(Amber's POV)I waited for the man to leave through the crowd and as soon as I saw his back disappear out the door, I took the business card he had handed me out from between my cleavage and threw it in the closest trash can.I turned to find Ryan staring at me with a complicated expression before that all too familiar sneer was back on his face."I hope you were satisfied with that performance." I forced out, failing to keep the irritation from my voice as he continued to glower at me."It was all too believable. If I didn't know better, I would think that you actually had some interest in our little Mercenary leader." He shot back, his tone accusing and I couldn't help but snort at his sudden jealous streak."You wanted me to throw myself at him..""I said to do whatever was necessary!" Ryan hissed back and I rolled my eyes heavily."And I got it done didn't I? What are you so angry about?! You already made it clear what you think of me and my value to you only lies in what you can
(Author's POV)Ryan's lips crashed down onto Amber's and instantaneously, sparks of lust seemed to ignite all over her body. She wanted him everywhere all at once, and he wanted to be buried so deep inside of her that he would never see the light of day again.He worked his lips against hers, his tongue probing gently at first before demanding entry roughly, and Amber willingly submitted.His every sense was consumed by her, the taste of her that his body seemed to have craved for so long and now, with her in his arms, he still craved more."Amber, are you sure you want this?" he asked breathlessly as he pulled back from the kiss."I would have stopped you if I wasn't…you're the one who has stopped this before now..you're the one who insisted on keeping me at arms length..I just want you…my mate…" she murmured huskily as her hands pulled him closer.Ryan's heart twisted painfully as he looked down at her, appreciating the sight of her beautiful naked body. Seeing her giggle and flirt
(Amber's POV)My eyes fluttered open as the haze of sleep slowly lifted and I rubbed at them absent mindedly. As my awareness returned, an unwanted feeling of horror slowly settled over me as my mind was suddenly flooded with a play by play of the events of the night before.A rush of heat flooded through my veins as I felt my hands fly to my cheeks as the fear of rejection and soul destroying embarrassment set in.I cast my eyes around the room quickly and when I found the bed next to me empty, a sense of guilt spiked at me as a wave of relief cascaded over my aching body."At least he's not here to reject us openly," I sighed gratefully as my wolf whined her dismay."I think you're wrong Amber. Maybe he had things to do and had to leave early." she soothed."Maybe. But I'll think about this later. We're going to be late if I don't get a move on." I quickly dressed and made my way down to the kitchens, making sure to greet the Omega's that I passed warmly on the way, but, when I arr
(Amber's POV)My stomach flipped in fear as I looked between the disheveled faces of the men in front of me, their faces twisted in an expression of hatred and lust as their eyes roved over me.I had no idea how they had managed to get inside the pack but the acrid tinge to their scent told me that they did not belong in this pack. I hoped to the goddess that they were not fully unhinged rogues because if they were, I stood no chance."Rae, what are we going to do? Do you think we can take them?" I murmured to my wolf as I began to slowly try to retreat backwards."I don't know. I highly doubt it though. Just from looking at them I can see that they're quite strong, certainly no match for an Alpha but for us…Amber we've had no training for such a long time." My wolf said with a slight edge of panic to her voice, "We need to get out of here."Without a second thought, I turned to run but I didn't get far as I ran face first into a wall of solid, sweaty chest and I found my arms being
(Amber's POV)By the time I woke up, I was surrounded by darkness and for a moment, I was filled with utter confusion.A man stood next to her, her arm in his hand as he checked for a pulse and she recoiled from him as a cold panic and fear settled in once more.Had those men had her seen by a doctor just so they could carry out whatever it was they had done to her all over again?!"It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you." he said soothingly as he stepped back, revealing Ryan's anxious face as he hovered behind him."Amber, relax…you're safe." He said as he stepped forward, resting his hand reassuringly on my arm."I can't see any major injuries," the doctor said quietly as he scribbled on his chart, "The damage is mainly superficial although I would think she passed out due to shock. It's a legitimate trauma response."Ryan nodded gratefully and suddenly I felt that I needed to tell him everything before something else happened that would ruin my chances."Ryan..I need to tell you somet
(Amber's POV)The halls and corridors of this depressing place hadn't changed at all, but I pushed away the oppressive feelings with the hope that burned brightly in my chest because of the opportunity to see my mother."It's probably another dirty trick. They'll be some sort of condition, there always is." Rae grumbled."I know Rae, just…at least now we have Ryan behind us. Whatever this fucker throws at us, we can met it head on and not worry about repercussions.""It's just fucking unfair. I want to see her.""I know Rae, I do too. Our mother is the most important thing in our lives but you heard what Ryan said…we have to be careful."They settled into a tense silence with each other as she was led through the corridors and into the sitting room where her father stood imperiously behind the chaise lounge that held the poised figures of Anna and Viola."You're late." Luke said coldly as his eyes seemed to bore into her."Yes, I'm sorry. Traffic was a little difficult on the way over
