All Chapters of TABOO (A DEAL WITH THE SHADOW ALPHA): Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

115 Chapters

CHAPTER SIXTY ONE

AXELThe whiskey burned going down, but I barely felt it. I was on my third glass—or maybe my fourth—sitting in the darkness of my penthouse, I just wanted get drunk, burned all the pain with alcohol. But then again, wolves can't get drunk no matter how much we drink. So basically I was stuck in a loop, just drinking and drinking over and over again. Three weeks. Twenty-one days. Five hundred and four hours since Addison had walked out of my life.Not that I was counting.My phone sat on the coffee table in front of me, dark and silent. I'd stopped calling her after the first week. Stopped texting after she'd blocked my number for the second time.I'd checked. Multiple times a day, I'd check to see if I was blocked. And every time she unblocked me, just for a moment, my heart would leap with desperate hope. Maybe she wanted to talk. Maybe she'd changed her mind. MaybeBut then she'd block me again, and I'd be back in the darkness.Kage was restless. Angry. It wanted me to go to her,

CHAPTER SIXTY TWO

ADDISON I saw him again last night.In my dream, he was standing at the window of his penthouse, the city lights behind him, his green eyes watching me with that intensity that used to make my heart race. He didn't say anything. Just looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.And I walked toward him. I didn't care about the secret room or the files or the shrine. I just wanted to be close to him, to breathe him in, to feel his arms around me.When I woke up, I reached for him before I remembered.He wasn't there.He was never going to be there again.I lay there in the morning light, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the familiar wave of anger to wash over me. The anger that had been sustaining me these past weeks, keeping me moving, keeping me functioning.But it didn't come this time.What came instead was something. Empty. Like someone had reached inside my chest and carved out whatever had been keeping me warm.I pressed my hand flat against my chest, tr

CHAPTER SIXTY THREE

ADDISON The knock on my door came at exactly six-thirty, which meant it was Devin. My brother had always been annoyingly punctual.I opened the door to find him holding two bags of Thai takeout and wearing his "concerned big brother" expression."You look terrible," he said by way of greeting."Hello to you too. Come in." I stepped aside to let him pass."I'm serious, Addy. When was the last time you slept? Like, really slept?" He set the food down on my kitchen counter and turned to study me. "You've got dark circles under your eyes that could qualify as luggage.""Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel special.""I'm not here to make you feel special. I'm here because Jules called me and said you're spiraling and someone needs to stage an intervention." He started unpacking the food. "So here I am. Intervening."I groaned. "Jules needs to mind her own business.""Jules cares about you. We all do." He pulled out plates from my cabinet like he owned the place. "And befo

CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR

AXEL The ancestral grounds of House Orion looked exactly as I remembered them, and nothing like I remembered them at all.This was supposed to be home. The place where I was born. Where my mother had died bringing me into the world.But it had never felt like home. How could it, when I'd been sent away before I could even walk?Silas stood beside me as we approached the family shrine, his hand briefly touching my shoulder. A gesture of support."Remember," he said quietly. "You're here for Elena. Not for them."I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. The demon inside me was restless, angry by being back in this place. By knowing what waited ahead.THEY CAST US OUT. THEY FEARED US. WHY ARE WE HERE?"For her," I murmured. "We're here for her. The one that gave us Life."The pack was already gathered. Maybe forty of them, all dressed in traditional ceremonial robes. All members of House Orion, the bloodline that stretched back centuries.My bloodline. Even if they'd never wanted to cla

CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE

AddisonThe dress was wrong.I stood in front of my mirror, tugging at the hem of the navy blue dress Jules had convinced me to buy, and knew with absolute certainty that this was a mistake."You look beautiful," Jules said. "Stop fidgeting .""I look ridiculous. This isn't me.""It's a first date, not a wedding. You're supposed to look nice." She stood up and came over, smoothing down my hair. "And you do look nice. Connor is going to lose his mind when he sees you."Connor. The guy from the marketing firm who'd been emailing back and forth with my team about a collaboration. The one who'd asked me to dinner three times before I'd finally said yes.The one who wasn't Axel."I don't think I can do this," I said, my stomach churning."Yes, you can. You're going to go to dinner, have a nice conversation with a nice guy, and remind yourself that there are other men in the world besides Axel Rex." Jules squeezed my shoulders. "You deserve to move on, Addy. You deserve to be happy."I want

