[Rosalie’s POV]Diego’s words settle into my mind, reminding me that my time on this earth is limited. Although I never feared death, that didn’t mean that I wasn’t nervous about what would come after I were to pass. Would I find myself in the arms of the goddess, or would I be in the fiery pits of hell for my sins?“No,” the agonized cry snaps me out of my daze and draws my gaze to the far corner of the large room I’m standing in, where a small child fights two figures who are fully dressed in hazmat gear. “No!” the child repeats. “I don’t want to die! Please! Don’t let me die!”The words cause my heart to break as I continue to take in the scene.“Aren’t you going to stop them?” I ask Diego. “They’re only frightening the child more.”“They’re doing their job,” he counters. “The child is making a scene, and they’re trying to calm it.”“But to be so forceful.”“If you have a problem with it, then you do something.” Diego shrugs, clearly unphased by what he is seeing.Frowning, I conti
[Diego’s POV]My gaze stays fixed on the woman as she continues to cradle the deceased child in her arms. Her expression screams everything she is feeling, and I can’t help but wonder how she can care so much for someone she doesn’t even know. It was unsettling and inspiring. Even despite everything, she was still capable of having so much compassion, unlike me, who became a cold-hearted bastard.Did you really? The small voice in the back of my head counters. Since the very beginning, you’ve only wanted to do what was best for your pack.Did I? I push, knowing that my reasons for trying to find a cure were selfish and were only because of my sister falling ill from the plague. Or did I just use that as an excuse to hide the very compassion that could make me a target?Tearing my gaze away, I turn to Giddeon, who is giving me an annoying look.“Why are you just standing there?” I snap, causing his creepy smile to broaden. “Shouldn’t you be helping prepare the child for her sendoff?”“
[Diego’s POV]I continue to watch as the woman obliviously sleeps. She really wasn’t very good at knowing when danger was near, was she? Here, I was able to gobble her up entirely while she slept so soundly, and she didn’t even know it.Sighing, I reach out, preparing to wake her up, but stop as she lets out a shuttery breath and flips over, curling in on herself as if she is attempting to stop something from happening.“I guess you aren’t as oblivious as I thought,” I chuckle, dropping my hand once again. “Wait, why the hell do I even care?”It was well known that she found herself in prison because she killed an alpha and his subordinates. There was absolutely no reason to feel anything but disgust toward her, yet the more time we spent together, the more I couldn’t help but find myself pitying her. She truly was dealt a bad hand when it came to life.“...no…” she whimpers, snapping me out of my head. “Please…don’t…”Frowning, I watch as the woman’s face begins to contort with what
[Rosalie’s POV]I stare in disbelief at the door as it closes behind Diego. The man truly was hot and cold. One minute he was kind and caring; the next he was venomous as a snake. Did he have multiple personalities or something?Sighing, I collapse on the couch while pressing my fingers against the cuts on my cheek and pulling away so I can examine the blood on them.“He went all out,” I sigh, rolling over and curling in on myself. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.”Closing my eyes, I once again see his enraged expression, but it quickly shifts to that gentle one that he has used around me a few times. I truly was a fool to let my guard down even for a second just because he showed that expression, but it wasn’t only that expression that was making me do something so crazy.“What is it that I keep feeling?” I whisper, touching my lips as if that thrum of delicious energy would come from my own touch. “Is it a desperateness for some sort of human connection?”I didn’t know, and hon
[Rosalie’s POV]I keep my gaze fixed on Diego’s as he continues to stare me down, clearly uncertain of what he is even hearing and seeing. I had to admit, it was kind of amusing seeing him so perplexed; it definitely looked a lot better than his normal scowl.“Who said that you could leave the hut?” He asks slowly, composing himself once more.“No one,” I respond. “I got bored, so I just left.”“Just left,” he repeats, raising a brow. “And the guards I set there just let you?”Not really, but it was better that I didn’t tell him that I easily climbed out of a window because it wasn’t being watched. I was more than aware that would just make him angrier, and even now I feel bad for my guards since I knew they would suffer his wrath.“Uh…” Gabby stammers, reminding us that she was also there. “I can handle things from here.”Her words make my heart squeeze, and I wonder if Diego will blame her as well for allowing me to help. I couldn’t let that happen, and I wouldn’t. I was the one who
[Rosalie’s POV]I don’t move as the woman throws herself against Diego, wrapping her arms tightly around him. With a sigh of contentment, she squeezes him before peeking around his large body and eyeing me.“Oh,” she gasps, as if remembering once again that I was there. “How rude of me!”Releasing Diego, she moves forward and holds out a hand.“I’m Chanel; it’s nice to meet you, uh...”“Rosalie,” I say slowly, eyeing her.Now that I was getting a better look at her and she wasn’t bent over Diego’s desk with her face contorted with passion, she truly was a beautiful woman. With her long, raven black hair and glowing golden eyes, she was quite a looker. Add in her lean frame and height, and she truly was a knockout.“It’s nice to meet you, Rosalie!” She beams, shaking my hand vigorously.“Chanel,” Diego warns as she releases me and takes a seat beside me. “What do you think you’re doing?”“I already told you,” she responds, leaning against me while grabbing my chin so she can get a good
[Diego’s POV]“Now that she’s gone, should we...”Chanel’s body presses against me, and I can smell her arousal, but unlike the other times she has come onto me, I don’t feel anything. What the hell was this?As this thought hits, that woman’s face flashes in my mind, and I feel an odd sensation in my chest.“Something the matter?”Snapping out of my daze, I look down into Chanel’s dark eyes. They’re filled with curiosity and mischief, and I realize too late that she has gotten a whiff of something she would consider interesting.“Nothing,” I respond, snaking my arms around her and letting my hands rest on her ass. “I’m only curious why you’ve come.”“I already said...”“Tell the truth,” I warn, pulling her hard against me. “To believe you actually missed me and came here because of that is like believing the sky is falling.”“You know me too well,” she sighs, giving a grin. “I’ve actually come with word from your father.”My father. Of course, he would send Chanel to report to me sin
[Diego’s POV]Anger rolls through me as Anthrose’s words hit me like a ton of fucking bricks. Who the hell was he calling weak when he was making cheap hits at a mere woman? But was I really the one to speak?“Why are you here?” I growl, holding tight to him, even though everything in me screams to let go. “I thought you abandoned this place a long time ago.”As I speak, I let myself really take him in, from his haggard face to his shaggy hair, which was overdue for a cut, but the thing that surprises me the most is his eyes. In the past, those very eyes would shine brightly with amusement and dissatisfaction as I sparred with him. But now, they held none of the light and were unseeing.“What the hell happened to you?” I murmur, letting my gaze travel down to his lean form. “You look like shit.”“Age will do that to you,” he puffs.Age. He was a wolf, which meant that his life span was a lot longer than most. Of course, it wasn’t longer than a lycan’s, but given his age, he shouldn’t