Novels by zz_starr_zz

The day went by just as fast as it had started. My mind had mostly been occupied by the benefits I had acquired from the trial. Harris came to the office just after confirming with Lisa if I had reported, and we got down to work. Thankfully, Ashton's team had transferred everything without argument and done everything just as the court had ordered. Harris, as my representative, came to help me smooth the process. For something Harris had insisted would not take long, it sure was taking up my lunch break and mindless scrolling on the phone time. The first couple of hours were silent, filled with the rustling and flipping sounds of paper, the pen against paper, and the clacking of keyboard keys. After some time, we settled into the silence, and Harris broke it after Lisa brought in our second cups of coffee and some food. He suggested that I take a break if I was tired and leave everything to him after he watched me down the coffee in one go."I'm okay, this is my normal," I replied af

The morning was perfect. It was cool and bright. The sun was not too high, nor was it harsh, it was just right. When I woke up, Ridley insisted on continuing to sleep, and so I somehow released myself from our embrace and tangled limbs. My first agenda was to get in a bit of exercise before work, thankfully, Ridley's home gym was available to be abused. I stretched for some time and used the equipment I was comfortable with. When Ridley woke up, I was on the yoga mat with my palms pressed firmly into it as I raised one leg behind me. He stood at the entryway for a few seconds, and I remained on all fours, alternating legs as I kicked backwards, the movement steady and deliberate. I smiled to myself. His gaze remained trained on me, unmoving and clearly distracted."Why didn't you invite me?" He finally spoke after a while.I moved my body to sit on the map and look at him. "I did," I replied, positioning my legs in a butterfly way. "You refused," I added and made a show of doing anoth

TWO-YEARS AGOAshton and I had been dating for two months, and every time I thought it could not get any more perfect, he proved me wrong. We were far beyond infatuation. Every time he was in front of me, I never wanted to let go, and when we were apart, it felt like torture. I looked forward to our morning drive when going to work, and I dreaded the evening drive when he dropped me off at my apartment. Working under Aston was much better than working under Mr Samuels. Everyone in the department was decent with me, and they even tried to earn extra points with Ashton by being extra nice to me when he was around. It was not awful, but I did wish it were not all fake. There was still gossip about what Ashton and I were to each other, and because no response was given to the articles, everyone was free to speculate.I asked Ashton if we could keep our relationship a secret, and he agreed. As things stood, it was all gossip and rumours, nothing had been confirmed, so people did not bother

The office was buzzing.The silent gazes and stares were the major tell-tale sign of the newest hot topic of office gossip. The divorce and settlement. It was public knowledge at this point, tabloids and blogs had been posted barely hours after the ruling was passed. I knew Ridley had something to do with it, with everything that happened between us the same day, asking him about how the news had leaked so quickly was not the first thing on my mind...and if I had to be honest, I was not too bothered about it. Ashton had embarrassed me way too many times, this felt like some kind of payback. Lisa had already set down my morning coffee and the documents I had to look at when I arrived. She smiled and stood perfectly in front of my desk."Good morning, Ms Rawlins," she said with a smile, like she had planned to do it for the longest time. I returned the smile. "Good morning, Lisa. How are you?" I greeted her as I shrugged off my coat and sat. "How much work do I have to suffer through t

My vision was blurry, and my body felt heavy. I could feel the weight of my body when I got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom in the most disoriented way. Every step felt heavier than the last, and I wanted nothing more than to go back into bed and rot for the entire day until I was not feeling like a zombie that could not control its own body. Even though it felt like an out-of-body experience, I struggled through my bathroom routine and ended with a cold shower. The heaviness I felt when I woke up had reduced significantly, though I could still feel the remainder of the hangover.Ridley was seated on the bed, scrolling on his phone when I walked out of the bathroom. He looked up once he heard me and put the phone on the bedside table. Unlike me, he was put together and did not look like he was cast for the Thriller music video. After setting his phone aside, he stood up and walked over to me. His green eyes scanned me, as if searching for any bruise or injury. I looked at h

I was a bit loopy when I woke up, but nothing a cold shower and some food could not fix. Ridley had already set the table with breakfast delectables by the time I was done dressing up and ready. The smell of the food wafted through the entire hallway, and as I had expected, Lou was already sitting at the table with a plate of food already at her mercy. As if sensing my presence, Ridley turned to face me and smiled. I walked up to him. He pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. "Good morning, beautiful." He greeted, and I smiled back. "Good morning," I replied before he placed a light kiss on my lips. "I should have warned you not to feed her, or else she won't leave." I joked, referring to Lou. She looked up and glared before going back to the meal she was enjoying too much. "I need all the energy I can get for the day. Stetson drama is so exhausting." She sounded genuinely amused in between the chewing and talking. Ridley pulled out a chair for me, and I took a seat and d

