Seeing that Taya was upset, Harper hurried forward to stop her from leaving the room, but Taya pushed her away. Harper sighed helplessly. “Why are you so dam n stubborn?” “You’ve cared for me since I was young, since I didn’t have a wolf to rely on. I’ve never been able to do anything for you. I’ve always been the poor little human who couldn’t fend for little herself.” Taya paused. “Just think of it as a gift from your sister. A thank-you for everything you’ve done for me.” Harper still didn’t agree. Taya’s life was already difficult enough, and she wasn’t sure how things would go now that she didn’t have Griffon taking care of her and now that Harper was moving. How could she ever accept Taya’s money when she didn’t know what was going to happen to her? But…what she could do right now was just take the card, don’t spend anything, and give it back to her later. Maybe when Taya got married. Taya would be happy, and they wouldn’t fight. Plus, one good dowry deserved another, right? Or
More than a dozen Starke bodyguards in black with the Starke pack crest on their shirts pushed the door open and came in. Roman put his hands in his pockets and swaggered in behind them. The guests stilled, not daring to make a sound. Harper and Damian were at a loss and stood rooted to their spots. All the color drained from my face when I saw Roman. I didn’t think he would show up, and I never expected him to rush into a mating ceremony uninvited and unannounced. I was terrified that Roman would ruin the ceremony, so I quickly got up and walked to him. “Beta Starke!” I stopped Roman, who was walking towards the stage. “The contract has been signed. I’ll give it to you tonight.” Roman looked me up and down, taking in my dress. It hugged my figure—thin as it was-and a spark of his wolf’s desire instantly ignited in his gray-black eyes.He wrapped one arm around my waist, pulled me up against his body almost roughly, and embraced me. His voice game out in a low growl. “If you signed it
In the past, with Silas’s protection, no one dared to approach me. But now that he was gone, it was my responsibility to protect myself. At Harper’s words, my heart warmed, and tears welled up in my eyes. I was afraid Harper would be even more worried if she saw my tears, so I quickly replied with an “okay” and pushed her to continue the ceremony. After exchanging rings and popping champagne at the reception, the mating ceremony was coming to an end. The rest of the mating ritual would be done tonight, under the full moon, with just Damian and Harper and their wolves. I was relieved the day could end happily for Harper and Damjan, watching as they mingled with all their guests, smiles of mated bliss on their faces. Their faces had to hurt by now from smiling so big for so long. Everything had gone off without a hitch-other than the earlier mishap. The next thing I needed to do was to deal with Roman… I followed the car with Damian and Harper in it, sent them off to their new house, an
My heart felt like it was going to jump right out of my chest, it was pounding so hard. Why had this man shown up instead of Roman? Why was he wearing a mask to cover his face? Why did he turn off all the lights after coming in? What did he want? My mind was a mess, and I had no idea what to do. Dealing with Roman was one thing. But this changed everything. I gritted my teeth and tried to force my body into compliance -I need to seem strong and sure of myself. No matter who this was, I would find a way to deal with him. I HAD to. I released my tightly clenched fists and played du mb. “Beta Starke,” I said, “if you wanted to roleplay, you shouldn’t have turned off the lights. It’s too dark to see anything.” As I spoke, I picked up the gla*s on the table next to me and discreetly filled it with a little bit of the crushed sleeping pills. I poured wine into it, and then walked over to the man to hand the gla*s to him. “Why don’t you have a drink to relax?” ” I’d originally intended to gi
Griffon Knight’s private jet landed at the airport at 7:00 p.m., just as the sun was starting to set, vivid orange and red giving way to the bright light of the moon. Within a half hour of his arrival, he requested that I be brought to his downtown penthouse. Per our contract, I must be thoroughly cleansed “inside and out” without any traces of perfume or makeup. As an Alpha, his senses were more perceptive than most wolves. I strictly followed his preferences and requirements, changed into freshly washed silk pajamas, and then went to the bedroom on the second floor.Griffon was sitting in front of the fire in his leather wing chair, one ankle resting on his knee in a relaxed manner, flipping through a stack of documents. When I entered the room, he gave me a glance before placing the papers on the side table next to him.“Come here,” he demanded, his wolf flashing amber in his dark eyes as a secondary narrowed his gaze at me. A chill ran over my spine.His voice was gruff and emoti
After Griffon left, his assistant walked in .Andre handed a morning-after pill to me and said respectfully, Ms. Palmer, please take it as usual. ”Griffon would never allow me to get pregnant. Not only was I just his contracted lover, I wasn’t even a wolf shifter. I’d always grown up around wolves, and had spent time in the shifter orphanage, but I never phased into a wolf at puberty. No one knew where I came from, though the assumption had always been that at least one of my parents had to have been a shifter in order for me to be dropped off at the shifter orphanage. Staring at the small pill in the palm of my hand, my heart started to hurt even more. I wasn’t sure if the pain was caused by my heart failure or Griffon’s cruelty, but regardless, it was so intense that I struggled to take a breath. “Ms. Palmer…”When I didn’t immediately take the pill, Andre urged me along with a nervous expression.He was probably afraid that I would caused trouble since it had been my last night with
Oh em gee, REALLY? Brielle’s jaw hung open in shock. She pulled Margaret close and whispered excitedly, “Didn’t you say that Alpha Knight wasn’t interested in women? Sounds like he might have a secret love! And she’s the future head of our firm!?” Margaret patted Brielle’s hand with a smile. “You really should try to be more informed about these things, Brielle.How can you work here and not know all this hot gossip? Our jobs literally revolve around pack politics.” “Well, come on, hurry and tell me now. I’m all ears!” Brielle said, tugging at Margaret’s sleeve. Margaret lowered her voice. “Alpha Knight and Elder Thorin’s daughter were childhood sweethearts. Rumor has it, Alpha asked her to be his Luna five years ago. But she turned him down to focus on her studies, said she didn’t want the responsibility of that, so they split up. They haven’t spoken since. But as soon as Ms. Thorin returned to the country, Alpha Knight personally went to the airport to pick her up. That’s enough to
A strange sense of shame flowed through me, after spending so many years as this woman’s “substitute”. Tara walked up and smiled gently. “You’re an assistant in the CEO’s office, right? Was it Taya?” I tried to calm my pounding heart, lowered my head, and nodded. “Yes, that’s right, Ms. Thorin. Nice to meet you, Taya.” Tara looked at the time on her watch. “ I’m going to hold a board meeting in half an hour.Can you make me a coffee and bring it to my office? I need a little pick-me-up.” I was a little hesitant. Griffon was still there, after all. But I hadn’t resigned yet, so I had to do whatever Tara asked. I had no choice but to nod, thinking I would ask Brielle to bring the coffee to my place. “Thank you. Tara walked out with her head held high, the textbook image of a confident, powerful she-wolf. Her self-assurance and brilliance were a stark contrast to me. I was a counterfeit Tara. Useless, something to be discarded once the real thing was attainable. I stood there motionless