The two women locked gazes for a long time, nothing but silence passing between them, their eyes challenging the other to give in first. Mary was deciding the best action to take. She and Belinda were nothing more than distant acquaintances, so when she'd received a text on her Facebook asking to meet up, she'd known it wasn't just to chat. But this was outrageous. Leaning back into her chair, she crossed her arms over her chest once again.
"Even if you are right, and I somehow bear a grudge against Cecily for something that supposedly took place when we were children, why would I dig up something that has long been buried?" Mary asked.At that moment, Belinda softened her countenance. "People must have told you it was a long time ago, that you should give it up, but I'm assuming it still feels like yesterday to you. I might be wrong, but I believe I'm right."It was the opposite, actually. Everyone around Mary had yet to forgive the Chicago Pack foThe keys to her room in hand, Belinda walked up the stairs of the motel she'd been staying at for the past week. In her opinion, the meeting with the Luna of the San Francisco Pack had gone pretty well. Despite still feeling skeptical, Mary had been more open to the idea of going against the Chicago Pack by the end of the encounter. She'd asked for time to consult her husband and father, promising to call in a week's time. Belinda would have preferred an answer immediately, but she could wait. It just meant more time at this crappy motel. She could manage that; the place was cheap. On stepping onto the second floor, Belinda spotted the last person she'd expected to see leaning on her room's door. Marcus straightened up on noticing her, his fist fixed in his jeans pocket. "Madam. You've finally arrived." He sarcastically bowed his head. Belinda was not in the mood for jokes, however. "How did you find me?" She snapped at him. Marcus gingerly lifted an eyebrow. "Do you really
Cecily marched up the stairs of the Knight family villa, the sound of her heels carrying across the anger she was feeling. She headed straight to the attic, which served as the servant's quarters, pushing the door open with far more strength than necessary. Martha and Mrs Brown jerked up from their beds, the sound of the door slamming on the wall awakening them. They wondered why the young mistress was here this early in the morning, but Cecily didn't bother to explain herself. Marching straight to Martha, she grabbed the girl's hair and pulled her off the bed. "You thought I wouldn't find out, didn't you?" Cecily raged. "Who else would have the balls to do something so stupid?" Writhing on the floor, Martha attempted to pull her hair out of Cecily's grip, but the werewolf was much too strong for her. Cecily yanked her hair more forcefully, causing her to scream out in pain. "I always knew you couldn't be trusted. It'
As early as 10 in the morning, Lexie met with Cecily, sitting across her at a table in the Knight villa's garden. Cecily seemed to be at ease, casually sipping her tea without a care in the world, but Lexie just couldn't calm herself down. A meeting with the alpha's sister was not at all a regular occurrence, and a thousand and one reasons were running through her head as to what had brought about this special occasion. Had all her efforts last night been a waste? She'd taken extra care to disguise herself, sneaking into the party wearing a blond wig and a dress she would have never worn otherwise. Had Cecily somehow found out she'd been the one to share that offensive video to the guests? Lexie couldn't tell. So, for the time being, she pasted a smile on her face and pretended all was well. "Did you call me here to book a photoshoot session?" She chirped giddily. "I mostly work as a paparazzi, but I can pull off amazing photogra
On ending the call with Lexie, Belinda sighed, pushing her phone into her shorts pocket. Really, she was tired, but matters that needed her attention just kept popping up. The unreasonable argument earlier this morning had drained her, the same as the many rounds of sex they'd had after that. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to sleep, but there was yet another issue she had to attend to. Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to the Lycan's study. Draven sat at his cushioned office chair, deeply focused on a book spread open on his desk. Belinda had to knock on the already open door for him to look up at her. She didn't hold his attention for long though, as his gaze immediately dropped back to the desk. "Yes?" Draven asked while he read his book. "A friend of mine is in a bit of a fix. I was wondering if there was any work for her to do around here. A place to sleep, maybe?" "It's a skyscraper. There's always
Marcus hurried the corridor, dragging along Lexie who struggled to keep up. His legs were much longer than hers, so she had to take two steps at a time or risk stumbling. He finally stopped at the end of the hallway, right in front of the entrance to the restroom. "Don't move a muscle." He ordered sternly before rushing away. Lexie tried to obey his command, but her facial muscles wouldn't stop twitching. She was weighing the pros and cons of making a run for it. If she moved quickly enough, she could make it to the ground floor in about two minutes, and be out of the main doors in an instant. Before she could put her plan into motion, however, Marcus returned, a toilet brush in one hand, and a bucket in the other. He pushed both cleaning apparatuses into her hands. "Scrub every toilet. Wipe every surface. Mop every floor." As though he was speaking to a child, Marcus listed out the instructions slowly. He then pointe
