ã€ŠKidnapped by my mate by Annie Whippleã€‹


 Chapter 1

    BELLE

    I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes off the man across the bar from me.

    At that moment, I wished that I had dressed up for my flight to Paris.

    When our eyes met for a moment, a wave rushed through my b*dy, an unfamiliar feeling I had never experienced. It was like I had found all the answers I was looking for.

    I dropped my gaze, turning to the drink in front of me. I needed to calm my nerves. Flying made

    me nervous.

    Slowly, my eyes drifted back to the man, who was now looking down at his phone.

    He was breathtaking¡­ Large to the point that he almost lookedical in his barstool.

    His muscles strained against his ck shirt and blue jeans, telling me he must¡¯ve spent quite a lot of time in the gym. He had chocte-brown hair, mesmerizing dark-green eyes, and a jaw that could¡¯ve cut through diamond.

    His l*ps were luscious and full, and I unconsciously leaned in, imagining how it would feel to press my l*ps against them. I imagined what I might do if I were the sort of person that was confident enough to approach him.

    I found myself daydreaming about the possibilities¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I would ask from across the bar.

    He would smile and bring his drink along to sit right next to me.

    Then he would lean in and whisper his name into my ear, his l*ps grazing my earlobe.

    ¡°Meet me in the bathroom,¡± I would wink before walking away.

    I would feel his eyes burning the back of my n*eck.

    A few momentster he would burst through the door, his eyes dripping with desire.

    TED hard b*dy would press against mine, nearly knocking the air out of me.

    He would push me up against the sink, k*ssing my n*eck, my legs straddled around him.

    ¡°Alpha,¡± a man approached him. ¡°It¡¯s time to board the ne.¡±

    of time in the gym. He had chocol could¡¯ve cut through diamond.

    His l*ps were luscious and full, and I unconsciously leaned in, imagining how it would feel to press my l*ps against them. I imagined what I might do if I were the sort of confident enough to approach him.

    person

    that was

    I found myself daydreaming about the possibilities¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I would ask from across the bar.

    He would smile and bring his drink along to sit right next to me.

    Then he would lean in and whisper his name into my ear, his l*ps grazing my

    earlobe.

    ¡°Meet me in the bathroom,¡± I would wink before walking away.

    I would feel his eyes burning the back of my n*eck.

    A few momentster he would burst through the door, his eyes dripping with desire.

    His hard b*dy would press against mine, nearly knocking the air out of me.

    He would push me up against the sink, k*ssing my n*eck, my legs straddled around him.

    ¡°Alpha,¡± a man approached him. ¡°It¡¯s time to board the ne.¡±

    What a strange way to speak to someone, I thought to myself, downing thest few sips of

    drink.

    my

    Before he got up, the gorgeous stranger looked at me onest time, a mischievous smile on his face, like he could read my every thought.

    ¡°Final boarding call for Flight 2497 to Paris,¡± the announcement boomed overhead.

    ¡°S hit,¡± I looked at the time. I waste.

    I ushered the bartender over. ¡°May I have the check please?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t

    worry

    about it darling,¡± she said. ¡°That gentleman over there already paid for it.¡±

    How strange¡­ He paid for my drink and yet did not say a word to me.

    I tried to push away my thoughts about the stranger as I walked across the airport toward the G , luggage in tow. I couldn¡¯t seem to calm myself down, even though I tried.

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    I absolutely hated flying.

    And an eleven-hour flight to Paris was thest thing I wanted to be doing the day before Christmas Eve. But my mother had begged me toe spend the holidays with her and her hushand

    And an eleven-hour flight to Paris was th

    Christmas Eve. But my mother had begged me toe spend the holidays with her and her husband.

    I knew that she¡¯d only invited me out of guilt.

    I hadn¡¯t seen my mother in over five years, and she¡¯d seemed to have no problem leaving me behind after my dad had gotten sick. It had only taken her one year to get remarried and one more to have a kid.

    Once on the airne, I couldn¡¯t keep my hands from shaking.

    When I finally made it to my seat, far in the back of the ne, I looked at the man who I would sit beside for the next eleven hours. His gaze moved up and down my b*dy, stopping at my chest for a while before meeting my eyes.

    He smirked. ¡°Well, hello there.¡±

    Great. Just perfect. I get to spend the next eleven hours being ogled by a creep.

    ¡°Hi,¡± I muttered.

    Ignoring Mr. Creeper, I picked up my carry-on and lifted it above me to put it in the overheadpartment.

    I had almost managed to fit my luggage in when I felt hands wrap around my waist, touching the bare skin of my stomach where my shirt had ridden up.

    The hands tightened around me and sparks ran down my frame. I jerked my head around to see who was attached to the hands, and felt my eyes widen as I took him in.

    It was the man from the bar.

    A sudden deep growl snapped me back into an upright position, and my eyes met his to find that he was watching me check him out.

    I probably should have pped him, but instead I let my eyes close and basked in the feeling of his arms around me as delicious sparks coursed through my b*dy. I didn¡¯t even know that it was possible to feel this good.

    I felt his head move from mine as he bent to nuzzle my n*eck. I tilted my head to give him better ess, and he let out an approving grunt.

    I then I felt him ce a gentle k*ss right where my n*eck and shoulder met. First my knees UNITED weak, then my entire b*dy went numb as a breathy sigh exited my mouth. He smiled

    against my n*eck, chuckling and taking all of my weight into his arms as I leanedpletely into him to stop myself from falling.

    And then I felt him ce a gentle k*ss right where my n*eck and shoulder met. First my knees went weak, then my entire b*dy went numb as a breathy sigh exited my mouth. He smiled against my n*eck, chuckling and taking all of my weight into his arms as I leanedpletely into him to stop myself from falling.

    I was in absolute heaven.

    The clearing of a throat snapped me out of my trance, and I squeaked and tried to pull away, remembering where I was.

    I heard my suitcase sliding toward me and quickly ducked, waiting for its hard corner to smash into my head.

    But nothing happened, and instead I heard, ¡°Careful, beautiful.¡±

    He smiled at me and winked before shoving my bag into thepartment and snapping it closed. Still keeping his hand on my back, he turned to look at the woman behind him who had been trying to get our attention during our intense moment. The woman looked shocked, and hesitantly cleared her throat once more.

    ¡°Sorry, I just need to get to my seat, and you guys are blocking the aisle. I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt your reunion. You two clearly haven¡¯t seen each other in a while,¡± she smiled sweetly.

    Wanting to correct her, I opened my mouth to say that we had never technically met before, but the man holding me beat me to it.

    ¡°We were just finding our seats. We¡¯ll be out of your way in a second.¡± His voice was smooth and reassuring.

    I went to move away, looking forward to escaping the awkward situation, but the man just tightened his hold on me.

    He leaned down and whispered in my ear: ¡°Not so fast¡­ You¡¯re not getting away that easily.¡±

    Then he looked at the creeper who would be sitting next to me during the flight. ¡°Move,¡± he said to him.

    Mr. Creeper just sat there and gawked at us for a second. It made me very ufortable to think he¡¯d been watching us.

    ¡°What?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Move,¡± the good-looking man repeated. ¡°I¡¯m sitting there.¡±

    m sorry? I¡¯m not moving. This is my seat.¡±

    The man holding me growled low. ¡°Here, take mine.¡± He handed Mr. Creeper his ticket. ¡°It¡¯s first ss,¡± he said, watching the man look over the ticket with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°Now, move,¡± he said slowly-almost threateningly-as if he was daring the man to question his

    The creep looked at us one more time before he got up and quickly grabbed his bag.

    ¡°Go on, gorgeous,¡± my new, mysterious neighbor said, gently pushing me to the window seat while following closely behind.

    ¡°Um, sorry about earlier,¡± I muttered, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and dropping my gaze. I wanted this guy to like me. ¡°I rarely go around touching strangers like that, I promise.¡±

    Iughed nervously. When he didn¡¯t respond, I cleared my throat.

    ¡°Okay¡­ So why did you give up your first-ss ticket to sit all the way back here?¡±

    My eyes met his, and his hand moved to cup my cheek.

    ¡°Because I wanted to be near you,¡± he said huskily. He ran his thumb over my cheekbone as he examined every inch of my face. ¡°Wow, how did I get so lucky?¡±

    I leaned away from him, not sure of how to respond. I must¡¯ve heard him wrong.

    ¡°Sorry, what did you say?¡±

    He just smiled and shook his head. ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t worry about it, beautiful.¡± He leaned toward me across the armest. We were close for two strangers.

    ¡°I¡¯m Grayson. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Almost as if I were in a daze, I heard myself say, ¡°Belle.¡±

    His smile widened. ¡°Belle,¡± he said to himself. ¡°My Belle.¡±

    His eyes were so pretty. I couldn¡¯t help but stare into them. ¡°Uh-huh¡­,¡± I said absently.

    He let out a wholeheartedugh.

    Did I say something funny?

    ¡°Our bond is strong; I can tell,¡± he said.

    Is it just me, or does nothing he says make any sense?

    ¡°What? Our bond?¡± I asked.

    He brushed a loose strand of hair from my face. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry your little head about it.¡¯¡±

    As once again snapped out of the daze he seemed to keep putting me in when a baby behind et out a loud scream. Realizing just how close I was to the man¨CGrayson¨CI jumped back.

    I¡¯d been able to feel his breath on my face.

 Chapter 2

    vKidnapped by My Mate

    ¡°What did you just say?¡± I asked.

    ¡°So, business or pleasure?¡± Grayson asked.

    BELLE

    Oh, right. I had almostpletely forgotten where I was. I was hearing things. It must have been the stress. My nerves picked up again as I remembered that the ne would likely take off any

    minute.

    ¡°Oh, um, neither, I guess. I will visit my mother and her husband.¡±

    I must¡¯ve been making a face because Grayson asked, ¡°And you¡¯re not happy to see your mother and her husband?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°No, not since she left my sick father and me to run off to Paris and marry her rich lover,¡± I heard myself saying.

    I paused. I can¡¯t believe I just said that.

    I had told no one about my mother, and now I¡¯d just bbed it to aplete stranger.

    I looked at him. His expression was pensive.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know why I said that. I promise I¡¯m not that crazy person on the ne who shares her entire life story with the stranger sitting next to her.¡±

    Mare

    Grayson looked deeply into my eyes-almost as if he were searching for something¨Cand then he grabbed the armrest between us and lifted it so it was no longer a barrier. I watched his movements closely.

    ¡°Um¡­ What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­.¡± Grayson said. He grabbed my hips, which were already angled toward him, and tugged

    so that my knees were touching his.

    UNLIMITED delicious sparks trailed up and down my b*dy again as his hand found its way under my

    shirt and onto the small of my back, where his thumb began making soothing circles.

    Dec. shirt and onto the small of my back, where his thumb began making soothing circles.

    I let out a breathy sound from the back of my throat. His other hand went up to cup my

    face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about a thing now,¡± Grayson whispered. ¡°I¡¯m going to take care of you.¡± He leaned down so that his l*ps were touching my ear. ¡°You¡¯re mine.¡±

    I tilted back so I could see his eyes.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    He smirked. ¡°I mean¡­¡± His thumb touched my lower l*p, and I gasped.

    ¡°Everything¡± he k*ssed my eyelid ¡°about¡±¡ªhe k*ssed my other eyelid ¡°you¡±-the top of my nose is mine.¡± Finally, his l*ps met mine.

    My eyes fluttered shut at his k*ss. The feeling was euphoric, like fireworks and explosions. My hands moved up to his huge, muscr shoulders and squeezed.

    I let out a soft moan.

    I felt him smirk against my l*ps, and I paused for a second. No, no smirking. Smirking meant that he might stop k*ssing me, and I really didn¡¯t want that to happen.

    Never taking my l*ps from his, I got up on my knees and pushed my chest into his, basking in the sparks that came wherever our bodies met.

    My hands went up into his hair and tugged his face closer to mine.

    He groaned approvingly.

    Suddenly he squeezed my hips tightly, then lifted me onto hisp so that my knees went on either side of him. I pushed my chest against his, and he deepened our k*ss, plunging his tongue into my mouth.

    His hands kneaded my hips and then slid up under my shirt to grip my waist, his thumbs touching the underwire of my bra.

    my G od, is it getting hot in here?

    Someone cleared their throat next to us, and it was like they¡¯d fl*pped a switch in my brain: I suddenly realized what we were doing.

    I jerked backward, but Grayson tightened his grip, keeping me firmly on hisp.

    G

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    oked at the flight attendant who was standing next to us.

    ¡°Sorry, miss, but I¡¯m going to have to ask you to return to your seat and put on your seatbelt. The ne is about to take off.¡±

    I nodded my head quickly, feeling my face turn bright red. I scrambled to get off Grayson¡¯sp,

    Inodded my head quickly, feeling my face turn bright red. I scrambled to get off Grayson¡¯sp, and, thankfully, he let me go this time. I sat down in my seat and quickly buckled my seatbelt.

    The flight attendant watched as Grayson put his on too, then she nodded and walked away.

    Oh my

    G od. Oh my G od. Oh my

    G od.

    I ced my hands on my face to cool my burning cheeks.

    I can¡¯t believe I just did that. What is wrong with me?

    I was so embarrassed, I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to look at Grayson. I had crawled into hisp

    and pressed against him like some h ooker begging for him to get into my panties.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey,¡± I heard Grayson say. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He touched my arm.

    I jerked my arm away, ignoring how much I wanted him to keep his hands on me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me,¡± I snapped.

    Grayson made a startling growling noise in the back of his throat. I looked at him and saw an intense expression on his face. His jaw was clenched and his breathing was deep, his chest rising and falling quickly. And, oh yeah, his eyes were pitch ck. The pupils, irises, and the whites of his eyes were all ck.

    I gasped and scrambled backward until my back hit the wall behind me.

    ¡°Oh my G od. Your eyes.¡±

    His eyes widened and then snapped shut. He took a deep breath, and when his eyes opened again they were back to normal.

    I was going insane. That was the only logical exnation. The death of my father and the fear of seeing my mother again were finally getting to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ You can¡¯t tell me not to touch you.¡±

    My heart started beating faster. Maybe he was the insane one. ¡°What do you

    mean?¡±

    He leaned forward, an intense look in his eyes.

    ¡°Oh, baby girl, have you forgotten already?¡± His hand sped my knee and rubbed up and down my leg. ¡°You¡¯re mine, remember?¡±

    blood boiled. That was the third time he had called me his property. Who did this guy think was? Sure, he was good-looking. I had thrown myself at him and was extremely attracted to him, but that didn¡¯t mean I belonged to him. I was my own person. I belonged to no one.

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    I especially didn¡¯t belong to some man who I¡¯d just met and who knew no personal boundaries. I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but stopped when I felt the ne suddenly

    move

    I must¡¯vepletely missed the part where they exined where all the exits were and how to buckle your seatbelt. It was probably for the best though: that just would¡¯ve only made me more

    nervous.

    As the ne picked up speed, my heart beat hard against my ribs and my hands began shaking. I grabbed hold of Grayson¡¯s hand that was still mped onto my leg and squeezed my eyes shut.

    I tried taking deep breaths to calm myself down, but they came out more like quick, gasping pants.

    Oh my G od¡­ Am I hyperventting?

    ¡°Belle,¡± I heard Grayson say. ¡°Belle, baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I felt his hande up to grip my shoulder.

    I shook my head frantically, unable to find my voice. I was afraid that if I spoke, I would cry. ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson¡¯s voice said to me. It came out calmer this time.

    ¡°Look at me, Belle. I need you to look at me, gorgeous. Let me see those beautiful blue eyes.¡±

    I just shook my head again. The ne jumped as it lifted off the ground. I let out a whimper and pushed myself further against the wall.

    ¡°Belle, I swear to G od, if you don¡¯t look at me, I will k*ss you again, and who knows where that will lead¡­¡±

    Did he actually just say that? I was basically about to have a heart attack, and he was threatening

    to k*ss me?

    I opened my eyes. Grayson¡¯s face was about a foot away from mine. He smiled.

    ¡°There are those beautiful eyes.¡±

    My breathing slowed a bit. He was so unbelievably beautiful. How could someone possibly be so good-looking?

    And charming, and sweet, andforting, and such an amazing k*sser¡­

    The ne suddenly shook again-harder this time-and most of the passengers gasped.

    The pilot¡¯s voice came over the cabin speakers to apologize for the turbulence, saying that the ther seemed more serious than was originally expected.

    Tanced out my window and saw that it was pouring rain, and the sky was filled with lightning. ¡°Oh my G od, this is how I¡¯m going to die.¡± I said. My entire b*dy was trembling.

    The ne shook again at the same moment that a crashing roar of thunder came from outside. I

    The ne shook again at the same moment that a crashing roar of thunder came from outside. I let out a terrified shriek as tears started pouring from my eyes.

    ¡°Belle, baby,e here,¡± Grayson said in an agitated tone. I looked at him and saw that he was holding out his arm, encouraging me to lean on him.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked shakily. ¡°N-n-no!¡±

    Something gripped my hand tighter. I looked down to see that I was holding his hand with both of mine. I quickly let go and pushed it away from me.

    Why am I so touchy with this dude?

    He ran a hand through his hair as he watched me panic. He looked pained. ¡°Please, Belle, just let me help you.¡±

    I grasped at the wall behind me, hoping it would stabilize my shaking b*dy. ¡°How?¡±

    Before I could get my answer, the ne was rocked by crashing loud thunder and a bright bolt of lightning that I swore must have hit us. People screamed as bags fell from the overheadpartments.

    I screamed blo ody murder and covered my face with my hands.

    ¡°Oh

    my G od. Oh my G od. Oh my G od,¡± I sobbed. This was my worst nightmare.

    ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson said. His voice was clearer than before, and suddenly all other noises faded away. ¡°Look at me.¡±

    As if I was under his control, I removed my hands from my face and looked at Grayson. His eyes were ck again. But this time, it wasn¡¯t scary. This time, it was almostforting.

    ¡°Come here,¡± he said slowly.

    I nodded my head and practically dove into his chest, going as far as my seatbelt would let me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and gripped his shirt in my fists.

    We wrapped his arms around me, too, lifting my shirt so that his bare skin was touching my back and stomach.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked, shivering from the feeling of his skin against mine, and the delicious sparks traveling down my spine once more.

    T

    felt him nuzzle my hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I know this must be weird for you. It¡¯s just that the more -to-skin contact we have, the calmer you will feel.¡±

    He removed my arms from around him, and, for a moment, I felt disappointed. But then he lifted his shirt and put my arms back where they¡¯d been.

    could feel his abs¡­

    ¡°See? Better, right? Touching me is helping.¡± I felt him k*ss the top of my head.

    He was right. I could feel my heart rate slowing down and my nerves starting to calm. ¡°How is this happening?¡± I asked. I was so overwhelmingly confused.

    What is happening?

    Before he could answer, there was another burst of thunder. I whimpered and pushed my face into his chest as far as it would go. His arms tightened around me, and his hands massaged my

    back.

    ¡°Shh, baby girl. Rx for me,¡± he whispered, his mouth touching my ear. I felt my shoulders slowly release their tension. His voice was so smooth, soforting-it was like he had magical

    powers.

    I would have done anything he told me to do as long as I got to keep hearing his voice.

    ¡°There we go. That¡¯s what I like to see.¡±

    More thunder shook the ne. I pressed my face deeper into his chest and gasped.

    ¡°Nuh-uh,¡± he said. ¡°None of that.¡± His l*ps pressed to my ear, leaving a k*ss.

    ¡°Pay attention to my voice. All you can hear is my voice, baby.¡± He trailed k*sses down my n*eck..

    He was right. Once again, the other noises faded away. The crying babies, the yelling passengers, the roaring thunder, the pounding rain-everything else went silent.

    All that was left was him and me.

    ¡°The only thing you can hear is my voice. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    I nodded my head.

    ¡°Good. Now, slow your breathing.¡±

    My

    thing went from quick, gasping breaths to slow, deep sighs.

    ¡°Good girl.¡± His l*ps continued to move along my n*eck. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ve got you. I¡¯ll take care of you.¡±

    is k*sses felt like magic. His voice was like magic. Everything about him was magic. I wasn¡¯t on

    ane anymore. I wasn¡¯t anywhere anymore.

    It was just me and Grayson-his arms around me, his l*ps on my skin. I was calm. And then his l*ps found a spot on my n*eck that made fire travel throughout my b*dy. I gasped.

    Grayson smiled against my skin. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He began sucking on the spot, his tongue running

    Grayson smiled against my skin. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± He began sucking on the spot, his tongue running over my skin, leaving tingles that went to my toes.

    His fingers were digging into my waist, and I felt something building up inside me¡ªa feeling that I hadn¡¯t had in a long time. My entire b*dy shuddered, and I tilted my head to the side to give him better ess. His deep chuckle vibrated through my b*dy.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Like that, do we?¡± he whispered against my skin.

    I couldn¡¯t even respond. It felt like I was on drugs. Everything was moving so slowly. I let out a deep breath that sounded more like a whine because he had stopped k*ssing me. I didn¡¯t know exactly what I wanted, but I needed something more-something I knew Grayson could provid

    I tilted my head some more, hoping he would keep k*ssing me.

    He sighed. ¡°I know, beautiful, I know. But not here. Not now.¡± He ced one more peck on the spot. ¡°But I promise, I will make you mine. Soon.¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand what he meant. So I just moved closer to him, breathing in his heavenly sce What kind of cologne does he use?

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m here and you¡¯re safe. Nothing bad will ever happen to you again. We¡¯re going to create the most amazing life together. I¡¯m never letting you go.¡±

    What did he just say?

    ¡°But for now,¡± he said, ¡°you need to rest.¡±

    I looked up at him. His eyes were still ck.

    ¡°Sleep.¡±

    And my world went dark.

 Chapter 3

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 3

    BELLE

    I woke up to the feeling of being moved. I was vaguely aware of the fact that someone was unbuckling my seatbelt and then picking me up. I opened my eyes.

    Grayson had ced me on hisp so that my knees fell on either side of him.

    He set my head against his chest and wrapped his arms around me again.

    I suddenly remembered that I was on a ne, and my heart rate picked up. How long have I been asleep for? I tried to lean back to look at him, but he just tightened his hold on me..

    ¡°Nuh-uh. Not so fast. You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Grayson said calmly. He k*ssed my forehead. ¡°Go back to sleep, Belle.¡±

    And yet again, I was out like a light.

    I dreamed of hands moving up and down my back and waist, ying with my hair, kneading my hips. I dreamed of sweet k*sses being left on my ear, my nose, my forehead.

    I dreamed of touching fireworks and then watching them travel up and down my b*dy, finally exploding in my chest, leaving a warm glow around my heart.

    But mostly, I dreamed of his forest-green eyes.

    When I woke up for the second time, the only thing I was aware of was how warm and at peace I felt.

    Everything felt so¡­right.

    I buried myself deeper into the warmth and focused on the small firework that kept traveling up and down my back. It felt amazing. I let out a deep sigh.

    Then suddenly my sigh was echoed by someone else, and I felt a k*ss on my forehead. My eyes opened. Where am I?

    pked above me and saw Grayson. He had one arm around me, a hand running up and MITED n my back and ying with my hair. The other hand was holding out a cell phone, texting

    someone

    someone.

    His face was scrunched together as he concentrated. Oh my G od. I was in hisp.

    My back straightened, and his eyes suddenly snapped to mine. He smiled.

    ¡°Morning, beautiful.¡±

    He really has a thing for pet names.

    I scrambled to move away from him and he gripped my hips.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± he said.

    I seemed to recall him putting me in hisp. I red at him.

    ¡°Why am I in yourp?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°You kept moving toward me in your sleep, trying to put your face in my n*eck, and whimpering. So, when the seatbelt sign turned off, I moved you to where you wanted to be.¡±

    I felt the blood drain from my face as I pictured myself crawling toward him in my sleep; it then immediately rushed back up into my cheeks as I remembered his l*ps on my n*eck.

    Sensing where my thoughts were going, he said, ¡°Not that I minded.¡±

    He smirked.

    Smirked!

    I scoffed and tried to shove his hands off me so I could return to my seat.

    ¡°You can stay here. Really, it¡¯s fine,¡± he said.

    ¡°No, really, it¡¯s not,¡± I said, finally escaping his vicelike grip. I let out a sigh of relief as I slid back into my own seat. I was beyond embarrassed.

    Why do I have to be so weird in front of the first guy I¡¯ve been attracted to in years?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I usually have personal boundaries. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me today.¡±

    He just waved it off, saying that it was no big deal.

    ¡°How long was I asleep for?¡±

    UNLIMITED

    looked at his watch. ¡°About eight hours.¡±

    I gasped. ¡°I was asleep for eight hours?¡±

    He nodded, a smile appearing on his face.

    You let me sleep on you for eight hours?¡± I asked,pletely and utterly mortified.

    11:59 Sat, 23 Dect.

    He nodded again.

    ¡°Oh my G od.¡± I put my hands on my face.

    ¡°If it helps,¡± he said, ¡°I fell asleep too for a while. It was the best sleep of my life.¡±

    I looked at his smirking face and narrowed my eyes.

    ¡°You know, when you changed seats with the guy who was supposed to be next to me, I was actually relieved.

    ¡°But maybe it would¡¯ve been better to sit next to the creepy guy who stared at my boobs. Maybe I wouldn¡¯t have crawled into hisp in my sleep.¡±

    It was supposed to be a lighthearted joke, but when I looked at Grayson, I could tell that he did not take it that way. His eyes were back to ck, his jaw was clenched, and there were veins popping out of his n*eck and forehead. He looked murderous.

    ¡°Oh

    my G od. Are you okay?¡±

    He didn¡¯t respond. Instead, he closed his eyes, gripped the sides of his chair roughly, and breathed deeply. I started to feel worried. I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening, but for some reason, I wanted Grayson to be okay. I wanted tofort him.

    ¡°Can I do anything?¡±

    He said nothing.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I tried again.

    When I said his name, his eyes snapped to mine, their ckness startling me. A rumble came from deep within his chest as he grabbed the back of my n*eck and brought my face to his.

    He pressed his nose into my n*eck and began breathing deeply. His entire b*dy was shaking.

    ¡°I love it when you say my name,¡± he said. His voice sounded deeper now, rougher-nothing like how tender it had sounded earlier.

    He leaned back and looked deep into my eyes, I knew that I should be frightened by how ck

    eyes were. I mean, he looked possessed.

    his

    But somehow I liked his ck eyes almost as much as his green ones.

    Stay here,¡± he said darkly. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±

    INLIMITED dded, not wanting to go against his orders when he looked so deadly.

    I watched him get up and make his way to the front of the ne and through the small doorway that led to the first-ss section.

    I reclined in my seat. Maybe he just has to go to the bathroom¡­

    But then I heard people screaming, and the flight attendant ran up the aisle. Passengers were getting out of their seats. I jumped up and ran to the first-ss section, wanting to see what all themotion was.

    When I entered it, the scene in front of me made my heart stop.

    Grayson was holding Mr. Creeper up in the air by his n*eck.

    Is he trying to kill him? There were people surrounding him, trying to get his attention, pulling on him to get him to stop strangling the creep.

    But Grayson wasn¡¯t moving. He was like a statue.

    He was trying to kill him.

    Grayson¡¯s grip on Mr. Creeper¡¯s n*eck was tightening more and more with every passing second. Out of everyone pleading with him to stop, one man was the most persistent.

    He was yelling, ¡°Alpha! Alpha! Stop! You will kill him!¡±

    Grayson paid no attention to him, and just squeezed the creep¡¯s n*eck harder. I pushed through the throng of people, making my way to where he was.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± I yelled when I finally reached him. I stood directly in front of him, trying to get his attention. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    His eyes met mine, and I took a step back. He was terrifying.

    His n*eck had grown two sizes, and veins ran up over his face and around his ck eyes.

    Fangs stuck out from beneath his l*ps, and foam gathered around his snarling mouth.

    ¡°Mate, move,¡± he said to me, his expression leaving no room for argument.

    dly.

    I took several steps backward, scared out of my mind, then a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back closer to the doorway. I spun around in surprise. It was the man who had called Grayson ¡°Alpha¡± earlier.

    ¡°You¡¯re his mate?¡± he asked me frantically.

    dn¡¯t know what he meant. ¡°What? No!¡± I said, trying to escape his grip. He didn¡¯t let me go. But then I vaguely remembered Grayson calling me that earlier.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I yelled.

    He lifted his nose and sniffed the air.

    What the hell?

    ¡°You¡¯re human,¡± he concluded. ¡°But you smell of the alpha.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I screeched.

    ¡°Look, there¡¯s no time to exin. If you don¡¯t calm him down, then he will kill that man.¡¯

    55

    I looked back at Grayson and saw him still strangling Mr. Creeper, whose face was now turning purple as he gasped for air and scratched at Grayson¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Calm him down? How am I supposed to calm him down? He¡¯s strangling someone!¡± I yelled.

    ¡°Touch him, talk to him, anything! Just get him to stop!¡±

    I looked at the man in front of me. His expression was pure panic.

    ¡°Touch him?¡± I asked. I could do that. I could touch him. Hell, I¡¯d been touching him the entire

    flight.

    The man nodded encouragingly and tugged me back to where Grayson was.

    The choking man¡¯s movements were slowing, his head beginning to fall to one side. Sh it¡­ I have to do something.

    I took a deep breath and then raised a shaky hand and ced it on Grayson¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked. His head snapped to look at me. I swallowed. ¡°Please stop. You¡¯re hurting

    him.¡±

    He growled-like really growled. ¡°No.¡± His gaze turned back to the creep.,

    Well¡­that didn¡¯t work.

    I turned to the man behind me.

    ¡°Keep trying!¡± he yelled.

    I whimpered, then stepped in front of Grayson and put my hands on either side of his livid face, forcing him to look at me.

    ¡°Grayson, stop now. You¡¯re scaring me.¡±

    G

    UNLIMITED made him pause. His eyes softened a bit. His grip must¡¯ve loosened because I suddenly

    heard frantic gasps of air.

    I¡¯m doing it! It¡¯s working!

    at, 23 Deci

    But then his expression hardened.

    ¡°Mate, move, or I will move you. I am dealing with the threat. I am protecting you.¡±

    His voice was deadly.

    I took a step back and turned to the man who had gotten me into this mess.

    I could be back in my nice, cozy seat, by myself, not dealing with any of this. But no! Instead, I had to touch the livid demon man. Talk to the psychotic man strangling someone!

    ¡°What now?¡± I asked him.

    ¡°Kiss him!¡± he yelled.

    ¡°What?¡± I screeched. ¡°No! I am not doing that!¡±

    ¡°I know this is scary, but we have no other option! Either you k*ss him, or that man dies. It¡¯s up to you.¡±

    he

    This made absolutely no sense. Why would k*ssing Grayson do any good? I looked at the man was holding. Mr. Creeper had gone almost limp, with only his feet jerking the tiniest bit. Grayson was about to finish the job.

    I had to do something.

    ¡°F uck-it,¡± I said. I grabbed Grayson¡¯s face and smashed my l*ps into his.

    At first, he didn¡¯t respond. It was like k*ssing a very warm, very smooshy statue.

    But then he muttered something against my l*ps: ¡°Mate.¡±

    Grayson pulled my b*dy into his and drove his tongue into my mouth, iming dominance over mine immediately.

    He traced the curves of my b*dy with his massive fingers, and I heard Mr. Creeper drop. I was vaguely aware of gasping and spluttering and then Grayson grabbed hold of my a ss and lifted me into his arms. Then he wrapped my legs around his waist and carried me back out of first ss.

    No, no, no, no! This was not what I wanted. I had thought this would be a quick peck on the l*ps. I¡¯d thought I would stop him from choking the creep, and then I¡¯d sprint away for dear life.

    Thadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d carry me away to my imminent doom.

    moved

    my l*ps from his, hoping that he¡¯d stop and put me down, but he just growled and started k*ssing down my n*eck, still walking to Lord knows where.

    ¡°Grayson, what are you doing? Put me down!¡± I said, pushing on his shoulders.

    12:00 Sat, 23 Decti

    Man, is this guy made of steel or something?

    He didn¡¯t even pause.

    ¡°Mate. Mine,¡± he said, and continued his open-mouthed k*sses along my jaw.

    I nced back over his shoulder at the ¡®helpful¡¯ man from before. He was just standing there

    beside the doorway leading to first ss, watching us as people crowded around the creep who¡¯d nearly died:

    ¡°Help!¡± I yelled at him.

    He just shrugged and gave me a look that said, What do you want me to do about it?

    I wanted to scream.

    What the hell was even happening? I¡¯d men tally prepared myself for a long, ufortable flight. This was so far beyond that¡­

    Grayson carried me into the bathroom of the ne and quickly set me down on the tiny sink. He positioned himself between my legs and gripped my hips.

    ¡°Grayson, what ¡±

    His l*ps were suddenly back on mine.

    And, oh my Lord, did it feel good.

 Chapter 4

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 4

    2

    BELLE

    There was something about Grayson that made me lose all control of myself whenever he touched me. I mean, he¡¯d nearly just killed a man, and there I was making out with him in a bathroom.

    He pulled my lower l*p into his mouth and sucked. I moaned loudly.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I whimpered.

    He groaned. ¡°Keep saying my name like that, baby.¡±

    He brought my earlobe into his mouth and bit down softly, then moved his l*ps down to my n*eck to suck, leaving several h ickeys behind.

    He ground his hips against mine, hitting me in just the right spot, and I gasped, my head falling back against the mirror behind me.

    I saw stars¨Creal stars.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± I yelled.

    How could he make me feel so good without even taking off a single article of clothing? This man had to be some sort of S** g od.

    There were people pounding on the door, probably worried about me being alone with the psychotic man who had nearly killed someone¡­

    But we were both too wrapped up in our euphoric feelings to pay attention to anything else.

    His l*ps found the spot on my n*eck he¡¯d been k*ssing earlier, and my b*dy had a literal convulsion as he sucked on it and licked it.

    I ground my core into his hips as if I were some animal in heat-

    Until blinding¨Chot pain shot through my system as his teeth suddenly plunged into my n*eck.

    reamed and tried to shove him away from me, but his arms only held me tighter to his torso. UNLIMITED ht as I thought I would pass out from the pain, it turned into something else.

    Warm pleasure ran through me, and I let out a sigh of relief and then a moan.

    Warm pleasure ran through me, and I let out a sigh of rellen au

    Wow, this is the best thing I¡¯ve felt in my entire life.

    I was ovee by the sudden need to be closer to Grayson and to never let him leave me, even though his teeth were still lodged in my n*eck.

    I ran my hands up his chest, to his shoulders, and then around his n*eck.

    I pulled his chest into mine and wrapped my legs around his hips. My forehead rested on his shoulder.

    Grayson slowly retracted his teeth from my n*eck, licking the wound he had just made, and ran his hand up and down my back.

    I shuddered. His touch was feeling ten times better than before.

    Is that even possible?

    I leaned back to look at him. His eyes weren¡¯t ck anymore.

    ¡°You bit me,¡± I said. My eyelids were drooping, all the energy starting to leave my b*dy.

    Grayson nodded. His expression looked pained.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry. I had to.¡±

    I nodded my head as if I understood, but really, I had no f ucking clue what was going on. I felt

    drunk.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I slurred out, patting his cheek lightly. ¡°Just don¡¯t do it again, okay?¡±

    He smiled. ¡°Okay.¡±

    I smiled back. I touched his face with both of my hands, squishing his cheeks together.

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re pretty. Like really pretty¡­¡±

    Heughed. The sound made me happy.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m d you think so,¡± he said.

    I giggled. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re d I think so because I really think so.¡± I smiled at him.

    G

    v head dropped onto his n*eck.

    UNLIMITED cided I wanted to keep k*ssing him. I pressed my l*ps to his n*eck, trying to move them the

    same way that he had against mine.

    He groaned deeply.

    He groaned deeply.

    ¡°No. No, stop, baby girl. No more k*ssing today.¡± He moved me away from him.

    I pouted. ¡°Why not?¡±

    He smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, then ran his thumb over my cheekbone. ¡°Trust me, there will be plenty of k*ssingter. You need sleep.¡±

    I yawned at the thought. Sleep. Sleep sounded good. Not as good as k*ssing, but close. I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder again.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, nuzzling into his n*eck. ¡°We can k*ss when I wake up?¡±

    Heughed again. ¡°We can k*ss as much as you want when you wake up.¡±

    The thought made me happy; and I sighed. Okay, then.

    He tightened his arms around me and rubbed his nose right where he¡¯d just bit me. I shivered.

    Huh. That felt good.

    ¡°Go to sleep, Belle. I¡¯ve got you.¡±

    My vision began to fade, a random jumble of images shing through my mind.

    Grayson¡¯s monstrous strength.

    His irresistible touch.

    The feeling of his teeth sinking into my n*eck.

    His beautiful eyes that sometimes turned into a pureck, bottomless pit.

    I could only think of one thing as sleep overcame me.

    What have I gotten myself into?

 Chapter 5

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 5

    BELLE

    When I woke up again, everything was dark.

    The only light that I could see wasing out of what I assumed to be a window behind me, casting moonlight throughout the room.

    Where am I?

    For a second, I thought I was back in my room at home, and I let out a sigh and shifted, nuzzling back into my pillow. But then I paused. Whatever I was lying on was not a pillow¡­

    It was hard and warm and moving up and down. I lifted my head to get a better look.

    I was lying on the chest of a very, very muscr sleeping man.

    I looked at his face.

    Oh my G od. It was Grayson.

    Everything that had happened in thest day suddenly came flooding back to me: the ne, his eyes, him strangling someone.

    My hand flew up to touch my

    He bit me!

    n*eck, and I whimpered when I felt a tender wound.

    Grayson stirred in his sleep, and I panicked for a moment. Had I woken him up? Then he yanked me back to his chest and tightened his arms around me. He pressed his nose to my hair and let out a satisfied grumble.

    I held my breath, waiting for more movement, but none came. He was still asleep.

    Thank G od.

    I panicked for a second, wondering why I was alone in a room with him sleeping. I remembered

    nothing about how I had gotten there.

    Í¬

    G od, did I sleep with him?

    I quickly felt for my clothes and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that I was still in the leggingst

    to.

    I quickly felt for my clothes and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that I was still in the leggings and T¨Cshirt that I¡¯d been wearing on the ne. Grayson, however, was only in a pair of boxers.

    I felt my face heat up. Why wasn¡¯t he wearing any clothes?

    I looked around the room. This was definitely not my bedroom back home. From what I could see in the dark, I was in a hotel room¨Ca really nice hotel room.

    It was huge, and the bed I was on had to be bigger than king¨Csize.

    I noticed my luggage in the corner. Okay, that was good. I still had all of my clothes. I stretched my n*eck to see out the window. Lots of lights seemed to being from below¨CI was definitely in a city.

    But what city?

    Was I in Paris or had this sociopath taken me somewhere else?

    I exhaled deeply when I saw something out the window. It was far in the distance, barely visible,

    but it was there: The Eiffel Tower.

    I was in a hotel in Paris with a man I had met on a ne who seemed to have kidnapped me. This was not good.

    I looked back at Grayson. Obviously, I had to get away from him. There was no doubt in my

    mind that he was insane. But how?

    My legs were tangled together with his, and his arms were wrapped tightly around me.

    Could I escape without waking him up?

    I tried moving my legs first, slowly untangling them from his. I looked back at his face. He didn¡¯t

    move.

    Sess! Okay, I can do this.

    I slowly grabbed one of his arms and pried it away from my waist. Grayson mumbled something incoherent. My eyes shot up to him. A frown had formed on his face, but it didn¡¯t seem like he had woken up.

    I waited a few minutes for his face to return to normal before I moved again, then I finally removed his other arm and ced it beside him on the bed.

    b*dy felt cold now that I wasn¡¯t wrapped in his embrace, but I ignored it.

    wly and quietly began to scooch my b*dy away from his, then I crawled to the edge of the enormous bed and twisted around till my feet touched the cold floor.

    Chorious vou divan¨² un my won nudi.

    I was free!

    But I didn¡¯t have time to celebrate. I had to find a phone or a way out of there before Grayson woke up. I scanned the room for a phone, but there was none in sight.

    Okay, so my only option was to leave and make a mad dash to the nearest other human being and ask for help. I tiptoed to the door closest to me, cringing every time the hardwood floor squeaked.

    Right as I was about to put my hand on the handle, a voice spoke:

    ¡°Belle.¡±

    I jumped and let out a terrified shriek. I quickly turned around and saw Grayson lying on his side in the bed, his head propped up by his hand as he watched me, an amused look on his face.

    ¡°Come back to bed,¡± came his husky voice. It sent shivers down my spine. ¡°It¡¯s too early in the morning, and I¡¯m exhausted.¡±

    He rolled onto his back and draped his arm over his eyes, sighing. His chest began to rise and fall rhythmically.

    Had he gone back to sleep? I turned back to the door and pressed down on the handle.

    ¡°That¡¯s a closet, baby doll,¡± his voice said.

    I nced over my shoulder at him. He was still lying on his back, not looking at me.

    I opened the door and peered inside. He was right. This was a closet.

    I raced to the door on the other side of the room and yanked it open. But before I could sprint out, I heard Grayson speak again.

    ¡°Belle, pleasee back to bed. I know you¡¯re freaked out, but I promise I¡¯ll exin everything to youter. I have no energy to deal with this after almost shifting and then marking you.¡±

    I had no clue what he was talking about. Shifting? Marking? He was now looking at me with azy, annoyed expression, as if I was greatly inconveniencing him.

    I was inconveniencing him?

    He had kidnapped me! I was scared out of my mind, and he was just lying there, trying to get his

    uty sleep!?

    crew talking to himter! Screw talking to him ever again!

    I turned back to the door, ready to run out, but his voice stopped me once again.

    Belle, if you leave this room, you will start to feel sick and dizzy. You can¡¯t be away from

    I turned back to the door, ready to run out, but his voice stopped me once again.

    ¡°Belle, if you leave this room, you will start to feel sick and dizzy. You can¡¯t be away from me so soon after marking. I bet that bite mark on your n*eck is already starting to hurt, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but now that he mentioned it, the wound was throbbing¨Calmost as if it

    had its own heartbeat.

    I touched the mark on my n*eck and whimpered as it began to ache in searing pain.

    Grayson sat up, watching my indecisiveness as I continued to nce between him and the door.

    I instinctively took a step in his direction, immediately feeling the pain ease up just a little. Weird¡­

    ¡°See, I know what I¡¯m talking about, don¡¯t I? I know it hurts, baby, bute back to bed, and I can make all the pain go away. I¡¯ll take care of you.¡±

    It was like I was underneath some kind of spell. Without thinking I took a few steps forward, and suddenly my back was pressed to the silk sheets, and Grayson¡¯s delicious b*dy was on top of me.

    I licked my l*ps.

    Wait, did I just call his b*dy delicious?

    It felt like my b*dy was on fire. My gaze dripped down his rugged jawline, his broad shoulders, his muscr chest, his perfect abs that led down a sensual V down to his¡­

    Oh my G od, Bette! Get it together!

    I tried to shake my head clear, but suddenly his fingers were trailing up my thighs and I forgot

    my own name.

    ¡°Rx, beautiful.¡± His husky voice sent shivers down my spine. ¡°I¡¯m going to take you to heaven.¡±

 Chapter 6

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 4

    2

    BELLE

    There was something about Grayson that made me lose all control of myself whenever he touched me. I mean, he¡¯d nearly just killed a man, and there I was making out with him in a bathroom.

    He pulled my lower l*p into his mouth and sucked. I moaned loudly.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I whimpered.

    He groaned. ¡°Keep saying my name like that, baby.¡±

    He brought my earlobe into his mouth and bit down softly, then moved his l*ps down to my n*eck to suck, leaving several h ickeys behind.

    He ground his hips against mine, hitting me in just the right spot, and I gasped, my head falling back against the mirror behind me.

    I saw stars¨Creal stars.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± I yelled.

    How could he make me feel so good without even taking off a single article of clothing? This man had to be some sort of S** g od.

    There were people pounding on the door, probably worried about me being alone with the psychotic man who had nearly killed someone¡­

    But we were both too wrapped up in our euphoric feelings to pay attention to anything else.

    His l*ps found the spot on my n*eck he¡¯d been k*ssing earlier, and my b*dy had a literal convulsion as he sucked on it and licked it.

    I ground my core into his hips as if I were some animal in heat-

    Until blinding¨Chot pain shot through my system as his teeth suddenly plunged into my n*eck.

    reamed and tried to shove him away from me, but his arms only held me tighter to his torso. UNLIMITED ht as I thought I would pass out from the pain, it turned into something else.

    Warm pleasure ran through me, and I let out a sigh of relief and then a moan.

    Warm pleasure ran through me, and I let out a sigh of rellen au

    Wow, this is the best thing I¡¯ve felt in my entire life.

    I was ovee by the sudden need to be closer to Grayson and to never let him leave me, even though his teeth were still lodged in my n*eck.

    I ran my hands up his chest, to his shoulders, and then around his n*eck.

    I pulled his chest into mine and wrapped my legs around his hips. My forehead rested on his shoulder.

    Grayson slowly retracted his teeth from my n*eck, licking the wound he had just made, and ran his hand up and down my back.

    I shuddered. His touch was feeling ten times better than before.

    Is that even possible?

    I leaned back to look at him. His eyes weren¡¯t ck anymore.

    ¡°You bit me,¡± I said. My eyelids were drooping, all the energy starting to leave my b*dy.

    Grayson nodded. His expression looked pained.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry. I had to.¡±

    I nodded my head as if I understood, but really, I had no f ucking clue what was going on. I felt

    drunk.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I slurred out, patting his cheek lightly. ¡°Just don¡¯t do it again, okay?¡±

    He smiled. ¡°Okay.¡±

    I smiled back. I touched his face with both of my hands, squishing his cheeks together.

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re pretty. Like really pretty¡­¡±

    Heughed. The sound made me happy.

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m d you think so,¡± he said.

    I giggled. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re d I think so because I really think so.¡± I smiled at him.

    G

    v head dropped onto his n*eck.

    UNLIMITED cided I wanted to keep k*ssing him. I pressed my l*ps to his n*eck, trying to move them the

    same way that he had against mine.

    He groaned deeply.

    He groaned deeply.

    ¡°No. No, stop, baby girl. No more k*ssing today.¡± He moved me away from him.

    I pouted. ¡°Why not?¡±

    He smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, then ran his thumb over my cheekbone. ¡°Trust me, there will be plenty of k*ssingter. You need sleep.¡±

    I yawned at the thought. Sleep. Sleep sounded good. Not as good as k*ssing, but close. I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder again.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, nuzzling into his n*eck. ¡°We can k*ss when I wake up?¡±

    Heughed again. ¡°We can k*ss as much as you want when you wake up.¡±

    The thought made me happy; and I sighed. Okay, then.

    He tightened his arms around me and rubbed his nose right where he¡¯d just bit me. I shivered.

    Huh. That felt good.

    ¡°Go to sleep, Belle. I¡¯ve got you.¡±

    My vision began to fade, a random jumble of images shing through my mind.

    Grayson¡¯s monstrous strength.

    His irresistible touch.

    The feeling of his teeth sinking into my n*eck.

    His beautiful eyes that sometimes turned into a pureck, bottomless pit.

    I could only think of one thing as sleep overcame me.

    What have I gotten myself into?

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    Grayson leaned down, pressing his weight into me.

    I felt helpless underneath him, trapped¡­but in a good way. A part of me wanted to submit, to surrender myself to this g od of a man.

    His finger trailed up my inner thigh, his l*ps dragging down my corbone.

    ¡°Grayson¡­¡± I whispered, breath ragged with desire.

    The shrill ring of a cell phone interrupted us and a deep growl emanated from him, his eyes never leaving mine.

    ¡°Give me a moment, love,¡± Grayson said, clearly annoyed. He stood up and walked toward the dresser, giving me a moment to breathe.

    My heart was trying to pound itself out of my chest.

    Was I seriously about to sleep with a man that just kidnapped me?

    I had to get out of here. Heck, I had to call the police!

    Grayson had his back turned to me, staring down at his phone.

    Now or never.

    I stood up and dashed for the door, running as fast as I could.

    I heard a loud, annoyed groan behind me as I ran down the hallway. I assumed the sound came from him. At the end of the hall, I came to a staircase and rushed down it, bracing myself against the wall to keep from falling because of my shaky legs.

    When I reached the bottom, I expected to find another floor of hotel rooms, but was surprised to find myself in the middle of a luxurious open living room, with a huge kitchen just off to the side. This hotel room has two floors? What kind of hotel is this?

    UNLIMITED

    antically looked around for anything that could help me.

    ¡°Luna? What are you doing? Where¡¯s the alpha?¡± someone called from another room.

    ¡°Luna? What are you doing? where s the alpha? someone called from another room.

    There was a man standing at the kitchen counter. He was holding a cup of coffee and looking at me as if I were insane.

    I recognized him! He had been on the ne! He was the one who had told me to k*ss Grayson!

    ¡°Oh, thank G od!¡± I yelled, rushing over to the kitchen.

    ¡°You-¡± The room suddenly began to spin, and the bite on my n*eck throbbed and burned painfully. I shook my head to clear my muggy thoughts.

    ¡°Help me! That man kidnapped me! I need to call 911!¡±

    He stood and approached me slowly, like I was a wild animal that would bolt if he made any sudden movements. ¡°Hey, hey. You¡¯re okay. He didn¡¯t kidnap-¡±

    His words stopped and his eyes suddenly turned a gray color. He stared off into space, almost as if he were in a trance. I backed away from him, startled.

    ¡°Yes. Yes, she is,¡± he said.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked. Is he talking to me?

    He didn¡¯t pay any attention to me. He just kept staring at nothing.

    ¡°Of course, Alpha,¡± he said. His eyes went back to normal, and he looked at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t leave.¡±

    Okay, so he¡¯s crazy too. Noted.

    I turned around and scanned the room for a way out. There was a door on the other side of the kitchen. The front door, from the look of it. Yes!

    I rushed past Grayson¡¯s crazy friend and tried to make my way to it, but stumbled over my feet. I braced myself against the wall next to me.

    The burning sensation from the bite on my n*eck was traveling down my b*dy in slow, torturous waves. My stomach churned.

    It felt like I was going to vomit.

    What the hell is happening? Was this what Grayson had been talking about when he said I would start feeling sick?

    ed to push through the pain as I continued to struggle toward the door. But the world was spinning too fast and my knees were feeling too weak, and I fell to the ground.

    ¡°Luna!¡± the man shouted behind me.

    Tears were running down my face; the fire inside me was too much to handle. I screamed.

    ¡°Make it stop!¡± I shouted. ¡°Make it stop!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Luna! The alpha will be here soon!¡± The man next to me said. He touched my shoulder, but it only seemed to stoke the mes moving through my b*dy.

    I shoved his hand away from me. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± I sobbed, folding in on myself.

    ¡°Alpha, please hurry!¡± the man shouted.

    Through my s obs I could hear quick footsteps entering the room.

    ¡°Belle!¡± Grayson shouted.

    Just his voice made the fire die down a bit, and I reached for him, desperate for the pain to go away. He sprinted across the kitchen and shoved the other man away from me.

    I felt a twinge of disappointment when I noticed that Grayson was wearing sweatpants now instead of boxers. I wanted as much soothing skin-to-skin contact as I could get.

    At least he¡¯s still shirtless.

    Once he reached me, he immediately scooped me up in his arms.

    I wrapped myself around him like a sloth to a tree, making it so as much of me was touching him as possible.

    I had my legs on either side of him, my arms tightly around his n*eck. Thankfully, the fire died down as I sobbed into his chest, but the pain was still almost unbearable.

    ¡°Shh,¡± Grayson said, sitting down in a nearby chair with me still wrapped around him. ¡°I know, baby, I know.¡±

    ¡°Please make it stop,¡± I begged.

    Grayson suddenlytched on to my bite mark and sucked on it, running his tongue over it.

    I moaned loudly. Not only did it feel amazing, but it also made all of my pain go away.

    Still shaking from the trauma, I clung onto Grayson for dear life as his skillful mouth kept working at my n*eck.

    I was so enraptured in the incredible sensation that I barely even registered when his friend eventually muttered something and left the room. I thought that once the pain went away, he

    ld stop k*ssing me, but he didn¡¯t. He just kept going, moving up my n*eck to my jaw, until he MITEDly

    lly reached my mouth.

    His l*ps felt like silk against mine.

    The k*ss was sweet and slow, but I could feel hunger brimming inside of it.

    The k*ss was sweet and slow, but I could feel hunger brimming inside of it.

    It was passionate. I had k*ssed no one like this. I had never felt like this before.

    Grayson pulled away briefly, then ced his forehead against mine. Both of us were breathing deeply. He pecked my l*ps one more time.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± he whispered. He rubbed his nose against mine.

    I looked deep into his eyes.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that our bond was so strong. I thought I would just let you walk around for a bit, get morefortable, and thene find you. I didn¡¯t know your pain would be that bad. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± He k*ssed me again. ¡°I never want you to be in pain.¡±

    ¡°It happened because I was away from you?¡± I asked.

    He nodded and buried his face in my hair, breathing in deeply. We stayed like that for a while, just holding each other, my b*dy still calming down.

    I had given up trying to understand anything that was going on.

    I was m entally exhausted, unable to process any of the information being thrown my way.

    The most confusing part of all of this was how attracted I was to Grayson. I had seen him strangle that creep on the ne; I was aware of the fact that he had kidnapped me; I knew how touchy he was.

    But for some reason, when he was nearby, I wanted to be closer to him, to keep touching him and talking to him.

    I actually wanted to get to know my kidnapper.

    There had to be something wrong with me. Why am I so obsessed with him?

    Grayson¡¯s hands gripped my waist and ran up and down my sides. He leaned back to look at me. ¡°Will you

    I knew I should say no. But I just didn¡¯t want to. It was as simple as that. I didn¡¯t want to say no, So I said yes.

    Grayson smiled and k*ssed my l*ps once more. He moved his hands under my butt and stood up, still holding me in his arms.

    G

    LINLIMITED

    dhe¡¯s strong.

    ¡°You can put me down,¡± I said as he walked us toward the room we¡¯d originally woken up in. ¡°I can walk.¡±

    Te leaned down so his mouth was touching my ear. ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡±

    Well then.

    He entered the room and gently set me down in the middle of the bed. I frowned when he stopped touching me. He stood back and took off his sweatpants.

    I watched his muscles ripple with his movement.

    I swallowed. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    He smirked. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get hot while we¡¯re sleeping.¡±

    He slowly made his way toward me while maintaining intense eye contact. He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me onto my back. Then he crawled on top of me.

    ¡°You smell far too good,¡± he said, running his nose up and down my n*eck.

    I couldn¡¯t respond. I was too overwhelmed.

    He left a quick k*ss on my l*ps and then looked at me. ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep, hmm?¡±

    I nodded.

    Hey down next to me so he was facing me and put his hand on my waist. His eyes searched my face. ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful.¡±

    I looked away from him, not knowing how to respond. I felt his hand move under my shirt and up my back, where he started messing with the sp of my bra.

    I immediately grabbed his arm and looked at him.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Shh,¡± he said and unsped my bra. ¡°It can¡¯t befortable.¡±

    Never taking his eyes from mine, he guided my arms out of my sleeves, inside my shirt, encouraging me to sl*p out of

    my bra.

    I slid my arms through the straps, and Grayson slowly reached under my shirt and grabbed the offending article of clothing, pulling it out and tossing it onto the floor.

    He watched me sl*p my arms back through my sleeves and pull my shirt down.

    ¡°See? That¡¯s better,¡± he said. And then he turned my b*dy so I was facing away from him.

    G

    ugged me back to his chest and spooned me, wrapping an arm around my waist and rubbing my stomach.

    Slow

    your heart rate, Belle. It¡¯s going a mile a minute. Take some deep breaths.¡±

    He was right. My anxiety was through the roof. I tried breathing in deeply.

    ¡°There we go.¡± Grayson k*ssed the back of my n*eck. ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe how exhausted I was. I felt like all I had done for the past day was sleep, and yet I still felt myself slowly drifting away. I had no idea how long I¡¯d been asleep for the next time I woke up. All I knew was that I was burning up. I was unbelievably hot.

    Still half asleep, I threw the nket off of me and squirmed. It did nothing.

    Grayson¡¯s b*dy wrapped around me wasn¡¯t helping either. I readjusted my legs, trying to get morefortable.

    My leggings felt like fire against my skin.

    Grayson stirred behind me, then I felt his hand reach into my leggings and tug them down.

    My eyes still half hooded, I put my hand over his and mumbled something incoherent, trying to ask what he was doing.

    ¡°Just take them off, baby. I promise I won¡¯t look. You¡¯re burning up.¡±

    I was really hot and still exhausted. All I wanted to do was nuzzle into Grayson¡¯s chest again and go back to sleep. I nodded.

    I felt Grayson sit up and perch above me so that his knees were on either side of me.

    He h ooked his thumbs into the sides of my leggings and tugged them down. I wiggled around so he could move them over my butt.

    When they were finally off, Grayson threw them onto the floor.

    I was hugely relieved when the cool air hit my legs. Hey back down next to me and brought me to his chest. I h ooked a leg around him and buried my face into his n*eck.

    Grayson let out an appreciative rumble. His hand moved under my shirt and onto the small of my back.

    Thest thing I thought before I fell asleep was, I think he lied when he said he wouldn¡¯t look.

 Chapter 7

    apter 7

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    I woke up before Grayson did, and I had no clue what to do. I could feel his breath against the back of my n*eck, slow and steady. I thought of my mom and wondered if she was worried after I hadn¡¯t shown up at her apartmentst night.

    Maybe she would call the police and they¡¯de looking for me.

    But there was arge chance that she hadn¡¯t even noticed I wasn¡¯t there or just assumed that I hadn¡¯te out of anger. That sounded like something I would do. So it would be smart not to rely on her trying to find me.

    I was on my own. I had to find my way out of here. But how?

    I could try to run away again, but the memory of the pain that I¡¯d experienced earlier this morning went through my mind. There was no way I was doing that again.

    So I had some options: I couldpletely give up-just lie there and wait for Grayson to wake up, and let him have his way with me.

    Why does that sound like a good option?

    I could wait for Grayson to wake up, then pretend to still be asleep till he hopefully left the room, then try to find my way out.

    I could act sweet and like I trusted him, and then pull a sneak attack and try to knock him out- with amp or something, and then run away.

    I could be really, horribly mean to him and hope that he got sick of me and kicked me to the curb. That could work, right?

    I could hope that my mom actually did care about my absence enough to call the police.

    It¡¯s unlikely but it could happen.

    It suddenly urred to me that it was Christmas Eve. I was supposed to be with my family

    brating Christmas in Paris, enjoying life for the first time since my dad had died.

    G

    UNLIMITED

    My dad. G od I missed him.

    If I had knownst year that it was thest Christmas that I would spend with him, I wouldn¡¯t

    have taken it for granted. We¡¯d always had the best Christmases together.

    Since I wasn¡¯t in touch with any of my grandparents on either side of my family, it had always been just the two of us. We would watch Christmas movies and eat until we couldn¡¯t eat anymore. We¡¯d exchange presents, sing Christmas carols, decorate the tree, and enjoy each

    other¡¯spany.

    It had always been my favorite day of the year: no worries, just me and my dad on Christmas.

    I felt tears well up in my eyes and I sniffled, trying to get them to stop.

    Now was not the time to feel sorry for myself. I had to figure out how to get out of this hotel suite, which was starting to feel more like a prison. I didn¡¯t even care about seeing my mom for Christmas anymore, I just wanted to go home.

    I have a life to live!

    Yes, my dad was dead. And that was unbelievably devastating, and I missed him every single day. But just because he was dead didn¡¯t mean that I was.

    I was alive.

    And there was no longer anything stopping me from living. I no longer had anyone to take care of besides myself.

    I could go to college. I could make friends.

    I could go out dancing and drinking at bars and meet boys and make bad decisions and get a new apartment and a cat and a fancy job. There was nothing stopping me.

    Okay, so there was one thing stopping me. And that thing was breathing on my n*eck and had its arms wrapped around me and was unbelievably good-looking.

    That thing was the huge man behind me who had kidnapped me and imed that I now belonged to him.

    G od, what¡¯s wrong with me?

    I thought aboutst night and how I had basically just let Grayson do whatever he wanted with me. I had just fallen into his arms and given up.

    I had spent too much of my life giving up, feeling powerless and alone, letting life just have its horrible way with me. No more. I was going to live my

    life.

    nothing and nob*dy would stop me.

    I felt Grayson move behind me. Oh G od, he¡¯s waking up.

    I immediately closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. Hopefully he would just leave and I could jump out the window or something.

 Chapter 8

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 8

    BELLE

    Grayson¡¯s arm tightened around me, then he slowly moved and pressed his l*ps to my ear.

    ¡°Good morning, baby,¡± he whispered.

    He brought my earlobe into his mouth and bit down softly. It felt incredible, but I didn¡¯t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

    Oh G od. Oh Go d. Oh G od. Do not move, Belle. Do not make a sound. You¡¯re sleeping, remember?

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I know you¡¯re awake, Belle.¡± He k*ssed my n*eck.

    He¡¯s lying. He doesn¡¯t know that. How could he know that?

    ¡°We¡¯re ying pretend, are we? Okay, let¡¯s y.¡±

    What? What the hell does he mean by that?

    I wasn¡¯t in the mood for games. Well, I didn¡¯t want to be in the mood, but I also couldn¡¯t deny the heat starting to build between my thighs¡­

    I felt him move so that he was on top of me. I instinctively spread my legs just a little so he could put his b*dy between them.

    Grayson chuckled.

    Shi t, did he notice me do that? He did, didn¡¯t he?

    I tried to keep my b*dy limp and my breathing regr. No matter what Grayson does, no matter how much I like it, I¡¯m asleep.

    One of his hands grabbed onto my waist and then ran over my stomach. Then he slowly leaned down and brought his l*ps to mine.

    This isn¡¯t fair! His l*ps felt too good against mine¨Clike fireworks. I wanted to scream, or k*ss

    back, but I couldn¡¯t. I was trying to prove a point. I would not make out with my kidnapper!

    IMITED

    No matter how much I want to.

    Don¡¯t move, Belle.

    But as he continued to press his soft l*ps into mine, I couldn¡¯t help but open my mouth just the tiniest bit, inviting him inside. I felt his deep rumble ofughter. Even with my eyes closed, I knew that he was smirking. S hit. F uck. Shi tting, f ucking hell.

    I kept my eyes closed. What is wrong with me?.

    Why can¡¯t I control myself?

    He leaned down and whispered against my ear: ¡°I like this game.¡±

    He k*ssed along my jaw and gripped my waist harder, bringing his hand up so that his thumb was brushing underneath my breast. I squirmed a bit.

    ¡°Just open your eyes, Belle.¡±

    I didn¡¯t move.

    ¡°No?¡± he asked.

    I didn¡¯t respond. Maybe he¡¯ll give up?

    Oh, please just give up. I didn¡¯t know how much longer I could hold out. I was two seconds away from shoving my tongue down his throat.

    ¡°Okay. Have it your way.¡±

    He began trailing open¨Cmouthed k*sses along my jaw again.

    Sh it. So he isn¡¯t giving up.

    His l*ps continued moving down my n*eck as his hands massaged my waist through my T¨Cshirt. For a second, I wished I wasn¡¯t wearing one. And then Grayson found the spot where he had bitten me. I gasped and my back arched so that my chest was touching his.

    G od, that spot was like a second G¨Cspot.

    I moaned but still kept my eyes closed.

    ¡°Uh¨Chuh. That¡¯s what I thought,¡± he said. He licked up the side of my n*eck, and I squirmed. He moved back a bit.

    G¡¯re still not going to open our eyes?¡±

    I was just being stubborn. We both knew I was awake. But I would not let him win this battle. I would not lose.

    I would not open my eyes.

    Ishook my head.

    He chuckled. ¡°Huh, my mate is stubborn.¡± He pressed one of his knees up against my cro tch. I could feel his breath on my face.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± he whispered.

    His mouthtched on to my n*eck once more, and I moaned again. He k*ssed down to my corbone and then ran his nose up and down between my breasts.

    I arched my back again, breathless.

    He lifted my shirt a bit and k*ssed around my belly button.

    Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?

    Then his hand went beneath my panties and gripped my hip bone.

    Wait, what? My panties? What happened to my leggings?

    I suddenly remembered Grayson taking them offst night. Hadn¡¯t he taken off my bra too?

    So that meant¡­ I was lying in bed, braless, wearing only my white see¨Cthrough T¨Cshirt and my bluece thong.

    That was it.

    And the man who¡¯d kidnapped me had one hand under that same bluece thong with the other on my rib cage under my breast as his mouth traveled closer and closer to, ahem, a very personal

    area.

    My eyes

    flew open.

    I screamed and began kicking my legs at Grayson. Hopefully, I hit him in the face.

    Hopefully, I broke his nose.

    I shoved his hands away from me and jumped out of the bed.

    I ran my hands through my hair and began pacing back and forth. I definitely did not win that battle.

    Da mmit.

    G

    oked at Grayson. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his arms, and ching me, an amused look in his eyes.

    His gaze moved up and down my figure, and he licked his l*ps.

    had forgotten that I was basically n*ked. I was basically n*ked!

    12:05 Sat, 23 Decti

    I quickly grabbed the nket off of the bed and wrapped it around myself, ring at Grayson.

    His smile just widened.

    ¡°You know, this entire situation could¡¯ve been avoided if you had just opened your eyes.¡±

    I huffed. ¡°Oh yeah?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re never touching me again. Ever. Again.¡±

    His eyes darkened, not fully to ck, but more of a dark green.

    He stood. I took a step back.

    He watched me move away from him out of fright and paused. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

    When he opened them again; they were back to normal. He looked at me and sighed.

    ¡°Go take a shower, baby. I¡¯m going to go make breakfast.¡± He walked past me and out the door.

    For a few seconds, I stood there. I rubbed my face with my hands. Okay then. He was gone. That was easier than I¡¯d expected.

    I guess it¡¯s time to get out of here.

    B

    BELLE

    There was no way I was taking a shower like he wanted me to. Who knew how long I had before he woulde looking for me?

    I dropped the nket I¡¯d been holding around me and then quickly went over to where my leggings and bra were lying on the floor and grabbed them. I went to the bathroom. First, I\ turned on the shower. It would give me more time if he thought I was doing as he told me.

    Next, I used the toilet¨CI hadn¡¯t gone to the bathroom in a long time¡ªand then I put on my bra and leggings.

    I looked at the bathroom door. Okay, time to get out of here.

    Leaving the shower on, I exited the bathroom and made my way over to the window.

    I hadn¡¯t noticed before, but there was a balcony connected to the room. Convenient.

    Before going outside, I gazed at my luggage longingly. I wanted to bring it with me, but I couldn¡¯t let it slow me down.

    I would have to send the police toe get itter, after I¡¯d gotten out of here.

    I walked out onto the balcony. Wow. It was high up. There were several floors of the hotel below me. I looked up. There were no other floors above me.

    We were on the top floor. We were on the f ucking top floor.

    Was there another way out of there?

    The front door was by the kitchen, and there¡¯d be no way to get to it without passing Grayson since he was making breakfast. So that wasn¡¯t an option. And I hadn¡¯t seen any other doors.

    I looked to my left. There was a staircase outside of the window in the next room over. I was assuming it was a fire escape.

    at could work!

    IMITED out of the room and snuck into the one next door. This room was identical to the one that Grayson and I had spent the night in. I went to the window and shoved it open. I climbed out of it and made my way onto the fire escape.

 Chapter 9

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 9

    BELLE

    There was no way I was taking a shower like he wanted me to. Who knew how long I had before he woulde looking for me?

    I dropped the nket I¡¯d been holding around me and then quickly went over to where my leggings and bra were lying on the floor and grabbed them. I went to the bathroom. First, I turned on the shower. It would give me more time if he thought I was doing as he told me.

    Next, I used the toilet¨CI hadn¡¯t gone to the bathroom in a long time¨Cand then I put on my bra and leggings.

    I looked at the bathroom door. Okay, time to get out of here.

    Leaving the shower on, I exited the bathroom and made my way over to the window.

    I hadn¡¯t noticed before, but there was a balcony connected to the room. Convenient.

    Before going outside, I gazed at my luggage longingly. I wanted to bring it with me, but I couldn¡¯t let it slow me down.

    I would have to send the police toe get itter, after I¡¯d gotten out of here.

    I walked out onto the balcony. Wow. It was high up. There were several floors of the hotel below me. I looked up. There were no other floors above me.

    We were on the top floor. We were on the f ucking top floor.

    Was there another way out of there?

    The front door was by the kitchen, and there¡¯d be no way to get to it without passing Grayson since he was making breakfast. So that wasn¡¯t an option. And I hadn¡¯t seen any other doors.

    I looked to my left. There was a staircase outside of the window in the next room over. I was assuming it was a fire escape.

    at could work!

    LIMITED out of the room and snuck into the one next door. This room was identical to the one that Grayson and I had spent the night in. I went to the window and shoved it open. I climbed out of it and made my way onto the fire escape.

    at 23 Dec

    Oh my G od, this might work.

    As quietly as I could. I ran down the stairs. I was aware of the fact that the next window I¡¯d pass would lead to the floor that Grayson was on. I needed to be careful, quick, and quiet.

    Right before I was about to pass in front of it, I paused. It was open. The window was freaking open. That would make things a lot harder.

    I can do this. I have to do this.

    Quickly, I crept past the open window without even a nce inside.

    Just as I was about to make it to the set of steps that would lead me to the next floor, a hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me backward.

    I screamed blo ody murder as I was tugged through the window and thrown over someone¡¯s shoulder. I tried kicking and pounding on the back of whoever was holding me, but they wouldn¡¯t let me go.

    ¡°No! Put me down!¡± I screamed. ¡°Let me go!¡±

    At first I thought it was Grayson who was holding me. But there were no sparks, and this person¡¯s touch made my skin crawl.

    And then Grayson spoke: ¡°Bring her over here, Kyle.¡±

    I was carried into the kitchen and then ced on a counter. Grayson was standing next to me, stirring eggs in a skillet on the stove.

    ¡°Hi there,¡± he said casually, ncing up at me.

    I swallowed. Was he mad? He knew I was trying to escape.

    ¡°Hi.¡± I breathed out.

    He turned back to his scrambled eggs. ¡°Kyle, will you go turn off the shower upstairs please?¡±

    Kyle nodded. ¡°Of course, Alpha.¡± He gave me onest look and bit his l*p, trying to hide his smile. I red at him.

    He chuckled and walked away, shaking his head.

    So trying to escape hadn¡¯t worked. It was now time for n B: act sweet and nice until Grayson

    ts me, and then somehow get out of here.

    UNLIMITED

    Grayson turned to the kitchen ind behind him and began to cut strawberries.

    ¡°So

    you didn¡¯t want to take a shower, huh?¡±

    How do I respond to that? ¡°Um¡­no.¡± Chapter 9 of 61

    bat. 25 Dec

    50%

    Oh my G od, this might work.

    As quietly as I could, I ran down the stairs. I was aware of the fact that the next window I¡¯d pass would lead to the floor that Grayson was on. I needed to be careful, quick, and quiet.

    Right before I was about to pass in front of it, I paused. It was open. The window was freaking open. That would make things a lot harder.

    I can do this. I have to do this.

    Quickly, I crept past the open window without even a nce inside.

    Just as I was about to make it to the set of steps that would lead me to the next floor, a hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me backward.

    I screamed blo ody murder as I was tugged through the window and thrown over someone¡¯s shoulder. I tried kicking and pounding on the back of whoever was holding me, but they wouldn¡¯t let me go.

    ¡°No! Put me down!¡± I screamed. ¡°Let me go!¡±

    At first I thought it was Grayson who was holding me. But there were no sparks, and this person¡¯s touch made my skin crawl.

    And then Grayson spoke: ¡°Bring her over here, Kyle.¡±

    I was carried into the kitchen and then ced on a counter. Grayson was standing next to me, stirring eggs in a skillet on the stove.

    ¡°Hi there,¡± he said casually, ncing up at me.

    I swallowed. Was he mad? He knew I was trying to escape.

    ¡°Hi,¡± I breathed out.

    He turned back to his scrambled eggs. ¡°Kyle, will you go turn off the shower upstairs please?¡±

    Kyle nodded. ¡°Of course, Alpha.¡± He gave me onest look and bit his l*p, trying to hide his smile. I red at him.

    He chuckled and walked away, shaking his head.

    So trying to escape hadn¡¯t worked. It was now time for n B: act sweet and nice until Grayson

    ts me, and then somehow get out of here.

    Grayson turned to the kitchen ind behind him and began to cut strawberries.

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t want to take a shower, huh?¡±

    How do I respond to that? ¡°Um¡­no.¡±

    do I respond to that? ¡°Um¡­no.¡±

    50%

    Uh-huh¡­ Grayson opened the cab next to me and grabbed a bowl, then turned back to the strawberries he¡¯d just cut and put them in there.

    ¡°What were you doing outside?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­I-I.¡± I stuttered. ¡°I wanted to get some fresh air!¡±

    That¡¯s believable, right?

    ¡°Out on the fire escape?¡± he asked, setting the bowl down next to me on the counter.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t

    scrambled

    you just go out onto the balcony connected to our room?¡± He went back to the eggs and turned off the burner.

    Yeah, why didn¡¯t I just go out to the balcony? That was a great question. Nooked down at myp..

    ¡°I¡­ Uh, well, I¡­¡±

    Grayson¡¯s hand was suddenly on my knee.

    ¡°Here, try this.¡± He put his finger in my mouth. Whatever was on his finger tasted incredible. It was sweet and lemony.

    With his finger still in my mouth, I brought my gaze up to Grayson¡¯s. His eyes were pitch ck. I moved my head back until his finger exited my mouth with a satisfying pop.

    ¡°Do

    you like it?¡± he asked, his voice deep and husky.

    I nodded.

    J

    ¡°It¡¯s for the lemon loaf,¡± he exined. His eyes never left my l*ps. ¡°You¡¯ve got a little something right there.¡±

    He stepped in between my legs and put his hand on the back of my n*eck, guiding my face closer

    to his.

    I thought seriously about pushing him away, but then my act of being sweet would be over already.

    He took my lower l*p into his mouth and sucked it clean.

    I leaned in closer to him, unable to control myself and wanting to press my l*ps to his, but he

    uptly moved

    away.

    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± he said. ¡°I forgot you didn¡¯t want me to touch you.¡±

    Honestly, I had forgotten too.

    Fred at him. I knew what he was doing. He couldn¡¯t just get me all worked up and then not

    Chapter 9 of 61

    THIL I KNOW What ne was doing. Me couran i just get me a worked up and we TH?I That just wasn¡¯t fair.

    He raised his eyebrows at me as if challenging me to take back my words.

    Nope, I wasn¡¯t going to do that.

    He ced his hand on my cheek.

    ¡°The next time I k*ss you will be when you ask for it.¡±

    Well, that worked for me. That meant I would never k*ss him again. And I don¡¯t want to. I told myself.

    He backed away from me after I nodded.

    Noticing how dark his eyes had be, I tried to change the subject.

    ¡°Why do your eyes turn ck?¡±

    The first time his eyes had turned ck it had really freaked me out. I mean, that¡¯s not normal. But now that I had seen it happen multiple times, I was getting used to it.

    In fact, not only was I used to it, I almost found itforting. There was something about Grayson¡¯s ck eyes that drew me in, made me feel protected and safe.

    His eyes snapped to mine. They were still ck. ¡°It¡¯s a very long story.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got time.¡± Especially now that it looked like I wouldn¡¯t be getting out of here anytime soon.

    He grabbed a te from the cupboard and filled it with the scrambled eggs he¡¯d been making. Then he walked over to the extravagant dining table in the far corner of the room. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but the table was covered in breakfast foods.

    There were croissants, pancakes, fruit, pastries, hash browns, eggs, bacon strips, sausages, and much more¡ªnot to mention coffee and juice in crystal ssware.

    I gawked at the huge spread.

    Grayson paused when he saw my shocked face.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know what you liked, so I just got everything I could think of. Some of the food I made, and some ordered from room service.¡±

    G

    That¡¯s a lot of food,¡± I said.

    LIMITED walked toward me, smiling. ¡°Just eat what you want, love.¡±

    He stood in front of me and picked me up, wrapping my legs around him as if I were a child.

    I was about to protest and demand that he put me down, but then I remembered that I was acting

    wrapped my arms around his n*eck and rested my head on his shoulder.

    A deep rumble came from his chest as his arms tightened around me.

    He sat down on a chair at the table, keeping me in hisp. He pulled two tes in front of us. 1 was ufortable sitting in hisp. I squirmed a bit.

    ¡°I can sit in my own chair.¡± I said.

    ¡°No. The closer you are to me, the easier this transition will be for you.¡±

    He put some eggs on my te. And then some pancakes. And some bacon. And a muf fin. And everything else that was in arm¡¯s length.

    ¡°Is that all for me?¡± I asked. He couldn¡¯t possibly have expected me to eat all of that.

    Just eat what you want, baby. I know you haven¡¯t eaten since you got on the ne yesterday. I just want to get some calories in you.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s kind of sweet. He wants to take care of me. As far as kidnappers went, he was a nice

    one.

    But I still eyed the food warily. What if he had done something to it? What if it¡¯s poisoned?

    I felt his breath on my ear. ¡°While I¡¯m very d that you¡¯re cautious around strange food, I just need you to eat. I promise there¡¯s nothing wrong with it. Belle.¡±

    He took a bite out of my muf f in to prove his point, then put it back on my te.

    ¡°Now, cat.¡±

    I shakily picked up my fork and scooped some eggs into my mouth.

    He nodded his head approvingly and started filling his own te.

    We sat in silence for a few minutes as I shoveled food into my mouth. I hadn¡¯t realized how hungry I was. Plus, I¡¯ll need my strength if I¡¯m going to get out of here.

    I was going to eat as much as I could. And the food was just really good, too.

    Once I had finally slowed down, I noticed that Grayson was rubbing my leg as he watched me, all while polishing off his own te of food.

    G

    uirmed nervously, but decided not to remove his hand. I could handle him touching me as

    as it didn¡¯t get too intimate.

    ¡°Eat some more,¡± Grayson said.

    I leaned back and shook my head, pushing my te away from me. ¡°If I eat any more, I might

    plode.¡±

    So I wrapped my arms around his n*eck and rested my head on his shoulder.

    A deep rumble came from his chest as his arms tightened around me.

    8.50%

    He sat down on a chair at the table, keeping me in hisp. He pulled two tes in front of us. I was ufortable sitting in hisp. I squirmed a bit.

    ¡°I can sit in my own chair,¡± I said.

    ¡°No. The closer you are to me, the easier this transition will be for you.¡±

    He put some eggs on my te. And then some pancakes. And some bacon. And a muf fin. And everything else that was in arm¡¯s length.

    ¡°Is that all for me?¡± I asked. He couldn¡¯t possibly have expected me to eat all of that.

    ¡°Just eat what you want, baby. I know you haven¡¯t eaten since you got on the ne yesterday. I just want to get some calories in you.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s kind of sweet. He wants to take care of me. As far as kidnappers went, he was a nice

    one.

    But I still eyed the food warily. What if he had done something to it? What if it¡¯s poisoned?

    I felt his breath on my ear. ¡°While I¡¯m very d that you¡¯re cautious around strange food, I just need you to eat. I promise there¡¯s nothing wrong with it, Belle.¡±

    He took a bite out of my muf fin to prove his point, then put it back on my te.

    ¡°Now, eat.¡±

    I shakily picked up my fork and scooped some eggs into. my mouth.

    He nodded his head approvingly and started filling his own te.

    We sat in silence for a few minutes as I shoveled food into my mouth. I hadn¡¯t realized how hungry I was. Plus, I¡¯ll need my strength if I¡¯m going to get out of here.

    I was going to eat as much as I could. And the food was just really good, too.

    Once I had finally slowed down, I noticed that Grayson was rubbing my leg as he watched me, while polishing off his own te of food.

    UNLIMITED

    uirmed nervously, but decided not to remove his hand. I could handle him touching me as g as it didn¡¯t get too intimate.

    ¡°Eat some more,¡± Grayson said.

    I leaned back and shook my head, pushing my te away from me. ¡°If I eat any more, I might

    all

    I squirmed nervously, but decided not to remove his hand. I could handle him touching me as long as it didn¡¯t get too intimate.

    ¡°Eat some more,¡± Grayson said.

    I leaned back and shook my head, pushing my te away from me. ¡°If I eat any more, I might explode.¡±

    ¡°Right. I forgot you can¡¯t eat as much as us.¡±

    I looked back at him. ¡°Us? Who¡¯s us?¡±

    Grayson nodded his head and sighed. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve gotten some rest and some food into your system, I guess I can start answering your questions.¡±

    He ran a hand over his face and then slowly turned my b*dy so I was straddling him.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be scared.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I was not expecting what happened next.

    m

 Chapter 10

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    Grayson started speaking hesitantly. ¡°Well.. I should probably¡­ I guess I¡¯ll start with my eyes.¡±

    I nodded, urging him to go on.

    ¡°My eyes turn ck when I lose control. And it usually has something to do with you.¡±

    ¡°With me? What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    He licked his l*ps.

    ¡°Usually, I have amazing control. In fact, I haven¡¯t lost control in years. Not since puberty. But ever since you¡¯vee into my life, things have changed. You bring out my strongest emotions.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°It usuallyes from one of two emotions. One is anger. Like when I found that man on the ne was harassing you-¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t harassing me,¡± I interrupted. ¡°All he had done was-

    Grayson¡¯s hands gripped my hips tightly.

    ¡°Belle, do not say another word. You do not want to argue with me on this matter. The protectiveness and possessiveness I feel for you are overwhelming.¡±

    I began to shrink in on myself, not liking his words.

    ¡°What¡¯s the other emotion?¡± I whispered.

    He brought his fingers to his temples, massaging them for a moment, then looked at me with a pained expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s when¡­ Well, it happens when I¡­ When I-¡±

    ¡°It happens when he¡¯s turned on. When he¡¯s feeling a little frisky. When he wants to put his d ick Gour¡±

    UNLIMITED

    ¡°Kyle, that¡¯s enough!¡± Grayson¡¯s booming voice interrupted.

    Kyle was now at the bottom of the stairs, smiling widely at both of us. He shrugged. Chapter 10 of 61

    vie was now at the notiom of the stairs, smiling widely at both or us. He shrugged.

    ¡°Just trying to make it easier on ya, Alpha.¡±

    Grayson growled as I quickly scrambled out of hisp, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± I asked once we had the table between us.

    ¡°Your eyes turn ck when you¡¯re mad or when-¡°¡±

    ¡°Yes, when I¡¯m attracted to you. I wish Kyle had put it in nicer words, but what he says is true.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I get why they turn ck¡­ But¡­ How is that even possible? This is crazy!¡±

    Grayson stood and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn¡¯t say anything. I don¡¯t think he liked being called crazy.

    I let out a shaky breath. ¡°Why am I here? What do you want with me?¡±

    His shoulders sagged as he watched me. ¡°Belle,¡± he breathed out. ¡°I wish I could take your fear away.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the cause of my fear,¡± I spat, not even totally convinced of my own words.

    Hurt shed in his eyes and then a deep growl came from his chest.

    I took another step back. ¡°Can I please go home? Will you let me go?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± His voice came out sharp, leaving no room for argument. ¡°I am not letting you go. You are

    mine.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, beginning to feel extremely frustrated. ¡°I am not yours! I am nob*dy¡¯s but my own!¡±

    I watched as his eyes slowly darkened. I knew that this time it wasn¡¯t because of lust. It couldn¡¯t be. And if what he¡¯d told me was true, then his eyes were turning ck out of¡­anger.

    ¡°Your eyes¡­,¡± I said.

    ¡°You¡¯ve upset him,¡± Kyle said,ing toward us. ¡°He doesn¡¯t like you denying his possession of you.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m not his possession!¡± I shouted stubbornly.

    G

    UNLIMITED

    yson¡¯s chest began to heave, and his entire b*dy shook.

    I took another step away from him, my back meeting the kitchen ind.

    ¡°Luna, do not say another word,¡± Kyle said. ¡°His wolf is bing extremely upset.¡±

    12:07 Sat, 23 Dec.

    BUT, M? HIC. Nay duIEI wuru, nyk Balu. 15 Won is uming cauciicly upset.

    ¡°His wolf?¡±

    Grayson let out another low growl.

    Kyle looked at Grayson and nodded. ¡°That is something that he would like to exin to you himself, Luna.¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Exin what to me? I don¡¯t understand! And stop calling me ¡®Luna¡®! My name is Belle!¡±

    Grayson began seething, moving his head around as if there was a kink in his n*eck.

    Kyle turned to me. I must have lookedpletely terrified because his expression softened, like he was trying not to freak me out.

    ¡°You should touch him. You need to calm him down,¡± he said.

    ¡°I am not doing that! I am not touching that lun atic!¡±

    I heard snapping, and my eyes went to Grayson.

    His face wrinkled into an expression of pain as his entire b*dy convulsed forward.

    He bent down, and his shoulder des snapped and jutted upward as his rib cage broke and pushed out against the skin on the other side of his b*dy. Dark fur sprouted from his arms and n*eck, and he yelled out in pain.

    I screamed as he crouched low to the ground, watching as his b*dy contorted and morphed into something else. The sight before me became even more gruesome and horrifying as Grayson let out another yell of pain that turned into a loud growl.

    In my state ofplete shock and terror, I searched the kitchen frantically for a way out- realizing that Grayson¡¯s b*dy was blocking both the front door and the window leading to the fire escape. I ran to where Kyle was standing and grabbed his shoulders.

    ¡°Kyle, we have to get out of here! Please, we have to run!¡±

    Kyle shook his head. ¡°You cannot touch me, Luna,¡± he said as he brushed my hands off of him. ¡°Alpha will not be happy if he sees you touching me.¡±

    Okay, so he¡¯s officially a lost cause.

    UNLIMITED

    oked back at what used to be Grayson just in time to see his nose elongate and turn ck.

    He was now on all fours, with his ears pointing up like a dog¡¯s, and his jaw snapping upward into his newly pointed nose.

    His clothesy around him in shreds¨Chis entire b*dy had grown to be twice his regr size.

    fire escape. I ran to where Kyle was standing and grabbed his shoulders.

    ¡°Kyle, we have to get out of here! Please, we have to run!¡±

    49%

    Kyle shook his head. ¡°You cannot touch me, Luna,¡± he said as he brushed my hands off of him. ¡°Alpha will not be happy if he sees you touching me.¡±

    Okay, so he¡¯s officially a lost cause.

    I looked back at what used to be Grayson just in time to see his nose elongate and turn ck.

    He was now on all fours, with his ears pointing up like a dog¡¯s, and his jaw snapping upward into his newly pointed nose.

    His clothesy around him in shreds¨Chis entire b*dy had grown to be twice his regr size.

    For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

    Kyle and I didn¡¯t dare to move or make a sound. I held my breath, my heart pounding so hard that I could feel it in my chest. And then the thing that used to be Grayson moved.

    It looked at me and I gasped.

    It was an enormous wolf.

    Grayson had turned into a wolf

 Chapter 11

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    I screamed and felt tears ofplete terror

    pour

    down my

    face.

    I ran.

    I wasn¡¯t even sure where I was running to; I just let my legs carry me away from the nightmare that my life had be. I heard heavy paws running after me as I sprinted up the stairs, knowing it was Grayson on my heels.

    I panicked and ran into the first room I came across.

    That room just so happened to be the one I had first woken up in with him

    I mmed the door shut and locked it. I backed away from it.

    It took precisely one second for something hard andrge to start pounding against the door.

    I sobbed as the entire room shook. I continued to step backward until I felt my back meet the window on the other side of the room. I slid down, hugging my knees to my chest.

    He¡¯s trying to break down the door.

    Oh my

    G od. This is how I die.

    The door shuddered like it was seconds away from splintering. In the middle of the pounding, the door handle ji g gled.

    I suddenly heard Kyle¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Luna, let him in! He¡¯s not going to hurt you!¡±

    There was no way in hell I would do that. And by the looks of it, I didn¡¯t have to let Grayson in.. He would do that all on his own. Any second now, the door woulde crashing down.

    And then I would be at his mercy.

    n, just like that, the door exploded away from its hinges and flew into the room, sliding a few UNLIMITED across the floor. Grayson came charging in and his eyes immediately connected with mine. I whimpered, hugging my b*dy tighter, as if it would hide me from the horse-sized wolf in front of me.

    of me.

    He approached me in a regal way, his chest puffed out and his head held high.

    When he was only a foot in front of me, he let out a low growl and bared his teeth.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to assert his dominance over you as you have denied his possession of you. He wants you to submit to him,¡± Kyle said, standing in the doorway, his eyes wide as he watched us.

    ¡°I¨CI¡± I said, trying to speak over my panic.

    ¡°Luna, just do what he wants. You will not like the oue if you do not.¡±

    I looked into the wolf¡¯s terrifying, pitch¨Cck eyes, and he bared his teeth once more.

    I slowly nodded my head, knowing that it would not be smart to upset the animal any more than I already had.

    I looked at Kyle. ¡°How do I submit?¡±

    ¡°You must bare your n*eck to him.¡±

    When I gave him a confused look, he tilted his head to the side and pulled the cor of his shirt

    down to reveal his corbone.

    ¡°Like this. It shows you trust him and submit to his higher rank over you.¡±

    Well, that was thest thing I wanted to do. But I knew I didn¡¯t have another choice¨Cnot if I wanted to get out of this situation alive.

    I nodded.

    I slowly brought a shaky hand up to the cor of my shirt and pulled it down to reveal my corbone. Then I tilted my head to the side.

    A purr¨Clike noise came from the wolf¡¯s chest in appreciation. He leaned forward and ced his nose on my n*eck, right where he¡¯d bit me when he was human.

    He huffed and then ran his tongue up and down my n*eck.

    At first, I leaned away from him, not liking the fact that an animal was licking me. But then I felt narks moving over my b*dy, originating from the spot.

    UNITED my head tilting to give Grayson better ess, almost as if my b*dy was moving out of instinct. I whimpered at the conflicting feelings running through my system. He licked my jugr, and a s ob built up in my chest.

    Do not be scared, Luna,¡± Kyle said from his spot in the doorway.

    49%i

    12:09 Sat, 23 Dec.

    ¡°Do not be scared, Luna,¡± Kyle said from his spot in the doorway.

    ¡°Alpha would never hurt you.¡±

    Grayson froze and turned to face Kyle. He snapped his teeth at him and crouched low to the ground, approaching him slowly and threateningly. Kyle raised his hands in surrender and turned

    to me.

    ¡°Alpha would like me to leave.¡±

    He backed out of the room as Grayson got closer and closer, growling and snarling at him.

    Panic shot through my chest. Kyle couldn¡¯t leave. Then I¡¯d be alone with the giant, livid wolf that wanted to kill me.

    ¡°No, Kyle, please don¡¯t leave. You can¡¯t leave me alone with him. Please, please don¡¯t leave.¡±

    More tears ran down my cheeks. Grayson looked back at me, his eyes softening a bit.

    He let out a quiet bark.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stay. It is not in my nature to disobey him. And he really wants me to leave,¡± Kyle exined, retreating. ¡°He believes I am a threat to you in your overwhelmed state.¡±

    I had no clue how Kyle knew these things, but he seemed so sure of himself and so calm, even though Grayson seemed about ready to murder him.

    Grayson growled again, and Kyle took another step back.

    ¡°No, Kyle,¡± I said frantically, my voice breaking. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me. Please.¡±

    He gave me a sympathetic look. ¡°He won¡¯t hurt you, I promise.¡±

    I sobbed. I was scared out of my mind.

    Kyle nced at me once more before saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± and left the room.

    Leaving me alone with Grayson.

 Chapter 12

    dnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    The wolf approached me slowly, maintaining intense eye contact. I stared back at him, trying to control my shaky breathing.

    He stopped directly in front of my face and let out a puff of air.

    I flinched. More tears ran down my face.

    Grayson whimpered. His wet nose touched mine. Then his tongue ran up my cheek and moved to the other one to do the same.

    I realized then that he was licking up my tears¡ªbut I couldn¡¯t tell if he meant it to beforting or if he was deciding whether he wanted to eat me.

    I flinched again in disgust. I didn¡¯t want his saliva all over my face.

    Grayson whimpered again. He moved back a bit and I felt something tugging on my shirt, and I looked down to see Grayson pulling on it with his teeth.

    ¡°Wh¨Cwhat?¡± I asked.

    He continued to pull on my shirt, slightly yanking me forward.

    I looked at him, confused. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if he could understand me, but then he jerked his head toward the bed and barked loudly.

    ¡°The bed?¡± I asked.

    He gestured with his snout again in confirmation.

    Why would he want me to go to the bed? And more importantly, what did he want to do with me once I got there?

    ¡°Why?¡± I whispered.

    He didn¡¯t respond. He justtched back on to my T¨Cshirt with his mouth and continued to tug, this time with more force.

    I was yanked forward a bit, and I gasped. ¡°Okay, okay.¡±

    I was yanked forward a bit, and I gasped. ¡°Okay, okay.¡±

    I rose from my spot on the floor slowly, never taking my eyes off the wolf in front of me. He moved with me, watching my every movement. Once I was on my feet, I realized just how big he truly was. Even when I was standing, he was taller than me, as big as a horse.

    I approached the bed on shaky legs, noticing that Grayson stayed close, his fur brushing up against me, almost as if he expected me to fall at any moment.

    I slowly sat down and took in a deep breath.

    I looked back at the wolf and gave him a questioning look that said, ¡°What now?¡±

    Grayson came to stand in front of me. He pressed his nose against my chest and nuzzled me.

    ¡°I¡ªwhat?¡± I lost my bnce and ended up on my back, staring at the ceiling. I blinked.

    I felt the bed shake violently, and realized that Grayson wasing to lie down next to me.

    I watched warily as he gotfortable. Hey down and put his head on his paws, then whimpered.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked.

    He closed his eyes and then made a growling noise that sounded suspiciously like a snore. He opened his eyes again and looked at me.

    ¡°You want to go to sleep?¡±

    He barked. He moved forward and touched my arm with his nose. Then he looked at me and barked again.

    ¡°You want me to sleep?¡± I was beyond confused at this point.

    Why did he want me to go to sleep? What good would that do?

    Grayson barked yet again and nodded his big wolf¡¯s head quickly. He stared at me as though he expected me to fall asleep right then and there, but I didn¡¯t.

    I mean, how could I?

    He really was a beautiful animal¨Cterrifying, but beautiful. He was solid ck to match his eyes,

    and strong.

    I looked away. I should not be admiring a monster. My gaze returned to the ceiling as the tears continued to flow. I had calmed down a bit, but still my b*dy shook.

    Out of the corner of my eye I saw Grayson put his head back on his paws as he let out a huff. I could feel his eyes on me, which was unsettling. So Grayson could turn into a wolf.

    I¡¯d been kidnapped by a werewolf who imed I belonged to him. One with absolutely no self¨Ccontrol.

    self¨Ccontrol.

    This was fan¨Cf ucking¨Ctastic!

    It exined a lot, though. It exined his color¨Cchanging eyes, his insanely huge muscles, and his strength.

    I also assumed it had something to do with why Kyle called him ¡°Alpha.¡±

    The word alpha had to do with wolves, right? Or did it only rte to the Greek alphabet?

    I still wasn¡¯t sure why I was being called ¡°Luna¡± though. Or why I had been kidnapped.

    Or what he was nning on doing with me.

    Wey like that for an hour and a half, with my mind racing and him watching me, until eventually my adrenaline ran out and my b*dy stopped shaking. The tears on my cheeks had finally dried, too. I looked at Grayson, and he lifted his head at the movement.

    ¡°Can I get up now?¡±

    He shook his head.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    He only put his head back on his paws and closed his eyes.

    Well, that didn¡¯t give me an answer. And if he was going to take a nap, then there was nothing stopping me from getting up.

    I slowly propped myself up into a sitting position. Grayson didn¡¯t like that at all. He stood and ced one of his enormous paws on my shoulder, putting enough pressure on it that I was forced

    to lie back down.

    Now I huffed.

    ¡°You know I will not be able to sleep, right? So why do I just have to lie here?¡±

    Grayson justy back down, resuming the position that he¡¯d been in before.

    I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. I could feel his eyes roaming my b*dy. ¡°I¡¯m for sure not going to be able to sleep with you staring at me.¡±

    I looked at him only to see that his eyes were now closed.

    Well, that¡¯s better than nothing.

    Another excruciatingly long hour passed like this. My confusion only grew. What was he waiting for? Did he just want me to stay like this forever?

    I¡¯d finally had enough. I didn¡¯t care how big he was or about the fact that he could rip me to

    chrade I couldn¡¯t just lie there anum more

    shreds. I couldn¡¯t just lie there anymore.

    I jerked my b*dy into a sitting position and quickly began scooting toward the end of the bed, hoping to get there before Grayson could stop me.

    I¡¯d barely made it far when he pounced on me, putting his paws on either side of my b*dy and growling.

    ¡°I can¡¯t just lie there anymore! I need to move!¡± I yelled at him.

    He growled and pressed his nose to my chest.

    He forced me back down, so I was lying again. I tried fighting him, but it was no use. He was like a million times stronger than me.

    I huffed out my annoyance.

    I thought he would move away once I was back down, but he didn¡¯t.

    Instead, he lowered so that he was lying on top of me, with his stomach pressing into mine, his legs supporting his weight on either side of me, and his head between my breasts¨Cmaking sure I couldn¡¯t go anywhere.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked.

    I squirmed a bit, trying to get him to move. He just put more weight on me,pletely immobilizing me. Even my arms were stuck underneath him. I couldn¡¯t move at all.

    This was going to be a long day.

 Chapter 13

    Kidnapped By My Mate Chapter 13

    The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I had fallen asleep. After all the protesting I¡¯d done, insisting to the wolf that I wasn¡¯t going to fall asleep, I had. The second thing I noticed was that I was wrapped around another human¡¯s b*dy¡ªa male human.

    And he was running his hand up and down my back in a soothing manner.

    ¡°Grayson?¡±

    He k*ssed my head. ¡°Yeah, beautiful, it¡¯s me.¡±

    I noticed that I was holding on to his b*dy like a ko to a tree.

    I quickly untangled myself from him and sat up a little, feeling my face heat up.

    I looked at him. Did I dream the whole thing?

    ¡°You¡¯re human again?¡±

    He smiled a bit.

    ¡°Yeah. After you fell asleep, my wolf gave me back control, and I shifted back.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to fall asleep,¡± I muttered, angry that I had lost yet another battle with Grayson.

    He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t. You were being stubborn. But thank goodness you did because my wolf would not give me back control until you fell asleep.

    ¡°He was extremely worried about you. It was either force you to sleep orplete the mating process, but I convinced him you needed sleep.¡±

    At the word mating, I realized something.

    ¡°Grayson, if I look down will you be wearing pants?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if when you shifted, you would still have clothes on.

    He smiled widely. ¡°Curious about that, are you? Why don¡¯t you check, baby?¡±

    I gaped at him. ¡°Ew, no!¡± I grabbed a pillow and shoved it in his face. ¡°You¡¯re disgusting!¡±

    Heughed loudly and lifted the sheet from his b*dy. I was afraid to look, but was thankful when I saw boxers covering him.

    ¡°Someday you won¡¯t feel that way,¡± he said. ¡°Someday you¡¯ll be looking all you want. In fact, you¡¯ll be doing a lot more than just looking.¡± He smirked.

    My mouth fell open in shock at his words.

    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re so gross!¡± I yelled. ¡°Is that all you can think about? Sex?¡±

    He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, still smiling widely. Go d, he was beautiful.

    ¡°Yeah, basically. If we were a normal couple, we would¡¯ve had S** multiple times by now.¡±

    That took me aback. ¡°If we were a normal couple? A normal couple?¡± I asked angrily. ¡°We¡¯re not a couple at all! You forced this on me! I don¡¯t even want to be here!¡±

    UNLIMITE

    He sighed and sat up. He brought a hand up and cupped my cheek, running his thumb over my cheekbone.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Belle. I know how confused and overwhelmed you must be. I promise this wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go. G od, if we hadn¡¯t met on a ne, this whole mess could have been avoided.¡±

    ¡°Why would that have made any difference?¡±

    ¡°I could have courted you the proper way, asked you out, and marked you when you were ready. ¡°But the turbulence happened, and that as s hole who stared at your boobs also needed to face the consequences. Marking you was the only thing that would keep me from ripping his head off.¡±

    His hand brushed over the bite mark on my n*eck, and I could only assume that he was talking about when he¡¯d bit me in the airne bathroom. Shivers ran down my spine.

    ¡°You¡¯re only a human¡­ You¡¯re so, so vulnerable, and I could see that you had gone through so much. So my wolf forced me to do it. ¡°I had to protect you. I guess I could have just let you go once the nended.

    ¡°But I knew you needed to be near me. The pain of being apart would have been unbearable, especially right after I¡¯d marked you. I had to take you with me. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    He looked truly and genuinely apologetic, and for that I was grateful. But it didn¡¯t make it okay.

    ¡°I need answers,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve never been so confused in my life.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°I know. Ask away. I will tell you anything.¡±

    I let

    my shoulders sag

    in relief. It surprised me he was being sopliant.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± Where do I even begin?

    As I sat beside him, I felt his hand on my leg, starting to rub up and down.

    My b*dy rxed a bit. I leaned toward him. His other hand went to my waist and squeezed.

    Our bodies were gravitating toward each other, bing closer and closer by the second.

    ¡°No!¡± I suddenly snapped out of it. I pushed his hands away from me. ¡°No, you can¡¯t touch m can¡¯t think when you touch me.¡±

    I grabbed one of the pillows and put it between us, then ced more pillows atop and around it.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Grayson asked.

    ¡°This is my side of the bed,¡± I said, pointing to where I was sitting. Then I pointed at Grayson¡¯s

    side.

    ¡°That is your side of the bed. You stay on your side, I¡¯ll stay on my side. Then I think I¡¯ll be able to get through this.¡±

    ¡°You think a pillow barrier will keep me from you?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Well, if your touch didn¡¯t turn me into a pool of melted goo, then we wouldn¡¯t have this problem!¡± I yelled. When I saw him trying to contain hisughter I sighed.

    ¡°Just please stay on your side, okay?¡±

    He raised his hands in surrender. ¡°Whatever you say.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Okay, so you¡¯re a werewolf.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Kidnapped By My Mate Chapter 14

    ¡°Okay, so you¡¯re a werewolf.¡±

    Grayson raised an eyebrow. ¡°Caught that, did you?¡±

    I red at him. ¡°How?¡± I asked.

    ¡°How what?¡±

    ¡°How are you a werewolf?¡±

    He leaned back, thinking about it for a second.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯splicated. We¡¯re not sure. I was born like this. I got my wolf when I hit puberty. You don¡¯t be a werewolf or anything,¡± he sighed. ¡°We know that our ancestors must¡¯ve had something to do with wolves, but we¡¯re not sure exactly what that was, or how our kind came to be. We can only assume that it had something to do with magic.¡±

    ¡°Magic?¡± I asked.

    He nodded. ¡°Yeah, some sort of ritual to strengthen our ancestors or something like that.¡± He shrugged.

    ¡°So are¡­other things real?¡±

    He gave me a questioning look. ¡°Other things?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, like witches and wizards, or fairies or vampires?¡±

    His eyes darkened a bit.

    ¡°Yes, all real. But we all keep to ourselves. Our species don¡¯t exactly¡­get along. Vampires and werewolves have been at war for centuries.¡±

    I paused for a second. ¡°What about the Easter Bunny?¡±

    Grayson stared at me for a second. He tried to contain it, but he eventually broke out inughter.

    ¡°I tell you about a war between werewolves and vampires, and you associate that with the Easter Bunny?¡±

    I looked down at my hands. He was right. I probably sounded like I was five

    years old.

    I felt fingers slide under my chin and lift my head up. My eyes connected with Grayson¡¯s.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he whispered. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it that way. That¡¯s a very valid question after all you have gone through over thest couple of days. No, the Easter Bunny is not real. Nor are the Tooth Fairy or Santa us.¡± He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if that ruins your childhood.¡±

    I did feel a tad bit disappointed, but tried not to let it show. I grabbed his hand that was still under my chin and moved it away. I pointed to where he was sitting.

    ¡°Your side,¡± I reminded him.

    He grumbled something quietly under his breath but followed my orders, not looking happy about it.

    I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the next question I was about to ask.

    ¡°Why am I here? What do you want from me?¡±

    UNLIMITED

    He sighed. ¡°Belle¡­¡± He leaned forward, and I could tell that he desperately wanted to touch me. He red down at the pillows before looking at me once more. ¡°You¡¯re my mate.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve mentioned that. But what does that mean?¡± I said stubbornly.

    He looked hesitant to tell me as he fidgeted where he sat.

    ¡°It means that we¡¯re meant to be together. We¡¯re meant to be a couple and love each other. We¡¯re

    soulmates.¡±

    I stared at him for a few seconds. I didn¡¯t think Iprehended what he¡¯d said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    Grayson stared deep into my eyes and I felt as if he could see straight into my soul. ¡°We¡¯re soulmates,¡± he repeated.

    ¡°What do you mean? That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡±

    ¡°I know, but let me try to exin. Wolves usually mate for life. Mating for life is especially true for werewolves. Every werewolf has what we like to call a ¡®mate,¡¯ someone they are destined to

    be with forever.¡±

    ¡°Like¡­ Like you mean¡±-I hesitated with my next word¡ª¡°romantically?¡±

    He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re adorable.¡±

    I blushed deeply, and he chuckled.

    ¡°Yes, I mean romantically. Like husbands and wives in human terms. Just more like husband and

    wife at first sight because we know we¡¯re meant to be together right away.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°And you think I¡¯m your mate?¡±

    His expression intensified. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re my mate, I know.¡±

    I scooched away from him and his eyes narrowed. I was feeling extremely conflicted. It was like half of me wanted to jump into his arms and never leave, and the other half wanted to run for the hills.

    Could it be that he was just making this all up?

    ¡°How do you know?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, it starts with a scent. You scent your mate when you firste near them. It¡¯s supposed be the most amazing thing you¡¯ve ever smelled in your entire life.¡±

    He leaned forward, breathing in deeply.

    ¡°I smelled you when I stepped onto that ne, and I knew you were mine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how you knew?¡± I asked skeptically. ¡°Because I smelled good?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°There are other things too. Like when we touch. There are sparks.¡±

    UNLIMITE

    I looked away. He was talking about the small fireworks that traveled throughout my b*dy whenever he touched me. I¡¯d felt them. And the feeling terrified me because that meant at least one thing he was saying had to be true.

    ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson said, ¡°I know you know what I¡¯m talking about. You¡¯ve felt the sparks, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    I licked my l*ps. ¡°Um¡­I don¡¯t, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    He held up his hand. ¡°Touch me.¡±

    I looked at him skeptically. ¡°I already told you, I¡¯m not¡ª¡±

    ¡°I will not do anything, Belle,¡± Grayson interrupted. ¡°Just touch my hand.¡±

    His voice brooked no argument, so I slowly lifted my hand and ced it gently against his.

    Tingles immediately appeared in my hand, traveling up my arm and down to my toes. I gasped.

    ¡°You feel them?¡± he asked as he threaded our fingers together.

    I nodded, amazed at how good the sparks felt. As crazy as it sounded, there was something definitely magical about his touch, and what he was telling me kind of made sense.

    He smiled widely as he looked at our intertwined fingers. His smile took my breath away.

    ¡°It¡¯s our bond traveling between us. You can tell that our bond is strong based on how intense the sparks are. And by your reaction to when I touch you.¡±

    His smile turned into a smirk.

    I immediately dropped my hand from his. ¡°My reaction to your touch? I have no reaction to your

    -touch!¡±

    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who said only minutes ago that you couldn¡¯t think when I touched you?¡±

    My cheeks turned bright red. I did say that, didn¡¯t I?

    Graysonughed. ¡°It¡¯s okay, gorgeous. I feel the same way about your touch.¡±

    My eyes snapped up to meet his. ¡°You do?¡±

    His eyes softened.

    ¡°Of course I do. In fact, I know that my feelings are even stronger toward you than yours are toward me. I¡¯m an alpha, so my instinct is to protect you, love you, and provide for you.¡±

    I blinked at him. ¡°An alpha?¡±

    ¡°You know how wolves travel in packs?¡± he said.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Well, there is also a leader of the pack. It¡¯s always the strongest wolf that takes over the pack, the ¡®alpha.¡¯ I am the alpha of my pack.¡±

    I shifted my weight. ¡°You¡¯re the strongest wolf of your pack?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes. And my pack is probably the strongest in the world. I took over as alpha when I was sixteen years old, after fighting the original alpha and winning.

    ¡°But I and the people around me knew that I would probably be alpha at an early age based on the size of my wolf and my fighting and leadership skills.¡±

    I was a little intimidated by his power and strength. I¡¯d already felt like he could squash me like a bug, but now that I knew he was superhumanly powerful, I felt even more scared of him.

    Grayson sighed. ¡°You have nothing to worry about, beautiful. I would never hurt you. My wolf

    would never allow it.¡±

    I still wasn¡¯t sure if I trusted him. ¡°So that¡¯s why Kyle kept calling you Alpha?¡±

    Grayson nodded. ¡°Yes. It is a term of respect.¡±

    ¡°And why was he calling me ¡®Luna¡¯?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you are the mate to the alpha, and the name for that is luna. He wouldn¡¯t ever call you anything else.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s like calling someone ¡®king¡¯ or ¡®queen?¡¯ It¡¯s to show someone¡¯s hierarchy?¡± I asked.

    He smiled and nodded, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what it¡¯s like. You are my queen.¡±

    I tried to ignore the intense look in his eyes and how badly my instincts were telling me to touch him, but it was getting harder and harder. The bite mark on my n*eck was hurting.

    It reminded me of another question I had: ¡°Why did you bite me?¡±

    He ran his hand through his hair. ¡°Yes, I knew that woulde up.¡± He sighed. ¡°A male wolf will bite his female to show all other wolves that she belongs to him. The bigger the mark, the higher the ranking of the female¡¯s mate. Your mark isrge,¡± he said proudly, eyeing the mark my n*eck.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Co cky much?¡± I whispered under my breath.

    UNLIMITED

    When I looked back up, Grayson¡¯s face was directly in front of mine. I could feel his breath on my cheeks. I gasped.

    ¡°What was that, mate?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°N-nothing,¡± I stuttered.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Another thing you should know about werewolves, love¡­¡± Grayson¡¯s eyes searched mine. ¡°We have amazing hearing.¡±

    His l*ps were so close to mine. If I moved forward, my l*ps would meet his.

    I leaned toward him, seeking out the warmth of his mouth on mine as if by instinct. But right before we could k*ss, Grayson moved away.

    He looked at me smugly.

    ¡°Sorry, I forgot to stay on my side of the bed.¡± He leaned back on his arms. ¡°Plus, I¡¯m not k*ssing you until you ask me to, remember?¡±

    I red at him. I didn¡¯t like this game he was forcing me to y.

    Heughed at my attempt to look angry. ¡°Ask me to k*ss you, and your problem will be solved.¡±

    I scoffed. As if I would ever do that. ¡°Absolutely not!¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Your loss, sweetheart.¡±

    I shifted ufortably and hardened my gaze. ¡°So you bit me as a way to im your property?¡±

    His gaze roamed up and down my b*dy slowly, and he smirked.

    ¡°Yes. You were already mine, but the mark just solidified that fact and let others around us know

    of it as well.¡±

    I swallowed hard. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for my next question.

    ¡°Are you ever going to let me go?¡±

 Chapter 15

    Kidnapped By My Mate Chapter 15

    Grayson¡¯s eyes darkened the second the words left my tongue, and I immediately moved back, worried that he would turn into a wolf again.

    He watched me closely. When he saw me moving away from him he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his eyes opened again, they were back to their normal color.

    ¡°Belle,¡± he breathed out. ¡°You don¡¯t know it now because I¡¯m with you, but if I were to, some odd reason, let you go, you would somehow find your way back to me.¡±

    I shook my head, ready to disagree and argue, but he kept talking.

    for

    ¡°Do you remember how it felt when I was away from you yesterday? How you almost fainted and were in immense pain?¡±

    I winced at the memory, but I nodded my head glumly.

    ¡°Now imagine that pain intensified by ten. You were only downstairs, a floor away from me, when that happened. I don¡¯t even want to think about what would happen if you were even farther away. Plus, your instincts would tell you toe back to me if I didn¡¯t get to you first. Eventually you would. The mate bond would force you to.¡±

    My heart started beating faster.

    ¡°Will I always feel that pain when I¡¯m away from you?¡±

    I saw Grayson clench and unclench his fists. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was anger or something else.

    ¡°No. It will eventually stop. Our bodies will slowly adapt to being away from each other. But we will always crave each other¡¯s presence.¡±

    My shoulders slumped. ¡°So I will never go home?¡± Tears pooled in my eyes.

    Grayson swore under his breath as he watched me. His expression told me all that I needed to know. He would not let me go. He intended on keeping me close to him forever. I cried harder at this realization.

    Grayson red down at the pillows between us. ¡°Screw this,¡± he said.

    He came toward me, knocking away the pillows in his path.

    I held un my hand, stonning him in his tracks. ¡°No! No ston nlence. Linct-

    inst I can¡¯t ¡± T

    I held up my hand, stopping him in his tracks. ¡°No! No, stop, please, I just-I just, I can¡¯t,¡± I

    sobbed.

    Grayson groaned. ¡°Belle, please let me touch you. Please, it is killing my wolf to see you like this. It is my job as your mate to take care of you.¡±

    I looked at him. I had finally reached my breaking point.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that! I am not your¡­your mate! It is not your job to do anything for me!¡± I screamed. I was hysterical. I couldn¡¯t control it anymore. It was all too much for me.

    ¡°Belle,¡± I heard Grayson growl. He stood, running a hand through his hair with a look of agony on his face. ¡°I just¡­f uck!¡± he yelled and threw a punch at the wall.

    The entire room shook; his fist left behind a giant hole.

    I jumped back and sobbed harder. How had I gotten myself into this mess? I hugged my knees to myself, letting all of my emotions free.

    My stomach churned, and I felt like I was about to puke.

    I tried to ignore it, but the throbbing right where Grayson had bitten me was getting to be almost unbearable. Grayson crouched down by the bed next to me. He seemed to be calmer, but his eyes were still pitch ck, which scared me even more.

    ¡°It¡¯s your mark isn¡¯t it, baby? I know you must be in a lot of pain. Please, please let me make you

    feel better.¡±

    I watched him closely as tears continued to rush down my face.

    He lifted his hand slowly and brought it close to my face so it was almost touching my cheek.

    I wanted so badly to just let it happen, to let him touch me and to feel the sparks running through my b*dy. I leaned toward him a bit. I wanted to jump into his arms and hold on to him for dear

    life.

    The truth was that I didn¡¯t only want him to touch me because I wanted the pain to stop.

    I wanted to touch him, too, because I wanted the look of agony to leave his face.

    I wanted tofort him¡­because I liked him.

    I liked my kidnapper. How is this even possible?

    I snapped back.

    No, I couldn¡¯t let this happen. I wasn¡¯t going to lie down and give up because he¡¯d told me some

    crazy story.

    That might have been his world, but it wasn¡¯t mine. I couldn¡¯t give in to this ¡®mate bond.¡¯

    I hurried to the other side of the bed.

    ¡°Please just leave, Grayson,¡± I sobbed. ¡°I just want to be alone.¡± Small hups left my mouth.

    He didn¡¯t move. ¡°No,¡± he snapped. ¡°I am not leaving you.¡±

    UNLIMITED

    I felt defeated. I covered my face with my hands and sobbed as I whispered, ¡°Please, just leave. Please, just leave. Please, just leave.¡± I repeated it over and over again.

    I heard more swear words leave his mouth, and, a few secondster, I heard footsteps leave the

    room.

    And that¡¯s when the pain really started.

 Chapter 16

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 16

    The days that followed wereplete hell. I had no clue how long I stayed in that room, writhing in pain thanks to the stu pid bite mark Grayson had put on my n*eck. I spent most of my time lying in bed, screaming and shaking as I drifted in and out of consciousness from the pain. I lost count of how many times I got sick.

    I kept having to run between the en suite bathroom and the bed every time my stomach churned. I knew at this point I was only throwing up bile.

    Finally I gave up on trying to make it back to the bed and instead just slept on the bathroom floor. I would wake, screaming, as wave after wave of immense, throbbing agony shot through my b*dy.

    Kyle came into the room a few times with food, begging me to let Graysone in.

    After he¡¯d left me, I¡¯d heard Grayson tearing up the living room downstairs, smashing things and arguing with Kyle. It was so loud, I could only imagine what the gorgeous hotel room looked like now.

    This only made me feel better about my decision to keep Grayson away.

    He had no control of his anger, and I wanted him nowhere near me. A few times I felt him outside my door. My pain would improve just the smallest bit. He would stay there for hours. Sometimes I would hear his wolf whimpering.

    It made my heart ache a bit, but I did my best to ignore it.

    Every time Kyle asked to let Grayson in, I would just repeat over and over again that I didn¡¯t want him anywhere near me. I would get through this on my own.

    Grayson had said that eventually the pain would stop. Once that happened, I could finally get out of here. I just had to fight through it.

    For days the pain only worsened until I was an unmoving mess on the floor.

    I couldn¡¯t eat; I couldn¡¯t sleep; I couldn¡¯t do anything.

    And what¡¯s even worse was that my only thoughts were of Grayson. No matter how hard I tried to stop it, my mind would go back to him.

    I could no longer sense if he was outside my door.

    I couldn¡¯t feel anything but pain.

    I wondered if he was out there or if he hadpletely forgotten about me and was doing something else to fill his time. The thought made me sad.

    I thought about his hair, his eyes, his chin, his mouth. I thought about his smile and how it felt

    have his arms around me.

    UNLIMITED

    I thought about my undeniable attraction to him and how he made me feel safe¡ªso much more

    than he scared me. He somehow made me feel like I wasn¡¯t alone.

    He was so gentle with me, as if I was a ss object about to break. He¡¯d told me he would always take care of me. He¡¯d shown me nothing but kindness since I¡¯d met him, and yet I had still turned him away.

    I mean, he¡¯d kidnapped me. He¡¯d almost killed a man.

    He was huge and strong and could undoubtedly break me like a toothpick. And, oh yeah, he could turn into a rabid wolf at any moment.

    Can¡¯t forget about that.

    But despite all of this, I still craved being next to him and feeling his skin against mine.

    I wanted to k*ss him again¡ªand hold his hand and caress his hair.

    I wondered how he was feeling right now.

    Go d, he had looked so heartbroken when I¡¯d begged him to leave me alone. I wondered if he really felt that way or if it was all an act. He could just be a kidnapper ying mind games with his victim. But what if I was really his mate and had sent him away feeling awful after he¡¯d poured his heart out to me?

    My heart tightened.

    I reminded myself that I didn¡¯t know if he was telling the truth about the whole mate thing.

    But I guess he had turned into a wolf in front of my very eyes.

    So he for sure wasn¡¯t lying about being a werewolf. Which was a little terrifying to think about, but his wolf hadn¡¯t hurt me. So he probably wasn¡¯t lying about me being his mate.

    And deep down, I secretly hoped he was telling the truth, because, number one, it would mean that I was actually safe with my kidnapper. I mean, the guy had said that we were soul mates. There was no way he¡¯d actually hurt me.

    Number two, it would exin why I was so tantly attracted to him without even knowing him, and would provide a simple exnation for all the embarrassing fantasies that had been ying

    my head since I¡¯d met him.

    And, number three, I mean¡­ Have you seen the guy?

    He was freaking gorgeous. And kind, and charming, and protective, and the first person to make me feel anything other than sadness in so long.

    Oh G od. Why did I make him leave again?

    Why was I pushing away the first good thing to happen to me after my dad died?

    I felt myself moving before I evenprehended what I was doing.

    I practically sprinted to the door and flung it open.

    I was a girl on a mission.

    I didn¡¯t know where Grayson was, but I decided I wouldn¡¯t stop looking until I found him.

    UNLIMITED

    When I walked out into the hallway though, my eyes immediately connected with his. I sucked in a deep breath. He was sitting up against the wall at the end of the long corridor, his knees bent.

    He looked exhausted.

    His beard had grown out and there wererge bags under his eyes. My heart broke at the sight of him. His eyes widened when he saw me, and he slowly stood, as if he was afraid to scare me

    away.

    I hesitantly took one step toward him and then another, and then I was practically sprinting toward him. He met me halfway, and I flung my arms around his n*eck.

    And everything was suddenly okay.

 Chapter 17

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 17

    Sweet relief from the pain that I had dealt with for the past several days came crashing into my b*dy, and I let out a s ob.

    Grayson wrapped his arms tightly around my middle and then shifted them to beneath my butt so he could lift me.

    Waist and clung to him for what felt like dear life.

    I wrapped my legs around his

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± he whispered into my hair. ¡°G od, I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    I nodded my head to show that I understood, and pressed myself closer to him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry too,¡± I whispered into his n*eck.

    He squeezed me gently. No more words were needed.

    We stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other and breathing each other in.

    It was pure bliss, and I never wanted it to end.

    But then Grayson moved. I panicked. Was he going to put me down? Was he going to leave me again? He must have sensed my panic because he ran a hand soothingly up and down my back as

    he walked.

    ¡°Shh,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve got you.¡±

    He carried me past the room I¡¯d spent thest few days in and into the room next to it.

    Without letting go of me, he closed the door and then made his way over to the bed.

    Heid us down so we were both on our sides facing each other with our bodies entwined.

    Our foreheads touched, and for a while, we just stared into each other¡¯s eyes.

    Our breathing became in sync and everything felt so¡­right.

    After some time I brought my hand up to touch the dark bags under his eyes.

    ¡°When was thest time you slept?¡± I asked him.

    He shrugged his shoulders a bit. ¡°About thest time you did.¡±

    I furrowed my brow. ¡°I¡¯ve slept a lot over thest few days.¡±

    He pulled me closer, tightening his hold on me.

    ¡°No, you¡¯ve passed out. And never for more than a few minutes. There¡¯s a difference between passing out and sleeping.¡±

    ¡°How did you know I passed out?¡±

    ¡°Because I felt it. I felt everything you went through.¡±

    ¡°You did?¡± I asked, surprised.

    He nodded slowly and ran a thumb over my cheekbone.

    ¡°Our bond is stronger than the average werewolf couple. I¡¯m not sure why. I can feel your strongest emotions. Usually that doesn¡¯t happen until after you¡¯vepleted the mating process.¡±

    I shuddered when he reached a hand under my shirt and ran it up and down my back.

    ¡°Do I even want to know what the mating process is?¡±

    He smiled slightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m probably not the best person to tell you. But I promise you¡¯ll enjoy every second of it. You¡¯ll be begging me not to stop.¡±

    His eyes drifted between us, roaming over my b*dy. He licked his l*ps hungrily.

    I scoffed and shoved at his shoulder lightly. He growled yfully and squeezed me tighter to

    him. His teeth nipped at my ear.

    ¡°S-so, um,¡± I stuttered when he leaned back to look at me. ¡°The mating process. It, uh, has to do with, um¡±-I cleared my throat a bit¨D¡±that?¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes glittered with amusement. ¡°Do you mean S**, mate?¡±

    My cheeks blushed a dark red. I nodded my head.

    Grayson licked his l*ps and smirked.

    ¡°Yes. It has to do with lots and lots of S**.¡±

    His voice was deeper than usual, and I noticed that his eyes were slowly bing darker the more we talked about the topic. I shifted ufortably thinking about Grayson and me having S**. He noticed that I was moving farther away from him, and he immediately pulled me closer.

    ¡°Nuh-uh, you are not getting away from me. I don¡¯t care how nervous S** makes you.¡±

    I looked anywhere but his eyes. He didn¡¯t know it, but I had never had S** before. I just hadn¡¯t

    had the time for boys when my dad got sick.

    The thought of having S** for the first time with someone who seemed as experienced as Grayson made my stomach turn into knots.

    Grayson¡¯s hand went under my chin, and he lifted my head until my eyes met his.

    UNLIMITE

    ¡°You have nothing to worry about, beautiful. Nothing will happen until you are one hundred percent ready andfortable. Even then, I will take care of you. I¡¯ll always take care of you.¡±

    I rxed a bit, even though the idea still made me nervous. Hearing his words, I wanted to melt into a puddle. He pressed his forehead against mine again, and we stayed like that for a while. It was interesting to stare into his swirling ck eyes. It was almost as if they were sucking me in.

    I found myself reaching up and cupping his face. I ran a thumb under his eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s your wolf?¡± I asked quietly.

    Grayson ced his hand over mine and turned his head to k*ss my palm gently. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to turn into a wolf now?¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about that. He¡¯s just watching you. I mean, he¡¯s always watching through my eyes. He¡¯s just more present now because we¡¯re so close to you.¡±

    I continued to stare into his eyes as the ck swirled around like a mist in his irises.

    It was mesmerizing.

    ¡°What is he doing right now?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s worrying about you. He doesn¡¯t enjoy seeing you so sad. He also continues to remind me of the fact that you haven¡¯t eaten or slept in days. He¡¯s mad at me for not taking care of you.¡±

    ¡°He can talk to you?¡±

    Grayson shook his head. ¡°No. He doesn¡¯t speak. He is a wolf, after all. But somehow we just understand each other. We are the same being. My wolf is me just as much as I am him.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± I breathed out, intrigued by everything that Grayson was saying. It was all so interesting.

    ¡°He likes that you¡¯re curious about him. He enjoys having your attention.¡±

    ¡°He does?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you make him really happy.¡± He tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. ¡°You make us both really happy.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond, so I just stayed quiet.

    ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson said, ¡°I need you to know how sorry I am for all that you have been through

    cince vou mat ma I know howory and overwhelming this whole thing has been for you¡±

    since you met me. I know how scary and overwhelming this whole thing has been for you.¡±

    He squeezed my waist. ¡°And what¡¯s even worse is that I¡¯m the cause of all of your distress. It kills me to see you so upset. I wish I could¡¯ve done all of this differently. It was just the circumstances in which we met that made all of this so hard. Just please know that it was never supposed to be this way. I am so unbelievably sorry.¡±

    He looked so pained-like he might break down at any moment.

    I leaned into him more. Then I paused for a moment.

    What am I doing?

    I realized that I was seeking tofort him.

    UNLIMITED

    The more time I spent with Grayson, the less scared I felt. In fact, I was actually starting to trust him. As strange as it sounded, trusting him felt natural. It felt easy.

    Just like being in his arms.

    And standing there, so close to Grayson, there was nothing I wanted more than to just be with

    him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry too,¡± I whispered.

    He scrunched his eyebrows together. ¡°Why are you sorry?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°I never gave you a chance. I was afraid and refused to listen. Even after you were so sweet to me, I refused to listen.¡±

    Grayson smiled slightly. ¡°As happy as I am to hear you say that, you had every right to be afraid. I can¡¯t imagine being in your shoes.¡±

    His thumb began to trace circles around my hip bone as he held me by the waist. I inched closer

    to him.

    ¡°You were right,¡± I said.

    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°About what?¡±

    I looked deeply into his eyes. ¡°I found my way back to you.¡±

    His smile widened until it took over his entire face. He said nothing, just pulled me closer, cing his forehead against mine. He gently rubbed noses with me and hummed out his

    contentment.

    I breathed him in and basked in how it felt to be in his arms.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked after a few minutes.

    He lifted an eyebrow in response as his hands continued to dance across my skin.

    ¡°Can, um, can we try something?¡±

    He paused for a moment. ¡°What do you want to try, baby?¡±

    56%

    I took a deep breath and looked deep into his eyes. They were so intense as he waited for me to speak.

    ¡°Um¡­ I, um, well, can we¡­?¡±

    He took my hand in his and threaded our fingers together.

    He gave them a gentle squeeze, telling me to go on.

    ¡°Never mind,¡± I blurted out.

    UNLIMITED

    ¡°Well, that will not do,¡± Grayson said. He moved in, so that his face was hovering just inches over mine. He ced a hand on my waist. ¡°Tell me.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No. It¡¯s not important.¡±

    His hand drifted under my shirt. I tried to stop him but he said, ¡°Are you ticklish, gorgeous?¡±,

    I gaped at him. Was he nning on tickling me? ¡°I¡¯m not ticklish at all,¡± I said quickly.

    He leaned down until his l*ps were brushing up against my ear. ¡°I can sense your lie, baby,¡± he whispered. ¡°Just tell me what you were going to say and I won¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°Seriously, it doesn¡¯t matter! I promise!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t believe you,¡± he stated.

    He moved his fingers against my skin in a way that left meughing hysterically. I squirmed and grabbed at his hands, but he just kept tickling me without mercy.

    ¡°Stop!¡± I yelled out betweenughs. ¡°Grayson, stop!¡±

    ¡°Just tell me what you were going to say and I¡¯ll stop!¡±

    ¡°No, no!¡± Iughed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you!¡± I tried pushing him off of me, but he really wasn¡¯t budging.

    Heughed along with me.

    ¡°Just tell me!¡± He began tickling me with extra force, and I almost peed my pants fromughing

    so hard.

    ¡°Okay, okay!¡± I finally gave in. ¡°I was going to ask you to k*ss me!¡±

    Grayson immediately stopped and leaned back.

    I pped a hand over my mouth. I could not believe I¡¯d just said that.

    so hard.

    ¡°Okay, okay!¡± I finally gave in. ¡°I was going to ask you to k*ss me!¡±

    Grayson immediately stopped and leaned back.

    I pped a hand over my mouth. I could not believe I¡¯d just said that.

    ¡°What?¡± Grayson asked in shock.

    I couldn¡¯t even look at him. I was mortified.

    ¡°Well, I, um, I didn¡¯t mean I, you know, wanted you to k*ss me, I just, um-

    Grayson¡¯s face was suddenly directly in front of mine. ¡°Thank G od,¡± he whispered.

    And then he k*ssed me.

 Chapter 18

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 18

    BELLE

    Grayson¡¯s l*ps moved against mine, soft like silk. A content grumble escaped his throat as he moved so that he was between my legs. He ran his hands up and down my sides, leaving intense sparks traveling throughout my b*dy.

    I wrapped my arms around his n*eck, letting my fingers tangle into his hair. He reached his hands under my shirt and raised it up.

    I instantly pulled away and grabbed his hands to make him stop. ¡°I¨CI¡¯m sorry,¡± I said.

    He moved back as well and looked at me. He smiled slightly and then rubbed his nose against mine. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly okay, beautiful. I¡¯m in no rush.¡±

    I let out a sigh of relief and settled back into the bed. ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered.

    Grayson smiled andy down next to me. He moved me so we were facing each other again, and wrapped his arms tightly around me. He nuzzled his face into my n*eck.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d you¡¯re feeling better. It physically hurt me to know how much pain you were in and to know that it was all my fault.¡±

    I nodded. I grabbed his hand and yed with his fingers. I followed the lines of his palm gently with my nails, and smiled when he shivered and tugged me closer to him.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t all your fault.¡± I pressed my face into his chest, feeling my cheeks turn bright red at my words. I couldn¡¯t believe that I was saying any of this. ¡°I was being stubborn. I was just scared. But¡­¡±

    He cupped my cheeks in his hands, turning my face to look at him. ¡°But¡­?¡± He urged me to

    continue.

    I sighed as I stared into his gorgeous green eyes. I squirmed nervously. ¡°But¡­I¨CI think I kind of like you?¡±

    His eyes

    shed ck for a second as an enormous smile broke out on his face. ¡°Do you now?¡±

    That was not the response I was looking for. I¡¯d hoped that he would reciprocate my feelings, not make fun of them. I buried my face into his n*eck and groaned.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey,¡± he said,ughing. He rubbed my back. ¡°Belle, look at me.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Belle, baby, look at me.¡± He squeezed my side slightly.

    I slowly lifted my head from his n*eck and looked at him. He smiled and put his hand beneath my chin, then lifted my face and ced his l*ps against mine. He moved his l*ps slowly and gently, letting his actions speak for him. I could feel his passion within the k*ss¨Clust, and¡­love? I moaned softly.

    He pulled away and looked at me once again. ¡°I am so unbelievably happy to hear you say tha Belle. And trust me, the feeling is more than mutual.¡±

    I took in a deep breath and nodded nervously. ¡°Okay,¡± I heard myself say.

    Okay? Okay? Is that seriously how you just responded, Belle? Ugh.

    Grayson chuckled. ¡°Okay.¡±

    UNLIMITED

    Before I coulde up with a better response, he put his face in my n*eck, trailing open¨Cmouthed k*sses up and down it. And I mean open¨Cmouthed k*sses with his tongue. I shivered and gasped.

    I licked my l*ps. ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked shakily.

    ¡°Mmm?¡± he murmured, never taking his l*ps from my throat.

    ¡°Um¡­¡± I cleared my throat. He was being extremely distracting. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­,¡± he repeated. His l*ps were now on my jaw.

    I smiled a bit. ¡°Are you going to stop k*ssing me so I can talk?¡± I shoved his shoulders slightly.

    He smiled against my skin and k*ssed all the way over to my ear. He ced a k*ss on my earlobe and then whispered, ¡°Baby girl, if it were up to me, I would never stop k*ssing you.¡±

    Something in my stomach tightened. I squirmed in his arms.

    He groaned loudly.

    ¡°G od, I can smell you and you smell so¡­¡± He paused. He ced his forehead against mine, and I noticed his eyes were ck again. ¡°So good,¡± he finished.

    He k*ssed me once again, this time with more force. I breathed out in contentment and pressed my b*dy against his. He lifted himself so he was above me and between my legs.

    He grabbed the sides of my thighs and moved them until my legs were wrapped around his waist. Our bodies moved in sync, almost like we were mas pulling and pushing against each other. Grayson had my mind spinning and my entire being tingling like never before.

    And then, suddenly, his l*ps weren¡¯t on mine anymore.

    I whimpered and tried to hang on to his b*dy and bring it back down to mine, but he sat up and ran a hand through his hair as he watched me.

    I

    gave him a questioning look.

    I¡¯m sure I looked like aplete mess¨Cmy hair greasy and tangled from not having a shower or a good brushing in days, bags under my eyes, my chest heaving.

    He swore softly, looking at me with his intense ck eyes. ¡°This is bing painful.¡±

    I shrank in on myself at hisment.

    UNLIMITE

    I knew he thought I looked disgusting. He could pro

    smell all the sweat and vomit that hade from my b*dy over thest few days, especially with his enhanced wolfy smelling powers.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I whispered. I sat up and moved until my back was against the headboard. ¡°Sorry, I haven¡¯t taken a shower in a little while.¡±

    Heughed loudly, something that was starting to be music to my ears. It felt like all was right in the world as long as Grayson keptughing. He moved toward me slowly and grabbed my ankles. He tugged my b*dy toward him with enough strength to have me lying back down on the bed. I let out a short shriek of surprise.

    He moved back on top of me and ced his hands on either side of my head.

    ¡°That is not what I meant, my sweet, sweet Belle. You could not smell bad to me even if you were covered in garbage,¡± he said. ¡°What I meant is that it is bing almost painful not to ravish you right here, right now. You are making it difficult.¡±

    His words were so intense, matching the intensity in his eyes. He brushed his thumb over my l*ps.

    Wait, is he talking about S**? Does he want to have S** with me? Oh G od, I think that¡¯s what he means. Oh G od. Oh G od. Oh G od.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    He smiled. ¡°You have nothing to be sorry about. I have self¨Ccontrol. I¡¯ll just need to take a couple of cold showers. I¡¯ll manage.¡±

    I nodded slowly and swallowed. He plopped down next to me and groaned. ¡°You are going to be the death of me, Belle.¡± He looked at me, then wrapped an arm around my waist. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what you wanted to ask?¡±

    ¡°Oh, um,¡± Iughed a bit, thankful for the change in topic. ¡°I was actually going to ask if I could take a shower. I feel really disgusting.¡±

    Grayson made a face. ¡°But then I have to let you out of my arms,¡± he grumbled.

    Iughed. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I removed his arm from around me. ¡°But, seriously, it needs to happen. I haven¡¯t taken a shower since beforeing to Paris.¡±

    Grayson groaned. ¡°Okay, okay. But please make it quick. I don¡¯t know how long I will make it before I have to break the door down. And my wolf really wants you to sleep.¡±

    ¡°I promise I¡¯ll make it quick,¡± I agreed. I didn¡¯t want to be away from him either.

    I scooched toward the end of the bed.

    I paused for a moment before standing up. I took in a breath of confidence and quickly made my way back toward Grayson. I ced a fast k*ss on his cheek and moved away from him before he could see my face turn red.

    Grayson growled deep within his chest.

    ¡°You are not making this easy, Belle.¡±

    I smiled as I stood, proud of the effect I had on him. I felt very aplished.

    ¡°I know,¡± I said.

    UNLIMITED

    He growled again, and Iughed. I made my way over to the bathroom door happily. But right before I entered, I looked back at Grayson.

    He was still lying on the bed with one arm behind his head.

    He was watching me with this content,zy look on his face, as if he didn¡¯t have a single care in

    the world.

    He raised an eyebrow when I didn¡¯t go into the bathroom. ¡°What is it?¡±

    I shifted my weight slightly, ying with the hem of my shirt. ¡°I¡± Should I say this? Probably

    not.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready to be away from you.¡±

    I immediately looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze.

    I heard him stand ande toward me. When he was standing in front of me, he ced his fingers beneath my chin and raised my head so I was looking at him.

    His eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go take a shower.¡±

 Chapter 19

    Kidnapped By My Mate Chapter 19

    BELLE

    Grayson ced his hand on the small of my back and pushed me toward the bathroom.

    ¡°Grayson, no! That is not what I meant! We are not taking a shower together!¡±

    Grayson said nothing as he walked to the shower and turned it on. He came back to me and ced his hands on either side of my face.

    ¡°We can keep our underwear on if that would make you morefortable.¡±

    He reached down to y with the hem of my shirt, never taking his eyes from mine.

    I shoved his hand away.

    ¡°No! I am not taking a shower with you!¡±

    UNLIMITED

    He wrapped his arms around me and gently brought me close to his b*dy. He leaned down and ced a k*ss on my ear.

    ¡°Just let me take care of you. Please.¡±

    My heart melted a bit. I sucked in a breath.

    ¡°I¨Cwell, I-¡± I sighed, feeling defeated. ¡°I can¡¯t think of any excuses. But I¡¯m keeping my underwear on and you are too!¡±

    He smiled widely and ced a quick k*ss on my l*ps. Then, without looking away from me, he lifted my shirt over my head and pushed my leggings down to the floor.

    I stepped out of them, now wearing only my bra and panties, then looked at Grayson. I felt vulnerable as his eyes roamed my b*dy.

    I could feel the familiar sparks everywhere they went.

    I tried to stay confident and to stand tall, but the longer I stood there with him just staring at my b*dy, the more insecure I felt. What if he didn¡¯t like the way I looked?

    I wrapped my arms around my stomach and slumped my shoulders. It was so not fair that I was standing in front of him basically n*ked while he was still fully clothed.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey. None of that.¡± He grabbed my hands and ced them back at my sides, holding

    them there. ¡°Never with me. Belle. You hear me? Never with me.¡±

    them there. ¡°Never with me, Belle. You hear me? Never with me.¡±

    His thumbs brushed over my hands. I nodded, still feeling incredibly small standing in front of

    him. He k*ssed my forehead and then rested his chin on top of my head.

    ¡°Do you even know how beautiful you are, Belle?¡± he whispered.

    I didn¡¯t respond. I didn¡¯t know how to.

    ¡°How the hell did I get so da mn lucky?¡±

    An intense blush crept up my n*eck. I was sure that I looked like a tomato.

    Grayson chuckled lowly. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get sick of that innocent blush of yours.¡±

    This only made me blush more.

    UNLIMITED

    I took a step away from him and nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. ¡°Can we please just shower now?¡± I asked.

    Graysonughed. ¡°Those wordsing out of your mouth are like music to my ears.¡±

    I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder. ¡°Just get undressed already!¡±

    ¡°Oh, those words are even better.¡± Grayson wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

    I groaned. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it! You can leave. I¡¯m taking a shower on my own.¡± I shoved past him, trying to make my way to the shower.

    He grabbed my wrist and tugged me back into his chest.

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± he said. ¡°No more jokes, I promise.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°One more and you¡¯re out.¡±

    He raised his hands in surrender. He then slowly brought his hands down to the tie of his sweatpants and pulled at the strings. My eyes widened and I immediately turned around.

    ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson said through augh. ¡°You can look if you want. My b*dy is yours just as much as your b*dy is mine. Look all you want.¡±

    I waved a hand dismissively without turning around.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I said nervously.

    The truth was, I really did want to look, but the fact that all I wanted to do was turn around and run my eyes over his delicious abs scared the cra p out of me. The intense attraction I was feeling toward him was beginning to overwhelm me. Things needed to slow down between us a lot.

    I was thinking this right before I was about to hop into the shower with him¡­ Oops?

    I felt his hands gently run down the sides of my rib cage in one soft, gentle motion.

    A shiver went down my spine. Then I felt his hot breath on the back of my n*eck.

    ¡°Your loss,¡± he whispered into my ear.

    I gasped when I felt him bend down and k*ss the mark on my n*eck. I closed my eyes and instinctively leaned back into him, not even fully aware of my own movements.

    He wrapped his arms around my middle and gave me a squeeze.

    ¡°Belle?¡± he asked, his face still buried in my n*eck.

    ¡°Mmm?¡± I said breathlessly.

    ¡°Are you going to go into the shower?¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Iughed nervously. I took a step forward, putting some distance between us. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    UNLIMITED

    I walked to the shower and leaned in to turn it on, holding my hand in the water to test the temperature before stepping in. The hot water felt wonderful, and I groaned as my tight muscles loosened.

    I heard Grayson move toward me.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said before he entered the shower.

    I turned to look at him. I kept my gaze above his n*eck, refusing to let my eyes run down his delicious b*dy like they wanted to. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

    ¡°This feels weird.¡± I said.

    ¡°What does?¡±

    I let out an annoyed huff.

    ¡°Stay there,¡± I said.

    I closed the sliding door of the shower, which, thankfully, you couldn¡¯t see through.

    Then I took a deep breath¡­

    I lifted my hands to my back and undid the sp of my bra, then slowly slid my panties down my legs. I knew Grayson was watching me through the ss and that he could see an outline of b*dy because there was intense growlinging from outside the shower.

    I took my bra and underwear and threw them over the door so they hung there, dripping wet.

    my

    I looked at Grayson through the ss. The outline of his b*dy was heaving, and I could hear his deep, raking breaths.

    ¡°Well?¡± I asked. My voice was shaking a bit, but I tried to make it sound confident. ¡°Are youing?¡±

    A groan came from the other side of the ss.

    ¡°Dear Moon Goddess, give me strength,¡± he whispered under his breath.

    There was the sound of movement and then I watched the ss slowly slide open as Grayson entered the shower. I didn¡¯t look down, but I knew that he was n*ked too. I gulped.

    Before his eyes could glide over my b*dy, I grabbed his chin and forced him to meet my gaz

    ¡°Keep your eyes up here, got it? One peek and you¡¯re out.¡±

    He nodded his head and growled, his eyes darkening more and more with each passing second.

    I watched his eyes warily. ¡°Are you going to turn into a wolf?¡±

    He chuckled darkly. ¡°There¡¯s no way my wolf would take control while you¡¯re standing wet and n*ked in front of me.¡± He rested his hands on my waist, never breaking eye contact. ¡°Plus, I

    would never allow it.¡±

    I swallowed.

    ¡°Turn around, baby,¡± he whispered. ¡°Let me take care of you.¡±

    He turned me by my waist and then gently pressed my back into his b*dy.

    I gasped when I made contact with his, you know, um, thing, and he let out an ear¨Cshattering growl.

    I tried to take a step forward, but he tightened his hold on me and let out a warning growl. I froze when he reached for the shampoo.

    ¡°I can wash myself.¡±

    ¡°No. It is customary in werewolf culture for mates to bathe each other. My wolf desperately wants to clean you and care for you. Just let it happen.¡±

    I breathed out and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±

    I noticed that he grabbed the men¡¯s shampoo instead of the hotel¡¯s.

    ¡°You should use the hotel shampoo instead. I don¡¯t want to smell like a guy,¡± I said.

    ¡°No,¡± Grayson said sharply. ¡°I want you smelling like me as much as possible. This is the shampoo I use.¡±

    I nodded again, not really having the energy to argue with him.

    He squirted some shampoo into his hand and brought his fingers up to my hair. He worked the shampoo all throughout my hair, kneading his fingers into my skull.

    I moaned loudly as all the tension left my b*dy.

    I leaned into his touch and closed my eyes in absolute bliss. He moved me to rinse out the shampoo and then repeated the process with conditioner. Then he grabbed a bar of soap andthered up my b*dy.

    He massaged the soap into every inch of my b*dy. I pped his hands away whenever he tried to touch any area that would be considered a little too personal.

    He¡¯d just chuckle and yfully nip at my ear or n*eck and then move on to another part of my b*dy. When he was done, he eased me under the water and washed away all the soap.

    I turned and looked into his pitch¨Cck eyes. He touched my cheek gently.

    ¡°You have no clue how badly I want to k*ss you right now.¡±

    I shifted my weight. ¡°After I clean you,¡± I said, reaching for the shampoo.

    UNLIMITE

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. I will probably need a cold shower after this, anyway.¡± His voice was deep, much huskier than normal.

    I shook my head, trying not to let his words affect me too much.

    I grabbed the shampoo and squeezed some into my palm, rubbing it into ather.

    I wanted to do for Grayson what he¡¯d done for me.

    I reached up and massaged the shampoo in his hair. Grayson growled out his approval and gripped my waist tightly. His height was making it hard to do a good job.

    ¡°You¡¯re too tall,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Bend down.¡±

    He smirked. ¡°My pleasure.¡±

    He lowered to his knees so that his face was right in front of my stomach.

    Well, that is not what I wanted him to do. I¡¯d thought he was just going to bend down so I had

    better ess to his hair.

    ¡°You¡¯re not keeping your eyes where I told you to keep them,¡± I said. The steam in here must¡¯ve been messing with my brain because I definitely wasn¡¯t thinking straight.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± he said, not moving an inch. I huffed.

    As weird as it may have seemed, I wasn¡¯t angry or embarrassed about being in a shower with Grayson. Being so close to him just felt natural¨Clike second nature.

    He ced his hands on my hips as I continued to massage the shampoo into his hair. Groaning softly, he rested his forehead on my stomach.

    He gripped my hips harder when I used my nails to scratch around his scalp.

    I grabbed the detachable showerhead and held it over his hair to rinse out all the shampoo. As I

    was about to put the conditioner in his hair, he started k*ssing around my belly button.

    I shoved his face away a bit.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Iughed out as he yfully rubbed his nose around my stomach. ¡°You¡¯re being very distracting.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± he said again and continued k*ssing me.

    I huffed in annoyance but went back to conditioning his hair.

    When I was finally done, I took a step away from him. He growled.

    ¡°Stand up so I can wash the rest of your b*dy,¡± I said.

    He did as I said but grabbed my hand gently before I could start putting soap on his b*dy.

    UNLIMITED

    ¡°As much as I would love to have your soapy little fingers running up and down my b*dy, I don¡¯t think my wolf or I can take any more of this sweet torture. Not without doing something that we might regret.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. I looked away from him, unable to meet his heated gaze. ¡°Okay.¡±

    He gave me a gentle peck on the l*ps and then turned off the shower.

    He stepped out before me and came back with a towel wrapped tightly around his waist and another in his hand. I stood there covering all of my important bits as he approached me with a gentle expression. He wrapped the towel around my shoulders.

    His hand came up and brushed my wet hair out of my face.

    ¡°Well, that was the best shower I¡¯ve ever had,¡± he said.

    Iughed. ¡°Of course you would say that. I¡¯m sure you say that to all the girls you bring into the shower with you.¡±

    I felt my shoulders hunch at my words. I didn¡¯t like the idea of him being with other girls.

    ¡°No. Only with you.¡±

    I met his eyes. He smiled.

    ¡°How about we get dressed, get some food, rest, and then go tour around Paris? Have you ever been here before?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Not since I was little and only for about a day. I didn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    He smiled widely. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to give you the best Paris experience ever.¡±

 Chapter 20

    Kidnapped By My Mate Chapter 20

    After our steamy shower, Grayson dressed me in one of his shirts and a pair of his sweatpants even after I had told him I could wear my own clothes.

    He ignored my request, saying something about feeling better with me in his clothes.

    UNLIMITED

    Then he stood for several minutes, and told me he was debating with his wolf over whether we should eat first or sleep. I wanted to go to sleep, so I was happy when Grayson brought me to the

    bed.

    But to be honest, I probably would have gone to sleep whether or not he¡¯d told me I could.

    I tried to keep my distance from him while we were sleeping, but he wasn¡¯t having any of that. When wey down, he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me to him so I was lying on his chest. His arms wrapped around me tightly, and our legs tangled together.

    It was by far the best sleep of my life. Not that I would tell him that. He doesn¡¯t need a bigger

    ego.

    I woke up to the feeling of Grayson ying with my hair as Iy on his chest. My entire b*dy was buzzing with electricity and contentment.

    I thought about a few days ago when I¡¯d first met him and how absolutely terrified I¡¯d been.

    I¡¯d had every right to be terrified. And I didn¡¯t regret pushing Grayson away, although it had hurt both of us more than I could ever imagine.

    It had given me time to think. It had given me time to reallye to terms with our bond and the connection that we had. There was no way that I could deny the bond between us now.

    I was one hundred percent certain that Grayson was my mate, and that I was his. I was done denying it.

    I tilted my head up at him and smiled, ¡°Good morning.¡±

    He smiled down at me and k*ssed my forehead.

    ¡°Actually, good afternoon. It¡¯s about 4 p.m. in Paris right now.¡±

    4 p.m.? How is that possible?

    I sat un and looked out the window Sure enough it was dark outside ¡°Oh my gosh How long

    I sat up and looked out the window. Sure enough, it was dark outside. ¡°Oh my gosh. How long did we sleep?¡±

    He shrugged, turning over on his side. ¡°Not sure. I¡¯m just d you got some rest. My wolf was getting ready to sit on you again.¡±

    He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

    Iughed again, thinking about thest time he did that: he¡¯d almost ttened my lungs.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d he didn¡¯t.¡±

    Grayson sat up and wrapped his arms around me again.

    ¡°Come here. I¡¯m not ready to let you out of my arms yet.¡± Hey back down and brought me

    with him.

    I giggled. On in instinct, I reached up and k*ssed his l*ps. When I moved away, my eyes. widened as I realized what I had just done.

    ¡°I did not mean to do that.¡±

    Grayson growled and tugged me closer when I tried to move away.

    ¡°Trust me, mate, I did not mind at all. You can k*ss me anytime you want.¡±

    UNLIMITED

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°You would say that. You just like k*ssing me because I¡¯m your so¨Ccalled mate.¡±

    ¡°Even if you weren¡¯t my mate, baby girl, I would still be extremely attracted to you. People only mate when they¡¯d make a good couple even without the bond. The bond just makes it easier for us toe together and know that we are meant for each other at first sight. It speeds the process along.¡±

    His eyes darkened a bit. ¡°Plus, it makes S** ten times better.¡±

    I gasped and tried to shove him away, but his arms were like steel traps. ¡°Is your mind always in the gutter?¡±

    He smirked. ¡°Baby, you are on top of me, straddling me, wearing my clothes. How could my mind not be in the gutter?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say, but thankfully my stomach responded for me. It let out a loud rumble. I blushed.

    Graysonughed. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get some food in you.¡±

    As we walked downstairs, he kept one hand on my back, making sure that some part of him was always touching me. I¡¯d never thought I would say this, but I was d that he maintained physical contact with me.

    The thought of being in pain again¡ªthe pain that I felt when he wasn¡¯t nearby¨Cterrified me.

    The thought of being in pain again¨Cthe pain that I felt when he wasn¡¯t nearby¨Cterrified me.

    Kyle was already in the kitchen when we walked in. He smiled at me and wiggled his eyebrows. ¡°Well, it¡¯s good to see that you¡¯re feeling better, Lu-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to her until she¡¯s eaten,¡± Grayson snapped,pletely interrupting Kyle.

    I gaped at him, but he just kept pushing me toward the table, where a bunch of breakfast food wasid out, even though it was closer to dinner.

    I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at Grayson.

    ¡°Excuse me, he can talk to me if he wants to. You need to stop bossing people around.¡±

    UNLIMITE

    I noticed that Grayson¡¯s eyes were ck again. I knew then that I probably shouldn¡¯t mess with him. Without saying a word, he scooped me up in his arms, bridal style, and carried me to the table.

    He sat down, keeping me in hisp.

    ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°Food!¡± He shoved a te in front of me and nodded toward it, signaling for me

    to take some.

    When I squirmed in hisp, he tightened his arms around me and growled loudly in my ear. I winced. Clearly, Grayson wasn¡¯t in an arguing mood.

    I gave Kyle an apologetic look, which he returned with a shrug and a smile that said he dealt with this sort of thing all the time.

    Grayson grabbed my chin gently and moved my head so I was looking at him. ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to Kyle. Eat.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Bossy much?¡±

    Grayson squeezed my hips in warning, and I smiled cheekily as I reached for some food.

    I could feel his hot breath on my ear as I ate, and it just made me squirm in hisp even more.

    ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll eat at the best restaurant in Paris.¡±

    I looked back at him as I took a big bite of a croissant. ¡°So you¡¯ve been here before?¡±

    He nodded, then grabbed my wrist and brought the croissant in my hand to his mouth, taking a giant bite out of it.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I said and pulled the croissant back. ¡°Get your own croissant!¡±

    He smirked. ¡°But it tastes so much bettering from your hand.¡±

    I heard a gagging noiseing from behind us and looked over to see Kyle pretending to throw

    Grayson growled lowly. ¡°Watch it,¡± he said. ¡°You weren¡¯t any better when you met Elijah.¡±

    I raised my eyebrows. ¡°You¡¯ve met your mate?¡±

    Kyle nodded and smiled dreamily. ¡°Yeah, about two years ago. His name is Elijah.¡±

    UNLIMITE

    My heart melted a bit at Kyle¡¯s expression. It made me happy to see him happy. I wondered if Grayson felt, or ever would feel, the same way about me.

    Or if I would ever feel that way about Grayson.

    Grayson ced his chin on my shoulder and poured himself some coffee. ¡°To answer your question, Kyle and Ie to Paris once a year for the annual Alpha Conference.

    ¡°Kyle is my gam ma, my third inmand, so he apanies me. My beta, or second inmand, Adalee, stays back with the pack. She watches over things while we¡¯re away.

    ¡°Paris has the biggest werewolfmunity in the world, so it makes sense that most alphas from around the world meet here.¡± He smiled a bit.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably why everyone says that people from Paris have the reputation of being so mean.¡®

    Iughed. ¡°That¡¯s actually hrious.¡± I started picking at some fruit, then paused. ¡°How long are you guys staying?¡±

    Kyle spoke this time: ¡°We were only supposed to stay for two days.¡± He red at Grayson. ¡°But someone has been forcing us to stay.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just grouchy because he¡¯s never been away from his mate for more than five minutes,¡® Grayson said.

    ¡°D amn right I¡¯m grouchy! How would you like to be away from Belle for two weeks?¡±

    Grayson growled at his words and hugged me to his chest.

    ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s what I thought,¡± Kyle mumbled.

    ¡°Wait, two weeks? No, no, no!¡± I pushed myself away from Grayson and stood.

    ¡°I was only supposed to be in Paris for five days! I have a job I have to get back to! I have friends who will be worried about me!¡±

    ¡°Belle,e here,¡± Grayson said. He held his arms open, still sitting down, motioning for me to sit back in hisp. ¡°C¡¯mon, it will help you calm down¨Cyou know it will.¡±

    I looked at him warily. His arms opened wide like that, weing me, were so tempting that I couldn¡¯t help but give in. I practically jumped into his arms and buried my face into his n*eck, absorbing all thefort he could give.

    ¡°I need to go home,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°I know. And you will. I¡¯ll be bringing you home soon, I promise. But we¡¯re going to have one more night in Paris, and you¡¯re going to enjoy being here without worrying about when you¡¯re going home.¡±

    I lifted my face out of his n*eck.

    UNLIMITED

    ¡°Grayson, I have a job to get to. I have rent to pay. I need to go home now,¡± I said in somewhat of a panic.

    Grayson ran his hand up and down my back in aforting way.

    ¡°I will take care of everything. I have a lot of power you don¡¯t know about. Any problem you. might have when we get back will be taken care of. I promise.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? How could you possibly-¡±

    ¡°Just trust me, beautiful. I will take care of you. You have nothing to worry about. One more day in Paris, that¡¯s all I¡¯m asking. I want to make you fall in love with this city tomorrow.¡±

    I took a deep breath as I looked into his eyes that seemed so sincere.

    I had responsibilities that I needed to get back to. I was providing for myself¨CI had no one else to do that for me. I had to keep a roof over my own head now that my dad was gone.

    But I couldn¡¯t help but trust Grayson¡¯s words.

    I sighed. ¡°Okay. One more day. But the day after tomorrow, I need to be on a ne back home.¡±

    Grayson smiled. ¡°Good. Now eat some more.¡± He turned me in hisp so I was facing the table again. I rolled my eyes at his bossiness but did as I was told.

    ¡°So where are you guys from then?¡± I asked around the delicious pastry in my mouth.

    ¡°Minnesota,¡± Grayson said as he sipped his coffee. ¡°The northern part, deep in the woods.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from Minnesota too!¡± I said.

    Grayson nodded. ¡°I figured that since we were both at the Minneapolis¨CSaint Paul Airport. What part of Minnesota?¡±

    I opened my mouth to tell him, but stopped myself. What if I eventually changed my mind and decided I wanted to get away? Then I would definitely regret telling him.

