All Chapters of Solace In The Alpha's Embrace : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Xavier crashed through the door to James’s studio with more brute force than finesse. Knocking the splintered wood out of the way, he strode into the open-plan space. It was still as trashed as the first time he’d seen it, but instead of the smell of drying clay, the smell of blood and fear crawled into his nostrils. A bellow of rage exploded from his throat and he launched himself across the studio, following the distinctive feminine scent that hung in the air. Annette’s scent. He’d been called as soon as she’d left the apartment and thanks to an eagle-eyed guard, they’d managed to call to the right cab firm to get the address she’d been taken to. They might as well have saved themselves the call. He should have guessed she’d come back here. Reaching the destroyed door to the bathroom, he braced himself against the door frame as the scent of blood became almost overwhelming. Annette’s blood, he realized, as his keen gaze picked out the slumped figure in the bathtub. A moan rattle

Xavier had been born into money, old werewolf money, and from the moment of his birth only the best had been good enough. The most expensive toys, the finest clothes, and the most prestigious schools, were all things that were his simply by the happy accident of being who he was. His food had been prepared by a Michelin starred chef and his tennis coach had been a former champion… Nothing was too good for the Michaelson heir. Looks had followed. Puberty changed angelic boyhood features into something harder and more masculine. His body once gangly, feeling not quite his as he navigated with all the hapless manner of a teenager, filled out and brought the werewolf genes into play. Add in the animal magnetism of his newly emerging wolf and he’d never had a problem getting women. Instead, it was more a problem getting rid of them. They’d thrown themselves at him even back then, a situation his teenaged self had reveled in. Girls, women… Hell, his first time had been with a middle-aged

Annette couldn’t be a werewolf. No way, no how.Sure, she’d woken up after her near death experience with abilities she hadn’t had before. Things like seeing smells, vision like a hawk, and hearing so accurate she could pinpoint a mouse farting three rooms away. So far though, there had been no hint of fur (apart from her legs, which were in desperate need of a shave after a week of inattention). New abilities though, didn’t mean she was a werewolf. She’d read somewhere that people who suffered head trauma sometimes gained completely new skills—like being able to speak a new language, play an instrument, or suddenly became an uber-smart math whiz. Acquired Savant Syndrome or something. Yeah, that had to be it. The accident that had nearly killed her had obviously left her with some side effects. A frown creased her brow. No one would tell her much about the accident either. All they would say was that she was lucky to be alive, and if she wanted more details then she needed to spea

“You were dying. What would you expect I do… Leave you there?” His expression was hard, like a whip. “Give me some credit, Annette. I wouldn’t let you die. Not while you’re in my care.”He hadn’t answered her question. His expression said he wasn’t going to. Anger flared and a snarl rumbled in the back of her throat. It wasn’t a human sound; that made no sense, but she was too pissed off to care.“Dammit, Xavier.” She slammed her hands into his broad chest and shoved. It was like trying to shove a cliff but he rocked back on his feet, surprise in his eyes. “Just give me a straight fucking answer.”He grabbed her wrists, yanked her up against him as he turned, pinning her between him and broad desk. The heat simmering through her veins turned volcanic, supercharged, and shot through her veins. Her body went pliant in his grasp, her curves against the hard muscled planes of his larger form. Damn traitorous thing.“Answer?” His voice was no less a snarl than hers had been. “I’ll give

Annette managed to avoid Xavier for most of the day by escaping to the library. Not hard when he also appeared to be doing his best to avoid her. Probably didn’t want reminded of his mistake. The more she thought about it, the more she became convinced what they’d had was just a bit of fun for him. That she was just a human plaything to be put aside when his duty to mate for the pack came calling. Asshole. She’d thought that about him so often in the last few hours, she should really append it as a prefix to his name. Scowling, she realized she’d re-read the same six sentences of her book for the last hour or so. With a sigh, she closed it and stood. It was a new one by her favorite author, one she hadn’t gotten around to reading yet, so to find it on the shelves of Xavier’s library had been a surprise. In fact, there was a whole shelf dedicated to romance, so someone in the house must be a fan.Not Xavier though, she couldn’t see him reading anything so frivolous. Perhaps somethi