TABOO (A DEAL WITH THE SHADOW ALPHA) のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 61 - チャプター 70

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,

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

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

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

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