Chapter 53 Bryan's POV It had been hard leaving Ciara especially in the condition she was in. She looked down and was completely depressed. It had taken everything in me not to stay behind with her. I didn't know I had such control to resist my own desires. It would have been inappropriate to stay as her brother-in-law and I would have no justification not even the fact that Orion was ignoring her. That idiot had been acting rather strangely since we returned from California and I didn't need a witch to know that Sophie was the cause of his distress. Why he was so hell bent on destroying the good thing he had with Ciara was beyond me but I wasn't going to let her suffer because of his foolishness. “Alpha, here is the progress report for the new systems we have adopted.” I sighed and pushed Ciara to the back of my mind. I took the envelope my Gamma, Luke stretched out to me and quickly scanned it, mye eyes not seeing anything as my concern for Ciara overshadowed any other thou
Chapter 54 Orion's POVI rolled over on my side and stretched my sore limbs. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Ciara sleeping peacefully on the bed and paused to look at her, my fingers itching to touch her.I swallowed back the urge and clasped my hands tightly at my side as I made my way to the bathroom.Things had been strained since we came home from California, and it was all my fault.She was so innocent in all of this, and I was the idiot who couldn’t seem to get over my ex. I didn’t know why, but each day that passed, I found myself thinking about Sophie more and more.My wolf wasn’t in agreement—after all, Ciara was our mate—but I just couldn’t shake off the feeling that I would be making a mistake if I didn’t at least consider my feelings for Sophie.Letting out a deep sigh, I washed my face and then wiped it with a towel. When I walked back into the room, Ciara was still sleeping peacefully.I smiled, taking some time to admire her rare beauty. God, I was the most stu
Chapter 55 Ciara's POV I ran my hands over my tight fitting dress and smoothened the creases as I walked to Orion's office. Our relationship as husband and wife has been nonexistent since we got back from that stupid conference and I don't know what to think anymore. Last night I had been in the shower taking a shower before bed when he suddenly walked in, scaring me. I relaxed and invited him to join me. I didn't actually expect he would but he did and I was relieved thinking that maybe, finally we were about to put an end to the strike we had been on. Everything had been going so perfectly and I had felt myself getting lost in the moment when he suddenly pulled away and apologized. It had all been a blur. One moment I had been on cloud 9 and the next minute I was suddenly grasping at straws. I stood there, unsatisfied and completely confused. It took me a few minutes to drag myself out of there. I didn't bother looking for him as I crawled into bed and forced myself to
Chapter 56Orion's POV I have never felt so drained in my life. For some reason today's meetings have been back to back filled with a bunch of old men telling me how to run my pack. Dad had stopped sitting in these meetings with me so now I was riding solo. I ran a weak hand over my face as I dragged myself to my bedroom. I had left the room very early to avoid Ciara after the awkwardness from last night but now I wished I had stayed because being with her was better than sitting in a meeting. I was still thinking about Sophie a lot but I knew one thing for sure, I wasn't ready to lose Ciara. With a sigh, I opened the door to our room and stopped in my tracks. “Hey,” Ciara whispered as I walked in and I just stood there, staring at her. “Uhn how was your day?” She asked when I remained still and I forced my feet to move. I slammed the door behind me mindlessly and walked towards her. She was dressed in nothing but sexy lingerie that covered absolutely nothing and she looked eve
Chapter 57 Ciara's POV I ran out of the dining room, tears blinding my vision as Luna Stone's hateful words replayed over and over again. I didn't bother turning around to find out if Orion was the one chasing after me as I made my way out of the house. As the breeze hit my face, I thought of a place to hide out for a bit where no one would find me or bother me. Thinking deeply, only one place came to mind. After the confusion at the training center the last time, I had stayed away from there and busied myself resolving my personal matters but that has been a mistake. There was no way for Orion and I to be together, our worlds were divided by a giant ward and too many obstacles stood in the way. The biggest of them all was his mother who didn't seem to like me at all. Her perceptions of me hadn't changed in all this time since Orion and I had been married. I could never be compared to Sophie and it was disgusting to think that I had even thought of trying. Tears
Chapter 58 Ciara's POV I tiptoed into the house as soon as I walked in praying I didn't run into any of the servants or worse Luna Stone. Thankfully I reached our room without a hassle and let myself in. I walked into the room further and screamed in fright when I found Orion sitting there waiting for me. I gulped as I studied him trying to gauge his expression. Then I shrugged off the guilt I was feeling reminding myself that it was his mother's fault I had needed a distraction in the first place. I ignored him and walked over to the wardrobe to get changed and ready for bed. I heard footsteps behind me and flinched when Orion's arms wrapped around my waist. “What are you doing?” I asked, uncertainty in my voice. I wasn't ready for whatever this was, all I needed was a good night sleep. If I gave in, he'd only leave me wet and unable to reach my climax. “Let me go,” I insisted when he refused to let me go. “I'm sorry," he whispered, against my neck and I took in a long whiff
