Needing a moment to myself, I slipped away, navigating through the crowded backstage area until I found a quiet corridor leading to the restrooms. Once inside, I braced my hands against the cool marble countertop, staring at my reflection in the mirror.My skin looked pale despite the blush on my ch
AgnesI burst onto the runway, my chest heaving as I screamed her name.“Thea!!”The music cut off abruptly, leaving a hollow silence that swallowed the venue. The crowd stared at first, but then their murmurs began to ripple through the air, glancing at each other in confusion. The models up ahead
“Take that back,” I snarled.She lifted her chin. “Why should I? It’s the truth, you know. You lost your mind seven years ago because you can’t cope with the fact that—”I lost control before she could finish. Like lightning, my hands shot out, shoving Olivia hard in the chest. She stumbled back, he
AgnesI sat slumped against the alley wall, rain soaking through what was left of my gown. My chest ached from sobbing, my bare feet numb against the wet pavement. The emerald fabric hung in tatters around me, the vines I’d stitched so carefully now shredded beyond recognition.But most of all, beyo
My stomach dropped once more. I supposed he’d gone home anyway. Did he know Mason had picked me up, or had he simply been so hurt and angry that he didn’t care where I went? I doubted it was the latter, but either way, I wasn’t ready to face him—not like this, soaked and broken.“Thanks,” I mumbled,
ElijahI couldn’t sleep that night. Not after what happened in the nail salon—not when Olivia’s face kept swimming in my mind, turning my exhaustion into fresh anger over and over again. I kept thinking back to the moments in that place, to the horror of finding out that Olivia had taken Thea, to th
“You’ve only ever seen Thea as a means to an end,” I finally finished. “A way to get what you want.”Olivia blinked at me. A darker thought, one that had lurked in the recesses of my mind for years, surfaced suddenly. “Hell, Olivia,” I continued, my gaze sweeping over her, “sometimes I wonder if The
AgnesI sat at one of the communal workstations in the design department, my fingers mechanically working the fabric as I remade the dress. The old one had been torn beyond repair, Olivia’s claws having shredded both the material and my pride in one fell swoop.But maybe I could at least try to rebu
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?