Aimee's P.O.VI blinked my eyes open, feeling a sharp tug on my scalp. I reached for the source of the pain, expecting to find a tangled knot of hair, or a loose thread from my pillow. Instead, I felt something warm and flurry. A pup? No wait, that pup? I lifted my head and saw the adorable little monster holding a clump of my hair in its mouth. It looked at me with wide, alarmed eyes, then dropped the hair and ran away, leaving a trail of saliva and strands behind it. I sat up, confused and startled. Where does it come from? How did it get into my room a second time? With everything that had been happening, I didn’t feel safe any longer. I looked around and saw the window open, letting in the morning breeze. Maybe it climbed up from outside when I saw sleeping? I sucked in a deep breath and shrug into a robe. It was probably nothing and I was overreacting. As I cleaned up in the bathroom, the events of the previous day played in my head. From the conversation I had with Ella’s sou
Aimee’s P.O.V “Who are you?” I blinked hard, unsure if I should approach whoever it was but I was saved from wondering when a figure emerged from the darkness. Oh, it was a little boy. His face was streaked with dirt and the ragged clothes on his body did little to cover his stick thin limbs. Although he looked tired, his dark eyes were filled with precaution and vigilance. Uh, why would there be a child in a dungeon? There shouldn’t be any guard so insane to lock up a child, right? I thought and then flinched when I recalled the stories Damien had told me about Logan. I guess weird shits happen in the Ridge Pack. Trying to strike up some conversation, I asked. “Hi, little guy. Who are you?” He shrugged and casually leaned against the wall. “I am your father.” What? My mouth formed the word but only a breath fell through my lips. Why was I cursed to be mated to Alpha Logan? Since the day he brought me to his pack, all I’d come across were weirdos and strange people. How could thi
Ella’s P.O.V I tiptoed towards the bed—a habit perfected from years of living in hovels and orphanages—hoping not to wake anyone in the maid chambers. I was exhausted from the long day and all I wanted was to curl up under the covers and forget everything. I reached for the thin blanket, but before I could pull it over me, a deafening crash made me jump out of my skin. I gasped and looked around, my heart back flipping in my chest. Glass shards glittered on the floor, reflecting the moonlight. The window was shattered, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. I felt a cold breeze on my face and it made my blood run cold with fear. “Who’s there?” I shakily called out and grabbed the knife I always keep under my pillow. No answer. “Uh!” I gasped as a shadow fluttered past the window, my heart slamming hard against my ribcage. “Who…who’s there?” still same as before. No, if anything I wouldn’t let them catch me first. Summoning every bit of my courage, I tightened my grip on the knife and
Katie’s P.O.V I froze, my heart pounding an erratic tattoo in my chest. My anger and incomprehension that little Theophilus was still here faded and I felt as if an ice cube had slithered down my spine. The word, “Poison” echoed in my ears, drowning out the angry murmurs of the crowd. “How?” I looked at Ella and grew nauseous at the doubt in her gaze. No. Did she really think I was capable of attempting murder? No, in a minute, I would wake up and find I’d been having a crazy dream, I thought dazedly. Maybe I was still back in that dungeon and my lack of feeding was causing me to have strange hallucinations—because this could not be happening. However, a single glance at Nancy’s wickedly smug smile and the accusing glares of the Ridge Pack members forced me to accept that this was not a figment of my imagination. Shaken, I closed my eyes and snatched a breath. Nancy set me up. I was sure that she had poisoned Alpha Logan, hoping to kill him or make him sick enough so she would bec
Logan’s P.O.VThe world was no longer spinning when I latched my eyes open. The first thing I registered was the slight weight pressed against my chest, then the beeping noises of the machines hooked to my arms and then holy shit, my mate’s heart-wrenching sobs for me to wake up. Wait… My mate… Aimee Moore. I fucking remember her now.I closed my eyes back and pretended to still be unconscious because why the fuck not. It had been way too long since I felt her warmth pressed against me and as weak my body still was—yes, I am man enough to admit I was weak as fucking hell—my dick couldn’t help but stir awake.How I badly wanted to flip her over and take her mouth in a kiss that’d show her how much I fucking needed her, how much I’d missed her feeble attempts at fighting her desire for me before giving up control and—fuck me. I was here thinking about fucking my mate when she’s crying for me to wake up. The thought almost made me bark out a laughter but I reined it in. Twisted maybe. Bu
Aimee’s P.O.VStartled by the knock, I jerked free. Still for a long moment, I couldn’t tear my gaze from his face. “Aimee.” His husky tone made my nerves jump. Then he leaned closer and lapped up a dry trail of tears. His tongue felt hot and wet on my cheek, and my core throbbed in response. How could I find that hot? As he ignored whoever was at the door and moved his hot mouth to the sweet spot at the nape of my neck and gave a long suck, my heart stopped, realizing I’d wanted him to kiss me like that for a long time, to explore every part of me with his mouth, but I refused to submit. This just had to be as a result of the raging mate bond. Besides, Nancy was still in the picture and I had no idea what he wanted to do with her now.So I pushed away from him like his nearness burned me. His eyes held mine for a brief moment, then released me and Logan strode angrily toward the door. Shaken, my heart racing, I ran to the long windows, parted the drapes, and looked at the sparkling c
Logan’s P.O.V Don’t lose it. Don’t fucking lose it. These mantra were what my wolf was growling in my head as I scanned the paper on my desk. But their content meant nothing to me. At least not now. Numbers, words, fucking graphic images of death. All fucking irrelevant. All a distraction from the real problem. And the real fucking problem was standing next to me, talking nonstop about what I couldn’t even bring myself to listen to. Damien. My fucking Beta. My brother from another mother. My traitor. Betrayal burned in my chest and as I screwed my eyes shut, his words came into concentration. “Alpha, we managed to get some information from one of Bruce’s cell-mate back in the Northern Region and they…” the slight pause in his words, the trembling note on his voice as he said they, it was as if he knew he crossed a line and I could no longer keep them in. “How fucking dare you?” I bared my teeth as I lunged at him from across the table, knocking the damn thing over in the process. “
Aimee’s P.O.V:Angry and humiliated couldn’t begin to explain how I felt as I stumbled out of the Alpha’s mansion, into the dimly lit porch. My eyes hurt so much from crying, coupled with the fist that slammed into the right one last night after I moved my things into one of the maid’s chambers at the Beta’s Tower. And even now they welled with tears that stung the bruise around them.I'd never been super rich or lived a princess dream but the life I led back in my pack never prepared me for the harsh realities of omega maids in other packs. The Alpha’s mansion was a paradise compared to the dingy and dirtied rooms at the Beta’s Tower. The room I was shown into stank and the single mattress that lay at the corner of the cold cement floor was bed-bug ridden and just plain disgusting.Not to mention that the warriors and the guards of the pack distributed the women amongst themselves according to the wing you found yourself. Ella was in the North wing where the Beta’s favorite maids wer