“I’m sorry,” he says. “I just can’t. I’ve tried a couple of times and I always get chased away. They hunt me down and…”The look of hurt on his face is too bright to ignore. I take his hand and kiss his cheek.“It’s so hard,” he admits. “I hate facing their rejection, their hatred, their fear of me. That was once my pack. Now, it’s like I’m this awful stranger they’re trying to be rid of. They look at me like I’m a monster.”“I understand that,” I say, thinking back to how both of the packs I was once part of view me now. “It’s so difficult. Being an outcast is lonely, painful, just awful.“But I’m here with you now. I know that doesn’t change everything, but it does mean you don’t have to face it on your own. We’re in this together. Maybe with me there, it’ll sting less.”“It would,” he admits. “Everything is better when you’re with me. But I also don’t want to drag you into more danger.”“I’m already in danger,” I point out. “We live in danger now. Each second of each day. We’r
“Why are you here?” Justin asks as soon as the door closes. “You were kicked out of the pack. It’s dangerous for you to be here.”“I know,” Lance admits. “But that’s why I’m here. I wanted to talk to you about what happened and see if you’d be willing to help me.”“I shouldn’t even be listening to you,” Justin replies, looking quite uneasy as he glances around his home. “I could get into so much trouble by not sounding the alarm right now. I should be trapping you. You are the most wanted man of this pack.”“I appreciate that you haven’t sounded the alarm yet,” Lance says. He seems hopeful and I am too. Despite all he’s said so far, it seems like Justin will be at least willing to hear Lance out.“I’m still debating if I should,” Justin admits.“Hear me out first, at least,” Lance asks. “Then, you can make that decision for yourself. There have been lies spread about me. I think you know that already. I think you’ve known that from the start. Let me set things straight. Let me tel
“You don’t understand,” Justin says, stepping forward, clearly worried about his brother.“It’s okay,” Lance replies as he glances at the group. It’s clear we don’t stand a chance against them. And if Lance fights them now, there’s no way he’ll be accepted back into the group. He simply can’t kill them. We’re stuck in this awful lose/lose situation. “He knows he’s at fault,” Kelsie says. “At least he’s finally come back to admit it. Looks like he brought someone with him this time too.”“Don’t touch her,” Lance says, the first time he really sounds threatening. “She has nothing to do with this. It’s me you want. Leave her alone.”Kelsie glares at me, then notices the mark on my neck. She shakes her head in disbelief.“This is your mate?” she asks. “Pathetic. You should’ve just stuck with me.“Ah, well. At least we got you both in one go. She’s clearly willing to stand by you, so we can’t have her running around and potentially messing up our plans. Take them both.”“Never,” Lan
I don’t want to make a deal with Kelsie. I know she’s a terrible person. She’s only offering this to me because she’ll gain so much from me. I suspect I’ll be at a loss.I love Lance though. I would do anything to save him, anything. I would give up my own life for his if that was required. So, I know I’ll do whatever Kelsie says just so he gets out alive.“Okay,” I say. “What do I have to do to save Lance?”Kelsie smiles this wicked grin. I already regret this. I know it’s going to be terrible. I don’t want to give in to someone like her. But I don’t feel like I have a choice.“I will free you,” she says, smiling with glee. “But only if you go to Lance and tell him you don’t love him anymore.”That makes my heart sink. I can’t even fathom telling Lance that I don’t love him because that will never be true. I will always love Lance. He’s my mate. He has my whole heart.“You have to tell him you don’t love him, and you have to leave this place,” Kelsie continues. “You can never re
As I’m running for Rachel, something terrible happens. I’m so close, I can sense her. I can feel her. My mate is within reach.But then a solid body slams against me. It’s the alpha of the pack and he’s not going to let me go so easily. I fall to the ground under the unexpected force of his attack. Rachel seems further away than ever.“You’re dead,” he snarls at me. “I’m done with trying to deal with you. Your fate was sealed the moment you dared return here.”At that, he lashes out at my neck, clearly intent on tearing my throat out. But I have no intentions of backing down.I turn away from him, his teeth missing me by mere inches. So close to death, but I roll out from under him and nip at his leg. I’m the first one to draw blood, which causes him to sound a howl into the night. The fight is on and we know we’re both fighting for our lives. He’ll kill me if he gets the chance, so I have to stay ahead of him.We face off against each other, and he lunges at me again first. I s
I look into his eyes and don't know what to say."It's very simple, Rachel," Sebastian says again. "Do you love me?"How can I not? He is gorgeous. A few inches over six feet, he towers over me, complete with bulging muscles and broad shoulders. He has a perfect smile, eyes so green they practically glow, and thick, blond hair.Everybody loves Sebastian. And every girl in our pack wants him. Of course they do. Not only is he gorgeous—but he is our Alpha. And he's not just any Alpha, but the strongest Alpha of all the packs we have ever encountered.I know all about strong Alphas. My Dad is one, and I grew up in a pack house that was respected, where my Dad's every word was obeyed. I was always raised to be a Luna. Our two packs decided to make an alliance. I was told by my Dad to move to this new pack. Only now I realize that they had a reason: they wanted me to make the alliance firm by marrying this new Alpha of this new pack. Sebastian.It's almost like I never had a choice.
Standing there, in the open door, scowling back at me, is Violet—the girl I hate most in the world. She's just a few months older than me, but she thinks she's so much older and thinks she's the boss of me. But she's only 18, after all. And I'll be 18 soon. I don't know who she thinks she is. Everywhere I turn she reminds me that I am in her territory. In her pack house.She's just jealous. The other girls told me that Violet was desperate to be Sebastian's Luna. But he apparently never was that into her. And then I came along, and now, she blames me.Which is so unfair—because I never even courted Sebastian. He courted me! And on top of it all, I'm not sure I even want to be his Luna.But Violet doesn't care. She just wishes I was dead."So," Violent says, her voice seething with hate and envy, "precious little Rachel is too good for our Alpha?"My face reddens."I never said that," I say."Don't lie," she says. "I heard you two. You wouldn't tell him you love him. What, you
My heart slams in my chest as I wonder what's going on. Is this guy going to kill me? Is he a human predator?Or even worse. Could he be…a Rogue wolf?I can feel how strong his hands are, how strong his muscles are wrapped around my body. I feel like he could lift me into the air without even trying, like I could disappear into his arms. He feels even stronger than Sebastian.I made a mistake coming this deep into the woods. I should have been more careful.I realize that I am at his mercy now.Is he going to hurt me? Or something worse?But slowly, he releases his hand."Don't make any noise," he says.I feel a wave of relief as I catch my breath, and as I realize he's not going to kill me. I also feel…something else. The sound of his voice, the timber of it, goes right through me. I feel my entire body vibrate. It's a feeling I've never felt before. Like…being transfixed by a piece of music.It's a voice I've always known somehow. It's like it's the voice I've been waiting