Eleanor stepped back, getting away from the collapsed bricks. Thomas did not let go of Sophia’s arm. Ethan burst through the dust, his face contorted with anger, his fangs extended.His eyes zeroed in on Thomas’s hand gripping Sophia’s arm. “Get your hands off my mate,” he snarled, stepping forward.Eleanor’s eyes widened. Ethan’s entrance had shocked her, but his words shocked her even more. Did he refer to Sophia as his mate? Were they fated to each other?Her mind took her back to the night they’d had dinner together at the restaurant after Henry and Ethan arrived at Blackstorm.Ethan had rushed out of the restaurant after seeing Sophia, and the latter had gone after him. But when Eleanor asked about it, Sophia made up a story about Ethan mistaking her for someone else. That must have been when they recognised each other as mates.Thomas’s eyes narrowed at Ethan. He made no move to release Sophia’s arm. “Darkfall’s Beta. what are you doing here, interfering with another pack’s matt
Eleanor turned away from him, sighing. Every time he talked about their relationship, he made it sound as if she was the reason everything had gone to shit. He was innocent, and she was just the dramatic one who kept blowing mountains out of nothing.“Why did you leave with that man?” he asked. “Was that what you’d been planning with him while he pretended to be an envoy from Darkfall?”She turned back to face him. “Does it matter? I’m back now, so why don’t you just forget about it?”He scoffed. “Forget about it?” His voice was rising, becoming angry. “He fought me in my own backyard and then took my wife, and you went with him, willingly. How dare you humiliate me like that? Who is he to you?”“I simply took a chance to do what I wanted,” Eleanor told him. “I wanted to go to Darkfall to get some medical training and gain skills that would be useful to our pack, but you chose to be unreasonable about it. He offered me a way out, did you want me to refuse? Do you intend to keep me loc
Eleanor turned on the lights, and they spilled over to the balcony, revealing the intruder’s face. It was the prisoner, the werewolf who had lied about being Sophia’s accomplice.How had he made it to her room? He was supposed to be in his cell!Her first thought was to cross the room and accost him, but she decided against that. Even though her wolf had awakened while she was with Henry, she had gone silent again. If she got into a fight, she was not confident she could win against him.This was the man who had worked with Mia in her past life and Eleanor knew he was capable of many things. Until she knew about his origin and his power, she had to refrain from getting into a direct fight with him.Remaining composed, she walked across the room towards the balcony. “Have you finally come to introduce yourself properly?” she asked. She wanted to show him that she was not afraid of him and his appearance did not scare her.He looked at her, his grey eyes assessing, but he said nothing.
As Ethan drove, he kept throwing worried glances at Sophia. She had not passed out since they left Blackstorm, but her injuries worried him. She had been tied to a silver cross–they wouldn’t heal as quickly as they should.“Are you okay?” he asked as she passed a hand over her face to get rid of tears. She had been reluctant to leave Eleanor, despite the accusations against her. This was the best thing for her right now, but she was still upset about having to leave her friend behind.She grabbed a bunch of tissues from the box on the dashboard and blew her nose. After that, she sucked in a deep breath and straightened in her seat, staring blankly out of the windshield.Ethan wished he knew how to comfort her. He hated seeing her so hurt and so upset.Before, his head had been wrapped up in his feelings for Eleanor. But when Henry’s affection for her became apparent, he quietly let go of that fantasy. His Alpha had been searching for Eleanor for years, and Ethan knew nothing could sta
Back in Eleanor’s room, Miller asked if they could sit down because he had something important to tell her.“There was a time in the past I didn’t think I would make it to become Beta of this pack,” he began as soon as they were sitting down on a pair of armchairs in the room. “No matter how hard I worked, it seemed that Alpha Thomas did not have me in my mind for his second in command.”Eleanor nodded. “I remember.”The three of them grew up together, and Miller had always wanted to become Beta. But there were a several options for the position, and at some point, it seemed as if Thomas did not think he had the potential to become a good Beta.“I almost gave up,” he admitted. “I started doubting my abilities, and thinking maybe the best I could be was head warrior. If it wasn’t for you encouraging me and training alongside me, I think I would have given up. It’s thanks to you that I became the Beta I am today. I’ve never forgotten how much you helped me back then.”“You were always t
“Do you think I’d let you go to another man so easily?” Thomas asked, licking the top of her ear with the tip of his tongue. “Do you think there’s another man who can love you the way I do?”Eleanor wrenched her head to the side, pulling away from his lips. At first, she had thought he was joking just to rile her up. But now, she could tell he wasn’t. She could tell from his scent that he wanted her, and his possessiveness was spiralling out of control.He had not pushed when she rejected his advances earlier on in his bedroom. What was causing him to behave like this? Had he seen something on her phone? Had Henry sent her a message?“You are the only one thinking about that,” she told him. “I’m exhausted, and I don’t have time for your games. My best friend was framed as a traitor today and almost got banished to the north. A prisoner also escaped from right under our noses. I also have a law to prepare before the Alpha Summit. Does it look like I have time to think about these thing
Henry took the phone from Ethan and pressed it to his ear. “Eleanor?”“Hey, it’s me.”Relief coursed through him at the sound of her voice. “Are you okay? Where are you? I couldn’t get you on your phone.”“I’m fine,” she told him. “Sorry for making you worried. I meant to call earlier but Thomas stole my phone.”“Has he hurt you? I called you earlier and he picked up. He said that…” He swallowed as a bitter taste filled his mouth. “Did he force you to do anything?”“No,” she replied. “He hasn’t done anything. Don’t worry, I can handle him. Nothing will happen to me.”Henry pinched his forehead with his fingers and exhaled harshly. “I can come and take you back,” he told her. “Just say the word.”“Henry, I’m really fine,” he told her softly. “If I really need your help, I’ll let you know. But right now, I need to stay here to ensure my plan goes well. I’ve made him believe I intend to stay, so I’m going to be alright until the summit. We just need to make sure my plan works out in the
“Why do you want to disrupt the natural order of things? Packs have thrived for hundreds of years because of the structure we’ve maintained. If you make everyone think they are equal, would anyone obey laws anymore?”Eleanor pressed her fingertips to her temple as she listened to the Alpha on the other side of the phone. She had known this one would be hard to convince–he was proving to be outright impossible.“Omegas are part of the community too,” she told him, “so they also deserve the same rights as everyone else, don’t you think?”“Can they protect the pack like the rest of us can? No. So the least they can do is provide labour when needed. If the law is changed, they’ll start thinking they can lead packs or something. Why waste pack money educating them when they are just a liability? Do they need education to do the things they do now? And, why would we use money to provide medical support for members who cannot even protect the pack in case of an attack? Shouldn’t we focus on