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Forty Four
Last Updated:
2024-07-13 01:57:00Related chapters
FATED ESCAPE Forty Five
After climbing the stairs and entering the room, I close the door behind me and move to sit with my back against the wall, my legs stretched out in front of me and a stuffed yellow bear cradled against my belly.With no idea whether this baby is going to be a boy or a girl, we’ve tried to stay neutral with a soft buttercup yellow paint for the walls, a white crib that I watched Mack build, and a matching baby changing table and dresser set up on the wall near the window.As the window overlooks the backyard, I hear Faith laughing as Mack explains his gardening process. My attempt at tuning it out goes so miserably that I regret not escaping into the forest.I know this is Mack being friendly so Faith will open up about why she’s come to Winter Lake in pain, but that doesn’t make it any easier to listen to when I also know how easy Mack is to love.When there’s a soft knock at the door, I turn to it with a smile. “You can come in, Moses.”A second later, the familiar lean figure of the
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Forty Six
“My son is the next alpha of the Raleighs, which means he doesn’t need to be tied to a weak omega carrying another man’s pup. Soon, he’ll realize that, if he hasn’t already, that is.”Although his words are hurtful, they’re not unexpected. Not with the way I’ve caught him staring at me, and not with the things he’s said. But since I doubt I’m going to change his mind about anything, I don’t even try. I continue walking away.“She killed herself. Did Mack tell you that?”The pain and rage I feel building inside him warn me that I’m dealing with anguish so old that it’s practically ingrained in him. It makes me even more wary, because every time he’s in pain, it will trigger his anger.I keep walking toward the house because staying isn’t safe. “I didn’t say you could leave,” he murmurs.I hear him take a step as if to follow. My heart thumps in alarm, because if he tries to hurt me, I’m going to hit him with emotion and I have no idea what it’s going to do to him. Probably make this si
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Forty Seven
“The only time I can get five minutes alone with you is away from here. So we’re going out there.” He speed-dials someone, and a second later I hear Bennett’s voice on the other line. “Bennett. I need you here. Yeah, right now.”Bemused, I blink up at him. “Uh, Mack?”He tugs me from the room. “Let’s go.”I trail him down the stairs. “But where are we going?” “Somewhere no one will disturb us.”“And that place is…?”Before he can respond, Connall steps through the back door, his eyes going straight to Mack. “Oh, there you are. I need—”Mack doesn’t hesitate to cut him off. “Not now. I’m busy.”Connall’s eyes slide over to me and narrow with suspicion. “I see, so she’s been telling tall tales, has she?”My back stiffens at the mocking tone of his voice. But I don’t get a chance to speak. Mack beats me to it. “Da, considering I didn’t even invite you here, you should stop before I show you the way out.”Connall’s lips curve. “I see, and you plan on using force to do it.”Mack falls sil
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Forty Eight
When Adela knocks on the door to announce dinner is ready, I tell her I’m not hungry. Unlike Mack, she doesn’t go away until I agree to join her at the dining table. But the moment I’ve cleared my plate, I return to the bedroom.During the night, I wake with my heart in my throat, the visions from my nightmare still clinging to me.In my dreams, it isn’t Shane whimpering on the ground, the victim of my strange gift, but Mack.No matter how hard the rest of the pack tries to stop me, I don’t. In the end, Bennett turns to me with violence in his gray eyes, and as he’s reaching for me, that’s when I wake up.After that, I don’t sleep. I can’t.I wrap the comforter around myself and spend the rest of the night and early morning in the lounge watching an old black and white movie with the subtitles on, so I don’t wake Adela.She finds me there bright and early the next morning.“You didn’t sleep a wink, did you, child?” she murmurs before settling in on the couch beside me.“I slept.”Not
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Forty Nine
If nothing else can convince me to go, that does, because she’s right. Today is the day my father promised he’d leave, which means I at least have something to be excited about.But not about Moses leaving. I would rather he stayed, even though I know he never would. It isn’t only because he has Lucy waiting for him back in Minnesota, but because he has responsibilities as well. He’d never walk away from those. Not even for me.So I head for the bathroom to shower and dress, conscious that Mack has had hours to come to terms with my uncontrolled power, and that today, he may not be as understanding as he was yesterday.I don’t even make it into the house.That sounds like Mack has kicked me out or refused to let me in, but that couldn’t be further from the truth since he’s the one leading me by the hand away from it. “Mack, what are—”“No questions,” he interrupts me as he continues to lead us through the forest.“What about the bag? Can I ask about that?” I ask, my eyes going to the
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Fifty
It isn’t until he brushes a tear from under my eye that I realize why he wouldn’t. “I wish I could take all your pain from you,” he says in a sober voice. “I think, even if you told me not to, I’d do it anyway because I never want you to be in pain.”“I think that’s love,” I admit. “Yes, so do I.”“I think I’ve decided.” “On what?”“Where I want us to make love.”His eyes darken. “Really? And where is that?”“Here, beside the stream.” I lean up and kiss him. “And then in the stream.” I kiss him again. “And then—”He raises an eyebrow. “You’re thinking I’m capable of far more than I am.”My smile fades. “No, I’m not. And I’ve decided, that as Luna, I’m going to be as demanding as you.”He grins. “Is that so?”I nod. “Yes, but only in bed. Like you.”“Well, I’d better get to work giving my Luna what she wants,” he murmurs as he lowers his head to mine.His next kiss is full of heat and desire, but it’s also tempered with the tenderness that is, and always will be, Mack.At first, we mov
