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AMBER. I knew I was not invited to show up and meet her, but the stupid side of my head got the best of me. I was already here, so I better make my presence known, too. I ran to my bedroom and rushed to choose a dress. I usually wore modest and conservative dresses, as only Zach knew about that naughty part of me. My minis—shorts, skirts, and dresses—were reserved for times I was with him alone. But it wouldn’t hurt to put on a sexy but still cute dress, especially since his mate was wearing just regular jeans and a sleeveless tank top. Her breasts might be bigger, but mine weren’t small either. Zach said they were more than enough for his hands and mouth.Ugh. I should stop thinking about Zach.In the end, I chose a beige ribbed square-neck mini dress with long sleeves that hugged my body and breasts perfectly. The low neckline was beautiful and complimented my skin. I loved it!The dress ended way above my mid-thighs. In short—it was too short—something I would never wear wheneve
AMBER.“I can drive you there.” Drake volunteered.“No, you’re not,” Zach said without taking his eyes off me, his forehead creasing. I kept my face smiling even if my heart was clenching. I motioned with my hands, letting Drake know I was okay. “I’ll be fine.”“I have no schedule or anything unless you want something from me, Alpha.” Drake turned his attention to him. “I promised Sidney I would have her see the surroundings so she can familiarize herself, at least around the packhouse. But I’m worn out already.”“Arlo can do that,” Drake replied almost immediately. “Aren’t the Betas supposed to…”“I’m telling you to do it. Arlo has Mindy to attend to, so while he’s at it, I expect your presence to be with Sidney if she needs to be somewhere.”“Got it, Alpha.” Drake bowed his head in submission. I slowly stepped backward, not wanting to draw more attention because my eyes were watering. I felt discarded and unimportant compared to her. It was a wrong idea to make my presence known
BETA ARLO. Over the years, I’d seen how Zach fell in love with Amber without the pull of the mate bond. I saw how he looked at her, especially when she wasn’t aware—there was love and desire. But not with Sidney. Not with his own mate. She might be human, but she was not the first human mated to a werewolf. We ran in circles with these kinds of couples—the nearest one was Zach’s own grandfather, who was mated to Grandma Laura.Grandma Laura was human, but despite not feeling the spark or smelling a mate bond scent, I could tell she was smitten with Grandpa Theo. And there was also Alpha Darvin and Luna Celeste of the Moonstone Pack, Zach’s godparents. I didn’t see anything like that, not just with Zach but also with Sidney. If I have to say so, Sidney was more interested in talking to Amber. I could only deduce she was also in this game, and Zach specifically told her to be nice to her. Knowing Amber, she would feel guilty and might give up on her own if Sidney continued to befri
BETA ARLO. “Didn’t you hear me? I said we’ll discuss it some other time! Go rest!” Zach’s voice was slightly higher.Amber’s breathing hitched, and I was sure her eyes squinted as her nose flared. “Such a sour mood, Alpha! Keep that up, and Sidney will surely run off here, and you’ll be all alone again!”She didn’t wait for any response and walked out on us.I think she overdid it. The table fell silent, and I could hear if a pin dropped. My heart clenched at the look on Zach’s face before he lowered his eyes to look at his plate. Amber’s words pained him. But, like always, the pain was gone in seconds.He began eating and told Sidney to eat, too. “Did you give Amber those flowers?” I heard Ara ask Drake in almost a whisper, but I was sure everyone at the table heard it.“No. She said Edmond gave it to her.”“Who’s Edmond?” Sidney asked before she clamped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear.”Ara giggled softly and shook her head. “No worries. It’s not
ZACH.Introducing a human mate was the safest I could go. No one could Alpha command me to admit the truth, and as long as Sidney wouldn’t budge, no one would know about the deal. Humans mated to werewolves would never feel the spark, nor could they succumb to an Alpha Command.I thought I was a step ahead. Meeting Sidney was not a problem. We talked and agreed on the money and the conditions I laid out for her. One thing I made clear to her was that my sisters were off-limits. I forgot about Amber. In the few hours since I met her, the only time I saw her smile too wide was in front of her. A part of it was my fault because I hadn’t told her yet who the female I wanted away in my life was. But if she ended up befriending her, or worse, crushing on her, then Sidney would surely fail on the task I was paying her for. In all honesty, I didn’t have a concrete plan. I got desperate when the Omegas I instructed not to let Amber around the kitchen asked why. I blurted out I found their
AMBER.I locked myself in my bedroom after my encounter with Zach. Arlo told me he was moving me to another room, as I was currently on the fourth floor, the same floor as Zach.He reminded me it would be the same floor where Sidney would be, so I was better off not encountering them. Also, the bedroom I took was at the far end of the corridor. My door was just in front of the elevator that Zach uses to transfer floors. Sooner or later, I would bump into them even if I tried to avoid them. I had just finished packing my clothes and putting them back into my luggage when I received a video call request. I immediately answered as I’d been waiting for this call all day.“Can you say that again? Zach brought home a female with you there?” Catherine exclaimed from the other line. I was on a video call with her, Cassidy, and Amara.I nodded my head. “What an asshole!” Cassidy blurted.“She’s his fated mate.” I’d been telling them that, but it was like they kept ignoring that part.“Wait,