    I was really from Minneapolis, but I decided I couldn¡¯t tell him that.

    ¡°Winona,¡± I said, blurting out the first city that came to mind. ¡°It¡¯s in the south.¡±

    Grayson narrowed his eyes but nodded. Could he tell that I was lying?

    <

    I looked away and continued to eat my food nervously. ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡±

    The hand on my hip tightened as if Grayson wanted to question me, but he didn¡¯t say anything further.

    I continued to eat my food in awkward silence.

    UNLIMITED

    Kyle eventually sat down and ate with us once Grayson decided that I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the insane amount of food on the table.

    Once I was officially done, I leaned back into Grayson¡¯s chest and rubbed my full stomach in

    contentment.

    Grayson¡¯s chest rumbled behind me, and he bent to k*ss the top of my head.

    ¡°Are you ready for a night in Paris?¡±

 Chapter 21

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 21

    ¡°So where are we going?¡± I asked Grayson when we stepped out the doors of the hotel lobby.

    ¡°Well, first we need a cab,¡± Grayson said. He walked in the direction of the street and hailed a taxi with ease.

    ¡°Wait, why don¡¯t we just walk? It¡¯s a really nice night,¡± I said as a cab pulled up.

    Grayson opened the taxi door for me. ¡°We are on a tight schedule, love.¡± He motioned me in.

    Not seeing the point of arguing, I got into the car, and Grayson followed behind me. He had a n.

    The driver said something to us in French, which I assumed was him asking where we were going. Astounding me, Grayson gave him the location in what sounded like perfect French.

    ¡°You speak French?¡± I asked him, shocked.

    ¡°I speak multiplenguages,¡± he replied, as if it were no big deal. ¡°It is normal for an alpha to learn to speak in different tongues. It makes it easier tomunicate with other packs around the world.¡±

    I nodded and fidgeted with my seatbelt as the car pulled away from the curb. How the hell could one person be so perfect?

    He was good-looking, strong, kind, and smart. What on earth does he possibly see in me?

    Before I could buckle my seatbelt, Grayson wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders and tugged my b*dy over to his, nuzzling my hair.

    ¡°You¡¯ll sit here. I¡¯m not ready to be away from

    you yet.¡±

    ¡°I was literally less than a foot away from you.¡±

    Grayson shrugged. ¡°Too far.¡±

    cided not to argue, instead settling contentedly into his rumbling chest and watching the UNLIMITED atiful streets of Paris pass by. As we made our way to our destination, the driver kept ncing

    at us through the rearview mirror any chance he got.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why he was watching us, but he seemed to be extremely interested in all that we were doing. Grayson was too busy ying with my hair and rubbing my leg to notice. But he immediately stiffened when he saw my difort, following my gaze to the driver.

    His eyes narrowed and he let out a booming growl that made me wince.

    The driver sucked in a sharp breath and quickly looked away, keeping his eyes glued to the road for the rest of the ride. Once we got out of the taxi, I turned to Grayson and poked his chest.

    ¡°You need to stop growling at people.¡±

    Grayson wrapped an arm around my shoulder and led me down the street. He huffed. ¡°I should be the only man looking at you.¡±

    ¡°Was that really why he was looking at us?¡±

    He sighed. ¡°No. As beautiful as you are, I¡¯m sure he was just curious about the girl on the alpha¡¯s arm. He was probably wondering if you were my mate. It would be a big deal if it got out that I had found my mate.¡±

    ¡°He was a werewolf?¡± I asked in shock.

    ¡°Yes. Like I said before, Paris has one of the biggest werewolf poptions in the world.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around that. That¡¯s crazy. And he knew who you were?¡±

    Grayson grinned. ¡°Not to brag or anything, but your mate is kind of a big deal in the werewolf

    world.¡±

    I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°It seems like he¡¯s humble too.¡±

    He growled yfully in my ear, nipping at it gently. Iughed. He stopped in front of a fancy liquor store and opened the door for me. I gave him a skeptical look as I walked inside.

    The store was filled from floor to ceiling with customized wooden cabs featuring countless varieties of wine. It was the very definition of elegance. Everything was pristine.

    I felt a little out of ce in my jeans, sweater, and coat that I had bought for ten dors at a thrift store. My eyes widened as I noticed the price of the bottle nearest to me. It was seven hundred dors.

    oked at Grayson. ¡°What are you up to?¡±

    He just winked and grabbed my hand as he pulled me through the store,pletely ignoring my question. He walked up to a man dressed in a suit who was setting up a disy on a table. The man looked up at us and smiled as we approached.

    man looked up at us and smiled as we approached.

    He said something in French, to which Grayson replied in English: ¡°I¡¯d like your best bottle of wine,¡± as he brought me close to his side.

    The man just smiled and nodded, unfazed and disappeared through a door.

    ¡°The best bottle of wine?¡± I asked Grayson. ¡°Won¡¯t that cost a lot?¡±

    Grayson shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t handle, I promise.¡±

    I turned to him. ¡°You¡¯re nning on spending hundreds of dors on a bottle of wine?¡±\

    ¡°Thousands probably,¡± he said nonchntly.

    My jaw dropped to the floor. ¡°Thousands?¡±

    Grayson smiled, putting his hands on my waist. ¡°It¡¯s really not a big deal. I¡¯ve spent much more than that before.¡±

    ¡°Yes, but have you ever spent that much on a bottle of wine?¡±

    Before he could answer, the man came back holding two bottles of wine. ¡°These are the two that I would rmend, sir. This onees from-

    55

    ¡°We¡¯ll take the one that is cheaper,¡± I immediately interrupted.

    The man looked a little taken aback, but covered his shock quickly. ¡°Of course, miss.¡± He brought forward one of the bottles.

    ¡°This is going to be the cheaper one at eight thousand American dors.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I gasped.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take it,¡± Grayson said.

    I turned to him. ¡°You are not buying that.¡±

    Grayson raised an eyebrow and gave me an amused smile. ¡°And why not?¡±

    I looked at the man standing in front of us. ¡°Would you excuse us for a moment?¡±

    The man nodded, ¡°Of course.¡±

    abbed Grayson¡¯s arm and tugged him to the front of the shop.

    m not letting you buy that,¡± I stated.

    ¡°Belle, you deserve only the best. And I¡¯m going to give that to you. Starting with the best wine that money can buy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even like wine, Grayson. There are so many better things you can do with that money.¡±

    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Like what?¡±

    ¡°Like donating it. Having it serve some sort of real purpose other than paying for a bottle of overpriced grape juice.¡±

    He didn¡¯t look convinced.

    ¡°Okay, here, if you really want to make me happy then give me your credit card and I¡¯ll buy the

    wine.¡±

    Grayson was looking very confused. ¡°That will make you happy? Buying the wine yourself?¡±

    I nodded my head and held out my hand.

    He still looked very skeptical, but nheless, he slowly reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Then he handed me his credit card.

    And I ran out the front door of the liquor store.

 Chapter 22

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    I ran down the street as fast as my legs could carry me, still clutching Grayson¡¯s credit card in my hand. I thought I had seen a grocery store when we¡¯d gotten out of the cab earlier, and thankfully I was right. That¡¯s where I needed to go..I ran faster.

    I didn¡¯t look behind me to see if Grayson was following. I had no doubt in my mind that he would catch me. In fact, I hoped he did. I had given up on getting away from him.

    But first, I had to make it to that grocery store.

    I crashed through the doors of the store and smiled brightly. It only took a second for me to feel arms wrap around my waist. I was tugged backward into a hard chest.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Grayson growled in my ear.

    I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his n*eck, smiling. He looked surprised by my disy of affection.

    ¡°It took you awhile to catch up,¡± I said.

    He tightened his arms around me. ¡°I wanted to see where

    you would

    would go.¡±

    ¡°You weren¡¯t afraid that I would run off and spend all your money?¡± I said, waving his credit card in his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s mine is yours. You will never want for anything ever again. You can spend as much of my money as you want.¡±

    I stared at him for a moment. I¡¯d never had enough money to spend on anything other than the necessities. Sometimes I didn¡¯t even have enough to buy food.

    I couldn¡¯t count the number of times I¡¯d gone to bed hungry after my dad had gotten sick.

    Back home, I was just starting to be able to provide for myself.

    UNLIMITED

    rented a small one¨Cbedroom apartment and was paying for it with a cra ppy waitressing job. It n¡¯t the most luxurious life, but it was enough for me.

    And I took great pride in the fact that I was making it on my own, providing for myself.

    And I took great pride in the fact that i was making it on my own, providing for myseir.

    Sure, sometimes I didn¡¯t have enough money to buy groceries. But maybe now that I didn¡¯t have to save up all of my paychecks for a ne ticket to Paris, I could finally start living, instead of just surviving.

    Of course, that was before I missed my flight home and didn¡¯t show up to several shifts I¡¯d been scheduled for. Shifts that I needed in order to pay my rent¡­ Which was already overdue.

    I didn¡¯t even want to think about how I¡¯d pay for another flight home. I guessed I wouldn¡¯t be buying groceries for a while still.

    I remembered I had peanut butter in my cupboard, and I could always steal French fries off people¡¯s tes at the diner if I still had a job. Hopefully my boss would understand. That would have to be enough for now..

    When I didn¡¯t respond, Grayson squeezed my sides. ¡°Why did youe in here, anyway?¡±

    I smiled. ¡°If you must have your sour grape juice, this is the only ce that I will allow you to buy it.¡±

    He raised an eyebrow, looking very amused. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Yep. And I get to pick it out.¡±

    He shook his head, looking like he would object. ¡°Belle¡±

    I cut him off by crushing my l*ps against his. Grayson let out a surprised groan but didn¡¯t protest. A low growl came from deep within his chest, and he immediately deepened the k*ss, tugging my b*dy closer to his.

    Knowing how quickly things could escte when it came to k*ssing Grayson, I removed my mouth from his when I felt him run his tongue over the seam of my l*ps, asking for entrance.

    He groaned out his disapproval and tried to k*ss me again, but I put my hand over his mouth as a barrier. He growled.

    ¡°Give me what I want and I¡¯ll give you another k*ss,¡± I said.

    He narrowed his eyes, and I slowly removed my hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re my mate,¡± he said in a low voice, telling me his wolf was at the surface. ¡°If anyb*dy else tried to manipte me like this, I would have them back in their ce within

    conds in the most painful way possible.¡±

    G

    UNLIMITED allowed hard.

    He leaned in so that his l*ps were almost brushing mine.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯ll do anything to have your sweet l*ps on mine,¡± he whispered.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯ll do anything to have your sweet l*ps on mine,¡± he whispered.

    I could feel my cheeks heating up. Grayson chuckled softly.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go get your wine.¡± He pushed me in the direction of one of the aisles.

    Once I had picked out a reasonably priced bottle of wine for about six euros, I looked at Grayson.

    ¡°Okay, we got the wine. What next?¡±

    Grayson had one arm wrapped possessively around my waist, his thumb rubbing my

    side.

    ¡°Now we go get the bread.¡± He pushed me toward where the bread was located.

    ¡°Bread? Why do we need that? What are you nning?¡± I asked.

    Grayson smiled. ¡°I was actually surprised when you came here. This ce was our next stop.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why?¡±

    Grayson picked up a nice¨Clooking baguette. ¡°We¡¯re getting French bread and cheese.¡±

    ¡°Wine, bread, and cheese? Are we having a pic?¡± I asked. I looked outside. ¡°The sun is about to go down.¡±

    Grayson shrugged. ¡°I guess you¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡±

    After buying our wine, bread, and about five different types of cheese, Grayson and I were back in a cab and off to our next destination.

    Which just so happened to be the Eiffel Tower.

    As I stepped out of the cab, I couldn¡¯t help but gape up at the massive wrought¨Cironttice. It was so much bigger than I¡¯d thought it would be.

    ¡°Wow,¡± I said. ¡°This is my second time in Paris, and I¡¯ve only now gotten to see the Eiffel Tower.¡±

    Grayson came behind me and wrapped his arms around me, leaning down so he could ce his chin on my shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m d I¡¯m here with you for the first time you get to see it,¡± he said. He k*ssed my cheek

    tly and then grabbed my hand. ¡°C¡¯mon.¡± He led me toward a bench.

    UNLIMITED

    There were already people sitting there when we approached, but when they saw Grayson they immediately stood up and hurried away, muttering, ¡°Sorry, Alpha.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just sit at that bench?¡± I asked, pointing to a bench with no one sitting on it.

    12:16 Sat, 23 Deci.

    ¡°It has to be this bench,¡± Grayson said sharply, sitting both of us down.

    Mr. Bossy, as usual.

    4/

    I was finally starting to enjoy my time with Grayson, but maybe that was because I knew that it was ending. Soon I¡¯d go back to work and try to forget all about my trip to Paris.

    I shook my head to get rid of that thought,ing back to the present.

    The sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky a beautiful pink, purple, and orange.

    There were people sitting all around us, gazing up at the tower.

    I noticed that several other people were just arriving, too, setting up nkets on the sitting on the surrounding benches.

    ¡°Why are there so many people?¡± I asked as I looked around.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± Grayson said.

    I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

    grass and

    He opened the paper bag that contained the wine, bread, and cheese and took it all out. I reached

    for the bread, but he moved it out of my reach. I gave him a questioning look.

    He looked down at his watch. ¡°Just a few more seconds.¡±

    And then our night got truly magical.

 Chapter 23

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 23

    BELLE

    The Eiffel Tower glittered with a million sparkling lights. It was breathtaking.

    The radiant building shone across the city of Paris, casting a warm yellow glow as we all gazed up at it. I couldn¡¯t help the smile that took over my face.

    ¡°Is this what you were waiting for?¡± I asked Grayson.

    He nodded as he watched me, giving me a smile that took my

    breath away.

    ¡°When I was a kid, my mom and I used toe here every year after the Alpha Conference and watch it light up. She would take me to the exact store we just went to and buy the most expensive bottle of wine they had.

    ¡°Then we would go and get bread and cheese from the grocery store down the street, and then we¡¯de and sit here and watch the Eiffel Tower light up under the stars!

    ¡°She would even let me have my own ss of wine. It was one of my favorite days of the one reason I love Paris so much.¡±

    year-

    I had never seen this side of Grayson. I¡¯d seen him as an aggressive lover and as my caretaker, but I¡¯d never seen him be vulnerable. I hadn¡¯t even known that this tough, possessive alpha male had a vulnerable side. It touched me that he was willing to share it with me¨Cmade me like him

    even more.

    ¡°What?¡± he suddenly asked.

    That shook me out of my admiring daze. ¡°What?¡± I asked back.

    He chuckled. ¡°You were staring at me. Not that I minded. I would just like to know what¡¯s got you thinking so hard.¡±

    I blushed. There was no way I could let him know that I was thinking about how much I liked

    him.

    UNLIMITED

    thing,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I was just imagining what a beautiful scene it must¡¯ve been, you and ir mother sitting under the stars in Paris.¡±

    He nodded and looked up at the tower solemnly. ¡°Yeah. It was.¡±

    He nodded and looked up at the tower solemnly. ¡°Yeah. It was.¡±

    ¡°Does she note with you to Paris anymore?¡±

    His eyes turned glossy and he was quiet for a moment. ¡°No. She and my father died almost five years ago.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Grayson, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± I put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°I can see how much they meant to you. That must¡¯ve been terrible.¡±

    He took a deep breath and then turned his head to ce a k*ss on my hand.

    ¡°It was a long time ago. No need to dwell on the past.¡±

    He leaned over to where he¡¯d spread out our food and wine.

    ¡°I try to do this every year to honor her memory.¡± He opened the wine and held the bottle out to me. ¡°And now you get to join me.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I¡¯m honored.¡±

    We spent the next several hours talking and sipping our cheap wine out of the bottle.

    Soon, all the people around us were gone, leaving just Grayson and me, staring at the city lights in front of us. The lights on the Eiffel Tower turned off some time during the night, but Grayson and I stayed, talking about anything and everything.

    Conversation was so easy with him.

    We spent the entire night like that, and, by the time the sun rose over the h oriz on, I found myselfpletely taken with Grayson.

    I was lying on the bench with my head in hisp as he yed with my hair when he finally said, ¡°Do you want to go get some coffee? I know a great ce down the street.¡±

    I smiled and nodded.

    Once in the coffee shop, Grayson told me to find a seat while he ordered for us, but I quickly grabbed his hand, pulling him back to me.

    Grayson gave me a questioning look.

    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me,¡± I said quickly, afraid of the pain that I might feel if I lost contact with him

    pin: I didn¡¯t think I could handle it.

    G

    cheeks turned bright red at the request, but Grayson just smiled. He brought his hand up and tucked a piece of stray hair behind my ear.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been together long enough for our bond to strengthen. Nothing will happen now if we are apart. Nothing besides a dull ache.¡±

    My eyebrows rose in surprise.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked nervously.

    Grayson leaned down and k*ssed my forehead.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. And if you feel any pain at all, all you have to do ise stand next to me and touch me, and it will all go away. I¡¯ll only be a few steps away.¡±

    He tried to step away slowly, but I didn¡¯t let

    go

    of his hand.

    ¡°I, um-¡± I gripped his hand tighter. I didn¡¯t want to be away from him, not even a little.

    ¡°I think I would feel better if I just went with you.¡±

    Grayson didn¡¯t protest. Instead, his face broke out into a breathtaking smile.

    He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to him, nuzzling his face in my hair and breathing in deeply.

    ¡°I am more than okay with that.¡±

 Chapter 24

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 24

    Once we¡¯d had our coffees and croissants, Grayson and I wandered around the streets of Paris, chatting and watching as the city woke up. I was beginning to understand why Paris was considered to be such a romantic city.

    I can definitely imagine myself falling in love here.

    We walked all the way to the Notre¨CDame cathedral and sat on the steps for a bit before going to a very fancy restaurant nearby for lunch. I felt odd sitting there in my jeans and sweater, but the food made up for any difort that I might have had.

    ¡°Oh my Go d, that was amazing!¡± I said when I had finished.

    ¡°I told you I would bring you to the best restaurant in Paris,¡± Grayson said.

    ¡°Yeah, well, you weren¡¯t lying.¡±

    Our waiter came by then and set down our check.

    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready,¡± he said in a thick French ent and then walked

    away.

    I reached for it, ready to pay whatever the cost as Grayson had paid for our foodst night and our coffee this morning, but he sn atched it away before I could grab it.

    ¡°No,¡± he stated firmly.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Grayson, please let me pay for this. You already have paid for so much. I¡¯ll feel terrible if you don¡¯t let me at least buy you lunch.¡±

    He was already reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

    ¡°Absolutely not. As long as you¡¯re with me, you will never pay for anything. In fact, I am determined to make sure that you never pay for anything ever again.¡±

    I scoffed. There was no way I would let that happen.

    w about you at least let me pay for my meal? It¡¯ll make me feel better and not like I¡¯m hing off of you, stealing all of your money.¡±

    ¡°Argue all you want; it¡¯s not going to happen.¡±

    He ced his card in with the check and then lifted it up for the waiter to see. But before he closed the check folder, I caught a glimpse of the price of the meal.

    My eyes widened. Maybe it was better that I wasn¡¯t paying for it.

    Just my meal would¡¯ve cost me several shifts at the diner.

    ¡°Where do you get all of your money, anyway?¡± I asked. Then I realized what I had just said. ¡°Oh, sorry, is that a rude question?¡±

    ¡°No, not rude at all. My family owns arge huntingpany with thousands of workers who keep my pack afloat and then some. We provide animals both alive and dead for anyb*dy who wishes to buy them.¡±

    Just then, our waiter came into view. He approached our table when he saw Grayson waving.

    ¡°Please take this away before my date tries to pay again,¡± Grayson said in an amused tone, handing the man the folder.

    I red at him.

    When the waiter was gone I asked, ¡°So you kill animals?¡±

    Grayson chuckled and took my hand from across the table.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look so frightened, beautiful. It¡¯s the circle of life. And I must provide for my pack in some way. ¡°Besides, what else would you expect from a pack of werewolves? We already hunt in our wolf forms to keep our wolves sane. We might as well make some money off it.¡±

    I still didn¡¯t love the idea, but I decided not to argue.

    Once Grayson had officially paid, we stood and left, continuing our exploration of Paris.

    I had never walked so much in my life; my feet were beginning to hurt, but I didn¡¯t want my time with Grayson to end. It all felt so magical.

    ¡°This day hasn¡¯t even felt real. It¡¯s probably been the best day of my life,¡± I told Grayson,plete sincerity in my voice.

    Grayson nodded his head in agreement, smiling. ¡°Just you wait. Tomorrow, I¡¯m taking you to the Louvre. You¡¯ll be amazed.¡±

    I stopped walking. ¡°Tomorrow?¡± I asked. ¡°I thought we were going home tomorrow.¡±

    yson faced me. ¡°Yes, but I thought one more day wouldn¡¯t hurt. I must get back to my pack men, anyway. And my private jet won¡¯t be ready until tomorrow night.¡±

    You have a private jet?¡± I asked inplete shock.

    Why didn¡¯t you just fly that to Paris?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°I only just bought it yesterday. I always had a strange stubbornness when it came to buying my own jet, always preferring to flymercial. I didn¡¯t understand it until I met you on that ne. It was because fate was setting me up to meet you.¡±

    He came forward and pulled me into his chest, leaving a k*ss on my forehead.

    ¡°Now, there¡¯s no reason for me not to have my own jet. It¡¯ll be much more convenient.¡± His b*dy shook withughter. ¡°Also¡­I¡¯m sort of never allowed to set foot in the MSP or Paris airport again after what happened on thest flight.¡±

    I gawked at him. ¡°Serves you right! You almost killed a man!¡±

    Graysonughed again. ¡°I¡¯ll say this one more time. He deserved it. No one looks at what is mine.¡±

    I scoffed and shoved him away from me. ¡°You¡¯re a Neanderthal.¡±

    I continued to walk, and he quickly caught up to me, taking my hand in his. He k*ssed the back

    of it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be a Neanderthal, as long as I get to keep you by my side.¡±

    I blushed a deep red.

    I thought about what he¡¯d said. I couldn¡¯t stay another day in Paris. I had to go home¡­ I was already risking being kicked out of my apartment for not paying rent.

    Actually, I probably would get kicked out.

    I hadn¡¯t worked in so long that I probably wouldn¡¯t make my rent. Which meant I had to find a way to escape Grayson and get back to Minnesota.

    Maybe I could convince the airline to reschedule my return flight on the cheap? I didn¡¯t bother saying anything to Grayson. I knew that he would just try and convince me not to go.

    It made me sad to think I¡¯d have to go home tomorrow and continue working in myme job at the diner, with myme boss.

    But I knew that this bizarre and beautiful dream couldn¡¯tst forever, as much as part of me wished it could. As we continued to walk, Grayson wrapped his arm around my waist, tugging me close to him and looking down at me with a contented smile.

    made my chest feel warm.

    getting too attached to me. At that realization, the warm feeling left my chest.

    There was no way that this rtionship could continue when we got back to Minnesota.

    Sure, we only lived a couple of hours away from each other, but I had no car, no way of getting

    + 47% Sure, we only lived a couple of hours away from each other, but I had no car, no way of getting to him. And I wasn¡¯t going to force him to drive to me every time I wanted to see him. I would feel too guilty.

    I knew that the way he was making me feel would only make it harder for me to leave him and return to real life. The thought made me stop in my tracks.

    Grayson stopped too and looked at me. ¡°What?¡±

    I breathed in deeply and wrapped my arms around myself.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a date,¡± I said firmly. The words hurt to say, but I kept my stance.

    Grayson raised his eyebrows. ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°In the restaurant, you called me your date. I just wanted to let you know that I don¡¯t see this as a date.¡±

    He licked his l*ps and approached me slowly. ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Mmm,¡± I said, feeling more awkward and nervous now that he was standing right in front of me, looking down at me. Why does he have to be so tall?

    ¡°Do you want to know what I think?¡± He ced his thumb on my l*ps, tracing them.

    I didn¡¯t answer, too transfixed by the sparks in my mouth.

    He leaned down so that his l*ps were touching my ear. ¡°I think you desperately want this to be a date.¡± He took my ear into his mouth and bit down lightly. ¡°And you know what? This is a date, whether you want to admit it or not. You have no say in the matter.¡±

    That made me fume. Why did he think he could control me? ¡°I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­¡± He interrupted me. His voice became deeper. ¡°Do you want to know what else I think?¡±

    ¡°No, I really-¡± I started.

    ¡°I think¡­,¡± Grayson interrupted yet again as I huffed, ¡°that you haven¡¯t been able to stop thinking about k*ssing me since thest time in our bedroom.¡± He wrapped an arm around me and brought me into his chest. Shivers ran up and down my spine. ¡°Because I know that I haven¡¯t been able to stop thinking about your sweet l*ps on mine, and it¡¯s been driving me mad.¡±

    I tried to pull away from him, knowing where this was heading and that k*ssing him would definitely give him the wrong idea, but I couldn¡¯t escape his firm grip.

    UNLIMITED Ore I could protest, his l*ps were on mine. And I melted. I melted into a slimy puddle of goo

    in his arms.

    Oh God, how am I ever going to leave him?

 Chapter 25

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 25

    2

    BELLE

    Once I had finally pushed Grayson away from me, feeling embarrassed to be having a hot make¨Cout session in public, we caught a cab to a ce where Grayson said there were a lot of cute shops that we could walk through.

    The architecture of Paris amazed me. All the buildings were so beautiful and cohesive. The shops were all cool too. It was too bad that they were all way out of my price range.

    As we continued to walk, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if we were anywhere near my mother.

    This area kind of looked like where my mother lived based on my memory of thest time I¡¯d gone to visit her. It was so long ago, but I remembered the trip so vividly.

    She lived in an apartment above a shop called E.Dehillerin, a cute little cooking shop.

    I¡¯d loved walking around it, browsing when I¡¯de to visit with my dad years ago, especially because it had gotten me away from my mother.

    ¡°Grayson?¡±

    He looked at me.

    ¡°Do you know if we¡¯re anywhere near a shop called E.Dehillerin? A friend told me about it before I came, and I was just wondering if we¡¯re close to it.¡±

    ¡°Let me check,¡± he said and took out his phone. I watched him type in his password, and I quickly put it to memory as it would be helpful to know forter.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually only a few blocks from here¨Cabout a five¨Cminute walk.¡±

    My eyes widened. I was much closer to my mother than I¡¯d thought.

    ¡°Did you want to go there?¡± Grayson asked.

    ¡°Hmm¡­I thought about it. Did I want to go see my mother? This trip was supposed to be a it to her, and she hadn¡¯t heard from me since I¡¯d gotten on the ne back in Minnesota.

    UNLIMITED sort of owe her an exnation as to why I hadn¡¯t shown up to her house a couple of weeks

    ago. Plus, who knew when the next time I¡¯d be able to contact her would be?

    12:19 Sat, 23 Deci

    If everything went smoothly, I would be on a ne tonight and back in the normal world by

    tomorrow.

    I knew that Grayson would freak out. Thest thing I needed was for him to go to my mother and demand information from her about how to find me.

    What if he hurt her? I knew he was capable of violence, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if my mother got hurt because of me. Grayson couldn¡¯te with me.

    But I had to go see her.

    I shook my head quickly.

    ¡°No, I actually like the shops around here. But maybeter?¡± I asked.

    Grayson smiled. ¡°Of course.¡±

    We continued walking, and Grayson kept one arm tightly around me. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that no one was looking at us.

    They all bowed their heads as we passed, keeping their eyes low to the ground.

    It only happened once or twice that someone would identally look at us, and Grayson would let out a low growl under his breath and tug me closer to him.

    The person would immediately look away and bare their n*eck to him. It shocked me how much power Grayson seemed to have over these people. Is everyone in Paris a werewolf?

    We came across a small bookstore and I quickly pulled Grayson inside.

    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± I said. ¡°I want to find a book.¡±

    My anxiety was skyrocketing. Now was the time.

    We looked around for a while as I came up with my n. This store was actually cute. It was two stories and full of all sorts of books in both French and English.

    There was an adorable olddy behind the front counter, helping people with a kind smile.

    I turned to Grayson. ¡°Will you help me find a book?¡±

    Grayson looked at me. ¡°Sure.¡±

    allowed hard. I really hope this works.

    Okay, it¡¯s called Hands of Gold and it¡¯s by Michael Johnson. It was my dad¡¯s favorite book, and I can¡¯t think of a better ce to buy it than in Paris.¡±

    I felt quilty Iving to him, but I didn¡¯t have a choice There wasn¡¯t actually a book called H¡­

    12:19 Sat, 23 Dec

    46%

    I felt guilty lying to him, but I didn¡¯t have a choice. There wasn¡¯t actually a book called Hands of Gold that I knew of, but I needed to get Grayson away from me for enough time to get to my

    mother.

    ¡°Absolutely. Let¡¯s go find it,¡± Grayson said as he walked away.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, grabbing onto his hand. He stopped and turned to look at me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what genre it is, so I thought that I would look down here and

    you could go- upstairs and look for it. It could be science fiction, or fantasy, or horror, or mystery. I don¡¯t know what the book is about, only that it was his favorite.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­.¡± Grayson said slowly. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay being away from me for a bit? I saw how freaked out you were at the coffee shop.¡±

    I smiled, trying to calm my nerves. I actually was a bit worried about that.

    ¡°Well, we have to try it out sooner orter. You won¡¯t be that far from me. And I really want to find this book.¡± I touched Grayson¡¯s arm. ¡°It would mean a lot to me.¡±

    Grayson nodded, looking a bit hesitant as he took a step back.

    ¡°Okay,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back. Just shout if you need me, and I¡¯ll be at your side within seconds.¡± He leaned down and gave me a k*ss.

    My b*dy warmed up as his l*ps moved softly against mine.

    Before the k*ss could get too heated, I pulled away from him and smiled.

    ¡°The sooner we find the book, the sooner you cane back to me.¡± I k*ssed him onest time. ¡°I¡¯ll look down here while

    you look upstairs.¡±

    Grayson nodded and stepped away from me. ¡°Okay.¡±

    I watched as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, never looking away from me. I could feel the dull ache grow in my chest from being apart, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as the pain before.

    I let out a relieved breath. Okay. I can do this.

    I smiled at him onest time before he reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner onto the second floor.

    I immediately ran to thedy at the front desk.

    G

    UNLIMITED

    do you speak English?¡± I asked her.

    She looked up from herputer, seeming a bit shocked.

    ¡°Um, of course. What can I help you with, miss?¡± she asked in a thick French ent.

    ¡°Oh, thank goodness,¡± I said.

    ¡°I need your help, please. In a few minutes, a man is going toe down those stairs looking for me, and when he realizes that I¡¯m no longer in the store, he may freak out.

    ¡°I need you to tell him that there was something important I needed to do and that I¡¯ll be back in a little bit. Tell him not to freak out.¡±

    The woman gave me a strange look. ¡°Miss, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, this is a strange thing that I¡¯m asking you to do.¡± I quickly opened my purse and took out a twenty euro note and handed it to her.

    ¡°Please do this for me. If he gets too upset, just keep reminding him I will be back soon. Do not call the police.¡±

    The woman¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Miss, are you in danger? Do you need me to call someone?¡±

    I shook my head quickly. ¡°No, no. It¡¯s nothing like that. I have something I need to do and my¡­ my boyfriend can¡¯te. Nothing is wrong, I promise.

    ¡°But-¡± she said.

    ¡°Now, I have to go. I don¡¯t have much time. Can you do this for me?¡±

    The woman nced down at the money in her hand and then back at me. She¡¯nodded. ¡°I can do this.¡±

    My heart lifted. I felt like hugging this sweet old woman.

    ¡°Thank you so much,¡± I said, stepping away from the counter. ¡°You have no clue how much this

    means to me.¡±

    She

    gave me a sweet smile. ¡°Of course, my dear. Please stay safe.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. And then I turned and ran out the door, beginning my sprint down the

    street.

 Chapter 26

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 26

    BELLE

    I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I ran down the streets of Paris to where I hoped my mother lived. I couldn¡¯t stop looking behind me, waiting for Grayson toe around the corner and chase after me. But he never came¡­

    By a stroke of luck, I was able to sl*p into my mother¡¯s building, and in very little time, I found myself standing in front of the door of her apartment. I knocked on the door quickly, hoping to G od that someone would be home, otherwise this would all be for nothing.

    ¡°Just one second!¡± I heard someone shout from the other side of the door.

    I nervously ran my sweaty palms over my jeans as I looked up and down the extremely fancy hallway, hoping I wasn¡¯t about to see Graysone up the steps behind me before I got the chance to talk to my mother.

    This ce was really nice. I¡¯d known that my mother¡¯s husband was rich, but I hadn¡¯t remembered her living somewhere this nice.

    The door opened and my mother stood in front of me, wiping her wet hands on her apron. She didn¡¯t look at me just yet.

    ¡°Sorry, about that. I was making dinner and had my hands are covered in chicken fat.¡±

    Then she lifted her head, and her eyes widened as they met mine.

    I gave her a small smile and shrugged. ¡°Hi, Mom.¡±

    ¡°Belle!¡± She pulled me to her, wrapping her arms tightly around me. It was the sort of hug she used to give to me when I was younger¨Cafter I¡¯d won a ser game or gotten home from a long day at school.

    It made me feel warm.

    I was surprised that she was showing me any affection at all. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time she¡¯d hugged me.

    UNLIMITED

    , my darling girl, you have no idea how worried I was!¡± She held me tighter and then moved back. She took my face in her hands. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve gotten so beautiful.¡±

    I pulled away a bit. ¡°You were worried about me?¡±

    Her face dropped and then turned sympathetic. She nced down the hall in both directions, as if she was making sure that no one was watching, and then looked back at me.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t youe in?¡± she motioned to the inside of her apartment.

    I nodded and hesitantly followed her inside.

    She led me to avish living room that was very well decorated. It was all white with ents of gray and cream. I didn¡¯t even want to sit down in case I stained her furniture.

    My mother smiled at me as she sat, removing the apron tied around her waist. She fit perfectly

    with her decor.

    She was wearing a ck A¨Cline skirt and a white blouse, with pearls in her ears and her hair up in an elegant bun. She looked beautiful¨Clike the perfect housewife.

    After I¡¯d sat down, she spoke: ¡°You came at a good time. The kids are at school and Carl is at work. We have the entire apartment to ourselves.¡± She was wringing her hands nervously. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to see you, Belle.¡±

    I nodded, not knowing how to react to all the affection that she was giving me. I looked around me. It didn¡¯t seem like any children lived here.

    Everything was so pristine¨Clike I had just walked into a very fancy hotel.

    ¡°You have some exining to do,¡± my mother said. ¡°Will you tell me where you¡¯ve been?¡±

    I took a deep breath. I hadn¡¯t really thought about what I would tell her once I got here. ¡°I¡¯ve been in Paris.¡±

    ¡°This entire time? Where have you been staying?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡­,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a long story¨Cone that I don¡¯t think I can exin/right now. I just wanted toe here and let you know that I¡¯m okay and that I¡¯m going home tomorrow.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to get in touch with you again.¡± I watched to see if she would react to what I was saying. ¡°I figured I owed you an exnation. You are my mother, after all.¡±

    Not that you¡¯ve acted much like one.

    My mother¡¯s eyes narrowed, and I wondered if I had said that out loud. I looked away from her piercing eyes.

    G

    UNLIMITED

    hat¡¯s that on your n*eck?¡± she asked suddenly.

    My hand immediately went to my n*eck, to where my mark was. It burned a bit at the touch, and I knew that it was because I was so far away from Grayson.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± I said.

    My mother rose slowly from her seat. ¡°That isn¡¯t nothing.¡± She approached me and then sat down next to me. I moved away from her a bit.

    She had this frightening expression on her face that was making me nervous.

    ¡°Let me see,¡± she said.

    I shook my head. I had no way of exining a giant bite mark on my n*eck without sounding insane. ¡°No. Really, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I stood.

    ¡°I actually should probably get going. I¡¯ve done what I came here to do.¡±

    Before I could even take a step though, my mother grabbed my hand. She stood up next to me so fast that I didn¡¯t have time to react. Just as quickly, she moved my hair away revealing my mark.

    She gasped and stepped back.

    ¡°Mom, I can exin,¡± I started. ¡°I¡±

    away from my n*eck,

    ¡°You have the mark of an alpha,¡± she stated with a frightened expression. ¡°And it¡¯s fresh.¡®

    My eyes widened to the size of saucers. ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    As if in slow motion, she reached up and pulled aside the cor of her own shirt. There, sitting on her porcin skin, were puncture wounds in the shape of teeth.

    They were covered over by years¡® worth of scar tissue, telling me they were very old. I gasped.

    ¡°Because I have my own mark,¡± my mother whispered.

 Chapter 27

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    I stared at her. I couldn¡¯t believe what she was telling me.

    ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯te here once you got to Paris?¡± my mother asked. ¡°Because you met your mate?¡±

    I nodded my head slowly, still shocked that we were even having this conversation.

    She looked away from me with a pained expression on her face.

    ¡°Mom?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you a werewolf?¡±

    She turned back to me and shook her head. ¡°No, no, of course not. I¡¯m human just like you.¡±

    ¡°But

    you

    have a mate?¡± I asked.

    She nodded. ¡°Yes.¡±

    I swallowed. Howmon was it for humans to have mates? And how did I not know that

    my mother had one? How did I not know that she was part of the werewolf world?

    Had my mother really not wanted me in her life that much? To not tell me about one of the biggest parts of it?

    ¡°What is his name?¡± she asked. I assumed that she was asking about Grayson.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m going home tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not staying with him?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No. No, I can¡¯t.¡±

    My mother stared at me for a few seconds, looking hesitant. ¡°Belle, is your mate violent?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    nean¡­¡± my mother started. ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories about how abusive alphas can be toward their

    es. They¡¯re possessive and controlling.

    ¡°I know what it¡¯s like to be with a normal wolf; I can¡¯t imagine being with an alpha.¡®

    My mother stared at me for a few seconds, looking hesitant. ¡°Belle, is your mate violent?¡°.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­¡± my mother started. ¡°I¡¯ve heard stories about how abusive alphas can be toward their mates. They¡¯re possessive and controlling.

    ¡°I know what it¡¯s like to be with a normal wolf; I can¡¯t imagine being with an alpha.¡±

    I sat down in shock. Grayson had never hurt me, but it seemed like my mother was implying that he would. She sat down next to me and took my hands in hers.

    ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about, don¡¯t you Belle? Have you seen your mate express his anger through violence?¡±

    I nodded slowly. ¡°He nearly strangled someone to death. He growls at every person who looks at

    me.¡±

    My mother¡¯s shoulders slumped as a panicked expression took over her face. She squeezed my hands harder. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re trying to get away from him?¡±

    Until that moment, I hadn¡¯t actually been afraid that Grayson would hurt me. He was a rough guy, sure¨Cbut with me, so far, he¡¯d been pretty gentle.

    I had different reasons for wanting to leave him.

    into

    I just knew that I would probably be better off on my own. It seemed like every person who came my life got hurt, and I would not let that happen to Grayson. I couldn¡¯t let that happen to Grayson.

    I cared too much about him.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not why. I just need to go home,¡± I said.

    My mother let

    go looked skeptical.

    of my hands and crossed her arms. She nodded in understanding, but still

    ¡°Do you have a n? Because there is no way an alpha male is just going to let his mate walk out of his life,¡± she said.

    ¡°I was just going to sneak out while he was sleeping and catch a flight home. He doesn¡¯t know where I live,¡± I replied.

    Í¬

    UNLIMITED

    that won¡¯t work. He¡¯ll notice you¡¯re gone the second you leave him.¡± She stood and began wringing her hands again. ¡°And if he doesn¡¯t notice, his wolf definitely will. Dominant males typically sleep with their noses pressed up to their mates to smell them throughout the night. It calms their wolf and helps them sleep. If your scent isn¡¯t near him, then he¡¯ll immediately wake

    1

    up.

    I didn¡¯t know what to say to that, to any of it.

    She looked at me. ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve been wearing all day?¡± she asked, pointing at my sweater.

    I nodded.

    ¡°So it has his scent on it and yours?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I said.

    ¡°Okay. Okay, then that is what you will put near him when you try to escape. It must smell like you, but it must also smell like the new environment that

    you are in.¡±

    She sat down next to me again. ¡°And Belle, the minute you get away from him, you run like hell and you don¡¯t look behind you. Bring nothing. It will only slow you down. If he catches you¡­¡± She paused. ¡°If he catches you, you will never have another opportunity. You will be trapped with him forever with no way out.¡± Her expression was so intense, so frightening.

    ¡°Mom, you¡¯re scaring me,¡± I whispered.

    She gave me a sad smile and lifted her hand to cup my cheek.

    ¡°Oh, my sweet Belle, mated to an alpha.¡± Tears formed in her eyes. ¡°I never wanted this life for you.¡±

    My brow furrowed.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Mom, does your mate hurt you?¡±

    She didn¡¯t answer me. She just continued studying my face as if this was thest time that she would ever see me. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy to finally be able to talk to you about this, to exin myself. You have no idea how hard it was to keep this from you and your father,¡± she said.

    At the mention of my dad, I pulled away. She shouldn¡¯t have been talking about him. She hadn¡¯t evene to his funeral.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡±

    She fidgeted a bit. ¡°I-¡±

    ore she could say anything else, I heard the front door opening. I thought it would be yson, and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

    My mother immediately stood and fixed her makeup that had run due to her crying.

    ¡°ire, is that dinner I smell?¡± a deep voice asked from the other room. ¡°It better be ready on

    time tonight. We don¡¯t want a repeat ofst night, now do we?¡±

    A man walked into the living room. I hadn¡¯t seen him since I was a kid at the wedding, and even then, we¡¯d barely met, but I recognized him immediately as Carl, my mother¡¯s husband¡ªand, apparently, her mate.

    His eyes found my mother and he approached her slowly, his gaze moving up and down her figure. He touched the hem of her skirt when he finally came to stand in front of her.

    ¡°Is this skirt new?¡± he asked. ¡°It¡¯s a bit short, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    My mother nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll change as soon as I get the chance.¡± She smiled and ced her hand on his shoulder. She leaned in. ¡°We have a guest,¡± she said to him. She motioned to me.

    I stood. ¡°Hi,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve gotten the chance to officially meet. I¡¯m Belle.¡±

    I reached out my hand, offering it to him to shake.

    He walked toward me, crossing his arms and looking me over in a slow and threatening way.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the daughter she never wanted.¡±

    ¡°Carl!¡± my mother gasped.

    He apparently doesn¡¯t want to shake my hand.

    He held up his hand to her and gave her a look that made her shrink in on herself. He turned back to me. ¡°Do you have any idea how worried your mother was when you didn¡¯t show up weeks ago? Did you stop to consider how it would make her feel, or did you only take your own selfish feelings into ount?¡±

    My mouth fell open in shock. Who gave him the right to talk to me like that?

    He knew nothing about my situation or what I had gone through in thest couple of weeks.

    ¡°Carl, stop it right now!¡± my mom yelled.

    ¡°I¡± I began, but was immediately interrupted.

    ¡°No. Do

    you have ¨¢ny idea how lucky you were that I was going to let you into my home in the first ce?¡± Carl shouted. He pointed a nasty finger at me. ¡°And you took that opportunity for granted and hurt your mother in the process!¡±

    dn¡¯t know what to say. I hadn¡¯t been expecting this reaction at all.

    sorry I didn¡¯t make it. Something came up and I had no way of contacting her. I lost my phone.¡±

    growl came from Carl¡¯s chest. He was getting closer and closer to me. ¡°Something came up? Something came up?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s the best excuse you cane up with?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say. I hadn¡¯t been expecting this reaction at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t make it. Something came up and I had no way of contacting her. I lost my phone.¡±

    A growl came from Carl¡¯s chest. He was getting closer and closer to me. ¡°Something came up? Something came up?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s the best excuse you cane up with?¡±

    My mom walked up next to him and grabbed his arm. ¡°Carl, stop it,¡± she tried to say calmly.

    He let out an ear¨Cshattering growl and shoved her away; she fell to the floor, knocking into the

    coffee table.

    ¡°You will not give me orders!¡± he yelled at her.

    ¡°Stop!¡± I yelled when he approached her again. I grabbed him, trying to tug him away from her.

    A powerful blow hit my face, and an immense amount of pain radiated from my cheek throughout the rest of my b*dy. It sent me flying sideways, to the ground. For a second, I couldn¡¯t see anything. I only felt blinding hot pain. Yeah, that will leave a mark.

    ¡°Carl, no!¡± I heard my mother yell. ¡°She is an alpha¡¯s mate! Look at her n*eck! She is an alpha¡¯s mate,¡± she sobbed out.

    I didn¡¯t do or say anything. I just continued to lie on the ground, holding my cheek, as tears of pain ran down my face.

    I felt someone move the hair away from my n*eck. ¡°Luna,¡± Carl breathed out. He dropped onto his knees next to me. ¡°Luna, I am so sorry! I didn¡¯t know.¡±

    Before I could answer, the door came crashing open. A weight lifted off me and I breathed out a sigh of relief. Grayson ran into the room, his chest heaving. His eyes were the ckest that I had ever seen them. He was twice the size that he normally was, and there were veinsing out of his n*eck and forehead.

    He looked livid.

    His eyes found mine.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I said. Without even knowing what I was doing, I reached for him, longing for his arms to be around me.

    He immediately ran to me and kneeled down next to me. He wouldn¡¯t stop growling and, with G

    y passing second, he was looking more and more like a wolf instead of a human.

    He gently touched the bruise that was already forming on my face. I expected it to hurt, but somehow the sensation just brought me morefort. His hand came away with blood on it.

    He growled so loudly that I¡¯m sure the entire building shook.

    somenow the sensation just brought me morefort. His nana came away with blood on it.

    He growled so loudly that I¡¯m sure the entire building shook.

    ¡°Who did this?¡± he asked. His voice sounded almost demonic.

    ¡°Alpha Grayson, I am so sorry,¡± Carl said.

    46%

    When I looked at him, I noticed that he was already baring his n*eck to Grayson, kneeling on the ground next to us.

    ¡°I did not know she was your mate. I never would have hurt her had I known.¡±

    Grayson moved faster than I couldprehend. His hand was around Carl¡¯s n*eck and he lifted him up against the wall in mere seconds.

    ¡°You dare hurt my mate?¡±

    He punched Carl¡¯s face so hard that one of his teeth went flying out of his mouth.

    I heard my mother¡¯s so b from the other side of the room. She was on her knees, watching as my mate attempted to kill hers. I knew I had to do something. Grayson was throwing punch after punch at Carl¡¯s face at the same time that he was strangling him. Carl did nothing to fight back. He was going to die if Grayson didn¡¯t stop soon.

    I ran up to him, attempting to put myself between him and Carl, but Grayson wouldn¡¯t stop punching him long enough for me to seed. I grabbed his face and said his name, but he wouldn¡¯t look at me.

    ¡°Grayson, please stop,¡± I said in a panic. ¡°Please stop. I¡¯m in pain. I need you. Please, I need you.¡±

    Grayson looked at me. There was foam dripping from his mouth. His canines were piercing his l*ps, drawing blood.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d heard me, so now that I had his attention, I repeated myself: ¡°I¡¯m in pain, Grayson.¡± I touched

    ¡°I touched my cheek softly. ¡°It hurts. Please take care of me. I think I might pass out. I need you,¡± I said desperately.

    Of course, that was a lie. With all the adrenaline that was running through my b*dy, I could barely feel anything. But he didn¡¯t need to know that. Grayson shook his head violently as if he was having an internal argument. Take care of his wounded mate or kill the man who did it?

    w that he had stopped punching Carl, I could stand in front of him.

    UNLIMITED eyes watched me closely and zeroed in on the handprint on my face. He growled.

    Please, Grayson. Please, I just want to go home with you. I¡¯m so tired. Please, just take me home,¡± I whispered.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d heard me, so now that I had his attention, I repeated myself: ¡°I¡¯m in pain, Grayson.¡± I touched my cheek softly. ¡°It hurts. Please take care of me. I think I might pass out. I need you,¡± I said desperately.

    Of course, that was a lie. With all the adrenaline that was running through my b*dy, I could barely feel anything. But he didn¡¯t need to know that. Grayson shook his head violently as if he was having an internal argument. Take care of his wounded mate or kill the man who did it?

    Now that he had stopped punching Carl, I could stand in front of him.

    His eyes watched me closely and zeroed in on the handprint on my face. He growled.

    ¡°Please, Grayson. Please, I just want to go home with you. I¡¯m so tired. Please, just take me home,¡± I whispered.

    He huffed, and I knew that he hade to a decision. He got so close to Carl, who he was still holding up by the n*eck, that I was sure Carl could feel Grayson¡¯s breath fanning his battered face.

    He looked in Carl¡¯s swollen eyes. ¡°Touch my mate again and you¡¯re a dead man. There will be consequences for this,¡± he growled.

    When Grayson dropped him on the ground, Carl began gasping for air and coughing. My mother was at his side in an instant, cradling his head to her chest.

    Grayson didn¡¯t waste any time. He picked me up in his arms so he was carrying me bridal style and began walking to the door.

    I looked at my mother on the floor with her mate. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Mom. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    She shook her head as she watched me being carried away.

    ¡°Don¡¯te back here, Belle. Nevere back here.¡±

 Chapter 28

    Kidnapped by My Mate Chapter 28

    BELLE

    Neither of us said anything during the entire ride back to the hotel.

    Grayson kept me in hisp, alternating between nipping at the mark on my n*eck and licking the wound on my face.

    At first, I waspletely disgusted by him licking my face, but one loud growl from him had me shutting right up. I¡¯m sure our cab driver thought we were insane. I considered talking to him and trying to exin myself, but I couldn¡¯t tell if he was mad at me or mad because I was hurt.

    Maybe it was both. I didn¡¯t want to risk pis sing him off even more.

    It took him the entire ride home to calm down. His b*dy returned to normal, although his breathing was still ragged.

    Once at the hotel, he picked me up and carried me all the way to our room. We got a few strange looks on the way up, but nob*dy said anything, thankfully.

    In our room, he immediately brought me to the en suite bathroom and set me down on the counter. He stepped between my legs.

    ¡°Kyle!¡± he yelled as he grabbed a towel and ran it under the faucet. ¡°Get me ice!¡±

    He brought the damp towel to the part of my face that had split from Carl¡¯s punch and gently cleaned it. I winced. Grayson growled.

    ¡°What were you doing there?¡± Grayson asked as he washed away the blood.

    I hesitated. I knew I shouldn¡¯t tell him, but I really didn¡¯t feel like lying to him.

    ¡°That was my mom¡¯s house,¡± I mumbled. ¡°The man who hit me was her mate.¡±

    Grayson nodded his head, not making eye contact with me. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take me with you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± My shoulders slumped. I looked down at my hands. ¡°I was afraid of what you could do to

    if you knew who she was and where she lived.¡±

    yson sighed. Carefully, he took my chin with his hand and tilted my head up so I was looking at him. His eyes softened.

    ¡°Listen to me, Belle, and listen well. I will never do anything to hurt you. Ever. I know you and your mom don¡¯t have the best rtionship, but know that I¡¯d never do anything to her if it risked losing you.¡±

    He leaned down and k*ssed my forehead. Then he ced his forehead on mine and looked deep into my eyes. He cupped the uninjured side of

    my face.

    ¡°I need you to trust me, Belle. I care about you too much to have you running off because you¡¯re scared. Talk to me. Communicate. We¡¯ll figure it out together. Always.¡±

    I took in a shaky breath, then closed my eyes. ¡°Okay,¡± I whispered.

    Someone suddenly cleared their voice. Both Grayson and I snapped our heads up to see Kyle standing in the doorway.

    ¡°Sorry to interrupt this touching moment,¡± he said, smirking at the two of us.

    ¡°I have the ice pack you asked for, Alpha.¡± He handed it to Grayson. ¡°Now I can see why you needed it. You look like hell, Luna.¡±

    ¡°Gee, thanks, Kyle,¡± I said sarcastically.

    Heughed. ¡°Any time,¡± he said. He winked at me before walking away.

    Grayson finished tending to my wound, bandaging it and lightly pressing the ice pack to it.

    ¡°You¡¯re keeping that on there until all the ice has melted. I don¡¯t care how long it takes. Your face is already swelling too much.¡±

    I nodded. It hurt like hell.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go get you some ibuprofen for the pain,¡± Grayson said as he tucked a stray piece¨Cof hair behind my ear. ¡°Stay here, okay?¡±

    I nodded again.

    Once he had left the room, I sighed and leaned against the mirror behind me. My life had turnedpletely upside down in just a couple of weeks.

    I felt overwhelmed¨Cno, I felt more than overwhelmed.

    I feltpletely out of my mind.

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    t tears form in my eyes. This was all too much for me to handle. I wanted everything to back to normal. I wanted to jump in a time machine. Go back to staying with my dad and working at the diner¨Cback before I¡¯d needed to worry about money or where I would live.

    I looked around me, trying to control my breathing.

    I looked around me, trying to control my breathing.

    But since a time machine¡¯s not avable¡­ I want to go home and regain control over my life!

    Even my mother, who had always seemed so well put together and in control, had been wearing a mask. She was obviously living in an environment that prohibited her from making any of her own decisions. I didn¡¯t want to live like that. I just wanted to go home.

    I just want to go home.

    I noticed then that Grayson¡¯s phone was lying on the counter next to me. I nced out the door to see if he wasing, then sl*pped the phone int¨° my pocket.

    Grayson returned a few secondster, holding a ss of water and some medicine.

    When he saw the tears in my eyes, he set down the ss and pills on the counter and was in front of me within seconds.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± he asked.

    Because I have to leave you, I thought.

    ¡°My face just hurts, that¡¯s all,¡± I said.

    He frowned and brushed his knuckles lightly over my bruise.

    ¡°I hate that you got hurt. I wish I would¡¯ve been there before it happened. That ba sta rd will pay for this, I promise you that.

    I shook my head. ¡°No. No, please don¡¯t do anything to him. I don¡¯t want to hurt my mom.¡±

    Grayson sighed. He handed me the ss of water and ibuprofen.

    ¡°Drink all the water.¡±

    After I had taken the medicine, Grayson brought me to the bedroom and sat on the bed so that his back was against the headboard. He took me into hisp and cradled me in his arms.

    ¡°You have no idea how worried I was,¡± he breathed into my n*eck.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I needed to see my mom.¡±

    He hummed as he continued to breathe in my scent. ¡°Never leave me like that again, okay?¡± He

    ced a k*ss on my n*eck. His k*sses continued down my n*eck before I could reply. He k*ssed my

    k and then moved back up to my chin, cing wet k*sses all along it.

    UNLIMITED

    Finally, he came to my l*ps, moving his against mine so passionately that it took my breath away As I got more and more distracted by the urring events, I slowly forgot to keep the ice pack against my cheek. Grayson growled and grabbed my hand, pressing it back up to my face. I rolled my eves,

    rolled my eyes.

    Hey me down on the bed and hovered over me without taking his l*ps from mine. His hands

    moved under my shirt, tracing the lines of my rib cage.

    Wow, this escted quickly.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I said through his k*sses. He didn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I tried again.

    He lifted off of me a bit and brushed his nose against mine affectionately.

    ¡°We need to stop,¡± I said.

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± he said. ¡°You have no idea how hard it is not to ravish you every second of every day.¡±

    I swallowed. I could feel my cheeks turning bright red. ¡°Um, thanks?¡±

    He chuckled and lifted all the way off me. He brushed a hand through his hair.

    ¡°I need to go take a shower, probably a cold one. Would you like to join?¡±

    My blush intensified. ¡°No! That was a ime thing, buddy.¡±

    Heughed again. He leaned down and ced one more quick k*ss on my l*ps before standing up. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll see about that, baby,¡± he said.

    ¡°Now, are you going to be a good girl and stay here and not run away while I¡¯m in the shower, or do I need to handcuff you to the bed?¡±

    I shook my head quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Grayson said and then walked into the bathroom.

    I sighed and stared at the ceiling. All I wanted was to go to sleep, but I knew that now might be the only time I had alone. I took out his phone and typed in the password I¡¯d seen earlier.

    Do I really want to do this?

 Chapter 29

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    I stared at the phone, my thumb hovering over the screen. Deliberating.

    My n had been to book a flight when Grayson wasn¡¯t looking. Then I¡¯d sneak out to the airport sometime during the night. Maybe I could even be home by the morning.

    I knew that now would be my only chance to do this.

    I nced at the bathroom door, a deep part of me almost hoping that he woulde out, see what I was doing, and stop me. I was just so scared. This was all too much.

    I opened up the inte browser on his iPhone but couldn¡¯t bring myself to type anything, even though I knew I was running out of time.

    Even just thinking about leaving Grayson made the pain in my chest grow more and more. My mark throbbed and tears were starting to well in my eyes.

    But what about my apartment? My job? It had already been really irresponsible of me to spend even an extra night in France rather than racing home.

    My rent was alreadyte, and myndlord wasn¡¯t exactly the forgiving type.

    And I knew that if I brought it up with Grayson he would just smooth talk me into staying another day. I was afraid to disagree with him. I¡¯d seen what he was capable of.

    I¡¯ll never do anything to hurt you, he had said. But was that true? Talk to me. Communicate. We¡¯ll figure it out together.

    But what would he say if I told him that I was nning on escaping tonight and going home? And that I wasn¡¯t sure if I still had a job or even an apartment, and I might be homeless?

    I had always taken so much pride in being able to provide for not only myself but also after he became unemployed because of his illness.

    my

    father

    Would Grayson still want me if he knew about all the baggage that I came with? How pathetic I

    G

    ? And then there was the problem with my mom and her mate.

    UNLIMITED

    uld Grayson treat me the way that Carl treated my mother?

    She had seemed so worried when she found out that my mate was an alpha, and had even helped

    She had seemed so worried when she found out that my mate was an alpha, and had even helped mee up with a n to get away from him.

    But I couldn¡¯t imagine Grayson hurting me. I took in a deep breath. I trusted him. I trusted him with my life. If he was nning on hurting me, then I would deal with thatter.

    For now, I just wanted to enjoy being with him without overthinking it.

    I suddenly heard the shower turn off. My heart jumped. Secondster, Grayson walked out of the bathroom with a towel hanging dangerously low on his hips.

    He ran a hand through his hair, his muscles rippling with his every movement.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize how much of your mother¡¯s mate¡¯s blood I had on me. Sorry if it freaked you out.¡±

    Without even knowing what I was doing, Iunched myself at him, throwing my arms around his n*eck. He immediately wrapped his arms around me to stabilize himself.

    ¡°Whoa, what¡¯s going on, baby?¡±

    I began sobbing into his n*eck, letting all the emotions from thest couple of weeks flood my b*dy and take me over. I couldn¡¯t help it.

    Grayson probably thought I was insane.

    His grip on me tightened.

    ¡°Belle, baby, what¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked in a panicked voice. ¡°Why are you crying?¡±

    I just shook my head. I couldn¡¯t speak through the intense so bs racking my b*dy.

    Grayson rubbed my back in a soothing way, then picked me up so that my legs encircled his waist. He walked us to the bed and sat us down, with me straddling him.

    ¡°Talk to me, Belle,¡± he said, forcing my face out of his n*eck. Once I was looking at him, he ran the pad of his thumb over my cheek, wiping away my tears.

    ¡°You¡¯re freaking me out, beautiful. What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    I took in a shaky breath. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave you,¡± I said through my tears.

    Grayson¡¯s b*dy stiffened. ¡°Why would you leave me?¡± he growled out.

    G

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    iffled. I slowly reached beside us and grabbed his phone that was lying on the bed. It was still on. I held it up for him to see.

    ¡°What?¡± he asked, obvious confusioncing his voice. He took the phone from me.

    Ishut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for what was toe next. ¡°I grabbed it from the

    I shut my eyes tightly, preparing myself for what was toe next. ¡°I grabbed it from the bathroom counter when you weren¡¯t looking. I was going to book a flight home and then sneak out of here tonight.

    ¡°My mom said that if I left something that smelled like me next to you while you were sleeping, you wouldn¡¯t notice I was gone until morning.¡±

    He gripped my hips tighter, and his breathing became uneven.

    ¡°Belle, look at me.¡±

    I shook my head. I didn¡¯t want to see how mad he was..

    He grabbed my chin and squeezed it softly. ¡°Look at me, mate.¡±

    I opened one eye and peeked at him. He didn¡¯t look as angry as I¡¯d thought he would be. I bit my l*p.

    ¡°First of all,¡± Grayson started, ¡°that would have never worked. Maybe a normal wolf wouldn¡¯t notice their mate missing, but not an alpha. I would have noticed right away, or my wolf would have. We¡¯re attuned to every part of your b*dy, even during sleep everything about you, not just your scent.¡±

    I began fumbling with my shirt, my cheeks turning bright red.

    He grabbed my chin again and forced me to look back at him. His expression became intense.

    ¡°Second, you are never leaving me. No matter where you go or how many times you run,

    you run, I will always find

    you. Always. Without fail. You are mine, Belle. I don¡¯t know how many times I have to tell

    you that. You¡¯re my mate, my soulmate, my everything.

    ¡°Maybe I wasn¡¯t clear enough when I exined all of this to you, and for that I am sorry, But we will spend the rest of our lives together. I love you.¡±

    I gasped. Did I hear him right? ¡°You love me?¡±

    Grayson nodded. ¡°With all that I have.¡±

    ¡°But there are so many things you don¡¯t know about me. You don¡¯t know about all the baggage Ie with,¡± I said.

    ¡°Then tell me,¡± Grayson said as he stroked my hair lovingly. ¡°I want to know everything about

    G

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    you sure?¡± I whispered.

    He nodded and bent down to k*ss my nose. ¡°Nothing would make me happier.¡±

    I looked deep into his eyes, searching for a reason not to open up to him, but I couldn¡¯t find it.

    I looked deep into his eyes, searching for a reason not to open up to him, but I couldn¡¯t find it. Maybe it¡¯s time to let someb*dy else take care of me for once.

    ¡°I¡¯m homeless,¡± I said.

    Grayson¡¯s expression went from adoring to furious within seconds as he processed what I had said. His grip on my hips tightened almost to the point of pain before he stopped himself and instead began kneading them.

    ¡°For how long?¡±

    I looked down at my hands, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not officially homeless yet, but I will be when I go home. Myndlord isn¡¯t very understanding when ites tote rent. I¡¯m sure all of my stuff is already out on the sidewalk.¡±

    Grayson growled. ¡°Is that why you were so worried about going home?¡±

    I nodded my head slowly, still not meeting his gaze. I could feel the embarrassment coursing through my b*dy.

    Grayson said nothing for a while, and it forced me to look up at him to decipher what he was thinking. His face was twisted in disgust, and all of his muscles were tight.

    Was he wondering what he had gotten himself into? Was he wishing that he had been given a different mate?

    My shoulders slumped as I voiced my next question: ¡°Do you still want me?¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes snapped to mine and he growled ferociously. He yanked my b*dy into his chest. ¡°You are mine!¡±

    His wolf seemed to speak now as the darks of his eyes took over. ¡°I will always want you!¡±

    I nodded to show that I understood. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whispered into his chest.

    He pulled away so he could look at me, his animal eyes prating mine. ¡°Why are you sorry?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you¡¯re stuck with me. I¡¯m sure I wasn¡¯t what you were imagining when you thought of your mate. I might not even have a job, either, so who knows when I¡¯ll be able to get back on my feet.

    ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t tell me any of this?¡± Grayson asked. ¡°You thought I would be ashamed of

    I nodded again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡±

    To my great surprise, Grayson justughed. He ran a hand down his face. ¡°I have done a terrible Job exining all of this to you,¡± he said darkly.

    va surprise, Grayson justugiu, an a

    job exining all of this to you,¡± he said darkly.

    I have a UN

    ¡°I meant it when I said that I will make sure you never pay for another thing in your life. You will move in with me as soon as we get back to Minnesota. You will no longer have or need a job. I will provide for you just like any good male mate does. It is the way of all werewolves. It is not in our nature to have it any other way.¡±

    I gaped at him. ¡°You want me to move in with you? After only knowing me for a couple of weeks?¡±

    He chuckled. ¡°No, baby girl, I don¡¯t want you to move in with me. You will move in with me. You don¡¯t have a choice in the matter. I will tie you to my bed if I have to, just to ensure that I get to wake up next to your beautiful face for the rest of my life.¡±

    I knew that I should be afraid, that I should run for the hills. This was exactly what I had feared when I¡¯d thought about getting into a rtionship with Grayson: not getting to make my own decisions anymore. But I didn¡¯t feel scared. I felt warm. For the first time in my life, it felt like I had nothing to worry about. Grayson would take care of me.

    ¡°As for the being ashamed of you part,¡± Grayson added in a disgusted tone, ¡°that is not possible. I wasn¡¯t mad at you for your situation. I was furious with myself for not being there to take care of you when you needed me most. You were so close to me and I had no idea. I could¡¯ve had you in my arms so long ago.¡±

    Relief surged through me. I smiled and leaned my head on his chest.

    ¡°I never want to leave your arms,¡± I whispered.

    He smiled slightly and pressed his mouth to my hair. ¡°Then you won¡¯t,¡± he said.

    I sighed as I nuzzled into him further. ¡°It feels good to finally be honest with you. I didn¡¯t like all the lies I was telling you. I was just so scared.¡±

    Grayson rubbed my back again, massaging the tight muscles that were slowly starting to loosen. ¡°What other lies did you tell me?¡±

    I bit my l*p. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t live in Winona. I live in Minneapolis.¡±

    Grayson chuckled. ¡°You don¡¯t think I knew that? The minute I met you, I had one of my pack members dig up all of your records.¡±

    I gasped and looked at him. ¡°You what?¡±

    G

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    ¡°Yeah, whatever,¡± I said, still a little upset about the invasion of privacy.

    He leaned down and began to yfully nibble on my ear and jaw, obviously trying to lighten my

    He leaned down and began to yfully nibble on my ear and jaw, obviously trying to lighten my mood. Iughed and shoved him away. He chuckled.

    ¡°Anything else you lied to me about?¡± Grayson asked.

    I thought over thest couple of weeks.

    ¡°Um, there is no book called Hands of Gold?¡±

    Laughter shook through Grayson again..

    ¡°Yes, I figured that one out as well,¡± he said happily and brought me closer in his arms.

    And, for the first time in a long time, everything was okay.

 Chapter 30

    Kidnapped by My Mate

    BELLE

    The next morning, I woke up to the feeling of Grayson squeezing the absolute life out of me from behind.

    I attempted to shift my weight to find a morefortable position, but he was making it impossible with how tightly he was holding me. It wasn¡¯t painful, but it was very ufortable.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I said, trying to wake him up. I rubbed his arms that were wrapped around me. ¡°Grayson, wake up.¡±

    I noticed as I continued to caress him that his entire b*dy was shaking and that long, dark hair was growing out of his skin. He was close to shifting. I couldn¡¯t see his face, but I could feel his hot breath on my n*eck and hear his low growling in my ear. What was happening? He must have been dreaming.

    With eve

    passing second, his grip was bing tighter and tighter. I knew that I had to wake him up or he would literally squeeze me to death.

    I leaned down as far as I could and pressed a k*ss to his arm, then another one. Small huffs came from Grayson with every k*ss I pressed to his skin. His arms loosened the tiniest bit.

    I continued to k*ss his arms and hands, then began to lick and suck. His growls turned into

    groans.

    His hold on me loosened to a normal level, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

    But then he threw one of his legs over me and buried his face into my n*eck and hair. I could tell that he was still asleep. I could feel something hard poking my butt. Uh¨Coh.

    I grabbed onto one of his hands and traced the lines on his palm. ¡°Grayson,¡± I whispered. He huffed and stirred a bit. I brought his hand up and k*ssed his palm softly. ¡°Grayson, I need you to wake up.¡±

    When he didn¡¯t move yet again, I slowly turned my b*dy so I could face him. This proved to be very difficult as Grayson growled and tightened his arms around me once again in his sleep. G

    UNLIMITED atever he was dreaming about must have been pretty intense.

    Once I was facing him, I noticed how stressed he seemed to be. His face was tight and set in a

    nd his entire b*dy was rigid and unmoving event for his ranid breathing and trembling.

    When he didn¡¯t move yet again, I slowly turned my b*dy so I could face him. This proved to be very difficult as Grayson growled and tightened his arms around me once again in his sleep.

    Whatever he was dreaming about must have been pretty intense.

    Once I was facing him, I noticed how stressed he seemed to be. His face was tight and set in a frown, and his entire b*dy was rigid and unmoving except for his rapid breathing and trembling. I didn¡¯t like seeing him like this. I didn¡¯t want him to be stressed out or to be having a bad dream.

    I found myself lifting my hands from between us and running them over his face. I caressed the frown lines and traced his jaw, mouth, nose, and eyes.

    His face was gorgeous, and I found myself wanting to memorize and touch every part of it.

    He rxed a little bit, but his breathing was stilling out in quick pants. I leaned my forehead against his.

    ¡°Grayson, wake up.¡±

    He stirred a bit but didn¡¯t open his eyes. I groaned. Man, can this guy sleep.

    It would have been kind of adorable, but I really needed to go to the bathroom. And Grayson squeezing me definitely wasn¡¯t helping.

    So I did the only thing I could think of: I ced a gentle k*ss on his n*eck. And then I continued up to his face¨Cto his jaw and around his l*ps.

    I felt guilty k*ssing him without his consent, but I didn¡¯t stop. I mean, I was molesting the guy while he slept, but I loved the feeling of his skin on my l*ps.

    It sent electric shocks through my system and made my brain all foggy. Plus, I was sure that he wouldn¡¯t have minded if he were awake.

    I finally k*ssed his l*ps. Fireworks exploded as I moved my l*ps against his. It took my breath

    away.

    And then, suddenly, I was on my back and Grayson was on top of me, k*ssing the living daylights out of me. I groaned.

    Well, I guess he¡¯s awake now.

    I had forgotten that my goal in all of this was to wake him up. I¡¯d been too consumed with k*ssing him to even pay attention to his reaction.

    G

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    4, this mate bond thing must be really getting to me.

    Grayson grabbed onto my legs and wrapped them around his waist, taking full control of the situation. Then he moved his hands to grip my waist under my pajama shirt.

    jorgotten mat my goal in un oi uis was to wake nim up. Deen 100 consumed win k*ssing him to even pay attention to his reaction.

    G od, this mate bond thing must be really getting to me.

    Grayson grabbed onto my legs and wrapped them around his waist, taking full control of the situation. Then he moved his hands to grip my waist under my pajama shirt.

    His thumbs were grazing the skin right beneath my breasts.

    I was running out of breath from our intense k*ssing. Noticing this, Grayson removed his l*ps from mine and moved them down to my jaw and n*eck, then to my corbone and around the cor of my cotton shirt.

    He paused just long enough to grab the bottom of my shirt and yank it up.

    Unable to stop myself, I lifted my arms, allowing him to remove my top.

    Grayson stared at my exposed upper half for a long moment, his eyes trained on my breasts. His gaze turned dark and stormy as it moved over my b*dy, seemingly memorizing every part of it. The heat of the moment left me and was reced by shyness. He was staring at me so intensely, and I couldn¡¯t help but hope that he approved of what he saw.

    I had never been self¨Cconscious of my b*dy before¨CI¡¯d had other things to worry about¨Cbut now I felt myself shifting and squirming in difort.

    Grayson noticed this immediately and returned his gaze to my face. His expression softened. He reached a hand up and caressed my cheekbone gently.

    ¡°Every day I wonder how I got a mate as beautiful as you, how I got so lucky.¡±

    I blushed and squirmed some more, not knowing how to react to hispliment. No one had ever spoken to me like that.

    He smiled at me and lowered his face to mine to give me a slow but passionate k*ss. It wasn¡¯t like the k*ss from before, which had been hot and demanding.

    No, this one was sweet and loving and left my toes curling.

    ¡°By the way,¡± Grayson said, lifting off of me just the tiniest bit, ¡°I expect to be woken from now on.¡±

    up

    like this

    Iughed. ¡°I had to pee and you dn¡¯t think you would mind.¡±

    weren¡¯t waking up.

    It was the only thing that I could think of. I

    UNLIMITED eaned down and k*ssed me again.

    ¡°I give you full permission to k*ss me whenever you want, conscious or not.¡±

    Iughed again and rose up to k*ss his l*ps. He growled softly. When we pulled apart I asked,

 Chapter 31

    <strong>Chapter 31</strong>

    <strong>BELLE </strong>

    He leaned back. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It seemed like you were having a bad dream. You were growling and almost squeezed me to death,¡± I said.

    He sighed. ¡°I was dreaming about your stepfather. He was hitting you and I couldn¡¯t get to you.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. I loved how protective he was of me. ¡°But I¡¯m okay now. You saved me.¡±

    He ran his hand over the bruise on my cheek. ¡°I¡¯ll always save you.¡±

    It was crazy how connected I felt to the man on top of me. It was like I¡¯d known him my entire life. I couldn¡¯t believe that only yesterday I¡¯d been plotting to leave him.

    Today, I couldn¡¯t imagine my life without

    him. I would probably have had a full breakdown if he weren¡¯t with me. Maybe our mate bond was getting stronger the longer we knew each other. I felt Grayson stroking my bare side, leaving pleasurable sparks running through me.

    ¡°What¡¯s got you thinking so hard, beautiful?¡±

    I smiled. ¡°I¡­¡± I hesitated. Would it be weird to say something like this so soon in our rtionship? I guess Grayson had already told me he loved me. How much

    more serious could it get?

    ¡°I was just thinking about the <i>mate </i><i>bond</i>, as you call it. I think it¡¯s getting to me.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes sparkled with happiness.

    ¡°Do you now? And why do you think that?¡±

    ¡°I just¡± I looked away from him¡ª¡°this whole thing is crazy. I only met you a couple of weeks ago, but despite that,

    I still want to give this a try. Which is

    insane and I know that.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t care. I just like you. A lot. I enjoy being around you and, um¡­ touching you. I want to be with you no matter how crazy it is.¡±

    Grayson grabbed my chin and turned my head to look at him. His smile was huge.

    ¡°You have no idea how happy that makes me.¡±

    I smiled back at him hesitantly. ¡°Really?¡±

    He nodded and caressed my face. ¡°Yes, really. And trust me, love, all of those feelings are more than mutual.¡± He leaned down and growled against my ear.

    ¡°Especially the touching part.¡±

    He k*ssed my mark and I gasped. But he didn¡¯t stop there. He kept moving down. And down.

    And then his mouth was on my breast. Half of me was ecstatic, loving every bit of what he was doing, but the other half -probably the more sane one¨Crealized

    at that exact moment that I wasn¡¯t

    wearing a shirt. <i>How </i><i>did </i><i>I </i><i>forget </i><i>that</i><i>? </i>

    I wasn¡¯t even wearing a bra! I was just sofortable around him, I hadn¡¯t noticed that my upper half waspletely exposed. I¡¯d had an entire conversation

    with him while I was half n*ked!

    I gasped and pushed him away from me. Thankfully, he allowed me to, and I grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to my n*ck, sessfully covering myself.

    Grayson growled and pouted when he could no longer see my exposed upper half.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, feeling embarrassed. ¡°I forgot I wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt.¡±

    I was way toofortable around this

    guy.

    Grayson chuckled softly and then sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit pained, as if he were restraining himself.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, love. I was just hoping you wouldn¡¯t notice and would let me have my way with you. I really don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair that I¡¯m shirtless all the time while

    you¡¯re fully clothed. I think you should stay shirtless too,¡± he said.

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll just never put a shirt on again. I¡¯ll just go out in public topless from now on. I bet all the men around us would really get a kick out of that.¡±

    A loud growl left Grayson¡¯s mouth, and he quickly grabbed my shirt that was next to him and put it over my head. Iughed.

    Graysony down beside me once I had my shirt on and took me into his arms so

    that my head was on his chest. He k*ssed my forehead gently.

    ¡°You know, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Your b*dy is mine. All of you is mine.¡±

    I rolled my eyes at his possessiveness. ¡°Uh¨Chuh, sure,¡± I said in a joking tone.

    He squeezed my side in warning and Iughed. I nuzzled my face into his n*ck, simply breathing in his scent and enjoying being in his arms. We stayed like that for a few minutes.

    Everything just felt so peaceful, so right.

    But then I took a deep breath. ¡°There¡¯s something else you should know,¡± I whispered.

    Grayson moved me slightly so he could see me. ¡°Okay,¡± he said.

    I could already feel the blush spreading up my n*ck and into my cheeks. Grayson

    ran his hand up and down my back in a

    anxiety.

    ¡°I¡¯ve, um¡°-I hesitated-¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like, um, that before.¡±

    Grayson raised an eyebrow. ¡°That?¡±

    I shifted and shut my eyes tightly. I had

    no clue how he would react to what I was

    about to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m a virgin!¡± I blurted out.

    I opened my eyes slowly when I didn¡¯t hear Grayson respond. He had an amused

    smile on his face.

    ¡°And you¡¯re worried about how I¡¯ll react

    to this?¡±

    I nodded slowly, confused by his reaction. ¡°Well¡­yeah.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s smile widened as he brushed his hand across my cheek. ¡°I already

    knew that, baby.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked as I sat up. ¡°How could you possibly know?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°I can smell it.¡±

    ¡°You can smell my virginity?¡± I asked in

    shock.

    Grayson nodded. ¡°A male wolf can smell the virginity of his female, or theck thereof.¡±

    My jaw dropped. ¡°So you¡¯ve known this entire time?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± he said. ¡°And it makes me happy to know that I¡¯ll be your first.¡± He pulled me closer to him and rubbed his nose lovingly against my cheek. ¡°And yourst,¡± he whispered.

    Iughed nervously and tried not to reveal how much his words were affecting me. Hot sparks were traveling through my b*dy at the thought of what he was

    700

    implying.

    ¡°You¡¯re very presumptuous, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    His l*ps were hovering over my mark as he said his next words: ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be taking your virginity?¡± he said seductively.

    The truth was that I was pretty sure he would be the one. But I didn¡¯t need him knowing that. I wasn¡¯t ready, and I didn¡¯t want him confusing my agreement with being ready.

    Plus, he didn¡¯t need a bigger head. ¡°Well¡­I, I don¡¯t-¡®

    He k*ssed my mark gently and it sent my entire b*dy up in mes. I gasped and turned my head to the side to give him better ess. He chuckled against my

    skin.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to be inside you, hearing those noises you make when I k*ss you,

    those noises you make when I k*ss you, and making you feel things you¡¯ve never felt before.¡±

    I gasped at his words, and a quiet moan left my mouth. I pushed my b*dy closer to his. I honestly couldn¡¯t wait either.

    ¡°But right now,¡± he said between k*sses on my n*ck and around my mark, ¡°I know that you¡¯re not ready. I also know that you need to go pee.¡±

    He lifted the nket away from me.

    66

    ¡°So you better get going before I decide to keep you in this bed forever.¡±

    In a daze, I got up and followed his instructions, walking to the door of the bathroom and closing it behind me.

 Chapter 32

    <h2><strong> Chapter 32</strong></h2>

    <h2><strong>BELLE </strong></h2>

    I sat on the bedte in the afternoon, watching Grayson pack up our hotel room as we prepared to go home. We would board our flight tonight around midnight Paris time.

    I had tried to help, but he¡¯d just growled at me and told me to sit down. Tired

    from our adventure¨Cfilled day, I hadn¡¯t bothered arguing.

    We¡¯d spent the day seeing everything there was to see in Paris, and it had been absolutely amazing. My face hurt from smiling so much. I was still smiling as I watched Grayson move around the room, ncing at me every once in a while and

    smiling back at me.

    Everything about him was perfect. I couldn¡¯t help but admire the way his b*dy moved and how hisrge muscles flexed. He was breathtaking; it was hard to believe that a guy like him would want

    a girl like me.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked him hesitantly.

    He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be mad,¡± I said as I wrung my hands.

    He turned to me fully. ¡°Okay, now you¡¯ve really got my attention.¡±

    I took a deep breath. ¡°We can¡¯t go home yet,¡± I said.

    His expression turned shocked. ¡°What? You¡¯ve been begging to go home for weeks. I thought you were excited.¡± He came toward me and sat down next to me, taking my hands in his.

    ¡°I know, but that was before I visited my

    mom. I can¡¯t leave her. She needs our help. Carl is basically a monster.¡±

    Grayson sighed. ¡°Yes, I agree with you there. I already have it under control.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I sent one of my men to watch over your mother and send me daily updates. I wish that there was more I could do, but I need

    to get back to my pack. Once everything

    is under control there, I will revisit the

    situation and evaluate how your mother

    has been treated, and then decide if she

    needs to be brought to Minnesota and asked to join our pack.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°But what if something happens? I can¡¯t just leave her here. We have to go help her now.¡±

    ¡°Someone will watch over her and will intervene if anything happens,¡± Grayson said.

    ¡°I cannot just simply take someone away from their mate. Carl¡¯s wolf will not

    allow it. He may not seem like it, but he is a powerful werewolf. He is the gamma of the main pack of Paris. He has a lot of power. There is no telling what he could

    be capable of if his mate was taken away from him.¡±

    I nodded reluctantly.

    He reached up and cupped my cheek gently. ¡°I know that I would never give up if I lost you. I would tear the world apart

    first.¡±

    I leaned in closer to his touch, loving the feeling of the sparks running through my b*dy. ¡°Okay,¡± I whispered.

    That made me feel a little better. There

    were so many questions that I had for my mom. I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to believe that she never wanted to see me

    again.

    Not after how happy she¡¯d been to see me before Carl showed up.

    But she had survived this long without me. She could go another month, right?

    Grayson wrapped his arm around my

    shoulder and pulled me close to him.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry too much, beautiful. I will take care of everything.¡± He bent down and k*ssed my forehead.

    I leaned into him further. I couldn¡¯t help

    but trust him.

    As Grayson and I boarded his private jet to head back to Minnesota, my stomach rolled with nerves. Mainly because I was about to get back on a ne and I couldn¡¯t help but still feel terrified of flying, but also because I was about to go back to Grayson¡¯s home and meet his pack. How was I supposed to help Grayson lead a pack? I could barely pay my rent every month. What if they didn¡¯t like me or thought that I was unworthy?

    I knew Grayson could sense my anxiety. He kept one arm safely around me at all times and was always rubbing either my back or arm¡ªas if to remind me that he

    was there and I had nothing to worry

    about.

    The private jet was bigger than I¡¯d expected, with several rows of seating and a sofa in the back. When we reached

    our seats, Grayson pulled me to his chest before I had the chance to sit down. He ced me on hisp as he sat in his own chair.

    At first I didn¡¯t mind. I simply rolled my eyes and allowed him to hold me. Feeling his arms wrapped around mine was honestly helping to calm my nerves. We stayed like that for a few minutes before the ne moved.

    Then I quickly tried to stand and take the seat next to us, but Grayson just tightened his grip on me.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I gasped.

    Grayson acted like he couldn¡¯t hear me and rubbed his nose up and down the side of my n*ck. I shoved his face away from

    me and tried to get out of hisp. He didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°Seriously, Grayson! Let me sit in my

    own seat!¡±

    He pretended to think about it, then shrugged. ¡°Nope.¡±

    I gaped at him. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®nope¡®?¡±

    ¡°I mean you will be sitting right here for the flight. And no one is going to argue with me about it,¡± he said as he held me

    closer to his chest.

    ¡°Oh, you wanna bet?¡± I asked stubbornly as I pushed him away once again with much more force, His grip on me still didn¡¯t loosen. The ne was moving

    faster.

    ¡°Grayson, please! This isn¡¯t safe! I have to sit in my seat and put on a seatbelt!¡±

    He pushed his face into my n*ck and then

    brought his l*ps to my ear. ¡°Calm down, Belle. I will not let anything happen to you.¡±

    His calming voice made a little bit of the tension leave my b*dy.

    ¡°What about seatbelts?¡± I asked shakily.

    ¡°I hired the best pilot that money can buy. I promise you that nothing is going to happen. And if something happens, then my arms will act as your seatbelt,¡± he

    said.

    <i>Is </i><i>he </i><i>stupid </i><i>or </i><i>something</i><i>? </i>¡°Um, I don¡¯t care how strong you think you are, Mr. Werewolf Alpha Thing, if this ne crashes into the ocean, your arms cannot

    save me!¡±

    He smiled a bit. ¡°Let¡¯s put that theory to the test, shall we?¡± he asked.

    I shoved at him yet again, really putting all of my strength behind my blows to his chest.

    ¡°No! We are not doing this! Let go of ¡±

    Suddenly, Grayson mped his giant hand onto the back of my n*ck possessively, forcing me to turn and look at him.

    He brought my face so close to his that our noses were almost touching, and I watched as his eyes darkened substantially, the presence of his wolf bing clear.

    I swallowed hard.

    ¡°You will sit here for the entire flight and that is final. Am I clear?¡± Grayson asked, his voice an octave lower than usual.

    At first, I couldn¡¯t speak. I was too consumed with staring into his eyes,

    watching his irises swirl. His grip on the back of my n*ck tightened.

    ¡°Belle, give me your word.¡±

    I nodded my head quickly, afraid that he

    would turn into a wolf if I disagreed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here.¡±

    Grayson grunted his approval.

    ¡°Good. Nowe here.¡±

    He released his grip on my n*ck and gently brought me closer to him so I could lean my head against his chest. Then his hands made their way under my shirt, where they rubbed my back in a soothing way, just as he had done on the flight to Paris when we¡¯d first met.

    His touch calmed my b*dy by a lot, and soon I waspletely at peace. Grayson pressed a soft k*ss to my head.

    It surprised me how quickly he could go from dominant alpha male, demanding respect, to my sweet and loving mate who I knew would never hurt me. After a few more minutes, the ne was officially in the air. And, amazingly, I was fine.

    ¡°Hey, Grayson?¡± I whispered as I tilted. my head up to look at him.

    ¡°Yes, beautiful?¡± he asked.

    I took a deep breath. ¡°I love you.¡±

    Grayson looked taken aback for a

    moment, but soon his face broke out into

    a breathtaking smile. In a sh, his l*ps came crashing down into mine.

    Once he released my l*ps from his, he looked at me and smiled widely.

    ¡°I love you too, Belle. More than you¡¯ll ever know.¡±

    ¡°Aaa,¡± someone suddenly said next to us. ¡°It feels like my heart is about to explode from the cuteness.¡±

    Both of our heads snapped up. Our eyes connected with Kyle¡¯s: he was sitting in the row next to us with his elbow on the armrest and his chin propped up in his

    hand.

    I couldn¡¯t believe I hadn¡¯t noticed him sitting right next to us. Of course, that meant he¡¯d been present for my entire confession of love to Grayson. How embarrassing!

    Grayson growled loudly and bared his

    teeth at him.

    ¡°Find somewhere else to sit, Kyle. Go bother the pilot or something.¡±

    Kyle raised his hands in surrender.

    ¡°Just thought we could all keep each otherpany during the flight home.¡± He stood. ¡°But I can see where I¡¯m not wanted.¡±

    He saluted Grayson, winked at me, and then took a seat as far away from us as possible.

    I looked back at Grayson. ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly one way to ruin a perfect moment,¡± I said, ying with the cor of his shirt.

    Grayson shook his head. ¡°Kyle is a good gamma, but I¡¯m considering killing him right now.¡±

    I ran my hand through the side of Grayson¡¯s hair. ¡°Shall we try it again?¡± I asked.

    Grayson raised an eyebrow. ¡°Try what?¡±

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I started, ¡°I love you.¡±

    He smiled softly and then brought me forward until my forehead met his.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get sick of you saying that,¡± he whispered to me. ¡°I love you too, Belle.¡±

 Chapter 33

    <h2><strong>Chapter 33</strong></h2>

    <h2><strong>BELLE </strong></h2>

    As we turned off the path that had led us through the Minnesota wilderness, and onto a long pebbled driveway that would take us to Grayson¡¯s home, it felt like there was a bundle of nerves sitting at the bottom of my stomach like a rock.

    It was the middle of the night, so I knew that I probably wouldn¡¯t have to meet many people tonight, but I was still nervous. I was about to start my new life in my new home with a man I had only met a few weeks ago but somehow loved. If that wasn¡¯t enough, I was supposed to help him lead with no experience of leadership.

    I mean, I barely knew anything about werewolves, and now I was about to be ¡®luna¡® of an entire pack. How did that make sense?

    We were sitting in the back of a car that

    he had left at the airport. Grayson, always knowing when I was feeling uneasy, wrapped aforting arm around me and gently pulled me to him.

    He rubbed his nose against the side of my

    head.

    ¡°What¡¯s bothering you, baby?¡±

    I shrugged and snuggled closer to him, not really wanting to get into it at that moment. I could barely speak through the lump in my throat.

    As if he knew what I was thinking, Grayson said, ¡°Everyb*dy is going to love you. You have nothing to worry about. You are going to do great.¡±

    Still in his arms, I turned my head to look up at him. His eyes were gentle and soft as he gazed down at me.

    ¡°Are they going to be okay with a human being your mate? Being their luna? And what is everyone going to expect of me?

    I don¡¯t know anything about leading a pack. How am I going to be any help to you?¡±

    Grayson pulled me closer to him. ¡°My pack will automatically love you as their luna. They felt the connection between us the moment that I met you, just like I did. They know I¡¯ve found my mate and their luna, and they can feel your strength.

    They trust me as their alpha and trust the Moon Goddess¡¯s choice for my mate.

    ¡°You may not know it, but you have all the qualities needed to be the perfect luna. We will ease you into your new job and you¡¯ll learn over time. And I haveplete confidence that you will find being a luna more enjoyable than you thought. You were born to lead by my side.¡±

    I swallowed. <i>Jeez</i><i>, </i><i>I¡¯m </i><i>not </i><i>feeling </i><i>any </i><i>of </i><i>the </i><i>pressure </i><i>now</i><i>. </i>

    I nodded. ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I can do this.¡±

    Grayson k*ssed the top of my head.

    ¡°Yes, you can. And if it makes you feel any better, the only person that you¡¯re going to have to meet today is my beta, Adalee.¡±

    ¡°And my mate, Elijah!¡± Kyle yelled from the front. ¡°He¡¯s up waiting for me to get home.¡±

    Hearing the excitement in his voice, I

    smiled.

    ¡°Do you think you will be able to handle that? You won¡¯t be too overwhelmed?¡±

    Grayson asked me in a worried tone.

    I knew that he was desperate for me to be happy with his pack. It was almost cute how worried he was. My heart melted a bit. I took a deep breath and turned my b*dy fully so that I was facing him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be fine. Just stay with me, okay? I don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll be able to get

    through this without you by my side.¡±

    Grayson smiled and then leaned down and k*ssed me gently on the l*ps.

    ¡°Always. I¡¯ll never leave you.¡±

    I felt the love that I had for the man sitting beside me grow. I smashed my l*ps into his and wrapped my arms around his n*ck. Grayson moaned against my mouth.

    ¡°Okay, so while you guys make out, I¡¯m going to go see my mate,¡± Kyle said.

    Before I could even look at him, I heard

    the front car door m and the faint sound of Kyle¡¯s footsteps running away. Out the window beside us I saw a giant house with multiple stories. It looked more like a hotel than a house, really. I couldn¡¯t help but gape at it.

    I felt Grayson¡¯s hand on my leg, running up and down it.

    ¡°How ya doing, baby?¡± His voice

    sounded hesitant as he watched me react

    to his vast estate.

    ¡°I just¡­,¡± I started. ¡°Wow.¡±

    Grayson nodded as he looked at the

    house.

    ¡°That¡¯s as good a reaction as any. This is the pack house and your new home.

    It houses over five hundred werewolves. Many of the other pack members live in houses on packnds as well, but this is thergest.¡±

    I swallowed and let out a shaky breath of air. ¡°And you live here as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Grayson said. ¡°We both do.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Well¡­,¡± I said slowly. I looked at him, grabbing his hand and squeezing. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for us to start our new life together, huh?¡±

    He squeezed my hand right back and smiled widely.

    ¡°After you,¡± he said, gesturing to the car door beside me.

    Once inside the house, the first thing I noticed was that the inside was just as magnificent as the outside. I walked into the grand foyer with my chin to the floor, barely able to contain how beautiful it was. Arge, winding staircase greeted me, seemingly going up for at least six floors.

    Pirs surrounded us in a circle, and my cheap, not¨Cso¨Cwhite¨Canymore sneakers met what seemed to be expensive wood floors that turned into marble as you went through more of the house. All walls were painted pristine white when they weren¡¯t covered by giant windows. Wooden beams were on the ceiling, giving the entire house a very cabin¨Clike vibe. It was absolutely breathtaking.

    I hadn¡¯t even noticed that Grayson was watching me, gauging my reaction, until he tightened the arm that was already

    tightly wrapped around my waist.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stop looking around me. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been anywhere as nice as this,¡± I said in awe. I looked up at Grayson. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me you were

    this rich!¡±

    Grayson chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not. This is all the pack¡¯s money at work. I¡¯m just in charge of it.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re the one who gets to decide how to spend it, right?¡± I said.

    Grayson thought about it for a moment. ¡°I suppose.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯re rich,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had more than a thousand dors in my bank ount, except for when I saved enough to go to Paris. I¡¯ve always been living paycheck to paycheck.¡±

    Grayson growled next to me and wrapped both arms around me, pulling me to him

    so that my back was pressed against his chest. He then leaned down so that his chin was resting on the top of my head.

    ¡°That will never happen again. Not as long as I¡¯m alive.¡± He pressed a hard k*ss into my hair.

    The determination in his voice made me

    shiver.

    Suddenly a woman stepped up next to

    us and cleared her throat. She was tall

    and fit, with beautiful red hair. She was

    absolutely stunning.

    ¡°Alpha, Luna,¡± she said, acknowledging

    both of us with her head bowed. Then she

    got down on her knees and tilted her n*ck to the side, showing us the porcin skin of her throat.

    I pressed further into Grayson, not really sure what was happening or how to

    respond.

    Grayson leaned down so that his mouth was right next to my ear, his hot, minty breath fanning the side of my cheek.

    ¡°She¡¯s baring her n*ck to us just like you did to me a while ago. It¡¯s a sign of respect. Be prepared to be greeted like this for the rest of your life,¡± he whispered. He stood straight again.

    ¡°Hello, Adalee. It¡¯s great to see you again. I hope my absence didn¡¯t make your life too hard.¡±

    The minute that she was addressed, she stood quickly and smiled, losing all formality in her stance. She rolled her eyes andughed a bit.

    ¡°You know perfectly well that this was probably the worst couple of weeks of my life. You are never allowed to leave for so long again. Your job is way harder than it looks.¡±

    Grayson chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s nice to finally get some recognition. Thank you for all of your updates. They definitely helped keep me up to date. You did an amazing job while I was gone.

    Adalee smiled brightly and then let her eyes drift to me. She approached me slowly, never letting her smile drop.

    ¡°It is so nice to meet you, Luna,¡± she said in a kind, genuine tone. ¡°I was unbelievably excited when I felt the alpha¡¯s connection to you.¡±

    I nodded hesitantly, taken aback by her up¨Cfront kindness. Although, it made me feel better that my first interaction with someone here seemed to be going okay

    so far.

    ¡°Um, thank you,¡± I said.

    Adalee came closer to me and then reached out her hand to shake. ¡°My name is Adalee, the beta of this pack. I hope

    that we can be good friends.¡±

    I smiled back. ¡°I¡¯m Belle.¡±

    Grayson squeezed my side.

    ¡°But you will not call her that,¡± he said to Adalee.

    Adalee rolled her eyes. ¡°I know that. I¡¯m not some idiot who wants to have an angry alpha hunting me down for disrespecting his mate.¡±

    Grayson growled lowly while I justughed. ¡°I really hope we can be friends too,¡± I said genuinely. She seemed to be really nice. <i>Maybe </i><i>I¡¯ll </i><i>actually </i><i>be </i>able to <i>fit </i><i>in </i><i>around </i><i>here</i><i>. </i>

    Adalee beamed at me.

    ¡°Oh, Luna! I have someone for you to meet!¡± Kyle came running into the room, pulling someone along with him.

    He wrapped his arm around the other

    man¡¯s waist and smiled. The man was. blond and well built, with stunning

    gray eyes and a ready smile. He looked at all of us nervously as he entered the room, and immediately bared his n*ck to Grayson, Adalee, and me.

    ¡°This is my mate, Elijah,¡± Kyle said as he looked at Elijah lovingly, wearing an enormous smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Elijah,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m Belle.¡±

    Grayson growled. He leaned down so he could talk to me.

    ¡°Stop telling people your name. Only I am allowed to call you that.¡±

    I just rolled my eyes. ¡°I can tell people to call me whatever I want,¡± I said.

    Grayson ignored me, but I could tell that he wasn¡¯t happy with my response. He looked back at Elijah. ¡°This is your luna.

    You are lucky to be one of the first in the pack to meet her.¡±

    Elijah nodded but didn¡¯t look up.

    Kyleughed. ¡°You can look up now. They¡¯re not as scary as they seem.¡±

    Elijah slowly raised his eyes and scanned the room, looking at everyb*dy but Grayson. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said as he smiled at me. ¡°I¡¯m not used to being in the same room as the four most powerful members of the pack.¡±

    ¡°Me? Powerful?¡± I scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t think SO.¡±

    Elijahughed. ¡°You may not feel like it, but you have the power to make anyone in this pack do whatever you want.¡± He nced at Grayson nervously.

    ¡°Even the alpha. Some would say that you are the most powerful member of this pack.¡±

    I looked up at Grayson questioningly to see if that was true. He met my gaze and did not deny it.

    ¡°Come,¡± Grayson said as he pulled me away and toward therge staircase. ¡°We¡¯re going to bed.¡±

    The others bowed their heads in respect as they watched us go.

 Chapter 34

    <h2> <strong>Chapter 34</strong></h2>

    <h2><strong>BELLE</strong> </h2>

    I let out the biggest yawn of my entire life as Grayson and I walked up the stairs. I leaned heavily against him, letting him lead us to his room. He chuckled and swiftly lifted me into his arms. I sighed happily and nuzzled into his chest.

    I felt his l*ps on my head.

    ¡°I feel like two human newlyweds as I carry you off to our honeymoon,¡± Grayson said.

    Iughed, ¡°Yeah, it really feels like that.¡±

    ¡°Well, this is the beginning of our new life, so it might as well be our honeymoon.¡±

    The only difference was that newlyweds knew that they were going to be together forever. <i>Who </i><i>knows </i><i>if </i><i>Grayson </i><i>will </i><i>really </i>

    <i>always </i><i>want </i><i>me</i><i>? </i>

    The thought of Grayson getting tired

    of me and not wanting me in his life

    anymore made me suddenly sick to my

    stomach.

    <i>Who would¡¯ve </i><i>thought</i>¡­ Only a few days ago, I was plotting to get away from the man holding me, and now I was panicking over whether we would be together forever.

    As we came to a set of wooden doors, Grayson stopped and kicked them open. He walked us into a huge room that was just as nice as the hotel room we¡¯d stayed in while we were in Paris.

    I gasped. ¡°This is your room?¡±

    Grayson nodded and set me down on my feet. ¡°Our room.¡±

    I turned to look at him. ¡°You mean you want me sharing a room with you?¡± I

    asked, shocked but secretly relieved.

    I didn¡¯t even want to think about what it would be like to sleep without him now that I¡¯d gotten a taste of what it was like to spend the night in his arms.

    ¡°I keep forgetting how little you know about the werewolf culture and how different it is from the human world. Yes, you will be sharing a room with me. I¡¯ll never have it any other way,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ll always sleep with me, unless I¡¯m away on important business that I¡¯m unable to bring you along for. So I hope you like this room, because it will be yours for the rest of your life.¡±

    I swallowed hard. ¡°Really?¡± I looked around, taking in the huge California king¨Csize bed, the walk¨Cin closet, the separate living space, and the en suite bathroom.

    I figured I could live with this being my room for the rest of my life. It was three

    times bigger than my apartment back home.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Grayson said. ¡°No arguments.¡± His arms were suddenly around me again, pulling me in so that my back was flush against his chest. ¡°Tonight we will get some rest, and then tomorrow I¡¯ll give you a full tour of the pack territory so you can get to know your new home. How does that sound?¡±

    I smiled. ¡°That sounds amazing.¡±

    Grayson smiled back. ¡°Someone will bring your suitcase up tomorrow morning, but the closet is fully stocked with a brand new wardrobe for you, so I doubt you will need any of your old clothes ever again.¡±

    My stomach dropped at the way he said ¡®old clothes¡¯¡ªas if he was disgusted by the things that I¡¯d been wearing before. Did he not like my old outfits? Did he think I looked bad?

    PA

    I looked down at what I was wearing

    at that moment. <i>What </i><i>about </i><i>now</i>? I

    suddenly felt self¨Cconscious.

    Grayson watched me cross my arms over my chest and make my way to the huge walk¨Cin closet. Over half of the closet was taken up with women¡¯s clothing, all in my

    size.

    I ran my hand over some of the pieces and frowned. It was all so beautiful and expensive nothing like the clothes that I was wearing now. I turned to look at Grayson, who was leaning casually in the doorway, watching me. He frowned.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look happy. What¡¯s wrong? Do you not like the clothes?¡±

    I suddenly felt extremely guilty. <i>I </i><i>am </i><i>given </i><i>a </i><i>closet </i><i>full </i><i>of </i><i>expensive </i><i>and </i><i>beautiful </i><i>clothes</i><i>, </i><i>and </i><i>instead </i><i>of </i><i>acting </i><i>grateful</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>be </i><i>defensive </i><i>and </i><i>bitter</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°No!¡± I said quickly. I walked over to

    Grayson and wrapped my arms around him. ¡°I love them. Thank you. They¡¯re amazing.¡±

    He leaned down and ced his l*ps softly on mine. When he lifted away from me he said, ¡°I know something is wrong.¡±

    I sighed and leaned my forehead against his chest. ¡°Did you not like my old clothes?¡±

    Grayson immediately pushed me back gently so he could see me.

    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s got you so upset? You think I don¡¯t like your clothes?¡± he asked.

    I looked down at my jeans and worn¨Cout sweater, then shrugged my shoulders.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why you bought me all these new clothes?¡±

    He shook his head and chuckled.

    ¡°Baby, I love you no matter what you¡¯re

    wearing. You could wear a paper bag and I would still think you looked beautiful. I got you all of this because I want you to have the best in life. There was nothing wrong with your old clothes.¡± He put his hands on either side of my face and smiled down at me. ¡°I¡¯m going to spoil you for the rest of your life.¡± He bent down and k*ssed my forehead. ¡°Better get used to it.¡±

    I smiled at him and then ced my l*ps on his.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered. I turned to look back at all the new clothes and sighed as Grayson hugged my waist and ced his chin on the top of my head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had this many clothes in my life,¡± I said.

    Grayson chuckled in response.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m exhausted,¡± I said, letting out a huge yawn. I turned to look at Grayson.

    66T 1

    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to get ready for bed. Did you get me pajamas?¡±

    ¡°Actually, no,¡± Grayson said.

    I raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°All of these clothes and you forgot to get me pajamas?¡±

    ¡°Actually, when I asked someone to get you clothes, I specifically asked them not to get you pajamas,¡± Grayson said.

    ¡°What?¡± I took a step back. ¡°I don¡¯t care how horny you are, I am not sleeping n*ked.¡±

    Graysonughed loudly. ¡°That is not what I meant, gorgeous.¡± He grabbed my waist and rubbed along my sides. ¡°I didn¡¯t get you any pajamas because I want you sleeping in my clothes for the rest of your life.¡±

    He walked over to a dresser and took

    out a pair of his boxers and one of his

    shirts. It was so huge the bottom would probably reach my knees. I smiled at him. I couldn¡¯t help but swoon a bit.

    ¡°Why do you like me in your clothes so much? I think I¡¯ve spent more time in your clothes since I¡¯ve met you than in

    mine.¡±

    Grayson smiled back at me. ¡°And that¡¯s exactly how I want it to be. I want you smelling like me.¡±

    My brows knit together. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a werewolf thing. Males like their

    mates to smell like them to let all others know that they are taken.¡±

    ¡°I thought that was why you bit me,¡± I said as I brought my hand up to touch the mark on my shoulder.

    Grayson bent down and ced a gentle k*ss on the mark, causing delicious sparks to spread up and down my b*dy. I gasped

    and brought my b*dy closer to his.

    I felt Grayson smile against my skin, enjoying my reaction to his touch. He lifted himself away from me and k*ssed my forehead.

    ¡°Until we¡¯re fully mated, my wolf will be crazy possessive of you. I will do whatever it takes to make sure that everyone knows you¡¯re mine.¡±

    I gulped at the intensity of his voice. I knew I should be mad that he was referring to me as his¨Cas if I was some sort of object for him to possess¨Cbut I knew that he meant no harm by it. It was normal for him. I smiled and lifted my l*ps up to his. He growled against my mouth. His arms slowly circled my middle and then lifted me off the ground.

    Wrapping my legs around his waist, he carried us out of the closet and over to his bed, never removing his l*ps from mine.

    Our k*ss had now gone from sweet and loving to intense and wild. It was like

    neither of us could get enough of each other.

    Heid me down on the bed and crawled on top of me; his hands traveled all over my b*dy, including ces only I had touched. After a while, I separated my l*ps from his, needing to catch my breath, but was surprised that I didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    I trusted him and wanted him to keep going.

    Grayson sat up quickly and yanked his shirt over his head before leaning back and pressing k*sses all along my n*ck and down to my chest. His hands drifted lower, along my waist, gripping it tightly. I spread my legs a bit, and he immediately grabbed them to spread them wider.

    He ced his b*dy between them,

    growling as the lower halves of our bodies connected.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I moaned out, feeling intense sparks travel between us and knowing that it was our mate bond bing more powerful.

    It made me crave more, and I couldn¡¯t help but press my chest up against his, wanting to feel his skin against mine, desperate to feel the sparks everywhere. I ran my hands down his back, feeling his powerful muscles strain and rx beneath my touch as he continued to k*ss my mark and throat, leaving hickeys that I was sure would be there in the morning.

    I grabbed the bottom of my T¨Cshirt, wanting to take it off, but couldn¡¯t because Grayson was pressing me down. He must have noticed me squirming, because, without taking his l*ps from my skin, he grabbed the end of my shirt.

    I expected him to pull it over my head,

    <ol>

    <li>me. </li>

    </ol>

    He was asking for my permission.

    I nodded my head quickly, ready to beg him to take it off.

    My shirt was ripped within seconds and thrown across the room. I gasped.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± I yelled. ¡°You ripped it!¡±

    Grayson growled loudly in response. It was then that I noticed just how ck his eyes were. His wolf was in control. But I wasn¡¯t afraid. I felt better that his wolf was here, looking down at me.

    I felt safe.

    His l*ps smashed down onto mine once again, and he wasted no time in grabbing onto my bra and ripping it in half as well before throwing it across the room to join my ruined shirt.

    I raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Seriously?¡± Although, I guess it didn¡¯t matter since he had just bought me an entirely new wardrobe.

    He didn¡¯t respond, too busy staring down at my breasts. I felt self¨Cconscious but tried my best not to lift my arms and cover myself as his hungry ck eyes studied every inch of my exposed skin.

    I propped myself up onto my elbows.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I whispered.

    His eyes snapped to mine. He ced his palm on my cheek. ¡°I am so lucky.¡± He touched his forehead to mine and then k*ssed me once again.

    ¡°Tell me if you need to stop, Belle,¡± he whispered against my l*ps.

    I smiled and pressed my l*ps against his, then said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to stop.¡± I put my hands on either side of his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    His thumb ran over my bruised cheekbone that seemed to be getting more swollen every day. ¡°Are you sure?¡± he

    asked.

    I nodded my head. I¡¯d never been more sure of anything in my life. I wanted to be with the man I loved in the most intimate

    way possible. I wanted toplete the

    bond.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±

    His face broke out into a huge, breathtaking smile. His hands were immediately on my pants, yanking them down my legs. He was moving faster than

    I¡¯d ever seen him move.

    Within seconds, I was n*ked beneath him. <i>Okay</i><i>, </i><i>then</i>. <i>I </i><i>guess </i><i>this </i><i>is </i><i>happening</i>.

    He began k*ssing his way down my

    stomach, and I gasped, feeling my back arch of its own ord when his l*ps touched the insides of my thighs.

    I squirmed as he left open¨Cmouthed k*sses all around the area. It still wasn¡¯t

    close enough to where I wanted him most. He chuckled softly and grabbed my hips to settle my movements.

    ¡°Patience, baby. I¡¯m going to make you feel so good.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t wait.

    His l*ps were back on my thighs, drifting closer and closer to their final destination. I arched my hips hungrily and let my eyes flutter shut.

    But then he stopped.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be f**king kidding me,¡± I heard him growl.

    My eyes opened. Grayson was leaning back, staring straight ahead of him. His

    eyes were a gray color, one I¡¯d never seen them before. He looked angry¡ªpissed actually.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked. <i>Did </i><i>I </i><i>do </i><i>something </i><i>wrong</i><i>? </i>

    He looked down at me and his eyes softened a bit, turning back to their ck color. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh that turned into a growl.

    ¡°Shit!¡± he yelled.

    He gazed into my eyes and then at my b*dy, looking like he was about to kill someone. ¡°This is really perfect f**king timing.¡±

    I sat up and grabbed the sheet beside me, covering myself. ¡°Grayson, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    He stood next to the bed and grabbed his shirt off the floor. ¡°Kyle just mind¨Clinked me.¡±

    I knit my brows together, watching him pull on his shirt. ¡°Mind¨Clinked?¡±

    Grayson nodded his head. ¡°He talked to me in my mind.¡±

    ¡°You can talk to people in your mind?¡± I asked in shock.

    ¡°Yes, and someday you¡¯ll be able to, too, but I can¡¯t exin it right now,¡± he said. He sat down on the bed next to me and grabbed my face gently in his hands.

    ¡°Baby, I am so, so sorry, but I have to go. It¡¯s an emergency.¡± He nced down at my sheet¨Ccovered b*dy once more and tightened his hands into fists.

    ¡°F**k!¡± he yelled as he stood up. I

    watched him walk over to the door, where

    his shoes were.

    ¡°Please know that it¡¯s killing me to leave you like this,¡± he said as he put on his boots and growled in frustration.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a shower and get ready for bed, and I promise I¡¯ll be back before you fall asleep.¡±

    ¡°So I didn¡¯t do anything wrong?¡± I asked quietly once he had his shoes on.

    His head snapped to me. ¡°No, no, baby, of course not!¡± He walked back over to where I was still sitting in the bed. ¡°F*ck, you¡¯re f**king perfect,¡± he said, cing his forehead on mine and then gently k*ssing my l*ps. ¡°And we will be finishing thister.¡±

    He licked his l*ps and k*ssed me onest time before walking over to the door.

    ¡°What happened then?¡± I asked right before he left.

    He turned and looked at me. ¡°Vampires have broken into our territory.¡±

 Chapter 35

    <h1><strong>Chapter 35</strong></h1>

    <h1><strong>BELLE </strong></h1>

    I woke up the next morning feeling cold and groggy.

    I hadn¡¯t slept well. After Grayson had left with his shocking news, I¡¯d taken a shower and put on the ¡®pajamas¡® he¡¯d given me.

    Then I¡¯d sat on the bed for a couple of hours, waiting for him toe back, worried out of my mind. I didn¡¯t know anything about vampires, and, although Grayson had promised he would be okay, I couldn¡¯t control my anxiety.

    I¡¯d stayed up as long as I could before the jetg had gotten the best of me, forcing me into a restless sleep. Once awake, I had rolled over to snuggle closer to Grayson, only to find that he wasn¡¯t in bed.

    He didn¡¯t have his arms wrapped around me¡ªwasn¡¯t caressing my face, my

    back¡­ ying with my hair. I frowned and sat up. This was the first time since I¡¯d met him that I hadn¡¯t woken up with him by my side. It didn¡¯t feel right. My anxiety immediately spiked as the events fromst night came back to me.

    <i>Grayson </i><i>never </i><i>came </i><i>back</i>.

    <i>I </i>

    got out of bed and put on some sweatpants before running down the hall, hoping to find another person. I eventually came across a kitchen and was relieved when I found Kyle cooking breakfast with Elijah.

    They were bothughing and couldn¡¯t seem to keep their hands off each other. I couldn¡¯t help but smile. They seemed so happy. Noticing my presence, both turned around.

    ¡°Luna! Good morning,¡± Kyle said.

    ¡°Hey, Kyle,¡± I replied. ¡°You two are adorable.¡± I gestured to their entwined

    hands.

    Elijah smiled and wrapped his arms around Kyle. He k*ssed his cheek. ¡°Yeah, well, weeks apart will do that to mates.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of mates,¡± I said, ¡°have either

    you seen Grayson?¡±

    of

    Kyle frowned a bit. ¡°I thought he would be with you, this being your first day as luna and all?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°He was gone when I woke up. He never came back after he leftst night because of¡­because of¡­the vampires.¡±

    Kyle turned to me fully, eximing, ¡°He didn¡¯t?¡±

    I shook my head and wrung my hands.

    Kyle¡¯s brows knit together. ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± He looked over at Elijah, who seemed just as confused as he was.

    ¡°What happenedst night?¡± I asked.

    ¡°There were vampires on our territory, but we took care of them all in under an hour,¡± Kyle said. ¡°Alpha was beyond pissed that he even needed to be there. He said that he was going back to you and to not bother him for the rest of the night unless multiple people were on fire and dying.¡±

    This wasn¡¯t helping my anxiety. All the different scenarios of what could¡¯ve happened to him were running through my head.

    <i>What </i><i>if </i><i>they </i><i>didn¡¯t </i><i>kill </i><i>one </i><i>of </i><i>the </i><i>vampires</i><i>, </i><i>and </i><i>that </i><i>one </i><i>did </i><i>something </i><i>to </i><i>Grayson</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s nothing to worry about. He¡¯s probably just in his office. That¡¯s where he spends most of his time,¡± Elijah said. ¡°I can take you there.¡±

    My heart leapt out of excitement at the

    thought of seeing Grayson. There was already a dull ache in my chest from being away from him for so long.

    I desperately wanted to be back in his arms. ¡°That would be great,¡± I said.

    Elijah nodded and turned to Kyle to give him a quick k*ss. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a minute. Keep making breakfast.¡±

    Kyle frowned but nodded and k*ssed Elijah one more time.

    Once at the grand doors of Grayson¡¯s office, Elijah left me, saying that he could smell Grayson inside. I thanked him for guiding me through this enormous house. I knocked a couple of times on the door, waiting anxiously to see Grayson.

    ¡°Come in,¡± I heard his smooth voice reply.

    I opened the door and stepped in. I was beyond relieved when I saw him and he didn¡¯t seem to be hurt. His office looked

    exactly like how I¡¯d expected: all dark wood, bookshelves, and windows, with a giant desk in the center that Grayson was currently sitting behind.

    He looked much more intimidating than I

    remembered him.

    I stood for a second near the door and

    shifted my weight from foot to foot when he didn¡¯t look up at me.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, hoping to get his attention.

    He nced up at me for a second and then looked back at theputer screen in front of him. ¡°Good morning, Belle.¡±

    <i>Well</i><i>, </i><i>that </i><i>wasn¡¯t </i><i>what </i><i>I </i><i>was expecting</i>. Usually, he was all over me, unable to keep his hands off me. And he never called me Belle, almost always opting for a cheesy pet name.

    ¡°How did you sleep?¡± he asked.

    I hesitated, put off by his behavior. ¡°All

    right. You weren¡¯t in bed this morning,¡± I said. ¡°It was weird not waking up in your arms. I missed it.¡± I paused. ¡°I missed you.¡±

    I blushed a bit, a little embarrassed by my confession of affection. But I also knew he would love to hear me say something like that.

    Grayson nced at me, then back at hisputer again. ¡°Yes, I decided that I had a lot of work that needed to be done after being away for so long, and it was better to get it done now than to wake you up.¡±

    <i>I </i><i>guess </i><i>that </i><i>makes </i><i>sense</i><i>. </i>¡°Oh, okay. Anything I can help with?¡±

    Grayson shook his head, typing away rather than looking at me. ¡°This is nothing that concerns you.¡±

    I sucked in a breath. He¡¯d never spoken to me like that before. ¡°Oh¡­okay.¡± I crossed my arms in front of me. I took a

    step closer to him.

    ¡°Is everything okay? You¡¯re acting a little weird. Did everything go okayst night? Kyle told me that you killed all the vampires.¡±

    Grayson looked at me. His eyes were pitch ck, which meant that his wolf was present. Was he¡­mad at me?

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he practically growled out. ¡°As I said before, I just have a lot of work to do.¡±

    <i>Okay</i><i>, </i><i>what </i><i>the </i><i>hell</i><i>? </i><i>Should </i><i>I </i><i>leave</i><i>? </i>I was beginning to feel like a nuisance.

    ¡°Well, um, didn¡¯t you say that you had ns for me today? Something about showing me around? Should I get dressed and wait for you to finish?¡±

    He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He ran a hand over his face.

    ¡°Look, Belle, I have too much to do after

    spending so long in Paris with you. I just don¡¯t have time. Sorry, but can you ask Kyle to show you around?¡±

    The ache in my chest grew at his words, but I tried not to let them affect me too

    much, knowing that he was just busy.

    Part of me wanted to be angry, but I reminded myself that I shouldn¡¯t have assumed he would want to spend every waking moment with me when we got back to the United States.

    He had a job here-a big one. Thousands of people were counting on him.

    ¡°Yes, of course,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Kyle.¡±

    When he said nothing back, I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt anything. I¡¯m sorry if I did.¡±

    Grayson nodded.

    ¡°Yes. well. maybe we just make a rule

    that you don¡¯te into my office during the day. Then we won¡¯t have to worry about you interrupting any important business. I¡¯lle find you if I need

    .¡± He looked turned back to his

    you.

    That¡¯s when a giant ball formed in my chest and pushed its way up into my throat. I could feel the tears threatening to

    <i>Why </i><i>is this </i><i>upsetting me </i><i>so </i><i>much</i><i>? </i><i>I¡¯m </i><i>not </i><i>some </i><i>clingy </i><i>girl</i><i>¡­ </i><i>I </i><i>shouldn¡¯t </i><i>be </i><i>so </i><i>easily </i><i>affected </i><i>by </i><i>such simple </i><i>words</i>. ¡°O¨Cokay,¡± I whispered.

    Again, he didn¡¯t say anything, obviously shifting his focus back to his work. <i>That </i><i>must </i><i>be </i><i>my </i><i>cue </i><i>to </i><i>leave</i>.

    I took a few slow steps backward, desperately hoping that he would look up and say he was only joking and then take me into his arms. But he didn¡¯t do that. He didn¡¯t do anything besides type on his

    keyboard.

    I turned and left.

    Once I was out of Grayson¡¯s office, I could no longer keep the tears at bay. I had been looked down on and disregarded before, but it felt ten times worse when Grayson had done it to me.

    It felt like he had just plunged a knife into my chest andughed.

    One quiet sob escaped my l*ps, and I immediately covered my mouth. I was still right next to his door. I couldn¡¯t let Grayson hear me crying. He would think I was pathetic.

    All he had done was ask for space to get some work done, and here I was sobbing outside his door. <i>God</i>, <i>what¡¯s </i><i>wrong </i><i>with </i>

    <i>me</i><i>? </i>

    When I¡¯d imagined all of the things that could go wrong when I came here, Grayson not having enough time for me

    was not one of them.

    I¡¯d expected even less to be treated like a bother.

    Couldn¡¯t he see how desperate I was for him to help me make the transition into his pack? I knew nothing about any of

    this.

    And he was the only person here who

    wasfortable around.

    I

    I shook my head, trying to clear the tears away. <i>I </i><i>will </i><i>not be </i><i>this girl</i><i>. </i>I would not be the clingy, codependent girl I was acting like right now.

    I was going to be strong and get through

    this.

    I was probably just affected by his words so much because of the stupid mate bond.

    I squared my shoulders and straightened, wiping away my tears. A new determination ran through me.

    I decided to get dressed and show myself around the pack. I thought about asking Kyle to show me around, but couldn¡¯t imagine taking him away from Elijah.

    They needed time to catch up. And my newfound independence fueled me.

    I started with the floor that I was on and slowly made my way up each floor of what Grayson called the ¡®pack house.¡±

    It was insanely impressive, with too many rooms to count and tons and tons of people. I tried to smile and start a conversation with some we passed in the hallways, but no one would look at me. They¡¯d give me short answers and treat me like I was that one girl from ss that nob*dy liked.

    It was beyond strange.

    As the day went on, my spirit felt more broken. This was not the first day living with Grayson that I had been imagining.

    <b>A </b>11 <b>T </b>

    All I wanted to do was to go find him and refuse to leave his side, even if that

    meant sitting next to him silently while he worked.

    But I held myself back, remembering our conversation from earlier this morning.

    I would hopefully see him tonight.

    It waste in the afternoon, and I was getting really hungry.

    I tried going into each of the pack house¡¯s three kitchens to find some food, but they were filled with huge werewolves tearing through the pantries to cook.

    I was extremely intimidated.

    I was so much smaller and weaker than

    all of them.

    Once when I¡¯d tried to snag an apple off a counter, one of the male werewolves grabbed it before me and took a bite

    while making intense eye contact that

    said, ¡°Back off.¡±

    I had left immediately after that.

    I decided to talk to Grayson about food when I saw himter tonight. Maybe he would take me to the kitchen and show me where everything was.

    I had no problem making my own food, but I just needed to know how to get around all of the angry werewolves.

    I sat in Grayson¡¯s room for a couple of hours, feeling like that was the only ce I could really be without being a bother. I kept reminding myself that the first days were always the hardest¨Cthat it always got better. I¡¯d learned that from all of the jobs I¡¯d had over the years.

    Maybe I could find something to do to help out around here and earn my keep since Grayson would be busy during the day. People seemed to always be working and moving.

    There had to be something around here that I could do. Maybe tomorrow I could try to find some books on werewolves and educate myself on this new world that I was now a part of.

    When the sun set, my excitement to see Grayson rose.

    I had no intention of telling him anything about what had happened to me today with his pack or how horrible I felt.

    I didn¡¯t want to add anything else to his te. Instead, I hade up with a list of everything I liked about his pack, and was going to tell him about that.

    After changing into my¨Chis pajamas and getting ready to sleep, I sighed and walked over to his bed, where I plopped down face¨Cfirst. It was only eight, but I was exhausted.

    This had been the worst day ever.

    I tried to stay awake for as long as

    I tried to stay awake for as long as possible, hoping to get to talk to Grayson, but I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes open. I drifted off into a restless sleep.

    §á§Ú

 Chapter 36

    <b>BELLE </b>

    Sometime during the middle of the night, I was awoken by the feeling of fiery k*sses on my n*ck. My eyes flew open immediately and I gasped, recognizing the familiar sparks.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked into the darkness, reaching out for him.

    ¡°Mm¨Chmm?¡± he asked as he continued

    his k*ssing and gripped my waist.

    I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the light.

    My heart soared when I realized that he

    seemed to be in a better mood than the

    I sighed in relief. <i>I </i><i>guess </i><i>he </i><i>was </i><i>just </i><i>stressed </i><i>earlier</i><i>. </i>

    I wrapped my arms around his n*ck and

    pulled his l*ps to mine for a deep k*ss that chased all the tension out of my b*dy.

    After a few minutes, I pulled away to try to catch my breath, and Grayson returned to k*ssing my n*ck.

    I tried shoving him away from me yfully so that I could see him and talk to him, but he just growled loudly and snapped his teeth at me. <i>Okay</i><i>¡­ </i>

    Suddenly, he tore my shirt to shreds so that my bare chest was on full disy. Grayson didn¡¯t waste any time as hetched his mouth onto my breast roughly.

    I gasped and my back arched involuntarily.

    My mind was all foggy from his sinful mouth, but somewhere in there, there was logic. This was getting way too hot, way too fast. I grabbed his hair and tried to pull him away from my chest, but again he growled roughly. He wouldn¡¯t look at me, so I couldn¡¯t see the color of his eyes,

    but I could only assume that his wolf had taken over.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I tried again. His l*ps were moving down my stomach now. I was starting to panic as he got closer to my center. ¡°Grayson, stop!¡± I said firmly.

    Acting as though I had said nothing at all, he continued his trek downward until he finally reached my cotton panties. It was then that I remembered I had only worn underwear and one of his shirts to bed.

    This didn¡¯t leave many obstacles for him to get through before I waspletely n*ked.

    My heart rate increased as I tried to move away from him. I wasn¡¯t ready anymore. Something was off, and I didn¡¯t want to do anything with him while he was acting like this.

    <ul>

    <li></li>

    </ul>

    I pushed him away more forcefully and tried to get out from under him.

    ¡°Grayson, I mean it. Stop.¡±

    A dark chuckle left his mouth. His ck eyes connected with mine and he smirked

    at me.

    ¡°Oh,e on, Belle. Have a little fun.

    I¡¯ve been dying to have you. Let¡¯s finish what we startedst night.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°Not tonight. I¡¯m not ready right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not ready,¡± he imitated me in a high¨Cpitched voice. ¡°That excuse is

    getting old. All you have to do is lie there while I do all the work.¡±

    My jaw dropped at his words. I couldn¡¯t believe he¡¯d just said that.

    What had happened to the man who¡¯d told me he would wait as long as I needed

    -who¡¯d taken me into his arms when

    I¡¯d been embarrassed about myck of experience?

    I tried to pull away again, but he justtched a hand onto my leg and squeezed painfully. His other hand moved up to the band of my panties and began to pull them down. Panic was creeping in.

    I grabbed his hand to stop him, kicking my legs upward. ¡°Grayson, I said no! Stop!¡±

    When one of my feet connected with his jaw, he jolted backward. ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±

    I immediately sat up and ced my back against the headboard, trying to get as far away from him as I could. I grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around myself.

    I didn¡¯t even notice I was crying until I felt tears traveling from my eyes down to my n*ck.

    Grayson looked furious. His entire b*dy was shaking with anger.

    ¡°What the f*ck kind of mate are you?

    First, I get stuck with a human, and now you won¡¯t give me the pleasure that you

    owe me?¡±

    A sob escaped my throat. I shrank further in on myself. ¡°What do you mean? What are you talking about?¡± I paused. ¡°Do you really mean that?¡± I managed to get

    out.

    He nodded. ¡°What the f*ck are you crying for? If anyone should be upset it should be me. This is your duty as my mate. Your only duty. What else are you good for?¡±

    ¡°Excuse me?¡± I snapped. ¡°My only duty? Having s*x with you is not my job! I am not here to be some object for your personal pleasure!¡±

    I tried to keep my words strong, but toward the end of my speech, my voice began to shake.

    I covered my face with my hands to try to

    hide the pathetic tears spilling from my

    eyes.

    I heard Grayson sigh. There was a shuffling of the sheets and then I felt his hands wrap around my wrists to uncover my face. I flinched at the contact and moved away. Another sigh.

    ¡°Baby, I¡¯m sorry. You know I didn¡¯t mean any of that,¡± Grayson said. ¡°I just had a rough day and was hoping to relieve some of my tension tonight.¡±

    My b*dy was still shaking with pure terror, and I couldn¡¯t bring myself to respond.

    ¡°Beautiful, please look at me,¡± he said. He put a hand on my knee and began to make soothing circles with his thumb. ¡°C¡¯mon, please?¡±

    I slowly removed my hands from my face and sniffled. I probably looked like an absolute wreck.

    Grayson smiled softly. ¡°There we go.

    <b>?? </b>

    He leaned forward and ced his forehead against mine. He breathed in deeply, and we stayed like that for a while, although his hurtful words were still ringing through my head.

    I calmed down as he continued to whisper soothing words and rub circles on my legs. I was starting to feel like maybe Grayson had returned to normal.

    With every passing second though, his l*ps were getting closer and closer to mine, until finally, they connected. At first, I didn¡¯t mind.

    The k*ss was loving and passionate like usual¨Cunlike the hard and demanding

    ones he¡¯d been giving me just moments

    before.

    But then I felt him tugging on the sheet, trying to pull it away from my b*dy. I frowned into the k*ss. Was he really

    trying to start something again?

    I attempted to pull the sheet tighter around myself, but he just growled and yanked harder until I couldn¡¯t hang on anymore. I gasped as my upper half became exposed and his hands moved upward.

    I immediately moved away from him and shoved at his shoulders with everything I had in me. ¡°Grayson, no! Stop! We are not doing this tonight!¡±

    I seemed to catch him off guard, and he fell back just the smallest bit¨Cenough for me to scramble off the bed and grab the sheet from the floor to wrap back around myself.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Grayson yelled. ¡°You are so f*cking ridiculous, Belle!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m ridiculous? Are you kidding me? No means <i>no</i>, Grayson! What the hell is your problem?¡± I velled.

    Grayson let out a darkugh. ¡°Well, you weren¡¯t saying nost night. You were practically begging me for it.¡±

    I gasped. The tears were rushing down

    my face in rivers now. It took me a couple of seconds to

    get my emotions under

    control enough to whisper, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Grayson was opening his mouth to respond when a loud growl came out of his throat. His entire b*dy flinched, then he grabbed at his hair, holding it in tight fists.

    Suddenly his head began whipping back and forth as louder growls escaped his mouth.

    2to

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked. His entire b*dy began to shake.

    I slowly stood and walked over to him, keeping in mind that thest time I¡¯d seen him act like this, he¡¯d shifted and chased

    me throughout a hotel suite.

    His b*dy turned away from me, and a strange hissing noise came from him that was nothing like the growling sounds he usually made.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, you won¡¯t like the consequences,¡± I barely heard him hiss.

    I took a step backward, startled by how his voice sounded. ¡°I¨CI¡¯m sorry,¡± I stuttered.

    His b*dy abruptly snapped upright, making a horrible cracking noise.

    He turned to me, and a sinister smile spread over his face as he watched me

    cry.

    ¡°Oh, here we go with the crying again,¡± he said. ¡°Your little innocence act is getting old, Belle.¡±

    I didn¡¯t say anything. I had no clue what to do. I felt like curling up into a little

    ball and staying like that forever.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Grayson said. ¡°It¡¯s not like I would want to f*ck you while you looked like that anyway.¡± He gestured to my blotchy face and messy hair.

    Hey back on the bed, turning away from me, seemingly going to sleep.

    I stood there for a few moments, inplete disbelief of what had just happened.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what I should do. I didn¡¯t

    want to get back into bed with him, but I

    couldn¡¯t leave the room dressed like this

    either. And I couldn¡¯t go get new clothes without walking in front of him. This

    sheet didn¡¯t cover much, and I wasn¡¯t

    about to give him a show.

    I began shuffling toward the bathroom, having decided that would be the best ce to collect my thoughts. As I did, I tried to keep my sobs at bay so I wouldn¡¯t

    make Grayson more upset.

    ¡°Turn off the f*cking lights,¡± he suddenly growled, making me jump.

    I quickly ran over to the light switch and flicked it off before running back to the bathroom and shutting the door behind me, being sure to lock it.

 Chapter 37

    <h2><strong>Chapter 37</strong></h2>

    <h2><strong>BELLE </strong></h2>

    I fell asleep on the bathroom floor that night. It was a bit demeaning to sleep on the cold, marble floor, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to leave. I didn¡¯t want to face Grayson.

    I groaned in pain when I awoke, then rolled over and sat up so that my aching back was against the cabs. I sighed when I finally stood and saw what I looked like in the mirror.

    My hair was going in every direction, and tearstains streaked my face and n*ck.

    I¡¯d spent most of the night silently crying, not wanting Grayson to hear me but also not being able to stop myself from reying what had happened between us.

    I didn¡¯t know what I had done to deserve all of his harsh words.

    It took me awhile, but I finally worked

    up the courage to leave the bathroom. I felt terrible afterst night. What hurt the most, though, was that I knew he was partially right. I was his mate. I was supposed to be okay with him touching me. Wasn¡¯t I? <i>Take </i><i>the </i><i>time </i><i>you </i><i>need</i><i>¡­ </i>His earlier words repeated in my head¡­

    He had brought me to his home, and was providing for me and making sure that I never had to work another day in my life. The least I could do was make his nights a little interesting.

    And yet, I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it not after the way he¡¯d treated me. Something about how Grayson had behavedst night made me feel used and

    gross¡ªnot to mention terrified.

    I¡¯d just wanted to talk, but he wouldn¡¯t even talk to me. Was s*x really the only thing he wanted me for? It made me wonder if our whole time in Paris had been just an act: he¡¯d acted kind and sweet while we were there so he could

    get me back to his pack and have his way with me¨Cshow me his true colors.

    It was the only exnation that made

    sense.

    Had my mother been right? Did all alphas truly treat their mates like this?

    Or was he already done with me?

    The thought made my heart shatter into a million pieces. What if I¡¯d just encouraged his newfound distaste for me by rejecting him? What if he really didn¡¯t

    want me now?

    My stomach dropped. I couldn¡¯t lose Grayson. It hadn¡¯t been long, but I already didn¡¯t know what I would do without him. I wanted to put this all behind us. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

    Thankfully, when I exited the bathroom, he wasn¡¯t there, and I was able to get dressed and go downstairs in peace.

    The first thing on my mind was finding some food after not eating anything all day yesterday. And maybe I would run into Grayson and be able to talk through everything that had happened.

    But unfortunately, the ground¨Cfloor kitchen was jam¨Cpacked with people, and none of them were Grayson. It was full of werewolves cooking,ughing, and eating. My stomach growled at all the different smells surrounding me.

    I desperately wanted something to eat. I looked at a bowl of apples sitting in the middle of the ind. I sighed in relief. I could grab an apple without getting in anyone¡¯s way.

    I approached the ind as quietly as possible, watching therge werewolves around me warily, painfully aware of the fact that they could all kill me without barely lifting a finger.

    However, before I could reach out to grab

    an apple, arge, burly man I¡¯d never seen before grabbed my arm and harshly pushed me back. I gasped as I lost my footing and fell onto my butt. The man didn¡¯t say anything or offer to help me up. He just red down at me and shook his head slowly while raising his eyebrows, as if daring me to try again.

    ¡°I¨CI¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, scrambling to get up before I made more of a scene. Everyone was already staring at me, looks of disgust painted on their faces.

    I dropped my head in shame. I wasn¡¯t even sure where this shame wasing from. <i>Some </i><i>luna </i><i>I </i><i>am</i><i>. </i>Wasn¡¯t I supposed to be a leader of this pack? Hadn¡¯t Elijah even said I was the most powerful member? He¡¯d been so, so wrong.

    I was a joke.

    I walked out of the kitchen quickly, wondering what exactly I had done to deserve this. Why were they getting mad

    at me every time I tried to get some food? It made no sense.

    I wandered around the pack house some more, just like I¡¯d done yesterday, trying to find something to fill my time. My hunger eventually passed and was reced by total andplete boredom.

    <i>There¡¯s </i><i>nothing </i><i>to </i><i>do </i><i>around </i><i>here</i>.

    Well, there were things to do, but every time I entered a room with anyb*dy else in it, I¡¯d get stares that made my blood run cold from a bunch of scary werewolves, at that.

    So I just walked. I walked around the entire pack house so many times that I lost count. I thought about going back to Grayson¡¯s bedroom, but something always stopped me.

    Maybe I didn¡¯t want to be reminded of what had happenedst night; my heart still ached from the things he¡¯d said to

    <ol>

    <li>me. Or maybe I was afraid that he woulde back to the room and we¡¯d have a </li>

    </ol>

    repeat.

    I didn¡¯t think I could handle that.

    After a few hours, including some minutes outside in the freezing cold to try to fill my time, I came across Kyle, who was looking down at some papers in his hands and seemed to be in a hurry. I almost didn¡¯t bother him, worried that he¡¯d decided he hated me now too for some reason. But I knew that if anyb*dy would be willing to talk to me, it would probably be Kyle.

    ¡°Kyle,¡± I said, shuffling my feet. ¡°Hey.¡±

    He looked up and immediately smiled when he saw me. ¡°Luna!¡±

    I let out a breath of relief. It was good to see that at least one person was acting normal.

    ¡°How have you been? How was your first

    day as luna?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Oh, um¡­¡± I smiled nervously. I was afraid if I told the truth, I wouldpletely break down. I needed to talk to Grayson before I told anyone what was going on. ¡°Good. Really good.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± he said happily. ¡°I knew you would love it here.¡±

    I nodded my head in agreement. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s great,¡± I lied. ¡°I actually wanted to ask you something if that¡¯s okay. If you¡¯re not busy, that is.¡± I gestured to the papers in his hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s more than okay! I was just on my way back to something, but I¡¯ve got some time. Ask away!¡± Kyle said.

    ¡°Okay. Um, it¡¯s actually about Grayson. I was wondering if he seemed a little off to you?¡±

    Kyle frowned. ¡°Off?¡±

    I shifted. ¡°Yeah, just not his usual self.¡±

    He thought about it for a second. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve been with him all morning, and he seemedpletely normal to me.

    ¡°He seemed happier than his usual self. It probably has something to do with you being here.¡± He elbowed me yfully and wiggled his eyebrows.

    I chuckled, but my heart dropped to my stomach. ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡±

    I was starting to think that this was all in my head. Was I just being overdramatic?

    ¡°Are you going back to him right now?¡± I asked.

    Kyle nodded. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re in the middle of a meeting in his office. I just had to go grab these.¡± He held up the papers.

    ¡°Oh, okay,¡± I said quickly. ¡°Then I won¡¯t keep you any longer. Actually, could you tell him something for me?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell him yourself?¡± Kyle asked.

    I looked down at my hands and backed up. ¡°I don¡¯t want to bother him. You¡¯re already going there anyway.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be a bother, Luna,¡± Kyle said. ¡°He would probably love to see you and find out how your day has been going. He-

    ¡±

    ¡°No, no, that¡¯s okay,¡± I interrupted. Thest time I was in Grayson¡¯s office ran through my mind when he¡¯d asked me to stay away during the day. ¡°Will you just tell him for me?¡±

    Kyle hesitated for a moment, obviously picking up on my difort. He looked me up and down as if assessing whether I was all right.

    He stood a little straighter. ¡°Okay,¡± he finally said.

    I smiled slightly. ¡°Thank you.¡± I paused

    for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase this.

    ¡°Uh, will you just tell him that I¡¯m sorry? Tell him I¡¯m really sorry aboutst night, and I wish that I could take the entire night back. I just want things to go back to normal.¡±

    His frown intensified. I could tell that he wanted me to exin, but thankfully he let it go

    Kyle wasn¡¯t one to ask questions.

    ¡°And you¡¯re sure that you don¡¯t want to tell him this yourself?¡± he asked, head cocked.

    I nodded. ¡°Yes, I think I would rather have ite from you if that¡¯s okay.¡±

    He studied my face. ¡°Okay. I will be sure to tell him.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Kyle. I don¡¯t mean to make you the mediator. I really appreciate this.¡±

    Kyle nodded. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s no problem

    at all.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I guess I¡¯ll stop taking up your time and let you get back to your meeting.¡± I tried to give him a sincere smile.

    ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± Kyle said. He looked like he didn¡¯t want to go, but eventually he stepped away from me and began to walk in the direction of Grayson¡¯s office.

    Before he got too far though, I heard him call, ¡°Luna?¡±

    I turned around and gave him a questioning look.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Kyle asked.

    I sighed and tried to put a convincing smile on my face. ¡°Oh, yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Kyle nodded slowly, looking unconvinced. ¡°Whatever is going

    on between you two will get better. I

    promise,¡± Kyle said. ¡°You were made for each other, and nothing can change that.¡±

    <i>I </i><i>hope </i><i>so</i><i>. </i>I nodded. ¡°Thanks, Kyle,¡± I said. Then I turned and walked away.

 Chapter 38

    <b>BELLE </b>

    I seeded in avoiding Grayson¡¯s room untilte into the night. I was hoping that I could sneak in while he was sleeping and use the couch across from his bed. I didn¡¯t want to sleep in the same bed as Grayson until we talked. But I also didn¡¯t know where else I would sleep if it wasn¡¯t

    in Grayson¡¯s room.

    I could feel the anxiety building up inside me as I approached his door, hoping that he wouldn¡¯t be angry at me anymore. I opened the door and peeked in to see if he was asleep, then frowned when I saw an empty bed. Maybe he was still working?

    But right as I stepped in, I was immediately mmed against the door, my head banging painfully against it. I yelled out in pain and shock.

    ¡°Who the f*ck do you think you are, huh?¡± Grayson yelled at me.

    I whimpered at the harsh grip he had on my arms. ¡°W¨Cwhat do you mean?¡±

    Grayson growled loudly, ¡°What happens between you and me stays between you and me, got it? You don¡¯t go bbering to the first person you see just because your precious feelings get hurt.¡±

    My anger red. ¡°Get off of me!¡± I shouted. I pushed against his chest with all my strength, furious that he would even think about putting his hands on me in this way.

    I heard a loud p, and the most intense pain I had ever felt in my life spread across my cheek. I screamed and grabbed my face as shock raced through my system.

    <i>He</i><i>¡­</i><i>he </i><i>just </i><i>hit </i><i>me</i><i>! </i>

    I didn¡¯t have time to process what had just happened because before I knew it, Grayson had his hands on my shoulders,

    pushing me back against the wall.

    ¡°You¡¯d better listen to me when I¡¯m talking to you,¡± Grayson said, spitting his words into my face. I whimpered in response,pletely terrified. ¡°What exactly did you tell him?¡±

    ¡°Do you mean Kyle?¡± I sobbed. ¡°I swear I didn¡¯t tell him anything! I just told him to tell you I was sorry!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s all you better have told him.¡± His hand came up and gripped my jaw tightly. I winced. I knew I¡¯d have a bruise there tomorrow to add to my new swollen ck eye.

    ¡°Listen here, little mate. You tell a single soul about anything that goes on in this room, and I swear you will find out just how angry an alpha male can be. Understand?¡± His grip tightened on my jaw. ¡°I said, do you understand?¡±

    I nodded, ¡°Yes! Yes, I understand!¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± he grunted.

    He dropped his hold on me, and I immediately dropped to the floor, holding my face. The tears were streaming again, and I desperately wished for them to stop, remembering how Grayson had reacted thest time he¡¯d seen me crying.

    Suddenly, something soft hit my face. I looked down. He had thrown my pajamas

    at me.

    ¡°I want you sleeping somewhere else tonight. I slept betterst night without you in the bed.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°That is¡­ Unless you want to crawl up onto this bed and show your mate just how sorry you really are?¡±

    He raised an eyebrow at me and then slowly looked my b*dy up and down. He licked his l*ps.

    Never had I thought that Grayson¡¯s eyes on my b*dy would make me feel this

    disgusting and used. I didn¡¯t even know how to respond.

    So instead of saying anything, I just brought my legs up to my chest and shrank in on myself, hoping that would give his eyes less of my b*dy to roam.

    A hissing noise left Grayson¡¯s mouth, followed by a bitterugh. ¡°Fine. Room 101 is free on the bottom floor. Use that one and get the f*ck out of my sight.¡±

    I let out a silent sob. I knew then and there that I was losing him. He didn¡¯t want me anymore. I¡¯d only met this man a few weeks ago, and he¡¯d already be my entire life. And now I was losing him.

    Grayson began to walk away from me, leaving me sobbing on the floor by the door.

    ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± I whispered through my tears. ¡°What did I do?¡±

    Grayson groaned and ran a hand down

    his face in frustration. He turned to look

    at me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to deal with you right now. Just stay the f*ck out of my way and don¡¯t cause any more problems. I didn¡¯t sign up for this shit,¡± he said, gesturing to my hunched form.

    My heart sank deep in my chest, and I sucked in a breath.

    I paused for a second, not sure if I should ask this question. But then I knew that I didn¡¯t really have another option. ¡°Grayson¡°-I took a breath-¡°do you not want me anymore?¡±

    His eyes narrowed, and he slowly approached me, moving like a lion that was about to catch its prey. ¡°Look here, mate,¡± he spat. He lifted his pointer finger, and I watched in fascination and horror as a sharp w emerged from the tip.

    He brought it close to my face. ¡°I¡¯m going to let you in on a little secret: the only reason alphas want their mates is for the power they give them.¡±

    His sharp nail traced my chin and then trailed up my swollen cheek. I whimpered, surprised that even such a light touch could cause me so much pain.

    I knew that the bruise and swelling would be hard to cover up tomorrow. I hadn¡¯t realized that I was bleeding before, but when Grayson took his hand away from my face, there was blood on the tip of his nail.

    I watched in horror as he brought his w up to his mouth and sucked it clean. He smirked at me. ¡°You are here to bring me pleasure and power, that¡¯s all.¡±

    It felt as if he¡¯d opened up my chest, grabbed my heart, and crushed it in his palm.

    I squared my shoulders and looked him

    dead in the eyes. ¡°Then I¡¯m going to leave. And you can¡¯t stop me.¡±

 Chapter 39

    <b>BELLE </b>

    Without warning, an ear¨Cshattering growl left Grayson¡¯s mouth. He clutched his chest and his entire b*dy shook as he bent down and began breathing heavily.

    He seemed to be in extreme pain. Having no clue what to do, I just watched.

    Grayson shook his head violently and

    clutched his hair. He screamed ¡°No!¡±

    loudly and fell to his knees.

    This went on for a few minutes, and while it did I tried toe up with a n for getting away from the crazy monster in front of me.

    Had I caused this by saying I was going to leave? Thest time he¡¯d shifted in

    front of me, it hadn¡¯t seemed nearly this painful.

    <i>What </i><i>the </i><i>hell </i><i>is </i><i>happening</i><i>? </i>

    Suddenly, Grayson stilled as he looked down, still clutching his head. And then his eyes snapped to my wide, frightened ones. They were pitch ck. ¡°Mate,¡± he said.

    I scooted backward as far as I could as I looked at him through teary eyes. I brought my knees up and hugged them close to my chest.

    Looking determined, he stood slowly and began to approach me. I whimpered when he finally came to stand directly over me.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say as he stared down at me. His eyes searched my face, and a growling sound left his mouth. Then he reached a hand up, seemingly preparing to hit me again.

    I immediately brought my arm up in defense and moved away from the imminent blow.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± I yelled. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! I shouldn¡¯t have said anything! I¡¯m sorry!

    I¡¯m sorry. I¨CI¡¯m sorry¡­,¡± I sobbed.

    But the blow never came¨Cnothing did.

    I sobbed for a few moments, not even trying to keep myposure. I feltpletely broken.

    ¡°Mate,¡± I heard Grayson say in a gentle tone that surprised me. I shook my head, not wanting to meet his gaze or for him to see my pathetic state. ¡°Mate,¡± he said again with more force.

    I looked up at him slowly and was shocked by what I saw. He had tears in

    his eyes as well, running soundlessly down his cheeks.

    I¡¯d never thought I would ever see Grayson cry. And as much as he frightened me right now, I still hated to

    see him cry. He reached down again, and, this time, I didn¡¯t flinch.

    I watched in fascination as he ced his

    hand gently on my knee that was still pulled up to my chest. ¡°Sorry, mate,¡± he said with real sorrowcing his voice.

    I realized then as I studied his pitch¨Cck eyes that I wasn¡¯t talking to Grayson. No, I was talking to his wolf. His wolf had somehow taken control of his b*dy and wasmunicating with me.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if his wolf felt any differently toward me than Grayson did, but I found myself hoping that maybe a part of Grayson still wanted me. ¡°Do you still want me?¡± I asked him quietly.

    Sadness shone in his eyes, and his shoulders slumped. Slowly, very slowly -almost as if he was afraid to scare me again he brought his hand up to cup the uninjured side of my face.

    He gently wiped away my tears.

    ¡°My mate. Mine,¡± he said. He brought his forehead down and connected it with

    mine. ¡°My mate,¡± he repeated.

    That told me all I needed to hear. Grayson might not have wanted me for anything other than s*x and power, but his wolf still wanted me for me.

    I threw my arms around his n*eck and hugged him close to me. I desperately needed to beforted and told that

    everything was going to be okay.

    He returned the hug with full force, wrapping his arms around my middle and then securing my legs around him so that he could pick me up.

    He hummed deeply, his b*dy vibrating against mine.

    Burying his face deep into my n*eck, he nipped softly at my bite mark, and my b*dy shuddered.

    He continued to hold me for a few minutes as I sobbed and released all of the emotions that I¡¯d been holding in for

    thest couple of days. After a little while he started to move, and I clutched onto

    him harder, not wanting him to let go

    or for his human side to take over once again.

    I held on to him so tightly, I forgot about my injured cheek and cried out as it connected with the side of his n*eck.

    Grayson growled when he heard my cry -so loudly I could feel it. It was enough to freak me out and make me loosen my hold on his n*eck.

    He immediately walked us over to his bed and set me down gently, moving back a bit so he could inspect my injured face. I wondered if I looked as broken as I felt.

    After a moment, he growled softly, then walked silently into the bathroom. When he came back out, he was holding a wet washcloth.

    As Grayson brought the cloth up to my

    face to clean my wound, I grabbed his wrist gently before he made contact and said, ¡°Be gentle, please. I think my cheekbone may be broken.¡±

    This made Grayson¡¯s entire b*dy shake, and I could tell he was trying hard to rein in his emotions. He nodded once, then slowly raised the cloth to my cheek once more. I winced when it connected, and Grayson whimpered.

    ¡°Sorry, mate. Sorry, mate. Sorry, mate,¡± he said over and over again as he cleaned my wound. I could tell that this was

    hard for him and that his apologies were sorrowful and genuine.

    Once he seemed satisfied with his caretaking, he sat down next to me and

    pulled me into hisp, wrapping his arms securely around me.

    Finally, I built up the courage to ask what was on my mind: ¡°What did I do wrong? What did I do to make him hate me so

    much?¡±

    Grayson whimpered softly and tugged on my waist to bring me closer to him. ¡°I¡± he paused-¡°I, errr¡­¡±

    He shook his head, and I could tell that he was struggling to express himself. He was a wolf, after all. He probably had very little experience speaking.

    He growled loudly in frustration and tried again: ¡°I¡­ No. Mate.¡±

    I frowned. There was no way that he was going to be able to exin anything. He could barely get a few words out.

    I sighed sadly. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said, not liking to see him struggle.

    ¡°Will you just tell him that I¡¯m sorry? Tell him that I¡¯m so sorry for what I did and that I hope he can forgive me. I don¡¯t want him to be mad at me anymore. I want things to go back to how they were before.¡±

    mate. No.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean ¡®no?¡® You won¡¯t tell him?¡±

    He shook his head again. ¡°No.¡± He put a hand on his chest. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. He patted his chest again. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I¨CI don¡¯t understand.¡± I said. ¡°What do you mean? What are you sorry for? It¡¯s Grayson who should be sorry.¡±

    But suddenly Grayson¡¯s wolf growled loudly and clutched his head as his b*dy began to shake again. He snapped upright onto his feet, and I fell off hisp and hit the floor. I groaned in pain.

    ¡°Stupid f*cking wolf!¡± Grayson yelled as he grabbed at his hair. Then he bent down and roughly yanked me up by the arm so that I was standing. ¡°Whatever he did or said to you had nothing to do with me.¡±

    My shoulders slumped and I nodded my head to show my understanding.

    He grabbed my chin and pulled my face close enough to his that I could feel his breath. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere I don¡¯t tell you to, you hear me? You¡¯re my mate.¡± He shoved me away. ¡°Sleep somewhere else.¡±

    I straightened up, trying to keep my dignity as I reached for the handle of the door behind me.

    ¡°And Belle?¡± Grayson said.

    I turned to look at him.

    ¡°Sleep there tomorrow too.¡±

    I nodded and left through the door, closing it behind me.

    Grayson was right about one thing: I

    wasn¡¯t going anywhere.

    As long as his wolf wanted me, I would

    As long as his wolf wanted me, I would be here. I knew now that something was

    wrong.

    And I was going to figure it out.

 Chapter 40

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    <i>THE </i><i>NIGHT OF </i><i>THE VAMPIRE </i>

    <i>ATTACK</i>¡­

    Leaving Belle n*ked and disappointed in my bed was the hardest thing that I had ever done in my life. My wolf was beyond pissed. He wouldn¡¯t stop growling in my head, sending me mental images of Belle¡¯s beautiful, sad face as shey nearly n*ked in a sheet, watching us leave.

    I growled loudly. <i>She deserves </i><i>better </i><i>than </i>

    <i>this</i>.

    I made my way to the edge of my territory, frowning when I saw Kyle and some of my pack warriors standing around doing nothing.

    ¡°What the f*ck is going on?¡± I snapped as I approached them. They all turned and immediately fell to their knees and bared

    their n*ecks to me.

    ¡°Kyle,¡± I said. ¡°Come here.¡±

    Kyle stood and approached me slowly, obviously sensing my touchy mood.

    ¡°I thought you said this was an emergency,¡± I said when he was in front of me. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? You said there were vampires on the territory.¡±

    Kyle opened his mouth to speak but then paused. He slowly raised his nose to the

    air and sniffed.

    ¡°Whoa!¡± he said as a knowing smile formed on his l*ps and he covered his nose. ¡°Interrupted something, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    I crossed my arms over my chest and growled. I didn¡¯t have time for his games right now¡ªnot when my mate was alone in my bed during her first night here.

    ¡°What the hell are you talking about, Kyle?¡±

    Kyle chuckled and shook his head in amusement. ¡°I hate to tell you this, Alpha, but you¡¯re giving off some serious alpha¨Cmale mating pheromones right now.¡± He wiggled his eyebrows. ¡°You and Luna were having a little fun, huh?¡±

    My wolf surged forward in my mind, immediately bristling with anger. He tried to take control, wanting to remind Kyle of his ce and who Belle was to him.

    ¡°Kyle,¡± I growled as I tried to rein in my wolf. ¡°I suggest you change the subject to why you mind¨Clinked me here. ¡°Otherwise I think you might just find out how angry an alpha male who¡¯s giving off mating pheromones but was just taken away from his mate for seemingly no reason can be.¡±

    Kyle swallowed hard.

    ¡°Yes, Alpha,¡± he said quickly, nodding his head. ¡°Uh, Beta Adalee is scanning the territory to see how many vampires

    are out there. We don¡¯t think they¡¯re aware that we know about them yet.¡±

    I nodded. I was the fastest in the pack, but Adalee was fast <i>and </i>quiet, making her the best for scouting out sticky situations.

    ¡°How long ago did she leave?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m right here,¡± someone called from behind us.

    Kyle and I both turned to see Adaleeing out of the woods nearby. She approached us with a serious look on her face. ¡°There are ten vampires scattered across the territory.¡±

    I growled. What the f*ck were vampires doing in my territory?

    No creatures¨Cnot even werewolf rogues ¡ªhad been foolish enough to break into my pack in years. My pack had too many members for anyb*dy to get through unseen and uninjured.

    These vampires were about to learn that. ¡°What are they doing?¡± I asked.

    Adalee shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. They¡¯re just standing around.¡±

    ¡°You mean they¡¯re not doing anything? Do they have any weapons?¡± Kyle asked.

    Adalee shook her head. ¡°No. No weapons¡­ Nothing. They¡¯re seriously just standing there like a bunch of

    robots.¡±

    ¡°Something is off,¡± Kyle said. ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡±

    ¡°Me neither,¡± I said. ¡°No weapons will make our lives easier, but I don¡¯t want anyb*dy letting their guard down. Something is definitely wrong.¡±

    I looked around at my warriors¨Caround thirty of them, standing proud and strong, all awaiting my orders. ¡°Hopefully, this will go over with no problems.¡± I looked at Kyle. ¡°You know what to do.¡±

    Kyle nodded and bowed his head slightly. ¡°Yes, Alpha.¡±

    He walked over to the warriors and began giving them orders. I had been through enough battles with Kyle to know that I didn¡¯t even need to tell him what to do.

    Kyle was a natural leader. He knew how to give orders but still be personal with my warriors.

    There was no one I trusted more in my pack, which was why I¡¯d made him the leader of the pack warriors. I watched as they listened to Kyle intently and then shifted into their wolves, preparing to put all of their training to good use.

    I was about to shift and join them and lead the fight when I made eye contact with Adalee. She had an amused look on her face, with her eyebrows raised and her hand covering her nose.

    I rolled my eyes and growled softly. ¡°I

    don¡¯t want to hear it,¡± I said, knowing she was referring to my smell. ¡°Kyle already told me. Just breathe through your mouth.¡±

    Adalee nodded andughed. ¡°You got it, Alpha,¡± she said. Then she turned to me fully and her eyes went a shade darker with the presence of her wolf.

    ¡°You know, I¡¯m really, really d that you¡¯ve met your mate, Alpha.¡± A strange look passed over her face as her l*ps formed into a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s going to make things a whole lot easier around here.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at her. <i>Odd </i><i>thing </i><i>to </i><i>say</i><i>. </i>¡°Right¡­,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m d too.¡±

    She smiled wider and nodded. ¡°Better get going. The warriors are going to need their big strong alpha to help lead them.¡±

    She winked at me and then, without warning or waiting, shifted into her wolf and ran into the woods without us.

    <i>Odd </i><i>thing </i><i>to </i><i>do</i><i>, </i>I thought dismissively.

    ***

    We were prepared for an intense battle with the vampires. In fact, my warriors

    -who¡¯d been training for

    years without being able to use their skills¨Ceven

    seemed excited for a fight.

    But we didn¡¯t get one.

    The vampires allowed us to chase them off the territory without any resistance. Like some sort of game. We chased them for a while, then they slowed down and let us get really close to catching them before speeding up again.

    Zigzagging and changing directions, they had us running in circles like we were ying tag.

    We continued like this for longer than I¡¯d like to admit, vampires being naturally faster than werewolves. We could keep

    up with them, but it would¡¯ve taken the fastest in the pack to catch one.

    And usually that wasn¡¯t necessary, as vampires liked getting right to the juicy part and attacking¨Cbattling it out until there was a winner.

    What was happening now was strange. Vampires weren¡¯t known for being cowards. They didn¡¯t just run away from a fight. What they were doing made no sense at all. And it was pissing me off.

    I wanted to get back to Belle. I had told her I¡¯d be back before she fell asleep. All I wanted to do was hold her and watch her cute little face rx as her breathing evened out.

