جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

Carl’s POV“Are you even listening to me, Carl?”The voice belonged to Ashley, but it sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a deep well.I blinked wondering if the trackers had found anything. She had been gone for days, and the woods were freezing at night.Was she warm? Was she eating? Did she have anyone helping her?“Carl!”I shifted my focus back to the room.Ashley sat to my right, her hand resting delicately over the slight swell of her stomach. She wore a soft, cream-colored knit dress that practically screamed innocent expectant mother.“Yes, Ashley. I’m listening,” I said, though my voice sounded hollow, even to my own ears.“You aren’t,” she pouted, her lower lip trembling.“I was saying that the midwife wants us in the clinic tomorrow morning at eight.And after that, the designer is bringing over the fabric samples for the nursery. I want your opinion on the velvet.A future heir deserves the absolute best, don't you think?”Across the table, my mother smiled warm

Melinda’s POVIf someone had told me half a year ago that I would wake up every morning in a bed made of feathers, surrounded by people who actually cared if I was alive , I would have laughed in their face. Yet, here I was.I shifted slightly groaning as I tried to find a comfortable position. At twenty-four weeks, I wasn't just pregnant; I felt like a walking planet. Carrying twins meant my stomach had ballooned past the point of subtleness, and every movement felt like training. Before my feet could even touch the plush rug beside the bed, the door flew open."Melinda! Don’t move!"I blinked as Julian rushed into the room, a tray of breakfast piled dangerously high in his hands. Right behind him was Caleb, looking as anxious as if he were guarding the pack borders from a rogue invasion."I am perfectly capable of putting my own slippers on, Julian," I sighed, though a smile tugged at the corner of my lips."The doctor said you need to minimize unnecessary exertion," Caleb coun

Carl's POVNearly a week had passed since that night outside the restaurant, yet the image of Melinda smiling at that man was burned into my head.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her, I heard that laugh; I watched her lean into the touch of another Alpha, entirely at ease in a world that didn't include me.First came jealousy, then came the anger.She looked happy, truly, effortlessly happy. While I had spent half a decade rotting in my own skin, drowning in a purgatory of my own making, she had simply closed the door on our past and walked away.The realization that she wasn't frozen in time, mourning what we had lost, stung more than I cared to admit.As an Alpha, I was used to absolute control, used to dominating every room I walked into but looking at her now, I felt entirely powerless."Carl? Are you even listening to me?"Damon’s voice snapped me back to reality. I blinked, realizing I was staring blindly at a spreadsheet detailing our pack’s emergency medical supplies.We we

MELINDA Even in this huge hall, I could still feel his eyes staring at me from across the room. No matter where I walked to, he always found a way of bumping into me or at kwwat, catching my eyes and I promise, I wanat even looking at me. He was looking for me. This wasn't how I planned tonight to go. Why did this have to happen this way? This wasn't how I wanted to meet him. But I seemed to forget that he was an Alpha in this region and sooner or later, I would bump into him. Why didn't I just call in sick when I wanted to? Julian wouldn't have forced me to come. Now I have to deal with this all night. Standing before the buffet, none of the food looked appealing. I was scared to raise my head up when I heard my name or when someone brushed past me. The first time in five years he sees me, he still manages to ruin my life. I excused myself from the couple that had been speaking to me about their son and how he would be a perfect match for me. No one here knew who I was or t

MELINDA The urge to actually tell him how I felt was heavy. What could I say to him that would accurately express how I felt and how he had made me feel all those years? There was nothing I could say that would properly tell him how I felt. It was no use. What he wanted you do was make me talk so I could get comfortable and then he would have access to me. I won't be that stupid again. “I won't say it again, Carl. I have nothing to say to you, turn around the same way you came and leave. You and I are not on speaking terms and will never be.” He took a step forward. “Melinda-” “Get out!” His jaw clenched, like he made a resolve in his mind not to listen to me. “No, I won't go. I will stay here and you and I will have a conversation like adults. You're going to listen to me.” Was he deaf? What made him think he had the audacity to claim any rights around here? “Please.” That last word came with much more softness than the others, like he was pleading this time