LISA'S POV
“Oh my word, Lisa? who did this to you?” He kneels to my level, but I avoid eye contact, burying my face into the now-wet grass.Ronan is the last person I want to find me in this pathetic state; he will probably think I’m a weak wolf that can’t defend herself: it’s true, but it still hurts.A growl escapes Ronan's chest as he breaks the silver chains with a menacing sound. I unintentionally release a sigh when the pain the silver has been causing me seizes.He scoops me into his arms; my weak attempts to resist are silenced when he holds me so close to his chest.“I want names," he turns my face towards him, his eyes darkened, his fingers brushing my tangled hair away. Focusing my gaze on him wasn’t easy due to the heavy raindrops befalling my eyes making it hard to see.When I don’t respond, he didn't ask again but sprints out of the woods with me still tucked in the security of his arms, with no clue as to where he’s taking me.Until his house comes into view. Unlike the other pack members, the Alpha and beta have private residences away aside from the title apartments they have in the pack house.Ronan lived with his parents, but he moved out of his parent's house to his own house after his first shift.So he had no idea about the hell I’d been living in the pack house. He thought the bullying had stopped a long time ago, and I’m cool with everyone.“Lisa, I want you to tell me who did this to you,” Ronan asked when he placed me onto a chair on the kitchen island.“It's not important,” I turn my face away, talking about it only makes me feel worse than i already do. “What do you mean it's not important?” He pulls my hand, probably checking for any wounds. But there were none. Even though my wolf is weak, I tend to heal fast unless the injury is intense, so the few burns from the silver chain are almost done healing.“There’s no need for that, Ronan. And if I were to give you names, what would you do, huh?” My voice is a bit above a whisper. I don’t want to talk about this with him; I know the memory of the way he found me, all alone in the rain, clearly too weak even to fight back, is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.“I’d punish them-”“What makes you think punishing them will make them stop? What makes you think they won’t just double the hell they’re raining on me?” I say, cutting him off. Instead of making me feel better, his words triggered something they shouldn’t have. He has to be joking; he thinks punishing them will do something. I don’t blame Ashley for what she and her minions did to me.It’s been happening for a long time, and they aren’t the only ones. Everyone, his parents included, knew what I was going through in the pack, but nobody cared enough to speak up or stop them. I can’t be sure about him; maybe he also knew what was going on because I know Kyle sees everything.I narrow my eyes at Ronan; he probably knew everything. Kyle must’ve told him, he keeps him updated on every pack issue, maybe he’s turning a blind eye so he doesn’t get in trouble with his father for interfering.“Unless they want to be kicked out of the pack, they won’t dare to defy me,” his eyes darken as he clenches and unclenches his jaw.The pack respects Ronan, but there's a limit; they might defy him without hesitation since his father never stepped in against bullying despite knowing.“You’re not the alpha yet; do you think they’ll take your threat to heart?”“Alpha or not, they should know better than to defy me.”I don’t know if he isn’t thinking with his brain or he just doesn’t want to. I doubt he’d do anything if they do defy him, I feel like he’d tell them to back off like he did long ago. The bullying won’t stop anytime soon; bullying the weak wolf has always been the way of the pack; it’s not a new thing its a normal thing here. its adog eat dog world but some dogs get in trouble for resisting a bigger dog. “Do you even care?” I couldn’t help but ask.“Lisa,” he whispers, disbelief in his voice and a flicker of hurt in his eyes. But I’m sceptical it could be a facade.Last time I checked, his father was the root cause of it all. After my parents' death, he openly declared life would be hell unless I left, allowing others to treat me poorly. He didn’t kick me out of the pack because he owed my father a lot, so much that kicking me out wasn’t an option.“What do you mean, Lisa?”"I'm asking because everyone, including your parents, hates me, yet you claim otherwise.” I cross my arms on my chest.“How can you even ask that? You are my friend, Lisa; we grew up together. We’ve been friends since forever.”“Friend? I had other friends, but they left as soon as we found out I am a weak wolf, yet they are still friends with you.” after my parents death i made more friends than I've ever had everyone showing sympathy and comfort because i didn't have a single parent left butit only took aweak wolf for all to disappear“Tell me the truth, Ronan, why haven’t you turned your back on me like the others, and don't give me that we’ve been friends since childhood bullshit. I won’t buy it.”