    She always did this thing where she would nuzzle into my chest and let out a contented sigh right before she fell asleep. I¡¯d hold her tighter and smile every time.

    It was my favorite part of the night. I loved her with everything I had in me. <i>God</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>wish </i><i>I </i><i>was </i><i>with </i><i>her </i><i>right </i><i>now</i><i>. </i>

    Thankfully, the vampires eventually seemed to get tired, fleeing the territory all at once as if having decided telepathically that they¡¯d had enough.

    Kyle and I stopped next to each other and shifted. We put on the shorts that were tied to our ankles by stic bands. We looked at each other in confusion.

    ¡°What the actual f*ck?¡± Kyle asked, saying exactly what was on my mind.

    I shook my head. ¡°I have no idea. Are they all gone?¡±

    Kyle paused and his eyes went gray as he mind¨Clinked with the other warriors who were likely scattered across the rest of the territory. I tuned in, listening to what the other warriors had experienced.

    Kyle nodded when his eyes opened a few secondster. ¡°The same thing happened to all of them. They¡¯ve all been driven off our territory.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to let our guard down,¡± I said. ¡°I want wolves posted around every section of our territory, all night. There¡¯s something more going on. It cannot have been that simple.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± Kyle replied.

    I looked back toward the pack house longingly, desperately wishing that I was with Belle. I knew now that I wouldn¡¯t be able to spend the night with her. I needed to stay out here and keep my pack safe.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ahead and go back to the pack house, Alpha?¡± Kyle said, watching me. ¡°I can take care of this. It¡¯s what I was trained for.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea.¡±

    I sighed as I imagined Belle waiting up for me, wondering where I was, worrying about me, alone on her first night here.

    She was probably wet from just getting out of the shower, her chocte¨Cbrown hair syed out all over my pillow.

    I imagined her wearing only my shirt and my boxers, with¨Coh God¨Cher beautiful long legs out on disy. I knew that the minute I joined her in bed, one of those beautiful legs would be thrown over my waist like always as she snuggled into my chest.

    I would pull her closer so that she was basically on top of me, then begin to run my hand up and down her back and y with her gorgeous, silky hair.

    I could already feel the sparks dancing along my skin. <i>God</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>miss </i><i>her</i><i>. </i>

    ¡°Okay,¡± Kyle said, clearing his throat loudly.

    ¡°I¡¯m about to suffocate from your mating pheromones. Go back to your mate, Alpha. I promise you that I am more than capable of handling a few vampires who aren¡¯t even in our territory anymore.¡±

    I looked at Kyle, then back at the pack house, then back at Kyle once again.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure you can handle it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Positive,¡± he confirmed.

    I sighed heavily. ¡°Okay,¡± I ran a hand through my hair and began to walk back to the pack house. ¡°Try not to bug me for the rest of the night,¡± I joked. ¡°And I mean, if you do, I want multiple people on fire.¡±

    Kyleughed. ¡°You got it, Alpha. Say hi to Luna for me.¡±

    And then he ran off into the night.

 Chapter 41

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    My only thoughts were of Belle and of getting back to her as soon as possible.

    ¡°Hello, Grayson,¡± someone said in the darkness.

    For a second I thought it was Belle saying my name, as she was the only person allowed to call me that. But this voice

    didn¡¯t give me the sparks that hers usually did. It couldn¡¯t be her.

    I turned quickly, only to see Adalee emerging slowly from the darkness, an

    odd smile on her face.

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°What did you just call me?¡± My wolf came to the surface, growling at the disrespect we¡¯d just received from her.

    Her smile only grew. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against a nearby tree. ¡°Did I ever tell you where I

    grew up, Grayson?¡±

    <i>So </i><i>Adalee </i><i>has </i><i>a </i><i>death </i><i>wish</i><i>? </i>I crossed my arms and tilted my head.

    <i>Okay</i><i>, </i><i>I¡¯ll </i><i>y </i><i>along</i><i>. </i>¡°No, Adalee, I don¡¯t think you did,¡± I said grimly.

    ¡°You know, it¡¯s kind of a coincidence. actually,¡± Adalee said,ughing slightly as she stepped away from the tree and approached me. ¡°I grew up in Paris- right around the area that you just came from.¡±

    I actually hadn¡¯t known that, which was strange. I¡¯d thought I knew everything about her when I asked her to be

    my beta. ¡°You told me you were from Toronto,¡± I said.

    ¡°Tsk¨Ctsk, Alpha. You really need to get to know your pack members better,¡± she said,ing to stand right in front of me.

    ¡°I moved to Toronto with my mom when I was eighteen. <i>Le reste </i><i>de </i><i>ma </i><i>vie </i><i>j¡¯ai </i>

    <i>pass¨¦ </i><i>¨¤ </i><i>Paris </i><i>avec </i><i>mon </i><i>p¨¨re</i><i>.</i><i>¡± </i>

    <i>The </i><i>rest </i><i>of </i><i>my </i><i>life </i><i>I </i><i>spent </i><i>in </i><i>Paris </i><i>with </i><i>my </i><i>father</i><i>, </i>~I thought quickly.

    <i>So </i><i>she </i><i>speaks </i><i>French</i><i>. </i>I was starting to think I didn¡¯t know my beta half as well as I thought I did.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I didn¡¯t know that,¡± I said, ¡°because you didn¡¯t tell me.¡± I stepped closer to her. ¡°Why?¡±

    Sheughed softly. ¡°Just you wait. I¡¯m getting to that part.¡±

    She looked me up and down slowly, as if she was sizing me up. ¡°I actually think you met my dad while you were in Paris. He¡¯s the beta of the pack there.¡±

    My brows knit together. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. I barely left the hotel while I

    was in Paris. I was too busy taking care of your luna.¡±

    ¡°Carl Aude,¡± Adalee said. ¡°My father¡¯s

    04

    name is Carl Aude. Ring a bell?¡±

    I sucked in a quick breath. That was the name of Belle¡¯s stepfather¨Cthe werewolf I had nearly killed.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that your father, Carl, is the beta of one of the biggest packs in the world?¡±

    ¡°Was,¡± Adalee spat out bitterly. ¡°He <i>was </i>the beta of one of the biggest packs in the world. But he¡¯s not anymore. He had one encounter with you and your b*tch mate

    A growl ripped from my throat and I lunged for Adalee without a second thought, fully intending to remind her of her ce. No one got to speak about my mate their luna¨Clike that. I was about

    to grab her throat and m her into the tree behind her when she held up a hand and said, ¡°Stop.¡±

    Suddenly I was jerked backward and my

    feet stopped moving as if they¡¯d been glued to the ground. A painful fire tingled up and down my legs.

    ¡°What the f*ck?¡± I yelled. I looked at Adalee, who was just watching me with a smile on her face. ¡°What the f*ck did you do to me?¡±

    ¡°Quiet,¡± Adalee said, and my mouth immediately mmed shut as if someone else was controlling it.

    <i>How </i><i>the </i><i>f*ck </i><i>is </i><i>she </i><i>doing this</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°Jeez, you really have anger issues. You

    need to work on those.¡±

    My wolf wed at my mind, trying to get free, but it was no use. There was something holding me back from shifting, keeping me in my human form. My wolf growled in frustration.

    Adalee cleared her throat. ¡°As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, my father had one encounter with you

    and¡­well¡°¡ªshe paused and chuckled menacingly ¡°my darling stepsister¡­

    Belle¡­ ~I thought frantically.

    <b>55 </b>

    ¡°And the next thing you know, he was magically stripped of his position as beta and found beaten to a pulp in an alley.¡± Her expression darkened deeply, all humor leaving her voice as she spoke her next words: ¡°And now he¡¯s dead.¡±

    I sucked in a breath. Carl was dead? That couldn¡¯t be possible! I had sent some men to teach him a lesson, but I¡¯d

    never ordered them to kill him. Belle had begged me to spare his life, and I had

    nned to keep my promise.

    Another thought hit me: <i>What </i><i>about </i><i>Belle¡¯s mother</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°Didn¡¯t know that, huh?¡± Adalee said bitterly. ¡°You sent your stupid little minions to beat him nearly to death and then didn¡¯t bother to check up on

    him afterward. You just left him to die; you didn¡¯t even care. And all for what? Because he hit your precious little mate? He died¨Cwas killed for one simple

    mistake.¡±

    She shook her head. I could see tears forming in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

    55

    ¡°And to think that I actually liked you,¡® she continued quietly. ¡°I respected you. I trusted you as my alpha and wanted to work under you. It¡¯s why I chose to be your beta. But you no longer deserve my respect. I never thought you were capable of doing what you did. You¡¯re going to pay for it now,¡± she said, her tirade ending abruptly.

    She circled me slowly. I was still defenseless, unable to move or open my mouth to speak. And it was pissing me off. She came to stand in front of me once

    more and grimaced when she looked at

    my face.

    ¡°There¡¯s another thing you don¡¯t know about me, Alpha.¡±

    I raised my eyebrows at her questioningly. My wolf growled.

    ¡°Do you remember the day you appointed me as your beta?¡± she asked.

    I thought about it. I should have remembered it. It was a very important decision¨Cone that I hadn¡¯t made lightly.

    But the harder I tried to remember that

    day, the more it seemed to sl*p from my memory. I opened my mouth to reply, but nothing came out. I was still unable to

    talk.

    Adalee sighed. ¡°You may speak now. Just don¡¯t interrupt me, and promise to listen quietly.¡±

    My jaw ckened painfully.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you¡¯re f*cking doing this, Adalee, but let me move my feet

    right now before I mind¨Clink all of my pack warriors. You¡¯re skating on extremely thin ice.¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Add <i>terrible </i><i>listener </i>to the list of things wrong with you- along with <i>murderer </i>and <i>egotistical </i>asshole,¡± she snapped.

    I growled loudly.

    ¡°You can try mind¨Clinking someone but no one will hear you. Go ahead and try,¡± she quipped.

    It seemed like I had no other option if I wanted to get out of this situation. I reached into my mind and attempted to connect to Kyle, asking him for help. I tried again. And again. And again. I didn¡¯t get a single answer.

    I looked at Adalee. She stood there smirking at me.

    ¡°See? I¡¯m right,¡± she said smugly. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get back to my question: do you

    remember the day you appointed me as your beta?¡±

    I swallowed a vicious reply, instead opting to say, ¡°No. I don¡¯t remember that day.¡± I ground my teeth together. ¡°Why can¡¯t I remember that day, Adalee?¡±

    Her smile only grew. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re about to find out just how little you really know about your beta.¡± She began circling me again. ¡°See, Ie from a very powerful line of¡± she paused when she came to stand right behind me, and I could feel her breath on my ear-¡°vampires.¡±

    I almost rolled my eyes. I didn¡¯t know what she was up to, but I knew she was lying.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re not a vampire. I¡¯ve seen your wolf. I can smell your werewolf genes,¡± I said.

    She stepped in front of me so that we were facing each other. ¡°You think you know everything, don¡¯t you, Grayson?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only one¨Cfourth vampire. The rest of me is all werewolf. You see, my father was half vampire. His mom was a werewolf and his dad was a vampire. And my mom was a werewolf. And they had me. Is this making sense now?¡±

    I stared at her in shock. None of this was making any sense. ¡°You¡¯re telling me you¡¯re a quarter vampire?¡± I asked.

    I clenched my jaw and pushed myself as hard as I could, trying to move my legs forward, but nothing budged.

    ¡°Try all you want to move; it¡¯s not going to work¨Cat least not until I tell you you can,¡± she said, watching me struggle, looking pleased. ¡°Yes, only a quarter of me is a vampire, meaning that my werewolf genes have almostpletely taken over. I don¡¯t drink blood; I don¡¯t have a sensitivity to light; I don¡¯t live with other vampires.

    ¡°The one thing <b>I </b>got from my father was

    ¡°The one thing I got from my father was these pretty pearly whites.¡± She pulled her top l*p up and showed off her sharp white fangs that I¡¯d never noticed before.

    ¡°Well, <i>that</i><i>, </i>and a very special ability that only <i>my </i>family has.¡± She smiled and looked down at my legs. ¡°And I think you might already know what the ability is.¡±

    She stepped closer to me so that our noses were almost touching. I growled.

    ¡°With just my voice, I can make you do whatever I want,¡± she said menacingly.

    <i>That¡¯s </i><i>not </i><i>possible</i><i>, </i>~I thought. The only vampire family that had the ability to control people with their voices were the Mortars.

    The royal vampire family.

 Chapter 42

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    ¡°You¡¯re a Mortar?¡± I said.

    Adalee smiled brightly and took a step back. ¡°Congrats, Alpha,¡± she said. Then the smile suddenly fell from her face. ¡°You¡¯re not as stupid as you look.¡±

    That was the final straw. No pack member of mine would speak to me like that¡ª vampire or not. I was her <i>alpha</i>!

    I lurched the top half of my b*dy forward, nning ontching my jaw onto her n*ck and not releasing it until she begged for mercy. But,right as I moved before I could even touch her- she stopped me with a single word:

    ¡°Pain.¡±

    My b*dy immediately fell to the forest floor as an anguishing pain shot through it. I yelled out, clutching at my chest and head, trying to find any sort of relief.

    It felt as if each bone in my b*dy was

    breaking while thousands of knives were stabbing into me.

    I was sure I was going to die. This was

    what it had to feel like.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Adalee¡¯s voice said.

    The pain suddenly stopped. I gasped and groaned as air finally entered my lungs.

    Adalee crouched down next to me and smoothed my hair away from my face. I was too weak to move or stop her. My wolf was pacing and whimpering in

    my mind. He now truly understood the

    severity of this situation. He was worried for our pack and mate.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a bad person, Grayson,¡± Adalee said calmly as she studied my face. ¡°The only time I ever used my ability on you was to be appointed as beta. I wanted to be epted into your pack in a ce of power, but I didn¡¯t want to spend months

    k*ssing up to you.

    ¡°I knew I deserved it and would do a good job, so I used my power to convince you of it as well. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t remember the day,¡± sheughed bitterly.

    A strained gurgle emitted from my throat, interupting her.

    ¡°I never nned on using my power on you again after that. In fact, I never nned on using it ever again. I didn¡¯t like having that control over people. It felt wrong. No one should get to y God.¡± She paused. ¡°But that all changed when you murdered my father.¡±

    I tried sitting up, fighting against the extreme exhaustion that had suddenly reced the pain. ¡°I never meant to kill your father, Adalee,¡± I groaned. ¡°He wasn¡¯t supposed to die.¡±

    ¡°Lie back down. Don¡¯t move,¡± she

    snapped. My b*dy immediately followed

    her orders. ¡°I don¡¯t care about what you <i>meant </i>to happen. What matters is what did happen.¡± She growled then, her wolfing to the surface. ¡°You should¡¯ve seen what your men did to him. He wasn¡¯t even recognizable when we buried him,¡®

    she said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Adalee,¡± I whispered. ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter now. The damage is done.¡± She stood. ¡°And you¡¯re going to pay.¡±

    <b><i>99 </i></b>

    She whistled as if she was signaling something, then looked back at me. ¡°My father and grandfather had a falling out a few years back and hadn¡¯t spoken since then. I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfather because of that. ¡°See, he¡¯s not the nicest man. A little power¨Chungry. Some might even call him corrupt. It¡¯s why the throne was taken away from him.¡±

    I felt the blood drain from my face at her words. She couldn¡¯t be talking about who I thought she was¡­

    ¡°But I disagree,¡± she continued. ¡°Especially not after I had the chance to meet him at my father¡¯s funeral. We got along very well. We felt the same way about some very important topics.¡±

    She grabbed my chin tightly, her nails digging into my skin, and turned my head so that I was looking right at her.

    ¡°For instance, we both agreed that you should no longer lead this pack. And if that means vampires taking control and the merging of our two kinds, then¡± she shrugged ¡°so be it.¡±

    The sound of rustling leaves and breaking twigs came from behind us.

    Adalee lifted her head. ¡°Ah, right on time.¡± She looked back at me. ¡°Grayson, I would like you to meet my grandfather.¡±

    A figure emerged from the trees, tall and dark, wearing all ck.

    He had long ck hair and blood¨Cred eyes. His sharp fangs were peeking out from beneath his top l*p that was pulled into a sinister smirk.

    It was Azazel Mortar, the former vampire king.

    He approached the two of us slowly, looking at me with a pleased expression on his face. I growled loudly, baring my teeth at him and tryin

    desperately to

    move my b*dy.

    But it was no use. Adalee had me

    paralyzed on the ground.

    ¡°Well done, Adalee,¡± he said. ¡°I have to say, I almost didn¡¯t think you had it in you. I am very happy that I was wrong.¡±

    Adalee smiled in return and took a step back.

    ¡°Stand,¡± Azazel said to me.

    My b*dy moved of its own ord, bringing me to my feet but, other than that, remainingpletely frozen. Azazel looked me up and down, and I couldn¡¯t do anything other than watch as his smile

    grew.

    ¡°My God, you are huge. I can see why you are alpha of the strongest pack in America,¡± he said.

    This was strangeing from him, as he was almost asrge as me¨Cthough leaner, less brawn.

    ¡°It will be extremely interesting to take over your b*dy and test your strength,¡± he

    said.

    ¡°What the f*ck did you just say?¡± I asked.

    My wolf was as close to the surface as he could be without us shifting, releasing loud, vicious growls nonstop. They were

    so loud, they echoed into the night.

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Azazel said.

    My jaw snapped shut in an instant, the same way that it had when Adalee had told me to be quiet earlier. The growling in my chest stopped, too, as my wolf was also silenced. My wolf whimpered in my head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to deal with your delinquent wolf right now,¡± Azazel said. ¡°I¡¯m sure I will get enough of that in the near future.¡± He continued to look at me,

    circling me slowly. ¡°Adalee, didn¡¯t you say that he wasn¡¯t fully mated yet?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Adalee said. ¡°He hasn¡¯t mated with his luna yet.¡±

    At the mention of Belle, my wolf began to pound at the inside of my mind, trying to get free.

    And with every pound, my b*dy shook. Azazel watched me intently, obviously

    knowing what was going on.

    ¡°If this is how powerful he is when he isn¡¯t even fully mature, I can only imagine how powerful he will be when he¡¯s fully mated,¡± he said.

    My b*dy continued to shake.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fun to get to that full power. Especially if that girl I saw you entering with earlier is your mate.¡±

    That was it. I was

    <b>?</b><b>, </b>

    Soing to rip this man¡¯s

    head clean off his b*dy¨Cafter I was

    finished torturing him until he begged for

    mercy.

    He wasn¡¯t going to touch Belle.

    He wasn¡¯t even going to get close.

    Azazel chuckled. ¡°Enough messing around. I have a throne to win back. And your little pack is going to help me get

    it.¡±

    In an instant, he was directly in front of me, moving more quickly than I had thought possible¡ªeven for a vampire. Then suddenly his fangs were deep in my throat, and I was groaning in pain. His originalmands over my b*dy seemed to fall away, and I copsed further to the ground as his venom coursed through my

    veins.

    I felt my consciousness begin to drift away, only to be reced by something else. Something dark and evil was slowly taking control over my mind and b*dy.

    I could no longer move. I could barely even think.

    I fought it for as long as I could, but eventually, my b*dy got tired of fighting and everything went ck.

    <i>¡°</i><i>This is </i><i>going </i><i>to </i><i>be </i><i>fun</i><i>,</i>¡± Azazel said

    from inside my mind.

 Chapter 43

    BELLE

    <i>THE </i><i>PRESENT </i><i>DAY</i><i>¡­ </i>

    Room 101¨Cthe one that Grayson had sent me to¨Cwas on the bottom floor of the pack house and was absolutely freezing. It was no wonder this room

    was free. The window was broken and

    wouldn¡¯t close all the way, allowing the cold Minnesota winter air toe in and drop the room¡¯s temperature below anything livable.

    There was even some snow piling up on the floor next to the window.

    And to add to that, it seemed that people had started to use the room for storage. It was filled to the brim with boxes and various old, dusty objects. I had to dig out the small creaky bed in the corner just to lie down.

    After about an hour of trying to sleep in the cold, I decided that there was no way

    I could stay in this room and got up to find somewhere else to spend the night. The pack house was much calmer at night with everyone in their beds.

    It was the first time I was really able to get a good look at the ce without feeling overwhelmed by the number of people constantly surrounding me. After poking around for a while, I eventually came across a living room filled with couches and a huge TV. This would have to do for the night. Iy down on a big leather couch.

    With no nket, no pillow, and tears staining my face, I finally drifted off to sleep.

    ***

    I awoke to the feeling of someone violently shaking my shoulder.

    ¡°Hey, wake up!¡± a voice said. ¡°You can¡¯t sleep here!¡±

    My eyes flew open; standing above me was an older woman with a vacuum in

    her hand.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said as I quickly sat up.

    ¡°You need to leave so that I can clean,¡± the woman said.

    ¡°Yes, of course. Sorry.¡± I stood up and was out of the room within seconds, feeling my face heat in embarrassment.

    I wondered what she thought of me, and if she knew that I had been kicked out of my mate¡¯s room. With my shoulders slumped and hardly any energy in my b*dy from not eating for two days, I made my way to the kitchen, desperately hoping that I would finally be able to snag some food and water.

    Once there, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Kyle and Elijah making breakfast with the rest of the pack.

    Elijah was the first to see me, and his face lit up. ¡°Luna!¡± he yelled.

    I approached them slowly, looking warily at the other werewolves, who seemed to

    be ignoring me instead of ring at me. <i>Strange</i>.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said quietly.

    I looked longingly at the food they were making, hoping that they would be willing to share with me. Kyle turned

    from the eggs he was frying, and his jaw dropped when he saw me. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me to look at him.

    ¡°What the f*ck is that?¡± he said, gesturing to my beat¨Cup face.

    My hand immediately flew up to my chin,

    and I winced when it connected with the

    tender bruise that Grayson had left therest night from gripping me too hard. The pain in the left side of my face was still

    astronomical.

    I felt panic rise in my chest as I tried toe up with an exnation that didn¡¯t involve Grayson so that I wouldn¡¯t have to face his wrath again.

    ¡°Oh, I sl*pped on icest night when I was exploring outside,¡± I said quickly, hoping that they¡¯d believe me and not ask more questions.

    Elijah nodded his head in understanding, obviously believing my story, which I was grateful for, but Kyle¡¯s eyes just narrowed in on my bruises as he studied my face some more.

    I shifted nervously.

    ¡°Did the alpha lose his shit when he saw you? I can only imagine how upset that must have made him,¡± Elijah said, shaking his head.

    I nodded. ¡°Oh, yeah. He was pretty mad. He made me put ice on it all night,¡± I

    lied.

    It was easy toe up with a story as I remembered how he¡¯d cared for my bruised face when my mother¡¯s mate had hit me in Paris.

    Elijahughed. ¡°Yeah, I bet he did.¡± He looked at my bruises again.

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would say a hand made those. But I know that no one would dare to hurt an alpha¡¯s mate unless they had a death wish,¡± Kyle said.

    Interestingly, it didn¡¯t seem to ur to him that the alpha himself could¡¯ve done this to me. I wouldn¡¯t have thought that either before seeing Grayson¡¯s true colors.

    ¡°Huh, yeah, that¡¯s funny. Definitely not a hand,¡± I said as I fidgeted.

    ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that you fell on your face when you sl*pped?¡± Kyle asked.

    I nodded quickly. ¡°Yeah, it was a pretty

    nasty fall,¡± I said.

    Kyle didn¡¯t look convinced. In fact, he looked at me with a worried expression that made me think he wasn¡¯t buying my story.

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised Alpha didn¡¯t want to stay with you all day today with that massive bruise on your face. Your face is swollen up like a balloon. ¡°You¡¯d think his wolf would be going insane knowing that you were hurt,¡± Kyle said suspiciously.

    I shrugged and looked down at my hands. I hated lying to them, but knew I had no other choice¨Cunless I wanted Kyle to go and talk to Grayson.

    ¡°He said he had a lot of really important work to do today and that he would check on meter,¡± I said feebly.

    Still not seeming convinced, Kyle continued to watch me as Elijah took over at the frying pan.

    ¡°Hey, do you think it would be okay if I stole some of your eggs?¡± I asked Elijah. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten breakfast yet.¡±

    Elijah smiled widely. ¡°Of course! We

    have more than enough.¡±

    ¡°Say, Luna, can I talk to you for a second?¡± Kyle asked.

    I nodded my head slowly, nervously. Kyle gently put a hand on my back and ushered me to the side where nob*dy could hear me.

    ¡°You were right,¡± he said once we were alone.

    My brows furrowed. ¡°About what?¡±

    Kyle crossed his arms over his chest and looked around to make sure that no one could hear our conversation. ¡°Alpha is acting strange¨Creally strange.¡±

    My eyes widened. ¡°Really?¡± I asked in relief. ¡°You¡¯ve noticed it too?¡±

    Kyle nodded. ¡°He¡¯s been making some really¡­odd decisions.¡±

    ¡°Like what?¡± I asked.

    Kyle hesitated, obviously deciding whether or not he should tell me.

    ¡°He¡¯s contemting letting some very questionable characters into our territory. I¡¯ve never disagreed with any of his decisions before, but some of themands he¡¯s been giving have been¡­ Well, absolutely insane.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, <i>questionable </i><i>characters</i>?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He¡­he¡­¡± Kyle hesitated. He sighed. ¡°Vampires. He wants to let vampires into our territory to ¡®discuss our rtionship with them¡® or some shit like that.¡± Kyle shook his head in disgust. He studied my face, a deep scowl twisting his features. ¡°And then youe inhere looking like that. There¡¯s no way he would be okay

    with you being hurt like that.¡±

    ¡°He isn¡¯t!¡± I said quickly. Our conversation fromst night ran through my mind. If Grayson found out that Kyle and I were talking about him behind his back, who knew what he would do?

    ¡°He was really mad when he saw mest night,¡± I continued. <i>Well</i><i>, </i><i>at </i><i>least </i><i>that¡¯s </i><i>not </i><i>a </i><i>lie</i><i>. </i>

    ¡°He¡­¡­.he, um, held me in his arms all night and gave me pain meds and made me ice my face. He took really good care of me.¡± I looked down at my hands, wishing it were true.

    Kyle watched me with an intense expression, one I couldn¡¯t read.

    I panicked. ¡°I¡¯m sure everything is fine with Grayson. Really. I haven¡¯t really noticed anything off since a couple days ago.¡±

    Kyle nodded slowly, but I could tell he still wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°Okay,¡± he sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go get some food.¡±

    He walked back to where Elijah was, and I followed behind eagerly.

    At the thought of food, my stomach let out the loudest growl, turning my face bright red. Both men looked at me.

    ¡°Luna, when was thest time you ate?¡± Kyle asked.

    My eyes widened. ¡°Last night,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I ate dinner with Grayson.¡±

    Elijah and Kyle exchanged worried nces and then looked at me.

    ¡°I know that¡¯s not true, Luna,¡± Kyle said. ¡°We ate with the alphast night, and you weren¡¯t there. He said you were asleep.¡±

    My eyes widened further as I realized I¡¯d been caught in a lie. ¡°Oh, um¡­¡­.well¡­¡­.¡± I didn¡¯t know what else to say.

    ¡°Luna, I¡¯m going to ask you again, and don¡¯t you dare lie to me. When was thest time you ate?¡± Kyle asked.

    I looked down at my hands once more, knowing I could no longer hide the truth. ¡°The night I first got here,¡± I whispered.

    ¡°What?¡± Elijah snapped.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you mean, ¡®the night you first got here¡®? That was two days ago!¡± Kyle yelled. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten in two days?¡±

    Tears were starting to form in my eyes. I looked around the kitchen and saw that people were watching us. We were starting to make a scene.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that every time I came to one of the kitchens, they would always be so full of people and everyone would snap at me when I tried to grab some food. I didn¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    Kyle growled and ran a hand through his

    hair.

    ¡°Stupid territorial wolves.¡± He sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t take it personally, Luna. Werewolves get territorial around their food and don¡¯t like sharing. It¡¯s just the way we are as hunters.¡±

    I nodded in understanding. That made

    sense.

    ¡°And the alpha didn¡¯t feed you? He didn¡¯t know that you were starving yourself?¡± Elijah asked.

    I shook my head frantically. ¡°No, he¡¯s been super busy. It¡¯s not his fault. I don¡¯t want to bother him.¡± I said.

    ¡°What the f*ck do you mean?¡± Kyle snapped. ¡°This isn¡¯t making any

    sense. An alpha takes extreme pride in providing for his mate. There¡¯s no way he wouldn¡¯t want to feed you, no matter how busy he is. You¡¯ll always be his number one priority.¡±

    The panic in my chest grew. I was really making a mess of things.

    Grayson would be so mad if he knew about any of this. ¡°I¡¯ve been telling him that I¡¯ve been finding my own food,¡± I lied. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been too clingy. I need to be less dependent on him while I¡¯m here. I can¡¯t be distracting him all day with my stupid problems. Too many people are counting on him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Kyle snapped. He grabbed my hand and began to pull me away.

    ¡°Elijah, you stay here and make some more food. I want there to be enough here for her to be on the verge of sickness. I¡¯m going to put an end to this nonsense.¡±

    Kyle continued to drag me out of the kitchen and toward Grayson¡¯s office, despite my objections. My mind reyed the conversation with Grayson from thest time I had been in his office¨Cwhen he¡¯d told me to stay away. I could only

    imagine how upset he would be if I went

    back there.

    ¡°Kyle, stop!¡± I yelled. ¡°Really, I¡¯m okay! We don¡¯t need to bother Grayson!¡± I tried prying his hand loose from my wrist, but he was too strong for me. ¡°Kyle, please! Please stop!¡±

    It had urred to mest night that if I didn¡¯t start to get back on Grayson¡¯s good side, then I was going to lose him forever. He already seemed to not want me, and I didn¡¯t know what I would do if he never

    came back to me.

    What I did know was that I¡¯d have to stay out of his way if I wanted to remain in his life even if that just meant getting a nce of him every once in a while. I decided that would be enough for me.

    I loved Grayson. I knew I did. I would do whatever I had to do to stay in his life.

    Seeing him right now after he had

    specifically asked me to stay out of his office would only make him upset. I

    couldn¡¯t afford to have him hate me any more than he already did.

    ¡°Kyle, please stop! I can¡¯t go in there!¡± I tried saying more forcefully, digging my heels into the ground.

    It was getting hard to talk with all the sobsing out of my mouth. Through my tears I could see people stopping and watching us. They probably thought I was

    insane.

    Suddenly Kyle lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder. I gasped.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the f*ck is wrong with you, but we are fixing it right now. You will not go on thinking like this,¡± Kyle said as he continued to march toward Grayson¡¯s office.

    I pounded on his back and yelled, demanding that he put me down, but he

    just ignored me. I knew that it was no use

    anyway.

    Damn werewolves <i>and </i><i>their stupid </i>strength.

    When we finally made it to the door of Grayson¡¯s office, Kyle knocked twice and then threw it open without waiting for a response. He set me down on the ground in front of him and ced his hands on both my shoulders so that I couldn¡¯t run

    away.

    Grayson was sitting behind his desk with a phone held up to his ear, obviously in the middle of a conversation. His eyes snapped up when we entered, and they immediately narrowed at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disrupt, Alpha, but this is an emergency,¡± Kyle stated.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to call you back,¡± Grayson said, and quickly hung up the phone.

    He was in front of me within seconds. causing me to flinch.

    ¡°What the hell is going on? Belle, baby, why are you crying?¡±

    He cupped my face in his tworge hands and began to wipe away my tears, careful of the bruising. It confused me that he was acting so kind when all I had done was bother him since I¡¯d gotten here.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I said to him. ¡°I tried to tell Kyle that I didn¡¯t want to bother you, but he dragged me here.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, Belle?¡± Grayson asked. He turned to Kyle. ¡°What the f*ck is she talking about?¡±

    ¡°The luna hasn¡¯t eaten in two days,¡± Kyle

    said.

    ¡°She told me that she didn¡¯t want to bother you with it, and instead chose to starve herself as she couldn¡¯t seem to get

    food from the kitchens with the other

    wolves around. I thought you would like

    to know.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Grayson snapped. He looked down at me. ¡°You haven¡¯t been eating?¡±

    ¡°I¡± I tried to exin, but I wasn¡¯t sure what to say. So instead I just nodded and looked down in shame.

    Without any warning, I was thrown over Grayson¡¯s shoulder and marched out of his office. My head spun from all of the sudden movement and no food in my

    system.

    I tried not to move while he carried me, not wanting to upset him any more than I already had. Grayson brought me to the kitchen, where he ced me down on the ground in front of everyone and pulled me in so that one arm was snuggly wrapped around my waist.

    ¡°Listen up, everyb*dy!¡± Grayson yelled.

    Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.

    ¡°You will all stay out of Belle¡¯s way when she is in here and allow her to take whatever she wants. ¡°If I hear about

    anyb*dy keeping her from the food inside any of the kitchens, there will be extreme consequences! Am I clear?¡±

    A chorus of ¡°Yes, Alpha!¡± rang out through the room.

    ¡°I want everyb*dy out of here! Now!¡± Grayson said.

    Everyone immediately filed out of the room, keeping their heads down. It amazed me how much power Grayson seemed to have over his pack. They did exactly what he said the minute he said it. I hadn¡¯t been expecting him to defend me or to put on the show of possessiveness that he just had. I watched in shock as thest person left the room.

    Before I could say anything, I was lifted up and ced roughly on the kitchen

    counter.

    A momentter, my head was sent flying backward as Grayson¡¯s hand forcefully connected with my cheek. My eyesight went for a few seconds asplete pain overtook the upper half of my b*dy and I cried out in shock.

    ¡°Can you not do anything right, you f*cking b*tch?¡± Grayson yelled. ¡°Can¡¯t I just get one day without you messing something up and bringing more conflict into my life? You can¡¯t even feed yourself!¡±

    I cried some more,pletely unable to think through the pain. My whole b*dy was shaking, and I was having a hard time sitting up straight.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± I managed to get out, my voice breaking from my sobs. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, whatever,¡± Grayson growled. ¡°What did I do in my past life to get stuck with you as a mate? I didn¡¯t even realize how pathetic a human could be until I met you. And you never f*cking stop crying!¡±

    More sobs shook my chest at his words.

    ¡°You will stay away from Kyle from now on, am I clear? You will avoid him and his mate at all costs, as you seem to only cause problems when you¡¯re near them,¡± he said.

    I sobered up a bit. ¡°What? Kyle and Elijah are my only friends here! Everyone else hates me!¡±

    Grayson grabbed my face with both hands, and I whimpered as he made contact with my very tender skin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a f*ck,¡± he said. ¡°You will do as I say or face the consequences, got it?¡±

    I nodded quickly, looking deep into his

    eyes

    that only seemed to get cker and cker with every second. It was hard

    to remember their true color; I hadn¡¯t

    seen them as anything but ck since the morning after we¡¯d gotten here.

    His grip on me tightened. ¡°I want words, Belle. Tell me you understand.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll stay away from them.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Grayson said. ¡°I don¡¯t need you messing everything up. Now, you¡¯re going to get yourself cleaned up and cover those ugly bruises on your face.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you even came out here with that on disy.¡± He pressed a thumb into the bruise on my cheek.

    I whimpered as excruciating pain spread through my system.

    ¡°You will not leave your room until you

    stop crying. Then you wille back here and make sure that everyone sees you eating. And I don¡¯t want to see your face in my office ever again.¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°Okay,¡± I said quietly.

    Grayson looked me up and down with disgust in his eyes. ¡°Who knew having a mate could cause me so many problems?¡±

    Then he left me alone.

 Chapter 44

    <b>BELLE </b>

    The next few weeks were like my own personal hell.

    I spent all of my time in the tiny bedroom at the bottom of the packhouse that Grayson had told me to sleep in, only leaving to use the bathroom and quickly grab food from one of the kitchens.

    I didn¡¯t see Grayson. I didn¡¯t see anyone.

    I couldn¡¯t sleep. I couldn¡¯t eat.

    And to make it worse, there was a terrible pain spreading throughout my b*dy that I knew was because I was away from Grayson.

    I thought many times of just leaving,ing up with ns that consisted of sneaking out in the middle of the night and getting as far away from this ce as possible.

    It¡¯s not like Grayson would notice if I were gone.

    He said that he wanted me here, bing furious when I threatened to leave but never actually talks to me or checks up on me to make sure that I¡¯m actually here.

    It would be beyond easy to sneak out of here, grab a cab with what little money I had left, and go make a new life somewhere else.

    But every time I summoned enough courage to finally do it, something would stop me. A tug in my chest would tell me not to give up hope, not to leave Grayson just yet.

    One morning, as I tossed and turned after a restless night of no sleep, I heard footsteps outside of my door. I sat up in

    confusion.

    Nob*dy ever came down here except me.

    Especially not this early.

    The sun hadn¡¯t even risen yet.

    The person hesitated outside the door before the doorknob slowly turned.

    As the stranger stepped in, I noticed my b*dy instantly releasing all of its tension.

    The dull ache that had been in my b*dy seemed to lift from me.

    I couldn¡¯t see who it was but by my b*dy¡¯s reaction to therge figure standing in the doorway, I knew who it

    was.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked into the dark.

    He approached me without saying a word, acting as if I hadn¡¯t spoken.

    He bent down when he had reached the bed I was sitting on and brought me into his arms, lifting me as if I weighed nothing at all.

    He began carrying me out of the room and up the stairs nearby, still not speaking.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked again. I hesitated, not sure how to act in this situation. On the one hand, I didn¡¯t want to upset him. But on the other hand, I was a little scared of where this was leading. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°Shh,¡± he replied. ¡°Don¡¯t talk.¡±

    My brows knit together. What the hell was going on?

    He brought me to his room, where I hadn¡¯t been in days, and kicked it open. Once inside, he unceremoniously dropped me on the bed and walked back

    over to the door to close and lock it.

    I stared at him. ¡°Are you going to tell me what¡¯s going on now?¡± I asked in a quiet voice.

    He switched the lights on and approached me. His eyes were pitch ck and his hair was messy. I could tell that he had just woken up. He must have gotten dressed and then gotten me right after.

    Once he was standing in front of me, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked me over slowly. It felt like his eyes were criticizing every inch of my b*dy.

    ¡°Have you gained weight?¡± He asked.

    My jaw dropped. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Did he really just bring here me just to tell me that I looked fat? If anything, I had lost weight during my time in his pack.

    He scowled as he continued to analyze my b*dy. ¡°You look bigger,¡± he said.

    I rose to my feet. ¡°You know what, Alpha?¡± I spat. ¡°If your only reason for waking me up and bringing me to your room this early in the morning was to criticize my appearance, there¡¯s no way

    I¡¯m going to sit here and take it. F*ck you.¡± I walked past him, trying to keep myposure as I walked to the door.

    But before I could leave, a gentle hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me back. I looked back at him. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. ¡°That¡¯s

    not why I brought you here. The wolf was getting antsy and wanted to be with you.¡±

    My weary mood lifted a bit. Even though his wolf was still a part of Grayson, I had a soft spot for the wolf that lived inside him. He seemed to want me even when Grayson didn¡¯t. ¡°The wolf? Do you mean your wolf?¡± I asked.

    He scowled at me. ¡°Yes, my wolf. What other wolf would I be talking about?¡±

    I dropped my gaze, suddenly feeling embarrassed. For what, I wasn¡¯t sure. ¡°I

    don¡¯t know.¡±

    We stayed like that for a few seconds in

    silence.

    I shifted ufortably. ¡°Was it only your wolf who wanted to see me?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look at him as I waited for his response.

    I didn¡¯t truly understand why I cared so much if he wanted to see me or not but it felt like my entire life was riding on his response.

    At first, he didn¡¯t say anything, but a soft hissing sound came from his chest. I looked at him then. I¡¯d never heard him make that noise before.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time we mate, Belle,¡± he stated. ¡°I need the power that you are capable of bringing me through the mate bond if we are to face what¡¯s toe.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what I looked like, but I was sure my eyes were about to pop out of my eye sockets from shock.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked.

    He hissed again. ¡°I don¡¯t like repeating myself.¡±

    In a sh, faster than I had ever seen Grayson move, he lifted me into his arms and harshly dropped me on the bed.

    His l*ps smashed onto mine.

    I gasped into the k*ss, too shocked to enjoy the fact that the man I loved was touching me for the first time in weeks.

    Dull sparks danced across my skin. I frowned as his l*ps moved down my n*eck. The sparks weren¡¯t nearly as strong as they usually are. In fact, this all felt

    wrong.

    I pushed on his shoulders lightly. ¡°Grayson, stop.¡±

    He ignored me.

    I pushed on him again, harder this time.

    ¡°No, I am not doing this again! You do not get to choose when you want to use me! I am not a toy, Grayson!¡±

    I finally grabbed his face and shoved it back with all of my force.

    He moved back slightly in shock, lifting his b*dy off mine just enough for me to scramble off the bed. He hissed loudly and made an attempt to grab me and force me back on the bed but I dodged him quickly.

    ¡°What the hell is the matter with you?¡± I screamed. I had finally moved away enough so that he would have to stand if he wanted to get to me. I could feel tears forming in the corners of my eyes but I pushed them down, refusing to cry right now. Grayson only stared at me, seeming surprised by my outbreak.

    ¡°You will not speak to me like that,¡± Grayson spat. ¡°I am your alpha. I demand your respect and cooperation.¡± He stood

    and approached me slowly. I knew he was trying to intimidate me.

    I stood my ground. ¡°Well, you know what, Alpha? Ever since we¡¯vee back to your pack, you¡¯ve treated me like an inconvenience, like I didn¡¯t matter to you at all. The only time you ever talk to me is when it¡¯s forced on you or when you¡¯re in the mood to use my b*dy like some ything! I thought you loved me.¡± I took a deep breath, just barely getting past the sob that was rising in my throat. ¡°But now I know that I¡¯m only here to bring you power. You don¡¯t love me and you never have.¡±

    Grayson shrugged. ¡°And what if that¡¯s true? The mate bond will force you to stay with me no matter how I treat you.¡±

    I sucked in a deep breath. That was all the confirmation that I needed. This wasn¡¯t the Grayson that I knew back in Paris. This Grayson didn¡¯t want me. And you know what? I didn¡¯t want him.

    I shook my head. The tears were flowing freely down my cheeks at this point as I came to my final conclusion. Keeping intense eye contact with my so¨Ccalled <i>mate</i>, I said, ¡°I¡¯m done letting the mate bond make decisions for me. I¡¯m leaving. I never want to see you again.¡±

    He didn¡¯t respond at first.

    It seemed as though he was having an inner battle with his wolf, showing all of the telltale signs that he was about to shift. His arms sprouted with thick, dark hair, his teeth elongated, and his chest

    grew twice its normal size.

    His wolf was fighting toe out.

    It broke my heart.

    But it was ultimately Gryason¡¯s silence that sealed the deal.

    The Grayson that I fell in love with would have fought for me and been heartbroken

    if I said what I just did. He wouldn¡¯t be fighting his wolf, the only part of him who wanted me for the right reasons.

    I nodded in understanding. It was over. ¡°Goodbye, Grayson,¡± I said through my tears. I turned and walked out the door with my head held high. Grayson was too preupied with his inner turmoil to even notice I was leaving.

    I left my heart back in that room that day. And I was sure that I would never get it back.

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    BELLE

    I sprinted down the stairs of the packhouse after leaving Grayson¡¯s room, barely able to see where I was going through the tears streaming down my face.

    It didn¡¯t matter where I was going.

    All I cared about at that moment was getting as far away from Grayson as possible.

    My chest was constricting, making it hard for me to breathe. My mind became foggy and I stumbled on thest step of the stairs and tripped.

    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from falling directly onto my butt, whimpering when my back made. painful contact with a step behind me.

    I didn¡¯t lift myself up.

    I didn¡¯t move.

    I didn¡¯t think I could even if I wanted to.

    My b*dy felt like it was breaking down bit by bit, almost as if it knew what was happening to me. It knew that I had just lost my mate<b>, </b>the man that I was supposed to love for the rest of my life. Not having the strength to get up, I sat on the bottom step of <b>the </b>stairs and sobbed.

    I brought my hands up to my face and cried harder than I ever had in my life.

    I never thought anything would hurt more than the day when my dad died but I was so so wrong. This felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest, leaving me to die a slow and painful death filled with misery and regret.

    I was thankful that it was still early in the morning because none of the pack members would be awake. They wouldn¡¯t witness how broken I was, sitting here crying over someone who didn¡¯t

    even want me.

    But <b>I </b>guess it wouldn¡¯t matter if someone saw me. Grayson¡¯s pack hated me.

    Nothing would change that.

    ¡°Luna?¡± someone suddenly said.

    My head snapped up and relief entered my chest when I locked eyes with Kyle¡¯s. He was standing in front of me in sweatpants and a T¨Cshirt, looking like he had just woken up.

    As his sleepy eyes ran over my broken form, fury and worry entered his expression. ¡°What the fuck happened to you?¡± he asked.

    I couldn¡¯t stop the sob that escaped my throat as I looked at him. I put my hand over my mouth as I pulled my shaking form up to a standing position. I tried to open my mouth to tell him all

    at hannened hut nothing came out

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    that happened but nothing came out.

    I felt numb.

    So instead, I just shook my head andunched myself into his arms.

    Kyle,pletely shocked, stumbled back a bit when I made contact with him.

    He hesitated a second, probably worrying about what Grayson would think if he saw us hugging, but then securely wrapping his arms around me and squeezed me tight.

    ¡°Hey, shh,¡± he said as he ran his hand up and down my back in a soothing way. It didn¡¯t stop me from sobbing uncontrobly into his n*eck.

    He didn¡¯t try to push me to exin which I was extremely grateful for. He just held me as <b>I </b>cried. I had never appreciated Kyle more than in that moment.

    After a few seconds like that, Kyle said, ¡°Hey, everything is going to be alright. I¡¯m going to mind¨Clink the alpha and he¡¯ll help you. Whoever did this to you is going to face severe consequences. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.¡±

    My head snapped up in a panic and I took a step back so I could see his face. ¡°No! No, you can¡¯t mind¨Clink Grayson! I can¡¯t see him right now. I can¡¯t see him. Please, Kyle. Please don¡¯t tell

    him.¡±

    Kyle¡¯s brows knit together, as his expression grew even more worried. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tell him but you need to tell me what the fuck is going on, right f**king now.¡± His voice had gone fromforting to deadly serious in a matter of seconds.

    I didn¡¯t want to talk.

    I didn¡¯t want to do anything but crawl into a hole and spend the rest of eternity there.

    I was worried that if I even tried to exin what happened between me and Grayson, I would just turn into an uncontroble sobbing puddle on the floor.

    But as Kyle looked at me, sincere worry and panic in his eyes, I knew that I owed it to him.

    I couldn¡¯t just run away without giving him an exnation.

    Something was wrong with Grayson and the pack deserved to know.

    I opened my mouth to speak, struggling to get the words out through my tears. ¡°Grayson,¡± I started. ¡°Grayson, he-¡± I wasn¡¯t able to finish.

    An intense and blinding pain took over my b*dy with sudden force.

    It was like nothing I had ever felt before, even a million times worse than the pain I had felt when I was away from Grayson in Paris. I doubled over, a scream of agony leaving escaping my mouth.

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    I was vaguely aware of Kyle yelling my name, wiping my hair from my eyes so he could get a better look at my face but couldn¡¯t actually look at him. I knew in that moment that this must be what it felt like to die.

    I grasped onto Grayson¡¯s mark on my n*eck, suddenly feeling like it was on fire, like someone was branding it with scalding hot iron. I wed at it, wanting to rip it from my skin.

    The pain was only bing more and more intense with every passing second.

    And then suddenly, an inst so intense coursed through my b*dy that I wasn¡¯t able to ignore it even through all of my pain.

    Something was wrong with Grayson.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how I knew it but something was happening to our bond.

    It was breaking.

    Panic entered my chest.

    I grabbed onto Kyle¡¯s arm and looked at him. ¡°Something is wrong with Grayson,¡± I said to him. Without waiting for his response, I stood, fighting through the pain so I could sprint back up the stairs and back to Grayson¡¯s room.

    At that moment, I didn¡¯t care about what Grayson had done to me.

    I didn¡¯t care that he didn¡¯t want me.

    All I cared about was making sure he was okay.

    Even more importantly, I had to make sure he was alive.

    Kyle called after me, hot on my trail as we both flew through the packhouse like wild animals. We ran into a couple of other wolves but I shoved them out of my way, my mind only focused on

    one thing.

    When we finally came to the door of Grayson¡¯s room, I didn¡¯t hesitate to shove it open and burst

    into the room.

    And I stepped into my worst nightmare.

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    It felt like my life ended in that moment.

    Sitting on the edge of his bed was Grayson in only a pair of boxer shorts.

    And sitting on top of him was a n*ked girl, pressing herself against him and k*ssing his l*ps.

    Grayson was cupping her bare breast and moaning, grinding himself erotically against her.

    Scalding hot pain coursed through my b*dy, begging me to get out of there, to look away but I was incapable of moving<b>, </b>frozen in my absolute worst nightmare.

    I couldn¡¯t tear my eyes away from horrific view of my soulmate with someone <b>else</b>.

    I could barelyprehend what was happening when Kyle grabbed my waist and harshly pulled me behind him, blocking my view of Grayson and the shewolf.

    Kyle was grabbing my face, trying to force me to look at him<b>, </b>screaming my name along with some other things that I didn¡¯tprehend.

    I couldn¡¯t hear him.

    I couldn¡¯t hear anything through my shock.

    Even as the blinding pain I was feeling intensified tenfold by being in the same room as Grayson, I couldn¡¯t move. I was in a daze, stuck in my own hell.

    ¡°Luna!¡± Kyle screamed in my face, still trying to get my attention. ¡°Luna! Look at me!¡±

    Still in a trance, my eyes slowly drifted to his.

    ¡°You need to get out of here,¡± Kyle said, determination and worry clear in his tone. He was pushing my shoulders back, causing me to stumble backward toward the door.

    I could feel the tears rolling down my face. I stared at Kyle, trying to open my mouth to say something. But nothing came out.

    He was wiping one of the tears from my cheek but still trying to push me away, saying, ¡°I know. I know, Luna.¡± He nodded his head frantically. ¡°I know you¡¯re feeling horrible right now. I know you feel like you can¡¯t move but you need to get as far away from here as possible. You need to leave right f**king now. Go. Now.¡± He pushed me back again, now shoving me with harsh force into the hall.

    Again, I couldn¡¯t say or do anything.

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    Again, I couldn¡¯t say or do anything.

    I no longer felt like I had control over my b*dy.

    E

    8%!

    My mind just kept reying the image of Grayson and that girl in my mind like a bad movie that wouldn¡¯t stop.

    So this is what it felt like to lose your matepletely and fully.

    I was sure that the only other feeling that couldpare was death.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Luna,¡± Kyle said. ¡°Elijah is going to meet you downstairs and get you as far away from here as possible. You need to move.¡±

    He turned my b*dy around and shoved me down the hall with enough force to have me almost falling on my face. I wasn¡¯tpletely sure what I was doing, but my feet kept moving. Kyle was right, I needed to get away from here.

    I staggered down the stairs in a rush, only stopping when someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to their b*dy.

    They lifted me up with ease.

    For a second, I panicked, thinking it was Grayson.

    But it wasn¡¯t.

    It couldn¡¯t be.

    I looked up at who was carrying me and saw the worried, sad eyes of Elijah looking down at me. ¡°I¡¯ve got you, Luna,¡± he said in a soft voice. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re getting you out of here.¡±

    He didn¡¯t wait for me to reply when he started moving.

    His determined, quick feet ran through the packhouse in a blur, not stopping to acknowledge the confused looks of those we were passing. It didn¡¯t take us long to reach the front door of the packhouse.

    Elijah flung it open without hesitation and brought us out into the woods.

    The freezing cold of winter hit me like a ton of bricks, seemingly snapping me out of my daze with force. It was then, as Elijah carried me through the woods by the packhouse, sprinting at full speed, that the agony of my situation truly began to sink in.

    Grayson was mating with someone else. He had chosen some other girl to be his mate. He didn¡¯t want me. He didn¡¯t want me. He didn¡¯t want me.

    I tried to remind myself that I shouldn¡¯t care. I was already in the process of leaving him when found him about to sleep with someone else.

    But before that, when Kyle had been holding me on the staircase, before the pain of my mate

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    giving me up had started, I¡¯d still had hope. I still believed that everything would work itself out and Grayson would somehow decide that he actually did want me.

    But now I knew. It was over. I had lost him for good.

    At this agonizing realization, uncontroble sobs began to wrack through my b*dy. The sound of my pain frightened even myself, as loud cries left my mouth, echoing through the silence <b>of </b>

    the forest.

    <b>I </b>was grateful that Elijah didn¡¯t stop running.

    I was grateful that he was carrying me instead of forcing me to run on my own.

    I didn¡¯t know where we were going and I didn¡¯t care.

    All I knew was that the further we were from the packhouse, from Grayson, the more numb my pain became. After a few more minutes like this, my stomach began to churn, feeling like acid was rising in my throat. I grabbed Elijah¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Elijah, put me down. Put me down please. I¡¯m going to be sick,¡± I said frantically.

    Elijah immediately stopped, dropping to his knees in the snow.

    He ced me down in front of him and pulled my hair away from my face as burning liquid immediately came spewing from my mouth,nding on the forest floor.

    It went on like that for a while. I alternated between vomiting, hyperventting, and just sobbing uncontrobly nonstop. Elijah stayed with me through it all, never leaving my side.

    I finally stopped puking when all the contents of my stomach were emptied and only bile was left. I tried my best to calm my breathing but it felt like my throat was closing in on itself, like my entire b*dy was breaking down.

    I was vaguely aware of Elijah doing his best to calm me. He had one hand rubbing up and down his back while the other was squeezing my hand tightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± he kept whispering. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry this is happening to you.¡±

    It felt like ages before I was finally able to form a coherent thought that wasn¡¯t immediately taken over by pain or sickness.

    I allowed Elijah to pull me into his arms,ying my head down on his chest while I cried.

    There was a very subtle burning sensation that came from touching Elijah that I knew was there because he wasn¡¯t my mate.

    That¡¯s what my b*dy needed right now to calm it down. It needed Grayson. But I didn¡¯t care.

    I needed thefort more than I cared about the pain.

    After a few minutes, or maybe it was hours, I wasn¡¯t sure, I whispered, ¡°Why does it hurt so

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    wasir & sure, i wisporcu, wily ducS TUTUL SU

    Elijah¡¯s hand paused its movement on my back. He looked down at me. I was shocked to see that he had tears in his eyes as well. ¡°Your bond with the alpha was the strongest I ever witnessed,¡± he said. ¡°I could feel it the moment I met you. Your souls were interlocked as one, meant to be together forever. But because he has¡­¡± he hesitated, whispering his next word, ¡°rejected you, you¡¯re losing part of your soul right now. The fact that he had already marked you is only worse. Your b*dy is breaking down.¡±

    I sucked in a breath. ¡°Am¨Cam I going to die?¡±

    Elijah¡¯s sad expression deepened. He shook his head in defeat. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he whispered.

    More tears fell from my eyes at this revtion. So this was what it felt like to die.

    And yet, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to be scared of my death.

    It already felt like I was dead.

    Maybe if that were truly dead, the pain would stop.

    Elijah suddenly grabbed my chin and forced my teary gaze back on his. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the hell you are thinking right now but whatever it is, it needs to stop. <b>It¡¯s </b>not true. You are strong. You will not let the mate bond defeat you and tear you apart. You will get through this. And you will do it with your head held high like the powerful luna you are.¡±

    I stared at him.

    I didn¡¯t feel powerful or strong.

    I felt broken.

    Defeated.

    Used and forgotten.

    But I knew he was right.

    This couldn¡¯t be my end.

    I couldn¡¯t let Grayson win.

    Not after all that he had done to me.

    I nodded my head. ¡°Okay,¡± I said.

    Elijah nodded back. ¡°Okay,¡± he repeated.

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    Elijah moved gently, removing his arms from around me. I whimpered quietly as even the slightest movement caused searing pain in my b*dy. He stood and took off the sweatshirt he was wearing so now he was only in his pajama bottoms, a shirt, and soaking wet sl*ppers. He handed the sweatshirt to me. ¡°Here. Put this on.¡±

    I moved slowly but with determination and, with the help of Elijah, was able to get the piece of clothing over my shaking form.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said to him. I hadn¡¯t even realized how cold I was until his sweatshirt<b>, </b>still warm from his b*dy heat, was wrapped around me like aforting hug.

    Elijah nodded. He crouched down next to me. ¡°Okay, so here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen now,¡± he said in a calming voice. ¡°You¡¯re going to stay right here and try to get control over your b*dy and emotions. It¡¯s going to be hard but you need to do it in order to face whates next. Take deep calming breaths and try to think not about you¨Cknow¨Cwho,¡± he said, obviously referring to Grayson. Well, at least I knew that he wasn¡¯t talking about Voldemort.

    He reached over and pushed my hair out of my face in aforting manner. I smiled weakly at him and nodded my head. I could do that. Right?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go back to the packhouse and get your stuff,¡± Elijah continued. ¡°And then we¡¯re going to get you on a bus and as far away from here as possible. Where does your family live?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any family,¡± I said quietly, dropping my gaze in embarrassment. ¡°At least not any that would want me around.¡±

    Elijah swore quietly under his breath, running a hand through his hair in frustration. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be shitting me,¡± he sighed. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll figure something else out then.¡±

    I didn¡¯t respond.

    It was embarrassing how much of a mess my life was.

    I had thought I had it all figured out when I fell in love with Grayson and made the decision to stay with him when we came back from Paris. Boy, was I wrong.

    I had given everything up for him. My apartment, my job, even the chance to make amends with my mother. I¡¯d gotten nothing in return.

    It just went to show how destructive I truly was, destroying and hurting anyone that came to know me. Even my own parents.

    0%

    Even myself.

    ¡°Luna, look at me,¡± Elijah suddenly said.

    I raised my head to look at him, wishing he wouldn¡¯t call me that anymore. I wasn¡¯t his luna. I was just Belle. Poor, broken Belle.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to get through this,¡± Elijah said. His voice held no hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s going to take a while but the pain will lessen. All of this will be a horrible memory. What the alpha has done to you is going to haunt you for the rest of your life. There is nothing we can do about that and for that, I apologize. But I can promise you that your life will not always revolve around this day. You will move on. Things will get better. I promise.¡±

    As I stared into Elijah¡¯s eyes that held much more confidence than my own, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from doubting his words. The pain that I was feeling right now, both physically and emotionally, was so overwhelming that it felt like it would never end.

    How could I possibly move on from this?

    How could I possibly go on living my life knowing that Grayson, the person that I cared about more than anyb*dy else in the world, hated me?

    But the determination and sincereness in Elijah¡¯s words gave me hope. And hope was all I could ask for at that moment. Hope would give me the strength to go on living another day.

    Elijah stood when I didn¡¯t reply to his lofty ims. I was grateful that he seemed to be dropping the subject for the time being. ¡°Okay, I have to go get your stuff now. We need to get you out of here. The further you are from the alpha, the less pain you will feel. And the sooner you can

    heal.¡±

    I wanted to trust that what he was saying was true but my pain only seemed to increase at even the thought of being away from Grayson.

    ¡°Shit,¡± Elijah suddenly said. He was looking back in the direction of the packhouse with a worried expression. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to get past the alpha to get your stuff from his room, aren¡¯t I?¡± He let out a quiet growl of frustration. ¡°Maybe-¡±

    ¡°My stuff isn¡¯t in his room,¡± I interrupted. ¡°I haven¡¯t stayed there for a while.¡±

    Elijah¡¯s knit together. ¡°Then where have you been sleeping?¡±

    I thought seriously about just saying screw it and leaving town without any of my things.

    I didn¡¯t want to have to exin what really happened between Grayson and me, exin that I hadn¡¯t slept in the same bed as Grayson for weeks.

    But the things in my suitcase and backpack were all that I had in the world. I would be left with only the clothes on my back if I didn¡¯t get them before I left.

    ¡°Room 101,¡± I finally whispered.

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    ¡°In the basement?¡± Elijah asked. The tenseness in his tone told me he knew exactly what room I was talking about.

    I nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Elijah growled but didn¡¯t ask any more questions, thank God. I wasn¡¯t ready to rehash things and he seemed to understand that. ¡°Okay. Okay, fine. Then that¡¯s where I¡¯m going.¡± His eyes softened when they fell back on me. ¡°Are you going to be okay here on your own for a little while? No one knows you¡¯re here but me so no one is going to find you. I¡¯ll go as fast as I can.¡±

    I wanted to say no.

    I wanted him to stay with me.

    I was terrified of what would happen if I came in contact with Grayson again.

    The pain would surely be immeasurable. But I reminded myself that there was no way that he woulde looking for me. He didn¡¯t want me.

    He was busy sleeping <b>with </b>some other woman at that exact moment, right as Elijah and I spoke. The intense pain coursing through my b*dy confirmed that fact.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay,¡± I said.

    Elijah didn¡¯t hide his grimace, probably put off by how broken my voice sounded. He bent down and left a soft k*ss on my forehead. I smiled weakly up at him when he straightened, my heart warming at how sweet and caring he was.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be quick,¡± he said. ¡°All of this will be over soon.¡±

    He smiled at me once more and turned, ready to start off in the direction from which we came.

    ¡°Elijah?¡± I asked quickly, stopping him before he could go.

    He turned and looked at me. He raised a brow in question.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered. ¡°Really. Thank you.¡±

    He smiled again. ¡°Of course, Luna. You have nothing to thank me for.¡±

    And with that, he turned and sprinted off into the woods.

    I watched him run away from me until I couldn¡¯t see him anymore. He was like a blur in the wind, beautiful and strong, his werewolf genes making him faster than I could evenprehend. When he was finally out of my sight, I allowed myself to lie down on my side, hoping that the cold snow would cool down my feverish b*dy. I was relieved that the waves of pain coursing through me had finally lessened.

    They were unpleasant but not nearly as bad as when they had first started. This could only mean one thing.

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    Grayson was finished mating with someone else. I couldn¡¯t decide which was worse, the agonizing torture that <b>I </b>had felt just moments ago <b>or </b>simply knowing that Grayson had S*x with someone else, officially choosing them as his mate instead of me.

    Probably thetter.

    All of this had made me doubt all of my decisions.

    First, my decision to stay with Grayson in the first ce.

    And second, my decision to not allow him to use me in order to gain power.

    If I had, I would still be in that horrible house now, lonely and heartbroken<b>, </b>knowing he <b>only </b>wanted me for his own selfish reasons. But what if things would have changed if I had slept with him? What if that is what Grayson needed toe to the realization that he still loved me? I shook my head violently, trying to erase the thought from my head. But even as I was able to rid it from my mind, I knew that it would be a question that would haunt me forever.

    I sighed deeply and reached for the mark that Grayson had left on my n*eck what felt like an eternity ago. <b>It </b>red up at my touch, angry and throbbing, shooting agonizing pain throughout every part of my b*dy.

    I gasped loudly when my b*dy tensed up and dropped my hand in a sh.

    Well, I won¡¯t be doing that again, I thought bitterly as <b>I </b>stuffed my face in the snow to seek somefort from the hot pain. I wondered if the bite mark would heal now or if I would have to live with the constant reminder of Grayson¡¯s betrayal prominently disyed on my n*eck. Happy thoughts, Belle, I reminded myself, thinking about what Elijah had said to me before he left. Think about something else. Anything else.

    It didn¡¯t work.

    It was as if that was the only thought that my mind could conjure up.

    And with the image of Grayson k*ssing a n*ked woman on hisp, not even stopping when <b>I </b>walked into the room, reying over and over again in my head, I allowed myself to cry.

    It felt good to cry. It felt good to let myself feel my emotions for a second before I had to jump back into the real world. I had learned this when my father died and I was left on my own. Once Elijah was back, I would wipe my tears and force myself to stand up with my head held high.

    But for now¡­ I just cried.

    ***

    Elijah was right when he said he would be quick.

    It couldn¡¯t have been more than an hour before he came sprinting back into my view with my backpack on his back and my suitcase securely in his arms. He was wearing a different outfit as

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    well, now in jeans, a coat, and big boots.

    I stood to meet him, quickly wiping the tears from my eyes and pushing my shoulders back in the way that I promised myself 1 would do.

    I wished I¡¯d put on shoes before I¡¯d left the packhouse in such a hurry.

    My sock covered feet were freezing. Thankfully, <b>I </b>had shoes in my backpack that I put on when Elijah finally reached me. And then I put on the coat that he handed me as well.

    When I straightened and looked at Elijah, he said, ¡°You ready?¡±

    I nodded stiffly. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m ready.¡±

    He quickly shrugged off my backpack and handed it to me. ¡°Put this on,¡± he said.

    I didn¡¯t question him, grabbing the backpack from his hand and putting its straps over my shoulders. Then, he turned from me and squatted down, motioning for me to get on his back. ¡°Hop on.¡±

    I felt a blush travel up my chest. I hoped Elijah didn¡¯t see me as weak, like ss he needed to care for so that it wouldn¡¯t break. I was very capable of walking. ¡°You don¡¯t have to carry me again,¡± I said. ¡°I can walk.¡±

    Elijah shook his head, not moving from his position. ¡°Absolutely not. You¡¯re swaying just standing there and shaking like a leaf. I¡¯m going to carry you.¡±

    I still hesitated. ¡°Won¡¯t it be too heavy to carry me and my luggage?¡± I asked.

    Elijahughed and directed his gaze over his shoulder to me. ¡°No. It won¡¯t be too heavy. I¡¯m a werewolf with amazing strength and you¡¯re¡­¡± his eyes traveled up and down my form, a frown forming on his l*ps. ¡°Well, you¡¯re skin and bones. That¡¯s the first thing I¡¯m going to do when we get out of town. I¡¯m making you a four¨Ccourse meal and making sure you eat every bite.¡±

    I stiffened a bit at his words. ¡°You, you¡¯reing with me?¡± I asked in shock. I had thought that he was simply going to put me on a bus and be done with me. I had thought that I would never see him again after today.

    Elijah finally turned and looked at me, a soft expression taking over his features. ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯m not going to just let my luna go off on her own without any protection. Especially after what you just went through. I probably should have told you that, but with all of themotion, it just sl*pped my mind. Kyle ising too. He¡¯s going to meet us wherever we end up going and bring my things with him. He¡¯ll mind¨Clink me the moment he can get away from the alpha without him noticing. He can¡¯t stay with us forever, unfortunately, but he¡¯s going tomute back and forth when he can. We¡¯ve already discussed it through mind¨Clink. So I¡¯m sorry, sweetcheeks, but you¡¯re stuck with us,¡± he smiled widely.

    I didn¡¯t smile back. Although I appreciated the fact that he wanted to care for me, I couldn¡¯t let him do this. And Kyle too?

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    Mon,

    Nope.

    No way.

    They both had lives to live.

    I wasn¡¯t going to let them disrupt their lives just because they took pity on some girl who was rejected by their alpha.

    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head, leaving no room to argue in my tone. ¡°I¡¯m not letting youe. You need to stay here and be close to your mate. I¡¯m not your luna anymore,¡± I said bitterly. ¡°In fact, I never was. Not officially at least. You don¡¯t owe me anything. You barely even know me.¡±

    Elijah winced slightly at the mention of Grayson¡¯s betrayal and the wavering it caused in my voice. ¡°You are my luna,¡± he said in a firm tone. ¡°The alpha may have chosen someb*dy else to help him lead the pack, but my loyalty will always be with you, the true luna of my pack. Nothing will ever be able to convince me otherwise.¡±

    A tiny bit of tenseness left my form. My gratefulness for Elijah only grew with his kind words. It felt good to know that at least one person still cared about me. Maybe even two, I thought as I pictured Kyle¡¯s smiling face.

    ¡°And I can live without seeing Kyle every day. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed, but he can be a bit much sometimes,¡± Elijahughed. I smiled a bit. ¡°Our bond is strong. We¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I searched his expression for any sort of hesitation. But I couldn¡¯t find any. He really did want toe with me. And who was I to deny his care? It would be nice not to be on my own for once.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I finally said. ¡°But only under one condition.¡±

    Elijah raised a brow in question.

    ¡°You can¡¯t call me Luna anymore. My name is Belle.¡±

    Elijah frowned, immediately shaking his head and opening his mouth to argue.

    ¡°Please,¡± I said before he could disagree. ¡°It hurts too much to be called Luna. The title onlyes with horrible memories. I just want to be Belle. Just Belle. Not Luna.¡±

    Elijah hesitated for a moment. He didn¡¯t look happy but eventually, he nodded his head. ¡°My wolf and I don¡¯t like it but¡­ But I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    I was pleased with his answer. That was all I could ask for.

    ¡°Shall we get going then?¡± he asked, motioning for me to get on his back again.

    I nodded, ready to be as far away from Grayson as I could get. I climbed onto his back, locking my ankles together and squeezing my legs tightly around his waist so that he could grab my suitcase and hold it instead of gripping my legs to keep me in ce.

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    Elijah started to move quickly.

    I found myself suddenly very d that he had insisted on carrying me.

    Even just hanging onto his back in my weakened state was proving to be extremely difficult.

    And all the movement was making my nauseae back with a sudden vengeance.

    But I didn¡¯tin. Instead, I just tightened my arms around his n*eck andid my head on his back. I imagined I was on a boat in the middle of ake somewhere, fishing with my dad.

    That had always been one of our favorite things to do together.

    As we continued our trek further and further into the forest, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from longingly looking back at the direction from which we came.

    I wished more than anything that things were different.

    I wished I could go back to those few weeks in Paris when Grayson still seemed to love me.

    I wished that I could live in that memory forever.

    But since I knew I couldn¡¯t, since I knew that it was time for me to move on to the part of my life that no longer involved Grayson, I shut my eyes gently, leaning my head back onto Elijah¡¯s back.

    And I tried my very best to let my mind drift off to happier thoughts.

 Chapter 48

    BELLE

    Elijah carried me with ease, never showing a single sign of fatigue.

    The tranquility of the forest surrounding us in addition to thefortable silence between Elijah and me, made for a soothing environment. All that could be heard was the faint chirping of some birds nearby and Elijah¡¯s rough steps in the snow.

    ¡°So where would you like to go?¡± Elijah asked me about a mile into our hike.

    I set my chin down on his shoulder and sighed deeply. I didn¡¯t want to make any decisions. I wanted to go to sleep. And then never wake up.

    It was like my head was filled with murky water, not letting a single clear thought through.

    I was drowning in the water, gasping for air, violently swimming upwards.

    Swimming, swimming, with no end in sight. My chest constricted painfully as if I was really in the water and my breath caught in my throat. I tightened my legs around Elijah¡¯s waist, trying to calm my shaking, exhausted b*dy.

    I shrugged weakly. ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± I barely got out. ¡°Wherever you want.¡±

    Elijah chuckled softly. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever been off packnds a handful of times. I wouldn¡¯t even know which direction to head in if you asked me to decide.¡±

    I paused.

    Do I even know what direction to head in? I didn¡¯t know much about the world either.

    I had been to Paris and that was about it. The rest of my life had been spent in hospitals and at home taking care of my dad.

    ¡°Come on,¡± he urged in a soothing voice. ¡°There¡¯s got to be somewhere you want to go.¡±

    Only one ce came to mind. ¡°I guess we could go to Minneapolis,¡± I said.

    Minneapolis was the city where I grew up and only a few hours away by car. Although it didn¡¯t contain many good memories, mostly just memories of my dad dying, it was the only home I had ever known. A thought popped into my head.

    I might even be able to stop by my old apartment and get some of my stuff.

    That is, if my oldndlord, Mr. Hummer, hadn¡¯t sold all of it yet.

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    He was a mean old man with beady eyes, yellow teeth, and breath that only ever smelled like either cigarettes or smi, nothing else. The number of eviction notices that I had received from him for forgetting to pay rent not even twenty¨Cfour hours after it was due was ridiculous.

    I had no doubt that Mr. Hummer would not react kindly to seeing me, especially after I went missing for months, leaving him without a rent check and with the responsibility of dealing with all of my things. But it was worth a shot, right?

    ¡°Minneapolis could work.¡± Elijah said in approval. ¡°I¡¯ll go anywhere you want but Minneapolis is close enough for Kyle tomute back and forth but far enough away from the alpha for you

    to heal.¡±

    I cringed slightly at the mention of Grayson. My heart constricted in my chest. Elijah winced.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll stop talking about him.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll get over it. I¡¯m¡­¡± I hesitated, but only for a moment. Then lifted my chin in determination. ¡°I can handle it. I¡¯m strong.¡±

    Elijah didn¡¯t waste a second in replying, ¡°Hell yeah, you are! You don¡¯t need him. Especially since you¡¯ve got me. I¡¯m pretty great in case you haven¡¯t noticed.¡±

    Iughed. And it felt good. It gave me hope.

    At that moment, I became determined to get back on my feet as soon as possible so that Elijah could get back to his life. While I appreciated him to the moon and back and knew that I wouldn¡¯t have been able to get through this day without him, he had better things to do than to take care of me.

    I had been on my own basically my entire life.

    I was good at it.

    I could do it again.

    I stretched my n*eck and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. ¡°Thank you, Elijah. I know you¡¯re giving up a lot to be with me. It really means a lot.¡±

    Elijah smiled. ¡°It¡¯s an honor. No need to thank me.¡±

    We walked for a few more minutes before my arms and legs began to get tired. My b*dy was running out of adrenaline, quickly making me exhausted beyond belief. Not to mention the aching pain that was still throbbing throughout my b*dy.

    It felt like I had the worst flu ever.

    ¡°How much further until we get to town?¡± I asked. All I wanted to do was get on a bus<b>, </b>curl into a little ball in one of the seats, and sleep until we reached the cities.

    ¡°About ten more minutes,¡± Elijah said. ¡°Do you need to take a break? We can stop for a few

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    minutes.

    I shook my head quickly. ¡°No. No, that¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t want to stop. I just didn¡¯t realize how far away the nearest town was from the packhouse.¡±

    Elijah looked down at me over his shoulder with a worried expression. ¡°Are you sure? You¡¯re not looking so good, Luna.¡±

    1 narrowed my eyes at him. He had promised to call me by my real name.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± he said quickly. ¡°I¡¯m still getting used to not calling you that. It might take some time. It goes against all of my instincts to call you by your real name.¡±

    I chose not to mention the fact that he hadn¡¯t even tried calling me Belle yet. How did he know he couldn¡¯t do it if he didn¡¯t even try?

    I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I tightened my arms around him, trying not to fall off his back and straight onto my butt in the snow. My forehead came in contact with his shoulder, trying to find some sort of stability. ¡°I think I should walk for a while. I¡¯m starting to feel motion sickness.¡±

    I didn¡¯t have to look at Elijah to know he was frowning. He slowed his steps, thinking about it. Then, thankfully, he stopped. He set my suitcase down in the snow and gently grabbed my legs so he could help me off his back.

    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from leaning against a nearby tree the second my feet touched the ground. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to breathe. When I opened them a few secondster, Elijah was looking at me with a distressed expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said before he could ask how I was doing. I straightened, pushing off the tree and tugging my shoulders back. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going<b>.</b><b>¡® </b>

    Elijah didn¡¯t look convinced by mycking disy of strength.

    He thrust out his hand, palm up. ¡°Backpack,¡± he said, motioning for me to give my bag to him.

    My brows knit together in frustration. I wasn¡¯t that weak. I could still carry my own damn backpack, thank you very much.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it. I can do it,¡± I said stubbornly. I started to walk in the same direction we were going before, hoping he would drop the subject.

    Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t so lucky. Elijah stepped in front of me, blocking my path. ¡°I know you can do it,¡± he said sternly, still holding his hand out. ¡°I just don¡¯t care. If you¡¯re walking, I¡¯m carrying your backpack.¡±

    I frowned at him. His unfaltering expression told me I wasn¡¯t going to win this battle. I sighed deeply and angrily yanked the backpack straps off my shoulders. I thrust it at him. ¡°Fine. Here.¡±

    The corner of his l*ps turned up, as he contently took the bag from my hands. ¡°Thank you,¡± he

    said.

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    I rolled my eyes, feeling my own l*ps form a small smile. Why he looked so happy to be carrying a bag filled to the brim with books, clothes, and other useless objects was beyond me. But I was still grateful for his help.

    He put the bag on his shoulders and bent down to pick up my suitcase as well. Then he looked at me, waiting patiently for me to give the go¨Cahead to keep moving. I used all the willpower left in my b*dy to walk straight without stumbling.

    But it was hard. Really. F***ing. Hard.

    My legs screamed at me with every step, the burning in my chest traveling throughout the rest of me the further away I became from Grayson. It was like my b*dy knew that I was leaving the man I loved and because it had such an intense connection to him, it was determined to let my mind know that it hated it.

    I had never felt like my mind and b*dy were two separate entities before, but that was the only way to describe it now. My mind and b*dy were fighting against each other in a rigorous battle that neither would win.

    All for a man who hated me. Beat me, used me, gained my trust and then tore me down in the most painful way possible. I hadn¡¯t even realized I was crying until my vision blurred with unshed tears. I groaned in frustration and violently wiped at the tears, mad at myself for crying yet again.

    I looked down at my feet, determined to keep walking, willing them to carry me just a little longer. And then a branch, hidden deep in the snow, seemed to grab onto my foot like a twisted hand, tugging my b*dy down with a sudden force.

    I crashed into the snow with a surprised scream,nding gracelessly on my front. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from crying out my frustration. I mmed my fists down in the snow angrily over and over again.

    Somewhere deep inside of me was screaming, Get your act together, Belle!

    This is why Grayson couldn¡¯t love you!

    This is why your mother left you!

    You¡¯re weak, you can¡¯t even walk without falling!

    I let out a sob, more out of anger and frustration than sadness.

    I would prove the voice wrong.

    I would prove everyone wrong.

    I could do it.

    <b>I </b>could be strong.

    <b>7 </b>

    And I was going to do it on my own. Nob*dy would hurt me ever again.

    Elijah didn¡¯t waste a second, quickly crouching down next to me the moment I fell. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± he said harshly. He set my suitcase to the side. ¡°I¡¯m going to carry you. We¡¯re leaving your suitcase here and I¡¯m carrying you the rest of the way whether you like it or not. I¡¯lle back for your stuffter, once we¡¯ve gotten you somewhere you can rest that isn¡¯t in the freezing cold.¡± He tried to wrap his arms around me so he could lift me into the air but <b>I </b>stopped him.

    ¡°No.¡± I said roughly. I shoved his arms away from me, letting my anger and frustration show through. ¡°I can do it. I said I can do it and I will.¡±

    I wiped my hair out of my face and sat up. One of my elbows was severely scraped up through my jacket and dripping blood. My knees didn¡¯t look any better.

    I tried not to care that my only jacket now had a huge hole in it.

    Pushing the pain aside, I stood with great effort. I looked at Elijah who was still watching me from his crouched position.

    He shook his head in amazement, bringing himself to stand as well. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to hear this right now and, honestly, I¡¯m not really sure why I¡¯m telling you this right after you had your heart broken,¡± he started, ¡°but you would have made an amazing luna. Truly. The alpha made a terrible mistake giving you up.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that. ¡°Yeah, well,¡± I said, shifting my weight ufortably. ¡°That¡¯s all in the past now. Let¡¯s keep going. I¡¯m cold.¡±

    Elijah nodded, not hiding his sad expression. ¡°Okay.¡±

    We continued our trot through the woods, Elijah now walking extremely close to me, I¡¯m sure- ready to catch me if I fell again. We only got a few more steps in before Elijah suddenly stopped.

    I paused as well, turning to look at him a few feet behind me. ¡°Elijah?¡± I asked.

    His brown eyes were zed over and ssy, appearing much darker than they usually did.

    He was looking off into the distance with a strange expression on his face.

    I didn¡¯t know a lot about it, but by Grayson¡¯s exnation and the few times I had seen him do it, I knew Elijah was midlinking someone, talking to them in his mind. But that wasn¡¯t what worried me. Elijah¡¯s expression was quickly turning panicked, his breathing quickening more and more by the second. Whoever was talking to him was not delivering good news.

    When his eyes finally cleared, his gaze snapped to me. His jaw clenched roughly.

    ¡°Elijah?¡± I asked again. ¡°What happened?¡±

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    ¡°Elijah,¡° 1 said again, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Elijah¡¯s face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

    I couldn¡¯t tell if it was his wolf or his human side that was upset, based on the rapid change of colors in his eyes. Either way, whatever had just been told to him through mind¨Clink-municated to him through his brain¨Ccould not be good.

    I tried approaching him when he didn¡¯t answer.

    The pain I was feeling suddenly didn¡¯t matter; it was quickly being reced by worry.

    Elijah growled when I approached and took a step away, putting a fair number of feet between us. My brows knitted together.

    ¡°Kyle,¡± Elijah breathed out heavily.

    My heart dropped.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked frantically, ¡°is something wrong with Kyle? How do you know?¡±

    Elijah shook his head rapidly, grabbing onto his hair in tight shifts.

    It was obvious now that he was trying to rein in his wolf. Was this what it looked like to be fully mated and know that your mate was hurt?

    He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

    <i>Shouldn¡¯t </i><i>he </i><i>be </i><i>running </i><i>back </i><i>to </i><i>Kyle </i><i>in </i><i>a </i><i>panic</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°Mind link. Mate bond,¡± he choked out, answering my question <b>in </b>short, pained sentences.

    The way he spoke, without a hint of deception, made me believe that what he was saying was true. Something was wrong with Kyle. But if Kyle was seriously hurt, Elijah wouldn¡¯t be taking his time getting back to the packhouse.

    He wouldn¡¯t be standing here talking to me.

    I may have never known what it felt like to be fully mated, but deep inside I knew I would feel it if something life¨Cthreatening happened to Grayson. And nothing would keep me from getting

    to him. It was the way Elijah was looking at me right now¨Cwide eyes, serious expression¡ªthat told me there was something he was keeping from me, something he couldn¡¯t tell me.

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    Something serious.

    With cautious movements, I stepped towards him.

    ¡°There¡¯s something else, isn¡¯t there?¡± I asked in a quiet voice.

    Elijah shut his eyes tightly for a second before he nodded sharply in confirmation.

    I sucked in a breath.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked. ¡°Did Grayson do something?¡±

    1%

    He didn¡¯t give me any sort of confirmation, but his intense, nonstop stare gave me all the answer

    I needed.

    I was right. Grayson <i>had </i>done something, and based on Elijah¡¯s reaction, it wasn¡¯t good.

    My mouth went dry, my heart rate escting until it was beating at the same pace as a horse¡¯s hoofs at the Kentucky Derby.

    ¡°Has he hurt someone?¡±

    Elijah blinked once.

    There was no doubt in my mind that he was struggling with whatever he was told through mind¨Clink. He wanted to talk to me but couldn¡¯t for some reason.

    Something, or someone, was stopping him.

    He ignored myst question, instead struggling to say, ¡°Luna. You have to ¡±

    He choked on his words, stopped by an unseen force.

    His mouth shut and his eyes snapped closed tightly.

    He grabbed onto his chest in immense pain<b>, </b>bending over himself until he was kneeling on the ground. Panic filled my b*dy.

    I didn¡¯t waste a second running to him and grabbing his shoulder. I tried to help him up, wrapping my arm around his waist and tugging him to his feet.

    ¡°No!¡± he yelled the moment I touched him.

    He pushed with just enough force to send me stumbling backward. I yelled out in shock.

    Elijah didn¡¯t give me any time to process his actions.

    ¡°Please¡­¡± he continued, desperation and paincing his tone, ¡°you have to tell me¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell you what, Elijah?¡± I asked.

    ma to touch him but it was getting

    14:26 Mon, 19 Feb

    I tried to keep my distance, knowing now that he didn¡¯t want me to touch him, but it was getting harder and harder to stay away as his pain only seemed to increase.

    ¡°Tell you what?!¡±

    And then, without warning, his back straightened. He sprang to his feet and looked at me with a bright, content expression. He smiled widely, showing all his teeth.

    It sent chills down my spine.

    ¡°I must report back to the packhouse now. Goodbye,¡± he said through that smile of clenched

    teeth.

    And without giving any sort of other exnation, he spun on his heel and began walking in the direction from which we hade.

    <i>What</i><i>. </i><i>The </i>actual. <i>F***</i><i>. </i>

    I allowed myself to stand there for a second, staring at his back, before <b>I </b>set off after him.

    His confusing words ran through my mind. He needed to go back to the packhouse? Why? It

    made no sense.

    <i>What </i><i>had </i><i>happened</i><i>? </i><i>What </i><i>couldn¡¯t </i><i>he </i><i>tell </i><i>me</i><i>? </i>

    It didn¡¯t bother me that he seemed to not being with me anymore. I wasn¡¯t selfish enough to worry about my ownfort when other people¡¯s wellbeing were at stake. No, what bothered me was the fact that something was obviously very, very wrong.

    And Elijah was walking in the exact direction of the danger, actingpletely insane and

    unaware.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted, jogging a bit to catch up with him. ¡°Where are you going? What the hell is going on?¡±

    He didn¡¯t say a single thing in return. As if I weren¡¯t there, he continued walking, still sporting that eerie smile. I grabbed onto his arm, not willing to give up.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯d better tell me what¡¯s going on right now, Elijah!¡±

    He continued to ignore me.

    ¡°Hey, stop! Please! Did something bad happen to Kyle?¡± I said.

    Still, Elijah didn¡¯t stop. He continued to let me scream in his ear for a good minute without responding.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you until you tell me what¡¯s going on!¡± I yelled.

    Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and forcefully yanked me behind him. I screamed, surprised by

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    his suddenmanding force. I was now walking straight up against his back, my movement incapacitated by his death grip.

    He walked in the same way he had before. His hand moved down my arm, maintaining enough pressure to keep me in ce, and then held my hand harshly.

    I noticed how badly his b*dy was shaking against mine.

    He squeezed my hand twice, then ced his pointer finger against my palm, moving it frantically over my skin.

    It took me a second, but I realized with shock that he was tracing letters on the palm of my hand.

    DON¡¯T FOLLOW<b>. </b>

    DANGER.

    My breath caught in my throat as I interpreted his writing.

    The fact that he needed to write the words out on my palm instead of telling me face to face only distressed me more. Why couldn¡¯t he t¨Cout tell me what was wrong? Was someb*dy listening?

    Was he in trouble?

    Whatever it was, Elijah was trying to tell me to stay behind while he went and dealt with it.

    While, might I add, he continued to smile in a way that I could only describe as soul¨Cchilling.

    I decided then and there that, although thest thing I wanted was to see Grayson again, the thought of Kyle or someb*dy else getting hurt as a consequence of my actions earlier today was reason enough to go back to the packhouse and help however I could.

    <b>I </b>squeezed his hand once and began to write my own message on his palm, hoping he would understand how I felt instead of trying to argue.

    I¡¯LL COME.

    Kyle¡¯s steps faltered for only a second as he interpreted the information I ryed to him.

    Then he squeezed my hand so hard it almost hurt.

    NO, he wrote back, his letters apanied by another hard squeeze, emphasizing his point.

    I squeezed his hand back just as harshly.

    YES.

    With that, Elijah stopped walking so abruptly that I ran into his back.

    His b*dy was still shaking as he wrapped his other trembling hand around mine so that both were squeezing my fingers.

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    his chouldosc nicing <b>and </b>folling with a deen focused breath before he

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    He waited a second, his shoulders rising and falling with a deep, focused breath before he squeezed my hand yet again, softer than before.

    PLEASE. DON¡¯T FOLLOW. PLEASE.

    I faltered. He was serious. He really didn¡¯t want me toe, wanted to go back on his own while I stayed behind. I could feel the guilt eating at me.

    I couldn¡¯t handle it if Elijah or someb*dy else got hurt fighting my battles.

    My stubbornness was surging forward in full force.

    But did I really have a choice?

    Sensing my resolve, Elijah squeezed my hands gently again writing, GO BE HAPPY.

    I didn¡¯t expect the tears that started to run down my cheeks. Even though they were just letters on my palm, his words meant the world to me. There was sincerity and hope emanating from his firm grip, causing deep warmth to spread through me.

    Elijah wanted what was best for me. I knew that.

    And if that was going off on my own and leaving him to fight my battles¡­ Then so be it.

    I trusted him. I couldn¡¯t stop myself fromunching myself onto him, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind in a hug that I hoped conveyed all I was feeling.

    My gratitude for his help and friendship.

    My hope to see him again one day under better circumstances.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I whispered against his back, holding back tears, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Elijah didn¡¯t respond. It didn¡¯t surprise me given the circumstances. But I knew he felt the same way. I knew that, if he¡¯d had the chance, he would be telling me I was a badass who was going to

    rock it in the real world.

    He ced his hands over mine in front of him and sighed, squeezing me lightly.

    As sad as I was, the whole experience felt strangely cathartic. Not only was I saying goodbye to Elijah and the incredible friendship that had proven to be so important over thest month or so, I was saying goodbye to Grayson and the life and people that came with loving him.

    I felt stronger. I felt happier. I felt ready.

    We stayed like that for a minute, both of us silentlymunicating our goodbyes through <b>our </b>tight embrace. Elijah let me hold onto him for as long as I wanted to<b>, </b>seeming to need the release of emotions just as much as I did.

    ¡°Be safe,¡± I whispered to him.

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    And then, as if we both knew it was time, he squeezed my hand, wrote, GOODBYE, LUNA. and let me go.

    Leaving me, once again,pletely alone.

    Elijah was right.

    The nearest town was a good ten¨Cminute walk from us.

    After grabbing my suitcase and backpack, it didn¡¯t take me long to make my way into the small town. Once there, I was able to get a bus ticket with what little money I had stashed away in my backpack and hop a bus to Minneapolis.

    During the ride I allowed myself to process what had happened to me over thest several months. I reminded myself that Elijah had told me not to think about Grayson, that it would only make the pain worse.

    He was right about that too.

    I ached all over just imagining Grayson¡¯s smile, hisugh, his pet names for me, the night we had spent hours talking under the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.

    <i>Just </i><i>for </i><i>now</i><b>, </b>I told myself, <i>you </i><i>will </i><i>let </i><i>yourself </i><i>think </i><i>of </i><i>him</i><i>. </i>

    <i>You </i><i>will let </i><i>yourself </i><i>be </i><i>consumed </i><i>by </i><i>the </i><i>thoughts </i><i>of </i><i>what </i><i>could </i><i>have been</i>.

    <i>But </i><i>the </i><i>second </i><i>you </i><i>get </i><i>off </i><i>this </i><i>bus</i><i>, </i><i>the </i><i>second </i><i>you </i><i>get </i><i>back </i><i>to </i><i>your </i><i>old </i><i>life</i><i>, </i><i>you </i><i>will </i><i>push </i><i>him </i><i>out </i><i>of </i><i>your </i><i>mind</i><i>. </i>

    <i>You </i><i>will </i><i>not </i><i>let </i><i>yourself </i><i>drown </i><i>in </i><i>self</i><i>¨C</i><i>pity. </i>

    <i>You </i>will <i>not </i><i>wonder </i><i>what </i><i>you </i><i>did </i><i>wrong</i>.

    <i>You </i><i>will </i><i>be </i><i>strong</i>. <i>You </i><i>will </i><i>walk </i><i>with </i><i>your </i><i>head </i><i>held </i><i>high </i><i>and </i><i>not let </i><i>what </i><i>he </i><i>did </i><i>weigh </i><i>you </i><i>down</i><i>. </i>

    And that was exactly what I did.

    At the bus station in Minneapolis, I had a newfound outlook on things.

    I wiped my tears and pushed back my shoulders, wasting no time before walking to my old familiar apartment building. I had intended to retrieve my things. I had left most of my belongings in my small studio apartment before going to Paris. Although I¡¯d been gone a few months and hadn¡¯t paid rent since before then, I hoped that myndlord had found it in him to keep at least a few of my things instead of selling them all or leaving them on the street.

    I was wrong.

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    My crusty oldndlord wouldn¡¯t even open the door for me when I came knocking.

    He screamed at me for a few minutes before telling me to go away. When I continued to beg, he threatened to call the police. So I found myself back on the street with only the items <b>in </b>my backpack and suitcase and the clothes on my back.

    As I looked around, I was flooded with memories of my childhood with my dad.

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    While I was walking, I came across the yground where he had used to take me on the weekends. Then I passed the hospital where he¡¯d died, only a few blocks from my old apartment. The good memories suddenly and thoroughly turned bad.

    I realized that this ce, this city, only came with reminders <b>of </b>sadness or heartbreak, even if the memories had been happy at the time they were made.

    My dad would have wanted so much better for me then what I was doing right now.

    I almost broke down then and there, not knowing what to do next, but I didn¡¯t let myself.

    Instead, I got another bus and let it take me far away. And then, when I felt like it, I got another one, letting instinct and chance decide where I went.

    I rode that bus through the night and didn¡¯t stop until the driver told me I had to get off.

    I found myself in a new city with the hope of a fresh start zing in my chest.

    I was ready to move on and meet the stronger, more independent<b>, </b>more capable version of myself.

    I wasn¡¯t going to let anyb*dy tear me down.

    <i>Bring </i><i>it </i><i>on</i><i>, </i><i>world</i><i>. </i>

 Chapter 50

    <b>Annie </b><b>Whipple </b>

    <b>KYLE </b>

    <i>Several </i><i>hours </i><i>earlier</i><i>, </i><i>the </i><i>morning </i><i>of </i><i>Belle¡¯s </i><i>departure </i>

    I couldn¡¯t sleep.

    No matter how I tossed and turned through the night, the tension running through my b*dy kept me awake. I hade across some informationst night that I wasn¡¯t supposed to know about -information concerning my alpha.

    It had all started when I couldn¡¯t stop worrying about the luna, her odd behavior constantly on my mind. I never saw her anymore. In fact, I hadn¡¯t seen her in weeks.

    Even when I looked for her, she was nowhere to be found. At first, I just missed her; she was fun to have around and made the alpha¡¯s ever¨Cchanging moods more bearable.

    But then it turned into something else.

    Something was going on between the alpha and luna that I didn¡¯t know about.

    My first clue was when the luna asked me to be the mediator between her and the alpha due to some fight they¡¯d had during her second night with the pack. This wasn¡¯t the oddest thing in and of itself. Mates fought, it¡¯s the way it was¨CGoddess knew Elijah and I fought on a regr basis. But the alpha and luna just didn¡¯t seem like the type.

    The next clue was when she showed up in the kitchen sporting <b>a </b>ck eye and bruised chin and said she hadn¡¯t been eating! <i>What </i><i>the </i><i>hell</i><i>? </i>She had looked worried and tired, maybe even depressed.

    Thinking it could solve the problem and looking to take care of my luna, I had taken her straight to the alpha. I ignored the fact that she was screaming and crying <b>as </b>if she was scared of seeing him.

    I ignored the look of terror in her eyes.

    Now in hindsight, I regretted my actions.

    <i>I </i><i>should </i><i>have </i><i>spoken </i><i>to </i><i>her </i><i>first</i>. <i>I </i><i>should </i><i>have </i><i>listened </i><i>to </i><i>her </i><i>before </i><i>deciding </i><i>what </i><i>was best </i><i>for </i><i>her</i><i>. </i>

    I hadn¡¯t seen her since that morning, several weeks ago. My worry grew with every day that I didn¡¯t see her. She wasn¡¯t even at the weekly pack dinners, the chair next to the alpha always empty.

    <b>¦¤¦Å </b>

    14:29 Mon, 19 Feb <i>luna</i>.

    empty.

    ?

    The alpha never gave an exnation for her absence; he was quiet and focused on his work, more so than I had ever seen him.

    Time passed until it was as if the luna hadn¡¯t existed at all.

    Yesterday, my worry had finally be too much and taken over mymon sense.

    The alpha mightsh out at me for thinking I knew what was best for his mate instead of him.

    But I convinced myself that I had no choice. I cared too much about the luna to let this go.

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    After a long meeting that morning, I decided to ask the alpha about the luna, hoping for a logical exnation. I was shocked when he only seemed bothered that I had brought the subject up, not

    angry.

    He acted as though it was an inconvenience to talk about his mate.

    He nonchntly told me that she was having a hard time adjusting and needed space, and insisted I didn¡¯t worry about her anymore.

    Of course, these words that were meant to reassure me did theplete opposite.

    Something wasn¡¯t adding up. Alphas didn¡¯t leave their mates alone, especially at a time like this, important not only for the pack but for the luna as she adjusted to life as a leader.

    3

    If the luna was struggling even a little, the alpha wouldn¡¯t even consider leaving her side¨Cand if, for some odd reason, he <i>did </i>consider it, his wolf wouldn¡¯t let him act on it.

    Put off by his answer and not ready to let the subject drop, I joked about my surprise over the fact that he hadn¡¯t mated. I hoped this would get a response out of him: alphas were known to be furious and overprotective when asked about their own mating processes.

    To his credit, the alpha did react. Just not in the way I had expected.

    He perked up and looked at me for the first time since the start of the conversation.

    He didn¡¯t speak for a moment, thinking. Then his l*ps curled up in an odd smile.

    ¡°Ah, yes¡­ Mating,¡± he said, leaning back in his chair.

    He looked up at the ceiling and licked his l*ps. Then he looked back at me with a new twinkle in his eye and pped me on the back.

    ¡°Not to worry. Mating will be happening soon. Very soon.¡±

    Without another word, he had strode out of the conference room, determination evident in every single step. I watched him go to his office with a sour taste in my mouth.

    The way he spoke made it seem as though he had forgotten what mating was.

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    So by this point I was in a panic. His strange behavior mixed with the missing luna equaled a need for answers.

    I had to find the luna and figure out exactly what was going on. My first stop was the room she shared with the alpha. I knocked multiple times and, when no one answered, barged in.

    I couldn¡¯t bring myself to care that no one besides her and the alpha was allowed in here; I was too focused on my mission.

    To my shock, the room was empty. The luna was nowhere to be found.

    I had figured this was where she had been hiding out, and obviously I had figured wrong.

    As I looked around the room, my eyes stopped at the alpha¡¯s desk.

    It was extremely messy¨Cstrange, as the alpha was one of the neatest people I knew.

    He became upset when even a papercl*p was out of ce. There were papers thrown across the entire surface of the desk, covered in red ink.

    I approached, curiosity and concern overriding my usual dedication to rules.

    What <b>I </b>found made my heart drop.

    All of the papers were letters written to the alpha.

    Sent by vampires.

    <i>No</i><i>, </i><i>that </i><i>can¡¯t </i><i>be </i><i>right</i><i>. </i><i>The </i><i>alpha </i><i>wouldn¡¯t </i><i>be </i><i>in </i><i>secret </i><imunication </i><i>with </i><i>our </i><i>mortal </i><i>enemies</i>.

    I reread the letter I was holding before moving on to the next<b>, </b>hoping to find some other exnation. But there was none. All the letters were written by a vampire n to the alpha.

    And that wasn¡¯t even the scariest part.

    This wasn¡¯t just any n¡ªit was the most famous <b>n </b>in the world other than the royal family. <b>It </b>

    was also the most evil.

    This was the n of Azazel, receiving the title after supporting the rule of Azazel Mortar, the former king of the vampires.

    They had helped him in the War of the Vampires years ago, bing an army of the most

    wicked beings ever known<b>. </b>

    Unlike other vampires who seemed to have at least some morals, this n was notorious for murdering without cause and performing despicable acts. Their vile conduct was the reason werewolves and vampires had been at war for so long.

    As king, Azazel Mortar moved to allow rogue vampires into the royal n, ignoring how dangerous that could be, only thinking of gaining more power. Rogues couldn¡¯t control their

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    The letters spoke of an ambush on our pack that would take ce in three days¡® time.

    The alpha had shared with them all the weak spots in our borders, given them information on the best attack strategies. Together, they had formed a n to take down our pack.

    And after the defeat, they would give us the choice to join them in conquering the next one. And

    the next one.

    Or die.

    My hands shook as I read through each letter, taking in the details andmitting them to memory. Their ultimate goal was to woo enough wolves to their side to defeat the Mortars, the royal vampires.

    And they would. If our pack was defeated and fought against other packs with the help of vampires, we would win. There was no doubt.

    The army of vampires and werewolves would grow until it was the most powerful in the world. Azazel Mortar would have the throne once again.

    I dropped the letters back onto the desk after I had finished reading.

    I wasn¡¯t supposed to know any of this. The alpha was hiding the evidence, and with good reason. My mind drifted to when he had proposed us letting a group of much less dangerous vampires into ournds<b>. </b>

    He had thought it would be nice to have them on our side during battles <b>in </b>case we were ever attacked. His idea was shot down immediately by the elders and me.

    Vampires and werewolves had never gotten along. Both our species were too proud to work in harmony. If the alpha had proposed us teaming up with the n of Azazel during a meeting with the elders, he would have been deemed insane, possibly unfit for his role.

    He could have lost all his authority and credibility.

    So he had gone behind our backs andmunicated with the n in secret.

    Alpha Grayson took great pride in having the most powerful pack in the world, and he had worked hard to earn that title. But I had never thought he was power¨Chungry enough to willingly endanger the entire pack.

    Didn¡¯t he know that most, if not all<b>, </b>of our members would die before they agreed to take orders from vampires and help them kill other werewolves?

    <i>If </i><i>he </i><i>imagines </i><i>this </i><i>will </i><i>somehow </i><i>help </i><i>us </i><i>rise </i><i>to </i><i>the </i><i>top </i><i>or </i><i>make </i><i>history</i><i>, </i><i>then </i><i>he¡¯s </i><i>badly </i><i>misjudged</i><i>. </i><i>It </i><i>will </i><i>mean </i><i>the </i><i>end </i><i>of </i><i>our </i><i>pack </i><i>as </i><i>we </i><i>know </i><i>it</i><i>. </i>

    <b>I </b>had very little time to take action.

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    I thought about going to Beta Adalee, but her name had been mentioned in the letters multiple times. In fact, now that I thought about it, she and the alpha had been awfully friendly ever since we hade home from France.

    Was it possible they were in <b>on </b>this together?

    There was no one else I could trust with the information who wouldn¡¯t be put in danger by knowing. I had to do this myself.

    In a sh, I was out of the alpha¡¯s room and down the hall.

    Although I was still worried about the luna, she was now thest thing on my mind. It was better for her to stay away anyway. She would be safer if she had no contact with the alpha.

    And the alpha would be weaker without his mate.

    Once I was in my office, I hurriedly wrote a letter exining the stakes and handed it off to our strongest pack warrior, Ben. I sent him out with orders to deliver the letter to the nearest pack, about a day¡¯s run away.

    Ben had amazing endurance and would be able to run all the way there while just barely breaking a sweat. He wasn¡¯t to stop for any reason or let anyone except the alpha of the other pack see the letter. Once he had his instructions, Ben sprinted off without any questions, sensing the urgency.

    It was clear to me that a war wasing in three days, a war we would not survive if we didn¡¯t get help. Hopefully, the pack next door would be willing to help us.

    We had a good rtionship and a record of fighting battles together. Although this battle would be more dangerous than any of the other ones, I had little doubt that they would step <b>up</b><b>, </b>especially since it concerned their wellbeing too. But that wasn¡¯t enough. I was going to need more than that.

    After ensuring that the alpha was still in his office, I called. a pack meeting in the forest.

    I ordered everyone to start training and getting ready for an intense battle, emphasizing that these was the alpha¡¯s orders instead of my own. At first they were confused and worried and wanted to know what was going on, which was more than fair.

    I assured them that I knew just as little as they did, that I was just the messenger.

    They got to work right after that. I thought about contacting other packs but stopped myself.

    It would take too long to get letters to them, and I couldn¡¯t call them without arousing the alpha¡¯s suspicion. <b>If </b>all went well with the neighboring pack, I would have an army of about six thousand on my hands.

    However, the n of Azazel was over ten thousand rogues strong and counting, constantly biting humans and turning them, adding to their numbers.

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    However, the n of Azazel was over ten thousand rogues strong and counting, constantly humans and turning them, adding to their numbers.

    I needed more assistance if I was going to save my pack.

    And there was only one way to do that, only one person who would have just much to lose i n of Azazel were to gain power.

    I would have to negotiate and partner with the king of the vampires, the brother of Azazel.

    Zagan Mortar.

 Chapter 51

    KYLE

    1 looked down at Elijah sleeping soundlessly on my chest.

    I had joined him in bed about an hour ago but hadn¡¯t been able to close my eyes once.

    I¡¯d been up all night trying to figure out a n to contact Zagan Mortar, the vampire king, in order to tell him of the uing war that would kill us both. Getting in touch with the Mortars was not easy.

    Their kingdom was hidden away by dark magic, only essible by pureblood vampires, a person born a vampire instead of being turned. No werewolf had ever set foot in the royal kingdom¨Cit was hidden too well.

    The only way to contact the royal family was to have another vampire deliver the message.

    That meant I had to do two things: First, find a vampire willing to listen to a werewolf long enough to give them a message¨Ca very hard task. Second, convince that vampire to get a hearing with Zagan Mortar¨Can even harder task.

    Only then would my message be delivered. It was almost impossible.

    Except that, in a stroke of pure luck, we just so happened to have a vampire in our dungeons.

    One of our captives from the attack a couple months ago, a girl named Elina, hadn¡¯t yet managed to escape. We had been nning on keeping her locked up in case there was ever a need for information¡­but ns change.

    I had spoken to her yesterday, tried to convince her to be the one to deliver a letter I had written out to the royal family. At first, as predicted, she had hissed at me and even tried to take a few swipes through the cell bars with her long ws.

    If werewolves were the dogs of the mythical world, vampires were definitely the cats.

    She continued to hiss and swear <b>at </b>me until I offered her something that would force her to listen: her freedom. I told her I would let her go if she agreed to deliver my letter to Zagan Mortar. It was an offer I knew she couldn¡¯t refuse.

    She was already weakened from not having drunk blood since before she had gotten here.

    Vampires couldst without blood for up to a year but started to get weak and grumpy after only a day.

    It didn¡¯t help that Elina was also a newborn vampire, meaning she had been turned not too long

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    ago. Her inability to contain her hunger due to her new passion for blood would convince her to- do almost anything.

    ¡°They¡¯re not going to let me in,¡± she¡¯d said after I had finished my n. ¡°I¡¯m not a pureblood, I was bitten a year ago.¡± So a very new newborn.

    And even after she was no longer new, she would be a half¨Cblood, someone who wasn¡¯t born a vampire but made one. Half¨Cbloods were not allowed in the royal kingdom.

    But in this case, that only worked in my favor.

    ¡°Yes¡± I nodded-¡°but the king won¡¯t be able to ignore a young half¨Cblood trying to break into his kingdom. Especially if she has this.¡± Through the bars, I handed her the letter.

    It was written on old parchment paper and sealed with wax and the pack emblem in gold.

    ¡°The emblem belongs to one of the most powerful werewolf packs in the world. It smells like wolves and was written by the gamma of Alpha Grayson. If a newborn half¨Cbloodes waltzing into the royal kingdom with that letter, there is no doubt the vampire king will meet you. He¡¯ll have no choice.¡±

    I had expected her to bring up some other point and expose more faults in my n, but she didn¡¯t. She took the letter and tucked it into her pocket, promising to do what she could.

    She was desperate for her freedom and probably for blood.

    It urred to me now that she could have been lying when she¡¯d promised to deliver the letter. She could take the letter and her freedom and never think about me or my pack ever again. But somehow I sensed she wasn¡¯t the type to make a vow just to break it, especially one concerning the lives of so many.

    I could only hope for the best.

    Suddenly, Elijah shifted against me and k*ssed my chest, knocking me out of my intense thoughts. I had almost forgotten where I was, too caught up in my own world.

    He set his chin on my chest and sleepily looked up at me.

    ¡°You¡¯re disturbing my beauty sleep,¡± he whispered. ¡°I can feel your concern through the bond.¡±

    I sighed. <i>Crap</i><i>. </i><i>I </i><i>hadn¡¯t </i>meant <i>to </i><i>wake </i><i>him </i><i>up</i>.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I leaned down and k*ssed him once on the l*ps.

    The action calmed my wolf but only seemed to agitate Elijah more. When I pulled away, he sat up, frowning.

    ¡°This has something to do with the battle that the alpha wants us to train for, doesn¡¯t it? Do you know something? Is there something you¡¯re not telling us?¡±

    It didn¡¯t surprise me that Elijah immediately knew I was hiding something from him.

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    Throughout our years together, our bond had grown incredibly strong. We knew everything about each other. We could practically read each other¡¯s minds without batting an eye.

    I sighed and sat up as well, starting to feel his panic through the bond.

    My wolf didn¡¯t like it and was urging me to make him feel better. I took his hands in mine.

    ¡°If I could tell you, I would.¡± I k*ssed his knuckles gingerly, staring into his eyes. ¡°Please believe

    me.¡±

    I felt his concern only grow with my terrible attempt at reassurance.

    ¡°I know,¡± he whispered, honesty pouring from his tone. He paused, studying me. ¡°But you also would tell me if you were in trouble, right?¡±

    My wolf whimpered, beginning to pace in my mind.

    <i>Shit</i><i>. </i>

    I was going to have to lie to him. And I was going to hate myself for it. I simply refused to put him in danger. If I told him what was really going on, there was no doubt in my mind that he would do whatever he could to help me¨Cevene face to face with a Mortar if he had to.

    I couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    I was already considering locking him away when the battle started so I knew he wouldn¡¯t get

    hurt.

    Putting on my most reassuring smile, I said, ¡°Yes, of course. I¡¯m fine, I promise.¡±

    He didn¡¯t look convinced. In fact, I was almost certain he knew I was lying<b>. </b>I k*ssed his l*ps before he could say anything else and continued. ¡°I¡¯m going to go get some coffee. Do you want

    some?¡±

    Elijah watched me get out of bed, a frown still on his beautiful face. My heart squeezed painfully at the sight. I was thankful he seemed to drop the subject for now.

    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± he responded.

    I nodded once and put on some sl*ppers, then walked back over to him and left a lingering k*ss

    on his forehead.

    ¡°I love you,¡± I said.

    The corners of his l*ps turned up a bit in a sad smile. He nodded.

    ¡°I love you, too.¡±

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    Guilt ate at me on the long walk down to the kitchen. My wolf was angry with the decision to lie to Elijah. But he didn¡¯t understand that my telling him the truth would only put him in danger.

    <i>Stupid </i><i>wolf</i>. <i>Making </i>me <i>feel </i><i>guilty </i><i>for </i><i>doing </i><i>the </i><i>right </i><i>thing</i><i>. </i>

    A sudden sound made my internal battle stop and my feet falter.

    Someone was crying¨Csobbing, actually.

    And I recognized the voice.

    My legs started running before I had time to process what I was doing. Turning corners and running up a flight of stairs, I found myself in the main corridor of the packhouse.

    My gaze fell onto the shaking form of a woman hunched over on the stairs. It was the luna.

    She seemed beyond distraught, sitting on the steps in pajama bottoms and a white T¨Cshirt.

    Her b*dy shook with sobs and her hands were covering her face.

    ¡°Luna?¡± I asked gently, trying not to scare her, but she jumped the moment I spoke.

    Her head snapped up and her tearful eyes connected with mine. She looked a mess, bags under her eyes, hair unkempt. She had lost weight too, a lot of it, leaving her cheekbones<b>¨C</b>one still swollen from the intense bruise a few weeks ago¨Ccaved¨Cin and bony.

    Fury and protectiveness mmed me like a ton of bricks.

    My wolf surged forward and howled in my head, wanting to help his luna at whatever cost.

    ¡°What the fuck happened to you?¡±

    I approached her as I might a wounded animal about to flee at the slightest movement.

    Her mouth opened and closed multiple times, but no sound came out besides gasps and subdued

    sobs.

    I realized just how right I had been to worry about her. I¡¯d had a feeling that something was wrong¡­ But I¡¯d never expected this.

    Suddenly, the luna was unexpectedlyunching herself at me, her arms wrapped around me in an instant, her face in my n*eck. I could feel tears on my skin as she sobbed even harder.

    Her momentum caused me to stumble back in shock, but I was able to stay upright.

    Hesitating for only a second, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer.

    She obviously neededfort right now, and I was happy to be the person to provide it.

    ¡°Hey, shh,¡± <b>I </b>said, running a hand up and down her back.

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    I wasn¡¯t sure what else to do. It felt wrong holding someone other than my mate like this, but also right as it was my luna who needed it. I allowed us to stay like that for a long moment before I decided I couldn¡¯t wait any longer for an exnation.

    Someb*dy had hurt her. And I was going to make them pay.

    First things first, she needed her mate, even if he was some vampire¨Cloving lunatic.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s all right, everything is going to be all right.¡± I leaned back so I could <i>try </i>to look at her, but she kept her head in the nape of my n*eck. ¡°I¡¯m going to mind¨Clink the alpha and he¡¯ll help you. Whoever did this to you is going to face severe consequences. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.¡±

    Her head lifted and her eyes snapped to mine the moment I mentioned the alpha.

    ¡°No!¡± she yelled in fear. ¡°No, you can¡¯t mind¨Clink Grayson! I can¡¯t see him right now, I can¡¯t, please, Kyle. Please don¡¯t tell him!¡±

    Not wanting to upset her even further, I nodded in agreement. If she would go so far as to beg me, it only confirmed my fear: that the <i>alpha </i>had done this to her. My respect for Grayson had officially reached zero as I looked into the broken eyes of his mate.

    ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tell him,¡± I said, ¡°but you need to tell me what the fuck is going on, right f**king

    now.¡±

    I needed answers, and I wasn¡¯t letting her leave until I got them. She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± she choked out, ¡°Grayson¨Che-¡± She didn¡¯t finish. Her eyes widened and her face twisted in pain. She let out an ear¨Cpiercing scream and doubled over.

    ¡°Luna!¡± I yelled.

    I tried helping her up and asking what was wrong, but she just continued to writhe. She was scratching at her n*eck and arms, sobbing as if some unknown thing were crawling on her b*dy and trying to break through her skin with ws.

    It was horrifying to see.

    Then, all of a sudden, her screaming stopped and her hand grasped my arm.

    ¡°Something is wrong with Grayson,¡± she said.

    <i>Yeah</i><i>, </i><i>no </i><i>shit</i><i>. </i><i>He¡¯s a </i><i>douchebag</i><i>. </i>

    Without another word, she turned and sprinted up the stairs faster than I had ever seen a human run. I should have stopped her. I should have never let her into that room.

    But my own worry for the alpha, traitorous as he might be, blocked my better judgment.

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    So instead I followed the luna until we made it into the alpha¡¯s room. And I watched as her heart broke.

    Grayson was sitting on the edge of the bed with a n*ked woman in hisp. Neither of them looked up as we came barging in, too consumed by their grinding bodies and nonstop k*ssing.

    They hadn¡¯t started mating yet, but it was obvious that they were about to.

    I looked at the luna in shock, but she said nothing, only stared at her mate¨Cmy alpha- preparing to have S*x with another woman. Her face held no expression, but she had gone pale and her b*dy was swaying back and forth.

    She looked like she would fall over or faint any second.

    Although she and Grayson had neverpleted the mating process, she undoubtedly felt her soul being ripped in two, probably the worst feeling in the world.

    I wasn¡¯t going to let her stand there and watch as her mate, a man I no longer recognized, mated with someone else. I had to get her out of here.

    I considered scooping her up and sprinting away with her, but I couldn¡¯t.

    I was too blinded by the rage telling me to beat Grayson to a pulp, alpha or not. The confusing behavior of the luna over the past couple of weeks was bing clear.

    It was Grayson who had hit her. Probably multiple times. He was neglecting her.

    No wonder she looked like she hadn¡¯t slept in weeks and had been practically reduced to a skeleton. I couldn¡¯t let Grayson mate with someone else knowing that it would likely kill her.

    She had been through enough already. She deserved better.

    I had to stop him even if it meant risking my life and fighting him.

    But first, I had to get the luna out of here.

    I quickly stood in front of her, blocking her view.

    Thankfully, she didn¡¯t try moving past me, seeming too out of it to even notice. I grabbed her face and tilted her head up toward me.

    ¡°Luna,¡± I said.

    She just stared straight ahead with a nk, dead look.

    I wasn¡¯t surprised; I would have acted the same way if this had happened to me. But I had to keep at it.

    ¡°Luna! Look at me!¡±

    Slowly her glossy eyes found mine.

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    ¡°You need to get out of here,¡± I told her in the most urgent tone I could muster.

    I nced behind me. Grayson was now moving further with the other girl, back onto the bed, fiercely making out¡­

    <i>What </i><i>the </i>fuck <i>is </i>wrong <i>with </i>him<i>? </i>

    <i>He </i><i>doesn¡¯t </i>care <i>that </i><i>his </i><i>mate </i><i>is </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><i>room </i><i>while </i><i>he¡¯s </i><i>about </i><i>to </i><i>fuck </i><i>some </i><i>other </i><i>girl</i><i>? </i>

    The luna still wasn¡¯t responding, continuing to stare at me without actually seeing me.

    Was she even processing my words?

    To emphasize my point, I pushed her backward just enough to get her to move. She stumbled toward the door. As she caught her bnce, the zombie¨Clike trance seemed to fade and the fog lifted from her expression.

    Rather than words, a hard, broken sob left her mouth.

    My heart broke. I knew she was finally beginning to understand what was happening.

    That she was losing her mate. The tears started again. I approached quickly.

    I wanted more than anything to pull her into my arms and hug her until she stopped crying, but

    now wasn¡¯t the time.

    ¡°I know. I know, Luna¡°-I wiped her cheeks ¡°I know you¡¯re feeling horrible, like you can¡¯t move, but you need to get as far away from here as possible. Please leave. Right now. Go. Now,¡± myst words were firm. I pushed her again, this time more forcefully.

    She took a few steps back but didn¡¯t keep going; it was like her feet were glued to the ground.

    Her b*dy was probably seeking thefort of her mate, unaware that he was the one causing her pain. She wasn¡¯t going to be able to do this on her own, then. She was going to need help.

    <i>Elijah</i><i>! </i><b>I </b>shouted to my mate through mind¨Clink. <i>Elijah</i><i>, </i><i>wake </i><i>up</i><i>! </i>

    His sleepy voice answered.

    <i>What</i><i>? </i><i>Did </i><i>the </i><i>kitchen </i><i>run </i><i>out </i><i>of </i><i>coffee </i><i>again</i><i>? </i><i>No </i>need <i>to </i><i>sound </i><i>so </i><i>grumpy</i>.

    <i>Elijah</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>need </i><i>you </i><i>to </i><i>meet </i><i>the </i><i>luna </i>at <i>the </i><i>foot </i><i>of </i><i>the </i><i>stairs </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><i>front </i><i>corridor</i><i>. </i><i>She¡¯s </i><i>going </i><i>to </i><i>be </i><iing </i><i>down </i><i>soon </i><i>and </i><i>she¡¯s going </i><i>to </i>need <i>help</i><i>. </i>

    I swallowed harshly, preparing to tell him the gory details.

    <i>There </i><i>isn¡¯t </i><i>much </i><i>time </i><i>to </i><i>exin</i><i>, </i><i>but </i><i>the </i><i>alpha </i><i>is </i><i>mating </i><i>with </i><i>someone </i><i>else </i><i>and </i><i>the </i><i>luna </i><i>is </i><i>in </i>a

    <i>lot </i><i>of </i><i>pain</i><i>. </i><i>I </i>need <i>you </i><i>to </i><i>take </i><i>her </i><i>as </i><i>far </i><i>away </i><i>as </i><i>you </i><i>can </i>get <i>her</i><i>. </i><i>Wherever </i><i>she </i><i>wants </i><i>to </i><i>go </i><i>after </i>

    by

    <i>that </i><i>I¡¯ll </i><i>meet </i><i>you </i><i>there </i><i>with </i><i>our </i><i>stuff </i><i>as </i><i>soon </i><i>as </i><i>I </i><i>can</i>.

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    <i>Elijah</i>, <i>I </i><i>need </i><i>you </i><i>to </i><i>meet </i><i>the </i><i>luna </i>at <i>the </i><i>foot </i><i>of </i><i>the </i><i>stairs </i><i>in </i><i>the </i>front corridor. <i>She¡¯s </i>going <i>to </i><i>be </i><iing down </i><i>soon </i><i>and </i><i>she¡¯s </i><i>going </i><i>to need </i><i>help</i>.

    I swallowed harshly, preparing to tell him the gory details.

    <i>There </i><i>isn¡¯t </i><i>much </i>time <i>to </i><i>exin</i><i>, </i><i>but </i><i>the </i><i>alpha is </i><i>mating </i><i>with </i><i>someone </i><i>else </i><i>and </i><i>the </i><i>luna </i><i>is </i><i>in </i><i>a </i><i>lot </i><i>of </i><i>pain</i><i>. </i><i>I </i><i>need </i><i>you </i><i>to </i><i>take </i><i>her </i><i>as </i><i>far </i><i>away </i><i>as </i><i>you </i><i>can </i><i>get </i><i>her. </i><i>Wherever </i><i>she </i><i>wants </i><i>to </i><i>go </i><i>after </i><i>that </i><i>I¡¯ll </i><i>meet </i><i>you </i><i>there </i><i>with </i><i>our </i><i>stuff </i><i>as </i><i>soon </i><i>as </i><i>I </i><i>can</i>.

    Elijah¡¯s worry in the bond was almost drowning me. But I also felt determination. He didn¡¯t ask any questions. He immediately knew how serious this was.

    I¡¯ll <i>do </i><i>what </i><i>I </i><i>can</i><i>, </i>he said.

    Then I directed my attention back to the broken¨Clooking luna.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Luna. Elijah is going to meet you downstairs and get you out of here. You <i>must </i>

    move.¡±

    I turned her b*dy around and nudged her with the most force yet. Atst with the momentum she needed, she stumbled out of the room, down the hall, toward the stairs, not looking back.

    I listened until I heard theforting voice of Elijah, ready to take care of her, and let out a

    breath of relief.

    Then I turned back to Grayson, ready to do whatever was necessary to avenge the luna.

 Chapter 52

    <b>KYLE </b>

    The second I knew the luna was safe in Elijah¡¯s care, I let my wolf take half control of my mind. Doing this didn¡¯t bring on a shift but allowed the power of my wolf to enter my b*dy, making merger and stronger.

    My anger blinded me to reason as my gaze fixed on Grayson and the girl on hisp.

    <i>No </i><i>going </i><i>back </i><i>now</i>.

    Once I was in front of the bed, I grabbed the girl and threw her to the ground. She went tumbling, letting out a screech as her bare legs scraped against the hardwood floor.

    I couldn¡¯t bring myself to feel guilty for using my strength against a defenseless wolf.

    She knew she was betraying her luna and, therefore, her pack.

    ¡°Get out of here,¡± I said, grabbing her

    clothes pooled on the ground and tossing them at her. ¡°Go!¡±

    I was about to turn back to Grayson, ready to fight, when I noticed her eyes. Her irises were an unnatural

    dark blood¨Cred. Then I watched,

    dumbfounded, as they turned to a normal hazel color. She frowned as her eyes cleared and scanned the room.

    She looked down at the clothes I¡¯d thrown at her, as if she¡¯d only just realized she was n*ked.

    Her face went pale and she hugged the clothing to her b*dy, trying to cover as much as she could. She looked at Grayson, who was still on the bed in only his boxers.

    ¡°What¡­?¡± She didn¡¯t finish.

    With tangible confusion and embarrassment in the air, she sprinted out of the room. The image of her terrifying red eyes burned in my mind as I turned back to Grayson. I didn¡¯t have time to consider what the red irises meant.

    Perhaps she was under a spell? Maybe she had some gene mutation?

    All I knew was that I had never seen anything like it not in werewolves, at

    least.

    Lying back on the bed, Grayson growled loudly at me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve ruined my fun,¡± he said sternly. ¡°I thought gammas were supposed to help their alphas. You just threw out an opportunity at iming more power.¡±

    He had been my alpha for several years now. I had been lucky enough to watch him grow as a leader, developing the skills to make hard decisions and the

    In this moment, staring at a man I no longer recognized, who couldn¡¯t possibly be my alpha, I realized the things that I had idolized him for had all been an act. All performed to obtain and retain power. My wolf surged forward and took control over my mind and actions. Both of us could only focus on one thing.

    Avenging our luna and getting revenge.

    My fist went flying before I could fullyprehend my actions. Fueled by raw anger, it connected with Grayson¡¯s face with more force than I knew I had in me, resulting in a satisfying crunch. Grayson let out a sound of surprise as his head flew to the side.

    A hissing noise I had never heard him make before came from his throat.

    I didn¡¯t give him time to react as I

    repositioned my arm for another punch, hoping to break his nose with this one. But then Grayson grabbed my fist, halting my movements.

    ¡°Stop,¡± he said calmly.

    His jarring tone reached my ears and, like magic, immediately caused my b*dy to freeze.

    I grunted in difort and shock¨Cit was as if I were made of ice, frozen and cold, shivers running down my spine. I couldn¡¯t move no matter how hard I tried.

    My wolf howled in my head, wanting to charge forward and bang on my skull so that he could get out. But he waspletely frozen too.

    Panic encased me. How had Grayson done this? How was this possible?

    He wasn¡¯t looking at me. He still had his head turned away, wiping blood from the

    corner of his mouth, and he dropped my fist.

    ¡°What the f**k did you do to me?¡± I seethed.

    I tried once again to move my b*dy, but <b>I </b>was stuck in the same position, fist raised.

    Grayson rubbed at his jaw.

    ¡°You carry a mean punch, little wolf.¡±

    My wolf bristled at the insult.

    Daip

    ¡°I can see why he wanted you to be his beta.¡±

    I was barely listening, too focused on moving my b*dy. ¡°Let me move!¡± I yelled.

    He shook his head, his eyes finally meeting mine. They were blood¨Cred just like the girl¡¯s.

    I sucked in a breath.

    ¡°Your eyes,¡± I whispered, ¡°that¡¯s how you got that girl to sleep with you. You were controlling her.¡±

    He chuckled quietly but didn¡¯t respond. I

    didn¡¯t need verbal confirmation. I knew I

    was right.

    Grayson stood from the bed and walked past me until I could no longer see him.

    ¡°Your little outburst has to do with that

    little brte girl, doesn¡¯t it?¡± he said from behind me.

    <i>Little </i><i>brte </i><i>girl</i><i>. </i>I knew he hadn¡¯t forgotten her name. He was toying with me, trying to rile me up. I gritted my teeth.

    ¡°Belle,¡± I said, ¡°the girl you were about to kill by mating with someone else. <i>Your </i>luna.¡±

    ¡°Ah, see, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, my boy,¡± Grayson said.

    I could hear ruffling behind me, as well

    as the opening and closing of drawers. He was putting on clothes.

    ¡°That girl would have never been my luna. My n was to mate with her and feed off the power of the mate bond. But she was never worthy of being my mate. Small and weak. A human.¡± Disgust

    ¡°She didn¡¯t <i>run </i>away, you f**ker,¡± I growled. ¡°You chased her away.¡±

    Grayson was in front of me in a second, faster than I had ever seen anyone move in my life, now fully clothed in jeans and a shirt. I blinked in surprise.

    ¡°How¡­¡± I began to ask, but was silenced by a hard p to the face. Pain spread across my cheek.

    ¡°Remember who you are speaking to, wolf,¡± Grayson said, deathly calm. ¡°You are lucky to still be alive.¡±

    I bared my teeth. His harsh expression dropped as he watched me with interest, looking from my canines to my fist. I was still ready to strike the moment I was set free from this f**king mind control. He sighed.

    ¡°Stand down¡°-he waving his hand dismissively and walked away-¡°you¡¯re making me nervous.¡®

    <i>?? </i>

    The tension in my b*dy released in an instant. My arms moved to my sides and my legs stepped together. I was standing in a straight position and facing Grayson as if I were a part of the army. Grayson faced me as well. I couldn¡¯t move, but my muscles weren¡¯t taut in preparation for a fight.

    He sighed in frustration and crossed his arms over his chest, watching me closely.

    ¡°Your loyalty to the luna is impressive. It shows your bravery.¡± He scowled. ¡°Your loyalty to <i>me </i>is not. You have willingly defied me and doubted my decision to take another mate. My belief was that

    werewolves had blind devotion to their alphas. This little stunt of yours proved

    me wrong.

    He rubbed the forming bruise on his chin, looking me up and down, assessing my b*dy.

    ¡°Be grateful that I am willing to let this go. You are one of the stronger members of the pack and a good gamma. You would be no good to me dead. But be aware that I let you live with faith in the assumption that you will not defy me again, wolf.¡±

    I opened my mouth to swear at him, to tell him that he was no longer my alpha.

    But a sudden realization stopped me.

    He kept calling me <i>wolf</i>. Young wolf. Little wolf.

    The names were meant to be belittling¡ª but I was a wolf, young, and smaller than he was.

    I studied Grayson: red eyes, hissing mouth, the way he could somehow control me with only his words. I had never seen him do any of those things before this moment; I hadn¡¯t known he was capable of it. No werewolf had any powers of that kind.

    As a matter of fact, there was only one species that did.

    ¡°Vampire,¡± I gasped.

    The red eyes widened slightly. The jaw dropped. A small smile formed on the l*ps.

    ¡°Well,¡± he said casually, tilting his head to each side and cracking his n*eck, ¡°good for you. I was beginning to wonder if

    anyone was going to figure it out.¡± Heughed and rolled his shoulders. ¡°A pity, really. I was having so much fun.¡±

    I watched, still incapacitated, as Grayson morphed and shifted as if he were turning into his wolf. Only instead of growing and sprouting hair, his b*dy shrank and changed until there was apletely different man in front of me.

    And not just any man.

    Azazel Mortar.

 Chapter 53

    <strong>KYLE </strong>

    Azazel Mortar was one of therger vampires I had ever seen in my life. He had long ck hair and a neatly shaved beard. His red eyes were darker than Grayson¡¯s or the girl¡¯s had been, boring into my soul, telling me he was a powerful pureblood.

    I felt stupid.

    How could I not? All the warning signs had been there just waiting for me to notice them.

    They couldn¡¯t have been clearer if they were biting me in the ass.

    Grayson wasn¡¯t Grayson at all¨Cwell, it was his b*dy, but it wasn¡¯t him controlling it.

    It had been Azazel this whole time. Azazelughed as he stretched his arms

    and legs.

    ¡°You have no idea how good it feels

    to be back in my own b*dy after being stuck inside of that filthy dog for so many months.¡± He shook his head in disgust. ¡°As much as I enjoyed the power Grayson¡¯s b*dy provided me, nothing beats your own skin.¡±

    I bristled, clenching my jaw. ¡°What did you do to him?¡± I ground out. I was desperately pushing against the mind control that kept me from moving. ¡°Where is Alpha Grayson?¡±

    ¡°Shh, shh, shh, little wolf,¡± Azazel taunted me, stepping forward and patting my cheek.

    If I could have moved anything else besides my mouth, I would have bitten him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your poor alpha. He¡¯s still in here.¡± He tapped his temple. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be able to use his b*dy if he weren¡¯t alive.¡±

    ¡°Can he speak?¡± I asked. ¡°Can he see

    me?¡±

    Suddenly Azazel hissed, showing off his vampire fangs in obvious anger. He looked away from me, his gaze fixating on some point in the room. He was silent

    for a moment.

    ¡°He can see you. And he can speak, only to me. In fact, he doesn¡¯t shut up.¡±

    I could tell that he was no longer talking to me alone. If all of what he was saying was true, Grayson was in his mind andmunicating with him. I almost smiled at the thought.

    If Grayson were really present and able to speak to his upied b*dy, I could only imagine how terrible the constant chatter

    was.

    I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if Azazel hadn¡¯t had a moment¡¯s peace since taking

    over.

    Azazel shook his head and smiled calmly back at me.

    ¡°Forgive me. He thinks he can talk as much as he wants now that his mate is gone. He seems to have forgotten that I could kill the rest of his pack just as easily. You included.¡±

    He paused, waiting for something.

    My best guess was that he was waiting to see if Grayson would continue to speak after the threat he had just made.

    After a second, the calm, threatening

    smile widened.

    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± he said.

    Grayson had finally stopped talking. Azazel chuckled in amusement.

    ¡°Your alpha cares very much about your pack and especially about his mate. Maybe a little too much. It has made him weak and controlling his b*dy easy. The

    price you pay for love, I suppose. What a costly price that is.¡±

    I growled. ¡°Let him go. You already have your ning to wage war. You already have all the information you need to seed. Release your control on Alpha Grayson and fight the battle you arranged for. Only a coward would hide in the b*dy of someone stronger.¡±

    Azazel looked only a little shocked at the revtion that I knew of his ns.

    ¡°So it was you rifling through my things yesterday.¡± He chuckled darkly. ¡°You¡¯re smarter than you look, young gamma. I have underestimated you.¡±

    ¡°I know my alpha,¡± I replied hotly, ¡°and you are not him.¡±

    His expression turned into a mocking frown.

    ¡°Oh, boo. Here I was thinking I was

    doing such a good job acting as the powerful Alpha Grayson.¡± He sneered out the name. ¡°After all, I do have ess to every single thought in his mind.¡± He dropped his shoulders in feigned sadness. ¡°Oh, well. I can live with the fact that I can¡¯t act like a dog.¡±

    My wolf pushed forward. I could feel my eyes turning ck with his presence. He wanted out.

    ¡°Calm your wolf,¡± Azazel said dismissively, ¡°there¡¯s no need for that. All of this will be over soon. I need your alpha for a few more days, and then I promise you I will go. I will ensure that Alpha Grayson dies in the most honorable way possible, but only after he tells his pack to give their lives over to the n of Azazel and fight by their side for the throne.¡±

    ¡°They would never do that,¡± I growled, ¡°fight alongside disgusting vampires.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s sad, really,¡± Azazel said as he circled me,pletely ignoring myst im. ¡°You would have made a fantastic

    second¨Cinmand for me. You have

    impressed me thesest few months. But I can¡¯t have you spilling my little secret, now, can I?¡±

    He moved in a blur, throwing me to the ground in a single graceful motion. I was helpless as my b*dy fell backward. Then Azazel was by my side on the ground with that evil smile.

    ¡°Let me move!¡± I yelled. ¡°Stop being a coward and fight me without restraints!¡±

    Heughed. ¡°Oh, my boy. I am anything but a coward.¡±

    And his fangs plunged into my throat. I knew at that moment that I was going to die. I had no way of stopping him from sucking everyst drop of blood from me. It was hopeless.

    I could only try to convince myself that I had done enough to keep my pack safe from the battleing tomorrow, that the vampire king had received my message and was on his way to help. Little by little, I could feel my energy leave me with every drop of blood that Azazel sucked out.

    My wolf fought against the barrier keeping us from moving, but it was no use he was quickly losing strength too. I thought about reaching out to Elijah. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. Until now, I had been blocking him from my mind, making sure he didn¡¯t feel what I had been feeling throughout the night.

    But I couldn¡¯t die without giving him an exnation.

    He deserved to hear my voice one more time and to know that I loved him.

    Maybe he could even be the one to save the pack.

    Dark clouds started to close in on my vision, and I was about to open my mind to speak Elijah onest time.

    Then Azazel was thrown off of me.

 Chapter 54

    <b>KYLE </b>

    Azazel¡¯s teeth were ripped from my throat, tearing my skin apart. I yelped in pain, blood leaking from the now muchrger wound.

    ¡°Help him,¡± a deep voice said from across the room.

    The face of a very small girl was suddenly in front of me. She was

    obviously not the owner of the deep

    voice. She knelt above me. She had short

    brown hair and blood¨Cred eyes.

    <i>Another </i><i>vampire</i><i>. </i><i>Great</i>.

    ¡°Hi there,¡± her squeaky voice said, ¡°you

    can move now.¡±

    My b*dy rxed as Azazel¡¯s power was released from my mind.

    I groaned loudly in relief but regretted it immediately as pain traveled through my

    b*dy.

    It felt like I had been working out for three days straight, sore and weak from my ownmands. Even though I was relieved that I could move again, the small red¨Ceyed vampire girl kneeling above me became my main focus.

    Her ability to bend me to her will with just her voice told me she was also a Mortar

    <i>F**king </i><i>fantastic</i>.

    My hand immediately went to the wound on my n*eck, and came away covered in blood.

    I winced, my world spinning at the sight -or maybe from the blood loss. Either way, it couldn¡¯t be good. I put my hand back over the wound to try and staunch the bleeding.

    The vampire girl cringed as she watched

    <ol>

    <li>me. </li>

    </ol>

    ¡°Oh, that doesn¡¯t look too good,¡± she said as she touched the hand covering the wound.

    ¡°Here, let me help.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me, Mortar,¡± I spat, leaning away from her. ¡°Are you here to aid

    Azazel?¡±

    ¡°Dear Lord, no,¡± she smiled brightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m one of the good guys.

    <i>¡°</i>¡±

    I didn¡¯t have time to fully process what that meant. Grunting and yelling could be

    heard outside the room in the hall.

    <i>Shit</i><i>, </i><i>what </i><i>happened </i><i>to </i><i>Azazel</i><i>? </i><i>Did </i><i>he </i><i>get </i><i>away</i><i>? </i><i>Is </i><i>he </i><i>hurting </i><i>pack </i><i>members</i><i>? </i>

    I tried to sit up.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Azazel?¡± I asked hoarsely.

    The girl gasped as I grunted in pain and tried to stand.

    ¡°Oh, no! You shouldn¡¯t do that!¡± She put her hands to my chest and pushed me down onto my back once again.

    I snapped my teeth at her, trying to bite her filthy vampire hands.

    ¡°Don¡¯t f**king touch me,¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh, wow, you¡¯re strong,¡± she said as I struggled against her, ¡°but you¡¯ve got to stop moving.¡±

    And, just like that, I was frozen again. My gaze met hers.

    ¡°Stop using your Mortar powers on me,¡± I grunted. ¡°Fight and injure me if you wish to incapacitate me.¡±

    ¡°Look,¡± she said, and I could detect

    worry in her voice, ¡°I needed you to stop moving so I can heal you. Trust me, I wouldn¡¯t use my powers if I didn¡¯t have

    to.¡±

    My vision was starting to blur. I shut my

    eyes tightly. My n*eck hurt like a b*tch.

    ¡°I can see you¡¯ve been through a lot,¡± she said, ¡°but you don¡¯t need to worry anymore. At least, not about me.¡±

    I didn¡¯t care what she thought. I needed freaking royal vampires to stop taking control of my b*dy so that I could kick some asses. I watched as she brought her pointer finger to her mouth and pressed it to the tip of one of her fangs, breaking

    the skin.

    She squeezed the tip until a bead of blood

    came out.

    Then she stuck her finger into my mouth.

    I gasped and struggled as she stuck it far into the back of my mouth.

    I tasted vampire blood, the metallic coppery vor taking over my senses, and gagged.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry,¡± she repeated, low

    and soothing, as she continued to move her finger.

    I bit down on her finger.

    ¡°Ow! Hey, don¡¯t bite me!¡±

    To my disdain, my jaw released its mp at hermand.

    A few seconds more and she finally took her hand away. I coughed. A tingly feeling began to run up my b*dy: it

    didn¡¯t hurt, but it was ufortable and

    invasive.

    I didn¡¯t like it. I panicked as I looked at the girl.

    ¡°What the f**k did you do to me?¡±

    She winced at my harsh tone.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± she said one more time.

    I decided that if she didn¡¯t stop apologizing, I was going to stick <i>my </i>

    1

    finger in <i>her </i>mouth.

    ¡°Give it a second,¡± she said. Suddenly, the pain stopped.

    My muscles loosened, and the sting from the bruise on my cheek dissipated.

    I could feel the skin beneath my hand mending together.

    I gasped as the skin moved beneath my palm, stretching until it covered the

    wound.

    My vision cleared. Energy flowed through me. I felt amazing.

    The girl smiled widely at my shocked expression, her red eyes twinkling.

    ¡°I love watching people get healed for the first time,¡± she said, smiling.

    Could it be? Had she healed me?

    I had heard stories of vampires and their

    insane abilities, but never anything about magical finger blood. I tried to sit up and move to confirm it, but I still couldn¡¯t

    move.

    I sighed in frustration.

    The girl realized my dilemma.

    ¡°How about this: I¡¯ll let you move if you promise not to bite me again?¡±

    She waved her finger, which had my teeth marks on it.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Yeah, sure, I promise.¡±

    Her eyes narrowed warily, but she gave

    <ol>

    <li>in. </li>

    </ol>

    ¡°Okay. You can move.¡±

    The tension released once again. I sighed in relief, sitting up and rolling my n*eck

    and shoulders.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± I asked.

    The girl put out her hand for me to shake.

    ¡°Amelia Mortar. Everyone calls me Minnie. King Zagan¡¯s fourth child and the royal n healer.¡±

    When I didn¡¯t grab her hand, she took mine.

    ¡°You must be Kyle King, the beta of the most powerful werewolf pack in the world. I¡¯m so excited to meet you.¡±

    I was stunned, to say the least. She knew who I was. Was it bad that I had never

    heard of her?

    ¡°Uh, yeah, same here. You¡¯ve got one thing wrong, though. I¡¯m the gamma, not the beta. Adalee Johnson is the beta.¡±

    Minnie shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m not wrong. You¡¯re the true beta of this pack. Adalee Aude¡­¡±

    She emphasized thest name, which I had never heard attached to Adalee before.

    ¡°¡­used her powers to be the beta but doesn¡¯t actually deserve the title. I should know. She¡¯s my second cousin.¡±

    <i>What</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°Wait¡­ Adalee is a Mortar?¡±

    Minnie frowned.

    ¡°Well¡­not really. She¡¯s mostly werewolf because her father is¨Cwell, <i>was</i>¨CBeta Carl Aude, who was half vampire. So she did get the vampire gene from the Mortar bloodline.¡±

    I was trying to wrap my head around all this.

    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Back up. Adalee¡¯s dad is Carl Aude? Like, <i>the </i>Carl Aude?¡±

    Minnie didn¡¯t get to respond.

    There was the sound of breaking ss somewhere in the packhouse.

    Minnie nced over her shoulder, and I was on my feet.

    Now hissing and screaming. That could only mean one thing.

    ¡°More vampires,¡± I said.

    I could feel their presence. And my wolf and I hated it.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± said Minnie, following me out toward the noise, ¡°This may not be the best time to talk about the good ol¡® family tree.¡±

    My heart was pounding as we came across a broken window on the third floor of the packhouse. Pack members crowded around in their pajamas, probably woken by the noise.

    I growled to get their attention.

    ¡°Everyone back to your rooms!¡± I

    They had no choice but to obey me, especially when I used my special gamma ¡ªwell, beta¨Ctone. It was only to be used in emergencies, and I officially deemed this moment an emergency.

    I mind¨Clinked the rest of the pack, telling them to stay inside until further notice. I could hear everyone scampering for cover in their rooms. I had probably scared them and even woken some of them up, but I didn¡¯t care as long as they were safe.

    ¡°Whoa,¡± murmured Minnie, ¡°that¡¯s pretty cool. I can never get anyone to listen to me.¡±

    Ignoring the constantmentary, I ran to the window and looked down to the forest floor.

    Someone had obviously fallen out of it, breaking it in the process.

    In the snow was Grayson¡¯s b*dy¨Cwith Azazel inside.

    He was fighting another man with the same dark hair, wearing the royal attire of the vampires.

    ¡°Oh my God,¡± I whispered.

    Zagan Mortar, king of the vampires, was on my packnd. I could be one of two things right now: Ecstatic that he had obviously received my letter ande to help.

    Or terrified that the two most powerful vampires in the world were having it out on my frontwn.

 Chapter 55

    <b>KYLE </b>

    I sprinted down the hall toward the front

    door.

    Just outside, Azazel and Zagan were locked in a fight to the death.

    ¡°Hey, I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you!¡±

    Minnie was a few steps behind me.

    ¡°They haven¡¯t seen each other for

    years,

    and you do <i>not </i>want to get between them.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a f**k,¡± I said, ¡°that¡¯s my alpha. If Zagan kills Azazel in Grayson¡¯s b*dy, Grayson will die too. I can¡¯t have

    that.¡±

    I came to the front door and sprinted out into the snow, instantaneously wishing I were wearing any shoes other than sl*ppers. I couldn¡¯t believe I was having the battle of my life in my pajamas.

    Azazel and Zagan were a blur of motion and b*dy parts as I approached, using my newfound energy from Minnie¡¯s healing to propel me.

    I was about to help Grayson when-

    ¡°Stop!¡± Minnie shouted.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be shitting me,¡± I grunted as my legs ground to a halt.

    I was <i>really </i>getting annoyed with these vampires.

    ¡°Let me go, you stupid Mortar!¡±

    Minnie was in front of me in a sh, holding her face in her hands.

    ¡°Sorry, sorry, but you saving your alpha is not part of the n. And you don¡¯t want to mess up one of my dad¡¯s ns. He is not a very forgiving man.¡±

    My jaw clenched in anger.

    I didn¡¯t care about the stupid n. Grayson could not die.

    ¡°Let me go right now, or I swear to God your throat will be the first I rip out when I get control of my b*dy,¡± I said.

    Minnie¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°How rude,¡± she uttered, and crossed her arms and

    scowled. ¡°You just made sure you won¡¯t be let go for a while.¡±

    <i>BOOM</i>.

    My gaze snapped over Minnie¡¯s shoulder.

    Zagan had mmed Azazel back into arge oak tree, splintering and cracking it.

    They went tumbling over. Azazel, in Grayson¡¯s b*dy, fell to the ground, spitting blood.

    But it didn¡¯t stop there. The fight continued, moving in a blur that I could barely keep up with. Their graceful movements were powerful and almost

    choreographed.

    It was obvious that they were both extremely well¨Ctrained inbat.

    Zagan was not going easy on Azazel and soon dominated the battle, throwing Azazel around like a rag doll. With every move, Azazel became weaker and less capable of hitting back.

    I was watching my alpha, whom I was incapable of helping, get beaten to death.

    Azazel had chosen to fight in Grayson¡¯s b*dy in the case that Zagan won. Because if Zagan defeated him now, Azazel would be able to leave Grayson¡¯s b*dy with no harm done to his own. It was bing very clear very fast that this was going to be the case.

    Azazel was going to lose, and Grayson was going to die.

    Finally Zagan lifted Azazel from the

    ground, holding him up by his n*eck.

    He jumped high into the air and forced Azazel back with powerful might,

    stabbing arge tree branch into

    Grayson¡¯s back and all the way through his chest.

    Azazel gasped as the branch punctured his chest.

    He was stuck in the tree, twenty feet up in the air.

    The battle was over. Zagan had won.

    ¡°No!¡± I screamed.

    I fought more than ever to break free of Minnie¡¯s vampiric control.

    I had to get free. I had to.

    Grayson was going to have his life taken from him. I was barely aware of Minnie¡¯s small hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay. Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Then I looked at her. There was genuine confidence in her expression. She

    believed her words. I wished I could have

    the same confidence.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let him die,¡± she said.

    Another loud noise.

    Zagan had jumped from the tree andnded on the ground. He looked up at Azazel, who hissed at therge branch in his chest.

    ¡°You have gotten strong, brother,¡± he said to Zagan, dribbling blood. ¡°No one would know you were a weak little boy who could only dream of being king.¡±

    Zagan held his brother¡¯s harsh gaze with an even harsher one.

    ¡°Leave this b*dy now or die with it, Azazel. Stop hiding in another¡¯s b*dy like a coward. Come out and fight me

    like a coward. Come out and fight me in the way you tried to avoid all those years ago. The way you owe me.¡± Azazel smiled faintly. Grayson¡¯s b*dy was running out of time.

    ¡°You will get your fight, King Zagan,¡± he said, spitting out the title as if it were an insult, ¡°just not today.¡±

    ck dust rose, spreading into the air, swirling around and around until it finally flew away into the forest.

    Grayson slumped against the tree, held up by the branch lodged in his chest.

    Azazel had left his b*dy.

 Chapter 56

    <b>KYLE </b>

    ¡°Alpha!¡± I screamed in horror.

    Grayson¡¯s lifeless b*dy slumped over the tree branch twenty feet in the air.

    He wasn¡¯t dead yet I would have felt it if he were but he was close. Very, very

    close.

    I could feel the life leaving his b*dy as if

    it were my own.

    Minnie, who was holding onto my shoulder, nodded.

    ¡°Go.¡±

    My b*dy was released from the restraints, and I wasted no time sprinting to Grayson.

    ¡°We need to get him down!¡± I yelled.

    He was too high up for me to reach. A vampire could have easily jumped and

    gotten him, but werewolves couldn¡¯t

    climb trees.

    I looked at the vampire king.

    ¡°Help him!¡±

    I didn¡¯t care that I was trying to give orders to a man much more powerful than

    <ol>

    <li>me. </li>

    </ol>

    If he killed my alpha over some family dispute, I would not hesitate to let my wolf out.

    Zagan nodded once. ¡°Casimir.¡±

    Another vampire, one I hadn¡¯t noticed until that moment, stepped forward.

    He looked just like Minnie and Zagan- same ck hair, dark features, and red

    eyes.

    <i>Must </i><i>be </i><i>another </i><i>child </i><i>of </i><i>Zagan¡¯s</i>. <i>A </i><i>vampire </i><i>prince</i>.

    Casimir nodded, then, in one quick

    movement, gracefully jumped onto the tree branch.

    He looked down at me. ¡°Be ready to

    catch him.¡±

    I nodded quickly.

    Casimir jumped down onto the branch forcefully enough to snap the branch in half. Grayson came down with it still lodged in his chest. I caught him andid him down as gently as possible.

    Zagan approached Grayson slowly, his

    eyes on me.

    ¡°May I?¡± he asked, motioning to Grayson.

    My wolf growled in my mind. Neither of us wanted this filthy vampire near our weakened alpha¨Cvampires were the

    reason we were in this mess in the first

    ce.

    But Zagan Mortar hadn¡¯t done anything untrustworthy yet.

    <i>In </i><i>fact</i><i>, </i><i>he </i><i>might </i><i>be </i><i>the </i><i>reason </i><i>my </i><i>pack </i><i>is </i><i>alive </i><i>and </i><i>intact </i><ie </i><i>tomorrow</i><i>. </i>

    I nodded slowly, giving Zagan permission toe near. He grabbed hold of the branch and motioned for me to do the

    same. Together we were able to pull the branch from Grayson¡¯s chest and throw it to the side.

    Even in his unconscious state, Grayson groaned in pain, his face contorting. I winced at the baseball¨Csized hole in his chest, blood spilling onto the white snow.

    My wolf whimpered, pushing against the front of my skull to see through my eyes.

    It would be a miracle if the alpha made it through this.

    Zagan didn¡¯t waste a second. ¡°Minnie.¡±

    She nodded and, just as she had done

    with me, put the tip of her pointer finger to her fang and drew blood.

    But Grayson didn¡¯t struggle when she put her finger in his mouth.

    Instead, he closed his mouth around it, greedily sucking. I had never been more grateful for magical finger blood in my entire life. It took a minute for Minnie to

    remove her finger and step back.

    Grayson still wasn¡¯t moving. Hey

    unconscious, the big hole in his chest not

    mending the way my wounds had with

    Minnie¡¯s blood in my system.

    He wasn¡¯t healing. Nothing was happening.

    I started to panic. Was he already gone? My heart was beating so fast that I could hear it in my ears. I turned to Minnie anxiously.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t anything happening?¡± I said.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to take a little while,¡± she answered, putting on her mostforting smile. ¡°His wounds are extensive, both physical and psychological. Give it time before you jump to conclusions.¡±

    I growled softly. I didn¡¯t want to give it time. I wanted to know if we were going to have to live without our alpha.

    ¡°Do it again,¡± I said. ¡°He needs to live.¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond, just looked down sadly. Zagan crouched down on Grayson¡¯s other side, inspecting him. I almost snapped at him, my protective instincts surfacing.

    ¡°Your alpha is strong,¡± he remarked.

    I almost scoffed at the inness of the observation.

    ¡°Stronger than anyone I¡¯ve ever met, vampire or wolf. Not many out there would be able to withstand bodily control

    for so long. You felt it yourself when Azazelmanded you¨Cyou be weak and broken.¡± He shook his head, a dark expressioning over him. ¡°Most would notst longer than a week or two of being controlled like that. Your alphasted two months. It is a wonder he is not

    dead.¡±

    Genuine respect and admiration shone from his face as he watched Grayson closely.

    Then he looked at me and nodded once. ¡°Do not worry, beta. I will be shocked if this is what kills him.¡±

    I was silent, too worried to speak. I could only hope he was right.

    Zagan stood. ¡°Casimir.¡±

    His son stepped forward.

    ¡°Where is Adalee?¡±

    My gaze snapped up to look at them.

    <i>They¡¯re </i><i>looking </i><i>for </i><i>Adalee</i><i>? </i>

    Casimir shook his head.

    ¡°I searched everywhere for her. She¡¯s not on packnds. Her scent is fresh, though, she couldn¡¯t have left more than an hour before we arrived.¡±

    Zagan sighed. ¡°A coward like her grandfather, I see.¡±

    I spoke up. ¡°Is it possible she¡¯s just past the border in the woods? My mate is out there with the luna. I can ask them to search for her on their way back.¡±

    ¡°Alpha Grayson¡¯s mate is still nearby?¡± Zagan asked.

    ¡°We¡­were trying to get her out before Azazel hurt her,¡± I said, cringing at the memory of the tears on Belle¡¯s bruised cheeks. ¡°It won¡¯t take them long to get back after I exin what¡¯s going on. The luna will be beyond relieved.¡±

    Zagan shook his head. ¡°No. The alpha¡¯s mate cannote back. It will only distract him from the fight.¡±

    I stood, not liking what he was saying.

    There was no way I could let the luna go on thinking the way she was, thinking Grayson hated her.

    She needed to be with him as himself, not Azazel¡¯s version of him. And the alpha needed her by his side.

    ¡°With all due respect, sir, you don¡¯t know the situation. Mates are stronger when they are together. The alpha needs her to

    seed in battle.¡±

    <i>If </i><i>he </i><i>lives </i><i>through </i><i>the </i><i>night</i><i>, </i><i>that </i><i>is</i>.

    ¡°Not in this case,¡± Minnie squeaked from behind me.

    I looked at her.

    ¡°They have been apart for too long,¡± she insisted. ¡°If the alpha¨Cor, I guess,

    Azazel¨Churt the luna badly, Alpha Grayson¡¯s wolf will be going insane the moment hees to. He won¡¯t leave her side. Even with a war happening around him. It¡¯s safer for them both if she stays away.¡±

    ¡°Minnie is right, young beta,¡± Zagan interjected. ¡°We need Alpha Grayson present during battle. Your pack needs its leader.¡±

    ¡°But the alpha will never allow it,¡± I pushed back. ¡°You don¡¯t understand how he feels about the luna__he¡¯s crazy about her. He won¡¯t even talk to you until he has her by his side. Even if it means leaving

    now, in the worst time possible to go find her. We should bring her back now.¡±

    Zagan apparently wasn¡¯t going to back down.

    ¡°Alpha Grayson <i>will </i>allow it because he knows this war will only put his human mate in danger. He knows she¡¯s better

    off somewhere far away, where Azazel cannot use her to bait him. If Azazel gets his hands on her tomorrow, it will all be

    over. She will die and we will lose.¡±

    He sighed.

    ¡°I know you want to protect your luna. The best way to do that is to keep her away. And if you don¡¯t believe me, wait until the alpha wakes up. Let him decide. I assure you he will say the same as I have. He is smart, and he knows good leadership is all about sacrifices.¡±

    As much as I hated to admit it, Zagan was right.

    Grayson probably would make that

    decision if he were conscious, even if it broke his heart.

    Putting the luna in danger was thest thing he would want.

    I nodded solemnly.

    ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll wait. I will update my mate without telling him to bring the luna back. We will let the alpha decide when he wakes up.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Zagan said yet again.

    I raised an eyebrow.

    <i>This </i><i>vampire </i><i>really </i><i>thinks </i><i>he </i><i>knows </i><i>everything</i><i>, </i><i>doesn¡¯t </i><i>he</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°You will tell your mate to return to the packhouse and leave the luna.¡±

    I gaped at him. Was he insane? I wasn¡¯t going to tell Elijah to leave Belle alone in her most vulnerable hour.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there¡¯s no way in hell. The luna needs someone right now. He is staying with her.¡±

    Zagan shook his head again. ¡°The alpha will not be able to resist the temptation to go to his mate if he can easily ask a pack member where she is through mind¨Clink.

    And the luna will not be able to resist the temptation toe back to the alpha if she sees that your mate knows something. You will tell your mate to return to the packhouse. You will use rank if you have to. And he will leave the luna behind

    where she is safe.¡±

    The familiar weight of a Mortar¡¯smand encased my b*dy. He wasn¡¯t suggesting that I do this¨Che was

    ordering me to.

    ¡°You¡¯remanding me to manipte my own mate with my status? To leave the luna alone just when she needs someone the most?¡± I said, cold fury edging my voice.

    Zagan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he recognized the threat in my voice.

    ¡°It seems you give me no choice,¡± he said.

    My wolf growled, the sound

    reverberating through my mouth. Neither of us liked the fact that a bunch of

    vampires kept telling us what to do and exercising their power over us.

    ¡°Do it now,¡± said Zagan, ¡°before the alpha wakes up.¡±

    I growled again, trying to fight themand and failing. I had to do what he told me.

    ring once more, I opened my mind to

    my mate.

    <i>Elijah</i>.

    <i>Kyle</i><i>! </i>

    My mate¡¯s immediate response rang through my mind. Just the sound of his voice calmed my nerves.