AMBER.“If Sidney appears with a mark on her neck tomorrow, you’ll go home.” Cassidy began, and it made me swallow harder. “No more buts. If you want a place to have a vacation while on university break, I can take you home with me.”“You can stay here with us, too.” Amara offered. “See, you have a lot of options.” Cassidy continued. “To continue, let’s say she doesn’t have a mark on her neck by tomorrow—call Mom. We need more info from her. You need to do this thing that I will suggest so Zach can stop with his lies.”I nodded my head, and she began with her suggestions. My eyes widened as I listened, but everything she said made sense. I just needed the guts to do that, but first, I needed confirmation from Aunt Celeste. I nodded my head again, agreeing with everything. I was about to say something when Cassidy spoke again. “Okay, girls, I have to go. I already see Kairo.”“Kairo?” We all asked at the same time.“Yes, that sexy Alpha of Dark Wood Pack.” Cassidy winked at us.“Whe
AMBER.Of all the people to bump into as I was moving out of my room, why did it have to be them? Sidney pushed his chair and stepped out of the elevator. My gaze eventually met hers, and she flashed me a small smile, which was too different from what she had given me earlier. Did Zach tell her about our past? Or did he stop her from being friendly with me?“Are you leaving? Who’s driving you home?” Zach’s voice drew my attention back to him. He looked at me with a face devoid of emotion, hands clasped together while his elbow rested on the armrest. He looked calm—totally not affected by me anymore. Of course, having Sidney beside him calmed him down. Why would the girls think Zach was faking their mate bond? And why on earth am I still here?I wanted to tell him I was leaving because that was what any decent female would do, but the words that came out were different from my thoughts.“No, not leaving.” I smiled despite the pain in my heart as I shook my head. I raised my coiled f
AMBER.“Hello, sexy Alpha…” I said as I kicked the door closed when I came to his office. Zach tilted his head up, and I eased into a more relaxed position, but the moment his eyes fell on my clothes, his forehead creased.“Did you walk back from the training ground to here just in your sports bra?”“I didn’t have time to shower, as I thought we would shower together,” I replied, placing my tea on his table as I stood beside it. He pushed his chair back, and I knew it was my signal that he wanted me on his lap. I didn’t waste time and sat on him, straddling his legs. “You can’t go around like that. It’s not immodest, but until my mark sits on you, I hate that someone might still think they have a chance with you.”“I love you…” I cut him and cupped his face. “I won’t do it again. Until your mark sits on my neck.”He chuckled and cupped my face. “Maybe by that time, I have to set another alibi… That until you carry our child, you can’t walk around in that.”I giggled, but my heart w
BETA FEMALE MINDY.“Until you wear that badge on your shoulders, you are considered like any of the females visiting this pack. If letting us do our work is an annoyance to you, feel free to leave. You can come back when you are already in your right frame of mind.” I motioned with my hand, laying it out toward the door. She was about to swat my raised hand, but Arlo caught hers and lowered it. She hissed and stepped back. I was sure Arlo’s grip on her pained her. “I don’t like you…” She mumbled, still looking at me. “The feeling is mutual, Estelle.” I dropped the Lady in her name. She didn’t deserve it. Her mouth hung open, but she didn’t say anything this time. Arlo then nodded at the two men, and they took her things and walked out of the packhouse. Arlo told her she could follow them and they would drive her back here once it was done, but she refused. She wanted to speak with Alpha Zach.“As I mentioned, the Alpha is busy. You can wait for your things in the receiving room, or
BETA FEMALE MINDY. Lately, I haven’t been able to get enough of my mate and the kisses he has given me. I wanted more of them until we remembered we had things to do. We were laughing as we ran down the stairs to meet our new guest.‘She’s here, Lady Amber.’ I mindlinked my future Luna when we were already by the stairs and almost on the ground floor. ‘Don’t worry, I will be with her until she’s in her room. I also made Arlo promise not to leave the Alpha alone until you’re back to accompany him.’I was glad to do this for her. We both trusted our males but not the females around them, and since Lady Amber had been building my confidence to face those females who flirted with Arlo, I wanted to do the same thing for her. I would keep an eye on the Alpha with Arlo’s help when she couldn’t. ‘Thank you. I appreciate this.’ I replied. ‘I’ll be there soon.’ After we ended our conversation, I prepared myself to face the half-sibling of the man who had done me wrong. I only had a few hour
