“I know,” I said quietly. “But right now, all I have is Abigail. I can’t lose her. Not after—” I stopped myself, the words too painful to say. Not after I lost everything.Daphne sighed, her expression softening. She knew what I meant. She didn’t need me to finish. “You’re not going to lose her, Lau
AlexanderI was already pacing, the tension in my chest coiling tighter with every second—Owen had slipped away again.My voice cut through my office like a whip. “How does a five-year-old outsmart an entire security team? Again?”The bodyguards flinched, eyes darting to the floor. Pathetic. My gaze
Lauren wasn’t here.I swept the room again, my senses on high alert, the scent I’d been chasing still faintly in the air. It was hers—unmistakably Lauren’s—but it was fading. She’d been here, and she was gone.I strode toward the table, my gaze narrowing. “Where’s the woman who called me?” I demande
Lauren's POVThe world seemed to tilt slightly on its axis when Daphne rushed toward me, her face pale and her voice trembling with urgency.“Hey, girl! Something’s wrong!” she said, clutching my arm. “I just took Abigail out of the bathroom, and I saw Alexander coming into the mall with a group of
I felt the familiar weight settle on my chest, heavier now that the words had been spoken aloud. I nodded stiffly, my throat too tight to speak.Daphne’s face contorted like she’d bitten into a lemon—equal parts disbelief and pity.“Wait, you’re telling me you’re taking care of his kid? For this cas
Lauren's POVThe office was suffocating, the air thick with unspoken words and tension I couldn’t bring myself to confront. I wanted to leave, to vanish from the shadow of his penetrating gaze, but time had other plans. The director excused himself without a second thought, leaving me alone with Ale
How…dare he.I yanked myself away, my palm connecting with his cheek in a slap that echoed in the silence. His head snapped to the side, his breathing ragged, but the look in his eyes was anything but defeated.“Don’t you ever—” My voice shook, my chest heaving with the effort to steady myself. “Don
Abigail's POVMommy wasn’t smiling. That’s how I knew something was wrong. Mommy always smiled, even when she was tired or when I accidentally spilled juice on her papers. But today, her lips were all flat, and her eyes looked sad, like when I broke my favorite doll and she couldn’t fix it.I sat on
Worst of all, he was right.A sickening wave of guilt crashed over me. It wasn’t about him. It was me—my own weakness. The way I’d let everything spiral out of control, let myself be influenced and now…I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of every unspoken word lodged in my throat. My lips parted,
Lauren Liam left with all the dramatics of a man who knew exactly how to piss off Alexander. A slow, taunting exit, the ghost of a smirk on his face like he had won something. He even had the audacity to wink.The second the door clicked shut, I felt it—the air shifting. Heavy. Charged.My head was
“Well, don’t you two look cozy,” Liam mused, his eyes flicking between us before landing squarely on me. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to wake up.”“Liam,” Alexander growled, already swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Get out.”“Sorry, can’t,” Liam said smoothly. “Business.”
LaurenPain.That was the first thing I registered. A dull, aching soreness that settled deep in my muscles like I had run a marathon, fought a war, and then been hit by a truck for good measure. My body felt...off. Like I wasn’t quite put together right, like my bones didn’t fit inside my skin prop
But she didn’t.Her teeth sank even deeper, and the pain spiked, blinding me for a moment. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog, my body thrashing beneath her, trying to free myself without breaking her apart in the process.But it wasn’t enough.Her jaw deepened it’s hold on me, and I knew in a
AlexanderThe moment we hit the tree line, I shifted, my body snapping, twisting, reshaping in a way that should be painful but wasn’t. A familiar rush of heat, the pull of instinct taking over, and suddenly I was running on all fours—massive, powerful, my black fur blending into the night.Beside m
AlexanderThe moment I stepped into the clearing, I knew something was wrong.Lauren’s scent was thick in the air, but beneath it—beneath the sweat, the earth, the raw, electric energy—there was pain.And then I heard her scream.The sound gutted me.“What the hell is going on?” My voice boomed as I
LaurenThe first thing I noticed when I woke up was warmth.The kind that sinks deep into your bones, the kind that lingers in the air, making it thick and heavy. My body ached in a way that left no room for confusion, and when I shifted slightly, the soreness between my legs confirmed what my hazy
Then Theo nudged me, near out of breath. “Hey, if things go south, you’re our distraction.”I turned slowly. “Excuse me?”He shrugged. “You’d make the best bait. You’re the slowest!”“I am not!” I hissed.Owen rolled his eyes, shoving us both forward. “Focus on you’re feet you two!”“You’re so right