Novels by Xana Matthews

Clara I took a step forward, my jaw clenched. “Take them off. Right now.”“Do you have to be so aggressive?” Sarah said. “It’s only a few clothes.”I didn’t say another word, I just started dragging the clothes off Veronica. “Let go of me.” She shrieked, scratching my face with her blood red claws as she stumbled but I held on tight. Sarah stood at the side, trying to pull me away from her. When that didn’t work, her hand came out with so much force that my head snapped to the side.Pain exploded in my cheek and I held a hand to it, a salty taste quickly filling my mouth. “You hit me?”“And I’ll hit you again you filthy beast.” She said, her chest heaving up and down. “Are you trying to kill her?”“For two years,” I said when I could find the words again. “I’ve done everything possible to please you, to be a perfect wife to Ronan but nothing I do would ever be enough for you will it?”“Perfect wife?” She sneered. “What do you know about being a perfect wife? In the last two years,

ClaraI stood under the scorching sun in the hospital’s parking lot, long after the tests were over, my phone clutched tightly in one hand.“Need a ride?” A cab driver stopped in front of me. “I can take you anywhere within the city for 10 to 30 bucks while outside the city starts from 60 bucks.” His gaze trailed down my body slowly, intently and a shiver raced down my spine. “But you look like you’ve been through it so I’ll give you a discount, for a small favor of course.”I stepped back, pulling the cardigan the hospital had given me tighter around my body. “Thank you but I don’t need a ride. My husband is on his way to pick me up.”He stared at me for a minute as if he couldn’t believe I really had a husband, then zoomed off.I let out a long breath and checked the time on my phone. I’d been standing in the parking lot for more than thirty minutes. There was still no sigh of Ronan.“Creep.” A voice muttered and I turned to see a heavily pregnant woman standing by the passenger si

Clara“I understood when you kept going on impromptu work trips whenever we were supposed to spend time together.” I said. “I understood when you kept me hidden from the world as if I was something to be ashamed of, but Ronan, how do you expect me to understand this?”“Don’t be ungrateful Clara.” Ronan said impatiently. “You can afford to live so comfortably because someone’s putting in the work. Do you expect me to leave my work behind just to spend all my time at home with you?”Humiliation burned through my veins like hot lava. “You know that’s not what I meant.”“Maybe you should get a job.” He said, a frown on his face that let me know it was not a suggestion. “It’ll keep you busy. Veronica just came back and she already has a job as a news anchor for one of the top media outlets in the entire country. Why can’t you do the same?”Veronica covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter. “Clara, this isn’t the fifties. Women are free to work these days. You don’t have to si

Clara“See.” The woman laughed when she saw the shock on my face. “She doesn’t believe it, but it’s real.”I was too stunned to respond to her, too stunned to fully process the fact that while I’d been fighting for my life, Ronan had been in this very hospital playing the perfect husband to Veronica.I pushed back the blankets and got up from the bed but before I could take two steps forward, my legs lost strength and I crashed to the floor. Blood pooled on the back of my hand as the IV drip caught on the side of the bed and the needle was pulled out, but I ignored it and started crawling inch by inch towards the door.“What are you doing?!” The woman on the right side bolted up and stared at me in horror. “Get back in bed, right now. Are you trying to kill yourself?”“I heard a crash.” The nurse said, walking into the room. The puzzled look on her face quickly turned to horror when she caught sight of me on the floor.She pulled me up swiftly as if I weighed as much as a feather. F

ClaraSomehow, through the tears that wouldn’t stop pouring out my eyes, I made my way to the parking lot.“Ma’am.” A security guard hurried to me when I missed the door handle for the second time. “Are you alright?”“I’m fine.” I said, avoiding his hand as he reached out to steady me. “You can go back to your post.”“Should I call you a designated driver?” He asked, still standing behind me. “It’s not safe to drive when you’re drunk.”“I’m not drunk.” I turned to look directly at him for the first time.His eyes widened when he saw my tear streaked face. He looked in the direction of the hall and hesitated for a moment. “Is there anything I can do for you? Should I get someone from in there?”“No.” I wiped my face roughly with the sleeve of my shirt and got in the car. “They’d only mock me anyway.”*******************************I drove aimlessly around the city for a while, while trying to process everything that had happened. I couldn’t go home, not yet. And I couldn’t go to Mark’

ClaraI let him steer me away from the crowd into a quieter corner of the hall and pretended not to notice the heads that turned in unison towards our direction. As soon as we got to the corner, he let go of my hand as if it was something filthy. His face twisted in anger. “How did you find this place? Didn’t I tell you to wait at home?”“I—““Who’s she Ronan?” The redhead appeared, her bob swaying slightly. She laughed softly. “One of your little playthings?”A soft gasp flew out my mouth before I knew it. The pictures had mostly been taken from the side so I hadn’t recognized her, but now I knew clearly who she was.Veronica Stanton, a top model and Ronan’s ex fiancée. Six years ago, she’d dumped him and ran off right before they were supposed to get married and the elites of Manhattan had turned against her and her family for it. Their businesses had crumbled and packed up within months.“Miss Stanton.” I said through clenched teeth. “I wasn’t aware you were back in America.”One

