Novels by Author Gilles

Chapter 4I locked the living-room door behind me and climbed the stairs in a daze, each step heavier than the last.Halfway up, a sharp pain stabbed through my skull. Memories of Kieran's cold rejection crashed over me all over again — his voice, his hatred, the way he'd looked at me like I was nothing. I cried out and nearly ran the rest of the way to my room, desperate to hide under the covers and disappear.I slammed the door, kicked off my boots, and threw myself face-down onto the bed.That was when I heard it. A low, ragged grunt just outside my window.My head snapped up. The sun had already set. I was completely alone in the house."What the hell was that?"Fear tried to freeze me in place, but curiosity won. I slid off the bed, crept to the window, and yanked the curtain aside.My blood turned to ice.A man clung to the iron bars outside, body trembling violently, breath coming in harsh, wet gasps that fogged the glass between us. A dark hoodie and long sleeves hid most of h

Chapter 3A violent shiver raced down my spine. My jaw went slack. Goosebumps flooded every inch of my skin, and for one dizzying second the floor seemed to tilt beneath me.Rejection. The word alone was unbearable. I kept waiting for him to laugh, to say it was all some cruel joke, to pull me into his arms and tell me none of it was real. The punchline never came.I forced myself forward, reached up, and pressed trembling fingers to his cheek, desperate for even a scrap of the softness he used to give me so freely."Please tell me this is a joke," I whispered, voice breaking apart on every word.He shoved me away hard enough to send me stumbling backward."Don't touch me!"I caught myself just before I hit the floor. The push hadn't been full strength — but the disgust behind it burned worse than any bruise ever could.When I looked up, pure hatred stared back at me. I regretted meeting his eyes the instant I did."I don't understand the lies you're telling yourself," he said coldly,

Chapter 2The music cut off so fast the silence felt violent. Every head in the room turned to me at once. Laughter rippled through the crowd, aimed straight at the bouquet still clutched in my white-knuckled fists."Don't even call Kieran your boyfriend, let alone your mate," someone sneered from behind me. "He only wanted one thing from you, and he already got it. You really thought he loved you this whole time? Even if the bond's real, he'll still reject you."The room exploded with laughter, cruel and delighted. Only Finn stayed quiet, his jaw working like he wanted to say something and couldn't find the nerve."He's already moved on to the Beta's daughter," another voice chimed in, gleeful.The words hit like a fist. My stomach dropped straight through the floor. My knees buckled. Tears flooded my eyes before I could blink them back.Shame burned so hot I couldn't lift my head. This had to be a joke. A cruel, elaborate, unforgivable joke.Somewhere near the cake, a boy I didn't r

Heart racing, breath quick, I clutched the bouquet of fresh roses against my chest and half-ran, half-walked toward his house. Petals trembled with every step. So did I.This visit was meant to be a surprise. A perfect one. I wanted him to melt the second he saw me standing there with flowers in my hands, proof of how much I'd missed him.Three weeks. Three weeks caring for my ailing grandmother in a town two hours north, falling asleep to the sound of her ragged breathing instead of Kieran's voice on the phone. Now I was home, and every mile between his house and mine felt like an insult.In two days I would turn eighteen. Two days, and my mate scent would finally bloom in full, sealing our bond for the whole pack to sense. I was deeply, stupidly in love with him. Kieran had always been gentle. Devoted. He'd kept his distance from every other girl at school just to prove I was the only one who mattered — or so I'd believed with my whole chest.The day he turned eighteen, his scent ha