Lahat ng Kabanata ng The rejected luna stolen pups: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

“I didn't sign up for this." Sophie muttered, her eyes fixed on the small vial in her shaking hands, the faint light of her bedlam casting an evil glow within it, making it look ever so more sinister than it felt.She recalled vividly the words of her uncle: "You have one chance, Sophie. One at making the future of this family secure. Do it, or everything falls apart.”She sank onto the edge of her bed, the weight of her decision heavy upon her chest, an iron anvil laid on her breast. How did this happen? Since when was it impossible to make choices that took her life down some path, then one even darker, and finally darker?It was a slammed door that yanked her out of her spiral of thoughts. She sat a little up, her heart going wild with the heavy footsteps that followed, unsteady loud and decidedly drunk."Ethan?" she whispered, setting the vial carefully down on the nightstand as she padded toward her door.She saw him when she opened a crack. His usual commanding stride was sloppy

Ethan woke to the first bleed of morning light through half-pulled curtains. The much-anticipated heat beside him lay as an emphatic void, chilling the bed of warmth. His wrinkled brow arched into place, and within the nook of his mind, the last few seconds of the night flickered."Sophie?" he muttered, sat up groggily, then looked around the room. The air was heavy, still, but for the soft whoosh of wind against the panes, a gentle reminder that yes, there was a world beyond these four walls. His shirt lay on the floor, evidence of what remained of their passion, but where was she?Then, in a rush, panic enveloped him. Has she regretted it already?He ran a hand down over his face before throwing the covers off and sitting up to full height. Ethan hovered beside the door as his hand made to reach out for the handle and caught mid-air. What really, really haunted him wasn't only the shared vulnerable state of that night, but it could be because he had messed absolutely everything up-p

The quietness was ominous in the house.Sophie opened the front door and took in the empty front room. It was always warm and homely in the pack house, but tonight, it felt absent even the air seemed to have thickened. She let her bag fall from her shoulder to the floor as she moved toward the stairs, knowing her mind was still in that cloud after being confronted by her uncle."Ethan?" she called softly into the night air, but he didn't answer her.She trudged upstairs to their bedroom, her feet at each and every step heavy as though weighed with the turmoil that went on in her. The door to their room was open ajar. She pushed into it, certain Ethan was inside too. But this was a dead room; the silence so loud within those walls and nothing to state the fact better than a small piece of folded paper lying neatly on her pillow.She squinted, picked it up, and unfolded it."Meet me at the beach. No excuses. -E."Re-reading that note sent a wild pulsation through her chest as her finger

"You can't keep me cooped up here forever, Liam!" Ayla's voice climbed, hard with desperation, as she paced in the small room, shadows of the flickering candlelight crossing her path erratically. Fists clenched at her sides, frustration was slowly simmering up.She stepped forward; her heart racing in her chest, glaring menacingly at the thick wooden bar which separated her from the man on the other side. Days now since she'd been locked away in this place, her liberty taken from her along with loved ones and pups."Coward," she whispered barely above a sigh, shivering with suppressed rage.And then she heard the knock at the door. As the little slot at the bottom slid open and a tray of food was shoved inside, she said nothing. Ayla stared at the meal-so unappetizing-looking: some bread and something like broth. Immediately her stomach began to churn-but not from hunger.She bent forward, her eyes focusing on the tray. Beside the bread was a note, folded into a rough square. She coul

"Is it not great news, Ayla? A new life… our life. Our pup."Liam talked so cheerfully, standing by the window and looking towards the setting sun.Ayla sat on the bed edge, not a breath or movement, while her fingers quivered against the thin blanket laid over her lap. His words stirred up in her stomach-heavy, each heavier than the last. "No, it's not. It's heartbreaking news," she whispered, barely audible.Liam spun on his heel, face hard. "You can't mean that."Her head came up and she stared back at him. "I do."The tension was ice in the air. Liam's jaw clamped shut down, and in a deliberate enough movement to show he'd by no means have his tail over his backbone about this, stepped closer toward her. "You will come around, Ayla. This child is our link; a proof and reminder of the love that was once between us that will forever bind us."She could feel the pound of her heart inside. Eternity. Just the word had a chill creeping over her skin. "It's not a bond" she said steadily