Amelia's POV I knew that I was having another nightmare when I opened my eyes and saw myself in the woods in the middle of the dark, wearing a white dress stained with blood. I was also aware that until my body was ready to wake up, I would be stuck here no matter what. It wouldn't matter if I screamed at the top of my lungs for help. No help was coming. Nobody was coming to save me and the earlier I accepted that, the quicker I could start running from the monster in the woods that was out to get me. Because I was trapped in my own mind and there was no way out. Swallowing hard as I looked around and couldn't even find the light of the moon, I struggled to find my way in the dark, running as fast as my legs could carry me. I heard nothing but the sound of my feet on the sand as I fled and the beating of my heart as it ran faster than normal. Even the animals that were in the forest were nonexistent. It was just me and the monster that I knew was in the woods, who I knew woul
Amelia's POVIt had been so long since I enjoyed the kind of peace of just sitting with someone and I didn't realize that tears filled my eyes at that simple gesture until she rose to her feet and turned around to look at me. I held her hand and when she smiled gently, I sniffed and feigned a smile. "Thank you for coming here tonight," I whispered because I was indeed grateful. I had wondered how I would be able to make it with my thoughts alone in this room, especially after that incident with Cassius and she had come to my rescue. She nodded and gently squeezed my hand. "How are you? How are your injuries?" She asked and before I could respond, she shook her head and headed toward my bathroom. "Let me make you a hot bath. To soothe your stiff bones." She said and entered the bathroom before I could object. I knew that Cassius would be furious if he found Elizabeth here trying to care for me and the last thing I wanted to do was put her in a precarious situation and allow her t
Chapter 32Amelia's POV"I don't know about you, but I would like to save dinner for later because there is something I want the two of you to see."I had no idea why my chest caved in when Cassius said that he wanted to show Damien and I something. Maybe it was his smirk, or the way he casually relaxed as he looked to Damien, waiting for his agreement.He didn't need to ask for mine because technically, I had no choice in the matter; but it felt like he was testing Damien to see what he was going to do.Damien's face had been pale since Cassius slapped me, and when he looked at me where I was still sitting on the ground, he finally nodded his consent at Cassius.Looking at me with glee, Cassius offered me his hand to help me up and I looked at him skeptically, waiting for the other slap to drop."Don't you want to stand up to see what I have to show you?" He whispered as he bent to gently caress my hair. I nodded quickly, even though my entire body was screaming at me to tell him no.
CHAPTER 33.Amelia's POV"Did you know that today makes it two weeks since the wolves came to stay with us?" Blair said to one of the other maids as they did the dishes and my eyes widened in surprise. I didn't realize that today made it just two weeks since that fateful day when Damien had arrived at the mansion. It felt like it was already a couple of months since he came into my life and turned it upside down. I could never forget how I had felt when I first saw him. His entire presence had been so overwhelming as his eyes scanned the crowd of people and finally landed on me. It had felt like I was under a spell as I stared right back at him, my heart pounding in my chest and my legs almost losing their strength. Back then, I could have never imagined in my entire life that I would be an Alpha's mate or that it would nearly cost me my life many times because of merely being seen with him. Acting like I was not listening to their conversation in the kitchen, I continued chopp
CHAPTER 34.Damien's POV"So now what? You want me to tell you goodbye with a smile? Or a wave of my hand? You want me to wish you luck and pray that I see you again when I don't know when it might happen? You made me feel safe and now you're going. And I don't know how to feel about any of this. About all of it." I couldn't get Amelia's voice out of my head as I headed out of the house, fighting tooth and nail against the urge that my wolf had to turn around, head back to where she was and take her back with us. But I risked making matters worse if I took her that way. She had looked so disappointed, her bright eyes losing their light as she looked at me like I was no better than Cassius. Like I had betrayed her. It was like a first to see her eyes dim when I could not even offer her a solid assurance that I was not truly leaving her behind, only my word that I would be back. And from the look she had given me, she had not believed that I was ever going to come back for her. She
CHAPTER 35. Amelia's POV Each time the nightmares took a different turn and each time, it ended the same way. When I opened my eyes, I was in a classroom. Not just any classroom but the classroom that I had started in as a freshman. In the high school that Cassius had enrolled me in. I was sitting in the classroom on one of the seats in the front row and the next minute and when I looked outside the glass windows, the moon was full and instead of calming, it gave off a menacing feeling, like it was watching me, like it was seeing what I was doing. Like it was shining a light on my location to my captor. I looked away and I was alone but on the board, there were words scribbled in a writing that was definitely mine even though I had no recollection of ever doing it. Standing to my feet, I ran out into the empty dark hallway and feared for my life even though there was no one else but me. I knew he was here even though I couldn't see him. The eerie feeling, with the way my h
