LOGINChapter 4
Samantha's Pov Three weeks ago, I got rejected by my mate, but I had not accepted the rejection. Being rejected almost killed me, and healing was almost impossible, and now, it caused me morning sickness. I could feel my stepfather, Jack, hanging by the corner as he watched me throw up for the third time this morning. I hated the way my body felt, but even this wasn't comparable to the pain I experienced that very day. Still, something needed to be done about my morning sickness. I had waited for Alaric to show up at my door every day, to apologize and take back his rejection, but each day I was met with disappointment, and Jack's patience was running out. I had lied that I hadn't been mated that night, but he seemed to doubt me because my mood had changed ever since. He was convinced that I was keeping something from him. While I was throwing up, I heard a loud bang by the door. I knew it was Jack's doing; he was angry, and now I could hear his feet striding aggressively towards me. A groan left my throat the moment I felt his hand on my hair. He held a fistful of it as he dragged my head out of the sink. "Jack, let me go!" I yelled amidst the pain he was inflicting. "Jack!" I yelled again as he began dragging me away from the sink. I fell on the ground with a loud thud as he pushed me hard against it. "What is wrong with you!" I yelled as I looked at him. He was standing above me, fuming in anger, and a hand pointed at me. "I couldn't wait to get rid of you, yet you came back without a mate? And now you're what? Sick?" he yelled angrily, throwing things across the place. I hissed as one of the pieces sliced through my skin. It wasn't a deep cut, so I was able to heal faster. He had every right, as an abusive drunk, to be mad at me. My mum had abandoned us the year I turned thirteen, and according to the pack laws, since he was my stepfather, he was mandated to take care of me until I turned 18, and the mating season was three months over. It wasn't up to three months after the mating night, so I was still stuck with him. "It's not my fault that I wasn't gifted a mate," I defended. "Nonsense!" he yelled again, startling me. He came at me again, dragging me by the collar. "You better not be lying, because if I find out that you did, you're going to pay dearly for it," he said and pushed me away forcefully. It should have been an easy decision to leave Jack, but he was good at gambling, so he got money for food at least. I had worked part-time jobs, but I was saving all the money I could get for college, so I had to endure living under his roof. "Get your ass downstairs, we are going to Doctor Adams," he said, and my heart skipped. Jack would have never cared to take me to the doctor, so it was strange to see him offer to take me to the pack's doctor. He had left angrily, and I knew better than to sour his mood any further, so I rushed back to the sink to clean my mouth before joining him downstairs. The journey was awfully silent; not once did Jack stop frowning. He was very mad at me, and I knew living my last three months with him wasn't going to be easy. We finally got to the pack's hospital, where we met Doctor Adams. Jack had dragged me all the way up, making sure he elongated his claws and allowed them to pierce through my skin. Each time blood came out, he pulled his hand out, knowing it would heal quickly. Strangely enough, I healed faster than normal werewolves. It was something he didn't want to discuss, and I didn't know if intentionally hurting me was because he hated me or because he wanted to figure out the mystery behind it. When we got to Doctor Adams' office, we were asked to wait for a few minutes since he was attending to some high-profile pack members. As the daughter of a rogue with an Omega as a stepfather, I normally wouldn't have been able to meet Adams, but he was almost like family to me. He was the one who rescued my mum when pack warriors shot her down for crossing the pack's border, and according to rumors, he was the only one that knew my mum's true identity. I was hoping that one day he would share that secret with me and help me find my birth father and the pack I belonged to originally. "Mr. Jack Phillips and Samantha Phillips, Doctor Adams will see you now," Dr. Adams' secretary said. There were, of course, murmurs as Dr. Adams had skipped some patients just to attend to us. He never broke protocol despite his obvious care for me, so it was surprising that he did this time. We got in and sat before him. He was a middle-aged man, with curly short hair with some grey already appearing at several spots on his skull. He watched us for some seconds, giving me a look of concern before trailing his gaze to Jack. "Mr. Phillip, how may I help you today?" he asked, and Jack shifted in his seat. Adams' gaze lingered on me once more, as if assessing me, then his eyes twitched with suspicion. "She didn't get a mate," Jack blurted, sounding annoyed at the same time. He eyed me dangerously, like if he had the chance he would kill me. Adams squinted in confusion, and I nodded in agreement before he could ask if it was true. "The mating season isn't over yet, she could still get her mate, besides it's not something a doctor can help out with." "She hasn't stopped messing my house up with her continuous vomits. My house stinks of it!" he said, raising his voice, which startled me. Doctor Adams didn't move; he was very calm about it, then he smiled in a way that was soothing. "I'm guessing you want her tested. It's not a problem, Mr. Phillip. We will run some tests on her right now." That seemed to calm Jack down, but my heart kept beating for a reason I didn't even want to admit. My blood sample was taken, and it felt like an excruciating time to wait for the results. Jack wouldn't stop cursing at me to the point that everyone around us got uncomfortable. A nurse had to tell him to bring his voice down. My wait was finally over when a nurse called me in. Jack insisted to come along since he was still my guardian. Dr. Adams couldn't refuse either; he would be faulted by the pack's council if the matter were taken up, despite how unnecessary it might seem. The look on Adams' face almost made me want to disappear. I never thought I had seen him this serious before. He looked greatly concerned for me, and the envelope in his hand, which he held onto tightly, scared me even more. "What is wrong with her, Doctor?" Jack asked, feeling very impatient. Doctor Adams had tried to give a prep talk, but Jack quickly snatched the envelope, to our shock. He went through it, and if I thought I had seen Jack furious before, I was wrong, because the look on his face now could almost kill me, and before me or Dr. Adams could say anything, I found myself forcefully pushed against the wall. "Jack!" Adams yelled, trying