Novels by Blessing011

THE OFFERAaron did not have the second board meeting of the week in his calendar.That amounted to all that he had to know.He walked into the executive conference room in his normal,calm manner, although his instincts were already aroused. The air felt different. He might feel the same when the members of the board would not look at him directly when he entered the room, and when their conversation came to an end as soon as he sat down.This was not a discussion.It was a decision.The chairman cleared his throat. “Thanks, Aaron, I am glad you have come on such notice.”Aaron clasped his hands on the table. "I assume this is urgent.""It is," the chairman replied. The recent events have only increased the pace.Aaron narrowed his jaws a bit. Progress in relation to my wife.No one corrected him.This silence was a response enough.Another member of the board added that the volatility is on the rise. The public opinion is changing at a faster rate than expected.And the media story i

EVELYN'S MOVERaina was not anticipating the invitation that quickly.This was received late in the morning and was neatly and politely delivered by an assistant and not by himself. Lunch. Private dining room. Kingston Tower. There was no explanation, but Raina already had the clue as to who it was.Evelyn Royce.Raina gazed at the screen some time before closing her phone. Her intuitive reaction was to deny it. She was fed up with courteous threats behind a smile. But there was another aspect of her, smaller and more refined, which told her that this interview was unavoidable.Evelyn would be better heard than guessed in those shadows had Evelyn wished to speak.On the top floor of the Kingston Tower was the private dining room, which was spotless and serene, and the floor-to-ceiling windows commanded the city view. Evelyn was already seated as Raina walked in, as usual calm and graceful, in soft neutral hues that indicated control more than extravagance.Evelyn stood up and smiled w

MOTHER UNDER A MICROSCOPEAs soon as her phone could not be turned off, Raina realized something was wrong.She sat in the nursery, and she was rocking her baby, humming, and the morning sun was coming through the curtains. It was her most secure home, the one part of the world that she could not think of as a source of politics, power, and discrimination. Even this space now was intruded upon.Her phone buzzed again.She had dismissed it and concentrated on the baby breathing steadily, his little body resting on her bosom. The screen sprang up with the name of Lena.Raina answered immediately. "What's happening?"Lena didn't waste time. "Have you seen the news?"Raina's stomach tightened. "No. What news?"It was some time before Lena spoke, and, speaking cautiously,she said, They are discussing your parenting.Raina froze. "My what?"“Some newspapers showed pictures of you walking out of the pediatric clinic yesterday, Lena explained. They are asking, why have you gone alone? Why was

PUBLIC SMILES, PRIVATE DISTANCEThe cameras were flashing even before Raina got out of the car.Hers was instantly shut in the hand of Aaron, shut in hard and sure, the hand which once gave her security. It now seemed practised, rather rehearsed. There was a buzzing crowd on the outside of the charity gala, and people were screaming Aaron, as well as photography cameras trying to get the best shot of the Kingston golden couple.Smile, said Aaron to himself.Raina smiled initially with her lips, which she had perfected over the years. She appeared gleaming and graceful to the world and totally comfortable with her billionaire husband. Nobody could tell how tight her shoulders were or how her heart was aching in her breast.You are beautiful tonight, mumbled Aaron, and he bent closer, and the flashes were flying.Thanks, she said in a calm, repressive voice.A reporter stepped forward. Mr and Mrs Kingston, they say you have had a low profile of late. Any reason for that?"Aaron answered

A HUSBAND'S SILENCEAaron had different feelings as he came home that night to the house.Raina saw it the first thing she saw, before she saw him. The air was more stale, as though there was something there that had been put between the walls without being seen. When Aaron walked into the house, she was in the living room, faking the act of reading to their baby, who was sleeping upstairs. He waved to her with a cursory nod and a low, "You are still up.Yes, Raina responded, and stared at him. "I was waiting for you."He undid his tie and did not look at her. "It was a long day."She studied his face. There exists the familiar tranquillity, but underneath this tranquility there exists something--distance. Secrecy. He was pacing the room as a person training to behave normally, each movement being restrained."Did something happen at work?" she asked."No," he answered too quickly. "Just meetings."Raina lowered her book. You have been having many meetings lately.That, he said, is th

THE BOARD'S GAMEThe boardroom was not open, both literally and emotionally.The city lights outside were reflected off the long glass table, which was polished and cold, like the people who were sitting around it. Every chair was filled. Every face was serious. This was not a profit and quarterly projections meeting. This was about control.Aaron was seated at the end of the table, and he sat calmlyand did not read anything. He appeared to the viewer as the same strong CEO he had always been. No one could have imagined that the conversation that was going to happen wasabout his wife.One of the oldest members of the board rubbed his throat. Let us deal with the increasing worry.Another man nodded. The current action taken by Raina Kingston is something that has attracted unwanted attention."Behaviour?" a woman asked. Nothing has been done publicly by her.That is the problem, the man rejoined. "She's unpredictable."Aaron gave a little squeeze with his fingers on one arm of his cha

