TABITHA POV "Are you sure," I ask as Stanley walks me toward the house while holding my arm. He is acting like I am eighty-three years old and can't walk on my own, but I secretly love it. I feel dainty and protected for the first time in my life. "Yes. Lewis was conscious when she killed David. He heard almost everything. Gary Farce was her uncle, and his daughter was her cousin. That's all we know right now. She is awake, so we should get the whole story. Try to see past the friend we all trust. She will try to use her tears. She tried that on her mate, and he received a knife to the chest. I don't know how much of her friendship was fake, but she fooled everyone. Samantha is an absolute mess. She still won't accept that she did it,' Stanley says, and I begin to feel nauseous just thinking about hurting my mate. "I can't believe she killed him," I whisper, and Stanley sighs before nodding. His eyebrows furrow and his beautiful lips begin to frown. The pain in his e
STANLEY POV "All of us thought Hazel was guilty. Should Lauren really be blamed? One wrong after living in the Layne pack isn't abnormal. The pack suffered severe abuse," I say, and the official turns toward me with a stern look in his wise eyes. "I am here to judge—fairly judge. Your pack cares for Lauren. You know her and love her, but I do not. I see a woman who helped another woman be murdered. I see a woman who could have confessed her crimes to save her pack members when her uncle came threatening her. Especially since she found out the woman she had murdered was innocent! I see a woman who chose to save herself over everyone else. Your mates were lucky you found them. If you hadn't...Lauren would have gotten away with it all. Hazell Layne deserves justice. She was marked as a criminal before the council obtained the copies of her diaries. I read her personal accounts of what happened to her while in captivity, and if you all refuse to bring one of her killers to justice, t
TABITHA POV The smell of silver is thick in the air, and it makes my heart sink as I quietly step into the room my mother is staying in. The officials left yesterday after spending twenty-four hours with her, and they told us she needed at least two more days in bed. "Doing okay, mom," I ask softly as I spot her looking at me. She nods and pats the bed beside her, and I move to sit down. Sadness and anger grip my very soul as I look at the purple bruising all over my mother's face. I wish I could resurrect Gary Farce and put him through all the pain he caused us. Mariah killed him too fast, in my opinion. "Where is Andrew," she whispers, and I grin. "He called a few minutes ago. He is heading this way with all his stuff. Daniel sent half the pack to go pick up our stuff too. Samantha has been raising hell about the work on the mega house, and the timeline has been moved up. They want everyone under the same roof for safety reasons, and I agreed. I gave the okay for them
STANLEY POV I decide to move toward Tabitha as my brother and Sam come into the kitchen looking worn out. I want to be close to her just in case they say something upsetting. The past week has been full of high emotions, and I'm unsure how Tabitha feels. She seems strong and almost unaffected, but at any time, that might change. "Evening. Has Andrew arrived yet," Daniel asks, and I shake my head? "No, but he should be getting here soon. The guys got back from Tabitha's a little while ago. Benji and Mariah are spending time with Trevor. Finley is still explaining things to mom. She was talking about coming down, but Finley explained that we should focus on bonding within our pack," I relay, and he nods before sighing. Samantha moves to a stool to sit down, and Daniel opens the fridge. Tabitha gives her cousin a small smile, and I wrap my arm over her shoulders when Sam fails to return the gesture. I know Sam is grieving the loss of her friend, but Tabitha's kindness should
TABITHA POV "Bye, mom," I whisper as I place a rose on her freshly covered grave. Grief, pain, and longing twist my heart as I try to keep myself from breaking down again. It's been four days, and I still haven't accepted that this is really happening. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, and there she will be. Happy and healthy. Every morning when that doesn't happen, I cry until I pass back out.I didn't help with any of the funeral arrangements. I couldn't bring myself to even think about it. When anyone would come to ask me a question, I would break down. My mother was my best friend. My entire life, it's been me and her against the world. Now she's gone. I have no family besides Sam, Angelica, and Stanley. I barely know them, and now they are all I have. "Sweetheart, do you want to ride back with everyone? They are about to leave. If not, that's fine. I was just going to let them know they didn't need to wait. We can walk home if you want," Stanley says gently from b
STANLEY POV I place my elbows on the counter and bury my face in my hands. It's been two weeks, and Tabitha hasn't gotten better. She barely eats. She hardly drinks...and she never smiles. I don't know how much more she or I can take. Watching her waste away is like slow torture. She has lost at least fifty pounds, and her face looks sickly. Hurst has given her repeated IVs, but they aren't helping much. The only food I can get her to eat is soup. Soup with barely any protein. I rub my face as I hear and smell Finley come in behind me. "Hard day," Fin asks, and I sigh as my hands fall to the counter. "I'm losing it, Fin. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her through this. It's like a part of her died with her mom," I explain desperately, and Finley nods while moving to the other side of the kitchen bar. He sits down on one of the stools and looks over my face with a calm expression. "You are doing everything you can. You are taking care of her the best
TABITHA POV I give Stan a tiny smile as he looks at me in the passenger seat for the hundredth time. I know I worried him. I worried myself. But over the past week, I have been eating, and I have gained some weight back. He really doesn't have to check up on me as much as he is, but I get it. "So the furniture is all set up," I ask to end the silence between us, and he nods. He turns onto a freshly poured driveway, and the automatic gate opens as he presses the button. "Yes. Just wait until you see. This house is a record holder. It's just over 90,000 sqft and it takes up almost 8 acres of land. There are five wings, and each wing has two separate areas that are the size of a four-bedroom home. So, for example, we are on the same wing as Dan and Sam. They have a four-bedroom area with a living room space and a small personal kitchenette. We have the same thing. Fin and Lewis are in the wing next to us with the same setup. Their areas will be rather lonely until they meet
BOYD POV "My stomach is in knots," I mumble, and Mike nods as he hits the blinker. "When Fin came back, he joked about how slutty they acted. Don't you think we should remain cautious," I ask, and Mike's hand tightens on the wheel. "I am cautious. My mate has clearly been around the block a time or two," Mike finally murmurs, and I nod as I think about my mate's redheaded sister. "The pack can't survive another betrayal. Both our mates sound as if they wanted someone from an Alpha bloodline," I reply, and I hear his teeth grind. "So what are you saying? We already agreed to give them a chance," Mike says, and I nod. "We both said three months. If they do anything within that time, we have to cut them out of our lives. We still have each other," I whisper, and he growls. Mike and I have wanted mates since we were nine years old. We dreamed about them and talked about what they might look like for years. But when we met our mates, we weren't instantly in love. In fact,