At Eastern Washington University, Bella found the dull and rainy atmosphere she had hoped for, far from Austin, where she wanted to escape. Although it wasn't as far as Bangkok University, which didn't accept international psych majors, it would have to do. The West Coast humidity was a welcome change from the blistering Texan sun, even though her hair disagreed. She tried to flatten it down, but it seemed pointless. Her ex-boyfriend, Jeff, had always insisted that it had to be long and smooth, and that she avoid the sun to prevent her tawny skin from darkening. But now that she was free from his controlling ideals, she was open to change. As she looked around the classroom, she realized that she didn't fit in with her pale, hipster classmates who were mostly wearing the latest old-looking outfits. She was used to being an anomaly as a femme twenty-something of Roma blood in Texas, and it looked like it would be the same here. The professor, who looke
Her first week at school passed smoothly and Sandra turned out to be a great roommate, albeit a loud one. Her snarky sense of humor and abundant energy made the semi-cramped dorm room feel more like home than Jeff's sprawling condo ever had. Bella was happy she had agreed to have her as a roommate. Even though her said roommate had short of bully her into going to the House of Wolf club with her. Bella had stood her ground on not entering the competition, she was going to just to chill. As Bella was going through her phone, she was interrupted by loud clinking sounds coming from the trunk. Pausing, she asked, "What are you doing over there?" "Putting our outfits together for tonight," Sandra replied. "Our outfits?" Bella questioned. "I have my outfit already." Sandra responded, "Yeah, jeans and a hoodie. Or a sweater and a scarf, given what you usually wear to class. Not gonna fly at the Lodge." Realizing her plain clothing wasn'
"Almost there," Sandra announced, pointing to the right. The outline of what looked to be a massive log cabin came into view. The closer they got, the bigger it looked. The grass lot out front was filled with cars, and more than half of them had the university parking sticker on the windshield. "Told ya it was popular," said Sandra. She wasn't kidding. Men and women were filing into the wooded mansion and warm yellow lights glowed through the many opaque windows on its three stories. It was hard to believe this was a BDSM dungeon rather than a secluded Swiss chalet. "How do you like the Lodge?" Sandra asked smugly. She must have noticed Bella's slack-jawed state. "It's beautiful," she admitted. "Not at all what I expected." She laughed. "Bet you're gonna say that at least ten more times before the night's over." The group in front of them came to an abrupt halt at the door. They were talking to a man Bella could only assume w
Sandra took Bella to the bartender to get drinks before the went down to where the main events is taking place but even their row was starting to fill out. Bella quickly realized that if the present turnout was a good representation, Sandra was probably the youngest Red Club Member. A few minutes later, the crowd began to buzz restlessly. She looked at her phone and saw that it had just turned eleven. The competition would doubtlessly be starting soon. Some particularly good-looking men began to stand up and head toward the stairway that led up to the stage and behind a heavy blue curtain. She recognized a handful of them from campus. One of the girls in their row stood up, his collar still attached to a leash held by the broad man behind her. Her light brown hair partially covered her otherwise bare chest, accentuating her delicate build. "Are you going to be a good girl, Amber?" the burly man at het side demanded. "Yes, Master," the younger woman purred, leani
Bella was shocked by Clarence's rudeness. Who did he think he was? The subs in the dressing room were clearly unhappy with her presence, and she felt like an unwanted center of attention. She sat down, feeling out of place, and Amber, the collared sub next to her, tried to reassure her that the obnoxious ones were just trying to run off the real competition. He also revealed that the House of Wolf was serious business around here and that the Alpha ran the entire club. Bella groaned, admitting that she didn't know anything about the scene and that she wasn't even a sub. Amber told her it was more about energy than looks and that she had the energy, making her feel a little better. "At least you're honest." Bella smiled, holding out her hand. "I'm Bella." "Amber," she replied, shaking it. "And don't worry. People can say whatever they want, but you're not actually anyone's submissive until you decide to be." She tilted his head. "What's that on your hand?
