Julius is in the living room reading a newspaper when I arrive. He removes his glasses when he sees me and offers me a friendly smile, but beneath the smile, I can tell that there’s something off about him. “Is everything okay?” I ask him as I put my bag down. “Well,” he says with a sigh. “With me? Everything’s great. It’s next door that’s the problem.”My heart starts beating faster. “What’s wrong?”“Well, Hector has just fired everyone who worked for him,” he informs me. “The ones who worked in the house, that is.”My thoughts immediately go to the lipstick stain. Shit. I completely forgot about that. “Do you know why that is?”“He believes that someone is trying to sabotage his relationship with my granddaughter,” he answers while folding the newspaper. “So, he’s gone ahead and fired everyone. He’s in quite a bad mood.”My legs feel very weak all of a sudden, and I feel like I’ll throw up. Julius isn’t looking at me; his eyes are on his lap. He seems to be deep in thought. “Tha
Evan’s POV“Hector?”I look left and see Phillippa touching my arm. Her eyes are wide and she says, “Is everything okay? I’ve called you like ten times.”I shake my head. “I’m fine. Let’s get going.”I open the door for her to get in the car and then slam it shut. I’m agitated. I haven’t been in a good state of mind ever since Charlie called me yesterday to tell me about Leonora. I get in the car with Phillippa. She keeps looking at me with this expression that makes me feel like yelling at her to stop. It’s like she’s afraid I’ll hit her or something. It’s infuriating. She detects the smallest change in my demeanor and then makes a huge thing out of nothing. It’s what she’s always done. I can’t even rage in peace. I start the car and we get going ahead of everyone else. I think Julius is still waiting for his hooker or nurse or whatever the fuck the woman is to him. I don’t have the time. I have to get there before anyone else anyway because as the Alpha, I’m the one who’s meant t
I run away with my heart slamming in my throat. I hope Evan doesn't follow me. That's all I can think about as I run through the trees and try not to hit my head. When it's safe, I'll shift back and get the hell out of here. Goddess. This is not what I needed. Finding out that Evan is my fated mate is not how I thought this would all go. I can't even wrap my head around it; that's how preposterous this whole thing is. The reason why I know that the black wolf is him is simply because of what Julius mentioned; that Evan has a black coat like him. What are the damn odds?Am I mistaken here? Could it be another wolf? Deep down, I know I haven’t made a mistake. The dominance. The energy. Even the sound of his voice when he linked his mind to mine and said, “Mate.”That was Evan, alright, only there’s no way he’d recognize me because he never saw me in wolf form. Breathlessly, I make my way far enough from the hunt that I don't even smell anyone. The bonfire is far away, and all I see
Something pulls me out of my catatonic state and forces me to deal with this situation in the most practical way possible. I step away from Evan, my body reacting before my mind can catch up. “Excuse me?”Evan searches my face profusely, his eyes all over. His scent is almost dizzying. He’s my mate, I can feel it. I know it deep inside of me, and it’s like I’ve known it my whole life even though an hour ago, I’d been ignorant to it. “Don’t fuck with me,” he says in a low voice while he gets even closer to me. “Please, Leo, don’t fuck with me. I know it’s you.”“My name is Veronica,” I tell him in an almost robotic voice. Fuck him. I’m not ready to admit who I truly am and face this. If he can lie about his identity, then I can do it, too. “Not Leo.”His hands squeeze my arms, reminding me that he’s still holding me against the van. My chance of escaping him has now grown significantly slim. All I can do is try to repair what has been so extensively damaged by my stupidity and get ou
Evan's POVMr. Redburn. She just called me Mr. Redburn. As I stare at the face of this woman who claims she isn’t Leonora, my mind starts racing and I begin to question my own sanity. I’m never confused. I’ve always trusted my memory perfectly and although I don’t have a single picture to remind me of Leonora, I’ve committed her face to my memory a long time ago.And I know for sure that the woman standing in front of me is a slightly older version of the woman I got married to. Yet, everyone keeps calling her Veronica, and she’s looking at me with wide eyes like she thinks I’m the craziest person in the world. Also, her hair is short. Leo’s hair was long and one of the most eye-catching things about her. No, it’s either she’s bullshitting me or I’ve lost my mind. There’s no in-between. “I have to go,” she claims as her grip around her bag tightens. I notice that her knuckles are white. Why is she nervous? Why is she trying to get away from me so quickly?Before she takes a step
When I reach my apartment building, I nearly collapse in front of the stairs. Thank the goddess that it’s the weekend because I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to go back to that house. In fact, I’m planning on not going altogether. Lying about who I am was a stupid idea. He remembers me just as well as I remember him. Maybe I bought myself some time and spared myself the pain of having to confront him as me, but there’s no way he bought that story. I’m surprised he connected the dots so easily. Then again, how could I have guessed that he would detect my scent in his bedroom? I couldn’t have guessed that.It was like us being mates was just sprung on me. It doesn’t make any damn sense. It has to be a cosmic joke. I make my way up to my apartment. I want to freshen up before I meet Thomas and Victor. I don’t want either of them to see me like this. I’m pretty shaken up. Tonight was just horrible and traumatic. I wash my face with cold water and then rub my chest with my cold hands
