The designers murmured amongst themselves, wondering what the prize could be. Meanwhile, Maria stood at the back of the group, her lips pressed into a thin, slightly worried line. I shot her a meaningful look as if to say “Don’t worry,” then glanced over at where Ava was standing.She was leaning ag
AgnesTo say that I was satisfied and relieved by Ava’s absence at work would have been putting it lightly. I was far more than satisfied. Far more than relieved.For the first time in a long time, I finally felt… free. And it showed in my work; over the remainder of the week, I developed several mo
Still, maybe pretending that she was returning was what kept me running.At least, that was until I heard it.The growl.I slowed, coming to a stop around a bend of a narrow path. “Hello? Elijah?” I called out, turning. There was no one; just towering trees and swaying ferns.Frowning, I turned to c
AgnesI winced, looking away as the doctor carefully dabbed the deep puncture wounds on my arm with antiseptic.“This feels overboard,” I muttered under my breath as I stared at the floor. There was an IV in my other arm, pumping antibiotics through my bloodstream, and they had even tested me for ra
“There must be something we can do,” Elijah urged. “Some way to unbind the spell—”“We don’t even know what the spell is or who put it there to begin with,” the doctor cut him off. “Until we can figure that much out, we can’t even begin to figure out how to break it.”With that, the doctor removed m
AgnesElijah swiftly sent the rogues away, their handcuffs rattling around their wrists as the warriors led them to the pack cells. Once they were out of our sight, I let out a shuddering breath and dropped my hands back to my sides.“I can’t believe that Ava would send four rogues after me,” I brea
“They’re my parents. You think they’re not going to come when your husband arrests me for no reason?”Before I could answer, Elijah snapped his fingers. Ava was roughly pulled away by James, much to my father’s chagrin. My father followed, of course—and didn’t even look at me as he passed.Now, only
AgnesThe slap was so loud it was like a gunshot through the quiet house.My stepmother staggered backwards, cupping her hand against her face. She stumbled back against the foyer table so hard that it sent the vase on top toppling over, glass, water, and flowers shattering across the marble floors.
The elevator was at the far end of the lobby, requiring me to walk past the entrance to the hotel. As I approached, I noticed the guy from the bar, the one who had been with the woman, hurrying after me. He wore a blue hoodie and had a pair of glasses on.“Excuse me,” he called, “Alpha Elijah? Sir?”
ElijahHotel rooms always felt the same to me: sterile, impersonal, and far too quiet. This one was nicer than most—the pack I was visiting had surprisingly put me up in their territory’s best accommodations despite our trade disagreement—but it still felt wrong. The bed was too soft, the air condit
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Thea bounded down the stairs, racing me to the door.“I got it!” she cried, yanking it open before I could reach her. “Miss Evelyn!”Evelyn swept in like a hurricane, bringing with her the scent of expensive perfume and a veritable horde of what looked like gifts in
AgnesI was buried in sketches for the next season’s line when a knock at my office door pulled me from my concentration. I glanced up, surprised to see Elijah standing in the doorway. He hadn’t mentioned stopping by my office today.“This is unexpected,” I said, setting my pencil down. “I thought y
“What do you think it was like for her?” I said after a moment. “My mother, I mean. Living her whole life afraid that someone would find out what she was.”Elijah’s thumb traced circles on the back of my hand beneath the water. “Lonely, I imagine.”“She never told me,” I whispered. “My own mother, a
AgnesThe saltwater felt like heaven against my overheated skin. I’d been soaking in my in-ground pool for nearly an hour now, but the heat that had built in my body still hadn’t completely subsided.Honestly, I was surprised that I hadn’t burned down the entire bar earlier. My finger had certainly
“Yes,” he insisted. “Because Elemental Enterprises is owned by your stepmother’s family.”The world seemed to tilt beneath me. I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself. “What?”“I’ve been keeping your true nature from your stepmother all this time,” he continued, the words coming out of him
AgnesI fidgeted in the passenger seat as Elijah pulled into the dive bar’s parking lot. The place looked exactly as I remembered it from my past life—grimy windows with neon beer signs, chipped paint on the exterior, and a crooked sign hanging above the door.Years ago, I’d spent many nights here t
“Elijah, wait.”I froze, expecting to feel the tug of the mate bond, that infuriating compulsion she’d used so many times to force me to listen to her, to stay when I wanted to go. But it never came. For the first time, she hadn’t used the bond to control me. Today was full of surprises, wasn’t it?