Then I got out of the car and walked across the parking lot.He sat in the car and waited.But I didn’t look back. Not this time.Billy and Belle ran to me when I got home. I collected them into my arms and smothered them with kisses.Then I told them to run outside and play.Hazel handed me a cup of tea.“So?” she said, her eyebrows raised.“He embarrassed me,” I sighed, collapsing onto the couch. “He told the media about our personal life. I’m so…so angry. I can’t forgive him for this.”“I understand,” she nodded. “It was quite the production. And it wasn’t fair to you to be put on the spot like that.”We finished our tea and then Hazel went home. I checked my phone and there were five more texts from Johnson. He was really worried.“Trista!” he said as soon as I called. “It’s so good to hear your voice. I’ve been worried sick!”“I know,” I said. His voice was comforting. It helped me relax.“Are you okay? You fainted! I saw it all on the live broadcast.”I assured him I was fine. I
Johnson’s POVI hung up the phone, with a silly smile plastered on my face. I couldn’t help it! I was on cloud nine.I’d been worried sick ever since the broadcast. Liam had apologized to her on live television! Offered her shares, a big position within the company! And then she’d fainted and they’d disappeared.Visions of them together had permeated my mind. What were they doing? Making up? Kissing? Fondling each other? Or worse…I’d texted her like crazy! Too much, I realize now. But it’d taken her so long to get to me, I’d convinced myself that Trista and Liam were getting back together.But now?“There’s nothing between me and Liam.” That’s what she’d said. And I trust her.Liam didn’t understand her. Not like I did. I knew her, I knew her heart. She has a strong heart, full of love and compassion. She has this unique charm. She can win over anyone with that shy smile of hers.But she doesn’t know her own strength. How many women could have accomplished what she had? When she arri
Trista’s POVI dialed the number of the lawyer. I needed some legal advice.Liam had rescheduled the promotional photo shoot with Stevia for the following week. I took this opportunity to withdraw from Liam. To get space between us. And to get my ducks in a row.“Carter and Associates,” a bright voice said.“Um, yes. I’m looking for some legal help,” I told the receptionist. She patched me through to a lovely lawyer. I explained that I was trying to open an office in Starhaven and I had a contract I needed her to look over. She asked me to send it to her office, and assured me she could help.With the help of a real estate agent, I found a beautiful little office space in Starhaven. I was bustling with pride. This is where I was going to work on and launch my own line. The contract with HS had already been written up, and there was nothing that prevented me from starting my own line. That’s what the lawyer confirmed for me. So if I accepted Liam’s offer, I could still work on my own
Trista’s POV“What?” I asked, pushing Hazel to the side. She was still staring at Gladice, frowning.“It’s nothing,” she said, her voice in a whisper. “I just didn’t know that you’d already hired someone.”“You don’t like her?” I asked.We both looked casually at Gladice. By now, she’d moved on from the basket. She was looking through my fridge.“I don’t know her,” Hazel shrugged. “I guess I just thought…well….your old omega maid really misses you. She heard you were back. She said she’d love to work for you again.”Gladice took out a bottle of something (salad dressing) and sniffed it. She shook her head and put it back. Then she grabbed three apples and crammed them into the basket.“Oh,” I said. I missed Emi too. She had been lovely. So kind and attentive. And I’d always felt like her little pups, well, like they’d been my extended family.“Knives?” Gladice asked.I pointed to the drawer.“What does she need knives for?” Hazel whispered.“I dunno. They’re going on a picnic. To cu
Trista’s POVOn Monday morning, I stepped into the main hall at HS. Everyone was staring at me, slyly, with side-eyes, but they were staring nonetheless. They whispered after I passed by. Looked like all the juicy gossip from the launch event had spread through the office, like wildfire.I held my head high, though. I’d done nothing wrong. They could talk all they wanted.I arrived at Liam’s office and went straight to his receptionist. I didn’t have an office there, so I had to ask to see him.“Is he expecting you?” she asked.“No,” I answered. After talking with Hazel yesterday afternoon, and then again with Johnson last night, I’d made the firm decision to accept Liam’s offer. I hadn’t scheduled a meeting or anything to let him know, though. I’d decided to just drop in on him and give him the news face to face.“I’ll let him know you’re here, Miss…”“Trista.”At the mention of my name, her face registered recognition. “Yes, of course.” She told me to take a seat. I waited patiently
I opened my mouth to protest, but he waved his hand in the air.“Trista, this is non-negotiable. I need timely feedback. Timely responses from you. I tried calling you countless times over the past week, to discuss BUSINESS matters. But I couldn’t get a hold of you. A personal secretary will prevent a situation like that from happening again.”I snapped my mouth shut. He was right. I had ignored him. He’d called several more times yesterday afternoon, but I’d shut off my phone to drink with Hazel.In all truth, it had been a tad bit unprofessional of me. “You can relax, Trista,” he said. I noticed that I was actually very tense. “These conditions are all reasonable. I look forward to working with you.”I smiled. So there it was. We COULD maintain a professional, working relationship. We could…“I also look forward to winning you back.”Wait. What?! I glared at him.“I’m not going to lie,” he said. “I have every intention of winning you back. But I realize now that it ca
