Thank you again for sticking with me. I know the chapters have been few and far between these past couple of months. I am almost done with my schooling, so that will allow me to update more frequently. I should have at least one more chapter out before the end of the month. I'm hoping for more. Thanks again.
Once Bella had completed her makeup, Eve stared at herself in the mirror. “Is this really me?” she asked, staring at the beautiful woman in the reflection. Bella appeared over her shoulder and smiled, putting her hands on Eve’s shoulders. “It’s really you,” she said. Meeting Bella’s eyes in the mirror, Eve asked, “Will this make your mother approve of me?” Bella’s smile faded, and she said, “I’m not sure even this will make Mother approve of you, but don’t let that get you down. There’s not many people she does approve of.” Eve smiled wryly at Bella and said, “I get the feeling she approves of Sabrina.” Bella rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t even get me started on that woman!” “I take it you know her?” Eve asked. Grimacing, Bella nodded, saying, “Unfortunately, I’ve had the not-so-pleasurable experience of meeting her when Mother was trying to pawn her off on one of my brothers.” “She did what?” Eve asked, her eyes wide. “You mean she wasn’t just trying to get her together
Eve opened her eyes and lifted her head from Arec’s shoulder to stare at the enormous mansion ahead of them. “Is that your mother’s house?” she asked. Arec nodded. Eve saw his lips had pressed together so hard that they looked white from the lack of blood. “Did you grow up here?” she asked, squeezing his arm. Arec nodded again, not taking his eyes from the house. “I left once I had the chance to do so and bought the house I’m living in,” he told her. He looked at her and smiled, saying, “Besides meeting you, that was the best thing that has happened in my life.”“Was it that bad?” Eve asked, frowning. Arec tore his eyes from the house and said, “It was, but since she’s still the pack leader, I couldn’t go far.” “Do you have to stay in town?” she asked. “Why couldn’t you move far away from her?” Arec pressed his lips together before answering. “Lycans are bound to their families,” he told her. “Even if we don’t get along, we have to stay together for the strength and saf
Everyone at the table gasped at Sabrina’s announcement and turned to look at Eve. Arec’s siblings whispered among themselves as they glanced toward Eve. Eve looked at Arec in confusion.Eve leaned closer to him and asked in a low voice, “What does she mean? What is she talking about?” Arec leaned toward her and said in an equally low voice, “She means that she will fight you for the right of being my mate.” Straightening, he looked at Sabrina and added, “That won’t be necessary since I can make my own decisions, and I choose Eve. Besides, she is my fated mate, and no one can override that.” His siblings whispered even louder among themselves. Eve heard them whisper that werewolves and Lycans cannot be mates. She also overheard their questions if Arec was serious about Eve being his mate. She swallowed as she looked at them before turning her head to look at Sabrina. Sabrina scowled at Arec and opened her mouth to say something but stopped as Arec’s mother held up her hand. She
“What?!” Arec roared. “What do you mean this challenge is to the death?”“That’s how we settle things these days, bro,” Samuel said, smirking at Arec. “You’d know this if you attended more Pack meetings.”Arec looked at Michael and asked, “Were you aware of this?” Michael looked at his mother and said, “I had a suspicion that Mother might still follow the old ways when it came to this.” “What old ways?” Eve asked. Arec glared at his mother before turning to Eve and saying, “In the old days, Pack law was settled by a fight to the death, but these days, I thought we’d become more civilized.” Looking back to his mother, he added, “It seems that I was wrong.” His mother pursed her lips and looked away. “Too bad for your girlfriend,” Sabrina said, bearing her teeth in a grin directed at Eve. “Now, wait just a minute,” Arec said, starting to stand. Eve put her hand on his arm. He looked at her before sitting back down in his seat. “I’ve got this,” she told him, staring at Sabri
“Is this really necessary?” Eve asked Arec, looking at Michael in his Lycan form on the other side of the gym. Arec looked at his brother, patiently waiting for Eve to finish warming up, and nodded. “You need to know how a Lycan fights so you can be prepared for what Sabrina may come at you with,” he said. “Michael won’t go full Lycan on me, though, will he?” she asked, still staring at him. “He will be full Lycan, but he won’t be using his full strength,” Arec told her. “He wants to teach you how to fight a Lycan, but he doesn’t want to hurt you while doing so. You won’t be able to fight a Lycan until you transform again during the next full moon.” Eve nodded, not taking her eyes off Michael, who noticed her staring and winked at her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. She started, blinking her eyes rapidly. “Are you ready to begin?” Arec asked her, frowning. “Or do you want me to give you a few pointers first?” Eve tore her eyes from Michael to look at him. “You’d do
