Alpha Ian’s POVAs I closed my eyes, I was immediately transported back to when I was but a mere toddler. I never moved as a unit. Wherever I went, there was a shadow serving as my companion. I never had to wonder what it was like to do anything by myself even though as young as I was, I wasn’t responsible for taking care of myself. My ability to make friends was determined by the company my parents kept. There were a few wolves around my age that I met regularly because our parents would bring us together. Among these kids, there was one who always stuck to me. The one I’m currently referring to as my shadow.It was none other than Ezekiel Aitken.We were cradle brothers. Growing up, almost all the important milestones I experienced were with Ezekiel by my side. And vice versa. As early as when we were both four, our parents always struggled to separate us when it was time to put us to bed. Ezekiel and I would burst into tears, clinging to each other for dear life. Many a time, our p
Alpha Ian’s POV “Well,” I prompted. “Tell me, what did you discover in that book?”Ezekiel continued to play with the ground at our feet, sly grin still in place. He was dragging this out because he knew my interest has been peaked. He was that kind of boy. I didn’t know where he got that from. His parents were the kindest people I knew, but Ezekiel was happiest when he was torturing some poor creature. There was this glimmer of excitement in his eyes when someone was under his mercy or he was withholding something you wanted.This went for everything from our favorite toy to the girls we had crushes on. Everyone was well aware of Ezekiel’s mean streak.“Do you know what the humans in the past used to do to us?” Ezekiel asked, cocking his head to the side, gaze intense on me.“You’re referring to our ancestors?” I said.Ezekiel nodded.“How far back?”“As far back as medieval Europe,” Ezekiel answered.I knew a little about that period thanks to our history lessons. We had an amazing
Alpha Ian POV’s“So at age ten, Ezekiel was already developing radical ideas?” Francesca said, pulling me back to the present.Back in my Study, every gaze was on me. I knew they’d all been engrossed by the tale I was narrating. I wasn’t exactly known for being someone who talked about Ezekiel easily. So this probably came as a surprise to everyone. “I was too young to decipher everything that was going on with him, but yeah, pretty much,” I said. “He was always an incredibly intense child, he hated losing and he was quick to retaliate or inflict hurt without mercy.”“But he was never like that with you,” Dominic said, as Francesca burrowed deeper into his side. The bond they shared pleased me to no end. I shook my head, confirming his words. “No, he wasn’t. I was the exception to his cruelty and impatience. I think that was one of the reasons I was blinded to it for so long. He was protective of me and he never failed to sing my praises.”“Yeah, that fucker had it in his head that
Alpha Ian’s POVTravelling back to memories of my childhood with Ezekiel wasn’t something I was especially fond of. The reasons should be very obvious. Our relationship crashed and burned, right alongside him growing into the monster he was always going to be. There were many nights after Ezekiel left when I laid in bed, wondering what I could have done to prevent his banishment. I thought incessantly about how I should have tried harder to make sure he never got to that point, to prevent the innocent murder of that human. I hated myself for scarcely disagreeing with him as we grew up. But more than that, I hated myself even more for never speaking up when I did disagree with him. I never intervened when I felt he did something wrong. Whenever my gut instinct told me Ezekiel had crossed a line, I never did to make him see that.At age sixteen, when my best friend was banished from our pack for a heinous crime, I was devastated, I was heartbroken, but above all, I was filled with sel
Alpha Ian’s POVOnce I got it in my head that I was going to find Ezekiel and bring him home, the idea would not leave me. I thought about it constantly, even in moments when I was surrounded by other people. Sometimes hearing what the entire pack were saying about my former best friend almost served as a deterrence but the desire always returned.As it stood, nobody seemed to want him to return. Nobody had anything good to remember him by. All our age-mates seemed relieved that he was gone. During our training sessions, it was all they talked about. It made me dizzy. I keep overhearing conversations and people saying he made them uncomfortable, even when he was supposedly on his best behavior. Some said he made them angry unprovoked, but the majority of the young wolves seemed to have feared Ezekiel. This wasn’t exactly new to me. I knew that as much as our trainers admired him for the amazing warrior that he was, his personality made them wary of the type of Alpha werewolf he would
Alpha Ian’s POVIt was that very night when I packed an overnight bag and left our Pack. I wasn’t sure if I was going to find Ezekiel where I thought he was. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if he wanted to see my face but I was determined to do this. Nothing was going to stop me from reaching out. Whatever consequences were waiting for me at the end of this road, I will face them head on. There was no going back now. I couldn’t even afford to.As I made my way through the bustling city of New Orleans at night, I couldn’t stop myself from replaying the events that led to Ezekiel’s banishment. The moment he’d murdered that human for hunting a deer.Granted, I hated the persecution of wild animals and believed in their preservation. Humans were too arrogant for their own good. They acted as though this world was created for them and they were somehow superior to animals. I knew even the ones who believed in the existence of supernatural creatures liked me also believed we needed to be wiped ou
Alpha Ian’s POV I rode the elevator all the way to the penthouse and Ezekiel buzzed me in like he promised. Once that door swung open and I saw him standing on the other side, dressed in a pair of loose sweat pants and a black shirt, hair still wet from what was no doubt a shower before bed, I completely broke down. I rushed into his arms and he held me up as I collapsed against his body. I started sobbing, burying my face in his neck. I was soaking the soft skin.“It’s alright,” he said. “I’ve got you. Ian, I’ve got you. You’re here now.”He kept repeating the words but they were going over my head. At least, for now, I could barely process everything that was going on. But I was aware of the fact that I was finally with my cradle brother again. The terrible ache that had been in me since the day he was kicked out was slowly receding.His arms were wrapped around me, his body was solid against mine and I was enveloped by his scent. That was all my brain could compute in the moment.
Chapter 54 No Other GirlAlpha Ian’s POVAfter we entangled ourselves from the floor, I trailed behind Ezekiel, following him to the master bedroom.“You’re not planning to stay for long, are you?” he asked, sitting at the edge of the gigantic bed.“Why do you say that?” I was standing in the middle of the room, clutching my backpack. I didn’t know why I was beginning to feel awkward all of a sudden.“You barely came with anything.” He gestured towards my backpack. “What did you even manage to fit in that small thing?”“Essentials,” I retorted, rolling my eyes, as I moved toward where he was sitting. I dropped my backpack on the bed and zipped it up. “Also, it’s not small. It can keep plenty of stuff just fine.”“Well, then, I’m sorry for belittling your precious backpack.” He looked anything but sorry and I had to resist the urge to smack him on the head.“You’re such an ass,” I muttered. “I ran away. You get that right? This wasn’t some planned vacation where I had my parents’ permi