    <i>Are </i><i>you </i><i>okay</i><i>? </i><i>What </i><i>happened</i><i>? </i>

    <i>I¡¯m </i><i>fine</i><i>. </i><i>Everything </i><i>is </i><i>okay</i>, I replied quickly. <i>I </i><i>don¡¯t </i><i>have </i><i>much time</i>. <i>Just </i>

    <i>know </i><i>that </i><i>what </i><i>I¡¯m about </i><i>to </i><i>tell </i><i>you </i><i>isn¡¯t </i><i>from </i><i>me</i><i>. </i><i>I </i><i>have </i><i>three </i><i>very </i><i>powerful </i><i>vampires </i><i>in front </i><i>of </i><i>me </i><i>telling </i><i>me </i><i>what </i><i>to </i><i>say</i><i>. </i><i>I </i><i>have </i><i>no </i><i>option other </i><i>than </i><i>to </i><i>listen</i>.

    To his credit, Elijah only paused for half a second to process what I said.

    <i>What</i><i>? </i><i>What </i><i>the </i><i>hell </i><i>do </i><i>you mean</i><i>? </i><i>Have </i><i>they </i><i>hurt </i><i>you</i><i>? </i><i>Are </i><i>you </i><i>okay</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°Out loud,¡± Zagan demanded, ¡°I want to hear what you are telling him.¡±

    I growled, wanting nothing more than to give my own set ofmands to him to jump off a cliff.

    ¡°You have toe back to the packhouse,¡± I said through mind¨Clink,

    speaking out loud so everyone around me could hear. ¡°And you have to leave the luna behind.¡±

    I felt Elijah¡¯s anger and confusion through the bond.

    <i>I¡¯m </i><i>not </i><i>doing </i><i>that</i><i>. </i><i>She </i><i>needs </i><i>me</i><i>. </i><i>She¡¯s </i><i>falling </i><i>apart</i><i>. </i>

    ¡°What is he saying?¡± Zagan asked.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to leave her. The luna is not doing well.¡±

    Zagan nodded. ¡°Use your beta tone on

    him.¡±

    I shook my head, fighting hismand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me do this. Please. The luna needs Elijah right now-¡±

    Zagan¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Do as I say.¡±

    Elijah was not going to like this. Taking a deep breath, I said, ¡°As your beta, Imand you to leave the luna and return to the packhouse.¡±

    <i>Excuse </i><i>me</i><i>? </i>

    I winced. Yep, he was pissed.

    <i>You¡¯re </i><i>not </i><i>even </i><i>a </i><i>beta</i><i>! </i><i>And you¡¯re </i><i>not </i>

    <i>about </i><i>to pull </i><i>rank </i><i>on </i><i>me</i><i>. </i><i>Especially </i><i>with </i><i>an </i><i>order </i><i>as </i><i>ridiculous </i><i>as </i><i>that</i>. <i>Take </i>it

    <i>back</i><i>. </i>

    <i>I </i><i>can¡¯t </i><i>take </i><i>it </i><i>back</i>, I told him between the two of us. <i>You </i><i>have </i><i>to </i><i>do </i><i>it</i><i>. </i><i>Trust </i><i>me</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>hate </i><i>it </i><i>just </i><i>as much </i><i>as </i><i>you </i><i>do</i><i>. </i><i>But </i><i>it¡¯s </i><i>a </i><imand from </i><i>a </i><i>Mortar</i><i>. </i><i>Zagan </i><i>Mortar</i><i>, </i><i>the </i><i>vampire king</i>.

    <i>You¡¯re </i><i>with </i><i>Zagan Mortar</i><i>? </i>Elijah¡¯s tone was pure disbelief. <i>Is </i><i>this </i><i>what </i><i>you </i><i>were </i><i>hiding </i><i>from </i><i>me</i><i>? </i><i>You¡¯re </i><imunicating </i><i>with </i><i>vampires</i><i>? </i><i>Did </i><i>the </i><i>alpha </i><i>decide </i><i>this</i><i>? </i>

    <i>Well</i><i>¡­</i><i>kind </i><i>of</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>guess</i>. ~I linked.

    Elijah¡¯s anger spiked through the bond. <i>That¡¯s </i><i>the </i><i>stupidest </i><i>thing </i><i>I¡¯ve </i><i>ever </i><i>heard</i>. <i>How </i><i>could </i><i>you </i><i>let </i><i>the vampire </i><i>king </i><i>onto </i><i>pack </i><ind</i><i>? </i><i>Maybe </i><i>you </i><i>guys </i><i>should invite </i><i>Azazel </i><i>Mortar </i><i>too</i><i>. </i><i>Have </i><i>a </i><i>party</i><i>! </i>

    I nearlyughed. If only he knew.

    ¡°Out loud!¡± Zagan said. ¡°Have the rest of the conversation out loud. Tell him toe back, now, in your beta tone.¡±

    I gritted my teeth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Elijah,¡± I started, ¡°but as your beta Imand you toe to the packhouse and leave the luna.¡±

    <i>I¡¯m </i><i>not </i><i>leaving </i><i>her </i><i>without </i><i>giving </i><i>her </i><i>some </i><i>sort </i><i>of </i><i>exnation</i>. ~Elijah still resisted.

    I looked at Zagan. ¡°He wants to give her an exnation.¡±

    ¡°Tell him he can¡¯t. He cannot risk worrying the luna and causing her to follow,¡± Zagan replied.

    I could feel Elijah starting to speak to the Juna. My mouth opened in ord with Zagan¡¯s orders.

    ¡°Stop!¡± I eximed through mind¨Clink.

    He was

    He was trying to exin about the vampires. ¡°As your beta, Imand you not to tell her anything else.¡±

    Elijah fought themand, which was painful. Defying themand of a higher¨Cranking wolf went against everything in our nature.

    <i>Kyle</i><i>, </i><i>why </i><i>are </i><i>you </i><i>doing </i><i>this</i><i>? </i><i>Stop</i>. <i>Please</i><i>, </i>~he linked.

    My wolf whimpered in my mind. We

    were hurting our mate.

    ¡°Stop fighting it, Elijah, you¡¯re only hurting yourself.¡±

    He wasn¡¯t listening¨Che was still trying tomunicate with the luna and go against orders.

    ¡°Elijah¡ªas your beta, Imand you to follow¡±

    <i>I </i><i>am </i><i>not </i><i>leaving </i><i>her</i><i>! </i>he shot back in a strained growl.

    ¡°Tell him she will die if shees with him.¡± Minnie said. ¡°Tell him she¡¯ll die unless she gets as far away as possible.¡±

    I nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Listen to me, Elijah. The luna is in danger. There¡¯s a waring, and she can¡¯t be here for it. Please trust me. This

    is for the best. Come back.¡±

    <i>What </i><i>war</i><i>? </i>~Elijah¡¯s answer came back, confounded.

    ¡°Tell him to stop worrying her,¡± Casimir said.

    Oh great, another vampire telling me what to do with his stupid mind

    powers.

    ¡°Tell him to say he has to go back to the packhouse and to put on his best smile and walk away. Tell him not to say anything else about what¡¯s going on,¡± Casimir said.

    The only reason I was so quick to follow hismand this time was because I

    desperately wanted Elijah¡¯s pain to stop. He needed to trust me.

    66

    ¡°As your beta¡­¡± I ground my teeth. ¡°¡­.. Imand you not to upset the luna. Tell her you have to go back to the packhouse. Then put on your biggest smile and leave. Make sure she is not following you, or she risks death. Please, Elijah. It¡¯s the only way to keep her safe.¡±

    Finally, I felt his resolve through the bond. My words had gotten through to him. We wanted the same thing.

    ¡°Is he doing it?¡± Minnie asked.

    I nodded. ¡°He¡¯s leaving her now.¡± I focused on the mate bond. ¡°She¡¯s trying toe with, but he¡¯s stopping her.¡±

    Zagan nodded in approval. ¡°Good.¡±

    I looked down at the unconscious

    Grayson. Nothing had changed yet, but he was still breathing, thank God. I sighed.

    The alpha, Elijah, and the luna were all safe. Things were going to be okay.

    Suddenly, something sharp poked through the inside of my bottom l*p. I tasted copper.

    <i>What </i><i>the</i><i>¡­</i><i>? </i>

    I opened my mouth and touched the inside of my bottom l*p.

    I looked at the blood on my finger in confusion. How had that happened?

    Then my teeth began to move. Pain shot through my face. I cried out.

    Touching my canines, I realized they were growingrger. And sharper.

    In fact, they were no longer canines at all.

    They were fangs.

    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± mentioned Minnie casually, ¡°we should probably get you inside and lying down. Your transition is starting.¡±

 Chapter 57

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    My wolf was practically screaming, waking me up from a sleep full of nightmares.

    My head was pounding as he howled his displeasure, pushing me to wake up.

    I groaned, shifting my weight on the

    mattress.

    <i>What </i><i>the </i><i>f**k </i><i>is </i><i>going </i><i>on</i><i>? </i><i>Where </i><i>am I</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°Alpha,¡± I heard a voice say in the

    distance, ¡°Alpha, wake up.

    <i>?? </i>

    I groaned again, wanting to push away the too¨Cloud voice until I figured out what was happening.

    <i>Why¡¯s </i><i>he </i><i>yelling</i><i>, </i><i>anyway</i><i>? </i>

    Something was off. Everything around me felt softer, harder, sharper, more textured than ever before. I gripped the

    sheets beneath me, tightening my hands into fists around them.

    It was as if I could feel every thread in the fabric woven in the intricate design that made the sheet. There were strange scents in the air, too; new people that I had never met before were in the room,

    leaving traces of blood and woodsy cologne.

    Their potency overwhelmed me, in fact

    made me want to cover my nose.

    A small hand touched my shoulder.

    ¡°Alpha Grayson, can you hear me?¡± a squeaky, feminine voice said.

    I ignored it. I didn¡¯t like the voice. I didn¡¯t like the touch. My wolf wouldn¡¯t shut up: he kept repeating a name over and over again. I liked the name. I

    enjoyed the sound of it. I wanted to keep hearing it.

    <i>Belle</i><i>. </i><i>Belle</i><i>. </i><i>Belle</i><i>. </i><i>Belle</i><i>. </i><i>Belle</i><i>! BELLE</i><i>! </i>

    My eyes snapped open.

    ¡°Belle,¡± I growled.

    Everything came rushing back in an

    instant.

    Azazel. The war. Kyle. Belle. Belle was hurt. I had to get to Belle.

    ¡°Alpha,¡± a familiar voice said next to me, ¡°thank God. I thought you¡¯d had an aneurysm or something.¡±

    I propelled my b*dy off of the bed, moving faster than I¡¯d expected, practically flying into the air. Then Iposed myself. I hadn¡¯t been in my b*dy for a while; perhaps I¡¯d forgotten how to use it. My eyes found the speaker ¡ªKyle¡ªand searched the room. Multiple people here, none of them the one I wanted.

    My blind anger guided me as I grabbed Kyle by the cor.

    ¡°Where the f**k is Belle?¡± I snarled. I barely recognized my own voice- it sounded lower, scary even. My wolf added to the gravel in my tone, but he wasn¡¯t the only presence speaking.

    There was something I didn¡¯t recognize sitting directly on my chest, hissing, turning my breath ragged and strained. Its soul was darker than my wolf¡¯s, and just as powerful.

    ¡°She¡¯s safe,¡± Kyle replied immediately, ¡°she¡¯s okay.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t good enough for me.

    ¡°Where?¡± I asked again, lifting him off the ground. ¡°<i>Where </i>is my mate?¡±

    Kyle swallowed harshly. I could hear his

    saliva travel down his throat and into his

    stomach. Strange.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said in genuine grief, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    The loudest growl I¡¯d ever heard came from my wolf, reverberating through my chest and out of my mouth. The floors and walls shook. I was close to shifting. Hair began to sprout from my arms. My muscles started to stretch. Something

    sharp pierced the inside of my lower l*p.

    ¡°Now is not the time to shift,¡± a voice said behind me. ¡°Control your wolf.¡±

    There was no mistaking the powerful wave that washed over me.

    It was themand of a Mortar.

    My muscles tightened as I waited for the order to take me over and force me to do its bidding.

    To my surprise, it never did.

    I paused. The vampire¡¯smand hadn¡¯t worked.

    And I could tell that nomand

    sessful anymore. How I could know this I wasn¡¯t sure, but I feltplete mastery over my mind and b*dy¡ªlike a permanent mental block had been put up.

    Fury raced through me like fire.

    I swerved to meet the eyes of the Mortar. I was surprised not to see the face of Azazel.

    Instead I was looking at Zagan Mortar, king of the vampires.

    I had no idea what <i>he </i>was doing standing in my bedroom, but it didn¡¯t matter¨Cat at least not then. What mattered was that he had ordered me to rein in my wolf as if I hadn¡¯t just spent months in his brother¡¯s control.

    I moved so quickly I barelyprehended it.

    Soon I was in front of him, towering over him, though he didn¡¯t so much as flinch.

    ¡°Give me an order again,¡± I hissed, ¡°and I will not hesitate to tear you limb from limb. King or no king.¡±

    Zagan seemed surprised but unperturbed. Under different circumstances I would have smiled.

    Vampires were fast, strong, and nimble, but nowhere near as powerful as werewolves.

    The only n that could pose a threat to us were the royals, and only because the Mortars had the power to control others with their words.

    Without that power they were defenseless.

    For some reason, Zagan no longer had that power over me.

    Which meant¨Cand we both knew it- that I could snap him like a twig right then and there if I so chose.

    Zagan nodded once, never dropping his gaze from mine.

    My wolf growled his approval and insisted we treat Azazel the same way

    next time we saw him. Only, with him, we wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill.

    I looked back at Kyle.

    ¡°Belle,¡± I said again, trying to control my

    overflowing anger.

    My wolf was pushing me to shift, howling in my head. I would give him what he wanted, but not just yet.

    ¡°Where did she go?¡±

    I remembered everything from thest two months.

    Every tear running down her beautiful face, every cruel word that she thought came from me.

    Azazel had made her think I wanted her

    for s*x and power; he had used her; he hadughed as she broke. And I had been stuck, trapped inside my own b*dy, my heart breaking with every bit hers did.

    While I stood here wasting time, she was thinking I had rejected her to be with another.

    But I was going to find her, and once I did I was going to make sure she understood the truth if it meant groveling on my knees for the rest of eternity. She had to know how much she meant to me, how I would die without her.

    Azazel would pay for what he did. He would die a torturous death by my hands, that I was sure of. He had hit Belle,

    marked her skin, touched her in ways

    only I was allowed to, hurt her because he

    had known it would weaken me.

    But now I was only fueled by the anger he¡¯d put in me.

    I felt better and more bnced and centered than ever. It was almost strange how powerful I felt. If I hadn¡¯t been nning to protect my mate with this newfound power, I might have cause for concern¡ªbut I was ready to kill.

    Kyle hesitated as he formted an

    answer.

    It was then that I noticed just how big he had gotten. He looked stronger, more sinewy, huge beside the doorway. Even though I had been seeing him through a small lens while Azazel had had control of my b*dy, I knew he looked different from thest time.

    <i>What </i><i>happened </i><i>to </i><i>him</i><i>? </i>

    I gritted my teeth.

    ¡°Kyle, you had better tell me what happened after she walked out of this room yesterday, or so help me God¡ª¡®

    ¡°She was with me,¡± broke in a new voice,

    ¡°it¡¯s my fault.¡±

    Both our heads snapped toward the

    doorway, where Elijah stood.

    I fixed my eyes on him.

    ¡°What¡¯s your fault?¡±

 Chapter 58

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    I was about a second away from burning the entire world down.

    The mate bind was clouding my ability to think clearly; my thoughts revolved around finding Belle and never letting her out of my sight.

    In the back of my mind,mon sense was telling me none of these people here deserved my anger¨Cespecially not Kyle and Elijah, who had cared for my mate when I couldn¡¯t.

    But that didn¡¯t stop me from nearly grabbing Elijah and throwing him across the room when he didn¡¯t immediately tell me what I wanted to know.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, Alpha,¡± he repeated, stepping in. ¡°I left her.¡±

    ¡°Elijah,¡± Kyle growled, blocking him

    from my view.

    He said something over mind¨Clink before turning back to me.

    ¡°I ordered Elijah to leave. You can¡¯t me him.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a flying f**k about me! Tell me where she is,¡± I spat.

    They exchanged worried nces before Kyle opened his mouth.

    ¡°When we found you and that girl yesterday, I knew we needed to get her away from here. She¡­she wasn¡¯t doing well, Alpha.¡±

    My wolf snapped his teeth in anger inside me. I remembered her face when she

    had walked in and witnessed what she thought was me mating with someone else.

    She had been beyond sad¨Cshe had been devastated.

    Kyle swallowed roughly before

    continuing. ¡°I told her to go with Elijah so I could stay here and figure out what the hell was going on with you. I knew something was wrong. Elijah was going to take her wherever she wanted to go, somewhere you couldn¡¯t find her.¡±

    ¡°But then something happened,¡± Elijah interjected. ¡°It wasn¡¯t you who was in control of your b*dy but Azazel. Kyle¡­¡­ He almost died fighting him.¡±

    ¡°I remember,¡± I said curtly, ¡°I was there.¡±

    ¡°What you <i>don¡¯t </i>remember is what happened after Azazel left your b*dy.¡±

    Kyle stepped in front of Elijah protectively.

    ¡°You were unconscious for hours. We didn¡¯t know if you were going to live, so we had to make some hard decisions for you. Belle, well¡­¡± He paused, nervously looking over at the vampires and then

    back at me.

    ¡°We ordered him to leave her,¡± King Zagan finished.

    My head snapped toward him.

    <i>They </i><i>did </i><i>what</i><i>? </i>

    ¡°We thought it would be best for her and for your pack if she wasn¡¯t here for the battle.¡±

    My anger spiked. I tilted my head to the side, approaching him slowly, like a deer in the forest I was about to pounce on.

    ¡°And you thought that was your decision

    to make, Mortar?¡±

    Zagan met my gaze straight on. ¡°She

    wouldn¡¯t be safe here. Azazel knows

    she is your weakness. We already know he is willing to hurt her to get to you. He wouldn¡¯t hesitate to do it again if the opportunity presented itself during battle.¡±

    I considered his words as I stopped

    in front of him, breathing heavily. Somewhere deep down, the logical part of me knew he was right. While he¡¯d had control over my b*dy, Azazel was in my head just as much as I was in his.

    He saw my dedication to my mate and knew I would do anything to keep her safe, even if it meant dying slowly as a

    result of his constant control over me.

    Likewise, I saw his determination to win

    back the throne.

    He was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way, and there was no doubt in my mind that he would look for Belle and use

    her to lure and kill me.

    But even knowing that, thepulsion to find her and never let her leave my side again was unbelievable, almost blinding me to sense. Her feelings were tangible, sitting on my chest, constricting my lungs.

    She felt broken, alone, confused-

    most of all unlovable, as if she were responsible for all the people who had abandoned her.

    I could feel her thoughts as they ran their

    course.

    Everyone she cared for and she thought cared for her all eventually left in one way or another: Her father, who had died and left her to fend for herself¡­ Her mother, who had gone to build a new family¡­ Elijah and Kyle, who had promised to stay until reneging at thest minute¡­

    And me. She especially thought of me.

    She was going over our months together, all the things she thought she¡¯d done

    wrong.

    She hade to the conclusion that she had pushed me away.

    She thought she had done something to make me stop loving her, just as everyone

    had stopped loving her, no matter how hard she¡¯d tried to keep them happy.

    She was building a wall in her mind, brick by brick, to ensure that no one had ess to her heart or the ability to hurt her ever again.

    She was also unwittingly cutting off <i>my </i>ess to her, making it impossible for me to know what she was feeling or how to find her. She thought our bond was broken, but it wasn¡¯t.

    She thought she was protecting herself by blocking herself off, but she was only weakening our already struggling bond.

    She needed me by her side, and soon, or

    she would be weak and sick.

    It could even kill her¨Cnot for a while,

    probably a few months, but ultimately.

    But not if Azazel killed her first.

    The bond wouldn¡¯t even get the chance to

    hurt Belle if Azazel found her tomorrow.

    And he would, inevitably, find her: he was smart, he knew my mind, and he would figure out where I was hiding her if I brought her here.

    Then he would hold her hostage, persuading me to do whatever he wanted.

    I knew then that the only way to keep her and the pack safe would be to send her

    away.

    It would be hard, but I would put someone in charge of caring for her until the battle was over.

    I studied Zagan. He looked much too small to be the vampire king. My anger was dissolving.

    ¡°You will <i>never </i>make a decision

    concerning my mate ever again, do you hear me?¡±

    Zagan scowled, most likely annoyed

    by my disrespectful manner, and didn¡¯t

    answer.

    I sighed. I didn¡¯t want to admit what I

    was about to.

    ¡°But the decision you made was the right one. Although I would have liked to see my mate and exin it to her beforehand, I agree with the choice. Your doing that now has saved me the pain of having to let her go.¡±

    Zagan waited a moment before speaking. ¡°You¡¯re a good leader, Alpha Grayson. I am sure you would have elected to do the same, had you had the chance.¡±

    I could only hope so. I turned to Elijah, who straightened the moment our eyes

    met.

    ¡°You know where she is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I think so. We made a n before parting ways.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then you will go to her,¡± I said, adopting my alpha tone. ¡°You will find my mate and keep her safe, mind¨Clinking me the moment you have her in your sights.¡±

    My wolf bristled, not liking to put the safety of our mate in the hands of another wolf, but knowing we had no choice.

    I needed Kyle here tomand the warriors, and no one else knew Belle well enough to know where she would be.

    Kyle seemed nervous. I paused.

    I hadn¡¯t considered the fact that Elijah was his mate and I was sending him away with a devastating waring.

    ¡°Is this okay?¡± I asked him.

    Kyle sighed and nodded glumly. ¡°He¡¯ll be safer there than here,¡± he muttered.

    He took Elijah¡¯s hand and squeezed it. Elijah smiled sadly. They both knew that

    this could be thest time they saw each other.

    ¡°Very well.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you wherever you are when the battle is over, Elijah. For now, you will say your goodbyes and go alone.¡±

    Elijah had not let go of Kyle¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Yes, Alpha.¡±

    I averted my gaze as they embraced and whispered their goodbyes.

    It wasn¡¯t long before Elijah was out the door and Kyle was looking back at me determinedly.

    But something made me pause and do a double¨Ctake.

    My heart rate picked up, my wolf came surging forward for a better look.

    ¡°Kyle¡­ Why are your eyes red?¡±

 Chapter 59

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    In under a second, I had Kyle pushed up against the wall with my arm to his

    throat.

    He yelped in surprise, looking up at me with blood¨Cred eyes.

    I sucked in a breath as I looked into those eyes, immediately put off by their

    unnatural color.

    It was one thing to see a Mortar like this -but my own beta? It made my wolf whimper.

    We didn¡¯t want to hurt him but knew we

    wouldn¡¯t have a choice if it came down to

    <ol>

    <li>it. </li>

    </ol>

    Red eyes could only mean two things.

    Either you were a vampire yourself, or a Mortar was taking control of your b*dy.

    Neither exnation was good.

    ¡°Get talking,¡± I growled, pressing him further into the wall.

    Kyle whimpered slightly; his wolf was probably upset over the fact that his alpha was showing his distrust. It hurt me, too, but he had to know that I had no other

    option.

    If he was being controlled by a vampire, possibly even Azazel, then I would have

    to kill him.

    And if he was now somehow a vampire himself, no longer a werewolf, then he would still have to be dealt with ordingly.

    Kyle swallowed.

    ¡°I¡­I¡­um¡­¡± He stumbled over his words in a panic.

    I pushed him further into the wall, emphasizing that I didn¡¯t have the

    patience for hesitancy.

    ¡°Alpha Grayson,¡± King Zagan interrupted from behind us, ¡°you might want to look at yourself in the mirror before you do anything you¡¯ll regret.¡±

    ¡°What the f**k are you talking about?¡± I retorted, still looking at Kyle.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hurt him,¡± said the girl. ¡°He was turned when Azazel bit his n*eck. You

    wouldn¡¯t remember it because Azazel switched into his own b*dy to do it. He transitioned while you were unconscious a few hours ago. Kyle¡¯s a hybrid now- one¨Cthird human, one¨Cthird werewolf, one¨Cthird vampire. But he¡¯s still your beta. His wolf is still in there.¡±

    I searched Kyle¡¯s eyes for confirmation. To my utter shock, they went from their normal brown, showing his human, to ck, showing his wolf, and, finally, to red, showing the part of him that was now a vampire.

    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± he whispered sadly, ¡°I¡¯m one¨Cthird vampire now.¡±

    <i>But </i><i>that </i>means¡­

    I dropped Kyle immediately and took a step back as a realization hit me. Azazel had bitten me as well before taking over my b*dy. As fast as I could force myself to go, I ran to the mirror hanging in my room, my heart dropping when I registered what I saw.

    Staring back at me were the same dark red eyes as everyone else¡¯s.

    So I, too, was a vampire. A hybrid.

    And not only that, I wasrger¨Cmuchrger. I had grown over a foot, nearly too tall to see myself in the mirror. My muscles seemed to have exploded in size all throughout my b*dy.

    I had been arge wolf all my life, fitting the expectations for an alpha and then

    some after the rigorous training.

    Now I was practically a tank. Steely. Unbreakable. Deadly.

    I felt it then, the other species inside of me, sitting inside my chest and acknowledging me head¨Con. It was the vampire, the one I had acquired after transitioning.

    It was different from my wolf, less innocent, containing a darker soul.

    I expected it to feel as if something immoral and corrupt were trying to take over my being. But it didn¡¯t feel that way

    at all.

    This new soul¡­ It cared for me and my

    wolf. It wanted the best for us.

    In fact, it <i>was </i>us, sharing all the same

    interests and motivators.

    Just as my wolf was me in animal form, this new vampire was me as a vampire.

    Both creatures sat inside, watching through my eyes, waiting until I needed them, like two puzzle pieces that made me whole. But what interested me most was that the vampire wanted Belle. He called her his mate and wished she was by our side just as much as my wolf and I did.

    Vampires didn¡¯t have mates, so I found it strange that this one seemed to have taken

    her on the moment it entered me. There were now three possessive beings inside one b*dy, all wanting to mate with Belle.

    <i>Oh</i><i>, </i><i>Belle¡¯s </i><i>gonna </i><i>just </i><i>love </i><i>that</i>.

    She had already called me a barbaric Neanderthal with just my wolf and me around.

    Who knew what she would think now. The moment I got her back, neither my wolf nor my vampire nor I would ever let her out of our sight. Ever again.

    <i>Just </i><i>you </i>wait, baby<i>, </i>I thought, imagining her smiling face next to mine in the

    mirror.

    No one, not even me, will <i>ever </i><i>hurt </i>

    <i>again</i>.

    <i>you </i>

    Being part vampire exined the strange feelings I had experienced since waking

    <ol>

    <li>up. </li>

    </ol>

    My new strength, speed, size, and

    heightened senses were all a result of the vampire taking up residence in my b*dy.

    Curious about my new abilities, I opened my mouth in the mirror and watched as my canines, which were alreadyrge, grew and sharpened into piercing fangs.

    I ran my tongue over them gently. As if the vampire was enjoying showing off, I felt my fingernails begin to grow and sharpen as well.

    I looked down as they turned into long

    ws and studied them for a second before curling my hands into fists and feeling the ws retract, leaving my normal nails behind.

    The girl suddenly stood behind me, moving in a blur across the room with vampiric speed. She spoke quietly.

    ¡°You were bitten by Azazel too. We¡¯re not sure quite when, but we suspect you underwent the transition while you were unconscious. Both you and Beta Kyle are hybrids.¡±

    I looked over at Kyle, who shrugged his huge shoulders in confirmation.

    <i>So </i><i>I </i><i>was </i><i>right </i><i>earlier </i><i>when </i><i>I </i><i>thought </i><i>he </i><i>looked </i><i>bigger</i>.

    He had grown substantially since transitioning as well.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had a couple hours to get used to it, but I¡¯m still just as shocked as you,¡± he muttered, looking down at his own hands

    and watching his nails turn into ws. He

    looked back at me.

    ¡°Crazy, huh?¡±

    That was the understatement of the

    century.

    ¡°But you¡¯re still a wolf, right?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m not going to have to find a new beta,

    am I?¡±

    <i>Still </i><i>a </i><i>wolf</i><i>, </i><i>boss</i>, he said through mind¨Clink before continuing aloud.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kick me out of the pack. I have literally no idea what I would do in

    the human world. I have no real skills.¡±

    I smiled slightly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that. Just don¡¯t go getting bitten by any other creatures. I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to handle three souls inside of you, let alone four.¡±

    Kyle nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think Elijah would handle it well either.¡±

    Iughed as I realized just how much I had missed talking to Kyle over thest

    few months.

    He had a gift for calming my nerves and always knew what to say to keep my spirits light.

    Which is why he made such a good gamma¨Cwell, beta now.

    Suddenly I remembered something else, something painful.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m guessing you heard about Adalee. I presume you¡¯re okay taking on the role of beta, considering it was meant to be yours in the first ce.¡±

    Kyle¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°More than okay with that, Alpha.¡±

    I nodded, returning his smile. ¡°Good.¡±

    I turned back to the three vampires, my mind still full of questions that needed

    answers.

    ¡°Is this why it didn¡¯t work when you tried to use your powers on me earlier? Because I¡¯m part vampire now?¡±

    Zagan sighed, his browsing together. ¡°I have been wondering about that myself. I don¡¯t know why. No vampire who has been turned, even by a member of the royal family, is able to resist themand of a Mortar. The only creatures who can do that are other Mortars.¡±

    I found Kyle beside me, and his tone was bitter.

    ¡°He¡¯s right. They¡¯ve been treating me like their personal butler all day, Theirmands still work on me and I was bitten by the same vampire as you.¡±

    ¡°So what does this mean?¡± I asked. ¡°It isn¡¯t like I could have magically grown the DNA to be a Mortar.¡±

    Zagan nodded in agreement, exchanging nces with the boy vampire next to him.

    ¡°I do have a theory, but¡­¡± He looked back at me, dragging his gaze up and down, sizing me up. ¡°If I am correct, you may very well be the most powerful being of thest few centuries.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Casimir said. He studied me as

    well. His eyes widened with realization. <i>¡°</i><i>Oh</i><i>.</i><i>¡± </i>

    The girl gasped. ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡­.?¡±

    ¡°There is only one way to know for sure,¡± Zagan said.

    ¡°Know what for sure?¡± I said, exasperated.

    <i>Someone </i><i>had </i><i>better </i><i>exin </i><i>what </i><i>kind </i><i>of </i><i>vampire </i><i>mumbo </i><i>jumbo </i><i>this </i><i>all </i><i>is </i><i>before </i><i>I </i><i>go insane</i><i>. </i>

    Zagan hesitated only a second before

    Zagan hesitated only a second before answering. ¡°There is a possibility that you have your own powers now. The same as the Mortars, controlling people with your words. And¡­ That you are immortal.¡±

 Chapter 60

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    I was positive that I had not processed Zagan¡¯s words urately.

    ¡°What the hell do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s better if you sit, Alpha Grayson,¡± the girl vampire said. ¡°Your intensity is going to scare your pack

    members. You need to calm down.¡±

    I snapped my teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t f**king tell me what to do.¡±

    ¡°Easy, everyone,¡± chided Zagan. ¡°Minnie,

    The girl joined Zagan and Casimir. Seeing them all together, it urred to me that they were all part of the royal family. All Mortars.

    I was standing in front of Zagan Mortar, king of the vampires; Casimir Mortar, the second¨Cborn and head warrior of the n:

    and Amelia Mortar, the fourth¨Cborn and royal healer.

    I remembered what Azazel had said about

    Kyle snooping around in his things before attacking him.

    Kyle had known Azazel was nning to wage war on the pack, but thought it was <i>me </i>who was in cahoots with the n of

    Azazel.

    Even then, he¡¯d been brave enough to get in touch with King Zagan and enlist his help.

    He knew the royal family would be the only ones strong enough to defeat Azazel.

    I looked over at Kyle and mind¨Clinked him.

    <i>You </i><i>invited </i><i>them </i><i>here</i><i>. </i><i>You </i><i>invited </i><i>the </i><i>most </i><i>powerful </i><i>vampires </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><i>world </i><i>onto </i><i>my </i><i>territory </i><i>without </i><i>my </i><i>permission</i>.

    <i>Yes</i><i>, </i>Kyle began, already defensive and

    cautious, but <i>only </i><i>because- </i>

    <i>You </i><i>did </i><i>the </i><i>right </i><i>thing</i>, I interrupted, stopping him before he went on a tangent. <i>Remind </i><i>me </i><i>to </i><i>thank </i><i>you </i><i>properly </i><iter</i>.

    He smiled slightly.

    <i>Oh, </i><i>okay</i><i>. </i><i>You </i><i>got </i><i>it</i><i>. </i><i>I¡¯ll be </i><i>expecting </i><i>an </i><i>entire </i><i>party </i><i>in </i><i>my </i><i>honor</i><i>, </i><i>streamers </i><i>and </i><i>everything</i>.

    I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

    Although, after all he had done to keep the pack safe thest few months, maybe he <i>did </i>deserve a party.

    I turned back to the three royal vampires, who obviously knew that Kyle and I had just mind¨Clinked and were watching with

    wary expressions.

    ¡°So,¡± I began, ¡°this immortal power¡­ Might it have something to do with my recent transition? Why isn¡¯t Kyle

    immortal too?¡±

    Zagan looked to Casimir, who took a deep breath. ¡°There was a king long

    ago who was a hybrid like you. Elijah Viotto.¡±

    ¡°My mate was named after him,¡± Kyle interjected. ¡°He was the most powerful king ever known to mankind.¡±

    Casimir nodded, continuing, ¡°He ruled over all species, vampires and werewolves, back before the divide. He was extremely powerful, but the people loved him because he was a fair and decent ruler.¡±

    Casimir hesitated, but his father nodded to him encouragingly.

    ¡°King Elijah was mated to a fairy. She must have been one of thest ones out there, because they¡¯ve be extinct. As I¡¯m sure you know, fairies lived forever unless they were killed by an unnatural cause.

    I nodded, not wanting to interrupt his talking.

    ¡°ording to legend, once the fairy and

    the king mated, King Elijah gained what we now know as the power of the Mortars -control with your mind. And he gained his mate¡¯s immortality.¡±

    <i>Hmm</i>.

    ¡°People say the king was able to gift this control to those he deemed worthy. But it was too much for some, resulting in a great war between vampires and werewolves and the deaths of many. It was in this war that King Elijah was killed by the man he called his closest friend, Damian Mortar.¡±

    ¡°He took the throne,¡± I said. I had heard of Damian Mortar, the first¨Cever vampire king.

    Casimir nodded, ¡°Yes. King Damian took the throne, created the royal n,

    and continued the Mortar line, gifting his offspring with the same power. We are all descended from him. But he could not repair the rift between werewolves and vampires, resulting in the current bad blood between the species.¡±

    Surprise over the fact that I had never heard this story ran through me. It seemed to be an important part of the history of my kind.

    ¡°So the king gained immortality from mating with a fairy,¡± I said slowly, ¡°but my mate is not a fairy. She is human. Nor have wepleted the mating ritual. It doesn¡¯t exin why I would be this way.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t think all of this is because

    of your mate, but something else,¡± said Zagan. ¡°Although if this <i>is </i>true and you <i>are </i>the man we think you are, your mate will be impacted as well. You see, King Elijah left behind a prophecy.¡±

    By now I was even more worried. Belle

    had been mentioned.

    My wolf and newfound vampire were pressing up against my conscious, listening carefully.

    ¡°And what was this prophecy, exactly?¡± I

    said.

    ¡°You tell him, Casimir,¡± said Minnie.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who found it and studied

    it.¡±

    I watched Casimir closely. He was

    nervous about what he was about to say, his eyes never meeting mine.

    ¡°Well¡­years ago, I found a scroll in the royal pce. On it, King Elijah himself prophesied that there would be a powerful hybrid who would be immortal and possess the powers of the Mortars. ¡°He would ascend the throne as the most powerful man alive, restoring peace between all species¨Ceven

    vampires and werewolves.¡±

    I almost burst outughing at the ridiculousness of this theory.

    <i>They </i><i>can¡¯t </i><i>possibly </i><i>think </i><i>I¡¯m </i><i>the </i><i>man </i><i>from </i><i>the </i><i>prophecy</i>.

    <i>Me</i><i>, </i><i>take </i><i>over </i><i>a </i><i>throne </i><i>that currently </i><i>belonged </i><i>to </i><i>vampires</i><i>? </i>

    <i>No. </i><i>No</i><i>, </i><i>thank </i><i>you</i>.

    After a few seconds of silence, Kyle asked, ¡°You don¡¯t think Alpha Grayson is

    ¡°What did it say about this man¡¯s mate?¡± I interrupted.

    Casimir thought for a moment before replying, ¡°It said that¡ªthat the mate of the new king, who knew hardship and loss, would undergo their own transition after the mating ritual. They would be¡­¡± He hesitated. ¡°They would be a fairy, the only fairy in the world, and extremely powerful. Just as

    King Elijah¡¯s mate, Queen Evangeline,

    was. Together, these mates would rule all mythical creatures, taking on King Elijah and Queen Evangeline¡¯s roles.¡±

    I stared at Casimir for a second. He thought there was a possibility that I was destined to be ruler of all mythical creatures. And that Belle, my sweet human mate, would be¡­ A fairy queen?

    Fairies were among the most powerful known creatures, born with the ability to pick up just about any skill¨Cprecisely why they had been hunted into extinction.

    I struggled to find something to say.

    ¡°So¡­you think¡­I¡¯m the man from the prophecy.¡±

    Casimir shrugged a bit. ¡°The prophecy said it would happen sometime in the decade after the scroll was discovered. It¡¯s been nine years.¡±

    ¡°But that isn¡¯t the only reason,¡± Zagan chimed in. ¡°You meet all the expectations set for the new king, although some might be new developments. You¡¯re a hybrid, you have a mate who knows hardship, you were able to resist mymand, and you are basically impossible to kill. By all ounts you should have died after the period of Azazel¡¯s upation.¡±

    ¡°The only thing in question,¡± Casimir interjected, ¡°is whether you will have the power of the Mortars.¡±

    I sucked in a breath.

    <i>The </i><i>power </i><i>of </i><i>the </i><i>Mortars</i><i>? </i><i>I¡¯m </i><i>not </i><i>sure </i><i>I </i><i>want </i><i>that </i><i>kind </i><i>of </i><i>power</i><i>. </i>

    My alpha tone only affected pack

    members, but the power of the Mortars could affect any creature, including humans. It felt dark and unnecessary, as if someone were ying God.

    ¡°So the only way to find out,¡± concluded Casimir, ¡°is for you to try issuing a

    ¡°Hold on,¡± I said quickly, ¡°if I¡¯m this powerful man from an ancient prophecy, then why haven¡¯t I had the power of the Mortars all my life? Or been immortal?¡±

    Kyle spoke up next to me. ¡°You were just turned into a hybrid. Maybe the power wastent and only activated once Azazel bit you.

    Zagan nodded. ¡°That would make sense. Perhaps the same for the immortality.¡±

    ¡°Then again,¡± Minnie piped up, ¡°who¡¯s to say you haven¡¯t always been immortal? You haven¡¯t died yet, have you?¡±

    I growled to myself and ran a hand through my hair. ¡°This is a lot of information to handle.¡±

    ¡°Try amand,¡± Minnie urged.

    I sighed deeply. ¡°On whom?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes turned to Kyle, whose eyes promptly widened.

    ¡°Oh,e on, no way. Why me? Why not one of you guys?¡± He motioned to the vampires.

    ¡°It won¡¯t work on Mortars,¡± said Minnie. ¡°You¡¯re the only one.¡±

    Kyle groaned and kicked at the floor like a child. ¡°But it hurts! I don¡¯t want to be controlled again.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°Just pretend I¡¯m using my alpha tone. I¡¯ve used that on you plenty of times.¡±

    He sighed, turning to face me. ¡°Yeah, just like

    your alpha tone, except you feel like you were run over by a truck afterward. Fun.¡±

    I looked to Zagan. ¡°And how exactly do I do this?¡±

    Zagan crossed his arms, watching us

    closely. ¡°If you¡¯re truly the one from the prophecy, it will be clear. You won¡¯t need

    to be told how.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°All right,¡± I said nervously, ¡°Here goes nothing.¡±

    Kyle winced slightly, squaring his shoulders.

    The vampires sucked in breaths of anticipation.

    I opened my mouth.

 Chapter 61

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    I wracked my brain, trying toe up with amand to give Kyle.

    I needed to test, to see if I had the power of the Mortars. But how exactly was I supposed to go about doing that? I couldn¡¯t keep from asking myself what the hell I was doing. No way could I be the person from this prophecy.

    They thought I was meant to be the next king of all mythical creatures, the most powerful ruler out there. They thought I could restore peace between werewolves and vampires and stop a war that had been going on for centuries.

    Was that possible?

    My wolf loved the idea; in my mind he was puffing out his chest in pride,municating to me that he thought we were more than capable of ruling. He also thought that Belle would make an

    amazing queen. He liked the idea of her ruling by our side for the rest of eternity, having power, never dying.

    A part of me, which one? Couldn¡¯t help but agree, not only with the fact that Belle would make an amazing queen but that we had the capacity to be king.

    I had known ever since I was young that I was meant to lead, not because of ego but because I just knew it was what I had to do. I had known I would make a good alpha and had proven it over the years. But even after I had fought my old alpha to death and won, taking on the role myself, I hadn¡¯t been satisfied.

    I <i>had </i>wanted more.

    My wolf had kept telling me we were meant to lead thousands. Something was missing, he had insisted. Could this be what he¡¯d meant? I sighed. Now was the time to find out.

    ¡°Quack like a duck,¡± I told Kylepletely seriously.

    Deep down, I hoped nothing would- happen. If nothing happened, life would be a whole lot lessplicated. It would mean things could go back to normal and I could eventually forget thesest few horrible months.

    But I already knew that was false hope. Because even deeper down, I knew Casimir was right. The moment I opened my mouth I felt my newfound vampire surge forward to the front of my consciousness, pushing against the inside of my skull.

    A tingly feeling traveled through me, forcing me to suck in a quick breath.

    Then, like a wave of energy, I felt themand travel from me and wrap around Kyle like a nket. His eyes turned red, and then, just like a duck, he began to quack.

    ¡°Quack,¡± he said, ¡°quack, quack.¡±

    I stared in shock.

    I had done it. I had used the power of the

    Mortars.

    After a moment, Minnieughed from behind me. And then Zagan, and then

    Casimir.

    The humor of the situation hit me as Kyle continued to quack with a dark scowl on

    his face.

    ¡°Can I¨Cquack¨C<i>please</i>¨Cquack¨Cstop

    now¨C<i>quack¡ª</i>?¡±

    He obviously wasn¡¯t finding this nearly as amusing as the rest of us.

    I enjoyed watching an extremelyrge and intimidating werewolf quack and pout like a child. But I finally waved a hand.

    ¡°Okay, okay, you can stop.¡±

    Just as before, themand traveled from me and made Kyle stop immediately.

    ¡°Really,¡± heined, ¡°a <i>duck</i>? You couldn¡¯t have made me do something cool, like jump fifty feet in the air or something?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Only thing I could think of.¡±

    Kyle huffed and rolled his eyes. ¡°Right, because that¡¯s the first thing everyone thinks of. Not turn around or say hi or something normal. No, you had to choose <i>quack </i>like a <i>duck</i>.¡±

    I could only shrug again, joining in on the others¡®ughter.

    After a moment, the lightheartedness vanished and the room suddenly became much more serious. I had given amand using the power of the Mortars.

    <i>Which </i><i>could </i><i>only </i><i>mean</i><i>¡­ </i>

    ¡°So it¡¯s true, then,¡± I said, looking at Casimir. ¡°The prophecy is about me.¡±

    Casimir looked at his father with a worried expression before looking back at me and nodding slowly.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he whispered, distress evident in his tone. ¡°You¡¯re the new king of all creatures. The throne is yours.¡±

    My gaze snapped to Zagan.

    ¡°Just like that? You¡¯re giving up your title and the throne without any sort of fight?¡±

    Zagan¡¯s bright red eyes searched mine for a moment, his thick ck browsing together in thought. He didn¡¯t look upset or threatened like I expected. He just looked pensive.

    After a moment, he spoke, ¡°Ever since Casimir found that scroll all those years ago, I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment. Readying myself for when another would

    This all seemed so sudden.

    And his confidence in me did not make it

    less daunting.

    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Kyle broke in, ¡°You¡¯re telling me Alpha Grayson is king now? Like, with a pce and everything?¡±

    We all had those same questions.

    ¡°What about the pack? What about the luna?¡± he said.

    Belle¡¯s beautiful face shed in my mind, making my entire b*dy stiffen painfully.

    My wolf growled, pushing me to shift, to go find our mate. He kept repeating that

    she needed us, over and over again, as if I weren¡¯t very aware of the fact.

    I gritted my teeth, forcing him to the back of my consciousness so I could

    concentrate.

    ¡°None of this needs to be decided now,¡± Zagan said. ¡°You will have time. All the time in the world, in fact¡­ King Grayson.¡±

    I sucked in a deep breath as realization hit. My brain was going into overdrive, words running through it like a broken record. <i>King</i><i>. </i><i>Immortality</i><i>. </i><i>Prophecy</i>. <i>Hybrid</i><i>. </i><i>Fairy</i><i>. </i><i>Powers</i><i>. </i>

    How the hell was I supposed to respond

    to all of this?

    How was Belle going to feel?

    Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to think about it for too long.

    A sudden pressure filled my head,

    causing me to stumble backward. I clutched at my head as the pressure increased to the point of throbbing.

    It wasn¡¯t painful, but it sure as hell was annoying and invasive.

    I groaned, shutting my eyes. What the hell was happening?

    ¡°Alpha,¡± came Kyle¡¯s voice, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± I stopped¨Cspeaking only made it

    worse.

    The pressure was bing more unbearable with every passing second.

    I could no longer say it wasn¡¯t painful; it felt like a migraine was splitting my skull

    in half.

    ¡°Alpha Grayson,¡± I heard Minnie say.

    I opened my eyes to see her concerned face right in front of me. She reached out,

    face right in front of me. She reached out, cing her small hand on my arm.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she said.

    I shook my head. The pain was starting to make me panic. I had never felt anything

    like this.

    ¡°Open your mind,¡± Zagan suddenly said, ¡°and stop resisting.¡±

    My head swerved toward him. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡± I barely got

    out.

    ¡°It¡¯s Azazel,¡± Zagan said as he shook his head. ¡°I was afraid of this. Something¡¯s happened with Azazel. You have to let

    him in.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure what he was talking about, but the thought of Azazel trying to get into my mind, into any part of me again made me fume.

    <i>F**k </i><i>that</i>.

    Rage poured from my insides over the fact that he would even suggest I let

    Azazel in after all he had done. I braced

    myself against the wall, starting to lose my bnce.

    <i>That </i><i>f**ker </i><i>is </i><i>going </i><i>nowhere </i><i>near </i><i>my </i><i>mind</i><i>. </i><i>He¡¯ll </i><i>never </i><i>control me </i><i>again</i>.

    As if reading the thoughts I didn¡¯t have the strength to say aloud, Zagan reassured

    <ol>

    <li>me. </li>

    </ol>

    ¡°Azazel couldn¡¯t take control of you again even if he tried. That isn¡¯t what¡¯s happening. He¡¯s not trying to take over your b*dy.¡±

    My chest rose and fell with each ragged

    breath.

    ¡°Then what the f**k <i>is </i>happening?¡± I groaned.

    ¡°No time to exin,¡± Zagan said, obvious worry in his tone. ¡°I promise you,

    nothing bad will happen if you let him into your mind. In fact, it will probably aid in the war toe. Azazel is likely

    not even aware that he is projecting onto you right now.¡±

    None of what he was saying made sense. I let out a growl. The pain in my mind made my head feel like it was going to explode.

    ¡°Just do it!¡± eximed Minnie. ¡°Whatever it is, you can handle it.¡±

    I looked at her. She was right. As much as I wanted to deny Azazel all ess to my thoughts, I could break him like a toothpick now that hismands didn¡¯t work on me.

    I nodded, my wolf and vampire both present in my consciousness, ready to attack if they needed to. Slowly, I stopped restricting the pressure in my head and let it do as it wished.

    It was a strange feeling, as if the pressure turned from pain to energy in a matter of seconds.

    Then it traveled through every inch of my brain and took over my thoughts, recing them with the thoughts of

    someone else.

    Azazel.

    I was no longer standing in my bedroom but in a forest clearing, surrounded by hundreds of young vampires.

    I sucked in a breath. My heart rate picked up as I realized this was the army I would be fighting tomorrow. They were a rowdy group, hissing and moving about as if none of them was able to stay still longer

    than a few seconds.

    They didn¡¯t look at me; their gazes were focused to my left.

    I turned to look, already knowing who to

    expect.

    <i>Azazel</i>.

    ¡°The time hase,¡± Azazel spoke loudly, addressing the newborn vampires. ¡°I know you will all make me proud.¡±

    He was at the end of a speech meant to invigorate his n.

    He had passion, and strong, well¨Cthought¨Cout words¡ªbut he didn¡¯t mean any of it.

    His goal was to make the newborns think he cared for them in the way a father cared for a child, so they would fight for

    him and risk their lives.

    In reality, he couldn¡¯t have cared less if they lived or died.

    I could sense the way he was manipting them as if I were in his mind, feeling everything he felt. He was determined to seize the throne, even at

    the expense of each and every vampire in

    front of him.

    ¡°Go,¡± he finished suddenly. The

    turning their eyes red.

    In an instant, they dispersed into the

    forest, hissing and moving in onerge

    blur.

    Azazel watched with an evil sort of pride, a dark smile forming on his l*ps.

    I gritted my teeth as I watched him.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening or how exactly I had gotten here, but it hardly

    mattered.

    I was standing next to the man who had wreaked havoc on my life.

    I growled loudly, not hesitating tounch myself at Azazel.

    I had one focus: his blood on my hands.

    I wanted him dead on the forest floor, wanted to watch the life leave his eyes. I reached out, intent on grabbing his throat and throwing him to the ground. But my hands closed around nothing but air, going directly through his n*eck as if he were a hologram.

    I looked down at my hands inplete

    shock.

    ¡°Hello, Alpha Grayson,¡± Azazel said.

    I snapped up to look at him. His red eyes met mine, and he scowled deeply as he studied me.

    ¡°So it¡¯s true, then,¡± he said grimly.

    All I could do was growl and take another swipe at him, hoping to break his jaw with my fist.

    But where I should have connected with his face, I felt nothing but air yet again.

    ¡°Azazel, what the f**k did you do?¡±

    He scoffed, annoyed, ncing away from me and into the forest.

    ¡°How little you know, young alpha,¡± he muttered. ¡°This is not my doing, and you should not be here.¡±

    ¡°Then why <i>am </i>I here?¡±

    Azazel didn¡¯t respond for a moment; his stare remained in ce, almost as if he were lost in thought.

    Finally he said, ¡°Tell my brother to prepare himself. His time as king is over.¡±

    His piercing red eyes returned to me, darkening to a shade I had never seen before.

    ¡°We areing.¡±

 Chapter 62

    Book 2: His Lost Queen

    GRAYSON

    My head was spinning.

    Everything was a blur, my ears were ringing, and my stomach felt as if I were about to heave up my intestines. What the hell had just happened?

    I opened my eyes. Still disoriented, I looked around the room, trying to gain my bearings, although it proved very difficult.

    One second I had been standing in my room with Kyle and three red-eyed vampires, and the next, I was in a forest in front of hundreds of newborn vampires and Azazel, all of them determined to kill me and my pack members.

    I was relieved when I realized I was back in my room once again, lying on the hardwood floor.

    Although my body felt sore and weak-an effect of some sort of magic, I¡¯m sure-the pain coursing through me wasn¡¯t my initial worry. War wasing. And soon.

    Azazel¡¯s threatening words were fresh in my mind.

    ¡°Tell my brother to prepare himself, Alpha Grayson. His time as king is over,¡± he had said. ¡°We¡¯reing.¡±

    I became aware of other people in the room, and once the ringing in my ears stopped, I was able to register what they were saying.

    They were arguing. One person, in particr, sounded very upset. I recognized his voice.

    ¡°Do something!¡± Kyle¡¯s angry tone rang out. ¡°Why are we standing around when my alpha just

    Emergency calls only

    register what they were saying.

    They were arguing. One person, in particr, sounded very upset. I recognized his voice.

    ¡°Do something!¡± Kyle¡¯s angry tone rang out. ¡°Why are we standing around when my alpha just fainted? Minnie-

    ¡°I assure you, he is fine, young beta,¡± someone else interrupted. Zagan. The king of vampires. Azazel¡¯s brother. ¡°I implore you to remove your hands from my body before I decide to rip them

    off.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah? I¡¯d like to see you try,¡± Kyle challenged. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one in this room with vampire abilities.¡±

    I groaned and rolled to my side, not wanting to listen to any more of their incessant arguing.

    All heads snapped to me. Kyle was at my side in under a second, using his newfound vampire speed to move in a single, blurry motion.

    He crouched down next to me. ¡°Alpha,¡± he breathed out, ¡°are you okay?¡±

    I nodded and forced myself to sit up even though my body felt weak. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Disoriented.¡± I looked at Zagan, who had moved to stand next to Kyle. ¡°What the f uck just happened?¡±

    ¡°You tell me,¡± he replied in a gravelly voice. ¡°What did

    you see?¡±

    I stood slowly, grunting with effort. My wolf growled. He didn¡¯t like feeling weak, especially now when so much was at stake. ¡°Azazel,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯sing.¡±

    I heard Kyle suck in a breath. ¡°You saw Azazel?¡±

    ¡°When?¡± Zagan snapped, stepping forward with interest. ¡°When is heing?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°There¡¯s no way to be sure. I don¡¯t know how fast his army of newborn vampires can run.¡± My teeth grit together. ¡°Soon, though. Tonight.¡±

    Zagan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Minnie and Casimir, royal vampires and two of Zagan¡¯s children, looked at their father in shock. Their tension and anxiety were tangible in the air.

    ¡°The n of Azazel is back?¡± Minnie whispered. Her already squeaky and high-pitched voice seemed to rise an octave with fear. ¡°Father, did you know about this?¡±

    Zagan nodded. ¡°The beta informed me in his letter. It is why we wasted no time in aiding this pack.¡±

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    101092% 1 15:26

    LAKONS

    ????

    ¡°We have to move quickly,¡± I said to Kyle. ¡°Prepare the pack for battle. Fill them in on what has happened.¡±

    Kyle was already halfway out the door. ¡°On it!¡± he yelled as he sprinted down the hall.

    I turned back to the three vampires, watching them through narrowed eyes. It was a bit disturbing how alike they all looked with their straight ck hair, lean bodies, and striking red eyes.

    They were smaller than werewolves and, therefore, not as strong. It didn¡¯t matter, though. Vampire training focused less on strength and power and more on strategy and stealth.

    It was as if their motto was, ¡°Work smarter, not harder.¡± And it worked for them.

    As I studied their startling yet stunning red eyes, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from ncing in the mirror next to me, noticing that my own usually green eyes were also red at the moment.

    However, unlike the three Mortars, mine were darker, clouded in ckness with the presence of my wolf. I could feel both my vampire and wolf pressing up against my conscience.

    It wasn¡¯t invasive as neither of them was trying to take control; they were just revved up and ready for battle, anxious for any reason to break free.

    I looked away from my reflection quickly, tensing in anger. Thest time I had seen my eyes in this color had been when Azazel had taken over my body, showing his true eyes as he looked at our reflection.

    I flinched, suddenly being pulled back into the memories of being in my own personal hell. My mind involuntarily reyed a scene from the past few months.

    I was watching my hand hit Belle, my mate, the love of my life, on her beautiful face, having no control, watching in horror as she flew to the side from the force of the blow.

    at me, her teary blue

    But the worst part came after the strike had taken ce. Belle had looked up at me, eyes round with shame¡­ and apologized.

    She apologized to me. Even though it was my hand that had just marked her skin, she thought she had been the one who had done something wrong.

    Twice. Azazel had hit her two times, takingplete joy in the fact that she thought it was me who was doing it. And each time, Belle apologized to him.

    They were genuine apologies, too, ones that made evident her regret. I didn¡¯t know what she was ashamed of but Go d I could feel it could feel her indignity growing with every passing day.

    41%

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    **X xhamed of, but Ct, I could fed it. I could fired her indignity growing with every passing day

    but

    She was so hand on hepselt, beating herself up and rocking her mind over what she had done wrong. She wanted to fix whatever it was, unaware that it had absolutely nothing to do with her.

    I had been screaming inside my head the entire time, pounding against the bonds that kept me tripped, li felt like I was drowning

    4 struggled so much trying to get past the control that Azazel had over me so I could go to my mate.

    I knew she wasn¡¯t eating or sleeping. I knew she was basically being spat upon by all the pack members. I could feel how weak she was getting. But I couldn¡¯t do a da mn thing.

    Every day, I hoped she would leave and run far away. But every day that I still felt her in this house made mepletely f ucking enraged with Azazel for doing this to her.

    I wanted to tell her to leave, to talk to Kyle or Elijah or someone, anybody, and get the hell out of here. I couldn¡¯t understand why she would stay. Why the f uck didn¡¯t she run away?

    Sure, Azazel had told her he wanted her for the power she could give him, demanding that she stay because of that, But, in reality, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed if she had left.

    And that was what killed me. If she was staying out of fear of being punished if she were caught, her fear wasn¡¯t necessary. Azazel¡¯s mind was upied with other problems.

    I knew this because I had spent over two months hearing his thoughts; I basically knew every single detail about the former vampire king.

    He had been unimpressed with the fact that she was human, and although he found her attractive- and loved to remind me of it¡ª he wasn¡¯t actually interested in having her around.

    He only tried to sleep with her because he wanted to taunt me and make me weak. But, surprise, surprise, trying to mate with an alpha male¡¯s female doesn¡¯t make them weak.

    No, it had the opposite effect¡ªit made me furious. I became so blind with rage cach time heid a hand on her that, finally, my wolf was able to slip through the possession and take control to tend to

    our mate.

    Azazel had learned from that experience. Seeing my mate get hurt made me furious enough to break free of the control he had over me.

    He knew then that the best way to truly weaken me was to stay away from Belle: And he did just that. He starved the mate bond. And as I felt my mate slowly dwindle, I faded along with her.

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    BUFU92% ? ??????? ???? ?????? ????

    15:27

    It wasn¡¯t until two nights ago that Azazel tried mating with Belle again. Only, this time, it wasn¡¯t to taunt or anger me¨Calthough it definitely did both of those things.

    Azazel realized that someone had gone through his desk, which meant that one of my pack members knew about the letters he had been sending to the n of Azazel.

    It was the first time I felt him experience true fear.

    Knowing that his war could be happening sooner than he was anticipating, he decided he wanted toplete the mating bond with Belle in order to be as strong as possible during battle.

    When Belle refused-to my absolute f ucking relief-he didn¡¯t hesitate to kick her to the side and choose another.

    Azazel didn¡¯t know that that was the decision that had finally set Belle free. She was heartbroken, but in thinking I didn¡¯t want her, she was finally able to force herself to leave.

    And while it had made me proud at the time, it caused me physical pain to think about how long it had taken her.

    Why hadn¡¯t she left before then? The door was wide open. Go d, why did she stay in this d amn pack house where she was being abused and treated like nothing more than the dirt on the bottom of

    someone¡¯s shoe?

    Did she think she deserved that? Did she expect this to be her new life?

    She was worth so much more than all that, and I thought she would know that¡ªbecause, hell, she is so much stronger than anyone could ever imagine.

    She had been through so much. And yet, every time her life burned down, she was still able to pull herself from the ashes.

    I understood now, though.

    With each passing day that Belle continued to endure my abuse without fighting back, it became more clear that perhaps she hade to face too many fires, that her life had burned down too many

    times.

    She became convinced that, after a certain point, fires stop being coincidences or idents. When fires follow the same person everywhere they go, it is evident that that person has an affinity for starting them.

    *0092% 15:77 With each passing day that Belle continued to endure my abuse without fighting back, it became more clear that perhaps she hade to face too many fires, that her life had burned down too many

    times.

    She became convinced that, after a certain point, fires stop being coincidences or idents. When fires follow the same person everywhere they go, it is evident that that person has an affinity for starting them.

    And so, Belle let herself get burned. My strong mate watched in defeat as the fire began to consume her once again.

    Because, ording to her, no matter what she did, the fires followed her everywhere she went. She escaped only when the pain became too great, when the burns were too much to handle,

    When she thought I had rejected her to be with another.

    I had no doubt that the burns she endured would leave scars. It would not be easy to gain her trust again, but f uck if I wasn¡¯t up for the challenge.

    I wouldn¡¯t give up until I had her back in my arms. I would never let her go again. Together, we would build her back up until she remembered just how strong she really was.

 Chapter 63

    GRAYSON

    ¡°Go with the beta,¡± Zagan told Minnie and Casimir after Kyle had left the room. ¡°Inform the wolves how to fight vampires during battle.¡±

    They nodded and followed in the direction that Kyle had gone.

    Once alone, Zagan and I faced each other. I didn¡¯t hide my narrowed look. I wanted him to know that I didn¡¯t trust him. Not yet, at least.

    How the king of vampires came to be standing in my bedroom, in front of the bed where my mate and I were meant to sleep, was beyond me.

    Never in a million years did I think I would allow this to happen. My wolf and I were on edge with the entire situation. I was anxious to leave.

    I didn¡¯t want to stay here with him, knowing I should go help prepare my pack, but I had questions that needed to be answered.

    Zagan looked around as he approached me, examining therge suite. He nodded in approval. ¡°I have to say, Alpha, your pack house is very impressive.¡±

    I nearly scoffed. This wasing from the man who had lived in a castle his whole life.

    The royal family¡¯s pce was said to be incredible, housing some of the most celebrated figures ever known to the supernatural world.

    I couldn¡¯t tell if he meant thisment as demeaning or genuine. Either way, I chose not to reply, crossing my arms over my chest in silence instead.

    Zagan wasn¡¯t fazed by my obvious contempt. Heughed under his breath, shaking his head. ¡°I just saved your life, Alpha,¡± he reminded me. ¡°There¡¯s no need for disdain.¡±

    I growled softly. I didn¡¯t like that he talked to me as if I were one of his children who was pouting. ¡°You¡¯ll have to excuse me if I have difficulty trusting vampires at the moment,¡± I replied.

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    *02091% 15:28

    Zagan nodded, his amusement fading slightly. ¡°Yes, well, I suppose that is something I can understand.¡± He paused, crossing his own arms to match mine.

    He met my gaze with the same intense fierceness. ¡°I am pressed to remind you that I am not your enemy. We share the same goal. We both have much to lose if my brother takes the throne.¡±

    The tension in my shoulders didn¡¯t release at his words, even though I knew there was an aspect of

    truth to them.

    As leaders, both of us would have the blood of our people on our hands if we failed. Thousands of people would die if Azazel seeded.

    But none of this meant I had to trust him. At that moment, I would only consider standing alongside him during the uing battle.

    This alliance was a difficult one for me to join, but I knew I had to do it for the well-being of my pack.

    Kyle had done the right thing when reaching out to Zagan Mortar. But if Zagan was truly worthy of my trust, not just my partnership, he would have to earn it. I wouldn¡¯t be giving it away just yet.

    ¡°How did Azazel get into my mind?¡± I asked, changing the subject to something useful.

    Zagan raised his brows. ¡°Which time? Just now? Or when he took control of your body two months ago?¡±

    I hated the fact that he had to ask for rification as to when a vampire had taken control of my body. ¡°Just now.¡±

    I knew how Azazel had taken control two months ago. I had ess to his thoughts. He had used ck magic the night when vampires had entered my territory, the night that changed everything.

    Azazel had practically nned out every single second. With the help of Adalee, the vampires were able to distract me and my warriors just long enough for Azazel to enter the territory unnoticed.

    When I had decided to go back to Belle,pletely alone in the forest without my pack members to help me, Azazel knew it was his opportunity to strike.

    A few days prior to this, Azazel had stolen a dark potion from a witch. Specifically made for vampires, it allowed the user to enter the mind and take over the body of any person they bit.

    All they needed to do was find a piece of the subject they wished to possess and put it in the potion. Perhaps a strand of hair or a nail.

    Chapter 2 of 59: Chapter 2

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    I was sure that Adalee helped in this part of the n as well. The vampire would then coat their fangs in the potion and bite the person they wished to control.

    Afterward, they could enter the mind of their subject and take over their body. Just like Azazel had done with me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the phrase ¡®All magices with a price¡¯?¡± Zagan started to exin.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Well, it seems as though the price that Azazel had to pay was creating a connection to you. You saw him with his army, am I correct?¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°He was preparing them for battle.¡±

    ¡°Which was a significant moment in Azazel¡¯s life, a turning point. He was creating a core memory which I¡¯m certain is why you were pulled there.

    ¡°He left a piece of his soul with you when he left your body. It¡¯s not unusual for that to happen with dark magic.¡± Zagan frowned.

    ¡°The piece of his soul that he left with you wanted to be there for the significant moment in Azazel¡¯s life, the moment when he started a war. So you appeared.¡±

    My jaw clenched at the news. I didn¡¯t want any part of Azazel in me. ¡°Will he appear for the creation of my core memories?¡±

    ¡°No. I believe the price you had to pay for participating in dark magic-whether it was voluntary or not was losing your mate.¡±

    I immediately felt my wolf and vampire surge forward at Zagan¡¯s words. I growled, showing him my fangs. ¡°I didn¡¯t lose my mate. She is mine. She will always be mine.¡±

    Zagan raised his brows in amusement, obviously not expecting my intense reaction. This only made my wolf angrier.

    I snapped my teeth at him and rolled my neck. I had to suppress the urge to shift. My wolf wanted control. He had wanted control all night.

    ¡°I meant no offense, Alpha Grayson,¡± Zagan said, watching me. His amusement was fading quickly as he seemed to realize just how serious I was about protecting my mate.

    ¡°I have never been in the presence of an alpha wolf. Forgive me if I said something to upset you. I¡¯m sure your mate is fine, and the two of you will be together soon.¡±

    My wolf calmed only slightly but stayed at the front of my consciousness. It enraged him to be reminded that we had failed to care for our mate in her time of need.

    My hands curled into fists. I had an intense urge to punch something. The moment this war was over, I would have Belle back in my arms, and everything would be okay.

    Afraid I would shift if I stayed in Zagan¡¯s presence, I grunted and walked out the door of the room, intent on finding Kyle and helping to prepare for battle.

    I could vaguely hear the sound of Zagan following behind me. I was d he didn¡¯t talk. One more word out of his mouth, and Azazel wouldn¡¯t be the only Mortar killed today.

 Chapter 64

    GRAYSON

    The training grounds-a huge plot ofnd, only a five-minute walk from the pack house-were full of werewolves.

    Most were already in wolf form. Some were fighting off in the distance, but many were in arge group, listening to Casimir speak.

    I wasn¡¯t surprised. Casimir was Zagan¡¯s second-born, a vampire prince.

    I remember sitting with my father when I was young, listening to him tell me about the Mortars and the special abilities they obtained.

    They were an exceedingly gifted family and had been this way for centuries. Depending on when they were born in rtion to their siblings, each child that was conceived had a unique role.

    As expected, the firstborn was the heir to the throne. They were born with natural leadership skills.

    The firstborn Mortar became king or queen when they came of age. Azazel had been the firstborn of his family, destined to be king.

    The second child born into the Mortar family was a warrior, strong and agile. They would take over as the head of the royal army when they came of age, leading them into battle whenever necessary.

    Casimir was the warrior of his family. This is why I wasn¡¯t surprised to see that he had taken it upon himself to lead my pack in training. It was a natural role for him.

    The third-born was the smartest, born with an incredible mind and problem-solving skills.

    Third-born Mortars were some of the most intelligent people in the world and were known for always having their noses stuck in a book.

    And then, finally, the fourth child born into the Mortar family was the n healer. They were born with magical properties in their blood that could heal any injury when it was consumed.

    Co

    They were also kind andpassionate-easy to talk to. Minnie was the fourth born of Zagan. She

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    10091% 15:30 They were also kind andpassionate-casy to talk to. Minnic was the fourth born of Zagan. She had saved my life with her blood.

    Azazel had the throne before Zagan. Together, he and his wife, Queen Cordelia, were to produce the next four Mortars meant to continue the family legacy.

    The heir, the warrior, the schr, and the healer. However, this n quickly changed when Cordelia died during childbirth, along with their firstborn and heir to the throne.

    Azazel was overtaken by grief after Cordelia died. Many believe that it was due to this grief that fate decided to pass the throne down to Zagan, his family¡¯s second-born, and warrior.

    Zagan was never meant to be king. It wasn¡¯t in his nature. Yet, he was a fair and just ruler, leading his people with a gentle yet firm hand.

    As I continued to study the scene in front of me, I noticed that Minnie was also in the group of werewolves receiving instructions from Casimir.

    She didn¡¯t seem to be listening, though, too busy studying therge wolves around her with obvious fascination.

    As if she could sense my eyes on her, her head turned to look at Zagan and me. She smiled brightly.

    In a sh, she had basically flown across therge field and was standing next to her father. He smiled down at her when she wrapped an arm around him in greeting.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they incredible?¡± she said in amazement to her father as she looked around.

    Zagan nodded in agreement, assessing the hundreds of werewolves before us. Minnie¡¯s gaze snapped to mine. ¡°I¡¯ve never actually seen a werewolf in real life, only read about them in books.

    ¡°But you guys are way cooler in person! And so strong! I couldn¡¯t believe it when I got to see one of you guys shift. Fascinating!¡±

    I nodded once in response. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to humor the overly excited vampire princess.

    We continued walking until we were in view of the entire training grounds and all of my pack members. My body tensed as I watched them. Unexpected anger and resentment surged through me.

    ¡°What color is your wolf?¡± Minnie asked me, continuing with her chattering.

    ¡°ck,¡± I grunted.

    An awkward silence overtook us, and for a moment, I thought Minnie might be done talking. But

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    Chanter 3 of 59. Chanter 2

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    *0091% 15:30 An awkward silence overtook us, and for a moment, I thought Minnie might be done talking. But then I heard her whisper to her father, ¡°He¡¯s not a very happy fellow, is he? Are we sure we want him to be king?¡±

    A growl loud enough to shake the earth left me. Everyone¡¯s heads turned to us in shock, and the werewolves dropped to their knees and bared their necks as a sign of respect and submission.

    I only saw Minnie¡¯s horror-stricken face for a second before Zagan stepped in front of her protectively. Smart.

    I wasn¡¯t usually this on edge, but with everything that had happened over thest twenty-four hours, my wolf and I felt ready to bite someone¡¯s head off. Minnic was one more smartment away from being that person.

    ¡°Minnic, why don¡¯t we go help the wolves train?¡± Zagan requested.

    I didn¡¯t hear her response. However, a secondter, I saw a blur of movement fly from behind Zagan, and Minnie¡¯s small form appeared on the other side of the field.

    Zagan nodded at me once before following her.

    I looked back at all of my pack members watching me with wide eyes, waiting to see what I would

    do next.

    I knew they were expecting me to say something, maybe give an inspiring speech to prepare them for battle. But that was thest thing I wanted to do.

    I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop myself from shifting out of blind fury. So, instead of talking, I stiffly motioned for them to continue with their training.

    I didn¡¯t even notice when Kyle started to approach me, too consumed with anger. ¡°Hey, Alpha,¡± he said warily when he was within hearing distance, taking small steps toward me.

    ¡°How

    ya doing?¡± He obviously sensed my touchy mood.

    I grunted in response.

    Kyle nodded slowly and stood next to me. He knew not to push me.

    We watched in silence as Casimir continued to direct the wolves. He began splitting them up into pairs, telling them to go attempt to fight in the ways that he had just shown them.

    Kyle sneered as he looked at Casimir in disdain. ¡°This is so not fair. The dude¡¯s taking my job.¡±

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    We watched in silence as Casimir continued to direct the wolves. He began splitting them up into pairs, telling them to go attempt to fight in the ways that he had just shown them.

    Kyle sneered as he looked at Casimir in disdain. ¡°This is so not fair. The dude¡¯s taking my job.¡±

    Kyle was usually the one to lead the pack warriors, having been the head of our army for years now. He was good at it and would continue to be the head of my armies after this war.

    I knew that Kyle understood that. He wasn¡¯t actually worried that Casimir would be taking over his position. He was just trying to lift my spirits.

    Only, he didn¡¯t understand that I wasn¡¯t in the mood for his jokes.

    ¡°He knows more about vampires than you do, Kyle. Let it go,¡± I snapped.

    Kyle¡¯s brows rose in surprise. ¡°Ouch,¡± he said.

    I didn¡¯t respond. Guilt touched me for a moment but was quickly reced with anger once again.

    After a few more minutes of silence, during which I continued to re at my pack members, Kyle spoke again. ¡°Okay, seriously, what¡¯s got your panties in a twist?¡±

    He just didn¡¯t know when to let go, did he? I growled and turned to him, baring my teeth threateningly. ¡°I mean it, Kyle. Drop it.¡±

    He raised his hands in surrender and took a step back, which was a smart thing to do. But the extent of his intelligence ended when he continued to push me, opening his mouth again to speak.

    ¡°Look, you might kill me for saying this, but I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with you, and that¡¯s fine.

    ¡°You¡¯re going through it. I get it. But whatever this is¡±-he gestured up and down to my heaving form-¡°needs to stop.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t the time for it. Your pack members are scared. They¡¯re being thrown into a war without any warning. They need their alpha, not this sulking, scary, red-eyed, giant thing you¡¯ve got going on.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I said in defeat. I was letting my emotions get the best of me.

    ¡°Really?¡± Kyle asked in shock. His disbelief didn¡¯tst long. Arge smile overtook his face. He looked very pleased with himself. ¡°I mean¡­ Of course, I am. I¡¯m always right.¡±

    Emergency calls only 2 PQ

    looked very pleased with himself. ¡°I mean¡­ Of course, I am. I¡¯m always right.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. I turned my gaze back to the several pairs of wolves, assessing them and their skills.

    Two wolves, in particr, were being especially violent with each other, snapping their teeth and trying to push the other one to the ground,

    Therger of the two wolves, Micah, was one of my best pack warriors. I¡¯d never seen anyone fight

    like him.

    ¡°You¡¯re scowling again,¡± Kyle said, I looked at him, only noticing then that he had been studying me. ¡°You look like you¡¯re about to kill someone.¡±

    I was scowling? I hadn¡¯t even noticed.

    ¡°You want to tell me what¡¯s going on or why you were looking at Micah like he just killed your puppy?¡± Kyle asked.

    I sighed. I didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but Kyle wasn¡¯t really giving me a choice. ¡°Azazel,¡± I said after a moment. ¡°He ordered all of the pack members to shun Belle.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°He didn¡¯t order me to shun her.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Because you already knew her. Azazel knew you would try to fight it. Mortars can only control actions, not emotions.¡± I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to contain my anger so I wouldn¡¯t

    shift.

    It wasn¡¯t getting harder with each passing moment that we spent talking about this. ¡°Pack members refused to talk to her and snapped at her whenever she tried to reach out.

    ¡°She was terrified of them. I felt it. She wouldn¡¯t even leave that godforsaken room where she was freezing and alone because she was too scared to see anyone. She wouldn¡¯t even leave to get food. She was starving herself.¡±

    Kyle inhaled quickly. ¡°S hit ,¡± he muttered. ¡°F uck, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t see her.¡±

    ¡°She was hiding,¡± I agreed.

    Kyle ran a hand down his face. ¡°Why didn¡¯t shee to me? S hit, why didn¡¯t she ask for help? Didn¡¯t she know I would have done anything to help her?¡±

    ¡°Azazel threatened her. He told her not to talk to you or Elijah after you had tried to help her find food. Remember that? The day you brought her into my office?¡±

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    ¡°He hit her right after and told her to stay away from you and Elijah. She was absolutely terrified. She didn¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    I could feel her emotions now, even though she was so far away. She was in pain, scared, and devastated. She was also determined to keep me out of her mind, so I couldn¡¯t figure out where she

    was.

    Usually, I could sense her overall presence and use it to pinpoint her general location. Now, though, she waspletely closed off to me.

    She had built up walls in her consciousness, and no matter how hard I tried to break them down, she didn¡¯t give in.

    Kyle looked pale. ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re ring at your pack members? Because they mistreated the luna?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I grunted. ¡°I guess so.¡±

    Kyle didn¡¯t say anything for quite some time as he processed what I had just told him.

    After a few minutes of silence, he finally said, ¡°You can¡¯t me your pack members for what happened to the luna. They didn¡¯t know what they were doing. Just like how you had no control over what you were doing.¡±

    I looked at Kyle. The idiot somehow always managed to be the voice of reason.

    Kyle gazed at the h orizon, squinting at the sun. ¡°If you¡¯re going to be angry with someone for hurting your mate, be angry with Azazel.

    for the

    ¡°He¡¯s the one who¡¯s responsible¡ªand he¡¯s on his way here right now. And you get to decide how he

    dies.¡±

 Chapter 65

    GRAYSON

    I stood stoically at the edge of the training grounds as I watched my pack members train.

    After my conversation with Kyle, I needed time to process things, so he left me alone and went to train with the others.

    Something small suddenly wrapped itself around my leg. My first instinct was to kick the thing off me, but then I looked down. It was Zoe.

    Zoe was only five years old, and one of my pack¡¯s more rambunctious

    young

    wolves.

    I wasn¡¯t surprised to see that she had somehow managed to sneak away from the pack house where all of the younger pups were supposed to be. Zoe was always finding ways to get into trouble.

    She didn¡¯t say anything as she hugged onto my leg like some sort of monkey. She simply watched the werewolves in front of us with wide eyes filled with interest.

    I always liked Zoe, and she seemed to like me. She was one of the reasons that I wanted to have

    kids.

    We formed a bond a while back as soon as she could talk and ended up spending a lot of time together.

    She would often sneak into my office and ask me what I was doing, constantly interested in pack

    affairs.

    I had a sneaking suspicion that she would be a higher-ranking member of a pack someday, maybe even an alpha.

    She showed all the signs of being a great leader-except for her disobedience and inability to follow

    orders.

    I sighed. ¡°Zoe, what are you doing here? You¡¯re supposed to be at the pack house,¡± I said, bending down to pick her up.

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    Zoe pried her gaze away from the warriors. Her brown eyes widened when she saw me. ¡°Your eyes are red,¡± she told me matter-of-factly. Her voice dropped into a whisper, ¡°You look like a demon.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but cr ack a smile. I didn¡¯t even realize that my vampire was at the surface of my consciousness, making my eyes red. It was probably due to all of the anger that I was feeling.

    I was surprised that, rather than being frightened, Zoe seemed interested in my rcd eyes. ¡°That¡¯s because I have a vampire inside of me now, just like how you have a wolf. I have both species.¡±

    Zoe nodded. ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± she said, shrugging nonchntly as if it were the most normal thing in the world. ¡°My mom told me.

    ¡°She says you are really strong because you have a vampire and that it¡¯s good to have you as an alpha. That¡¯s also why you turned into a giant!¡± She spread her arms out wide, trying to express howrge I¡¯d gotten.

    I chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I have gotten pretty big, huh?¡±

    Zoe gripped my shoulders, inspecting them. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re

    Dasically the biggest person I know.¡±

    Iughed, but before I had a chance to respond to her statement, Zoe ced her palms on either side of my face. ¡°Your beard is scratchy,¡± she said. ¡°Like my dad¡¯s.¡±

    I nodded, amused by how quickly her thoughts jumped around. ¡°Well¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hey, your mate is pretty. I saw her,¡± she interrupted.

    I immediately tensed at the mention of Belle. Zoe must have seen her sometime before she left. My wolf whimpered in my chest. ¡°Thank you,¡± I replied. ¡°I think so too.¡±

    Zoe frowned, wiping her messy brown hair out of her eyes. ¡°She was sad. That¡¯s why your wolf is sad and why you look so angry.¡±

    It was hard to believe, but this five-year-old was calling me out on my shi t right now, but here we were. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°I know. But it¡¯ll be okay because we don¡¯t have to be mean to her anymore!¡± she said excitedly, smiling at me widely. ¡°So now you can be happy, right?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Right.¡± Once I had Belle back in my arms and exined everything to her, I would be very, very happy again.

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    Content with my answer, Zoe looked back out at the people training. ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    I followed her gaze, watching the several groups of wolves fighting each other. ¡°They¡¯re training. There¡¯s a waring.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, my mom told me. But you¡¯re gonna tell them to go away, right? You can do that, right? Because your eyes turn red and stuff?¡±

    I paused, thinking about it. Was she right? Could I Azazel?

    Ce my new powers to stop the war and defeat

    ¡°If only it were that simple,¡± a voice behind us said. I turned to face Zagan.

    ¡°There¡¯s a special kind of stone that someone can put into their car that blocks out any kind ofmand thates from a Mortar. It works like an carplug.

    ¡°I have no doubt that Azazel has made sur

    that all of his warriors have them.¡±

    Zoe gasped. She cupped her hands around h o

    mouth and then put them to my ear. ¡°Did you know that¡¯s a real-life vampire, Alpha Grayson? You can tell from his teeth.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s time you return to the pack house, Zoe. Where you¡¯re supposed to be,¡± I told her. Even though I knew that Zagan wouldn¡¯t do anything to hurt Zoe, I still didn¡¯t want her around him.

    I set her down on the ground. ¡°Brent!¡± I called out to one of the pack members nearby. He was in

    front of me in an instant.

    ¡°Will you take Zoe back to the pack house? And make sure someone is looking after her, so she doesn¡¯t sneak away again.¡±

    Zoeined and fought with me for a while but eventually went with Brent in defeat.

    Zagan looked amused when I turned back to him. ¡°I would have never expected the great Alpha Grayson to have a soft spot for kids.¡±

    ¡°Is there a reason you came over here, King Zagan?¡± I asked, changing the subject. ¡°Is there something you wanted to tell me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, actually. I thought it might be a good idea to warn you before I brought an army of vampires onto your territory.¡±

    My wolf and vampire came to the surface. ¡°What?¡± I snapped.

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    Zagan jerked his chin toward the h orizon. ¡°See for yourself.¡±

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    I snapped my gaze to where he was looking, sucking in a sharp breath as I saw hundreds of vampires, all dressed in battle attire, approaching us.

    I felt a burst of wind next to me. Kyle.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Say, Alpha, are you seeing the scary group of vampires approaching us? Or is that just me?¡± he asked. ¡°They¡¯re definitely not the army of newborns we¡¯re preparing for.¡±

    They had to be the royal army. ¡°Care to exin?¡± I asked Zagan.

    Zagan smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t think I was going to leave you and your pack on your own, did you? It¡¯s my brother we¡¯re about to fight. Therefore, it¡¯s my battle just as much as it is yours.

    ¡°And I have a perfectly good army just waiting to be used.¡± In a sh, Zagan was on the other side of the field, meeting the leader of the army and who I could only assume to be his firstborn son.

    Kyleughed. ¡°Well, s hit. This is gonna be interesting.¡±

    ***

    Another hour of training passed by in a blur.

    Casimir continued to lead my pack members, running them through different drills and scenarios to ensure they would be prepared for any sort of trick that a newborn vampire could pull on them.

    Only, now, in addition, we had real vampires fighting with us. Zagan¡¯s army was well-trained and lethal.

    After the initial shock of seeing thousands of vampires just waltzing onto my territory, it became clear just how useful these vampires would be during the battle. I was grateful to have them here..

    I watched from afar during most of the training, assessing the different skills of all my warriors.

    Under normal circumstances, my pack army consisted of thergest, strongest pack members, both male and female.

    However, due to the severity of the uing war, almost every single able-bodied wolf over the age of eighteen had volunteered to be here and was working their as s off for the sake of the pack.

    People came and went for breaks or to get food, but for the most part, we had spent the entire day

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    training. I had never been more proud of my pack in my entire life.

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    I eventually joined them in training, wanting to test out my own fighting skills, especially now that I had a new vampire species inside me. I was surprised by how casily the movements came back to

    me.

    I hadn¡¯t exactly had a lot of time to train over thest few months. Even though I had already been an exceptional fighter before, I found myself moving faster than ever.

    It felt as though I was moving in slow motion, although I knew I was really moving so quickly that I was basically a blur in the wind. Each one of my actions was graceful and well thought out.

    I had always enjoyed training and testing my skills. Even now, I put all of the anger and aggression I had been feeling over thest few months into the training exercises.

    It helped that, although I tried to stop it, my mind was filled with thoughts of Belle.

    I expected the constant images of her that were running through my head to be distracting, but they weren¡¯t; they did the opposite. They helped me.

    Seeing her beautiful face in my mind fueled my anger toward Azazel and made me fight harder.

    None of my pack members stood a chance against me, even when I was fighting over ten of them at a time. Neither did the vampires.

    The new strength that I held, thanks to the vampire within me, was unbelievable. I was basically unstoppable.

    ¡°All right, Alpha,¡± Kyle said to me right after I had simultaneously taken down three of the best warriors in our army. He approached me with a look of determination in his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±

    I raised a brow, feeling an amused smile take over my face. ¡°You want to fight me?¡±

    Kyle shrugged and then turned his head to cr ack his neck, getting into a proper fighting stance. ¡°Yeah. I can see how big your head is getting. I think you need to be taken down a few notches.¡±

    Iughed. ¡°And you think you¡¯ll be the person to do that?¡±

    ¡°I am the only other hybrid here, aren¡¯t I?¡± Kyle replied.

    I nodded. ¡°Fair enough.¡± I got into my fighting stance. ¡°Let me know if you need to tap out, Beta.¡±

    Kyleughed, rolling his shoulders back. ¡°Fat chance.¡±

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    I nodded. ¡°Fair enough.¡± I got into my fighting stance. ¡°Let me know if you need fo

    Kyleughed, rolling his shoulders back. ¡°Eat chance.¡±

    tap out, Beta?

    ¡°Alpha!¡± someone¡¯s frantic voice called out from behind us, Interrupting Kyle¡¯s and my battle right before we started. One of my pack members was sprinting toward us, eyes wide in panic.

    I was off in a second, meeting him halfway across the field.

    ¡°The n of Azazel,¡± he panted. ¡°I saw them. Just over the h orizon. They¡¯ll be here soon.¡±

    The group around us turned silent, all looking at me to see what to do next.

    I nodded once. ¡°Then it¡¯s time. You all know what to do.¡±

    Everyone around us fled in a nervous flutter, all preparing for battle.

    ¡°You ready?¡± I addressed Kyle.

    He wasn¡¯t looking at me. His gaze was glued to something in the distance, his eyes narrowed im confusion. ¡°Elijah?¡± he asked.

    I followed his gaze. Sure enough, Elijah was walking toward us. My heart immediately dropped. No. no, no, no. He was supposed to be with Belle! What the hell was he doing here?

    Both Kyle and I took off running. Kyle got to Elijah first, hugging him to his body and inspecting him to see if he was hurt.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± Kyle yelled at his mate. ¡°The battle is about to start!¡± He looked over his shoulder to see our pack members and Zagan¡¯s army lining up in preparation.

    We couldn¡¯t see the n of Azazel yet, but I had no doubt that would change very soon.

    Elijah nced at me nervously. ¡°Um¡­,¡± he started.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Belle?¡± I demanded. ¡°Why the f uck aren¡¯t you with her?¡±

    Kyle growled, tugging Elijah closer to him.

    ¡°I-I looked everywhere, Alpha. I promise,¡± Elijah tried to exin. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find her.¡±

    I stepped forward threateningly, about ready to murder everyone in sight. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I

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    confusion. ¡°Elijah?¡± he asked.

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    I followed his gaze. Sure enough, Elijah was walking toward us. My heart immediately dropped. No, no, no, no. He was supposed to be with Belle! What the hell was he doing here?

    Both Kyle and I took off running. Kyle got to Elijah first, hugging him to his body and inspecting him to see if he was hurt.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± Kyle yelled at his mate. ¡°The battle is about to start!¡± He looked over his shoulder to see our pack members and Zagan¡¯s army lining up in preparation.

    We couldn¡¯t see the n of Azazel yet, but I had no doubt that would change very soon.

    Elijah nced at me nervously. ¡°Um¡­,¡± he started.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Belle?¡± I demanded. ¡°Why the f uck aren¡¯t you with her?¡±

    Kyle growled, tugging Elijah closer to him.

    ¡°I-I looked everywhere, Alpha. I promise,¡± Elijah tried to exin. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find her.¡±

    I stepped forward threateningly, about ready to murder everyone in sight. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I growled out.

    ¡°She¡¯s not in Minneapolis,¡± Elijah continued. ¡°She left hours ago, based on her scent.¡±

    I could hear the sound of pounding footsteps in the distance and knew it was the n of Azazel approaching us. ¡°Then where the hell is my mate?¡±

 Chapter 66

    GRAYSON

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Alpha,¡± Elijah continued. ¡°I followed her scent as far as I could. It stopped at a bus stop.¡±

    ¡°F uck,¡± Kyle said. ¡°F uck, that means she could be anywhere.¡±

    I looked to the h orizon where the n of Azazel was approaching quickly, hundreds of vampires looking for blood.

    I was torn part of me wanted to protect my pack, to go fight with them and lead them, but the

    find other part-perhaps the bigger part-wanted, needed, to go

    my mate.

    I wasn¡¯t anything without her.

    ¡°Alpha?¡± Elijah asked. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    I knew I didn¡¯t have an option. My voice came out gruff and deep-more wolf than man. ¡°Shift. We have some vampires to fight.¡±

    We didn¡¯t approach the army of Azazel. Instead, we let theme to us.

    It felt like they were moving in slow motion even though they were sprinting toward us, looking rabid and bloodthirsty, snarling and baring their fangs.

    I was sure it was meant to look intimidating, but it only made them look messy and untrained. Azazel didn¡¯t know how to lead an army-not in the same way his brother did.

    My pack, along with Casimir¡¯s army of vampires, stood in the field, their stance stiff and prepared for the violence we knew was toe.

    I stood at the front of the pack, in wolf form, Kyle at my side. A chorus of low growls rang behind

    me.

    My wolf was the most furious of all. He wanted revenge-revenge in the form of broken bones, spilled blood, and torn flesh.

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    All of his instincts were telling him to take out his fury and worry for his mate on Azazel, determined that he would not live to see the morning.

    My vampire was at the surface as well, ready for a fight. I had no doubt my eyes were a dark red with the presence of both creatures.

    I was still getting used to having both inside of me and the new strength that came with them.

    I was by far the biggest wolf here-the only other one who could even somewhatpare being Kyle, who was still significantly smaller.

    I was confident in my new skills and knew that when it came down to a fight between Azazel and me, I would win without any difficulty.

    But Azazel was known for his cowardice. Even now, he wasn¡¯t at the front of his army like you would expect a leader to be.

    He was hiding behind his army, just as I predicted he would be. But that wouldn¡¯t stop me from finding him. He was nearby; his scent was in the air.

    His blood would be on my hands by the end of the night. Of that, I was sure.

    Azazel¡¯s army was close now, so close that their scent of blood and sweat was nearly suffocating. My pack started stepping forward. We wouldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    And then the fight began.

    Everything happened so fast. We shed together-wolves and vampires mming into one another with such intensity that I was sure it could have been heard from across therge field.

    It didn¡¯t take long for people to start falling.

    I took vampires down one by one easily and with efficiency. One bite to their neck was all it took for their heads to be off their shoulders and rolling on the ground.

    I had no mercy for these creatures that were only created to kill and wreak havoc, who were standing between Azazel and me.

    I worked my way through the crowd, knowing I would find Azazel at the back of it, looking over the destruction and mayhem he created.

    I was a man possessed, fueled by anger and the need for revenge. The death of Azazel¡¯s n meant nothing to me.

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    Howling sounded behind me. I knew immediately what it meant. Kyle was trying to get my attention. It was the only thing that was able to interrupt my concentration.

    I looked behind me, trying to locate Kyle, when a vampire threw himself at me, mping its teeth into my neck. I growled and threw him off me just as another vampire bit into my leg.

    I kicked her off with case, my fury only growing. I was outside of the throng now, no one around

    me.

    Kyle howled again in the distance. My eyes found him fighting directly in the middle of the battle.

    As if he could sense my attention on me, I heard him speak into my mind. ¡°Are you seeing what I um?¡± he asked me.

    I looked around, my eyes scanning the crowd. ¡°What?¡±

    He jerked his head toward the pack grounds. ¡°There¡¯s something stopping Azazel¡¯s clun from entering pack territory.¡±

    I looked behind him, suddenly noticing exactly what he was talking about, although it was hard to pick out. It seemed as though a giant, glimmering dome was spanning over packnds.

    Several wolves and vampires were standing on one side of it, snarling at the vampires on the other side. I narrowed my eyes at them, frowning.

    Were they hiding behind the protective field instead of fighting?

    Then one of Azazel¡¯s vampires-a younger boy, no older than seventeen or eighteen-raced toward them, obviously looking for a fight, but as soon as he came in contact with the barely visible wall, he fell to the ground.

    He screamed in agony and rolled around for a few seconds, twitching as if he had been electrocuted and fighting what seemed to be an intense pain before he eventually stopped.

    Dead. He was dead.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± I asked Kyle.

    There was a protective field around the pack for keeping outsiders out, but this was much different than that. That field didn¡¯t kill-it only stopped unwanted guests.

    Several more vampires raced toward the field without thinking, focused on attacking the few that were standing on the other side, only to meet the same fate as their friend.

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    Their screaming was louder than anyone else¡¯s, ringing in my cars with its intensity as soon as they touched the field. Then it suddenly made sense.

    The pack members standing on the other side weren¡¯t hiding or being cowards; they were using the deadly field as a way to kill Azazel¡¯s n. They were pouring them into the force field like bugs to a

    moth catcher.

    Little by little, more of my pack began to notice what was happening and took action. They entered the shimmering dome with ease-some dragging themselves and others to get to the other side.

    Azazel¡¯s n didn¡¯t catch on so quickly. The new vampires were young, untrained, and starving for

    blood.

    They were desperate for a fight and willing to do anything to sink their fangs into something with blood, whether a wolf or another vampire. Some were attacking each other.

    I knew this bloodlust was meant to work to Azazel¡¯s advantage. It didn¡¯t matter who they were killing as long as they were rabid enough to take down my army in the process.

    But as more and more of my army started to retreat behind the deadly force field, Azazel¡¯s vampires started to attack each other.

    They were killing each other-ripping each other¡¯s throats out, running into the force field. Azazel¡¯s army wasn¡¯t going tost much longer.

    Kyle knew what to do without me telling him. His voice filled my mind, yelling at the pack members to go behind the force field.

    It didn¡¯t take long for Casimir to catch on or start yelling at his army members to get behind the

    force field.

    We were going to win this battle. But I hadn¡¯t gotten what I wanted.

    I looked back at the trees, scanning them for any sign of Azazel. I knew he was out there, hiding in the shadows. I also knew he wasn¡¯t going toe out.

    He was losing. There was no way around it. His army was dwindling with every passing second. Azazel knew it, too¡ªhe knew there was nothing he could do to prevent his defeat.

    He was panicking, cowering in the shadows.

    It didn¡¯t matter, though. I was going to find him. I was going to hunt him down and make him pay

    for what he did.

    ¡°Alpha?¡± Kyle spoke in my mind. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    I growled, sprinting to the tree line. I knew Azazel was out there. I could sense him nearby, could practically smell his fear.

    My bloodlust grew to an all-time high as my wolf took over, my instincts telling me to avenge my

    matc.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to find that motherfucker, and I¡¯m gonna rip him to shreds,¡± I said.

 Chapter 67

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    BELLE

    Evergreen, Maine, the town¡¯s sign had read. The most delightful ce on Earth.

    Yeah, delightful my a ss.

    I was sitting on the bench on the side of the road, watching people as they walked past. My suitcase sat next to me on one side, and my backpack sat on the other. Why the hell had Ie here?

    This was never my n. In fact, I hadn¡¯t nned to go anywhere, really. When I got on a Greyhound bus back in Minnesota, I had no idea where I was going to end up.

    All I knew was I wanted to get as far away from Grayson and my old life as possible. And I had done exactly that.

    I¡¯d sat on that bus for hours upon hours, watching as we passed through city after city-state after state. I¡¯d switched buses whenever we got to a new station, always choosing to go north.

    I¡¯d gone as far north as I could without crossing into Canada until, finally, I¡¯d ended up where I was now, in a small town in Maine, as far away from the bad memories as I could possibly be.

    Evergreen was beautiful and quaint. It was also a tourist destination-a nice one geared toward rich families looking to spend their vacation on the coast.

    Its main street, where all the shops and restaurants were located, looked out over the Antic Ocean.

    And if you turned to face the opposite direction, there were mountains and a huge, fancy ski resort that I was sure was extremely busy during the winter.

    The beaches were filled with tourists tanning and swimming, basking in the hot summer sun.

    In the main part of town, the shops were all uniform, spanning either side of the streets, luring people in with their beautiful window disys and expensive items.

    Streetlights lit the scenic cobblestone roads, and everyone seemed to know everybody else. I passed families and smiling faces everywhere I went.

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    At first, I considered myself lucky to have ended up here. This was the sort of town that I could really see myself settling down in, starting a whole new life where no one could find me.

    I felt like Lori Gilmore, stepping into Stars Hollow for the first time, ready to break away from my toxic past.

    But after spending nearly an entire day here, I quickly realized that Evergreen was nothing like Stars Hollow.

    Sure, the town looked like it was straight out of a Hallmark movie, but the locals would¡¯ve been better suited to participate in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

    The only way I could think to describe them was¡­ strunge. It was like they somehow knew I wasn¡¯t some other tourist they could suck money from.

    They stared at me as I passed as if I were some sort of zoo animal out on the loose in their picturesque town.

    I kept hearing them whisper behind my back, and when I turned to look at them, they would look away quickly, acting like they hadn¡¯t been watching and talking about me.

    It felt like my every move was being watched as I walked down the street, and I didn¡¯t know how to

    feel about it.

    I knew I looked out of ce.

    I was wearing the same old, wrinkly clothes I had been wearing when I left Grayson, my hair could definitely have used a good brushing, and my face was still healing from Grayson breaking my cheekbone several weeks ago.

    Okay, so out of ce maybe wasn¡¯t the best way to describe my current state¡­ I was a hot mess. I might as well have had ¡°Just escaped an abusive rtionship¡± written across my forehead.

    Based on the looks I was getting from the locals, you would¡¯ve assumed I had three heads or something.

    My priority today had been getting a job. So far, however, that was not going too well. Every time I walked into a shop, restaurant, or business of any kind, the employees started acting weird around

    me.

    Most evaded my questions, while others turned me away without even giving me a chance to speak. Some people even avoided me altogether as if they had seen mee in and assumed I had the gue.

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    It didn¡¯t matter, though. They could stare all they wanted. I had decided that I was here now, and I was going to make the best of it. I deserved to settle down in a town as nice as this.

    I deserved to have a good life, one where I didn¡¯t think of Grayson every two seconds. And as much as I tried to make that happen, I was beginning to realize that that was casier said than done.

    The harder I tried to push him and the memories of what he had done to me out of my head, the stronger they seemed to invade my mind.

    It was almost as if I were incapable of thinking of anything other than my ex-mate, the man who ripped my heart out of my chest and tore it into a million pieces.

    The pain was the worst part. My entire body ached.

    My muscles felt like I had just run an entire marathon without any previous training and then

    verge of kept on going even after finishing, pushing my body beyond its limit until I was on the copsing.

    My feet dragged with every step I took, and my shoulders slumped from exhaustion.

    Grayson¡¯s mark on my neck burned like it had when he had first given it to me all those months ago, and I had locked myself away in a hotel room in order to stay away from him.

    It seemed to have be infected, too, bing red and blotchy.

    I knew it was only going to get worse. I wasn¡¯t sure how I knew this, but I could tell that it was our mate bond trying to push us together again.

    It didn¡¯t understand that Grayson was no longer my mate, that he had chosen to be with someone

    else over me.

    And that he had made me fall in love with him, only to destroy me in the most painful way possible and throw my love back in my face.

    But as bad as all that was, none of it waspared to the pounding inside my head. Before this, I had never been one to get headaches.

    Every once in a while, I would experience a dull ache when I was about to get my period, but it was never anything like this.

    I had first felt it back on the bus leaving Minnesota; the pain had been sudden and piercing, making me double over due to its intensity.

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    It felt like a wild animal was thrashing around in my brain, tearing at the walls of myof

    ws, trying to get free.

    with its

    I had been tempted to stab something sharp into my head just to relieve the pressure. It had to be the worst migraine in the history of the world.

    The pain in my head came in waves, never leaving but asionally getting more intense, making my eyesight go blurry and the mark on my neck burn as if it were on fire.

    The only thing to do was grit my teeth and try to get through it.

    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was Grayson¡¯s way of punishing me.

    Because although he had mated with someone else, although I had felt the pain that had almost killed me, indicating he had officially given me up, I still felt this strange connection to him.

    But here¡¯s the thing: I had let him go. I had blocked him out of my mind and had done everything I could to ensure he was no longer connected.

    So it wasn¡¯t me that was keeping us bonded together. It was Grayson.

    This made me furious. He didn¡¯t want me. He¡¯d made that perfectly clear.

    During the time I¡¯d lived with him, he¡¯d only spoken to me to tell me what an inconvenience I was or when he was trying to force me into having sex with him.

    I was nothing more than a tool to him, a way for him to gain more power. He had never actually

    cared for me.

    And, yet, he was trying to break into my mind. It reminded me of the feeling I felt when we were in Paris, and I had run away from him to see my mother. He had found me so quickly.

    It had to have been because of this connection we shared between us. And when I had left him back in Minnesota, I made sure he couldn¡¯t see into my mind as he had before.

    I honestly didn¡¯t think he would care. But I had this strange feeling that this overwhelming, horrible, intense headache I was experiencing was Grayson trying to keep tabs on me.

    Was that what this was? He wanted to know where I was and what I was doing just in case he decided he did actually want me?

    Yeah, well, f uck that. Under no circumstances was I going to let him back into my mind.

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    The worst part in all of this was¡­ I loved him. He had made me love him. He had used falsepliments and empty promises of a life with him that had seemed like something out of a fairy

    tale.

    It was that love that made me want to look past his ws and the way he had treated me and¡­ go running back to him. Yep, that¡¯s right, despite all the horrible things he had done to me, I still wanted to be with him.

    I kept wondering if I had made the right decision in leaving him, trying to convince myself that he hadn¡¯t treated me that badly.

    That staying in that freezing cold room in the basement and being shunned by everyone around me, even my own soulmate, would be worth it if I got to be even a little bit closer to him.

    I wanted to forgive him.

    ¤¿

    But I couldn¡¯t-wouldn¡¯t do that. Although it made me feel like I was going against my very nature, I knew I had to be done with him.

    I deserved better. When it came down to it, we both did. Grayson deserved better than staying with someone he didn¡¯t actually like being around, who he only wanted so he could be more powerful.

    And me¨CI deserved better than pining after a man who would never see me as anything more than a body to warm his bed.

    He made me question my worth. He made me question if I was deserving of love. And I hated that. I hated that he made me think of all the people in my life who I had pushed away, who had left me.

    My mother had left me to go create a new family in a fantastic new country, far, far father and me. She had never liked being my mom. She resented me for some reason.

    My father had died of cancer, leaving me all on my own.

    away

    from my

    And even though I knew it wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault, some part of me still wondered if I had just worked a little bit harder to buy him the medicine he needed¡­

    If I had just spent a little bit more time with him in the hospital instead of hanging out with friends after school, would he still be alive today? Would I still have my dad?

    Even Kyle and Elijah-two people who hade to mean a lot to me over the past few months- had left me in the end.

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    I had tried reminding myself that it wasn¡¯t their fault. I knew they would have stayed with me if given the choice. But still, when it came down to it, they had chosen their alpha over me.

    And, finally, there was Grayson. I wasn¡¯t even good enough for my own soulmate. G od, if he couldn¡¯t see past my ws enough to love me, who would?

    As much as I tried to stop myself from thinking this way, tried convincing myself that all of those people left for their own reasons and that it had nothing to do with me, I just couldn¡¯t.

    It was hard not to dig through my memories and analyze every possible thing I could have done

    wrong.

    It made me want to scream. And cry. Thest few days had, admittedly, been one gigantic pity party.

    Why hadn¡¯t I been good enough? Why did everyone I cared about leave me? What did I do to make Grayson hate me so much?

    I hated that Grayson had caused me to think this way.

    He made me feel like all of my self-worth was dependent on what other people thought of me when, in reality, the only person¡¯s love that I needed was my own.

    I would be the one to see past my ws. I would be the one to love myself¡­even when memories of Grayson telling me I wasn¡¯t good enough made it feel nearly impossible.

    So, yeah, he could pound on the inside of my skull as much as he wanted. I was never going to let him in. I was on my own now. And that¡¯s the way I wanted it.

 Chapter 68

    BELLE

    ¡°I¡¯m a really fast learner, and I never get sick,¡± I told the woman behind the front counter of the cute little boutique. ¡°And I could start as soon as possible, even right now, if you wanted.¡±

    The nice-looking shopkeeper-Loretta, her name tag said-was studying me with a sympathetic

    gaze.

    I could feel her eyes sweep over my dirty clothes and unkempt hair before finally settling on the bruise spanning the left side of my

    face.

    19

    I knew I must have looked extremely out of ce in the pristine boutique. Loretta was dressed head to toe in name brands, with red, manicured nails.

    There wasn¡¯t a single piece of hair out of ce on her blonde head, which framed her heart-shaped face perfectly. She looked expensive. Mature. Beautiful. She looked like she actually belonged in

    this town.

    I was nervous when I first entered the shop. I wasn¡¯t expecting to get a job. I¡¯m sure all of Loretta¡¯s employees were just like her-well dressed, with their lives together.

    I wasn¡¯t any of those things. But I was desperate.

    Loretta hesitated a moment before replying and smiling regretfully. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, darling. I would love to interview you, but we¡¯re just not looking to hire anyone new right now.¡±

    I nced behind me at the front door, and the ¡°Now Hiring¡± sign it was sporting. It was the only reason I hade into the small boutique.

    Loretta followed my gaze. ¡°We filled the position this morning,¡± she exined hurriedly.

    The hope that had been swirling around in my chest quickly dissolved.

    ¡°But I would be happy to take your information and let you know if anything opens up,¡± Loretta continued. She tried smiling again.

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    I appreciated her kindness and the fact that she was trying to offer me somefort even though we both knew I didn¡¯t stand a chance.

    I nodded. ¡°Okay. I would appreciate that. Thank you.¡±

    This had to have been the fourth or fifth business I had gone into today, seeking employment. I needed a job, and I needed one as soon as possible.

    At least Loretta was kind to me instead of quickly hurrying me back onto the streets as the other shopkeepers had done.

    I could tell she was a good person. She seemed genuinely sad she couldn¡¯t help me.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna be very honest with you, honey,¡± she continued right before I was about to head for the

    exit.

    She nced around quickly as if to ensure no one could hear what she was about to say.

    The only other person that had been in the shop with us, an older woman with a very expensive-looking bag thrown over her shoulder, had just left. So we werepletely alone now.

    ¡°I would love to hire you,¡± Loretta rushed to say. ¡°I want to help you. I can tell that you could use a break. But I can¡¯t.¡±

    She hesitated, her hands fidgeting in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re not going to be able to get a job in this town. We¡¯re not allowed to hire outsiders.¡±

    My brows shot up. ¡°Outsiders?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin, but¡­ This is a tight-knitmunity. And the head of ourmunity needs to approve of everyone who is allowed in.¡±

    ¡°The head of themunity? Like the mayor or something?¡±

    ¡°I suppose, yes. Our mayor.¡±

    ¡°So I have to go talk to the mayor before I can get a job here?¡±

    She sighed. ¡°Well, no, not exactly. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to get any job anywhere in Evergreen. No one will hire you.¡±

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    I didn¡¯t understand what she meant. I had never heard of a city only allowing business owners to hire

    locals.

    All I knew was that I was tired. And overwhelmed. And in a lot of pain. I didn¡¯t have the m ental capacity to understand what she was telling me. I didn¡¯t even want to try.

    I was d she told me, though. This way, I wouldn¡¯t continue to make a fool out of myself by interviewing for jobs that I didn¡¯t have a chance of getting.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said slowly. ¡°Do you know if the next town over has the same crazy rules?¡±

    ¡°Woodhurst?¡± Loretta asked. ¡°No. They don¡¯t. But I wouldn¡¯t go there if I were you.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s run down. And there¡¯s a lot of crime. It¡¯s just not a nice ce to be.¡±

    The corners of my lips turned up. ¡°I grew up in Minneapolis. I think I can handle a small town in

    Maine.¡±

    Loretta looked concerned. She studied me, her brows tugging together in worry. But she didn¡¯t say anything else.

    ¡°Thank you for your help. And for telling me about the whole job thing.¡± I gripped the strap of my backpack and grabbed the handle of my suitcase.

    I started to make my way over to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll get out of your hair now.¡±

    Loretta stopped me right before I left. ¡°Hold on, darling,¡± she called out.

    I paused and turned to look at her. She rounded the counter, approaching me with hesitancy in her

    steps.

    ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you?¡± she asked.

    I frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    She nced around us. ¡°I just don¡¯t feel good about sending you out into the cold, especially in your

    state.¡±

    I shifted my weight, feeling ufortable and a little bit embarrassed. I didn¡¯t look that bad, did I?

    ¡°Are you running from someone?¡± she continued in a low voice. ¡°Perhaps the person who put that

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    bruise on your face?¡±

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    My difort grew as I took a step back. I couldn¡¯t believe a perfect stranger was asking me this.

    I appreciated her desire to help, but thest thing I wanted to do was talk about what I had gone through with my old mate.

    Even just thinking about Grayson made my chest squeeze painfully, sucking all the breath out of my lungs. My mark burned on my neck, and I winced.

    ¡°Oh, my darling girl,¡± Loretta said, obviously noticing my reaction. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    The pain faded a bit after a few seconds, and I was able to breathe once again. I brushed my hair out of my face, my hands shaking. Exhaustion coursed through my veins.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m okay.¡± I let out a deep sigh. ¡°I mean¡­I¡¯m going to be okay.¡±

    Loretta didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?¡±

    I didn¡¯t. But I wasn¡¯t going to tell her that.

    In all honesty, I didn¡¯t want her help. In my experience, people say they¡¯re going to be there for you and then stab you in the back the moment you start to trust them.

    Humans are inherently selfish. I promised myself I would do things on my own. I needed to build myself up again without relying on anybody else. That was the only way I would survive this.

    ¡°Yes. I have a ce to stay tonight,¡± I told Loretta, my tone firm.

    Her eyes narrowed a bit. It was clear she didn¡¯t believe me. It didn¡¯t matter, though. There wasn¡¯t anything she could do about it.

    ¡°I should get going,¡± I said before she could continue to question me.

    ¡°Hold on a second.¡± Loretta hurried back behind the counter. She grabbed a sticky note and a pen, writing something on it.

    ¡°This is my cell When she was done, she approached me once again. She handed me the paper. number. If you ever need anything, anything at all, don¡¯t hesitate to call me or the boutique.¡±

    I looked down at her phone number and then back at her. I didn¡¯t understand why she was so eager to help me. What was she hoping to get out of it?

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    In all honesty, I didn¡¯t want her help. In my experience, people say they¡¯re going to be there for you and then stab you in the back the moment you start to trust them.

    Humans are inherently selfish. I promised myself I would do things on my own. I needed to build myself up again without relying on anybody else. That was the only way I would survive this.

    ¡°Yes. I have a ce to stay tonight,¡± I told Loretta, my tone firm.

    Her eyes narrowed a bit. It was clear she didn¡¯t believe me. It didn¡¯t matter, though. There wasn¡¯t anything she could do about it.

    ¡°I should get going,¡± I said before she could continue to question me.

    ¡°Hold on a second.¡± Loretta hurried back behind the counter. She grabbed a sticky note and a pen,

    writing something on it.

    my cell

    When she was done, she approached me once again. She handed me the paper. ¡°This is number. If you ever need anything, anything at all, don¡¯t hesitate to call me or the boutique.¡±

    I looked down at her phone number and then back at her. I didn¡¯t understand why she was so eager to help me. What was she hoping to get out of it?

    I put the piece of paper in the pocket of my coat, knowing I would never look at it or think about it again. Besides, I didn¡¯t even have a phone. ¡°Uh, thanks. I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    Loretta nodded and smiled once again. She still seemed worried, looking over my form warily and wringing her fingers in front of her.

    ¡°Thanks again,¡± I said. Then I pushed the front door open and left.

    I threw the phone number away in the nearest trash can.

 Chapter 69

    BELLE

    After leaving Loretta¡¯s boutique, I wandered the streets a bit more, not caring how ridiculous I must have looked as I lugged my suitcase behind me, turning heads everywhere I went.

    I was beyond the point of exhaustion now and was barely able to think.

    I wanted nothing more than to take a shower, put on some fresh clothes, and curl up in bed, sleeping until I couldn¡¯t possibly sleep any longer.

    Unfortunately though, that wasn¡¯t a possibility at the moment.

    I had been hoping to get a hotel room for the night, assuming a town that was only able to thrive due to the money of rich tourists would have some options for ces to stay.

    You can imagine my surprise when none of the hotels I passed by had any vacancies. I had no idea why some random small town in Maine was so popr to visit in the middle of March, but I guessed it was the ce to be.

    So, once again, I found myself on a bench on the side of the road, lying down with my backpack underneath my head, trying to breathe through all the stress and pain I was currently battling.

    I had no money, no job, and no ce to stay, and the pounding in my head only seemed to be getting

    worse.

    Yeah, my life sucked.

    And what was worse, I missed Grayson. Even though thousands of miles separated us, I still felt this cosmic connection to him, like there was an invisible string tying us together.

    I couldn¡¯t get that stu pid bu tthead, as shole, jerk face out of my mind.

    I put my hand over the mark on my neck, groaning and squeezing my eyes shut when it red with white-hot pain. Everything was a mess.

    I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t even notice when a car rolled to a stop in front of Chapter 8 of 59: Chapter 8

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    me.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    I jumped, my head snapping up. I winced when a fresh wave of dizziness hit me.

    I met the eyes of a guy who seemed to be about my age. He was driving a red jeep and leaning out of the open window, smirking down at me. A girl was sitting next to him in the passenger¡¯s seat, ring at him.

    ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to scare you,¡± the boy continued. ¡°Just couldn¡¯t help but notice how lonely you looked sitting on that bus bench all by yourself. Had to stop and see if you wanted somepany.¡±

    The girl next to him scoffed and rolled her eyes, obviously finding his poor attempt at flirting as pathetic as I had.

    He ignored her and continued to watch me, his charming smile growing wider with every passing second. He was very handsome, and the expression on his face told me he knew it.

    He had short, curly brown hair and honey-brown skin. His jawline was sharp, and his facial features were symmetrical and undeniably pleasing to look at.

    Then there were his eyes, a warm hazel color with flecks of gold and green that reminded me of the

    forest.

    He looked like the type of person who could be sessful based on their looks alone rather

    than their talents or skills.

    The girl next to him looked extremely simr, making me wonder if they were somehow rted. She had the same hair. Only hers was twisted into long braids that cascaded down her shoulders.

    She had the same eyes and the same angr facial features.

    The only difference I could find between the two-besides their gender, of course-was that she had a small button nose, while the boy had a long, pointed one. Both were gorgeous, though, that was for sure.

    I sat up, trying to fix my appearance a bit. Before I could say anything, however, the girl groaned. ¡°Liam,e on! If we¡¯rete for dinner again, Dad is going to kill us!¡± she said under her breath.

    So they were rted. I me ntally congratted myself on my perceptiveness.

    Without looking back at her, Liam, the boy, swatted his hand behind him dismissively. His gaze focused back on me, running up and down my body in one long, appreciative take.

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    I couldn¡¯t help but shrink back, immediately wishing I were anywhere else.

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    ¡°You¡¯re not leaving town so soon, are you?¡± Liam asked, motioning to the bus stop I was sitting at. ¡°You just got here.¡±

    My guard immediately went up. How did he know I had just gotten here? Had he been watching me?

    The girl smacked her brother hard on the back of the head.

    ¡°Ow!¡± Liam shouted, finally looking at her. ¡°What the hell was that for?¡±

    ¡°You sound like a stalker,¡± she told him, exasperated.

    She looked at me, offering a kind but tight smile. ¡°Word travels fast around here. We all heard about the pretty brte, walking around town, trying to find a job.¡±

    I felt my face heat up. The entire town had been watching me fail at getting a job all day?

    ¡°You¡¯re not leaving, though, right?¡± Liam asked. He was starting to sound a little desperate. He was obviously interested in me.

    I would have been ttered if I hadn¡¯t just recently sworn off men for the rest of my life.

    ¡°No. Not yet, anyway. Maybe tomorrow, though,¡± I muttered. I would have to move on if I couldn¡¯t find a job here, which was starting to look like a real possibility.

    So much for believing I deserved to settle down in a ce as nice as this, right?

    Liam¡¯s brows furrowed, obviously not liking my answer. He leaned forward, ready to speak, but his sister cut him off before he could.

    ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± she said, aggressively pushing Liam¡¯s back against his seat so she could see me better. Liam red at her. ¡°We have to go now. It was nice talking to you. Drive the car, Liam.¡±

    He made no move to do as he was told. ¡°Let me know if you change your mind about the whole leaving town thing. I could show you around,¡± Liam told me, his grin growing again.

    I nodded awkwardly, pursing my lips. ¡°Uh, thanks.¡±

    ¡°Great, now let¡¯s go,¡± the girl snapped.

    Liam rolled his eyes. ¡°Hold on a sec, would ya? I haven¡¯t even given her my number yet.¡±

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    10088% 15:40

    The girl looked like she was about to chop his head off, her perfect skin beginning to show signs of redness underneath.

    ¡°Uh, there¡¯s really no need,¡± I intervened. ¡°I don¡¯t have a phone, so giving me your number would be kind of useless.¡±

    Liam¡¯s brows rose. ¡°No phone?¡± he asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of dangerous? What if some stranger tries something on you, and you need to call for help?¡±

    I shrugged. The thought had urred to me on more than one asion, but there wasn¡¯t much I could do about it. No money meant no way to buy a phone.

    ¡°I guess I should probably avoid making small talk with strangers then, huh?¡± I proposed, raising my brows at him in a challenge,

    ¡°You know, that¡¯s a great idea,¡± Liam¡¯s sister said. ¡°We¡¯ll leave you alone and be on our way. No more strangers in your path.¡±

    Liam leaned forward,pletely ignoring her. ¡°You know¡­that whole stranger thing can be taken care of real quick, beautiful.¡±

    The girl faked a gag, whispering, ¡°Puh-lease,¡± under her breath.

    ¡°Uh¡­,¡± I managed to say, not sure how to respond. Not many guys had hit on me before. I didn¡¯t know what the proper protocol was. Was there a right way to turn someone down?

    ¡°I¡¯m Liam ckwood, and this is my twin sister La,¡± he continued before I could respond.

    ¡°Once you tell me your name, we won¡¯t be strangers anymore, now will we? Then we can talk for as long as we want without having to worry.¡±

    ¡°No, we cannot!¡± his twin, La, yelled. ¡°I refuse to let this trainwreck go on any longer! She¡¯s obviously not interested in you, dude, so, please, move on.

    ¡°We have ces to be and a very angry dad to deal with. And guess what? You better believe I¡¯m ming this whole fiasco on you.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to listen to Dad give you a lecture on the importance of time management for the whole meal, and you¡¯re not gonna get any sympathy from me because this one is all on you, bud.

    ¡°We would have been on time if you hadn¡¯t spent forever looking at yourself in the mirror before we left.

    Emergency calls only M

    ¡°And then you prove, yet again, that you are only capable of thinking with your penis and have to stop to talk to the pretty new girl in town even though you know we weren¡¯t even supposed to be talking to her in the first ce.

    ¡°So I suggest you get your as s in gear and drive the f ucking car before I push you out onto the street and leave without you!¡±

    La¡¯s breathing was hard, and her cheeks were tinged with red. Liam, however, looked bored with

    her rant.

    It was bing clear that this sort of bickering was a regr urrence between the two of them.

    He stared at her for a few seconds. ¡°You done?¡± he asked.

    La¡¯s jaw clenched, her entire form stiff with anger.

    Liam looked back at me and smiled casually. ¡°You know, I think there are some people out there who could really take advantage of therapy. Or anger management.¡±

    He red back at La, who gave him a look of disbelief, throwing her arms up in defeat.

    She leaned back in her seat. ¡°I give up. Do whatever you want.¡±

    Liam turned to me again. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie to you, new girl. I don¡¯t feel great about leaving you out here on your own with no way to call for help if you need it.¡±

    I looked around us. There weren¡¯t many people on the streets now that it was getting dark, but those who were still out and about seemed like the least threatening people in the world.

    It was mostly just families and happy-looking couples. I raised a brow. ¡°Is your town known for its crime or something? I¡¯m not really getting that vibe.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be surprised, actually,¡± he said. I couldn¡¯t help but notice the way a muscle jumped in his jaw. ¡°Do you have a ce to stay tonight?¡±

    I immediately nodded, confused as to why so many people seemed to care what was going on with me. Where I came from, and I think in most cases, people minded their own business. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good.¡±

    He eyed my suitcase and dirty clothes. ¡°All right, well, on the off-chance that your ns fall through, there¡¯s a bed and breakfast around the corner that usually has vacancies.

    ¡°Tell them Liam ckwood sent you, and they should be able to set you up for the night.¡±

    My chest filled with hope at his words. ¡°Really?¡± Then, realizing I had basically just given myself up as a liar with no ce to stay, I quickly continued. ¡°I mean, uh, thanks, but I¡¯m sure that won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    Liam reached into his pocket and pulled out some sort of wrapper, writing something down on it with a pen he had in his car. He handed it to me.

    ¡°There should also be a phone there that you could use. Call me if you run into any trouble.¡±

    I looked down at the phone number in my hands. I was starting to have d¨¦j¨¤ vu, reminded of the interaction I had had with Loretta this morning.

    I tried giving Liam a smile, stashing the number in my pocket. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Liam didn¡¯t look so convinced. In fact, he looked more concerned than he had before. After a few more seconds, however, his gaze moved from me to the watch on his wrist.

    ¡°Hmm, you know what?¡± he said, pressing his tongue into the inside of his cheek. ¡°I think we¡¯re going to bete for dinner. La, why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±

    He shook his head, looking back at me with a feigned, exasperated expression. ¡°I have to do everything around here. It was nice meeting ya, new girl.¡± He put the car into drive.

    ¡°Uh, yeah, you too,¡± I replied.

    As they drove away, I watched as La¡¯s silhouette through the back window of his car continuously smacked Liam on the head with more aggression than I would have expected from someone so small.

    I had to hold back augh. I could still hear them yelling at each other as their car drove out of view.

 Chapter 70

    BELLE

    ¡°Nine hundred dors?¡± I demanded. ¡°For one night?¡±

    The smilingdy behind the counter of the bed and breakfast that Liam had rmended to me nodded. ¡°This is a very nice establishment.¡±

    It was also the only ce with any vacancy in this godforsaken town. It was just great that it cost an arm and a leg to sleep here.

    ¡°Are the sheets threaded with gold or something?¡± I asked.

    The woman¡¯s kind expression turned harsh in a matter of seconds.

    ¡°No,¡± she snapped back. ¡°But each room has two king-size beds, views of the ocean, a personal jacuzzi, ess to the beach, and aplimentary breakfast every morning.¡±

    ¡°Is there any sort of exception that can be made? Can I make a tab and pay you back when I have the money?¡±

    I hated the idea of owing anyone, but I had no other choice. ¡°Please, I have nowhere else to stay.¡±

    ¡°Afraid not, dear,¡± the woman responded, her tone feigning sympathy. I watched her study my appearance with distaste, stopping at my bruised cheek and then at my stained clothes.

    Her nose even scrunched up. ¡°There¡¯s a motel about an hour¡¯s drive from here that¡¯s a bit cheaper if you¡¯d like to try your luck there.¡±

    That would be great if I had any way of getting there. When I told her as much, she just shrugged and turned away, obviously done with the conversation. I sighed.

    ¡°Would it make any difference if I said Liam ckwood sent me?¡±

    That got the woman¡¯s attention. She turned back to me, surprise painted on her face. ¡°Liam ckwood? He told you toe here?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°One second, Let me make a phone call.¡±

    The woman disappeared behind a door that must have led to an office. She returned a minute or twoter, her lips pursed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the owner does not think it would be a good idea for you to stay here despite your

    connection to his son.¡±

    It suddenly made sense. ckwood¡¯s Bed and Breakfast. ckwood-as in Liam ckwood, Liam¡¯s family owned the ce.

    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to have to ask you to leave,¡± the woman continued.

    I bit my lip, feeling my chest tighten and my unwanted tears. I gave the woman one more pleading look, which was only met with a scowl that told me, under no circumstances, was she going to budge.

    Having no other choice, I turned on my heel and trudged out of the bed and breakfast.

    Once outside, a fresh and unexpected wave of pain hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately dropped my suitcase and backpack, doubling over and gritting my teeth to hold back a scream.

    This was the worst it had ever gotten.

    The painsted about a minute. I could feel Grayson¡¯s presence in my head, pushing at my consciousness, trying to break into my mind so that he could no doubt torment me some more.

    I cried out when he pushed again, almost breaking down my walls. Why was he doing this? Why did he push to stay connected to me?

    Was he really that cruel? So cruel that he would deliberately cause me more pain after rejecting me and putting me through hell?

    If he thought I was going to let him take any part of my life after all he had done, he had another thinging.

    I just wanted him to leave me alone. Why wouldn¡¯t he do that?

    Eventually, I was able to grab my things and stumble over to the side of the bed and breakfast. I leaned against the building, slowly slipping down the wall until my butt met the

    grass.

    Emergency cane

    I sucked in decp, calming breaths, shutting my eyes tightly and willing myself not to cry. It didn¡¯t work. I couldn¡¯t stop the tears from flowing.

    And just when I thought things couldn¡¯t get any worse, it started to rain. I looked up, greining loudly. Of course¡­ Just my luck.

    Not knowing what else to do, I brought my legs up to my chest and stuffed my face into my bony knee, letting my crying overtake my body.

    ¡°Hey, new girl!¡± a familiar voice abruptly yelled. I jumped, my head flying up. ¡°What are you doing

    out in the rain?¡±

    Liam. Liam, the boy from earlier, was approaching me, his hand raised over his eyes to protect them from the rain.

    I wanted to scream at him to leave me alone. I didn¡¯t want him to see me like this, and I definitely didn¡¯t want the help I knew he would try to offer.

    But I just couldn¡¯t seem to make my mouth work. I couldn¡¯t form the words.

    Liam paused when he got closer, clearly seeing my pained expression and tears. His face softened.

    ¡°Hey,¡± he said gently. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I nodded, fixing my wet hair. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I whispered. I hated how broken my voice sounded.

    Liam didn¡¯t say anything for a few seconds. I could practically feel the pity rolling off of him.

    The pain in my head was finally starting to lessen. I sighed deeply.

    ¡°I¡¯m really fine,¡± I repeated. ¡°You can go. Get out of the rain.¡±

    Liam stuffed his hands in his pockets, never taking his eyes off me. ¡°Can I give you a ride somewhere? I¡¯d rather not leave you out here by yourself.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for someone to pick me up,¡± I lied. ¡°She¡¯ll be here any minute now.

    ¡°Oh, okay. Do you mind if I ask who she is?¡±

    I shut my eyes, not wanting to do this right now. ¡°A childhood friend,¡± I replied without thinking.

    ¡°Sarah.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Sarah.¡± Liam said, nodding. ¡°Sarah who? Sarah Martin? Sarah Paige? Sarah Lewis?¡±

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    I had to hold back a groan. Stu pid small towns where everybody knows each other.

    ¡°Sarah Lewis,¡± I replied curtly.

    Liam¡¯s brows rose in amusement, ¡°Your childhood best friend is a 95-year-old woman with Alzheimer¡¯s?¡±

    Sh it.

    ¡°Oh. 1, uh¡­¡±

    Without saying another word, Liam crouched down in front of me. There was a moment of silence. ¡°So the bed and breakfast didn¡¯t work out, huh?¡±

    I was suddenly very d that it was dark out. If not, I¡¯m sure Liam would be witnessing my face turn as red as a tomato. I shook my head silently.

    ¡°Did you try telling them I sent you?¡±

    I nodded once.

    ¡°Sh it,¡± Liam said, running a hand through his wet, curly hair in frustration. His eyshes and skin were sprinkled with drops of rain. He was bingpletely drenched.

    ¡°So¡­you got nowhere to stay tonight, then? And before you respond, I want you to know that there¡¯s no judgment from me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know your situation-I can just make assumptions based on the information you¡¯ve presented me with.

    ¡°You¡¯re sitting outside the only ce you could stay for the night, your suitcase next to you, crying in the rain by yourself¡­¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m genuinely not trying to offend you. I just want to make sure that somewhere warm to sleep tonight.¡±

    you

    have

    ¡°I have somewhere to stay,¡± I said firmly.

    I knew deep down that Liam meant well. He was trying to help me, but I truly didn¡¯t want it. I didn¡¯ trust him or his charming smile.

    I wanted this conversation to be over so that I could go back to being miserable alone.

    Liam licked his lips ¡°Do you mind if Lask where? I could give you a ride.¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I replied quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Liam nodded, seemingly epting my answer. I thought that he would leave me alone. But then Liam sat his butt down on the wet grass right in front of me. He looked at me expectantly.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked after an awkward moment of silence passed.

    Liam shrugged. ¡°Waiting.¡±

    ¡°For¡­?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting until I know you have somewhere safe to sleep tonight,¡± he replied nonchntly.

    ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re notfortable sharing that information with me just yet. Usually, I would respect your wishes and leave you be.

    ¡°However, I sort of feel as though it is my moral obligation to make sure you don¡¯t end sitting out in the freezing rain all night, in a strange town where you know no one.

    ¡°So I¡¯m gonna sit here until you tell me where you n on sleeping tonight.¡±

    I crossed my arms over my chest. ¡°And if I refuse to tell you?¡±

    up alone,

    Liam leaned back on the palms of his hands and stuck his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll both be out here all night.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to answer. My stubborn side wasing out, reminding me of the promise I had made to myself before I came here. I was done putting my well-being in the hands of others.

    So instead of answering, I ignored him and set my forehead back down on my knees. I would just wait him out. It wasn¡¯t like I had anywhere else to be.

    A few minutes passed, and I found my mind wandering, thinking about my other options. I could get back on a bus and try to get some sleep while it took me somewhere else.

    At least I would be in the rain then. Or I could just start walking and hope I found a bridge or

    something.

    ¡°You know¡­,¡± Liam said, pulling me out of my thoughts. ¡°I have an extra bed back at my apartment. You could stay there for the night. It would be no problem.¡±

    ¡°No, thank you,¡± I replied, not even looking up at him. ¡°I don¡¯t stay over at strangers¡¯ houses.¡±

    Liam scoffed. ¡°You afraid I¡¯m going to murder you or something? Do I look like a serial killer to Chapter 9 of 59: Chapter 9

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    I didn¡¯t know how to answer. My stubborn side wasing out, reminding me of the promise I had made to myself before I came here. I was done putting my well-being in the hands of others.

    So instead of answering, I ignored him and set my forehead back down on my knees. I would just wait him out. It wasn¡¯t like I had anywhere else to be.

    A few minutes passed, and I found my mind wandering, thinking about my other options. I could get back on a bus and try to get some sleep while it took me somewhere else.

    At least I would be in the rain then. Or I could just start walking and hope I found a bridge or something.

    ¡°You know¡­,¡± Liam said, pulling me out of my thoughts. ¡°I have an extra bed back at my apartment. You could stay there for the night. It would be no problem.¡±

    ¡°No, thank you,¡± I replied, not even looking up at him. ¡°I don¡¯t stay over at strangers¡¯ houses.¡±

    Liam scoffed. ¡°You afraid I¡¯m going to murder you or something? Do I look like a serial killer to you?¡±

    I nced up at him. He didn¡¯t look like a serial killer. But then again, neither did Ted Bundy until he killed upward of twenty girls.

    ¡°I¡¯m not staying at your ce. I barely know you. I¡¯m not dumb.¡±

    ¡°I never said you were dumb.¡± Liam frowned. ¡°Look, it would be much better than sleeping out here.¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask my sister to sleep over if that would make you feel better. Then you won¡¯t be alone with me. She passed out in my car on the way back to her ce. I was going to drop her off at her apartment, but-¡±

    ¡°I appreciate your offer,¡± I said, cutting him off, ¡°but I promise you I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m a big girl. I can take care of myself.¡±

    Liam studied me for a long while. My jaw clenched. ¡°What now?¡± I snapped.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ You¡¯ve been through some s hit,¡± he responded. It wasn¡¯t a question. His kind, non-judgmental tone made me wish I could sink into the brick wall behind me.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious. You¡¯re closed off because someone hurt vou. And you¡¯re stubborn as hell. I can Chapter 9 of 59: Chapter 9

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    take care of myself.¡±

    Liam studied me for a long while. My jaw clenched. ¡°What now?¡± I snapped.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that¡­ You¡¯ve been through some sh it,¡± he responded. It wasn¡¯t a question. His kind, non-judgmental tone made me wish I could sink into the brick wall behind me.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious. You¡¯re closed off because someone hurt you. And you¡¯re stubborn as hell. I can see how those two things would create a major issue with trusting people.

    ¡°You want to do things on your own, prove you can take care of yourself without anyone¡¯s help. I get that. I¡¯ve been there too.

    ¡°But you should know that part of taking care of yourself is epting help when you need it.¡±

    I tried to ignore the sense in his words. It was an extremely difficult thing to do.

    I kept my gaze on my hands while I swallowed down some tears.

    ¡°I promised myself I would be more independent when I got away,¡± I finally whispered.

    Liam stood, offering his hand to me. ¡°C¡¯mon. You can be independent from my ce.¡±

    When I continued to hesitate, Liam rolled his eyes and forcefully grabbed my arm. Before I knew what was happening, I was being tugged to my feet, stumbling forward.

    ¡°There¡¯s no shame in epting help,¡± Liam reminded me as I regained my bnce and red up at him. My world spun briefly, reminding me that I still hadn¡¯t eaten yet today.

    Before I could protest, he grabbed my suitcase in one hand and slung my backpack over his shoulder. ¡°Especially when that someone has good intentions and is extremely good-looking.¡±

    He winked before walking away with my things.

    I raced after him, quickly swiping my suitcase from his hands and pulling my backpack away from

    him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch my things,¡± I told him with a scowl. ¡°And don¡¯t get any ideas. Just because I¡¯m staying at your house for the night doesn¡¯t mean anything is happening between us. Keep it in your pants, buddy.¡±

    Liamughed and raised his hands in surrender as I continued to follow him to where I assumed his

    car was located.

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    buddy.¡±

    Liamughed and raised his hands in surrender as I continued to follow him to where I assumed his car was located.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that you¡¯ve finally epted my invitation,¡± he said with a charming smile I¡¯m sure would normally make girls swoon.

    ¡°And I have no expectations for tonight.¡± He leaned down, so his mouth was near my ear, his breath fanning my hair. ¡°Do you?¡±

    My stomach churned. An image of Grayson¡¯s face shed through my mind, and the pain in my

    skin. neck worsened, burning as though someone had just put a scalding hot iron to my

    I gasped and grabbed Grayson¡¯s mark. I stumbled away from Liam, hoping space between us would lessen the terrible pain.

    Was this how it would be every time a boy hit on me? I would think of Grayson and be consumed with pain?

    Liam¡¯s steps faltered. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± All the humor was gone from his tone. ¡°What¡¯s that on your neck?¡±

    Forcing myself to regainposure, I slowly straightened and adjusted the cor of my shirt so that Grayson¡¯s mark was no longer visible. I swallowed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    My words came out harsher than I had meant, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to feel guilty. It was none of his business.

    Thankfully, Liam didn¡¯t ask any more questions. We approached his car-which was parked just down the street-in awkward silence.

    After putting my stuff in his trunk, Liam opened the door for me, motioning for me to get in. I looked inside, hesitating. His sister, La, was fast asleep in the passenger seat.

    I nced back at Liam.

    He smiled. ¡°She¡¯s a deep sleeper. Don¡¯t worry.¡± He motioned for me to get in once more before walking around the front of the truck to the driver¡¯s side and sliding in.

    When I still didn¡¯t move, he turned and raised a brow at me.

    Trying not to think about it too hard, I got in and shut the door.

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    101087% 15:44 Liam¡¯s steps faltered. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± All the humor was gone from his tone. ¡°What¡¯s that on your neck?¡±

    Forcing myself to regainposure, I slowly straightened and adjusted the cor of my shirt so that Grayson¡¯s mark was no longer visible. I swallowed. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t worry about it ¡±

    My words came out harsher than I had meant, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to feel guilty. It was none

    of his business.

    Thankfully, Liam didn¡¯t ask any more questions. We approached his car-which was parked just down the street-in awkward silence.

    After putting my stuff in his trunk, Liam opened the door for me, motioning for me to get in. I looked inside, hesitating. His sister, La, was fast asleep in the passenger seat.

    I nced back at Liam.

    He smiled. ¡°She¡¯s a deep sleeper. Don¡¯t worry.¡± He motioned for me to get in once more before walking around the front of the truck to the driver¡¯s side and sliding in.

    When I still didn¡¯t move, he turned and raised a brow at me.

    Trying not to think about it too hard, I got in and shut the door.

 Chapter 71

    BELLE

    Liam had shaken La awake after we had pulled into the parking garage of his apartment building. She was confused but didn¡¯t argue when Liam asked her to stay the night on my ount.

    She was so tired that when we made our way into his apartment, she immediately plopped down on the living room couch and fell back asleep.

    I walked through his apartment in awe. ¡°You live here alone?¡± I asked.

    His ce was nice-very nice. It was huge, with a full kitchen and arge living room and dining

    room.

    To my left was a long hallway that I assumed led to multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. I couldn¡¯t help but notice this did not look like the home of a twenty-something-year-old.

    It was too neat, too mature, and way too big for one person. It also didn¡¯t evade my attention that Liam had pressed the button for the top floor when we were in the elevator.

    He lived in the penthouse, his living room facing out over an incredible ocean view.

    Liam sighed. ¡°I know. It makes me look like a rich as shole.¡±

    ¡°No! No, that¡¯s not what I meant,¡± I rambled out quickly, pulling my eyes from the incredible view to meet his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± I looked around again. ¡°It¡¯s kind of ¡±

    ¡°Big. And fancy,¡± Liam finished for me. I was surprised to see a frown on his lips as he also examined his apartment. ¡°I didn¡¯t pick it. My dad got me this apartment for my eighteenth birthday.¡±

    That made me pause. Exactly how much money did this dude¡¯s family have?

    ¡°Wow. Eighteen,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of a p in the face? ¡®Happy birthday, son. Move

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    out.¡¯

    Liam tried to smile; it didn¡¯t quite reach his eyes. ¡°Eighteen wasn¡¯t soon enough if you ask me. I would have gotten out of his house years before if I could have.¡±

    I suddenly felt bad for having brought the subject up. There were obviously some touchy feelings surrounding Liam and his dad.

    Trying to move the attention to something else, I said, ¡°Well, where do you want me? I would sleep on the couch, but it looks like it¡¯s already upied.¡±

    1 smiled at La, who was drooling all over Liam¡¯s nice leather sectional.

    ¡°I have a guest room that you can stay in. Follow me,¡± Liam replied.

    The room he led me to was just as nice as the rest of the ce. It had a queen-size bed, a dresser with a TV on top, and a closet.

    It was decorated in neutral colors, all grays, whites, and blues, and had floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the beach. It even had its own bathroom.

    ¡°Wow,¡± I breathed. ¡°This is amazing.¡±

    Liam nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked ufortable. ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s all yours.¡±

    Just standing in this pristine room was starting to make me feel incredibly inadequate in my dirty clothes. I hadn¡¯t even taken a shower since leaving Grayson.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay with a stranger staying in your extremely nice apartment?¡±

    ¡°I insist. Just don¡¯t steal or break anything, and we¡¯re good.¡± He eyed me, grinning. ¡°You seem like the stealing and breaking type.¡±

    I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Thank you,

    Liam. Seriously. You have no idea what a lifesaver you are.¡±

    Liam smiled softly. ¡°No need to thank me. I¡¯m always happy to help out a damsel in distress.¡±

    I hated that he could call me that and that it actually applied and made sense. Thest thing I wanted was to be dependent on someone else.

    ¡°Do you need anything? Soap? Toothbrush?¡± Liam asked.

    ¡°Some soap and shampoo would be great if you have it.¡± I set my stuff down on the floor at the foot

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    of the bed.

    3

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    Being in this pristine room made me realize just how dirty I was. I hadn¡¯t had the opportunity or motivation to shower since leaving Grayson. ¡°Is it okay if I use your shower?¡±

    Liam nodded. ¡°Of course. Can I get you some ibuprofen too?¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Besides the fact that you have a ck eye and keep holding the side of your neck like someone stabbed you in your carotid?¡±

    My face heated. I hadn¡¯t realized I had been that bad at hiding the fact that I was in pain.

    ¡°Um, okay,¡± I said. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Any time,¡± Liam replied as he walked to the door.

    ¡°Hey, Liam?¡± I asked him right before he left.

    He turned to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m Belle, by the way.¡±

    His lips turned up. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Belle.¡±

    ***

    I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

    And then the dreams started.

    I was in a field of red poppies, the wind rustling my hair and the long, white dress I was wearing. It was peaceful here¡­serene.

    But for some reason, I wasn¡¯t calm. I was on edge, my heart fluttering frantically against my rib cage like a captive bird. Something felt¡­off.

    I whirled around, searching, although I wasn¡¯t sure what for. All I could see were poppies, an ocean of red and green. They were everywhere, surrounding me and traveling far past the h orizon.

    Clouds rolled over the sky, nketing the sun and making everything suddenly very dark. I could

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    I whirled around, searching, although I wasn¡¯t sure what for. All I could see were poppies, an an of red and green. They were everywhere, surrounding me and traveling far past the h orizon.

    Clouds rolled over the sky, nketing the sun and making everything suddenly very dark. I could barely see ten feet in front of me.

    My panic grew, forcing me to run forward, pushing flowers out of my way as I tried to find my way out of the overwhelming sea of poppies.

    But no matter how far I ran, I was stuck, trapped in this never-ending field.

    Movement caught my eye. I turned. Two small lights were glowing bright red in the distance, nearly blending in with the flowers. They were low to the ground and moving closer to me.

    I squinted, trying to make out what they were through the darkness, but it was nearly impossible.

    I took a step forward. Then two and three. Something was pushing me closer to the moving lights. I had to know what they were. They were getting brighter and easier to see in the pitch-ck darkness.

    It was about ten feet away from me now. I realized with a start that the red lights weren¡¯t actually lights at all. They were eyes. And they were connected to a low-roaming beast. A wolf.

    Panic speared the walls of my throat and clogged my windpipe. I recognized this wolf. It was huge -nearly the size of a horse and covered in thick midnight ck hair. It was Grayson¡¯s wolf.

    I should have foundfort in that fact. Even when Grayson was horrible to me, his wolf was not. His wolf had always wanted me, always cared for me.

    However, if his dark-red eyes and prowling, evil mannerisms were any indicators, this was not the wolf I remembered.

    It bared its teeth at me, growling deeply, keeping low to the ground, never taking its eyes off of me.

    Grayson¡¯s wolf was hunting me.

    Without another thought, I turned and began running in the opposite direction. I stumbled over flowers and the bottom of my long dress in a panicked sprint.

    The pollen of the surrounding poppies traveled up my nose, congesting my lungs to the point that it nearly felt like I couldn¡¯t breathe.

    I looked over my shoulder, my heart beating in a blur against my rib cage when I saw Grayson

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    $10087% 15:46

    I looked over my shoulder, my heart beating in a blur against my rib cage when I saw Grayson chasing after me, staring me down with his determined, malicious blood-red eyes.

    I had no doubt he was going to catch me¨Cand soon. He was toying with me right now, allowing me to run ahead even though we both knew he was more than capable of reaching me whenever he

    wanted.

    Was his n to tire me out? Or maybe he was enjoying making a game out of me?

    My abrupt feet got caught in the flowers, causing me to stumble and fall to the ground. I let out a shrick of terror.

    I turned onto my back and watched in horror as the wolf stood on its hind legs and then started to morph into something else. His bones cracked, and the skin of his face stretched and tore open.

    Within seconds, a human was standing over me. Grayson was looking down at me with a natural grin, one that took up his entire face.

    His eyes

    still burned red, unlike the usual deep green or ck I had be so ustomed to.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I gasped. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± I wasn¡¯t even sure what I was begging for.

    6

    His smile only grew at the sound of my whimpering voice. And that¡¯s when I noticed them. There were long, pointed fangs peeking out from underneath his curved top lip.

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape me, Belle,¡± he said. The voice wasn¡¯t his own; it was wispier and sounded more like one long hiss.

    He pounced on me.

    I woke up screaming. My entire body was shaking and covered head to toe in dripping sweat. My heart pounded rapidly in my chest. I couldn¡¯t see anything.

    Was I still in the field? Was Grayson here to kill me?

    My mark was burning so hard I could have sworn it was on fire, and my head was pounding as if someone was repeatedly hitting the inside of my skull with a hammer. My stomach rolled, filled with nausea.

    My muscles ached.

    Suddenly, the door to the room flew open. Liam came running in, followed closely by La.

    ¡°Belle!¡± Liam yelled. I could tell he had just woken up. He was wearing only pajama bottoms and

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    ¡°Belle!¡± Liam yelled. I could tell he had just woken up. He was wearing only pajama bottoms and had an rmed, befuddled look on his face as if he had been shocked awake.

    ¡°Hey, hey, you¡¯re okay! It was just a dream! It¡¯s okay!¡±

    I realized that I was still screaming. But I couldn¡¯t stop. The intense terror coursing through my body made it impossible. My lungs begged for air that I was incapable of giving them.

    When Liam tried to approach me, I screamed louder, pressing my body back against the headboard in an effort to get away from him.

    Someone grabbed my hand. La was on the other side of the bed from Liam, looking down at me with wide eyes.

    When I tried to pull my hand away from her, she just held on tighter, then ced it over her chest so I could feel her heart beating beneath my palm.

    My eyes met her golden brown ones. My screaming faltered.

    ¡°Breathe,¡± she whispered. She took in a deep breath as if to demonstrate, her chest rising and falling under my hand. ¡°You¡¯re safe, Belle. No one is going to hurt you. Just breathe.¡±

    I listened. Air filled my h o arse throat and traveled to my grateful lungs.

    ¡°Good,¡± La said calmly. She continued to breathe with me, grounding me once again.

    My mind cleared until I remembered where I was and what I was doing here. I was at Liam¡¯s apartment, thousands of miles away from Grayson. Grayson wasn¡¯t here. He couldn¡¯t hurt me. It was all just a dream.

    After a few more moments, I was finally calm enough to speak. I looked from La to Liam. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry,¡± I whispered. I wiped at the tears that were streaming down my face. ¡°Bad dream.¡±

    Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Then Laughed under her breath. She sat down on the edge of the bed. ¡°Are you okay now?¡±

    I nodded, running a hand through my messy hair. I couldn¡¯t help but wince at the pounding in my head. ¡°I¡¯m okay. I-I¡¯m really sorry to have woken you guys.¡±

    I nced out the window. It was still extremely dark out. ¡°What time is it?¡±

    La pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. ¡°It¡¯s three in the morning.¡±

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    M

    I winced. I was a terrible house guest. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, you guys.¡±

    ¡°You have nothing to be sorry for¨C¡±

    ¡°What the f uck was that?¡± Liam asked me, interrupting his sister and shocking me with the abruptness of his question. ¡°I thought you were being murdered or something. Has anything like that happened before?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No, never. I¡­I think it was just a dream, but it felt so¡­real.¡±

    ¡°It was a night terror,¡± La exined. ¡°They can feel really real. They¡¯re usually a sign that a person has been through trauma.¡±

    Both of them looked at me expectantly, obviously expecting some sort of exnation. As if I was going to walk them through my traumatic past in the middle of the night.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay now, I promise,¡± I said instead. ¡°I¡¯m honestly just more embarrassed than anything else. Really, I feel awful I woke

    you

    both up. You

    guys should go

    back to sleep.¡±

    They exchanged worried nces.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Liam asked. ¡°You¡¯re clutching your neck again.¡±

    I dropped my hand from Grayson¡¯s mark. I hadn¡¯t even realized I had been holding on to it.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said once again, setting my hand down at my side.

    ¡°Do you want one of us to stay here with you?¡± Liam asked me. ¡°In case something like that happens again?¡±

    La nodded. ¡°I would be happy to stay here with you, Belle.¡±

    My cheeks reddened. I was starting to feel like a little kid who was afraid of the dark. ¡°I think you guys have done enough for me already, but I appreciate the offer. I¡¯ll be fine sleeping on my own.¡¯

    It only took a little bit more convincing before they both begrudgingly agreed to leave me alone and warily started to leave the room.

    Liam paused in the doorway, looking back at me. ¡°I¡¯m right down the hall if you need anything, okay?¡±

    I nodded, giving him the best smile I could manage. ¡°Okay. Thanks.¡±

    He nodded once, then pursed his lips. ¡°You want me to turn off the light?¡±

    Emergency calls only

    I was about to say yes but hesitated. ¡°Would it be okay if we left it on?¡± I asked. So maybe I was a

    little kid afraid of the dark.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Liam replied, taking his hand off the switch. ¡°Goodnight.¡±

    ¡°Goodnight.¡±

    He gave me onest worried nce before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

    As Iid my head back down on my pillow, Grayson¡¯s words from my dream ran through my head over and over again.

    No way I thought to myself. ¡°You can¡¯t escape me, Belle.¡±~

    ***

    I got up extremely early the next morning. Unsurprisingly, I hadn¡¯t been able to fall asleep again after my nightmarest night.

    The entire night had been spent tossing and turning, trying to get Grayson¡¯s face and voice out of my head. It was like he was haunting me.

    I knew he wouldugh if he could see me. He would find joy in the pain and turmoil he was still causing me.

    Every horrible thing he said to me, every lie he had ever told me, kept ying in my mind on

    repeat.

    What did I do in my past life to get stuck with you? I didn¡¯t even realize how pathetic a human could be until I met you.

    Can you not do anything right, you f ucking bit ch?

    The only reason alphus want their mates is for the power they give them. You are here to bring me pleasure and power. That¡¯s it.

    And worst of all, ¡°I am physically incapable of causing you pain.¡±

    What a lie.

    Pushing those thoughts away, I quickly got up and made the bed. I couldn¡¯t just lie around anymore. As exhausted as I was, I had to get up and get moving. I had to go find a job and a ce to stay

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    tonight.

    3

    It had to be around five in the morning. Hopefully, Liam and La were still sleeping, so I could just leave them a note and sneak out of here without causing them any more trouble.

    Once my backpack and suitcase were packed, I quietly made my way out of my bedroom and into the living room. I was wary of the fact that La was probably still asleep on the living room couch.

    I paused when I looked at the couch and saw it was empty.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± a voice said.

    I jumped and let out an embarrassingly high-pitched screech. I whirled around,ing face to face with La. She was leaning on the kitchen ind, a mug of something steaming in her hand.

    Her lips turned up in a smile. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to scare you,¡± she said.

    I let out a held breath and nced to the hallway I had juste from, hoping I didn¡¯t wake up Liam with my scream.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± La said, following my line of vision. ¡°Liam won¡¯t be awake for at least three more hours.¡±

    I shifted my weight uneasily, feeling awkward. ¡°I was actually just leaving.¡± I pulled my backpack

    shoulders. straps tighter around

    ¡°Would you tell your

    nightmare thing.¡±

    my

    brother thanks for letting me stay here? And sorry again about the whole¡­

    La waved a dismissive hand. ¡°What¡¯s the rush?¡± She walked over to one of the cabs and took out another mug. ¡°Do you like coffee? I¡¯m sure you could use it after the night you had.¡±

    I watched her uneasily. Coffee did sound good, but I had already decided to catch the earliest bus out of there so I could continue my job hunt. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I should really get going.¡±

    Acting as if I hadn¡¯t said anything at all, La grabbed the coffee pot and filled the mug up to the brim. She nced at me. ¡°You need a job, right?¡± ¨C

    My brows tugged together. Had she read my mind? ¡°Uh¡­yeah.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck.¡± She pushed the cup of coffee across the ind so it was in front of me. ¡°There¡¯s this diner just outside of town that I know for a fact is in need of a new ¡®waitress.

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    *10087% 15:47

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the guy who owns it is kind of a jerk, but it could be what you¡¯re looking Interested?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked. I took a step forward, my heart beating anxiously in my chest. ¡°That would be incredible. How did you hear about it?¡±

    ¡°Liam and I eat there a lot. It¡¯s one of the only ces around here that our dad doesn¡¯t own. We go there to get away from watchful eyes and listening cars.¡±

    ¡°So your dad owns basically all of Evergreen, then?¡±

    La nodded, taking another sip of her coffee. Her eyes looked far away. ¡°Everything and everyone, it feels like.¡±

    I hesitated. ¡°Is he like¡­the mayor or something?¡±

    She looked back at me. ¡°Basically, yeah. Might as well be.¡±

    So he was the reason I couldn¡¯t get a job in Evergreen. ¡°Well, thanks for telling me about the job. You have no idea how much that helps me out.¡±

    La leaned back on the counter behind her. ¡°d to help.¡± She smiled sweetly. ¡°I can drive you thereter today if you want. I have nothing else going on.

    ¡°We might want to wait an hour or two, though. I don¡¯t know what time it opens.¡±

    I finally joined her at the ind, sitting on one of the stools. I wrapped my hands around the mug. ¡°I would love that. Thank you. Truly.¡±

    Feeling a bit more rxed now that I had somewhat of a n, I let myself take a sip of coffee.

    La studied me for a few seconds before her smile grew. ¡°It¡¯s nice to hang out with you, Belle,¡± she said softly.

    I was starting to reallyprehend just how opposite La and her brother were. Liam was loud and energetic, whereas La was quiet and calm. They bnced each other out.

    I smiled back. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nice to hang out with you.¡±.

    ¡°You know,¡± La continued, leaning her elbows on the counter in front of her, her mug still in her hands, ¡°now that we know you¡¯ll probably be staying nearby, I would love it if we could be friends.¡±

    ¡°Friends?¡± I repeated. I had never had a girlfriend before. I had never really had any friends before.

    Emergency calls only M

    *087% 15:47 ¡°Friends?¡± I repeated. I had never had a girlfriend before. I had never really had any friends before. Not since I was little. I hadn¡¯t had the time after my dad got sick.

    ¡°Yeah, if you want. Everyone in this town is either boring or a two-faced liar.¡± She wrinkled her nose. ¡°Or they got out of here and went somewhere better. Unfortunately, I¡¯m stuck here. Liam too.¡±

    ¡°Stuck here? Are you kidding?¡± I nced around the incredible apartment that had been provided by her obviously very rich father and out the living room window overlooking the absolutely incredible

    view.

    ¡°Evergreen is beautiful. I would love to live here.¡±

    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s not as amazing as it seems. It might look like this incredible getaway on the outside, but on the inside¡­¡±

    She shook her head as if she were trying to clear away a bad memory. ¡°Just¡­not everything is as it seems around here.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± I whispered. ¡°Well¡­anything is better than the ce I came from.¡±

    I could feel the way La¡¯s gaze traveled over therge fading bruise that was still taking over half of my face.

    ¡°Yeah, I bet.¡±

    I expected her to ask more questions but was extremely grateful when she didn¡¯t push. Instead, she walked over to a kitchen cab next to the sink, grabbed some ibuprofen, and handed it to me.

    She didn¡¯t ask if I wanted it. Just simply handed it over, followed by a ss of water.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I murmured. I didn¡¯t argue before swallowing the pills.

    We spent the next hour or so chatting. I learned that La and Liam were basically like royalty in Evergreen. The ckwoods were the hierarchy, and their dad was the king.

    La didn¡¯t act like royalty, though. In fact, it seemed like she didn¡¯t really enjoy talking about her father or all the money her family had, just like Liam.

    She was extremely nice. She made me feelfortable and never pressured me for information about my past.

    In fact, she was so sensitive about what she was saying that I had started to suspect that La might have had her own past.

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    *02086% 15:47

    There was this sort of dimness in her eyes a look that told me something else was on her mind, haunting her.

    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t be serious.¡± Iughed.

    La giggled with me. ¡°I wish I weren¡¯t. This scarred me for life. Can you imagine? Liam and, like, eight of his friends-in custody at the police station, all soaking wet and only in their underwear.¡±

    ¡°Oh my gosh, that¡¯s horrible! How could they do something so st upid?¡± I asked, unable to hold back therge grin taking over my face.

    ¡°I asked them that same question. It was one of the hottest days of the year, but still, we live on the beach, for g od¡¯s sake! There was no reason for them to use the country club¡¯s pool.

    ¡°And then to strip down and identally lock themselves in there without clothes? They were just being idiots, I swear.¡±

    Someone groaned behind us. ¡°You¡¯re never going to let me live that down, are you?¡±

    I whirled around, seeing Liam standing at the hallway entrance, looking at us both with a pained expression on his face.

    La grinned. She popped one of the grapes she had stolen from his fridge into her mouth. ¡°Nope.¡±

    Liam shrugged and approached us, stealing the grapes from La¡¯s hand and taking them for himself. ¡°It wasn¡¯t even my idea. Anous is just an a sshole.¡±

    I nearly choked on my coffee. ¡°You¡¯re friends with someone named Anous? That can¡¯t be real.¡±

    He tossed a grape in his mouth. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s real all right. He gets sh it every day. Apparently, it¡¯s a family name.¡±

    ¡°The worst family name ever,¡± La added.

    ¡°Like I said,¡± Liam continued, ¡°Anous is an as shole.¡±

    Iughed so hard that, for a second, I forgot all about Grayson and the pain I was in. It was nice.

