Cara’s POV I pull away from Alaric, but his hand still grips my wrist. “Let me go,” I say to him. “Wait, Cara—,” Alaric starts to say, not letting go. His fingers are squeezing into my skin, and my arm starts to feel uncomfortable. I look up at his face and see the firm stare in his eyes, bu
“You’re right, you can handle that, I’m sure of it.” Ruby shoots me a sweetly supportive smile. “But that sounds like a tough day. Do you want to tell me more?” “I think I was able to show the Pack House my true intentions, and that I’m not just helping them to boost my ego or image. So that’s one
Alaric’s POV I’ve become someone I don’t even recognize. “Today is September 19 -Alaric.” Cara doesn’t respond to my text message. Then I realize: the other times Cara hasn’t responded, it was on account of her husband. When Aylon Auburn blocked my number on Cara’s phone, that wasn’t her own
Cara’s POV “Excellent work!” “Yes, great job as usual!” “We knew we could count on you!” I’m in a pack business meeting with my brothers Eamon and Colin, as well as some of the other Pack BloodyMoon nobles and leadership. Eamon just announced that a deal I’d been hard at work to negotiate
Cara’s POV “But why? Why you leave us, Ruby?” I ask my best friend, deeply saddened by her news. “I hate to do it, Cara. But I must. I must go. For Mia.” Ruby says simply. “For Mia?” I ask, confused. How could Ruby leaving help Mia? Mia loves her Auntie Ruby. I imagine what it will be like t
Ruby’s POV “The Bedfords, all of them, supported Lilia and her attempts to become Pack DarkWood’s Luna,” my best friend Cara’s voice was quiet. Trying to prevent children from hearing our words, my voice quiet too: "Oh, that's so disgusting." Then I casually throw the photo aside and never loo
“You do?” I whisper back, looking behind me, checking that neither Cara nor Mia are around to overhear this discussion. There’s no sign of either of them. Ethan nods. “So, what will you do when you’re in DarkWood? Remember that’s where your science competition will be. What will you do if he is
Cara’s POV It’s the day of Ethan’s science competition, and all of us are eager to see how Ethan fares. There’s a large crowd gathered, well over a hundred people. The competitors are a mixture of children from Packs BloodyMoon and DarkWood. At only six years old, Ethan is by far the youngest ch
Alaric’s POV“Of course not,” Melinda said, denying everything. “As if someone of my status would ever lower herself to such cruel and malicious devilry. How could you even begin to insult me by connecting me to that?”“You supported Lilia’s return to the pack,” I reminded her. “You pushed the elder
“I think we need to be prepared for anything. Cara is going to need our support no matter what happens.”Hopefully my bad feeling was wrong. Hopefully everything would be fine.But I wasn’t going to count on hope alone.Alaric’s POVAs the Bedford’s were a prominent noble family with high-ranking su
Colin’s POVI listened carefully to my sister’s words. I didn’t know if she could tell, but as an outsider looking in, it was easily to see how much she loved Alaric. Given their past, she was likely still afraid to admit those feelings to herself, or to acknowledge them in any way.For this, she wa
Cara’s POVI placed the back of my hand to Mia’s forehead and immediately felt her fever. Her hands were clammy. She seemed lethargic, like she couldn’t get up. When I asked her how she felt, she simply said, “Tired.”“I’m going to take you to the hospital,” I said, worry taking hold.“Please don’t,
Alaric’s POVThere was a television hanging along one wall of the meeting. While it had been off while the elders met and while I spoke, we turned it on now. John found the correct channel and immediately, Melinda Bedford’s face filled the screen.She’d dyed her hair again, black now instead of red,
“Do you watch the news?” I asked them. “Though even if you don’t, I imagine your contacts still explained to you what happened regarding my daughter.”“Yes,” said the head elder. “We’ve heard that you have found her and that she is unharmed. Blessings all around.”“Yes,” I agreed. “Though these bles
Alaric’s POVCara ate her breakfast and then went back to her own room to change and get ready for the day. I had to do the same, telling her that I would be gone for work-related reasons for the majority of the morning and afternoon, but I would do my hardest to be home in time for dinner.It pleas
Alaric had left me here.No, I chastised myself. I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Too much lately I had always been willing to believe the worst in Alaric. Given our past, he had trained me to feel this way, but lately, he had been putting in real effort to be there for me and our children.He would
Alaric’s POVI woke up the next morning with Cara in my arms, asleep with her cheek to my chest. We were still in last night’s clothes, more or less, though I was missing my jacket, and my buttoned shirt was unbuttoned halfway, revealing the tank top I wore underneath.Her clothes were equally dishe