The journey back is uneventful. Isaac is oddly quiet. I mull over the words that Felice said before we left. “He is not bad…his curse…as I said earlier, it can be broken with the birth of your child, but for your sake and for your child’s, stay alert.” Why was she warning us so many times? My hand rests on my stomach subconsciously. Astrid hasn’t commented on anything. She has oddly remained quiet for the whole time. ‘What are you thinking?’ I ask her. ‘We should stay away from Isaac for a while.’ The answer is so surprising that I gasp. Isaac immediately turns to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed. “What happened? Are you okay?” I stare at him, taken aback because this is the first time or maybe after a long time, he has shown genuine concern. I nod jerkily and avert my gaze. ‘Why?’ I can’t help but ask. ‘We need to protect our pup. He is safe but people around him aren't. If we are carrying a solution to this curse then we will definitely be attacked.’ I let out a sigh b
I don’t know how long I stand there in the middle of the cabin, staring at Isaac’s retreating figure. He doesn’t even turn to look back. He simply… leaves. I place a trembling hand on my flat stomach while I ignore Astrid’s whines — pitiful and painful. I look around and spot a couch towards which I sway and manage to sit down. ‘Did we just…get abandoned, Astrid?’ I ask my wolf. My voice, even in my head sounds numb and shaky. ‘No… no, he said he will come back,’ Astrid replies although she doesn’t sound reassuring. I chuckle bitterly at our fate. First by the pack where I was born and now by my supposed mate. Suddenly, I feel too tired to even stand up from the couch. ~~~ My eyes open to a dark house. At first, I feel confused before I realise that it’s not the usual room where I used to be but a cabin which apparently is Isaac’s ‘haven’. I sit up never having realised when I fell asleep out of exhaustion. I stand up when my stomach growls. Right, no one is here to prepare food. I
I welcome the rough kisses that he cascades down my neck, the nips and nibbles that he bestows upon the heated and sweaty skin between these open-mouthed kisses. His hands are clamped on my hips, pinning me to place while my legs are loosely wrapped around his waist. The deep anguish I had felt earlier has begun to ebb away slowly. One of his hands skims up my thigh and rests lightly on the hip. The claws rake my skin, not hard enough to mark but make his beast’s presence known. My heart has been rabbiting ever since we tumbled in bed, whether out of this pleasant surprise or the fact that my mind and heart were working in sync, I don’t know. “I like this look, you in my clothes. Were you waiting for me, baby?” he murmurs against the skin just above my collarbone. I let out a breathy sigh. “Not…. really.” Isaac lazily hums as if he is not convinced. He seems rough yet gentle tonight and this change somehow throws me off-kilter. I will not say that I enjoyed or loved to hear him refe
I wake up feeling queasy in the stomach and a thudding heartbeat. When I stir under the blankets, I almost think with a sinking heart that last night’s rendezvous was perhaps just a dream, a delusion of my bereft mind. But then, I feel the telltale twinge between my legs, the sore ache in my lower back and the tingling of my mating mark. It wasn’t. The thudding in my chest calms slowly, and a relieved smile etches on my lips but it doesn’t remain for long as the nauseous feeling overtakes. I am forced to sit up, my world tilting for a moment from a sudden dizzy spell before I manage to get off the bed on somewhat shaky legs. Astrid and I both want our mate to be by our side, but for some reason, he is neither in the bedroom nor outside. I can’t feel his presence. Pushing back the sinking feeling, I stumble my way to the ensuite bathroom. As I am heaving on the toilet bowl, feeling bile and water force their way up my throat, a soothing arm wraps around my shoulder while another twist
Astrid begins to feel anxious when Isaac doesn’t turn up after two hours. He had said that he would be back soon, but his definition of soon seemed to differ a lot from mine. I glare at the soup I was stirring. But the telltale signs of tears make me even angrier at myself. I caress my belly absent-mindedly. Did he go back and lied to me? The very thought makes my throat feel tight. I turn off the heat when the soup starts bubbling and cover the lid before returning to my room. The house feels eerie again. My gaze wanders out of the window but I see no figure in the distance. The weather is humid and annoying. I trudge back to the room but before I can enter, I hear the rustling of leaves. Astrid becomes alert and so do I. I get a familiar floral scent which relaxes me at once. I whirl around and walk back to the living area. A smile curls on my lips. “Clarissa?” I am surprised and happy to see her. She smiles back. “How are you?” I notice the small backpack she is carrying.
I should have been wary of the good things coming my way because, with my rotten luck, I have never been able to hold happiness back. Ever since I have met Astrid, my good luck has been eclipsed, not that I blame her. I just blame society. One moment I had been asleep in my mate’s arms and the next I found myself alone. Still disoriented, I struggle to sit up. I feel frantic when I find the bedroom door closed. ‘Astrid…what’s wrong?’ ‘Mate is protecting us,’ she whispers, but she sounds scared. With a rabbeting heartbeat as I call out for Isaac, but he doesn’t answer. The screams echo again, piercing the silence of the night. I manage to stand up, but before I am halfway across the room the door opens. Isaac appears in front of me. He is heaving, and bloody and has taken his half-bestial form. His golden and silver eyes tell me that both his wolves are equally in control. He is in his Enigma form. “Isaac…” I whisper, my heart lodged in my throat, too scared to raise my voice.
~Five years later…“Isleen, what has mama told you?” My five-year-old peers at me sheepishly before hurriedly lowering her gaze. “Not to show my powers to anyone,” she mumbles. I can see her bottom lip wobble and it makes my chest constrict. I sign and pick her up in my arms. She immediately wounds her arms around my neck and her tiny feet latch around my hips. I tuck away the wisps of blonde hair from her forehead. “It’s not bad to help a friend, but you know we can’t just heal anyone all of a sudden.” “But mama… Taylor was hurt and he is my best friend,” she whines. I sigh. I am glad to be gifted with such a compassionate soul, but sometimes I can’t help but think if she would pay heed to my instruction. “Is our grizzly bear giving a hard time to her mama?” I turn and smile when Caius walks in. He has changed over the years. His earlier reputation of being a ruthless and cunning alpha has now changed, the edges have softened. Many think it is because he has yet to find his mate,
Astrid growls at the back of my mind. My heart stutters at the sight of him. He is in his human form, looking as healthy and strong as an alpha of his fame would. My gaze drags from his coiffed hair to his neatly trimmed stubble, to his expensive-looking casual clothes. My eyes finally settled on his face, impassive as ever. He has been doing well it seems and that makes the hurt and anger churn even more inside my chest. “What brings you here, Alpha Isaac?” I ask, thankful that my voice had not wavered. My gaze wanders past his shoulder and into the house. I don’t hear or see Isleen. I guess Caius or Harmony has handled that matter. “How have you been?” he asks instead of answering. His voice sounds slightly raspy like it did when he used to stay in his human form despite his beasts trying to take the reins. The grip on the strap of my tote bag tightens. “How do I look?” I can’t bother to keep the venom from my tone because why should I? His gaze softens. His expression chang