Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

DERRICK Her hands dropped, and she reached for the washcloth.Without a word, she started to scrub herself.The mood had shifted completely.Maybe the realization was finally settling in that things would never return to the way they had been before the visit to the witch.The vision flashed before my eyes, making my skin feel sticky with phantom blood once more.Killing as a wolf was something I had done.Killing as a human was nothing new either.But this twisted anguish in my gut was different.Never before had taking a life left me with such crushing regret.This was the burden Amira Kingsley carried every time she closed her eyes.Washing off the day wasn't her only goal in the wash chamber tonight.She was trying to scrub away her own history.When she emerged from the wash chamber, she was fully dressed."Sorry," she murmured. "I didn't expect to see you in the bed.""Where else would I be?"She prowled around the edge of the room, glancing at me warily before finally stopping

AMIRA It wasn't a lie. I knew the name. I just hadn't known the face until now.Ronan had every reason to stay alert after hearing she had come here.This was the woman everyone wished I was. The woman everyone wanted standing beside Derrick as his mate.People had talked about her for a long time. Back when I worked in the kitchen, I heard the staff whisper her name whenever I was close enough to listen. They talked about how beautiful she was. They said she looked perfect with Derrick. They wanted me to hear them. They wanted me to feel jealous.Back then, I didn't care about being Derrick's mate.Now, it turned out I cared a lot more than I wanted to admit."It's nice to meet you, Astrid. I'm Amira, though I've noticed I don't really need an introduction."A relaxed smile stayed on my face as I reached out and took the application from her.It was a quiet move to remind her whose office this was.Both of us already knew she would never end up working for me."If you have a litt

AMIRA We joined Damien Holloway at one of the tables. Ronan could have worked from another table without any problem, but he chose the seat between us instead. Then he turned his chair toward Damien and watched him without looking away. It was clear he wanted Damien to know he was being watched. The quiet and relaxed talk I had hoped for disappeared before it even started."Derrick must have thought the world had gone crazy when his mate turned out to be Rowan Kingsley's daughter," Damien said with a quiet laugh. "Part of me wishes I had been there to see his face.""You and Derrick didn't get along?" I asked."He was my alpha," Damien answered. "I gave him my loyalty while I lived under him. When I told him I wanted to leave, he understood and let me go. There's no bad blood between us. I'm thankful he's letting me stay here as long as he is."He paused and shrugged."But he's always been serious. That's the kind of alpha he has to be. He wears that face because everyone expects

DERRICK It bothered me more than I wanted to admit.Not in the same way Amira’s friendship with Ronan bothered me, but it still sat under my skin, quiet and steady, refusing to leave.Ronan was still someone I didn’t fully understand. Too many parts of him were still closed off to me, still forming into something I could read properly.Damien was different.I had known him before he left. Before everything changed. Back then, trust between us had been simple. He had never given me a reason to question him, never made me doubt where he stood.The mate bond could be a cruel thing like that.Even worse when the other side didn’t feel it at all.“Thank you,” Damien said softly.His voice was calm, but there was something careful in it too. Like he already understood too much without needing it explained.His eyes stayed on me for a moment longer than necessary.“You’re about to take her away, aren’t you?”“I am.”There was a reason I had come to the restaurant to take Amira.A clear

AMIRA As we walked closer, an SUV pulled into the driveway. One of the guards at the house moved forward and opened the door for the passengers.A slim woman stepped out first. An older woman followed her.The first woman looked almost too delicate to be an alpha. Her salt-and-pepper hair was curled and pinned neatly at the top of her head. She wore a red pantsuit that fit her in a sharp, precise way.For a moment, an odd thought came to me. She was the kind of woman I might want to become one day. Calm. Put together. Effortless.But that feeling didn’t last.There was power in her. Not loud. Not open. It sat under her skin, steady and controlled.Violence, held back carefully. Hidden behind elegance.This was the woman who once threatened to kill a child.And still, she hadn’t gone through with it.“Derrick,” she said coldly as soon as she looked at him. “You kept me waiting.”Derrick Nightfang didn’t react much. His voice stayed even.“You arrived without notice,” he said. “We d