Trista’s POV“Oh my God!” Hazel gasped.Screams erupted from the auction floor just as the glass from the VIP room shattered. Shards of glass exploded and people shielded themselves. Everyone turned to look.A man fell from the air, his arms flailing as he fell.“Liam!”He hit the floor with a thud. For a moment, I thought for sure he was dead. But then he struggled up to his feet. We rushed towards him as he simultaneously rushed towards us.When I saw his chest, my eyes flew open. His chest was covered in blood.I clamped my hand over my mouth. He’d been shot! This was exactly what I’d been afraid of. Those bastards put bullet holes into him.Or was it Johnson who shot him?Liam wasted no time, even though he was bleeding like crazy. He grabbed Hazel and I.“We need to GO,” he hissed at us, his eyes frantic.My mind reeled. “Liam, what happened?” I asked as he started pulling us towards the exit.“There isn’t time. We have to get out of here.”It was chaos on the floor. The gun sho
Trista’s POVI was transfixed by the voice and compelled to turn around.Where was it coming from? And why was it so insistent that I leave?I was the only one who could save them? Save who?“Trista! We have to go,” Hazel hissed in my ear. “Something’s wrong with Liam.”All around us, people pushed and shoved, trying to squeeze out the small exit door. Liam had a stern look on his face as his eyes remained fixed on the door. He was holding his wound with one hand. I looked down and saw that the wound was actually in his stomach. This was a relief. I thought he’d been shot in the chest. Given the fact that Liam was an alpha, a wound in the stomach shouldn’t be fatal.But something was wrong.His wolf should have been healing him already. Instead of getting better though, he seemed to be getting worse.Liam’s face was a peculiar gray color. His hand was caked in blood. Right then, Liam swooned. He reached out for Hazel, who caught his arm to steady him.“The stairwell,” I told Hazel. Ev
Trista’s POV“Oh my God, Hazel. It’s…it’s black. Why is it black? What’s wrong with him?”My words came out in a jumbled mess. I wasn’t a doctor, but I knew enough to know that a black wound was really, really bad. It likely pointed to some sort of poison. But that kind? It wasn’t wolfbane, that much was clear.Was it a human poison? And if so, what would that do to Liam’s wolf?Or was it a werewolf poison? I glanced at his chest. His veins were blackening, right there, in front of us, as though we could see whatever poison this was crawling up his chest through his veins in real time.It was horrifying.He needed a wolf doctor, that much was clear. This was no ordinary wound. Even if it was a human poison, he needed a doctor who knew about werewolf anatomy.I’d lived in Milan for five years, but I’d lived as a human in Milan. I didn’t know any wolf doctors. Not here.Liam’s body tensed. He clenched his fist and bit down on his teeth.“Hazel! What’s happening?”Liam began flailing, hi
“Give me space,” Doctor Darren instructed, opening up his medical box. “I need clean sheets and hot water. Towels, too.”I watched, horrified, as he pulled out a scalpel. The blade glinted in the light.“What…what are you doing?” I stammered.He didn’t respond. Instead, he gave me a sympathetic look.“No,” I said, realizing what he was about to do. He was going to perform surgery, right there, on my couch.“I need to remove the bullet,” Doctor Darren said calmly. I felt crazed. I was so worried about Liam, it physically hurt.“Come, love,” Mrs. Lemick said softly, taking my elbow. “He’s in good hands. My husband is one of the best doctors around. Give him space. Show me where the extra sheets and towels are.”Mrs. Lemick began leading me out of the living room. I followed her in a daze. Hazel stayed.“When I tell you,” Doctor Darren said to Hazel, “apply pressure right here.”Hazel was assisting the doctor.‘Pull yourself together,’ I chastised myself. ‘Make yourself useful.’ I
Trista’s POVI stared at Doctor Darren in disbelief.“Yes,” I said, nodding. “I am. Gamma Moonlar was my father. Did you…did you know my father?”It had been a long time since anyone had mentioned my father. Yet, this doctor here seemed to have known him. What are the chances? I thought to myself. My father had never even been to Europe, not to my knowledge. Not only had this werewolf doctor come into our lives at exactly the right time to save Liam, but he also knew my father?It really was a small world sometimes.“I did dear, yes,” the doctor sighed. “But it was a long time ago. I was sad to hear when he passed, though. I heard he’d died of illness?”“That’s right,” I confirmed. “It was very…sudden. A shock, really. To all of us.”“I’ll bet it was,” he said, narrowing his eyes. There was something strange about his voice. “Do you happen to know which illness it was, dear?”I shook my head. I didn’t.“Why?” I asked. I felt like there was something he wanted to tell me. He studied my
Trista’s POVJules chatted incessantly. He was yammering on about God only knows what, something about chocolate. I tried to block him out so I could hear the voices upstairs.I really hoped they would say something else, about my mother OR father, something that would give me a clue as to how he knew them.But Doctor Darren and Mrs. Lemick had gone quiet. I figured they were probably sleeping.“Oh shit,” Jules suddenly said. I looked over. Liam’s white bandage was turning red. “What do we do?” Jules squealed, standing up.Hazel leapt up and went to Liam.“Why is he bleeding like that?” Jules asked, horrified.I had to admit, it didn’t look good. His wound was still bleeding, enough to saturate the bandage. Hazel gently pushed Jules out of the way and peeled back the blood-soaked bandage.Jules gasped when he saw the stitched up wound. He took a few steps backwards.“I’m going to faint,” he said, looking woozy. I grabbed his elbow and led him to a chair. “You said he was all right,” J
