Trista’s POV“Monsieur Alpha Liam,” the man said, reaching for Liam’s hand. He took Liam’s hands in his and shook them. Then he leaned in and air kissed Liam on either cheek. “Tres wonderful! I am Alpha Lemone, of the Dove Song Pack in France. We are so honored to be here.”“Ahem,” the girl beside him said, batting her eyelashes at Liam.“Of course,” Alpha Lemone said. “Allow me to introduce Claudette. My daughter. Claudette, this is Alpha Liam of the Blue Moon Crescent Pack. And this is…” his voice trailed off as he turned to me. “I apologize, madame. I do not know your name.”“Eden,” I told him, feeling uncomfortable. I suddenly remembered the pen name I used for my jewelry design drafts, so I blurted out the name. These were clearly VERY high status people. The way they socialized with people was like wearing a gentleman's mask, which made them seem polite but hypocritical. So it didn't seem like there's anything wrong with me wearing my ‘mask’.Liam raised one eyebrow a
The party atmosphere here was even crazier than at the city nightclub after 1 a.m.There was no way Johnson would be there.“Hello gorgeous, can I tempt you with a hit?” I turned to see a young wolf with two she-wolves on his arm. He held out a light blue pill. It was a drug of some sort. He was already very high, as were the two girls on his arm.“No thank you,” I smiled politely. He simply shrugged and wandered away.I was getting a little worried now.A lot of wolves were high or drunk. I had to find Johnson to make sure he was okay. It was very dark by now, and since I was away from the bonfire, I was struggling to see. Plus, I’d had my contact lens in all day, so my eyes were very dry.The pack house was lit up from the inside. Through the windows, I could see tons of werewolves inside, milling about, talking and laughing. But I knew Johnson wouldn’t be there. It was one thing to bring an outsider to this wedding. They’d never let an outsider into the pack house, though. That wa
Trista’s POVI panicked. Blood rushed to my head as I ran into the tent.I had to stop them! This was crazy! It was Hazel’s wedding day and her new husband was screwing his sister? It was so disgusting I didn’t even have words to describe it.She saw me first. She tapped Carlos on the shoulder. He stopped banging her and looked back, over his shoulder at me. “How could you do this, Carlos?” I demanded, my voice shrill and high. “The wedding isn’t even over yet! The guests haven’t left! Have you thought about Hazel? What this might do to her?”They were both covered in sweat, their bodies glistening. The room was thick with the scent of their sex. They both stared at me, but neither one said a thing. I don’t think they were very happy that I’d interrupted their lovemaking.“Not to mention…this is your sister!” I said, aghast. “So not only have you humiliated your new wife, but you’ve committed incest!”I thought they would be embarrassed, or sheepish. That they would mutter feeble ap
Trista’s POVI was pinned to the ground.She was on top of me. I could feel the heat from her naked body. I struggled, but it was no use. They had hauled me into the tent. I tried to resist, to fight back, but they were strong and I had no combat training. I tried to kick Carlos but I missed and lost my footing.Thud. I fell to the hard ground.Then she leapt on top of me. Carlos pinned my arms over my head. Then the woman straddled me. I could feel the wetness between her legs drip onto my thighs.I didn’t understand what they were doing!“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my eyes wide.“I won’t let you ruin everything, you stupid whore!” She wrapped her hands around my throat.I couldn’t breathe!“My parents want me to marry Liam,” she seethed. “They’re already planning it. It will cement the allegiance between our two packs. It will give me power.” She tightened her grip around my throat. “You’re already divorced from him,” she spat into my face. “This is none of your business. I
Trista’s POVI recoiled and whimpered. Please Moon Goddess, I prayed. Get me out of here.She must have heard my prayer because suddenly, the entire tent was overturned. We all turned to see a massive black wolf, eyes afire with rage.My vision was blurry, but I knew right away it was Liam. Carlos tossed me from him and growled menacingly. Then he shifted into his wolf, a dark brown, not as big as Liam, but muscular and thick.Carlos bared his teeth and hunched down. They snapped their jaws at each other. Carlos’ sister and I ran out of the way. We knew better than to get in the middle of this wolf fight.They circled one another, their roars and growls mixed with threatening words.“This is NONE of your business, Liam,” Carlos sneered. “Back off. She’s your ex-wife. She doesn’t belong to you anymore. I can fuck her if I want. Hazel and I have already talked about this. She doesn’t care who I sleep with.”“Keep your filthy paws off of her!” Liam snapped back. “She’s off-limits. Don’t
Trista’s POVJohnson’s voice?No. That wasn’t possible. I was just imagining things. It couldn’t be. But before I could think it through, I was pulled from my thoughts by loud yelling. “OVER HERE!” It was guards. The noise of the fierce fight had caught their attention. I looked around. Guards were charging towards us, shifting as they came. Before long, there were at least a dozen more wolves on their way, prepared to fight.The white beast was strong, but he couldn’t fight off a dozen wolves.He stopped then. It sniffed the air and howled. It must have sensed the impending danger because it released Carlos and turned.But before it left, its eyes met mine.They were red. Blood red. The beast paused for only a beat, then it took off, disappearing into the dark night. By the time the guards got to the fight, the white beast was gone. The threat had passed; the danger was over. So the wolves shifted back, one at a time.Everyone began talking at once, demanding to know what had hap
Trista’s POVALpha Jeremy gasped! He was cleary speechless from Liam’s threat. I couldn’t see his expression clearly, but I’d bet my bottom dollar, it was comical.It was a moment before Alpha Jeremy spoke. His voice was low and menacing. “Alpha Liam, do I need to remind you of the alliance between our packs? We are partners. You insult my child, yet I heard it was YOU who started this whole thing in the first place. And for what? For her?” He motioned towards me. “She’s meaningless. Just your useless ex-wife. A rogue that you expelled from your pack. Do you really want to jeopardize our ENTIRE relationship for some stupid whore?”What did he just call me? A…a whore? Anger ripped through me, but before any of us could respond, Hazel stepped in front of Alpha Jeremy.“Let’s talk about victims, shall we? Since you seem so hellbent on pointing fingers. I’ll admit that, yes, in this accident, Carlos is the biggest victim. There’s no arguing that. But in this wedding? I’M the biggest victi
Trista’s POVWe waited with baited breath. Apparently, Lola took his silence as a sign that he was going to say no.So…Lola flung herself at Liam’s feet in a dramatic display. You could hear the fear in her voice as she cried and begged him.“Please, Alpha Liam!” she sobbed. She hugged his ankles. “Take me in. I’ll be a good breeder. Don’t…don’t make me be a rogue. Please.”Alpha Liam shook his feet, trying to dislodge her from his feet.He looked down at her then up at us. Then he turned to Alpha Jeremy.“I can’t take her in,” Alpha Liam said.“PUH…LEASE…” Lola wailed.“I am sorry, Lola. But I can’t take you in. I can’t allow someone like you into my pack. However, I may be able to help you.”She released her hands from his legs and looked up at him, still in a squat position. She sniffled and wiped her snotty nose with the back of her hand.Gross.“You can help me?” she whimpered.“I can try. I might be able to find you somewhere to live. Another pack, perhaps. Or somewhere i
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