    I wish it could havested forever.

 Chapter 72

    BELLE

    THREE MONTHS LATER

    My feet were killing me. The heels my boss forced me to wear definitely did not provide enough support for a shift at a busy diner. It probably didn¡¯t help that I had worked every day this week without a break.

    I was exhausted.

    I sighed, brushing my hair out of my face as I carried a tray of food to a table of drunk men who hadn¡¯t stopped staring at my as s since they¡¯d walked in.

    They all gave me grimy looks as I set down their food. I asked if they needed anything else before shuffling away quickly.

    Thanks to my uniform, I was used to this sort of behavior from men. It only took me one week to learn how to fight off wandering hands.

    my

    When boss handed me the short red dress, white apron, and ck high heels, I almost thought he was joking¡ªthat is, until I saw that the other waitresses were wearing the same thing.

    But I had taken it without anyints, just happy for the work.

    Pom Pom¡¯s, the ce La had rmended I get a job, was a diner right outside of Evergreen. They hired me right away, barely even taking the time to interview me.

    They¡¯d obviously needed the help. Although, I wasn¡¯t sure if I considered myself lucky to be working here. It was run down and understaffed and had paint peeling off the stained walls.

    It served hamburgers made of questionable meat and attracted customers of even more questionable

    character.

    The only good thing about working here was that my boss was happy-eager, even-to give me as many hours as I wanted, which was good because I needed to make a living somehow.

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    My mark throbbed on my neck as I walked behind the front counter. I quickly set down the tray had just been carrying. I breathed through the pain, leaning on the wall behind me for support.

    It was really bad today for some reason. Wave after wave of agonizing heat passed through me, nearly knocking me off my feet.

    I

    I couldn¡¯t hold back the whimper that escaped my throat or the unwanted tears that started to pool in

    my eyes.

    It was only getting worse. Every day I spent away from Grayson was bing more torturous than

    thest.

    The mark that Grayson had left on my neck all those months ago used to be just two small dots where his canines had pierced me.

    The dots were a little raised and healed over with scar tissue-hardly even noticeable unless you were looking for it. Now, however, it looked absolutely horrific.

    It was red and irritated, surrounded by a rash that spread up my neck and down my shoulder and

    chest.

    The two puncture wounds from Grayson¡¯s teeth had opened up and constantly bled, staining anything I wore even though I tried to keep it covered up with a bandage.

    The mark itself was slightly swollen, looking like I had a small tumor under my skin. It pulsed with pain like it had a life of its own. I could practically feel it draining the energy out of me every day.

    Part of me had just epted this as my new life. Just like how I had to deal with my period every month, I would have to deal with the agonizing pain that came from being rejected by my soulmate.

    Just normal stuff, right?

    At least the constant headache I had been suffering through for thest three months-the one I knew was caused by Grayson trying to get into my mind so he could know where I was and keep tabs on me-was starting to fade a bit.

    This meant my former mate was slowly worrying less about me, forgetting about me, and moving on with his life.

    Although I knew it was for the best, my heart still clenched at the thought. Soon, he wouldn¡¯t think about me at all-I would just be a distant memory.

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    Grayson would never be that for me.

    *101086% 15:49

    I would always cherish our time spent together in Paris, sitting under the glowing lights of the Eiffel Tower as we talked for hours, holding hands while we walked around the Louvre, and waking in each other¡¯s arms every morning.

    Even though we had a bumpy start to our rtionship, he¡¯d won me over quickly and made me realize that all I wanted in life¡­was him. He was my home.

    And now¡­he was forgetting about me.

    S hit, why was I even thinking about this?

    You don¡¯t want him, Belle, I told myself. You can¡¯t want him.

    ¡°Belle!¡± someone shouted.

    My head snapped up. My boss, Jerry, had just walked into the diner. He was wearing his usual¡ª stained white T-shirt and jeans with flip-flops on his feet.

    His balding head was glistening with sweat, and his yellow teeth were exposed with the constant sneer on his face.

    ¡°What the f uck are you doing just standing around?¡± he demanded. ¡°Get back to work!¡±

    I had to hold myself back from arguing with him and demanding that he not talk to me that way. The diner was dead right now. I had just given food to my only customers.

    It was a surprise that they were even here as it was nearly eleven at night, and the diner was usually empty by now.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I replied, trying to ignore my pain, and searched for something to do.

    I grabbed a white washcloth and started wiping down the counter even though I had scrubbed it clean ten minutes ago. I winced when my mark throbbed again due to the movement.

    I had no idea what Jerry was doing here. I knew he was the owner of Pom Pom¡¯s, but he spent so much time here that I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if he had a cot set up in the back.

    And yet, he didn¡¯t act like a boss, except for when he was yelling at us to get back to work. Usually, he just sat around, counting his money or hanging out in his office in the back.

    I had no idea what he did all day because it definitely wasn¡¯t managing his restaurant. I didn¡¯t even

    as I hadn¡¯t spoken to

    oft

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    101086% 15:49

    think of him as my boss as I hadn¡¯t spoken to him more than a handful of times since he¡¯d hired me.

    Whenever I had any sort of problem, I went to my manager, another waitress named Brenda. She was in charge of schedules, sries, and keeping everyone in check.

    She was also a huge sweetheart and knew what it meant to struggle in life since she was a single mom trying to raise two kids on a waitress¡¯s sry.

    I felt like I could talk to her about anything, and she wouldn¡¯t judge me.

    It was too bad I wasn¡¯t working with her tonight. I was the only waitress here. The cook was in the back, but he hardly ever came out.

    It would have been nice to have someone to hide behind to avoid Jer ry¡¯s wandering gaze. He had always been a little toofortable around me.

    He proved my point when his eyes traveled up and down my body appreciatively, licking his lips.

    I unconsciously tugged on the bottom of my skirt, wishing for the millionth time that it was about three inches longer.

    Thankfully, Jer ry didn¡¯t say anything else. He moved behind the counter, going straight to the cash register and opening it up. I frowned, wondering why he needed cash sote into the night.

    My attention was pulled from my boss¡¯s shifty behavior when a figure walked through the door. Liam¡¯s angry gaze found me right away. I swallowed a groan. I was definitely in trouble.

    Liam approached me immediately. ¡°What the hell, Belle?¡± he asked. ¡°I just went to your apartment to check on you, and you weren¡¯t there. You told me you weren¡¯t working today.¡±

    I nced over at Jer ry to see if he was listening, but he was too busy sna tching cash out of the register and stuffing it into his pockets. Then he turned away and walked to his office.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was,¡± I said as I grabbed a bunch of ketchup bottles from beneath the counter, getting ready to refill them. ¡°Brenda¡¯s son got the flu. She asked if I could take her shift tonight.¡±

    Liam liked to give me rides to and from work, even though my apartment was only half an hour¡¯s walk from here. He always got upset when I didn¡¯t let him drive me,

    Ever since I had met him, he had been overprotective to the max, and I had no idea why.

    Now, don¡¯t get me wrong, I was grateful for Liam and all he had done for me. If he hadn¡¯t let me stay with him three months ago, I would be sleeping on the street.

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    G

    ??

    000???

    But I had left his ce over a month ago, moving into a cheap one-room apartment near the diner, so I didn¡¯t need his help anymore.

    I thought my rtionship with Liam would slowly dissolve into nothing after I moved out, but he still hung around me like he thought he was somehow responsible for me.

    I considered Liam a good friend of mine. I enjoyed being around him and grew really close to him while I was staying at his ce.

    But there were times when he didn¡¯t act like my friend-he acted like my bodyguard. I didn¡¯t get it. I still remembered how pis sed off he was when he found out I was moving out of his ce.

    He just didn¡¯t seem to understand that I wanted to be independent. I didn¡¯t need another possessive alpha maleing into my life, trying to control me and tell me what he thought was best for me.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you text me?¡± Liam continued angrily. ¡°You know I don¡¯t like you walking out on the streets alone, especially at night.¡±

    He¡¯d got me a phone only a few days after I met him. His and La¡¯s numbers were programmed into the contacts the moment he¡¯d handed it over to me.

    I tried to deny the expensive gift, but he continued to insist, so I eventually begrudgingly epted it.

    And now that he couldn¡¯t keep an eye on me from his apartment, he required that I text him whenever I went anywhere.

    I didn¡¯t look at him as I continued to fill the ketchup bottles. ¡°I can handle myself, Liam. I don¡¯t need a babysitter. I¡¯m not a child.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a child. I just prefer you in one piece rather than stabbed or beheaded.

    ¡°Or with your body lying in a dumpster somewhere because some de mented as shole thought it might be fun to murder you while you were walking home alone.¡±

    I looked up at him then, my expression shocked and a little disturbed. ¡°I think you might be the dem ented one. That was seriously dark. I can promise you I was perfectly fine walking on my own this morning.

    ¡°No murderers in sight.¡±

    ¡°This morning?¡± Liam demanded. ¡°Just how f ucking long have you been here?¡±

    ÃÅ

    Emergency calls only

    Shi t, I should not have said that. I looked away, choosing not to answer.

    ¡°Are you telling me you opened this morning, and now you¡¯re closing?¡± he continued.

    I sighed. ¡°I picked up Candice¡¯s shift this morning. She had an emergency. It¡¯s not that big of a

    deal.¡±

    I didn¡¯t mention the fact that the emergency was that she was hungover from partying a little too hardst night and had literally begged me to cover for her.

    Liam¡¯s eyes seemed to darken. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be sh itting me,¡± he muttered under his breath. ¡°You¡¯ve been here since five in the morning? Is that even legal?¡±

    I was about to respond when my neck suddenly exploded with pain. I froze, squeezing my eyes shut. It passed a few secondster, and I sucked in a deep breath, feeling suddenly lightheaded and queasy.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Liam asked, his tone more gentle now. All of the anger was gone from his tone and reced with genuine concern.

    I nodded, licking my lips. ¡°Fine,¡± I squeezed out.

    ¡°I wish you would just let me take you to my doctor. You¡¯ve had that thing for months.¡± He motioned to my mark. ¡°It¡¯s only getting worse.¡±

    He was right-going to the doctor was probably a good idea, but how did I exin my mark to

    them?

    Oh, yeah, my werewolf soulmate dude bit me to magically bond me to him forever and then slept with someone else, leaving this thing on my neck that I think might be slowly killing me. Anything you can do to help?

    Yeah, I had a funny feeling that wouldn¡¯t go too well.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time or money to go to the doctor, and you know it,¡± I replied.

    Liam opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off instantly, already knowing what he was going to say.

    ¡°I am not letting you pay for a trip to the doctor. You¡¯ve already done enough for me, and I still owe you for the months you let me stay in your apartment.¡±

    I looked down at the ketchup bottles in my hands. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s really not that bad. I¡¯m just being dramatic.¡±

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    Liam¡¯s jaw ticked. I knew he didn¡¯t believe me even one bit. ¡°I already told you, you will not be paying me back for staying with me. Now, how¡¯s your head?¡±

    I rolled my eyes. I wished I had never told him about the stu pid headaches Grayson had caused me. It just became really hard to hide that much pain all the time. I couldn¡¯t keep avoiding his questions.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Liam,¡± I said once again. ¡°I¡¯m as healthy as an ox. I officially give you permission to stop worrying about me. I¡¯m sure you have better things to do.¡±

    He obviously didn¡¯t agree because he kept asking me questions. ¡°When was thest time you got a good night¡¯s sleep? Are you still having night terrors?¡±

    Embarrassment tightened my chest, remembering all the times I had woken Liam up in the middle of the night with my screaming. It still happened nearly every night and had been that way ever since I had left Grayson.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to sleep,¡± I said. ¡°I would rather be here.¡±

    It was true. I hated going back to my apartment, where I only had my thoughts forpany.

    Sleeping was even worse. If I did somehow manage to fall asleep despite all the pain constantly coursing through my body-nightmares tortured me throughout the night.

    They always consisted of Grayson taunting me, chasing me, staring me down with his bright red eyes. I woke up screaming, covered in sweat, and tears pouring from my eyes.

    I couldn¡¯t remember where I was or how I had gotten there, only that Grayson-my soul mate and the only person in this entire world who I really cared about-hated me.

    Didn¡¯t want me. Would rather be with someone else and found amusement in torturing me.

    After every dream, I would spend the rest of the night wide awake, staring at the ceiling, feeling hollow and hopeless and afraid.

    So yeah, working at Po m Po m¡¯s may not have been a dream, but it was better than going home.

    Liam glowered, about to say something else, when the door to the diner flew open, and a very upset La came marching in.

    ¡°Liam! Why are you ignoring all of my calls?¡± she yelled. ¡°Are you seriously thinking of having a party at Dad¡¯s tonight?¡±

    BUY

    Liam groaned, his head dropping. He gave me a pleading look, probably asking him to back him up

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    D

    15:50

    *0.086% Lam granicu, mis neau unopping, rit gave me a picauing 100k, probably asking mim to back mim up in one way or another, but I just smiled and shrugged.

    I decided then and there that dealing with his sister would be his punishment for badgering me.

    He turned on his stool to look at her. ¡°Hey, sis,¡± he said casually, ¡°Can I buy you a cup of coffee?¡±

    ¡°Do you have some sort of death wish or something?¡± La babbled on, hands on her hips. ¡°If Dad finds out you¡¯re throwing a party at his house, he¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    I didn¡¯t know a whole lot about Liam¡¯s rtionship with his millionaire father, but I did know they loved to push each other¡¯s buttons. Liam would do anything to upset his father.

    ¡°Chill,¡± Liam replied. ¡°He¡¯s not gonna be home untilte tomorrow night, and I¡¯ll have the ce cleaned way before that. Besides, it¡¯s only a

    w people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what Chelsea Matthews said when I ran :.

    ss from high school was going to be there!¡±

    her

    at the mall. She said our entire senior

    Liam grinned, shrugging. ¡°So what? It¡¯ll be fun! Lighten up.¡¯

    99

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t told about any party,¡± I interrupted, trying to move their attention away from killing each other.

    I had witnessed enough of Liam and La¡¯s fights to know that they usually ended with violence, and I didn¡¯t need that in the diner tonight, especially since my boss was here right now.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you weren¡¯t invited,¡± Liam replied without hesitation.

    Ouch.

    Liam watched my face fall. ¡°Sh it, Belle, I didn¡¯t mean it that way-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, cutting him off. I had never met Liam¡¯s or La¡¯s friends before-not that I really wanted to.

    I just found it a bit odd they were always talking about them, but I had never seen them around. I assumed it was because they didn¡¯t want them to know they hung out with someone weird like me.

    My presence in their lives was kind of hard to exin.

    I looked down, willing the bottles of ketchup I was holding to fill faster so that I could get out of this conversation and go do something else.

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    I didn¡¯t want Liam to see that what he¡¯d said struck a nerve. Even though I probably wouldn¡¯t have gone to the party even if I had been invited, being left out still hurt.

    La red at her brother. ¡°You¡¯re such an a sshole.¡±

    Liam ignored her. ¡°Belle, really, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I just didn¡¯t think it was your sort of scene. My friends are a bunch of jerks. I don¡¯t want you around them.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I get it,¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t look at him.

    I hated the fact that I was sad I wasn¡¯t invited to some stu pid party. I had to remind myself that this was what I wanted.

    I was going to be independent and work my way from the bottom without anyone¡¯s help. That meant lots of long shifts at the diner and no time for friends.

    But even if this was what I wanted and needed to do, it still sucked sometimes. I had absolutely no

    life.

    Just then, Je rry walked out from the back. ¡°Hey,¡± he said to Liam and La. ¡°Either order

    not paying her to talk to people.¡±

    something or get the hell out. I¡¯m

    I looked back at my friends. Liam was

    shootin

    at Je rry with his eyes.

    ¡°Okay,¡± La replied quickly, always the calmer one. ¡°We¡¯ll both get some coffee, please,¡± she said.

    I nodded and turned to the coffee maker, filling a mug of coffee for each of them. I set the cups down on the counter in front of them. Jer ry narrowed his eyes at us before turning and marching out the

    front door.

    The table of men across the diner waved me over, probably needing refills or something.

    ¡°Belle,¡± Liam groaned as I walked past him. ¡°Please don¡¯t think-¡±

    I turned to him, pinning him with a heated gaze. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just do us both a favor and stop treating me like I¡¯m this fragile idiot who can¡¯t do anything on her own.

    ¡°I can make my own decisions. I¡¯m not st upid, Liam. Stop treating me like I am.¡±

    Liam blinked. ¡°I know you¡¯re not stu-¡±

    ¡°I have to get back to work,¡± I interrupted. I didn¡¯t want to hear whatever stu pid excuse he was thinking up. ¡°Coffee is on me. Have a great rest of your night.¡±

 Chapter 73

    BELLE

    The rest of the evening was a blur. That was one nice thing about working at the diner; it kept you busy enough that time moved quickly.

    There wasn¡¯t a single moment when I didn¡¯t have something to do. I was grateful for it, even if I was exhausted by the end of the day. It kept me distracted from my own thoughts.

    It was dark now and well past 10 p.m. I groaned as I looked at the clock. I still had two more hours of my shift left.

    I wouldn¡¯t mind being the only waitress on the floor if I were with Tommy-hardly anyonees in after eight anyway-but Bert was a different story.

    He always knew just what to say to make me feel ufortable.

    His favorite thing to talk to me about was my appearance-how I looked in my uniform, that I would look better if I put on some makeup, that I looked just like one of his ex-girlfriends, and so

    on.

    Today it had been, ¡°I wish you would smile at me the way you do with the customers. C¡¯mon, give me a smile, beautiful.¡±

    I ignored him and continued working.

    I think it pissed him off because the food wasing out considerably slower after that, leaving me to deal with hungry customers who had been waiting over forty-five minutes for their food.

    I was beyond exhausted. Sighing, I sat down in one of the booths I knew Bert couldn¡¯t see from the kitchen and pressed my head down onto the cool table.

    I had rejoiced when the only two customers in the diner had left, leaving the cepletely empty. I needed a break. I had been on autopilot all day. Had I even stopped to eat lunch?

    It didn¡¯t matter. My stomach had been roiling all day, most likely due to my mark, so I doubt I would have been able to keep anything down anyway.

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    My body ached from being on my feet-in heels nheless-for ten straight hours yesterday and then again for running on fourteen today.

    Ugh, why did I do this to myself?

    Well, actually, I knew why, and it wasn¡¯t only because I needed the money, although that was the main reason for putting myself through this hell.

    But, really, I didn¡¯t have much else to do with myself.

    If I wasn¡¯t here, I was at my extremely cra ppy apartment, trying to sleep, and my nightmares never allowed me more than a couple of hours of unconsciousness before I always woke up screaming every night without fail.

    At least work kept my mind upied and gave me something productive to do.

    I rested my head on my arms, still leaning on the table in front of me. Guilt was eating away at me. I hated that I had yelled at Liam earlier.

    He and La had left after our argument and hadn¡¯t said another word to me.

    I even checked my phone multiple times, the one Liam had given me, expecting to see at least one text from him, but there was nothing.

    After everything he and his sister had done for me, I couldn¡¯t believe I had said that to him. Sure, maybe he deserved it, and it had felt good to say it in the moment, but now I felt awful.

    Liam and La were my friends, and they cared about me and wanted the best for me. And whether or not I wanted to admit it, I didn¡¯t want to lose them.

    I liked having friends-even if they didn¡¯t want me at their parties.

    I was about to pull out my phone, ready to text Liam and apologize, when something stopped me. Someone was sitting in front of me.

    I screamed and jumped so high out of my seat that I was surprised when I didn¡¯t hit the ceiling.

    There was an older woman sitting across from me in the booth, smiling the sort of smile expect from your grandma.

    you

    would

    She was wearing a thick blue coat and a bandanna over her head, making her look like the types of rich old women you see in Hollywood movies¡­

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    15:52

    The kind that drive old top-down convertibles, drink expensive co cktails, and often daydream about killing their husbands.

    She was elegant and beautiful-probably one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen with her silver-blonde hair and porcin skin.

    She was absolutely breathtaking. And very out of ce in this crappy old diner.

    ¡°Oh, my gosh,¡± I said, cing a hand over my chest to calm my racing heart. ¡°You scared me.¡±

    She smiled sweetly. ¡°Sorry, deary.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I began to get up, returning her smile even though I wasn¡¯t feeling it. ¡°I was just resting. I didn¡¯t know anyone was here.¡±

    I was surprised when her hand shot out and grabbed my arm, stopping me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sit and have a meal with me? I could use a big cheeseburger and some decent conversation.¡±

    I paused. I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that. I¡¯d never had a customer ask to eat with me before.

    ¡°Oh, um, thank you for the offer, but I should really get back to work¡ª¡±

    ¡°Bert!¡± the woman yelled out, cutting me off. She never let go of my arm, keeping me firmly in ce. ¡°Would you be a dear and make us two cheeseburgers and two strawberry milkshakes?¡±

    ¡°You got it!¡± he called back automatically. He had more enthusiasm in his voice than I had ever heard him use before.

    My mouth dropped open slightly in surprise. She knew Bert? ¡°How-?¡±

    ¡°Ie here often,¡± the woman provided, answering my question before I asked it.

    That was hard to believe. I had been working here nearly every day for three months and hadn¡¯t seen

    her once.

    If she were one of the regrs, I would have noticed, especially if she looked like this every day. Her beauty was pretty hard to miss.

    ¡°Oh, my darling girl, you look exhausted,¡± she said, consoling me, her kind eyes searching my weary face. There was something about that gaze that made me feel strangelyforted and at

    peace.

    Ale ¡°And I

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    That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t stop her when she grabbed my hands in hers and squeezed them gently. ¡°And I can¡¯t even begin to imagine the pain you¡¯re in.¡±

    My brows tugged together. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°Your bond is starving. Oh, how you must miss him.¡±

    I blinked. Was she talking about¡­?

    She tilted her head to the side as if she knew what I was wondering, revealing her neck. I sucked in air when I saw the two puncture wounds right where her neck and shoulder met. A mark. A werewolf¡¯s mark.

    ¡°You¡¯re a-a-¡± I stuttered, not quite able to get the words out.

    ¡°Yes, I know all about werewolves,¡± the woman said, waving her hand as if it were no big deal. ¡°I am mated to one, just like you.¡±

    My gaze shot over to the kitchen, looking to see if Bert could hear any of our conversation.

    I didn¡¯t know if Grayson would care if I told anyone about the werewolf world, but I didn¡¯t want to take any chances. I couldn¡¯t have him tracking me down.

    At the thought of him, a sudden burst of pain took over my senses. I gasped and pressed my eyes shut. I braced myself as a big wave of fire began to spread from my mark, about to take over my body¡­

    But then it stopped.

    My eyes flew open. Almost all of the pain from my mark had just disappeared, leaving me with a perfectly manageable throbbing sensation. I would have cried out in relief if I weren¡¯t so confused.

    I looked at the woman. She didn¡¯t meet my gaze, looking lost in thought. Her grip on my tightened.

    hands

    ¡°Oh my, you are in a lot of pain,¡± she whispered, eyes much wider than before. Her body looked tense, rigid. She looked back at me. ¡°I will hold onto it for now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°You-You-

    99

    She nodded. ¡°I took your pain, yes. I¡¯m sorry to say that I can¡¯t keep it for long, as much as I would love to give you that reprieve.

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    ¡°Unfortunately, your pain is your burden to bear. But I can hold on to it for a few minutes and give you a bit of a break.¡±

    I stared at her. ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I said.

    She pursed her lips, thinking. ¡°Yes, this must seem confusing.¡± Then she winced slightly. Her eyes were filled with pain when she looked back at me. My pain.

    ¡°Your bond is starving,¡± she muttered. ¡°You need your mate.¡±

    I hesitated. Thest thing I wanted to be doing with whatever little time I had not in agony was talking about Grayson. ¡°My mate rejected me to be with someone else. He doesn¡¯t want me. He never did.¡±

    The woman looked me up and down before smiling widely. ¡°I find that extremely hard to believe.¡±

    Bert approached us then, carrying our meals. I was shocked when he didn¡¯tin about being forced to do my job or having to cook for me.

    In fact, he didn¡¯t say anything at all. He just put our food down and walked straight back to the

    kitchen. He didn¡¯t even look at us.

    ¡°Do you

    like cheeseburgers?¡± the woman asked me when Bert was out of sight.

    My eyes fell on the food in front of me. I did love cheeseburgers. And I hadn¡¯t had one in forever. I got an employee discount for food at the diner but didn¡¯t ever use it.

    I needed to save as much money as I could so I could keep renting out my apartment.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Please eat,¡± the woman said, already picking up some fries. ¡°The meal is on me.¡±

    There was something about her soothing tone that made me want to do as she told me, made me feel like it was okay to sit and take a short break even when I should be working.

    I picked up the burger in front of me and took a huge bite, my stomach cheering in gratitude for the food. It was the first time I was actually able to eat in peace in so long.

    I finally came up for air after scarfing down half my meal, only to see the woman watching me with amusement. My cheeks brightened.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I whispered, wiping my face with a napkin. ¡°Hungry.¡±

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    ¡°I¡¯m sure you are.¡± She gestured to my food, her kind smile never leaving her face. ¡°Please, eat some more.¡±

    I didn¡¯t need to be told twice.

    Somehow this unnatural situation feltpletely normal. She reminded me of my grandma. ¡°How are you doing, my dear?¡± she asked me a few secondster.

    I swallowed the food in my mouth. She was speaking to me as if she knew me. ¡°I¡¯m, uh¡­ I¡¯m okay.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I believe you?¡± she responded. ¡°You can be honest with me. Being away from your mate is hard. Especially when your connection was as strong as yours was.¡±

    ¡°You know who Grayson is?¡±

    Sheughed. ¡°Of course I do. Alpha Grayson Stoll is one of the most powerful men alive. Anyone who is a part of the supernatural realm knows who he is.¡¯

    ¡°Oh,¡± I murmured. ¡°So that exins why you know who I am.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°You are Belle Dupree, the mate of Grayson Stoll.¡±

    ¡°Ex-mate,¡± I corrected softly, dropping my gaze. I needed to change the subject. ¡°Are you a werewolf?¡±

    ¡°Oh, goodness, no. I grew up in a pack, though. And I am mated to a werewolf.¡± She offered me her hand to shake. ¡°My name is Evangeline Viotto.¡±

 Chapter 74

    BELLE

    The name seemed to hold some unsaid significance because chills covered my body. I leaned back

    in my

    seat after shaking her outstretched hand. ¡°Well, thank you for the meal, Ms. Viotto. I really appreciate it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please, call me Evangeline. I¡¯ve never gone by Ms. Viotto. I¡¯m not even sure I would answer to

    it.¡±

    ¡°Evangeline, then.¡±

    She considered me for a few seconds before continuing. ¡°I want you to know that I don¡¯t n on telling your mate where you are. I think you have every right to hide after everything you went through.¡±

    My heart did a flip in my chest. I hadn¡¯t even considered the fact that she could give my whereabouts to Grayson. ¡°Thank you,¡± I breathed out. ¡°It¡¯s very important that he doesn¡¯t ever find

    me.¡±

    Her smile faltered, turning serious. Before I knew what she was doing, she reached across the table and took hand in hers, squeezing it.

    my

    ¡°You have a long journey ahead of you, darling Belle. And it isn¡¯t going to be easy.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I want you to know that power isn¡¯t a bad thing when in the right hands. It may seem scary at first to shift to your true potential, but you are more than capable of handling it. You do not have to be afraid.¡±

    She was talking in riddles, and I had no idea. ¡°How do you know all of this?¡±

    ¡°You remind me quite a bit of myself at your age. I was also terrified of

    my

    mate.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± I asked. I hated that this amazing, kind woman seemed to have gone through a simr situation to me.

    Chapter 13 of 59: Chapter 13

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    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. Why are werewolves blessed with soulmates if they just take advantage of them? My mother is terrified of her mate too. He abuses her¡­just like mine did.¡±

    ¡°My mate didn¡¯t abuse me, darling. He did the opposite. He took care of me when no one else did. He saved me from a cruel fate.¡±

    ¡°So then¡­why were you scared of him?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to exin. For one thing, werewolves are terrifying creatures. It is okay to be hesitant around them at first, especially when they im to possess you.

    ¡°People from my past also made it difficult for me to trust anyone. I didn¡¯t know what he wanted from me, and that was terrifying. But I don¡¯t know what I would do without him now. He is the best part of my life.¡±

    The genuine love in her tone made my throat feel raw. As much as I hated to admit it, I was jealous of what she had. There was a point when I was convinced that Grayson and I would have a life like

    that.

    I shoved down the intense and sudden longing to be with my mate. What was wrong with me? He hated me. He hated me. Go d, why did that make me feel like crying?

    I swallowed the lump in my throat while somehow managing to keep my tears at bay.

    ¡°I wish my mate loved me the same way yours does. Grayson slept with someone else and told me he only nned to keep me around for power. I truly hope I never have to see him again.¡±

    Evangeline gave me a sad smile. ¡°You don¡¯t mean that.¡±

    ¡°Uh, actually, I do¡ª¡±

    ¡°No. You don¡¯t. You miss him. Terribly. And that is okay. It¡¯s okay to miss him even after what went through.

    you

    ¡°He is your mate. Your soulmate. Which is why it is also okay to hate him for what he did to you. No one you love should ever treat you that way.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure why she was saying all of this to me. Why did she care how I felt or how I was handling my mate rejecting me?

    ¡°Give me your phone, dear,¡± she said before I could ask.

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    I found myself handing over my cell phone without thinking.

    0085% 15:54

    She typed something in quickly. ¡°You call me if you ever need anything, okay? I¡¯m here for you. And I have a funny feeling that you¡¯re going to want to talk to me again.¡±

    When she gave me my phone back, her number was programmed in.

    ¡°I-¡°I started.

    ¡°What are you doing, Belle?¡± someone said, cutting me off.

    My attention swung around behind me. Standing by the door of the kitchen was Bert, staring at me with a confused expression on his face.

    ¡°Oh, I, uh, was just having a meal with-¡± When I looked back at the seat in front of me, I was shocked to find that it waspletely empty.

    ¡°Where did she¡­?¡± My gaze scanned the diner, but Evangeline was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Are you eating some random people¡¯s leftovers?¡± Bert continued.

    I looked down at the half-eaten meal in front of me. ¡°What? No. You made this for me and the woman I was just sitting with.¡±

    Bert¡¯s eyes fell on Evangeline¡¯s te of untouched food and empty seat, raising a brow. ¡°I think might be losing it, sweetheart. I haven¡¯t gotten any orders for thest three hours.¡±

    ¡°But¡­No, I swear there was this woman-

    99

    you

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m honestly too tired to care. It makes no difference to me. Listen, I promise not to tell the boss you¡¯re stealing from the kitchen if you agree to close the diner on your own tonight so I can get

    home.¡±

    ¡°You want to go home now?¡± I asked. ¡°But the diner doesn¡¯t close for two more hours. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to waitress and cook¡­¡¯

    99

    My voice trailed off as I looked up at the big clock hanging over the kitchen window. It read 2 a.m.

    I reared back. I had been talking to Evangeline for two hours? That couldn¡¯t be right. It felt like half an hour at most. I didn¡¯t even have time to finish my meal, for goodness sake.

    ¡°I, uh¡­¡± When I turned back to Bert, he was looking at me like I had a screw loose.

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    ¡°Talking to people who aren¡¯t there, cating random strangers¡¯ scraps, hallucinating about what time it is. That¡¯s three for three, sweetheart. I think you could use a good night¡¯s sleep ¡¯cause you ain¡¯t functioning correctly.¡±

    Maybe he was right. Maybe I was losing it. All of my sleepless nights and time spent missing my former mate must¡¯ve been getting to me.

    ¡°So you gonna close for me?¡± Bert questioned again.

    I found it a bit funny that he was just saying how much I needed sleep but then was asking me to stayter for his benefit.

    I ran a hand down my face, trying to clear my confusion and exhaustion. ¡°Yeah. Sure. I can close tonight.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t like I was going to be getting any sleep tonight anyway. Might as well avoid my night terrors full of a red-eyed Grayson for as long as possible.

    He grinned widely. ¡°You¡¯re a doll.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t even realized that he was ready to go until he was marching out the door, leaving me

    completely on my own.

    I slumped down in the booth I was sitting in, looking back at Evangeline¡¯s untouched te of food.

    I was still extremely confused about what the hell had just happened, but honestly, I just didn¡¯t have the energy to think too much about it at the moment.

    All I cared about was cleaning up the diner and kitchen so that I could get home and at least try to get some sleep since I was opening the diner tomorrow morning too.

    I groaned when I realized I would have to be back here in less than five hours.

    I guess anything was better than sitting in my rat-infested, one-bedroom apartment with nothing to do other than trying to ignore my pain and not think about him.

    Speaking of pain, it urred to me for the first time since realizing Evangeline had disappeared that I still wasn¡¯t experiencing any of the agony that came from my starving mate bond.

    My body felt at peace for the first time in months, with no aches or pains or blinding headaches. Evangeline said she had taken it from me, but how? And would it return?

    Speaking of pain, it urred to me for the first time since realizing Evangeline had disappeared that I still wasn¡¯t experiencing any of the agony that came from my starving mate bond.

    My body felt at peace for the first time in months, with no aches or pains or blinding headaches. Evangeline said she had taken it from me, but how? And would it return?

    She said she could only hang on to it for so long.

    Deciding to take advantage of the situation while I still could, I stood and began clearing off my table and the other ones that still needed to be scrubbed down, then walked to the kitchen to do the

    dishes.

    I sighed when I saw that Bert had left me with all the dishes. Hadn¡¯t he said he hadn¡¯t had any orders for thest several hours? What the heck had he been doing out here all of that time?

    Welp, it looked like I was going to be there for a little while longer.

 Chapter 75

    BELLE

    I was practically dragging my feet as I walked down the sidewalk back to my apartment once my shift was finally over, almostpletely overtaken by exhaustion.

    My eyes drooped, and my body ached. I needed sleep more than anything, but who knew if I would be getting any.

    Guilt ate at me over how things had gone down with Liam earlier. After all, he was just trying to be a good friend, right? He was trying to look out for me.

    I just hated that he had assumed his friends and I wouldn¡¯t get along. Was I that horrible to be around?

    It was cold out, and the June air was nipping at my bare legs, forcing me to pull my jacket tighter

    around me.

    I actually wished that I had Liam¡¯s warm car to ride in rather than walking home alone in the dark. Too bad I had ruined everything.

    I felt strange. Something was off. Dull tingles were shooting up the back of my neck, and I had the odd feeling that I was being watched.

    But I shook it off, convinced I was just paranoid after my talk with Liam earlier today.

    Then the wind picked up, and something sounded behind me, making me jump. My mark prickled, and a sudden pressure began to form in my head. I groaned in dismay.

    I knew what that meant. Grayson was trying to get into my mind again.

    A loud crashing noise came from behind me. I whipped around but didn¡¯t see anything.

    With

    home.

    my

    head pounding, I kept walking, moving a little faster now. I was suddenly very eager to get

    There was another loud bang. My nerves only grew when footsteps started behind me, very

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    home.

    X0084% 15:56

    There was another loud bang. My nerves only grew when footsteps started behind me, very obviously following me.

    So Lium was right, I thought bitterly. I¡¯m about to get murdered.

    My walking picked up into more of a jog.

    ¡°Beeelllleee,¡± a singsong voice said right next to my head.

    I jolted and held back a scream, snapping my head to the side to look for the source. I was met with an empty alleyway lined with trash cans.

    I bit my lip and jogged faster, pulling my coat tighter around my form.

    It¡¯s just the wind, Belle, I told myself. Everything is fine. You¡¯re just being paranoid.

    Right, wind that sounded exactly like my name.

    The pounding in my head increased as Grayson pushed harder to break through my me ntal barrier. I grit my teeth together. Why now?

    It was like he knew I was in a stressful situation and thought it would be funny to mess with me

    some more.

    ¡°F uck off, Grayson,¡± I whispered as if he could hear me. ¡°Get out of my head.¡±

    The pounding only got worse.

    Suddenly, I heard a high-pitchedughing from above me. My head jerked up.

    Crouching on the top of a building, like some sort of knock-off Spiderman was a hooded figure. The person was looking down at me, but I couldn¡¯t make out any facial features through the darkness.

    ¡°Grayson can¡¯t help you now, Luna,¡± the person said.

    Um, so, yeah, f uck that.

    I turned on my heel and started sprinting away. My exhaustion from earlier was long gone now, reced with adrenaline and fear.

    I had no idea who that person was, but there was no way I was going to stick around to find out. The moment the words ¡°Grayson¡± and ¡°Luna¡± hade out of their mouth, I knew I had to get far, far

    Emergency calls only M

    away.

    0084% 15:56

    Without any warning, a hand wrapped around my hair, tugging me backward into a dark alleyway. I screamed in terror. My hands grabbed onto my assant¡¯s arm, digging my nails in.

    It did nothing to loosen their hold on me.

    ¡°Oh,e on, Belle,¡± the voice said, yanking my hair harder, so I was forced to release my grip. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Let¡¯s y nice.¡±

    It all happened so quickly. Faster than I could evenprehend, I was shoved up against a wall, grunting when my head smashed against the hard concrete.

    I was finally able to see the face of the person holding me. My eyes widened. ¡°Adalee?¡± I whispered.

    She smiled. ¡°Surprise.¡± She grabbed my head and mmed it back again. My entire world rotated, and white-hot pain expanded over the back of my skull.

    ¡°I will say, I¡¯m a little shocked you remember me, considering the fact that we only met that one time,¡± Adalee continued, her toneced with malicious amusement.

    I struggled against her, but my dizziness made it nearly impossible. ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡± I

    asked.

    She stared at me with pitch-ck eyes, telling me her wolf was at the surface. ¡°I thought that was obvious.¡± Her smile grew. ¡°I¡¯vee to kill you.¡±

    Her hand flew to my throat, gripping it tightly and cutting off my airway. I grabbed her arm, digging my nails in and trying to pull it away from me as I gasped.

    ¡°You look awful,¡± Adalee continued, unfazed by my attempts to free myself. ¡°I guess getting rejected by your mate really is as horrible as they say.¡±

    ¡°L-Let me g-go.¡± I struggled to speak over her grip on me.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± Her hand tightened even more, making me wheeze. ¡°Tell me, Belle, how does it feel to know your mate doesn¡¯t care about you? Doesn¡¯t even care if I kill you?¡±

    My mark burned at her words like someone was forcing scalding hot iron into my skin. I tried to scream, but it came out more like a gargled yelp.

    Adalee¡¯s expression was filled with sa distic glee. ¡°That¡¯s right, Luna,¡± she spat the title as if it were

    an insult.

    Emergency calls onlybd

    $101084% 15:56 Adaice s expression was tied with sa distic gice. I nat s right, Luna, snc spat the titic as in it were an insult.

    ¡°Your mate couldn¡¯t give a dam n about your miserable life. In fact¡­he¡¯s sick of being tied to you. Remember that other she wolf he mated with?

    ¡°He needs you dead so he can finally be with his real mate without you getting in the way.¡±

    Every word she spoke was like a knife to my heart, agonizing and sharp. She had to be lying, right?

    Grayson may hate me, may not want me as his mate, but I never thought he would consider killing

    me.

    My head exploded with the worst blinding pain I had ever experienced. I screamed. Grayson. I knew it was Grayson. He had never tried so hard to get into

    my head.

    Adalee squeezed my neck so tightly that my vision out for several seconds.

    ht

    When I came to, I was coughing and gasping for air, her grip on my throat just loose enough that I could take in several deep, gulping breaths.

    And then something incredible happened. Warmth, sweet and soothing, filled my form. The burning on my neck subsided a bit.

    Even my head stopped hurting for the first time in months, although I could still feel the blood spilling down the back of my neck from where Adalee had shoved my skull into the hard wall.

    I felt¡­relief. I felt safe. I felt like everything was going to be okay.

    ¡°Are you reaching out to your mate?¡± Adalee¡¯s taunting voice said to me, pulling me out of my

    stupor.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Let him feel your suffering. Let him know how you felt¡ªall the pain, all the fear¡ª during the final moments of your pathetic life.¡±

    I was reaching out to Grayson, I realized with shock. When I lost consciousness a few moments ago, I hadn¡¯t been able to continue blocking him out of my mind.

    My me ntal walls had finally fallen. He was in my brain now, sifting through my emotions. It wasn¡¯t as though I could hear him or his thoughts, but I could feel him.

    I felt his terror, anger, and stress. The part of me that still had feelings for him reached out to him, wanting tofort him even though I knew it was wrong.

    Emergency calls only

    wanting tofort him even though I knew it was wrong.

    10084% 15:56

    His beta was here to murder me, and he didn¡¯t care. He would rather have me dead than have to

    think of me again.

    Boy, did that hurt to know.

    It didn¡¯t matter, though. All that mattered was the peace that took over my form even as Adalce sneered in my face and her grip on my throat tightened once again.

    I stopped fighting her, dropping my hands. Feeling that connection to Grayson made it easier to ept what I knew wasing. There was no way of fighting this.

    My vision started to cave in. Strangely enough, I could feel Grayson¡¯s panic increasing more and more with every second I stood there, waiting for my life to end.

    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why he cared. This was his fault. None of this would be happening if it

    hadn¡¯t been for him.

    And yet, I still gripped onto what littlefort Grayson offered me through what was left of our broken bond as if it were my lifeline. At least I wouldn¡¯t die still fighting him. At least I could die in

    peace.

    Through my teary eyes, I could see that Adalee¡¯s expression was full of pure rage. It was the kind of hatred that developed through betrayal and pain.

    I didn¡¯t know what Grayson had told her about me or why she looked at me with so much loathing in her gaze, but I wanted to tell her that I was sorry.

    Whatever I had done to make her look at me that way had to have been evil. There was no other exnation.

    And just as I thought everything was over for me, that my meager life wasing to an end, she dropped me.

    I fell to the ground, gasping. I tried to breathe even though I still found it extremely difficult. I coughed, tasting the metallic vor of blood. My head dropped to the wet floor.

    Through my foggy vision, I could see someone standing over me. Hope filled my chest.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I tried to whisper, but nothing but gasping breaths came out.

    Liam¡¯s face came into view as he crouched down in front of me. Horror immediately gripped me.

    Emergency calls onlyM

    *10084% 15:57 Whatever I had done to make her look at me that way had to have been evil. There was no other

    exnation.

    And just as I thought everything was over for me, that my meager life wasing to an end, she dropped me.

    I fell to the ground, gasping. I tried to breathe even though I still found it extremely difficult. I coughed, tasting the metallic vor of blood. My head dropped to the wet floor.

    Through my foggy vision, I could see someone standing over me. Hope filled my chest.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I tried to whisper, but nothing but gasping breaths came out.

    Liam¡¯s face came into view as he crouched down in front of me. Horror immediately gripped me.

    Liam¡¯s mouth was covered in blood, dripping down his chin and to his neck. Fangs, sharp and long, were poking out from beneath his top lip.

    He looked exactly like the Grayson from my nightmares.

    I dragged my gaze over to the body on the ground next to him. It was Adalee. She wasn¡¯t breathing.

    Her eyes were vacantly staring at me, her throat torn open, blood flowing from the open wound and pooling around her body.

    Dead. She was dead.

    I looked back at Liam, who met my gaze with concern and trepidation.

    Thest thing I thought before I cked out was:

    Vampire.

 Chapter 76

    AN HOUR EARLIER

    My wolf was being an asshole. He wouldn¡¯t stop forcing himself up against my consciousness, trying to take control and shift. He was pissed. Livid.

    He kept reminding me that our mate was out on her own,pletely unprotected and in extreme danger-and we were doing nothing about it. As if that weren¡¯t the only thing on my mind.

    ¡°You doing okay there, Alpha?¡± Kyle asked me from his seat across from me. ¡°You¡¯re not looking too good.¡±

    I ignored his question and continued to pace back and forth at the head of the table with my fists in my hair, barely holding it together.

    Of course I wasn¡¯t okay. I was the furthest thing from okay. I was barely eating or sleeping, unable to focus on anything but finding her.

    My Belle.

    E

    9

    E

    TO

    The thousand-year-old wood of the table in front of me waspletely covered in papers and documents, all pertaining to any clues as to where Belle might be.

    I had any, and all information I could find on my mate spread out before me.

    Where she went to preschool, her first job when she was fifteen, the name of her oboe instructor from fifth grade, and the doctor who treated her father for his cancer.

    I even managed to get a hold of all of her yearbook pictures.

    I reached out to anyone who might have known her in Minnesota, but no one had heard from her since before she left for Paris to visit her mother.

    I went to her old apartment and took the time to visit her father¡¯s grave site to pay my respect, thanking him for creating and raising the woman I would be spending the rest of eternity with.

    Chant¨CAC

    SEO. AL

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    10084% 15:58

    So far, however, all I knew was that she had boarded a Greyhound bus in Minneapolis. That was thest time she¡¯d used her credit card.

    She didn¡¯t have a cellphone or anything that could be used to track her, and her scent was long gone. Belle was too smart. She was evading me at every turn. And it was making me lose my f ucking

    mind.

    My wolf often let me know that he thought this whole thing was stu pid. He was convinced that he would be able to find her if I let him out.

    He would simply run and search every inch and crevice of this earth if he had to. This was why I

    hadn¡¯t shifted in nearly three months.

    I knew the moment I let him out that he wouldn¡¯t give me back control until he found Belle, and, as smart as my wolf thought he was, the only thing he would aplish was prancing around the

    woods while our mate suffered.

    A huge downside to keeping my wolf inside, however, was that I was extremely on edge. I moved myself and my pack into the pce of the Mortars in aplete trance.

    I had only been here for a few weeks and had already proved to be the worst king in all of

    supernatural history.

    Zagan Mortar, the former king, very quickly realized what a mistake he had made in sending my mate off on her own while I was still unconscious.

    I snapped at anybody who bothered or inconvenienced me even the slightest bit and had no interest in ruling-or doing anything, really-until I had Belle by my side again.

    She was my one and only concern. Zagan made up for his mistake by continuing to take on many of the responsibilities of king. I didn¡¯t have it in me to be grateful, though. I didn¡¯t have it in me to be

    anything.

    The only thing holding me back frompletely flipping my sh it was the fact that I could feel Belle and knew she was alive and okay. She was in pain and felt incredibly uncertain and afraid, but she was okay.

    She missed me. I could feel her longing toe back to me every day, and I wished with every part

    of

    my being that she would, even though I knew she wouldn¡¯t.

    The worst part was that she hated herself for it. She thought it made her weak and pathetic to still want me after everything she thought I did to her, and it broke my heart.

    Emergency calls onlyM

    *10084% 15:58

    I wanted nothing more than to pull her to me and tell her that there was nothing wrong with her and that it waspletely normal to want to be with me. I was her mate.

    My heart squeezed painfully in my chest to think she would ever hate herself for something so natural as loving her mate.

    I had spent thest three days in the room I was in now. It was meant as a conference room.

    It sometimes made me stall to think of all of the important, influential, and historical characters who had stood in my very spot.

    The room was enormous, with dark wooden walls carved with intricate designs, bookshelves with ancient literature surrounding us, and a fifty-foot-tall ceiling madepletely of stained ss.

    It was a work of art, the stained ss, which told the story of Evangeline and Elijah Viotto, the former hybrid king and fairy queen of the supernatural.

    Its breathtaking windows bathed the room in deep, rich colors throughout every hour of the day.

    Even during the night, the moonlight shone through and covered the surrounding space in a nket of iridescent light, making me feel like I was standing in a painting.

    As beautiful as it was, I often found myself looking up at the stained ss above me after throwing

    my

    head back in frustration.

    Only to be faced with even more anger as I studied it, seeing the unfortunate way that Elijah and Evangeline¡¯s story ended, with both of them dying at the hands of the first Mortar to take the throne,

    Damian Mortar.

    Even now, my hands clenched into fists as I looked up at it through dark-red eyes.

    Some said that Belle and I were Evangeline and Elijah reincarnated, as we were the two that, ording to prophecy, were meant to take on their same roles, as king and queen of the supernatural,

    I resented that. I would take the throne alongside Belle, but I would not have the same ending as they did.

    I would not allow myself or Belle to meet the same fate Elijah and Evangeline hade to. Azazel would not be our Damian.

    But I had to find Belle first to prevent that from happening. F uck, why couldn¡¯t I find her? Where the hell was she hiding?

    Emergency calls only M

    If she would just open her mind to me, I could track her down and exin everything. But-as stubborn as ever-she continued to block me off.

    15:58

    As much as it killed me, I stopped trying to break through the surprisingly strong me ntal barriers she¡¯d put up because I knew it just caused her more pain and reminded her of the horrible things she thought I had done to her.

    So I would hold myself back until I had more information.

    A fierce form of regret traveled through me as I thought about the wasted opportunity I was presented with during the battle on my pack grounds three months ago.

    Azazel¡¯s army of vampires had lost-more than lost, they had been brutally defeated, in their attempt to kill my pack members, while also tearing each other apart in an untrained, savage hunger

    for blood.

    The fact that his army was defeated didn¡¯t satiate my own need for blood, however¡ªAzazel¡¯s blood.

    Nothing and no one was going to stop me from hunting him down and killing him slowly, cruelly.

    Breaking each of his bones, ripping flesh, bringing him to the brink of death, and then starting over time and again until I waspletely satisfied with the amount of suffering I had put him through -if that were even possible.

    My wolf salivated, and the fangs and ws of my vampire were unintentionally released, both of them just as tempted as I was by the thought of torturing Azazel for decades.

    But Azazel had escaped before I had gotten to him, proving once again what a coward he was.

    I had torn through the surrounding trees where he was hiding in wolf form, using my vampire speed, but found that he was nowhere to be seen, the only remnant of his being the faint scent he¡¯d left behind.

    He had quite obviously run when he realized he had lost, leaving his n of new vampires to fend for themselves against my pack of hungry wolves.

    He knew what I would do to him if I found him and was smart to run.

    Azazel was after her. I could feel it in the very marrow of my bones. He was looking for her with the same intense determination I was.

    He wanted to kill her in the most brutal way possible in ast-ditch effort to take me down. He knew as well as I did that I would be nothing without Belle by my side.

    Emergency calls onlyM

    100 83% 15:59

    The only thing keeping me going right now was the knowledge that Belle was out there somewhere in an incredible amount of pain and danger. I had to get to her before Azazel did.

    And time was running out.

    ¡°Alpha, why don¡¯t you go get some sleep?¡± Kyle asked me in a tentative tone. ¡°You haven¡¯t slept more than an hour a night for the past week.¡±

    He was right. It was nearly impossible to sleep without Belle sharing the bed with me. I could tell Kyle wanted to get back to Elijah and probably get some much-needed sleep himself.

    He had put all of his heart and soul into this search and had been by my side every step of the way. Elijah too. They were both just as determined as I was to find her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a f uck about sleep,¡± I growled. ¡°I need to find my mate. You can go to bed if you want. I¡¯m staying here.¡±

    ¡°Alpha, I hate to break this to you, but all you¡¯ve been doing for the past several hours is growl and pace back and forth like some sort of possessed zombie dude thing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to get much else done tonight. And the luna needs you at your best if you¡¯re going to find her.¡±

    My head snapped up to look at Kyle, my red eyes narrowing. ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡±

    I was cut off by the drastic shift of Belle¡¯s emotions through the mate bond. She already hadn¡¯t been having the best day-something that tore me up inside.

    Something had happened to upset her this morning, and that poor mood had stayed with her throughout the entire day. But whatever she was feeling now was more than just sadness.

    It was full-blown terror.

    My entire body froze. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

    ¡°Alpha?¡± Kyle asked.

    I held my hand up, silencing him. ¡°Something is wrong with Belle,¡± I told him.

    Having no other choice, I immediately attempted to push into her consciousness, even though I was aware that it would add pain to her fear.

    I just needed her to know that I was here for her. I needed her to let me in, so I knew what was going

    Emergency calls only Men, de

    on, why she was so afraid, and how to protect her.

    *100 83% 15:59

    Anger forced itself through the bond as Belle realized what I was doing. I didn¡¯t give a f uck if she was mad at me. I needed to know what had her so scared.

    My hands gripped the back of the chair I was standing in front of so hard that I could hear the ancient wood starting to split beneath my grip.

    ¡°F uck,¡± I shouted when she still wouldn¡¯t let me in but was clearly still very afraid. ¡°F uck!¡±

    ¡°Alpha, what¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s going on?¡± Kyle demanded, standing from his chair.

    Belle was in danger. Belle was in danger. Belle was in danger. It was the only thing repeating over and over again in my head.

    Then, all of a sudden, it was like a door opened in my mind. And even as a wave of calm washed over me as the bond surged between me and my mate, Belle¡¯s pain and fear were even more intense.

    Belle¡¯s walls were down.

    I could just barely hear Kyle calling my name because I was already sprinting out the door.

    ¡°Where the hell are you going?¡± he called after me.

    ¡°Maine,¡± I grunted back.

 Chapter 77

    BELLE

    My eyes flew open, blinking under the bright light on the ceiling above me. Memories of what had happenedst night came crashing to the front of my consciousness like a freight train.

    I was disoriented and drowsy from passing out and had no idea where I was or how I got there. And, even though exhaustion was pushing me to go back to sleep, panic gripped me like a vice, forcing my eyes open wide.

    Adalee had tried to kill me.

    Grayson didn¡¯t care if I was dead.

    Liam was a vampire.

    My hand went to my throat, touching the spot where Adalee¡¯s hand had been wrapped around my

    neck.

    I whimpered when my fingers connected with the tender bruise there, my throat constricting with

    horrified tears.

    I scrambled to sit up, pushing through the pain coursing through my body. My fight or flight instinct was telling me to get the hell out of dodge.

    I looked around me, realizing for the first time I was in Liam¡¯s apartment, back in the room he used to let me stay in. I felt the tiniest bit of relief. I knew this ce. I could get out of here quickly.

    ¡°F uck,¡± Liam¡¯s voice said from outside my door. ¡°I think she¡¯s awake.¡±

    I moved faster, practically leaping out of bed-although my body was screaming at me-and looked for anything I could use as a weapon.

    I reached for the closest object, amp, but was stopped right before I could grab it.

    ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa.¡± Liam was suddenly next to me, gently pushing me back down by my

    shoulders onto the bed.

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    I blinked up at him. How had he gotten here so fast? He moved like a blur. I had jus

    talking in the living room,

    heard him

    ¡°Slow down there,¡± he continued. ¡°You¡¯re not fully healed yet. You need to take it easy

    I flinched away from his touch as if he had burned me. Visions of him covered in Adalee¡¯s blood assaulted my consciousness.

    Vampire Vampire Vampire Vampire.

    Liam was clean now-no more blood on his face-and he was wearing fresh clothes. He looked like his normal self again.

    That didn¡¯t make me any less terrified of him.

    Liam¡¯s eyes softened when I jerked away from him and retracted his hand from me slowly.

    La appeared beside me as well, looking down at me with concern. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be awake yet. We thought you would be asleep for hours after everything you¡¯ve been through.¡±

    She tried offering me a gentle smile that I¡¯m sure was meant to beforting. ¡°But you¡¯ve always been one hell of a fighter, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    I barelyprehended what La was saying, unable to stop from ncing at Liam, feeling betrayed by the man I had once trusted. He¡¯d lied to me.

    What had I expected, though? Everyone I cared about turned their backs on me at some point or another. They all had secrets that they were preparing to use against me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, Belle,¡± Liam begged, his tone pained. ¡°You know I would never hurt you.¡±

    ¡°You hurt Adalee,¡± I croaked. My voice was h oa rse and gravelly, but not as bad as I had been expecting, given all that had happened to me. ¡°You killed her. How do I know you won¡¯t do the

    same to me?¡±

    ¡°I saved you. That werewolf was trying to kill you, Belle. I wasn¡¯t about to stand back and let you die. I had to do something.¡±

    So he knew Adalee was a werewolf.

    And he was a vampire.

    Emergency calls only

    What the f uck had my life be?

    10083% 16:01

    I recalled hearing Grayson tell me about a war between werewolves and vampires that had been going on for centuries. He said vampires were horrible, backstabbing creatures who only thought of themselves.

    That couldn¡¯t be Liam, could it?

    My eyes filled with unwanted tears. ¡°Are you a-a-¡± I asked Liam.

    He interrupted me before I could say the word. ¡°I¡¯m a vampire.¡± He looked to La, who was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth

    She nodded her head once. ¡°We both are. All¡­ All of Evergreen is sort of full of vampires.¡±

    And that was all I needed to hear.

    I practically flew out of bed, nning to sprint to the door. I should have known that

    would be futile.

    my

    efforts

    Liam grabbed me and forced me back onto the bed yet again. My exhausted, sore limbs protested, making me clench my jaw.

    ¡°Stop that,¡± Liammanded. ¡°You¡¯re going to hurt yourself. You¡¯re not fully healed.¡±

    I struggled against him, trying to push his hands off me. I wanted to scream in frustration. I was so sick of people using their supernatural strength to detain me.

    After a few more seconds of fighting, I begrudgingly relented andy back down in defeat. I red at Liam, feeling tears running down my cheeks. Embarrassment reddened my face. I hated that I was crying in front of them.

    ¡°So, what?¡± I demanded, angrily wiping my tears. ¡°I just walked into a crazy vampire cult or something?¡±

    Liam frowned. ¡°We prefer the term clun. Not cult.¡±

    As if that made it any better.

    La touched my hand. My head snapped up to look at her, and I jerked away from her touch.

    ¡°You have nothing to be afraid of,¡± she told me. ¡°You lived with werewolves before, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Emergency calls only M

    Liam frowned. ¡°We prefer the term n. Not cult.¡±

    As if that made it any better.

    100 83% 16:01

    La touched my hand. My head snapped up to look at her, and I jerked away from her touch.

    ¡°You have nothing to be afraid of,¡± she told me. ¡°You lived with werewolves before, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    99

    My jaw dropped. ¡°H-How did you-¡±

    ¡°We all knew you hade from a werewolf pack as soon as you got to Evergreen. You reeked of them.

    ¡°Plus, you have a werewolf mating mark the size of Canada on your neck,¡± La told me. ¡°You really thought we wouldn¡¯t notice that?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to respond. I touched my mark gently, wincing when it red with heat. I wished I could just scrub the thing away so no one, including me, could ever see it again.

    La sighed. ¡°Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise you, if you can handle werewolves, then you can handle vampires.¡±

    ¡°At least we don¡¯t turn into monsters whenever we¡¯re in a bad mood,¡± Liam grumbled. ¡°We¡¯re not nearly as scary or dangerous.¡±

    Was that supposed to make me feel better? Nothing they said would make this situation any less messed up.

    I had escaped a pack of werewolves who hated me just to walk straight into a vampire n who probably wanted to have me for breakfast. Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire.

    ¡°Werewolves don¡¯t kill people,¡± I retorted.

    Liam scoffed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure about that, hun.¡±

    We held each other¡¯s gaze for several long moments. A silent challenge. I was the first to look away. Although I hated him at the moment, some part of me knew he was right.

    Liam definitely wasn¡¯t the biggest monster I had ever faced.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Belle,¡± La said. ¡°I wish we could have told you. We wanted to, I promise.¡±

    ¡°So why didn¡¯t you?¡± I whispered.

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    10083% 16:01

    ¡°Our father wouldn¡¯t let us. He didn¡¯t want us to associate with the mate of a werewolf. Especially one with a mark the size of yours,¡± Liam said.

    ¡°Your mate is dangerous, isn¡¯t he?¡± La questioned. ¡°Isn¡¯t it true that the bigger the mark, the more powerful the werewolf?¡±

    I nodded stiffly. ¡°He wasn¡¯t the friendliest person.¡± That was the understatement of the century. ¡°So that¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t get a job in Evergreen? Your father wouldn¡¯t let me?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Liam grumbled, actually looking upset about it. ¡°He was being an asshole.¡±

    I tried to keep my breathing calm, although my chest was tightening more and more by the minute.

    ¡°So when you told me your father was the leader of the town¡­what you really meant was that he¡¯s the leader of¡­of a vampire clun?¡±

    Liam sat down on the edge of the bed next to me. ¡°Yes,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Our father may or may not be one of the most powerful vampires in the world.¡±

    ¡°Because why wouldn¡¯t he be? It makes perfect sense.¡± Of course I left one of the most powerful werewolves in the world just to move in with the son of one of the most powerful vampires in the world.

    ¡°And let me guess he hates me because I was mated to a werewolf, right? That¡¯s why he wouldn¡¯t let me get a job?¡±

    Liam and La hesitated for only a second before they both nodded.

    I couldn¡¯t help the bubblingughter that left my lips at the irony of the entire situation. ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that just peachy?¡± Iughed.

    ¡°We tried to convince him you wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but he didn¡¯t want your mate, whoever he is,ing to our town,¡± La said.

    I shifted. ¡°Would you do something to him if he did? Would you¡­hurt him?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t kill anyone,¡± Liam cut in, sitting on the edge of my bed. ¡°Yesterday was the first time I had ever taken anyone¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°But then how¡­¡± I swallowed. ¡°How do you

    ¡°If you¡¯re trying to ask about our diets,¡± Liam provided, ¡°we drink blood. They got that much right

    in the movies.¡±

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    ¡±

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    I shifted. ¡°Would you do something to him if he did? Would you¡­hurt him?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t kill anyone,¡± Liam cut in, sitting on the edge of my bed. ¡°Yesterday was the first time I had ever taken anyone¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°But then how¡­¡± I swallowed. ¡°How do you

    ¡°If you¡¯re trying to ask about our diets,¡± Liam provided, ¡°we drink blood. They got that much right in the movies.¡±

    ¡°Human blood?¡± I asked quietly.

    He nodded slowly. ¡°Yes. Human blood.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t kill them,¡± La cut in. ¡°They don¡¯t even remember anything after we take their

    blood.

    ¡°They may feel a little disoriented for a couple of days-they might even think they have the flu or a bad hangover or something-but they are otherwise unharmed.

    ¡°Vampires have evolved to be able to inject our victims with a toxin in our fangs that can make them forget everything if we want them to. Not all vampires care to do this, but we do.¡±

    All the nights I had spent here came racing to mind. I had no idea that I had been living under the same roof as a bloodthirsty vampire.

    I didn¡¯t remember Liam touching me but¡­ Was it possible that he drank my blood without me knowing about it?

    ¡°No one has touched you,¡± Liam suddenly said, as if he had been reading my thoughts. ¡°No one in this town, including us, has fed from you. I¡¯ve made sure of it.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not kidding,¡± La said. ¡°He almost killed a couple of people, so you wouldn¡¯t be

    someone¡¯s next meal.¡±

    I winced at her choice of phrasing.

    Suddenly, it all made sense. ¡°So when you kept insisting on driving me to and from work, saying you didn¡¯t want me to get murdered while I was walking home alone-¡±

    ¡°I was literally making sure you wouldn¡¯t get murdered,¡± Liam exined, sounding more than a little defensive.

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    0083% 16:02

    ¡°I can tell people not to feed from you when you¡¯re in Evergreen, and they have to listen to me because of who my father is.

    ¡°But the moment you moved to Woodhurst and started working at that stu pid diner, I lost any

    authority over you.

    ¡°Anybody could have wandered over there and done whatever they wanted with you, and I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything to stop it.

    ¡°And when I didn¡¯t invite you to that party, it was because I knew someone would try something on you if you were there. Your blood is especially appealing for some reason.

    ¡°It¡¯s most likely because you¡¯re a werewolf¡¯s mate, and vampires are hardwired to kill and harm

    werewolves.

    ¡°So even though I warned people to stay away from you, I never wanted to risk leaving you by yourself for too long.¡± His fists clenched at his sides.

    ¡°But you were always so da mn persistent about being independent and not needing anyone¡¯s help; it was as if you wanted someone to kill you¡ª¡±

    ¡°Liam is strangely protective of you,¡± La interrupted, giving her brother a look.¡±I don¡¯t really get it. No one does. Ever since you came to town, you¡¯re all he thinks or talks about.

    ¡°He gets really upset if you¡¯re ever alone.¡±

    I shifted ufortably at this revtion. ¡°Is that true?¡± I asked Liam.

    Liam ran a frustrated hand through his curly hair. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to exin it. It¡¯s not a romantic thing, so don¡¯t get the wrong idea.¡± His jaw clenched, looking frustrated as he eyed me up and

    down.

    ¡°Well, fine, maybe it was when I first saw you sitting on that park bench alone. I mean, look at you.¡± He gestured to my body.

    I blushed.

    ¡°But then I saw the mark on your neck and¡­well, I knew you had a mate and were off-limits. Thest thing I wanted was an angry monster werewolf thing trying to kill me because they thought I touched you.

    ¡°So I don¡¯t want you to think I did all of this because I have hopes of you ever wanting to be with me in a romantic way because that¡¯s not the case.¡±

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    I didn¡¯t miss the way his eyes dropped to the bruising around my damaged neck.

    ¡°I should have left you alone after I found out you had a mate. But one look at your bruised face and tear-stained checks and¡­I don¡¯t know.

    ¡°Something in me switched the day I met you; some instinct took over. I that. I needed to protect you. I needed to know you were okay at all times.¡±

    I studied him for a few seconds, trying to process all the crazy things he

    ¡®t leave y

    you after

    g me, but I

    couldn¡¯t seem to wrap my head around it all. None of it made any se usterk

    It exined his strange behavior and his need to control my life, but I still didn¡¯t Why did Liam feel like he had to protect me? Why did he care at all?

    erstand why.

    I wasn¡¯t his responsibility. And, seriously, thest thing I needed was another possessive, overprotective supernatural creature iming they had some magical bond to me, connecting himself to me.

    ¡°Well, thanks for looking out for me, I guess, but you don¡¯t have to anymore. I¡¯m leaving town. I can¡¯t stay here anymore.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± La practically screeched. ¡°You¡¯re leaving? Why?¡±

    I snorted. ¡°Besides the fact that I have unknowingly been living right next door to a vampire n for thest few months? I can¡¯t let anyone get hurt because of me.

    ¡°If Adalee was able to find me, then I¡¯m sure other people will be able to too. I need to get out of

    here before it¡¯s toote.¡±

    ¡°This has something to do with whoever the hell put that on your neck, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Liam red down at Grayson¡¯s mark. ¡°Your mate.¡±

    My mark burned as if it knew who we were talking about. I nodded once.

    A hissing noise left Liam¡¯s chest. My eyes widened. I had heard that sound before, back when I had been living with Grayson.

    Grayson had made that noise the first night we slept apart from each other, right after pushing me out of his bed for refusing to have sex with him.

    Then he¡¯d done it again when he¡¯d hit me for talking to Kyle about our rtionship, and once more right before I¡¯d refused him for thest time, and he¡¯d mated with someone else.

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    Liam¡¯s hand touched my shoulder, dragging me out of my thoughts.

    *0083% 16:02

    0

    ¡°He¡¯s the one you are running from, isn¡¯t he?¡± he asked. ¡°Now that you finally know everything, we can be honest with each other. Was he the one who hurt you?¡±

    My throat was suddenly dry. I didn¡¯t want to answer, I didn¡¯t want to talk about Grayson or all the horrible things he had done to me,

    La handed me a ss of water that I hadn¡¯t even noticed had been sitting on my bedside table. I chugged it down, grateful for the feel of the cool water on my sore throat.

    Setting the ss back down, I realized with a start that my injuries didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as they had when I had woken up,

    There was absolutely no pain in my head-not from Grayson trying to force himself into my mind, nor from Adalee mming my skull into a wall multiple times.

    I tentatively reached up and touched the back of my head. I wasn¡¯t sure what I had been expecting, but all I found was a mild bruise and dried blood.

    It was a simr case with my neck. Bruises that I was sure were in the shape of hands wrapped themselves around my throat, but the pain wasn¡¯t anything I couldn¡¯t handle.

    I had definitely been through worse.

    I distinctly remembered Adalee¡¯s hand crushing my airwayst night. This should have left me dead or, at the very least, in the hospital.

    And I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if the wound on the back of my head caused internal bleeding or brain damage.

    When Adalee had mmed me against that wall, I could have sworn I felt my brain rattle in my skull.

    I should be dead right now-it was the only thing that made sense after the trauma I had through.

    gone

    How was it possible that I was sitting here, experiencing barely any pain after the beatdown I had receivedst night?

    My gaze went back to Liam and La, giving them a questioning, bbergasted look. They nced at each other, neither of them seeming like they wanted to give me an answer.

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    After another moment of hesitancy, La was the first to speak. ¡°We gave you Amelia Mortar¡¯s blood. It has healing properties. It¡¯s the only reason you¡¯re alive right now.¡±

    I stared at her. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m gonna need you to back up there for a second. You gave me whose what?¡±

    La shifted uncasily. ¡°Amelia Mortar¡¯s blood. She¡¯s the royal n¡¯s healer and the daughter of the king of vampires, Zagan Mortar. Her blood can heal someone on their deathbed with just a few drops.

    ¡°Thankfully, she packages it and gives it to ns all over the world. We had some stashed away for moments like this. Perks of being rted to our father.¡±

    ¡°One of the only perks,¡± Liam grumbled.

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. ¡°You injected me with some vampire princess¡¯s blood?¡±

    Liam shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not in your bloodstream. You took it orally.¡±

    I moved around slowly, testing out my limbs. Everything feltpletely normal. ¡°And that¡¯s why I feel okay now? That¡¯s how I healed so quickly?¡±

    Healing wasn¡¯t the only difference I noticed. I felt better than I had in months.

    ¡°You¡¯re not fully healed yet. You still have a nasty bruise around your throat, and the ga sh on your head will take a bit longer to close up,¡± La said.

    I brushed my hair out of my face in frustration, needing to take a moment to try to process all of this. I squeezed my eyes shut. There was a lot of information being thrown at me way too fast.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Liam asked in a calm, even tone. ¡°How¡¯s your head?¡±

    My eyes opened. I touched the wound. ¡°Fine. Well, better than fine, actually. I don¡¯t remember thest time I was able to think this clearly.¡±

    Liam still looked concerned. ¡°So that migraine you¡¯ve been dealing with thest few months has finally gone away?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a migraine,¡± I told him dryly. ¡°My former mate was trying to break into my consciousness so he could keep tabs on me.

    ¡°He was finally able tost night when Adalee almost killed me. Even though I¡¯ve blocked him out again, I don¡¯t know what information he got from me while I was cked out.

    Emergency calls only b

    ¡°He might know where I am. He mighte for me.¡±

    I thought about how I had unintentionally let him into my mindst night while I had been unconscious and felt embarrassment rise up my throat.

    I had clung to thefort he provided me during what I thought were myst moments, even though I knew he was the one who had ordered me to be killed.

    Embarrassment made my heart rate pick up and my palms sweat. I could only imagine what Grayson had thought of me.

    ¡°But he marked you,¡± La stated, confused.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know a whole lot about werewolves or their fated mates, but I thought once they marked their other half, wolves were bonded for life. Don¡¯t you want him toe for you? Don¡¯t you miss

    him?¡±

    1602

    ¡°I found him in bed with another woman,¡± I exined, the words tasting like vinegar in my mouth.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not I miss him. I can¡¯t be with him. He rejected me. He mated with someone else. He doesn¡¯t want me.¡±

    There was a long pause. Nobody knew what to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Belle. I can¡¯t even imagine what that must be like,¡± Liam said.

    He hesitated before continuing. ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, you have nothing to worry about, right? He¡¯s not going toe for you if he doesn¡¯t¡­want to be mated with you anymore.¡±

    I looked up at him. I could feel tears starting to pool in the corner of my eyes again, threatening to fall the longer we talked about Grayson.

    Liam was right, though. What the hell was I afraid of? Grayson wasn¡¯t going toe for me. He

    hated me. He didn¡¯t even care if Adalee killed me.

    I nodded, wiping under my eyes. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re probably right.¡±

    ¡°Besides, there¡¯s nowhere safer for you,¡± Liam continued. ¡°If he doese here, you have a bunch of vampires willing to back you up.¡±

    La grabbed my hand in hers. ¡°So you¡¯ll stay?¡±

    I gave her a small smile, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. I mean, what¡¯s the worst that could happen?¡±

 Chapter 78

    BELLE

    After leaving Liam¡¯s apartment, he gave me a ride back to my ce so I could take a shower and change out of my bloody clothes.

    He wasn¡¯t happy when I came out of my bathroom dressed in my waitress uniform.

    ¡°You are not working today,¡± he stated. ¡°You need rest.¡±

    ¡°What I need is to make money so I can afford my apartment instead of being forced to live under a bridge like some sort of troll. My shift is about to start.¡¯

    I walked past him, grabbing my heels by the front door and sliding them onto my feet.

    Liam looked huge in my tiny apartment. Although I suppose that wasn¡¯t necessarily a hard thing to do. Anyone would look big in here. Hell, I looked big in here.

    The entire space consisted of a single room with a sink, a few cupboards, a dresser, a tiny round table, and three chairs, and just enough room for the twin-sized mattress that was lying on the floor

    in the corner.

    There was amunal bathroom just a few doors down.

    So, yeah, the apartment wasn¡¯t much, but it was mine. I was just happy to be living on my own instead of depending on someone else.

    ¡°Belle, you opened and closed the dinerst night.¡± Liam continued to argue. ¡°They cannot expect you to keep going on like this. It¡¯s not healthy. Or legal. You¡¯re overworking yourself.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. He was so dramatic. ¡°I think I can handle it.¡±

    He red back at me, clearly not about to let the subject go. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Liam. I feel great¡ªthe best I have in months. I¡¯m still a little freaked out over everything that happenedst night.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not in any pain, and I feel well-rested for the first time in forever. That vampire blood you gave me really is magic, Even my mark doesn¡¯t hurt as much.¡±

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    It was a miracle, really. Grayson¡¯s mark on my neck still looked horrible-I think it may have been infected at this point-but it didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as it usually did.

    The deep, under-the-skin throbbing had lessened significantly, and it didn¡¯t burn anymore. It made me want to cry in relief.

    4

    Was it possible that I might be able to actually enjoy my day rather than being incapacitated by horrible pain?

    Or maybe, just maybe¡­it meant that Grayson had finally decided to leave me alone after feeling what I had gone throughst night. Maybe he thought I was dead.

    But that was probably just wishful thinking.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Liam continued badgering me. ¡°You hardly sleptst night. You need rest. Especially after everything you¡¯ve been through.¡±

    Iughed humorlessly. ¡°Yeah, no thanks.¡± Sleep meant nightmares, and nightmares were thest thing I needed right now. I wanted Grayson out of my head, thank you very much.

    Liam continued to argue with me for another ten minutes. He finally relented when I walked out the door without him, threatening to walk to the diner by myself, which I knew he would hate.

    He begrudgingly followed behind me, leading me to his car and muttering under his breath about how I was going to work myself to death one day.

    ***

    The diner was busy today. I was grateful for the distraction. Saturdays always brought in a huge crowd, making the time go faster.

    When we got to Pom Pom¡¯s, Liam reluctantly followed me in, still grumbling under his breath about how I hadn¡¯t gotten any sleepst night and needed more time to heal.

    When I ignored him, he found a booth in the corner and sat down to order breakfast.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± another waitress, Candice, asked me about twenty minutes into the breakfast

    rush.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

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    It was still early morning, and the general chatter of the cafe¡¯s breakfast rush added to the pleasant atmosphere around us.

    The sun shone in through the windows, painting the walls with a warm glow.

    Candice grinned at me. ¡°You¡¯re smiling.¡±

    I gave her a weird look. ¡°Are you insinuating that I don¡¯t normally smile?¡±

    Candice shrugged, grabbing herst te of food. ¡°You¡¯re just happy, that¡¯s all.¡± She lifted the tray filled with meals over her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s a good look on you.¡±

    I watched her walk away, a warm, fuzzy feeling spreading through me. I was happy. Every second that passed, I felt better and better.

    I sighed in contentment, picking up my own tray of food and carrying it around the counter, making my way to a table of high schoolers.

    Before I got there, though, the front door to the diner suddenly mmed open. The ss door smashed into the wall, shattering, covering the floor in ss.

    Everyone in the diner jumped, some letting out surprised exmations, before turning to look at the man standing in the doorway.

    My gaze shed with the red eyes of my former mate.

    Grayson.

    But, no, this wasn¡¯t Grayson, was it? It couldn¡¯t be. Everything about the man standing in front of me wasrger, more refined, and far, far more terrifying.

    His huge muscles strained against his ck shirt and casual jeans, bigger than I ever remembered them being. He was at least a foot taller, barely even fitting in the doorway.

    His

    eyes stared at me from across the room, dark red and swirling with ck, as his chest heaved up and down with breaths that wereced with low, malicious growls.

    His arms were sprouting with dark hair, and his entire form was shaking intensely, making it clear he was close to shifting.

    No, this wasn¡¯t the Grayson I remembered. If his red eyes and ginormous form were any indicators¡­ this was the Grayson of my nightmares.

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    ¡°Belle,¡± he said. His voice was deep and rich but somehow strained at the same time. ¡°My Belle.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t think or speak or react. I was frozen in petrified fear. Sweat pooled on my forehead and the palms of my hands. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest.

    A loud ttering noise sounded at my feet, and I realized that I had dropped the tray of food I was holding. The dishes shattered the moment they hit the floor.

    Voices murmured around me, but my eyes stayed glued to the monster in front of me.

    This wasn¡¯t happening, right? I was in one of my nightmares.

    He started to move. He took several long strides toward me, his steps only faltering when I stumbled backward in terror.

    I couldn¡¯t let him get to me.

    His expression hardened, and he immediately began approaching me with even more determination. I didn¡¯t have any time to react ore up with a n.

    All of a sudden, all the pain I had been feeling over thest few months came crashing back into me, only now it was somehow ten times worse than it had ever been before.

    I doubled over, letting out a horrified scream.

    I knew this intense pain was my body¡¯s way of pushing me to go to my mate. My subconscious recognized him and knew he was near.

    The bond was pushing me toward him, promising relief if I made contact with him. And, oh Go d, did I want to go to him.

    I wanted to run to him and wrap my arms around hisrge form until I was sure there wasn¡¯t an inch between us, and then never let him go.

    However, even as my body demanded that I give in to the bond, my mind-the more logical part of me-was going intoplete panic mode.

    I could feel terror settle in as I watched him, almost as if he were in slow motion, get closer and closer to me. I knew I should move, run away, do something, but all I seemed capable of was standing there.

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    in air.

    G od.

    0082% 16:06

    My chest tightened. I couldn¡¯t breathe. Oh Go d, I couldn¡¯t breathe. My lungs were refusing to take

    Memories of thest time I saw him came crashing to the surface of my conscience. I was suddenly back at the pack house with him on top of me as he tried to force himself on me.

    I was standing in his room, watching his massive fist swing toward my face. I was opening his bedroom door to find him and some other girl about to have sex in his bed.

    What was he doing here? What more could he possibly want from me? Hadn¡¯t he already taken it

    all?

    A terrifying thought entered my mind. Was he here to y with me some more? Take me back to his pack house and cause more turmoil to my already broken heart?

    I didn¡¯t think I would survive if that were the case, especially now that he was so much bigger, so

    much scarier than he used to be.

    My heart was beating too fast, drowning out every other sound around me until all I could hear was the sound of my own raging pulse and gasping breaths in my ears.

    The edge of my vision started to darken as I began hyperventting. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

    I was barely aware of someone stepping in front of me, blocking my view of Grayson and his path to me. I registered the person¡¯s dark hair through my blurry, whirling vision.

    Liam. Liam was standing in front of me. Why? I could barely make out what he was saying, but I knew he was yelling something at Grayson.

    He was holding his arms out, trying to protect me. I nearlyughed. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to save me. The monster had found me.

    And if he wanted me, no one could stop him from taking me.

    Their voices faded away. I braced myself on the counter behind me, my legs suddenly too shaky to hold myself up.

    I grasped at my throat, willing it to open up and let the air in that I so desperately needed, but it didn¡¯t help.

    My legs suddenly copsed beneath me, and I slid down until I was on the ground between two bar stools, my back against the wall.

    Emergency calls only ted

    *10082% 16:07 My legs suddenly copsed beneath me, and I slid down until I was on the ground between two bar stools, my back against the wall.

    1

    Just as I was sure I was about to pass out, I registered two massive arms wrapping themselves around me.

    ð¤

    I was pulled into ap, legs on either side of him, my body being set against someone¡¯s huge, hard chest. Delicious, familiar, explosive sparks danced across my skin everywhere I touched him.

    It was Grayson.

    At first, I fought against him. Having him anywhere near me only made my panic worse.

    I gasped and wheezed and pounded my fists against his chest, trying desperately to remove myself from him. My terror rose when I realized it wasn¡¯t working. His grip was unyielding.

    He had me. Oh God, he had me in his control again. He was going to take me with him and do to me again what he had done thest time I was at his pack house. I fought harder.

    I was surprised when Grayson allowed me to hit him, sitting back and taking everything I had to give him. He never let it affect his grip on me, but he also didn¡¯t fight back or try to dodge any of my punches or ps.

    At some point during my fit of rage and gasping breaths, my body began to slow, exhausting itself. I could feel Grayson breathe out in relief as he also recognized my surrender.

    It was then that he tightened his hold around me, bringing me so close that I was safely secured to his chest and unable to do anything other than lean into him, giving him all of my weight.

    One of his hands gently cupped the back of my neck and tucked my head into the warm spot where his neck and shoulder met, nuzzling his face into my neck.

    He kept me there, clutching me like that even when my gasping breaths turned into heart-wrenching sobs. I began to cry, soaking his skin and T-shirt with my tears.

    The bliss of being held by my mate began to settle in. My body recognized his and craved him.

    My heart lurched in my chest, filling with love and adoration for him all over again, almost as if nothing had ever happened between us.

    I

    gave into his embrace, melting into him, epting the affection that my body so desperately needed and which he seemed so willing to provide.

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    I knew it was wrong. So, so wrong. But I didn¡¯t care. I had been in pain for far too long to deny hisfort.

    My breathing and heart rate slowed, and my vision cleared even as I continued to cry. The blood stopped pumping in my ears, finally allowing me to hear again.

    It amazed me how he was still able to calm me even after all this time, even though he wasn¡¯t my mate anymore. It also terrified me. This proved just how much power he still held over me.

    I had been in his presence for mere minutes, and I was already reduced to putty in his arms.

    Jesus, what was wrong with me?

    Relief, pain, and misery all came pouring out of me as Grayson rocked me against his form. I felt pathetic for reacting to seeing him like this, but the floodgates were open, and there was no closing them.

    I let myself sob into his neck, clinging to him as if he were my lifeline.

    Thest time I had cried in front of Grayson, he reacted by yelling at me and calling me pathetic. I almost expected him to react like that again in this scenario. But he didn¡¯t.

    He simply continued to hold me and caress my back in a soothing up-and-down motion, leaving those familiar sparks everywhere he touched.

    I waspletely baffled but didn¡¯t have it in me to acknowledge my confusion at that moment.

    All of the emotions I had been holding in over thest couple of months were pouring out of me, leaving me incapable of doing anything other than sobbing my eyes out into the chest of the man I loved but who never loved me.

    ¡°Shhh, baby¡­I know. I¡¯m so sorry. Go d, I¡¯m so sorry, Belle,¡± I heard Grayson whisper against my hair. His voice sounded hollow and pained.

    He moved his hands up and down my back, rocking us back and forth in a consistent rhythm, keeping his head in the crook of my neck. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve got you. Everything is okay now. I¡¯m so, so sorry.¡±

    Shock flooded my system. Had I heard him right? Had he just¡­apologized to me?

    I didn¡¯t have time to worry about it. Although the rest of my body had calmed the moment Grayson touched me, the mark on my neck only seemed to worsen.

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    i aiant nave ume to worry about it. Although the rest of my boay §áaa caimea ine moment Grayson touched me, the mark on my neck only seemed to worsen.

    I was already in hisp, every possible inch of me touching him, but the mark wanted more; it wanted to be even closer.

    As if Grayson were reading my mind, I felt his lips press down on the part of bitten me, leaving a gentle kiss there.

    my neck where he had

    I let out a breathy sigh. My shoulders loosened. Then, ever so slowly, his tongue ran over it, licking it. My entire body was immediately filled with fire.

    I gasped and pressed closer to him, arching my back against him. Grayson growled, and the sound only added to my needy whines.

    He didn¡¯t hold back. His mouthtched onto the tender mark, kissing and suckling it.

    My arms seemed to develop a mind of their own and wrapped themselves around his neck, tangling my hands into his hair and pushing him closer to my skin.

    I slumped in relief as, for the first time since Paris, my mark didn¡¯t hurt. There was no throbbing, no pain, and no shaking. My entire body was at peace.

    I was home.

    But this isn¡¯t your home, I reminded myself. It never can be again.

    He had rejected me and then slept with another. Even though he was here, holding me and apologizing, nothing had changed. He had still abused me. He was still mated to someone else.

    Those thoughts only made me cry harder.

    Grayson let me s ob into his chest for Lord knew how long. He just held me, alternating between telling me how sorry he was and kissing andpping at my mark.

    Eventually, my crying slowed to a stop. I breathed in slowly, finally able to process things now that my body had calmed down from its panic attack.,

    My anguish was quickly reced with awareness. I peeked up from the skin of his neck, looking around us. The diner was empty. Grayson and I werepletely alone.

    Everyone¡¯s food was still on the tables, and coats were strewn in the booths, forgotten. It told me that everyone had left in a hurry. I didn¡¯t me them.

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    Eventually, my crying slowed to a stop. I breathed in slowly, finally able to process things now that my body had calmed down from its panic attack.

    My anguish was quickly reced with awareness. I peeked up from the skin of his neck, looking around us. The diner was empty. Grayson and I werepletely alone.

    Everyone¡¯s food was still on the tables, and coats were strewn in the booths, forgotten. It told me that everyone had left in a hurry. I didn¡¯t me them.

    If I hadn¡¯t been overwhelmed by my panic attack, I would have run too.

    Grayson¡¯s nose pressed into my hair, and he inhaled deeply, taking in my scent. He sighed in a way

    that imitated bliss and relief.

    Relief over what? Finding me and ruining my ns to stay away from him forever?

    His hand drifted down my back and along one of my bare legs, peeking out from beneath my skirt on either side of his huge body, straddling him.

    I sucked in a breath, basking in the sparks he left behind everywhere he touched. I could feel myself heating up as he started to slowlyp at my mark again before kissing and nibbling on it.

    It felt intimate. Far too intimate for a man who was in a rtionship with another woman.

    That thought snapped me out of my trance, like ice-cold water being poured on me. What the hell was I doing?

    This man ruined my life, and I was simply allowing him to hold me and kiss me as if nothing had happened between us!

    Grayson must have sensed my change in demeanor because his entire body stiffened, and his arms tightened around me.

    My heart rate spi ked. My mind was racing with scenarios as to why he was here. None of them were good.

    He has a mate! I thought bitterly, flinching when my heart clenched painfully. He hurt me, broke me. Why is he here, holding me like this?

    And, better yet, why am I letting him?

    Without loosening his grip on me, Grayson leaned back until his eyes met mine. I expected to see his terrifying red eyes again but was instead met with his green ones.

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    My heart rate spi ked. My mind was racing with scenarios as to why he was here. None of them were good.

    He has a mute! I thought bitterly, flinching when my heart clenched painfully. He hurt me, broke me. Why is he here, holding me like this?

    And, better yet, why am I letting him?

    Without loosening his grip on me, Grayson leaned back until his eyes met mine. I expected to see his terrifying red eyes again but was instead met with his green ones.

    Seeing him up

    close, I noticed for the first time how tired he looked. His beard had grown out slightly, leaving him with a dark, scruffy face, and there were deep bags under his eyes.

    ?

    Somehow though, he was still gorgeous-by far the most beautiful man I¡¯d ever seen, even in his obviously exhausted state. But I couldn¡¯t let myself be taken in by his beauty or the sweet way he held me.

    Grayson was able to change his personality to be whatever he wanted-correction, to get whatever he wanted. He might look sad and sincere now, but there was no way he actually felt that way.

    He was putting on a show. Why he was doing that or what his goal was, I wasn¡¯t sure. But I knew I wasn¡¯t going to hang around long enough to find out.

    He finally spoke.

    ¡°Belle.¡± His voice was barely a whisper. He sounded sad. Desperate.

    Theplete and utter anguish in his voice tugged at my heart. Even though he had treated me so horribly, there was still that instinct that urged me tofort him and make him feel better when he was in pain.

    But it didn¡¯t matter. I had been moving forward. I was getting better. His being here was a huge step back for me. He didn¡¯t deserve myfort or pity after all he had done to me.

    And he especially didn¡¯t deserve it when he had a perfectly good mate at home, probably wondering where he was.

    ¡°Let me go,¡± I whispered.

    He shook his head, his arms only tightening. shbacks of him holding me down on his bed and restraining me with his crazy strength came racing into my mind.

    I gasped and pushed harder against his arms, trying to get out of his iron grip with even more

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    ¡°Let me go!¡± I yelled. I could feel panic creeping up my chest once again with every passing second that he continued to restrain me. ¡°Let me go right now!¡±

    Grayson¡¯s hold on me finally loosened, and I was able to free myself from his arms. He whimpered when I scrambled away from him and ran to the other side of the room.

    The sound came from deep within his throat, telling me it was his wolf. My body stiffened. I missed his wolf. Even when Grayson didn¡¯t want me, his wolf did. He fought for me.

    But that wolf was trapped inside the body of a monster.

    I stood and backed away from him. My arms automatically wrapped themselves around my waist as if I could somehow protect myself from the undeniable pain I was about to endure.

    I wanted to seem strong and unaffected by his presence, but that was impossible to do. I sucked in a breath when my mark began to throb with pain again, even though I was only a few feet away from

    him.

    S hit, what the hell was wrong with me?

    I shut my eyes tightly and took a deep breath, still standing on the opposite side of the room, putting as much space between us as possible.

    It was hard, though. He was like metal, and I was the ma. I was drawn to him.

    After a few more seconds of silence, Grayson spoke. ¡°Belle,¡± he whispered. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    My eyes snapped open. So I had heard him right before. He was apologizing to

    me.

    ¡°W-What?¡± I asked, my voice breaking. ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Grayson stood but didn¡¯t approach me. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry. You have no idea how much I regret what I put you through. You have to believe me.¡±

    Something strange happened to me then. Hope filled my system. Hope that maybe this nightmare was over. Maybe Grayson wanted me back.

    I stuffed that feeling down quickly,pletely disgusted with myself for even having that thought. I wouldn¡¯t let this man ruin my life again. I wouldn¡¯t live in fear of him.

    And I definitely wouldn¡¯t let him walk into my life and try to apologize for something that was simply unforgivable. Never again would I let Grayson be a part of my life.

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    ¡°No,¡± I snapped before he could continue. ¡°Get out.¡± I pointed at the door.

    Grayson¡¯s brows shot up in shock. ¡°What?¡±

    I continued to point at the door, never losing my stance. ¡°Get the f uck out!¡±

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    Grayson¡¯s confusion was reced by panic. ¡°I know you¡¯re upset, Belle, and you have every right to be. But you don¡¯t understand what really happened-¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t care,¡± I interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here, and I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t want you here. I don¡¯t ever want to see you again.¡±

    ¡°No, please don¡¯t say that. Belle, please, you have to listen to me-

    99

    I swallowed down the scream of rage that threatened to bubble up in my throat. Was he seriously making demands of me?

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to do anything!¡± I yelled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing here, but the fact that you think you have any right to just waltz back into my life after everything you did to me confirms that you¡¯re some kind of insane person.

    ¡°I don¡¯t owe you anything, not even a conversation. So leave,¡± I stated. ¡°Now.¡±

    Grayson stared at me for a moment, but he didn¡¯t move, his eyes shing with something unrecognizable. Was it anger?

    A tiny bit of hesitancy filled me, worried that he mightsh out. I tried not to let it affect my

    confidence.

    I told myself I didn¡¯t owe him anything-not my heart, notfort, not even my time. I was in control now. And I wasn¡¯t going to let him boss me around anymore.

    ¡°Okay,¡± he finally said. I could tell he was trying to rein in his wolf, his eyes switching from their normal green to a deep ck. ¡°You¡¯re right. You don¡¯t owe me anything. You aren¡¯t obligated to listen to me.¡±

    I crossed my arms over my chest, not sure what to say. I hadn¡¯t expected him to admit defeat so easily.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not leaving,¡± Grayson continued. There it was. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving this town until you know what really happened between us.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be one step behind you everywhere you go, protecting you, making sure your pain is

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    I squeaked in shock. He started to move his mouth against mine the way he had done so many times

    before.

    For a moment, I forgot where I was, and all that mattered was Grayson¡¯s lips against mine. I kissed him back, the longing in my chest too painful and persistent to ignore.

    His tongue swept over the seam of my lips, and I automatically opened for him, letting his tongue into my mouth. His vor burst across my taste buds, and a needy moan left me.

    Grayson growled and tugged me closer, wrapping his arms around me. Heat flooded my system and pooled at my core. My legs pressed together as the most intimate part of me started to throb, longing for attention.

    After a long moment, he carefully removed his mouth from mine, even though I tried to pull him back to me. He kept his hands firmly ced on either side of my

    my face.

    My breath caught when his forehead met mine, and he looked deep into my eyes.

    Keeping eye contact, he muttered, ¡°Please don¡¯t make me leave. Not after I¡¯ve just found you again.¡±

    I studied him, memorizing every part of his face so I could remember him after he was gone.

    ¡°You broke me,¡± I whispered.

    His huge frame shook at my words. ¡°I know.¡± His thumb wiped away a tear running down my face. I hadn¡¯t even realized I was crying again.

    ¡°But, please, just listen to what I have to say. I need you. I need

    you,

    Belle.¡±

    More tears started to pool in my eyes even though I tried to stop them. ¡°No, you don¡¯t,¡± I replied, trying to step back and detach myself from him but failing as his grip on my face only tightened.

    It wasn¡¯t painful, but it was unrelenting and final. ¡°You¡¯ve never needed me.¡±

    He shook his head, keeping his forehead against mine. ¡°Yes, I do. I do need you. So badly. I love you, Belle,¡± he said.

    My heart did a flip in my chest. ¡°And I know I don¡¯t deserve your love in return, but I need you to know it. I love you. There is an exnation for everything. Please, if you would just let me¡ª¡±

    I jerked back so suddenly that Grayson was taken off guard and not able to keep his hold on me. I shoved his hands off of me, suddenlypletely furious with myself for giving in to his touch so easily.

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    shoved his hands off of me, suddenlypletely furious with myself for giving in to his touch so casily.

    He knew that physical contact with him was my weakness, and he was taking advantage of that knowledge. I couldn¡¯t believe I had let him go as far as he did. I let him kiss me. And I kissed him back!

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± I screeched. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you exin because there is no exnation good enough to excuse what you did to me. It was unforgivable.¡±

    I took a deep breath. ¡°You don¡¯t love me. People who love each other don¡¯t treat one another the way you treated me. They¡­ They just don¡¯t.¡± My voice broke, which only made my fury grow.

    ¡°Which is why, if youe near me again, I won¡¯t hesitate to call the police. I¡¯ll get a restraining order if I have to or do whatever I need to do to get you out of my life.

    ¡°I want you out of my life, Grayson. Do you understand me? I never, ever want to see you again.¡±

    He sucked in a breath. His hands curled back into fists by his sides, and, for a moment, I couldn¡¯t tell if he was holding himself back fromforting me or attacking me.

    At this point, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised by either, which terrified me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you,¡± he finally said. ¡°Call the police if you want, but you won¡¯t like what happens when they get here. No one is going to take me away from you.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, and I¡¯m not leaving unless it¡¯s with you by my side. You¡¯re mine, Belle, whether you like it or not. And sooner orter, you will hear me out.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± I shook my head, swallowing down my never-ending tears. ¡°Leave. Now.¡±

    Grayson watched me for a few silent seconds before nodding stiffly. ¡°I love you, Belle. Pleasee back to me soon.¡±

 Chapter 79

    BELLE

    The moment Grayson left me, severe pain started. I shouldn¡¯t have been surprised. My body knew he was close and was punishing me for sending him away. I wanted him by me so badly.

    I sank down into one of the booths near me. Tears came pouring out of me. I dropped my face into my hands and sobbed.

    I could feel Grayson¡¯s eyes on me, his gaze feeling like a warm nket on my skin. Sparks danced along my body, soothing me even though I would have never admitted it.

    He was near, probably watching me from somewhere outside. I didn¡¯t allow myself to look for him, though.

    After a few long moments, I was finally able to get my crying under control. I breathed through my pain and went to grab my phone.

    My hands were shaking when I pressed Liam¡¯s contact and lifted it to my ear. I had no idea what had happened to him.

    I knew Grayson was intimidating, but I still hadn¡¯t expected Liam to run away when he showed up.

    I remembered him standing in front of me, attempting to protect me when Grayson tried to grab me, but he disappeared after that. And Grayson had gotten to me anyway.

    What if he had done something to Liam? What if he¡¯d hurt him?

    After ringing for a minute, it went to Liam¡¯s voicemail. I hung up and looked down at my phone in confusion. My worry grew. What the hell had happened to him?

    I sent him a quick text, telling him how sorry I was about what had happened, that I was fine, and to call me as soon as possible.

    My eyes nced around the empty diner in dismay. Had everyone just run away when Grayson showed up? How had he cleared the ce out like this?

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    I sighed and grabbed a broom before going over to the broken door, starting to sweep up the ss all over the floor from Grayson smashing it when he¡¯de in.

    I needed a distraction, and cleaning up this mess would have to do.

    ¡°What the f uck is going on here?¡± a voice suddenly yelled.

    I jumped, turning to look at my boss, Jerry. He walked through the broken door I was cleaning up, his face furious.

    His

    eyes scanned over the shattered ss door and then all the empty booths before stopping on me. ¡°What the f uck did you do?¡± he demanded.

    Before I could respond, my mark red with pain. I gasped. I immediately looked back at the window, knowing Grayson was the cause. I couldn¡¯t see him, but I could definitely feel him. My mark could too.

    Jerry waved his hand in front of my face, grabbing my attention once again. ¡°Hey, I asked you a question! What the f uck did you do to my diner?¡±

    My eyes widened. ¡°I-I¡­¡± I stood slowly on shaky legs. ¡°Some, uh, guy showed up, and he broke the

    door.¡±

    Okay, so not the best excuse, but it was the best I coulde up with, given my current state.

    ¡°Some guy? Did this guy also chase all of my customers away?¡± Jerry asked. He seemed a little fidgety and nervous. ¡°What did he look like?¡±

    ¡°He¡­He was my ex.¡± I swallowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know why he was here.¡±

    Jerry¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You steal from this guy or something? What did you do to make him so

    mad?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why he was here,¡± I repeated. ¡°But he won¡¯t do it again. He won¡¯t being back.¡±

    Jerry didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°Can you promise that?¡±

    I hesitated. No, I really couldn¡¯t promise that. In fact, I had no business saying that at all if everything Grayson had told me was true. I could just hope he would stay away from me as I asked.

    ¡°Well, no-

    ¡±

    Jerry scoffed.

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    ¡°But I¡¯ll work for free for the rest of the day,¡± I quickly continued. ¡°To make up for any profit that

    was lost.¡±

    That made him pause. ¡°The next two days,¡± he demanded. ¡°To make up for lost profit and for breaking the door. Or you can kiss your job goodbye, baby doll.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± I agreed. I had to bite my tongue, so I didn¡¯t say anything about his new pet name for me. ¡°The next two days.¡±

    Jerry grunted before walking past me. ¡°I want all of this cleaned up before Ie back.

    ¡°And go

    fix

    your makeup or something before the customers return,¡± he said, gesturing to my puffy eyes and tear-stained face. ¡°You look like a mess.¡±

    He shook his head before disappearing behind the kitchen doors.

    My relief was strong. Grayson may have been back in my life and insistent on ruining it, but at least I wouldn¡¯t be losing my job today.

    ***

    ¡°The hunk in the corner booth is checking you out,¡± Candice whispered to me as she set her tray

    down next to mine behind the counter.

    ¡°He¡¯s been staring at you since he walked in. He even asked to be put in your section.¡±

    I didn¡¯t need to look up to know who she was talking about. I had felt his presence the moment he

    walked in.

    G od, Grayson, why can¡¯t you just leave me alone?

    About an hour had passed since Grayson had found me and turned my world upside down. Customers filed in pretty quickly after that, someing back from before, although they seemed disoriented.

    I didn¡¯t me them. Grayson was a pretty scary dude-especially now that he looked like a giant on

    steroids.

    When I asked Candice what had happened, she just shrugged and said she had no idea what I was talking about. I found this strange but didn¡¯t have the time to think about it.

    We were now just as busy as before, and although that was what I thought I wanted when my shift

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    *10081% 16:09 When I asked Candice what had happened, she just shrugged and said she had no idea what I was talking about. I found this strange but didn¡¯t have the time to think about it.

    We were now just as busy as before, and although that was what I thought I wanted when my shift started, I was finding it hard to keep up now.

    All of my energy from carlier was gone, probably because Grayson was nearby.

    ð¤

    It was pretty obvious now that I had been so happy this morning because the mate bond was strengthening as Grayson got closer to me.

    But now that he was literally less than twenty feet away from me, my body was trying to give me the final push, pressing me to go to him by causing me excruciating pain I knew only Grayson could

    end.

    I hated that my mark burned once again, worse than it ever had before and that my body ached as if I had just finished a vigorous workout.

    I tried my best to smile politely at Candice. ¡°You know what? I give you full permission to take his table if you think he¡¯s so cute. He¡¯s all yours.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Candice squeaked, her voice going up an octave with excitement. ¡°He seems way more interested in you than in me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look now, but he¡¯s literally staring at you like he wants nothing more than to throw you down on one of these tables and have his way with you. Definite Christian Grey vibes.¡±

    My cheeks turned bright red. I knew for a fact that Grayson could hear every word that Candice was saying and probably found it all very amusing.

    I would bet money that he would be sporting a huge, co cky grin on his face if I were to turn around and look at him right now.

    ¡°How long do you think a person needs to spend at the gym to look like that?¡± Candice continued dreamily.

    ¡°I¡¯ve literally never seen a person more perfect than him. He¡¯s lean but huge at the same time, and, oh my g od, those green eyes! I could get lost in those su ckers.

    ¡°And I bet he has some insane abs under that shirt he¡¯s wearing. Just look at the way it¡¯s stretching over his muscles. I would love to-¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± I interrupted before she could tell me exactly what she wanted to do to my former mate¡¯s abs. I hated the uncontroble jealousy that threatened to consume me.

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    ¡°And I bet he has some insane abs under that shirt he¡¯s wearing. Just look at the way it¡¯s stretching over his muscles. I would love to-

    ¡°Okay!¡± I interrupted before she could tell me exactly what she wanted to do to my former mate¡¯s abs. I hated the uncontroble jealousy that threatened to consume me.

    It almost made me regret giving Grayson¡¯s table to her. ¡°No need to borate. You obviously like him, so you go ahead and take his table. I¡¯ll take one of

    yours.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± someone grunted behind me. I turned to look at Jerry, who I hadn¡¯t even noticed had walked up behind us. How long had he been standing there? ¡°No switching tables,¡± he said.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Candice asked, her voiceing out whiny.

    ¡°Because Belle needs to prove to me that she wants her job,¡± Jerry responded. ¡°Which means dealing with difficult customers.¡±

    I gave him a tight smile even as my palms began to sweat at the thought of having to talk to Grayson again. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I replied stiffly.

    ¡°Lucky bit ch,¡± Candice whispered in my ear, smiling as she walked past me.

    Jerry was still watching me as I walked over to Grayson who was sitting in the corner booth. Every step I took toward him made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and I hated it.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± I demanded when I finally reached his table. I was sure to keep my voice low so that no one around us could hear.

    Grayson raised a brow. A hint of a smile appeared on his lips. ¡°Come sit, beautiful.¡± He patted the seat next to him. ¡°Eat breakfast with me. You need food.¡±

    I red at him. I knew this act. Grayson could be charming and caring when he wanted to be. I wasn¡¯t falling for it. ¡°I¡¯m working,¡± I snapped. ¡°And I thought I told you to leave me alone.¡±

    Grayson leaned back casually, crossing his massive arms over his equally massive chest. ¡°And I thought I told you that I wasn¡¯t letting you out of my sight ever again.¡±

    ¡°So you have been watching me then,¡± I used.

    Grayson grinned. ¡°Do the mating sparks dancing along your skin from my gaze feel good, baby?¡± His voice was as smooth as butter. ¡°I know I¡¯m liking the feel of them now.¡±

    My hips abruptly hit the edge of the table I was standing in front of. I looked down, realizing that I

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    My hips abruptly hit the edge of the table I was standing in front of. I looked down, realizing that I had been unconsciously gravitating toward him.

    The only reason I hadn¡¯t fallen into hisp was due to the huge metal table separating us.

    My attention went back to Grayson. I felt my checks turn red, hoping he hadn¡¯t noticed what I just had. But, of course, he had.

    His brows raised, his eyes looking down at my hips, licking his lips.

    ¡°Stop that!¡± I chided, shifting ufortably.

    Grayson¡¯s gazezily raked up my form before he met my eyes once again.

    My nails dug into the palms of my hands, extremely close to punching Grayson¡¯s st upid smirk off his st upid face.

    ¡°What did you do to Liam?¡± I demanded.

    Grayson¡¯s casual expression quickly turned into a scowl. ¡°Who?¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°You know who I¡¯m talking about. Liam, Liam ckwood. My friend. He¡¯s about this tall¡±¡ªI held my hand up over my head-¡°brown hair, obnoxiously charming.

    ¡°He disappeared after trying to protect me from you. Tell me what you did to him.¡±

    Grayson shook his head, a muscle jumping in his jaw. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. But any man who you call charming shouldn¡¯t be around you anyway.¡±

    My nostrils red. He was acting way too casual to be telling the truth.

    ¡°If you hurt him,¡± I started, ¡°I swear I¡¯ll kill you. I don¡¯t care how big and intimidating you¡¯ve gotten. I will not allow you to hurt the people I care about.¡±

    His eyes narrowed at my threat, automatically darkening. ¡°Cure about?¡± he repeated. ¡°Exactly what is the extent of your feelings toward this man?¡±

    I knew at that moment I had said the wrong thing. I didn¡¯t want Grayson to have any more of a

    reason to hurt Liam.

    ¡°As I said before, he¡¯s my friend. Nothing more. And I would like to know what you did to him.¡±

    ¡°I have done nothing to harm your friend,¡± Grayson responded. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good thing that this man isn¡¯t hanging around anymore. I don¡¯t like other men around my mate.¡±

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    My temper rose, hot and sharp. I was extremely close to grabbing the silverware on the table and stabbing it into his hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your mate. You have absolutely no right to act possessive of me. You gave me up.¡±

    A low growl left his chest, causing me to take a step back. ¡°I did no such thing. You are mine, Belle. You always have been and always will be. Now,e sit and eat some breakfast with me.

    ¡°You look exhausted, and I can hear your stomach growling from across the room.¡±

    ¡°I already told you I¡¯m working.¡± I quickly peeked over my shoulder, relieved when I saw that Jerry wasn¡¯t watching me anymore.

    ¡°And if you think I¡¯m serving you, you¡¯re very, very wrong. I would rather eat ss.¡±

    His expression softened. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to serve me, Belle,¡± his voice was much softer than before. ¡°I just want you to eat. When was thest time you had a proper meal?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    ¡°It most definitely is,¡± Grayson retorted.

    My jaw clenched. ¡°I seriously don¡¯t get why you even care. You didn¡¯t care when I couldn¡¯t get any food at your pack house. I was starving, too scared to get food for myself and you-you¡­¡±

    I swallowed roughly, remembering Grayson hitting me and telling me that I was more trouble than I was worth after he found out I hadn¡¯t been eating.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m telling you any of this. I¡¯m not eating with you. I¡¯m not serving you. I¡¯m never doing anything with you ever again. Now leave me alone.¡±

    I turned to leave but was stopped when Grayson caught my arm. He stood, looking at me with determined eyes. His dark expression only softened when he zeroed in on the unshed tears pooling in my eyes.

    I quickly wiped them away.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to serve me. You don¡¯t even have to eat with me, but I¡¯m not going anywhere. As long as you¡¯re here, so am I. You¡¯re my mate. You¡¯re in pain. The closer I am to you, the better it will be for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I bit back. I yanked my arm out of his hold, taking severalrge steps back to prove my point.

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    ***** **iv, vue A Minor going any win

    1?? ? ?it ??r t t ¡± ?IV. long as you¡¯re here, so am I. You¡¯re my mate. You¡¯re in pain. The closer I am to you, the better it will be for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I bit back. I yanked my arm out of his hold, taking severalrge steps back to prove my

    point.

    What I didn¡¯t tell him was that my mark just burned more and more with every step I took. ¡°I¡¯ve gone several months without you and have done just fine.¡±

    Grayson red at the new space between us. ¡°You don¡¯t have to lie to me, Belle. I can feel your pain through the bond. And I can see it in your eyes.¡±

    He stepped forward, gently cing his hand on my upper arm. His thumb caressed the skin soothingly. ¡°You¡¯re not alone,¡± he said quietly. ¡°I¡¯m in pain too.¡±

    I knew I should push his hand off of me, but the sparks that came from his touch felt too good. ¡°You are?¡± I asked.

    Even if I was mad at him, something inside me hated hearing that. I didn¡¯t want him to be in pain. I mean, I wanted him to go jump off a cliff, but¡­

    Grayson nodded. ¡°Of course I am. I may not be experiencing the same thing you are because I¡¯m not human like you, but I¡¯m still suffering just as much.

    ¡°You have no idea how much it killed me to be away from you. And it kills me now being so close to you and not being able to touch you¡ªtofort you. Our mate bond is starving.¡±

    ¡°Keep working on that whole ¡®not touching¡¯ thing,¡± I told him, yanking my arm away from his grasp yet again, even when my body screamed out its opposition.

    ¡°I have to get back to work. Leave me alone. I mean it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t look back at him as I walked away, and thankfully, he didn¡¯t fight me as he watched me go.

 Chapter 80

    GRAYSON

    My jaw clenched as I watched Belle rush around the diner, working her butt off.

    It was physically painful to stay in my seat while my mate, the absolute love of my life, was pushing her body past its breaking point right in front of me.

    And there wasn¡¯t a da mn thing I could do about it.

    I had been sitting there for hours. The only reason I hadn¡¯t already pounced on her and dragged her as s back home was that I understood where she wasing from.

    I had been there; I had witnessed everything that Azazel had done to her. And she thought it was me. She had every right to be upset. She should be upset.

    This was a shock to her. She needed time to process that I was back in her life and that I still wanted

    her.

    She needed to see that I wasn¡¯t going to push her-that I was willing to work to earn back her trust and let here to me. This entire situation was in her hands.

    But that didn¡¯t mean her constant rejection of me didn¡¯t frustrate the hell out of me.

    I was extremely tempted to use the power of the Mortars to persuade her to listen to me, but I knew that wasn¡¯t the right thing to do. It wouldn¡¯t fix anything. She needed to be in control.

    I needed her to decide toe to me and hear me out. I couldn¡¯t expect to earn her trust back by using my powers to force her to listen to me.

    But staying away from her was killing me. Not holding her in my arms, relieving her pain, taking care of her mark, telling her how much I loved her-I wasn¡¯t sure how much more I could take.

    I couldn¡¯t get the way she had looked at me when I had found her out of my head. There was so

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    I had been sitting there for hours. The only reason I hadn¡¯t already pounced on her and dragged her

    as s back home was that I understood where she

    was co

    I had been there; I had witnessed everything that Azazel had done to her.

    me. She had every right to be upset. She should

    upset.

    And sho

    thought it was

    This was a shock to her. She needed time to process that I was back in her life and that I still wanted

    her.

    She needed to see that I wasn¡¯t going to push her-that I was willing to work to earn back her trust and let here to me. This entire situation was in her hands.

    But that didn¡¯t mean her constant rejection of me didn¡¯t frustrate the hell out of me.

    I was extremely tempted to use the power of the Mortars to persuade her to listen to me, but I knew that wasn¡¯t the right thing to do. It wouldn¡¯t fix anything. She needed to be in control.

    I needed her to decide toe to me and hear me out. I couldn¡¯t expect to earn her trust back by using my powers to force her to listen to me.

    But staying away from her was killing me. Not holding her in my arms, relieving her pain, taking care of her mark, telling her how much I loved her-I wasn¡¯t sure how much more I could take.

    I couldn¡¯t get the way she had looked at me when I had found her out of my head. There was so much fear, so much pain in those gorgeous blue eyes. I never wanted her to look at me like that.

    And then the panic attack started¡­

    I knew she saw my red eyes that I was unable to hide when I first came crashing into the diner. I couldn¡¯t keep my vampire back, no matter how hard I¡¯d tried.

    He wanted to see our mate and fought to the front of my consciousness to do so.

    Thankfully though, Belle didn¡¯t ask about my change in appearance or red eyes, and I was able to hide them before she saw them again.

    Maybe she thought she imagined them, although that was probably just wishful thinking on my

    part.

    The moment Belle started panicking, I ordered everybody out of the diner, using the power of the Mortars, telling them not to return until I had left the diner.

    It didn¡¯t cause them any harm; in fact, they wouldn¡¯t remember a thing.

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    The moment Belle started panicking, I ordered everybody out of the diner, using the power of the Mortars, telling them not to return until I had left the diner.

    It didn¡¯t cause them any harm; in fact, they wouldn¡¯t remember a thing.

    The only person I hadn¡¯t ordered out of my way immediately was the vampire boy. Liam ckwood.

    I knew who he was right away. The son of Jeffery ckwood and a powerful vampire in his own right.

    He knew who I was too. I saw the recognition in his eyes when he stepped in front of my panicking mate, trying to protect her from me.

    To his credit, though, he didn¡¯t seem nearly as afraid as I would have expected him to be.

    It still took everything in me not to rip his heart out and shove it down his throat when he attempted to keep me from my Belle.

    The only reason I didn¡¯t do exactly that was because I could smell Belle¡¯s scent all over him and his all over her. They were obviously friends.

    Or used to be. I wasn¡¯t allowing him anywhere near my girl ever again.

    That¡¯s why I told him to walk to Canada. Perhaps it was a strange order, but I needed him away from her, and it was the only thing I could think of.

    He was a vampire, so he should have been less than a quarter of the way there by now.

    Yes, I lied to her when she asked me if I had done something to him. But she would have liked the

    alternative far less.

    He wouldn¡¯t be back for days, giving me just enough time to earn Belle¡¯s trust back and get her as far

    away from here as possible-without causing a scene by killing her friend in the meantime.

    Murder probably wasn¡¯t the best way to get her to talk to me again, although it was bing increasingly difficult to convince my wolf and vampire sides of that fact.

    I looked for Belle for months. I thought of nothing else. How could I? She was my mate, and she was missing.

    I had no idea where she was or if she was safe because she kept her d amn mental barriers up the

    whole time.

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    It only took my former beta attempting to kill her for her to drop her walls and finally let me in for me to figure out where she was. And now¡­

    Now she was standing right in front of me, and I had to force myself to stay away from her.

    She was in pain. She was moving slower, and she looked exhausted, with huge bags under her eyes. I could tell she wasn¡¯t sleeping. Was she not eating either?

    I watched as she took an order from two women at a booth across the diner, my fists clenching beneath the table when I noticed for the hundredth time that she had lost a considerable amount of

    weight.

    She was still as gorgeous as ever, without a doubt, but was no longer healthy. My wolf was buzzing in my chest, fuming over the fact that our mate wasn¡¯t well taken care of.

    Male werewolves took great pride in providing for their females, and I waspletely failing mine. It was killing me..

    The little outfit she was wearing didn¡¯t help hide all the weight she had lost either. It also didn¡¯t help stoke the fire building within me.

    The short skirt stopped right beneath her a ss, and the top she was wearing wrapped around her breasts like a second skin.

    The white apron she had on helped to entuate her already generous-looking curves, matching the white heals on her feet which elongated her legs. Go d, she was beautiful.

    But, unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t the only person who noticed her beauty. Every time I caught another man¡¯s eyes lingering on her a little too long, uncontroble fury consumed me.

    I couldn¡¯t even stop myself from growling at them, shing my fangs and red eyes, barely satisfied when they scampered away in fear. They were lucky I didn¡¯t kill them on the spot.

    But, yet again, I didn¡¯t think killing people would be a good way of earning back Belle¡¯s trust. It was tempting, though. Extremely tempting.

    I watched with an unyielding gaze as Belle rushed behind the front counter to submit an order she had just taken. After handing it off to the kitchen, she made a move to turn but then abruptly stopped.

    I stiffened, watching as her shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath, and her entire body slumped forward, leaning slightly against the counter in front of her.

    She was exhausted. She had been working nonstop since I had gotten here this morning, and it was

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    forward, leaning slightly against the counter in front of her.

    She was exhausted. She had been working nonstop since I had gotten here this morning, and it was well into the afternoon now-almost 5 p.m.

    It was clear to me that my mate wasn¡¯t sleeping, wasn¡¯t cating, was in more pain than I could evenprehend because I was here, and, to top it all off, she was working herself to the bone.

    I didn¡¯t know how much longer I could just sit back and watch this.

    I grew extremely close to breaking my promise to myself not to use my alpha tone or power of the Mortars on her and force her to hear me out so we could be done with this whole mess and I could

    have her in my arms again.

    But I forced myself to be patient.

    Belle tried to turn but fell forward, stumbling over her feet. Thankfully, she was able to grip the counter next to her, so she didn¡¯t fall. She looked disoriented and tired.

    I was up and across the room in seconds. I stood behind her, pressing myself up against her in case she needed to lean on me for support. I carefully ced my hands on her waist.

    Her body tensed, and her breathing picked up.

    ¡°You need a break,¡± I growled in her ear.

    She squeezed her eyes shut. ¡°You can¡¯t be back here,¡± she whispered back to me, making sure her voice was quiet enough so no one else would hear her.

    She pushed at me with her elbow, but her attempts were weak and futile.

    ¡°You need a break,¡± I repeated.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she fumed, as stubborn as ever. ¡°Leave me alone.¡±

    Her annoyed little huffs were adorable.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been working for nine hours straight without stopping for food or water. And don¡¯t even get me started on the da mn shoes you¡¯re wearing if you can even call them that.¡±

    I red down at the white heels encasing her feet. ¡°You need to sit down, eat some food, and rest. I¡¯m not asking.¡±

    She tried to squirm out of my grip, but I wouldn¡¯t let her. She looked around at all of the customers.

    ¡°nca Croucon Vou¡¯ra

    n

    crane ¡±

    ACO

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    *0080% 16:12 She tried to squirm out of my grip, but I wouldn¡¯t let her. She looked around at all of the customers. Their heads were turned, watching our interaction. ¡°Please, Grayson. You¡¯re making a scene.¡±

    I didn¡¯t give a sh it. ¡°You won¡¯t like the scene I¡¯ll make if you don¡¯t do as I say.

    ¡°I would be more than happy to put you to sleep right now and throw you over my shoulder the same way I did on that ne to Paris if that¡¯s what it takes to get you to take care of yourself.¡±

    Her eyes snapped to mine, widening. ¡°Y-You put me to sleep? How?¡±

    ¡°You became a member of my pack the moment Iid eyes on you. I used my alpha tone on you to calm you down when you were panicking.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t used it since, but I would have no problem using it now as this is a matter of your health.¡± I didn¡¯t bother mentioning that I now had the power of the Mortars too. All in due time.

    Her eyes zed with anger. ¡°How dare you? You have no right to control or take advantage of me that way.¡±

    She shoved at my chest but stumbled backward when another dizzy spell hit her fromck of food.

    I growled and grabbed her before she could fall, tugging her against my chest. I took pride in how her body rxed against mine, forced to give in to the mate bond even when her mind still struggled.

    ¡°I would never use it to take advantage of you, only for your own safety.¡± I pressed her as close as I could to my body before bending down and gently kissing her infected mark.

    I needed her to calm down, and kissing that spot did exactly that. She melted against me even more, letting me take all of her weight with a breathy sigh.

    And then the sweet scent of her arousal filled the air around us.

    I held in a groan as I breathed her in, loving the effect I had on her and the way she squirmed against me, trying to get closer.

    She was always so responsive when it came to my touch, and I couldn¡¯t get enough of it. Obviously wanting more, Belle tilted her head to the side, her small hands gripping my shirt.

    It was extremely unusual that we, as a mated couple, hadn¡¯tpleted the mating process yet. Her arousal was the mate bond pushing us together.

    And now that I had her, it would only get worse until I took care of her in the way she needed.

    But now wasn¡¯t the time for this. She needed to rest, not get turned on.

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    With great difficulty, I was able to pry my lips from her mark and look at her. She was obviously still a bit disoriented from the kiss. Her eyes were glossy, and her pretty lips turned down in a frown.

    My own body was buzzing from her touch. My wolf howled in my mind, urging me to continue with what we had been doing. I was tempted to follow his orders.

    It felt so good to finally hold her again, even under the circumstances.

    But the exhausted look in Belle¡¯s eyes and the way her body swayed, barely able to support itself, was enough to hold me back.

    We could-would-do all of thatter and only when she was ready, not when the bond was pushing her. Right now, though, she needed me to take care of her.

    ¡°You¡¯re exhausted, Belle,¡± I whispered to her, running my nose against her temple.

    She was slowly starting toe out of her trance. Realizing what I had just done to her, her expression turned into a scowl, apanied by a sweet blush. ¡°Let

    go

    of me. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    I shook my head and then ran my thumb over the dark bags under her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not. You need rest and food. And I¡¯m not leaving you alone until you get it.¡±

    She studied me for a moment, deciding what to do. Finally, she said, ¡°Why do

    you care?¡±

    I veered back. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Why do you care?¡± she repeated, her voice tired and quiet as she nced again around us. People had started to lose interest in what we were doing, but she still looked wary.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t care when I was starving at your pack house. Or when you sent me to sleep in a freezing cold room in the basement.

    ¡°Or when you left me to fend for myself while all of your pack members ignored and shunned me. Oh, and do I even have to mention the time you hit me so hard you broke my cheekbone?¡±

    Sheughed bitterly. ¡°You don¡¯t care about me, Grayson. You¡¯re just trying to get on my good side so you can take me back to your pack and use me for power.

    ¡°I¡¯m not falling for it. I don¡¯t believe for a second that you don¡¯t have some ulterior motive in all of

    this.¡±

    Hearing about everything Azazel had put her through made my blood boil and my wolf surge forward, turning my eyes a deep ck.

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    I was grateful the vampire side of me seemed to have better control of his emotions and chose to stay deep within me, worried about scaring our mate while she was in such a fragile state.

    A loud growl reverberated from my chest before I could stop it. If the customers weren¡¯t looking at us before, they definitely were now. All conversation ceased, leaving the diner inplete silence.

    None of that mattered to me. They could look all they wanted. The only thing I cared about at that moment was how Belle¡¯s expression turned from enraged to terrified in a matter of seconds.

    I hadn¡¯t meant to scare her. I just needed her to know that what I was about to say next was serious.

    ¡°I care because you¡¯re mine,¡± I growled in a low tone. ¡°And if you would let me exin what really happened back at my pack house, then you would know that.¡±

    I gripped her waist, pulling her backside against my front. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I haven¡¯t thrown you over my shoulder like a caveman and dragged you back home.

    ¡°Especially since I¡¯ve had to watch you prance around in this little outfit all day, showing off skin in ces only I¡¯m allowed to see and wearing heels that make your legs look far too se xy for your own good.¡±

    My hand drifted over the bottom of her skirt, lifting it up the tiniest bit. Her breath hitched when my fingers brushed the crease of her cute little a ss, leaving delicious sparks behind.

    She pped my hand away, but it was a weak hit with no drive behind it. The corners of my lips turned up.

    My mate was so stubborn, so strong-willed. It was one of the things I loved most about her. Even now, when I could so clearly smell her arousal clouding the air, she struggled against me.

    Because she knew she deserved better. And she did. If I had really done all those things to her, I would hope she would run away from me and never look back.

    But I hadn¡¯t done any of those things, and her refusal to listen to what I had to say was doing more harm than good at this point.

    ¡°Grayson, please,¡± she begged, pushing on my chest. ¡°People are looking. If my bosses out and sees this, I could lose my job.¡±

    ¡°You think I care about whether or not you lose your job, baby?¡± Iughed.

    ¡°You getting fired would just be more of a reason for me to take you back to my pack with me, where I can provide for you and make sure you¡¯re well taken care of. You get that?

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    where I can provide for you and make sure you¡¯re well taken care of. You get that?

    ¡°It¡¯s my job to take care of you. It¡¯s what I¡¯m doing right now. So you will sit down and take a break right now or so help me Go d-¡±

    ¡°Is there a problem here?¡± someone said behind us.

    We both turned around, looking at Belle¡¯s boss, who I knew was named Jerry based on the chatter I had overheard throughout the day.

    I had also happened to overhear that he was secretly using the diner tounder drug money for some drug dealers.

    It was fair to say I hated the man. And didn¡¯t want him anywhere near my mate. Even right now, he was too close to her for my liking.

    Belle¡¯s face brightened when she realized Jerry had been watching our interaction, and my automatic response was to pull her closer to me, wanting tofort her.

    It pleased me when she unconsciously leaned into me.

    I stepped in front of her before she could say anything. I heard her huff with annoyance behind me but ignored it.

    ¡°Belle has been working for eleven hours straight,¡± I said. ¡°She needs a break and will be taking it

    now.¡±

 Chapter 81

    BELLE

    My mouth fell open as I stared up at the back of Grayson¡¯s head. I couldn¡¯t believe he had just spoken to my boss like that! He seriously didn¡¯t care if I got fired, did he?

    I shoved at his shoulder, trying to get him to take a step forward so I could get out of the corner he had caged me in. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine-¡°I started.

    ¡°And who exactly are you?¡± Jerry asked before I could continue. I could hear the challenge in his voice. Oh G od, this was not good.

    ¡°I¡¯m her¡­ husband,¡± Grayson stated. ¡°Belle is my wife.¡± He sounded far too pleased to be saying

    that.

    ¡°No,¡± I immediately disagreed, shoving at his back even harder. ¡°You¡¯re not-¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re the asshole who broke my door,¡± Jerry said.

    I huffed. Seriously, why was no one letting me talk? Stu pid men. Now Jerry knew that Grayson was back here, even though I had promised him that my so-called ex wouldn¡¯t ever return.

    ¡°I hate to break it to you, buddy, but you¡¯re the reason she¡¯s even working right now,¡± Jerry continued, scanning Grayson¡¯s massive form with a sneer.

    The fact that he wasn¡¯t intimidated by Grayson was just further proof that he was an idiot.

    ¡°Belle isn¡¯t scheduled for a break tonight because she¡¯s working to make up for the loss of revenue she caused this morning.

    ¡°So I suggest you let her get back to work before I decide she doesn¡¯t have a job here anymore.¡±

    I could feel Grayson starting to shake. His square jaw looked like it was ready to pop free of its hinge. ¡°Belle¡¯s not getting paid?¡±

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    He looked back at me, his eyes darkening, starting to swirl with ck once again. ¡°You¡¯re not getting paid to work?¡±

    I swallowed. ¡°Just for tonight.¡± I told him, trying to speak calmly so he wouldn¡¯t lose My cool. ¡°It¡¯s fine though, really-

    ¡°No. It¡¯s not fine. It¡¯s the furthest thing from fine.¡± His voice sounded like gravel. He turned back to Jerry, openly ring

    Jerry finally seemed toe to his senses when he saw Grayson¡¯s furious expression and took a step back in fear. ¡°I¡¯m taking Belle home right now.¡±

    Jerry¡¯s brows rose in surprise. ¡°Excuse me? She¡¯s not done with her shift.¡±

    My pulse started to pound. ¡°Grayson,¡± I whispered. I hated how desperate I sounded. Thest thing I wanted to do right now was beg, but I didn¡¯t have a choice.

    I squeezed his arm, hoping that the contact with him would make him more understanding, even if I wasn¡¯t his mate anymore. ¡°Stop. Please. I can¡¯t lose my job.¡±

    Grayson looked down at me, studying me for a moment. It seemed to cost him an effort to inhale steadily.

    He turned back to my boss. ¡°You will allow Belle to go home for the night. You will not speak of this again. In fact, you won¡¯t even remember it happened.¡±

    Then, before I could evenprehend what was happening, I was abruptly thrown over Grayson¡¯s shoulder and marched straight past my boss and all the other people in the diner.

    ¡°Grayson, put me down!¡± I screamed. I was able to lift myself slightly, shocked when I saw Jerry walking in the opposite direction from us. My brows furrowed.

    What the hell? He was giving up just like that? ¡°Grayson, put me down right now!¡± I screamed even louder, pounding on his back and kicking my legs.

    I winced when my fists felt like they were connecting with solid rock rather than flesh. I doubted that this man had any sort of body fat on him at all.

    ¡°Stop,¡± Grayson ordered, tightening his hold on my legs until it became nearly impossible to move. I huffed in anger. ¡°You¡¯ll hurt yourself.¡±

    He carried me through the back entrance of the diner, where thankfully, no one could see the embarrassing predicament I was in.

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    ¡°I¡¯m not done with my shift!¡± I yelled.

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    Grayson shrugged his massive shoulders, lifting me up and down with the movement. ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°I cannot get fired, Grayson! Please! Put me down!¡±

    Without warning, Grayson stopped walking and shifted my body so that his arms were under my butt, holding me up, so my feet were dangling a few feet off the ground.

    We were at the same eye level in this position. My breathing hitched when my gaze met his ck eyes, showing me just how close he was to shifting into his wolf.

    ¡°You will not be fired,¡± he growled out, his tone deep and definitive. ¡°If you want to keep that da mn job where they treat you like sh it, then so be it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ensure that you do not get fired for leaving tonight. But I¡¯ll be da mned if I let them force you into working like a dog for hours without paying you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know my boss, Grayson. He¡¯s let people go for far less. And he hasn¡¯t liked me since I started working there. How are you going to keep him from firing me? By threatening him?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s going to work in my favor.¡±

    ¡°I have my ways,¡± Grayson replied calmly,pletely unbothered by my panic. I gave him a

    dubious look.

    ¡°Stop worrying. Everything will be fine, I promise.¡± He leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently.

    I whipped my head back, disgusted that he would even think to put his lips on me after all he¡¯s done.

    Grayson¡¯s eyes darkened even more, obviously not liking my reaction. I took a step back. Would he take his anger out on me like he had done so many times in the past?

    ¡°We¡¯re done talking about this,¡± he fumed. ¡°Where do you live? I¡¯m taking you home and making sure you get something to eat and then a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±

    I immediately shook my head. ¡°No. I¡¯m not telling you where I live.¡±

    One of Grayson¡¯s brows lifted in a challenge. ¡°You think I don¡¯t have ways of finding out, baby?¡±

    My heart fluttered when he called me baby.

    I never thought I would be much for pet names if I ever got into a rtionship, but there was just

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    massaging my hip as he continued to hold me, his touch bringing me back to reality.

    What the hell was I doing? He was able to make me lower my guard far too easily.

    ¡°Put me down,¡± I snapped yet again, wriggling in his arms. ¡°And don¡¯t call me baby.¡±

    ¡°No and no,¡± he shot back in the same final tone I had used. His grip on me never faltered. ¡°Tell me where you live.¡±

    I nearly screamed in frustration. ¡°You don¡¯t get to make demands of me, you¡­you bu ttface!¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes glittered in amusement. ¡°But tface?¡± he repeated.

    I couldn¡¯t even let myself be embarrassed over the terrible insult I came up with, too consumed by my anger. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re a buttf ace! And a jacka ss and a¡­a jerk! Now put me down! And leave me

    alone!¡±

    Grayson ignored me, chuckling with amusement as he once again threw me over his shoulder like I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

    I screamed in fury and kicked my legs, but nothing I did made him loosen his hold on me even the slightest bit.

    ¡°Stop!¡± I finally screamed as loud as I could manage. My irritation was so intense at this point that I couldn¡¯t help my cries of frustration. ¡°Put me down! Put me down right now!~¡±

    To my surprise, that actually made Grayson pause. He stopped and lifted me from his shoulder, cing me on the ground gently.

    His brows tugged together with concern when his dark eyes met mine. ¡°Belle, baby, why are you crying? I didn¡¯t hurt you, did I?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t even realized I was crying. I wiped away the tears quickly. G od, why did I have to be so weak?

    I shoved his hands away from me harshly when he made a move to reach for me again. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡± I screamed. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever touch me!¡±

    Grayson looked like he was in physical pain as he watched me. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t touch you,¡± he agreed. ¡°Just tell me what I can do to make you feel better. It f ucking kills me to see you cry.¡±

    Iughed in disbelief, the sound getting clogged in my throat. ¡°You¡¯re why I¡¯m crying!¡± I yelled. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, if I hadn¡¯t ever met you, I wouldn¡¯t be crying right now.

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    ¡°I would be back in Minneapolis,pletely content and oblivious to the fact that there is a man as evil and maniptive as you out there.¡± I sucked in a breath, my voice dropping to a h oa rse whisper.

    ¡°I wish I hadn¡¯t met you.¡±

    Grayson stiffened. I had to look away from the expression of pure torture he was sporting. ¡°You don¡¯t mean that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t I?¡± I asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand what you did to me, Grayson? You ruined me. Youpletely and utterly destroyed me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in agony for months, walking around like a zombie, only a shell of my old self. I¡¯ll never be able to recover from what you did to me. It¡¯ll forever gue me.

    ¡°And now here you are, acting all sweet and messing with my brain and making me think you might want me again and asking me to listen to you when I know what you did wasn¡¯t right and¡­¡±

    I paused, my lip quivering and my throat constricting as I desperately tried to hold back my tears.

    ¡°I-I want you,¡± I cried quietly, my words barelyprehensible. ¡°I want you so bad that it hurts to look at you and be near you and just¡­ I can¡¯t want you. I can¡¯t have you.¡±

    Grayson stepped forward. ¡°Yes, you can¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t!¡± I interrupted. ¡°Not after everything you did to me, and especially not when I know what you¡¯re really capable of.¡±

    I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking my head and sniffling through my runny nose.

    ¡°What you¡¯re doing right now is cruel. Acting like you care about me when you and I both know you don¡¯t. It has got to be one of the most horrible things a person could do to another person.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not acting, Belle,¡± Grayson said, a muscle sliding up and down his throat. His eyes were back to their normal green, boring into me like he wanted to make me permanently drown in his gaze.

    ¡°I do want you. I want you more than anything in this entire world.¡±

    I angrily wiped at my tears, hating that I was letting him see me cry once again. I didn¡¯t want him to know how much of a hold he still had on me.

    ¡°You mated with someone else. You rejected me. You-you left me on my own during the worst pain of my life after you decided you would rather have someone else

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    %10080% 16.14 sumtuning mat restivicu scanization masticu i Graysuits cycs. TOU BUT ifidice with someone else,¡± he whispered. He cursed under his breath. ¡°F uck, Belle, no wonder you¡¯ve been so upset.¡±

    He reached for me, but I dodged him, stepping back. I searched his eyes, confused as hell.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± I said.

    Grayson took in a deep breath. ¡°Belle, I never mated with that she-wolf.¡±

    My heart turned upside down. I stared at him for several seconds, suddenly feeling dizzy. I couldn¡¯t have heard him correctly.

    ¡°What?¡± I choked out.

    ¡°I never mated with anyone else,¡± he repeated. He took a step closer to me, so he was now less than a foot away from me. ¡°Nothing ever happened. You¡¯re still my mate. You¡¯ve always been my mate.¡±

    ¡°You¡­ You never slept with anybody else?¡± I asked, needing to hear him say it one more time.

    Grayson shook his head, bringing his hands up to cup my checks. I was too busy trying to suck air in and out of my lungs to fight his touch this time.

    ¡°No. G od, no, baby. Sh it, I thought you knew. I thought you felt that we were still connected. This should¡¯ve been the first thing I told you when I found you.¡±

    He took in a deep breath, leaning in so close that I felt his breath fan over my face. ¡°It¡¯s only ever been you. You¡¯re the only person I will ever be mating with. I¡¯m still your mate, and you¡¯re still

    mine.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ But I saw¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. The memory hurt too much.

    ¡°I know what you saw. I know. And I promise you there¡¯s an exnation for it, just like there¡¯s an exnation for every other terrible thing that happened to you because of me.

    ¡°Kyle stopped us before anything happened.¡± He wiped away the tears streaming down both my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

    I could feel his pain radiating off of him through the bond in the same way I was sure he could feel mine. It only made each other¡¯s pain worse.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve thought I was mated to someone else this entire time. Didn¡¯t you feel it when Kyle stopped us?¡±

    Leamomharad fooling thom ston but ¡°I thought it meant you were Chapter 20 of 50. Chapter 20.

    99

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    Grayson made a whimpering noise. I opened my eyes, barely able to see him through my pooling tears. He took another tentative step forward, so his body was brushing up against mine

    ¡°Will you please let me hold you?¡± he asked,

    I should have said no.

    But I didn¡¯t.

    Grayson wrapped his arms around me and pulled me flush against him. That was all it took for me to burst into tears. My emotions came pouring out all at once, exhaustion and pain nearly overtaking

    me.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Belle,¡± Grayson repeatedly whispered in my car. ¡°It¡¯s always been you. I promise it¡¯s always been you.¡±*

    My knees buckled beneath me. I nearly dropped to the cement beneath us, but Grayson didn¡¯t miss a

    beat.

    He scooped me up into his arms, hugging me close to him as he began to walk. I didn¡¯t even care where he was taking me. I just needed to be close to him.

    I sobbed into his chest like I had done earlier this morning when he¡¯d found me. The information that he hadn¡¯t slept with another person and that he was still technically my mate was shocking.

    I didn¡¯t know how to process the relief and pain that was coursing through me. So I didn¡¯t. I just cried and let Grayson hold me.

    Only minutes had passed when I heard Grayson speak again. ¡°Belle, where are your keys?¡±

    I lifted my teary gaze from the crook of his neck. To my utter surprise, we were in front of the door to my apartment. I frowned. How the hell had we gotten here so fast?

    How had he even known where I lived? I guess he really did have ways of finding out my information.

    ¡°Belle, baby. Keys. Please, I just need to get you inside and into bed so I can take care of you properly,¡± Grayson said.

    I blinked, finally processing what he was saying. ¡°I left them at the diner,¡± I realized. I weakly wiped the tears from my eyes. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, though. The lock doesn¡¯t work.¡±

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    ¡°What?¡± Grayson snapped. His hand flew to the doorknob and twisted. The door opened with no problem.

    He growled, the feeling vibrating against my chest. ¡°You¡¯ve been staying in an apartment that doesn¡¯t f ucking lock?¡±

    I shrugged sheepishly. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anything worth stealing.¡±

    He swore under his breath, his body trembling with the evidence of his wolf, but he stepped through the doorway without arguing.

    And that¡¯s when sudden panic rose in my chest.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I yelled.

    Grayson¡¯s movements paused, and he looked down at me in concern.

    ¡°The fact that you didn¡¯t sleep with someone else doesn¡¯t change anything,¡± I said, swallowing thickly.

    Grayson¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I mean you¡¯re not forgiven,¡± I somehow managed to say without fumbling over my words.

    ¡°You may not have had sex with that girl, but you still cheated on me. I saw it-felt it. A-And you still said horrible things to me and hit me and abused me and¡­ ¡°I paused, breathing deeply.

    ¡°What you did to me is still unforgivable.¡±

    Grayson growled. ¡°No. F uck this. You need to know what happened. It wasn¡¯t me-

    ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± I yelled back. ¡°I truly don¡¯t care! Nothing, absolutely nothing can excuse what you did to me! Now, put. Me. Down!¡±

    Grayson¡¯s throat muscles shifted in a pattern, and he made a h oar se animal sound at the back of his throat. He still didn¡¯t let me go. And I wanted to scream.

    Finally deciding I¡¯d had enough, I brought my leg up as hard and fast as I could and mmed my knee right into his crotch, knowing it was the only ce that wasn¡¯t covered in pure muscle.

    And therefore also the ce where I could do the most damage.

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    He didn¡¯t let go of me, but his hold loosened just enough for me to squirm my way out of his arms and onto the ground.

    Still overtaken with pain, Grayson doubled over slightly. Knowing this was my only charice, I pushed him out of the doorway of my apartment and mmed the door shut directly in his face.

    I didn¡¯t waste a second before grabbing a folding metal chair from the table nearby and cing it under the doorknob.

    Then I grabbed the door chain and bolt lock and made sure both were secure, praying it would be enough to keep him out. My apartment may not lock from the outside, but it sure as hell did from

    the inside.

    I wasn¡¯t stu pid enough to sleep in an apartment where any random person coulde in at any time

    while I was in there.

    It only took a second for Grayson¡¯s angry voice to be heard from the other side of the door. He banged against the wood. ¡°Belle! Let me in right now!¡±

    I didn¡¯t reply as I watched my door shake on its hinges. I backed up, afraid he woulde smashing through at any moment.

    I knew Grayson could break it down if he wanted, but I really hoped he would give up before it came

    to that.

    I could feel tears start to fall again as Grayson continued to bang against the door. ¡°Open this door right now, Belle, or I swear I¡¯ll break it down!¡±

    I sat down on my mattress, which still left me in view of the door, bringing my knees close to my chest. I couldn¡¯t stop the so bs that took over my body.

    I didn¡¯t even care if Grayson could hear me. I didn¡¯t care about anything anymore.

    I just sat on my bed and¡­ cried.

    The banging stopped the moment the first so b left my mouth. I could barely hear Grayson¡¯s broken voice whisper, ¡°Belle¡­¡±

    He sounded so sad, so broken. But not as broken as I felt. And definitely not broken enough for me

    to do as he asked.

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    I didn¡¯t reply as I watched my door shake on its hinges. I backed up, afraid he woulde smashing through at any moment.

    I knew Grayson could break it down if he wanted, but I really hoped he would give up before it came

    to that.

    I could feel tears start to fall again as Grayson continued to bang against the door. ¡°Open this door right now, Belle, or I swear I¡¯ll break it down!¡±

    I sat down on my mattress, which still left me in view of the door, bringing my knees close to my chest. I couldn¡¯t stop the so bs that took over my body.

    I didn¡¯t even care if Grayson could hear me. I didn¡¯t care about anything anymore.

    I just sat on my bed and¡­ cried.

    The banging stopped the moment the first s ob left my mouth. I could barely hear Grayson¡¯s broken voice whisper, ¡°Belle¡­¡±

    He sounded so sad, so broken. But not as broken as I felt. And definitely not broken enough for me

    to do as he asked.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how long I stayed like that. I cried for what felt like hours until my throat was co arse, and my voice was gone. I didn¡¯t hear Grayson again. I wasn¡¯t even sure if he was still outside my

    door.

    I tried telling myself I didn¡¯t care.

 Chapter 82

    Annie Whipple.

    X

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    <b>I </b>had never loved Belle more than I did at that moment. I <b>had </b>never been more proud of her.

    I had never been more frustrated with her.

    I paced back and forth behind the back of her apartment building, my entire body reverberating with growls. The building was run down and falling apart and definitely not <b>fit </b>for my woman.

    I wanted nothing more than to go in there, throw her over my shoulder again, and take her to a five¨Cstar hotel.

    There I would hand¨Cfeed her the best food money could buy, rub her tired feet<b>, </b>and tuck her into bed with my <b>arms </b>wrapped around her<b>. </b>

    I could feel her sadness and devastation through the bond. She had stopped crying about an hour ago but was still awake.

    The quiet shuffling I heard from her window every once in a while told me that she couldn¡¯t sleep.

    I felt ridiculous. Here I was, an alpha¨Cno, the <i>king </i><i>of </i><i>the </i>supernatural, dammit¨Cstanding outside my mate¡¯s apartment like a pathetic stalker, desperate to catch any sort of glimpse of her.

    Even the slight shifting of her open window curtains from the wind made my heart race.

    It was midnight, and her apartment light was still on. I continued to pace beneath her window, never taking my eyes away from the ss.

    My chest wouldn¡¯t stop vibrating from my wolf¡¯s constant growling. He missed his mate just as much as I did. Even my vampire missed her, although he had barely spent any time with her.

    My jaw clenched. Why the hell was she still awake? She had been working her ass off all day. I thought I had brought her home to rest, not to stay up all night.

    P

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    <b>I </b><b>knew </b>she was exhausted. She must be in so much pain, too, pain caused by her resisting the mate bond and continuing to keep me out of her mind.

    If she would just let me in, let mefort her through the bond, she would understand how much I missed her. Needed her. Regretted everything that had happened.

    I froze when I <b>saw </b><b>a </b>slight movement from behind the ss of her window. My breathing stalled. Belle slowly approached the window, eyes puffy and checks stained with tears.

    She was still in her waitressing uniform, although it was wrinkled now from wearing <b>it </b>all day.

    She looked outside hesitantly, with her arms <b>wrapped </b>securely around her waist the way she did when she was feeling vulnerable.

    I knew she could feel me watching her by the way her body rxed just the tiniest bit, takingfort in the feeling of my gaze on her.

    And then, although it was dark out and I was sure she couldn¡¯t see me, her gaze found me, staring

    for a few moments.

    I couldn¡¯t control it when my vampire and wolf both came surging forward, trying to get a better look at their mate. I was grateful for the darkness. I didn¡¯t want my bright red eyes scaring her.

    Her hand raised and rested gently on the window ss as if she were reaching out to me. My wolf whimpered. I took a step forward, barely able to hold myself back.

    A tear fell down her cheek.

    My heart utterly shattered. Without thinking, I approached her<b>, </b>needing to hold her in my arms and tell her everything was going to be okay.

    With trembling hands, she mmed her window shut and tugged her curtains closed, blocking my view of her. I stopped walking, knowing she was telling me she wanted me nowhere near her.

    She started crying again. I could hear her constant sobs that she was trying so hard to suppress event through her closed window. And there was nothing I could do.

    All I could do was stand there and hope she would eventually let me in, let me exin what had really happened.

    ***

    Belle had finally fallen asleen <b>a </b>little over an hourter. thank God. After crving- sobbing herself Chapter 21 of 59: Chapter 21

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    I was sitting beneath a tree right outside Belle¡¯s apartment<b>, </b>staring up at her window. I had never felt so useless, so helpless in all my life. I didn¡¯t know how to do this.

    Keeping <b>my </b>distance was killing me¨Cand her. I knew the bond was causing her so much pain because I was so near, trying to give her the final push to force us together.

    But she was so damned stubborn and wouldn¡¯t do what was good for her.

    The image of my mark on her neck entered my mind. It was so swollen that it took the form of a giant lump. It was surrounded by small boils and was no doubt infected.

    I couldn¡¯t even imagine how much it hurt. It made me physically ill to think about how much pain she was in and to know that, at least for the moment, there was nothing I could do to help.

    At this point in our rtionship, we should have been fully mated, and the mark should be nothing more than a small, white scar on her neck, only visible if you are looking for it.

    But because Belle and I had been apart for so long, because she denied the bond, it was huge and irritated<b>, </b><b>a </b>consequence of our starving mate bond.

    A sudden and horrifying scream of terror broke me from my thoughts,ing from Belle¡¯s apartment.

    I immediately knew something was wrong with my mate and was on my feet and sprinting toward

    her in under a <b>second</b>.

    I jumped up to her window without a problem and pried it open, swiftly ducking into her room and<b>. </bnding on my feet with ease.

    I searched the small room for threats but was confused when I found none.

    My frantic gaze found Belle. She was on the bed, very obviously still asleep. But she was whimpering and tossing and turning.

    A deep frown was settled on her beautiful face, and tears were streaming down from her tightly shut eyes. She was having a nightmare.

    Another shriek of terror came from her mouth, shattering my soul. ¡°No!¡± she screamed, still asleep. ¡°<b>Please</b>, <b>no</b>!¡±

    I approached her quickly, careful to stay quiet so as not to wake her up. If she woke D and found me

    in here, she would be even more terrified than she was now.

    up

    ¡°Belle hahy¡± I whispered as I knelt down next to her bed. I had to ignore the fact that it was just a Chapter 21 of 59: Chapter 21

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    mattress on the floor in an effort to keep some sort of trace of my sanity.

    Her body was covered by <b>a </b>simple, thin nket<b>. </b>She was shivering, goosebumps appearing on her arms, her nipples pointing through her thin tank top. My hands twitched with the need to touch her.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± her terrified voice said.

    My shoulders dropped as I sighed. ¡°I¡¯m here, baby, <b>I¡¯m </b>here.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± she suddenly screamed out. ¡°Grayson, please, no! Please, don¡¯t¡­.¡±

    My stomach hit the floor in realization. She was having a nightmare about¡­ me. She was dreaming that I was hurting her¡­ forcing myself on her.

    ¡°Tm sorry!¡± Belle continued. Hex was obstructed by her tears. <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m sorry. Please don¡¯t-<b>¡± </b>

    ¡°Belle, <b>God</b><b>, </b>no,¡± I whispered. I gently took her hand in mine. ¡°Shh¡­,¡± I said. ¡°Shh, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here. I¡¯m never going to hurt you again.¡±

    I thought hearing my voice would help her, but it did theplete opposite. She struggled more the moment she heard me speaking to her as she tried to pry her hand out of mine. I wasn¡¯t having any

    of it.

    My voice might terrify her, but my touch shouldn¡¯t. She¡¯s been deprived of it for so long.

    The more Belle started to kick and scream, her nightmare worsening, the more desperate I became to calm her. I had to do something.

    I crawled into bed next to her and wrapped my arms around her, tugging her flush against my form.

    For a moment, she struggled against me, pounding her tiny fists against me and kicking in her sleep.

    It didn¡¯t affect my hold on her. In fact, I just tightened my grip, draping one leg over her and letting my hand go up the back of her shirt to rest on the bare skin of the small of her back, grounding her

    to me.

    I held her tightly, feeling her shaking against me.

    It was then that I realized how broken she really was. I could feel her prominent spine against my hand on the small of her back.

    Her cheeks were caved in, and the outline of her ribs prodded against my stomach. It made me

    wonder when thest time she ate was.

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    I had been watching her work all day and didn¡¯t see her take a break once, not even to eat something after I had demanded it of her. Did she have a source of food?

    1 frowned and hugged her closer to me. I would make sure she ate tomorrow, even if she didn¡¯t know <b>it </b>was me who was providing the food for her.

    Her body eventually stopped struggling against me, recognizing the touch of her mate. I sighed. deeply in relief. She was still shaking, and there were still tears leaking from her closed eyes, but at least she was calm.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± she whispered in her sleep. ¡°Please¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    My wolf whimpered. ¡°No,¡± I said, desperation leaking from my tone. ¡°You¡¯ve done nothing wrong.¡± I hoped she could hear me even if she was still asleep.

    ¡°You did nothing wrong. You hear me, Belle? I¡¯m the one who should be sorry. I made the mistake, not you. I love you so much. You have to know that. I love you so fucking much.¡±

    ¡°Grayson,¡± she whimpered again<b>.. </b>

    I sighed and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. ¡°Shh¡­,¡± I mumbled against her hairline. ¡°You¡¯re okay now. I¡¯m here, and you¡¯re okay. Rx now, my love. I¡¯ve got you. I¡¯ve got you.¡±

    As if I had issued amand, her body slowly began to still its shaking, and she sighed contently.

    She unconsciously moved closer to me, findingfort in the arms of her mate, and nuzzled her face into my chest, right where she belonged. I felt the tightness in my chest release a bit.

    Unable to help myself, I leaned down <b>and </b>licked the angry mark on her neck. I knew it wouldn¡¯t do much to heal it in the long run, but it would relieve her pain for now.

    The only way to truly heal it and the bond would be to remain in physical contact with her. It would feed the bond that was so obviously starving.

    It was either that or mate, but that was moreplicated now.

    Mating no longer meant merelypleting the mate bond and linking her to me forever, but now the consequence was an unknown shift for Belle.

    I hadn¡¯t forgotten that Belle would shift into a fairy after we mated for the first time; I had just chosen to push it out of my mind for the time being.

    I didn¡¯t want to think about her going through a painful shift after I made love to her, something I

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    had no control over because we would eventually have to mate or risk starving the bond even further.

    Belle whined against my chest, moving her neck to the side so I would have ess to my mark. She wanted <b>me </b>to take <b>care </b>of it for her.

    I happilypped at it, more than willing to take care of my mate in whatever way she needed.

    Eventually, Belle fell into a deeper sleep, finding peace in my arms. When was thest time she <b>slept </b>properly<b>? </b>

    Based on the dark circles beneath her eyes and the look of exhaustion I saw on her face, it had to <b>have </b>been <b>around </b>the same time I had, if <b>not </b>before that.

    I wondered if the bond let her sleep at all. Was she in too much <b>pain</b><b>? </b>

    I struggled to keep my cool and not let my wolf take over. I had to remind myself that I had Belle back now.

    It might take a while to fix what I broke and make her trust me again, but I had her in my arms, and she was getting some much¨Cneeded rest. That was all that mattered.

    ¡°Sh¡­.¡± I continued whispering against her ear, basking in the feeling of her rxing into me for the first time in months. ¡°I love you, Belle. I love you. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±

    We stayed like that for the rest of the night. I didn¡¯t let myself fall asleep<b>, </b>not wanting to identally stay here until morning but also not wanting to let Belle out of my arms.

    <b>I </b>studied her for most of it, holding back my wolf¡¯s angry growls every time I noticed how broken and frail she <b>looked</b>.

    Our time apart had really taken a toll on her, but, God, she was so strong. Not many would be able to make it through three months without their mate, especially beforepleting the mating ritual.

    Our bodies were already gravitating toward each other, trying to force us to mate. It would have been painful at this point even if she hadn¡¯t run from me.

    I sighed when the sun began to rise hourster. I shifted, knowing I should get up so that Belle didn¡¯t freak out when she woke up.

    The moment I moved, though, Belle whimpered and pressed her frail body closer to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and stuffed her face into it.

    My chest tightened. I wanted to stay with her more than anything in the world. And I knew that Belle wanted me to stay too; she just wouldn¡¯t let her conscious self give in to that need.

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    1 groaned quietly when she threw one of her legs over my waist, unknowingly pressing her hot core up against mine and nuzzling further into my neck, taking in deep breaths of my scent.

    ¡°I know, love, I know,¡± I whispered against her hair. I inhaled deep breaths of her scent, too, before cing a final kiss on her forchend.

    ¡°I have to go now, beautiful, but rest assured I¡¯m not leaving you. I¡¯ll be right behind you wherever you go, protecting you and making sure you¡¯re okay.

    **You just let me know when you need me, and <b>I¡¯ll </b>be there, okay?¡± I tilted her head up gently so I could see her beautiful sleeping face.

    I smiled softly when I noticed she had some color back in her checks. She didn¡¯t look so tired and pale anymore. Good.

    ¡°Please. Please talk to me soon. Please, just listen to what I have to say. I love you. I need you in my

    life<b>.</b>¡±

    Moving as slowly and gently as I could, I disentangled myself from my mate and pushed myself away from her, grunting through the physical pain it caused me.

    My entire body burned with the need to get back in bed and press Belle back against me for the rest of eternity.

    Male werewolves found it extremely hard to be away from their mates, especially when they were in

    pain.

    We could go mad with the need to nurse them back to health and ensure that whatever hurt them. never went near them again.

    I was going against my very nature by putting even a foot of distance between us.

    I ignored my wolf and vampire that were pushing me to stay. They were only making my inner

    turmoil worse.

    They didn¡¯t understand that to get her back, we had to stay away. We had to give her space so she knew we would never force her into anything ever again.

    I grunted when my wolf seized control of my body and suddenly pushed me back so hard that my body mmed onto the bed, barely missing Belle¡¯s sleeping form.

    My gaze snapped to look at her. She was still asleep, thank goodness. Her ability to sleep w

    only reminded me of how badly she needed rest.

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    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    The moment my feet met the ground after jumping out of Belle¡¯s window, I reached out to Kyle.

    ¡°Kyle,¡± I said to him through mind¨Clink.

    His response was immediate.

    <i>¡°</i><i>Well</i>, <i>hello </i>there<b>, </b><i>Alpha</i>. Nice to <i>hear </i><i>the </i>sound <i>of </i><i>your </i>voice <i>on </i><i>this </i><i>fine </i>morning. Although, I would have <i>thought </i><i>you </i><i>would </i>be¡­well, upied <i>after </i>finding <i>the </i>luna yesterday¨C<i>if </i><i>you </i><i>know </i>

    what I mean.

    I forgot how much he could talk. I ignored his inappropriatement no time for his antics today. <i>¡°</i><i>I </i><i>need </i>you toe to Maine,¡± I said, getting straight to the point.

    He didn¡¯t respond for a few seconds.

    <i>¡°</i><i>Uh</i><i>, </i>yeah<i>, </i><i>I </i>don¡¯t <i>know </i><i>if </i>you <i>know </i>this, but <i>you </i>sort <b><i>of </i></b><i>put </i>me <i>in </i>charge <i>of </i>an <i>entire </i><i>kingdom </i><i>when </i>you left, so <i>I¡¯m </i>a <i>little</i>, um¡­ extremely busy at the current moment-

    <i>¡°I </i>don¡¯t care,¡± I interrupted. <i>¡°</i><i>This </i>is more important. <i>There </i>is <i>no </i>kingdom without its queen. <i>I </i><i>need </i>you here right <i>fucking </i><i>now</i><i>. </i><i>Belle </i>is refusing to listen to me.¡±

    <i>¡°</i>That¡¯s <i>because </i>she knows <i>what¡¯s </i>good <i>for </i>her. Smart girl.¡±

    I growled through the link<b>, </b>ensuring he could hear my anger and impatience.

    ¡°Jeez <i>Louise</i><i>, </i><i>okay</i>,¡± he said. ¡°Someone is not in <i>a </i><i>joking </i>mood today. <i>I </i>can be there <i>by </i><b><i>the </i></b><i>end </i>of the <i>day </i><i>if </i><i>I </i>take <i>the </i>private <i>ne</i>. <i>Will </i>that <i>work </i><i>for </i><i>you</i><i>?</i>¡±

    <i>¡°</i>Fine,¡± I grunted. ¡°She needs <i>someone </i>to talk to <i>who </i><i>she </i>can trust, and¡­<i>that¡¯s </i>not me at the

    moment.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re bringing in <i>the </i><i>big </i><i>guns</i>, <i>eh</i><i>? </i>I¡¯m leaving now<i>. </i><i>I¡¯ll </i><i>keep </i>you <i>updated </i>on my <i>ETA</i>.