I go with Victor to pick up Anthony from the airport. He smiles when he sees us both, and the sight of him fills me with relief. I can’t even lie. I thought him being here would make things even more complicated for me but seeing him makes me feel like I’m back home. Victor jumps at him, and he scoops him up easily. “Hey, kiddo. How’s it going? Did you miss me?”“You know I did,” Victor replies before hugging him back. Watching them together warms my heart and makes me forget the shit that happened with Julius. My life has gotten so complicated out of the blue. Again, I can only blame myself for it. Anthony makes eye contact with me and then his smile softens. I go to him. “It’s good to see you, Anthony.”He puts Victor down and we embrace. His scent is so familiar to me. Tears sting my eyes but I try to keep myself from crying and ruining the moment. “Are you alright?” he asks me in a low voice so Victor doesn’t hear. “I don’t know,” I reveal, and I guess that’s enough indicati
Evan’s POVI wake up feeling like shit. Phillippa is lying beside me. I heard it when she came in last night but I didn’t say anything to her. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone and I’m still not. What the fuck was last night?I feel hungover. My head is pounding and my body fucking hurts but I didn’t take a sip of alcohol. That woman’s face returns to my mind. I thought sleeping on it would give me more clarity but I was wrong. I’m even more confused than ever. What if she truly isn’t Leonora? Then I’m a fucking idiot, that’s what. I can smell coffee and eggs in the kitchen. I wash up as quickly as I can and then brace myself to face Phillippa. Goddess, if anything, I feel like a true jackass because for some reason, after finding my true mate—and no, it doesn’t matter that it’s a woman who might be Leo or have her face—I haven’t felt the same way about Phillippa as before. I don’t desire her in the same way. It’s automatic and something I can’t explain. Now, it’s that woma
The longer I stare at Anthony and he doesn't wake up, the more I panic. What if he's dead? What if I didn't just slam the vase in his head for him to pass out? I walk around him, trying to get a good look at his face. He doesn’t appear to be breathing, but maybe I’m just panicking way too much. So, I try not to panic and wait for him to stir, which he hasn’t done in the last ten minutes since I’ve been here standing over him. I decide that I’ve had enough. If he’s dead, then I’d rather know now than wait for longer. I kneel down, barely breathing as I reach out, and press two fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse. My own heartbeat is so loud that it drowns out everything else. But then—a faint throb under my fingertips. He’s alive.I let out a sharp exhale of relief, though it’s short-lived. Slowly, his eyes flutter open, a groggy confusion clouding his gaze as he begins to stir and come to his senses. For a moment, he looks like he doesn’t recognize me, his gaze unfocused
Evan’s POV The road stretches out in front of me, winding and dark. My knuckles are white on the steering wheel, but I can’t let myself loosen my grip—not until I have him back. The text from her still sits on the screen beside me, her message short and mocking. It’s an address, nothing more, like a command.I’m not entirely sure of what to expect from this. Is she mocking me? Did she believe me when I said that I wanted to be with her?I know her well enough, since we’ve been together for quite some time. She wants me to come crawling. To say I was wrong, that I never should’ve left her. She thinks she has that kind of power over me, and I’ll let her believe it. I’ll say whatever she needs to hear, promise her the world if that’s what it takes to get my son back. I don’t care what I have to do. I’ll do whatever is necessary. I’ll be selfless for once. My stomach twists at the thought, a bitterness that feels like swallowing nails, but there’s no other way.I turn off the main roa
Evan’s POVI call Phillippa, and she doesn’t answer the phone. It’s not off, so she’s probably staring at her phone and smiling to herself as she watches her screen light up with my name flashing across it. “Bitch,” I curse before groaning in frustration. Each passing second deepens the knots in my stomach. Victor’s gone, and every instinct in my body screams to find him, to bring him back where he belongs. I didn’t even think that I had it in me to feel so much paternal instinct. I barely know him, yet my despair would’ve been the same even if I’d raised him his whole life. I’ve lost count of the calls I’ve made by now, and I still have no answers. Even some of the men who once were on my side won’t answer the phone. Then again, they were Montgomery contacts, not mine. Every lead has crumbled, and I’m left staring at the emptiness of my own mistakes.I’m fucked, through and through. I should be leaving the city by now if I have any hopes of escaping the bullshit investigation tha
