“Ben, where is Av—Amy now?” I asked briskly. I handed him back his phone, trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible. He glanced at the time on the small screen. “Um, she should be coming out of Statistics right about now,” he told me. “If you texted her to come and meet you here, wou
“Because unlike you, I see Ben for more than some goon you get to order around and do your dirty work. It’s why you used him, isn’t it? His photography skills are immaculate while you can’t take a picture for shit. What I wonder is, what was she promising you out of all this?” Ben’s cheeks turned
[Arthur’s POV] I haven’t been able to think straight since the morning. I don’t even know how I managed to make it through the day without snapping at someone. Thanks to my mother's excessive nosiness and relentless need to keep herself in power, I’ve been on edge and fighting off the worst though
[Ella’s POV] Well, being held up in the campus Vice President’s office was probably the last place I expected to find myself that day. But, sure enough, there I was tucked into a small chair adjacent to Ava who looked even worse than I did because of her fight with Olivia. I wasn’t going to lie,
My heart seized in my chest. My lips parted in shock as I willed myself to hold back the tears that were threatening to fill my eyes. There had been times when I’d witnessed Arthur’s rage...But never was it solely directed at me. Until now. I felt my wolf cower and whimper within me from the a
“Spend the night with me,” he said. My cheeks became flushed as I nodded my head. I was grateful that he could see through my stumbling over my words. He loosened his hold so I could turn and face him. I wrapped my arms around him, wanting to ease his worry. He led us into his room and closed th
Arthur’s lips lingered at the center of my chest before drifting along my collarbone, softly nipping and kissing an invisible trail. My body both melted and tried to push further into his touch. Several soft noises slipped from the back of my throat as his hands came upon my breasts. The pad of hi
[Cecilia’s POV] If there was one thing I truly couldn’t tolerate, it was being ignored. Never in my life had I ever been treated so coldly and by my own son, no less. I’ll admit, I was probably too hasty in my rushing to that damn campus to speak to Arthur. I should have put more thought into
But that chance was almost taken from me tonight. Had we not gone to see him, the man would have been dead. I can’t let Ella’s mother face the same fate. It needs to stop. All of it. “Alright,” I said firmly. I reached down to grasp Ella’s hand. “I know I kept saying that we needed to wait unti
The car ride back to campus was kept in complete silence. What was there to say? Aaron had been brutally attacked by his own wife and was basically left there to bleed out...That, in itself, was proof that Cecilia had truly lost her mind. What’s even scarier was that apparently, she’s lost contr
They narrowed their eyes. “Well, see about that.” “I just had a very bizarre meeting with Cecilia.” All the blood drained from their faces. Their jaws had all collectively hit the ground and I was certain one of them was going to shout. Liam growled under his breath. “...Ella.” I urged the
I had to do my best to not show fear. The very thought of my mom being put at risk over something that had nothing to do with her was enough to cause my anger and stress levels to rise. I fought to keep my voice as even as possible even though I wanted nothing more than to hurl myself over the t
It didn’t seem like Cecilia was the type to give up. Aaron had certainly warned us all enough times that the woman wasn’t to be underestimated. Yet, it seemed like she had dropped off the face of the earth. With something as big as the Winslow name and reputation at stake, there was no way that sh
[Arthur’s POV] I stared back at the man who, for the better part of my life, was never really present. I suppose in a way, Aaron was just as much absent in my life as he was for Liam. I hadn’t ever really considered that we shared something so personal in common. Something in my gut was tellin
Liam shook his head. “None whatsoever,” he stated. “I told Aaron that my true interests lie in professional hockey.” Wow. Why had I always thought that Liam wanted the title the same way I thought that I wanted it? Then again, it took me a long time to realize that I didn’t much want the positio
[Arthur’s POV] I was stunned. It wasn’t often that I ever found myself at a loss for words. But the statement Ella had just said was nearly enough to knock the very air from my lungs. Surely she wasn’t being serious... In those few seconds in which she’d spoken and all the air had collective
[Ella’s POV] Today was the day in which the hospital finally cleared Liam to leave. He was allowed to return to campus and resume his usual schedule while keeping his physical activity limited. He still needed to be mindful of certain things like carrying too much weight and overextending himsel