We'll get a bit more of Calyx's story in the next chapter and eventually get caught up with Araminta. Where did she go? Why? Stay tuned...
[Calyx] [Two weeks ago] I shouldn’t feel drawn to her. I don’t believe in fate, or mates, or any of that nonsense. I wasn’t born to be a wolf. I wasn’t born to be anything but a sacrifice and a tool to be used and discarded. “That’s not true,” my progenitor says proudly, patting me on the back. “Whatever negative thing you are thinking about yourself isn’t true. Remember, you’re a part of me.” “Whatever,” I roll my eyes. Like I could ever forget that I’m nothing more than a genetically modified clone based on his DNA spliced with the best samples that the Brotherhood had to offer. Part wolf, part human, probably part witch and God knows what else. Shit, the Brotherhood has been around for over a thousand years, and because witches are so damn clever, have been playing around with our DNA long before humans even had a name for it. “Hey listen,” the proud Gamma placed is large hand on my shoulder. “You may not have been born by choice for either one of us, but that doesn’t change
[Alexis] [One Month Ago] I hate being alone. It’s too quiet at this hour, when the entire pack is asleep on the floor below me. The Alpha’s suite is mine now, not that it matters. What is the point of having an Alpha suite in a pack with no alpha? “Alpha Sterling,” they call me now, but it feels hollow and false. The true alpha is out there, somewhere, loving someone else. Apple, the human girl who was a hybrid in hiding, the seductress who used her fake innocence to wiggle her way into Sylvester’s bed and turn his heart away from me. The child in my womb should be his, and her child shouldn’t exist. Sylvester is mine. He always has been, and he always will be. I took his virginity, and I took his heart. I was there first. Every trick he uses, the way he gives her pleasure, he learned it all from me. That child is nothing but a stand-in, sampling my leftovers. “Alexis,” a deep voice calls from the shadows of the room. It rolls over me like thunder, and I close my eyes, imagini
[Sylvester] They don’t warn you about what it feels like to watch your mate give birth. It’s terrifying and wonderful all at once, making my stomach flip and churn like a rough sea and my heart beats like a rabbit’s who has scented a predator. “Stay with me,” Apple pleads as she grips my hand tightly. “Please.” Clasping her hand firmly in mine I nod, “Always. I’ll stay right next to you forever.” She smiles, her tear-streaked cheeks rosy with the effort of bringing our pups into the world. Sweet Goddess she is so beautiful right now. She didn’t need to ask for me to stay, it would be impossible for me to leave without leaving behinChaotd a piece of my soul. “Help her stand,” Araminta orders gently as she guides my movements. “The babies aren’t progressing. She’s stuck at 5 cm. We need to get her moving.” I pull Apple into my side, and supporting her weight against me, I help her stand on tender feet. She screams in agony as her legs wobble uselessly, as if her feet have forgo
[Apple]The pain is excruciating, but the joy I feel is real as I hear the words, “she’s in labor.” It means my babies are almost here, in my arms, my little miracles created the moment I opened my heart to my mate, and he opened his heart to me on the day he saved my life by tying our lives together forever. At that moment of transformation, as he sunk his canines into my neck and claimed me as his, healing my heart as well as my body, neither one of us knew it would lead to this moment. “I’m here with you,” Sly kisses my hand as my bed is wheeled to the larger birthing room. “It’s going to be okay.” Speaking over his shoulder at someone I cannot see, Sly requests someone call my grandmother, Araminta. “This facility doesn’t have a witch on staff,” he explains. “Araminta is a practiced midwife.”I can’t process what he says next because for a moment, I thought he said, “your brother,” but that doesn’t make sense. The only brother I had was part of the reason I ended up in a coma in
[Apple] As I scream and buck, my body shifts from side to side, my overly large belly swaying painfully. When did I get so big? When Sly carried me through the portal, my belly was starting to show, but it was still small and manageable. Now, not only is my belly round, but my arms and legs are swollen as I look down along the length of my body. What happened to me? What did they do to me? “Hold her still, she’s going to tear out her IV!” A wolf in a white uniform shouts as another similarly dressed person pushes me back on the bed. His arms are strong, but I fight against him, as I reach for the IVs and begin to pull. “Yes, head nurse,” someone in the background calls out as another person grabs my legs to hold me steady. “Should I contact Alpha King Sterling?" The machine beeping grows louder as my heart races. Sylvester is still alive. I need to get to him. I need to know that he's safe. "SLY!" I scream and buck. "Where's my mate? Where's Sylvester Sterling?!" "Shh, My Queen,"
[Apple] I shouldn’t have ever turned my back on my brother, especially after I knew how damaged his wolf was and how much he hated himself. Now, trapped in a wolf form until his body is done healing, Calyx has nothing left but anger now that the initial pain has subsided. It was because of my actions that he survived, and even though he's healing and will recover, it will be as a wolf, the thing he least wanted to be. Calyx is out for revenge. And I'm the easiest target. Gargling as my throat fills with blood, I push him against his chest as he rips and tears, clamping down on my neck and shaking me like a ragdoll. Sylvester turns at the sound of my gargled screams, but he’s too far away. He might be a powerful alpha, the fastest and strongest wolf I have ever known, but he isn’t going to make it to me in time. I’m dying, all because I couldn't bear to lose anyone else. If I had just left well enough alone and let my brother die the way he begged me to, I wouldn't be dying undernea