REID’S POV
Panic went through me when I saw how Aliyah reacted when Lucas’s mate hugged her. Swallowing hard, I steeled myself and followed her upstairs.
"Aliyah!" I called for her.
I was cursing repeatedly in my mind. It was my damn fault!
I should have been more careful of her. I had all the means to protect her from anything that would trigger her trauma, but I turned a blind eye, hoping she’d be able to overcome her fears and blend into the pack.
I glanced at the open door of our home. I breathed heavily as I walked through. I hadn’t seen her yet, but her loud heartbeat and painful cries told me that she was in the bed room.
My jaw clenched. Hearing her cry made me want to punish myself...
I walked to the bedroom; every step was heavy as I listened to Aliyah sobbing inside.
I pushed the door open and saw her sitting on the cold floor. Her back was leaning on the side of the bed while her head was bur
REID’S POVNeedless to say, I felt like I was losing my mind.I’ve been having dreams lately. A dream where I finally marked Aliyah, claimed and devoured her body under the moonlight, and felt the satiable emotion afterward.It was getting more frequent, and the more it happened, the stronger the mate bond pull could get when I woke up. I could not seem to pin down my need to mark her, and it was driving me crazy.I avoided thinking about it as much as possible, and wanted to focus on Aliyah’s full recovery, but my wolf didn’t seem to want to listen and had been letting me dream such things at night in order for me to finally take action.Gratefully, I was taught how to fight my wolf within me. I spent time practicing to defy the wolf, regardless of how powerful the need it had. I didn’t want to scare Aliyah, as she was the most important person to me.I could only mark her until she was fully ready.Over
ALIYAH’S POVI could hardly believe that I’d see another pair of eyes, full of contempt, looking at me. I held my breath, afraid that even my breathing would irritate the old lady in front of me.All I could do was step back as I was too scared. The fragments of the bad memories from the past had played in my head, making me feel like the worst part of my life ever."Alica," Reid growled, and that made the old lady shudder."A—Alpha?""You were asking who she is?" He practically spat at her. "Did you really just offend my mate?"He looked at the old lady as if she’d committed a mortal sin. His blue eyes looked so cold and treacherous. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Even I could not handle the danger that suddenly showed up in his presence."Reid..." I called for him in my faint voice."Oh good Lord!" The old lady cried out loud, and then knelt in front of him. "I apologize, Alpha. It isn’t my i
ALIYAH’S POVDeep within me, I could feel the happiness of my wolf after making contact with Reid in his wolf form. We have never felt so wanted and at home like this... Reid was the only one who made us feel like we were special, and with him around the agony I lived by for my entire life had faded away.And all that was left in my heart was love.... love that could forget the entire trauma.... love that could finally erase the pain.... the kind of love that I was sure I’d keep until my last breath.I never thought I was capable of loving someone, but I guess the Moon Goddess really had this one beautiful thing stored for me, and I was beyond thankful and blessed that she let me mate with Reid. The redirection she planned for me was unexpected. It brought me to the healing I had craved my entire life."I am glad I found you, Reid." My voice was soft and sincere.Reid gave me a look that said he felt the same. We
REID’S POV"Looks like a serious talk, huh?" Klaus said as he entered the kitchen after Lucas left.I shrugged, leaning against the countertop table. My eyes landed on him, and I noticed him smirking as he poured a glass of some wine into the new wineglass for him."What do you think about the human girl he’s mated with?" I couldn’t help but ask as I was curious.It was the first time I’ve had a pack member who was mated with a human. Admittedly, Lucas’s situation happened very rarely—a different case scenario in a werewolf’s life happened once in a blue moon. Werewolves and humans couldn’t co-exist on the same land given the conflicts and sheer amount of territorial claims issues, and as an Alpha of my small pack, I could never calm down.Klaus’s eyes glanced at me. "Do you really want to ask that?"I nodded, hoping to hear a proper answer from him. "Just wondering. I wasn’t able t
ALIYAH’S POVThe sun was shining through the trees, creating mysterious shadows. As we went for a walk into the woods, my eyes drifted beyond the tall green trees. There were puffy white clouds in the blue sky that moved slowly in the light breeze.I inhaled the morning fresh air, and it made me feel great."The weather seems great today," I commented, a smile escaping my lips when I turned to my Alpha.He was holding my hand as we trekked. Bullet sweats had formed on my forehead, but my body was energized with this kind of exercise we were doing."Spring has started. You can expect this kind of weather every single day," he said as he glanced my way.We went to the waterfalls and sat on the rock formation beside it for a bit. Reid told me the reason why Alicia came into the pack house today. He ordered Lucas to take action to discipline the two young wolves who disrespected me."I don’t know how Lucas took actions about i
ALIYAH’S POVPerhaps I should no longer be surprised by seeing people questioning the Alpha’s decision. There was no doubt that Reid was doing his best to lead his pack in the best way he could. However, we could never prevent some people from defying and questioning his decision, no matter how good his decision was and how it would benefit them in the long run.And maybe I was just so shocked to see how Alicia reacted that I could not seem to erase it from my head even if I tried. I sucked in a breath and massaged the temple of my nose."What are you thinking right now? You smell conflicted..."My mouth fell open. I looked at Reid and noticed how curious his eyes were while staring down at me.We had been sitting on the couch in the chamber for less than an hour, after Klaus and Sage had driven Alicia out of the pack house."Well, maybe I really am conflicted." I sighed and gathered the right words to say, "When Alicia threw a f
ALIYAH’S POV"Here we go," I said after watering the camellia flower in the window.I smiled, seeing it bloom beautifully. I could see that it had grown much taller and more beautiful since the first time I had seen it. I appreciated seeing it first thing in the morning, as I did with the other red and white roses on the balcony.Two days had passed since the incident that happened in the chamber. I spent most of my days in the pack house cooking and doing some household chores. Reid advised me to exercise a little because it was important to maintain a healthy body.I was still quite slim. He stated that my body would take time to fully heal from the deprivation I had experienced. However, I was pleased to notice that my body was improving. Perhaps because Reid never failed to take good care of me, I felt more vibrant and lively now.Speaking of Reid, he has been busy doing a lot of stuff for the pack. He'd be gone in the morning and would c
ALIYAH’S POVMy eyes surveyed the insides of Charlotte’s clinic. It was spacious and a two-storey clinic that could cater to a large number of patients on a daily basis. It was the first time I entered a place like this, and I didn’t know what to feel.Seeing the medical equipment, even the patients she had in here, made my stomach twist. I became so uncomfortable that I wanted to run away... maybe because I was totally nervous.But I couldn’t.I could feel Reid’s dark stare at me as we waited for Charlotte in one of the VIP rooms, and I kept avoiding his eyes as my body only tensed up whenever I saw the glowing irritation behind them."I need you to be honest with Charlotte, Aliyah. It’s non-negotiable," he said wryly.My fingers were tapping each other nervously as I sat on the edge of the bed. My mouth felt so dry at the moment. He made me feel as if I needed to obey him or else he’d punish me, an