Trista’s POVMy hands were shaking. I was letting my emotions take over. I didn’t want to let him see me like this, so I steadied my breathing.I stared at Liam. He was quiet. What is thinking, I wondered. After a little bit, he said, in a very quiet voice:“I didn’t know.”“Didn’t know what?” I asked.“You never told me any of this. I had no idea you felt that way. I thought…” he lowered his head. “I thought you liked being a full-time housewife. You never said otherwise.” He fixed his eyes on mine. “I’m sorry, Trista. I really am. For everything.”His eyes were sincere. This time, his apology really hit some. I felt like I’d finally gotten through to him, like FINALLY, after all this time, he understood. I’d given three years of my life to him, to our pack. During that time, I’d put my own dreams on the back burner. I’d put everyone else first.I’d almost given up being a mother!I studied his face. He looked ashamed. This was the apology I’d been waiting for.I’d been afraid of com
Liam’s POV Monday mornings were always a shit show. A million things always piled up over the weekend. 56 unread emails. A stack of papers for review on my desk. Meetings all afternoon.I sighed and took a big swig of my coffee.But then my secretary called to tell me there was someone to see me. “A Miss Trista Moonlar?” Trista! Relief washed over me. I’d been trying to call her all weekend but she was avoiding my calls. I’d been so worried that she wasn’t going to accept my offer. That she was going to pack up and move back to Milan. In fact, I’d had a bit of a panic attack sometime yesterday afternoon. I called her five times in a row. Not my finest moment, I know. But I was freaking out! She was here now though? In the office? First thing on a Monday morning? Perfect. Unless she’d come to tell me in person that she wasn’t accepting my offer. I shook my head. No. She would have just texted that. It had t
Trista’s POV Belle let out a horrified scream. It reverberated through the forest.“Pele, no!” I cried out again.But Pele was in full wolf form by now. His wolf was magnificent, with broad, muscular shoulders and deep, brown fur with matching eyes. He bent down onto his hind legs and put his head onto his front paws. It was a playful position, and was welcoming the kids to come and touch his fur.Of course, the kids didn’t know that though.Neither Billy nor Belle had actually seen a werewolf before, and Pele’s wolf was massive. The wolf shook his head playfully, his brown fur rippling in the world. “What in the world?” Jules asked, aghast at the sight before him. I realized that Jules had never seen a wolf before either. And I had to admit, watching a man transform into a wolf could be a bit jarring, to say the least. I knew what Pele was trying to do.In the wolf pack, it’s normal for someone to shift when children are upset. In fact, one of the
Trista’s POV I felt a flush of relief wash over me. Jules and I couldn’t get through, but knowing that the children would be safe was a huge weight of my shoulders. Plus, I knew that as soon as Liam saw Billy and Belle, he’d know that we were close by and would come for us. He’d find a way to get us into the pack. He was the Alpha, after all. He could take down the pack border to let us through. It wasn’t ideal, separating from Billy and Belle. But we were out of other options. “Thank you,” I told Pele sincerely. I’d have to find a place for Jules and I to stay in the meantime, but I’d crossed that bridge once I came to it. Jules and I could find somewhere nearby, in the forest, and just wait for Liam. First thing was first – we had to get the children across the border and safely into the pack. “Come,” Pele said, holding out his hand to the children. But Belle clutched at my legs and began to cry. “No, Mam
Trista’s POV I needed Pele to understand that this wasn’t a normal situation. It was urgent that he let us into the pack. Plus, we’d come a long way and we were all feeling really tired. I decided to just be honest with Pele and tell him the truth. “This is Jules,” I told Pele, motioning at Jules. “He’s Liam’s assistant and he’s very important to Liam. But he’s currently being hunted by some members in the human world. They’re very dangerous men. They belong to an underground mafia and they’ll stop at nothing to find Jules. It’s very important that you let us through. Liam promised us all the protection of the Blue Moon Crescent Pack.” Pele narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed together. He appeared to be thinking about what I was saying. Honestly, though, I wasn’t sure if he’d care either way. Pele didn’t live in the human world. He probably didn’t care about dangerous mafia men. He turned his head to Billy and Belle. “And who ar