Draven POV“I believe your life is still in danger, Alpha.” Magnus said, staring straight at the bookshelf in my study. Acting under my orders, he’d disguised himself as a servant and had been secretly been investigating who the rogues’ accomplice was in the palace. He picked a book up, encyclopedia of wolves and put it back into position without even flipping through it. He paused for a moment as if he was considering the weight of his words. “Did you ask her?”My mind flashed back to the conversation I’d had with Elena earlier and I leaned back in my chair. “I did, she denied it.” I watched him carefully, the tension in his shoulders, the way his eye twitched. “You don’t believe she was telling the truth.”“I don’t.” He agreed.I leaned further into my chair. “We love each other. Elena wouldn’t betray me like that.”He turned back to me, a dark look on his face. “Haven’t you noticed anything different since you got back? How she looks at you, talks to you? Is it the same as before?

Lucas POV“You fucker.” Brandon said, spittle flying out with the words. “You better be ready to back that accusation up with evidence or you’re gonna pay for it.”“Oh,” Jason smirked. “I have proof.”“Jason.” One of the pack leaders on Brandon’s side cut in loudly. “You don’t have to make up stuff about Brandon just because you don’t like him.”“Exactly.” The others chorused.“Permit me to show you the proof, Alpha.” Jason said, a smirk on his face. He looked around the hall. “You’ll all see what kind of person he really is.”“Bring it.” Alpha said, and Jason immediately pulled out a bunch of pictures from his inner jacket, handing them to a guard.Alpha checked them one by one, a carefully crafted blank look on his face that I knew concealed anger. When he was done, he threw the pictures at Brandon. “How do you explain this?”Council members and pack leaders alike radiés as they saw glanced at the pictures, some even turning to whisper amongst themselves. But those on Jason’s side s

Lucas POV“Do you have something to say, Lucas?” Alpha’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.I looked up only to see the entire hall watching me. There was a hint of a smile in Alpha’s voice as his gaze moved to my hand. “You’re about to crush your phone into dust.”“No, Alpha.” I said, slightly releasing my grip on my phone. I didn’t need to look down at it to know that it was cracked already. “I just got distracted for a moment.”A scrutinizing eyebrow was raised, but Alpha didn’t pursue the issue any longer. Instead, he turned back to the pack leaders and the council. “Are none of you in support of us going to war?”Slight shuffling began among the council members as one of them forced his way out.“Get back here.” Byron whispered, trying to hold him back but the new council member ignored him and kept movingHe stepped forward and bowed. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear Alpha, but a war isn’t advisable at this moment. Not only will it bring disruption and chaos to the live

Lucas POVMy hand shot out and was on his throat the next second. He gasped, and started throwing punches at me to free himself, but I just held on tighter, taking hit after hit without budging. Only when he started struggling to keep his eyes open did I let him go.He stumbled away from me, coughing until his eyes turned red. “You fucking bastard.” He said in a raspy voice. “What the hell is your problem?““The next time you make the mistake of being so disrespectful to Luna,” I said, my voice low and hard. “I’ll make sure your head rolls for it.”He touched his throat lightly, his eyes wide in horror and indignation. “Jason was right after all wasn’t he? I didn’t see you getting this angry when I talked about taking the throne.”“That’s because you can’t.” I said. “You all seem to believe Alpha is weak now, so you’ve set your eyes on the throne but did you stop to consider if this was a trap set for you? Did you stop to consider if you could actually take the throne or end up as a

Lucas POVThe guard leading me to the pack leaders stoppped at the door, his hand resting on the handle.I raised an eyebrow. “Why aren’t you opening the door?”“Last year,” he began, half turned towards me. “You stopped me from being fired and even gave me a bonus out of your pocket. My mate was pregnant then but I was flat out broke, that bonus was the only reason why our pup could be born safely.”I sighed. “Look, it’s not a big deal, I don’t even remember it. You don’t have to thank me.”He drew in a deep breath and I was startled to see that his shoulders were trembling. “It may not be a big deal for you, but it is for me.” He pushed the door open and pulled me towards it. “Be careful in there.”I didn’t have a chance to ask what he meant before the door closed firmly behind me, but I didn’t need to. One, two, three, at least five pack leaders had omegas on their laps, every single one of them in various stages of being undressed. None of their mates were in the hall.I stepped

Elena POVThe nonchalant expression the deputy had been sporting since he’d revealed his identity finally slipped for a second and all I could see on his face was complete and utter terror. He clasped his hands together to stop them from trembling, but when he noticed me watching, the mask quickly slid back into place.He raised his head higher and tried to look unaffected. “You’re wasting your time.”“We’ll see.” Draven said.A long silence settled in the hall as we waited for the guards to return. But when they did, they were alone.“Where are they?” Draven’s gaze narrowed at them.“W-we searched his home and every place he’s known to frequent, Luna.” One of the guards said. “But we couldn’t find his mate or his pups. All the neighbors said they were in the pack up until yesterday, but no one’s seen them since then.”“Is that why you’ve been so cocky?” Draven asked. “Because you’ve hidden your family already?”“I told you.”The deputy said. “Just like you had to let Magnus go to pr