For a while, we just sat there in silence, the only sounds the rustling of the trees and the occasional splash of a fish breaking the surface of the water. I glanced at Thea once when her line tugged, indicating that a fish was nibbling at the bait, but she didn’t even react.“You okay, sweetheart?”
AgnesThe moment I saw the video posted online, my stomach dropped.It was everywhere. Footage of Mason kissing me, my wide eyes staring up at him, followed by the look of hurt on Elijah’s face as he stormed after Thea. The caption beneath it was nothing short of brutal: “Luna Agnes caught in a scan
AgnesOlivia stepped into the house before I could say a word. She looked more irate than I had ever seen her, her face red and her mouth quivering with fury.“Where are they?” she hissed, jabbing her finger into the center of my chest. “Where are my husband and daughter, you little whore?”I blinke
We climbed in, and before I even had a chance to put on my seatbelt, Olivia was flying out of the driveway with a screech of the tires. I gripped the door handle as she flew through the winding country roads.She was driving with only one hand on the steering wheel, and I swallowed, feeling anxious.
ElijahAt some point during the night, Thea began to stir. I was already awake, staring at the ceiling of the tent with one arm propped behind my head. I hadn’t been able to fall asleep at all, and had just been laying there, ruminating over everything.The more time passed since that afternoon, the
“What’s that for?”“For her poison ivy allergy,” Olivia remarked. “You shouldn’t have brought her out here, Elijah. She could go into anaphylactic shock.”I frowned. Of course I knew about Thea’s poison ivy allergy—I was her father. I knew about every allergy, every intolerance, every little quirk o
AgnesI was alone in the forest, with no wolf and unable to see. Olivia had left me there, and I felt like a fool for ever trusting her enough to follow her into the pitch black woods.“Olivia!” I called out, turning around several times where I stood. “Olivia, where did you go?”There was no answer
Or, hell, maybe she was living in the lap of luxury in a warm house, the stolen child of a person who couldn’t have one of their own.But regardless, she wasn’t in the forest. And yet I had insisted on searching for her in every nook and cranny, under every rock and behind every tree, in a desperate
“What do you think it was like for her?” I said after a moment. “My mother, I mean. Living her whole life afraid that someone would find out what she was.”Elijah’s thumb traced circles on the back of my hand beneath the water. “Lonely, I imagine.”“She never told me,” I whispered. “My own mother, a
AgnesThe saltwater felt like heaven against my overheated skin. I’d been soaking in my in-ground pool for nearly an hour now, but the heat that had built in my body still hadn’t completely subsided.Honestly, I was surprised that I hadn’t burned down the entire bar earlier. My finger had certainly
“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