Trista’s POV Liam? Ugh. He was the last person I wanted to talk about. “He made us, well you, a pretty good offer, Trista.” I didn’t want a damned thing from Liam, let alone some sort of business offer. But I trusted Johnson so I listened. “Liam’s been in touch with Stevia Sinclair.” My eyes lit up. Stevia Sinclair? She was the hottest movie star right now. She was a massive influencer with a multi-million social media following. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, knew who she was. Johnson chuckled at my expression. “Looks like Liam managed to secure a deal with Miss Sinclair. She’s agreed to endorse your latest jewelry line. With a few conditions, of course.” I couldn’t respond. How? What? Was this really happening? “It gets better,” Johnson said. “Liam has offered to fund the creation of an independent brand, in YOUR name.” It was a dream come true! My own brand? Endorsed by the most famous movie star on the p
Trista’s POV His question hung in the air. I thought about it. It was an attractive offer. My own line? Endorsed by Stevia Sinclair? It was everything I’d ever dreamed of! But I hesitated. Because there were strings attached. Giant strings, ready to strangle me. Liam. I didn’t want to see him again. Ever. Dagny’s words rang through my head. ‘Billy’s wolf might be unstable. He’s been raised without his pack. Maybe you should go home, Trista.’ Now, if Liam had made me this offer yesterday, I would have flat out refused. Yeah right! Work for that jerk? But this wasn’t yesterday. And a lot had changed since then. Billy had spooked a horse and taken a bad fall. Dagny had voiced her concerns. Was Billy at risk? Of having an unstable wolf? I didn’t know. I had to admit there was some truth in Dagny’s words. When I’d first left, I hadn’t thought about the ramifications of raising my children away from their pack. I’d
Trista’s POVI chose Summerset. I knew the town well and it was close to the forest town where the Blue Moon Crescent Pack was.Many young wolves came to Summerset. Young people from the pack, to start their own businesses. It helped strengthen our pack. Starting their own business gave them better, richer lives. I had encouraged our young wolves to do this when I’d been Luna.Many of them had. My children would be surrounded by wolves in Summerset. It was the closest I could come to being ‘near’ a pack, without actually being part of one. Blue Moon Crescent was doing really well. That’s what I’d heard. Of course, I had made Blue Moon Crescent its first buckets of wealth. But Liam had turned that money into more. He’d done really well financially. His reputation spread far and wide. Even in Europe I’d heard whispers about the ‘mysterious billionaire who lived in a small, forest town.’ He’d integrated his business into the human world very successfully. Our pack was doing very well.
Trista’s POV Hazel!MY Hazel!Reunited at last!Moon Goddess, it felt good! We embraced. Then we both started talking at the same time, gushing and chattering.We were talking over each other and neither of us could understand a word the other was saying. I laughed. “We clearly have a lot to catch up on. How about you come back to my place and we’ll have tea? The kids can play in the yard. Please?” I took her hands in mine.She squeezed my hands. “Trista, I already let you go once. I’m NEVER letting you go again!”Back at my house, I made tea. But before it had finished steeping, Hazel looked at me with a mischievous look. I knew that look. I ditched the tea and grabbed a bottle of wine. We sat out back and clinked our glasses together.“To us,” Hazel said, sinking back into her chair.“To us,” I smiled.We hadn’t seen each other in five years, but we slipped right back into our friendship, talking easily and comfortably as though no time had passed. I regaled her stories abo
Trista’s POV At that exact moment, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. ‘Speak of the devil,’ I muttered under my breath. It was Johnson. I had barely answered though when the twins swarmed me. “Is it Johnson? Is it?” They asked, hopping from foot to foot with excitement. I nodded and went to say hello, but Billy snatched the phone out of my hand! “Johnson!” he said. “We boughted a hammock! A real one!’ Then Belle grabbed the phone from Billy. “It’s ME! Belle!” she squealed into the phone. “Can you hear me cuz we flew all the way across the ocean!” Hazel raised her eyebrows. “Johnson, is it? Is that his name?” “Oh yes, he’s a friend. And my boss, actually…” “Well, judging by their excitement,” she pointed at the kids who were taking turns with the phone, “he sounds like a lot more than a friend.” “It’s not like that,” I denied. “Look at them!” Hazel
Trista’s POV “What do you mean?” I asked. What rumors? What awful, terrible rumors? “Just stuff,” she shrugged dismissively. “What sort of stuff?” I prodded. “Well, as you know, Lycans are an ancient race. They’ve always been a little…mysterious. You know, they keep to themselves and all that.” “Get to the rumors, Hazel,” I said flatly. “I’ve just heard things. Like – that they’re brutal. Powerful. Merciless. People, werewolves, are afraid of them. Just things like that.” I was silent. Brutal? Merciless? I had a hard time thinking about Johnson in any connection to THOSE words. He was the complete opposite. Kind. Loyal. Generous. Seeing my silence, Hazel continued. “Obviously Johnson’s not like that,” she said. “You told me he takes care of you. And the children. He sounds lovely, he really does.” Her words were coming out rushed. It was making me feel uneasy. “He’s clearly VERY differen
Trista’s POV We drove through the busy streets of Starhaven. I knew Starhaven was big, but I had no idea it was THIS massive.Traffic was bumper to bumper in the downtown core, since it was the middle of rush hour. Everywhere I looked, skyscrapers loomed overhead. Pedestrians scuttled across the streets, briefcases and coffees in hand. I’d been to some really large cities in Europe, so a large city was nothing new. I was just surprised that THIS is where Liam’s head office was.This was a far cry from the pack’s simple town in the forest. And a far cry from Summerset.Hazel slammed on the brakes, causing my body to lurch forward.“What are you doing?” She threw her hands up in the air. “Are you color blind! That’s a green light, you jerk!”I gave her the side-eye. Hazel was generally a pretty calm person, but something about driving in the city turned her into a swearing, angry, maniac. I checked my seatbelt to make sure it was secure. “Are you sure you can find the building?
