“First it was the life dad wanted,” Emma continues softly, “which I know you understand, Evelyn. And then, after that? It was…Joyce’s life. Joyce’s life, Joyce’s world, Joyce’s choices. I was…nobody. I feel like I completely lost myself, if I ever knew who I was to start with.” My sister hangs her
That night, Victor is quieter in bed than usual. I barely notice at first, exhausted as I am, but then, as I curl up next to him and open my book, I realize that he’s not dozing or looking at his phone but instead is simply staring at the ceiling. “Are you okay?” I ask, closing my book and turning
But now? With my father’s pack and Willards effectively gutted of leadership and already under Victor’s control? With his two sons set to inherit all three? Victor was, already, the most powerful Alpha in the nation. It could make sense for wolves to recognize that supremacy, to gather beneath his
All night long, I can’t sleep. Victor can, and I’m grateful for it – I’m up worrying about everything for the both of us, so I don’t want him to be as well. It’s not necessary for both of us to suffer. I drift in and out of a half-sleep state, the question Victor asked me a few hours ago gnawing at
If I were to design a house, would it even have a pool? I mean, the kids enjoy it, but… And then, slowly, I turn towards the burned wreckage of Victor’s big house. The one that Amelia designed for them to live in, and the one he had built for her, and the one she burned to the ground in revenge for
“A castle, mama?” Alvin asks a few hours later, sitting on the kitchen table and combing through some of the plans I’ve sketched out on scrap paper with crayons I’ve borrowed from my boys. “To live in?” “Well,” I say, leaning back and considering. “Maybe castle isn’t the right word. But palace is t
“Really?” he breathes, his eyes shining as he looks at me. “Beta training? And helicopters?” “Sure,” I say, shrugging, “I guess that’s up to your dad though. But anyway, we need area to do all of that, and then meeting rooms for your dad to do business with all of the other packs and the councils,
Two months fly by then, with all of the work we have to do to get everything in order before Victor can make his bid for Supreme. “Well,” I say under my breath as I survey the incredible work that has been completed on our new home in that time. “It sure is nice to have money.” “Sure is,” Victor s