ARIAI tore my eyes from my baby and turned to my mate. He was smiling down at me while our child slept peacefully. I’d gone into labour at thirty-two weeks, earlier than the doctor had predicted but my baby was surprisingly healthy. A full-breed werewolf would carry a child for six months, but as an hybrid, I was expected to carry my pregnancy for nine months, but my little boy had come out at thirty-two weeks. It’s been almost twenty four hours since I put to bed and I was not to be discharged until tomorrow. Slade has been beside me, only leaving my side to take his own medications. He was healing, the doctor had said, but he still had a bandage around his chest. It wasn’t hard to see that he was obsessed with this child. In the last twenty-four hours, Slade barely allowed anyone near him, not even those who’d come bearing gifts.There was still a lot going on in the pack after the fight. Dark Wolf had won but with many casualties. Audrey helped in taking care of the sick as I was
SLADE“What happens to Sapphire?” My beta asked me. Since she was pregnant, I knew the council will not put her to death until the baby comes, but she’d lost her right eye completely and could not clearly see with her left. I don’t deny that I want her dead though, and by my hands. After all she did to my mate and my pack, she does not deserve to live. We’d lost several warriors and it saddened me. In all my years as Alpha, I’d not witnessed so much loss in my pack, even during the days of my invasion. My heart was heavy, but the thought of my son brought me joy. People were beginning to ask questions since many of them expected me to die. I did not just survive a curse, but also a silver bullet. I sighed, my right hands reaching up to clutch my chest while I drove with my other free hand. I needed to make a stop at the dungeon where Sapphire was being held and then to Allegra’s hut. I also know I need to address the members of Dark Wolf tonight. I had meetings with the council as w
ARIA“You look so adorable,” my mom wiped her eyes with the back of her hands as she stared at me “Reminds me of when I married your dad. We didn’t have an elaborate wedding, but it was the best day of my life. Everyone thought I was crazy for marrying him, but it’s the one thing I know I did right and I’d walk down the aisle with him again if I had to,” she finished.“Mom,” I fought back the tears that threatened to fall to my cheeks. Luna Evelyn specifically warned me not to ruin my makeup, and I didn’t want to have to listen to her complain if I did the exact thing she warned me not to do.Today is the mating ceremony. The day I become Luna of Dark Wolf pack, and the day I have dreamed of since I set eye on my mate. It’s funny how much things have changed, almost unbelievable.I didn’t have any expectations coming to dark wolf, but I started to have expectations as the days passed. Expectations that I didn’t expect to come through. I’d hoped my mate will come to love me, but I’d al
I opened my eyes slowly to find Slade watching me and a small blush crept up my cheeks. “Why are you awake?” I asked him with a sleepy voice.“Just wondering what I did to get so lucky,” He smiled at me. “And you can go back to sleep, your mom is attending to Zion already,”I have gotten used to waking up at this time to feed my baby, but I had the night off today. It’s been three days after the mating ceremony and I have had to deal with a lot after that. We were also moving into a bigger house. Slade thought the penthouse wasn’t big enough to start a family which is just off considering how large it is. He wants Zion to have the best.Now that we share a mate bond, communication was easier between us. When I was overwhelmed, he’d feel it too, and did everything he could to make me feel better. He was a great dad to his son, and many packs were sending in gifts every day since the birth of Zion, wanting a form of friendship with Dark Wolf.Sapphire was sentenced to death, but only a
Excruciating pain traveled from my chest down to my underbelly as I stumbled to the floor, but I bounced back up almost immediately and lunged at my opponent, digging my claws into his neck and drawing blood. He whimpers and staggers back but doesn’t relent.I growled ferociously, and the alpha wolf encircling me responds with a growl of his own. He is weak, I can see it, and so is his army. My wolf is bigger and stronger than his. He could have saved himself this humiliation by just surrendering, but no alpha wants to look weak in presence of their pack members.The ruckus around us had now skyrocketed as more wolves joined in the fight, paws paddling on the floor and carrying dust as my warriors battled with his, and the painful howls of his warriors traveled through the air. We are going to win this. All I have to do is end their alpha’s life and Lakewood pack would be mine.The wolf jumped on my back and clutched at my neck, aiming to dig his can
ONEARIASelfish, negligent, irresponsible, reckless, are just a few out of the many words I could use to describe the man I call father, but I would save my anger for a later date. Right now, what is more important is dealing with the issue on ground.“You told me you were over that,” my mother wailed.“Well, I am, but I have to clear the pending debts. You didn’t think they would just disappear did you?” father says nonchalantly.My mum and dad are opposites. Mum is selfless and loving, especially when it involves her family. How she managed to fall in love and marry a man like my father is still something that baffles me till date.“Two hundred thousand dollars Harry! How the fuck did you manage to gamble such a large sum? What in hell were you thinking?” she screamed.“You most definitely wouldn’t be using that tone if the odds had been in my f
“Ouch..” my dad flinched as mum cleans the amputated area with saline solution. His hand was swelling already and I fear it may already be contaminated. My mum applies less pressure and once she is done, she starts to cover it in gauze wrap.Audrey returns from the kitchen with a bag of ice and lays it on the table while my mother wraps his entire palms in a waterproof bag and goes on to dip it inside the bag of ice. The care she showed this man, the feelings she had for him, the love she showered him with her every touch.I’m still trying to process all that happened this afternoon. My father lost his tiny finger today, who knows what may happen tomorrow? Or the day after? How do we raise a hundred and ninety grand within three weeks? Even if we sold this whole house and everything in it, it wouldn’t amount to anything, and where would we live after that? I don’t even have a penny saved up anywhere, and it hurt to see Audrey give out her
“You are not going to sell your body to pay off dad’s debts especially not to that mongrel,” Audrey tries to reassure me.“The fact that he would even suggest it is appalling,” I paced the lengths of our small room. Small as it is, it happens to be the only place I find comfort in this house. I have shared this room with Audrey since we were little, but we learned to respect each other’s spaces.We decorated our sections differently and my side of the room is not as colorful as Audrey’s. We have two separate beds on each side of the room. Audrey always has a pink or multicolored bedspread laid, her medium-sized teddy bear sitting comfortably on the bed, a small reading table where she keeps all her favorite books, and a reading lamp by the side.On Audrey’s reading table is an old family picture. Mum held me cradled in her arms, with dad’s arms around her waist. They looked happy and so much in love. Audrey i