ARABELLA POVIt was the noise of the crowd that woke me up. I yawned and stretched, realizing too late that my muscles were sore and cramped. It took me a minute to get the dizziness out of my head, and another long minute to stand.Damn, my whole body was aching in pain. When was the last time I was bent over like that and slept straight for an hour or two without moving? Was there enough time to do the stretches before going out there?I seriously considered the concept of doing some stretches and some core exercises before going out there, just to be agile. I realized again that it’d be futile because I was in my tightly covered work clothes that weren't flexible enough to stretch my muscles in. I groaned as I left my office, duly massaging the back of my neck so that at least it would cramp when I wanted to turn.I stopped by a water diffuser and downed three cups of water. It was a weekend; the sun would be up earlier than usual. That’s just how Saturdays usually are. You’re was
RHYS POVI’m not sure I’ve ever felt as lost as I did until now. That statement she made continued running through my head. Oh Emma, you’ll be the death of me.I walked anxiously around the house, holding my glass of dry gin. It tastes horrible, but I couldn’t stop drinking it at this point. Ever since I found out that Damon was my son, I’ve been living a miserable life. I had to sneak in at their school and offer the remaining two kids juice boxes so I could get their DNA. Is this what I’ve turned to—a man who was secretly gathering samples of children to prove that they were his or not?When my phone rang, I rushed to pick it, only to see that it wasn’t Meredith. I was dying from the anticipation of it alone. And that statement she made back at the hospital when I was trying to save her life… What did that mean?The door sprung open and I turned around. Mia walked in with a shopping bag, her face brighter than I’d last seen it. She looked happy, content even. She gave me a look and
ARABELLA POVThe more my mind punched around the images of yesterday over and over again, my disappointment in Rhys grew. After all these years, he still could not save another lady in distress. He still could not save his lover. He had stood before his pack members, spreading his aura on them yet still doing their bidding. I expected him to take control of the situation, not fizzle down like an idiot.It’s not like you haven’t condemned me to die before...Okay, I shouldn’t have said such words to him. That was just plain unreasonable and very telling. What if he discovers who I am from that sentence alone? Rhys was pretty smart when he wanted to be. I groaned and sat on the cold hard floor. What did it matter if he discovered me, anyways? He had put me in here. He stood in front of the crowd and told them to calm down, and that he can’t just hand me over to them. He would convict me, he promised them. He would investigate the matter and give them the justice they so rightfully deser
ARABELLA POVWhen he left, my heart started to press into itself. I’ve experienced this pain before, but now it seems to come in two-fold force. I felt pain, betrayal, anger. I didn’t even register Jack’s question until he asked me a second time.‘Did you tell him that we aren’t cousins, Arabella? Did you tell him?”I raised my eyes to meet him. Here he was, outside the bars of a cell that Rhys dumped me in. Rhys, who was stupid enough to cast me aside a second time. Rhys, who claimed to have loved me a thousand times but couldn’t even fight for our love. To say that I was disappointed was an understatement.“Arabella?”I shook my head and focused my thoughts on Jack. Jack was calm and sweet. He wouldn’t do anything to consciously hurt me. He was always there, acting nice and sweet and just being generally available for me. I tried to think about his question again so I could give an answer.“Yes,” I said.“You told him we were cousins?”“Yes.” I wanted to end it there, but had to c
JACK POV It was silly to over think about Arabella, but I just couldn’t help it. As I drove out of the detention center premises, thoughts nagged in my head. There were questions that I didn’t ask her; questions that still revolved round my initial question.Do you love him?She said no. She swore that what she had for him was pure hate, but I found that hard to believe. This was the father of her kids, after all. This was the man she had come back for, just to carry out her revenge. She probably slept with him too in order to convince him that they were together. Was it possible that feelings would not have bred with the fusion of old and new memories? Her assurance was nice and sweet for sure, but I just didn’t buy it.I picked up my phone and dialed Jenny’s number. She picked up immediately, as though she had been waiting for the call.“Jeez Jack, I’ve been trying to reach you for ages!”I groaned, interrupting her. It was better to ask my questions before she would get carried aw
RHYS POVI stared into nothing nowadays. Of all discoveries I could have made, Emma’s was the most shocking. What would I call her now? Emma? Arabella? What the fuck would I refer her as to now?Why was she back? How did she change so much? How didn’t I recognize her? And those children; those poor beautiful souls. Not knowing that they were mine would forever gnaw on me. That they had passed me and spoken to me severally and I never knew would haunt me. That it took an intense jealousy and dislike of Jack before I moved into the action of checking for DNA tests even felt horrible. I felt worse than I’d felt in a long while. At first I wanted to blame her, but then I couldn’t. She was back from the dead and that’s all that mattered.Jack couldn’t even hide the truth. It was written all over his face, so boldly that I knew in a second. He could have hidden it better, even though I already knew. He could have pretended, acted like he never knew her true identity. Only then would my hate
RHYS POVI was very late, which was my intention. I wanted her to wait and feel what it was like to wait for the unknown. I had at least four guards with me when I alighted from my car. She was in a vast, long forest that had a cabin nearby. I already had some guards to scout the place and report back to me if they noticed anything unusual. Lily was the bud you should never trust, no matter how innocent looking she was. She was leaning against a tree, and when I arrived, she straightened and smoothened her hair back from her face. She started to say something, but then shut up. I imagine that the look on my face must be so uninviting that it scared her for a bit there. That was what I wanted. She needed to understand that I wasn’t the laid back alpha she always knew. The guards spread around me to protect me from unforeseen dangers, and with Lily, it was bound to happen, especially since she was affiliated with Arabella. “This is a weird place for a meeting,” I said to her.She nodde
MIA POVI left my bedroom and sat down at the lounge, looking out into the forest through the glass window. This was where it usually sat when I wanted to worry obsessively about something. I usually worry the most about Rhys, just like I am doing right now.I didn’t trust Jack’s visit, especially when Rhys was in a sour mood after that. I mean, sure, he wasn’t in a good mood the past few days, but Jack’s visit sort of escalated the whole thing. I didn’t like it one bit, and it even felt like he was speaking in code to me, asking if I had any secrets I wanted to reveal.What nonsense…I wanted to do something, yet I felt so helpless. There was this stinking feeling within me that things would go south if I didn’t react quickly. And by reacting quickly, I needed to—A hand covered my eyes. It was big and broad, completely blinding me. His scent drifted towards me, a scent I would forever recognize. A low humming started within me but I pushed it down, far below so it would not see the