Salara’s POVHenry has been unusually gentle with me since waking up this morning. He even brought me breakfast in bed that we shared with our daughter. It was completely out of character for Henry, even before the events of this last week, and has had me confused throughout the whole day. Even Hayden looked at her father in confusion during our breakfast in bed adventure this morning. My heartrate starts to become erratic the closer we get to the turn that leads to the Evergreen pack territory. My heart is not looking forward to having to have the discussion with Derrick that I know I have to have. A part of me is hoping that Henry will take the initiative and tell him for me, but I know that is the coward's way out. A pressure on my thigh draws me out of my worrisome thoughts. Turning my eyes to my lap, I catch Henry’s hand on my thigh, his fingers squeezing gently in comfort. Surprise floods my system at the simple act of kindness from my tormentor of the last week. What could ha
Derrick’s POVWatching Salara wrapped up in Henry’s arms was like a knife being stabbed into my heart and then twisted mercilessly. Nothing in my life has ever felt as painful as realizing that my mate is not going to choose me over her newly mated husband. And hearing Henry speak the words confirming my suspicion was like someone reached into my chest and yanked my still beating heart out ruthlessly. “We have talked and decided that we are not going to let our current situation come in between the vows that we have made to each other.” Henry’s words still echo through my mind, haunting me with the finality his words have caused to resonate within my mind. Everything that was said after that was lost to my raging thoughts. My mind was unable to process anything that was spoken after those words, my thoughts still swirling around the fact that my mate was rejecting me. I have waited a long time to find my mate, and in a week's time I have already lost her. That final nail that made
Salara’s POVAfter walking us to Savannah’s place, Derrick quickly made his exit, leaving me standing awkwardly on Savannah’s porch while Henry wrapped her up in his arms. Tuning out the sounds of their kissing, my mind wanders back to the conversation Henry had with Derrick about our new living situation. Guilt had wracked me as I stood there silently staring at the floor while Henry explained that the three of us would be living together as a family. I could feel his eyes boring holes into me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up and face him. Henry kept his arm around my waist the entire time that he spoke with Derrick, making me feel uncomfortable in my skin. An inner part of me desperately wanted to break free from Henry’s hold and put some space in between us, but his hold on my waist was too tight for me to break free of. So instead, I stood there like a coward, unable to meet his eyes or utter a single word to help ease the pain I could sense coursing through him. “Do we
Salara’s POVWhat the hell happened?Alpha. There was a pause. You need to calm down and let us do our job.Everything goes dark once again. Is mom going to be alright? The sound of a child sniffling breaks through the fog covering my brain. I frown inwardly. Has something happened to someone’s mother in the pack? I try to open my eyes to look at the child who has spoken those sad words, but the effort becomes too great and I find myself succumbing to the darkness yet again.We found old bruises littering her body, Alpha. A concerned voice speaks in hushed tones from someone nearby and yet far away. They must be talking about that child’s mother that was hurt. I hope she will be okay. The child sounded really upset to find out that their mother was harmed. I shouldn’t have let him leave with her knowing that he could succumb to angry outbursts. The sound of a wall being hit filters through my ears, causing my anxiety to spike and my heart rate to increase. A machine in the distance
Derrick’s POVIt has been the longest week of my life as I waited impatiently for Salara to wake up from the coma that she has been under. Hunter perks up and prances around inside of my mind once Miguel’s excited words reach our ears. “She squeezed my hand, Dad!”A sigh of relief leaves my lips, my body slumping from the stress of this past week finally leaving my aching muscles. Nothing has scared me more than losing my mate in this horrendous way. When Henry reached the clinic located on the far side of the packhouse, I felt my heart drop from my chest and disintegrate into the earth. The sight of Salara’s bruised, battered, and bleeding body in Henry’s arms sent Hunter over the edge and it took four of my best guards to hold him at bay when he lunged for Henry’s throat, claws out and jaw snapping. Henry claims that he found her that way when he came home from his first training session with his personal trainer, but Hunter was not seeing reason at that time. I have banned him fr
Henry’s POVComing back to the house to find Salara passed out in the bedroom that Savannah provided for her was one of the scariest moments of my life. Her faint heartbeat sent my blood pumping as I rushed around to get her to the pack clinic quickly. Her bruised and battered body that was covered in a layer of her blood sent my blood boiling. Savannah claimed that she has no idea what happened to her, but I find it hard to believe that she didn’t have something to do with it. She has been pissed off about Salara since the moment that she found us while touring the pack grounds a week and a half ago. A part of me blames myself for what has happened to Salara in the short time that we have been at the Evergreen Pack, but I know that placing blame will get us nowhere. Alpha Derrick immediately pointed fingers in my direction when he saw me carrying Salara’s fragile body through the pack house doors, not giving me a single moment to defend myself before he pounced on me. It took mult
Salara’s POVThe weight of something heavy laying on my thigh sends a sharp, shooting pain throughout my right leg as I come to from my dream state. Wincing inwardly, I go to pull my leg out from underneath whatever weight is resting on my thigh. When I am unable to move the weight off of me, I lift up my hand and reach towards the object laying against me.My fingertips come into contact with flesh, startling me as fear rushes through my body. The fear soon settles when the familiar sparks erupt on my fingertips, indicating that the object laying on my thigh is none other than Alpha Derrick.My eyes snap to his stress filled face, my brows furrowing at the sight of him sleeping restlessly against me. What could Derrick be doing here with me instead of sleeping peacefully in his bed? The position that he is in does not look comfortable even a little bit. A chair has been up against the right side of my bed and he is slumped forward in it with his head resting against my thigh. His ne
Salara’s POVAfter seeing Derrick try so hard to hide his frustration from me over the mention of Henry, I decide to avoid mentioning anything about him while I finish relaying what I remember. Not that that will be easy considering I was with him all morning. At least I think I was. Closing my eyes, I allow my thoughts to drift back to Monday, starting with after we finished with breakfast and got in the car. “It was a quiet car ride to the Evergreen pack.” My brows draw together as I attempt to piece together the broken pieces of my memory. Derrick continues to sit in his seat quietly, giving me the time I need to bring the memories to the surface and relay what I remember. What the hell could have happened to me that would cause me to lose my memories like this?I must have said that thought out loud without realizing it because Derrick’s voice breaks through my thoughts for the first time since I have started talking. “You were found beaten pretty badly Salara.” His solemn voice