My eyes flew open and panic set in like a wild force. I shot up in bed, my heart loud inside my ears, my eyes shooting frantically across the dark bedroom. The only source of light was from the full moon filtering in through the blinds, creating a pattern of white lines across the walls and floor. I lifted a shaking hand to wipe the cold sweat beading against my brows, breathing out an annoyed sigh. It was just a nightmare. The same nightmare that had been playing on repeat every other night in my sleeping hours like a ghost designated just for me. This ghost was born the moment my mother had died. See, I had no memory of what had happened that night. All information I had was based on what the adults in my life at the time, which would be my dad, had told me had happened.Another rival gang had descended on our house, supposedly wanting money and goods from my dad's illegal storage. If he refused, they'd kill us all. My dad claimed to have given them what they wanted, in order to
One year ago… I shouldn’t be here… My eyes narrowed on his tattooed knuckles as his grip tightened over the motorbike handlebars. And not just any motorbike. It was a freaking Ducati Panigale V4 R. I didn’t know what made my body burn hotter. The beauty of the metal gleaming beneath the lights or the beast of a man sitting on it. Holy shit. I was standing inches from Darius Monroe–aka the Savage–in the blazing hot, over six-foot tall, golden, muscular flesh! I didn’t know if it was nerves or me missing lunch and dinner, but my skin tingled, and my heart was doing unusual movements inside my chest. Or maybe it was the insane need to touch him. For my hands to slide over those firm shoulders and– Heat sprouted across my cheeks at that mere thought as an elbow buried in my ribcage. “This is a terrible idea, Elise.” I tore my gaze from Darius for a brief second to meet Loren’s. “Very,” I bit my lip and turned to resume my drooling fest. He was in the middle of a sea of leather-cla
I was tangled between two places–physically and emotionally. One, where I was immersed in lust. My body screamed for Darius’s touch, all hot, bothered, and breathless. My stomach was in a flurry of flutters, and my heart was racing. Another part of me–which was not close to dominant as it should be–had my mind brimming with panic as Darius’s strong hands wrapped firmly around my throat. And realized that my breathlessness might be more of the lack of oxygen than what my body felt. I’ve never felt so conflicted in my entire life. Darius’s black eyes bore into my soul as he spoke in a sharp tone, “I reject you,” cutting my muddled emotions to shreds and sobering my mind up right then and there. I struggled against his grip, a hiss releasing from my lips. “Let…me go.” Instead, his grasp tightened as he drew me closer, followed by a derisive snort. His eyes flicked down, working their way up my body. It was not with the look you’d ever hoped your supposed mate would offer you. That s
The light faded from my vision as a large figure bled into view. Not a second later, there was a thumping sound, followed by Dwane’s fingers going limp around my throat, and we fell backward together. I tried to block my fall, but the dizziness was so overwhelming it was a fruitless attempt. I barely landed on Dwane’s motionless body when a low whistle sounded, and strong arms scooped me up. I was halfway stuck between slipping into the never-after and fighting my assailant–the person carrying me–thinking this was another attempt on my life. But the more I aimlessly tried to push away from this person, the stronger his hold became. “Hey, I’m trying to help you here. Knock it off.” The voice was calm, clear, and had a mischievous kick. “Any reason our alpha’s beta is trying to kill you?” I recognized this voice from somewhere. I faintly recall it being paired with me getting a face full of mud pie in middle school. “Holy shit, it is you!” the voice cried out, stopping for a moment.
One year later… The massive facility enclosed in chain-link fences loomed behind me as I headed through the visitor’s parking lot–feeling as if a weight had fallen off my back. Sadly, that weight, which consisted of the mad desire for private space, freedom, and constantly dealing with bitches picking fights, was replaced with a different kind of weight that tasted a great deal of hate and resentment. During my year here at the juvenile detention of Cape Falls–specially designed for werewolf delinquents in mind–I had called my own personal hell. For a whole year, I was trapped in this shit-hole of a place for a bunch of offenses I did not commit. Someone had set me up, and I made it my sole intention to find out who the bastard was. Halfway through my stay here, my aunt, who was vacationing in Hawaii, told me the truth over the phone. Well, more like fishing for information. Rita was known for her role as the family gossip, and she relished in people’s misery, hence why she likely
Jace spun me around and shoved me against the side of the car, locking my hands together behind my back and pinning me there with his weight. The rusty scent of blood caught my nose before a rush of hot wind danced across my cheek as he spoke in a dangerously low breath. “You’re going to regret that.” “I already regret a lot of things,” I wheezed, struggling to speak as he was practically crushing my lungs. Fury burned like a furnace inside my veins and the need for vengeance was clawing for an escape. “Beating the shit out of you isn’t one of them.” He cursed, pulling one hand away and making a motion as if he was wiping blood from his face. Sucker. “How does it feel to get beat-up by a girl?” Oh, I was not even close to done. “Bet it tastes as bad as setting someone up, huh?” “What the hell are you on about?” He bared his teeth. “No, wait. It doesn’t taste nearly as bad as getting set up. I lost a year of my life and there is nothing left of my reputation but shitty scraps. Tel
I stood back with a smirk as I watched the last bubbles fizzle out in the lake behind my dad’s mansion. I was breathing heavily. It took great effort to jump from the moving Stingray as it drove straight into the lake–with me crashing into solid dirt and stones in the process–but it was worth the pain. Every single cut and nick of it. And, as an added bonus–the beauty of this lake was that it wasn’t deep enough for the Stingray to disappear completely. You could still see the top of the car as you walked by. But, it was deep enough to make it impossible to retrieve it with ease. Deep enough to make a shithead like Jace’s life difficult. Also, no doubt dirty enough to do a bit of damage to the perfect, shiny coat covering it. With a satisfactory smirk, I dusted my hands at the thighs of my jeans and rounded the large property toward the front gate. It took quite a bit more walking than I was up for, but it was a tiny price I had to pay for destroying my lift. I had no doubt that J
I almost spun on my heels and fled from the room. Almost. I was halfway through backing out of the room when the need for revenge twisted like a dull, rusted dagger inside my gut, and I stopped. “You owe me fifty bucks,” Darius commented. “Typical spoiled rich princess.” Hunter muttered something incoherent as I turned in time to see him fish out cash from his pocket and toss it across the table at Darius. “As if you fucking need it.” “I still won.” Darius pushed the potted plant aside, and I didn’t miss the once-over he was giving me. My heart did this stupid tumble inside my chest, and it took everything out of me not to run off as I initially planned to do. No. I was going to ruin his day. I had no idea how I would go about that, but I sure as heck would try. I clenched my fists to my sides, the need to beat the trash out of them like I did with Jace, but I had to be realistic here. The Savage–or should I call him by his real name now that we were acquainted?–was an almost-al