AgnesElijah didn’t pull away first.Neither did Olivia.And as for me… I couldn’t tear my eyes away, either. Not from the way her fingers curled into the back of his shirt. Not from the soft glow of their mating marks. Not from the way Elijah’s hand settled carefully against her jaw, tipping her ch
The room was quiet for a long time, save for the sound of the bathtub filling up. If I felt stunned in the living room earlier, then I felt even more stunned now. I wanted to say something to comfort Thea, but the words just didn’t come no matter how hard I tried.“I don’t like having her as my mom,
AgnesBy the time I stepped through the front door that night, I felt exhausted. Not even necessarily in a bad way—just the kind of tiredness that seeps into the soles of your feet and your shoulders and makes your eyes droop no matter how much coffee you drink.From the dim light pooling out from u
“Agnes.” Elijah’s voice was low as he crossed the room. Before I could even react, he plucked the phone right out of my hand, turning it over in his palm. His thumb brushed over the shattered glass, and he shook his head.“This isn’t fixable. You need a new one.”“It’s not a big deal,” I insisted, r
AgnesElijah pulled the car into the parking lot, and the moment I recognized the neon sign above the diner entrance, my stomach twisted. The lights buzzing over the glass door were the same ones that used to flicker every night at the end of my shift, casting dim halos across the cracked pavement.
AgnesI stared down at the small cake in my hands, unsure of what to make of it all.“I’m sorry.”Was this what Elijah was doing earlier when he stayed behind in the diner? Was this cake supposed to be some kind of apology for… what? Yesterday? Or everything?“Agnes,” Elijah said softly, his voice c
“Agnes—”“I want to stay,” I said firmly. “I’m not… thrilled about the situation with Olivia, I won’t lie. But I made a promise. And I think it’s best for Thea if I’m here. In the home. Full-time. As…” I hesitated, and felt a slight heat creep into my face at the thought. “As her mother.”Elijah was
AgnesI blinked at Elijah in stunned, terrified silence for a long moment.He knew. He knew the truth.He knew about my lies.I wasn’t sure if I should admit to it or not. If I did, I feared that it might alienate me from Thea for good—that perhaps he would accuse me of trying to take her away, have
“Yes,” he insisted. “Because Elemental Enterprises is owned by your stepmother’s family.”The world seemed to tilt beneath me. I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself. “What?”“I’ve been keeping your true nature from your stepmother all this time,” he continued, the words coming out of him
AgnesI fidgeted in the passenger seat as Elijah pulled into the dive bar’s parking lot. The place looked exactly as I remembered it from my past life—grimy windows with neon beer signs, chipped paint on the exterior, and a crooked sign hanging above the door.Years ago, I’d spent many nights here t
“Elijah, wait.”I froze, expecting to feel the tug of the mate bond, that infuriating compulsion she’d used so many times to force me to listen to her, to stay when I wanted to go. But it never came. For the first time, she hadn’t used the bond to control me. Today was full of surprises, wasn’t it?
ElijahThat morning, I made yet another trip to the prison. I’d hoped to never set foot in this place again, because frankly it was cold and uncomfortable and unsettling, but here I was. I just hoped that Olivia would keep true to her word and that this conversation would be worth it—and that it wou
I hated that he was making sense. And even more than that, I hated that a part of me—a much bigger part of me than I wanted to admit—was actually considering it.“What if it’s a trap?” I asked quietly. “What if he’s involved with Elemental Enterprises somehow? He could be trying to get to Thea.”“Th
AgnesI stared at the letter in my hands the entire night, reading and rereading the words until they were practically burned into my brain. By morning, the paper had taken on a slightly crumpled appearance from how many times I had folded and unfolded it.By the time the sun rose, I wasn’t sure if
Elijah, noticing the tension leaving my shoulders, offered me a soft smile. “And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t sexy as hell when you get like that.”I blushed and looked away. “Stop it…”“But I mean it,” he murmured, his voice growing husky as he leaned closer to me. His lips brushed mine ever so
AgnesElijah gently pulled me out of the banquet hall before I could say another word.We reached the nearest bathroom—a small powder room off the main hallway—and Elijah ushered me inside, locking the door behind us. Without a word, he turned on the faucet and soaked a washcloth in cold water.“Her
My hand tightened around my wine glass, and I felt a flicker of heat race through my veins, which I quickly pushed down with a big gulp of wine. It wasn’t enough, though. “Water, please,” I said abruptly to the bartender. “Extra ice.”The bartender nodded and handed me my glass. I chugged half of it