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90. Ivan
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The Beta's Prize 91. Cherish
I found Violent having a little cry in one of the inns. She was being comforted by Martha, stroking her brown hair softly. I had missed her travelling down the other line of dancers, so caught up in watching Penelope’s bond with Kharkov. so many young woman around her had found a mate and she had felt useless. “Has the Moon Goddess just decided I am too fucked up to deserve a mate?” Violet sobbed into Martha’s lap, the mint green darkening with damp patches of tears. “Hush dear there was a whole line of men you did not dance with tonight.” “I don’t know why I got my hopes up. I stayed away from that line because some of the men there were ones who used to visit the hellhole we were caged in.” I let out a soft gasp at the realisation. Maybe I did have rose-tinted glasses regarding mate-bonds and love. Perhaps being endlessly bound to another soul for eternity is not the happy experience I have known so far. There is always the chance one's mate could be a poor character, a brute or
The Beta's Prize 92. Ivan
Eight weeks have flown by. We are almost in a routine. There are established meetings, briefings and we are slowly learning as much as we can about our new home. Another full moon has passed around our huge apple tree at the centre of Cragstone. We have plans in place to rotate the full moon dances from town to town so everywhere benefits from the limelighht. It gives us a chance to make contact with all of the south and central regions too. Right now we have left our lovely packhouse at Cragstone behind and are in the deepest south of the region. We have come so far south some areas had not even heard of the newly formed pack though they knew of the Cage and Ivan the Inferno. Now we travelled, not just as the Battalion but with ecstatic village elders from every major town we found no resistance. People seemed nostalgic to be part of a pack again, even those that may have left due to upset or bad behaviour in their youth. It was a pack of second chances. But behind closed doors J
The Beta's Prize 93. Cherish
Bella, Lucien and their children were just so charming. Their happiness radiated, lifting us all. Even so I had worries on my mind that distracted me from fully enjoying my time with them. Violet had shied away from the last Full Moon celebrations completely, terrified of being mated to a man who had abused her in the past. No amount of consoling or gentle persuasion could convince her that the Moon Goddess would surely not be so cruel. Tonight she wore my old maroon dress, her brown hair bobbing through the crowd along with those distinctively green cat-shaped eyes. She donned gloves to keep herself private and unmolested. She reminded me of myself back at the start of my time in the Cage. So afraid of the world, assuming every man, even Ivan was out to maim me. So there was no rush. She could wear her gloves as long as she wanted. Martha kept me updated on both her and Penelope. Thankfully Penelope had fully regained her voice, as confirmed by the lusty moans we all heard roarin
The Beta's Prize 94. Cherish
I grasped Ivan’s hand, forcing myself to step away and not interrupt their moment. Unlike the timid blue-eyed Penelope and Kharkov theirs was not an instant heated connection. Like a tango they seemed to dance around each other, each sizing the other up. “Mate,” Lyon said again, softer, more gentle than the first time as I noticed his eyes were almost entirely ruby red. It should have been quite the terrifying sight but Violet slowly started smiling, placing her hand towards Lyon’s. He ducked his curly black head of hair down and slowly, gently peeled away the long elbow-length gloves she had been wearing for so many weeks. As her skin made contact with his fingers both of them gasped. Their connection was growing every second. Lyon’s whole world had suddenly expanded to accommodate another person within. Perhaps now he was ready to be part of this pack. Even in White Forest people like Bella could not start again. Saving both the Alpha and Luna’s life had not been enough for them
The Beta's Prize 95. Ivan
If I felt pressure to be a good leader and make the Shadowlands safe before, knowing Cherish was bringing our child into the world only sent it skyrocketing. She had joked she wouldn’t need any rest, lots of exercise. She was unfortunately wrong as within a week of having her pregnancy confirmed she was ruthlessly ill. The remaining human elements of her body struggled with the demands of a shifter pregnancy with the severity of her nausea leaving her stuck in the packhouse. She had the company of Martha, Penelope, and Violet. Martha told us not to worry, though Cherish would be able to carry our baby it was still an extreme experience for her body to go through. Still, she looked immaculate, snuggled under the white covers as the dawning sun peeped through the curtain, a pale lilac cotton nightdress on. Sat in the crook of my arm, her fingers lazily trailed up and down my bare chest, toying with my chest hair. Every breath I took had that gorgeous hint of berries, if she wasn’t so p
The Beta's Prize 96. Cherish
I barely recognised the copper-haired bear of a man who stumbled towards me. Then again, I imagine he didn’t expect to find me the size of a house either. When I discovered I was carrying twins I was utterly tormented. Did I write to Ivan, knowing the risk of going into labour earlier than expected or trust in the Moon Goddess and every unseen plan she had that he would have enough time to get home? Martha has been a constant source of help. Her aromatherapy, baths and oils have got me through the worst of the discomfort. With Ivan absent, Jackson and I have had to run the pack. Thankfully Jackson is the sweetest and most loyal of Ivan’s friends. I sometimes wonder with a shudder what would have happened if someone like Anders had never been uncovered. If Ivan had trusted him to stay behind how many weeks would he have waited before unveilinghis sinister nature? Thankfully, and with Jackson’s help I continued to keep building relations. When the freeze came, we created an ice ri
The Beta's Prize 97. Cherish
Gradually I pulled him up to standing, “you need a sleep, you look like you haven’t slept properly since the day you left.” He ruffled the back of his hair, grinning, “you’re right. Why are you always right?” I raised myself unsteadily onto my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. A gentle little kiss but the scent of apples was like a rush of adrenalin as Halo whined for more. Heading back to our suite he gasped at the changes made. Not knowing if we were having a boy, girl or any combination of both genders our room had a simple, plain white large crib. It was waiting for us at the far end of the room, new cupboards installed ready for all the clothes, bootees, toys and games we would need. I wanted the babies with us as much as possible. The packhouse wasn’t huge, for now they would be fine living with us. Deep down, without Ivan here perhaps I had been worried about safety too. Not knowing how safe the pack was, I wanted our babies where I could see them. Perhaps Ivan wasn’t
The Beta's Prize 98. Ivan
It almost felt like the first time I saw Cherish in the Cage. The way her ocean blue eyes shone up at me, shimmering with tears and fear destroyed Kohl and me. The idea that she might not be a good mother, I didn’t dare ask how long she had felt like that. How many weeks of my snow-bound farmer-questioning had she spent trying to blindly pull wool together? Waking first in the morning I went back to the cupboard. Every colour under the rainbow was there. So many attempted items that she had pushed away in shame. Crouched on the floor I found her original instructions, handwritten, presumably by Martha, crumpled and thrown away. Smirking, I decided to give it a go. Sitting on the sofa with a ball of blue wool and knitting needles I stared at the tangled nonsense in front of me. I had this image of me cheekily placing a little pair of gloves or booties on the pillow before she woke but the twisting, threading, repetitive motion had me completely confused. As I stared down, huffing aw
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