ANDREA I lowered my gaze, my hair curtaining my face. Without my mask, I felt exposed. I squeezed my eyes shut when Jared touched my chin. I didn't want him to see my face, so I turned my head away from him. He pulled away from me and I bit my lower lip. "Who are you?" He asked. I kept my mouth shut. My limbs were trembling as a result of how nervous I was. I could feel their gazes on me, it made me hot and uncomfortable. "How do you know me?" Jared questioned. I still couldn't say anything. I needed my mask. "You're not going to talk?" A different person spoke. His voice was deep and authoritative, it made Arya whine. I knew at once that Alpha Vincent had just spoken. "My mask... I want my mask," my voice trembled.After a few seconds, Jared buckled my mask around my head while I kept my head lowered. "Now, speak," Jared ordered. "My name is Andrea Amory," I said, keeping my gaze on the ground. "What pack are you from?" "Black Shadow Pack." There was a brief moment of silen
ANDREA At this point, I was convinced that Zeke was out for my blood. He either disliked me so much or he was interested in me. He stood there, his green eyes glowing in the dark. "You startled me," I said and he raised a perfectly arched brow."You must be very anxious, especially since you decided to eavesdrop," he pointed out and I clenched my fists. "What's it to you anyway? They are talking about me, not you. I have every right to know-" "Do you think they will go easy on you if they find out that you've been eavesdropping? They already have their suspicions about you. Do you really want to push your luck?" He asked and I turned away from him. He had a point there. "Follow me, let's walk," he said. My stomach grumbled out loud, reminding me of the reason why I had stepped out of my room in the first place. Zeke snorted. "If you're hungry, you should have asked Rylee for directions to the dining hall," he said and I lowered my gaze. "I don't want to be a burden," I mumbled.
JARED She looked perturbed and could barely look me in the eyes. Despite the fact that she was wearing a mask, she had captivating eyes. They were so many emotions in her eyes. But, the most prominent one was fear. I had my doubts and suspicions about her. Still, she was my mate. I knew I would never be able to reject her. I was merely stalling because I had a feeling that there was so much I didn't know. "What do you want to tell me?" I asked and she blinked. Slowly, she pulled away from me. "I changed my mind. I have nothing to say to you" she said. It was a lie. I didn't need to be a lie detector to know that. "You were in a pretty disoriented state few minutes ago. Why the sudden change of mind?" "The weather is great today, don't you think?" She was smiling now. I stared at her, confused. "Andrea, don't change the topic" "What topic?"She grinned at me and started to walk away and all I could do was stare, flabbergasted. There was no way she was real. If she was real an
ANDREA All eyes fell on me. There were different reactions on their faces. I had the strong urge to disappear into thin air and never return. The visitor had stopped crying and was staring at me with eyes that pinned accusation on me.The tension in the air doubled and I parted my lips to say something, especially when I saw the curiosity in Jared's eyes. The last thing I wanted was for my mate to have more reasons to doubt me. But, before I could speak, someone beat me to it."Hey! Are you talking about that tiny young lady standing there? I think you've got the wrong person. She is Beta Jared's mate. She doesn't seem to be the type that can hurt a fly. Kill another person? I don't think so. You've got the wrong person" the young man who had just spoken was familiar. He was leaning by the gate, arms folded across his chest. He had bright yellow eyes and brown curls with an undercut hair style. I recognized him to be the guy who had first questioned me back in the woods with some sco
JARED "Claim me, Jared" Andrea's pleading gaze tugged at the strings of my heart. I was at a loss of what to do. Claiming her would mean that I would throw all caution to the wind and make her an official pack member without knowing anything about her true intentions. On the other hand, if I kept stalling, it would make her feel as though she was unwanted.She had once told me that she'd left her former pack in hopes of a fresh start. Opal, my wolf was urging me to claim and mark her. But, my instincts as the Beta of the pack was pointing at how suspicious she appeared to be. "You're not going to give me an answer? Why? Do you think you will regret it?" Andrea asked me. I moved closer to her until there was barely any space between us. "Then, look into my eyes and tell me that you're not hiding anything from me. Look into my eyes and tell me that I can trust you" I said and she looked away from me. I grabbed her hand, pulling her flush against me. She let out a gasp, still refusing
ANDREA "He doesn't want to claim me" I sighed, lowering my cutleries onto the table. Rylee reached out for me and gave my hand a little squeeze. "Just give him a little more time." She said, her voice soft. I lowered my head, my shoulders slumped. "For how long do I have to wait? He clearly values his duties as a beta. I don't think he even wants me" I mumbled. "Hey! Don't say that. He's not made of bricks. Besides, the bond pull will only get stronger until he can't resist it anymore" "There's always a way out of that. He can reject me, you know?" I rasped. The rage I had felt earlier was gone and in it's place was the dispiriting feeling that shattered my self esteem and enlarged my doubts. "Is your secret terrible? Is it a game changer? One that can shatter your chances to be with Jared?" Ava questioned, a worried look in her eyes. I closed my eyes. I wanted to dissipate into thin air. I wanted to erase my existence. If my hopes had been dashed, what was left for me? Letting
VINCENT Everyone stared at me with a bewildered expression on their faces. I didn't want to accept the fact that what I had just felt was vile demonic energy, but I couldn't deny it. The moment I had sensed it, my temperature had taken a dive and I'd felt like I had just been sucker punched. It had caught me unawares. "Are you sure you're alright?" Rylee asked, peering at my face. I took her free hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm alright." I responded.She let out a breathy sigh and rubbed her forehead. "I have a bad feeling about this. This can't be good. What demon would come after us? We got rid of Killian and the demon in him. Why is this happening now? It's been years since anything of this sort happened" she said. "A demon was once after this pack?" Andrea asked, a worried look in her eyes. "Yes. But, it was years ago." Jared stated. "Surely, you guys don't think this demon presence or aura has anything to do with me, right?" She pressed further. Her eyes were glassy and sh
ANDREA My hands were trembling and my heart was racing. I staggered backwards, away from the door. "No, it wasn't me. It can't be me. I smell of roses but it wasn't me. Why would I hurt him?" I mumbled. As soon as I turned away, I heard Alpha Vincent's commanding voice. "Andrea, stop right there."He was an Alpha and there was no way I could defy his command. No matter how much I desired to run, my limbs wouldn't move. At the sound of his approaching footsteps, I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart feeling like it was going to explode."Look at me" he ordered and I opened my eyes. His face held no emotion and his stare was a blank one. In this state, he was more intimidating. His eyes began to glow a fiery red and gold. It was in this moment that I started to tremble with fear. Pissing him off was a very big mistake that I wanted to avoid. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his tone icy. I blinked, realizing that I had no answer to his question. None at all. I stared down at mysel