As promised, Miles did arrive in her room after two hours. They walk for over half an hour until they reach a house that is located on the outskirts of the pack territory. Izzy has never seen this house before and it looks like it hasn’t been lived in for quite some time.“What is this place?” she asks, looking at Miles with confusion.Miles unlocks the door and holds it open for Izzy to enter. “This used to be the residence of our previous beta,” he explains as they step inside. “It was given to me when I become the new beta.”The house is not big but cozy, with a living room, kitchen and two bedrooms. The furniture is old but well-maintained and there are still some personal belongings left behind.“This could be your temporary place to stay while we figure out what to do about your living situation,” Miles says, gesturing around the house. “Besides, this place cannot hold four people, anyway.”She frowns at him. “I’m going to live here alone?”
After the scene in the kitchen of her new home, Miles offered to help her with the transfer of her things. They are still in the middle of it when Carter appears and offers his assistance as well.As they were finishing up, an omega approached them and mentioned that she was sent by Alpha Landon to assist with the transfer. Luckily, they had already completed the task by then.Once they are finished, Carter leaves because he knows that it is Miles’ day with her.Afterwards, while Izzy works, Miles moves around the house. It is only until the end of her shift when she gets out to ask him. She finds him in the kitchen again, preparing their dinner.“What are you doing since earlier?” she asks as she sits down on one of the chairs by the small dining table.“Ah, nothing much!” he says, clearly in a good mood.He then sets two mugs of tea on the table before taking a seat across from her. “That’s a new set of tea that I just bought,” he says, be
Isabella ‘Izzy’ Garcia’s mornings are always the same — it is a comforting routine that helps her navigate her life as a werewolf. She wakes up before sunrise, slipping out of her bed and into her running shoes. She prefers the air to be crisp and cool. She finds it a perfect complement to the quiet stillness of her world.Every morning, she begins her run at a brisk pace while she navigates the forest. Her surroundings is alive with the sounds of howling wolves, but Isabella doesn’t feel threatened. She is one of them, a predator in her own right.As she runs, she greets her pack members, who are also doing their exercise while in their human form. She exchanges nods and smiles with anyone who would come her way. The werewolf pack she belongs to is a close-knit community to a fault. Everyone is ready to lend a helping hand or offer a listening ear. Unfortunately, they also love to gossip about everyone in the pack — like who are their mates, who had a child, who cheated, who recently
The mate finding ceremony is about to start. A sense of anticipation hangs in the air, excitement palpable amongst the crowd. The grassy field is filled with pack members, their eyes all centered towards the makeshift stage at the middle where the ceremony is being held.Izzy finds herself getting anxious by the second. She feels her palms becoming clammy and so she takes a deep breath. There’s nothing to worry about, she reminds herself.Every year the mate-finding ceremony happens, and every year, no one is deigned for her. It’s all good, she doesn’t want a mate. However, now that she is already thirty, her chances of getting a mate are higher.Then Izzy’s eyes find Miles. He is a few feet away from her, freshly groomed and wearing a necklace, signifying that he’s still unmatched, just like her. His eyes meet hers in the crowd and for a second they hold each other’s gaze. Izzy breaks it off first, turning away before he can think of something stupid again.A drum roll begins, which q
Izzy stands at the center of the spectacle called the mate-finding ceremony, her most dreaded part of being a werewolf. The entire ceremony ground is a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds that assaults her senses.The elder stands beside her, takes a hold of her necklace and roughly breaks it. The fire turns red, green and yellow as the elder reads the sign. Then he frowns, and his eyes go to someone in the group of unmatched males.Izzy clenches her jaws and stares at her feet. She cannot, she can’t possibly have a mate now, after all those years!“Ah, this is strange,” the elder whispers.‘Yes, I am strange for not wanting a mate. I know that already!’ she thinks. All the female werewolves want it, even Chloe and Aria, except her!“Ah, I apologize, but Alpha Landon Hayes, will you please step forward?”Izzy’s lips tremble. The sound of his name is already pulling at the strings of her heart, so she ensures that her eyes are fixed on the solid ground. But, the alpha?! The widowed alpha
We walk to the alpha’s house, where Alpha Landon has set up a separate house for his office. An elder, whose name is Finn O’Malley, is supporting Izzy as she continues to deny her fate.Finn decides that each of her mates needs to talk to her. To discuss what will happen in the future. He mentioned that the other mates can reject the mate bond. In that way, she will only have one mate.ONE MATE.But she doesn’t even want a single mate. No matter what they will decide, she is still on the losing end of it all.“Izzy...” This time, it is Miles who is sitting in front of her, while she is petrified in the chair.She looks up at him, but she instantly regrets it when his warm brown eyes meet hers. He looks at her with a mixture of sadness and guilt, his blond hair disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it. Worse, she can’t take her eyes off of him.Despite not originally from the pack, Miles continued to rise until he became a beta. She has always known that he is handsome,
“Three mates...” Izzy murmurs as she lays chest-first on her bed.She is still processing her situation. Won’t that be too much work? Besides, she has a job and hobbies. She also wants to spend time with her family and friends. Surely, these men will request time and attention from her.Izzy takes a deep sigh, which she has been doing for a while now. Gratefully, she is not forced to spend the night with either of them. Although her inner wolf wants to.She is bound to three mates. Miles, Landon, and Carter. Not one of them rejected the mate bond. Miles said that he will take his chances. Landon said that he needed a Luna. Most especially, Carter assured her that he would never reject the mate bond.“Ugh!” she screams on her pillow.And so, as the night wears on, she continues to wrestle with her thoughts, tossing and turning in her bed. She is torn between the undeniable attraction she feels for her mates and the fear of losing herself in the process.When the morning sun peeks throug
Izzy focuses on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She raises her fists and begins to jab, the rhythm of her punches matching the beat of her heart.Despite the frustrating situation with her three mates, she can’t deny that she is a bit grateful that they didn’t place strict rules on the setup — which is new, knowing that Alpha Landon loves rules.Still, six days. Six days will be lost to her. She should have insisted for only a day each to her mates. It’s as if she is going with the flow — submitting her will to the pack and the Moon Goddess. She is certain, it’s all because of the mate bond! She is becoming more pliant to all their demands! She didn’t even shut Carter up as harshly, unlike before!Then, there is a laugh. She pauses and turns to the source of the voice. It’s Aria, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.“That punching bag won’t last long, you know,” she comments.Izzy shakes her head and continues with the punches. “What are you doing here, Aria?”“Wh