-Andrew-I shouldn’t have gotten carried away and marked Corrine just like that. I should have stuck to my original plan of staying away from her and keeping her safe in her own world. I should have—“Andrew? You okay?”My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. My eyes darted to Eva. Her voice pulled me out of my raging thoughts. We were on our way to the dorm and I had been drowning in regret and worry for Corrine’s safety.Corrine’s pack hated me so much as I hated them that I was almost certain they would kill Corrine for betraying the pack. Yeah, that was very possible.But I knew it didn’t happen because I could sense Corrine’s presence, her existence, now that we were mates.She was still alive, but I didn’t know if she was okay.“I’m not,” I answered, honestly. There was no need to lie to Eva about how I felt right now.She sighed. “I don’t understand why Trevor got so upset when he saw you guys together. I think Corrine was just exaggerating when she said not to let you and

-Corrine-Before my mom could shift, I jumped in front of her and spread my arms. “Mom, please!” My tears welled up without me asking, and I knew my mom could never see me cry.Her anger died out and was replaced by compassion. “Oh, Corrine—“ She sobbed. “What kind of abyss have you fallen into?”“Mom, he’s my mate.” My hands fell to my sides and clenched into fists. I wanted to hug her, but I was afraid. Afraid that she would suddenly change her mind and pull me away, separating me once again from Andrew.This was a tough situation, and my heart was torn in two. For my mom and for Andrew.“Please, don’t hurt him.” I was very careful when I said that. My hand reached out, about to rub her arm, but stopped midway before I dropped it to my side again.This was the first time I hesitated to touch my own mother.“Are you sure he’s your mate?” My mom’s face was wet with tears, but she was no longer crying. Her hands wiped away the streams of water on her cheeks. There was no smile there, b

-Corrine-My stomach tightened at the challenge Leana threw at Andrew.“He has to fight with one of us! Isn’t that the rule for a lycan who wants to join our alliance?”“My niece’s right,” the man said. “She must fight and prove her worth. Whether she deserves to be in this alliance.”So the man was her uncle. No wonder they supported each other.A second that felt like an hour passed as I waited for Andrew’s answer.“Don’t you understand the meaning of the word ‘mate’?” Andrew growled. “She doesn’t have to prove anything because she’s my lover. It wasn’t her who wanted to join our alliance, but I brought her here.”“But—““Once again you make a fuss about this, I’ll kick you out of the alliance,” Andrew cut in firmly. “Isn’t that the rule? That as the leader, I have the right to do that?”“Ever since you replaced your father’s position, I’ve always supported you. But this is what you’re giving me in return?”I could feel the depth of Leana’s feelings for Andrew in the sentence she ha

-Corrine-All eyes were on me as I entered the fighting arena with Andrew.The fighting arena was similar to the gym at my high school in Wesgrove, with a high, curved roof and a large room without partitions. Only here there were no stacks of mats and basketball hoops, but an arena bordered by ropes, similar to a boxing ring.In the center of the arena, I see Leana. She was stretching when I arrived and she stopped to look at me.The murmurs of the alliance members built up around me. Their gazes momentarily made my knees wobble and I could feel their aura as lycans, which I admit was stronger than the aura of the werewolves.My hands clenched and opened, a sign that I was feeling nervous. But I tried to push those feelings aside and instead recalled everything about Leana that Andrew had told me.Besides the fact that Leana was one of the alliance’s top fighters, there was a lot of other information I had received from Andrew. The most useful fact was that Leana was very weak in pro

-Corrine-As soon as I heard my parents being dragged into this conversation, I sat up. “What?!”Andrew, sleeping next to me, was startled, and he woke up with a wide-eyed look. “What’s wrong, baby?”I ignored him and continued talking to Eva. “What else did he say?”“Um—he said that you should read the letter and contact him as soon as possible.” Eva cleared her throat. “Is everything okay? Are your parents in danger?”I wanted to say that my parents were fine, but I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t impossible for Jerome to do something to them, and Trevor couldn’t do anything if none of the pack members defended him either.The news about me running off with a lycan must have spread within the pack and I was sure they all hated me now instead of sympathizing with me because I had found my mate.“I don’t know,” I said then, trying to be at least one bit honest with Eva. “I’ll come to pick up the letter. When do you finish classes?”After Eva gave me her schedule for today, we ended the convers