CORAAlpha Blake was standing by the door when I walked in, his eyes squinted squinted yo a dangerously thin slit.I swallowed, clenching my fists before I slowly walked closer, my eyes low."I...""Why are you coming back in the morning? Or have I grown so old that I somehow didn't realize that you had returned last night?"I swallowed hard, then shook my head. "I am sorry. There was a mishap.""Mishap?" His brow raised, and he tilted is head t the side. "Enlighten me on this...rather convenient mishap.""Alpha...""I was hoping I would see guilt in your eyes. But right now all I see is a brazen audacity to cross me and take me to a level I fear we cannot come back from.""I was just...""I said, where the fuck were you last night? Who did you spend the night with?""It was a mishap. It was supposed to be...""Kiara," he said, meeting my eyes. "But you betrayed her and went instead, am I right? ""Alpha..." I took a step back from him, but he covered it in an instant, his hands grabb
KEANNEThe shower in the office came on, and I waited, my eyes taking in the steam. I let my mind wander, my lips taking on a small smile. I could almost see Cora in here, her hair falling to her back, her hands sifting through the strands, following them down to the very elegant curve of her waist.I gave a small sigh and shook my head, then stepped into the shower, my eyes closing. Slowly, my fingers peeled off the buttons of my shirt, buttons that Cora had rid me of three already.I discarded the shirt, then let the world fall behind me as I darted into my beautiful imaginations, my eyes closing, the steam heating me up.After a while, I stepped out to the office. It was still locked. I had asked Angeline to. The bath thing, and even a mini closet had been incorporated into my office after I returned from Midnight Sun.Those rather dreadful nights that I couldn't bring myself to sleep in the empty house, the ghosts of the past haunting me, and the ghosts of the people I left behind
CORAI suddenly took a step in, then pushed Angeline out and pulled the door to a close."What are you doing?" Keanne asked, his eyes wide. I turned to him, my chest thumping, my body feeling weak from the immense fear I felt. My heart felt constricted, and I struggled to breathe."She...did she really die today?"I saw Keanne raise a brow. "What? You were with me last night."I shook my head. "That is not what I mean. Did she really die today? That smell..."He turned to Kiara, then swallowed. "The police are downstairs, and we can't explain that to them."My eyes squinted. "What are we going to do?"Silence fell upon us, and Keanne stepped around Kiara, his eyes taking her in. I saw his face scrunch up in disbelief, and he slowly turned away, then peeled off his coat."I have to go down.""Wait. I...they need....they will need an alibi. You will have to...""I am going to take care of it, Cora. Why are you here, by the way and why do you look like that?"I couldn't bring myself to
CORAI stopped in front of the fountain, my chest heaving. My head spun with everything I had just learned, everything I had so unknowingly entangled myself with. My chest heaved, and I stopped, my bag falling in front of me.Slowly, I followed it to the ground, tears filling my eyes, blurring the images in front of me. My chest swelled with even more tears, and I brought my shaky hands to my forehead, my fingers burying in the tiny strands around my hair line."What have I done?" I asked myself. I don't remember how many times I have asked that question, how many times I have regretted everything I have done so far. My choices. My aims. I just couldn't bring myself to believe that the twist of fate written for me is threatening to make me regret my mate bond too."Funny, huh?" Keanne's voice floated back into my mind, and I closed my eyes, my lips quivering. "But they did say that everything comes with a price. For me, my power came with this. For you...the fact that you are not sla
Alpha Blake was mixing coffee in the open kitchen when I walked in, and I stopped, my eyes wide ad I took in his image. He was in casual wear, a small crease in his brows. I just realized that I had never seen him go to work.He didn't look up to me till he was done, then slowly removed the cup, his eyes lifting to me."What are you doing?"I swallowed hard, my eyes unable to leave him. I tried to fit him into Keanne's story, my eyes fitting him into the man who had seen his wife destroy herself for his love, then ended up hating her. It was unfair, and maybe I understand why Keanne still sided with his mother.Because after that little girl and Keanne himself, she was the most innocent in all of this.I swallowed hard and took a few steps back as he started to walk towards me, and he raised a small brow."Weird. I thought you were waiting for me."I swallowed again, then raked my hands through my hair, pushing the strands back into a ponytail that was more or less nonexistent by now
KEANNEI watched the door she had left open on her way out, my eyes thin. Maybe that is what I wanted. Maybe all this time I had been too hesitant to force her to stay with me because I knew she would not be able to handle it. Once she saw what I am, once she knew me for what my scars hold, she would run. Just like now.I smiled a little, then walked to the door, gently closing it. My hand stayed on the cold metal, and my eyes closed, my body weakening. I did wonder if she had seen how scared I actually was. I wondered if she saw me flinch, if she saw how hard I was trying to get drunk because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep without it tonight.I leaned on the door, my eyes closed, my body weakening. I could barely still hold myself up, and I slowly let myself fall to the floor.I brought my knees to myself, and my hands wrapped around me, my eyes wide. I could see the little five year old from over two decades ago, the one that had gone under his bed, his knees close to him, his h
CORAI turned to the glass window, my eyes wide. It was a starless night, and the moon was only left to a very slim crescent. I swallowed, feeling tears well up in my eyes.I wondered what Keanne had done after I had left. What he had felt. How he had looked. I wondered if he would want to see me again, if he would want to continue with this mate bond. If he wanted to look at me the same way.I know I may be asking too much from a mate bond I had done absolutely nothing to preserve, but I hoped when morning came and I go to that office, he would look at me as tenderly as he had when hr had thought I was asleep.That look had only made me even greedier, making me wonder howbhr would look at me when I actually stood by him. Making me wonder how it would be to be the only woman in his life. The woman he took to his bed. The woman he took to the shower. The woman whose forehead he leaned on the side of the bed to kiss. The woman whose body his fingers studied like braille.I closed my eye
KEANNEMy eyes closed as the water pelted down on me, the sold seeping into my skin. I let my lips part, as everything inside of me stung. My heart stung, my fingers too.I needed to sleep. Needed to forget. I needed to leave to where all of this wouldn't matter. To where it could all fade away. I sighed, then brought my hands to my hair, then pushed it back. My fingers reached for the shower and I turned it off, but stood there, my eyes still closed.I needed to run. But how can you run from something you are? How can I run from my very own existence?I swallowed, then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist, then walked out of the shower.CORAI turned to him once he emerged, my eyes wide. His hair fell back, but a few unruly strands fell in front of his face, darkening his eyes under the strandy shadows. I swallowed, blinking a little.I remember I never got to have this view, since the first time I got close, it didn't happen, and I didn't see hinnfor a year after that.Rig