AdeaWithout a second glance my way, Shane walked quickly out of the dungeons and I tripped a few times as he pulled me up the stairs. I wasn’t sure what or how I was going to do this. Shane was angry, I could feel it. He didn’t look at me as we walked out into the hallway, he slammed the door shut after I walked out.We made it maybe four steps when he turned around and I was shoved up against the wall. My back made contact first and I cried out when my head followed. The world was spinning as my brain rattled in my head.Before I could shake it off or pull myself together, Shane’s lips were on me. His hands were bruising on my waist, my breast, my throat. His lips were demanding and angry as if he were punishing me.I welcomed it and I welcomed him. My mind had been in turmoil since the moment I saw Ethan. It only got more unbearable as I fought with the two wholly different halves of my heart. I needed it to stop, I needed it all to stop. I needed the pain to go away, to focus on s
My eyes flew open and my head turned sharply to my left. I searched the hallway, my gaze landed on someone far down the hallway, and my jaw dropped. Mavy? What? How? Where has she been? I haven’t seen her once since I arrived and I admit I was worried for her. My eyes start to water and I can’t help but start crying.The last time I saw her, we hadn’t cleared the air and I kept how I felt to myself. We said we were okay but there was a distance between us that stopped me from reaching out to her and I’m assuming she felt it too because she didn’t reach out to me either.It felt like we separated during bad times with the bitter taste of Shane on our tongues. I hadn’t stopped wondering about her. Seeing her here, now, after all this time, the dam broke and the tears flowed.When I heard about their parent’s death, especially with it being at Shane’s hands, I worried that something had happened to her. I told myself that he would never hurt her but I still feared for her, I feared for h
Mavy rolled her eyes before linking her hand with mine.“Let’s sit in the front,” she said as she turned her back on him.A thing not many have done and survived but when it came to Mavy, she could do whatever she wanted and he wouldn’t bat an eye. He pretended of course but we knew it was shit. He’d never hurt her.“Goddess, it’s so good to have you back,” Mavy said as she leaned her head against mine. “Are you here to stay?”“Yes,” I gulped. She could always tell when I was lying. Was I lying?"Hm,” she said. I know she had to have seen my mark. It was hard to miss. “How did Shane happen?”“I didn’t do anything!” Shane called from behind us.“I’m sure,” Mavy joked. “Did he kidnap you?”“No,” I laughed. “Surprisingly enough, I came here myself.” Mavy’s eyebrow arched as she looked at me.“Interesting. What about your mate?” She asked. Well, she was hitting it right on the nail today, wasn’t she?“I’m leaving him. Well, I left him.”“Mm… I didn’t know that was possible,” Mavy said.“I
“You’ve been back two days and he hasn’t told you?” She asked. “No, we haven’t talked a whole lot.” “Oh,” she said, her nose wrinkled. “Gross.” “No, that’s not what I meant.” Her face is red and blotchy. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. I should know better. He killed Trent,” she choked on his name and fresh tears began to run down her cheeks. “What?” I asked, breathless. “He killed Trent,” she wailed. “After you left, I needed someone, I needed … I needed a lot of shit, Adea. He was there and we… he was more than a friend.” She always liked him, so I’m not surprised to hear that anything happened. As wolves, we prefer to wait for our mate but that isn’t always the case. “What happened?” I didn’t want to, I think I already knew the answer but I couldn’t help it. I had to be here for her and she’s probably been keeping this all to herself this whole time. She needed to get it off of her chest. “When Shane attacked, Trent died. Everyone who was related to the family of the trai
Ethan I jerked as I fell into ice-cold water. Fragments began to flash through my mind. My head was barely above water and it was a struggle to breathe. I was being pulled under and no matter how much I fought against it, the ocean kept dragging me down. Every time I failed, I was pulled under just to be hurled into another fragment of a memory, I wasn’t sure was even mine. The first one I was forced to experience had me hot. Sweat beaded and rolled down my temple and I let out a guttural groan as I fucked someone. My eyes were closed most of the time, so I didn’t know who it was. Every time I opened my eyes, I tried and failed to get a good look at her face. All I could tell was that she was blonde. Her fingers dug into my shoulder and I hissed. I didn’t love this woman, I didn’t care about her. Who was she? I broke through the surface and inhaled as much air as I could before I was pulled under again. The cold water splashed against my face and I choked as I started to drown. I wa
EthanMy heart panged as I heard Adea’s words again. They pierced and sliced through my chest over and over again. It didn’t matter how many times I begged or pleaded with her, she didn’t even want to look at me. She turned her back on me. There was no remorse, no sorrow in her eyes, no love… but I knew it couldn’t be true. There’s no way, she wouldn’t…I choose him.I choose him.I choose him.I choose him.It’s always been him.He had me first.Her words were a reminder that I had heard correctly. Her firm voice echoed through my mind. As much as I wanted to lie to myself and say it wasn’t her. I couldn’t ignore it, I couldn’t hide from it, I couldn’t flush it out no matter how I tried. Her voice grew louder and louder. It screamed the truth at me. There was nothing else I could do about what had happened. I wouldn’t accept it.I refused to accept it, I refused to accept that she was done with me. I refused to accept that she wanted him. It was impossible, it didn’t make any sense.
