LOGIN~Amber’s POV~ “I’M LIVING THE DREAMMMMM!!!”The words tore out of my throat, loud and unfiltered, and the crowd around me erupted.“CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!”The chanting was deafening, voices overlapping and blending into one collective roar as I lowered myself onto the bar, tilting my head backward until the world flipped upside down.The alcohol poured into my mouth, cold and sharp and burning all at once, but I didn’t stop, couldn’t stop because like I said. “I AM LIVING THE DREAM, BABY.”The crowd was still shouting, still chanting, hands clapping in rhythm.“CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!”And I feel like this is the point where I should take a pause and do that thing I saw when I was scrolling through videos what felt like a forever ago, where the person doing the voiceover goes:“Yeah, that’s me. You are probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.”And then there was this flash, like a rewind and just like it happened in those videos, I was right back there.“Hey, hold on! You a
~Axel’s POV~ ‘Axel Edgewood, what did you do to my daughter?’The surprise of it, the sudden intrusion into my mind, the King’s voice cutting through my thoughts without warning stopped me mid-motion.Because of it, I almost dropped Cleopatra right onto my bed instead of the careful placement I had been attempting.I snapped out of it fast, lowered her gently, pulled the covers over her sleeping form, stepped back, stared at her for a second longer, watching her breathe evenly, peacefully.The guilt that had been sitting in my chest like a stone eased up just slightly then the voice sounded through my head again, more insistent this time.‘You do realize that it doesn’t matter how powerful you are, I am still King. And I could have your head for ignoring me.’But I felt his amusement ripple through the psychic link even as he delivered the threat, which told me he wasn’t actually planning to execute me.Today, at least.I turned away from Cleopatra, was about to turn the lights off w
~Amber’s POV~ The question hung in the air between us, and the breath I wasn't allowed to take just stuck there as I stared at her. My brain went completely offline for a full three seconds.Because humans didn't know about werewolves.And I was one hundred percent sure that she, and everyone in this community, were human."So?" Samantha pushed.I snapped out of it, instinct kicking in. I forced a laugh that sounded hollow even to my own ears. "I don't know what you're talking about. There's no such thing—""Right, right." She nodded quickly, cutting in. "No such thing as werewolves. Of course not. My mistake. I was just kidding around."Relief flooded through me so fast I almost sagged against the counter.Then she grabbed my hand.Just reached out and wrapped her fingers around my wrist, yanking it up between us, turning it over, studying my fingers with the kind of intense focus usually reserved for scientists examining evidence."So is this where the claws come out?" Her eyes wer
~Amber’s POV~ There was never a point in my life I would have thought I would be caught in a place like this, much less that it would be my choice to be here.But if I had gotten into that car with Axel, I would have killed him.There was no doubt in my mind about that.Unfortunately, Roxanne would have made it difficult because the bastard was still our mate even though neither of us understood why he couldn't recognize us but I would have gotten creative. The seatbelt wrapped around his neck. A well-placed elbow to his throat. Something.Ending the reign of an asshole seemed like a public service at this point.And to prove just how much of an incorrigible asshole he truly was when I had thought seeing him with Cleopatra meant there was actually a beating heart somewhere in that chest of his, he had driven off.Left me here.Well in defense, I did spit the words at him. "I would rather lose my title than go anywhere with you."Then with an equal amount of ice coating every syllabl
~Amber’s POV~ Could a Princess get a little moment of peace without something happening?Apparently not.And Cleopatra's eyes snapped open, followed immediately by her screaming laying more emphasis on it and even though the glass that had just exploded inward, cutting into my hand, sharp stinging pain blooming across my palm should have been what I focused on, my attention snapped to her instead."Hey, hey, it's fine." I kept my voice calm even though my heart was racing. I realized she was screaming from her sleep because her eyes were still closed, lost in whatever nightmare the crash had triggered. "Lie back down."I kept my voice pacifying, soothing. "It's just a little noise. Everything is fine."I stroked her hair as I spoke, the motion automatic and she settled back against me. I continued the gentle stroking for a moment longer until her breathing became heavy again, evening out into sleep.Only then did I snap my attention to Axel.He surprisingly hadn't gotten out of the
~Axel’s POV~I didn’t register the moment I moved.One second I was standing in the hallway, watching Amber smile at my sister through the doorway.The next, Cleopatra was gone. Yanked backward through the incomplete window behind her like someone had pulled a rope.Ash surged forward so fast I didn’t have time to think, didn’t have time to process, just felt him take control and push my body faster than it had ever moved.I was already at the stairwell.Already taking the stairs four, five, six at a time, my legs burning, my lungs screaming, but Ash wouldn’t let me slow down.Faster.The floors blurred past me, twenty-ninth, twenty-eighth, twenty-seventh.I could hear her screaming, the sound echoing down through the empty building, high-pitched and terrified and so loud it drowned out everything else.Faster.Fifteenth floor. Tenth. Fifth.My heart was slamming against my ribs so hard I thought it might break through just as I burst through the exit door, my eyes finding her immedia







