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Chapter 20

last update Last Updated: 2023-01-25 03:20:47

Ella's P.O.V.

What have I done?

I watched the flames dance in the hearth of the fireplace. They climbed the brick walls, only to be pulled back down into the coals that glowed beneath the logs. That's how I felt, like I'd been floating on the highs of my daydreams and suddenly yanked back down into reality.

I couldn't believe I had been naive enough to believe that Cain had liked me. It was a hasty assumption that I made based on one action he'd later admitted that he regretted making. I couldn't believe that Zak was right. I shouldn't have followed those men in the car that night and I never should have left my home and family to chase ghosts.

It'd gotten me nothing but a concussion and false hopes. There was only one reason that I still sat in Cain's dark bedroom on the couch staring into the fire. That was to assure myself that I wasn't lousy enough to bail on something just because my

emotional investment in it had backfired.

Taking interest in Cain was a stupid move. I was there
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    Narrative P.O.V."You can't stay down here forever."Jai was standing in the doorway to the small office where Cain had been for the past few days. Cain brought his work with him in the mornings to the small office before Ella would wake up and he would only return late in the night when he knew she had left.Sometimes he would return to his office and her scent still lingered in the air, torturing him. When Cain said nothing in response to Jai's comment, Jaiventured further into the small office and sat down in front of Cain."I don't understand why you can't just be a man and deal with it." he said.Cain looked up from his paper to glare at Jai."So you're equating my desire to protect and care for the well being of the love of my life with being a coward?" Cain asked him.When Jai said nothing, Cain's glance returned to the folder in his hands."I don't need to put her in harm's way just to prove my masculinity," Cain said.Jai crossed his arms against his chest. "Explain to me ex

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 22

    Ella's P.O.V.I stepped out of the shower that night feeling productive. That day Daniel and I had discovered some interesting connections between the hospital and a few local funeral homes. I hoped this was an important new lead.Wrapping a towel around my body, I wiped the steamy mirror and brushed my damp hair. I grabbed a robe from behind the bathroom door and put it on.It was likely Cain's seeing as it was nearly four sizes too big for me. Nonetheless, I tied the rope around my waist tightly and opened the bathroom door.The sun had set a few hours earlier so the room was dark.I walked over to the fireplace and lit a match to light a fire. The flame spread quickly and I added a log to the hearth. I watched as the fire grew and I was relieved the feel the heat that it provided.I felt the need to remind Daniel and whomever else it concerned that it was the dead of winter. The temperature in Cain's home was freezing which was why I lit a fire every night to keep myself warm.I ru

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 23

    Narrative P.O.V."Daniel, you didn't do that..." Jai was in total disbelief."What?" Daniel asked. "You wanted her to meet Cain's parents, right? I knew Ella would be in his office this morning so when Evelyn asked me where Cain was, I told her he was in his office."Jai shook his head."You should've let Cain introduce them," Jai said. "He's going to be so mad at you."Daniel shrugged."He'll get over it.""Evelyn doesn't know they're mates, though," Jai said. "Don't you think she's confused as to why there is a human girl in Cain's office?""Evelyn's not an idiot," Daniel said. "She won't say anything to Ella that she doesn't need to know."The door to the kitchen opened and Cain strolled in."Have you seen Mom?" He asked. "Someone told me they got here about an hour ago and I've been looking for her everywhere."When Daniel laughed nervously, Jai groaned."What?" Cain asked."She's upstairs..."Cain's jaw clenched."...with Ella," Daniel said slowly. Cain turned around and st

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 24

    Narrative P.O.V.Cain walked around for a few minutes before finally finding his mother. She was in the office he had been using since Ella had been in his.As he walked in, she turned her attention from the map on the wall to look at him. Evelyn smiled brightly as she walked over and threw her armsaround his neck. She hated how she had to be up on her tiptoes to hug her own son, but she was excited to finally see him after so long. "I missed you," she said."Missed you too, Mom," Cain said, hugging her briefly. "How was Australia?"She nodded as she backed away."It was a lot of fun. Lui and Jace really miss Jai. I told him when I saw him this morning that he needed to go home more often."Evelyn stared at Cain for a moment before sighing."So, what's your excuse for not coming to see us more often?" She asked."Well, since you moved back to Canada, you're not exactly close enough to visit often," he said.Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that sass," she said. "I know you d

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 23

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 24

    "Ella, let me explain."Cain took a step towards me and I took two steps backwards. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jai reach out to place his hand on my shoulder."Don't touch me!" I said, backing away from them both. I looked at Jai."Are you one too?" I asked him."One what?" He asked.I scoffed in disbelief. "Don't play me like an idiot," I told him firmly.I looked to Cain, who had slowly been moving towards me. I backed away and went around the couch, putting more space between myself and the two men, if one could even call them that."I heard what your dad said," I told Cain.Leaning down, I picked the book up off the couch and held it in one hand."You're a Lycanthrope," I said.Saying it out loud made it all click inside my headThe whole bit about Cain telling me they were their own undercover organization; that had to be what the book referenced when it said that Lycans all lived together in secret.And the sub-human strength the book talked about would explain why Cain wa

