AgnesOnce I got home, I slammed the front door behind me and leaned against the wood. The tears were still flowing freely down my cheeks, and I couldn’t seem to stop them no matter how hard I tried. Covering my mouth, I slid down until I was sitting on the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest.“A
And for a moment, I almost did. My mind wandered back to the day I’d slapped my stepmother in this very room, when Elijah had kissed me against this very door. I could practically taste his lips even now. I wanted to taste them again, just for a moment.Slowly, I began to lean toward him, as if draw
Agnes & ElijahAgnesOlivia strode into my office before I had a chance to say anything.“This is for you,” she said, crossing the room and placing the basket on my desk. The arrangement was beautiful—fresh strawberries, grapes, apples, and oranges, all artfully arranged with a small jar of honey an
He would know what to do. He always did.…ElijahI had just left a meeting with the pack’s labor union representatives; it was a tiring, long meeting, but a productive one nonetheless. With rising inflation around all the territories, it was imperative to keep workers happy and to ensure that every
AgnesOnce Olivia was gone, I hesitated uncertainly in the doorway. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I wasn’t sure what to say. What did you say to a man you’d just caught in a compromising position with his ex-wife?Of course, this was a situation I had come to know all too well. I’d seen Ol
Then, before I could react, he pulled me to him. One hand cupped the back of my head, the other wrapped around my waist, and he kissed me for the first time in weeks.It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was desperate, passionate, almost frantic. His lips moved against mine with a hunger that left me dizzy,
AgnesI left Elijah’s office with the small vial securely tucked in my pocket and made my way straight to the lab beneath the pack building. But when I finally reached the lab door, I pulled on the handle only to find it locked. A small sign hung at eye level: “Closed for maintenance. Will reopen to
AgnesI stared at Olivia in disbelief, my mind struggling to process her words. Medication? That was what was in the vial? But it made no sense—there was no label, no prescription information, nothing that would indicate it was legitimate medication.“What?” I stood, dusting myself off. “That’s your
“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