BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon
Chapter 137 – Mystic Ridge
LUCY…
I let my hair dance against the crisp wind as I looked at the vast forest all around us. My left hand was tightly clasped against Adan’s as he drove us through the forest.
We were heading somewhere important to me that had been put on hold for weeks as I tried to maneuver into my new life as Luna of the Mystic Pack and Adan’s mate.
I couldn’t believe how far I’d gone in just a couple of months. The Omega Feast and the Underworld adventure felt like distant memories now, and soon I would be in my third month of pregnancy and about to meet my little boy. I couldn’t be more excited.
I knew he would be perfect, just as his father was.
A month ago, my Luna ceremony was held at the same time Adan and I vowed to the moon to love and respect each other for eternity through our union ceremony. We kept the ceremony simple, celebrating with guests that were special to us. We only invited close family and friends, together with the elders and leaders from all parts of our territory. We had invited a few Alphas that were close with Adan, but that was it.
Not that we didn’t want to celebrate it, but with the increase of pack attacks in the northern part of the country, we wanted to stay vigilant and keep our pack protected while keeping attention away from us. Not that we were scared, but in any war, it is always the civilians who suffer the most, and we wanted to avoid that.
Ethan was one of the Alphas who worked together with others to launch attacks on small packs. He wanted to expand his territory, and I knew Adan was just controlling himself so he would not interfere.
In the north, to each his own — until you seek a*s*sistance.
But for us, we were confident we would survive any attack. Aside from the fact that no one had attempted to challenge the last three Alphas of the Mystic Pack, who would dare touch us when they all knew two demons were ruling over our territory?
Everything had been going well — so well that sometimes I couldn’t help but worry, but then I remembered I was no longer alone. In whatever turmoil fate would throw at me, I had Adan. We would be okay.
Hades had never bothered me since the day I encountered him, but the Goddess Selene had often been in my dreams. I knew it was her way of communicating, a*s*suring me that she meant to keep her word to look after me and Adan.
I smiled as I closed my eyes when the familiar air of the forest surrounding the orphanage began to fill my lungs. This place had been my refuge for two years. Even with the bad experiences I had during those years, I couldn’t just abandon them. Like my persona, I’ve learned to embrace both the good and the bad in my life.
“We’re here,” Adan said as he squeezed my hand.
My eyes opened, and I realized that the car had stopped directly in front of the entrance of the Shallow Ridge Orphanage.
“Ready!” I squeezed his hand back without taking my eyes off the building.
This was it. I was about to see Stella, and I was sure Manuel would be there as well, but he was the least of my worries. Adan would handle him for me.
Adan stepped out of the car and went around on my side, a*s*sisting me as I climbed out. I might be popping out my son in a month, but my stomach looked like I was just four to five months pregnant.
“Lucy?” Stella’s voice reached my ears, and my head snapped around to look in the direction where her voice was coming from.
She was holding a basket full of fresh clothes at the side of the building, where a separate facility was allotted for laundry.
Her hand flew to her mouth as she set the laundry basket down on the ground, her gaze shifting between Adan and me before she nodded her head in respect to my mate as she greeted him. “Alpha Stone.”
“Hello, Stella…” I greeted her as Adan’s arm went around my body, held my waist, and gently pulled me to his side.
“It was true what Manuel said. It was Alpha Stone that bought you…”
The Shallow Ridge Orphanage was on the other side of the north, and with the orphanage lacking in modern technology aside from a lined phone, I doubted they had heard of the Mystic Pack’s demons Alpha and Luna.
“Alpha Stone is my fated mate, Stella.” I smiled warmly at her as her eyes rounded. The worry I saw in them earlier when she mentioned Adan’s name was gone, replaced with happiness that was always there whenever I told her my jokes or the fantasies I would conjure while I was still living under her wings.
“Oh, Goddess! I always knew you were special, and being mated to an Alpha only proves that!” She exclaimed excitedly as she picked up the basket and motioned with her hand as she went up the steps. “Come inside! Let’s not stay here, it might be too cold for your pup.”
Adan and I walked hand in hand before I called for Stella’s attention again the moment we were inside the house. She stopped in her tracks and turned her body around as I let go of Adan’s hand.
In two steps, I was already in front of the female, who would always stand between me and Manuel when the latter wanted to punish me for breaking orphanage rules, including curfews.
My arms went around her body as I hugged her, resting my chin on her shoulder. “I missed you, Stella. And all the baked goods you would bake for us.”
“Oh, Lucy! My sweet little rascal! I think of you all the time and wonder if Alpha Stone is treating you right. But a part of me knew you’d always find a way to get yourself out of trouble, so I a*s*sumed you had run away from him by now.”
