Chapter 4
Avery's POVWhen I awoke, James had already left. Usually he’d wake me up with kisses when he was about to leave but I guess he must have forgotten to do so today. I wonder why.I tried not to let it get to me as I got ready for the day. I picked up my phone just to see a notification of almost 200 messages and about 50 missed calls.I didn’t need to open them to know what they were about. I guess the news about my husband in bed with my sister had already spread around.I sighed and put down my phone. I still couldn’t believe that this wasn’t just a horrible nightmare. Just yesterday morning, I was a happily married woman, but today?..... I don’t even know if the man who married me still really wants me.I tried to drown out these negative thoughts in the bath, but just like yesterday, the water was overheated and I didn’t realize it until my shampoo bottle started contorting and crumbling under the heat.I quickly shut the water off, mildly wondering how I hadn’t melted off the skin of my body yet. Was I so numb from my pain that I couldn’t feel when the water got too hot?Out of curiosity, I turned the water to its hottest temperature which was practically boiling point and slowly put my fingers in. Nothing happened, I didn't feel the heat.Feeling freaked out, i rushed out of the shower and put on a blue Jean, dark shirt and leather jacket. I wanted to look tough, unfazed like my heart wasn’t breaking into a million pieces on the inside.I put on concealer to hide the dark circles around my eyes. No one needed to see that I stayed up for hours crying into my pillow.On my vanity mirror I found a note from James.“Good morning darling, you were up all night so I wanted to let you sleep in today. Don’t forget the meeting we have at 4pm, I think the elders of the Council might want to discuss what happened yesterday. But no matter what they say, I want you to remember my promise. Till death do us part, I am totally and hopelessly yours forever.please don't give up on me...”I let out a dry laugh at his note. So the fate of our marriage would depend on the council?But I had already anticipated this, so now I had to just wait and see which side the elders would choose.With that, I headed out to my first task for the day. A picnic hosted by my best friend Maria.I honestly would have preferred not to go, but I didn’t have much of a choice. If I missed the meeting, all the noble women who have always been jealous of my marriage would jubilate and say I was too ashamed or depressed to show my face.I couldn’t let that happen! I couldn’t let them look down at me as weak or pitiful. I had spent sleepless days and nights for 3 years establishing a good reputation for myself and proving myself to be worthy of my position. I couldn’t lose it all now.Besides, I really really needed to see my best friend. She was actually more like family because her husband – Vince and mine are first cousins. She was the only one who could relate to what I was going through.Her husband didn’t have a fated mate, but he had a mistress. He had wooed Maria, promising her the world, but after their marriage, he fell in love with another woman — she was Maria’s personal assistant and he started sleeping with her. It was a open secret that everyone knew about.Vincent never hid his affair, and people often saw them kissing in the street or cuddling at parties even if Maria was present.Maria refused to talk about it so everyone avoided the topic around her. But now I desperately needed her advice.When I reached Maria’s house, she rushed out the door and hugged me very tightly.“I’m so sorry Avery. You didn’t deserve this. Be strong, everything will be fine.” She whispered as she began to gently rub my back.I buried my face in her hair and let the tightness in my chest burst open as I began sobbing into her neck.“Shhh baby girl, everything will be fine. You’ll pull through this.” Maria continued to console me. Telling me what I desperately needed to hear.She finally released me after I managed to stop crying.“You’ll pull through this Avery, I promise you that. Now wipe those tears away, you don’t want to let those stuck up, bony bitches see you sad do you?” She teased and I laughed, wiping my tears away.“Thank you so much Mar, I feel a little better now even though you made me cry away my concealer.” I jokingly accused.Maria rolled her eyes at me. “Oh shush! You know that you’ll still be the prettiest woman in the room, stop gloating.”I laughed at that. Maria had always been a bright ray of sunshine on my darkest days. But now that I had a hint of what she had been going through, I couldn’t understand how she could be so bubbly and sunny all the time.“How do you do it Mar? How do you still smile with all the pain in your heart?”Her bright smile faltered for a second, and I saw a shadow of pain cloud her eyes.“I don’t have an option Avery, it’s either be brave and smile or let the grief consume me. You have to accept that the pain might never ever go away, but you must be brave despite it.”I felt my throat close up at her words. She hadn’t gotten rid of her pain, she just found a way to hide it well. Was this meant to be my life too?“But isn’t there any hope that things will get better for you? After all, Vincent hasn’t divorced you yet. Doesn’t it mean he still loves you?” I asked her, searching for a thread of hope to cling on to.Maria let out a bitter laugh. “He hasn’t divorced me yet because she told him not to. Divorcing me would mean he has to give me half of everything he owns. His lands, his wealth, his men. He is the cousin of the Alpha and a very proud man. Do you know how hurt their ego will be if I took half of everything he has?”I couldn’t believe it. I never realized how messed up Maria’s marriage was. I asked her why she didn’t just leave him and tears filled her eyes.