Iris POVPregnancy Test Result: Single Live Intrauterine PregnancySpecies Test: 99% Probability HumanAlone in the doctor’s office while she got me some medicine, I read the simple lines of text several times before they truly made sense.I was carrying a child.I looked at the second line again, a
Iris POVI waited for an answer, but Arthur just looked at me, his expression going from cold to unreadable. I was going to insist he say something when someone knocked loudly on our door. Arthur turned and opened the door wide, smiling his professional smile as several people came through.I recogn
Iris POV“What?” I asked, though I wasn’t any more shocked than I had been before opening the door.Life had lost its context. This was just something on top of what had already occurred.“May I come in?” she asked even as she strode past me with a whip of blond hair and whiff of expensive perfume.
Iris POVMy friend and former senior classmate Brian Eldridge was standing there in a tuxedo, his salt-and-pepper hair, which was usually a sort of disheveled halo around his head, had been neatly combed, and his typically paint-smeared hands were clean and with shiny, recently manicured nails.“Bri
Arthur POVI woke up in my office lounge, my neck stuck to the leather and my whole body cold. My mouth tasted like stale champagne and way too much small talk.A gentle knock on my office door got me sitting up on the couch. “Come,” I said.My assistant, a solid beta named Jose, entered my office a
FIVE YEARS LATERIris POVThe Marsiel Gallery was a large and brilliantly designed space, and since getting my degree five years ago I had dreamed of one day showing there. And now here I was, standing there watching as the staff hung another of my over-sized canvases right where I had indicated on
Iris POV“Not a problem, Brian,” I said.I saw Arthur was staring at the twins and could see him running through a mental checklist as he muttered, “Werewolf twins, blond with blue eyes.” I saw him scent the air, and his eyes turned to ice.“First you leave me without explanation,” he hissed, “abort
Iris POVThe kiss felt familiar and good, and for a brief moment, I was lost in the sensations of his lips on mine and his hands leaving my shoulders to slide gently to my neck, which he caressed. My body warmed instantly, my nipples hardened against his chest, and I felt my legs tremble.He lightly
“But I don’t know any details.”“You do. I told you everything. I even told you about the radio and the white leather couch.”“And that’s supposed to mean something? You carried her out of the restaurant and treated her poor widdle wounds?”I rolled my eyes at the baby talk. It was never a good look
Iris POVI felt a wave of sadness tinged with major irritation. I was the fated mate, but because I was a human and he an alpha wolf, I was being treated as the “other woman.” Seriously?At least I had managed not to fall into bed with him. My body had certainly wanted to. In fact, if I’d just done
Arthur POVWhat was this new deception about? I looked at her and wanted to demand she explain why she’d jumped on the phone like it was prey, but she just looked at me blankly, almost as thought she were daring me to ask about the call.Was this all I would get from her now? Defensiveness and conce
Iris POVWithout a word, Arthur lifted me into his arms and carried me toward the ladies’ room. No one got in his way, though I did see a few raised phones.In the ladies’ room, he took me over to the sink and poured cold water over my burn.“Careless, Iris,” he growled at me. As much as I wanted to
Iris POVI sat on the bed in the guest room and hugged myself.The gallery had opened my exhibition with great pomp and free-flowing champagne last night, and this morning I’d awoken to great reviews. My phone was full of texts from friends congratulating me, and I’d gotten a call from my agent tha
“Thank you, darling,” she said.Tony’s was a good place for spotting political figures, and Selina and I went there often, so my arrival didn’t create much of a stir. Several people did find a reason to walk by our table, and I ended up shaking a few hands.Selina was in her element, and when a frie
Arthur POVSo, I had finally seen my fated mate again.Five years I had been looking for her. Five years I hired people to look for her.And then there she was, holding a bunch of soda cans and staring at me like I’d slapped her. I’d managed not to scream at her, not to demand she explain why she le
Iris POVThe kiss felt familiar and good, and for a brief moment, I was lost in the sensations of his lips on mine and his hands leaving my shoulders to slide gently to my neck, which he caressed. My body warmed instantly, my nipples hardened against his chest, and I felt my legs tremble.He lightly
Iris POV“Not a problem, Brian,” I said.I saw Arthur was staring at the twins and could see him running through a mental checklist as he muttered, “Werewolf twins, blond with blue eyes.” I saw him scent the air, and his eyes turned to ice.“First you leave me without explanation,” he hissed, “abort