LOGINWhen we got there, Jaxon walked into Elara's house first, and I followed behind him, forcing myself to put my pride aside.Elara was sitting at the kitchen table with Stormy and Lucien. She looked up, and our eyes met. She didn't smile. She didn't get up to hug me or even welcome me. She just looked at me for a moment before turning her eyes toward Jaxon. Then she smiled."Hey, Jaxon," she said.Damn... this wasn't good.Still, I couldn't blame her. I needed to stay focused and get my mind where it belonged. I had to show everyone in that room that I could be the bigger man... that I could be better than the way I'd acted earlier.Without waiting, I walked straight over to Lucien and held out my hand."Hey... uh, I'm sorry about earlier. I was a dick, and you didn't deserve that," I said, trying as hard as I could to sound completely sincere.Lucien looked at my hand for a brief second before giving a nod and shaking it."No problem, Orion. Water under the bridge." Then he nodded towa
I started blaming myself as I ran. The grass bent beneath my paws while I raced through the forest.I'd been running for hours, hoping the wind would carry away all these horrible feelings, but it wasn't working. Shame, embarrassment, and anger were still fighting inside me. Why was I behaving like this? And why couldn't I make myself stop?All my life, I'd always seen myself as the alpha I was... always ready, prepared, and confident. Even though I'd never wanted the power or respect that came with leading a pack, every time I looked at myself, I knew exactly who I was. That quiet confidence had always been there. It wasn't something I showed off... it simply stayed in the back of my mind every day. But somehow, meeting this Lucien guy had totally broken that feeling, and I couldn't understand why.Jaxon was tough. The training he'd gone through alone made him a dangerous fighter, and if I was being honest, he'd probably beat me in a fight if we were both human. The only advantage I'
“Orion? I guess he really believes Lucien wants to fuck my brains out.” I shivered. “Eww. Just thinking about that makes me feel sick. It’s like imagining having sex with your own brother. That’s disgusting.”“Is this guy really that handsome or something?” Stormy asked. “I mean, we’ve never really talked about what he looks like. Maybe Orion feels threatened by him?”Stormy had heard me tell stories about Lucien and the other Des Moines pack members for years, but they had never actually met. The closest they had come was at Kael’s ninth birthday party. Lucien had left early because of a business meeting, and Stormy had arrived late. Two of my closest friends had just missed each other.“He is good-looking,” I admitted. “But I’ve never thought about Lucien that way. For some reason, Orion just can’t get that through his thick skull. I think there’s something more going on, though. Maybe he really does feel threatened. Lucien hasn’t been carrying the same stress we’ve been dealing wit
A few seconds later, Voss came back into the living room carrying all of his equipment.“What’s going on?” Voss asked as he put his computer back into his bag.Lucien nodded toward Orion.“There’s only room for one alpha in this house. We’re going to find a room in town.”Voss looked at Orion, whose lips were pulled back tightly, then looked at Lucien again.“All right,” Voss muttered. “Sounds good.”He stood up and quickly walked out the door, clearly wanting to get away from the tense atmosphere in the room. Lucien turned to Jaxon. “If we find anything, I’ll keep you updated,” he said, making it clear that he was talking to Jaxon and not Orion.“Yeah, okay,” Jaxon muttered. He looked like he wished he could disappear.“See you later, Elara,” Lucien said as he walked outside. I heard him call for Elias, and a moment later, the sound of an engine roared to life.Jaxon turned and looked at Orion. “What the absolute fuck is wrong with you?”“Nothing,” Orion muttered.“That’s complete b
“What about that?” I asked as I pointed at Voss’s computer screen. “Doesn’t that mean it’s a camera?”Voss shook his head. “No, that’s only an icon. See how it’s gray? That means they either never installed the equipment for it, or the equipment has been turned off. It looks like they don’t have any cameras connected to the internet at all,” he continued. “This North Crest place has even less technology than what I’ve seen in Pinecrest Valley. That’s pretty surprising these days. From everything I can see, North Crest is about twenty years behind when it comes to technology. It made it easy for me to get into their system, but it also means there is not much for me to look through.” He shook his head. “Small towns, man. It’s crazy.”Elias walked back and forth across the living room, looking out the windows every few minutes to check the street outside.“I’ve been meaning to ask,” he said. “Who are the people across the street?”I looked out the window at the truck parked across the r
The man frowned at me in confusion, then looked down at his newspaper and smiled. “Oh, yeah. I like holding the paper in my hands while I read it. It just doesn’t feel the same reading it on a phone or tablet.”“I understand.” I took a sip of my coffee. “I’m only passing through town. It’s a nice place you have here. Do you live around here?”The man nodded while still looking through his newspaper. “I do. I work at the bank down the street.”“That's great. This is a really nice town. One of my friends has been trying to convince me to move here for a long time. I thought it was too small for me, but after coming here, I think it could be a peaceful place to settle down.”As soon as I mentioned a friend, the man became interested and looked up from his newspaper again.“You know someone from around here?” he asked with a surprised smile. “Well, I know almost everyone in town. We only have one bank. Who is he?”I waved my hand. “You probably don’t know him. He usually keeps to himself.
I had never loved any other man the way I had loved Orion. Not even Travis. I was never completely in love with Travis like I had been with Orion. I was only twenty when Orion left, still just a kid, but we were soulmates. More than that, I was his fated mate. When Orion left, my heart had broken
She sighed and dropped into the chair facing me. “I didn’t question it. Honestly, I was still shocked about his death. I wasn’t thinking about anyone else. I’ve been gone for a long time. Long enough not to see how bad things had gotten. Orion, Dad was only fifty-seven when he died. That’s not old
I threw my engagement ring into the toilet, and then we left. Before getting into the car, I blocked Travis’s number. In less than a day, my life had completely changed.Now we were on the worst road trip ever, heading toward a future I never planned. Kael, however, was trying to stay positive.“Is
In just a few seconds, everything in my life flipped completely. It felt like my world had been turned upside down, shaken hard, and then thrown away. I had a son? Was this really happening? So many thoughts and emotions rushed through my head at once. How could I have walked away from Elara? I ha







