LOGIN“Don’t worry about this,” Vale said, gesturing toward his injured face. “Can we talk outside?”I didn’t need Vale to explain who had done that to him. I already knew.Varek.There was no doubt in my mind.I could still remember the annoyed expression on Varek’s face when he realized Vale had told me about the debt.“Outside,” I said as I stood up.I looked over at Elara and Kael.“Stay here. This won’t take long.”“Okay,” Elara replied, though both she and Kael looked concerned as I followed Vale out into the parking lot.The moment we were outside, some of the anger I had been holding back finally escaped.“Where is that motherfucker?” I hissed. “Tell me where he is, and I’ll give him a black eye of his own.”Vale shook his head and sighed.The sound was full of exhaustion.“Can we just get this over with? You don’t have to keep pretending to be the protective big brother.”“I’m not pretending, Vale,” I said, feeling hurt by his words.He waved a hand dismissively.“Enough. I’m fine,
My neck actually popped because I turned so quickly.Orion was right.Kael was standing by a display of special shoelaces, but a small group of girls was gathered outside the store. They were whispering to each other, giggling, and pointing at him.I knew my son was handsome because he looked so much like his father, but this was different. Girls were openly staring at my baby. Even worse, he was only fourteen, and most of those girls looked at least sixteen years old.My protective instincts immediately flared up, and I wanted to chase every one of them away.“Everything is happening so quickly,” I said as the cashier handed me the bag containing the shoes. “I can barely keep up. One minute I had my little boy, and now, a few mornings later, I have a nearly grown man with girls practically drooling over him.”Orion laughed softly.“I remember you being pretty territorial over me back in the day when the same thing happened.”I scoffed.“Daisy Gillies was trying her hardest to get int
My alarm went off early the next morning, pulling me out of a deep sleep. The early wake-up was necessary because I was far behind on work and needed to submit an article before my ten o’clock deadline.The sun had not even risen yet when I climbed out of bed and slowly walked down the hallway to make coffee. As I returned to my room with a hot cup in my hand, I could hear Kael’s soft snoring coming from his bedroom.After finishing the article and giving it a quick edit, I sent it to my editor along with an invoice. By the time I finished everything, it was almost nine in the morning.My phone suddenly vibrated.I looked at the screen, and my eyes widened in surprise.It was Gaige Parker.He was an old friend from the place where we had lived before moving back to Pinecrest Valley. Gaige was the alpha shifter of a nearby pack and had tried to fill a father-like role for Kael while he was growing up, although it had never really worked the way any of us had hoped.He was also a realto
No matter what happened, I decided I would keep an open mind about everything. Maybe I wouldn’t end up liking the person Orion had become. If that happened, I figured I could simply reject him completely. That would break the bond between us and allow both of us to move on and find love with someone else. Even thinking about that possibility hurt far more than I ever imagined it would.Not wanting to get lost in my thoughts and all the questions filling my head, I went to find Kael. He was sitting on the couch watching a superhero movie. To me, all those bright costumes looked the same, and I could never remember who was who. If it wasn’t Superman, Batman, or Spiderman, I had absolutely no idea what character I was looking at.“Do you want me to order pizza for dinner?” I asked. “I know it’s a little early, but—”“Yeah!”I laughed softly. “Okay. I’ll order it.”While we waited for the pizza, I sat beside Kael and tried to follow the movie. From what I could understand, some villain wi
I stood beside the window and watched Orion’s truck drive down the road until I could no longer see it. My mind was still overwhelmed by everything that had happened between us that afternoon.How could it be possible that we had remained connected for all those years? A small piece of our bond had stayed between us despite the distance and the passing years. Was that the reason I couldn’t completely hate him when I first saw him again? Maybe it was. As a human, there were many things I didn’t understand about something that was basically magic.“Are you okay?” Kael asked.Pulled out of my thoughts, I turned to look at him.“Yeah, I’m okay. Why?”“You’ve been standing there staring out the window for a long time.”“I’m going to my room. I need to call Stormy,” I said. Right now, she was the only person I felt I could talk to about everything that had happened.“Cool. Can I watch TV?”“That’s fine,” I replied distractedly as I walked toward my room, still trying to make sense of the da
Jaxon and I exchanged a glance, and I decided there was no reason to hide anything anymore.“My father made mistakes that were far worse than drinking,” I said, and both Elara and Kael looked at me with complete attention. “After Selene and I left, things got bad for him very quickly. He became addicted to gambling. Mostly sports betting, from what I’ve discovered. I think he was searching for some kind of excitement or rush. If I’m being honest, it was probably his way of trying to feel something again. It didn’t end well for him. He wasn’t very good at it and lost more often than he won. During the last fifteen years, he spent almost all of the pack’s money.”“Not almost,” Jaxon said. “That’s the reason I came looking for you at the diner. I checked into it myself. Every pack bank account was in the negative until around eight months ago. The little money that is there now wasn’t obtained honestly.”I let out a heavy sigh. “I was worried that might be the case.”“Hold on.” Elara rai
"I don’t care about all that, Orion." The angry sound in her voice went away, and now she just sounded very tired. "Selene and I never liked each other, so I do not care at all about her or what she did or did not do right now. There is only one reason I am back here, and that is for Kael."Kael.
In just a few seconds, my whole world had been turned over, shaken up, and thrown away. I had a son? Was this actually happening? So many thoughts and feelings rushed through me. How could I have left Elara? I had let her raise my baby all by herself for fifteen years. Selene had lied to both of
As I walked to the door, I did my best to calm myself down. I told myself that a firm talk would be enough. I did not need to get really angry unless I absolutely had to. I opened the door and almost fainted. Standing there, with a shy smile on his face, was Orion Blackthorne. The world seemed to
I had never loved any other man the way I had loved Orion. Not even Travis. I was never completely in love with Travis like I had been with Orion. I was only twenty when Orion left, still just a kid, but we were soulmates. More than that, I was his fated mate. When Orion left, my heart had broken







