Alpha Michael's POV: Nothing makes me happier than having to get things for the kids. It's the most wholesome thing to do and not only does it make me feel better, it makes me feel like I have a family to take care of. A family to fall back to. Julia is starting to warm up to me and I have never been happier. This morning, she had reluctantly told me what to get for her after I'd pestered her. It was progress compared to the other times when she wouldn't even want me to get anything for her. Catherine wanting a listening device makes me happy enough to be able to get it for her. At least, I am able to do something for her after I had messed up several times. I have to be at the warehouse first before the safe house. I have been in touch with Trenton since I got into the car and he's driving to the safe house. I arrived there in less than forty minutes. The safe house is more like a really large cabin, laced with modernity; glass doors and windows, a modern looki
Alpha Michael's POV: My fingers tightened around the plastic bag in my hand and I tried not to look fazed by the man sitting on my couch in my house! At first, I decided I was going to be cool about this. If Catherine had assured me that nothing was going on between them, then who was I not to take her word for it? Julia was the first to see me and she looked away even before I could smile at her. Jason on the other hand, kept talking in fast, excited tones with the man who looked really interested in whatever gibberish he was mouthing off. I stood there, contemplating on either making a move or just going back out and taking a drive to cool my head. But I'd decided that I wasn't going to react terribly to this. Hell, I'd seen enough for this week. Peter was almost bringing my company to the ground and I wasn't going to let something this insignificant affect me. So I cleared my throat and walked into the living room, plastering a fake smile on my face. Catherine s
Catherine's POV: Seeing John here today had been unexpected. Impromptu, in fact. Not a call or a text had he dropped before he decided to show her and I believed he had done it for a reason. He probably wanted to see Michael. The man who had thrown me out. The kids on the other hand were really happy to see him but it was far from that for me. I was nervous. Michael was to return later that afternoon and honestly, all I had done was try to dispose of him off before his return. Owing to how things always turned out each time John's name was mentioned, I didn't want a repeat of that to happen. It was even going to be worse with John around and the kids all over him. But John seemed to have other ideas. He was bent on staying and spending time with the kids, giving excuses of not seeing them for so long and wanting to spend time with them. Then he had gone ahead to ask the kids if they wanted him around and of course, they agreed with enthusiastic nods of thei
Catherine's POV: My heart jumped when I heard the clatter of John's fork against his plate. Jason looked at me and I gave him a reassuring smile, not wanting him to worry over this. Michael didn't look like he was taking any of this anymore and to be very honest, John wasn't helping things either. I'd expected him to keep quiet and even try to respect the fact that he was in Michael's home. I was ready for Michael's backlash. John needed to learn that he had to respect boundaries and people's home. Of course, I knew he hated Michael with everything within him but making it this obvious was the wrongest thing to do. "I came to visit Catherine and the kids." Michael nodded and began to push his food around his plate with his fork. I had no idea why seeing him so calm scared the hell out of me. I'd expected him to lash out at least. I'd expected him to pour out his anger on either of us both but he didn't. Now, I wasn't used to Michael being calm in situations like
Catherine's POV: As soon as John walked out of the dining room, I turned to Michael but he was eerily quiet. My heave came out shaky. I had no idea what to say. I had no idea what exactly to tell him so I kept silent and went back to eating. I realized I'd lost all appetite and looked over to Michael. It was the same with him. He was also pushing his food around his plate. Sighing, I pushed my plate back and faced him fully. "Michael—" "I don't want to talk if that's what you are about to do, Michael." He replied, his voice stone cold. Blinking, I nodded. "Of course. I understand that you're mad at me. But I promise there's nothing—" "I said, I don't want to talk!" Michael banged his fist on the table again and this time, I heard a split. My eyes fleeted over to the middle of the table and I saw that his fist had created a split on the table. He pushed to his feet and tossed his napkin into his plate before walking out of the dining room. I sat ther
Alpha Michael's POV: As soon as she left, I kicked the seat closest to me, sending it flying into the nearest wall. One of the legs split from the chair itself as it crashed to the ground. My fists clenched and unclenched as I tried to control my outburst. But how could I do that when I could barely compose my thoughts. The surprise that had come with seeing John, the man who had taken care of Catherine and the kids in my absence, was more than I had expected to be. Infact, I wasn't expecting him there. That must have been the reason I didn't control myself. For most part of being around him, I wanted to be cool about him being there. I wanted to look like I wasn't the least offended that he had somehow found this place and decided that visiting without informing Catherine was the right thing to do. But when I found out that he was doing everything he was doing to rile me up, I fucking lost it. I wanted to rip his head out of his fucking neck. I wanted to ask him to l
Catherine's POV: I watched him walk away in tears. Surely, he didn't mean anything he said. It had to be a lie and I chose not to take his words for it. I shook with sobs, suddenly losing the will to continue the book I was reading. Pushing my seat back, I picked my book and tossed the content of my cup onto the grass before retiring to go back to my room. I remained in bed, sobbing softly and wondering what I had done to deserve any of this. Just when things were going fine, John had come into the scene, destroying the bond we were already starting to build up. I finally fell asleep to the sound of rain dropping on the windows. It was cold tonight and I checked on the kids to make sure they were fully covered before I went back to bed. The next morning, I woke up to shouts from the living room. The kids. They were playing. Michael's voice came and I knew he was with them. Sighing, I leaned back into the bed, not wanting to see anyone yet. I wished Michael c
Catherine's POV: Breakfast was waiting by the time I arrived and kids were already done with their meals. Michael had just started eating and their personal maid carted them out of the room, leaving us both to eat together. Heaving a sigh, I picked my fork and tried not to be aware of the fact that he was seated directly close to me. The only sounds that were heard minutes later were our forks hitting our plates and gulping sounds from drinking water and Juices. “Catherine." I snapped my head up to look at Michael. He was staring at me now, one hand resting on the other. "Yes?" "About last night..." My chest squeezed. He was mentioning it again and I wasn't sure I could take it so I decided to speak. "I don't think I would love to talk about it. You said what you said last night and I totally understand. I can't fault you for not reciprocating my feelings." He raised his brows in askance. "Is that what you think? That I don't reciprocate your feelings.