AgnesI woke up feeling like I was burning from the inside out.Heat coursed through my veins. My sheets were so damp with sweat that they were clinging to my body. The sensation wasn’t painful, exactly, but it was intense—like a fever, but concentrated in my hands and chest.For a moment, I just la
ElijahI was absolutely exhausted as I drove home, the dashboard clock showing nearly midnight. My eyes burned from staring at paperwork all day, and my back ached from too many hours in uncomfortable chairs, listening to other Alphas argue about territory lines and trade agreements.All I wanted wa
The master bedroom was a hellscape. Flames consumed the curtains, the bed, the dresser. The heat was so intense that it singed my fur, making me flinch back instinctively. But Agnes’s scent was stronger here, mingled with Thea’s, and beneath it all, the sharp tang of fear.A sound caught my attentio
AgnesI stared at the white ceiling tiles, counting them for the dozenth time. Anything to keep my mind off what had happened, although it wasn’t working. The ceiling had exactly forty-eight tiles—I’d counted them repeatedly since waking up in this hospital bed hours ago.Forty-eight tiles, and none
Elijah shook his head, sitting on the edge of the bed. “None of that was your fault, Agnes.”“How can you say that?” My voice cracked. “I started the fire. My hands literally shot flames just because Thea woke me up unexpectedly. If she had been standing just a few inches to the left...” My voice tr
AgnesI couldn’t even bear to look at the bones of the once-beautiful manor that stood behind us. My stomach twisted with guilt every time I looked at it, and the lingering scent of smoke and burnt wood in the air only made it worse.Truthfully, I hadn’t even wanted to come here today. But I had no
“What happened wasn’t your fault,” he insisted for what felt like the hundredth time since it had all happened.I nodded silently. Even if I didn’t believe his words, I couldn’t bear to disappoint him further, so I made a quiet vow to quit complaining and buck up.“I promise I’ll try to help with th
Agnes“We’re here for you, Thea! Always and forever!”The recorded sound of mine and Elijah’s voices filled the hotel room for what had to be the hundredth time today. Thea was sitting cross-legged on the bed, pressing the button on her new stuffed pig’s stomach over and over, a small smile on her f
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?