    <i>¡°</i><i>I¡¯ll </i><i>text </i><i>you </i>her <i>address</i><b>.</b>¡± I was already taking my phone out of my pocket.

    ¡°See <i>you </i>soon, Alpha.¡±

    Just as I felt Kyle¡¯s presence flee from my mind, I heard a loud ringing sounding from Belle¡¯s window. An rm. I stiffened. I had only just left her apartment a few moments ago.

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    I looked down at the watch on my wrist. It was <b>a </b>little after four in the morning. She had been

    until two.

    Where could she possibly have to be so early in the morning that was more <b>important </b>than her getting sleep<b>? </b>

    The correct answer was nowhere. She should not be up right now.

    <b>up </b>

    I heard her groan and then turn off the rm. The sounds of her moving around the room came next.

    I began to pace once again, wanting nothing more than to go up there and demand she go back to sleep.

    My vampire pushed me to use the power of the Mortars on her, while my wolf wanted me to use my alpha tone. I pushed them both aside.

    Minutester, <b>I </b>swiftly moved to the front of her apartment building when I heard the sound of the front door open and close<b>. </b>

    She exited the building warily, her gaze scanning around her, no doubt looking for me. I was too far in the shadows for her to see me, though. But I knew she could still feel me watching her.

    Fury consumed me when I saw that she was wearing that fucking waitress uniform again. My <b>eyes </b>scanned her form. She was so beautiful.

    I had to hold back a groan as I watched her hips sway while she walked. As much as I loathed the uniform, I couldn¡¯t deny that it made her look damn good. Too damn good.

    I didn¡¯t know if I would be able to get through another day watching her prance around in that fucking outfit.

    I followed behind her quietly, sure to stay far enough away so that she wouldn¡¯t see me. I had to hold myself back from dragging her back to her apartment and having my wolf sit on her again until she slept.

    Seemed to workst time she needed rest.

    I paused my walking when she abruptly stopped and grabbed one of the heels on her feet. She peeled. it off her foot, uncovering her battered skin beneath.

    Her foot was covered in blisters and red, irritated skin. There were blood and scabs, too, due to those damn heels she was forced to wear.

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    ¡°Shit,¡± Belle muttered under her breath, her shoulders sagging. After throwing her hair up into a bun, she took off her other shoe and continued her <b>walk </b>fucking barefoot on the concrete sidewalk.

    My wolf growled so loudly in my chest that I was <b>surprised </b>when <b>Belle </b>didn¡¯t turn around to look for me. My wolf lurched my body forward, urging me to go to her.

    I forcefully shoved him down. I was already fighting against my nature by not allowing myself to tend to her, I didn¡¯t need my wolf working against me too.

    I continued following her, my body stiff and sore from holding myself back.

    <b>She </b>walked barefoot for nearly half an hour until she reached the same diner she had spent all day at yesterday.

    My wolf vibrated in my chest, furious to see that she was back here after working sotest night and not getting paid.

    Thankfully, though, there were two other waitresses there, already working. <b>So </b>she wouldn¡¯t be by herself.

    I pushed my wolf down once again, took <b>a </b>deep breath<b>, </b>and entered the diner behind her.

    <b>BELLE </b>

    ¡°Your boyfriend is here again,<b>¡± </b>Candice said in a singsong voice as she came to stand beside me.

    ¡°Who?¡± I yed dumb. I had seen Grayson walk in when my shift started but had already decided. that I was under no circumstances interacting with him.

    I was too tired¨Cboth emotionally and physically¨Cto deal with him today. Maybe if I ignored him long enough, he would give up on me and leave me alone. I mean, he had done it once, hadn¡¯t he?

    ¡°Oh,e on. Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t noticed him yet.¡± Candice teasingly poked my side. ¡°No one could ignore that face of his. Or body. He¡¯s been staring at you since he sat down<b>. </b>

    <b>¡°</b>Is there a reason you haven¡¯t gone over there yet?¡±

    I nced up at Grayson. He was in the same booth as yesterday, and, just like Candice had said, he was indeed staring at me. Warmth traveled through me when my eyes met his. I looked away quickly.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Belle¡¯s boyfriend?¡± Brenda asked, walking up behind us to get to the cash register.

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    Although she was almost two decades older than us, Brenda was <b>always </b>interested in whatever gossip was circting around the diner that day. ¡°Is that Liam kid here again<b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    A low growl came from the corner, barely audible. My heart rate picked up, knowing where the noise hade from without even having to look.

    ¡°Liam is not my boyfriend,¡± I said quickly. I already knew Grayson didn¡¯t like Liam; <b>in </b>fact, I was almost positive he had done something to him.

    He still hadn¡¯t turned up after disappearing yesterday and didn¡¯t answer when I had tried to call <b>him </b>this morning. I was starting to get really worried.

    <b>I </b>didn¡¯t need Grayson hearing people call Liam my boyfriend when I still wasn¡¯t convinced he hadn¡¯t let his wolf eat him or something. Do werewolves even eat vampires?

    ¡°He¡¯s <b>just </b>a <b>friend</b><b>. </b>I don¡¯t have a boyfriend.¡± I was sure to speak clearly so that a certain someone

    was sure to hear me.

    ¡°Maybe not, but that guy in the corner is <i>definitely </i>interested,¡± Candice continued.

    She had no idea<b>. </b>

    Brenda looked amused. ¡°Oh, really?¡± She nced over at Grayson. A flush took over my checks.

    I knew Grayson could hear us no matter what<b>, </b>but honestly, did they have to make it <b>so </b>obvious that we were talking about him?

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you <b>go </b>over there? He¡¯s cute,¡± she whispered to me.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I already told him I wasn¡¯t interested when he was here yesterday,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s back here.¡±

    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s hungry,¡± Candice provided unhelpfully.

    ¡°Have you taken his order yet, Belle?¡± Brenda asked.

    I looked down<b>. </b>I thought about lying but knew Candice would give me up immediately if I did.

    ¡°No,¡± I responded, hoping she wouldn¡¯t make me go over there and talk to him. ¡°He didn¡¯t order anything yesterday. He <b>just </b>sat there all day. I figured today would be the same.¡±

    Brenda frowned. ¡°Hun, your <i>job </i>is to take orders. And if he¡¯s not going to get any food, he can¡¯t stay here and take up a perfectly <b>good </b>table. I¡¯m gonna have to ask him to leave if that¡¯s the case.¡±

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    My eyes widened. I did not want any of my coworkers interacting with Grayson, especially my sweet. manager, Brenda. I knew what he was capable of.

    I wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive myself if anybody got hurt because Grayson lost his temper over something as stupid as telling him to leave the diner.

    ¡°He¡¯s not doing anything,¡± I said. ¡°<b>Can¡¯t </b>he just sit there?<b>¡± </b>

    Brenda shook her head. ¡°You know the rules. If he¡¯s not a paying customer, then he can¡¯t stay here.¡±

    I sighed, already feeling my body heat and my stomach roil at the thought of having to talk to him. ¡°I¡¯ll go take his order right now,¡± I murmured.

    Brenda nodded in approval. ¡°Let me know if you have any problems.<b>¡± </b>

    ***

    I approached Grayson¡¯s table slowly, my lips pressed together in a fine line. He watched me the entire time, waiting patiently with his hands folded in front of him.

    ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± I asked sharply when I finally stood in front of his table.

    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to serve me,¡± he replied, his deep, smooth voice causing shivers to travel up my spine. As if he hadn¡¯t heard the entire conversation that just ensued.

    I looked up from my notepad, ring. ¡°<b>If </b>you don¡¯t order something soon, my manager is going to kick you out.¡±

    A half¨Csmile curved his masculine mouth. ¡°Are you finally admitting that you want me here?¡±

    ¡°No, I just don¡¯t want you hurting anyone when they try to force you out. Now, <i>please</i><i>, </i>just tell me what you want.¡±

    I hated that we were arguing again. I was so, <i>so </i>exhausted.

    Even though I had slept through <b>the </b>night fo Even though I had slept through the night for the first time since arriving in Evergreen¨Csomething I was astonished to realize when I woke feeling warm and content¨Cfighting the mate bond was starting to take its toll on me.

    Grayson studied me closely, his brows tugging together. ¡°Baby, have you eaten anything today?¡± he asked me,pletely ignoring my request.

    ¡°Stop calling me baby. Order something, or I¡¯ll pick something out for <b>you</b>.¡±

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    ¡°I¡¯ll order if <b>you </b>tell me what you¡¯ve eaten today,¡± he replied sternly. ¡°Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t drag you out of this diner the same way I <b>did </b>yesterday.¡±

    I knew he <b>wasn¡¯t </b>bluffing. I screamed internally.

    ¡°I had a bowl of cereal, okay?¡± I <b>finally </b>answered.

    He frowned. ¡°That¡¯s not enough food. You didn¡¯t eat anything yesterday. I will not have my mate fainting or <b>starving </b>herself when those things are easily avoidable.<b>¡± </b>

    When he called himself my mate, an agony so fierce gripped me that it nearly took my breath away. My entire body slumped. I had to bite my lip to keep from whimpering in pain.

    ¡°You¡¯re not my mate, Grayson,¡± I whispered, letting my tone convey how hard this all was for me: ¡°I don¡¯t care if you never slept with anyone else. You gave me up. I wanted you, and you gave me up.¡±

    I swallowed the ball forming in my throat, looking away from his intense expression. I couldn¡¯t have this conversation with him again. It felt like being rejected over and over again.

    I took a few steps back. ¡°I¡¯ll have Candice bring you some pancakes or something. Stay if you want. I really don¡¯t care anymore. I have to get back to work.¡±

    He grabbed my wrist before I could walk away. Sparks danced up my arm and warmed my skin.

    ¡°If you would <b>just </b>let me exin,¡± he said, ¡°you would see how much I want and love you. I never gave you up. It wasn¡¯t up to me. I never meant for any of this to happen to you.¡±

    My throat was too dry to swallow. ¡°Yeah, well, it did,¡± I said, my voice sounding quiet and defeated, even to me. ¡°The damage has been done.¡±

    I pulled my arm from his grip and walked away.

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    BELLE

    I hated that he was here. <b>I </b>hated that, as hard as I <b>tried </b>to ignore him and focus on my work, he was the only thing I could think of.

    <b>I </b><b>was </b>aware of <b>his </b>every move, of his eyes that followed me everywhere I went in the small diner.

    And most of all, I hated that my traitorous body wanted nothing more than to go to him and forgive him for every single horrible thing he had ever done to me.

    Because I still needed him. <b>God</b>, why did I still need <b>him</b>?

    He had rejected me. He had tried to mate with someone else. There was no way to make it any clearer that he didn¡¯t want me. So why <b>was </b>I still reacting this way to him?

    Why was it so physically painful to stay away from him?

    I grabbed the tip left for me on the table of myst customers of the night. It was dark out now, and the diner had finally cleared out, leaving only Grayson behind.

    Candice and Brenda had left a few hours earlier, and the cook, who was still in the kitchen, was going to lock up after I was gone.

    For the first time in several hours, I allowed myself to nce in his direction. I immediately regretted it. He was looking straight at me.

    Our gazes shed, and instantaneously, it was like a wave of warm, soothing water cascaded over me. I sucked in a deep breath as some relief came to my aching body.

    Grayson had a look of worry and frustration on his face, but it softened the moment we made eye

    contact.

    His shoulders fell slightly. ¡°Belle,¡± he mouthed, his expression turning into one of

    pure torture.

    I knew he wanted me to go to him. He was desperate for it. I could feel his emotions coursing through whatever remained of our bond.

    Giving in, I approached him slowly<b>, </b>hesitantly. He watched my every move, his entire body tense as he tried to hold himself back from pouncing on me.

    When I finally came to stand in front of his table, I crossed my arms securely in front of my stomach as if they would provide me with some sort of protection from the dangerous creature in front of me.

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    Grayson¡¯s deep green eyes dimmed a bit when he realized I wasn¡¯t here to finally hear him out. ¡°Okay.¡± He started to get out of the booth. <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯ll </b>walk you home.¡±

    I didn¡¯t move. <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯m </b>really tired,¡± I whispered.

    Grayson frowned. ¡°I know, baby. You need sleep. You barely <b>got </b>anyst night.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant, Grayson. I¡¯m tired,¡± I repeated.

    He stared at me, still not understanding.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do this anymore. I don¡¯t want you to be the only thing on my mind anymore. <b>I </b>had made progress, real progress before you came.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>had started to recover from what you put me through. <b>But </b>now you¡¯re here and¡­¡± I groaned. ¡°I want to be free of you¨Cof this hold you somehow still have on me even after everything you did to

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    ¡°I want to go back to who I was before you held my heart. I¡¯m not me anymore. I¡¯m the version of myself that is tortured by everything you put me through.¡±

    Grayson opened his mouth to speak.

    ¡°And I don¡¯t want to argue,¡± I continued quickly, cutting him off before he could say anything. Tears began to pool in my eyes. I wiped them away before they could fall.

    ¡°Look, I know what we had¡­¡± I paused, swallowing down the massive ball in my throat. ¡°I know what we <b>had </b>wasn¡¯t what you wanted¡­¡±

    Grayson growled. ¡°That¡¯s not-¡±

    I interrupted him quickly. I needed to get this out. ¡°Let me finish, or, I swear to God, I¡¯ll kick you in the balls again.¡± I waspletely serious; it was starting to sound like a really good option right

    now.

    I took a deep breath. ¡°And I know that, as an alpha, having a mate means you get more power. So maybe the mate bond is making you regret¡­rejecting me because of that.¡±

    Grayson stood and reached for me. I took a step back.

    ¡°Belle, please¡± he tried to say.

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    His breathing was so erratic. His eyes were ck. His jaw was clenched. But he seemed to understand my need and nodded sharply for me to continue.

    ¡°We¡¯re both hurting.¡± I kept going quietly. ¡°But it¡¯s only because of this supernatural bond between

    In the end<b>, </b>we¡¯re not supposed to be together. And you knew that.

    ¡°You knew that the first night I came to stay with you. It doesn¡¯t excuse how you treated me, but <b>you </b>knew you didn¡¯t want me and that I wasn¡¯t the right mate for you.¡±

    Grayson growled loudly, his entire body shaking. I was obviously making him <b>upset</b>.

    ¡°So even though I¨CI-¡°I had to look away at this point, somehow keeping myself from breaking down into gut¨Cwrenching sobs.

    ¡°Even though I may have loved you¡­I don¡¯t think you ever loved me. Not really. You just felt a connection to me because of some magical bond you had no control over.

    ¡°You felt trapped. And that¡¯s why you acted out the way you did.¡±

    I took a deep breath, wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my skirt. I looked back at him.

    His eyes were ck with the presence of his wolf, and dark hair was sprouting from his arms, letting me know that he was just barely keeping himself from shifting.

    I wasn¡¯t going to let that intimidate me into not finishing, though.

    ¡°But that¡¯s okay. I-¡°I could barely even say it. ¡°I¡¯m letting you go. If the bond is making you feel regret over what you did to me, I don¡¯t want you to feel that way anymore.

    ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t want you to feel anything when ites to me anymore.¡± I took a step forward. I studied his heaving chest and strained muscles. I was on thin ice, but I continued anyway.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m not what you want. It¡¯s why you treated me the way you did back at your pack house. It¡¯s why you tried to mate with someone else. You were mad I ended up as your mate rightly so.¡±

    I brought my arms tighter around me, letting my gaze stray to the window next to us<b>, </b>out to the small town that had be my home over thest few months.

    -and

    ¡°I¡¯m strong. I know that. I¡¯ve gone through a lot in my life, and I¡¯ve always been able to pick myself back up and keep going.¡± I looked back at him.

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    <b>¡°</b>But I¡¯m no luna. And I¡¯m <i>definitely </i>not strong enough to survive what you put me through <b>again</b>. And, whether or not you wanted to<b>, </b>you would put me through it again because you don¡¯t love me.¡¯

    **You would eventuallye to resent me the same way you did a few months ago.¡±

    I shuddered at the thought of being rejected again. Even just thinking about it made <b>my </b>mark burn and my heart sink.

    ¡°So I¡¯m asking <b>in </b>a civilized and genuine way¡ªno more shouting or ignoring you or begging you to leave me alone<b>¡­ </b>

    <b>¡°</b><b>If </b>you care about me even a little bit if anything you said to me in Paris was even a little bit true -do <b>me </b><b>a </b>favor and let me <b>go</b><b>. </b>

    ¡°Ignore the mate bond that¡¯s telling you you need me or that you should want me for power. Go home. Go be the alpha I know you are and find a new mate that would be better suited for you.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need me. I would only drag you down.¡±

    By the time I <b>had </b>finished, Grayson looked so close to shifting that I could practically see <b>his </b>face. beginning to morph into <b>his </b>wolf.

    He was breathing deeply, his muscles had grown, dark hair was sprouting from his arms, and his irises were pitch ck.

    ¡°May I speak now?¡± His voice was so deep that I could barely understand him.

    I nodded slowly.

    ¡°<b>Good</b><b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    In a sh, he was in front of me, gripping my waist and mming me to his body. I nearly moaned at the contact, reveling in how good his touch felt against my skin.

    I was still shocked by how much bigger he was. He looked incredible¨Cstrong, fit, and healthier than

    ever.

    The time away from me really did him good, which only further proved my point that he was better

    off without me.

    He leaned down, so his lips were right next to my ear, his breath cool over my mark, causing me to shiver. I tried to push against him, but he was too strong.

    It was clear that I <b>wasn¡¯t </b>leaving his arms until he let me on

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    ¡°You¡¯re mine, Belle,¡± he growled against my skin. ¡°You have always been and will always be mine. And I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure you understand that.¡±

    <b>I </b>tried to step out of his embrace, but he just tightened his arms around me. I was too tired <b>and </b>weak to put up a fight.

    So instead, I just let the tears fall, crying silently as I fell forward until my forehead rested on his chest.

    He seemed to hold his breath, waiting to see if I was going to move before wrapping <b>his </b>armspletely around me and pulling me impossibly closer.

    I knew I should have fought harder, but it <b>was </b>what the bond wanted, and it felt incredibly good to give in to it even just for a moment.

    Grayson was starting to calm down as his wolf slowly gave him back control. It was obviously helping to have me in his arms,

    After basking in his warmth for just a few more seconds, I finally whispered into his chest, ¡°You¡¯re never going to let me go, are you?¡±

    He leaned down and gently kissed the top of my head. ¡°I think you already know the answer to that,¡± he murmured against my hair.

    I pursed my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut, willing my tears to stop. They didn¡¯t. I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I do.¡±

    It made sense, really. Life was never meant to be easy for me. I was a fool for thinking that it could

    <ol>

    <li>be.</li>

    </ol>

    I was destined to be in love with a man who didn¡¯t love me back, who only wanted me for the power I could give him, and who resented me because <i>he </i>got stuck with me.

    And yet, although all of that was true, he still couldn¡¯t seem to let me go.

    ¡°Does this mean that you¡¯ll finally let me exin?¡± Grayson asked. ¡°I promise it¡¯ll be worth your

    time.¡±

    my eyes.

    I leaned back, wiping the tears from I shook my head. ¡°No, it <b>doesn¡¯t </b>matter. No exnation will change the fact that I¡¯m not the one for you. I can¡¯t be your luna.¡±

    I <b>licked </b>my lips, tasting the saltiness of my tears. ¡°I have to go.¡±

    I started to move away, but Grayson grabbed my arm. ¡°No, no more of this. It wasn¡¯t me who-

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    His Lost Queen

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    <b>surprise</b>, he didn¡¯t try to grab me again. ¡°Please, please, just leave me alone.¡±

    D38% 12:47

    X

    ¡°You know I can¡¯t do that,¡± he replied in a low voice. ¡°I¡¯ll never be able to leave you alone. I can¡¯t

    live without you, Belle.¡°¡±

    I backed away from <b>him</b><b>. </b>¡°For your <b>sake</b>, I really hope that¡¯s not true.¡±

 Chapter 85

    BELLE

    I hated that he was here. <b>I </b>hated that, as hard as I <b>tried </b>to ignore him and focus on my work, he was the only thing I could think of.

    <b>I </b><b>was </b>aware of <b>his </b>every move, of his eyes that followed me everywhere I went in the small diner.

    And most of all, I hated that my traitorous body wanted nothing more than to go to him and forgive him for every single horrible thing he had ever done to me.

    Because I still needed him. <b>God</b>, why did I still need <b>him</b>?

    He had rejected me. He had tried to mate with someone else. There was no way to make it any clearer that he didn¡¯t want me. So why <b>was </b>I still reacting this way to him?

    Why was it so physically painful to stay away from him?

    I grabbed the tip left for me on the table of myst customers of the night. It was dark out now, and the diner had finally cleared out, leaving only Grayson behind.

    Candice and Brenda had left a few hours earlier, and the cook, who was still in the kitchen, was going to lock up after I was gone.

    For the first time in several hours, I allowed myself to nce in his direction. I immediately regretted it. He was looking straight at me.

    Our gazes shed, and instantaneously, it was like a wave of warm, soothing water cascaded over me. I sucked in a deep breath as some relief came to my aching body.

    Grayson had a look of worry and frustration on his face, but it softened the moment we made eye

    contact.

    His shoulders fell slightly. ¡°Belle,¡± he mouthed, his expression turning into one of

    pure torture.

    I knew he wanted me to go to him. He was desperate for it. I could feel his emotions coursing through whatever remained of our bond.

    Giving in, I approached him slowly<b>, </b>hesitantly. He watched my every move, his entire body tense as he tried to hold himself back from pouncing on me.

    When I finally came to stand in front of his table, I crossed my arms securely in front of my stomach as if they would provide me with some sort of protection from the dangerous creature in front of me.

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    ¡°We¡¯re closing now. I¡¯m leaving.¡±

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    Grayson¡¯s deep green eyes dimmed a bit when he realized I wasn¡¯t here to finally hear him out. ¡°Okay.¡± He started to get out of the booth. <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯ll </b>walk you home.¡±

    I didn¡¯t move. <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯m </b>really tired,¡± I whispered.

    Grayson frowned. ¡°I know, baby. You need sleep. You barely <b>got </b>anyst night.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant, Grayson. I¡¯m tired,¡± I repeated.

    He stared at me, still not understanding.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do this anymore. I don¡¯t want you to be the only thing on my mind anymore. <b>I </b>had made progress, real progress before you came.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>had started to recover from what you put me through. <b>But </b>now you¡¯re here and¡­¡± I groaned. ¡°I want to be free of you¨Cof this hold you somehow still have on me even after everything you did to

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    ¡°I want to go back to who I was before you held my heart. I¡¯m not me anymore. I¡¯m the version of myself that is tortured by everything you put me through.¡±

    Grayson opened his mouth to speak.

    ¡°And I don¡¯t want to argue,¡± I continued quickly, cutting him off before he could say anything. Tears began to pool in my eyes. I wiped them away before they could fall.

    ¡°Look, I know what we had¡­¡± I paused, swallowing down the massive ball in my throat. ¡°I know what we <b>had </b>wasn¡¯t what you wanted¡­¡±

    Grayson growled. ¡°That¡¯s not-¡±

    I interrupted him quickly. I needed to get this out. ¡°Let me finish, or, I swear to God, I¡¯ll kick you in the balls again.¡± I waspletely serious; it was starting to sound like a really good option right

    now.

    I took a deep breath. ¡°And I know that, as an alpha, having a mate means you get more power. So maybe the mate bond is making you regret¡­rejecting me because of that.¡±

    Grayson stood and reached for me. I took a step back.

    ¡°Belle, please¡± he tried to say.

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    No, you have to let me get this out. I need <i>to </i>get this out.¡±

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    His breathing was so erratic. His eyes were ck. His jaw was clenched. But he seemed to understand my need and nodded sharply for me to continue.

    ¡°We¡¯re both hurting.¡± I kept going quietly. ¡°But it¡¯s only because of this supernatural bond between

    In the end<b>, </b>we¡¯re not supposed to be together. And you knew that.

    ¡°You knew that the first night I came to stay with you. It doesn¡¯t excuse how you treated me, but <b>you </b>knew you didn¡¯t want me and that I wasn¡¯t the right mate for you.¡±

    Grayson growled loudly, his entire body shaking. I was obviously making him <b>upset</b>.

    ¡°So even though I¨CI-¡°I had to look away at this point, somehow keeping myself from breaking down into gut¨Cwrenching sobs.

    ¡°Even though I may have loved you¡­I don¡¯t think you ever loved me. Not really. You just felt a connection to me because of some magical bond you had no control over.

    ¡°You felt trapped. And that¡¯s why you acted out the way you did.¡±

    I took a deep breath, wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my skirt. I looked back at him.

    His eyes were ck with the presence of his wolf, and dark hair was sprouting from his arms, letting me know that he was just barely keeping himself from shifting.

    I wasn¡¯t going to let that intimidate me into not finishing, though.

    ¡°But that¡¯s okay. I-¡°I could barely even say it. ¡°I¡¯m letting you go. If the bond is making you feel regret over what you did to me, I don¡¯t want you to feel that way anymore.

    ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t want you to feel anything when ites to me anymore.¡± I took a step forward. I studied his heaving chest and strained muscles. I was on thin ice, but I continued anyway.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m not what you want. It¡¯s why you treated me the way you did back at your pack house. It¡¯s why you tried to mate with someone else. You were mad I ended up as your mate rightly so.¡±

    I brought my arms tighter around me, letting my gaze stray to the window next to us<b>, </b>out to the small town that had be my home over thest few months.

    -and

    ¡°I¡¯m strong. I know that. I¡¯ve gone through a lot in my life, and I¡¯ve always been able to pick myself back up and keep going.¡± I looked back at him.

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    <b>¡°</b>But I¡¯m no luna. And I¡¯m <i>definitely </i>not strong enough to survive what you put me through <b>again</b>. And, whether or not you wanted to<b>, </b>you would put me through it again because you don¡¯t love me.¡¯

    **You would eventuallye to resent me the same way you did a few months ago.¡±

    I shuddered at the thought of being rejected again. Even just thinking about it made <b>my </b>mark burn and my heart sink.

    ¡°So I¡¯m asking <b>in </b>a civilized and genuine way¡ªno more shouting or ignoring you or begging you to leave me alone<b>¡­ </b>

    <b>¡°</b><b>If </b>you care about me even a little bit if anything you said to me in Paris was even a little bit true -do <b>me </b><b>a </b>favor and let me <b>go</b><b>. </b>

    ¡°Ignore the mate bond that¡¯s telling you you need me or that you should want me for power. Go home. Go be the alpha I know you are and find a new mate that would be better suited for you.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need me. I would only drag you down.¡±

    By the time I <b>had </b>finished, Grayson looked so close to shifting that I could practically see <b>his </b>face. beginning to morph into <b>his </b>wolf.

    He was breathing deeply, his muscles had grown, dark hair was sprouting from his arms, and his irises were pitch ck.

    ¡°May I speak now?¡± His voice was so deep that I could barely understand him.

    I nodded slowly.

    ¡°<b>Good</b><b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    In a sh, he was in front of me, gripping my waist and mming me to his body. I nearly moaned at the contact, reveling in how good his touch felt against my skin.

    I was still shocked by how much bigger he was. He looked incredible¨Cstrong, fit, and healthier than

    ever.

    The time away from me really did him good, which only further proved my point that he was better

    off without me.

    He leaned down, so his lips were right next to my ear, his breath cool over my mark, causing me to shiver. I tried to push against him, but he was too strong.

    It was clear that I <b>wasn¡¯t </b>leaving his arms until he let me on

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    ¡°You¡¯re mine, Belle,¡± he growled against my skin. ¡°You have always been and will always be mine. And I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure you understand that.¡±

    <b>I </b>tried to step out of his embrace, but he just tightened his arms around me. I was too tired <b>and </b>weak to put up a fight.

    So instead, I just let the tears fall, crying silently as I fell forward until my forehead rested on his chest.

    He seemed to hold his breath, waiting to see if I was going to move before wrapping <b>his </b>armspletely around me and pulling me impossibly closer.

    I knew I should have fought harder, but it <b>was </b>what the bond wanted, and it felt incredibly good to give in to it even just for a moment.

    Grayson was starting to calm down as his wolf slowly gave him back control. It was obviously helping to have me in his arms,

    After basking in his warmth for just a few more seconds, I finally whispered into his chest, ¡°You¡¯re never going to let me go, are you?¡±

    He leaned down and gently kissed the top of my head. ¡°I think you already know the answer to that,¡± he murmured against my hair.

    I pursed my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut, willing my tears to stop. They didn¡¯t. I nodded. ¡°Yeah, I do.¡±

    It made sense, really. Life was never meant to be easy for me. I was a fool for thinking that it could

    <ol>

    <li>be.</li>

    </ol>

    I was destined to be in love with a man who didn¡¯t love me back, who only wanted me for the power I could give him, and who resented me because <i>he </i>got stuck with me.

    And yet, although all of that was true, he still couldn¡¯t seem to let me go.

    ¡°Does this mean that you¡¯ll finally let me exin?¡± Grayson asked. ¡°I promise it¡¯ll be worth your

    time.¡±

    my eyes.

    I leaned back, wiping the tears from I shook my head. ¡°No, it <b>doesn¡¯t </b>matter. No exnation will change the fact that I¡¯m not the one for you. I can¡¯t be your luna.¡±

    I <b>licked </b>my lips, tasting the saltiness of my tears. ¡°I have to go.¡±

    I started to move away, but Grayson grabbed my arm. ¡°No, no more of this. It wasn¡¯t me who-

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 Chapter 86

    <b>BELLE </b>

    1 was grateful that Grayson let me <b>walk </b>away from him back at the diner. I was grateful for the walk home by myself, where I could gather my thoughts and cry without feeling like someone was watching me.

    <b>I </b>entered my dark apartment, violently kicking off my stupid heels, not caring where theynded. My tears continued to flow, dripping down my neck and onto the cotton of <b>my </b>shirt.

    My heart nearly <b>stopped </b>when I flicked on the lights. A huge figure was standing in the middle of my kitchen. I let out a loud shriek, immediately turning to run back out of the door.

    ¡°Luna! Stop screaming! Jecz, it¡¯s just me<b>!</b>¡±

    My eyes adjusted, and I was finally able <b>to </b>see. <b>¡°</b>Kyle?¡± I asked. ¡°Oh, my god, Kyle?¡±

    I barely even recognized him. He looked different¨Clike, really, <i>really </i>different. He seemed to have gone through the same transformation that Grayson had.

    His body was bigger, stronger, and more mature. He had grown at least a foot in height, just like Grayson, and his muscles wererger and much more defined.

    But it was the big goofy grin he was sporting on his face that told me he was still my same old Kyle, despite his intense physical transformation.

    I stared at him for several long moments, trying to decipher if my exhausted mind was ying a trick on me. ¡°Are you really here?¡± I asked him, approaching him slowly.

    ¡°Come give Daddy some sugar,¡± he responded, opening his arms wide.

    Iunched myself into his arms. He grunted from the forceful contact but didn¡¯t hesitate before wrapping his arms around me, pulling me in even closer.

    The tears came rushing from my eyes, <b>and </b>sobs exploded from my mouth. I wasn¡¯t even sure why I was reacting this way to seeing him again.

    I just needed a friend. I needed someone I trusted who knew about everything I had gone through.

    ¡°Ah, hell, babe,¡± Kyle said consolingly, leaning his cheek on the top of my head and squeezing me tighter. ¡°Don¡¯t cry<b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I sniffled into his chest. Wiping my nose with the back of my hand, I looked up at him. and smiled. <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯m </b>inst really hanny to see <b>vou</b>. Really <b>hanny</b>. I¡¯ve missed <b>you </b>so much Chapter 24 of 59: Chapter 24

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    Of course you have. I¡¯m very missable.¡± Kyle rolled his eyes, returning my smile just as

    nthusiastically. ¡°I¡¯ve missed you <b>too</b>.<b>¡± </b>

    1 disentangled myself from his arms and stepped back, wiping <b>at </b>my tears. ¡°What are you doing hereTM

    ¡°I came to check on <b>you</b>,¡± he exined. His eyes darkened a bit as they ran over my face. ¡°I heard you were having a rough time.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stop the heat that rose under <b>my </b>cheeks. I knew I looked bad, but I still hated that Kyle was able to see it on my face.

    My brows tugged together. ¡°How did you hear that?¡±*

    ¡°The alpha, of course.¡±

    Just a tiny bit of disappointment settled in my stomach. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯ve been talking to him?¡°<b>¡± </b>

    Kyle nodded.

    I wasn¡¯t sure why I had been hoping Kyle had stopped talking to Grayson after everything that <b>had </b>happened between him and me. It wasn¡¯t fair of me to wish for that.

    Grayson¡¯s pack, as toxic as it may have been for me, was Kyle¡¯s home. It was where Elijah was and where he had spent all his life.

    I guess I had just been hoping to have amon advocate in all of this, a friend I didn¡¯t need to keep secrets from.

    But now<b>¡­ </b>There was no way I could tell Kyle everything I was thinking and all I had experienced now that I knew he was still under Grayson¡¯s thumb.

    All of the questions I had been wondering over thest few months came rushing to the edge of my tongue, waiting eagerly to be asked.

    I wanted to know what had happened after I left, how Elijah was, and did Kyle confront Grayson after finding him in bed with another girl who wasn¡¯t me?

    I asked the most obvious question first. ¡°Why are you a literal giant now? Have you and Grayson gone on steroids or something?

    ¡°Or is there a new werewolf disease I don¡¯t know about that is making you all fifty feet tall?¡±

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    2

    ¡°So what happened?¡±

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    I looked over his enormous form. He wasn¡¯t nearly as big as Grayson was now but still looked extremely intimidating¨Cmuch more intimidating than before.

    And that was a hard thing to aplish since both he and Grayson <b>had </b>already been muchrger than the average human before the transformation.

    Some part of me was a little relieved that it wasn¡¯t just Grayson who had grown significantly. It meant he <b>didn¡¯t </b><b>get </b>stronger because he was away from me, but rather due to another reason.

    Something else must <b>have </b><b>happened</b><b>. </b>

    ¡°I think that¡¯s something the <b>alpha </b>would like to exin to you himself,¡± Kyle told me.

    I looked around, suddenly worried that Grayson was watching us or maybe listening in. What would he do if he knew Kyle was here<b>? </b>

    ¡°Does Grayson <b>know </b><b>you¡¯re </b>here? <b>I </b>don¡¯t think he would like ¡±

    ¡°<b>Alpha </b>knows I¡¯m here,¡± Kyle replied to my question. ¡°In fact¡­¡± He jerked his chin behind me.

    ¡°I invited him here,¡± a deep voice finished.

    I whirled around to <b>find </b>Grayson standing in my doorway. Of course he was here. Even when I couldn¡¯t see him, he was always nearby.

    Grayson¡¯s eyes immediately narrowed in on Kyle¡¯s hands that were still on my waist. He let out a low growl. ¡°Get your hands off my mate, Beta.¡±

    Kyle¡¯s arms dropped to his sides in less than a second.

    I red at Grayson. My temper rose. ¡°Not your mate,¡± I snapped at him<b>. </b>¡°Kyle <b>can </b>touch <b>me </b>if he wants. You shouldn¡¯t even be here.¡±

    Kyle whistled low under his breath. ¡°You weren¡¯t kidding, Alpha. It is bad.¡±

    I turned back to Kyle, ignoring Grayson¡¯s re. ¡°Beta? You¡¯re the beta now?¡± I asked him.

    He shrugged sheepishly. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±

    ¡°A story I definitely want to hear,¡± I said. Had it happened after Adalee died? ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave soon, do you?¡± Sudden panic hit me. I didn¡¯t want Kyle to leave.

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    I wanted him to stay here as long as possible. The friendship I cultivated with him was the only thing I didn¡¯t regret from my rtionship with Grayson.

    After months of being by myself¨Cif you didn¡¯t count Liam¡¯s overprotectiveness¨Cthe amount offort I found in him standing here in <b>my </b>apartment <b>was </b>immeasurable.

    Kyle shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m here for as long as <b>I </b>need <b>to </b>be<b>,</b><b>¡± </b>he replied, sating my worries.

    I let out a deep breath. ¡°Okay,¡± <b>I </b>said, feeling less tense. ¡°<b>Okay</b>. Can I get <b>you </b>anything to drink?¡± I hurried over to my cupboards, grabbing the only ss I owned. <b>I </b>paused. ¡°Actually, I only have

    water.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. Not thirsty,¡± Kyle answered, raising a brow at the old stic cup in my hand.

    I set the cup back down on the counter. Then my attention swung back to Grayson, who was still standing in the doorway of my apartment. I crossed my arms over my chest.

    ¡°Is there <b>a </b>reason you¡¯re still here?¡± I asked him.

    Kyle snorted.

    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Grayson started, giving Kyle a look that could make anyone¡¯s blood turn cold, ¡°because we need to talk.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you invited him here?¡± I asked him, motioning to Kyle. ¡°Bringing him here is part of your n to try <b>and </b>lure me back to your evilir to torture me some more, huh?¡±

    Kyle coughed to hide anotherugh.

    ¡°I¡¯m not nning to¡± Grayson didn¡¯t finish that sentence, growling in frustration. ¡°He¡¯s here to help me exin. If you won¡¯t listen to me, then maybe you¡¯ll listen to him.¡±

    ¡°I already told you-

    ¡°I know what you said,¡± Grayson said, cutting me off.

    ¡°And if I have to hear any more bullshit about how you¡¯re not good enough for me or not meant to be my <b>luna </be out of your mouth, I might lose my fucking mind.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>could understand if you thought that what I did was unforgivable¡±

    ¡°Well-¡± I interjected, trying to exin that what he <b>did </b>was unforgivable<b>¡­. </b>

    ¡°But I¡¯m not going to let vou go on thinking that you¡¯ve done anything wrong,¡± Grayson continued. Chapter 24 of 59: Chapter 24

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    You hear me? It¡¯s a lie that your brain is telling you because of years of assholes telling you you¡¯re not enough when, really, it was them who had the issues, not you.¡±

    He took a deep breath, obviously trying to calm himself before his anger took over. He took a few steps toward me. ¡°I need you to let me exin what really happened, baby. Will you let me do that? <b>Please</b>?¡±

    I tightened my arms around myself, feeling intensely uncertain. <b>¡°</b>I¡­¡± I swallowed.

    Exhaustion was starting to hit me, and for a moment, I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole just so I could have some peace.

    I didn¡¯t think I could handle another fight with Grayson right now. Each one was so unbelievably taxing <b>and </b>forced me to fight more and more against nature that demanded I forgive him.

    I didn¡¯t want to do it anymore.

    ¡°Come here, baby,¡± Grayson said. He grabbed one of my folding chairs that was leaning against a wall and carried it to me, setting it down in front of me. ¡°Sit down. You¡¯re starting to sway.¡±

    For once, I didn¡¯t argue. He was right; the room was starting to spin around me, and my knees felt weak. I let my body fall into the ufortable chair, dropping my head into my hands.

    Knowing my mate was near, my stomach roiled inside of me, and my mark burned, begging for Grayson¡¯s touch and affecti

    As if he could hear my thoughts, Grayson knelt down next to me, cing <b>one </b>of his big hands on my leg, letting his thumb run over my bare skin in the way he knew made me turn to mush.

    I didn¡¯t have the energy to push him away.

    <b>¡°</b>Please let me exin, Belle. <i>Please</i>,¡± he begged.

    I sighed. Tears of frustration were starting to form in my eyes once again. I couldn¡¯t seem to keep my tears back when I was around him.

    ¡°I <b>don¡¯t </b>get it, Grayson. I really don¡¯t. Why do you even want <b>to </b>exin? The way you treated me¡­¡± ¡°I shook my head.

    ¡°You gave me up. You made it clear you didn¡¯t want me that you wanted to hurt me. So I don¡¯t <b>see </b>why you woulde back. What changed?¡±

    ¡°So much,¡± Grayson said. ¡°So much changed and, at the same time, nothing at all. I came back

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    ¡°I need you <b>to </b>know that because I <b>can </b>see how much <b>pain </b>it is causing you to think that I don¡¯t. To think that I don¡¯t want you. It isn¡¯t true. None of <b>what </b>happened at my pack house was true.¡°¡±

    A single tear dripped from my check <b>and </b>onto his hand, still on my knee. I heard Grayson¡¯s harsh intake of breath <b>and </b>saw his nostrils re.

    My eyes found Kyle¡¯s. He nodded encouragingly at me, giving me a sympathetic look. <b>¡°</b><b>It¡¯s </b>important you hear this, Luna,¡± he said.

    <b>¡°</b>So you¡¯re on his side?¡± I asked <b>Kyle</b>. ¡°You think what he did to me was <b>okay</b><b>?</b><b>** </b>

    Kyle immediately shook his head, looking horrified by the idea. ¡°No! No, Goddess, of course not. No one should have to go through what you did. But the alpha has an exnation¨Cand a good

    onc.¡±

    When I didn¡¯t answer right away, still hesitant, Kyle continued. ¡°You can trust me, Luna. I would never do anything to <b>hurt </b>you. You know <b>that</b>.¡±

    I licked my dry lips. ¡°I thought the same thing about him,¡± I said, looking at Grayson.

    Grayson¡¯s expression shed with so much <b>pain </b>that I almost regretted what I said. His eyes werepletely green right now, and I found myself falling into them.

    I missed his eyes so much, and I hadn¡¯t seen them in so long since his wolf had been in control basically the entire time he¡¯d been here.

    I missed Grayson. I missed my Grayson so, so much.

    Part of me wondered what the harm was in letting him exin. It¡¯s not like I had to agree to be with him after hearing what he had to say. I was just¡­scared. So scared.

    After everything he <b>had </b>put me through, self¨Cpreservation was my number one priority. I would not let him hurt me <b>again</b>.

    After a few more moments, I finally answered. ¡°Okay.<b>¡± </b>

    Grayson¡¯s breathing stalled. ¡°<b>Okay</b>?¡± he repeated, hope and shockcing his tone.

    Honestly, I was a bit shocked too. I nodded. ¡°Okay. You can exin. Tell me what happened.¡±

    I could practically see the extreme relief traveling throughout Grayson¡¯s body.

    ¡°But,¡± I continued quickly before he could say anything, ¡°<b>you </b>have to promise me something.¡±

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    <b>11 </b>1 1st <b>you </b><b>saprain</b>¡­ O

 Chapter 87

    His Lost Queen

    Annie Whipple

    <b>exnation </b>1811 <b>1 </b>g?ou enougii<b>, </b>you have tu cave (110

    following me around. No more showing up at my work.

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    ¡°No more asking my old friends toe here to manipte me into talking to you. You have to let

    me go. For good. I can¡¯t handle any more of this. Okay?¡±

    Grayson studied me for several long seconds before answering. ¡°Okay.¡±

    1 leaned back in my chair, taking in a deep breath. ¡°All right. Let¡¯s hear it then.¡±

    His <b>Lost </b>Queen

    X

    Annie Whipple

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    <i>Finally</i><i>, </i>I thought in relief.

    Fucking. <i>Finally</i><i>. </i>

    Belle was going to let me exin. I could fix this¨CI <i>would </i>fix this.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said softly. I reached out and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear, seeing the way she had to resist her need to <b>lean </b>into my touch.

    **Thank you for affording me just a little of your trust. I know it¡¯s hard, but it means the world to

    me.¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond. She didn¡¯t need to. I knew she still was hesitant and wary, but I also knew she wanted this all to <b>be </b>over just as much as I did.

    Even now, her body was gravitating toward me, so desperate for thefort she knew her mate could give her. And I was desperate to deliver. Soon I would be able to.

    ¡°Kyle is here because I betrayed you, and you need someone you trust with you for this

    conversation ¡±

    She nced up at Kyle<b>, </b>who gave her a lopsided grin. ¡°I¡¯ll always be in your corner, Luna,¡± he said.

    Belle <b>smiled </b>weakly back at him, but I could see her difort grow at being called her title. I gave Kyle a look.

    I knew it was in his nature to call her Luna, but I had told him not to call her that before he had

    gotten here. He mouthed his apology.

    <i>Here </i><i>goes </i><i>nothing</i>.

    <b>I </b>gripped her knee gently. ¡°Belle, look at me. I need you to hear me when I tell you this.¡± She turned her head to me, her gorgeous blue eyes glossy with unshed tears.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Everything that happened to you at the pack house¨Cit wasn¡¯t me doing <b>any </b>of it.¡±

    F

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    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± she replied quietly. <b>¡°</b><b>What </b>do you mean?¡±*

    I nced over at Kyle, who was standing quietly against the wall. He shrugged.

    Fuck. I had gone over this conversation so many times in my head<b>, </b>but now that the moment was here, it felt like the words wouldn¡¯te out of my mouth.

    How the hell was <b>I </b>supposed to exin this to her? What was the best way to make her believe me?

    ¡°I was being controlled<b>,</b>¡± I continued<b>. </b><b>¡°</b>By <b>a </b>vampire.

    Belle stared <b>at </b>me for a while, processing, searching my <b>eyes </b>for the truth. ¡°I can¡¯t tell if you¡¯re joking or not,¡± she finally said<b>. </b>

    ¡°Yeah, I wouldn¡¯t believe you either,¡± Kyle interjected unhelpfully.

    I red at him.

    <b>¡°</b>Sorry. It just doesn¡¯t sound very believable,¡± Kyle continued, raising his hands in defense. He looked at Belle.

    ¡°But it is true. He was being controlled by one of the most powerful vampires alive. He¡­The alpha

    started <b>a </b>war over it.¡±

    Belle looked between the two of us, her brows tugging together.

    ¡°Do you remember the first night I brought you to my pack house?¡± I asked her. ¡°When I had to leave youte <b>at </b>night to deal with vampires on my territory?¡±

    She nodded tightly. A sweet blush took over her cheeks as she probably remembered what we had been about to do right before all of this happened.

    ¡°That was thest night things felt normal,¡± she whispered, the sadness <b>in </b>her voice nearly tangible in the air. ¡°You changed after that.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. The vampire attack was a trap. The former vampire king, Azazel Mortar, was waiting for me. He used dark magic to take over my body. I was there, witnessing everything, but I had no

    control<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°The vampire king?¡± Belle repeated stiffly. ¡°You¡¯re trying to tell me a vampire king took over your body?¡±

    ¡°Former vampire king.¡± I emphasized. ¡°The throne was taken from him, and he was reced by his brother, Zagan Mortar. He wanted to take over my pack to regain control of the vampire

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    ¡°That¡¯s why the alpha was acting so strange,¡± Kyle cut in. ¡°Do you remember me telling you he was thinking of letting vampires onto the territory<b>?</b><b>¡°</b><b>¡± </b>

    Belle nodded.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s why. His body was taken over.¡±

    She looked back at me. ¡°I¡­,¡± she mumbled. <b>¡°</b><b>I </b><b>don¡¯t</b>¡­¡±

    I took one <b>of </b>her hands in mine, pressing my lips against her fingers in what I hoped was a soothing gesture. It pleased me when she didn¡¯t try to pull away. ¡°I know this is a lot to take in<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    She nodded. <b>¡°</b><b>If </b>what you¡¯re saying is true¡­H¨CHow do I know you¡¯re not still being controlled by a vampire?¡±

    ¡°Because you can feel the mate bond between us,¡± I said, squeezing her hand gently. Even I could feel the powerful tingles traveling between us, demonstrating our bond.

    ¡°You can feel it when I touch you. Or when I talk to you. You couldn¡¯t feel it before when Azazel was in control of my body.¡±

    She thought about it for a second, looking down at our conjoined hands. I could tell she knew I was right.

    <b>¡°</b>The sparks weren¡¯t¡­they weren¡¯t as strong when I was staying with you back at the pack house. But I thought I just-I thought it was because <b>you </b>didn¡¯t¡°-her gaze dropped-¡°want me anymore or something.¡±

    I tucked my hand beneath her chin, lifting her head until she was looking at me again. ¡°I will <i>always </i>want you. Do you understand me? Always. You¡¯re my mate. My other half.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t a world in which you¡¯re out there, and I don¡¯t want to be with you. We¡¯re meant to be together. I can¡¯t survive without you.¡±

    More tears fell from her eyes as she really let my words set in. I didn¡¯t know if she believed me <b>or </b>not, but it really didn¡¯t matter. I would prove it to her.

    ¡°The vampire is gone now. He¡¯s no longer inside of me. That¡¯s why I¡¯m acting normal again. He gave up control of my body the day you ran away.

    ¡°He¡¯s gone now, and he¡¯s noting back. I can promise you that.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Belle asked. ¡°How did you get him out of you?¡°¡±

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    I didn¡¯t know how to answer that without scaring her.

    ¡°That¡¯splicated,¡± Kyle said when I hesitated. ¡°The alpha almost died.¡±

    Belle¡¯s eyes snapped to mine, wide and filled with worry. ¡°You almost died?¡±

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    Thest thing I wanted to do was make her more upset than she already was. But I also needed to present her with all the information and evidence.

    <b>I </b>pulled my shirt over my head to reveal my upper half and the scar where I was impaled with a tree branch. It <b>was </b>an impressive mark, taking <b>up </b>almost all of my chest.

    Belle gasped. Her hand <b>flew </b>out to touch the scar. ¡°He did this to you?¡± <b>she </b>asked. Then, as if realizing <b>she </b><b>had </b>unintentionally touched me, she tried to pull her hand away.

    I stopped her by cing my hand over hers, ensuring she couldn¡¯t move it away. She didn¡¯t fight me.

    ¡°It had to be done,¡± I exined. ¡°It was the only way to force Azazel out of my body. He would have died with me if he¡¯d stayed.¡±

    ¡°But

    you¡­you didn¡¯t die? You were okay?¡± Belle asked. ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s a stupid question. Obviously, you didn¡¯t die. Just¡­how does someone survive something like that?¡±

    Her fingers moved over the <b>scar </b>on my chest, lightly tracing the raised skin.

    <b>I </b>nced at Kyle, who met my gaze with apprehension.

    ¡°There are two reasons,¡± I said, not sure how I was going to exin this to her without scaring the crap out of her and sending her running to the hills.

    ¡°First, I was given the blood of Amelia Mortar. She is a vamp

    Belle gasped. ¡°I actually know who she is!¡± she eximed, looking somewhat pleased she knew about something without needing to have it exined to her. ¡°I was given her blood too.¡±

    My wolf surged forward in my consciousness. ¡°Why the fuck were you given the blood of Amelia Mortar?¡± I demanded.

    I instantly regretted my harsh tone. Belle sucked in a breath and leaned further back in her chair, tugging her hand off my chest and cradling it to her own.

    She suddenly watched me with a wary, tentative expression. I had to remind myself that thest time she had heard me speak to her that way was right after my hand <b>had </b>connected violently <b>with </b>her cheek.

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    I had to try harder to keep my anger <b>in </b>check.

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    I swore under my breath. <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m <b>sorry</b>, love. <b>My </b>anger is not directed <b>at </b>you<b>,</b>¡± I told her<b>. </b><b>¡°</b><b>It¡¯s </b>just that¡­ <b>the </b>only reason anyone is given the blood of Amelia Mortar is if they are near death.¡±

    ¡°I¨CI was. The night <b>that </b>Adalee found <b>me</b>,¡± Belle admitted<b>. </b><b>¡°</b>She almost killed me.¡±

    I growled. I didn¡¯t want to remember that <b>night</b>. Even though Adalee trying to kill Belle was the only reason I was able to find her again, it <b>had </b>still been one <b>of </b>the most terrifying moments of my life.

    Belle <b>nodded </b>slowly. ¡°Liam and his sister, La, gave me her blood after the attack<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    It made sense. It was why she hadn¡¯t any markings on her when I¡¯d found her.

    My body shook with anger even as I was grateful for what Liam had done for my mate. I still couldn¡¯t help the possessiveness or protectiveness I felt for her.

    ¡°What¡¯s the second reason?¡± Belle continued. ¡°The second reason you are alive. You said there were two<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    I <b>tried </b>to prepare myself to tell her this information.

    ¡°When Azazel took over my body, he bit me and unintentionally injected me with vampire venom<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    Belle¡¯s breathing picked up just the tiniest bit. ¡°Vampire venom? Does that do the same thing as their blood? It healed you?¡±

    ¡°You know how my eyes turn ck with the presence of my wolf?¡± I said as gently as I could. ¡°And. do you remember my eyes turning red when I found you?¡±

    I cursed myself to hell over how terrified she suddenly looked.

    ¡°R¨CRed eyes?¡± she stuttered out. ¡°You actually had red eyes? I thought I was making them up.¡±

    I gripped her knee when her breathing started to be morebored and raged, the same way it had when I had found her and she¡¯d <b>had </b>a panic attack.

    I moved closer to her, sitting on my knees so that my face was level with hers. I cupped her face in my hand.

    ¡°Hey. Hey, you¡¯re okay, baby. Take some deep breaths,¡± I told her, keeping my tone firm and even<b>. </b>¡°You¡¯re okay.¡±

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    Cght. You chase

    Her breathing didn¡¯t calm. ¡°I keep having nightmares of you with red eyes. Every me and say you¡¯re never leaving me alone and¡­¡± Her chest started to rise and fall more violently.

    ¡°Nightmares?¡± My heart broke. Was that what she had been dreaming ofst night? ¡°No, God, baby, no. It¡¯s not something you need to be afraid of. If anything, it should make <b>you </b>feel safer.¡±

    <b>She </b>didn¡¯t look convinced¨Cfar from it.

    I looked at Kyle. He met my gaze, but it was clear that he didn¡¯t know how to tell her this either.

    <b>I </b>swung my attention back to Belle. ¡°You jemember my wolf, right?¡±

    eyess

    Belle nodded once, her eyes still wide, her breathing still wild.

    I let my cager wolfe to the surface, turning my eyes ck.

    Belle visibly rxed at his presence. My wolf growled happily in my chest.

    I loved that she was sofortable around him¨Cespecially considering how she had reacted the first time she had met him¨Cbut it killed me that she no longer felt that way around me.

    I promised myself that I would be changing that soon enough.

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I hesitated for a moment. ¡°Meet my vampire.¡±

    I let my vampiree forward and fill my consciousness. My wolf took a step back, allowing my eyes to turn into a bright, vibrant red.

    Belle did not react well.

    She leapt out of her chair, causing it to fall and tter behind her. She stumbled away, nearly tripping over her feet to get away from me. I could see the panic attack starting to gain control of her body.

    I stood. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Belle,¡± I said, trying to calm her. ¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt you. You don¡¯t have to

    be afraid.¡±

    I waspletely gutted by the piercing fear that red in her eyes.

    I started approaching her, needing to do something, but stopped when she shrieked through her gasping breaths, falling back even more until her back was pressed firmly against the wall behind.

    her.

    Belle was looking around, trying to determine her escape route.

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    <b>She </b>reminded me of a caged animal desperately seeking a way out. She looked so utterly fragile, worn to the bone, and beyond exhausted.

    I tried to push my vampire down so she wouldn¡¯t have to look at my red eyes that so obviously caused her so much fear, but my vampire wasn¡¯t budging. He wanted Belle to see <b>him</b>.

    And he wanted to look at her. He had <b>been </b>holding back for so long, not wanting to scare her, but now that he was let out<b>, </b>he was refusing to be stuffed back in.

    ¡°Belle, it¡¯s okay,¡± I tried pleading with her. <b>¡°</b><b>It¡¯s </b>okay<b>, </b>baby.¡±

    She shook her head. Her hand flew up to grasp her throat.

    Kyle stepped forward. ¡°He¡¯s not going to hurt you, Luna. His vampire cares for you <b>just </b>as much <b>as </b>his wolf does.¡±

    Her eyes were wide with fear, uncertainty, and so much pain¨Cpain <b>I </b>understood well because I¡¯d been living in hell ever since the day she¡¯d left me.

    I regretted ever showing her my vampire. She had already been so afraid, and I had only made it

    worse.

    I tried to push my vampire down once again. He wasn¡¯t listening to reason, convinced he could help her if I would just let him. I fought against him.

    Belle reached a shaking hand to the doorknob of her apartment. She was going to make a run for it. She was going to go out into the cold night, barefoot and without a coat, mid¨Cpanic attack.

    I couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    An unfamiliar feeling abruptly formed in my throat and rose up. It was my vampire he was doing something, making some sort of noise, in the same way my wolf growled.

    I started to purr. It wasn¡¯t a noise I had ever made before, vibrating from under my rib cage <b>and </b>in my throat. I wasn¡¯t even sure how I was doing it.

    My vampire seemed to be making the sound out of pure instinct.

    Belle reacted to my purrs almost immediately. Her body rxed, and her breathing slowed. Her eyes

    became hooded and calm.

    She sucked in deep breaths as she watched me, no longer reaching for her door but rather appearing entranced with the sounding from my chest.

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    My vampire¡¯s purrs were calming her. They were helping her. It seemed as though she couldn¡¯t help.

    <b>but </b>react to the noise.

    She even began to lean forward, gravitating toward me as <b>if </b>she couldn¡¯t help herself.

    I took that as my opportunity to go to her. I never stopped purring for her since it seemed to be helping her, taking over the duty from my vampire now that I knew <b>how </b>to do it.

    She watched me through hooded eyes as <b>I </b>approached her, determined. The moment she was within reach, I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her to me.

    I needed to feel her against me, tofort her. She automatically melted into my hold, no longer fighting. <b>In </b>fact, she seemed eager to let me take her weight against me.

    She ducked her face into my chest, right against the spot where my purrs were the strongest. She sighed, absorbing the vibrations I was producing while I stood there, stunned.

    With Belle still in my arms, I threw a look at Kyle over my shoulder. He was watching us with wide eyes, appearing to be just as confused as I felt.

    Belle shifted against me, and her bright blue eyes turned up, peering at me. Her pupils were dted.

    ¡°How¡­ How are you doing that?¡± she whispered. ¡°How are you making that¨Cthat purring noise?¡± Even as she spoke, she pressed herself against me, seemingly unable to help herself.

    ¡°My vampire,¡± I replied softly. My purrs grew stronger, and her eyes became more hooded<b>. </b>¡°My vampire wanted to calm you down. I¡¯ve never purred before.¡±

    And I <b>had </b>a feeling she was the only person I could do it for.

    She pressed her face back into my chest. Calming her didn¡¯t seem to be the only effect my purring had on her because, suddenly, the smell of her arousal filled and saturated the air.

    ¡°Kyle,¡± I barked. ¡°<i>Out</i><i>.</i>¡±

    ¡°Yep<b>,</b>¡± was his immediate reply.

    Then he used his vampire speed, and a gust of wind blew past us. The door to Belle¡¯s apartment opened and closed <b>as </b>Kyle left the room, leaving Belle and mepletely alone.

 Chapter 88

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    After Kyle left, Belle nced up, scanning the room.

    Her brows furrowed when she didn¡¯t find my beta. ¡°Where_7¡±

    I cut her question short by sweeping her off her feet and marching her <b>to </b>the bed¨Cor should I say, her mattress <b>on </b><b>the </b>floor.

    I pushed down the feeling of fury caused by the fact that it still smelled like Liam ckwood and sat down on the mattress with my back to the wall and Belle on myp.

    <b>She </b>clung to me tightly, her arms wrapped around my neck. I had to pry her off my chest to get her to look at me, but <b>I </b>never ceased my purring. It calmed her and made her less afraid.

    That¡¯s what she needed right now.

    At the same time, the smell of her arousal was only growing the longer I purred<b>. </b>She shifted restlessly on myp, her cheeks flushed with bright pink.

    Huh, so it seemed as though purring had two effects on my gorgeous mate.

    I carefully brushed a lock of brown hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. I cupped. her jaw.

    ¡°How are you doing, baby? Are you feeling better?¡± I asked her, running the pad of

    her cute chin.

    of my

    thumb over

    She nodded. <b>¡°</b>Yes.¡±

    She ced her hand over my vibrating chest. I put my hand over hers, holding it there.

    ¡°I, uh¡­,¡± she whispered. ¡°I have some questions.¡±

    I gently squeezed her hand. My purrs increased just the slightest bit. ¡°Ask me anything, beautiful.¡±

    Her pupils were blown out andrge. She licked her lips and shifted her hips against me once again. I could tell she was trying to hold herself back by the way she kept ncing at my lips.

    ¡°Could you¡­,¡± she started. ¡°Could you, um, stop purring? I¨CI¡¯m having a hard time concentrating.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. This was a useful little trick my vampire had given me. I would

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    But for now, I let the sound of the purrs roll to an end, giving her some reprieve.

    She let out a deep breath, her body slumping a bit in relief. <b>¡°</b>Thank you.

    Now that my purrs weren¡¯t calming her anymore, she stiffened just slightly.

    036% 12:51

    Afraid she would try to run from me again if given the opportunity, I gripped her <b>hips </b>and pulled her closer, ensuring she had no way out.

    ¡°What are your questions, Belle?¡± I coaxed.

    I noticed her studying my eyes.

    <b>I </b>hadn¡¯t been paying attention to what color they were, too focused on my mate, <b>but </b>now I realized <b>that </b>they were a dark red¨Ca mix of ck and red for both my wolf <b>and </b>vampire.

    They were both at the front of my consciousness<b>, </b>watching Belle with just as much interest as I was.

    ¡°So you¡¯re a¡­ vampire now?¡± she asked, her voice quict and mock.

    ¡°A hybrid,¡± I corrected softly. ¡°My wolf is <b>still </b>here. I have both creatures in me.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re so big now?¡± Her eyes scanned over my chest and my arms. I could hear her heart rate jump slightly. ¡°Bing a vampire¡­made you grow?¡±

    ¡°Sort of.¡± I rubbed her hips soothingly, holding myself back from purring once again since it seemed to make her so calm the <bst </b>time, and she looked terrified now.

    ¡°When I went through the transition, my vampire made me stronger, faster, the ultimate predator. The change in size just came with it.¡±

    ¡°Are you¨CAre you dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Never to you. Do you understand that, Belle? My vampire loves you, just like my wolf, just like I love you. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I would never eveny a hand on you.¡±

    Her eyes dropped from me. ¡°You said that before too.¡±

    She took a deep breath. ¡°And Kyle is a¨Ca hybrid too now?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°He was bitten too. So he went through the transition as well.¡±

    Her small hand went to my neck and gently touched the scar where Azazel had sunk his teeth into

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    036% 12:51

    The two little puncture wounds were barely even visible anymore and wouldpletely heal with

    time.

    I had almost forgotten about the scar but was d <b>that </b>Belle had found it. It was further <b>proof </b>that what I was saying was the truth.

    Her eyes darted back to mine. ¡°You were bitten by the king <b>of </b>vampires?¡±

    <b>I </b>nodded. If she needed to hear all of it again, I would happily repeat myself until she felt like she understood. ¡°Former king of vampires.¡±

    ¡°And he turned you into a hybrid werewolf¨Cvampire?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°<b>And </b>took over your body for months<b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°Yes.<b>¡°</b><b>¡± </b>

    She dropped her face into her hands. ¡°This is a lot to take in. I don¡¯t even know if I can believe you. This story is just too insane.¡±

    Out of pure instinct, I started to purr again, but this time I was quieter so that she could barely even

    hear me.

    Her body could sense the vibrations, though, and she visibly rxed. Good. When she rxed, I did

    too.

    ¡°I know, love. I¡¯ve got you,¡± I replied. I gently pulled her back to me and tucked her into my chest. She let me take all of her weight and even nuzzled into me.

    Intense relief swelled inside of me. She was finally listening to me. She was letting me hold her without fighting. She was giving in to the bond.

    My hand ran up and down her spine. She shivered against me.

    ¡°So¡­it wasn¡¯t you who said all of those¡­horrible things to me about how you would only ever want me for pleasure and power?¡± Her words were thick with tears.

    I tensed when I realized she was about to start crying again.

    <b>¡°</b><b>It </b>wasn¡¯t you who hit me multiple times and tried to sleep with someone else when I wouldn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°No. It wasn¡¯t me.¡± My heart tightened, doing rolls behind my rib cage. ¡°But I was there. I could see

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    ¡°I was trapped, forced to watch <b>my </b>mate being tortured.¡±

    Her eyes were wide and round. ¡°You could see everything?¡±

    036% 12:51

    I nodded. ¡°I fought hard to get free. It was why he spent so little time around you. Every time he went anywhere near you <b>in </b>my <b>body</b><b>, </b>I fought against him, pounding on his consciousness.

    ¡°It made him weak. But I couldn¡¯t get free, no matter how hard I tried. My wolf did once.¡±

    ¡°Your wolf!¡± she eximed. ¡°That day you broke my cheekbone¨Che took care of me.¡±

    As if on cue, my wolf growled softly in my chest, letting her know he was there. Belle smiled softly

    at the <b>sound</b><b>. </b>

    ¡°No way I thought to myself. ¡°I didn¡¯t break your cheekbone,¡± I said, reminding her. ¡°I would never even think of hurting you like that. Azazel Mortar was the one who hit you.¡±

    ¡°He did it to mess with me, to make me angry and prove that he had control over me and could do whatever he wanted to you, and I couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it. Except I did.

    ¡°My anger was so great when he hurt you that my wolf was able to break through the dark magic blocking us <b>and </b>tend to you.

    ¡°But as I¡¯m sure you noticed, he¡¯s not the bestmunicator in the world, so he couldn¡¯t exin to you what was going on. He could only apologize.¡±

    My wolf bristled inside of me at the memory. We had never felt more powerless than we had at that

    moment.

    ¡°I remember,¡± Belle muttered quietly, pain filling her voice.

    I hugged her tighter to me. A moment of silence passed as I let her process everything that I was telling her.

    ¡°So¡­.¡± Belle started. ¡°You¡¯re you again? You promise there¡¯s no more evil vampire inside of you?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m me again. No more evil vampire. You have no idea how long I¡¯ve waited to tell you.¡±

    Belle looked up at me, hesitancy filling her gaze. ¡°But how do I know it won¡¯t happen again? How do I know you won¡¯t just¡­change on me again? I don¡¯t know¡­¡± She shuttered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can handle that again.¡±

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    She leaned back, hesitating for a moment. Then she tried to get off of

    I quickly grabbed her waist, pulling her back to me. ¡°What are <b>you </b>doing?¡±

    ¡°¡­<b>I </b>think I need <b>a </b>moment,¡± she whispered. ¡°I need time to process,

    around you. You make my brain stop working.¡±

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    36% 12:51

    And I can¡¯t do that

    ¡°It¡¯s the mate bond. It wants us together because that¡¯s where you belong. With me. You need me just as much as <b>I </b>need you. We need each other.¡±

    I gripped her waist tighter, not enough to hurt her, just to show her how desperate I was. ¡°Please don¡¯t make me leave you again.¡±

    She seemed to struggle internally for several seconds. ¡°I need to have a clear head. So I can think.<b>¡± </b>She shook her head. ¡°I just need some time.¡±

    It was physically painful to let her crawl from myp. She walked to the door of her apartment and opened it. She looked at me, waiting.

    I got up slowly, never breaking eye contact with her. When I was standing in front of her, I gently grabbed her face with both hands, tilting her head up so she was looking directly into my eyes.

    ¡°Take all the time you need, mate. I¡¯ll wait for you forever,¡± I told her. Then I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. ¡°You let me know when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    And then, with great effort, I left her.

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    <b>BELLE </b>

    I shut the door behind him and fell into a chair the moment Grayson left. I could hear my heart beating in my head, making my entire skull pulse.

    As always, my mark burned, begging to be near my mate again. I groaned.

    There was a gentle knock on the door, and the only reason I knew it wasn¡¯t Grayson was that I didn¡¯t feel the connection to him.

    ¡°Luna?¡± Kyle¡¯s voice came from the other side of the door. He pushed the door open and peeked his head inside. His eyes softened when he saw me crying. ¡°Is it okay if Ie in?¡°¡±

    I nodded. It would be nice to have somepany.

    He came in, looking around my apartment. <b>¡°</b>So this is where you¡¯ve been staying over thest couple of months, huh? It¡¯s, uh¡­pretty crappy.¡± He didn¡¯t even try to maintain politeness.

    I couldn¡¯t help butugh. I appreciated that he didn¡¯t pity me like everybody else.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I agreed, wiping my nose. ¡°It¡¯s pretty crappy.

    ¡°Beats the

    ¡°Beats the room you were staying in at the pack house, though. That¡¯s a plus. At least you¡¯ve got

    heat here.¡±

    I winced. I didn¡¯t want to talk about my life <b>back </b>at <b>the </b><b>pack </b>house or the circumstances I was living in. I especially didn¡¯t <b>want </b>to acknowledge the way Kyle was looking at me with a pointed look.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to me, Luna?¡± he finally asked. ¡°It kills me to know that you were suffering so much and felt like you had no one to turn to. I would have helped you. You know that, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m <b>sorry</b>,¡± I whispered back. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to do. I didn¡¯t want Grayson to hate me any more. than he already did. He told me to stay away

    from you.

    ¡°I was desperate not to do anything that would upset him.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just one more sign that the alpha was taken over. He would rather die than make you feel that way. Didn¡¯t he prove that to you in Paris<b>?</b>¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to respond. I knew he was right. A few moments passed. Kyle leaned against the small kitchen counter, crossing his arms over his chest, watching me..

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    ¡°Can he hear us?¡± I finally asked.

    *ÁãÊÛ35% _1 12:52

    Kyle shook his head. ¡°No. He told me he was going to go for a walk. He wanted to <b>give </b><b>you </b>space. I just came to check on you.¡±

    I sighed. I could feel the distance between Grayson <b>and </b>me growing, and it was starting to make me feel sick.

    ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth, isn¡¯t he?<b>¡± </b>I whispered. ¡°I can feel that he¡¯s telling the truth.¡±

    Kyle gave me a sympathetic look. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s telling the truth. I found out the day you left. He¡¯s been a pain in the ass ever since. He hasn¡¯t stopped looking for you for a single second.

    ¡°He, couldn¡¯t focus on anything else.¡±

    I dropped my head into my hands. ¡°I miss him. I miss him a lot. Why the hell do I miss him? I shouldn¡¯t still feel this connected to him, should I? He was so¡­horrible to me.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s your mate,¡± Kyle responded in <b>a </b>soft tone that told me he understood. ¡°He¡¯s your soulmate, the one person who was made specifically for you. How could you not miss him?

    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that you could stay away from each other for so long without going insane.¡± He paused. ¡°But you know it¡¯s okay to still be scared, right? After everything you¡¯ve been through¡­¡±

    I looked at him. More tears welled in my eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t do it again<b>, </b>Kyle. I can¡¯t be with him and get rejected again. It¡­ It almost killed mest time.¡±

    Kyle¡¯s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. ¡°He won¡¯t let you go through that again. He¡¯ll never reject you. He¡¯ll protect you.

    ¡°He¡¯s stronger now. More prepared. More determined to keep you safe after everything he put your through.¡±

    ¡°His pack hates me, though. I don¡¯t know if I can go back there. I can¡¯t be a luna when everyone rejected me. They wouldn¡¯t even talk to me. Does Grayson even understand how disappointed his pack was with me?¡±

    Kyle grabbed the other folding chair and sat down next to me. ¡°Listen to me, Luna. It¡¯s important that you hear this. Azazelmanded them to treat you that way. The pack had no choice.¡±

    ¡°R¨CReally?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yes, really. They wanted to meet you, to get to know you. They never got that chance. They were in

    that the alnha was in

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    ¡°They had to watch as you suffered, even though they desperately wanted to help.¡±

    ¡°They told you that?¡± <b>I </b>asked, my tone quiet and unbelieving<b>. </b>¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±

    <b>035</b>%? 12:52

    Kyle nodded. ¡°I¡¯m positive. They feel horrible about the way they treated you. <b>If </b><b>you </b>came back to the pack house, you would see for yourself how sorry they <b>arc</b>.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they would love the opportunity to try and make it up to <b>you</b>.¡±

    I leaned back in my chair, barelyprehending what he was telling me. I didn¡¯t even notice my hand go to Grayson¡¯s mark on my neck. I suddenly desperately wished he were here.

    ¡°Go to him,¡± Kyle said<b>, </b>uttering the words I was thinking. He smiled. <b>¡°</b><b>He¡¯s </b>waiting for you.¡±

    I was up and out the door in seconds.

    ***

    My stomach was a mess of fluttering butterflies as I ran out the front door of my apartment building barefoot, searching for my mate.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I yelled. Tears were streaming down my checks, and, for the first time in months<b>, </b>it wasn¡¯t because I was sad.

    My heart raced in my chest when I couldn¡¯t find him. ¡°Grayson!¡± I yelled a bit louder, not caring if anybody around me heard.

    A sudden burst of wind and a blur of movement in front of me made me jump back <b>and </b>scream<b>. </b>When I opened my eyes, I met Grayson¡¯s dark¨Cred ones with a gasp.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he demanded<b>, </b>scanning my form. ¡°What <b>is </b>it? Are you hurt?¡±

    I didn¡¯t think about it beforeunching myself into his <b>arms</b>.

    He stumbled back a few steps, obviously not expecting my abrupt attack. For a second, he just stood. there, his massive chest rising and falling with small growls against me.

    I was almost afraid I had jumped to conclusions too quickly, but then he wrapped his arms around. me and pulled me closer to him.

    And I burst into tears. With my arms around his neck and my face stuffed into his chest, I let all of my emotions free. And then I pulled his face to mine and kissed him soundly.

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    Grayson growled against my mouth, tugging me closer.

    035% 12.52

    He pulled away after a few seconds. ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson groaned, his forehead pressing against mine. ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Please don¡¯t cry, love.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help it,¡± I replied, nuzzling my face into his chest once again, taking in his <b>spicy </b>scent that I had missed so much.

    I smiled up at him, wiping my tears away the best I could. ¡°I just really missed you.¡± <b>I </b>paused.

    ¡°And I¡¯m really d you¡¯re not an evil vampire anymore. That really-¡± I took in a deep shuddering breath. ¡°That really sucked<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    His jaw tightened. ¡°You<b>¡­</b>believe me?¡± He seemed to hold his breath as he waited for me to answer.

    I nodded, cupping the side of his face, the tips of <b>my </b>fingers running through his hair. ¡°I believe you. I believe you, Grayson.¡±

    His mouth split into a huge, breathtaking grin. ¡°Thank God,¡± he whispered, searching my eyes. ¡°<b>Thank </b>God<b>.</b>¡±

    I expected him to kiss me again, but he didn¡¯t. Instead, he swept me off my feet, pulling me chest to chest, wrapping my legs and arms around his huge, muscr form.

    The only reason I didn¡¯t fall was because of his hands supporting me beneath my butt.

    <b>¡°</b>Kyle. Go home,¡± Grayson grunted.

    I whirled my head around. I hadn¡¯t even realized Kyle had also exited my apartment and was watching us from the doorway.

    ¡°I just got here!¡± Kyleined.

    ¡°Kyle doesn¡¯t need to go. I want to catch up with him, too,¡± I argued.

    Grayson didn¡¯t reply. He was already walking in the opposite direction, taking me with him.

    ¡°Wait!<b>¡± </b>I shouted, looking back at Grayson¡¯s poor beta, who he was leaving behind. ¡°What about Kyle? We can¡¯t just leave him after he came all the way here!¡±

    Grayson¡¯s reply was two words, growled and low and leaving no room to argue. ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡±

    I red at him, ready to keep arguing. I just decided to forgive him, and this was how he wanted to

    act?

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    I gasped when Kyle suddenly appeared right behind us. I hadn¡¯t even seen him move.

    35<b>% </b>

    Sensing his presence, Grayson turned and bared his teeth at him threateningly. He gripped me to his body so tightly that I was almost worried he would start bruising me soon.

    <b>¡°</b>Whoa, there,¡± Kyle said, taking several steps back. He bared his neck. ¡°I meant the Luna no harm, <b>Alpha</b><b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°Put me down, Grayson,¡± I demanded, wiggling in his arms,

    my mark.

    Grayson growled yet again and then buried <b>his </b>face into my neck. He started to suck on my

    <b>I </b>gasped. ¡°Grayson!¡± I pushed at his shoulders even as my body lit up with pleasurable mes. ¡°Stop it!¡± My face bloomed with heat at Kyle witnessing this.

    ¡°<b>It¡¯s </b>all right, Luna,¡± Kyle said, trying going to be like this for a while. Possessive and only worried about making sure you¡¯re okay.

    Comfort me. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve <b>given </b>into the bond, he¡¯s

    ¡°He¡¯ll only get mad if I stay.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re leaving?¡± I asked, trying to ignore the man who was sucking on my neck like some sort. of leech.

    Kyle shrugged. ¡°Someone has to take care of the pack.¡±

    Grayson started to walk away before Kyle had even finished his sentence. I nced away for a single second to see where Grayson was taking me, <b>and </b>when I looked back, Kyle was gone.

    I searched for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

    I sighed and leaned my head on Grayson¡¯s shoulder, <b>giving </b>up. A small smile appeared on my lips. when he started to purr.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hotel,¡± Grayson growled.

    ¡°But my apartment is right back there. Why don¡¯t we just go there?¡±

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m never fucking allowing you to go back to that bullshit apartment ever again.¡±

    I leaned back in his arms so I could look at him. ¡°You¡¯re never allowing me?¡± I repeated.

    He nodded. not even bothering to respond. Then his hand gently gripped the back of my head and

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    ¡°Why?¡± <b>I </b>asked, my lips moving against his skin as I spoke, causing sparks to shoot all the way to <b>my </b>toes.

    ¡°Just keep your eyes closed and trust me.¡±

    And then he started running. I could feel the wind whipping around us<b>, </b><b>and </b>for a second, I thought he might have put us on some sort of vehicle based on how fast we were moving.

    I made the mistake of pecking over his shoulder. That was when I realized what was really happening.

    Grayson must have been using his newfound vampire powers to run faster than I was even able toprehend<b>. </b>

    I shricked and tightened my hold around his neck.

    Grayson¡¯s huge hand automatically mped onto the back of my head and pressed my face down into his neck, blocking my view of the world shing past us as he continued to <b>run</b>.

    I could feel the vibrations of his purrs starting against my chest, although I couldn¡¯t hear them due to the wind in my ears. He shushed me soothingly, one of his hands petting up and down my spine, trying to calm mc.

    Mere secondster, we were standing in front of a door. A hotel door. My breathing was ragged, still shocked by what had just happened.

    ¡°Did I scare you? I didn¡¯t mean to, I promise,¡± Grayson said, gently brushing my messy wind¨Cblown <b>hair </b>from my face.

    I looked up at him. ¡°Maybe a little,¡± I admitted softly, still breathing heavily. ¡°New vampire powers?¡±

    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t wait <b>any </b>longer to make sure you were taken care of.¡± He pulled out a key card from his pocket, then let us in.

    ¡°When did you get a hotel room?¡± I asked him as he carried me inside.

    ¡°Three days ago. When I found you.¡±

    It was a nice room, reminding me of the one we had stayed in while in Paris<b>, </b>only not nearly as

    .

    It didn¡¯t have a kitchen or multiple floors, but it did have a living room with arge dining table and

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    two rooms <b>connected </b><b>to </b>it.

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    SUAR

    Grayson brought me over to the table and set me down. He kept his body between my spread legs <b>so </b>he was pressed up firmly against me. My cheeks heated at the intimate position.

    ¡°Come here<b>,</b><b>¡± </b>Grayson said, tucking his hand under my chin and leading my lips to his. I sighed in pleasure.

    He kissed me thoroughly and passionately, sessfully taking my breath away and making my entire body tingle.

    ¡°God, I¡¯ve missed you

    <b>minutes </bter.

    I¡¯ve missed you so fucking much,¡± he spoke when he finally pulled away

    ¡°<b>I¡¯m </b>never letting you out of my sight ever again. It would take the Moon Goddess herself to ever take me away from you. Even then, I would fight like hell.¡±

    I smiled up at him, feeling at peace for the first time in an for the first time in an

    tremely long time. ¡°I¡¯m okay with that.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t even realized <b>I </b>was crying until Grayson frowned and wiped one of my stray tears with his thumb.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± He leaned his forehead down against mine. ¡°I can¡¯t stand seeing you cry. I can¡¯t stand that it¡¯s me who keeps making you cry.¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m just happy. They¡¯re happy tears.¡±

    His nostrils red slightly. ¡°I still don¡¯t like it. I¡¯m going to fix everything. I promise. You¡¯ll never have to cry ever again.¡±

    And he kissed me again.

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 Chapter 90

    <b>BELLE </b>

    Kyle had been right when he¡¯d said Grayson would be possessive <b>for </b>a while. Grayson was acting more than just possessive¨Che was actingpletely insane.

    About five minutes after arriving at the hotel, he ordered me a mountain of food from room service and had it delivered to the room.

    He never stopped touching me in one way or another, and his eyes were pitch ck andpletely. terrifying with the presence of his wolf.

    He barely spoke except to exin things to me, give me orders, or tell me for the millionth time how sorry

    he was <b>and </b>how he would make it up to me.

    Even then, his sentences were usually only one word. It was painfully obvious that his wolf was very much in control of the situation.

    The moment the food arrived, Grayson sat me down <b>on </b>hisp at the dining table and <b>put </b>a te of food in front of me.

    It was some sort of creamy¨Clooking pasta with chicken. It looked and smelled delicious. He had his own te in front of him as well.

    ¡°Eat,¡± he said, motioning to my te.

    I didn¡¯t need to be told twice. I was absolutely starving.

    I was only about three bites into the absolutely incredibly sinful meal when I felt Grayson brush my hair away from my shoulder. I could feel his gaze on my red, irritated, infected mark.

    I when

    I he brushed his thumb over it gently.

    ¡°Eat,¡± Grayson repeated. I hadn¡¯t even realized I had stopped chewing, waiting in anticipation to see what he was doing. ¡°You need food.¡±

    Then he leaned down and kissed the mark, nearly causing me to choke. His lips felt so good on the wound I couldn¡¯t help but let out a small moan.

    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked, sounding breathless. He hadn¡¯t touched his food yet.

    ¡°Just cat, Belle. Don¡¯t make me tell you again.

    <b>¡°</b>Sheesh.¡± I murmured. ¡°Bossy much?¡±

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    I took another bite, just happy to get some food besides peanut butter sandwiches, cereal, or leftover scraps from the diner into my stomach.

    Once Grayson seemed to be satisfied with the amount I was eating, he leaned down and kissed my mark once again.

    I squirmed in hisp. I tried to ignore him, but that proved impossible when his tongue slipped out and ran over the spot. To my immense embarrassment, I felt my panties start to dampen.

    I couldn¡¯t help it; months apart made his touch feel even better than it had before<b>, </b>if that was

    possible.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I said, elbowing his stomach lightly. <b>¡°</b>Stop that.¡±

    He didn¡¯t listen to me. He continued top at the mark, running his tongue over it and then sucking the skin into his mouth repeatedly, leaving kisses in between. He was driving me insane.

    ¡°Eat,¡± he said once more against my skin when he noticed my chewing had stopped. His voice was significantly lower than it had been minutes before. He continued kissing me.

    How the hell did he expect me to keep eating when he was doing that? He knew how sensitive that spot was, and yet, here he was, torturing mc.

    ¡°Do you have to do that right now?¡± I whined even as I unconsciously tilted my <b>head </b>to give him better ess. My face heated up. ¡°You¡¯re being very distracting.¡±

    ¡°Your mark isn¡¯t healing properly because we were apart for so long. The more time I spend tending <b>to </b>it, the less pain you will be in.¡±

    I nced down at his te of untouched food. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to cat, though? You have to be hungry.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to take care of you. You need food, and you need your mark to heal.¡±

    His teeth suddenly scraped against my mark, nearly causing me to shoot out of hisp with pleasure. I gasped.

    With his hand on my hips, Grayson settled me back down, growling low. He actually had the nerve to seem annoyed with me.

    ¡°Stop squirming and <i>eat</i>,¡± he ordered for what felt like the millionth time.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to make me choke on my food if you keep doing that,¡± Iined.

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    *ÈâÑª35% His hands squeezed my hips in a warning. ¡°Don¡¯t talk <b>about </b>you getting hurt. I¡¯m already on edge.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. Grayson said nothing else as he pushed my <b>te </b>closer and then handed me my fork that I hadn¡¯t realized I had dropped.

    ¡°Eat.

    And his lips were back on my neck.

    ***

    The rest of dinner <b>was </b>brutal. Grayson seemed perfectly content to suck and lick at my neck. For me, however, finishing my meal proved to be extremely difficult.

    To my immense embarrassment, I was practically panting by the end of it, leaningpletely into him, my head tilted to the side, encouraging his torture.

    I feltnguid and rxed and utterly at peace. At the same time, though, I had never felt more wrung

    <ol>

    <li><b>up</b><b>. </b></li>

    </ol>

    My panties were extremely wet, and my clit was pulsing, begging for attention from his <b>sinful </b>tongue still on my neck.

    His purring was so loud that it basically drowned out any other sound in therge room. I was totally andpletely attuned to him and his every movement.

    I wiggled against him, an embarrassing whining noise escaping my lips before I could stop it.

    Grayson smiled against my skin. ¡°You doing okay there, baby?¡±

    I rolled my eyes. As if he didn¡¯t know what he was doing to me.

    ¡°U¨CUm¡­¡± I could barely form a coherent sentence. ¡°Grayson¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡± he murmured, his lips gently skimming up my neck and to my ear. ¡°What is it, beautiful?¡±

    <b>I </b>squirmed.

    He inhaled deeply. ¡°Do you need something, Belle?¡± His voice was significantly deeper than it had been only minutes before.

    I nodded.

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    <b>¡°</b>What do you need? Tell me what you want.¡±

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    I sucked in a breath and squeezed my eyes shut. He knew what I wanted. Was he really <b>going </b>to make me say it out loud?

    **Touch me, Grayson,¡± I begged. <b>¡°</b>Please, I need you to touch me<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°I am touching you, baby.¡± His hands smoothed over my hips which were exposed by my bunched¨C<b>up </b><b>skirt </b>now around my waist. Sparks followed. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to be more specific<b>.</b>¡±

    That motherfucker<b>. </b>

    I wanted to tell him what I wanted. I wanted to be that confident girl who could take charge and be sexy without trying. But Grayson or Azazel, I guess<b>¨C</b>had really hurt me.

    I spent months hating¨Cwell, <i>trying </i>to hate Grayson after what I thought he did. I had only forgiven him a few hours before, and he already had me in hisp, begging for his touch.

    His power over my body and mind scared the crap out of me. I didn¡¯t totally trust him, not yet, at

    least.

    Thest time I had considered doing anything sexual with Grayson <b>had </b>been when he was trying to take advantage of me back at his pack house.

    I had told him no over and over again, and he¡­ I didn¡¯t want to think about how he responded to that

    or how devastated I felt afterward.

    His index finger skimmed over the front of my panties, bringing me back to reality. He didn¡¯t touch anywhere too intimate, but the soft brush of his hand was enough to gain my attention.

    ¡°You¡¯re in control, Belle,¡± he said softly, surprising me with his change in tone. He sounded much

    calmer now.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything unless you want me to. I need you to know that. You¡¯re always in

    control.¡±

    My body loosened a bit. He had said the exact words I needed to hear. How had he known to say that? Had he read my mind or something?

    No. I shook my head. He was my mate. He knew what I needed because we were made for each other like two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.

    I turned myself in hisp so I was facing him, straddling his waist. I could feel his hard member

    citting beneath my thinh nuleina with life

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    I swallowed nervously, my eyes widening. It looked like Grayson¡¯s body wasn¡¯t the only thing that had gotten bigger.

    Grayson leaned back and watched me, casually putting his hands on the armrests on either side of me as I settled down on top of him with my hands on his chest. He raised an eyebrow.

    I hated how sexy it was<b>. </b>

    His hands gripped the armrests until his knuckles were white, and the <b>wood </b>started to splinter the tiniest bit <b>as </b>he waited for me to <b>speak</b>, obviously trying to hold himself back.

    His dark, hungry, red¨Cck eyes studied me, moving from my heaving breasts to my exposed pink panties, which <b>I </b>was sure had a visible wet patch on the crotch. He licked his lips, his nostrils ring.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I</b><b>¡­</b>¡± I hesitated, totally mesmerized by the expression of desire on his face. His eyes snapped <b>up </b>to meet mine, and it was like a calming wave washing over me. ¡°Will you kiss me?¡±

    He groaned. ¡°Fuck, yes.¡±

    <b>With </b>his hand cupping the back of my neck, he led my mouth to his,unching me into a sensual attack that I was in no way ready for<b>. </b>

    This kiss was different from the ones we had shared before.

    While the other ones had always been sweet and caressing,municating love and caring, this one. was dirty and deep,municating our passion and desperation.

    <i>¡°</i><i>If </i><i>we </i><i>were </i>a normal couple,<i>¡± </i>he had said back in the hotel in Paris, ¡°we would¡¯ve <i>had </i><i>sex </i><i>multiple </i>times by now.

    He had said that only a day after meeting me. I knew werewolf couples were extremely sexual and touchy¡ªI had witnessed it firsthand when I <b>was </b>at his pack house.

    <b>The </b>fact that Grayson¨Can extremely dominating and powerful alpha male had been able to hold himself back for so long was a miracle.

    It was evidence of the truth behind his words. He really did want me to be in control.

    But he didn¡¯t have to hold back anymore.

    I gasped against his mouth when he squeezed my butt in his hands, pulling me closer to him, allowing him to sink deeper, his tongue wrestling with mine.

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    Pleasure bloomed everywhere. In my chest, in the buds of my breasts, between my spread thighs, across my pulsing mark.

    Before I knew it, I was settling my wet core directly over his rock<b>¨C</b>hard member, aided by his hands on my waist that immediately knew what I was after and eagerly helped to lift me into ce on top

    <b>of </b><b>him</b><b>. </b>

    We both groaned at the contact, his <b>lips </b>bing even more frantic against mine, something I didn¡¯t even know was possible.

    I needed friction. I needed movement. My hips started to move on their own ord, dry¨Chumping him. He <b>helped </b>me, leading me over his cock and teaching me how to thrust.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Fuck</b>, you¡¯re trying to kill me,¡± Grayson rasped against my mouth, his voice husky and rough.

    <b>His </b>hands never stopped moving my hips, continuously brushing my clothed clit over the zipper of his jeans with precise precision.

    <b>My </b>fingers curled around his shirt, suddenly desperately wishing he wasn¡¯t wearing it. What we <b>were </b>doing now wasn¡¯t enough. I wanted to feel every inch of his hard body against me.

    ¡°Grayson¡­.¡± I whined.

    He kissed me again, driving mepletely mad. He pulled away secondster, and I gasped against him. ¡°Tell <b>me </b>what you want, Belle.¡±

    My hips started to move faster against <b>him</b><b>, </b>my breaths panting. ¡°I¡­I need¡­¡± I didn¡¯t even recognize my own voice. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can say it out loud.¡±

    ¡°Do you need me to help you?¡±

    My chin bobbed up and down.

    His eyes shed. His hands on my hips forced me to slow my thrusts, and he leaned forward, his lips so close to the skin of my car that I could feel his hot breath rustling my hair.

    ¡°Say, ¡®Grayson, please touch my wet pussy,¡°¡± he said, providing me with the words. ¡°Please make mee¡­over and over again.¡±

    <b>111 </b>

    His dirty words made everything in me light up with fire. ¡°Grayson¡­.¡± I started..

    His grip on me tightened in anticipation, jerking my clit against his zipper roughly once. Twice.

    Three times. I moaned. ¡°Please touch¡­please touch my wet pussy,¡± I said, my words rushing out.

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    His Lost Queen

    X

    Annie Whipple

    ¡°And¡°?¡± he prompted, never stopping his harsh movements.

    ¡°Please make me cum,¡± I whined. I was barely even keeping it together at this point. ¡°Over <b>and </b>over

    again<b>.¡± </b>

    That¡¯s all it took for him to pounce.

    Emergency calls only

    <b>BELLE </b>

    In what felt like less than a second, I was lying t on my <b>back </b>on a bed in one of the bedrooms, looking up at my mate on top of me.

    I didn¡¯t even have time to process before his hands were ripping my panties from my legs <b>and </b>

    up around my waist.unching them across the <b>room</b>, then shoving the skirt of my waitress uniform

    He gripped my <b>thighs </b>and spread my legs open as wide as he could, his eyes immediately finding my needy pussy with a ravenous expression.

    ¡°You¡¯re so wet for me,¡± he groaned, his chest heaving.

    Right before I was ready to start begging again, his thumb parted my folds and then pressed down on my clit.

    My entire body violently convulsed at the simple touch, nearlying then and there. The shudder of pleasure that traveled through me was so intense that it had stars exploding behind my eyes.

    ¡°I know, baby,¡± Grayson said<b>, </b>still gently ying with my little bud of nerves. I writhed beneath him. ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re a fucking dream. I¡¯ve got you, Belle. I¡¯ve got you.¡±

    The sparks of the mate bond only made the entire experience a million times more intense, traveling through me and adding to the pleasure.

    Grayson knew exactly how to touch me, too, the exact right amount of pressure to add and then to

    take off to keep me in bliss.

    My hips moved against his hand, chasing after the release I so desperately needed.

    And when my movements became too much, Grayson growled and pinned me down with a hand on my stomach<b>, </b>shushing me with his deep voice.

    I reached for him. I didn¡¯t even know what I wanted, but thankfully, Grayson did and nted his lips over mine, automatically adding another level of intimacy. It made me feel drunk.

    His finger left my clit, and I nearly cried out in dismay, but then it traveled lower and ever so slowly slid into my soaking wet hole. I jerked and squeezed my <b>eyes </b>shut at the sudden intrusion.

    Grayson shushed my whines<b>, </b>giving me words of praise, breathing up against my neck, and licking my mark.

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    He started to thrust his thick middle finger in and out of my pussy in long, determined motions<b>. </b>while his palm pressed up against my clit, ying with it at the same time.

    ¡°Moan for me, baby,¡± he ordered. ¡°Moan for me, so I know where that sweet spot inside of you is. So that when I¡¯m deep inside you for the first time, <b>I¡¯ll </b>know exactly what spot to hit every. Single. Time.¡±

    Dear Lord.

    My mouth opened at hismand, automatically doing as he told me. Whimpers of pure bliss spilled from my <b>lips </b><b>as </b>he searched inside me with his hand.

    Then he curled his finger, suddenly hitting a spot that nearly had me screaming.

    He chuckled. ¡°Found it.¡±

    I realized then that he had been searching for my G¨Cspot, something that I had never been able to locate (to be honest, I was starting to think I was one of those unfortunate girls who didn¡¯t have onc).

    He was somehow able to find it in less than thirty seconds.

    His finger began to brush up against the newfound erogenous zone with exact precision with every thrust as his palm continued to pet my clit.

    Without warning the ws of his other hand tore through my uniform and bra, leaving me naked beneath him,pletely at his mercy.

    His eyes found my breasts, seemingly mesmerized for several long moments as they bounced with his movements.

    Then, before I even knew what was happening, his mouthtched onto one of my nipples, swirling his tongue around it and tugging <b>on </b>it with his teeth.

    The hand that wasn¡¯t currently thrusting in and out of me came up and kneaded the other one in his palm. My back arched, pushing myself closer to him.

    I was losing my mind. I had never felt such pleasure.

    I was aplete and utter mess beneath him, moaning and writhing against his hand, so close to the edge that I was starting to feel tingles in my hands and feet and crawling up my legs.¡±

    Grayson released my nipple from his mouth, leaning back.

    Emergency calls only

    * 034% #112:55 ¡°Eyes open,¡± he demanded, his words sounding more like a growl than anything else. ¡°I want to see how those blue eyes turn glossy when I make what¡¯s minee for the first timec.¡±

    My eyelids flew open at hismand, and I looked at him. I gasped.

    Grayson was significantly bigger, his muscles straining against his stretched¨Cout ck T¨Cshirt and jeans, his chest heaving with harsh growls, his eyes the deepest dark red I had ever seen them.

    Although I knew that any other person would have been terrified by the sight in front of me, it only excited me and made my chest fill with love.

    1

    I wanted <i>all </i>of Grayson¨Cvampire, wolf, and whatever else he could give me. And right now, he was giving me exactly that

    Authe view of his sharp fangs pecking out from beneath his top lip, something inside of me turned desperate

    ¡°Bite me,¡± I begged, pushing down against his hand ¡°Mark me again, Grayson. Please. Bite me.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes shed bright red and then prich ck.

    His purring became so loud that it felt like the new was huncing off the wall, causing the whole room to vibrate and more of my arousal to leak from me and onto 300 hand.

    And then his teeth were inside my Besh, tinking down into the pet on my neck where he had first <b>marked </b>me so many months ago

    That¡¯s all it took for me to go over the edge.

    I screamed out his name as my pussy mped down on his finger, pulsing amund him.

    My eyes filled with bright light, my legs shook, and my heart lurched in my chest as wave after wave of pure bliss traveled through my body andpletely consumed me.

    Itsted for what felt like several minutes, and I could do nothing but lie there, panting Grayson¡¯s name over and over again as he continued to draw out my orgasm for as long as possible.

    His hand still moved against me, inside me, and his teeth were still lodged in my throat.

    Several momentster. I finally came down from my high. Grayson removed his teeth from licking at the wound he had created with gentleps, sure to clean up all of the blood.

    His hand left my pussy, and 1 shuttered from the aftershocks.

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    When he pulled back to look at me, I <b>noticed </b><b>that </b>he <b>had </b>some of <b>my </b>blood on his lips.

    Even though that should have scared me¨Cthe fact that his vampire <b>had </b>just fed me while his wolf marked me as his own¨Cit just felt right.

    I couldn¡¯t help but smile up at him as I watched him through hooded<b>, </b>satisfied cycs.

    He didn¡¯t return the smile. His expression was still intense, still hungry<b>. </b><b>I </b>swallowed.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I asked.

    Without saying a word, he leaned down and kissed my belly button, his hands returning to grip my hips. I sat up on my elbows<b>, </b>looking down at him.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    His dark¨Cred eyes looked up at me as he traveled down my torso with his lips, getting dangerously close to the location that was still tingling from the orgasm that he had given me just moments

    <b>before</b>.

    His purring hadn¡¯t calmed, and the sound had me unconsciously spreading my legs for him once

    again.

    He wasn¡¯t going to¡­ Was he<b>? </b>

    ¡°Need to taste you, Belle,¡± was his reply, spoken against the skin of my thigh. ¡°I¡¯ve been starving for

    you.¡±

    Hmm, I guess he was. Well, I guess he hadn¡¯t eaten dinner, right?

    I didn¡¯t even get the chance to respond before his tongue slid over my slit. I fell back onto the bed, so sensitive down there that even that simple movement from his tongue had me jerking.

    ¡°Grayson¡­.¡± I moaned.

    Grayson didn¡¯t hesitate to suck my clit into his mouth, letting out a loud growl that mixed with his purrs and vibrated the little bud.

    Holy shit, he was going to make mee again.

    And that¡¯s exactly what he did.

    <b>In </b>mere moments I was thrown back into a pool ofplete and utter bliss<b>. </b>

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    Only this time, my pleasure didn¡¯t find its peak because the moment I started toe down, Grayson began to suck and flick his tongue more furiously against my pussy, thrusting a finger <b>inside </b><b>of </b><b>me </b><b>as </b>well.

    ¡°Again,¡± he ordered, never looking away from my eyes <b>as </b>he continued top at me without mercy.

    I started contracting around him once again. Sobs left me, and tears of pure satisfaction ran down my checks

    I writhed against him, pushing my <b>core </b>down against his mouth as I came, which he happily epted, encouraging me with one hand still on my hip, leading my movements against him.

    When the pleasure of my third orgasm finally began to fade, I slumped down against the bed,pletely and utterly spent. My breathing was erratic, and my heart was going a mile a minute..

    Grayson looked up at me with hooded eyes, and although he wasn¡¯t actively trying to get me off anymore, he still continued to lick me. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, totally

    content.

    When his tongue swept over my extremely sensitive clit, I whined, ¡°Grayson¡­ Stop,¡± and tried shoving his face away from me.

    Atst, he leaned back, smirking. His eyes finally returned to their forest¨Cgreen color, his body shrinking to its normal size as his wolf and vampire retreated.

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t look so tired and satisfied, I would make youe again. And again. Until you couldn¡¯t take it anymore.¡±

    ¡°I already can¡¯t take it anymore,¡± I replied.

    He chuckled <b>and </b><b>stood </b><b>up</b><b>, </b>pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the floor.

    I couldn¡¯t help my body¡¯s reaction at the sight of his muscr chest and abs, my pussy tightening once again, and my heart rate escting.

    Grayson looked down at me with amusement, watching my chest heave and my legs squeeze together. ¡°You sure about that, baby?¡±

    I covered my face with my arms, pink staining my checks.

    Graysonughed once again. He positioned one of his knees on the mattress and leaned over me, cing <b>a </b>firm kiss on my forehead.

 Chapter 92

    You feel better now?¡± he <b>whispered </b>as he <b>brushed </b><b>my </b>hair out of my face.

    I nodded even as my face grew redder beneath my hands, still covering me.

    034% 12:55

    ¡°Good<b>,</b><b>¡± </b>Grayson grunted, pleasure filling his tone<b>. </b>He kissed my forehead one more time, taking a moment to rub his nose against my hair <b>and </b>deeply inhale my scent before walking away from me.

    <b>I </b>peeked out from under my arms to watch my shirtless mate <b>walk </b>to the bathroom connected to the room, feeling saliva pool in my mouth.

    How the fuck was he so hot? It was like an Abercrombie and Fitch model had a baby with Chris Evans. Only he was hotter. And bigger. And sexier.

    And based on firsthand, recent experience <i>seriously </i>good with his tongue.

    Grayson turned to look at me before entering the bathroom, catching me staring. He smirked and winked at me before turning away again.

    Once he was out of sight, I groaned and turned on my side, stuffing my face in a pillow. I looked at the rm clock on the bedside table. It was nearly three in the morning.

    Just thinking about howte it was made me yawn and grab the nkets pooled at the edge of the mattress, pulling them up to my chin.

    Before I could fall asleep, though, the covers were ripped from my body.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I whined. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Grayson was standing over me with what looked to be a washcloth in his hand. His eyes scanned body as he climbed back onto the bed, kneeling next to me.

    <b>my </b>

    ¡°I can¡¯t get over how gorgeous you are,¡± he said. He licked his lips and then tapped the side of leg. ¡°Open.¡±

    my

    I blinked. ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°Open your legs for me, beautiful. I might have done a good job down there with my mouth, but I still need to clean my baby up.¡±

    ¡°W¨CWhat?¡± I sputtered. Somehow, him¡­cleaning me felt far more intimate than what we <b>had </b>just done. ¡°Absolutely not!¡±

    Grayson¡¯s lips turned up.

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    Then he started to purr.

    To my absolute horror, my body started to heat up, and my legs opened wide on their own ord, basically inviting him <b>in</b><b>. </b>

    1 gasped. ¡°So not fair,¡± I mewled when he began wiping away the evidence of <b>his </b>saliva and my <b>arousal </b>with <b>the </b>warm washcloth.

    His <b>purrs </b>soon became quiet, calming me instead of turning me on, and my eyes drifted shut.

    Once satisfied, Grayson got up and threw the washcloth in the bathroom before returning to me. He silently removed his jeans <b>and </b>then crawled into bed, immediately pulling me into him.

    I sighed and burrowed into his chest, decidedly the most content I had ever been in my entire life.

    ¡°What about you?¡± I whispered right before drifting off.

    <b>¡°</b>What about me?¡°¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to¡­?¡± I hoped he would know what I was talking about without me having to say it. I could feel his hardness against my thigh and knew it couldn¡¯t befortable.

    He chuckled. ¡°No. Not tonight, baby.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s not fair to you. Are you sure?¡± I yawned.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. Real men don¡¯t keep score<b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± <b>I </b>murmured, choosing not <b>to </b>argue with him since I was already half asleep. I would make it up to himter.

    ¡°I love you, Belle.¡± He pulled me closer to him, not an inch of space between us. ¡°Sleep.¡±

    And I did.

    Emergency calls only HO

    BELLE

    The first thing I noticed when I woke up was how warm and content I was. The second thing I noticed was that someone was touching

    Grayson dragged his fingers up and down my spine, then over my waist and along my hips, and anywhere else he could get his hands on.

    I sighed and burrowed deeper into him, seeking more of his warmth and the feeling of his <b>sparky </b>skin against mine.

    He purred for me, and the vibrations of his chest against mine started to lull me back to sleep. But then he began to pull away from me,

    My brow furrowed, and I tried to grab him and pull him back to me, but he was too strong.

    He pressed a kiss to my forehead. ¡°Shh¡­.¡± he whispered against my hair. ¡°I¡¯m not going. anywhere.¡±

    I rolled onto my back and watched him sit up and look down at my body which was only covered by a thin sheet. The rest of the nkets were still on the floor from Inst night.

    He licked his lips as his eyes darkened considerably, and his purring increased.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked, stretching my arms over my head.

    He didn¡¯t respond. His eyes tracked my movements, and a deep growl left his mouth.

    ¡°Come back to sleep, Grayson.¡± I yawned. ¡°It¡¯s too early.¡±

    Again, he said nothing. When I nced up at him, I noticed his gaze <b>was </b>now centered on my chest, where I realized the sheet had fallen so low while I had been stretching that my nipples were almost visible.

    <b>I </b>snorted. He was so ridiculous. ¡°I¡¯m going back to sleep. You keep doing whatever this¡°-I gestured to him-¡°is.¡±

    I drifted off almost the moment my eyes closed.

    ******

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    Grayson was kissing my <i>feet</i>. He had also removed the sheet away from my body so that I waspletely naked.

    I gasped. ¡°Grayson! I¡¯m naked!¡± I tried to grab the sheet again, only to find that it was on the floor on the other side of the room.

    My eyes narrowed on Grayson, who still seemed consumed with studying each and every <b>one </b>of my toes like some sort of crazy person.

    I tried covering myself up with my hands<b>, </b><b>but </b>it didn¡¯t do much.

    It wasn¡¯t like he hadn¡¯t seen my body before I really shouldn¡¯t be feeling embarrassed<b>; </b>it just <b>still </b>felt odd to bepletely <b>naked </b>around someone other than myself.

    Especially when that someone had told me on multiple asions how disappointing my body was when he was taken over by a vampire.

    I fidgeted, feeling ufortable. I tried to sit up, but he put one of his massive hands on my bare stomach, so I was <b>forced </b>to lie back down<b>. </b>

    ¡°Stay,¡± hemanded in his deep, husky voice.

    I huffed and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked as he moved back down my body and kissed the arch of my foot, holding <b>it </b><b>in </b>his hand.

    ¡°Is this your way <b>of </b>telling me you have a foot fetish?¡± I joked. I tried kicking my foot out of his

    <b>grasp</b><b>. </b>

    He just tightened his hold, giving me a look that reminded me of how a parent might scold their child.

    I scolded him right back, but that quickly turned into a giggle when he ran his nose over the top of my foot. ¡°That tickles.¡±

    The corners of his lips turned up. ¡°I could have a fetish for these feet. I could have a fetish for <b>any </b>part of you.¡±

    I could feel my chest and cheeks reddening. ¡°Okay, but you don¡¯t, right? Iughed nervously.

    I wasn¡¯t one to kink¨Cshame, but something about mouths anywhere <b>near </b>grimy feet¨Cespecially mine, which were covered in blisters and calluses<b>¨C</b>made me feel just a tiny bit ill..

    Grayson just grinned and then slowly leaned down and kissed the top of my big toe without breaking <b>eve </b>contact..

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    033<b>% </b># 12:57 I made a face. ¡°Would you stop putting your mouth on my feet? That¡¯s so gross!¡± I tried yanking my foot out of his grasp once again. He only tightened his grip.

    At my request, he chuckled and moved his lips higher, gripping <b>my </b>ankle and kissing the small protruding bone on the side.

    ¡°Okay<b>, </b>seriously,<b>¡± </b><b>I </b>said<b>, </b>squirming at the sparky feeling his lips left on my skin. ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re acting really weird. This is really weird.¡±

    <b>He </b>kissed up the side of my calf, rubbing his nose over my skin and inhaling deeply. ¡°I want to memorize each and every inch of you. I want a road map of your body in my head.¡±

    His hands gripped my leg tighter. ¡°I want to know where every mole, freckle, and scar is. I want <b>to </b>know your body and its reactions better than I know my own.¡±

    His tongue slipped out and ran over the side of my leg, making me extremely grateful I had taken a showerst night.

    Grayson growled yet again, and the sound instantly made my entire body heat up with need.

    He inhaled deeply, his nostrils ring, and his dark¨Cred eyes shot up to meet mine, telling me <b>he </b>could smell my arousal, his whole body stiffening.

    He grinned in victory but thankfully didn¡¯t say anything about it and moved on to my other leg, running his hands up and down my calf before putting his lips on it and kissing up to my knee.

    I continued to squirm. ¡°This might be a little too strange for me,¡± I murmured, even though I secretly didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    ¡°I spent months not knowing where you were or if you were safe.¡± He continued to leave kisses in

    between his words.

    ¡°I would drive myself crazy trying to remember you and imagine each part of your perfect body¡ª your smile, your hair, the shape of your hands¡­ And when I couldn¡¯t, I would go ballistic.

    ¡°I will never forgive myself for not having studied you before, gotten to know you so I could imagine you with more rity after you ran away, and all I had left of you were memories.

    ¡°I will never again go without knowing every little inch of you. Now,y back and let me memorize

    <b>you</b><b>.</b>¡±

    <b>His </b>purring increased, and my body immediately rxed, melting deep into the bed.

    Grayson growled in approval and then continued to lick, nip, kiss, and touch every inch of my body

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    After a while, my embarrassment over my nudity disappeared and was reced with warmth and rxation. Everything that had to do with Grayson¡¯s touch just felt right¨Cnatural.

    When he seemed to officially <b>have </b>finished with my legs and was getting to the part of me where [ needed him the most, it was fair to say I was totally andpletely on fire.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I begged. ¡°Please.¡±

    He continued to take his time, acting as though I hadn¡¯t said anything at all. He licked across my hip bones, his massive hands gripping my legs tightly as he maneuvered his body between them.

    And then his mouth was finally on me. He licked up my slit first,pping <b>up </b>the evidence of my arousal that I had learned he enjoyed the taste of so muchst night.

    I whimpered and gripped his <b>hair</b>. When my hips shot up, he calmly pressed them back down.

    My orgasm came fast and intense the moment he sucked my clit into his mouth. I practically shot off the bed, and stars took over my vision<b>. </b>

    Grayson pressed a finger inside of me, feeling me pulse around him as he slurped up all of my

    wetness.

    Once again, I was shocked when he didn¡¯t stop, continuing his ministrations as if he couldn¡¯t get enough, even as I writhed against him, extra sensitive.

    By the time he was done, he had added two more fingers and made mee a total of three times, leaving me breathless andnguid on the bed.

    Only then did he move on casually, as if he had been thinking, hmm, <i>I¡¯ll </i><i>just </i><i>stop </i><i>here </i>for <i>a </i>few minutes, give her a <i>couple </i><i>of </i>orgasms<b>, </b>and then continue on my <i>way</i><i>. </i>

    ¡°Oh, my god,¡± I whispered when he had finished running his hands and lips around my stomach and ribs and made his way up to my breasts.

    His fingers skated beneath them first, then moved up, kneading them gently in his hands, tweaking the nipples. ¡°Grayson¡­¡±

    He leaned down and ran his tongue over one of the pointed tips, swirling his tongue around it in the same way he had done to my clit only moments before, taking his sweet time, then moving on to the

    other one.

    I arched my back into him, pressing my breasts further into his mouth. He encouraged the action by wrapping an arm under the curve of my back, bringing me even closer to him.

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    He continued this for a while, spending almost as much time on my breasts as on the spot between my legs, where a hollow, empty feeling was quickly bing very prominent.

    It shocked me with its intensity, and I suddenly ground <b>my </b><b>hips </b>against Grayson¡¯s without thinking, gasping when I felt his hard length pressing up against me in exactly the right ce.

    I wasn¡¯t sure where this fierce need hade from especially since <b>I </b><b>had </b><b>just </b>finisheding

    three times.

    But something about how he was sucking and kneading my breasts, the air in the room, hot and damp with our panting breath<b>, </b>and the smell of his hair and overall scent so close to my nose that was turning me desperate.

    ¡°Grayson,<b>¡± </b>I whimpered, sounding more than a little breathless. I needed him inside of me. Now..

    When he didn¡¯t even so much as acknowledge my pleas, stillpletely captivated by my breasts, I took hold of his head with both hands and force

    tilted it up, so he looked at me.

    And then Ipletely forgot what I was going to say as he ttened his tongue and ran it up my breast and over my nipple without breaking eye contact for a single second.

    He was putting on the most intimate, erotic show I had ever witnessed.

    I continued to grind against him, chasing after that desperate need to be filled by his cock.

    I hoped he would understand what I wanted from <b>him </b>without having to say it because I had somehow lost all ability to form real thoughts.

    He groaned when I gave a particrly hard thrust against his hips. ¡°Shh, baby girl,¡± he murmured, grabbing hold of my hips and stilling them. ¡°You¡¯re distracting me from sucking on my tits.¡±

    I gasped. ¡°<i>Your </i>tits?!¡± I screeched incredulously, trying to sit up.

    He pushed me back down. ¡°Yes, my tits.¡± He tweaked my nipple between his pointer finger and thumb, drawing a whine from my mouth. ¡°These tits are mine.¡±

    Then his hand traveled up <b>and </b>ran over my lips before he put his lips against mine, kissing me roughly. ¡°These lips are mine,¡± he murmured against my mouth.

    Then his other hand was abruptly cupping my pussy, thrusting his middle finger into me. ¡°And this tight little virgin pussy is <i>definitely </i>mine. <i>All </i>of you is mine.¡±

    I bit my lip once his finger started to thrust in and out of me. I didn¡¯t have it in me to argue with him. Not at this moment, at least.

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    ¡°Who do you belong to?¡± he asked.

    I couldn¡¯t answer. My brain was too muddled<b>. </b>

    Grayson¡¯s movements stopped. ¡°Answer me, <b>Belle</b>. Who do you belong to?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± I <b>gasped </b>out, willing to say anything as long as he continued with what he was doing before. ¡°I belong to you. I¡¯m yours.¡±

    Once he was done with my front, he flipped me over <b>and </b>did the same on the other side<b>, </b>only this time, the touch turned less passionate and into more of <b>a </b>massage, lulling me nearly <b>back </b>to sleep.

    His sparky hands felt incredible on <b>my </b>skin.

    When he finally seemed to finish his thorough examination, he put one more kiss on the center of my <b>back </b>and flopped down next to me on the bed. I smiled at him. He looked calm. Happy.

    ¡°Do you realize how obsessed I am with you?¡± he mumbled.

    My lips turned up. ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to get the picture.¡±

    His hand ran over the side of my hair. ¡°You can¡¯t ever leave me again.¡± His face turned serious. ¡°I almost went crazy without you. I wasn¡¯t even functioning properly.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t functioning either. I¡¯m sure you could tell by the state you found me in.¡±

    His frown grew deeper.

    ¡°Cold?¡± he asked. He must¡¯ve noticed the shivers he was causing with his hand traveling up and down my back.

    I hummed in response.

    He pulled me to him. ¡°I¡¯ll warm you up.¡±

    Iughed. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already been doing that? I think I¡¯m plenty warm.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not convinced.¡±

    His lips fell onto <b>mine</b>.

    My entire body buzzed as I kissed him, sopletely content and relieved to have the undivided. attention of <b>my </b>mate.

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    A few secondster<b>, </b>I pulled away just slightly. ¡°My turn?¡± I whispered against his lips.

    His brows raised, and my heart raced in my chest <b>as </b>I waited for <b>his </b>response.

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    To my relief, his lips turned up in a smirk, and he leaned back against the headboard, crossing his <b>arms </b><b>behind </b>his head.

    ¡°Be my guest.¡±

    I bit my bottom lip and nced down at his bare chest and arms. He was huge and rock¨C<b>hard</b><b>. </b>Even his muscles had muscles.

    <b>I </b>shuffled myself down <b>to </b>kneel by his feet, the same ce where he had started. I nced up at <b>him</b>, wetting my suddenly dry lips. He was watching me intently with that stupid, sexy smirk stered on

    his face.

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually have to kiss your feet, do I?¡± I finally asked.

    His head tilted back, and a deepugh left his throat.

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh!¡± I grumbled, smacking his chest.

    He looked back at me, showing off his white teeth with his wide smile. ¡°No, Belle, you don¡¯t have. to put those beautiful lips on my feet if you don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Without saying another word, I leaned back down, leaving <b>a </b>gentle kiss. As much as I didn¡¯t like the idea of putting my mouth on his feet, I was more than okay with putting them on¡­other <b>spots</b>.

    I kissed up one of his legs before moving to the other and doing the same, my hands following close behind. Grayson¡¯s muscles tensed and released under my touch, giving me a strange sense of power.

    I loved that I affected him. There was something so intimate and special about studying the body of my mate, exploring him in the same way he¡¯d explored me.

    When I reached the edge of his boxers, I looked up at him. His chest was rising and falling rapidly with ragged breaths, his eyes dark red once again. His square jaw was clenched.

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be enjoying this,¡± I said. ¡°This is supposed to be rxing. Why do you look so tense?¡°¡±

    ¡°My naked mate¡¯s mouth is inches away from my hard cock, and you¡¯re wondering if I¡¯m enjoying it?¡± His voice was like gravel.

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    X

    He swallowed, his Adam¡¯s apple moving slowly in his throat. ¡°I¡¯m enjoying it too much. I¡¯m doing my best to hold myself back, but you¡¯re making it extremely difficult.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    I suddenly felt a strange sense of power take over. For once, I was the one driving him crazy. I looked back down at his boxers, running my hands up his legs<b>. </b>

    Then I squared my shoulders and leaned back down.

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 Chapter 93

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    * D22% 12:37

    Belle¡¯s cheeks were a sweet shade of pink as she stared down at my hard cock encased in my boxers. God, she was adorable¨Cand far too innocent for her own <b>good</b>.

    She was lucky <b>I </b>hadn¡¯t pounced on her yet, especially with how she kept looking up at me with those big, eager blue eyes.

    The only reason I wasn¡¯t already deep between her legs, simultaneously taking her to new heights and tying her to me forever, was because I didn¡¯t know what mating would mean for her.

    I couldn¡¯t stop imagining her going through the intense pain of her first shift. Shifting for the first time for werewolves was terrifying and intense <b>and </b>so incredibly painful.

    And yet, this would be so much easier if she were shifting into a wolf because I would know what to expect. I could help her through it..

    But she wasn¡¯t shifting into a wolf; she was shifting into a fairy. I had no idea what that entailed.

    And that terrified me.

    Mating with Belle meant unintentionally putting her in danger. And I was going to do anything possible to prevent that. For as long as possible, at least.

    But that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t continue doing what she was doing now.

    I knew she had never done anything like this before.

    If the smell of her sweet virginity¨Csomething only a male werewolf could scent in his female- wasn¡¯t evidence enough, then it would be made tantly obvious by her shaking and clumsy hands.

    When I had touched, kissed, and nipped up her beautiful body, I hadn¡¯t been expecting anything in

    return.

    Even <b>when </b>I hadpped at her pussy until she <b>had </b>given me the most delicious orgasm ever, I had done it with only her in mind¨Cnot that I hadn¡¯t enjoyed myself immensely.

    So, God help me, even though my dick was rock¨Chard and the beast inside me was gnashing its teeth, demanding that I throw her down onto the bed and make her mine, I was somehow able to hold myself back.

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    She was still weak¨Cstill nervous about being around me after everything that had happened<b>. </b>The hard fucking I wanted to give her had to<b>¨C</b><i>would</i>eter, after she trusted me again.

    I knew she craved my control and dominance. I hadn¡¯t missed the way her thighs clenched together every time.

    Belle¡¯s fingers started picking at the waistband of my boxers with nervous picks.

    ¡°Can I¡­Can I, um¡­take these off?¡± she squeaked out.

    I smiled down at her, <b>barely </b>able to handle how adorable she was.

    Trying to make it just a bit easier on her, I lifted my hips off the bed and removed my boxers myself, never taking my eyes off her.

    I wanted to ensure she <b>didn¡¯t </b>run for the hills when she saw how especially¡­ <i>well</i><i>¨C</i><i>endowed </i>her mate was. She had absolutely no reason to be scared of me, but I would be surprised if she didn¡¯t freak

    out a bit.

    ¡°Why do you look so nervous, Belle? You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. I promise you.¡±

    ¡°Um<b>, </b><b>I</b><b>, </b>uh¡­I just ¡± She swallowed. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t expect that thing to, um, you know, fit inside me. Because I really don¡¯t think it will. I don¡¯t ¡±

    ¡°Belle, baby, breathe. Nothing is going to happen right now.¡±

    That seemed to make her rx a bit. ¡°Nothing?¡± Her hands ran up and down my legs in a way that had a low growl escaping my lips. ¡°I hadn¡¯t finished with my inspection.¡±

    Fucking hell<b>, </b>if my cock got any stiffer, I was going toe like some prepubescent boy on his first date before she even got started.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t let me stop you.

    <b>I </b>meant <b>to </b>gesture down to where she had been before but couldn¡¯t stop myself from cupping her face and running a thumb over her cheek instead<b>. </b>

    I was momentarily stalled by the absolute beauty that was my Belle. Her bright blue eyes threatened to rip my heart right open. Christ, I had missed her so much.

    Belle nuzzled into my touch, and my heart did <b>a </b>somersault in my chest. Then she looked back down at my hard dick. It jumped under her gaze

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    ¡°I want to<b>,</b>¡± she keened. ¡°I <i>really </i>want to. I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel.¡± With that, she grabbed my hard cock in her tiny hand, gripping it tightly right off the bat.

    ¡°Oh, <i>fuck</i>,¡± I groaned. Pleasure shot through me at her simple, hesitant touch, my hips thrusting <b>upward </b>on their own ord.

    Belle gasped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± She dropped me and reared back.

    ¡°No. You did nothing wrong,¡± I said through gritted teeth, barely able to speak through my desire. I swore under my breath. ¡°You did the opposite, sweet girl.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± she responded. Her eyes searched my expression and then widened. ¡°<i>Oh</i>. So I can¡­?¡± She wrapped her little fingers back around me, tentatively pumping me once.

    My head fell back onto the headboard, a deep groan falling from my lips. If this was how good her hand felt, I couldn¡¯t imagine what her mouth and virgin pussy would feel like. ¡°Just like that, baby. That¡¯s it.¡±

    a

    After two more <b>hard </b>strokes that had my mind reeling, her hand slowed to a stop. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    Her innocent confession nearly had me panting. My poor mate was nervous<b>. </b>

    I pulled her up toward me. ¡°Give me those lips,¡± I coaxed. Before she could argue, her mouth fell

    down on mine.

    I led her through the kiss, running my tongue along the seam of her lips, encouraging her to open for

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    I massaged her tongue with mine, making love to her mouth. Her delicate breaths finally started to calm, <b>and </b>she melted into the kiss.

    I pulled back a few secondster, molding my forehead to hers. ¡°There we <b>go</b>. That¡¯s better.¡± I

    <b>kissed </b>her once more.

    ¡°What you were doing just now was pretty damn good.¡± I tried giving her aforting smile. ¡°What exactly do you want to do?¡±

    ¡°<b>I</b>¨CI¡­¡± She swallowed, her cheeks turning even darker if that was possible. I followed the color down her neck and chest <b>until </b>it settled at the tops of her delicious tits. I licked my lips.

    ¡°I want to do what you did to me. With¨CWith my mouth.<b>¡± </b>

    <b>My </b>cock gave a <b>hard </b>jerk in her hands, making her gasp and look down at it with wide eyes. <b>Jesus </b>

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    ¡°<b>You </b>want to suck me off, beautiful?¡±

    <b>She </b>nodded, licking her lips. ¡°Y¨CYes. That. But I¡­¡±

    <b>¡°</b>You¡¯ve never done anything like this before, and you¡¯re scared,¡± I provided. My jaw lightened when her grip on my cock tightened just slightly, precum leaking from the tip.

    Another nod.

    ¡°You want help? I can walk you through it, but I need to make sure you¡¯re certain.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I want,¡± she professed. Her eagerness was a major turn¨Con.

    My wolf howled in my consciousness, demanding I take advantage of Belle¡¯s innocent eagerness and the smell of her sweet arousal swirling in the air around <b>us</b>.

    He wanted me to take control of the situation and stop messing around¨Cto hell with worrying about her shifting into a fairy. He wanted her, and he wanted her now.

    He kept producing images of me thrusting deep into her pussy in several different positions and locations all around the hotel, images of her perfect little cunt dripping with my seed, bred and pregnant with my child.

    And¨Cfuck¨CI was about ready to do <b>as </b>he said.

    <b>¡°</b>Are you okay?¡± Belle¡¯s small, unsure voice pulled me back from my thoughts, watching me with wide, hesitant eyes.

    My chest tightened when I realized I was freaking her out. This was already such a scary moment for her.

    She thought she was doing something wrong when that was the furthest thing from the truth. Suddenly, my only goal was to calm andfort her.

    I shook my head, trying my absolute hardest to reign myself in before I did something I regretted. Thest thing Belle needed right now was me losing control. ¡°My wolf is enjoying himself<b>, </b>that¡¯s all.¡±

    My wolf paced unhappily in my head.

    Belle seemed to recognize my lic right away. ¡°You look like you¡¯re about to shift.¡±

    Iughed. ¡°That is thest thing you <b>need </b>to worry about right now¨Ctrust me. My wolf would never intervene during <b>a </b>moment like this.

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    v cock.¡±

    ¡°Especially when you just agreed to wrap those beautiful lips around my

    022% <b>12:38 </b>

    When she didn¡¯t respond but just continued to fidget nervously, I continued, ¡°Stroke me. Stroke me with your hand, up and down. Just like you were before. That¡¯ll be <b>a </b>good start.¡±

    Her hand started to move up and down, watching in rapture as my head fell back again and a deep, rumbled groan escaped my mouth. My hands rolled into fists at my sides, suppressing my need to grab her.

    ¡°Good. Good girl,¡± I said, my voice strained and low. ¡°Now you¡¯re gonna want to wrap those pretty lips around the top. Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Her eagerness surprised me as she did as she was told, immediately leaning down until the tip of my dick was in her mouth, showing me just how excited she was to get me in her mouth.

    ¡°Oh, <i>fuck</i>,¡± I growled, nearlying then and there. ¡°You¡¯re doing so good, baby. So good. Now you¡¯re going to swirl your tongue around it. Lick it up real good.¡±

    My mind wentpletely numb as she followed my directions.

    She didn¡¯t even need to be told to start using her hands again on the parts that her mouth couldn¡¯t fit, stroking me up and down while her tongue and mouth sucked and licked me like her own personal lollipop.

    I ran my hand through her hair, scratching her scalp in a way that seemed to visibly rx her. Good. I didn¡¯t want her to be tense. Ever. And especially not now.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could get any sexier, but goddamn, you look beautiful with my cock in your mouth,¡± I groaned out, pressing the back of my head onto the bed.

    I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off her. I was in heaven. My heart pounded in my chest, waves of pleasure shooting up my body, causing <b>my </b>jaw to clench until it hurt.

    I groaned when her eyes closed, moans and slurping noises escaping her.

    Her gorgeous tits swayed, and her hard nipples brushed up against my thighs with each movement, mesmerizing and teasing me all at the same time,

    I <b>wasn¡¯t </b>going tost much longer. She was too sweet. Too perfect. I was just barely holding myself back from grabbing her head and fucking her sinful mouth.

    My grip on her hair quickly turned into a fist when she started bobbing her head up and down at the same pace as her <b>hand</b>.

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    Mu

    * D22% 12:38 She wasn¡¯t even close to fitting the entire thing in her mouth<b>, </b>but <i>damn</i>, she was doing well with

    what little <b>she could</b><b>. </b>

    She looked <b>up </b>at me with hooded eyes, secking my approval like the perfect little mate she was.

    My expression must have conveyed how close I was because, the next thing I knew, one of her little hands traveled upward and cupped my balls, rolling them gently in her palm.

    ¡°Oh, <i>fuck</i>!¡± I shouted, my hips shooting up before I could stop them<b>, </b>sparks traveling down my legs and making my toes curl.

    With my hand still gripping her hair, I started guiding her head up and down. ¡°That¡¯s it, Belle. That is it. Fuck!¡±

    My seed shot into her mouth, filling it and dripping down her chin and neck.

    She choked slightly, her throat contracting <b>as </b>she tried to swallow it all, but never pulled away or stopped working her hand up and down my convulsing length.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I groaned out, my eyes clenching shut as my orgasm started to roll to an end.

    Belle didn¡¯t stop sucking, moaning on my still semi¨Chard cock like it was the best <b>thing </b>she had ever

    tasted.

    My cum spilled from the corners of her mouth, but she still continued, so content with what she was doing. I had never seen anything so sexy in my entire life.

    My hand released its tight hold on her hair and ran through it soothingly. Fucking shit, if she kept at it the way she was, she was going to make mee again.

    I was already starting to harden again in her hand. She needed to stop before I did something stupid like fuck her sweet little mouth.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, Belle.¡± I gently pulled at her hair, coaxing her up.

    Her twin blue eyes watched me with such innocence as she pulled away from me, finally releasing her hold on my dick.

    Never breaking cyc contact, she dragged a finger over her bottom lip, scooping up my excess cum and then popping her finger into her mouth, licking it clean.

    She grinned. ¡°You tasted way better than I thought you would<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    I groaned when my dick immediately hardened fully once again, smacking up against my abs, more

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    than ready for round two.

    It was made worse by Belle¡¯s sweet little giggle and mischievous expression when she noticed <b>my </b>predicament.

    I narrowed my eyes and grabbed her by her waist, tugging her down next to me.

    She shricked and continuedughing, rolling in my hold before nuzzling her face into my chest like the snuggly little kitten she was. Affection like I had never felt before filled my form.

    With two fingers tucked under her chin, I tilted her head up so I could look at her. Her lips turned <b>up </b>in a smile as she met my gaze.

    ¡°You were far too good at that. It better have been a God¨Cgiven gift. Or we¡¯re going to have problems,¡± I said.

    <i>Her </i><b>eve </b>

    eyes sparkled. ¡°I just had <b>a </b>really good teacher.¡±

    ??

    Next Chapter

 Chapter 94

    <b>BELLE </b>

    After spending a very steamy rest of the morning in bed, Grayson insisted that we get something to cat even though all I wanted to do was rest.

    I was finally starting to feel like I had some of my energy back after being with Grayson for so long, but I was still extremely exhausted.

    I guess being away from your other half for three months really could take it out of a person.

    We were standing in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing our teeth, Grayson behind me with one arm wrapped around my waist.

    He was beingpletely crazy with his constant need to be touching me or freaking licking¡ªyes, licking my mark. And as much as I would have never admitted it to him, I kind of loved it.

    I needed his touch just as much as he needed to give it to me.

    Once we were done with our teeth, I grabbed Grayson¡¯s wrist and looked down at the watch on his

    wrist.

    ¡°I have two hours before my shift at the diner starts,¡± I told him. ¡°I have to go back to my apartment and grab a new uniform before heading out.¡±

    Just as expected, his entire body stiffened behind me, his grip on my waist tightening. ¡°No,¡± he grunted. ¡°Absolutely not.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not quitting my job, Grayson. I know you want me to, but it¡¯s not going to happen.¡±

    ¡°Actually, it is happening. Today. You are never going back there ever again.¡±

    <b>¡°</b>Yeah, we¡¯ll see about that.¡±

    I tried to slither out <b>of </b>his grip, but he flipped me around so my lower back was to the counter behind me<b>, </b>and my front was pressed flush against his chest.

    ¡°They treat <b>you </b>like shit there, and I¡¯ll be damned if I let my mate out of my arms for a single second today to work a job where they don¡¯t care the slightest about her health or well¨Cbeing.

    ¡°They worked you to the bone, baby. Your boss is a jackass and a drug dealer, and I¡¯m not letting <b>you </b>anywhere near him again.¡±

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    ¡°What are you even talking about? A drug dealer?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s using his diner tounder drug money. He¡¯s not a good person. And he takes advantage of

    <b>you</b>.

    I¡¯m not going to stand for it, you understand? Not anymore.

    ¡°Not now that you know the truth, and I just got you back.¡±

    The news about Jerry didn¡¯t surprise me. He was always acting sketchy around the diner and was extremely weird about money.

    I opened my mouth to continue arguing, but Grayson kissed my lips before I could. I slumped into him as he happily took my weight.

    ¡°Just give me today, baby,¡± he whispered against my lips. ¡°Please. We¡¯ll figure this all out some other time, but I think I am physically incapable of sitting and watching you work again today.

    ¡°I need you here where I can keep you safe and help you heal. Please, Belle.¡±

    There was something about his pleading tone that made it impossible to say no to him. ¡°Okay,¡± I finally said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. ¡°Just for today, though.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± Grayson agreed, although he didn¡¯t seem happy about it. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about itter.¡±

    Without warning, his hands traveled down to my butt, and <b>he </b>swiftly lifted me onto the counter.

    I gasped. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    His eyes locked on my lips. ¡°Need to kiss you.¡±

    Before I could respond, his lips were on mine, coaxing me into a deep, passionate kiss.

    I pulled away.

    Grayson growled. ¡°Not done,¡± he said, trying to pull me back to him.

    I giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t we have things to do today<b>? </b>We spent all morning in bed doing basically this.¡±

    ¡°Nothing that is more important than this. I¡¯m making up for lost time.¡±

    Someone began violently banging on the door<b>, </b>shocking us both out of our intimate moment.

    <b>¡°</b>Belle!¡± a voice shouted on the other side of the door. ¡°Belle!¡±

    Grayson growled under his breath, pulling me to him by my hips so I was flush against him. His

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    ¡°It¡¯s Liam!¡± I said, recognizing his voice. I tried to jump off the counter I was sitting on, but Grayson¡¯s huge body blocked me. ¡°Grayson, what are you doing? Let me go! I have to go talk to

    him.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Grayson grunted in response.

    ¡°No?¡± I repeated, shocked.

    ¡°No.¡±

    I scoffed, pushing at his chest again. He didn¡¯t budge. ¡°You have no right to tell me what to do.¡± I shoved at his shoulders, trying to get him to move but to no avail.

    I was even more infuriated when Grayson grabbed both my wrists with a single hand,pletely preventing my movements and ignoring my cries of protest.

    Then he leaned down and gently nipped at my mark. I couldn¡¯t help my body¡¯s reaction as I melted<b>. </b>against him, letting him take the weight of my upper half in his arms,

    ¡°Belle!¡± Liam continued to shout. The door¡¯s handle began to shake violently. ¡°I know you¡¯re in there! My dad owns the hotel, so I can get a key card real casy!¡±

    Without saying a word, Grayson lifted me into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as if I were a child, and carried me into the bedroom, where he dropped me unceremoniously on the bed.

    I could feel Grayson¡¯s muscles as he moved away from me. ¡°Stay here,¡± he said, leaving a lingering kiss on my forehead.

    He took a step back, obviously nning on leaving me there on my own. I immediately jumped to my feet.

    Grayson¡¯s eyes snapped to me as I followed him. ¡°What did I just say?¡± he asked, his voice sounding like gravel.

    I crossed my arms over my chest. ¡°What did <i>I </i>just say? Stop telling me what to do.¡±

    His nostrils red. ¡°I will not have you anywhere near that vampire until I know what it is that he

    wants.

    ¡°Do not test my wolf right now because it will not be you who will have to deal with the consequences. It¡¯ll be him. So stay. Here.¡±

    I knew I had no other option than to do as he told me. I watched him march away from me, noting that the width of his chest was slightly bigger than normal. his wolf trying to take over. Chapter 32 of 59: Chapter 32

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    The banging on the door increased. Liam was getting impatient. <b>I </b>had no doubt the door woulde crashing down at any moment.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± I called after him. He looked back at me, breathing deeply. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt him.¡±

    His fingers curled into his palms, his dark brows shing together. He studied me for several seconds, obviously struggling with my request.

    ¡°I won¡¯t hurt him unless he gives me a reason to. Stay quiet, and everything should be <b>fine</b><b>,</b>¡± he finally responded, his voice jagged and deep. He turned, and in <b>a </b>sh<b>, </b>I was alone in the room.

    I heard Grayson opening the door outside the room.

    ¡°Where the hell is she?¡± Liam demanded, his angry footsteps entering the hotel suite. ¡°What did you do with her? I can smell her, so I know she¡¯s here. Belle! Belle, where are you?¡±

    ¡°You will not refer to my mate by her first name, vampire,¡± Grayson snarled.

    My fingernails dug into the marble countertop as I listened, forcing myself to stay where I was so I didn¡¯t endanger Liam. Why did Grayson have to be so abrupt with him and rude?

    There was no way Liam was going to respond well to that.

    ¡°I¡¯ll call her whatever the fuck I want because she¡¯s my <i>friend</i><i>, </i>and <i>I¡¯m </i>the one who has been taking care of her.

    ¡°Where the hell have you been over thest few months when she wasn¡¯t eating, sleeping, or barely even functioning, huh?

    ¡°What about when she had nowhere to live or when I found her sobbing in pain in the rain because of what you did to her?

    ¡°You call yourself her mate, but then go ahead and let <b>her </b>suffer, you <i>fucking </i><i>jackass</i><i>.</i><i>¡± </i>

    Uh oh.

    I didn¡¯t even have to be in the room to know that a fight <b>had </b>broken out. I could hear it.

    Great. Just great.

 Chapter 95

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    <b>BELLE </b>

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    A huge bang sounded, and then the sound of splintering wood. Grayson was growling, followed by Liam¡¯s grunts.

    I jumped off the counter and sprinted across the room, throwing the door open in a panic. It had been barely thirty seconds since I heard the fight break out, and the room was in total <b>ruins</b>.

    <b>The </b>dining table waspletely broken<b>, </b>split down the middle.

    There were w marks along the couch cushions, artwork torn off the walls, and shards of ss <b>all </b>over the floor from one of the balcony doors shattering.

    The two of them were moving in a blur across the <b>room</b>, <b>so </b>fast that I could barely even follow their movements. They growled and hissed as they plowed into the walls of the suite¡¯s living room..

    ¡°Stop!¡± I yelled in a panic. ¡°Grayson! Liam! Stop! Please!¡±

    Theypletely ignored me, smashing into therge wooden table and demolishing it. They were making so much noise I was surprised the hotel staff wasn¡¯t alerted.

    I did the only thing I could think of. I ran through the broken doors to the balcony. My legs were shaking as I climbed onto the railing overlooking Evergreen, nearly twenty stories up in the air.

    I slowly stood and turned, bncing on the thick but terrifyingly high¨Cup rail. I had never been super afraid of heights, thank goodness, but even this had me faltering.

    <i>¡°</i>Stop<i>!</i>¡± I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was sure even the people beneath me on the road could hear my plea.

    Both men finally stopped in the middle of the room, panting, their gazes swinging tond on me. It was then I noticed Grayson had shifted into his wolf.

    My whole body filled with emotion and longing as I looked at him. I <b>hadn¡¯t </b>seen Grayson¡¯s wolf since Paris. It made me realize how much I had missed him.

    Just like Grayson¡¯s human side, he had grown much bigger since thest time I <b>had </b>seen him, but somehow still managed to make me feel safe andforted just by being in the same room.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Belle</b>, thank God. You¡¯re alright,¡± Liam said. He scanned where I was standing. ¡°What the fuck are you doing? Get down from there! You¡¯re going to fucking kill yourself!¡±

    <b>¡°</b>It¡¯s the only way I could get your attention. Neither of you were listening to me.¡±

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    Grayson¡¯s wolf crouched low as he approached me, almost making me think he was hunting me until I noticed the way his ears were folded up in a non¨Cthreatening way.

    His eyes were wide and worried. I realized with a start that he wasing to get me down.

    ¡°Wait,¡± <b>I </b><b>said</b><b>, </b>holding my hands out and looking down behind me to ensure I didn¡¯t identally fall to my death. ¡°Don¡¯te near me, Grayson. I mean it. I need you to listen to me.¡±

    Grayson ignored me, continuing to move toward me slowly, trying not to scare me. He was now only five feet away from me.

    ¡°Grayson<b>, </b>seriously-¡±

    I shrieked when he suddenly pounced, leaping up and chomping down on the front of my shirt and forcing me to go falling.

    Liam called my name simultaneously, just as shocked by Grayson¡¯s actions <b>as </b>I was.

    I thought <b>my </b>face would smash into the concrete beneath me, but Grayson quickly flipped around, <b>so </b>instead, I went flying onto his back, encased by his fuzziness, totally unharmed.

    That didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t still pissed.

    ¡°What the hell, Grayson?¡± I demanded, hitting his side as I pushed off him. ¡°Did you not hear me when I told you not toe near me, you big oaf? You could have killed me!¡±

    Grayson shot several quick growls back as <b>if </b>saying, ¡°I almost killed you?¡±

    ¡°Belle, are you okay?¡± Liam asked, now standing in the doorway with a worried expression.

    It was the first time I noticed that his eyes were bright red and his fangs <b>and </b>ws were out, his vampire side in control.

    I couldn¡¯t help but freeze as I observed him, still not used to seeing red eyes anywhere but in my

    nightmares.

    Grayson turned and growled at him, crouching down in a hunting pose for real this time, probably angry with him for scaring me.

    To his credit, Liam stood his ground even as Grayson¡¯s wolf¨Cwho was an admittedly terrifying creature andrger than a horse¨Cbared and chomped his teeth at him.

    I pped Grayson¡¯s side again. ¡°Quit it,¡± I scolded him. Grayson backed down a bit. I turned my gaze back to Liam. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Annoyed but fine<b>.</b>¡±

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    $021% 12:40 Before I could stop him, Grayson turned back to me and began incessantly licking my face, making me giggle and shove him away from me.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, big guy.¡±

    Grayson gave onest lick to <b>his </b>mark on my neck, causing a shiver down my spine, before settling his huge head and paws on myp, nuzzling his head into the side of my knee like a sweet puppy.

    It was almostical, and I couldn¡¯t help but giggle and run my hand over the soft fur of his head.

    When I looked back up at Liam, he was watching us with confusion and shock written all over his face.

    It urred to me that he had never witnessed mates interacting before, so it must have seemed <b>odd </b>to him. My face brightened a bit.

    ¡°What are you doing here, Liam?¡± I asked him, clearing my throat. I tried to get up, but Grayson pushed me back down with his massive jaw. I huffed.

    ¡°I came here looking for you, obviously,¡± Liam said, keeping one eye on Grayson at all times. ¡°I got back yesterday. Where have you been?¡°¡±

    ¡°Where have I been? Where the hell have you been?¡±

    ¡°Canada,¡± he answered, <b>ring </b>at the wolf in myp who was paying absolutely no attention to

    him.

    ¡°Canada? Why w

    you in Canada?¡±

    ¡°Your mate told me to go there.¡°T

    ¡°What? Grayson told you to go to <i>Canada</i><i>?</i>¡± I looked down at my mate, but he ignored me and licked his paws, acting oh¨Cso¨Cinnocent. Oh, he was <i>so </i>lucky he was a wolf right now.

    I tried once again to shove Grayson off myp. He whined but let me roll him away. ¡°Go shift,¡± I told him. ¡°You have some exining to do.¡±

    He looked up at me and huffed unhappily. When he <b>tried </b>to set his head back down on myp, I quickly moved <b>my </b>legs, so hended with a thump on the hard ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. I need to talk to you. Go shift,¡± I repeated.

    Grayson threw an angry nce at Liam and then looked back at me as if he were saying<b>, </b>¡°You think I¡¯m going to leave you alone with this idiot?¡±

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    ¡°Liam isn¡¯t going to hurt me. He tried to protect me from you, remember?¡±

    Grayson didn¡¯t look convinced.

    *Èý¹ú21%_112:41

    ¡°Look, the sooner you get back, the less time I¡¯ll end up spending alone with him,¡± I tried again.

    If wolves had facial expressions, then I swore Grayson would have looked bored. He plopped his head back down on his paws.

    My jaw clenched. ¡°Fine. How about I promise not to fight you on going to work tomorrow if you shift right now? We can do whatever you want for the entire day.¡±

    That got his attention. His ck wolf eyes peeked open and then narrowed on me for a few seconds before he finally lifted from the floor.

    He slowly licked me once on the cheek<b>¨C</b>thoroughly grossing me out¨Cgrowled loudly once at Liam, and then went bounding off to the bedroom.

    I sighed as I stood up, facing Liam. Now that Grayson wasn¡¯t in the room, I didn¡¯t hesitate to hug him tightly to me, embracing my friend, who I hadn¡¯t seen for several days.

    He embraced me back with a relieved sigh.

    ¡°I missed you,¡± I told him, releasing my hold and stepping away from him before Grayson came back and got all growly.

    ¡°You have no idea how worried I was when I couldn¡¯t find you the day Grayson found me.¡±

    ¡°I know. I saw all of your texts and missed calls. Are you okay? Has he hurt you?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°No. No, he would never hurt me. Everything that happened between us was just one huge misunderstanding. Everything is okay <b>now</b>.¡±

    Liam narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why do I find that hard to believe? Am I the only one who remembers how upset and broken you¡¯ve been for thest few months?

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a misunderstanding to me. He hurt you, Belle. And I need to make sure you remember that and don¡¯t just give in to the mate bond after everything he did to you.¡±

    I licked my lips. <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>know. I know how it must seem. But I promise you <b>I¡¯m </b>fine. And I¡¯ll exin everything to youter.¡±

    Liam¡¯s frown grew. ¡°Belle<b>¡­</b>¡±

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    ¡°How are you?<b>¡± </b>I asked quickly, trying to change the subject.

    I didn¡¯t want to have to exin myself to him right then.

    *ÔÆÇô21%_1 12:41

    Especially when my mate would be back any second and definitely wouldn¡¯t be happy to hear me talking about our rtionship with the man he had just been fighting.

    ¡°Want to exin to me why you just up <b>and </b>went to Canada?¡±

    He crossed his arms over his chest, annoyance quickly taking over his expression. <b>¡°</b>Your stupid werewolf mate told me to walk there after <b>I </b>tried to protect you in the diner.¡±

    Frustration welled inside me. I knew Grayson had done something to Liam. Oh, he was so getting an carfulter,

    ¡°He told you to walk to Canada?¡± I asked. ¡°And you listened to him?¡±

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t exactly have a choice, did I? I know you said your mate was powerful or whatever, but you didn¡¯t think it was worth mentioning he was King Grayson fucking Stoll?¡±

    I nearlyughed, put off by that statement. ¡°Grayson isn¡¯t a king. He¡¯s an alpha. There¡¯s a big difference.¡±

    ¡°Uh, no,¡± Liam continued, a groove in his forehead appearing. ¡°That¡¯s not ¡±

    <b>¡°</b>If

    you want to keep your fucking head on your shoulders, you will shut your mouth now, vampire,¡± Grayson said, cutting him off.

    He joined us on the balcony once again, wearing only a pair of jeans, leaving his upper halfpletely bare. Of course, he made a beeline for me, grabbing me by my waist and pulling me far

    from Liam.

    Liam¡¯s brows furrowed at the threat. His eyes widened. ¡°Hold on. Does she not know? That¡¯s kind of a huge ass secret to keep from-¡±

    Grayson was suddenly in front of Liam and had a tight grip on his throat, mming his back into the wall behind him. ¡°Speak another word, and I¡¯ll tear your <i>red </i>eyes out of your head and feed them to you.¡±

    I scampered over to them, quickly ducking under Grayson¡¯s arm so I was between the two men. I ced my hands on Grayson¡¯s chest.

    ¡°Stop,¡± I begged. He looked down at me but only seemed to tighten his hold. Liam sputtered behind. me. ¡°Please.¡±

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    Having shbacks of the flight to Paris when I met him, I rose up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.

    Grayson immediately started to purr, and I heard Liam gasp <b>for </b>air behind me as Grayson released him. Relief swelled inside of me.

    Grayson pulled away secondster, breathing heavily. He peered down at me, gripping my waist tightly. ¡°You are the only person I will ever risk looking weak for.¡±

    I swallowed, trying to get my emotions in check. ¡°Will you stop trying to murder my friend?¡±

    ¡°Probably not,¡± he replied mildly, scowling at Liam, who was still a mess on the floor behind me.

    Frustration consumed me even as I turned from Grayson and crouched in front of Liam to ensure he was okay. He couldn¡¯t stop coughing. His throat was bright red.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± I asked.

    He nodded, ring up at Grayson as he continued to cough.

    ¡°What was he talking about?¡± I looked at Grayson. ¡°Why did he call you a king?¡±

    His square jaw made a grinding noise. He hesitated for a moment before answering. <b>¡°</b>He called me at king because I am one.¡±

    My brows tugged together. Well, this was news. ¡°A king of what, exactly?¡±

    ¡°King of the supernatural. And<b>, </b>soon, you¡¯ll be queen<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    I blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I shook my head to clear my thoughts. ¡°I think I must¡¯ve misheard you. Did you just say you are the king of the supernatural?¡±

    Grayson nodded, taking a hesitant step toward mc like he was afraid I would run at any given

    moment.

    ¡°Yes. <b>It¡¯s </b>a very long story that I nned on telling you when I thought you were ready¡°-he red at Liam-¡°but, yes, it¡¯s true.¡±

    Feeling a little betrayed, I asked, ¡°Is¡­Is this a new development, or has <b>this </b>always been the case, and I just didn¡¯t know?¡°¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Grayson said straight away. ¡°It¡¯s a new development. Of course it¡¯s a new development.¡± He reached <b>for </b>me, his chest already vibrating with quiet purrs as he pulled me to him.

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    021% 12:41 ¡°I would never keep something like that from you. I was only an alpha before everything happened, I promise. It¡¯s a long story, but I swear I n on telling you everything.¡±

    I nodded, leaning <b>into </b>him a bit despite the fact that I knew Liam was watching us. I needed thefort Grayson provided and didn¡¯t care what Liam thought of me.

    ¡°Bullshit,¡± Liam snapped. ¡°Are you gonna believe a single thing he says to you<b>, </b>Belle? He¡¯s in the middle of a war with a Mortar. He <b>used </b>you for the power you provided him with once.

    ¡°What¡¯s to say he wouldn¡¯t do it again<b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°You¡¯re on very thin ice, vampire,¡± Grayson spat. ¡°If I were you, I would swallow my tongue before I lose it. You have no idea what happened between Belle and me.¡±

    The two of them were squaring off, Grayson moving in front of me as if Liam would ever consider hurting me.

    It was almostical how much bigger Grayson waspared to Liam, and it almost had me feeling insecure about what I must look like next to my huge mate.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of your threats. You are no king of mine,¡± Liam spat back.

    ¡°You wanna test that theory? Fancy another hike to Canada?¡±

    I rolled my eyes. Men. ¡°Okay!¡± I squeezed myself between the two of them, cing a hand on each

    of their chests<b>.. </b>

    ¡°When you two are doneparing dick sizes, would anybody maybe like to hear what I have to say?¡±

    ¡°Stop touching him,¡± Grayson demanded, tugging me into him so harshly that my head banged against his bare chest. I gave him a dirty look, but he was too busy ring at Liam.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t snap your arms in half for hugging her earlier.¡±

    <b>¡°</b><b>You </b>two are being ridiculous!¡± I shouted. I looked up at Grayson. ¡°Especially you. He¡¯s only <b>trying </b>to help. He¡¯s the only reason I wasn¡¯t homeless for thest few months.

    ¡°He and <b>his </b>sister were there for me when I was at my lowest and thought I had no one. I don¡¯t know where <b>I </b>would be if it weren¡¯t for him.¡±

    I turned to Liam. ¡°And you. This is my mate. I know I told you that he treated me terribly <b>and </b>that I never wanted to see him again, but I was wrong.

    Emergency calls only Mu

    ¡°There were things I didn¡¯t understand. And I¡­I really think Grayson does love me.¡±

    Grayson pulled me closer at those words, a slight vibrationing from his chest.

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    I could feel his intense happiness surging through the bond. ¡°So I know you¡¯re super protective of me or whatever, but I¡¯m fine. I promise you I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m safe with Grayson.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re sure he didn¡¯t just use the power of the Mortars on you?¡± Liam asked.

    ¡°What even is that? That¡¯s the third time you¡¯ve brought that up,¡± I noted.

    ¡°The power of the Mortars is the ability to persuade any person to do whatever I say,¡± Grayson exined softly. ¡°I developed the gift after Azazel left my body, and I became king.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Oh, that¡¯s¡­¡± I let out a humorlessugh. ¡°That¡¯s great. Because it¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t have enough power already. Now you can control every living creature. That¡¯s truly perfect.¡±

    Grayson turned me around so that I was looking at him. ¡°I would never use it unless it was totally necessary. And I would never even consider using it on you unless it was a matter of your safety or health.

    ¡°You know that, right?¡°*

    ¡°You better not use it on me. And you better not use it on my friends either. Was sending Liam to Canada really <b>¡®</b>necessary,¡® as you put it?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he growled back, glowering at Liam.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t like him.¡±

    I elbowed him in the gut, then immediately regretted it when it ended up hurting me more than it hurt him. He didn¡¯t even flinch. Jeez, was this guy made of rock or something?

    ¡°Stop hurting yourself,¡± Grayson reprimanded, already rubbing at my definitely¨Cbruised elbow. I huffed, yanking my arm out of his grip out of spite.

    Then something urred <b>to </b>me. ¡°Wait a second. You¡¯re not expecting me to be some sort of werewolf queen or something, right? Because you¡¯re a king?¡±

    Obviously put off <b>by </b>the question, Grayson hesitated for a moment, opening and shutting his mouth. like a fish out of water, then he red again at Liam as if ming him for having to have this conversation right now.

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    ¡°Well?¡± I prompted. My breathing was picking up, and my mind was racing. I couldn¡¯t even be the luna of a simple pack.

    I wasn¡¯t even sure I wanted to go back to Grayson¡¯s pack in Minnesota, even after finding out that his pack didn¡¯t actually hate me.

    They were just under the influence of some stupid vampire telling them not to talk to me. And now he wanted me to rule with him over an entire kingdom? There was <b>no </b>way.

    No one would take me seriously.

    ¡°Belle, I can feel you overthinking,¡± Grayson spoke, pulling me from my thoughts. ¡°You¡¯re freaking yourself out, and there¡¯s no reason for that.

    ¡°You know I would never give you more than you could handle. And I would never force you into something you didn¡¯t want to do. All I need from you is to be by my side.¡±

    Although his words helped to calm my racing thoughts just a bit, <b>I </b>still couldn¡¯t help but imagine all of the terrible scenarios and ways I could mess up as the queen of the supernatural.

    The human queen of the supernatural. Oh, God.

    Without any warning, I was scooped up into Grayson¡¯s arms and set back down in hisp on the ripped¨Cup couch. I leaned into his purring chest, sighing at how good the vibrations felt running through my body.

    ¡°I hate that I keep putting you through so much stress. It¡¯s killing me. Please calm down,¡± Grayson

    said.

    His words were somewhat taken over by his purrs, making his voice sound husky and deep and sexy.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I tried to reassure him<b>. </b>¡°This is all just a bit overwhelming, you know?¡±

    Grayson growled at that.

    Liam watched us with his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes narrowed, still skeptical of Grayson and his intentions.

    He seemed to have calmed down a bit, though, when he <b>had </b>seen that I was in no real danger.

    ¡°I heard about King Elijah Viotto being able to purr for his <b>mate</b>,¡± Liam said, ¡°but it¡¯s strange to hear it done in person.¡±

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    ¡°Can all vampires <b>purr</b><b>?</b><b>¡± </b>I <b>asked</b>.

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    ¡°We can hiss,¡± Liam exined. ¡°But only when we feel threatened or upset. Just like wolves <b>with </b>growling.¡±

    ¡°You need to rest,¡± Grayson cut in, addressing <b>me</b>. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot thest few days.¡±

    ¡°Thest few months,¡± I corrected without thinking. Thement only seemed to sour Grayson¡¯s mood even more. ¡°I¡¯m fine though, really,¡± I quickly amended.

    Grayson hugged me tighter to him. He looked at Liam. ¡°Leave,¡± he snapped.

    My irritation spiked. ¡°Don¡¯t tell my friend what to do.¡±

    But when I looked back at Liam, I was shocked to see him already marching to the door without saying a single <b>word</b>. And then, just like that, he was gone..

    My jaw dropped. ¡°Did¡­Did you seriously <b>just </b>use your stupid powers on him?¡±

    Grayson just shrugged, looking down at his hand running up and down my arm. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have left otherwise.¡±

    My head fell back. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is my life. My werewolf boyfriend just told my vampire best friend to leave using his supernatural powers.¡±

    <i>¡°</i>I¡¯m your best friend. He¡¯s irrelevant.¡±

    Before I could respond, Grayson threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and walked straight to the hotel room door.

    ¡°Hey, wait! Where are you taking me?¡± I demanded.

    ¡°Different hotel room. We obviously can¡¯t stay in this one anymore.¡±

    With a sigh, I looked back at the ruined hotel room as he carried me out the door, slumping down

    on his shoulder because I knew it was pointless to fight anyway.

 Chapter 96

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    I hated <b>that </b>vampire. My wolf paced in my chest the entire time he was here, eager to take care of the infuriating vampire himself and pissed every time I forced him down, refusing to let him out.

    He thought he had some sort of im on my woman just because he had taken care of her for a short time when I couldn¡¯t. He was wrong. Very wrong.

    She was mine. And I was more than happy to prove that to him.

    After switching rooms due to the destruction caused to thest one¨Csomething I did not regret, especially after finding out Liam ckwood¡¯s father owned the ce I sat Belle down on the couch in the new room.

