ZAVIER CROSS
The obese woman’s hand trembled from its lock in my iron grip as I hesitated, before shaking her loose and watching the broad jowls of her face puff and redden in embarrassment as she stumbled away.
“M-my apologies Mr. Cross, I didn't realize...Dear God,” The woman wheezed, whipping her head back and forth between me and the lady before she trailed off, spasming as the estate wives rushed to catch her.
I turned to see that the curly-haired girl with the razor tongue was watching me curiously, her green eyes meeting mine boldly.
“You didn't have to do that,” The girl muttered blithely, much to my surprise as I stifled a derisive snort.
Well, riddle me color blind! If I hadn't stepped in when I did, I had no doubt the round woman would have leveled her.
I opened my mouth to respond to Raini’s less-than-enthusiastic greeting before a bright-eyed blonde woman cut me off.
She was the leggy one I had seen prowling the grounds like a hungry lion looking to devour young, robust chicks.
“Mr. Cross! Oh, I can't believe that you're here! If you would-” She started in a high-pitched squeal that made my wolf itch to backhand her into the counter, until I controlled it, settling instead for a polite nod and sidestepping her to hand the embossed gold of my calling card to the baleful-looking woman.
“Congratulations, you won the raffle draw, call me on this. Today.” I pressed, letting my eyes drag over the supple skin of her slender legs and full hips as a pang of desire stirred in my loins.
No, not yet, not now.
The search for my mate had taken a healthy chunk of my sanity, and I hadn't intended on blowing my cover so soon and announcing the strange girl as my mate.
Ingrid would have a hard time with the PR, but I found that I didn't care much, something about the way she looked at me, like she hated that I breathed the very same air as she did but didn't intend on telling me. It made me WANT to mate her faster than she had advised.
I’d broken the no-contact rule as it were.
Dammit Zavier, if that wasn't sad I couldn't tell what was. I was aware of the eyes watching us. Of the mask of indifference I had placed carefully over my face slipping.
My heart pounded dully in my chest as the woman’s cold fingers laced through my own to carry the card, and I watched her head snap back up to me with a tight-lipped smile before I nodded dutifully, bowing low to the crowd of onlookers who let out gasps of surprise and storming out of the building, their searching eyes burning holes in my back.
Raini Laverne was different, the thought made heat bloom in my chest as I uncurled my fists from their deadlock beside me, raking a frustrated hand through my hair.
The sleek silver coffin of my Lamborghini hummed to life in my hands as I fishtailed out of the lot, weaving between the bullets of cars that shot past and around the stretch of asphalt.
“Fucking hell,” I groaned, feeling the sharp points of my fangs press into the line of my lips almost painfully as the well of pain opened up in my head again, and I dug my fingers into the throb in my temples.
“Shit, shit, shit on my goddamn soul,” I cursed bitterly, catching the luminous bulbs of my gray eyes in the rearview mirror just as they turned yellow, the color of my werewolf.
This was it, I couldn't hold out until I reached the brass-gold gates of the manor!
I shuddered the car into the line of trees, feeling my stomach bounce and shift under me as I ambled the car to a stop, leaping out to glance about the quiet forest.
My heart knocked against my ribs anxiously as I jogged deeper into the trees, far enough in the pines to have broken sight with whoever happened to be following.
“Gahh!” I roared, feeling the iron muscles of my back weave around my spine as it tore through the skin of my back making me let out an ear-splitting roar, gritting my teeth as my bones stretched and snapped back into frame.
“Saints,” I groaned, bracing myself against the harsh bark of trees as the writhing of the shift ebbed and I took a deep, shuddering breath, glancing around to see that the sky had darkened in the time it took me to recover from the transformation.
I was running out of time. The shifts were getting more erratic, my thoughts were a messy blur of rage and desire, I was losing it!
“Dammit Zavier, what are you gonna do?” I wheezed breathlessly, circling the clearing to make my way back to the car, feeling significantly weaker than I was before.