EPILOGUEAnabelle had Jaxon's arm around her, it was the comfort that she needed at that moment. His scent was what she needed more than anything. Everything around her was dull and dark just like the clothes that she was wearing including the weather. Jaxon tightened his hold around her waist and looked down at her because he could feel every emotion that she was feeling. She looked at the graves of the fallen members and guilt and pain swallowed her. How did the loved ones of all these people feel? "It's okay, my love" Jaxon whispered to her and kissed the top of her head. She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile before walking away and going towards Adam's grave. She could not believe that he was gone just like that. He was so young and had not even experienced the joy of having a mate but Anabelle was glad that he had not found his mate because if he had they would have been disappointed and in pain over losing their mate. She remembered how hurt Micah looked and she wished

EIGHTYTAYLOR'S POVIt was like the sky knew of our loss, it was completely dark and the rain was heavily pouring down and hitting the roof. I could hear the strong wind blowing on the leaves of the plants as I looked outside through the window of my and Danielle's room. The turmoil in all our hearts was almost the same as the gloomy weather that swept everything away. I looked down at my fingers and curled them up, trying to keep warm. If only things had turned out differently. My heart clenched with every memory that rang through my head. Her laugh, and those shiny green eyes, haunted my dreams every time...when I slept and when I was awake. Every thought of mine always trailed back to her. Whenever I cooked something I thought about what she would think about it. When I said something I wondered if she would agree with my words. If she were here with me, would she wake me up and tell me that I was having a horrible nightmare because it sure felt like one?The rain poured and swept

SEVENTY-NINEAnabelle could not comprehend what she was looking at. Bodies were lying everywhere, it was a terrible massacre. She could tell that Amaris was no longer holding back and was indeed doing what she promised to do, to wipe off werewolves. The smell of blood was heavy in the air and the number of bodies only seemed to increase as they drove to the pack house. Amaris had attacked the pack's centre and killed anyone she spotted. Guilt ate at Anabelle as she looked at the cadavers of people that were once so alive. 'Ana, where are you? I've tried to evacuate as many people from the pack house as I can but Amaris is killing the warriors that are trying to hold her off like they are mosquitoes.' 'We are almost there,'Cora's words haunted her mind, Amaris was on a killing spree and she would not stop until she killed the last werewolf. Her leg started moving and she constantly chewed on her bottom lip as they drew closer to the pack house. Anabelle gasped when the house came in

SEVENTY-EIGHT"We lost three men, and if we include the library caretaker, Mr Cray...then we have lost four pack members." Alec gave the report to Jaxon and sank back into his seat. "We were able to retrieve the bodies of the warriors, they were horribly scorched because of the fire but hopefully we can give them proper burials.""And the witch, Mr Cray's sister?" Anabelle asked."Well, that is none of our concern. She was banished from the pack for practising dark magic and we are not responsible for her as a pack, we have certain customs to follow as a pack." Alec replied and shrugged at the end.Anabelle wanted to argue with that decision, surely the woman deserved a proper burial too. Despite being a witch she had also been killed by the person that killed the men of Blazepelt. Anabelle wanted to speak out on what she thought but Jaxon held her hand and when she turned to look at him he shook his head. She understood from the look in his eyes that she should not argue, his eyes pl

SEVENTY-SEVEN"Are they actually having sex?" Adam whispered horribly next to Danielle's ear. Danielle turned to look at him and hit his arm."What do you want them to do? It's a man and a woman in the same room and they are mates by the way." Taylor looked up at Adam from the pan. "This day has been quite eventful and despite the time no one knows how long it is going to be night," she added and continued stirring the food that she was preparing. With the Alpha and the Luna in the pack house, she had to include them too in the meal plans, not to forget she had hungry warriors waiting to be fed. "They've been going at it for quite some time now," Adam commented and looked up at the stairs. "You will not be able to get enough of your mate when you find her and then maybe you will understand." Micah joined in the conversation and took out a seat around the kitchen counter. He was finally in clean clothes and had washed off what had happened earlier. "Thank you," Taylor smiled up at M

SEVENTY-SIXAnabelle was crying hysterically and kept on shaking Jaxon's body to get a response from him. Even a twitch of his fingers would have been enough for her. The temperature was getting higher as more trees caught the fire that Amaris had started and the fire circled around them. She could see the others trying to fight against the flames, trying to find a way to get everyone out safely. Two men had come to her and told her that they hard to get out of the place, they wanted to carry Jaxon but she could not let go of his body. She kept crying and wailing because she felt empty without him, if this was how Jaxon had felt when she was unconscious then he was strong. She already felt like she could not live anymore but he had dealt with her going into and out of unconsciousness. She pulled him closer to her and hugged him to her body, his head on her chest. She could hear the beating of his heart but she was so worried because Amaris had cast a spell on him. What if she had don