“Mama, look!” The soft breeze that blew her daughter’s ginger-colored hair indicated to Emily that a new season was coming. Winter. It was the most brutal season, not just because she had to clean the porch and backyard of their house almost every day, but also because it was the scary season when people usually jumped on to the fast food restaurant to have their hot teas and coffees.Raising her nose to the air, she looked at Nia, who ran towards her to show off the five stars on her wrist. Emily chuckled as she knelt before her little daughter, admiring how active Nia was regarding academic activities. A smart kid, indeed. “Wow! Good job, my love. That’s a lot of stars!” she exclaimed, ruffling Nia’s hair and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “What did you do to earn these stars?”“I answered my Math sheet and finished it on time, then I drew a forest and also sang my favorite song in front of my classmates. They all like my voice,” Nia proudly said, putting her hands on both sides

Emily’s heart was beating so fast as she got out of the cab. Her breathing was heavy as if a giant hand was choking her, while running towards the kindergarten, not noticing the tears wetting her cold cheeks. “Lia! Where’s my daughter?” She sobbed as she swallowed the lump in her throat, holding Lia on both hands and squeezing it tightly. “How come she is missing? Where’s teacher Smith?” She walked into every classroom, calling Nia’s name but not seeing her daughter there. Still trying to be hopeful, she ran to the restroom and checked each cubicle but found no trace of Nia. She then went to the second floor to check if Nia was in the indoor playground and library, but to no avail. “Nia!” Her chest tightened so much she could hardly breathe. Her mind and soul were filled with worry and dread. What if something happened to her daughter? No. She would not be able to forgive herself if that was the case. “Em, we already checked here. She’s really not here,” Lia said, following her a

Something in Emily's mind kept saying she should not feel happy to see the Lycan King she escaped from years ago. Her feelings should never be tainted with happiness right now. She should feel furious, full of hatred, and protective of her daughter, who was in his arms. But her entire body felt otherwise. The longing she never acknowledged even once after Alpha Cain's car drove away from that secluded area where she got attacked by numerous Alphas; the kind of feeling of wanting to jump on his arms and feel his warmth, and the surge of unexplainable emotions in her heart whenever their eyes locked came back flooding in her body all at the same time. Emily gasped for air, hot tears forming on both sides of her eyes, but she blinked them away; she tossed aside all the crazy feelings that ran through her and reminded herself what she was going to deal with right now was not as simple as it may seem. "Mommy! I'm glad I'm home!" Nia's delighted voice echoed in her ears, making her come

Four days had passed since Lucian showed up. Emily woke up as if she was dying to sleep and rest more. Ever since that day, she hadn't had a good night's sleep. She was like a warrior wolf guarding the whole house, making sure there was no sign of a Lycan beast in the area who would try to steal her daughter whenever the situation permitted. But even if she wanted to stay on the bed and snuggle in her pillow, she was well aware of her responsibilities being a mother, so she got off the bed and started her morning routine as a mom of a five year old who needed to go to kindergarten. Nia was already awake when she went downstairs, already dressed up in her cute avocado green school uniform and sitting still on Lia's lap while the latter braided her ginger-colored hair. Emily smiled as she approached them. "Good morning, my love." "Good morning, Mommy. Kiss!" Nia raised both of her tiny hands, asking for Emily's kiss. "You smell so sweet, my love." Emily leaned in to kiss Nia's chee

Raising her face to scan the room she was in, Emily smelled the aromatic scent of Lavender that seemed to calm down her nerves. The cold night breeze entered from the balcony as Lucian opened its sliding doors, and the air indicated to her that they were in a safe hotel suite in the B city. Lucian told her it would freak out Nia and the rest of her family once they saw her bathing in blood, so he brought her into the hotel instead. He also removed his trench coat to hide her bloody clothes, but its stench smell remained in her, a strong indication and reminder that she had just killed humans that night. Lucian's approach was not noisy, rather very careful, but not silent either. He stopped right in front of her, looking at her with eyes filled with concern and understanding of what she just went through. Unlike her, who could still feel her body trembling even if she was no longer in that cell, his body seemed relaxed. Lucian seemed like a controlled ocean wave while she felt like