"Sir? Mr. Miller," a voice called and Cole looked up from his sitting position. All the chairs and decorations prepared around the private graveyard of the Millers had been cleared away, leaving the one Cole sat on. His hair was wet and the shoulder pads of his suit were dampened. He blinked to focus; he had been a bit drawn in by the memories of his dead relatives that he had forgotten where he was.
"Yes, Mrs. Pepple," Cole responded, allowing a polite smile to surface. He remembered she was the housekeeper and was a bit surprised to see she was still working for his father. She looked older too from the last time he saw her. The round figured woman with her bright red hair that was always tightly pulled back in a bun was one of the motherly figures he had growing up here on this estate. She stood with her hands clasped wearing her matronly uniform with about ten women standing behind her.
Cole heard Jerome sigh with relief. He watched as Rufus gave a curt nod without taking his eyes from Cole. Cole heard the clatters of metals and walked in. The shelf slowly closed behind him.His father's office was about 700 square meters wide, and he wasn't surprised it contained Rufus guards; he counted sixteen, his father's house guards about ten of them, including two that were already lying dead on the floor with gunshot wounds to the head, then Aaron and Jerome who was standing directing in front of the deskStill pointing his revolver at Rufus, Cole passed the cold metal to his left hand and went to pressed the muzzle hard to the older man's forehead, collected his gun to tuck in the back of his trousers’ band, and lowered to his knees to pull out two knives from his ankle strap."You
Cole lunged forward and was about to push hard on the secret door when a knock sounded on his door, he jerked back as if scalded by hot water and growled like an animal. He marched to the door and pulled it open, the look on his face made the petite woman by his door startled back. Her eyes widened and she swallowed.“What do you want?!” Cole spat the words forcefully, baring teeth..“I…I… I thought you might want me to come and clean your room—”“What?!”“I used to clean your father’s room as you are well aware of course. I thought perhaps you might have use of me… I mean—”“Get. Out!” Cole yelled. “And don&rs
When Isabelle reappeared he walked past her and into the bathroom, walking straight into the shower stall. He made sure the water was icy cold before stepping under it. He was close to marching back to her, picking her up, and burying his throbbing need inside her. He stood under the shower with his open palm pressed against the wall, breathing steadily."Nobody should look that beautiful naked goddamnit!" He cursed under his breath. He started to distract himself with the thought of how to get her out. The thought of using his father's office to get her outside and into the woods made him open his eyes.He stared at the tiled wall, plotting quietly, thinking of buying a secondhand car for her once he gets her to town so she could drive anywhere she wanted. That could work, right? He thought about it over and over, figuring it was the best way
Cole got up, naked as the day he was born and went to peer out through the window. His side window had a view of the side of the building but the one by his bed overviewed the front of the mansion. He saw his father’s men firing shots into the woods surrounding the house and the sight of a body sailing through the air to land on the side lawn made him jerk his face in that direction. The man stayed down and didn't get up. Cole thought perhaps a shotgun had been used on the guy at close range. That was the only logical thing he could think of. Otherwise, what or who could be that strong to toss a grown-ass man that far?He left the window and hurried to the closet. Isabelle had found one of his old pullover hoodies with sweatpants. He loved that it looked smart on her. That would make it easier to run in. Speaking of running, he lowered his gaze to her legs and saw she was barefooted. He cursed.