Trista’s POV I hadn’t expected to be stopped at the Blue Moon Crescent border. Pele was not much older than me, but he possessed the composure and maturity of someone much older than himself. I understood that he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me, since I’d been exiled from the pack. But I was sure that if I explained the situation, he’d let us pass through.“Leave, Trista,” he said coldly, He fixed his eyes on me, his face stern. “We’re here to see Alpha Liam,” I told him, a little taken aback by his unwelcoming and abrupt manner. “I don’t know what business you would have with Alpha Liam,” he stated, his tone dry. “Since you are no longer a member of our pack.”“If you would please just mindlink Alpha Liam, he’ll explain that…” “I’ll do no such thing. You cannot just show up here, Trista, with strangers in tow and demand to cross our border.” “I’m Jules,” Jules suddenly said, extending his hand. Pele did not accept his hand, leaving Jules
Trista’s POV The children felt the tension in the air. I bent down and scooped up Belle, hoisting her onto my hip. She buried her head in my neck. “Who is it, Trista?” Jules asked, his voice barely above a whisper. I shook my head, telling him that I didn’t know. Serena stayed in high alert, her fur standing on end as the man approached us.He had his eyes locked on me as he sauntered towards us. He was tall, with a powerful presence. We all stayed frozen to the spot. I squinted, trying to make out his face with my poor eye sight. But it wasn’t until he was only a few feet away that I recognized him.It was Pele.I was stunned at first. Pele was the man who had succeeded my father as Gamma after my father’s death. I hadn’t known Pele very well during my time at the pack, but his face was unmistakable. He also had the air of a gamma, which only solidified the fact that it was him.I remembered when Pele had been chosen as Gamma. I’d resented him on prin
Trista’s POVJules looked very concerned by the fact that there was no road. But I chuckled.“This is the right place,” I assured him.“How can that be?” Jules asked. I understood his confusion. He was used to living in the human world and humans took roads while travelling. But the Blue Moon Crescent Pack was protected by natural barriers, which is why werewolves have been able to hide from humans. The barriers are strong and only allow supernatural creatures to pass through them.I explained this all to Jules.“So I’m just supposed to keep driving? Through the forest without a road?”Billy and Belle giggled in the back seat. Jules slamming on the breaks had woken them up.“We’re going to drive through the forest?” Belle asked, wide-eyed.“Yup,” I replied. I unrolled the window to let the thick scent of the forest breeze through the car. The scent brought back so many memories and I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic. I’d been away from the pack for so long. I hadn’t expected
Trista’s POVHe drove along the coast line, the salty scent of the sea thick in the air. I was a worried wreck, though. I tried several times to get in contact with both Liam and Johnson, but I wasn’t having any luck. Serena tried too, but she wasn’t able to connect with them.I was worried about Johnson. Was he okay? Where was he now? Was he in immediate danger? Were we? What if they’d followed him and found us? At one point, I thought a car was following us. It was a red car and it was behind us for quite a while. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want Jules to worry. I glanced back at the car through the rearview mirror, momentarily convinced that it was one of Jake’s people and that they’d tracked us down.But the car eventually turned off the highway.‘You’re just being paranoid,’ I told myself. ‘No one’s following you.’I was impressed to see that Jules was a good driver. He didn’t speed and he kept his eyes locked on the road. He was calm and collected, and that helped
Trista’s POVI tried to sleep, but I tossed and turned all night. Thoughts of Johnson flooded my mind. I kept thinking about him and trying to come up with ways to help him. The look on his face in the forest – he had seemed so…tortured. There had to be something I could do. But what?He was going through something, something profound. And no matter how much I wanted to understand, no matter how sympathetic I was, I couldn’t truly feel what he felt. He had twin wolves warring within him. His family was in danger. He was worried about me and the children. All of these things were things that only HE could experience.I sighed, turning over and drawing the blanket up to my chin. The house was dead quiet, with only the gentle sound of Jules snoring softly in the next room. I’d known Johnson so well at one point in my life. Better than anyone, I’d believed. But now, he was somewhat of a stranger to me. We’d been apart for so long and he’d gone through all these events…without me. The dist
Trista’s POVThe pain in Johnson’s eyes was palpable. It broke my heart, seeing him hurt like that. I leaned to kiss him, in an effort to comfort him. But he turned his cheek and shook his head.“We need to have a serious conversation,” he told me, his brows furrowed.“Whatever it is, you can tell me,” I told him, taking his hands in mine. He inhaled a sharp breath. He was clearly grappling with something, searching for the right words.“I can’t involve you or the children, Trista, in anything that’s happening with my family. I’ve already involved you way too much. It needs to stop. It’s just too…dangerous.”“I’m well aware of the dangers,” I told him. “The children will be safe at Blue Moon Crescent Pack with Liam. I’m here for you. I want to help.”Whether or not he liked it, I was already involved. I couldn’t just turn my back on him, not now, not when he needed me the most.“That’s the problem,” he said with sadness in his eyes. “I know you want to help. You’re so brave and strong