    ¡°Food,¡± I stated, leaving no room for discussion. ¡°Then you¡¯re spending the entire day resting and watching movies in my arms. And then you¡¯re eating more food.¡±

    She frowned even as her happiness and overall relief surged through the mate bond, content to do as I said. ¡°What is it with you and trying to get me to eat?¡±

    I tilted her head <b>up</b>, the palm of my hand cupping her cheek. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, baby. No matter what. But you¡¯ve lost too much weight since we¡¯ve been apart. I need to get you back to a healthy weight.¡±

    She didn¡¯t argue. I could tell she was secretly relieved.

    She was still exhausted from everything she <b>had </b>gone through, and while spending thest twenty¨Cfour hours together was helping, she was still moving slower than normal and clung to <b>me </b>whenever I was near.

    Which I was sure she wasn¡¯t even aware she was doing. Not that I minded, of course.

    I gave her a lingering kiss on the forehead before grabbing the phone to order room service. I <b>was </b>looking forward to a calm rest of the day spent rxing with my girl.

    <b>BELLE </b>

    After eating the most ginormous meal of my entire life, I was happy to curl up against Grayson <b>on </b>the couch. His massive arm wrapped around my shoulder as we watched a random rom on the

    <ol>

    <li>TV.</li>

    </ol>

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    Okay, well, that¡¯s not totally true. The only thing that didn¡¯t feel normal was the intense sexual energy charging between us.

    The man next to me had my stomach in knots and the walls of my pussy pulsing with need.

    I was aware of his every movement, every breath he took, and the way one of his hands was running. up <b>and </b>down my leg in a soothing manner as he watched the screen.

    The most embarrassing part was that I couldn¡¯t stop ncing down at the outline of his hard cock through his jeans, reying what it had felt like to have my lips wrapped around it this morning.

    I was practically salivating at the thought of doing it again, right here, right now. What would he say if I just got down on my knees right now and-?

    <i>Belle</i>! I screamed at myself in my head, cutting that thought off before it took on a mind of its own. <i>Stop </i>it! Get <i>your </i>mind out <i>of </i><i>the </i>gutter!

    But that was nearly impossible especially when Grayson started to purr softly. It was barely <b>even </b>audible over the sound of the TV but still caused an embarrassing river of arousal to trickle from my

    center.

    I clenched my thighs together, my cheeks flooding with so much heat I was sure I looked like a

    tomato.

    I hoped beyond hope that Grayson couldn¡¯t smell how inexplicably turned on I was, but I knew that was pointless.

    When I nced up at his face, he had a barely¨Cthere, knowing smirk painting his lips, causing my stomach to do a flip.

    Fuck, what was wrong with me? I didn¡¯t remember it being like this between us before, like it was impossible to keep my hands off of him.

    <b>Every </b>inch of me felt like it was on fire¨Cand it wasn¡¯t even like we were doing anything!

    We were literally just sitting on a couch together, watching TV¨C<b>so </b>why did it feel like I was going tobust if he didn¡¯t touch me within the next five seconds?

    Almost as if he was reading my mind, Grayson¡¯s hand moved <b>a </b>little further up my leg<b>, </b>just barely dipping under the edge of his boxers <b>that </b>I was wearing.

    I had chosen to throw off the sweatpants he had given me carlier when they kept falling off me, deciding I was better off without them.

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    #021% 12:42 I had been running hot all day anyway and knew that anything was better than wearing my dirty

    pantics.

    I was able to get the boxers to stay on only by rolling the waist up several times and <b>tying </b>them <b>with </b>

    a hair tic.

    I would have to visit my apartment and get new clothes soon¨Ceven if Grayson got all huffy and growly every time I mentioned going back there.

    I squirmed against him as the throbbing between my legs was quickly bing too intense to ignore.

    My legs opened a bit wider on their own ord, inviting him to where I needed him most and desperately hoping he would take the hint.

    I nearly moaned in relief when his massive hand pulled my leg over one of his, spreading me open even further for him.

    But I couldn¡¯t hold back the embarrassing sound that escaped my lips when his hand crept up the inside of my thigh at an agonizing pace almost as if he wasn¡¯t even aware of what he was doing to me or how badly I needed <b>him</b>.

    Until his fingers finally reached my needy slit with exact uracy. He ran his hand over it, and my head fell back; the only thing separating us was the thin fabric of his boxers.

    He rubbed me for a second nearly driving me to madness when he deliberately avoided touching me where I actually needed him to. He was teasing me.

    His teeth nipped at the top of my ear, <b>his </b><b>hand </b>still cupping me. ¡°My poor girl is soaking. You¡¯ve already seeped through my boxers and onto my T¨Cshirt.¡±

    He chuckled. ¡°Someone hasn¡¯t been paying attention to the movie. You distracted, baby?¡±

    I didn¡¯t have the chance to be embarrassed¨Cespecially since Grayson actually seemed to sound extremely pleased about my wetness¨Cbecause two of <b>his </b>fingers suddenly found my clit.

    He rubbed it in soothing circles, instantly turning my brain off.

    ¡°There we go,¡± Grayson murmured into my ear. His purring intensified. ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡±

    He continued this for a few more seconds, making my body buzz and tingle.

    Then he suddenly shoved the loose fabric of the boxers out of the way and plunged a finger into my wet channel, nearly <b>turning </b>me inside out. His thumb continued to swipe at my clit.

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    When I lifted my hips <b>up</b>, seeking more friction, Grayson growled and paused his movements- inadvertently causing more wetness to seep from me, coating his finger.

    ¡°Hold still,¡± hemanded in a tone that made me shiver.

    I continued to writhe against him, unable to follow his instructions. My small jerky movements weren¡¯t nearly as satisfying as what he had been doing before, though, only making me more desperate.

    ¡°I¨CI can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You can and will. Or I stop.¡±

    My hips instantly settled back down on the couch. I couldn¡¯t help the little mewls of desperation leaving my mouth.

    Everything was so intense, my entire body incredibly sensitive. Even just his breathing on my neck was causing goosebumps to appear on my flesh.

    To my

    immense relief, his finger started pumping in and out of me again once he was satisfied I wasn¡¯t going to move anymore.

    ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± he whispered, picking up his pace.

    I whined and dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands in an effort to keep still when he added a second finger.

    Just likest night, his hand felt like magic against me, making me wonder how good it was going to feel when he finally thrust his cock into <b>me</b><b>. </b>

    That thought nearly had me tumbling over the edge. Would he do it tonight? After we were finished here, maybe?

    I was shocked to realize exactly how much I wanted that¨Chow much I craved it with every fiber of my being.

    ¡°You thinking about mating, sweet girl?¡± Grayson growled. ¡°The bond is ring, and your tight, little pussy is squeezing the life out of my fingers.¡±

    I bit my lip as he quickened his pace. Just hearing him say the word <b>¡°</b>mating¡± nearly made my eyes roll to the back of my head.

    ¡°Fuck, you¡¯re so beautiful writhing on my fingers, daydreaming about the first time I¡¯m gonna drive my cock into that sweet little <b>pussy </b><b>of </b>yours,¡± he groaned, licking up my neck and swirling his

    Emergency calls only Mu

    D20% 12:43 ¡°Come for <b>me</b><b>, </b>Belle. Let me feel you clench down on me over and over again. Come on, love.¡±

    And I did. Intense and overwhelming pleasure bloomed everywhere, shudders racking my entire body, from the crown of my head, all the way down to my curling toes.

    And it never seemed to end. My orgasm kept going and going as long as Grayson¡¯s fingers kept moving <b>in </b>and out of me, leading me through it, sparks traveling from every spot he touched.

    After what felt like forever, Grayson finally pulled his hand away. I slumped back against the couch, my chest heaving and stars still dancing in my eyesight.

    Grayson brought his fingers to his mouth without looking away from me and sucked them clean, groaning. I should have been grossed out, but there was something about the whole scene that made it very crotic.

    Neither of us said anything as he pulled me down until I was lying with my head in hisp,

    watching the TV. He yed with my hair, running his sparky fingers over my scalp and down my neck.

    We stayed like this until I waspletely rxed. Grayson, however, had a sort of tenseness rolling off of him. Something was bothering him.

    ¡°I have to talk to you about something,¡± Grayson murmured.

    My nerves started to swirl in my stomach at his serious tone. ¡°Okay¡­.¡± I replied, turning my body around so that I was looking up at him.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be nervous about,¡± Grayson said, trying to calm me, probably feeling my nervous energy through the bond, his purrs already starting in his chest. ¡°I need you toe back home with me.¡±

    I stiffened. ¡°To Minnesota<b>?</b><b>¡°</b><b>¡± </b>

    He hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t live in Minnesota anymore. I live¡­in <b>the </b>supernatural kingdom. In the pce of the Mortars.¡±

    ¡°You live in a <i>pce</i><i>?</i>¡± I flopped back on the couch. ¡°And I thought your pack house was impressive. You¡¯re telling me you have your very own castle now?¡±

    He twisted his body so he was partially over me on the bed, his handnding on my waist. ¡°Well, it belongs to the kingdom of the supernatural and my pack, but yes. I live there. And you will too.¡±

    ¡°Hold your horses there, buddy. Where exactly is this ¡®supernatural pce¡®?¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s a littleplicated. The supernatural kingdom is in its own magical realm. It¡¯s only essible by those with permission to be there or of royal blood.

    ¡°The doorway to get there is <b>in </b>Croatia, where the first¨Cever vampire, Jure Grando Alilovi?, was

    created.¡±

    ¡°Croutiu<i>?</i>¡± I repeated, sitting up. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. At least your pack house was somewhere where they spoke English <b>and</b><b>, </b>you know, in the United States.

    ¡°You seriously want to take me all the way to Croatia?¡±

    Grayson nodded once, not even bothering to argue with me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready,¡± I said after a few moments. ¡°Even if you wanted to take me back to your pack house¡­I don¡¯t know.

    ¡°I went through so much trauma with your pack. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready to be¡­trapped again. With people who hate me.¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t hate you. They-¡±

    ¡°I know they were under the influence of that vampire dude or whatever. Kyle told me. But that doesn¡¯t mean that they like me. W

    don¡¯t know how they really feel about me.

    ¡°But, regardless, that¡¯s not even my main concern. What am I going to do if something happens between <b>us </b>again? What if-

    ¡°Nothing is going to happen between us,¡± Grayson interrupted with a growl. ¡°I¡¯m not going to <i>let </i>anything happen.¡±

    ¡°I bet you felt the same way when you first brought me back to your pack house all those months ago. Things happen that we have no control over, Grayson. It¡¯s how the world works.

    ¡°But if something does happen, I can¡¯t be trapped all on my own in your pack house, surrounded by people that hate me again, just waiting for you to finish being taken over by some evil vampire.

    ¡°And what if I¡¯m forced to run away from you again? <b>I </b>can¡¯t do that in Croatia. I wouldn¡¯t know where to go or how to survive.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes started to turn a dark red as he listened to me. ¡°I need you by my side, Belle. It¡¯s not up for debate.¡±

    ¡°I want to be with you too,¡± I agreed, pausing before I said the next bit. ¡°But what if¡­ <b>I </b>just stayed here?

    Emergency calls only

    $0 20% 12:43 ¡°I could keep working at the diner and live in my apartment, and you coulde to visit me whenever you wanted<b>. </b>That way, I would stay out of your way while you¡¯re doing your whole king thing, and you-¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not. Fuck that,¡± Grayson snapped. ¡°You think I¡¯m capable of staying away from you for more than an hour without losing my fucking mind?¡±

    He abruptly grabbed me by my waist and tugged me to him. He stared down at me with such intensity that I almost had to look away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t function without you, Belle. Do you understand me? There is no ¡®king thing¡® without you- there¡¯s not even a me without you. I will <i>not </i>be away from you. Ever. Not even for one day. <i>You </i><i>are </i>mine.¡±

    Before I could respond, Grayson abruptly growled so loudly the walls shook around us. My hands flew up to cover my ears, wincing at the volume.

    I thought that he was upset over the conversation we were having, but then he released me and stood<b>. </b>up, sniffing at the air.

    ¡°I¡¯m

    gonna kill him,¡± Grayson said. He started walking away, not bothering to give me an exnation.

    He threw open the door to our room and walked out into the hallway.

    I immediately got up to follow him. ¡°Kill who?¡±

    ¡°That fucking vampire is back,¡± he growled, his voice low and threatening.

    ¡°What vampire?¡±

    He didn¡¯t answer and started walking down the hall.

    ¡°Are you talking about Liam?¡± I pressed, still racing after him, more than a little freaked out by his

    behavior.

    Grayson turned, causing me to stumble right into him. He grabbed me by my arms, staring me down. ¡°Do not say another man¡¯s name right now, Belle. Especially his.<b>¡± </b>His shoulders heaved.

    The feminist in me had to bite her tongue and keep from pping him. So it was <i>definitely </i>Liam.

    I could see just how angry Grayson was. And that scared me. He was so on edge that if Liam really were here, I had no doubt he would try to kill him.

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    <b>So</b>, before he could turn around and continue to plot the murder of my friend, I grabbed his face and forced it down to mine, pressing my lips to his.

    I knew kissing Grayson when he was angry was my go¨Cto tactic when I was trying to get him to calm down. But, hey, it was the best distraction I coulde up with on such short notice. Give me a break, would ya?

    Thankfully, though, Grayson seemed to enjoy my choice of distraction. He groaned and didn¡¯t hesitate to slide his hands under my butt, lifting me off my feet and wrapping my legs around his

    waist.

    My back was mmed into the wall behind me, and the next thing I knew, Grayson was deepening the kiss with enthusiasm.

    A minute or two passed like this, and I found myself falling into the kiss until I momentarily forgot what my goal in all of this had been, thoroughly overtaken by my mate¡¯s lips on mine.

    Someone groaned and coughed behind <b>us</b>. ¡°Ahem, I hate to interrupt, but this is urgent.¡±

    I ripped my lips from Grayson¡¯s, mecting the gaze of an out¨Cof¨Cbreath Liam, standing there in the hallway.

    ¡°Sorry-¡°I started to say but was interrupted when Grayson grabbed my chin and pulled my lips to his once again with an angry growl.

    He was obviously staking his im on me in front of Liam.

    And I was a little ashamed to say that I pushed my inner feminist down and melted right back into him<b>, </b>sucked back into the kiss as if I had no control over any of my actions.

    Liam cleared his throat, and both Grayson and I snapped back from each other, although Grayson tried to pull me back to him almost immediately.

    My face filled with heat as I forcefully disentangled myself from my mate<b>, </b>finding it frustratingly difficult. Once I was on my feet, Grayson stepped in front of me, growling low at Liam.

    Liam¡¯s hands raised in surrender. ¡°I¡¯m not here to fight with you. I¡¯m here to let you know that have a friend looking for you, and he¡¯s causing quite an uproar.¡±

    ¡°Friend?¡± I <b>asked</b>.

    ¡°Azazel Mortar.<b>¡± </b>

 Chapter 97

    ELLE

    ¡°Wait¡­.¡±Isaid<strong>.</strong>¡°Isn¡¯tAzazelMortar¡­thevampirewho¡­?¡±

    <strong>in</strong>Maine.¡±Hiseyesmetmine.¡°Looking

    ¡°Yeah,¡±Liamreplied,watchingGraysonclosely,gauginghisreaction.¡°Thevampirewhotookoveryourmate¡¯sbody.Theformerkingofvampires.Andhe¡¯sforyou.¡±

    Graysonwasstiffasaboardinfrontofme.¡°Howdo<strong>you</strong>knowthis?¡±heasked.

    ¡°Hewasatthedineraboutanhourago.He¡­¡±Liamhesitated.¡°Hekilledyourboss.Andanother

    waitress.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±Igasped.IsteppedoutfrombehindGrayson,butonlytohavehimwraphisarmsaroundmeandpressmefirmlytohisfront.¡°Whatareyoutalkingabout?¡°¡±

    ¡°I¡¯msosorry,Belle,¡±Liamsaidsoftly.¡°IcameassoonasIheard.Mydadcalledme.You¡¯reindanger.¡±

    ¡°Whichwaitress?¡±Idemanded.

    ¡°The olderone.Brte.¡±

    ¡°Brenda?¡±IstruggledinGrayson¡¯sarms.<strong>¡°</strong><strong>He</strong>killedBrenda?¡±

    Liamnodded.¡°I¡¯msorry,Belle,¡±herepeatedoncemore.

    Icouldfeelmyheartinmy throat.Brendahadafamily¨Cshewasasinglemom.Shehadtwokids<strong>.</strong>whowouldbeallontheirownwithouther.Heroldestwasabouttostartcollege.

    Shehadjustbeenworryingtometheotherdayabouthowshewasgoingtopayforhiseducationwithawaitress¡¯ssry.Heryoungersonwasonlyeight.

    ¡°Weneedtogo,¡±Graysongrowled.Hetriedtopullmewithhim,andwhenmy feetstayedgluedtotheground,hepickedmeupbymywaist.

    ¡°Wait,¡±Ieximed,pushingagainstGrayson¡¯sarmsashestartedtocarrymeaway.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Graysonpaused,lettingoutalowgrowl.

    ¡°Why?¡±<strong>I</strong>askedLiam.¡°Whydidhekillthem?¡±Mylungsfeltliketheywerestalling.¡°Wasit¡­Was

    itbecauseofme?¡±

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    ¡°Hewaslookingforyou,¡±Liamexinedinagentletoneastheworldstartedtospinaroundme.

    ¡°Andhe¡¯snotgoingtofindyou.We¡¯releaving,¡±Graysoncutin.Heliftedmeintohisarmsonceagain,marchingusdownthehall,awayfromourhotelroom.

    Ididn¡¯tfighthimthistime.MaybeIwas<strong>in</strong>shock,ormaybeIwasovertakenbytheguilt<strong>of</strong>knowingthatIwasresponsibleforthedeathofmyfriend.

    Eitherway,Iwassuddenlyfeelinglikethewallswerecavinginaroundme.

    ¡°Grayson,¡±Iwhisperedashecarriedmetothestairwelldoorand rusheddownthestairs.Liamfollowedbehindus.

    Graysondidn¡¯tlookdownatmeasheresponded.¡°It¡¯sokay,love.I¡¯mnotgoingtolethimgettoyou.He¡¯snotgoingtohurtyou.¡±

    Hethought<strong>I</strong>wasworriedaboutmyself?

    ¡°H¨CHekilledBrenda,¡±Istuttered.¡°A¨CAndJerry.They¡¯redead.¡±IlookedbackatLiamoverGrayson¡¯sshoulder.¡°Areyousure?¡±

    Henoddedslowly,hisexpressiongrimandsympathetic.¡°Yes.I¡¯msure.¡±

    Grayson¡¯sarmstightenedaroundme,buthedidn¡¯tsayanything.

    ¡°Whataboutherkids?Shehastwokids,¡±Icontinued.

    ¡°Whereareyoutakingher?¡±Liamaskedfrombehindus.

    Graysondidn¡¯tbotherrespondingtohim.

    <strong>¡°</strong>Liam,whataboutherkids?¡±Iasked.¡°What¡¯sgoingtohappen toherkids?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯lltakecareofthem,¡±hetoldme.¡°Don¡¯tworry,Belle.¡±

    <strong>Just</strong>aswewereabouttoexitthestairwell,Liamsuddenlyappearedrightinfrontofus,stoppingGrayson<strong>in</strong>histracksandblockingthedoor.

    ¡°Get<strong>out</strong>ofmyway,¡±Graysonsaid,hisvoicelowanddangerous.

    Liamshookhishead.¡°Notuntilyoutellmewhereyou¡¯retakingher.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯snone ofyourfuckingbusiness,¡±Graysonsnappedback.¡°Now,IsuggestyoumovebeforeI

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    ¡°Mymatemayhaveaproblemwiththethoughtofyoudead,butIdonot.Infact,Iwouldpreferit.¡±

    Liamcontinued<strong>to</strong>standhisground.¡°One<strong>of</strong>themostdangerousmenaliveislookingtohurther,<strong>and</strong>you¡¯reabouttojustwaltzheroutinpubliclikeit¡¯snobigdeal?¡±

    Hughed,butthesounckedanyremusement.¡°Idon¡¯tknowifyouknowthis,butyou¡¯renotthemostinconspicuous¨Clookingdudeoutthere.

    ¡°Peoplearegoingtonoticethegiantmusclemancarryingthetinygirldownthestreet.Andthey¡¯lltalk.Azazelwileafteryou.¡±

    ¡°Idon¡¯tgiveaflying<em>fuck</em>whatyouthink,¡±Graysongrowledthroughbaredteeth.¡°Move.¡±

    Athismagicamand,Liamautomaticallysteppedoutoftheway,finallyallowingGraysontoshovepasthimandintothe hotellobby.

    Unfortunately,though,Liamdidn¡¯tseemtoknowwhentoquit.Hechasedafterusthroughthe<strong>busy</strong>lobby.¡°Myfatherhasofferedtohouseyoubothuntilucangetoutoftown.<strong>¡±</strong>

    Graysonwhirledaroundsofastthathenearlygavemewhish.¡°YouthinkI¡¯mgoingtotakemyhumanmatetothehomeofJefferyckwood?¡±

    Liamscoffed.¡°Youthink myfatherwouldtrytohurtthefuturequeenofthesupernatural?¡±

    ¡°Iwouldn¡¯tputitpasthim.I¡¯veheardofserialkillerswithmoreintegritythanJefferyckwood.¡±

    Tomysurprise,Liamdidn¡¯tattempttoargueordefendhisfather.¡°Well,what¡¯syournthen?¡±<strong>he</strong>

    askedinstead.

    ¡°Youknowwhat?I¡¯mgettingreallyfuckingsickofyouthinkingyouhaveanysayinwhathappenstomymate,littleboy.¡±

    ¡°CanIknowwhereyou¡¯retakingme?¡±Iinterrupted.

    Graysonlookeddownatme.Hiseyessoftenedwhenhenoticedthetearsrunningdownmyhadn¡¯tevenrealizedIhadbeencryinguntilhelifted<strong>a</strong>hand<strong>and</strong>gentlywipedthemaway.

    cheeks<strong>.</strong>I

    <strong>I</strong>couldn¡¯tgetBrenda¡¯sfaceoutofmyhead.Icouldn¡¯tstopthinkingaboutherkidsfindingouttheir

    motherwasdead.

    ¡°Kyleissendingtheprivatene,¡±Graysonexined,histonemuchgentlerthanithadbeenmomentsbefore.

    ¡°We¡¯regoingtotheairporttowaitforit.It¡¯sapublewhereyou¡¯llbesafe.Andthenwe¡¯re

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    ¡°You¡¯retakingmetoCroatia?Justlikethat?Idon¡¯tgetanysayinit?¡±

    *020%D12:44

    Grayson¡¯sjawhardened.¡°You¡¯renotsafehere.I¡¯mnotgoingtoloseyou,Belle.<strong>I¡¯m</strong>notevengoingtoriskit.I¡¯mtakingyousomewherewhereI<strong>know</strong>Azazelwillnevergetanywherenearyou.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±My<strong>mind</strong>wasracing<strong>.</strong>Iknewhewasright.Itwouldbesafertogowithhim.ButthatmeantleavingthelifeIbuiltformyselfhere.Itmeantlivingwithhispackagain.

    ItmeantIwasofficiallygivingintohim.

    ¡°Butnothing,¡±Graysonsaid.¡°Nothingisworthriskingyourlife.¡±

    MyfacefellintothecrookofhisneckasIletoutanexasperatedbreath.

    Itlooked likeIwasgoingtoCroatia.

    Graysonshushedme,running<strong>a</strong>soothinghandupanddownthebackofmyneckashestartedwalkingagainwithpurpose.

    Peoplearoundusweregivingusstrangelooks,butIknewGraysonwouldneverputmedownwitheverythingthatwashappening.

    Besides,itwasn¡¯tlikeIwouldbeabletokeepupwithhimandhisinsanevampirespeedanyway.

    ¡°CanwegobacktomyapartmentsoIcangrabsomestufffirst?¡±Ipleaded.

    ¡°No,¡±bothLiamandGraysonsaidinunison.

    Irolledmyeyes,Iwasn¡¯tevensurewhyLiamwasstillfollowingus.

    <strong>¡°</strong>IfAzazelknewwhereyouworked,heprobablyknowswhereyoulivetoo.¡±LiamfellintostepnexttoGrayson.¡°Youcan¡¯tevergobackthere.¡±

    ¡°Weneedtogetacab,¡±Graysonsaid,alreadymakinghiswayovertothefrontdesk.

    ¡°No.I¡¯lldriveyou,¡±Liamsaid.¡°Thelesscontactyouhavewithotherpeople,thebetter.¡±

    Graysonstoppedwalking.Helookeddown atmeandseemedtoconsiderrefusingLiam¡¯sofferbutthenthoughtbetterofit.

    <strong>¡°</strong><strong>Fine</strong><strong>,</strong><strong>¡±</strong>hegrunted.

    Chapter35of<strong>59-</strong>Chapter35

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    020%12:44

    Oncewewereinthecar¨CLiaminthedriver¡¯sseat andGraysonandIintheback¨CLiampaused,hishandsonthewheelbutnotactuallymoving.

    Grayson¡¯schestwasvibratingwithnonstopgrowls.Hewasonedge¨Cclosetoshifting.His<strong>eyes</strong><strong>.</strong>weredark,andhewasbiggerthanhehadbeenonlymomentsago.

    Iwenttositinmyownseatwhenwegotinthecar,but,<strong>of</strong>course,heimmediatelygrabbedmeandpulled meintohip,wrappinghisarmssecurelyaroundmywaist.

    Herubbedhisnoseagainstmymark,inhalingdeeply.

    IwasslightlyembarrassedbyhowtouchyGraysonwasbeingespeciallywhenIcaughtLiamncingatusthroughtherearviewmirror.Ishifted.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯titbesaferformetositinmy<strong>own</strong>seat,withaseatbelton?¡±IwhisperedtoGrayson.

    WhenItriedtomove,Graysonletoutagrowlsoloudthewallsofthecarshook.BothLiamandI

    winced.

    ¡°Stoptryingtomoveawayfromme,¡±Graysonsaiddeeplythroughgrittedteeth,hisarmssqueezing

    <ol>

    <li>me.</li>

    </ol>

    AllIcoulddowasnodmyheadinagreement.

    Headjustedmeonhipsothatmybackwasfirmlypressedupagainsthischestagain.His eyessnappeduptolookatLiam.¡°Whatthefuckareyouwaitingfor?¡±

    Liamlookedbackatus,hisexpressionstiff.¡°Idon¡¯tthinkit¡¯sagoodideatotakeyoutothe

    airport.¡±

    ¡°Fuck,¡±Graysongroaned.Heopenedthecardoornexttohim.¡°We¡¯regettingacab.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡±Liamsaid.WhenGraysonstartedtoslideoutofthecar,<strong>taking</strong>me<strong>with</strong>him,Liamquicklygrabbedmywrist.¡°Justholdonaminute,wouldya?¡±

    Grayson¡¯seyesnarrowedonLiam¡¯sgriponmywrist,thensnappedbackuptomeethisgaze.<strong>His</strong>wholebodybegantoshake.

    Beforehedidsomething<strong>stupid</strong>,Iquicklyputmyotherhandonhischest,tryingtocalmhim.

    IlookedatLiam.¡°Liam,letgo.¡±

    Heshookhishead.¡°Hearmeoutfirst.I¡¯mjustthinkingof yoursafety,Belle.¡±

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    ¡°Okay,<strong>but</strong>thewerewolfbehindmeisliterallyabouttomurderyouifyoudon¡¯tletgoofmyarminthenextfiveseconds.¡±

    Rightoncue,Grayson¡¯sbreathingpickedup,anddarkhairsstartedtosproutfromhisarms.Seeingthis,Liamquicklyreleasedmyarm.Isighedinrelief.

    ¡°Cometomyfather¡¯shouse,¡±LiamcontinuedbeforeGraysoncouldmakeanothermove.¡°It¡¯ssafe<strong>there</strong>.

    ¡°Iknowyouthinkitwouldbebettertotakehertotheairportbecauseit¡¯spublicorwhatever,butso<strong>was</strong>thediner.

    ¡°WehavethememoriesofovertwentyhumansweneedtowipebecausetheysawwhatAzazeldidtoBelle¡¯scoworkers.Apubleisn¡¯tgoingtostophimfromhurtingherifthat¡¯swhathe

    wants.¡±

    ¡°No,but<em>/</em>would,¡±Graysongrowled.

    Onceagain,heforcefullystartedtotugmeoutofthecar,butIgrabbedtheheadrestoftheseatnexttoustostophim.

    ¡°DoIgetasayinanyofthis?¡±Iaskedthetwoofthem.¡°OrareyoutwogoingtomakeallthedecisionsformelikeifI¡¯mnotevenhere? Imean,seriously,isitnotmylifeontheline?¡±

    Grayson¡¯sforeheaddroppeddownontomyshoulderashetriedtokeephimselfcalm,hisshouldersrisingandfallingquicklywitheachofhisraggedbreaths.

    Hisgriponmywaistwassotight,hisfingerssyedoutovermyribcage,thatitwasalmostonthevergeofpain.¡°Idonotwanttohearthosewordeoutofyourmoutheveragain.Nooneisgoingtohurtyou.¡±

    <strong>¡°</strong><strong>I</strong>

    agree

    withLiam,¡±Idered.¡°Ithinkweshouldgowithhim.¡±IlookedatLiam.¡°Wecouldjustgotoyourapartment,right?<strong>¡±</strong>

    Liamhesitated.¡°Actually,wecan¡¯t.Apparently,youhadmyaddresswrittendowninyourpersonalinformationatthediner.Azazelwasseenbreakingintomyapartmentearliertoday.¡±

    Evenmoreguiltfilledmystomach.¡°Hewasatyour<em>apartment</em><em>?</em><em>¡±</em>

    Henodded.¡°Ihaven¡¯tbeenbackthereyet,soIdon¡¯tknowexactlywhathappened,butcalledmeearlier.<strong>¡±</strong>

    ¡°Liam,I¡¯msosorry.Ican¡¯tbelieveIpulledyouintoallofthis-

    <strong>31</strong>

    my

    doorman

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    020%12:44

    ¡°It¡¯sokay,Belle<strong>,</strong>¡±heinterrupted.¡°Idon¡¯tcareaboutmyfuckingapartment.Icareaboutkeepingyousafe.

    ¡°Andthelongerwestayinthisdamnparkinglot,justwaitingforsomeoseeus,thelongerwe¡¯reputtingyouatrisk.

    ¡°ThenIthinkweshouldgotoyourdad¡¯shouse.¡±

    Graysonsnarledbehindme.

    Myattentionswungtohim.¡°It¡¯sthebestthingtodorightnow,okay?HowlongdoesaflightfromCroatiatoMaineeventake?Twelve,thirteenhours?

    ¡°Wecan¡¯tjustsitinanairport,waitingforAzazeltofindus.Wewouldputallofthosepeopleindangerjustbybeingthere.¡±

    ¡°Myfather¡¯shouseissafe¨Creallysafe.Azazelwouldn¡¯tbeabletogetin.Noonewouldtouchher,¡±LiamsaidtoGrayson.

    ¡°We¡¯llonlystaythereuntilthenegetshere.Thenwe¡¯llleave,¡±Iadded.

    Grayson¡¯sdarkeyesstudiedmeforseverallongseconds.¡°Youtrusthim?¡±

    MygazeslidtoLiamandthenbacktomymate.Inoddedonce.¡°Yes.Itrust<strong>him</strong>.¡±

    Infact,LiamwasprobablythepersonItrustedmostintheworldaftereverythingthathadhappened.betweenGraysonandme.

    Graysonwettedhisbottomlip,stillincrediblytense.¡°Fine.¡±Hesettledbackintothechair,adjustingmeinhip.

    HelookedupatLiam,whojustcontinuedtostareatusinanticipation.¡°Well,vampire,areyougoingtodriveornot?¡±

    ¿Ú°×

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    BELLE

    074% 11.40

    I woke up in bed by myself. The spot where Grayson slept was cold, and a deep longing was rooted

    in

    my chest, making it hard for me to breathe..

    Usually, I would just deal with it. I was a big girl who could go a few hours without my boyfriend.

    Codependency? Yeah, we don¡¯t know her.

    But today was different. Thest couple of days-weeks, actually-had been different. I wanted to be around him all the time.

    I craved his presence, his heart-melting smile, his very skillful touch. He was like a drug that I needed all the time in order to survive.

    Which was why I somehow found myself walking toward the gym¡¯s viewing deck at six in the morning, seeking even a single glimpse of my mate.

    I knew I wasn¡¯t supposed to be out here. Liam would be at my door within the next hour, and then we would be meeting with Minnie.

    Today we were visiting an older witch who had apparently turned herself into a cow and didn¡¯t know how to turn back.

    I had no idea what Minnic was going to be able to do to help her, but I definitely wasn¡¯t going to miss it. So I would have to be quick. I just needed to be near him for a few minutes, and then I would be fine.

    I hoped.

    My eyes found him the moment I entered the viewing deck. He was at the back of the gym, talking to Elijah and Kyle, arms crossed over his massive chest.

    His muscles strained against his ck shirt, and sweat dripped down his face and neck, making him glisten in the fluorescent lighting.

    G od, he was hot. He was truly perfect in every way, shape, and form. Part of me thought it wasn¡¯t fair, but the other part of me was content to stare at him and his perfection.

    I sat down at one of the tworge leather couches, observing my mate with rapt attention. It was crazy how much peace it brought me just to be near him, to watch him. It was the mate bond.

    He was the other half of my soul, and I wanted to be with him as much as I possibly could. At the Chapter 41 of 59: Chapter 41

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    €074% 11M40

    My dependency on him would have made me flee, run for the hills like a coward until he inevitably came and hunted me down. Now though, it felt natural. In fact, it felt incredible.

    I loved him. Hepleted me. And after months of hesitation, trust-building between the two of us, and just pain in general due to everything that happened, that was an amazing feeling to have.

    A giggle left my mouth when I noticed the deep scowl on Grayson¡¯s face as he conversed with Kyle.

    Kyle had obviously just said something that had bothered him, which, to be fair, wasn¡¯t hard to do nowadays. He was snappy with every person but me.

    It was extremely entertaining witnessing him be all sweet and caring with me when we were in private and then all grumpy and territorial the moment we were in public.

    Plus, it definitely made me feel special. And loved. I was the only one who really knew him.

    I suddenly wished I were down there. I wanted to touch him, to wrap my arms around him and press my lips to any exposed skin I could.

    I wanted to beg him to take the day off-king duties be da mned-and spend it with me.

    Knowing him, he would probably pick me up, throw me over his shoulder, and march me right back to our wing, where he would ravish me head to toe until I was nothing but a satisfied puddle beneath

    him.

    I shifted, unconsciously rubbing my legs together as a deep, throbbing sensation started in myher regions, eliciting a small gasp to escape my lips.

    The fire in my core that I thought he had put outst night when he had spent half the head between my legs-had officially reignited. And it was stronger than ever.

    Before I could stop myself, my hand reached for the button to my jeans.

    night with his

    Oh G od, I should not be doing this right now. Not when anyone could walk in and see me. Not when Grayson could find out and punish me for getting myself off.

    Enjoying this story?

    He once caught me touching myself in the shower and had been so angry, so close to shifting, that I nearly peed myself.

    ¡°This sweet little p ussy is mine, Belle,¡± he had said, his hand cupping me between my legs with an unyielding atin that had my mind spinning and my breathing out in short pants. Chapter 41 of 59: Chapter 41

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    ¡°If you need to get off, youe to me. Youe to your mate and let me take care of you in the way you need. Only I get to make this pu ssy pulse with pleasure. Understand?¡±

    Needless to say, we didn¡¯t spend much time sleeping that night.

    I hadn¡¯t touched myself since then, and that had been weeks ago, only days after arriving in Zaweth. Thankfully, I hadn¡¯t needed to. Grayson took care of my every need and then some.

    All it took was one hooded nce from me, and he was throwing me down on whatever nearby surface and tearing my clothes off.

    But, as of recently, that was starting to feel like all we ever did. It was all I ever wanted to do.

    I couldn¡¯t be in the same room with him for more than an hour without feeling a wet heat start to unravel between my legs. And it was never Grayson who initiated our¡­activities.

    He was always more than happy to participate, but it always took a bit of prompting from me. It was almost as if he only ever wanted to be intimate with me if I was the one who wanted it.

    I was starting to feel needy. And clingy. And maybe even a little bit dirty.

    Don¡¯t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an active sex life, but I was starting to question if Grayson really wanted to be with me in that way or if he was just appeasing me.

    Was he getting annoyed with how often I wanted him between my legs recently? And Lord forbid he start to think that was all I wanted from him.

    And the worst part was, we hadn¡¯t even had sex yet! We had done every other thing you could possibly think of, but his glorious co ck had never once actually entered my body.

    I knew Grayson was trying to take it slow so that I didn¡¯t freak out after everything that had happened between us.

    I couldn¡¯t me him for that and even appreciated it at first.

    Especially since I was still a bit traumatized from when Azazel-in Grayson¡¯s body-had told me my only job as his mate was to bring him pleasure and power, right before he attempted to force himself on me.

    But a lot had happened since then. My trust in him and in my role as his mate had been restored.

    Our rtionship had evolved and flourished and turned into somethingpletely different than it had been during our time in Paris less than a year ago.

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    The love between us was so substantiai, so profound,pietery all-consuming. And real.

    Without warning, his eyes snapped up to meet mine. Tingles immediately shot through me, and I gasped, nearly shooting out of the couch I was sitting in.

    My hand dropped the button to my pants as if it had burned me. He couldn¡¯t be looking at me, right?

    The other side of this window was a mirror. I had seen it with my own eyes thest time I had been

    in the gym.

    I was sure of it-I wouldn¡¯t have walked in here intending to ogle my mate unnoticed if I hadn¡¯t been sure.

    So how the hell was he looking right at me right now?

    My heart pounded against my rib cage, nearly turning upside down when his nostrils red, taking in a deep breath before narrowing his eyes.

    He said something to Kyle and then started to march toward me.

    Oh, sh it.

    I squeaked, jumping off the couch and immediately turning on my heel to flee to the door behind

    me.

    stay away from

    Grayson had never told me I wasn¡¯t allowed toe here, but he did say to stay vampires. And there were a lot of vampires down there.

    And I had been so close to touching myself near said vampires. Would he be mad at me? I already knew the answer.

    Holy s hit, what if it really was a window and not a one-way mirror, as I had thought? What if people could see me?

    Sh it, sh it, s hit.

    Before I even reached the door handle, it flung open, revealing my still shirtless mate. I let out an embarrassing shrick of surprise. Holy f ucking f uck, he was fast.

    It urred to me that he must have used his vampire speed to get here so quickly. It literally only took him seconds.

    He stared at me as he stood in the doorway. He inhaled deeply, taking in my scent. His eyes shed.

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    ¡°Oh. Hi.¡± I waved awkwardly. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

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    I took several steps back when he started to prowl toward me like a predator stalking its prey.

    His lips turned up in a smirk, telling me he found my difort amusing. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be up here, little mate.¡± His tone was deep and rich, and my body reacted to it

    I swallowed, my throat suddenly desert dry. ¡°Oh, yeah. No, you¡¯re probably right.¡± I tried to sound casual but failed entirely. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll just go back to our wing then.¡±

    I meant to move past him but found that I couldn¡¯t for some reason. I couldn¡¯t make my feet move.

    I didn¡¯t want to leave him.

    Grayson¡¯s brows rose, and his conceited smile grew wider. He closed the distance between us with onerge step, looking down at me. He didn¡¯t touch me, though, which was the only thing I really

    wanted.

    ¡°Did you need something, Belle?¡± he asked, his voice low and amused. He leaned down so that his nose ran over my hairline.

    I shifted, shuffling my feet. ¡°I, um¡­ No, not exactly,¡± I responded pathetically.

    ¡°Then why are you here?¡± His lips were so close to my ear. I could feel his breath wash over my mark. Warm tingles traveled down my body all the way to my toes.

    ¡°I¡­ I wanted to see you,¡± I finally admitted, a deep blush creeping up my neck. ¡°I missed you.¡±

    He started to purr, and I couldn¡¯t stop myself as I leaned into him, cing my cheek against his hard chest to better feel the vibrations. They washed over my body like a warm wave.

    He finally wrapped his arms around me, and I slumped against him in instant relief. This was what I needed. I needed him.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could see me up here through the one-way ss,¡± I said gently as I nuzzled my nose against his chest. He smelled so good.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t,¡± Grayson replied, his voice gravelly and deep. He grabbed my head and tilted it up, so I was looking directly at him.

    ¡°But I could smell you.¡± He paused, rubbing his nose into my hair. ¡°I could smell how wet you were getting.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I screeched.

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    As much as I wanted to avoid the embarrassment, Iwasn¡¯t even going to try and deny the fact that I was getting turned on watching him train, knowing it would be pointless to try and prove his incredible sense of smell wrong.

    So instead, I said, ¡°Does that mean everyone else could smell me too?¡±

    He growled and tugged me closer. ¡°I would kill them if they smelled what¡¯s mine. Only Kyle and I have the enhanced senses.¡±

    My forehead fell onto his chest as I groaned. Well, that¡¯s embarrassing. At least it was only Kyle, though, and not the entire pack. Although, I was sure I would be getting a ton of sh it from Kyle about itter.

    With his fingers gripping my chin, Grayson tilted my head up, so I was looking at him. He studied. my face with his dark-red eyes.

    It urred to me that I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had seen his eyes as their natural forest-green color. Was that something I should be worried about? I was starting to miss them.

    After a few more seconds, Grayson growled. ¡°F uck, you¡¯re beautiful. I¡¯m one lucky ba stard.¡±

    I smiled up at him. I would never get sick of his incessant need topliment me. When your soulmate was as good-looking as mine was, it felt good to hear there was a chance I couldpare.

    One of his hands traveled down my body and over my a ss, gripping it in his rough palm. His purring increased and took on an appreciative resonance.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt your training.¡± I murmured, trying to regain control over my body, so I didn¡¯t do anything stu pid.

    I needed to change the subject-think of something other than how good it felt to have his body pressed up against mine like this. I had already made a fool of myself.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I did. You shouldn¡¯t have to run to me whenever I need you.¡±

    He shook his head. ¡°I could never be mad at you. Especially for needing me.¡± His hand ran through my hair in a soothing gesture.

    ¡°In fact, I¡¯m proud of you for following your instincts.¡± His fist curled to grip my hair, and he tilted head to the side just enough to eye the mark on my neck. He licked his lips. ¡°Such a good little

    my

    mate.¡±

    My mark had been healing well since arriving in Zaweth and spending more time with Grayson. It was still a bit red and a tiny bit sore but didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as it had when he¡¯d found me in Chapter 41 of 59: Chapter 41

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    And that was all due to Grayson¡¯s unyielding insistence on ¡°tending¡± to it, as he called it, on a daily basis or basically any time he was around me and could get his hands on it.

    This meant himtching his mouth onto the mark for hours at a time, kissing, licking, sucking. and nibbling on it until my brain all but turned to mush, and my p ussy was so wet, it could put the Pacific Ocean to shame.

    I often woke in the middle of the night to Grayson pushing my head to the side andpping at my sensitive skin with his sinful tongue, sometimes while his fingers traveled down between my legs to toy with my throbbing cl it.

    I had only just convinced him to stop tending to my mark in public, thank G od.

    ¡°My instincts?¡± I repeated, sounding breathless.

    ¡°Something was telling you toe see me, right? I¡¯m d you followed those instincts and came looking for your mate. I¡¯m d you¡¯re taking care of your needs-letting me take care of your needs.¡±

    I didn¡¯t like how urate his words were. Something had been telling me to go see him-like I was a ma and he was metal. And now that I was here with him, I didn¡¯t want to leave.

    Okay, so maybe we did know codependency¡­

    Before I could evenprehend the wordsing out of my mouth, I found myself saying, ¡°Could I stay with you today?¡± The question came out rushed, desperate sounding.

    Grayson¡¯s eyes softened, and I suddenly became embarrassed. I know you¡¯re busy, but maybe I could just hang out with you during your meetings or whatever? I wasn¡¯t kidding when I said I missed you this morning.¡±

    The corner of Grayson¡¯s lips turned up. ¡°As much as I would love that, I thought you were excited about helping Minnic out today. You couldn¡¯t stop talking about itst night.¡±

    Oh, right. I hadpletely forgotten about that. Jeez, what was wrong with me? A few minutes in Grayson¡¯s presence and I was ready to drop everything just to spend some more time with him.

    My shoulders deted a bit. ¡°Oh, yeah. You¡¯re right. I should probably go with her. Once in a lifetime opportunity and all that.¡±

    Grayson must have seen the disappointment on my face because he quickly continued, ¡°How long before you meet Minnie and Liam?¡± His gaze grew heated.

    ¡°An hour and a half.

    m ising to get me at eight.¡±

    <b>BELLE </b>

    074% 11.42

    Forty¨Cfive minutester, I was syed out over Grayson¡¯s bare chest,pletely breathless as sweat dripped down my still¨Cbuzzing body.

    Grayson¡¯s fingers¨Cthe same fingers that had been inside of me only moments before<b>¨C</b>were running up <b>and </b>down my back inzy strokes, leaving pleasurable shivers in their wake.

    He had just given me two of the most intense orgasms of my entire life. He was getting so good at making mee that he barely even had to try anymore.

    He just yed my body like a violin, knowing exactly what to do to have me flying over the edge repeatedly, however many times he wanted, without <b>any </b>mercy.

    But something inside of me still itched¨Chad been itching for the past several weeks.

    No matter how much time we spent in this bed, or in the shower, or against our kitchen counter, or on the living room floor, bringing each other to new heights, it was never enough.

    There was this constant need inside of me that was growing stronger with every passing day, bing nearly impossible to ignore. <b>I </b>wanted¨Cneeded him <b>in </b>a more intimate (dirty) way.

    I wanted more than just the orgasms we gave each other with our hands or mouths or desperate rubbing in the middle of the night.

    Lifting my head, I propped my chin on his chest and looked up at my mate. He was staring up at the ceiling with a stoic look on his face, lost in deep thought.

    He was so lost in thought that he didn¡¯t even notice when my hand began to wander lower, along his pecs and over his hard abs.

    We had a sheet thrown over <b>us</b>, covering our lower halves, but Grayson was still wearing his gym.

    shorts.

    And <b>by </b>the looks of the outline of his hard cock that was deliciously visible even with the sheet and his shorts covering it, he wasn¡¯t nearly as satisfied as I was.

    I nervously chewed on <b>my </b>lower lip as my fingers dipped under the edge of the sheet to y with the waistband of <b>his </b><b>shorts</b><b>. </b>

    <b>I </b>felt his body stiffen beneath mine, but he didn¡¯t make any moves to stop <b>me</b>. Unlike Grayson, I had few opportunities to pleasure my mate¨Cand not fromck of trying.

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    074% 11:42 This was how things would usually go between us; he would take his time making me fall apart, but when it came to his pleasure, he always found a reason to stop me.

    <b>So </b>

    you can imagine my surprise¨Cand delight¨Cwhen he didn¡¯t try to pull my hand away from him

    this time.

    Slowly, carefully, I wrapped my hand around his rock¨Chard cock. I paused again, but he still didn¡¯t move. Instead<b>, </b>he closed his eyes, and <b>I </b>started to stroke him with long, deliberate movements.

    I felt him thicken even further under my touch, and a deep satisfaction ran through me. <b>It </b>was proof that I <b>had </b>the same effect on him that he had on me.

    I knew it was ridiculous, but sometimes I worried about that.

    ¡°Fuck, Belle,¡± he groaned when I ran my thumb over the tip before shifting my hand back down. ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re doing to me right now.¡±

    I pursed my lips to keep from smiling. I pressed them to his neck. ¡°Oh, I think I might have <i>some </i>idea.¡± My hand squeezed the base, and his hips shot up. He let out another deep groan.

    Giddiness took over.

    He might actually let me do this.

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    GRAYSON

    Belle¡¯s perfect little hand was wrapped around my throbbing c ock, stroking it up and down.

    Her bare breasts were pressed up against my chest, hard nipples digging into my skin, sweet lips. kissing and sucking on my neck.

    My wolf paced in my head, loving every second of what was happening and encouraging it with deep growls that I¡¯m sure Belle could hear. She was probably taking them as a good sign. But she shouldn¡¯t.

    I couldn¡¯t do this.

    Frustration was welling inside of me as I said, ¡°Bellc¡­ I put my hand over hers to stop her movements. Maybe we should-¡±

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    ¡°No!¡± she instantly snapped back, shocking me. Before I couldprehend what was happening. Belle was on top of me, straddling my stomach.

    Her wet pu ssy was pressed up against me, definitely not helping my situation.

    ¡°Please let me do this, Grayson,¡± she continued. ¡°Please let me make you feel as good as you. me feel.¡±

    make

    F ucking Moon Goddess, help me.

    My mate the se xiest little specimen on Earth-was sitting on top of me,pletely naked,

    eyes pleading, begging me to let her stroke my coc k until I came. And I couldn¡¯t let her.

    I just couldn¡¯t. Not without losing control. Not without doing something I would regret.

    She must have been able to read my expression because her face fell. All of the confidence she had been exhibiting only moments before was suddenly gone. Her shoulders deted, and her chin dropped slightly.

    ¡°I-I mean¡± She looked away. She sounded so unsure of herself and timid that it nearly broke me. ¡°Only if you want me to. I don¡¯t want to pressure you or¡­f-force you or anything. I never mean to

    ¡°Force me?¡± I interrupted. I sat up slightly, leaning back on my elbows. I couldn¡¯t believe what I had just heard. ¡°You think you have to force me?¡±

    Her lower lip started to wobble slightly. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know, Grayson.¡± She crossed her arms over her bare breasts to hide herself from me, s

    avoiding my gaze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is all dumb-

    11

    She made a move to get off of me, but before she could move, I gripped her hips. She thought I was going to let her go after what she had just said? ¡°Oh, no. You¡¯re not going anywhere.¡±

    Belle squirmed with embarrassment but couldn¡¯t get away from my hold. I didn¡¯t think she realized she was rubbing her wet pu ssy all over my abs, coating my stomach in her arousal.

    I was hyper-aware of how easy it would be to tilt her hips down so that her swollen cl it was pressed to me. Christ, I would love to watch here undone while she dry-hu mped my abs.

    It was suddenly all I could think about. I bet it would only take her a few minutes until she started to pant in the way she always did before she started to scream my name.

    I could already imagine how beautiful she would look from this angle.

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    My hands unconsciously tightened on her hips, getting ready to give her another or gasm.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± Belle asked me, her quiet voice snapping me out of whatever lust-induced hypnosis I was under. Je sus Chr ist, I was going insane.

    My eyes snapped up to hers. My wolf was wing against the walls of my unconsciousness, huffing and growling with impatience and rage.

    my mate

    He didn¡¯t understand why I wasn¡¯t taking advantage of this perfect opportunity to mount my and finally make her mine once and for all.

    He was even sending me m ental images of Belle syed out for me in different positions, my thick coc k thrusting into her over and over-

    Sh it, f ck, f ucking, s hit, f uck!

    I felt like mming my head into a wall. I needed to stop thinking about this. This was exactly why I needed to put distance between us.

    My male was trying to express her concerns to me, and all I could think about was f u cking her and all the different ways I could make here.

    I could feel my body growing, arms sprouting with dark hair as my wolf pushed to take over.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Belle continued when I still didn¡¯t respond. She studied my changing body with wary eyes. ¡°Did I say something wrong? Did I upset your wolf?¡±

    F uck, was she really asking me if she was the one in the wrong here? How could she not see it was me? It was me who took her away from her old life and then destroyed her heart.

    Then I took her back only to, once again, put her in danger by being with me. I was the problem in this rtionship, not her. Never her.

    ¡°You know what? Never mind,¡± she said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to start anything.¡± She swallowed. ¡°A-and now I honestly just feel a little embarrassed. I should get ready.¡±

    With red cheeks and humiliation seeping through our bond and wrapping itself around my heart like a boa constrictor, Belle grabbed a nket and pulled it around her.

    She couldn¡¯t even look at me. ¡°Liam is going to be here soon, and I know you probably need to get back to work.¡±

    I let her crawl off of me because there was nothing else I could do. I needed to get control of my wolf before I let anything else happen.

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    If I let her continue, I couldn¡¯t promise I would be able to stop. I would take her right here, right now, my intention of protecting her from the potential danger of shifting into a Fac be da mned.

    If she had her hand or lips or, f uck, if she even breathed on my di ck in the next few minutes, and I didn¡¯t take advantage and mate with her, I knew my wolf was too worked up to keep himself from shifting.

    He wouldn¡¯t hurt her he would never do anything like that; no, he would do it purely out of rage.

    Because he didn¡¯t know what else to do.

    Because he was just as frustrated and wound up as I was.

    Because Belle was making it clear she was willing and oh-so-deliciously homy, and I couldn¡¯t do the one thing that would give her anysting relief without also potentially causing hersting harm

    100.

    And I couldn¡¯t have that. And I sure as hell couldn¡¯t have my wolf shift when she was in this state. It would terrify Belle, and she was already so timid and unsure when it came to sex.

    But I also couldn¡¯t leave her like this, thinking she had done something wrong. Yeah, f uck that.

    I stood, not even bothering to cover up as I strode after her. She had scampered off into our walk-in

    closet to hide.

    Her eyes widened to the size of saucers when she saw me. I¡¯m sure I looked just as rabid as I felt.

    My muscles were stiff and flexed with the effort to stay in control while my wolf was still pushing me to shift, making my already intimidating form seem bigger and more threatening.

    To add to that, my nearly purple and still very hard c ock was bobbing up and down with every step I took, pping up against my stomach with heavy smacks.

    I didn¡¯t say a single word before grabbing her by the chin and smashing her lips to mine. She squeaked in shock but didn¡¯t fight the kiss, instantly giving in to me and opening her mouth to invite my tongue in.

    This wasn¡¯t a sweet or loving kiss like the ones we normally shared.

    I kissed her thoroughly and aggressively, pushing my stone-like co ck up against her stomach, leaving her with no doubt about how much I wanted her and how much of an effect she had on me.

    After a few minutes, I finally pulled away and found great satisfaction in the way Belle let out a needy whimper and tried to pull me back to her. She was too f ucking cute.

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    073% 11:42 ¡°I want you, Belle.¡± I told her, maintaining my hold on her chin to keep her eyes on mine instead of looking away in difort like I knew she wanted to do. ¡°I want you so badly it hurts.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t even believe my need for her was something I had to ensure her of. The fact that she was having any doubts was simply uneptable.

    Her da mn lip started to wobble again, threatening to bring me to my knees. ¡°Then why¡­?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alreadyte for a meeting with Zagan.¡± It was a lie but a white one. One that saved her from falling down a rabbit hole of doubt about our rtionship that simply just wasn¡¯t necessary or true.

    ¡°I would love nothing more than to let you have your way with me, but I know I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold myself back if that happened.

    ¡°Things would inevitably progress because I can¡¯t have you touching me in that way without needing more. -A lot more.¡±

    Her mouth dropped open with her deep inhales of breath, the smell of her already overwhelming

    arousal bing even more concentrated in the air.

    My wolf sent an image of me pushing her against the wall before taking her roughly and burying my

    teeth into her neck.

    I paused, gritting my teeth as I pushed the image out of my head.

    ¡°And I have a busy day,¡± I continued after a moment. My voice was so deep andced with growls I was surprised she could even understand me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t start something I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish. And nothing between you and me will ever be rushed.

    ¡°You deserve my undivided, thorough attention when we finally take that step so that I can worship you for hours upon hours until you beg me to stop.¡±

    Belle nodded, but her eyes were dted, and her chest rose and fell with each shallow breath she

    took.

    Hmm, perhaps telling her I was barely holding myself back from f u cking her had not been the right thing to say. Her arousal was so strong now that I could practically taste it in the air.

    All of the relief I had given her with the two org asms from earlier waspletely eradicated.

    ¡°But then, why were you mad? Why did you look like you were about to shift?¡±

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    ¡°Because I do want you. I had to hold my wolf back from shifting because he wanted you so bad.¡±

    That answer seemed to rx her a bit and case some of her doubts. ¡°Oh,¡± she whispered.

    When she didn¡¯t say anything else, I pressed my lips to hers once more, sweetly and tenderly this

    time.

    She melted against me like she always did, and I was appeased by her reaction. She wasn¡¯t trying to pull

    away, and the feeling of her embarrassment in the bond had started to subside.

    Secondster, I pulled back. ¡°Now, go take a shower before ckwood gets here. Only I get to know what your wet pu ssy smells like

    and I know for a fact you¡¯ve made another mess down there.¡±

    Her blush was back. ¡°Oh, G od, what time is it? Liam is going to be here soon!¡±

    ¡°Then

    you better

    get going. Because there¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting you leave our wing looking or smelling like that.¡±

    She squeaked and ran off toward the bathroom, dropping the sheet she had wrapped around her about halfway there.

    The sight of her perky little a ss jig ling so enticingly was thest I saw of her before she mmed the door shut behind her.

    Dear Moon Goddess, help me.

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    BELLE

    073% 11:43

    I couldn¡¯t stop bouncing my leg as I sat waiting for Minnic to show up with Liam at my

    side.

    It was a beautiful July day, so waiting outside a coffee shop for one of my best friends with another one of my best friends, sipping an icedtte wasn¡¯t the worst way to spend my morning.

    But I couldn¡¯t get my anxiety under control. I kept repeatedly reying in my head on a constant loop the conversation Grayson and I¡¯d had in our bedroom four days before.

    The entire situation had been absolutely mortifying. Having your significant other turn you away the bedroom wasn¡¯t exactly fun.

    And to make matters worse, I had barely even seen my mate for the past four days. Sure, we had spent the night together, but that was it.

    in

    Grayson was gone early in the morning before I was able to pull myself from sleep, and then I didn¡¯t see him again untilte into the night.

    He had told me after that day that this week was going to be extremely busy for him.

    He had a lot to figure out after dropping the ball with his king duties because he had been putting all his energy into finding me.

    So I couldn¡¯t exactly me him for not being able to spend time with me, but I also missed him. Desperately.

    That, and I was intensely paranoid that he was avoiding me after everything that had happened.

    Ugh, I wanted to m my head into a wall.

    Fingers snapped in front of my face. ¡°Belle!¡± Liam called out, trying to get my attention. ¡°Have you been listening to anything I¡¯ve been saying?¡±

    I found it amusing that Liam didn¡¯t call me Luna. He was the only one besides Grayson who still called me Belle.

    And, although I knew

    kind of liked it. It feyson would probably murder him if he heard him calling me by name, I

    kind of liked it. It felt normal. It felt like home-a ce that I still didn¡¯t feel like I had found yet.

    When I had been living in Minneapolis, nothing ever felt sure or stable. I was in and out of hospitals while I took care of my sick dad.

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    We lived in a house, then an apartment, and as money started to dwindle and medical bills started to pile up, an even smaller apartment, and, finally, on the couch of one of my dad¡¯s coworkers.

    my own and f

    After my father died, I was on a new home again. I was always rushing around, never standing still or taking a moment to breathe.

    Minneapolis didn¡¯t feel like home. And Grayson¡¯s pack house in Minnesota definitely didn¡¯t feel like

    home.

    The closest I hade to feeling like I was home was the little while I stayed at Liam¡¯s apartment in Evergreen. Liam, La, and I made a small family.

    And even though I eventually made the choice to move out for the sake of my independence, I definitely missed it. I still miss it.

    I shook myself out of my fog of insecurities and looked up at my friend sitting across from me. He had been telling me something, and he was right; I hadn¡¯t been listening to a single word he¡¯d said.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m paying attention now. Say it again?¡±

    Liam studied me with concern and maybe slight annoyance. ¡°You¡¯ve been spaceytely. Is something going on?

    Yes, there was something going on, but telling Liam about my sex life was not something I wanted to do. Minnie was another story. I told Minnie everything.

    I spent thest several nights on her couch with a bucket of ice cream, giving her all the dirty details of everything that had happened between Grayson and me. I just needed someone to talk to about all this.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m okay. Just didn¡¯t sleep wellst night,¡± I exined. ¡°Tell me what you were saying.¡±

    Liam sighed. ¡°I know you asked if we could hang out tonight, but I¡¯m hoping I can take a rain check. Something came up.¡±

    H

    ¡°Oh. Oh, yeah, that¡¯s totally fine. Don¡¯t even worry

    Enjoying this story?

    ¡°Oh, Luuunaaaaa! I got you a present!¡± Minnie sk ipped toward Liam and me, holding a giant, pink, sparkly bag in her hands that was nearly half her size.

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    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I asked. It was heavier than I expected and filled to the brim. ¡°Is today a holiday I didn¡¯t know about?¡± I looked at Liam, who just Shrugged.

    1143

    ¡°No, silly!¡± Minnieughed. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t have a swimsuit so¡­¡± She shrugged, gesturing at the bag.

    I smiled and started to tear through what seemed like endless amounts of tissue paper until its contents were revealed. My brows shot up. ¡°So you got me twenty?¡±

    Inside were swimsuits in every fabric, style, and color imaginable.

    ¡°I just got everything that I thought you might look good in,¡± Minnie exined, her giddiness never leaving her tone.

    ¡°Which also just so happened to be basically everything. But, hey, a girl¡¯s got to have options, right?¡±

    Iughed. ¡°I think this is enough options tost me a lifetime. I mean, seriously, how much did this even cost you?¡±

    She waved a dismissive hand. ¡°Don¡¯t even worry about that. My dad paid.¡±

    I shook my head in amusement and reached in to grab the first thing I saw.

    ¡°Minnic,¡± I said, smiling as I held it up. ¡°This is perfect!¡±

    It was a ck bikini top, simple and practical. And I could see the matching bottoms, too, exactly what I needed.

    In fact, it was really the only thing I needed, but I was so touched by Minnie¡¯s kind gesture that I wasn¡¯t nning onining.

    Besides, it wasn¡¯t like Grayson and I didn¡¯t have room in our absolutely enormous walk-in closet.

    Minnie pped her hands and jumped up and down. ¡°Yay! I put that one on the top because I thought you would like it best. Keep going! There¡¯s more!¡±

    She was right; there were lots more. For the next several minutes, I pulled out swimsuit after swimsuit, eximing with the proper oohs and aahs with each one.

    I wasn¡¯t much of a fashion person, especially when it came to something as abstract as bathing suits, but I did have to admit Minnie had good taste.

    And, as far as I could tell, they were all my size too.

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    2073% 11:43 ¡°I have a great eye for size,¡± Minnie exined when I asked her if she had secretly measured me at some point.

    Liam watched us from the side with an expression of total disinterest on his face. I even nced over at him once andughed when it looked like he was about to fall asleep.

    but

    I had just finished admiring a blue one-piece, the ninth suit I had pulled out, and thought I was done

    gave an exasperated sigh when I reached into the bag again and found more hidden beneath the tissue paper.

    ¡°Minnie, have you mistaken me for someone who lives on the beach?¡± Iughed, pulling out the paper. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do with all of these. You really did get me twenty, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Her smile took on a mischievous glint. ¡°Actually¡­¡±

    I didn¡¯t have time to try to figure out what she meant by that because I was already reaching in for the next thing.

    And that¡¯s when I noticed all thece on the other bikinis-and theck of fabric on the bottoms. I immediately mmed the bag shut, my eyes wide.

    ¡°Minnie!¡± I shrieked. ¡°Please tell me you didn¡¯t.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t even look at Liam. I could only hope he hadn¡¯t seen what was really at the bottom of the bag.

    Minnic giggled, totally andpletely unashamed. ¡°I did!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Liam asked, suddenly interested for the first time in thest twenty minutes. ¡°What did she get you?¡± He stood from his chair and leaned over the table to try to look in the bag.

    I moved it away from him, holding it to my chest so no one could see.

    ¡°You know in Twilight when Be and Edward were on their honeymoon and Be puts on all those se xy outfits to try to get Edward to¡­well, you know.¡±

    Minnie winked so dramatically that it nearly made her look like she was having a stroke.

    ¡°And that¡¯s my cue,¡± Liam cut in, backing away from us. It seemed he finally started to understand the general idea of what Minnie¡¯s gift to me had been.

    ¡°If you need me, I¡¯ll be way over there, far, far away from this conversation.¡± He turned and, in a sh, was several blocks down the street.

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    I would have been amused by his reaction if I wasn¡¯t so embarrassed myself.

    073% 11.44

    I groaned. ¡°Minnie, you got me¡±-I looked around, lowering my voice so no one could hear me -¡°lingerie?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bad word, you know,¡± she replied. ¡°You don¡¯t have to whisper it.

    ¡°I mean,e on. You¡¯re trying to get the most powerful man in the world to sleep with you, you can¡¯t even look at lingerie without blushing?¡±

    ¡°I just¡­¡± I slowly opened the bag, looking down at all she had gotten me. Just like with the swimsuits, she had really gone all out. Although, there were probably twice as many options.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do with all of this?¡±

    and

    ¡°Girly, I think you know what you¡¯re supposed to do with it. And if you don¡¯t, then we have other problems.¡±

    She pped again, squealing. ¡°The alpha is going to die when he sees you in these. Just you wail. Ugh, I¡¯m a genius!¡±

    I wasn¡¯t so sure about that. Grayson saw me naked nearly every day, and he didn¡¯t even bat an eye

    anymore.

    In fact, when I got dressed in the morning, I would usually find him turned away from me, doing his own thing. I didn¡¯t think he was consciously doing it, but that kind of made it worse, didn¡¯t it?

    It was like he was bored with me. How the hell was covering myself with bright pinkce going to help with anything?

    I must have been making a face because Minnie gave me a sympathetic look and said, ¡°Okay, look, I didn¡¯t mean to make you ufortable.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to wear any of it if you don¡¯t want to. I just thought you might like to have the option.¡±

    I sighed. Minnic had gone out of her way to do this for me. My internal conflicts had nothing to do with her. I was being ungrateful.

    ¡°Thank you, Minnie. Seriously, this is one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. You¡¯re the best.¡±

    She smiled widely. ¡°I know.¡± She shrugged and put her arm through mine.

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    ¡°Now,e on, let¡¯s go get Mr. Grumpy over there and get out of here: We¡¯ve got things to do and people to help. It¡¯s going to be a busy day.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I replied. We put all of my new swimsuits back into the bag before linking arms and starting our walk to Liam, who had somehow gotten even farther than before.

    Iughed. It made me wonder if he could hear Minnie and my conversation from where he had been and scrambled to get farther from us.

    My hand gripped the handles of the bag tightly as we walked, nerves flowing through me as I thought about all the possible ways I could use its contents. Anxiety ate away at my stomach.

    I looked at Minnie. ¡°Do you have ns tonight?¡± I cringed at how desperate my voice must have sounded to her.

    I continued anyway. ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like being home alone tonight, and I know Grayson will be workingte.¡±

    Minnie hesitated. ¡°I so wish I could, but I actually have ns tonight¡­¡±

    My stomach fell a bit.

    ¡°But I can always change my ns if you need,¡± Minnic continued quickly. ¡°You¡¯re more important.¡±

    I smiled. Minnie was always putting other people before herself. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll be fine. You do whatever it is you have nned. I¡¯ll be fine on my own.¡±

    go

    When Minnie still looked unsure, I quickly added, ¡°Really, Minnie, I¡¯ll be fine. Don¡¯t worry about me. We¡¯ve hung out thest several days in a row anyway.

    ¡°I can¡¯t expect to get you all to myself every single night.¡±

    ¡°I promise I wouldn¡¯t be blowing you off unless it was something important,¡± she exined.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to the hot tub and put on one of the new swimsuits I got you? I could even let you borrow my copy of Twilight if you wanted!

    ¡°Then you could really get into character for when you decide to try to seduce your mate. Channel your inner Be Swan.¡±

    Iughed. That wasn¡¯t actually a terrible idea. The hot tub part, that is. Although, I suppose reading Twilight wasn¡¯t a terrible idea cither.

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    Minnie scoffed. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as being too obsessed with Twilight. I mean, have you read the books? They¡¯re pure gold.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t even try to hide my amusement. ¡°Thest book came out nearly fifteen years ago. Shouldn¡¯t you have found something else to read by now?¡±

    She shrugged nonchntly. ¡°Art like that simply doesn¡¯t age.¡±

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    BELLE

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    011344

    ¡°What the f uck are you wearing?¡±

    I jumped at the sound of his voice, whirling around to meet the eyes of my mate, who was sitting on the couch in our room. I hadn¡¯t even heard hime in and was surprised he was here.

    He was never back this carly. I had assumed I would be spending another night by myself.

    I had just exited our closet after changing into one of the bikinis Minnic had gotten me. I nned on going to the hot tub for a while. I was incredibly tense.

    All I wanted to do was lie back and rx in some nearly-too-hot water for the next several hours until all my limbs felt like noodles.

    I even had a copy of Twilight-Minnic had insisted I borrow it after finding out I had never read it before-and was more than ready to lose myself in a story about werewolves and vampires that

    wasn¡¯t my own.

    And most importantly, I needed a distraction. One that kept me from obsessing over the man sitting

    in front of me.

    ¡°Oh, hi,¡± I replied. I hated how hot and fidgety I became around him. Instant relief filled me just from being in his presence.

    I even found myself taking steps toward him without realizing what I was doing. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here.¡±

    He stood, approaching me slowly.

    He looked good today. Who was I kidding? He looked good every day. He was wearing dark pants and a simple shirt, his muscles rippling with each of his movements.

    ¡°Answer my question, mate.¡±

    I looked down at my simple ck bikini. It was a triangle top and the most basic pair of bottoms I had ever seen. There was absolutely nothing special about it.

    But the way Grayson was looking at me-licking his lips while hist cycs raked body slowly-had me thinking otherwise.

    I swallowed. ¡°A swimsuit?¡±

    up

    and down my

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    Once he was in front of me, he reached a hand up and yed with the string of my top, right above my breast, rolling it between his fingers. His other hand settled on my bare waist.

    ¡°Why?¡± he demanded in a dark, sultry tone that had my nipples hardening into diamonds. His eyes fell down to my breasts, darkening when he saw them through the thinyer of my top.

    His hand gripped my waist harder. His jaw tightened. And the sexual tension in the room shot up.

    Huh, maybe Minnie was onto something with the whole lingerie thing.

    ¡°I was going to go read in the hot tub for a while.¡± I exined quietly.

    His eyes snapped up to mine, narrowing. ¡°Wearing this?¡±

    The way he said it had me feeling defensive and a tiny bit insecure.

    ¡°Yes, wearing this,¡± I responded with my arms crossed over my chest. ¡°It is a swimsuit, after all. Or would you rather I go in my birthday suit? I bet all of you pack members would love seeing that.¡±

    Oops. Wrong thing to say.

    Grayson growled, grabbing my waist in both hands and mming my body to his. I gasped.

    ¡°Absolutely not. You¡¯re not going anywhere dressed like this.¡± He grabbed my hand and started to tug me toward the closet.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t like anybody is going to see me!¡± I argued, trying to tug my hand out of his iron grip. ¡°There¡¯s never anybody using the hot tub. Plus, I was going to cover up with a towel until I the water.¡±

    got in

    ¡°No,¡± Grayson grunted. ¡°Were you even nning on having Liam go with you, or were you just going to go out by yourself, wearing basically nothing?¡±

    Enjoying this story?

    I continued to tug at his grip on me. I knew there was no point since he was a million times stronger than me, but I was not going to let him throw me around without at least trying to fight back.

    ¡°Liam is busy tonight. Besides, would you really want Liam to see me in a bikini? Oh, maybe he could join in. Oh yeah, that would be really fun..

    ¡°Liam and I barely clothed, sitting in the hot, steamy water. I bet we would feel real close after that.¡±

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    And, once again, Belle, that was the wrong thing to say.

    073% 11.45

    Grayson growled so loudly the walls shook, and objects fell from surfaces, crashing to the floor. I winced. My cars rang when he was done.

    He grabbed my chin in his huge hand and brought my face close to his so we were only inches apart. ¡°Go. Change.¡±

    His voice was so rigid and unrelenting that I worried about what would happen if I didn¡¯t do as he said. He was mad. Really mad. And I knew better than to challenge him when he was like this.

    With pressure building behind my eyes from the tears I was holding back, I turned on my heel and walked to the closet, feeling like a dog with my tail between my legs.

    I stopped in the doorway, looking around at all of our clothes. What did I do now? Did I get dressed. in the same jeans and sweater I had on before?

    I had absolutely nowhere to go, and I knew Grayson wouldn¡¯t be here for long. He was probably only stopping by to check on me like he always did before heading back to work.

    So did that mean I should just give up on having a non-pathetic night? Put on my pajamas and crawl into bed just to think about how much I missed Grayson until I fell into a fitful night of sleep?

    It was the same thing I had done for the past several nights. I would fall asleep and immediately start dreaming about Grayson, his touch, his voice, and his smile.

    I would toss and turn, so desperate to be near him that it was all I could think about.

    I would only receive relief when he finally came home and crawled into bed with me, wrapping me in his arms. I wasn¡¯t sure if I could handle another night of that without going mad.

    Making up my mind, I huffed, grabbed a towel from one of the shelves, and turned back around, intent on walking right past Grayson and out the door.

    He couldn¡¯t just intimidate me into doing what he wanted. I was my own person, g od dammit.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he demanded when I walked past him. His voice took on a warning toneced with his deep growls,

    ¡°Going to the hot tub,¡± I replied. I was proud of how stable and confident I sounded even though everything in me was demanding I submit to my mate.

    Stu pid, stu pid nature trying to make me bend to the will of the dominant male. My instincts were screaming at me to go back to him and tilt my head to the side in a submissive gesture that told him

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    Yeah, not this time, buddy! Grayson could just go f uck himself and his masochistic ideals.

    Another deafening growl came from his chest, and the next thing I knew, I was thrown over his shoulder and marched back over to the closet.

    ¡°No!¡± I shouted, kicking him and pounding my fists against his back. ¡°I¡¯m not going to spend another night sitting in this room, waiting for you toe back like some little housewife!

    ¡°Put me down! Put me down right now! You¡¯re such a f ucking as shole and-and-

    A ball formed in my throat that kept me from screaming any more profanities at him. Sh it, was I about to cry?

    Grayson¡¯s determined stride came to a sudden halt. His body stiffened, and I could feel his worry as he lifted me off his shoulder with tender hands and gently ced me on my feet in front of him.

    i

    I took several steps back, needing distance from him.

    I didn¡¯t miss the way he started to purr for me, trying to keep it quiet because he knew I hated it when he didn¡¯t let me feel my emotions and instead drowned them out with those mind-numbing vibrations.

    I covered my face with my hands. I couldn¡¯t look at him. I didn¡¯t want to look at him.

    ¡°Belle¡­.¡± Grayson said. His tone was much gentler than before, and that fact alone was enough to

    make me want to s ob.

    Somehow I kept my cool, though, determined to take deep breaths until the wave of emotions passed.

    He stepped forward and grabbed both my wrists, rubbing the skin with his thumbs in soothing circles, trying to encourage me to reveal my face. I shook my head, brushing his touch off of me.

    ¡°Belle, talk to me,¡± he coaxed. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s wrong.¡±

    I let out a shaky breath. I couldn¡¯t speak yet.

    ¡°Come on, sweet girl. I need to know what¡¯s going on so I can fix it.¡±

    I finally dropped my hands. A few tears had escaped my eyes, but I had somehow managed to keep the dam intact for at least a little while longer.

    I didn¡¯t look up at him as I spoke. ¡°I know you said that this week would be busy and I wouldn¡¯t get to see much of you but¡­but, um¡­¡± I hesitated, chest tight. ¡°I think I¡¯m just starting to feel a little Chapter 44 of 59: Chapter 44

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    That was a mild way of putting it. I felt like a locked-up addict going through withdrawal.

    Grayson cupped my cheek, wiping away a runaway tear with his thumb. ¡°ustrophobic? What do you mean, baby?¡±

    I sucked in a shaky breath. ¡°I mean¡­All I do when I¡¯m here alone at night is sit and¡­and think about you.

    I gestured around me. ¡°And everything smells like you, and I¡¯m surrounded by all of your stuff and¡­¡± I shrugged, feeling utterly pathetic. A hup left my throat. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with me.¡±

    Big arms wrapped around me, pulling me to his vibrating chest. ¡°Shh, baby, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. Don¡¯t cry. Please don¡¯t cry.¡±

    I epted his embrace with enthusiasm, giving in to him and crying silently against his chest for several long minutes.

    He held me through it all and purred loudly enough that I could feel the sound travel all the way down to my toes. Everything felt like jelly when I finally pulled away.

    It was crazy how much better I felt after being in his arms for only a few minutes. He was so effortlessly able to calm me down.

    When I looked up at him and saw the look of acute concern written all over his face, I couldn¡¯t help butugh at my own st upidity.

    Jeez, I needed to get it under control. Grayson probably thought I was insane.

    I wiped my nose, trying to clear away the evidence of my embarrassing breakdown. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You look worried, and I didn¡¯t mean to worry you.¡±

    I took a deep breath. ¡°I just miss you is all. But I know you¡¯re busy being king of the whole world. and all that.¡± I tried my absolute hardest to put on a convincing smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m not selfish enough to believe I should get you all to myself as much as I would like that.¡±

    My hands were still partly wrapped around his massive torso, and I toyed with his shirt behind hist

    back in nervous movements.

    ¡°It¡¯s just harder on the nights when everyone is busy, and I have nothing to do. And then I¡¯m just stuck in this room, all by myself, surrounded by your scent. I think I go a little stir crazy.¡±

    His deep frown only intensified with every word I spoke. ¡°I¡¯ve been a terrible mate,¡± he said,

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    073% 11.45 I instantly shook my head. ¡°No. No, you haven¡¯t. You¡¯re amazing and perfect. I¡¯m just greedy for your time. It¡¯s only because I like you or whatever.¡± I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

    Truly, thest thing I wanted to do was to make him feel guilty. Would I take more time with him if he offered it? Yes, in a heartbeat.

    But would I want him to sacrifice the well-being of his kingdom just because I was selfish? No, absolutely not. If that meant getting to see him less, then so be it.

    When Grayson looked like he was about to keep arguing with me, I quickly continued, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it anymore.¡±

    I waved a dismissive hand. ¡°What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you had anotherte night tonight. I didn¡¯t even know you were in the pce.¡±

    He stared at me with an unreadable expression, and for a second, I thought he would try to return to the subject of my crying.

    But then, he pulled me closer, so I was flush against him but still able to look up at him. The sound. of his purrs rose just a bit.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only one who misses their other half. I was hoping to take you to dinner before heading back to work¡­¡± He trailed off as his eyes scanned over my barely-clothed body once again.

    I had nearly forgotten my state of undress but became acutely aware of it again when his suddenly heated gazended on my heaving breasts.

    His jaw made a grinding noise as he clenched his teeth. ¡°But now, I think I¡¯m craving a nice soak in the hot tub with my girl.¡±

    My brows rose in surprise even as my stomach did an excited flip. Jesus, I was pathetic. I would do anything to spend more time with him.

    ¡°Really? But you were just demanding that I go change, like, two seconds ago.¡±

    He shrugged, his hand drifting down to y with one of the strings on the side of

    my bikini bottoms at each hip, which also just so happened to be the only thing keeping the article of clothing

    ¦¯¦°.

    A mischievous look took over his face. ¡°Changed my mind. I¡¯ve had a long day, and, based on how beat down you look, so have you. I would love nothing more than to spend an hour or two with you in the hot tub.¡±

 Chapter 102

    BELLE

    I couldn¡¯t hold back my groan of bliss as I sank into the warm, bubbling water of the hot tub. This was exactly what I needed. Why hadn¡¯t Ie here before?

    This was way better than sitting alone in our pce wing with nothing to do. And I guess it didn¡¯t hurt that Grayson was here, too, giving me his full attention.

    Okay, so maybe that was the best part.

    That and the fact that we were the only two people in the pool area, so I didn¡¯t feel awkward when my body heated as I felt his gaze watching my every move with rapt attention.

    I had a funny feeling that Grayson had something to do with theck of people here, more than likelymanding that everyone stay away while we were in here. I didn¡¯t mind, though. Not one

    bit.

    I turned to look at my mate, who was still standing at the edge of the tub, looking down at me with an expression that made my lips turn up and my lower stomach flutter.

    I was starting to really love this swimsuit.

    The room we were in contained an indoor pool lined with lounge chairs, and I put my hands on the edge of the tub and let my legs float up behind me.

    I put my chin on the edge as I grinned up at Grayson, taking in every glorious inch of exposed skin with my own heated gaze.

    Holy f uck, he was hot. He was standing there in only his swim trunks. All of his muscles were on disy, and he was breathing heavily.

    My stomach fluttered when I noticed the outline of his hard c ock through the fabric of his shorts.

    He didn¡¯t even notice I was studying him. He was too busy studying me and, by the looks of it, trying to get his wolf under control. His my as s which was floating out of the

    eyes weretched onto

    water.

    He licked his lips.

    My smile widened. This was turning out to be even more fun than I had imagined.

    ¡°Are you going to get in?¡± I asked him. ¡°Or are you just going to stand there, staring at me?¡±

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    Grayson¡¯s eyes snapped up to mine. He smirked. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m getting in all right.¡±

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    He reached for me the moment he got in the water. I giggled and swam away from him before he could grab me. He growled, narrowing his eyes yfully.

    ¡°You running from me, little mate?¡± he asked, slowly moving toward me.

    I grinned, moving away from him with every move he made closer to me. ¡°If you want me, you¡¯re gonna have to work for it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re making a big mistake, baby. Running away from me only triggers my wolf¡¯s hunting instinct.¡±

    I bit my lip. We both knew he was more than capable of catching me whenever he wanted, but I enjoyed that we were messing around with each other, just like a normal couple would do.

    I craved these sorts of interactions with him.

    ¡°You think I¡¯m scared of you?¡± I asked him. ¡°You¡¯re-

    an

    I screeched when his hands were suddenly on my waist, snat ching me up and throwing me over his shoulder. He spun me around in the air, and Iughed and screamed the entire time.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± Iughed, pping his back. ¡°Grayson, stop!¡±

    I didn¡¯t miss the way one of his hands gripped my butt, the tips of his fingers suspiciously close to the

    part of me that had been begging for his attention all day. It made my entire body freeze up.

    I wiggled on his shoulder.

    Sensing my change in demeanor, Grayson abruptly stopped, slowly letting me slide down his front until I was at eye level with him, one of his arms still supporting me under my backside.

    Enjoying this story?

    We were pressed up against each other so tightly that I could feel his heart thumping against my chest. Our breathing slowed until we were in sync, staring at each other.

    ¡°Whatever our souls are made of,¡± I whispered as I ran my hand through his curly dark hair, ¡°his and mine are the same.¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Grayson hummed. He brushed his nose up against mine lovingly, running it up and down

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    Iughed. ¡°No. Emily Bront? did. Wuthering Heights.¡±

    He smiled in the way he did when I knew he was genuinely pleased. ¡°I like it.¡±

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    I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing even closer to him. ¡°I missed you. I¡¯m really d you¡¯re here. I¡¯m really d you decided toe be with me for a little while.¡±

    He moved back until he was sitting on the built-in bench in the tub, with me straddling hisp, pressed snugly to his chest.

    I was d we were in the water because everything inside of me was starting to feel heated.

    ¡°Me too, baby.¡±

    Without thinking too hard about it, I pressed my lips to his.

    He groaned into my mouth, grabbing the back of my head and pressing me even closer, swiping his tongue over the seam of my lips, encouraging me to open my mouth for him.

    I did, and his tongue immediately dominated mine, taking full control of the kiss before I could stop

    him.

    He tilted my head to the side, deepening the kiss with more passion. His tongue thrust into my mouth repeatedly, mating with it and driving me crazy.

    My hips started to move against his out of pure instinct, and Grayson purred in response. Jesus, the sound of his purr made me feel drunk.

    ¡°Spread your legs wider for me, Belle,¡± he demanded against my lips.

    I didn¡¯t need to be told twice.

    My knees fell onto the bench he was sitting on, my legs spreading wide to amodate hisrge form.

    It was a good thing I was flexible, especially since one of Grayson¡¯s favorite ways to make mee was to watch me writhe on his fingers while I straddled hisp.

    His thumb found my cli t through the fabric of my swimsuit bottoms and began circling it slowly, massaging it. My lips fell from his as a mewl of satisfaction came from my mouth, my head falling

    back.

    He stopped his movements momentarily to pull the cr otch of my bottoms to the side, and my back arched in pure bliss when his pointer finger made contact with my bare p ussy, running along my

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    073% 11:45 ¡°F uck, I can feel how slick you are even in the water. Let me take care of you, beautiful. That sound good? Is that what you want?¡± His tongue dragged over my mark and up the side of my neck.

    A shudder racked my body. My nod was embarrassingly eager. ¡°Yes. Please. I want that.¡±

    Grayson grinned in satisfaction, and then his long middle finger was inside of me, stroking me.

    He shushed my whimpers when he started to push it in and out of me, deeply, running over my G-spot firmly with each stroke.

    It was when the heel of his hand started to knead into my throbbing c lit, and he slipped another one of his fingers into my already clenching hole that my lower body started to jerk against his, seeking more friction.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, baby,¡± Grayson growled against the side of my neck where he had been sucking. ¡°Ride my fingers/*

    With my hands on his shoulders to help bnce, my hips started to rise and fall in faster movements, shamelessly thrusting my pu ssy down onto his fingers.

    Grayson leaned back to watch me, tant hunger etched over every line of his handsome face as he watched mee apart on top of him.

    My nails dug into his shoulders as my or gasm took over. Head falling back once more, I whimpered and mewled his name, the pleasure from those rhythmic clenches taking over every part

    of me.

    It took a while for me toe back down. I didn¡¯t know why, but my org asms had been bing more intense and much longer.

    Sometimes it was so intense that it almost hurt, and I was left quivering and unthinking for several minutes afterward, unable to even process what had just happened and the amount of pleasure I¡¯d experienced.

    Not that I wasining, though.

    Grayson stroked me through the entire thing, taking over the movements when I became too mindless to do anything but wait for it to end.

    When thest of the tremors traveled through me, I copsed onto his chest, panting, eyes hooded. He pulled his fingers out of me and hugged me to him, taking the time to suck and nip on my mark.

    ¡°Mmm¡­,¡± I moaned out when his purring intensified. I loved hearing him purr when he was happy.

    Grayson chuckled. ¡°Do you have any idea how f ucking s exy you are?¡±

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    I grinned against the bare skin of his shoulder. ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°F ucking hell,¡± he swore. ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t get enough of watching youe for me.¡±

    073% 11:46

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I could feel how hard he was beneath me. He was more than just a little turned on. And that thought excited me more than anything else.

    My lips skimmed up his neck until I was right next to his car. ¡°I want more, Grayson,¡± I whispered. ¡°Can you give me more?¡±

    He growled. ¡°I think we cane to some sort of agreement.¡± His hands started to move down my hips, intent on making mee again, but I quickly stopped them.

    ¡°Not like that. I was thinking we could do something a little different.¡± I rolled my hips over his, lining my core up with his swim trunk-covered c ock so that it was nestled in between my folds.

    T

    I did it so quickly that he didn¡¯t have time to stop me.

    Before I lost the courage that resulted from my intense org asm, I said, ¡°I want you inside of me. I want your c ock inside of me. I want it so bad, Grayson.¡±

    ¡°S hit!¡± Grayson¡¯s hips shot up at my unexpected request, and I gasped at the feeling.

    Taking advantage of our momentum and Grayson¡¯s temporary loss of judgment, I grabbed his face and kissed him with all the intensity and need I yearned tomunicate.

    I nearly cried in relief when he didn¡¯t try to stop me like I thought he was going to and instead pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

    His hands spanned over my a ss, gripping it, so his fingers fell into the crease.

    My hands shook with anticipation as I reached down and started to tug at the tie to his swim trunks. I thought he might be too distracted to notice what I was doing, but I was wrong.

    He stiffened beneath me, and it was like the spell keeping him interested was suddenly broken. His lips stopped moving against mine, and the energy between us diminished significantly.

    ¡°Belle,¡± he said. His deep voice sounded miserable and dejected. He pulled his lips away from mine and grabbed my hands to stop them. ¡°Stop.¡±

    ¡°Why? Why?¡± Panicking, I tried to pull his lips back to mine. ¡°Kiss me, Grayson. Please. Just keep kissing me.¡±

    He smaned like he couldn¡¯t handle my desperate.nicas.and.nressed his mouth back to mine. I ran my Chapter 45 of 59: Chapter 45

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    073% 11:46 Then they skimmed over his shoulders, down his pocs and abs. I reached for the tics of his swim

    pees trunks once again, hoping he wouldn¡¯t stop me again.

    ¡°Belle,¡± he groaned. He grabbed my hands, pushing them away from him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You have to stop,¡±

    ¡°No. No, please, Grayson,¡± I continued to beg. I didn¡¯t even care that I sounded pathetic. I needed. this. We both needed this.

    I tried pulling him back, wrapping my arms around his neck, but he quickly grabbed my wrists, prying them away from him with a harsh movement.

    I gasped. He had never been that rough with me before.

    Then, loud and angry, he yelled, ¡°Belle, I¡¯m not f ucking you the first time in a da mn hot tub! Cut. It. Out.¡± 1

    I lurched back as if he had just pped me in the face, my heart plummeting so deep in my stomach that it made me want to throw up.

    I hated everything about what he¡¯d just said.

    I hated that he very obviously didn¡¯t want me in the same way I wanted him.

    I hated that it took him yelling at me for me to stop and realize that he didn¡¯t want me.

    I hated that he used such a vile word to describe something that was supposed to be beautiful.

    I hated that he was rejecting me again.

    F ucking. He said he wasn¡¯t going to f uck me in a hot tub. Is that what he thought our first time was going to be like? It sounded dirty. It made me feel dirty.

    Embarrassment seized me and rolled in my stomach like a rotating ball of fire. All of a sudden, I felt like I couldn¡¯t breathe..

    Go d, what was wrong with me? Why did I keep throwing myself at him when I knew he would just reject my advances and make my heart feel like it was breaking in two over and over again?

    I kept on pressuring him. I kept begging him. He had every right to be mad at me.

    I wasn¡¯t mad at him though. How could I be? It wasn¡¯t like he had done anything wrong. And it wasn¡¯t as if what we had wasn¡¯t incredible, even without sex. Intimacy wasn¡¯t all about sex.

    Chapter 45 of 59: Chapter 45

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    It just hurt..

    A lot.

    The urge to puke was getting stronger.

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    I nodded, quickly looking away when tears unexpectedly started to fill my eyes. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    I got off him and hated when he didn¡¯t try to make me stay. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have kept going when your asked me to stop. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Belle¡­ That¡¯s not-¡± Grayson said as he watched me walk to the edge of the hot tub and pull myself out. He ran a hand through his hair. ¡°F uck, I¡¯m the one who should be sorry-

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I interrupted. I tried my best to smile as I grabbed my book and wrapped myself in my towel. You were right. This isn¡¯t¡­ We shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± I angrily wiped the tear that fell down my left check.

    I was being ridiculous. ¡°I think I¡¯m just going to go back to our room now. And you need to get back to work, right?¡±

    I didn¡¯t wait for him to respond. I started to walk to the door, my chest tight and my cheeks hot.

    ¡°Belle,¡± Grayson called after me, getting out of the hot tub too. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go back to the room. I thought you wanted to stay here and read.¡±

    I waved my hand dismissively. ¡°This isn¡¯t even my book. It¡¯s Minnie¡¯s. Don¡¯t want to get it wet, you know?¡±

    He was suddenly behind me, grabbing my hand. He spun me around to face him.

    There was so much pain in his eyes. Did I cause him to look that way?

    ¡°Belle¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± His voice was so gentle, so genuine. It made my heart lurch in my chest.

    Go d, I loved this man. I loved him more than I have ever loved anyone or anything. This wasn¡¯t worth fighting over. I just needed time to get over my embarrassment, and then I would be fine.

    I ran a hand over his scruffy jaw. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Grayson.¡± A lic. ¡°You haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡± The truth.

    I leaned forward and kissed his chest since I couldn¡¯t reach his lips without him bending down. ¡°I love you, okay?¡± The truth. The truest thing I¡¯d ever said.

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    11.47

    He sighed and leaned down to press his own kiss to the crown of my head. ¡°I love you too. So

    much.¡±

    The truth. At least, true to a certain extent.

    I leaned back. ¡°I¡¯ll see you when you get home from work tonight.¡±

    Neither of us said another word as I turned and walked away.

 Chapter 103

    BELLE

    I felt utterly pathetic as I walked up to Minnie¡¯s apartment door Inter that night. I had gotten many strange looks on my way here. I didn¡¯t me pack members for staring.

    I was soaking wet, barefoot, and only had a towel wrapped around me to cover my ck bikini. To add to that, I couldn¡¯t stop the tears from streaming down my face. I¡¯m sure I looked like a mess.

    My hand shook with emotion as I raised it to knock on Minnie¡¯s doorte at night. I knew she said, she was busy tonight, but I was hoping she would make an exception, given the circumstances,

    I could not go back to my apartment alone after everything that had happened. I just couldn¡¯t.

    Rustling, hushed voices, and giggling sounded from behind the door as I stood there waiting. I shifted anxiously, wiping my tears and averting my gaze when a pack member passed by me.

    ¡°Luna,¡± he greeted. I smiled back, although I didn¡¯t look at them. This was so embarrassing. This was not the way a queen should be acting.

    I knocked once more. What the heck was taking so long?

    Friend

    Thankfully, the door opened a secondter. I looked up, ready to fall into the arms of my friend, only to find Liam standing in front of me instead.

    ¡°Belle?¡± Liam asked in shock as he took in my appearance. ¡°Are you okay? Why are you crying? What are you wearing?¡±

    ¡°W-What are you doing here?¡± I responded. I looked around me, suddenly wondering if my state of sadness had caused me to go to the wrong room.

    But, no, Liam lived in an apartment on the other side of the castle, far away from any of the royals- per Grayson¡¯s request, of course.

    Minnie, however, lived in the Mortar¡¯s wing of the castle, with her own apartment, Just like Grayson and me.

    Liam seemed¡­disheveled. He had a pair of jeans on, but his chest was bare and rising and falling with each hurried breath he took in.

    His hair was messy and unkempt and sticking up in every direction. His cheeks were red, and a thinyer of sweat was covering his forehead.

    ¡°Luna?¡± another voice asked. Minnie showed up behind Llum, looking just as rumpled as Liam did.

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    Her bare legs were on full disy, and the only thing hiding her body was a ck T-shirt that stopped mid-thigh.

    Well, at least we know where Liam¡¯s shirt went.

    ¡°Oh, my go d, what happened?¡± Minnie shoved past Liam and immediately pulled me to her by my shoulders.

    I would have been amused by the fact that shepletely dismissed Liam to get to me if I hadn¡¯t been so upset. She looked over my blotchy and tear-stained face, her bright red eyes filled with

    concern.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry,¡± I stuttered, pulling my towel tighter around me. My eyes traveled between the two of them as I tried to process what was happening. ¡°Are you two¡­sleeping together?¡±

    Liam and Minnie exchanged a hesitant look, slightly panicked.

    ¡°It kind of¡­just happened?¡± Minnie said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I would have told you, I just-¡±

    ¡°We can talk about Minnie and my situationter,¡± Liam interrupted. ¡°What happened to you?¡±

    I hated that my lip started to quiver, and my eyes filled with even more tears just thinking about talking about it. I looked at Minnic and shrugged my shoulders. ¡°I-I, um¡­¡±

    ¡°Liam, get out,¡± Minnie demanded. She didn¡¯t even look at him as she said it. She grabbed my hand. and started to pull me into her apartment.

    Liam didn¡¯t move. ¡°What? I¡¯m not leaving. I-

    Minnic raised a hand, silencing him. ¡°Look, my friend needs me right now. We might be sleeping together, but you need to get out so that I can take care of her.¡±

    Liam put his hand out to stop the door when Minnie tried to shut it in his face. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere until I know that Belle is okay. I¡¯m her guardian. I need to make sure she¡¯s not hurt.¡±

    Enjoying this story?

    I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯m not hurt,¡± I exined through my tears. ¡°At least, not physically. I¡¯m okay. I didn¡¯t mean to interrupt anything. I could go-¡±

    ¡°No way,¡± both Liam and Minnie snapped at the same time.

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    ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave ¡°Minnie started to say

    sayy

    ¡°Was it that f ucking werewolf mate of yours?¡± Liam demanded, cutting her off. ¡°Did he do something to you? I swear, if he hurt you, I¡¯ll hunt him down-¡±

    ¡°Grayson didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± I exined quickly before Liam went off and did something stu pid. ¡°It was all me. I just¡­He just¡­¡±

    And that¡¯s all it took for me to break down in tears again.

    I stuffed my face in my hands as I cried, only barely aware of Minnie ushering me into her living. room. I could also hear them continue to argue about whether or not Liam should stay.

    When I looked up, I could see her pushing him out her door by his chest. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll call you if she needs you. I think she just needs to talk right now.¡±

    Liam¡¯s worried gaze traveled to me. ¡°Are you sure?¡± he asked me. ¡°I just need to know you¡¯re okay. Just tell me you¡¯re okay.¡±

    I nodded, a small but grateful smile taking over my lips. It urred to me that, for the first time in

    entire life, I had a support system.

    my

    I had a group of people who genuinely cared about me and vice versa, who I could go to when I needed them. I never had that before.

    I had always been on my own-even when my dad was still alive.

    You can¡¯t exactly tell your sick, dying dad that you¡¯re having a hard time making friends because you¡¯re too busy trying to figure out how to pay his medical bills, now can you?

    I had a family now. Minnie, Liam, Kyle, Elijah, and Grayson were my family. They weren¡¯t rted to me, but I knew they would always be there for me, and I would always be there for them.

    And that¡¯s all I had ever wanted. It felt so good not to be alone anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I stated firmly, leaving no room in my tone for him to doubt that what I was saying was the truth.

    ¡°Tonight has just been a lot. You can stay if you want, but I seriously doubt you¡¯ll want to hear about my

    love life. You might want to save us both that embarrassment of me sharing those exact details with you.¡±

    Liam¡¯s nose scrunched up in disgust. ¡°S hit. Yeah, you¡¯re probably right.¡±

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    He stood there for a moment longer, staring at me, before finally letting out a huge sigh and saying, ¡°Can I at least grab my shoes? And my phone?¡±

    Iughed. It felt nice tough. ¡°To my surprise, Minile looked at me as if she was actually considering kicking him out barefoot and without his phone if that was what I wanted.

    ¡°Yes, of course you can grab your shoes and phone!¡± I said,ughing some more.

    Liam gave me a grateful look as Minnie stepped to the side to let him back Inside.

    I looked at Minnie with raised eyebrows while he ran to her room to grab his things.

    Her cheeks were painted with a deep blush-which I didn¡¯t even know was possible for vampires- and shifted uneasily. ¡°You¡¯re not mad, are you?¡±

    I immelliately shook my head. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not mad. Why would I be mad?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°He was your friend first. And I don¡¯t ever want anything toe between us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad,¡± I repeated, giving her a reassuring smile. ¡°A little surprised, maybe. But I¡¯m happy for you both more than anything. You¡¯re¡­cute together. Unexpected but cute.¡±

    Minnie smiled. ¡°Okay, good. I¡¯ve been dying to tell you, but Liam made me promise to wait-¡°.

    ¡°Hey, do I hear you throwing me under the bus?¡± Liam asked as he reentered the room, shoes on hist feet and phone in his hand. Still shirtless, though.

    He approached Minnie and bent down to cup her face and ce a gentle kiss on her lips. She smiled up at him. ¡°Call if you need anything.¡± he said to her. Then he looked at me. ¡°Either of you. Got it?¡±

    Minnie nodded. ¡°Yeah, yeah, we got it. Now, get out of here. I have a best friend to take care of.¡±

    Liam kissed her one more time before walking to the door. ¡°I¡¯ll see you both tomorrow.¡±

    Once Liam was gone, Minnie turned back to me. ¡°I¡¯ll get you some ice cream and dry clothes. Don¡¯t move a muscle. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    I sighed and sank down into her couch.

    GRAYSON

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    I had just gotten back from a long meeting with three of the Mortars. They preferred to workte during the night-a vampire thing.

    They liked the nighttime. Perpetual night owls. It usually worked out. I trained with the wolves in the morning, met with the vampires at night, and did whatever else in between.

    But today, it had taken everything in me to force myself to go.

    My stomach roiled just thinking about what had happened earlier today. The way she had looked at me after I yelled at her.

    Yelled at her.

    She had been trying to kiss me. She had been trying to love me. And I yelled at her.

    F uck. F uck

    I could feel all of her emotions through the bond. Sadness, hurt, disappointment. Never anger, though. Never contempt. She was so kind, so sweet.

    It was normal for lunas-female mates of alpha males-to idolize their mates and think they could do no wrong. Lunas were naturally submissive and easy to put down.

    Belle would believe anything I told her because I was her alpha. I mean, she believed it so easily when Azazel told her she meant nothing to me when he had been in control of my body.

    And now she thought my rejection of her was all her fault. But it was my fault. It was all my fault. It was my fault she was going through all of this.

    A mmyyer of sweat formed on the back of my neck when I remembered how she had looked at me when I pushed her away.

    It had been the same expression she had given Azazel when he¡¯d hit her for the first time. Shock and raw, tangible devastation. And I wanted to die for making her feel that way.

    And then another emotion took over her face.

    Humiliation.

    If I could punch myself in the face, I would. Hard. Unceasing. Until I was blo ody and broken on the floor. That was what I deserved.

    What Belle didn¡¯t know was that I wanted her just as much as she wanted me. More. I was dying without her. Going mad,

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    When I said I wasn¡¯t going to f uck her for the first shae in a hot tub, it had been more for my benefit than for hers. It was a reminder to myself that she deserved more than this.

    I took the steps up to Helle¡¯s and my room two at a time. I flung open the door and stepped inside, searching for my mate with desperate eyes.

    I needed to see her. To hold her. To just be with her and reassure her that everything was okay. That I was so unbelievably sorry.

    She wasn¡¯t here. Her scent was just as old as mine, telling me she hadn¡¯t been back here since we had both left for the hot tub earlier today.

    Before I had time to panic, my cell phone dinged in my pocket.

    I still wasn¡¯t used to carrying the stu pid thing around with me, preferring to mind-link anyone I needed to talk to, but I had to love n way tomunicate with any non-werewolf people as well.

    I growled when it went off, nning on just ignoring it, but I ended up digging it out of my pocket Just in case it was a text from Belle. To my utter relief, It was.

    Bello

    Hi, this Minnie. I have the luna¡¯s phone. She¡¯s at my ce.

    Fell asleep on my couch.

    Thought you would like to know so you don¡¯t go all alpha-who-can¡¯t-find-his-mate and kill

    everyone.

    I was out the door a secondter.

    ***

    My knuckles wrapped gently but hurriedly against Minnie¡¯s apartment door, not wanting to wake my sleeping mate, who I knew was on the other side.

    I could smell her scenting through the wood, along with the smell of her tears.

    I didn¡¯t have to wait long for Minnie to open it, which was good; any longer than five-maybe ten- seconds and I would have been breaking down the door.

    Minnie gave me a sad smile when she saw it was me. She didn¡¯t hesitate to open the door wider and wave me inside. ¡°Come on,¡± she said with a dejected tone. ¡°She¡¯s in here.¡±

    Chanter ?? of 50- Chanter de

    Emergency calls onlyMu

    072% 11:49 I followed her into the other room. I released a breath when I found Belle sleeping on the couch in the living room, a thin nket over her body and a throw pillow tucked under her head.

    She was wearing a T-shirt now-one of Minnic¡¯s by the smell-but I could still see the outline of her ck bikini under the cotton. She never went back to our room.

    I knelt down beside her, gently caressing the side of her head, being careful not to wake her. She had tear stains streaming down her cheeks. And I was suddenly convinced that I was the biggest as shole.

    in the world.

    My vampire started to purr for her, and my wolf surrendered to the back of my consciousness, letting me haveplete control.

    The supernatural parts of me-both of which only knew how to operate solely on instinct-knew that this was a moment of importance.

    1

    ¡°How long did she cry for?¡± I asked Minnie.

    ¡°She was crying when she got here,¡± Minnie responded quietly.

    The wetness of her tears was still fresh on her cheeks.

    I nodded. F uck.

    I looked back at Minnie. ¡°Did she tell you what happened?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°She didn¡¯t give me all the details. Said she didn¡¯t want to spend the night crying. All I could get out of her was that she was worried.¡±

    ¡°Worried?¡± I repeated.

    ¡°About her rtionship with you.¡± She shifted on her feet, pausing for a moment while it felt like my entire body was being ripped in two.

    ¡°Then she sat on my couch and cried and ate ice cream while we watched Twilight together-.¡±

    I grit my teeth together so hard that it felt like my jaw was about to explode. Then, as gently as I could, I lifted her into my arms.

    The T-shirt she was wearing was wet from her swimsuit, clinging to her skin. She had to be cold. I cradled her sleeping form to my chest, treating her as though she were the most precious thing in the world.

    Because she was.

    Emergency calls onlyMu

    And I didn¡¯t deserve her.

    072% 11:49

    ¡°Thank you for being here for her,¡± I said to Minnie. ¡°She¡¯s lucky to have you as her friend.¡±

    Minnie gave me a sad smile. ¡°She¡¯s lucky to have you too, you know. You¡¯re a good mate. Always protecting her even when it hurts.¡±

    ??

    She was trying to make me feel better. And I appreciated that. I just wished she wouldn¡¯t. I deserved to feel all of the guilt coiling my stomach.

    Instead of responding, I carried Belle to the door. ¡°What time are the two of you leaving tomorrow?¡± I asked Minnie before leaving.

    ¡°She said she wasn¡¯ting with me tomorrow. Said she wanted to spend the day in bed.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Have a nice rest of your night, Minnie,¡± I said.

    ¡°You too, Alpha,¡± Minnie replied as I walked down the hall. ¡°Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, okay?¡±

    I would haveughed if I were capable of any other emotion besides self-hatred at that moment.

    It was toote for that.

 Chapter 104

    BELLE

    072% 11:49

    My eyes were so puffy from crying all night that they hurt to open in the morning.

    I was extremely grateful that I had decided to stay home today instead of going with Minnic.

    All I had wanted for the past several days was to get out of Grayson and my wing, but now nothing sounded better than lying in bed and watching movies all day while I licked my wounds.

    Groaning, I attempted to roll over, only to be stopped by a heavy, muscr arm wrapped around my waist. I paused.

    Grayson was here. Grayson was never here in the mornings. He was sleeping right next to me, pressed close to my body, his grip on my waist tight and unrelenting.

    No wonder I felt like I could sleep forever. I always slept better with him by my side.

    It urred to me that I didn¡¯t even remembering back from Minnie¡¯s apartmentst night.

    Grayson must have brought me back. I looked down. I was wearing his shirt and boxers. He must have changed mest night too.

    I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I had woken up with him at my side. It had to have been weeks ago. I wondered if he knew what time it was. It was nearly nine. Was hete for something?

    I was sure he hadpletely missed his training.

    ¡°Grayson.¡± I shook his shoulder. ¡°Grayson, wake up.¡±

    His brows tugged together but he didn¡¯t open his eyes. He pulled me closer to him with a huff. ¡°You¡¯re disturbing my slumber,¡± he muttered.

    I rolled my eyes. I shook his shoulder again, harder this time.

    He groaned and finally peeked one eye open, looking down at me.

    ¡°Can I help you with something?¡± he drawledzily, seemingly unbothered by my confusion.

    ¡°You¡¯re still here,¡± I said, stating the obvious.

    One of his brows rose. ¡°Am I?¡± He lifted his head and made a show of peering around the room. ¡°Huh. Strange.¡±

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    2072% 11:50

    I shoved his chest, my heart fluttering when he let out a deep, se xy chuckle that made my take a dip. ¡°I meant, why are you still here? Do you know what time it ?¡±

    stomach

    He shrugged, setting his head back down on the pillow and pulling me in closer to him. ¡°Don¡¯t care. I¡¯m taking the day off.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help the look of surprise that took over my face. Since when had taking a day off been an option for him?

    ¡°But¡­don¡¯t you have things to do? Aren¡¯t you a king or something?¡±

    He nuzzled his nose into my hair, inhaling deeply. ¡°Exactly. I¡¯m king so I can do whatever I want. And I¡¯m taking the day off.¡±

    I huffed. Was I missing something? ¡°Do you have ns or¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± he replied. ¡°I n on spending the entire day with my gorgeous mate.¡±

    Ah. Okay. I understood then. He felt guilty about what had happened yesterday in the hot tub and was going to try to make it up to me by spending time with me.

    I should have been happy. A whole day of Grayson to myself? That sounded absolutely incredible. But it made yesterday feel like a big deal. And I didn¡¯t want it to be a big deal.

    I didn¡¯t want him to feel like he had to make me feel better when he didn¡¯t do anything wrong begin with. I wanted to forget the whole thing ever happened and just move on with our lives.

    to

    And, most importantly, I wanted him to spend time with me because he wanted to, not because he felt bad.

    Enjoying this story?

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I started, already feeling the all-too-familiar emotion of embarrassment taking over my chest. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this. I know you¡¯re super busy. You can go to work. You don¡¯t have to y with me.¡±

    ¡°I know I don¡¯t have to. I want to. And there¡¯s nothing that you can say or do that is going to change my mind. I¡¯m spending the day with you and that¡¯s final.

    ¡°I have to run to the gym to help Kyle out with some stuff and fill him in on what¡¯s going on, but that will only take about an hour. And then I¡¯m all yours.¡±

    I felt like digging myself a hole and burying myself in the ground for the rest of eternity. Instead, I

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    072% 11.50

    Grayson took the opportunity to press his lips to the top of my head, parring in contentedness.

    ¡°Let me go,¡± I grumbled, pushing away from him before his purrs had more than just a calming effect on me. ¡°I need to pec.¡±

    I reached for the TV remote on my bedside table and handed it to him. ¡°You can pick the first movie

    if you want.¡±

    Graysonughed and tossed the remote to the foot of the bed. ¡°Oh, no. There will be no movie watching today. I think we both know you need to get out of this apartment. I¡¯m taking you out.¡±

    ¡°Out?¡± I repeated. ¡°What do you mean ¡°out¡±?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a surprise.¡± He stood-momentarily hypnotizing me with his shirtlessness and muscr legs- and held his hand out to me.

    ¡°Come on. I¡¯m running you a hot bath while I go to training and then we¡¯re hitting the town.¡±

    GRAYSON

    When I got back to our room after training, I could hear Belle still in the bath, humming to herself. I smiled as I listened to the sound of her happiness, happy when she was happy.

    I felt much calmer after spending an hour in the gym. I had told Belle that I needed to talk to Kyle but that wasn¡¯t necessarily true.

    I had seen Kyle and spoken to him for a couple of minutes, but the real reason I had left her was to

    work off some tension before I spent the day with her.

    go

    I hoped it would help me not attack her halfway through our date. It helped a bit, but the closer I got to my little mate, the more my control started to fad

    Her sweet scent assaulted me and forced me to momentarily pause in the doorway to try to gain my bearings.

    I walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge as I slowly took off my shoes. I was still shirtless after training and was excited to see how my mate would react when she saw me.

    She was a s ucker when it came to my chest and abs. Her pupils dted and she always fumbled over her words. It was adorable. And se xy.

    Sh it, stop thinking about things like that.

    Emergency calls only¡±

    072% 11.50 The sound of her getting out of the tub caught my attention. Complete silence followed. The only thing I could hear was Belle¡¯s breathing as she obviously tried to determine if I was here or not.

    I smirked.

    Momentster, Belle¡¯s head popped out of the bathroom door.

    ¡°Oh. Hi,¡± she said. Just as expected, her eyes traveled over the muscles of my arms. She licked her lips. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were back yet.¡±

    My brows rose. The smell of her arousal filling the air told me she was lying.

    I was sure that if she lifted the towel she had wrapped around her just a few inches, I would be able to see just how wet her little slit was for me and not due to the bath she had juste out of

    No, she was very aware that I was back from my trip to the gym. She could sense me, and her body was already healing up, preparing itself to mate hout even knowing it.

    Not saying another word, she opened the door and stepped out.

    Completely naked and soaking wet.

    My heart nearly stopped.

    She didn¡¯t even bother to wrap herself in a towel as she strutted across the room, right in front of me, every single inch of her beautiful, perfect body on disy for my hungry eyes.

    I should have looked away. And, normally, I would. As much as I wanted to watch her get dressed. every day, it was easier for both of us if I averted my gaze.

    But it was painfully obvious that Belle had nned this. She wanted to seduce me.

    And, even though I knew it was best not to give in, she was already so sensitive after everything that had happened yesterday.

    I needed to boost her confidence, to show her how much of an effect she had on me. I decided then and there that it wouldn¡¯t hurt if we spent the first hour or two of our day off in this room.

    On the bed, preferably.

    I leaned back, enjoying the show my mate was putting on for me,

    Goddess, I loved her and whatever little scheme she was acting out right now to get my attention- as if she didn¡¯t already have my attention all the time, 24/7, even when I wasn¡¯t with her.

    Chapter 47 of 59: Chapter 47

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    She was nervous. I could tell from her elevated breathing and heart rate.

    She had nned this.

    My little mate was trying to tempt me. And it was working-more than working.

    072% 11.51

    I was salivating, Sweating. My balls felt like they were ready to explode, and my di ck was leaking precum in my pants.

    Somehow, I was able to hold myself back. It¡¯s for her own good, I kept repeating to myself. Stay away from her and you¡¯ll keep her safe.

    This was starting to be much easier said than done..

    My vampire started to purr without my consent, watching Belle intently through my eyes. At the sound, Belle rxed a bit, some of the stiffness disappearing from her shoulders.

    She still didn¡¯t look at me, though, swaying her cute little hips all the way to the dresser against the wall across from our bed.

    She took in a deep breath before slowly opening the top drawer and pulling out some sort ofcy-looking ck fabric.

    Belle was putting on f ucking lingerie that could make a stripper blush right in front of me.

 Chapter 105

    BELLE

    I took my time putting the fancy underwear on, not sparing Grayson a single nce although I was dying to look at him. Was he watching me? My heart rate escted. My palms started to sweat.

    Oh, G od, what was I doing? This was so stu pid. I should¡¯ve known that nothing woulde of it.

    I walked past him and over to the full-length mirror on the other side of the room. I studied myself, running my hands over my sides in a way that I could only hope looked enticing.

    Even I couldn¡¯t deny the fact that I looked good. Well, at least I hoped I did. I could only hope I was getting Grayson¡¯s attention.

    He hadn¡¯t shown any signs of liking-or even noticing-the little show I was putting on for him.

    A gust of wind ruffled my hair. I smiled. Grayson¡¯s sparky hands gripped my waist from behind, then abruptly mmed me into his front.

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    He started to purr, the sounding from deep within his chest and vibrating through my back, making my entire body feel warm andnguid.

    Something long and hard pressed against my lower back, and I had to hold in my excitement.

    ¡°Are you trying to kill me?¡± he groaned in my ear, his voice pained and desperate.

    I turned in his arms, blinking up at him innocently. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s eyes traveled over myce-encased breasts, darkening significantly. His hands tightened around my waist, purring starting to swell from his chest, automatically making me melt further into his embrace.

    ¡°Where the f uck did you even get this?¡± he asked, his voiceing out all rumbly.

    I smirked, wrapping my arms around his neck and digging my fingers into his silk, dark hair. ¡°Minnie went out shopping the other day.¡±

    His eyes narrowed. ¡°So you got this just to torture me?¡±

    Well¡­if the shoe fits¡­

    One of his hands traveled over my rib cage and then ever so lightly over my breast, right where my covered nipple was.

    I sucked in a breath. The space between my legs pulsed. ¡°I needed new underwear.¡±

    ¡°You have two drawers full of underwear in our closet.¡± His eyes unashamedly zoned in on my almost-visible nipple, licking his lips with a hungry expression.

    ¡°Not the kind I wanted,¡± I breathed out. ¡°I read somewhere that women can feel more empowered by wearing se xy lingerie under their everyday clothes.¡±

    Grayson growled and leaned in, his lips skimming against the shell of my ear, inhaling deeply. ¡°Absolutely not. You will not be wearing this today.¡±

    ¡°And why not?¡±¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯ll be able to make it through the day when I know you¡¯ve got this on?¡± he asked, kissing my car and then the side of my neck, right above my mark. ¡°You think I won¡¯t go f ucking insane?¡±

    I grabbed his chin and forced him to look at me, then lifted onto my tiptoes and just barely skimmed my lips over his.

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    He groaned.

    ¡°Then it will be doing its job,¡± I whispered against his mouth

    072% 11.51

    Without warning, I was swept off my feet and ced on the bed in under a second, Grayson on top of me. His mouth mmed onto mine, iming me, dominating me.

    I kissed him back eagerly, pulling him closer to me by his hair. My entire body lit up at his touch, begging for more.

    I pulled back even as Grayson continued kissing me. His lips traveled along my jaw and down my throat, paying extra close attention to my mark. I whimpered.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I whispered.

    His tongue slipped out and ran over my mark-thoroughlypping over it and driving me mad- before he responded. ¡°What is it, baby? What do you need?¡±

    ¡°You,¡± I replied breathlessly. ¡°I need you. Please.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here, beautiful girl. I¡¯m right here,¡± he said, never taking his lips off of me.

    His hands roamed along my body but never went near unhooking my bra or touching my thong. I let out a frustrated huff.

    ¡°No, Grayson, that¡¯s not what I meant. I-I mean I¡­want you to want me.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s body froze on top of mine. He moved back so he could look at me with his pitch-ck

    eyes.

    ¡°Want you? Belle¡­ Are you still worried about our conversation from the other day? I thought I made it clear how much I want you. I want you too much.¡±

    ¡°I know¡­I just¡­Then why haven¡¯t you¡­¡± I swallowed, my checks turning bright pink. Was I really about to be this girl? ¡°Why haven¡¯t you¡­made love to me yet?¡±

    ¡°Sh it, Belle¡­,¡± he responded, his head dropping.

    ¡°Please, Grayson,¡± I said, not even caring that I was begging or what he might think of me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it anymore. I need you to take me. I need to be connected to you. I need to¡±-I swallowed, feeling my face bloom with heat-¡°feel you inside of me.¡±

    Grayson growled so loudly that the bed shook. ¡°F uck. F uck, you can¡¯t say things like that to me,

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    51%.

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    072% 11.51 He groaned, dropping his head into my neck, breathing deeply, growlsing from his chest with

    each intake of air.

    Sensing his resolve breaking, I kissed his shoulder, then licked up to the spot that I knew would be where I would mark him if I were a werewolf like him.

    I sucked on the spot and then bit down gently. He let out a violent string of curses.

    ¡°I need you inside me, Grayson,¡± I repeated, whispering into his ear while I continued to kiss and lick the side of his neck, attempting to mimic the way I had seen werewolves kiss their mates.

    I pressed my core up against his hard erection. ¡°I need you deep inside of me, thrusting in and out, over and over again, until youe deep inside. I need you to mate me. Please.¡±

    Grayson was turning savage above me. His hips were thrusting viciously against me, causing stars to= dance in my vision. His purring was louder than I had ever heard it before.

    The sound was unbelievably intoxicating. It was causing copious amounts of wetness to pool from my pu ssy,pletely soaking my panties.

    Without warning, Grayson snarled and his clongated ws tore through the front of mycy bra,pletely tearing it from my body.

    I would have scolded him for ruining my new underwear but didn¡¯t get the chance because a second.ter, his mouth wastched onto my nipple.

    I cried out in bliss. My back arched into his touch and my hands gripped his hair, pulling him impossibly closer. His masculine scent was driving me crazy, making my mouth water.

    What I wouldn¡¯t give to have his coc k-the same one that he was still thrusting into my swollen cl it over and over again-in my mouth, shooting his cu m down my throat. I was desperate for it.

    But not as desperate as I was for him to f uck me.

    Grayson seemed to be feeling a simr way to me. He left open-mouthed kisses down my body until he reached my panties and then tore them from my body.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I panted, opening my legs for him. Any modesty that I had flew out the window the moment. his crimson eyes took in my dripping p ussy. ¡°F uck me, Grayson. Please, f uck me.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s growl shook the walls and bed. ¡°I need to taste you first, mate. I need my needy mate toe on my tongue.¡±

    Now, it wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t want that. He could lick my pu ssy for the rest of eternity, and I would

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    b

    ¡ª

    072% 11.51

    When he got started, it usually took begging him to stop to finally make hime up for air. But as incredible as that was, I needed more right now.¡±

    If he didn¡¯t m his huge c ock into me in the next two minutes, I would most definitely explode.

    I opened my mouth to protest but was immediately silenced when he swiped his tongue up the slit of my p ussy.

    Okay, so maybe one orga sm from his mouth wouldn¡¯t be so bad¡­

    ¡°Oh,¡± I moaned, ¡°Ohh¡­¡±

    I was so on edge that it only took minutes to reach my peak, screaming his name while thrashed back and forth against the pillow.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    my

    head

    ¡°Shh, my needy mate,¡± Grayson said. He sucked my cli t into his mouth, swirling his tongue around.

    it.

    My head fell back. ¡°Grayson.¡± I whimpered his name while my hips ground against his sinful

    mouth.

    As good as it felt, we both knew it wasn¡¯t what I wanted. ¡°Grayson. I need your co ck. Now. Please.¡±

    He groaned. ¡°I can¡¯t take it when you beg.¡±

    Good.

    He peered up at me from the juncture between my legs. He made intense eye contact with me as hepped at my cl it, once, twice, three times. It was the most erotic thing I had ever seen in my life.

    ¡°Just let me take care of you, Belle,¡± he said. His voice was so deep and smooth. It sounded like silk as it traveled through my ears.

    He kissed my tingling bud with his glistening lips. ¡°Let me make you feel so good, you forget about everything else.¡±

    I stiffened, finally understanding what he meant. He was distracting me so he wouldn¡¯t have to have

    sex with me.

    I sat up on my elbows. ¡°Stop, Grayson.¡± I pushed at his head. ¡°I mean it, stop.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s tongue slowed to a stop and he lifted from me. His eyes immediately zeroed in on my lips.

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    which were rolled into my mouth in an effort not to cry.

    ¡°Belle¡­,¡± he said. His hand cupped my face. ¡°Did I do something? Did I hurt you?¡±

    072% 11:51

    I shook my head. Tears were pooling in the corners of my eyes, which just infuriated me. Why did I always have to cry?

    I grabbed a nket and wrapped it tightly around myself. I didn¡¯t look at him as I spoke. I¡¯m just going to say it. ¡°I need you to tell me why you don¡¯t want to have sex with me.¡±

    ¡°I do want-

    ¡°I need you

    to tell me why you don¡¯t want to have sex with me without lying because as of recently, I¡¯ve been thinking it¡¯s because you don¡¯t love me anymore or something.¡±

    Iughed nervously, which ended up sounding like a teary snort. ¡°Which is ridiculous because we¡¯re mates, and it would probably take a lot for your mate to fall out of love with you, right?¡±

    Grayson tried to respond, but now that I had started, there was no stopping my tangent.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that, before everything happened, you could barely keep your hands off of me. You couldn¡¯t stop talking about how much you wanted to sleep with me.

    ¡°But now¡­I know you¡¯re under a lot of stress and everything, but I just thought¡­I know there¡¯s something going on.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been avoiding me, working constantly, and you haven¡¯t made love to me yet, which I know has been killing your wolf. I can see your inner battle every time I¡¯m with you.

    ¡°What aren¡¯t you telling me? Has something changed? Do you not want me like that anymore? Are you not¡­attracted to me anymore?¡±

    Grayson looked like he was in the worst possible physical pain when I was done. Meanwhile, I was huping, my chest making big jumps with the effort not to start sobbing.

    He pulled me to him. I wanted to fight against his hold, but he started to purr before I could, and all of my fight left my body.

    He tucked me into him, my back against his front, his arms wrapped around me. I knew what he was doing.

    From this position, his purrs vibrated throughout my entire form, drowning me in the calming thrumming. My tears slowed to a stop and soothing tranquility filled me.

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    ¡°Better?¡± he asked me after a minute.

    As if he didn¡¯t know the effect his st upid purrs had on me.

    ¡°I hate it when you do that,¡± I murmured.

    072% 11:51

    He kissed my forehead, brushing my hair out of my face with gentle, loving fingers. ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡±

    1

    I sighed. He was right. I didn¡¯t.

    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said quietly. ¡°There¡¯s something I have been keeping from you.¡±

    I silently waited for him to continue.

    ¡°Do you remember the portrait of the former queen of the supernatural?¡± he asked.

    I had no idea what, that had to do with anything, but I nodded anyway. ¡°Evangeline. The woman I met at the diner.¡±

    During my

    first few days spent in Zaweth, Grayson had taken me on a tour of the castle.

    On that tour, he showed me the portraits of every past king and queen-vampire, werewolf, and everything in between-and I was shocked to find that I actually recognized one of the portraits.

    I had met the beautiful blonde woman in the painting, even though Grayson imed it had been painted hundreds of years ago.

    It was Evangeline. Evangeline Viotto, the woman I¡¯d met at the diner the night before Adalee attacked me.

    When I told Grayson about this encounter, he didn¡¯t believe me.

    Well, he didn¡¯t not believe me-at least, he didn¡¯t say those exact words, but he definitely thought the story was a little crazy and far-fetched.

    But I knew what I saw. I knew it was her. I wasn¡¯t sure how or why¡­but the former queen of the supernatural had definitelye to visit me that night.

    ¡°Yes, Queen Evangeline.¡± He ignored my otherment. ¡°Do you know why she was considered to be such an important and influential queen?¡±

    I shook my head.

    Grayson took in a deep breath. ¡°She was a fairy, Belle. Thest of her kind.¡±

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    I turned around in hisp so I could look at him. He gripped my waist firmly.

    ¡°A fairy¡­,¡± I repeated. ¡°Like T inker Bell or something?¡±

    071% 11.52

    The corner of his lips turned up. ¡°I believe you¡¯re thinking of a pixie, although I can remember T inker Bellmonly being referred to as both in the cartoons.

    ¡°Pixies are small, like Ti nker Bell. Fairies are human-sized.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Okay¡­,¡± I said, prompting him to continue.

    I could see the worry in his expression. He was nervous to be talking to me about this. Why?

    ¡°Evangeline Viotto was a member of the Fac, one of the most dangerous and powerful creatures of all time,¡± Grayson continued. ¡°So powerful that she was hunted and abused most of her life.

    ¡°She was taken advantage of and enved until her mate found her and made her queen. Many say that is why she made a fair and good ruler. She hadpassion for her people.

    ¡°She cared for them because she knew what it was like to truly suffer.¡±

    I swallowed thickly. It made sense, really. It was how she was able to take my pain away that night back at the diner. She had powers.

    ¡°I have a lot to live up to,¡± I replied quietly. I leaned into the sound of his purring, seeking thefort it gave me.

    ¡°You are a wonderful queen. It is not my goal to make you feel inadequate. They say that all queens. of the supernatural have known suffering.

    ¡°It is what makes them sopassionate and kind toward their people. You will make an amazing queen. But I never want you to be persecuted the way she was for her powers.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I¡¯m just a human then,¡± I said, giving him a reassuring smile. ¡°No one will care about me, right?¡±

    Grayson¡¯s lips thinned into a deep frown. My heart squeezed in my chest.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked him. I massaged his shoulders, trying to calm him, noticing for the first time they were slightly bigger than usual. His eyes were ck.

    I hadn¡¯t realized how close to the surface his wolf was. I was just bing so ustomed to his eyes changing colors.

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    Something was really bothering him.

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    ¡°Talk to me, Grayson,¡± I begged, feeling a little panicked now. ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡±¡±

    When he still didn¡¯t respond to me, I did the only thing I could think of. I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. It only took a second for him to groan and pull me closer, deepening the kiss.

    His tongue thrust into my mouth, mating with mine in long, teasing strokes that made my stomach flutter and tighten.

    His hands ran from my waist to cup my bottom, kneading it with a low growl. The movement only made me shift against him, my hips starting to thrust just slightly.

    I could feel his hard length beneath me, long and thick and desperate. I gasped.

    ¡°F uck, I want you,. Belle,¡± he groaned against my lips, leading my hips over his in a way that was driving me crazy. ¡°I want you so f ucking bad.¡±

    ¡°You can have me,¡± I whispered back, just barely brushing my lips to his as I spoke. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    I squeaked in surprise when I was suddenly flipped around, so I was lying on my back.

    I looked up at Grayson with wide eyes as he gently spread my legs and settled his massive form between them, supporting himself with his hands on either side of my head.

    His lips mmed back down onto mine in a desperate, passionate kiss. I moaned.

    But then he pulled away. He stared down at me for several long seconds before saying, ¡°Come with

    me.¡±

 Chapter 106

    GRAYSON

    After we were both dressed-and I made sure that she wasn¡¯t wearing any of the f**king lingerie Minnie got her I led Belle through the halls of the castle.

    It was a bit of a long walk, but I never let go of Belle¡¯s hand for a single moment. She smelled incredible, like sweet s*x and mating pheromones

    I nearly swore when I thought back to the way she had begged me to take her back in our room, thrusting her wet pus sy up against me, licking and k*ssing my marking spot, and whining in my ear.

    F**k, she had almost killed me. It was a miracle I made it out of there alive.

    She had a right to know exactly what she was asking from me. And it was about time I told her.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± she asked.

    She had never been to this part of the castle. It was blocked off for a reason.

    ¡°The archives,¡± I responded.

    ¡°Why?¡±¡±

    ¡°Because there¡¯s something I need to show you.¡±

    Belle¡¯s small hand gripped mine with so much strength that, when I looked down at it, I saw it was white. I was scaring my poor little mate.

    I gently pulled her to me and lifted her into my arms, cradling her to my chest. I purred for her as I continued to walk and only rxed when I felt her nuzzle into my neck with a sigh.

    We traveled down several flights of stairs until we could go no further, arriving at the absolute bottom level of the pce, deep underground.

    It was one giant maze down there with twists and turns that could trap you in a never-ending loop if you weren¡¯t careful.

    I maneuvered it easily, though, havinge down there hundreds of times when I was still searching for Belle.

    I finally came to a stop at the end of a long corridor, which finished with an archway. I stopped in a small brick room. It was dark, and the air was thick with condensation.

    18 of 50. Chapter

    I set Belle down on the ground. She turned around, assessing the room.

    ¡°Is this when you tell me this was all just some big joke and murder me?¡± Sheughed nervously.

    I walked to the wall on the other side of her and removed a loose brick from theyers of stone. Behind it was a small box of matches, which 1 grabbed.

    ¡°King Elijah Viotto came from a mighty line of vampires who had the power to manipte and create fire.¡± I held up the matchbook for her to see. ¡°Since I don¡¯t have those powers¡­

    I lit a match and then lifted it to one of the torches that lined the walls of the small room, lighting it with fire. Immediately, the fire spread, and all of the torches burst into mes.

    Belle took several steps back. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to magic,¡± she murmured uncasily.

    I walked over to the opposite side of the room, where the bricks on the wall were arranged to form a

    circle the size of a car tire.

    My eyes turned red, and fangs sprouted from my gums as my vampire came forward in my mind. 1 hadn¡¯t even needed to call for him. He knew where we were and what I needed.

    Silently, I pressed one of my fangs to the pad of my right thumb until it broke through the surface of my skin. A bead of blood formed on my thumb.

    I looked back at Belle, who was watching me with skeptical interest.

    ¡°It only works with the blood of a royal,¡± I exined.

    ¡°And since I¡¯m the only living royal, at least until weplete the mating process¡±-my whole body tensed at the mention of mating-¡°I¡¯m the only person in the world who can get into this

    room.¡±

    Enjoying this story?

    I pressed my bl oody thumb into the center of the circle on the wall. The bricks began to turn in the direction of the circle, slowly at first and then faster.

    Eventually, they were moving so fast that the average person¡¯s gaze wouldn¡¯t be able to keep track of the spinning. It became one huge blur of wind and brick.

    ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± Belle said as she stared at the spot where the wall used to be in awe. She walked to

    me.

    ¡°That was the coolest thing I¡¯ve ever seen. You¡¯re telling me this has been here the whole time and you¡¯re only now showing it to me?¡± She smacked my chest. ¡°You¡¯ve been holding out on me.¡±

    I led her forward a couple of steps with my hand on the small of her back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go check out what¡¯s inside and then try telling me that again?¡±

    Behind the wall was another bigger room, lit by the same torches surrounding us.

    The room was lined with table after table of incredible artifacts and relics, dating back centuries, having to do with the life of the supernatural royals.

    all

    The amount of history in this single room was absolutely astounding. And it would have gone undiscovered if it weren¡¯t for Cas sian Mortar getting lost down here several years ago and happening

    upon it.

    Someday, I nned on truly exploring the archives-taking everything out and evaluating its significance. Maybe I would even make a museum out of it all.

    But for now, its only job was to house and preserve the object that was the sole reason we were even here right now.

    Belle hesitated, her eyes flying around the archives, probably confused as to why I brought her here.

    I gently grabbed her hand, pulling her attention to me. ¡°You have nothing to be afraid of. It is perfectly safe in there,¡± I told her.

    She didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°I just¡­I have this feeling that whatever you¡¯re about to show me is going to be a big deal.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to exin why you¡¯ve been acting so weird since we got back from Maine and why you haven¡¯t taken the final step to officially mate me and make me yours.

    ¡°And that¡¯s what I want. But, before any of that happens, I just have to know that when we walk back out of that room, you¡¯re still going to be my mate. This isn¡¯t going to end with me losing you, right?¡±

    I cursed low. ¡°The fact that you even have to ask that¡­¡± I ran a hand over my

    face.

    ¡°Get those f**king thoughts out of your head. You¡¯re never going to be rid of me. You¡¯d have an easier time finding a grain of salt in a sandbox.¡±

    Before she could reply and probably present me with more evidence as to how I¡¯ve been a horrible mate to her, I scooped her into my arms and threw her over my shoulder.

    Emergency calls onlyM

    Belle squeaked. ¡°What are you-

    ¡°Enough of this,¡± I snapped. I marched to the podium. On top of it was a piece of parchment scribbled with ink and lit by the torches surrounding us.

    ¡°Read,¡± I grunted as I set her down in front of it.

    Her

    eyes scanned the old, fragile document. ¡°Is this¡­?¡± She looked up at me. ¡°Is this the prophecy?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Read,¡± I repeated.

    She looked back down. My body simultaneously rxed and filled with anxiety. I knew I should have told her about this prophecy long ago. It was her life that was in danger, after all.

    I just had to do everything in my power to protect her.

    I wrapped my arms around her from behind, pulling her to me so her back waspletely pressed up against my front, with not an inch of space between us.

    I studied her for a while, looking for any signs of fear or panic on her face. The prophecy was long, though, and she was taking her time absorbing all the information it offered her.

    ¡°Immortal king¡­,¡± she read out loud. ¡°Immortal king?¡± Her gaze snapped up to mine. ¡°Is it talking about you?¡±

    My chest rose and fell uneasily as I nodded.

    ¡°But¡­that means you¡¯ll live forever-without me.¡± Her sparkling blue eyes widened, her tongue slipping out to wet her bottom lip.

    ¡°Is this why you haven¡¯t mated with me? You¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll die, and you¡¯ll have to go on without me?¡±

    I held her closer, a low growl leaving my chest. ¡°No. You die, I die. You got that? I refuse to live without you.¡± I squeezed her hips gently. ¡°Keep reading.¡±

    ¡°But I-¡±

    ¡°Belle,¡± I coaxed. ¡°We¡¯ll talk after you¡¯ve read the entire thing. Okay, baby? Don¡¯t start panicking on me just yet.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so there¡¯s more to panic about?¡± she said, her voice sounding stressed.

    Emergency calls onlyMu

    ¡°Not anything that we won¡¯t be able to handle together.¡±

    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, she turned and looked back down at the podium.

    071% 11.53

    I hated all of the stress I was causing her had been causing her. I could feel her worry rolling off of her in waves and my protective instincts took over.

    I brushed her hair from over her shoulder, revealing her bare neck to me. My lips brushed over her mark as she continued to read, my chest vibrating with the deep purrs of my vampire.

    She leaned back into me, her small fingers losing the tense grip they had on my arms, which were still wrapped around her.

    My only goal had been to calm her but I definitely didn¡¯t mind when the smell of her arousal and mating pheromones filled the air of the small room, mixing with the smell of the wet stone and humid air.

    Her breathing picked up, and I held in a groan as my already hard di ck twitched in my pants. I knew Belle could feel it, the air around us so s**ually charged that it

    s nearly suffocating. I knew

    I couldn¡¯t help myself as my l*ps k*ssed from her mark all the way up to her pulse. It beat frantically beneath my l*ps, speeding up even more as I sucked it into my mouth.

    It was all I could do not to sink my fangs into her throat and swallow her sweet blood, knowing all that would aplish would be to send both into a frenzy.

    Do

    you want me to read this or not?¡± Belle demanded, unconsciously squirming her cute little as s back against my co ck.

    I chuckled into her neck despite my feelings of desperation. ¡°Sorry, baby. Just anxious.¡±

    She didn¡¯t respond, turning back to the prophecy.

    ¡°And she will be a member of the Fue. They will take the throne, the king and queen reincarnated,¡± she read aloud.

    My l*ps lifted from her skin, but my purrs only got louder as she continued to tense up with every

    word she read.

    ¡°What does this mean?¡± she asked me, pointing at the part that exins her transition after mating.

    ¡°It means that you will shift after we mate,¡± I exined softly. ¡°You will be a fairy just like Evangeline Viotto was.¡±

    GRAYSON

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± Belle asked..

    ¡°Not kidding, love. I wish I were. Everything in that prophecy is true.¡±

    Belle turned, and I knew she would¡¯ve tried to move away from me in a panic if I didn¡¯t quickly cage her against the podium by pressing my body to the front of hers.

    She stared at my chest, her gaze unfocused, her thoughts racing a million miles an hour. ¡°A fairy. A fairy. Okay. I, um¡­¡± She let out a big breath. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just trying to process all of this.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± I said, trying to soothe her. ¡°Take your time.¡±

    ¡°A fairy,¡± she repeated once again. ¡°But what does that mean?¡± Her voice rose an octave. ¡°I have to be a fairy if we ever want to be together?

    ¡°I don¡¯t even think I know what a fairy really is. What do they do? What kind of powers do they have? And is it going to hurt?

    ¡°You told me shifting into your wolf was really painful the first time. Will it be like that? Will it happen right away? Like right after we finish, I¡¯ll just pass out, or will it take a few days and-¡°.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey.¡± I gripped her face between my hands. ¡°Take some deep breaths for me, okay? I need you calm so my wolf doesn¡¯t flip his shit.¡±

    I could already feel my inner beast getting ready to fight against consciousness.

    He wanted to wrap her in his fur and force her to sleep, convinced that a good night¡¯s sleep was what she needed whenever she was upset.

    Belle didn¡¯t listen to me at first. I could see her thoughts racing behind her eyes as she tried to process all of this.

    ¡°Come here, love,¡± I purred, pulling her to my vibrating chest.

    She only fought me for a second before tucking her head against the vibrations and wrapping her arms around me. Her muscles started to rx almost instantly.

    ¡°There we go. That¡¯s my girl. Just breathe.¡±

    We stayed like that for a few seconds. Then she spoke into my shirt. ¡°Is this why you haven¡¯t¡­been

    with me?¡°¡±

    I stiffened. ¡°Yes. I would have taken you that first night back in that hotel in Maine if I could have. It¡¯s been killing me not being able to tie myself to you.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to. You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you. But I had just found you again. I was throwing so much at you already with Azazel, and my vampire, and bing queen.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t risk freaking you out when I had just started to earn your trust back.¡± I ran my through her hair. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to overwhelm you.¡°.

    hand

    ¡°So does that mean¡­we¡¯ll neverplete the mating ritual? Her hands curled into my shirt. ¡°You¡¯ll never be with me in that way because you¡¯re scared of what would happen?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely f**king not. I¡¯ll be having you and your sweet little pussy. And soon. Have no doubt about that.¡±

    ¡°But what about¨C7

    ¡°Nothing and no one will keep me from taking what¡¯s mine, you hear me? We will both go insane if we don¡¯t mate. The bond is already pushing us together.

    ¡°And then you go prancing around in f**king mouthwatering lingerie-

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not apologizing for that. It did its job; it got your attention, didn¡¯t it? You¡¯re finally being honest with me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it did more than that. You have no idea how close I was to ravishing you on the spot.¡±

    Standing on her tiptoes, she wound her arms around my neck. Then the little minx just barely brushed her l*ps over mine, whispering, ¡°Once again¡­doing its job.¡±

    Enjoying this story?

    With a mind of their own, my hands slid down to cup her perfect little ass, abruptly drawing her forward so that she could feel just how much of an effect she was having on me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me, Belle,¡± I groaned. ¡°I¡¯m already barely hanging on as it is. Have a little mercy, okay?¡±

    Her pupils dted so much at the feel of my rock¨Chard dick against her stomach that almost nothing of her diamond¨Cblue irises was showing anymore.

    I was very aware of the fact that we were drawn to each other.

    So desperate for connection on a deeper level¨Cwhich included me thrusting my rock¨Chard cock into her soaking wet pussy until she was screaming my name beneath me¨Cthat we could barely get through <i>this </i>serious conversation.

    Belle was the first to pull herself out of the trance the mate bond had put us in, blinking the lust out of her eyes.

    ¡°So, uh, what are we going to do then?¡± Her breathing was bingbored. ¡°What exactly does it mean to be a fairy?¡±

    My jaw clenched. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve read all of the information I could get my hands on about the Fac, but most was just myth or superstition. Evangeline Viotto was born a fairy.

    ¡°She never had to shift. So as far as I know, you¡¯ll be the first¨Cever made fairy. I don¡¯t know what to expect. I don¡¯t know how to protect you.¡±

    All of

    All of a sudden, Belle moved back and hit me in my chest. Then she did it again and again until she was basically throwing a little fit against me. It didn¡¯t hurt of course. In fact, it was more adorable. than anything.

    <i>¡°</i>Why. <i>Don¡¯t</i>. <i>You</i>. <i>Tell</i>. Me. Things?¡± she shouted as she continued to smack me with the palm of her hands with weak little smacks.

    ¡°You big jerk! You asshole! You¡¯ve been dealing with this all on your own without telling me what¡¯s going on?¡±

    Although I could feel her genuine anger through the bond, I couldn¡¯t help grinning as I watched. my cute little mate take out her frustration from thest few weeks on my rock¨Chard chest with half¨Chearted strikes.

    ¡°All right, baby, all right. That¡¯s enough. You¡¯re going to hurt yourself,¡± I said, grabbing her wrists.

    She continued to struggle, trying to pull her hands out of my grip, but I wasn¡¯t budging. She was going to bruise her perfect palms at this point if she continued.

    My vampire started to purr for her, hoping to help calm her, but it seemed to do theplete opposite as her angry gaze snapped up to me and she red.

    ¡°No! Stop using your stupid purring to make me do whatever you want, you big, dumb, stupid, maniptive, vampire, werewolf, dude¡­thing! Ugh!¡±

    My brows raised. I had imagined a lot of different reactions from my tiny mate when I told her about

    She obviously needed to vent. I released her wrists, and stopped my purrs, allowing her to do whatever she needed to do to calm down.

    ¡°Ow!¡± she yelled when her hand connected particrly hard with my pectoral. She red up at me

    with a renewed vehemence.

    ¡°And why are you so muscly? You¡¯re more like some giant rock than a real person!¡± She hit me again and again, but her strikes felt more like soft little taps than anything else. She was f**king adorable.

    I didn¡¯t respond. I just continued to stare down at her in amusement, allowing her to let it all out.

    A minute or twoter, her energy finally ran out, and she copsed against my chest with a huff. She was still grumbling her displeasure when I started to run a hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her.

    ¡°Feeling better? I murmured against her hair.

    ¡°No,¡± she rumbled back. ¡°You really bother me sometimes, you know that?¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯ve mentioned.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Belle asked, ¡°Will I get wings? Oh my god, will I be able to fly? Fairies can fly, right?¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°I have no idea. I wish I could tell you more, but legend says fairies develop abilities based on need. It¡¯s never the same. I don¡¯t know what will happen to you.

    ¡°I could tell you what to expect if you were shifting into a wolf, but the Fae have been extinct for years. It¡¯s why we have to approach the matter with caution. I will not risk you getting hurt.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ okay, you¡¯re afraid that having s*x with me might kill me. Is that right?¡±

    I growled, hating that we were talking about her death so casually. ¡°Yes.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Okay, but hear me out, because I think I might have the perfect solution¡­¡± She paused. ¡°What if we just had s*x anyway?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡±

    Her head rolled back, a groaning from her throat. ¡°I think you might be overreacting a little bit. Look, the prophecy said I would be queen. I can¡¯t exactly be queen if I¡¯m dead.¡±

    ¡°Evangeline Viotto was a queen too, and look at how things turned out for her. I¡¯m not going to risk Chapter 49 of 59: Chapter 49

    87%

    grato lo

    We don¡¯t know what shifting into a fary is go to like how we d before. fven if you survived it, it could still bout you, can you pertumes Gangte you on listening to mer

    ward t

    There I was, talking about her probe demise, my schud vad gems<i>, </i> daring into space, paying me no mind.

    Her eyes snapped back to mine. ¡°Sorry, 1, um W¡¯s just I think I might have an idea I thank ! might know how to fix all of this,¡±

 Chapter 107

    GRAYSON

    2071% D11.55

    Belle pulled her older-than-the-dinosaurs phone from her back pocket. It was a flip phone the size of

    a small brick. It was a reminder of the way she was living when she was in Maine.

    It made me unnecessarily angry.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked her.

    She clicked through her list of contacts in a hurry. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Queen Evangeline¡¯s phone number,¡± she exined.

    I stared at her, sure I had finally pushed her to the brink of madness. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Evangeline gave me her number when she visited me at the diner. She told me I would need to talk to her about something sometime in the near future. I think now¡¯s that time.¡±

    I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration. ¡°Baby¡­¡±

    ¡°I know, I know, you don¡¯t believe me because you think I was having some sort of grief-induced psychotic break and made the whole thing up.¡±

    She hit the call button and put the phone on speaker. ¡°But just humor me for a second, would you?¡±

    I sighed and listened to the sound of the phone¡¯s call tone echoing throughout therge room. I wasn¡¯t sure what Belle thought she was going to get out of this.

    I would admit, though, I was a little interested in seeing how this was going to turn out. Who the hell was on the other side of this number?

    After a minute of listening to the tone, it went to the automated voicemail-the kind that told me this phone number belonged to no one.

    Belle deted as she stared down at the phone. She hung up before having to leave a message and looked up at me. ¡°Okay, so maybe it was a psychotic break. But it was worth a try, right?¡±

    She looked like she was on the verge of tears. She was at her breaking point. I had stressed her out enough for one day.

    I leaned down and k*ssed her forehead. ¡°Right,¡± I responded in a gentle tone.

    ******

    Emergency calls onlybd

    ¼ÒÎ»71%

    I took Belle to the library. She needed to know as such information about the Fue us was avable to her. Over thest several months, I had done a lot of my own research.

    I had scoured the supernatural kingdom in search of any text I could find on fairies or shifting into anything besides a wolf.

    I found a total of three books-all with only one page of viable information cach

    It was infuriating.

    And it was all I had to show Belle in regard to answers. I felt useless.

    I took her out after that. As much as I knew she wanted to be alone with me to talk this all out, I

    couldn¡¯t do that for two reasons,

    I

    First, because I knew she needed out of our apartment, and second, because I had proven that I couldn¡¯t be alone with her in our apartment without getting precariously close to f ucking her into

    next week.

    11:56

    So, yeah, I took her out instead. We went for lunch and talked for hours. It was much easier to concentrate when she was sitting across from me, out of arm¡¯s reach, in a public location. It kept me

    in line.

    I told her everything she wanted to know and thanked my lucky stars she didn¡¯t get too mad at me for keeping so much vital information from her for so long.

    Don¡¯t get me wrong; she was mad-she just also had it in her to take pity on me and forgive me. I truly did not deserve her.

    It waste in the evening when we finally made our way home. We were both tired from the emotional day.

    My arm was wrapped around my sweet mate¡¯s shoulder, and she leaned into me lovingly as we approached the door to our apartment. I stopped her as she reached for the doorknob.

    Enjoying this story?

    ¡°I need you to do me a favor, Belle,¡± I said. I faced her to make sure she could see me head-on. ¡°I need you to help me out with something.¡±

    She nodded apprehensively. ¡°Okay¡­

    Leouldn¡¯t help myself as I slowly pulled her to me by her waist, so we were pressed together. ¡°You Chapter 50 of 59: Chapter 50

    10%

    Emergency calls onlyMD

    Ob

    2071% 11:56

    Her lips slowly turned up. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s something I can control. I do have a whole lot of new lingerie to break in.¡±

    I held in a groan, picturing her in the little ck number she had put on earlier. ¡°Belle¡­.¡± I warned.

    She giggled. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not just my fault! You know how hard it is for me to be around tearing your clothes off?¡±

    you without

    A low purr vibrated in my chest. My hand drifted down her body, skating over her jean-d a ss. Her talking about ripping my clothes off did not help with the point I was trying to get across.

    ¡°Oh, trust me, you¡¯ve made that perfectly clear, little mate. How about we agree to help each other out then?¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Okay, fine. I promise not to try and seduce you anymore¡­even if my se xiness r is often simply uncontroble.¡±

    I chuckled. ¡°And I promise the same.¡±

    I led her through the door of our apartment, feeling much lighter than I had when west left.

    That was until I noticed the figure sitting in the corner of our living room.

    BELLE

    Grayson instantly sprung into action, shifting into his wolf faster than I could blink.

    He growled at the person sitting in the armchair in the corner, approaching them in a crouched. position with his ears folded low against his head.

    The figure in the corner giggled. ¡°Oh my, you do have a big wolf. No wonder you¡¯re the next hybrid king. You may even be bigger than my mate.¡±

    My breath stalled in my throat. ¡°Evangeline?¡±

    She looked so elegant and confident, sitting with her gloved hands folded neatly in herp and her legs crossed at the ankle.

    She was wearing a turquoise dress the color of the Caribbean Sea, and her silver-blonde hair was pinned up into a sleek bun on the top of her head, loose tendrils banging out to frame her face.

    She smiled brightly at me. ¡°I was wondering when you were going to give me a call.¡±

    Chapter 50 of 59: Chapter 50

    19%

    Emergency calls only

    b

    5071%

    ¡°I-I, um¡­¡± I wasn¡¯t nearly as blubbery as thest me I talked with her, but I didn¡¯t exactly know she was the former queen of the entire worldst time, now did 17

    ¡°It¡¯s so nice to see you again, my dear,¡± she continued. Her gaze slid to Grayson, who had moved back to stand protectively in front of me.

    He was still snarling at her threateningly, crouched low, ¡°You can shift. I am no threat. Look at your mate¨Cshe is not scared of me.¡± She smiled at me. ¡°Are you, Belle?¡±

    I hesitated for only a moment before slinking my head slowly, ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± I put my on Grayson¡¯s head. ¡°You can shift,¡± I told him.

    lund

    Grayson didn¡¯t move for several moments, then he spun and mped down onto the front of my shirt with his teeth, then promptly began to drag me toward the door of our bedroom.

    It became clear to me that he was bringing me in there so he could shift and get dressed while still keeping an eye on me.

    ¡°Oh, um,¡± I looked back at Evangeline as we entered our room. Thankfully, she was watching us with an amused smile on her face. ¡°We¡¯ll be right back, I

    Evangeline waved. ¡°I¡¯ll be here!¡± she called after us.

    I smiled back and quickly closed the door. Grayson was already human again when I turned around.

    Before I even knew what was happening, Grayson had his hands on either side of my face and was smashing my lips against his. Tingles zapped through my form.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for not believing you,¡± he said once he pulled away a secondter, ¡°You¡¯re wonderful and beautiful, and I¡¯ll never not believe you ever again.¡±

    I giggled. ¡°Good.¡± My eyes trailed downward as if they had a mind of their own.

    Now, get dressed. We have the queen of the supernatural sitting in our living room.¡±

    He kissed my lips one more time. ¡°You¡¯re the queen of the supernatural, baby. And don¡¯t you forget 11.¡±

    *******

    After putting on a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, Grayson left the room first, pulling me behind him with his hand tightly grasped around mine.

    It was sweet how intent he was on protecting me from the sweet olddy sitting in front of us.

    ¡°King Grayson Stoll,¡± Evangeline greeted, ¡°it is so nice lo meet you.¡±

    ¡°Queen Evangeline Viotto,¡± Grayson replied, tilting his chin in acknowledgment.

    Evangelineughed. ¡°No one has called me that in ages. It¡¯s nice to hear it again. It¡¯s nice to be back here again.¡±

    She looked around with raised brows. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t ever remember it being quite so¡­modern. Every room I stayed in was lined with gold and had a personalized chandelier. I must say, this is much homler.¡±

    ¡°The room you and King Elijah stayed in still exists. It is where the Mortars stay now?¡±

    Evangeline nodded. ¡°Yes, the Mortars. Still inhabiting the pce, I see.¡±¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­alive,¡± I said.

    ¡°It would seem that way, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°I am happy to answer any and all of your questions, but I will let you know that my time here is

    limited.

    ¡°I will not be staying much longer-and I have a feeling you have far more important questions to ask me that don¡¯t have to do with the state of my mortality.¡±

    I stepped forward, only to be stopped by my still hesitant mate.

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Come on. I trust her,¡± I said.

    I sat down on the couch across from Evangeline, and Grayson quickly followed behind.

    I already knew he was going to try and pull me into hisp when he sat down next to me. He did that when he was feeling protective and possessive.

    But there was no way I was going to have a conversation with Evangeline Viotto while sitting on my mate¡¯sp, so I quickly pressed up against him when he sat down, so I was nearly on top of him.

    He purred softly and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me Impossibly closer. Sess.

    ¡°You have the big, scary alpha king wrapped around your little finger.¡± She hummed. ¡°I know the

    I took in a deep breath and gripped Grayson¡¯s hand tightly in mine. ¡°We need to know about

    fairies.¡±

    Evangeline threw her head back andughed. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure you do. Any specifics?¡±

    ¡°Shifting,¡± Grayson interjected. ¡°We need to know what shifting into a fairy will be like.¡± His voice was tense and low. His body was still next to mine, and his eyes

    This whole ordeal was really stressing him out. It made my throat raw to think about the fact that he had been dealing with this all on his own for so long.

    I mean, the jerkwad did do it to himself¡­but still, it had to have been a lot.

    I squeezed his hand, trying to offer him somefort. He immediately squeezed it back.

    Evangeline¡¯s grin had fallen the slightest bit. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± She let out a deep sigh that didn¡¯t sound the least bit promising, ¡°Unfortunately, that is the one thing I cannot help you with.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I was born a fairy. My powers may not have developed until after I met the king, but even then, I never had to go through the process of shifting. I¡¯m not sure anyone ever has,¡± she exined.

    Grayson snarled, baring his clenched teeth at the ceiling.

    I quickly turned to him and framed his face in my hands, determined to calm him before he did something stu pid-like killing the former queen.

    He stared at me with his livid crimson eyes, reminding me of a volcano about to crupt.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I supposed to be the one freaking out?¡± I asked him, trying to keep my tone light. ¡°This is happening to me, remember? How did I be the oneforting you?¡±

    He snarled again, lower this time and more threatening.

    Okay, so that had been the wrong thing to say.

    He grabbed onto both of my wrists, squeezing them lightly. ¡°You can¡¯t get hurt, Belle.¡± His voice was strained and deep. ¡°I can¡¯t let anything happen to you. You¡¯re my everything.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I agreed. Emotion welled in my chest. ¡°You¡¯re my everything too.¡±

    Evangeline leaned forward, grabbing both of our attention.

    I released my hold on Grayson, turning back to the former queen. ¡°Why are we assuming shifting into a fairy is going to harm Belle?¡± she asked.

    ¡°The Fae are not like werewolves. We do not have to break bones or grow new limbs. We are human

    at our core.¡±

    ¡°It was agonizing when I became a hybrid and acquired my vampire. Vampires are also human at their core, are they not?¡± Grayson pointed out.

    ¡°Ah, yes, but your body had to process an extreme amount of highly toxic venom when bing part vampire. That is not what bing a fairy will be like.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Grayson continued to challenge. ¡°Can you promise that?¡±

    Evangeline¡¯s eyes fell from his for a moment. ¡°No, I suppose I cannot.¡±

    Grayson was on the edge of exploding. His anger was palpable in the air around us. Mix that with his overwhelming fear for my safety, and it felt like I was nearly drowning in my mate¡¯s intense

    emotions.

    I put a hand on his knee in a pathetic attempt to calm him, but he just continued to seethe.

    ¡°So, what, I¡¯m just supposed to mate with her, knowing that it might kill her?¡± he snarled at Evangeline.

    ¡°I can assure you it won¡¯t kill her-¡± she said, trying to console him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know that,¡± he interrupted. ¡°You can¡¯t know that. So the only thing you can assure me is that I can never be with my own mate.¡±

    ¡°You will mate with Belle, young alpha, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. You are mates. And it is in the prophecy.

    ¡°You willplete the mating process and take on the roles of the king and queen of the supernatural reincarnated whether you want to or not. Your fates are already written for you.¡±

    ¡°Will I get wings?¡± I cut in.

    Both of their gazes snapped to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Evangeline asked,

    ¡°Will I get wings?¡± I repeated. ¡°You know, like a real fairy.¡± I studied her wingless appearance with

    a frown. She looked nothing like what I thought a fairy would look like.

    Both of them stared at me for several seconds. My attempt at changing,topics was pathetic and obvious.

