Chapter 1

• Edwina felt a shiver as she struggled with the cold glass of water in her hand. She seemed to be so uncomfortable in this waiting room even with all the air conditioning. The receptionist who had noticed her quivering earlier insisted that she had a glass of water to drink, but this did not help matters at all, as with each second that passed until it got to her turn, Edwina only felt worse.
• She knows its not the atmosphere that’s making her this way, it’s the person she is waiting for in this very room she’s worried about. Her first mate, who also happened to be the alpha of her pack, the night howlers, alpha Alexander the great.
• This is the first time in years that she will be meeting him, the first time since he rejected her, but this is only one reason for her nervousness. She is here to plead with him to release her sister, Sonia, and her husband Benedict. Their execution was pronounced yesterday immediately after Xander obtained the results of Sonia’s pregnancy test. The alpha painfully discovered that his Luna was carrying a child that belonged to his beta instead of him, the worst form of betrayal that had never happened in the history of night howler leadership.
• Benedict and Sonia are now in prison awaiting their death date, and the whole pack, including her family have given up on the case, as alpha Xander has refused to change his mind since. Everyone knows it’s a hopeless case for the two of them, as the alpha’s words are always final, but only Edwina thinks differently from this. Not that she thinks she has any chance of getting the alpha to overturn their sentence after everyone else has failed, in fact she does not know why she would even consider such thought, but at least, she felt the need to try.
• Benedict and Sonia are family to her, and she loves them both very much, even with all that’s happened, even with how much they hurt her, with how much they betrayed her, she could never bear to see them get killed. If meeting her former mate whom she’s dreaded for so many years, if staring into those cold blue eyes and getting down on her knees to beg with everything she’s got in her would give a small shot at saving Sonia and Benedict’s life, then she would do it a million times over.
• “The boss will see you now, Miss Edwina.”
• She nearly spilled the water upon hearing her name being called. It was the receptionist speaking.
• “I’m sorry, um… Excuse me?” Edwina asked, knowing clearly what she’d just heard, but still feeling the need to hear it again, just to be sure it was her.
• “I said, Mr. Chase will see you in his office now.”
• “Oh, okay.” She got up nervously, placing the water on top of the stool next to her, before picking up her bag to follow the receptionist into Mr. Chase’s office.
• She took slow steps behind the older woman, each one she took across the passage bringing her closer, making her heart beat faster. Was coming here a mistake? No, at least not to try to save the life of her family, but what about her? Will she be okay after this encounter?
• Her mind took a short walk to the day of the rejection then, she’d never felt so much pain in her life as she did that day, after finding out that of all people on the planet, the moon goddess joined her with the alpha of her pack. Jealousy sparked in the hearts of all female night howlers her age as the news somehow travelled far.
• “How could the alpha be mated to such a lowly creature?”
• “She doesn’t even have a wolf; how do we even know she’s one of us?”
• “She could never become Luna, alpha Xander would reject her straight away if he found out about her deficiency.”
• She didn’t let those gossips upset her, as after meeting him, if alpha Xander accepted the union and agreed to marry her, their words would be as good as irrelevant. But sadly, they were not. Before she could even get the chance to tell him herself, alpha Xander had already found out about it. It’s been a few years since the rejection, but she never forgot his words, those words that brought so much pain to her heart on the day she first met him.
• “I am sorry, but the night howlers cannot have a deficient Luna. You will have to find someone else.”
• He didn’t even spare her a glance that day before sending her out, perhaps if he did, he would have seen how much hurt he’d caused her, perhaps he might have changed his mind.
• “Miss Sinclair?”
• Her mind snapped back to the present as she realized her name had been called a couple of times before she answered.
• “Are you okay?” The older woman asked with a concerned look on her face.
• “Yes,” Edwina nodded confidently, trying to hide her true emotions. “I’m fine.” She said again.
• “Are you sure? You know, we could just reschedule if you’re not feeling up to it.”
• “No, don’t!”
• She had to do this no matter what. Apart from the fact that she knew what it took her to get here, she could not let her oversensitivity waste the small time that Benedict and Sonia had left.
• “Are you sure?” The receptionist asked her again, wanting to be certain before letting her into the large office behind the door in front of them.
• “Yes. I am very sure. I would like to meet with Mr. Chase now.”
• The older woman nodded and then let her into the office of the CEO of Laurel Wolf Holdings, Inc, one of the world’s former leading real estate companies, which according to news reports, is now on the verge of bankruptcy.
• After entering, the door closed behind her as she was left all alone with the blonde-haired man sitting on a wheelchair behind the large desk across the room. His wheelchair backed her as he stared the magnificent view of the city behind his office window, an advantage which the last floor of this high-rise building provided. He looked different since the last time she saw him, maybe its because the rejection came before the battle, when he wasn’t confined to that wheelchair, when he still had everything.
• She didn’t know what to do besides watch the back of his head. He must have heard the sound of the door, so why didn’t he turn to face her? She was scared to utter a word, so she just stood there, waiting until he would be ready for her.
• It didn’t take long before that happened.
• “Miss Sinclair?”
• “Y-yes, sir?” She stammered.
• “You do not have an appointment prior to this. Who are you and how did you get in here?” He asked her without turning his chair over, still staring into the glass walls in front of him.
• She took a deep breath as she remembered the words of his personal assistant, Lucia, who had cautiously warned her not to give her name out as the person who had given her a pass to the administrative floors. Edwina only had her to thank for getting in here. She would not put Lucia in trouble for her kindness.
• “I’ll have you know that I do not repeat questions, Miss Sinclair!” The dominant voice rang loud across the room, giving her more shivers. This time, he had turned to face her, and as he stared at her directly, she had to answer quickly.
• “I am Edwina Sinclair, sir. Omega Edwina Sinclair- of the night howler pack.”
• So, she was one of his wolves. She belonged to his home, she expected his voice to soften upon hearing what she said, she expected him to relax after finding out she was not the enemy, but his voice seemed no different than the last time he spoke.
• “You have not answered my second question. How did you get in here?”
• Here comes the question she was trying to avoid. How does she answer this now? She looked at him from where she was standing and noticed he was glaring at her, seeming to be annoyed by her silence. She had to say something, anything.
• “You can punish me as much as you like after this sir, but please, just hear what I have to say…” She then got on her knees before continuing, a move of hers which seemed to surprise him, “please… I beg you in the goddess’s name. Please, do not kill Benedict and Sonia. I beg of you not to kill them, please sir.”