Trista’s POVI have finished dealing with the wound and Stevia was with me. Apparently I don't want to become the one sandwiched between two men, so we went to the coffee shop in the lounge area on the second floor.Ding. I glanced at my phone. It was a text from Johnson. He wanted to know where I was so he could pick me up. I told him the name of the café.Stevia and I finished our coffees while we waited. I asked about her relationship with Liam but she was elusive. I wanted to question her further, when Johnson walked in.He didn’t look very happy.I was afraid that he and Liam had fought.“He really is a handsome one,” Stevia said to me as Johnson came to the table. “I suppose that makes your choice that much harder.” She was just teasing me in good fun, but Johnson didn’t take her comment well.He pressed his lips together angrily.“I saw on the news that you and Liam are together,” he said.She dismissively sipped her coffee. “We are, yes,” she said non-committedly.“Then
Trista’s POVThe children were overjoyed. They bounced around happily in the backseat, clapping their hands. Johnson, too, beamed with pride.The decision to call Johnson ‘daddy’ was a big decision.And I felt like I’d been left out of it.Seraphina whined softly as we drove home. That was odd, since she didn’t usually voice any concerns. She didn’t seem too pleased about this decision, and I didn’t know why. I tried to console her.As far as I know, she only showed this expression when she was scared. The last time she gave me this uneasy feeling was when I was a young adult and first went to a human school. I was in the library until 2 a.m. to study for an exam, and when I came out of the library, I had left my glasses behind.Usually, wolves have better eyesight at night, but that doesn't help us blind wolves.That night we encountered an unknown creature. At first we thought it was a burglar who might be taking advantage of the darkness to rob us. An ordinary human adult is not st
I sighed. I think I'm really not good at relationships.I had been driven out by the wolves. I had adapted to human society.Human love is sometimes a philosophy. They think more about their sense of responsibility to their family and whether the two of them are "a good match."I don't know if it's a choice from the heart, or if it's a choice to break free from the shackles of the mate bond.But at the same time, it seems to me that it is more like a gamble and a risk.And Johnson’s strange behaviour today didn’t help matters. I remembered his blood red eyes. The way his face had contorted and twisted. The feel of his hand crushing mine.What had that been about?Was it his Lycan bloodline?And he had basically accosted Liam. He’d been belligerent and ornery. Then he’d been outright rude to Stevia.I felt uneasy.I knew Johnson very well. Or at least, I thought I did. But this side of him? It had my mind spiraling.I decided to confront him. I had questions, and I needed to know the a
Trista’s POV The next morning at my office, Hazel and I were hashing out the details of the seating plan for her reception dinner.“And…” Hazel said with a flourish, “you and Johnson will sit here.” She put a sticky note on a table at the front.She paused, staring at the seating plan. “You know, I’m a bit surprised you’re taking Johnson,” she said. “Has he ever been to a pack? I mean, like a real werewolf pack?”I shook my head. “No. But there’s a first time for everything,” I said with a smile.“Hm.”I sensed that she had more to say, so I prompted her.“You think it’s a bad idea? Taking Johnson with me?”“Not at all,” she smiled. “Please don’t get me wrong. I support you no matter what. It’s just that, well, I guess I hoped that maybe you and Liam…”I cut her off. “Me and Liam? Are you serious, Hazel? You know what he put me through! You were there!” I couldn’t believe it. Was Hazel secretly holding onto hope that Liam and I would get back together.”“I know,” she sighed. “But pe
Trista’s POV“Can we PLEASE take the Ferrari?” I begged Johnson.We were standing in the driveway, dressed up and ready for the big wedding. The morning had not gone well. I tried to make breakfast for the kids, but I burnt the pancakes. Then Billy tripped on his way to the bathroom and scraped his knee. Gladice was late because she’d had some sort of personal problem to deal with. So I’d barely had enough time to get ready!And now, Johnson and I were arguing over which car to take. He wanted to drive to the wedding in my crappy old beater. I wanted to arrive in style, in my Ferrari. It was my best friend’s wedding, after all!He was firm though, so my shitty car it was!I was agitated at first, but the day was beautiful with clear blue skies and sunshine. It was a bit of a drive to Red Moon, up the coast to the south side of New Jersey. Red Moon Crescent pack was near the ocean, and I rolled down the windows to let the salty ocean air fill the car. Because the journey was quite lon
Johnson glared back at Liam.“He was invited,” I told Liam. “By Hazel as my guest.”Liam shook his head and scoffed. “He’s an outsider,” Liam said. “These are OUR people. Are you sure you really want to bring an outsider into our community?”“No, he’s also…” I started to say. But then I stopped. I didn’t want to tell Liam that Johnson was a Lycan.“He’s what?” Liam asked, raising his eyebrows. But something about his expression told me he knew something about Johnson. Did he already know the truth?“He’s also…excited to be here,” I finished vaguely. Good one, Trista, I chastised myself. I’d never really been a good liar.“I bet he is!” Liam snapped. Then he fixed his eyes on Johnson. “I know ALL about you,” he said, his voice low. “You’re a liar. Pretending to be all clean and innocent. Fooling Trista with your dirty tricks.”“Liam,” I gasped. This was hardly the place or time! This was a wedding and I wasn’t about to let Liam make a scene. “Stop it.”Liam glared at Johnson. He cli
