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016 | Racing Hearts and Racing Minds
Last Updated:
2023-10-31 06:24:27
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The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 017 | History Repeating Itself
Ethan’s POVI headed out to the training grounds. I tried to ground myself, to focus on the slap of the ground beneath my soles, and blood buzzing in my ears, but all I could hear was her.Aria’s voice echoed through my head. Each knock of her words against my skull hurt more than the last. “I think you’d better leave.” She’d sounded so cold, so firm. I wasn’t used to people talking to me like that.Nobody else dared to talk to Alpha Ethan Savage so bluntly. Even their disagreements were packaged in flowery nonsense to soften the sting of their disapproval. But Aria? She’d cut straight through the bullshit. She’d even glared at me until I’d left, tail between my legs. And what was that about? I was an Alpha. I didn’t feel ashamed. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve told her where to stick it.Why did Aria have such a hold over me?‘You like her,’ teased Sterling.I ignored him – pointedly – and rolled my shirt sleeves up. Eternal Bonds’ training grounds were, in my personal and v
Last Updated : 2023-10-31The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 018 | Zoe Talks
Aurora’s POVEven after scrubbing my skin raw in a boiling hot shower, I could still feel Ethan’s hands on me. Worst of all? I didn’t hate that feeling as much as I wanted to.I checked on Sammy – sound asleep, thank goodness – before texting Zoe.I need to talk to you.Come up to my office, she replied immediately. Another one came through straight after; Zoe texted the way she talked. Everything okay?I’ll explain in person, I sent back.Sure, babe. Just tell me one thing: is this a tea or wine level emergency?I bit my lip, then typed: Wine.Our friendship felt the way it always had. I realised I was smiling to myself, despite everything. ‘I hope you’re right,’ I muttered to Violet.‘I always am. What about in this instance, though?’I pulled a face at her, but my heart was too full after Zoe’s warm familiarity to really tease her. ‘That Zoe is still my friend.’My brain was in a daze as I crossed the grounds to the pack house. I realised how silly I’d been to sneak over before; n
Last Updated : 2023-11-02The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 019 | Liar, Liar
Zoe’s POVI didn’t know why I lied to Aurora. It just came out. She looked so crestfallen over my dallying with Ethan that I had to soothe the ache somehow.So maybe I did know why I lied. It didn’t make doing it any easier.But looking at her now, I knew I could never tell her the truth about us. The real truth.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aurora’s POV“He what?” I gaped at her, sure I’d heard her wrong. Ethan had left me for Selene. Now he regretted that?Good. He deserved to hurt after everything he’d put me through. Grim satisfaction swept through me. “He loved Selene, before you. When you… left, and he married her, he realised she was nothing compared to you.” Zoe seemed to find her stride; now she’d opened up, it all seemed to spill out of her. “She wasn’t the woman he remembered her to be. You, though? You’d never tried to be anything you weren’t.”“So – what? He’s gone off her because she tries to b
Last Updated : 2023-11-03The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 20 | Ethan Knows
Aurora’s POV “Hello, Aria.” His smile was dazzling enough to set my heart pounding – but it didn’t, because I hated him. Before I could say a word, he added, “Have dinner with me?”He looked well today. Too well. Too well to have been as sick as he’d claimed the night before. Grinding my jaw, I ignored his offer and instead said, “You seem better.”“It was just a bout of man flu.”“Oh. Right.”“Now – about that dinner?”I looked everywhere but at him. I looked at the trees swaying softly and the dim light coming from his guest room and the wooden planks of the steps. I looked at the autumnal wreath and counted every maple leaf in it – only four, darn it – and then, finally, when he cleared his throat pointedly, I forced myself to meet his eyes.It was a knife to the gut. In the dark his eyes looked black and bottomless, like a clear lake under a coal sky. That was the kind of lake a girl like me could drown in. I had, before.I would keep my head above water this time, though. I refu
Last Updated : 2023-11-06The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 021 | Dinner Date
