ELIANA.
The ice-cold fluid splurged across my belly, numbing around the areas that the ultrasound touched. I could hear the whooshing noise echo in the quiet room. My eyes never left Dr. Giselle's face.I knew I'd be able to tell, even before she parted her lips whether or not I was pregnant. No amount of words could describe how tense the atmosphere was. I clenched my heart with my teeth—it was as though my whole existence led up to this moment.The final truth was whether or not I was pregnant for Denver.I guess this is what happens when you unfortunately fall for someone you know you should never have. Denver couldn't have been any more different from me, I was an omega slave, and he was an Alpha King.I was also a Blood Hound while he belonged to the Black Moon pack, arch-rivals since the beginning of time. We were doomed from the start.It never seemed to be a thought for him that we could ever be anything more. Whenever I looked into his eyes, it was quite clear that he'd only ever see me as his contract wife, not capable of love. But I had a feeling everything was going to change when he found out that I was pregnant.Immediately I saw it in the doctor's eyes, and a heavy exhale left my lips. I turned to face the machine but even though I was unable to make out a single part of the foetus, I could very much hear it's heartbeat."Congratulations!" Dr Giselle exclaimed and my hands clutched my lips."Oh" It was a surreal moment, one that the last two years had led up to. "I'm pregnant" There was a crack in my voice as I whispered. "Yes, you are" She ran her hands through my hair, roping me in for a hug, and on her shoulders, I cried.I didn't know how much I wanted this until it happened."I can't wait to tell Denver! He'd lose his mind" I sharply withdrew, eyes bright with an idea. I knew how much he wanted this child and was I delusional to think that it could finally change everything. That I could capture the cold and ruthless Alpha's heart—my husband."I have to go" I climbed down the bed, immediately scrapping for my bags. I couldn't wait another second to see him. "I need to talk to you" I sent a text, grinning like an idiot. I felt a million things all at the same time but most of all, I was truly happy. Little did I know that was the last time in a really long time that I'd feel such way.I arrived at the Pack Villa and sighting Denver's car parked in the driveway, I sucked in a deep breath before mounting the front porch.The air was warm and that smile didn't leave my lips until I was faced with him. Denver was seated in the dark, like he had already been waiting for me. "Oh..." I exclaimed. "I didn't know you'd be here so fast.""Well I have something to tell you but only after I make you your favorite meal—" I was on the cusp of hanging my coat when Denver arose. "Eliana" There was something quite harrowing about the way he called my name that caused my heart to drop into my stomach.I turned back to him and there was barely any emotion in his eyes."Have you already had something to eat?" I asked softly. "No—uh yes" He pushed a hard lump down his throat. "I got your text and I have something to tell you too" Denver added. My brows immediately arched.Did he already know before I was able to tell him?No, it couldn't be that. There was something off about him that I couldn't quite decipher. Damned be the one that ever assumed to know who the Alpha truly was but at least for the past two years, I'd been married to him. I'd unconsciously picked up each of his mood changes and what they meant and I knew well enough that this wasn't about something good."Oh" This time, my voice was low and almost inaudible. "What is that?""It's about us." Denver broke the news. "I'm afraid I can't keep this up for much longer, this isn't working Eliana." He croaked and it felt like a knife had stabbed into my chest. I almost fell backward but I had to hold myself still. Time and everything else was frozen."But..." There was a loud noise that rang through my ears so much that I could barely hear myself. "It's been two years and the contract is nearly over, still you've been unable to provide with a child..." "But," I echoed.No words came out.Just the endless tears from my eyes as I watched him dump a stack of papers to the table. I inched closer to make sure that this was real, that it was truly happening. Just when I was about to tell him the good news, Denver had already penned down his signature to end this marriage.I looked up at him in disbelief but his eyes were empty and void. I couldn't believe I fell victim to Malik Denver. How foolish of me to think that I could actually change him. How foolish of me to fall for him at all."It's over." He pressed his lips into each other. There was a stabbing pain in my chest and a crack in my voice. "I...I don't understand" I stuttered. "What's there not to understand?! I want a fucking divorce!""Two years that was it. That was the entire plan, I gave two years of my life to you and you have given me nothing Eliana. You know this isn't working, the truth is you've known for a long time now. There's no point in waiting anymore. This has to end now." Denver raised his voice."But I love you" It escaped my lips. I didn't know how neither did I know why but I blurted it out. And I guess some part of me was expecting some grand confession