-Corrine-Andrew laid me down on the table by the window and from there I could see the moon hanging in the sky. So round and high, and it was as if she was staring back at me, knowing the secret between me and Andrew.His canines dug into the crook of my neck and I felt something flow into my blood. He was infusing his scent into me and after this, all the werewolves would know that I had belonged to someone.I was so immersed in this strange and pleasant feeling that I couldn’t bear to think about how my family would react when they smelled Andrew’s scent on my body.It lasted for a full half minute. Afterward, Andrew withdrew, and then his lips crept down my breasts, making my back arch up and my sighs grow louder.“Andrew.”“Yes, baby?” He lifted his body and stared at me. Even in the darkness, his gaze penetrated me, leaving me stunned.“Tell me what happened to you.” I glanced at his half-naked body—he’d left his T-shirt in the bathroom—to the scars on his newly healed chest and
-Corrine-It was Trevor.I was pretty sure Trevor recognized who Andrew was. Because of the way he was looking at Andrew right now, it was clear he wanted to kill him. The only thing holding Trevor back was the people around us.Trevor approached me in three long strides. Eva followed him, skimming the situation and realizing something was wrong, though she didn’t know what it was.Roughly, Trevor pulled me away from Andrew until our grip on hands broke.“What are you doing?!” He hissed and glared. I’ve never seen Trevor this angry at me.“I—“I didn’t have time to say anything when Trevor pointed his finger at Andrew. “You—“ As if pointing at him was not enough, he grabbed Andrew by the collar of his T-shirt and gave him a firm grip. “Stay away from my sister.”Everyone around us stopped to look at us. This was the second time I was a spectacle at Emily’s birthday party, and this time it wasn’t for the good. Some of them even openly brandished their cell phones to record this inciden
-Andrew-I shouldn’t have gotten carried away and marked Corrine just like that. I should have stuck to my original plan of staying away from her and keeping her safe in her own world. I should have—“Andrew? You okay?”My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. My eyes darted to Eva. Her voice pulled me out of my raging thoughts. We were on our way to the dorm and I had been drowning in regret and worry for Corrine’s safety.Corrine’s pack hated me so much as I hated them that I was almost certain they would kill Corrine for betraying the pack. Yeah, that was very possible.But I knew it didn’t happen because I could sense Corrine’s presence, her existence, now that we were mates.She was still alive, but I didn’t know if she was okay.“I’m not,” I answered, honestly. There was no need to lie to Eva about how I felt right now.She sighed. “I don’t understand why Trevor got so upset when he saw you guys together. I think Corrine was just exaggerating when she said not to let you and
-Andrew-‘Corrine? Where are you? What happened to you?’Our bond as mates allowed us to communicate through the mind link at any distance. It was something I had only heard of once and had forgotten about because I thought I would never have a mate.Now I was grateful for this ability.‘My family locked me up.’I could almost hear the tears in her voice, and anger once again overcame me.What kind of family locked up their own daughter?‘Did they hurt you?’‘No, no. I’m fine.’‘I’ll come get you.’I heard the panic in her voice as she said, ‘Don’t! They’ll definitely kill you if you come here!’‘I’m not coming alone, Corrine. And they will never catch me.’There was no answer. ‘Corrine? Are you still there?’‘Please, don’t come, Andrew. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m sure my family will release me soon and send me back to Golden Valley. They’re a good family. They’ve never hurt me.’I imagined her face when I heard her begging me like that. Oh, fuck, I missed her already
-Corrine-Before my mom could shift, I jumped in front of her and spread my arms. “Mom, please!” My tears welled up without me asking, and I knew my mom could never see me cry.Her anger died out and was replaced by compassion. “Oh, Corrine—“ She sobbed. “What kind of abyss have you fallen into?”“Mom, he’s my mate.” My hands fell to my sides and clenched into fists. I wanted to hug her, but I was afraid. Afraid that she would suddenly change her mind and pull me away, separating me once again from Andrew.This was a tough situation, and my heart was torn in two. For my mom and for Andrew.“Please, don’t hurt him.” I was very careful when I said that. My hand reached out, about to rub her arm, but stopped midway before I dropped it to my side again.This was the first time I hesitated to touch my own mother.“Are you sure he’s your mate?” My mom’s face was wet with tears, but she was no longer crying. Her hands wiped away the streams of water on her cheeks. There was no smile there, b
-Corrine-I screamed and jumped back, trying to avoid the sudden attack. But the woman’s movements were so fast. She clawed at my arm, tearing at my clothes and skin.Blood rushed onto the carpet, and I winced at the pain.“How dare a werewolf enter this house?!” the woman bellowed. Then she glared at the maid. “How could you let her in?!”The maid seemed to have expected this situation to happen. She looked surprised but kept her calm demeanor. “She’s Mr. Ashbridge’s guest.”The maid’s reply made the woman’s eyes grow wider. She jerked her gaze to me. “You?” The tone of her voice showed disgust that she made no effort to conceal. “What’s your relationship with Andrew?”“I—““She’s my mate.”All three of us were stunned to hear Andrew’s voice. My heart poured relief into my tense body when I saw him appear in the doorway. He looked at me, then his expression hardened at the blood on my arm.In two wide strides, he came over to me, pushed the woman and the maid out of his way, then tou
