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
Amelia's POVWhen I said that I was going to suck it up until Cassius killed me, I did not realize that there were a lot more things that the Vampire could ever do that would make me squirm. And it was as simple as staring at me. For some time now, Cassius had taken pleasure in inviting me to his room and then keeping me in a position where he would watch me until he fell asleep, leaving me on my knees, panicking as I wondered what would happen next.And then he would say nothing. Absolutely nothing when he woke up and I opened my eyes, terrified to have fallen asleep. I didn't know what he wanted or why he did it. It seemed to be a new fetish of his. Perhaps it was my fear that he fed on, the horror that made me ask myself every time if he was going to hurt me today or if he was going to spare me. The fear of what type of torture it would be alone was perhaps what he was really looking for. Or maybe he wanted to know just how miserable I felt every day when I woke up and remembere
CHAPTER 39.Amelia's POVAs usual, when I received a message from one of the maids that Cassius wanted to see me in his office, my entire body started to shake in fear. But it was not like I had a choice in the matter, and I certainly did not dare be tardy so I quickly finished arranging the dishes in their respective racks and walked up to Elizabeth to tell her that I was leaving. She looked at me and when she came closer, she whispered."How are your bruises? Been applying the ointment?" When I nodded, she beamed with a smile and cupped my cheek, trying her hardest to not show that she was troubled but I feigned a smile, trying my hardest to be brave. "Be careful, okay? Try not to upset him" I understood what she was saying and knew that she was only looking out for me so I nodded again and headed out of the kitchen toward his bedroom. When I entered, he was just coming out of the shower and a towel hung low on his waist. He smiled innocently, well as innocently as someone li
Chapter 40Amelia's POV"Breathe, Amelia. Breathe. AMELIA!" The voice finally became clearer and when my vision cleared, I realized that I was sitting on the pavement in front of the club, clutching my chest hard as the panic attack overwhelmed me. The voice I had been hearing was Cassius's. When I finally focused my vision on him, he looked at me with surprise, like he could not understand why I had gone straight into panic mode the minute we had stepped out of the club. I guess he would never be able to understand. He had killed that guy so easily and when I said "killed" it was because I was certain that the man was dead. I had seen him bleed out on the ground. And he was human. He would never heal. Never rise to his feet and shake off the bite, or more like gash to his throat and walk away. He would never be able to actually return home to his family. Why was I empathetic towards a man that had tried to probably molest me and failed? The truth was that I wasn't but I had no
Amelia's POV "Amelia," he said and it was more than enough. Just that one voice was enough to shatter all of the walls that I had built over the last few weeks. It destroyed all of the thoughts that I had about moving on from Damien and continuing as if nothing had happened between us. That word brought back all of the memories between us that I had buried so deep inside, I had thought they were all forgotten. I didn't even know that it was possible to feel so much at that one word. My name. Such a simple word that I heard almost every day for as long as I could remember and yet, that one word transported me back to the first time we met outside when he arrived with his companions. It took me back to the first time our eyes met. How my pale green eyes had collided with eyes that reminded me of blue jade crystals and his body that looked like it would cause a lot of chaos if he stripped. His brown hair had been gelled to precision and when he had brushed his shirt with his h
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