I wake up with no body pains, no stinging wounds and no trickling blood. The instant a total consciousness gets back to me, the first thing I think of is Davide. He was wounded and bleeding and almost dead the last time I saw him. I jolt on the bed, then frantically sit up. The room is unfamiliar to me. It has a beige and white color palette, a family-size bed below me, a flatscreen TV in front of me and an air-conditioner that mitigates the sultry-looking mountain view through the fixed, glass window at the side. I also notice that I’m wearing a white, cotton robe with what I assume is the name of the place stitched on its left chest pocket - Sunrise Inn. I’ve never heard of the name. So I don’t have an idea where exactly I am. I roll out of bed and rush through the door. Outside the room is another room, a living and a dining area altogether. I keep walking around until I find another door. Just when I’m about to clutch the doorknob, the door clicks, then shrieks open. To my h
Everything becomes slow in motion when Alpha Allen finally appears from the small hallway of the entrance door. Then, everything stops when our eyes lock for the first time in what seems to be a long time. It takes some laborious seconds, before one of us budges. I blink first and when my heart thuds, I veer my faltering eyes away from his unswerving ones. I then clasp my fingers underneath the dining table to stop them from fidgeting. My discomfort is too palpable and it’s impossible for anyone not to notice it. That’s why I don’t understand why mama and papa proactively offer to leave the room so Alpha Allen and I can talk alone. I wanna tug them back by force as they stride away from us and I wanna run towards them as they disappear through the door. When Alpha Allen and I are finally alone, the quietness of the room is so nasty, forcing my heart to thud even louder and rowdier. Since I can’t look him straight in the eyes again, I only see his body’s movements. They’re relax
DAVIDE’S POV: I’m woken up by an indignant, desperate scream - “Please, somebody help me!” I think that I’m still dreaming, but I also hear screeching and other noises somewhere nearby. Then I remember what was happening before I passed out, there was a nasty battle between lycans and my gang members. So I assume that those noises are from those who are fighting. I stay still to relax some of my throbbing body parts, especially my head. The noises continue and I wanna continue ignoring them too. However, the more I try to ignore them, the more I realize that those noises aren’t the same ones I heard from the recent battle I saw. There’s no howling or growling of lycans and there’s no ear-splitting firing bullets from my gang members. I inch my eyes open and frantically sit up when my vision captures the unfamiliar white ceiling with a small chandelier hanging at its center. I glance around. My car is nowhere, and so do the laboratory, the massive properties of dad and the figh
My face isn’t only throbbing, but it also feels sticky due to the ointment Mackenzie puts on it. She then moves to my bruised knuckles. She first pats the soaked towel on them, before applying the ointment. When she’s completely done treating everything that's needed to be treated, she still keeps her silence. And it’s irritating me. “You haven’t chosen any of my options yet,” I say to break the silence and to lessen my irritation. She smiles, it’s forced and it’s odd. She then leans closer and presses her lips gently onto mine. Oh, if only I’m not suffering the wounds I’ve got from last night and more wounds I’ve got from earlier, I’ll absolutely lay her down now. But I need to heal first, so I can perform at my best. Our kiss is short and gentle, but it’s enough to totally shatter my irritation towards her and temporarily forget my fury against her ex-fiancé. With only a narrow gap separating our faces, her warm, nice breath smears my face, making its wounds’ pain more bea
Mackenzie’s parents no longer say anything anymore, though their eyes still emit disapproval of their daughter’s relationship with me. To be honest, even if I still have a long way to go for them to accept me, I’m relieved that my soon to be parents-in-law think and act maturely unlike my dad who only cared about himself and his money. Mackenzie is so lucky to have them. And for that, I consider myself lucky too. Later that evening, Mackenzie’s parents occupy the other room while Mackenzie and I have the room where I slept. Mackenzie and I cuddle for hours, which is nice after what we went through. I thought for once, especially when dad lied to me that she’s dead, that I’d never gonna experience feeling her warmth again. I’m glad that thought will remain just a thought. Once she’s asleep, I step out of our bedroom as noiselessly as possible to avoid waking her up. I walk towards the balcony near the living area. Then I pull out my phone from my pocket and send a message to Vivienn
MACKENZIE’S POV: I roll out of bed, moaning and in pain. My legs and my hips are in pain, particularly. It’s not the kind of pain that’s exasperating. It’s discomforting, but awkwardly, I feel good about it, coz it reminds me of the splendid night Davide and I shared together. I move my arm to my side in an attempt to lay it on Davide’s chest, but instead of his skin, it lands on the comfy ruffled blanket, forcing my eyes to open. Beside me, there’s no Davide. I roll over to the other side, then see the curtain-covered window with streaks of bright lights emitting through the curtains. Morning! Another day! I stretch my arms as I pull my weight into a sitting position. And before climbing down the bed, I fix my disheveled robe on my body. Outside the bedroom, my attention is immediately grabbed by Davide and my parents, who are preparing breakfast in the dining area and the kitchen. “Good morning!” I say. All of them swing their attention to me and smile. Their moods are every
