LOGINI had taken off a whole week from my Alpha duties for one reason: to spend every waking second with her.I walked down the sunlit corridor of the main estate, leading Nina by the hand. She walked beside me, her small hand swallowed up in mine. She was quiet, her shoulders stiff, her eyes scanning every corner of the hallway with a strange mixture of awe and nervous terror.She still thought she was hiding something from me. She still thought she was pulling off the ultimate deception, pretending to be her stepsister, Lora.She had no idea.I had known Nina for years. Long before her family tried to pull this foolish swap, long before she lost her sight, and long before she ever left her hometown with that useless ex-fiancé of hers. I had watched her from afar, memorizing every detail about her—her voice, her strength, her true name, and every single thing she loved.So when her family sent her to my territory in place of Lora, I didn't get angry. I played along. Because the woman sta
I opened my eyes, and my hand immediately reached out across the vast mattress, searching for warmth.The bed was empty. The dark gray sheets beside me were cold and untouched.I sat up, pulling the blanket to my chest as I looked around the sunlit master suite. Romeo was nowhere to be seen. A small sigh escaped my lips. Last night, he explicitly told me that he was taking at least a week off from pack duties to spend time with his new bride. Yet, on our very first morning, I was waking up alone.While I sat there wondering where he could have gone, the door clicked open.Romeo walked in, freshened up and wearing a fitted black sweater that hugged his muscular frame. In his hands, he carried two steaming ceramic mugs."Good morning, my wife," Romeo said, his voice deep and smooth as he walked over to the side of the bed. He set one of the mugs on the nightstand beside me.My heart did a sudden, violent flutter. For the first time in my life, someone was pampering me like this—bringin
That plan died the second I pushed open the door to the big exam room. The air felt heavy, like the moment before a storm breaks. I stopped with one foot inside.They were already there, all three.Jaden sat on the exam table by the window, one knee bouncing. Silas stood against the far wall in black, arms folded. In the chair by the desk, leaning back like he owned it, was a man I hadn’t met. Sandy hair. Easy smile. Way too relaxed for this room.“Morning, Doc,” he said.“Checks don’t start until eight.”“I know. Couldn’t sleep.” He stood and held out his hand. “Lex Harlan.”I shook it. Warm. Dry. He let go at exactly the right moment, which somehow made it worse.“Why are you all here?” I asked.Nobody answered. Silas looked at the door, then at me. Lex smiled.“Great,” I muttered. “Alphabetical, then. Harlan, Kane, Rourke.”“That puts me last,” Jaden said.“Yes.”“I don’t like last.”“Take it up with the alphabet.”Lex laughed. Silas’s mouth twitched. Jaden stared at me like I’d sl
“Hmm,” she slowly stood up from her chair, leaning forward over her desk. She didn't raise her voice as she began to speak, but her words carried the weight of a guillotine. “You know I consider you a very smart young lady, Rayna,” the VP began. “Especially given the way you worked your way into this prestigious college. But then,” she paused, giving me a pointed look, her red lips parting in a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.“... it'd seem as though I need to remind you that your position in this school is not quite…settled like that of other students who are here by merit.” Liana arched one bushy brow, adjusting the glasses perched ontop of her long nose. “That means we can choose to withdraw your admission anytime, for whatever reason we see fit.”I shifted nervously on my feet, still fighting the urge to look at the guys even though I could feel their eyes on me. “So I'm being threatened because I…”“You're refusing a direct order from authority,” the VP interrupted in a
By the end of my first month in Elmor, I would've liked to think that I was already finding my footing.But that wasn't the case, and I had never been a big fan of lying to myself. I was much too self-critical and self-aware for that.The heavy wooden doors of the library had barely swung shut behind me when I carried my fresh stack of textbooks over to my locker. It had been an absolute chore getting them signed over to me, given my not-so-clean record.But I needed these books if I was going to keep up with the absurdly rigorous curriculum here, so getting them felt like a mini victory. It put a pep in my walk as I moved down the hallway towards my locker.FinallyStopping in front of it, I unlocked the metal door and it groaned as I pulled it open. I began shoving the heavy hardcovers onto the top shelf, trying not to let my thoughts wander off too far.A failed attempt.The truth is, I was still fuming about the ridiculous rumor that had been spreading across campus all throughout
I didn't realize I'd stopped breathing until Zed's hand tightened on my arm."Stay behind me," he said."Zed, wait. Don't..."He was already moving toward the dorm, and I caught a glimpse of his face in the lamplight. The cool, bored mask he'd worn all night was completely gone. This was something else, something that made the back of my neck prickle.I lunged and grabbed his sleeve. "Jamie's in there!"That stopped him."Who?""My friend. She was asleep in my bed when I left. If you storm in there, she'll..." I shook my head. "She doesn't know any of this. She doesn't know what's real."Zed stared up at the dark window for a long, tense second. Then he closed his eyes.I watched, confused, as his head tilted just slightly, the way you'd listen for a sound in another room. The cold wind stirred his hair. Nothing else moved."One heartbeat," he said at last.My stomach dropped. "What?""In your room. Just one." His eyes opened, dark and steady. "Fast. Awake. Whoever's in there is afrai
JOVAN'S POVFrom the grin on Lorenzo's face and the look Ethan gave me, I knew that I had made a big mistake.The door closed behind me and I heard the lock. One click and I stood in the dark and waited for my eyes to adjust and they didn't, because the dark in this room was not the kind that I adj
Lorenzo's POVJust like a vampire, I was never seen during the day but my business hours were at night time.The meeting was supposed to be civil.That was the word Grayson had used when he briefed me on the drive over. A sit-down between men who had grievances and enough shared interest to keep t
Lorenzo's POVI had dealt with hostile men before;Cartel lieutenants who had smuggled weapons under diplomatic plates. Politicians who had embezzled their way into debt and called it oversight. Rivals who had come to negotiating tables with knives hidden under their sleeves and smiles borrowed fro
JOVAN'S POVThe worst pain I'd ever felt aside from taking a kick to the balls was getting my head smashed into a wall.I woke up with a banging headache and it felt as though my head was a bit swollen at the side as I struggled to get off the bed.A….bed? Since when did hotel lobbied have…..? Wai