Eve’s mouth dropped open at Arec’s announcement. “Fight you?” she asked when she found her voice. “Are you serious?” Arec nodded and said, “Of course I am. I’m the best option you have.” He held up his fingers as he counted the ways. “I’m your mate, so I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I know you better than Michael, so I should be able to anticipate what actions you’re going to take. Also, if you injure me, I won’t react like Michael would.” Turning to his brother, he shrugged and said, “No offense, Michael.” Michael shook his head and changed back into his human form. “None taken,” he said before asking, “Do you think it’s wise to do this, Arec?” “I would rather be the one to train her so that I can take the blame if any information gets out to the werewolves,” he said. “Plus, she’s my mate, so I don’t think she’ll tell them anything if it’s me she’s fighting.” “He makes a good point,” Bella said, tilting her head and pursing her lips as she studied them. “I don’t thin
Eve’s phone rang, startling her from her thoughts. Looking at the screen, she smiled before she answered it. “Hey, girl,” she greeted Linda. “How have you been?” “Long time, no talk,” her friend said. “I’ve been good. How about you?” Eve paused as she thought about the events since she’d last spoken to her friend before saying, “I’ve been good. What’s new?” “Just the same old, same old,” Linda said. “Still single and trying to mingle to find that special someone. Speaking of a special someone, how’s your man doing?” Eve felt her face warming as she smiled and said, “He’s doing good. We’re doing good.” “I haven’t seen you in a bit, so I wanted to give you a call,” Linda said. “I figured you’d been spending time with your man and forgot all about me.” Eve shook her head and said, “I could never forget about you.” “Glad to hear that,” Linda said with a chuckle. “So, what’s new with you?” Eve asked. “Found anyone who has stolen your heart yet?” Linda chuckled and said, “Not
“Where?” Eve asked. “Where is Craig?” Linda pointed to a man standing on the other side of the pond. When Eve looked at him, he grinned at her and walked away. “That sure looked like Craig,” Eve said, staring at his retreating back. “I wonder why he was out there.” “I wonder why he didn’t come in and say hi,” Linda said, frowning. “Maybe he knows about Arec and didn’t feel comfortable talking to us,” Eve said, turning to look at her friend. She chewed on her thumbnail as she looked back out the window toward where Linda said Craig had been. Linda leaned forward and grinned at Eve. “So, how are things going with Mr. Right?” she asked. Eve turned to look at Linda and smiled. “We’re doing good,” she said. “You must be,” Linda said. “I haven’t seen or heard much from you lately!” Eve’s face fell, and she said, “I’m sorry about ignoring you lately, Linda. I didn’t mean to shut you out.” Linda reached across the table to pat her friend’s hand and said, “Don’t worry about
“What?” Arec asked, scrambling to his feet. “You mean to tell me Michael lost Craig and Linda’s trail?” Bella nodded, not looking up as a tear falling from her eye and rolling down her cheek. “He’s still out there, looking for them,” she said, “but he lost it on the other side of the creek.” “Damn it!” Arec swore, hitting the palm of his hand with his fist. “I knew we shouldn’t have left,” Eve said, scowling at him. “We should have stayed to help him search.” Arec walked over to Eve and put his arm around her shoulders. She shrugged it off, glaring at him. “I wanted to stay to help, but you told me Michael would be able to find Craig’s trail,” she said. “Now look what happened. Linda’s out somewhere with Craig, and we don’t know where they are.” Arec reached for her again, but she stepped out of his reach. “You should have let me stay,” she told him before stalking out of the room. Arec started to go after her, but Bella held him back. “What are you doing?” he asked his
When Eve met with Arec in the gym, she had changed into her workout leggings and tank top. She saw he had put on an old t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts and had spread the gym mats across the floor in preparation for their session. He was already warming up for their session and grinned as he spotted her. “Ready to warm up?” he asked her, leaning with his hands pressed against the wall to stretch his legs. She nodded, stretching her arms and shoulders as she walked toward him, and said, “Let’s do this.” Squatting, she moved from side to side to stretch her leg muscles. She stretched her legs out before standing. Arec stood from the wall and stretched his arms before jerking his head toward the center of the room. She nodded once. They walked to the center of the room and faced each other. Arec crouched into a fighting position and nodded at her. “Aren’t you going to transform first?” she asked, frowning as she waited for him to do so. He shook his head and said, “Not to warm
Eve waited, holding her breath, as Arec listened to Michael on the other end of the phone. Arec listened, then looked at Eve and nodded. “He found them?” she asked, hurrying to his side. Arec moved the phone away from his mouth and told her, “He has their trail.” Eve put her hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. She hurried to the couch and sat down. As she waited for Arec to finish his conversation with his brother, she leaned forward with her hands clasped so tightly that her fingers turned white. After Arec hung up the phone, he looked at Eve and said, “He’s going to track them and call back when he has more information.”“Do you think it will take long?” she asked, her brows drawn upward in concern. “I’m not sure,” Arec told her, walking to the couch to sit beside her. “Michael is an excellent tracker, so I don’t think he’ll lose their scent.” He reached over to unclasp her hands and held her hands in his. “Linda’s going to be okay,” he told her. “How do
