The sound of glass shattering and a body hitting the floor caused my heart to jump into my throat. I didn’t hesitate. I ran into the kitchen"Husk!" He was lying on the floor with the refrigerator door wide open.I knelt next to him, and my hand trembled as I reached out to check his pulse. His shallow breathing calmed me a fraction. But why had he passed out? He had an injury on his shoulder, but wolves healed quickly."What's going on here?" Winter said from the doorway. "It looks like a tornado hit this place.""It's Husk. He's unconscious," I called out, not wanting to leave his side.Winter and Sky rushed into the kitchen. The panicked looks on their faces made my chest tighten."What happened?" Winter demanded."I have no idea," I said. "I mean, he was fine earlier when he was fighting the wolves and then I found him like this.""Is he breathing?" Sky knelt next to me and his magic swirled around us."He's breathing. I can feel his pulse too. And he's warm." My fingers touched

I'd never mated with Fagua the way I'd done three days ago, and to make matters worse, she was acting weird and doing things like talking as if we were strangers and sleeping alone. Usually, Sky and I would have some fun with her, except lately she'd been going out for walks alone. It didn't take much to figure out where she'd been going because I knew the scent well by now. She'd been seeing Mayia. It made sense in a way. No doubt Fagua probably felt comfortable with her. The idea of being with us brutes as being enough for her was probably a false reality in our eyes, but in hers, she craved female company. It was only natural. There was also the issue of her father sending wolves to bring her back that concerned me the most. I had to protect Fagua because if anything happened to her, I would never forgive myself.I know she’s a grown woman and can do what she wants, but fuck it if she isn't getting too lackadaisical regarding her safety. At least for now, her father hasn't tried

The heel of my foot tapped underneath the table as I stirred my iced tea with the straw. Every time the bell over the diner chimed, I glanced up, waiting for my mom.Yet, I had no idea if she would show. Or if it would be my father and his goons. I had sent her a cryptic text to meet me here and now my conscience was screaming at me that this might be a bad idea. I couldn't tell Sky or Winter, as they'd never have agreed to this. Instead of feeling free and loved as I had first been with them, I felt trapped like I had when I was stuck in SmallHeath. My fingers brush my necklace, the one Husk, Winter, and Sky had charmed to help me break through the magical spell that kept me from leaving my hometown despite the many times I had tried on my own before.A man with a bushy beard entered the cafe, and I went back to my watered-down iced tea."Need anything, hun?" the waitress asked me for the second time."No, thanks, I'm good." I smiled back, silently promising I'd leave her a big tip w

I reached for the cup of water on the table next to the hospital bed and my fucking hand shook so much that I knocked it over. It bounced along the linoleum floor and rolled under the bed."Shit."I groaned, leaning back down on the pillow. Couldn't even get a damn drink of water. I hated this. Hated being so fucking weak. Hated that I was crammed into this shitty hospital bed while my brothers were out there fighting wolves who were trying to take Fagua back to her father.They needed me. And here I was, stuck, unable to get up.I felt the anger building up inside me. I hated the weakness. I hated the guilt. I hated everything about my life.I hated the fact that this was my own damn fault.That I had been the one who fucked up and hadn't mated with Fagua. And now her own father wanted to take her away. I gritted my teeth, warring with myself. And I was paying the price for it every second of every hour of every day.I deserved to be here.I deserved everything that was happening to

Fagua didn’t want to travel with me. In fact, I didn’t fucking get how we were supposed to be mates when it was clear that she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as me. The bar she chose was a short walk from the hotel. The idea was for us to get a drink, then I would imprint on her. That was the short summary of it. Winter made it sound so easy—the mate that had been in our casino for so many weeks, was now going to roll over and allow me to mate with her. I nodded and agreed with his explanation of the events that should take place, knowing that there was no fucking way that it would happen so easily. "Go relax. Chill. Spend time alone and see how you feel about each other. Then, if it doesn't happen, we can take it from there."No pressure. None whatsoever. Doc was dead. He'd been killed by Fagua's father's pack, and part of me blamed her for it. Even if she wasn't part of their pack anymore. I had so much resentment and anger about the trail of events, but I was supposed to