(Amber's POV)I could see that Viola's eyes were as wide as saucers as she ogled Ryan quite openly, evidently stunned by his handsome features, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of satisfaction at the strangled squeak that she suddenly emitted.In seconds she was standing and fluttering her eyelashes at him with a sickening smile plastered across her face."Hello! I don't think we've been introduced yet." She greeted him brightly as she glanced towards our father, "I'm Viola, daughter of Alpha Luke…it's a pleasure to meet you." She simpered as she scurried over and offered her hand to Ryan, expecting him to kiss her hand warmly and introduce himself."Silly little girl strutting around like a peacock, " Rae snorted in amusement, "She has no idea that Ryan is your husband. I bet she thinks that it's just some handsome Alpha that's come to propose to her."I stifled a laugh at the look of disgust on Ryan's face as his eyes dragged over her disdainfully before he turned, ignoring her c
(Ryan's POV)While we waited for Anna to complete her charade of being an attentive luna and pretend to direct the omega's in their work efficiently, Luke had led us down to the dining hall that sometimes doubled as his council chamber of the Scarlett Pack. He hadn't wanted Amber to join us, but much to his dismay, I had insisted that she accompany us.I wanted him to see us united and watch as it slowly sank in that she belonged to me now and that he could no longer threaten her or oppress her just to get what he wanted.We had sat and listened to him drone on tirelessly about this stupid project for what seemed like forever and quite honestly, I had stopped listening a while ago."So what do you think Alpha?" He asked excitedly, "I have a few projects that I want to pursue, but this one seems the most promising. The only thing that we're really lacking to get it off the ground is a little investment. But with your backing I really think it will succeed and make us both a lot of mone
Amber’s PoVWe sat through each and every trial, and I know initially I felt pity towards Kelly for her death sentence, after learning just how deep her depravity was during the trial of her lover and true mate, I found that little spark extinguished quickly.She deserved everything she had coming to her.Peter and her true mate Rick knew everything and ultimately faced the same fate as she did. The death sentence was rarely given among our kind but no amount of time they were forced to serve would ever atone for what they had tried to do to our kingdom.My stepmother Ann was sentenced alongside my father, both of their sentences determining that they would spend life in prison alongside some of the most terrifying criminals that existed in our world. My father was also charged with the illegal killing of Ryans parent’s, with Ryan standing as a witness and finally, he received the justice that he had sought for most of his life.And Viola?She too had played a part and for the crime o
Amber’s PoVRyan received word from Tom first that Kelly and her lover had been successfully apprehended and by all accounts, things went off without a hitch for them.The team that went after Peter and Viola, however, had a tougher time once they had found him as his personal guard had never been far away from him. The absence of my sister was noted though and when pressed for information, he reluctantly admitted that Viola had been moved to the cells as punishment for setting Ryan and me free, as well as her inability to provide concrete evidence that we were no longer a threat.She was currently being attended to in the cells by the doctor here at the safe house.As for my father, he hadn’t even put up a fight. Surprisingly, my stepmother had injured more of the mercenaries than he had, furious that her hard work was going to come to nothing.I smiled to myself as Ryan draped his arm around me lazily as we took a short walk in the grounds of the house. It was the first time we had
Tom’s PoVBy the time our party arrived at the packhouse, the sun was already casting long shadows through the leaves of the forest. It was these shadows that we moved through to the entrance I had escaped through with Lily in what seemed like an eternity ago.After a brief discussion with the mercenary leader, they agreed that I should lead the raid on our former pack house. As Ryan’s Beta, this was personal to me and I felt as though I had a score to settle as he couldn’t be here himself. This thought only made me more determined to succeed.The mercenary leader had taken a few of his men to lead a smaller raid on Alpha Luke’s territory with the intent of snatching him without too much issue. He had never invested in defensive infrastructure as much as he should have, so getting in and out for them would be easy.The air inside the tunnel that I led my band of misfits down seemed to be thick with tension as we made our way silently through the darkness, stopping only when we reached