AMBER. “Marry me, Amber.” He said out of nowhere, and my mouth hung open. My eyes welled with tears, and so did his as we stared at each other. “Whatever happens after the 48 days, marry me.”I nodded my head as my tears fell. I felt his chair move forward, and his hand reached behind me, opening his desk drawer. I clung closer to him and turned my head to look at what he was doing. He pulled out a small box, and I already knew what it was—our engagement ring. I sent it back to him months after the accident in the hope it would stir emotion in him and that he would call me. He didn’t, and I regretted that move as I lost the last precious gift he gave me. “You kept it,” I mumbled as he slowly opened the box, and we both looked at the amber ring that I was only able to wear for a month. “I did, like all the other things that remind me of you.” He said as he tilted his head to meet my gaze. “I always looked at it when I was alone. Some days, I wanted to call you and get back with you
AMBER.“I will convince Zach to let Estelle live with us inside this packhouse,” I said straight to the point.“Are you sure about this, Lady Amber?” Arlo asked me. I nodded. “I would rather keep an eye on her than for us to be surprised by whatever her next plan is.”“This will be hard with both of you here,” Drake said. “I’m not asking you to choose.” I smiled at them. “I’m not asking you to choose me. But I want you to respect whatever Zach’s decisions are. Right now, he is choosing me. I will remain here as long as that’s the case. If ever there comes a time that he decides to turn his back on me and choose… choose someone else. I will respect his decision this time.”I saw how Drake’s and Arlo’s shoulders dropped at my words while Mindy bit her bottom lip as she crossed her arms across her chest. Their reaction made me teary-eyed. These three had shown me nothing but support. “But until then… I will do my best to help Zach get out of this mess. I don’t want your Alpha to step
AMBER. Zach was still asleep when I rose from the bed and left the bedroom. There were many things to prepare and do before that cunning snake appeared today. We were not able to sleep early. We talked. A lot.We poured out all our emotions—our disappointment and fears. Despite the uncertainties, I was more confident that Zach was mine. He was more determined not to let Anna or Estelle get between us. He told me he had never been attracted to anyone except me, so he knew that the chaos she brought would not affect his feelings for me, only his future. And I believed him because I felt the same way. There was no one I had ever been attracted to aside from him. For some people, the attraction wanes as they grow older, but for me, it only grows stronger. I loved Zach when we were younger, loved him at his peak when he was my strength and protector, and loved him still at his lowest and most vulnerable state. My love for him keeps growing more in every stage of his life—of our lives.
ZACH.In my rush to confront her and take Amber away from there, I didn’t consider that she might turn out to be my fated mate, but I was lucky that she wasn’t. Or this would be a bigger mess than it already was. Estelle left with a threat that she would come back. I was left baffled by the contract she showed me. I was sure I didn’t sign anything, but was it because, in my hurry to get out of that room, I signed it without noticing and thought it was part of the original contract?Did I fucking sign another blood contract without my knowing?A sudden movement snapped me back to the present. I found Amber bent over the bushes at the side of the steps, retching uncontrollably, but nothing was coming out. I slammed my coiled fist on the armrest of my chair. Moments like this were when I wished I could fucking walk. I could do nothing but watch her while Mindy rushed out of the packhouse and went to her.“Amber…” My voice came out so low as I rolled toward the edge, nearer. I pulled o
AMBER. ‘Are you fated mates?’ I asked Zach in our heads.‘No.’ He replied. I looked at her extended hand and shook my head as I stepped back. I knew I would stumble soon. It was taking too much of me to hold myself up, and then I felt hands grabbing my arms, supporting me. Arlo came, and he was standing behind me. He let go of me once I was able to gather myself.‘Don’t believe her. I never said I would claim her,’ Zach reached my head. It was all I needed to hear to bring my confidence back. I tilted my head up and scoffed at her. “This pack only has one Luna. And you’re standing in front of her.”“Really now? From what I can see, Zach is still not able to stand.” She spoke confidently. Too far from the meek female who needed me to help her with everything. Did she know who I was from the beginning? Was she lying the whole time? Was the friendship she showed me part of their show?“I’m only claiming Amber,” Zach said, and I smirked at her before I mirrored her stance, crossing m
AMBER.I showered in the locker room of the training building after my session. I could have easily showered at the packhouse, but I knew that if Zach saw me, he would never let me out of his sight. He had been asking, or should I say demanding, for my attention since lunch. Not that I didn’t want to spend time with him, but I had things to do that needed to be out of his earshot, or I would have to answer questions I didn’t have answers to yet.I was already in a hurry to meet him, but I was held up twice by some people who wanted to speak with me. Since I really wanted this pack, especially the females, to be comfortable around me, I entertained them.When I was finally able to get away, I rushed toward the packhouse, hoping Zach was still working, as I hated keeping him waiting.The streets were empty, but it was nothing extraordinary, as it was just a regular day. Usually, more vehicles would be on the road on Fridays, as people would get off work and go out to chill afterward.The