Jake’s POVDiana spotted the diary immediately. She wagged a finger at me, saying I was a naughty boy. We’d hunted high and low in her room first and I was still thinking about how she looked bending over.Now we were in mine and I was determined to call the shots.“Are you missing anything else?” I asked.“Such as?” she purred.“You tell me.”“Sorry, Jake. You’ll have to give me a hint.”I strolled across to the chest of drawers. When I eventually held up the undergarment in question, her cheeks became rosy.“Oh, those,” she said. “I thought Michael wanted a souvenir.”“Why would he, given he has access whenever he commands?”“Is that what you think? Then you’re a fool.”“Hey, apologies if I’ve offended you, Diana.”“Miss Chase to you.”This was going to take some retrieving. Or was she just playing hard to get?“Fancy a little role play?” I asked, going over to my closet and showing her the cane I’d found.“What about something less obvious?”I thought I heard a creak outside the do
Kane’s POVI was shocked when I saw Grandmother looking so frail and wan. Even so, her grip was strong, and I lowered my face to hers, allowing my lips to brush her pale cheek.“Leave us,” I said to Selene, who was hovering without aim.She opened her mouth to protest and hesitated. I knew it was what she really wanted, to leave this place which bore all the hallmarks of sickness and impending death.For once, I couldn’t blame her.“They got me, Kane,” Dorothy whispered. “I wish I’d been more careful.”“I should never have left the pack.”“Nonsense.”The choked word brought on a coughing spasm which lasted for long minutes. Knowing what usually followed I searched for her inhaler, but she waved it away.“We’re still waiting to hear from Elvis,” I said.Her lips cracked into a smile and I realised how that sounded.“I made a list,” she said.I found it afterwards. It was headed, “People I don’t trust,” and I marvelled both at the simplicity of it and at the sharpness of a dying brain.
Lisa’s POVTo say I wasn’t shocked by what was happening inside was shocking in itself. Then there was Michael, the powerful Alpha King, and a man I feared. He spirited me away as they were on the point of leaving, bypassing the alcove I’d expected him to secrete us in and heading for the stairs leading to the upper level.I knew only too well what was up there yet I was trying to block the fact out of my mind.Glancing back, I saw Miss Chase in her underwear and, just for a second, I envied her.It was beginning to dawn upon me that Jake was a no-good hustler and womaniser. Why hadn’t I seen it before?“What about lunch?” I murmured, as the Lycan unlocked the door to a room with a view.I was relieved to discover it wasn’t a bedroom. Nor did it contain a gaggle of harem women.“Let’s talk first,” he said.“May I have a glass of water? My throat gets very dry.”“Help yourself, Lisa.”Of course, he would have a fridge, even in an otherwise almost empty room like this one.“Can I get yo
Amy’s POVAriadne was only the messenger, but I was really tempted to shoot her if we ever met in the flesh. I made a joke to that effect which fell flat as she informed me that, not only did the boss lady want an update, Agatha wanted to meet me. It appeared an important timeline was coming up – as if I didn’t know! – after which it may not be possible to address the gender question properly.Not that the subject wasn’t dear to my heart, but I had other issues now, and feelings I was trying to suppress for my own peace of mind.Now that I had been elevated to the position of housekeeper, not only did I take my new duties very seriously, I was allowed time off to visit the market if I so wished. It was an unexpected perk which Selene hadn’t seen fit to quash yet, but give her time once she was Luna in truth.I waited for Agatha in the small coffee shop on the outskirts of town. She was just as Ariadne had described with tinted brown hair cut short and half-moon glasses.“Progress?”He
Jake’s POVMy little interlude with Diana hadn’t gone down well. It led me to wonder if the Lycan had installed a security system of his own. Or had someone do it for him. It was a strange set-up here. I knew packs varied from place to place but this one was unique. Perhaps it was a Lycan thing.After banging her several times on the carpet and once against the wall, it left no time to watch that film from earlier. And I had balked at being recorded by an electronic eye, so that all I had were memories. Satisfying ones, though.Being summoned by the Alpha King was irritating yet I had to appease the guy who was still waiting for his particular treat. The delectable Miss Chase obviously wasn’t enough for him and, if there was a whole floor full of mistresses, I had yet to discover it – and them. They dined separately, if they dined at all.That led me to think about Mina. She was one exotic creature and the danger was an added spice.Michael Satyr came straight to the point. We were re
Amy’s POVReality was kicking in and I was feeling increasingly down as the days went by. Chrissy must have noticed my glumness but she never said a word. That was probably why I didn’t flaunt my bond with Jarvis. Well, one reason anyway. I was convinced she liked him, at the very least. Misha had gone into an almighty sulk. I felt bad for her. These days we were like separate entities.Though she hadn’t been with me for long it felt like forever.Examining that feeling, I realised we needed each other. That part of it had never been in doubt.After the mating ceremony, I’ll talk to Jarvis.There was no reply until later when I was washing up. Don’t ask. I had to do something with my hands.Felix doesn’t believe you.And that was all.A pack warrior I knew vaguely by sight approached me in the kitchen. Somehow, I didn’t feel apprehensive; the housekeeper uniform was like protective armour. Being Alpha Kane’s slave should have protected me unless he decreed otherwise but I had my doubt
Lisa’s POVDiana came to see me not long after my conversation with Michael. By now I was starving and also enraged by her bare-faced cheek. Then I wondered if he’d put her up to it.She was the bearer of welcome gifts in the form of sandwiches, fruit and caffeine.“No salad, I’m afraid,” she said.I was touched that she’d remembered until I recalled the circumstances surrounding me saying it which had led to my frustration and Jake’s notching up yet another conquest.Inviting her in, I decided to be gracious. This was her family’s place, after all. Dare I ask how the Alpha King had come to be living here? Maybe not, once. But this was a new me, newly awakened to the way I perhaps should have behaved all along.As I munched my way through the first one, which contained grated cheese and sliced tomato, I was grateful enough to unbend even more.So I made the first move, the opening gambit as they say in chess.“I’m trying to make up my mind what to do for the best.”The beauty sitting
Kane’s POV I kept looking at Grandmother’s list. When I was sober. Should I put Elaine through her paces? I was sure Selene would want to participate, which would remove all the enjoyment. Sadly, my Luna-in-waiting wasn’t on there. Maybe she didn’t have enough brains. Though the warrior from the Black Hills pack seemed equally as stupid as the one-time head Omega. Equilibrium was now restored; there was no chief among the lowly. Elaine had abused her position and I would give no-one else the opportunity to do the same. Chrissy would no doubt have been fair-minded, yet I knew she wouldn’t have relished being in charge and would be open to abuse from the very peers from whose ranks she had risen. They would get away with murder, like someone already had. Or would do when Dorothy breathed her last. The old Luna was hanging in there. I didn’t visit her so often these days; it pained me to see her like that, whether or not she had played me false. Correction: nobody was getting away wit