Going back to my pack’s territory after being away for weeks is so nostalgic. Sure, I had undesirable experiences there. One of those was Alpha Allen’s rejection and another one was my packmates’ disapproval of me being their future Luna. However, I also had some fair share of happy moments there, such as the Blood Moon’s mating ceremony, where I found out that Alpha Allen was my mate and of course, all the moments I had with my parents both in ordinary and special days. In a nutshell, I’m a bit fifty-fifty of what I’ll feel once I’m there. My parents and I hop down the taxi, then saunter towards our pack’s village’s gates. The Gammas, who are guarding the gates, welcome us with relief and smiles on their faces. One even says, “Welcome back, Mackenzie. I’m really glad you’re unhurt.” Unhurt? I’m saved, but I was hurt several times, physically, psychologically and emotionally, that I almost lost my sanity and even my life. Even if I wanna tell him that, I decide not to. I wanna f
My heartbeats are fast and my breathings are shallow. My chest is heated up and my muscles are tensed up. I’ve never been this furious in my life! I don’t know what Primo and his shameless lawyer are planning to do, but I’ll never back down! I’ll never let them get their way with their lies! All eyes and ears are on me. Mama clutches my wrist and gently shakes it, while whispering, “Sit down. You’ll have your turn to speak the truth.” “Order in the court, please,” the judge says. Reluctantly, and without lifting my burning glare from the defense lawyer, I sit back down. The moment I do, he continues to unravel his lies. I keep on swallowing to wet my drying throat. I keep on sighing to dull the heat in my chest. And I keep on glaring to silently release some of the detestable sensations off me. Even though the defense lawyer speaks more lies, he hasn’t shown any evidence to back up his lies, making my fury a little less severe. Well, of course, he’s not telling the truth, so
MACKENZIE’S POV: Three years later… The joyful guffawing and the running footsteps of Davide and Cedric fill our low-fenced front yard as they toss a soft, plastic ball to one another. Cedric looks so much like his daddy, physically. His dark, curly hair drifts against the breeze while his gray eyes moisten and his chubby cheeks redden due to almost non-stop laughing. Both of them have sweat and soil smearing on their faces and clothes, but none of them wanna dare to even take a break to wipe themselves clean. This has been their morning routine ever since Cedric learned how to walk on his own, and Davide is enjoying every minute of it. I, too, enjoy the scene, though I’m not allowed to join them yet. I place a pitcher of freshly squeezed apple juice and two empty glasses on a tray. Then I carry that tray towards the front porch and lay it on the white-painted wooden table. “Boys,” I say to call their attention. Though Davide makes an effort to glance at me, Cedric doesn’t.
MACKENZIE’S POV: One of the greatest relief of my life is when Davide returns to the apartment safe and sound and unscathed. We spent the entire night in the living area with a mug of coffee each, talking about the surprising things he discussed with his brother, Gabrielle. I’m not sure if Gabrielle naturally has a good side in him that he never showed before or he’s just gotten scared to interact with any of the lycans again. Whatever it is that gave him a change of heart, I’m very glad about that. Davide is also very happy, more than happy than I am. How I wish I was able to hear how they talked to each other earlier, coz every time I saw them near each other before, disastrous things followed next. Two weeks have passed and we’ve finally gotten our passports and visas. Our last day in the Philippines gives me mixed emotions - sadness and excitement. I’m sad because I have to live thousands of miles away from my parents again. But I’m also excited coz leaving the country and goi
I roam my eyes around as I cautiously enter the coffee shop where Gabrielle asked me to meet him. The shop is not entirely small, but not entirely big either. There are only a few customers so it’s easier to verify if Gabrielle is among them,... and he’s not. I glance at the wall clock near the counter and it says quarter to four o’clock in the afternoon, which means I’m a little late. Is he also late? Or did he get impatient waiting for me and just leave? I walk towards the left part of the shop that’s hidden from the fixed, glass window that overlooks the parking space. “What can I have for you, sir?” a waitress asks the moment I take a seat. I’ve never been in this shop before, so I’m not really sure what kind of coffee or other menu they serve. “I’m still waiting for someone. You can give me your menu though,” I answer. The waitress nods, then pulls a piece of parchment-like paper from the board she’s clutching on her arm. She slides the paper in front of me and s
