SUNSHINE:
All eyes were trained at Knoxx. My mouth opened and closed, clearly, no words forming in my mind. His brothers were also surprised at his decision. They did not want Knoxx's decision."Brother. Why would you stop her?" Beta Benedict asked. "You wanted her to move out. That's what we all want.""Benedict. Not a word from you anymore. You made me feel embarrassed. The five of you talk like women!" he scolded. "How could you say those words?""Darling..." Mother said. She put her hands on my stepfather's arm. "Please don't get your anger ahead of you. You might say something later that you would regret."Mother was always like that. She acted like a peacemaker in the family. Acting like a bridge between me and her husband's family."No, darling. These boys need to earn their lesson.""Alpha Ezra. With all due respect, would you help Alpha Knoxx change his mind?" I said politely even if I was seething inside.My mind refused and could not accept this kind of punishment Knoxx was giving. Over what? For being his mate?"My decision is final. I won't give you my approval to return to your old pack. You belong to me now," Knoxx declared with conviction.A shiver ran down my spine. Why did his words feel like it had a double meaning?'Why are you doing this, Knoxx? Why? I am already giving you a favor. For fuck's sake! Please don't give me additional problems. I'm already tired of this life! Release me!' I screamed inside his head.He flinched but did not lose his cool."Father..." I started using the words Alpha Ezra wanted to hear for a long time. "Please help me change Alpha Knoxx's decision. You are our father. I'm sure he will listen to you."Alpha Ezra's expression softened, hearing me call him Father."Yes, my daughter. I will help you." He cleared his throat and hardened his expression when it shifted to Knoxx.'Look who's an actress,' Knoxx stated inside my head. 'How long will you fool the old man into believing you're a good woman?''I am good. It's only your evil personality that said I am not. You're taking this to the highest level? I will make sure I will not stop without a fight.'Knoxx chuckled inside my head. 'You're thinking too much.'Just as Alpha Ezra opened his mouth, Knoxx declared, "I won't change my mind, Father. She will stay in my pack. Don't force me to use my alpha position to make you stop this."The table suddenly went eerily silent. "You're going to use your position to your father? I, who was the former alpha of this pack? What other things are you willing to do to embarrass your father?"The room was filled with tension.My other stepbrothers drank their wine while the beta put his hand on Knoxx's shoulder. Benedict shook his head. "I'm not trying to do that, Father. All I want is for you to accept my decision as the owner of her.""Nobody owned her except herself. She is part of the family. Our family. Treat her as your sister."Knoxx leaned on the chair, clearly not wanting to back away."Why would I, Father? That woman hasn't shown her worth.""And if I did? Can you let me go, Brother?" I interjected.Knoxx thought for a moment before saying, "What are the things you can do, woman? The only thing you are good at is following your beloved Jericho. You never leave his side, don't you?"He was right.Others secretly called me Jericho's slut. But I did not care about them. But Jericho's opinion of me."So what if I did? Everything was in the past, Brother. Tell me something that I would do so that you will approve of my plan.""I will think about it.""No. Fine. I will allow you to decide on what you will do with Sunshine. But there's something you two have to do. Knoxx. Son. You can use this as an opportunity to discover what Sunshine could do."The brothers' attention awakened."You're getting our attention, Father. Tell us what that is.""Pacify the chaos at Rogue Town together. If you two succeed, I will not contradict anymore with your decisions, Son.""R-Rogue Town? Isn't it the most chaotic place outside our pack, Alpha Ezra?" I asked as bile rose from my throat.It had been three years since there was chaos there. Alpha Ezra had tried his best to have a peace treaty with the rogues, but he never succeeded."Yes, Sunshine. That's the place. My informants had informed me that they were planning something big. A war against this pack. This is getting out of hand. Unfortunately. Something must be done.""Killing them all is the best thing to do, father. Why don't you accept my proposal?" Knoxx said.Alpha Ezra emptied the contents of his wine glass."There was already a lot of blood spilled on our soil, Son. Enough is enough. This time, I will try to settle this peacefully. And you two will be the ones who will help me. Succeed and I will accept that you are now worthy to inherit the alpha position, Knoxx."The position was forcefully handed to the eldest of Alpha Ezra's sons because they did not want him to marry Mother.But until now, Alpha Ezra continued to monitor the pack's affairs, not completely trusting his own son.So saying he will acknowledge