Caleb pats his thigh like he wants me to come sit on his lap. He can’t be serious. The man could barely walk across the room on his own and now he wants to have sex? “We should wait,” I start to say. His eyes narrow. “You dare deny your king?” He adds a frown. “Or do you think your king incapabl
Eventually, once the shooting and the screaming ends, Bethany crawls out from under her bed. There are so many safe rooms in the capital but each one she tried was taken with people of higher rank than her, unwilling to share their space with her. In the end, with nowhere else to go, she retreated b
Bethany keeps her head down, completing her work scrubbing the blood from the balcony while trying to not to panic about the very clearly bear soldiers still in the capital, posing as King’s guards. All the while, she waits for her chance to come forward and warn the Gamma about what she’s seeing.
Tristan and Caleb, talking lightly. I also notice that the clothes I left on the coffee table for Caleb are gone. Standing from the couch, I cross the room, closer to the door. “You can’t just go back storming through the gates,” Tristan says. “We don’t know the state of anything right now. Geor
My main worry is for Tristan and his safety on his dangerous mission. My second worry, however, is for myself, as I’m now alone with him in this farmhouse. There are no other slaves, or servants. No cooks. No cleaners. No other harem women to sate his needs – although that makes me more pleased than
For a brief moment, Caleb’s entire face goes slack with shock. In that instant, I feel vindicated, like maybe he’ll learn something now. However, in the next second, his face hardens instead. His words like ice, he says, “What did you just say to me?” Any other day, maybe I would have backed dow
That’s… odd. I was expecting more fight from him. At the very least, I thought he might just storm off and leave me alone. But now he wants to… help? Maybe my words got through to him. Does he now see how important it is for us to work together to survive? Containing my pride, I return to my wor
Caleb’s wounds are healing nicely. That’s the first thing I think looking at Caleb’s chest. The second is much less innocent. As much as I want to hate Caleb, and as many viable reasons as I have to do so, his body always manages to provide an excellent counterpoint. He may only be an alpha werewo
Holding the note, I moved toward the bed and sat down on the edge. Caleb, finished with his shower, comes out of the shower looking relaxed as can be. The moment he sees me perched on the bed, he tenses again.“What happened? What’s going on?” he asks, his voice all business.I hold up the small not
The stare-off continues for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Around us, I see Gladys’s servants take notice, and my own worry sets in. If this continues, will they attack Caleb? Is Caleb willing to go to war to keep me safe and by his side?I fear I already know the answer to that.Yet, before
Even so, with the drama, I worry about the food getting cold. It does look good and a cook took the time to make it. I quickly cut a bite of the fish and eat it.Though my stomach is in knots, the fish is delicious so I force it down.“Careful, stepmother,” Caleb says, giving weight to the word I’ve
Of all the awkward, uncomfortable diners I have sat through over the years, this one has to be the worst. And that includes the ones right after my public disgrace, when I went from being the pride of my parents to their servant instead, with my sister taking my place.Gladys, Caleb, and I are in th
Caleb releases his hold from around my waist. Instead he takes my hands in his, then brings them both to his lips to kiss the backs of them, one after the other.Still holding my hands, he leads me toward the bed. There, releases my hand to grab one of the lamps from the nightstand. Carefully, he li
“Come with me,” Gladys says, her eyes flitting between Caleb and me. “I’d be happy to give you a tour of my home.”“That would be very kind, thank you,” Caleb says, his voice dripping with false diplomacy. It matches Gladys’s own.“Thank you,” I say, softer.Gladys turns and slowly leads the way out
Looking out the window, I watch as the car follows the winding tunnel road up and out of the underground.Caleb and I sit in the back seat while a driver sits up front, hidden from us, and us from him behind a partition.The view sends me back to the last time Caleb and I left the capital behind, wh
Staying by Caleb’s side is not the only rule he has in place for me. In fact, for three hours after the messenger with Caleb’s agreement, I sat sitting in the Hall, hearing many rules now placed upon me for this trip.“You cannot let anyone get you alone,” the advisor said. “Gladys herself will try
The messenger is dressed in a simple tunic with a sash bearing the colors of Gladys’s pack lands. He waltzes confidently through the Hall, seemingly uncaring that everyone in the room is looking at him. Or perhaps he thrives on that.Regardless, he walks the walk to the base of the throne, then bows