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 POV Lola’s screams pierced the air. I continued to walk away. She was being banished. Her screams were high-pitched. I could hear the pain in her voice. Right now, they were dragging her to the pack border.Just like they’d dragged me five years ago.I had a brief flash of sympathy for her.Five years ago, I’d suffered a horrific double torture. First, the breaking of my mate-bond. Then, being banished.Banishment.It had changed a bit over the course of history because now we could go and live in human society. That hadn’t always been the case. There was a time when a banished wolf had very few options. They were destined to be rogues, forever without a pack. It was dangerous. Many of them died.But now? A lot of rogues chose to integrate into the human world. That’s what I’d done. It wasn’t easy, though. A wolf’s pack is the root of all things. It’s the anchor that holds us. Our security. Our culture. Our ancestral past. Our packs are a primitive bond that holds us
Trista’s POVI couldn’t help but notice Johnson’s naked body as he stood. His clothes had long since been torn to shreds and my tiny cardigan did little cover his muscular frame as we walked away from the water and down the beach. His chest was glistening from the water. Normally, I would have taken a moment to appreciate and admire his perfectly sculpted chest. But time was of the essence. We had to get out of here. So I tried to avert my eyes. Luckily, we had found his torn pants. They must have stuck to his fur or something.I noticed the gash marks on his thighs as we walked along. They looked deep. He also had some across his chest, as well as a bite mark on his neck. The wounds were already healing, but I had to admit, they were pretty bad. This made the situation even more urgent. We had to get somewhere safe so he could heal.We avoided everyone as we walked back to the car. We could see the bonfire flames in the distance and heard loud laughter and howls. Luckily, we managed
Trista’s POVJohnson sat down beside me, beer in hand.“Well, to my first werewolf wedding,” he sighed, clinking his beer bottle with mine.I smiled weakly. “Was it everything you thought it would be?” I asked sarcastically. “And then some,” he confessed.We sat in silence for a moment, both of us uncertain of what to say.“You know, it really was beautiful, though,” he sighed. “I was a bit shocked at first, by the blood and knives. But once I got past that, there was something very meaningful about the rituals. Almost…transcendent.”I nodded. This was a very different Johsnon than the one who had fired off questions like a child during the wedding. This was the Johnson I knew – the mature, retrospective, intelligent Johnson.“Werewolves love their rituals,” I responded. “Some of our rituals date back centuries. We take them very seriously.”He took my hand then and squeezed it. “Were you afraid?”There was no sense beating around the bush. We needed to talk about what happened. I
Johnson‘s POVTrista clinked her bottle with mine and settled back into her chair. Her smile unfurled as she took my hand.I sighed with relief.Everything was okay. She wasn’t afraid of me. I hadn’t hurt her.Thank God. Or the Moon Goddess, as the werewolves say.The pain in my neck was almost completely gone. My mind flashed back to the pain I’d felt when I turned back into a human.I wasn’t being completely honest with Trista. I’d glossed over how much the shift had actually hurt. And I told her I couldn’t remember anything.That wasn’t exactly the truth.The truth was…well…it was almost too horrific to think about.I remember seeing her in the tent. Carlos and his sister had her pinned down. I saw that her dress was torn open. Carlos appeared to be sexual assaulting Trista while she was struggling helplessly. Anger rose in me, and I reshed toward the tent. Then I saw a beast, a big wolf pounce on them. I didn't know what was going on. All I knew was that Trista was in danger. And
Trista‘s POVKnock. Knock. Knock. It sounded like thunder in my head. I opened my eyes and realized it was just Hazel knocking on my door. Sunlight flooded through the window.It was morning. I squinted in the light. I had a headache. I must have drank a bit too much beer with Johnson last night. He must have brought me to bed and tucked me in, too. Because my memory was a bit groggy and I didn’t remember going to bed“Trista?” Hazel called from the living room. “I let myself in. I hope that’s okay?”“I’m coming,” I called from the bedroom. Of course it was okay. I’d given Hazel a key. She was welcome in my home any time.I quickly wrapped myself in a housecoat and went out to meet her in the kitchen. She was already putting on a pot of coffee. I yawned and scratched my head.“I need some serious caffeine, stat,” I told her. Then I glanced at the clock.Oh my! It was past nine!I didn’t hear my kids. Their shoes were by the front door were gone. Johnson must have brought them to schoo
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