Stormie-Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling as I lay beside Axel. I was only two feet away from him, wearing only a pair of navy-blue boxers. If I reached out, I could touch his back, which was facing me. It took everything in me not to turn my head and look.When I heard a soft knock on the door, I quickly closed my eyes to pretend to be sleeping. I tensed when the bedroom door opened, and soft footfalls moved across the room. I wasn’t sure what was going on, as there was no other sound or movement for a few moments.“It is five o’clock, Alpha.” A young male voice whispered from Axel’s side of the bed.I was surprised that Axel was already called Alpha when he wasn’t the Alpha yet. I was going to need to remember that when I addressed him. Married or not, I needed to show respect to Axel, at least until he permitted me to address him differently.Keeping my eyes closed, I felt Axel getting out of bed and thanking the male before excusing him. The door opened and closed a moment la
Stormie-After finishing lunch, I felt much better. The bacon I had this morning wasn’t enough. Feeling energized, I decided to leave the room to explore. When I stepped out into the empty corridor, I realized I hadn’t paid any attention when I arrived last night.The halls had been dark, but now they were lit up to allow me to see the beautiful artwork all over the walls. It wasn’t just the paintings that caught my attention. It was the intricate designs that stretched out along the walls. Instead of being flat, like most walls, they had a three-dimensional mural crafted with clay.It looked as if one person did it, so I could only imagine that it had taken them a long time to complete. Each inch of the mural was exquisite. On closer inspection, I felt like I was walking through the forbidden woods. Even the paintings fit perfectly within the wall art.The paintings were also of the forbidden woods, except they captured the different animals that frequented the forest. I have only be
Stormie-After I sat at the table, I chose the seat across from Axel. It was a large table with sixteen place sets already laid out. Even if it was just the four of us, I was glad I had my pick of seats. After the events from earlier, I wanted to keep my distance from him.“You look lovely, Misty.” Axel’s mother reached over and patted me on the shoulder.I had to force a smile since I didn’t like that I was once again reminded that I was pretending to be Misty. Things would be less tense and more casual if they stopped calling me by my sister’s name. I knew she was being polite and meant no harm, but it still stung.“Thank you, Luna.” I tilted my head forward.“There is no need to call me Luna. You are my daughter-in-law. While I would love for you to call me Mom, you may call me Audrey. You can also do the same with Garrett. We are family now.” She pulled her hand back and picked up a wine glass to sip her red wine.I looked to the Alpha for confirmation because I didn’t want to ins
Axel-For two days, I haven’t seen Misty. Since I took her to the clinic, it was like she was avoiding me. I thought it would make me happy, but instead it irritated me. What the hell was she doing? Even in the morning, I didn’t see her.She hadn’t been in her room or the bathroom. When the staff came to wake me, I was told that she woke up early and went for a walk. Misty had told them she couldn’t fall asleep again when she woke up to use the bathroom.My mother had spent some time with her these last two days, but when I spoke to my mother, she didn’t seem concerned. She claimed it was normal for Misty to have a different schedule in a new place, as opposed to what we had been told. I didn’t know why it bothered me.“Find out what she is up to.” I told Breck after he gave me his morning report.“No need. I already have the staff reporting to me, as I don’t trust her. From what I hear, she is nice to the staff and never asks for anything. During meals, she offers to make her own foo
Stormie-The way he watched me as we ate made me feel hot. Not because I was nervous but because his gaze was intense. It was almost like he was undressing me with his eyes, making me feel vulnerable.“What is it?” I asked when I couldn’t take it any longer.“I am just trying to figure you out.” He shrugged as if it were normal to stare at someone.“There is nothing to figure out.” I lowered my gaze to keep my focus on my food.Had I slipped up? The more I thought about it, the more likely it was. I wasn’t doing what Misty would do. After dinner with his parents, I decided I wouldn’t be anyone’s puppet. I would attempt not to give away my true identity, but I wasn’t going to act the same way Misty did.Eating something I was allergic to just to appease them had been the final straw, especially after the way Axel had treated me. It wasn’t that he did anything wrong. It was more about the fact I had been caught. I was just glad he hadn’t questioned it any more than he had.“I have a har
Stormie- During the sixteen-hour flight, I fell asleep halfway through, only to wake up when Axel nudged me to tell me we had arrived. I still didn’t know where we were, but I knew I would soon find out. I assumed we weren’t in the United States any longer. When we exited the plane, I attempted to retrieve the duffle bag that held my things, but Axel got to it first. I attempted to take it from him, but he pulled it out of my reach. I wasn’t sure why he was being nice and carrying it for me, but I figured it was better not to question him. Breck carried his and Axel’s, while Dominic carried his own. I thought about asking them where we were, but none seemed to be in the mood to talk. Keeping my mouth shut, I trailed behind Axel, with Dominic and Breck walking alongside me. I almost felt like a celebrity that was highly guarded. “I will take your bags for you, Sir.” A man dressed in a suit and tie reached out to take the bags. “Thank you. Has he arrived yet?” Axel asked the man as
Stormie-As planned, Dominic and I left the hotel after Breck and Axel went to their meeting. As we traveled around town, I tried to absorb as much as I could since I wasn’t sure when I would return. The few places I thought might give me information on how to transfer a mark or have one returned, I found nothing. It didn’t turn out to be a complete waste, however.While I was out with Dominic, I expected it to be uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. He made a few flirtatious comments, but he didn’t try anything. I was able to relax around him and feel like if things weren’t so screwed up, we could even be friends.There was something innocent about him that reminded me of how I had been when I was a kid. He was excited about new things, as if he didn’t know the hard reality that I had to face. The more time I spent around him, the more I could tell he hadn’t had an easy life either.I thought about asking him about his life but decided it was for the best that I didn’t know. So far, it has
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
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