“Sweetie, how did training go?” I look up from my packed backpack to see Soraya standing right next to me. I didn’t even notice it, because my hearing is focused on Azaire in the other room. Just behind that wall. He’s pacing back and forth, growling now and then. It’s distracting as hell. “Not good,” I admit, and send her a small smile. “Thank you for everything, Mrs. Kaios, but I should go.” I sniffle, and look back down at my backpack. I’m about to close it, when Soraya snorts next to me. This time I hear Azaire snort on the other side of the wall. He apparently didn’t think it was that much fun doing that fucking puppy-training on me. I roll my eyes and look up at Soraya again, with a kind smile. “I appreciate it, but I just heard him laugh at that. He doesn’t want to train me,” I say, and rea

I stare at my two hole cards for a moment, hiding them with my hand so Azaire won’t see. He’s tried a few times already, but I always shoot him a glare. One time I even slapped his arm to get him to look away, and that seemed to work for a few rounds. Alexander is awesome, though. He’s loud and dramatic, but he’s amazing. He’s got the most chips right now, while Aiden is almost out, and Azaire and I are about the same. My cards are actually kind of good. I have the ten and Queen of spades. I can only hope the community cards are just as good, and that I’ll end up with something awesome, so I can beat Azaire and take all his chips. I’m quite competitive, which I had forgotten during these past five years, being on my own. We all place our bets, and Aiden eventually flips over the first three community cards, the flop, revealing a Jack and Ace of spades and a three of diamonds. Hope builds inside me as

I’m pacing back and forth inside of the guest room, in Azaire’s family home. I don’t know what to do. Should I ask Alexander what his birthmark looks like? Should I keep my mouth shut about that until I know more? Uno probably knows something, right? “Holy shit, Yohanna, can you sit down? I’m trying to sleep,” Azaire’s voice cuts through my thoughts as he speaks from his own room. I sigh, and sit down on the edge of my bed. “Sorry,” I whisper, knowing he can hear me. My ears still perk up whenever my wolf-instincts know he’s near, but it’s not anywhere near as intense as the first day. We’re just now sitting on opposite ends of our shared wall, while I’m trying to figure out what to do. I’ve kept my distance from him ever since I saw it in his eyes that he wanted to kiss me yesterday. His gaze haunted me in my dreams, and I already dreamt

I have been with the Kaios pack for a little over a week, now. I’ve become a little closer with everyone, but I’m still not sure who I can trust. Alexander had quickly become my best friend. It wasn’t exactly hard for him to earn that title, but still, it feels good to have someone close to me that I can talk to. I’ve actually talked to him about how well my training with Azaire seems to be going, and I’ve tried to get him to tell me what it means to be “fully mated”, but he wants Azaire to be the one to tell me. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with sex, though, so I’ve tried to keep my distance from him outside of our training. I’ve gotten better at everything, actually. I can even tune Azaire out, if I want to, now, and I can listen for the other people in his house pretty easily. Not that I’m eavesdropping or anything. Azaire said a few days ago that we can start to work on my shifting s

Azaire is sitting right in front of me. My head is leaned on his shoulder as I let my tears silently run down my face, making his t-shirt all wet. I don’t even take any time to appreciate his bare biceps, I just let him hold my hands tightly, and it feels oddly comforting to be near him. Not enough to let him have his arms around me, but enough to make me feel a little better. He hasn’t said anything either, he just knelt in front of me and grabbed my hands. He probably knows I listened to what he was saying in my defense to his brother, and I’m kind of glad he does, that way I don’t have to tell him what I heard. A few more moments go by as I just bask in his presence, and the smell of exhaust and the woods encapsulating our own little bubble out here in the backyard. Then a question suddenly comes to mind, and I lift my head up from his shoulder, to look at him. He furrows his brows as I do, and searches my face for some kind of hint as