Enzo was right.
The next morning was chaotic, indeed.
"Different manufacturing factories, businesses, and companies all over the nation have ceased their operations temporarily following the deaths of many pack alphas," the news anchor stated flatly while her background displayed a compiled aerial shots of the country's numerous commercial hubs that lacked any kinds of activity. It was a strange and rare sight. "In line with this, the presidential spokesperson has released a statement earlier this morning regarding a monetary award to anyone who can offer intel about the culprits behind last night's bombing of Emerald Ba—"
Enzo pointed the remote at the screen and switched the channel. The next one was also airing the same news.
"Just in," the announcer said, his pupils moved as he read a script behind the camera. "Many civilians are flocking and breaking into deserted commercial establishments to take advantage of the c
"Are you up to the task?" Enzo paced across the room while playing with his ponytail. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Dylan's discomfort. The latter was shifting in his seat and staring at the floor. "I don't want to admit it, but you have a gift of leadership that sadly, even I do not have."The latter remained silent. His thoughts drifted to his memories of his parents training him to be a leader since the moment he could walk until their unfortunate death at the peak of his teenage years, and realized that Enzo was wrong—he wasn't born a leader at all. Being prepared to lead was something that he sacrificed his childhood for.Looking up, Dylan met his stare. "You've been spearheading this movement for god knows how long and yet you're telling me that you're no leader?""Hayes," he chuckled. "I'm a chemist, a strategist…I can be a doctor if I put my mind into it. My intelligence is what these humans respect.""I see no difference, t
Dylan caressed my growing abdomen as I munched onto my sandwich. Once again, the smell of meat was making me nauseous lately so James thankfully made sure to not put any on it. I leaned against his chest as the base of my spine ached. "You okay?" he leaned in and whispered in my ear. Then, snuggling the tip of his nose into my hair, he planted a soft kiss on my mark. "You seem to be restless." "I'm fine," I swallowed and purred at the sensation of his pheromones. I chucked the last of my sandwich into my mouth and placed my hands on top of his, which were resting on my stomach. "You're getting bigger now." With a chuckle, I said, "Yeah. My back is starting to hurt from the weight." For the past month or so, there had been zero—absolutely zero—advances by the rebels. After Enzo's bold announcement, one would expect an equally bold move from our side, but no, the werewolf had better ideas. He decided to take a step back and let the common public
For the first time, at least since my stay here, Enzo had gathered everybody at the camp in the courtyard. Dylan and I stood at the front of the crowd, our fingers interlocked together. All eyes stared up at the red-eyed werewolf as he stood on stacked crates to create a makeshift platform. I could vaguely hear whispers behind me, most likely confused and calculating at what his next words would be. Lance then emerged from a room, in his arms a huge box of burner phones, and walked towards Enzo's right. He stood in attention.The winter breeze blew harsher than usual that night. If it weren't for this gathering, we would have been tucked warmly into our blankets while sipping on a hot bowl of mushroom soup that James would prepare for the entire camp. But here we are, surviving on the warmth from the firepit at the center of the courtyard.With my free hand, I tightened the scarf around my neck."What's going on?" I tiptoed and whispered to Dylan. I began to get scared at w
"This place is actually much nicer than I thought," I said as I walked into our reserved room, courtesy by Enzo, and observed its facilities. "I thought this was supposed to be an inn."There was a kitchenette by the entrance, complete with common appliances and a breakfast bar for two, that leads out into a sitting area and a king-sized bed by the window at the end of the room. This was more like a studio apartment than an inn.Dylan walked behind me and was obviously amazed at the room as well. He opened the closet and stuffed our duffle bags in there. We didn't have a lot of clothes so our bags seemed pathetically small in that cabinet. "I guess we're Bennet's favorites, huh?"I shook my oversized sneakers off of my feet, threw them into a corner by the doorway, and ran towards the bed to fall backwards into the clean sheets. The makeshift bed that was provided for me at the camp was comfortable but real mattresses just give a different and better kind of snu
Per Dr. Johnson's instructions, I positioned myself on the examination table situated beside a machine that I could only safely assume was used for getting an ultrasound. I looked out through the glass that separated the doctor's office from the room I was in and saw Dylan and Dr. Johnson having quite a serious conversation. Suddenly feeling nervous, I brought up my hands to feel my growing abdomen on my palms.A few moments later, they finally entered the room and the doctor put his professional smile back on, most likely sensing my discomfort at the situation. Dylan moved to stand beside me, squeezing my hand as Dr. Johnson began prepping the machine."Just relax," he said to me, the corners of his lips tugging up into an affectionate smile despite mirroring the same anxiety in his golden eyes. He then leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. "You'll be fine."I nodded. "Okay."I was told to lie down and lift my sweatshirt to reveal my pregnancy. Dr. Johnson t
Dylan held my hand and pulled me behind him. Then, through gritted teeth, he said, "How'd you find us and how the f*ck are you still alive, Amelia Crawford?"Instead of replying, she looked at me. It wasn't just because she was a lot taller than I was, but the moment her gaze landed on me, I trembled and felt small. As much as I hate to admit it, I sunk into my pajamas and cowered behind Dylan. He immediately noticed my discomfort and moved to put himself in her line of sight.I grasped the hem of his shirt tightly. "So it's her, huh?" she said with a somehow devilish grin. She then tilted her head a little to meet Dylan's eyes. "It's the girl you're thinking of while kissing me."My fingers tightened around the fabric of his shirt as I felt something squeeze my chest. I was confused about whether I should feel flattered or hurt or jealous. The unpleasant mix of emotions left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. It was also exasperating how she was talking about me like some kind of an ob
A few more days have passed since Amelia Crawford's unexpected visit.My back pains continued to manifest more and more each day as my stomach swelled, throwing off my center of gravity by much. It was odd how quickly it was growing and how the changes within a short period of time were incredibly noticeable at a glance. Because of this, Dylan has been stubbornly insisting on doing everything for me—even giving me a bath on days that I failed to persuade him not to. Although, I did like the extra attention if I were being honest.Thus, besides my pregnancy, our days have been pretty much uneventful.Or at least that was the case for us.Having a television meant having easy access to current news instantly. Riots were still rampant all over the country while businesses handled by packs who lost their leaders were still struggling with getting back on their feet. Enzo has also probably branched out to different cities with his agenda, distributing free silver
"Bennet, talk to me."Dylan, upon realizing that we were staring at him in curiosity, sighed and put the call on speaker while holding the phone up for everyone in the room to hear. "Where are you?" Enzo's voice echoed, devoid of any hint of his usual haughtiness. "Isabella's with you, right?"He glanced at me and nodded. "Yeah, she's with me. We're taking shelter at doc's clinic.""Good good. Stay there, Lance will come to get you in a bit.""Where are we going?""It's time to move," there was no explanation but we seemed to all know exactly what he was trying to say. "The doctor is coming with us. Isabella is due soon if I'm not mistaken.""Yeah.""See you at the airport.""Wait, what do you mean—"The phone cut off without warning and Dylan cursed under his breath before crushing the burner phone with his bare hand per protocol. I dropped my gaze to stare at my lap while fiddling with my fingers. Just when I thought that we got to take a break for a while, things like this happen.