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
“Well,” she started. “Carlos’ position at the company has been suspended indefinitely.”“Serves him right,” I said. “What about Lola?”“Apparently she threw quite the fit last night after she was evicted. Like, full on temper tantrum. She made a complete ass of herself. But…I guess she just disappeared sometime in the middle of the night.”“She probably went to beg other packs to take her in. Or to find a place here in town, in human society.”“Maybe,” Hazel shrugged, sipping her coffee. “At the end of the day, they got punished. Both of them. They’re evil and their actions have consequences. Carlos can’t have kids and Lola is evicted now. It really doesn’t affect me. I’m Beta of Blue Moon Crescent. That’s all I ever wanted. All I have to lose over all of this is an unloving, jerk of a husband. So yeah. I’m good.” She flashed me a smile.“What did you think of Liam?” she asked.“What about Liam?” I chewed thoughtfully on the pancakes.“I mean, about his decision to NOT accept Lola as
Trista’s POVI met her concerned eyes. She knew. She was partly asking me, partly telling me that she knew. She knew that Johnson was the white beast.There were no secrets between me and Hazel. We were best friends – sisters. So I nodded.“Yes,” I confirmed.“Oh Trista,” she said, clamping her hand over mine. We were both very worried, and it felt good to share this worry and burden with someone else.“He doesn’t know,” I told her. “Not really. I mean, he knows that he turned into some sort of beast. But he can’t…he can’t remember everything. He doesn’t know how strong and powerful he really was.”Hazel pressed her lips together, paused in thought.“Well, I heard he was frantic. Almost completely out of control. He just sort of came out of nowhere and started causing havoc. A dozen of our strongest warriors couldn’t even stop him.”“Oh,” I said, as my heart dropped. I hadn’t heard that side of the story. All I had known was that he appeared in the tent, fought the wolves, and then le
I thought about that for a moment. I've seen it all in the five years we've been together and how well he takes care of the kids. Although we haven't officially confronted our relationship, the kids love him and he's their Johnson Daddy. on that level, he's become my actual family. Yes, I guess if I were to describe the relationship between Johnson and I, we are more like family than friends.I nodded.“Yes. I know he’s not technically family. But he’s an integral part of my life. So I guess I’m factoring him in, you know? And if he gets into trouble here, then I’ll leave with him.”“That would be very sad for Liam,” Hazel said. “If you left.”I wasn’t surprised that Hazel sympathized with Liam. He had, after all, just shown his loyalty to her at the pack hospital when Alpha Jeremy was being a total asshole. And if I was being honest with myself, Liam was really good to Hazel. So I understood her return loyalty to him.I, however, was NOT factoring Liam into my life choices. Whether
Trista’s POVI woke up groggy on the plane just as it was about to land. My head was still resting on Liam’s chest, and when I lifted it, I noticed I had left a small drool stain on his shirt.“Oh my god,” I said, mortified by the stain. “I’m so sorry.”Liam chuckled. “You should apologize to the other passengers, too. You were snoring so loud, it literally rattled the windows.”“What?” I asked, horrified. I was snoring? “Why didn’t you stop me?”“You were so cute, all fast asleep, snoring like a train and drooling like a toddler,” Liam teased, “Kidding.”I elbowed him hard in the ribs.“Did you get any sleep?” I asked, concerned.“A little,” he winked. “In between your snores.”“Ha ha,” I mocked, rolling my eyes. The seat belt fasten sign came on and we prepared for landing. Now that we were back in the United States, I was anxious to see Billy and Belle. Hazel, too. I’d missed them all a lot.I whipped out my phone as we de-boarded the plane. I called my house but no one answered. I
“It was,” I admitted. “Especially at first. I had no job and I was terrified that me and the babies would be forced to live out on the streets. But as soon as I moved to Milan, I met Johnson.” I stopped and smiled faintly. It was impossible to tell Liam about my struggles with Billy and Belle without mentioning Johnson. I worried for a moment that Liam would take offense to me talking about Johnson. Liam had, after all, made it pretty clear how he felt about Johnson. But to my surprise, he squeezed my hand and urged me to continue.“Johnson was a god sent,” I told Liam. “He gave me a job and took me under his wing. We became…really good friends. And with time, we became more, even though I don’t really know what that is yet. Johnson was always there for us, all three of us, and Billy and Belle adore him. They love him, they really do. And I’ve come to rely on him. I know you and Johnson don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, Liam. But he’s a good man. A loyal man. A kind, loving man. He’s my…”
