The four of us stood together on the front steps, waiting for my uncle to make his appearance. I was going to do my damnedest to charm him out of our lives. That is if I could keep my temper under control, and Dmitri’s. I couldn’t tell if he realized it or not, but I could feel him chomping at the bit for a little violence. I should’ve had Nathan find a way to let him blow off some steam in training this morning instead of tossing a ball around for his own amusement. I rolled my shoulders back as the black car came into view at the end of the road. It was time to put on my happy face and play nice, the chatter in our group link was echoes of the same sentiment. Dmitri’s arm curled around my waist, pulling me against him as the car pulled up. His smile showed off all his teeth as he climbed out of the car. He looked at all of standing there waiting for him, “I hardly expected you to greet me at the door again.” The car pulled away as he shut the door an

My eyelids fluttered open at the sound of Nathan’s voice in my head, ‘I’m supposed to try and talk you out of training this morning, and he all but ordered it last night because you seemed so tired.’ Nathan had never seemed to like me, but he at least seemed to respect my decision to push myself when it came to training. It’d been a source of contention between him and his Alpha, but he was the only one who remained impartial about my status and had enough skill to train me in the way that I needed. ‘Let’s let him have this one, just for today. If you’re still up for an early morning session, you could gather up Lalita and the girls for an impromptu set.’ If there was anyone he liked less than me, it was the female shifters I’d chosen to have trained as my enforcers, even if he did agree that strategically, they were less conspicuous out in public. ‘If it’s all the same, I’d like to run the perimeter this morning and check in with the

I didn’t want to give him a chance to explain himself. He’d already had the chance to explain himself every day for the past few months. And now I felt completely betrayed by this secret that he’d kept. That they all had kept. “You should go find out what the scout found if anything,” I glared at Dmitri. I’d gotten over the fact that he’d been with other women before me, but this was a level of betrayal I couldn’t see past. “Nathan, you’re with me,” turned around and started to storm out of the little corridor, the air getting to thick in the small space to breathe. “And where are you going?” he followed us out into the main hall, anger, hurt and fear flooding our bond. “Anywhere you aren’t,” I glared up at him, pinching off the flow of emotions between us so I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about his feelings right now. I felt justified in my anger and I wanted to let it burn a while longer. I gave Nathan a meaningful look, “You will no

In my effort to avoid people, I’d been having my meals either in the kitchen or out in the greenhouse. But I promised Blake that I would talk to Sophie before the day was over to cease his nagging. I felt like the kitchen was my sanctuary away from everyone, so I had a dinner for two brought out to the greenhouse. “Um, Alpha…” Sophie’s timid voice drew my gaze from the view on the other side of the wall of glass to her. “You asked to see me?” she looked unsure but there was a tinge of hope in her voice. “I hope you don’t mind joining me for dinner tonight,” I gestured towards the other place setting, “I know how hard you work to make the community meals a regular thing, but I thought it would be best if we had a more private setting. So we could talk.” Guilt started to eat at me when I saw how eagerly she took up the other seat at the little table. “I was starting to think that you wouldn’t ever speak to me again, and I’ve been waiting

She moved away from me as if I’d burned her, and I felt my despair claw at me, ripping me to ribbons once more. I’d give her anything or anyone if she’d just look at me without that burning rage making her eyes glow at me. To just let me hold her in my arms long enough to sooth the aching emptiness I felt. I couldn’t even stand to be in our suite anymore, with her fading scent in every corner reminding me that she’d abandoned those rooms. ‘How many times do you think you can fuck things up with her before she finally washes her hands of us?’ ‘I’m not in the mood for your lectures today Arkadi, at least she agreed to be in your presence. She won’t even talk to me and she flinches at my touch!’ I didn’t care about anything else, I just wanted to know how to fix this and my own wolf had turned against me instead of trying to help me. ‘You did this to us, not me,’ he growled, stalking away to the darkest corner of my mind.