Aurora’s POVWhen I performed surgery, my hands never shook. I could keep my cool in even the most pressurised circumstances. I’d removed lungs and hearts and replaced them quickly enough to save lives rather than take them.But as I reached for the door handle, my hand shook. I opened the door slowly, giving myself a moment to breathe. This was like surgery, I reasoned. There were risks worth taking and multiple aspects to consider. My words were the slice of a scalpel, and my gestures were a needle and thread. I could do this.Ethan smiled crookedly at me. It wasn’t quite a smirk, but it was lopsided, cheeky. The earlier malice was gone, and my knees went weak at the sight of him here, for me, his dark eyes glinting with something secret, his suit perfectly pressed, and a bunch of sunflowers held out to me.“You seem like someone who’d like sunflowers,” he said.My throat bobbed. I didn’t have a favourite flower, but I’d always liked ones that fit the season we were in. Snowdrops
Last Updated : 2023-11-07The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 022 | Something's Not Right
Ethan’s POVI wished Aria had just agreed to have dinner with me. Forcing her into it with a vague threat had never been my intention, but here we were. Why she wouldn’t want a handsome, powerful Alpha to cook for her was a mystery – but that was her all over, wasn’t it? She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and damn, it was really working for me.My charms seemed lost on her, though. Whatever secret she was keeping had to be a pretty juicy one, because the second I’d wielded that tactic like the poisoned chalice it was, her sharp expression had crumbled.I had no idea what that secret was, of course. I just wanted her to have dinner with me.As I smoothed down my suit, running not at all sweaty palms over its sleek lapels, I recalled the way she’d barely managed to choke out a, “What?”She’d not given anything about it away, but she’d told me enough. There was something I could hold over her, blackmail her with, even, if I wanted to. Not that I did – yet. It was always wise to make
Last Updated : 2023-11-08The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 023 | Not You, Not Again
Aurora’s POVAfter our dinner, I made plans to see Ethan again. The thought of spending even more time with him made my skin crawl – but there was a tiny part of me that was excited at the prospect.I had loved him once, after all.There was an old familiarity to our conversations that night. I’d always thought I’d never need a man again, after what he did to me, but – though I despised myself for even thinking it – it had been nice to chat to him, to eat with him, to share smiles and feel the crackle of anticipation in the air between us.I had to bury that part of me deep if I wanted my plan to work. I couldn’t break Ethan’s heart if mine was in any way involved.I threw myself into work. There was something I was missing, and with Remington’s condition getting worse every day I saw him, I knew I had to find it – and fast.Somehow, I got the feeling that Ethan was the missing piece I needed. Whatever was going on at Silver Shade had something to do with whatever was going on with Re
Last Updated : 2023-11-09The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 024 | Trust Nobody
Aurora’s POVI wasn’t sure what reaction I’d expected from Ethan, if any, but it certainly wasn’t the hurt that lashed across his face. Like sudden, heavy rain, his expression darkened.“She did?” I nodded. Guilt ate me up inside, but I couldn’t let it show. I’d dug this hole for myself; it was my responsibility to deal with the consequences. With nothing else to go on, and nowhere to go but down, I picked up my shovel again and carried on digging.“She told me that… that your ex-wife died in mysterious circumstances.”His eyes narrowed. “She what?”I gulped. I’d have to make this up to Zoe somehow. “She just said that things ended badly between the two of you, and then, a few months later, she died. A lot of people think you killed her,” I blurted out, realising how stupid I was being only after it was too late.“A lot of people think I killed my ex-wife?” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “A lot of people? And Zoe told you this?”“Yes. You were right; we do know each other.” Better to ad
Last Updated : 2023-11-10
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The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 083 | Lines of Communication
