All Chapters of THE WILD ROSE: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The alley narrowed around her, brick pressing in on either side as if the space itself had decided to close its teeth.Five figures at one end. Five at the other.Dirty, stinking, rogues.They simply stood there, watching her, waiting in a way that told her this had been decided long before she set foot into the trap.Rose let her gaze move over them slowly, counting without turning her head, reading the way they held themselves, the lack of discipline in their stance, the hunger that bled through every loose movement.One of them stepped forward, his grin crooked and careless, eyes lighting with recognition as he looked her over like she was already his.“This her?” he called, glancing back at the others. “This the one she wants us to kill?”A second voice answered from somewhere behind him, amused and ugly.“Yeah. That’s her. The one that dropped Bernie.”Rose’s fingers curled at her sides, her pulse settling instead of spiking as the pieces slid neatly into place.“Bad odds,” Rose

Kaelyn didn’t look back at the direction the inquisitors had fled, as if they had already ceased to exist the moment he had sent them away.“It would have been the fights,” he said, his manner easy, as if it were minor, not the fact she had just been hunted by inquisitors.Rose felt her anger shift inward.“What about the fights?”“I watched you,” he said. “You controlled your energy, but I saw it. Small, but enough to be noticed.”Her stomach tensed hard.“If I noticed it,” he continued, quieter now, “others would have.”The implication fell heavily between them.Luke stayed silent, but Rose could feel the force of his attention.Kaelyn didn’t linger on it.“We had plans,” he said instead.Rose blinked, thrown by the sudden turn of conversation.“My bike is here,” she replied, her manner brisk. “I’m not leaving it.”Kaelyn didn’t hesitate to take control of the situation.“Give the keys to Sebastian.”Her jaw set immediately.“I’m not just…”“Rose.”He didn’t raise his voice, but the

“How did you know I would be at the docks?” Rose asked, the thought catching up with her as they moved together beneath the low hum of music and candlelight.“I didn’t,” Kaelyn replied, his voice sure, unhurried. “The summit finished early, so I went to find you at Howl at the Moon. Ethan told me where you were.”Her gaze sharpened slightly.“And Bianca never thought to tell you?”His jaw shifted just enough for her to notice.“I never asked her,” he said, the words measured. “And I don’t want to talk about her. Not when I have you in my arms.”That should have annoyed her.Instead, something in her chest tightened.“You’re treating me like I’m someone special,” she said, studying him carefully, searching for something solid beneath everything he was showing her. “But you barely know me. How can any of this be real?”For a moment, he didn’t answer.His hand slid lower along her back, drawing her closer, and she let him, even as her pulse began to climb again.“I’ve been asking myself

The patrol car rolled to a stop outside Viv’s house, the engine cut, and the driver’s door opened.Detective Maxwell Stone stepped out. He reached back for a flashlight, already focused on the scene ahead.Why did it have to be him? The question burned in my mind.“We have had reports of a disturbance here,” he said finally.Viv moved forward before I could step in, her hands still shaking even though she was trying to hide it, her shoulders squared in that stubborn way of hers.Stone angled the beam of his flashlight toward the doorframe and stepped closer, crouching slightly as he ran his fingers along the splintered wood.He let out a low whistle.“Who or what in the hell did this?” he asked, not looking at her.I shifted just enough for Viv to catch my eye, letting the warning sit there without words.She hesitated for half a second, then spoke.“I didn’t get a good look,” she said, her voice steadier than it should have been. “It happened so fast, and I called my friends. They go

Morning didn’t ease in so much as drag me into it, kicking and screaming, my mood already foul and demanding coffee before I could even begin to deal with the world.My shoulder throbbed where Bianca’s teeth had sunk into me, the dull pulse refusing to fade, and I couldn’t help thinking the bitch was probably rabid, which meant I’d need Luke to tell me whether I needed a shot for anything more than my pride.I pushed myself upright, swung my legs over the side of the bed, and scrubbed a hand down my face as I let out a slow breath.“Yeah,” I muttered, my voice rough, “today’s going to be a mood.”By the time I made it out back, the edge had dulled just enough that I probably wouldn’t stab the first person who spoke to me, which was fortunate for Hurricane Hale, who had already claimed his usual spot on the edge of the porch like he had been there all night, a cigarette hanging loosely between his fingers as he watched the world with detached amusement.“You look like hell,” he said.“