Wait. War? “You know why,” Beau says, snapping back at Archer with a similar tone. “We made her cry.” “She’ll cry again. Worse next time,” Archer says. “You need to harden yourself.” “Neil,” Beau starts. “He’s right, Beau,” Neil says, and I’m thrown for a loop all over again. Why are they go
I fall asleep in the nursery, in a high-back chair I pulled up beside the crib. I watch Mia until my eyelids are too heavy to keep open, and darkness drags me under again. When I wake again, it’s early morning, the sunrise just breaking over the trees out the window. I look at the view, then at Mi
When I leave Archer’s room, he’s passed out asleep. He’d been up all night. I had no idea how he could be so awake even as he was, to drive me so wild with pleasure. I sneak out of his room without waking him and head back to my room to shower and change. As I go through the motions of getting rea
With his face buried in the crook of my neck, he breathes me in. My heart hammers in my chest. I don’t understand what’s happening. Why is everyone acting so strangely? It feels like someone died. No, scratch that. It feels like I’m about die. What does everyone know that I don’t? “Beau…?” I s
By the time I get back to the Pyramid, my blood is absolutely boiling and I’m ready to throw down. Knowing the only way to end this stupid plan the brothers have concocted is to convince the leader, I go straight for Neil’s room. I’m fired up, hands in fists, strategizing every argument in my brai
The words hurt. But if I push that initial hurt aside and remember what Angela said, about the brothers planning to hurt me to protect me, then maybe even this is part of their plan to cast me aside. Archer wouldn’t be kind to me if he wanted me gone tomorrow anyway. “You don’t have to do this
I retreat to the only safe space I have left in this place: Mia’s room. She is down for a nap, so I sit in a chair beside her crib and watch her sleep. Whatever happens from here on out, whatever hurtful things the brothers utter, whatever heartache I’m made to endure, I will find comfort in knowi
I crawl into my bed and stare at the ceiling. Sleep doesn’t find me that night. I wonder if I’ll ever really sleep again. The next morning, I collect my duffle bag and my book bag that has my laptop and school supplies inside. The rest, I’m sure the brothers will have delivered to me. I can’t
I’m happy because I have four hearts beating alongside mine.“Do you feel it, too?” I ask. “My connection to each of you?”I blink my eyes open once more. I want to see their faces, their reactions.Neil has his hand over his own heart. “It’s strange. It’s like part of you is inside of me.”“Me, too
In the darkness of my mind, I floated, surrounded by the comforting embrace of love. Distantly, I could feel another presence, one that grew stronger and stronger, the more I focused on it: my wolf.As I thought of her, she appeared before me as if I willed her into being. Maybe I did. We are in my
Damn alpha wolves and their heightened senses.“I’ve already made my choice,” I say. “Honestly, I think I made it a long, long time ago.”Archer relaxes marginally. Steven starts to smile.Neil turns to me, worry still on his face. “You say that now, Chloe. But the pull could be strong…”“I don’t ca
The eve of my birthday, I rest in bed and stare at my ceiling. It’s late, near midnight, but I still have my bedside light on.With my feelings shared and grown with Neil, Archer, and Steven, I didn’t expect to spend any night alone, especially the one right before the day that could change everythi
I awake to a sharp knock on my bedroom door. Neil’s arm is still draped over me but some distance had inched between our hot bodies in the night. I’m able to slink out from under his arm without him waking.Naked, I quickly stop by the bathroom to throw on my fluffy bathrobe. Then, after glancing ba
They.Beau glances at me and see my incredulous look. “What do I need to go out every night? Can’t a man just enjoy staying home for a change?”“You can do whatever the hell you want,” I say.“Good, then.” Beau slumps down on the couch. He stretches out, lifting his feet up and into my lap. “Now tel
For the rest of the morning, I desperately try not to think about Neil. Whoever he’s in love with, I won’t be offended by it. The hurt I feel has nothing to do with this new person. She must be great for her to have won Neil’s affections.The hurt is my own loss, my own problem. I let my feelings fo
After Steven and I have cleaned ourselves up with a quick shower, we fall back into bed together, giggling and laughing all the way. My now, Steven has discovered a few of my tickle zones, which he is exploiting. As revenge, I touch the places I now know make him shiver.For a while, nothing seems l
His hands fumbled with the buttons of his own shirt. Such usually steady hands are rendered useless by his nervousness.“Allow me,” I tell him. I lightly bat his hands out of the way before replacing them with mine on his shirt buttons. My times with Neil have served me well. I’m able to undo all th