LAUREL’s POV Helios’ kiss…it is electrifying. I feel a strange tremor rush throughout my body even as I struggle under him. He is extremely dominant; with my hands pinned above my head, I am imprisoned. My face is held by his hand and his body restrains me from moving away. His mouth is hard on mine, unyielding, and savagely, he thrusts his tongue in and my eyes widen with shock. He takes full advantage of my helplessness, his tongue plays with the insides of my lips, giving life to a throbbing heat between my thighs. My mind screams for him to stop, but strangely, as his mouth continues to roam mine, my body begins to quiver like a leaf, not from fear but from a growing pleasure – a need. A strange desire forms within me and I moan, kissing him back. It is then that my eyes snap open. What on earth am I doing?? I must have lost my mind! This has to stop! I bite his tongue. Hard. And I draw blood. Pained, Helios releases me in a heartbeat. “You dare bite me?” he growls, wiping

LAUREL’s POVLong-sleeved hands suddenly appear from the shadows and grab my shoulders.What the?Instinctively, I shove them away and spring back to the other side of the path in a defensive stance, ready to fight off my assailant whoever it might be only to come face to face with the one person I had been trying to avoid.Marty.Shit.“My love…my mate…” Marty’s mouth curls up in a disgusting smile as he steps forward with outstretched arms. But suddenly, he stops mid-stride and the ugly smile turns into an uglier scowl.And as the first flash of lightning rolls across the greying sky, his eyes darken. “The mate bond is gone,” he says, his voice climbing dangerously into a snarl.He takes another step closer, his boots digging into the muddied soil and cocks his head. A spirit of pure loathing crawls up his face and he spits into the ground. The spit lands on a tiny pebble near my boots.“You’re not the Laurel I met at the Morningstar Square.”He knows.My nightmare has come true. Bu

HELIOS’ POVONE DAY BEFOREI close the door to my chamber and lean my back against it. A tiny smile fleets across my face and I chuckle at no one in particular.“Someone’s in a good mood,” Apollo teases me.And he’s right. I am. I had not intended on leading Laurel to the warehouse earlier, but I couldn’t help it. I cannot remember ever wanting anyone more than I want her.Laurel is so tempting, so divine and the memory of her sweet moans and soft wet curves has my cock twitching with renewed interest.Damnit.That woman is going to be the death of me. I had not expected things to become so intense, I had thought I could control myself but one look at her laughing and talking to another man had me going crazy.“You’re in love,” Apollo snorts.I run my hands through my hair and let out an exasperated sigh. “No, I’m not.”“Yes, you are.”I pinch the bridge of my nose and lean my head back against the door with a sigh, not liking the shift in my mood. And as if the skies mirror my feeling

LAUREL’s POVThere is but a moment of silence before father’s shrill voice tears across the evening sky.“HELEN!!!!!” he screams, filling the valley beneath with a heartbreaking echo. His wife, his love and his mate has just died and he feels it with every fibre of his being.But he realizes his mistake too soon for his scream of pain had caught the attention of rogues and beasts who are in hiding and soon, I see shadowed figures with glowing yellow eyes emerge from their hiding places.His screaming was a fatal mistake. And he knows it. Immediately, he shifts into his wolf form and flees the scene, abandoning his dead mate’s body.I do not call out to him, nor do I jump down to help him. I merely stand rooted at the edge of the cliff and stare at his disappearing figure as predators chase after him. I think I am too shocked to move.What just happened? I blink and realise that the black mist is gone, it has disappeared just as it had suddenly appeared. It takes some time for me to c

LAUREL’s POVI wake up to the first few minutes of sunrise and realise that Helios is long gone. A touch on the cool silken sheets next to me tells me so. I get up from his bed and in the privacy of Helios’ chamber, my eyes trail to the wooden trinket on his dark mahogany desk.The early morning light bathes the box in a faint half glow and even though no one is here, I make my way to the box cautiously. Unbeknownst to Helios, I had awoken from my slumber last night to catch a glimpse of him brooding over something he had taken out of the box, something that seemed to glow red in the dark.Reaching his desk, I take another quick glance at the chamber door. It remains closed.But as my hand touches the cool surface of the beautifully carved box, I stop and shake my head. This is wrong. I shouldn’t pry into Helios’ possession. The fact that he had inspected the inside of the box so discreetly last night tells me that he does not want me to know anything about it. And that is why I preten