Amelia let go of Gabriel. He shot a dirty look at Jonathan and clenched his fists. Who the hell did this human think he was? Cutting in like that? Then he looked at Amelia’s face and he knew that he couldn’t lose his cool. “Before you go,” he said. “I, I have something for you.” Gabriel reached into his pocket and pulled out a brooch. It shone a fiery red. “The ruby,” Amelia exclaimed. “Yes,” Gabriel smiled. “I had it made into this broach. For you.” He held it out to her. It was stunning. But she couldn’t accept it. “It’s too precious, Gabriel,” she said, shaking her head. “It belongs to the pack.” “It’s no use to the pack right now. I insist. Take it.” He thrust it forward again for emphasis. “I don’t understand.” What did he mean ‘it’s of no use’? “The ruby will only light up once for one generation of Alpha. It lit up for you.” Amelia felt a strong pu

Gabriel’s arms were still tight around Amelia. The top of her dress had fallen off and the silk inside of the suit jacket was soft on her skin. Someone was rushing towards them – and she hoped (secretly) for a moment that it was Jonathan. It wasn’t though. It was Asher. Asher had heard the commotion from across the room. One look at Gabriel and his temper had flared. He’d come straight over to chastise Gabriel. Apparently, though, Olivia had beat him to it. Olivia had been grateful to the strange man with the suit at first. He’d saved her best friend from showing her naked body to a room full of people! But when she’d heard Amelia say his name, she felt anger rising in her like lava in a volcano. “So this is Gabriel,” she said. Her voice was high and tight. Amelia was doing up the suit jacket. She shook her head at Olivia. The last thing she needed right now was for Olivia to unleash her wrath on Gabriel. Olivia opened her mouth to lash out, but Ash

The next morning, Amelia opened her eyes to Olivia’s enlarged face, merely inches away from hers. “Good morning sleepy head!” Olivia exclaimed loudly. “Ugh,” Amelia sighed. “Get off me!” “Not until you tell me where you were last night,” Olivia giggled. “I heard you sneak out.” Amelia felt her cheeks burn. She considered telling her friend about her night run with Gabriel, but that would only lead to more questions, and she wasn’t sure how to answer them right now. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just went out for some fresh air. I couldn’t sleep and needed to clear my head.” Amelia didn’t like lying to Olivia. Luckily, Olivia couldn’t probe any further because there was a knock on the door. Asher came in with a large tray of food. Amelia could tell that Olivia was still a little haughty about Asher and the fight they’d had. “I come bearing breakfast,” Asher said a bit shyly. Olivia walked over and looked at th

“I can’t believe I’m getting married tomorrow!” Lily hollered with excitement. It was bachelorettetime and all of Lily’s friends had gathered in Laura’s back yard to celebrate. Lily’s eyes shone with anticipation as only a woman’s can the night before she’s about to be married. “But tonight, you belong to us,” Laura said, mischievously holding a bowl. “Is that what I think it is?” Lily asked, eyeing the bowl. “What’s a bachelorette party without a little Confessions?” The woman all giggled like school girls and gathered around the table. They had spent many an afternoon playing Confessions when they were younger, but it had been years since many of them had played. The rules were simple: draw a card from the bowl and answer the questions on the card. The questions, though? Not always so simple… “The bride to be goes first,” Laura declared, thrusting the bowl towards Lily. Lily reached her hand in and pulled out a card.

Amelia came to slowly, her vision blurry at first. She struggled to make sense of where she was. What happened, she asked herself groggily. She was dazed and confused. The surface under her was hard. She heard something. Water? Splashing water? She squinted. Her sight became less fuzzy. And then…Her eyes flew open in shock. She was in some sort of jail. It was a cubicle with bars on all sides so she could see through. She crawled to one side. Water. The floor was wet. She wrapped her hands around the bars, and pressed her forehead against them to try to see. The cell was elevated off the ground by a few feet and the floor under her was flooded with water. The water was a few inches deep in her cell. “Have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?” Amelia snapped her head in the direction of the unfamiliar voice. She saw another cell, like hers, with a woman inside. The woman was pacing back and forth, wringing her hands. “I like naps.” She smiled crazily at Amelia.