Novels by Hope King

ANNA POVLuke looked at me immediately, his instincts already kicking in while I slowly folded up the bloody tissue in my hand before anyone else could see it.Control was important.Especially now.I said "come in" even though my eyes were burning and my body was telling me I was at my limit.The office door opened slowly. Anna walked in first looking calm as usual but her eyes flicked to me for a second like she was checking to see how I was doing.Then Belle came in behind her.All of a sudden the office did not feel like a place where we made plans anymore.It felt like a place where people lived.It felt human.It felt like it was hurting.Anna stood by the door for a little longer than she needed to like she was getting ready to come in all the way. I saw that her fingers were clenched together in front of her.People only did that when they were trying not to break down in front of others.Belle was behind her being quieter than before. Her eyes were moving around the room care

LUCIAN POVThe office had been really quiet for a long. You see, silence in Sterling Mansion is never really quiet because when it is quiet it usually means someone is planning somethingI was standing near the window behind my desk watching the rain come down slowly against the dark city sky. My mind was still thinking about what was going on upstairs.Anna.I could still see the look in her eyes when she walked away with Belle. It was stuck in my head. I could not stop thinking about it.I was feeling a lot of things. Distrust. Exhaustion. Fear. Not the kind of fear that makes you scream or run away.. The kind that settles in slowly after you have been disappointed too many times.I know this kind of fear well.Luke said from behind me "She will agree eventually." His voice was steady. It broke through my thoughts. "Now Anna has nowhere else to go, Alpha. This is the place for her whether she likes it or not."I kept looking at the rain for another second before I turned around slow

ANNA POVBeautiful words came to me slowly like pieces of a puzzle. She was careful with what she said, as if she did not want to hurt me.She said my name, "Anna" again this time softer. Her hand was still on my arm like she was holding me in place."Anna you have to understand what I am saying. I do not want to hurt you" she said.Her words already hurt me.This was not because she was mean. Because what she said was true. I was just not ready to accept itBelle looked at me her eyes never leaving mine. She kept talking, her voice steady."Anna you need to be with Lucian. You need his protection now" she said slowly choosing her words carefully."This is because Steven did not just leave you. He put you in this situation."When she said the word "positioned" my heart felt tight.It was like I was put somewhere on purpose not left behind.I shook my head a little. It was not a strong no. I was just not sure.Belle did not stop talking."Steven made choices that led to this moment" sh

ANNA POVBelles' voice was really quiet. Her words hit me hard. It was like she was trying to hold something that was already falling apart between us."Anna " she said softly looking at me with concern in her eyes. She glanced over at Lucian for a second before looking at me. "I think we should listen to him. He says he knew your father and he's been treating you well since you got here."This made my chest feel tight. Not because I agreed with her. It was because I did not understand where she was coming from. It felt like I had walked into a conversation that had started a time before I got there.My thoughts were all jumbled up like a mess. Nothing about this situation felt simple anymore. Even Belle, the person I felt safest with was talking like she had already chosen a side that I did not understand.Then I noticed something. The room felt different like the air was changing before a storm. I could hear people whispering outside the hallway and footsteps were getting closer. It

ANNA POVBelle shifted slightly beside me her fingers still loosely intertwined with mine. I could feel the uncertainty in her touch like she was trying to figure out where she stood in this conversation. My chest tightened because even that small movement felt like something I needed to protect.Lucian finally spoke again his voice steady and low. He had this authority that made every sentence sound like he had thought it through before saying it."Do you really want Belle involved in this?" he asked, looking at me now. His gaze was not harsh. It was unsettling like he was measuring my response.I felt my jaw tighten slightly. The way he asked the question made it sound less like he was concerned and more like he was evaluating Belle's place here. It was like he was deciding whether or not to approve of her beingI hesitated for a second. My emotions were all over the place. I couldn't sort them out properly. Then I forced my voice to be steadier than I felt."Whatever pleases you,"

ANNA POVShe blinked at me startled by my reaction. Then she slowly let out her breath. "Someone from the wedding center called me," she said, carefully watching my reaction. "They said there was chaos. They said you disappeared right before everything went wrong."My stomach felt tight at that word. Disappeared. Belle kept going her voice getting steadier as she remembered."I rushed to the venue immediately," she said, her hands tightening a bit as she spoke. "I couldn't find you or Steven anywhere. It was like you both just... Vanished."Her words made my chest feel heavier. They confirmed what I already feared. I hadn't just left that church. Something had pulled me out of it. I swallowed hard making myself listen even though my instincts were screaming at me to stop."And then one of the church members recognized me," Belle added, her expression tightening again. "They told me your friend had been taken away by a man."A cold feeling ran through me at that sentence. I felt my b