“Good day, all. I am Mary Vaughn-Hamilton, daughter of Gerald Vaughn, Alpha of the Phoenix Pack, but some may know me as the Luna of the San Francisco Pack. Before drafting this message, I battled with myself, because I was unsure if it was the best thing to do. It is now clear to me that I should never have allowed myself to be silenced. My story deserves to be heard. On the 24th of August, 2014, at Camp PineGrove for Female Werewolves, I was assaulted by Cecily Knight and poisoned with wolfsbane. The end result was the death of my wolf. Granted, the incident may have been intended to be a harmless prank among children, but it is the Chicago Pack's attitude towards the matter that is truly appalling. They have failed to take responsibility for the action of one of their own, neither apologizing nor attempting to set things right. I have come to terms with the fact I will never be a full werewolf again, but how can we function as a society if one pack believe
“Hello, I'm someone who attended high school with Cecily Knight. She was beautiful, fashionable, and bossy, so of course she was popular. And that popularity she used to bully others. Rather than study for exams and do her homework like everybody else, she intimidated others into doing everything for her. Those who refused had to endure her wrath till they graduated. I wasn't personally bullied by Cecily, but I know people who were unjustly punished, suffered depression, or even had to transfer, all because of her. She truly is a horrible person. —RedBurritoGirl” Pulling the rubber gloves off her hands, Lexie threw them into the bucket, where she'd deposited other cleaning tools. Standing akimbo, she looked around at the female's restroom, nodding proudly at her work. She was done for the day. Humming a tune she'd heard on the radio, she carried the bucket into the janitor's closet. On coming out, she met Marcus waiting for her. Ever since t
In the back seat of the black Lamborghini limousine, Cecily sat beside her mother, dressed in a red evening dress exclusively ordered from Dolce&Gabbana. This was not her first time attending the Summer Solstice Convention, as she'd been going since she was 18. This time, however, she was nervous. Sucking in a deep breath, she clasped her fingers to stop it from shaking. There was no need to fear, she told herself. She was beautiful, expensively dressed, and part of the alpha family of the Chicago Pack. The convention would go like always—with other alpha daughters fawning over her. "Now listen up." Paul, who sat across her, leaned forward to wag a warning finger. "Once we arrive at the hotel, you will be on your best behavior. There will be no whining, no rudeness, and definitely no causing a scene. Understood?" Cecily shot daggers at her brother and he doubled down on her. "Understood?" Folding her arms below her breasts, Cecily her narr
Belinda's blacked-out mind gave way to consciousness, and the first thing she became aware of was the merciless throbbing In her forehead. Her entire body ached, as though her nerves were fighting a battle against her—and winning. Instinctively, she tried to find a position that was not so uncomfortable, but she felt like a log—too heavy and stiff to move. She realized then that despite her eyes being open, all she could see was pitch black. Her guess was that she was blindfolded, judging by the slight pressure around the diameter of her head, but she couldn't be sure. When she attempted to lower her hands to check, however, she met resistance. Without sight or mobility, Belinda had only intuition to use to assess her situation. She deduced that she was being pinned to a wall, both her hands held high above her head with handcuffs. Her bottom sat on a cold concrete floor, the dew on the surface seeping into her shorts and soaking it. She was alone, as far as she could tell, and in a
Draven never locked his doors, because every living being in the building knew to never disturb him without being summoned first. The only exclusion was his Beta, who he'd grown quite fond of over the decades. That privilege did not yet extend to his Beta's son and successor. The boy knew that, yet he walked through the front doors of the penthouse uninvited. And what was worse, he'd brought company. Dropping all he was doing, Draven leaned back into his chair, waiting for the trio to arrive. They found him soon enough, halting in front of his office's door. A soft knock sounded a second later, but the show of courtesy did little to lighten his mood. "May we come in, my lord?" Marcus' clear voice rang from behind the door. "You seem to have already come to a conclusion on that." The annoyance wasn't lost in Draven's reply. It should have been to scare them off, to give them the hint that he was not in the mood to entertain any guests. Yet, the wood swung open, ushering thr
Derek returned home well into the night, way past the customary 5 pm. He was newly discovering that a CEO working hard to revive his company was no easy job, and it often left him drained after a long day. Tonight, he heaved a sigh as he removed his suit blazer and pulled off his tie. As he stepped deeper into his apartment, however, he realized that his housemate's scent was way too faint, meaning she wasn't home. That made Derek frown, especially as to how late the hour was. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, absentmindedly strolling into his kitchen as he prepared to call her. That was when his eyes caught a piece of paper pinned onto his counter by a pan. He instinctively picked it up and went through it. “... wish for my own privacy...would appreciate if you respect my wishes.”Anger coursed through Derek at the words in the note. Like hell Belinda had moved out because she wanted “privacy”! She was simply locking him out again. Damn it, she hadn't even had the guts to
