*ATHENA'S POINT OF VIEW*
As soon as we entered his office, he turned to face me, his eyes blazing with fury.
“ What the hell has gotten over you, Athena?!" He roared angrily and his look of frustration on his face gladdened my heart. “ What exactly is your problem?!” He asked again but I didn't reply to his question.
My face was pale and emotionless, I was not going to let him manipulate me anymore.
“ Athena" he called again as he pinched the skin between his brows. “ I know you have donated so much plasma this month but I also make sure I compensate you for everything! What has gotten over you?!”
I was bubbling with anger, how dare him raise his voice at me?!
“ Let's get a divorce, Sebastian" I said coldly as I raised my head up to meet his icy gaze. I didn't want to have anything to do with Sebastian anymore. “ Let's get a divorce" I said again, my voice barely a whisper.
I raised my gaze, scanning Sebastian. His handsome face and green orbs had never for once looked at me with passion and interest ever since we got married, rather, he looked at me with pure hatred. What have I ever done to him?!
In the past, before I had this awakening, I used to be very careful with the way I acted or spoke around him. I was always scared of letting him know how I truly felt. But now, things were different, I was going to tell him how I felt to his damn face and I was not going to hold back my words any longer!
“ Athena…” Sebastian growled again. " Don't do this!”
" You wouldn't stop me!” I retorted.
" You are going to regret this decision of yours!” He said again, a sly smirk dancing on his lips. " Do you think you are the only one who can donate plasma?”
At this point, I was fed up with his heartless words. He didn't even feel remorseful and was still feeling as pompous as ever.
I was overwhelmed by anger and emotions. “ I'm fed up with this marriage!" I hollered at the top of my voice, my face twisting with anger and resentment. “ I'm fucking fed up! And yes, I don't think I'm the only one who can donate plasma, there are plenty of people out there!" I paused for a moment, trying to control my emotions.
" My regret was agreeing to this fucked up marriage! I'm clearly your puppet and not your wife!” I yelled again. I was very determined to end this marriage and my mind could not be much clearer.
"You're a wicked man, Sebastian!" I shouted. "You're worse than the devil!" My voice echoed off the walls of his office, and I didn't care who might hear me. I was beyond caring about anything but letting him know how I felt. I glared at him, my eyes burning with a fury I'd never known.
I bit down on my lower lips to hold back the tears that were threatening to roll down my cheeks, I didn't want to shed a single tear for Sebastian anymore.
“ I'm done," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
For minutes, the office became deadly quiet and suffocating. Neither I nor Sebastian said anything and he didn't even bother sparing me a glance.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally spoke up. “ we're gonna go and get the divorce documents right now,” I said Icyly.
The moment the words left my mouth, the office became eerily quiet. The light seemed to dim, and the air felt heavy and oppressive. I could feel the tension radiating off of Sebastian, and I knew I'd pushed him too far but I couldn't care less.
"Not until you go to the hospital," he said, his voice low and dangerous. I could tell he was trying to control his anger, but it was clear that he was barely holding himself together.
" Tsk!” I scoffed. " Ridiculous!” Even at the verge of divorce he didn't forget to use me one more time.
I raised my head and met his chilly gaze. “ Sebastian Stone" I called with a snarl. “ You never stop amazing me with every passing minute" I chuckled, but it didn't reach my empty eyes which never left Sebastian. " Now get this straight, I would never waste another plasma on that bitch, Sienna. I repeat, I would never! I don't care if she does or lives, she isn't my problem anymore!” I spat heartlessly.
Instead of crumbling in defeat, Sebastian's thin lips curved up into a victorious smirk. “ Seems like the condition of our marriage slipped your little mind, little wife" he snarled. “ Anyways, I'm gonna remind you. You agreed to donate plasma to Sienna whenever she needed it”
At that moment, I felt a pang of pain on my chest. It felt as though I was pricked with an arrow.
“ Oh" I muttered, smiling bitterly. " I forgot I was your personal plasma bank” the smile on my lips faded and a cold expression replaced it.
Although I looked at Sebastian with emotional eyes, his expression remained cold and unwavering.
“ Sebastian Stone" I spelled out his name. “ The contract is soon going to end once we sign the divorce papers, but not to worry, I would donate plasma to that bitch one last time" I declared, and with that, I stood up,
spun my heels and started walking out of the office.