Ethan’s POVRage bubbled in my chest.There was no sign of Selene or Serena anywhere in the house. Even though I knew they’d gone, I expected to find something - a toothbrush, one of Serena’s drawings, anything - but it was all gone. Our house was always clean, but now it was too clean. Too perfect. Too… empty. Their absence was everywhere I looked.Selene going didn’t bother me. If anything, it made my life easier. But taking my daughter? My hands curled into fists.It didn’t help that Aurora and Sammy were gone, too. Aurora’s exit had left a ragged, aching hole where my blackened heart was supposed to be.With my pack silent, save for the weak moans coming from the medical centre, I felt more alone than ever.I aided the few wolves still capable of working. I tried to understand the research Aurora had left for the last remaining member of staff in the hospital, but nothing about this illness made sense. Dragging my hands through my hair, I kicked my chair back from the desk and
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 082 | Progression
Aurora’s POV I rushed to my son. I couldn’t hear over the rush of blood in my ears, but I could feel the tearing of my throat as I screamed. “Sammy,” I choked, grabbing him just as he hit the floor. I scrambled to keep him upright, clutching his head to my chest and stroking his clammy forehead. “Is he okay?” Zoe croaked, trying to sit up to see. “I don’t know.” My hands flapped uselessly. “I don’t know what’s happened to him.” ‘Calm down,’ said Violet, her voice firm. ‘You aren’t helping him by panicking.’ ‘You’re right. I can deal with this,’ I said, more to myself than to her. I was exhausted, and my nerves had been frayed to their ends - but dwelling on that wouldn’t help Sammy. “His heartbeat is strong, but too fast.” I spoke aloud, both to steady myself and to keep Zoe informed. “He’s breathing, but each breath is shallow.” I took a deep breath. “He’s alive.” I ran my eyes over him, giving myself one last second to be a caring, terrified mother. He looked so small
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 081 | No Natural Cause
Aurora’s POV I knew it was Zoe - but if I hadn’t been made aware of her condition beforehand, I never would have recognised my dear friend. She sat hunched in the bed, frail shoulders curved in on themselves. She’d aged years since I’d last seen her; wrinkles carved into the skin of her face, like gorges left behind years after the rivers had evaporated. Zoe wore no makeup. Her eyes looked softer without her signature eyeliner, creased and small and sad. Her black bob hung limply about her shoulders, dishevelled and left to grow out longer than I’d ever seen it. Grey streaked through its lengths.“Zoe?” I breathed, my voice lodging in my throat. This couldn’t be her. It didn’t matter that her father was stood beside her bed, his expression drawn. It didn’t matter that she looked up at me when I said her name.This couldn’t be my friend.“Hi, Aria,” she croaked. “Hey, Sammy. You both look well.”I swallowed hard. “I wish I could say the same about you.”Alpha Brutus shot me a men
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 080 | Back to Eternal Bonds
Aurora’s POVSammy slept the whole way to the Eternal Bonds pack. My heart throbbed painfully every time I looked at him. I was terrified for my friend, but I still had no answers about what had happened to my son.At least I finally felt peace about Ethan. He knew who I was and he knew that Sammy was his son. My shoulders were lighter after baring those truths to him.I just wished he could have come with me.Violet perked up like she had something to say. I spoke before she could. ‘I know why he couldn’t,’ I sighed. ‘I just wish he was here. We’ve just…’‘I know,’ she said softly. Sammy woke up just before I pulled into the car park. I’d told him what was happening and where we were going before we’d left, but he still looked around with a confused furrow to his brow.“Are you okay?” I murmured, reaching over to smooth his hair back from his forehead.He was too warm. He wasn’t sweating, but I could feel heat pooling in front of his skin. I held a worried hand there a moment longer
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 079 | Telling Selene
Ethan’s POVI stood outside my house, balling my hands into fists. ‘How do you want to do this?’ asked Sterling.‘No idea,’ I replied. I’d never been scared to go inside my own house before. Dawn had broken over the horizon, painting the sky in eerie shades of grey and purple. It swelled like a bruise over the quiet expanse of my pack.My heart felt too full to go and face Selene. Telling her I was leaving her for Aurora - no, I had to make sure I said Aria - was going to be hideous. ‘Do you have to say Aria?’ said Sterling. ‘I’m pretty sure Selene knows who she is. She keeps nearly saying Aurora when she’s meant to say Aria.’I cracked my knuckles. I wasn’t a coward; I wouldn’t hesitate out here a second longer. ‘Let’s go and find out.’I thought of my Aurora as I went inside. I was doing this for her, and for our son. I wouldn’t make Sammy grow up in a broken home. No more broken than it already had been…A tiny prickle of anger ran down my spine. I let it warm me.I held the ima
