Of Love and Lies

The second she heard her mother bellow out, "Giavanna Rosalie Sperino, get your ass down here this instant!" she knew her outfit for the Mateship Ball had been delivered. Grinning to herself, Giavanna threw her bedroom door open and clambered down the stairs, nearly slamming into her sisters at the bottom of the steps. Anita Sperino smiled at her youngest daughter and ushered her older children aside so she could hand a heavy-duty black garment bag to Giavanna. Mia and Aria looked on eagerly, emitting high-pitched squeals of excitement as their little sister took the bag and hugged it to her chest. "What's with all this noise?" a gruff voice called from the kitchen, followed by the scrape of chair legs moving across linoleum tiles. A beast of a man appeared in the doorway, frowning as he tugged the end of his chest-length salt and pepper be

Sitting at a table in the far back corner of the ballroom, Giavanna couldn't help the smile that brightened her face as she looked around the room. Several of her friends had met their mates this evening and seemed so besotted with their new partners that Giavanna couldn't help but be happy for them. She'd enjoyed many dances with men from different packs and even did a few turns around the room with friends, though the attention from the males had become stifling, leading her to seek out the quiet.Elsbeth was busy dancing with a tall man who had muscles so large he must have needed his navy blue suit jacket custom made. One minute Elsbeth had been headed to the bathroom, and the next Giavanna had found her giggling in a corner with Dwayne. Giavanna considered signaling to her friend that she was going to take a walk through the gardens, but she knew she'd never be able to tear Elsbeth eyes away from Dwayne's face. Chuckling, Giavanna walked towards the french doors at

Giavanna leaned back, sinking her hands into the warm sand lining the edges of the lake that lay before her. She had made the short hike through the woods that butted against her family's backyard and was happy to find the beach deserted. With the cool breeze whipping across the water and flurry of mateship move preparations throughout the pack, she shouldn't have been surprised. She needed this time to herself to untangle all the thoughts and worries that were rattling around her brain. It had been five days since the evening of the ball; five days since she had stayed up all night with Sebastian, flirting and laughing over donuts and coffee at a 24-hour diner. Five days since she met the love of her life. Supposedly. Her mind was in a constant battle with itself, swinging from lust, guilt, contentment, and anger in an endless loop. Giavanna thought she knew what to expect with the soulmate bond. A longing to be near your partner, feeling as if a part of yourself was missin

Sebastian's P.O.V. "I can't do this anymore," Sebastian groaned, his arm draped across his eyes in a feeble attempt to block any light from adding to the searing pain in his head. The concealment potions weren't as effective as his magicians had implied, and due to the excessive amounts he had to consume to even spend a small amount of time with Giavanna, his body was rebelling against him.  "Do you even have any potion left? With the way you've been guzzling those bottles, you should only have a few left," Grant said, bringing a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin for his bed-ridden Alpha. "They sent you with a three-week supply, and you used it up in a few days. That can't be good for you." "Yeah, did you get any response about why it's not working correctly?" Jared plugged in another heatin

Sebastian's P.O.V. Sebastian stared out the window of the private jet, the clouds surrounding the aircraft matching his grim mood. When his face had begun morphing after his reckless kiss with Giavanna, he had raced back to the hotel, unleashing his fury and dispair on the room fixtures as Jared and Grant watched helplessly. The look of devastation on Giavanna's face was etched into his mind. As long as he lived and regardless of what happened in their relationship moving forward, Sebastian knew he'd never be able to fully atone for his behavior. His next biggest concern was the effectiveness of the pack's magicians. As long as he could remember, they had never failed a task before. Not when Sebastian's parents led the pack and according to his research, not during his grandparents' reign either. The Leadership Council had already been made aware of the situation and were demanding all thirteen magicians be ready to gather as soon as Sebastian was back within the pac