ANDREA’S POV“I reject you, you filthy Omega!”I heard my heart breaking into pieces when I caught my boyfriend Beck kissing another woman under the moonlight. The way they embraced intimately as if they were made for each other tore open something inside me.As if the past two years he spent with me was a joke.When I accepted Beck as my boyfriend two years ago, I worried. In our world, Alphas paired with Alphas or strong Betas. Omegas were… the lowermost. Gentle, obedient, weak. But Beck had sworn it didn’t matter.He gently convinced me that I was the best gift for him and promised to love me with every strain of his life. Even if one day his fated mate appeared, I would be his only love.So when he told me that we'd bond at the grandest Hunting Festival in history, I was beyond excited.It would be significant. I mean, right in front of all the ones who longed for destined mates, we would take our vows as chosen mates. It was enough to prove our indestructible love.Yet now, he wa
ANDREA’S POVMy vision blurred as I moved. I was desperate to leave what was officially the worst Hunting Festival in history and nurse my broken heart in peace.Then I felt a hand grip my wrist, halting me. The point of contact sent electricity sizzling up and down my arm, and I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.Alpha Kade pulled me to him, turning him to face me.“Where are you going?” he hissed, almost furiously. The skank that had been on his arm was nowhere to be seen.I bit my lip, unable to meet his fiery gaze. The nirvana of finding my mate had faded, and all I could think of was the huge gap between us and the gossip about Kade. We would never work.'Andrea, our mate wants us!' Emrae jumped excitedly. 'I can feel his wolf. He's so damn hot and powerful!'Powerful? Beck had made it painfully clear—an Omega like me wasn’t enough. And this man? This towering, ice-eyed Alpha who reeked of power and dominance? He would laugh in my face if I dared suggest fate had bound us to
ANDREA’S POVI was burning.I was burning from the inside out, and the heat of the male with his arms wrapped tightly around me wasn’t helping.Kade slept beside me, his dark lashes casting shadows over his sharp cheekbones. In sleep, he looked almost... peaceful. Not the ruthless Alpha who had ruthlessly, and wholly claimed me with last night.‘Explosive’ was the only word that came close to describing the passion of our mating last night. I’d never been…loved so thoroughly before. Kade had been dominant yet tender, passionate yet sweet.It had been incomparable to anything else I’d ever experienced, and I was so glad I hadn’t shared last night with Beck, my cheating ex. The connection had felt raw, intense, and all-consuming, as if we were not just sharing our bodies but intertwining the very essence of our souls.Now, I wanted to lay in this moment forever, just staring at the gorgeous face of my mate while he slept. I stared and stared and stared, memorizing how his long lashes ca
KADE’S POVI hadn't slept this well in a long time since my parents passed away.I had slept with many beauties but none of them could compare to Andrea. My mate was perfect. Her plump body, her tight pussy, and even her naughty claws that had scraped my back were perfect. I would never get tired of making love to her.Was that the power of the bond? If so, I couldn't wait to do it all over again. And again, and again.I stretched like a big cat reaching out for my mate’s warm body, already yearning to make love to her again.However, I felt nothing. My eyes flew open and took in her side of the bed—empty. The only evidence she had ever been there were the rumpled sheets and her scent clinging to me and the air in the cabin.“Andrea?” I called out as I climbed out of bed.“Andrea!” The bathroom door was ajar, and there was no one inside.My heart rate quickened as I did a three-sixty turn like a fool.She was…gone. After sex with me?How dare her? This little Omega!'Is that a big dea
ANDREA’S POV"See, Andrea?" Beck’s voice came over my shoulder. "Even the most powerful Alpha will choose a more favorable union to consolidate his rule.""I just did what those big shots would do the same."“It’s okay, Drea,” he crooned in my ear, and my skin crawled. "Since you still have a hot body, you can have a better job. Be my mistress."Before he could slide his arm around my waist, I spun around in a flash, and the sound of my palm connecting with Beck’s face echoed through the apartment, followed by him crashing into the bookcase he had been emptying.The red handprint on my cheating ex-boyfriend’s face was clear but I had no mood to enjoy it. I left the apartment as a tsunami of emotions—confusion, rage, betrayal—whirled within me.I still couldn't believe Kade just betrayed our bond! Just after the explosive sex we had together! I'd rather he rejected me outright last night, then my heart wouldn't be hurting like being torn apart now.'Hey easy, maybe things are not that
KADE'S POVI sensed her presence before I saw her. Andrea. My mate.I finally found her, however, I didn't expect the first word I heard from her mouth would be cruel like that."If sleeping with some random man gets me away from you, I’ll do it gladly again and again!"So, she just took me as a tool to revenge on her ex?I felt violence forming inside me. I threw her ex-boyfriend aside, causing him to hit the wall hard. Too weak. I couldn't believe she used me just to get back at such kind of shit?I took a step forward to Andrea. And I still held a ridiculous glimmer of expectation that she would clarify it was a misunderstanding as she saw me. However, she didn't.She just looked down to avoid my gaze. Even the mate bond thrummed, she didn't try to put her hands on me and beg for my forgiveness. Instead, she took a step backward, redrawing our distance."Thanks for your help, Sir," she muttered, her voice was even. "I need to leave now."Sir? That was definitely not how she called