Adea “He knows.” That was what was written on the note Mavy gave me. It had been short and sweet. Two simple words. Two words that strikes fear into my soul and had me biting my nails. Two words that I couldn’t get out of my head. He knows. He knows. He knows. The contents of the note were on repeat in my mind as we walked up the stairs. Knows? Knows what? What does she know? How did she know? Was she aware? Was this revenge? What was Mavy’s motive behind this? Was this a trap? Should I be suspicious of her? If she didn’t want to help me, why would she go through the trouble to do this? The possibilities were endless and when it all came down to it, did it matter? If she was trying to help, then wasn’t the only thing I needed to do was follow through? Was I thinking too hard on this? My feet come to a stop in front of our door and my mind goes blank. A warm firm hand pushes me forward and I’m engulfed in darkness as I stumble forward. I turn around in time to see Shane’s dark si
!!! TRIGGER WARNING: This is for #teamEthan readers. The following chapters may trigger you !!! “What?” I breathed as I look at his lips. “What do you think, Shane?” “I like the hunt but you know what? I think you like being chased. I think you like knowing that I’m coming for you. I think you like knowing that I’ve been pining after you for years. I think you like knowing I would never give up on you. I think you like knowing that I’m yours. I think you like knowing that you’ve always been mine,” his voice was laced with confidence. He was such a cocky, arrogant, full of himself piece of— As much as I wanted to break that confidence and rip that smile from his face. He was right. I did like it and that fact alone should scare me. That admittance should frighten me and have me running, should have had me bolting, and regretting coming here. But it doesn’t. I don’t regret coming here, I don’t regret forcing myself to get to know him, I don’t regret walking up to this room with him. I
The first month back at Desert Moon had been hard. Not a day went by without us fighting. Ethan rejected Mavy as his mate before we came home. A part of me knew he was hurt about it, missed her like I missed Shane. I felt like he was only with me because I was his Luna, because of obligation and duty. I didn’t know why he wanted to be with me. He didn’t know why I was with him when I loved Shane. We were at our lowest. We were ugly, we were at our rawest. It wasn’t until month two that we finally talked about everything. We talked bout what happened and we talked about the past. The one that I remembered and by this time, the one that he remembered. It was hard, facing the man I loved in this life and the man I hated in the past. He wasn’t him anymore, he hadn’t been him for a long time. We dug into the past and were completely honest with each other. He fell to his knees and apologized for what he’d done even though I told him it wasn’t him, that wasn’t him anymore. He asked me if I
Mavy fell back as if she’d been physically struck. She collapsed on the couch, her eyes watering. She didn’t look back at me, she kept her gaze focused on Ethan. I watched as her world crashed around her again for the second time in five minutes.“Where does that leave me?” Mavy asked. “I’m… your…” she shook her head and turned to look back at Ethan. “That’s not possible. I’m… I can smell it. I can feel it. Can’t you?” Mavy whispered. I heard the desperation in her voice.“I don’t care what you think or how you feel. I am already mated and my mate, my partner, my love, MY QUEEN sits in this room. Don’t disrespect her again.” The emotion in his voice caused me to choke up. Mavy bit into her lower lip and tears streamed down her cheeks. She dropped her head.“Yes, Alpha,” she said submissively.“I killed your Alpha,” Ethan said. “I’ve killed your brother.”“Yes,” she murmured.“Will you fight me on this?” Ethan asked.“As the next in line, I submit to you,” Mavy whispered.Ethan dismiss
The voices were getting louder, my head was hurting. I wanted to roll up into a ball and disappear from the world. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to drown it all out, trying to ignore everyone. I wasn’t ready to deal with it.“She’s in shock…”“She’s confused…”“Enough!”A door slammed and footsteps paddled quickly towards me. Soft frail arms wrapped around me. Tears soaked my cheeks and my neck as Mavy cried. Did she know? She had to know.“Are you okay?” Mavy sobbed.I wrapped my arms around her and nodded. The tears started up again and streamed down my cheeks. Her t-shirt bunched in my fingers as I held her close. We cried and held each other.She inhaled deeply and froze. Slowly, she lifted her nose into the air and took another deep breath. Turning from me, she tried to follow the scent. She stopped, her gaze locked on someone, I turned and followed her gaze.I should have known, expected it but I’d been so caught up in my feelings that I didn’t think. I don’t know how it w
I didn’t have an answer for him and I don’t think he would have liked what I would have said. Hell, I didn’t know if I liked what I thought or how I felt. Instead of hurting him and cutting myself open for him, I didn’t say anything. I remained quiet. My world was crashing around me and my ears were ringing. I lowered my head and the tears flowed of their own volition.Ethan leaned down and I flinched as his arms wrapped around me. They were strong and broad. His embrace was warm and promised I could lean on him. I attempted to get to my feet only to fall. My face twisted from the pain and I wanted to cry and wallow in my own self-pity. Standing, he pulled me up and held me as my body gave up. I collapsed against him.I wanted to get to Shane, needed to. As if on cue, the weak mate bond snapped, and just like in my dream, it was gone. Only, this time, the pain I was feeling was because of Shane and not because of Ethan. The world was cold, the warmth I’d been able to feel from Shane f
Did what I do to him last night not bother him? I betrayed him. Did he not care that I came here to hurt him? Did he not care that I chose Ethan? I wanted to cry and scream. I wanted to run into his arms. I wanted this to stop. I wanted them to stop fighting. I wanted it all to stop. I screamed, it was painful and gut-wrenching but I screamed. I cursed the Goddess, damn her, she was useless in all of this. She sat up there above the clouds and did nothing to help us. Did she enjoy watching us suffer? When I couldn’t scream anymore, I inhaled deep breaths of air. I looked up and froze as Shane stared back at me. The way he looked at me told me he knew he was going to die. The look in his eye told me he knew he lost but for me, there was a small spark as if he wouldn’t just lay down and take it. I watched Ethan punch him. It was as if he was moving in slow motion. He hit his jaw and Shane’s head snapped back hard against the ground. Shane’s body tensed and he punched Ethan in the gut.
