Novels by Justina

Avery’s POVShe sniffled, pressing her forehead to his chest. She was calming down, that was good. Maybe, somewhere within her heart, she had assumed that she was someone else.Silence fell between them again, thick and heavy.“I don’t understand,” she whispered after a while. “Why would he do this? Why would he take away my identity?”Asher knew who Avery was referring to. He didn’t have the answers to those questions, only Wellesley knew why he had done what he had done.“I don’t know,” Asher said, brushing her hair back. “But I promise you, we’ll find out. I’ll help you, Avery—Raina—we’ll get to the bottom of it.”She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy. “But who even knows Raina Ross? How do I start? Where do I go from here?” she muttered.Asher hesitated. She was already spiraling. But she needed a way forward, a next step. He should have thought of that when he had seen the results. She wasn’t one to dwell on something without looking for a solution to move forward.Finally, sh

Asher’s POVAsher’s tires rolled quietly onto the driveway, the rhythmic ticking of the cooling engine echoing in the still afternoon air. The white envelope rested on the passenger seat like a loaded weapon, its contents heavier than paper and ink. He didn’t reach for it immediately. Instead, The second he pulled into the driveway, he grabbed his phone and called Nolan. He wasn’t sure how the conversation with Avery would go, but one thing he didn’t want to do, was get back into the car or let her get behind the driving steering to go pick the boys up from school.The line picked up after the first ring.“Asher?” Nolan answered. The concern in his voice was very clear. “ How did it go?” He asked.Nolan already knew why Asher had gone to the hospital. He had been the one who had recommended Dr. Meyers to Asher for a confidential DNA test.“As fine as it can be expected… it’s just a confirmation of what I already knew.” He answered. That should be enough to give Nolan a clue about wha

Asher’s POVAsher stormed through the hospital lobby, ignoring the curious looks thrown his way. His shoes hit the polished floor with deliberate, clipped steps. His wasn't necessarily an outright emergency, but he would be damned if he should drag his feet to the doctor's office. He just had to do this and get it done with.The elevators were too slow for his liking, so he opted for the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached the third floor where Dr. Meyers’ office was located. It also helped with his cardio exercises, since he couldn't recall the last time he had visited the gym.He's been too busy lately that he had been pushing going to the gym. His body already was worked up even without being in the gym, with all his busy schedules.The moment he stepped into the quiet, sterile hallway, the door at the end opened as if they had been waiting for him, and Dr. Meyers himself appeared, clipboard in hand.“Mr. Storm,” the doctor said, offering a tight, professional smile

Asher’s POVAsher leaned back in his chair, hands steepled thoughtfully in front of him as he listened to the man across the desk pitch yet another real estate development proposal. Ever since investors and other business minded people heard about Storm Capitals looking into construction of apartments buildings, they've been swarming his office. Within the space of two weeks, Asher had received more proposals than he could count. Some of the proposals were sent through email, some were hardcopies. He didn't know why they thought he would need one to build apartment buildings.He sighed for the umpteenth time, flipping to the next page of the proposal. It was not as if he knew what he was reading. Hell, he wasn't reading it, he was just trying to make sure that the man in front of him saw him going through it, so he doesn't get accused of favoring someone else's proposal.His office was bathed in the soft afternoon light pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, castin

Asher’s POVAsher recoiled at the idea of drinking tea with his grandmother. He didn’t drink tea, coffee was better, but there was no way he would find coffee in the Storm mansion. His family was an advocate for tea. It was understandable, since they had a tea making company.He settled beside her on the plush loveseat while Wilson poured the tea, leaving shortly after to give them privacy.His grandmother watched him for a long moment, studying his face. “You’ve been running from home.” She said, looking away.Asher blinked. It hadn’t even been up to a month that he last visited. “I’ve been busy—” he muttered, knowing that she was aware of the deal Storm Capitals had been fighting for these past few weeks.“No. Not from this house. From your roots.” Her tone was soft, but firm. “From yourself.”He looked away for a moment, then back at her. “I haven’t been running. I’ve just… needed space.” He replied. He knew what she was referring to and didn’t want to get to it.Someone had to tak

Asher’s POVThe next morning, the sky was overcast, casting a dull silver light over the city. Avery and the kids were already settling in at his place, and he had the intention of staying with them for the day, but something urgent came up.Asher drove in silence, one hand on the wheel, the other tapping rhythmically against his thigh. Nolan was sitting beside him, but he had his earpods on, which meant that he wasn't ready to talk and was working.He wasn’t sure what this visit would bring, only that he owed it. He should have been doing this with Julian, but the guy checked out, leaving him on his own to see his grandmother. His grandmother had asked to see him; them—and when she asked, you didn’t keep her waiting.The long driveway leading to the house felt familiar, even after all these years. The sprawling estate hadn’t changed much. Neatly trimmed hedges lined the path, and the familiar rose bushes clustered in bursts of white and pink just beside the grand entrance. As his ca