“Because,” he begins, fingers running through his damp hair.“Because what?” I yell; I want to hear it and be over with it. id rather he tell me now that im already down than finding out when I'm feeling my best. But he stays quiet, studying my face, as a million negative reasons to why he’s nice to me run circles in my head.“Tell me, Ronan.”“Because, I fucking love you, Elisa,” he growls. My body stiffens. I part my lips to respond, but he cuts me off."Before you say anything else, not as a friend. I love you for you. You have no idea how I feel about you or how long I've been trying to control myself around you. Since you asked, I can finally tell you how I feel," he takes in a sharp breath."After my first shift, when I found out you weren't my mate, it was one of the worst days of my life. I feel like there must have been a mistake somewhere. You are the only one I want, but I couldn't bring myself to tell you because I didn't know how you'd take it. I..."I pull him closer,I run my lips lightly along his, then i try pulling back; kissing him was a little overboard . To my surprise he groans his fists find the back of hair, pulling my lips on his, to stund to think it twice let my body take the lead deeping the kiss.His hands find my legs, and he wraps them around his waist, swooping me off the chair in the process. he moved us to his room his lips never leaving mine. he pauses when he places me onto his bed, his dark eyes finding mine.“Are you sure you want this?” he mutter.“Yes,” I blurt out, as the throbbing between my legs intensifies. “Yes, please.”those two simple words were all it took for my entire life to change.
LISA'S POVThe amount of sleep I'm getting feels nice, but for some reason, there isn't the usual pack commotion; that can't be possible.My eyes snap open, scanning my surroundings. This isn't my room. I'm in a dark-themed room with a few touches of white.Looking down, I notice I'm lying naked with nothing but a large duvet covering me. Recalling the events of last night, I feel my cheeks heat up. Instead of the typical pack house commotions, Ronan's arms envelop me in the quiet room, with only the sounds of his light breathing and his musky cedar-wood scent calming my nerves.Turning to face him, I find him looking even more charming in his sleep, lashes cascading down his face. My eyes linger on his bare chest adorned with tattoos. I knew he had a tattoo, but I've never seen it this close.A huge flower design on the left side of his chest catches my attention. It looks like a rare flower, yet it seems familiar. I don't know, but I've seen it somewhere.I bring my hand to his ches
LISA’S POV. I attempted to move again, but my feet remained stubborn as if a magnetic force held me in place. I scanned the room, heart pounding, searching for a hiding spot, but none presented itself. The bed caught my eye, and despite the hassle, it seemed like a viable hiding place. "Ronan," Kyle's voice boomed, too late. Kyle stood by the door, eyes shifting between Ronan and me. I took a few steps away from Ronan, trying to appear nonchalant despite the beads of sweat forming on my feet and my uncontrollably shaking legs. “You’re not ready?” Kyle's eyes travelled down Ronan’s bare torso. “What brings you here, Kyle” Ronan questioned. “I’m here to congratulate you, of course.” Kyle stuffed his hands in the pocket of his baggy shorts. Congratulate him! For what? Ronan’s birthday was two months ago. “You’re taking over today. Figured I should drop by before the ceremony,” Kyle explained. Take over? Ceremony? Big day. It clicked; it was Ronan’s succession ceremony. I had fo
LISA’S POVSuccession ceremonies had always been intimate events, usually held in the pack hall or by a bonfire on the beach. However, this time, it was taking place in the open garden close to the borders, which I find a little odd. But, judging by the auras I sensed, there were a lot of guests from other packs, so perhaps they picked this venue for security reasons.I take in a deep breath, turning to the mirror by the entrance. My dress is still in good shape, but my bun, on the other hand, wasn’t as neat as it was. Few strands had stuck out of the bun, making it look messy and a bit sweaty.Running here was a bad idea, but with no means of transport and no one willing to give me a lift, running down here was the only option left on my table, and with my slow short legs, it wasn’t easy.I released my hair from the bun and raked my fingers through it, attempting to make it appear neater before stepping into the garden.My jaw almost dropped to the floor when I took in the place. It
