(Jason POV)My heart ached as I followed Candy silently to her apartment door. A part of me told me that we should not go inside, and that it was better that we leave immediately and let the authorities sort out whatever awaited Candy inside. A bigger part of me told me that Candy would never let that happen. Whatever was going on with her was embarrassing and personal… and big… and I needed to not impose my will on the situation until I knew exactly what we were dealing with.I did silently promise my wolf, however, that we were not going to go another 24 hours without finding out. Candy is my mate, and the secrets would end tonight.When Candy unlocked her apartment door, I breathed a sigh of relief. At first glance, it looked like nothing inside had been disturbed.I watched as Candy grabbed a couple of suitcases, and I watched as she began filling them as quickly as she could. I asked Candy if there was anything that I could do to help, but she did not respond to me.I decid
(Jason POV)After we left Candy’s apartment, I headed directly to Alpha Ryan’s pack. Candy realized right away that we were not heading towards Blue Moon, and she seemed to panic.“Where are we going?” she asked.“To River Bend, Alpha Ryan’s pack.”“Why?”“Because Alpha Ryan is one of the most powerful wolves on the werewolf council, and he maintains the highest level of security possible. Getting in there is like breaking in to Fort Knox. If someone is following you… following us… they will have a very hard time getting in there. It isn’t very far away from here, and it will be a good place for us to talk things out.”“If the pack is so secure, how are we going to get in?”It was a fair question. After the spectacle I made of myself at Cassie’s sister’s wedding, I could hardly count Alpha Ryan as a friend. If anything, Alpha Ryan probably hated me because of what happened and because Aaron hated me; the two of them had become decent pals in the months I had been away.“I asked
****Trigger Warning: This chapter will include brief references to possible sexual assault and frustrating third-party reactions to it. ****(Candy/ Paige POV)“So, anyway, I sent Peter multiple love notes and a couple pairs of my used underwear…”I watched Jason’s face as I confessed this part of the story. I could not gauge his reaction. If anything, he seemed a little bored. I wish I could feel bored with the story too. Instead, I can feel my blood pressure slowly begin to increase, and I can feel emotions begin to re-surface that I have long since kept locked away.I continued my story, but I did so while staring at my hands. Jason’s bored eyes aren’t helping.“I continued the gifts off-and-on for about a year. I only sent my underwear a couple of times, but I also sent him chocolates, silk boxers, and other random trinkets. Every gift came with a stupid lame note that I wrote. Usually, the notes said something lame like ‘I hope you are having a great day,’ or ‘I can’t wa
***Trigger Warning: This chapter will contain a few more passing references to sexual assault, plus a little bit of a steamy scene.**** (Cassie POV) The run with Aaron, Megan, Mike, and Luke was fun. It was nice to be able to run and play in our wolf forms. We do not get to do that often enough. Missy especially enjoyed getting some extra time to play and bond with Xavier (Aaron’s wolf). When we got back to the suite, Granny Apple and Albert were in the living room, having finally come up for air. I noticed that Granny Apple had a worried look on her face, and I was about to ask her about it when Aaron’s phone rang. Aaron showed me that it was Jason, and he then stepped into another room to take the call. These days, Jason and Aaron rarely talk, so Jason calling Aaron made both of us think that something was wrong. About 10 minutes later, Aaron stepped out with a worried look on his face that matched the one that Granny Apple was wearing. “Everything ok?” I asked. Inste
***Trigger Warning: This is the final chapter that attempted or potential sexual assault will be briefly referenced. We will start to get back to (mostly) happier topics in following chapters. ***(Jason POV)The next morning could not come soon enough. Jake and I were desperate for answers.Thankfully, Granny Apple did not make us wait long. By 8:30 a.m., she had myself, Cassie, and Aaron all gathered in the alpha suite living room for “story time.”Before beginning, she talked to me as though I was a 5-year-old pup. She told me that she would not tolerate interruptions. She also told me that I would have to hold questions for the end. If I could not control myself, I could leave… but if I left, I would miss parts of the story, because she was unwilling to tell the story more than once.Once Granny Apple confirmed that I understood and would obey her rules —she really is scary when she is serious and angry; I think she could take down some alpha wolves just by looking at them—
(Jason POV)I stood up and looked at Granny Apple angrily."What do you mean 'We don't'?? What was the point of telling us any of this if it isn't to help us find Paige?"Granny Apple stood up and glared right back at me. "Watch your tone, Child. I have already warned you what will happen if you don't."I continued to glare at her, but I was eventually forced to look away. I am a strong, young beta wolf... and yet this short sassy 79-year-old grandmother scares the wolf out of me."Fine! I'm sorry. But please... we have to find Paige. It hasn't even been 24 hours and my wolf is already going nuts. I need to find her. I am scared what might happen to her out there by herself.""Paige will be fine; she is very self sufficient and I will be able to feel it if she is in trouble. She needs space right now. When she is ready and settled, she will call me. She always does. I told you her story because you need to be prepared when she reaches out. You can't keep making stupid mistak
(Jason POV) It has been two very long months since I have seen or talked to Paige. This has been an incredibly different experience than the experience that I had when Cassie and I were apart for three months. For one thing, I feel my wolf getting weaker and weaker. I can hardly sleep, and when I do, I dream about Paige. I also find myself thinking and worrying about her constantly. I really do not know how much longer I can make it without Paige by my side. There are only two things that are keeping my wolf and I sane right now. First, without beta duties weighing me down, I have had the luxury of spending most of my time focused on locating and neutralizing Paige's stalker. This way, our pack will be safe for Paige if and when she returns. Of course, I also hope that my investigation will give me clues as to how the stalker keeps finding Paige, so that I can find Paige myself. To these ends --armed with information given to me by Granny Apple-- I have been busy retracing
(Cassie POV)For the fourth time today, my sister calls me. I pick up the phone, feeling exacerbated.“Megan, what now?”“They are fighting again.”“So leave the room.”“I can’t. They are so loud. Plus I am the Luna… not that they care. They refuse to listen to me. Besides, the fight is already over. Plllllllleeeeeeeeeassssssssse, Cassie, I need your help.”I sigh. I love my sister, and I love Granny Apple, but I am getting very tired of refereeing every little fight that happens at White Howlers.As you might imagine, Granny Apple going to live there has not been one of the easiest transitions. The first night Granny Apple was there, she and Albert fought over the fact that Albert wanted them to have separate bedrooms until they were married. One of Granny Apple’s more priceless quotes from that night was, “So I am good enough for you to put your dick in, but not good enough to lay next to while you snore?” Albert eventually won that fight, but Granny Apple did not go down