Trista’s POVA shiver ran down my back. Liam was an alpha and as such, few things rattled him. But I could tell by the look in his eyes right now, he was rattled.Liam coughed then. Hazel handed him some water and we waited. Liam was weak. He should have been resting. His wound was still bleeding and his hands were shaky. He’d lost a lot of blood. He needed time to recover. But we had to hear the rest of the story. And Liam was just as intent to tell it to us as we were to hear it.“Suddenly, all hell broke loose,” Liam continued. “These men rushed in. They were dressed in black and they all had guns.”“I saw them too,” I said. “When I first went up to the VIP room. They were awful. Lewd. Arrogant. I had a feeling they were dangerous but they left shortly after I got there.”“They’re dangerous all right,” Liam said. “They barged in and saw me held against the wall. The man let go of me and turned to the other men. “Don’t,” he told them. But they drew their guns. They aimed them all a
Trista’s POVI leaned against the door and ran my hands through my hair. It had been a long day and I couldn’t take any more. Liam had been shot but some sort of mystical bullet. Something was wrong with Johnson and I was worried for his safety. And now I couldn’t find my children!Where were they?Had something happened to them? Tears stung my eyes. I knew that, any moment now, I’d have a complete meltdown. I tried to bite back my tears but it was no use. I couldn’t hold it all in anymore.But just as I was about to break down, I saw someone waving at the end of the hall.“Trista,” she hissed. I squinted and saw that it was Mrs. Lemick. She was waving at me, motioning for me to come with her.“I didn’t mean to worry you, dear,” she said as I approached.“Where are Billy and Belle,” I asked, my voice desperate.“Everything’s fine, I promise. Follow me.”She led me down the hall and through a utility room. To my surprise, there was a hidden elevator. We stepped inside and she brought u
Trista’s POVMy breath hitched in my throat as I stepped out into the courtyard. Was this really happening? Was I finally going to see Johnson with my own two eyes, after all this time?It was a dark night, with only a sliver of the moon in the sky. But even in the darkness, I could see his form, standing there, facing me, his shoulders slumped forward.It was him. It was really him!My heart swelled with an intense feeling and I couldn’t hold back by emotions.“Johnson,” I said, rushing into his arms. He held me so tightly, one arm wrapped around my back, the other hand cradling my head. I took in his scent, the familiar, comforting scent as I pressed into him. Tears streamed down my face, and I let him hold me for a long while. We both trembled at the relief of seeing each other again.Eventually, he broke the embrace, holding me back and studying my face.“Look at you,” he sighed. “As beautiful as ever.” He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. The touch of his thumb on my ch
Trista’s POVAs soon as the children and Jules got back, I sat them all down. I tried to keep the fear out of my voice as I told them we were going on a ‘special trip’. I wanted them to be excited, not frightened.“Another trip, Mamma?” Billy asked, his eyes wide. “On a big boat again?”“No,” I shook my head. “This time, we’re going to a very special place. It’s deep in the primeval forest.”“Primeval forest? That sounds scary,” Belle said, recoiling on the couch.I rushed to her. “Oh sweetheart,” I said. “It’s not scary at all. I promise. There are lots of people there. And they will all be excited to see you. I would never take you anywhere scary, I promise.”“I don’t know,” Jules said, biting his fingernails. “I agree with Belle. A primeval forest sounds…frightening.”Seriously? I whipped my head and shot a glance at Jules. It was bad enough that I had to convince my children to pick up and trek through the forest. But Jules was an adult! Couldn’t he see that the children were scar
Trista’s POVWas that…Was that Johnson?I sat, frozen to the spot. Could it really be him? After all this time?“Trista?” the voice said again, and I knew in my heart of hearts that it was unmistakably Johnson.It was the first time I’d ever heard his voice on a mindlink. Did this mean he was in the United States?His voice sounded a bit garbled, with an edge of confusion. I surmised that it was likely because he wasn’t used to using a mindlink yet. I also noticed a bit of surprise in his voice, as though he were a bit shocked that he could speak to me this way. I didn’t blame him. Connecting through mindlink wasn’t something he was used to. He’d lived as a human his entire life, and speaking this way took a little getting used to. “It’s me, Johnson. Yes, I’m here,” I answered rapidly while tears of relief brimmed in my eyes. He was alive. He was okay. I’d been so afraid that I’d never speak to him again. How many times had I wished to hear his voice? How many times had I tried to
