I quickly lower my head and avert my eyes.Nice going Karin.I scold myself. It had taken me less than five minutes to destroy the only positive interaction we’d had since reconnecting.You have to st—oh…I purse my lips, noticing the growing bulge protruding through the towel. I look up at Ansel, and his eyebrows are knitted into a deep line. He looks like he wants to say something, but when he parts his lips, the growl of my stomach beats him to the punch.My cheeks redden and I cover my stomach out of embarrassment. “Sorry. I guess I’m a little hungry,” I say with a chuckle. He doesn’t laugh, and I rub my hand up and down my arm. “Can I have something to eat? Maybe salmon…and I don’t know…a strawberry milkshake?” The thought of a delicious meal makes me lick my lips. Ansel’s eyes darken slightly, and the redness of my cheeks increase.“Let me get dressed,” he says and retreats to the bathroom. After a bit of commotion, he reappears in a relaxed silk robe set. Parts of his brawny
Ansel’s eyes darkened to the blue of murky waters. I took a step back from the desk and watched his face contort into a snarl. “Of course. Do not be fooled by this arrangement. This is not personal, only business. I need an heir, and your surrogacy will provide me with one. What you do after the baby’s arrival is none of my concern.”The words stung worse than any amount of abuse I’d endured from the traffickers prior. Ada whimpered inside of me, and I sighed.“Now do you believe me?” I say to her, but she only whimpers again.I place the contract on the desk and pick up his pen. “Alright then, I accept,” I say as I sign. The pen is still warm to the touch, causing the corners of my mouth to turn up into a small smile. Years ago, Ansel’s illness left his fingers deathly cold, and I was always afraid that I would soon receive news of his passing. Waking up and rushing to make sure that he was alive had become as much of a routine for me as brushing my teeth.I remember wanting nothing
ANSEL POV“Well, go on, don’t keep me in suspense,” Aron coaxed on the edge of his seat.Ansel grumbled, “Two hard-ons aren’t really that big of a deal…”Aron's eyes almost popped from his head. “Two?! You’ve gone from months of nothing to now having two erections with the same woman at the source?!” He smirked. “Who is it, Ansel?”“Karin. She was the one I rescued from the dealers that night.”“K-Karin…as in your mate that—”“Rejected me,” Ansel finished for him, his jaw tightening. “That is correct, so again, don’t overthink it.”“I’m not. I’m just a little surprised. How does it feel having her back in your life?”“I feel no way about it.”“The whitening of your knuckles and snarl on your face says otherwise.” Ansel relaxed his hands and exhaled sharply. “I feel no way about it,” he repeated. “I do plan to use this for my benefit, however.”“How so?”“A surrogacy contract. She’s going to provide me an heir.”“Tread lightly,” Aron said, shaking his head. “Lust is an emotion that ha
Ansel says nothing and walks out of the room. Shifting my weight back and forth, I remain planted unsure of what to do next. He swiftly reappears. “Head back to your room,” he says.I purse my lips. His expression isn’t cold, but it’s clear that this conversation is over. I bustle from the den and find my way back to my room. Entering, I curse and pace around. “Karin, learn to shut up sometimes,” I scold. “You’re going to ruin everything, and then your father will never get out of prison.” A knock on the door stops me.“Madam may I come in?” an unfamiliar voice calls from the other side.“Yes, you may enter.” A woman who looks about in her thirties enters my room. She closes the door and clasps her hands in front of her. “Hello, my name is Maggie. I’m the new maid assigned to you.”“Excuse me?”“Sir Ansel said that I am to take care of everything you need from now on. I am the new head maid, and I will make sure there are no more problems moving forward.”“What about Meredith?”“She n
“What?!” I shout, practically falling over myself. “I-I-we-because-that’s actually impossible considering he’s only finge—”“Karin!” Ansel roars, scaring me quiet.I lower my head. “Sorry.” I didn’t mean for my outburst, but the accusation had caught me completely off guard. There’s no way that I could be pregnant when Ansel and I have never had sex. My face turns as white as a sheet.Oh God. What if he was suggesting that I was pregnant before I got here?The idea of that thought infiltrating Ansel’s mind scares me more than the suggestion prior.“I’m not pregnant,” I say as evenly as I can. “It’s just a lot of food in such a small span of time. I know I overdid it before, but this is really a bit much.” My face grows hot to the touch, and my mouth salivates. Standing, I dart to the bathroom to vomit. “I appreciate everything, but please take it all away,” I say between breaths.“Of course,” Maggie says on the other side. There is shuffling and I can hear the clatter of plates and di
