Stormie- Instead of revealing my Mark or telling her I was married to an Alpha, I would attempt to handle this without showing all my cards. It would be good practice since I won’t always be able to be shadowed by the protection of an Alpha or my Mark. Considering my following words, I didn’t speak for nearly a minute. “If that is the case, I hope you can do your diligence and serve a paying customer. I have money to spend and will not leave this store until I have chosen a dress to buy.” I don’t know where the courage came from, as I have always kept my head down and avoided conflict. The last thing I wanted to do was upset my parents and make my life worse than it already was. Perhaps it was because I was tired of being treated like I didn’t matter. “How can someone who looks like you have money?” She crossed her arms over her chest and placed her weight on her left, causing her hip to jut out. “I can tell from your accent that you are American. You likely purchased your outfit f
Stormie-The following evening, standing in a lavish dress with an asymmetrical dress, many guests at the party commented about how perfect Axel and I looked as a couple. I tried not to let it get to my head, but it wasn’t easy. Since yesterday, I kept having thoughts about how this felt real between us or how I wished it was.After picking out a beautiful black dress with a halter neckline and an open-back v-cut, I have never felt more beautiful. It had a lot to do with how handsome Axel was standing next to me. When I had come out of my room a few hours ago so we could leave for the event, he had fumbled over his words and mentioned that I looked beautiful.I heard him mutter that I should have worn a nicer dress for our wedding, which I had silently agreed. This dress, while black, would have looked a lot better. It was beaded with silver and pink rhinestones around the bodice while the rest of the dress flowed down to my calves with an uneven trim.After the disaster at the store
Axel-“What the hell happened?” I rushed forward to Misty, catching her head just before it hit the floor.“I followed her to the bathroom as you requested. When I heard her vomiting, I tried to get her to let me in, but she didn’t respond. I thought if I got you, she would open the door.” Breck responded as he knelt beside me.My focus was on Misty, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why seeing her like this broke my heart. For the last few days, I have been unable to get her out of my mind. She was nothing like I had thought she was. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she wasn’t Misty.Nothing about her made any sense. She was soft-spoken, although she had a bit of an attitude. She was kind and caring to the kids at the Pack. Even my mother spoke highly of her. That was saying a lot, considering she had been against my father in forcing me to marry Misty.My mother had encountered Misty countless times and had always had a bad feeling about her. At first, she was
Stormie-His question seemed to suck the air out of my lungs. If anything, it almost felt as if he had just dunked me in a pool of water and refused to let me up. I hadn’t lied about not knowing I was allergic, but that would explain why, after only a sip of whiskey in the past, I had been plastered.Every second that passed, I felt better. When I woke up, I realized I was in the hospital, but I vaguely recall what events occurred to lead me to this point. His words told me enough to know I had messed up and got caught.“How about we try the truth for a change? Do you not think I can sense your lies from a mile away?” Axel leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes were like daggers, trying to get past my defenses.“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I frowned to seem innocent.He could try to get me to waver all he wanted, but I have been dealing with a lot in the past, and this didn’t scare me. I suspected I would get caught eventually, so I devised a plan to s
Stormie-As planned, Axel and I left the house a quarter before noon. He only told me to dress comfortably and meet him on the front porch at half past eleven. Since returning home, I haven’t seen much of him. He took a quick shower and told me not to expect him back until our date.“Where are we going?” I asked as we climbed into his Jeep.“Well, I realize that I don’t know much about you. I also know I have been keeping you at arm’s length, so I thought we could spend today simply getting to know each other.” He looked over at me for a moment before he focused on driving.I considered it momentarily, but I didn’t need to. This morning, I already decided just to be myself today. What happened after Misty returned wasn’t my problem. I liked Axel and wanted to have at least one day where I could imagine he liked me for me.Smiling, I put my seat belt on just as we headed into town. “What is the first thing on the agenda?”“Lunch. I don’t know about you, but I am starving. Afterward, we
Stormie- “It looks like you are enjoying my life a little too much.” Standing up, I peered at the stands and saw Misty walking down. I wasn’t sure how long she had been there. I panicked, as I had hoped to have a little more time. Taking a step back, I looked around to see if Axel was still around. “Well, it matters not. I am here to take back what belongs to me.” Misty’s sneer seemed to be more devious than I remembered. What happened to her after she disappeared? I wanted to tell her that, technically, she was living my life, but I knew it would be pointless. Now that she was back, I could leave and live my life in peace. I would miss Axel, but I was no match for my family. Without a wolf, I was even less of a match for Misty. “I will leave so you can take over.” I bowed my head to keep my eyes low, succumbing to my old ways when I had to back down out of fear of having something worse happen to me. “Did you seriously think it would work like that?” Misty had left the stands an