DAVIDE’S POV: Mackenzie and I head to the nearest branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs to get our new passports. I have no idea how to do all the processes on my own. Before, I always had one of my men do this stuff for me either in legal or illegal ways. But now, I’m experiencing what ordinary people do: to ride on un-air-conditioned jeepneys, which makes me sweaty and uncomfortable, to show up to obtain several documents from different agencies, follow a very long line and wait for an hour or so to be entertained by the agency’s employees. For all the illegal things I’ve done, I’m glad that none has ever been recorded to the National Bureau of Investigation. Otherwise, I won’t be able to apply for a passport or worse, I’ll be tossed to jail immediately before I can even get the chance to get out of the NBI office. Frankly, it’s quite fulfilling to be able to do the things I wasn't able to do before, especially doing it with my wife. The employee who assists us says that
Vivienne gives Davide and I another special gift aside from everything she already has given us. She pays for a luxury hotel a few kilometers from the Sunrise Inn, where we’re staying. That luxury hotel is where Davide and I will spend our honeymoon. I’m giggling whenever the word ‘honeymoon’ is being mentioned or is crossing my mind, as if Davide and I never made love before. Well, this is the first night that we’ll make love as husband and wife, so this night is gonna be more special than the ones prior. I step into the hotel’s black and gold bathroom, which has floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall fixed glass that overlooks the breathtaking beauty of Iligan City’s skyline. It’s hard to stop appreciating the jagged silhouette of the towering buildings, the popping lights from different angles, the tiny moving cars feets below me and of course, the dark sky that doesn't shy away from flaunting its twinkling stars and silver, arched moon. “So pretty,” I murmur. Standing up here makes
.Alexa is kind enough to put light makeup on my face without putting additional charges on our bills. She also rolls my dark hair into a bun and adorned it with a jeweled barrette across to one side, letting some of my bangs messily, yet beautifully fall. Lastly, she dangles a veil on my head. The very second the veil touches my bare shoulders, a tingling sensation crisscrosses all over me. Oh, this is a deja vu! But this feeling is much better than the previous one I had. To complete the look, Alexa hands me a fake bouquet of assorted, white bridal flowers. “Done!” she says, giggling. Her giggleness transfers to me the moment I turn around and finally see myself in the mirror. My heart jumps in joy while my tears threaten to stream. I take a deep breath, flap my fingers near my eyes, while murmuring, “I can’t cry. I don’t wanna ruin my makeup.” Both Alexa and I chortle afterwards. That actually makes my tears retreat from my eyes. If I assume the prices of my wedding dress
I’m told that, while I was gone and fighting for justice, Vivienne helped Davide book our wedding in a church called San Lorenzo Ruiz Parish Church, which is located a few kilometers away from where we’re staying. They’ve also effortlessly booked a high-end restaurant for the wedding’s reception, even though there’s only five of us who’ll attend the ceremony. Now, our only problem left is to find my wedding dress, Davide’s three-piece, white suit and others’ formal clothes. It’s six in the morning when we start our travel, using the limousines that Vivienne rented, to find boutiques nearby that sell wedding attires and accessories. We’ve combed through the entire Iligan City and been to several high-end boutiques, but all of them can’t entertain us since they require a scheduled appointment first, which we don’t have the luxury of time to do so. Davide and Vivienne even offer to pay the prices of their clothes and dresses in three folds, but still, they get refused. Hours have alre
MACKENZIE’S POV: Alpha Allen turns blue. He can't breathe, let alone move. What he’s feeling is the exact sensation I felt when he rejected me. However, I don’t feel that pain anymore. In fact, right after I accepted his rejection, I feel so much lighter and freer. I feel like heavy manacles that have been wrapping me for so long shatter. Into pieces I assist Alpha Allen onto the sofa. Then I rush towards the kitchen to get a glass from the cabinet and a pitcher of water from the refrigerator. When I rush back to the living area, his natural skin color is finally returning. His breathing is also calming. “Here,” I say while pouring some water into the glass. He takes the glass and empties it with one, swift gulp. “Do you want more?” I ask. “No, thank you,” he says, then he lays the glass on the table in front of him. There’s silence afterwards, a surprisingly ear-splitting silence between us. I wanna break free from it, but I don’t know how. When I attempt to say someth
ALLEN’S POV: While everyone is celebrating and going home after the trial, I stay in the courtroom alone to clear my headspace. The ‘guilty’ verdict of my father’s trial is both a relief and a pain to me. Relief coz Mackenzie and our race get the justice they all deserve, and pain coz he’s my father. And seeing him in jail while awaiting his death sentence isn’t easy to take in. Be that as it may, as the next Main Alpha of the Golden Crest Pack, I have to accept his disastrous fate that he created himself.I consider visiting my father in jail, but since the tension between us is still really high, I postpone that plan and will just do it some other day or when the time is right. Instead of going home, like what others did, I head towards Mackenzie’s house to do something that I should've done before - to apologize to her regarding what I’ve done the other day, no actually, I wanna apologize for everything I’ve done.Frank and Ellaine welcome me to their house and direct me to thei