ELOISE "Carter," The fashion savvy one addressed me. "You seemed awfully close with that customer. I did not think you have it in you.""I don't have time. The dude is a fucking creep.""I don't know." She continued, stir-frying some eggs. "He came in four hours ago. All flustered. The kind of shit that happens when you get addicted to the bite of the forbidden apple.""That's disgusting." I managed to choke out. It took me a minute to recover from what she had spoken. I felt disgusted for the most part because she was right. I swallowed and made my way deeper into the kitchen. I usually was the one behind the food or drink but since I was late and they were all willing to cut me some slack. I slinked to the sink to clean the dishes. My fingers turned the valve open, I added enough soap and let it soak. While it did, I took the time to acknowledge how fucked up my life had become. My wolf was back and some bastard was threatening my life and future if I didn't date him. I took my exh

MATTHAN As soon as the call ended, I returned to studying the tragedy of Judas Carnation. I had managed to get a hold of my relations in the Carnation pack and while they knew the story, none of them could grasp why Judas did it. In their own words, Judas and his wife seemed to be very happy. The news had taken everyone by surprise especially the late Alpha of the Carnation. The man could barely bear it when he learned the heavy fate that had befallen his daughter and granddaughter. Word around the territory was that he collapsed on the spot. An integral piece of information everyone else had seemed oblivious to or either made sure not to touch on when I asked about Judas' story was his daughter. The news article said she most likely died in the fire. They could not be certain because the girl's body or bones were never found. Other junk articles had a lot of conspiracies to pick apart. A ton of them were also of the opinion that Judas did murder his daughter too and her body was bu

ELOISE The journey was long. Long in the sense that I was now certain it wasn't going to take place in Ashlake. The path he took implied we were leaving town. Most probably, another one way ticket to Marblefay but Matthan surprised me when he took a completely different route from the one sure to take us to Marblefay. The path his vehicle waltzed into was almost narrow and crooked. It implied it was old and barely used. But there was a definite set of tracks he followed. This wasn't his first time here but the further the car went, the more obvious the signs became that this was not a shortcut to Marblefay. My theory didn't linger on the fact that the road had probably been abandoned for decades at least. As the freeway started to thin out, thick and broad trees began to appear, some still bearing their leaves, others not. The car slowed and came to a halt. I had been quiet for the most part but the sight in front of me caused whatever lack of conversation that plagued me to immediat

ELOISE He was crazy calling me his girlfriend but what could I do about it? There was something about the redhead. Perhaps, it was the energy that radiated out of her or the tension between them that grew more intense by the second. I wondered if this was the woman that rejected him. The one that caused us to cross paths. The silence was thick and heavy for another minute. "That's wonderful." The one I got to know was named Declan proclaimed. He moved an inch back and in a loud voice continued. "Gardenia! He's back! Matthan, my righthand man is back."There was an uproar of cheers. All eyes turned on us as Matt directed me to a table. "You'll be alright." He assured me upon realizing how fast my heart was beating. I gave him a thumbs up, feeling somewhat dazed and numb. I still couldn't believe this was happening. It felt more like a lucid dream. The only difference was that I had relatively no control. As I sat there, the redhead girl came over, taking a seat opposite me. She int

ELOISE The date was going relatively well. I hated to admit it but Matthan could be quite the gentleman when he was not being a prick. It was clear that he was loved by his pack. It was enviable. But the more time I spent in the Gardenia Pack house, the more crystal clear that this couldn't be referred to as a date. Each time Matthan tried to strike up a meaningful conversation, someone or something would drag him away from the table and Matthan found it difficult to decline them. I wondered why it hurt just a tiny bit. My mind wandered to plausible reason but I refused to acknowledge it. The mate bond. It was then the sudden arrival of a middle-aged woman disrupted my train of thoughts. "You are Eloise, right?" She asked. I looked at her from head to toe. Her hair was grey and styled into a stylish bob that accentuated her sharp chin and angular features, making them all the more striking. I nodded my head. "And you are…?"She held out a hand to introduce herself. "Catherine." Sh