Maggie hands me a towel to wrap around my body. Helping me out of the basin, she provides me a lotion that pairs well with the scent of the rose petals. After, she holds up a bag. “This is for you to wear,” she says.I eye the bag curiously, then take it from her. Inside there is a pink satin cami romper that reminds me of a ballerina costume, but way more revealing. I put it on, and slide the spaghetti straps up my bare shoulders. The fabric clings to my skin, and my nipples harden as the fuzzy trim tickles the insides of my thighs. I clear my throat with a flushed face. “Is this another request from Ansel?”“Actually, I picked this one out based on his response from your dress earlier. Something tells me that this is right up the Second Prince’s alley.” Reaching for a glass of liquid from the bathroom counter, she extends it to me. “One more thing. You need to drink this.”“What is it?” I ask as
ANSEL POVAnsel's eyes saucered, and King David sneered. “You really think that I didn’t know you brought Karin back to your manor? I may be sick, but I’m not dead. There isn’t one thing that you can do that I won’t know about.” He shook his head. “You’re delusional if you think anything produced with that hooker will be worthy of our name.”“She is not a prostitute, hooker or anything else you feel the need to call her,” Ansel said. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to calm his wolf. “You don’t know her like I do. There’s something…I don’t know…more to the story.”“Oh, and how can you be so sure?” King David asked.Ansel hated his father had a small point. The investigation into Karin hadn’t been completed yet, and there was no solid evidence that the things said about her weren’t true. Still, her vulnerability tow
“Giving up?” Ansel asks me. His attention remains focused forward as if the notes from the song as forming in the air in front of him.The color drains from my face. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be in here.” The corners of his mouth turn upward for a moment, leaving me wondering if I imagined it.“You always were dramatic,” he says. “I told you not to touch the piano, not that you couldn’t come into the room.” He pauses. “This was my mother’s piano.”“I know,” I whisper. “You used to play it for me whenever I danced.” He looks up and stares at me without breaking his focus. The storm brewing in his eyes almost stopped my heart.“And I’m playing now. So, are you going to do your part, or have you really given up?” His eyes bore into me, and I know it’s not a real question, but a challenge.I lace my pointer ba
#Ansel’s Epilogue: A New Tomorrow Ansel and Karin waited together on the wings of the stage, listening to the cheers and booming voice over the microphone. Edwin had been removed from the election ballot. The next in-line for the throne, a cousin, replaced him. Ansel won in a landslide. Ansel looked at Karin. She was leaning against her crutches. Her raven hair fell down over her shoulders. Her brown eyes were warm and flecked with gold. “Did I ever tell you,” he said, “How proud I am of you?” A blush came over her cheeks. She raised her eyebrow. “What for?” “You llean into your confidence more and more everyday,” he said. “I always knew you were feisty as shit, but until the day of the attack, when I really saw you in action, I didn’t fully recognize just how courageous and strong you are.” Karin looked down at her feet, hiding a smile. “I was always scared of Ada’s power,” she said. She looked back up at Ansel. “I held her back constantly, but I think I’ve finally learned to
“Do not leave,” Ansel whispers. “Got it?” His voice is a command. I shake my head. Ansel opens his mouth to argue when we hear a cry. The hair stands up on the back of my neck and my stomach lurches. It’s Charles. Without another second, he is out of the room. Ada’s pacing, urging me to go. She pushes against me with such a force, I can’t ignore it. Quietly as I can, I slip out the door and begin to slink down the stairs. As I do, I pick up on the scents of multiple Weres. The alarm bells are ringing, but Ada keeps edging me closer. I hear Ansel’s voice as I continue creeping down the stairway. “Go on,” he shouts. “Give me the ‘bad guy’ exposition, Edwin.” As I tiptoe around the corner, I see Charles, lying still on the ground. Where I would have panicked, Ada is an intense calm. Ansel’s eyes dart over, likely picking up my scent. We make eye contact before he whips his eyes back, so as not to give me away. Then, he mindlinks with me. “Go upstairs.” I don’t argue back. Ho
Ansel Ansel’s eyes flew open and chaos ensued. Filled with adrenaline, he sprang up in the bed, grabbing a masked stranger by the neck. “Lorazepam!” Ansel could not place where he was or what was happening. The lights were blinding and painful. Blue gloves, blue masks, and eyes of strangers encroached him, swirled over him and around him. He felt overwhelmed and attacked. Hands pried Ansel’s hand from the neck. A dozen arms held Ansel back from flinging himself off the bed or doing further damage. Ansel felt something cold in his arm and it spread through his body. A voice chuckled. “I think the atro-corticoid worked a little too well.” Ansel’s fight instinct abated. His body relaxed. The glaring light dissipated and his eyes adjusted. He registered for the first time where he was. A hospital room, with whirs and beeps, white tile floor, the sound of footsteps outside in the hall, and the smell of sickness, chemical cleaners, and grief in the air. Ansel was surrounded by a conce
