A special shout-out to the lovely Sherri for reviewing ❤️ as well as to all those who have sent gems for this book (especially Deborah, Mary, Fundi, Rachael and Kathy) ❤️ every single one is very much appreciated. Lots of love! xxx
Eliana POV “Do you think we will ever see Yvonne again?” Cassie asked as she sat on the dryer at the laundromat. The weather had been dismal for a week, and even though we'd said we would do our laundry on schedule, neither of us wanted to have to drag the bags of dirty clothes and linen half way across campus to the nearest laundromat. As a result, I was a day away from having to turn my underwear inside out and reusing them. Yep, gross. So, we plucked up the courage, pulled on our heavy coats, and made the snow covered walk to cleanliness. “I think she's being held hostage in a pile of blankets,” I replied, blowing on the cup of rather gross coffee from the coffee machine in the corner of the room. “Yeah, I guess great timing for them. This snowstorm has created the perfect lecture-free environment for canoodling,” Cassie sighed enviously. “Two things,” I held up two fingers. “One, just because you refuse to acknowledge the online lectures doesn't mean that we are experienci
Eliana POVCassie leapt for the door, pulling it open with a gigantic smile on her face. “Marco!” she squealed and launched herself at him. So much for self restraint…Marco wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off of the floor, kissing her as he stepped into the apartment. I won't lie… it felt like I was intruding and that I should make a quick exit. But no, I was meant to be meeting the guy so I purposefully made a noise, picking up the coffee mug which still needed to be washed and setting it down in the sink rather loudly. I'm not sure who broke the kiss (probably Marco), but my plan worked. “Ah, you must be Elle,” the rather devastatingly handsome man said to me, holding out his hand to shake mine. “I've heard so much about you from Cassie, all good things I promise.”I shook his hand, “I've heard good things about you too.” Cassie smiled and slipped her arm through his, “I knew you two would get along. Didn't I tell you, Marco?”He laughed, a naturally melodic s
Eliana POVNathan was the first to recover, his voice hard as his eyes pierced through Marco.“What are you saying?”Marco gestured to his own neck, devoid of any mark. “The tattoos, they match. Doesn’t that mean that you two are fated mates?”Again, far too much knowledge on our world than a simple human should have. My brain automatically went places that it shouldn't have, but I guess the last few months of interaction with the big bad world has made me suspicious of people in general. “Relax guys,” Cassie interrupted, obviously reading the room. “He’s a hybrid like me. Human mother, werewolf father.”We all breathed out a sigh of relief at the revelation, feeling slightly bad that I'd thought Marco could possibly be a spy in the first place. “I may not have grown up in a pack like Cassie did, but I made it my business to learn about the other half of my bloodline and the customs and traditions of werewolves in general,” Marco said as if he were proud of his heritage.“Well, that
Eliana POVTo say that a sense of dread filled my veins might be a bit of an understatement. I was flipping terrified. Sure, dog bites aren’t too uncommon in the world, but the longer I read the article, the more I became sure that this wasn’t just another dog bite. This was premeditated, the girl having been lured out to the area by an online dating hookup.“So, either there is a guy getting his dogs to attack and kill people, or there is a rogue on the loose,” Nathan said slowly.With the night officially ruined, we decided to call it a night.“Make sure you lock this door when we’re gone,” Nathan instructed both Cassie and I as he gave us a hug. “Don’t meet with any strangers and don’t answer the door unless you know who is on the other side.”Cassie huffed and crossed her arms. “Yes mom,” she drawled.Either way, once everyone had gone back to their respective apartments, I locked the door and double checked that it was indeed locked.“What do you think about it all?” Cassie asked
Luca POV“I can't believe we missed them! And by a couple of fucking hours!” I raged, kicking the door to the large shed shut angrily. Nico leaned back against the large rear wheel of the broken down tractor which had been abandoned next to the shed. We were in the middle of bloody nowhere, an hour from the closest sign of civilization - if you can call a farm stall selling berries civilization. I had never been so far into the Welsh countryside, and I didn't think I wanted to do so again. Just asking for directions in this place was a mission on its own. The council had better fucking appreciate what they had put Nico and myself through - although that was unlikely. “It won't help us if we rush in and overlook everything they have left behind. Just because they have gone, doesn't mean they left us nothing to find. Whoever they are, they packed up and vacated the premises quickly, so they're bound to have made a mistake. Let's be rational here, Alpha,” Nico tried to placate me. “Le
Eliana POVThe library was full of students, all preparing for their tests and doing assignments as the end of the semester seemed to be drawing nearer and nearer. With the recent attacks in and around the city, students and staff alike had taken to going everywhere in clusters, eyes darting suspiciously around as if a man with a dog was going to jump out of the bushes and set the hound on them. That was the theory the cops had come up with after the fifth seemingly random attack. The guy had survived the attack and, while still in critical condition, had told the cops about the man with a hoodie covering most of his face who laughed before a dog leapt at him. Mila and Madge had told us that their cousin, who worked as a nurse at the hospital, had overheard the victim say the dog was a wolf, but the cop thought he was high on pain meds, so changed the breed to husky in his report. The werewolf council were probably over the moon about that, but I'm pretty damned sure that the Husky
Eliana POV“You were right,” I told Cassie as I closed the door firmly behind me, sliding the deadbolt into place. “Your boyfriend's friends are shit!”Cassie looked up from her laptop and nodded with a grimace. “Yep, I told you so, they're all sexual and creepy.”I told her my suspicions about Thomas and she chewed on her bottom lip for a second, her mind racing. “You know, I'd heard a few stories about girls who have woken up in bed next to either Perry or Thomas without knowing how they got there. It was always put down to a lot of booze, but maybe it wasn't…”The unspoken question hung in the air between us - what would have happened if Nathan hadn't come to my rescue when he did? “I don't get why Marco is friends with them. He says they were all at school together, but that doesn't mean you have to stick it out with them through college too,” Cassie grumbled. “Maybe it's just old loyalties… you know. The bro code or some macho crap.” “Yeah, must me,” she replied, chewing her
Eliana POV “You tell me if you need ze help putting on ze dress,” Philipe grinned just before he shut the dressing room door. Cassie, Yvonne and I looked at the three dresses which hung up on hooks against the elegant golden embelished panelled walls. “What the fuck were they smoking when they chose these things?” Cassie whispered, running her fingertips against the first dress - a velvet monstrosity with balloon sleeves and a train at least six feet long. “Apparently torture was on their minds,” I replied, picking up the second dress and sneezing as the feathers which coated the entire dress tickled my nose. “Or maybe she is trying to get me to call off the wedding,” Yvonne agreed, glaring at the third dress with its wide hooped skirts starched so that it would turn sitting down into an olympic sport. We looked at each other in horror for a second before we all burst into laughter, the situation so absurd that there was no other way to get through it besides laughing. “Come,