master myself. “You came all the way here for rumors?”“Are they rumors?” Father asked, leaning forward to look at me. “Why is the Crimson Fang Luna here? Why did you take her to the peac
I stare at the sunlight streaming through the window, surprised and confused. Had I slept through the night? No nightmares? I sat up and rubbed my sleep numb face. For once, I felt rested and ready for the day. I heard Kalen yawn, wrapping his arm around me. He pulled me against him. “Good morning,” he said as he rested his chin on my shoulder.I leaned into his touch and close my eyes, just wanting to live in this moment. “Morning, Kalen.”As if he could read my thoughts, Kalen whispered, “I want every day to be like this, Alyssa. Just you and me.”“It can be. We can be like this every day,” I told him. “But only after you talk to your dad, Cheslie, and whoever about this wedding.” I can’t help the bitterness in my voice as I mention his wedding with the blonde idiot.“Yeah, I know,” he said. His expression seemed to mirror my thoughts on the idea of him marrying her. It settled some of the uneasiness inside me. “However, her dad is a big supporter of my fathers. It’s going to take m
“Well, good news is that your heart seems to have only suffered minor damage from the poisonings and currently, your baby seems fine,” the doctor said as we finished up. “But I want you to take some precautions. I know you said you believe you were poisoned when you were in the lycan king’s peace talks, but until we can be sure, I don’t want you taking food from anyone outside the kitchen staff and I also want to do weekly blood draws.”Talking about this sent a chill through me and I nodded. “Of course, whatever you think is best.”“Good. Now I will see you here next week for a blood draw and two weeks after that, we’ll have our first prenatal visit.”Just hearing the word prenatal made my heart jump. I still couldn’t quite believe it. Pregnant. I was pregnant again. “Yeah, okay. See you then,” I said and left the doctor’s office. I took a roundabout way to the communal building to avoid Chelsie.Kalen had said it’d take time to untangle this wedding business, and I don’t think I cou
The next few days, I didn’t see much of Kalen. He seemed to always be in a meeting with someone. I usually kept myself busy in the kitchen and taking walks with Adelaide or Thomas and Sara. Today, however, I was walking alone until I ran into James. He seemed surprised to see me. “Hello, Little Luna. What are you still doing here?”Confused, I asked, “Why wouldn’t I be here?”“I didn’t think you’d want to stick around to see Kalen marry someone else.”“He’s not,” I told him as a matter of fact. This was Kalen’s uncle, so I don’t see the reason to hide that fact: the wedding wouldn’t be happening. “Kalen is going to break it off, tell everyone it was a misunderstanding.”“And when exactly did he say he was going to do this?” James asked, giving me a curious look.“A few days ago. Well, he said it would take time, but still doesn’t change the fact the wedding isn’t happening. Why?”His brow furrowed as he frowned. It was the first time I’d seen him with anything other than that smug smi
I grabbed the duffle bag that was still in the corner. My tears stung my eyes and a few tears slipped down my cheeks as I set it on the bed. I wiped them off, angry they fell in the first place. I didn’t want to cry. Not for Kalen. Not again. I slung the strap on my shoulder and started to leave, then remembered the ring. I took it off and set it on the nightstand. If he was telling the truth about its history, then it didn’t belong to me, but Chelsie. The thought made my stomach churn.Taking paths that led me around the community instead of through it, I did my best to avoid everyone. I didn’t want to talk or explain myself. All I wanted was to leave and get as far away from here as I could. I was nearing the edge of town when I heard the voice of the very last person I wanted to talk to.“Alyssa, wait,” Kalen called after me. I
Kalen“Oh, don’t you dare judge me,” I growled at my uncle. I couldn’t believe what he was doing. “Especially when you have no fucking idea what’s going on,” I told him. Where did he get off saying any of the crap he did? He knew nothing about Alyssa and me, or Chelsie, for that matter. In fact, I didn’t know why either he or father stuck their noses in my relationships. Neither of them mattered. All that mattered was Alyssa.I turned to reason with Alyssa, to explain to myself when I realized she wasn’t there. Panic slammed into me as I looked around. “Where’s Alyssa,” I said, ignoring James and my father. I didn’t see her anywhere.“Kalen,” my father said as I started to walk away from them, his tone sharp and serious. “Stop. She’s gone. Leave her be for now.”“For now? You don’t get it, Father. She’s leaving,” I growled at him, then before I could say anything I added, “And it’s your fault! You let her slip away!” I glared at my father, feeling my rage build. My wolf wanted out. He
