Amber I fumbled. “I—I’m fine. And you?”Really, Amber? That’s the best you could do?Erlan laughed, deep and boyish. “I’m doing great, as you can see. The years have been kind to you.” He gave me an appreciative once-over, his smile widening. “I almost can’t believe you used to be skin and bones. But now look at this killer figure.”Then, to my horror, he actually wolf-whistled.My face flushed crimson.I could feel Rayne stiffen beside me.In a blink, he stepped in between us, blocking Erlan’s view of me like a guard dog who’d just seen a threat. His voice was sharp, clipped. “You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”Erlan tilted his head, hands slipping casually into his pockets. “Chill, Alpha. Did becoming a dad make you this uptight? You’re looking at the new owner of this establishment.”My eyes widened. “What?”Rayne looked just as stunned. “You’re joking.”“You heard me,” Erlan said with a smug little smirk that made me want to roll my eyes into next week. “I bought
Amber“Fancy seeing you again, Amber.”His voice was velvet-smooth, laced with amusement and just the faintest hint of mischief.One second I was falling, the next I was suspended in the air, caught effortlessly in a pair of strong arms. His hold was steady, confident, like I weighed nothing at all. He didn’t set me down immediately. Instead, he pulled me in closer, lifting me into a loose, casual embrace.His scent hit me first—clean, expensive cologne layered over something intentionally sterile. No pheromones. No Alpha presence. Just sharp bergamot, aged whiskey, and something cold like steel and velvet. He was wearing a scent blocker.My heart stuttered.Erlan.I hadn’t seen him in years, not since high school. But those gray, nearly soulless eyes were unmistakable—cutting and quiet, always watching. Always calculating.“Rayne,” he added casually, his arms still around me, “you really ought to train her not to fall so dramatically.”Rayne’s sharp inhale behind me cut through the m
AmberOh, hell no.“If you watched the news,” I said sharply, “instead of kissing up to every customer, you’d know why he couldn’t—and will probably never get the chance to be here again.”The woman shrank back, face paling. “I—I’m sorry, ma’am. I meant no disrespect. Please forgive me.”Rayne placed a hand on Evalie’s back and smiled like nothing happened. “It’s alright. Curiosity’s never a sin. These two lovely ladies are my family.”He lifted Evalie into his arms and kissed her temple. “This is my little princess, Evalie. Her birthday’s coming up and she wants a dress fit for royalty. I’ve seen your wizardry before and I know you’ll deliver.”The woman flushed from the praise like she’d just been knighted.I rolled my eyes so hard they might’ve stuck.“Thank you, Alpha,” she beamed. “I’ll put out all the stops to make sure she gets the dress of her dreams. If we don’t have it, it’ll be sketched and custom made.”“That’s what I like to hear.” He turned to me and before I could stop
AmberRayne pulled the car smoothly into the parking lot, and the moment I saw the boutique’s pretentious gold signage, I felt my stomach turn. It was the kind of store that didn’t even bother listing prices on its display windows because if you had to ask, you clearly didn’t belong. Everything from the valet standing idle at the curb to the crystal chandeliers glinting behind the floor-to-ceiling glass screamed unnecessarily expensive bullshit.Of course this is where he’d bring us.The car rolled to a smooth stop and before I could even reach for the handle, Rayne had already stepped out and come around, opening the door for me like some overgrown gentleman with a savior complex. His hand hovered there, palm open, waiting for me to take it.I didn’t.Instead, I grabbed the door and slammed it shut in his face.Rayne flinched, drawing his hand back. His brows furrowed and he leaned down slightly to look at me through the closed window. “What’s wrong now?”I stared at him through the
AmberRayne Hunter is a despicable bastard. A manipulative, arrogant, smirking son of a bitch with no shame and absolutely no self-awareness. If I had just let him bleed out on my table that day, none of this would be happening. None of it.The thought made my blood boil all over again, surging up with the sharp, hot kind of fury that wouldn’t leave no matter how many times I swallowed it back. I tried to breathe through it, tried to ground myself as I wrapped up my final post-op consultation for the day. My patient was still smiling from ear to ear, thanking me profusely as I gave her the all-clear to resume normal activities. I smiled back—tight-lipped, professional, detached. The kind of smile you reserve for when your soul is fraying and you need to look composed anyway.I hadn’t gotten over Ian. Not even close. That heartbreak was a permanent bruise on my chest, just under the surface, and sometimes it felt like it was eating me from the inside out. But I was trying not to think
RayneI stood in that room for a few long, aching minutes, motionless. Basically just breathing. My hands trembled at my sides, heart pounding hard in my ears like a war drum. Amber’s scent still lingered faintly in the air, rich, heady honeysuckle that I was beginning to crave like a drug. My throat was raw from holding back the things I wanted to say to her. The ache in my chest? Gods, it felt like someone had taken a knife to it, dragged it slowly, then left it wide open for the air to burn.She had shattered me without mercy. And I couldn’t even blame her.With a shaky breath, I wiped the tears from my cheeks—tears I hadn’t meant to let fall. My pride was in pieces, but I couldn’t fall apart now. Not when I still had something—someone—left to fight for.Evalie.I forced myself to move, stepping out into the hallway like a man dragging his soul behind him. Each step felt like walking through wet cement, but I made it. I descended the stairs, my eyes still burning, jaw clenched tigh