-Corrine-My stomach tightened at the challenge Leana threw at Andrew.“He has to fight with one of us! Isn’t that the rule for a lycan who wants to join our alliance?”“My niece’s right,” the man said. “She must fight and prove her worth. Whether she deserves to be in this alliance.”So the man was her uncle. No wonder they supported each other.A second that felt like an hour passed as I waited for Andrew’s answer.“Don’t you understand the meaning of the word ‘mate’?” Andrew growled. “She doesn’t have to prove anything because she’s my lover. It wasn’t her who wanted to join our alliance, but I brought her here.”“But—““Once again you make a fuss about this, I’ll kick you out of the alliance,” Andrew cut in firmly. “Isn’t that the rule? That as the leader, I have the right to do that?”“Ever since you replaced your father’s position, I’ve always supported you. But this is what you’re giving me in return?”I could feel the depth of Leana’s feelings for Andrew in the sentence she ha
-Corrine-“Give us a minute.”Andrew stepped back and pulled me with him, then he slammed the door right in Bent’s face. After that, he put his hands on his waist, sucked his lips, closed his eyes, looked away, and then took a deep breath.Without anyone needing to tell me, I knew he was upset. Very, very upset.“What—for fuck’s sake—are you thinking?” he asked in a trembling voice, with the emotions that must have been stirring in his heart. “Do you know who Leana is?”I knew he didn’t mean to look down on me or compare me to Leana to make me feel inferior. But hell, I didn’t like the way he asked me.I folded my arms across my chest. “Do you know who I am?”“Are you a warrior in your pack?” He puffed out his chest and leaned closer, challenging me with his gestures and piercing gaze. “Are you highly trained in combat? Do you, as a werewolf, fight often?”For a moment, I flinched. All the answers to Andrew’s questions were no, I wasn’t a warrior, and I didn’t fight often or highly tr
-Andrew-Bent dropped me back at Trevor’s house before noon, and honestly, I was a bit disappointed that no one was waiting for my arrival there. I expected Corrine to greet me and cry in my arms, worrying about me. What a stupid thought. After making sure there was nothing suspicious, no sign of an attack or anything dangerous, I walked to Golden Valley. Maybe Corrine was on campus, going to classes as usual, and she’d probably nag me when we met later. At first, I thought about contacting her through the mind link, but I decided against it. I would wait for her at Houghton Commons while having brunch. I reached into my pocket, glanced at my phone, which was dead because the battery had run out, and then put it back. For some reason, the weather today felt unbearably scorched, and it made me annoyed. My frustration grew when I found Houghton Commons crowded, and I could feel curious stares from the students there. Some of them whispered while glancing at me. Girls I didn’t know
-Andrew-The rogue attack forced all the werewolves out of their homes. I had no choice but to join the chaos. Along with the Moon Dust pack, I attacked and tried to drive the rogues away.“There are so fucking many of them!” Bent shouted amidst our fierce battle with several rogues. We were trying to stop them from destroying the houses in the territory.Bent was right. The waves of rogue attacks seemed endless, and I was almost certain this fight would never end.Then, just as I finished thinking that, suddenly all the rogues ran away as if someone had commanded them to retreat and disappear into the darkness.“What the fuck?” I muttered as I shifted back to my human form.I kept observing the forest behind the settlement, trying to spot any sign of them. But they had vanished, swallowed by the night.Not long after, Harry came up to me. His hands and face were stained with blood, but I couldn’t tell if it was his or the enemy’s.“You better go,” he said.Instead of obeying his comma
-Andrew-I saw Harry’s Adam’s apple move nervously as he swallowed. His eyes flickered, assessing the situation for a few seconds before he said, “Please arrest them.”My grin grew wider.I walked across the front yard of the Alpha’s house, my eyes locked on the three teenage girls still trying to run from me. They shifted midway, and that’s when I was sure they were the werewolves responsible for the attack and terrorizing Corrine.I recognized their wolves and remembered their scents. Rotten, like garbage.My steps quickened until I broke into a run and shifted. With one big leap, I soared through the air, jumping over the three wolves and landing right in front of them.The sound of their frightened and shocked howl was music to my ears as they realized I had caught up to them.I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes. “Going somewhere?”They stood their ground and growled, then, one by one, crouched on their hind legs and leaped at me. Honestly, when I knew the culprits behind the at
