“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” I call back through the door. Now that I know who she is, I can see some of Steven’s features in his mother’s face, as well as their behavior. Mrs. Hayes seems demure and quiet. Though she is raising her voice to speak with me through the door, that does not s
“I can make some coffee? Or some tea?” I ask. “Oh. Tea, please. What kind do you have?” I tell her my list. Albeit it’s a shorter list, but I think I have a nice variety. Yet the more I talk, the more her nose wrinkles up. “I’m afraid to ask what kind of coffee you have.” I feel like, whatev
Looking at Mrs. Hayes as she makes vague threats against her sons, the men that I’ve come to think of as friends, my most immediate feeling is confusion. She should hate her husband. She should cherish the life she has brought into the world. Everything seems so absolutely irreconcilably ass-backw
My question meets with silence on the other end of the phone. “Beau?” I say again. My heart hammers against my ribcage. Surely someone they trust is watching Mia right now. As Beau’s silence drags on, I’m beginning to suspect that might not be the case, and my stomach feels very much like it’s g
Beau parks at the bottom of the stairs. I jump from the motorcycle before it’s even finished moving. I rush up the stairs with my helmet still on. Inside, I toss the helmet onto the couch as I run to Mia’s room. Familiar footsteps are following mine. Beau is right behind me. In the nursery, Arch
With the urgency waylaid for now, we move into the living room to be more comfortable. I have many questions, want many answers, but I’m struggling to know where even to start. It’s been a long night already, and I feel like it’s just getting started. First things first though, I ask to hold Mia.
“Eventually, we caught wise to her games. I tried to stay longest,” Neil says, because of course it’s him that did his best to appease his parents. “But eventually her behavior became so erratic, I couldn’t be sure, even if she personally called for me, that she actually wanted to see me.” The bea
After handing Mia to Steven, I chase Neil down the hallway to the front door. “You can’t mean to go out there,” I say. “These people aren’t your allies.” “Some of them are,” Neil says. “Our candidate has supporters here too.” No wonder a fight was about to break out then. “Neil.” “I apprec
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