I year later The wind blew again, this time stronger than the first. Alister adjusted the thick fur cloak on Luciana’s shoulders and smiled as she buried her head in the crook of his arms. In her condition, she wasn’t supposed to be there but she was as stubborn as him. “Do you think she’s looking down on us and regretting what she did?" Luciana mumbled. Alister sighed; he knew that Ophelia regretted what she did and that was why she had killed herself, but he didn't know whether she had found peace in the afterlife. “I hope she found peace after all”, he mumbled. “ I miss her…the kids too” Luciana said. Alister nodded. He wouldn’t admit it, but he also missed her. He had forgiven her for what she did and would have loved it if Ophelia knew that she was forgiven. They stayed that way for a while before someone cleared their throat behind them. He knew who it was even before he turned to face the person. Elijah was standing there with a white rose in his hands, Ophelia’s favorit

Alister’s POVThe fight is in full force, and so far, the Black Moon pack seems to be holding their own. He looked around the fighting ground once again and couldn’t spot his uncle Helster. He knew his uncle’s wolf by now. If Helster’s wolf wasn’t on the battlefield, then where was he?A rogue charged at him, and he pounced on the wolf, tearing its spine away from its body and killing it instantly. The more Rogues they fight and kill, the more additional Rogues charge out of the woods.He saw Elijah finishing off another rogue, and his mind linked to him.“Helster is not here; why?”Elijah turned around and shifted into his human form. He ran back to where Alister was standing, already shifted into his human form.“I wouldn't want to believe that he’s hiding." Alister said.Elijah shook his head and said, “He wants the pack; he’s not hiding. I think he wants to sneak into the pack from another border. Catch us unawares." he said.Just then, as Alister wanted to respond, Peter’s

Luciana’s POVElder Haruto is dead. Wilson had said to her last night after he had returned to his house. He was now the head of the council and would preside over their case. She felt relieved that things were indeed working in their favor.Luciana shifted in her chair. She was waiting for their case to be called, like every other person who was there. She looked around, trying to see if Alpha Reed was already there, but she didn’t see him.Maybe it was a good thing that they would meet inside and not out in the open, she didn't know if she could control herself if she saw him out there in the open.“Black Velvet Pack!" a werewolf standing by the door called.She saw an Alpha stand up and walk into the room where the hearing was being held. Their case was the next one; she had seen the order earlier when Wilson had spoken to her.She pulled the folder out and held it firmly on her lap. The future of their pack depended on her, and as much as she had been the one who had caused all th

Alister’s POVIt was hard. Knowing that his mate was somewhere in the council, doing what he was supposed to be doing, was hard. It had been hard letting her go, and even now, he had to restrict himself from entering a car and driving to the council." Daddy… I want to pee." Keita said, tapping his leg.Alister rolled his eyes, looking down at the boy. “You just did that like five minutes ago”, he mumbled.Keita frowned. “I know, but I still want to go. Mom would be upset if I peed on myself,” he said, pouting his lips.Alister shook his head. Either Keita was missing his mother and didn’t know how to communicate his feelings, or he was trying to be difficult and frustrate him. He suspected it was both.“Fine, let’s go”, he said, picking Keita up. The moment he moved to leave, Omar jumped up from the chair and followed them. Alister sighed. It was going to be hard trying to pull Omar away from him when the time came to defend the pack, and Luciana was not yet back.Thankfully, the re

Reed’s POVReed arrived at the council the next morning. He could feel his victory, and that gave him the confidence to enter the council building. He still had time before the hearing, so he decided to pay a visit to Veronica, his mother.Her office was not far from the academy. He climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway until he got to her door.He knocked twice and waited for her response before pushing the door open and entering the small office. His mother was sitting behind her desk, and she looked like she had never aged since he last saw her.Veronica lifted her head and the surprise on her face was obvious. He didn't blame her for being shocked at him standing in her office; he too would be shocked if he were in her position.Growing up, they never had the best mother-son relationship. She was more like a figure who was just there beside his father. He hated her for that—for not loving him like every other mother loved their children.She pulled the glasses off her fac

Luciana’s POVLuciana closed the zipper of her luggage with a sigh. She was ready to leave, but her heart couldn’t bear to see them all as she was leaving. She could hear the different voices gathered in her living room to bid her goodbye.She sighed and dragged her luggage out of the room, walking down the stairs.“Oh Lucia." Ophelia mumbled, coming up to her to envelope her in a huge hug. Luciana buried herself in the hug.It wasn’t that she was going away from the council for long. Hell, she was just going to be gone for two or three days, so she didn't understand why they were all acting like she was going to be gone for a year.“Take care of yourself and my boys,” she muttered close to Ophelia’s ears.Ophelia nodded her head and released her. “I will. Stay safe,” she said, taking the luggage from Luciana and carrying it outside towards the waiting car.Alister was the next one to come up to her. He was holding Omar, who had refused to let him go and was clinging to him.“You can