JacksonBella's plan had been a resounding failure.Just seeing the way Alice was ignoring the signs that I was trying to be romantic was laughable. I couldn't believe I was in this situation, but maybe that was what I was gaining by playing along with my sister."She's going to love it, and she'll understand as soon as she sees it."That was what Bella had said, but there Alice and I stood in the greenhouse, feeling like the plan had blown up in my face in a way I didn't see coming. If my best friend were here, she'd be laughing her head off at my failed efforts.I had to be patient and pray that the Goddess would bless me with the presence of Alice's she-wolf so she could recognize me. I just had to prove to her that I was not like the person who rejected her, the one who dared to shatter her heart in the worst way.Still listening to the details of the medical examination made me want to burn it all down, but that was not the time to spill out my rage. On the contrary, it was an oc
AliceI had spent one of the best nights of my life, so how I went from being near the fairy hallway to my bed was the great unknown of that morning.Most curious of all, I was shoeless and warm."What happened last night?" I asked aloud and was denied because there was no one to answer me.I got up to go to the bathroom and then remembered that I had fallen asleep on the wolf of the Alpha's wolf. I smiled then because I would never have thought that creature, which could be so scary, would turn out to be genuinely sweet and funny.The only logical explanation for her getting home safe and sound was the Alpha.So I saw the time, and when I realized I was running late, I cursed to myself and hurried immediately. Half an hour later, when I arrived at the big house, Enya was waiting for me with tea and breakfast served."Has the Alpha eaten yet?" I asked her right away, and she smiled."You say good morning before you ask anything, but yes. The Alpha left early because he needed to organ
JacksonSomething in Alice changed as she listened to the conversation.It was clear to everyone in the room when we felt her heart racing, but I couldn't help her until the council was over or she felt extremely ill. So I did the only thing I could do while paying attention to the counselor's response.I grabbed her hand away, and she squeezed it tightly."You can't go by hearsay," said Councilor Clark, who was sympathetic to some old and archaic customs and from whom I was not surprised by that answer. "You have to have evidence for that.""He has a sorceress controlling the herd with him," my Beta said right away, and that surprised the man. "According to reports, the sorceress not only does what she wants, but she has acted harshly with pack members, and they have given public demonstrations of chastisement. And while we know that these practices should be reviewed internally, the Southern Pack signed an agreement not to perpetuate this kind of torture, because that's what they ar
AliceI realized something was wrong the moment they stopped clapping for me.It felt abrupt, and I just shook it off, then adjusted my dress, which was a bit disheveled, and that's when I realized the rejection mark was showing.I swallowed saliva and ignored the stares.And I guess the Goddess was benevolent because the man who was with the Alpha sent them back to their posts. Then he walked over to me along with Jackson."May I know your name?" he asked respectfully."Alice," I replied measuredly."Your full name," he asked, and that made me look at the Alpha."Alice Bruin, that's what she's called here in the Northern Pack, and there's no argument about it," the Alpha said, and the man frowned."I didn't mean to be intrusive; I just wanted to know if you happened to be related to the man who helped us create these training circuits. He was one of the straightest, smartest, most loyal men I've ever met, and the way you made the run smoothly made me think of him."I shook my head an
JacksonThe question was sincere.I didn't want to beat around the bush with her too much, and I wanted to know what I really had to go by regarding how she saw the future. I hadn't stopped to think about it until that moment, when she was objective in thinking about her needs.Whether I liked to admit it or not, I was thinking about what she needed based on her trauma and not what she genuinely wanted.I had to be honest and set the record straight."I don't know," she said, her voice serious. "The truth is, I don't know. Part of me wants to be alone because the trust you have to put into believing in someone is great. I took it for granted and ended up broken both physically and mentally. And when there are parts of you that are broken, you're never the same again, so that's why I don't know; if that happens, which I doubt, I'll see what I could do in that case, but the first thing I have to make sure of is that this man is a good person."Her words were harsh, but those last ones s
StefanThe trail of what happened to Alice vanished completely.I killed a few men who stood guard the day she disappeared, but no one knew anything, and it ate at me for days. So I drained all my rage at the training center for the rookies. I beat them to a pulp to let them know what level I was looking for."Alpha, if I may say so, you're overdoing it with the newbies," Ariel said, and I raised my eyebrows."How is it possible that I'm overdoing it with the newbies?" I asked in my lethal voice."Because you're terrorizing them," Dalia mused. "You already sowed dread in the populace; you shouldn't sow it within your new soldiers. They already know what awaits them if they don't do the right thing and align themselves with your ideals and rules; you don't need to let them know you're going to be so cruel when you should be training them to be the best. You should gain their trust and incentivize something different than what you've been doing."Hearing her made me frown, and Ariel sig
