~Harper~ Justin seemed a bit tired when he got in the car, and I wondered what he might have been up to. Leaving Jacob's Villa behind, I looked at my cousin where he sat. "How was your night?" I asked him, and he smiled. "Stayed awake all through," he said and looked at me. "I can see it was the same for you. I bet Jacob came to say hello," He said with a broad grin, and I wondered how he knew. "How did you know?" I asked him. "He kept his eyes on you from the moment we arrived. He tried tirelessly to get you alone, but I never gave him the chance. You were his focus all through. I was worried he would try something stupid at night, which was why I linked you, but it seems he is a gentleman after all," Justin said, and I did not know it seemed like that from the outside. I guess I had a lot to learn. "So, what did you discuss?" He asked me, and I sighed. "He gave me his number, took mine, and said he wanted us to be friends. He also said he would visit me in Grizlo," I said, an
~Charlotte~ We arrived at Caspian's home. I was surprised to see that it was a duplex. Once the Limo parked, I looked at him, waiting for his cue. "I live apart from my family. They live in the estate while I live here. We will go to the estate after we have settled in. I hope that is fine by you," he said to me, and I nodded with a grin because he had just made things a little hotter for both of us. "Are we staying here also?" Marvin asked him, realising they might be intruding, and Caspian nodded. "There are six rooms in this building. I am sure it is enough," Caspian replied, and Oliver sighed. "Great, we can have a room each," Oliver said, and Elaine smiled. "Layla and I can share a room," She said, looking at Layla, and I was surprised at their level of discipline. I thought they might camp together like Josephine and Liam. I guess Oliver had better self-control than Liam. Caspian might just be right about Josephine and Liam being fated; We would just have to wait and see.
~Liam~ The glint in Josephine's eyes indicated that she enjoyed the battle. I would lie if I said it wasn't thrilling. I was afraid, but at the same time, Alex and I saw it as an opportunity to practice everything we had been taught most of our lives. I had never been in a life-threatening situation before, so this was thrilling. It seemed like they had come to take us. The driver ensured that he stopped on an isolated road so they could attack his colleagues and subdue us. I guess they were not expecting the might they met. "I wonder why they did not use any of their contraband items before initiating this attack. The wolves seemed pretty ordinary to me," Josephine said, making a valid observation. They must have known Josephine and I would not go down easily. Josephine had the same abilities as Aunty Amelia, making her super fast and deadly. I was as tough as my dad. They would have needed the Agk32 to successfully subdue us. I know it is wrong for dealers to get high
~Leo~ Things had hit a standstill with the investigation until Justin called to inform us about the housekeeper they had caught. Although Tamia had seen a fair image of Margret in the photo, we couldn't be sure if she was among them. I had to commend Vino for insisting that we flag her as a person of interest just in case she is a part of it. If not, we wouldn't have been suspicious enough to arrest and question her. I had to give it to the Grizlo team; they were on fire and performing very well. To think that we believed if we allowed our children in the same place, they wouldn't work. I was glad to see everyone bringing their expertise on board, and so far, no one had complained about my boys. I was worried Justin would find Noah and Sebastien impossible to deal with, but they have been working fine so far. As things were, our children seemed more efficient than us, and even though they were sent to Grizlo so they would be away from the mess, we ended up putting them right
~Harper~ ONE YEAR TWO MONTHS LATER. Jacob kept his promise and visited me in Grizlo. He came whenever he could and was a gentleman about it. Justin believed Jacob liked me, but I wouldn't jump where he was concerned. Now that I was a little over nineteen, I needed to be careful because whoever I was with would be my mate. There was no mystery about Jacob, and he seemed like an open book, yet I was still dragging my feet where he was concerned. I did not know if it was our investigation or the circumstances that surrounded me, but I just wanted to give it time. Jacob had checked on me in Lucland once and had dinner with my parents, and they liked him. I knew it must count for something, yet something held me back. We were fixing up the hall in the packhouse at Grizlo for Josephine's 18th birthday. Liam wanted to go all out, and this was where he was starting from. He had booked a holiday in a lovely resort on Cain Island with the help of Caspian, and I did not know what he was
~Caspain~ It had been a year and two months of anticipation, resisting the urge to claim my mate during that elusive blue moon. The complexity of my life weighed heavily on me. For six long years, I had searched for Charlotte, and when our paths finally converged, her father harboured a deep-seated animosity toward me for reasons known only to him. While my family insisted I should have followed my mate's instincts and claimed her immediately, I couldn't bear the thought of her becoming estranged from her own family. It mattered greatly to me that her father would eventually accept our union, ensuring her true happiness. The injustice of her gaining me while losing her father in the process gnawed at my soul. He had been the first man in her life, the one who had loved and cared for her unconditionally. I couldn't fathom severing that precious bond between them, no matter how much it pained me. She was his cherished little princess, and I held onto the hope that he would on
~Caspian~ Lord Lawrence settled onto the couch in the breakfast lounge, with Charlotte and me occupying the two adjacent armchairs. His expression was neither angry nor pleased but rather a mixture of disappointment. "I am deeply disappointed in you, Lotte," he began, directing his gaze at his daughter. "You not only moved in with Caspian, but you also ceased coming home and stopped responding to our calls. It seemed almost as if you were deliberately distancing yourself from your family, Lotte," he remarked, his disappointment palpable as he shifted his gaze to me. "Was it your idea? Did you intend to isolate her from her loved ones?" he inquired, his tone carrying an accusatory undertone as he directed the question at me. "Enough!" Charlotte's voice trembled with anger. "I actually thought you had seen the light, and that was why you came here. Instead, you are here dishing out blame. What did you expect me to do? Reject my mate? If it were that easy, why didn't you reject Mom
~Harper~ I stood frozen in place, my gaze fixed on Adrian. Inside, I struggled against Riley's insistence that I rush to him. The grip on my emotions was unyielding, and in that moment, my thoughts were consumed by him alone. After uttering the word 'mate,' his eyes seemed to regain some composure as if he were trying to downplay it. Jacob, oblivious or perhaps pretending to be, asked, pulling me closer to him, "What's wrong?" I couldn't believe Jacob's apparent ignorance. Hadn't he heard Adrian's words, or were they meant for my ears alone? I turned to Jacob, feeling a bit bewildered, and he wore a puzzled expression. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he remarked with a smile. I turned my gaze back to Adrian, who averted his eyes. Did he feel ashamed? "I..." I managed to stammer, but Adrian interjected swiftly, his voice carrying a hint of strain and vulnerability. There was a pain in him that resonated with my own. "There's a storm approaching, Jacob. We should move," he said