TALIA Things were awkward. Very awkward. Alex kept trying to make an effort at conversation with me, ask me on dates, eat meals with me, and I kept having to reject his advances. When he’d leave to do whatever he did all day, relief would flood my body. There were times that I’d lose control of my thoughts and think back longingly on the five perfect days we’d spent together, softening me to the idea of him. But I’d instantly shove them from my mind when I caught myself slipping. There were many things I forced myself not to think about. It was the only way I could continue to function like a normal person. Things like catching my mom doped up on painkillers and later finding out she’d spent all of her money again. Or being twelve years old and sprouting breasts, suddenly being touched and noticed by different men who worked at the brothel, feeling powerless and defenseless. I’d still sometimes have nightmares about Old Man Joe, who used to fondle my breasts every day. He was one of
TALIA After Hugo and I spent the afternoon together, Alex came home and relieved Hugo of his babysitting responsibilities. He then came to the couch and sat down next to me. “Talia,” he said. I kept my head turned away from him. “I wish you’d at least tell me how I can fix whatever made you hate me.” I could sense a deep pain and longing, forcing me to soften toward him. “I would honestly do anything. At this point, I’m willing to banish my sister for you and turn her into an enemy of the pack. I don’t want to because she is my sister, and she’s not all bad. I know she did something unforgivable, and I don’t want to make excuses. But you have to understand that she loved my father very much. She loved him much more than either my mom or I ever did. She was devastated when she lost him. That was her way of reacting to the loss. I know I can’t expect you to understand, but I want to at least give you some perspective.” “You would have done the same.” I glared at him, giving him th
TALIA I woke up much later than usual the next morning. My body was uncomfortably hot, the blood pulsing through me possibly boiling. I threw the covers off my hot, sweat-covered body, and luxuriated as cool air touching my flushed skin. My nerves were so sensitive. I let out a moan as my fingers traced the outline of my ribcage, electricity sparking under my fingertips with every slight touch. When I slowly began to gain consciousness, I started recalling the vivid details of the dream that I’d awoken from. It’d been a nice dream, of Alex’s muscular, naked body—his very broad shoulders, strong and protective arms, massive pecs planted above the sculpted ridges of his abdominal muscles. The dream was so realistic—I even recalled how it felt as he pressed against me, his skin rubbing against my stiff, peaked nipples as his body slid over mine, his hips gliding between my legs as, oh God, as I finally felt his huge— Damn, I was so horny recalling all of those vivid details. I’d even or
BLAKE “The invitations are ordered,” my office manager, Mariette, said to me on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in October. “They’re putting a rush on them, and they’ll be mailed next week.” “Make sure they don’t mail the one for the Baker family. I want to hand deliver it,” I said. She looked at me sadly. “Yes, I made sure that that one won’t be mailed.” “Good.” I left the office and went back to my own, letting out a deep breath. I’d finally have to visit Ria’s family and tell them the news. I’m sure they knew by now, it was big news around the pack, but I still knew I should tell them in person. I’d been putting it off—putting everything off. While most of my depression had slowly lifted over the last year, thinking about Ria still seared me. She was a ghost I knew would never truly leave me. This both comforted and scared me. I hated the idea of forgetting her, but it was also difficult to exist some days, her memory now a part of who I was. I busied myself going through the differe
BLAKE She immediately brought her hands to my torso and kissed down the center of my chest, making her way to my belt. She unfastened it and began pulling off my pants. I slid them off and turned my attention to her, pulling her shirt off and unhooking her bra, revealing her beautiful, perky breasts, with the most perfect, erect nipples. Goddess, I fucking love everything about her. I quickly kissed my way down her right breast, placing my hand on her left one and gently rubbing the nipple between my fingers, licking the right one, savoring it as I lapped my tongue against it and sucked lightly. Jasmine moaned softly, and I continued what I was doing, reveling in her reaction. Her hands wove themselves through my hair, moved down to the nape of my neck, and I lifted my head, peering in her eyes. I brought my hand to her hair, gliding my fingers through it and moving my hand softly down her neck, shoulders, and arms. I loved the feeling of her skin on my fingertips as I touched ever
BLAKE As planned, everyone came to the packhouse early the next day and piled into my Wrangler. I held Jasmine’s hand as we drove, hoping to show her that I wasn’t mad about the previous night. “You guys have to see the most hilarious cat video I found this morning,” Tyler shouted from the back. I rolled my eyes. I glanced in my rearview mirror to see that he was showing Jack who started laughing and then passed his phone to Jasmine. “I swear, the only thing he does at work all day is watch cat videos.” Jack chuckled. Jasmine let out a laugh and said, “Oh my Goddess, that is so cute,” and then passed the phone back to Tyler. “I need to do something to give myself a break. There are only so many lines of code I can stare at before I start to go crazy,” Tyler responded. “I get it. Patrol duty can get pretty boring. It’s not like we have intruders breaking into the pack every day. I think the last time anything happened was when we found Talia,” Jack said. “That was pretty entertain
TALIA I woke the next morning feeling like myself again, dread coming over me. And I thought the first time I went into heat had been a disaster. Yesterday had been even worse. I had not only completely embarrassed myself, but I had also caused so much pain to everyone around me. That was not at all how I imagined sending the text message to Blake would go. And, God, that car ride home. If hell was a place on earth—that car ride was only a slight improvement to being tortured by the crazy bitch. I didn’t even want to leave my room to go to the washroom, fearing I might bump into Blake or, worse, Jasmine. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to look anyone who was in that living room yesterday in the eye again. And, God, the pain I felt when Alex looked at me. I could sense his emotions so strongly, as if they were my own. His heart had broken right in front of me. I wanted to leave him, but I never imagined he would feel like that when I did. I could still feel the aching in my chest, as
TALIA It would be nice to have somewhere where I belonged, and I could finally be myself. Blake was right—after losing my mom, I had gained a brother. My limbs were somehow lighter and less tense at the thought. It felt like the right thing to do. After a couple minutes, I finally replied, “Yes, I think I’d like to join the pack.” “Great, I’m really happy.” He beamed. “But, I have to ask, what do you plan to do about your mate?” “I don’t know,” I replied, slumping my shoulders, pained and confused by the situation. “He told me he’d never accept it if I rejected him.” “If that’s what you truly want to do, then I have no fucking problem making him accept it.” Blake cracked his knuckles. “But I have to warn you, it’s very painful to reject your mate. So, make sure you’re completely sure before you do.” I nodded, recalling how heartbroken Alex had been, suddenly wondering if I really did want to reject him. I’d never known anyone to feel so strongly for me. My feelings about him began