AliceThe loneliness in the office was hitting me in a way I didn't know how to explain.Two days ago, the Alpha and Beta went with part of the Pack Council to an emergency meeting at the Species Council to be held in the Central Pack. I knew very well the reason: Stefan.I had been nervous at the thought of being asked to go as part of my personal assistant duties. I was so nervous that Bella noticed it and questioned me about it, but I just said I was remembering things from the past and that I needed space to get over it. Something she respected, but it made her look at me with some suspicion.And I realized that she was too perceptive for her own good.I didn't want to lie to anyone, much less the Alpha, but I was preparing for it in case she told me I should go; only that indication never came, if even as an invitation.The night before he left for Central Pack, Jackson continued our routine of preparing dinner together and gave me precise directions on all the chores I was to do
JacksonStefan was a world-sized jerk.He was showing off like a peacock in front of the Species Council members, talking about all the virtues he had, how powerful he had become, and the improvements he wanted to make to the system. I could tell right away that he had approached the six most easily captivated members, those who didn't hesitate to smile if I paid enough attention to them, so I didn't doubt that the captivating young man had been looking for dirt on those councilors so he would know how to approach them.One glance, and I could read his performance with ease.I had wanted to be as unbiased as possible, not wanting the past to be any impediment, but the man wasn't letting me off easy. He was too obvious and open with his lust for power, and the fact that his wife, Circe, was the one cajoling the rest was even an amusing fact if it weren't for the fact that he knew well her father's wiles and the way he had pitifully raised her.She, with a sly smile, came over to say he
JacksonHaving five children was something of a blessing and a never-ending source of stress.The only one who was calm was Alia, the little 13-year-old, who was reading a book she found interesting. Meanwhile, Eris was arguing with Alexander, Marco, and Daniel. The three of them were teasing her after she had damaged a suitcase of dolls that she intended to use to go to college.“You're all assholes!” shouted Eris, fed up and storming out of the room.“Will you say anything to my brothers?” I asked Alia, who was a female version of me and I denied it.“No, I think someone else will,” I said and she smiled, knowing the answer.“Go apologize to your sister!” shooed Alice in annoyance as she looked at the triplets. “This prank was very heavy and your sister always has to pay for the broken dishes of your witticisms. This time they tried not only her patience, but mine.”“Mom—”“No words will do for me not to scold them,” Alice said angrily. “Your sister is going off to college soon and
AliceThe goddess' orders were clear, so we sorcerers prepared everything to travel to the South Pack immediately. The funny thing about it all was that the Goddess spoke in our minds to show us in detail the sacrificial ritual we were to perform.I didn't know how the goddess was able to project everything to us as she spoke to the rest of the room, but I knew that no matter what happened, we were going to keep her promises. The problem was that we didn't know exactly where the grotto was and Angel was the one who told the truth about it.“My informant is apprehended,” he said and we were all stunned when he communicated this as we were getting ready for the trip. “The informant on what was going on with the Omegas sacrifice is Ariel.”“Impossible,” Teo said. “He's Stefan's most loyal man.”“He wasn't, not until Stefan decided to make less of people and he understood that it was horrifying the kind of sacrifice they made,” Angel said.“I've seen with my own eyes how bad blood that gu
JacksonI knew what would happen at the meeting long before Alice arrived and I knew that would be the reaction I would get: absolute surprise. It was the same expression I had when the Alphas from the other packs, along with the leader of the warlocks and Marcel, told me hours before."That's not what I came here for," Alice said firmly, and I smiled.It was a classic response from her that, at that point, I could predict.And, to my dismay, Eris began to cry, highlighting a very important point of this whole mess, so I quickly went to her and when she felt me, she was quiet. Since I was singing nursery rhymes to her as my own energy, the little girl reacted very well to me. Somehow, I managed to calm the call and I was recognized as her father. The wonderful thing about that was that, apart from Alice, I was the only person with whom she really stayed calm.She feels at peace with you; you give her security, Alfie said happily.Knowing that filled me with happiness.After the war, A