Axel-I have been pacing the waiting room for almost two hours, waiting for the doctor to tell us something. My mother was a hysterical mess. When the doctor finally arrived, my mother and I rushed toward him.“How is he?” I asked.“Can I see him now?” My mother asked at the same time.“Okay, I know you two have been waiting anxiously, but you can calm down. He is out of the woods, and after running some tests, we discovered that he is simply exhausted. His body is worn out, and he just needs to rest. You guys can see him, but please don’t stay for long. He needs to get some sleep before we can release him.” The doctor motioned for us to proceed down the hall he came from, guiding us to my Father’s room.“Thank you so much.” My mother said to the doctor as we reached the room.“No problem.” The Doctor nodded his head before walking away.When we entered the room, my Father was already sitting up in bed. “I must have given you quite the scare.”My mother rushed to his bed, throwing his
Axel-When I woke up the following day, I felt much better. It was only five in the morning, so I knew Misty wouldn’t be up yet. I wanted to apologize to her for my behavior last night. As I lay in bed this morning, debating whether to get up or return to sleep, I considered the possibility that it was because of the stress I was under with my father in the hospital.As I climbed out of bed and showered, I thought about what I could do to make it up to her. I could explain what happened with my father and why I had to rush out on her during our date. Perhaps another date might help, except this time something more formal.With a plan in mind, I exited the shower and prepared for the day. Going through her clothes in my room, I found a beautiful black dress that I thought would look great on her. Laying it on the bed, I went to my desk to write a note for her.“I will be busy today, but I would like to take you on another date. Be ready by eight tonight. I will pick you up, and I would
Axel- Sitting at a table in a holding cell meant for visitations, Stormie and I waited for a guard to bring Landon in. Considering Landon had been involved in harming Stormie, I wasn’t about to let him near her without enforced supervision. After waiting for five minutes, the door to the cell opened, and Landon was guided inside with his wrists and ankles handcuffed. Once Landon was sat down and chained to the chair, I waited and watched to see what would happen. I didn’t have much to say to Landon, as I never planned to forgive him entirely. Until he could prove himself worthy, I would always regard him as a danger to Stormie. I was only here to give my mate the support she needed. I noticed that even as Landon sat across from Stormie, he avoided her gaze. Stormie, on the other hand, stared at Landon for a long time. Neither of them said anything, and I wondered if we would sit here silently for the entire hour. “I am sorry.” Landon mumbled forty-five minutes later. Stormie kept
Stormie-“Is it because I am the Alpha King?” He chuckled.Feeling a knot in my stomach, I tentatively nodded, my hand instinctively reaching up to rub the back of my neck. “A little.”“When I met your mother, she pretended to be human. When she was pregnant, she left me a note telling me that she was pregnant but had to return home. I tried to find her, but it was like she vanished off the earth and then reappeared with you and your sister. She vanished into thin air before I could ask her where she had been. I realized that nothing about her was simple. After I lost the two of you, I stopped searching for your mother and focused on finding you.”Feeling like this was a lot to take in all at once, I wanted to change the topic. “I am sure I will have more questions, but we can slowly get to know each other over time. Why don’t we head to the cemetery now?”Axel stood and helped me to my feet just as my father stood. Still a little nervous, I grabbed Axel’s hand as we headed toward the
Stormie-When I went to the living room after my shower, Axel was pacing the floor. Before letting him know I was done, I watched him for a few seconds. He kept mumbling something as he paced, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He kept rubbing his hands together, and his eyes were drawn to the ground.“Axel?” I approached him slowly.His movements stopped as his head snapped up. Like a deer caught in the headlights, he stared at me before rushing toward me. I couldn’t help but flinch when he suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and steered me toward the couch. Forcing me to sit down, he resumed pacing.“What is wrong?” I asked, starting to feel anxious.Rapidly, he stopped pacing and sat beside me on the couch. His body was angled toward me, and I could see he was trying to process something. The longer it took him to speak, the more afraid I became.“While you were sleeping this past week, there is something I did that I didn’t report.” Axel said in a rush.“Whatever it is, you
