ELENA’s POVIt was the soft beeping of the old heart monitor that reached my ears first when I opened my eyes.I groaned, trying to sit up and falling back into the comforter with a distressed hiss when white hot pain exploded in my temples.“Shit! She's awake! Get the nursemaids, FAST.” A man’s deep baritone boomed somewhere around me followed by the frantic shuffling of feet as I struggled to open my eyes.“Hey, you're okay, thank fuck, you're okay,” It was Anthony’s stern face that blurred into view when I managed to screw my eyes open, feeling my skin heat up when his fingers traced the lines on my forehead.“Anthony? Where’s Michael?” I murmured, glancing around the dimly lit room as discomfort and desire intertwined in my belly.I could smell his heady earth and forest scent on his breath and it took my mind to places I would rather not go…to the memory of his big, strong hands cupping around my breasts and the hard length of his cock pressing insistently on my sex.I watched a
Anthony’s POVThe pounding in my chest almost seemed like it was coming from all around me as I followed the blonde werewolf into the night, pausing when he whirled around to face me.“You alright buddy? You seem like you're wound up too tight these days,” I observed, puffing out a thick ring of smoke and watching my brother’s smoldering blue eyes through the nicotine mist.I had noticed his shifty gaze when he had stumbled in on me making out with Elena. Fucking hell! she was our mate…MY MATE, and yet I couldn’t help the guilt that bored its way into my heart.What the heck was I thinking kissing her? I had enjoyed it much too well I had to admit…I didn't know what would have happened if my brother hadn't walked in when he did.The thought that I would have taken her on her sick bed filled my head…it was like I was a bloody animal!“Am I alright? DID YOU JUST FUCKING ASK ME THAT ANTHONY? Christ on a fucking cross it's like you've lost your bloody mind!” Michael roared and I struggle
Anthony’s POVI knew the moment the door closed with a soft clap behind me that I wasn't alone.The sharp tang of Carla’s jasmine scent hung in the air like poison and I tried not to hack out the phlegm building in the back of my throat.“You shouldn't be here,” I growled in a low brooding voice, ignoring the woman who sat stiffly in the shadowed space of my study to snag a wine bottle instead.It was looking more and more like one of those nights where I would lose myself in bloody alcohol.I could tell that the woman was surprised at my indifference, a mask I kept tightly woven around my body, fighting the irritation that built steadily inside me.“That's the first thing you're going to say to me? What did I ever do to you to deserve this Anthony?” Carla cried, her voice hoarse from disuse, and I watched her grip the leather edges of my table until her knuckles turned white.“Get out. Now. Before I do something you would dislike very much.” I barked back, taking a swig of the sweet
Michael’s POVUseless. The whole goddamned Palace was useless!How hard was it to find one goddamned mole when I had over five thousand wolves in my command?I felt like I was going to go mad just thinking about it!“Fuck’s sake,” I hissed, digging my hands into the wool linen of my pockets as I barreled toward the Royal morgue.The night’s air had grown thick and the noise of the soldiers and groundsmen milling about did nothing to soothe the anxious thoughts in my mind.“Mother? What are you doing here?” I rasped when I entered the cold room.The faint buzz of the overhead fluorescent hummed slightly as if in answer to my question as I regarded the woman’s bent back.Something heavy lodged in the back of my throat. Nancy Gotham looked different. I could tell from her disheveled mass of black hair and the crow's feet at the edge of her sunken blue eyes that my sister’s death had taken something from her.Something I feared could never be replaced.“Michael! Y-Youre here! Oh, it's dr
ElenaThe sky had rescinded its bright azure color for a bleak iron grey when I stirred groggily, wiping the sleep from my eyes.“Miss lady! You're awake,” Emily’s soft voice made me glance up to see her pale face looking down at me worriedly.Every muscle in my body hurt. It felt like I had been asleep for ages! Just how long had I been out? “You’re up just in time for dinner Miss, the Alphas would like for you to join them.” Emily tittered with a smile spread across her face that made unease fill my belly.How could she sit there and smile after what the Alphas had done to me? And how could I have let myself fall for Anthony back then? Images of our passionate kiss filled my head and I felt my cheeks redden with embarrassment.How could I have offered myself up to him like some cheap whore?!“Well you can tell them I won't be joining,” I replied sharply, watching the smile fall from the girl’s face before I crossed my hands over my chest stubbornly.“Miss, I'd beg you to reconsider
Elena’s POVMy hands and face were as cold as a witch’s britches as I stepped through the doors of the banquet hall. I was almost immediately assaulted by the wash of colors and sounds that seemed to jump out at me from every side.I was aware of the eyes that turned towards me as I floated through the isle, keeping my head straight as the hard back of the metallic silver mask itched against my skin.I felt empty without Sophie’s overwhelming charm beside me and a rush of deja vu filled my body when I caught a glimpse of the firmly shit double doors where Sophie had met her untimely death.“You came.” It was Michael’s deep grumble that made me stop in my tracks, aware of the wolves that watched us with the corners of their eyes as I turned to meet his impossibly handsome frame.How had he recognized me with the mask on? My heart skipped a beat and I tried to control the rush of butterflies in my belly at the thought that the powerful Alpha had been staring at me.“Michael,” I gasped,
Anthony’s POVThere were wolves everywhere! So goddamned many that I was almost certain one of the rosy-cheeked assholes had crammed their way up my bloody arse.“Your Highness! Looking dashing as always!” One of the squinty-eyed elites drawled as she strutted up to my side, brushing her claws over the silk suede of my suit jacket before I caught her wrist and flung it away.“Don't fucking touch me,” I growled testily, hissing at her through clenched teeth as the soulful music and flashing lights pumped away around us.I could see my reflection from the stained glass mirror of the walls, the way my thick black hair curled temptingly around the sides of my chiseled face before my neck broadened into thick strong shoulders, flexing in the fitted suit jacket I wore.The gold band of the mask glittered between and around my sea-green eyes but I knew there was no way she could have mistaken me for my Playboy brother. The wine must have loosened a few screws in her head because she pouted p
ElenaMy hands felt cold, colder than the Arctic in the middle of the freaking winter.The swirl of panic around me in the yellow candescence of the ballroom was almost suffocating and I felt my hands slide up to tear the thick silver mask away from my face.“You're bleeding Miss Elena, we need to…the infirmary -” The maid’s panicked voice bled in and out of focus as I stared after the twin Alphas, willing every nerve in my body to resist what I was about to do next.Alfred had stared at me during his wild rant. Someone had to have seen it, hadn't they? I was almost certain from the way his small beady brown eyes twisted with hate and disgust that his betrayal of Gotham pack was linked to me.“Goddess-” I gasped as a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm me, gripping Emily’s cold hands which she shot out almost instantly to steady me.“Miss! That's it! I'm taking you to the bay right this instant!” Emily shrieked, and I turned to see the white pallor of her face and the way thin b