Knoxx as the new alpha would be a challenge for my second chance mate."Is that a promise, Father?" Knoxx asked, smiling. "I vow it."Knoxx stood. "I'm on it whether the woman comes with me.""She should join you or else, you are not following the end of the bargain. You two will be going there at Rogue Town. Is that okay with you, Sunshine?"Heck no! Imagining the place was already scary enough, but if it meant that was the only way where I could go back again to my pack? I could not turn down the opportunity."I'm on it.""Father. Rogue Town is no longer the same place as before," Beta Benedict reminded. "The woman will be killed at first sight. How could you send a woman as weak as your stepdaughter there?""I-I can handle myself well," I said. "I can fight." I knew some moves and I hoped I would be able to use that when the opportunity asked for it."You will only drag down the alpha.""I won't," I responded. "I will do everything I can. Knoxx is not the only one who is not willing to lose. Me as well. I will go with Brother." My second chance mate, I added in my mind.SUNSHINE:My stepbrother's burning gazes continued to burn a hole in my face.Gritting my teeth I fisted on my palms. They would always doubt what I could do. In their eyes, I was that weak woman who only knew how to follow her ex-mate wherever he went. Weak. Pathetic. Disgraceful. Name every degrading word and that would be how my stepbrothers would call me. Yeah. They were that kind of asshole."I can do it. Why do you continue giving me that look?"'Make sure you don't drag me away,' Knoxx stated inside my head. 'If they killed you there, I won't be dragging your dead body here. I will feed them to the scavengers. You hear me, woman?'A shiver ran down my spine.I knew this man had no inkling of like in me, but I never knew this would be this intense. I sucked in a breath and then pursed my lips. ‘Asshole,’ I spat.‘Not the kind of asshole like your mate.’‘You are my mate. And I also had my ex-mate. Are you referring to the former or the latter?’ ‘Your ex-mate. What else?’'No
SUNSHINE:If I had a camera by now, I would have long captured the shocked faces of my stepbrothers. Especially Knoxx.It seemed like they did not expect the silent girl before who would only talk when she was being talked by Alpha Jericho and her mother would say bold words like that.That was one thing they never knew about me. In fact, all they exhaled was judging me before getting to know me. After almost three years of staying in this pack, all they did was judge me. Alpha Ezra became our referee. I smiled sweetly at them when they had not gotten over it. "Are you surprised, my dear brothers? Surprise. Your stepsister is not someone whom you thought she was."My other three brothers cleared their throats. "How disgraceful," Knoxx exclaimed. "Are you even proud of your behavior?"Compared to mine, these five brothers were treated like princes in the pack. They were luckier than me. Never experiencing the harsh reality. While me…'It's not their fault they were born from an alp
SUNSHINE:It was Knoxx who recovered from the shock first.“Don’t mind this crazy woman,” Knoxx muttered. "Not as crazy as you.""Will you shut your mouth for a second?""Will you stop being an asshole for a second?" I retorted."Brother! You must leave this woman here. I'm afraid you will kill her on the road.""Oh, thank you so much for that fair warning. I will also make sure he won't be left without a wound.""That's a threat against the alpha! She must be punished," the fourth brother said. Knoxx held his hand and stared at me. "You made us sound as if they were the antagonist of your life," Knoxx declared, his eyes narrowing at me. 'We are not the spawns of the devil.'"If not, then what do you call everything that I suffered in your hands for the past two years?" I retorted back. "You never wanted me to be happy. Especially you, Knoxx. You ruined my wedding all because you hated me. And now you think I am wrong?""You are wrong!" the three brothers— Cayden, Dustin, and Alonso
SUNSHINE:My chest kept breaking apart. Alfonso looked like a candle losing its fire. I could not blame him really for being an asshole. He was also influenced by how his brothers treated me. And the worst part of all? I allowed them back then. I did not fight them. All I did was stay silent. Which was not supposed to be. By staying silent, I was giving my bullies the power to inflict pain. 'Knight-in-shining armor, huh? In your dreams. I just did not want the servants to report that we are ganging up on you. Father has his eyes and ears.''Fuck you, Knoxx,' I spat on his mind, feeding him all my hatred towards our bond. 'I hate you.''More than you hated your ex-mate?' he asked. 'Why do you have to keep hurting me?''It will be my goal to return how your mother hurt us through you.''I hope your wolf will give you a little spanking and defend me!' I hissed. 'My wolf already did. If I don't help you, he will nag until I can no longer fathom it,' Knoxx answered through our link.
