Sighs

I've gone to the church to pray for my son, Robert Scott. On the way home, my carriage is overturned because the horses suffer from a shock. When I wake up, I look at my family gathering around my bed. Then, I decide to pull a prank on them. "Sorry, but who are you?" I do my best to suppress the smile that threatens to appear on my face. I want to see how my family is going to comfort me now that I have "amnesia". Will Mom and my husband, Jeremy Scott, take my hands comfortingly? Or will Robert lunge at me while crying out to me? What I don't expect is to see my family breathing sighs of relief after their initial shock has faded away. Mom is the first one to speak up with a hint of relief coloring her tone. "Since you've already forgotten all about us, then it's fine. Maisie, you're actually the adopted daughter of the Liddell family. Amber is the actual heiress of the Liddell family." Jeremy points at me while telling Robert, "Robbie, you must address her as Aunt Maisie." Before I can recover from my shock, I see my own son, whom I'm willing to sacrifice my life to protect, running over to hug Amber Liddell, the fake heiress, happily. "Mom, I've spent the whole day playing outside! Oh, I miss you so much!" So, it turns out that my case of amnesia is exactly what this family wants. In that case, I might as well abandon this farce of a family.

When my best friend died, his wife, Mia Lewis, was eight months pregnant. Mia said she didn't want her baby growing up without a father. I owed my best friend my life. He saved me, literally pulled me from death's door. So I stepped up, marrying Mia and raising their son as my own. Mia loved her career, so I quit mine. Traded my job for diapers and school runs. For seven whole years, I cooked, cleaned, folded laundry, and handled the housework. Rain or shine, sickness or health, I was there—every single day. Mia, though? She stayed cold, distant. Her warmth only surfaced in the bedroom—and even then, it was a flicker, never a flame. Just soft sighs and breathy murmurs, like she was playing a role she couldn't wait to finish. Afterward, she would quietly check the condom, as if she couldn't trust me. Then came New Year's Eve. A snap. A tear. A broken condom. Her fury struck like a thunderclap. She locked me out on the balcony, left me standing in the freezing rain, soaked to the bone as the wind howled like a wounded beast. Teeth chattering, I shivered as I watched the door like a dog, waiting to be let in. Then I saw him. Our boy, Ethan Bailey. Six years old. My son, at least in name. He came running with an umbrella in his hand. For a second, my heart leapt. 'Maybe, just maybe…' But he didn't even look at me. Just walked past in silence and handed the umbrella to the nanny heading out. Right then and there, something inside me cracked. I knew it was time to go.

With exactly three days until our house is seized and everything we have is taken away. My father sits in his chair slumped over and defeated "Rose" he calls to me and I go to him. On bended knees, I answer him, "yes father my voice echos as it bounces off our now bare walls". Dear, I'm afraid I've failed you and we have lost everything, sighing he peers at me and continues. A man stopped by this morning offering to help me figure it out but I'm afraid the cost was too high. What was the cost father please tell me. Looking at him with pleading eyes, he sighs as he began to explain. He offered to pay off my debt and restore my business if I was to give up that most precious to me. My eyes widen and my throat goes dry just as my eyes fill with tears. Someone wants me I whisper and see his eyes dim just a little. Yes, my dear, and I can’t do it. Grabbing his hand, I lean in close so he can hear me. I’ll do it, "his eyes grow wide as he begins to shake his head no fast”. I smile and continue for you I will do it. He wants to be wed this evening my dear and we know nothing about him. “If he can stick to his end of the bargain the rest does not matter I will serve him if it means you won't have to worry”. My tears tickle my face the ones I didn't even know escaped. Standing to my feet I look at him and sigh, if there is to be a wedding today we should get ready with that I take my leave locking myself in my room.

One week before our marking ceremony, my Alpha Mate, Corey Black, looks me straight in the eye and says something unbelievable, "I want to have a pup with my long-time friend Willow." At first, I assume it's a terrible joke, but I see determination in his serious expression. I suppress the churning feeling in my stomach and ask him why. He sighs, his gaze gentle as if he's soothing an unreasonable child. "Willow's old Beta father is dying. His only dying wish is to see Willow have a pup. We're doing it through IVF, so it won't hurt our relationship. "Her father devoted his entire life to the pack. You wouldn't refuse to fulfill even his dying wish, would you? You wouldn't be that cruel, right?" I don't know how to respond. He speaks as if not letting my fated mate have a pup with another woman is selfish. Later, when I go to visit the gravely ill old Beta, Corey is holding Willow Lester in his arms. His hand gently strokes her hair as he lets her sob against his chest. The moment our eyes meet, pain strikes my very soul. My wolf lets out a desperate howl of anguish. I stumble away, only to receive a text from him on the day of our marking ceremony. "Honey, Willow and I are undergoing the IVF procedure. Let's postpone the ceremony for now." I stare blankly at those words, my hand unconsciously moving to my still-flat stomach. Since he wants so badly to have a pup with another woman, I will grant his wish and disappear with my pup.

I step into his office and he's waiting for me seated behind his desk. He eyes me intently. His amber eyes bore deep like he's trying to look into my soul. My face is neutral with so expressed emotions. “You can't work under me anymore Ms. Robinson.” He says and I wonder why am not surprised. So the rumors were true. “Are you firing me sir?” I ask and everytime I say the word Sir it feels so foreign in my tongue even now. He sighs and gets up from his seat staring at me with a professional look on his face. “I can't continue like you don't know what I want Ms. Robinson.” He replies and I frown not wanting to get into the same topic once more. I look away. “You know it's not possible. You are....married sir.” And I am forced to go down memory lane which brings nothing but pain and sadness. It had been four years since he left to study abroad. He left me with the hope of him returning and uniting with me. For our love. We loved each other since elementary school and I even did the deed at fifteen. I waited for him. I depended on his promise and didn't look anywhere else for love because my heart had already been claimed by him. But I was in for a shock and a pain wrenching stab to my chest when he returned but not alone. He returned not as mine but as someone else's. He was far away from me now. He returned as a married man with his wife. Now he wants me back but not as his equal but as his secret lover. As his mistress.

A moan of pure pleasure escapes my mouth and he nips my lower lip, sending shock waves through my body. Pushing me onto my back, he continues to devour me - nipping at the skin along my neck and running his hand over the fabric covering my breasts. Heat builds up between my legs as I feel him harden against my thigh. I bite my lower lip and instinctively raise my hips against him. He moans and takes my face in his large hands. "Look at me. If we continue any further I'm not going to be able to stop myself. If we mate I will mark you and you'll be mine forever." He says slowly, the words penetrating the fog clouding my brain. "Is this what you want?" My body screams yes, but my mind forces me to be rational. "Not yet, eventually but not yet." I admit, running my hands through his hair. He sighs, disappointment evident before he rests his head on my chest. "I don't want you to get hurt by our matebond." I eventually say. "What do you mean?" He asks. I lift his hand and place it on my thigh, letting his fingers brush against the scars. "Kane told me that when you're mated, you feel everything your mate feels… I don't want that. I don't want you to feel if I die. " *** Natalia has spent the last ten years living in isolation, scarred from witnessing the massacre of her parents, she believes that the mate bond and love are a weakness she never wants to experience - even when confronted with her very own mate. Unfortunately for her, Liam, Alpha of the Dark Moon Pack has no plan on letting her go. Will succumbing to him save her, or will it be her ultimate doom?