Trista’s POVHow was this possible? How could they be ripping off designs I’d sold in Milan? And they were calling them ‘custom designs?’ My mind reeled as I stared at the picture of Moon Mates. I’d been SO proud of that design. I’d worked myself to the bone in Milan to create it! With Lucian’s help, I’d procured just the right material that had worked perfectly for the design. It had been risky, using Moon Mates for the competition since every other design had featured glittering jewels and high-end gems. But I’d taken a chance and it had paid off. My mind flashed back to the competition and the rush of pride I’d felt when the crowd had gasped, in awe, at my special design.And now it was being sold in some crappy brochure? Under someone else’s name? A new level of fury bubbled inside of me.This was unbelievable!“I can buy this?” I asked, pointing at Moon Mates. “I can order it? Right now?”She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes,” she said, a wide smile plastered on her face.“How mu
Trista’s POVI was furious.My designs had clearly been leaked, but how did this? The only people that had seen my designs were the board of directors at HS. I’d given a presentation and showed them some of my concept drawings. I’d told them about what I wanted my store to look like, and my dreams for my jewelry line. My ideas had been well-received but after the presentation, whether it was a press conference or during the production of the product samples, everything had been strictly confidential.I’d made sure of it, since I’d been worried that someone would steal my designs. So to ensure that no one could, different product series and different parts of the production were assigned to various processors, but not a single one of them had my complete design drawings.And yet, this store was full of exact replicas. I didn’t understand! Clearly, my designs had been leaked to someone. But how? Hazel had been in charge of everything. She’d overseen the process herself and there was NO
Trista’s POVI swiped the tears from my cheeks. There was no use just sitting there, crying. It wouldn’t solve anything. Until I heard from either Johnson or Dagny, there was literally nothing I could do to help either of them, even though I wanted to so badly. I’d come to work to distract myself, so that was what I had to do. If I let myself dwell on this, I’d become a nervous, emotional wreck. I couldn’t let myself get so sentimental. I had to stay strong and calm.I decided to take a moment to collect myself before I dove back into work. I pushed back my chair and went to the window to get some air. I propped it open to allow a fresh breeze waft through my dusty, stuffy office. But as I glanced down at the busy street below, my eyes fell on the jewelry store across the street.I was stunned to see that it had already opened for business. That was quick! When I’d left two months ago, the store had still been under construction. I assumed it would be several months before the store o
Trista’s POVThe first thing I noticed was a thin layer of dust on my desk. It made sense, since we’d been gone for almost two months at that point. Everything else was exactly as I’d left it, and it felt really good to be back in my little office.I dusted my desk and then sat down. I organized my draft designs while I booted up my computer. When I logged onto my email, I was surprised to see an email from Johnson. At first, a swell of hope gripped my heart. Was he reaching out to me? I quickly opened the email, hoping that maybe the email would let me know where he was and how he was doing. But then I realized that the email had been sent two months ago.I scanned the email. In it, he told me that he’d found a shop for me in New York. He’s also included some pics of the shop. The tone of the email was excited, optimistic. I slunk back in my chair.He’d sent it right before Hazel and I had decided to go on our European adventure. I’d been so busy right before we left that I hadn’t ch
Trista’s POVI woke up the next morning to sunlight streaming through my window. It was just Billy, Belle, Jules and I in the house now with Liam and Hazel gone. We asked Jules to stay under the ruse that we needed his help looking after the kids. The truth was, Jules had to stay with me for the time being so I could protect him, just in case. Liam and both felt Jules needed to be with me.Jules took his job as a pseudo nanny very seriously. He was already in the kitchen making the twins breakfast when I wandered in. He had one of my old aprons on and he was flipping pancakes like nobody’s business.“Uncle Jules is taking us to school,” Belle said happily.“After pancakes,” Billy added.“If that’s okay with you?” Jules asked. “I want to see their school and I thought you might like to rest.”That was really sweet. I didn’t have the heart to tell Jules that I wanted my car today while the kids were at kindergarten so I could go and check in on my office.“That’s great,” I told him. “I
Trista’s POV “What?” Liam asked. “Red Moon Pack? Are you sure?”“Of course I’m sure,” Hazel said. “I was surprised too. I thought our cooperation with Red Moon Pack only started in the past three years or so. But these contracts said otherwise. They were much, much older than that. I don’t understand though. I thought Blue Moon Crescent and Red Moon pack had a poor relationship until recently. So why do they have contracts from years and years ago? I assumed you probably didn’t know about this since you never mentioned it. I guess your parents must have signed those contracts and not told you about them. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off with those contracts, Liam. The whole thing just seems fishy to me. So, I came over here to tell you myself. Luckily, I came just in time for dinner.”Hazel winked at me while Liam sat in stunned silence. Apparently, Hazel had been right – Liam didn’t know about those old contracts with Red Moon Pack.“I don’t know what to s