RICARDO My blood is boiling in my veins and I rip my shirt off to breathe a bit easier. All I see is red as I look down at Gus's lifeless, naked body on my kitchen floor, his head that I ripped straight off staring at me. I completely lost it when I saw him up against Ianthe, naked and grabbing her like he had a right to. Nobody touches her but me. She's looking at me like I've gone crazy, and maybe I have. This is not the way I intended to deal with Gus. I had a plan, we were gonna get all the information we could out of Genevieve, find out how her family is involved and why. Now I have a dead man lying by my feet and a mate that's looking at me like I might kill her next. There's a banging on the front door and next thing I know Harry and Colt are in the kitchen, looking from me, to the headless Gus, and then to Ianthe. "What the hell happened!" Harry shouts, frantically pointing at Gus. "I thought we had a plan." "Oh my Goddess." Ianthe sobs, her hand going to her throat. "I
RICARDO "This is gonna be a shit storm." Harry rubs his eyes. "I'm getting mated in two days, I swear I'm going to wear wrinkles on the most important day of my life." I stare up at the ceiling of my office, hoping that somehow the Moon Goddess would just make things a tad bit easier for me and send me the answers that I need. "Why didn't you just restrain the fucker or something." Harry rambles on. "That way he could've confessed to the pack himself what he's been doing all these years. He was respected, no way the pack is just going to accept our explanantion." I get up from my chair and run both of my hands through my hair. What I wouldn't give for a vacation right about now. Preferably somewhere tropical, isolated, just Ianthe and me. "I'm the alpha of this pack, aren't I?" I turn towards my best friend who is pacing the length of my office, "If they're going to believe someone, it should be me." "You better hope so, we don't know how many followers he had." And that's my b
IANTHE I watch as Ricardo tries to calm down his uncle who seems to be having a nervous breakdown. I can't blame the guy. Life has been pretty shitty for him lately. Instead of his son graduating, he's in the hospital looking like a shadow of his former self. I know stuff in this pack hasn't been happening because of me. Whatever is transpiring here has been happening way before I came here, yet I still feel guilty. Gosh, we lost Randall today. A searing pain goes through my heart at the thought of him losing his life because he was trying to keep me safe. I know it was his job, but it doesn't make the loss any easier to bear. How many more will lay down their lives for mine? I'm so busy wallowing in self-pity that I don't even notice Heleni until she touches my arm. "Hey, are you okay?" She's wearing a worried expression on her face. "Harry told me about what happened." I nod. "I'm okay, what about you? You haven't been around much." There's a flash of guilt in her e
SebastianMy sister is shivering next to me. I don't know if it's from the snowflakes languidly falling on us, or if it's because we just buried our father. Her arms tighten around her five-month-old son, protecting him not just from the weather, but also from the imminent danger our family has been in ever since our baby sister was born.The rest of our pack has long gone, leaving us to mourn on our own. Her mate, Julio, wraps his arms around her shivering form from behind, holding her tight."Baby, let's get back to the house," He says gently. "The weather will be even worse soon."It's fitting. The weather that is. Cold, wet and dreary on this day we had to say farewell to our alpha and father. He was a strong man, but just like our mother he was too weak to do what had to be done. He was a great father, maybe too great. Maybe if he was more of a coward, we wouldn't be standing here. He would still
Ricardo The Tennessee whiskey is smooth on my tongue as I take the first sip after a hectic day. The stock market was crazy today, and I'm glad the day is finally over. I look forward to going to the bar with my Beta, get a little tipsy and maybe find someone to warm my bed for the night. There's a soft knock on my door and I frown. My assistant knows I don't like to be bothered after five, especially after the day I just had. "Come in!" I holler and she sticks her head inside, a grimace on her face. "I'm sorry to bother you sir, but there's a gentleman out front that would like to speak to you." Michelle's voice is soft and apologetic. "Tell him to come back tomorrow during office hours." I say harshly. She flinches and clears her throat. "I have tried to do that, sir, but he says it's an emergency." I groan. What emergency could there be? I have my bord
Ricardo"Your baby sister?"I have known about the Starlight pack ever since I can remember. My father always said that they are our allies on the East Coast and it would serve us well to always have good standing with them. To my knowledge there were only two children born to the Alpha and his Luna, I have never heard about another child.Maybe that is why he needs protection for the girl. She is probably an illigetimate child of the previous Alpha, and the pack didn't like that. That would explain why she needs protection.Harry hasn't said a word, standing off to the side and watching our exchange with curiosity. Sometimes he picks up on things that I don't, a very handy characteristic of his.Sebastian's eyes divert from mine for a brief moment. What was that? Guilt?"Yes, I have another sister, she is seventeen-years-old." His eyes meet mine again, that flash of so
Ricardo "How could you make such a blind decison?" Harry hisses at me as soon as Sebastian closes the door behind him.Daemon growls inside me at my Beta and I frown. What is wrong with him? He's been restless and on edge ever since he heard about the girl. He's not talking to me either, so I don't know what he's thinking."We owe him remember?" I remind my Beta and drink the last of my whiskey, the liquid burning a welcome path down my throat, warming my stomach. "And you know me, i don't like owing anybody anything, so the sooner the three months are over, the better."I don't tell him that I'm curious as hell to see what this girl looks like. It's not every day someone asks protection for a wolf that is almost an adult. Warning bells are going off in my head too, telling me there must be something wrong with this girl, but I've never been known as someone who backs away from a challenge. My instict is t
IantheMy body is stiff and sore. I'm not used to going outside my house apart from thirty minutes a day to have Natalia run aroud a little bit. Now I've been on a plane and I was terrified, tense the whole flight. Wolves are not supposed to fly, I don't know how my brother was so comfortable for the whole journey.They're sending me away. I killed our parents and now I'm paying the price. My fate has been decided by my brother and I have no say whatsoever. I have never had a say in my own life. I'm supposed to hide away so that nobody can see me, but they know I'm out there somewhere. If I wasn't, they wouldn't have had tales to tell. Where there is smoke, there is a fire and vice versa."I'm scared."I only realize that I have said the words out loud when my brother looks briefly at me before he concentrates on the road again."Don't be." He says soothingly. "I will be back to get you b