Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“Where did she go? Who approved this?!” Bell shouted.
“I did,” another voice called.
Bell spun around to see Fiona standing a few feet down the hall. She had a gentle expression on her face.
“Where is she?” Bell asked.
Fiona moved toward Bell. She gave the nurse a gentle nod, sending her away.
“Gone,” she said.
“Gone where?”
“I don’t know,” Fiona replied. “She didn’t give me many details of her plans.”
Bell was scared and angry. She wanted to shout, scream, and send out a search party.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she said. “Selene is lost and confused! She needs our help!”
“And that is what I gave her,” Fiona replied.
Bell furrowed her brows.
“What?”
Fiona took a breath; she reached out and gently touched Bell’s shoulder.
“Selene reached out to me,” she said softly.
Bell’s eyes widened.
“She did?”
Fiona nodded.
“She asked me to come, and I did,” Fiona said. “She asked for my help, and I gave it.”
“What does that mean?” Bell asked.
Fiona pursed her lips. She seemed to think of how to answer.
“You are right. Selene is lost and confused. But being here, and around all of us, isn’t helping her,” Fiona said. “She’s not ready for that.”
Bell looked away. Selene had told her as much, But Bell was worried. She wanted to help, and she wanted to be there for her.
“Selene called me here to tell me she needed time,” Fiona continued. “There is something she needs to do. She didn’t tell me what, only that it would not endanger anyone else and that she was leaving with or without my blessing.”
“She shouldn’t be alone!” Bell shouted. “She needs someone to—“
“Watch her?” Fiona asked. “Babysit her?”
Bell sighed.
“Keep her safe…” Bell replied. “From herself.”
Fiona smiled and nodded.
“Selene won’t hurt herself,” she said, “she’s catching her breath.”
Bell furrowed her brows.
“She has been drowning in the moment that she lost Alexander for the past four months,” Fiona said. “Every single day, every night. All she has been able to see is him being dragged away from her, unable to do anything about it.”
Fiona closed her eyes and took a breath.
“But the trip to Moonguard…” she sighed. “She scared herself, and it forced her to see past that nightmare. To the even bleaker world that exists without him in it.”
Bell swallowed, listening to Fiona’s words and imagining how hard the past four months must have been for Selene.
Fiona gave Bell’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. She tilted her head and smiled at her warmly.
“It’s a good thing,” she whispered. “The only way for anyone to come back up from the bottom is to reach it first.”
Fiona took a deep breath.
“Selene is a strong woman. But she is in pain and needs to be allowed to experience it,” she sighed. “She’s also very young. Lashing out is a natural response and one that she has recognized. Selene is doing what is best for her and those she cares about. If you really want to help her, give her your trust again.”
Bell took a breath and looked away.
“When will she come back?” Bell asked. “What if something happens to her? How would we even know?”
Fiona smiled.
“Well, that, at least, I did take care of,” she said. “I agreed to help her on the condition that I hear from her with at least a message every three days. If I do not, I can have Nessa track her through the phone she took.”
Bell nodded and sighed.
“I’m just worried,” she said.
Fiona nodded, putting her arm around Bell’s shoulder.
“I know, I am too,” Fiona replied. “But I must believe in her. Because that’s what Alexander would want me to do.”
***
Another two months passed.
In Winter, Axel and Alice welcomed their twins. Two beautiful, healthy boys that they named in honor of two great men. Wyatt and Jonas.
Myka continued to teach his troop, but plans for any practical experience outside of Winter were put on hold. Peter also took it upon himself to train Myka’s troop in varying degrees of first aid. Stefan was the quickest and most enthusiastic learner, followed closely by Sadie.
After coming out of their mourning period, the wolves of Broken Crag found their new Alpha. No contest was held, no trial, and no argument was raised.
Alpha Landon was the only possible option. He was practically a son to Jonas and a natural leader to the Crag wolves. Never hesitating in his service to his pack or the wolves as a whole.
Burning Ember had finally made it back to their territory. Though their home was nothing more than ruins after the damage done by the army of fae and hybrid monsters that Penelope and Mateas had died to keep from destroying the pack, one forge remained in working order. It was enough. Lighting a single fire was all they would need to rebuild and start anew.
