LOGINCASSIAN’S POVI’d been heading into my office when I spotted her. She knocked on the door to a guestroom—only, someone was inside. Jefferson Scott. The first thing I wondered was what he was doing here. But I figured he wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t agreed to this.I tried reaching for the anger I once felt whenever I saw him, but there was nothing, and while I found that very strange, it was more proof that Eloise was right, a part of me was missing.The look in Jefferson’s eyes was one I'd seen before, it was of a man who was madly in love. Eloise stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.She’d told me he was the father of her daughter and they’d separated, but there didn’t seem to be even an ounce of animosity between them, on the contrary, they seemed comfortable around each other.A flicker of jealousy rose in my chest. Jealousy that she was with him, and not with me and that made zero sense because until yesterday, I didn’t even know her. I thought about last night, h
KATALIER’S POVI never believed it’ll be possible to have feelings for a man ever again— at least not after what Nathan had done to me. The ex-alpha had damaged the part of me capable of those feelings.It was true that he’d damaged me in more ways than one, and yet it had always been different around Gideon. He wasn’t like every other man I knew, he was… a good person and believe me, this wasn’t something I said about men.He was the reason I could stand unafraid at the face of another man, he was the reason I could fight—not only to protect myself but for other women facing the same thing I suffered. I had been ready to give him anything in return for that gift—anything, but what surprised me more was that he never asked for anything.Never once had he made any kind of advances towards me. To the world, I was a figure to be feared, but to him I was a woman to be protected. I hated it, but certainly not as much as I should have. The pills I took each day kept Nathan from my thoughts
I knocked on the door to Jefferson’s room, but there was no response. I was about to knock again when the door was pulled open, revealing a freshly out-of-shower and neatly-shaved Jefferson.“Hey,” he said, surprised to see me.“Can I come in?”“Y—yeah, I mean of course.” He stepped aside and I walked in.“I came to check on Layla.” I’d asked that she stayed overnight with him as I didn’t know if this Cassian was ready to have her around. There was a brief look of disappointment on his face, but he quickly masked it.“She’s still asleep,” he said, motioning to the inner room. “I could wake her—”“No, there’s no need for that.” “I heard about Cassian.” He said, “I’m glad he survived.” I nodded. “Yes, me too.”“You don’t look so happy.”“I am—really, it’s just…” I shook my head, “It’s nothing.”“Eloise, you know you can talk to me, right?”I let out a breath. “There’s something wrong with him, the Council—they messed him up and… he doesn’t remember me.”“What do you mean?”“I mean,
ELOISE’S POVHe was back—that’s all that mattered, every other thing could simply be… fixed, right?Yet watching those familiar blue eyes stare at me like I was no more than a stranger had to have been one of the most painful things I’d ever endured.I walked out of the shower, wrapped in a towel to find him laying on the couch.“You should take the bed,” I said to him and his gaze fell on me. He had that all-too-familiar look in his eyes as he took me in, but just as he’d done before, he looked away. “I’m fine.”I changed into my night dress, before laying down on the bed. I missed his warmth, it was harder now, having him so close and yet so far away.“Tell me about you.”“What?” I hadn’t quite caught his words.“You’re not my ideal type; I want to know why I choose you.”The words had hurt, but I swallowed down my emotions, reminding myself all the reasons I should be happy.“You brought me here as your mistress,” I began, “We made a deal actually, and being your mistress was
CASSIAN’S POVDreams were supposed to remain just that, dreams. And yet it was the girl from my dreams. This time though, it wasn’t a smile on her face, no, she had tears streaming down her face as she ran towards me and like my legs had a mind of their own, I made my way to her. When she got close, she… hugged me. She hugged me the way one held someone they’d known all their life, and what was even more surprising was the fact that no pack member looked particularly surprised by her actions.Then, she’d escorted me back to my chamber, but to my surprise she stepped in after me, looking as comfortable as one would be in their own home.“I thought you were dead,” she cried, and I couldn’t help the strong urge I felt to comfort this stranger. “You’re really here,” she said, running her hands over me. The only woman who’d been that bold was Rosalia, my mate, and she was dead. “I missed you so very much—you have no idea how much I feared you wouldn’t return to me, but you did—you kept to
ELOISE’S POV“I’ll advise you to get as much rest as possible,” the healer was saying, but I could barely make out her words. It was like I was there and at the same time, not.“What’s that noise?” I questioned, cutting off the healer.“What?” she questioned, brows cocked in confusion.“The noise,” I repeated, as I sat up.“Sounds like a commotion, but you shouldn’t be worried about that. Right now, all you need to do is—” I was up on my feet before she could even complete the sentence, a wave of dizziness was over me, but I managed to stagger my way out of the healing room.The noise was even louder now as I walked down the hallway. Pack members rushed past me, also wanting to know the reason behind the commotion.“The Alpha is back!” I heard someone scream and my gaze snapped to the woman.“What did you say?” I asked but got no response as people shoved passed me, all going to see for themselves.I didn’t know when but I’d begun running, inside me my wolf pecked up in hope. I raced
Two Years and Five Months Later (Present Day.)He’d called me by name. The stranger who I was quite sure I’d never met before knew my name. More than that, he knew exactly who I was.Two years, that's how long I’d spent learning how to live like a ‘ghost’. I'd taken all the right steps, even going
I blinked against the bright white lights, temporarily blinded by it. Finally my eyes adjusted to the brightness. I was in a different ward, this one was smaller, emptier.I tried seating up, only to notice the tubes connected to my body. I pulled them out, before staggering to my feet. The room s
‘What does death feel like?’ I’d asked my mother many years ago when I was no more than a girl. She’d been startled by the question; her response came a while later. ‘Freedom,’ she’d finally answered, ‘Death is freedom because it takes away all your worries and fears.’Turns out that was a lie.“She
Two years and Five months ago.Eloise POVNo one really prepares you for the pain that comes with childbirth—in fact it was one of those things people rarely spoke about. Would this have been easier if I came in here prepared? I had no answer to that question because right now, pain was all I fel







