Emilia's POV By the time I made it back to the pack house, it was late. Marcus had walked me all the way to my room and waited for me to unlock my door before he left. He had hesitated at the door, almost like he wanted to say something to me, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He just turned around and walked away, leaving me to ponder his actions. I just finished taking a long, hot shower and now I am lying in bed, staring at my dark ceiling. Athena is on cloud nine right now since she had the perfect chance to go for a run and spread her legs. I can't believe I didn't think about trying to shift before now to let her...although, I am glad I had someone there with me. It was oddly nice and comforting having the Beta with me. I felt safe. And free. My mind drifts to the Alpha and his dark piercing eyes. When I accepted his rejection, for a split second, I thought I saw something that resembled along the lines of pain and maybe a hint of regret. And it’s crazy to even co
Emilia’s POV “Emilia! Over here!” Alexis shouts. My eyes zero in on Alexis and I do a slow jog to her. She immediately stands from her seat on one of the small stone pillars surrounding the quad. She wraps her arms around me giving me a hug and my body automatically tenses for a split second. Alexis is my first friend here and she is probably the most eccentric one I know too. I am still getting used to her mannerisms. She once told me physical touch is her love language. In her eyes, it means it is natural for her to give her friends a hug the moment she sees them, acting as if it has been a century since she seen them last. It's safe to say, physical touch isn't my love language. Every time she does it, I still tense up whenever she gives me a hug, even though I am used to it. "Are you okay?" she asks me softly before pulling away. I give her a simple nod of my head. She leans a little closer and tells me, "Beta Marcus had told me something happened, and your body needed a littl
Alpha Kade's POV I wake up with an intense migraine. I slowly sit up from my position on the ground and look around me. I must have fallen asleep at the cemetery talking to Leila. I look around me and my eyes catch on the guy leaning against the truck on the path through the cemetery. "Nice of you to finally join the land of the living," Garrett growls at me. "I was waiting to see if I needed to give you a nice shower with some ice cold water to wake your sorry ass." I scrub my hands down my face, silently begging for this headache to freaking go away. "What the hell are you doing here?" I ask him. "Looking for you," he responds. "You didn't come back to the pack house. When you didn't come to training this morning, Marcus and I were concerned about your sorry ass. I volunteered to come and look for you." "Oh, so Marcus is considering talking to me again?" Garrett rolls his eyes before he responds. "He's contemplating it. And you know regardless of how stupid and downri
Emilia's POV Marcus raises his voice again. I'm not even in the same room as him and Alpha Kade, but I can feel his anger from here. All of this over me... I don't want to come between friends, not in the slightest. I just want to be treated fairly and equally by everyone, including the hard headed Alpha. Yet, I know he will never treat me as a person. Simply because I am his second chance mate. He views me as the enemy. "—lying to yourself, Kade. You admitted it yourself. She intrigued you. There was something about her that kept your attention. You were curious about the girl. And now you suddenly learn about her past and want nothing to do with her? You know who her parents are! At the very least, you can fucking tell her everything instead of keeping her in the dark! Especially everything that happened to her brother and sister! At the very least, you can tell her where her parents are buried!" Marcus yells at him. My brother and sister are alive? Alpha Kade knows who they
Alpha Kade’s POV For the first time since meeting her, anger courses through me. Not at the lack of respect, because there is no respect, but at everything this girl has been through. She is barely a legal adult. And she has seen some of the true horrors of the world we live in. I want to take revenge on those that hurt her, harm her. No matter how i feel about her or the lack of the bond flowing through is now, no one in their right mind deserves to be raped or even starved. I can feel Marcus’s disappointment behind me. He hates how i continuously push her when none of us truly know what she’s been through. And I get it now. I really do… I shouldn’t have pushed her. I reach my hand out with the intention of touching her arm, wanting to offer some type of comfort. The tears are killing me. I hate crying. Even more so when it’s a woman and I know I caused the pain. I may not have been the one to rape or beat her, but I caused her to relive the pain by pushing her to the point of
Emilia’s POV I stand in the office listening to Alpha Kade tell me about the fate of my family and I’m numb. I can’t feel anything. I don’t want to feel anything. Feeling…well that will be worst than just blocking everything out. And that’s what I want to do. I want to block it out and forget that I pushed the Alpha to tell me. I want to forget he told me about my brother and sister’s fate. My sister had a baby…not just one, but two. Two beings who were part of her. Who is the baby daddy? Why doesn’t he want his kids? Why are they in my brother’s care? Does this mean Ramira had found her mate early on? My head spins as all the questions race through me. Questions I don't have the answer to. I can't do this. I can't do it right now. Without saying a word, I spin on my heels and walk out of the room, not bothering to talk to either man in the room. If they tried to stop me, I wouldn't know. My mind keeps wandering to the last time I saw my brother and sister. They day my pare
Pain and suffering go hand in hand. It’s nothing new, nothing uncommon. My life had been nothing but hell from the moment everything changed for me at the ripe age of seven.Yep, that’s right. I was seven when my world flipped upside down, so when I met him—you know, the one they tell you is supposed to love you unconditionally (a soulmate is what the humans call them)—everything was supposed to get better. Change. At least, that’s what I thought. That’s what I prayed for.Nope. That was a lie. I was fucking wrong.It will never get better; nothing is ever going to change.I am unworthy of love.I am unworthy of happiness.Forever destined to continue in this fucking loop of hell and misery, praying for someone to come be my savior. You know, like a good ol’ Disney movie.Ha! Jokes on them…Disney got it wrong.Life isn’t a fairytale…And this? This is my unhappy ending.______________________Emilia’s POV—Age 7Bang!My heart stops and I frantically look around as I hear someone ban
Emilia’s POV—Eleven Years LaterAnother day, another dollar. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be, except I never get paid for any of the work I do.I have been in the Black Claw pack for last eleven years and every day it is a fight to stay alive—to keep on going until I can find a way to get out of this fucking hell hole.Since my parent’s murder, I have been reduced to nothing but a simple common slave to the Alpha and his pack.That man who ordered my mom to be raped and murdered in front of my father and then proceeded to kill my dad? He was a bounty hunter, sent to retrieve me because Alpha Jackson placed a hefty bounty on me.Why you ask? Well, when you figure that out, let me know.“Emilia!” Luna Ismalda screeches from downstairs.I slowly rise from the bed, my joints aching from the lumpy mattress underneath me. I sigh softly to myself and look around the room I’m in.One day…One day, I won’t have to live like this. I just have to wait until I turn 18…one more day…then I