In Summer, Galen continued working closely with Luna Fiona to handle the pack’s day-to-day operations. He also worked closely with Axel on building the foundations of a true alliance between the packs.
It had been almost six months since the end of the war.
The territories of the wolves had changed dramatically. The packs were no longer divided. The ancient enemy had returned and remained. New and known fae continued to appear all over the territories but through communication and cooperation, they were quickly pushed back from the lands occupied by the different packs.
But the unclaimed lands or those whose pack had been exterminated during the war were a different story. Here the fae laid claim, and for the time being, the wolves had decided to let them be.
Moonguard was one of these territories.
When the Summer and Winter search parties had been called home, warnings had been sent out to every pack. Descriptions of the creatures and the damage they could do. After receiving these warnings, no wolf dared approach the mountains of Moonguard.
Except for one.
Alice had experienced many forms of fear in her life.
The fear of failure, as her failures almost always led to torture of some kind from Holden or Roman. Whether it was physical punishment or the erasure of her entire personality and memories, it was something she had gotten used to.
She was also familiar with the fear of death, so familiar that it had almost stopped being a fear entirely. Instead, it was an inevitable and natural expectation of her job as a doll. But, being with Axel, seeing the pain in his eyes when she was in danger, she had to force herself to relearn how to be afraid for her own life.
She feared losing the people she loved, Myka and Sofia. Those were the only ones she cared about for a long time. Until she found that strange draw toward the young Alpha of Winter, thoughts of him creeping into her mind even before she knew or remembered who he was.
Warning him about the poison after his ceremony, telling him not to trust her. Her fear of losing him far outweighed her fear of failure or death.
After she was freed from the strings that Holden held her with, Alice discovered that the number of people she was concerned about grew little by little. Myka, Sofia, Axel, Stefan. Those were her people… until Peter and Bell became her people.
Sadie, Corrine, and Galen. Slowly, Alice could no longer state a hard line of who she would protect and defend. Instead, her heart had opened to the people of Winter, the orphans of war, and the family and friends that accepted her.
But from the moment the pregnancy was confirmed, Alice had discovered an entirely new kind of fear.
A blending of failure, loss, and death. Every action she took, her food, and her decisions could endanger the lives growing inside her. And for the first month, Axel was still in a coma.
She was tired and scared all the time. Relieved that his tests were coming back positive, bitter that he wasn’t waking up. Alice ate the meals she needed to. She did the stretching that Bell recommended. She went on short walks with Myka, Stefan, and Sadie to keep from dwelling too long or allowing her ankles to swell too much.
But every bite, every movement, every step, they all left her feeling tired. She was worn down emotionally and physically. She needed Axel to open his eyes. She needed to hear his voice and know that he was all right.
When she found Selene standing in Axel’s room, she knew immediately that it was not a visit to check on her brother. Selene wanted something.
Alice couldn’t blame her. Axel was in a coma, but at least he was in front of her. She knew what had happened to him; if the worst came, she would know that too. But Selene didn’t have any of that for Alexander. There was nothing but uncertainty, fear, and desperate hope.
So, Alice tried to be understanding and patient. But the simple fact was, she couldn’t help Selene even if she wanted to. No one could.
Alice drew a line in the sand that day. It would seem cruel to many, but it was necessary for her. She couldn’t afford to care about Selene’s pain. Not when she was struggling to make it through each day. Not when the two lives inside of her needed everything she had.
After Axel woke, things got better. Alice could breathe again and felt more secure with him by her side. She could enjoy small moments here and there with him as their babies grew.
Selene continued to struggle, and Axel took it to heart.
He was working hard to build the alliances between the packs, to build the foundation of a future where they could all share a voice together. Yet, simultaneously, he was doting on Alice and thrilled to dream of the months ahead when he would meet his children.
But with every passing day, he heard more and more concerning reports about Selene’s behavior and what she was doing to try and find Alexander. Alice had tried to help him deal with these concerns. She encouraged him to talk frankly with Selene, to remind her that as painful as it is, the world does have to move forward.
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?