AALIYAH. The night has me rolling recklessly on the bed. I keep counting every second, down to noon. With each passing minute, the promise of having my baby by my side becomes clearer, and the risk of dragging the three alpha there more scary. Curiosity eats me deep, the need to know the location burns hotter than any desire. And somehow, I'm glad that Nikki is away, for reasons best known to herself. It's barely 11:45 pm, and the night draws on, much longer than expected. Frustrated, I sit up, still lost in my thoughts. Unable to sleep, I wear my robe and go to the gate. The servants are half asleep and one gasps when he finally wakes up to see me before him.“Good evening, my lady.” He wipes the last of sleep off his eyes. “Evening. I'm expecting a letter tomorrow, I don’t know when it's coming, but please, stay off the gate to not scare anyone away.” I want. I'm scared of the consequences if we nab one of them. “Alright, ma.” He assures. I go up, and happy that nothing would
THIRD PERSON’S POV Nikki arrives at the pack house tired and weak. Her dress is torn in some places, with her skin bruised from falls and scratches from wild plants. Her feet are the worst, it look so dirty like she trekked in gutters and pits. The door opens with the guards signalling the others to call Lady Aaliyah and the alphas. “Welcome, lady Nikki.” The guard by the hate greets as Nikki walks in, heading towards the house. He looks out for insiders and satisfied none is forthcoming, he jams the door and closes it. Aaliyah rushes down and meets Nikki dragging her feet like a child, with her muddy footsteps evidence of her traces. "Nikki darling, what happened to you?” she holds her firm, not minding that she both looks and smells horrible. Rather, Nikki begins to sob. Hot tears burn her cheeks as she keeps sobbing. "Go ready her bath." Aaliyah orders a maid who takes to her heels immediately. When they arrive in Nikki's room, Aaliyah dismisses the maids, strips her frien
THIRD PERSON’S POV. By nightfall, the alphas, Aaliyah and Nikki ride in a carriage, while the warriors of Orlando match quietly to the border of Moon Howlers pack. It takes them long hours to arrive at the spot and the place is as quiet and deserted as can be. The only presumptive sign was the sacks of sand heaped on themselves to form a shield. Nikki takes the lead and directs them to the shelter at the secluded spot, very well hidden from the border. The three alphas replace her, with Aaliyah by the side, ready to rescue her baby once they burst in. Fortunately, the door is made of ancient wood that's already rotting away and the hinges are half gone. In a silent count of three, they kick the door down in unison and rush in. The noise sends Shelly and Chris flying and baby Hendrix crying from a disrupted sleep. Shelly instantly rushes towards the baby, to use him as bait and protect herself. But before she gets to him, Hudson is swift to throw a pocket knife in her directi
"Slow down a bit, Aaliyah. You're making it harder to keep up," My best friend's tiny voice cries in desperation for the thousandth time.It feels like a symphony to my ears and I giggle as I increase my pace.I'm lost in the thrill that comes with leaving the house unnoticed, going through the woods, and now, on the verge of climbing down the huge walls that surround the pack house."Hurry up, Shelly. Or we might get caught," I shake my head at her whimpering and decide to slow down.She gets to where I'm standing and she's panting heavily. Her hair is a blonde mess, her mascara is smudged from the few tears she shed. Remind me never to take Shelly on my night escapes again."Do we really have to do this?" She asks in fear, glancing at the walls in front of us."Yes, we do. Except you wanna stay back and have endless chats with the visitors," I tell her, folding my arms in front of my chest.I see the indecisiveness in her eyes, but I could bet my lungs that she will never choose to
"You're beginning to sound a lot like my Mum," Shelly sighs, rubbing her arms. "She thinks I'm getting older and if I don't do lots of fun things now, I just might not get the chance to do them again,""Your Mum is right, like always," I smile at her, bottling up my puzzling fear. "You might regret it,"Shelly's Mother remains my favorite aunt and my godmother. I love her for everything she holds dear. Sometimes, I silently wish she was my real mother. She's just the kind of mother I wish I had."I don't know," Shelly shrugs, puffing out a frosty breath. "I guess I'm just not cut out for the outside life,"Her words almost go unheard as I finally spot what I've been searching for with my eyes. "There it is!" I shriek excitedly, pulling her along. We hurry to a barricaded area and I smoothly jump through the barricade.Shelly has to wait till one of the guards opens a passageway for her, not after confirming she's up to eighteen. She walks up to me with a frown. "That man just asked
| THREE MONTHS LATER.AALIYAHThe enticing aroma of fresh apples teases my nostrils. I walk closer to the table of apples, adjusting my hoodie to cover the better half of my face.I look around the large Pack market, feeling nostalgic for a second. It's been three months since I came out here. Nothing has changed, except the peaceful aura that's now replaced with a certain haughtiness."You want…buy apples?" A woman's voice jolted me back to reality. I turn to look at the elderly woman. She's standing close to the table of apples I was dying over a while ago."Ye - yes," I stutter, going close to her. My stomach rumbles from the aroma of the apples. Damn, it feels like forever. "They good apples. How much you buy it?" She smiles, flashing pretty messed-up teeth.Her rough English, coupled with her strong accent makes me realize she's not from my pack. She's a foreigner. I'm not surprised. Ever since Night Walker Pack army hijacked our pack, we've had a lot of strange faces strolling
LET ME FUCK YOUAALIYAH"Did she tell you why she has never visited?" I ask again, wiping off my tears.Chris turns to look at me and for once, I can read the emotion in his eyes. My heart breaks in disappointment."She said she's busy and she'll come visiting when she can,""Perhaps – did Shelly stop seeing me as her best friend?" I ask the question that's been haunting me. Chris gives a shallow hiss and looks away. When his gaze comes back to me, it's hard and burning."She said she'll come when she can. That's all the fuck I know," he repeats and waits for no reply before he heads out.He slams the door and yells at me to lock it from the inside. I do as he asks and drag my miserable self to my bedroom.All of a sudden, I'm not so hungry anymore and all I wanna do now is sleep away my misery.I retrace my step to my bedroom and curl up on my bed, covering myself with the duvet. Tears slide down my eyes as I shut them.Hours later, I wake to the thrashing sounds of rain on the roof
SOLD OFFAALIYAHSeconds turn into minutes and I'm still stupefied from what I just heard. I'm trying to wrap my head around it but it's making me feel a bit sick.The man in front of me is Beta Nicholas Brooks. He's been my Father's best friend for decades and also his Beta. He's also my best friend's father and my godfather.He's a year younger than my father and that keeps him in his mid-fifties. I'm just twenty-one. A fucking rift of an age difference.This man right here used to piggyback Shelly and me. He enters the bathroom when we take most of our showers over at his house, back in our teenage days. Now that I think about it, that's wrong for all the right reasons. But back then, we never gave it a second thought. Sometimes, he opts to bathe me and I'm always excited. Fuck, how stupid of me!He gives me a lot of gifts, more than he gives to Shelly. And I should have known better than to accept them. I feel bile crawling up to my throat as I wonder just how long he's been havi