LOGINShoving.
Pushing. Snarling. Breaking through this crowd in any way I can to reach that strawberry and cinnamon scent. She’s here. Why the hell is she here? “Move!” I snap, shoving a boy out of my way. Axel’s the impatient one. But right now, I’m not focused on manners. I’m focused on her. When I spot Clarrisa’s familiar inky hair, something in my chest tightens. She turns to me, her cruel smile faltering. “Hunter.” She greets, all annoyed like I’m about to ruin her fun. “Where’s Olivia?” I snap. I’m not in the mood to deal with Ryker’s evil fuck buddy. “The human? Right here.” She says so innocently, it grates on my nerves. She steps aside, and sure enough, Olivia’s tiny frame is folded up against the wall. My heart lurches as fast as my feet. I kneel, pressing my ear to her chest. I wouldn’t put it past Clarissa to murder her for fun. Thankfully, her erratic heartbeat is there. Even passed out, she’s fucking terrified. “What did you do?” I growl, turning to Clarissa. She pouts like I’m being boring and unreasonable, then raises an empty red cup, “I was just trying to get her to lighten up.” My body clenches, “You gave her beer?” “What? She’s an adult, isn’t she? Or should we ask the parents she doesn’t have?” People snicker in the crowd, only making my anger grow. I lift Olivia bridal-style, and she somehow manages to cling to me. Her soft hair brushes my chest. “Party’s over,” I announce. “Everyone out, please” There’s a collective groan, but I keep staring at Olivia. She’s fucking shaking. “I SAID EVERYONE OUT!” They rush for the door like I set the room on fire. Only Clarissa dares to come close to me, tiptoeing toward my ear and whispering, “If you want to know who really started this, talk to your Alpha.” I gawk at her as she blows me a kiss, then sashays after the fleeing party-goers. The fuck does she mean? “H-Hunter?” Olivia whispers, silencing any other thoughts I have. “Olivia,” I press her closer. “Where ammm I?” She slurs. “At my pack house. What are you doing here?” “Rykerrrr invited me.” She mumbles, then hiccups. Of course he did. “You need to lie down.” Olivia giggles, “I am lyinggggg down silly.” My brows furrow. I know humans have a low tolerance for werewolf alcohol, but this seems extreme. I carry her upstairs and shoulder into my bedroom, then gently lay her on my covers. Axel will kill me for letting her stay, but I would kill myself if I left her alone at her dorm and someone took advantage of her. I’ll sneak her out tomorrow morning. Easy. Olivia flops over, lying on her back and accidentally opening her legs so I can see the thin fabric of her panties. The urge to drag my cock over her underwear makes me blush. I face away as my cock shoots up. “Don’t hideeee from me.” She slurs. She can’t just be drunk. I take a deep breath and turn back to her. Olivia stares at me with shiny, blown-out eyes. Fucking hell. “Clarissa drugged you.” Olivia smiles slowly, “I likeeeee being drugged.” “No, you don’t. Lie down, I’ll get you water.” “Ouuuuuuu,” she coos, then chuckles, “Daddy Hunterrrrr wants to take care of me.” “Daddy Hunter?” My lips twitch. She nods lazily, and for some insane reason, she starts trying to stand. “Whoa.” I wrap a hand around her waist just as she flops to her feet and laughs. “Olivia. Lie down.” “Oliviaaaa, lie down.” She mocks me in a low voice, and I can’t help the ragged laugh that bursts out of me. I didn’t think she’d be funny. Her scent spikes, crawling into my brain and making my dick jerk. How am I horny at a time like this? Her eyes darken in a way that has me asking, “Olivia?” Her fingers dig into my back, and her slurred voice goes sultry, “I feel… fuck.” “You feel what?” My heart hammers, and I press her back on the bed to see if it’ll help. It doesn’t; her breathing becomes shallow. She drips her cinnamon and strawberry scent. Whimpering, but not in pain. Is she sick? Poisoned? Where the hell is Ryker, and why didn't he protect her if he invited her? Goddess, I'm going to kill him. My mind fires back to Clarissa, “That drink she gave you. What did it taste like?” Olivia bites her lip, thinking, “Sweet. Burning. It… fuck, Hunter.” Fuck is right. Clarissa didn’t just give her any drug. She gave her a sexual stimulant. “Hunter.” Olivia moans again, looking up at me through thick lashes. I stifle a groan. My name sounds so desperate on her tongue that it takes everything in me not to kiss her. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I'm so caught off guard that when she yanks me, I fall on top of her. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. “Olivia.” It’s supposed to be a warning, but my husky voice betrays me. Her breath hitches, and slowly, she runs a hand down my abs. My cock jerks in response. I need to leave before I cave. “Hunter,” she whispers again, before latching her fingers into the waistband of my jeans, and saying the magic words that send my brain straight to hell. “Fuck me.”The funeral takes a day. I’d always known Ricklan was legendary, but I thought after he was kicked off the council, people would have forgotten just how important he was. But the hall for his wake was so filled that some people had to sit with others in their lap. Many stayed outside to honor the man who raised Olivia all those years. So many people had stories about him, about how incredible he was. At the burial, me and the boys get to stand in front of the church with Olivia in the middle of us. She has always been small, but today, she looks fragile. Breakable. She rests on Hunter’s shoulder as Ricklan is lowered into the ground, and I want nothing more than to be the man holding her. We all sit at the grave, Olivia quietly crying as we try to comfort her. It’s when the sun is finally setting that she mutters, “We can go.” Hunter runs a finger over her shoulder, “You sure?” “Yeah.” She says, sounding tired as she wipes her eyes again, “I’ll come back.” “Will you go to yo