ANDREA'S POVI was filled with so much anger, red bled into the corners of my vision. I couldn’t believe I had ever seen a future with him.Kade. My mate. The Alpha. The playboy. The asshole.How did I get stuck with that?Emrae growled in my head, low and steady. ‘He’s an Alpha, Andrea. He's used to people groveling. Try to understand him.’“Understand him?” I hissed under my breath. “Do Omegas not deserve respect? He slept with me and got engaged to someone else the next day. He blacklisted me indiscriminately when my asshole ex insulted me first. Why do I have to bend over just because he was an Alpha?”"If I were an Alpha, I would never be an asshole like him!"Emrae didn’t reply, but the heat building under my skin drowned out the argument.It started burning slowly, like a pulse in my chest. Then it spread—fast and hot till it covered every inch of me.I staggered, pressing a hand against my stomach where the heat was pulsing from. My legs felt weak, and my breaths came out in s
ANDREA'S POVThe resemblance was impossible to miss, they had the same harsh grey eyes. Up close, I could tell the difference between Kade's scent and his own. He walked like he owned the place, his cane more for show than support.“Who are you?” Easton said, his voice cold. He sniffed the air and looked me over with curiosity, his sharp eyes lingering on my stomach for a beat too long.I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stand straight. “I’m looking for Kade.”His lip curled into a mocking smile. “Of course you are. It’s you, isn’t it? The mate.” He said ‘mate’ like it was a disgusting word.I bristled, but didn’t reply.He took a step closer, leaning on his cane as if it gave him some right to invade my space. “You smell like an Alpha, but that's probably my grandson. You’re still just an Omega, aren’t you?”My wolf growled, but I kept my expression neutral.“You think we’d accept you?” Easton’s voice dripped with disdain. “An Omega who doesn’t know her place? You are too weak to st
ZAYNE’S POVAnyone who knew my story would probably shake their head at me and brand me a fool.Andrea had clearly rejected me before. Now, she smelled like another male, and I wasn’t stupid; I knew what that meant.Yet, here I was, offering myself up to her again.Honestly, I didn’t understand it myself. When I’d first met Andrea, back when she was with that scumbag, Beck, I’d felt an instant connection.I was never going to come between her and Beck, and truthfully, I was content with being her friend.Then they broke up, and she got pregnant and was suddenly moving to Italy. I didn’t even have to think about it for a second before I decided I was moving with Andrea. The decision felt natural—like the abnormal thing was if I stayed behind.And over the last five years, as we’d gone through thick and thin together, I’d felt our bond grow stronger and stronger between us.Somedays, it felt like love and other days, it was a fierce need to be by her side and protect her at all times. T
ANDREA’S POVI spent an unholy amount of time in the shower.I scrubbed and scrubbed, harder than I think I’d ever scrubbed in my life. I wanted the scent of Kade off me. I wanted to stop feeling the print of his hands on my skin and the weight of his body on mine.I stood under the sprays till the hot water ran out and freezing droplets ran over my skin.“Mommy!” Luca banged against the bathroom door. “I have to pee.”I sighed, turning off the tap.“Hold on, hon!” I called back out.I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.When I had wrapped it around myself, I opened the bathroom door, letting Luca in.“Can you help me unbuckle my belt?” he asked innocently.I smiled, leaning down. “Sure.”As I unhooked his belt buckle, he sniffed my hair and giggled. “You smell like daddy—and Aunty Nora.”I stiffened, resisting the urge to run back into the shower and scrub till my skin bled.I cleared my throat. “I thought you didn’t like the idea of a new daddy,” I asked Luca.He shrugged
ANDREA’S POVWaking up in Kade’s arms to the sound of my phone ringing was like de ja vu. Especially when the caller ID showed Zayne.My eyes widened as I answered the call. I was only supposed to have gone out for a short walk, and instead, I’d spent the entire day and night out.“Shit, Zayne, I’m so sorry,” I whispered into the phone, gently pulling out of Kade’s grasp. “I lost track of time, and—” I paused. I couldn’t possibly tell the man who I knew was in love with me that I’d left him to watch my kids while I fucked my ex all night.“None of that matters, Drea,” Zayne said, his voice slightly panicked.Ice filled my veins. “What happened?”He swore. “I swear I didn’t let them out of my sight. I even slept in the room with them, but then I woke up, and they were gone.”“What?” I felt lightheaded.“The twins aren’t in the hotel.”“Fuck!” I hissed, climbing out of bed. My dress was hanging over the chair in Kade’s room, and I grabbed it. As I hurriedly threw it on, my heart pounded
