Rake didn’t move. He didn’t even breathe, but the first tang of fear began in his scent, then rose slowly, higher and higher—removing any final doubt I might have had, and turning my mind back to every little step that had brought me to this moment.
How long had there been this connection between them? Did it go back as far as that moment early on when he summoned me to her because she was breaking?
I thought at the time he’d been doing his best as her protector and my advisor—he’d certainly urged me to be the one to help her. But it had been an intimate image he’d sent that day—her emotional turmoil, her body soaked in my scent, her tears… As if he knew
~ JESSE ~An hour after leaving Cazz, I was in my room, bathed, fully dressed, agitated, and scared. There was no chance I was sleeping tonight, because my stomach was getting sicker and sicker as I played those events with Cazz over and over in my mind, growing more upset with every passing minute.What the hell had happened?He’d sounded so… needy when he first called me. I thought he’d brought me there to reconcile. But to ask me to let him compel me?I shuddered at the thought—and thanked God that he hadn’t done it against my will. But that didn’t change the fact that he was obviously
~ JESSE ~“Get in here, now.” Maya leaned out the door and practically dragged me inside by my collar as she closed the door—keeping Wylde outside, which seemed odd. But the sense of her fear was even more clear now that we were in front of each other.“What’s going on?” I asked her the moment we were alone as we hurried back through her cave.She was hobbling towards her living area, beckoning me to follow.When I spoke, she stopped suddenly, turning to look at me, and her eyes glowed in the half-light, because we were around the corner from the living area, and it seemed like she only had one lamp on in there.
~ JESSE ~“Just breathe, Jesse,” Maya said quietly. She sounded like she was grieving—urging me not to give up.But I could barely inhale, and when I did, my lungs didn’t seem to draw oxygen from the air. I was heaving.“Why… why would he d-do that? Why? He promised me he’d never… wait, has he done this before?!” I was horrified and snapped my head around, staring at her wide-eyed and pleading.It was only a small relief when she shook her head.“Then why?!” I shrieked.
~ JESSE ~Maya talked for a long time—about Cazz’s history. About his pain. And about how he’d let me down.I listened. I agreed. I knew she was right. But the longer I sat there, the more I became stuck in a weird duality.Half of me growing more and more numb. Calmer—almost untouched. That side of me felt like if Cazz had walked in right then, I would have just looked at him and asked him calmly to explain.But the other half of me… That half was a forest fire.Grief. Fear. Betrayal. Sick.That side of me continued to crack and shatter, and the longer she talked, the less I heard. Because in th
~ CASIMIR ~I was standing outside Jesse’s chamber door, which had been mostly closed, but not entirely. And I was peering through a tiny sliver of space to watch my mate embrace my best friend.“Rake… if anything happens—”“Shhhhh, don’t do that. Don’t let the tensions here make you catastrophize. I’m back again in less than a week—and I’ll be calling the final Selection for Cazz and you to make the declarations. So, just focus on that. And don’t worry about me.”“No, Rake, I’m serious. If anything happens to you it will kill me. I need you to be so careful. Watch your back when my brothers are around—always. And… and come back safe. Plea
~ CASIMIR ~We stood right in each other’s space, both quivering on the edge of the shift. He wasn’t challenging for dominance so he wouldn’t shift first, wouldn’t push me to it—because he knew he’d lose. But he didn’t drop my gaze, and didn’t back down. If I shifted, he would too.I growled, low and deep in my chest.Rake’s gaze didn’t waver, but he shifted his weight on his feet, balancing himself. “I’ve never touched her, Cazz. Never said anything to her about how I feel. Never given her any reason to think or believe… anything except that I am on her team. I’ve never done anything inappropriate. And before you growl, it’s true—I’v
“Beware those who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” - Gospel of Matthew 7:15 ***** ~ JESSE ~ The guards tipped us out into the room like puppies out of a bag. I landed heavily on rough stone, scraping my knees and palms, hissing against the pain. But they'd freed my hands and ankles before they shoved me in here, so, with my heart thudding in my chest, I scrabbled to pull down the blindfold that was over my eyes and get my bearings quickly. Dark room. Stone walls and ceiling. Warm lights. Cold air. Damp. Shadows my eyes couldn’t penetrate—and more shadows behind us I wished they couldn’t. Left and right, women shrieked and sobbed, hitting the floor, some rolling, one planting face-first into the rock and laying there, unmoving. Behind me, a cluster of guards filled the doorway, with more spreading out along the wall. They didn't carry weapons, but they didn't need to. They were all well over six foot and huge with it. Strong and rugged… feral. B
~ CASIMIR ~I was horrified.When I’d told Ghere to order the Reapers to find women from the poorer side of the human city, I had imagined the wicked types. The women who embraced their fate and it made them bold. Instead I’d been sent a box of poorly bred puppies suitable only for drowning?What the actual fuck?“God help us,” one of them murmured.I snorted.“I assure you, God abandoned this place long ago,” I drawled.The woman looked at me, shocked. It was the one at the center who’d stayed on her feet. She’d been staring around the chamber in horror, murmuring to herself, clearly forgetting that we wolves enjoyed heightened senses.She remembered now.The guards laughed, but the women’s eyes snapped down to her feet. She dropped her chin. Her hair, a rich mahogany brown, the kind that would spark red in sunlight, fell around her face in long waves, though it was messy and matted now.She was a thin little thing, though there was evidence of muscle under those terribly fitting clot