"Are you alright? That was almost bad," he said with what seemed to be genuine concern. If it had been anyone else, Bella would have already been thanking them profusely. Since it was Darian she was a bit wary of his intentions, to say the least. "I'm fine. Thanks for your help, but I could really do without any more of it," Bella muttered, brushing past him. "Wait a second," he said, grabbing the chain dangling from her cuff and jerking it like a leash. The snaps on the cuff popped off, leaving her arm exposed. Bella whirled around and held her forearm to her chest. "Give me that!" she cried fearfully, reaching for the cuff. Darian held it out of her reach and in doing so, pulled her closer. "What the hell was that about?" "I need that," Bella said, grabbing at it while keeping her arm close to her chest. "Not until you tell me why I'm getting the cold shoulder. Usually, you'd at least give a guy the chance to break the ice before t
Bella swallowed hard as she struggled to maintain eye contact with the furious Wolf. As difficult as it was, she couldn’t break away. Something in his gaze held her fast in its grasp. It was an eerily familiar feeling that she had experienced only once before when her first-year psychology professor invited a hypnotherapist to demonstrate trance induction for the class. She became lightheaded again, but she knew that Darian wouldn’t be there to catch her this time if she fell. As if summoned by her thoughts, the hulking Wolf took the last empty seat, rounding out a full pack of six. Even sitting down, the size difference between him and the others was obvious. The difference was especially noticeable between Darian and the lithe man next to him, who was still watching her like she was a sheep on the horizon and he was an actual wolf who hadn’t eaten in a few weeks. She recognized him as the book Wolf from the lobby when she first entered. Bell
Bella had already started to clap for Maverick when he announced her name. Her smile turned into a stiff grimace, and her hands hung limp in mid-air. “What?” she choked out. The announcer came back over to her, holding a coiled leash and collar on a satin pillow. The collar was made of red leather with what she really hoped were just very convincing rhinestones rather than diamonds encrusted along one side. This couldn’t be happening. Bella leaned away in case he planned to put that thing on her, still convinced there was a mistake. Unfortunately, the panic-induced bout of nausea and vertigo she’d been fighting off all night kicked in, and she wobbled. “Whoa, easy there. Can I get a Wolf to come up here and leash this pup before she falls offstage?” the announcer laughed awkwardly. Clearly, this evening wasn’t going according to plan for him, either. Bella’s panic wasn’t helped by the fact that Darian and the Wolf who had been glaring at her st
Bella froze when she realized what she was doing and tossed the pieces in the empty bread basket to hide the evidence. “Sorry,” she murmured, blushing. “You uh, get my blood boiling.”“I can tell,” he said, blinking. He looked down at his hands. “I'm sorry. I had no idea I was that intolerable.”“But you're not,” Bella said earnestly. “You make me angrier than anyone else, but you also make me laugh more than anyone else. You push me, sometimes to the brink of sanity, but she's a better person when she's with him. He's all of those annoying things, but he's also sweet and funny and protective and so compassionate toward the other members of the pack. He's a natural-born leader, and a good one. Whenever she sees the way he is with the other wolves, the way he cares for them and puts their needs above his own without even thinking, she falls a little more in love with him.” He stared at her in shock. “You love me? And you're admitting that freely?”Bella laughed, embarrassed. T
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
Bella reached across the table and rested her hand on his forearm. “You make it sound like I'm the one who's out of your league and not the other way around.” His eyebrows knit into a perplexed frown. He finally relaxed as if he'd given up trying to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him. “You are. Even aside from the fact that you're probably one of the mythological creatures our entire religion is based on, I don't deserve you. Neither does he, but I'm a big enough man to admit that Vic is a hell of a lot closer to being worthy of you than I am.” “Don't be so sure about that,” Bella said with a wry smile. “You both have your positive qualities.” “And negative ones, I'm sure.” Bella smiled wider.“Well, let's have it. Give me the side-by-side analysis,” he said, sitting back and folding his hands studiously on the table in front of him since he had already finished his meal.She laughed, but stopped abruptly when she realized he wasn't kidding. “You're
“Not sweet, innocent Clara,” Bella said doubtfully. “Oh, I've caught Jason coming out of her apartment once or twice.” “Jason and Clara?” Bella blanched. “But he's so... He chuckled at her reaction. “I know. Doubt he's her type, but the moon makes everyone go crazy, especially unmated fleurs. The rest of us try to stick to our subs, but what happens on a full moon stays on a full moon.”“Until now,” Bella reminded him. “You just told me.”“Hey, you didn't hear it from me.”Bella grinned mischievously. “Nope. I'm thinking now I own you.”“I don't go that way, kiddo. Not even for you,” he scoffed. “Now, if you ever decide you want a new master...”“My contract with Victor isn't exclusive. And don't try to change the subject.”“Sheesh. Okay, fine. It's probably already pretty obvious, but Brendan and Clarence don't just take care of Foster's emotional needs. They share him as a sub, but there's no relationship there otherwise. I'm pretty sure even that's tapered off since
