All Chapters of The Counterfeit Mate: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Jason POV: Todd, Todd, Todd.I drop on the grass in a low crouch. I raise my head into the dark air and freeze."Todd?"Todd grins down at me in the moonlight. "Alpha Jason?"The young boy watches me with an amused squint in his eyes. I stare back at him, wondering if he's going to scream. He won't. "I thought I heard someone creeping around near my sister's room. I just wanted to be sure," he says. I look past him at the empty street. He is alone. I stand up slowly and brush the dirt and dry grass off my palms. "You should be in bed," I say. "Yeah, I guess I should be, too.""But you're the Alpha," Todd points out, tilting his head."Exactly," I say, with a small smile. "And you know why I was up there in your sister's room . . .""Are you sleeping with my sister?""What? Sleeping?" I frown, shaking my head. "Of course not. I'd still be up there right now if that were the case. Now, Todd, get back inside. I should be on my way.""Did she tell you?" he asks suddenly.I pause, turni

Jason POV: He Is Caught In The Middle "Calm down, Jason," my father, Alpha Trevor, says, gesturing toward a chair. "It had to be done.""It had to be done!" I yell, my eyes blazing. "Dad, am I still the Alpha of this pack or not?!"Councilman Heap Lasher clears his throat. He offers a placating hand. He says, "Alpha Jason, we advise you to tread carefully on this issue. We have a dead shaman on our hands. We have a confirmed case of dark magic, too—""And I just told you Florence is innocent of both!" I snap, my voice pleading and furious at the same time. "This is insane! And you allowed them to take her away from our territory without my permission?!"My father sighs. His shoulders sag. "This is beyond us now, son. These are direct orders from the Royal House."I look between my father and Heap Lasher, anger roaring in my ears.Lasher had walked into the estate, followed closely by my father. Lucio had shaken me awake around 11 o'clock, and I had bolted upright in bed with a sudde

Jason POV: A Parley At PlayHe's not alone. Another warrior steps out from the shadows and falls in beside Shawn. Both look fit to take my head off. Todd may not supposed to be in Irene's room all the time. But he's right about one thing: these dudes look ready to go to battle with me. My Alpha aura begins to hum underneath my skin. And my inner wolf thrashes against his shackles in my core. Outwardly, I stare at the two of them calmly. "Shawn," I say. "Is everything alright? I heard Tony quit the program. Where is he?"Shawn glares at me, his jaw set in a hard line. I know the second warrior is a councilman's son."Hey, Edward," I say, turning to him. "What's going on here? Where is everyone?""They left for the day," Shawn says, his voice toneless."That's bad. I wanted to have a word with the unit.""Alpha Jason,” says Edward, “the men aren't happy with you.""What is that supposed to mean? Shawn, where's Tony?""He quit," Shawn snaps. "And more will quit if you continue to look

Florence POV: Out Of The Dungeons Meanwhile, Sally is choking in Jason's grip. Her bloodshot eyes are bulging out of her head as she claws at his sinewy hand.Jason's face appears between the bars, and for a second, we simply gape at each other. Slowly, his grip loosens around Sally's neck until he finally releases her. Sally crashes on her thick knees, retching and coughing and gasping for air.The other women in the cell shrink back from the terrifying spectacle. From the larger-than-life figure standing outside our door."It's not possible . . ." one of them mumbles, her voice shaking."Is that him?" another whispers. "It can't be him . . . can it?"There are other figures standing in the dim hallway behind Jason, but they don't matter to me. I slowly push myself up from the cold floor. My bruised knees throb with pain, but I push through it. I sit on the cot, my eyes lashed to Jason's leans face between the bars. The joy of seeing him slowly fades and I begin to simmer at the me

Florence POV: Lucio Brings Flowers Two people are standing on the porch when we arrive at the house. My dad and Susie. My dad looks smaller around the shoulders, as if he's been shrinking himself. He doesn't move. I stare at him, my heart aching at how much stress he must be under. But then, he's not innocent. He let happen all the events that led to me being framed for murder and the use of magic. Susie covers her mouth with both hands the moment I step out of Isobel's car. The next second, she’s running down the steps and wrapping her arms around me in a tight, breathless embrace. She cries softly against my shoulder, her body trembling."I didn't know what to do," she moans, her voice muffled. "It happened so fast. Next thing I heard, you were just . . . gone.""I'm back," I mutter, wrapping my bruised arms around her. "I'm back, Susie.""Thank God," she whispers. She pulls back to look at my face. We both laugh fondly at each other. She lets go of me, and I look at my dad. Ev