Once I couldn’t hear Kalen and James shouting at each other, I relaxed. I owed the rogue king for letting me leave. For a moment, I worried that he’d want to keep me there too. I walked through the trees of the forest, knowing more or less what direction I’m going. My father taught me how to find my way through the forest.I knew more or less the direction Kalen and I went to meet with the lycan king. He might know something about my father. That was who I needed now, my father. He would make all of this right, somehow. I know it. Dad could always make things right.I’d been walking for hours when I stopped and to take a small break. Setting my bag down, I took out a sandwich and ate it quietly, trying not to think about anything too hard. As I prepared to get up and continue, I heard a twig snap. When I looked in the direction of the sound, I saw three men walking towards me. All three were dirty and looked like they’d been out here for a long time. These men were probably deserters
I walked over to the shattered remains of my necklace on the ground. “Caden,” I whispered as I fell to my knees in front of the pieces.“Who is Caden?” Kalen growled, kneeling next to me. There wasn’t a hint of regret in his face as he glared at me, the jealousy obvious in his face.Tears stung my eyes. “Our son. He was our son,” I told him, my voice cracking.Kalen’s eyes shot wide and his complexion went a shade whiter. “What?”I picked up a piece of glass from the pendant, a tear slipping down my cheek. “Shortly after you and father left for the war, I found out I was pregnant. I told Carl and asked for his help to find you. That’s when he told me about who you were, but I didn’t believe him,” I said, then glared at Kalen with bitterness. “I was sure something like that you would’ve told me.”Kalen didn’t say anything, and I continued with a sniff, tears stinging my eyes. “When I refused to believe it, he said it didn’t really matter. You were dead. Carl even faked a scout report
I shook out my fur once I finished shifting. I growled at the woman and stared towards her when Kalen stepped between us.“Remember the child,” Kalen said to me, but he kept his eyes are on the woman. When he spoke again, he was speaking to her. “You aren’t going to escape us. If you run, she’s going to chase you down, and I’ll be right behind her, but not before I yell to the others. Among those others include the rogue king. Now, why don’t you do the best thing, hand the child to me and we can all end this day unharmed.”The woman’s lips curled into a sneer, her grip tightening on the baby in her arms. “No, she’s mine,” the woman insisted again. “James said she was mine now.” I could feel my claws itching to extend, my wolf straining against the reins I barely managed to hold. The child’s scent, innocent, vulnerable, mixed with the sharp tang of fear, and it was all I could do to keep from lunging at the woman and tearing her apart.Kalen didn’t flinch, his voice calm but steel-edge
I leaned against the tree, my arms crossed over my chest, with Kalen next to me. He paced back and forth nervously. We were far enough from the building to be safe, but close enough to see whoever came out.It had taken the lycan king’s trackers and the rogue scouts two more days to finish their intel on the place. While I couldn’t go inside with them, Kalen’s father let me go with the team. That was good enough for me, or it was until I heard the fighting. The rogue king had made it very clear this morning. I was not allowed to set a single foot inside that building.The distant guttural growls echoed through the woods, sending a chill down my spine. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay rooted to the spot. Kalen’s pacing quickened, his boots crunching against the frost-covered ground.“They’ve got it under control,” he muttered, though the tremor in his voice betrayed his doubt.I didn’t respond. My ears strained to pick up every sound from the skirmish going on inside the bui
I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. Danielle had finally started moving on from meditation and we began doing some exercises. I didn’t know if it was because of the baby or because I was out of shape, but I found it all exhausting.When I stepped out of the shower, I saw Kalen sitting on the bed. As soon as he saw me, he stood. “Hey, Dad says he has an update for us.”“Really?” I said, unable to hide my excitement. “Where is he?”“He’s waiting for us in the office,” Kalen replied, and I swear I heard a hint of excitement in his voice, too.I followed him out of the room and into what I had thought was Kalen’s office. His father sat behind the desk, looking over the papers. “We’re here,” Kalen said as we walked inside.The rogue king looked up and nodded at us with a small smile on the edge of his mouth. “We’ve found a building that looks like it’s one of James’ safe houses, and the scouts seem to think there is a good chance Caden is being held there.” “Really? What did
