“Get your butt in here right now, young lady!” Lola scolded while running around with a towel chasing her two-year-old daughter who was running down the hallways butt naked. With her arms swinging in the air and laughing menacingly, the water traced her steps on the carpets, and she headed towards the stairs. Just before reaching the end of the hallway, she was lifted into the air by two large arms and flown around like an airplane. “Daddy!” “My darling Ophelia,” he said and lowered her gently. He tickled her nose and hugged her tight when Lola came to a stop with the towel. “That little girl is definitely wolf,” Lola panted. She halted to a stop and raised a brow when she took in Jax’s appearance. “Daddy indeed,” Lola purred when she watched her husband’s bare upper body as he stood sweating after his workout with the warriors. “She could be a Doe,” Jax said and looked into his daughters’ eyes. “She has your big, beautiful eyes,” he remarked. Lola giggled and cupped Jax’s che
PROLOGUE5 years earlier.Lola: 16 years old.The ground was painted red. The blood ran in a stream down the cracks and into the river. Little red clouds formed under the water, and she stared with tear-filled eyes at the bodies from which the blood was escaping. Her hands held the lives she had just taken, and her mind held the sounds of their screams. Their eyes were still wide open as they stared at their faith, she who had ended them all, she who nobody could escape.With shaky hands, she pulled their bodies to the river and placed them down. The last one was particularly difficult to let go of, her hands refusing to open as she held him under the water. The life had drained from his eyes, his heart had stopped beating, and his body hadn’t moved for minutes. Yet, she couldn’t part from him.Closing her eyes and filling her lungs with air, her fingers slowly spread. She watched as her father went with the stream.*Chapter 1.“Lola!”Lola turned her heavy head to look at Melissa, fin
Lola's studio apartment was dark and gloomy. The littlest light from the moon tried to seep in but barely reached inches over the floor. The wooden panels on the floor began to squeak as though someone had walked on them. Lola lay on her bed, with her head tossing back and forth as her mind filled with dreadful memories of a past not long forgotten.the creaking continues closer to her bed and she's too deep in sleep to notice him watching over her. He sees how her face is contorted in pain from her nightmare and the sweat that is forming on her face so he leans down, strokes her hair away from her face, and whispers, "Wake up."“No!” She sat up quickly in the bed and panted. She frantically looked around the room and into the dark corners of her apartment.“Who— Who’s there?” Lola’s words were hoarse and frightened, and she felt a presence around her. Somebody was watching her, but why couldn’t she see them?She shook her head free from the thoughts and the nightmares and laid back do
“I can’t believe how obsessed everyone has gotten! I mean, seriously, did you hear Lisa? She wants to marry the man,” Melissa boasted aloud as they walked to the café after school.“Man?” Lola asked with a raised brow and a disbelieving expression- Man was a little too much in her opinion. She was, however, glad that it had been three days since their interaction in the auditorium, and he hadn’t tried to talk to her again since.“It’s all I hear in class, Jax, Jax, Jax…” Melissa said, bobbing her head mockingly to the side each time she said his name.Lola opened the door and smirked at her friend while jokingly remarking, “Sounds like someone has a crush.”Melissa scoffed and pretended to shiver from the idea.“I’ll leave the crush to the bottle blondes who fantasize about marrying rich.” They laughed and walked into the café.The woman behind the desk was hurriedly writing down on a paper and looking at her wristwatch. Her hair was a mess from having stood over the milk steamer for
She turned around and immediately looked for Mellissa; she was sitting, entranced in the music, waving her hands in the air, completely oblivious to what was happening behind her.“She’s fine, for now. Whether or not it stays that way is entirely up to you,” he said with an amused glint in his eyes and a smolder that spoke more of his insanity than his words ever could.“Who are you?” Lola asked. Her body was pressed against his as his hand held on her lower back.“I’m Chuck, and you’re Lola,” he said matter-of-factly.She wondered for the second time that week how these strangers could know her name when most people barely even knew she existed.Upon seeing the wheels spin in her mind with the many questions she held on her tongue, Chuck smiled in amusement. Lola felt the other day, when she had first met them, that something was off. Something was trying to warn her, but she mistook danger for desire. Staring into Chuck’s taunting eyes, she felt another pair of eyes burning on the s
The birds chirped outside the open windows. The sun was beaming in and lighting up the room in a nice change from the days of rain they’d had in Wild Cliff. “She’ll be okay. She just needs some rest. Don’t go in there right now, Alpha, or you’ll scare her.” “She’s waking up. I hear her groans.” His deep voice rang through the wall, but the words didn’t quite reach Lola’s groggy mind. “You shouldn’t be the first person she sees,” an older woman said from behind the closed doors. Her voice was raspy and stern, just like that school teacher who mothered all her students. “Fine. When she’s up, you let me know right away.” His steps took him down the hallway. The thick carpet mellowed his heavy feet, and the door creaked open as the lady entered. She carefully closed it behind her, taking her time so as not to startle the patient. Lola’s eyes began to flutter open with caution. Her hands reached around her body, and a person used to the routine and the safety of home didn’t need much
Walking down the stairs into the foyer took longer than it should because of the magnificent decor of the house. Lola and Melissa were looking around, leaning their heads far back to see the ceiling, which had hand-painted linings and creatures in beautiful contrast to the house’s colors.In the middle, right by where the giant bubble lamp hung, was a full moon, and from the right was a dark crescent moon overlapping.“That’s beautiful,” Lola said and gawked at the art.On the walls were portraits, paintings, and masks that looked old but were perfectly preserved.The foyer was narrow and opened up into the living room on the right. As they walked in, they saw the kitchen connecting by the far-end wall with an island that subtly separated the two areas.
