Axel-I listened to my parents try to converse with Stormie’s parents. I could sense they were ready for the meal to be over, but they had to maintain that nothing had changed. It wasn’t that they had once been friends, but they used to have a decent working relationship.Occasionally glancing at Stormie, I thought something was wrong. She kept rubbing her throat as if she was uncomfortable. I had asked if she was okay, but she had nodded with a smile. I was starting to think she had lied to me.“Tell me, Alpha Axel, now that you are Alpha, how are things going?” Corey asked as if we were all one big happy family and not that I was sitting across from the people who had beaten Stormie to the point she almost died.I considered his question momentarily, unsure if I could answer without sounding annoyed. When Stormie’s fork clattered against her plate, I didn’t need to respond. Thinking something was wrong, I quickly gave her my full attention as she reached for the chair on the other s
Landon-Since early this morning, I have been following Misty’s sister around. As she interacted with Pack members, played with children, visited the patients at the hospital, and spent time at an orphanage, I couldn’t help but think Misty was wrong about Stormie. At first, I set up an elaborate scheme because I wanted to scare Stormie and get Axel to let me get near her.Now, I was racked with guilt. Stormie was a sweet girl with a pure and simple heart. Compared to Misty, she was a lot softer around the edges. I also expected she would have been traumatized by the attack, yet she seemed fine. She was smiling all the time and even laughing with others.“Is everything okay? You seem distracted.” Stormie asked as we walked down the sidewalk back to the house.“You aren’t anything like I imagined you would be, Luna.” I admitted, as my attention stayed on our surroundings, to act like I was looking for danger.“How did you expect me to act?” The laugh that fell from her mouth had me paus
Stormie- “What are you doing here?” I asked Axel as I looked up from a book I was reading in the library. Since today was raining, I decided to stay in. I spent three days in town, loving every minute of it, but for some reason, Landon seemed on edge yesterday. I thought maybe he was a little out of his comfort zone around a lot of people he didn’t know. “I finished my work early, so I thought we could spend time together.” Axel smiled before turning to Landon, who was sitting at a different table, playing with his phone. “Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. Thank you for keeping my wife company.” “Are you sure? I don’t mind staying with her if you want to get some other work done.” Landon seemed on edge. “Go on, take the time I am giving you and enjoy yourself. There will be times when I might need you to work longer hours because I am swamped with work. Why don’t you go into town and buy some things for yourself? I noticed you didn’t have much when we moved you here. Also
Stormie-In a haze, I lay still for a bit as I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening. Slowly sitting up, I watched as Axel quickly readjusted his clothes. The alarm sounded louder than it did a few seconds ago.“What is wrong?” I asked, scooting to the edge of the bed.“We are under attack.” Axel explained as he pulled out his phone and called someone. “What is going on?” He paused as he listened to the other line. “Where is Landon?” he paused again. “What the hell is he doing there? His only priority is to protect the Luna. I can’t link with him, so I need someone to get a message to him. I will join everyone on the front lines soon.”When he hung up the phone, he uttered a string of curse words. Smoothing my hands over my ruffled clothes, I stood up and watched his mood go from aggravated to calm when he turned to face me, placing his hands on my shoulder.“I need you to stay inside. Landon is dealing with the threat, but I asked for someone to get him to bring him back he
Stormie-I did everything I could to calm the kids and not think about what was happening outside. With every minute that passed, I became more anxious. It was good I had spent some time with the kids prior to this; otherwise, they likely wouldn’t have been able to connect with me in a situation like this.“Do you think the bad guys will get in here?” One of the kids asked, who was also holding their younger sister as she cried.“No. They won’t get in. Even if they try, the Alpha won’t let them, and we have many strong warriors here. They will make sure nothing happens to us.” I tried to show them a genuine smile, but I was also scared.They didn’t seem to notice, as all the kids looked up at me and hung onto my words as if they were the most important words they had heard. It was hard because every child inside this small building couldn’t be more than seven. Only three warriors, other than Landon, were inside with us. Twelve kids, ranging from three years old to seven.It wasn’t an
Stormie-A few days have passed since the attack. Things have settled down, but there are still no clues about what caused it. We were starting to think that it wasn’t Misty or her parents. There hasn’t been anything abnormal about their behavior.The only thing I had to go on was this constant uneasy feeling. I noticed these last few days that Landon has been on edge, too. I discussed it with Axel, and we agreed that after the full moon, we were going to tell him the truth.Not just him, either. Axel is confident that I have earned enough favor in the Pack and that it is time for Misty to come out of hiding. Sitting around and waiting for her to do something was making everyone uncomfortable. Plus, with the Full Moon Pack Run, it needed to be explained why I couldn’t participate.“Good morning.” Axel’s voice startled me as he leaned over the back of the bench I was sitting on outside, placing a kiss on my cheek.Smiling, I turned my head to kiss him on the lips. “Good morning. How di
Stormie- Pushing past the last bit of leaves that fell low from a tree, I stepped out into an open area. My breath hitched at seeing the beautiful waterfall, which glowed as if it were mystical. The waterfall splashed into a lovely pond. It narrowed, and the water ran down large rocks that reminded me of a set of stairs, and then it turned into a river. The water glowed a beautiful neon blue. It was weird how vastly different my imagination had been. From town, you could see the slight glow from the river displayed over the trees. It was almost as if I stepped into another dimension entirely. Behind the waterfall, high in the sky, was a large mountain. The water almost seemed to be falling out of the sky, just under the brilliant glow of the moon. It wasn’t just any full moon; it was a super blue moon known to be magical. Many massive trees surrounded the waterfall, and it was as if they were there to guide and protect the water. A dense fog floated above the trees but was clear ab
Stormie- “What are you doing here?” Axel gritted out as he led Misty into the foyer. “You know who I am?” Misty asked, sounding slightly alarmed. I almost laughed at how much she was acting until I remembered that Axel had told me he had made her forget about the night she told him the truth. Hiding behind a pillar next to the stairs, I pressed my back against it, but I couldn’t peer around it out of fear of being spotted. “Did you think I wouldn’t figure out that the one I married isn’t you?” Axel scoffed. “Then you know that she stole my identity, and I am the one you should be with.” Misty’s voice rose a few levels as if she were excited and scared at the same time. “I don’t have time for this right now.” Axel sounded as if he was clenching his teeth a little too hard. I no longer heard their footsteps, so I figured they stopped in the middle of the foyer. Careful not to be seen, I lowered myself to the floor and crawled under the staircase. There wasn’t much room, but at lea
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