Filed To Story: Goddess's Design His Fated Mate (Willow & Reuben)
What did she mean? Why was she so confident? A jumble of emotions churned within me, unsettling my heart. Lost in thought, I failed to notice a figure standing behind me until only a hand’s breadth separated us. Startled, I turned to find Bix standing there, his expression stern.
Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, I asked, “What’s the matter?”
It was highly unusual for him to linger around me for so long, given that he couldn’t stand the sight of me for even a second.
“Reuben wants your opinion on the Thanksgiving gathering for your family of four. I’m arranging it, so come inside and check the list that’s been sent for you,”
he spoke quickly before entering the packhouse.
I blinked in surprise. It was the first time Bix had spoken to me, even though he was merely trying to fulfill one of his duties.
Taking a deep breath, I followed him to the living room where he placed the list on the table for me to inspect. As I picked it up, I couldn’t help but notice his slightly swollen face. Beads of sweat adorned his forehead and he frequently touched his stomach, his discomfort evident in the pained expression he concealed so well.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
I asked casually, but his reaction seemed alarmed.
“No,”
he murmured, withdrawing his hand from his stomach.
“Why are you lying? Should I call Reuben or Oran if you don’t feel well?”
Sensing something was amiss, I suggested. I knew he wouldn’t readily accept help from me, but he might feel more at ease with his friends.
He frowned immediately for some reason and retorted, “How about you just focus on the list and let me get the fuck out of here?”
He glared at me in displeasure.
Ignoring his hostility, I went into the kitchen and returned a while later with a cup of herbal tea. “Have this then you can get the fuck out of here, if that’s what you want.”
He glanced at the cup placed in front of him, then shifted his focus to me as I added the items I wanted for Thanksgiving. Pushing the cup aside, he sneered at me, “Stop pretending to be a decent person in front of me. Save it for the others.”
I could not help but just stare at him, “Why do you hate me so much?”
I finally asked the question that had been weighing on my mind since I arrived at this pack. “Is it because of Ella?”
“You really don’t know anything, do you?!”
Bix’s eyes flashed red, as if he was recalling something truly soul crushing. “I don’t hate you. I loathe you.”
“Why?”
I stared at him sternly.
“Why did you leave Reuben six years ago?”
he demanded.
I was slightly taken aback by the sudden change of the topic that went to Reuben and I. How could his hatred towards me be connected to us? I straightened my back and replied, “That is between Reuben and I.”
“Then why the hell was I being dragged into this?”
he suddenly barked. I flinched, staring at him in surprise. He was being dragged into it? What did he mean?
“Let me tell you something, Willow!”
He abruptly rose from his seat then yanked me up out of my own as well. “Whatever reason you had to leave Reuben, it could never have justified what Reuben has lost since then!”
he growled, gripping my arm tightly and pulling me closer to his face. “You have destroyed his life to the point that he has nowhere to turn!”
With that, he shoved me away and turned to leave with the list. I collapsed onto the sofa, overwhelmed with restless confusion. Bix’s hateful glare frightened me for reasons I couldn’t comprehend. Such intense hatred couldn’t stem from trivial matters. What did he mean? What had Reuben lost because of my departure? How had I ruined Reuben’s life? What had transpired six years ago that was irreparable?
Memories of Reuben’s animosity toward his own father flooded my mind, intertwining with Bix’s words. Since my return to this pack I hadn’t seen Alpha Louis and his name had not been mentioned by anyone. I hadn’t shown interest in delving into the matter, not wanting to disrupt my life further, but it seemed I was missing crucial information.
I sat there for a long time, pondering everything. Why was I being blamed for things that I wasn’t even aware of?
Taking a deep breath, I made a decision. I needed to uncover everything that had transpired in this pack and Reuben’s life during the past six years. I had to understand what had happened to Reuben and why they accused me of ruining his life.
If I didn’t unravel this mystery, I knew it would haunt me for the rest of my life. I had to uncover every detail about Reuben’s life during the past six years that I had been absent. It became my top priority and the most significant challenge of my life.
Little did I know, the biggest upheaval had already silently arrived in my life, like a gentle wave lapping the shore before the storm.
Somewhere far away, a werewolf pack lay deserted, the land surrounding it resembling a barren wasteland. The houses stood with doors thrown open, there were no sounds of birds or animals echoing from the woods, casting an eerie atmosphere over the once-beautiful land.
A gentle wind pushed aside the curtains of the packhouse, infiltrating the Alpha’s office where two figures sat across from each other under a dim light. A game of chess rested between Alpha Rick, drenched in sweat, and a tall figure exuding a potent yet malevolent aura.
The Alpha’s hands trembled violently as he reached for a chess piece. It was his turn to make a move, but a single wrong decision would spell the end of his own game. This was his last opportunity to either win or lose.
Paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake, the hand holding the chess piece hovered in mid-air. He ever so slightly glanced up at the figure leisurely seated on the sofa with their legs crossed and face partially obscured in the dim light. As his eyes finally settled on the man’s strikingly handsome yet unsettling features and the aura of malevolence surrounding him, Alpha Rick’s heart quivered with dread. He quickly looked back down at the chessboard and in a panicked moment dropped the chess piece onto a random square on the board.
The Alpha’s face drained of color, his complexion alternating between white and blue as he realized the irreversible nature of his mistake. Before him, two long slender fingers appeared, deftly picking up a chess piece and cornering Alpha Rick’s king, effectively ending the game in a single move.
“Checkmate,”
a deep voice intoned, bringing the game to its inevitable conclusion.
Alpha Rick’s heart leapt into his throat as he watched his king topple from the chessboard.
It was over. He had lost the game that would determine his fate. Raising his eyes slightly, he met a pair of eyes with different colors, akin to a ghost’s stare.
The Alpha nearly tumbled from his seat in horror at the sight of the man before him. He he was no ordinary werewolf! He was a monster!!
“Please, spare me! Please!!”
he cried, pleading desperately, his skin burning with the intensity of the man’s gaze but mostly from the silence.
Rick knew that he was doomed. He didn’t understand how or why he had become the sole person of the pack, forced to play a life-and-death game of chess with the man before him who had just walked into his pack as if he were on an evening stroll. Only now that he had lost, he decided to strike first.
“I will damn well kill you!!”
With a roar, Alpha Rick staggered in fear before lunging at the man, only to be swiftly sliced in two.
Alpha Rick’s lifeless body crumpled to the floor of his own packhouse.
“Too bad, many have tried and failed. Perhaps in your next life,”
the man remarked, stepping over the lifeless body as he exited the packhouse, which was already engulfed in flames.
He strolled leisurely amidst the burning woods, pausing only under the moonlight to inhale the scent of a small torn piece of white handkerchief tied around his hand. “Willow Rathbone,”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.