Novel-novel oleh Daniel Paul

BATTLE BREWINGMANNY’S POVLexi had chosen to stay.I should have felt a sense of relief, as I watched her walk away, or even victory, but instead, all I could feel was unease.Was she really going to stay with me this time? The look in her eyes had told me otherwise, like she had only agreed to put me at ease and make me lower my guard and I didn’t like it.I didn’t like the fact that she didn’t want to stay with me and if it was up to her, she would take her kids and leave this pack.I wanted her.I wanted us to go back to how we used to be before I ruined everything and I was going to make her want me too, whether she liked it or not.The next morning, I ordered the maids to prepare her favorite meal. Lamb sauce and freshly baked bread. Lexi and the boys came down the stairs, looking at the table like they couldn’t believe what was in front of them.“Wow dad,” Wayne exclaimed, grabbing a seat excitedly. “We never get to eat Lamb sauce, what is the occasion?” I looked right at Le

A CHOICE FOR USMANNY’S POVI sat in my study not too long after I returned back from the Alpha’s meeting with my head racing with thoughts. I should have been thinking about the issues discussed in the meeting but my mind was on her—Lexi. She was the only person that occupied my thoughts these days. I remembered the first time I saw her, she had felt like my missing half immediately, like the part of my soul that I had been searching for all this while, maybe that was why I was never able to accept that I had lost her. She had run away from me because I had rejected her, if there was a reason that Lexi no longer stood by my side then it was because of my poor choices.I sipped the whiskey by my side as I looked at the door. I had a maid to get her some minutes ago and now I waited impatiently to see her face. Since our argument yesterday I hadn't seen her and I longed for her like oxygen.I remembered the times that I didn't have to send a maid to summon her to my side. The times

AN UNEXPECTED HELPERLEXI’S POV“What do you mean by that?” I asked him. “Where did you even hear that from?”“Where did I hear it from? It is all anyone has been talking about in this house for days now,” Manny raged, stepping closer to me.I scoffed, folding my arms. “That is a rumor, and why do you even care anyway? We aren’t together.”“Just because we aren’t together doesn’t mean I want to hear the mother of my children getting it on with another man under my roof,” Manny fired back.“Another man?” I echoed in disbelief. “Jax is your brother and I am not getting it on with him.”“So everyone else that has been seeing you together is lying about it?” Manny asked and I stepped closer to him.“Does that idea even make sense to you? Do you really think I am stupid enough to have an affair in the same house with my children or with you? Just what do you think of me?” I asked, feeling my blood racing in annoyance.Manny stayed silent for a second, regarding me like he still couldn’t tr

RUMORS AND CONSEQUENCESLEXI’S POVI sat in the fields, watching Wayne and Dexter play ball with Nia, the sounds of their laughter was like music to my ears and soul. For a moment, everything seemed perfect, seeing Nia play happily with my boys made me very happy, and I felt at peace for the first time in a while.When an all too familiar click of heels stepped behind me.“I see you are settling in happily with your rogue family,” she commented, pausing in front of me.“What do you want this time?” I asked, rolling my eyes.Clara shrugged, her bright eyes glinting coldly. “Nothing, I just don't understand how you can be so comfortable being such a lowlife bitch. You may think you have won because you managed to get your rogue boyfriend out of the dungeons but I am going to get rid of you, even if I have to drag you out of the pack myself.”I scoffed in response, knowing Clara wanted to just provoke a reply from me.“You aren't going to say anything?” She asked, seeming unamused. Sud

CONVINCEJAX’S POVWhen the guards came to the dungeons, I began to fear the worst. “Nia get behind me,” I instructed her in a bid to protect her. She rushed behind me immediately, just as the guards opened the iron bars.“Come out,” they yelled at me and I stood still, holding Nia in place.“Why? Where are you taking me?” I asked as the guards stepped in to drag me out.“Alpha Manny has ordered for you to be moved to one of the guest rooms,” one of them said, taking me by surprise.“What?” I spluttered out as the other guard removed the chains from my hands and feet, setting me free.“Don't get any ideas Rogue,” the guard said as we followed him out of the dungeon. “You and your daughter are still going to be watched twenty four hours a day and you will placed in a guarded room, so don't think you can escape so easily now that Alpha Manny has granted you mercy.”I stayed silent, looking at Nia's face then back to the guard, wondering what the hell had just happened.From the way Lex

AFTERMATH OF A DECISIONLEXI’S POVI woke up restless, tangled in the bed sheets as my mind raced with questions.The room was warm but yet my body felt cold, like I could not rest at all, with everything that had happened. The world that I struggled to keep calm had been tipped upside down since Jax came after me. I had warned him not to come but even I should have known that he was never going to keep that promise. Since his return, he had dealt with seeing a mother that abandoned him, dealing with Manny’s anger and going before the Elder council only to end up thrown in the dungeon. I looked ahead at the ceiling, remembering the one thing he had asked of me yesterday, the one thing that I could not give him. He wanted me to return back with him like it was possible for me to abandon the children that I had fought so hard for and leave them with someone as crazy as Clara. Especially now, when Wayne was finally softening up to me and Sophia was back in the house. Even though I