Trista’s POVLiam’s assistant, Jules, was leading me down a long corridor. He was walking really fast and I struggled to keep up. Liam had passed me off to him. “So the launch party is first. Just a small affair. Only about 300 or so guests. Then it’s the photo shoot with Miss Sinclair,” Jules said. He glanced back at me while we walked. “Miss Sinclair is a real doll. You’ll love her. Really. This way.” He veered left into another long corridor. “Now, as I’m sure you know, our company, Dress Right, is the father company to all our other apparel companies. In fact, we’re now the largest group of apparel companies on the East Coast.”“Oh, I actually didn’t know that,” I said.Apparel? I didn’t know Liam had gone into the apparel business.“Yes, yes,” he nodded quickly. “This way.” We turned right this time and were met with yet another long corridor. “We have a wide range of business lines. Everything, really, from casual wear to popular designer brands. We cover luxury goods, too, of
Trista’s POVBack upstairs in the small cottage, Dagny rummaged through her cup boards. She produced a small, crystal jar.“This ointment will make Liam well enough to travel back to the United States,” she told us. Darren eyed the small jar and I looked at him for confirmation. He nodded, indicating that the ointment was fine.Dagny walked over to Liam, lifted his shirt, and removed his bandage. I gasped when I saw his wound. It was red and angry-looking, with small black veins spread out over his stomach and chest like a spider web. Dagny scooped up some of the ointment with her fingers and roughly rubbed it on Liam’s stomach. Liam inhaled a sharp breath and winced.“That hurts,” Liam said as Dagny continued to apply the ointment in a belligerent way. I had to admit, she could have been a lot gentler. Dagny didn’t reply to Liam’s comment so Liam put his hand over hers to stop her.“Dagny, do you have some sort of problem with me?” Liam asked. “You’ve been very polite to Trista and D
Johnson’s POV“My father wanted to hand over the family business to me,” I told Jake. “But I wanted to go to New York.”“Because of that bitch?” Jake asked smugly. I nodded.When Trista left to go to the US, I felt a void in my life. I realized how much she meant to me. My feelings for her were complicated since we were such good friends. But I missed her so much it hurt. And the twins too. So I’d asked my dad if I could follow her to New York and set up business there. My father had been very reluctant at first. He wanted me to stay in Italy for the family business. He was preparing me to take over, but he said there were a few loose ends he needed to tie up first. I argued with him. I was a grown man and if I wanted to go to New York, then I could. He disagreed. He said my responsibility was to the family first.But then, one day, he just changed his mind one day.“My father allowed me to go to New York because there was someone he wanted me to find.”My father’s instructions had be
Johnson’s POVThe bullet ripped through my shoulder. A bolt of pain ripped through my shoulder, so intense it made me dizzy. Jake chuckled at my reaction.I expected to die. I expected to bleed out from the bullet wound. So did Jake and his men. But as they held me, something unusual happened. The bullet wound spurted blood at first, thick and warm. Within seconds though, the blood stopped. The pain still radiated through my body, but I could feel it healing, as though my muscle fibers were somehow weaving themselves back together with extraordinary speed.Jack frowned, his eyes narrowing. He could see what I felt, that my wound was healing with remarkable speed. He didn’t like this. Flummoxed, he marched right up to me and grabbed my collar. He tore open my shirt to see the wound for himself. Sure enough, the hole from the bullet was already growing over with fresh skin.“I thought that was a special gun,” one of his men said.“Shut up,” he seethed at the man. Then he turned to me. “
Johnson’s POVI zipped through the streets like a maniac. Jake blew through several red lights and I had no choice but to do the same. I laid on my horn as I went, alerting the few cars on the road this late at night to get the fuck out of the way. My heart raced and my palms were thick with adrenaline-induced sweat.Jake had agreed to let me have Trista and the men she was with, but I didn’t trust Jake. He was a loose cannon and capable of anything. It didn’t take much to make him snap, so even though we had a deal, I had a feeling he’d break it without hesitation. I had no idea what I would do when I got to the Milan checkpoint. The police were crawling with Jake’s informants. I’d seen firsthand that the police were useless when it came to Jake and his men. They’d detained a car at the Milan border FOR Jake. I had no faith that they’d help me out in any way. If we got to the border, and Jake decided to kill Trista and Liam after all, there was no one to stop him. Except me.Jake