The moon goddess had mated my woman to my half-brother as well, the thought made me bark a bitter laugh.
I couldn't trust fate to bring the olive-skinned woman to me, not when destiny had fucked me over my entire life.
I needed to make sure Raini Laverne did mot get away, i needed to make her fall so in love with me Toph would be nothing but an unpleasant dream, but somehow, i doubted my brother would let me do that. He would fight it, that much was certain.
I only prayed the fragile-looking woman with angry eyes was strong enough to withstand being torn for possession between two brutal princes.
“God-fucking-dammit, when will this nightmare end?” I growled under my breath, snapping the seeking wood of a tree branch out of my way and stilling in hesitation to listen to the sound of my own breathing.
Was it just me? Or had the forest gotten quieter? I could have sworn I hadn't so much as heard a single cricket song in the time I had been wading through the trees.
I shook my head after peering curiously into the shifting shadows in the grooves of the bent trees, unable to puzzle out what I was looking at.
“Well, If it isn’t Zavier Cross, Alpha King of the chipmunks,” The throaty baritone of the man’s drawl came behind me so that I jerked to a stop, the hairs on the back of my neck rising as I turned slowly and snapped my gaze up to the large, minotaur-like man that had been sitting, half-hidden in the leafy umbrella of the trees.
RAINI LAVERNE“What the fuck was that?” Giselle Galloway thundered as she whirled round to face me the second the billionaire stormed through the revolving glass doors of the fashion house, snapping me out of my reverie.I struggled to catch my breath, feeling the crimson heat creep up my cheeks as I felt the eyes of everyone in the store on me.Had I really won the billionaire’s soul search? The thought made my tongue floor about dryly in my mouth.“My resignation Giselle, effective immediately,” I grumbled, happy to realize I had managed to keep the tremor from showing in my voice as the people gathered around huffed dramatically.I wasn’t sure quitting was the best idea, but I couldn’t have just stood there and done jackshit when the Disney princess just fired my sister right in front of me.We were Lavernes, and my mother had always taught us to stick up for each other!“Raini! What are you-” Trinity Fay gasped, pinching me on my arm before I shrugged her off, a sliver of courage
RAINI LAVERNEI had tripped on the puffy umbrella-looking bodice of the red-jeweled gown when I finally settled in beside the striking man.“Hi,” I brayed, gritting my teeth and blowing off the choppy bangs of the hair my sister had butchered in her effort to make me look less like a grumpy nana and more like Cinderella.It had not worked, and now I was stuck looking like one of the botched science experiments from one of our nightly horror flicks.The dark-haired man only nodded, snatching up the menu with more grace than I could have imagined possible, and the impression of the long, ringed fingers he had curled around the purple plaque curled on the meat of my breasts rose unbidden in my mind.What the hell was wrong with me? Ugh! I shook my head imperceptibly, choosing to focus on the run of Italian words on the plaque instead of the non-too-gentle sway of the boat we were cruising on.I’d never had any foreign cuisine in my life, past the watery mimosas my mother made every now
RAINI LAVERNEI am fucking moving to the house of Zavier Cross, it is absurd how my life went from being remotely boring to moving to a mansion across town where I would probably get decapitated; I am not even joking.I choose to blame River, I still feel like strangling her to death or sucking her life out with a straw while she sleeps, but I think the latter will be more pleasurable to watch, my mum would probably be mortified and murder me afterward but that would be a worthy trade."I still feel this is the worst idea in the history of worst ideas ever," Trinity Fay muttered bitterly as she angrily shoved my clothes into my back, I am reconsidering inviting her to help me pack but how do I kindly tell her to go home without breaking her heart more than it already is."Don't listen to her," River interjected before I could reply to her, she wasn't helping me pack my clothes, just trying out my different shades of lipstick in front of my vanity mirror."She should listen to me becau