Step after shaky step, I head over to Ricklan’s hospital room.Talon and Hunter are flanked on either side of me, while Axel and Ryker walk ahead, as if they’re clearing a path for me.I’m sandwiched between the four tallest men in the world. I should feel safe, but all I can focus on is my wild beating heart.“You’ve got this,” Talon whispers by my ear, but the only thing I feel like I’ve got is his arm. If not, I’d have hit the floor by now.I can’t do this. I can’t face my father dead.“Livvy.” Hunter’s gentle voice joins the conversation. “This will be good for you, for us. Closure and all.”We get to Ricklan’s room door, and I stare at him. His blue eyes swirl with unspoken emotion, and it hits me that he’s also grieving.Chest tightening, I pull my hand out of his and rub a hand down his chin, feeling the prickle of stubble growing in. “Oh, Hunter.”“Don’t worry about me.” He smiles sadly, pressing his cheek into my hand. “This is about you and Ricklan.”I don’t know what I did
Every time I wake up, I’m on a different boy’s shoulder. Talon. Hunter. Ryker. Axel. Talon. Hunter. Ryker. Axel. Talon. Hunter. Ryker. Axel. Each of them caring for me in their own unique but wholehearted way. If my eyes didn’t sting from weeping, and if I didn’t feel so drained from all that has happened, this would have been paradise. This time, it’s Ryker, mindlessly running a hand over my hair, sitting with me on the bed while the rest of the boys have a quiet conversation in front of us. “Are we alive?” he mumbles into my hair. No. Not really. But I’d never break his heart by telling him that. “As alive as I can be right now.” “That’s more than enough for me.” I muster all my energy to try and joke with him. “You know, for a premium fuckboy, you’re really good at this whole caretaker thing.” Somehow, his touch becomes even more gentle. “Oh, trust me, darling, my fuckboy days are in the past.” I shouldn’t look into his eyes—seeing any emotion in them makes me even more
I come into the room, kissing Olivia’s forehead, and frown—her skin is burning. “Grief fever,” Axel grunts. “The doctor prescribed her some ibuprofen.” I nod, going over to the single metal chair in the room and slumping into it. “And you? What were you prescribed?” “Painkillers, mostly. You?” “Same.” He looks up at me. “You threw that shit away, right?” “Of course. I’m not making my parents pay for painkillers. I can handle some pain.” His lip twitches, hiding his smile. “Same.” We stare at each other for a moment. He looks as he always does, maybe with some bags under his eyes. I, on the other hand, must look like shit. He turns back to Olivia, muttering, “It suits you, you know?” “What does?” “Being Alpha.” I sit up, shock coursing through me. “Axel—” “I’m not giving you shit,” he insists. “I mean it, and I think deep down you know it too.” I gulp, not sure if I want to run from this conversation or use it to distract myself from Ricklan’s death and Oliv
Leaving Talon felt cruel, but I don't think Ryan Darlington would have wanted to see me right now if he knew what his son and I have gotten up to. I barrel down the white halls, the rose in my hand, with a single destination in mind—my dad’s room. But as I'm about to enter, a woman bursts out, looking paler than ever. I do a double take. “Mum?” Diane West’s eyes land on mine, and my heart breaks the second I see her worried brown eyes. “Hunter!” She breathes out the heaviest sigh of relief, wrapping me in her arms. “Baby, I was so worried about you. I got the message about what's been going on.” I'm a whole head taller than her, but I bend down and return the hug as tightly as possible. I rake my hands through her bobbed hair. “I’m sorry we scared you.” She pulls me back, eyes boring into mine. Anyone else would have yelled my head off. In fact, she should yell my head off. But my mother doesn’t have a single angry bone in her body. “Is Ricklan really dead?” she asks
Hunter and I freeze.My father stands at the door, looking as intimidating as ever: the top three buttons of his shirt are undone, showing the swirl of his tattoos and a bulk of muscle I fear he may use to pummel Hunter.His bulging eyes flit between us. He didn’t actually see the kiss, but I think our position says enough. Hunter’s hand is still clutching my cheek, and I’m sure my lips look freshly wet, just like the boy sitting across from me.When my dad regains his voice, for the first time in my entire life, it’s quiet. “Hunter. Excuse us.”Hunter nods jerkily, shooting me an apologetic look. He grabs the rose from under my pillow and darts past my father, who shoots daggers at the world’s golden boy.The door closes behind him, plunging us into a tense silence.My father stays facing the door, his chest heaving hard. My throat has never felt drier. My fingers curl in the bedsheets until I pull them out of the bedframe.Lowly, my father asks, “Are you okay?”I take a deep breath.
Hunter’s mouth is magic against mine. My whole body goes hot; my lips, my nerves, my core. Everything. He pulls away as quickly as he bent down and I gasp, “Hunter.” I can already see some sort of apology building in his mind, but I shake my head, pulling him closer, “Don’t. Please, kiss me
Cinnamon and strawberry. Every time I blink, I see her. That creature. That… that thing. Staring up at me with those brown eyes, trying to seduce me into forgetting how evil the humans are. I will never forget, not after what they took from me during the war. “Axel!” Ryker cries,
The door closes behind them, but the threat rings in my ears.*Trust me, human. I haven’t even begun with you.*All I wanted was to meet Talon, and the person who was meant to introduce me to him just walked out with the wolf that assaulted me.My chest constricts with panic. What if there is
This was a mistake.Someone pushes his girlfriend behind him, growling at me like my disgusting human genes will corrupt her.But his hatred doesn’t even match the one from the large, tattooed Lycan standing in front of me. We lock eyes.“Human.” He snarls, making goosebumps flare over my skin. W