    But I didn¡¯t know how much longer Evangeline would be here, and I didn¡¯t see the point of continuing to talk about what shifting would be like when there was clearly no true answer. I had other questions.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Evangeline finally said. ¡°Wings aremon with Fac, but each Fae develops their powers based on need and circumstance.¡±

    ¡°So we have no idea what being a fairy will be like for me?¡±

    ¡°I can tell you that you¡¯ll have powers. I¡¯m afraid that is all I know.¡±

    I shifted uncasily. My own frustration over theck of information that was avable on Fae was starting to surface. I had no idea what I was getting into.

    ¡°Can I ask what your powers are?¡± I asked Evangeline.

    She

    gave me a small smile. ¡°I have many powers. It would take a very long time to list all of them. I believe there are other more useful ways to use this time.¡±

    Grayson let out a growl. ¡°So you can¡¯t give us any useful information,¡± he snapped.

    I gasped. I refused to believe he had just said that. ¡°Grayson!¡± I chided, elbowing him in the ribs. He ignored me.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Belle,¡± Evangeline assured me. I was relieved to see that she looked more amused than offended. ¡°This sort of behavior is to be expected from an alpha male trying to protect his mate.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it should be tolerated,¡± I grumbled, ring at him.

    Grayson seemed totally unconcerned with my reprimanding tone and gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t want it,¡± he said suddenly, staring at Evangeline, jaw set.

    Evangeline¡¯s brows tugged together as she waited for him to expand on his confusing statement. After a moment, she said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand. You don¡¯t want what?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be king,¡± he replied, his voice unwavering and hard. ¡°If giving up my title means assuring my mate¡¯s safety, then so be it. I will step down as king of the supernatural.¡±

    ¡°Grayson¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not possible. A prophecy isn¡¯t a negotiable thing. It is an inevitable part of your life. Your

    ¡°Then f**king unwrite it. You made this prophecy, right? You must be able to change it too.¡±

    Evangeline began to shake her head, but Grayson abruptly mmed his fist down on the coffee table, growling loudly.

    I gasped and jumped, gripping Grayson¡¯s arm tightly.

    ¡°I will not lose my mute!¡± Grayson exploded.

    Evangeline didn¡¯t so much as flinch, continuing to regard the seething alpha male in front of her with enough tranquility to calm any raging storm. Slowly, she stood.

    ¡°You will not lose your mate,¡± she told him, voice firm. ¡°Belle will survive this. As the prophecy states, the two of you will take on the role of the immortal king and queen of the supernatural reincarnated.

    ¡°So, while I can not tell you how she will react to your mating, I can tell you she will not die.¡± Her gaze slid to me. She smiled. ¡°Belle has far too much to do.¡±

    I turned to Grayson, offering him a small grin. ¡°See? I¡¯m going to be fine.¡±

    ¡°Not dead is a far stretch from fine.¡± With a huff, he pulled me closer to him, making me lean my shoulder against his chest.

    As awkward as this continuous PDA was, I knew he needed the physical touch to help keep him calm. He pressed a hard kiss to the top of my head, his chest vibrating with his low growls.

    ¡°Unfortunately, my time with the two of you ising to an end,¡± Evangeline said. She stood from her chair and smoothed out her dress with the palms of her hands. ¡°I must be going now.¡±

    Grayson stiffened behind me.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I said. It felt like she had only been here for a few minutes. I still had so many questions for her. ¡°You have to go already?¡±

    ¡°I would love nothing more than to continue my visit with the two of you,¡± Evangeline replied, folding her hands in front of her.

    Her eyes momentarily wandered to the doors of the terrace, which overlooked an incredible view of the entire kingdom of Zaweth.

    She looked back at us with an expression that could only be described as nostalgic. ¡°I enjoy being back in this pce. Despite its change in appearance, it still brings back many fond memories.¡±

    070% 11.57 Her lips turned up. ¡°I also enjoy chatting with you both. You remind me a great deal of myself and my mate at the start of our journey.¡±

    The faint halo of light surrounding her form was bing brighter, illuminating the dark room

    around us.

    ¡°I truly wish I could have been more helpful. I wish I could have provided you with better answers to your questions.

    ¡°You may be Elijah and my reincarnated spirits, but much of this journey is your own. You must experience it for yourself.¡±

    Grayson stood, pulling me up with him. ¡°Is there any chance we can convince you to stay longer?¡± he asked her.

    I nearly scoffed, thinking it a bit ironic that he was begging her to stay despite his incredibly rude behavior toward her, as if she would want to be around him any longer than absolutely necessary.

    It was a miracle that I could stand him.

    Evangeline shook her head. ¡°Unfortunately, no. My powers have allowed me to visit, but they have their limits. I must be going.¡±

    She was glowing brighter than themp next to her now. I nearly had to squint to continue looking at her.

    ¡°Where exactly are you going?¡± I asked, letting my curiosity get the best of me. It was still unclear as to whether or not she was even alive. Were we talking to her ghost?

    And if she really was here, did that mean King Elijah was out there somewhere too? Had the Mortars not been sessful in killing them when they took the throne all those years ago?

    Evangelineughed like a person would when sharing an inside joke with another. ¡°That would take far too long to exin. Just know that this will be thest time you will be seeing me.¡±

    Did that mean she couldn¡¯te back or wouldn¡¯te back? ¡°But what if we have more questions?¡± I blurted. ¡°Will you be able toe back if I text you again?¡±

    ¡°The phone worked only that one time,¡± she exined. ¡°You can text that number, but I will not receive it. As I said before, this will be thest time you will see me. My powers will not allow me

    to return.¡±

    I wanted to ask why but was distracted by the sudden burst of brightness around her. I gasped and covered my eyes as Grayson pulled me tighter into his protective embrace.

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    11 57

    €0 70% ¡°I have to get back to my mate now. He worries when I¡¯m away for too long. I¡¯m sure the two of you can rte,¡± Evangeline said with a giggle.

    I could barely even see her anymore; she was far too bright to look at directly.

    The halo of light around her had spread onto her body, making her look like she was glowing beneath her skin, lighting up her clothes and hair.

    ¡°Fate chose you both for a reason; you will make an incredible king and queen,¡± she continued, her voice sounding distant. ¡°Just trust that what the prophecy says is true, and everything will be okay¡±

    With that, the light burst into a million little sparks that filled the room like falling snow. Grayson forced my face into his chest and stepped in front of me protectively.

    Complete silence followed. Grayson and I were still, listening, waiting to see if it was over.

    After several moments passed, we finally lifted our heads and cautiously peered around the room. Evangeline was gone, as was the light. We were alone.

    I was the first to speak. ¡°Um¡­¡± I looked up at Grayson, his arms still wrapped tightly around me. I couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Did that really just happen?**

    Grayson shook his head in shock. He was smiling with me, but his wide eyes were still searching the room. ¡°Yep. That just happened,¡± he confirmed.

    One more bbergastedugh escaped my mouth as I let my forehead fall onto his hard chest. ¡°My life used to be normal, you know,¡± I said against his shirt.

    Grayson chuckled. ¡°Normal or boring?¡±¡±

    I suppose he had a point. I would much prefer this life even if it had been a little crazy and unexpected since I met him.

    I sighed and tilted my head up to look at him. ¡°So what now?¡± I asked.

    I was acutely aware of the fact that we were alone once again. I was also aware of the fact that there seemed to be no good reason keeping us from mating now.

    That knowledge heated my body and drove me to dip my hands under the bottom of his shirt, running over the bare skin of his back.

    I traced his muscles and even trailed my fingers just slightly under his belt and the waistband of his pants, hoping Grayson would take the hint.

    Chapter 50 of 59: Chapter 50.

    Emergency calls only

    Èý»Ø70% 11:57

    I traced his muscles and even trailed my fingers just slightly under his belt and the waistband of his pants, hoping Grayson would take the hint.

    My efforts were rewarded when he began to softly purr, obviously enjoying my suggestive touch.

    Moisture pooled between my legs at the sound, and a whimper escaped my mouth before I could stop it.

    I knew Grayson could smell my need because his lips came crashing down onto mine a moment

    later.

    Warmth ran through my midsection and crupted into a pool of butterflies that left me gasping. I

    moaned and leaned into the kiss.

    The way his lips moved against mine, the way his tongue thrust into my mouth like he couldn¡¯t wait to taste me, somehow made me feel lost and like I had finally found my home simultaneously.

    He pulled away too soon. ¡°Now¡­,¡± he began, his tone causing my stomach to flutter. My skin tingled as his eyes ran over my flushed face, shifting between red, ck, and forest green.

    ¡°F uck¡­ now I remind you of the promise you made me just a little while ago.¡±

    I pouted. ¡°What promise?¡±

    He lowered his head until his lips were just barely skimming over mine as he spoke. ¡°The promise that you wouldn¡¯t try to tempt me to ravish you.¡±

    The groan I released closely resembled that of a whining child. ¡°We¡¯re still doing that? Even after everything Evangeline just told us?¡±

    ¡°Just give me some time to process,¡± Grayson said, trying to soothe me.

    ¡°I know the bond is making it nearly impossible, but please, just let me think this through.

    ¡°A few days, okay? Give me a few days, and then I will happily allow you to break my resolve with your wandering little hands and the smell of your mouthwatering arousal.¡±

    My heart wormed its way up my throat. If I wasn¡¯t mistaken, that sounded like Grayson finally confirming that we were actually going to mate-something I wasn¡¯t so sure about up until that

    moment.

    ¡°A few days?¡± I repeated, swallowing thickly. I shifted my weight, secking any sort of friction to relieve the throbbing happening between my legs..

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    I doubted my ability tost a few more seconds, let alone a few days but I could try.

    70% 11:57

    A muscle ticked in Grayson¡¯s jaw. I wanted to lick that muscle. ¡°A few days,¡± he confirmed.

    I tried to wrap my head around his need to wait. I could feel the evidence of his arousal, his hard c ock pushing against my stomach.

    He obviously wanted me and I was sure I had made my desire for him more than clear.

    We knew all the information avable to us about what the shifting process would be like when turning into a Fae, so what was the point in waiting to mate?

    Grayson was too sweet. He was too worried about keeping me safe. His protective nature was going to be the death of both of us.

    ¡°Fine,¡± I whispered. ¡°A few days.¡±

 Chapter 108

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    I made sure my shower was extra cold the next morning.

    It had taken everything in me to disentangle myself from my little mate when getting out of bed. She had slept nestled into my chest the entire night, seeking as much physical contact as possible.

    After leaving her, I stood at the edge of our bed for at least an hour, staring down at her as she slept in only one of my shirts.

    The bottom half of her was still covered by the sheet, but her shirt had ridden up, exposing her stomach and the bottoms of her breasts to my hungry eyes.

    I was painfully aware of how she was under those sheets too. She seemed to have just ¡°forgotten¡± to put on bottomsst night¨Cor even underwear.

    Which meant her sweet pussy would be so easily essible by one simple tug of the nkets.

    face between her legs, I knew she needed her sleep after everything I put her through

    It was a miracle I was able to walk away from her. As much as I would¡¯ve liked to have woken her <b>up </b>

    with my

    yesterday.

    She had no idea she had been sleeping next to a starving beast the entire night.

    About five minutes into my shower, I heard Belle start to toss and turn in bed. My ears perked up, so attuned to every movement she made.

    I hadn¡¯t wanted her to wake up, but I also knew that my absence would eventually cause her to stir. The mating bond was a bitch, pushing her to crave my nearness until we were mated fully.

    Secondster, I heard her sit up in bed, fully awake now. She sat there for a short moment before the sounds of her gentle steps approached the bathroom.

    She didn¡¯t even bother knocking before entering the bathroom. I was immediately assaulted by the intense scent of her mating pheromones <b>as </b>they filled the small room and nearly suffocated me.

    Despite the cold as fu*ck shower I was standing in, I felt every inch of my body begin to bead with sweat, an all¨Cconsuming thirst taking over.

    <b>My </b>cock was rigid, standing angrily against my lower abs, and I <b>was </b>suddenly hit with the vicious need to make Belle squeal<b>¨C</b><b>gasp </b>and cry out while I made her gorgeous tits bounce as I pounded into her from behind.

    ¨C

    Belle didn¡¯t say anything as she stood in the middle of the bathroom, but I could feel the mating sparks dance over my skin, even through the frosted ss of the shower door.

    All she could see was my silhouette, and yet the sparks were so strong I was racked with shudders.

    ¡°Belle, what are you doing?¡± I asked her, my voice so jagged, I barely even recognized it.

    I ced my hands above me on the shower wall and leaned into them so that the cold water was hitting me head¨Con.

    It made little difference. I took in ragged breaths in an effort to keep my cager wolf at bay.

    ¡°Waiting,¡± she stated, her voiceing out just as needy and cager as I had imagined it. I held in a groan. ¡°Patiently,¡± she added breathlessly.

    This had to be some sort of extreme method of torture. ¡°For?¡± I bit out.

    ¡°For you toe out of the shower<b>.</b>¡±

    I waited <b>a </b>few seconds, barely seeing straight. I was certain all the blood in my body was in my dick. ¡°You care to exin why?¡±

    ¡°Not really. I guess you¡¯ll just have toe out here to find out.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just join me in here before I go out there and grab you?¡±

    I could hear her mischievous smile in her voice. ¡°Hmm, I would, but I¡¯m already plenty wet.¡±

    I let out a <b>vicious </b>growl. My cock bounced unhappily up against my abs, sticky precum leaking out the top.

    I turned and looked at her through the ss, her body just a blurry silhouette. I slid the ss open and stepped out,pletely naked and dripping wet.

    Belle was standing in the doorway of the bathroom in only my long shirt<b>, </b>her hard as f*uck nipples. sticking out <b>through </b>the fabric, her hands sped behind her back.

    <b>Belle¡¯s </b>bright blue eyes didn¡¯t hesitate to take in all of me, moving slowly down my body and stopping with exact precision on my bobbing cock.

    It gave a massive leap just from having her eyes on it, and her wide gaze snapped up to meet mine, a <b>pretty </b>blush forming on her checks.

    She approached slowly, swaying her se*xy hips with each tempting step. Once <b>she </b>was in front of me, she looked up at me with her big, blue, sparkling eyes, blinking innocently.

    Her hands slowly made their way up my arms and across my shoulders, then down my chest and

    abs.

    I tried staying still, but it was getting harder and harder with every <b>passing </b>second. My fists curled into balls at my sides. ¡°Belle¡­.¡± I warned.

    ¡°What?¡± she replied just as innocently as before, her hands still continuing their maddening exploration of my skin.

    My knees nearly buckled when the back of her hand gently brushed up against my cock. I was salivating. Sweating. Barely keeping it together.

    <i>¡°</i><i>Belle</i>¡­,¡± I said again, lower this time, warning her that she was on extremely thin ice.

    I could no longer keep my hands to myself.

    They fell onto my mate, immediately fisting the shirt she was wearing, so it dragged up her form, giving me a teasing view of the li*ps of her sweet little pussy.

    I instantly regretted this as it did nothing to improve the situation I was in.

    Or maybe it improved it a little too much.

    Belle wasn¡¯t doing much better than I was.

    I could smell how soaked she was getting, and I was positive <b>I </b>would be greeted by a dripping wet hole if I were to <b>throw </b>her up onto the bathroom counter and spread her legs wide like the beast inside of me was demanding I do..

    <b>The </b>image itself was enough to cause a shudder <b>to </b><b>run </b>through my form.

    My <b>li</b>

    <b>8ps </b>dragged across her hairline. I loved how her fingers felt on me as they swept over the deep lines of my abs<b>¨C</b>one of her favorite spots to touch when she was working herself up.

    She was sure to keep her touch gentle and teasing but never strayed too far from my aching cock.

    In other words, I was in hell. And yet, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to walk <b>away </b>or force her to stop.

    ¡°I thought we were going to help each other out,¡± I groaned against her hair, sucking in deep <b>gulps </b><b>of </b>her scent.

    ¡°You were going to give me a few days to figure things out, remember? You¡¯re not ying very fair,

    mate.¡±

    She looked up at me and smiled sweetly. ¡°I¡¯m just appreciating my man¡¯s body. Is that a crime?¡±

    I knew all of her flirting and teasing touches this morning were a result of her finding out about the prophecy.

    Now that she had confirmation that I wanted her just as much as she wanted me, her confidence around me was through the roof. It was fu*cking se*xy. It was also what would put me in the grave early.

    ¡°Not a crime,¡± I replied. ¡°Just very, very mean. Do you know what blue balls are?¡±

    She giggled.

    ¡°Is there a point to this sweet torture?¡± I asked.

    She licked her li*ps and tried to inconspicuously rub her legs together.

    Fu*cking. Hell.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking¡­¡­

    <b><i>Here </i></b>we go. ¡°Go on.¡±

    she began.

    Her eyes were zeroed in on my li*ps and her body started to gravitate forward, toward me. It was clear that my little mate wanted to kiss me.

    Badly.

    And I wanted to let her.

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯ve been thinking<b>¡­</b>¡± Her hand slowly made its way down my stomach and nearly brought me to <b>my </b>knees when it brushed <b>up </b>against the head of my erect cock.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>want to have <b>se*x </b>with you. Today. Like, right now, actually.¡±

    Like fire to gasoline, my entire body lit up. My wolf exploded forward in my consciousness, apanied by my very excited vampire<b>, </b>and forced a vicious growling hissing noise out of <b>my </b>

    <b>throat</b>.

    <b>I </b>mmed Belle¡¯s body against mine¨Cbecause it was either that <b>or </b>m her li

    ps against mine¨Cand

    <b>swore</b><b>. </b>

    She didn¡¯t let my intense reaction distract her.

    Even pinned against me with one of my hands tangled in her hair, forcing her face against my wet chest, she kissed my pec, sucking on the skin there, probably leaving a hickey behind.

    ¡°It¡¯s time, Grayson,¡± she whispered. Another kiss. A small lick. ¡°There¡¯s nothing else we can do. We need to just let whatever happens happen.¡±

    I was shaking with need, so unbelievably close to giving in.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want me, Grayson? Don¡¯t you want this whole thing to be over? To be finally fully mated. and connected?¡±

    ¡°You know I do.¡± I didn¡¯t even recognize my own voice.

    She peered up at me through her longshes.

    And I knew I couldn¡¯t wait any longer.

    I mmed my li*ps down on hers.

 Chapter 109

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    With my hands squeezing her perfect ass, I lifted Belle and dropped her down on the bathroom counter. Her legs were already open, inviting me in, making it easy for me to wedge my way between them.

    I mmed my l*ips back against hers the same moment I ground my bare cock against her panties, snarling when I felt how soaked she was even through the thinyer of fabric separating us.

    I couldn¡¯t help myself, disregarding how rough I was being with her, basically viciously humping her as if she were a dog <b>in </b>heat¨Cwhich I suppose wasn¡¯t <b>far </b>off from our situation.

    Thankfully, Belle didn¡¯t seem to mind, though, whining against my mouth, pulling at my hair, and <b>meeting </b>my movements with her own small hip rotations.

    My vampire was purring for her¨Cloudly. It was adorable and a huge turn¨Con how much my little. mate seemed to love the noise, rubbing her chest against mine so the vibrations would travel through her body.

    I swallowed each one of her moans <b>and </b>sucked on her tongue, totally lost in the taste of her.

    <b>My </b>alpha male wasing out, my need to control and dominate her.

    These instincts I¡¯d been trying to suppress for far too long were nearly overwhelming as I gripped her head <b>and </b>forcefully tilted her head to the side so she was at the angle I wanted her.

    One that made it easy for me to explore every inch of her mouth with my tongue.

    <b>Belle </b>let me, turning to goo in my hold, findingfort in my control. I was sure we were a shocking sight to behold, desperately kissing and rubbing up against each other the way we were.

    Belle tried to pull away from me but I wouldn¡¯t allow it. I growled and yanked her back, thrusting my tongue back into her mouth. She slumped against me, giving in to the kiss once again.

    It was only <b>a </b>momentary distraction though because secondster, she was trying to pull away once more. ¡°Grayson,¡± she whimpered against my <b>li*ps</b>.

    <b>I </b>groaned<b>, </b>loving how breathy my name came out of her mouth but was too distracted to answer her. <b>I </b>was drunk off of the scent of her intense arousal and my own need to mate her, a man possessed.

    Belle finally managed to pull away, but I couldn¡¯t stop kissing her, sucking, nipping, licking <b>my </b>way <b>down </b>her chin <b>and </b>neck, all the way to my mark on her throat.

    Chapter 52 of 59: Chapter <b>52 </b>

    Itched on to it with my mouth and scraped my fangs against it, finding great satisfaction in the way her head tilted to the side and her hips jerked forward against mine.

    The mark had healed <b>so </b>nicely since our time apart, thriving from our close proximity and turning into a white scar that sat so beautifully on her neck where everyone could see it.

    I loved that anyone who looked at her would know she was mine.

    Meanwhile, my hand skated up the inside of one of her spread thighs until it was cupping her soaking pussy. <b>She </b>shivered when I circled her clit once with my thumb and opened her legs wider.

    F*uck, I needed her naked and under me.

    ¡°Grayson¡­.¡± she mewled again. ¡°Bed. <i>Pleuse</i>. Take me to the bed.¡±

    <b>BELLE </b>

    Grayson was practically rabid as he lifted me off the bathroom counter <b>and </b>carried me to our bedroom, his hands squeezing either side of my ass and grinding his cock.

    I <b>wrapped </b>my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, while he continued to suck on my

    throat.

    He was nonstop growling, purring, <b>and </b>snarling while thrusting his huge, rock¨Chard cock between the folds of <b>my </b>pussy, brushing up against my bare clit every time.

    I don¡¯t even think he was trying to bring me to orgasm, but I was still so unbelievably close to tumbling over the edge<b>. </b>

    He was finally letting go. I could tell. He <b>wasn¡¯t </b>going to fight me anymore. He was going to mate with me.

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I moaned. I was clinging to him as if I would die <b>if </b>he let me go. Which <b>I </b>probably would<b>. </b><b>¡°</b><b>You¡¯re </b>going to make mee if you keep going.¡±

    The snarl that he let out only made more wet arousal flow from between my legs and onto his cock. My clit throbbed when he started to jerk more violently against me.

    It <b>only </b>took moments for me to fly over the edge,ing against <b>his </b>thrusting dick,pletely soaking him with my intense release.

    Next thing I knew, Grayson used his vampire speed to carry <b>us </b>across his room in a sh, and <b>I </b>was

    I blinked as I took in my mate above me. I was not expecting Grayson to look so¡­unhinged.

    His massive chest was heaving with every strangled breath he took in<b>. </b>

    His hair was still dripping from <b>his </b>shower and falling over his forehead, his muscles were strained and muchrger than normal, and dark hair was sprouting from his skin.

    I gasped. I knew he wasn¡¯t about to shift or anything, but his rough appearance made it extremely clear that I wasn¡¯t the only person excited about what was about to happen. It was honestly kind of

    s8exy<b>. </b>

    His hands gripped the insides of my thighs and pushed them <b>open </b>nice and wide so that he could fit himself between them.

    He took in my frazzled appearance with greedy, crimson eyes.

    He started with my flushed cheeks and swollen li*ps, then moved down to my heaving breasts and pointed nipples, which were visible through the thin fabric of my shirt, and ended with my very exposed and still dripping wet se*x.

    To my utter mortification, my pussy involuntarily clenched and released under his gaze, needing to be filled. More wetness leaked from me and onto the sheets beneath us.

    My checks darkened over my uncontroble disy of shamelessness and need, but I wasn¡¯t embarrassed enough to stop myself from whimpering and squirming, trying to get closer to him.

    Thankfully, Grayson seemed to be having <b>just </b>as hard a time keeping his own need under control.

    His long cock, which jutted out gloriously between his legs, gave a mighty jump, a clear string of precum oozing out from the purplish head.

    <b>Yeah</b><b>, </b>if he didn¡¯t push that thing into me within the next five minutes, I was pretty sure we were both going to lose our damn minds.

    I was just about to start begging when, without warning, <b>his </b><b>sharp </b>ws <b>ripped </b>through my <b>shirt </b>and tore it from my body, throwing the ruined fabric across the room.

    I didn¡¯t have time to reprimand him for destroying one of my favorite shirts to sleep in¨Cwell<b>, </b>one of his shirts, really<b>¨C</b>because his <b>l*ips </b>covered <b>my </b>breast a momentter, sucking my nipple into his wet, hot mouth.

    All coherent thoughts <b>flew </b>from my head. I becamepletely mindless<b>. </b>

    He switched <b>back </b><b>and </b>forth between breasts, <b>cupping </b>me, suckling on me, worshiping both sides <b>Chapter </b>52 of 59: Chapter <b>52 </b>

    Everyp of his tongue, every pull of his teeth, sent electricity down to my core.

    I didn¡¯t even notice when I started to thrust up against him once more, rubbing my s*ex on his cock repeatedly, needing more, more, more.

    He began leaving wet kisses on my stomach, moving down my body toward my spread thighs. He had given me enough orgasms with his tongue for me to know what he was doing.

    Panic scized my chest. Had he changed his mind about mating with me? Was he going top at my pussy <b>until </b>I came and then make up some excuse to leave me like he always did?

    I would surely die if that were the case. I couldn¡¯t take one more minute of not being fully connected

    to him.

    I grabbed his hair in my fists and tried to tug him back up but he wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°No, Grayson, please.¡±

    My desperate words were barelyprehensible, driven by my all¨Cconsuming arousal. ¡°I want your cock. Please. Not your mouth. Please give me your cock.¡±

    A carnal growl exploded from his mouth, and his entire body gave a violent shudder, but he didn¡¯t cease his l*ips¡® journey downward.

    <b>¡°</b>Hush, mate,¡± he growled over my skin. His wild eyes shed up to mine for a single second. ¡°I will take care of you<b>.</b>¡±

    What the hell did that mean?

    The only way I wanted him to take care of me was <b>to </b>shove that huge piece of meat between his legs deep inside me, but he didn¡¯t seem to be anywhere near close to doing that.

    His hands gripped each of my thighs with unrelenting force, <b>his </b>fingers digging into my skin, distracting me from my fight momentarily.

    He spread me open even further so I was exposed to the utmost level and positioned himself so that his nose was right in front of my <b>slit</b>.

    He breathed in deeply, taking in my scent in a long gulp of air.

    Before I could stop him or even begin to understand what he was doing, he nudged <b>his </b>nose between <b>my </b>folds, running it from my hole all the way up to my clit.

    He circled it once, twice, while continuing to breathe me in. His eyes closed in bliss the same¡± moment my head fell back against the bed, my back arching.

    Chapter 52 of <b>59</b><b>: </b>Chapter 52

    <i>Holy </i>fuc*k, was he going <b><i>to </i></b><i>make </i>mee with his nose? <i>That </i><i>would </i><i>be </i>a new <i>one</i>.

    I <b>only </b>looked back down at him when he abruptly pulled back a few secondster. He was already looking at me. The length of his nose glistened with my arousal. I swallowed roughly.

    He never broke eye contact as he leaned forward and ced a single, slow kiss on my flexing pussy. Then he thrust his tongue into me, growling so hard it shook the bed. I nearly came then and there.

    As good as it felt, though, it wasn¡¯t what I wanted¨Cneeded<i>. </i>If he thought I was about to let him. distract me with his tongue and then run away again, he had another thinging.

    I let him know my objection by pushing at his head and struggling to close my legs around, <b>all </b>the while trying to squirm away from him.

    ¡°Stop,¡± he demanded, his mouth still on my slit. His arm pinned me down by my stomach, trying to prevent my movements.

    ¡°No,¡± I fired back. ¡°You stop.¡± I kicked my leg, hitting his thigh with a hard strike of my foot.

    awa

    Then I jutted my hips upward and was finally able to move from him. I mean, it was only about an inch but, hey, it was far enough to get his attention.

    Faster than I could evenprehend, his face was right above mine, his breath fanning over my li*ps, one of his hands pinning my wrists down above. my head.

    <b>His </b>other hand continued to y with my se*x,zily circling my clit in a way that made my toes curl.

    <b>¡°</b><b>If </b>you <b>do </b>not stop your squirming, I will be forced to restrain you,¡± he cautioned. His voice was low, rough. It made a violent shiver race down my spine. ¡°We are doing this my way, mate.<b>¡± </b>

    His threat should have scared me, but all it did instead was turn me on even more, which I didn¡¯t <b>know </b>was even possible.

    <i>Here </ies <i>the </i><i>begging </i>again. Desperate tears formed in the corners of <b>my </b>eyes. ¡°Please just <b>fu*ck</b>. me, Grayson<b>. </b>I can¡¯t take <b>it </b>anymore. I <b>don¡¯t </b>want you to make mee. I just need <i>you</i>.¡±

    His hard expression turned soft and then amused as he finally seemed to understand what I was saying. My Grayson.

    <b>A </b>smirk took over his li*ps. ¡°Oh, <b>I </b>see, little mate.¡± He pressed a kiss to the corner of my li*ps at the same moment he thrust one of his fingers into me.

    I immediately moaned, arching my back so my sensitive breasts pressed up against his <b>hard </b>chest. Chapter 52 of 59: Chapter 52

    ¡°You can stop your worrying. I will take <b>this </b>sweet pussy today.¡± His finger continued to work.

    ¡°I will thrust my cock <b>into </b>your tight hole and make youe for hours before finally releasing into <b>you </b>myself and tying you to me forever.¡±

    His thumb massaged my clit, lighting my whole body on fire. ¡°That is what you want, yes?<b>¡± </b>

    I clenched around his finger, barely holding it together. I was already teetering on the edge of orgasm and he had only really been touching me for a few minutes. ¡°<i>Yes</i>,¡± I moaned.

    He chuckled and dragged his tongue up the side of my face in a gesture that reminded me of the animal side that he was hiding. I squeezed my eyes shut. ¡°I want you to fu*ck me.¡±

    He snarled. ¡°I know you do. And that is what you will get,¡± he said soothingly. ¡°But you¡¯re just going to have to wait. I need to get you ready first, though.¡±

    Another finger joined the first one. This caused a notable pinch of pain <b>as </b>I was stretched. I whimpered slightly.

    I thought I was fine, but then he started to thrust his fingers in and out of me, curling them slightly. each time they were seated fully inside of me.

    But I breathed through the difort, still reaching for

    or my next

    my next orgasm.

    ¡°But I¨CI¡¯m already so wet. You made mee once. I¡¯m ready,¡± I continued to whine, despite the extreme pleasure he was causing me.

    I <b>knew </b><b>I </b>shouldn¡¯t beining, but my mind was one¨Ctrack. If it weren¡¯t for his hold <b>on </b>my wrists, my hand would already be wrapped around his cock as I tried to guide him to where I wanted

    him.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you just take me now?¡±

    His fingers picked up their <b>speed</b><b>, </b>and my brain nearly short¨Ccircuited. I mewled as that familiar <b>ball </b>started to grow in <b>my </b>stomach, telling me <b>my </b>next orgasm was near and about to consume me.

    But right as I was about to hit my peak, Grayson plunged a third finger into me. And everything changed.

    I cried out as pain raced through my core and my legs unintentionally tried to shut, only to be <b>stopped by </b>Grayson¡¯s huge form still between them.

    He kept me in ce even as I tried to squirm away from him, trying to escape the pain.

    ¡°That¡¯s <b>why</b><b>,</b>¡± Grayson said. His tone was much gentler now. He paused his movements, letting me get used to how far he was stretching me.

    I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep myself from <b>pushing </b>away from him.

    He kissed my forehead. ¡°Had I known we were going to be doing this so soon, <b>I </b>would¡¯ve better prepared you.

    ¡°You¡¯ve only ever had two of my fingers in you¨Cand my cock is a <i>lot </i>bigger than my two fingers. I need to make sure you¡¯re ready for what¡¯sing.

    <b>His </b>thumb started to rub circles over my aching clit again, giving me a much¨Cneeded distraction from the pain I was experiencing. ¡°If you cane on four <b>of </b>my fingers, then I¡¯ll let you have my cock.¡±

    ¡°Grayson¡­¡± It was all I could manage to say. I wasn¡¯t sure I could do it. It hurt enough to distract me from the pleasure.

    Was <i>this </i>what it would feel like when he finally took my virginity? Would it be worse?

    ¡°Shh¡­¡± he murmured against my hair. ¡°Just try to rx for me. You¡¯re tensing up when I need you <b>to </b>stay nice and loose.¡±

    He released his hold on my wrists, using his newly freed hand to caress and massage my side. ¡°Focus on rxing your muscles, Belle.¡±

    His thumb picked up the speed on my clit, helping me to follow his orders. I took in a deep breath and focused on staying calm.

    I forced my body to soften and sink into the bed beneath me, giving full control to my mate, knowing that Grayson would take care of me.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, <b>baby</b>.¡± He nipped at the mark on <b>my </b>throat and I nearly convulsed with pleasure, tilting my head to the side to give him better ess.

    The sting of <b>pain </b>was beginning to be overtaken by pleasure, even as his fingers started to thrust <b>again</b>.

    <b>All </b><b>I </b><b>could </b>focus <b>on </b>was the way he continued to massage my clit and suck <b>on </b>my mark, all the while making sure that his fingers brushed up against my G<b>¨C</b>spot with exact precision with every move he made.

    ¡°<b>You¡¯re </b><b>starting </b>to like it, aren¡¯t <b>you</b><b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    I nodded my head, pushing my hips down against his hold. ¡°Yes¡­Grayson¡­,¡± I moaned.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I like to see,¡± he groaned in my ear. ¡°You¡¯re riding my fingers so well<b>, </b>baby girl. I <b>can¡¯t </b>wait to see what you¡¯ll do with my cock.¡±

    He hummed and licked my ear. ¡°You think you¡¯re ready to take one more finger?¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°Please,¡± I begged. Not only did I think I was ready for it, but I was <i>craving </i>it now, craving the feeling of being stretched. I needed it. It all felt so good now.

    Grayson snarled. ¡°Fu*ucking squeezing me. Such a good little mate.¡±

    With that, he slowly eased a fourth finger into my tight hole. I gasped and tensed, the pain of that simple stretch overwhelming me once more.

    ¡°My poor baby girl,¡± he said against my hair. ¡°Does that hurt?¡± He curled his fingers, running them. over my G¨Cspot.

    My electrified pussy felt like it had caught on fire. His other hand traveled up and cupped one of my <b>breasts</b>, palming it, tweaking my nipple between his thumb and pointer.

    I shook my head, forcing my legs to fall open instead of continuing to clench around his hips

    in an effort to close them. I didn¡¯t want him to think <b>I </b>couldn¡¯t handle it. <b>I </b>didn¡¯t want him to stop.

    ¡°N¨Cno,¡± I stumbled over the simple word.

    ¡°No?¡± Grayson repeated<b>, </b>sounding amused. He nuzzled his nose against my hair.

    ¡°No. I¨CI¡­like it<b>,</b><b>¡± </b><b>I </b>gasped out. <b>It </b>wasn¡¯t necessarily <b>a </b>lic-I <b><i>did </i></b>really like it, but it still definitely

    <b>hurt</b>.

    But by some miracle, it somehow hurt less to have four fingers inside of me than <b>it </b>did to have three, probably because I was so unbelievably turned on.

    But no amount of <b>pain </b>was going to <b>stop </b>me froming again so that I could <b>finally </b>have what I really wanted.

    <b>¡°</b>Hmm<b>, </b>I¡¯m sure <b>you </b>do.¡± He nibbled on my ear. <b>¡°</b>You¡¯re taking it so <b>well</b><b>, </b>Belle. So perfect.¡±

    Hic thumb darted to circle.mulit with mom enthurm and be heean <b>thrusting </b>his <b>fingers </b>again.

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    <b>63</b><b>% </b>

    in and out, at a perfect pace to make my mind gopletely numb.

    I elenched around him, happy to feel his ministrations.

    ¡°Are you about toe for me again already?¡± he asked, the hunger in his voice sending an unexpected jolt through my already frazzled system.

    my mate the holy grail of virgins, so perfect that it only takes a few seconds after being stretched to the brim to start screaming my name again?¡± He licked at my mark with a dark chuckle.

    <b>1 </b>arched <i>my </i>back, my eyes rolling to the back of my head. Although the pain was still present, it was overshadowed by the pleasure he was bringing me.

    I nodded vigorously, ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t stop. I love it so much. Please don¡¯t stop.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t n on it, baby.¡± His hand started to pick up its pace, causing colors to sh behind my eyelids. My hips jerked up, and I realized just how powerful this orgasm was about to be.

    <b>I </b>had never felt anything like this. Grayson <i>had </i>made mee countless times, but never when stretching me open like this,

    Never when he was sucking on my mark, pinching my nipples, ying with my clit, and brushing <i>up </i>against my G¨Cspot with each thrust of his four fingers deep inside of me.

    I was on the edge of nirvana.

    ¡°Come, Belle,¡± Grayson demanded. The head of his dick brushed against my bundle of nerves, and everything in me clenched. ¡°Let me see it.¡±

    I didn¡¯t even begin to try to fight that orgasm. I willingly let the power of it take me captive.

    A scream ripped from my throat, and I was shaking and writhing under his hold as my nervous system short¨Ccircuited with deliciously intoxicating pleasure that seemed to know no bounds.

    Grayson held and caressed me throughout it all, never slowing his movements. Incoherent noises of bliss escaped my mouth.

    His purrs and growls against my throat only heightened the whole experience, throwing me into a pleasure that <b>never </b>seemed to end.

    It felt like hours had passed when I finally managed toe back to reality.

    I was panting, shaking uncontrobly, my pussy still convulsing around his fingers, although his movements had slowed to azy caress.

    Chapter 52 of 59: Chapter 52

    It had been a nearly out¨Cof¨Cbody experience that Grayson helped soothe me out of.

    He pulled back from my mark, looking down at me with green eyes that I could easily get lost in. The look of utter adoration he wore on his face had pride blooming in my chest, warming me to my

    very core.

    ¡°That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,¡± he whispered. ¡°I f*ucking love you so f*ucking much.¡±

    I chewed on my lower l*ip and grinned. ¡°I love you too<b>.</b>¡±

    With one final circle around my clit and a gentle curl of his fingers against my G¨C<b>spot</b>, he eased his hand away from me.

    I whined, already missing the feeling of fullness. I could have easilye again like that¡­and again <b>and </b>again.

    <b>But </b>my mind was already on other things¨Cspecifically the massive cock that was currently nestled between the folds of my still tingling pussy.

 Chapter 110

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    Belle looked up at me with zed <b>eyes</b>, which had seemed so satisfied mere moments ago but were <b>now </b>reced with the same hunger she had disyed before I¡¯d made here so hard I was momentarily worried for her safety.

    I was not sure why I ever doubted that she wouldn¡¯t be able to handle me. It was part of the reason <b>I¡¯d </b>avoided mating with her for so long.

    Besides worrying about her shifting into a fairy, I didn¡¯t want to hurt her with my¡­let¡¯s just <b>say</b><b>. </b><b><i>bigger </i></b>than average size.

    But I had just stretched her out as wide as she had ever gone and she had given me the most heart¨Cwrenching, horny little orgasm I had witnessed. It took my breath away.

    It also made me harder <b>than </b>I had ever <b>been</b>.

    <b>She </b>was <b>so </b>perfect. Made just for me. Made to take my cock, to <b>let </b>me love and care for her, and to stand by my side for the rest of eternity as my queen and partner.

    She <b>shifted </b>her <b>hips</b>, a mischievous glint appearing in her <b>gaze </b>as she brushed her pink, beautiful, dripping se*x against my

    <b>dick</b>.

    Chapter 52 of 59: Chapter 52

    I met her thrusts with a few of my own, coating myself with her slickness in preparation, before bending down and molding my l*ips to hers in a deep kiss that quickly turned rough and <b>passionate</b>.

    With one of her hands gripping my shoulder, her other one traveled down my pecs and abs, until it <b>wrapped </b>itself <b>around </b>my <b>hard </b>length.

    My hands morphed into tight fists on either side of her head.

    I smashed my li*ps harder to hers, my vampire purring so loud that it drowned out every other sound around us besides the sound of her sweet moaning mewls against my l*ips.

    Every move she made, every wiggle, every breath, and flutter of her eyshes made me feel like I was on the edge of madness, so close to losing what little control I had left.

    F*uck<b>, </b>I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I needed to be inside her. I was starving for it. Salivating. Panting and licking mindlessly into her mouth while I f*ucked her hand.

    Belle <b>pulled </b>away just long enough to say, ¡°Are you going to mate me now?¡± before kissing me

    again.

    Meanwhile, she ran her thumb over the tip of my cock, coating it with the precum spilling out of it, <b>and </b>positioned it at her entrance, opening her legs nice and wide for me.

    It took everything in me not to shove into her then and there.

    <b>I </b>pulled back from her sinful mouth and grabbed my cock from her hold, tucking the head even more snugly at her entrance, stroking myself in the direction of heaven.

    ¡°Belle<b>, </b>look <b>at </b><b>me</b><b>,</b>¡± I grunted, hanging on by the skin of my teeth.

    Belle was <b>back </b>to writhing, arching her back, trying desperately to get closer to me. How <b>I </b>was <b>so </b>lucky to get a mate so horny <b>for </b>my cock was beyond me.

    <i>¡°</i><i>Mute</i>,¡± I <b>snapped</b>. <b>I </b>needed her full attention.

    Her hooded eyes immediately found mine<b>. </b><b>She </b>whimpered.

    ¡°You better tell me right now if you¡¯re not absolutely one hundred percent sure about this,¡± I growled.

    ¡°Because once I push into this tight¨C<b>as</b><b>¨C</b><b>fuc*k </b>pussy with this big werewolf cock, there¡¯s no going back. There¡¯s <b>no </b><b>back</b>. There¡¯s no stopping me from making you mine forever.

    ¡°My animal side will take over, and I won¡¯t stop until Eve filled you with my seed, until my cum is dripping out of you, and until we are forced to stop solely out of sheer exhaustion.

    ¡°My wolf wants every inch of you covered in my sperm so that every male whoes within fifty. feet of you will be able to smell who you belong to because I¡¯ll be etched into your very being.

    ¡°There is no escaping me after this<b>. </b>You¡¯ll be mine whether you like it or not.¡±

    She bbered something incoherent in response.

    It was clear that she was too consumed by her need to think clearly, jerking her hips down as she tried to push me into her, her tits swaying in a mesmerizing pattern that pulled a low growl from my chest.

    I grabbed her hips to stop her<b>. </b>If she kept up with that, there was no telling what I would do to her.

    <i>¡°</i>Answer me, <i>little </i>mute,¡± I demanded, barely recognizing my own voice. I squeezed her hips and her gaze focused on me once more. ¡°Tell me that is what you want. I need verbal confirmation.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± she finally screamed out. Her hole twitched against the tip of my cock<b>. </b><b>¡°</b>Yes, that is what I want. More <b>than</b><b>¨C</b>oh, my god¨Cmore than anything.¡± She licked her l*ips. ¡°Is¡­Is that what you

    want?¡±

    I smirked down at her. Even while she was gasping for breath, looking like she would pass out if I didn¡¯t fill her up soon, she still had to make sure I wasfortable and wanted her just as much as she <b>wanted </b>me.

    One of

    <b>my </b>

    hands reached out and grabbed her jaw in an iron grip. <b>¡°</b>You never even have <b>to </b>ask, baby girl.¡± <b>I </b><b>couldn¡¯t </b>help but squeeze her chin<b>, </b>needing to dominate her.

    My wolf <b>surged </b>forward, ready to force my instinctual, more animalistic side to take over, but I pushed him down one final time, needing to say onest thing.

    <b>¡°</b>If anything happens, if the pain gets to be too much, or¡°-my teeth ground together-¡°or <b>if </b>you start to shift, you let me know. I might seem a bit¡­rabid.¡± That was putting it mildly.

    I was going to fu*cking lose it when <b>I </b>finally mmed into her. <b>I </b>was already halfway there. <b>¡°</b>But I will stop if it¡¯s a matter of your safety. Understand?¡±

    She nodded, wiggling, knowing it was time. ¡°I understand<b>,</b><b>¡± </b>she whimpered and pushed her breasts

    <ol>

    <li>up.</li>

    </ol>

    I felt the color of my eyes change, turning dark red as I released her jaw and ced <b>my </b>hand on her Chapter 52 of 59: Chapter 52

    I felt the color of my eyes change, turning dark red as I released her jaw and ced my hand on her <b>hip</b>. My other hand grabbed my cock and nudged her legs open as wide as they would go.

    Without wasting another second, I let out a feral snarl and plunged my cock into my mate, finally taking her as mine.

    <b>BELLE </b>

    With a strangled roar, Grayson punched his hips forward, taking <b>my </b>virginity with a single thrust, filling me to the hilt with his monster cock and unleashing total euphoria <b>in </b>me..

    I cried out once he was seated fully inside of me, digging my nails into his back as searing pain raced through me.

    Jesus Christ, he was big. Big and <i>long</i>¨Ctouching a part so deep inside of me that I didn¡¯t even

    know it existed.

    ¡°So¨C<i>f*uck</i>¨Cso tiny and tight. So wet and perfect. My perfect girl,¡± Grayson panted against my neck. His voice was low and tortured, filled with the evidence of his inner beast.

    He stilled on top of me, giving me time to adjust while hepped and nipped at my mark, growling in my ear. He was so rigid on top of me.

    Every muscle was coiled tight, straining under his skin. It was obviously costing him a great effort not to move, but I appreciated every bit of time he was able to give me.

    The pain was bad but not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Grayson had been right- getting me used to his fingers first had definitely been the way to go.

    Even though it still felt like I was being split in two, I was able to stay calm.

    ¡°Breathe, Belle,¡± <b>my </b>mate bit out through clenched teeth.

    I <b>didn¡¯t </b>even realize I had been holding my breath. I released a breath with a puff.

    ¡°<b>Good</b>. Try to rx your muscles.¡± He grabbed a fistful of my hair and tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck for a long lick. A bite <b>and </b>a rough suck.

    <b>It </b>was like he was unable to <b>stop </b>himself; keeping his mouth on me was the <b>only </b>thing keeping him sanc. <b>¡°</b>Your body was made for mine. Your sweet pussy was made for this¨Cto take my cock.¡±

    His hand ran down my body until his fingers were on my swollen clit, rubbing it in tight circles.

    Colors sparked <b>and </b>shed behind my eyes, and I loosened <b>my </b>hold <b>on </b><b>his </b>shoulders, trying to focus on how good his fingers felt, <b>toying </b>with my bundle of nerves.

    I breathed like he told me to, and the walls of my pussy eventually rxed around his cock. I didn¡¯t even realize he wasn¡¯t in me all the way until I felt him slide forward another inch, <b>his </b>balls hitting

    my ass.

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    <b>¡°</b>Good girl,<b>¡± </b>Grayson said, praising me even as his arms shook with the effort it took to control himself. <b>¡°</b>You¡¯re doing so fu*cking good. I can¡¯t even believe how amazing you feel.¡±

    !

    A few more seconds passed before the pain finally seemed to diminish enough for me to think clearly <b>again</b><b>. </b>

    To test it out, I clenched around Grayson, and immediately moaned when sparks exploded from my core and my whole body heated as if it were on fire.

    Grayson mmed his free hand down on the bed beside my head and bit down on my neck, right over my mark.

    He never broke skin or caused me any harm, but the way his teeth pressed into my mark caused an intense physical reaction.

    I clenched around him again, squeezing his shaft and slickness pooled from me.

    <i>¡°</i>Belle.¡± Grayson¡¯s voice was deeper than I had ever heard it. Filled with gravel. ¡°Don¡¯t do that unless you¡¯re ready for me to start moving unless you¡¯re ready for a f*ucking.¡±

    Giddiness expanded in my chest. Without saying another word, I tightened around him once more and rolled my hips against his.

    ¡°Fu*ck!¡± Grayson exploded. His hips pulled back and then immediately surged forward as if on their own <b>ord</b><b>. </b>We both groaned.

    ¡°Yeesss,¡± I mewled<b>. </b>It was good¨Cso <b>good</b>.

    And that was when his thrusts began. Each one was harder, faster than thest, taking my breath.

    <b>away</b><b>. </b>

    I threw my <b>head </b>back as a bliss¨Cfilled scream escaped my mouth.

    Grayson made a broken <b>sound </b><b>and </b>started hammering into me without mercy.

    His <b>eyes </b>were wild, <b>hungry</b>, <b>whipping </b>over every inch of my body<b>, </b><b>drinking </b>in <b>my </b>reactions as <b>he </b>took me with animalistic force. <b>All </b>I could do was lie there and take everything he was giving me.

    <b>My </b>body was alive with sparks. Every move he made caused tremors to sweep through me, my femininity mping down on him with every thrust as if it never wanted him to leave.

    <b>My </b>mouth fell open <b>as </b>he started to move faster, faster, faster. Grayson was a man reduced to a beast above me. The <b>look </b>in his eyes was all determination <b>and </b>voraciousness and I did not mind <b>at </b>all.

    I would have been freaked out if I weren¡¯t so engrossed in the sensation he was causing to race through me. But this was my mate. This was the moment I had been waiting for for months.

    I panted and mewled as he plowed into me again and again without mercy, causing me to feel things I never had before. I had entered a different ne of existence one filled solely with mind¨Cblowing ecstasy.

    Oh God, why did we wait so long to do this?

    I would never turn away the opportunity to have Grayson¡¯s tongue running between my legs, but it <b>was </b>nothingpared to having his incredible cock thrusting between them.

    Without warning, he let out a savage growl and mmed his mouth down onto mine without pausing his hip movements.

    I moaned against his li*ps, gripping his neck and shoulders, my nails digging into his skin<b>, </b>pulling him impossibly closer to me.

    I sucked on his tongue while I listened to the sound of the bed creaking beneath us. He was so damn strong that the bed slid back and forth with every move he made.

    He was pounding me so hard that my teeth would be cking together if it weren¡¯t for his tongue <b>in </b>my mouth.

    I didn¡¯t think it could get any better, but then he started thrusting <b>his </b>hard dick in a way that hit a specific spot inside of me over and over.

    <b>I </b>screamed and arched against him, so my pointed nipples rubbed up against his chest. I cried out his name, not even recognizing my own need¨Cfilled voice.

    He licked at my li*ps, his purring so loud in <b>my </b>cars that it drowned out any other thought. ¡°I love your little fu*ck noises,¡± he growled. ¡°Come<b>, </b>mate. Come around your mate¡¯s cock. Do it now.¡±

    I <b>couldn¡¯t </b>help but follow his orders. <b>My </b>eyes rolled to the back of my head. My body jerked and spasmed. The whole world <b>paused </b>as the most powerful orgasm I had ever experienced took over.

    Meanwhile<b>, </b>Grayson continued with his relentlessmand of my body. The <b>sight </b>of his eyes swirling between colors¨Cck, red, green<b>¨C</b>only seemed to heighten everything I was feeling.

    He was <b>power </b>and beauty in motion, like a racehorse. I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off him.

    Veins popped out from his taut muscles and his face was in such a state of intense focus and determination; it was <b>honestly </b>beautiful.

    Emergency calls only

    It felt like an eternity before I finally came down from the high of <i>my </i>climax 1 ww w. bbering, weak mess, a total ve to his rough fuc*king that never seemed wand.

    I was still fluttering around him when he leaned down and sucked on my mark. I whinged, overwhelmed by sensations, yet so eager for him to continue.

    ¡°So fu*cking beautiful,¡± he said, the words rumbling against my skin. ¡°Come for me again, beautiful.¡±

    I moaned in confusion, unable to bring myself to say anything else. There was no way I coulde again so soon, no matter how good he was making me feel.

    ¡°You heard me, Belle,¡± he continued, voice low, almost threatening.

    I barely evenprehended what was happening when, all of a sudden, Grayson was sinking his teeth into my mark. And just like that, as if it were magic, I immediately came again,

    When I came for the second time, I heard someone screaming and it took a moment for me to realize

    that it was mic.

    Grayson was growling nonstop above me and I decided then and there that it was one of my favorite

    sounds ever.

    Before I could evenprehend what was happening, Grayson pulled himself from me and flipped me around so that I was on my knees and he was behind me.

    He bent me forward with his hands on my shoulders and then thrust his length back into me without wasting a second. I epted it with an enthusiastic groan.

    He kept me in that position for a few minutes, plowing into me like a jackhammer before pulling me upright, so we were back to back.

    And, still never ceasing his movements, hetched his l*ips onto my neck. It didn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this new position he had us in was to give him better ess to my mark

    His tongue, his mouth, and his teeth went crazy on the skin of my neck while he took me from behind without mercy,

    ¡°Mine,¡± he kept growling, one of his hands kneading my breast, tweaking my nipple. ¡°Mine, mine,

    mine.¡±

    <b>Then</b>, without warning, he sunk his teeth into my neck, simultaneously marking me <b>and </b>using the

    It felt like an eternity before I finally came down from the high of my climax. I was reduced to a bbering, weak mess, a total ve to his rough fu*cking that never seemed to end.

    I was still fluttering around him when he leaned down and sucked on my mark. I whimpered, overwhelmed by sensations, yet so eager for him to continue.

    ¡°So fu*cking beautiful<b>,</b>¡± he said, the words rumbling against my skin. ¡°Come for me again, beautiful<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    I moaned in confusion, unable to bring myself to say anything else. There was no way I coulde <b>again </b>so soon, no matter how good he was making me feel.

    ¡°You heard me, Belle,¡± he continued, voice low, almost threatening.

    I barely evenprehended what was happening when, all of a sudden, Grayson was sinking hist teeth into my mark. And just like that, as if it were magic, I immediately came again.

    When I came for the second time, I heard someone screaming and it took a moment for me to realize that it was me.

    Grayson was growling nonstop above me and I decided then and there that it was one of my favorite sounds ever.

    Before I could evenprehend what was happening, Grayson pulled himself from me and flipped me around so that I was on my knees and he was behind me.

    He bent me forward with his hands on <b>my </b>shoulders and then thrust his length back into me without wasting a second<b>. </b>I epted it with an enthusiastic <b>groan</b>.

    <b>He </b>kept me in that position for a few minutes, plowing into me like a jackhammer before pulling me <b>upright</b>, so we were back to back.

    And<b>, </b>still never ceasing his movements, hetched his l*ips onto my neck. It didn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this new position he had us in was to give him better ess to my mark.

    His <b>tongue</b>, his mouth, and his teeth went crazy <b>on </b>the skin of <b>my </b>neck while he took me from <b>behind </b>without mercy<b>. </b>

    ¡°Mine<b>,</b><b>¡± </b>he kept growling, one of his hands kneading my breast, tweaking my nipple. ¡°Mine, mine,

    mine.¡±

    Then, without warning, he sunk his <b>teeth </b>into <b>my </b>neck, simultaneously marking me and using <b>the </b>fangs of his vampire to suck my blood.

    3 MEN. AL.

    I had already been shockingly close to another orgasm, and, oh God, I couldn¡¯t have stopped thatndslide even if I wanted to.

    ¡°<i>F*uck</i><i>!</i>¡± Grayson roared as the most intimate part of me seized around him. ¡°Yes. Squeeze me, baby. Jesus fu8cking Christ, I can¡¯t get enough of youing around me.¡±

    His voice was deranged at this point, full of the most animal side of him andced with the his vampire and I would be lying if I said it didn¡¯t add to the high of

    y orgasm.

    purr of

    There was something about the act of him losing control that was so unbelievably hot, <b>I </b>didn¡¯t even know what to do about it. I loved that I could do that to him, that I had that <b>sort </b>of power over him.

    <b>¡°</b>Yes,¡± he boomed against my sweaty neck. ¡°I¡¯m close, mate. About to fill you up. About to make you mine forever. <b>Once </b>and for all.¡±

    An uneven nod was the only response I could manage. I couldn¡¯t speak. I couldn¡¯t do anything. I was breathless. Voiceless. Thoughtless.

    I was on another entirely<b>, </b>one filled solely with pleasure and orgasmic bliss.

    My climax was still inplete control of my body<b>, </b>rolling over me with mind¨Cnumbing wave after mind¨Cnumbing wave.

    My legs threatened to give out beneath me as I shook and iled, but Grayson knew just what to do.

    Without pulling his cock from my spasming pussy, he flipped me around once more, so I was on my back, looking up at him.

    <b>I </b>was trapped beneath his huge, <b>muscr </b>body, holding onto his shoulders for dear life as his hips became faster, sloppier with every deep thrust.

    He was riding me <b>so </b><b>hard </b>now that my teeth were cking together, and I could tell by the wild look In <b>his </b>eyes that he was seconds away from <b>his </b>own release.

    I wanted it. I could already feel our bond solidifying between us, and I craved that moment when we <b>were </b>finally fully connected more than <b>anything </b>else.

    <b>With </b>that in mind, I seized my Intimate muscles around him so tightly that he couldn¡¯t even withdraw from me and watched with great satisfaction as Grayson¡¯s <b>eyes </b>went blind.

    <b>He </b>became uncontrolled. Primal. Savage. There was no stopping him now.

    Finally<b>, </b><i>finally</i><i>, </i>he let out a feral <b>roar</b><b>, </b>his giant form Juddering as something hot and wet started to <b>fill </b>me.

    Rope after rope of his hot cum shot into me, warming me from the inside until it was leaking from my pussy <b>and </b>onto the inside of my thighs and the bed beneath us.

    An overwhelming feeling of¡­love and blind devotion for the man above me filled my chest nearly to the point of bursting.

    I quickly realized that it was the mate bond.

    The feeling of our bond finally bing whole, connecting us on a level that I didn¡¯t even think possible, was so intense and¡­magical that I instantly came again.

    The cuphoric pleasure was so intense that my limbs iled, my breathing stalled, my back arched, and fireworks exploded behind my closed eyelids.

    I almost didn¡¯t think I would survive the pleasure.

    Grayson melded his sweaty forehead to mine, cing sloppy kisses against my li*ps while both our bodies continued to jerk in the throes of passion.

    ¡°I love you. I love you,¡± he gasped through elevated breaths. He chanted those words over and over. again. ¡°My mate. My everything. I love you. I f*ucking love you.¡±

    ¡°I love you too,¡± I breathed, my own voice thick with emotion. My weak hands gripped his face, searching for something to anchor myself to. ¡°I love you, Grayson<b>.</b>¡±

    It took several moments for us to finally calm down<b>, </b>for our breathing to slow, and our bodies to stop shaking.

    <b>And </b>still, he kept <b>himself </b>deep inside <b>of </b>me, not making any moves to pull out of me any time soon.

    He licked my face and caressed my sides, all the while purring so loudly, I could barely even hear myself think. Not that I minded. I was happy <b>to </b>remain mindless for a while longer.

    I was shocked by how clearly I could sense his emotions now, almost as if they were my own. I could feel <b>his </b>love <b>and </b>adoration for me whirling around us <b>like </b>a cloud.

    I could also feel how happy his wolf <b>and </b>vampire were now that I was imed<b>, </b>although they were already ramping <b>up </b>for another round.

    <b>My </b>alpha mate <b>was </b>feeling territorial so soon after mating.

    He <b>conjured </b>up images of tying me to the bed and forcing every other living soul out of the pce <b>for </b><b>at </b>least a week while he took me over and over again until he was sure that the bond fully took.

    I giggled, thoroughly overjoyed by our new level of connection.

    ¡°Tell me you¡¯re okay, Belle,¡± he growled against my cheek as he tenderly wiped some of my hair away from my face and yed with the sweaty strands between his fingers.

    I smiled dreamily. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I affirmed. And I really was. In fact, I was happier than I had ever been.

    I could tell Grayson could feel the truth behind my words. He could also probably feel my happiness mixing with his. ¡°Good. Because I¡¯m not even close to being done with you.

    His cock immediately started to harden inside of me. I gasped and squeezed around him in shock. ¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, eyes wide, nails already digging into the skin of his shoulders. ¡°A¨CAgain<b>? </b>Already?¡±

    Grayson nodded. <b>¡°</b>Should I rephrase my question?¡± he breathed betweenps of his tongue against my <b>jaw</b>, my throat, even my ear.

    <b>¡°</b>What I should have asked was, are you okay enough to take me again? And again? And again?¡± He slowly¨Cteasingly¨Crolled his hips against mine.

    I whimpered and gasped, wetness already pooling from my greedy hole, coating his hard length in preparation for a second round.

    ¡°Because<b>, </b>now that I¡¯ve had you, now that I¡¯ve discovered the bliss of around my cock while I plow into you, I don¡¯t think I can hold back.

    your sinful

    pussying.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>don¡¯t think I can ever let you leave this room or this <i>bed </i>again.¡±

    ¡°Grayson,¡± I <b>moaned </b><b>at </b>the promise in his words. I opened my legs wider for him, trying to encourage him to move again with my own needy hip jerks.

    I couldn¡¯t believe how quickly I wanted him again after my first time. Shouldn¡¯t I be in pain? Instead, <b>I </b>only felt desperation.

    Grayson chuckled <b>and </b>pinned my hips down with <b>his </b>torso so I couldn¡¯t move. I huffed in annoyance, which <b>only </b>pulled another amused rumble ofughter from Grayson¡¯s chest.

    ¡°I need to hear you say it, Belle.¡± He leaned back so he could look me in the eye. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re ready for more. Or tell me you need to rest.

    ¡°<b>I¡¯ll </b><b>give </b>you what you want no matter what

    you decide.

    ¡°But choose quickly because I don¡¯t think I canst another second of your pussy drowning me in your sweet¨C<b>as</b><b>¨C</b>fu*ck arousal or squeezing me like it¡¯s begging to milk my cock again without going

    insane.¡±

    My nod was embarrassingly eager. ¡°I¡¯m ready for more. Please give me more.¡±

    His li8ps turned up into a dark grin. ¡°Your wish is mymand.¡±

    Not

    v did Gr

    bear a resemnce to the beauty of a racehorse when he f*ucked me, but he

    also had the stamina of one.

    It was well into thete afternoon when he finally pulled out of me, whispering that <b>I </b>needed my rest. now. He was right, of course.

    I could barely keep my eyes open at that point, still riding the roller coaster of bliss that he kept buying me tickets for.

    He disappeared for a moment, leaving me alone and confused in the bed, only to return mere secondster with a wet washcloth in his hand..

    <b>I </b>swear, sometimes the man moved so fast that it was impossible for me to keep track of where he was going.

    The act of him cleaning me somehow felt more intimate than the hours that we had just spent going at it like rabbits, and I found myself shying away for some reason.

    <b>I </b><b>shooed </b>his hands away withzy ps when he tried to reach for me<b>. </b>He pinned me with a warning look. His wolf was still in charge and wasn¡¯t going to let me sleep until he had cleaned me.

    <ol>

    <li>up.</li>

    </ol>

    I could see it in his swirling, <b>dark </b>eyes. He looked dangerously handsome.

    How Grayson seemed unfazed by our mating¨Cother than the thinyer of sweat that glistened over his toned muscles¨Cwas beyond me.

    I probably looked like a mess. Hair everywhere, sweat dripping, and skin red and blotchy from

    exertion.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never looked more beautiful<b>,</b>¡± <b>Grayson </b>said<b>, </b>cutting <b>my </b>thoughts short with a stiff tone. It urred to me that he could probably sense what I had been thinking.

    Emergency calls only

    10087% 12.02

    The mate bond would never cease to amaze me. ¡°Worn out by my hard f*ucking, eyes zed over withplete satisfaction and exhaustion. I¡¯m tempted to go get a camera.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare,¡± I murmured through a yawn. My voice sounded slow and drowsy even to my ears.

    The gentle rumble of hisughter settled deep within my bones, filling me with warmth. ¡°Good thing I¡¯ve got a memory like a steel trap.¡±

    His eyes swept over my body in onezy take before snapping up to meet my gaze once more. ¡°Now open your legs for me, beautiful. Gotta clean my sleepy mate up.¡®

    I was such a sucker for the way he called me beautiful, as if it were my name: I followed his orders and allowed him to clean me without argument.

    Once he was done, he threw the cloth on the ground and crawled into bed next to me. He picked up my body and tucked me into his purring chest before hooking his leg over me and caging me to him<b>. </b>

    The position would have probably felt a bit suffocating to any normal couple, but I knew that his need to dominate and control me was still at full force so soon after mating.

    <b>And</b><b>, </b>at <b>least </b>for the time being, I didn¡¯t mind letting him have his way. I would knock him down a few pegs and remind him of who was bosster.

    His fingertips trailed over my spine, and I hummed <b>in </bplete contentment as I drifted off into <b>a </b>dreamless sleep.

 Chapter 111

    <b>BELLE </b>

    My body was tingling with warmth and happiness when I woke upte in the morning the next day.

    I smiled and stretched my stiff arms over my head, giggling when I felt the soreness between my legs.

    Then I reached over to the other side of the bed for my mate, hoping to <b>crawl </b><b>on </b>top of him and nuzzle my face into his warm neck.

    But I didn¡¯t find him next to me. Instead, my hand fell onto cold, empty sheets.

    I immediately sat up, my heart racing in my chest.

    ¡°Grayson?¡± I called out into the dark room. My gaze fell to the windows, noticing that it was nighttime. Had I slept through the entire next day? No wonder I felt so rested.

    But if this bitch really left me all by myself the morning after our first time together¡­ I was about ready to explode out of the bed and hunt him down to beat his as*s.

    And then I saw him.

    Grayson was sitting in a chair he had pulled up to the side of the bed, staring at me. He was leaning <b>forward</b>, his arms on the bed and his chin resting on top of them.

    I nearly screamed at how close his face was to mine.

    ¡°What are you doing over there?¡± I asked. I leaned over, so I was lying on my side right in front of

    him.

    He had <b>on </b>boxers now, which didn¡¯t seem the least bit fair, considering the fact that I was still butt

    naked.

    When Grayson didn¡¯t respond, <b>I </b>pushed <b>up </b>on <b>my </b>elbow. It was then that I noticed <b>his </b>overwhelming anxiety racing through our newly strengthened bond, apanied by fear and

    exhaustion.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he replied uneastly. ¡°How <b>are </b>you feeling?¡±

    I reached over and grabbed <b>his </b>arm, squeezing it gently. I loved that the <b>sparks </b>were even more

    <b>Chapter </b><b>54 </b>of 59: Chapter <b>54 </b>

    <b>1</b><b>% </b>

    intense than before. He immediately put his hand qyer mine. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Great, actually. Amazing. I¡¯m happy.¡±

    He didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°Arc

    you sure<b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    I took his hand in mine and ced it on my chest, right over my heart. ¡°Can¡¯t you feel how happy I am?¡± I could definitely feel how worried <i>he </i>was.

    <b>He </b>stared at the spot where my hand was for several long moments, his <i>eyes </i>switching from ck to red to green repeatedly.

    I frowned. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you in bed?¡± I could feel how badly he wanted to be holding me right now and had no idea why he was fighting that urge. I wanted the same thing.

    ¡°I needed to be able to see you to see if you were <b>in </b>pain<b>. </b><b>I </b>needed to watch

    your face.¡±

    My heart broke a little. Although more than a little creepy that he just sat and watched me while I slept, he was so scared something was going to happen to me that he¡¯d put his needs and wants aside<b>. </b>

    This man really did love me, huh?

    ¡°Come here,¡± I whispered, holding out my hand. ¡°Please.¡±

    <b>My </b>eyes opened wide in delight as I watched Grayson slide down his boxers and step out of them before climbing back into the bed with me, pulling me against him, so we were chest to chest. I ran <b>my </b>thumb under the deep bags under his <b>eyes</b>.

    ¡°Did you sleep at all<b>?</b><b>¡± </b><b>I </b>asked him.

    He shook his head. ¡°I had to make sure you were okay.¡±

    I sighed, dropping my forehead against his. ¡°You <b>worry </b>too much. I would have told you if something was wrong.¡±

    <b>¡°</b><b>What </b>if you didn¡¯t know until it was <b>too </bte? What if <b>I </b>couldn¡¯t save you because I was too busy fu*cking sleeping<b>?</b><b>¡°</b>¡±

    never

    ¡°<b>So</b>, what, you¡¯re just going to sleep again because you¡¯re too worried I¡¯m going to up andbust without <b>warning</b><b>? </b>

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. <b>You </b>need rest. Especially after¡°-I swallowed<b>, </b>my cheeks blossoming with color ¡°everything we did yesterday.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s lips turned up for the first time since I had woken up, and it sent flutters into my stomach. I would do anything to keep <b>that </b>smile on his face.

    ¡°Hmm¡­.¡± Grayson hummed. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I can practically read your mind now. Otherwise, I would have been waking you up every hourst night to make sure you were okay.

    ¡°Your happiness through the bond is the only thing giving me any peace of mind.¡± His chest started. to vibrate with his quiet purrs as his lips skimmed over my chin.

    ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re feeling okay?¡± he asked in a low tone that made me shift against him.

    ¡°Um¡­yes,¡± I murmured. I was bing obscenely distracted by his wandering hands with every passing second. Especially the one petting up the inside of my thigh. ¡°I¨CI feel great.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s smile widened. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I waited so long to finally feel your incredible tightness. squeezing around me,¡± he growled.

    I chewed on my bottom lip. ¡°I can¡¯t either. And for what? Because you were afraid I was going to shift? I feel exactly the same as I did before we mated. Absolutely no difference.¡±

    He abruptly squeezed my as*s in a harsh grip, possessively, pulling me even closer to him. I squeaked.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t feel <i>exactly </i>the same. You¡¯re mine <b>now</b>. Forever. For the rest of eternity.¡±

    My breathing wasing out embarrassingly fast. ¡°I think I¨CI could be okay with that.¡±

    <i>¡°</i><i>Could </i>be okay with that? Baby, <b>you </b>don¡¯t get a choice. I¡¯m keeping you whether you like it or <b>not</b><b>.</b>¡±

    I <b>giggled</b><b>. </b><b>¡°</b><b>It¡¯s </b>a good thing I like you, then.¡±

    <b>¡°</b><b>Just </b>like?¡± he demanded.

    ¡°Mm¨Chm¡­I think I might be warming up to you a bit. It might take a little while longer. I mean, you did kidnap me, after <b>all</b>. Or don¡¯t you remember that? What kind of girl would I be <b>if </b>I fell in love with my kidnapper?¡±

    ¡°<b>The </b>kind that is mated to an alpha male,¡± Grayson provided, dipping his head down to nip at <b>my </b>mark. It was still tender from being bitten multiple timesst night.

    It sent shivers down my spine. ¡°<b>I </b>regret nothing, baby. Would do it all again in a heartbeat.¡± He ced my leg over his <b>hip </b>so that my pussy was lined <b>up </b>with his hard cock.

    I gasped when he slowly rolled his <b>hips </b>once against mine, sliding his cock between my slick folds. Chapter <b>54 </b>of 59: Chapter 54

    ¡°Are you sore?¡± he said right next to my car. ¡°I know I was pretty rough with you. I couldn¡¯t help it, though. I needed to im you. To dominate you. I had to.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I whispered. I closed my eyes, already getting lost in the sensations he was causing to build in my lower stomach.

    Was it actually possible to want <b>him </b>again after the countless hours he¡¯d spent inside me only yesterday?

    The answer was yes. Yes, it definitely was.

    In fact, the closeness I felt with him due to the bond only made me want him more, almost as if we hadn¡¯tpleted the mating process at all to begin with. I was desperate for him again.

    ¡°I¨CI¡¯m a little s¨Csore,¡± I said,pleting my earlier thought, realizing I had never actually answered his question. ¡°But it¡¯s n<b>¨C</b>nothing I can¡¯t¡­um¡­handle.¡±

    His cock was rubbing up against my clit with exact precision, turning my brain to mush.

    ¡°My poor baby. I rode you hard, huh?¡± He picked up his speed just slightly, and I nearly passed. away then and there. He was teasing me. He was enjoying watching me fall apart for him.

    ¡°<i>Grayson</i>. I want you again. Please.¡± I didn¡¯t care that I was begging, so long as he slid that magical dick into me in the next five <b>seconds</b>.

    I gasped at the intense pleasure that <b>took </b><b>over </b>our bond. Holy shit, did he like hearing me say that- hearing me <b>beg </b>for him and actually being able to do something about it.

    <b>His </b>pleasure immediately filled my chest with warmth <b>and </b>the space between my legs with butterflies.

    ¡°I know you do,<b>¡± </b>he replied in a low tone. ¡°I can feel your need<b>. </b>Smell it. My cock is practically drowning in it.¡±

    <b>His </b>movements abruptly ceased<b>, </b>and he leaned down<b>, </b>so his lips were right next to my ear<b>. </b>¡°So what <b>are </b>you going to do <b>about </b>it, little mate?¡±

    My eyes snapped up to his. It took me a moment to understand the significance behind his words. He was giving me permission.

    For the first time ever, he was allowing me to do what I wanted to him without restrictions <b>or </b>restraints. It was such a simple thing he was doing, and <b>yet</b>, it meant so much to me.

    I <b>suddenly </b><b>had </b>the urge to cry.

    Chapter 54 of 59: Chapter 54

    <b>33</b>%

    I had been holding myself back from touching him and acting on my need to bring him pleasure for so long that I didn¡¯t even realize I was still doing it now, even when it was unnecessary.

    But Grayson had noticed it yesterday and was sharing his observation with me now through the mate bond.

    Even when he was inside me for most of yesterday, I kept my hands on ces I knew were safe: his face, shoulders, chest, abs¨Cbut never lower. He knew what I was doing even when I didn¡¯t. He knew I was holding myself back and protecting myself from his rejection, which I had be all too familiar with. I was so familiar with it that I hade to expect it.

    ¡°What are you going to do about it, Belle?¡± he asked again, quicter this time, with more intention behind his words.

    I smiled. I knew exactly what I was going to do about it.

    I pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him. I made sure that no <b>part </b>of my sopping wet center <b>was </b>touching him¨Cmy own way of teasing him in the same way he teased me..

    Grayson crossed his arms behind his head and watched me with raised brows, a cocky grin stered on his lips.

    I couldn¡¯t help but lean forward and kiss those lips. Once. Twice. Three times for good measure.

    I felt his muscles tense beneath me as he held himself back from grabbing me and kissing me more thoroughly like I knew he wanted to.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to stop me this time?¡± I asked, letting my mouth barely brush over <b>his </b>as I spoke. My hands trailed down his pecs and over his arms and shoulders.

    ¡°No excuses about having to work? Or not feeling like it¡¯s the right time?¡°¡±

    ¡°Fu*ck, <b>no</b>.<b>¡± </b><b>His </b>words came out strained. It was getting harder for him to hold himself buck. ¡°Not even the Moon Goddess herself could pull me away from you right now.¡±

    I wet my mouth, looking down at my hunk of a mate, trying to decide exactly what my next move would be. The possibilities were endless.

    I tried to press <b>my </b>legs together to try to relieve some of the pulsing difort starting there, but Grayson¡¯s massive form was there, preventing any sort of friction from taking ce.

    Deciding that this would be solely about him and not me, I leaned down and pressed a slow kiss to his Jaw<b>. </b>Then his throat, <b>Adam¡¯s </b>apple, corbone, and chest muscles.

    Chapter <b>54 </b>of 59: Chapter 54

    I kissed all the way down to his stomach and the small patch of hair leading down to my final

    destination<b>. </b>

    <b>¡°</b>Belle,¡± Grayson groaned, his voice strained, making it clear he was barely holding it together. He wanted me to hurry things along.

    I giggled but didn¡¯t rush. I wanted to enjoy this.

    My lips were directly above his pulsing shaft now. With a grin, I slowly bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to his crown.

    Even from that simple touch, his hips shot up just the slightest bit, and another low groan came from deep within his chest. I loved the effect I had on him. I loved that I could so easily make him lose control.

    I was just about to wrap my <b>lips </b>fully around his tip, my mouth watering with the need to taste him, when all of a sudden, he sat up.

    He grabbed me by the bottom of thy jaw with his massive hand, stopping what I was doing.

    He let out a vicious growl that shook the entire bed. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be f*ucking kidding me,¡± he bit <b>out</b>, every muscle of his body flexed with unrestrained fury. ¡°Someone wants to die<b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°<b>What</b>?¡± I responded.

    Without warning, he gently grabbed me by the back of my neck and pulled me up<b>, </b><b>so </b><b>my </b>face was directly in front of his. He smashed his lips to mine. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± he spoke against my lips.

    As if on cue<b>, </b><b>a </b>knock could be heard at the door to our apartment. Grayson let out a snarl so loud and powerful that it shook the entire room. Hell, it probably shook the entire pce.

    I mmed my hands over my ears.

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m going to kill him,¡± Grayson bit out.

    ¡°Who?<b>¡± </b><b>I </b>squeaked. ¡°Who is that?¡±

    With one final apologetic squeeze to my neck and a kiss on my mouth, he moved me off <b>of </b>him so I was lying on my back on the bed next to him.

    ¡°Wait, what are wr¡­

    doing?<b>¡± </b>I asked, watching <b>as </b>he stood in all of his naked glory. <i>Dear </i><i>Lord</i>, I <i>had </i>s

    ex with that<b>? </b>¡°I thought you said that not even the Moon Goddess could pull you from me.¡±

    <b>¡°</b><b>And </b><b>I </b>meant <b>that</b><b>,</b>¡± he replied sternly. <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯ll </b>be back<b>¨C</b>just as soon as I murder <b>my </b>beta.¡± Chapter 54 of 59: Chapter <b>54 </b>

    ¡°Your beta?¡± I repeated. ¡°Kyle is here?¡±

    Grayson grunted in response. He was pissed. I could feel his anger racing through our bond, squeezing around my heart.

    He didn¡¯t like it when we were interrupted during an intimate moment like this. He liked it even less that there was a person anywhere near me so soon after mating for the first time.

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯ll be right back. Stay here.¡± He began walking to the door.

    ¡°Grayson!¡± I called after him. I quickly stood and wrapped a sheet around me. ¡°Where are you going? You¡¯re naked!¡±

    Grayson was past the point of listening. He was shaking with anger, body growing, preparing to shift.

    He very obviously didn¡¯t care about his state of nudity. His attention was set on ripping apart. whoever was at our door.

    <b>¡°</b>Grayson, wait! You can¡¯t just

    I chased after him to the door only for him to turn, walk back to me, toss me over his shoulder, and march me right back to the bed at a speed I couldn¡¯t even begin toprehend.

    He unceremoniously dropped me on the mattress and climbed over me, looking down at me with livid dark¨Cred eyes. I gulped.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Stay</b>. <i>Here</i>,<b>¡± </b>he <b>ground </b>out. ¡°If Ie back here and find that you¡¯ve moved even one inch toward that door, you <b>won¡¯t </b>like the consequences. Understand me, mate?¡±

    <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯m </b><b>not </b><b>a </b>child<b>.</b><b>¡± </b><b>I </b><b>red </b>up at him. ¡°You want to get kicked in the balls? Talk to me like that again<b>.</b>¡±

    Grayson <b>bared </b>his teeth in frustration and stuffed his head into <b>my </b>hair, taking in deep, calming breaths <b>of </b><b>my </b>scent.

    I <b>knew </b>he was on edge and couldn¡¯t exactly control his actions right now. Maybe I should have <b>granted </b>him some mercy and just done what he¡¯d said.

    But that didn¡¯t mean he could get <b>away </b>with talking to me like that.

    There was another rapid pounding on the door. Grayson snarled in the direction of it.

    ¡°Um, excuse me<b>, </b>do you really think I want to be here right now?¡± Kyle¡¯s voice shouted through <b>our </b>

    Chapter <b>54 </b><b>of </b><b>59</b>: Chapter <b>54 </b>

    <b>65</b>%

    ¡°In fact, do you think I would be anywhere near your wing of the pce right now unless it weren¡¯t extremely important?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Go <b>talk </b>to your beta,¡± I told Grayson. I massaged the tight muscles of his neck with my fingers in an attempt to calm him quickly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay here. I promise. The sooner you go see what he wants, the sooner we can get back to what we were doing.¡±

    He kissed my mark and then my lips before leaning back to look at me.

    Next thing I knew, I was alone on the bed, and the door to the bedroom was mmed shut.

    I sprang up, raced to the door, pressed my ear to the wood<b>, </b>and strained my hearing to listen to what they were saying.

    ¡°What the flying fu*ck do you want?¡± Grayson demanded the moment he was outside the room.

    ¡°The borders are down,¡± Kyle said. His tone was much more serious than I was used to<b>, </b>indicating he was getting straight to business.

    He could probably tell he was on thin ice and that he had mere moments to exin why he was there before Grayson lost his shit.

    ¡°What do you mean they¡¯re down?¡°¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just down. We have no idea how it happened.¡± He took <b>a </b>deep breath. ¡°We¡¯re handling it, but I thought <b>you </b>might want to be aware. Anyone has ess to the kingdom right now. Absolutely anyone.¡±

    The door to our bedroom swung open <b>a </b>secondter.

    I stumbled backward with <b>a </b><b>gasp</b>, not expecting my mate to burst through the door just then, only to be <b>grabbed </b>around the waist and mmed into his naked chest.

    ¡°I thought I told you to stay on the bed,<b>¡± </b>he said, chiding me.

    ¡°And I thought I told you <b>I </b>would kick you in the balls if you kept talking to me like I¡¯m a child.¡±

    A muscle ticked in his jaw<b>. </b>¡°You make me fu*cking crazy.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t me me for your psychosis.

    ¡°Baby, <b>you </b>are my psychosis.¡±

    With that, he released me, and within the next second, he was across the room in our closet, pulling on a pair of dark jeans.

    ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± I asked.

    Frustration took over his face. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m so sorry, love. You know I wouldn¡¯t go if I didn¡¯t really

    have to.¡±

    I nodded, following him into the closet. ¡°I know. It¡¯s okay. Kyle sounded pretty serious. What does it mean that the borders are down?¡°¡±

    He paused after pulling on a ck T¨Cshirt, his brows knitting together. ¡°You could hear that?¡±

    ¡°Of course I could hear that<b>. </b>You were just in the other room.¡±

    His puzzlement showed. ¡°The rooms are soundproof. The only reason I knew Kyle wasing was that I could smell him, and the door was open. Even I would struggle to hear through that door when it¡¯s closed.¡±

    <b>I </b>shrugged. ¡°Well, I guess you should get your money back because whoever soundproofed this room obviously didn¡¯t do a very <b>good </b>job.¡±

    Grayson shook his head, reaching for a pair of boots. ¡°So I guess you heard that the borders to Zaweth are down. First time in centuries.¡±

    I pulled my sheet around me tighter. ¡°What exactly does that mean?¡±

    ¡°It means that someone figured out how to break them down. Someone very powerful. It means that anyone can get through.¡±

    ¡°Well, <b>can¡¯t </b><b>you </b><b>just </b>put them back <b>up</b>?¡±

    ¡°Not without an extremely powerful warlock. And the only one nearby just so happens to be missing. And I have a funny feeling that I know who¡¯s responsible.¡±

    He walked to me, pressing <b>a </b>firm kiss on my forehead. ¡°We need to protect the borders. For all <i>we </i>know<b>, </b>Azazel is already in the kingdom.¡±

    ¡°<b>And </b><b>you¡¯re </b>just going to go out there?¡± I demanded. ¡°You¡¯re the one he wants to kill. Shouldn¡¯t you be hiding?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no <b>coward</b><b>, </b>Belle<b>. </b>I¡¯m not going to run like Azazel. I¡¯m going to rip him to <b>shreds </b><b>for </b>what he did to <b>you</b><b>. </b>Because that¡¯s what he deserves. I¡¯m going to make him <b>suffer</b>.¡±

    The emotions <b>I </b>was feeling from him suddenly made sense. There was no fear over the potential danger facing his kingdom or his people right now.

    He was cager for Azazel toe. He was excited. He wanted to destroy him.

    ¡°What can I do to help?¡± I asked, already reaching for my clothes.

    ¡°You can stay right here where I know you will be safe¨Cwhere Azazel cannot get to you,¡± he said.

    He walked past me, making his way to the bed, where he sat down and started to quicklyce up his

    boots.

    I threw <b>on </b>some underwear¨Cof the non¨Cs

    8xy variety this time¨Cbefore tugging a pair of jeans over my hips.

    A scoff flew from my mouth. Why did I know that was going to be his answer before I even asked. the question?

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m <b>not </b>going to just sit here like a helpless doll while you go out there and risk your life. Absolutely not. I¡¯ming with.¡± I shrugged into a white T¨Cshirt.

    Finished with hisces, Grayson finally looked up at me with a piercing gaze.

    I knew the expression on his face. It was a look that said he wasn¡¯t going to budge on the topic.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Argue </b>with me all you want, Belle,¡± he said slowly. ¡°It¡¯s not happening. I will not willingly <b>put </b>you in danger.¡±

    ¡°There <b>has </b>to be something I can do! I can help with medical stuff. Or with children. This <b>is </b>t pack <b>too</b><b>.</b>¡±

    <b>my </b>

    He ignored <b>me</b><b>, </b>already making his way to the door. I scrambled to put my sneakers on, hopping on one foot while I followed him.

    ¡°So what, you¡¯re just going to lock me <b>up </b>in this apartment while you go off to war<b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    He <b>nodded </b>once. <b>¡°</b>Yes, <b>that¡¯s </b>exactly <b>what </b>I¡¯m going to do.¡±

    I scoffed. <b>¡°</b>I <b>know </b>how to unlock <b>a </b>door. <b>You </b>can¡¯t force me to stay here.¡±

    Grayson¡¯s brows rose. <b>He </b><b>opened </b>the door to reveal Liam standing there, a grim expression painted on his face.

    ¡°No<b>, </b><b>but </b>I can,¡± Liam said as he <b>stepped </b>into the apartment.

    ¡°No, but I can,¡± Liam said as he stepped into the apartment.

    I looked at my mate. ¡°What is this? What is he doing here?¡°*

    Grayson was hesitant with his words. ¡°He¡¯s going to make sure you stay here.¡±

 Chapter 112

    BELLE

    ¡°You¡¯re terrible at Go <b>Fish</b>,¡± Liam told me. ¡°Seriously, I¡¯ve yed toddlers better than you.¡±

    Throwing my cards down on the coffee table in front of me, I dropped my head to my knees with a

    groan.

    Grayson had left several hours before, leaving me alone with Liam, who wouldn¡¯t let me out of my apartment no matter how many times I threatened to kill him, his family, <b>and </b>his future children.

    It was absolutely infuriating.

    ¡°Might as well stop trying, Belle,¡± Liam had said the fifth time he had pinned me against a wall after trying to sneak past him when he wasn¡¯t looking and make a mad dash for the front door<b>. </b>

    ¡°Even if you did somehow manage to get past me, there are two more wolves on the other side of this door, tasked with keeping you inside. No one is getting in, and there will definitely be no one getting out.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t care less about stupid Go Fish. My eyes kept straying to the front door, my heart squeezing a little tighter with every second that Grayson didn¡¯t walk through.

    This was stupid, of course, since I could sense through the mate bond that he wasn¡¯t close, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself from hoping that he would appear safe, sound, and unharmed.

    Liam and I had been ying games and watching movies for several hours. He was trying to keep my mind upied, although he was not seeding in the slightest.

    He had just won his fourth game in a row of Go Fish in record time.

    I¡¯m not sure how we ended up ying Go Fish, as it is a game for preschoolers; Liam must¡¯ve suggested it because he knew my mind was otherwise upied with thoughts I should not be having.

    Unsurprisingly, I was struggling to concentrate; I focused most of my attention on trying to tune Into Grayson¡¯s emotions through the mate bond.

    His most prevalent emotion was anger, followed by eagerness and a <b>tad </b>bit of blood lust.

    His fear was minimal, if entirely nonexistent¨Cthank goodness¨Cfueled by his worry for me and need to avenge me. I might think it was sweet if it weren¡¯t so terrifying.

    Every once in a while, I could feel Grayson searching through my emotions the same way I kept Chapter <b>55 </b>of 59: Chapter 55

    I think Grayson knew it brought mefort when he did that, so he did it often. I felt his warm presence in my mind every five to ten minutes.

    ¡°Any updates?¡± I asked Liam.

    Liam was getting regr updates on his phone through a royal news and emergency outlet.

    My phone seemed to magically disappear around the same time Grayson left¨Ca strange coincidence that prevented me from doom¨Cscrolling through the news like I wanted to.

    I wouldn¡¯t be nearly as annoyed about Grayson hiding my phone if I didn¡¯t know that Liam was picking and choosing what information to give me so as not to freak me out.

    Liam sighed and pulled out his phone. I anxiously watched as his thumb scrolled over the screen.

    ¡°They¡¯re <b>still </b>just patrolling the borders,¡± he told me. ¡°Nothing has changed. I would tell you if there was something to worry about.¡±

    As if that would <b>stop </b>me from worrying.

    I shifted in my spot on the living room floor, trying not to look as nervous as I felt.

    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Iined. ¡°I may be a human and not some fancy werewolf or vampire, <b>but </b>I know how to take care of myself. I won¡¯t do <b>anything </b>stupid if you let me out.¡±

    ¡°Letting you out <i>would </i>be the stupid thing,¡± Liam responded while he picked up my cards so he <b>could </b><b>shuffle </b>and deal us both another hand.

    ¡°I thought you were supposed to be on my side. You were <b>my </b>friend before you were ever my <b>*</b>guardian¡® or whatever.¡±

    Liam scoffed, not bothering to look up at me. <b>¡°</b>So that¡¯s where we¡¯re at now? All I¡¯m trying to do is <b>keep </b><b>you </b>safe, and you¡¯re trying to guilt¨C<b>trip </b>me<b>?</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°It was worth a try,¡± I grumbled, hugging my knees closer to my chest.

    I looked over at the door once more, unable to prevent the worried sigh from escaping my mouth.

    <b>The </b>only reason I wasn¡¯t fighting this harder was that I knew Grayson would be safer if he knew for certain that <b>/ </b>was <b>safe</b>. <b>He </b>would never be able to concentrate if I were out on my own.

    It would just put us both in more danger.

    So I would stay<b>. </b><b>As </b>long as I could feel that Grayson <b>was </b>safe through our mate bond, I would stay

    Liam finished shuffling and began to deal the cards for yet another round of Go Fish. We both were sitting around the living room coffee table, me on the floor and Liam on the couch.

    ¡°No more Go Fish. Please,¡± <b>I </b>said, pushing the cards away from me.

    Liam sighed and paused his movements.

    <b>¡°</b>You want to y something else? I hate to admit it, but Go Fish is the only game I know how to y. Card games and <b>board </b>games aren¡¯t really super popr within vampire culture.¡±

    My li*ps turned up slightly for the first time since Grayson had left. ¡°Now that¡¯s just sad. What kind of childhood is that?¡±

    Liam smiled. ¡°Not a good one. But let¡¯s not talk about that. It¡¯s depressing as fu*ck. I would actually. love to hear about how you¡¯re doing.

    ¡°Last I saw you, back in Minnie¡¯s apartment, you were pretty upset. Something happened between you and your mate.¡± He hesitated, his gaze set on the cards in his hands.

    Then he looked up at me. ¡°But everything is¡­fixed between you two now?¡±

    ¡°Besides the fact that Grayson insists on keeping me locked up in my apartment?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, everything is fixed. More than fixed.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s¡­¡± He trailed off momentarily before blurting, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have to ask¨Caren¡¯t you supposed to be a fairy now?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I was so taken aback by his question that it was the only thing I could think of saying.

    Then it urred to me¨CLiam knew that Grayson and I had finallypleted the mating process. Of course he did.

    I hadpletely forgotten what Grayson had told me about what would happen with his pack after I mated with <b>him</b>.

    Everyone connected to Grayson would be able to feel it when he finally fully connected to me, just like how they felt the moment he¡¯d met me.

    Despite my attempt to stop it, I felt a flush darken my cheekbones. And not just because Liam knew that Grayson and I¡¯d had se*x.

    I mean, <b>that </b>wasn¡¯t great either<b>, </b><b>but </b>what I was really embarrassed about was the fact that virtually every supernatural creature in the world knew that <b>I </b>had lost my virginity to their king yesterday.

    ¡°Oh, God, no, no, no, no¡­¡± My face dropped into my hands. I couldn¡¯t even look at Liam. It suddenly didn¡¯t seem so bad that I was being held captive in my apartment.

    How was I ever going to go out in public ever again<b>? </b>

    ¡°Okay, there¡¯s no need for that,¡± Liam said, standing anding to crouch down next to me on the floor. <b>¡°</b>Seriously, you¡¯re going to make your mate worry if you start freaking out. And he has <b>shit </b>to

    do.¡±

    He put a hand on my shoulder, trying tofort me, although it did nothing to help with the humiliation eating away at my stomach.

    ¡°No one gives a fu*ck that you had se*x, Belle. In fact, most people were just cestatic that you were finally officially their queen.¡±

    He let his head hang when I still wouldn¡¯t answer. ¡°Fu*ck, and you were just starting to rx too. I shouldn¡¯t have brought it up.¡±

    ¡°Uh, yeah, ya think?¡± I snapped back, finally looking up at him. I took several deep breaths. He was <b>right</b>; breaking down right now was not going to do anyone any favors.

    <b>I </b>needed to stay calm¨Cif only for Grayson¡¯s sake.

    <b>Brushing </b>my hair out of my face, I said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Everything is fine. I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s all fine. This might be the single most humiliating moment of my life, but I¡¯m okay, right?

    ¡°No one cares that Grayson and I mated because I live in this crazy supernatural world where all of this is normal, right?

    ¡°Everybody just knows when everybody else <b>has </b>se*t?<b>¡± </b>

    Liam didn¡¯t respond<b>, </b>probably thinking I had lost my damn mind.

    ¡°Oh, <b>my </b><b>god</b>, tell me I¡¯m right<b>!</b>¡± I exploded.

    <b>¡°</b>Right!¡± Liam immediately responded, frantically nodding his head in agreement. <b>¡°</b>Yes, that¡¯s totally right. No one cares. Not one <b>bit</b>. Everyone knows when everyone else has s*ex and all that..

    The mix of embarrassment and annoyance I was feeling caused my entire body to dete. I squeezed <b>my </b>eyes shut.

    <b>¡°</b><b>You </b>are terrible atforting women. I <b>don¡¯t </b>know how you¡¯re ever going to make it <b>with </b>Minnic<b>.</b>¡±

    He gripped his chest, feigning pain. ¡°Ouch. That hurts.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get over it,¡± I mumbled.

    ¡°Okay, but setting the whole se*x thing aside, I only ask because I read the prophecy. I know what was supposed to happen after you mated. But you¡¯re still¡­you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I breathed out. ¡°Still me. Absolutely no difference as far as I can tell.¡±

    ¡°But what about shifting into a Fae?¡±

    I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m <b>just </b>as confused as you are. It seems like I¡¯ll be remaining human for a while longer.

    ¡°That¡¯s good, right? It means you and Grayson were worried about nothing-¡±

    A ding came from.Liam¡¯s phone, cutting him short. He pulled out his phone andughed when he saw who it was.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Who is it?<b>¡± </b>

    He shook his head and held the phone so I could see the text lighting up the screen. ¡°Your mate,¡± he exined.

    <b>Grayson </b><b>Stoll </b>

    Tell Belle to stop worrying so much. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m in the woods with other pack members, taking shifts patrolling the borders.

    Everything is okay. She can go to sleep. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s exhausted. Tell her I¡¯ll be back soon<b>. </b>

    <b>I </b>leaned back after reading the message, my heart feeling significantly lighter. ¡°Well, <b>that¡¯s </b>good-

    <b>All </b>of a sudden, I felt a significant shift in Grayson¡¯s emotions. My heart plummeted to the bottom of my feet. I wasn¡¯t sure how I knew, but I knew something had happened¨Csomething bad.

    He was in trouble.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Belle</b>? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Liam asked.

    <b>¡°</b>Something happened to Grayson,¡± I exined frantically. ¡°Something is wrong.¡±

    ¡°But we just <b>got </b>a text from him. He said <b>he </b><b>was </b><b>fine</b><b>.</b>¡±

    I barely processed what Liam said to me, too busy fishing through my mate¡¯s emotions. They seemed to be quickly escting with each passing minute. ¡°Things changed.¡±

    Something was making Grayson panic. He was afraid, and that fact alone made my world feel like it was grinding to a halt.

    ¡°Do you know what happened? Can you tell?¡± Liam continued with the questions.

    I shook my head. ¡°I¨CI don¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t¡­¡± I prodded into Grayson¡¯s mind but couldn¡¯t seem to get any other information but could feel nothing other than his fear<b>. </b>

    Without any warning, my connection to Grayson was cut off. My mind was suddenly still. My breath was swiped clean out of my lungs the same moment my stomach lined itself with lead.

    to feel his fear, so he blocked me from ¡±

    I could no longer feel Grayson¡¯s emotions. He didn¡¯t want me feeling anything at all. Which was decidedly much, much worse.

    It meant that whatever happened must have been bad enough to hide from me.

    It was his way of protecting me. I knew this. But that didn¡¯t make me feel any better. I didn¡¯t want to be protected I wanted to know if he was okay. I <i>needed </i>to know if he was okay.

    My eyes darted to Liam who was still right next to me, watching me intently. ¡°He cut off our connection,¡± I told him.

    Tears of panic pooled in the corner of my eyes, but I quickly suppressed them. ¡°W¨CWhat do <b>I </b><b>do</b><b>? </b>I can¡¯t make out what he¡¯s feeling anymore.¡±

    A pause ensued while he tried to determine the right thing to say. His hesitation was evident<b>, </b>immediately telling me <b>that </b>whatever he was going to say would upset me.

    ¡°I think¡­the only thing you can do¡­<b>is </b>wait.¡±

    And upset me, it did.

    <b>¡°</b>My mate is in trouble and you want me to do nothing?<b>¡± </b>I demanded. ¡°What if he gets hurt? What if he

    gets <i>killed</i>?¡±

    ¡°Belle, listen to me. I think we both know that Azazel Mortar is behind this. I need you to be fu*cking serious.

    <b>¡°</b>How the hell are <b>you </b>going to be able to help when faced with one of the most powerful vampires in the world<b>? </b>What could <b>you </b>possibly do to help your mate during a situation like this?¡±

    the <b>world</b><b>? </b><b>W </b>

    ¡°More than I could do sitting in my living room<b>, </b>twiddling my thumbs, <b>and </b>ying f*ucking Go Fish!¡± I snapped back, seething with anger.

    ¡°I¡¯m the queen of the supernatural, of Zaweth and I need to be there if something is happening. I¡¯m not selfish and I¡¯m <i>definitely </i>not a coward.¡±

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>need to be with my mate if something is happening. And you¡¯re not going to stop me.¡±

    Not saying another word, I sprang up and with conviction, made my way to the front door once

    again<b>. </b>

    Liam used his vampire speed to appear in front of me <b>in </b>less than a second, blocking my path. ¡°I¡± can¡¯t let you do that,¡± Liam said.

    ¡°Get out of my way, Liam. <b>I </b>mean it.¡± My voice was fuming.

    His arms crossed over his chest while he stared me down with an unwavering expression. ¡°No.¡±

    I was so done with <b>this </b>shit. I was so done with other people thinking they were the ones in charge of my own damn life.

    Making up my mind, I marched over to the kitchen, pulled open a drawer, and grabbed a knife.

    Liam¡¯s brows rose with shock as I approached him once again. ¡°Belle, what are you doing? The <b>most </b>you¡¯re going to achieve here is hurting yourself.¡±

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m not an idiot, Liam.¡± I tried to keep my stance strong as I held up the knife. ¡°Get out of my way<b>, </b>or I start swinging<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    Liam¡¯s li*ps curled up at the corners. He was clearly amused by my threats.

    ¡°Do you even really know how to use a knife? I¡¯ve been training in debat since I was eight <b>years </b>old. I would take you down easy¨Ceven without my vampire abilities.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out how to stab someone,¡± I replied. ¡°Now, move.¡±

    ¡°You know I can¡¯t do that. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live with myself if something were to happen to you. <b>And </b>neither would your mate.¡±

    It was sweet, really. Liam was <b>a </b>good friend. It was too bad he was also a butt face.

    <b>And </b>then¡­ <b>I¡¯m </b>not really sure what happened next.

    One moment I was strutting toward Liam<b>, </b>knife in <b>my shaking </b>hand, ready to do whatever I had to

    Chanter Et af ca. AL

    <b>And </b>the next, I was standing in the middle of the hallway outside my apartment<b>, </b>only inches away from stabbing a very nice¨Clooking stranger <b>in </b>the stomach.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± eximed the curly¨Chaired woman standing in front of my front door. I immediately recognized her as one of Grayson¡¯s original pack members from Minnesota. Bridget, maybe?

    I had the opportunity to talk to her during my first week in Zaweth and remembered thinking she was really cool and extremely stylish.

    Standing next to her was another werewolf whom I didn¡¯t recognize as much. I knew his name was Christopher<b>, </b>though.

    Like most male werewolves, he was huge and intimidating. It didn¡¯t help that he was dressed in all ck and covered in muscle.

    So Liam hadn¡¯t been lying when he¡¯d said there were two werewolves stationed outside my door, tasked with keeping me inside.

    Bridget just barely dodged my knife before I realized what I was about to do and pulled it back to my side.

    ¡°Why do you have a knife?¡± Bridget asked. ¡°Were you about to stab me?¡±

    The man looked behind him at the closed door before swinging his gaze back at me, confusion written all over his face. ¡°Where did you evene from?¡±

    I was <b>just </b>as confused as they were. I had no idea how I got here. Did I ck out? Oh, my god, did I actually stab Liam? I mean, I know I threatened to do it, but I never actually meant to.

    <b>Relief </b>surged through me when I heard Liam¡¯s voice calling out from inside my apartment.

    ¡°Belle? <b>Belle</b>! F*uck!¡± He let out a string of curses while he started searching around for me. ¡°This isn¡¯t f*ucking funny, Belle<b>!</b><b>¡± </b>

    The two werewolves seemed to narrow their eyes on me, obviously hearing the same thing I did.

    ¡°I, um¡­,¡± I began. I took <b>a </b>few <b>steps </b>back. ¡°I should <b>go</b><b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    <b>Without </b>saying another word, I turned on <b>my </b>heel <b>and </b>started sprinting down the hallway.

    ¡°Hey<b>! </b>Hold on!¡± the man yelled behind me. The sound of his much quicker <b>footsteps </b>could be <b>heard </b>racing after me. Bridget was busy banging on the door to my apartment, trying to get Liam¡¯s attention.

    I wasn¡¯t even halfway down the hall when Christopher grabbed my arm, attempting to pull me to a stop. I squeaked, preparing to fight against him but then he released me. He just let me go..

    My eyes flew up, looking behind me, only to find that Christopher was no longer there. <b>In </b>fact, not even the hallway was there.

    I was once again in a whole other location. And this time, I didn¡¯t recognize where I was.

    I was surrounded by tall trees that never seemed to end, obviously in the middle of a forest. <b>But </b>which forest? Was I still in Zaweth?

    And<b>, </b>more importantly, how the ever¨Cloving fu*ck did I get here? Was I losing my mind or did I just apparate like <b>a </b>damn wizard straight out of <i>Harry </i><i>Potter</i>?

    <i>¡°</i>Each Fue <i>develops </i><i>their </i><i>powers </i><i>based </i>on need and circumstance<i>,</i>¡± Evangeline¡¯s my mind.

    a rang out in

    Could this be what she had been talking about? I needed to get out of my apartment, so I appeared <b>on </b>the other side of the door.

    I needed to get <b>away </b>from the werewolves guarding my apartment, so I instantly appeared in the middle of the woods somewhere. Not the most helpful solution but I suppose it would work.

    At least I wasn¡¯t locked up with Liam anymore.

    Holy <b>fu*ck</b>. <b>Was </b>I a fairy now?

 Chapter 113

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    HALF AN HOUR EARLIER

    After hundreds of years, the invisible border protecting the kingdom of Zaweth and preventing <b>just </b>anyone from wandering in was taken down, and we had no idea how or why.

    all those

    I didn¡¯t even know that it was possible. The warlock who put them up years ago, Gulius ¡ú Mallor, was still alive and had been <b>a </b>resident of Zaweth his whole life.

    While not immortal, warlocks were some of the longest¨Cliving creatures in existence. They were often referred to as the sea turtles of the supernatural world, living on average for a thousand years.

    They were also incredibly rare. Gulius was one of few in existence and also one of the oldest at 912

    years old.

    And he was missing. The only man who could do anything to help was nowhere to be found.

    The supernatural kingdom had a lot of enemies who wouldn¡¯t think twice about taking advantage of our borders being down. For all we knew, they could already be in Zaweth.

    Kyle and I scrambled to protect the borders before it was toote. At least one hundred of our best warriors were stationed around the entirety of Zaweth, and we were recruiting more volunteers to

    take shifts.

    We had been patrolling the borders for thest several hours. It was dark now, the night sky nketing us with dark shadows and moonlight.

    The forest was quiet at night and brought my wolf and me great peace.

    <b>I </b><b>wasn¡¯t </b>able to enjoy this peace though because Belle was <b>upset </b>with me. I felt her seething and worrying through our bond, taking advantage of our new connection and constantly checking in on

    <ol>

    <li>mc.</li>

    </ol>

    I wholly regretted not teaching her how to mind¨Clink¨Can ability that she would be able to take advantage of now that we were fully bonded<b>¨C</b>before I left her.

    It would have been an extremely useful ability to have, especially since I took her phone so I could be the one in <b>charge </b>of what information she was exposed to.

    <b>I </b>tried sending her soothing vibes through our link but <b>they </b>did little to calm her. This was to be expected<b>. </b>

    It was hard for newly mated couples to be apart from each other, even when both were in safe environments and not possibly facing a battle with a psychotic vampire.

    I hadn¡¯t been kidding yesterday when I said I nned on keeping her in bed for the rest of the week. And I still nned on doing exactly that as soon as I knew that my kingdom was safe.

    I reached out to Belle through the link, checking in on her. She liked feeling my presence because it ensured her that I was all right. She calmed just slightly, but her worry for me was still strong.

    I sighed. I hated leaving her with Liam. It was easy to be away from her after mating, especially since she hadn¡¯t shifted into a fairy as I had been expecting her to after we were done.

    Had the prophecy been wrong? Or was there a shift stilling?

    I pulled out <b>my </b>phone and sent a quick text to Liam, asking him to tell Belle to stop worrying and to go to bed. I would be back with her as <b>soon </b>as possible. Her anxiety waspletely unnecessary.

    <b>This </b>entire situation felt all too familiar.

    Leaving Belle right before mating and being pulled out to protect the borders from an unexpected breach reminded me a little too much of the <b>night </b>that Azazel took control of my body.

    <b>r</b>, despite

    I had no doubt <b>in </b>my mind that he was the one behind all <b>of </b>this. Kidnapping Gulius Mallor, being a harmless old man, and coercing him to remove the borders was not beneath Azazel.

    If my suspicions were correct, all we had to do now was wait for Azazel to act on whatever ridiculous n he was cooking up.

    And then <b>I </b>would kill him, make him pay for what he did to my mate.

    And then I would return to said mate, throw her down on the nearest surface, and let her continue with whatever she nned to do to me before we were interrupted.

    Then I would plow into her repeatedly until we were <b>both </b>too exhausted to continue.

    Maybe I would take her from behind this time. Or watch her face twist with pleasure while she rode my cock and dug her nails into my chest <b>like </b><b>I </b>knew she loved <b>to </b>do.

    <b>¡°</b>You know, <b>I </b>gotta tell you, this whole ¡®being a hybrid¡® thing is seriously proving to be both at blessing and a curse<b>,</b><b>¡± </b>Kyle said to me, felgning exasperation.

    We were walking through the woods<b>, </b>checking in <b>on </b>our warriors around the borders to make sure there <b>wasn¡¯t </b><b>any </bnd that wasn¡¯t covered. Kyle hadn¡¯t stopped talking the entire time.

    I could have done this on my own.

    Still, Kyle insisted that I not be left alone since thest time Azazel was on my territory without permission, he took advantage of my solidarity, taking over my mind and body <b>for </b>several months.

    ¡°What are you going on about?¡± I responded.

    ¡°Well, thank you for asking,¡± Kyle started. ¡°Bing a hybrides with a lot of benefits- bigger, faster, stronger. An all¨Ctogether better warrior. And that¡¯s all great.¡±

    He let his gaze slide to me. ¡°What they don¡¯t tell you about bing a hybrid is that you have to fu*cking smell it every time your alpha is thinking about mating with his luna.¡±

    I grinned. Hisments about my potent <b>sex </b>pheromones didn¡¯t bother me nearly as much as they did before I <b>had </b>finally taken my sweet little mate.

    My temper was much more manageable now. My wolf was at ease for the first time since I <b>had </b>be old enough to find my mate because Belle was mine in every way, shape, and form.

    I <b>had </b>everything I <b>had </b>ever wanted.

    But my need for her was still at <b>an </b>all¨Ctime high. Mating with her had only made me more insatiable.

    <b>I </b>wanted to fu*ck her blind. Nonstop. Forever. To watch her face scrunch up adorably with constant orgasms. To pleasure her until she was just as addicted to me as I was to her.

    <b>I </b>seriously doubted that need would ever go away. Kyle would soon realize that and learn to ignore

    <ol>

    <li>it.</li>

    </ol>

    At least he was the only one with senses strong enough to sense it every time I was thinking about. sex with my irresistible mate.

    <b>My </b>pheromones weren¡¯t nearly <b>as </b>strong <b>as </b>they were before, so no one besides him would <b>be </b>able to sense them. It was only Kyle¡¯s burden to bear, and I was fine with that.

    ¡°Breathe through your mouth,¡± <b>was </b>the <b>only </b>solution <b>I </b>provided for him.

    Kyle groaned. ¡°I thought it would get better after the two of <b>you </b>finally did the hanky panky<b>.</b><b>¡± </b>

    ¡°Then you¡¯re an idiot.¡±

    He chuckled<b>, </b>shaking his head. ¡°Guess-

    He didn¡¯t get to finish <b>that </b>sentence because, at that very moment, a blinding light took over the space around us<b>, </b>and an invisible source mmed into my body.

    <b>It </b>lifted me off my feet and threw me to the ground at the base of a tree. The wind was knocked out of me, and I grunted from the impact, coughing several times.

    What the flying f*uck was that?

    I rolled to my side as I tried to get my breathing under control and groaned at the intense pain in my shoulder. And then I realized what had happened.

    The <b>invisible </b>force field protecting Zaweth was back <b>up</b>. I could see the dome¨Clike enclosure <b>just </b>barely visible and glistening above me.

    ¡°How the f*uck¡­,¡± I murmured.

    I sat <b>up </b>and searched for Kyle, my heart nearly stopping when I found him.

    No, no, no¡­

    I was up and sprinting over to him in less than a second and fell down to my knees next to him.

    Kyle was lying on his back on the ground, unmoving, showing <b>no </b>signs of breathing, unseeing eyes looking up at the sky without emotion.

    A deep wound, thin as if it were made by the cut of a knife, started <b>at </b>the top of his head <b>and </b>ran <b>down </b>the entire right side of his body, all the way to his feet <b>in </b>one long, gory line.

    It cut through his right eye and ran down his check, the side of his throat, chest, stomach, and leg.

    Blood pooled from him and formed a puddle around us,pletely soaking my jeans and filling the air with the scent of iron and death. It was <b>a </b>scene straight out of a horror movie.

    The force <b>field </b>had cut right through him. His right foot was nearly in two pieces, sliced right down the middle, severed <b>up </b>to his ankle where the wound morphed into a grisly flesh wound.

    <b>I </b>had no doubt that if I were to roll him onto his stomach, the gruesome, cable¨Clike wound would <b>be </b>running <b>up </b>his backside <b>as </b>well.

    It created <b>a </b><b>perfect </b>line that circled the length of him in the way that the force field appeared around. him, starting at his feet and then moving upward.

    ¡°No. No. <i>No</i><i>!</i><i>¡± </i><b>I </b>shouted. I grabbed his shoulder, shaking him, trying to <b>get </b>him to move. ¡°Kyle!¡± He didn¡¯t even <b>twitch</b><b>. </b>

    I could barely bring myself to breathe. Panic speared the walls of my throat, clogging my windpipe.

    If this

    WIS <b>V </b>

    what the force field had done to Kyle when it was restored<b>¡­</b>then what had it done to the hundreds of pack members stationed along the border?

    They were all within the area where the force field would have materialized.

    ¡°A pity,¡± a familiar voice said behind me. ¡°Your beta was an irritating nuisance, but it was never my intention to kill him.¡±

    I stood and snapped around to face the owner of the voice.

    It was no surprise that Azazel Mortar stood before me, dressed casually in ck cks and a matching ck button¨Cup shirt.

    His cocky grin showed off his pointed fangs, and his vivid red eyes seemed to glow ominously in <b>the </b>dark.

    ¡°Casualties of war, I suppose,¡± Azazel continued, his menacing grin expanding over the pale skin of <b>his </b>face. He spoke cheerfully as if he were engaging in good¨Cnatured conversation with an old friend.

    All¨Cconsuming fury raced through me, taking over my <b>every </b>thought, my eyesight going red with crazed and fervid rage.

    Azazel Mortar had <b>just </b>sessfully killed my beta along with an unknowable number of my pack members. He had taken control of my body for months and tortured my mate.

    He had made us all live in fear of him and his next move, wondering every day if it would be the one- in which he would achieve his goal and finally take the throne.

    But not anymore. Tonight, he would pay for his sins. Tonight, Azazel Mortar was a dead man.

    With a roar, I sprang forward, advancing in a sh.

    <b>I </b>reached for him with extended ws, intent on ripping out <b>his </b>organs, his tongue, and his eyes. Never <b>his </b>jugr though. Or his heart. No<b>, </b>that would be too easy.

    His death would not be quick or painless¨Cit would be excruciating and gruesome.

    <b>I </b>would make <b>sure </b>he felt it when I broke each one of his bones before tearing both his arms from his <b>body </b><b>at </b>an agonizingly slow <b>speed </b>and then did the same with his legs.

    I wanted him to know what it was like to have his blood run from his open wounds and pool around. his body, knowing <b>he </b>was helpless to do anything to stop it,

    The same way <b>I </b>had felt when I watched Kyle¡¯s blood pool around him mere moments ago.

    But then<b>, </b>just as <b>I </b>was about to reach Azazel, <b>my </b>fingers barely brushing over the fabric of his shirt, he was gone, no longer in front <b>of </b>me. I whirled around with another livid roar.

    His dark chuckle did little to inform of his location. It sounded like he was everywhere,ing from every direction.

    ¡°Did you really think I would make it that easy, Alpha Grayson?¡± Azazel said, his tone mocking as his voice boomed from all around me.

    He was everywhere but nowhere. His physical form was nowhere to be found.

    I bared my teeth. ¡°Come out and face me, Azazel.¡±

    Another chuckle. ¡°Oh, I n to.¡±

    The sound of rustling could be heard behind me, and I immediately turned. Azazel was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, that infuriating smile still tugging at his li*ps.

    I lunged for him once again and was able to reach him this time.

    I had no idea how he¡¯d managed to evade my attack from before, but it didn¡¯t matter because I was already plunging my ws into his stomach. His red eyes widened as I began to twist them into his flesh.

    And then, just like that, he was gone again. My hand was still flexed, still covered in his blood, but there was no longer anyone in front of me. I looked around in confusion.

    ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk,¡± Azazel tutted. ¡°And here I was, thinking we had a real connection<b>.</b>¡±

    I realized with a start that he was beside me now, a few feet away, watching me gleefully. And, despite my just plunging my wed hand into his gut, he seemed to bepletely unharmed.

    His clothes were <b>just </b>as orderly as they were before, and no blood stained the fabric of his shirt.

    My mrs ground together. ¡°What game are <b>you </b>ying, Mortar?¡± I demanded.

    I took <b>a </b>slow step toward him, determined to keep him in my line of vision this time, but was abruptly stopped by another voice¨CAzazel¡¯s voice, buting from the other side of me now.

    <b>¡°</b>After all those months spent sharing the same <b>body</b>, nearly the same consciousness, I truly had started <b>to </b>feel like I knew you. I may have even started to respect <b>you</b>.¡±

    While this new version of Azazel¨Cthe version of him who had just spoken¨Cstepped forward, the one I had just been looking at was still standing to my right, watching me.

    My gaze snapped back and forth between both of them. There were two of him. Two copies of the same man standing right in front of me.

    ¡°It hurts, really.¡± His voice suddenly came from behind me. I whirled around, only to find another Azazel approaching, making the new count three.

    There were three Azazel Mortars surrounding me. ¡°It hurts that you¡¯re so set on killing me.¡± this third version continued <b>with </b>a sad shake of his <b>head</b>.

    ¡°Although, I suppose I intend to do the same,¡± the version to my left said.

    ¡°My brother did always call me a hypocrite,¡± the Azazel at my right said. ¡°I gather he <b>was </b>right.¡±

    My attention snapped between all of them, my neck straining to keep them all in my line of sight as I realized that any one of them could attack the moment my back was turned and I faced another.

    This was nearly an impossible task¨Cespecially when I heard multiple pairs of footsteps rustling the forest floor, and countless Azazel Mortars stepped out of the shadows of the trees, surrounding me.

    At least forty of him formed arge circle around me, all of them sporting the same outfit, the same psychotic smile, the same bright red eyes.

    <b>Magic</b>. It was the only exnation. Azazel was using some sort of magic to make multiple copies of himself. But I already knew that none of the versions surrounding me were the real him.

    And <b>if </b>my theory was correct, harming these duplicates would do nothing to the real him.

    I could kill them, yes¨C<b>just </b>as I had just killed the second Azazel that had appeared in front of me <b>but </b>a new clone would undoubtedly appear in its ce, uninjured and grinning at me.

    Deciding to <b>put </b>my theory to the test, I shot my hand out and, using pure force, sank it into the chest of the Azazel closest to me, not hesitating to wrap it around his heart.

    It was extremely satisfying to watch fear take over his expression as he realized my intentions¨Cto rip his heart straight from his chest.

    But before I got the chance to bring his miserable life to an end, he vanished into thin air, gone just like that. My hand formed a fist around nothing, still covered in his blood.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t very nice,¡± <b>a </b>new version of Azazel said, appearing in front of me in the same spot where the old one had <b>stood</b>.

    His n was clear. He recognized that he would have never been able to kill me on his own. We both knew I was bigger, faster, and stronger.

    He would stand no chance, especially with the army of werewolves and vampires <b>that </b><b>I </b>had <b>on </b>my

    side.

    But he had taken care of any help I would have been able to <b>ask </b>for by killing all of the warriors near me when he somehow managed to put the force field back up.

    He knew that I would guard my borders with the best of my pack members. I had no knowing about the horror that would take ce when the force field was put back.

    o way of

    I fell for his trick and had the blood of countless of my people on my hands to show for it.

    Now, though, he could face me without any members of my packing to aid me. I could mind¨Clink for help, but it would take them too long to get here.

    I was at the edge of Zaweth, a half¨Chour sprint in wolf form from the main part <b>of </b>the kingdom. And Azazel knew that. He was going to make this as quick as possible.

    It all made sense. One version of Azazel I could handle. Hell, even fifty of him would be a walk in the park.

    But it was when all of those versions of him became virtually indestructible¨Csimply reappearingpletely unharmed, the moment I killed them¨Cthat things started to get a little dicey for me.

    But luckily for me, I saw the only w in his n.

    I knew he wasn¡¯t capable of achieving this level of magic on his own, just like how I knew he wasn¡¯t capable of taking down the borders of Zaweth on his own. He was using warlock magic.

    It was why I would bet my life that Gulius Mallor was somewhere nearby at this very moment, aiding Azazel in his attempt to take over the throne.

    And wherever <b>Gulius </b>was, the real version of Azazel had to be too<b>¨C</b>someone had to be telling Gulius what to do, when to put the force field back up, and when to make new clones.

    Both Azazel and Gulius had to be somewhere close¨Cclose enough to watch what was happening.

    And, if I had to guess, Gulius was probably using magic to keep them hidden behind some invisible curtain and to mask their scents.

    But if I could find Gulius and kill him, all magic <b>would </b>stop and <b>I </b>would be able to end Azazel¡¯s pathetic life without any more obstacles.

    But I would have to make it through Azazel¡¯s indestructible clones in order to do that. That was the part that might prove to be a little difficult.

    I had a very small window of time to figure out where Gulius was before Azazel made his clones attack. If I could just keep Azazel talking, I might be able to find him before it was toote.

    There was <b>no </b>such thing as real invisibility. It might be hard to spot at times, but every invisible force field had a glimmer, a barely visible iridescent quality.

    If I could find that glimmer, then I would find Azazel.

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m impressed, Azazel,¡± I said in a low tone. ¡°Leave it to you to figure out the only way to actually kill me without risking your life or doing any dirty work.¡±

    I scanned the many versions of his face that surrounded me, looking for any sign of glimmering magic while I spoke. <b>¡°</b>You truly are a coward through and through.¡±

    I hoped the cowardment would get to him. And it did. In sync, each one <b>of </b>the faces around dropped into a tight sneer.

    ¡°What you call cowardice, I refer to as good judgment,¡± Azazel¡¯s voice snapped back. ¡°I will not be known as the fool who died because he thought he could take on Alpha Grayson Stoll.¡±

    My brows rose. ¡°Clones or no clones, that title is nevertheless destined to be yours. Make no mistake, Azazel. You <i>will </i>die today. At my hands.¡±

    The clones bared their fangs at me. I was running out of time and still had to find where Gulius was hiding the real Azazel. He was going to attack at any moment.

    I was proven correct when several of the clones advanced on me without warning, using their vampire speed to move faster than I was able toprehend. But I was fast too.

    I shifted into <b>my </b>wolf before they could reach me and tore through the first clone with my teeth.

    The second and third were taken care <b>of </b>just as quickly, my own vampire speed proving to be very effective on top of my werewolf abilities.

    I was able to hold my own for a while.

    But they just kepting, throwing themselves on me until I had thirty or more<b>¨C</b>It was hard to <b>tell </b>on top of me, tearing into my flesh with their teeth and ws the same way I was <b>tearing </b>into them with my own.

    <b>My </b>priority <b>was </b>keeping them away from my jugr. Azazel hadn¡¯t provided his clones with any

    <b>88</b>%%%

    weapons<b>, </b><b>so </b>they only had their fangs and nails to help them.

    They would try to go for my neck because it would be the quickest and easiest way to kill me. I couldn¡¯t let that happen.

    Before I had the chance to kick them off, two clones bit into my leg at the same time, ripping into my muscle, wrenching a chunk out with their teeth, and spitting it on the ground.

    <b>I </b>howled in <b>pain </b>as my leg gave out from beneath me and forced me down.

    I tried to get up while still trying to focus <b>on </b>limiting their ess to my throat, but two more clones did the same to my other leg, and I fell to the ground once more.

    I¡­ I was losing. In less than thirty seconds, Azazel had me pinned to the forest floor. <b>His </b>clones piled onto me, and I was quickly bing helpless to stop them.

    Even if I did somehow manage to keep them from piercing my jugr, his teeth and ws were tearing into me all over my body. I would soon be losing too much blood.

    Then a miracle happened. At the same moment a loud yell could be heard in the distance, each and every one of Azazel¡¯s clones froze.

    They became unmoving statues on top of me, some with their teeth still lodged into my skin, others dropping to the ground mid¨Cjump.

    Although confused, I wasn¡¯tining. I continued to fight them off of me, finding it much easier <b>to </b>do now that they weren¡¯t fighting back.

    I had barely gotten half of them away from me when, without warning, they all simply¡­ disappeared.

    Yes, that¡¯s right¨Call of the clones vanished from on top of me and around me, almost as if they had never been there at all to begin with.

    I wasted no time <b>in </b>standing and taking another fighting stance. I <b>wasn¡¯t </b>a fool. This had to be a <b>trick</b>. Why would Azazel simply give up in the middle of a fight?

    Then I heard the sound that made my blood run cold. The terrified voice of my mate, screaming my name. <b>¡°</b><i>Grayson</i>!¡±

    ?

 Chapter 114

    BELLE

    My thoughts were cut short by the sounds of growling and hissinging from somewhere behind me. It sounded like people were fighting a lot of people. Vampires and werewolves, if I had <b>to </b>

    guess.

    My stomach took a dramatic dive when I realized I recognized the owner of the growls. I would know that sound anywhere. It was Grayson¡¯s wolf.

    <b>I </b>sprinted in the direction of the noises<b>, </b>my heart racing as the sound of my mate¡¯s distress only seemed to grow louder and more intense.

    Even in the dark, what I found was worse than I could have ever imagined. There were two men, one with silver¨Cgray hair <b>and </b>the other with pitch¨Cck hair<b>, </b>both looking <b>out </b>into a clearing of trees, their backs <b>to </b>me.

    The bigger one was standing, dressed in all ck to match his hair, arms crossed over his chest in a casual manner. The other man was crouched down low, his long, brown, hooded trench coat. skimming the ground.

    His arms were held out in front of him, and his fingers were syed out. It took me a moment to realize exactly what they were looking at.

    There was a mountain of people piled on top of a fighting, snarling wolf. They were biting the wolf, tearing into him with ws while he howled and attempted to fight against them.

    Grayson. The wolf was Grayson.

    And the longer I looked, <b>the </b>sooner I started to realize that all of the people on top <b>of </b>him were the

    same person.

    They were all carbon copies of one of the men standing in front of me¨Csame clothes, same ck. hair¡­and <i>red </i>eyes.

    It was Azazel Mortar. Azazel Mortar was trying to kill <b>my </b>mate.

    There was <b>a </b>lot about the situation that I didn¡¯t understand.

    I didn¡¯t know how it was possible that there were so many versions of Azazel. <b>Or </b>what the older <b>man </b>crouched down on <b>the </b>ground with his arms out was doing.

    But none of that mattered. All I knew was that I <b>needed </b>to <b>help</b>.

    I acted on pure instinct. I ran forward with the knife from my kitchen still gripped tightly in my

    hand.

    Azazel turned, probably able to hear meing<b>, </b>and looked at me with a wide, familiar gaze.

    <b>I </b>

    knew those eyes. I had seen them back at Grayson¡¯s pack house<b>, </b>staring down at me with an almost gleeful hatred.

    I don¡¯t know how I had ever thought Grayson was capable of the evil things that this man in front of me had done to me all of those months ago. And now he was trying to kill the love of my life.

    So I was going to kill him.

    Azazel didn¡¯t have a chance to act on the shock I caused him when he saw meing because my

    knife was plunged into his stomach a secondter.

    He gasped, his arms falling to his sides, his mouth going ck.

    I didn¡¯t want to take any chances, so I pulled the knife out of his stomach and then drove it back in as hard as I could. Then, just for good measure, I did it once more.

    Gotta make sure you hit those vital organs<b>, </b>right?

    Blood poured from him and onto my hand. He coughed and the blood from his mouth sttered onto my white shirt and jeans.

    He grabbed my wrist, ws digging in. The fury was evident in his eyes. ¡°You bitch,¡± he spat.

    His body began to slouch forward, and I was forced to release my hold, unable to hold up his massive form against my much smaller one.

    <b>He </b>hit the forest <b>floor </b>on his stomach with a loud thump and took my knife down with <b>him</b>, still lodged deep in his stomach.

    I watched as his blood began to form a puddle around his down<b>¨C</b>turned figure. His back rose and fell unevenly with his <b>final </b><b>raspy </b>breaths. And then he was <b>still</b>.

    My pulse could be felt in my throat. Behind my eyes. Like a racehorse, pounding away rapidly in my chest. It dawned on me exactly what I had just done.

    <b>I </b>had killed someone.

    Evil vampire or not¨Ca man was dead¡­ because of me.

    <b>His </b>blood was all over me. On my hands. Sttered across my face. It <b>was </b>pooling under my shoes.

    <b>Chapter </b>57 of co- Abastar 27

    No one tells you about how much blood there <b>is </b>after stabbing someone to death.

    So. Much. <b>Blood</b>.

    I was so engrossed by the horrors of what I had just done that I didn¡¯t even take into consideration that there was another man until it was toote.

    The much older man, who had obviously been trying to help Azazel take down my mate, was still crouched on the floor¨Cbut he was looking back at me now.

    He had shoulder¨C<b>length </b>white hair streaked with gray and the strangest bone structure I had ever

    seen.

    It made me pause<b>¨C</b>somehow both <b>rmed </b>and captivated by <b>his </b><b>odd </b>features all at the same time.

    He had an intense square jaw which was entuated by his short, blunt haircut<b>, </b><b>and </b>his sharp checkbones protruded from beneath his flesh, hollowing out his cheeks in a way that could only be described <b>as </b>morbid.

    His skin, although most was covered <b>by </b>his clothing, what little I could <b>see </b>was wrinkled to the point of disturbance.

    Tattoos covered nearly every inch of his <b>body</b><b>. </b>

    They were faded <b>and </b>dpidated with old age, peeking out from beneath the sleeves of his brown leather coat and snaking up his bony fingers, climbing his neck and circling his face, and even disappearing into his hairline.

    The dark ink was moving too, dark <b>swirls </b>dancing along his skin almost as if it were floating¨Calive, a part <b>of </b>him. It reeked of magic. <b>But </b><b>not </b>the type I was used to<b>.. </b>

    The magic that I could sense this man was capable of was dark and powerful.

    <b>But </b>that <b>wasn¡¯t </b>the most disconcerting part of his appearance. No, that title belonged to his eyes.

    They were purely white, his irises barely even visible<b>, </b>his pupils taken over by the snowstorm that was his gaze. And they glowed<i>, </i>bright and jarring in the darkness surrounding us.

    The whole visual was like something out of a horror movie¨Ca creature crouching, staring at me in the night<b>, </b>only his white eyes visible<b>. </b>

    And the <b><i>way </i></b>he was looking at me<b>¨C</b>it made my <b>blood </b>run cold. His attention swung down to Azazel¡¯s body, still lying at my <b>feet</b>, and then <b>back </b>up to me. And I instantly knew¨Cthis man meant to kill me.

    I barely managed to shriek out my mate¡¯s name before his bony fingers were wrapped around my neck and my body was pinned against a tree with enough force to make the world around me spin.

    Shit, I just had to drop my knife, didn¡¯t I?

 Chapter 115

    <b>GRAYSON </b>

    I couldn¡¯t see Belle, telling me she was somewhere behind Gulius¡¯s invisible shield, but I could smell her. I could hear her strangled, terrified gasps. And that would be enough to guide me to her location.

    I was still in wolf form when I started running in the direction of her scent.

    Azazel¡¯s clones had definitely done a number on me more so than I¡¯d like to admit but the pain hadn¡¯t hit me yet.

    The adrenaline racing through me made my injuriespletely tolerable, if not altogether painless. My sole focus was on saving my distressed mate.

    The moment I passed through Gulius¡¯s shield, I froze, stopping dead in my tracks. That nasty, old warlock had Belle pinned against a tree by her throat, her feet dangling at least a foot above the ground.

    My goddamn heart lodged beneath my jugr. She was covered in blood. It sttered over her face and drenched her white shirt. It dripped from her shoes.

    Her wide eyes met mine while she violently struggled against his hold. F*uck, she looked so <i>small </ipared to Gulius. And delicate.

    My innocent, helpless little mate was being strangled by one of the most powerful men in the world. It was my worst nightmare taking ce right before my very eyes.

    Something wet beneath my feet stole my attention for a single second. I was stepping in blood.

    And there was someone lying on his stomach just feet away from me, his lifeless, red eyes seeming

    to look directly <b>at </b>me..

    Azazel<b>. </b>

    Azazel was dead.

    ¡°Take one more step,¡± Gulius said<b>, </b><b>¡°</b>and I¡¯ll snap her neck.¡±

    I forced my wolf to <b>give </b><b>up </b>control so I could shift into <b>my </b>human form. Once I was again standing on two feet, I addressed Gulius in <b>what </b>I <b>hoped </b>was a calm, even tone.

    <b>¡°</b><b>Put </b>my

    mate down<b>, </b>Gulius.<b>¡± </b>The power of the Mortars passed from my mouth and onto him, forcing him to heed mymand.

    He roared as he released his hold, and Belle went tumbling to the ground. She immediately started gasping for air, violent coughs making her whole body convulsc.

    A <b>small </b>amount of tenseness was released from my chest.

    ¡°<b><i>Step </i></b><i>away </i><i>from </i>her,¡± I continued. Gulius did, taking several steps back. <i>¡°</i><i>Look </i>at me.¡±

    The moment he was facing me, a level of fear I was not expecting became clear. Genuine terror was painted all over the warlock¡¯s withered face.

    Although <b>I </b>had never met him, I had always respected Gulius Mallor. I¡¯d grown up hearing stories about him and his kind nature<b>.. </b>

    He was once regarded with great prestige, even a consultant to some of the greatest kings of Zaweth..

    my mate. So

    But now he had hurt my mate. So now <b>I </b>wanted to rip his head from his shoulders.

    ¡°He made me do it,¡± Gulius tried to exin. ¡°He used the power of the Mortars to force me to <b>take </b>the borders down and hurt all of those people. I <b>had </b>no choice.

    ¡°I would never try to remove you from the throne. You are a wonderful ruler.¡±

    <b>¡± </b>

    I nodded slowly. ¡°You im that he used his powers to force you to do his bidding?<b>¡± </b>

    Gulius nodded his head vigorously. ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°How did he find you?¡± I asked.

    Gulius frowned. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You have lived in Zaweth all of your life,¡± I said in a low tone. <b>¡°</b><b>In </b>fact, you¡¯re known for your refusal to leave <b>the </b>kingdom grounds. You <b>are </b>often referred to <b>as </b><b>a </b>hermit or a bit of a loner.

    ¡°But our records show you leaving Zaweth for the first time in hundreds of years just a little over a week

    ago.

    ¡°I looked at Belle, checking to make sure she was okay.

    She was still coughing, but it was gentler than before, and she had managed to bring herself up into a sitting position. She was going to be fine. I let <b>out </b>a breath of relief.

    ¡°Now, normally, I wouldn¡¯t think twice about this information. You¡¯re free toe and go from Zaweth as you please. But it is the timing that makes me question the true motives behind your visit.

    to the human world.¡±

    ¡°Azazel made me do it!¡± Gulius eximed. <b>¡°</b><b>He </b>forced me out of Zaweth!¡±

    I grit my teeth together. <b>I </b>hated liars.

    ¡°Azazel isn¡¯t allowed within the <b>borders </b>of Zaweth.

    ¡°There is <b>no </b>way for him to get information in either. He had absolutely no way of reaching you unless you reached out to him first. Unless you left Zaweth to meet with him.¡®

    11

    Gulius swallowed, his mind visibly racing toe up with an exnation to justify his strange

    behavior. ¡°I¨CI¡­¡±

    ¡°But you could have left for another reason,¡± I kept going. ¡°Maybe to visit an old friend or travel the countryside for a while<b>. </b>

    ¡°It seems a reasonable enough theory that Azazel could have tracked you down after you left kingdom grounds and forced you to do his bidding then.¡±

    Gulius was nodding again, agreeing with everything I was saying with wide eyes.

    I took another <b>step </b>forward, muscles bunching in preparation for the attack that was about to take ce.

    <b>¡°</b>But, you <b>see</b>, Gulius, if that were truly the case, an innocent man wouldn¡¯t threaten to kill the girl who had just set him free. He wouldn¡¯t strangle the mate of the king who he ims to respect.¡±

    Gulius knew that it was all over. I could see it in his white eyes. Defeat. eptance.

    He took in a shaky breath.

    ¡°I was once great. Not so withered and old. The kings of the supernatural once sought my advice. But now¡­¡± He trailed off, wincing as though the rest of the sentence caused him pain to think

    about.

    ¡°I thought I could have been great again. But it seems as though <b>I </b>have found myself on the wrong side of history. And now, after all these years, that is all I will be known for, isn¡¯t it?<b>¡± </b>

    I didn¡¯t answer. He didn¡¯t want an answer.

    He nodded slowly and then gently shut his eyes. <b>¡°</b>Just make it quick.¡±

    And I did. <b>He </b>was dead and on the ground, his neck snapped<b>, </b>mere secondster.

    <b>It </b>wasn¡¯t because <b>I </b>felt pity for him or wanted to grant mercy¨Cit was because I had a mate who needed me, and I didn¡¯t want to waste another moment before making sure she was okay.

    Belle whimpered my name when I pulled her into my arms, tears of relief cascading down her checks. My own relief was so great that I nearly sobbed myself.

    ¡°Are you all right?¡± I asked as I brushed her messy hair from her face. Her small body was shaking against mine, the trauma of the night taking its toll on her.

    She nodded. ¡°Are you? Y¨CYou¡¯re hurt. Your legs-¡±

    She was talking about the wounds on either <b>of </b>my legs where Azazel had ripped pieces of my flesh.

    out with his teeth.

    I shushed her, cing a gentle kiss on her forehead to try to calm her worries. ¡°They will heal. I. have dealt with far worse than a few measly bites.¡±

    She was quiet for a few seconds while she searched my expression. Then she said, ¡°You¡¯re naked.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help theugh that rumbled from my

    chest. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about?¡±

    I wiped a finger over her cheekborie, smearing some of the sttered blood on her face. My smile. dimmed. ¡°Did you kill Azazel?¡± My voice was gentler now, filled with concern.

    Her blue eyes rimmed with more tears before darting over to where Azazel¡¯s body stilly on the

    ground.

    Then she did something I wasn¡¯t necessarily expecting. She looked down between us at her shirt and grabbed the fabric, holding it out for me to see.

    ¡°He got his blood on my shirt. I think it¡¯s ruined. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to get it out.¡± She chewed on her lip while trying to keep her tears at bay, still looking at the blood¨Cstained shirt.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know there would be so much b¨Cblood<b>.</b>¡±

    My heart broke the tiniest bit. I tilted her head back up and ced my forehead against hers, trying to get her to look up from the blood all over her.

    <b>¡°</b><b>I </b>think you¡¯re in shock, sweet girl,¡± I told her, continuing to smooth her hair back. ¡°We¡¯ll get you a new shirt. You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± I kissed her <b>lips </b>once. ¡°You saved ¦°¦©¦¥, Belle.<b>¡± </b>

    <b>¡°</b><b>You </b>were doing a terrible job on your own,<b>¡± </b>was her response.

    Iughed again.

    <b>¡°</b><b>If </b>you ever lock me <b>up </b>and then go risk your life ever again,<b>¡± </b>she continued, <b>¡°</b><b>I¡¯ll </b><b>kill </b>you. I¡¯m <b>not </b>kidding<b>. </b>I¡¯ve already killed one person<b>. </b>I know how to do it now.¡±

    Fu*ck, this girl was cute. And very serious when she was threatening someone. ¡°Consider me warned,¡± I relented. We would just have to cross that bridge when we came to it.

    ¡°And you can¡¯t block your emotions from me either.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± My voice trailed off while I searched through our bond, only to find that she was right. I had been keeping my emotions from her, and I wasn¡¯t even aware of it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, baby. I didn¡¯t know I did that. It must have been some sort of instinct<b>¨C</b>my wolf trying to keep you from worrying<b>.</b>¡±

    ¡°Well, all it did was make me worry more. <b>It¡¯s </b>why I knew I had toe find you. The only reason you would have done that was if you were in real trouble.¡±

    ¡°While we¡¯re on the subject, how exactly did you <b>get </b>away from Liam? And how did you get here so fast? Last I checked on you, you were still in our apartment<b>.</b>¡±

    Belle looked around at the forest surrounding us. The sun was starting to rise, so everything was a little clearer now as the morning mist caught in the light. It was beautiful.

    ¡°I¨CI honestly don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even really know where we are-

    Her eyes stopped on something and narrowed while she tried to determine what it was. Fear immediately took over our bond. ¡°Is that¡­?¡± she asked..

    In an instant, she was gone from my arms. I veered back, looking down in confusion at the spot. where my mate had just been.

    ¡°<i>Belle</i>¡°¡°¡± I roared.

    My mate had just disappeared like f*ucking Houdini. Here one second, gone the next. The only exnation was magic.

    My gaze found Gulius, thinking he had to be the culprit, but he was still very much dead behind me..

    ¡°Oh, my god¡­¡±

    My head snapped toward where Belle¡¯s voice hade from, only to find her now several yarils away from me, kneeling <b>on </b>the ground.

    I would have been more confused over how she had gotten all the way over there if it weren¡¯t for the thing <b>she </b>was looking at.

    <b>¡°</b><b>K</b><b>¨C</b><b>Kyle</b><b>!</b><b>¡± </b>she sobbed while taking in his mangled form, still exactly where I had left him. <b>¡°</b>Oh, my

    <b>I </b>used my vampire speed to get over to her quickly, knelt down next to her in front of my dead beta.

    Belle barely managed to speak through her sobs. ¡°W¨CWhat h¨Chappened? What d¨Cdid <b>this </b>to h¨Chim?¡±

    My throat suddenly felt too thick to speak. With everything that had happened, I had momentarily been able to push the horror of my best friend¡¯s death aside.

    I¡¯d had to focus on defeating Azazel. I¡¯d had to avenge him. I couldn¡¯t have let myself get overwhelmed by his death.

    I wished I could have just stayed in that state of mind forever.

    Now, kneeling next to his body, his blood still fresh on the ground, grief like <b>I </b>never could have imagined consumed me like wildfire.

    Half of his body waspletely destroyed by the force field.

    The wound was gruesome, bits of his flesh hanging from him in some areas while his bone was visible in others. His right eye had been ripped right through.

    How¡­ How were we ever going to let Elijah see his mate like this? It would break him. Fu*ck, it was about to break me.

    And the worst part was, he wasn¡¯t the only one like this. There were many warriors stationed around the border when the force field went back up.

    Likely, not everyone had been standing directly in the zone that could have killed them, but I knew

    there still had to be some.

    Who knew how many of my people<b>¨C</b>my family members¨CI had lost today?

    Belle¡¯s sobs were loud and gut¨Cwrenching. She kept saying his name over and over like she was going to make him wake

    <ol>

    <li>up.</li>

    </ol>

    <b>I </b><b>put </b>a hand on her back. <b>¡°</b>He¡­¡± <b>I </b>swallowed. <b>Why </b>couldn¡¯t I talk? My mouth felt numb.

    <b>My </b>entire body felt numb while I started toe to terms with just what a significant loss my <b>kingdom </b>was facing <b>today</b>.

    The need to cry was strong <b>in </b>my chest, but I couldn¡¯t bring <b>myself </b>to do it. ¡°He was standing at the border when the force field went up. It tore through him.¡®

    Belle shook her <b>head</b>, her movements jerky and <b>frantic</b>. She ced a shaking hand on the check that

    wasn¡¯t cut and caressed his skin with her thumb.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to be okay,¡± she whispered. ¡°He¡¯ll besky.¡±

    Her entire body was shaking again. The trauma of this day was taking its toll on her<b>, </b>and she was no doubt still in shock from killing Ararel.

    This was thest thing she needed right now. I wish I had protected her from this. I would have told her about Kyle¡¯s death eventually, but not right after everything she had gone through today.

    Thest way I wanted her to start grieving for him was seeing his body like <i>this</i>.

    ¡°Belle, we should go back.¡± I said to her. ¡°We need to bring his body to Elijah. We need to let him know what happened.¡±

    My heart sank just thinking about it. Elijah already knew his mate was dead¨Che would be able to feel it through the bond.

    Seeing his body like this would be grueling, and I doubted that Kyle would want Elijah to witness him like this, but I wouldn¡¯t be the person to keep Elijah from seeing him.

    If Belle died, there wasn¡¯t anything on Earth that would prevent me from seeing her, from holding her against me onest time.

    Belle <b>shook </b>her head again. ¡°No!¡± she shouted. She put her hands on either side of his while she continued to sob. ¡°No, he¡¯s going to be fine. I¡¯m going to make him fine. I¡¯m not going to let him die.¡±

    Heavy¨Ceverything felt heavy, my eyes, my heart, my limbs. This was all too much. Belle wasn¡¯t making any sense. She was in deep denial. I needed to <b>get </b>her away from here before shepletely broke.

    ¡°Belle¡­.¡± I started, keeping my tone as gentle as possible. ¡°He¡¯s already dead. He¡¯s been good while. There¡¯s nothing we can do now but bring him back.¡±

    ngone

    for

    ¦°

    <b>I </b>put my hands on her waist, getting ready to physically pull her away when she started to scream again<b>. </b>

    ¡°No! No, don¡¯t touch me! Don¡¯t touch me!¡± She shoved my hands off her.

    The way she looked at me with her red¨Crimmed eyes made it feel like I was being pressed down into the earth, both of our sorrow threatening to bury me.

    <b>¡°</b>I¡¯m going to help him,¡± she whispered. She sounded so desperate. ¡°You have to let me help bim. Just give me a few minutes<b>, </b>please. Then we can go back. But <b>I </b>need a few minutes. He¡¯s not gone <b>yet</b>¨Che¡¯s just <b>not</b>.¡±

    I <b>stared </b>at her, <b>trying </b>to understand. What the hell did she think she was going to be able to do for him now? Kyle died the moment the force field had gone up.

    The only good thing we could take away from that was that it was painless and quick. He didn¡¯t

    have to suffer.

    But if trying to help him now would help her go to sleep tonight, would help her to know that she did all she possibly could, then I would let her stay <b>a </b>little longer.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I nodded. ¡°A few minutes.¡±

    Intense relief surged through the bond. ¡°Thank you,¡± she whispered.

    She <b>looked </b>back down at Kyle¡¯s barely recognizable face <b>and </b><b>put </b>a hand on each cheek, <b>in </b>the <b>same </b>spots they had been before.

    This time, though<b>, </b>she put her forehead down against <b>his</b>, closing her eyes tightly. She simply held him like that for a long moment, tears racing down her cheeks and onto his.

    After a few more seconds<b>, </b>she started to speak. ¡°You¡¯re okay. You¡¯re okay, Kyle. You¡¯re going to be fine. Please, please be fine.¡±

    <b>This </b>went on for several minutes. She whispered to herself while she held him, repeatedly saying that he was going to be okay.

    I sat back and watched in silence, my heart breaking more and more with every second that passed. How long was I supposed to let this go <b>on</b><b>? </b>

    <b>Her </b>grief was causing her to hallucinate, to think she could bring a corpse back to life. To say I was worried was an understatement. Could all of this have something to do with her dad dying?

    Maybe she felt like she could have done more. Was it possible that she med herself for his <b>death</b><b>? </b>

    <b>Nearly </b>ten minutester, we were still there. I knew I had to <b>pull </b>her <b>away </b>eventually. <b>I </b><b>had </b>a whole kingdom to take care of. Kyle was likely not the <b>only </b>person who died today.

    <b>I </b>had to be there for <b>my </b>subjects. And this couldn¡¯t be good for Belle, taking it upon herself to heal a dead man. What did it say about her mental state?

    I was <b>just </b>about to put my hand on her back and tell her it <b>was </b>time to go when I heard someone approaching. The person¡¯s footsteps moved quickly, telling me it was a vampire.

    Minnie appeared a momentter. I wasn¡¯t <b>unhappy </b><b>to </b>see her. Maybe she could help me convince Belle to remove herself from Kyle¡¯s body.

    I <b>wasn¡¯t </b>surprised to see her either. As the Mortar healer, she was called to where people were hurt.

    She took in the scene silently. She looked at me first. She seemed unfazed by my nudity, but her lips turned down when she noticed all of the wounds I was sporting from Azazel and my battle.

    Then her eyes moved to Belle crouching over Kyle. I saw the moment she realized exactly what had happened. Her body deted before she looked back at me and shared a look of devastation and

    sorrow.

    She came to stand next to us.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been going around the border healing people who were affected by the force field<b>,</b>¡± she exined softly, her arms crossed over her chest.

    <b>¡°</b>Many people have only been affected by the blow of it going up without actually getting hit. But we haven¡¯t yet ounted for everyone¡­¡± she studied Kyle with red¨Crimmed eyes.

    ¡°Numerous people were beyond help. They¡­They were already gone.¡±

    I nodded slowly. ¡°I thought that would be the case. Thank you for helping the people that you did.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss<b>, </b>Alpha. He was a good beta,¡± Minnie continued.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be missed,¡± I responded. ¡°As will everyone we lost today<b>. </b><b>It¡¯s </b>a sad day in Zaweth.¡±

    Minnie looked back at Belle. She was still crying, whispering words to Kyle that I could barely

    make out.

    ¡°Is she saying something?¡± Minnie asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s telling him that he¡¯s going to be okay. She said she¡¯s trying to heal him,¡± I exined.

    Minnie¡¯s dark brows pulled together in confusion. ¡°Heal <b>him</b>? Doesn¡¯t she know he¡¯s¡­?¡±

    I <b>shrugged</b><b>. </b>¡°I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s <b>in </b>shock. She¡¯s been like this for ten minutes.¡±

    Minnie let out a <b>heavy </b>sigh. ¡°All right. Well<b>, </b>maybe we should-?¡± She cut herself off before she <b>could </b>finish<b>, </b>her eyes widening. ¡°What the hell?¡±

    I followed her line of sight until I was looking at the same thing she was. What the <b>hell </b>was right.

    Kyle¡¯s foot used to be in two pieces, split down the middle until halfway up his ankle, where it became <b>one </b>long cut. But that <b>wasn¡¯t </b>the case anymore.

    Emergency calls only

    101085% 12:13

    His foot¡­seemed to have mended itself. There wasn¡¯t even <b>a </b>cut anymore, just a white scar.

    And that scar traveled all the way up his leg, stopping right at his lower abdomen where I could literally see the skin repairing.

    It was healing. His wounds were healing.

    ¡°How¡­<b>? </b><b>Is</b>¡­Is <i>the </i><i>luna </i>doing that?¡± Minnie asked, looking just as bbergasted as I was.

    ¡°Fairy.¡± It was <b>all </b>I could bring myself to say because it was the only thing that made any sense. ¡°It¡¯s her powers.¡± I looked up at Minnie. ¡°She¡¯s using her fairy powers.¡±

    Minnie¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Because the two of you mated. The prophecy.¡±

    When I looked back at Kyle¡¯s body, his gruesome gash was still disappearing, turning into nothing more than forgotten trauma that seemed to have happened years ago.

    I couldn¡¯t help the way my chest filled with hope. Was it actually possible for Belle to heal Kyle after everything that had happened to him? To bring him <i>back </i><i>to </i><i>life</i><i>? </i>

    Belle was still kneeling over Kyle, her forehead to his, her hands grasping his checks.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be okay. You¡¯re going to be fine, Kyle. I¡¯m not going to let you die. I¡¯m not going to let you do that to Elijah<b>. </b>You¡¯re going to be okay<b>.</b>¡±

    She whispered things of that nature nonstop. I wasn¡¯t even sure if she knew what she was doing, her eyes shut so tightly.

    Hopefully, she could feel it, though¨Chopefully she knew about the magic that was taking ce. right now because of her.

    It was several long minutes before his face started to heal, all of <b>it </b>slowly repairing itself like two pieces of fabric being <b>sewn </b>back together.

    The scar was impressive, fully healed and spanning down the entire length of his body. Minnic and I sat in rapt attention, holding our breaths while we waited to see what was going to happen next.

    ¡°L¨C<b>Luna</b><b>?</b><b>¡± </b><b>Kyle¡¯s </b>voice suddenly groaned out. ¡°Ooohh, you¡¯re going to be in so much trouble when the alpha finds out you¡¯re here.¡±

    Belle <b>finally </b>leaned back to look at him, her breath catching in her throat. <b>¡°</b><b>Kyle</b>?<b>¡± </b>she whispered. <b>¡°</b><b>You¡¯re</b>¡­ You¡¯re okay?¡±

    Kyle tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Of course I¡¯m okay. Are you worried about the explosion? What the hell even <i>was </i>that? And how did you get here? Does the alpha know you¡¯re here?<b>¡± </b>

    He sat up a bit<b>, </b>so he was leaning back on his elbows. ¡°Is that <i>blood </i>on your face?¡±

    Belle tried tough, but it came out more like a gasping sob. She covered her mouth with her hand. ¡°Oh, my gosh, you¡¯re okay.¡± Sheunched herself into his arms.

    Kyle caught her with a surprised grunt.

    ¡°I¨CI¡¯m so d you¡¯re okay¡­,¡± she sobbed.

    ¡°What¡­?¡± Kyle asked,pletely bbergasted by Belle¡¯s odd behavior. He finally looked at me, noticing my presence for the first time since he¡¯d woken up.

    His eyes widened. ¡°I swear she hugged me, Alpha.¡±

    His attention swung over to Minnie when she let out a giggle. ¡°You saw it, right?¡± he asked her. ¡°I had nothing to do with this!¡± He gestured down at my sobbing mate on his chest.

    Myugh was deep and genuine and filled with relief. He thought I was pissed that he was touching Belle. Usually, that would be true. I would make an exception for today, though.

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Kyle continued as he took in my appearance.

    I was sure I looked pretty rough, still all bloody and bruised from the battle.

    ¡°Did you shift?¡±

    Belle sat back, finally releasing him. Sheughed while she wiped her nose and sniffled. Her gleeful eyes found mine. The broad smile she offered me may have been the sweetest thing I had ever seen.

    It looked like Kyle was going to be okay. Azazel was dead. And my mate was a fu*cking badass fairy..

 Chapter 116

    <b>BELLE </b>

    <i>THREE </i>WEEKS LATER

    There was nothing better than sitting in a tub of steaming hot water after a long day.

    Grayson and I had to be up at the butt¨Cas*s crack of dawn for training, and then we were busy up until about ten o¡¯clock that night.

    And, yes, you read that right, Grayson was finally teaching me how to fight, despite my months of begging him.

    Now that I was getting better <b>at </b>using my powers, Grayson knew he would never be able to keep me away from danger if I had my heart set on participating.

    Locking me up with Liam would never happen ever again because I could just magically appear wherever I damn well pleased.

    So Grayson agreed that if I was going to insist on putting myself in harm¡¯s way rather than hiding away like a helpless doll, I might as well know how to defend myself.

    In addition to all of this, after we finally mated for the first time, we couldn¡¯t get enough of each

    other.

    And I wasn¡¯t just talking about se*x¨Calthough the se*x was great. We just wanted to be around each other constantly.

    It felt good to know that Grayson truly hadn¡¯t been avoiding me for all that time when he first brought me to Zaweth.

    He was <b>just </b>se*xually frustrated¨Cto put it mildly¨Cand being around me without being able to touch me only made his frustration a million times worse.

    But now we could spend as much time with each other <b>as </b>we wanted¨Cand, boy, did we take advantage of that. The only time we spent apart was when I went off with Minnie to help save

    <b>someone¡¯s </b>life.

    Healing people was the most rewarding experience ever. I understood why Minnie loved what she <b>did </b>so much<b>. </b>There was nothing quite like being the one to give a suffering person a little bit of

    peace.

    Minnie¡¯s and my powers were definitely different, but they usually ended with the same result.

    If someone chopped their finger off, Minnie could heal it, so it was no longer an open wound. But it would still be a stub<b>. </b>

    I, on the other hand, would be able to reattach the finger, to mend the skin back together so there was nothing left behind but a simple scar.

    And most importantly, I could bring people back to life¨Ca power that I developed after Kyle was killed by the force field.

    But although I had been praised after discovering this ability, it had <b>its </b>downsides. One was the time limit. I couldn¡¯t do anything for a person who was gone longer than a few hours.

    It was terrible to rush to help someone only to find that I was toote. And then, It became my responsibility to tell the family.

    I also didn¡¯t think it was fair for me to decide who got to live and who had to die. I didn¡¯t want to y God. Therefore, I only brought people back to life on <b>rare </b>asions.

    My one exception was the day <b>that </b>Azazel killed countless people with the force field. I saved everyone I could, leaving only a few people who were beyond saving.

    I had done what I could to help. And I felt unbelievably good about that.

    Grayson and I were equals now, both respected and loved by our people. We shared the responsibilities and burdens of being rulers of Zaweth¨Cof the supernatural.

    And we loved each other. More than I ever thought it was possible for two people to love each other.

    Grayson didn¡¯t say anything as he entered the bathroom.

    My li*ps turned <b>up </b>the tiniest bit, but otherwise, I stayed quict too, keeping my eyes shut, even as I felt his gaze roam over my naked body and heard his breathing turnborious.

    I had left the bubbles out of my bath today for a reason.

    I could hear rustling as he approached me and then quickly removed his clothes.

    Neither of <b>us </b>spoke when he scooped me up in his arms and settled us back into the still¨Chot bath, with my b

    back against his chest and his legs on either side of my hips.

    He purred for me, the vibrations rolling through my body and settling in <b>my </b>core, making my <b>pussy </b>pulse with sudden need.

    <b>I </b>hummed, knowing that his goal was to turn me on. <b>As </b>if I weren¡¯t already turned on the moment.

    I wasn¡¯t the only one. I could feel his hard length pressing up against my lower back like <b>an </b>invitation, one I was eager to ept.

    I <b>didn¡¯t </b>hesitate before reaching behind me and wrapping my hand around him, giving <b>his </b>pulsing manhood a few strokes. He growled low.

    Eagerness filling my chest, I turned and straddled hisp. I pressed my li*ps to his before grabbing his length once more and lowering myself down <b>on </b>him.

    We both groaned in bliss against each other¡¯s mouths as I started to ride him, squeezing my pussy around him in the way I knew he liked.

    After a few moments, he removed his li*ps from mine and let his head lull back against the ridge of the tub.

    He watched me bob up and down on his dick, taking in my bouncing breasts and blushed cheeks with a predatory look in his eyes.

    I could already tell tonight was going to be a long night. And I was looking forward to every second of it.

    Grayson had his hands on my hips to <b>help </b>guide me up and down his cock but otherwise left me to do what I wanted¨Cto be in charge of both our pleasure.

    My chest swelled. I was no longer afraid to touch him.

    A few minutester, we were both groaning in satisfaction as we came, me pulsing around him while he filled me up with his hot cum¨Ca feeling I was never going to get sick of.

    I leaned on his chest when we both came down while he ran a hand up and down my back <b>in </b>soft strokes. And I suddenly felt faint with loving him so much.

    I told him exactly that. ¡°I love you, Grayson,¡± I whispered against the skin of his chest.

    His purring increased. ¡°My perfect <b>little </b>mate.¡± He bent down and kissed my forehead. ¡°I love you, too. More than you¡¯ll ever know,¡±