Y A N AFor what seemed like forever, neither Mikhail nor I manage to utter a single word. We just stare at each other, but eventually I have to look away because I can’t stand seeing the pain in his eyes.I want to take it back.The exact statement I said about us breaking up . . . I want to take it back. I want to take back time and never say it, even though I know it’s necessary for him to keep a decent relationship with his parents and his birthright, which is the company.I know that he worked hard for everything, but he could lose it all if he chose to stay with me.So I made that choice for him.It might be cruel. It might just be the stupidest thing I ever did and I might just live to regret this for the rest of my life, but in the end I would know that I did it for him.But at the same time, that doesn’t mean my heart is not being ripped into pieces right now.“Why?” Mikhail asks, and this one simple word is enough to bring out a tear from me.“Because it’s not right.” I forc

M I K H A I L“You’re not fit to be the Lycan King, Mikhail Sartori. So now I have to kill you.”The words that come out of the girl's mouth are enough to disorient me. For a whole moment my mind goes blank, trying to figure out where the hell that came from and why this is happening to me.I open my mouth to ask her who the fuck she thinks she is and what she’s yapping about, but then I peer closely at her face and see who she is. I realize then that I do know her.It’s Amara from the Finance office of my company.I remember that she’s the one who handled the papers of the report that contained the photos of me shifting in the alley to save Yana.Does this mean that she really had something to do with it even though we found nothing on her?As though reading my mind, she sneers. “That’s right. You do fucking know me. And I know you, and I can say that you don’t deserve to lead or do anything for my people.”She cocks the gun, and this time I can see her about to pull the trigger. How

M I K H A I LI take a step forward, but the Lycans in front of me also take a step forward as though to warn me to stay in my spot. I square up to them, but then I see my father emerging from the crowd, facing me with a blank expression.“What is this about?” I ask, but I’m not facing him. My gaze is fixed on Evan, who is watching me closely like he’s afraid that I will attack at any moment. “Why are all of you here?”“We were hoping to find you,” Evan says, his voice low. I can hear the tinge of shame and maybe regret in his tone, which makes me think that he has something to do with this elaborate gathering in front of me. “I’m sorry, boss. I had to lure you in here. I had to do something to get you to stop running.”I want to say that I didn’t do anything wrong, but I remember what I did to Amara and I just couldn’t bring myself to lie.Dad takes a step closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine. “We always had a feeling you would not be good around the Humans, but now we know for

Y A N ASomething about Amos’s tone sounds . . . ominous. Scary. Like what he’s saying is a simple statement but a loaded request at the same time, and it’s hard to tell where the line is.I stare at him, waiting for him to provide more information as I am too nervous and cautious to ask for more myself, but he doesn’t say anything more. We just sit there in silence, and I let it go on, trying my best to organize my thoughts in my head.I hate that he knows the truth about me and Mikhail. I know it probably doesn’t matter to him now that we have become real, so real that we had to break up, but it feels strange to know that he knew all this time and he didn’t say anything. Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, but it feels like he suspended it just to have something against us in the future.But the thing is . . . he was so nice when I first met him. Mikhail seemed to be closer to him that he ever was with his own father. I mean, he even told me that much. Amos was the one who guided h

Y A N AImmediately, a light switches on in Evan’s eyes, and I wonder if I made the right choice or not. I swallow hard, waiting for him to say something, but instead he holds his hand up for me and starts to call somebody.“Hi, yes, this is me. . . .” he trails off, walking away from me and talking in a lower voice.I can’t make out anything he’s saying, but I’m trying to read his expressions as he speaks. And much to my disappointment, there is nothing there either. He just looks consistently serious all throughout. His expression doesn’t change, even until he hangs up and comes back to me.“What was that all about?” I ask nervously. “Did I . . . did I make a mistake?”“Yana, no.” Evan looks at me in the eye. “I told my men to get ready, to be on the lookout for any danger. Some of them will be here in this hospital guiding your father. It would be best if you warn your friends too.”“I don’t want them to be scared and worried,” I mumble.He nods. “I will send some of my people to t