Vivian threw her arms wide open like a vulture, her face a contortion of worry and concern as she half ran half walked toward Maggie.“Oh my God, Maggie! I didn’t believe it but you are alive!”Noah stood in her path before she could hug her. Vivian fell back a few steps as she stared quizzically with fury in her eyes at Noah. “What is going on here? Maggie, I was worried about you. Imagine my shock when I saw you on TV…”“Oh, you were shocked?” Maggie’s voice was heavy with sarcasm. “When exactly? Was it when you saw me at the club or when you planned to have me killed?” she asked as she moved out from behind Noah with a pat on his back.She feigned shock at Maggie’s words. “What are you talking about? I have been so worried about you…”“Oh really? And was that why you almost tore out my bodyguard’s throat?”Maggie didn’t need to mention Caleb’s name for Vivian to know who she was talking about but her face betrayed nothing.“Didn’t you send those warriors to kill me?“I was trying t

They stared at each other with such strong anger and hate for a long time, chest heaving and broken with the hurt of each other’s words. They had both said terrible things to drive their point home and now that it was silent, their heavy words hung in the air like clouds waiting to rain down piercing cold waters on their skin.Maggie was the first to balk as she sagged on the counter in the tiny kitchen. “This wasn’t supposed to go like this.”"Could have fooled me." Asher dropped one hand on the counter, his last words still shivering in the air and leaving a bad taste in his mouth. “I do my work as Alpha to the best of my ability.”“And you are doing a great job at that.” It was she who wasn’t doing a great job at seducing him. What did she know of seduction anyway? Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still tensed up with how much courage it took her to call the Board members, members of the pack who betrayed her and her father, to come together in the Board room tiny space.

“Where is my brother?! I want to see my brother.”The harried-looking secretary tried to hold Axel back but he was too strong for her.“Mr. Lycrox does not want to be disturbed at the moment,” she argued as she placed herself between the door and Axel’s looming size.Eventually, she found herself being tossed to the side while Axel nearly kicked the door down. “Bastard. Where are you? What have you done?”Lance looked up calmly from the small suitcase on his desk into which he was folding a pair of shorts, some shirts and some briefs. Axel stopped mid-stride into the office that was over-washed with lights from the decorative fluorescents above and from the open windows.“What the fuck are you doing?” Axel demanded. “You are running away you coward? You are running away like a dog with your tail between your legs?”“When you are done barking like a common fool you will tell me what you want, Axel.” Lance then threw his head back in the direction of the door and saw his poor secretary

Maggie moved closer and touched his face. His face was a lot furrier than it looked and her fingers easily sank into the softness. She scratched lightly and a small sound akin to a cat’s purr escaped him.“Tell me what happened, Asher.”His massive chest visibly heaved and his red eyes swirled. She thought he was going to avoid talking about it again but he sat on his hunches and gave her a droll stare with his red eyes.“I will only tell you because I know you won’t drop the subject.” Her smile encouraged him to go on. “For a long time after I became Alpha, I accepted my fate as a man without love. Our pack used to be much larger than this but when more Ptakkagaris kept attacking us just because we couldn’t defend ourselves, we kept dying and reducing in numbers. We couldn't protect ourselves and we could not strike a deal with the Ptakkagaris. The only way I could save my pack from dying out was to procreate. I finally decided to find a wife. Even if I couldn't find a wolf to marry

“Everything okay?” Maggie asked as she opened Chase’s door to join Asher outside where he waited for her on the motorcycle. It was one of the new ones and he was testing the leather handle. She was tempted to smile.But it was the scowl on his face that worried her for some reason. One second he was smiling with her but as soon as she turned her back he was frowning again.She had a feeling it had something to do with Cathy coming out of his apartment wearing a scowl of her own. She glanced at Maggie’s direction.Asher’s voice cut through Maggie’s thoughts. “Everything’s alright. Hop on let’s get moving as fast as we can.”Maggie collected the helmet he held out to her and put it over her curls. Noah was standing a few feet away from the infirmary with a serious look on his face.“I will be fine, Noah,” she assured him. “Just watch over Caleb. We’ll be leaving here soon.”He nodded but still stood guard and watched until Asher started the engine and drove them off. Once again his mani