Stormie-Moving from room to room, I was amazed at how spacious everything was. The apartment had a living room, office, kitchen, and dining room, all of which had an open concept. Aside from the bathroom connected to the primary bedroom, a smaller bathroom was next to the living room.There were also three bedrooms in total. One of the bedrooms had been converted into a nursery. The nursery hadn’t been fully set up, but it was filled with things for a baby.A box contained magazines and samples for decorating a nursery. I felt emotional as I sat on the floor and skimmed through one of the magazines. Inside, I found hundreds of notes in Axel’s handwriting.He noted the things he liked and put my name and a question mark on a few others. Many of the notes were about what to get depending on the gender of the baby. There were also notes about whether something would be safe for an infant.Tears filled my eyes as I flipped through a few more magazines. At the bottom of the box was a book
Stormie-When Landon released her, I rushed forward to get Misty away from him. In a split second, Landon turned Misty toward him and plunged the knife into her chest. My own chest exploded with pain as Landon pushed Misty away, and she fell to the ground.Placing my hands over my heart, I gasped for air. Falling to my knees, I was thankful when Axel caught me. My eyes focused on Misty as she lay on her back, with blood pouring out of her chest. Her eyes were staring blankly at the ceiling.I didn’t need to confirm that she was dead, as I could sense it. A dark cloud formed inside me, and I slowly succumbed to the darkness. Falling limp in Axel’s arms, everything around me disappeared.While I was asleep, I kept dreaming of the life I had, starting from an early age. Every good and bad moment replayed in my head. When I woke up, I abruptly sat up, gasping for air. My hands covered my chest as if I could relieve the pain in my heart.“You’re awake.” Axel moved onto the bed from a chair
Stormie-Something snapped inside of me at the last second. As if time slowed down, my face hardened as I glared at her. Feeling my strength return in a hot burst, I broke through the rope that tied me to the chair.My eyes burned with fury as I narrowed them on her. Seconds before Misty could shove the needle in me. I caught her wrist with my newly freed hand. Her eyes widened, and I could feel fear resonating from her. Keeping her wrist in my hand, I rose to her level.She took a staggering step back as he attention darted to my hand around her wrist. Misty attempted to twist her wrist as she tried pulling it away. Not willing to release her, I tightened my grip.“You have made me suffer, almost killed me, turned people against me, abused everyone around you, stolen from me, tried to take away the one person you will never be able to have, and so much more.” I edged forward, pushing her back at the same time. “Never again will I allow you to treat me like this. From this moment for
Stormie-“How can I trust you not to change your mind again?” Axel's jaw muscles tensed as he glared at Misty.“If you want to be technical, you were the one to break the rules.” Misty stepped away from me.“What rule did I break?”“I told you your body can’t touch the ground, but you did multiple times. The only reason I didn’t say anything was because I was enjoying the show.” Misty moved away from me, but she was out of my line of sight.Craning my neck, I looked over my shoulder to see what she was doing. I was nearly at full strength but still needed a little more time. When I saw her approaching the crate holding the wolfsbane, my eyes widened as I turned my head toward Axel.From what I could see, he was watching her every move. Turning my head again, I couldn’t see what Misty was doing, as her back obstructed my view. It wasn’t difficult to guess that she was preparing a syringe to inject me again.My gaze moved past her, where Landon was standing. His eyes were also focused o
Axel-Hearing a noise from behind me, I didn’t need to look behind me as I heard a whooshing sound, like a bat swinging through the air. Ducking my head, I grabbed the bat after it passed over my head. The rogue held tight.While he pulled on it, I reached behind me and grabbed the rogue's ankle. Another attack came as I pulled the rogue's leg out from under him. At the last second, I had full control over the bat. Using it as a shield, I blocked the next attack and then retaliated.Swinging the bat as hard as I could, I smashed it against the second rogue’s leg. When I heard the sound of a bone breaking, satisfaction swirled within me. A third rogue came at me with a whip in his hands.Unlike the others, he didn’t directly approach me. He stopped a reasonable distance away before swinging his arm out to throw the whip toward me. Using the bat, I held it out so the whip twisted around the bat. Grabbing the end of the whip with my hand, I pulled it toward me.The guy holding it wasn’t
Axel-“What do you want us to do?” Breck’s and Dominic’s voices overlapped as they spoke inside my head.“It is too risky to try anything right now. Until I can find an opening, I have no choice but to play by their rules.” I responded through the Pack link.I hated that Stormie was injured twice because of my failure to abide by Misty’s wishes. I could tell that Stormie was more upset about what I was being forced to do than the pain that had been inflicted upon her. Regardless of how much it hurt mine and my wolf’s pride, nothing was as crucial as Stormie’s life.“I have never asked you for anything, but I am begging you to please stop.” Tears streamed down Stormie’s face as she looked at Misty.“I am okay.” I gritted my teeth and smiled at Stormie, but she didn’t look in my direction.“I am just getting started.” Misty swatted Landon away from Stormie.Landon seemed reluctant at first but ended up backing away. Seeing that Landon was showing a little decency to Stormie, I might all