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Fifty One
After giving me a boyish grin, he lowers his head to give me a hard kiss. But then he hesitates and the doubt in his eyes is clear to see. “I don’t know how I feel about leaving you here.”“Everyone is back at the house, so that means I’ll be okay.”When his expression shifts, I know he understands what I’m implying. “My da is there; he won’t hurt you.”I’m hoping Faith is too because I still haven’t told Mack about that tree. But I need to. Soon.“Then I’ll be fine. Go. The walk back will give me a chance to prepare for a hard conversation I have to have with my father before he leaves.”When the last of his doubt falls away, he presses his cell phone into my hand. “I’ll call as soon as I get back. Don’t go anywhere until I do, okay? I wouldn’t want you getting lost in the forest and a hiker taking a kiss that belongs to me.”I grin. “They all belong to you. Now go.”After one last grin, he sits back on his haunches, and as I watch, he smoothly, easily shifts into a sleek gray-brown
Last Updated : 2024-07-13FATED ESCAPE Fifty Two
The guilt flooding through me is nearly overwhelming because no one deserves to have their mind broken. “I didn’t—that wasn’t—”The venom in Bree’s gaze silences my stuttering apology because it’s clear there’s no point. I’ve made myself her enemy and nothing I say or do will change that. It’s all right there in her gold-eyed glare.“His wolf attacked me. Nearly killed me,” she says, in a deceptively mild voice, as her eyes burn with rage. “Me. His mate.”I don’t speak. I don’t have the words to say a thing.“He says your name in the night. Sometimes he talks about the baby. He pretends not to remember, says he was just talking nonsense, but I know he does.” Bree’s next laugh is brittle. “His father had to come and save me. Oh, he had such fun rubbing it in my face that Shane would always view you as his mate. That his wolf would never let him forget he walked away from his child.”I shake my head as I will her to understand. “No, Shane didn’t want the child. He said—”“It doesn’t mat
Last Updated : 2024-07-13
Latest chapter
FATED ESCAPE Fifty Six
‘Why not?’ Sylvie had questioned curiously, her adoring teenage heart thumping frantically at the thought of being married to Ran, of being his wife, of sharing his life, his bed… A delicious shiver of anticipatory pleasure had run through her as she’d willed her stepbrother to say that there was a mysterious someone in Ran’s life, far too young for him as yet, a special someone...herself…But instead, disappointingly, prosaically, Alex had told her, ‘An estate manager’s salary and tied accommodation in a small cottage are hardly up to the standard or style of living that the women Ran dates are used to, and he’s far too proud to want to live off his wife...’‘The women...?’ Sylvie had flared unhappily, whilst her mother, who had been listening to their conversation, had chipped in disparagingly.‘Ran would be far better off marrying some farmer’s daughter, a girl who’s been brought up for that kind of lifestyle...’Sylvie remembered how Alex’s eyebrows had risen at this display of s
FATED ESCAPE Sixty Five
It was several seconds before Ran bothered to respond to her unrehearsed but determinedly distancing little speech, and for a moment Sylvie thought that he was actually going to ignore what she had said, but then he turned towards her and said, ‘So what you’re saying is that it’s to be purely business between us, is that it?’It took every ounce of courage that Sylvie possessed, and then some, for her to be able to meet the look he was giving her full-on, but somehow or other she managed to do so, even if the effort left her perilously short of breath and with her heart pounding almost as painfully as her head, She agreed coolly, ‘Yes.’Ran was the one to look away first, his face hardening as he glanced briefly at her mouth before doing so.‘Well, if that’s what you want, so be it,’ he told her crisply, returning his attention to his driving.His response, instead of making her feel relieved, left her feeling... What?Disappointed that he hadn’t challenged her, hadn’t given her the o
FATED ESCAPE Sixty Four
The next thing she knew, Ran was taking her very firmly by the arm and propelling her towards the door, ignoring her protests to leave her alone.At the top of the stairs, to her infuriated chagrin, he turned round and swung her up into his arms, telling her through gritted teeth, ‘If you’re going to faint on me, Sylvie, then here’s the best place to do it.’She wanted to tell him that fainting was the last thing she intended to do, but her face was pressed against the warm flesh of his throat and if she tried to speak her lips would be touching his skin and then…Swallowing hard, Sylvie tried to concentrate on banishing the agonizing pain in her head but it was something that she couldn’t just will away. As she knew from past experience, the only way of getting rid of it was for her to go to bed and sleep it off.They were downstairs now and Ran was crossing the hallway, thrusting open the door and carrying her out into the fresh air.‘What are you doing?’ she demanded as he walked p
FATED ESCAPE Sixty Three
