All Chapters of The Counterfeit Mate: Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

Florence POV: Whispering in the ShadowThe truck hasn't even come to a complete stop before I throw the door open and leap out onto the pavement."Come on, man! Wait!" Shawn yells after me, slamming his own door.I'm already running across the hospital parking lot, my heart pounding in my ears. Shawn catches up to me at the main entrance."Wait, Florence! Stop for a second!" I dash up the front steps before stopping on the landing to look at him. He takes a breath, his eyes serious. "Look, we have to be prepared for the worst case here.""You think he's dead," I say, my voice dropping."I'm not saying—""He's not dead." I turn and push through the double doors into the hospital.The ICU waiting area is loud and chaotic. It is crowded with nurses, doctors, and anxious families. Todd materializes from the crowd, looking exhausted."Have you seen Lucio?" I ask immediately, my eyes scanning the place."He's inside with the Alpha right now," Todd replies.I freeze. What Shawn said outsid

Jason POV: Shadows of the Past"I know." Isobel looks taken aback, her lips press together and a doubtful pucker in chin. I stare at her, my eyes narrowing as I wonder what kind of game she's playing and what she expects to gain from giving me this information."What did you think?" I ask coldly. "I'm not stupid, Isobel. I almost died out on that highway last night. And it was no accident. Someone rammed my car off the road."She glances nervously over her shoulder, checking the empty hallway. She looks at me. "Do you have any idea who it is?""Do you?" I ask her. She looks back up the corridor once more, her agitation rising. "We shouldn't be standing out in the open like this. We need to leave this place immediately.""I can't just leave," I say, leaning slightly against the wall as a throb of pain shoots through my side. "My wounds—""I'll take you to a secure location," Isobel interrupts, her tone urgent.I stare at her. Coming from Isobel, a "secure location" sounds suspicious

Florence POV: The Edge of TruthThe dark cornfields soon give way to dense thickets of trees. Minutes later, the tree line recedes, and a highway appears to my left.My wolf comes to a grinding stop, paws skidding through the dirt as a thick cloud of dust rises into the night air around me. Across the two-lane road sits a small weathered house. It glows faintly white under a star-filled, moonless sky. It is exactly as my wolf remembered it.Yes. This is the place. And with the sight of it, the memories of what happened here come rushing back.A faint light glows behind one of the front windows. Someone is inside. Who lives here now? Do they know the real story, too?I walk slowly across the empty highway. Somewhere deep in the woods behind me, distant yips of coyotes cut through the quiet. I pause and look over my shoulder.Lucio didn't follow me. I stopped to scent the wind twice on my run, but I couldn't pick up his trail anywhere. According to Lucio, the Redmoon Pack will fall toni

Florence POV: Together AgainDetective Joe South places the keys into Jason's hand with a solemn nod. "Call my cell if you need anything at all," he says.He nods, opens the door and leaves. Jason and me are left standing alone in the quiet apartment. It's a modest and cozy unit on the second floor of an old tenement building in the heart of the city.Jason puts the keys in his pocket. He looks at me. We stare at each other, the moment doesn't lose its awkwardness easily. After everything we've survived tonight, being alone in a silent room together feels strange."Joe said . . . Joe said there's food in the kitchen," I say, breaking the silence and heading for the small kitchen. "In case you're hungry. I can go make us som—"Jason reaches out and stops me with his hand on my belly. I suck and hold the next breath, unable to look up into his eyes.Slowly, tenderly, he turns me around until our bodies are facing each other, just inches apart. I look at the kitchen, as if that is enoug

Jason POV: The Price of SovereigntyI have no choice.Getting Florence out of this death trap is the only way to strip Lasher of his leverage. As long as she is within his reach, my hands are tied.Her terrified scream tears through the narrow alleyway as Siegfried’s big arm hauls me back. The seven-foot Imperator picks me off the floor and hurls me into the wall. The impact seem to shake the building. The wind is knocked out of my lungs. My head rings as wood and plaster crumble around me."Siegfried! Hey! Back off!" Lasher screams from the doorway.The beast pauses, its shoulders heaving as it huffs and puffs. Its hot breath reeks of decaying meat. It is hungry for a slaughter, its small, burning eyes glowers at me.I drag air into my aching lungs and push myself upright against the wall. I laugh breathlessly. Lasher levels the barrel of his gun at my forehead. His hand is trembling slightly. "You’ve failed, Lasher," I say, wiping a smear of blood from my lip. "Give up.""Sign th