Chapter 5

Coping with the pace of her hyperactive step-kids with broken leg, Chloe was shopping for weekly groceries. The shopkeeper and passersby cracked two or three jokes about her black eyes and swollen lips, but then they restarted the hot conversation,

“Watch out Sony, your mate is charming. Don’t forget to alter her scent.”

As Chloe had never heard about this practice before, she stayed longer for picking ripe apples.

“I have heard that vampires take their mates at sixteen years old. Brother Ben, you should be careful about your daughters too.”

“No worries, I have sent my daughters to their mother’s pack. I am all set.”

Mr. Ben’s carefree attitude aroused her curiosity, she couldn’t stop herself from inquiring more about these preparations.

“Oh, you must haven’t heard about vampire’s visits. Every ten years, unmated vampires visit our Silver Moon Pack to find their soulmates. On this full moon night, twenty vampires will visit after midnight.”

Amazed at this news, Chloe continued her query as they replied her well.

“Vampires and werewolves can’t be paired. They are enemies, who allowed them to come and search our pack?”

Mr. Ben was impressed with her questions, he banged his fist on the table, burning with agitation.

“We don’t know who started this stupid tradition, but from my childhood, I am seeing those blood suckers claiming our women.”

His words worked as oil to flame and the conversation went south with extreme swear words, Chloe immediately left with her kids. James verbal abuse was enough, there was no need to stay there and increase their curse dictionary.

During cooking, she was thinking about this weird pairing between werewolves and vampires. According to Mr. Ben’s statement, there were interracial fated couples in the past.

After pondering over it for a while, Chloe reached to the conclusion that vampires are lonely creatures. They lived for centuries without any hitch, so their devastation of not having a mate in their Kingdom can’t be described in words. Whoever started this was a good man, giving them a chance for happiness. Otherwise, Alpha’s here aren't concerned about heaven’s retribution and lie about their fated mates.

Chloe put the kids to bed and braced herself for tonight’s torture when she saw James preparing to go out.

“Get your shawl, we are going to the hospital.”

There was no room for discussion in his stern command, she picked up her shawl silently and left with him.

At pack’s hospital, there was another humiliation waiting for her. James ordered a fertility test for her, as he was confirmed that she couldn’t bear a pup, although it was just two months since their marriage.

She went through that shameful process while hiding her tears, her dignity as a woman was shattered because of James’s in humane behavior.

After a wait of almost an hour, pack doctor Mike called them.

“I have seen her reports, she is perfectly fertile to bear ten pups. Congratulations, James, you’ll be a dad soon.”

Chloe sighed in gratitude, she couldn’t imagine her future if the report was any different from it.

“But when? My both mates got pregnant in the first month of mating. Why is it taking too long with her?”

James was clearly not satisfied with the result, his wolf was utterly disappointed on losing such a golden chance to torment her.

“You have two pups already. Maybe Goddess wants you to take care of them before you welcome any other pup into your family.”

Doctor's thoughtful advice opened a door of a new phase of James’s cruelty. He wasn’t an ideal dad, but now his behavior was worse than ever. Occasional slaps and kicks became frequent, he started getting angry at Chloe too, who took those blows over her body.

But things got out of the hand on full moon night. There was heavy rainfall accompanied by a thunderstorm that night, not favorite weather of werewolves. According to James, this wet weather removes scents from tracks and makes their fur sticky with mud.

So, apart from bad weather, James was drinking on the dinner table too, which alarmed her. She fed Tammy and Matthew quickly and locked their room too. Chloe was washing dishes after securing them when James came to her.

“Give me the keys, I know you have hid them.”

His rough hand fisted her hair, craning her neck to look at him.

“Why do you need keys? Kids are a sleeping now.”

As a response to her disobedience, he banged her head at the sink and asked again.

“I’ll bury them with their mothers. Now give me the damn keys.”

His audacity to confess about killing his pups stunned Chloe. Despite her bleeding forehead, she replied firmly.

“No, you can’t harm my kids. You have to deal with me first.”

Chloe’s determination was responded by roars of drunken James, he thrashed her to the floor, kicking her repeatedly.

“You, you measly insect, will stop me? They are my pups, you infertile whore. You have no right to be called as mother when your womb is barren.”

Lightening struck the ground somewhere, and gigantic thunder followed it, fueling Chloe’s enthusiasm.

James looked like her father to Chloe, she was able to picture the moment when he left her in the wild to be eaten by animals. She ran away to the living room, picked up a flower vase and shattered it on clueless James’s head in one blow, who was following her.

“At least I am better than you, James. You are a snake who eats his kids.”

Well, the following events were quite predictable, James’s furry settled down after breaking her every prominent bone, and he kicked her out in a rainstorm. He closed the door with a warning that a night out will make her grateful for a warm house and food.

Soaked wet in rain, Chloe wished for death, giving up on her life.

“Please Goddess, you know that I have passed through every trial, but I can’t take it anymore. Please end my misery!”

In her hazed mind and blurry vision, Chloe saw a dark silhouette of a tall man rushing towards her.

That was the last thing she saw before drifting into complete darkness.