AlishaWhat did Derek want?“Let’s get some things straight, Alisha,” he sounded so rough as he held my arm and pulled me down the street. I was confused by everything he was doing.“What-?” I tried to ask what he meant but he only pulled harder at my arm and pushed me into the alcove hidden out of anyone’s sights. “Derek, what…”“No talking,” he growled and I couldn’t contain the shiver down my spine. “I am going to talk and you have to listen. Understand?”I nodded. What else could I do?“Good,” he paused, “You need to stay away.”“But why?” Those words flew out of my mouth before I could control myself and it was clear from Derek’s glare that he didn’t like it. I closed my mouth promptly, feeling apologetic.“You need to stay away from my home. Don’t come near, pretend like you don’t know me. Alright? I’m saying this to be kind to you, but you have no reason to come to my home from now on.“But we are mates, aren’t we?”It felt like Sebastian all over again. The good mood that I ha
DerekI was pissed off and rightfully so.I walked back to my home, already plotting in my mind. Alisha and the mate bond was pushed firmly back and I could focus on doing this.As soon as I stepped inside I noticed the maid who I had spotted several times with Gerard, and also this evening when I was with Alisha, standing looking innocent by the corner.It infuriated me.“Guards,” I called.“Yes Alpha,” the guards came swiftly to me. I pointed at the maid who all of a sudden looked startled, like a deer in headlights.“Seize her, and bring her to my study,” I ordered.“What? No!” The maid shrieked, sounding like she was about to cry. I grit my teeth and walked to my study, hearing the footsteps of the guards dragging the girl right behind me.Entering my study, I forced the guards to kneel her down in front of me, standing in either side of her. She was trapped and her expression showed that she knew what sort of trouble she was in.“You know why you’re here, don’t you?“ I asked her
Derek“Mother, please,” I tried to calm her down, still avoiding answering the question. “You need to think reasonably about this.”“I am thinking quite reasonably, thank you very much.” She bit back. “I’m thinking of your position as the Alpha of this pack, not just my son. You need to face facts. Derek. The Pack Elders want you to marry soon. They want a Luna, not a Luna Regent like me. And I support that. You need to settle down. Is that so hard for you to understand?”I let out a sigh, taking my hand through my hair. She sounded so upset that I didn’t even know what to do about it. For that reason, I admittedly felt a little bit of guilt as I turned to her.“Mother, Alisha and I… we’re just not a good match. Besides, you know how things are complicated right now,” I explained.“How are things complicated? She is your mate.”“When it comes to Gerard, things are always complicated,” I answered her.She fell silent and pursed her lips. She didn’t like me mentioning that Beta, my fath
AlishaI struggled to finish up the dinner I had eaten. It had been over a few days or maybe even up to a week now and still the memory of Derek’s callous, cruel words to me were stinging. Simon was silent as he ate and I pushed my food around with a glum expression.“You know, you need to feed yourself. For the baby, dear, if not for too itself,” Simon was gentle as he said that, as usual. But his words packed a punch. “So I guess what I’m asking is, do you want to talk about what’s been bothering you recently?”He had asked me this before but I didn’t respond. Or maybe, I didn’t know how to. I didn’t want to tell Simon that the Alpha, the son of the woman he was close to… had fully made it clear to me that he could never have me as his mate.And I couldn’t tell him of how much my hopes had crashed and how I had somehow fallen in love with him in such a short time. I was going to end up putting my burden on him and that wasn’t what I wanted. He deserved to not always be my emotional
Derek“Alpha! Alpha Derek!” It was that and the persistent knocking which woke me up. I jolted up fast with my heart pounding and realized it was just barely the crack of dawn.What had happened?Storming over to the doors, I practically ripped it open. A maid was standing there, looking frightened to the core.“What happened?” I growled at her.“It’s your mother, Alpha,” the maid sniffled pitifully. “She fainted at the living room-““Mother!”Suddenly I was taken back to the days as a child when I would rush to her side as she sobbed in pain.No!I ran out, brushing past the maid who came to report to me and quickly moving to the living room.There she was, unconscious on the floor when I found her and a maid trying to shake her awake.“Move,” I commanded the maid who did as I asked and I took my mother in my arms, not paying mine to anyone else. Her head killed and I was glad to not see any visible bruises on her. But still… something had to have caused this.“Call the doctor over
AlishaDerek was angry; that much I could definitely tell. And I just knew there was a whole world of trouble waiting for me.I saw Simon off as he gave the maid and i instructions on taking care of Melissa.“I’ll see you tomorrow, dear,” Simon made me goodbye and I wanted to beg him to take me with him. But I had no choice. Melissa was suffering from fatigue and needed someone to monitor her to ensure she wouldn’t fall unconscious anytime soon due to overwork and stress.I felt like I was being forced into a role I did not want. It felt like the fates were working against my control and it was not my choice to move or not. I just had to obey.And Derek.The way he had looked at me, bored holes into me with his eyes in his mother’s room was one I couldn’t forget.It felt like I was back with Sebastian, in the Silver Moon Pack, and enduring years of abuse.A shiver ran down my spine as I walked back in.Maybe I should just stay out of his way, I thought, entering the hallway to return
Alisha’s POV“Are you alright?”The room was quiet and the lamp was the only source of light in the room.I sat with Melissa in bed and watched as she breathed, finally awake and calm.“I suppose I’m really not… I’m sorry you had to see that, my dear. I’m usually not that emotional.”“There’s nothing wrong with being emotional… and, well… you seemed to be in pain…”“I just… Memories can still haunt you. You may be able to push them away when you’re awake but when asleep they come back with a vengeance.”“I understand what you mean,” I said and she looked at me with surprise written on her face.Had I somehow said something wrong again?“You’re too young,” she whispered, although her eyes spoke of hurt. “You shouldn’t know what I mean.”I looked away briefly. She was right. I was too young but had already lived a life of hurt.“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked her, my voice low and assuring - the sort of assurance one only gave when they had lived in a similar situation before.T
Derek I led the object of my ire and frustration to the guest bedroom not far from my mother’s room. She was here to take care of her after all - therefore she shouldn’t be staying too far. “Clean up the room for her,”I ordered the maid which was nearby, and the maid bowed. Then I turned around and walked off, not wanting to say any more words to Alisha. Just having her near me caused me a strange sort of feeli mg that I didn’t like. I hated it; hated being near her. With a sigh I entered my study and shut the door firmly behind me.I had work to do - work I had been avoiding since I barely stayed at home yesterday. Not as well get it done now. I worked through the paperwork all through the rest of the morning.And in each second I tried to focus through the work, there would be the image of her face, of her eyes and beautiful figure.It was only when a knock came on the door that I raised my head, my thoughts full of conflicting and turbulent emotions. “Enter,” I ordered, and