I just want to drop this one as a little teaser. More will come later, before the day ends. Thank you for waiting and reading! Don't forget to drop us some gems here and in Caspian's book too if you have anything to spare! Thank you, lovelies! ♡
NADIA. I didn’t know how long I stayed in the shower. My heart was aching badly, and I just wanted the floor to swallow me whole. I have never felt this pain before, not even when Riley left me at the cave. It was painful, but I had no expectations, and I could still think clearly after that. But now I have no idea what to do next. He was breaking my heart and I didn't even know if he knew it. He was so good at pretending he loved me, but it was still Andrea all along. She should be happy with her fated mate already. What was she doing here? Was she trying to ruin what Riley and I have? I don’t know anymore if I should keep fighting for Riley and pretend I didn’t see Andrea was here today. Or should I stand my ground and risk losing him? He would probably choose her. I was still confused about what to do next as I made my way down the stairs. Jenny sent a mind link advising that lunch was ready and they were all waiting for me. I wanted to just stay hidden in our room, but I
NADIA. "Nadia, everything I showed you and everything I told you was true. The only thing I withheld was that information. I don’t want my past to remind you…" "Of Elliot? Of how he was forcing himself to me?" I scoffed and laughed. "And here I was believing you were the one left behind. That Andrea was the bad person here. When in fact…" I couldn’t say it. Despite everything he told me, I couldn’t find it in my heart to say that he was a ‘monster’ like Elliot. Because he wasn’t. He was never my monster. But he certainly was for her, for Andrea. I clamped my hand over my mouth as I struggled to stop myself from sobbing, but I couldn’t. This is all too much for me now. I walked away from Riley, but I didn’t even know if I wanted him to follow me or not. Maybe I’m stupid or plain crazy because, despite everything, my heart was still beating for him. Maybe because of the mate bond. It was the only logical reason, because how could I love someone like him? I didn’t notice when I
RILEY. Beta Dominic and I were out for the whole day and did what we needed to do in the western part of the territory. There was construction ongoing for a new building that would serve as a commercial center and have a big library within it. The project went on hold during my three months of absence because my Beta couldn’t handle everything while taking care of me and the whole pack. And as much as I just wanted to mope around because Nadia wasn’t speaking with me, I knew I had to get something done or I would start to lose myself again. My pack deserved a responsible Alpha and my mate deserved a good mate, and no one could do that but me. So here I was. Even if my heart was too heavy to function, I kept smiling and talking with all the engineers and workers around me. I couldn’t wait to come home. But then I realized no one was waiting at home for me. ¤¤¤¤¤ NADIA. The day went by draggingly slow, and even though I was terrified of Riley at this point, I must admit that I mi
RILEY. "So, did the flower work?" Beta Dominic asked as I entered the kitchen. He was sitting by the center counter, and in front of him was Gamma Sebastian. Jenny was preparing warm drinks for them at the kitchen counter. There was a time, before Andrea came and Jenny had just arrived, that we spent almost every night at this place, just talking and taunting each other. I missed this. How I wished I could share these kinds of moments with Nadia. After she left the library, I contemplated whether I should follow after her or just give her time alone before going to bed. I chose the latter and went downstairs, hoping to see Sebastian and Jenny. I wanted to ask for help on how I could further pursue my female. "I’m not sure. She just said, thank you and left." I didn’t tell them about Nadia allowing me to sleep in the same room as her because I didn’t want to jinx it. "Would you like some warm chocolate or milk, Alpha? Or perhaps tea?" Jenny asked as she placed two mugs on the co
NADIA. I woke up wrapped up in Riley’s arms, and I almost forgot that we were not on good terms at the moment. I missed his warmth and the explosive sparks that only his touch could give me. I reveled in them until it dawned on me that he had taken advantage of my sleeping state. I told him to stay by his side, and he obviously didn't keep his word. My nose flared, and I was about to wake him up so I could berate him for his actions when I realized that I was actually the one sleeping on his side of the bed, which meant I was the one who crawled over to him. Unless he carried me to his side. But he had told me previously that I always crawled to his side, so I wasn’t sure now if this was my doing or not. So instead of confronting him, I found myself placing a soft kiss on his nose before slowly and carefully sliding to my side of the bed and curling up under the blanket, hoping he would never find out that I slept in his arms and that I stole a kiss from him. I tried to go to sle
RILEY.I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I waited for Nadia to get ready. I was already at the front of the pack house and was leaving instructions for my Beta since he wouldn’t be coming with me today. I'd bring two warriors with me to convoy with us for extra protection, not for me but for my mate. I knew I could protect her if anything happened, but I would never take any risk, so I needed extra men with me. I smelled Nadia approaching. I turned around and saw her with two apples in her hands. "Breakfast." I just smiled at her. We could just grab breakfast along the way."I’m ready." She smiled as she stopped beside me, acknowledging my Beta after he paid respect to her."Good. Shall we?" I placed a hand on her back, hoping she wouldn’t move away from it as I guided her towards the car.Thankfully, she didn’t."Is the Beta not coming with us?" She asked after she buckled her seatbelt, her eyes looking at Beta Dominic, who was still standing by the steps as I maneuvered the
RILEY. The moment we stepped inside the conference room, I felt Nadia’s emotions bouncing all over the place. She was terrified of something, but she was putting on a good face, smiling and shaking hands with people who were eager to meet her. But I knew better, something was off. This was more than just nervousness. I held her back with my palm, hoping my touch would calm her down as I guided her to the seat assigned to us. The meeting commenced, and although my attention was focused on the people speaking, I was still looking out for Nadia. She was just listening, but her neck was stiff as fuck as if she didn’t want to turn her head in another direction. I let my eyes wander around the room, and that was when I noticed someone who had been staring at my mate for a long time already. Benedict Solange. He was the son of the mayor of the eastern territory. If I remember correctly, that was the border where I picked up Nadia when her uncle brought her to my territory, and I was
NADIA. We were already driving for more than ten minutes but Riley wasn’t talking or even glancing my way while I already positioned myself at an angle so that I was facing him but he wasn’t budging from looking just straight ahead. This was already frustrating. "Riley, talk to me," I told him in a low, hoarse voice. "What do you want me to say?" "I don’t know. Just say something, anything, just don’t ignore me." Silence. I let out a loud sigh before crossing my arms against my chest. "Do you have questions? Do you want to know something?" "Why didn't you turn off your mind link when I asked you to?" "Because I didn’t want to. Why are you making a big fuss about it? Why don’t you ask me what we were talking about instead of restricting me? Are you trying to control me?" "If it's a matter of life and death, you need to fucking obey me! I’m your fucking Alpha!" "So you’re the Alpha! And what am I? Your puppet?" I asked sarcastically. "And besides, it's not a matter of life an