11. The Chase Begins

Mi Amor MiaThe matte-black SUV cut through Asheville traffic like a blade. I sat in the back, tablet in hand, scrolling through every updated feed Rafe had pulled in the last hour. Valerie Thornwood’s face appeared in several low-quality shots from the wedding, standing rigid in the background while my brother humiliated himself and dismissed her.My jaw clenched so hard it ached.“Flight status?” I asked without looking up.“Delayed again,” Rafe answered from the driver’s seat, voice calm as ever. “She’s still at the airport. Gate B-17. 6:45 PM departure to Charlotte, connecting to Shadowmoon territory. She looks… unsettled.”Unsettled was the perfect polite word for the storm I could already feel through the faint thread of the mate bond. Even at this distance, her distress pulsed against my ribs, full of guilt, shame, exhaustion, and doubt.Good.I wanted her rattled and raw anyways, because the moment she saw me again she would have nowhere left to hide.The SUV pulled into the a

12. Wrong Brother

Valerie(Airport Terminal – Gate B-17)The coffee burned through my shoes, but I barely felt it.All I could feel was him.The same devastating face. The same tall, powerful frame. The same scent that had wrapped around me two nights ago like a drug I didn’t know I needed. Except now he was standing in the middle of a crowded airport terminal looking at me like I belonged to him.My wolf surged forward so violently that I almost staggered.Mate. Mate. Mate.I shoved her down with everything I had.“You,” I breathed again, my voice shaking with fury and something far more dangerous. “How did you find me?”He took another slow step forward, hands still casually in his pockets like this was a friendly chat and not the worst moment of my already destroyed life.“Valerie Thornwood,” he said, tasting my full name like it was something precious. “You’re not as hard to track as you think. Especially when you’re bleeding emotions all over the mate bond.”I flinched at the words.“Don’t,” I sna

13. Trapped

Mi Amor MiaI remained leaning against the pillar, slowly running my tongue over the corner of my lip where her slap had landed. The sting was still fresh and sharp.Valerie had stormed off without looking back, her shoulders rigid with anger. The sharp click of her heels faded into the terminal noise, but her scent lingered.Footsteps approached silently from behind me. Rafe appeared at my side within seconds, having clearly watched her storm out of the alcove.“What happened?” he asked, voice low and alert.I didn’t answer immediately. I simply smiled, a slow, satisfied curve of my lips as I stared in the direction she had disappeared.Rafe’s sharp eyes narrowed. He stepped closer, studying my face.The red imprint of her hand was clearly visible on my cheek.“Did she slap you?” he asked, his tone shifting dangerously.I let out a soft chuckle. “I guess I pushed her too hard.”Rafe’s expression darkened instantly. His entire body tensed, the lethal warrior in him rising to the surfa

14. Extended

ValerieI was still shaking when I reached my gate.I could feel eyes on me as I walked, probably because I looked like a complete mess. Puffy eyes, coffee-stained shoes, and the expression of someone who had just been proposed to by a psychopath wearing her best friend’s face.I dropped into an empty seat near the window, clutching my boarding pass so tightly it crumpled in my fist. My heart was still racing, and my wolf wouldn’t stop pacing inside me, whining and howling inside my chest. Every step I took away from that corner felt heavier than the last, like invisible chains were trying to pull me back to him.‘You slapped our mate.’I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt.Shut up.I had barely managed to shut my wolf up when Mia’s voice crawled back into my head.“Marry me.”“I’ll give you Shadowmoon Pack.”“You’ll be queen.”His words kept replaying in my head like a broken record. Each time they sounded more insane.I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to block everything out.

15. Grilled Cheese ‘n’ Coffee

ValerieI stormed out of the airport exit with my phone glued to my face, brows tightly creased in frustration.No new flights. No explanations that made sense. And still no reply from Sebastian.My blood was boiling. Every second I spent stuck in this city felt like another victory for that delusional man who called himself Mia. I wasn’t going to sit around waiting like a fool.I waved down the first cab I saw, practically throwing myself in front of it. The driver slammed on his brakes.“City center!” I snapped, shoving my small bag into the backseat before climbing in after it.The driver didn’t ask questions. He just drove.I spent the entire ride searching for car rental shops near me, my fingers flying across the screen. By the time he dropped me off in a busy part of downtown Asheville, I had three options pinned.First stop — a small bookstore. I bought the most detailed road map they had of North Carolina and parts of Tennessee. I spread it open on a bench outside and traced

16. Ready To Go Home?

Mi Amor MiaThe moment I stepped back into my office at the top of the corporate tower, I sank into the large leather chair behind my desk. I spun it slowly from side to side, playing absentmindedly with a silver pen between my fingers.The city skyline stretched out before me through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but my mind was completely elsewhere, on a certain dark-haired she-wolf who was currently fighting tooth and nail to escape my grasp.Rafe stood in front of my desk, silently scrolling through his iPad, updating files and coordinating my other businesses.The silence was comfortable.Until Rafe’s phone rang.He answered immediately. “Yes?”His expression changed in an instant. His body tensed, eyes sharpening with alarm. He listened for a few seconds, then said curtly, “Okay,” and ended the call.He looked up at me.“She left the airport,” Rafe said. “Took a cab into the city, bought a road map, rented a car, and is now on the move. Our men just caught up with her at a gas s