Deimos POV Elizabeth looks at me in shock. “What do you mean you don’t attend parties?” “Exactly what I said,” I snap back at her. “I am not needed at this particular party. It is just a ruse for my sister to find her mate.” “Okay,” Elizabeth whispers as she takes a step back from me. She keeps her eyes glued to the ground as she enters the closet. Even after bearing my heart to her last night, she is still frightened of me. I run my fingers through my hair, trying to calm the anger that is building in my chest. She has to know that I would never intentionally hurt her. “I am sorry for snapping at you,” I grind out through gritted teeth. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” “I am not frightened,” she lies. “We need to talk about your plans for the evening,” I say, ignoring her lie. “Plans?” Elizabeth looks over her shoulder at me. “Am I supposed to be doing anything other than attending a party?” “That should be your only plans for the evening. I will not be there

Deimos POV Shutting myself in my office, I pour myself a large glass of whiskey. I can hear the music in the ballroom playing loudly through the walls of the pack house, and I can’t help but worry about my Elizabeth. Before I was injured, I used to attend these parties. They are full of high-level werewolves and my father would parade us around like we were some prize that he won. He would make sure we only mingled with the most important werewolves in our community. I know he will do the same to Elizabeth. He will make sure that she is too busy to speak with her parents. Duko is howling in my mind because I let her attend the party alone. ‘It is our duty to protect her,’ he scoffs. ‘We should be by her side.’ ‘We cannot risk showing the world our weakness,’ I say, thumping my cane against the floor. ‘The world already thinks we are crippled,’ Duko growls. ‘We are crippled,’ I snap back at my wolf. ‘We will be viewed as weak.’ ‘You misjudge those who are around yo

Liz POV Isaiah stiffens behind me, and I realize I am standing between him and his mate. Stella is still growling at me, and it is drawing the attention of the crowd. My eyes dart around the room, and I know how this must look. Everyone is watching me skeptically, waiting to see what I will do next. I push down the feeling of disappointment that is building in my stomach. As much as I wanted Isaiah to be mine, I know now that it was never meant to be. Stepping to the side, I wait for Isaiah to approach Stella. But he doesn’t. He looks at me and then to Stella. I can see the conflict in his eyes. He is worried that I will feel betrayed. I let out a sigh and lay my hand on his back. Stella snarls again as I touch him, but I ignore her outburst. I gently push Isaiah forward. “Go to your mate,” I whisper to him. Isaiah gives me one more fleeting look before he steps in Stella’s direction. Stella is fuming with anger, and I cannot blame her. If I had found my mate in

Deimos POV Standing outside the ballroom doors, I grind my cane into the floor beside me. I can’t decide if I should leave it outside or not. I don’t want the werewolf community to view me as weak, but without my cane, I can be unsteady on my feet. ‘You are thinking too much,’ Duko growls. ‘Our mate needs us.’ Grumbling at my wolf, I push the doors of the ballroom open. My Alpha Aura fills the room as soon as I step inside. The music stops, and everyone pauses as they turn to the doors to see who has come in. I keep my face stoic and walk through the crowd. Murmurs and whispers follow me as I make my way through the throngs of people. Stella really outdid herself this time. It feels like every pack within the United States is being represented here tonight. She was obviously determined to find her mate. I make my way to the front of the crowd, and my father rushes to my side with a microphone in his hands. He taps on the microphone, causing a loud thumping no

Liz POV Deimos and I walk into the dining room the next morning, and I am surprised to see that we are the last to arrive. Nico is sitting at the head of the table with a scowl on his face. For the first time, his scowl is not directed at Deimos or me. Nico’s eyes are glued to the shiny new mark on his daughter’s neck. Stella has her black hair pulled up into a high ponytail and is wearing a low-cut shirt. I know it is a power play to show off her new mark. She wants everyone to know that Isaiah and she have already marked and mated one another. Isaiah is sitting in the seat that I normally sit in, so I stand awkwardly in the doorway of the dining room. I am unsure where I am supposed to go now. There is an empty seat beside Damon, but I would rather stick a fork in my eye than sit beside him. Deimos takes his seat at the opposite end of the table from his father and grunts for me to sit down between him and Damon. Reluctantly, I take the remaining seat at the table and tr