AliceShe was blinded by grief.I had fulfilled the will of the Goddess to imprison Stefan after killing Dalia, but I was completely empty inside. I had a frustrating sense of pain as I felt that my mate was gone.After Stefan was taken away, I didn't care about anything but Jackson, so I stayed with him and tried to wake him up in every way I could, but he wouldn't wake up. I didn't feel his life energy and I was desperate. It was my grandfather, who had just arrived, who put a robe on me and tried to get me away from Jackson.“You have to let go and let him go,” my grandfather said in a low, condescending tone of voice. “You have to accept fate.”“If he's not there, I have no destiny,” I said forcefully. “I do whatever Goddess wants, whatever you want, but please don't take him away. I know he's somewhere; I know it.”I hugged Jackson tightly and then I heard someone running towards us.I saw Bella and when she saw me, she was surprised; it was a matter of a second before her face w
StefanThat bastard Jackson tried to kill me with his last volley of power, but I was able to get away in time. If I had held on to the handle of the dagger, he would have killed me on the spot. So I dropped him to the ground and cursed at the number of men he had killed with his energy. I had no idea he would be so powerful, but I was going to see to it that he didn't have the slightest chance of living another day.He seemed to be dead, but I didn't trust anything.“If your beast is that powerful, the only thing left for me to do is secure my future,” I said, pulling the dagger out of his chest.More blood began to flow from there and then I settled in to cut off his head and separate it from his body. I was ready to begin when I felt a ball of power hit me and send me flying through the air with force. That surprised me and separated me from the dagger that flew a few meters away from where I was.I was stunned as I stood up and turned to see who had dared to attack me.I realized
AliceThe matriarch and I went to get my daughter.There was nothing more important in the world than to take care of her no matter what; however, when we went through the emergency exit, we found a string of corpses of Northern Pack guards and sorceresses.That made me gasp in pain.“You have to be strong,” the matriarch said. “Don't look at them; just focus on what you need to focus on.”I nodded with tears in my eyes and we walked to the passageways Bella and Jackson had shown me earlier. They were one small tunnel that led into the forest; however, I noticed that they were sealed off and that didn't give me a good feeling.“Something bad is going on; the plan was for Bella to come out this way with the baby girl if something went wrong with the birth,” I said and the matriarch checked the wall.“It's sealed from the other side, so we'll have to break it with force.”With the renewed energy my daughter had given me, I knocked and broke through the wall to go toward the path. I noti
Jackson“What do you want us to do now, Alpha?” asked Delta, and I kept my eyes on Stefan.“I want you to seal everything, find the openings, and deal with whatever it is,” I said, firm. “He's going to get in by hook or by crook, so be ready for when the magic wards come down.”Gerard looked at me seriously and nodded.Val had explained to us what would happen during the delivery.She had approached discreetly as she watched Stefan hand out his men.It wasn't hard for me to understand that he already had an idea of where to go and what he would do. I was sure the witch was trying to sabotage the pack's magical guard. So I organized groups while we waited for help.I had the sense to send the SOS signal to the allies to let them know I was under attack, but I didn't count on them arriving in time, much less did I count on the East and West Pack allies appearing out of nowhere in the forest.I felt the atmosphere change and smelled the rotten, heavy magic.It had been something complete
Alice“We'll take Alice to Calve,” Enya said at once. “Keep that vermin of a man from even getting close or he'll find out what's going on.”Immense terror coursed through my body and I could only hope that help would not arrive too late. I saw Jackson tense up, but he didn't hesitate to kiss me and pull away to face Stefan. Then a great pain shot through me and Enya had two guards take me to the room Jackson had prepared for me and was still enabled so I could be okay.They fetched the midwife as well as the doctor, but I couldn't handle the great pain that was eating away at me. The tightness in my belly as well as the wrenching pain I felt in my hips was unbearable.Bella came into the room and looked at me firmly.“You are the strongest person I know on the planet,” my sister-in-law said. “So we're going to have that baby and we're going to get her to safety no matter what we have to do to make it happen.”That made me smile and then a new pain shot through me again and Glenda rus
StefanThe hours that passed after the discovery were like an adrenaline rush.Dalia used magic to enter my thoughts and then decided to cast a blood spell to find out if that girl was really mine and what kind of power she had. She doubted what had just happened.“We have to be sure,” Dalia said.“It's the safest thing to do,” Ariel said seriously. “A puppy call is the strongest thing about a werewolf. It's basically primal magic transporting you to your child to be claimed by your bloodline.”“If that's true, you have to check to see if indeed Stefan has a bloodline and what kind of power that girl might have,” Dalia said. “If she is a powerful she-wolf, she will serve the plans.”Ariel's expression of horror was unique and he looked at me as if Dalia was insane.“Are you going to let them use your baby in magic experiments?” my Beta asked and I nodded.“That child is my property; she's my blood and I do with her what I want,” I said and at that moment, Circe walked in with her face