KarinThe dream flickers away, like a candle blown out. For a moment, I’m filled with terror, afraid that I’ve lost Ansel, but I feel his presence even if I can’t see or hear him. Still, the control and the energy I’m trying to hold on to is quickly fading. It’s twilight. I’m standing outside the sanitorium. I fight it, but I feel myself slipping into a nightmare redux.“My son tells me good things about you.” Sir David looks nothing like Ansel. His hair is gray, his body is imposingly muscular, and his face is weathered and scarred from fights, but it’s the menacing look in his eyes and the hardened expression on his face that’s the real difference.For once, Ada and are in complete agreement on something - we don’t like him. Sir David’s eyeing me. I pull my hair around, making sure to hide Ansel’s bite mark on my neck. I nod my head. “He’s very serious about you,” he says. “Did you know?”I hesitate. A swallow chirps nearby. There’s no one in sight and he scares me. Ada jumps i
Karin“Tick tick tick…” The jet of a sprinkler shoots water across the green lawn, painting a rainbow in the shimmer of water droplets against the morning sun. Henry wakes up to the sound of his wife crying against the closed bathroom door. “Mags?” Silence. Apathy. Untouched plates of food.Henry sits on the porch, wearing a faded Hawaiian shirt with a surfboard print. Maggie’s in a chair across from him, almost unrecognizable with greasy, unwashed hair and wrinkled clothes. He’s made her iced tea. “With a dash of mint,” he says, his tone gentle. Maggie stares ahead. There’s a dead look to her eyes.Leaves crunching. Greased palm. Black car. Maggie’s hollow eyes torment him. He misses when her eyes were alive, when they sparkled with joy, and even when they sizzled in anger at whatever dumb things he did. It’s her eyes that flicker in his mind when he’s approached. ‘I can be a rat,’ he thinks. He says “yes,” without asking the obvious: “Why me?” Later, he will ask himself
The sea is outside. We’re in the bedroom of a small cottage. The door’s open and I can see his mom’s old piano is tucked into the corner of the living room. My ballet shoes sit near the bench.He looks beautiful in the dim light.Everything about Ansel is strong - from the tenor of his voice, his height and broad shoulders, to the muscular lines of his body and the chiseled features of his face.It’s all there - the power of him, the hard lines I resented because he had changed, but his defenses are stripped away, revealing the totality of him and the gentle warmth inside.We’re shoulder-to-shoulder. He tilts his head over to me and smiles, and I like the way his eyes crinkle when he does. I let my head fall against his shoulder. He hums in my ear and loops his index finger around mine.“Is that a new song?”“Just a bit of a melody that popped in,” he says, shr
I stay frozen in my spot. The dream version of Ansel sweeps back a flyaway strand of hair from Zara’s face. My stomach knots itself into a pretzel when she leans in to kiss him. His arms are around her. Her hand is in his hair.My Ansel is as awkward as I’ve ever seen him. He’s looking down, and seems to be holding his breath.Dream Ansel puts on the brakes, pulling back.“What’s wrong,” Zara asks. “Did I… do something?”“No.” He looks frustrated and runs his hands through his hair. “Not at all.” He clears his throat. “I think we need to stay focused,” he says, standing, “On the task at hand.”“That was the extent of it, mostly,” Ansel says next to me, wearing a guilty expression. “This was as close as it got to a rebound.”“I don’t have room to talk,” I say, thinking ashamedly about kissing Ethan. “And, we were broken up.”I blush. “We are broken
“Really?” My heart kicks up a notch. “Why… Why do you want to take me on a date?”“Because you wanted me to,” he says. “Remember?”There’s a lump in my throat as we walk down the sidewalk together.We stop at a cafe. He holds the door for me. I pause just inside, marveling, wide-eyed at the very 1970’s Americana-style diner.I’m in a fringed, suede miniskirt and blouse. Ansel seems to appreciate the skirt. He raises his eyebrows and smiles.He’s wearing an orange, short-sleeve shirt and mustard-colored pants with flared legs.“Think I can pull this off?” He looks down at his clothes.I think he could pull off a flour-sack, but I’m not going to tell him that.We sit down at a table. The booth is vinyl green and the table is
“Final boarding call for Pioneer-Blue, flight 105.”Shit.The gate check-in counter is in sight. I dash to it like I’m in an Olympic relay, ticket in hand. With the other hand, I clutch the duffel bag slung over my shoulder to keep it from clobbering me as I run.I weave my way around other passengers, milling about during their layovers or filing to their own gates, and I race past emergency workers trying to revive Ethan. He’s lying on the floor of the airport, muddied and limp.Ahead, and just to my left, a little boy is watching. He looks small and scared. There are grass stains on his jeans. A bike is laying on the ground next to him.“Last call for flight 105.”“I’m here,” I say, shoving the ticket in front of the worker.She radios to the flight crew and sends me down the jetway