Trista’s POVThe party at the grassy area was only one part of the afternoon party.Apparently,half the guests were down at the beach.The Red Moon pack was a little famous on the east coast in the werewolf world for having their very own beachfront.Most of the packs on the east coast were in the forest or the mountains.Red Moon Pack was unique because the pack was right beside the ocean.I pulled on Johnson’s hand.“Can we go down the beach?”I asked him,excited.“Of course,”he smiled.He followed me down the trail that led to the waterfront.I gasped as we crested a small hill.The sight was breathtaking.The beach stretched on in both directions for miles.The azure water lapped gently at the white,sandy shores.There was a big bonfire,with flames blazing,surrounded by tables and tables of food.Everyone was barefoot,happily taking in the sun and the peaceful seaside vibes.As we approached,a couple puppies ran in front of us.They squealed with laughter as they chased one another across th
Trista’s POVThe elder glared at us.The elders sitting on their perched chairs glared at us.The front row turned around and glared at us.I blushed….deeply.Hazel didn’t make eye contact with me.She pressed her lips together and stared at the ground.Was she upset?I couldn’t tell.But everyone else she the hell was.“Do you have something you’d like to say?”the elder holding the dagger asked.Johnson’s face was also beet red.He stammered and wrung his hands.“I…um…well…no…Sorry.”“Shsh,”I snapped at him.“I apologize,”I said,addressing the elder.“My friend,here,has never bore witness to a wedding ceremony before.He was just…a little…surprised by some of our customs.It WON’T happen again.”The elder stared at me for a moment.I didn’t think it was possible to get any redder in the cheeks,but then he said:“Perhaps you and your FRIEND should leave.”I was mortified!Was I being kicked out of a wedding?My best friend’s wedding?In front of all these people?There were few things so shameful.T
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
Trista’s POV“Your parents are back,” Hazel blurted out, a cookie poised in her hand. My pot of vegetables began boiling over so I rushed to the stove.“What?” Liam asked coming into the kitchen fully. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked Hazel.“I am telling you. Now,” Hazel chuckled. “Besides, you’ve been a little busy.” She glanced down at the bandage around his stomach under his shirt. “I didn’t think it was pressing.”“You didn’t think it was pressing,” Liam sighed, repeating her words in an exasperated tone. “When did they get back? What do they want?”If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was an edge to Liam’s voice. I thought he’d have been a little more excited to hear that his parents were back. But his tone said otherwise.“A few days ago,” Hazel shrugged.“What have they been doing?” Liam asked, pulling up a chair while I drained the vegetables. We heard Jules explode into a fit of laughter from the living room, followed by Billy and Belle. “Other than following me around
Trista’s POVWe walked back into the house. I was really glad I’d had that talk with Liam, but now that all those things were out of the way, my mind went back to the problems at hand. The children were in the living room, crawling all over poor Jules.“Let’s play pony, Uncle Jules,” Belle exclaimed, clapping her hands.“Yes! I want to ride Uncle Jules!” Billy laughed.I was anxious, but I tried not to let Jules or the children see.“Oh, all right,” Jules sighed, rolling his eyes playfully. Then he got off the couch and went down on his hands and knees. “Pony Jules at your service,” he said. Then he lowered his front half down to the floor and Belle climbed on. He paraded around the room with Belle on his back. She cheered and laughed with delight.It warmed my heart, seeing the children having so much fun. And honestly, it looked like Jules was having a great time as well, which made me happy since the poor man had been through a lot in the past few hours.“Perhaps he missed his call
I hope he can read my mind.In fact, I also need his support.I know that the current situation may not be optimistic, and I can't just leave them alone and pretend nothing is happening; On the other hand, I can't put the children in danger if I’m helping Johnson and his family.If there is someone else here I can trust and who will protect my children at any cost, then that person must be Liam, their real father.“Liam, not just Johnson, but the whole family are wonderful and decent people. They helped not only me, but you too! Liam is the one who saved you by throwing you out of the VIP room window and told me to leave. And Johnson is the reason we were able to escape and come back here, to the United States. He distracted the black-clad men. If he hadn’t done that, who knows what would have happened? And Dagny, she healed your wounds. I know you feel she is unfriendly. But if you knew their family history you would not say that. They are Lycans. For many years they have been hunted