Adan chuckled behind us, and it startled Stella. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean to disrespect you or say you were trouble or something, it’s just that Lucy…”
“No offense taken. I knew what Lucy was capable of, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I smiled at Adan’s words, and so did Stella. I gave her a wink before I murmured, and I knew Adan would hear it too. “I got him wrapped up around my fingers. I told you before, if I found my mate, I would make sure he would never be able to get away from me. What Lucy wants, Lucy gets.”
Stella laughed heartily as she hugged me one more time. “I’m so happy for you, Lucy.”
“Thank you… By the way, I forgot to formally introduce you to my mate. Stella, this is my handsome, s*e*xy-as-hell Alpha, Alpha Stone.”
Adan extended his hand, and Stella took it. “Glad to finally meet you, Stella. Lucy often talks about you.”
“Oh, I hope they were good things.”
“They are. But I can’t say for your other half…” Yup. Adan, just like me, would never sugarcoat the bad things.
Stella swallowed as her face paled. “Manuel left me two months ago. I am all alone here now, but new help was sent in here, so I have someone a*s*sisting me.”
“Oh, Goddess! What happened?” I exclaimed. Though my heart ached for Stella because she was alone, a part of me was relieved Manuel was no longer here. He was no good for her, as well as for the pups in this orphanage.
“Lucy!” Someone screamed, and rushing footsteps echoed around us as the pups came running down the staircase. Their study hours, where they have to do a*s*signments after school, must be done by now.
Small arms wrapped around my body while the girls, ages 14-17, were just gazing at us. Some of them were new, but most were the ones I spent time here with.
“You’re pregnant!” Adessa, 16, said as her eyes twinkled. She had always wanted to become a mom, so it was no wonder her eyes were beaming.
“Are you staying for good?” Janet asked, 7, as her eyes fixed on mine.
I flicked her little nose before shaking my head. “I can’t. I am married now, and my husband will be lonely if I stay here.”
“He can stay here too!” One of the pups yelled. “But boys are not allowed here.”
“We can make an exception because he’s so handsome!” A young girl, probably around the age of six or seven, added
I giggled softly as Adan chuckled, making my heart flutter. He had changed for the better. He learned to smile more often now and rarely glared at anyone.
Adan kneeled on the floor as he looked at the little girls who were gawking at him. “How about Lucy and I visit you often here? And then, maybe after
Lucy gives birth to our pup, we can take you somewhere in the summer to some theme park where we can all play and enjoy the rides all day long?”
“Really?”
“Wow!”
“Cool!”
“But Stella doesn’t have money to pay. We can go to the park too, it’s free to play there.”
“Yes, the park sounds lovely. But if we go to the amusement park, I will pay. We can take Stella too, so she can have fun with us.” Adan was just wonderful, and I knew he would be a great father too.
“And Lucy! Can we take Lucy as well?”
“Of course! Lucy is a must! It won’t be fun without Lucy, right?” Adan’s head tilted up, and he winked at me, making tingles spread between my legs. He was just so handsome, and the way he was teasing me never got old.
“Yes!” The little girls giggled and threw their arms around Adan, and soon he was being attacked with hugs by the little ones. I was glad he didn’t shun them, but in fact, he looked like he was actually having fun.
“Can we hug him too?” Adessa asked, her eyes flitting with mischievousness, and I shook my head, chuckling softly.
“Not a chance, young girl.” I pointed at my swollen stomach. “Be scared. Pregnancy hormones.”
We laughed as the older girls went around and hugged me. My eyes closed as I squeezed their bod*ies tightly, sending a wish to the moon that their fates would turn out as beautifully as mine, without the underworld part.
We stayed until dinner and left the orphanage with my heart full.
Stella was crying when we told her that we were going to buy the orphanage from its current owner, with whom Adan had been in contact.
Everything would remain the same, including her management, but we would be renovating the building and adding more security around the area. With the influx of pups being abandoned, Stella had a hard time making ends meet when it came to expenses, and the owner was not increasing the budget for them. Donations were also scarce, so she was relieved by the plans that Adan laid out for the orphanage.
And I couldn’t be prouder of Adan. I told him about my plans to help the orphanage by donating money, but he went out of his way to research it. The next thing I knew, he was already consulting me about whether I wanted to buy the orphanage to make sure the pups would be treated well until they were adopted or came of age. It was more than what I wanted, but I was glad he took the initiative.
Adan left money to Stella that she could use in the meantime, including the ten thousand dollars I stole from Ethan’s vault. I no longer felt guilty about taking them. I was sure the pups needed them more than he did.
Soon, the orphanage will be under our care and will be renamed Mystic Ridge Orphanage. Everything was just falling into place. I knew I would give Manuel another chance if he were still there, but fate made its own way and took him out of Stella’s life as well as the orphanage, and I couldn’t complain about that.