I shove Anthony off of me with all my strength, and even that doesn’t feel enough to completely shake his touch off. It seems this terrible night is determined not to end. It’s like a never-ending nightmare. A surge of disgust and anger rips through me. I can’t believe he’s done this. That he would try to kiss me. I’ve always seen him as a father figure, so this really messes with me more than words can say. He stumbles back, his eyes widening with shock, but his shocked expression quickly changes into a bitter scowl. "Milena," he says, his voice low and edged with that same twisted need he’s tried to rationalize as love only a few moments ago. “You don’t understand. Everything I’ve done... I did for you. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again until you understand. Until it sinks into your thick skull!”“For me?” I hiss, my voice shaking with disbelief and rage. “You murdered Thomas. You tortured Evan. And now you think you can stand here and—what? Kiss me? Confess some sick
Sitting alone in my apartment while Evan goes hunting for our son is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. The silence in the apartment is almost unbearable, pressing down on me with a weight I can't carry. I sit on the edge of the sofa, staring blankly at the door, waiting for it to open, and for Evan to walk into the apartment with Victor safe in his arms. The ache in my chest is relentless; a mixture of fear and guilt and helplessness that threatens to consume me.It’s the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. This despair is unlike any other. There’s no pain worse than having my son taken away from me by some lunatic with the worst of intentions. I’d been a fool to leave him by myself. I was irresponsible. If anything happens to Victor, I’ll blame myself forever. I’ll never get over it. Not ever. Phillippa took him—our son, my sweet Victor. It’s hard to even wrap my mind around the reality of it, that she would go so far, that she would hurt Evan and me by taking the one th
Evan’s POVThe taxi stops outside Leo’s apartment building, and she pays the nosy asshole before we step outside. Leo opens the door and exits the car quickly. She’s moving fast, her body almost vibrating with energy. She’s probably in shock, maybe in pain after everything that’s happened, but right now, she’s got one focus, and that’s Victor. I don’t mind it. At least one of us should get there fast and make sure that that fuck isn’t there, hurting him. I’ve promised her that I have a place where I can put her and Vic for a while, at least just until she can get to the bottom of this. I’d follow her up the stairs, but I know that I’m not going to be able to make it. I watch her disappear inside the building for a moment, feeling that pull again, that sense of her slipping through my fingers, just like she did once before. But I don’t have time to think about that now. But this is different. Now, we have a sort of understanding with each other. She’s not going to run away. Where wo
After a few minutes of messing with the chains, I finally figure out how to release him. Evan lands on the ground with a thud, and groans in pain as a result. I make my way to his side, wanting to touch him to help him stand up, but then stopping myself. These conflicting emotions will be the end of me. I stare at him as he tries to catch his breath, and for a moment, I feel sorry for him. His eyes meet mine, and within them, I see the same amount of sadness that I feel, but his is blended with disbelief. “You shouldn’t have come,” he says before coughing weakly. “You shouldn’t be here. I’m not...worth it.”His words catch me off guard. “What?”“I deserve what’s being done to me,” he then says before his eyes study my face. His body is shaking, and I’m not sure why. “I’m just glad to know that you’re alright.”I grit my teeth. “That’s not your decision to make, Evan. I’m the one who gets to decide what I do, not you.”He turns on his side, and then peels his shirt from his body, sh
“Why would I tell you anything regarding that?” Anthony says to him in the most cruel voice imaginable. I’ve never heard him use this voice on anyone before. I barely even recognize it. Why has he been keeping Evan here? So, he knew where he was this whole time?I have a terrible feeling in my gut. “I just want to know that she’s safe,” Evan rasps. This is followed by a dull sound, like someone punching a wall of meat, and Evan groans in pain. I cover my mouth with my hand. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Why would Anthony do this? Out of all the things he could do, why? Why keep Evan prisoner? He’s clearly hurting him. I came here thinking that I would find a clue concerning whether he killed Thomas or not, but instead, I find this. And there’s no satisfaction in this for me. This is something I never expected from Anthony. I know he hates Evan, but to go to this extent. I almost feel ashamed of my feelings. It’s not like I’m saying this because I care about Evan—he has ruine
“…right, Leo?”I turn my attention back to Anthony, and ask him, “Sorry, what?”Anthony is standing by the window of the living room, eyeing me strangely. He then says, “Are you okay, Leo? Is there something in your mind? You’ve been distracted all day.”“No, I’m fine,” I claim, even though it’s a blatant lie. “Don’t worry about it.”I have to admit that I haven’t been fine since I found that sweater. My spirit is restless, and I have to find out what the hell is going on here. Anthony is hiding things from me. It’s easier to notice this when I’m paying attention, and I can tell the huge difference between his normal state and now. I’m just horrified. The sun behind him is setting, and the fading light casting long shadows across my apartment. I’m sitting on the couch, trying to seem relaxed, but there’s a tightness in my chest that won’t go away. There are times when I think that my suspicions are nonsensical, and that I should just ask him what the sweater was about outright inste