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Chapter 20: "I hate you."
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Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 21: "You came."
Ryan’s pov.One of the Rawthorne meatheads slams the door open as he stalks into my father’s office.“She’s dying in there.”My office. It’s now my office.I raise my head from the stack of documents I am examining and I take a deep breath before I face him.He’s the older brother. The more advanced problem. He’s standing there, in my office, fuming because I ignore him the same way I have ignored him for the past two days now, and unlike his brother, he gets angry quickly.Having them in my home is bad enough, but having them come pester me every four hours is a headache.“My mate is dying, Ryan Earl!”I nod at that though my heart tells me it’s selfish of me, and to be even more selfish I give a response, “Let her.”I don’t think I ever imagined the day would come when I would say Layla should be given the free rein to die, but it seems that’s what she wants most right now.We can hold a lavish funeral for her, with all the fittings.~You’re being bitter, Ryan. It’s been two days
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 22: "Deal."
Ryan's pov.“She has a fever that should break soon, and she looks malnourished. Has the lady been eating anything lately, Mr Ryan?”I take a glance at the doctor before looking away again and shaking my head.“No, she hasn’t.”The doctor nods and there’s a dead silence that reigns in the room again.Layla passed out shortly after she came out of the room and into my arms….MThere’s a strangeness to that, and there’s a strangeness to her. Why would she say she'd been waiting for me when she has her mates right outside her door?“She seemed really disoriented and hot when she came out of her room this morning. Is there any reason for that?”I don’t know why the question pops into my head, it just does. But I follow it. I follow it and I wait for the doctor’s response. His reply is simple.“Is her mate around by any chance?”I incline my head lightly to glance at the two men resting against the wall by the far corner of the room. I asked them not to come near because of Layla. They loo
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 23: "The one thing i'd want from you is the truth."
Layla’s pov.I wake up with a clear head and a lucid mind, and almost immediately I can tell that I have done something stupid.Not just stupid, but something that is such a blatant betrayal of all I have been trying to do ever since Damien and Alek were brought in by Ryan.I ran over to them. Instead of away.The scene plays back in my mind like a tape and I lie here, watching it like someone who’s been spellbound to and cursing under my breath at the reality of all this.I try to get up, but then the mate bond flares almost immediately and Damien and Alek barge into the room. My walls are up immediately.I feel the look on my face go cold, ice cold, and then Ryan comes in, looking more calm and composed than the other two, but also equal parts worried.Ryan walks past them and stops a few feet away from me, a good distance away that he’s not too far, but he’s also not too close.“How are you feeling Layla?” Ryan’s voice is cold.Almost on cue, I remember the words I had said to him
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 24: "Are you okay, Layla?"
I do not give Ryan a direct answer and he does not press me for one.He tells me he can wait. He WIll wait, until I decide to let the truth of it come out.He leaves and so do Damien and Alek. I am left with myself, and my thoughts, and the worst thing is that I find myself thinking of a lot of things. Things that for once are not related to plans of escape, or ending it all.I think of what Ryan has just said now and what that could mean for me. He says they’ve changed.But how true can that be? How can they have changed? And why now? Why at this moment?Alek’s statement about the moon goddess having her reasons for reopening our mate bond comes back to me and I scoff at it because where was she when all the horrible things were happening?Where was she when I was here, suffering horrors more than I could say, more than I could bear.?Where was she?A blaring silence is my only response.I can’t hear anything else except for the silence. Even Fey keeps quiet.Lunch and dinner ar
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 25: "He gave the first blow."
Damien’s pov.The mate bond flares, and I do not care if she is with him or if they are meant to be having a private discussion right now. The mate bond flares so strong that I cannot stop myself from storming out there and going after my mate, because that’s what she is.She is mine, and I will always protect what’s mine.Alek catches me on the way and as he watches me dash past, he issues a light warning into my head, “Brother.” I hear the tone of his voice.I know what he means by saying that, but he’s always been the weaker one. He’s always been the one more open to negotiations. A true Alpha does not negotiate, not in the face of their instincts.I locate my mate, and she’s with him, in the gardens, a hand braced against a pillar and her breathing coming hard and fast, fast enough that I can hear it.She’s hyperventilating.The voice of the Earl heir reaches my ears as he asks, “Are you okay, Layla?”But I'm already on my way to them, the need in my bones too strong a thing to
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 26: "You take on Ryan. I'll handle your brother."
Layla’s pov.Alek stands as he’s always stood, always by the side, never fully involving himself in any of these things, while I stand with a bewildered expression, wondering how this could have happened.Or why it could have happened, because wasn’t I just with Ryan half an hour ago?Didn’t we just speak?Both of them are glaring at each other, wounds already healing rapidly. There are little cuts on their faces though, some bruises here and there, and with each look I take I know that they are not going to clean themselves up.They’re just going to leave the blood on their faces and glare at each other all day. “How did this even happen?”I want to slap myself mentally because I said I wouldn't ask this question. I promised myself I wouldn't get myself involved, but I can't wrap my head around it so I have to ask.Both of them dart brave glances at each other, and then those glances become full-on stares, and in a split second they’re glaring at each other, low growls emanating fro
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 27: "Come back with us, Layla."
Layla’s pov.Damien is surprised when I come to him.There’s a tinge of disbelief leaking into his purple eyes and he looks away almost as fast as he looks at me. The next time he looks at me, there’s a determined glint there now.I can almost imagine the words running through his head right now.~An Alpha does not cower.An Alpha does not feel shame.An Alpha does not feel regret, or remorse.~I find myself feeling a bit sad for Damien, just a brief flash of pity before it’s gone. The memory of the rejection comes back again, but with that memory comes a lot of other memories.Memories I had locked up before, not wanting to let them surface. I remember how hard his father was on him. He and Alek.I remember how he would be the one bearing the brunt of most of the pain. How he would protect Alek, and how that turned his expression stonier, his heart colder.I can’t say I understand who Damien is right now, but I know a bit of who he was, and that might have shaped who he is, so as b
Four months with my Stepson and the Twin Alphas. Chapter 28: "You look tame, brother."
Alek is chortling as he looks at Damien’s face. Damien looks softer with the band-aids on him. It’s a new look on him, and I can't say that band-aids are a fashion statement, not that I know of, but Damien looks like he can pull it off.“You look tame, brother.”Alek smiles wide, showing his teeth and I have to look away from him too because his smile, it’s something.Then there’s Ryan, who I want to avoid looking at, because just like Damien he’s covered in a number of band-aids, but his are not solely on his face. They’re on the side of his arms too, and while he looks like he’s okay and doesn’t care about them, I'm sure they hurt and he’s not taking too well to them.Damien looks tame.Ryan looks wild.And Alek looks like he’s having the time of his life.“I’ll be out in the gardens if anyone needs me.” I get up and make my exit as briskly as I can because sitting in the same room as all three of them does something to me I don’t think I can wrap my head around right now. There’s
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