Chapter 59 Orion's POV My head was pounding hard and my ears were ringing but I was alright. My wolf didn't let the alcohol hit me so I could walk straight and I remembered everything that happened last night. A goofy smile appeared on my face as images of my night of passion with Ciara replayed in my head. I was happy things had gone well. When I had started drinking, it had been to drown my sorrows because I didn't like how things had gone during breakfast between Mum and Ciara. I hated being one of those men who had to worry about the two most important women in his life not getting along but that was what it had come to. It was my own fault for being indecisive up until now. Left to Mum, I should have brought Sophie back already and made her replace Ciara in my life but I just couldn't get past the fact that Sophie walked away from me once before. Even if she was back, what was the guarantee that she'd stay or that she had the right motives for coming back? I just coul
Chapter 60 Bryan's POV I wasn't shocked to see my brother, in fact, I had been expecting him. Finally all the chess pieces were falling into place. I watched Orion’s face twist in shock and snickered secretly. Everything was going so well, it was unbelievable how easy it had been to fool Orion. For such a great Alpha that he was, he was such a fool to have fallen into the trap I had set. “So, they were right all along…” Ciara commented as she walked further into the room. “You’re back,” she glared at Sophie trying to look strong but I could see that this was really hard for her. Too bad she was also one of the pieces on the board but it was for the greater good. “Cee, what are you doing here?” Orion asked, stunned to see his wife standing at the doorway. He hesitated for a bit but walked towards her eventually, reaching for her hand. I clenched my fists by my side as I watched but the next minute, joy filled my heart as Ciara slapped him across the face and pushe
Chapter 152Ciara's POV Sunlight bounced into the room and I groaned as some of it got into my eye. Shielding my eyes, I sat up and looked around trying to make sense of my environment. The last thing I remembered was that I was leaving the old woman's home so why was I here? Except Bryan had changed the decor in my absence, this didn't look like our room. “Good morning ma,” I heard and jumped, my eyes searching frantically for the source of the voice. The sources were two girls who couldn't be more than twelve that were standing together at the foot of the bed and smiling at me. “Who are you?” I asked before I could help myself. I was so close to losing it. They exchanged glances and then turned to me. One of hem, the slender one walked up to me and bowed. “The Alpha King would like to see you.” As I was trying to take that information in, more light began to flow into the room. Looking up, I saw that the other girl had moved to the curtains and pushed them aside. With b
Chapter 151Bryan's POV “Are you still reading that?” Orion asked as he walked into my office a few days later and I nodded. The grin that had been on my face since the day the letter bearing Ciara's message had arrived was still on my face. How wouldn't I grin? Finally after months of trying to find her we got a letter from her telling us she would be home in a couple of days. Just when our hopes were down. It was like the moon goddess had finally smiled down on us. And if that wasn't worth a smile, then nothing was. “It's so nice to see you like this again, you know.” He whispered as he sat down in the seat across from me. We were back on talking terms to some extent because I was no longer mad at him and seeing him with Lacey had done something to me. It was a good thing Ciara was coming home soon so that situation could be resolved once and for all. All the guilt, secrecy and suspense would kill me if we didn't finally let everything out in the open. “Yeah, I can't wait
Chapter 150Ciara's POV “You're finally up,” I smiled just as my eyes started to close again. “No, no, you have to eat something first, sleeping beauty,” the old woman chuckled and helped me sit up. While eating, I dozed off a couple of times but she didn't mind after all she was used to it. It had been five months since Sophia ordered James to kill me and he let me go. After I landed in the old woman's home, it had been a repeated case of falling in and out of consciousness. When I wasn't in a semi comatose state, I was eating or rather she was feeding me because I couldn't do anything yet. The woman deserved a medal for how well she had taken up the role of my caregiver in these months. Anyone else might have given up on me already but she had been steadfast and so patient, never asking too many questions. When I asked why I was so groggy fearing that just maybe the old woman was planning something sinister, she explained that my body had shutdown to ensure I recovered fro
