“Dad!” I screamed but there was no answer. My voice seemed to echo in the quiet night and the forest stood still, holding its breath.Terror threatened to suffocate me as I ran as fast as I could on human legs, spider webs crawling all over my body. Somewhere in the shadows, the menacing growl I had heard before sounded but this time it was closer.Desperation made me try once more to shift but it was no use, my bones started to crack and then stopped, making me lose balance and crash into the cold forest ground.Pain shot through my knee where my skin tore.A twig snapped near me and I jerked my head up.“Dad.” I whimpered, praying to the goddess that he would hear me.I gasped, my heart pounding as I saw a tall figure advancing on me with a gleaming knife. I struggled to get up but my limbs stayed glued to the ground and tears streamed down my eyes as fear grew.When the faceless figure drew a hand back and flung the knife my way, a scream tore from my throat and I jolted awake.My
I laughed as Chase swept me off my feet in a bear hug and gave me a kiss that turned me into a puddle. “Also,” I continued, drawing away so that I could see his face. “I want to help you find solid evidence on Kylan or whoever the true killer is.” Chase’s hands dropped away from my sides. “Not, absolutely not.” He said, shaking his head vehemently. “Chase—” I started to protest but he cut me off before I could tell him he was being a disagreeable ass. “Maya, I love the fact that you are staying, I’m absolutely over the moon but, and that is a huge but, I cannot let you put yourself in danger by involving yourself in this.” “I’m already involved in this!” I explained. “Me being here is an involvement on its own. And Kylan probably feels that way too.” His forehead creased in confusion. “What do you mean?” I shrugged. I had just spoken randomly in my bid to convince him but now that I thought of it, it seemed possible. “Kylan probably already knows that you’re on to him and if m
“I can’t do it.” I said, dread forming a ball in my stomach.“You aren’t doing anything, just smile and say hello. You've been here too long without an introduction to everyone and they're starting to feel unsettled. Chase might not tell you but they whisper and a few that have been to Lunagrove recently have directly gone up to Chase to ask why we're harbouring a fugitive.” Henry said, only pausing to suck on his lollipop while I gave up on reading the novel that he had stolen from Ron’s library for me.“Hey, I’m not a fugitive.” I cried, smacking his arm.“I know you aren’t but you have your face on posters all over your old pack so it looks pretty bad to everyone else.”I groaned and threw the book aside, dropping my head into my sweaty palms with a long-suffering sigh.“Maya, no one is going to eat you.” Henry laughed“That’s what you think. Okay, sure, whatever. I don’t have a choice anyway.” I went to my room to get ready for dinner where I was finally about to be officially in
“No.” I announced theatrically, pushing Chase away with a grunt.“No?” His brows rose in question and he gave me a slow once over that turned my knees to jelly then repeated his question like he knew I was pretending not to want this as much as he did. I guess he did know, my arousal along with his had filled the room with a heady scent that made me hotter.“No?”“No.” I said with finality. “I don’t want to go to dinner with your scent all over me.”“Why not? I’m about to tell everyone that we are mates. I will be very satisfied with having your scent on me so that they all know I’m yours.”The sensual way Chase said ‘satisfied’ made me shiver with awareness and the rest of his words melted my heart but I put it back together and stood my ground.“No amount of sweetness will work on me, babe, let’s go downstairs.” I said, sauntering past him on my way to the door. He let out a muttered curse and followed me with a resigned sigh.At dinner, Chase sat at the head of the table and I sat
I could hear how loud my pulse was as I spun to face the vile male, my skin crawling at the sight of his left eye that darted restlessly without focus.“What did you just say?” I asked softly, refusing to believe that this unnerving bounty hunter had just made mention of my dad.He shifted his stance, balancing a duffle bag that I had not noticed before on his shoulders.“Heh, you don’t like that, do you? Me bringing up your father.” He snorted, laughing strangely at something only he knew about.I was starting to get annoyed. I scanned him again, taking note of details that I had missed before and something new struck me.It was fake. The animal skin he wore as a cloak was a fake, I could not pick up any scent from it.My nose flared and my eyes narrowed into slits, I could hardly pick up his own scent either, it was almost like he had somehow masked it.How...?“Who are you?” I gritted out, hoping that Chase would return. Others hardly ventured into the garden by this time and that
“Maya?”I barely registered the third time Henry called my name. As much as I thought the creep was deluded, I could not shake off the sense of foreboding that shrouded my consciousness. Why on Selene’s green earth would a random stranger go through the pain of sneaking into the well-guarded house to lie to my face?He was definitely deluded but still...“Henry?” By now, the astute Delta had lost interest in gaining my attention but instead circled me slowly with his nose flared.“What’s that?” He asked.He stopped circling and stood at the exact spot in front of me that the bounty hunter had been in minutes ago, sniffing the air with his brows creased in concentration.I knew he was trying to place the male’s scent but it was of no use. I had tried but it smelt like something and nothing at the same time, discerning it was impossible. I was surprised Henry could even pick up the faint scent, I had been with the male and had hardly perceived a thing.“What’s what?” I asked back innoce