ZAVIER CROSSIt’s been fourteen hours, five minutes, and ten seconds since Trinity Fay and River have left me alone with Zavier Cross, but who is counting, I can't help but feel nervous as I pace around my enormous room. I glare around and wonder how I would survive the next 30 days living with this total stranger. A lot of thoughts rage in my mind, and my pessimistic attitude believes it will turn out really bad.As I pace around, the door opens and a young lady about my age enters the room. She introduces herself as Karla and tells me that Zavier has put her in charge of everything I would need. “ I will be the one who will cater for your every need, be here at your every beck and call even when you don’t need me, in other words, I will be the ultimate pain in your ass,”I can't help but chuckle. Karla has a wonderful sense of humor, and I soon warm up to her.We have a wonderful conversation, and I can't believe how funny and engaging she is. We joke and tease each other, and I st
POVII do not like being humiliated in front of anyone,especially because of some spineless celebrity wanna-be like Raini Laverne. "I need you to do something for me," I wasn't asking because I knew when I wanted something, I get it."I am sure you know whatever you want, I will give it to you, no question asked," Jason said, he was a muscular tall man with broad shoulders."I know that I do,"I walked majestically, close to where he stood, gazing at me and began touching his shirt, " I know you are one of the guards of Zavier Cross,"He let out a chuckle, "You women and how you are so infatuated by Zavier,"He dare called what I feel for Zavier an infatuation, I would have slapped Lucifer out of him, if not that I needed him."Well call it what you want, I know you are aware of his new TV wife,""Yes, Raini, she is hot,"This guy is really getting on my nerves but I won't bite."I want you to tell me everything she does when she is in the house, what is her relationship with Zavie
ZAVIER CROSSI walked into Raini's room and found her in a much better mood than I had left her in. It seemed like she had hit it off with Karla, which was a relief to me. I told her that we would be having dinner together and that she should get ready. I noticed her looking at me intently as if she was sizing me up. I could understand why, I mean, I was a stranger to her, a billionaire TV sensation that she had won in a contest."Hello, Raini," I say, giving her a smile.She looks up at me, a mix of apprehension and curiosity in her eyes. "Hi, Zavier. What's up?""I just wanted to let you know that we'll be having dinner together tonight," I say. "I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to get to know each other a little better."Raini looks like she's about to protest, but then she seems to change her mind. "Okay, sure. What time?""Let's say seven o'clock," I say. "And feel free to wear whatever you're comfortable in. We're not exactly formal around here."Raini nods, looki
I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of something rustling outside my window. My senses were on high alert, and my heart was racing as I tried to identify the source of the noise. That's when I saw it- a shadowy figure lurking just outside the glass.Instinct took over, and I felt the transformation begin. My muscles contracted and expanded, and I felt my bones shifting and reshaping. My skin itched and burned as my fur sprouted, and my jaw elongated as my teeth sharpened.Within seconds, I had shifted completely into my black alpha wolf form. I felt my heightened senses kick in, my sense of smell and hearing becoming more acute. My vision changed as well, and everything took on a blue hue.I padded silently over to the window, my claws clicking softly on the floor. The shadowy figure outside was still there, but I could now see it more clearly. It was a person, standing just beyond the reach of the porch light.I growled low in my throat, warning the intruder to leave. B
Raini LaverneI woke up to a message from Trinity Fay saying she wanted to come to visit me. I was excited at the prospect of seeing her, it had been too long. But as soon as she arrived, I could tell she was still unsure about all of this."Girl, are you sure about this? Living in a mansion with some rich dude? I mean, what do you even know about him?" Trinity Fay asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.I rolled my eyes, "Oh come on, Trinity Fay. He's not just some rich dude. He has some good sides which I am getting to know in a way. Plus, he's been nothing but great to me since I got here."Trinity Fay scoffed, "Well, just be careful. You know how these rich men can be. They're always trying to control everything."I shook my head, "You're such a pessimist, Trinity Fay. Can't you just be a happy soul for once?"Trinity Fay smiled, "I am happy for you, girl. I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all. So, how has it been living with Mr. Mystery Man?"I chuckled, "It's been great,