VINCENT Anger welled within me at the thought that I had been fooled by Jeremy of all people. He had taken advantage of the fact that I had been desperate to find the person who had been threatening to spill my secret, and I had let him. "What are we going to do now? Jeremy must have known that you would figure it out. He has been playing mind games with us," Rylee said, her brows furrowed. "I still don't understand his connection with Killian," Jared spoke. "Come to think of it, he might have been lying about what pack Killian was planning to approach first," Rylee added and I rubbed my temples in frustration. My judgement had been twisted up due to my personal feelings and I'd messed everything up. I felt that it was my fault. If only I'd paid attention and refused to take Jeremy's bait, the situation wouldn't have ended up this way."I know you're blaming yourself right now. But, it's really not your fault, Vincent" Jared said. "I just need to fix this mess," I said and Rylee

VINCENT Rage was the only thing keeping me from yielding to the unwelcome visitor in my office. My increasing wrath was fueled by the sight of his hideous visage. The fact that I was helpless in this dire moment made me frustrated as well. I knew I needed to get Rylee far away from Syke. The last thing I wanted to do was to get her involved with him."What do you think, buddy? Shall I introduce myself to her or will you do that, yourself?" Syke asked, a sickening smile sitting on his face.It was at this moment that I realized what he actually wanted. Fear was his weapon, I was certain that he wanted to use it against Rylee.'Run, Rylee. You have to get out of here, right now' I communicated to her, through the mind link. Rylee moved backwards, her teary gaze meeting mine. More pain rattled my being, nearly stealing my consciousness from me.'Do you remember this feeling, Vince? I've left you alone for far too long,' Syke said to me in a telepathic manner. I curled up in pain as inv

VINCENT All the way home, I couldn't stop thinking about what Ryan had said. Syke wanted to use me as his weapon. But, for what? Was it the reason why he'd shown up at the pack house? Was it to test my efficiency? Or was he playing mind games with me? The last thing I wanted to do was to be a part of anything Syke was preparing. I was determined not to give in to him until the very end. "You've been out of it since we left the hall," Rylee who had just walked into my study, said. She was carrying a white box. I couldn't tell what was in it because the box was covered."What is that?" I asked and she grinned, placing the box on my desk. I watched her as she slipped her hand into the pocket of her hoodie and took out a lighter. I observed her as she removed the cover of the box. I blinked in surprise when I saw what was in it. "You baked me a cake?" She beamed, igniting the two candles on the cake. "I did. You were adamant about letting me know your birthday. So, I asked Ava," she

AVA "Did something happen?" I asked as I walked into Rylee's room. She flinched, her soul nearly leaving her body. I gave her an apologetic smile."Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I said and she let out a sigh. She looked nervous as she paced back and forth, her eyes wide with panic. "Okay, will you calm down and tell me what's going on? You don't look so good, Ry," I said and she shook her head. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have gone to see Karen. I should have stayed in the pack house. What have I done?" I grabbed her hand and she looked at me, her eyes glossy with tears. "Talk to me. What's going on? I thought you were excited about making friends with Karen? Why the sudden change of mind? The fact that you're the Luna of this pack doesn't mean you shouldn't have a life," I told her and she shook her head. "I-I saw Killian Black at the cafe," her voice shook. "What? That's not a coincidence, is it? Did he hurt you? Did he threaten you?" I asked, worried.She swallowe

RYLEE The sun was setting and I was standing in front of the window in Vincent's office, gazing at a couple of small black birds as they flew in groups. Tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear, I turned towards Vincent who was seated on his seat. His fingers were lingering on the keyboard of his computer and his head was lowered. He had been busy on his system for a couple of hours and had barely moved or said anything since the witch's departure. Judging from his posture and the way his fingers were frozen, it appeared that he had dozed off. I moved away from the window and went to his side. My assumption was correct. His eyes were closed, long eyelashes brushing the skin under his eyes. His lips were parted slightly as well. A lock of hair fell over his face and I smiled, he looked so adorable. As gently as I could, I moved his head backwards, placing his head on the headrest. His hands fell off the keyboard and he jolted. "It's okay. It's just me," I whispered, stroking his hair.