A Traitor's Bloodline

Hazel IrwinThere would never be a better time than then, two hours ago, when the guards were sleepy and the other prisoners were busy eating or throwing things at one another. It was always the newest ones who bothered to interact with others. There were some down there who had been locked up since long before me or my mom were ever confined, and those were the ones we knew the least about. I could recite anything about Lucas Fresh’s life if I wished to, from the moment he had memories to the moment he entered the dungeon. And then I could recite his death date and how he was executed.Two hours ago, it had been the best time to finally lock-pick my cell door, tug the rusty chains that I’d slowly worn away over the past six years, and then use my skinny body to slip past the guards while they made their rounds.

Despite everything, I stayed in that bedroom until the next morning, when I decided that I would have to do something to change Jari’s mind about keeping me locked up in the suite. Sleeping in a bed that had a real mattress beneath it led to the best sleep I’d ever had, so I was awake as soon as the sun rose, bright and energetic in a way I never had been before, not even in the time before my father was taken down for his crimes.I snuck out of the guest bedroom to the master and peeked inside, careful not to push the door far enough for it to creak and alert the man inside of my presence. Jari lay in his big bed fast asleep, his covers strewn about around him in a haphazard manner, his legs tangled so much that I wondered if he would trip should someone scare him. It completely contrasted with the perfectly folded clothes left in the hamper by th

“Hazel.”“Hazel.”Someone knocked on the door.“Hazel!”“Goddess, what?!” I yelled back finally in anger, as I flung upright from my bed. My covers flipped over with my body, causing the book I had fallen asleep reading to fly across the room, hitting the floor at an alarming speed. I ignored the chaos as I opened the bedroom door to Jari in the hallway leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and brows raised. I copied his pose. “What do you want, Jari?”“You were bugging me about meeting the omegas before so I’ve g

~ Hazel Irwin ~   Maybe it was just me, but something felt off when I woke up.  I couldn’t remember much, except for running into Omari the second I escaped this place. It was like I had entered a fit of rage that I wasn’t so sure I’d left yet.  I blinked a couple of times, trying to fight off the light cast over my face, and raised one of my hands for shelter. A shadow fell across my eyes, but I still felt fuzzy as I looked around. I lay in a large bed in a large room, with a beautiful window facing outside, where the sunlight was shining in on me.  Confused, I started to move, but the covers returned some resistance. My head snapped downward, only for me to notice something else in the corner of my eye.  Nex

Jari was almost never in bed with me when I woke up - between his alpha work dragging him away constantly and a natural ability to wake up as soon as the sun rose, he was always awake first and never thought to stay behind - so when I woke up and he was actually there on his side, facing me, his arms stretched out in my direction, I couldn’t help the small smile that spread on my face. Being his mate was changing me, despite what I would have liked - that nothing and no one could ever make me change who I was. Long ago, the thought of smiling just because someone was there would have seemed totally ridiculous to me, but now, seeing that my mate was there, it was so much different. And at least I could understand why I felt that way about him. I barely touched on his fingers, brushing across his outstretched hands, and suddenly he reached out in response. He c