Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
Lucas was the opposite, quiet and shy. He was more reserved, less receptive to the affection I showered on them. I would make sure he got used to it.
At some point, I must’ve dozed off. I was awakened by the loud noises of men and the crunching of snow. I gasped and sat up, reaching for the twins.
They were right there. I picked them up, kissing their foreheads.
It was time to confront the man who had tried to break me. I refused to let any tears well up and emerged from behind the tree with my children.
Mordechai was there with his men. They all gasped.
Even Mordechai.
None of them had expected the twins to be alive. That thought tore me apart. How could they be so heartless? They were just babies! Not monsters! The real monsters were locked in the city, waiting for winter to end, waiting for the next blood moon.
“They’re alive?” Mordechai whispered.
I nodded, glaring at him. “Lucky for you,” I retorted.
His men’s eyes widened. They looked between us, wondering what would happen next. I didn’t know either, but I was determined to ensure the children’s survival.
“You dare to speak to me so disrespectfully?” he barked.
“Respect is earned, husband. If you want me to speak to you kindly, then change your behavior. Sleeping with every other woman in the village and taking my children from me isn’t very respectful, is it?” I shot back.
I was shedding my mask. The meek persona that had been the only side of me I was allowed to show. But they had changed the rules by taking Lorelai and Lucas. Now, I was rewriting them.
Mordechai glared, his eyes icy as he looked at our children. “They are winterborns, Pearl. They will be our downfall. I can’t let a curse into the village, knowing what it would mean for our people,” he said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
I scoffed. He was a fool.
“These winterborns survived an entire week out here on their own. Don’t you think if the realm wanted them dead, they would be?” I countered.
That set them all whispering. There were lines even humans couldn’t cross, and one of those was the realm. It was its own entity, and if we angered it, it would retaliate.
“Sir, she might be right,” one of his men said, nodding toward a group of glowflies that hovered around the twins, illuminating them in the dark.
I grinned. I knew they were special.
Mordechai looked murderous in the shadow of the flame torches his men carried.
“They will be subject to the same rules as the rest of us. They must abide by every law. A misstep could be seen as treason,” Mordechai declared.
He was backing down. Typical. It was perfect for me, but it reminded me of what a coward he truly was.
“Understood. And they will be safe and protected like the others in the village?” I asked for confirmation.
Mordechai glanced at his men, who were all eyeing the glowflies, the twins, and me.
They all nodded, looking more afraid of the children than of the creatures they hunted.
“And what about our marriage? You have disobeyed and disrespected me, Pearl. I cannot tolerate–“
“Mordechai. I am your wife. I took an oath, and I take it seriously. I will abide by your harsh laws if you help me raise our children properly and remain faithful,” I interrupted.
His jaw clenched, and he looked like he was going to refuse, but he didn’t. Instead, he nodded once and stepped forward.
“I will take the boy and raise him in the men’s village with me. You can have her,”
he said, extending his hands.
I wanted to resist, to tell him no, but that was the way things were done. The boys were taken. He would grow up with other boys, learning his role in our village. It was the norm, but handing him over to his father, who had just ordered his death, felt so wrong.
“I want to see him every other day until puberty. That is allowed,” I insisted.
Mordechai nodded. “Fine. But the girl, she must be raised well, Pearl. Don’t let her embarrass us when it’s time for her ceremony,” he said sternly, cradling Lucas against him.
My anxiety eased when I saw Lucas relax against his father, clutching his shirt.
They were very advanced for their age, which I assumed was a winterborn trait.
Another thing that set them apart. It would be a challenge to prevent them from being ostracized as they grew up, but I was determined to do my part.
Lorelai was special, and I was going to make sure she knew that.
I walked back to the women’s village with Lorelai in my arms. At the courtyard between the villages, I kissed my son goodbye, sending him off with Mordechai and half my heart.
Tears slipped down my cheeks, and I wiped them away. I would see him again.
The realm had spoken. These winterborns were meant to live.
I clung to that thought as I carried Lorelai to our hut.
As I was stepping through the threshold, something caught my eye. A flash of something. I couldn’t be sure what it was. I frowned, following it.
I looked out over the grasslands and thought I saw a wolf in the distance. That was impossible because they were in the city, and the warning bell hadn’t rung.
I shivered, pulling Lorelai closer.
She giggled and played with a glowfly she had brought with her. She grabbed my face, my hair, my coat, distracting me.
I kissed her forehead, then looked back out at the grasslands for the shadow, but it was gone.
And for some reason, I missed it.
I knew the stories of wolves, the savages in the city. They had terrified me as a child, and they still did. Especially after my blood moon ceremony. I hadn’t enjoyed that.
But seeing the shadow of that wolf had felt different. There was something in my chest, a lump or an ache.
I looked down at Lorelai, who was smiling up at me.
Something told me that her survival hadn’t been entirely alone. And if that was true, I was grateful. For whatever had helped. Or whoever.
I shook off the feelings and entered the hut with my daughter. Lorelai Rosalie Katarina Valarian. My grandmother, my mother, and Mordechai’s mother all in one name, making her the strongest little winterborn that had ever existed.
And with one look in her eyes, I knew she was going to prove that to the world.
SAVED BY THE ALPHAS
Jen Cooper
1. The Shift
Lorelai
“Are you excited?” I asked, pulling a comb through Ryleigh’s long, dark strands of freshly washed hair.
“Nervous,” she murmured, looking out the window instead of in the vanity mirror.
“I think it will go great. It seems to be a common ceremony for the wolves and Derik assured me that with us all there, your first shift will be as painless as we can make it,” I said.
Ryleigh shuddered but said nothing, so I kept brushing.
I eyed her in the mirror. Her nightgown was fisted in her hands and I sighed. I had no idea how to make her feel better about the first shift or the ceremony we were having for it.
The first full moon, the first shift after winter was apparently always a big deal, but I didn’t know much more than that.
I hadn’t been here for the last one, so I had no idea what to expect.
“I sat in a chair just like this getting my hair brushed before my ceremony,” I said quietly.
Ryleigh met my eyes with hers in the mirror.
They always stood out. So wide on a round face with one brown and one green. It was pretty on her tan skin, a lighter dusting of freckles across her small, slightly upturned nose making her look so innocent.
But she wasn’t. She was strong. She had Derik as an Alpha. More so than the others had. And he wouldn’t let her down. I knew as much as that.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?