"I just can't believe this is really happening."Ayla stood before the grand hall, her breath caught in her throat. For the air was filled with the sound of laughter and music, chatter of people joyful in celebration, for it was a cause for merrymaking-a fulfillment of a well-waited-for moment, for after months passed by trials and battles which brought heartaches, it had finally come:Her wedding.Her real wedding.She now turned to Ethan; her heart soaring with so much love, the intensity in his eyes keeping hers with force-the many somersaults happened within her, strong and hot oozing out in every direction. And mostly, he stood tall, an Alpha. The gaze that hit her-as if he were none other than only hers-took out all that effect."You are beautiful," he whispered.Ayla smiled, soft eyes to his. "You are perfect," she said, her tone husky low.Her hand found his, and he squeezed, offering a reassuring smile. All the betrayal, the loss, the danger-everything isn't a factor as they

"Please…spare me."Trembling in fear, words stuttered through the lips of Sophie as she knelt down in front of the council with her once proud posture now shredded. Her hands so tender and well manicured shook on the ice-cold stone floor. The grand hall of the White Fang Pack closed in around her, its high, vaulted ceiling little barrier for the oppressive weight of a hundred accusing eyes. Every murmured whisper, every hiss of disapproval was a blow.Once, she had stood at the pinnacle, the Luna of Moon Shadow Pack. Her beauty, her guile, and a keen mind had placed her there. She had ruled with a rod of iron; her will was absolute. She was feared, respected. Now, though, she was nothing.The air hung heavy with judgment, thick. She was degraded from being once respected to no more than a desperate beggar on her knees in front of people who at one time bowed to her. But fate had sealed from that particular moment when the truth made her stand exposed as a betrayer, while from then on,

Ethan chuckled darkly, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers surrounding Silas and Liam. “Outnumbered? No, Silas. I'm just better prepared.”Before Silas could reply, Ethan raised his hand in a sharp motion, and his men surged forward.“Attack!” Ethan's voice boomed across the battlefield.There came the resounding clang of steel to steel as Ethan's men hit Silas and Liam's lot. Blades shimmered in the moonlight, and snarls from wolves that had taken their transformed form were raised high in the air.Silas charged, swinging his sword into one of the soldiers of Ethan. "You fools think you can take me down?" he roared, the blows powerful but wild.Ethan watched above, his keen eyes judging the action. "Silas, you have always been good at giving orders," he said in a low tone, "but strategy-just where you always fall short."On the other side, Liam kept back, his eyes darting on the happenings on the field. His mind worked hard. This wasn't how this should go. How did Ethan know?”"Liam!

A dull, throbbing ache was the first sensation to greet Ayla as she regained consciousness. its focus in her abdomen, threatening to engulf her whole body. The effort of trying to turn sent a sharp sting coursing through her ribs.A small whimper tore from her lips.The room was dark, heavy with the scent of herbs and antiseptic. She became conscious of the warmth of the blankets tangled around her, the wooden ceiling of her bedroom in the pack house.She was in her bedroom and still alive.It came piece by piece, that knowledge, but before any other awareness could surface, a low husky voice sliced through the quiet."Ayla…"Her heart spasmed.Ethan.She forced her heavy eyelids open, blinking against the soft glow of the bedside lamp.There he was, sitting beside her, his face pale, his jaw tight with emotion. His dark eyes, always so fierce and commanding, now held something else. Fear and Guilt.Ayla swallowed, trying to find her voice. "Ethan…?"His hand immediately covered hers.

The execution ground was dead silent.Countless couples watched in a scene with bated breath as Liam was dragged to the front with hands and legs in heavy irons, his shoulder squared despite such a weight weighing down on him with his prospective death. Yet, his face displayed not a smidgen of emotion, tranquil as it was.Arms bound, the warriors standing around him gripped his arms in firm holds of flexed muscle, eyes flickering to and from each other in silent consensus. Nobody was trusting Liam, even chained.Ethan stood at the head; a gold stud that shone bright and flashed with fury almost stirred. At his sides, fists were bunched, barely repressing the wolf inside his skin.This was it, the moment he had been waiting for.The moment when it all came to an end. The moment when Liam's betrayal was finally going to be answered in blood.The elder of the council stepped forward and cleared his throat."Liam Hayes, you have been found guilty of treason against the White Fang Pack. Yo

The heavy iron door groaned while it swung open, its creaking echoing and breaking the suffocative silence of the dimly lit corridor. The scraping of boots on stone resounded through the space, rattling chains along. The air was thick with damp earth, rusted metal, and impending death.The guards dragged Liam from his cell, and Liam was not a man to show resistance. He said nothing, struggled not, gave no flinch to Cold Iron, biting into his skin with the shackles. He just walked forward, straight, expressionless, his gait even.But inside, his mind was far from still.He knew it, the instant Silas fell; just like that, it was over. No bargaining, no appeal. It was sealed; he had chosen his path, and now he would walk it to its bitter conclusion.But even knowing that-even knowing his life would be over before the sun set-there was only one thing on his mind.Ayla.She was out there, beyond these cold, unyielding walls. And soon he would see her one last time.The thought should have