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
Owen blinked at me, his brow furrowing. “Huh?”“I hate your parents,” I added, just to make sure he knew. “My mommy says your daddy is a bad man, so I hate you too!”For a second, he didn’t say anything. I thought maybe he was mad or scared. Then he looked at me with big, dark eyes like a rabbit and
Lauren's POV The airport was a whirlwind of movement, families reuniting, announcements echoing through the halls, and Abigail’s laughter cutting through the noise like a warm breeze. As soon as Liam stepped through the arrival gate, her tiny frame shot forward, a bundle of excitement and curls.
He hesitated, giving me that unreadable stare for a beat, but eventually, he nodded. I smirked, feeling victorious as I led him to the porch. I pulled a pair of scissors from a drawer inside the cabin, because, you know, a girl has her tools.Gesturing for him to sit on the steps, I strutted behind
SophiaThe sun hung low in the sky, casting a golden hue over the clearing as I stood before the sorry excuse for a garden that had become my latest torment. The once-neat rows were now a tangled mess of overgrown weeds and wilting plants, mocking my every attempt at cultivation. I huffed, wiping a
He didn’t respond, which was starting to piss me off. The nerve. The audacity.I narrowed my eyes, slapping the mud from my eyes. “I don’t care why you’re running! You do not just appear out of nowhere and make me fall into the mud! Do you understand me?”Nothing. Not a damn word.I clenched my fist
SophiaThe cabin was far too quiet. The silence gnawed at my nerves, making the flickering candlelight cast shadows that seemed to mock me.I wrapped my hands tighter around my teacup, the porcelain delicate against my fingers, but even the warmth of it couldn't soothe the simmering rage boiling in
He had that smirk, that look of superiority that made my blood boil, much taller then us, looming with the other smirking teens. His eyes locked on Owen.“I don’t care if you're the Alpha’s kids,” he sneered. “You’re not one of us.”I stood up straight, my fists clenched so tight my knuckles cracked
AbigailThe air smelled different tonight—sharper, like the kind of cold that only comes with a storm, or maybe just my terrible sense of smell. I don’t know, maybe I was just nervous.Okay, definitely nervous.Everything felt way too big tonight, like the forest clearing and the pack were all audit
I stopped, knowing Mark had it so much worse with a sigh.Mark just shrugged, his shoulders rising and falling, a simple gesture that said everything and nothing at once. He didn’t understand it either. He’d never get it. I’d never get it. No one did.I leaned back a little, staring up at the moon a
OwenThe night was heavy, thick with the scent of rain that hadn’t fallen yet, hanging in the air like it was waiting for something to break. I could feel the humidity sticking to my skin, the soft kind of heat that you couldn’t shake off.Up here, on the roof, everything felt different. The world b
“Couldn’t sleep, huh?” he said, offering me a drink before I could even ask. “Long day?”I didn’t take the drink. Instead, I leaned against the counter, crossing my arms, staring at him. “You wanna tell me what the hell you’re up to, Liam?”He raised an eyebrow, leaning back a little, clearly amused