-Andrew-Bent arrived just as I reached the end of the street. He pulled over and greeted me as I got in, and the car smoothly glided back into the night.“Where to?” he asked.“Moon Dust,” I replied. “They need a little reminder not to mess with my girl.”Bent had known me long enough to understand when to ask further questions and when to stay silent. Though he often acted tough towards me, he still respected me and knew his boundaries.The empty streets made the drive to Wesgrove faster than usual. The car turned into Moon Dust territory. There were two warriors standing guard at the entrance. Now that the war between us was over, they didn’t need to be overly vigilant. Our threat was now the same: the rogues. But compared to the lycans, the werewolves were more vulnerable to rogue attacks.The two warriors stood still as they saw me and Bent. They didn’t greet us, but they didn’t block our way either.I told Bent to stop the car beside them, then I rolled down the window.“Who’s i
-Corrine-No way.I almost screamed out Eva’s name, but I realized I was in the middle of a sorority house complex. Even the slightest commotion would draw people out, and they would see two giant werewolves, a young woman who might be dead, and me.My heart was pounding so hard it made my ears ringing.One of the werewolves growled at me and started to walk closer. Under the streetlight, I saw the flash of its fur. Reddish-brown. The same color as the fur of the werewolf that killed Daniel.I was too stunned to know what to do. In this situation, I remembered Andrew’s words about me not being able to take care of myself. It seemed he was right.This wasn’t because I was incapable, but the image of Jerome’s death—his blood on my hands—was still haunting me in my subconscious.The werewolf was now charging at me with its jaws wide open. It moved so fast that at that moment; I was sure I would be torn apart by its sharp teeth.“Corrine!”Trevor’s shout startled me, and only then did I c
-Corrine-“Hotel room, my ass!”My argument with Andrew made me forget about Trevor’s presence. Apparently, he had finished talking to the tow truck driver and was now listening to our conversation.Trevor put his arm around me while glaring at Andrew. “If she doesn’t want to stay with you, then she stays with me. Period.”“No can do,” Andrew shook his head. “She’s with me.”“She’s my sister!”“And she’s my mate.”“Fu—” Andrew then turned to me. “Tell me, my sweet, pretty little sister. Who do you want to stay with? I bet you’d choose me—”“I want to stay in the dorm.”I took this middle ground because if I chose one of them, the other wouldn’t stop complaining and pressuring me to change my choice.“I’m a werewolf, in case you forgot. I can protect myself and—”“No, you can’t,” Andrew cut in. “You didn’t even shift until I reminded you earlier.”“For fuck’s sake, Andrew! I was panicked, okay?! It won’t happen again.” I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. “And stop making decisi
-Corrine-I opened the door just as the car’s windshield shattered. The attack separated me from Andrew because we jumped out in different directions.Right after destroying the car, the werewolf turned its attention to me. It bared its sharp teeth and fangs, growling before leaping at me, not giving me a chance to shift.I jumped to the side and rolled on the cold asphalt. As I stopped, lying on my back, the werewolf was already close, opening its jaw wide, ready to bite me.That’s when Andrew arrived—in his lycan form—and struck the werewolf so hard that it was thrown several meters from its original position.Shift,’ he said through our mind link.“I’m fucking trying to,” I grumbled. “It’s not that I don’t want to shift or—”‘Watch out.’My grumbling wasn’t finished when the werewolf got up and charged at us. This time, I successfully shifted. Standing on four legs, I held my ground as the werewolf attacked me, though Andrew didn’t allow it to touch me. He delivered a solid punch t
-Corrine-I left the box on the bench, but I put the letter in my jacket pocket as evidence. After that, I went back into the convenience store.The clerk inside looked at me, probably wondering why I returned, and I just glanced at her briefly before walking to the refrigerator to grab a cold drink.My hands were shaking as I reached for a drink, and I nearly dropped it. I stood there in front of the fridge, staring blankly.Who was it? Could it be—my mom—oh, by the moon goddess, I couldn’t imagine if it really was my mother.I swallowed, feeling something stuck in my throat, and my breath was heavy as if the air was no longer as light as it should be.“Are you okay?”I jumped and screamed. The bottle slipped from my hand and rolled to the feet of the convenience store clerk. She frowned as she looked at me before bending down to pick up the bottle.As she handed it to me, she repeated her question. “Did something happen? You look pale. Are you sick? Do you need to call someone?”Rig
-Trevor-Although Corrine had told me that Andrew was loaded, I was still shocked when I arrived at his house—it wasn’t a house; it was a fucking mansion—and even more astounded when I entered his garage.“Fuck you,” I muttered to Andrew, staring at the rows of expensive cars he owned.“Thanks,” Andrew replied casually. It seemed like he was used to getting this kind of reaction.We descended the stairs and headed towards a black sports car near the steps. “What’s the point of having so many cars?” I asked as Andrew opened the hood.Andrew glanced at me and then chuckled.“What?” I asked, frowning. “Something’s wrong with me asking?”“No. It’s just… you sound a lot like Corrine.”“What can I say? We’re siblings.” I shrugged.“Yeah. And I know she cares about you a lot.”A moment of silence. “Was that the reason why you didn’t attack me when my pack captured you that night?”Andrew gave me a glimpse of a meaningful look. “If I hurt you, I’d hurt Corrine. And I don’t want to hurt her.”