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 25

    Narrative P.O.V.A crystal glass flew across the room and shattered against the wall beside Daniel's face as he entered the room."I take it she found out," Daniel said, looking nervously at Jai. Jai nodded, his arms crossed.Cain stormed across his office and grabbed Daniel by the shirt collar. Picking him up, he slammed him against the wall. Daniel's feet dangled as he made direct eye contact with Cain."You told her about the tunnels, didn't you?" Cain asked, his eyes darkening."She was bound to find out about you sooner or later," Daniel said slowly. "You can't blame me for this.""I was the one who was supposed to tell her," Cain growled, squeezing Daniel's neck tighter."When did you plan on doing that?" Daniel breathed out, struggling for air."Cain, you're going to kill him," Jai said.Cain let go of Daniel's neck and watched him slide down the wall onto the floor, coughing and gasping for air."You can't take it back," Jai said to Cain. "What's done is done. We're taking h

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 26

    We arrived back at the castle very late into the night.Daniel took the bag of folders and assured me he would leave it on Cain's desk for me to look over in the morning.As someone who hadn't slept the night before, I was grateful for the opportunity to rest before digging into the mess I was sure to uncover.I walked slowly back up all those flights of stairs, lugging my suitcase with me.By the time I reached my room, I was more than exhausted I opened the door to see the fireplace lit and the bathroom door open with the light on inside.Shit, I thought. I forgot this was Cain's room.He walked out of the bathroom, a towel hanging low on his hips. Clearly, he'd just gotten out of the shower."Sorry," I said quickly. "I'Il go find somewhere else to sleep." "I didn't expect to see you again," he said, stopping me as I turned to leave. I turned back around slowly, looking for a way to explain why I'd stayed.I was silent. No words would come to me.I couldn't tell if this was becau

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 54

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 53

    Narrative P.O.V.An elbow to the ribcage startled Daniel and he sat up straight in the car seat."No time to doze off," Priya said.He rubbed his eyes and groaned."Easy for you to say. You had the whole flight over here to sleep. I had to stay up and get a false warrant made so we could get surveillance footage from the airport."The phone in his backpack started to ring and he bent down to pick it up."Hello?""How are things?"He cleared his throat hearing Cain's voice."Things are good," he said."We found the cab that she took and we're in it now, heading to the house."Any leads at the airport?""No," Daniel breathed out."The only times we saw her in the surveillance videos were when she was arriving in D.C. There's no evidence that she left.""There are a million ways out of that city," Cain said."It just means that she didn't leave from that airport."Thanks, chief. That's comforting, Daniel thought."How are things there?" He asked.Cain was silent for a few moments."I hav

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  • CARNAL   Chapter 51

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    Unknown P.O.V."You lied to us."Otto Müller was on his knees, literally, begging for forgiveness."I don't know. I swear," he cried."You do know!" The man bellowed, eyes burning.Otto Müller said nothing, his hands trembling in the shackles that held them behind his back."You only had two jobs," he continued."You were supposed to kill the damn Beta and then kill him."Otto's eyes shot up to glare at Zak, who was standing in the corner of the room."You sent him to kill Cain as well and he couldn't do it either," he said to the man."Why is he not in chains too?"Zak crossed his arms."Zak was only supposed to gather information," the man snarled."His attempt at the life of the Alpha Sovereign was unplanned and opportunistic. Besides, he was able to track their location, which proved much more helpful in the long run than anything you've contributed thus far and he's delivered the girlafter you were unable to."Otto Müller exhaled a shaky breath."I couldn't kill my own granddaug

  • CARNAL   Chapter 49

    I landed in D.C. sometime in the early morning.I was as jetlagged as I could be, especially given that Kashmir was around five and a half hours ahead of the east coast.Hailing a taxi, I gave the driver the address and he was off. Ignoring the monuments that whirled past the cab window, I looked down at the number on the sheet of crinkled paper for the thousandth time.I had long since memorized it.The driver knocked me out of my daze, informing me that we had arrived.I looked out the window to see the familiar ranch-style home and leaned forward to pay him for the drive.The cab was gone as soon as I stepped out with my luggage, leaving me standing on the sidewalk of a dark street.I walked up to the porch, my suitcase trialing behind me. I lifted up the vinyl cap on top of the porch railing where Zak left his spare key, exactly the same spot it had been hidden in our childhood home.I unlocked the front door and walked inside the dark house.A light came on in the kitchen as I sh

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