“Me, too,” I said with a grin.Soon enough, the picnic was laid out beneath a large oak tree—homemade loaves of bread, wedges of sharp cheddar cheese, glistening berries spilling out of a large ceramic bowl, a bottle of fruit wine, and even an array of cold cut meats that made my mouth water just lo
Ava“You’re lucky; all of you. This could have been ten times worse.”The lead scientist pulled his latex gloves off with a snap, shaking his head. I bit my lip and let my gaze wander behind him—toward the group of other scientists in hazmat suits who were probing the patch of glossy black fungus wi
ChrisI stood in front of the window in my office; it was dark enough outside by now to see my reflection staring back at me in the glass. I still hadn’t rested all day, and I had no plans to sleep anytime soon.With a sigh, I adjusted a stray lock of hair that kept falling down into my forehead. Wh
AvaOphelia let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back in her chair, patting her full belly.“Ah… That was delicious,” she said, shutting her eyes happily. “I swear, the food here is so much better.”Leonard and I exchanged amused glances from across the kitchen table. “The food here is very rich in v
Ava“Chris, are you… drunk?”Chris took a stumbling step forward, the bottle of brandy sloshing dark, sticky liquid all over his shoes. He narrowed his eyes at me and took another swig. “What does it look like?” he ground out through clenched teeth, his words slurred.I stood there for a moment, gap
And we, too, were crashing.The next moment I knew, Chris had lost his balance and tumbled to the grass with me in his arms—but we didn’t pull away from our searing kiss. If anything, it only grew more fervent, our movements frenzied as we began to tear at each other’s clothes.“I love you,” I murmu
AvaThe next morning, Chris and I headed straight to the clinic, the small plastic baggie containing the mysterious white powder clutched tightly in Chris’s hand. We didn’t waste a single moment; as soon as the clinic opened, we were headed out, barely even having slept all night.“What do you think
AvaAmelia came jogging up to us, her red hair bouncing with each step, just as Chris was about to hand me the rose. He quickly dropped it back to his side and whirled around to face her.“Alpha Chris!” she called out breathlessly. “It’s so good to see you.”Before either of us could react, she sudd