로그인Chapter 81 SKYE'S POV Evelyn was already on her second latte when I slid into the booth across from her. She looked tired. Extremely tired. "Sorry I'm late‚" I said‚ dropping my bag on the seat beside me. "Traffic was insane." "It's fine." She waved it off and wrapped both hands around her cup. "I ordered you a vanilla oat milk thing. It's coming." "Thanks." I studied her face. "You okay? You sounded weird on the phone." Evelyn stared into her latte for a long time before she spoke. "I think Cole is cheating on me." The words came out flat and rehearsed‚ as if she'd been saying them to herself for days and this was just the first time she'd said them out loud. "What?" I leaned forward. "Why do you think that?" "He's been distant. Like really distant. He takes calls in other rooms and when I ask who it was‚ he says it's work." She laughed but there was no humor in it. "Have you asked him directly?" "I tried. He got defensive and turned it around on me. Said I
Chapter 80 Thorne’s POV The private boardroom on the forty-second floor of Anderson Holdings was where pack business happened. I sat at the head of the long table. Drake was to my right‚ jaw tight‚ hands folded in front of him. Four council elders sat along both sides in tailored suits‚ each of them old enough to remember my father's rule but smart enough to adapt to mine. Their faces were carefully neutral‚ which told me everything I needed to know about how this meeting was going to go. And at the opposite end of the table sat Kael. My fucking stepbrother. Composed as always in a charcoal suit with his dark hair slicked back and his hands clasped on the table in front of him. He looked calm. Relaxed even. As if he hadn't just called an emergency elder meeting to challenge my authority. "Thank you all for coming on such short notice‚" Kael said‚ standing up as if he was the one running this meeting. "I'll get straight to the point." "Sit down‚ Kael‚" I said. He
Chapter 79 Thorne’s POV She showed up furious. I could feel her anger through the bond before the elevator even opened. It was hot and sharp and pulsing‚ mixing with something else underneath‚ hurt‚ confusion‚ need. All of it tangled together and slamming into me as she stepped out and walked toward my door. I opened it before she could knock. Her eyes were blazing. Jaw tight. Scarf still wrapped around her neck like armor. She looked like she wanted to hit me and kiss me at the same time‚ and I wasn't sure which one was coming first. "Skye—" She grabbed the front of my shirt with both hands‚ yanked me down to her level‚ and crushed her mouth against mine. The kiss was angry and desperate and tasted like tears she hadn't let fall yet. Her teeth caught my bottom lip and I tasted blood. I pulled her inside and kicked the door shut behind us. "Skye‚ we need to talk—" "No." She kissed me again‚ harder‚ her fingers twisting in my shirt as if she was trying to tear it
Chapter 78 SKYE'S POV He didn't reply. Not throughout the rest of my grocery shopping. Not while I stood in the checkout line. Not during the drive back home. And now I was sitting in Mom's car in the driveway‚ staring at the screen‚ watching the message sit there on delivered. No typing dots. No read receipt. Nothing. The silence was making my skin crawl and the mark on my neck was throbbing as if it could feel my anxiety bleeding through the bond. Screw this. I called him. He picked up on the second ring. "Were you with Julia during those two weeks?" I asked the moment the line connected. No hello. No small talk. I didn't have the patience for it. A pause. Then — "No. Why?" "She says—" "She's lying." His voice cut through mine‚ firm and immediate. "Skye‚ whatever she told you is a lie. Don't you trust me?" I kept quiet. The silence stretched out between us and I could hear him breathing on the other end‚ waiting for me to say something. Waiting for me to give h
Chapter 77 SKYE'S POV Mom had sent me to the grocery store to restock the house. I was in the produce aisle‚ checking the tomatoes and tossing what looked good into my cart‚ when I heard her voice. "Well‚ well. The little PA." A pause. "Or should I say little whore?" I turned around and there she was. Julia. What the hell was she doing here? She was standing at the end of the aisle in a cream Chanel blazer and heels that probably cost more than my rent. Her dark hair was blown out to perfection and her red lips were curled into this smile that made my skin crawl. But something was different this time. Something I hadn't noticed before when I'd met her at Thorne's office or his house. Now that my senses were sharper‚ now that whatever was inside me had started waking up‚ I could smell something underneath her expensive perfume. Julia was a wolf. She walked toward me slowly‚ her heels clicking on the tile floor‚ and stopped about two feet away. Close enough that I
Chapter 76 SKYE'S POV I peeled myself off the bed and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. I wiped between my legs‚ wincing at how sensitive everything was‚ and tossed the towel into the hamper. Then I pulled on underwear‚ sweatpants‚ and an oversized t-shirt. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tilted my neck to the side. The mark stared back at me. Purple‚ red‚ swollen‚ and completely impossible to miss. It looked like someone had bitten a chunk out of my neck‚ which was basically what had happened. I grabbed my concealer from the counter and started dabbing it over the mark. One layer. Two layers. Three layers. It was still visible‚ the bruising bleeding through no matter how much I caked on. I tried foundation on top of it. Then powder. Then more concealer. It still looked like a giant bite mark on my neck with a thin layer of makeup over it. "Shit‚" I muttered‚ tossing the concealer into the sink. I went back to my room‚ dug through my closet‚ and pulled o







