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**** Alyssa **** Here we go… I poke my head out my door to find no Jailor Jamie on the lookout. I send a silent prayer to the Goddess, and suck in a breath. Thank the Goddess, I did not want anyone to see me like this. Nope, forget everybody. I’ve got this. My body is buzzing with nerves as I muster my newfound courage to knock on his door; I feel ridiculously self-conscious. Besides that now-shredded bikini, I’ve never worn anything so revealing. I take a deep, calming breath. Goddess, I’ve never felt so edgy or been so daring in my life. I am a hot fucking Goddess, I tell myself. I’ve painstakingly applied smokey makeup and left my hair in long loose waves. It’s the first time I am wearing the sexy black lingerie set I purchased that day we went shopping a few weeks ago. I suck in a breath, and I pull my shoulders back to push the girls out for maximum cleavage. This sheer material of the cover-up thing that actually covers nothing tickles as it skims my curves. I can do
**** Alyssa **** It’s been a week since I saw him. Well, I’ve seen him, but not actually spoken to him, which is fine, perfect really! At least he hasn’t made a point of saying something hurtful to me or shoving his latest beauty in front of me constantly. I requested to see him several times throughout the week only to be told he’s too busy. It’s not that I actually want to see him, I figure, perhaps, if I pester him enough, he’ll agree to a quiet divorce just to get rid of the annoying nagging wife. I certainly hope so. He also did not have my door replaced during that time. I assume that’s my punishment for gifting him with a well-deserved slap. Losing my door equates to losing the only means of privacy I had here, and it is a blow to what’s left of my tattered dignity. I have no friends, no family, and now I can’t even close my damn door to cry alone about it. He’s broken my door twice in the time I’ve been here. Both times he had it repaired immediately — so yes, definitely pun
**** Alyssa **** As a tiny protest, I take my sweet time getting ready the second time around. This dinner is supposed to start at 6:30 pm. While changing at the jerkface, dickwad husband’s request, I find myself wondering — again — why the hell I am here. I remind myself, as I do a thousand times a day, that I stay because my uncle’s pack, my pack, might be in danger if this alliance fails. Uncle Simon might be a jerk who traded me like prized livestock, but I still have friends in that pack. Too many innocent people could get hurt if this ended in a war. My father would never have sold me like this. He never allowed anyone to disrespect his family — ever. If I had a phone, I could warn them. I could tell my friends what was really going on and that I was leaving him. I could warn them of a probable attack. I could almost see my outraged friends hopping into a car and high-tailing out here intent on rescuing me. Unfortunately, I could also visualize my not-so-loving possessive, d
**** Alyssa **** Mustering the remnants of my energy, I turn and lunge over the cliff’s edge. For one wild moment, I feel gloriously free. Until a split second later, a sharp pain grips my arm at the elbow. I flail and twist like a hooked fish on a line, desperate to wiggle free, but I’m definitely stuck. I know it’s him pulling me back up. With his jaws clamping tight and his teeth puncturing my skin, I can feel my skin tearing from my futile resistance. He tosses me back on the dirt and away from the cliff edge like a discarded flipping chew toy. I roll across the ground, my leg muscles aching from the run, my chest heaving, my skin burning from the abrasions, and now my arm is a bloody ragged mess. He steps toward me and sniffs my arm, I see sadness swirling in the golden orbs of his wolf. Maybe his wolf is less of a dickwad; still, on impulse, I yank my arm away from his nose. I do not want to be touched by either him or his wolf in any way or ever again. He whines before backin
**** Enzi **** She wanted to die. I knew I’d hurt her, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. Frack! I am such an asshole. Once the surgery is underway, I leave her in the capable hands of Doctor Dan and make my way back to the pack house, punctuating each footfall with angry curses, completely aware that it’s me I’m mad at. My actions and my behavior brought her to this point, and now my guilt consumes me. Pushing through the double oak doors, I’m greeted by my mother and Rosemary who were both waiting in the foyer — the latter standing there like she owns the fucking place. Fracking great! “What happened? You just left. Everyone just left,” Rosemary sulks. She looks irritated, and although she may be my guest, she wasn’t invited. What’s more, I did just take off with my men, and as the Alpha’s daughter she is, she should know that an Alpha needs to take care of business as soon as it pops up, regardless of when that is. She should have had enough sense to know that if I, my Bet
**** Alyssa **** The first few days of my solitary confinement were spent in my bed, seeing no one except the young girl assigned to bring me my food and gather my plates when I was done. I tried talking to her on the first day, but she’s a frightened little mouse that won’t speak to me. I vaguely wondered if my darling husband had ordered her not to engage with me. I wouldn’t put it past him to punish me by making this isolation as painful as possible. Then I remembered what a volatile basket case I’ve been since my failed escape. I probably frighten the flip out of her. Well, the not seeing anyone part is not exactly true, although the volatile basket case thing seems to have become my new reality. To be fair, my husband has been to see me several times and tried to talk to me, nicely even. I continue to completely ignore his existence, so I don’t count his visits as seeing people. He’s not a person. He’s a monster. On the first day, the doctor also tried to see me, but I kicked u
**** Enzi **** The morning after she ran… Well, describing this as a fracking disaster would be a colossal understatement. I just keep hurting her, and this time physically. I spent the whole night beside her, listening to her even breathing, hoping my presence was helping instead of hindering her healing, and praying to the Moon Goddess for her help and guidance. My treasure’s breath tripped a few times during the night like she was frightened or having nightmares, probably about me. Each time her breath caught, I just about lost my mind watching her face in the dark, whispering that everything would be ok, and praying that I wasn’t full of shit. “Hey, man, the sun will be up soon. It would help if you rested,” Jayvon calls when he notices I’m awake. “I’ll rest when she wakes up,” I grumble. “Get out of here. Go and shower, at least. Bring me back some coffee,” he jerks his head at the door with a sly half-grin, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s just as tired, just as wo
**** Alyssa **** Last night I finally consented to let the doctor inspect my injured arm. Enzi said he was worried I’d mess up my recovery if I were active too soon. So he would not allow me to go anywhere or do anything until I had let the doctor see my arm. The doc and Enzi were surprised and pleased that I had healed, and even though I didn’t want them to know I had advanced healing, it was clear that I had some level of shifter healing abilities. However, they had no idea exactly when I’d recovered, and I wasn’t answering those questions. The doctor also noted that my mental state seemed vastly improved since the last time he’d seen me. This morning, despite an abundance of jittery anxiety racing through my veins, I’m ecstatic to inhale a deep breath of crisp morning air. It tastes like freedom. Flipping delicious freedom. I arrived a little late for training, which I hadn’t meant to, but I was in such a damn hurry getting dressed that I caught my foot while trying to jam it into