Isabelle rushed to the end of the hall and hugged her back to the sidewall under the camera. Cole pinched the button between his thumb, raised his gun, and marched out, noting the red light blinking. When he got to the end of the hallway he marched out to peer down the one that led to the double staircase that descended to the foyer. He saw two guards manning the entrance. They had their backs to the staircase, busy firing shots outside. Cole darted back to hug his back to the wall, pressed the camera jammer, and fired a shot at the camera covering the hallway and foyer. “Stay behind me,” he said. Isabelle hugged him from behind and together they moved down the hallway, descending the stairs without any of the men looking back. Cole murmured to Isabelle to run to the back of the house and she did so hurriedly her socks clad feet light on the marbl
“No!” a loud feminine cry sounded from somewhere to his left, then a growl and another creature lunged at the one ready to deliver the killing blow. Pushing him away from Cole. The creature's claw swept down, tearing flesh from his shoulder to his massive chest, missing his neck as he had evidently intended. Cole panted as excruciating pain rented through his big frame. It was almost like getting shot all over again. He took quick breaths, trying to contain the pain. while his eyes watched the two creatures wrestling on the floor.“It’s Belle!” someone shouted. The tumbling bodies stopped and Cole saw the same colored wolf Isabelle had shapeshifted into to show him what she was. Only this time she was not on all fours - not a mere wolf, but a half-beast half-woman, standing on hind legs, tall and about 250 pounds of all muscle and sinew. Her white fur was pure as the col
The laughter died in their faces and the four men got out to fish Cole out. Isabelle swallowed when Hallec cursed and started to perform chest compressions on Cole to let water out of his lungs. It took a while before he exhaled loudly and started to cough the water out. Isabelle let out a shaky breath. She felt her brother's eyes on her and she raised hers to meet his gaze. A deep frown furrowed his brows and he took a glance at Cole and then reverted his gaze. Isabelle glared at him in her bid to hide her fear and frustration. She could tell her brother was suspicious of her actions."Where do you intend to keep him? Why don't we kill him and get it over with? You realize we have to feed him right? We don't have enough for everyone least of all him," Xavier said."Let me worry about that. He is my prisoner, my slave. And he is staying in my room,”
Once inside the cave that had been their home for close to a decade now, Isabelle watched helplessly from the corner of her eye as Xavier had Cole dragged up the stone stairs while the rest of the pack members surrounded her to welcome her. She forced a smile and tried to act as if all was well in the world when all she wanted to do was run after her brother to make sure he didn't hurt Cole more than he had already. She remembered all he had gone through for the past hours, getting kicked, hit, and knocked out not to mention the claw gashes on his pectoral. She clenched her jaw, nodding automatically to sympathetic words coming at her in almost all directions. Her closest friends Tiana and Opaline, rushed through the crowd to come and draw her into a tight embrace. The gesture coupled with the raging emotions inside her made her eyes smart with tears.
“No!” Rufus yelled, Cole turned to him and smash the butt of his gun against his head, causing his forehead to bleed. “You fucking injected my woman with wolfbane, and dared to try and kill Aaron!” “You bastard! You killed my son!” Rufus cried loudly in evident anguish. It was clear he had lost his mind. “Oh, I intend to off all your fucking sons! You idiot!” “That’s a shame—” a voice sounded from the doorway. Cole looked in the direction and saw a man that looked like Rufus holding Opaline by the throat, and when Isabelle startled forward, he brandished a gun at her. Isabelle stopped. “If any of you animals move, I will drop this and we will all die...” the newcomer said, using the barrel of his gun to tap on a grenade he held against Opaline’s throat — the very type Ash used a few minutes before, everyone stepped back except Isabelle. “Hello, Cole Miller, your father was an arrogant asshole, but I still liked him, I was looking forward to meeting you. The way he talked about yo
“Oh, hell, no! Not on my watch!” Cole muttered and ran to the open space, ignoring the fact that he was left defenceless, trusting Jason and Ash to cover him. Isabelle gaped at him, watching as he opened fire on the guards by the doorway. Isabelle watched in frozen horror as two bullets hit him on the chest, and another on the shoulder, Cole only grunted hard but pressed forward. He didn’t stop until there were no more guards still left standing by the doorway. “Is this guy on drugs?!” one of the Weres asked with disquiet. “He is fucking insane!” another interjected. “Yes, he is,” Jason said with an admiration that made Isabelle smack him on the shoulder. “Sorry,” he said in a whispered plea, and then added, “but only the insanity part. I wouldn’t have him any other way!” He smirked and pushed away from safety to join in. Ash and his men joined him. A new wave of guards came out from the house and the other side of the woods, brandishing automatic guns at Cole and the rest o
Angel let go of the man and offered him the water. He snatched the bottle and gulped down the water, then he eyed Angel before he took the steak and gorged it down his throat. Isabelle passed another bottle of water to Angel and the other Were directed his gaze passed Angel to settle on her. The pain that cloud his eyes at the sight of her made her swallow. “They killed her... raped her to death...” he growled and then whimpered in obvious pain, curling up on the floor. Angel grabbed him by the shoulders and snarled “And if you don’t get your shit together, you will never be able to avenge her! Get a hold of yourself, Wolfe, or this will be it for you! I don’t fucking have all night!” Angel said, barring his teeth. The other wolf nodded and fought to contain his emotions. Angel then offered him a change of clothes, and he accepted it. Isabelle and the other ladies moved back to allow the rescued Weres to change, and then one of the Were asked, “Why does this human smell like
