The words came out of his mouth, but I read the confusion on his face. His question was clear; why had Atlas asked for me? His obsession with me was becoming more than a problem. I kept my emotionless mask on as I stared between him and Ezekiel giving nothing away, but internally I was frustrated. I needed to leave. I had done my due diligence. In fact, I had done more than enough. I made sure he survived, hand-delivered him to safety and gave him my blood. What more did he want from me? I could not stay here any longer. Beside the obvious danger to my person regardless of Ezekiel’s promise of safety, and even though I would love to take some of these wolves out - especially the little shit one from before - continuing to stay here put my secret at risk. I was not sure how the wolf felt about his comrades knowing his truth, that I was his mate, but that was something I planned to take to the grave. No one was to know, least not this pack of miscreant wolves. There was no question in a

Two weeks had passed since I had left the wolf in his hospital bed, and I had not heard from him since. Time seemed to be moving so slowly. It appeared he had finally let me go and the bond had been broken. Alpha Ezekiel was right. It was for the best.That night, I ran for hours until I broke down and finally called for a pickup. The run had allowed me to tunnel my rage, expel all of my pent-up feelings, and get some thinking done to formulate an excuse for my behavior. I had acted so recklessly. But none of that mattered now. It was over with, and I was eager to be back on top of things. No more distractions.Finally relenting and now that there was nothing holding me back, I made the decision to accept Elijah’s offer, though I did not really have much choice, honestly. Now things were different. Where before I had planned to not go down without a fight, now I accepted it willingly. Our union would benefit us both and bring together our clans, add to our resources, and strengthen our

The plane ride on the private jet was smooth enough as to be expected, but I loathed flying. There was just something that felt unnatural about a vampire being the air. I was a creature of the night, meant to be on the ground and in control.Even so, we toasted to new beginnings with champagne and blood. Usually, I would have declined the blood as I only take what I need, but Elijah insisted I replenish my strength and I had been depriving myself lately, a form of punishment for my weaknesses. But no more of that. It was time to move on. Even I was imperfect, as shocking as it seemed, and I deserved some grace. I made a one-time mistake that was over with, done and in the past. To beginnings indeed.It was a few hours past dusk when we arrived. The air felt different here. It was warm and humid and salty. I stared at the large structure in front of me. So different than the place I called home. The Ventrel compound was more of an ancient castle. Not much had changed over the

We sat closely in the back of our transport vehicle and even though I made it a point not to look at him, he could not keep his eyes off me. I loved watching him struggle and fight against temptation after what he had done back at the mansion. He tried to seduce me, and I almost fell for it allowing him to kiss me. After all the times he had attempted to before, he decided to use that moment to play a game. He toyed with me. Me? Oh, I would fully enjoy making him regret that decision. My skin was on full view tonight, exactly the look I was going for. I wore a black two-piece skirt set. The top was cropped with spaghetti straps and the bottom skirt was long but had two high slits showing off my long legs. I let my hair down and kept the same jewelry one, making it a point for the bracelet to be seen. Even though I was still reeling from what he had done, I could not help but to appreciate how good he looked as well. He had changed out of his suit and into somewhat more casu

Atlas’ POV“And who is this?” Elijah asked motioning to Sno. His words were kind, not intrusive. He seemed only to be genuinely curious. Perfect time for introductions. “This is Sno Errendale, my future luna.” I smiled at Elijah innocently, turning to Onyx to gage her expression. Her frown deepened as she stared daggers at Sno then her eyes darted to me. I wasn’t surprised. Women were always jealous. But what was she so worked up about? She was the one who rejected me, right? Or at least that’s what she fucking thought anyway. That’s what she meant to do. I smirked, tilting my head up looking down to her tauntingly in her seated position across the table, but inside I wanted to reach out and touch her soft skin if only for a second. The bond was just as strong as ever and I needed to be near her. I was confused. Did I hate her or not?“It is nice to meet you. This is Onyx Ventrel, my betrothed and future queen.”Well, fuck. That hurt. I mean, yeah, I figured as much,