What if the past you ran from came back to claim you? Emilia, a successful doctor and single mother, thought she left her wolf pack behind forever. But mysterious calls and a sudden abduction thrust her back into the dangerous world she escaped. With Alpha Raymond, her former lover, weakening from a hidden threat and conspiracies brewing against him, Emilia must navigate old betrayals and new enemies to protect her children and uncover the truth. Will she save the pack-and her heart-before it's too late?
Chapter 1 ONE
Emilia's children were driving her crazy
They ran around the office, throwing bits of paper up and screaming, while she tried valiantly not to hide behind her desk. She had never felt this rattled in a long while.
She ran her hand through her tight black curls of hair and sighed, then stood up from behind the desk, hoping her tall frame would scare them into silence.
"Kids! Stop this instant!" She yelled at the top of her voice. They stopped for a moment, looking at her from the other side of the room, then continued throwing bits of paper up as though she hadn't just spoken. Emilia sighed again and collapsed into her chair. The only person who could calm them was her boyfriend, and he was nowhere to be found at the moment. Where the hell was Kenneth when you needed him?
As though her thoughts had conjured him up, a knock came from the door and Kenneth poked his head through it. He gave Emilia a dazzling smile before turning to the screaming 6-year olds.
"Kids, what did I say about disturbing mommy?" He asked them with raised eyebrows. One of the little girls raised her hand.
"No ice-cream if we disturb mommy." She said, smiling to show gaped teeth.
"Exactly!" Kenneth said and stepped into the room. He had his hand behind his back , and brought it forward. He was holding a plastic bag which Emilia knew contained said ice-cream. Her boyfriend waved the ice-cream in their face, grinning from ear to ear. "Now, no ice-cream for you because you disturbed mommy."
Emilia watched as her kids began their shouting again. They gathered around Kenneth's knees, stretching their hands up and begging for the ice cream.
"Now, if I give you this ice-cream, do you promise to leave mommy and let her work?" He asked them, raising the plastic bag just above their reach.
"Yes, yes!" They yelled, and her boyfriend lowered the plastic bag. The children grabbed it in their little hands and ran out of Emilia's office, screaming at the top of their voices.
Kenneth chuckled as he watched them run down the hallway, then closed the door. He walked forward to her desk and sat before it, then propped his elbows up and watched her tired face.
"Well, at least all I have to do now is clean up the mess they'll make on their clothes. Thank you, Ken. What would I do without you?" Emilia said.
He raised his eyebrows. "You owe me, young woman."
Emilia smiled and leaned back on her chair in a dramatic pose. "What could I ever do to repay this singular act of chivalry?"
"Oh, I don't know. Get married to me, perhaps?" He proposed, his voice getting a little more serious.
Emilia opened her eyes and studied him from across the desk. He was good to her–perhaps the only person in this city who didn't raise eyebrows at the fact that she was a very young woman and had so many kids already. He had been good to her children too, taking them as his own kids despite the fact that he had three of his own too: three teenagers–though she'd never met any of them–all products of a nasty divorce.
Emilia had been attracted to his personality first and foremost, even before she became physically attracted to him. He would be turning 40 that year and was almost two decades older than her, but they had fit like gloves. His looks had added to it: his dark hair that curled at the nape of his neck, that she loved to run her hands through, his baby blue eyes that lit up with excitement all the time, his tall frame that matched hers so well.
She couldn't deny the fact that she was attracted to him. She was attracted to him, but she didn't love him. She had loved only one man, and he had broken her heart.
She sighed as her stormy grey eyes met his blue ones across the desk. She hated crushing his hopes everytime like this. "My answer remains the same, Ken. I cannot marry you."
She watched as his face fell for a second, then he put on a brave smile. "Oh, shoot. Well, I guess I'll try again next week."
Emilia laughed at that, the sound echoing around the office. "Well, who knows? Perhaps I would have changed my mind by then." Who was she kidding? She would never agree to his proposals, and it saddened her more than it should.
"Would you at least agree to have dinner with me at my house tonight? You could bring your three little minions along." Kenneth continued.
She smiled. "Of course, Ken. It's a date."
Suddenly, their conversation was cut short by a loud ring. Somehow Emilia knew who it was before she picked up her phone. A shiver went through her body as she looked at the screen and saw the tag "Unknown Caller".
She had been getting calls like this for several days now. Some unsaved number would call her, and when she picked, it would be the same words: "Get ready, Emilia. I'm coming to take you home". The first few times she'd picked the call, she'd tried to find out who it was, but the person would cut the call without a reply.
She had never been scared of anything like this in her entire life.
She watched the screen of her phone in trepidation till the call rang out. Then she dropped the phone on her desk and placed her head in her hands.
"It's the same number, right?" She heard Kenneth say and groaned in response. She'd told him about the call after she received the first one.
Kenneth picked up her phone and flipped through her phone. "Caller ID isn't on." He looked up at her, a frown on his face. "Can I have this number? I'll try to find out who it is." Emilia made a dismissive gesture at him with her hand. The unknown caller had said "home". She knew exactly what that meant.
She would never be able to run away from her past.
Chapter 1 ONE
25/08/2024