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 078 | Emergency Call
Ethan’s POVI couldn’t stop staring at Sammy. I’d been pummelled by revelations today - Aurora was alive, and here, and she was willing to forgive me - and, perhaps even more incredible than that…I had a son. We had a son.The woman I had pined for was here, her warm body pressed to mine, our son slumped against us, asleep, and I couldn’t believe it. My life had been turned upside down. That didn’t mean I wasn’t angry. Damn it, I was furious. She’d kept my boy from me. ‘You can’t blame her for that,’ sighed Sterling. ‘I know. Don’t make me remember,’ I replied, but it was too late. My mind was spinning down the one path I wanted to always avoid.I’d been swayed by idiocy and left my mate out in the cold. The fact she’d lost our other baby because of me…I wasn’t the same man I’d been then. I couldn’t believe I’d treated her like that.But I had.I’d pushed her to make those crazy choices. She’d gone to extremes to keep herself, and our child, safe from me. It made my throat fill
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 077 | I Am Both
Aurora’s POVThe words lingered in the air between us. I could’ve reached out and plucked them with my fingertips. They were a palpable thing - a curse I wished I could recall.Then Ethan let out a single, sharp breath.My chest squeezed as I watched the emotions racing across his handsome, chiselled face. His jaw tensed, then relaxed, then tensed again.I waited on tenterhooks for him to speak.“I knew it,” he said eventually, the words rough around the edges. “Not for sure, but… I felt a connection to him. And, damn it, Aurora, he looks just like me.” His brow creased; he refused to meet my eyes. “I wondered why I wanted to be close to him. Separate from wanting to be close to you, I mean. I-“ He cut himself off and dragged a shaking hand through his dark hair. I had so much to say, but I held my tongue. He needed to process this. He finally looked at me. “You kept my son from me.” It wasn’t an accusation. It was simply a fact. A cruel, horrible, awful fact.“I had no choice. I wo
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 076 | Fatherhood
Aurora’s POV Ethan spent the night. Not in the way I’d anticipated or even hoped - and yet it was infinitely better. I longed to share a bed with him, skin on skin, a melding of bodies and minds as we kissed and talked and made love… But instead he was here, taking care of us. I had a front row seat to watch my son’s relationship with his father bloom. Before everything had happened, I’d dreamt about bringing up a child with Ethan. Then I’d feared him ever finding out the truth. Now, telling him the truth felt like the most natural thing in the world. How he hadn’t seen it for himself I didn’t know. They looked so alike, sat together on the sofa, heads bowed as they spoke. Ethan ruffled Sammy’s hair; my heart squeezed painfully. ‘It’s only a matter of time until he works it out,’ Violet said. ‘He knows who you are now, and he knows how old Sammy is. It wouldn’t take a genius to put two and two together.’ I bit my lip. ‘I hadn’t thought of that. I’ve had so much else to think
The Alpha's Rejected Mate is the True Heiress 075 | Who Took Him?
Aurora’s POV I glanced back at Ethan. He nodded, his jaw set. He stepped closer to me, a silent promise that he - quite literally - had my back, no matter what I opened the door to reveal. I opened it. Sammy lay crumpled on the floor. I dropped to my knees with a cry. “Sammy, sweetheart, look at me,” I pleaded with him. He mumbled something incoherent. I scooped him into my arms; Ethan held the door open for me so I could bring him inside. His eyelids flickered as I laid him down on the sofa. “Sammy?” I whispered, pushing a lock of dark hair off his forehead. He looked so pale, but I could see the steady rise and fall of his chest and hear the soft intake of his breaths. “Shit,” Ethan cursed, running both hands through his hair. He looked between me and the still-open door. “They only just knocked. Whoever took him has to still be close, Aur. I can go after them, or I can stay here with you and Sammy.” I cradled Sammy’s icy cheek. I wanted him to stay, to comfort