Lisa’s POV:"Everyone, this is my mate Gretchen," Ronan’s voice etched in my head.Mate?The same man I spread my legs for not less than twenty-four hours ago? I think I'm missing something here.He said he loved me, or did he?Did he say those words to get into my pants? Is that his way of torturing me? Using me and dumping me?No! That can’t be the case. We’ve been friends since childhood. Maybe his parents forced him.There must be a reason why he’s picking this beautiful girl with a sweet, unassuming smile and perfectly styled hair over me.She has big blue eyes that are prettier than my dull brown ones, her hair may not be as long as mine, but they were curled into perfection.She is everything I'm not—prettier, nicer, and definitely stronger, but he said he loved me. There must be a mistake.Maybe it’s all a nightmare, so I punched myself, hoping this scene unfolding before me disappears, and I find myself in the safety of my room.When the scene does disappear, I pinch myself a
LISA’S POVSEVEN YEARS LATER“Chrissy and the hot guy in room five are having an affair,” Jessica whispered into my ear, and I almost choked on the hot coffee.“Oh, come on, Jessica, can you not,” I complained, taking another sip of my coffee with a grimace. We're currently standing by the vending machine, aka Jessica’s favorite gossiping spot or tea-spilling spot, as she liked to call it.Jessica and I have been friends for seven years now. After the pack, I ran out of money faster than I thought because I got scammed and almost molested.Jessica’s father found me sleeping on the side of an alleyway and offered to take me home with him. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I didn't have much time to think due to my exhaustion, and following him was the best decision I've made.He treated me as if I were no different from his other children without asking me about my past or how I ended up in the alleyway. When I asked him why he hadn’t asked, he said I will tell him when I’m ready in
RONAN’S POV“I’m sorry, sir, but there's nothing I can do about this,” the short old man said taking off his glasses. He is the fifth healer we’ve invited to treat my dad this month alone, but like the other many doctors and healer his response is same as the rest.Everyone has told me to give up on him, but I can’t bring myself to do it I can’t let him go not now not ever he is the only family I have left. After a group of rebels attacked the pack three years ago, my mother was killed and my father got injured while trying to protect her.In the end, we were able to fight them off and kill the whole group, but nothing about it made me feel victorious. We were left with a few injured wolves, but I lost my mother and I'm slowly losing my father too.While fighting the rebels, my father got stabbed with a weird dagger to the chest, but the doctors here were able to save him, hoping his body will do the rest of the healing. The healing stopped, and he was slowly dying.A healer that ca
Ronan’s POV“That was fast,” Kyle spoke when I walked into my office. He is seated across from an old lady in an ancient-looking cloak, her full grey hair in two long plaits on each side of her shoulders. I figured she is the Marien who came to us with a solution to my dad’s illness.I took a seat across from them. “Hello, Marien. I heard you found a way to treat my father,” I ask, going straight to the point.“Well, after a few tests with a friend of mine, I think we have found a way to save him. I don’t know if it will work, but it will most probably work.”“And what is it?” I try my best to keep the eagerness at bay.“Well, after some pondering, I remembered I had a friend who had treated a case similar to your father’s-““And where can we find that friend?” I cut in.Marien smiles. “Patience, child.”“Well, my friend who treated this case is, well, no longer with us. I found out she passed away a long time ago.” The little hope I had before coming into this room slowly dies.“But,
LISA’S POVAt first, I thought Salvador might have been wrong, but I couldn't dismiss what he said. Looking back at the rearview mirror a few times, I noticed the black van following us.“Kids, hang on tight,” I said before swerving to the next lane, taking the nearest turn in hopes of losing them. But they were fast on my heels. Trying my best not to scare the kids by going very fast, but to my surprise, they were laughing and screaming, “Faster, go faster!”It should have alarmed me that my kids weren’t scared as I raced through the streets. However, it was a little comforting, knowing I wouldn't have a crying child while trying to shake off the van behind me.Glancing at the rearview mirror one more time, the car was far behind, with a motorbike intercepting between us. I managed to make it to the address Stella had sent me earlier.a part of me wanted to go home, but going home wouldn’t be a perfect option, I don't know why or for how long they have been tailing us. So a crowded s