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41. Stall
November 2026,
Outskirts of Scars Bay, USA
Katerina
"Stella?"
Stella's eyes widened when she saw me. She glared at one of her men. "What the hell is Katerina Van Acker doing here?" she hissed. "I asked you to only get-" she exhaled sharply. "Incompetent shits," she spat and turned towards us again.
"Stella? You did this?" I asked, still in absolute disbelief. Why the hell would she do this?
Stella - Jayden's girlfriend Stella, had been the one who had us kidnapped. She had been the one who paid Caleb to do it for her.
Even the thought of his name fuelled the fiery hot mass of anger in my chest. I couldn't believe he would do this to me but the evidence was undeniable.
Earlier, I could chalk this up as a mistake but now I knew that it was anything but. Caleb betrayed me. For
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November 2026,Outskirts of Scars Bay, USADimitri"If only you had listened to me and stayed at the safe house, this wouldn't have happened. But you couldn't follow a simple safety protocol because you care more about beingniceand letting Katerina do whatever thefuck she wants," Andrei growled. “Might as well lick the dirt off the bottom of her fucking shoes while you let her walk all over you.”My grip on the steering wheel tightened and I pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying anything.He was right. This was my fault after all.I agreed to let Katerina and Alya leave the safe house. I went with them to the manor. It was my job to protect them. I never should have left them alone. It was stupidity on my part to think that they would stay there because they had no motive to go. But they did have a moti
Pause, Rewind, Play 43. Play
November 2026,Scars Bay, USAAlyannaKaterina had been painfully silent while we waited by the car for Dimitri to come out.Of course, she was. Dimitri had made a show of displaying his supernatural speed and strength in there. Katerina was in shock.I didn't know what to say to make it better so I remained silent.After what felt like forever, Dimitri walked out with...Caleb? They were followed by over a dozen men - some fine, some injured but all holding on to guns.What the hell happened in there? What was Caleb doing here? Did that man end up calling him after all? Was it truly a misunderstanding?Kate stiffened when she spotted them but made no indication of what she was thinking otherwise. Dimitri grew visibly disappointed when he saw her lack of reaction.Caleb, unaware that I was alive, looked at me in bewilder
Pause, Rewind, Play 44. Supernatural
November 2026,Scars Bay, USADimitriAfter Andrei dropped off Alyanna at Jayden's, Katerina asked him to drop her off at her apartment complex.So naturally, I got off with her too.I thought she would get annoyed by that or tell me that she needed space but she didn't even react to my presence. That stung more than I thought it would. Anything would have been better than being ignored. Her silence was deafening.We rode up the elevator and she marched straight towards her apartment. I stood there, watching her punch in the code to her apartment, unsure if she wanted me to follow her or let her be for a while.She entered and then slammed the door shut after her.My heart stopped. I really thought she would keep the door open and gesture for me to come in after her or ask me to join her. It was something we did with the bathroom door when we wanted to take a sh
Pause, Rewind, Play Characters
Alyanna Rosellini (Human) Parents - Alaric & Darla Love Interest - Jayden Carlton Jayden Carlton (Human) Cousin - Ajax Love Interest - Alyanna Rosellini, Stella Katerina Van Acker (Human) Parents – Benjamin & Eleanor Brothers – Konstantin & William Love Interest - Dimitri Volkov (Ex – Ajax, Felix) Prince Dimitri Volkov of Soare Luna (Lycan) Family – Prince Andrei, Prince Mikhail (Sofiya, Max, King Nikola & Queen Avalyn – not mentioned) Love Interest - Katerina Van Acker (Ex - Althea) Prince Andrei & Mikhail (Lycans) Family – Prince Dimitri (Sofiya, Max, King Nikolai & Queen Avalyn – briefly mentioned) Konstantin Van Acker (human) Father - Benjamin Siblings – Katerina, William Wife- Cassandra William Van Acker (human) Parents - Benjamin & Eleanor Siblings – Katerina, Konstantin Stella (human) Love Interest - Jayden Carlton
Pause, Rewind, Play 1. Wilde
August 2026, Scars Bay, USA Jayden "Thank you for your service," I said as I fastened my belt and opened the door of the bathroom stall. My phone rang and my eyes flew to the screen. Kate. Goddammit. I put my phone on silent and slid it into my pocket. "Who is that? Is she your girlfriend?" she asked in a high-pitched, slightly annoyed tone. "She is none of your fucking business." I walked out and began washing my hands, which seemed to aggravate her further. "I had a great time. We should go this again sometime." I would not consider having sex in the bathroom stall of a bar a great time but each to their own. "I'm flattered but not interested," I said the truth without sugar-coating it because frankly, I did not care enough to lie. Oscar Wilde said that everything in the world was about sex except sex. Sex was about power. One of the very few quotes of his that I didn't agree with. I thought that sex was a means to an end. A thing to cross off my week's to-do list so I didn
Pause, Rewind, Play 2. Man of Honour
August 2026, Scars Bay, USA Jayden "She's quite persistent," Alyanna commented after Stella left. I took a breath in relief. Finally, it was just the two of us. I turned to face her and smiled. She was back. "She is." I patted the pillow on my lap. "Now, where were we?" Alya pursed her lips and ignored my invitation to lie down in my lap again. "She seems nice. Why do you want to break up with her again?" I released a breath. "She's annoying." "She was there for you when you needed it the most," she said, referring to the time after she was gone and I had begun acting out, so much so that I was impossible to be around. That was the time most of my 'friends' realized it was best to leave me on my own and gave up on me. I was better off without them anyway. I didn't need them. Or anybody else. Only Alyanna. "For which I am thankful. But I can't do this anymore. I tried to love her but I couldn't. She doesn't measure up to you!" I was frustrated that she was taking Stella's side.
Pause, Rewind, Play 3. Warrior
August 2026,Scars Bay, USAKaterina"Mr Leadfield is here, Ms Van Acker," my secretary said through the telephone."Let him in, Penny," I told her and braced myself for the worst. Leadfield walked into my office and I looked at him expectantly."Please tell me you have good news.""I'm afraid not, Ms Van Acker," he informed me and placed the file on my desk. "My team and I went through the contract several times. It is airtight."I had expected it. I had gone through it several times myself and couldn't find any loopholes. I thought that an experienced team of professional lawyers might find something I missed. Apparently not."I don't understand how this happened, Ms. Van Acker. We couldn't have missed it while we vetted the contract," he said. "I daresay that they somehow tricked us.""I know. But we have no proof." I knew we were tricked. I just couldn't figure out how. "Thank you for your services, Mr Leadfield. I will call for you if I need you."He nodded. "Of course. It was my
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