“Because I’m a fool Avery. That’s why. I’m a fool in love that hopes that if I stay, and remain useful, things will change. If I throw all these stupid picnics and parties, please all these pompous, cold hearted noblemen, it would increase his influence and then maybe, just maybe he’ll forgive me and come back to me.”I frowned. “Forgive you? For what?”All the light in Maria’s eyes seemed to suddenly vanish when she responded.“Forgive me for killing our children.”My breath caught in my throat. “Maria what are you talking about? You didn’t kill your children, you had two miscarriages! It wasn’t your fault!” I protested.Maria shook her head. “He blames me for it. He says a real woman should be able to have plenty of children without problems. He says I’m rotten, defective and unuseable.He wanted to try for another baby immediately but the pain of the last miscarriage was too much and too soon for me, so I told him to wait. That’s when he started sleeping with her.So it’s my fault. I pushed him into her arms. If I let him try again, maybe I would have kept him and saved our marriage. That’s why I’m trying to win him back. It’s all my fault Avery. But please don't be like me, don't cling to a man that doesn't want you.”I felt so angry and so sad for my friend. How dare Vincent do this to her?! James and Vincent were very close. Did James know his cousin was treating my friend like this? Was this my near future if I held onto James?I was about to say something but a group of noble women suddenly arrived at the house.The moment they saw me, they started whispering and giggling. I’m sure they were very delighted to find out that their beloved noble blooded Alpha was finally leaving me for another noble woman.Maria quickly pulled me away from their prying eyes and ushered me into her garden where the picnic was taking place.All the women immediately flocked around me when I entered. All of them were proud noble women who never liked the fact that their Alpha married a commoner, yet they hid their disgust behind fake smiles and false words of comfort.I nodded at them like I believed them but I could easily overhear them giggling behind my back when I turned away.“I can’t believe she still has the nerve to show up here. Doesn’t she know that she’s unwanted?” I heard a particular woman murmur behind me.I refused to turn around or acknowledge their presence because I was above that. But then I heard something that made me freeze in my place.“How pathetic! The Alpha has already replaced her with you but she is still walking around like he belongs to her. Fucking pathetic.”“Tania please stop, she’s still my sister and it’s not her fault. I’m the pathetic one not her.”It was Lizzy’s voice. She was in the picnic and I hadn’t noticed.I slowly turned around until I came face to face with the woman that was destroying my marriage. My own sister Lizzy.This was the first time I saw her since I caught her moaning under my husband.“Lizzy.” I whispered.“Sister.” She acknowledged with a sad smile.Chapter 5 “Sister.” She acknowledged with a sad smile. For a moment I was at loss for words. Her big blue eyes were staring at me with warmth and guilt.She looked tired and I could see dark circles around her eyes too. She’d obviously been crying but she hadn’t tried to hide the evidence like I had. A confusing mix of emotions swirled around in my brain. Yes, I was definitely mad at her for endangering my marriage, but at the same time I felt a little sad for our pure relationship that had now been ruined.After all, Lizzy never chose to be fated to James. No, I had the moon goddess to thank for that. Lizzy had simply reacted to her natural instincts and done what most women would do when meeting their fated mates. And looking at her now, I could see that she obviously felt bad for her actions. So how could I blame her for something that was out of her control?I still wanted to punch her though. “I am so sorry sister.” Lizzy began. “I never ever meant to — I didn’t want to—- I’
Chapter 6 I didn’t see the dark haired man when we finally entered the hall. But that wasn’t surprising because it was a very large hall, holding almost two thousand people. The spring pack was the largest, most prosperous and most advanced pack in the west, so even though there were a multitude of packs all over the west, the east and the south, the head quarters of our overall governing Council was established here, in our pack. Every important person of power was here. From the Alphas to the noblemen, and finally the panel of elders. Alphas may be the rulers of their pack’s, but these twelve elders of the Council where the final judges of the Alphas. As usual, the meeting began with the most urgent and important topic. The topic of “The Blight.”The Blight was a deadly pandemic that had plagued our people for decades now. It was a rotten infestation that slowly consumed and destroyed everything it touched. From livestock, to plants and finally pack members. Nothing and no one