Melissa grabbed the blankets from her bed, took two pillows, and grabbed her favorite pink PJs before running into the kitchen and opening the cabinets. She and Lola raided the fridge of cake, the freezer for all the ice cream they could find, and the pantry for cookies, chips, and every other cavity-inducing goodie.They took it all into the movie room and locked the door so that Melissa’s parents wouldn’t disturb them. They giggled as they laid the cushions underneath and put the blankets on top, creating their own fortress.“God, I love that you’re in my life,” Melissa said with a sigh as they grabbed all the snacks and put them between them on the makeshift bed.Lola smiled. A little laugh tumbled from her, and she looked with adoration at Melissa.“I am too, Mell,&rdqu
“Get your butt in here right now, young lady!” Lola scolded while running around with a towel chasing her two-year-old daughter who was running down the hallways butt naked. With her arms swinging in the air and laughing menacingly, the water traced her steps on the carpets, and she headed towards the stairs. Just before reaching the end of the hallway, she was lifted into the air by two large arms and flown around like an airplane. “Daddy!” “My darling Ophelia,” he said and lowered her gently. He tickled her nose and hugged her tight when Lola came to a stop with the towel. “That little girl is definitely wolf,” Lola panted. She halted to a stop and raised a brow when she took in Jax’s appearance. “Daddy indeed,” Lola purred when she watched her husband’s bare upper body as he stood sweating after his workout with the warriors. “She could be a Doe,” Jax said and looked into his daughters’ eyes. “She has your big, beautiful eyes,” he remarked. Lola giggled and cupped Jax’s che
They were back at the mansion and had constructed a plan on the way. The danger was still not altogether eliminated, not all enemies had been neutralized and they were those on the inside still aiming to break Jax and Lola apart.Jax and Ash walked into the mansion with Lola keeping her distance behind them. She turned away from them and hid where they wouldn't see her until it was time. Jax had called for a meeting on the way and told his parents and Lavina to meet him in the study. Nobody had suspected a thing, they were all just glad to hear that he was alright and their Alpha and son were returning home. The Blackwood boys entered the office and let the door fall to a near close. “It is so good to see you again, darling,” Mrs. Blackwood gleamed.Lavina ran up and wrapped her arms around him. The wide smile on her face and the wrinkles on her eyes deepened as relief washed over her. “I was so worried I almost went after you myself but Lola insisted she had it covered,” she said
Lucien clapped his hands, starting slow as the sound echoed in the room before he picked up the speed and laughed menacingly. He slammed his fist in the air and blew into his hands in celebration.“I have played this in my mind for months, going over what it would be like to have you all here and to tell you the things I knew but now that it is happening, holy shit, there is not a feeling like it.” He licked his lips and wiped the sweat from his face.He used his speed and kneeled next to Lola in a second. She fell back and tried to widen the distance between them by crawling backward but Lucien circled his fingers around her ankle and pulled her in with a rough grip. He gestured with his hand towards Jax and said through a deep smirk, “How I have been waiting for this. Be honest now, which do you prefer- getting fucked by a werewolf-” he grabbed her chin and forced her head back, “-or a vampire?” He asked. Jax’s mouth fell open and his eyes glistened as though all the pain came rus
Ash’s eyes glowed as his wolf stepped up, his canines extended and his growl shook the walls of the house when he pulled the knife out of his side and he flung it at his cousin's hands. They all turned their heads and watched as the knife cut through the air and went clean through the chains that bound Jax's hands. Jax fell into a pool of his blood, his heart barely beating and his body weakened from the poison in his wounds.“What the fuck?” One of the vampires spat and tried to overrun Ash. Ash grabbed the vampire's arm and spared no time as he ripped his head clean of his body and through against one of the windows, shattering the glass.“Let go of her.” He growled and walked towards Lucien. Whatever they had laced the blade with was eating at his insides, burning his flesh like acid but Ash refused to fall, not until he knew that she was safe.Lucien pulled out his fangs and lifted his head, looking toward the ceiling in a euphoric high.Three of his men jumped on Ash who was alre
They went to sleep not long after their talk and Ash slept on top of the covers. He watched Lola drift off into slumber and lay awake completing his choices.His cousin had been taken and he was making moves on his girl. Though he knew what he wanted, he now began to regret the many decisions he’d made that had led him this far. He looked at her lips slightly parted in her sleep and her eyes softly closed still, the faint freckles on her nose and her thick hair landing over her shoulder.She was a special girl, loved by many and desired by more. Perhaps it was the curse of being the Doe or maybe it was just her heart that sparked interest once she trusted people enough to show it to them. Regardless of the reasons, Ash realized now that his fighting was futile because her heart was not his to win. He should've been grateful to have felt her love, the one she gave him when she chose to trust him. The love was addictive, at first taste he wanted more, and he wanted what his cousin had.
