Lamar’s upset was reasonable. If Asher had attacked him as viciously as he’d said, I would have to be a terribly insensitive person to ignore that. But the fact was, I doubted Lamar’s story. This had to be some kind of misunderstanding. Asher had a hair-trigger when it came to protecting me, but h
Even if he hadn’t promised me, I would still doubt. Asher wasn’t some mindless animal, even when his wolf came to the surface. Every time I had seen his wolf take over had been in instances where Asher was protecting me. He wouldn’t just attack someone. “Yeah, but if he lost control, would he
Quickly, I closed my eyes, focused on the projection within my mind, and snuffed it out. When I peeked my eyes open again, the glowing apparition of Asher was gone. But by then, it was already too late. Nicole had seen. “I can explain,” I said. Nicole stuck her head up from her hiding spot on
It was, but I still felt nervous about it. Returning to Asher’s dorm felt like I would be admitting something. I wasn’t sure what. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go back. Would I be able to control my heart? But Nicole was right. This was my chance to get my answers. So I replied to the text, Ok
Asher stilled. His eyes went wide for a second or two. His jaw slackened. “What?” I sucked in a shaky breath and asked again, “Did you punch Lamar?” “Cynthia.” I braced myself. Was he about to tell me what I feared most: that he had hit Lamar, and I was all wrong about him? I held my breat
“I went to the hospital last night and talked with Nurse Irene,” he said. “I wanted to scope out the investigators. See what they knew, and how they were going about collecting their information.” I tensed, remembering the investigators from this morning, and the way that third one had stared at m
I clung to Asher like he was my anchor in a storm, and he held me just as tightly. For a while, I was transported to a different time, where Asher and I hadn’t hurt each other and nothing between us had changed. We held one another like we belonged to each other, like nothing else in the whole wor
I avoided thinking about boys entirely, both Asher and Lamar. I still hadn’t untangled the mystery there, of Lamar’s black eye. Asher said he hadn’t punched Lamar, and I believed him. But I struggled to understand why Lamar would lie about it? What had he hoped to gain by lying to me? Or was it
“Please.” That all sounded so good. I wanted it. I wanted everything. He stood to kick off the rest of his clothes. I watched, my mouth watering as he exposed his dick. He was so big, so hard just for me. Carefully, he moved me how he wanted me, stretching out my legs farther, and then slipped
Asher guided me back into the bedroom. As I stood near the bed, he walked behind me and slowly tugged down the zipper of my dress. His knuckles traced the newly-revealed skin inch by inch, following down the length of my spine. When the zipper had lowered as much as it could go. He spread his hand
I held my breath as Dylan threw the first punch. Asher dodged back and Dylan’s fist flew through the open air. Asher then stepped forward, ready to retaliate. Dylan backpedaled, placing a few feet between them again. In a flash, Dylan moved close again. His speed was lightning-quick. I barely even
“’Might?’” He squeezed me gently. “It will be fine. Trust me.” I did trust him, with my life and more. But… this was my brother. My brother and the love of my life were about to fight a challenge with yet unknown terms that would undoubtedly involve me and my baby. I couldn’t help but be a b
I opened my mouth to begin to explain, but the truth seemed worse than even Dylan’s worst assumptions. No, Asher isn’t the father of my baby. The father is actually a terrible person who is now in prison. But Dylan wasn’t waiting for me to figure out a softer way to explain, and Asher was no hel
On the evening of the Academy’s winter dance, I slipped into my shining purple gown and checked myself out in the bathroom mirror. Gone were the days when I could pass as not pregnant. Now, my bump was a distinctive round bulge, pressing out the front of my gown – which I had bought in the materni
“I… um…” I had no idea how to answer Dylan. Panic set in, sending my heart into overdrive. Should I admit to Asher being beside me? It was getting late at night. Surely Dylan would have follow-up questions. Like, why was Asher in my room after dark. “Oh, shit, I have to go,” Dylan said suddenly.
Asher’s words stole my breath away. For a long moment, I simply stared at him, desire coiling inside of me. He stared back, his blue eyes deep as the ocean. I swallowed thickly. I couldn’t wait to go home with him and see all of his promises in action. Nancy cleared her throat from the doorway.
The real Asher was safely behind the line of fake wolves. He glanced back at me in concern. I understood his worry. Holding this many projections was a strain. But I was done running. I was done standing back. Joseph would lose. And I would help bring him down. In the circle, Joseph started to