Cole signalled to Ash to wait with his team, beckoned Jason, mind linked with Isabelle to follow him then asked Xavier to mind link with Hallec, Darrow, Wulfrun, Opaline, and Tiana to come with them. The chosen Weres followed Angel closely, heading into the side woods to a secluded area about 5 minutes walk from the house, but it only took the Weres three. Angel brought them to a clearing in the woods and Cole could see a large iron grate-like shield, spanning about five meters of the grounds. Angel climbed atop it, looking down into the hole. Xavier went to join him, and Cole and Jason followed. Looking down through the iron bars, Cole could see an iron ladder leading down into a pit and the stench was killing. “Heavens! This is where they are?!” Xavier asked with gritted teeth, his anger was evident
The following morning Cole and Xavier asked to speak with Ash privately, and shortly after the other man peered into the study before entering. Xavier was standing by the window and Cole was by the liquor cabinet. “Thanks for honouring our call Ash—” Cole said and almost bit his tongue for the nonsense. It was quite obvious he wasn’t comfortable speaking with another man about his choice of a partner. Heck! If it weren’t for the impending mission he would have let whatever the two were playing at work itself out. What’s the point of living if you have to keep it safe all the time? A deep frown formed a groove in between his eyebrows. It was plain he would not be a perfect person to discuss the topic of ‘the birds and bees’ when the time comes. He evidently sucks at it. He doubted Isabelle would approve of him telling their kids to explore as much as they want. He wasn’t a parent yet and that scenario had him imaging an angel giving him a disapproving glare. He shook his head as if th
A gentle tap on the door woke Cole up and his eyes automatically went to the wall clock. He sighed. He had fallen asleep curled up with Isabelle in front of the fireplace on the duvet he had dragged from the bed. Lying there and chatting with her about their future felt right. It felt beautiful and now he just needed to go and secure that future for all of them. He disengaged from her and she turned her face to hold his gaze “Xavier needs me...” Cole said, lowering his head to plant a kiss on her lips. “Okay,” she said. Cole got up and quickly threw some clothes on before leaving the room when he got downstairs all the Weres were there including Ash. Cole sighed. He figured if Tiana hadn’t told Ash yet who she was he would have to be the one to do it or speak to Xavier about it. The last thing he needed was a surprised lover, freaking out at the wrong time and messing up their mission. He nodded a greeting to everyone and walked in the direction of Alexander’s office he had
She walked to the bathroom door that was at a corner of the opposite wall to the door she came in through, and slowly pushed it open, leaving it just slightly open. Cole was under the shower and his entire body was lathered and on display. Isabelle’s heart shook. He stood under the shower with his hands pressed to the wall as the water washed off the soap slowly on his body. Isabelle allowed her eyes to follow the flow down his deliciously sexy body. It reminded her of the time back at his cabin when he had washed her body and made her wash his too. “Touch me...” his raspy voice echoed in her head, and she leaned against the door frame watching him as her body flamed up for him. Cole heard the adjoining door open and knew she was coming before she got to the bathroom door. He could feel her gaze on him and could smell her excitement. The thought and the scent of her, mingled with her arousal affected his body in an unbelievable way. It was as if he could feel exactly what she was f
“Belle?” Xavier called, causing her to snap out of her musings. She realised everyone had sat down and she was the only one standing by the open French door like some social recluse. She flashed a smile that she hoped didn’t appear as a grimace and went to take the seat next to Xavier and Amèlie. The others started to eat, and low murmuring filled the room. They were all so aware of the male servants, standing by, and close to the side walls, evidently there to wait on them, but that didn’t make it less awkward. When she continued to sit still without reaching out to eat, Xavier gave her a gentle nudge with his leg, and she winced delicately, before reaching for her food. They were first served with an appetizer and Isabelle slowly tasted the chicken soup before she started to eat. They were on the main course dish when Cole entered the room. Two male servants quickly went to serve his appetizer, placing it by the head of the table. “I am sorry. I have been quite a terrible host.
With chest heaving, she breathed through parted lips returning his scrutiny. Cole took the seat beside her. Reaching for her hand, he held it firmly in his and then leaned into her and took her lips in a searing kiss. Isabelle gasped, confused by his actions, but he didn’t stop. The taste of whiskey on his tongue mixed with coffee coupled with the effect of his drugging kiss made her gradually lose herself in the kiss and it wasn’t long before she completely forgot why she was scared and where she was.When he finally let go for her to breathe, her eyes searched his smouldering ones before darting to the open window shield behind him. She found then that they were airborne, and the plane had stabilised. She swallowed. “I’m sorry, I haven’t—” she said. Cole raised his hand to brush a knuckle against her cheek. “Don’t do that… Don’t apologise to me. I'm sorry, I should have realised, and come sooner,” he replied and the tears she had been fighting to hold back spilt down her face. ‘