After closing the door behind her, Belinda gazed ahead at the room she would now be staying in till further notice. It wasn't the most luxurious quarters, but that was the thing about second-rate hotels—they were just below perfect and affordable.Dragging her luggage along, she advanced deeper into the room. She randomly deposited her bags on the floor and moved onto the bed. The soft mattress jerked as she plopped her bottom onto it, her mind too far gone to notice the bounce. Absentmindedly, she picked up the remote and switched on a channel. Although she gazed at the screen, she was not watching the TV program playing. She was thinking about too many things at once. Slipping out of Derek's apartment had been easy. As the other went to work early in the morning and came back late in the evening, she'd been able to pack her bags and leave without him realizing. She wasn't exactly running away. She'd left a piece of paper on the counter with her new address, which also specified the
"I've got a solution for all our problems." The proud declaration did not have the effect thought it would. Paul simply stared dead on at her, his flat expression displaying anything but curiosity. Georgina was no better. She did not appear irritated like her son, but her look was anything but impressed. "And what is that, dear?" Her tone was patient and indulging, like she was talking to a child she did not expect to say anything meaningful, but let him speak nonetheless. It annoyed Cecily senseless, but she forced herself to get past her anger. Pushing her chin even hire, she said, with just enough confident arrogance. "We trace the problem back to the source, and that's Belinda." "Moon goddess help me." The groan came from Paul. He rolled his eyes upward, praying to the deity above to grant him patience, because he was on the verge of committing murder. "Can you—for once in your life—not make everything about yourself and your crazed beliefs?" He snapped once he jud
Cecily was frustrated. She screeched, stomping her foot repeatedly like a child going through a tantrum. Her plan to spy on her stepsister to prove that she was the source of all their family's problems had gone to shit. Actually, she hadn't been spying on Belinda at all. She'd struck gold the first day she'd followed that omega paparazzi. However, neither she nor Belinda had done anything suspicious throughout their meet-up. When they'd separated, Cecily had naturally switched to following Belinda, but she'd lost her. Cecily neither knew where Belinda was staying, nor where she frequented. So, she'd been forced to revert to her original plan, waiting outside the skyscraper for Lexie. She'd tailed the latter for ever since, but was yet to spot her best friend. As a last resort today, she'd returned to the bank, and had crossed her fingers, praying that her target would show. No such luck. Why was the entire universe against her? Cecily screamed again. Why did everything have to go w
He knew him very well? Derek found himself feeling confused for the first few seconds. Then it hit him—this was not the first time he was coming face to face with the King of Alphas. Indeed, he'd met the Lycan not once but twice. The first being that faithful day he'd followed Belinda to this very building, and confronted her after recently recovering from his rejection. The Lycan had caught them in a very compromising position, and there had been no mistaking the fury in his eyes and he warned Derek off his mistress. The latter had ignored the directive, and had gotten Belinda into an accident. Another dreaded meeting had occurred. Heat rose Derek's neck, but not as much as alarm bells rang in his head. Somewhere in between the crazy events of the past months, he'd forgotten these encounters. He might be very well standing in front of a man who was out for his blood—a very powerful man at that. That couldn't be helpful to his cause. "I apologize for that time—I didn't intend B
A knock resounded in the small but organized study and to it, Draven replied, "Come in." With the scent wafting into the room, he already knew who the visitor was, and he had only given one person permission to come up to the penthouse. A man entered the office a beat later, bowing low before closing the door behind him. "My lord." The man greeted with worshipful respect. He was tall and quite bulky, with gleaming brown skin ripped around bulging muscles. However, behind his gruff exterior was a highly intelligent man, who could be subtle when he wanted. And that was why Draven had assigned him to this particular task. Pausing what he had been doing, the Lycan propped his pen between the pages of his open book. He leaned back into his chair, his pose casual yet powerful, his focus zoning in on the man in front of him. "Well?" He probed flatly. With a solemn nod, Travis Jonahson went on to deliver his report, like he'd been doing for the past few weeks. "In the last week,
Belinda watched Derek through the large screen of the television. He looked handsome, in his pressed black suit and meticulously combed hair. He was standing on a podium with a microphone bent towards his mouth. Below the steady timbre of his voice, cameras clicked and voices murmured. Occasionally, when a reporter asked a question, the screen switched to their faces, their viciousness masked in polite curiosity. They were baiting him... waiting for him to say the wrong thing. "You say the former CEO of Knights & Co. retired due to personal grievances. Do these grievances have anything to do with his recent multiple scandals? Or does he consider himself no longer fit to lead?" Derek waited a while before replying, clearly measuring the answer he was to give. "The former CEO is a competent leader who has dedicated himself to Knights & Co. for years. The decision to step down was a difficult one, but he believes it is time to usher the company into a new age." More reporters made