They drove up to the Inn though it was further away from the street than advertised and they circled a sharp turn that led up a narrow path.As they arrived at a red neon sign saying ’open’ and a lady sitting with headphones on behind the desk inside they looked at each other, a lingering silence that was questioning just how good of an idea it was to go in. The rain poured around them. Drops on the roof of the car began to sound like firecrackers went off in a tunnel.Ash gave Lola his jacket to hold over her head and they shared a look before they ran from the car and slammed open the door as they tumbled inside.The lady looked up, slowly and gently as though a couple of strangers hadn't just tumbled into her hallway. She slowly leaned to the side to look past them and watch the pour outside of the Inn.“You kids don’t listen to the news, do ya?” She laughed.She wiggled her finger in front of Lola and pointed to the den.“There are towels in there, go grab yourselves some and I'll
They were back in the mansion. Ash had gathered the Alpha's warriors and filled them in on the situation. One of the cleaners had turned on the radio and Lola heard on the news that extreme weather was to be expected as she walked down after having changed clothes. Extreme rainfall was to occur during the night and the following days in and around town.She had the keys to her car and a small bag with toiletries.Ash and the warriors came out of the office and saw Lola standing at the entrance. His shoulders rose in a predatory bow as he stalked towards her.“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked. “To find Jax. Whatever he and I are, it’s my fault that he’s been taken. I'm going to bring him home,”Ash was in front of her before she could blink and ripped the keys from her hand.“The hell you are.” He put the keys in his pocket and grabbed her wrists when she tried to get them back. “It’s my fault that he was taken, he was protecting ME!” “And I will get him back!” He growled
She froze, time stilled around them and that picture would now be etched in her mind forever as it was all she saw wherever she looked.Nobody moved, she heard faint gasps and a low growl behind her but she couldn't turn around.For Lola, it felt as though hours passed without either Jax or Lavina moving but when a hand weighed down on her shoulder and forced her to turn she noticed everything moving a lot faster and people not having noticed what happened.She looked over her shoulder at Jax and Lavina and saw that they stood apart from each other, Lavina was by the table and Jax wiped his thumb over his lips and turned his head, his eyes locked with Lola’s, and his hand fell to his side. “Lola,” Ash said and tried to get her attention.Melissa had her arm hooked in Ed’s and watched with a glimmer in her eyes as her worst fear came true.But at that moment Lola couldn't breathe, she couldn't hear what anyone said and needed to get away from all of the people that surrounded her.On
“She did an amazing job,” Lola said, trying to break the thick ice coating when they were alone.“She did.” He said huskily and looked down at her. His gaze burned into her skin, his eyes glistened as they scanned her as they had many times before and his tongue slid over his lips.They stood staring into each other's eyes and Lola noticed the life in Jax’s eyes had dimmed. It wasn't what she looked into before, he seemed hardened and cold. Not just towards her but in general.Lola didn't know the first thing about being an Alpha but she was starting to realize that perhaps it entailed your persona shifting from tough but fair to cold and hard.Was it Alphas or just Jax?There didn't seem to be any in-between.“You wanted to talk.” He said.Taken aback by the hurry in his tone she realized he wanted to leave.“We haven’t talked since that night in the guest room. You slept in my bed, told me to be patient with you and then I don't hear from you for weeks.” Jax’s brows furrow and a ch