next, rather all that slapped me in the face was a hoarse scoff. "You can't love me." The Alpha shrugged."This was merely an arrangement, I've made that pretty clear from the start—" "But I do" I interrupted him and sharply, he drew back with his knuckles against his teeth. "Well I don't love you!" Denver yelled. "I don't love you, Eliana. I never have, this was never what I wanted" He said and his words kept ringing in my head.I don't love you, I never have."But you're my...mate?" I whimpered, desperately wanting to hold onto him as I cried. "Then I reject you" He coldly refuted."I, Alpha Malik Denver hereby reject you, Eliana Jacobs, as my mate, bringing an end to this union." His voice felt like a sword that went through my chest, slicing my heart into a million tiny pieces. He looked at me with a commanding glare and I knew I didn't have much of an option."I, Eliana Jacobs, accept your rejection.” I whispered.There was no mending of a heart that had been broken so much like mine. There was the man who saved me two years ago but the Denver standing in front of me was different. Or perhaps, these were his truest colors. And for the first time, my eyes weren't clouded by delusions.I broke down into tears but all he cared about was signing the papers. He tapped against the sheet and a tear of mine soaked through it. "You have until tomorrow to sign it. And come up with the next plan as to where you would stay from now. I'd grant you a leave if that's what you want""But besides that, I have nothing else to give you Eliana" Denver brushed into his shoulders as he walked out of the door. It closed behind him but for the most of it, his words were still in the air. So was his cologne and his presence. I heard his voice echo through the door and almost suddenly another, it was an effeminate voice chuckling alongside his.My curiosity was what shattered me as I leaped closer to the door. I opened it slightly to peek and Denver was in the arms of another woman so quickly. She had long blonde hair and skin blemishlessly white as milk. Her clothes barely covered the right parts of her body but his hands did.She was really beautiful and had everything I didn't."Come on, let's go upstairs" Her voice was all giggly as she wrapped her arms around him. Denver crashed his lips into hers, leading her to the stairs but before he left, he darted one last glare back to me. Like he knew I was watching, he knew I was shattered, but he just didn't care.This was the moment that sparked for me—and to think I was already envisioning a future where we could be a happy family, him and I and the child in my womb who he didn't still know about. Whom he never would. Denver was a horrible person and I'd only just realized that today.I didn't want that sort of a father for my kid, and neither did I want him to stay with me only because I was pregnant. It was clear he never felt anything for me over the past two years so it was almost a genuine fear that he might try to take the baby away from me.He didn't deserve the child, he didn't deserve me.I lunged myself to the table, across which were the divorce papers, and with quivering hands, I took up the pen, signing alongside his. I fought to hold back the tears in my eyes but I failed miserably. I couldn't believe this was the end. I wanted nothing more than to leave.There was no place for me here, there hadn't been over the past two years. Even as I scavenged through my wardrobe, I realized none of the things actually belonged to me. I could set this whole place ablaze in anger but rather, I chose to walk away, leaving him his ring on the table.I was utterly defeated and dispirited as I walked out those doors, all I knew was I never wanted to see Denver again. I wanted a fresh start, in a place outside of Oakland or Tombsdale—a place very far away from here.I'd walked in with the brightest of smiles but here I was, leaving with a river of tears. The winds blew through my hair as I took a brave step forward. The intention was to leave everything behind, a fresh start.A new life, just me—my hands fell to clasp my barely showing stomach—and my child.That was the day I truly left my terrible past behind, heading towards an even more uncertain future but if there was one thing that I knew, it was that no one could ever find out about the Alpha's secret baby.No one.DENVER.The cold air blew past the curtains, filling the room with an eerie atmosphere. I turned around before opening my eyes, she wasn’t there. It was a fortnight and usually the morning after, Eliana stayed in my bed. She would’ve somehow managed to squeeze herself into my arms, cuddling tight like a monster was going to get a hold of her. And when I would open my eyes, they would be on her forehead. Her hair would get into my mouth and her vanilla fragrance would fill the room. “I’m sorry!” Her voice was usually so soft and delicate, especially in the mornings, she would say that before pulling away as if she wouldn’t end up in my arms the next time we spent the night together. I would scoff but a smirk would cripple my lips when I turned away.However, this was the first morning after a fortnight that Eliana wasn’t in my bed. It was Claire who was, a hooker slumped by the edge about a distance from me. I cringed the moment I opened my eyes.The room felt so empty, my arms were.