“You met a bounty hunter and you said nothing?” Chase thundered furiously “Do you have any idea how dangerous they are?!”I did know, for a matter of fact.“He was—” I started but Chase cut me off and turned to Henry.“Can you trace him? He couldn’t have gotten far.”Henry’s reply was grim, “He doesn’t have a scent.”Chase’s frown deepened.“How is that possible?”“He had a scent,” I said softly, averting my eyes from Henry’s inquisitive ones and trying not to be bothered by my mate’s detached silence. “It was mixed up and wrong like Henry said but it was definitely there. I think he masked it with something, maybe extracts from different plants. Probably dracaena, marjoram...”I trailed off and shrank away from their weighty stare.“Never mind.” I said sheepishly.Chase let out a longsuffering sigh.“Hen, I suspect that this hunter was responsible for the commotion that Ron called me out for. A distraction. There was no way he could have taken Maya without getting caught but I want t
“Maya?”I was awoken the next morning by a knock on my door followed by Chase's voice calling my name with undertones of worry. The bright sun rays streaming in through the windows gave me a pause.What time was it?Frowning, I walked in a daze to the door and let Chase in. I was a groggy mess because when I had finally given in to the resilient arms of sleep, it had been pitifully fitful but I guess I should be grateful that it was without any nightmares.Still, I was mentally exhausted.I turned to go back to bed but paused when extra sets of footsteps did not follow mine. Looking back, I spotted Chase standing rigidly by the door, his eyes fixed on a point above my head.“What are you doing?”“We need to talk, I told you so last night.”No sleep then.“Mhmm, so why are you trying to become a statue by my door?” I asked, my head cocked to the side.“Darling, are you serious right now? I can't focus like this.” He said, rubbing his face with one hand.Okay, I was officially confused.
Chase’s POVWith a hand on Maya’s waist, I led her back to the ballroom. “What was that about?”“Long story.” She sighed. “I’ll tell you when we get home. Why did you come looking for me?”I eyed her. “With the amount of time you took, you might have drowned in the toilet— ow!” I laced my fingers through hers to stop her from elbowing me again. “I was worried. You took so long and I tried to reach you but you’ve put up that darn wall again. You need to stop doing that.”My alarm had grown as everyone went far with dinner but Maya still didn’t return. I would have come to find her since but Ron managed to slightly ease my worry by assuring me that if she was in trouble, she would have reached out to me. So, I had waited until dinner neared its end and empty glasses were being replaced with wine to make a toast to the night’s success. That was when my patient snapped.Maya grimaced guiltily. “Sorry, babe. I didn’t want you to feel me getting worked up and come find me.”I sighed. “Okay,
Maya's POVI scented her before I saw her.“Did you and Kylan plan this? You both are making this night way too long for me.” I sighed and turned to face Lily who watching me like a hawk watching a stray chick. So damn theatrical. Both of them should work at the opera.The overwhelming smell of alcohol drew my attention away from Lily to the other female present and I frowned.“You!” I pointed, flabbergasted.Lily smirked. “Nice work, Sloane. For a moment I thought she wasn’t going to show but here she is.”‘Sloane’ was the female that had bumped into me and spilt her drink down my back. Her staggering flushed state had made me think she was drunk but seeing her coherent and standing beside Lily made me realize that her drunken act was only a ploy to get me here.“Well played, Lily, I’m here now. What do you want?” I asked and stalked to the mirror to survey how bad my dress was.A look passed between Lily and Sloane before Sloane brushed passed me with a scornful sneer to exit the re
Maya’s POVThe night went on with no further incident and soon we were called to sit for dinner. As Chase and I moved to our designated spot, where Ron was already seated— thankfully he had ditched the shades— a server bumped into me but Chase pulled me out of the way before anything could spill on me. I couldn’t relish his smooth safe though because seconds later someone else bumped into me from behind.Cold wetness seeped through the back of my dress and spread everywhere. I felt mortified.“You have got to be kidding.” I gasped and swivelled around.“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry.” A drunk female brunette that looked oddly familiar hiccupped. Her face was red and the glass whose former content now decorated me hung loosely from her hand. “I’m sorry, it was an accident.” She muttered again and staggered away while I simmered in annoyance.People around cast furtive glances my way and I rolled my eyes in irritation. Suddenly, warmth and the scent of my mate encased me as Chase placed