Eve gasped as Arec made the suggestion that Linda had been abducted. “Do you really think someone took her?” she asked. Arec and Michael sniffed the air before looking at each other and nodding. “What is it?” Eve asked, looking at them. “What do you smell?” She inhaled, then shook her head. “I don’t smell anything,” she said. “That’s because your senses are dulled when you’re not in your wolf form,” Arec told her. “Whereas we can still access our Lycan senses when we’re not in that form,” Michael said. “So, what are you smelling?” she asked. Arec and Michael glanced at each other again before Arec said, “We smell Craig.” “What?” Eve cried. “You think he has Linda?” Arec looked at Michael before nodding. “His stench is all over Linda’s car,” he said. Eve ground her teeth, and her hands balled into fists. Her eyes narrowed as she sniffed the air. She shook her head before she said, “I can’t smell anything, but I will find him and make him give Linda back!” “You
“So, how was your day with Linda?” Arec asked when Eve returned to the house, carrying her purchases inside. “It was nice to see her again,” Eve told him, smiling as she set the bags down. “You look like you had a good time,” he told her, grinning and nodding toward her shopping bags. Her smile widened into a grin as she waved toward the bags. “I think we bought out the entire shopping area,” she said. “At least, it felt like it.” Arec smiled and shook his head. “Should I even check the bank account?” he asked. Giggling, Eve shook her head and said, “It’s probably best that you don’t.” “Then, I won’t,” he said before picking up some of the bags in his left hand while holding out his right arm for her to grasp. She picked up the rest of the bags and slid her arm through his. They walked out of the living room toward the staircase. When they reached her room, she dropped her bags and dug her phone out of her purse. “Let me text Linda and tell her I made it home safe,”
Linda craned her head to follow Eve’s gaze and gasped. “That sure does look like Craig,” she said. “What is he doing here?” Eve scowled and took her napkin off her lap as she stood. “I don’t know, but I’m going to go out there and find out,” she said. Linda put her hand on Eve’s arm, stopping her friend. “Are you sure that’s wise?” she asked. “How well do you actually know that man? What if he’s dangerous?” Eve glared at him through the window and balled her hands into fists while she said, “He’ll find out who’s more dangerous when I go out there and confront him.” Linda frowned at her friend, then released her arm. Eve glanced at her friend and told her, “I’ll be right back.” Linda nodded and watched Eve leave the cafe. Eve marched out of the cafe, glaring at Craig, who leaned against a light post with his hands in his pockets. He spotted her and stood up. Linda continued to watch the scene as it played out. Eve marched out of the cafe, her eyes trained on Craig, who co
“Where?” Eve asked. “Where is Craig?” Linda pointed to a man standing on the other side of the pond. When Eve looked at him, he grinned at her and walked away. “That sure looked like Craig,” Eve said, staring at his retreating back. “I wonder why he was out there.” “I wonder why he didn’t come in and say hi,” Linda said, frowning. “Maybe he knows about Arec and didn’t feel comfortable talking to us,” Eve said, turning to look at her friend. She chewed on her thumbnail as she looked back out the window toward where Linda said Craig had been. Linda leaned forward and grinned at Eve. “So, how are things going with Mr. Right?” she asked. Eve turned to look at Linda and smiled. “We’re doing good,” she said. “You must be,” Linda said. “I haven’t seen or heard much from you lately!” Eve’s face fell, and she said, “I’m sorry about ignoring you lately, Linda. I didn’t mean to shut you out.” Linda reached across the table to pat her friend’s hand and said, “Don’t worry about
Eve’s phone rang, startling her from her thoughts. Looking at the screen, she smiled before she answered it. “Hey, girl,” she greeted Linda. “How have you been?” “Long time, no talk,” her friend said. “I’ve been good. How about you?” Eve paused as she thought about the events since she’d last spoken to her friend before saying, “I’ve been good. What’s new?” “Just the same old, same old,” Linda said. “Still single and trying to mingle to find that special someone. Speaking of a special someone, how’s your man doing?” Eve felt her face warming as she smiled and said, “He’s doing good. We’re doing good.” “I haven’t seen you in a bit, so I wanted to give you a call,” Linda said. “I figured you’d been spending time with your man and forgot all about me.” Eve shook her head and said, “I could never forget about you.” “Glad to hear that,” Linda said with a chuckle. “So, what’s new with you?” Eve asked. “Found anyone who has stolen your heart yet?” Linda chuckled and said, “Not
Eve’s mouth dropped open at Arec’s announcement. “Fight you?” she asked when she found her voice. “Are you serious?” Arec nodded and said, “Of course I am. I’m the best option you have.” He held up his fingers as he counted the ways. “I’m your mate, so I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I know you better than Michael, so I should be able to anticipate what actions you’re going to take. Also, if you injure me, I won’t react like Michael would.” Turning to his brother, he shrugged and said, “No offense, Michael.” Michael shook his head and changed back into his human form. “None taken,” he said before asking, “Do you think it’s wise to do this, Arec?” “I would rather be the one to train her so that I can take the blame if any information gets out to the werewolves,” he said. “Plus, she’s my mate, so I don’t think she’ll tell them anything if it’s me she’s fighting.” “He makes a good point,” Bella said, tilting her head and pursing her lips as she studied them. “I don’t thin