“You look gorgeous,” Tobias says, as he walks into his hut.My hands shake as I do the buttons. I can’t believe this nightmare is my life. I can’t believe I’m about to go through with this.I have to though. I have to for Kara. I have to for my pack.If I get close enough to Tobias, I can get my revenge. If I cause enough of a distraction, Kara can flee.Yet as I look at myself in the mirror, I’m not sure I can go through with this.“You’re shaking,” he says. That’s the only reason why he’s in here. So, he can see how much this is all bothering me.He takes my hand in his big, warm hands. Mine are so small while tucked into his. He could crush my fingers if he wanted to.“I’m excited,” I say, still trying to lean heavily on the lie. “This is all a lot. It’s a lot so quickly too. So, I’m nervous and excited.”“As you should be,” Tobias says. “I’m glad to see you’re finally warming up to the idea. You’ll settle soon enough.”And I am. I’m warming up to the idea that I’ll hav
“We’ll have a whole family of pups,” Tobias continues.And in that moment, I realize that I have no way of knowing for sure that this key will work. I hope it will, of course. I need it to work. I’ve never used it before though. I’ve never used magic at all before. And it’s not like I can test it out first.This is my only hope. It’s the only chance I have at getting out of this.So, I ignore Tobias and I focus on getting the key into the lock. “I’ll train the males, while you teach our girls to be as submissive as you will be,” Tobias continues. The hope and desperation give me the kind of strength I know I’ll need if the chains unlock and…They do.I feel the chains release.I almost cry as they fall to the floor of the canoe.Tobias stops talking.“You don’t want to do anything stupid,” he says in a low, deep, slow manner. “If you try to escape, I will kill you, Sasha. I won’t even hesitate.“I want you as my mate forever. We’re married. You shouldn’t try to kill your
After everything, I want to just sit and stay here for a bit. I’m exhausted, completely used up. Now I have a moment to myself, it all hits me.I almost died. I married someone I hate. Then, I killed him. My pack is gone, slaughtered. And I don’t have anywhere to go.That’s the worst part. The fact that my pack is slaughtered and I’m alone without a home to go back to.What am I supposed to do now? My only goal before was to get away from Tobias and get my revenge. I’ve done both of those things, and I hope Kara has escaped by now too. So, what’s my purpose?“To get yourself away from here,” I mumble to myself. “That’s your purpose, of course. They’re going to come after you.”As silly as it sounds, talking to myself helps. Especially because it’s true. I’m not in the clear yet. I’m not safe yet.Tobias’ pack is going hunt me down once they realize Tobias and I aren’t coming back.I have some time, since we were both supposed to be on the island to mate. They’ll expect us to
“Okay,” I say.“Okay what?” he asks, with a smile that I suspect says that he knows exactly what I’m talking about.“Okay,” I repeat. My smile matches his. “If you’re really serious about this, I’d like to go with you back to your pack.“I really don’t have anywhere else to go. And I appreciate your help. As I really think about it, I don’t know what I’d do otherwise.”“I’m glad I can help,” he says. Since the moment I saw you sitting there alone I…”He shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter. You must be starving though. I’ll give you some food while we walk. The quicker we get back, the better.”He hands me some food from his pack which is much more filling than the berries I was trying to fill up on. After everything, I am starving. But soon my hunger abates. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” I ask. “You have a pack still. Why aren’t you with them?”“I’m trying to find my best friend, Caden,” Zach explains. “He’s been gone for days and we aren’t sure if he ran off or
“Thank you so much, Zach,” Sasha says, as she looks at me in adoration. “I owe you my life for attacking those wolves, for saving me, and for offering me a chance at a future. A place to go.“Words can’t express how much I appreciate you.” She blushes and looks away. “I truly don’t know what I would do without you.”Her appreciation flatters me. I’m glad I can be her hero. I want to help her more than anything. I want to be her hero. Someone she can trust with everything. The way I feel about her strange and so sudden that I can’t make sense of it. I barely know this woman, but since the moment I saw her, I felt this intense need to protect her.I still feel that way. I want to be close to her. The thought of being away from her makes my heart hurt.“You seem to be able to hold your own pretty well,” I say. “I’m impressed. Where did you learn to fight like that?”“From my father, mostly,’ she answers. “I was responsible for leading the charge against the rouges who threatened o
“Are you sure this okay?” I ask. “I don’t want to cause any trouble. I don’t want them to hate me or anything.”“They won’t hate you,” Zach says, giving me a smile that makes me feel a little better. “They’re wonderful people. They’re going to love you.”I trust him, mostly. But I worry he doesn’t fully know what their reactions will be yet because he hasn’t talked to them about it.“What are you going to tell them?” I ask.“The truth, of course,” he replies, as if it’s so simple.“They’re going to hate me,” I say. “They’re going to know I’m bringing them into danger. They won’t want to get mixed up in that”“They won’t hate you,” he says. “And if they have a problem with you, I’ll deal with it. Just trust me.”He stops and looks at me in that way that makes my heart flutter. With those eyes on me like that, I’ll do almost anything he says.“Do you trust me?” he asks. I think about that for a minute, but there’s really nothing to think about. My feelings for him are strange c
“I think the best way to test out her fighting skills is to do a mock fight,” Lavender says as the crowd disperses.They watch me warily as they go back to their daily lives. But it’s like they’re not sure how to approach me, and I certainly don’t know how to approach them.“It’s been a long day. I’m sure she’s tired,” Zach says. “How about a mock fight tomorrow?”Yet I see my chance right now. I am beyond tired. It would be so much better to wait until tomorrow. It’s unfair to expect me to be able to fight after everything that happened today.But the smug look on Lavender’s face is enough to convince me that I have to do it. I have to prove myself to her and everyone else in the pack. “It’s okay,” I say. “I am exhausted, but I’m always up for a challenge. Let’s do this.”Lavender’s smile falters a little. I don’t think she thought I’d agree.“Okay,” she says. “Let’s do it.”Zach looks hesitant, but he doesn’t try to stop us as we walk to a dirt circle in the middle of their
“You look so much more energized,” Zach says, as I leave his cabin. “Do you feel refreshed?”He looks hopeful, like he really wants me to like it here.“I do,” I say. “It’s been great. Thank you for bringing me here.”“Thank you for agreeing to come,” Zach says. “I’ve got so much to show you. You’ll love everything, I know you will.”“I’d rather just wander around on my own right now,” I reply, though it pains me to say that. Lines need to be drawn or else my heart is going to collect more bruises. “Is that okay?”“Of course,” Zach says, though he does look a little hurt by it. “Especially after seeing what you did in that fight, I think most everyone around here will be happy to answer any questions you might have or show you around.“Feel free to reach out, of course. I want you to like it here. I want you to feel comfortable here.”I want to like it here too. Though dealing with Lavender and Zach together is difficult, I don’t have anywhere else to go. So, for the rest of t