My anger rose higher and the moment I jumped towards him, Conner grabbed me an held me up. Kicking my feet in the air, desperately wanting to have my hands around Shaffer’s neck, to squeeze the life out of him. “You can’t escape your destiny, Joanne,” he laughed, edging closer. A familiar scent tickled my nose, the smell of ashes surrounded me and the voice that came with it followed. “That’s enough,” Mr. Smoke growled, the walls trembling in response and Conner quickly put me down and shielded me with his own body. “She has been away for too long, you know what toll that took on our people,” Shaffer spat. What did he mean by that? Was I to blame for what happened here? “We won’t force her, Shaffer.” He stepped closer, the same red hue as Shaffer had in his eyes showed itself. There was only something else, a fiery red glow moved under his skin, wanting to burst free and the scent of ashes sharpened. Shaffer held his tongue and Conner and I slowly moved to the door, hoping

-Isaac-I hated that she was keeping things from me. It was creating this distance between us. We had to be one, and it seemed we had our own agendas. Not working together as we should. I hoped now, that it would change. Putting everything out in the open.Heat tickled my skin, the icy layer slowly melting away. Similar to how she melted the barrier around my heart. My fire.My mate. I knew she was special. The strength she possessed was something I hadn’t seen before and now, with the warmth from the gentle brush of her fingers on my skin, I realized we would be okay. She would be able to keep herself safe. The corner of my lip twitched, wanting to see what more she could do, while I wondered what changed that this side of herself showed itself. Was it because this strange pack that hid around us was hers?“Where are we going, my Luna?” She gulped, a slight tremble moved through her body and the warmth of her touch gradually disappeared.“I need to remember what my father want

The silence around us thickened and I waited to see what he would do next. He didn’t even come alone. What seemed like guards trailed behind him, glaring at me suspiciously.I wanted to slap my brother for leaving me alone in this world, hug him for the lost time and then kick him for everything he had put me through.I was alone for so long, grieving my loss, battling with my insanity and he could have taken it all away by showing me he was alive, by showing this world to me. To make me understand what I went through, the pain, the heat, that it was going to be okay.If it wasn’t for William, I would probably be lying in a ditch somewhere and no one would have missed me. Not even my own brother.“You finally came back to us.” With a beaming smile plastered on his face, his arms wide, he came closer, engulfed me in his scent and touch. “I missed you so much.” His words were a mere whisper and slowly, I relaxed in his hold.“Why did you leave me?” My voice cracked at the end, my throat

-Joanne- The warmth on my skin slowly faded, my father’s voice leaving me too. Finlay pulled me out of the throne room, and I didn’t even fight, losing control over my body as my brother wouldn't meet my gaze. Not caring one bit. Maybe I let Finlay take me away? I had no other explanation for why I wasn’t still screaming at my brother. He hurt me, betrayed me and our parents. What more had he done? And why? Finlay led me down a corridor as he mumbled and cursed about what happened, but I couldn’t focus on his words. The turmoil in my mind was too loud, and I needed a solution. I needed Isaac. He would bring me the clarity I needed; I knew he would. He would tell me everything would be okay after he kicked my brother’s ass. But since when did I want him to fight my battles? I could do this; I was strong enough. I had survived enough to be worthy to live. Only first, I had to know my way around here because this place was a damn maze. I lost count of the times we took a tu

Art tells a story, one that could be perceived in multiple ways, depending on the viewer. But it would never lie. And that thought made me question all I knew.I had felt the sparks Isaac’s touch had brought me, but I didn’t have a wolf to tell me if he was my mate.But did I care? Or better said, since when did I care? After Liam, I didn’t want another mate bond; seeing it only brought me destruction. And yes, it was an easy blessing that Isaac and I turned out to be second chance mates. It gave us something extra, both knowing nothing could tear us apart.Until now, it seemed.I hated the term, true mate. At least coming from Finlay and Derek. I had used it before, thought it before, always thinking it was Isaac.I still wanted Isaac; I loved him too much to toss him aside, but when I saw my first mate, the one from my previous life. It only made more questions arise.There was one thing I knew now, that there was an explanation for him being in my past, present, and future—reincarn