Tom’s PoVI rose early the next morning, making sure that I didn’t disturb Lilly as she slept. Delores wanted the mercenaries ready to move out at a moment's notice and Ryan was counting on my support so I did the only thing I could think of and began making sure that my own preparations were in order.By the time I had everything organized and moved to wake the mercenary leader, Delores was already hovering in the corridor, watching me with interest.“What do you want?” I grunted as I went from door to door rousing the men as the leader got himself ready.“I’m just watching you work Tom. You’ve grown into quite a capable Beta, just as I knew you would. It makes my heart full with joy and pride to know that I was right.”I snorted and rolled my eyes as her gaze burned into me.“You didn’t know for sure back then, but you were still willing to leave two teenagers high and dry without the slightest idea what they were doing. I’d say that was pretty heartless.”“Really?” She mused, “I wo
Amber’s PoVThe Elder’s were true to their word and wasted no time in getting down to business.Once they had eaten their fill and reviewed the evidence, requesting copies to be taken into their closed-door meeting, they disappeared off to one of the more secluded rooms on the second floor with Delores leading the way.Lily made sure they had a tray of drinks and snacks to take in with them, more as a show of goodwill and hospitality on our part more than wanting to sway their decision. They had been good enough to travel all this way, the least we could do was to make sure that they were well cared for while they were here.“So what do we do now?” I asked Ryan, biting at my nails nervously.“I guess now we wait,” He said, letting loose a long breath.“Do you think they’ll take long to reach a decision?” Lily asked as she pulled her chair closer to mine.“I doubt it,” My mother answered gloomily, “They have everything they need and more to make a well-informed decision. The longest pa
Amber’s PoVThe Elder’s arrived as inconspicuously as they possibly could so as to not draw attention to the safe house location.As they were ushered into the hall and heads bowed in respect as they passed, I would be lying if I said I didn’t expect them to be more…imposing.The eight members of the council filed quietly through the crowd with benign smiles on their faces as they approached the head table. Both Ryan and I stood to greet them and bowed our heads in respect as we greeted them warmly.“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you all,” Ryan said seriously as their smiles remained in place.“Well, we come when called, and in the event of serious issues…I would say that the alleged events qualify as serious issues…wouldn’t you?” The man at the front answered with a sigh.“Delores said that the Alpha King is still alive?” another Elder asked curiously, “Would it be possible to see him?”“Come now Cecil, can it not wait until after we’ve eaten?” Delores grinned as she appeared behin
Amber’s PoVI still hadn’t made my peace with the fact that my mother hadn’t been able to somehow let me know that she was okay sooner than my wedding night, and I was still reeling from the fact that Ryan had planned to completely destroy me in every way possible in order to get revenge on my father.I know that I had managed to win him over by being the exact opposite of Viola, but it still didn’t sit right with me because he seemed to be quite happy to spit in the face of the Goddess and our mate bond just to get his own back for the death of his parents.I had no part in their demise yet he would have happily thrown me to the proverbial wolves. What happened to the benevolent Alpha that took care of his pack and helped even the Omega’s feel safe under his care? Was it all just an act?“Amber?” Ryan’s voice came from outside the locked door that I refused to open for him, or anyone else for that matter while I tried to get my thoughts in order.“What do you want? I told you I wante
Tom’s PoVIt wasn’t difficult to track down Alpha Luke’s head of finance. When we found that he wasn’t anywhere near his workplace, we headed to the only other location that he was known to frequent.The smell of stale sweat that assaulted our senses as we entered the bar made me want to gag, but I did my best to hold back the urge.“I don’t see him here.” The mercenary leader murmured as we scanned the faces of the patrons here.I grunted in response and pushed my way past the bouncers who looked at each other hesitantly. This was a private club and only members were allowed, but with the mercenary leader at my side, engaging us was more of a risk for these men on the door.“He won’t be in plain sight.” I replied, “He has specific tastes that aren’t fit for public knowledge.”The mercenary leader’s face darkened as soon as he understood what I meant and he lifted his lip in disgust.“The back rooms then.” He snorted as he turned and headed straight for the door where an increasingly
Amber’s PoV“I see you still enjoy turning people’s lives upside down with your prophecies, Delores.” My mother said with a soft chuckle as she stepped forward to hug her tightly before turning her attention back to me, “I know none of this is what you wanted to hear Amber, but this curse…it feeds on secrets and lies and only draws strength from it. You must..”“No! I don’t have to do anything. “ I hissed, “All of this talk about curses, secrets, prophecies, and lies…I never asked for any of this. All I have ever worked for was to free myself and my mother from my fucking deadbeat father's grip and now, I find out that not only my father, not only my mate, but it’s looking like my mother had a hand in all of this?! What the fuck is going on?!”“Amber I promise you, I had no idea what your father was capable of when I accepted the mate bond.” She said as she stepped towards me.I felt trapped being surrounded by so many people that I felt had betrayed me in the worst way.“We met entir