-Corrine-I woke up to a groan and a jolt of pain.It took me a few seconds to realize that the groan was coming from my lips.My eyes slowly opened and the first thing I saw was Andrew. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on me.“Where am I?”“My room.”He helped me sit and let me catch my breath, feeling the presence of all my limbs.“I thought I was dead,” I muttered as I raised my hand and examined my fingers. I winced as I moved my shoulder and then I glanced at it. That’s when I realized I wasn’t wearing any clothes. I could see a pretty wide scar there.“Leana hurt you pretty bad,” Andrew murmured, following the direction of my gaze. “I thought it would never heal.” He reached out and grasped my hand. “I thought you would never wake up again.”He lifted my hand and brought it to his lips, then kissed it as he closed his eyes.I felt that what he was doing was overly dramatic, but I didn’t understand why he was acting like that. “I’m not dead,” I grumbled. “Sto
-Corrine-As soon as I heard my parents being dragged into this conversation, I sat up. “What?!”Andrew, sleeping next to me, was startled, and he woke up with a wide-eyed look. “What’s wrong, baby?”I ignored him and continued talking to Eva. “What else did he say?”“Um—he said that you should read the letter and contact him as soon as possible.” Eva cleared her throat. “Is everything okay? Are your parents in danger?”I wanted to say that my parents were fine, but I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t impossible for Jerome to do something to them, and Trevor couldn’t do anything if none of the pack members defended him either.The news about me running off with a lycan must have spread within the pack and I was sure they all hated me now instead of sympathizing with me because I had found my mate.“I don’t know,” I said then, trying to be at least one bit honest with Eva. “I’ll come to pick up the letter. When do you finish classes?”After Eva gave me her schedule for today, we ended the convers
-Corrine-Daniel’s mouth opened and closed before he exclaimed, “It’s—it’s for your own good!”I was too angry and shocked to speak. No words came out of my open mouth, because—damn—Daniel’s behavior left me speechless.“Who do you think you fucking are?” The audacity of him for interfering in my life after he dumped me frustrated me.I poked his chest with my forefinger. “The day you dumped me was the day you should have stopped interfering with my life! You dumped me, Daniel! Did you forget?!”Daniel caught my hand, and I winced in disgust at his touch. I quickly shook off my hand and stepped back. I wanted to spit at him, slap him, shout curses at him.But all that anger came out in the form of crying, which felt suffocating to my chest.Fuck. I didn’t want to cry in front of him.“It was a mistake,” Daniel whispered in a choking voice. He shook his head, guilt flickering in his eyes. “Dumping you was a mistake, Corrine. I’m sorry.”“You’re sorry?” I snorted.Even though he looked
-Corrine-“Aw, aw! Andrew! It hurts!”Andrew continued to squeeze my hand for a few seconds before releasing me. I ran away, then turned around and set up a stance. My hands were clenched, ready to hit him.“Your enemies won’t let you go when you scream in pain,” he said. “Instead, they will continue to twist your hand until it breaks.”My jaw tightened. “I know,” I said, unsure of what Andrew was trying to tell me.“You’ve always said you know but never experienced it firsthand.” He glanced at my hands, clenched into fists and pointing forward. “Lower your hands.”“No,” I refused firmly. “You’re going to hurt me again.”He stared at me and then smirked. “Smart girl.”Then, with a speed that barely caught my eye, he darted and, before I knew it, he was standing behind me. His hand clamped around my neck and he whispered, “Dead.”“I still can—““I can twist your neck in less than a second and you’ll be gone.” Then his other hand slips under my T-shirt, creeping along my back and stoppi
-Corrine-What I went through today left me physically and mentally exhausted. I didn’t know when Andrew would be back after he left me in the bathroom and I was too tired to wait for him to come home.I fell asleep after finishing the dinner delivered by a maid, and when I woke up the next morning, I found Andrew already beside me. He was sitting cross-legged, staring at me with his deep, yet gentle, eyes. “Good morning, baby.” His voice was soft and husky.My eyes blinked slowly. “Morning.” I cleared my throat to get rid of the hoarseness in my voice. “Where have you been last night?”“I had some business to take care of.” He reached out and ruffled my hair. “Get up. I’ll take you somewhere.”“Hm? Where?”“I’ll tell you on the way.” Then he motioned his head towards the wardrobe. “I’ve bought some clothes for you.”After that, he bent down to kiss my forehead. “Come on.” He extended his hand, and I took it, and then he helped me up.I was stretching while yawning and rubbing my eyes
-Corrine-I almost choked at his question.“Of course!” I exclaimed. “Is that even a question? Why did you even mark me in the first place if it wasn’t for forever?”“I feel your hesitation, Corrine.”As for this statement, I wasn’t expecting it at all. I should have denied it outright, saying that not for a second did I doubt my decision to leave my family and go with him.But the thing was... he was right.My family were the people I trusted the most in this world. They always supported me, stood behind me, and protected me. They were my shelter, my home.They were my safe place.But now...“Am I right?” he continued when I said nothing. “Maybe I do exist in your future, but is there a future where there’s only me without your family? Because it’s very possible, Corrine. In the end, you have to choose.”The beauty around us no longer captivated my eyes and calmed my heart. This conversation made me uneasy and made me question my decision even more.I thought back to what my father,
-Corrine-I wanted it. I really, really wanted it. And I knew Andrew wanted it, too.But I didn’t want to do it like the last time we did. I wanted it to be slow, sweet, full of lust yet somewhat filled with affection.“I want it,” I whispered on his lips when he touched mine with his, but he was not yet to kiss me.“But?”He knew the tone I was making and I was happy because I felt that he understood me better than before.“But this time,” my hand crept on his broad shoulder and slowly down to his chest, “I’ll take the lead.”His eyes sparked with excitement and his reaction made me confused. “You… look so happy.” Doubt built up in my stomach. Did I say it right? I didn’t sound like a slut, did I?“Of course I am.” He propped his hands beside my head, holding his weight so he didn’t crush me. His dark blue eyes gazed at me like I was the only beauty in this world. “This dominant side of yours—“ he brushed my nose with his, “—I can’t wait to see it.”He slowly retreated and positioned
-Corrine-Daniel?What did he have to do with all this?He didn’t even know about werewolves. Why would his death be such important news to Andrew and his alliance?Did his death involve werewolves?All the way back to the mansion, my stomach was churning from the way Andrew drove the car and from my anxiety that was growing and gnawing at me.Even though I didn’t really care about Leana, I still wanted to know what happened to her and what her relationship with Daniel was.We arrive at the mansion and head straight to the treatment room. It’s just a regular, larger room with a few beds lined up.From the doorway, I heard Leana’s moans of pain and several voices trying to calm her down.“Andrew!” exclaimed Bent, who seemed to have been waiting for Andrew’s arrival.Another turned to us—Leana’s uncle—and roared when his eyes met mine.“What is she doing here?! Get out!”“Edy!” snapped a woman I didn’t recognize. It looked like she was serving as a healer. “Don’t yell in here!”“How cou