As soon as I arrived back at the rogue encampment, Kalen’s father called a meeting. We all met in what once was Kalen’s office, though it seemed it was more like his father’s now. “So how did it go?”“You can expect the lycan king’s best trackers in a few days to help look for James,” I told them, enjoying the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces.“He agrees to help?” the rogue king asked, giving me now a strange speculative look. “How did you do it?”“Honestly, I’m not sure myself. All l did was call him out and his childish grudges and power plays,” I replied with a shrug.The room fell silent for a moment, the weight of my words hanging in the air. Kalen’s father, the rogue king, leaned back in the chair that used to be his son’s, steepling his fingers as his sharp gaze pinned me in place.“You called him out?” he repeated, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “And that worked?”“That would work,” Kalen’s mom said with a small smile. “He usually respects honesty…tho
A wave of relief washed over Adelaide and Thomas’ face when I joined them in the main room again. Before they could ask, I said, “Let’s find our rooms for the night.”Thomas nodded and look over at the others waiting as well. “Let’s go. We’re in the east wing tonight. Pair up and we’ll meet here, bright and early,” he told the others, and they followed me up an enormous staircase and took the hall to the right.Once we were in a room, Adelaide took a seat in a chair. “So what happened? What did he say? Did he listen? Is he going to help?”I laughed and took a seat next to her. “Short version is, I don’t know if he’ll help. He’ll probably tell me tomorrow, hopefully,” I replied.“And the long version?”“To start with, the king tried to pull the same old tricks he did when Kalen and I met him last time. He tried to bribe me if I could get Kalen to betray his father and be loyal only to him,” I said, and Adelaide’s disgusted look matched my own.Thomas sighed and shook his head. “Then wh
The lycan king’s eyes blazed with anger, but I kept talking. If I was going to get myself in trouble, I might as well make it worth it. “I know I am no one, but shouldn’t a king’s job be to protect his people, make sure they’re happy, healthy and working together for the benefit of the whole?”The king worked his jaw and slowly nodded. “Ideally, yes.”“Well, that’s not how the packs are working,” I told him, crossing my arms. “Almost every single alpha is some version of a tyrant. I’ve seen insecure alphas who’d snap at anyone who might suggest their not powerful, misogynistic asses who seemed more concerned with creating a harem of lunas than actually being alpha, then you have the ones that can only prove their powerful by stepping on the ones beneath them, the ones that they were supposed to protect.”“What is the point of this?” the king demanded, his voice slightly growly.I held his gaze, refusing to flinch at the edge in his voice. “The point,” I said, my tone steady but sharp,
The rogue king sent six of his wolves, along with Adelaide and Thomas with me to meet the Lycan King. The closer we got to the meeting point, a hunting lodge in the middle of nowhere, I was getting more than a little nervous. “Don't worry, you got this,” Thomas said, giving me I guess what was supposed to be a reassuring smile.“He's right,” Adelaide agreed. “The king wouldn't send you here if he didn't think you could do it.”“You're right,” I said with a smile that was only mostly forced. The king also believed a slap on the wrist was enough for his misdeeds. Yet James was running amuck, so I didn't put much stock into what the king believed. “Let's do this.”We arrived almost at the same time as the lycan king did. To my surprise he came in person. &ldqu
My throat closed as I processed what Kalen told me. To witness meaningless death like that and not be able to do anything about it.. everything he did made a little more sense now. However, that made me think about the here and now. “What happened?”Kalen looked at me, confused. “What do you mean, what happened? When?”“What happened to make you change?” I asked. “You aren’t as tense or angry. I don’t believe it’s just your wolf calming down.”He didn’t answer me at first. Kalen seemed pensive for a long moment, then said, “I broke the pendants of your necklace.” Now, I was confused. I know him breaking them devastated me, but why would that make him suddenly change?Seeing my confusion, Kalen explained, “My anger took me over at that moment, causing me to make assumptions without actually thinking about them and I broke something that was so dear to you, it physically hurt you to lose it. As any sane, logical person would’ve done, you left. That moment the haze of anger disappeared,
Once Kalen and I were alone, he handed me a folder. “This is the report we have on your father,” he said, a look of guilt on his face. “Sorry. I am so sorry, Alyssa. From the beginning I should’ve told you, but… I didn’t want to give you a mysterious tragedy. Instead, I wanted to…” he sighed and shrugged. “I wanted to play the hero. Find the one responsible, punish him, then deliver his head to you… I know how stupid that is now.”Taking the folder from him, I nodded. “I appreciate the thought, Kalen. I really do, but you made me feel like an idiot. Like someone, no one feels the need to take it seriously. Just a toy to lay claim, play with when someone felt like it, then put me on the shelf until they’re bored again. You have no idea how demanding and dehumanising that is.”Kalen winced, his shoulders slumping as if the weight of my words pressed down on him. “You’re right,” he said quietly, his voice tinged with regret. “I was wrong to treat you that way. You deserved the truth from