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX

AxelI was standing in a room I didn't recognize. Large windows let in sunshine, white curtains blowing gently in a breeze. Everything was warm and bright and peaceful.And there, standing by the window with her hand resting on her swollen belly, was a woman I'd never seen but somehow recognized immediately.My mother.Elena.She was beautiful. Long dark hair that caught the light, eyes the same green as mine, a gentle smile on her face as she looked down at her stomach. At me. Growing inside her."I can feel you moving," she said softly, her voice like music. "You're going to be strong, little one. I can already tell."The door opened and Silas walked in. Younger than I'd ever seen him,"Elena," he said carefully. "The pack elders want to speak with you."Her smile faded. "About the baby.""Yes.""What are they saying now?" She moved away from the window, her hand still protective over her belly."The same as before. That the child is an abomination. That carrying a demon-wolf hybrid

CHAPTER SIXTY SEVEN

AXEL The pack was still gathered around us, watching. Waiting. My father stood frozen near the altar, his face pale. My brothers looked between me and the claws on the ground with expressions ranging from shock to something that might have been jealousy or anger. "I saw her," I said, my voice rough. "I saw my mother. I heard her message.""And?" the old priest prompted gently.I looked at him. At this ancient wolf who'd kept my mother's claws safe for thirty-three years, waiting for this moment. I didn’t tell them everything she told me, if there was someone actually that was going to betray me, it would be amongst them and if I tell them what she said it would keep them at alert and I couldn't afford that now. "She loved me," I said simply. "She chose me. Willingly. Knowing what it would cost her."The priest nodded, tears pooling in his old eyes. "Elena was the strongest among us. Not in power, but in love. In courage.""It was her wish. Her final gift to you." He bent slowly an

CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT

ADDISON Jules's apartment had been comforting for a while, but eventually I'd needed to go home. To my own space. To think.Or more accurately, to obsess over Axel while pretending I wasn't obsessing over Axel.I'd barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that dream again. Axel surrounded by danger. Those glowing eyes in the darkness. The overwhelming sense that something was terribly wrong.By morning, I was exhausted and wired and desperately needed coffee.Real coffee. The good kind from the café three blocks away, not the instant stuff I had in my apartment.I threw on jeans and a sweater, pulled my hair into a messy bun, and grabbed my keys. The morning was cool and grey, threatening rain but not quite delivering on it.The street was busy with the usual morning rush—people heading to work, joggers, dog walkers. Normal city sounds that should have been comforting.But I couldn't shake the unease that had been building since last night. Since that failed date. Since the s

CHAPTER SIXTY NINE

AddisonMy chest was tight, my heart racing so fast I thought it might explode. Water dripped from my hair down my face, mixing with tears I didn't even realize I was crying.Feign. It was Feign.He was here. Right in front of me. Smiling that horrible smile."What's wrong, Addy?" he asked, his voice mockingly sweet. "You look like you've seen a ghost."I tried to speak, but my throat was closed up with fear. All I could manage was a choked sound."Oh, right. Still all groggy from the sedative." He stood up, walking around my chair in a slow circle. "Don't worry, that'll wear off soon. I want you fully conscious for this. I want you to understand what's happening and for what I would do to this gorgeous body of yours, I missed it you know, so much. " He trailed his hands over my shoulder, and I could feel every nerve in my body curl in disgust.What's happening? Oh God, what was happening?I was tied to a chair in some dark room with my psychotic ex-boyfriend who'd just kidnapped me o

CHAPTER SEVENTY

AxelI tried to tell myself it was just anxiety. Just my own paranoia because I couldn't check my phone, couldn't get updates, couldn't confirm that Addison was safe.But the feeling wouldn't go away."—which is why we believe you are the natural choice to lead House Orion into the next generation," one of the elders was saying. An ancient wolf named Theron who looked like he'd been alive since the Bronze Age.I forced my attention back to the meeting, even though I wanted to be literally anywhere else."You want me to what?" I asked, my voice flat.Theron blinked, clearly surprised I hadn't been hanging on his every word. "We're offering you the position of Supreme Alpha. Leader of House Orion. It's a great honor—""No."The single word cut through the room like a blade. Several elders shifted uncomfortably."Perhaps you should hear the full proposal before—" another elder started."I said no." I leaned back in my chair. "Is there anything else? Or can I leave now?""Axel," Silas sai

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