ELIANA.SIX YEARS LATER. My eyes settled on the untamed flames of the bonfire and even with the warmth that emitted from it, it was still a cold night in the mountains of Tuscany, where I’d stayed for the last six years. There was a rumble in the skies above me, preceded by a bolt of lightning that struck the earth. The breeze was cold against my skin, grazing through my hair which swayed left and right. I folded my arms with a jacket over my shoulders. Until the rain started to pour, I wouldn’t go back into my tent, I resolved in my head. It had rained heavily here each night for the past week. And although it was hard to believe the Tuscany mountains were a real place, they really were.I had to see for myself when I stumbled here one random day six years ago after journeying halfway across the earth in search of a home. There wasn’t one quite as welcoming as here. But the weather said otherwise.Of course, I had found ways to cope but still, on some days when the harsh winds wou
ELIANA.“Eliana…”“Are you there?” My Grandmother asked and a loud sob rang through my ears from over the phone. Heartbroken, terrified and soul-shattering. I could hear the pain in her fragile cracking voice.And soon, tears started to form in my eyes. I stopped in my tracks on my way down the hill and Elijah was right beside me. It took a moment for me to fully grapple with what she was saying and even longer for me to say anything back. I just…I was just so confused.“I don’t understand” I softly whispered. “Your father is sick, Eliana” I’d heard her the first time but that was only one of the many things that raced through my mind at that moment. “No, how are you even…how are you talking to me right now?” I asked. “I thought you were dead, Grandma.”“All those years, they told me—“ “Eliana” She interrupted, her voice was just as I remembered. “I wasn’t dead, your father only kept me away. It was what Sienna wanted. She’d brainwashed him for all those years” She added and I pushe
ELIANA.The bumpy roads caused my shoulders to sway back and forth, gnashing against the sides of the truck. I was in the back, alongside all the other travelers after we alighted from the train that brought us into New Orleans. I knew my way from there.Squatting in the back of the truck with a helmet around my head and blanket wrapped around both Elijah and myself, we finally arrived at the town’s market. Oakland was not so far from here but to get across to it, I needed to go through Tombsdale.The scent of the ever-dark and eerie town sent a shiver up my spine and Elijah jerked forward immediately after the truck came to a halt. The driver alighted and opened the back for us to come down.“Come on,” I held around my son’s shoulders, holding him up so he didn’t fall. His eyes were obviously still blurry as he’d just woken up and the sun was merciless in its shining from above the horizon. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a morning as bright as this. Tuscany could be hot but
ELIANA.“Grandma!” I immediately threw myself into her arms as soon as I walked into the cabin doors. She was strapped to her wheelchair but her arms were still strong enough to wrap around me. Tears welled up in my eyes before they came running down my cheeks.I never thought I’d see her again and even after hearing her on the phone, it was nothing compared to actually seeing her—holding her. And I sobbed onto her shoulders. “Eliana” She sang softly from her lips. “Oh Grandma” I heaved and there was no emotion quite like this. As Adams stood at the door with Elijah, it took me more than a moment to fully gather myself together. And when after I stood, my eyes were stillwet with tears. They fell to her and so were her own. “I…” I stuttered. “I can’t believe this.”“Me neither” She echoed, intertwining her fingers with mine. I darted my eyes around the wooden cabin. It was warm and cozy in here although it was a structure at the furthermost outskirts of Oakland. This was a place I
ELIANA.It was well into the dead of night when the car came to a halt. I gazed outside my windows to see people flood through the Villa’s entrance. They were dressed extravagantly in the brightest colors, even some wearing masks. That sort of thing wasn’t unusual in werewolf ball parties.In fact—I looked to Adam who had driven me here.“I told you.” He heaved. “You were right!” Braiding the rope of my mask through my hair, I balanced it upon the bridge of my nose and a scoff escaped my lips. Only then was I ready to alight and he came down too.We walked up the sidewalk before I turned to the side again.“This is the perfect disguise.”We made our way up the steps, gliding through the bodies of Pack Members scattered around the pub and it wasn’t until we entered through the door that Adams and I came to a halt. Looking around, it wasn’t any more quieter inside here. The air was filled with the intoxicating blend of laughter, clinking glasses, and the faint melodies of a live jazz ba
ELIANA.“Shit!” I cussed, immediately throwing myself to the ground as I crawled behind the table, making my way into the curtains that split halfway across the room. I was panting heavily from my lips although I tried my best to be silent. The door was left open for a while.Someone had walked in.My heart pounded against my chest as I clutched my lips with my hands. I heard the sound of approaching footsteps move even closer and terror creeped into my eyes. I remained as still as a sculpture as a shadow drew across the room, heading toward my father.It was when I peeked a second time that I saw her.“Nora?” A soft gasp escaped my lips. She walked right to him with her face buried into a book in her hands. But she halted when she got to my dad’s table—our dad’s table. The thing is after my mum died, Sienna bore two more children for my father—one was Jaxon, and the other, about twenty years old now was Nora.She could be quite invisible in the Pack, usually just throwing her complet
DENVER.I couldn’t believe she was the one standing in front of me. At the start of the ball, I could swear I caught a glimpse of her and a whiff of her vanilla scent in the air. She captured my attention amidst the tens of thousands of people in the crowd.But I shook my head confidently—it couldn’t be her.Perhaps she had been infused deep into my mind that I was now seeing her where she wasn’t, scenting her when she had disappeared for six years now. I remember pushing a hard lump down my throat, forcing her out of my head like it was even possible.For the past six years, Eliana was all I could about.Some days, I was filled with worry about where she even was. Being a rogue was no easy feat, especially with an Omega like herself. She hadn’t been out in the world and it scared me. On other days, I was filled with regret that the other night ended the way it did.And there was a possibility that I would never see her again. The thing was, I didn’t realize how much Eliana did for