Avery’s POV This became our routine for the next few weeks. During the day, James would yell at Lizzy and she would cry and snap at him. Then at night, James would kiss me goodnight, then when he thought I was asleep, he would sneak out to her room and return very early in the morning. Sometimes, it was almost funny to watch them pretend to hate eachother. Who where they putting up the fake act for? To fool me? Or to make themselves feel better. In these two weeks, James did not make love to me even once. In the past, we made love several times a week and James seemed to not be able to get enough of me. But since Lizzy moved in, he barely remembered to properly kiss me at all. I also began to see him less and less. He used to randomly check on my work with the pack during the day, but now I barely heard from him at all until we were going to sleep. Lizzy on the other hand seemed more bubbly than ever. She was always laughing and trying to redecorate my home when she paid he
Avery POV It took Elder Novak quite a while to finally get the hall to settle down. It was obvious that everyone one hated the King of the north, or as he was called, the barbarian of the North. Alpha Kane was a greedy tyrant that suddenly began to attack and seize all surrounding packs until he completely claimed the whole northern region and declared himself king of the whole north. The north central was the only defense separating him from the rest of us, but he had now destroyed it too. There was nothing stopping him from attacking us now. “Please settle down, we haven’t even gotten to the worst of it yet.” Elder Novak revealed. “Alpha Kane sent us a letter last night. He has explicitly refused to help us provide food to the victims of the blight, not only that, he has formally issued a threat to us. He says that if we attempt to cross his territory again, he will not hesitate to slaughter each and every one of us.” The hall burst out in shouts of indignation. “How da
Avery My face betrayed no emotion as James continued. “Since she’s pregnant, I have to marry her, or else the child would be a bastard.” He explained. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Lizzy was pregnant? He got her pregnant after years of refusing to have a child with me? “I thought you weren’t ready to have kids. When I told you I wanted to start a family, you refused because you weren’t ready. Now you want kids with her?!” James closed his eyes as the look of guilt covered his face. “I didn’t mean for it to happen Avery. We some how got lost in the moment and it just ...happened. Please believe me, I wanted to start a family with both of you in the future, maybe next year. Not now.” He explained and I burst out laughing. “So let me get this straight, you were planning to get i and my sister pregnant at the same time?!” I yelled and he froze. This was hilarious to me. How had I never realized that my husband was a sick twisted asshole? Did love blind me
JamesI had a nightmare. A masked man was dragging my wife away from me. Avery was screaming my name and trying to hold my hand. I was trying to run to her, but someone who’s face I couldn’t see kept dragging me back.“Avery! Avery!” I kept screaming in fear, but my wife was disappearing before my very eyes.“Avery!” I screamed as I jumped awake.“Nephew, You’re awake!” I looked up to see Uncle Luther looking down at me with a worried frown.I felt dizzy as my memories started to flood my mind. I remember that we were attacked by northern men, and they had overpowered me before I blacked out.But what happened to my wife?“Uncle? Where’s my wife?” I asked and Lizzy suddenly appeared and rushed to hug me.“I’m here baby. You were passed out for hours, I was so scared.” She cried against my shoulder.I pulled away from her and frowned. “Where’s my wife?” I asked again as the nightmare replayed in my mind. “Where’s Avery?” I added for clarity but Lizzy looked away.“Nephew maybe you sho
Avery I didn’t know what I expected the northern kingdom to look like, but it was certainly not this. When I thought about Alpha Kane, I pictured dirty, old, dark, depressing castles that resembled dungeons. I never expected state of the art architecture or beautiful blooming flowers everywhere. The castle itself was majestic. Tall and proud, not flashy, yet it commanded attention and respect. Everything looked and smelt of wealth. I thought back to my pack house and realized that it wasn’t nearly up to half the size of one wing of this castle. We were led into what looked like a waiting room and forced to line up with our heads bowed. All of us were hand cuffed, but the men tied me up in another set of silver chains because of my earlier stunt with Greyson’s nose. I looked at Greyson’s bruised nose and smirked. I was very proud of my self. A man walked in, and from the sound of his steps, I realized that he was tall and confident… most probably someone important.
Jame’s POV It had been almost 24 hours since my wife had been taken from me. I had already shared the good news of her being alive to the pack, but I had barely slept and I had not left her room the whole time. It still smelt like her and I wanted her presence around me while I made my rescue plans. Lizzy had knocked on the door several times asking me to come out but I ignored her. She even brought my meals to the front of the door but I refused to open it. How could I eat when I wasn’t sure that my Avery had eaten? Was she alright? Was she injured? Did they try to sleep with her?! I felt hot rage pile up in my throat at that thought. No! I couldn’t let myself dwell on such thoughts, they would only make me too emotional to think clearly. And besides, I was sure that they had not done anything sexual to her, because if they had, I would know, I would feel it through my mating bond, and it would hurt like a mother fucker. Dread filled my gut as I imagined experi