جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 120

Jax I was a mess, and I knew it. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even fucking think. I just kept seeing Selene’s eyes pleading with me not to do it, not to break our mate-bond. She’d seemed so genuinely confused. I hadn’t expected that—I’d expected to see guilt. She’d been caught, after all, right? I’d found out the truth about what really happened that night. Marcus had Milkflower in his system, just like he’d said. Selene had no drugs in her system. She had betrayed me. I’d spared her life and exiled her. It had been the right thing to do. But if that was the case, then why did I feel like this? “She didn’t do it,” Storm growled at me. Ever since I’d broken the mate-bond, he was insolent. He refused to talk to me—he just kept insisting that Selene would never betray me. I tried to push down the doubt. We had proof, but the doubt still gnawed at me, eating me from the inside out. I had things to do—meetings to attend, pack affairs to get in order—but I couldn’t get a

Selene “How do you know my name?” I asked. The man who had just bought me was hauling me out of the whorehouse rather roughly. “We don’t have time,” he told me. “Hurry.” It all seemed a bit odd to me. I was bought and paid for, so I didn’t see what the rush was. He was manhandling me. I tripped and fell. He pulled me back to my feet, glancing behind him. I got another look at his face. Again, I had a strange feeling about this man. He was handsome, with a sharp jawline and deep brown eyes. I suddenly caught his scent. “He has the scent of an alpha,” Mercury said. I agreed. Great. So I’d just been sold to an alpha? I could only imagine what sort of pack he ran if he hung out at places like the whorehouse. I knew some less-than-Avery packs in Crescent Moon’s proximity that it didn’t associate with unless necessary. I assumed he came from one of those. “Come on,” he insisted, tugging at my arm again. We were outside the whorehouse, and people on the street stared at us. Yes, I’m

Selene “Yes, Selene. I’m your aunt. Look at you,” she held me at arm’s length. “All grown up. And so beautiful. Isn’t she beautiful, Jack?” Jack said nothing. He just looked at me, a bemused smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “But oh, you’re shivering,” Avery said. “Oh dear. Let’s get you inside so you can warm up.” It was true. I was freezing. It was very cold,, and I wasn’t used to the cold—not cold like this. I could see my breath, and the clothes Jack had given me did little to warm me. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to keep in some body warmth. “We’re pretty far north,” Avery explained as she led me to the packhouse. All the structures were wooden and quaint, a far cry from the elaborate buildings of Crescent Moon Pack. They weren’t as humble as the shacks in our slums, though. They were kind of in between—not grand and majestic, but certainly not make-shift houses slapped together with cheap materials. “We’re preparing for the first snowfall. It’s usually a b

Just then, there was a light knock on the door. Jack and Avery entered, both bearing small gifts for Hennessy. “Three months old today,” Avery whispered, reaching her arms out for the baby. I passed Hennessy over to her. “Happy three-month birthday, little one,” Jack said, smiling. “You don’t have to keep bringing her presents for every milestone,” I chuckled, wrapping my nightgown tightly around myself. My arms always felt so strange when someone took Hennessy. I was so used to holding her that it felt weird when I didn’t. “I know we don’t have to, but we want to. Isn’t that right, sweet girl?” Avery said in the strange voice she used whenever she talked to the baby. I had to admit it was comical watching this strong, powerful gamma talk baby talk. She rocked Henessy in her arms. I opened the gifts—a hand-knit baby blanket and a little wooden spoon, hand-carved. “For when she’s ready for solids,” Avery said, winking at me. I smiled gratefully. It was really sweet. Jack, Avery

Jax I awoke in the same small room with a bandage wrapped around my arm. I was on a pile of blankets on the floor which barely did anything to soften the hard cement underneath, and my back ached. Clearly, witches weren’t the most hospitable creatures around. I sat up, and pain shot through my arm. I still felt a little light-headed, but I could already feel my wound healing thanks to Storm. “Good morning, sunshine.” The voice startled me. I hadn’t seen the witch sitting in the corner of the room. I dragged myself to sit upright, and she thrust a cup at me. “Drink this,” she said. I accepted the cup and looked inside. It looked like brown sludge and smelled even worse. I crinkled up my nose and passed it back to her. “No thanks,” I said. But she pushed the cup back towards me. “Go on,” she insisted. “It will make you feel better.” I eyed her suspiciously, and she laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, but if we wanted to poison you, we would have already.” True. “Just take