ANDREA’S POV
Speak of the devil, Kade called me as soon as we stepped foot into the luxurious presidential suite Alpha Caleb arranged for us in Beverly Hills.
“Hey,” I greeted when I answered the call.
“Fuck, I miss you,” Kade sighed over the line.
The sound of his voice was like a warm blanket draping over me. I bit my lip. “I miss you, too. I wish you were here.”
Kade snorted. “I’ll step foot on the West Coast over Caleb Langley’s dead body.”
I rolled my eyes, dragging my suitcase along to one of the two rooms in the suite. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you care more about Caleb than me.”
Kade scoffed. “Thank the goddess you know better. Have you seen the scumbag yet?”
“No. We’re meeting for dinner later.”
“What happened to a good old business meeting in an office?”
I snorte
ANDREA’S POV“It was an absolute pleasure, Alpha Andrea,” Caleb said, stretching his hand out to me.I gritted my teeth, debating on grabbing his wrist instead and flipping him over my shoulder.Alas, we’d signed the contract, and he was no longer Caleb Langley, the prick that tried to break Kade and me up. He was my business partner.So I stretched out my hand and shook his.I felt Kade’s grip on my waist tighten, and I immediately pulled my hand out of Caleb’s.“Thanks for your…hospitality,” I ground out.Caleb smirked. “Anytime.” Then he leaned in unnecessarily close and said loud enough for Kade to hear, “If you ever need anything in the future—and I mean absolutely anything—don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ll be more than happy to offer my…services.”A menacing growl escaped Kade, and Caleb pulled away, looking mighty pleased with himself.As we walked out of the hotel, I let out a sigh of relief. Although I was glad to have secured a lucrative deal for my business, I was much happ
ANDREA’S POVA whimper escaped me as Kade forcefully grabbed my upper arm and turned away, pulling me along with him.Although the music in the club was still pumping at a deafening volume, the strippers had miraculously disappeared. Caleb—the conniving bastard—was also nowhere to be seen.“Kade,” I ground out as I stumbled in my heels, “you’re hurting me.”He didn’t reduce his pace or relinquish his tight grip on my arm. Instead of leaving the club through the main entrance, he headed for a side glass door that opened into a terrace.There was a bunch of outdoor seating furniture stacked on top of each other, and a large awning was drawn, revealing the bustling LA night view.With a sharp jerk of his hand, Kade pulled me in front of him harshly, releasing me in the process. I stumbled but caught myself on the railing.I heard the door slide shut, muffling the music from the club.I took a breath before turning to Kade. “Don’t ever fucking manhandle me like that again.”He growled. “T
CALEB’S POV“What is it with you and renting out entire spaces?” Andrea asked the following night as she crossed her legs, leaning against the plush leather couch in the empty club.I shrugged. “I like my privacy.”She rolled her eyes in response, and I wondered if that was how they rolled in bed. If I had one regret during Andrea’s trip to LA, it was that I hadn’t gotten a chance to fuck her.Even though I knew she and Kade were on the outs, I knew she would never in a million years let me fuck her.Especially not the way I desperately wanted to—something told me Andrea Carter was not the submissive type.“Well, let’s get down to business, shall we?” she said.I chuckled. “Always down to business with you.”She shrugged. “It is what we’re here for, isn’t it?” She pulled out the contract from a thick brown envelope she had brought with her.She looked around the quiet club I’d rented out for the night. “Although, I don’t know why you decided this was where you wanted to do it.”I smir
CALEB’S POV“Why do you keep hurting me? Why does being your mate always hurt so damn much?”I had to bite my lip really, really hard to stifle the giddy laughter that bubbled up in my throat.I’d been on my way to the hotel bar and saw Andrea and Kade in front of it, looking like they were in a stand-off. I’d been about to step in and annoy them with my presence when I heard the venom in Andrea’s voice when she called Kade a bastard.So, I ducked behind a pillar nearby and happily listened to their fight.“Andrea!” Kade called out, but she was already turning away, running from him.I peeped around the pillar to see Kade with his head down, his back rising and falling rapidly as he panted heavily.“Fuck!” he roared, punching the wall next to him.I slapped my hand over my mouth to muffle the burst of laughter that threatened to erupt out of me. I watched as Kade walked away, his head still hung low, his steps slow and sluggish.“Serves you right, dickhead,” I muttered, a broad grin o
KADE’S POVThe woman blinked up at me, her familiar green eyes wide. “I—huh?”I heard a groan as the man struggled to push himself off the floor. Without sparing him a glance, my leg shot out and connected with his jaw. He crashed back to the floor, out cold.She diverted her gaze to him and sighed. “Thank you,” she gushed, turning back to me. “He asked to buy me a drink and wouldn’t leave when I said no.”I frowned at the sound of her voice. This woman looked like Clara, but she…wasn’t.Clara’s voice was soft, slightly husky, not high-pitched.I blinked, clearing away the fog of alcohol. They had the same fiery red hair, dark green eyes, cute button nose, and pouty lips, but she wasn’t Clara.“You’re not Clara,” I said out loud because I needed to hear the affirmation.She nodded slowly. “My name is Chloe.”I swore softly, taking a step back. This entire day had been so centered on the topic of Clara that I was seeing her in strangers’ faces.“Sorry,” I murmured, turning away.“Wait!
