Ivy's POV It was later at night, much later than my parents had promised to be home that the house phone rang. Thinking it was them calling, I quickly ran up to the phone and picked it up, ready to give them a piece of my mind for not picking up their phone or informing me that they'd be home late. It wasn't them, though. It was a police officer. And nothing in the world could've prepared me for what was waiting on the other side of the line for me. "Is this the Emerson household?" "Yes. This is Ivy Emerson. Who's this?" "I'm speaking from the town's police department. I have called to inform you that Mr. Jonathan Emerson has been in a particularly nasty car wreck over at the willow creek bridge. I am speaking from the site of the accident-" I cut the call as soon as I heard where they were. My ha

  Chris' POV   I began to lead the way to my room.    Why, I had no idea.   My bedroom was a sanctuary to me, the one place no one else entered but me.   But for some reason I wanted her to see it.   Her strawberry scent was driving me insane, having invaded my senses ever since I'd stepped into the basement where our holding cells were, making me feel protective of her almost instantly.    I'd gone down there with every intention of sending her back to where she'd come from like nothing had happened, but one whiff of the intoxicating scent radiating off of her and I wasn't so sure anymore.   Pair that with her beautiful red hair and those emerald green eyes, and for the first time in forever, I felt like my iron clad control was slipping.    Sure, I'd seen my fair share of beautiful women

 Chris' POV I wasn't one to offer help to humans out of the blue, let alone to a girl I'd only just met. But with Ivy, I wanted to make sure there was nothing troubling her. And when I realised how worried she was about her mother, I offered to help her find the woman.   That would give me an opportunity to stay connected to her for some time, at least until I figured out why the hell did I feel this intense attraction towards her.  There was something about her, something I couldn't quite put my finger on that drew me towards her like a moth to a flame. Clearly, she was a kind hearted soul if the way she worried about Lily's well being was anything to go by, but that did not mean that she was weak. Not by a long shot.  She knew how to stand up to others and wasn't scared of much. For one, she obviously wasn't scared of me. And that was something

 Chris' POV The more I thought about the conversation I'd had with Ivy moments ago, the more I realised what I'd done was right. While what I had said in there about her house being dangerous for her as of now had been driven by the fact that I wanted her to stay here with me, I was now realising that it was all in fact true. If it had been that easy for two of my men to break in and abduct her then she clearly wasn't safe there. Besides, if I had been tipped wrongly about her father being the one behind the creation of the venom, then it was definitely a possibility that others had been tipped off of the same as well. And who was to say they wouldn't try and break into her house to investigate? And who was to say that they wouldn't try and hurt her in the process? For a reason unknown to me, I felt fiercely protective of her. So naturally, I wanted to keep her here with me where I could protect her, take ca

 Chris' POV The moment Lily stopped struggling in my arms, her body going lax, I knew that she was gone.  Apparently, so did Ivy for she slapped her hand against her mouth to hold a sob in even as her tears spilled over.  Quietly, I slid out from behind Lily, gently laying her down on the bed and closing her blood shot eyes.  Her innards were scattered all over her body and the bed. And even though I was prepared for this to happen, it still didn't hurt any less, nor did it look any less horrific.  The little moments I'd spent with her, however less they may have been flashed through my mind.  There would be none of those in the future. The thought hurt. A lot. I silently promised her that I would avenge her death. I would find whoever injected that venom into