LOGINVIOLET“I still don't think this is necessary,” I grumbled, arms crossed over my ever-growing belly. And I thought Liz's stomach was extra big. Mine was putting hers to shame.Brian sent me an annoyed stare, and with a voice that didn't match his expression, he said, “We've talked about this, it is only for a little while—”“Until the baby is here? That's a long time!”“It will be any day now.”“No, it won't,”Brian gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes, it will. You will be safer over there and it will give me some peace.”“Oh, so your mate and baby are such a burden now?” I egged.He leveled me with a pointed stare, “Violet, everyone knows you're a pain in my ass.”I gasped theatrically, clutching my chest in a fake display of pain. “How dare you?”“Do you want this in the car or should I just stuff it here with your things?” He asked, shaking the pillow I used for propping up my feet.“You are lucky that I like your beautiful ass,” I sniffed and I heard the distinct sound of someone choki
VIOLET “What?” He was paler than a ghost.His hands slipped from my face, and I caught them, pressing them back to my stomach. “This is what matters now, Brian. And we're wasting the time we have left.”To my absolute horror, those dull blue eyes filled up with moisture. “Why can't I save you?” His voice didn't falter or break, and it didn't need to. Brian was already broken.The question begged an answer, one neither one of us could provide.“I don't know, Brian. But please let me save you, let me save her.” “I don't want you to die.”“I don't want to die either,” my lips tilted on one side into a humorless ghost of a smile. “But can't you see? The end will come, and we will have spent the whole time breaking, instead of living. It has to stop.”“How do I find a shade in summer if my tree is gone—if you are gone?” He swiped his thumb back and forth on the baby bump. “She needs her mother.”“No, she needs her father, and she has a pack that will raise her. Though if she's anything l
VIOLETPregnancy had one too many disadvantages—sleep was the worst of them.Dawn hadn't even begun to colour the sky when I awoke, but Brian was already gone, and I lay alone on the wooden floor, a thin blanket over my body.Out of habit, my hand reached down to rub my belly, letting the thumps of life comfort me. A horrible conclusion was being drawn in my mind, and fear had me clutching my belly tighter. We had run out of time.And we were here, unprepared, unprotected, and undeniably counting down the days until Brian wasn't Brian anymore. Rage, strong and instinctive, grew within me; this curse had no right, the moon goddess had no right. Even Brian had no fucking right.My baby had to live… somehow.I hadn't left the spot on the floor when Keren came in that morning. I clung to her like a child when she helped me up, burying my face in her shoulder and soaking up all the comfort she offered. Mindlink or not, Keren was a quiet woman. Her eyes searched mine, filled with questions
VIOLET I knew something was wrong before he opened the door.“Brian,” I greeted, pushing my unwilling body to stand.His mumbled reply was lost behind the sudden spike of fear in my heart. Brian was pale, scarily so. And his eyebrows were tightly scrunched like he was in pain. He forced a smile for my sake and was muttering things too low for me to hear.He didn't stop by me or the table as I expected, but went straight into the corridor, and my worry spiked. Calvin had left mere moments ago and right now, I wished he hadn't.I followed after him, as fast as I could—it wasn't very fast. When I reached the room, my mate was lying flat on the bed and shivering like a single leaf against a storm. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. His eyes were closed, but he kept on muttering things I couldn't make out.“Brian,” I called out to him, my voice tight with fear.With care, I reached out to touch his forehead, and I snatched it back unconsciously. Hot. It was blistering hot.“Brian, what
BRIAN The heart thudded in unhurried beats; steady and calm. A life more precious than anything that had ever been given to me.I ran my hands around the smooth curve of her stomach. It still felt unreal—Violet was here with me, and she was carrying my child, a miracle I thought I'd never deserve.The woman herself was unaware of my state, stuffing her mouth full of little pieces of meat. It was all she ate now. “I feel like a balloon," she sighed, looking a little unhappy but still stuffing meat into her mouth.Well, she did look like a balloon too, but I'd never dare say it aloud. We were deep into a stage where she was always angry now. I felt my lips tip into a smile.My Violet. A tantrum was the least thing I should be worried about.Suddenly, her noisy chewing went quiet. My gaze lifted to her face and her eyes were closed, the whiteness of that face stark and accusating. The hand holding her bowl of meat hung limply at the side of the bed, and the bowl with its contents was
VIOLETThe mornings had become ordinary again. The good kind of ordinary.Minus the fact that I was swelling really quickly, I couldn't stand the smell of anything, and my baby had declared war on everything except meat. It wanted lots of meat. Anything else was hard to swallow.Everything else was perfect. Calvin was back on babysitting duty, and he watched over me, like a doe would guard her fawn. It was both lovely and alarming. I couldn't breathe without him cross-checking the air.The curse hung over us like a dark cloud, but I was determined to enjoy every moment regardless. All was quiet in the pack, no signs of new attacks or anything fishy from the elusive enemy, and while everyone moved around with a certain ease now, a tightness still lingered in the air. Like a deeply held breath. The exhalation would come at some point.Summer rolled around real quick and the heat was almost the end of me. But the gorgeous mornings, and the evidence of life all around us made it all wort
VIOLETBrian kicked my feet from beneath me, and we both fell. He then twisted so he would hit the floor first, and his body cushioned my fall.“We can still work on your offence, but I think you can challenge me and win now,” his breathless words ended in a breathless chuckle.He was lying. He was
VIOLETThe air between Calvin and me remained stiff, but I was finally ready to do something about it.He waited for me, paying unnecessary attention to the tree I usually trained with.I heaved a deep sigh that hurt my sensitive ribs. I wouldn't make this easy for me if I were him. And even then,
VIOLET Could trees cry? If they could, I'm certain this one would. I rained hits on it; elbows, fists, feet, shoulders, the weight of my whole body.“Liya would be mad if her tree dies,” Calvin casually commented. Day ten of my training with Aliya. Four days more and I would return to training w
VIOLET Calvin was darting weird looks at me.Whatever Harriette did to distract him, it worked for longer than I'd expected and when he opened her back door, I was right there. He knew I'd gone somewhere, but he didn't know where.Now as he hammered a piece of nail into a chair Harriette had claim