Maya’s POVWe turned to see the blue-eyed devil dressed in a navy blue tuxedo with a smirk gracing his lips.From the corner of my eye, I caught Ron emerge from the crowd to watch our interaction through narrowed eyes.“Greene,” Chase acknowledged him with a cold barely there smile. “I can’t say I’m glad that I made it either.”“You were able to address the sudden problem that arose then?”“Regrettably, yes.”“Ah.” Kylan nodded. “Ever efficient.” Disgust rolled off Chase in waves. Kylan then turned to me. “And who may this be?”I stiffened. All the while he spoke, I had kept my gaze on the ground but as he asked, he met his gaze with a thousand hells of hatred burning from mine.I knew he would not recognize my scent as it was now intermingled with Chase’s since we mated but I had no doubt he would recognize my face.Kylan didn’t disappoint. His eyes rounded as recognition filled them and he staggered back and then forward as he attempted to reach for me. I say attempted because his h
Chapter 99Maya's POV.Ron dislodged from his killing machine and joined us.“How does your hair still look good after that ride?” The jealousy in my voice could be heard from a mile away.“It’s in the genes.” He shrugged and reached into his pocket. I thought of how gorgeous Genny effortlessly was and nodded. It really was in the genes.My gaze caught on the object Ron pulled out. “Ron, no.”“What? It ties the look together.” He said, happily donning his new accessory despite my protests.“You do not need that.” I shook my head at him.“He likes to look as unapproachable as possible at these kinds of events.” Chase explained without prompt, his eyes taking down every detail of our surroundings.I looked Ron up and down sceptically. “And you settled on wearing a pair of sunglasses indoors to achieve that? At night time for that matter?”“Why not?” Ron shrugged. “Nightcrawlers get away with it.I facepalmed, knowing fully well who he was referring to. “Ron, their vampires. Of course, t
Maya's POVReaching for my phone on the bedside table, my gaze fell on the bed and heat crept up my cheeks as images of Chase and me from earlier flashed in my mind. Moments ago, we were there being all wild and dirty but now, as we got ready, silence enveloped the room as we stayed stuck in our thought bubbles.I was glad that Chase was coming with me because despite my insistence on attending the party, now that the minutes to show time were counting down, my bravado was gone and all that I felt was dread.Failing to conceal my anxiety, I drew in a shaky breath and Chase’s eyes instantly snapped my way, meeting my gaze in the mirror.“Are you okay?” Worry laced his question.“Mhmm.” No, I think I might vomit.“I heard that.” He smiled wryly and came up behind me.“Oh.” Redness bloomed on my cheeks and neck. “I forgot I had gotten rid of the wall between us.”Chase laid a feather-light kiss on my exposed shoulder. “I’m glad you did.”“So am I.” I smiled, leaning into him.“Feeling be
Chase’s POVWhen Maya had walked out on me earlier, I had no idea she had left to go shopping. And worse, she was with another male.When Gen told me that Maya was with Ashton, it had rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t like how close they seemed to have gotten, and neither did I like the way the Shadow looked at her.On entering the boutique, I was directed to a dressing room where I found Ashton lounging crossed-legged on a sofa with a glass of wine in hand. I looked from him to the closed curtain which I knew my mate was probably currently mostly naked behind as she tried on clothes.My jaw clenched as I saw the mini walkway. The scene made my blood boil, maybe because he was getting to see the side of Maya which I was currently deprived of.I knew that he had sensed the second I walked into this room but he took his sweet time turning to acknowledge me.“Glad you could make it.” He greeted without festivity.“Yeah, so am I.” The muscle in my jaw popped. “Thanks for keeping Maya comp
Maya’s POVI had a score to settle.On my way out of the pack house, I bumped into Ron and he let it slip that one other person was aware of this date change, as well as Chase’s desire to keep me in the dark about it.Guess who it was?“Genevieve fucking Tyuv!” Ashton lazily opened the front door before I could knock and I stormed into their living room with righteous anger.My target looked up from the rug where she was scrubbing at a damp spot. “I’ll assume you’re cursing because you can’t remember my middle name.”“No, I’m cursing because you knew about the Blood Moon Party and didn’t tell me!”“Oh,” She winced and dropped her rag. “That.”“Yes. That.” I snapped. “How could you? We were together yesterday and you didn’t think to bring up the fact that the party was in a day— which is today! Or the part where my headstrong mate decided Drakor won’t be present!”“The headstrong mate that you missed.” She muttered.“Genny!” I huffed in annoyance.“Fine! It was because Chase said not t
Maya's POVI was angrily shoving on my sneakers when my room door was pushed open to reveal none other than my mate.“Hey.” Chase greeted as he hesitantly stepped into the room.“Hi.” I breathed. I had no idea what emotions were displayed on my face but he remained standing on the other side of the room, studying me with as much caution as I did him.In my head, my wolf urged me to go to him. We missed his touch, his scent, everything about him. I missed him so much that I wanted to bury myself in his very essence and not come back up.I remained where I was though. Thoughts of his absence and the party warred with my desire to be held.Still, my mouth went ahead of my brain and spilt words before I could call them back.“I missed you last night.”The smile that slowly broke across his face was wide and breathtaking. Ethereal. Was it possible that he got more handsome from when I saw him last?My heart beat loudly in my ears as he made his way towards me with a glint in his eyes, only