Trista’s POV“What?” I blurted out, but I was immediately hushed by a man behind us.“For the love of God, just go to sleep,” the man said. Liam and eyed each other, then we both brought our heads closer together so we could keep talking, but more quietly.“They’re mine, aren’t they?” he repeated, without even the slightest hint of anger in his voice. “Billy and Belle?”I’d feared this conversation for so long. I’d been carrying this secret with me from the day they were born. I’d spent years swearing to myself that Liam could never know the truth about his children, that it was a secret I’d keep from until my grave. But from the moment Liam had come back into my life, I’d questioned whether lying to Liam was the right thing to do.Hazel and I had talked about it many times. She gently asked me if raising my kids without a pack was really what I wanted. As far as they knew, they were human. The human world was all Billy and Belle had ever known, but I knew I couldn’t keep their true i
Trista’s POV“Because I still had feelings for you?” I asked.“Yes,” he said, his eyes fixed on his hands. “Because I still had feelings for you so I thought maybe you did too.”“I didn’t,” I said gently. I was surprised that Liam was confessing this all to me, but at the same time, it didn’t really matter to me. If he had been struggling with regret and lingering feelings for me during his marriage to Lucy, well, that was his own damn fault. I was tired of conversations like these. I needed him to understand that whatever feelings he might still be harboring for me were not reciprocal on my part. “Well, thanks for clearing that up,” he said flatly. Then he turned away from me, back to the window. The easy, casual feeling between us was gone. The air was tense now and I didn’t like it. The plane ride had been enjoyable up until that point, and I wanted it to be that way again. I decided to change the subject. I didn’t want to talk about ‘us’ and our past anymore. I wanted to focus
Trista’s POV“A confession?” I asked, momentarily stunned by the seriousness of his voice and expression. What could he possibly have to confess, I wondered. But a moment later, he continued.“It wasn’t just after Lucy betrayed me that I wanted to win you back,” he said, his voice steady.“What? What do you mean?” I asked. Where was he going with this? What was he insinuating?“This is hard for me to admit, Trista. But I wanted you back long before that.”“Liam,” I started. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this, but he cut me off.“You’re right. Lucy and I travelled a lot. We went to tons of beautiful places. Tropical beaches with white sand. Stunning European cities with ancient architecture. We even did a safari in Africa.” He paused.“Sounds nice,” I said dryly. What was his point? I already knew all this. I’d seen pictures of him and Lucy at various galas all over the world. Her in a long silk dress, him in a tuxedo, both smiling, hand in hand. I’d also seen the pictures of them on
Trista’s POVLiam and I arrived in Paris with plenty of time. We had dinner at the airport and waited for our flight to board. They called us for boarding and we both took our seats in first class. Liam offered me the window seat but I insisted that he have it. His wound was bothering him – I could tell – and if he sat by the window, he could sleep more easily with his head against the wall. As we settled in, a strange feeling washed over me. I realized that Liam and I had never travelled together. In all our years of marriage, we never strayed far from our pack, at least not as a couple. I glanced over at him. He was fastening his seatbelt.‘How odd,’ I thought to myself. ‘Here we are, together on a plane. I never, in a million years, could have imagined our first trip together would be like this!’“Champagne?” the stewardess asked, her eyes bright. Champagne was one of the perksof flying first class. Liam wasn’t much of a champagne drinker, though, so I went to shake my head and
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. “