I was on a bed, in an unfamiliar room.That was the first thing I registered. It was nothing like the wooden one back in my cell. The sheets were silk, a soft navy blue.I was still in the clothes I’d worn last night.Last night.Everything came flooding back. My chest tightened at the thought that I might never see Wraith again.Had I really made the right decision? Could I stay away?But then I reminded myself of what he was. He was the man who’d shot me and thrown me into a cell—the same man who’d taken countless lives, recording each one in his ‘hunter’s journal’ like it was all just a game.I rose from the bed, shaking off the wave of dizziness, I walked to the door. It was unlocked. It felt refreshing to finally be free, no longer confined to a cell.I stepped out of the room.“Logan?” I called, but there was no response.I studied the furniture in the house. It was nothing like the packhouse. For one, it was almost too... simple. Warm, cozy, and modest. I had expected something
TESSA’S POVMy heart chose him.Despite everything, I still loved Wraith. But this time, I couldn’t let my heart make the decision.As I walked away from him, a part of me had hoped he wouldn’t let me go—that he’d take the choice from me so I wouldn’t have to make it. But deep down, I knew this was the right thing.So why did it feel like I’d left a part of myself behind? Why wouldn’t the tears stop?Logan wasn’t exactly the person I’d expected to free me from that cell. I remembered waking up to find I wasn’t alone; I’d been about to scream when he clamped a hand over my mouth. “We’ll have to stop meeting like this,” he’d said.How I got out of the cell was the bigger surprise. It was pure magic. Logan had told me to hold on tight, and I did, and then a thick smell filled my nose; I could barely breathe. A sharp ringing sound filled my head, so loud it was almost painful and then he’d let me go and the sound ceased, but I was no longer in my cell.Now he waited for me, leaning again
The monster in me didn’t want to let her go. It didn’t care if I had to lock her up—as long as she never left. But I didn’t want her to see me as that monster. So I did nothing as she walked away. And maybe that was the biggest mistake I’ve made yet.*I felt... empty.It was exactly how I’d felt before Tessa came into my life—only I hadn’t realized it then, because I’d never known anything else. But then she’d shown me what it felt like to be…whole and happy. Now it was worse, like a blind man who’d tasted sight, only to lose it again.I sat in my office, taking deep inhales from the cigarette in my hand.How foolish was I to believe that a man like me, after everything I had done, would get a happily ever after? Perhaps it was simply wishful thinking, but at some point, I had actually believed it. I’d thought about having a family with Tessa and what it would be like, and I’d found myself enjoying that thought.At some point, I’d even wondered what it would be like to give up every
Rex believed that if there was any chance she escaped, then she must have used the tunnels. They were the closest to the dungeon. So, he’d headed that way, and I’d let him, even if I knew for a fact that she wasn’t there.I knew Tessa—there was no way she could’ve escaped that cell without help. And I knew it wasn’t Jake or Angelina who got her out.The CCTV once again got nothing, and the prison warden didn’t see anyone go in.Magic—Jake had called it, and he’d thought it was too fable-like to be believable, but I knew better. I’d read a book once, on the history of werewolves; it had been at the time I’d thought myself an anomaly due to the difference in my own ability to shift.I could still remember, word for word, a passage from the ‘Lupine Chronicles’. It read:‘It is believed—though not confirmed—that children born of two full-blooded werewolves are stronger, and may possess additional abilities.’But it was a point that wasn’t exactly proven, since most of said children ended
WRAITH’S POVA bottle of whiskey sat before me. No matter how much I drank, it wasn’t enough—no amount could dull this ache inside me.Gods, she really thought me a monster, and maybe she was right. I’d shot her and thrown her into a cell. She might have betrayed me, but in the end, the Nightshade potion had saved me. I never thanked her for that.I’d kept the truth from her—to protect her. That was my excuse. But the real reason? I was afraid that if she ever found out, she wouldn’t feel the same way. And I was right.Last night, for the first time, she’d seen me for what I truly was: an animal, a beast, and a monster.I heard the footsteps. Jake was supposed to meet me here, in my wing, in a few minutes—but I didn’t need to look to know it wasn’t him. It was Natasha.I poured myself another glass of whisky, deciding to ignore her.“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” she asked. And though I wasn’t looking, I knew there’d be a smile on her face. “You shouldn’t be. In fact, you should be t
TESSA’S POVThe clank of keys echoed through the once-silent walkway. Once again, the door was unlocked. I didn’t look up—maybe because I already knew who it was.“You wanted my attention. You’ve fucking got it. Why the hell aren’t you eating?” Wraith snapped.Angelina had been worried about it and I had no doubt that she’d been the one who informed Wraith.For the past few days, I’d refused to eat anything she’d brought me, but I wasn’t doing that to get his attention.“You’ve made it clear that you don’t care what happened to me. So, why are you here, Wraith?”A moment of silence passed, and then he chuckled and took a few steps closer.I could perceive the smell of alcohol; he’d been drinking.“What do you want, Tessa? Sex? Take off your clothes and get on your knees.”How could I have fallen in love with this man—this murderer?“Fuck you.”In a blink, he had me pinned against the wall. His hand slipped beneath my dress.“Don’t fucking touch me, Wraith.”“Oh, stop the pretense, an