LOGINMattias waved him off with a sharp flick of his hand. "It's just wolves regrouping. They always circle before they strike, nothing new." His eyes slid to me, lingering for a second too long, before snapping back to his men. "Keep the camp quiet, no firelight, spread the signal if they get closer." The scout hesitated, glancing between us. "But sir, if they get past the outer perimeter..." "Then we'll handle it the same way we always do." Mattias's voice dropped low. "Or do you need me to hold your hand through basic defensive strategy?" The scout's jaw tightened. "No, sir." "Good. Now get out. And tell Gregor to stop spreading panic through the camp. Last thing we need is our own people turning on each other before the wolves even get here." "I'm injured too, but you don't hear me crying about it, do you?" Mattias snapped, and though his shirt was still damp with blood, his voice carried enough force that the man clamped his mouth shut and left. Mattias stood, testing his side
She sat there for a long moment to think about her life, staring at the dead computer screen and the empty, echoing silence of the lab. Her cheek still burned where Claire had slapped her, and her scalp still ached from where fingers had torn at her hair, and somewhere deep in her chest, humiliation ate her the hell up. But beneath all of that, beneath the fear, beneath the shame, beneath the sick, tight ache of failure, something older stirred. Samantha Torres had survived far worse people than some secretary. She'd survived poverty, stalkers, and a gang of kidnappers. She'd survived Michaela's antics and embarrassment, having the entire country, even the Mayor, turn on her and make her a public laughingstock online. She even had to handle Tiffany Langley and her accusations. She'd been to prison for fucks sake! Sure, Claire was nasty and vicious, but Claire was not anything new to Samantha, and when it came down to it, she was definitely not unbeatable. Her parents hadn't
JASON'S POV Work was the last thing on his mind. It had been since the day he last touched Samantha, and since then, he couldn't get the thought of her out of his head.Every day he slipped further and further away from his original plan, to be the wealthiest man on the planet, a plan that Samantha had a very, very important part in.But that was in the not-so-distant past, and these days all he could think was, "Fuck the plan."His office was quiet except for the steady hum of the air conditioner and the faint tick of the clock on the wall. His utterly exhausted reflection in the glass stared back at him. He’d spent the last ten minutes replaying Samantha’s voice in his mind, the cutting tone, the nervous anxiety she’d tried to hide.Did you threaten them?He’d told her the truth, hadn’t he? Or something close enough to it. He made sure they understood her worth. It wasn’t his fault the world mistook protection for control.As far as he was concerned, his future wife was the best G
He froze halfway, his eyes taking in the loose ropes on the floor, and the bare skin of my shoulder where the dress slipped down again. For a second, he didn't move. Instead, he just stood there, shaking his head in disbelief while staring at me like he was trying to decide if he should scold me or laugh at me."Relax," I said quickly, straightening up trying to fix my sleeve back into place. "I wasn't running away."That was the worst, most obvious lie I'd ever heard in my life, even though I knew it, but what the hell else was I even supposed to say at that point?I had to at least try, right?The smiled slyly, "No? You just took your untied yourself because you're allergic to ropes?""Where would I even go? Your camp is surrounded by werewolves on one side, and your wonderful, welcoming committee on the other." I gestured vaguely toward the camp. "Not exactly the best odds for a grand escape.""And yet you still freed yourself." He took a step closer, his boots crunching softly ag
He froze halfway, his eyes taking in the loose ropes on the floor, and the bare skin of my shoulder where the dress slipped down again. For a second, he didn't move. Instead, he just stood there, shaking his head in disbelief while staring at me like he was trying to decide if he should scold me or laugh at me. "Relax," I said quickly, straightening up trying to fix my sleeve back into place. "I wasn't running away." That was the worst, most obvious lie I'd ever heard in my life, even though I knew it, but what the hell else was I even supposed to say at that point? I had to at least try, right? The smiled slyly, "No? You just took your untied yourself because you're allergic to ropes?" "Where would I even go? Your camp is surrounded by werewolves on one side, and your wonderful, welcoming committee on the other." I gestured vaguely toward the camp. "Not exactly the best odds for a grand escape." "And yet you still freed yourself." He took a step closer, his boots crunc
JASON'S POV Work was the last thing on his mind. It had been since the day he last touched Samantha, and since then, he couldn't get the thought of her out of his head. Every day he slipped further and further away from his original plan, to be the wealthiest man on the planet, a plan that Samantha had a very, very important part in. But that was in the not-so-distant past, and these days all he could think was, "Fuck the plan." His office was quiet except for the steady hum of the air conditioner and the faint tick of the clock on the wall. His utterly exhausted reflection in the glass stared back at him. He’d spent the last ten minutes replaying Samantha’s voice in his mind, the cutting tone, the nervous anxiety she’d tried to hide. Did you threaten them? He’d told her the truth, hadn’t he? Or something close enough to it. He made sure they understood her worth. It wasn’t his fault the world mistook protection for control. As far as he was concerned, his future wif







