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
AgnesAfter the world went dark, I had strange dreams. I dreamed that I was running through a pitch black forest, stumbling over roots and fallen logs. I dreamed that my throat was raw and cracked from screaming, but I kept calling out her name anyway.“Isabella!” I cried, branches and vines whippin
Either way, something about it felt… off. I trusted Elijah to consider the implications thoroughly, though.Finally, Elijah sighed, his head dropping into his hands again. I quickly decided to address the matter with Mason, even though it hurt like hell just to speak.“Elijah,” I said, struggling to
AgnesDue to my condition, I couldn’t go after Thea right away, even though I really wanted to. Thankfully, the doctor cleared me soon afterwards and I could go home. My legs were still wobbly and my skin still burned from where I’d come into contact with the poison ivy, but thanks to the medicine t
I wanted nothing more than to be the mother she wanted, the mother she deserved. I wanted it more than oxygen sometimes. If I could have become her real, biological mother, if I could have erased the past seven years of heartache and losing my daughter and have had a family with her and Elijah, I wo
AgnesA few days passed after that, and I never located my letter. When I asked Evelyn and Gertrude about it, they said they hadn’t seen it. I wondered if one of the staff had picked it up and tossed it out, thinking that it was trash.Either way, I supposed it didn’t really matter at that point; El
Elijah simply shrugged. “I hate to see you suffer from losing your wolf. Besides, what happened in the forest was just proof that you’re weaker without it.”My lips parted. Of course, I recalled the way I’d stumbled blindly through the woods that night, unable to see properly without my wolf’s super
“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