SUNSHINE:To anger Knoxx more, I tightened my hold on him. Helena purred inside my head, liking the closeness we had. 'More,' she said. 'Hug him tighter.''Look who's talking now. The last time I checked, you were still clinging on to your ex-mate.''Knoxx is my new mate now. I have to deal with that.''As if I have a choice. After this one, I will reject him before I return to my previous pack.' 'No! Was the rejection not yet enough? I almost died, Sunshine. Please think of me for a moment.'And continue forcing myself on someone who loathes me and is a bully? No, thank you very much.'If we handle it well on the first rejection, we can also deal with the second.''We barely survived, Sunshine!' Helena cried. 'How could you do this to me?'If this man did not hate me this much, then he would protect me to the best of his ability.“Release me this instant!” he growled. I was brought back to the present. “And if I don’t?” I retorted. “I will cut off your hands,” he threatened as I
SUNSHINE:Knoxx's expression darkened as the surroundings outside. His mood was more gloomy than the sky. "You will never be my mate," Knoxx declared. Ouch. That hurt even if it came from a bastard like him. Despite ruining my wedding and uncovering my ex-mate's cheating, it still hurts a lot. I wondered if there was someone out there who would accept me for who I was. Was there such a thing as a third chance mate? Because if there was, I would be forever thankful for it. I promised I would love my mate forever and I would give the love he so much deserved. As if I want to be your mate, too," I mumbled under my breath. Lifting my gaze and meeting his eyes, I added, "You think I want to be yours too? Don't forget I have already forgiven what you did at my wedding." "That wedding was bound to halt.""Why? Because you've been telling me you will do everything to stop it?" I answered back. Yes, he did. Knoxx was secretly telling me that the wedding would push through. That he wou
SUNSHINE:Oh, great. Knoxx's pride was higher than the sky. Not even accepting the drinks and foods I offered? Well, it's not my loss but mine. I opened one pack of chocolate and ate it. Tomorrow. Maybe Knoxx would get something out of the forest if there was a forest along the way. He was one of the best hunters in our pack and I just could not help but depend on him.I feel so useless right now. Depending on my stepbrother who never even liked me. And a mate for that matter. I moaned as the delicious chocolate exploded in my mouth. This was better than nothing at all. If I should have known that there was a storm, I should have brought a lot of food. Still eating, I said, "'Don't you get it?""Get what?""We need to work hand in hand. When we reach Rogue Town, we are the only ones who are considered comrades. We cannot trust the rogues, yet. It's only you and I. So if I were you, I would start forgetting temporarily that you hated me."A growl escaped from his lips. "I don't wan
SUNSHINE:Bandits. How lucky could we get? Bandits were the worst group that we had to encounter. Men who were willing to kill and abuse their female captures. All in cold blood. If Knoxx won't help me, I could not just stay put and let them be carried by them. I refused to be a damsel in distress like how I protracted myself. "You won't succeed whatever you are planning," I declared. I won't allow them. Someone pulled me up while securing both of my hands on the back. The man's grip was so tight that squirming wouldn't help at all. And it fucking hurt. A group of four men. All bulky and muscular. All carried a high-powered gun. Maybe they got it from the travelers they had come across. All they did was steal from someone. That was how they lived in this forsaken place. Knoxx could handle the three while I dealt with one. Or maybe we could deal with both. But how? I need the right timing. The right time to pounce. The men's eyes were full of malice and the way they stared a