CLAIREI woke up the next morning groggy and disoriented. Even if I hadn’t totally adapted to London scheduling, I wasn’t completely on Texas time, either. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t crossed time zones before, but when I traveled for work, I drove. Something about the length of time it’d take to get from one job site to another made it easier to adjust, and it was rare that I was more than an hour from where I’d started. When I had to drive crosscountry, it took more than a day.After staring at the ceiling for several moments — or maybe minutes, time didn’t feel particularly real to me just yet — I finally reached over to grab my phone and check the time. I sighed. Better get up to check on Bella. I had no idea if she’d stick to Texas time, if she was still on London time, or if she was caught somewhere between, like me. At least I don’t hear her — yet. She’s probably still asleep.As I eased myself upright, I glanced over at Kaiser. He’d slept fitfully all night, tossing and turning.
“Anyway, her family was one of them, and we became fast friends. As you can imagine, there were several other pups my age in the pack, but as my father’s only son — an only child — and an alpha, several of them were…well, not terribly keen on being friendly. Having grown up elsewhere, Sarah never had reservations. She’d put me in my place if she needed to. She might have been the only one who did.“We stayed friends all through the years of school, and the moment I turned eighteen — I was two months younger than she was — I knew. She showed up for my surprise party, and I knew the moment I laid eyes on her. Sarah had always held a special place in my heart, but at that moment, I knew exactly why. I felt like I was the moon, and she was the Earth — no, she was the sun. She was the center of my…” He cut himself off, shaking his head.I frowned, not liking that look on his face. “What happened to her?”Nic gave himself a shake and looked back at me, the sad smile replacing the distant lo
Deep-set eyes, a clean-shaven face, an angular jawline that seemed chiseled from stone, an aristocratic nose that added an air of regal elegance, and lips pursed in a grim line. His brute features were what I noticed first when I laid my eyes on him, a striking blend of strength and refinement.He was the only man who went to the dancefloor without a mask, and for the first time in my nineteen years of existence, my heart leaped because of a male.Standing there amidst the swirling sea of dresses and suits, I couldn't help but feel a magnetic pull toward him. He was tall, towering above the crowd at perhaps around six feet, and his tie was loosely knotted as if he hadn't had the time to properly adjust it.As he stepped into the room, an almost palpable shift occurred. The atmosphere seemed to change, and most girls, even those who were already in the company of partners, couldn't help but turn their heads towards the newly arrived man. It was as though an undeniable aura surrounded h
It felt surreal.How I shifted into my wolf form for the first time, and how I recognized my mate’s scent all over me, everything felt surreal I almost couldn’t believe it.It was just yesterday when I ranted to my best friend, Winona, about how pathetic I was because I didn’t shift on last year’s blood moon even when I was already eighteen. All of the other debutants had shifted and most of them knew their mates already, but there I was, the pathetic alpha’s daughter who was believed to be a late bloomer."Your time will come, my dear. Don’t be disheartened," was what Dad told me.I was thankful he was such a supportive dad despite the pack’s expectations of me being his only child, but I knew deep down he was happy that I hadn’t met my mate yet because for him, I was his baby girl. But still, I couldn’t help but be disappointed with myself.Tonight, everything changed. I had changed for the better.Running away from the first district pack with my four legs was a lot more convenient
I woke up feeling the pain on my wrists. My body felt numb and my head was aching as I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was the tight shackles on my wrist. Second was the dark and dirty cell I was in.As I struggled to sit up, memories flashed in my mind. From sneaking into the first district’s mating ball, to returning home and finding out the sinister outcome of my uncle’s betrayal. The last thing I remembered was I got knocked down by Lucas.With my overflowing emotions, my anger got the better of me. I didn’t think about the gap of strength between me and Lucas. I was ready to die right there. I was ready for the worst. Why would I expect them to spare me if they had killed my dad anyway? My friends… they were all killed. How could Uncle Nick and Lucas do this?The sunlight from the small hole in the east wall of the small cell where I was imprisoned was my only light. I was still wearing the peach dress I wore last night but now it was marred with dirt and blood from my
Winona offered help to get me out of prison but I refused it. I didn’t want anyone to suffer because of me, so if I were to escape, I would do it alone. But I knew that escaping this deserted place was almost impossible unless I was taken out. Perhaps getting married off to the fourth district’s alpha wasn’t that bad.I had found my mate, yes, but being with him right now was not possible. That man was living in the first district. He could have recognized my scent that night but he didn’t know anything about me. Not my face, not my name. He knew nothing so how could I expect him to come running to save me? Besides, what if he was just an ordinary person? He could do nothing against Uncle Nick’s scheme so I’d rather have him out of this mess."Alpha Nicholas’ people will come here for you tomorrow morning, so you should be ready." The woman sending me meals was kind enough to give me a heads up. "Finish your food and rest."I didn’t say anything like usual and just started eating dinn
Kaiser’s POV“D o I look like a fool? Some weakling? You disrespected my mate last night, Kaiser. It’s like all this international travel has turned you into a spoiled little brat.”My skin pickled, and my wolf bristled. I could feel his hackles rise as he pressed against the surface again. It was all I could do not to let him jump forward — and Brock was making it harder and harder to remember why I wasn’t just letting him take control so that he could end this intolerable situation once and for all.I couldn’t, though. I couldn’t. If Uncle Gage had invited Brock to become a council member because he was going to support him, then the last thing I needed to do was lose control right in front of him, my stepfather. Then again, that was entirely too strong a word for what the man was. There was nothing paternal about him. He was just my mother’s shitty mate.But it didn’t matter how I saw him. All Brock cared about was what he saw and, to a lesser extent, what my mother saw in him. If
I was no longer watching the scene but had returned to my own body in an instant, suddenly acutely aware of the fingers tightening around my neck. In the past, when I was small, and my powers hadn’t come in fully, I had feared that one day Brock might kill me in his senseless rage — or, if not, leave me so badly injured that there’d be no chance of recovery.Now, the first time he actually attempted it — I wasn’t scared at all. My heart was racing as adrenaline surged through my veins, but…it wasn’t cold, paralyzing fear. I didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to stand listlessly against the door in my own home while this man tried to choke me out.Everything moved all at once. I surged forward, my hands grabbing at his forearms to push the pressure off my trachea. The red flooded back, and I stopped resisting it, offering up a savage snarl as I blinked, allowing my alpha power to come forward. Brock all but roared in response, shifting his position as he tried to shift his wei