CHAPTER 36.Amelia's POVMy eyes moved towards the bedside table where the phone was ringing but Cassius still stayed hovering over me on the bed, his eyes blazing as the phone rang again. Groaning, he got off me and put on his trousers. I heaved a sigh of relief when he frowned as he listened to whatever the other person was telling him over the phone. A smile spread on my face when he wore his shirt and started buckling it as he walked out of the room without saying anything.I was overjoyed that the call had stopped him from touching me but now what? He had not said anything to me. So what if I left and he suddenly returned and did not find me here? I knew that it was going to be nothing but torture. He certainly will do worse than he was planning to do.So I lay on the bed, naked, and stared at the clock that kept ticking. When it was over two hours and he had not returned, I rose from the bed and wore my clothes, grateful for whatever problem that made him leave. Waiting for
CHAPTER 37.Amelia's POVDo you know that feeling you have where you just don't care what happens anymore? When you feel like even if someone literally ripped your heart out, you would just stare at them and remain silent? That was the stage that I was at right now. Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, it didn't matter that the only place that was yet to be scarred was my beautiful face. Well, Cassius said I was beautiful, not that it mattered to me. I didn't care what I looked like. I didn't care if I lived or died. I didn't care if he used a hot iron to burn my face like he had done for the back of my legs last night for yet another mistake. I didn't care that he fucked me until I was bleeding and could not walk. I didn't care that he had nearly choked me to death last night because I would not even pretend that I was enjoying the sexual intercourse that he seemed to want like oxygen these days.I did not care about a damned thing anymore. As I showered and wore the black
Dear wonderful readers, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to read my book! Your support and enthusiasm mean the world to me. Without you, book one could not have been the success that it is. I am grateful to have such amazing, dedicated readers like you. It thrills me to announce that there will be a book two! I am so excited to continue this journey with you and bring you more of the characters you have grown to love (and certainly some new ones too!). I promise to keep you on the edge of your seat with even more twists and turns. Again, thank you for all that you do. I appreciate every kind word, review, and recommendation. You are the reason I write, and I cannot wait to share more of my stories with you. With love and gratitude, H.B Temilorun
EPILOGUE*Six years later Amelia's POVDreams did come true, I thought as I walked into the woods and stood far away from where my mate was playing with our daughter, Kiara, watching them with a wide smile. She was the spitting image of her father, took his hair, his eyes, everything, and even his smile. The only thing that she probably got from me was my creamy skin and I had not one complaint at all. In fact, it made me smile every time I watched the two of them bicker about something which was almost every time these days, quickly reminding them that they could settle it since they looked very much alike. She threw a punch in the air at Damien which he evaded with ease, but not too much ease that made me realize that he was actually letting her off easy. She tried again and this time that I saw that she was so close to landing a punch but he caught her hand and shook his head, squatting as he ruffled her hair. "Listen to me, Kiara, we have been over this time and again. You are
Amelia's POVI did not think that I would be able to pull this off but looking at the table now, I was proud of what I was able to achieve. The dining hall was large enough to take over fifty people and with the chairs that we added, it was large enough to take almost everybody interested in enjoying this banquet.I had learned that Damien's mother as Luna used to organize something like this and I could see how it was going to help to foster togetherness.Damien had been skeptical about allowing me to do it, quickly reminding me that I was pregnant and that I did not need to do any heavy lifting but I had made sure that it didn't matter, not when I knew that it would be something that people would remember me to, with fondness in their hearts.I felt a sense of pride when I saw everyone digging into their breakfast and having looks of approval. I turned to glance at Blair and she was wearing an equally proud smile on her face. We had done this together with the help of some maids of
