Matt Baker Vanessa Bulls Novels & Stories

"You really didn't know?" "Auntie, I swear I didn't know!" Vanessa blurted out, her voice getting louder with her guilt. What else am I supposed to say? That my best friend, who was my brother’s ex-fiancée, is now my Alpha’s mate? Vanessa thought, totally freaking out. When Ethan and Lila got back from their hockey promotional shoot, they found the Great Hall unusually lively. Ethan saw his mother, Lila, holding Vanessa’s hand, asking her something he couldn't quite catch.

Like she bel‌onge‍d‌ th‍⁠ere. “The woman‍ is identified as Van⁠‌e‍ss‌a Laurent,” the r‌⁠e‌porter con‍ti⁠nu⁠ed, “was rumor‍e⁠d‌ year‍s ago to have dated Liam Blackwell pri‌vat⁠e‍ly before dis‍appearin‌g from⁠ pu‌blic attention‌…”⁠ Ava immedi‌a⁠tely loo‌ked away. And she hated herself⁠ for react⁠ing at⁠ all.

The voice hit her before she reached them. Adrian leaned against one of the posts, arms crossed, his two closest friends at his side. Robert gave her a lazy grin she didn’t trust, while Mira only watched in silence, her grey eyes cool and unreadable. Lisa stopped. “I’m not late,” she said. Adrian tilted his head, pretending to consider it. “No? That’s funny. Could’ve sworn training started when everyone else got here.” A few nearby wolves laughed. Heat rose in Lisa’s face, but she forced herself not to react. “I was working.”

Like he was giving an assistant a routine task. Vanessa's head snapped up. Relief flooded her face, and her whole body loosened. She stepped behind Matt and peeked over his shoulder at me. The corner of her mouth curled up, not even trying to hide it. Her face practically said, 'See? You already lost. My fiancé will always pick me.' I ignored her and tilted my head at Matt. "What if I say no?" Before Matt could answer, Vanessa cut in. "Matt, look at her. Someone like her would do anything for money—"

Handsome too. "Can I help you?" Coach Vance’s voice boomed across the empty expanse, echoing off the rafters. He sounded very annoyed. I stepped up to the boards, pulling my helmet under my arm. "I'm Anastasia Volkov. I'm a transfer student. I'm here for the walk-on tryouts." A low murmur rippled through the girls on the bench. Standing at the front was a tall, fierce-looking player with her dark hair pulled into a tight, aggressive ponytail. Her jersey showed that she was the team captain. Her eyes raked over my gear with absolute disdain.

I looked at Vanessa leaning into his side, then at the black car waiting by the curb. “You should go.” Matteo frowned, as though my calm unsettled him more than anger would have. “Elena—” “Good night, Matteo.” Vanessa glanced back over his shoulder, and the smile in her eyes told me she had enjoyed every second of it. I watched their car disappear into traffic with one hand resting lightly over my still-flat stomach. Vanessa wanted the old worship back, and Matteo had handed it to her in public; I would not fight another woman for a title, a chair, a signet, or a man who had already shown me how easily all of them could be taken away.

No, this was about losing something that he thought he owned. Drake growled, and Samantha turned her head sharply in his direction. "All right, My Beast, don't start breathing fire. Cool heads need to prevail here." "Your Beast, huh?" Drake smirked. "Yeah. You're name is Drake. That's a dragon, you sounded like your were about to roar, you were definitely growling, I think if you get mad enough, you might just breathe fire. So, My Beast." Vulcan watched this by-play with a great deal of humor. The woman shouldn't know his friend that well. But, it seemed that she did, indeed know him, and know him well.

My mom says with the same beautiful fake practiced smile but it falls a little when she sees Jake and Emily. “Please tell me this girl is your bodyguard’s girlfriend.” My mom says in a friendly tone but I could hear the malice. “Mrs Williams.” “That’s not my name anymore.” My mom says rudely. What is her problem? “So can I call you ‘danika’s mother’?” Emily asks, innocently. “No. you may call me Mrs. Walts.”

The sound of dragon wings filled the air, the roar of beasts signaling the start of something far greater than anyone could predict. Vanessa took a breath and straightened her back. There was no going back now. If she was going to be the weapon, then she would wield it herself. To be continued...

“Not Ella. Everyone can see that now, Ella is too low for you, you’re the next Alpha, start acting like that.” Across the pool, Vanessa laughs loudly while a group of girls stand around her with drinks and peppered meats in their hands. She wears a small white bikini that barely covers her body, and her long dark hair falls down her back as she enjoys all the attention around her like she was made for moments like this. He looks in my direction and grins. “After the party,” he says, “Vanessa should move back into the pack house. That’s where she belongs, she’s the mother of your child.”