Eight Mason Crescent I had a routine. I got up early, about six o' clock a.m. in the morning. I would do a quick workout, get showered, and then I would eat something healthy for breakfast before my driver would come and pick me up to work. On this particular morning, I woke up and started working out. I couldn't even lift the weights. I fell to the ground, and that was the last thing that I remembered was darkness. "…Mason….Mason….Mason, please wake up." Someone was shaking me, and I looked up into the face of my sister. Brooklyn looked at me with a worried expression. "Oh, thank goddess!" she exclaimed. "You're awake." I raised an eyebrow. My head was pounding, and I winced as I sat up in bed. "What do you mean I'm awake? What happened?" "You were unconscious," Brooklyn said, "and you stayed that way for two days. Mason, you know why this is happening. And you know how to fix it. You need to stop being ridiculous and be with Mia. You are doing a disservice to your daughte
Nine Mia Conner I was going to Vegas. Ever since I'd had Harper, I hadn't really gone anywhere. It wasn't like I'd ever had the money to. But I'd saved up a lot to get the bakery, and I had enough that I could make the trip work. When I got to the airport, I checked my luggage and went to wait until the plane arrived. As I sat there, I noticed a tall, burly man in a suit with sunglasses on inside looking directly at me. It might have been my imagination. After all, the sunglasses could have meant that he was looking anywhere and not at me. But the hair on the back of my neck stood up every time I looked over at him. I checked my phone. The plane wouldn't arrive for another forty minutes, so I got up and went to go and get a coffee and a magazine to read. I figured if I were right, the stranger in the sunglasses would follow me. As I was walking towards the coffee and magazine stand, someone grabbed my arm. "Hello, Mia." I looked up at the stranger that had grabbed hold of
Ten Mason Crescent "There's been a problem." Brooklyn traveled everywhere with an assistant. You couldn't be the CEO of your own company without doing that. Even on vacation. Brookyln's assistant was a tall, lithe young man with brown hair and brown eyes. I had been surprised when she hired him. Usually, assistants were female. But I supposed it came from the outdated notion that men in power wanted someone pretty to look at to help them. Either way, Quincy had worked for the company since the beginning. He seemed to be the only one that could keep his wayward sister in control. Brooklyn had a habit of doing things her own way. Sometimes, it worked out for her like with the company. But other times, it got her into trouble. Quincy helped her during those times. "What problem?" Brooklyn asked. "You had me track Mia," he said, "she disappeared once she got to the airport. I haven't been able to track her. And…
Eleven Mia Conner There was a tall man with long, grey hair looking down at me. I was in a room that I had never been in before. And my head was pounding. "Where am I?" I asked as I sat up in the bed, I'd been placed in. "Your home," the grey-haired man said, "finally. Rachel did a good job keeping you safe but it’s time that both of you came home." "Home?" I asked. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" He shook his head. "You should know me. I'm your uncle. Barrett Harwell." I blinked at him. "Hartwell?" the last name made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. They were one of the wealthiest families in the US and they were known for their mysterious disappearance. Their businesses were still running, but no one had any clue where the family was. "Surely you remember your last name?" he said. I shook my head. "Aunt Rachel never mentioned any of this. I thought the rest of my family was dead…." "No," he said, "they were o
Twelve Mason Crescent One of the many perks of being a rich asshole was that it usually took less time to find people you loved when something bad happened to them. Brooklyn was able to figure out who Mia was with just a simple text to our family and once I knew she wasn't in Vegas, and which pack she belonged to, I made some calls. Rachel had already reunited with her family and Harper would be there too. It was time for me to take my family back. My mate, my daughter, and then my pack. Then, if Mia wanted, I would destroy whoever had destroyed her family too. No one came after what was mine and lived to tell the tale about it. Mia nearly fainted when she saw me. She was still wobbly from fainting at the airport. I couldn't blame her. She'd just found out everything she thought that she knew was a lie. On top of it all, she wasn't even human. She was a werewolf. And the leader of her own pack. Mia glared when she saw me and her nostrils flared. "What the hell are you doing her
Thirteen Mia Conner A werewolf. I couldn't be a fucking werewolf. When I thought back to my childhood, I didn't remember anything about werewolves or magic. But all signs pointed to the improbable. My parents disappearing, me meeting Mason against all odds and us having a daughter…. the universe knew we were supposed to be together. So, it made it happen somehow. "Can I see Rachel?" I asked. "She's here, right?" Mason kept on looking at me like he wanted to eat me alive. I couldn't deal with him just then. There was too much. I was supposed to be in Las Vegas, having a vacation, and instead I was dropped into the middle of a Stephanie Meyer novel. That was the last thing I wanted. "Yeah," said Barrett, "I'll go get her for you. She's been waiting for you to wake up." I made face. "Waiting for me to wake up? How long as it been?" "A day, give or take. The shock from finding out about everything really got to y
Fourteen Mason Crescent "What happened, exactly?" I asked when Barrett dragged me out of the room Mia had been put in so that she could talk to Rachel alone. "What do you mean, what happened, exactly?" Barrett asked. "I remember the Hartwell family. One minute, they were the most powerful family amongst the werewolves. Everyone was excited about them having their heir. After their heir was born though, they vanished. At least, that’s what everyone believed." "We were in hiding," Barrett said, "there were too many people that wanted Mia dead. It's rare for a female werewolf to be born an Alpha. The ones that are almost never make it to their eighteenth birthday. The family had to go into hiding to stay alive. We moved into a human city, changed our last names, and did our best to protect Mia. But there was a family that was relentless about getting rid of her. In fact, you might know them." I raised an eyebrow. "Who?" "The Carina Family."
Fifteen Mia Conner I stood in the room staring at my Aunt Rachel. She looked exactly the same. But after everything that I'd found out, I kept on wondering if I could trust her. "Mia?" she said. "Are you going to say something?" I coughed. I should have said something, anything, but there was only one thing going through my mind. Werewolf. I was a werewolf. Not only that, I was an Alpha. A rare thing for a female to be an alpha. Which meant that Harper…Harper had to be one too. There was no way that she wasn't. Not with me and Mason as her parents. People had come after my family because of this. Did I even want it? Was there a way to get rid of it? "Mia, you're scaring me," said Aunt Rachel. I blinked. "Sorry. I'm just trying to take everything all in." I tilted my head to the side. "Why didn't you tell me?" Aunt Rachel sighed. "I was keeping you safe. You were under attack from the moment you were conceiv