Kayla Nicholas’s hand slid to the small of my back as he guided me onto the dance floor. The warmth of his palm against the fabric of my dress sent an unwanted shiver down my spine, and my traitorous heart fluttered in my chest as he pulled me a little closer. I was supposed to be mad at him. Ho
Finally, Nicholas’s voice broke the quiet that had settled between us. “I’m sorry about the frosting,” he whispered softly. I blinked up at him, caught off guard by the sincerity in his tone. His smirk had faded, replaced by something softer, his lips turned down slightly at the corners—so much un
Kayla The kiss started off as a tentative peck, a brief moment to subdue the rumors and nothing more. But it quickly turned into so much more than that. Before I could even wrap my head around what was happening, Nicholas’s mouth was suddenly moving against mine with an undeniable fervor. The
“Hey!” I reached for it, but he held it out of my grasp, flipping it open to the page I had been reading. His brows lifted as he scanned the text, a slow, mischievous smile spreading across his face. “Well, well,” he drawled. “Why didn’t you tell me you made it to this scene?” “Give it back,” I
Kayla & Nicholas Kayla I woke up the next morning to find myself alone as usual. I was pretty sure that Nicholas had spent the night in his office again, but when I padded down the hall and peeked inside, he wasn’t there. With a sigh, I made my way down to the kitchen. Jade was already there,
“Huh,” I muttered, sitting down on an overturned crate. “Didn’t think you could cook.” She snorted, picking up the wrench I’d tossed earlier and turning it over in her hands. “Don’t get used to it. This is a one-time thing.” I smirked, scooping up a bite of casserole and letting the flavors sett
Kayla I caught the helmet Nicholas tossed me, fumbling with it for a moment. He tugged his own helmet on with ease and climbed on the bike before I had a chance to make sense of the invitation. “Are you getting on, or do you need a formal invitation?” he asked, his voice muffled by the visor.
With a contented sigh, I rested my head on his sturdy back and watched the trees rush by. We rode like that for some time, just weaving down the empty roads. Towering pine trees flanked us on either side, their tall peaks stretching toward the fading sunlight. The forest around us started to grow
I ripped the compass bracelet from my wrist, holding it high. “Is this what you want?!” I shouted. “Come take it!”The attack paused. Even Isabella halted, looking to her cohorts for guidance. The compass dangled from my fingers, swinging enticingly.“No, Kayla! Don’t give it to them!” Nicholas mana
My hand moved instinctively to my wrist, feeling the cold metal of the bracelet against my skin.“And of course,” my father added, his gaze hardening as it settled on Nicholas, “you’ll be free of this… playboy. No more confusion, no more manipulation. You’ll be where you belong—with your real family
KaylaIt wasn’t William’s presence that shook me to my core, but my father’s.Two years. For two years, I’d sat by his bedside, holding his limp hand, begging him to wake up, to move, to give me any sign he was still there. And now he walked in as if the bodily damage he’d suffered from his coma had
Once we were safely beyond earshot, I filled Nicholas in on Henry’s message as we made our way toward the old barn at the edge of the estate. Henry was waiting for us outside as we approached, and his face was grim.“He’s inside,” he said without preamble. “You’re going to want to see this for yours
KaylaNicholas stayed for dinner that night, although not for no reason. Henry was still out there somewhere, searching for the person who knocked me unconscious and took my mother’s journal, and we needed to be close in case he captured the fucker.Furthermore, we couldn’t leave my father. Not when
“A journal?” Nicholas’s expression sharpened with interest.I nodded. “I only read a few entries before… before I was knocked out. But Nicholas, she knew about Luporath. She knew where it was.”His breath caught. “Are you sure?”“Positive.” I held my wrist up, exposing the compass charm bracelet I’d
KaylaOnce Nicholas and I were alone, truly alone—we’d ensured that the basement was empty, Mindlinked Henry to quietly check the estate grounds for intruders without alerting my father, then hurried upstairs to my bedroom and closed and locked the door—I turned to him. My head was still throbbing f
And yet, somehow, I knew… It was hers.I followed the scent down the hallway, down the grand staircase, through the foyer. The scent grew stronger as I approached a door I hadn’t noticed before, partially hidden in the shadow of the stairwell.The basement.I wrenched the door open and descended the
NicholasI straightened my tie one final time as I approached the podium. The guild hall was packed with members from various packs, all eager to hear what the candidates for chairman had to say. The position William had left vacant in the wake of his timely escape—from which he had still not return