ANDREA’S POV“Fuck, I love rainy days,” Julia muttered as she snuggled into me.“Yeah, well,” I hung up my phone, tossing it on the coffee table. “Hope you love being hungry too, because rain equals delayed deliveries.”She groaned. “Dammit, woman. Will you please just go grocery shopping?”I shook my head. “Too lazy.”That was a fat, bald-faced lie. I hadn’t gone grocery shopping because a weak part of me still thought I was going to be living here temporarily.That part of me was waiting for Kade to show up at my door and announce that Clara had been hit by a falling meteorite and we could live in peace again.“Well, now, we’re going to starve because of your lazy ass.”I tutted, pointing at the TV—where Magic Mike was playing. “How can you starve when all these snacks are right here for your pleasure?”Julia snorted. “True, I could feed off of Channing Tatum’s abs for a whole year.”“And ice cream,” I added, shoving a spoonful of rocky road into her mouth.“Ice cream isn’t food,” s
KADE'S POVI stiffened when I heard the soft knock on the door. A second later, it opened, and Clara poked her head in.“Kay? What about the mov—” She paused and stepped into the room. I remembered Andrea’s threat to dismember Clara if she did what she had just done, and I winced.“What are you doing?” Clara asked, peering over my shoulder.“Packing,” I answered gruffly as I moved to the closet and grabbed an entire section full of shirts.“Oh, where are we going?”I gritted my teeth. “Not we, Clara. Me.” I sighed. “I’m leaving.”She inhaled sharply. “What? Why? Where?”I turned to her and bit back a groan at the wary expression on her face. “I’m going to Andrea,” I declared.Her lower lip wobbled. “And you’re leaving me behind? You can’t… You can’t do that, Kade.”
KADE’S POVBeing this close to Andrea and not being able to touch her or talk with her as usual was pure agony.After we returned from the mayor’s office and I parked in front of the factory, she mumbled, “Thank you for going with me and for your help with the Alphas.”As she stepped out, I couldn’t resist catching her wrist. She turned to me, an eyebrow raised, and I could feel her pulse racing under my fingers.“We should talk…right?” I said skeptically.She glanced at where I was holding her and sighed. “About what?”“Come home,” I said tightly. Desperately. “I miss you so fucking much, Andrea.”Her face shuttered, her guarded expression wavered, and for a second, I thought she was going to agree. I thought she would get back into the car and come home with me. But then—“Kay! You’re back!”Andrea yanked her ha
ANDREA'S POVBy some miracle only the Moon Goddess herself could have performed, Kade managed to convince Clara to stay behind at the factory.Granted, it was probably less Kade and more Julia sneering at her. I just knew my best friend was wondering what cut would go better with the coat she wanted to make out of Clara's fur.Being alone with Kade should have been awkward and strained. But there was no room for that.The gravity of our investigation took up whatever mental energy I had, and Clara's absence made it so much easier to pretend it was just me and my mate playing detective.Especially since our results were nothing to write home about.Just like I'd feared, every pack we visited gave the same report: at least one or two of their humans (relatives, workers, or subordinates) were mysteriously missing.The last pack we visited—White Claw—was the worst. Their Alpha, Magnus Dalton's, mate was human—and she was missing.He'd kept it quiet and was secretly investigating, but he w
NICO’S POVI didn’t know what hurt more: seeing Bella pale and weak in bed or the long-buried memories the images brought to the surface.Carlotta had been sick, and the nights spent nursing her, watching life slowly seep out of my mate till she was nothing but a shell of her former self, were the worst moments of my life.What nefarious grievance had I committed in my past life that made the goddess punish me so violently to repeat this fate?Bella moaned softly, snapping me out of my melancholy. She writhed on the bed, her eyebrows furrowed tightly. She was dreaming—probably of the awful ordeals she’d gone through.I hated that all I could do was watch from the outside. I wish I could get into her head and destroy all her demons. I wish I could join Andrea to find the bastards who did this to her and destroy them. But the thought of leaving Bella’s side was a physical, stabbing ache.I gripped her hand tightly. That was the only physical contact I allowed myself because I knew that
KADE’S POV“Kay, you’re not listening.”Had Clara always been this whiny?Slowly, excruciatingly, I lifted my head from my computer and fixed my attention on her. “Sorry.” I forced out a smile. “You were saying?”She huffed, folding her arms. “What’s on your laptop that’s so important anyway?”I raised a brow. “Work, Clara. I’m an Alpha without a Beta. I have a shit ton of work.”“But you can take a break, right?”My jaw clenched. “I’ve barely been able to get anything done.” ‘Because I’ve been catering to you twenty-four-seven like a puppy,’ I refrained from adding.She stared at me for a beat, and her lips formed into a pout. “Are you mad at me, Kay?”Oh, for fuck’s sake.It was an effort to keep my face blank. “Why would I be mad at you?”She shrugged. “You tell me. You’ve been all broody and withdrawn and irritable since Andrea left.”Her name was like a punch to the gut. Missing Andrea was like a living, tangible thing that constantly had a fist around my throat.I leaned back in