A New Dawn"Flora, trust me, what has happened?" Adrian's voice sliced through the celebratory noise as he pushed his way to stand by her at the side of the great hall."Adrian, I can still barely believe it," Flora replied, her voice a blend of cautious joy and ongoing incredulity. "The King's Edict. It's altered everything for us and for the pack.""Yes," Adrian took a breath. "I surrendered my Alpha status for you, for our future, and now it seems the impossible has become our reality."Flora's voice shook with hope and fear. "A future where we can love without betraying our duty, where our hearts are not sundered by ancient canons. But at what price, Adrian? Can our love really overcome the weight of centuries of tradition?"Adrian's eyes glimmered. "I know that the sacrifices were immense, and the wounds sliced deep. I recall every instant of regret, every tear you cried as I lusted after power. But in this moment, with you by my side, I feel the promise of a new dawn."Flora stu

The Edict of the Lycan King " Adrian, to the throne room incontinently," growled a commanding voice in the corridor speakers. Adrian's strained, low voice replied," Yes, Captain Morales. I will be there in a moment." Moments later, in a hushed expectation room, the Lycan King stated" Adrian, you've submitted your repudiation letter, right? Adrian cleared his throat, the tone establishment yet laced with fear," Yes, Your Majesty. I've surrendered my Alpha status, for I realize that my path now must be mandated by nothing but the issues of the heart, not the suffocating weight of obligation." The King's deep voice thundered," Your adoption has not been given without consideration. Tell me, Adrian, what led you to make this most vainglorious decision? Adrian took a conscious breath before responding," Sire, for times I've carried the burden of my once — my miscalculations, my failure and it has brought me further than any crown ever could. I lost the love of my life, an

A New Daw Flora's answer was conservative," I'll consider your offer, Adrian. But this I do know if our life together is to be but a deeper pain, I'm not willing to immolate the loss of myself, my responsibility, for a love that may yet be too weak to survive." Unshed gashes filled Adrian's eyes as he rumored," Flora, I understand your fear. I know that our history is full of pain, but I believe if we do this together, we can forge a new path. One where every immolation is not a loss, but an pledge — a pledge to make a future that honors who we are." Flora's voice shook," And what if our pledges break under the weight of our old injuries? What if our marriage, refashioned by love and duty, is n't enough to heal the ancient injuries of treason? Adrian's voice held a blend of despair and stopgap," also we will face that ineluctability together. I'm willing to risk all on the possibility of redemption, on a tomorrow when we might be free at last from the ghosts of our h

A Bold Offer " Flora, we need to talk," Adrian said, his voice rough and pulsing with genuine determination. " Adrian, I am harkening," Flora replied, her voice cautious but with a touch of craving. " Every night I lie awake allowing about what we lost, and I can no longer tolerate this silence," Adrian continued. " Silence, yes, but remorse as well," Flora answered, her voice slightly above a tale." I still flash back the dreams we pictured, the moments when we believed nothing could pull us apart." " I know," Adrian said vocally." I flash back the nights beneath the stars when you laughed, when our dreams were unencumbered and simple. But also I let my duty, my ambition, get in the way." Flora's tone turned cold," You allowed ambition to take priority over our love, Adrian. I constructed my life upon the oath of a participated future — a future that now appears so far down. " I offered my title, my power, everything for the pledge of that future," Adrian contend

A Union Readdressed " Adrian, please?" Flora's tremulous but strong voice pierced the muted hum of the command center as they entered a quiet alcove out of sight of the inquiring eyes of their classmates. Adrian drew in near, his tone soft and counted with anguish." Flora, I know our lives have gone so far in contrary directions, but I've to ask — do you ever still dream of us? Of a life where our love is n't measured only by duty?" Flora's eyes flashed both wistful and guarded pain." I did, formerly, Adrian. I allowed once that there was going to be a future in which I just was Flora not a title, not any prospects just us. But whenever I try to flash back it, I get hit with all the offerings that we made and the scars that still shape us." Adrian's tone dropped to a husky tale." I will relinquish everything, Flora. I relinquished my title, my power, because I wish for a chance at that future with you. I want a normal, loving family life with you. I understand it'll be

Sacrificial Promises " Flora, I must speak with you — now," Adrian prompted, his voice coarse and pulsing with resoluteness as he walked toward her in the vacated corner of the command center. Flora's tone was peaceful but miserable." Adrian, I know what you are going to tell me. You have one chance to make this right.". Adrian's reply was nippy," I have made my decision. I can no longer be Alpha, not when my heart is broken because of my miscalculations." Flora's face tensed as she asked," You relinquish your Alpha status? Do you have any idea the cost that comes with it, Adrian? " I get it, I know," he contended," and I would pay that price if it would allow me to be with you, if it would allow me to rebuild what we lost and make a future together as a family." Flora's voice shook with stopgap and sadness," Adrian, you understand that stepping down is not just a selfish act it will shake the roots of our pack. Your position was a source of strength and leadership.".