Hendrix POVI stood gravely before the large ceremonial fire, the flickering flames creating dance shadows on the old stones around me. For my family history, this hallowed place carried decades of power and memories. Tonight, I could sense the weight of that legacy heavy with respect and feeling.Raising my arms, I started the hallowed rights passed down over innumerable years. "We come here on this holy equinox to pay tribute to Athena and Sebastian, the fabled founders of our family. Along with building this wonderful family, the mates whose unwavering love and unbreakable friendship shaped the entire path of our lives.As the gathered members of my pack listened with great concentration, my words rang across the quiet forest grove. We gathered together as one on this night, mothers and fathers with babies in arms, wizened elderly with lined faces, raucous younglings hardly able to contain their excitement."Their story is one of huge hardships faced with far more fortitude, of dar
Athena & Sebastian's POV Athena's povI sighed contentedly as I savored the brilliant glow of the fall sunset streaming over the large den windows. I curled in my beloved overstuffed chair while ribbons of blazing orange and crimsons bathed the old timber beams in warm, nostalgic colors.Though my face showed the wrinkles and lines from a very busy life, I felt an ageless tranquility cover me like a gentle, reassuring blanket. Once so brilliant and strong, my piercing blue eyes now reflected a calm ocean of earned knowledge and fulfillment.A faintly familiar smell of cedarwood and spice floated around as two strong, worn-out hands gently rested on my thin shoulders with learned sensitivity. Sebastian bent down to tenderly kiss my forehead, and I reached up to grab his palm. "You look so wonderfully calm, my eternal goddess," he said softly, his voice rasping but preserving that virile tone that still made my heart flutter after all these years. Looking up at him with a gentle smil
Hendrix POVAs I looked at the young people fresh-faced before me, the crackling fires covered the ancient lair in a warm, flickering brilliance. Though soft in years, I could already see the marks of great leaders in their controlled poses and focused eyes.These dogs stood for the birth of a new age to be developed on the hard-earned ideas and visions left to us by my heroic parents, therefore reflecting the future of our combined packs. It was now my great responsibility as Athena and Sebastian's son and Jax my younger brother to educate this new generation those revered values and ancestral knowledge."You all know the significance of why we've convened here this night," I began, letting my rich baritone carry the whole weight of the occasion. "The holy ceremonies to raise you from students to sovereigns over the continuation of our civilization's enlightened precepts."A handful of the younger ones seemed uncomfortable at the gravity of my words. I wore a forced smile on my worn
Anna POVAcross the sandstone walls of the den, soft candlelight danced shadows that appeared to bring the old etchings to life. Scenes of great wars, somber ceremonies, and the otherworldly visues of the ancient ones danced in the dazzling light. I inhaled steadying, letting the holy aura envelop me as I dropped myself onto the soft fur before the ceremonial fire pit. My fingertips gently stroked the strong wood lovingly white oak blessed by Luna Amara herself, drenched in berries. Its airy, cleansing tendrils brushed my flesh like a phantom mist.Since I had formally adopted Alpha's mantle, today was the first full moon. A fresh moon cycle was breaking through a fresh era. One whereby I would guide our unified alliance into an unparalleled period of peace and illumination. No little chore for a young person two decades old. But my spiritual background and the iron will have passed on from my ancestors inundated my very cells with blessed power and conviction. Little footsteps' gen
Athena POVTen Years A flickering in the lifetime of an eternal, but eons appeared to have changed all around me. From the roots of conflict and hardship Sebastian and I had lived, so much had blossomed.The den bathroom mirror flashed back a mature beauty, residual youthful brightness now enhanced by a royal, almost imperial posture. Laugh lines framed whole lips, showing a ten-year history of great happiness. My small, toned body nevertheless turned alpha heads. Sebastian most definitely never gets bored with destroying me every night as lovesick newlyweds do.As I turned the diamond encrusted wedding band around my finger, I felt a gentle satisfaction. Now the perfect unity symbol I had created for that terrible Sienna embodied the purest spousal loyalty. The great light of our love had sterilized her deadly daggers of betrayal and evil. A high pitched shriek pulled me from dream. I grinned, adjusting my summer tunic as tiny feet pounded closer. The door opened and a tiny tornado
Sienna Mother POVMy tending tools' regular clunk against the hard-packed mud floor offered a calm cadence. Every careful cut of root vegetables and herb mixing functioned as a little ritualistic offering to drive out the demons of past misdeeds.I still felt the weight of that darkness weighing down on me, an inky, stifling miasma of sadness, wrath, and misplaced vengeance almost corrupting me beyond redemption even now. The road I had begun down in the name of exacting revenge for my daughter Sienna was one tinged with terrible crimes and sins. But I had been spared completely giving my soul to those horrible depths by the kindness and intelligence of the Nightwalkers and allied packs. My life had been given an improbable continuity, a chance atonement I knew I could never merit.Sometimes even the basic tasks of attending to the spiritual and medical needs of our new haven felt like an unjustified privilege. The mother of a deranged, homicidal monstrosity, how could I be given r