I…I loved her, I realized as my breath hitched in my throat. I had to save her from these men. But how?Just then, a phone rang. One of Jake’s men answered it. He nodded and then hung up.“That was the Milan border. The car with the woman and two men are being detained there.”“Looks like we were right in the first place,” Jake said. He kicked the corpse, rolling her onto her stomach. “This bitch here side-tracked us. Come on. Let’s go. The man in the picture must be with her. The hunt has begun. Time to kill the right slut. Am I right?” Jake smiled sardonically at me.“I’ll come with you,” I told Jake, my mind racing.“Good,” Jake replied. “I need to see you kill her yourself.”I shook my head.“What do you mean, ‘no’?” Jake asked, narrowing his eyes. “Cousin, it seems like this woman is very important to you. You've been acting awfully unusual.”“I hate her for what she did on me,” I told Jake, scrambling for an excuse. “You’re right she’s important. The bitch betrayed me. But I ca
Johnson’s POVI rushed out of the auction house, my heart hammering in my chest. I had to get away from these men and to the border before they did. But as I ran down an alley that would lead me to my car, I saw something that stopped me dead in my tracks.Jake and his men. They were at the end of the alley, crowded around a figure on the ground. I watched, horrified, as they kicked and beat the woman. And even more horrifying, there were two police men not even five feet away. At first, I was certain that the police would intervene. I mean, it was the POLICE after all. But the police did nothing. They only stood by and watched as Jake and his men kicked the figure on the ground.Cautiously, I took a few steps towards the men and the figure on the ground. It realized it was a woman – a woman who looked an awful lot like Trista!“No!” I hollered, rushing towards them, overcome with fear. Had they found Trista? Had she been here after all? It was possible! Maybe she hadn’t left yet. Or
“Who are you?” I asked the second voice in my head. Silver’s voice was gone. I didn’t understand. Where was this second voice coming from? It was so different than Silver’s. It was soft and gentle. Silver’s voice tore through my head like a whip. This voice rippled and floated. I was instantly drawn to it.“Quill,” the second voice said. “I’m your other wolf.”Other wolf? But how could that be? Did he mean that…Silver was my wolf? My heart dropped. If Silver was my wolf, then that meant – my wolf was a blood-thirsty, evil beast bent on killing everyone and anything in his path?Oh God.But wait. He’d just said ‘other wolf’. So that meant…“I have two wolves?” I asked, confused.“Yes. We’re twins,” the gentle voice confirmed.Twin…..wolves?“We’re nothing alike, Johnson,” the second voice, Quill, continued. “In fact, we’re polar opposites. We argue all the time.”“Why haven’t I heard your voice before?” I asked.“Silver often overpowers me,” Quill explained. “But I’ve found a way to br
Johnson’s POV“Impressive,” Jake smirked, looking at the shattered window. I hoped he bought it. If he knew that I was trying to protect both Liam and Trista, and that I let them go on purpose, it would only pique his interest in both of them, especially Trista. He’d want to find her and have a ‘good time with the bitch.’ I couldn’t let them happen. I had to persuade him that I hated both Liam and Trista. “Yeah well, he deserved it,” I snapped back, lacing my voice with as much venom as I could. “He was a pompous ass.”Jake nodded appreciatively. “And the bitch?” he asked, meaning Trista.“She’s nothing,” I snipped, waving my hand in the air dismissively. “I was nice to her at one point. I mean, come on, she’s a hot piece of ass, after all. I wanted a taste of her. But she chose that scumbag ex of hers over me. So I naturally got pissed and snapped. I wanted some revenge on the woman who hurt me. But she got away before I could.” I chose my words carefully, hoping I could fool Jake.
Johnson’s POVJake began to chuckle, a low, guttural laugh. I thought for sure he’d raise his strange gun again and shoot Liam right in the head. But he didn’t. Instead, he turned the gun over in his hands. I could tell by Liam’s reaction that it wasn’t an ordinary gun. Clearly, Jake and his men had come to the auction prepared. They must have known they might encounter a werewolf. I could only assume, but something told me that the strange gun had some sort of power over werewolves.Jake proudly showed his men his weapon. They nodded appreciatively. I stared at the gun, my eyes falling to a peculiar emblem. It looked like some sort of S. I had no idea where that gun came from, but there was something about it that I really didn’t like.“Looks like it finally came in handy,” Jake chuckled. “I knew it was.” Then he turned to Liam. “That was for my father, you mother fucker.” Jake motioned at Liam and his gun wound. “He always hated you fucking wolves.”The wolf was gone from Liam’s f