to come to my aid, but then Jack was stronger since Adams was also an omega and older in age. He moved back to his seat, and my guess was that he went to dial security. I groaned in pain as my head hit hard against the wall. Jack was choking me now, while I struggled to free myself from him. He held the paper up against my face. His eyes flashed red at me with rage, then he spat at me with the words I couldn't believe. "Who is the father?" My eyes bulged in great shock, wondering what he was talking about. He pushed me harder against the wall again. "I said, who is the father of the child you're carrying?" I was shaken to my core. My memories refreshing to the sweetness of that passionate night I shared with Alpha Ric. How he and I bonded and made love to each other. His cold eyes when he rejected me, the excruciating pain that almost killed me, and now I was pregnant?Alaric's POVAn Echelon Trial had been organized for the special division force of the pack in preparation for war. New recruits were inducted, and games were set for warriors to determine the elite.I was seated on my chair at the elevated platform of the Testing Arena where the competition was to be held. Kayson stood beside me. We had just finished inducting the new recruits the previous day and today was for the Contest.This was an important event because these warriors were supposed to be the best the pack had and would help greatly if a war broke out with the rogues, but my mind was far from it. My focus was miles away, fixed on Doctor Adams's lab."Are you sure Adams got my message?" I said, finally forcing myself to release the question that had been eating me up. Kayson turned to me and answered."Of course. I let him know he was invited to the Trial," he said, and I grew even more impatient."So why isn't he here yet?" I asked. I wanted to sound nonchalant, but the smirk on
Alaric's POV"You were right, Alpha. Your strategy was perfect. And we've finally confirmed where the rogues have come from during the last attack." Kayson finally revealed to me."It was GreyFur Pack." He said. "Damn it!" I swore. "Why didn't I act on it sooner?" GreyFur was one of the packs under Alpha Thorne, the Lycan King and the pack Samantha had treated an infection in the past. But the disease honestly was nothing like ours. Ours were gotten from rogue bites. It was starting to seem like something politically motivated. Was the Lycan King willing to destroy a pack of his by test-running an experiment on them before using it against us? Or was it an entirely different group behind all these?"We can't take a rash decision or make an enemy out of Greyfur Pack. We'll approach this diplomatically," I said."What do you suggest?""We need to send a representative to Greyfur to speak on our behalf and state our concerns to them," I explained. Maybe their pack was the first trial f
Lily was crawled up on the cold floor of her cell. It had been days since she was locked up, yet no signs of her father. She couldn't mindlink him either because of the link cuff around her wrist. She had called for him, but no one listened until today.He finally visited and when their eyes met, relief washed over her. "Dad?" She cried, moving towards him, but the chains stopped her from moving any further.The guard opened her cell, and Erin got in"Lily." He called, anger surging inside him at the state of his daughter. He couldn't believe how bad his daughter had been treated by Alaric, and all because of the daughter of a rogue. He moved towards her and hugged her despite her chains."What took you so long to come to me?" Lily cried on his shoulder as he held on to her. Erin pulled away gently, letting out a deep sigh. He felt sorry for Lily; she was his daughter, after all, and seeing her that way only fueled his hatred for Samantha."Alpha Ric had ordered the guards not to let
Samantha's POVI never thought I'd get to the point where the idea of being alone with Alaric would be the very thing I wished for. Maybe I'd wake up to reality the next day. Maybe I was just too in shock of what happened to him that my heart won over my mind."Don't ask me anything about what happened. I'd rather we don't talk about it," Alaric had said even before I got the chance to say any word to him. He had figured that that was my plan. I couldn't ignore the idea that whatever happened to him was connected to our meeting three days ago. My mind was spiraling, thinking of all the connections so far, yet I couldn't come to a conclusion."I'll just work on my research then," I said and went to sit in front of the laptop. Alaric's gaze had bored into me for almost an hour before I heard him finally lay in bed. I wished he had said something because curiosity was eating me up so bad. I decided to focus on my work despite my eyes constantly drifting to him, but eventually, my eyes g
Samantha's POVWhen I heard he woke up, I rushed to him. Seeing everyone present, I composed myself. I stood beside Adams as I watched Alaric sit up on the bed."Alaric... How do you feel?" I asked, almost in a whisper. He raised his gaze to look at me, lingering longer than was comfortable. His eyes carried the immense weight of pain. I couldn't sustain his stare and looked away. It felt as though my mere presence was a burden on him."I feel good enough to stand up from here, but no one wants to let me leave to attend to duties," he simply said."You should rest, please..." I pleaded, noting the surprise etched on every face. Was it the way I said it? I was just really glad to see him awake. His eyes softened as he looked at me longer. I could feel the awkward silence, but didn't mind this time around."I'll stay the night on one condition: you must all return and ensure everything is in order. I'm hosting my first council meeting tomorrow. It will be weird if none of you return to
Alaric's POVAgainst her explicit warning, I followed Samantha. I didn't leave immediately; I sat at the restaurant trying to comprehend the entire mess of recognizing her scent when masked. Only fated mates could recognize each other's scent when masked; I’d known that my entire life.I knew Samantha shared my confusion, but she was evading it by running off. I wanted answers and needed to get to the root of it, so against her wish, I hopped into my car and went after her, using her scent to track her. But then I realized she wasn't heading to the royal pack house.I should have returned, but I was worried and needed to make sure she was alright.I stopped my car and tracked her on foot, only to discover her destination: Kennedy's place.I had reconciled with the reality that I couldn't control her love life or interest, but I never imagined how heart-wrenching it would feel to actually be unable to do anything about it. I was close but discreet, yet she perceived my scent. Despite







