The council chamber devolved a tempest of snarled objections and flared tempers, a cacophony of dissent that clawed at the fringes of my resolve. “You have no right!” someone shouted above the tumult, making me scoff.But Elroy, magnificent and fierce, responded before I could speak. His voice was a
“Olivia, this is your eighth failed pregnancy test in less than twelve months,” the doctor sighed. "We’ve tried almost everything. Maybe we can-”“I’m having a baby,” I said firmly. My jaw was set, but my eyes were watery.One year. An entire year of pills that gave me nausea and mood swings, inject
For a split second my mind said, ‘You know, Olivia, you should really ask a few questions about this situation.’ Then the man wrapped his arms around my waist and my mind said, ‘Fuck it.’At that moment I didn’t care if he was a call boy or what. He was here, and I was here, and as his hand tightene
It took a second for my words to sink in. When they did, both Damian and Louisa went a little pale.“Liv, baby—”“No,” I said firmly. “I am not your baby, we are not getting married, and I want you out of my house.” Damian’s mouth gaped open like a fish’s. It was funny, watching him realize his pl
I squinted at the ring I could see dangling around that Alpha’s neck. No, that couldn’t be mine—unless the call boy had sold it off that quickly? Why would another pack’s Alpha want it?Thankfully Greg didn’t indicate that he’d noticed it, just ranting on about how important it was that he become th
Elroy didn’t seem to think I was joking, but that was okay. He would never be allowed in the venue if he did show up, but it was still nice to hear him solemnly promise he’d be there.I was sure I’d never see him again, but I was grateful to him. I’d probably never understand why he’d let a virtual
Oh, I thought dumbly, I guess that explains how he got in the venue. Then I thought, Wait. Does that mean I tried to pay a pack Alpha for sex?Why either of those were my first thoughts was beyond me—there were far more important bits of information in there. Like, for instance, the fact that I had
Moonshadow deserved me. It wasn’t until we were outside of the building that Greg seemed to realize he could move again. “You ungrateful bitch!” he yelled after me. Then he was yelling wordlessly into the sky, a roar that became a howl, that was joined by more howls with every step I forced myself
The council chamber devolved a tempest of snarled objections and flared tempers, a cacophony of dissent that clawed at the fringes of my resolve. “You have no right!” someone shouted above the tumult, making me scoff.But Elroy, magnificent and fierce, responded before I could speak. His voice was a
I felt my resolve firm. Elroy was right—the council did not hold the power, and it was time for them to face it. I nodded, took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors.The council members' angry faces greeted us, their voices rising in a cacophony of demands and accusations. But as I stepped into
A thunderous pounding on the door jolted me from Elroy's embrace. My stomach flipped unpleasantly; we’d known the council would move fast, but I’d thought we’d at least get through the first commercial break before they rattled our door.I locked eyes with my Mate, a grim and wordless conversation p
Elroy's jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with a mixture of concern and anger. "Olivia," he said softly, taking my hands in his. "You're safe now. He can't hurt you anymore."I shook my head, the dread spreading through me like poison. "But don't you see? If it could happen to me - an Alpha woman who
It wasn’t any easier to listen to the second time around.“I always thought Pete was just stoic,” Ines's voice quavered as she began her story, “maybe a little socially stunted at worst. I didn’t think he was bad.”She explained how she’d always been told it was her duty to get married and give a ma
My heart raced as I stared at the blank television screen, hands clammy with nervous sweat. Any moment now, Ines would appear, ready to reveal the painful truths that had been kept hidden for so long. Beside me on the plush sofa, Elroy's leg bounced with barely contained anxiety.We were both terrif
We were Mates, after all. We weren’t going anywhere.Elroy didn’t speak again until we were sitting at our dining table, the gentle clink of silverware against fine china filled the dining room as we settled into our meal. The flickering candlelight cast a warm glow across the table, softening the e
I rubbed my eyes, bent over yet another dusty old book with writing too small to for comfort. This section of the library was rarely used and it showed, but there was nowhere else I could find more about Eclipse’s history with Ravencrest.Rita’s testimony brought up a thousand questions. We couldn’t
“The woman—the Ravencrest person who gave me the information—told me it would distract everyone from the actual report. It would become a whole political issue and people would focus on that instead of on what the report said about Luna Olivia. That made sense to me, so I pretended I’d done the rese