Novels by Liona Writes

CHAPTER 33MERIS'S POVThe words had been sitting inside me for so long that once I finally started talking, I couldn't seem to stop.“I saw him, Aria.” My voice shook. Aria didn't interrupt.“I went to his room that morning and…” I swallowed, but my throat still felt tight. “She was there. In his bed.” The words hung between us. I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.“I didn't know what to think. I still don't.” Aria moved closer and pulled me into her arms. That was all it took.The tears I'd been fighting spilled over. I pressed my face into her shoulder and cried, my breath coming out in uneven little gasps.“I thought he was different,” I whispered. “I really thought he was.” Aria rubbed my back.“But you told me how good he's been to you.”“He has.”“Then why are you blaming yourself?” I pulled away and wiped my cheeks.“Because I knew what this was supposed to be.” She frowned.“The contract.” I nodded.“I knew from the beginning. I knew exactly what I agreed to.” I lo

**CHAPTER 32****RAFAEL'S POV**"What did you find out?" Seth crossed the room and handed me a file before he'd even sat down."Everything on the girl is in there."I opened it. *Sian Vegan. Twenty-five. Orphan, lives with her uncle. Works at Black Rose Clubhouse. Her uncle owns it.*I lifted my eyes to Seth. He answered before I asked."Yes, Alpha. Same clubhouse where Meris met the guy, Micah." My jaw tightened. A coincidence didn't sit like this in my chest."Where is she now? And the uncle?""Working on it.""Find Micah too. I want to know how the three of them are connected.""On it, Alpha." He was gone before I finished nodding.I sat there for a moment, but the file blurred in front of me. My mind had already left the room and gone looking for Meris. She'd been crying earlier. I wasn't able to find out why yesterday as she refused to tell me.I grabbed my keys and left. In the car, I called the driver before I'd even pulled out of the gate."Mr. Belmont…""Where is Meris now?"

**CHAPTER 31****MERIS POV**Dinner at Belmont Mansion felt like a battlefield disguised as dinner. Rafael sat across from me, jaw tight, saying almost nothing. Connor sat two seats down, and every time I looked up, his eyes were already on me. Mr. Belmont carved his steak like nothing was wrong, but I caught him glancing between the three of us more than once, filing something away behind that calm face of his."Have you two set a date yet?" Mr. Belmont asked, not even looking up from his plate.My fork stopped halfway to my mouth."We're still discussing it," Rafael said smoothly, like he'd rehearsed it.I kept my eyes down, but something in my chest lifted anyway. A date. A real date, on a real calendar, with flowers and a dress and Rafael standing at the end of an aisle waiting for me. I let myself have the thought for exactly three seconds …long enough to feel warm, long enough to feel stupid.‘It's not real, Meris. It's a contract. Stop.’ My wolf warned.I put my fork down and

CHAPTER 30RAFAEL'S POV“He's an old friend.” Meris responded.“An old friend?”“Yes.”“From where?”“School.” I looked at her.“High school?” She nodded. I waited for more. Nothing came.My fingers tightened around the steering wheel.“Why did he ask you to meet him?”“He didn't.” I frowned.“Then why were you there?” She swallowed.“I needed to talk to someone.”“Someone?” Her eyes closed for a moment.“Yes.”“Why couldn't that someone be me?” She opened her eyes and turned her face toward the window again. For several seconds, she said nothing.Then she whispered, “Because I didn't know if you wanted to hear me.” My chest tightened.“What does that mean?”“Nothing.”“Meris.”“Please.” The word was so quiet I almost missed it. I looked at her. Her hands were folded tightly in her lap. Her fingers were shaking.I wanted to ask what had happened. I wanted to demand the truth. But another image flashed through my mind.The photograph. My anger returned. I looked back at the road.“Fine

CHAPTER 29RAFAEL'S POV“Seth… I need to know where Meris is right now.”There was a short silence through the mind link. Then Seth answered.“Alpha, I found her.” My hand tightened around the phone.“Where?”“She’s at Black Rose Clubhouse.” I stared ahead.“Send me the location.”“It’s already on your…” I cut the link. I was already moving. The front door slammed behind me as I stepped outside.The morning air hit my face, cold enough to sting, but I barely noticed it. That photograph was still in my head. And the thought of her sitting somewhere with another man made something ugly twist inside my chest.‘You belong to me, Meris.’ I climbed into the SUV and slammed the door. The engine roared to life.I pulled away from the mansion so fast the tires scraped against the ground. My hands were steady on the wheel. Everything else inside me wasn't. Who was that man?Why had she left without telling me? Why had she gone to a clubhouse so early in the morning? And why had she ignored my c

**CHAPTER 28****RAFAEL'S POV**Connor's fingers were wrapped around Meris's wrist, and she was pulling against them, trying to make it look like she wasn't.I saw it before anyone else did. The way her knuckles had gone pale. The small tug she gave, twice, before he finally let go.Something in me went very quiet and very cold.I didn't care that my father was three feet away. I crossed the room and had Connor's hand in mine before I'd decided to move, and for one clean second I thought about what it would feel like to close my fist and keep closing it, till it's crushed.Then Meris's hand landed on my arm.That was all. Just her hand, light, warm, steady. But it worked faster than anything else could have. My grip eased before I told it to."Rafael." She said my name quietly, like she was talking me down off a ledge only she could see.I let Connor go. He rubbed his wrist and looked at me the way a dog looks at a bigger dog, like he wanted to bare his teeth but knew better.At the t