"Are all the others out?" Bella asked, noting that the lot was almost empty. "Most of them," he said. "Clara and your dad are still around, as usual. Vic has been holed up in his office all day. Hunter and Clarence are still frolicking in the woods somewhere. Brendan was heading out with Maverick last I heard and uh, I think I saw Sarah with Jason." Anger started to boil inside Bella, but it couldn't take hold for some reason. "Oh, whatever," she muttered. "As long as she's leaving Dad alone." He glanced at her as he turned onto the road that led past campus. "That's a surprisingly zen attitude you got there." "I'm trying out a new approach to life," Bella said, admiring the heavily forested path. He shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining as long as you're okay.""I'm okay," Bella said. For the first time in a long time, she meant it.No one said a word for the rest of the ride. Darian took them into the city, or at least what passed for one in their little section o
A knock at the door jolted Bella awake from the most delightful nap. Despite the dull throbbing in her head, she woke feeling more refreshed and alive than she had in recent memory. “Be right there,” she called, yawning as she sat up. Her head spun a bit once she got to her feet, but it wasn't bad enough to make her stagger.On her way to the door, she noticed something strange about her room. All her stuff was there, but it looked like half of the room had been cleared out. Before the thought could trouble her too much, she remembered that Victor had probably just come for the remainder of his old things. She did have his old room, after all. Strange that he wouldn't have mentioned it, though.She shrugged it off and pulled the door open to find Darian waiting on the other side. At least, she thought it was Darian. The man before her had lightly slicked back hair, a stark contrast from his usual tousled brown locks. He wasn't wearing a suit or anything, but for Darian, a gray b
When Bella turned around, he was walking toward her calmly. She pressed herself against the door and struggled to slow her fluttering pulse as she looked around the room for escape. The window was too far to reach, and even if she did somehow manage to escape, she would only be prolonging the inevitable. Once Victor set his mind on something, no matter how horrible that something was, he got it. It briefly occurred to her that maybe that was why he was doing this. Maybe he thought his will had been strong enough to conquer her own and that removing all traces of it was the only way she would truly be free to choose. “I'm sorry, pup. I didn't want this to be a traumatic experience,” he murmured. “I was planning on waiting until tomorrow night, but it's just as well that I don't have time to talk myself out of this.” “Please don't do this,” she begged for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I don't want to forget you.” “You won't forget me,” he said softly. “J
“Of course,” Bella said, startled that he felt like he had to ask. “Well, I know you didn't like him so I just thought...” He trailed off, losing his enthusiasm for a moment. “Thank you. It would mean a lot to have you there. Victor is coming, and he said your dad would probably want to come, too.” He glanced toward the stairs. “I'll let you go; I have to find Brendan.” “He's probably still out with the others celebrating, but I know he was planning on seeing if you wanted to go out later,” Bella said carefully. “Oh, darn. I wanted to invite him, but I'll just have to wait until later. Bye, Bella!” he waved, already halfway down the hall. “Bye, Mav.” Bella waved back, mystified. Barely recovered from the macabre interaction, she knocked on Victor's office door and waited for permission before she entered. “Aren't you supposed to be with him?” was his immediate response. “Hi to you, too,” Bella muttered, walking over to his desk.He gave her an apologetic sm
“I'm fine,” Bella lied, brushing past her. She grabbed Bella's arm before she could head up the stairs. “You're a terrible liar,” she said, sounding a bit disappointed. “You get that from your father, obviously. Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help.” “I went out to watch the others shift,” Bella said, leaning on the railing. “Now there's an all-American pastime,” she said, casting a lustful glance in the direction of the forest. “Honey, trust me, if your boy toys are upset about you sneaking a little peek at the competition, they probably don't have the equipment for the job in the first place.” “That's not it!” Bella snapped. “And they both have plenty of equipment for the—they're both well equipped, okay?” Bella stammered. “That's not what this is about.” “No?” She blinked. “Then what?” “I left the Lodge by myself. Months ago, Victor put a mental block up that would keep me from leaving the Lodge without permission,” Bella said. “It was our trade