ANDREA’S POVThe moment I felt Kade’s fangs press against my skin, I recoiled and pushed him away.He stumbled back, his hands falling from around me. He looked at me in surprise, lust darkening his eyes. His mouth was slightly open, revealing his fangs glinting, waiting to mark me. To tie me to Kade forever.But that sick feeling in my stomach only intensified at the thought.“Andrea?” Kade rasped.“I—” I shook my head.I could see the question in Kade’s eyes, feel his confusion. He must have thought I was rejecting him yet again.But that wasn’t what this was.The truth was if Kade had tried to mark me last night or the countless amount of times we’d had sex prior, I might have accepted the mark.We’d been in a really good place then.But now…As hard as I’d tried, I couldn’t get Caleb’s words out of my head.Clara—and whatever her story with Kade was, it was dangling over my head, and it felt like a sword waiting to fall at any time and impale me.“I need to ask you something,” I w
ANDREA’S POVFor all the lines he’d crossed and all his off-putting behavior, Caleb Langley seemed to be a good Alpha.The manic epidemic had come on suddenly and heavily, but he’d managed it spectacularly.As we toured the hospital, Caleb explained that it had three branches. When the epidemic started, he made arrangements for all the patients in the Beverly Hills branch to be moved to the other branches so this one could be a dedicated quarantine zone to manage the afflicted wolves until there was a cure.We couldn’t actually see the sick wolves due to the strict quarantine protocols, so Caleb just showed us the rest of the facility.The most interesting part of the tour was when he took us to the other wing of the hospital, where the families of the patients were staying.“Most of the sick wolves are adults and have dependents, so we moved them here where we provide for them pending the release of their parents or guardians,” he explained as we walked through the hallway.Soft laug
ANDREA’S POVI was starting to see why Kade hated Caleb Langley.His smug expression was annoying, his flirty disposition was annoying, his fucking words were annoying.“Again, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I hissed.He shrugged. “Ask him about Clara.”I gritted my teeth. “How about you save me the trouble and tell me yourself.”Caleb smirked like that was exactly what he wanted me to say.“Clara went to the academy with us,” he started. “She was an Alpha’s daughter, and while her father wanted her to train to be an Alpha, all she wanted to do was fall in love and be someone’s Luna.”I felt the hairs on my skin stand. I didn’t want to learn about any Clara; I didn’t want a story of yet another woman Kade had probably been with.“Let me guess,” I ground out, “she fell in love with Kade.”Caleb’s face twisted, and he suddenly looked much less handsome. “I loved her. I was going to marry her and make her my Luna. But she chose him instead.”My lips pulled into a smirk I didn’t
ANDREA’S POV“You had me worried, you know,” I murmured against Kade’s skin. “My phone fell and broke, so I called Zayne to talk to you, but he said you’d disappeared.”His chest rose and fell underneath me as he sighed. “I heard Caleb talking about fireworks. I lost my mind thinking about him with you, so I had to come.”I lifted my head to look at him. “You know absolutely nothing happened Caleb and me, right?”Kade raised a brow. “So he didn’t flirt? The fireworks weren’t a ploy to get into your pants?”I shifted, folding my arms on his chest. I rested my chin on the back of my hands and looked at him through my lashes. “Does that matter? What matters is that I shut that shit down.”His grip around my waist tightened as he exhaled. “I just…I hate him so much.”I frowned. “Why? You hate a lot of people, Kade, but this one feels different…personal.”He shrugged and averted his gaze, fixing it on the painting on the wall behind me.I raised a brow. “You’re not going to tell me?”He sh