Chapter 149Bryan's POV There was a hollow feeling in my chest that wouldn't go away as I watched Orion walk out of the room leaving Lacey with me. Granted Lacey asked for me to hold her but still. Orion was her father but neither of them knew that and Lacey had only ever known me as her father. “Are you okay baby?” I asked as I patted her back gently. Walking into the room and seeing her like that kicked up my protective instincts. This would have been the perfect time to let Orion shine with her and to let their father-daughter bond grown but I couldn't let that happen. Was I that inconsiderate? No, it wasn't that. I just simply saw my little girl in pain and rushed to check on her. I probably should have envisioned her reaching for me to get comforted the moment I walked in but that was the last thing on my mind when I saw the state she was in. Orion had seemed upset when he walked out of here and I wished I could tell what was running through his head. “You're probably b
Chapter 148Orion's POV “We'll find Ciara no matter what and way before the Alpha Rogue King is able to get his hands on her.” I told Old Man Heartfield as we settled in his office. After briefly entertaining the children, we had moved to the office to round up our conversation. We didn't want to risk either of the children hearing anything we were saying, especially about Ciara's disappearance when we've been feeding them lies about her being on a trip. It was a stupid lie, one no one would even fall for but children didn't have so much wisdom and took everything you said to be true especially if they trusted you. The lies were becoming too much for me. Lying to Bryan was one thing but now lying to the children especially Lacey was a completely different thing. As I looked into her eyes and told her that Ciara travelled, it felt as if multiple pieces of glass were piercing my heart. I couldn't put my finger on it but there was a strange connection between us, kind of like a bo
Chapter 147Bryan's POV Two weeks later…“I'm glad you're feeling much better,” Orion said as soon as I parked in front of Old Man Heartfield’s house. Leaning back in my seat, I killed the engine and shrugged but I didn't reply. Perhaps all it took was for me to see him in pain for me to come back to my senses. Barely two weeks ago, I had been spiraling out of control and losing my mind but now, my mind was clearer than ever. Ciara's disappearance still kept me up at night but now I knew better that wallowing wasn't the solution, not by a long shot. Orion had lost so much in such a short amount of time and maybe if I had sucked it up and handled my grief better then finding Ciara would be the only thing we had to worry about. Now we had Ciara to find, two missing boys and a serial killer on the loose. “What are you thinking so deeply about?” Orion asked, tapping my arm and I was pulled out of my thoughts. What an idiot I have been….He sighed when I didn't reply and opened th
Chapter 146Orion's POV It's been four weeks since Sophie up and left and my men haven't been able to find any trace that'd lead me to her. If she had left all by herself without taking my sons then I wouldn't have bothered but she took them. James and Jeremy had become an essential part of me and knowing that they aren't mine biological hadn't changed that. The love I felt for them when I thought they weren't mine hadn't diminished just because she said they belonged to someone else. If anyone was to blame in this situation then it was her lying cheating ass for deceiving me all these years. She made me leave Ciara, my tree mate and she did this to me. Such a witch. It's no wonder Bryan has always hated her. He had been able to see through her bullshit while I had loving up on her back then. When she eloped with some other guy before our wedding I should have moved on immediately with someone else preferably Ciara. That should have been the sign I needed to know that she wou
Chapter 145Ciara's POV I finally got a hold on my wavering emotions and pushed James away. He never expected the strength or force of my push and it sent him staggering a few feets backwards. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” I asked, anger bubbling inside of me. “Have you lost your mind?!” I raised my hand and slapped him, the anger I was feeling radiating off me in waves.He blinked, clearly in shock and then rubbed his lips with his fingers as if trying to wipe off any traces of the kiss. “You're testing me, woman, and I hate being dared."The eye roll that followed his words was an unconscious response to his silly statement. “Stay away from me and keep your filthy hands to yourself, you disgusting pig!” James sneered. "You don't give the orders. I'm the one in charge here."I spat on the ground close to his feet and leaned up with a raised eyebrow. "You're nothing but a spineless coward who accepted Sophia's orders simply because you're too whipped to see that sh
Chapter 144 Ciara's POV “Where is she?” The commotion from outside my room woke me up. With a frown, I sat up in bed wondering what could have happened. I slid off the bed and made my way towards the door with sleepy eyes. The door swung open violently, hitting my chin. I screamed and stepped back, holding it as pain throbbed from my chin to other parts of my face. “Have you lost your mind?” I shrieked, massaging my sore chin. “What is the meaning of this?!” “Come now cousin, that's no way to talk to me. Remember I control your life now.” A scoff left my mouth before I could stop it at her words. Why was she saying all of this now? My head snapped up and I stared at Sophia in shock. What was she even doing here all of a sudden? “You're shocked, aren't you?” she smirked and walked further into he room, running her fingertips over the bed, the wall, everything. “Why are you here, Sophia?” I asked before I could help myself. She shrugged. “What can I say cousin? I mi