ODEYA. I have never felt so much pain in my life. I used to say labor pain was worse and it really almost took my life. However, when I saw my daughter with blood pooling around her middle I knew labor pain was nothing. She wouldn't talk. She wouldn't let anyone go near her. She didn't recognize me, she ran away from me. And when she was Herald and Nathan, she flinched backward. She was scared of them. I could say I had never seen her that scared in my life. We used sedatives on her because she wouldn't let us touch her. Scarlett stayed in the hospital for more than twenty days and she would not let anyone touch her. All of her treatments were done with sedatives. The pack hospital became my home. “Mom?” I heard her tiny voice and then her hand touched mine. Immediately, the sleep in my eyes fled and I moved closer to her. “Baby,” I held her hands.“Are you okay?” I asked, tears cuddling my eyes. How can she be okay after what she faced? My daughter had to go through fourteen

“You shouldn't,” I whisper. The voice came out of me without thinking and when I looked back into his eyes, it had darkened. And then the next second, he looked away from me. My heart dropped at the rejection. Scarlett and her siblings rushed in, she had a cage with a bird with multiple colors. “Mom, this is called a scarlet Macaw, it's my favorite kind of bird because of their multiple colors and they have the same name as mine,” Scarlett explained, the spark in her eyes was back and I was so grateful. I thought that I would never see her happy again. My daughter shouldn't have to go through what she went through. I blame myself for leaving her alone. “Thank you, Daddy!” She looked toward Herald who smiled back at her and then he came closer and squatted in front of her. “Tell me anything you need, anything at all.” Herald played with her hair. It warmed my heart that he loved my children. That he loved Scarlett as much as I did. I hoped Scarlett getting love from the two of us wi

ODEYA. Herald knelt beside me, it was weird seeing him like this but it didn't let me lose focus on the game. No one has ever beaten me in flipping bottles and I am not about to make today an exemption. Herald was the first to flip his and to my surprise, he did it perfectly. Savannah and Scarlett cheered him on while I rolled my eyes. “Okay Mom, you got this!” Aaron massaged my shoulder. I did mine and it landed perfectly as well. “Looks like we have a tough game today!” Dad moved forward watching with interest. I am certain he was glad someone was finally competing with me, he had always hated me winning against him and Mom. Herald flipped perfectly again, angering me. We have been at it for more than twenty minutes get he was acing each one. By now he should give up. Everyone was already around the table, looking for who would lose. “Damn it!” I slammed my hand against the table when he made a perfect flip with his eyes closed. “Mom, you have to do it with one leg up,” S

“Claiming you?” He raised his full yet clean brows, acting like he didn't know what I was talking about. My cheeks flushed. Perhaps he didn't think of it the way that I did. Suddenly, anger scampered through my body. I yanked my hand away from his grip and turned to my room. Before shutting the door, I pointed to the last door in the hallway. “That is the visitor’s room.” After this, I shut my door. I didn't wait for any response from him. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life. I went to the bathroom. The water ran down from the faucet to my skin. I didn't know how tightened my skin was until the water slid through. I ran my fingers on my scalp, gently massaging the tensed surface. As I closed my eyes, all I could think about was the words he said to the people. He claimed me as his own. I actually thought that he meant it. I grabbed the towel from the rack before stepping out of the bathroom and walking to the bedroom. To my surprise, Herald was in my room looking at some of

ODEYA. I ran out of my room after I was lost in thought for about three minutes. Then I used a minute to put on a gown. By the time I got to the living room, Herald was gone. Something wrecked in me. Something hard but fragile. I could place my hands on what I felt at the moment. “Are you okay?” Clara asked me and I nodded.“You don't look fine,” Dad looked at me. “I am going to bed.” With this, I turned around and went back to my room. Tears pooled around my eyes and I tried tossing it off but I couldn't. I ended up pouring it over my pillow and then slept off right there. The next day, I decided that I was going back to the pack house with the kids. My parents and Clara didn't want me to go but I knew I needed to see Herald. The way I felt with him last night was different. The more I avoided him, the more I missed him. Every time he touched me, he was making me love it more. The kids were silent since they were occupied with their games. I looked out the window while the car