None of us knew what to say. There was every chance what she was saying could be a lie, yet I felt the truth of her words deep within my bones. Now that she had revealed herself, I realized I recognized her name. Many years ago, before our father was killed in battle, he had sat me and my brother’s
Anastasia Alpha Caius went still, recognizing my words as the ones that had fallen from his lips not that long ago. His brothers also quieted, drinking in the tension that pulsed between us. I hadn’t meant to hurl his insult back at him, but Ziva had insisted. He took a step, towering over me as
Oh, he was pissed. I could practically taste his rage. Confessing to spying on them was necessary, though. He clearly needed a reminder of why we were entering this engagement. Now I just needed to throw him off when it came to my ability. “You expect me to believe you evaded Ghost with super speed
AnastasiaI signed the contract on the drive into the city.Much like Alpha Caius himself, it was rather straightforward. Believe me, I combed through the entire thing. A brute he may be, but he was still smart.We’d spend a few months showcasing our dates to the public eye, playing as though we act
“Why do you wear it?”“Why did you run away from your pack?” He replied.I flicked my hair over my shoulder and snorted, “Thought you said you didn’t care.”“I don’t.”“You cared enough to ask though.” I pointed out, earning a death glare in response. The topic of Jayden Warner wasn’t something I wa
I grabbed a short, forest green dress with a low-cut front and made my way to the dressing room. Alpha Caius looked up from his phone, which he’d been tapping away at for the past hour, and grimaced.“I expect you to show me everything you’ve chosen so I can ensure it’s appropriate.”Appropriate? I’
AnastasiaHe craned my head back, tightening his grip on my airway until my head began to swim pleasantly. I took note of how his legs were positioned, one slightly placed between my own.A smirk curled at my lips. He stood the way he did on purpose to keep me from kneeing him in the balls.“If you
The crack, crack, crack of bullets sounded as the people in the car started firing off rounds. Judging from the men that attacked me, I think it was safe to assume they were using silver plated bullets.As they rounded the corner, barreling onto the street, Alpha Caius was flung off the hood. He hit
The healer arrived then, knocking softly on the door. I didn’t pay them any mind as they entered, or as they touched around my forehead with cold fingers. My mind was lost, replaying Caius’s words.Once the healer left, taking with them my throbbing headache, I took a slow, steady breath and looked
AnastasiaCaius’s jaw clenched, his eyes flashing dangerously. A crack of thunder sounded from outside. “I should have torn them apart,” he growled, his voice low and menacing.I shrugged, trying to maintain my nonchalant facade. Caius’s rage was like being swept away in a storm. “You didn’t know. B
I watched in utter bewilderment as his face slowly transformed into a grin.“You steal my shirt, interrupt my hangover, and now you’re making jokes?”At some point we must’ve made it to his office, because he nudged open the door and stepped inside all without jostling my coffee. The retort died in
AnastasiaI had done an excellent job of avoiding Caius all morning. Or so I thought.Once Evangeline went home, I froze time long enough to make a mad dash downstairs. The throbbing in my head was relentless. Every werewolf knew magic and alcohol did not mix, but most of us were too stubborn to lis
“I’m doing this because I’m a good person,” I announced, purely because I was becoming more and more intoxicated, and I needed to remind myself why I shouldn’t go through with Evangeline’s revenge plot. This felt like the simplest reason. “Hype me up before I do something I’ll regret, and we both kn
AnastasiaEvangeline’s eyes shimmered with mischief. “I have a fun fact for you. The Windsor family spent upwards of 1.4 million dollars in PR firms, cybersecurity experts, and legal teams. They staged a scrub that spanned the globe, Ana. That takes money and power. It’s like CIA level shit. I’m tal
“Blackwell adventures.” As we descended into laughter, neither of us commented on the undertone of sadness in our voices, or how it fell upon the room like a dark shroud.I leaned back against the headboard and searched through the snippets of my memory. “There was something else. At one point the h
Anastasia“I’m a coward, aren’t I?” I brought my knees up to my chest with a huff. The bruises peppered along my body had healed long ago, but still I felt the phantom ache, the incessant reminder, of what had happened between Caius and I in that forest.I swore it was the mark playing tricks on me,
“This entire thing is incredibly barbaric,” I whisper-hissed. “They didn’t let me clean myself, as I’m sure you and everyone else know.”Radiating an air of pure smugness, Caius leaned down and murmured in my ear. “Because I ordered them not to.”As if on cue, an upbeat melody drifted through the ai