KADE’S POVIt was a miracle that Andrea and I made it back to the Alpha compound with our sanity intact. I’d Shifted back to Jaxon, and Andrea had ridden me all the way back, and as we went, the only thing I could think about was all the other ways I wanted her to ride me.All I could think about, all that consumed my mind, was having Andrea again.When I stumbled upon her in the woods, it was like a gift from the goddess. Jaxon had been wandering aimlessly, desperately fighting the effects of the aphrodisiac Natasha had drugged me with.But then I saw Andrea, and all those heightened feelings exploded. I didn’t know what was going on with her but thank the goddess that she didn’t reject me. If she had, I might have died right there and then.And then, right after that, I wanted more. And then more. It was like the more I got of Andrea, the more I wanted.I was so glad that when we got back to the Alpha compound, Natasha was nowhere to be found. If she’d still been around, I might hav
ANDREA’S POVI hung up the phone with a heavy sigh and sank into the chair in the living room of our new suite.My parent’s words weighed heavily on my mind, and although we’d had similar conversations like that in the past, this time, it weighed heavier.My mom’s final words kept replaying over and over again in my mind: “What about Zayne? He would make a perfect mate, and he would never hurt you.”I knew that. I knew that the last thing Zayne would do in this life was hurt me. But that didn’t mean I wanted to be his mate.I groaned, leaning back into the couch. It made no sense. Zayne truly was perfect—he was handsome, smart, fiercely loyal, hell, he could even cook. Any woman in their right mind would choose him in a heartbeat.I guess I wasn’t in my right mind.Despite all the hurt I had been through, I was still a hopeless romantic. Although choosing Zayne was the logical, sensible thing to do, I couldn’t help wanting to be with someone who made me…feel.Someone who made my heart
KADE’S POVI didn’t have Andrea’s number. How the fuck did I not have Andrea’s number?‘Shift again,’ Jaxon pressed. ‘We’ll find her the way we found the twins.’I shook my head, plopping down onto my bed. ‘No.’“Why?”‘Because she ran!’ I snap.I told her I was coming back, yet she left without informing me of her whereabouts. From the hospital, I went straight to her hotel—and found out that she had checked out.I understood why she left. I understood the need to keep her kids safe—but then why did it feel like she was running away from me specifically?I groaned, punching the mattress underneath me. Why was I still so firmly intertwined with Andrea and all her drama? I was supposed to hate this woman; I was supposed to close her out of my life forever.But instead, I ran through New York, looking for her pups. I’d killed her enemy, and now I was losing my mind because I didn’t know where she was.What if a complication had arisen with the twins? What if she was in distress again?‘
ANDREA'S POV“Andrea, you should get some rest.”I shook my head, my eyes never leaving Matteo and Luca for one second.“I'm never leaving their side, ever again.”“They're safe,” Zayne whispered, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Beck is dead. No harm can come to them now.”I sighed. His words were fact, but they didn't feel true. The idea that I had almost lost my babies was like a huge weight on my chest that refused to lift.I had been careless with them, and they’d been taken from me.Never again.I’d moved to a new hotel far away from the old one and checked in under an alias. I would do whatever it took to protect my babies.“Andrea,” Zayne pressed, "it's almost midnight, and you've had the shittiest, longest day ever.”He was right. I was exhausted—more emotionally than physically. So instead of leaving to my own room, I stood, and climbed into bed between Luca and Matteo.They hadn't woken since we left the hospital. The doctors hadn't wanted us to leave, but all the test resul
KADE’S POVThe last thing I wanted to do was leave Andrea and the twins behind, but I was Alpha, which meant my pack came first, and whatever emergency had occurred, it was my duty to deal with it first.I cursed softly. “I have to go.”“Oh,” Andrea looked surprised, and the idea that she had expected me to stay made me want to block the mind link and say to hell with their emergency.“Of course,” she said, standing up. “You’ve done more than enough. Thank you.”I glanced at the twins. “They’ll be fine,” I told her.She smiled, her eyes slightly glassy with tears. “Yeah—thanks to you.”I had the sudden, overwhelming urge to hug her, and I had to take a step back to stop myself.“I should…” I choked up; she looked so vulnerable and gorgeous. “I should go.”She nodded.“I’ll be back,” I heard myself say.Andrea nodded again.I turned away from her, and my gaze snagged on the twins again. I knew they were not mine, and now that they were safe, they were none of my business. Still, leavin
KADE’S POVI raced through the woods, straining to detect something—anything that could lead me to the twins.I knew New York was a huge place, and they could’ve been anywhere, but I could also feel in my gut that they were close—somewhere in the interconnected backwoods.Andrea clung tightly to me as we bounded through the woods. I could feel her heart beat furiously against my back. The proximity was driving Jaxon crazy, and it was an effort to focus on the task at hand.The sun was going down, and I hadn’t picked up a viable trail. I wouldn’t stop, though; I would find those kids, no matter what.I could feel Andrea’s panic with every minute that passed without finding them, and it agitated Jaxon. They were not my pups; I shouldn’t have felt so personally invested.But, I did, and—Jaxon skidded to a halt, straining to feel what we’d just felt.“What?” Andrea panted. “Did you feel something?”I lay down, pressing my paws to the ground, tensing. I felt…something. Like a tug on my in