LOGINNARAYAI thought Roger wanted to leave, but he stopped right in front of the door, jammed the lock, slipping my key into his suit pocket.My heart sank into my chest at the look in his eyes. “Roger, please, no!” I said, inching back with nowhere to run to.The colour of his gaze had already morphed into something different. Lust, need, or want.“Your scent,” he said, voice low, peeling out of his suit jacket. “I can't resist it.”“I am not your mate anymore,” I hissed, trying to squeeze out of his grip. “You are married now. Go back to your Luna.”“Melissa is my Luna, not my mate.” He roared, his muzzle buried into my neck, dragging in my scent.His large hands pinned me to a spot.“I lost it when I thought you were missing, Naya.” He growled.“Please, Roger.” Tears slipped down my face as my body trembled beneath him. “Just leave.”But Roger wasn't one to listen. His hand tore through my shirt, leaving me in my underwear. I tried to shield myself, but he pinned my hands above my head
NARAYA“Gek.” I rushed into the bathroom, kneeling before the toilet seat, puking out everything. For a few days, I hadn't had the urge to throw up, and I thought that nightmare was actually over. But I guess it wasn't.“Now I believe you are pregnant.” Zilla muttered, scratching her eyes. She grabbed a cup and walked over to the sink, turning on the tap.I clicked the flush button as I accepted the cup from her hand. “I'm sorry I woke you up.”“Nah, it's fine.” She said, brushing through her hair and staring at her reflection. “I'm booked for a morning shift at the restaurant this week. I need to get going soon.”“Do you need anything?” she asked, moving out of her pajamas.“No. I'm fine.”“We will head over to the Pack's Clinic next week.” Her thumb moved over her other fingers, a sharp sigh escaped her. “Thank goodness this week is also over.”“I have to drop Mother and Zoey at the hospital this morning. They won't be back until late noon. Would you be comfortable tagging along wit
NARAYAMinutes later… Zilla’s car rolled into the bar we usually frequented while Roger was away on Pack business. That was the only time I got to explore the outside world. Because when he returned, my routine and likes changed.A laugh hooked at my throat.If only I had known the kind of Pack business he usually disappeared to do, maybe I would have allowed myself more grace.The bartender from last time wore a frown the moment he sighted us, wanting to disappear into another corner, when Zilla snapped her fingers at him.“A bottle of vodka and fruit juice. Pleaseeee,” she dragged. “Or should I take my noise and money elsewhere?” she arched her brows, arms folded.The bartender gestured towards the empty booths. “Welcome to Howl and Growls Bar, ma'ams. Feel free to have your seats.” Even the deaf could hear the sarcasm in his voice.“You should really watch your drinking habit, Toasty. Between you and Roger, I don't know who’s the worst drunk.”She scoffed, moving towards a booth. “
NARAYAThe air in my lungs caught. I stared at the woman in front of me, waiting on when she had tapped me on the hand, smile, and tell me it was a joke, but nothing.I guess there's no guessing now.I am the moon goddess' reject. And now, my only ticket at a second chance in life had been snatched away from me by some cursed Pack laws and blood ties.“Miss Veils.” The clerk with a nice smile beamed, gesturing to my right. “Kindly step out of line and return with the requirements I told you.”“Why am I banned from leaving BloodMoon?” My claws scraped on her desk. “Why do I have to wait a whole year to get basic details corrected?”A nervous laugh broke out of her lips. Her eyes brushed the claw marks on her desk.“I understand this might have disrupted your initial travel plans. But this is Pack law.”“Fuck you! And fuck the Pack laws.”Every eye turned toward me.“What's that?” Voices erupted behind me, necks strained to catch a glimpse of what was going on.“Miss, you have been on t
ROGER“Why am I just hearing this?” I hissed.Silas remained silent, head bowed to the marble tiles of my office.I waved him away with a flick of my wrist before dragging both hands through my hair.For three fucking days… My Naraya had been locked up. Jasper slammed against the walls of my mind. My skull throbbed beneath the force of him.How the hell did my mate end up in there, for that long without anyone reporting it to me?I picked up my phone and dialed Veils' line. He picked up immediately.“Greetings, Alpha.” His tone was bright. “I’m glad to hear from you.”“Where are you?” I asked, tone clipped.“I… uhm, at my daughter's school meeting, Alpha, but…”“Be here in ten.” I said and ended the call.***“Sir, one Mr. Veils is here to see you.” Rhea's voice cut through the Pack's link in my head.“Let him in.”Veils dragged his feet sluggishly into my office, hands pressed together in front of him. His jaw dropped as his gaze wandered around every corner of my office's interior.
NARAYAI didn't want to call her. I didn't want to have my best friend straining to find my bail. She barely keeps up with her mother's expenses, and being another burden wasn't something I wanted, but it has been three days already, and it doesn't seem like help would come from my family, either.So... I resolved to plead with the head enforcer for one last phone call, when he arrived and broke the news to me.“Anonymous bail?” My heart lurched, fingers tightening around the edge of the chair.Dad? No.Roger? My stomach twisted.It couldn't possibly be Zilla.None of the names I came up with made any sense.Then who?“Yes,” the enforcer said. “Pack your bags. You are free to go.”“B…but how, who?”“Like I said, an anonymous person. If he or she wanted to be known, they could have dropped their name. You are free to go now, unless you want to keep us company.”I stretched out my hand to grab my bag from him, and beside him were my suitcases. He didn't even bring along the bottle of wa
NARAYA“Roger… where are you?” Melissa's voice drifted down the corridor. Her heels echoing closer.The aggressive heat in Roger's eyes melted into a cold panic. He dropped his hand from my shirt, stepping back just enough to break the intimate space between us.“Play along,” he whispered, his orbs
NARAYA“Daddy? Who is this woman?”A cold, unexplainable ache ripped through my chest as the little boy’s words echoed in my head for a few seconds.My Roger... Daddy?I stared at Roger, waiting for an explanation. A laugh. An indication that the pup was lying, joking, or even wrong.But his face w
“The hardest lies to escape are the ones we tell ourselves for love.”NARAYA“You do know I’m still against you doing this, don’t you?” Zilla growled, stomping up the stairs behind me. Her fingers tightened around the flower basket.My jaw tightened. I took the remaining stairs two at a time and sk
NARAYA“Tell me you are joking, Raya.” Zilla's eyes widened behind her glasses. I lowered my gaze, suddenly picking interest in tracing the lines in my palm.“I’m not.”“Geez, Raya, you are twenty-three, not eighteen. How could you let that happen?”Neither of us spoke for a moment as we let the mu