They were supposed to be confined to the park area surrounding the house and not cropping the grazing he needed for his sheep. There must be a break in the fence somewhere—the new fence which he had just severely depleted his carefully hoarded bank balance to buy—which meant…There had been rumors about rustlers being in the area; other farmers had reported break-ins and losses.Once he had seen Sylvie settled at the house he would have to come back out and check the fencing.Sylvie winced as the Land Rover hit a rut in the road, sitting up and just about managing to suppress a sharp cry of pain—or at least she thought she had suppressed it until she heard Ran asking her curtly, ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’‘Nothing... I’ve got a headache, that’s all,’ she stressed offhandedly, but her face flushed as she saw the look he was giving her and she realized that he wasn’t deceived.‘A headache?’ he queried dryly. ‘It looks more like a migraine to me. Have you got some medication for it
FATED ESCAPE Sixty Two
Haverton Hall’s rooms might not possess quite the vastness of the palazzo’s marble-floored rooms, nor the fading grandeur of the Prague palace, but Sylvie had already lost count of the number of salons and ante-chambers they had walked through on the lower floor. The gallery felt as though it stretched for miles, and as she studied the dusty wooden floor of the ballroom her heart sank at the thought of inspecting its lofty plasterwork ceiling and its elegantly inlaid paneling. And they still had the upper floors to go over! But she couldn’t afford to show any weakness in front of Ran and have him crowing over her. No way. And so, ignoring the warning beginnings of a throbbing headache, she took a deep breath and began to inspect the paneling.‘The first thing we’re going to need to do is to get a report on the extent of the dry rot,’ she told Ran in a firmly businesslike voice.He stopped her. ‘That won’t be necessary.’ Sylvie paused and turned to look angrily at him.‘Ran, there’
FATED ESCAPE Sixty One
The shaming fact was that, no matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise, she had done exactly what she had promised herself she would not do and allowed him to take the upper hand. And worse than that...far worse...she had... Quickly she swallowed the frighteningly familiar and painful lump of aching emptiness she could feel blocking the back of her throat. No way... She was not going down that road again...not for a king’s ransom. The arrogant, selfish, almost cruel way Ran had just behaved towards her proved everything she had ever learned about him. She was under no illusions about why he had kissed her like that... It was his way of reminding her not just of the past, but also of his superiority...of telling her that, whilst she might be the one who was in charge of the project they were going to be working on together, he still had the power to control her...to control her and to hurt her.Sylvie turned swiftly on her heel, not waiting for him to see the emotions she
FATED ESCAPE Sixty
FIVE miles or so before her ultimate destination Sylvie pulled the car she had hired at the airport over to the side of the road and switched off the engine—not because she was unsure of where she was going, not even because she wanted to absorb the beauty of the Derbyshire countryside around her, magnificent though it was as it basked warmly in the mid-afternoon sunshine, devoid of any sign of human occupation apart from her own.No, the reason she had stopped was that she had been tellingly aware for the last few miles not just of the slight dampness of her hands on the steering wheel but, even more betraying, of the increasing turmoil of her thoughts and the nervous butterflies churning her stomach.When she finally met...confronted...Ran, she wanted to be calm and in control of both herself and the situation. She was not, she reminded herself sternly, meeting him as an idealistic teenager who had fallen so disastrously and desperately in love with him, but as a woman, a woman who
FATED ESCAPE Fifty Nine
‘Just wait until you see it, though, Sylvie. You’ll love it. It’s a perfect example of...’ ‘We’re already very close to the limit of this year’s budget,’ Sylvie warned him sternly, ‘and—’ ‘So what? We’ll just have to increase this year’s funding,’ Lloyd told her with typical laid-back geniality.‘Lloyd,’ Sylvie protested, ‘you’re talking about an increase of heaven alone knows how many million dollars... The Trust...’‘I am the Trust,’ Lloyd reminded her gently, and Sylvie had to acknowledge that he spoke the truth. Even so, she gave him an ironic look to which he responded by informing her loftily, ‘I’m just doing what I know the old man would have wanted me to do...’‘By buying a decaying neoclassical pile in the middle of Derbyshire?’ Sylvie asked him dryly.And she was still shaking her head as Lloyd told her winningly, ‘You’ll love it, Sylvie...I promise you!’Cravenly Sylvie was tempted to tell him that she was far too busy and that he would have to find someone else to take ch
FATED ESCAPE Fifty Eight
‘YOU’RE not serious...’Sylvie frowned as she studied the synopsis pinned to the front of the file her employer had just handed her.Lloyd Kelmer the fourth was the kind of eccentric billionaire who, by rights, only ought to have existed in fairy stories—as a particularly genial and indulgent godfather, Sylvie thought. She had been introduced to him at a party to which she had been invited by some acquaintances of her stepbrother’s. She had only gone to the party because she had been feeling particularly lost and insignificant, having only recently left her American college and moved to New York. They had got chatting and Lloyd had begun to tell her about the trials and traumas he had experienced in running the huge wealthy Trust set up by his grandfather.‘The old man had this thing about stately homes, I guess I kinda feel the same.He owned a fair handful of the things himself, so he kinda had a taste for them, if you know what I mean. There was the plantation down in Carolina an