For a moment in time, they stood glaring at each other. The sun was blaring down on us. My gaze darted back and forth between the two. Shane’s eyes wandered away from Ethan and landed on me. “Look at me, mutt. You don’t get to look at her after what you’ve done,” Ethan spat. “I’m not so weak that you can look away from me in the middle of a fight.” “What have I done?” Shane taunted. “You’ve touched what’s mine,” Ethan growled. “I haven’t done anything other than touch what is mine. I haven’t done anything but make love to what is mine. I’ve claimed her. She may not wear my mark, thief but she is mine. Don’t claim her as yours. She was mine, she was always mine. She doesn’t belong to you, she never did.” A look came over Ethan’s face as if he knew as if this was confirmation as if he was reminded of something he’d forgotten. “You’re the one who touched someone who wasn’t yours. You are the one who took what was mine. Don’t try to play the victim. Don’t pretend to be something you’re
No.Not Odis.“Devin,” I gasped.Devin heard me but didn’t stop. He didn’t look up at me, didn’t even hesitate as he continued to stomp Odis into the ground. Blood spurt from Odis’ mouth and I think I heard his ribs crack. I took a step closer to stop it, to stop him. In a flash, someone was on top of Devin. Strong arms held Devin’s prisoner in a headlock and his legs wrapped around Devin’s abdomen.I wanted to scream but it quickly died in my throat as Odis and I realized the man in front of me was Gabe. Gabe. It was Gabe and he was on top of Devin. Well, he was wrapped around him like a python ready to suffocate his prey. Gabe grunted as he continued to squeeze Devin’s head, blocking his airflow.I wanted to cry out happily but I couldn’t. Gabe was here. Why was he here? He wasn’t supposed to be here. Things were going differently since he was alive. He was standing, breathing, his head was still attached to his body. Maybe things were turning out differently.Maybe Gabe was safe, ma
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Odis asked. I couldn’t find the words to speak, so I nodded. “Good,” Odis said as his grip on me loosened. “Why don’t you let her go?” A voice called out to us. Looking up, I searched for the source of the voice. My eyes widened as I found Devin watching up. His gaze locked around Odis’ arms that were still wrapped around me to his hands that gripped my arms. “I promise I’m more fun,” Devin teased. I know what it looked like. It looked like I was being held back from moving. It looked like Odis was stopping me from helping Shane. It looked like I was stuck between two packs, two men. The situation I found myself in was precarious. I was now stuck between two Betas who were supposed to protect me, despite their conflicting thoughts regarding me. I hadn’t had much time with Devin since I’d been back. He hadn’t been the nicest, shit, I don’t think he even liked me. That didn’t change the fact that Devin was Beta of Half Moon pack. Shane was his
I didn’t have an answer and I prayed I didn’t have to make the choice. Not only had everyone stopped moving but it had gone deathly silent. For a moment, everyone and everything froze. There wasn’t a whisper of wind in the air, the trees stood still, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was the calm before the storm. It felt like someone had pushed the pause button and all at once the play button was pressed and all hell broke loose. As if planned, the two of them ran toward each other. I looked past Ethan and my gaze landed on Shane’s chest. The sword had been taken out, a gaping hole was left in its place right next to his heart. Now that it was gone, I could see I had barely missed his heart. If I’d been one inch to the right, he would have died. How had I missed that? I didn’t kill him. Was I not paying attention? Why hadn’t I looked at his heart? I had aimed, hadn’t I? Had I meant to miss it? No, I had meant it, or else I wouldn’t have stabbed him at all. I tried to