Nicholas “I need to replace this damn couch,” I grumbled. I shifted on the couch in my study, the old leather and shitty springs creaking beneath my weight as I attempted to stretch out. It was a useless effort, and the light of the moon shining through the sheer curtains felt blinding, even whe
Tears were staining her cheeks. The moment I saw that dampness on her skin, I stepped inside without thinking. I should have walked away, should have let her be, but the sight of her trembling in her sleep made something tighten in my chest. She was dreaming. A nightmare, maybe. Quietly, I cro
Kayla The room smelled like him. That was one of the first things I noticed when I opened my eyes to the soft glow of the early morning light filtering through the sheer curtains. I stayed there for a moment, still buried under the thick blankets, trying and failing to shake off the lingering ha
It was the woman from the picture. The one I had seen through Nicholas’s memories. “Nicholas—so nice to see you again. I placed an order for those desserts you liked, by the way,” she said, approaching us with a grin and extending her hand to me. “And you must be Kayla. I’m your wedding planner.
Kayla I stiffened in my seat, glancing toward Nicholas, unsure of what to do. His arm was resting on the back of my chair, his fingers drumming lazily against the wood. If he was irritated by the photographer’s intrusion, he didn’t show it. In fact, he looked completely unbothered. Calm and coll
Seeing him like this just left me even more confused. Was it just the mate bond that had triggered his jealousy? Was he just concerned about our arrangement being jeopardized if I became involved with another man? Or maybe… maybe he was pretending now, just like he had been last night. Drinking wi
Kayla The bright lights of the news station felt far too harsh for this early in the morning. Honestly, I wanted to be literally anywhere else—I’d even take Grace’s cold cell over this. But I couldn’t. It had to be done, and I had no say in the matter. So I sat in the leather chair with my legs
My chest tightened instantly, and Nicholas’s arm stiffened into iron around me. “Liam Reynolds, your ex-fiancé and Nicholas’s younger half-brother. It’s quite the scandal, isn’t it? How was it that you and Nicholas ended up together so soon after the, er… incident?” I froze, my mind scrambling t
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