Amelia’s POV“How about this one?” Elena asked, her eyes bright as she held up a black sleeveless blouse and a skirt that was probably going to stop mid-thigh, her eyes bright with excitement. “Nope,” I answered, my eyes fixed on the television as I chewed away yet another bag of chips. My appetite had returned with a vengeance after the last couple of weeks that had consisted of vomiting spells and zero appetite. Elizabeth had said that it was because I had passed the first trimester of pregnancy and was now in my second. “Okay, this one is perfect. Why don’t you wear this one?” She came to stand in front of me, holding up a short blue dress that was probably as lovely as the rest but I was not interested, the same with all of the other options that she had chosen for me. I already knew what I was going to wear from the beginning, since the moment she entered the room and told me that I was going out with her and that it was going to be in thirty minutes. “Oh come on, Amelia, so w
Damien's POVI knew that Amelia would probably roll her eyes if I said this to her but she was hands down the most beautiful woman that I had laid eyes on. Perhaps it was the mating bond speaking but it didn't matter. I was hopelessly irrevocably in love with her. She sat beside me, the first aid box on her lap, and opened her hand for me to give her my bruised knuckles. I fought the urge to tumble her on the bed and kiss her senselessly because she looked less than pleased at my injuries even though they didn't hurt and would heal on their own. "It was nothing serious," I said again. When I had told her the first time, she had raised her eyebrows at me in a scolding fashion. It would have looked really threatening if I was not a big bad werewolf that was probably two times her size and towered over most people in the pack, including her. I stifled my amusement at how adorable she was because I knew that she would not appreciate that sort of thing. "I heard you the first time, Al
Amelia's POVThe silence in the kitchen was deafening and the entire atmosphere was very tense after my statement. I was well aware that if I did not do so something to diffuse this, things were going to escalate beyond measure but I had had enough of Nikki, from her passive-aggressive behavior to hurting people like they were not human beings and looking at others from beneath her nose like she was higher than every one of them. Her momentary shock at my statement was quick to fade and she pulled her arm away from my grasp and frowned at me. "Oh and what do we have here? So you really think that just because people have accepted you that you can go around calling yourself Luna and expect people to do what you want? I rolled my eyes, almost chuckling to myself.She continued, "It seems that you have forgotten your place, have you not? You are a slave like her, perhaps that is why you feel so strongly that I am teaching her a lesson." "You bitch!" Elena roared and tried to reach he
Amelia's POVIt had been one month since I moved back to the pack. There was a calendar in the bedroom which I marked every day once I woke up and when I did today, the smile on my face widened as I circled the date. One whole month had passed since I returned with Damien. It had been one month since Cassius was finally defeated.It had been a whole month and even though I had had a couple of nightmares between now and then, whenever I woke up, it was with Damien by my side, holding me tight and reminding me that I was no longer stuck back in that mansion. That I was no longer a slave to a vampire lord that was obsessed with me. That I was no longer living in bondage but free. Being Luna was wonderful here. Everyone had been nothing but so pleasant and supportive, allowing me to ease into the role at my own pace, no matter how slow that was. I was still adjusting to being a very important member of the pack and fortunately, my mate was the most patient and wonderful teacher one coul
Amelia's POVAs the girl, whose name I still did not know but whose face I would never forget wrapped her hands around Damien's neck and pulled him in for an intimate hug, all I could think about was the way she had been with me when I first came to the pack. The very first time that I had fled from Cassius and the words that she had said to me when everyone else had been nothing but caring."Oh? You don't want to know what I know about you? You don't want to know that I know how you were Cassius' slave for many years before you were brought here? You don't want to know how I know that you were not just a slave, but one used solely for sex?"We both know that you don't deserve him, sweetheart. So why are you still here, ruining my plans and making life difficult for everybody?" "Why? We both know that you are nothing but trash. And have you heard where the trash gets one ounce of happiness?" Her words still hurt every time I remembered them but now that I was mated to Damien and ha
Amelia's POV Bliss. I didn't know any other words that could adequately describe how I was feeling and bliss seemed to encapsulate all of my emotions being around Damien these past few days. It was nothing but bliss. It made me wonder if I was no longer dreaming and if this was just a really long dream that I was going to wake up from soon. "Am I dreaming?" I asked him as he cut an apple and fed me a piece. We were having a mini picnic in the woods and for the first time since I was forced to move to this new city, I didn't feel wary about being outside. I didn't feel a strange sense of panic thinking that this happiness could be snatched away from me at any time. The bane of my entire existence was dead and every time I remembered that he would no longer be able to trouble us again, I could not contain my joy. Finally, I would have a shot at happiness. Finally, I could begin life anew and start a family just like I had always wanted with the man that I loved wholeheartedly. I