CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT ROXANNE The events of the past days weighed upon me like a ton of bricks. I was grateful for the past few days though. Maids woke me up and served me. It was so unreal. Months back that used to be me. Running helter-skelter trying to get work done but it was better here. They spoke to themselves but not to me and although they did stare at me, I never really heard anyone talk about me.I still found it hard to adjust. I was probably never going to get used to this place but one thing I was getting used to was not being accepted. The Alpha refused to see me for days now and I stopped going to see him too. He was a busy man. And for Beta Miles, he was hardly ever present. He and the Alpha were the only people I spoke to.I stared at the pancakes on my plate. I couldn't eat them all. I was hungry but not for something sweet. Dragging myself out of bed, I forced myself to the bathroom. The one place I detested a lot. Yes I wasn't one of those morning people but I
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE ROXANNE My gut twisted and my heart raced as I reluctantly turned around to be met head on with Ryker. His demeanor was as frigid as the winter wind and his voice sliced through the air like a blade. His red eyes burned— like they did when he was furious. “What do you think you're doing?” He demanded, his tone laced with fury.Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to comprehend his question. What did he mean? Was it about the blood staining my clothes, or the tree that was ablaze behind me? “I'm soaked in blood,” I whimpered, my voice trembling. “Can't you see? Look— the tree—it's burning, but the birds…”“Stop it!” Ryker snapped, his voice cutting through mine like a whip as the murmurs swirled around us.The whispers once distant, now roared in my ears. My eyes swept over the growing crowd and dread crept over me. My worst nightmare unfolded— ridiculed, humiliated. “Stop,” I yelled, trying to drown out their jeers. “The tree’s burning and I'm drenched in b
CHAPTER FORTY ROXANNE I stared down at the fishes in the fish tank a little too long to realize my fingers were growing numb from gripping the edges tightly and my breaths were ragged. I watch the fishes swim with no care in the world, breathing in and out— surviving, thriving!I was jealous of them. Yeah it was dumb as fuck to be jealous of fishes but as much as I was jealous of them— something about them triggered my inner trauma.The longer I stared, the more I seemed to notice things that I didn't notice. One of the fishes was trying to swim to the surface, then it stopped. Not because it wanted to, but because it was trapped in a tiny fish mouth.I could hear my breath loud and clear as I watched it happen. The fish was rather tiny and it looked starved but it managed to stomach a larger fish. The water was now covered in blood and the fishes were slowly dying.“Lady Roxanne,” Beta Miles' voice cut through my mind, snapping me out of my other world.I forcefully tore my eyes f
CHAPTER FORTY ONERYKER I was exhausted from having to deal with Pack issues and I stayed up late, resolving it, totally forgetting I had a meeting to prepare for the next day.My only intention was to go straight to bed but I guess that changed when I opened the door of my office to find Roxanne standing there looking nervous as ever.I fixed my eyes on her and watched her cheeks heat up. She looked cute in her little outfit but her hair as always was a mess. But I didn't care.“Huh, hi. I need company,” she said and gave me a small smile.I shrugged and shut the door of my office behind me. “It's late. You should be in bed by now.”She crossed her arms on her chest defensively.“Well, I don't have a bedtime, so I can stay up as long as I want.”“Read a book,” I said and began walking away but she was faster. She blocked my path with her tint frame, as if I couldn't shove her aside.“First of all Alpha Ryker, I'm an adult. Secondly your people are having their combat training, direct
CHAPTER FORTY TWOROXANNE “I was eleven when I first killed someone,” Ryker said and gulped. I watched his expression. It shifted from time to time. Firstly his eyes reflected pain, then anger and then his gaze was cold. I swallowed. “You don't have to talk about it.”He shrugged his shoulders, “I've told you almost everything I need to tell you. There's no need to stop now.”I chose my next question carefully. “How did you feel when you had your first kill?”He laughed heartily and smiled at me.“Scared and excited.”“You're so sick,” I teased.He sighed. “My father gave me his dagger and told me ‘pick out any of the people you want dead’ and trust me there were quite a number of them that I wanted dead.”I stared at him in silence. “You've had enemies since you were eleven?”“Yeah,” he said truthfully. “They said they didn't want a weakling and a crybaby for an Alpha. When I couldn't decide, my father brought out Beta Miles’ father and asked me to kill him.”My mouth gaped open and
CHAPTER FORTY THREE ROXANNE As I settled in bed, sleep eluded me. Ryker’s revelation stirred a whirlwind of thoughts in my mind and now I knew he didn't have it easy either. He had been forced to be tough and now that he was grown, his struggles were hidden behind a facade of strength developed since childhood. My thoughts drifted to his reaction when I expressed my desire to learn how to fight, how to kill. Deep down I knew that was all I wanted. I had felt a twinge of helplessness when he asked me to stab him and now I knew killing wasn't meant for everyone. It was an art but I was sure I could master it. With time.If I could be so scared then why did my brother do it so naturally when we were young? Perhaps that was why he had walked away when he pushed me into the water.***The next day, I went to the library with Beta Miles to fetch some books since I was almost becoming furniture in my room and I was bored to death from doing the same routine of waking and staying in my bed
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR ROXANNEI was startled when I heard the Alpha sent for me. He hadn't spoken to me in a while which I was trying to adapt to because he was the Alpha and I was one of his subjects. I had to get used to not being around my Alpha and Beta all the time.I hastily jumped out of bed, forgetting I was still in my pyjamas at twelve noon. I was finding it hard to decide if it was because i wasn't a morning person, or because I was a lazy person.“He's in his office, just knock at the door,” Beta Miles said before disappearing.I sucked in my breath and after lots of contemplation, I knocked at the door before slowly opening it.This man had a habit of not responding but shouting when someone didn't knock before entering. “Alpha, you sent for me,” I said while waiting at the door.“Sit,” He said, motioning at the chair opposite his.I reluctantly sat down and stared at him, catching a whiff of his scent. I didn't know why but today he looked unbearably handsome even with the
CHAPTER FORTY FIVERYKER For the first time in forever, I tried desperately to get away from Roxanne. Yes someone could call me an idiot or a weakling but it was a bloodmoon and her scent was everywhere, dangerously. Vanilla and chocolate– it invaded my senses and I regretted asking her to come outside today. My heart throbbed in palpitation and I could feel myself losing it. Losing my self control. I followed her scent to the far end of the beach. And there she was looking beautiful as she always did and she kept a perfect distance from the sea.“Hi,” she called, waving her hands. “Is it wrong if I want to stay as far as possible from the water?”“No, it's fine,” I said as I tried to calm my breath while I approached her.She beamed at me, looking so pretty in that dress that left so little to my imagination. It was skimpy, perhaps an inch or two past her butt and it shimmered under the dark glow of the moon. Her hair was wild and free as always and she was barefoot too– as always