Everything I own fits into a small box, so packing wasn't difficult at all. There wasn't anything to leave behind, except for my bed of course and Audrey followed behind me as I wheeled the box to the middle of the parlour. Asides from mom and Audrey, the only thing I would miss in this house would be my room.My mum pulled me into a bone-crushing hug while dad was outside with the two men. Tears spilled out her eyes."I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she says, releasing me only to take me back into a tighter hug."Tell me what," I squeezed my brows together, but she just shook her head and clutched her mouth in her hands, her eyes red from too much crying."You will find out soon enough," she responds amidst tears. She checks me over, then crushes me into another hug."You're being weird. I'm coming back soon mother. Once the deal is completed, I'll be back. You're acting like you are never going to set eyes on me again," I lamented.Mo

His gaze did not waver from mine for the next ten seconds after Sapphire departed. He left the door ajar while the girl who had brought in the meal came back to clear the table and only carefully locked it after she was gone.Excitement and fear enveloped me, with fear taking the better part of me. I’m far from shy or timid, but I find myself tongue-tied when he is anywhere near me. His eyes were devouring me as I shifted my weight from one foot to another uncomfortably. Despite the enormous size of the room, it feels rather small with him in it.“Sit down Aria,” His authoritative voice remained emotionless as I settled myself on the sofa Sapphire had been sitting on, instead of the bed he had pointed to, and a scowl crossed his face.I kept my eyes trained to the ground as he starts to unbutton his shirt, my heart doing a faster rhythm than normal. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him as he peeled his shirt off his body and dumped it in the pile of unwa

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open, but I snapped it shut again and pinched myself. Maybe it had been a dream and I was finally back to reality.“You’re awake,” I feel masculine arms helping me to sit up, and I groaned again when I recognized Daryl’s voice. It hadn’t been a dream. I clutched at my rumbling stomach and flung my eyes back open again. “I knew you would wake up soon, so I got you food,” he pointed at the tray on the table to my left.This room was different from the one I’d woken up in the earlier. It was small, and dark, with just a little light by the bedside to give the room illumination. The bed was nothing close to the comfortable one in Slade’s room and it could barely contain two people without their skin grazing against each other. While I’d been comfortable in Slade’s bed, I felt irritated in this one.“Where am I?” I questioned.“You’re in my room Aria. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly, pulling back a strand of hair from my face. I had been a fool once

“I don’t like green. Besides, the dress is too revealing,” I pulled the dress over my chest for the nth time, while Sapphire giggled and waved her perfectly manicured nails with a practiced flourish.“Nonsense, wait till Slade sees you in this,” she beamed, her blue eyes popping out.“I’m not trying to impress him,” I lied, and Sapphire’s brows shot up, but she doesn’t say anything more on the topic.I spent most of the day reading through different werewolf history, with Sapphire filling me in on the ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of the pack. She showed me around, although we couldn’t do a proper tour of the entire community. Dark Wolf is a large pack, and I am impressed by Slade’s contribution to its development.The alpha position of the pack has been in his bloodline since its inception almost a century ago. While the pack didn’t thrive in its early days, things only slightly improved during Elvis Slade’s reign (Hayden’s father) and took a drastic turn

SLADE“What do you mean you haven’t slept with her yet?” Marcel whispered, but loud enough for me to hear as he followed at my heels.“She’s too fragile. I fear she would break if I take her now,” I let myself into my office with my beta following behind me.“Since when do you care about that?” he hissed. I turned to glare at him before settling behind my computer.“It’s best she is strong enough to carry my pups nine months straight, don’t you think?” I raised a brow.“She’s human!” he exclaimed.“Half-blood,” I corrected, my face contorting into a frown.“Right. Half-blood,” he amended “But she doesn’t even know that, does she?” he probes.“Where are you going with this?” I growled, allowing my alpha aura leak to my tone. It wasn’t like Marcel to pick an argument with me. Marcel has been my best friend since I can remember, he was born to be my beta, but he knows his place and never outsteps his boundaries. He never disrespects or questions my decisions, and he is loyal to a fault. H